It was August. The start of the new school year. An influx of students would be coming in, all attending Luna Nova academy, the school for witches. The underclass girls chattered excitedly, sitting in a large auditorium. In the front, a girl stood. She had blonde hair and blue eyes, and she had a studious, series demeanor.
"Welcome to Luna Nova Academy," the girl greeted, the room growing quiet as the attention shifted to her. Her stature was perfect and straight, her face serious, and her ice blue eyes piercing the audience. "All you have the potential to become excellent witches, but you have to put the effort into it first."
Akko sat in her dorm, Lotte and Sucy with her. They were dressed in white t-shirts and sweatpants. Lotte was typing on her laptop, looking at Akko out of the corner of her eyes. Sucy was lying in her bed, reading a book on ancient witchcraft. Akko was sitting on her bed. She grinned and clasped her hands together. "I can't wait to meet the new girls! I wonder if I'll make any new friends?"
Lotte blushed and looked at the ground, crossing her legs. She looked nervously, her eyes avoiding both of their gazes. "I hope they're nice..." She murmured.
A suspicious smile crept across Sucy's face, and she set the book down, looking over at Akko. The Japanese girl stared back at her, her eyebrows furrowed. "I can't wait to try my potions on them," Sucy laughed. Akko gave her a concerned look.
"Sucy, you truly are the source of all evil in this world," Akko frowned. Sucy shrugged and snickered, lifting her book back up and reading it, her eyes darting between each line.
There was a knock on the door. Akko jumped up enthusiastically and swung open the door. There stood Amanda, her piercing green eyes meeting Akko's. Akko blushed a bit.
"Hey Akko," Amanda said, stepping inside. Jasminka and Constanze followed close behind. Jasminka was eating as usual, a bag of multicolored candy in her hand, and Costanze's little robot was perched on her shoulder. She called it Erich.
Amanda sat down on Akko's bed, leaning against the wall. She stretched her legs out, ruffling her hair and closing her eyes. "You guys excited about the new students? I heard they're coming from all over the world. Looks like witches are becoming more popular."
Akko jumped up and down, spinning in a circle, about to burst with excitement. "I wonder if any of them know about Shiny Chariot?" She turned and admired the poster on her wall. It red "Shiny Chariot's Magical Festa" and featured Shiny Chariot sitting on a broom with an arm extended. Akko exhaled happily and stared at it.
Amanda sighed, standing up and putting her hand on her hip, gazing at Akko sympathetically. "Again with the Shiny Chariot stuff..." She muttered, but Akko was too excited to care.
"Ohh! I'm so excited I can hardly wait!" Akko squealed. Amanda laughed.
"Shall we go meet them then?" Amanda turned and opened the door, holding it open for her friends. Akko was the first one out, whipping past Amanda so fast it tousled her shirt. The others laughed and they scurried out, heading down the hallway.
"I wonder what they're like?" Akko bubbled, hopping up and down. She turned to face her friends, walking backwards. "I wonder what magic they all specialize in?"
"You sure are excited, Akko," Lotte admired, giggling. Akko nodded vigorously. Jasminka shoved more of the sweet candy in her mouth.
"I'll give them some of my candy, it's happy flavor," she mused, crumbs dribbling down her face and onto the floor.
"I'm curious to see what they're like as well," Sucy muttered. She looked at Constanze, who reciprocated the gaze. She nodded slightly. She was never a girl of words, but Erich squeaked and gave Sucy a thumbs up. Sucy chuckled, baring her sharp teeth at the robot.
They quickly sped around the corner, and ran straight into the blonde girl at the auditorium- Diana. She was taller than all of them, being older. She was dressed more professionally, in a button up shirt and a skirt. She had her hands on her hips and she glared down at them.
"What are you six up to?" Diana questioned, a stern look on her face. Akko stood up straight, but couldn't keep her body shaking from excitement.
"We're going to meet the new students!" She answered. Diana furrowed her eyebrows questioningly, tilting her head to the side.
"Don't start talking about Shiny Chariot to them," Diana instructed, "you'll make a fool out of yourself."
Akko leaned forward, letting her arms droop. "Diana, you're no fun," she pouted, jutting her bottom lip out. Diana rolled her eyes.
"Well, if you want to so badly, hurry up, they're going to their dorms in a few minutes," Diana told them, then walked past them to her own dorm. Her dorm mates, Hanna and Barbara followed behind her, laughing at Akko.
"Shiny Chariot, I can't believe you're into that fraud," Hanna sneered. Barbara threw her head back in laughter and they walked inside the dorm.
Akko crossed her arms angrily. "The nerve of them!" She hissed. Then she relaxed, thinking for a moment. "Well, maybe the others will like Shiny Chariot like I do." A smile spread across her face and Akko took off past her, her legs flying, racing to the auditorium, where the new girls were gathering. Her friends ran after her, trying to keep up with her.
Ethelinda and Ursula stood at the top of the tower. The sky was gloomy, and it looked as if a storm was heading toward them. Ethelinda, the principal, closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
"Ursula," she started, her voice somber. She held her wand in her hand, her expression grave. "Do you see the Sorcerer's Stone?" Ursula nodded slowly. "Someone is absorbing its power and using it for evil."
Instead of its usual bright blue color, the Sorcerer's Stone was a lapis blue, darker than originally. The light rays swaying around it were a dark gray color. The air around it was heavier, weighing on them like a lid.
"W-who could it be?" Ursula asked nervously. Ethelinda turned to Ursula.
"I don't know," she responded. She swiveled her head to look at the darkened stone. "But whoever it is, if they aren't stopped, the effects could be devastating."
"What do you think we should do?" Ursula asked, wringing her hands in anxiety. The way Ethelinda sounded, she knew whoever was using it would hurt not only witches, but the civilians as well.
"We must train the girls," Ethelinda told her. "Excel their lessons. Teach them more advanced skills. Whoever this person is, they are powerful enough to absorb magic from the Sorcerer's Stone." She walked to the edge of the tower, putting her broom between her legs. "We will start their training tomorrow. I will send the message out to the rest of the teachers. Be prepared, the culprit is most likely on their way to get the Sorcerer's Stone." With that, she took off, flying toward her office. Ursula took a deep breath, nodding her head.
"I will, Ethelinda," she whispered to herself, returning her gaze to the Sorcerer's Stone.
It was a shade darker.