Emerald Prep (Young Magic Book 1)

Chapter Five

Hi! I never realized how hard it truly is to copy and paste from laptop to tablet to app. This is tricky! But time to continue with Ash's school life! I will explain the halls mentioned in this chapter later! But now time with the story!

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"First years! Over here!" I saw a tall, brown hair man with cat ears and tail was standing on the end of the pier.
The three of us grabbed our bags and walked over to him along with other people our age. I was surprised to see that the werecat was covered in multiple small cats.
"Welcome dear First years, to Emerald Prep! I am your history and mythology professor, Professor Manx. Please organize yourselves by last name starting with As and ending with Zs."
Because my last name is Snowpelt, I was at the back of the line while Joy and Bram were towards the middle. I noticed that there were a lot more students coming here than what I first thought.
"Now, we must wait until the other years move first due to the fact you haven't gotten your hall."
I got confused by what he said. This school must be really big if each student gets their own hall.
"In this school, there are three student halls." Oh, I should have realized that he meant that. "Airy Mind for the great thinkers, Fiery Body for the great warriors, and Watery Spirit for the great healers. Always remember that there are different types of warriors, thinkers, and healers so sometimes you might be surprised by your path. I am the head of Mind hall, so come to me anytime if you get the Mind hall."
He started to walk up to the path of the largest building. I was looking around while wondering what hall I would get. I'm not that smart so I didn't think that I would get the Mind hall. I'm not strong at all and I hate fighting so I can't get Body hall. I don't heal people, so I know it's not Spirit. Then I thought that I might not get any at all, if that does happen, I could get kicked out before even starting school.
The path was long but it was great exercise after being stuck on that boat for so long. He stopped us as soon as we reached the entryway of the school. Now that I got closer, I could tell that the school had this earthy feel all around it.
"Now each of you will be given a potion that will make you glow one of three colors; Blue, Red, or Grey, as soon as enter the main hall then it will be dinnertime in the dining hall. The potion will look into your heart and see the path best for you."
"Charm, Remus!" He glowed blue, "Spirit Hall!"
I saw the guy that tried to throw me overboard.
"Dusk, Edward!" I was shocked when he glowed grey, "Mind Hall!" To me, he seems more like a brute than a thinker.
My legs started to fall asleep when he reached the Fs.
"Harker, Bram!" He took the potion and glowed red, "Body Hall!"
I have seen him fight, he uses his shadow magic to move faster than the eye could catch. In his whole life, he only lost one fight and it was when he fights his blood lust.
"Lute, Sol!" I watched as he turned grey, "Mind Hall!"
I started to zone out as I never realize until that there were so many children that were my age.
"Phoenix, Kira!" She glowed red, "Body Hall."
I would say that Phoenix is an odd name, but I have no say with that because my last name is Snowpelt.
"Ravenwing, Joy!"
My ears perched up when I heard her name. I saw her drink, walk up, and then she started to glow red. She saw me looking at her and she gave me a thumbs up.
"Body Hall!"
I can see that she is fit to be a warrior. She helped me out of fights many times after we first met. She is a protector even though she will never admit it. I could not believe how many people have the last name starting with R.
By the time it took to get close to me, there was 14 Minds, 8 Bodys, and 11 Spirits.
"Siren, Melody!" She glowed blue, "Spirit Hall!"
"Snowpelt, Ash!"
I walked up to Mr. Manx and he handed me the potion. It tasted like sour milk, and then I walked towards the main hall.
"Body Hall!"
I looked down and saw that I was glowing red. I walked over to where Bram and Joy were standing with their red glows. I was still in semi-shock because I could never see myself as a warrior.
"Lady Luck is on our side! We are staying together for four years!" Bram said while hugging the two of us.
I think he might have bruised my ribs due to his vampire strength. I didn't pay attention to the rest of the students as they walked up as well.
"I know everyone has been waiting, so here it is! Dinner!" Mr. Manx opened the doors and we walked into the dining hall.
The three of us saw Florence and Nova at the Red table, so we walked over to them. They both were wearing black blazers with a red fire on it, except Flo had an 'II' and Nova had an 'IV' inside the flame. I was shocked that they made jackets with wing holes in them for the werebirds.
"Welcome to the Body hall! I can't believe that all three of you got here! I hope that our rooms could be close enough so we can always talk!" She started blabbing on until Nova stuffed a piece of bread in her mouth.
"What she means is that she's happy that you're over here and it is time to eat."
"My favorite words of the day." I said as I started grabbing food to fill my plate.
"Nova, how come no one told us about the different halls before today?" Bram asked. "How long do the glows last?"
"Because we are not supposed to, that way everyone could make their own choices instead of following their friend's path. The luck that you three manage to stay together is incredible. I mean look at Viktor and Alex, the two of them are in different halls and they are nearly inseparable. It goes away by the time we wake up in the morning."
A tall pale woman with red eyes came over to where we were sitting.
"Hello, which one of you is the vampire, Bram Harker?"
