Author's Greetings: Welcome to my first Fanfic ever. So what's going on? The chapter have between your fingers right now till the 10th chapter is a product of a massive rework—the quality wasn't like this the first time I wrote this chapter. Enjoy it, I bled for this reworks.

Disclaimer: Little Witch Academia is owned by Hirohiko Araki and is part of the JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Franchise (the unreleased 9th part). All characters used (aside from the OC) in this story are not owned by anyone since they're living sentient beings and any violation of basic human rights will not be tolerated in this fanfic. Wait, but doesn't that mean that my OC isn't a sentient being and can be owned? What are you talking about? You said '(aside from the OC)'. I did.


In the early hours of the morning, Luna Nova is already up and busy.

It's unlike any other mornings in Luna Nova, there's a special atmosphere going around the academy. The fairies are already up and about far before sunrise, and the headmistress herself is awake, making sure all is well and prepared before the big event. Luna Nova's opening ceremony will be held today, this morning, and along with it, new students will arrive.

The school had been busy lately with preparations, and it'd been tiring for the fairies and teachers alike, hence why there're little signs of teachers walking around at this hour. The headmistress had asked, even forced the teachers, to take good rest before the big day.

Which is why the Headmistress is alone right now, accepting a meeting that's otherwise important this early in the morning.

"Decline again this year", the short headmistress says as she looks out the window. Outside, the cold and dark still dominates the early morning landscape.

Something more intriguing than the annual decline of applicant witches stops the headmistress's train of thought. She looks up to the woman beside her and says, "Still, it's quite odd of the ministry to install one of their Guardians here".

Although she is, there's no indication that this woman is a teacher of this school. For one, she's quite young, around her mid 20's, not the most popular age for being a teacher in Luna Nova, and another, she doesn't wear the teacher's uniform. The women did just arrive in the school yesterday, and is yet to receive one.

The woman is Michelle Oliver. She works for the Ministry of Magic in their Guardian division, and now doubles as a teacher here in this academy. You could call her a cop of the magical world, that's what she tells people whenever she doesn't feel like explaining the long history and meaning of the Guardians. If she's feeling charitable, she'd tell them that the Guardians are a long established division that has the main purpose of overseeing and investigating magical practices across the ministry's domain of authority. But of course, that's still saying too little to do the reclusive group justice.

"Ministry's orders", Michelle says. "Schools need overseeing. They've been interested with the developments of young wizard and witches, lately".

"They are interesting to observe, of course, but for the ministry to be so interested? There has to be something else they have in mind".

Michelle answers the headmistress's inquisitive remark with a shrug, and Holbrooke is reminded once again that, despite the closeness they share, Michelle, being a member of the ministry's Guardians, has her own professional secrets to keep.

Nonetheless, Michelle felt the urge to make an answer. "Maybe they've listened to all my vacation pleas and gave me this instead?"

Miss Holbrooke chuckles. Yet however humorous Michelle's answer is it's a way for her to tell Holbrooke that she won't get anywhere asking these sorts of questions. Believing it's time to change the subject, the headmistress asks, "So how about your apprentice, I expected him to come with you yesterday".

Michelle's eyes drift away for a moment, she seems uneasy. Her answer comes with a delay, "He… had to stay behind yesterday, got something he needed to do back home".

"Nothing troublesome, I hope?"

"It…. is, sadly", Michelle says. She rubs the back of her head and turns her away. "It's pretty personal, so if you could, don't ask him about it, okay?"

Holbrooke shares a sympathetic smile and nods. "I'll keep that in mind"

Michelle looks outside the window and down to the open courtyards of Luna Nova. It's very quiet, not a soul, be it man or fairy stir down there with all the available manpower directed in preparation for the ceremony in the main hall.

Michelle is reminded of the time she spent staying away from that courtyard when she was little. The reason for this is the three statues situated there. Michelle remembered perfectly the first time she saw her mother enchant a statue and made it move. Michelle was very young back then, and it was an eerie experience for her. She could remember how the lifeless became living, how the statue's sightless eyes gained sight, and how it's cold hard limbs gained the ability to move, its uncanny movements haunts her sleep the most that night. It wasn't her mother to blame; she did a good enchantment and the statue wasn't a horrible monstrosity. It was a beautiful sculpture just similar to the one found here in the courtyard, but young Michelle was terrified by it nonetheless—she was petrified by the un-petrified. Ever since then, young Michelle always feared the sight of lifelike statues, fearing that it'll just open their eyes and pull Michelle away with their stone cold hands.

Michelle remembers those simple times with those simple fears, and now realizes how much things change. Not just here, but everywhere and everything.

