Author's Note: This is more into the grit of my own, original plot I'm adding to this story. There's a scene much further down. You're not going to get answers for it quite yet. Probably not for a few more stories. But we get a hint about Aster's mysterious past and his connection to this world. I hope you enjoy!

Chapter Three:

"I'm sure you're familiar with the statues of the Great Seven?" Someone asked behind them. The group turned around to see Cater and a boy with dark green hair, dark yellow eyes, and wearing black framed glasses. This boy was a bit taller than Cater was and had a black clover marking under his left eye. Aster turned his attention back to Cater as he and the others nodded. "Night Raven College has a dorm themed after each one." Cater explained.

"You're the guy from this morning!" Ace cried in surprise.

"You tricked us into paintin' those dumb roses!" Grim accused with great offense and indignation.

Cater looked almost wounded at the accusation. "'Tricked' is such an ugly word. Do you think I wanted to spend my morning painting roses?" he asked, like it was obvious- which it was, really, but still. "It's dorm policy! I was just following orders." Cater stated.

"And grinning like a fiend all the while." Deuce sighed sadly.

"Now, now Deucey." Cater said with a lot more cheer in his voice. "Outside of the dorm, I don't care what rules you follow. Here, I'm just a friendly mentor figure!" Cater insisted and Aster could tell he was being genuine in his words.

Deuce meanwhile was rather horrified at his new nick name. "Please. Do not call me Deucey." The green haired boy couldn't help but laugh at the freshman's reaction.

"That's how Cater shows he cares." The bespectacled boy assured, obviously amused by the whole thing.

"And who are you?"

The boy grinned. "Ah, I should introduce myself. The name's Trey. Trey Clover. I'm a junior at Heartslabyul, like Cater here." He explained before turning his attention on the Ramshackle Prefect. "And you must be Aster, the new prefect from that dump of a-" he flinched a bit at Aster's raised brow, silently suggesting that Trey rephrase his words. "Ah, I mean, the 'rustic' dorm. I heard the whole story from Cater." He continued at Aster's approving look. "Thanks for looking out for our boys yesterday." he thanked the small boy who Trey realized didn't need magic to be a little scary. Besides which, he had seen the boy pin the delinquent taller than him just minutes before.

Aster smiled; mouth full so unable to speak as the two older Heartslabyul students joined them at their table. "I don't recall inviting you to sit with us." Ace grumbled, though he was clearly resigned.

"Hey now, we're all from the same dorm, right?" Cater asked from his spot next to Aster. Trey himself was on Aster's other side as Ace and Deuce had sat in front of Aster with Grim on a clear section of the table as he was unable to reach on the benches. "Let's try to get along. Here, gimme your digits." Cater tried to coax out of the boy next to him.

Aster gave the other an apologetic smile. "Actually, I don't have a smart phone." Aster informed him, getting a shocked look from the orange haired boy.

"For real?! I've read about luddites like you, but never imagined I'd meet one in the wild!" he cried. "I know a place that sells the latest models cheap. How about you and I go on a phone-shopping date?" Cater asked, getting more into Aster's personal space by throwing an arm around his shoulders. Ace and Deuce were spluttering at such forward and brazen behavior while Trey just sighed at the other's antics.

"Cater, you're freaking out the freshmen. Maybe take it down a notch?" Trey suggested to his friend. Cater gave an apologetic laugh as he separated from Aster to return his personal space to him. "Sorry I can get a little extra sometimes. What were we talking about... The dorms, right?" He asked the small boy on his left. He and Trey both noted he was shorter than even Riddle was. "What fun to mentor new students! Go ahead, A-M-A." He told them getting into his own meal.

"Before we get into the other dorms, I wouldn't mind learning a bit more about ours." Ace admitted, Aster was also interested and had grabbed one of the notebooks to write down anything he could in while he ate and listened. He missed Trey's amused look. "Like, what's the deal with all this 'Queen of Hearts rule number whatever' junk?" Ace asked with a scowl.

