Akko Kagari and the Seven Stars

Chapter Seven: The Magic Mirror

The doors swung open at once. A tall, brunette witch dressed in the same uniform as Ursula stood there. She had a very stern face and Akko's first thought was that this was not someone to cross.

"The first years, Professor Finnelan," said Ursula.

"Thank you, Professor Ursula. I will take them from here."

She pulled the doors wide. The entrance hall was so big you could fit the whole of the Kagari's house in it. the stone walls were lit with torches of green flames, the ceiling was too high to make out, and a magnificent marble statue of a witch mounted atop of vicious-looking dragon brandishing a sword in one hand and a staff in the other.

They followed Professor Finnelan across the flagged stone floor. Akko could hear the drone of hundreds of voices from a doorway to the right – the rest of the school must already be here – but Professor Finnelan showed the first years into a small, empty chamber off the hall. They crowded in, standing rather closer together than they would usually have done, peering nervously.

"Welcome to Luna Nova Magical Academy," said Professor Finnelan formally. "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Assembly Hall, you will be sorted into your houses. The Sorting is a very important ceremony because, while you are here, your house will be something like your family within Luna Nova. You will have classes with the rest of your house, sleep in your house dormitories, and spend free time in your house common room.

"The five houses are called Corona, Lunar, Eclipse, Twilight, and Polaris. Each house has its own noble history and each has produced outstanding witches. While you are at Luna Nova, your triumphs will earn your house points, while any rule breaking will lose house points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points is awarded the house cup and the most exemplary student of the year selected by the headmistress shall be awarded the title of Moonlit Witch, a very prestigious honor that will open many opportunities for when you graduate.

"The Sorting Ceremony will take place in a few minutes in front of the rest of the school. I suggest you all smarten yourselves up as much as you can while you are waiting."

Her eyes lingered on Jasminka, who had been eating nonstop since arriving at the school, to Constanze, who chose fiddling with her gadget over listening to Finnelan, to Amanda, whose skirt was definitely way too short to be regulation. Akko nervously tried to straighten her hair.

"I shall return when we are ready for you," said Professor Finnelan. "Please wait quietly."

She left the chamber. Akko swallowed.

"How exactly do they sort us into house?" she asked Lotte.

"Some sort of test, I think. My granny didn't tell me much because she wanted it to be a surprise."

Akko's heart gave a horrible jolt. A test? In front of the whole school? But she didn't know any magic yet – what on Earth would she have to do? She hadn't expected something like this the moment they arrived. She looked around anxiously and saw that nearly everybody else looked just as terrified, too. No one was talking much. The only one who didn't look worried was Diana Cavendish, who remained just as poised and haughty as she was back on the train. Akko had never been more nervous, never, not even when she had to take a school report home saying she had somehow turned her teacher's wig purple. She kept her eyes fixed on the door. Any second now, Professor Finnelan would come back and lead her to her doom.

Then something happened that made her jump about a foot in the air – the left side wall exploded without warning.

"What the - ?"

She gasped. So did the people around her. Something flew through the hole, bouncing off the chamber walls like a fly against a window. Only when it stop for a brief moment did Akko realize that it was a long red broom with arrowhead-shaped tip and feathered end. There were two metal vices around its neck and brush with a long chain whipping around the air, causing many of the students to duck. The broom turned its head trying to look for a way out when someone shouted: "You're not getting out of here that easily!"

A woman jumped through the hole and latched on to the broom's neck. She had dark hair that ended in violet tresses with a jagged horn growing out of her forehead and a sea serpent's tail growing out from behind – she was a dragon.

A brief struggle went on where the broom tried to knock off the dragon, but the dragon summoned a jagged trident, locking the broom's body between the blades, and stabbing it into the floor to prevent it from escaping. The broom struggled against the trident, but the weapon was buried deep in the flagstone. The dragon wiped her forehead with a relieved sigh when she suddenly noticed the first years.

"Oh, new students!" said the dragon, smiling around at them like she hadn't just been in a fight with a cleaning utensil. "You're all about to be sorted, right?"

A few people nodded mutely.

"Well, I hope to see some of you in Twilight!" said the dragon. "That was my old house, you know."

"Uh, excuse me," Amanda finally spoke up. "But what's up with that broom."

