Gehetag 3, Fifth Lunar Disappearance, 50 CE | Hexside School of Magic and Demonics
Hieronmyous Bump had encountered many a creature during his tenure at Hexside. That came with the territory of being principal for nearly 40 years. Though, Hieronmyous had never met a live basilisk before. In fact, he'd thought them to be extinct for the majority of his life. However, because he'd just had (what he thought to be) an abomination partially drain him of his magic and then subsequently shapeshift into a witch, he'd have to question whether or not they had been truly hunted out of existence.
If he was in any other situation than right now, Hieronmyous would probably have been questioning how Miss Park came in contact with the basilisk. The stories of old had painted basilisks as creatures of pure aggression, siphoning the magic of any creature that came close to them. Though, based off what he had just seen, maybe the stories weren't completely accurate. Somehow, by the grace of the Titan, Miss Park had convinced a basilisk to act as her abomination for a measly homework assignment.
But now was not the time for questions, now was the time for action.
He needed to protect his students.
"Miss Blight, could you please help me over to the wall by the door?" He asked.
The young Blight stood frozen temporarily before responding, "Of course, Principal Bump." She then quickly walked over to the weakened principal and positioned the man to the side of the door.
Hoping he had enough magic left in him to activate the school's lockdown defense system, Bump slammed his palms against the wall and said a silent prayer that the Titan would keep everyone safe, especially Willow.
When he saw the telltale red pattern start spreading on the wall, Bump collapsed to his knees in exhaustion.
"Miss Blight, go get Miss Park and get her away from that creature. Forcefully, if you have to," he said through labored breathing.
"Of course I will, sir."
Luz ran, dragging Willow behind her. Rounding a corner, the two slowed down, catching their breath.
"Luz, why did you just drain our principal?" Willow asked, slumping against a column and taking a seat on the floor.
"It was a reflex, okay. I was in danger and I couldn't think of anything better to do. What was I supposed to do, let you cut me open?" Luz retorted, pacing nervously.
"Yes! Abomination's can't feel pain and are essentially immortal!" Willow said.
"Oh." That stopped Luz dead in her tracks.
"Ugh, come on. Let's get out of here."
Suddenly, a red shield-like apparition encased the archway.
"And Bump just activated the defense system. Rats," Willow said, slowly climbing to her feet.
"I'm guessing we're stuck here, then."
Willow paused, and thought for a second. If she remembered correctly, then the defense system should only work against intruders, and not against students.
"Wait, let me try something." Willow then proceeded to walk through the shield as if it wasn't there.
"Yes, it worked! Now you try, Luz," Willow continued, motioning Luz to follow her through the archway.
Luz tried to walk through the red apparition, only for it to push her back.
"Of course. You've got to be kidding me," Luz complained.
Luz then tried to drain the blockade of its magic. Maybe that would work.
Opening her mouth, Luz did her best to siphon the magic precluding her from being with her newfound friend, only for nothing to happen. Luz could feel her stomach filling up, but the shield remain unaffected.
"Willow! Willow, where are you?" Luz recognized that voice as belonging to Amity.
"Willow, stay away from that thing!" Amity ran and tackled Willow, the two sliding along the floor. Amity then scrambled back to her feet and turned to face Luz.
"You aren't hurting anyone else, you monster," Amity said, making sure to not cross the boundary and risk getting her magic drained.
Luz slowly backed away from the angry witch, eventually finding herself pressing up against another one of the blockades.
"I was scared, okay! I thought I was going to get dissected, and my survival instincts took over," Luz said quietly.
"What did you just say?" Amity asked.
"I panicked. I didn't want to hurt your principal, I swear. It just... happened. I had no control over it," Luz said, louder this time.
"She's telling the truth," Willow said, standing back up, "In the few hours that I've known her, Luz has been nothing but a wonderful person, and I never felt threatened by her in the slightest." To emphasize her point, Willow then crossed the boundary separating her and Luz and slung her arm across the basilisk's shoulder.
"See?" Willow continued, "I'm not getting my magic drained. I'm fine, Amity."
"Yeah, I'm not a danger to anyone. Except Warden Wrath. He acts like a creep whenever he sees Miss Eda," Luz said defensively.
Amity paused at the name. "You don't mean 'Miss Eda' as in 'Eda the Owl Lady', do you?"
"The one and only!" Luz said with a chipper smile.
Amity facepalmed. "Of course the Owl Lady would be harboring a basilisk, because why wouldn't she be."
