A/N: For reference, I'm going to be tweaking the ages of the three oldest Grimwood girls slightly, mainly because I don't quite agree with the age assessment Wikipedia gave to them (Especially Sibella, who acts and dresses way more mature than a 12-year-old). I'm also changing the names of the three new ones (since I never found an accurate source for their names, and I don't think a Martian girl would have a name so plain as 'Mary'). Also introducing an original (minor) character. With that in mind, here's the next chapter of…

In Plain Sight

Chapter 3: At the Beginning

Daphne was thoroughly shocked that Shaggy was the one with the first lead in this mystery. Normally, Velma and Freddy found the clues, and Shaggy and Scooby acted as live bait. This time, however, Shaggy had taken the initiative and apparently found a real-live, totally authentic witch.

"I'm telling you, Daphne, if Miss Grimwood can't figure out what's going on, I don't know who can!" The thin boy said excitedly.

"And how did you find her?" Daphne asked. "Velma's usually the one doing the research…"

"Not with this stuff, she isn't." Shaggy waved. "She doesn't have the inside information I do."

"That still doesn't explain how you know her." The redhead pointed out.

"Easy. She's the headmistress at that boarding school I worked at over the summer." Shaggy smiled broadly. "The Grimwood Finishing School for Ghouls!"

"I think it's supposed to be 'girls', Shaggy."

"Not according to the sign out front." He shook his head. "The daughters of all your most famous movie monsters go to school there. Sibella Dracula, Elsa Frankenteen, Tanis the Mummy…"

Daphne's eyes threatened to bulge free of her skull. "And you never told us this?"

"Like, would you have believed me?" The boy asked.

"Well, no. Probably not."

"That's why. There's actually more to the story, but I'll explain that on the drive up to the school tomorrow."

"What more could there possibly be to explain?"

"Oh, you'll find out." He said cryptically. "Now get packing. I don't know if we'll wind up staying the night at the school or driving back to Coolsville tomorrow."

The following morning, Shaggy, Scooby, and Daphne all loaded up in Shaggy's red van and set out for the Grimwood Ghoul School. Scooby was cautiously eager to see his girls again, while Daphne kept pestering Shaggy to tell her just what he had been so enigmatic about the afternoon before.

Once they got out on the main highway, Shaggy finally caved and launched into a tale of last summer's events. "Not long after classes ended, I tried to make it big racing cars, with Scooby and Scrappy as my pit crew. Little did I know I'd wind up on Dracula's monster list! Apparently, the wolf-man (Winnie's father) had retired from being a full-time spook and moved to Florida with most of his pack just before one of their big monster gatherings. They wanted a full group of ghouls, so they started researching who would become the new werewolf. According to the monster records, I was next in line to take his place."

"So…they turned you into a werewolf?" Daphne gasped. "But, we've never seen you change…"

"Hang on, I'm getting to that." He waved. "Anyway, they finally got around to changing me so that they'd have full group of monsters for the Monster Car Rally race they have every year. Unfortunately, they did it while Googey and I were at a drive-in movie on a date." He winced. "Two of Dracula's minions captured Scooby, Scrappy, Googey, and me, and drug us to Transylvania for the race. We managed to make a deal that if I won the race, I would get my humanity back."

"So you beat Dracula in a race?" Daphne said eyes wide. "That's incredible!"

"Yeah, but that's not quite all of it." The beatnik sighed. "I got to talk with Winnie's dad when I was teaching at Grimwood's, and what he said…" A shudder passed over the lanky adolescent. "Apparently it's not just a magic thing that gets you selected as a werewolf. It's in your blood too, and even though I can't change anymore, I can still sense magic." He looked poignantly at the redhead riding shotgun. "And I sensed yours the other night, Daph. It's strong, whatever it is, but it didn't feel dark or evil."

Daphne's blue-green eyes focused intently on her new lavender pumps. Magic? She had magic? How could that be possible? She didn't dabble in the dark arts or casually glance through spell books in her spare time. "So…what is this?" She said out loud, tears threatening to start leaking down her face. "What's going on with me?"

