Chapter Summary: An eventful first day at Iris Academy. Meeting new people, and a hint of trouble… Iris Academy awaits!

Author's Notes: This is my first Magical Diary FanFiction. I am in the process of writing a Dragon Age: Inquisition / Skyrim crossover, as well as stories for a couple Anime's. Most notably Ghost Hunt and Ouran Highschool Host Club. In this fic I move quite a bit away from the main game's story, in that my Heroine is a Snake instead of a Horse. Her roommates were never once mentioned in the actual game. So I guess you may want to consider this an Alternate Reality story for Magical Diary.

Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to Magical Diary, though I did buy the game. I am writing for fun, and I do not get paid for the time I spend writing for enjoyment. This will be the only disclaimer as it applies to all chapters of this story, and with luck it will cover the events in the game and move beyond the events in Magical Diary.

Chapter 1: The First Day

Her taxi pulled up in front of Iris Academy, she watched out the window as other young Witches and Wizards passed the vehicle that had brought her to this magical place. Her own personal miracle. I can't believe I made it here, she thought, with a rather sad smile gracing her pale and fragile seeming face. She had long cinnamon hair that fell in thick rings down to her waist which was narrow. Her form petite and trim. Her matching eyes were large yet distant, contained a wistfulness that could be described as melancholy, her mind obviously lost in deep thought.

The driver studied her in the rear-view mirror, he finally growled. "You getting out kid? I don't got all day!" His irreverent and harsh voice snapped her out of her musings.

"Y-yes of course. S-sorry. Here is your pay." she said in an undertone as she handed him the cash she had been given to pay for this ride. Afterward she grabbed her knapsack and exited the vehicle. She gripped her bag close to her heart knowing full well it contained all of her meager possessions. She looked upon the academy grounds with just a bit of hope lighting her eyes. I hope I made the right decision, she thought. Only time would be able to answer that question.

She was dressed in her school uniform that also marked the hall she was assigned to which was Snake Hall. Not the most glamorous hall, like Butterfly Hall; and not adventurous like Horse Hall. Snake Hall is probably the hall that I seem to fit best in according to what the administrators know about me, which is jack squat. She thought sardonically.

She took a deep breath to steady herself, holding to a count of ten before releasing it and stepping through the front gate of Iris Academy. Glancing down at her single bag of belongings she thought, I might as well be an orphan that has been passed from one relative to another, until they found an appropriate place to hide me. Though now at least I can be among people who share some of the same gifts. I still can't believe HE agreed to let me come here. I guess Iris Academy offering to pay for my transportation to the Academy worked a unique form of magic on him.

As she thought about these things and more, she failed to notice there was someone in her path, suddenly she glanced up to see the one thing that frightened her more than anything else, an adult male, dressed in the Academies uniform, but without a Hall insignia. She was unable to stop herself from bumping into him. She did the one thing she knew that usually stopped male ire. She let herself fall to the ground.

She watched in trepidation and growing fear as he turned around to regard her, his eyes narrowed as he scowled down on her. When he spoke it was with a deep rich voice bearing a strong British accent, that was as cold as an arctic winter. "What do we have here, a new Student? What is your name, girl?"

She slowly nodded, picking herself up. She bowed low to him, "M-marie C-chambers, sir." She answered quietly. "I'm sorry, sir. I meant no disrespect. I was thinking about how lucky I was to be accepted into Iris Academy and not… not paying attention to where I was walking…" her voice trailed off. Out of fear she kept her eyes resolutely on the ground, and prayed he would not punish her too severely. If this man punishes me, I hope the punishment won't be as cruel as what HE always gives me, she thought with very little hope.

Unbeknownst to her he flipped open his book and consulted the information it contained, clicking his tongue he stated, "A wildseed I see. Well Miss Chambers, I suggest you learn to be more careful in the future, that will be 10 demerits. Also, stand UP! I may require respect, but I don't require servitude!" he sighed after saying this. In a much less cold tone he continued "On your way now, Snake Hall is that way." He pointed her in the correct direction as she looked him in the eye for the first time.

