The door opened at once.
A gray-haired witch in a red dress stood there. A yellow fang jutted over her lower lip. She surveyed the newcomers with curiosity.
"The first years, Professor Eda," said Ralph.
"Thanks, Ralph. I'll take it from here."
The doors opened wide. The entrance hall was big enough to fit Hiro's house and then some. The stone walls were lit with torches, and a spiraling marble staircase facing them led them to the upper floors. After following Professor Eda up several flights, they stopped before a pair of enormous oak doors. The students crowded close together nervously.
"Welcome to the Magic Kingdom," said Professor Eda. "The start-of-year feast will begin in a moment, but before you take your seats, you have to be sorted into your houses. They're Mus, Canis, Anatis, and Felinus. Each house has a proud history and has produced outstanding heroes, magic users and…others." Her gaze lingered on Kay as she said this.
"While you're here, you'll have classes with your house, sleep in your house dormitories, and spend free time in your house common room; basically your house is like a family you can never get away from. Enjoy any second of private time you can get," she laughed. "Your triumphs will earn you house points, and rule-breaking will lose you points. At the end of the year, the house with the most points wins the House Cup, and bragging rights for the whole summer. The Sorting Ceremony will start in a few minutes, so get yourselves smartened up and shake out those nerves. I'll be back to bring you in."
Professor Eda left the chamber. Hiro gulped.
"How exactly do they sort us?" he asked Peter.
"Some sort of test. Fagin said it hurts a lot, but he was joking...I think."
Hiro's heart gave a jolt. A test? In front of the whole school? But he hardly knew any magic yet. He didn't expect something like this the moment he arrived. He looked around anxiously and saw everyone else was terrified too. No one was talking much except Wendy, who was whispering about the trials different heroes from her stories faced and wondering which one this would be like. He'd never been more nervous, not even when one of his former teachers accused him of slipping a tack on to his chair and tried to use video evidence against him.
He kept his eyes on the doors. Any second now, Professor Eda would come back and lead him to his doom.
Then something happened that made him and almost everyone else around him gasp –
Shimmering letters appeared in the air before them, spelling out the word "Kree".
Most of the kids, including Hiro, murmured the word in confusion.
The word grew larger and bolder, as if it were urging the children to say it.
Those who hadn't said it already did quickly out of fear.
The word changed, this time to "Kruh". The assembled first years repeated it. Was it Hiro's imagination, or was it getting chillier in the hall?
The word changed again as each student said it, to "Vergo", then "Gabba", "Kalto", and finally "Kree" again.
As the last syllable left their lips, several transparent blue-green shapes began to materialize around them. Hiro whispered "No way," as he realized what they were – ghosts.
The spirits talked over one another as they formed into pearly semi-transparent people:
"Will the Madame be joining us this year?" "Oh you know her; she prefers to watch the ceremony from the comfort of her crystal ball…"
"Forgive and forget, that's what I always say –" "Phineas, haven't we given that darn cat all the chances in the world? He gives us all a bad name, and he's not even a ghost!" "He's hardly even a cat, seeing how he's not all there…"
"I say, what are you all doing here?"
One ghost with a skeletal face carrying a hatbox finally noticed the children watching them. Nobody answered.
A woman in a bridal dress with a glowing, thumping heart in her chest floated down next to him. "You don't suppose they know we're here, do you?"
A few students shook their heads and mumbled, "Yes." The bride smiled.
"Ah, the Madame has worked her magic again! Most mortals can't see or hear us unless they speak the proper incantation."
Three ghosts – a squat one holding a carpetbag, a tall thin one in a bowler hat, and a short bearded one carrying a ball and chain – looked over the crowd.
"Well, well, new students!" the thin ghost grinned down at them. "About to be sorted, I assume?"
A few nodded meekly.
"Wonderful! Hope to see you in Canis, students who get sorted there really go places!"
"Okay, show's over, dead people," said a sharp voice. Professor Eda had returned. "Into the Great Hall with you, chop chop – no offense, Hatty."
The ghosts, who had all stopped their chatter at the sound of Eda's voice, floated through the wall. The one with the hatbox stuck his hand holding the box back through – with his head now inside it.
"None taken, Eda," he chuckled darkly. "Now "look alive", all of you, and do what she says," he said to the students. "We're just dying to see you sorted!"
"Puns. Oy." Eda groaned under her breath. "Everyone follow me," she told the first years.
