Magolore the dark wizard

book 1 Part 25

"All hail our leader, the Red Sovereign himself... Housewarden Riddle!" a Heartslabyul student said. "We salute you, Housewarden Riddle!" another added. "Hm. The garden roses are red, the tablecloths are white... This seems a proper unbirthday indeed. Is there a dormouse asleep in the teapo- Er, well, I suppose it's fine either way." Riddle said.

"Not everything has to change completely, you know. Like, maybe spread the jam on your scones, instead of on the dormouse this time? Let's try to set the bar at "it's great if it's this way," not "it absolutely has to be this way."" Trey said. "Yes, that makes sense." Riddle said smiling.

"*Sigh* I can't believe we got roped into cleaning up and prepping the garden again." Ace complained. "Well, at least the housewarden recovered from his overblot without any complications." Deuce added. "And the garden is Magicam-worthy once again! Hashtag #nofilter on this gorgeousness" Cater said. "Blah blah blah! Let's just eat already!" Grimm said fed up.

"Then eat we shall! I'll get the-" Cater nearly finished. "Wait a minute!" Riddle said pointing at something. "Huh?" Cater said, looking at what he was pointing at. "There's a white rose...!" Riddle said. "We missed one?!" Ace said worried. "Ace, Deuce, I told you to make sure to paint EVERY rose!" Cater scolded. "Wait, this is our fault?!" Deuce said surprised. "R-Riddle, listen..." Trey said worried. "Please, try to understand!" yuu said worried.

"Well... I suppose I can overlook one or two missed roses." Riddle said, crossing his arms. "R-really?! That's so generous of you, Riddle!" Cater said. "If we work together, we should be able to get them painted in no time." Riddle said smiling. "What? They still gotta be painted?!" Ace said surprised. "Even so... I'm impressed. You've changed, Riddle." Trey said, smiling.

"I'm starvin' here! Let's just get these stupid roses painted or whatever!" Grimm said. "When's the last time you did the painting, Riddle?" Trey asked. "Hard to say. I've let the dorm members handle it since I became housewarden." Riddle replied. "It's kinda fun once in a while. Well, less so with a bunch of clueless freshmen." Cater said. "Hey! Do you mean us?!" Ace said annoyed. "After all the painting I've had to do, I'm about to wipe the floor with Riddle!" Grimm said. "Heh. We'll see about that." Riddle said.

As everyone chatted and laughed while painting the roses. "Where's Magolor?" Ace asked. "Oh he said he had to do some more studying." yuu told the others. "That's a shame it seems like ever since he woke up he's been doing nothing but studying." Riddle said worried.

Earlier~

"I need to be ready at all times! As such I need to find a way to stop myself from feeling that pain. I'll make something. You have fun with the others, ok yuu." the experienced mage told yuu. "Ya but everyone wants to see you." yuu said. "I want you to administer the "cure" for this pain. That's why I'm telling you this. So when I find a way to stop it. Please, my only ask is no matter what you see I want you to administer the "cure". That pain was unbearable; it felt as if my own soul was trying to kill me. If my theories are correct then bolt is the cause of this pain. So I need to find a way to counteract this bolt." Magolor told yuu. "Go have fun I'll be here working" Magolor said as he poured something into a vial.

End of flashback~

"So ya he's just reading books and trying to figure things out for now." yuu lied, as they all finished painting the roses. "So what happened to that tart, Housewarden?" Ace asked. "I made it for you, as I promised I would. Here: one strawberry tart, crafted by yours truly." Riddle said. "Nice! The shape's a little off, but I can tell you put a lot of work into that glaze. A fine job indeed, especially considering it was your first!" Trey said.

"Oh, puh-leeze. How about we actually TRY it before you start fawning all over him, Trey?" Ace said. "Hold it! Don't you start cutting that before I get my Magicam snap! ...Okay, got it!" Cater said. "Perhaps we can make Magolor jealous by having as much fun as possible." Cater said grinning.

"Tch. I see Cater hasn't changed a bit either. All right, let's dig in! *munch*" Ace said, taking a bite. As everyone took their bite as well. Deuce hummed. "This is kinda..." both Trey and cater said. "Salty!" Everyone yelled.

