The angel of the owl house

Season 1: The Demon Realm

Chapter 12: Ensemble of Sorcery

The residents of the Owl House had returned home on Sunday afternoon after saying their farewells to the Blights. After everything that had happened, they'd spent their final hours on the Knee just relaxing, with the twins peppering Luz and Rasiel with questions about their angelic natures, while King showed off the ice glyph to Amity, comparing it to her own ice magic. Then they'd all flown home so Luz could attend the placement exam at Hexside.

Principal Bump had noticed her obvious tiredness the minute Luz arrived in the school's auditorium (amusingly named the Paranoratorium), but she had waved off his concerns and shown off her skills. Between her light magic, her plant magic, her healing, and the myriad of little spells she'd been able to learn from Eda, Luz easily passed the spell requirement for the advanced class (which was really just the high school division), though the basic runes requirement was a bit more difficult. Eda had taught her how to read runes, and as someone bilingual, Luz had gotten the hang of it fairly quickly, but she wasn't fluent and had stumbled a bit on the written tasks Principal Bump gave her. Still, she ultimately passed and Principal Bump welcomed her to Hexside's advanced class. He handed her a new uniform and told her to report to his office the next morning to select her track.

King had wanted to throw a party for Luz when she returned to the Owl House, but she was so tired by that point that she'd settled for just a nice dinner together. Over their meal, Luz had also learned that Rasiel had been spending the afternoon talking with Hooty, who completely bewildered the ancient angel. Hooty, naturally, just enjoyed the attention and declared Rasiel (or Raspberry, as he'd been nicknamed) his new friend.

The next day, Luz awoke bright and early for her first official day at Hexside! She threw on her new uniform (which Rasiel had taught Eda how to enchant to let Luz's wings pass through) and admired herself in the bathroom mirror. The plain white sleeves and leggings suited her, but white had always been a good colour on Luz. Once she was dressed and wearing her concealment stone, she went down to breakfast and was greeted by the others.

"Morning Luz." Eda said sleepily, sipping her mug of apple blood. "Ready for your big day?"

Luz nodded; "Yeah, but I'm nervous too. I didn't exactly make a great first impression at my human school, so I'm worried I'll screw up again. People actually seem to like me at Hexside; I don't want to ruin that."

"Relax Luz, you've had two trial days at Hexside before now; just keep doing what you were doing then." King reassured her.

"But that's the problem! On my first trial day, I got in a fight with Boscha and we ended up unleashing a Mandragora! Then on my second trial day, I got in a fight with Mattholomule and ended up inside the Detention Pit, which ran amok!" Luz exclaimed, her nerves getting the better of her. She couldn't even make herself eat the Scrambled Eyeggs that Hooty had made (she still had no idea how he cooked).

"Mandragora? Detention Pit?" Rasiel muttered, looking mildly disturbed; "Is this really just a school?"

"Those weren't typical incidents." Eda waved him off, "And they weren't your fault, kid. Those two jerks picked fights with you, not the other way around, and it was their actions that led to waking up the Mandragora and messing up the Detention Pit! You need to stop blaming yourself for everything that goes wrong, Luz."

Luz gave a small, sad smile; "Thanks, Eda. I'm just used to everything going wrong actually being my fault… my attempts to help caused more harm than good back home. And it hasn't always worked out better here." she said. Both her adventures at Hexside had been the results of trying to help her friends, and the less said about the incident with Eda's curse, the better.

Rasiel nodded sadly, having heard all about Luz's reasons for being in the Demon Realm, as well as some of her misadventures, the night before. He sympathised; "Perfection, goodness, and order are traits all angels strive for, but none come as easily as we like to believe. Perfection is unattainable, goodness can be subjective, and order can even be more harmful than chaos. You need look no further than the Emperor of this land to see that." he said darkly. Hearing about the Emperor from Eda had made his blood boil; as an angel, he still valued order greatly, but despised seeing it used as a tool of oppression.

"See, Rasiel agrees!" Eda said. "If you go through life scared of failing, then you'll never put yourself out there enough to succeed. You've got optimism for everyone else, so maybe spare some for yourself for once."

That made Luz perk up a bit; "Y-Yeah! Yeah you're right! I can't assume the worst before I even start!"

"Atta girl! Now you need to get going soon if you want to walk like you said you did, so eat up!" Eda ordered with a grin.

Luz gave a little salute and promptly devoured her breakfast as Eda pulled something out of her hair. It was a little white ring, seemingly made of finely carved and polished bone, with a small purple stone embedded in it.

"Here, wear this too." Eda said, sliding the ring over to Luz. The girl blinked and immediately slid it onto her right middle finger. The band of the ring was completely smooth and glossy, so it slid on easily but remained firmly in place afterwards.

"Thanks Eda, what is it?" Luz asked.

"A ring made from a chunk of Titan bone that I scavenged from up on the Knee yesterday. The stone on it is a tiny oracle stone designed to contain spirits. It'll let you take Rasiel off to school with you without anyone knowing." Eda explained.

