"I thought you'd want to wait a bit longer before going back to Henway, Weiss," Jennifer said over lunch at the Alchemist's Bane on the last Saturday of winter break. I was already back in the winter uniform, having quickly changed in the chest while waiting for the food. "I'm not complaining, just curious."

"On the no-maj side, I'm practically a celebrity now," I pointed out as I brought a bit of food up for Barb. "I don't want to face that yet, and I was getting bored just staying home."

"Is that why you've dyed your hair purple since Christmas?"

"With a potion. I made a lot of it." The purple mist I coughed up when I drank the potion was briefly concerning, but after remembering that it was normal, I stopped worrying. Suffice to say, I really came to appreciate the potion.

"That makes sense. I still need to talk to mom and dad about that. They've probably already figured it out, but I want to make sure they're ready."

"Thanks." I took a bite of my food and continued. "I hope nobody at Henway's heard of RWBY. That's going to be awkward."

"Or maybe it'll be a chance for you to practice dealing with your fame in a more controlled environment. Just think of all the influence you'll have, especially if you dress for the part."

I mulled the idea over a bit. "Huh. I didn't think about that."

"I'm sure you'll do fine."

"I hope so." A random thought crossed my mind. "Jennifer, why do more students take the Darkhound bus than this two teleport route?"

"I caught up with friends there each year, and there's something nice about riding the train instead of just taking a portal and the floo. And maybe there's a bit of a thrill from hiding in plain sight like that. That, and a bunch of people going into a store and not coming out, then coming back later on would be very strange, possibly investigated, and that's the last thing we want. The no-maj ability to ignore weird things can only be pushed so far before it breaks, but one person on occasion wouldn't be investigated, especially if no reports are sent in."

"Oh."

Jennifer changed the topic. "So, you're really going to wear the armored boots and the weighted gloves every day?"

"As much as I can."

"You do realize those all add up to 70 pounds, right?"

"So?"

"That's over half as much as you weigh."

"I want to be strong. I've felt small and weak ever since, well, you know."

"Even with magic?"

"Yes."

"Mom did say something about that. She's - I actually shouldn't say."

Jennifer had my interest. "What's she doing?"

"Let's just say she's looking into something for you to do over summer break and leave it at that."

"Come on, is there anything else you can tell me?"

"I suppose I could tell you. . ." A smug look came across her face. "But I really shouldn't tell you."

I sighed. "Great. Now it's going to be bugging me until it happens."

After we were done with lunch and talking, Barb went back into her tube, Jennifer gave me a hug, and I took the floo to Henway while she left.

"And our first student returning from Christmas break arrives!" Principal Mercia announced as if she was a game show host, holding her wand as a microphone. "Miss Schnee, how does it feel to be the first student returning from the holidays? Actually, how were your holidays in general?"

"I got some good presents," I said when she lowered her wand to me. "I'm wearing two of them, the best presents I got, right now. Armored boots and weighted gloves, which come to a total of 70 pounds."

"Sounds heavy."

"They're not so bad now. Are they both okay to wear?"

Principal Mercia put her wand away and went to a more serious tone. "I'll have to check them, if you don't mind."

"Okay." I pulled up part of my skirt so she could see one of the boots.

"Hmm. . . They're very nice, and they meet dress code requirements. Arm, please." I let the skirt fall back down and pulled a robe sleeve back. Thankfully, they were loose enough to easily cover the gloves. "Not what I was imagining, but they don't violate any dress codes. Miss Schnee, you are free to wear those boots and gloves to all your classes, but the professors can tell you to take them off if they want."

"Thank you."

Just as I started to make my way to the dorms, she stopped me with a hand on my shoulder. "I highly recommend you practice your spells before Monday arrives. With the extra weight on your arms like that, it will affect your casting."

"Yes, Principal."

"Also spend some time on your broom to get used to flying on it with the extra weight. Have fun." With that, she let me go, her points making complete sense to me. Thankfully, I had a whole weekend to practice.