"Oh, that?" said the dragon, sparing a glance at the struggling broom. "That's a rogue broom called the Shooting Star. It call fly on its own magical energy and is said to be the fastest broom in the world. Unfortunately, it possesses an extremely wild and uncontrollable behavior. I normally keep it locked up in my office, but it broke its restraints again. Looks like I need to double up – "

"Is that right?" said Amanda thoughtfully with a mischievous glint in her eyes.

"Move along, Elma," said a sharp voice. "The Sort Ceremony's about to start."

Professor Finnelan had returned. Elma the Dragon grabbed the rogue broom by the neck and pulled it back through the hole in the wall.

"Now, form a line," Professor Finnelan told the first years, "and follow me."

Feeling oddly as though her legs had turned to lead, Akko got into line behind Sucy Manbavaran, with Lotte behind her, and they walked out of the chamber, back across the hall, and through a pair of double doors into the Assembly Hall.

Akko had never even imagined such a strange and splendid place. It was lit by thousands and thousands of glowing spirits of every color of the rainbow floating over five high rows of bleachers that curved with the round wall of the Assembly Hall, where the rest of the students were sitting. Pristine woven tapestries were hung above each of the bleachers, each one with its own unique symbol and their house name woven in their respective color. At the front of the hall was a stage where the teachers were standing. Professor Finnelan led the first years into the center of the chamber, so that they formed three separate lines facing the teachers, with the students behind them. Akko could feel the thousands of eyes staring at her back, running a shiver down her spine. Mainly to avoid all the staring eyes, Akko looked upwards and watching the floating spirits swim across the ceiling. She heard Lotte whisper, "They're fairies that reside in the ancient walls of the castle. You can't normally see them, but my granny taught me a song to call and calm them."

It was hard to believe that there was a ceiling there at all, and that they weren't just staring into another plane of existence.

Akko quickly looked down again as Professor Finnelan silently dragged a large, golden ornate mirror in front of the first years. The mirror looked very old as much of the golden features had lost their luster and more there were more than a few dozen scratches on the mirror surface.

Maybe it's like the magic mirror from Snow White, Akko thought amusingly, but there was no way that was a real possibility;. However, she noticed that everyone in the Assembly Hall was now staring at the mirror, so she stared at it, too. For a few seconds, there was complete silence. Then the mirror surface turned black. Suddenly, a featureless face appeared in the mirror, its eyes and mouth hollow and empty – and the mirror began to sing:

"Oh, you may not think I'm pretty,
But don't judge on what you see,
I'll smash myself if you can find
A smarter mirror than me.
Whether through the looking-glass,
Or compact so handy and small,
I am the Luna Nova Magic Mirror,
And I will be the fairest of all.
There's nothing hidden in your head
The Magic Mirror cannot see,
So step on up and I will tell you
Where you ought to be.
You might belong to Corona,
where fortune favors the strong,
Their might, nerve, and fortitude
may be where you belong;
You might belong in Lunar,
If you've a ready mind,
Where those of wit and learning,
Will always find their kind;
Or yet in unflappable Twilight,
Where the most patient reside,
These calm cool and collected witches
Will always stand by your side;
Or perhaps in Eclipse
You'll make your real friends,
Those cunning folk use any means
To achieve their own ends;
But let us not forget Polaris
Home to the proud and free,
Their minds and hearts unbound
and brave spirits that will never flee.
So please step forward! Don't be afraid!
Your futures could not be clearer!
You're in safe hands (thought I have none)
For I am the Magic Mirror!"

The Assembly Hall burst into applause as the mirror finished its song. It nodded to each of the five bleachers and then faded into the dark backdrop.

"So we've just got to look in a mirror!" Amanda whispered to Akko. "I heard Wangari going on about wrestling a troll. I'm gonna kill her!"

Akko smiled weakly. Yes, looking at yourself in front of a mirror was a lot better than having to do a spell, but she did wish they could do it without everyone watching. But Akko collected herself and took a deep breath. All she had to do was look the mirror straight in the glass and it would tell her she belonged in Polaris. She definitely – DEFINITELY – belong in Polaris.

Professor Finnelan now stepped forward holding a long roll of paper.

"When I call your name, you will step in front of the mirror and be sorted," she said. "Ainsworth, Catherine!"