Luz gasped; "That would be so cool! But I can't use oracle magic…"

"You don't need to." Rasiel said, "the magic on that stone is too weak to contain me against my will, so I can come and go from it at will. I can see and hear everything going on around you from inside it too, so if you need me then you just have to ask. No magic required."

"That's great! I get 24/7 access to your knowledge, and you get to see the Boiling Isles! Everybody wins!" Luz smiled happily.

"And you can totally use him to cheat in class!" Eda winked mischievously.

Luz rolled her eyes and shook her head; "I won't be doing that. Angel, remember? Besides, I think summoning a ghost to tell me the answers would be pretty obvious to the teachers."

Rasiel grinned and his spectral body turned into golden particles and flowed into the ring. The stone then glowed, and Luz heard Rasiel's voice in her head; "Eda also put a telepathy spell on it, as well as a back up concealment spell, in case your necklace gets knocked off again. But yeah, I'm not helping you cheat."

"This is so cool! Oh man, I'm getting excited again! King, are you gonna come to school with me too?" Luz asked.

The little Demon shook his head with a pout; "Eda says I can't."

"With Luz going off to Hexside, I need another pair of hands to help me with my brewing. You're getting pretty competent with your glyph magic, so I figure it's a good time to start teaching you potions." Eda told him.

That wiped the pout off King's face in an instant; "Yes! More magic and power! Teach me all the things!"

Eda and Luz chuckled; "Oh, I will. Now you best get going, Luz. Say hi to Flowers, Goops, and Boots for me! And call Ol' Bumpikins "Princy-B" for me. His face is always a riot!"

Luz giggled as she stood and summoned her satchel; "I will. See you later Eda. Love you King!" she stooped to kiss King on the skull, making him giggle, "Bye Hooty! Have a great day!"

"BYE LUZ! BYE RASPBERRY!" Hooty yelled shrilly as Luz headed out the door.

It was a nice day out, so Luz enjoyed flying around under an illusion, feeling the refreshing morning breeze on her face and in her hair. She touched down outside Hexside's front gates and proudly walked in, a big smile on her face. A massive banner with the words "Welcome to the New Semester" hung above the school entrance, and there were a few other kids in the white accented uniform of a new student, but they were all little kids in the "Baby Class" (actually the elementary school department) or the Intermediate Class (the Middle School department). Luz was the only Advanced Class/High School student in white, making her stand out a little. However there were fewer new students than she'd expected. Was this not the start of a new school year? Come to think of it, there had only been a week break since the last one ended…

Luz was brought out of her thoughts by the appearance of Amity, who walked up to her with a bright smile as an abomination followed her, helping her carry her books.

"Hey Luz! Congrats on getting in, and not being in the Baby Class." she said, adding that last part with a teasing grin.

Luz fought to keep herself from blushing; "T-Thanks Amity! Up top!" she put her hand up for a high-five. Amity was used to this from her by now, so she happily gave the high-five. Unfortunately her abomination was mimicking her every action, so it ended up high-fiving Luz's face, making her splutter on the slime it left behind.

"Yuck!" Luz said, wiping the goo off as Amity giggled.

"Sorry Luz. It's great to see you here though."

"It's great to see you too." Luz smiled, before blushing and quickly adding; "Here, I mean. It's great to see you here. N-Not that it isn't great to see you other places too of course!"

Amity tilted her head curiously, "Are you okay, Luz? You seem flustered."

"I'm fine! Just got a case of the first day jitters!" Luz faked a laugh. She technically wasn't lying, so it was okay. Forcing herself to calm down, she changed the subject; "So, how come there are so few new students around? It's a new school year, right?"

Amity blinked; "No? It's the beginning of the Fall Semester. New school years start in January and end in December. The same as the actual year. Why would they be different?"

"Oh. It's just that in the Human Realm, the school year starts in September and ends around June. At least where I live in the States." Luz explained.

"How odd." Amity mused. "Well anyway, I've got to get going; Principal Bump has me doing some kind of presentation for an Inspector from the Emperor's Coven today, so I've been given the morning off to practice. Willow and Gus are waiting for you on the front steps though."

"Great! Good luck with your presentation, Amity!" Luz smiled, giving the girl a quick hug before rushing off. It was only when she was halfway down the path to the school that she realised what she'd done and began to blush again, unaware that Amity was in the same state.

Shaking that off, Luz walked up to the school itself. The outside still had scaffolding up as guards and construction students worked on repairing the damage from the Detention Pit, but she ignored that in favour of Willow and Gus, who smiled and waved at her.

"Hey Luz!" they said together as she approached.

"Hello fellow Hexidians! Hexies? No, Hexoleos!" Luz said excitedly.

"Good to have you with us, classmate." Willow winked.

"Yeah! You did it, Luz!" Gus cheered, casting an illusion that caused the words "BETTER LUCK NEXT TIME!" to appear above him in shining blue letters.

Willow and Luz blinked at it, and the boy chuckled nervously; "Sorry, I was covering all my bases."