The great doors opened on to an astounding sight: an enormous hall lit by thousands of candles, many in candelabrums and sconces, others floating in midair above dozens of round tables covered in red, blue, orange or green tablecloths with silver and gold plates and cutlery. The students sat at these tables, while the teachers were seated at a long table on a dais at the other end of the hall. They looked at the first-years with eager anticipation.
To avoid their piercing stares, Hiro turned his eyes to the ceiling. He saw a velvety night sky dotted with twinkling stars. He heard Wendy whisper, "It's bewitched to reflect the sky and the mood of everyone in the hall. I read about in A History of the Magic Kingdom." It was hard to believe the ceiling wasn't even there at all, that the hall opened up to the heavens themselves.
Red, orange, blue and green banners bore animal symbols with words encircling them; Hiro figured they must represent the four houses. They read "Courage and Kindness" on the red, "Wit and Determination" on the blue, "Loyalty and Optimism" on the orange, and "Ambition and Strength" on the green.
Hiro quickly looked down again as Professor Eda put a four-legged stool in front of the first years. On top of the stool she reverentially placed a pointed hat. This hat was a deep blue and embroidered with white stars and moons.
"Maybe we have to try to pull a rabbit out of it," Hiro thought.
That seemed to be the thought going through the other first years' heads. There was a murmur among the students that soon fell hushed as a spotlight shone on the hat. A drum roll filled the air. From out of the hat came a plume of blue smoke. It swirled up to the ceiling and with a loud POOF, it took the form of a curvy blue creature resembling a man.
"Hello people! It's me, the Genie of the Lamp, right here to fulfill your entertaining cameo wish fulfillment!"
The hall burst into ecstatic cheers. The Genie addressed the first-years.
"Hey kids! You're getting sorted! And you're getting sorted! You're aaaaalllllll getting sorted! Now, I bet you're wondering what kind of future awaits you here. So why don't you ruminate whilst I illuminate the possibilities?"
Jazzy music began playing as the Genie burst into a show-stopping song and dance number filled with lights, pyrotechnics, dancers, animals and more in an impressive display of his powers, with a bit of surprise audience participation, too:
The Magic Kingdom is now where you're at
And you're excited from your head to your tails
Well, kids, you're all in luck
'Cause up this hat
You got an awesome spell that never fails!
You've got some powers in your corner now!
A real sweet gift has fallen in your lap!
You've got some spark, pizzazz, magic, and how!
See, all you do is just put on that cap
And it'll say -
"Mr. Hamada, sir,
Where do you want to be?
Lemme pick the house
That fits you best
'Cause you ain't ever had a hat like me!"
You're in your new home now
You'll find comfort and bliss
Come on and whisper where it is you want
You ain't ever had a hat like this!
Yes sir, you'll get a big surprise here
When you meet the cat, dog, duck and mouse
What choice they dish
Shows your true wish
When they send you to your new hooooouse!
Have faith in yourself, kids,
It won't send you to the abyss!
It's in the mood
To help you, dude!
You ain't ever had a hat like this!
See Canis help this!
Anatis outwits that!
And Mus will pull some nerve
Out that little haaaaat…
And Felinus goes BOOM!
Well, looky-here! Ha ha!
And all your friends go abracadabra,
Let 'er rip all together now, there ain't no fear!
So don't just sit there slack-jawed bogey-eyed
This hat's here to answer all your prayers
To be a wizard hero certified
And it won't even give you bad hat hair!
It's got a powerful urge to help you out
And it'll tell you where you oughta go
Now you've been waiting long enough, no doubt
So now it's time to put on that hat, ohhhh –
Mr. Hamada, sir, your future's up to this
Shake off those blues
(Hope no one sues!)
You ain't ever had a hat, ever had a hat
You ain't ever had a hat, ever had a hat
You ain't ever! Had a! Hat! Liiiiike thiiiiiiiiis!
You ain't ever had a hat like this!
The Genie's riotous show vanished in a whirl, and he hovered over the high table with a buzzing neon sign reading "Applause" – which the assembly gladly did, many of them standing up from their seats. The noise even drowned out one student complaining, "You can't rhyme "this" with "this", what amateur wrote these lyrics?"
Hiro, even after his unexpected moment in the spotlight, felt somewhat relieved.
