It had been a few days since Hazel and Grim became new students and Hazel had already garnered attention from suitors and challengers.
Some of the suitors would follow her around even after school was over, but she would send them running by allowing Grim to roast them. When that didn't work, she would hex the boys with some spells that would make them speak gibberish, have their legs entangled, or even get bopped upside the head. She was seriously considering to get some restraining orders from Crowley.
Unkowing to her, a certain pair of twins were watching her as well.
"Hmm, I've heard of her a little bit, but do you think we should do further research on her before going to Azul?"
"I agree. It would give us an advantage if we have something rather than gossip about her. Besides, she will probably be more exciting than all the other students here." The two interacted as they left.
----------------------------------------
Night had already fallen at the Mortishackle dorm and Hazel and Grim were getting ready for bed when they heard a knock at the door.
"Who could that be at this hour?" Hazel said in her night gown and robe as she went to open the door.
It was Ace, her classmate. And he was wearing some kind of red and black collar on him.
"What's with the collar?!?!" Grim asked.
"Geez! I'm never returning to Heartslabyul. I'm gonna be a member of this dorm from here on!" He said
GRIM and Hazel: WHAT~~~!?!?
"Why is that? And why are you wearing that on your neck?" Hazel asked.
"I ate a tart."
This earned him a confused look from the two.
"That's it?" Hazel asked, eyebrow raised.
"Exactly! Only that! I got hungry, so I went to the dorm's kitchen. The tart was just sittin' right there inside the fridge. And like, three whole ones! That's why..." Ace began to explain.
---Flashback to the Heartslabyl kitchen---
"(sighs) It's only the first day and I'm so tired~ I missed dinner, so I'm very hungry." As Ace went over to the fridge.
Wonder if there's anythin' in the fridge... Oh, found a tart! Looks delish~! There's a lot, so I'm not sure if I can finish it all ♪" He said as he took a tart out and started eating.
"Thanks for the food~ Whoa, what the heck?! It's so good!"
"Of course, it would be delicious. After all, anything that Trey makes is bound to be exquisite." A voice said behind him.
"Nah, man, this is something else! It's better than the ones at the shops... Wha– Prefect?!" Ace said in surprise and fear.
"Quite the boldness you have there for touching something that belongs to me. Queen of Hearts Rule #89: "You shall not eat tarts prepared for the Queen ahead of her." Larceny of the Queen's tarts is a capital crime! OFF WITH YOUR HEAD!" Riddle said with a frown on his face.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!"
------------End Flashback-----------
" And that's what happened...
The Mortishackle residents were silent for a while...then...
"You've only got yourself to blame."
"But ain't it overreacting to seal my magic just 'cause I ate his tart?! It's practically the same as tying my hands and my feet! Plus, there were three whole ones! He can't possibly finish all of those! There's a limit to how heartless he can be!" Ace complained.
"Well, binding your magic may have been a little too overboard..." Hazel strained out.
"Right?!" Ace asked.
" Ah! Wait a second... If there were three whole tarts, they might've been prepared for a party, yanno? Like for someone's birthday? Man, I'm such a great detective, huh!" Grim suggested.
"Birthday?" Ace questioned.
"If that's the case, then it's no wonder he's mad. Did you apologize for it though?" Hazel asked/
" Uh... I came here thinking that you'd agree with me about the Prefect being a little tyrant, Yuu...
"I get that he's kinda a tyrant, but... Eating someone else's food is not good, you know?" Hazel said.
"I agree. You're also at fault for eatin' his food." Grim put his two cents in.
"I think you should apologize to him tomorrow, okay? I'm sure he'll forgive you if you apologize."
"Grudges over food are scary." Grim nodded.
"(sighs) I get it. I just have to apologize, right? You suggested it, so you better come with me, Haze." Ace pointed out
"Sure." Hazel smiled.
"In the meantime, where can I sleep?" Ace said changing the subject
"You're serious about stayin' the night?" Grim said exasperated.
"Hazel~ Let me stay in your room~ I'm a pretty handy guy so I won't take up much room! Please~?"
"I have a feeling you intend for something else than just to sleep in my room. And even though my bed's large enough, the only time I'll get into bed with a man is the day he get a ring on my finger!" Hazel said as she let him take one of the other rooms nearby.
The next morning Hazel had to get Ace and Grim up early so Ace could apologize to Riddle.
"What the, who the hell's pounding on the door so early in the morning?
Ace opened up the door to see Deuce.
[LOCATION: Ramshackle Dorm – Foyer]
"I knew I'd find you here."
"D-Deuce..."
" I heard about the situation from our dormmates. You ate the Prefect's tart, so now you've got that collar on, haven't you?" He frowned as Ace nodded his head.
" You're an outright idiot." Deuce said bluntly.
"Shut it! I don't wanna hear that from you! So... Is the Prefect still mad at me...?" Ace asked looking nervous.
"Not completely. He's in an irritated mood and about three people who didn't follow the waking up routine suffered the same fate as you." Deuce said.
""Not completely," my ass! He's totally mad!" Ace yelled.
"Looks like you two are lively enough to get going." Hazel said as she got her stuff. "Let's go to Riddle. The sooner, the better."
[LOCATION: Main Street]
"Hey look Hazel! They finally finished that statue of Death!" The cat pointed to the new statue.
As he said, Death's statue was made the way Hazel described him in The Peverell Story and his title as "The Collector of Souls" along with a quick summary of his cunning tactics and punishments to those who dared to trick or cheat him. His statue was placed next to Scar's.
"That's what Death looks like? He's kind of creepy. Plus his 'eyes' look like they are following ya." Ace shivered as he looked at it.
"Though I suppose that's the point. Death is a frightening thing to fear." Deuce said.