He tried again and this one said "GOODBYE FOREVER!" making him blush while Willow face-palmed and Luz giggled.

"Your friends are… intriguing." Rasiel said from inside the ring.

"They're great. Trust me, you'll love them before long." Luz replied.

Willow and Gus looked at her with confusion; "Who are you talking to?" Willow asked.

"Oh! My ring!" Luz raised her new ring, "I made a new friend yesterday and he's inside this. I'll introduce you guys later. But just so you know…" she looked around cautiously, then whispered; "…he's just like me." she said, miming little wings with her hands.

Her friends gasped and looked at the ring with undisguised curiosity. Rasiel commented; "So these two know your secret?"

"Yep! Eda, King, Hooty, Willow, Gus, Amity, and the Blight Twins are everyone who knows. Oh, and the Bat Queen and my friends from the Conformatorium." Luz said.

Willow blanched; "You told the Blight Twins!?"

"Technically I don't think I've told anyone outside of that thing at the Conformatorium, but most of them didn't believe me." Luz mused. She was really lucky about that too; adrenaline was a heck of a thing! "The twins found out by accident yesterday. It's a bit of a story, so I'll tell you later. Now I've got to get to the Principal's office to pick up my schedule."

"Okay, we'll hold you to that!" Willow yelled after her as she ran into the school.

"See ya later Luz!" Gus said, throwing out another illusion in a final attempt to display the correct message. This one said "CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR SUCCESSFUL COUP, EMPRESS LUZ!"

Willow's eye twitched; "Why do you even have that one!?"

"Covering. All. My bases!" Gus yelled.

Inside Hexside, Luz made her way to the Principal's office with a spring in her step. The inside of the school had been better repaired than the outside, likely so as not to disturb classes, but there was still scaffolding up and a lot of students at work. Luz noticed Mattholomule working hard to restore a support pillar for one of the atrium's upper walkways, so she gave him a little wave. He waved back with a friendly smile, then got right back to work. Clearly he was taking his punishment seriously.

When Luz got to Bump's office, she knocked on his door and was allowed inside. Principal Bump looked up from the crystal ball he'd been watching and nodded at her.

"Ah, right on time. Good to see you here, Luz."

"Thanks, Princy-B." Luz smiled mischievously.

Principal Bump scowled, his eye twitching. "Eda put you up to that, didn't she?"

"Yeah, sorry." Luz giggled, "She'd be upset if I didn't do it at least once."

"Well at least you got it out of the way before the inspection… The Emperor's Coven is sending someone to inspect the school today and make sure everything is running well. If it goes well, we can expect a large grant that will help us pay off the debt we've had to go into over these recent damages." Principal Bump explained. "I need you to be on your best behaviour; channel your inner angel and NOT your inner Eda."

Luz nodded seriously; "Believe me, I'm ready for just a normal, mundane day at school. I could use a break from adventures. I'll be good as gold; I promise!"

Bump smiled at her; "Good, I'm glad to hear that. Now we just need to get you into one of the nine magic tracks, and you can be on your way. Have you decided which you wish to join?" he asked, pointing to the nine banners of the nine main covens that hung behind his desk.

Luz looked at them and began to rub her chin in thought. She'd been agonising over her choice for a while now; she'd ideally like to join all of them, but it didn't take a genius to see Bump wouldn't allow that, especially after the magic mixing incident with Willow and with an Emperor's Coven Inspector coming to the school. Looking at the banners, Luz immediately dismissed the oracle and abomination tracks; she couldn't use that kind of magic so there was no point being in those classes (even if she dearly wished she could have been with Amity). Next she dismissed the plant and illusion tracks; Willow and Gus would definitely be willing to teach her anything she wanted from those classes, and with the plant glyph she didn't really need the former anyway. She dismissed the healing track for the same reason, as well as the potions track; Eda was a better potions tutor than anyone at Hexside, and Luz didn't want all her classes to be with Boscha. That left just the construction, beast-keeping, and bard tracks.

The construction track was probably the one she was worst at; she could do a few very simple and weak construction spells, but it was also the one she had the least interest in. She enjoyed the bard classes with Skara and Professor Beat, and she loved caring for beasts in the beast-keeping track, especially since one of her childhood dreams had been to follow in her Mami's footsteps as a vet. It wasn't her ultimate ambition, but she still considered it a potential future career…

"Aw man, this is so hard! I can't decide between beast-keeping and bard!" Luz whined, "Is there something to help me choose?"

"Well, there was the Choosy Hat… but we had to lock it up after it went feral and started trying to eat the students." Bump said with a shudder, "I think it's best if we avoid having you be eaten by any more pieces of school property."

Luz nodded grimly; "Agreed…"

"If you can't pick, then I shall pick for you." Bump decided. He twirled his finger and a magic circle appeared around Luz's feet. It glowed brightly, and Luz's white sleeves and leggings turned into the deep red of the bard track. "There. Professor Beat was hoping you'd join their class, and you're much less likely to be eaten by anything than you would be in the beast-keeping track."