"Aww, look at Snowflake," Noir teased when she led her crew into the commons on Sunday night. "She's also a bookworm."

"You know that's not much of an insult here, right?" I asked without looking away from my history book. After getting used to casting and flying with the gloves and boots, I was bored and got a random book from the Scientia shelves.

"So?"

"I see there's no point in talking anymore."

"Are you just going to ignore me like that?" Her taunt was met with no response from me. "One way or another, you will join my ranks, Snowflake." With a huff, she took her crew to the dorms.

Once they were gone, I closed my book and set it down with a sigh. "The peace was nice while it lasted."

"Here here," Lily said from the next table over, without lowering her book.

"Welcome back from Christmas break, everyone," Principal Mercia announced before breakfast on Monday. "Now, I'm sure you're all eager to share what you got over the holidays with everyone else, and you're welcome to do that at meals and when you're out of class, but don't let that get in the way of studying. Speaking of which, we've come to the long haul. From now until May, there's only one break, and it's only a couple days off for Easter. You're free to stay or leave for that. But before we can get to any of that, we need to get some warm breakfast. Here you go."

As I ate my food and fed Barb on top of my head, Lily turned to me. "So, did you get anything good for Christmas?"

"I got a couple of really cool things, some neat things, and a bunch of stuff I didn't care for," I answered around a bite of barbecue omelette. "I don't know why I haven't burned them yet."

"Burned? What did you get that you didn't like?"

"Dresses and swimwear." Lily gave me an odd look, like I'd somehow kindly insulted her or something strange like that. "What?"

"Maybe you could repurpose them?" She eventually suggested. "Take the stuff you don't like and turn it into something you do."

"Like what?"

"A dress you'd be willing to wear? Same with the swimwear? You have magic and options."

"That. . . That actually sounds like a good idea. Do you know how to do that?"

"No, but I'm sure the people at Timely Weaver would be happy to teach you some stuff."

After potions class was over, I met up with Jack, Laura, and Phoebe. "Hey, guys."

"Hi, Wei-" Jack stopped mid-sentence and he froze up. He slowly turned to Phoebe, who had a similar expression on her face. "Uh, excuse us for a moment." He pulled Phoebe aside and went around a corner with her.

"What was that about?" Laura asked after they were out of sight.

I massaged the bridge of my nose as I gave the best answer I could. "I think I know what it is, but I have no idea if I can explain it to you."

"Can you try?"

After thinking about it for a moment, I did. "Imagine realizing you've been going to school with a fictional character and you just realized it after about three months." A bit of my internal smile leaked onto my face after I realized I could say that.

"Ohhh. . . WHAT?"

"Yeeeah, I'm kind of hoping to figure out a way to avoid reactions like that. A spell, potion, or something similar."

"HOLY CRAP, IT'S WEISS SCHNEE!" I turned around and saw a flock of older Perseverantia students, male and female, looking at me.

"Laura, a little help, please?" I quietly asked.

"Run." At her word, I turned around and started running as fast as I could. I'd gotten used to wedges. I was at the point where I could run with them on pretty well. Running with an extra twenty pounds on each leg, though was a different matter, and Laura was able to easily outpace me. "Hurry up, Weiss!"

"Legs. . . Heavy. . ." A moment later, while still running, Laura cast a levitation spell on me, making me feel lighter and letting me pick up the pace a bit.

For a number of minutes, we ran around the halls. A seventh year Virtus boy stopped us as we rounded a corner and quickly herded Laura and me into a hidden room. Until the flock ran past on the map, the three of us did not breathe too loudly. "Okay, I think we're clear," he said. "Now what did you two do to get a whole flock to chase you?"

I looked at my map to see who was in front of me. His name was Nelson Redwater, and he was a seventh year Ace. "Umm, I'm Weiss Schnee?" was all the answer I could give him.