So she wasn't was going first; Akko felt simultaneously relieved and worried that the wait would make her nerves worse. A gangly sort of girl with light-purple hair tied in a bun nervously pushed through the group and stopped directly in front of the Magic Mirror. A moment passed with Catherine only staring at her reflection when -

"CORONA!"

The stands directly to Akko's right jumped and cheered as Catherine, looking immensely relieved, strode over to join them. Elma the Dragon was standing next to them, clapping Sarah on the shoulder when she sat down -

"Antonenko, Jasminka!"

Akkko immediately spun around when her friend's name was called. Jasminka was still eating out of her seemingly endless bucket as she walked up to the mirror. Professor Finnelan was annoyed by this and tried to snatch the bucket away, but Jasminka's lightning-quick reflexes pulled it out of her reach at the last second, causing the professor to fall over. There were a few people in the stands snickering behind their hands, but no one dared to laugh out loud. A moment passed when Jasminka took her place in front of the mirror –

"POLARIS!" shouted the mirror.

The bleachers on the far right cheered and clapped as Jasminka went to sit down with the rest of the Polaris students.

"Ameli – von Brown – shuch – bank," Professor Finnelan struggled to say the next name and just pointed to Constanze instead. "You! Get up here!"

Constanze stepped up, taking a screwdriver to her strange gadget as she did so. Like Jasminka, Professor Finnelan tried to snatch the gadget away, but Constanze stooped low and sent the professor flying over her head. It was becoming harder for the students not to break down with laughter –

"POLARIS!" shouted the mirror again, and Constanze scuttled off to sit next to Jasminka.

"Bernhardt, Sarah!"

A tall German girl with ginger hair bounded up to the mirror, practically bouncing on the balls of her feet, and stared deep into the glass. Everyone in the hall watched her. Then the mirror cried out -

"CORONA!"

The Corona crowd cheered again and Sarah, pink-faced and smiling, practically bounced over and plopped into an open spot next to Catherine -

"Cavendish, Diana!"

As Diana stepped forward, whispers suddenly broke out like little hissing fires all over the Assembly Hall.

"Cavendish, did she say?"

"The Cavendish?"

It seems like Diana's reputation wasn't as exaggerated as Akko thought it would be. All the students were whispering to one another and several of them were praying for Diana to be sorted into their house. Even the teachers were focusing solely on Diana rather than reprimanding the students for the level of noise. And the whole time, Diana just stared into the mirror, somehow able to block out all the chatter. Akko was amazed by how well Diana was able to handle the pressure of thousands of people looking up to her with great expectations. Akko certainly wouldn't be able to take it.

Diana seemed to take the longest to decide. It had already been three minutes since she had stepped up and the mirror had yet to decide a place for Diana. Akko actually felt an inkling of worry for Diana when –

"LUNAR!" shouted the mirror.

If someone had been standing outside the Assembly Hall, they would think an explosion had gone off by the way the Lunar students on the far left all suddenly jumped up and broke into screams of jubilation. Diana flipped her hair all conceited-like, casually strolling over to the bleachers with her new classmates, many of whom were taunting the other houses with yells of "We got Cavendish! We got Cavendish!" Akko didn't really pay much attention to them and focused on Diana herself. Her face showed indifference like it normally did, but Akko was the only one to notice that Diana's left hand was shaking and she had to use her right hand to stop it.

"Chang, Lin-Lin!"

"CORONA!"

Akko snapped out of her reverie as the second bleachers from the left clapped this time. She shook her head and slapped her cheeks, scolding herself. She couldn't afford to worry about Diana; she had her own Sorting to deal with.

A Peruvian girl named Carmen Diaz became an Eclipse, but "Delevingne, Zizi" and "Dubois, Chloe" became the first new Twilight students and the bleachers in the middle exploded with cheers. Hannah England obviously went to Lunar, wasting no time sliding up to Diana and pushing everyone else out of the way -

"Jansson, Lotte!"

Lotte was looking very green by the time she managed to awkwardly walk up to the mirror; the poor girl looked like she was about to pass out. Akko crossed their fingers and a second later the mirror had shouted -

"POLARIS!"