"Oh, okay." Luz said, not sure if she was happy with the choice or not. Then again, she thought she might have felt the same no matter what track she got put in. "Singing is pretty fun, and maybe I could finally learn to play an instrument!"

"I like the enthusiasm. Now get to class; I have several more students to sort into their tracks today!" he cast a spell that had a giggling Luz floating out of the office. "I wonder if I could make a new Choosy Hat…" she heard him mutter, just before the door was closed.

Luz was left stood awkwardly outside of the Principal's office, before she shrugged and headed off to class. As she walked, Rasiel piped up; "Are you truly happy with this choice, Luz?"

The angel girl summoned her Smart Scroll and placed it to her ear so she could talk back to him without looking like she was talking to herself; "I'm as happy as I would be with any choice, I guess. Because of the Coven System, kids can only learn one type of magic in school. It's just the way things are."

"Have you not thought of trying to change things? The Principal seemed fond of you; perhaps you could influence him?" Rasiel suggested.

Luz shook her head rigorously; "No way! I'm still a newcomer to this school and this entire realm! I can't come waltzing in and trying to change people's beliefs and way of life! That would make me exactly what the people here fears our kind is like. It would make me like Belos."

Rasiel hummed. Luz's theory that Belos was an angel did have some evidence backing it up, so Rasiel could understand her perspective; Belos had appeared out of nowhere and changed everything in the Boiling Isles, and while he was largely loved and respected by the people, he was also a tyrant that restricted everyone who didn't serve him directly. Luz feared that trying to change things would make her the same.

"I respect that Luz, but surely if something is genuinely cruel or unjust, you would want to act to stop it, yes? You did not leave the prisoners at the Conformatorium, even though freeing them was an act of rebellion to the "way of life" here on the isles." Rasiel pointed out.

Luz bit her lip; "I-I guess that's true…"

"I do not wish to force my own opinion on you, but I do not believe you're the kind of girl who will be able to sit back and do nothing while evil happens around you. If you are afraid of becoming a tyrant like Belos, then do not attempt to take over. Simply announce your beliefs, explain your feelings, and see if you can find others who feel the same. Change can come through peace and calling upon the will of the people; you need not force anything on anyone. If the people of the Boiling Isles do not want to change, then they will not and you don't have to push the issue."

"I feel like you're right, Rasiel. But I'm still not sure…" Luz sighed, "I don't know if I'm the right person for this. I am an outsider still."

"You remain an outsider only because you view yourself as one. You have been accepted as one of these people; you just need to see that for yourself. But enough about that; you will make your own decision in time. In the meantime, I am excited to hear your singing." Rasiel said. Luz could practically hear the smile in his voice.

"You're like me; you should be good at it too." Luz countered, a slight blush on her cheeks.

"Ha! You're not wrong. Maybe I'll treat you to a song one day, to return the favour. But for now, I shall enjoy the show from in here."

With that, Rasiel went silent and Luz pouted. She put him out of her mind and dismissed her scroll as she entered the bard class home room. Most of the other students were already present, including Skara, and Capra of the HAS. They both smiled to her upon seeing her, while Professor Beat's eyes shone with joy.

"Ah, young Luz! I'm so glad to see you have decided to join us here in the bard track! Your performance of the Ballad of Motivation with Skara was superb, and just the shot in the arm the class needed to power through the last of their work." Professor Beat said, patting the girl's back with a chitinous hand.

"I'm happy to be here. I'm looking forward to a day of classes without some kind of ancient demon trying to eat me!" Luz joked.

Many of her classmates laughed, and Professor Beat shook her head good-naturedly. "I'll be sure not to introduce you to the Carnivorous Castanets today then." they said with a smirk, getting more laughs from the class (though Luz privately wondered if such a thing really existed). "Now go take a seat beside Skara; you two worked well together before, so I'd like you to stick with her as you get your bearings in my class."

Luz nodded and obediently took a seat beside Skara, who gave her a little wave. "Hey Luz. Gotta say, I didn't expect you to join the bard track, but I'm pretty glad you did." Skara greeted.

"Thanks! It's nice to be in a class with a friend." Luz smiled.

Skara gave her a coy grin; "Oh, are we friends now?"

"I hope so! We performed together, right? That's got to count for something!" Luz grinned right back.

Skara giggled; "I guess it does! Well, friend; I'll be showing you the ropes today. Let me show you some vocal exercises; you'll need them. A whole day of singing will be a lot harder on you than a single class of it."

For the rest of the time until classes started, Luz did vocal exercises with Skara, mimicking the strange sounds that the other girl made and getting her throat warmed up. It was kind of embarrassing, and Luz was certain that some of the sillier exercises were just Skara teasing her (like making her mewl like a kitten), but by the time she was done and Professor Beat was starting class, Luz's vocal cords did feel loosened up and ready to go.

The first period of the day was an overview of everything Professor Beat hoped to teach them in the coming semester, and included everything from songs (which she handed out in the form of a song book), to musical poetry, to various kinds of musical magical theory. It was a bit daunting to have it all laid out like that, especially when the teacher said that they aimed to make sure every student could play at least one instrument, but Luz pumped herself up; she was going to do her best and be a good student!