Trey decided to start the explanations, making sure to go slow enough for the freshman next to him to write things down. "I'm sure you're familiar with the Queen of Hearts already?" he asked the group who nodded. "She had to rule over a kingdom of weirdos and did it by emphasizing order and making strict rules." he gave them more detail on the queen.

"Our dorm, Heartslabyul, is an homage to her." Cater explained, also noting the notes being taken. "By tradition, we wear armbands with the red and black of the Queen's dress. And we live by the rules she created."

"Can you make me any more bored?" Grim grumbled, only to get a light, reprimanding slap to the back of his head from his Prefect. "What was that for?" He whined. Aster's raised brow was answer enough from the cat to grumble quietly to himself.

"Now, the degree to which we adhere to the rules depends on the sitting house warden. Past wardens have been much laxer." Cater continued, like Grim's interruption never happened.

"Riddle though? He doesn't mess around. Basically, you could say that we're honoring that tradition to the utmost extent possible." Trey told them.

"Just my luck." Ace groaned.

"So, what are the other dorms like?" Grim and Aster asked together.

"As Cater said, the seven dorms at Night Raven are based off the Great Seven. We have our dorm Heartslabyul based off the strictness of the Queen of Hearts. Then there's Savanaclaw, based on the persistent spirit of the King of Beasts. Then there's Octavinelle based off the benevolent spirit of the great Sea Witch. Scarabia, based on the mindful personality of the Sorcerer of the Sands. Pomefiore, based off the tenacity of the Fairest Queen. Ignihyde, based on the diligence of the God of the Underworld. And finally... Diasomnia, based on the noble spirit of the Thorn Fairy." Trey explained.

"Those names are way too big, how is anyone supposed to remember them?" Grim complained, causing Aster to chuckle. He didn't have a problem so it must just be the other.

"Well, you get the idea." Cater said, calming down. "You'll remember them eventually, anyways." he assured the cat.

"At orientation, the Dark Mirror picks a dorm for the students based on the essence of your being. So each dorm has a certain...flavor, to it I suppose." Trey continued.

"Flavor, huh?" Deuce asked, a little confused. But as Aster looked around the cafeteria and noting different people with similar 'flavor' as Trey put it, he thought he was starting to see what Trey was referring to.

"Let's see... That guy over there." Trey said, gesturing to the other side from them a few tables away. It was a tall, tan boy with white dog- no, wolf ears- and a white tail. He was buff and an obvious athlete from what Aster could see. He gave an acknowledging hum.

"The muscly wolf man? Yeah, okay I'll bite." Aster said.

"That rough-and-tumble vibe he has going on. That has Savanaclaw House written all over it." Trey explained, and as Aster noted others with the same arm band as the wolf boy, he noticed what they meant.

"No doubt. That dorm is full of scrappy guys who are into, like, working out and fighting. How should I describe the vibe...?" Cater wondered out loud. "Macho dudes? Gruff big brothers?" Cater shrugged. "Something along those lines. The black and gold armband is another giveaway." He explained. The group nodded.

"Alright." Grim acknowledged, starting to get into the conversation. "What about that guy with the gray and purple armband?" Grim asked, pointing out the boy Aster remembered chasing Grim with at orientation alongside Riddle. Ashengrotto, if he remembered correctly.

"He's gotta be from Octavinelle House." Trey said. "And the student in front of him with a red and gold armband- Scarabia colors." Trey indicated a dark-haired boy next to the white haired one from orientation. Aster noted, even at the distance the braids and beads in his hair and reached up to touch his own loose locks... Maybe he could get some pointers?

"Those dorms are for the especially smart students. They're always neck-and-neck in the academic rankings." Cater added, before pausing. "Ah, but the current house warden doesn't seem to be as academically advanced as previous house wardens..."

"And here Cater goes, off on some tangent." Ace sighed, getting a laugh from Trey.