"AAAHHH, IT'S WEISS SCHNEE!" A seventh year Callidus girl exclaimed. Before she could make it five steps towards me, a barrier appeared around her. "Come on, Nelson!"

"Where are we?" Laura asked.

"This is the no-maj style fitness clubroom," Nelson explained. "I'm the president and founder of this club, and our mission is simple: stay in physical shape and get stronger through non-magical means. The Callidus girl is Nikki, my co-founder, and I have no idea what's gotten into her."

"So, I could get stronger here?" The idea was very tempting.

"Yes." Nelson glanced towards the clock, showing nearly 10:15. "Would you two like to take a brief tour?"

"I do!" I raised my hand in response.

Nelson looked at my arm for a moment. "What are you wearing?"

I looked up and saw that the robe sleeve had slid back. "Oh, that's a weighted glove. I got a pair for Christmas. Each one weighs fifteen pounds."

"So you've already got a head start. That's good."

"I also have boots."

"Weighted?"

"Armored," I corrected with no small amount of pride. "And I suppose the armor also makes them weighted. Each one's only twenty pounds."

"Is that why you had trouble running in the hall?" Laura asked.

"You're wearing that much weight?" The Callidus girl asked, still stuck in her shield. "I don't want to get hit with that."

"Well, I think you'll fit right in, Weiss," Nelson said before starting the tour. "Now, back here are our weight machines; two of every style the no-majes currently produce. All of them were legitimately purchased."

"That's a lot of money," I noted.

"It was. Moving on, we have a variety of punching bags. Nikki's even enchanted some of them to be able to grow arms and fight back if you want."

"Let me out!" Nikki shouted.

"Promise to behave?"

"Yes."

"Weiss, you can punch her if she gets too friendly."

A moment later, the shield was dispelled and Nikki calmly walked over to us. "As Nelson said, these are no-maj style methods, but as you've heard, a few liberties have been taken. Enchantments to make them more durable, of course, and some to make things a bit more interesting. There are some machines that are very cool, but require electricity to work, which super sucks since we don't have the stuff here and it wouldn't work anyway if we did. The treadmills, bikes, and walking machines took a bit of work, but now they operate with magic and work just the same."

"That's pretty cool," I said. "How long did it take?"

"It took a month of between class time to figure out each machine initially. We managed to get it down to a week, and we made notes on each of them."

"The notes were her idea, not mine," Nelson admitted.

"When did you start this club?" Laura asked as she looked closely at each machine.

"Our second year. We. . . Weren't exactly in the best shape back then." Nelson went over to a large wooden desk, pulled a few pictures out, and brought them over. Like all magical pictures, they were animated, and the two students in the picture on top would be best described as nervous meatballs. "We decided to take matters into our own hands, and with some help from Professor Naut and Professor Smith, we got this club started. We made sure to spend at least an hour every day, two on the weekends, in here to get into shape. It wasn't easy." He slid the top picture off, revealing another picture, this one of them in better shape. "But we saw results when we compared the pictures, and that pushed us to keep going." As he slid the pictures off, the students in them were in better and better shape. . . And also moving a bit closer to each other.

"And you didn't use any magic?" Laura asked, suddenly next to me looking at the pictures.

"Not directly."

"That's amazing."

"And we weren't the only ones," Nikki said as she showed us more pictures. "These are our monthly club photos from this year alone." The club pictures had about twenty students in each, and as each picture was advanced, the results of the exercise showed. "We're not a very big club, but we're still proud of what we've achieved."

"You can join us if you want," Nelson offered. "All you have to do as a member is come here and exercise everyday. Being a member would also make you a candidate for the succession of leadership of the club, since we are in our final year."

"Isn't it a bit early for us to have such a responsibility?" Laura asked.

"As first years, yes. But we founded this club in our second year, which is perfectly in line with school rules. That being said, if you don't want the responsibility, that's alright too. Now, if you want to join our club-"

Before he could finish his sentence, I'd already snatched the clipboard and quill he was getting and writing my name on the member list. "This is going to be awesome!"

