A/N: Hello! Welcome back to Shadows of a Spare and... oh my gosh, I am surprised at the attention this fic has gotten already. XD I was not expecting this, honestly, especially because it looks like the fandom is not as active these days. Either way, I have managed to get the second chapter done after a lot of indecision and rewriting (I'm not joking about that, by the way. It involved a lot of it; blame the cross-referencing I had to keep doing between the anime screenshots and the Chamber of Time maps for the layouts). This chapter won't be very eventful, as like the first chapter, its main purpose is worldbuilding and also exploring Delila as a character and alluding more to the current and past relationships between Diana and Delila. Still, I think you'll like what I've done here, because the feels are about to kick in full force, along with hints towards... certain things. XD

Either way, thank you so much for the favourites, follows and reviews. Stat counter still isn't fixed, but it's nice to see there are people engaging with this and are intrigued by Delila already. Responses to reviews and additional author's notes will be added at the end of the chapter, and I'd once again like to remind everyone that Shadows of a Spare is cross-posted on AO3 under the same name and username as this site, in case you need it. And as always, expect a good while before the next update to come in due to other writing projects and personal life stuff. Hope you guys enjoy the next chapter anyway (and Delila just generally being a menace. XD).

Chapter 2: Welcome to Luna Nova

The moment she felt the broom abruptly lurch upwards, the oxygen left Delila's lungs like a harsh punch to the chest. But throughout it all, she didn't open her eyes once—not when the harsh winds ruffled at every inch of her clothes, not as her hair whipped wildly about the air behind her, not even as her exposed skin was slashed at and her mouth was flapped about by the invisible force. All the while, Delila could feel Diana remaining motionless under her touch, staying as still as a statue. Without looking, it was blatantly obvious that her sister was used to the sensations brought on by travelling the leyline via broom more so than her, which wasn't surprising to her in the slightest.

A short amount of time passed before the broom slowed to a leisurely stroll, the winds formerly attacking them now gently caressing Delila's skin and hair. Her breathing gradually evened and her pulse faded at the calm that had since grappled their surroundings, which Delila took as her cue to open her eyes again. Upon doing so, she was met with the familiar sight of the circular, green tunnel of the dimensional rift they'd entered, her usual stoic mask shattering with the dropping of her jaw at the electrified, black streaks slithering alongside them from above, below and beside them.

This wasn't the first time Delila had seen a leyline, of course. It was a common form of transport in the magical world, after all. But as the younger Cavendish looked back at the way they'd just come at the bright purple covering the portal's entrance, even she could admit there was something oddly breath-taking at experiencing such a common source of magic up close and personal, to the point where she could almost reach out and touch it if she wanted (but she obviously wasn't going to do that; that was a death wish in the making!).

"Wow…" Delila uttered breathlessly, grabbing Diana's attention and prompting the older Cavendish to briefly peek at her sister from over her right shoulder.

"Are you glad you didn't listen to your paranoid thoughts now?"

"Very." Delila's brows furrowed. "It's strange, though, isn't it?"

"What is?"

"Magic is said to be in decline nowadays." Delila tilted her head up to the black streaks above them. "But you observe magical sources such as the leylines and it looks as strong as ever."

"Astute observation." Diana allowed her gaze to wander a little to the right of the leyline, her brows knitting together thoughtfully as her voice became underlined with a hint of dismay. "It is a shame the same cannot be said for Luna Nova, however…"

Delila faced her sister again with a deepened frown, having recognised the reason for her concern. "Has the effects of the magical decline on the school been really bad?"

"Sadly, yes," she answered solemnly. "It's certainly been palpable during the time I've been enrolled. I don't doubt that once we're at the opening ceremony, you'll start to notice it as well."

Delila raised a brow at the familiarity of her sister's explanation, her mind scrambling to recall the contents of the most recent letter Diana sent prior to her departure from the Cavendish Manor; didn't she mention something about a drop in student numbers during the previous opening ceremony? "Ah, yes. The lack of attendance at last year's opening ceremony, you mean?"

"Yes. The declining number of students new and old has hit Luna Nova terribly where their finances are concerned."

"Because the populace of the world is gradually believing that magic no longer has a use to everyday society?"

"Precisely."

"I see." Delila sighed quietly and shook her head out of disappointment. She'd already expected this but hearing it directly from her sister's mouth made the situation properly sink in, giving rise to her already acknowledged feelings a second time. "So, am I to assume that the poor turnout has extended to this year as well?"

"In terms of returning students, I wouldn't know. That is something we will not see until the commencing of the opening ceremony. Regarding new students, however, I've heard that we are expecting two new arrivals aside from yourself. One of whom descends from a witch family…" Diana briefly trailed off to narrow her eyes and add forced emphasis to her next words. "…and another who does not."

