Chapter Text
Luz had never fit in. Even as a little kid she always had too much going on in her head. Too creative or too eccentric or even too energetic. Those were common from teachers. Some even went so far as to call her crazy. She never actually did anything to warrant that, but weird things did tend to happen near her. Like, the snakes weren’t entirely her fault, right?
Regardless, she bounced from school to school, always getting kicked out after a year or two. She never made any friends, despite her best efforts, and she always seemed to somehow get on the wrong side of the popular kids. She always hid that from her mom. She didn’t need to worry over something so small.
She didn’t know how she ended up meeting Eda. It just seemed like one day she showed up and decided to stick around. In reality, it was a little bit different, but not by much. It was around the time when Luz was 14 and about to go to summer camp that she ran into Eda. The large mane of white and grey hair kind of set her apart from the rest of the people in town. She was tall and lanky, and seemed to always have something owl related on her person. Whether it was the walking stick that sometimes seemed to be missing the owl on top to occasionally seeming like she was sprouting feathers, from day one she had screamed “Owl”.
Ever since they met Eda had been helping her learn the ways of street life. She taught her how to pick locks, pickpocket, fight, how to avoid the authorities, and how to recognize who not to mess with. It seemed that Eda had an endless supply of knowledge in reference to not living lawfully. For some reason, Camilla didn’t seem to mind that her daughter was learning all of this. All in all, she seemed happy whenever Eda came around. She denied vehemently that this reaction had anything to do with the fact that she liked Eda, but Luz saw the glances that passed between them.
She knew that things had never been the same since her father left, but she didn’t remember him well enough to really care that he was gone. She was only 2 when he left. It had meant that her mom had to work extra shifts at the hospital, which wasn’t ideal, but they had managed to live comfortably. After a year of Eda teaching her, Eda had moved in. It may have helped that Eda had not only managed to get her into a prestigious and remote school on a full scholarship, but had also managed to help Luz switch there before 11th grade started.
That summer was a rush of excitement for Luz. Somehow, Eda had neglected to mention that it was a school for Magic and Demonics. She somehow only mentioned that 2 weeks before they had to go up to the school. Little things like that just seemed to slip her mind. When Luz found out, she was understandably a little bit freaked out.
There were a few causes for this panic. One: magic was apparently real, and so were demons. Two: she was going to the prestigious Hexside School of Magic and Demonics and she didn’t know any magic. Third: MAGIC WAS REAL . Yeah, that last one really gave her the jitters. It did explain why the owl on Eda’s walking stick seemed to just up and leave sometimes. And why Eda’s “dog” talked. Yeah, that should have been a dead giveaway but somehow she didn’t notice.
Regardless, convincing her mom had been actually relatively easy. The only small problem was that Hexside was a boarding school, but Eda’s recommendation and confidence that Luz would have a full scholarship was enough. She said something about knowing someone high up there, and that Luz would be covered all the way through. That was enough for her mom. There was apparently some condition about not causing trouble, but that shouldn’t be a problem. She didn’t cause trouble, she just got caught up in it.
So when Eda told her to pack her metal baseball bat it came as a bit of a surprise.
“I thought I wasn’t supposed to get in trouble.”
“Yeah, well, you know as well as I do that trouble finds you sometimes, so you might as well be prepared.”
She didn’t mind, of course. She probably would have taken the bat with her anyway. But it still seemed strange that Eda wanted her to specifically bring the one bat that had gotten her in the most trouble. That bat had clonked a good few heads when needed. She never went looking for a fight, but if someone tried to fight her they had damn well be prepared to get hurt. She had won her fair share of fights, though that somehow never made it back to Camilla. Eda found out about most of them, but even she knew that telling Camilla would be a death wish.
In the course of her packing she found a few old things that she was happy to bring with her; her old red beanie, her long green bomber jacket with the bi flag sewn into the inside of the left breast, and last but not least, her good art supplies. She had lost them ages ago and was more than happy to find that they were still in good condition. The packing didn’t take long after that, seeing as she didn’t have too many different clothes. She had her ‘look’, and she stuck to it.
Getting to school would be relatively easy. She just had to wait for her mom to head to work and then she and Eda could take Owlbert. They told Camilla that they were going by train. It didn’t feel good to lie to her, but how do you tell your mom that you’re flying on a staff to a school for magic and demonics. You just kind of don’t.
The days before Luz’s departure were sad but hopeful for her. She had always had an overactive imagination and had always loved the idea of being a witch. Now that dream was finally coming true. The morning went smoothly with only a few tears from her mom.
“Take care of yourself and don’t get into trouble.”
