Chapter Text
Max Hatter always had his hat on him. It was a fact of the world. Magic existed, the world was round, and Max always wore his hat.
Except for when he was young, before his dad had made it for him.
When he lived in Wonderland, and was able to explore the magical place he got to call home. A place full of magic, and he was a part of it.
But then his father got them banished to the Isle. A place without magic, without whimsy, and a place where everyone and everything was out to get you, no matter how old you were.
Max had to learn to take care of himself (and his father). He didn’t get to be captivated by the world he lived in anymore. It was like a part of him got cut off whenever he left Wonderland, and he learned to live without it.
Max was eight when his dad made him his first hat. They had spent weeks gathering the materials, and his dad didn’t tell Max what they were for until the day they started assembling it.
Maddox took great care in explaining the steps to him as the hat was made. Soon enough, his dad had a simple child-sized hat for Max to wear. Which Max took great pride in doing so.
“There we are. A Hatter must always have a hat. We wouldn’t be who we are without them,” Maddox would state with such certainty once he placed it upon Max’s head. He smiled at his son, his voice so gentle and full of warmth.
Max wore his hat everywhere he went. The one time someone stole it from him, he went crying to his dad with regret, and the thief got a visit from Maddox that same night. After that, everyone on the Isle knew not to mess with a Hatter’s hat.
The hat was just a part of Max’s outfit, a symbol of his dad’s love and care, even as he continued to spiral into his obsession with the pocket watch. As Max became more capable and built up his strength, his father seemed to care less and less about him. So even when the hat started to become too small for his head, Max still wore it. Stealing other hats, but none felt right.
He was surprised one day to come home and find his dad’s millinery supplies and fabric lying on their table.
He was ushered in by his dad, who for once seemed to have forgotten about the pocket watch.
“No son of mine will be wearing a poor-fitting hat,” he would murmur as he was measuring Max’s head, “Whenever you shall need a new one, be it yours gets too small or worn out, I shall make it.”
The two of them worked the rest of the day on Max’s new hat. Pouring hours of labor and love into it. Max was sent to bed when it was almost finished, and his dad added the ‘finishing touches.’ Max had protested, wanting to see the end of the process, but Maddox had just winked and told him he would share the family secrets when he was older.
When the barrier came down and the Hatters were able to return to Wonderland, Maddox’s obsession with the pocket watch was reborn. Max saw less and less of the caring father he’d known and more of the madman the rest of the world was familiar with. But he would tell himself it was okay, he could go back to exploring Wonderland while his father went back to being mad.But there were still those moments, few and far between, where his dad would settle down with him and help make him a new hat. When that part of him that always seemed so restless settled down.
Maddox, in those moments, would explain Wonderland magic to Max, talking of how the world around them was bursting with magic, so alive, whimsical, and wondrous. How everything in Wonderland was connected in an intricate web, woven together.
He would explain each material he used, where the thread came from, the fabric, and even the chains and charms. Everything his dad had chosen for his hats had a purpose. They were chosen with care, just for Max. In those moments, Max was able to forget about everyone else’s opinions and just enjoy his dad’s company.
So when Max went to Auradon Prep for school, he didn’t even consider leaving his hat behind.
It had been a going-away gift. His dad had made it for him after Max had told him he had decided to go to Auradon Prep. Once again refusing to let him see the final steps of making the hat.
“When you’re older,” Maddox muttered, “You do not need to feel obligated to learn this part, not yet. Give it time.”
Max had stormed off in a huff, for someone always muttering about there being no time, his father seemed so set on using it as an excuse for this.
But his hat was ready for him as always on the table the next morning. With a note promising that next time he would get to learn.
His father was nowhere to be found for the next couple of days.
Max busied himself with packing, taking great care with all of his stuff. He never allowed himself to have too much stuff, on the Isle that was asking for trouble, but he allowed himself a couple of keepsakes that he brought with him. Hidden deep in his bag.
But he wore his most valuable possession on his head. The other kids would say whatever they had to say (he was used to it), but he would keep wearing his hat. A reminder of the good days his father still could have.
Then his father kidnapped the Queen of Hearts. And Max had gone to Wonderland to stop him, almost to join him in his insanity.
He almost became the one thing he feared most. He lost himself in the anger, and it was all too easy to do so. In those moments after, it had been so easy to understand what his dad was going through.