"Whaaat?" Riddle said in disbelief. "Err? This isn't KINDA salty - it's a full-on salt lick! What did you put in this?!" Ace said. "But I followed the rules exactly, and measured everything precisely! Unless... Oh! Could it be... from the oyster sauce?" Riddle said. "*Sputter* Wait... did you actually use that Walrus-brand oyster sauce Trey jokes about?" Deuce says.

"But Trey said that oyster sauce is an unlisted secret ingredient in all tarts! He said all the finest bakers use it..." riddle says. "And you actually believed him?! How could you not tell that he was joking?!" Ace said. "You fell for it too, Ace!" yuu said. "Even if you believed the joke, it was only supposed to be a splash. How much did you put in?" Carer said. "It's an unlisted ingredient! How could I measure it if he wouldn't tell me how much to put in?!" Riddle said.

"Pfft... Ah ha ha ha ha! I can't believe someone actually fell for the ol' oyster sauce prank!" Trey said. As everyone one laughed at Riddle's mistake. "You know, in its own weird way, I think it's actually kinda good!" Grimm said. "Right? It really isn't half as bad as you'd think" Cater said. "Seriously? You're agreeing with Grim, Cater? He literally eats garbage off the ground." Deuce said.

"Look, I'm not saying it's amazing or anything!" Cater said. "But you like it because it's not sweet, right?" Trey said. Cater just let out a Huh. "You've never really liked sweet things, right?" Trey said. "Seriously? Not at all?" Yuu asked. "Yeah, you got me. But how did you figure it out?

I've never told anyone that." Cater said. "Because you casually bring up my Paint the Roses spell every time we're eating sweets. You hide it pretty well, but that was a giveaway." Trey said.

"Ack! My secret is out! This is so so embarrassing! Especially after what happened to you and Riddle. I should have learned by now that keeping your feelings on the DL is not a great idea." Cater said. "How about I cook up a quiche for the next unbirthday party?" Trey asked. "That sounds totes amazing to me. Just make sure it's as photogenic as the tarts!" Cater askes.

"Mm mm mmm! Your baked goods are always so delightful, Trey. *munch* *munch*" a purple cat said. "Che'nya?! What are you doing here?!" Riddle said surprised. "Hm? I came to celebrate my unbirthday with all of you. A very merry unbirthday to you, Riddle." Che'nya said.
"The unbirthday party is a Heartslabyul House tradition. It does not pertain to you." Riddle said.

"And those two? What about them?" Che'nya said ponting at the ramshake students. "Hey! You're that weird semi-invisible cat guy from before! So you never told us - what dorm are you from?" Grimm said. "Che'nya isn't even a Night Raven student. He's a student at our long-time rival school, the Royal Sword Academy." Trey said.

"Whaaat? You go to a different school?" Deuce said, his eyes widening. "The frickin' Royal Sword Academy, no less?!" Ace said, pissed. "So there are other magic academies?" yuu said.

"Did that guy just say the "Royal Sword Academy"?!" "He's one of those pompous jerk-faces?!" "What?! Who's from Royal Sword? We gotta run 'em outta here!" The heartslabyul students said. "Well, now that I've tasted some tart, perhaps I should see myself out. Oh wait you" Che'nya said pointing at yuu. "Yes?" yuu said. "Where's the other one that was with you." Che'nya asked. "Oh Magolor? Ramshake. Do you need something from him?" yuu asked. Che'nya just nodded.

"He's running for it!" "After him! Don't let him get away!" The heartslabyul students said. "Whoa, everyone turned bloodthirsty real quick." Grimm said. "The vast majority of Night Raven College students perceive the Royal Sword Academy as the enemy." Riddle told the others. "No surprise, given that they've kicked our butts every year for a hundred years straight..." Trey said.

"Hey, stop harshin' the vibe! This is supposed to be a day of celebration. Can't we all just enjoy our unbirthdays?" Cater said. "Myah! Merry unbirthday or whatever! I'm gonna eat till my stomach explodes!" Grimm said.