Chapter Text
Baz
“Today, class, we will be starting a unit on forbidden spells.”
Miss Possibelf’s red dress stands out against the dark green of the chalkboard. She taps the magickal board twice and the words Forbidden Spells write themselves across the top.
Magickal history has always been my favourite class of the day. It’s an elective, so there’s mixed years in it and the grading is a lot easier, and Miss Possibelf is my favourite teacher, but the main reason I like this class is because of Simon Snow. This is the only class I sit beside him and I truly am a little pathetic.
“There are three main types of forbidden spells: truth spells, love spells, and compulsion spells.” The words write themselves on the board as she speaks. I copy this down into my notebook. Meanwhile, Snow is looking ahead in the textbook, clearly not paying attention. “Now, these are not the only forbidden spells, but these will be the three types we will be focusing on in this unit. Starting with love spells…”
As Miss Possibelf continues her lecture, I direct my attention towards Snow, who is currently muttering something under his breath. It’s very distracting—curse my vampire hearing.
“ Just do it , mother knows best …” Snow appears to be reading the list of forbidden spells. “ Listen to your elders …” Why he’s reading aloud, I have no idea. “ Simon says …” He chuckles to himself at this one. “ Do as you’re told .”
He says those last words with magic, and I feel them roll through me. It’s nauseating. Once the feeling passes, I whip around to face him.
“You said that with magic!” I shout.
“Did not.” He’s indignant, and his magic prickles up, filling the room and turning eyes toward us.
“You did too,” I counter. “I felt it.”
“Did not. Shut up, Baz.”
I open my mouth to assure him that he definitely did, but no words come out. A cold feeling has settled in my head and in my throat. Snow’s brow furrows at my lack of response. I try to speak again, but I can’t . I physically cannot speak. I throw my hands up to my throat. Panic rises up in me. I can’t speak .
“Basilton Pitch,” Miss Possibelf says, noticing the commotion. “Tell me what’s going on over here.”
And suddenly I am. Before I can even think of planning out my words, they start pouring out of me.
“Snow was reading the spells in the book, and he said one with magic, and then I couldn’t speak.”
Miss Possibelf’s eyes widen, but before she can say anything Snow cuts in, jumping out of his chair.
“I did not say a spell with magic,” He insists. “I would know if I did.”
I stand up too. “Would you, Snow?” I drawl. “Because I think you are perfectly stupid enough to not even know what your own magic is doing.“
We glare at each other.
“Boys!” Miss Possibelf yells. “Sit down.”
And again, before I even have a chance to think about it, I am sitting down, instantly, right where I was at, on the floor. I blink, confused. There’s that cold feeling again. Why did I do that?
I pull myself up to my feet, a little embarrassed.
“Baz,” Miss Possibelf says calmly, “if you would like to, you may sit at your desk.”
‘ Why did she say it like that?’ I wonder as I slip into my seat.
“Simon,” she continues. “I am beginning to think that you did say some sort of spell. Were you reading the compulsion spells by any chance?”
“Uh, yes, but just quietly, to myself, I wasn’t trying to cast anything,” Snow sputters.
“I believe you, Simon,” Miss Possibelf continues. “But Baz does seem to have some sort of compulsion spell on him.”
“What do you mean?” Bunce asks.
Miss Possibelf shoots her a look and she goes quiet.
“Baz,” Miss Possibelf turns to me. “You said you couldn’t speak earlier. What happened before that?”
Snow told me to shut up, that’s what happened. The bastard really put a compulsion spell on me—while he muttered to himself! That should not be possible.
“The idiot told me to shut up.“ I say, turning my whole body to Simon. “You really are a numpty. Casting illegal spells on me without even fucking trying.” (I’m so rattled that I’m using Normal swears.)
“Baz Pitch!” Miss Possibelf says. “I know you’re angry but refrain from the language!”
“I have an illegal spell cast on me by idiot roommate; I think now is the perfect—” I try to say fucking but it won’t come out. She told me to not swear and now I can’t. This is a fucking nightmare. “Opportunity to swear.” I finish lamely, a little defeated.
