i put a spell on you

[knockyoursocksoff]

The Witch's Curse


A fantasy AU meme where witches are real, and they are vengeful. Specify your character's role: the witch (or sorcerer), the subject of the curse, or the curse breaker. Tag around and pick or RNG a curse.

1: Change of Form: human turned animal, mythical beast turned human, human turned inanimate object, human made older/younger, the possibilities are endless

2: Obeisance: you are now cursed to follow the witch's every command and it's useless to resist, or perhaps you simply have to obey every command given you no matter who gives it

3: Curse of Sleep: like princesses before you, you are cursed to sleep for all eternity, or at least until your one true love finds you

4: Possession: be it a demon or any other kind of spirit, your body is no longer your own

5: Isolation: some witches use towers, others use forests of thorns, but either way the message is clear-- you are never seeing the outside world again

6: Resurrection: even death is not an escape from the witch's power, for some can raise the dead

7: Bad Luck: some curses are more minor, only causing you to stub your toe or drop your books, but they're still annoying

8: Defects: you weren't turned to an inhuman shape, but were somehow made hideous, clumsy, or repellent in some way-- maybe you smell terrible, or maybe people who get near you just feel uneasy and want to leave

9: Wounds: you have a wound that simply won't heal-- maybe it's slowly killing you, maybe it's just annoying, but it's not going away

10: Monster Magnet: wherever you go you're always being attacked by creatures, demons or monsters or ghosts, etc, that want to kill you

11: Never to Meet: you become an animal during the day while your true love is human, then you switch forms at night, so you can never both be human at the same time again

12: Death: your death is approaching and you need to find a way to avert it or remove the curse entirely

13: Objectification: you didn't avoid the death curse, and now your soul is bound to an inanimate object, perhaps to provide more power for the witch, to bind a spell to the object and give it power, or maybe just so you can't move on to your next life

14: Cursed Object: maybe it wasn't the witch themselves, but something that used to belong to a witch that put the curse on you, and now you must find a witch who can remove the curse

15: Cursed Ground: your house is built somewhere it really should not have been, and now you have to deal with ghosts or demons or the undead, which will really ruin your property value

16: Wildcard: choose your own adventure!

[adapted from original found here]

Comments

[desecrated]

Sherlock looks rather tense, but if John is alright with it.
My John, he thinks, protectively.

There's so much ... input. He can't deduce all of it.

[captainwatson]

He makes the child laugh by letting her hang on as he lifts his head. Suddenly he misses his daughter terribly.

The grateful mother takes the child away and John walks on before he becomes more of a spectacle.

He accidentally knocks into a man with old eyes and wild grey hair.

"So sorry, excuse us." John says, helping to stop him tripping.

"Thank you, I..." he looks up at the two of them and blinks before smiling; "Ah. Eight inches, oak, dragon heartstring."

John frowns; "...Sorry?"

He taps his nose; "I never forget. Good day." the man leaves them to enter a shop titled 'Ollivanders'.

"...Not sure I got that." He frowns, holding onto Sherlock a bit closer; "I think that's Knockturn Alley down there."

[desecrated]

Sherlock frowns too. Not sure what was meant by that. "Did he ... mean the wand that cast this... spell?"
Unless he was ... saying one of those belonged to one of them. But why would that be?

[captainwatson]

"Maybe he mistook us for someone else?" John frowns, though his head hurts a bit trying to work it out. "Let's try Knockturn Alley first."

Ollivander's shop seems busy enough with kids wanting their first wands.

John walks with Sherlock around a corner and down some steps. The atmosphere quickly changes. There are heavier odours in the air and far less childish laughter. Far less children.

A woman with one eye offers them frogs heads; "Two heads a Knut!"

John puts an arm around Sherlock's shoulders, keeping him close. He tries not to growl as he spots people looking at them both. Which stands out more, the beast or the Muggle?

[desecrated]

Sherlock frowns at the chill in the air. Maybe this is the wrong place for them.
"No, thank you," he tells the one-eyed witch.

He tries.

[captainwatson]

John tries to find the first shop that catches his eye, if only to get them off the street.