Delila forced three blinks at the last thing Diana said, staring at the back of her sister's hat as if she'd grown a second head. Very little managed to penetrate Delila's stoic mask these days, and yet even she couldn't help being surprised by this revelation.

"You mean, a first-generation witch?" Delila pressed, with Diana's confirming nod leaving the younger Cavendish speechless at struggling to comprehend what she was hearing.

She shouldn't have been too surprised by this. First generation users of magic weren't unheard of, yet in the present time, they were certainly uncommon given how deeply rooted magical heritage was into bloodlines; she would know, given hers and her sister's own magical roots.

A minute of silence passed before Delila brought herself to speak again with the crinkle of her nose and the twist of her lips. "I didn't know Luna Nova accepted witches without magical heritage. They're very strict when it comes to the old traditions and magical practices, aren't they?"

"Usually they are. But Luna Nova's ongoingly dire financial problems forced the headmistress to make an exception this year," Diana explained with the lowering of her head, a soft sigh escaping her. "But even extending the invitation of enrolment towards first generation witches hasn't been as successful as they'd hoped."

"I'm surprised there's even anyone in that category who wanted to enrol at a magic school."

Diana looked over at Delila with a raised brow and a forced blink. "You don't see a problem with it?"

"Do you?"

"Not necessarily." Diana closed her eyes. "Despite some apprehension, I respect the headmistress' decision to do what needs to be done to protect the future of Luna Nova. Provided the new student respects the traditions and rules of the school." The older Cavendish opened her eyes again and tilted her head to the side. "Though I cannot help being curious as to why you don't have an issue with it."

A snort slipped past Delila's lips when her mouth moved faster than her brain, leaving Diana furrowing her brows out of confusion.

"And why would I take issue with it?" Delila countered rhetorically, giving a casual shrug of her shoulders. "I understand the controversy behind allowing outsiders like that into our world, but on the other hand, it could also prove to be a good thing in the long run." Delila held her head up high at feeling the light wind blowing past them brushing her cheeks, her eyes glazing over with the thousand-yard stare as if in reminiscence of past times long gone. "It's very similar to the controversy surrounding Shiny Chariot, actually."

Unbeknownst to the younger Cavendish, Diana's frown deepened with a partial squint. "What do you mean?"

"Well, both situations are frowned upon because they break the traditions surrounding magic, yet in the case of Shiny Chariot, her efforts kept the belief and fascination in magic alive, especially towards non-witches." She paused to return her gaze to her sister. "Perhaps the same outcome will occur at Luna Nova with the arrival of this non-bloodied witch—"

Delila cut herself off with the raise of her brows upon beholding the slight gape and wide-eyed stare that Diana was now giving her, her body rigid. A child-like glint had overtaken her eyes, one that Delila recognised very well from when they were girls; no doubt Delila's explanation had propelled Diana back to the same nostalgic time she was currently referring to.

"… What?" Delila questioned when it didn't seem like Diana was going to say anything. Her older sister's intense staring caused the heat to rise to Delila's cheeks, forcing the younger Cavendish to look off to the left in a flimsy attempt to hide her embarrassment. "There's no need to look at me like that! I was listening to your rambles back then, you know!"

A long pause followed, with Delila refusing to even so much as peek at her older sister. But then… a small giggle from Diana grabbed Delila's attention once more, causing the younger witch's heart to skip a beat in her chest; when was the last time she'd heard her sister laugh?

"I have to admit that until today, I was greatly concerned for the futures likely to befall the House of Cavendish and Luna Nova," Diana said quietly, causing Delila's head to whip toward her sister as her sister gave her a small and genuine smile. "But now that you're here, I think we'll be able to restore them both to their rightful glory."

Delila couldn't bring herself to say anything to that. Her tongue continuously twitched with the urge to say something, yet no matter how much she wanted to respond, the words refused to form. Luckily for the teenage witch, however, the time for her to speak was abruptly cut short by a flash of white light from up ahead, the indication that they were reaching their destination drawing Diana's attention forwards once more and returning her to her composed demeanour. That was surprisingly quick, Delila thought; unless their conversation had made time pass faster.

"It looks like we've arrived," the older Cavendish remarked. As their surroundings started to become engulfed by a sea of bright white, Diana moved her head downward so the rim of her hat shielded her eyes. "Brace yourself."

And Delila did so without verbal objection, shutting her eyes and pulling herself closer to Diana the moment the bright light flooded her vision. She was unsure how long she was supposed to keep her eyes shut for, as she couldn't feel any outward changes to her surroundings during the transition from the leyline to their current destination. So just to be safe, she started to count to sixty in her head: one, two, three—

"Ahem," Diana softly cleared her throat, sending a startled jolt through Delila and stiffening her shoulders. "You can open your eyes now."