When the memories of the other timeline rushed into his head, he could only think about what he’d lost, and then, what he would gain if he could succeed at getting the pocket watch.
But then he saw Red and Chloe in danger, he saw the destruction he created.
He didn’t feel proud, or accomplished. He felt awful and was full of remorse.
So, beyond a couple of looks towards his father, he ignored him and distanced himself.
He knew that after everything that had come to light about the pocket watch, his father was getting help, but he still couldn’t bring himself to go see him. He couldn’t get the memory of how easy it was to be like him, to do anything to get what he wanted.
He wondered if he had that same mad look in his eyes that his father got.
When they got back into classes, he convinced Chloe to meet with him alone.
“I know after everything you have no reason to listen to anything I have to say, but I’d like to apologize even if you won’t accept it.”
“Wh– Apologize? Max, you have nothing to apologize for.” Max shook his head, but she kept going, “We were both hurting and made mistakes. You don’t have to apologize.”
“I do, though. I used you to get what I wanted. I took your feelings and twisted them, made you betray Red…” Max paced, not meeting Chloe’s eyes.
“You didn’t make me do anything. You said it yourself, we were both hurting and needed a friend. I took the bracelet, it’s just as much my fault as it is yours.” Chloe grabbed his shoulders only for Max to shrug out of her grip.
“No it’s not! I made the bracelet, I gave it to you. I’m the reason we–” Chloe cut him off.
“Why are you so set on it being your fault Max? You’re allowed to make mistakes–” She tried to reason with him.
“No! I’m not!” He roared.
“Why not?!” Chloe shouted back.
“Because when I make mistakes I’m just like him!” He cried, then softer, “I hurt people just like he has.”
“But isn’t it up to the people you hurt to forgive you?” Chloe refuted softly, “And if I forgive you, why won’t you forgive yourself?” Max took off his hat and ran his hand through his hair. Instead of putting his hat back on his head, he spun it around in his hands.
“I don’t know,” he admitted quietly, “I–I think if I let myself forget it, I’ll remember how easy it was, how good it felt for a moment… My family doesn’t start out mad, princess. I’m worried if I’m pushed too much I’ll–” he cut himself off.
“We are not our parents.” Chloe walked over and sat next to Max in the grass. “I mean it. I know it’s the same thing everyone is always saying, but you are not your dad Max. Even then, your father, he’s getting better–”
“Oh, you mean now that people realize he wasn’t making up the pocket watch?” Max quipped, “Now that people are actually listening to him? I’m so glad it only took them so long to figure it out.”
“Max… come on, that’s not–”
“Fair, I know.” Max sighed, “I’m supposed to be apologizing to you, not making things worse by telling you I’ll go mad like my father.”
“Your father was misunderstood,” Chloe stated firmly. “He was not delusional, and he was not insane. He lashed out and was bitter because of the ostracization he faced when nobody believed him. It is everyone else’s fault for not realizing how much harm they were causing. Now that people are actually listening to him, he’s getting so much better Max.”
“I’ll believe it when I see it.” Max scoffed.
“You won’t if you never visit him,” Chloe uttered quietly.
“I–I don’t want to talk about this anymore.” Max stood up. “I apologized, you listened to me, I’ve accomplished what I meant to.”
“Max!” Chloe called. “Just remember I forgive you, and you forgive yourself too.”
Max waved in acknowledgement as he stalked back towards the other VKs.
Despite saving the Queen of Hearts, Max still faced harassment from his peers. Knocking into his shoulders, stealing his supplies, and tried to trip him in the hallways.
For a bunch of kids mainly born from heroes, they could act villainously.
But the other VKs always had his back. Hazel threatened to hook anyone who came too near him, Felix used the shadows to trip them back, and Squeaky and Squirmy were always willing to cause chaos framed by their stupidity.
Even some of the others from their adventures in Wonderland also stood up for him occasionally. Although they were not as good at catching the remarks that were thrown at him.
But he couldn’t be with them all the time, and bullies will always find their opportunity. Raiden of the Southern Isles was one such bully. He never did enough to be reported (as if Max would ever do so), but he made sure Max was not welcomed by everyone in Auradon.
But Max was well-versed in ignoring harassment, he picked himself up and just continued on with his days.
And despite everything, Max continued to wear his hat. No matter how many times it got flicked off his head, he would pick it right back up. He was angry with his dad, but still treasured the memories of making it with him.
So he was heartbroken when it was taken from him.