“Moooooooom.”
“I’m serious. I know you don’t look for trouble, but it finds you. Just please be careful. Te quiero, mija. ”
“Te quiero, Mami.”
And with a hug and a kiss on the head, Camilla was off. That meant Luz and Eda needed to get going, and fast. The flight was not a short one and it was better to not be late for their meeting with the headmaster.
As they sped up the coast and towards the mountains, the terrain became more and more rugged beneath them. Slowly, the towns began to disappear, and then they began to reappear, but they looked a little bit different. The differences were subtle, but noticeable. Firstly, most of the buildings had moving eyes on them. That was quite surprising for Luz, despite the fact that Eda had told her what to expect. The school itself was near a town called Bonesborough, and apparently it was one of the largest towns in the area. Not that she would see much of it once school started.
Before she could actually get herself settled they had to have a meeting with the Headmaster, Hieronymus Bump. He was an old witch, with a small, red demon resting on his head. Even Eda didn’t know why he had it. He was supposedly an incredibly powerful witch, but with how Eda treated him he may as well have not had magic at all.
“Heya, Bumpikins.”
“Ms. Clawthorne,” he replied with a nod, “Have a seat. And I assume that this is the Miss Noceda that you spoke of?” he said, gesturing to Luz.
“Well, seeing as there isn’t anyone else with me that would be a yes, old Bumpy.”
“In that case, you should sit down as well, Miss Noceda,” he said as he summoned another chair.
“As you should both know, a Human learning magic is rather unprecedented. Thanks to Edalyn’s convincing that you are a hardworking student, you will be allowed to learn here, on the condition that you do not cause trouble. You will be required to find your own way to do magic, since you cannot naturally cast, be it knowing the theory and asking others to cast in your stead, or something else. You will still be expected to perform to a high standard and you will be expected to be…”
He didn’t get to finish that sentence due to an incredibly loud scream coming from the next hall over.
“Please stay here while I deal with the situation,” Bump said as he rushed out of his office.
Eda sighed, placing her feet up on his desk. “Well kid, what do you think?”
“Well, besides the fact that I have no idea what the hell I’m doing here, fine. Do you have any idea how I’m supposed to do magic Eda? I need something. You know I don’t make friends.”
“Look kid. Witches aren’t as dimwitted as humans. They’ll see you for the person you are and accept you for it. Trust me, there are at least a few kids who you’ll end up friends with. Also, I have no clue how in the world you are going to do magic. You’ll figure it out, kid. You always do.”
With that, Eda stepped into the hallway, only to duck back in again as a ball of flaming goop went flying past her.
“On second thought, I think I’ll stay here. I think you might get a laugh out of this if I could find it,” she finished, half to herself as she started rummaging through Headmaster Bump’s filing cabinets.
“Ah, yes. My permanent record,” she sighed, pulling out a 3 foot tall stack of papers. “Yeah, I didn’t really go for the whole ‘follow the rules’ thing back in my time here. I also blew up way too many toilets. That got me in some serious trouble. Who knew that old Bumpikins was such a grouch sometimes,” and at that she started ruffling through the papers, showing random pictures of large amounts of destruction, and all of them seemed to be caused by one Miss Edalyn Clawythorne.
“Um, Eda? Did you even graduate with how much trouble you caused?”
“Of course not, kid. I hated school, mostly because I was forced to do stupid potions. It’s not like I hated it, I just preferred other things. Unfortunately, I didn’t get the choice and instead was forced to use trouble as a way to do other things. Anywho, your mom and I both expect you to make it all the way through, and I’ll make sure any report cards going home look normal, kapish?”
“Ok,” Luz replied, clearly intimidated by the new expectations placed upon her.
“Don’t worry kid, you’ll do fine,” Eda said in a reassuring tone.
With that, Bump bustled back into the room, and quickly settled behind his desk.
“Apologies for the interruption, there was a slight disturbance. One of our head students, Miss Amity Blight, had a bit of an altercation with Mattholomule,” he shuddered as he spoke the name. Clearly Mattholomule was a bit of a problem child. “Regardless, his burns shouldn’t last too long, though I can’t say he doesn’t deserve them. He always has been a pesky brat, and Amity Blight has not only very influential parents, but an incredibly strong record to go along with. Ah, yes. Back to the matter at hand. Edalyn, you will need to fill out a few more things, liability waiver’s and so forth, now that Miss Noceda is here, but otherwise she should be free to go. You will be shown to the dormitory to get settled, though the term doesn’t start for a few more days, so if you want to head off campus, make sure you are back before the feast in 3 nights.”
