-3rd POV-
As (Y/n) slept, she suddenly had a dream.
"Hurry up and paint those roses red!" The cards said, painting the trees white roses with red paint, "Slather them quickly, as foresaid."
"Hurry, Hurry! There are still roses left to paint!" Ace of Clubs said.
'They're painting...roses?' The dual haired girl thought as she watched the scene in front of her.
Suddenly a blond haired girl walked up.
"Why are you painting these white roses red?" She asked them.
"Huh?" The cards said.
"Why, you ask? It's quite simple." Two of Clubs said, "We planted the wrong color, you see."
"The Queen likes her roses red. If they're white, we'll lose our heads!" The Ace of Clubs said.
"Goodness!" The girl said, as she walked towards another card that was on the ladder.
"And so, we're painting the roses red." The Three of Clubs said.
And soon, darkness greeted the hero-in-training, before her eyes slowly opened.
"Weird..." She mumbled, before hearing knocking, "Someone must be at the door."
"Myaaah...Hey, (Y/n)...I know it's the middle of the night, but I think we've got a visitor." Grim said, waking up, "Maybe it's those ghosts again? They just don't know when to quit."
(Y/n) smiled softly and picked him up, "I don't think its the ghosts, Grim." She said, before the two ventured out the room and towards the entrance, "Who is it?"
"It's me, Ace! Just let me in, all right?" The male said, before the girl opened the door.
"Ace? It's the middle of the night!" The feline said, before noticing something, "B-Bwah! That collar!"
"I can't go back to Heartslabyul House. I'm joining your dorm. For good."
"Myah?! Come again?!"
"Come on, let's go sit down." The girl said, walking towards the lounge area, and the male followed.
As they walked, Ace couldn't help but be shocked at the amount of work was done to the dorm, since she made the dorm Japanese styled like back home. He sat on the couch as the girl sat arms length from him.
"I'd recognize that collar anywhere. It's the same one that psycho stuck on me at orientation! What'd you do to get shackled with that?" Grim said, reminiscing the memory.
The male crossed his arms and looked away, "I ate a tart."
"You...ate a tart?" The dual haired girl questioned, not sure if she heard right.
"Yeah, that's it! That's all I did! I was a little hungry, see, so I went down to the kitchen and found some tarts in the fridge. Three whole tarts! Big ones, too!" He said.
-Small Flashback-
Ace walked into the kitchen, exhausted, "Man, I'm still tired from our little adventure. I missed dinner, too, and now I'm starving!" He said, as he walked towards the fridge, "Got anything for me, fridge?" He opened it, "...Whoa, score! Tarts! Those look amazing! And plenty to go around, too! No one would notice if I snagged one teeeeensy little slice, right? Right. Of course not."
He then took a slice and took a bite. As he chewed the tart, his eyes widen, "Mhpm...So good! I'm in pastry paradise right now!"
"Of course they're good. Trey made them. His tarts are always exceptional." A new voice said.
"Yeah, but I mean...These are crazy good!" The orange haired male said, turning to the male, "Like, he could sell these at—wait, Housewarden?!" He exclaimed shocked, seeing who it was.
"That you would think to touch something of mine...Well, I'm impressed with your audacity, at least. But the Queen of Hearts's rule 89 is quite clear. "Never eat a tart without the Queen's permission." The theft of tart is a serious crime!" Riddle said, before grabbing his pen, "Off With Your Head!"
"Bwaaah!"
-End of Flashback-
"And...here I am." He huffed.
It was quiet before Grim spoke up.
"So...The point is you're both terrible?"
"You don't think that it's insane for my magic to get sealed away for eating one slice of tart?! For a mage, that's like having your arms and legs bound and shackled! And then there were three whole tarts! Three! It's not like he could eat 'em all himself! C'mon, you know this is messed up!" He said, turning to the girl.
(Y/n) nodded, "Well, it is a bit too much."
"Riiiight?!"
"Yeah, but..." Grim trailed off, before the girl continued.
"If there were three tarts, as you said, then they were probably for a party."
The feline nodded, "Maybe it was someone's birthday or somethin'? Lookit that! We're, like, master detectives too!" He said, looking at the girl with a smile.
Ace put a hand behind his head and rubbed it a bit, "A birthday, huh...?" He said, trailing off.
"Did you apologize for eating it?" The girl said.
"Man...I thought you'd be more sympathetic! I'm a victim of the housewarden's tyranny here!"
"Well, he did go a bit extreme but stealing food is more of an offense." She said in a monotone voice.
The male could only sigh, "Aw, you gotta be kiddin' me!"