Once first period was over, Professor Beat declared that it was time for Instrument practice, then walked over to Luz and Skara.

"Skara, I'd like you to take Luz over to the orchestra room and find her an instrument. Luz, I know your singing skills are wonderful, but I was serious about having every student learn an instrument, so play around with all of them until you find one you like." the Professor instructed.

Skara and Luz nodded obediently and headed out of the room, with Luz following Skara to the orchestra room. As they walked down the bard track hallway, Skara said over her shoulder; "Hexside's orchestra room is second only to the one at the Bard Coven HQ. If an instrument exists, we've got it there, so you're guaranteed to find one that suits you."

"Great! The ones I played around with in the classroom on my first trial day didn't feel right, so I was kinda worried." Luz replied.

They arrived at the orchestra room and headed straight inside, resulting in Luz gasping in amazement. The orchestra room was well-named; it looked like a miniature orchestra hall and was frankly too big to have logically been a part of Hexside. Luz wondered what kind of expansion spells had been cast on the room to make it so spacious, then turned her attention to the absolute treasure trove of musical instruments that lined the walls and stood on pedestals all over the expansive stage. There was everything from guitars and ukuleles, to Taiko drums and steel drums, and every other kind of stringed, percussion, and wind instrument Luz had ever heard of, as well as many she couldn't even identify. They even had magical variants of electric instruments!

"Wow, look at all this stuff!" Luz gasped.

"Yep, pretty cool right?" Skara said, playing a brief tune on a very large harp. "I can play maybe half of these. I'm good with stringed instruments and flutes, but I'm not so good at percussion yet. But we're not here for me, we're here for you. So, take a look around and pick something you like the look of. You've got quite a few options I think."

Luz smirked at that understatement, then began looking around at different instruments. She briefly toyed with each instrument she knew, plucking notes, banging on them, or blowing into them, but none felt right. She tried a guitar, thinking it would look cool, but it felt awkward in her hands, so she instead tried a harp like Skara's. It definitely fit the angel image, but Luz felt no connection to the instrument.

Seeing her struggle, Skara began helping her identify some of the more obscure instruments, including a few that didn't exist in the Human Realm, such as the Trundle Stone; a kind of semi-organic sea sponge that let out different tones depending on how it was stroked. However as time went on and they made no progress in finding Luz's instrument, Skara began to lose her patience a bit.

"If you try out every single one of these, we'll still be here next semester!" she frowned, "Show me your hands for a second."

Luz blinked in confusion, but nonetheless complied, holding her hands out to Skara. The white-haired bard grabbed one of them in both of her own, then began feeling it carefully. She wrapped her palm around each of Luz's fingers, manipulated them into different positions and felt the muscles in them and Luz's palm, before doing the same with Luz's other hand. Skara raised an eyebrow.

"Both your hands are fairly uniform… are you ambidextrous?" she asked.

Luz nodded dumbly, bewildered that Skara had discovered that just by feeling her hands. Being ambidextrous wasn't special for an angel, who were always able to use both hands. It also wasn't as rare in witches as it was in humans, but it was still a valued trait to them.

"That's good. It'll make two-handed instruments easier. Your hands are kinda of small though… Perhaps…" Skara muttered, mostly to herself. She then began handing different stringed and percussion instruments to Luz and having her play them a bit. All of them were ones that worked best with two hands, and were small enough for Luz to use comfortably, but still none of them felt right.

Eventually Skara gave up on that and looked to the wind instruments; "I'd hoped to get you something that you could play while singing too, but I suppose that was a long shot anyway. Only the best of the best can perform bardic magic through two different mediums at once. Even I can't do it yet. Well, you've got the lung capacity for it, so we'll look at flutes and stuff."

Luz nodded, then asked; "Is it really that hard to sing and play an instrument at the same time in bardic magic?"

"Yep. I only know of three people who can do it and they're the top three members of the Bard Coven." Skara began, examining a long flute made from some kind of hollowed out demon dragonfly.

"Wait, that means your dad too, right? You said he was second in line to take over the coven."

Skara raised an eyebrow; "I'm surprised you remember that, given what happened right after that. But yeah, my dad is the Number 3 best bard in the coven; Severin Cadence. Right above him is the first in line to be be the next coven head; Raine Whispers. Then above them is the coven head himself; Scooter Crane."

Luz listened with interest, though the name Raine Whispers rang a bell. She couldn't quite remember where she'd heard their name, but it was definitely familiar… she'd ask Eda about it later.

"Wow, so you're dad isn't just a bard, but a super powerful one too! That's really cool!" Luz said.

Skara smiled smugly; "I know, right?"

"What about your other parent? Are they in the Bard Coven too?" Luz asked, being careful to not just say "Mom". It wasn't like the Human Realm here; parents could have children regardless of gender, thanks to magic.