"So we just have to try on the hat!" he whispered to Peter. Peter looked somewhat disappointed.
"Aww, Fagin told me we'd have to fight a troll!"
Hiro smiled weakly. Yes, putting on a hat was leagues above trying out a spell, but he wished he didn't have to do it in front of so many people. He didn't feel courageous or quick-witted at the moment. If only the Genie mentioned a house for people feeling slightly nauseous, that would be the house for him.
The Genie bowed and sidled up next to Merlin.
"Bravo! Magnificent performance, I must say," said the wizard.
"Thanks Merlin! Mind if I stick around for the sorting and feast? These things are always a hoot."
"By all means," Merlin replied, "we'd be happy to have you."
The Genie conjured up a reclining chair between Merlin's seat and another professor's and leaped into it now wearing a sports jersey, a foam finger and a soda guzzler cap.
Professor Eda stepped forward with a clipboard. "All right, when I call your name, you'll step forward, put on the Sorcerer's Hat, and it will sort you into your house," she said. "Banks, Jane!"
A nervous blonde girl stepped forward, sat down and put on the hat, which fell over her eyes. There was a moment's pause and –
A bright orange glow enveloped the hat. The hem of the girl's robes changed to orange.
"Canis!" declared Professor Eda.
The students at the orange tables cheered and clapped as Jane went to sit with them. Hiro could see the trio of ghosts from earlier waving merrily at her.
"Banks, Michael!"
This time, the hat and his robes glowed blue.
"Anatis!"
The students at the blue tables clapped this time; some of them shook hands with Michael as he joined them.
"Birdbrain, Bertie" was the second Canis. "Boonchuy, Anne" became the first new Mus student, and joined Edric and Emira at one of the red tables. "Chase, Melissa" soon followed.
"Darling, Wendy!"
A few people snickered at the name. Wendy calmly stepped forward but quickly put the hat on. She sat there for almost a full minute before it lit up red.
"Mus!"
Peter groaned, but the rest of the Mus students applauded. Sometimes, Hiro noticed, the hat revealed its colors right away, but other times it took longer to decide.
Kay swaggered forward when his name was called and instantly got his wish; the hat barely touched his head when it lit up in green.
"Felinus!"
He strutted to a green table, looking rather pleased with himself.
"Flour, Maddie" and "Flynn, Candace" also joined Felinus. Hunter, who sat among them, politely applauded. Perhaps it was Hiro's imagination, after all he heard about Felinus, but he thought most of the kids looked like the type you didn't want to be left alone with.
He was definitely starting to feel sick now. He started having flashbacks to all the times he had been picked last to join teams in his old school's gym class.
"Foxworth, Jenny!"
A flash of orange.
"Canis!"
A horrible thought struck Hiro, as they often do when you're nervous: what if he wasn't chosen at all? What if he sat there with his hat over his eyes for ages until Professor Eda ripped it off his head, said there had obviously been a mistake and he was sent back home on the train?
"Hamada, Hiro!"
It took Hiro several seconds to unfreeze and step up to the stool. He could hear whispers like little hissing fires all over the Great Hall. A few of the teachers, including Merlin, leaned forward anxiously.
The last thing Hiro saw before the hat dropped over his eyes was the hall full of people craning in to get a good look at him. Next second he was looking at the inside of the hat. And then –
Black everywhere.
Hiro blinked. He looked down.
He was still sitting on the stool, but he was no longer in the Great Hall, and the hat wasn't on his head. It was so quiet he thought he could hear his heart beating.
"Hmm, this is a tough one, fellas," came a voice.
Hiro looked up.
Standing before him was a short mouse with large round ears, a tall lanky dog, a duck with his arms folded, and an overweight black cat.
"Hiro's plenty courageous, and eager to make friends," said the dog in a country twang.
"He's real smart, too," the duck quacked enthusiastically.
"He's got a lot of talent, and he really wants to prove himself. All he needs is a nudge in the right direction," the mouse said encouragingly. "The question is where should he go?"
Hiro gripped the edges of the stool and thought "Not Felinus, not Felinus…" only for the words to come pouring out of him on their own. He clapped his hands over his mouth.
"Sorry, Hiro," the dog said. "There's nothin' you can hide in here, not even your thoughts."
The cat, meanwhile, stroked his chin thoughtfully.
"Not Felinus, eh?" he said in a rough, deep voice. "You sure about that, kid? You could be hot stuff, you know. It's all here, in your head." He pointed to his skull with a menacing grin.