"Go apologize to him tomorrow."
Grim shook his head, "You don't go messin' with another man's meal..." He said, before realizing something, "Hey, wait a minute! I just realized I never got those cans of tuna the headmage promised me!"
"All right, all right. Fine. I get that I should apologize." The orange haired male said, before looking at the girl with a small glared, "But you're coming with me, (Y/n). This was your idea, after all."
The said girl nodded, "All right. It's only fair."
"Anyway you got a place for me to crash tonight?"
"You were serious about that?" The tanuki said, "Outside of the bedroom me and (Y/n) use, this entire dump is buried under a foot of dust. So if you wanna crash, you better start cleanin'!"
"Eh? But I cle—" The girl started but was cut off by the cat.
"Dude, no way! I hate cleaning!" Ace said, then looked at the girl, "Just let me stay with you (Y/n). I'm real slim. I won't take up much space." He smiled.
(Y/n) sighed and grabbed Grim, "Grim lied. I actually have clean rooms, and fixed the beds so they don't break." She said, getting up, "Follow me."
The male glared at the feline for the lie, but followed the girl.
-----
As they got upstairs the girl opened the door.
"Here you go. Our room is next door. So, knock if you need anything, Ace."
The male looked at her and smiled, "Thanks, (Y/n)!"
"Good night, Ace." She said, before walking to the room next to his and entered.
"Night..." He said, before closing the door softly behind him, 'She's so nice...and pretty...' He thought blushing, before laying on the bed, before groaning, 'This collar is uncomfortable...'
-----
The next morning, someone knocked with force at the front door to the point that it woke up Ace.
"Duuude...Who is pounding on the door at this hour?!" He said, before sitting up and walking downstairs, "I'm coming, I'm coming!" He opened the door.
"I figured I'd find you here." Deuce said.
"Ugh. Deuce..."
"So, you ate the housewarden's tart. You really are an idiot, Ace." Deuce said, shaking his head.
"Oh, shut up! Like you're one to talk!" He exclaimed, crossing his arms, "Anyways, uh...Is he still mad?"
"Not at all. Maybe a touch irritated, if anything. A few of our dormmates overslept this morning...But only three of 'em got your treatment."
"You call that "not at all" mad?! Sounds like he's still on the rampage, to me."
Grim and (Y/n) soon came down.
"Oh, Deuce. Hello." The girl said, "Would you like something to eat?"
The blue haired male blushed slightly, but shook his head, "No, I'm fine, thanks. I ate breakfast before I came here."
"Oh, okay." She said, as she walked to the kitchen, and cooked up some breakfast.
-----
"Move it! Outta the way!" Grim said from the girl's head, "Night Raven College student comin' through! Oh? Did my collar catch your eye? It is way better than the one you're stuck with! You know, the one that makes it so you can't use magic? But hey, the school could always use another janitor!" He finished with a laugh, teasing Ace.
"He's suffered enough, Grim." (Y/n) said, grabbing him, and holding him in her arms, which made him slightly pout.
"Trust me, Grim, when I get my magic back, your hide is first up on the chopping block!" The orange haired male said, glaring at the feline.
"Didn't the headmage just tell you yesterday, no more incidents? Regardless, you're not going to be able to participate in class if you can't use magic. So why not just apologize to the housewarden? It's a small price to pay for having the collar removed." The blue haired male said.
"Aaaaaargh! I hate this so! So! Much!"
"Hmm. Ya know, we do still have some time to kill before class starts. And I am kinda curious about the other dorms. Guess I'll go along and scope out the place while you make with the groveling." Grim said.
"Since when did this become a field trip?!"
-----
Before they knew, they were already at the Hall of Mirror, entering it and appearing at the Heartslabyul Dorm.
"Dang, this place is cool! This is nothing like our dorm!" The feline said.
(Y/n) nodded, "I'm guessing every dorm is different." She said.
The four walked through the maze.
"Aww yeah, I am getting my paint on!" A male said as he painted. He had light orange, mid-length hair, and had the top portion of his hair and bangs pulled back into a short ponytail. A few stray strands of hair falling loosely at the sides of his face, and the rest was tucked back behind his ears. His eyes were green, and on his right cheek was a small, red marking shaped like a diamond.
"Someone's here." The girl said.
"They all gotta be red, or it's "off with my head"!"
'I've seen this before...' She thought.
The male seemed to noticed the four, "Huh...? You guys need something?"
"What are you doing here?" Ace said.
"Are you blind? I'm painting these roses red, duh."
"What? Why?!" Deuce said, shocked, along with the other male.