"You learn fast." the boy complimented. "You see the flashy one with the purple and red armband. Those are Pomefiore students." Trey explained, indicating a couple of boys across the room. One had his blonde hair in a bob cut and wore a brown hat with a feather. Aster could swear the other boy's green eyes had darted to him. Next to this boy was another. This one was shorter than the blonde- only a few inches taller that Aster himself- with short wavy lavender hair and clear baby blue eyes. He had frills along his shirt. Aster noted he was androgynous like himself and wondered how bad it had been for the other boy. He knew, vaguely, that he had had some unfortunate mishaps with his own but had started embracing it some years before. Aster wanted to remember why but couldn't. For now, it was just something he understood.

"Whoa!" Grim's exclamation startled Aster, and gained his attention, as well as the attention of the Pomefiore students they were discussing. "The girl with the potion book, I really like her!" Grim said.

Deuce looked startled. "What's she doing in an all-boys' school?" He asked.

Ace and Aster both let out exasperated sighs at their reactions. "That's a boy guys." Aster informed them. Ace just scoffed at the two.

"You're both morons. There aren't any girls enrolled here. It's an all boys' school." he stressed the words Deuce had used. "I can guess at how you knew he was a boy." Ace snickered at his friend, making said boy scowl and throw a baby carrot at him. "Hey!"

"Yes, I'm androgynous. Yes, I am more feminine than your average boy. Yes, I was mistaken as a girl for most of my younger years." He huffed, pausing as that was new information from him as well as the others.

"Your hair and petite frame certainly don't help." Cater added to the boy with a teasing smile. "Speaking of girls, there's a portrait in the west hall who's a real beauty. Name's Rosaria. If you'd like to meet her, I'd be happy to introduce you." he added to Ace with a wink. "Maybe we can set something up?"

Ace balked a bit. "A painting? Hard pass! I don't care how cute she is if she's two-dimensional." Ace said, getting a slightly offended look from Aster.

Cater raised his own brow. "Come on, man. Who cares how many dimensions she's got!" he shook his head at the ginger before putting more of his attention back on the student taking notes. "Anyway, they take vanity pretty seriously at Pomefiore. It's basically a dorm full of models." His green eyes looked Aster up and down before he smirked. "You'd probably fit right in with how cute you are." he said, not expecting the raised brow in return.

"Yeah, thanks for the compliment, but I absolutely would not fit in! I'd look like a potato next to any of them, not to mention their house warden, who I saw at orientation." he shrugged off the disbelieving looks they gave him in return. "Besides, I'm not vain or whatever you want to call it. So long as I look presentable and hopefully stay in one piece, I don't really care about much else appearance wise for myself." he replied before biting into his fruit salad.

"You sure about the whole 'one-piece' thing? I mean you have zero self-preservation instincts and you jumped into a fight with a monster without magic, just to keep this idiot from having to fight it alone." Grim said, indicating Deuce when he said idiot. Said idiot squawked in offense.

"Yeah, well that house warden has over five million followers on Magicam." Cater said, showing Aster some of the feeds he had.

"Hey now, they're not all just pretty faces." Trey jumped in, not wanting the freshmen to get the wrong idea about the house. "The students at Pomefiore are among the best at potions and casting curses." Cater chuckled.

"True. Next, we have Ignihyde... Their armbands are blue and black, but I don't see any around here." Cater sighed in defeat. "They tend to not be the most outgoing of students. Even I don't have a single friend from that dorm." Cater sighed sadly, and just a little put out. "They're kind of the polar opposite of us sunny, fun-loving Heartslabyuls." Aster couldn't help his laughter.

"It sounds like they're all introverts and you, Cater, are every introvert's worst nightmare." Aster chuckled at the gloomy look that befell Cater, which caused Trey and the others to laugh at the orange haired boy's expense.

"They have a reputation for being quiet and serious." Trey said. "That dorm tends to attract magical-energy engineers and students who are good with tech." Trey finished.

"So that just leaves... Diahonyalara, was it?" Deuce asked. Ace cackled.

"You were off to a good start, and then you rammed right into the guard rails. It's 'Diasomnia.'" Ace corrected his friend- not that he would ever say they were friends out loud. Deuce blushed heavily.

"I know that! I just misspoke, all right?"