"T-thank you sir. I will try to do better from now on." She promised wholeheartedly, as she turned to head in the direction he indicated. So scary! I can't tell if I made the worse enemy on campus or a possible friend, she thought as she hurried away, trying to suppress her growing anxiety. I can't have a panic attack in front of an Academy Professor! He was so cold, yet he pointed me in the direction of Snake Hall without me even asking… I wonder...

The Professor in question watched Miss Chambers hurry off to Serpent Hall, and he wondered about the naked fear in her eyes as she gazed up at him… and the way she clutched her knapsack to her chest, as if he would confiscate it. Shaking his head he made a few quick notes in his book before heading off to check over his classrooms before the first classes were held tomorrow.

Marie let the door to Snake Hall fall closed behind her, she glanced around before she planted her back to a nearby wall. She slid down the wall, taking a seat on the floor and pulling her knees to her chest and burying her face into her knapsack and wrapping her arms around her legs. Her knapsack was nestled between her legs and body. The trembling started immediately, with it she finally let her tears flow. The terrible memories flowed over her mind like water over a riverbed. She had no strength to care about the students who passed her, giving her curious glances.

Marie knew she had to regain control and move forward or her chance at a marginally better life would be lost. He would use any excuse he could to pull her from Iris Academy, so she could not give anyone reason to question her place here. I can't let the nightmares of the past dictate my actions at Iris Academy, or I will lose any hope at my miracle life. To find out I have magic and be given this chance to change my life… This is more than I ever hoped for when I was five and the world seemed to be utterly against me… She could not think beyond this moment however.

She had no concept of how much time passed, be it a minute or several hours. She wept silently, the slight shake of her shoulders the only sign anything was truly wrong. She did not hear the quiet footsteps of another student approaching her. The first sign that anyone was there, was a hand gently touching her shoulder and a quiet, "Are you alright?" in a lilting, almost serpentine voice.

Marie stiffened, then quickly sniffed back her tears and dried her eyes on her sleeve before looking up at her fellow student. She saw a girl around her age with long Indigo hair and midnight blue eyes. Her skin was a dusky faded denim blue that seemed to unite the two colors into one beautiful whole. There were small scales along the girls brows, nose and jaw, were a dusky blue somewhere between the shade of her skin and her hair. A line of larger scales ran down her throat and into her robes, these scales were a several shades lighter than her skin. Marie tried to smile, but it never reached her expressive brown eyes. "Y-yes, I'm sorry. Didn't mean to be in anyone's way." she whispered as she rose. "I'll get out of you way." she added with her eyes down on the floor.

"Oh, NO! No... You're not in the way, I assure you. I was just worried someone had said or done something to upset you. My name is S'thia Sandlethorn. I'm one quarter Naga." She smiled briefly, "I like getting that bit of info out of the way, saves a lot of questions." She winked conspiratorially at Marie.

Marie looked at S'thia smiling her rare genuine smile. Taking a deep breath she said, "My name is Marie Chambers, and I think you're beautiful." she admitted. "You're lucky, you're from a magic family. I'm just a wildseed. I accidently bumped into a Professor, I think," she admitted sounding uncertain. "He made it sound like being a wildseed meant there was something wrong with me." Her eyes once again drop to the floor and she tries not to cry.

S'thia laughed. "Black hair, big nose, English accent?" she asked. Marie just noded. S'thia grinned. "I wouldn't worry, that sounds like Professor Garbiner and he hates everybody!" She paused to study Marie a bit more before asking, "What's your room number Marie?"

Marie consulted her room assignment letter and said, "Snake Hall room 6." She looked up at S'thia. "Do you know where that is?"

S'thia clapped, "Oh goodie you're our other roommate! Treena and I have been waiting ever so long to meet our last roommate! Come on, you will love Treena, she's a half-Dryad, half-elf. They planted her tree outside our window, so she could easily access it when she needed to rest within it." S'thia grabbed Marie's hand and dragged her down the hallway to room six.

S'thia opened the door, a huge smile plastered on her face. She announced in a sing-song voice, "I found her! Our other roommate!" Pulling Marie into the room she added, "Her name is Marie Chambers, and she's a wildseed! Isn't that exciting?" Her smile never faltered and she was giggling as she finished speaking.