The male chuckled, "So naïve, you put the "n" in newb. Hold the phone, I know you! You're the ones who broke the billion-thaumark chandelier and nearly got expelled for it, yeah?"
All for let out a small sigh.
"That chandelier is gonna haunt us till the day we graduate, isn't it?" Ace said.
The male looked at him, "And you! You're the one who ate the housewarden's tart that same night! You guys are the hot topic around campus! I've gotta get in on this fleeting fame." He grabbed his phone and went over to them, pulling them in so they appeared on the camera, "I'm just gonna grab a selfie real quick..." He said, and took the picture, "It's cool if I post this on Magicam, right? Gimme your names so I can tag you."
"I'm Deuce Spade."
"Ace."
"I'm Grim, and that's my hen—" He was cut of by the girl putting a hand over his snout.
"I'm (Y/n)."
The male smiled and uploaded the picture, "Uploaded! Sweet. Oh, I'm Cater Diamond, by the way. I'm a junior here at Heartslabyul. But Cater is fine. Or Cay-Cay! Soooo nice to meetcha."
The girl could only blink at him before nodding, "It's a pleasure."
Cater looked at the girl, "Ah, you're the prefect of that so-called Ramshackle House dorm, right? Like, I can't believe you actually live there! It's all gloomy and looks like hot garbage on Magicam. No filter could salvage that dump."
"Y'know, you've done nothin' but diss us here, pal!" Grim said, angrily.
'He hasn't seen the inside of that dorm...It looks so fancy.' Ace said.
The male then realized something, "Gah, what am I doing? I don't have time to chat! The party's tomorrow. If we're not ready, it's "off with my head"!" He said, before looking at the four again, "Hey, you kids wanna help me paint some roses?"
"Yeah, uh...Why are you exactly doing that exactly?" The male asked.
"Because red sores are so much more photogenic! Or...something...?" He said, trailing off into a question, "And after that, I've gotta start getting things ready for the big croquet tournament. And that means coloring all the flamingos." He sighed.
"You're colorin' flamingos now? Isn't anything the right color around here?!" Grim said, deadpanning.
"Now, it's coming into focus, Ace. That tart you ate must have bee for the housewarden's birthday. That explains his reaction!" Deuce said, shaking his head at the male.
"Hm? Oh, no, it's not Riddle's birthday." Cater said.
"It's not? Then whose birthday is it?" Ace questioned.
"It isn't anyone's birthday. Tomorrow is our dorm's traditional unbirthday party. It's a special tea party we throw when no one has a birthday—if the housewarden feels like it." He exclaimed.
"And why would you do that?"
"Again with the questions! Listen, I need these roses to be red. Like, yesterday. Can't you guys help with magic or something? Oh, but Ace is on magical arrest and (Y/n) is a total normie, so you two better stick to paint." He said, smiling.
"Recolor the roses with magic..." The blue haired male said, trailing off.
"Can't say I've ever done this before." The feline said.
"Relax, it'll be fine! You got this!" Cater said, reassuring them, "But maybe do it before I lose my head, K-thanx!" He handed the two magic-less people some paintbrushes.
(Y/n) looked at the paintbrush in her hand then at the white roses, 'This is a weird tradition...' She thought, before dipping the brush in the red paint and painting some of the roses, being careful.
Deuce concentrated, "Red... Red...Bam!" He said, before using his magic, but instead of being red, it was blue, "Wh-Whoa?! It turned blue?!"
As her and Ace painted, they were startled by the yell, making them turn.
"Change, o foul color! Change! Aha!" Grim said, before being startled when the rose caught fire, "Bwah! The rose caught on fire!"
(Y/n) smiled softly, before she continued to paint the roses, 'Having magic seems like fun, but I'll stick with my quirk.' She thought.
Cater sighed softly, "Wow. You're even less competent than I thought." He said.
"Yo, maybe you should just leave the roses white! They look perfectly pretty 'n stuff to me." Ace said, as the girl next to him nodded.
"It's a matter of tradition. You can't have an unbirthday party without the roses being red. And you can't play croquet without seven-colored flamingos as mallets and a hedgehog for a ball. Oh, but of course, the roses need to be white when the garden flowers put on their spring concert. That's absolutely crucial."
"All your rules are completely insane!" Grim said, crossing his arms.
"They say the Queen of Hearts made up these rules herself—she was one of the Great Seven, you know. And Riddle is all about tradition. Probably more than previous housewardens, TBH." He then put his hand behind his neck, "I'll admit that he's, well...a bit extra."