“Wait!” A girl from the back of the class yells—a fifth year I think. “What even is a compulsion spell?”
“A compulsion spell is a spell that compels the person cast on to obey either the caster or someone else.” Miss Possibelf taps the blackboard again and that definition writes itself on the board. “The particulars of the spell vary greatly depending on which one is used. For example, listen to your elders would make the spelled individual obey those older than them. These are highly illegal spells because they can cause a person to be extremely taken advantage of. In fact, many hate crimes have been committed using these types of spells. Thankfully, the vast majority of them have counterspells.” She turns around and lets out a long sigh. “Class is dismissed early. Everyone out. Baz and Simon, stay put.”
The second she says stay put , I find myself unable to move. Merlin, this is a really strong spell.
The class files out around me. Dev bumps into me and whispers, “Stick a finger into your ear.” I glare at him, but I find my arm lifting. I do as he says, but I quickly pull it out, grateful that I can move my arm again. The rest of me still stays put.
“Don’t—” I still can’t say fucking. “Do that.”
“Hey,” he grins, “Gotta have fun while it lasts.”
Snow is standing by Miss Possibelf’s desk. They both look at me expectantly.
“I can’t freaking move. You told me to stay put.” At least I can say freaking, but it doesn’t quite have the same effect.
“Oh, yes, sorry.” Miss Possibelf says. “You may move.”
I get up and walk over to them.
“Okay,” Miss Possibelf takes a deep breath. “Which spell was it, Simon?”
“I dunno. I was just reading a long list of them.” He scratches the back of his neck, looking uncomfortable.
“Baz?” Miss Possibelf turns toward me. “Which was it?”
“Do as you're told.” I say.
Miss Possibelf gasps. “Are you sure?”
“Yes,” I say. “That’s what he said.”
“No, no, no,” She mutters to herself as she flips through the book. “Any of them but that one.”
“Why? What’s wrong with that one?” Snow asks.
“There’s no…” She trails off.
“No what?” I demand.
“No known counterspell,” she finishes quietly.
“No what!?” I nearly shout. “What do you mean no freaking counterspell?”
I grab the book out of her hands and quickly scan the page.
Spell Name: Do as you’re told
Casting Difficulty: Extremely difficult
Legality: Highly illegal
Counterspell: No known counterspell
The world spins around me.
“What does that mean? No counterspell?” Snow asks.
“It means that there is no way to reverse it, no cure,” Miss Possibelf says softly. “People who are spelled with this are under compulsion for the rest of their lives.”
I am in complete and utter shock.
“What?” Snow’s jaw drops. “You mean he’ll have to do whatever people tell him to do for the rest of his life?”
“Yes.”
“Can you please let me swear now?” I say.
“How do you mean?” Miss Possibelf asks.
“You told me to ‘refrain from the language’ earlier and now I can’t swear.”
“Yes, yes, sorry. I did not realise. You may swear if you wish, Basilton.”
“Fuck. This is… fuck.”
Miss Possibelf looks at me with pity in her eyes. “I agree, Basil. This is horrible. There is a reason spells like this are illegal.”
“I didn’t mean to,” Snow says quietly. “I’m really fucking sorry.”
“You should really learn to control your godforsaken magic.” I say under my breath.
“Oh, shut up, Baz,” he says offhandedly. That’s his usual response to my taunts so he doesn’t realise the effect it has on me. I can’t speak again. I grab his arm—hard. “Ow! What was that for?”
I gesture at my month and squeeze his arm tighter.
“Let go of me!”
I drop his arm. I have to. I don’t have a choice. This cannot be the rest of my life. No way, no way, no way .
“Baz,” Miss Possibelf says. “You may speak.”
“Stop fucking telling me what to do, Snow.” I snarl at him. I feel so powerless, so helpless. I couldn’t talk earlier. I had to do what I was told .
“Oh shit. I didn’t even notice. I’m sorry.” He does look properly apologetic but I can’t even look at him right now. I’m so angry, I’m furious at him. I have a compulsion spell on me because of his stupid lack of control over his stupid magic.
“Why don’t we discuss this spell some more?” Miss Possibelf suggests kindly. “We’ll talk about some of the specifics.”
