#theeee end

“Fuck, my Protective Ward is gonna get wet-“ Viktor scrambles under an awning, shoving his paper hurriedly into his bag. Sure, he’d probably get points off for the thing being wrinkled- but at least it’ll still work. Prof. Can’t get too mad at that, right? Not his fault magic classes got scheduled at ungodly hours to avoid human students, it was nice and sunny this morning!

Huffing, the young wizard glances around the empty courtyard, once, twice, before focusing hard and rather slowly materializing an umbrella out of thin air. It took a lot out of him, but it was the best he could do on short-notice. Teleportation was explicitly disallowed and surveyed for on campus to dissuade reckless behavior around humans. He tuts to himself.

“Humans.” He grumbles. “Tsk. Always making shit more difficult for-“

His mumbling is cut off by the distinct sound of a woman screaming just a few ways away.

He doesn’t even think, dropping into a sprint towards the noise before rational thought begins again. Oh, god, what the hell was he doing? He wasn’t James- if this was a real threat, he’d get his spindly ass kicked in no time!

Just as he turned the corner and convinced himself to retreat from the commotion- Viktor notices what it was to begin with.

Three guys-likely human from the lack of magical energy in the air-blocking his view of the woman in front of them they had cornered.

“C’moooon, lil’ lady- we HIC just wanna… play a little…”

“God damn it, I said leave me alone-“ The woman barked back, shoving her arms out to make distance between her and her attackers. One of the three men, the bulkier one of the group, grabs her hands and hurriedly pins them behind her back, shoving her face-first against the wall.

Her voice alone was enough to identify her to Viktor. Mia. The girl he’d had a thing for the last year and a half. He’d never had the guts to talk to her beyond small talk in the past, and yet his legs moved independently of his brain in this moment.

In seconds, he was behind the trio of men. Swinging his backpack over his head like a mace, he slams the canvas bag directly into the back of the head of the taller of the three.

Succeeding in distracting them, all three men were now focused on the young and admittedly unintimidating wizard.

“Fucker, I’ll beat your ass!” The shorter of the trio ran at him, delivering a solid blow to Viktor’s gut.

He fell to his knees, dropping his bag and umbrella with a muffled gurgle of pain. He’d never been in a physical fight like this before- he figured he’d be able to withstand a hit like he’d seen in the movies, but his vision was already starting to blur by the second blow to his side.

Shit, these guys were gonna knock him out at this rate. And Mia, that poor girl, was still being held back by the third of the group. They’d probably still have their way with her once they finished kicking his ass.

God damn it Vick, think! He chastises himself. There had to be a way out of this. Had to.

His eyes flick down to his bag as his assigned ward peeks out of the opening, knocked loose and open from its use as a weapon. Magic. Of course. But the risk of the board finding out- what if he got expelled? Or worse?!

He didn’t have much time to think. Every second or so he was given another blow to some part of his body. The cast was more instinct than intention. There was only one class of magic he was studied enough in to be able to preform even in half-consciousness.

Before he knew it, there was a blinding flash of light as the lightning-shaped mana runes on his body went into overdrive. And a second later, all four humans had disappeared.

Well, maybe disappeared wasn’t the best word. They were still very much there. Still very much in front of Viktor- they were just now much, much smaller.

“Fuck.” The young wizard gasped out, fumbling for his bag as he scanned the still spinning sidewalk below him. “Fuck- fuck, shit!”

The men were already screaming, their little voices squeaking by his feet as they begun to flee. It was a natural reaction, of course: He was a monster to them now. Viktor grabbed them all in quick succession, tossing them into his bag with mumbled apologies. He’d need to take them back as evidence to the deans office.

“Mia, are you-“ he looked around, before realizing he’d absolutely shrunk her as well. Christ, first she was cornered by three shitheads- now she was two inches tall in front of a stranger! She must be terrified. “Fuck, I’m so sorry, I wasn’t thinking and you were in range, I-“

The tiny woman was simply standing on the curb of the sidewalk, staring up at Viktor in what could only be described as awe.

“Um… a-are you okay? Did they hurt you at all?” He coughs. Only now was it hitting him this was the first time they’d spoken outside of class. Not just that- but her reaction had thrown him off. Did she hit her head on the way down?

Mia quietly shakes her head, eyes flicking down to his shoes before scanning back up his body to his face yet again. She wasn’t running. Wasn’t cowering. She wasn’t even screaming.

Viktor falls into a squat, trying to fill some of the distance between the two of them.

“Look, I’m- uh… I’m sorry this happened. I really really did not mean to do that, and… and, see?” He fumbles with his bag, pulling out one of the men by the ankle and holding him out in the night air. “I-I won’t hurt you, I promise! I just…” he coughs, realizing he was probably making himself look worse as he drops the guy back in and zips the bag shut.

“Listen, I gotta take you to the dean, okay? Liabilities and all that…” he leans back, slinging the backpack behind him before twiddling his thumbs. “… are you sure you’re okay? Physically, I mean? I wasn’t too late, was I?”

The little lady smiles softly at him, approaching with little to no fear, placing her hand gently on the toe of his sneaker in a reassuring gesture. Despite being much, much bigger than her- Viktor jumped back at her touch. She begins clambering up his leg, to which Viktor quickly swipes her up into his palm.

“I-I can carry you! It’s no problem, I swear!” He fumbles over his own words, face turning bright red as he realizes what he’s doing. “Oh, godI’msosorry! I-I didn’t mean to just grab you like that, I-“

“It’s okay.” Her voice is barely audible, her little hands holding onto his curled in fingers for balance. “…thank you.”

Viktor’s face feels like it’s on fire. What the hell was her problem?! Why was she so okay with this?

Before he can spiral too far, one of the overhead outdoor lights flickers to life, forcing him back into reality. He pulls his hand close to his chest, gently pressing her against him as he hurriedly makes his way towards the administrative building on campus.