He had been invited to go shopping with Red, Chloe, and Pink (who was impossible to say no to). He dragged Hazel along to join his suffering. It turns out Luis had also been dragged into the outing as well.
He was dragged from boutique to boutique. While he attempted to avoid Pink’s barrage of clothes to try on, she eventually succeeded.
He was dragged into a changing room and handed a suit along with a hat to try on. He protested strongly, but Pink plucked his hat from his head, giving it to Luis to look after.
Max came out to show Pink the outfit, and she met him with more clothes and hats for him to try. Time flew by as he humored the younger girl, but eventually he put his foot down and changed back into his normal clothes.
He walked out of the dressing room and met the rest of the group, all gathering their bags.
“Alright, Madrigal, where’d you put my hat?” He snarked, reaching his hand out.
“Awww, but I kinda like you without your hat,” Chloe pouted, ruffling his hair. “Gives you a whole different vibe. Maybe you should style your hair without it more often.”
“Yeah, not happening. My hat, Madrigal?” Max swatted Chloe away before meeting Luis’ eyes.
Eyes that were filled with panic as he turned around and all but ran over to where he had previously been seated.
“Uhhh, it was right here, I swear.” Max felt a rock settle in his stomach.
“Not funny, Luis,” Max ground out, “Pull it out from wherever you’ve hidden it.”
“Seriously, I’m not joking. I left it right here.” Luis turned back to the group. Max froze.
“You left it?” He asked quietly, “You just left my single most prized possession on a couch where literally anyone could’ve touched it?”
“Whoa, Max. Relax, we’ll get you another one.” Chloe tried to placate him.
“You don’t get it, princess,” Hazel spoke up. “You can’t just buy him another hat.”
“I’m so sorry Max. I-I didn’t know–”
“Do you always treat other people’s belongings so carelessly?” Max snapped, rage starting to emerge. “Or is it just because I’m a VK that my stuff is worth less?”
“No– that’s not.” Luis stuttered.
“Let’s all take a breath,” Red stepped in. “I’m sure it’s around here somewhere. Let’s all look for it.”
So the group split up, asking the staff if they had seen the hat, looking into the dressing rooms.
But Max’s hat was nowhere to be found, and it was clear Max was not taking it well. He had stopped searching for his hat, sitting on a couch with his head tucked in between his legs, arms around his head with his fingers laced on the back.
Hazel joined him shortly after, nudging him with her leg, and kept doing so until he got annoyed enough to uncurl himself and glare at her.
“You know Biceps didn’t mean to lose your hat, right?” She asked quietly.
“It doesn’t change the fact that I was stupid enough to leave it with him… If we were on the Isle that’s just asking for it to be stolen.”
“But we’re not on the Isle,” Hazel reasoned, “And you were with friends, or as close as you get to friends, you’re allowed to relax.”
“If I’m allowed to relax, you are too,” Max raised an eyebrow. “But still, I feel like I should’ve known better, there’s a reason I keep it so close…”
“Yeah yeah, I know your dad made it and all that junk.” Hazel waved her hand. “Maybe this is the universe telling you to go see him to make a new one.” Max glared at her. She was about to respond, but was interrupted by everyone else walking up to them.
“I’m soooo sorry Max!” Pink cried, going to hug him before Red grabbed her back. “This is all my fault. I should’ve looked after your hat instead of handing it to Luis–”
“And I shouldn’t have put it down,” Luis added
“And we all should’ve kept a better eye on it,” Chloe finished.
“We didn’t find it, but the shopkeeper has a picture and our numbers to call if it turns back up, and to tell us what they find when they look through the security footage. It will turn up.” Red reassured him.
Max grabbed the cushions of the couch tightly, drawing in a long breath before looking up at the group.
“Thanks,” he tried to smile, but it came out more like a grimace. “I think I’m done shopping now, though, so I’m just going to head back to the dorms.”
The group all joined in with various expressions of agreement, all deciding to call it a day. No one felt like it would be right to continue after such a disastrous event.
Traveling back to the dorms was an unusually silent occurrence. Max didn’t speak at all, and Hazel glared at anyone who looked at him too closely.
Max felt exposed without his hat. He had worn one for the majority of his life, it was what tied him to his father. For better and for worse.
Without the comforting weight, his head felt unusually light. Honestly, his whole body felt lighter, but considering the circumstances, Max felt like he was entitled to feel however his body felt like it should feel.
