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The Christmas lights in Zachary Zatara’s bedroom blinked out of sync.

One strand flickered between red and green. Another stayed stubbornly blue. He’d meant to fix them earlier, but they’d joined the growing pile of things he was very deliberately ignoring. Along with the half-wrapped gifts on his bed, the open laptop still paused on his own stream replay, and the wand resting on his desk like it had opinions about him now.

He was watching the music video of All I Want For Christmas is You for the umpteenth time. Zach wasn’t paying that much attention, until every channel cut to the same thing.

BREAKING NEWS.

He froze. He wouldn’t have believed it if he didn’t know better.

Santa Claus.
Flying reindeer.
Explosions.
Deaths.

[color=darkviolet]“…yeah, okay,”[/color] Zach muttered weakly, sinking onto the edge of his bed. [color=darkviolet]“Sure. Of course. That tracks. Why not.”[/color]

Zach glanced at his phone without meaning to. Notifications stacked so fast they blurred together. Mentions. Tags. Messages from fans. Messages from strangers. Messages from people who were suddenly very, very serious about magic.

is this real like YOUR magic
you did this live last week right??
can u stop him
bro pls say this is fake

[color=darkviolet]“I don’t even know how to stop a floating chair,”[/color] Zach whispered.

The wand on his desk glowed faintly while Zach looked back at the TV. More fear. Warnings. Advice. Stay indoors. Protect your children. Remain vigilant.

Zach laughed once, sharp and humorless. [color=darkviolet]“Protect your kids,[/color] he echoed. [color=darkviolet]“From Santa Claus.”[/color] This wasn’t a joke anymore.

This wasn’t a livestream gone wrong or a stunt people could laugh off later. This was magic causing real problems. He thought of the moment on stream. The weightless feeling, the thrill, the terror. The way the chat had screamed like it was the coolest thing they’d ever seen. They wouldn’t have the same reaction now.

He stood abruptly, pacing the length of his room, dodging wrapping paper and extension cords. [color=darkviolet]“Okay. Okay. Think,”[/color] he muttered, bravado creeping into his voice out of habit. [color=darkviolet]“You don’t panic. Panicking is for people without plans.”[/color]

The problem was… he didn’t have a plan.

Zach reached out and picked up the wand. [color=darkviolet]“…I didn’t ask for this,”[/color] he said quietly [color=darkviolet]“Alright, if magic’s going to ruin Christmas… I should probably figure out how not to make things worse.”[/color]

He glanced once more at the TV. Then he grabbed his jacket, his phone, and shoved the wand into his pocket. Christmas, apparently, was cancelled, and Zach Zatara was officially out of his depth.

—-

Snow was not on the forecast.

Zach knew that because he’d checked three times already. Delaware winters were cold, sure, but this? This was what some would call supernatural…

He stood at the edge of Centennial Park, hands shoved deep into his jacket pockets, breath fogging the air as flakes spiraled down in thick, deliberate patterns.[color=darkviolet]“…okay,”[/color] he muttered. [color=darkviolet]“So either climate change finally snapped, or shit has hit the fan”[/color]

His phone buzzed nonstop.

LIVE UPDATES.
SNOWSTORM IN METROPOLIS???
IS THIS THOR??
ZATARA DO YOU SEE THIS

Zach didn’t acknowledge any of them.

He tilted his head back, watching lightning flicker faintly behind the clouds. Whoever was doing this knew exactly what they were doing. [color=darkviolet]“Showoff,”[/color] Zach muttered.

He stepped farther into the park, boots crunching softly against fresh snow. The wand in his pocket pulsed faintly.

Zach froze. [color=darkviolet]“Oh no,”[/color] he whispered. [color=darkviolet]“Nope. Don’t you start. I am observing. I am a civilian. I am a guy who accidentally became a magical incident, not…”[/color]

The wand buzzed again.

Zach exhaled shakily, pressing a hand over the pocket. [color=darkviolet]“Listen. I appreciate the enthusiasm. Truly. But if I die tonight, my parents will never let me hear the end of it.”[/color]

A gust of wind swept through the park, snow swirling upward dramatically. In the distance, Zach caught a glimpse of movement. Two figures hovering near the center of the storm. Zach swallowed. This was serious, and he was standing at the edge of it with a glowing wand and absolutely no idea what he was doing. He lifted his phone, thumb hovering over the screen, debating what to do next.