AN: Looks like I decided to continue, after all. Not sure how far I'll go, but we'll see.
Please don't take anything in this fic too seriously. I'm just having a bit of fun and making stuff up. I'm just exploring an alternate timeline of events, after all.
Content warning: Depictions of physical and verbal bullying.
[Cavendish Manor, two months prior to Luna Nova's first semester.]
"With all due respect, Aunt Daryl, I can handle this on my own."
"Nonsense, Diana, there are nuances you're too young to understand."
Having heard the knock at the door they had been anticipating, Diana stood just behind her aunt as she opened it to reveal Headmistress Holbrooke and Professor Finnelan. They led the Luna Nova staff members into the dining hall and took a seat.
"Can I offer you a drink?" Daryl asked the pair.
"Oh, no, thank you-" Holbrooke began, but Daryl snapped her fingers anyway.
"Diana! Fetch these upstanding ladies a bottle of our finest."
As composed and professional as ever, Diana nodded and disappeared into the pantry. She returned not too long after with a bottle of expensive wine and three suitable glasses, before proceeding to serve some to all three adults in the room.
A little awkwardly, Holbrooke and Finnelan thanked her as Daryl immediately began to drink.
"It's so exciting to have a student from a noble family enrol at our humble academy!" Holbrooke gushed, as Finnelan nodded in agreement.
"Yes, I must admit it'll be a welcome change to the usual unenthusiastic witches that fill our classrooms nowadays."
"Of course," Daryl concurred. "And I'm sure you know that with such a privilege, certain conditions apply."
Finnelan raised an eyebrow. "Conditions?"
Despite her fellow staff member's apprehension, Holbrooke was still very excited.
"Of course, anything!"
"I understand that you utilise a team-based sorting system, correct?" Daryl queried. "It is prudent that Diana is grouped with students that will not tarnish our family's image."
"I apologise, but the way Luna Nova sorts its students is our decision!" Finnelan objected. Daryl just smirked and took another sip of wine.
"I see. Maybe this year, your biggest headline can be the fact that a witch from a non-magical family is enrolling, rather than the presence of a Cavendish."
"Okay, okay!" Holbrooke said, folding very easily. "I apologise for Anne's remark. What is your request?"
"Please group Diana with the daughters of the England and Parker families."
Diana remained standing next to her aunt, her hands behind her back, and her face stoic. As she understood it, the Englands owned several prominent clothing brands in the UK, and the Parkers were at the forefront of researching magical solutions to several serious illnesses.
"Oh yes… Hannah England and Barbara Parker," Holbrooke mused. "We can make that happen."
"Wonderful, then it's settled!" Daryl exclaimed, eyes glimmering with the prospect of possibly joining forces with these families.
"Aunt Daryl, shouldn't I meet these two students before deciding to spend the next three years of my life with them?" Diana interjected, but this just earned her a glare from her aunt.
"Let the adults make the hard decisions, Diana," she hissed, lowering her voice to avoid rousing suspicion from the present staff members. "Remember your place."
Bowing her head, Diana apologised and stood at attention again, her enthusiasm for the new school year beginning to falter a bit.
[Luna Nova, present day.]
Sucy slowly opened her eyes to see everybody in the room staring at her.
How long was she asleep for? Was she making noise? What was the big deal, anyway?
"Am I boring you, Miss Manbavaran?" Finnelan demanded, hands on her hips.
"S-Sorry, Professor," Sucy mumbled, rubbing her eyes and trying not to yawn. A few witches snickered at her while next to her, Akko and Lotte looked like they were trying not to associate.
"I won't tolerate students sleeping through my lessons and missing content. See me after class."
"Professor, I hardly think that's reasonable!"
The sudden escalation of Diana's voice shocked everybody. She hadn't realised it, but she was suddenly standing up and leaning over her desk, and all eyes were now on her.