"Diasomnia House is, hm..." Cater looked around. "Ah, look over there. Those guys in the special seating area." Cater pointed out and the freshmen looked over. Aster's eyes widened. Now that he was focusing on it, he noticed there was a strange magic around the students. It was similar to the ones from Octavinelle or Savanaclaw, but also different. Like how those two were also different from each other. He was certain this was what Trey had meant when he said 'flavor' earlier. "You can tell from the neon green and black armbands. They're basically campus celebrities." Cater explained to them. "The vibe they give off makes it really hard for regular schmucks like us to even approach them. And their house warden is that times a thousand." he said with a shake of his head. As Aster studied them, there was one among the Diasomnia group that stood out to him in particular.

It was the boy from orientation that had collected the freshmen of that house rather than their house warden who hadn't been informed of the time of the ceremony. It required a little more focusing than normal, but he could feel the other was strong and old. Maybe not as old as Crowley or the Dark Mirror themselves, it was a bit harder to tell with those two, unfortunately. The boy- well, it was a man he just looked like a young boy, still taller than Aster though- had a boy on either side of him. The silver haired boy with the auroral eyes had an old, old magic around him, even if he himself wasn't old. The other boy had green hair and gold eyes. He had a feeling similar to the others in the dorm and the man with black and magenta hair and red eyes.

"There's a little kid with them." Ace said. Aster blinked, realizing that he was probably talking about the dual haired man.

"Ace, he's not a child." Aster revealed softly with amusement, too softly for anyone outside their table to hear.

Trey was nodding. "We do get some child prodigies here." Trey affirmed, "But that guy there is no kid. He's a junior like us. Name's-" Aster glanced up when he felt a sudden source of magic and energy above their table.

"Lilia. Lilia Vanrouge." The man introduced himself- eyes boring into the human who was watching him with unveiled curiosity and awe- while hanging upside down, causing everyone at their table- save Aster- to let out startled screams that definitely attracted most of the cafeteria's attention. Many people were chuckling at the situation, as many-if not all of them- have had Lilia do that to them at one point or another during their schooling.

Aster himself was laughing at the group's reaction to the whole thing. Deuce and Cater had both fallen out of their seats and Grim had darted to Aster's shoulder, hiding under his let down hair. "H- He just teleported!" Grim cried in shock. Feeling his human's shaking and hearing his laughter he jumped to the table with indignation. "Aster! Give a guy a warning next time, will you?!" Grim hissed, ranting at the boy, their friends turning bewildered looks onto him.

"I- I'm sorry. There just wasn't enough time to say- 'Guys, the man you're talking about is above us'." the Ramshackle Prefect said between giggles. Lilia's eyes lit up with intrigue.

"I understand my apparent age interests you?" Lilia asked, righting himself though he was still floating above their table. "As this bespectacled fellow accurately noted... Despite my fresh- faced, boyish good looks, it would be inaccurate to call me a 'child'." he grinned at them.

Trey looked disturbed. "'Fresh-faced', he says..." Trey trailed off. Aster kept his eyes on the red ones that had re-connected to his at some point.

"Assuredly." He agreed with the man, gaining much attention of Lilia's house that could hear them, and any who could hear the upcoming conversation. "After all, while you look young..." gold eyes narrowed, trying to get a better read on what he was sensing and feeling. "You're certainly older. I wouldn't call you ancient like Crowley or the Dark Mirror, however... I suspect you have a few centuries under your belt. Hm... six or seven." Lilia was impressed at the accuracy.

It was almost trance like when Aster added, his eyes fogging over. "And with your strength, baring, and designation... solider. You've seen wars, and they affected you to certain degrees, but you dealt with them pretty well..." It was far too quiet for those at the table with normal hearing to pick up on, but several eyes widened from those with heavily enhanced hearing at the unknown dialect coming from the small boy, though Lilia- who knew it was one that had supposedly died out over a century ago, even if he still recognized it- and the very few that understood it, were shocked by what the boy was saying. "The Bloody Regent..." Lilia's eyes had widened at the name. He hadn't heard that man- no, that monster's- name in centuries. But he was now also filled with deep concern at seeing the trance like fog in the boy's previously bright and clear golden eyes. "You were the one who-" Suddenly a severe and sharp pain shot through Aster's head causing him to cry out and grasp his head with a pained groan.