"Lay off him, Pete," said the mouse. "It's pretty obvious he doesn't want to be a part of your house."
"His brain don't lie, mouse!" Pete snorted. "Whaddaya say, Hamada? Forge a new path for yourself? Be the number one smartie there was? Never get pushed around again, not even by that clingy auntie of yours? Just take my hand and you'll be on your way to greatness, no doubt about it!"
Pete outstretched his hand and Hiro shrank back, his fingers clutching the stool even harder now.
"No! Not Felinus! Anywhere but Felinus!" his mind and mouth cried out again.
Pete grimaced and stepped back.
"Hmph! Toldja so!" the duck smirked.
"Hey fellas, mind if I take this one?" the mouse asked his companions.
The dog shook his head. "Go ahead, Mickey," replied the duck.
Mickey stepped forward.
"Hiro, it's ok to be scared right now. I've been through my fair share of tough moments and big decisions, and I was terrified through 'em all. It took a lot of courage to see me through, but I also couldn't have made it without the help of some great friends."
He smiled over his shoulder to the duck and the dog – Hiro recognized the latter as the face on the bags of Goofy Jellybeans.
"I think that's what I really want," Hiro said. "I mean, I really want to learn things, but I don't care about being a hero or even being number one in class. I just don't want to go through all this alone. I- I don't even know what house my parents were in, so..."
"It was a tough call for your mom; me and Donald almost fought over her. But in the end, she came to me."
"But I still got Tomeo!" Donald quacked triumphantly.
"Whatever happens, you don't have to decide where you go because of your family. Just follow what your heart says is right."
He held out his hand to Hiro.
"Courage and kindness aren't just marks of a great hero, they're the signs of a great friend, too. I see them in you, Hiro. If you really want this, if you feel deep down that this is the right path for you, I'd be happy to guide you there."
Deep in his heart, Hiro knew what his answer was.
He slowly, carefully, placed his hand in Mickey's gloved one. The white fingers softly closed around Hiro's. Mickey thrust his free hand upward. Red fireworks shot out of his fingertips.
"MUS!"
Eda's shout broke through the silence.
Hiro blinked and suddenly he was back in the Great Hall with the Sorcerer's Hat being pulled off his head. The sight of the Mus students cheering wildly greeted him. Edric and Emira were doing a silly dance and chanting, "We got Hamada! We got Hamada!"
Hiro walked shakily to one of the Mus tables and sat next to Wendy. The applause continued for several more minutes as his fellow Mus students shook his hands, but he hardly noticed it.
Hiro looked back at the hat. He wasn't sure if he imagined Professor Eda winking at him or not. He knew for sure that Ralph, who was seated at the far end of the high table, was clapping enthusiastically for him, as was the Genie. Hiro also recognized Ichabod Crane, who seemed more interested in his plate full of dinner rolls than the ceremony. His eyes drifted over to Merlin, whom he recognized from his Wonder Ball card. The wizard smiled at him and raised his goblet in his direction.
The sorting continued without incident…for the most part.
"Murphy, Milo" was so excited about being declared a Mus that he ran off while still wearing the Hat and knocked over the line of waiting first-years like dominoes. One of them crashed into a Felinus table, which sent the plates and cutlery flying into the floating candles, knocking them out of the air. While the Mus tables ducked to avoid the falling knives and forks, the candles landed haphazardly on the floor, setting random tables on fire as well as burning Ichabod's pile of rolls. Milo lifted the Hat and surveyed the damage.
"Well, that's one way to start the year," he mused nonchalantly.
He looked down and noticed a small spotted dog that had somehow gotten in the hall amidst the chaos.
"Diogee, go home!"
And so, once the fires were put out, the list continued, until –
"Pan, Peter!"
Hiro noticed Peter, for all his earlier bluster, looked unusually pale. He crossed his fingers under the table. Moments later –
"Mus!"
Hiro clapped loudly with the rest of the Mus students as Peter shot up into the air with an overjoyed crow. In a flash he seated himself between Hiro and Anne.
"All right, Peter!" Hiro put out his fist. Peter looked at him, confused.
"Bump your fist against mine," he told him. "It's what friends do."