Skara suddenly scowled, and Luz immediately realised she'd just said something she shouldn't have. However Skara just said; "I don't talk about my Mom." and ended the conversation there. Luz had no intention of further poking that hornet's nest, so she turned her focus back onto the instruments. Skara handed her a few different kinds of flute and brass instrument, but none felt right to Luz, who was beginning to get discouraged as their second period began to rapidly pass them by. Finally, after what seemed like forever, Skara handed Luz something she recognised.

It was an ocarina, made from some kind of blue stone. It was small enough for Luz's small hands, and the general appearance looked like something out of a video game she'd played as a little kid, making her smile.

"I always wanted to try one of these!" she said, before blowing into it. The sound was loud and clear, and Luz began covering different holes to change the pitch, until she'd gotten the basic idea of how each hole effected the note she played. Once she'd figured that out, she smiled impishly and played the Song of Storms from the Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time. It was only the first part of the song, which the player was supposed to play in the game whenever they wanted to summon a storm, but it had gotten into Luz's head so much as a kid that she could still hum or tap it at will.

When she was done, she peeked out the window and giggled; "I guess those songs don't work like they do in the game."

Skara smiled brightly; "I don't know what you're talking about, but you looked pretty natural there! I think we have a winner!"

Luz nodded; it had definitely felt natural! Maybe it was just because she associated the ocarina with positive memories, but so long as it worked, Luz didn't think it mattered why.

"Yep! So, do I take this one with me or do I need to go out and buy one myself?" Luz asked.

"Hmm, I'm not sure. This is a Lapis Ocarina. Lapis Lazuli is pretty common on the Boiling Isles, but working it into an instrument is fairly tough so it might be expensive… let's take it with us and ask Professor Beat. They'll at least let you borrow it while you're at school." Skara replied, directing Luz to follow her back to the classroom.

Luz cheered, but in her exuberance, she accidentally knocked over a Taiko drum, which immediately began rolling out the door Skara had just opened. The two girls gasped and ran after it as it rolled down the bard track hallway and almost all the way out to the central atrium. Thankfully, Skara was able to swiftly summon her harp and begin playing a few notes, causing the drum to slowly stop rolling, then float into the air where Luz could grab it.

"Phew! That was close! Knowing my luck, that drum would have rolled out and hit that Emperor's Coven Inspector! Principal Bump would definitely feed me to the Choosy Hat if that happened!" Luz laughed with relief. "Good job Skara."

Skara waved her off; "No problem. It was a good excuse to show of what I can do. I'm actually supposed to play for that inspector later; Bump is having the top student of all the tracks in our year put on a show for them."

Luz nodded with intrigue, then frowned as she noticed the fingers on Skara's right hand. The tips of each finger were wrapped in small band-aids that matched the girl's skin-tone, making them almost invisible if the light of the hallway hadn't caught them just right.

"Are you okay? Your fingers…"

Skara looked at them with a sardonic grin; "Ah, these. Yeah, it's an occupational hazard when it comes to string instruments like my harp. I practice so often and for so long that the tips of my fingers get numb and sore. You would not believe how much money I'd need to spend on Callus Cream if it weren't for Boscha and her brewing skills."

Luz looked at her with amazement, struck by just how dedicated to her skills Skara really was. She really loved bard magic and music, and had a lot of pride in her skills and respect for the Bard Coven, especially her father. Skara's face always lit up whenever mentioning him, and it made Luz feel a happy warmth bubbling up from inside her heart. She wanted to do something nice to help Skara, especially after Skara had helped her find an instrument she liked.

"Hey, why don't I heal those for you? That way you'll be completely fresh and healthy for your show later." Luz offered.

Skara thought about it for a moment, then nodded; "Sure, if you don't mind. Boscha hasn't given me my callus cream today; she's busy prepping for her own presentation as the top potions student, and she's determined to beat Amity and Willow." she explained, slowly pulling off all her band-aids and giving her hand to Luz.

Luz tutted sympathetically at the obvious calluses and red, inflamed skin on the tips of Skara's fingers. She summoned up her plant glyph spell circle and conjured a healing lotus, then directed the glowing pollen onto Skara's fingers. The girl sighed with relief as the spell restored her fingers to pristine condition, then she immediately plucked a note on her harp to see how it felt. With no signs of soreness or pain, Skara smiled brightly.

"Oh, that feels so much better! Thank you Luz! I can't believe you used plant magic to cast a healing spell!"

Luz opened her mouth to reply, but the voice that answered Skara was not her own. "Neither can I."

The two girls spun around and saw Principal Bump standing behind them, staring sternly at Luz. "P-Principal Bump! W-What are you doing here!?"

Bump continued to scowl; "I received reports that there were two students alone in the orchestra room and had been there for some time. I feared it would be you, and thought you might have run afoul of the Carnivorous Castanets…"

Luz paled; so those were real!?

"…but instead I find you here mixing magic. Combining plant and healing magic, and notably NOT using bard magic, which is the only type you are permitted to use here. I should have known you'd get into some kind of trouble." Bump sighed, "You are in the bard track young lady! I would have thought that after the incident with Willow, you'd have learned the folly of mixing magic here at school. Though I supposed the Inner Eda in you won out."