"Well, it's certainly a pleasure to see a Scientia student so eager to join. Most of our members are from Virtus and Perseverantia, with a few Callidus here and there."

"I'm guessing Scientia students tend to focus more on books, right?"

"Nailed it," Nikki said. "Expanding one's knowledge is good, but it won't do you much good if you're not in the shape to use it, right?"

"I can see that." I turned to my fellow first year. "Do you want to join, Laura?"

"I. . . Think I'll pass for now," Laura shyly said. "I need to focus on other things. In fact, I should go talk to Jack and Phoebe."

"That's fine. You're free to go," Nikki said. With a polite bow, Laura left the room. "Now, Weiss, would you kindly tell me how it is that you're even here?"

"A remarkable series of coincidences," I said.

"No, no, not that way. How are you here, from RWBY?"

"Oh. Yeah, I just look like her."

"But you have Myrtenaster! And the exact same scar! How could I have missed that?"

I shrugged. "I dunno. Can I start my training now?"

I left the clubroom exhausted. I'd only gotten about twenty minutes in before I was sent out, and I was aching. My aura was already at work with its healing thing, and I knew I'd likely be fine before no-maj studies, but it still felt like I'd been put through the wringer.

"You okay, Weiss?" Laura, flanked by Jack and Phoebe, asked.

"Yeah, I'll be fine," I assured her. "So. . ."

"I had a chat with these two. They shouldn't bother you too much over, well, you know."

"Being Weiss Schnee, yeah. Save the sugarcoating for potions class."

Jack spoke up. "I guess I'll apologize for how I reacted first. I think I was just overcome with excitement and confusion at realizing who you were."

"Yeah, yeah, I get it." "More than you understand." "Just treat me like a normal person and we'll be fine."

"THERE SHE IS!"

"And there's the flock of fans. Someone let me into a chest and run!"

Phoebe obliged, opening her storage chest and letting me in. While she was (presumably) running, I found a chair and sat down. While I was resting, I looked around. While mine was orderly, and Jack's looked lavish, hers was a mess, with papers and half finished projects all over the place. A part of me wanted to do a bit of tidying up, but I ignored it, focusing only on a clock on the wall.

Eventually, Phoebe came down, looking exhausted. "Okay, so we escaped the flock, and we're in no-maj studies ten minutes early. It's just us and Professor Smith for now."

I stood up and made my way out. "Thanks for the ride."

"Hey, it's what friends are for. And. . . Sorry about the mess in here."

"We'll worry about that later." After I got out, I saw that we weren't in our usual spot in the middle area, but off to one side, in the very front, with my seat being in the corner. "Thanks, everyone."

"No problem," Jack said. "We'll do our best to help you out."

"Hey, what if we make a team?" Phoebe suggested.

"Yeah, that could work." Jack pulled out some paper and tore it up. "We have W S, J S, P D, and L C. One letter from each pair, make something like a word."

Each pair of letters was in a different color, and I poked around with the possibilities a bit before coming up with SLDJ. "Team Sludge. Blegh. We can do better, right?"

As we waited for class, we came up with more combinations, including DWLS (Dowels), SSPL (Spill), and CPJW (Cap Jaw).

"Are we playing a game of some kind here?" Lily asked when she joined.

"Of a sort," Phoebe said. "Which sounds better?" As Phoebe went through the team names, she rearranged the letters to demonstrate each name.

"Hmm. . . None of them are that good, honestly. SLDJ seems like the best of the four, though."

"And that makes Weiss the leader," Jack said.

"Joy," I flatly said.

A minute later, the rest of the class filed in and Professor Smith was at his desk. "Welcome back, everyone. Before I start today's lesson on the greatest no-maj transportation feats, I need to make an announcement regarding one of you. Specifically, Weiss Schnee." Everyone's attention turned to me, and there were a few surprised reactions. "I've been informed of some issues regarding her apparent spontaneous fame among some of the student body today. Twice in the past hour, she was chased by fans through the halls. This isn't a punishable offense, but it is terrible conduct and, worse than that, shows a lack of respect for her."