A whine sounded from the back seat as Scooby-Doo padded over to the girl, regarding her with big, understanding brown eyes. Her left hand reached up and began petting the top of his forehead as Shaggy let out a sigh.

"I don't know, Daphne, but this is why we're going to the school. Someone there has got to be able to figure this out."

Contrary to her youthful, spunky personality, Tryphena Grimwood was an old witch. Her continued use of magic ensured that, although she was well over 80, she only looked about half her age. She had seen a lot of things in her lifetime: some happy, and many sad. One of the saddest was the day that the Earth Fairies were sealed away along with the planet's supply of "light" magic.

The evil wizards who did this attempted to take over the council of ghoul elders, but proved no match for the 10,000 years of collective experience the old spooks possessed. Thutmos, the undead Pharaoh and one of the strongest mages on the council, deflected all of Ogron's attacks with one blow, and Anagan's mystic speed proved no match for Dracula's tracking and the Phantom's ability to pass through solid objects. Though bleeding, the wizards left alive and hadn't been seen for the better part of the last two decades.

Now, she worried that this Daphne girl might bring them out of hiding.

The cocky but powerful young wizards had matured a lot over the last twenty years, learning from Revolta's failed attempt that trying to get to the reigning council through their daughters was a bad idea (though she kept a magic barrier around the school—just in case). They also weren't dumb enough to try to hunt down Thorn, lead singer for the rock band The Hex Girls and a powerful Wiccan in her own right. She suspected that had to do with the fact that she was a public figure that would attract unwanted attention. However, this Daphne…she was free game.

And scented magic? Typically, only someone skilled in fairy magic could do that. Was it possible that she was one who had survived the Faye Holocaust?

From the moment Shaggy's van pulled up to the drawbridge, she knew what she was dealing with. She could sense it as plainly as she saw sunlight. This girl was indeed one of the few (possibly the only) lucky enough to have not shown active magic at the time Queen Morgana was cast down and locked away with her people. She also had great power…but, she saw plainly as the girl stepped out, no wings. At least, not yet. They would fix that, given a few days of practice.

"Shaggy, it's so good to see you again!" She walked up to the lanky young man as he got out of the van. "And Scooby too." She looked kindly to the Great Dane bounding out of the sliding door.

"Same here." Shaggy smiled broadly as Scooby nodded along.

"Reah! Reah!"

"And you must be Daphne." The dark-haired woman said, looking the redheaded girl up and down. Orange-red hair…that was an odd color for one of the Earth fairies. Most of their hair color ranged from brown to black, with a few errant shades of blue or burgundy in between. Occasionally, you'd find one with blonde or pink hair, but never that fiery red. That was a Celtic color, and the Celtic fairies left the planet centuries ago to settle colonies on other realms. Most of those remaining were of Germanic origin, with a few Italian, Spanish, and the ever-occasional Welsh thrown into the mix. Granted, they still occupied the same island off the coast of the British Isles, but virtually none of the indigenous Celtic Faye remained, and any of those would have been sealed away in the Ring.

So where had this one come from?

"Yes." Daphne nodded nervously, sensing the sheer power coming from the older woman. What had she just walked into? "I'm Daphne Blake"

"Well, Miss Blake, I hope you can clear out your schedule." Grimwood said plainly. "Because for the next few weeks, you'll be learning to channel the magic within you."

"Huh?" She blinked, glancing briefly at Shaggy. "I thought there was some kind of tests I had to go through…"

"Not when the answer is so plain, my dear." The petite witch replied kindly. "Miss Blake, you are the first of your kind that has come to this school in twenty years! Fairies are all but extinct in this realm."

"Fairy?" The girl blinked incredulously, pointing a finger at her own chest. "I'm a fairy?"

"Yes, and quite a strong one at that. Or you will be once I'm through with you." The dark headed woman waved. "You're a bit of a late bloomer, but I don't think that will hinder us in the slightest."

"Through with me?" Daphne asked, eyes wide with fear. "What…What are you going to do to me? How long will I have to stay?"

"Until you have gained your wings at least." Miss Grimwood chuckled. "Maybe a bit longer. You must learn to fly before I could in good conscience let you go."