"B-But Principal Bump, I wasn't trying to do anything bad! I just wanted to heal Skara's fingers! Surely I shouldn't get in trouble for that!" Luz protested.

"If Skara needed healing, she should have gone to the nurse's office or the healing track home room. You are not permitted to use non-bardic magic at school." Bump replied.

"I can't just ignore someone whose hurt!"

Bump sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose; "I suppose this was inevitable… something like this is just in your nature." he muttered. He then grabbed her wrist and began to drag her off, while Skara looked on helplessly.

"H-Hey, were are you taking me!?" Luz cried.

"I see now that you won't be able to help yourself if you see someone injured, but I can't afford the inspector seeing you mixing magic, so I've got no choice." he twirled his finger and a spell circle turned Luz's uniform from red to grey, "As per school policy, for mixing magic you will be transferred to the detention track for the rest of the school year. You can try for a different track next year. Come along."

Luz gasped, heartbroken, while Skara hesitated, before protesting on Luz's behalf. "Wait, Principal Bump! You can't just-"

"Miss Cadence, unless you wish to be transferred out of the bard track and into the detention track too, I suggest you return to class." Bump said sternly.

Skara hesitated again, looking to Luz. She then closed her eyes and regretfully looked away, keeping her mouth shut. Luz didn't blame her, but the sight still made her stomach clench painfully as the Principal dragged her off.

Luz was pulled all the way down to the Fibul Academy Ruins, and dragged over to one of the few classrooms that had been refurbished as part of the Hexside Expansion. The girl was silent the whole way, and when Bump stood her in front of the door and prepared to open it, he noticed a sight that made him hesitate.

Luz was crying silently, obviously far more upset over the situation than he'd expected. The sight shocked Principal Bump, and actually hurt to see. The girl hadn't cried after the Mandragora Incident, or even after being eaten by the Detention Pit! And when she'd accepted punishment for her role in Willow's magic mixing, she'd simply nodded and happily did what she was told. But now here she was crying, and Principal Bump dearly wanted that to stop.

"Luz… come now, it's not the end of the world! I need to keep the detention track students out of the way while the Inspector is here, but after that you'll be able to spend the rest of the year helping people. You like things like that, right?" he smiled weakly, trying to comfort her.

Luz just shook her head; "You don't understand, Principal Bump! I just ruined everything, again!"

"Come now, isn't that a bit dramatic? Surely it can't be that bad." Bump frowned.

Luz shook her head again, looking down at the ground; "I made a bad impression at my last school. I tried to help people and it always ended badly… it got so bad that my Mami sent me away for the summer to try and fix me. To make me a better one of… my kind." she said, hesitating to say the word angel where people might hear. "But I ended up in the Demon Realm instead and thought I could finally turn things around! I'd hoped I'd change, and that I could show my Mami that I'm not a screw up any more! But nothing changed at all… I just got more powerful, and became a bigger screw up! Now I'm in the detention track for a whole year! I've got to go back at the end of the summer, and when Mami hears that I'm even worse than before, she'll never let me come here again! I'm going to lose all my friends, and Eda and King, and then Mami will send me away again and I'll lose her too!"

She began to sob; "I just wanted to help my friend, and now I've ruined everything!"

Principal Bump recoiled as Luz began to cry in earnest. The girl tried in vain to wipe her eyes and calm herself down, but nothing could stop her heartbroken tears.

Principal Bump felt like an absolute monster; he hadn't meant to do this! He never expected the student of Eda Clawthorne to break down in such a way! Eda had been in trouble countless times, and the only time she'd shown any reaction beyond irritation was when Faust had threatened her with expulsion and separation from her sister.

But Luz wasn't Eda, and that struck Bump hard. Luz wasn't exactly orderly like the angels of legend, but she wasn't the little bundle of chaos and delinquency that Eda had been. She was a fundamentally good girl who genuinely meant well, and here Bump was crushing her dreams and putting her in the detention track for the rest of the year.

The more he thought about it, the worse Bump felt. Sure mixing magic was against the rules, but wasn't this a big overreaction? He'd once been so eager to help his students succeed, but after Faust was removed and he took over as Principal, the Emperor's Coven had put pressure on him to crack down on magic mixing. Had he become so spineless that he'd let their decrees hurt his students like this? Had his desperation to please the Emperor's Coven and their inspector really pushed him so far that he'd drive a kind girl to tears for just healing her friend? A friend he'd then threatened for standing up for her?

Principal Bump clenched his fists; when had he let himself become like Faust? He shook his head; well no more! He may need the inspector to be happy, but that didn't mean he had to hurt his students to do that!

He slowly knelt beside Luz and began to rub her back; "Luz, I'm sorry. I didn't realise the situation you were in… I understand you were just trying to help a friend, but mixing magic is against the rules and I really can't afford to have the inspector see that. However putting you in the detention track for a whole year because of it was far too harsh. I will be changing the school policy to reduce the penalty to something reasonable. In the meantime, remain here for the rest of the day so the inspector doesn't see you, then we'll have you rejoin the bard track tomorrow. Alright?"