The group dispersed without any fanfare, all of them apologizing once again to Max, who waved them off before sulking off to his room. He got ready for bed, feeling off-center without having to take off his hat, and fell into a fitful sleep.
Maybe it was too much to hope for that the next day of school would be uneventful, too much to hope that the students wouldn’t notice the loss of his hat. In his heart, he knew that it was wishful thinking.
Max woke up with a jolt. His dreams had been strange, flashes of colors, always shifting but never settling. It had felt like he spent the whole night tossing and turning.
Which he probably had, when he remembered the previous day’s events.
Max sighed and got ready for the day. Every time he would reach for his hat, he felt a pang of sorrow. He didn’t know what to do. He refused to answer Felix’s questioning glances, but it seemed like the other VK knew well enough to leave Max alone, choosing to mutter about his missing necklace instead.
Max grabbed a hoodie, which had matching patterns to his cloak along the sleeves. He pulled up the hood and stalked off to breakfast, keeping his bag close and avoiding his peers in the hallways.
He sank into a seat next to Hazel, stealing food off of her plate rather than getting his own. Normally, Hazel would smack his hand away, but today she allowed him to, only throwing out verbal complaints. Even those were half-hearted.
The rest of their group appeared, Hazel grabbing the Smee twins, and the three came back with three plates of food, one of which was placed in front of Max.
Light conversation floated around Max as he picked at his food. When they left for class, his plate was still full of food despite how much it had felt like he’d eaten.
The jeers in the hallway seemed worse than they usually were, so Max picked up his pace, and got to class in record time.
A class that he had forgotten he had a test in…
Max just sighed and pulled out his pencil, which, for once, didn’t seem to have been stolen. Instead of reading the test, he dully filled in the circles. He never really tried on tests. He just picked a column and filled the bubbles in down the line. On this test, he had chosen option B for all of the answers, answering C for the last question just because.
He turned in his test and returned to his seat, wishing he had his hat. Normally, he would lean back and use his hat to cover his face and take a nap, but today he dug through his pockets and pulled out a worn deck of cards to fiddle with. He arranged them on his desk and started shifting the cards around, letting the pattern occupy his thoughts until the bell rang, startling him.
Max tried to hurriedly collect all of his cards, but some of his crueler classmates were able to brush some of them to the floor, laughing as they did so.
Max’s anger bubbled up, but he kept his face neutral as he leaned down to pick them up. Only looking up when he heard a thud, seeing one of his classmates on the floor, appearing to have tripped on air.
He smirked slightly, finished picking up his cards, and quickly left class, catching up to Chloe, who had waited for him at the door with Pink, who was attempting her usual charm, but lingering guilt crossed her face when she saw Max with his hood up.
“I swear, that was the worst test I’ve ever taken!” Chloe ranted as they walked to their next class.
“I didn’t think it was that hard,” Max joked, fully knowing he barely looked at the questions. Pink rolled her eyes at his response.
“No, but the amount of answers I was so sure of, only for basically all of them to be B? That’s got to be psychological torture,” Chloe huffed.
“Yeah, I guess,” Max muttered.
“Is that not normal to do?” Pink asked thoughtfully, “I’m not used to tests, I guess. In Wonderland, anything can happen, so having a test with all the same answers doesn’t feel too strange.”
“Well, a teacher can make the answers whatever they want,” Chloe explained, “But… I don’t know… it’s kind of an unspoken rule not to have too many of the same answers in a row.”
“Which is why I always choose an answer and stick with it. Can’t get a zero if all the letters are used at least once,” Max smirked, but something unsettled pooled in his stomach, which he chose to ignore- one thing at a time.
Chloe bid Max and Pink goodbye as she headed towards her Swords & Shields practice while they headed towards their Home Economics class.
Luckily, the two were paired as partners for the baking lab the class was doing. It was simple enough, making snickerdoodle cookies. But somehow Wonderland ingredients kept slipping their way into the batter, causing Pink to rush to grab a new ingredient to stabilize the mixture.
“Oh my hearts, why does this keep happening?” Pink cried as she quickly mixed the bubbling batter.
Their teacher had given up watching them early on in the class after the first several incidents. Eventually the class ended, and somehow Pink and Max ended up with results that weren’t half bad, though the result of their baking was far from a typical snickerdoodle.