Akko clapped loudly with the rest as Lotte collapsed into the seat next to Jasminka and Constanze, looking equal parts relieved and exhausted while "Jilani, Irene" was sorted into Eclipse

Sometimes, Akko noticed, the mirror shouted out the house at once, but at others it took a little while to decide, just like it did with Diana. A horrible thought struck Akko, as horrible thoughts always do when you're very nervous. What if she wasn't chosen at all? What if she just stood there staring into the mirror for ages, until Professor Finnelan ripped her away and said there had obviously been a mistake and she'd better get back on the train? What if she –

"Kagari, Atsuko!"

Akko nearly jumped at the sound of her own name. Her legs felt stiff; she couldn't move. But, like any good friend, Amanda gave her a good (and very rough) shove, propelling her forward until she was standing in front of the mirror.

Akko stared deeply into the reflective surface, only seeing herself while the background was completely pitch-black. She waited…and then her mirror self suddenly smirked with hints of amusement and arrogance, putting one fist on her hip and cocking her head.

"Well, well, well, the Star-Born Child, this is a pleasure," said Mirror-Akko, chuckling in a vulgar way that made the hair on the back of Akko's neck stand up. "Let's take a good look at you. Hmm, not very bright, I see. Not particularly strong either. And patience is definitely not your strong suit. I had expected the Star-Born Child to be something…more. But wait, what's this I see? Ah, yes, I know this. It's ambition. You have a goal – a desire you wish to make reality – and you are willing to do anything to make it happen. Yes, you'd be perfect in Eclipse – "

"What? No?" Akko sputtered frantically. "I don't want to go to Eclipse; I want to be in Polaris!"

"Polaris? Are you out of your mind, girl?" Mirror-Akko taunted her. "You think you can achieve anything with that house of rejects? They literally live in the clouds. If you were to join Eclipse, you would be on the fast-track to greatness. I know, because I can see your future. I can see greatness in you, but only if you are willing to stand beside others like you – in Eclipse."

"No!" snapped Akko furiously. "Shiny Chariot is my idol! I've been dreaming about joining the same house as her ever since I found out I was a witch! I don't care about being the greatest witch, or even the most powerful or most famous! My dream is to one day because an amazing witch that uses magic to bring happiness to others, just like Shiny Chariot did for me! I don't care what you say, you stupid mirror, because I'm joining the Polaris house whether you like it or not!"

"So you've made your choice," said Mirror-Akko, no longer smiling. "And I have made mine. You had best hope that you don't one day come to regret this – POLARIS!"

Akko heard the mirror shout the last word to the whole hall. She stepped away from the mirror and walked shakily toward the Polaris bleachers. She was so relieved to have been chosen into Polaris and not put in Eclipse, she hardly noticed that she had taken a seat between Jasminka and Lotte until the Russian girl clapped her hard on the back, throwing her face down into the floor.

Akko crawled back up to her seat as "Koch, Elfriede" was sorted into Eclipse. She could see the stage properly now. At the end nearest her was Ursula, who caught her eye and gave her an acknowledging nod. Akko grinned back. And there, in the center of the stage, standing at a high podium, was Miranda Holbrooke. Akko recognized her from the many times Blair had described the headmistress as "Granny". When the Magic Mirror declared that Makoto Kowata would be in Twilight, a teacher with tanned skin and silvery-gray hair unexpectedly started jumping up and waving her hands cheerfully.

"Way to go, Makoto!" she shouted for the whole hall to hear. "You got into the same house as me! Good job!"

"Sis, you're embarrassing me!" Makoto Kowata whined.

An emoji-faced girl named "Little, Alice" got sorted into Twilight while "Lokisdotter, Sóla" joined Corona. They were more than halfway done with the sorting -

"Manbavaran, Sucy!" Finnelan continued while shooting a glare at the other teacher, who scratched her head sheepishly.

Sucy practically dragged herself lethargically up to the mirror, looking like she wished she could be anywhere but here.

"POLARIS!" shouted the mirror. Akko could see Amanda groaning.

"McVinegar, Balsa" had tripped over her own two feet when her name was called, but valiantly got back up to her feet and walked up to the mirror amid a gales of laughter where she was immediately sent to Twilight along with Makoto. "Minoru, Nico" was sorted into Eclipse, which seemed understandable to Akko considering she had been dressing like a goth and dabbling in the dark arts since they were eight. A strict studious-looking girl named "Müller, Gaëlle" was selected for the Lunar house with little doubt in anyone's mind.