Daphne's mind swam, trying its best to make sense of this new information. She was a ghoul? A fairy, even? And she would need to train in magic? Real-live magic? It was all too much for Daphne to comprehend at the moment. She managed a stiff nod to the elder woman, but said nothing.

Sensing her mental breakdown, Shaggy decided to find a new topic of conversation. "Like, where are the girls at?" He asked. "I don't see them anywhere."

"Oh, they're in their classes, at the moment. Tanis, Elsa, and Sibella are all in the potionology lab; Winnie, Yuki, and Laguna are in P.E., and Phantasma and Maeryn, and Callista—she's Sibella's younger sister-are in their music class."

That drew Daphne's attention back to the school. "Only nine students? I thought for sure there would be more of them in a place like this."

"Well, many ghouls choose to home-school their young ones, and a good portion of their children are male." Grimwood said, motioning for the trio to follow her into the school. "Winnie, for instance, is the runt of her litter of four, with the other three being boys. Alas, that is why trying to make a lady out of her has been such a great challenge." The woman sighed, opening the front door. "She's not encouraged to be ladylike at home, so when she first came here she was rather feral. She still is, to an extent, but she has calmed down considerably."

"Winnie was the werewolf girl…right?" Daphne asked, glancing briefly at Shaggy and Scooby.

"Reah. Rolf." Scooby answered as a dog-sized green dragon padded up to them. Daphne froze in fright, while Shaggy laughed and Scooby wagged his tail excitedly. "Ratches!"

"Huh?" She blinked.

"Like, that's Matches, Miss Grimwood's pet dragon." Shaggy chuckled.

"Don't worry, my dear, he's quite tame." The headmistress reassured the girl. "Now, this class rotation still has about ten or fifteen minutes left, so why don't we go to my office and fill out your paperwork?"

"Okay." Daphne nodded weakly.

"Like, don't be so tense, Daph." Shaggy smiled. "She won't bite."

Daphne had never been so nervous in her life. She felt like she was signing all her hopes and dreams away by trying to enroll here at the ghoul school. And Freddy and Velma didn't even know what was going on yet. Or her parents for that matter.

Oh, God, her parents! What would they say to this? She'd had a rather religious upbringing, and magic (outside the party magicians who pulled rabbits out of hats) was a forbidden thing in their household. What would they do, knowing that their daughter could channel magic?

Not like there was much to be done about it, though. She needed help, and this school seemed to be the only place that could give it to her.

"It's not the end of the world, my dear." Daphne looked up to see Miss Grimwood glancing at her with kind eyes. "It's a new beginning. A new chapter in your existence."

"It certainly doesn't feel that way." She sighed. "I just don't know…"

"Give it time, child." The older woman soothed. "You're coming from the world of the mortal and into the world of magic. It's a difficult transition at first, but one I am confident you will be able to pass through."

"I'm just worried about being so far behind!" Daphne admitted. "All of these other girls are going to be a lot younger than I am."

"Ghouls have a slightly different educational structure than you humans do." Grimwood said. "Since they live so much longer, it's not at all uncommon for girls to stay at an academy like this until they reach the age of twenty-five so that they have a fuller grasp on their basic subjects before moving on to a higher learning institution."

"Really?" Daphne blinked. She hadn't been aware of that. "How old is the oldest student here?"

"After you, that would actually be Sibella." Grimwood stated. "She doesn't so much look it, but she is fifteen. Elsa is a few months younger."

"Huh." The redhead sighed. Fifteen was still four years younger than she was. "So I'm still the old maid."

"Now, don't think like that! I'm sure they'll be happy to have someone with so much life experience in the outside world come to the school." The raven haired woman chided. "Very few of the girls have ever been out into the nearby town, let alone travelled quite like you and Mr. Rogers have."

"Yeah, we have had our share of adventures." The girl replied. "But seriously? They don't ever go on vacation?"

"I think you'll understand once you meet them." the elder woman stated. "Speaking of which, they should be just about finished with this class rotation. Why don't you go down into the sitting room with Mr. Rogers and Mr. Doo, and I'll call the girls in for an introduction."

"Sounds lovely." Daphne responded, feeling more than a little apprehensive.