"Yeah, Eda's the best."
Amity let out a long exhale. "Look, if I cross this barrier, do you promise not to drain me of my magic and leave me for dead?"
"I promise. Scout's honor," Luz said, holding up her right hand and touching her pinky and thumb, palm facing outward.
"You're a member of the Emperor's Coven?!" Amity said, shocked at the apparent revelation.
"What's the Emperor's Coven?" Luz asked, a puzzled look on her face.
"Never mind then," Amity said, "Okay, I'm coming over, but if you so much as make one false move, I'm going back to the other side."
"You don't have to worry," Luz reassured her, "There won't be any funny business."
"Good." With that, Amity cautiously stepped through the barrier and approached Luz.
"Hold on!" Willow said, jumping between the two, "How about you two formally introduce yourselves. To prove you aren't a threat to each other and all that, ya know?"
"I think that is reasonable enough. Hello. I'm Amity Blight, Top Student of the Abominations track and heir apparent of Blight Industries," Amity said, sticking out her hand.
"Nice to meet you, Amity Blight. My name is Luz Noceda, and I'm a human-basilisk hybrid from the Human Realm," Luz responded, grabbing Amity's hand and gave it a firm shake.
"I thought basilisks were extinct."
"Yeah, I've been getting that a lot recently. Though, I kinda know next to nothing about my more slithery side. Like, Miss Eda has a book that had some information on basilisks, but none of the stuff in it was really that useful to me."
"Well, I work at the local public library, so maybe I could help you find a more advanced book on the subject."
"Really? That would be super helpful."
"Given how large the records are, we'd undoubtedly find something that's useful. Just so you know, I'll be working at the GPL over the weekend, so would either of those days work for you?"
"Probably? Unless Miss Eda ropes me into one of her schemes, of course."
"Alright then, it's a date. Just stop by anytime from 10 to 2 and I'll be there. Also, you should probably come disguised as witch or demon. Human's tend to stick out around Bonesborough. Look, I've really got to go. Mom is probably waiting by the door so she can lecture me about being late."
"Okay, see you at the library!" Luz said, before adding on, "Wait, can you go get Bump to drop the shield thingies? Miss Eda's probably getting worried."
"Yeah, I can go explain what all just happened to him. I'm already late, so what's five more minutes? Let's just hope Bump's in a forgiving mood." Amity then jogged off in the direction of Bump's office.
"Thank you!" Luz yelled to the departing witch.
Luz then walked over to a flat section of the wall and slid down to the floor, with Willow joining her soon after.
"So, how do you like Hexside?" Willow asked.
"I really liked it, to be honest. All the classes were really fun and they were all way better than the stuff that's taught at human schools. I'd take spelling class over physics any day of the week. It did get a little boring staying in the cauldron most of the day, though, but I couldn't blow my cover and all that."
"Yeah, I enjoy being at Hexside, too. I just wish I didn't have to be on the Abominations track."
"Have you ever considered switching tracks? I think you'd do great in the Plant track."
"That's the problem: nobody has ever switched tracks. There's this precedent where once you pick a track, that's your track for your entire school career, and I doubt Bump will just let me swap tracks at a moments notice."
"Well maybe you just have to prove to him that you'll do better on the Plant track. Something that will make him go, 'Wow, I completely misjudged you Willow. Here, you're on the plant track now.'"
"Do you really think that would work?"
"I mean, it wouldn't hurt to try, would it?"
"I suppose not."
Suddenly, the red barricades surrounding the two disappeared with an audible WOOSH.
Luz rose to her feet and looked around the corner to see Principal Bump slowly approaching, with no Amity to be seen. Luz noticed that the elderly witch was using a staff as a walking stick, though it looked as though the staff was missing some kind of topper.
Luz stood as still as possible, staring down at her shoes.
"So, you're the basilisk that posed as Miss Park's abomination. Luz Noceda, was it?" Bump asked.
"Yes, sir, I am, and I am very sorry about–" Luz said quietly, before being cut off.
"No need for apologies, Miss Noceda. You were afraid and acted accordingly, and it just so happens that your response to fear happens to be..."
"To nearly kill you?"
"I was going to say using your Titan-given abilities, but that works to, I suppose," Bump paused for a bit before continuing, "Look, Miss Noceda. I've learned in my years here at Hexside that holding grudges only leads to a bottomless pit of despair, and I don't want that for either of us."
"So, then what are we going to do?" Luz asked.
"I take it that you enjoyed your day here, correct?" Bump asked in response after thinking for a few seconds.