Never mind then, Delila sarcastically thought with the mental roll of her eyes, though she was admittedly surprised at how fast that change was. Upon relenting and doing as instructed, however, Delila was not prepared for the view that greeted her, so much so that she felt her eyes widen to the point they almost bulged from her eye sockets.

A sea of lush trees stretched across the land below as far as the eye could see, the scattered clouds sailing through the blue sky above them as faint swirls in varying directions. But it was the gigantic, castle-like structure situated in the midst of the varying shades of greenery in the distance that drew Delila's attention, almost parting the tightly packed trees like Moses parting the Red Sea.

The four-storey high building consisted of a rectangle base and two smaller rectangular attachments branching off close to the back of its left and right sides, possessing sloped roofing and an open grassy area inside the main building that looked to resemble a courtyard. Three towers rose from the roofing of the main building, two of which were located beside the rectangular extensions, while the final tower was situated at the back in the middle of the roof. At the building's back, far off into the distance, Delila also spied a thin tower that rose so high it almost looked to be touching the sky, housing a large, glistening and glowing mint-green stone at its peak; the Sorcerer's Stone, she instantly realised. A short distance opposite this tower was a smaller and wider circular tower around the same height as the large building, which had a long, rectangular wooden platform stretching from its top that Delila could just about make out.

Delila had already seen the pictures of this location beforehand thanks to the pamphlet sent and her own research, but beholding the actual building from a view like this? She felt like she'd lost the ability to speak! The longer she stared in awed silence from where she and Diana were gradually approaching the majestic building, the more certain Delila was that this was all just a fanciful dream—she hadn't actually left the Cavendish Manor. She must have imagined departing for the train station, getting off in Glastonbury and then trekking all the way up that tor, only for her brain to get creative and imagine the rest. That had to be it, right?

One light pinch on one of her palms after briefly loosening her grip on Diana proved her wrong, the tiny sting against her skin finally coaxing a word to leave her lips as a breathless whisper. "Whoa…"

From within her peripheral vision, Delila thought she caught Diana sideways glancing her from over her left shoulder, closely scrutinising her reaction.

"Welcome to Luna Nova Academy, Delila," she stated with a proud smile and the upwards tilt of her chin to the sky, making Delila wonder if Diana had waited nearly three years to finally say that to her.

The two sisters flew until they passed a pair of large metal gates far below, sectioning off a circular path with neatly cut and lush grass whose edges were lined with a long trail of rounded shrubbery. Diana slowly dipped the tip of the broom and carefully guided them to the sloped roof and multiple tall doors of the semi-circled entrance, waiting until they were hovering close to the set of steps underneath each door to gradually lift the broom into a horizontal position. The levitation cut off once they were hovering close to the ground, the brief drop startling Delila and jolting her into a standing position when Diana put her own feet down. Despite her momentary shock, Delila recovered quickly enough to release Diana and let her sister disembark, quietly sighing in relief and clutching her hands against her chest as she copied her.

"Extraordinary, isn't it?" Diana remarked while she righted her broom at her side, focusing her sharp blue eyes on the academy's entrance's roof when Delila moved to her other side.

"I'll say," Delila muttered and followed her sister's gaze, clutching the straps of her rucksack once more. "This isn't the building from the school's original founding, is it?"

"It's not." Diana shot Delila a sideways glance. "How did you know?"

"Because Luna Nova was founded in the 5th century and this restored reiteration looks to be from the 19th."

"Which you memorised from the pamphlet, correct?" Delila didn't respond to that verbally, yet her silence and the red flush slowly overtaking her younger sister's cheeks still gave Diana an answer, nonetheless. "I'll take that as a 'yes'."

Delila's eyes drooped as she rolled them, but she quickly clamped her mouth shut and refrained from making any retorts, even though the urge to say a snarky Excuse me for being a diligent student tingled on the top of her tongue; she wasn't with her aunt or cousins right now, after all. Diana deserved her self-restraint.

"I see now why you insisted we arrive at the academy early," Delila remarked in a low voice, once the extra colour disappeared from her face. "Punctuality aside, attempting to give a tour of a school this size is likely to take hours."

"That was part of the reason, yes," Diana replied in kind. "But not to worry. To save us time and to avoid overwhelming you,—"

Delila rolled her eyes, a hand absentmindedly brushing its fingers against her chest when she grumbled under her breath. "Overwhelming isn't the word I'd use."

"—I aim to focus on the important areas for now, with the inclusion of one particular area of interest."

"Will my new bedroom be included in that list?"

Diana shook her head. "Until the opening ceremony commences, the professors cannot determine how the room arrangements for the dormitories will go."

"In case of any students failing to attend the opening ceremony and thus being expelled automatically?"

"Precisely. As such, room assignments will be sorted afterwards."