Peter made a fist and tapped Hiro's. Hiro jerked back his hand and made a little explosion noise with his mouth as he wiggled his fingers. He never told anyone that, even as he rolled his eyes when he saw students at his old school share the same gesture of friendship, he wished he had someone to do it with. Moments later, both he and Peter fist bumped again with Wart when he was sorted into Mus as well.
Eda continued down the list: Pinfeather, Penelope…Plantar, Sprig…Proud, Penny…Robin, Christopher…Sparrow, Suzy…Sundew, Ivy…Underwood, Zack…Waybright, Sasha…ending with Wu, Marcy, who was made an Anatis. Eda stuck the clipboard under her arm and took the Sorcerer's Hat away.
Hiro looked down at his plate. He didn't realize until now how hungry he was. All that candy and ice cream seemed ages ago.
Merlin got to his feet. He beamed at the students, his arms open wide, as if nothing could have pleased him more than to see them all there.
"Welcome, welcome to another year at the Magic Kingdom! Before I begin out banquet, I would like to say a few words: tonight we'll prop our feet up, but for now, let's eat up!"
At once, more food than Hiro had ever seen in his lifetime blossomed on to the plates. There were steaming platters of steak, chicken, fish and pork with heaping bowls of vegetables, potatoes, applesauce, and salad, but he also recognized and nearly drooled over countless other familiar and international dishes – sushi rolls, spinach puffs, rice, gumbo, shrimp, pizza, French fries, bisque, larb gai, curry, tamales, gyros, hot dogs, dumplings, spaghetti and meatballs, macaroni and cheese, beef ragout, cheese soufflé, and, for some strange reason, bowls of unshelled peanuts. Hiro piled his plate with a little of everything (except the peanuts) and dug in. It was all so delicious.
"Looks rather good, doesn't it?" said the ghost with the hatbox, watching Hiro cut through his chicken. Hiro felt a bit guilty.
"Could you –"
"I haven't eaten for over fifty years," said the ghost. "I don't need to, of course, it simply…goes right through me." He chuckled at his own joke. "We haven't been properly introduced. I am the Hatbox Ghost, but you may call me Hatty if you wish."
"Hey, I know you!" said Sprig, a pink frog sitting next to Anne. "My grandpa told me about you. You brought the ghost count here up to nine-hundred and ninety-nine!"
"But there's room for a thousand," said the Hatbox Ghost with a grim grin.
"Why would a place like this be haunted?" Wendy asked nervously. "I didn't read anything in A History of the Magic Kingdom about the school having that many…accidents…"
"Oh, most of us aren't from the Magic Kingdom," explained the Hatbox Ghost. "Merlin invited us from mansions and graveyards and all sorts of haunts around the world to impart our wisdom and "liven things up" as it were. Do you see Baron Ravenswood over there? He's from a Western mining town that hit its peak during the gold rush."
Hiro looked over at the Felinus tables and saw a horrible ghost standing there, a grimacing skeleton with bottomless black eyeholes wearing a suit, top hat and black cape with a high pointed collar. He was right behind Kay who, Hiro was a little happy to see, didn't look very pleased with his company.
"How come he's a skeleton while everyone else is…relatively normal?" Sprig asked.
The Hatbox Ghost shrugged.
"I've never asked. Anyway, I do hope you will help Mus win the house championship this year. You poor mouselings have never been on such a losing streak before. Felinus has won for six years straight. The Baron's become almost unbearable to be around – we wager on who will win every year and he always bets on Felinus."
When it seemed as though everyone had their fill, the food was replaced with dessert; an ice cream sundae loaded with twelve different flavors and all the fixings appeared before each student, in addition to puddings and pies of all kinds, brownies, beignets, tarts, cream puffs, éclairs, cookies, donuts, churros, Dole Whip, fruit, hot chocolate, and even some anpan.
As Hiro helped himself to one, talk turned to their families.
"I'm half and half," said Anne. "My dad's ordinary. He really liked my mom's cooking; he said she was magic in the kitchen. He didn't realize she really was until after they married!"
The others laughed.
"So, did you guys know about magic and school before you got your letters?"
"Well, a lot of weird things happened around me growing up," Milo began. The others nodded and murmured in solidarity. "Of course, I'm a descendant of the founder of Murphy's Law; anything that can go wrong will around me and my family. But somehow things would always right themselves in the end, like magic. Well, I guess I can't say it was like magic if it was magic all along, can I? Still, the folks were really happy about it when I got accepted. What about you, Wart?"
