Based on the prompt by “too much free time.”
Clarissa DuMont, of the New Orleans DuMonts, was the latest representative of a long and proud bloodline of magic users. The DuMont family had practiced in France until the 1870s—been nobility for a time— then emigrated to the United States, setting up shop in the city closest to what home had been like, New Orleans. Close to a hundred and fifty years later, they were scattered across the country, but Mrs. DuMont still clung to that legacy of aristocracy.
She had one son, an eighteen year old boy named Peter, who she considered her pride and joy. Clarissa had never had any brothers; neither had her mother. Peter was the first male DuMont in quite a while. And with that roll carried certain…responsibilities, in her mind.
Peter was to be a dashing nobleman, just like his ancestors had been. He was to move through high society like a fish through water, setting an example and upholding the proud DuMont name. He was to charm the pretty young women, to have beautiful ladies on each arm fawning over him, and he WOULD give her lots and lots of grandbabies.
Mrs. DuMont had not exactly been altogether stable to begin with, and the development of her magical powers had only emphasized that. Magic places a lot of strain on the mind and body; too much of it can led to one becoming somewhat “detached” from reality. The truth was that Peter, while a genuinely nice guy, was crippling shy. He looked on his mother’s constant parties and social functions with ill concealed dread. As for girls, aside from talking to some in class for school related matters he rarely talked to them at all. It was simply too overwhelming as it stood. He was an average looking guy with ordinary interests, not some strutting high society prince.
Peter much preferred hanging out with his friends. Ian, Scott, Kyle and Colin shared his interest in video games and role playing games. They often spent hours together carrying out one sort of campaign or another. Mrs. DuMont regarded such behavior as unbefitting the future heir to the DuMont name….such as it was. It was one thing for Peter not to eagerly mingle at the dances she routinely helped organize, but sneaking off from them to go play Dungeons and Darts or something was quite another, she fumed.
If her son wanted to spend all his time with his friends playing games, then she'd just have to turn his friends into beautiful girls that wanted to play a very specific game with him. She began to gather the supplies she would need to put her plan into action.
Peter, for his part, didn’t have the slightest clue any of this was even possible. Magic? That was something out of a comic book to him. His mom was super into it, but Peter didn’t give it a second thought. As he trudged towards the bus stop he thought about the dance. In a week, his mother was hosting her annual big spring social at the local country club. It was a huge deal to her, and she had all but demanded Peter bring a date along. Peter, for his part, was dreading every second. His mom had threatened to donate his gaming system to charity if he snuck off from the event again, and he didn’t want to see if she was serious.