"But, but-" a Callidus boy started, looking between me and Professor Smith.

"I don't care if she looks and sounds like a character from a TV show. I expect, at least among everyone here, that she is shown respect, just like anyone else. If you want to ask her for anything, do so respectfully.

"Moving on, here's a fact that will blow your young wizarding minds: no-majes have walked on the moon."

Multiple students said "Audible gasp!" at the same time.

Laura stumbled out of the classroom in a daze. "How. . . How did they do all that?"

"I'm not quite sure myself, but it's awesome," I said.

"But, the moon! Space!"

"The sun's even further away," Jack said. "Way further away. Millions of miles away."

"Then how is it the same size as the moon in the sky?"

"It's very, very big. Think of one student compared to the whole interior of Henway, and you've got an idea of the size of Earth to the Sun."

"That's big."

"It amazes me each time I hear it," Lily said.

"IT'S WEISS SCHNEE!" Somebody shouted.

"I guess I'll just have to put an end to it now," I decided as I turned towards the source: a single Virtus boy running towards me. Before my friends could get in front of me, I took a step forward, made a fist, and waited for him to get close. As soon as he did, I delivered an upward punch into his gut, knocking the wind out of him and sending him to the floor.

Off to the side, I saw Noir and her group watching the event unfold, but not do anything. That was fine with me.

"Well, I think we're done here," I said before rejoining my friends. "Let's go get lunch."

"Shouldn't we wait for a professor or something?" Laura asked.

A moment later, one of them showed up: Professor Duelington. "Alright, what happened?"

"Self-defense, sir," Phoebe said. "He was running at Weiss and she defended herself."

"Hmm. Alright, I think I have the gist of it. Weiss, I want to talk with you. Someone help Eugene up and everyone, get going."

As I nervously walked over to the Professor, his orders became action, and I was alone with him in a minute. "Am I in trouble?"

"Not this time. In fact, I got another letter from your sister, something about training you with your glyphs? She sent me a bunch of information that I couldn't quite understand. Aura, semblances, stuff like that. Meet me after lunch and we can practice outside."

"Alright."

"First year students, I have an announcement for you to pay attention to," Principal Mercia stated. "Now is the time for you to start looking into a few extracurricular activities. There are a number of clubs, run by other students, that would be happy to accept you. This is not mandatory, it's just a suggestion. If there's no club here that suits your taste, you may create that club during your second year. If you need help, just ask a professor or myself. Everyone got that?" A few murmurs of agreement came from the first year areas. "Excellent! Lunch time!"

Lunch was a bit tense for me, despite the good food, since I was always expecting someone to come up behind me and ask for something. Thankfully, Barb was able to keep the few people who did try at bay, so I gave her some extra food for that.

After I was done eating, I left the dining hall and decided to meander the castle. Whenever Professor Duelington was ready, I figured he wouldn't have any trouble finding me. As I walked, I looked at the weights on my arms and lost myself in thought.

"Miss Schnee?"

I jumped a bit at his voice. "Yes, Professor?"

"Let's get started."

For nearly fifteen minutes outside, standing on the bridge between the main castle and the Scientia and Callidus dorms, Professor Duelington and I tried to figure out how to get the glyphs to appear. Sword movements, words that sounded like spells, incantations, none of it worked. Finally, the last trick I tried, which was pretty much just asking for a glyph and focusing a bit on my empty hand yielded a result: a small glyph. "Aha! I did it!"

"And you can use that to run around and do other tricks?"

I focused a bit more, and was soon holding a glyph as tall as I was in front of me like a shield. "Yes. With some practice." A moment later, the large glyph dissipated. "I think I'll keep working on it for now."