"You assigned tedious night work to Miss Manbavaran, a punishment she still has to serve. Because of you, she'll be losing a lot of sleep in the coming weeks. How can you stand there and punish her further for something out of her control?"
You could hear a pin drop in the classroom.
Finnelan stared at Diana incredulously as the students were speechless.
"M-Miss Cavendish, this is hardly like you. But I suppose you have a point."
Clearing her throat, she attempted to continue the lecture, but the air was much more tense now.
"Diana, you didn't just… vouch for that loser, did you?" Hannah whispered slowly. Diana couldn't even respond, she just sat back down, sweating a bit.
Sucy looked over and attempted to smile at her, but her expression fell when Diana just avoided her gaze.
With a plate of food in hand, Sucy made her way over to her usual spot, right under the stairs in the cafeteria.
On her way, however, she heard someone calling her name. With her guard raised high, she turned to meet the face of the voice, but it was just Diana.
"Why not sit with me today?" she asked. With a small nod, Sucy accepted the offer and sat herself down at the table.
The two ate in silence for a little while before Sucy spoke up.
"Um, thanks for earlier."
"Don't mention it," Diana responded, but something about her energy seemed off. Sucy frowned before pulling out her wand, wanting to cheer her friend up.
"Check this out," she said. Very subtly, she flicked her wand, and sparkles burst around the food on the plate of a witch on another table while she wasn't looking. When she took a bite, her hands shot to her mouth and she spat it back out, grimacing.
Sucy cackled and turned to Diana. "How was that?"
"That was, um, rather mean. Do you always pull pranks like that?"
Sucy frowned again.
"Well, she probably deserved it," she muttered.
Around this time, Diana's roommates arrived with their food. They glanced at Sucy before turning to Diana, then their heads whipped back to Sucy again.
"Diana…?" Hannah said through gritted teeth. "What… is that THING… doing at our table?"
"Geez, I think I lost my appetite…" Barbara moaned. Sucy stood up quickly, picked up her plate, and began to storm away from the trio.
Before she could get any distance, though, Hannah raised her wand and grabbed Sucy with control magic, pulling her back towards them. In shock, Sucy dropped her plate, drawing attention to the scene, though the other students were either amused or tried to avert their eyes.
"Remember our conversation?" she snarled, rotating Sucy and holding the spell that way. "We caught you near Diana again."
"Oooh, she's mad…" Barbara uttered, folding her arms. "You're gonna hate this."
"Girls, let her go!" Diana demanded, but she was promptly ignored. With Sucy in Hannah's grasp, Barbara confiscated her wand and tossed it aside as Hannah lifted her into the air.
With a wave of her arm, Sucy was thrown across the cafeteria and slammed into a table, splintering it and making the witches who were eating there scatter.
"ENOUGH!" Diana shouted, but her roommates approached Sucy anyway, grinning sinisterly. She sat upright in the rubble, clutching her head and trying to see straight again.
"Promise us you'll stay away from Diana," Barbara said.
"Let's make her say it!" Hannah exclaimed. "Say 'I, the weird freak, will never associate myself with Diana again'."
Sucy stared blankly at the duo, a hot rage beginning to brew inside her.
"She isn't doing it, Hannah!" Barbara observed, and her friend raised her wand. Before she could do anything, though, Sucy fished out a potion from a pocket on her vest and threw it in their faces.
On impact, a burst of black smoke formed as they began to cough uncontrollably, collapsing to their knees as Sucy stood up and stared down at them. It felt as if the pair's lungs were being hacked apart by tiny axes. Diana rushed over to return Sucy's wand, but she looked furious.
"Why did you retaliate?!" she asked a bit frantically, and Sucy stared at her incredulously.
"What, was I supposed to let them kick my ass again?"
"You're already on thin ice, Sucy! You're going to be in so much trouble…"
A particularly choked-sounding cough from Hannah startled the girls as her hand bore a few drops of blood. Diana turned pale and pulled out her wand.