"Oh, um, I don't really have a mother or father," he said. "I was found by a knight named Sir Ector when I was a baby and he took me in. I didn't know I had magic in me and neither did he until my letter arrived. We could hardly believe it!"
"I know what that's like," said Sprig. "My grandpa, Hop Pop, raised me and my little sister. He teaches here; guess it'll be interesting to see how learning's different between here and doing things on the farm."
Hiro, who was starting to feel a bit warm and sleepy, looked up at the high table again. Ralph was drinking deeply from a mug of root beer. Professor Eda was in the middle of a conversation with Merlin and the Genie. Professor Ichabod was talking to a teacher with ivory skin, pale green eyes, and straight blue hair so dark that it was nearly black.
It happened suddenly. A girl crossed tables past Hiro, and in the second the pale teacher was blocked from view, she went from looking at Professor Ichabod to staring coldly straight into Hiro's eyes – and a sharp, hot pain shot across the scars in Hiro's arm.
"Ow!" cried Hiro, clutching his arm. Unfortunately, Baymax wasn't there to see what was wrong or try to fix it.
"Hiro, what is it?" asked Peter.
"N-nothing."
The pain vanished as quickly as it had come. Harder to shake off was the feeling Hiro had gotten from the teacher's look, as if she didn't trust him.
"Hey, Edric, who's that teacher talking to Professor Ichabod over there?" he asked.
"Oh, you know him already? No wonder he looks so terrified, that's Professor Lilith. She scares everybody."
"What does she teach?"
"Transformation, though everyone knows she's after her sister's job. Eda's an expert when it comes to fighting evil magic, but let's just say Lilith's got some firsthand experience with it."
Hiro looked back at the table; Eda, wild-haired and golden-eyed, was cracking up over a joke the Genie made, while Lilith remained stonefaced and silent throughout Ichabod's rambling. He would never have guessed that they were related. Hiro watched Lilith for a while, but she didn't look at him again.
"What about the Genie? What does he do?" Peter asked.
"Every year they get someone to come and open the ceremony with a song all about the hat. Pretty cool way to start the year, though we've never been able to guess who it will be."
At last, the desserts also disappeared. Merlin tapped his glass with his wand and got to his feet. The hall fell silent.
"I have just a few start-of-term notices to share now that we're all fed and watered. The first-years should note that The Forest of No Return is out of bounds to all students, some of whom would do well to remember that also."
His twinkling eyes flashed in Edric and Emira's direction.
"I have also been asked by our caretaker, Mr. O'Dell, to remind you all that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors. Grudgby and Questing trials will be held in the third week of the term. Anyone interested in playing should speak with Professor Timothy. And finally, I must tell you this year that the third-floor corridor on the right hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a most painful death."
Peter and Hiro laughed, but they were among the few that did.
"He's not serious, is he?" Hiro muttered to Emira.
"Must be," Emira mumbled back. "He usually gives us a reason why we're not allowed to go somewhere."
"The forest's full of dangerous beasts and stuff, everyone knows that," Edric continued. "You'd think he'd say why about this one."
"And now, before we hobble off to bed, the school song!" cried Merlin. Hiro noticed some of the teachers' smiles became a bit rigid.
Merlin gave his wand a flick as if he were trying to get a fly off the end, and a long golden ribbon flew out, rising high above the tables, followed by three balls. The ribbon twisted itself, snakelike, into words, and the three balls assembled themselves into the shape of the school seal. They hopped in anticipation above the first word.
"Now, everyone follow the bouncing ball," said Merlin "and off we go!"
Music struck up from out of nowhere, and the school bellowed:
There's a great big beautiful tomorrow
Shining at the end of every day...
Everyone finished the song together, except the Blight twins, who tried to hold the final note for as long as possible, even after the music ended. When they finished, Merlin was among those who clapped the loudest.
"Interesting song choice for a school that focuses on magic," Hiro wondered.
"Yeah, this is the new song," Edric said. "The original one was all about star wishing making your dreams come true, but people thought it was getting unrealistic so they changed it."
"Ah, music," Merlin said, wiping his eyes. "It brings more magic to this world than any spell ever could. And now, bedtime. Off you go!"