"You do that. Just don't be late for your spells class." As he walked to the edge of the bridge and pulled out his broomstick, he added, "I look forward to having you in my Dueling class next year. It's a fun subject, and it'll be interesting to see how normal wizards and witches handle your bag of tricks. Keep them to yourself, of course. Don't want to spoil the surprise, after all." With that, he took off and was gone.

As I said I would, I kept practicing, heedless of the cold.

"Don't let me be late! Don't let me be late!" I'd lost track of time while practicing the glyphs and was running through the halls to get to my spells class on time. The armored boots turned into a mixed blessing; while they were difficult to pick up with each step and wore me down a bit faster, they also carried me further with each hurried step.

I was panting when I came to a skidding stop outside the classroom door. After catching my breath, I opened the door and went inside. "You're one minute late, Weiss," Professor Lovebreed said. "Minus five points to your grade for that."

"Sorry. . . I was practicing some magic outside and lost track of the time."

"The reason doesn't matter. Just take your seat."

I did as I was told and went to my seat, sat down, and got ready for the magic lessons.

Noir and her crew were quick to corner me after class was over. "Alright, spill it, Snowflake," Noir demanded. "You did something over Christmas break that made you famous with some of the students here, didn't you?"

"I didn't!" I insisted. "All I did was spend the break with my family. I didn't even send a letter to anyone. How could I have done anything to become famous?"

"Don't lie to me. I know you did something."

"Well whatever it was, I wish I hadn't done it. Now will you please let me go?"

"Not until we get the information we want."

A new voice came up behind the wall of girls. "Alright, break it up, the whole lot of you." It was Nelson.

Noir looked at the Ace in her midst, then turned back to me. "I will find out your secret, Snowflake." She stormed off, her crew following her. A few of them looked back at me with some interest as they left.

"Thanks, Nelson," I said.

"I'd heard rumors of you being treated poorly by the rest of the girls in your house and year, but never saw any of it myself," Nelson said. "Something should be done about that."

"It's Noir Starlight."

"And that's part of the problem. Despite her attitude and actions towards you, she's actually following the school's rules pretty well. Really, the problem lies with the looming threat of her complaining once and getting Henway shut down. Did you know there's not enough money in the school's budget for Christmas or Thanksgiving decorations anymore?"

"There. . . Yeah, I didn't see any of those."

"It's a miracle that Henway hasn't been shut down yet. Now then, can you tell me why you didn't try to get out from that pod on your own?"

"Pod?"

"You know, a pod of dolphins, your house's mascot animal. Flocks for Perseverantia, herds for Virtus, and a palette for Callidus. Back to the question."

"Well, I was outnumbered twelve to one. What was I supposed to do?"

"You could have. . . Well. . . I can't think of anything that doesn't involve getting into a fight."

"And I'm not strong enough for that yet." I decided not to tell him about the glyphs I'd practiced. Those could wait. "Better to deal with whatever they had than charge headfirst and get something worse. Charging at her didn't work last time either. She has too much support."

"So it's been going on for some time, then."

"Practically since day one. And all because I don't want to join her crew. I just want her to stop, or to get away from them, but I sleep in the same room as all of them, so it's impossible to avoid them."

Nelson nodded in acknowledgement. "I see. How about you come and exercise some of that stress away?"

"Is that all you think about?"

"It frequently crosses my mind."

"Hah, that feels good," I said with a smile after about half an hour with a tall punching bag. My muscles were burning, but the good feeling was worth it. Imagining Noir's smug face certainly helped motivate me.

"It usually does," Nikki agreed. "You really are serious about this."

"I don't want to feel weak anymore. I want to be strong."

"Well, you're at the right place for that. Tell me, do you want to be in the running for managing the club next year?"

"What would that require?"

