Chapter Text
“This place is really creepy,” Odette commented as she glanced around the forest the group was walking through. It was so dark and so quiet, it left her feeling on edge in a way that Ramshackle House hadn’t even managed to do yet, which was saying something.
“Let’s just grab this rock and roll on out of here,” Ace yawned, his hands folded lazily behind his head. He walked as if he hadn’t a care rather than a student who was at risk of being expelled on his first day of school.
“You say that like it isn’t your fault we’re out here in the first place!” Grim argued, glaring up at Ace from where he was still being held in Alice’s arms.
“Why you—” Ace snarled, only to be pulled back by Shino’s grip on his ear.
“Stop it, that’s what got us into this situation in the first place, dumbass,” she scowled. Ace glared at her, rubbing childishly at his ear once it was let go.
“You be quiet too, Grim, if you hadn’t run away then we wouldn’t have broken the chandelier,” Alice added, pinching Grim’s own ear in punishment. The monster cried out in protest, rubbing his ear in a manner identical to Ace once he was let go.
“Oh so that’s why you guys were chasing Grim in the cafeteria!” Martha gasped, clapping her hands in realization.
“Why am I not surprised…?” Talia sighed. Surprisingly, she was staying awake as they trudged through the forest, though Odette made sure to keep an eye on her. The last thing they needed was her falling to the ground asleep again.
“Hey, I think I see something over there,” Alice called, drawing everyone’s attention to her. Odette stepped closer to the other girl, only to find her staring at.
“A house? Do people actually live here?” she asked, unable to help herself.
“That’s like asking if anyone actually lives at Ramshackle,” Shino snorted, crossing her arms. “And unfortunately, the answer there is yes.”
“You think anybody’s home?” Deuce asked nervously.
“Only one way to find out!” Martha declared before she bravely skipped over and knocked on the door. When nobody answered, she opened the door. “Hello?”
The rest of the group followed her and Odette raised an eyebrow as she stared inside. The furniture was rather small for humans and everything looked like it hadn’t been used in a long time. So, yes, the comparison to Ramshackle was accurate, except this looked less like it was built for humans and more like it was built for…dwarfs.
“It looks like it’s abandoned,” Deuce noted as he, too, looked around.
“The table and chairs are all kinda, you know, small,” Ace commented as they all stepped inside to look around. He knelt down and began to count them. “Four, five, six, seven…what went on in here?”
“Considering this is the Dwarfs’ Mine, I’d say dwarfs who worked in the mines lived here,” Odette pointed out. She glanced at a nearby spider’s web and cringed. “Or…used to, at least.”
“Who knows how long ago it got shut down,” Alice mused, looking over the kitchen counters as if to find a place to lean against. She wrinkled her nose in disgust at all the dust, not that Odette blamed her.
“I’m not seeing anything that looks like it would help us out with the magestones, so…” Deuce trailed off awkwardly.
“I mean, duh, we’re not gonna find anything in here, we’ll need to head into the mine shaft, right?” Ace said, pushing himself back to his full height.
“Then why’d we even bother stopping here,” Grim huffed, looking irritated.
“Because it’s best to check everywhere before we commit to a course of action,” Alice argued, jostling the monster in punishment. “Don’t think you’re out of the woods yet, buddy, I’m still mad at you.” Grim huffed, crossing his front legs over Alice’s arms childishly.
“And it didn’t hurt to see if we could find any tools,” Martha added. She let out a disappointed sight. “Too bad they didn’t leave any behind…”
“Not even a flashlight,” Talia sighed, shaking her head. “Though there is a candle, could you light it, Grim?”
The monster, thankfully, complied and the group was able to set off once more. As they walked through the now slightly more lit forest, Martha started asking questions about magic, which were actually pretty interesting even though Ace and Deuce were still newbies to using magic at all. Odette even found herself relaxing a bit as they made their way closer and closer to the mine itself.
When they reached the mine, Grim suddenly jumped out of Alice’s arms and she barely held back her surprised cry as the monster stood in front of the group, pointing one paw towards the mine.