Delila couldn't help wincing and closing an eye at her sister's bluntness, even though she'd expected that answer. "A little harsh, but also fair, I suppose."

"Agreed. As harsh as it may seem, it is an efficient way of filtering out those who aren't serious about their magical studies and pursuits. Though we will be making a stop by the dormitories a little later to collect your uniform from my room." Diana paused to sideways glance Delila's rucksack. "And to give you somewhere temporarily secure to store your belongings."

"Oh?" Delila raised a quizzical brow at her sister. "You have my uniform?"

"Everything except your belt, sash and bands, but you won't be needing those just yet." Diana faced Delila fully and gestured a hand to the white shirt hidden underneath her tunic. "Everyone is required to wear Luna Nova's standard uniform, cape coat and hat when attending the opening ceremony, so you'll need additional time to change."

"Even the new students?" Delila questioned, looking down at her current outfit after Diana nodded in confirmation. "Was I supposed to receive my uniform in advance then?"

"Normally, you would have. But I convinced the professors to leave it with me." Diana lowered her eyes to the ground, her next words spoken quietly and with a hint of a crack in her tone. "Just in case you changed your mind."

Delila furrowed her brows as she took in her sister's brief shameful and guilty outlook, though she couldn't blame her for it. She had let Diana down two times already, so clearly she'd been trying to prepare for the worst case scenario.

When a short round of silence followed and Diana seemed to catch the pitying look Delila was still giving her, the older Cavendish quickly averted her eyes again and loudly cleared her throat.

"Anyway," she started, holding out a palm towards the school's entrance as the two sisters locked eyes again. "Are you ready to head inside?"

Delila took a few seconds to reply as she lowered her gaze to her chest, giving herself a moment to assess her current condition with a hand subconsciously rubbing at it. Unlike how she'd felt before they'd departed through the leyline, there was little trace of her earlier nerves. Sure, there was still the odd one or two flutters from her stomach (which she'd naturally expected), but otherwise, no chest pains or indication of any upcoming chest pains, which was her main concern. So, upon determining she felt fine, she turned to Diana with a stiff nod and her hand falling to her bag strap.

"Ready whenever you are."

With Diana leading the way and carrying her broom over her shoulder, the two Cavendish sisters walked up the steps into the academy's main building side by side; however, upon crossing the threshold, Delila's pacing slipped as she beheld the inside of the high-ceiling entrance, causing her to lag a couple of inches behind her older sister. The academy's building was decorated with pristine, plain and pale coloured floors and walls, the lack of carpet and wallpaper sending the echoes of the sisters' synced footsteps bouncing about like a tennis ball. Having lived most of her life inside of a castle-like building much smaller in scale than Luna Nova with more vibrant decorum, Delila would have thought the entrance's lack of decoration made the academy look rather boring and unappealing in comparison. Yet she could admit that it gave Luna Nova a strange charm to it, one that seemed to match its majestic exterior, perhaps caused in part by the evenly spaced, square pillars lining the sides of the entrance.

Only now was it beginning to settle in that she was actually here. At Luna Nova.

"Just out of curiosity, which places in the school do you plan on showing me?" Delila asked as Diana led them towards an open doorway housing a vertical corridor with red carpeting just ahead of them.

Diana counted off on her fingers on her empty hand while she verbally listed the rooms for Delila's benefit. "There's the dormitories,—"

"Obviously."

"—the library, the cafeteria, the auditorium,—"

"Where the opening ceremony is being held, presumably?"

"—Yes. Also the botanical garden,—"

Delila's brows raised with a forced blink, wondering for a few seconds if she'd heard Diana correctly. "Wait, what—?"

"—And, of course, the student counselling and headmistress' offices—"

"Whoa, whoa, back up a second!" Delila cried and purposely stumbled forward into Diana's path with her palms raised, forcing her twin to come to a gentle stop. "Did you say botanical garden?"

"I did," Diana answered calmly and without any ounce of hesitation, making Delila's eyes narrow.

"Why would you need to show me that?"

"It's the place of interest I mentioned previously," Diana elaborated, causing Delila's expression to relax with a wide blink of realisation. "I don't need to show it to you by any means. But as it houses an important part of Luna Nova's history, I wanted to give you the opportunity to admire it when few faces were around."

Delila frowned and pursed her lips. "What could possibly be hiding in a garden that's as important as that?"

"You'll see soon enough." Diana ignored Delila's shoulders slumping as she started to move around her sister and raised her head to the ceiling with the slight puff of her chest, moving her free arm behind her back. "Come along now. We don't have all day."

Delila shook her head dismissively at her sister's last comments, but it didn't stop her from turning around and following Diana with quick strides to catch up to her side again. Just like Diana said, she didn't have to show her this 'important part of Luna Nova's history' by any means. She was only doing it because she knew (or at least suspected) that it was related to Delila's interests, so the least Delila could do was entrust herself to her sister's capable hands. Not that she had much of a choice anyway, she mentally remarked.