"Diosir Sorware!" she called, and a spiral of pink light basically stopped their coughing fits then and there. Still red-faced and with eyes full of tears, they hid behind Diana and glared at Sucy with looks that could kill.
As if on cue, none other than Professor Finnelan entered the cafeteria after being alerted to the fight by the residents of the now-destroyed table. She stared gobsmacked at the scene before turning to the four girls.
"You four. In my office," she said slowly, suppressing a monolithic amount of rage.
Sucy laughed sheepishly. "Professor, please-"
"NOW."
The four of them exchanged various glances.
Finnelan stood behind her desk, rubbing her temples.
"Miss Manbavaran. It hasn't even been a week yet. How many times have I had to speak to you?"
Sucy did not respond, and Finnelan sighed.
"And you three," she uttered, turning to the Blue Team. "What's gotten into you lately?"
Hannah sniffled softly and pointed slowly at Sucy. "P-Professor, ever since SHE showed up, we've been distracted!"
Barbara nodded vigorously with her arms folded. "She won't stop with her black magic and evil potions! We're so unsafe around her!"
In the middle of the room, Diana simply stood and listened. She couldn't believe the garbage her roommates were spouting, but something was stopping her from setting the record straight.
Hannah and Barbara recounted a version of events in which Sucy was the main aggressor, sending them into a coughing fit and intending to attack Diana next. Every word they spoke made Finnelan even angrier.
"Miss Cavendish…" she stated. "Is this truly what happened?"
Sucy turned to Diana with a hopeful gaze. Diana instead stared back at her apologetically.
"Y-Yes. Hannah and Barbara are telling the truth."
The hope immediately melded into something indescribable.
"Evidently, laundry duty isn't working," Finnelan growled. "Miss Manbavaran, you are suspended for a week, effective immediately."
Trembling slightly less, Hannah and Barbara breathed sighs of relief and hugged Diana.
"Thank you!" Hannah exclaimed, making a big show of things. "We can finally focus on our important education!"
Completely frozen, Sucy had a million thoughts running through her mind. A boiling hot rage fought intensely with a freezing cold sense of complete isolation.
Suddenly, Diana didn't look as soft and calming as she remembered. Instead, her cold blue eyes and puke-green hair did nothing but make Sucy livid.
Once they were all dismissed, Diana pulled Sucy aside.
"I'm so sorry, Sucy…" she said, her voice quivering. "I need to show the staff that I'm loyal to my teammates."
She reached out to place a hand on Sucy's shoulder, but the sound of Sucy slapping it away echoed down the halls.
"You're just like all the others."
"I didn't want to-"
"I trusted you. I thought I finally found a friend."
"W-We're friends! It's just that-"
"Stop it. Just… just shut the fuck up."
She took a few steps away from Diana, before turning around and storming off.
Watching her leave, Diana could feel that all-encompassing loneliness returning.
The nagging guilt hadn't left Diana all day.
Every time she tried to answer a question in class, all she could see was Sucy's face, totally devoid of the joy she had just been expressing while pulling that prank at lunch. She hadn't even known Sucy for a few days, but she felt as if she'd just sent her closest companion off to the gallows.
All because of those two. The ones she had to call her friends.
The three of them entered their dorm once the day was over, and Hannah flopped onto her bed.
"Ugh, what a day," she groaned. "Isn't it the weekend yet?"
"Diana, what's going on?" Barbara asked. Diana just took a breath and shifted her focus back to regaining her composure.
"Oh, nothing."
"Nothing?" Hannah raised an eyebrow. "Since we all got back from lunch, you were barely answering any questions. You didn't even comment when that idiot Akko thought she discovered a new planet."
"Don't tell me… you aren't still worried about Creepy Sucy, are you?"
Both girls folded their arms and stared at their friend expectantly.
"Nonsense," Diana said dismissively. "I am concerned, however, about the lack of manners both of you are so freely displaying."
"Huh?!"