“You kids let Captain Grim lead the way,” he declared brightly. “With me in charge, we’ll get a magestone in a flash!”
Of course, that was the moment something that sounded like wind blew through the cavern, with the crevices turning it into an almost ghostly sound. At the sound, Grim suddenly shouted and hid behind Alice’s leg, whimpering in fear.
“What happened to Captain Grim leading the way?” Alice asked as the monster trembled against her.
“Never mind! You guys go first!” Grim insisted, sounding on the verge of tears.
“Why am I not surprised,” Shino groaned as Alice passed the candle to her and picked the trembling monster up once again. “All right, kids, let’s go.”
“Don’t call us kids!” Ace protested, but Shino only glared at him.
“I’m twenty years old, you’re literally a kid. Now shut up and walk,” she stated before she walked in without another word. Alice only shrugged and followed her without another word.
Unsurprisingly, as they looked through the mine and tried to find a magestone, Grim, Ace and Deuce ended up arguing again. Honestly, Talia’s head was beginning to hurt from all of it, especially combined with her forcing herself to stay awake in order to help. Her eyes were just so heavy, but she couldn’t fall asleep, no matter how impossible staying awake felt.
If they didn’t find a magestone, she wouldn’t be able to find Silver at the academy and she couldn’t leave without at least seeing him once. But sleep…it was so easy to just…fall asleep…
“Go back…”
The rumbling voice, which definitely did not belong to their group, was what woke Talia back up. She glanced around, trying to find the source.
“Did…anyone just hear a voice?” she asked, causing everyone to glance towards her.
“Where? There?” Grim whispered, looking around.
“I didn’t hear anything,” Odette frowned, glancing towards Talia herself. “Talia, are you sure you weren’t dreaming again?”
“I’ve never dreamed of something like that before.” Talia shook her head, certain in what she heard.
“I can’t really imagine anyone else being all the way in here,” Deuce pointed out. He was proven wrong, however, when a ghostly sounding groan rang out. Talia shivered. It was already closer than the last time she’d heard it.
The entire group fell silent as they watched the nearby tunnel in the cave as the shuffling sound of something approaching got closer and closer. Soon, Talia could see a pale purple lamp flickering and she quickly turned towards Shino. The woman was already blowing the candle out, clearly as unnerved as the rest of the group.
“No give…” the voice declared as whatever creature shuffled closer. “No give…”
The group quickly hid behind a nearby slab of rock, just out of sight of the monster.
“What the hell is that thing?” Shino hissed, the candle now set beside her.
“Like I would know!” Ace scowled, speaking just as quietly.
“Shh!” Martha hushed them both. Grim was once again in Alice’s arms, trembling violently.
Talia shared a look with Deuce and the two of them quietly peeked around the slab to have a look at that monster. Talia slapped a hand over her mouth to keep her gasp from escaping.
It was a monster straight out of her nightmares. A monster with an ink vial shaped head, dressed like a dwarf and clutching the light purple lantern in one hand and a pick axe in the other.
“No give! Mine!” the monster roared as ink flowed from a crack in its head. Deuce grabbed Talia’s shoulder and pulled her back so the two of them wouldn’t be spotted. She knew he could feel her trembling, but he thankfully didn’t say anything.
Nobody did, they were all too terrified to even consider doing that.
The monster was walking away, they were almost safe…but then Grim started huffing, almost as if he was about to—
Alice slapped her hand over Grim’s mouth just as the monster sneezed and Talia stiffened when she heard the ink monster pause.
“My stone…” it rumbled before it continued on its way, clearly not seeing them.
“Uh, did it just say something about a stone?” Ace asked quietly, glancing at them all. Alice wrinkled her nose as she took her hand away from Grim’s mouth, taking a handkerchief out to wipe her hand off.
“Yeah,” she confirmed. “You think it means a magestone?”
“What? I knew there had to be one in here somewhere—” Deuce exclaimed, moving to stand and follow the monster only to be held back by Ace and Talia.
“Are you insane?! That thing’s huge!” Shino hissed, glaring at the boy.
“You’re not gonna fight that thing!” Ace added as he held Deuce’s hand, pulling him back to the ground.
