Disclaimer: I do not own the Mortal Instruments series. Everything recognisable belongs to Cassandra Clare.

So sorry for the long wait! People do not forget to save your documents when you are done writing, it took me forever to dig this damn chapter up from the deepest, darkest corners of my computer. So I really hope you like it.


As they landed on the grounds of the Shadowhunter Academy, Clary noticed how different everything was. The large meadows of green grass that surrounded the building that Clary guessed had to be the Academy. She could see the City of Glass in the faint distance, gleams of lights shining from the towers that protected the city. It was, if she had to be honest, a breathtaking sight. The Academy was at least three times the size of the Institute of New York, not that she had really expected anything less. Jace had told her the Academy served as home for over two hundred kids between the age of twelve and seventeen during the school year, and she noticed how there were kids walking together in groups. They were chatting comfortably with each other, sitting in the fresh-cut grass and letting the sun hit their faces. Some were even practising their fighting skills; at least Clary hoped they were practising.

The others started moving forward, leaving Clary a few feet behind. She had to take it all in, the surroundings, the noises, even the people. Clary had read about the school, but never in her sixteen years as a Shadowhunter had she thought she would ever get a chance to see it in action. She smiled to herself, even as much as Clary hated the thought of going to the school, she could not help letting the beauty of it all sink in.

A pain, like small stings, hit Clary as she realised something. These people had probably all been affected by the war; they had lost people they loved. How could she just invade their homes like this, first she ruined their lives by causing a demon attack on Alicante, and now she would force them to see her every day. In that moment, looking at the school, the students, at Jace, Iwan, and the Lightwoods, Clary could not think of anything worse than to attend this school. She wanted to take her stele and paint a portal, leave it all behind her.

Jace turned around, meeting Clary's emerald eyes. He must have read her mind, because he stopped too. "You guys go ahead, we'll meet you there." He told the others, letting Isabelle, Max and Iwan disappear towards the great building.

"You okay?" He asked, taking her hand in his.

"Yeah, why shouldn't I be?" Clary asked a bit too harsh.

"I don't know, just the fact that you have dreaded this moment for the last two months." He replied, unaffected by her sudden change of attitude.

Clary pressed her lips together before answering, "It just… it seems very wrong, I don't fit in here, Jace. Look around, some of these people probably lost a parent, or worse, two, because of me. Because of what I did. It's hard enough to look at Isabelle and Alec, seeing their pain, knowing that if I hadn't been here, Robert would still be here!" The panic in Clary's voice escalated with each word she breathed, and the expression on Jace's face changed.

"Clary," Jace sent her one of the most genuine smiles she had ever seen, "I've said this before, and I'll say it again and again until you can finally let yourself believe it, nothing that happened that day was your fault. You saved everyone, Clary." He held her gaze as he spoke. Both Shadowhunters turned around as a voice spoke up behind them.

"Hey, Herondale!" A boy with dark curly locks smiled a bright smile their way as he came towards them, "Who on earth would think you would ever show your face here again?" he laughed, hitting Jace in the shoulder as he spoke.

"Not me, that's for sure." Jace answered, sending his nameless friend a signature smirk.

"Everyone were talking about it, or should I say gossiping. No one knew for sure, but hey, I'm glad you're back," he looked at Clary for a few seconds before his gaze landed on Jace again, "It's been quite boring around here without our infamous troublemaker to keep things interesting."

"Great to know I've been missed, Micah." Jace replied, his voice tense this time. This made Clary cast him a look, her green eyes trying to find his, but he was looking in another direction.

"I think we," Jace nodded towards Clary, "should check in, Izzy and the others are waiting for us inside." He smiled short, "It was great to see you, Micah." Clary got the feeling it was actually not that great to see this Micah.

Jace started to walk away, Clary following at his side. "What was that all about?" Clary asked.

"All what?" Jace replied, sending her a confused look.

"The whole, 'Infamous troublemaker', 'great to see you too, Micah,' thing." Clary changed her voice, trying to make it sound like Jace. The blond boy cracked a smile, "First of all, I don't sound like that at all, and second, nothing is up with that." Jace smirked in his normal, half-hearted way.

"If you say so, Herondale." Clary answered annoyed, causing Jace to send her a narrowed look in return.

Clary opened the door to the Academy, rolling her eyes at the sight that hit her. The whole place was very Institute-like on the inside. There was a massive hall with doors on either side; the doors had markings on them. Isabelle and the others were nowhere to see, not that Clary had much time to think about that. A woman's voice rang out behind them, "Mr. Herondale, Miss Morgenstern, how nice of you to finally join us."

Clary turned around to find the source of the voice. It belonged to a tall woman, she had pulled her hair into a tight bun and a delicate smile covered her lips. The woman held out a hand for Clary to shake. "My name is Lily Branwell, the dean of the academy."

Clary made no attempts of smiling back at her, she only replied with a short nod. Dean Branwell, if annoyed by Clary's attitude, hid it well. The woman kept her smile warm on her lips, "I am sure this is a very new experience for you Miss Morgenstern, but I assure you that we are all delighted to have you here at our academy." She explained, her voice keeping the same welcoming tone.

