A/N: I know the whole High School thing is always overdone (no matter the fandom), but I think you'll enjoy my twist on it. It'll be a little less World War III, and a lot more fairy tale (get it?). Obviously I got some inspiration from several sources, and I don't know if any of my ideas would ever work in real life, but, hey, this is a magical world we're talking about. Anything is possible. I will start with T-Rating, but don't count on it lasting.
While you're here, these will be the firm and unyielding pairings: Gray/Erza, Natsu/Lucy. There will be other common pairings, such as Elfman/Evergreen and Levy/Gajeel, but apart from the two main pairings, anything is up for discussion. Except those involving Wendy. She has something special coming up.
As always, thank you for reading. Please review, and above all, enjoy!
-Rachel Noelle
oOoOo—RN—oOoOo
"Um, excuse me, Miss?" a young blue-haired girl tugged at the sleeve of an older girl with scarlet hair. The scarlet haired girl turned from the market stall to face her.
"Oh, hello," she smiled warmly. The younger girl smiled back. "Do you need some help?"
The blue haired girl nodded. "Yes, please. I'm trying to find a school. I was told today was move-in day, and I need to finish my registration. It's Fairy Tail Academy. It's supposed to be in the middle of Magnolia, but I'm afraid I got myself quite turned around."
The scarlet haired girl smiled wider. Of course she should have guessed at that. She was the only person in the market wearing a uniform, after all, which made her the logical choice to ask for assistance. "Of course. As a matter of fact, I'm the head R.A. for the girls' dorms. Erza Scarlet," Erza stuck out her hand.
"Wendy Marvell," the younger girl grasped Erza's hand firmly and shook it. "This is my first year, of course, and I am very excited to meet you."
"Welcome to Fairy Tail," Erza smiled again.
She led Wendy through the streets of Magnolia, pointing out landmarks and points of interest as they strolled. "I'm sure you know by now that Fairy Tail Academy is a seven-year school program, and you can enter at any age over the age of eleven. There is a junior academy, though it's mostly members' children who attend. It is essentially a primary school. Those students do get a certain amount of points of preference if they apply, but they aren't guaranteed entrance to the upper academy. After the school program you can opt to become a full member of the Fairy Tail Guild. Many members spend their time working for the school, and they also have access to a community job board. We in the Upper Academy have a job board as well, though the jobs normally hosted are simpler and much less dangerous. Those of us, like myself, who have attained the special 'S-Class' rank can select from the Guild's job board, depending on the individual job."
"I see," Wendy said, marveling at the details. "I didn't know all of that. When I originally applied, I was just looking for a way to get out of Cait Shelter."
"Cait Shelter?" Erza asked, now very curious about the younger girl's past at the mention of the orphanage. One of the older guild members had mentioned it before in one of his classes, apparently having grown up there himself.
Wendy flushed. "Um… " she laughed nervously.
"I'm so sorry!" Erza stammered out an apology, "I didn't mean to embarrass you. One of the teachers in the Upper Academy grew up there, and… I'm sorry to cause you discomfort." She bowed slightly.
"Oh, no! It's okay," Wendy assured her. They walked on in awkward silence for a few moments before Wendy asked, "What is 'S-Class'?"
Happy for the distraction from their awkward walk to the dormitories, Erza explained, "Every year the Headmaster holds a competition for the students in the Upper Academy in years five and up. The practicing mage who wins is promoted to S-Class, and allowed to select from some of the jobs posted on the guild community board, as well as the one for the students. There are still limitations as to which you can choose, mostly based on skill and relative difficulty of the job. And, if your team has an S-Class mage in it, you can also select from some of the guild job board quests. Your team just has to have permission from the headmaster first."
"I see. And do you have a team?" Wendy asked, curious.
They were drawing upon the school now and Erza could spot one of her fellow teammates. "I do – Natsu, Lucy, and Gray," she smiled happily, waving to a blonde girl handing out fliers and giving information to some other students moving their belongings. The two girls drew nearer, and Erza introduced Wendy to her friend. "Wendy, this is Lucy Valentine. Lucy, Wendy Marvell. Wendy is a new student this year."
"Hi Wendy!" Lucy smiled brightly and gave the smaller girl a tight hug. "I'm a third year student here. It's a pleasure to meet you!"
"Hello, Lucy. I'm very excited to be here. Erza has been going over some details I didn't know about yet. And she said you were on the same team as her."
"Right," Lucy agreed, giving a firm nod. "We partnered up with Gray and Natsu not long after I started, and I think we've been inseparable ever since."
Erza and Lucy shared a laugh, causing Wendy to giggle along with them. "Well, Lucy, I need to help Wendy get her registration completed. Thanks for your help with the booth."