While Delila followed Diana along to their first destination, she gave the first floor of the building a brief scan. The area close to the school's entrance was a single corridor that, in line with the exterior, formed a rectangular outline consisting of a vertical corridor at the building's south end and then two horizontal corridors to the building's west side and east side. Allowing Diana to guide her into the east corridor, Delila also saw that the corridor's inner walls were lined with large and arched windows, while the corridor's outer walls were not. Delila only spared the outside area beyond the windows a quick glance, recognising it to be the grassy area she recalled seeing cutting through the middle of the main building whilst they were airborne. Her sister hadn't drawn attention to it, so Delila didn't deem it important enough to question right now. Not to mention it was obvious to her that it was probably the school's courtyard, because what else would that sectioned off area be for?

"You'll be pleased to know that three of the places on our list are conveniently located on the first floor," Diana said as they approached a pair of big dark green wooden doors decorated with thick, golden and intricate patterns, located to their right almost halfway down the corridor. "And that our first stop happens to be the library."

"Why?" Delila questioned sarcastically as she watched Diana approach the door to their right with drooped eyes and her arms crossed. "Is there an ancient tower with books spiralling up the walls hiding behind there?"

"Sadly, no," Diana answered in kind, swapping her broom to her other hand so she could place her right palm flat on the door. "Still, I think you'll be fascinated with the treasure trove of knowledge Luna Nova has to offer."

Diana turned away and shoved open the door with her hand, causing a noisy and elongated creak to echo around the corridor when it slowly inched open. Delila waited until Diana moved to hold the door open halfway with her back and right arm pressed against it before she dared to approach the doorway. But upon stopping beside her older sister and craning her neck round the closed door to look inside, she found herself beholding a wide, rectangular room with a green, square tiled floor, bathed in bright and almost blinding sunlight shining in directly from the large and arched windows opposite them. Long, wooden tables surrounded by armless chairs were scattered across the library's lower level, while both the bottom half and top half of the walls were covered in bookcases almost bursting with neatly placed books. The bookcases were separated in the middle by a stone walkway supported by stone pillars with a wooden railing that outlined the upper half of the room up to the windows.

An awkward silence hung between the two sisters as Diana observed her younger sister's eyes slowly move with the slight turning of her head, appearing fixated mostly upon the rows of books on both the upper and lower levels. Outwardly, Delila was succeeding in keeping a straight face and not giving her true thoughts away. Inwardly, however, a warm and fuzzy feeling brewed away in her chest like a boiling cauldron, a familiar and welcomed reaction she often found herself experiencing in the company of books. Around books she'd previously read, this feeling frequently sprouted up whenever she wished to re-experience nostalgia during the times she spent in the library back at home, as though she were reliving the past times with an old friend. But in the case of books she hadn't read yet, especially within this library based on the vast number of unfamiliar titles and covers she could manage to make out from her current vantage point, this feeling of warmth and fuzziness surfaced from the exciting prospect of attaining new knowledge, like she was getting to know a potential new friend for the first time.

"… Well?" Diana pressed upon ascertaining Delila had scanned practically every inch of the library by now.

Delila straightened up and returned her focus to Diana with her hands clasped behind her back. "It's not a forgotten library hidden underground, but I suppose it will do," she deadpanned, the corners of her lips twitching with the urge to smile at seeing Diana's eyes narrow a little at her response; her sister did not find that amusing.

"Please be serious, Delila."

"And when am I not serious, Diana?" the younger Cavendish replied sarcastically, only to continue in a normal tone of voice and raise her palms in surrender when Diana visibly slumped back against the library's door. "But yes, I concede that it is, indeed, impressive, all things considered."

"I'm glad to hear it." Diana straightened out her posture again and allowed her eyes to scan across the library from left to right. "You mentioned you were attempting to restart your magical studies in preparation for your enrolment in past correspondences. Luna Nova's library houses magical texts similar to the studying materials at home, along with additional materials should you need to review the basics."

"Hence why you showed me the library first," Delila casually remarked and subconsciously rubbed a palm at her chest, even though she felt fine at present. "As a way of easing my nerves by introducing me to a space I find some familiarity in."

Diana briefly closed her eyes. "That is one way to look at it. Though, it just so happens the library is the closest to the school's entrance out of the three rooms in question."

Sure it was, Delila instinctively and sarcastically thought. Yet she succeeded in pressing her lips tightly together and following her sister's gaze to the room's interior to prevent those words from being spoken aloud. She was only just now realising the terrible influence of being left alone with her aunt and cousins was having on her. Even still, she could mentally admit that Diana's plan (intentional or otherwise) had worked; her first day nerves had decreased a little more.