"Yeah, it was awesome," Luz said quickly.
"And are you currently receiving any form of education?"
"Not really, no."
"Then I have a solution where we both benefit: you become a student here at Hexside. Think about it. You could come here as a sort of exchange student, offering new perspectives for all your classes and getting a proper education, and the student body at large would benefit from you attending as well."
"I'll do it on one condition."
"And what is that?"
"Let Willow switch to the Plant Magic track."
"Miss Noceda, that would be breaking decades worth of precedent, so unless you have indisputable proof that Willow is better suited in the Plant track, then I will have to deny your request. I can't have students switching tracks whenever they fancy."
"Well then, we'll just have to show you. Hey Willow! Get over here and show Bump how awesome of a plant witch you are!"
"While I would love to do that, plant magic sorta requires, ya know, plants, of which there are none nearby," Willow said, walking over to join the two.
Reaching into her pocket and scrounging around, Luz eventually pulled out a handful of coins and that goop-covered ball from the trash slug.
"Would any of these help?" Luz said hopefully.
"Hmm. The strange looking coins, no, but I could definitely use that seed." Willow replied, picking up the seed and examining it.
"That's a seed?" Luz asked, dumbfounded.
Willow simply stared at the basilisk, a disappointed look on her face.
Taking a deep breath, Willow spun a spell circle around the seed, and with a shout of, "GROW!", gigantic vines, similar to the ones that had ensnared Luz's ankle hours prior, sprouted from the seed. The vines spread all over the place, racing around corners, wrapping around columns, and a few even broke through some windows and escaped to the outside world. Small pink flowers even began to bloom from some of the vines.
"Incredible," was all Bump could say in response to the sheer display of power he'd just witnessed. "Willow Park, effective immediately, you will no longer study on the Abominations track, but will instead be on the Plant Magic track." Casting a small spell circle, Willow's sleeves and leggings switched from the orchid color of Abominations track to the green of the Plant track.
"Thank you, Principal Bump," Willow said.
"Yay, congrats Willow!" Luz said, running and giving the witch a hug, spinning the two of them around in a circle.
"Now I just have to figure out how to tell my dads," Willow said, picking at the newly-green sleeves of her tunic.
Bump then cleared his throat, pausing the celebration.
"Miss Noceda, there is one caveat preventing you from joining Hexisde right this instant. We have a policy where students who wish to attend any higher-level courses have to know at least two spells. Do you happen to know any spells?"
"Does shapeshifting count as a spell?" Luz asked hopefully.
"Does your shapeshifting require the usage of a spell circle?" Bump inquired.
"Not really, no."
"Then in the eyes of the school it does not count as a spell."
"Rats," Luz said in a disappointed tone.
"Hmm... Miss Blight told me that you said you were currently living with Edalyn Clawthorne. Is that right?"
"Yup. I've even got my own room and everything," Luz said proudly.
"Then ask Edalyn to teach you some spells. While she might have had a knack for causing a ruckus, she was also an incredible student, and I'm sure she could pass some of her knowledge on down to you."
"Well, there's one problem with that: I don't exactly have a bile sac to be able to do magic."
"That is quite the conundrum. However, I do recall that witches of old used a different method of casting spells prior to the development of the bile sac, though the exact details have been muddied by time. That could be worth researching into."
"So what you're saying is that, if I want to attend this school, then I'll basically have to completely rediscover a lost method of casting spells."
"Essentially, yes. Either that, or you could attempt to shapeshift yourself a bile sac and pray to the Titan that it doesn't kill you outright."
"Alright, rediscovering lost magic it is. Do you know any, like, ancient scrolls or tomes I could read from that could tell me more?"
"Based on the subject matter, they would most likely be kept in the restricted section of the Bonesborough Public Library, so I wish you the best of luck in finding a way to access them without proper clearance."
"Thank you, future-Principal Bump."
"Yes, yes. Now please, leave me be, because I have some paperwork that needs attended to."
"Is it paperwork for me to officially go here?"
"No, it's to report all the damage that Miss Park just caused to the centuries old stained glass windows. Now both of you leave before you destroy something else."
Luz didn't need to be told a third time, so she and Willow both went outside to the main courtyard of the school, only to find Gus standing there, all by himself, apparently waiting for them.
Noticing the two, Gus ran up to them.
"I just had the best idea in the history of ideas. What if you could high five yourself?"
"Gus, that's called clapping," Luz deadpanned.
"Oh. Darn."