“All right, kiddo. You can crash for a night at my place and I can show you the town. I’ll make sure she’s back in time, Bumpikins, all right?”
“Very well, Edalyn. I trust that you will take care of the forms before next Monday and that you will take good care of your student.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll handle everything. Come one kid.”
Eda started to leave, only to see that Luz was staring, transfixed, at a picture on the wall. The picture just happened to be a picture of one of Eda’s more dastardly pranks, that had left a good many people scarred, mentally and physically.
“All right kid. Let’s get out of here,” she said, dragging the transfixed Luz behind her.
Luz finally realized they were no longer in the office, and one of the things Eda said sunk in.
“Wait, you have a house Eda? Why didn’t you mention that. You’ve been in town with us for like 2 years.”
“Well, when I said house, that was a bit of an overstatement. I do have a place called the Owl House, but it’s my cafe.”
“But how did you keep it open while you were with us for 2 years?” said a confused Luz.
“You know I can do magic, right kid?”
As if to prove her point, Luz noticed 4 people in dark cloaks following them.
“Uh, Eda? Should we be concerned about them?” she said low enough that only Eda could hear her.
“Probably. Here, watch this,” she said, spinning around with a fire in her eyes.
And her hands. Luz wasn’t sure which startled her more. The people following them seemed a little bit unsure, but it was too late for them. A large fireball expanded in Eda’s hand, and suddenly there was a flash of fire and the four, now cloakless, men ran, one literally with his tail between his legs.
“Hah, that’ll teach them to never stalk me again,” said an exuberant Eda, “So much for getting through town unnoticed. Well, anyway, follow me.”
They made their way through town quickly and without any further interruptions, and as they neared the center of town, Luz finally saw it. The Owl House in all of its glory. Or lack thereof, depending on who you ask. It was a relatively small cafe, but it looked incredibly cozy, and Luz could already see what looked like students, probably from Hexside, sitting at a table drinking something with eyeballs in it. She was going to gloss over that last part.
“Hey Kid, you go meet my best customers. I’m going to go check on Hooty and my barista. Have fun kid,” she says, gesturing to the two Hexside students.
There were two Hexside students at the table, but as she walked over one of them got up and went to refill his drink. The girl at the table was about Luz’s age, was wearing large spectacles and had what looked like multiple living flowers growing out of her hair.
“Hope I’m not interrupting,” she said, pulling up a chair, “Eda told me to come sit with you and get to know some people.”
The girl looked up, saw that Luz’s ears were round, and started laughing. It wasn’t a mean laugh, it was actually a rather pleasant one, but it took Luz by surprise. She started to back away, a hurt expression on her face before the girl grabbed her arm and pulled her back into the chair, a soft expression on her face.
“Sorry, just my friend who is up getting a drink will lose it when he sees you,” she said, smiling lightly.
“And why is that,” Luz replied, a scowl on her face.
“Because he is obsessed with humans and has been trying to learn everything about them for like the past 4 years. I’m Willow, by the way, and he’s the kid over. His name is Augustus, but he just goes by Gus. He should be back in just a minute.”
“Why would he be so obsessed with humans?” Luz asked, the scowl still not leaving her face.
“You might be used to it, but how would you react if you saw a witch walking down the street?”
The look on Luz’s face answered the question perfectly. A scream behind Luz startled both of them, and they whipped around only to find Gus staring at Luz’s ears in amazement. The look on his young face was one of pure wonder. Luz was worried that he might explode if his stare wasn’t broken, so she took a chance.
“Hiya, Gus,” she said, pointing finger guns at him.
“Oh. My. God. She knows my name. A human knows my name. I know a human.”
With that, Willow grabbed him, forced him into a chair, and started explaining. Luz was already losing the conversation because of all the interesting things around her, when a snapping in front of her face made her start.
“Ah. Sorry, got distracted.”
“It’s all right, Luz,” replied Willow, “ we were just wondering how you ended up in Bonesborough?”
“Well, I met Eda around 2 years ago, and she just kind of stuck around. My mom swears that there is nothing between them, but based on the looks they give each other I know that that’s a load of bullshit. Eda somehow managed to get me into Hexside, despite me not knowing magic existed 2 weeks ago, so that’s cool, and after talking to Headmaster Bump this morning he said I could stay with Eda until term started. Incidentally, while we were there I heard something about some kid named Blight almost murdering Mattholomule.”
Their looks showed that this was not a rare occurrence. After her explanation, they spent the rest of the afternoon sharing things about life and getting to know each other. Later that evening, Eda showed Luz to a smallish room above the Owl House.