Luz sniffled; "S-So this is just for today?"

"Yes, Luz. Forgive what I said earlier; this inspection has me panicking and I massively overreacted." Bump apologised.

Luz began to calm down as a look of hope returned to her eyes; she hadn't ruined everything after all! "Oh thank goodness… I was really scared for a second there!"

Bump sighed; Luz was bouncing back quickly, but the things she'd said still concerned him. Perhaps he should talk to Eda about getting the girl some therapy? Clearly her experiences in the Human Realm had done some damage to her psyche. Of course, talking to Eda about this would also mean explaining what had just happened, and she might try to kill him and burn the school down…

He'd worry about that risk later.

He cast a spell on Luz's face to clean up the evidence of her crying, then opened the door and gently nudged Luz into the room. It was a very basic classroom that had obviously been recently cleaned out and repaired, then filled with a few old desks and a blackboard. There were no windows (unsurprising with it being underground) and the room was lit by some dim crystal lamps along the far wall. Inside the room were three other students in the detention track; a normal looking witch girl with a fish hook earring and a spiky hairband that kept her dark brown hair in a bun, a tall and thin witch boy with a pronounced nose and eyebrows, and some kind of dog demon with brown fur, glasses, and an earring in one ear. The detention monitor was a moustache sporting blue skinned demon with a tall head that featured six eyes, all wearing red-lensed glasses. He was playing on his scroll while the kids sat there with expressions of boredom, at least until they all looked up to see Bump and Luz.

"Another one?" the detention monitor frowned.

"Yes, just for today. I've had second thoughts about the penalty for mixing magic. All students guilty of it will be released back to their original tracks tomorrow, once the inspection is over." Bump said, making the three students of the detention track perk up, "However a repeat infraction will land your right back here again until you learn your lesson!" Bump added upon seeing this, just to make sure they didn't think he was going too soft.

With that, he left Luz behind and marched off, closing the door behind him. Luz turned back to the other students and smiled nervously, going to take a seat beside the girl of the group.

"Um, Hello! Nice to meet you guys." Luz said softly, still feeling a bit emotionally fragile after her breakdown.

She was met with silence, making her heart drop. She then plucked up the courage to say; "I like the little spiky things in your hair." to the girl.

"Hey!" the monitor suddenly snapped; "Don't think that getting out tomorrow means you can start yapping! You all better be quiet, unless you want to scrub the classroom again!"

"Wait, I'm the only one who talked!" Luz protested, not wanting to get these kids in trouble for her mistake.

The monitor just snorted; "Oh yeah, then only you will clean."

He cast a spell to place a bucket and mop in Luz's hands. Luz sighed and walked off to begin cleaning; "Great first day of school, Luz…" she muttered to herself.

The girl she'd complimented watched her go, a sympathetic smile pulling at the corner of her mouth.

As Luz worked, Rasiel spoke softly to her through the ring.

"Are you alright, little one?" he asked gently. "you can just shake or nod your head."

Luz nodded half-heartedly, and gave a weak smile. Rasiel's voice was unhappy when he replied; "I am growing to dislike this place. That man may have retracted his original punishment, but it is still wildly unjust that you're stuck here. You did a good deed and were punished for it!"

Luz just shrugged in response, feeling a little embarrassed now that she remembered Rasiel had witnessed her crying like that. Thankfully he didn't seem to judge her for it; he was more angry on her behalf, which was sweet.

"You deserve better than this place, little one. Do you still wish to let things continue like this? Without trying to change things?" Rasiel asked.

The girl shrugged again, still not confident in making that decision. Rasiel hummed in response; "Those three children with you… they seemed happy to hear of the Principal's change of heart. They were likely here for the same "crime". If that is true, then it's proof that there are others in this place who share your opinion. One voice is easy to drown out, but four is more convincing."

Luz briefly looked over her shoulder and spotted the other girl looking at her. The girl smiled kindly, making Luz feel a little better. She didn't reply directly to Rasiel, but he could tell from her expression that she was thinking more carefully about his words. Satisfied with that, he said; "Well, if you're stuck in silence for the day without any proper instruction, then I will be your teacher today. I have many tales and lessons that a young angel should know."

Luz smiled eagerly and continued working with a bit more enthusiasm as she listened to Rasiel's stories. The legends he told her were things that had been ancient myths 100,000 years ago, so they were all but lost in modern times and completely new to Luz. His lessons on angels themselves and their magic were more contemporary; namely Angelic Blessings and Alchemy. Angelic Blessings were a special kind of magic that those with angel blood could use to "gift" pieces of their magic to others, granting them a massive boost in power or even bestowing magic on previously mundane people. Meanwhile Alchemy was akin to what Luz had learned about it via pop culture; the transmutation of materials into different materials. Without a body, Rasiel couldn't directly demonstrate, and with Luz supposed to be in detention, she couldn't practice what he taught her, but she still learned a lot and was eager to try it all out after school.