"Good day, fine sir." A monocled balding man looks up from his desk; "I'm so sorry, m'gonna have to ask you leave your pet outside."

John frowns; "I'm a customer."

"Oh, I know you are, sir! I meant your Muggle there. You wanna tie him up outside?" the man chuckles; "I'm only jokin'!"

"Odd how neither of us are laughing." John snarls, wanting to flatten him.

[desecrated]

Sherlock just looks down, not really pushing to follow. The insult of being unwanted sticks its barbs in him.

It's John who's special in this world.
That's alright. They're more likely to heal John if he cooperates.

[captainwatson]

"Transfiguration curse, I take it? Not...self-inflicted?" the shopkeep asks.

John frowns; "Why would I do this to myself?"

"I dunno...Muggles might be into all sorts of weird stuff. Y'know, in private." he implies, winking.

John really, really, really doesn't like this guy.

"Do you know any way to fix it?" he asks before they can try somewhere else.

The man looks in his cabinet; "Couple of remedies. Most have only been tested on wizards so I can't guarantee a Muggle won't have painful or even potentially fatal side-effects."

He has a rather bright blue liquid in a vial.

"This is reverse Polyjuice Potion. It can take up to twenty four hours to take full effect and the transition is...unpleasant. Maybe visit St. Mungo's hospital and have them monitor you?" the man says; "Rare concoction so this is 70 Galleons."

John tosses him the bag of coins and takes the vial.

"Thanks." he says, unsure of the drink that reminds him of Sherlock's chemistry experiments.

"And were you going to ask about Memory Retrieval as well?" the man asks.

John blinks; "No...Why would you say that?"

"Ah. No reason, I misspoke. Good day." the man smiles.

John takes Sherlock's hand again to leave.

[desecrated]

Sherlock just frowns. "What about memory retrieval?" He knows the man wants more money, but - he almost can't resist.

Is there a reason John belongs in this world, instead of him?
He deserves to be here, if he belongs here.
Not with you.

[captainwatson]

"There was a man just now who said something to us...Describing a wand, I think." John says to the shopkeep; "Like he recognised us."

"Ollivander remembers every wand he's ever sold." The man grins; "You had best ask him."

John takes Sherlock's hand and leaves.

"M-maybe we should just go home?" he asks, feeling Sherlock's fear.

[desecrated]

"The memories are yours, John." Sherlock says, oddly. John might belong here, Rosie might. A wizard life with a wizard wife and - John must be a healer of some kind it explains why Sherlock wants him so badly.

It's not like it matters.
Will John marry another woman and bring Rosie here and send her to what must be wizard education... Will they let Sherlock visit?

He hates that, the pang of ... whatever it was. Whatever it could be.
Even if you don't change, I will love you...

[captainwatson]

"Maybe he meant you?" John suggests; "I mean, maybe that explains why you're so...extraordinary." he smiles; "Maybe Mycroft is the Good Witch of the North and it runs in the family?"

He jokes to make the confusion and fear easier.

But he can't deny the. pull he feels to learn more about this world. He feels a pang of envy for the little children off to start their first year at a school for magic.What other wonders are there? Isn't Sherlock excited too?

[desecrated]

"I appreciate your sentiment, however I doubt Mycroft is capable of such benevolence."

Sherlock feels like an outsider. More than he even did in boarding school and university. He doesn't belong here.

He's curious but not... enthused.
"Maybe you should ask the man at the wand shop who he meant."
He watches John look at the children of this place. Like he envies them. Sherlock envies them too, but ... in a different way.

[captainwatson]

John nods. It wouldn't hurt just to ask. He really wants to be human again more than anything else.

"How about you have a look around while I see him?" John hands Sherlock the purse; "Don't spend it all on one broomstick."

Better than Sherlock just standing there feeling put out again.

[desecrated]

Sherlock nods this time. He doesn't belong in a wand shop anyhows.
As much as he'd ... like one.

He looks around in the windows, admiring the beauty and craftsmanship, clutching the purse close to him. Not wandering too far away.

[captainwatson]

John enters but hangs back for a bit, letting the kids who were in first be served.

He smiles as he watches one little boy be given a wand that reacts positively, shooting jets of light into the air. His dad goes to pay Ollivander.

