The Headmaster turned on the mirror instantly, glaring at the mask. "What do you mean she must stay here?! We have never in our history allowed female students in this school!"
The mask seemed to glare at Crowley, its mouth pulled into a tight line. Neither spoke for what seemed like ages, but eventually, Crowley relented, breathing out a deep breath and raising a hand to massage his temples.
"All right, Miss. Artem, you may stay here, because I am gracious! I have just remembered that there is a place where you can stay for the duration of your studies." But the smile that he gave the girl didn't stretch all the way around his face and he quickly turned back to the mirror, speaking in hushed tones that no one could hear.
"What are we supposed to do with the cat," one of the boys asked. It was the short white-haired boy, and all attention turned from the Headmaster to the cat, who was still wrapped up in the golden chains.
The red-haired boy stepped forward, one hand on his hip while the other pointed down at the cat. "Laws of the Queen of Hearts: Number 23. One shall never bring a cat to a festival. You being a cat means you've broken the rule. I shall have you leave at once." He gestured over to the large door that Y/N assumed led out of the school.
"I'm not a cat," Grim yelled, struggling against the chains.
Gritting his teeth, he managed to burst out of the chains, only for the redhead to yell, "Off with your head!" A second later, a black and red collar locked itself around the little cat's neck, making him wince and paw at the golden edges, hoping to remove the uncomfortable collar.
"You think this can hold the Great Grim?! Just you wait and see. I'll burn this collar right up and..." the little cat paused and glanced down at the collar. "Eh? I can't use my fire."
The boy smirked. "You won't be using any magic until I remove the collar. Just like an ordinary cat."
"What?! I'm not some pet!"
The smirk was gone in an instant, replaced with a malicious sneer. "Don't worry. I'd never keep a pet like you. I'll take it off anyway when you get thrown out."
Another boy, this one with lilac colored hair, walked over to the small group. "Wow, as wonderful as ever. Any and all magic gets sealed by your unique magic, Riddle."
'So that's the boy's name,' Y/N thought to herself, staring at the boy out of the corner of her eye. 'Riddle.'
"I want it..." the boy continued. "No. I wouldn't ever want that cast on me."
The Headmaster suddenly appeared, looking furious, and Y/N peeked around behind him to see that the mask in the mirror was no longer there, having disappeared into the thick smoke. Unfortunately, the Headmaster seemed to turn on the boy, blaming him for the reckless and careless behavior of the little critter.
'You weren't trying to catch him,' Y/N thought, fiddling with a tassel on her robe.
"You must do something about this," The Headmaster exclaimed. "It is your familiar! Properly discip-"
That seemed to be the breaking point for Yuu and he lost it. "It's not my familiar!" The hall went silent as everyone turned to the Headmaster.
"It's not yours," the Headmaster asked. He started to look between the little cat-like creature and the boy, wondering if there was indeed any connection between the two of them.
"I've never seen it before," Yuu confirmed, crossing his arms.
The Headmaster coughed awkwardly. "Anyway, let's get it out of the school for any rate." He turned to the raccoon-cat. "We won't turn you into a stew. For I am gracious." Then he turned to the students and asked for some of them to assist him in throwing out the strange little creature.
Though Grim put up a valiant struggle, he was soon pulled from the hall and out into the cold night air. As the door open and shut, Y/N shuddered, feeling a chill run down the length of her spine and seeping in beneath her skin. It felt like spiders were crawling just under her skin and she found herself rubbing her hands together in an almost nervous fashion.
"We had a bit of trouble along the way, but this brings the entrance ceremony to a close," the Headmaster said with a sigh. Dormitory Heads, please show the new students back to the dormitories. Hm?" He looked around the room. "Now that I think about it, I don't see the leader for Diasomnia, Mr. Draconia around at all."
"That's no different from usual, is it," the man with lion ears said in a bored tone.
"What? Did nobody tell him about the ceremony?"
"If you're going to complain, you should have done it yourself."
The loss of one of the dormitory heads seemed to cause a bit of an argument amongst the dormitory heads, and Y/N found herself slowly slipping back into the shadows of the room, hoping to find a bit of peace away from the rest of the crowd. At the mention of whoever Mr. Draconia was, the entire hall started whispering, the new students particularly interested in who the dormitory head was.
Suddenly, a small man walked up to the front, and though his hood cast dark shadows across most of his face, Y/N noticed streaks of black and pink hair. "I thought he might come, but Malleus really didn't. It seems the invitation 'never arrived' again."
The lilac haried dormitory head sighed. "My deepest apologies. I promise, we didn't intend to exclude you."
"His aura makes it hard to approach him."
'Aura my butt,' Y/N thought, finally at the back of the hoard of students. 'You were all just too scared to talk to him for one reason or another.'
The pink-haired man sighed. "It's fine. Members of the Diasomnia Dormitory can come with me." As the group started leaving the hall, Y/N heard the man mumble, "I hope this doesn't upset him."
Everyone else quickly left the entrance hall as well, leaving the Headmaster, Yuu, and Y/N in the hall. They were all feeling slightly awkward about the situation, especially Yuu, who was wondering if he would even have a place in this school. He had no magic, and there was no point to him being here, but the fact that he had never heard of any of what he had seen over the past hour or so left him feeling unnerved.