"Yeah, I am incredibly delighted to be here as well." Clary replied, a hint of a laugh escaped Clary's lips, and she could see Jace cringe at the sarcastic tone in her voice.

"Okay." Dean Branwell clapped her hands together, "Why don't I show you to your room Clarissa, the sooner you can get ready, the better. We are expecting you to join your regular classes after lunch." The dean turned towards Jace, "Mr. Herondale I assume you already know where you are supposed to go, third floor-" the woman was cut off by Jace's self-satisfied smile, "down the corridor, fifth door to the right. I know, Lils."

The blond woman sent Jace a disapproving look, "Mr. Herondale, don't make me send you to detention on your first day back."

Jace chuckled, "Of course, Dean Branwell," he answered, a smirk on his lips. He sent Clary a more calming smile, as if he was mentally telling her 'you can do this', before he left in the exact direction he had explained earlier. The whole scene surprised Clary; it was very out of character behaviour for the Jace she knew. On the other hand, when she got to think about it, it might have been very in character behaviour for the Jace she knew when they were still on surname terms.

"Now, Miss Morgenstern, are you ready?" Dean Branwell had her big smile back on her lips.

"Sure." Clary nodded, picking up her bags with great effort.

She tried to memorize the route she was walking through, but the whole academy looked the same. Each door the same grey-wooden colour, each sconce placed at the exact same place and there were nothing significantly different from any other area of the building.

"Here we are." The dean told her, pointing at a door with the number '428' in small metal numbers. She could remember that, fourth floor, room twenty-eight.

Clary opened the door with a careful manner, taking in the sight of the room.

"Now, if you would find yourself in need of anything, you can find me in my office. Don't be afraid to ask me for help." Branwell's calm voice explained to her.

"Thank you, but I don't think that will be necessary." Clary replied disinterested, she already knew she would not need anything. Lily Branwell left, leaving Clary alone in the small bedroom.

When Clary turned around, she noticed there were two beds inside the room. "No." Clary mumbled. The room was already a little messy, clothes lay tossed over the end of the bed frame. Mundane clothing. Clary sighed, she did not sign up for this.

Clary dropped her bags on the floor next to the clean bed. She could hear the shower running, which only confirmed her fears. She contemplated going straight to Dean Branwell, demanding a change. She really had never signed up for this. Not the school and definitely not a roommate.

"Oh my God." A voice called from the other side of the room. Clary looked up, finding herself staring at an almost naked girl. Her new roommate must not have known she would be here, because she had stepped out of the bathroom wearing only a towel.

"Oh my God!" Clary replied shocked.

"I cannot believe nobody told me you were coming today, I would have cleaned up a bit and organised my things. I am so sorry about the mess." The girl spoke fast.

"No, it's fine. I'm not really staying here." Clary answered.

"What? No you have to!" The girl told her surprised, "I am not going a whole semester without a roommate, that's just unfair."

"That's really not my problem." Clary rolled her eyes at the girl, "Should you not, you know, get dressed?" Clary asked in an awkward voice, seeing as the girl just stood there.

"Oh, yeah, of course." She answered, getting her clothes, and running towards the bathroom.

Clary sat down on the bed, exhaling irritated. She was not staying here.

After a few minutes, the girl entered the room again. "Okay, so this might be a bit more appropriate." She smiled happy, pointing at her blue jeans and a floral-printed top.

"You think?" Clary mumbled sarcastic.

"I'm so happy you are here, I mean, it's been so boring living here alone for the past few months. Oh, and my name is Rhiannon, by the way, Rhiannon Thompson," Rhiannon explained, speaking so fast, Clary could not believe she had the time to breathe.

"Clary." Clary introduced herself short.

"I know. I mean, everyone knows, you are kind of a hero. Saving the whole race of the Nephilim and everything." Rhiannon kept chatting on.

Clary raised an eyebrow, "No, I'm not." She replied angry, "I didn't save anyone."

"Of course you did, I wouldn't be surprised if you are included in the next edition of the 'A Shadowhunter's history through the millennium'," Rhiannon smiled.

"Do you mean The Shadowhunter's Codex?" Clary asked annoyed.

"Yeah, I know what it's called, I have a copy. It was just an expression."

"An expression?" Clary repeated sarcastic.

"Yeah, like 'Kill two birds with one stone' or 'Jump on the bandwagon'." Rhiannon explained, leaving Clary more confused than annoyed, "I really don't think that's the right-, or you know what, never mind. I don't even know what a bandwagon is, you might be right." Clary sighed, pulling off her shoes.

"Oh, it's just this mundane wagon which carries, like a, a band in a parade." The blond girl tried to explain, suddenly blushing, "And of course, you don't really care." Rhiannon added when she saw Clary's disinterested look.

Clary realised something she had not noticed before, "You're a mundane?" Clary asked the red-faced girl.