Thankfully, her attempt to seek out a distraction before she said something she would regret worked, the second look at the library giving rise to a sudden thought that caused a muffled snort to escape with the slight jerk of her shoulders. Out of the corner of her eyes, Delila caught Diana raising a brow at her seemingly 'out of the blue' reaction.

"What's so amusing?"

"Nothing," Delila immediately responded, keeping her gaze ahead for now. "I just realised this is the first time in a while that you and I have been stood in a library together."

Diana's brows raised in surprise at this revelation, though she quickly furrowed them in thought and lowered her eyes to the floor with a hand cupping at her chin once Delila's words sunk in.

"Now that you mention it… you're right," she muttered, her eyes absentmindedly drifting to the library's tables.

As Delila followed her older sister's gaze, the warm and fuzzy feeling in her chest seemed to intensify, prompting her to curl a hand into the front of her clothes with a faint smile. "It's funny. I never knew until now how many of my memories with you involve the library."

"Well, it was one of the few rooms in the manor we frequented the most as young girls," Diana commented quietly.

"It was, wasn't it?" Delila said through a soft sigh, a faraway look glistening in her blue eyes as the silence enveloped the two sisters for a moment.

Delila supposed that was another reason why she'd always found comfort in the company of books. Thinking about it, she couldn't remember a time where she and Diana weren't in the library at the Cavendish Manor—all those hours they spent reading up on the history of magic and the Cavendish family legacy, the times they dedicated to studying the knowledgeable side of magic, even the times Diana dragged her there just to enthusiastically ramble about her interests to someone who happily listened to her. She and Diana had never had much in common growing up, their personalities and thoughts distinctly different alongside their appearances. Yet when it came down to books, whether through general reading or magical study, it was an interest they'd always shared. In a way, the library was the foundation of their formerly close sisterly bond, Delila mused, that and their mo—

Whoa! Hold that thought, Delila!

The youngest Cavendish squeezed her eyes shut for several seconds and shook her head from side to side to halt that thought in its tracks, eventually clearing her throat to get Diana's attention with her knuckles pressed close to her lips.

"Ahem. Anyway, should we move on?"

"We should," Diana agreed, watching Delila walk back into the corridor before she followed suit and pulled the library door closed behind her. "There's still plenty of time until the opening ceremony, but there's also the risk of us running into any students who have decided to arrive this early."

Delila peeked over her shoulder at Diana with a cocked brow, her deadpanned response already on the tip of her tongue. "Another witch as punctual as the great Diana Cavendish? Perish the thought."

Diana brushed off Delila's attempt at a joke with a dismissive shake of her head and a small huff to match, not even bothering to make a retort; good to know her older sister was adjusting to her dry sense of humour.

The second stop for the Cavendish sisters for the first floor was the cafeteria, a large, wide and square-shaped room located past the library and the vertical north corridor beyond the courtyard, making up the remainder of the first floor's north side of the building. Following Diana into the cafeteria through another large set of double doors, the young Cavendish was greeted to the sight of hardened bright blue flooring and pristine brightly coloured walls, blindingly reflecting the sunlight streaming in from the tall windows stretching round from the entrance and forcing Delila to shield her eyes with her arm upon entry. As with the library, the cafeteria housed an accumulation of small wooden tables in the middle with four armless chairs for each side, along with a vestibule that lined the top half of the room with two sets of stairs on either side of the entrance granting access to it. But other than that, Delila saw nothing noteworthy about this particular eating area. After all, like with the courtyard, it was pretty self-explanatory to Delila that this was where students and teachers were served their daily meals. This was a sentiment Diana verbally confirmed upon admitting she'd showed Delila the cafeteria because it was the only way to access the school grounds at the building's back, where the botanical garden was located—the third and final stop on their tour for the first floor.

Luna Nova's botanical garden resided in a circular-shaped, dome-roofed and window-walled building on the right side of the school grounds, a sight that Delila wasn't the least bit surprised by, considering the name practically gave away what she naturally expected to find in there and the main reason why the building was designed this way: plants. And sure enough, upon allowing Diana to lead her inside through one of the building's many arched entrances, that is exactly what she found herself beholding amidst the sunlit area. Flower beds filled with thriving and lush flora of varying bright colours lined the outer side in between the entrances, while a circular and sandy coloured pathway encompassed the inner parts of the garden.

"And here we have the botanical garden," Diana explained, gesturing her empty palm towards a small circle of neat grass with a tall and thin tree almost as high as the building itself at its centre. "which houses the 'important part of Luna Nova's history' that I wanted to show you."