“Of course I am! That monster is obviously protecting a magestone!” Deuce protested, glancing at them all. “So we’re going in.”
“It’s suicide! You’ll actually die if you fight that thing!” Odette argued, her black curls falling into her eyes from the force she shook her head.
“We’ll think of a better plan, so just give us a few minutes—” Alice started to say only for Deuce to glare fiercely at her.
“We don’t have a few minutes!” he snapped. “Leave if you want to, but I refuse to be expelled from this academy!”
“Deuce,” Talia trailed off, unable to believe how far he was willing to go.
“Yeah, I don’t think an education anywhere is worth risking your life!” Ace argued, reaching out to grab Deuce again, only to be brushed aside. “You really wanna die for a stupid rock? Let’s just forget it and turn back!”
“Shut up!” Deuce shouted, his hand slamming into the rock slab behind them hard enough that it actually cracked from the force of it. “I’m sick and tired of hearing you run your mouth!” The rest of the group could only stare in silence at the sudden abrupt shift in Deuce’s personality while he pushed himself to his feet and turned his back on them. “I’m going. If you cowards want to sit here quaking in your boots, then be my guest!”
With that said, he ran towards the monster.
“No, wait!” Alice shouted, but it was too late. Deuce was already confronting the monster and they were too far for them to even hear Alice’s shout. Talia glanced towards the other girl as she stood up. “Dammit, come on!”
The rest of the group followed after her, unwilling to let Deuce go alone.
Alice could admit she was terrified, but the last thing she would ever do was leave someone to fight by themselves against something like this. Though she never counted on fighting monsters in her life, there was a first time for everything.
“You okay?” she shouted as the group reached Deuce. Not that they ended up being much help, as the monster swung its pick axe and caused several rocks to fall from the ceiling, blocking them from helping.
There was the sound of shouting and more falling rocks as Alice and the others climbed the blockade, her heart racing in her chest. It only got worse when she finally cleared it, only to see the monster in the distance…and Deuce, collapsed on the ground.
“Deuce!” she cried out, her body moving before she had even thought anything through.
“Are you insane?!” Shino shouted as the rest of the group followed her.
“You better have a plan!” Ace snapped as he fell into step with Alice.
“I sure don’t!” Alice said. She couldn’t even think right now, all she could see was Deuce on the ground, the monster leering above him and ready to kill him at any second. She had to get him out of there! “Hey monster! We’re over here!”
“Get out!” the monster shrieked, jumping over the rubble between the two of them and ignoring Deuce entirely. The pick axe hit the ground and more shards of rock were flying towards Alice. She raised her arms to shield her face—
Only for them to fly to the side, completely missing her. She glanced to the side, finding Ace holding out his magic pen.
“That was awesome, Ace! Thanks,” she grinned. Ace grinned right back, looking more like the boy he’d been earlier in the day.
“Now it’s my turn!” Grim declared before he blew out a huge breath of fire. The monster caught fire instantly and cried out in pain.
“No! No take stones!” it shouted only for the fire to suddenly disperse.
“Oh come on, that did nothing?!” Odette cried out, frustrated. “Isn’t blue fire supposed to be the hottest fire in existence?!”
“I don’t think chemistry works when it comes to magic,” Talia pointed out lightly.
“Get out!” the monster shrieked, already swinging at the group.
Using the fleeing others as a distraction, Alice finally reached Deuce and looped his arm around her neck, hoisting him up.
“Can you stand? We have to go!” she insisted as he slowly opened his eyes.
“Y-Yeah, I’m okay,” Deuce confirmed, though it was obvious he had more than a few bruises from fighting the monster. Alice glanced off to the side when a light caught her eye.
“Hey, could that be…?” she whispered, drawing Deuce’s attention to the gem sparkling in the rock.
“No doubt about it, that’s a magestone,” he agreed, his eyes widening.
“Hey! It’s headed straight for you!” Shino shouted in warning, drawing Alice’s attention to the now charging monster.
“Shit!” Alice hissed.