Marie looked at Treena, her hair was not hair at all but leaves! They were five pointed, star shaped leaves. In shades of green, red and orange. Which reminded Marie of the Autumn leaves on a large Sweetgum tree that had grown in her Grandfather's front yard. Treena's eyes matched the yellow-gold of some of the leaves the graced her head, they were very definitely elven in shape and her ears were also very pointed. Her skin was a rich brown, yet it was not bark like. All in all, Marie thought, Treena is beautiful too.

S'thia didn't seem to notice any uncomfortableness because she continued on, "Marie, I'd like you to meet Treena Sylvanis."

Marie smiled, giving Treena a small bow. "It's very nice to meet you. I hope we can become good friends." She said, "I never had any friends before," Marie admitted quietly, staring at the floor. Her cheeks rosy with her embarrassment. Compared to S'thia and Treena I feel utterly common, with my brown hair, brown eyes and pale caucasian skin, she thought in self deprecation.

Treena smiled a bit shyly herself. "I'm glad you turned out to be you. Some Witches and Wizards tend to disregard wildseed as being less worthy than magic born Witches and Wizards. However I think most wildseed are far more tolerant of the difference in individuals. I'm really looking forward to getting to know you better, Marie."

Excitement seemed to permeate the room as the three roommates finished unpacking. During this time Marie noticed the young Sweetgum tree outside their window. She couldn't help but ask, "Treena, is that Sweetgum tree your… I guess you'd call it you home?" Marie confessed, "I'm not really sure of the terminology."

Treena looked at the tree, "Yes, home is as good a word as any other for it. I must spend every other night resting in it. You see Dryads are tree spirits. My mother was a Dryad and my Father an Elf. I do have a physical body, as you can see, but I can become incorporeal when I need to commune with my tree. I feel blessed to be able to come to school here, and if things work out… I'll stay here and assist the teachers. Really Dryads tend to be a settled lot and don't really travel far from their home trees." Grinning she asked, "Would you like to go out and take a closer look at it?"

"Oh yes, that is if you don't mind… I love nature, sometimes the only friends I had were local birds and rodents. I would spend ever so much time up in an old oak tree in our backyard to be closer to the animals." Marie blurted out flushing. I really think that I was well placed. I think S'thia and Treena are going to be my very best friends here at Iris Academy! She thought in joy, her heart signing for the first time in years.

The three roommates were soon outside, to look over the Sweetgum tree. Their conversation continued unabated…

Not far away…

A handsome, male, senior stood confidently by one of the great shade trees in the central courtyard of the dormitory section of the campus. A smirk graced his lips, his eyes were trained on the three freshmen standing around the Sweetgum tree. Behind him stood a man in a black hooded robe that seemed to make him fall into the deepest of shadows.

The hooded man spoke in a whisper to the senior, "You see her, yes? The young woman with brown hair?"

"Of course I see her!" He snapped, quietly. "I have eyes, and she is beautiful." He wanted her more than any other freshman he had seen so far in the last couple of days.

"My Master offers her to you, as your prey." The low whispering voice stated. "Should she disappear before the year lets out, my Master would take that as a kindness. But…" a warning tone entered his raspy whispering voice. "Should you fail to deliver on his wish, it will be you who will feel his wrath."

The senior glanced at the hooded figure before turning back to the young woman, "Why would your Master want such a beauty to disappear, I wonder…" he paused looking at her more closely. "Her soul does look absolutely delicious." Again he looked at the hooded figure behind him. "Why give her to me, and what is her name?"

Though the man's face was in shadows cast by his hood, his preternaturally white teeth gleamed at the young man before him, "Because my Master believes you will become a powerful ally in the near future. An ally worth 'courting' early...before others realize this as well. As to her name, it is Marie Chambers. The Master wishes you happy hunting!" With that the hooded figure took one step back and disappeared into the deepest shadow cast by the shade tree.

The young man smirked again, muttering to himself. "This is going to be fun. Her soul touched by darkness, yet it remains as pure as the driven snow." He licked his lips in anticipation as his mind raced into the future, already formulating a plan of attack for such a unique individual.

Author's Notes: Thank you for taking the time to read this first chapter, all comments are welcome. I look forward to hearing what you think of this first chapter. Have a great day!