The sitting room consisted of an enchanted armchair, cobweb-infested sofa, and dusty coffee table. Tattered drapes hung over the large peaked windows, blocking out most of the natural light. It was a spooky room, to be sure, and that was doing nothing to calm Daphne's nerves.

She absently wondered just what these girls would look like. Shaggy's rather vague descriptions of "ghost", "mummy", and "werewolf" left something to be desired. She understood that Sibella and Callista were not only vampires, but sisters as well. Elsa was about the same age as Sibella, and Tanis and Callista were the youngest. But that was the extent of what she knew, and her curiosity was starting to get the better of her. She wanted to tiptoe out of the room and spy on one of the classes, if only to catch a glimpse of these girl ghouls.

A high-pitched squeaking sounded as two bats flew into the room, one purple with little red feet, and the other smaller and golden with little black feet. "Well, jeepers!" Daphne froze, looking worriedly at the two creatures. "I didn't realize they kept pet bats here!"

"Oh, we're not pets!" A Transylvanian-accented voice stated confidently. In two puffs of smoke, the bats vanished and two girls appeared in their places. The older of the two had long purple hair, light purple skin, and green eyes. She wore a dark purple v-neck dress with a red belt across her waist and a pair of red shoes. The younger girl had the same pale purple complexion, but her hair was a metallic golden blonde and her eyes a crystalline blue. She wore a simple white button-up shirt, black vest, black skirt, and black shoes.

"Oh!" Daphne gasped. "Oh, I'm so sorry! I didn't realize…"

"Don't be so worried." The older girl (and the source of the earlier voice) waved. "Nobody ever seems to warn the visitors around here to be on the lookout for flying bat-people. I'm Sibella Dracula, and this is my younger sister Callista."

Callista offered a shy wave, trying to use her sister as a protective shield.

"You've got that right." Daphne shook her head. "I'm Daphne Blake." She looked from Sibella to Callista and back again. For siblings, they certainly didn't look a whole lot alike.

Sibella noticed. "We're not sure where the blond hair came from, either. Both of our parents have dark hair." She shrugged. "Although Daddy says that one of his aunts was blond…"

"I guess it doesn't matter." Daphne said as a few more figures entered the room. "Family is family. Mine just happen to all look alike."

"Oooh, Winnie! We need to let her teach you how to do your hair!" A high-pitched, airy voice laughed merrily. Daphne looked over to see a tall transparent girl with white hair floating effortlessly off the ground. She wore a blue dress and white boots. Next to her was a frowning furry kid with a mess of curly red-orange hair and a torn dark blue dress…and no shoes.

"Ha ha, Phanty." The she-wolf grumbled, glancing from the floating teen to Daphne. "She don't look like much of a ghoul to me."

"Miss Grimwood said she was." 'Phanty' stated. "That's good enough for me!"

"Oh, she is." Sibella smirked. "I can sense the magic from here. Now, are you two going to continue talking about her like she's not here, or introduce yourselves?"

"Oh! Where are my manners?" The ghastly girl exclaimed. "I'm Phantasma, and grumpy Gus over there is Winnie."

"I'm not grumpy!" Winnie growled.

"Phanty…" Sibella warned.

"Oh, come on, Bella! She's the most fashionable student we've ever had!"

"Stop antagonizing Winnie." The older ghoul stated. "You can't fault her for being suspicious, and isn't she a little young to be worrying about fashion yet? She's not even out of primary classes yet!"

"Thanks…I think." The young werewolf said slowly.

"Oh. You're no fun." Phantasma grumbled. As two more young ghouls walked in. One of them was covered in orange scales and wore a plain brown dress. The other was slightly shorter with purple skin and red-violet hair, and donned a space suit complete with bubble helmet.

"She does not look like the other ghouls." The small one in the space suit stated as she looked up at Daphne.

"Miss Grimwood said I haven't fully transformed yet." Daphne looked down at her shoes. "Apparently I'm going to grow wings…"

"That'll be so cool!" The orange-skinned one said in a slow, but excited voice. "Then you can fly like Bella and Callie."