“Let’s grab that thing and get back to—” Deuce cut himself off as Alice suddenly hoisted him onto her shoulder like a sack of potatoes. “Huh? H-Hey, put me down! How are you even holding me up?!”
“Less talking, more getting out of here!” Alice snapped, running even before she finished picking Deuce up. She wouldn’t be able to do this for very long, but at least she could manage for a little while. Just enough that they could get away from the stone and Deuce would actually start running again.
At least they knew there was a stone here now. But that could wait until they were safe enough to come up with a plan, without a monster bearing down on them.
When they were finally safe, at least for a little while, Shino let out a sigh of relief as Grim, without complaint, relit the candle. She was already exhausted and she hadn’t even been the one carrying Deuce. She glanced over at Alice, finding the younger girl panting as she rubbed her no doubt tired shoulders.
“You shouldn’t just go charging in like that,” Ace scolded his housemate, glaring at the dark haired boy. “Are you stupid or something?”
“No kidding!” Grim agreed. “It’s like you turned into an entirely different person for a second.”
“Yeah, sorry. I was a little upset,” Deuce admitted, bowing his head a little.
“A little?” Shino snorted sarcastically, though nobody acknowledged her.
“But we did spot a magestone back there,” Deuce pointed out, glancing towards Alice, who nodded in agreement. “So if we can do something about that monster…”
“Like what? What do we even do about that?” Martha asked, leaning her cheek against her fist. The two boys looked at each other, neither obviously having a plan, and started to growl.
“Wait,” Alice cut in, drawing everyone’s attention. “It may not seem like it, but there is a way we can win. If we work together, properly, than one monster won’t be able to stop all eight of us.”
“Huh? Work with this goody two-shoes?” Ace scoffed, glaring at Deuce. “Sorry, there’s a zero percent chance of that!”
“Yeah, I’m not working with him!” Deuce agreed. Both boys turned away so their backs were to each other as if they were children and Shino sighed.
“So you’d rather all get expelled together then? On your first day? Cool.” She rolled her eyes. “What a bunch of children, seriously.”
“Yeah, totally lame,” Grim laughed.
“You know you’re included in that, remember, Grim?” Talia reminded the monster, who wilted on the spot.
“No, I don’t wanna be lame! That’s lame!” Ace cried.
“No, how will I face Mom?” Deuce sobbed.
“Fine, whatever!” Ace spat out, glaring at the girls. His gaze shifted towards Alice. “Sounds like you have a plan, so spill it already!”
“Yeah, I’m not getting expelled!” Deuce agreed, his gaze determined.
“Now that’s what I like to hear,” Odette grinned as she turned towards Alice. Even Shino turned towards the girl, curious now.
“So, kid, what’s the plan?” she asked.
Alice only smiled.
“Heeeeeeey, monster!” Martha cried, waving cheerily to better attract the monster’s attention. The monster turned towards her and she winked. “Over here!” Instantly, she started running and the monster, as expected, was on her tail.
“Get out!” it shrieked, waving it’s lantern unhappily.
“Come on, Mr. Monster, this way!” Martha encouraged, ducking as the pick axe swung over her head. Just a little bit further…her heart was racing in her chest but, strangely, she didn’t feel scared. If anything, she felt excited.
The entrance to the mine was in sight and she cheered as she cleared it, the monster still on her tail.
“Ace, you’re up!” Alice shouted just as Martha jumped into a nearby bush.
She turned back to watch as Ace stepped out.
“Here we go!” he cried, waving his magic pen and unleashing his wind magic. The monster dodged the first gust, shouting some more. “That didn’t work!” He ran away, throwing more gusts of wind as the monster chased him, to no effect.
“This kid’s gonna get his butt kicked if I don’t get in there!” Grim cried from where he and Shino hid a short distance away.
“Wait! Not yet,” Shino warned, glancing off towards where Alice hid in the trees. Martha followed her gaze, finding the brown haired girl holding her hand up in warning. It was almost like she was timing everything, waiting for the right moment to let Grim step in.
Martha turned back towards the fight, watching as Ace grit his teeth and held his magic pen out. He was saying something, but she couldn’t hear anything until he finally shouted,
“Gale force winds!”