So we sit, and she talks. I listen as if this is just another spell I’m learning about in class, not something that is literally happening to me right now.
The spell Do as you’re told was invented back in World War One and was used primarily on prisoners of war before it was outlawed. One of the most unpredictable factors of the spell was the fact that it didn't bind the person casted on to one particular ‘master’. Instead it was more of an Ella Enchanted sort of thing. The person casted on would be compelled to obey anyone who told them to do something, whether that was their mother, friend, enemy, or stranger on the street. Because of that, there are a few rules the magic follows.
- The most recent order is the correct one. (Ex. If one person were to tell the spelled person to sit, and a little while later someone else told them to stand, they would obey the second person and stand.)
- They cannot be compelled to ignore other orders. (Ex. Someone couldn’t tell the spelled person to ignore all other orders and only listen to them.)
- Someone can not be compelled to change their mind/emotions/personality. (Ex. Someone cannot order the spelled person to be happy and then instantly cure their depression.)
- In order to get rid of a compulsion, they must be ordered its reverse. (Ex. If a spelled person was ordered to clap every time someone said the word potato, they would continue to do that until someone orders them to not clap after the word potato, or to only clap when they want to.) They cannot be ordered a generic reserve such as ‘ignore all previous compulsions’.
“They are working on a counterspell, Basil.” Miss Possibelf says softly after explaining all this. “You aren’t the only person with this spell, and they are trying to fix it.”
“What am I supposed to do?” I ask her quietly. I am in complete and utter shock. Snow is sitting there with wide eyes and an open mouth. His expression is full of pity which makes this whole situation a thousand times worse. “I can’t just do everything people tell me to do forever. I just, I just, I can’t do that. No, I can’t. How do I stop it? What do I do?”
“I’m so sorry, Basil. But there’s nothing you can do. People have been working on a counterspell for years, and I’m sure eventually they will find one, but that could still be decades away. You’ll have to learn to live with it.”
“To live with a compulsion spell?” Snow says. “He can’t do that. That’s not fair. This is all my fault…”
“Yes, Snow,” I turn towards him, freshly angry. “This is all your fault. Just shut up and leave me alone.”
“He can’t leave yet,” Miss Possibelf says. “Simon cast an illegal spell on you. Even if he didn’t mean to, this is a serious offence. I will need to contact your parents, Baz, and the Mage, for Simon. You and your family, Basil, will have to decide if they wish to press charges. We’ll need to discuss what that will look like for you, Simon.”
To my surprise, Snow doesn’t fight this. He doesn’t argue about the unfairness or say that it was a mistake. He just nods glumly and says, “Will they kick me out of Watford?”
“You would have a trial. It’s possible that because of your lack of control of your magic, you could be considered not guilty. However, if you were to be found guilty then you would be kicked out of not only Watford, but the World of Mages itself. Your wand would be broken and they might even try a memory spell.”
“Oh,” says Snow.
“I don’t want to press charges,” I say, before really thinking about it.
“What?” Snow whips around at me. “You’ve been trying to get rid of me forever!”
“I’m not a fucking victim, Snow. This goes to trial and I’ll look like a sad little Pitch boy who’s been ‘taken advantage of’ by the evil Golden Boy Simon Snow. No, thank you. I’m not the victim of anything; you just can’t control your stupid magic.”
“I do think that would be the best choice, Baz,” Miss Possibelf says. “But sadly it’s not entirely up to you. Your family can also choose to press charges as well. I will contact them and we can all sit down and chat about it, your family, Simon, the Mage, and I. But I would encourage you, Baz, to convince your family that that would be the best choice.”
With that, she stands up and leads us to the door. “I will pick up some reading materials for you, Basil. To help you learn to manage life with this spell.”
I nod grimly. I can’t fully believe this. I just feel numb. Am I in shock?
“Go to your room and get some rest, both of you.”
You see, that would be a nice thing to say, a pleasant farewell phrase. But I can feel the compulsion taking hold of me, a cold itch running through my whole body. I now have to go to my room—my legs already itching to follow the command—and I have to get some rest—my eyelids getting heavy in their willingness to do as they're told.