"Aster!?" They asked in alarm, Lilia putting a cool hand on the boy's – Lilia now noticed the mild sunburn that was slowly healing- forehead.

Aster groaned. "I'm fine... It feels like something's stabbing my brain, but I'll survive." Aster looked up, and Lilia was relieved to note the eyes lacked the fog that had previously formed in his golden eyes. Concerned still, he allowed some of his magic to flow into the boy, removing the headache. The relieved and grateful smile he gave Lilia melted his heart. "Thank you Mr. Vanrouge." Aster murmured.

"Call me Lilia, I insist." Lilia murmured with a soft smile, amused by the Mr. title.

"Alright. Thank you, Lilia sir." Aster said with a grin as Lilia removed his cooler hand. Aster shook his head softly to clear the cobwebs. "What were we discussing? I remember mentioning the centuries, but I think I zoned out after that." Aster gave an embarrassed and apologetic chuckle as he rubbed the back of his neck. Lilia was all kinds of concerned and intrigued by this child of man. As were his dorm and the boy's still concerned friends who were entirely unaware of the new piece of the puzzle that was Aster Merel.

Lilia couldn't help but wonder if the child was cursed... He'd have to look into, even though he wasn't feeling curse energy coming from the boy. "You are an interesting child of man, aren't you?" Lilia asked, his own intrigue showing in his glowing eyes. Aster blinked before shaking his head with another chuckle.

"I wouldn't say that." Aster said with complete honesty.

'I think you are very, very interesting.' Lilia thought to himself before turning back to the table as a whole. "You need not gawk at us from afar." Lilia told them in amusement, somehow knowing that things were okay for now with the boy. "You may feel free to speak with us directly. We are schoolmates, are we not? All of us at Diasomnia House welcome you without reservation." Lilia openly told them. A glance at two of his charges who had blank looks sent their way- they hid their shock, concern, and worry rather quickly, Lilia noted with some pride- wasn't offering a very welcoming approach. Lilia was going to have to work on that with them.

"And yet those guys over there aren't exactly rolling out the red carpet in terms of approach ability." Deuce muttered, getting a soft shove from Aster.

"From what I'm learning, that's because no one's given them a chance because they find them intimidating." The Ramshackle Prefect rolled his eyes and turned his eyes to his upperclassman. "I'm not sure about these guys, but I would love to talk with you and your dorm mates more when there's some available time." he told Lilia with a face flushed in excitement at the prospect. Lilia gave a chuckle. He liked this mortal already. He was also very invested now in this child's well-being.

"Forgive me for appearing above you during your meal. I do hope we can speak again." He told Aster with a smile before returning back to his table across the room.

"Their table has got to be over 20 yards away from ours. And they overheard our conversation?" Ace whispered to Trey. "That's way creepy."

"Well... Diasomnia does have a reputation for having lots of special students." Trey said with a smile.

"Well, I think it's fascinating." Aster countered the ginger's creepy statement. "Like, is it a type of magic that allows them to hear so far away, or does it have something to do with their hidden- flavor- or whatever you want to call it? Like the students with beast characteristics- the wolf man from earlier, or the guy with lion ears from orientation- does Diasomnia House have heightened senses thanks to some other part of their genetics?" Aster was theorizing excitedly at the prospect, writing it down furiously in his notebook. Suddenly his golden eyes fell on Ace with intense curiosity. Somewhere during the boy's rant, the tension and concern had bled away from the bodies of his friends from the incident with him earlier.

"Though, Ace, you did say that the Thorn Fairy could turn herself into a dragon. As a dorm based off her spirit, could the inhabitants of that dorm possess a similar ability?" The prefect asked curiously. If he had heightened senses, maybe he would have picked up on the fact that the same house he was discussing was watching Aster from their spots, some with their mouths gaping open at the boy's thoughts and excitement at them. "How cool would it be to see a dragon though?" Aster's excited voice brought a chuckle from Lilia at his dorm table.