"Still can't believe you're letting him in", Michelle remarks, her eyes still planted on the courtyard, breaking her lengthy silence.

"Not just him". Miss Holbrooke reminds the new teacher, "It's inevitable. I fear the days of an all-girls or all-boys wizarding schools are numbered, seeing how, overall, our numbers are declining".

"I agree", Michelle says as she rests lazily on the windowsill and keeps staring outside. The wind picks up, and the trees in the forest beyond Luna Nova sway along with it. She imagines it must be cold outside.

"Everything's getting better except for magic—what a crazy world", Michelle remarks.

It's a fine looking town all things considered, though the welcoming early morning sun and fresh air sorts of contradict my own feelings. In any normal circumstances, I'd enjoy this scenery and atmosphere, a fitting one for someone literally having a fresh start.

However, all things considered, this is a sad day for me.

It is sad that my cat, Frank Francis the second, is unable to see my departure to Luna Nova. It was even sadder that he won't be able to see anything anymore.

He died, only two nights ago.

It was messy business, burying his body the night before I left for this town. At that time, I risked being late for the academy's opening ceremony by not going with Michelle and stayed home instead. It was a sense of responsibility and love, I suppose, that overpowered any sense of punctuality.

Of course I was stricken with grief. Our butler, the usually apathetic Mr Bernard himself, even sympathized and helped with the messy business. He even stayed after we're finished and offered a few words and some of condolences for me and, however disturbing his choice of words were, I know he meant well when he said 'getting ran over by a car is the worst way to go for a cat, must've broken lots of bones and died a painful one. I pray for him'.

Remembering his words send chills down my spine—I'm sure it's not because of the cold wind.

I breathe out a deep sigh to calm myself. It's good for me to have a new companion, at least.

I glance at the clear water bottle strapped beside my backpack. Within it is a good amount of water and swimming in it is a goldfish with bright, healthy scales that returns my gaze.

"Sorry for the abrupt name change, Francis", I say to the fish, to which I get a bubbling response.

Frank Francis the Third wasn't called Frank Francis the Third a mere day ago, it's just a title for the animal companion I see most fit to be my closest. So with the untimely death of my cat, Frank Francis the Second, I see fit that this goldfish should be the next to bear the torch, however difficult holding one with a fin would be. He was pals with Second, after all, always played around a game of cat and mouse together.

I shake my head and push away my melancholic thoughts. Now's not the time for that. I have better feelings to put in my heart instead of grief, and that's nervousness. Enrolling in a new school is already bad enough, with my rubbish-tier confidence in adapting to new friends and environment, but an all-girls school? A wholly different and worse situation altogether.

Of course, most boys would dream to be in my shoes right now, with all the prospects of being one of the little male students in a school filled with young, beautiful, rich, and talented girls. But being the pessimistic biscuit that I am, I subconsciously focus more on the troubles that entails, prime among them being the possibility for me to be the easiest alienable person in the school.

That is, if I do get enrolled in the school in the first place. I heard the academy's opening ceremony demands strict punctuality, not my strongest suit, to be honest.

The reason I'm here this early is exactly that and because of what Michelle asked me to do. She said that to access the Ley Line terminal, I'd need to use a broom—I can't ride a broom yet, hence why I'm here this early. The day I showed Michelle my resolve to stay and bury Second instead of going with her, she specifically told me to wait by the terminal, put my best face on, and try to hitch a ride in order to not be late.

I might be here a little too early, however. The hill where the Ley Line terminal sits is still quiet this time of the morning. Fresh dew still lingers on the grass. The sun is yet to fully show itself and so the air is a comfortable cold. The town's distance from any big cities and the plentiful forest surrounding it makes the air clean and clear. The place sounds lively as well, with the songs of the morning birds and the rustling of leaves filling my ears and reminding me that, no matter how quiet right now is, I'm not alone.

I look back to the quiet town below the hill and try to take the view in. Blytonbury is truly a beautiful and quiet place, with its old architecture and quiet life visible even from here. It feels like a picnic. I couldn't spend time there at all after I dropped off the train, so I hope that sometime in the near future I could see what's down there.

The sound of footsteps takes me away from my thoughts and I turn to see a girl walking up the hill. I didn't expect much, so I was surprised to find someone here this early, and more so that she wears a uniform of some sort.

The uniform is recognizable at first glance. It's what the students of Luna Nova wear. The only other feature her uniform has that's different from the others is the blue sash and ribbons it sports, they complement the girl's beautiful blonde hair and sharp blue eyes well.

The girl too, notices me. "Morning", she says politely as she walks past me.

"G-good", I abruptly greet back.