"...Bill?!" John stares, hardly believing his eyes.

Bill Murry turns and, not recognising John, shields his son for a moment.

"Who-? Do I know you?"

"It's me. John Watson." He says, feeling very odd; "What are you doing here? Your son's a...wizard?"

"Well, obviously, I...Oh, crap." Bill mumbles under his breath.

Meanwhile, out in the street, a woman in a violet tent beckons Sherlock to her stall.

"Young man! I sense in you a desire to change your fate? I can help with that." she grins. "I can help you...keep the one you love. Your soldier?"

[desecrated]

"It's ... fine..." His feet are moving towards the tent. He wants John more than anything he's wanted in the entire world.
Only for John to stay.

It's not even ... physical intimacy he desires so much.

[captainwatson]

"Just because you weren't born with magical gifts, doesn't mean you can't attain them!" She tells him, holding up a vial of pink liquid; "This is an infusion of pure wizard essence. It allows even Muggles to experience the power to cast spells for a short time. Here, try a free sample."

She offers him the liquid.

[desecrated]

"Can I change John back?" He wants to know. Don't drink anything... he remembers. He tries ... stalling. But he might take the sample in hand, judging the weight and consistency of it.

[captainwatson]

"You will have enough time for one spell, that might be all you need! Best drink it now, it expires in less than a minute." she tells him, trying to urge him to drink.

[desecrated]

Sherlock drinks, thinking maybe it's a bit careless.
But... he's used to doing careless things.

[captainwatson]

The potion doesn't work as advertised.

Instead, in a matter of seconds, it shrinks Sherlock down to the size of a small doll. The woman quickly catches him and traps him in a container. In another quick flash, both she and her tent have disappeared off the street.

Back in the shop, John is eager to know why Murry never told him his family were magical, especially after all those years fighting together. Bill seems reluctent to explain.

Then a young boy rushes in; "Oi, Mister! I just saw your Muggle get snatched!"

"WHAT?" John flares up, forgetting Murry for a moment; "Sherlock?! What happened, where is he?!"

"I dunno! She dosed him with a shrinking potion and apparated out of 'ere! That's why you shouldn't leave Muggles unattended."

John runs out of the shop, hoping the kid is wrong and he will catch sight of Sherlock. He calls out. But nothing.

Oh god, no.

[desecrated]

The container feels ... small even though it isn't. Shrinking ... compounds injuries. His clothes don't shrink with him, instead he's just a tiny thing, finding limbs difficult to move. He tries making himself smaller, knowing he's trapped, trying not to panic, trying not to ... let her notice.
But of course she will. She can see him. He shouldn't have drunk it. Of course... the worst thing is - he's not sure what's worse. The fact that he could probably fit in John's giant paws or that he might never see John again. He presses his hands to his face, trying to burn the image of John's smile on the tarmac in his small, tiny brain.

Small. Tiny.
You're such a stupid little boy, Mycroft sneers at him. And Mummy and Daddy are very cross...

[captainwatson]

It will be a few hours of cramped darkness before he sees light again.

Then she takes the container out an tips him into a jar with a label on it.

"Greedy Muggles, always fall for the same trick.' She tuts, wiping the glass; "Oh dear...this one is damaged. Might have to sell it at a discount. Someone will want it. Otherwise the cat can have a new toy."

The old witch puts Sherlock's jar down beside several others on a table. All of them have a shrunken, naked and terrified human in each. One tries to call out to Sherlock but the glass is thick and possibly magic proofed.

Some people, giants to Sherlock, enter the house and browse around what must be the woman's real shop.

[desecrated]

Cat? Sherlock thinks... how small he must really be.
He sits against the glass.

He knows all to well what people do with something smaller or weaker than themselves, even if they don't want ... information.

Maybe being given to the cat is the better option.
Discounted due to damage.

The only persons to want this sort won't be benevolent. He might feel bad for the person that needs help but - he can't hear them. It's not like he could do any -
Wait a moment. They're all Muggles. So the sale is ... illegal. Still. Might do to try and remember faces though it probably won't do much good.

Still. Something to put focus on, instead of shaking in terror.