'Oh, this child of man is quite interesting indeed.' Lilia mused. He couldn't wait to tell Malleus about him.

"Some of them are extremely talented in magic." Trey continued to explain to Ace. "Their Housewarden, Malleus Draconia, is considered one of the five best mages in the world." Trey explained.

"Malleus is real bad news." Cater was saying, but stopped at the look Aster sent him.

"You must have met him to say that." Aster mused, his raised brow answer enough for the orange haired boy to know that wasn't the case. Aster continued with a stern tone as he took a sip of his drink. "Just repeating what other people say isn't nice, because it creates preconceived notions that can hurt others. By saying he's bad news, you may have already set Ace and Deuce, or anyone else that might have been curious about the guy from approaching him." Aster sent him a pointed look. "Before you say something about anyone, it needs to be from personal experience. And even then, your experiences could be different from other peoples' own. You should never let what other people say about someone be the deciding factor when it comes to how you're going to interact with that person. You should always make the assessment yourself." Aster lectured with passion.

"Well..." Cater trailed off. He hadn't really talked to the guy himself, so he guessed the smaller boy had a point. "Alright. You have a good point." He smiled. "However, I can say the same about our House Warden due to my personal experiences, right?" He asked cheekily, getting a chuckle from Aster who nodded.

"No kidding!" Ace cried, really getting into the conversation and letting the rest of the 'scared for Aster' tension fall from his shoulders. "He collared me for eating one slice of tart! All of his rule obsession is out of control!" Ace cried indignantly.

"My 'rule obsession' is 'outta control,' is it?" a steely voice asked from behind Ace, and the group's eyes widened as they realized just who was standing behind Ace. Who was still going without realizing who was behind him.

"You bet it is. Riddle's just a petty tyrant who leans into the whole 'rules' shtick as a pretext to keep everyone under his puny thumb!" Ace continued his rant.

"Ace! Behind you!" Deuce hissed, unable to believe the stupidity of the ginger.

Ace looked behind him and let out a startled cry as he tumbled away from the short, red-haired boy. "House warden?!" Ace cried, as Riddle scowled at Ace and folded his arms in front of him.

"Hey Riddle, what's shaking?" Cater asked with a grin. "You're looking as adorbs as always." Cater gave the boy a wink.

"Cater, keep running that mouth and you will lose it along with the rest of your head." Riddle told the boy with an annoyed scowl, obviously not in the mood for Cater's nervous babbling.

"Sorry! Sorry! My bad." Cater apologized sheepishly, winking at Aster who had chuckled at his reaction.

"You're the guy who put that stupid collar on me at orientation." Grim shouted, finally understanding and recognizing the guy.

"And you're the new students who were nearly expelled yesterday." Riddle countered. "I'll ask that you not referred to my signature spell as a 'stupid collar'." He sniped. "The head mage's habit of tolerating rule breakers is going to send this campus spiraling into chaos." Riddle sighed. "Any who break the rules should have their head removed. Immediately."

"Dude, seriously? He looks like a wimp but talks like a monster." Ace grumbled.

"While the head mage may have forgiven you, I will not if you break anymore rules." Riddle informed the Heartslabyul students. After all, there was no real threat to be given to Aster, a non-magical human. And Grim fell into the younger prefect's territory. Though, saying that, Grim himself wasn't free of the threat.

"So, uh, listen House warden... is there any way you could remove this collar?" Ace asked, voice pleading. Aster actually facepalmed to the amusement of the others, despite their own disbelief at the request. Like that plea would work now after he had insulted the guy behind his back!

Riddle was following the same thought process because he looked down at Ace in disdain. "I had planned to remove it after giving you ample opportunity to reflect on your crimes. And yet I heard no hint of remorse in the foolishness you were spouting." Riddle replied. "So I think I'll let you keep it for a while longer."