There're no further words spoken after that simple pleasantry. She goes on with her business, entering the terminal, while I stand still outside with a somewhat awkward silence with me. I realize this is what I've been waiting for, but the thing is, I hadn't thought of how I'm supposed to ask for a hitchhike.

I clear my throat and catch the girl's attention again.

"Are you going into the Ley Line?" I ask. It's not lost to me how stupid that question is, considering she's already inside there and already has her broom on her hand.

"I–I mean, Luna Nova", I correct myself nervously. "Are you going to Luna Nova?"

"Yes, I am", the girl nods. "I'm a student there".

I do the hitchhike gesture with my thumb, only modifying its direction into 'up' after a second though. "I'm sorry if this sounds sudden, but do you mind if I ask a ride there?"

"What business do you have there?" the girl directly asks.

"I sort of need to go there…" I fidget on my spot and look away as I deliver my next words, in quiet this time. "…graduation ceremony".

The girl's sharp eyes widen slightly. She asks, "Ah, so you're a new student?"

"Y-yes, yes I am", I nod, a bit too much. "I heard that even the male students—"

"Ah, you're among the first batch of male students?"

I pause and blink a few times at her apparent surprise at this. I duly answer, "Yes, I suppose".

"You should've said so from the beginning", the girl says, offering a light, polite smile. She moves forward on her broom and beckons me. "I'll take you there. But do mind, it'll take a bit slow with the added weight".

The girl moves her broom in the Ley Line with fine familiarity. The smooth and effortless piloting despite the added weight tells me that, aside from her familiarity with this Ley Line, she must be a good rider.

"Ah, where are my manners", the girl speak, ridding the silence we had since the broom ride had started. "My name's Diana, Diana Cavendish".

"Diana", I remark. Feeling how familiar that name sounds and how nice such foreign the name rolls on my tongue. "I guess I haven't properly thanked you, Diana. So thank you, for not making me late to the graduation ceremony".

It's also not lost to me how easily she offers me the ride without questioning why I couldn't just ride a broom there myself at all. I suppose she just understands there are people with such circumstances, and knows that further questioning would've put me in an uncomfortable position. This already shows how tact a person Diana Cavendish is.

"The pleasure is mine", Diana replies without looking back. "What's your name?"

"Jericho", I answer. "Jericho Franklin Jr., that's what they gave me".

"You won't be disappointed with the academy, Franklin", Diana begins again. "Luna Nova has many great teachers that produce great graduates, we're proud of our respectful history in education and learning…"

As she goes on with her explanations, it becomes apparent how proud Diana is of her academy. She speaks of it with high regard and seems very knowledgeable about all things surrounding it too. She knows information you'd expect to find in travelling brochures tucked away on those little drawers in hotel rooms. The lengthy and should be boring lecture she's giving me doesn't feel so when she's expressing it with such pride and passion.

The ride there isn't a long way, but it isn't a short one either, so there's plenty of time for us to converse, though it's mostly one sided. I stay in the back with occasional short 'yes' and 'no' and other slight variations of it when the inevitable questions arise from Diana.

When we exit the Ley Line however, Diana says nothing and lets me take in the view quietly.

To say that the building is beautiful would be an understatement—it's a work of art. Its Victorian era architecture shows its age, but its magnificently well-kept white walls indicate its modernity. Two towers stand at the distance, one of them much taller than the school's main building itself, and atop of it, a green light is emitted by the sorcerer's stone it houses.

"Welcome to Luna Nova", Diana remarks, her proud smile lost to me as I'm captivated by the scenery.

She steers the broom downwards and brings us to the ground and I take a moment to breathe in the fresh air once we dismounted. The place is far from any town and is surrounded by a vast green forest, one that reminds me of the one surrounding Michelle's home and my old place of study back in Yen's Forest. The air here feels incredibly fresh and natural, even more so than that hill the terminal sat.

"Do you know where you need to go now?" Diana asks as she walks up beside me.

"I know where to go but not where it is. I'm supposed to go to the Headmistress's office first before any place else".

"I'll take you there. It's in the same direction as the ceremony room, after all".

The interior of the school is as magnificent as its exterior. I spent most of our walk there looking up and just taking in the place's vast beauty that I begin to hurt my neck.

We pass through the main hall. Its doors are left ajar and inside I could see worker fairies doing their business. There are hundreds of chairs prepared in there, reminding me of how vast the number of students this school has. One budding question makes me ask, "I wonder how many male students are going to be here…"

"Not that many", Diana replies. "There're only around 3 to 9 open seats for the new male students. The school had to limit them to ease administration and handling, no doubt they'll increase it after initial success".