"Then, Yuu," Crowley said. "I'm terribly sorry about this, but we must have you leave the school. Those without any talent for magic cannot be allowed to attend class here."
Yuu felt his face fall, and the Headmaster seemed to notice.
"There is no need to worry. The Dark Mirror will send you directly back from whence you came. Enter the Gate, and picture your home clearly in your mind."
As Y/N watched, moving away from the shadows, she noticed just how scared Yuu looked. His hands were trembling at his sides and he was biting his lip so hard that Y/N was worried that he would draw blood.
"Oh Dark Mirror! Guide this one back to the place they belong!"
Nothing happened.
"Hmm. Once more. Oh Dark Mirror! Guide this -"
"It is nowhere," the mirror said, cutting off the Headmaster.
"Eh?!"
"The place they belong is nowhere in this world. It does not exist."
"What did you say," Crowley exclaimed. "That is unbelievable!" He suddenly paused. "Hmm, well, the unbelievable has been on parade today..." His eyes flickered over to where Y/N was standing and he sighed. Today seemed to be on a role for firsts at this school. First female student to show up, first time a student had woken up and actually left the coffin before they could be properly escorted out, the first time a strange familiar had shown up, the first time a student without magic had shown up, and the first time that the student's home was in some place that didn't exist.
"This is the first time it's ever happened since I became headmaster, what should be..." He then turned on Yuu. "Where exactly did you come from?"
"Truth is," Yuu muttered, scratching at the back of his head. He then started to go on about his world. A place of cities and skyscrapers, planes that soared through the sky like birds, and other mechanical wonders.
Y/N found herself jealous of the boy's memory, silently wishing that she could sink into the ground and ponder the loss of her own memories. Why couldn't she remember her home? Why did it seem like her home had abandoned her with nothing more than her name and strange clothes that were five sizes too big for her and made for a male rather than a female. Did she even have a home that she could return to, or had something happened to it?
"Miss. Artem?" Y/N glanced up and blanched when she saw that both the Headmaster and Yuu were staring at her. It seemed as though Yuu had stopped talking while she had been lost in thought.
"Sorry, did I miss something?"
"I was just saying that I would call an escort for you so that you could head back to your dorm and get settled while I take Mr. Yuu to the library in hopes of uncovering more information about his home."
Y/N nodded and Crowley pulled out his phone, typing something into it quickly, before placing a hand on Yuu's shoulder and steering him out of the hall, leaving Y/N alone.
The silence quickly became awkward, and Y/N wished that Crowley had stuck around, because at least then she would have some companionship, even though it would be eccentric company. The minutes seemed to tick by, and Y/N started rocking on her feet, feeling extremely awkward.
Thankfully, after what seemed like forever, the doors to the room swung open and Y/N turned to see a man striding into the room, looking irritated. He glared at her and she felt herself starting to cower as she stared up at him. His hair had been dyed in two colors, one side black, the other a pure white that the snow would be jealous of. His vest was created in a similar way, the right side made from a white fabric, while the left was black, and underneath was a scarlet tie and black dress shirt. His color scheme seemed to be nothing but red, black, and white, covering him from the top of his head to the shoes on his feet. The most noticeable was his large oversized, and over fluffed jacket, which had white cuffs around the neck and wrists, a scarlet lining, and black and white stripes that spiraled around. Y/N also noticed that there were a few tails hanging down from the back of the coat and she paled at the thought that the coat might once have been a beautiful creature.
"Ah, so you're the little puppy that Crowley sent me to fetch," the man sighed, pulling out a long pointer and tapping it on his hand. "He said that you would be in need of a proper uniform and other clothes."
Y/N shuffled nervously, her eyes falling on the pools of fabric around her feet. "Um... yes sir. It would seem that I do need something else to wear."
The cold tip of some mineral hit the bottom of her chin and her face was forced up. "Pups will look up and make eye contact when they are spoken to."
Y/N backed away from the man a little.
"For now, I will escort you back to your dorm. I have brought some clothes for you to wear for tomorrow, and after class tomorrow, I expect you to come to my office so that I may measure you and make your clothes for you."
And with that, he strode out of the room. Y/N picked up the front of her robes and chased after him, panting a little due to the struggle of the fabric.
'Curse this school and its formal wear,' she thought as she nearly tripped, walking out of the main entrance hall.
"Excuse me, sir," Y/N called as she stumbled down the stairs. "I don't know your name!"
The man chuckled and stopped at the bottom of the stairs, finding it rather amusing how the young girl stumbled over her robes like a newborn puppy. "You may call me Master Crewel, Puppy."
"Don't call me, Puppy," Y/N hissed under her breath as she finally reached the bottom of the stairs. She turned around and her eyes widened when she saw just how large this school was. She had Crewel had exited on one of the sides of the building, and though she could only see part of it, she found herself unable to tear her eyes away as she stared up at the magnificent castle.
"Pup?"
Y/N flinched.
"We must continue on if you are in hopes of getting any sleep before your first day of classes tomorrow. You are in my homeroom, and I expect you to perform the same as any other un-sleep deprived puppy."
Y/N bit her lip and nodded, chasing after the man as he continued to take long strides away from the castle.
'What have I gotten myself into.'