"Yeah, no kidding. I sure don't have time for this nonsense. Is Riddle here? I gotta talk to him." The magic-less male said.
"Yeah, probably. But are you sure that's wise? Did you even bring an apology tart to replace the one you ate?"
"Uh, no...? I came here first thing in the morning!"
"Ah ah ah...That could be a problem. Have you forgotten rule 53? "Stolen items must be replaced." If you're not in compliance, I can't let you in."
"Are you serious?!"
"All dorm residents must obey the rules. If I let you slide, it would be off with my head next! I hate to say it, Ace, but I'm gonna need you to leave before Riddle spots you. Thanx."
"I...think this guy is for real. You guys, do something!"
"Why should we do anything?" Deuce said, looking at him.
"C'mon, please! I can't use magic! Hurry, he's—"
(Y/n) blocked the hit with her ice, before sending fire towards him.
"Woah! You're so cool, (Y/n)!" Cater complimented.
The girl's eyes widen, seeing that the fire barely did anything, 'Must be his magic...' She thought, before sending more fire, and the blue haired male fought alongside her.
-----
"Do make sure you bring that tart next time, m'kay? Buh-bye now!" Cater said, pushing them out the maze.
"Was that guy for real?!" Ace exclaimed, shocked.
"We hit him over and over, but he just kept coming. Maybe he was using some kind of illusion magic?" Deuce questioned.
"So lemme get this straight: we walked in there, totally tartless, but this dude still made us to that whole song and dance before throwing us out? He just wanted to make us paint his stupid roses!"
"We sure look like a bunch of chumps." Grim said.
"I guess we'll just have to get an apology tart and come back. Maybe after class, we can—Oh no!" The blue haired male exclaimed.
(Y/n)'s eyes widen, "Oh no..." She mumbled, seeing the time.
"We already missed the first bell! We're gonna be late for class!"
"Myah! I don't wanna get a blemish on the first day of my glorious Night Raven education! Shake a leg, chumps! To the classroom, pronto!" The feline said, climbing up the girl to sit on her shoulders.
"Hey, so what class are you guys in, anyway? You're freshmen too, right?" Ace asked the too.
"Mr. Crowley said we're in Class 1-A..." The girl said, 'Just like back home...'
"Hey, that's the same one I'm in. We got Potionology for first period." Deuce said.
"Oh ho, yeah! That sounds awesome!" Grim exclaimed.
"M-Maybe I don't need magic for that?" The orange haired male questioned.
-----
"Ah. You must be my new homeroom students. Hm, that's quite the unusual coat of fur. Do make sure that you arrive properly groomed." The male said. His hair was parted at the side, with the longer section colored white and the shorter section black. He had narrow grey eyes and wore silver studs in his ears. Beneath a thick, black-and-white furry coat, he wore a tuxedo—consisting of a black dress shirt, red tie, a black-and-white vest, black dress pants, black dress shoes, and a black belt with a silver buckle, studs, and spiky sections. He also wore red gloves. He had several tail-like appendages hanging from the bottom of his coat.
"My name is Divus Crewel. You may call me Master Crewel. Now, take your seats. Class is about to begin. We're going to start with the basics." He said, before bringing up his pointer that had a collar and a charm attached to it, "And by that, I mean beating the names and distinguishing characteristics of one hundred herbs and poisons into your tiny brains. The mycelia are another matter. But eventually, I'm hopeful you'll be able to take a walk without putting anything poisonous into your gaping maws. For now, I realize you have all the self-control of voracious hounds. But I will now abide a single student failing this class. Expect to be drilled accordingly."
"Huh. So...does anyone know what a mycelia is?" Deuce whispered to them.
(Y/n) looked at him, "Mycelia are vital in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems for their role in the decomposition of plant material. They contribute to the organic fraction of soil, and their growth releases carbon dioxide back into the atmosphere." She said.
Ace eyes widen, "Woah, you're super smart." He said, before sighing, "I've never been one for like, memorizing what things are, ya know?"
"All I care about is how to tell the yummy plants from the yucky ones." Grim said.
-----
"I am your History of Magic teacher, Mozus Trein. And this is my familiar, Lucius." Said a tall elderly man with small grey eyes and greying, neatly combed-back hair. He wore a standard black suit beneath long maroon robes. Attached to his collar was a white jabot, which was tied off with a turquoise-colored pendant.
Lucius is a chubby cat, black long-hair with a white muzzle and golden eyes. He had white patches of fur at his chest and at the tip of his tail.
"You are here to learn the rich history of magic, and how it has sculpted the world which you now so easily take from granted."