The wind hit exactly as it meant to, catching the monster in a mini tornado and holding it in place.
“Shino, Grim, now!” Alice shouted.
“Let’s go, little tanuki!” Shino cried as she scooped Grim up and ran towards the tornado. Once they were close enough, she threw Grim, allowing him to be at the perfect height for his part.
“Leave it to me! The great Grim’s blazin’ hot fire!” Grim declared before he blew a burst of blue flames, straight into the tornado. Faster than the tornado caught on fire, Odette was there, catching Grim before he himself got caught up in the winds.
“Ha! See what happens when my wind fans Grim’s puny little flames?” Ace laughed, hands on his hips.
“They are not puny!” Grim protested, glaring from his place in Odette’s arms.
“Really not the time, boys,” she snapped, glaring at the two as she backed away from the fire. Martha almost cheered at the sight, hopeful that their plan would truly work.
That they could actually win.
“Deuce, you’re up!” Alice directed. Martha glanced, for the briefest moment, back to the mines and watched as Talia ran inside, faster than she could recall seeing the blonde move in the short time they’d known each other.
Deuce leapt forward from his own hiding spot and held his magic pen in the air.
“Come forth! Giant cauldron!” he casted. And sure enough, the largest cauldron Martha had ever seen appeared in the air, crashing directly onto the monster.
It wasn’t enough to knock the monster down permanently though and before Martha could say anything, Deuce began casting the same spell again and again. Cauldron after cauldron hit the monster from every angle, battering it over and over until it finally collapsed on the ground.
“Hey, yeah. So, uh, do you know how to summon literally anything else?” Ace questioned as he ran over to Deuce. “That’s literally the same spell you hit me with earlier!”
“Why don’t you worry about your own magic instead of complaining!” Deuce snapped, his cheeks the slightest bit pink as he glared at his housemate.
“Stop worrying about that, this is our chance to attack together!” Alice cut in, jumping down from her tree. Taking that as her cue, Martha came out of the bushes alongside the other, a rock in her hand.
“Let’s do it! Super extra large gust of wind!” Ace shouted.
“And here’s a blazin’ hot inferno!” Grim screamed.
“And a rock for good measure!” Martha added, throwing it right as the flame tornado engulfed the monster. She aimed directly for it’s head and she could have sworn, right before the blaze grew large enough to reach the sky, that she heard a crack.
When the light cleared, the monster was melting into a puddle of ink before its head cracked the rest of the way, breaking into a million pieces before it vanished altogether. All that remained in its wake was a black stone.
“Uh, did we do it?” Ace asked, glancing around at them all.
“I think we did,” Grim said, nervously staring at them all, as if he expected the monster to suddenly appear behind one of them.
“I’ve got the stone!” Talia cried as she ran over to them, holding the magestone in her hand. She smiled as she reached them, holding it out for them all to see. “And! I didn’t fall asleep! I stayed awake!”
“Great job, Talia!” Martha cheered, hugging the blonde happily. It seemed as if that caused everything to really sink in because Grim let out a cheer then.
“We won! We beat it!” he cried, jumping onto his hind legs and dancing. He, Ace and Deuce all high fived and Martha let out a giggle as they all cheered in unison,
“Yay!”
“You know, your cauldrons are actually pretty useful when they’re not hitting me!” Ace complimented.
“You’re not so bad yourself, hurricane,” Deuce smiled.
“Really great work there, team,” Alice complimented as she slumped against Shino’s side, looking exhausted.
“I knew we could do it if we worked together! Friendship really is stronger than one monster!” Martha laughed, still clutching onto Talia. As if her words had caused the three to realize what they were doing, they stopped celebrating and turned towards the girls with wide eyes and quickly shaking heads.
“N-No, don’t go thinking we’re like BFFs or anything!” Deuce protested earnestly.
“Yeah, for real, this doesn’t mean anything!” Ace insisted, his cheeks stained pink with his blush.
“We only won because of my unparalleled genius!” Grim added, puffing his cheeks like a child.
“Uh huh, sure,” Shino chuckled, shaking her head. “You really are a bunch of boys.”