"No problem," Lucy smiled again. She waved the other two girls off, and they made their way to the Academy offices.
The main building of the academy was incredibly large and magnificently beautiful. Wendy stared at the stained glass windows and the turrets and the cathedral ceilings. "Wow," she gasped, "This is even more amazing than I imagined."
"Well, we do pride ourselves on being amazing," Erza quipped. They opened the large front doors and stepped into a foyer, a reception desk nearby. "Evergreen, are you here?" the scarlet haired mage called out.
A brunette woman in a green fairy dress stepped through a door, her hair looking disheveled. "I'm here," she sighed in mild annoyance. "What can I help you with, Titania?"
"Ever, I've asked you a million times to just call me Erza," Erza replied, her irritation belied by her amusement. "Can you get Headmaster Makarov for me? Wendy here needs to finish up her registration, then I can help her get settled in."
"Elfman, honey?" Evergreen called over her shoulder. A tall, muscular man walked through the same door Evergreen had materialized from before.
"Yeah? What do you need?" he asked, his hair also disheveled and neck covered with light pink marks. Wendy could not help staring in amusement.
"Can you go and find the Headmaster?" she asked sweetly. Erza rolled her eyes. Evergreen knew exactly how to manipulate the young man.
"Of course. Because I'm a man!" Elfman practically yelled, causing Wendy to jump. Erza placed a hand on the girl's shoulder to help calm her. Elfman took off in what seemed a random direction, leaving the space significantly more serene.
"Is he always that way?" Wendy asked.
"Unfortunately," Evergreen replied, taking a manila folder from a filing cabinet.
Erza scoffed. "As if you don't enjoy it. I saw what you did to his neck," she grinned. Evergreen blushed.
Erza and Evergreen engaged Wendy in small talk while completing paperwork in her file, asking about her plans for the upcoming school year. Evergreen had just mentioned the mentorship program when the headmaster appeared.
"Ah, Wendy Marvell. I've been expecting you. What a pretty little thing you are, too!" he said gleefully. Erza shot him a glare and he recomposed himself. "Welcome to Fairy Tail Academy. I'm Headmaster Makarov, but you can call me Headmaster. Or Master. Or Old Geezer. Or whatever makes you happy. You are coming in as a Year One student, and I am excited to have you here. You will make the third Dragon Slayer at this school right now. Steer clear of the other two, though," Makarov warned sagely, "unless you enjoy having everything around you smashed to bits." He laughed maniacally for a moment. "Ah, now, where were we?"
"You were about to tell me to give her the grand tour, and affix her Fairy Tail mark," Erza supplied.
"Ah, of course!" Makarov pulled what looked like a stamp and ink pad from his pockets. "What color, and where do you want it?" he asked Wendy.
Wendy's eyes opened in surprise. "I don't know," she said nervously.
"How about your shoulder? And in a pretty sky blue?" Erza suggested.
"That sounds good!" Wendy agreed.
Moments later Wendy and Erza were again wandering, Erza explaining more about how the classes and the school system worked.
"Classes are held in three week sets. We have a lot of mages coming and going from the school at any given time, so it makes sense to do it this way. You have to take 1200 hours of instruction each year. If you have time, you can take more classes, but it typically never turns out that way. But, if you take a job that has you missing week two of a class, you can pick it up on the next round, unless it's a different term. You have three chances each term to complete a class. Otherwise you have to wait until the next year. Each class varies in the amount of hours you receive credit for, and it is probably a wise idea to get as many classes out of the way as you can early on. That way you have more time to take jobs and enjoy yourself before the next term.
"We get a two week break in the middle of summer, and a two week break in winter. You don't ever have to move from the dorms, unless you graduate and students coming to the school need a place to stay; the current students have priority, though I've never seen it happen. We have students here who both practice and study magic. Not everyone is capable of the practice, but everyone is welcome to study it. Many of the best magical inventions and spells have been created by those who simply study. Those students, however, are not capable of becoming full-fledged members of the guild after graduation, or of taking jobs. The reason for that is simple," Erza said, noticing Wendy's confused and downcast look, "the jobs posted are of a magical nature, and the guild is designed for mages only. Of course non-mages are welcome to visit."
"I see. This is incredibly complicated," Wendy said. It was a lot of information to take in at once, and she looked very overwhelmed. Erza ruffled her hair affectionately.
"It will slowly start to make sense. Now, do you have a pet? There is a small deposit, but you can pay it out over the duration of the first two terms," Erza explained.
Wendy gasped in horror. "I lost Carla!" she cried, tears welling in her eyes.