"Well, not exactly like us, Laguna." Sibella smiled. "She won't need to become a bat to do it."

"Laguna." Daphne said, looking at the orange-skinned girl. "That's a very pretty name."

"Thank you." Laguna smiled, revealing an array of sharp teeth.

"And I am Maeryn." The girl in the space suit said serenely. "I hail from the planet M'krall."

"Very nice to meet you too, Maeryn." Daphne nodded as three more students entered, along with Shaggy and Scooby-Doo. One was a large white lizard-creature with black ridge-like scales down her back and wearing a pink tutu and matching bow on her head. The second, and tallest of the group, was a lanky girl with white-streaked black hair that stuck straight up in the air by about a foot. She had stitches on her skin, bolts in her neck, and wore a green dress with a blue sash. The last was a small girl wrapped in bandages, so that the bandages formed a little dress for her. She had blue eyes and a pink bow in her head-bandages, giving the trailing ends the appearance of a ponytail.

"And, like, there she is now!" Shaggy smiled as the group walked in. "Tanis, Elsa, Yuki, this is my friend Daphne."

"Hi." Daphne waved nervously.

"She has good magic." The mummy-girl said. "It feels nice."

"Whatever you say." The tall girl with tall hair stated.

The lizard-creature walked up to Daphne and bowed politely. "Konichiwa, Daphne-sama. I am Yuki." She said in a cultured (if rough) Japanese accent.

The redhead bowed in response. "Hello, Yuki."

"I see that you have been introduced to everyone." Miss Grimwood smiled warmly at the young fairy as she entered the room.

"Yes, ma'am." Daphne nodded nervously.

"Well, then I imagine you will all get to know each other a little better over dinner tonight." The witch stated. "Sibella, would you mind showing Miss Blake to her room?"

"Of course, Miss Grimwood." The purple-haired vampire nodded respectfully, looking kindly at Daphne. "Now, where did you leave your things?"

The Students' rooms at the Grimwood Finishing School for Girl (Ghouls) looked to be in much the same state of dusty unused as the rest of the building. Daphne looked fearfully at the bed (which had a good 2-inch thick layer of dust and cobwebs on it) as she set her bags on the floor. "Jeepers. Has no one ever thought to hire a maid?"

Sibella chuckled in response. "Most of the remaining ghouls are creatures of night and shadow." She explained. "This feels homey to them, believe it or not."

"And what about you?" Daphne inquired. Of all the students she'd met today, Sibella was the only one who showed any level of concern about how she looked, going so far as to put on lipstick and eyeliner. "Is your room like this?"

"Certainly not!" The teen put her hands on her hips. "I'm vampire royalty, dear. My room can't be in any state of disrepair. At least, that's what mother told me."

"Looks like I may need your help scrubbing this place down, then." Daphne frowned, not liking the idea of ruining her manicure. But, it would need to be done. The place looked like no one had used it in about twenty years.

"Oh, you won't need to do that!" Sibella waved. "Miss Grimwood has a charm on the room that allows it to reflect the personality of the ghoul it inhabits. Of course it didn't work so well for Coach Shaggy, since he wasn't technically a ghoul when he taught here…but by dinner time, this room will look totally different!"

"If not it's, you just volunteered to wash the sheets." The aqua-eyed young woman folded her arms.

"Fine by me." The younger ghoul shrugged. "You know, I wish we had more students like you here. So far, Callista, Maeryn, and I are the only ones with clean rooms."

"What about Yuki?"

"No cobwebs, but looks like a tornado went through it. And has the peculiar odor of fish."

"Remind me not to go in there."

"You're not the one with the sensitive nose." Sibella pointed out.

"…you have a point." Daphne conceded.

Just a note on the names…

"Yuki" is a Japanese name meaning "Snow". Which fits, since she has white scales. What? You thought I was going to name her "Godzina" like everyone else? I think not!

"Maeryn" is a created name made by mashing "Mary" and "Taryn" together. Again, sounds much more outer-spacey than Mary.

Laguna should be self-explanatory…

Callista is a created character of mine. I wanted to make the numbers even once Daphne enrolled, but since I'm not going to have Velma enroll, this was the alternative.