Bram raised his hand while we all pointed at him.
"My name is Professor Luna Bloodmoon, you are going to be required to see me every morning right before dawn."
"Uh, okay."
"Good, well here is your first meal." she gave him a large glass of blood then walked away.
"I guess no one told her that I can stand the sun and eat human food."
"You're an oddball even among the oddballs." I told him in between bites. "Congratulations."
He patted me on my head then reached over to grab a slice of red velvet cake.
"Hey Nova, who are the teachers here?" I asked.
"You met Mr. Manx, then there is Professor Bloodmoon, and Professor Crystal." Flo told me.
I noticed that she had a sort of dreamy look when she said 'Mr. Manx'.
"My dad is one of the Magic teachers here." Bram pitched in. "He was offered to teach because of his skill."
"The other magic teacher is Professor Sage, he is also the head of the Spirit Hall."
"So, who is the head of the Body Hall?"
"My dad, who is also the P. E teacher," Nova sighed, "it makes it so hard to get in trouble."
"Just keep hanging out with Florence, she attracts trouble," I told him.
She growled at me then I growled back at her.
"Then we have a substitute this year for English, Professor Jones."
Halfway into the great dinner, people were walking in between the tables, handing out jackets.
"All first years, please give me your shirt size," a guy said.
"Small," Joy and Bram said together.
"Medium," I told him and everyone I knew gave me a look, "What? Small clothing makes me itch!"
I prefer clothes that are slightly larger than me because it makes it easier for me to grow fur. Also, I can hide my hands inside long sleeve shirts and smack Bram with the sleeves. The guy handed us the jackets and then we put it on. Each one of the jackets had a red flame with an 'I' inside of it.
"What does this symbol mean?"
"The red flame is the symbol of the Body hall and the symbol inside means that you are a first year."
Before he could explain more, someone stood up at the head table. She was a red-headed werefox that was originally sitting in the middle.
"Welcome and welcome back to Emerald Prep! I am Headmistress Elena Foxglove! I am sadden to inform everyone that the English Professor, Mrs. Michaelis, will not be teaching this year due to having a new bundle of joy. She will return next year to teach and we currently have Professor Jones taking her place for this year. Remember that this is a place of learning and that it has many rules. One of the most important is that during winter time, do not go near the forest! So far we have had no deaths for three years in a row, great job students! Also, I don't care if you don't like someone for what they are, don't cause trouble. I hope that everyone will have a great year learning new things, but now it is time to rest and relaxing."
'No deaths for three years, is that something of shock here?'
Everyone grabbed their bags and we went down a path towards the west, I was amazed at the stone work on the walls. I followed into a common room that had a giant window facing west. There was a bunch of comfy chairs and tables, it looked like a perfect place to rest or study. Then, I saw two smaller hallways facing away from each other.
Nova's father stood in the center of the study room waiting for us. I remember when I first met him, when I was very little, I thought he was a vampire with his pale skin and red eyes.
"Welcome to the Body Hall! I am Mr. White, please don't try to sneak off at night because I'm a light sleeper and I like my rest! Girls to the left and Guys to the right! Remember, I am always watching you."
"Pervert!" Nova yelled out.
"Boy! Do you want detention on the first day of school again?!"
Nova was snickering the whole time as we walked down the right hallway.
"Uh Nova, do you know where mine and Ash's room are?"
He stopped in front of one of the last rooms in the hall. There was a small note on the door, but before I could see it, Nova ripped it off. He quickly looked at it before crumbling it up.
"Right here! Its looks like are going to be roomies!" he said as he opened the door.
There were three beds that each had opened curtains, except one was completely black. They had a pile of books on all of them. The room had dim glowing crystals all over the walls. Nova fixed the note back up and reread it.
"This says that the gothic looking one is yours, Bram. If you look under your bed there is a mini-fridge already stocked with fresh bags of blood. Gross but you drink it." I yawned after Nova said that and then the other two followed along. "Let's get ready to go to bed, you two have orientation in the morning and Bram has class tomorrow night."
"Nova, what's a mini-fridge?" I had to ask.
"It's used in some parts of the richer Kingdoms to keep objects cold. Foxglove used her own money to make sure every vampire at this school has one."
"Why didn't the Kingdoms give her money?" Bram asked.
"I heard that when she asked, they gave her a box full of wooden stakes and tagged collars. She set the box on fire and then got many parents to donate a little bit to help out."
I was surprised at those words, the Kingdoms basically told her to kill all the vampires and enslave all werebeasts. There are a few werebeasts that wear tag less collars to show that we are our own masters. I never liked the ideas of collars, so I never did that.
We did quick work on putting our luggage away then Nova told us where the bathrooms are. I opened the door and there was the Headmistress with a younger woman.
"Are you Ash Snowpelt?"
"Yes Madam."
"It was reported that you were in a fight on the boat," I nodded my head while feeling fearful. "Don't worry, you are not in trouble. Many students reported that even though you were one of the main victims, you decided not to take violent measures. I just came over here with our Head Nurse, Mrs. Serena Nightsong."