"Well, the paperwork isn't that bad, especially if you stay on top of it. You're a Scientia, so you should be able to understand it with little difficulty. Enforcement of the rules, as well as changing them, would also be your responsibility, along with keeping our members motivated. You would also get access to all the notes we've made over the years. The ones on our work to make the machines operate should be useful, especially if you decide to get something new."

"That doesn't sound bad." I was already starting to get a few ideas. "Put me on the list."

"You will have to keep your grades up in order to run the club, of course," Nikki explained as she put my name on another list. "That shouldn't be a problem for you though, right? I've heard you're doing well in every class of yours."

"Yeah, I am. Hey, is there a limit on how many clubs you can be in?"

"As many as you can manage, but you can only be in charge of one."

"Alright." After resting up a bit more, I went to the treadmill and started going at a brisk running speed. "You know, the school uniforms aren't that good for this club."

"There's no heating charms in here, so it's pretty chilly. That, and we've never been able to settle on a single uniform design."

"I think I see the issue there." "I see."

"Anyways, if you do get chosen as the best candidate to lead, everything will be under your leadership. Come by after supper and you can meet everyone else who's in the club."

"Welcome back to flying class, everyone," Professor Samuels said. Thankfully, we were outside and I wasn't late. "We have a guest today: our very own coach Hootsman."

Suddenly, a man was next to her. I thought he'd teleported somehow, but the wake of snow told me he was just really fast. " 'reinterestedinplayingquidditch,justtalktome."

"You'll have to pardon his fast speech, and no, he hasn't had any coffee or anything like that. He's a good coach once you get past it. If you want to practice broomstick racing, talk to me. Otherwise, it's a freeflight day." I felt conflicted as I walked up to Professor Samuels. "Something wrong, Weiss?"

"I want to race, but I've also found a club and joined them today," I said. "I just don't know which one to choose."

"I see. Well, the good news is that you might not have to choose. There's two levels of racing: the professionals who dedicate a lot of time to it, and the casuals who just race for fun. If you want to casually race, it likely won't get in the way of your club activities. Casual races have no stakes to them, and are held on the first Saturday of every month at sunset. All you have to do is show up, put in a good effort, and be a good sport. Professional racers are put under a lot more scrutiny, but their scores can have a greater effect on their overall grades, and they race multiple times every Saturday and Sunday."

"And if I miss a casual race?"

"Nothing bad happens."

"Alright." With the information gathered, I got on my broom and started flying around, considering whether or not to also take up casual racing. The professional level was a bit much for my liking alongside the no-maj style fitness club, even if it was only on weekends.

"I'll keep this announcement short," Principal Mercia said before clearing her throat. "First years, I'm glad to see that some of you have already taken the initiative and joined a club. Good for you. Those of you who haven't joined one, that's alright. There are no rules stating that you have to be in a club, but it's still highly encouraged. Let's have supper."

As we had supper, Lily turned to me. "Are you going to join a club?"

"Already did," I said as I gave Barb a bite of steak. "No-maj style fitness."

"There's a club for that?"

"Yep. I already love it. Want to join?"

"I think I'll pass. I just want to know more about no-majes, not necessarily participate in their activities."

I shrugged. "Alright."

After supper, I went to the clubroom and saw about twenty students there, most of them with a red or orange shoulder cape, four with green, and only one blue. "Everyone, this is our newest member, Weiss Schnee," Nelson said. "Yes, the one that some students are suddenly excited about."

"Guilty as charged," Nikki said.

"Audible gasp!" one of the Perseverantia students said.

"She's already put in more than an hour of workout time today, and has shown interest in the leadership position once we're gone," Nelson added.

One of the Virtus students, a second year boy that was fairly round, spoke up. "She doesn't look like she needs to be here."

"I want to get stronger," I said before anyone else could say something. "Physically stronger. I hate feeling weak."

"You're here by choice?" The lone fourth year Scientia boy, one I didn't know, said. "I had to join so I could get my brother to join." He pointed towards the younger Virtus. "How can anyone actually like this?"