The Mus first year students followed Professor Eda through the chattering crowds, out of the hall and up the next flight of stairs. The people and animals in the portraits along the corridor whispered and pointed or waved hello as they crossed passageways and up more stairwells. Hiro, yawning and dragging his feet, wondered how much further they'd have to go when they came to a sudden halt.
A pair of yellow eyes and a wide toothy mouth appeared on the back of Eda's head and stuck its tongue out. Some of the students cried out in surprise. The face disappeared as quickly as it came when Eda started looking around. It appeared next to her, rolling its eyes, and vanished as soon as she turned in its direction.
"Wait – don't tell me. Ches! Show yourself!"
A sing-songy laugh bounced off the walls.
"T'was Brillig and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe
All mimsy were the borogroves
And the momeraths outgrabe…"
"You want me to tell Baron Ravenswood that his pet's making trouble again?"
A purple cat with pink stripes and a very large grin materialized on the banister next to Eda.
"Second chorus?" he asked casually.
"Why, it's a cat!" cried Wendy.
"A Cheshire cat," the cat said, politely tipping the top half of his head in greeting. "My, my, little first-years, what fun!"
"Beat it, Ches," Eda barked, "or I'll sic every dog in the ten-mile radius on you, I mean it!"
"This way, that way, all ways are the school's way. It doesn't matter which way you go!" The Cheshire Cat began to laugh ominously as his body slowly vanished, followed by his head.
"And the momeraths outgraaaaabe…"
"Yeesh, I hate when he does that," Eda shuddered. "You want to watch out for the Cheshire Cat. Few of us can control him – or understand him, for that matter."
They set off again, climbing staircases and hallways. At the end of one corridor hung a painting of a hippo in a yellow tutu and ballet slippers dancing in a garden.
"Password please," she said in a sweet voice.
"Fortuosity," said Eda. The hippo curtseyed, and the painting swung open to reveal a hole in the wall. "Make sure you remember that," Eda told them. "The password changes every couple of weeks – and it won't be the same one but with a number added to the end." They all scrambled through the opening – Wart needed a leg-up – and found themselves in the Mus common room: a cozy, round room full of squashy armchairs.
Eda directed the girls up to their dormitory and the boys to theirs. At the top of one last spiral staircase – Hiro figured they must be in one of the towers by now – they found their beds at last: several four-posters hung with red velvet curtains. Their trunks and things had already been brought up. Too tired to talk much, they all changed into their pajamas and fell into bed – all except Hiro.
His bed was by a half-open window overlooking the castle grounds and the world beyond. Hiro sat on the sill, looking at the star-filled sky, feeling both too excited to sleep yet at peace for the first time in ages. He had finally made it. Tomorrow would be his first step into a world he could never have imagined. And before he knew it, he had dozed off.
Perhaps Hiro had eaten a bit too much, because he had a very strange dream. He was wearing the Sorcerer's Hat, which spoke to him in Aunt Cass' voice, and told him that he must transfer to Felinus right away because it was his destiny. Hiro kept telling the hat that he didn't want to, but it grew heavier and heavier. He tried to pull it off, but it tightened painfully. And there was Kay, laughing and laughing at him as he struggled – then Kay turned into the pale teacher, Lilith, whose laugh became high and cold – and as she vanished into a burst of green flames, she grew tall and dark and indistinct, and a pair of horns sprouted from her head –
And Hiro awoke, sweating and shaking.
He rolled off the windowsill into his bed and promptly fell asleep again. When he awoke the next day, he didn't remember the dream at all.
The spell that lets everyone see the ghosts is an actual spell...in the Disney universe. It appeared in Blackbeard's Ghost and, if you look very carefully, it's in Madame Leota's spellbook in the Haunted Mansion ride.
The trouble with wanting to include songs in your story is that this site doesn't look too fondly on that, especially if they're not your own. I feel like I'm already risking it with the "Friend Like Me" parody (new lyrics by me, BTW), but I cut "It's a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow". "T'was Brillig" is technically public domain and I can't imagine the Cheshire Cat coming in without it, so it stays. If you want to read the full version of this chapter, or just in case this is what gets the story taken down, it's up on AO3 (my pen name is the same as it is here).
I made a point of starting to post this story only when it about 80-90% complete; that way I'd be motivated to finish it and not get bogged down by overthinking and criticizing myself too much like in the past. As of the time this is posted, every chapter of this fic 100% done and ready to go! YAAAAAAY! *does Kermit arms*
Next Chapter: The Magical Masters