I did a small bow of respect to her. I may be part animal but I was raised to be respectful to my elders. Even though she looks young, I could tell that she has seen many dark years.
"She bought me over here because I heard that you got injured and I wanted to check it out," then she turned my head to see the stitches, "well made, all I need to do is put on some ointment," she handed me a small jar, "Use this once a day before you go to sleep, then bring it back to me in three days."
"Thank you."
"You're welcome, can you tell your roommate Bram Harker to come over here?"
Bram walked over as I moved away.
"Professor Bloodmoon forgot to ask you earlier about what is your preferred blood type."
"B positive," I yelled out to them.
"And why do you say that, Mr. Snowpelt?"
"Because that is his blood type and growing up, he helped me with blood shortages. So, I am used to that blood type."
"Okay then, I will let her know. Remember, if you run out of blood, just ask Professor Bloodmoon for some more."
The two women walked away and then Nova collapsed on his bed.
"Holy Shit! That nearly scared the pee out of me. Out of all the crazy stunts I have pulled in my three years here, the headmistress and the nurse never came to my door before! I thought that the two of you were going to get expelled on the first night!"
"Don't you mean, you almost pissed yourself?" Bram asked.
"Same thing."
Nova finally got back up and the three of us finally started to head to the bathroom. Bram walked ahead and Nova smacked my ass as he passed by me as he ran by. That hurt my tail and I had to run to catch up to them. Poor Nova ran to a stall as soon as I caught up and we entered the bathroom. We heard him sigh in relief a few seconds later.
"I guess he wasn't kidding when he said he almost peed his pants."
"Hey! I heard that!"
I couldn't stop laughing at the two of them. Bram grabbed the ointment that was on top of my pajamas.
"Here, let me put this on you before he gets out so that way your arms can heal too," he whispered to me.
Nova came out right when he started on my face.
"A vampire playing nurse, now that has got to be a strange thing to see. What's next? A vegan that hunts animals but never eats them?"
"At this place, that is not that strange. The nurse we just saw is a vampire."
"I have been here for four years and I never realized that before."
"How did you figure that out?" I asked.
"Simple, she had dark red eyes and dark red eyes show vampirism while bright red eyes show more of albinism or a small part of it. Also, the headmistress was hiding the bite marks on her neck. Which might suggest that the two of them are close friends."
I knew Bram was smart, but I never knew he could figure out anything like that so easily. I rubbed the side of my neck after he finished speaking. I saw Bram had a sad look on his face while looking at the four small scars on my neck. They were from the very first time he bit me, I knew he felt bad because most vampire bite marks are only the top fangs but he accidentally bit me with all four. The bottom two are normally used just to hold a vampire's prey still while the longer top fangs are used to get the blood out.
After we were done getting ready for bed, we walked back to our room. I noticed that all the stones on the wall suddenly had orange glows. I guess they are spelled like my little glow stone.
"Nova, how come we can't go near the forest during winter time only?"
"Because there is a really bad spirit that roams the forest during the coldest time of the year. His nickname is Jack Frost, and the last time he killed students was four years ago. No one knows what it is or why it likes to kill. So we are banned from there to protect ourselves."
"How come the school stayed open for so long then?" Bram asked him.
"The victims were either poor or polar werebeasts. The Lords of the Four Kingdoms didn't care and they refuse to move the school because it is extremely cheap land. Foxglove has been doing her best to protect the remaining students here. Well then, sweet dreams." Then, he laid down on his bed and fell straight asleep.
"Your father was originally from the polar kingdom, right?" he asked me.
"Yep. He left Whitefall shortly after meeting my mother."
"Then I'll make sure that the whole time we go here, that you will not die at the hands of that ghost."
"Remember that you grew up mostly poor, so you could be attacked and I will protect you with my life."
"I guess it is always easier to guard each other's back than to guard halfway."
We got into our new beds and the crystals started to dim themselves.
"I agree, but I have a feeling that something else is going to happen here."
"What? Do you have the ability to see the future now?"
"No, I think it's more like animal instinct." I told him as I took off my cross and set it next to my pillow.
"Hopefully, the bad thing doesn't have to do with any food loss. You and Joy are known to get more than a little cranky when hungry."
"It is probably nothing at all," I told him as I took off my glasses. "Good night."
"Night!"
Out of nowhere, we heard something that sounded like a monster. It turned out that it was just Nova's snoring.
"Man, for a guy that can sing like an angel sure snores like a demon," Bram whispered to me.
"How is that even possible?"
"I just don't know."

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Body hall: fiery passion, warriors, protectors of the weak, Strength.
Spirit hall: watery protection, healers, go with the flow, Defense.
Mind hall: airy emotions, thinkers, calm and clearheaded, Intelligence.
That is the ideas of the three halls and each of the characters fit each part.
Well I will see everyone next week with the next chapter!
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