Help! My Moms Are Overpowered Tyrants, and I’m Stuck as Their Baby!

No one ever tells you that peace is quiet until it breaks. There are always warning signs a hush in the hallways, the scent of burnt ozone in the air, the distant thrum of magical wards on edge. But sometimes, peace shatters so suddenly that all you can do is pick up the pieces and pray you're not cut too deeply.

It was just past midnight when the trouble began.

I was in the common room with Velka, plotting the next morning's "Conflict Mediation Breakfast" ("Nothing says harmony like pancakes!" according to Mara's latest manifesto) when Riven burst in, wild-eyed and breathless. Behind him trailed a swirl of magical sparks and, if I wasn't mistaken, the faint aroma of smoldering cinnamon.

"Don't panic," Riven wheezed, which, naturally, had the opposite effect.

Velka leapt to her feet. "Riven, what did you do?"

"It wasn't me this time!" he protested, a rare and worrying admission. "It's the East Dorms there's a magical sit-in. Someone unleashed a spell. I think no, I know it's not one of ours. And it's… uh, growing."

We bolted for the East Wing, my heart hammering. The corridors were bathed in an eerie purple glow. Students huddled behind hastily erected shields, their faces illuminated by the flicker of dangerous magic. The air crackled thick, unsteady, and wrong.

We found the epicenter outside the second-floor dormitory. A shimmering dome pulsed over the door, runes crawling along its surface like frantic fireflies. Inside, I could just make out a dozen students, linked arm-in-arm, chanting in shaky voices. At their feet, forbidden sigils crawled and twined, feeding the dome with ever-brighter power.

Mara was already there, arguing with a frazzled prefect and waving her wand at the runes. "I told you not to use Hexagram IX-B! Who taught you that your mother?"

Velka studied the dome, frowning. "This isn't just a ward it's a binding. And it's layered. If it breaks, it'll bring down half the roof."

I pressed a hand to the glowing shell. The magic thrummed beneath my palm angry, hungry, barely contained. I'd seen spells like this before, in the archives' forbidden section, spelled out in red ink and dire warnings.

[Now we see the real test,] the system whispered. [This is no schoolyard prank. Someone outside wants you scared and scattered.]

I drew a shaky breath. "We need to break the spell. Fast. Mara, Velka work together. Riven, get everyone out. Warn the headmistress. I'll "What would I do? What could I do, except try to keep my hands from shaking?

Riven nodded, then sprinted down the corridor, rallying students with a truly appalling attempt at poetry:"'If you wish to avoid a tragic fate,Please evacuate at a brisk, not leisurely rate!'"

He got most of them moving except for one nervous second-year, who blinked at him and said, "But what rhymes with 'incinerate'?"

"'Don't wait!'" Riven barked, pushing him along.

Velka and Mara circled the dome, muttering counterspells under their breath.

"My way is faster," Mara said.

"My way is safer," Velka replied, rolling her eyes.

"Oh, sure, if you like your counterspells with a side of boring," Mara shot back.

"Or, you know, alive."

The two of them launched into a rapid-fire bicker over spell structure and wand technique an argument that, bizarrely, seemed to draw some of the power away from the dome as if it were tired of listening, too.

I pressed my palms against the runes, closing my eyes, trying to hear the true shape of the spell the intent behind the power. It was angry, yes, but it was also afraid. The students inside hadn't meant to cause this much chaos. They were lashing out, trapped between fear and hope.

[You have to listen,] the system said softly. [Magic is a language. So is revolution.]

I opened my eyes, heart pounding, and did something I never thought I'd do: I started speaking not to the spell, but to the students inside.

"It's Elyzara. I know you're scared. I know you're angry. But this magic it's not yours. It's using you. You need to let it go. Please. Trust me."

For a moment, nothing happened. Then one of the students a girl I vaguely recognized from Transmutation pressed her hands to the dome and mouthed, "We can't stop it!"

Velka hissed, "If the runes reach the ceiling beams, the collapse will take out the dorms."

Riven, now back (having apparently rescued both a cat and a confused librarian), stood beside me. "What if I…distract it?" He faced the spell, cleared his throat, and declaimed,"Oh, dome of doom, so bright and dire,Release these kids, don't set us on fire!"