"Now, now," Erza soothed, hugging her. "Don't get upset. I'm sure we can find her. What does she look like?"
"She's a white, talking cat. She was wearing a pretty pink dress last I saw her."
Erza just nodded. Wendy was shocked by her reaction. She expected to be deemed crazy for thinking her cat could talk and would even want to wear clothing. "I wonder if Natsu and Happy could help us? Let's finish the tour, and then we can find them, okay?" Erza asked.
Wendy sniffled a little as she dried her eyes. "Okay. She's a strong cat. I'm sure she's okay."
The two girls finished up their tour of the building, met back with Makarov for a brief moment to finalize what was left of the paperwork, then set out to find Natsu.
"Who is Natsu?" Wendy asked as the girls trekked back to the dorms.
"He's a big, goofy kid, who likes to fight with Gray and burn things. He's a Fire Dragon Slayer. Didn't Headmaster say you were a Dragon Slayer, too?" Erza returned.
Wendy nodded. "Yes. I use Sky Magic. I'm not very good at fighting, but I can heal very well."
"That's excellent news. We can always use healers." Erza smiled.
The green grass around the dormitory buildings was well manicured and looked soft enough to sleep on. Wendy had no doubt that on a lovely, warm day like this it would be hard to resist the urge to take a nap on it. She inhaled the freshly mown scent deeply, relaxing in the sun's rays.
When the two girls reached the dorms they walked past the booth where Lucy sat waving at them to another building – the boys' dorms. Erza cast a hard, scary glare at a pair of boys arguing and insulting one another, and they immediately went pale and stood side by side peacefully, as though the best of friends. Erza wondered if they would ever figure it out for themselves that they actually were best friends.
"Natsu, Gray, this is Wendy. She's just starting at Fairy Tail. But, she's lost her cat. She's white, wearing a pink dress, and can speak. Have you seen her?" Erza inquired.
"Hmm…" Natsu scratched looked up, scratching his chin. "Hey, Ice Princess, didn't Happy say he was going to go talk to a white cat earlier?"
"Quit calling me that, Flame Brain," Gray hissed. He turned back to the girls and extended a hand. "Gray Fullbuster. Pleasure."
Wendy took his hand and gave a sort of curtsy. "Wendy Marvell. It's nice to meet you, Ice Princess Gray."
Gray laughed.
"Hey! How come when I call you that you get mad, but she calls you that and you laugh?" Natsu whined, hurt.
"Because she's cute. And she's looking for her cat. Which is probably with yours. I think he was headed to the girls' dorms," Gray explained, avoiding Natsu's punches. "Would you quit that already?" he yelled at Natsu.
"No way, Popsicle!"
"Listen, Flame Breath! Do you wanna get the snot beat out of that idiot head of yours?"
The bickering continued and Erza and Wendy took their leave, Erza grumbling over property damage and infirmary bills.
Back at the information booth Lucy was manning, a white cat jumped up onto the table and sat upright. Lucy smiled broadly at the cute animal and reached out to scratch behind her ears. The cat shirked away from the contact, causing Lucy to frown. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to frighten you. Are you okay?"
The cat blinked her eyes as though she was trying not to cry. "Not really. I've lost my companion. She's a young girl with blue hair and brown eyes, and her name is Wendy. Have you seen her?" the cat replied, her voice sounding panicked.
"Wendy Marvell? I just saw her pass by with our R.A., Erza, a few minutes ago. I'm sure they'll be back soon," Lucy assured the cat. "What's your name?"
"I'm Carla," the animal replied, some relief finally showing on her face. "I'm glad she's alright. We got separated in the market when she went to look for someone to help us find our way here. Luckily I ran into the tomcat."
"Oh, you met Happy? He's sweet enough, kind of annoying, though. And sometimes I think he really hates me," Lucy grumbled. What she meant as an affectionate comment did not come out as one.
Carla chortled. "That sounds like the blue tomcat I met earlier."
Wendy and Erza came up the path. Surprised and happy to see Carla, Wendy ran up to the white cat and grabbed her up in a hug, excited to see her again. "Oh, Carla! I'm so glad you're okay. I was afraid you were lost and I'd never find you again," Wendy wailed.
"I'm perfectly fine, Wendy. You needn't worry so much about me. It is I who has to worry about you. After all, it is my job to see to your safety," Carla chastised lightly, her relieved tone making it obvious that she was not unhappy with the girl.
"Wendy," Lucy said brightly, "Now that Carla is here with you, why don't we get you moved in?" Lucy scanned a sheet of paper quickly. "Looks like you've been assigned to room 303, right next to Erza."
Erza smiled fondly. She had a feeling this would be the best year yet.