“Sorry, Pink, guess my mind isn’t on baking today. I don’t even know where half of these ingredients came from.” Max glared suspiciously at the countless containers on their counter. Pink hummed in response.
“I mean… Honestly, I thought snickerdoodles would be awfully boring to make. So no hard feelings. This class was so much more fun than it usually is!”
Max rolled his eyes fondly. Pink would always look on the bright side, why was he worried in the first place? The two wrapped up their cookies, and Pink stored them in her seemingly bottomless bag. Max had always meant to ask the Princess how it worked, but they had to part ways before he got a chance to, only after Pink promised to find him at lunch to give him his share.
So Max trekked to the gym for his athletics class. He refused to play Tourney, was no good with a sword, and was not interested in archery. Unfortunately, all students had to have a gym class, so he got stuck with the gen ed class. While none of the overly preppy students were in it, there were still plenty of HKs who were willing to make his life hell.
Today they were doing an obstacle course. Which included a climbing wall, monkey bars, balance beams, rope swings, rope climbs, and more. All of which Max dreaded.
He knew that in a rush of students, he was sure to get harshly shoved to the ground, stepped on, and even just pulled down. Luis shared the class with him, but he was always preoccupied with his other friends. Today, however, he seemed to keep a closer eye on Max. Trailing behind him as their group made their way to the starting line.
“Cut it out Madrigal. I can feel your pitying eyes from here,” Max called over his shoulder. Luis did, in fact, have the expression of a kicked puppy; however, before he could say anything, the coach blew the whistle, and they were consumed by the rush of other students.
As Max predicted, he was pulled and shoved in all sorts of directions by the other students. Sometimes he was surprised by his own strength, managing to hold onto the monkey bars even when someone tried to grab his leg as they purposely fell. When people shoved his back, it seemed like they laughed longer than they normally would, which gave Max a chance to push further past them.
Luis, despite his strength, hung around the middle of the pack. Always turning around after an obstacle to check on Max, finally seeing how the VK seemed to be treated (and this was after saving the Queen of Hearts…). He watched as Max seemed to fly through the obstacles, noticing how much fitter the Hatter seemed to be than he initially thought.
When the class ended, Max couldn’t have been happier to make his way towards lunch. He made it to the front of the line (for once), got his food, and quickly made it to the courtyard to meet with the others. Ignoring the jeers of the HKs asking him where his precious hat was (The VKs glancing at each other unsettlingly. Everyone on the Isle knew a Hatter without a hat was not someone to poke).
He sat next to Pink, who slid him one of their cookies from earlier. When more of their friends arrived, she pulled out her teaset and poured everyone some tea. The cookies were shared, and everyone was pleasantly surprised by their taste. When asked for the recipe, Pink shrugged.
“Trying to contain chaos into a recipe wouldn’t end well.”
“Didn’t you make these in class though? How do you not remember what you put in it?” Red asked confused. Wonderland baking was a bit chaotic, but usually there was some reason to it.
“Yeah, but when the batter started growing and changing color, I just followed my instincts. So enjoy them while they last!”
When they turned to Max to ask him about it, he just shrugged and continued to sip his tea. When they turned away, he furrowed his brow and reached for the teapot to refill his cup. He hadn’t thought he drank that much tea…
He reached up to adjust his hat, only to stop halfway through the motion. Arm frozen halfway to his head, not quite knowing what to do. It awkwardly dropped down into his lap, feeling off-balanced.
He reached into his bag and looked for his cards, if he didn’t have his hat, he could at least fidget with his cards. But he couldn’t find them.
“Chloe, I put my cards in my bag after chemistry, right?” He asked frantically, still digging through his bag, nearly turning it inside out.
“I could’ve sworn you did,” Chloe replied, moving towards him to help him look.
Max swore once he looked at the time, lunch was almost over, and now he needed to put all his stuff into his bag without finding his cards.
“Here, dude.” Felix handed him one of his decks of cards. “I know they’re not the same, but you can borrow mine until yours turn up.”
Max took the cards, nodding gratefully before grabbing them and carefully putting them into his pants’ pocket.
The VKs all got up and headed off to their remedial goodness class, leaving behind the HKs who looked at each other with the same question in their eyes.
“Max doesn’t lose things,” Red states, “And even if he does, it’s never something like his cards…”
“And he’s not usually so bad in Home Ec.” Pink added in. “It almost felt like every time he added an ingredient, something would go wrong. I assumed he had been adding things while my back was turned, but even he seemed surprised by what was happening.”