"Maybe, but...very few know that there are worse things to fear than death. Plus, Death is more than a villain in certain stories. Sometimes helpful, or indifferent, but most of the time; neutral. It depends on who provokes him." Hazel said as she gained a far away look in her eyes making the other three look at her in confused awe.
Deuce was about to ask her why she thought that way, when Hazel started to walk. "Anyway, we need to get to the Heartslabyul dorm. Ace needs to get that collar off quick, right?"
"Ah! Right!" Ace said as he ran to catch up, along with Deuce and Grim.
-----------------------------------
[LOCATION: Heartslabyul Dorm]
"Whoa~! This is super fancy! It's completely different from our dorm!" Grim said in amazement
'Because I don't like showing off my wealth.' Hazel thought in distain.
"Oh, no. I gotta hurry and paint these roses red.
"Oh, someone's over there." Grim pointed out, gaining attention of the guy.
"Whoa there~ If there are some left unpainted, it's off with my head."
'I feel like I've seen this scenery somewhere...' Hazel thought as she sees the orangette man painting roses.
"Hm? Did you guys need something?" He asked.
"What're you doin'?" Ace asked him.
"This? As you can see, I'm painting the roses red." The orange-haired man said
"Eh!? Why do such a thing?" Deuce asked in confusion.
"Hm~ Your reactions are so fresh it's kinda cute~!" The orange-haired male said in a teasing voice as he looked at the group. "Hey I know you. You're the super sinful kid who stole the Prefect's tart! I'm so lucky to meet the rumored freshies so early in the morning~♪" He said gleefully.
Then the orangette spots Hazel and puts on a charming smile walking up to her.
"And you're the first girl to be admitted here! Hey, can I upload a picture of you guys? I wanna put hashtags so tell me your name." He askes as he took out his phone.
"I'm Deuce Spade."
"Ace."
"I'm Grim and that's Hazel."
"Alright, upload done~♪..." Then he gained a look of surprise. "Wait. Hazel Potter?! OMG! I can't believe I'm meeting you at last! Oh, I'm Cater Diamond, a 3rd year. That makes me your senior~ Call me Cater-kun, okay? Cate's fine, too~♡" He said taking Hazel's hand and kissing, making her flustered.
"This guy's acting like a kiss up to Hazel." Grim muttered.
"Well, she's famous so I'm not surprised." Ace whispered.
"At least she doesn't flaunt it though. That's a good point." Deuce pointed out.
"Oh, I shouldn't be standing here and talking! The party's the day after tomorrow. It's off with my head if I'm late." Cater said to himself.
Then he turned to the freshmen and looked like he had an idea.
"Hey, hey, freshies~ Can you help me with painting the flowers?" He asked nicely.
" Why're you doing somethin' so strange?" Deuce asked.
"Aside from coloring the roses, I'm really busy because I'm also in charge of coloring the flamingos for the croquet match~" Cater explained.
"Dyeing the flamingos?! That's a pretty weird job." Hazel said incredulously.
"So, the tarts that Ace ate were to be used for the Prefect's birthday party? I see now. So that's why he was so mad..." Deuce theorized.
"What? That's not it." Cater said taking them by surprise, but he explained. "It's no one's birthday. You see, the day after tomorrow is our Dorm's legendary [Unbirthday party]. It's a tea party that the Prefect felt like doing, so he chose a day that doesn't fall on anyone's birthday."
"The hell's that!?" Ace asked incrediously
"In any case, the reasons can wait! You just have to help me paint the roses! Hazel-chan, Deuce-chan and Grim-chan can use magic, right? Ace-chan can't use magic, so here's a paintbrush~" Cater said as he got them to the bushes.
"Ch-change the colors with magic, you mean...?" Deuce said.
"I haven't done anything like that before, yanno." Grim said nervously.
"I can already handle all of that if you would like." Hazel said as she took out her wand.
And with a wave, the roses were all changed from white to red to the others amazement.
"Wow Hazel! You're a lot better than I thought you'd be~" Cater praised.
"Why can't the roses stay white? They're pretty enough." Ace wondered.
"This is all part of our dorm's tradition. The roses for the Unbirthday Party should be red! And it's been decided that the bat for the croquet match is a 7-colored flamingo, and the balls will be hedgehogs. Oh, but for the flower concert during spring, the roses should be white. This is all important, so remember them~" Cater said as simple as that.
"Nothing but weird rules!" Grim said.
"I agree, it seems that there are too many rules to keep up with." Hazel pointed.
"Well, those are rules decided by the Queen of Hearts, one of the Great Seven, after all. Riddle-kun's a pretty straight-laced Prefect who protects the Queen's rules to a T, got it~? Well, I do admit he goes overboard sometimes..." Cater said as he trailed off.
"Wait, what time is it? Oh man! We only have 20 minutes before class starts! We're gonna be late if we stay here!" Deuce said as the group realized they lost track of time.
"Well, guess you can apologize to Riddle later Acey. By the way. Have you brought some tarts to make up for what you took~?
"Eh? I came straight here, so I got nothing..." Ace admitted.
"Oh, man~ Izzat so? Then, since Rule #53 of the Queen of Hearts states that "You have to replace things that you stole." Till then, I can't let you back in the dorm." Cater expressed with fake sadness.
"Huh?! What the heck?!"
" You have to follow the rules if you're staying in this dorm. I really wish I could help, I do but, If I let it slide, then it's off with my head, too~" Cater explained.
"Guys we have to get to class or we'll be late. We'll deal with this after school's over." Hazel said as she dragged the boys away and used apparition to get them there in time.
Although Ace, Deuce, and Grim felt like they were squeezed through a tube.
---------------------------------
Here's the next part!
Even though it's only a little bit...some secrets are only skimming the surface....