Ace looked very disheartened at the news. "Don't worry though, the freshman curriculum deals a lot with theory, especially during the first few months. Your inability to use magic will ensure that there are no more incidents like the one from yesterday." Riddle informed the boy. And it did make a lot of sense, what the boy was saying. Aster shook his head. At this rate, Ace might be as non-magical as him for another week or so. "Now if you have finished your meals, you should quit gossiping and prepare for your next class. Rule 271 is quite clear: 'One must leave the table within 15 minutes of completing their meal.' You DO understand what happens to rule breakers, I trust?" Riddle sent a pointed look at the collared boy.

Ace heaved a large sigh. "More insane rules..." He mumbled. Riddle's brow twitched.

"I believe you meant to say, 'Yes, House warden!'"

Deuce and Ace snapped up strait. "Yes, House warden!" the replied.

Riddle nodded. "Very well then."

"Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on them." Trey promised the boy.

"Hmm... As Vice House warden, I trust there will be no further indiscreet conversation." Riddle gave the boy a warning look, which he replied to with a nod. "Now, as per rule 339... 'The post meal beverage must be lemon tea with two sugar cubes.' Thus, I must go fetch my sugar cubes. Farewell. Don't even get me started on their violation of running out of sugar cubes..." The boy muttered to himself as he left their table. Aster looked after the boy, there was something more under what he was showing them. Something sad and lonely. Why was he getting a bad feeling about this?

"Yeesh, that was terrifying." Cater said once Riddle was gone.

"That guy has some serious issues." Grim commented.

"Hey, don't disrespect him!" Deuce defended.

"Is the House warden gone?" A student in Heartslabyul colors whispered to their friend a table over.

"I totally just broke rule 186: 'Never eat a hamburger on a Tuesday.' I don't know what I would have done if he had caught me." the students shared a sigh. "I wish he wouldn't come here so we could at least eat our lunch in peace."

Trey and Cater remained silent at the words they heard, and Aster glanced at them with concern. He wondered if the two of them could feel that loneliness that seemed to be hiding behind Riddle's authoritative behavior too, but figured it was best not to ask something quite yet. After all, he barely knew the two of them, let alone Riddle. Trey glanced up and saw the younger boy's look. There was something, he felt, in the freshman's gaze, that seemed to calm him.

"Riddle secured the title of House warden before the end of his very first week in school." Trey told him, not sure why he was saying it, but getting the other's attention as he did so. "I know he can come off as a bit harsh, but he's not a bad guy." Trey insisted. "Everything he does, he does because he thinks it'll improve the dorm."

"Would a good guy go around putting collars on strangers?!" Grim demanded, ego still bruised by that night. Trey and Cater chuckled at the creature while Aster looked at Grim with a raised brow.

"That was your fault for causing trouble, Grim." the prefect stated.

"Grr... But it hurt! And it just cut off my magic! That's rude!" Grim defended himself.

"What's rude is telling someone you've never met before to strip and causing a fracas during a formal event." Aster replied before turning back to Cater and ignoring Grim's spluttering of embarrassment as Ace and Deuce took that new information to tease the poor creature relentlessly. "So what's this 'signature spell' thing he mentioned all about?" he asked curiously.

"You're curious about his 'Signature spell?" Cater asked.

"That's like a spell only he can use, right?" Deuce asked, deciding Ace could tease Grim enough for the both of them.

"I doubt he's the only person in the whole world, but... Yes, a signature spell is a spell that is, generally speaking, unique to the caster themselves. You'll be learning about them in class soon enough."

"And Riddle's signature spell allows him to temporarily lock away a person's magic. The spell is named... Off With Your Head!" Cater told them. Grim shuddered.

"Even the name is psycho." he muttered.

"To a mage, losing the ability to use magic is about as painful as losing your head completely." Cater explained to Aster, who might need the explanation to really cement in the seriousness of the situation. "Which is why most, if not all, of us at Heartslabyul House try not to violate Riddle's rules." he finished. The freshman prefect nodded in understanding. No wonder so many were afraid to speak against Riddle and Ace was so desperate to get the collar removed. But if that was so well known among others, it might explain why Riddle had the loneliness around him.