Amanda swaggered forward when her name was called and got her wish at once: the mirror barely had to glance at her before it screamed, "POLARIS!"

Amanda joined them on the bench, taking a seat next to Constanze and high-fiving Akko, looking quite pleased with herself.

There weren't many people left. Everything had seemed to move a lot slower when Akko was nervously waiting for her turn, but now that it was all behind her, the Sorting seemed to go in double time. And before she knew it, only four people were left to be sorted. Barbara Parker, obviously, ended up being sorted into Lunar with Diana and Hannah, immediately joining them before the mirror even got through declaring her house. "Shidariza, Verde" was sent to Corona as well. Nanoha Takamachi stopped briefly to wave hello to Akko when her name was called, but was sorted to the Lunar house instead of joining Akko in Polaris. And finally, "Vasquez, Priscilla" was sent to Eclipse.

Professor Finnelan rolled up her scroll and took the Magic Mirror away.

Miranda Holbrooke raised her hand to call silence in the Assembly Hall. She was beaming at the students; her arms open wide, as if nothing could have pleased her more than to see them all there.

"Welcome!" she said. "Welcome to a new year at Luna Nova! Before we move to the dining room for our start-of-term banquet, I would like to say a few words….The triple-layered chocolate cake is in limited supply, so it's first come, first serve. Later, suckers!"

The next thing Akko knew, the headmistress was running out of the Assembly Hall and all the students in the stands, and even some of the teachers, were scrambling after her – Amanda was, of course, one of the first people to get a head start. Akko turned to Lotte for answers, but she looked just as flabbergasted as she was. When the Assembly Hall was half empty, Akko and Lotte jumped to their feet and joined the crowd crossing the grand foyer into the second set of double doors opposite the Assembly Hall. Akko and Lotte stopped at the threshold as the other students shoved their way through, taking it all in.

The dining room was even bigger than the Assembly Hall and had two other floors overlooking the wide, open area. Thousands of circular tables were spread out across each floor, some of them glittering with golden legs and molding, some of them made of unfurnished wood, and some of them weren't even tables at all but statues of different animals and magical creatures. And there, on the right hand side of the room, were the concession tables.

Akko could feel her mouth becoming moist. There must have been thousands of dishes neatly organized on the row of tables. She had never seen so many things she liked to eat on one table. There was hamburger steak, pork cutlets, and towers of sushi, but there were also foods from other nations like spicy-hot curry, pierogi and sauerkraut, tamales and sweet potatoes, gyros and feta cheese, shrimp dumplings and spring rolls, Bisque and macarons, and crawdads and gumbo.

Akko's parents never let her go hungry, but she'd never been allowed to eat as much as she liked, especially from such a wide variety. Akko piled her plate with a bit of everything except the curry because she couldn't handle spicy foods and started looking for a seat.

"Oy, Akko, over here!"

Amanda waved her over from a seat near the back wall with the rest of her friends. Akko took a seat next to Lotte and started to eat. It was all delicious.

"Do you mind if I sit with you?"

Akko looked up. It was Elma the Dragon. Akko thought it was strange that a member of the staff would want to sit with students, but then she noticed around the dining hall that a lot of students and teachers were sitting together. Holbrooke and Ursula were engaged in rapid discussion with a couple of older students, Finnelan was practically hovering around Diana like one of her groupies, and Makoto Kawata was being embarrassed by her sister the teacher.

"Uh, sure, go ahead," said Akko.

"Thank you," said Elma gratefully as she took a seat next to Jasminka. "The headmistress keeps me busy with maintaining the castle that I often lose track of time and arrive for dinner late. It's been so long since I've had a slice of chocolate cake." She added with a disheartened sigh. "But I'm being rude. I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Elma, the Dragon of Order and Keeper of the Castle."

"I know who you are!" said Akko suddenly. "Tohru told me about you – you're Elma the Freeloader!"

"LIES!" screamed Elma, slamming his fist on the table. "That lousy Dragon of Chaos lives in a comfortable apartment in the better part of town passing herself off as a maid while I work myself to the bone keeping this castle in order and she has the nerve to call me a freeloader! If anything, she's the freeloader, not me!"