"Administration", I hum. "Makes sense, and that's great. I can't imagine if I'm the only male student in the entire school".

It's not long until we reach the Headmistress's office. I'm quite puzzled as to what would be appropriate to say to the headmistress, so I'm grateful that Diana takes the initiative and knocks on the door and enters first. She says, "Miss Holbrooke, a student is here to see you".

Diana comes in and I follow, once I'm in, I'm immediately greeted with the old headmistress's familiar warm smile.

"Ah, Mr. Franklin, you're finally here". Miss Holbrooke greets me. She turns to Diana and says, "Thank you, Diana, for showing him the way here".

"It's no trouble. We're going to the same direction, after all".

Diana glances at a clock, a wooden pendulum one situated at the edge of the room, and says, "I'm sorry to be abrupt, but I'm afraid I'm needed elsewhere, so if I'm no longer needed here, I shall take my leave".

"I'll see you at the ceremony", Miss Holbrooke says with a nod.

Diana nods and takes her leave. She turns to me as she passes by and says, "See you there too. And remember: failure to arrive on time would result in immediate expulsion".

"R-right, you too".

That wasn't the most reassuring goodbye I've heard, but it's a goodbye.

Seeing that the ceremony is still a few hours away, Miss Holbrooke decided its best for me to get familiar with the place as early as possible. So the rest of the morning we spent touring around the school, accompanied with her lengthy lectures along the way to socialize me with the rules and customs here.

"Michelle couldn't receive you right now, sadly. She's busy preparing for her first appearance in the opening ceremony", Miss Holbrooke says at one point of the tour.

It's an overwhelming building, and I often find difficulty in figuring out where I am even after asking for the third time. Even more overwhelming is the strict discipline and rules this school has. I have to work hard to keep up with them.

Our last part of the tour is into the room where I'll be staying. It's a big room, bigger than I first anticipated. It surprisingly has stairs that lead to a small and partially dusty second floor, its floor only covering half the room which makes the second floor from the bottom. A safety net hangs from one edge of the second floor's end to another. Something tells me this isn't supposed to be a dormitory room, judging from the odd design, and the Headmistress soon confirms this.

"This used to be a storage room", Miss Holbrooke explains as she looks up to the ceiling. "We've already made two new ones on the third floor so this one is no longer used. Only recently we renovated this".

"No complains here", I reply, contend with the superior size of the room. I happily note that my belongings had been placed here by the goblins. They've offered to do so the moment Diana and I stepped into the school earlier. There's even a fishbowl prepared on a desk.

Miss Holbrooke notices this and says, "Michelle told me of your companion. Luckily, professor Pisces has some spare fishbowls to share".

"Wonderful! And I'm to share this with my soon to be decided roommates, right?"

Miss Holbrooke, to my surprise, sombrely nods. "If they do arrive, that is".

I notice the sombre tone in her voice and the way she casts her eyes downwards. At this, I raise a brow and carefully ask, "They are coming, right?"

"We all hope so. I mean, the school had only just opened up for male students for the first time since the school's establishment. But the fact is it takes time for students to be interested in joining what formerly was an all-girls school, not to mention one that is in decline. Instead, most are more interested in spending their money on already trusted and well-established wizarding schools. They're a better investment, to say simply".

"You're saying… you're not sure there'll be more male students besides me?"

"No one is, not until they show up here for the ceremony! Of course we've already received application letters and accepted them, but what ultimately decides whether they'll be here or not is the students themselves. Maybe some of them already got accepted but had a last minute change of idea and decided not to come in the ceremony, immediately forfeiting. It has happened with girl students in the past, it's not irregular".

I mean, you could use divination magic to find out, but okay.

With this new information added to my pile of pressures, I breathe out a silent sigh and look somewhere else. "I hope they come", I say, dread silently hinted in my words. "I really hope they come".

"I really do hope so too, else you'd be alone here and, most importantly, team-less. That'd not just be trouble for you, but it'll be an administrative problem too".

"Yes, yes", I reply, nodding. "Administrative problems".

"Administrative problems", Miss Holbrooke reaffirms with a nod. "Now, you'll find your uniform inside the drawer in your room. Change to it and once you're done, I'll take you to the ceremony room. We wouldn't want you to be late, Mr Franklin".

I was on my way to the drawer but stop halfway and ask. "But how about the ribbons, I thought I'm supposed to choose it or something?"

"You'll get to decide it later", Miss Holbrooke cries from across the room, already halfway out the door. "Now get going! You don't want to be late for the ceremony!"


Author's Exit: don't forget to review! Good or bad reviews, especially bad reviews, are extremely appreciated—they're the ones that tell the writer what's not good enough. Cheers!