"Welcome to another year on the Institute"

The voice resonated on the speakers that were evenly distributed around the school. It was September 1st, which meant that students were back, filling the previously empty and silent corridors.

A new year on the privileged boarding school in Idris, an isolated place to guarantee parents that the money spent on their kids' education was well invested. It was an elitist institution, big classrooms and even bigger rooms, and the students had all type of privileges available: big gardens, pool, stable, training rooms with a great variety of weapons etc.

A new year was about to begin. The can of worms was about to be opened.

Clary was abruptly awakened by the sudden stop of the taxi that was bringing her to her new home.

It didn't feel like home, not at all.

She had lived all her life in New York, with her mother. She was homeschooled and Jocelyn made sure that Clary trained and learned how to fight. That's what Shadowhunters were supposed to learn, after all. But they did so much more: they visited museums, they painted together, and they were a family, a small one, but a family nonetheless.

She was happy with her life the way it was. Everything was perfect until her mother went missing. She had disappeared and hadn't left anything behind, as if she had vanished into thin air. Clary looked for her, and even contacted the Clave and other Shadowhunters, but Jocelyn was nowhere to be found. They told her that Jocelyn had probably run away, that she needed to spend some time alone, but Clary knew better. She would have never done such thing; she was taken by someone. After some weeks they stopped looking for her, assuming that she had either died or didn't want to be found.

That's how Clary was sent to the Institute. Despite being unable to pay, the Clave sent her there, claiming that it was a safe place in which she would learn and be prepared to be a better Shadowhunter.

She had never been in Idris before, but she hadn't expected to see such a green place. The school was surrounded by forest, protecting it from any outsiders. She had to admit to herself that it was a beautiful landscape that her fingers itched to paint.

She took the little belongings she had with her and got out of the car, finding herself in front of a huge building that looked really old, but well conserved. She was on a big patio, in which parents were saying goodbye to their children and students were waving to the friends they hadn't seen during all summer.

She stood there, awkwardly, not knowing what to do. She hadn't had to share class with anyone before, let alone living with someone else besides her mother. She looked around, noticing that there were some fairies and warlocks outside as well. What the hell was this place? Since when did the Clave treat so well the downworlders? As far as she knew, they were treated as scum by most of them.

She breathed in, and decided to go inside and look for the principal.

How come her life had changed that much in such little time?

Alec and Isabelle watched from afar as Jace talked with his father. They knew that Mr. Wayland's relation with Jace wasn't easy: they almost always had arguments and Mr. Wayland was never easy on his son. They knew Jace hated him, and that, even if he did, he couldn't not love the only person that had been there for him.

They watched Jace say goodbye to his dad with a hug and take his luggage as he started to walk towards them. His face lit up and couldn't stop grinning. To him, this school truly felt like home; in there, he was truly happy.

He put his bags down and hugged Izzy, still smiling. After, he gave Alec a big pat on the back, and proceeded to ask them how their summer had been. Soon, Sebastian, Aline and Simon joined them, and he did the same he did with Alec and Izzy. After two months of being separated, the gang was finally together again.

"Have you seen any new faces yet?" asked Sebastian. After all, he liked to play around with girls, and he needed new victims, as Izzy liked to call them.

"Some. A lot of young kids, and a couple our age more or less" answered Izzy.

All of them were 16, and it was rare to see someone of their age accepted in the school. Most of them joined the Institute when they were 6 or 7, and had grown seeing hardly any new faces. Alec and Izzy had been the firsts of the group to join, when they were six. Sebastian and Aline came when they were seven. Jace was eight when he was sent to the school, and Simon had been the last addition to the group when they were ten. They were a weird group, but they cared for each other dearly, even if Jace had been a bit difficult to get along with in the beginning.

"We would like to remind you that class attendance is obligatory. Skipping unjustified classes will suppose detention. We would also like to remind you that wandering outside the school's grounds will suppose…"

"Two weeks of detention!" the group sang. Every single year they said the same. They'd welcome the students and then proceed to read the school's rules and punishments.

"Come on guys, let's bring our stuff to our dorms!" said Jace.

And together they left behind the patio and the Institute's fenced grounds.

Clary had already opened her bags and started to place her things. After a small talk with the Principal, Ms Penhallow, she was given her timetable and a small map of the school, and was told where she was going to be staying.

Her room, 17, was spacious and had plenty of light coming through two windows that were currently open, allowing her to smell the characteristic scent of old mixed with the scent of pine and earth. There were three beds, which were way bigger than the one she'd had back home and adjoining bedside tables. There were two wooden cupboards, big enough to fit the beds inside, and a desk with a couple of chairs.

She was bent at the waist, taking some clothes out of her suitcase when the door opened and 5 people came through it. So she was finally meeting her roommates.

Everyone looked at her as if she had grown a second head. She immediately stood up and felt a faint blush creep up her cheeks.

"Hi" Clary said, trying to break the uncomfortable silence that had settled among them.

"Hello, beautiful. My name is Sebastian" and with that, he took her hand and kissed it. Without moving his lips from her hand, he added "but you can call me anytime, darling" he kissed her hand again, and let her go.

Clary had raised an eyebrow at him "Does that ever work?"

Before he could answer, a black-haired girl did it for him "Never, but he still tries. These are my brother Alec, Aline, my boyfriend Simon, and Jace" she said, while pointing to each of them "and I'm Isabelle, but I go by Izzy. Call me Isabelle and you're dead" she warned the redhead. "And, you are?"

"Clary. Fairchild. Clary Fairchild" she stuttered.

"Alright, Aline and I are your roommates. We have some rules to tell you. One: you are not to touch any of our things. Two: you are not to bring any boy in here unless you tell us. We'll tell you the rest later. Now, out"

"What?" she was finding it hard to understand what she had said. Was she being kicked out of her own room? Who was this Isabelle?

"I said out. Move it!"

"But I haven't finished unpacking…" Clary said lamely.

"Don't worry, you'll finish later."

The redhead huffed and moved to the door, which was being blocked by a blonde guy, Jace according to Izzy. She tried to move past him, but he wouldn't bulge. She looked at him, questioningly. He just smirked and leaned a bit towards her.

"Make me"

Without him expecting it, she slapped him, hard. She was out of the door and had already slammed it shut when she heard someone laugh and could hear their voices.

"Feisty" had said Sebastian

"Finally someone that doesn't give in to your charms, Goldie!" a feminine voice laughed, which Clary assumed to be Aline's.

She was still replaying the scene on her mind. How could she let Isabelle kick her out? She blamed it on all the stress she had endured in those last three months. She was walking down the corridor when she bumped into someone.

She looked up to apologize when she was met by vaguely familiar eyes.

"Um. Sorry" she told the stranger while trying to figure out why she had the sensation of knowing him.

"No worries, lady" he smiled at her.

He was about to turn around when she spoke again.

"Do I know you?"

"No, I don't think so" he laughed.

"Oh, you seemed familiar"

"After all, I only spend time with books" at her questioning eyes, he explained "I'm in charge of the library. I guess that's the only thing the Clave sees me capable of doing, being a werewolf and all" he shrugged.

"Well, in that case, I think I'll see you around often. I actually enjoy libraries" offering him her hand, she introduced herself. "I'm Clary"

"Nice to meet you, Clary. I'm Luke" he took her hand and shook it. "Well, I'd better leave. If there's something you need, you know where to find me"

She smiled at him, and once he was out of sight, she couldn't help but feel uneasy. He'd said that they didn't know each other, but there was something on those eyes and the way he had talked at her that said otherwise. What did she know him from? Why had he lied?