"Sooo…how'd you get a job taking care of the castle?" asked Amanda.

Elma suddenly looked down cast, folding her hands on her lap and fidgeting in her seat as she mumbled under her breath.

"I couldn't figure out how the computers worked at my last job and this was the only place hiring." None of the new Polaris students said a word, suddenly washed over with a sense of dread and awkwardness. "So – new students, am I right? I would prefer it if Twilight wins the house championship, but if you won too, I wouldn't mind. Anyone as long as it's not Eclipse. They've gotten the cup six years in a row! Every year, I get a letter from Tohru bragging about how her old house keeps winning. She's insufferable."

"That's Tohru, all right," said Akko.

"Life sucks," mumbled Elma pathetically.

When everyone had eaten everything on their plates, some of them went back to the table for seconds before they realized that everything on the concession tables was replaced by desserts. Blocks of ice cream in every flavor you could think of, pies ranging from apple and peach to pumpkin and truffles, a fountain of flowing chocolate with skewers of pretzels, strawberries and marshmallows, Jell-O and pudding, and even sakuramochi…

As Akko helped herself to a slice of cherry pie, she heard talks from the other tables turn to families.

"I'm half-and-half," said Lin-Lin Chang. "My dad's a human. Mom didn't tell him she was a dragon until after they were married. Bit of nasty shock for him when he found out."

The others laughed.

"You never said anything about your family, Lotte," said Akko.

"Well, my granny brought me up and she's a witch," said Lotte. "My family has owned a magical item shop in Finland since the turn of the twentieth century. My parents…aren't really around much because of…reasons. It's mostly just been me and granny. I didn't have a lot of friends growing up because most Demi-Humans started leaving Findland to expand in into other nations like America and China and humans weren't really fond of Demi-Humans where I grew up in. But granny taught me a song that summons fairies from old, anguished objects and I used to play with them a lot when I was little. But now that I'm at Luna Nova, I guess I can make real friends now."

"We're already friends," Jasminka said simply, making Lotte smile shyly.

Akko turned her head to look at Diana's table catching her deep in conversation with Professor Finnelan ("I do hope we start right away, there's so much to learn, I'm particularly interested in Alchemy, and, of course, it's supposed to be very difficult – "; "I could hardly be a challenge for someone of your level of excellence – ")

Akko, who was starting to feel warm and sleepy, looked up around the room again. Ursula was trying to pry a bottle of alcohol out of Holbrooke's hands, Makoto Kowata's sister had fallen dead asleep at her table, and leaning against the second floor railing with a cup in hand was a teacher with wavy lavender hair possessing a single lock draped over the left side of her face garbed with a high-collar cape and a pair of sunglasses.

It happened very suddenly. The lavender-haired teacher turned her head and looked directly at Akko – and a sharp, hot pain flared up and down Akko's spine where her scars were located, making Akko throw herself against the table with a painful grimace.

"Ouch!" Akko cried.

"Akko, what is it?" asked Lotte worriedly.

"N-nothing."

The pain had gone as quickly as it had come. Harder to shake off was the feeling Akko had gotten from the teacher's look – a feeling that she knew her, but couldn't recall from where.

"Elma, who's that teacher on the second floor up top?" Akko asked her.

"Who?" Elma blinked curiously and followed Akko's line of sight to the lavender-haired woman. "Oh, her? That's Professor Croix. She teaches Modern Magic - the study of incorporating magic with technology. Though this year she's also working double shifts teach Fundamentals of Magical Self-Defense since just up and quit a few months ago. She's really good at it herself. She knows a lot about the Dark Arts and how to combat them."

Akko watched Croix for a while, but Croix didn't look at her again.

At last, dessert was finished, and Professor Holbrooke stepped forward to the front of the dining room. The hall fell silent.

"Ahem – just a few more words now that we are all fed and watered. I have a few start-of-term notices to give you.

"First years should note that the Arcturus Forest on the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. And a few of our older students would do well to remember that as well. I have also been asked by Ms. Elma, the Keeper of our beloved castle, to remind you all that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors. Chariot Race trials will be held in the second week of the term. Anyone interested in playing for their house teams should contact Professor Kiki – as long as she is not busy with her deliveries. And finally, I must tell you that this year, the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death."