"Because the results are worth it," Nelson confidently said. "Weiss, the brothers here are Tim and Taylor. Our Callidus members are Maria, John, and Gene." As he named everyone, they waved to me. "You've already met Nikki. From Virtus, we have Ron, Simon, Zane, Amara, Moze, and Frank. And from Perseverantia, we have Roland, Mordecai, Brick, Lilith, Sebastian, Morgana, and Richard."

"That's a lot of names." I was quietly laughing inside at the remarkable coincidence of there being two full groups of vault hunter names in the club. "Not many girls here."

"You'll get them all in time, and not many girls have joined. Simple as that."

"Hey, let's get a group picture," Nikki suggested. "Considering our luck, Weiss might be the only new member we get this year." Before she could do anything, there was a knock on the door. "I might be wrong. Someone want to get that?"

"I got it," Moze said. As she went past me, I couldn't help but notice that she was a little bit taller than I was, even with my wedges.

"Be polite this time!"

"Yeah, yeah." I watched Moze open the door, wondering who it could be. "Well, I think we have another new member." She pulled the guest inside. "And she's a first year Virtus too. More fresh blood for the club!"

"Oh, hi Weiss," Phoebe said.

"Hi, Phoebe."

"I guess I'll do the introductions again." Nelson went through the names again, incidentally informing me that Tim was the Scientia one and Taylor was the Virtus. "So, what brings you to our little club?"

"After the chase this morning, I did some thinking, and I want to improve myself in ways magic really can't."

"Sounds like a good enough reason to me." After giving her a rundown on the rules and the membership form, it was time for the group picture. Nikki set up an empty photo frame on an easel facing us, and we stood there for a minute. Just as I was wondering if anything was supposed to happen, colors started to fill in, and in a matter of seconds, there was a picture of us there.

With my white hair, it was easy to pick me out in the crowd, which started to animate once the frame was taken off the easel. The pictured version of me was eager to show off the weighted gloves I was wearing.

Before anyone asked me any questions about them, I answered. "Yes, I have weighted gloves on." I rolled back my robe sleeves to show them off. "Fifteen pounds each. And I have armored boots on that weigh twenty each."

"You're just walking around with seventy pounds on you?" Tim asked. "How are you doing that?"

"The boots are easy, the gloves aren't actually that bad, and I'm getting used to both."

"That's still crazy, you know."

I shrugged. "It works for me." I decided to end that conversation and went over to Phoebe. "So, are you going to see if you can take over the club next year?"

"I kind of want to, but I'll wait a bit," she answered. "I want to see what the club is like first."

After a while, it was time for the club meeting to end. Phoebe was exempted from putting in an hour of exercise for the day, due to the curfew, but that didn't stop her from getting a solid twenty minutes in from trying everything.

To nobody's surprise, I was greeted in the dorm by Noir and a Stupefy. "And where have you been, Snowflake?"

"I joined a club," I simply said, my good mood evaporating. "Initiation was simple enough, but it took a bit of time."

"Oh? And what club would that be, hm? Potion enthusiasts? Art? Cooking?"

"I don't have to tell you."

"Wrong answer." I got hit with another Stupefy. Since I was expecting it, I was able to get my arms up and, thanks to the weight and traction of the boots, didn't fly back very far. "You've gotten more durable, I see."

"You've given me lots of practice."

Noir narrowed her eyes. "And what do you have on your arms?"

I glanced at my arms and saw that the robe sleeves had slid back. "Gloves."

"I can see that! What kind of gloves are they?"

"Heavy duty no-maj gloves. Trust me, you don't want to wear them." Noir seemed content with the information since she didn't stop me from walking past her and to my bed. After setting my chest down and heading inside, I started getting ready for the night.

As much as I loved wearing the heavy gloves and boots, it also felt good to take them off. Even though I'd only had them for around two weeks, I was already feeling their effects. It wasn't enough yet, but I knew that, eventually, I would have a good amount of strength.