"I prefer Shadowhunter-to-be, but, based on my lack of runes, yeah." Rhiannon answered.

Surprised, Clary asked, "You're an Ascender?"

"Well, obviously." Rhiannon laughed.

"I got to go." Cary muttered. She had no idea the Clave was still doing the whole Ascension process. It was dangerous, people died. They were already enough Nephilim. Why would they need to risk the lives of young mundanes?

"No, please!" Rhiannon called out, "I really, really need a roommate."

"Rhiannon, what happened to your former roommate?" Clary asked, afraid she already knew the answer.

Rhiannon seemed startled by Clary's question. "Ehm," she brushed her fingers through her damp, blond hair. "Alli, she, she died." The girl's voice changed, her forever-happy tone died, "It was a few months ago. In the war."

Clary's stomach tightened into a knot, had she heard the girl right? She felt like all air was sucked out of her lungs, she was unable to breathe another word.

"I really need to speak with Branwell." Clary managed to tell the girl staring at her, but before Rhiannon could retaliate, Clary disappeared through the door, into the hall outside.

It was easier to find Dean Branwell's office than Clary had imagined, but it might have been her anger taking her there, rather than her sense of direction.

"What the hell do you think you are doing?" Clary yelled as she opened the door to the dean's office.

"Miss Morgenstern." Branwell replied calm, "I have to say, that was sooner than I had imagined."

"Yeah, well, when you expect me to take a dead girl's bed, I find that rather problematic." Clary spat at her, "Did you really think I'd be fine with this? A mundane roommate, who used to have a roommate that I basically killed," Clary closed the door behind her, her voice escalating with each word that left her lips.

"Clarissa," the dean spoke in a calm tone, her smile never leaving her face, "You did not kill Allison Reed. A demon did."

"I don't care what you think, I never agreed to this. I'm going home, and I dare you to try and stop me." Clary's acerbic tone made the dean cringe.

"Clarissa, it was never my intention to hurt you, I did not think it would be a problem." Lily Branwell replied.

"You didn't hurt me, I just find your way of thinking to be.. I don't know, fucked up, to be honest."

"Excuse me?" Branwell raised an eyebrow; her smile had finally faded from her lips, making the dean look older and more serious.

"No, you're not excused." Clary snapped back sarcastic. She might have spoken in the heat of the moment, but she did not regret it.

"Miss Morgenstern, this really is no way to speaking, not to me and not to anyone else." Branwell picked up a pen, "Now, I suggest you go back to your room, and head to your first class. If you do so, I will make sure we can all forget about this little misunderstanding, won't you agree?" Branwell continued, using the 'we' when speaking only about herself. Clary remembered her father used to do that form time to time.

Clary let out a harsh laughter, "I'm not done!" she looked at the dean, "Look, I promise you, I was really going to try and make the best out of this horrible situation, but that's over. You can't expect me to be fine with this, and if you do-" Clary looked up at the dean, leaning on the table before her, "well, why don't we say, I'm definitely going to make this semester, interesting." Clary threatened, but the dean never broke eye contact with her.

"If you are done, Miss Morgenstern, you can go." Clary noticed anger covering the usually calm voice of the woman.

"Whatever." Clary muttered fiery before she turned around, slamming the door closed when she left the room.

xxxx

"You can't just go around threatening everyone who doesn't agree with you, Clary!" Isabelle's voice was a whisper, but it still sounded like an annoyed whine.

"Of course I can," Clary argued, "She did it on purpose, they are probably testing me. Seeing how well I'll adapt into the normal Shadowhunter society, but you know what? Screw them."

"You're just being paranoid, the Clave trusts you." Isabelle mumbled down in the desk, keeping her mouth hidden from the Rune-teacher. Clary's first period after lunch was 'Runes of the Grey Book'. Not that Clary really needed that class, but she was obligated to attend anyway.

"Trust me? Now, Isabelle, that might be the funniest thing I've heard today, and I've heard a lot of great jokes this morning." Clary answered, but sarcasm rolled over her voice.

"Ha-ha, funny." Isabelle whispered back, "but it's not like Rhiannon is that bad either, she's one of the nicest people I know." Isabelle told her, smiling slightly, "Maybe a little overenthusiastic, but a great personality."

"The mundane is not the problem, Izzy; it's the room, the person I replaced." Clary explained again.

"Okay, I'm sorry Clary, it sucks, but can't you at least try and make the best of it?" Isabelle asked.

"No." Clary muttered, her voice taking an angry tone again.

"Miss Lightwood, Miss Morgenstern, do you think you are above this class?" Mr. Blackthorn asked strictly.

Isabelle clutched Clary's overarm hard, "NO. No, Mr. B, we do not." She answered for the both of them, "Sorry."

"I wasn't going to say anything." Clary mumbled low, making Isabelle shake her head, a small smirk playing on her lips. "I'm still going to fight her though." Clary finished the conversation, turning back to her blank paper.


So that's it for this chapter. Hope you enjoyed it. And let me know if there is anything you would like to see happening in this story, I'd love to hear your great ideas!