Akko laughed, but she was one of the few who did.

"She's not serious?" she muttered to Elma.

"I'm afraid she's deadly serious," said Elma, frowning. "The Arcturus Forest is one thing because it's filled with dangerous beasts, but Professor Holbrooke made it explicitly clear that no one is allowed in that corridor under any circumstances, including the teachers."

"Now, I do believe you are quite tired of hearing this old hag chattering on," said Holbrooke with a motherly smile. "Now, bedtime. Off you trot!"

The Polaris first years followed Professor Ursula through the chattering crowds, out of the dining room, and up the spiraling staircase. Akko's legs felt like lead again, but only because she was so tired and full of food. She was too sleepy even to be surprised that the people in the portraits along the corridor whispered and pointed as they passed, or that twice Ursula led them through hidden doorways behind sliding panels and hanging tapestries. They climbed more staircases, yawning and dragging their feet, and Akko was just wondering how much further they had to go when they came to a sudden halt.

A bundle of walking sticks was floating in midair ahead of them, and as Ursula took a step forward toward them, they started throwing themselves at her.

"Mr. Mxyzptlk," Ursula whispered to the first years. "A rather annoying imp." She raised her voice. "Myxz – show yourself."

A loud, rude sound like the air being let out of a balloon, answered.

"If you don't behave, I will be forced to remove you."

There was a pop, and a little man with beady black eyes, an enormous bald head, and a tiny bowler hat appeared, floating in the air, clutching the walking sticks.

"You know that's not how it works," he said; his voice sounded oddly like that American comedian Gilbert Gottfried. "You can't send me away unless you make me say it."

"Wait, what am I supposed to make you say?" asked Ursula innocently.

"Kltpzyxm," Mr. Mxyzptlk answered proudly, and soon realized his mistake. "Oh cr – "

With another pop, the little imp vanished into thin air, dropping the walking sticks on the floor.

"You'll want to watch out for Mr. Mxyzptlk," said Ursula, as they set off again. "You can only banish him by making him say his name backwards. It's easy enough to trick him once you understand him a little bit. Here we are."

At the very end of the corridor was a solid brick wall coated with hundreds of tiny glass marbles that glowed with an ethereal green light, giving them the impression of stars in the dark hall.

"Pay close attention," said Ursula. "You need to know the proper sequence to get into the common room. It changes once a month, so be careful."

Akko paid very close attention as Ursula's hand moved slowly to tap five different marbles on seemingly random spaces on the wall. When the last marble was pressed, the wall parted down the middle and slid sideways to reveal a wrought-iron archway. They all scrambled through it and found themselves in the Polaris common room, a cozy round room full of squashy armchairs and a ceiling that perfectly depicted the night sky outside.

Ursula directed the girls through the door to their dormitory At the top of a spiral staircase – they were obviously in one of the towers – they found their beds at last: six four-posters hung with deep red, velvet curtains. Their trunks had already been brought up and Blair was curled up on one of the beds, which meant Akko knew where she was sleeping. Too tired to talk much, they pulled on their sleepwear and fell into bed.

"So, did you have fun?" Blair asked Akko the moment she flopped into bed. "Was Luna Nova everything you expected?"

"A little, but not a lot," Akko answered honestly. "But it's only the first night. I bet there are loads more stuff to see."

Blair gave Akko a whiskered smile as she padded over and curled up next to Akko's stomach, setting a familiar comfort for the both of them.

Perhaps Akko had eaten a bit too much, because she had a very strange dream. She was in a dark space looking out through what appeared to be a window, but she was really looking out from inside a mirror, her other self telling her she must transfer to Eclipse at once, because it's her destiny. Akko told her other self she didn't want to be in Eclipse, but her other self walked away and joined the throng of Eclipse students, declaring that she would take Akko's place instead – and there was Diana, look down at her like she was something unmentionable – then Diana turned into the lavender-haired teacher Croix, whose laugh was barking and full of malicious intent – there was a flash of seven green lights and the echoing words in the distance - "Noctu Orfei Aude Fraetor!"

Akko woke with a start, sweating and shaking.

She rolled over and fell asleep again, and when she woke the next day, she didn't remember the dream at all.


Next Chapter: The Masters of Magic