As she and her sister approached the edge of the grass side by side, Delila noticed that the tree's roots rose from the grassy ground in a left-sided spiral to form its trunk, with its base initially compacted tightly together, but then appeared to separate and form a gap-like spiral the closer it got to the glassed ceiling. Furthermore, nestled at the front of the cluster of branches that stretched from the tree's top, Delila swore she could see the faint semblance of a woman's face, making the hairs on her exposed arms stand on end with a shuddering tingle when she and Diana stopped together at the grass' edge. Diana observed Delila as she blinked a couple of times and rubbed at her eyes with her hands to make sure she wasn't seeing things, only to look at the same spot again with a squint to see the face remained.

"You've noticed the face, I see," Diana stated bluntly.

"Oh, thank goodness, you can see it too!" Delila sarcastically replied as she relaxed her expression, only to return her voice to normal and look at the grassy ground while rubbing at her exposed arms. "But if that is, indeed, a face, am I correct in assuming we are standing on the site of what could quite possibly be a witch's grave?"

Delila once recalled reading that powerful witches were capable of either transforming into or manifesting a tree on their grave upon their death, so her assumption wasn't a far cry from reality. Unless someone manually carved a face into this tree—

"You would be correct to assume so," Diana answered without breaking eye contact with the tree in question. "This sacred tree is the Jennifer Memorial Tree, aptly named after the legendary witch 'Jennifer'." Diana's gaze lowered to the tree's roots, staring intently enough that Delila couldn't help wondering if she was trying to see through the earth to wherever the spoken of witch's body was. "She was said to have aided in the restoration efforts of Luna Nova during the Golden Age of Magic, and allegedly transferred her spirit to this tree to watch over Luna Nova from the afterlife."

"Ah, I see," Delila commented with an understanding nod, only to hunch her shoulders as her eyes trailed back to the serene and closed eyed face embedded at the tree's top. "Though, that doesn't make the face any less unsettling to look at, no matter how peaceful it looks."

Delila was expecting Diana to chide her for making such a joking comment. However, when the silence was prolonged and her sister said nothing, Delila opened her eyes and looked over to find Diana had since resumed staring at the memorial tree, only to freeze up and blink a couple of times out of surprise at beholding the watery glint that suddenly crossed the older Cavendish's eyes.

"Diana?"

"Huh?" Diana uttered as she suddenly snapped to attention, causing the younger Cavendish to frown and cock her head a little to the side when her sister briefly returned her focus to her.

Delila gave Diana several seconds to pull herself together before saying anything further. "Is everything okay?"

Diana forced a couple of blinks to remove any traces of her momentary show of emotion and then gave a stiff nod. "My apologies. I'm fine," she replied, sounding more composed now. Though, she quickly looked back to the tree with drooped eyes, specifically at the wilting and barren branches dangling from the top. "It's just such a shame."

"What is?"

Diana released a despondent sigh. "That you were not able to see the memorial tree in better health."

Narrowing her eyes at her sister's comments, Delila directed her squinted gaze to the tree's trunk and leaned forward a little on her toes to get a closer look. Sure enough, she realised that there was more to the tree's abnormal appearance than she initially thought, noting that the bark was discoloured and greying, and the barren and wilting branches arched towards the tree's trunk like a cluster of limp and bony fingers; she'd been too preoccupied by the face to notice this tree had seen better days.

"Oh…" Delila mumbled after a moment of awkward silence, eventually straightening up and relaxing her expression. "I didn't notice it was sick. Has it been like this for a while?"

"Yes, sadly."

"Does anyone know what's wrong with it?"

"Not yet. The faculty are looking into the problem as we speak." Diana hung her head a bit. "Although the headmistress suspects it could be at the end of its time, given its age…"

"End of its time, huh…" Delila parroted under her breath, allowing her eyes to lower to her shoes to fend off the sudden stinging behind them.

When was the last time Delila had heard a similar phrase spoken? The same time as Diana, she concluded, one she came to when she spied her sister's sharp eyes soften with that watery sheen once more. If Delila dared to focus hard enough, she could repaint that dark and dreary day so vividly in her head—the two sisters stood side by side with Anna knelt before them, a hand of hers placed on one of their shoulders, neither of the girls able to look the elderly maid in the eyes after she'd broken the news of—

Nope. Not again, Delila!

One sharp shake of the head later to dispel that negative thought, words tumbled out of Delila's mouth before she could process what she was saying.

"Well, they still don't know what the cause of the problem is, do they? I'd say that counts as a positive if we consider that there is still hope that the cause is treatable."

Delila's eyes almost bulged from their sockets the moment she realised what she'd said, even catching Diana whipping her head towards her with a shocked blink of her own. Where had that come from?

"Ahem!" Delila forcefully cleared her throat and ducked her head down at the heat flaring her cheeks, mentally wishing she could just disappear into the ground right now to evade her embarrassment. "Sorry."