"Getting physical with other witches is not at all what being a witch is about. Surely you should conduct yourselves properly around your peers."
Back straight, shoulders back, chin high. That's the way.
"Peers? Look at this way," Hannah began. "Have you ever killed a bug before?"
"Um, yes?"
"There you go."
Barbara laughed sinisterly as Hannah smirked at her. Clearing her throat, Diana began heading to the door.
"Well, you two enjoy yourselves," she said. "I'm going for a walk."
Anything to get out of that dorm. The moment she shut the door behind her, she felt weak as butterflies filled her stomach again.
Where was she going? She didn't know. She just wanted to talk to somebody.
If only she had any real friends.
In the dim light emitted by the nearby botanical garden, Sucy sat in the grass, staring blankly in the distance.
She was just so, so tired.
Anybody who passed her in the halls didn't give her a second thought. Akko made a big show of not associating with her. Lotte turned absolutely pale whenever she showed up. Hannah and Barbara emitted feelings of pure, unfiltered hatred whenever they were near her.
She really thought Diana was different.
Different from the other witches. Different from the kids in her orphanage. Different from everyone who judges her based on her appearance and interests.
Sure, some people treated Sucy nicely, but there was still the fact that reaching a baseline level of respect felt like an achievement.
Some people aren't meant to have friends.
Oh, well. Just because someone suckered her in and betrayed her, that didn't mean she should just quit. There were still so many potions to make, mushrooms to discover, and new spells to use for self-defense. Plus, there were still so many poisons she needed to sift through.
She'd made it this far on her own, what was a few more years?
Blinking and returning to reality, Sucy decided she'd done enough moping around. It was time to do something fun. She'd gotten a replacement broom, and it was time she went hunting for potion ingredients.
Before she could do anything, though, she heard footsteps in the grass behind her. She cautiously turned around with her wand out, but it was just Diana. Sucy's prior enthusiasm began to dissipate again as her face fell flat.
"Sucy…" Diana began. "I know you're mad at me, but please let me explain."
Sucy wanted to leave, but the genuine remorse in Diana's face reluctantly convinced her to stay.
"I'm all yours, spider," she said dryly, stretching her arms out before slouching again.
"I don't approve at all of what my roommates do," Diana explained. "We're only together because of a business deal. We aren't friends."
Sucy scoffed. "Then just leave them."
"That's the thing, I can't…"
Diana didn't normally divulge too much of her personal life to others, but it seemed relevant in that moment.
"You see, my aunt… if she finds out that I'm jeopardising this deal in any way, it could be really bad. I'm forced to agree with whatever they say and play along with their petty drama in front of the staff."
"That sucks," Sucy remarked. "But why are you telling me instead of your friends?"
With a soft sigh, Diana just looked at the ground. Something clicked in Sucy's head, and she stepped a little closer.
"You're… like me, aren't you?" she asked. Diana nodded silently in response.
Well, didn't Sucy feel a little awkward? As she searched her mind for something to say, she was startled by the sound of Diana softly starting to cry.
"Y-You're right…" she said. "Maybe some of us aren't meant to have friends."
"Oh, don't do that…" Sucy uttered, suddenly overcome with guilty empathy.
Not really wanting to stand there and watch Diana cry, Sucy slowly approached her and hesitantly reached out a hand. In response, Diana latched on and pulled Sucy in for a hug. It was surprising, but somehow, Sucy didn't actually mind it.
It felt… complete.
After a moment, the two let go and Diana rubbed her neck.
"Um, maybe I should've asked first."
"That's alright," Sucy said with some resignation. "I forgive you."
"So we can still be friends?"
Sucy gave her a small smile. "Sure, why not? You can help me gather potion ingredients as compensation for getting me suspended."
Heading back into the building, the air suddenly seemed so much clearer. The two continued to talk, and it felt like a long-missing piece of both of their lives was finally in place.
What would Hannah and Barbara say?
They decided they'd worry about that later.