“They really are,” Odette agreed, hiding her smile behind her hand.
“Nah, getting defensive is pretty lame too,” Ace admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. “I hate to admit it, but honestly it was all you, Alice.”
“Seriously. Without Alice’s plans, we never would have beaten that thing,” Deuce agreed, placing a hand on his hip.
“Yeah, you were awesome, Alice!” Martha grinned, nodding excitedly.
“Come on, it wasn’t just me,” Alice denied, blushing as she glanced away. “You guys were the ones who finally set aside your pride so we could work together and Talia’s the one who actually got the stone.”
“Just accept the compliment,” Shino sighed, shaking her head. “You did good, kid.”
“You really did,” Talia agreed, letting out a large yawn as she did so.
“Can we go home now? I’m wiped,” Ace sighed, rubbing his hand against his forehead.
“Usin’ all that magic made me hungry!” Grim whined, rubbing his belly with his paws. His eyes suddenly landed on the spot where the monster had once been, on the stone that was now there. “Huh? What’s this?”
“Is that a part of the monster we just beat?” Deuce asked, tilting his head curiously as Grim held the stone up. “It looks like…a magestone? But it’s black as coal! I’ve never seen one like that before.”
“What is this? It smells amazing!” Grim sniffed, examining the stone from all angles.
“Are you insane?” Ace gasped, staring in horror.
“Grim, don’t—” Alice started to say, but she was too late.
Grim had already stuffed the stone in his mouth and was happily chewing away.
“No! Bad kitty! Spit it out!” Martha cried, reaching over to whack the back of Grim’s head, but he swallowed before she could do anything.
“Ewwwww,” Odette groaned, closing her eyes so she wasn’t watching.
“What a weird monster.” Shino wrinkled her nose in disgust.
Talia, on the other hand, was slumped in Martha’s arms, finally sleeping after staying awake for so long. Martha pet her hair instinctively, making sure she still had the magestone securely in her grasp.
“Ooogh…urrrgggh…That…was AMAZING!” Grim cried, his eyes sparkling.
“What?!” the humans, minus Talia, cried out in shock.
“Rich in flavor and full-bodied…like sweet, fragrant flowers burstin’ into bloom on my tongue,” Grim cooed, his paws pressing happily against his cheeks. “A whole field of em! Right in my mouth!”
“Gross! Monsters must have real weird tastes,” Ace gagged, turning away.
“You might be on to something there,” Deuce admitted. He pulled at his tie, as if the pressure from it would cause him to throw up. “Most humans don’t take random stuff they find on the ground and just pop it into their mouths.”
“Just…don’t make yourself sick,” Alice sighed, already rubbing a headache away with her hand. Martha used her free hand to reach out and pat her consolingly on the shoulder. Being the designated Grim handler was hard.
“ Myah hahaha! Man, that was great!” Grim grinned. “Don’t worry about me. I don’t got a weak stomach like you humans do.”
“We’ll see about that.” Shino shook her head in exasperation.
“Come on, let’s just go, we need to deliver this to the headmage after all, don’t we?” Odette reminded them.
“Yes!” Deuce agreed eagerly. Martha grabbed the magestone from Talia’s loosening grasp and held it up with a grin.
“Then let’s go!” she declared.
She still couldn’t believe that they had done it. They had actually done it. They fought a monster and won.
Whatever else Martha could and would say about this new world she found herself in, she had to admit that this part was very cool. You know, because she survived.
As the newest group of first year troublemakers left his office, Crowley leaned back in his chair with a deep sigh. He didn’t particularly like almost expelling two students on their first day, but the punishment had fit the crime. Besides, in the end, it hadn’t even been necessary!
…And he got a brand new magestone out of it, so he supposed everything worked out in the end. He truly was so generous, wasn’t he? And Ramshackle House finally had both students and a housewarden in the form of Miss. Alice Harrison once more, how truly fortunate! Trein would certainly be happy, Crowley had no doubt about that!
It was as he was thinking this that the hand mirror on Crowley’s desk began to glow and he froze.