"No need to apologise," Diana reassured, prompting Delila's head to raise a bit to see the older Cavendish giving her a small yet genuine smile. "Your words of comfort are appreciated."

For yet another time that day, Delila couldn't feel that invisible wall between them. That familiar and welcoming warmth blossomed within her being and lingered there for several seconds, tricking Delila into believing the two sisters were fine, that their rift never existed. But the moment Diana turned away from her and the memorial tree and set her stone expression back into place, reality crashed down and shattered the illusion like a fallen mirror hitting the ground face-first.

"In any case, that's the first floor of the school covered," Diana said while walking out of the botanical garden, with Delila waiting a few seconds to pull herself together and then speed-walk to re-join her sister at her left side. "The rest of the tour should go by fairly fast for the remaining four destinations on our list, leaving us plenty of time before the opening ceremony."

"Good thing too, because we've been going at a snail's pace until now," Delila deadpanned, causing her to watch Diana release a heavy sigh and stare back with an unamused squint and pursed lips.

"Really, Delila?"

"What?"

Diana didn't respond after that. She only rolled her eyes and turned her gaze ahead to focus on where they were going. But despite Diana's apparent annoyance, Delila swore she saw the corners of the older blonde's lips twitch. She knew that simply spending time in each other's company for today wasn't going to fix their three-year rift just like that, yet the younger Cavendish took that lip twitch as a sign that Diana wasn't regretting inviting Delila back into her life, a sentiment that Delila was glad was mutual.

A/N: Before I get into the review responses, just a couple of things:

Delila's Uniform: As Akko and Sucy are the only two students in the anime said to be new and arrive without their uniforms, so it seems to be implied that new students don't get their uniforms until they arrive at the school itself. Unless Akko and Sucy already had it but just didn't get changed like the other students did. This is why Delila arrives to the leyline without her uniform, but I decided to add in a bit of feels between her and Diana by making up the rule about new students supposedly receiving their uniforms in advance of arrival. Just to emphasise the little tension lingering between them at present.

'Cape coat': If no one knows what I'm referring to with this term, it's that black and hooded garment of clothing the girls are sometimes seen wearing when they're outside of Luna Nova. I tried to search up what it was called and I could not find anything, so instead I found a real-world equivalent. The garment looks close to a 'cape coat' which is a real article of clothing, so that is what I have called it. I could be wrong, but it is what I have chosen to go with. XD

Room choices: I restricted the number of rooms to specific places for two reasons. 1) Delila is going to encounter a lot of these rooms and areas in later episodes, so it seemed silly for me to have Diana give Delila a full-on tour of the school, especially because it is massive and there is no way they would have covered everything and then still have time to prepare themselves. And 2) realistically, Delila only needs to know where specific places are as a starting point, and Diana wanted to give her the opportunity to take in this information without being self-conscious of other students walking about. I won't be revealing the descriptions for the remaining three rooms outside of the dormitories at this stage because the auditorium will be introduced during the opening ceremony, and the Headmistress' and Student Counselling offices obviously require permission to enter. So, until Delila has to go into those rooms, nothing else will be said. And the cafeteria I purposely glossed over because the twins needed to go through there to reach the botanical garden and thus it had no purpose to Delila's character or the plot at present. The library and botanical garden, however, were important for Delila's character, which is why I expanded on them. Also, with the latter especially, Delila won't be present during certain scenes with the Blue Team when the information about the memorial tree is addressed. So, I'm making sure I cover it now to avoid awkwardly cramming it in at a later stage.

I think that's everything, but if there any further questions, feel free to leave them in a review. And speaking of reviews... I've already responded to one user via PM, but here is my response to the other user:

RomanViking: Yes, you are correct that Delila is a little antagonistic and snarky towards Diana. That was, indeed, done on purpose, as you can probably see in this recent chapter. XD I mainly did this as a way to show how different the sisters' circumstances have been over the last three years because of their decisions, while also attempting to highlight the little animosity the sisters have for each other because of what they each chose to do (even though it is implied part of Delila's attitude towards Diana is out of habit 90% of the time). This is vague at the moment because Delila and Diana have yet to fully see how much the other has changed even with their past letter correspondences, but it will start to become more palpable in Episode 2 once Hannah, Barbara and Akko get involved.

Regarding the broom flying thing, Diana is only lenient on Delila about that because unlike with Akko, she is aware of the reason why Delila doesn't know how to fly a broom. Delila does have a legitimate reason for not learning the Tia Freyre spell and practicing flying on a broom (not that Akko's isn't legitimate either, but at this point no one knows the actual cause), but that won't be properly explored until Episode 3. Though hints may crop up in this episode within a couple of chapters, depending on how things go. XD

Either way, thank you so much for the review. Glad you're enjoying it so far. Hopefully, you'll still be around as the story progresses.