"Mrrrrooowww..."
"I grade based on classroom behavior as well as the quality of work. Don't let me catch you sleeping. Now, let us open our books to page fifteen. This page concerns the magestones discovered in the Dwarfs' Mine..."
"Mrrrrooowww..." Lucius meowed, before jumping down from the desk and heading towards (Y/n), rubbing against her left side since that's her fire side, which was warmer. Before jumping onto her lap, pushing Grim off.
"Oi!" The tanuki said, glaring at the cat.
"Lucius...He really isn't this interactive..." Trein said, surprised by the action his familiar, "Miss Todoroki, please watch over him."
"Hai, Mr. Trein." The girl said, nodding, petting the cat with her left hand, making the cat purr, while her right hand write down notes.
"As I was saying. As knowledge and awareness of magical energy began to spread across the globe from this point, this year is considered Year One of the Magic Era."
Ace yawned.
"Fascinating..."Dwarf's Mine"...Mhm, mhm..."magical energy"..." Deuce said, as he wrote down on his notebook.
"Maaan...When do we get to the classes where we blow stuff up with magic?" Grim said, clearly bored.
-----
"I'm Coach Vargas, and physically educating your feeble little bodies is my responsibility. Great sorcery begins with a great physique! Behold the muscles you can build with a diet of raw eggs!" The coach said, flexing his muscles. He was very broad-shouldered with a thick neck and thick chest. He had dark brown hair styled in a pompadour and small blue eyes. He also had a thin beard framing his face.
He wore a whistle around his neck. And also wore athletic black pants and a red jacket with gold stripes; a golden stag-head is pictured on the right side of his chest. He wore a golden curled arrow-shaped bracelet on his left wrist, which was a blood-like red at the point.
"A great mage needs a great physical constitution! So gimme twenty laps, and a hundred push-ups!"
"Bleah. The forced exercise is bad enough, but meatheads like this guy drive me nuts." The orange haired male said, sighing.
Deuce grinned, "Finally! A subject I'm good at!"
(Y/n) hummed, "This is the easiest thing for me..." She mumbled.
"Oh, right. You're a hero-in-training, (Y/n). So you must be used to this."
"Yeah."
Grim was angry though, "Explain to me the appeal of runnin' around in circles! Do I look like a hamster?"
-----
"What the hell?! (Y/n)!" Ace exclaimed, watching the girl use her ice to do the laps.
"Mr. Vargas didn't say I couldn't use my quirk..." (Y/n) said, looking at him.
"But still! You should run!"
"Okay..." She said, stepping down from the ice and running alongside the orange haired male.
"Are there many different powers in your world?" Deuce asked.
The dual haired girl nodded, "Yes. Like Bakugo, he can create explosions with his sweat, which is nitroglycerin. Kaminari can create electricity, but can go dumb mode when he overuses it. Then there is Midoriya, he has super strength..." She said, listing some of her classmates quirks.
"Woah! Wish I could go to your world and see all the cool things."
"So you're a hero-in-training. That means there are heroes there?" Ace said, tilting his head a bit.
"Yeah. All different quirks. Though, All Might's and Midoriya's are similar...I still think they are his love child." She said, which made the three sweatdrop.
-----
"Let's see, our next class is..." The blue haired male said, looking at the schedule.
"This so-called magic academy feels a lot like a lame, ordinary school. It's not exactly what I expected, but at least this collar won't be much of a problem after all. You with me on that, Grim? ...Hm?" Ace said, noticing the said feline wasn't there anymore.
(Y/n) looked around, "Where did he go?"
Deuce looked out the window, "Oh! Look out the window! I just saw a ball of fur running across the yard!"
-----
"No way am I puttin' up with this boring routine day in and day out. I'm Grim, Sorcerer Prodigy, and I don't need no one to teach me how to blow stuff up!" Grim exclaimed as he ran across the courtyard.
-----
"Mr. Crowley isn't going to like this..." The girl said.
"Boy, that guy is not a fast learner." The blue haired male said.
Ace smirked, "Not a good look to lose your only student on your first day as prefect. Want help catching him?"
'I already know he wants something out of it...' She thought, but let out an icy breath, before jumping out the window, letting ice appear under her like a slide.
"Wha?! (Y/n)!"
She glided on the ice till she was right behind the cat.
Grim looked back and saw the girl behind him, "Myah?!"
"What did I say about escaping..." She said with a glare, before encasing the feline with the ice, "Don't go cutting classes. I don't want you getting bad grades or anything."
The cat pouted, "Fine..."
"Good." She said, melting the ice.