It should have been ridiculous, but the dome actually flickered as if, for just a second, terrible poetry might be the solution.

Mara gawked. "Are you kidding me?"

"I told you, magic responds to intent!" Riven grinned, emboldened. "Besides, spells hate bad rhymes."

Velka, inspired or exasperated, tried her own approach. "Let me." She held up her wand and spoke, clear and sure: "By the pact of harmony and the will of the school, be still, be safe, be whole."

Light pulsed. The dome trembled, runes stuttering.

I pressed forward, putting everything I had fear, hope, longing for peace into my voice. "Let them go. Let them be safe."

For a heartbeat, the magic fought back. Then, with a final, reluctant sigh, the dome unraveled. The runes vanished. The dormitory door burst open, releasing a gust of warm, grateful air and a handful of teary-eyed students.

Mara sagged with relief, Velka's hand found mine, and Riven unfazed took a bow.

The headmistress arrived moments later, her hair bristling with static. "Who is responsible for this?"

One of the older students stepped forward, trembling. "It wasn't just us. Someone gave us the spell. Said it would keep us safe, make our voices heard. But we couldn't stop it once it started…"

I felt a chill that had nothing to do with the spring air.

[It's begun,] the system whispered. [The revolution isn't at the gates. It's already here.]

I looked at the frightened faces, at my friends, at the ruined corridor. For the first time, I understood: peace wasn't about avoiding conflict. It was about standing in the fire, listening even when it hurt, and protecting everyone even those who challenged me.

"Velka, Mara, Riven thank you," I said, my voice steadier than I felt.

There was a beat one of those rare, precious silences that follows disaster, when no one quite knows what to do with their hands or their relief. Mara started to say something about "celebratory cupcakes," but Velka caught my wrist, her fingers warm and insistent.

"Not you two," Velka said, tossing a look over her shoulder at Mara and Riven. "You can eat all the cupcakes you want. Elyzara's coming with me."

Riven grinned, elbowing Mara. "Is this one of those mysterious romantic interventions? Because I have a song for that—"

"Not now, Riven," Velka called, already pulling me down the corridor, her grip gentle but unyielding.

I stumbled to keep up, heart hammering in confusion. "Where are we going?"

She glanced back, eyes glinting with a mix of mischief and determination. "You saved the dorm, the school, and possibly my sanity tonight. So you're getting kidnapped for your own good. Non-negotiable."

"Should I be worried?" I tried for sarcasm, but it came out too breathless.

"Yes," she said, "but in a good way."

She led me away from the chaos, through winding halls and up a secret staircase I'd never noticed past the enchanted music room (still echoing faintly with the sound of a thousand off-key frogs), through a narrow passage hung with faded banners, and out onto the highest balcony of the school. The night air was cool and gentle, scented with blooming starflowers and a hint of ozone left over from our magical misadventure.

Below us, the academy sparkled with a thousand ward lights. Above, the sky was an infinite sea of stars, undimmed by city lamps or revolution's worry. The only sound was our breathing and the quiet song of the wind.

Velka let go of my wrist, suddenly bashful. "I thought… after everything… you deserved a break. A real one. No sabotage, no puppet shows. Just us."

I looked at her really looked and saw how tired she was beneath her bravado, the weight of worry and hope balanced in her eyes.

I smiled, and let the tension drain from my shoulders. "A date, then?"

She nodded, blushing just a little. "If you want."

I leaned against the stone balustrade, grateful and lighter than I'd been in weeks. "I do."

For a while, we just stood together, watching the world from our lonely height. She pressed something into my hand: a small, enchanted charm shaped like a phoenix feather. "Found this in the ruins of the Peace Parade. Thought it might bring luck."

I laughed, turning it over in my palm. "I'll take all the luck I can get."

She settled beside me, shoulder brushing mine. "I wish things were simpler, Elyzara. That we could just be here, together, without all the noise."

I tilted my head, searching for her eyes in the starlight. "Maybe this is how we start. We find quiet places. We take the time, even when there isn't any. And we make it ours."

She smiled, the kind of soft, private smile she only ever shared with me. "Deal."

A comfortable silence grew between us. Below, Mara and Riven's laughter echoed faintly, and for once it sounded far away, another world entirely. I found my fingers reaching for hers, twining together.