Having everyone walk on eggshells around you made friendship a very delicate and fragile thing to maintain. Aster's heart bled for the Housewarden of Heartslabyul. Did Riddle even have anyone to actually call a friend? Someone to keep him from going too far? Someone who wasn't afraid of setting him off any second. Someone who wasn't afraid of telling him when he was wrong. "As long as you follow the rules," Trey told the two freshmen of Heartslabyul. "Then Riddle isn't so scary."

"Speaking of, are you still not going to let me into the dorm unless I buy a tart?" Ace asked Cater.

"Aw, tired of Ramshackle House already?" Aster asked with feigned hurt, deciding to bring up the mood with some harmless teasing. "I thought you liked Ramshackle?" he whimpered, making Ace turn red as he tried to defend himself and comfort the small boy at the same time. The small boy couldn't keep it up for long because Ace was just too adorable when he was babbling. He chuckled. "It's okay Ace, I was teasing. I understand, really." He assured the boy.

"Aster, that was so unfair!" Ace cried hiding his face in his hands. The others laughed as well before Cater finally spoke.

"Don't me... but yeah. It's rule 53, so my hands are tied." Cater told the boy apologetically. "Also, Riddle always looks forward to the first slice of tart, so it would be for the best that you got an entire tart." he added.

Ace groaned. "What happened to the whole 'We're from the same dorm and should get along' thing you were going on about?"

"That's one thing, this is another." Cater replied with a shrug.

"An entire tart has got to be expensive." Deuce said, deep in thought.

"Seriously?!" Ace cried. "But I don't have that kind of money!" Ace was looking completely devastated.

"Then why not make one yourself?" Cater asked. "I mean, Trey made those three tarts by hand himself." Cater informed them, looking over at his friend. Aster turned bright, excited eyes onto the older boy.

"Wow! That's amazing!" He exclaimed. He knew he could cook but wasn't great with pastries. He would love to help make a tart and get some tips for his own pastry baking.

"You made those tarts Trey?" Trey nodded. "They were incredible! It was like something you would find at a bakery." Ace complimented.

"Ha. I appreciate that. We do have most of the stuff for that, but I'm afraid that I need something from you in return." Trey said, giving the ginger a smile.

"You're going to charge me to make it?!" Ace sounded shocked. "What a racket-!"

"Of course not. I'm not going to take money from a freshman." Trey said with a chuckle. "Riddle wants a chestnut tart next, so I'd like for you to pick the chestnuts for me." he explained.

"Like that's any less of a hassle, but fine. How many do you need?" Ace asked.

"Well, it's for the un-birthday party, so probably two or three hundred." Trey estimated.

"Did you say hundred!?" Deuce and Grim cried.

"And they're all going to need to be boiled, shelled, and pureed." Trey added mischievously.

"I'm gonna head out." Grim said suddenly, getting up from the table.

"I'm leaving too." Deuce said.

"You heartless cowards!" Ace shouted at them.

"Don't worry Ace, I'll help you. I'd love to bake a tart." Aster comforted the boy.

"My only real friend." Ace cried, clinging to the younger boy.

"Hold up!" Cater stopped the two boys. "Haven't you heard that food tastes better when you make it with your friends? This will be a memory to treasure." Cater wheedled. "It could even be your chance to make a splash as a cooking blogger." he added.

Knowing that Cater wasn't going to get them with that spiral, Trey added his own temptations to them. "Don't tell Riddle this, but chestnut tarts are at their tastiest when they're fresh out of the oven. And the only ones who get to experience that culinary privilege are the ones who make it." He told them, smirking at Aster's impressed glance.

"Well, when you put it that way." Grim said, rejoining the table, Deuce right with him.

"So, where could we even get that many chestnuts?" Aster asked the two juniors curiously.

"There are a whole bunch of chestnut trees in the woods behind the campus's botanical garden." Trey told them.

"Cool. Plan made. Let's meet at the botanical gardens after last period today." Ace told his friends.

"We're going to be up to our ears in chestnuts!" Grim said with excitement. And that was where the four of them found themselves after classes that day.