“Well kid, what did I say? You’ll fit right in.”
“You know, you might not be wrong about that,” Luz replied, before heading to her room and cutting the lights.
If Luz was a ball of sunshine, then Amity was the dark side of the moon, at least outwardly. She was used to everyone being afraid of her, which was fair because she was better than everyone at magic and her family was incredibly powerful. The Blight name commanded a lot of respect. She tended to distance herself from the name when she was at school, but it never left her completely.
Everyone knew that the girl with a veritable mane of mint green hair was Amity Blight, and that if you fucked with her you died, or at least got seriously injured. That was that. Everyone knew and respected the fact that messing with Amity Blight was a death wish. Everyone that is, except Mattholomule. That little shit decided to mess with her all the time. Well, that meant death for him.
Apparently rules didn’t apply to him. So she had to go out of her way and waste her time to teach him. Preferably with a lasting scar or two to make sure he learns his lesson once and for all. So that was why she found herself sending a flaming abomination head down the hallway towards him 3 days before the start of term.
His screams did help the whole situation. Flaming abomination goo tended to stick, and was rather painful. It almost made her sad when Headmaster Bump had to break it up, but it was better that she didn’t kill him. Then her parents would know and all hell would break loose.
So, overall it was better that she didn’t absolutely wipe the floor with his sorry ass. It didn’t make her feel at all bad about the full body burns he had now. No, those made her quite happy. After Bump left, she made her way back to her dormitory. She didn’t have the willpower to deal with people right now, and keeping up the ‘tough’ from took energy which she didn’t have at the moment.
So instead, she closed the door and slid down it. She could feel the sweat flowing down her forehead but she didn’t care. She just wanted to go to sleep, but she knew she needed to clean up in case someone saw her. So she sighed, and made her way to the bathroom. She saw herself in the mirror and scowled at herself. Apparently beating up Matt took more energy than she thought. With a sigh, she turned on the water and got ready to take a shower.
One relaxing shower later she decided she was done for the day and crashed on her bed, not caring that it was barely even 3:30. She pulled the drapes around her and tried to fall asleep. Unfortunately for her, her mind wasn’t going down without a fight. She tried to stop remembering, but the memories just seemed to flow in: Her mom forcing to dye her hair, her parents forcing her to break away from her friend Willow, her siblings leaving her all alone at home. The thoughts wouldn’t stop. She was trapped in her own mind.
A loud noise broke her from her thoughts, and she quickly did an illusion spell to clean up her tears. She couldn’t be seen as anything less than perfect. That would break the strong facade she had worked so hard to keep up. Even though she knew no one could have seen the tears anyway, they still had to go. Still, the spell did nothing to stop the flow of memories, though the loud noise distracted her from them for a few moments.
But they came back: the entirety of the year before, and how terrible dating Boscha had been, and how somehow the years before that when she had been all alone were better, and how clingy Boscha had been, and how… and before she knew it she had started to spiral.
Luckily, the sound of someone dropping something on their foot, and the resulting string of swears, was enough to break her from her memories. She didn’t want to relive them any more than she had to, and she wasn’t off to a good start. She sighed, and picked herself up off of her bed. Once she heard the other girl leave, she dropped the illusion and went into the bathroom, locking the door behind her. A quick couple of spells and some cold water was enough to put her into a presentable state.
She decided that a short walk through the grounds would help. It always did. Even when she was little and still living at Blight Manor, a walk through the woods would always calm her down. She knew the Hexside grounds like the back of her hand, so walking them while thinking would be easy. Except it seemed that the world had decided to spite her today. Before she could even make it to the forest, she heard a loud screech from the stables and the sound of breaking wood. Great, she thought to herself , how else can this day go wrong? She decided that that was not a good question to ask, and started walking faster.
Unfortunately, walking faster was not enough to get away from the griffin that had decided that her mane of minty green hair looked like food. She knew she would get in trouble if she actually hurt the griffin since it was used in classes, but that didn’t mean she didn’t want to. Still, she turned to face it only to see a girl with brown hair and a fish hook earring chasing after it. She vaguely recognized the girl, and had some vague recollection of her sister dating her, but she couldn’t remember the girl’s name.
“Hey Puddles!” the girl yelled, “Get back over here!”
Before Amity had a chance to react, Puddles grabbed her around the midsection and started to fly away.
“Puddles, come on. Land and put her down!” yelled the girl from below.
Puddles apparently didn’t care about the order and dropped Amity from around 30 feet up. Luckily witches are built better than humans, but she was still out cold. This school year was going to suck. And she didn’t even know the half of it yet.