Before they could continue, the bell rang, prompting them all to rush off to their next classes. Concerns forgotten.
The rest of Max’s day went on, seemingly dragging on longer than usual. He didn’t know if it was because he didn’t have his hat, but the walks to his classes seemed longer the more he dreaded them.
The cards Felix lent him felt different in his hands. Flying from his hands in multiple directions when a shuffle went wrong.
By the time he made it back to his dorm, he was exhausted. A headache had been festering all day, and he was finally able to close his eyes and let the pain run its course.
Until Hazel burst into his room and dragged him to dinner. After which he started walking back to his room, only after confirming there was no new news about his hat.
But before he could get there, he was run into by Wade, son of Wendy Darling. Max fell to the floor, wincing as his head hit the hard tile.
“Sorry Hatter, didn’t see you there,” He laughed cruelly. “But if you’re so eager to be on the floor, why don’t you stay there!” He kicked Max back down, stepped on his hand before walking off, continuing to laugh way after it was funny.
Max clenched his jaw, picked himself up, cradled his hand to his chest, and returned to his room. He was used to this, it didn’t matter how much more exposed he felt without his hat. This was normal; it would pass just like everything else.
He attempted his homework when he got back, only to abandon it. Nothing felt correct. He dozed off, only to be woken up by a giant thud, but nothing seemed out of place. So Max called it a night, his teachers never expected him to do his homework anyway.
The strange occurrences kept happening over the next few days. His cards would appear in the morning only to be gone by noon. When he would turn a corner to avoid his bullies, he ended up in a completely different part of the school. Tea cups changed color (though he wasn’t convinced it wasn’t Felix or the Smees messing with him). Pink kept shooting him looks in their baking class. Their food continued to have a mind of its own, no matter how closely he swore he followed the recipe something seemed to go wrong.
And still no news about his hat.
He picked at his nail polish in stress, having to repaint his nails several times. Eventually, Max’s patience had run out, something or someone was pranking him. He’d had enough.
“Whoever is messing with me seriously needs to stop.” He declared at breakfast. “You’ve had your fun. Now please leave me alone. I’m miserable enough as is.”
“Wait, Max, you don’t seriously think one of us is doing this?” Red asked, “I mean, even if I was planning something like this, I wouldn’t do it until after you’ve found your hat.”
Hazel, Felix, Squeaky, and Squirmy all put their hands up in innocence.
“We know not to mess with a Hatter without his hat,” Squeaky piped up.
“Everyone on the Isle knows not to mess with your hat,” Squirmy added in. “We all remember the first time…” the VKs shivered.
“No one could deny how important they were to you all after that. Maddox made that point clear.” Hazel comforted him, placing a hand on his shoulder. The other HKs wisely decided not to pry.
“Wait, Max. How have people been messing with you?” Pink asked, chewing her lip in thought.
So Max explained all the weird events. Pink’s eyes lit up as she realized what was going on.
“That’s all Wonderland magic! No wonder I felt more than usual. I thought it was coming from Red, but it’s coming from you!” Red could be heard gasping in offense.
“Magic? I-I don’t have magic Pink! My father used your mom’s deck of cards in Wonderland, remember? He doesn’t have magic to pass on to me.”
“Everyone in Wonderland has magic, silly!” Pink giggled. “Most kids end up having an object to channel it through because it’s easier for them to control. I have my bag, my mom has her cards. The items allow extra magic to be contained before being used by whoever produces it. You must be producing more magic than you can contain, so we just need to help you focus it!”
“Pink, I don’t have magic.” Max stated, “I didn’t even know people in Wonderland had magic. You have got to be messing with me.”
“Hmmmm, it is strange that it’s taken so long for your magic to manifest…” Pink thought out loud. “Usually children express magic before their 10th birthday…”
“Hey Princess, trapped on an Isle with a magic-blocking barrier, remember?” Hazel scoffed, “Not really a place where it can be expressed.”
“Oh my hearts! I am sooo sorry! I didn’t realize–”
“It’s fine Pink.” Max stopped her from apologizing, his headache was getting worse. He was in for a long day.
“But then, when you got off the Isle, without something containing your magic, this should’ve happened a lot sooner…” Red jumped in. “I don’t remember learning too much about Wonderland magic, but I thought the Hatters were pretty up there with their magic. Similar to the royal family but more… chaotic?” Pink nodded.