“Don’t tell me what to do,” I say, a little frantically, as I start to walk—against my will—towards Mummers.
“Oh, I’m so sorry. Was that a compulsion?”
“Yes,” I say through gritted teeth.
“Baz, you can go to your room and get some rest if you want to, but you by no means have to. Although I would recommend it.”
I stop moving, glad that I am finally able to control my own body again. It’s a horrible feeling to have your body not be your own. I’ve never experienced anything like it. It feels utterly humiliating and it completely freaks me out. I take a deep breath to compose myself, and then walk as fast as I can to get back to my room. I need to get away from here.
Simon
I just cast an illegal spell on Baz without even trying to. I messed up. I messed up so bad. Now Baz has some stupid Ella Enchanted type spell where he has to do whatever people tell him to do. A spell that people used on prisoners of war .
After Baz fast-walked away from me, I turned back to Miss Possibelf.
“I’m so so sorry,” I say to her. “I didn’t even know I was casting anything.”
“Simon, you have some crazy powerful magic,” Miss Possibelf says, not unkindly. “And I am aware that you have very little control. I do hope Baz can convince his family to not press charges. That would be the best for both of you, I think.”
“Is Baz really going to have to live with that spell for the rest of his life?”
“Unless they find a cure,” She says, leading me to the door again. “And Simon?” She adds, just before I leave,
“Yes?”
“Don’t tell anyone about this spell on Baz. Let him come to terms with it. People will find out soon enough.”
“What about Penny?”
“Don’t tell her yet either.” Miss Possibelf takes a deep breath before continuing, looking me straight in the eyes. “Also, I know that you and Baz don’t really get along very well, but don’t be taking advantage of this spell at all. Do not order him around. Be careful with your words. Okay?”
“Okay, yeah, of course. I would never take advantage of the spell. I feel like shit about this whole thing.”
Miss Possibelf nods and with that I’m left to head back up to my room. I need to apologise to Baz. I can’t believe this—any of this. Baz seemed almost scared when he was under the spell's control. The time that I told him to shut up and he couldn’t speak, he looked almost panicked. And it’ll be like this for the rest of his life .
God, I hope they find a cure. Think about how often people tell you to do things—a lot . And to be forced to do them every single time. That sounds like absolute misery. I feel so bad. The guilt is filling me. They really should kick me out of Watford, what if I accidently do it again?
I open the bedroom door to find Baz sitting at the desk, his head in his hands.
“Hey, are you okay?” I ask.
“Take a wild guess.” It seems that his sarcasm is still intact.
“Baz, I’m really really sorry. I feel like absolute shit.”
He doesn’t say anything.
“I didn’t mean to and if you want to press charges I understand. It’s honestly terrible. I can’t believe it. I’m so sorry. Baz, I’m so so sorry.” Baz still says nothing, and starts to walk away from me to the door. (It’s time for him to head to the Catacombs, stupid vampire.) His lips are pressed into a tight line. He looks like he’s holding back something, whether it’s anger or tears, I do not know. I keep talking, apologising, offering to help counter any compulsions he gets that he doesn’t want, but I don’t think he’s even listening anymore. “Would you just listen to me?” I say, without thinking.
He spins around to face me. Anger is definitely the dominant emotion now. “Well, now I fucking have to,” He spits.
“Oh, sorry, sorry,” I can’t believe I compelled him. Why is it so easy to accidentally do that? “You can listen to me if you want to, but you don’t have it.”
“Good, because I don’t want to.” He turns away from me again.
“Baz, wait!” I say frantically, still not thinking. Stupid .
“I’m waiting,” He snarls, practically spitting on my face.
“Sorry, sorry, you can do whatever you want. You don’t have to wait. I’m so sorry. I’m not trying to boss you around.”
He turns around and rushes out of the room leaving me standing there in the room by myself. A beat passes before I remember to move. Flopping down on my bed, I let out a groan. Baz is going to hate me even more now, and for good reason, I’ve fucked up his entire life. I need to fix this.
I try to wait up for him, but I fall asleep before he returns.