That mirror had been entrusted to him by his predecessor, with the express instruction that if it were to ever glow, he was to answer it with zero questions asked. If the future headmage was contacting him, after all, then there was a reason for it. No headmage would risk messing with the timeline unless…
“This is Headmage Crowley,” Crowley answered as he picked up the hand mirror. “It has been four hundred and seventeen years since the war between the fae and humans has concluded. Who am I speaking with and when is it for you?”
Crowley couldn’t see who was on the other end, which his predecessor had warned him about, but he could hear their voice all the same. He’d never be able to identify it, for preserving the timeline was also one of the headmage’s duties, but at least he could understand it.
“I am the Headmage of Night Raven College. It has been four hundred and thirty seven years since the same war you spoke of,” the future headmage answered. As expected, nothing besides the year was specified. But even still, it helped to know that they were from only twenty years in the future. That was manageable, especially when compared to the hundreds of years they could have been speaking from. “I have a mission for you, Headmage Crowley.”
“A mission?” Crowley questioned, surprised.
“Yes. The entirety of the timeline depends on your success,” the future headmage declared with all the gravitas that such a statement deserved.
“Whatever it is, I shall accept it and succeed as asked,” Crowley swore, straightening in his chair.
“I know you will,” the future headmage stated and if Crowley didn’t know better, he could have sworn he heard a smile in the other’s voice. “I will be sending students through this mirror. I need you to house them until I contact you again for their return.”
“But how will you know?” Crowley questioned, confused. Unless… “Oh, of course, your future self will share when it’s time for them to return with you!”
“Yes,” the future headmage confirmed. “Do you agree?”
“Of course!” Crowley said, his free hand coming up to rest against his heart in a salute. “For the sake of our precious timeline, I will fulfill your mission!”
“I knew you would say that. Excellent.” The future headmage had an approving tone in their voice as they spoke and Crowley tried very hard not to preen. “I’ll send the students through now then. They have already been briefed on the situation. Please, step back.”
Those words startled Crowley out of his perfect salute and he moved quickly. Where could he place the mirror to allow these students through without causing the most damage? Oh, he needed more time, lest his office get destroyed!
The mirror was glowing once more and Crowley knew his time was up. As fast as he could, he placed the mirror in the center of the room and watched as a bright column of light flashed from it. It was so bright that not even Crowley himself could stare at it and he had to shield his eyes from it. He could hear various thumps as the students landed on the floor, some of them groaning as they did so while others let out shocked cries.
When he finally opened his eyes, Crowley could only blink in shock.
Instead of the two or three students he expected, he was staring at eighteen children, many of whom had startlingly familiar features.
And on top of that, many of them weren’t even old enough to attend Night Raven College! Crowley was certain one of the various girls was younger than ten! Why in the Seven’s name was a girl that young here?!
“Owie…” the girl in question whined, rubbing at her head.
“Oh no, Cora! Are you okay?” a young girl with a heart on her right cheek gasped, rushing towards the little girl, Cora.
“Do we need a doctor?” an identical girl asked, though unlike the first girl she had a spade painted under her left eye.
As if the three had broken some sort of spell, the rest of the children began to discuss what had happened amongst themselves, checking to make sure everyone was fine and that they had all arrived safely. If this had been Crowley’s students, he would have been proud of how they were acting, caring for each other so openly.
Unfortunately, they were not Crowley’s students and he was, frankly, losing his mind.
“What…why…WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO WITH ALL OF THEM?! WHERE ARE THEY SUPPOSED TO STAY?!” Crowley screamed into the mirror, uncaring if his successor thought him ridiculous. He was expected to babysit eighteen children in order to preserve the timeline?! Seriously?!
“I made sure they were all color coded to the dorms they will be best suited to and have been informed they were placed in,” the future headmage answered, entirely calm in the face of Crowley’s panic. “I wish you success, Headmage Crowley.”
“Wait no, future headmage—” Crowley started to say, but it was too late. The mirror went dark and Crowley was left staring at eighteen children, who stared back at him, equally unsure of what to do.
Well…when in doubt, enlist the housewardens. Surely they’d be able to help Crowley sort this out!