“Yeah, surely your dad would’ve explained it, and would’ve helped you create something for your magic when you got back to Wonderland…”
“We all know what was on my father’s mind when we returned to Wonderland. He spent hardly any time with me.” Max bitterly stated.
“Wait, Max! Didn’t your father help make your hats?” Felix jumped in. Putting all the pieces together.
“Yeah,” Max drew out, “You know this, we gathered the materials and spent a day or so making them. But he never brought up magic.”
“That could be it!” Chloe gasped, “Pink, does the person have to know about the item for it to work? I mean, if they weren’t trying to channel magic, would the item just contain it?”
“I guess it could. But it would still leak out occasionally. Unless you were in Wonderland, where the excess magic would just join into the rest of the magic.” Pink reasoned. There wasn’t any precedent for someone not connecting to their magic. It just simply wasn’t done. Everyone in Wonderland learned about the world’s magic. It hadn’t even crossed her mind that Max wouldn’t know about it.
“So I have magic… and it’s the reason why everything has been so weird the past few days? Because my dad decided to just not tell me? Typical.”
“We don’t know why he didn’t tell you,” Hazel placated. “He couldn’t have forgotten if he made the hats for you.”
“That doesn’t make it better!” Max snapped. The plates started to float with his rising anger. “What gave him the right to decide how much to tell me about Wonderland?! Why was it so important not to tell me I had magic? Since it’s so clearly normal. Why would he take that away from me?”
“Max… I hate to say it, but you won’t know until you talk to him.” Chloe pushed her plate down to the table. Max saw the chaos he was causing and took a breath.
“It doesn’t matter right now. What matters is how I can stop leaking magic.”
“I’m not sure you can,” Pink whispered, “At least not without your hat!” She amended hurriedly. “Your magic has been so tied to it for so long that unless you make another object to help you channel your magic or get your hat back, you’ll always run the risk of having your magic run over. If you were someone with less capacity for magic, you might be fine… but considering how much has happened and it’s been less than a week–”
“I get it.” Max stormed off. Brushing people in his haste to get out of the cafeteria. Which caused them to break out in giggles. Realizing what he was doing, Max curled in on himself and essentially ran out of the room.
“So we need to get his hat back, right?” Chloe offered as she watched the display.
“At this point, someone must’ve stolen it, and we have no way to get it back before…” Pink trailed off.
“Before what?” Squeaky and Squirmy asked together. Everyone started to feel anxiety seep into their bodies.
“Well, his body isn’t used to dealing with all the magic, right?” Pink started, anxiously twisting her hands, “And you saw how it’s tied to his emotions. So… if he, uhh, felt a really strong emotion, his magic would then react with it. But because the Hatter’s magic is so unpredictable…”
“You don’t know what effect his magic would cause.” Hazel finished, a frown set on her face.
“And when you consider how everyone here treats him…” Luis trailed, eyes widening.
“It’s a miracle we’ve lasted this long.” Pink stated, “So we all need to keep an eye out for his hat, and any adverse effects his magic might be causing.”
“Could he make another hat for his magic?” Hazel asked, “He’s had other hats so…”
“But he’s made all of them with Maddox, right?” Red asked, and Hazel nodded. “Then I think if he made a new hat, it would have to be with his dad.”
“Which I don’t think he’ll be open to.” Chloe sighed.
“Maddox would make him another one in a heartbeat,” Red snapped back. “He’s doing better. He would do it.”
“Maddox might do it, but Max doesn’t want to talk to him…” Chloe shook her head. “After everything that’s happened…” She trailed off, unsure how much to share.
“He’s still scared of becoming a madman like his father.” Hazel finished for her.
“Let’s give it a couple of days.” Red reasoned, “We’ll message our mom to let Maddox know what’s happened, and that we will hopefully show up in a few days. We’ll watch out for Max while trying to convince him to see his father. We’ll help where we all can, and if anyone finds his hat, they bring it to him immediately.”
Everyone nodded in agreement, and they all started packing up and getting ready for class. Each made plans on how to search for the hat. Luis mentioned asking Robbie to keep an ear out for any whispers in his circles. Before they all left, Hazel demanded one final thing.
“This all stays between us. The more people know, the more Max will get targeted. So keep your lips shut.”
She pulled out her hook to emphasize her point, getting frantic nods of agreement before she stalked off.