The angel of the owl house

Season 1: The Demon Realm

Chapter 3: Unexpected Education

After her emotional first full day in the Boiling Isles, Luz had actually hoped for a few days of peace and quiet in which she could learn magic and grow accustomed to her new and altered body. Of course, after the luck she'd had with the Conformatorium and Adegast, Luz felt like she shouldn't get her hopes up, but surprisingly, she actually did get her wish for some peace and quiet, at least for the next three days. The first day after the Adegast incident, Eda had decided Luz deserved a day without chores, and so had taken her down to the basement to show her how to brew potions, while also teaching her a few simple spells. Luz had a bit of trouble learning witch magic; it was similar to angelic magic, but still different enough that it didn't come naturally to her, unless it was related to light in some way. Luz likened it to learning to read with dyslexia (an experience she'd learned about from a classmate at school); she had everything she needed to learn, but somewhere the wires were getting crossed and she had to concentrate more to uncross them.

She learned potions much more easily; the experience being similar to cooking with her Mami. She was pretty good at it too, so Eda had Luz preparing the simpler orders while she worked on the complex ones, as well as the potential curse cure, which Luz wasn't allowed anywhere near.

After that day of learning, the residents of the Owl House had settled into a simple routine; Eda would teach Luz magic in the morning, then either task her with cleaning up whilst practising her magic, or selling potions in Bonesborough with King accompanying her. The little demon rarely left Luz's side now, unless she asked him to or he had something he dubbed "too important" to miss. This usually meant napping or watching something on Eda's crystal ball. Luz was also gradually growing more experienced with magic, despite her difficulties with it, and had successfully learned at least something from each of the core branches of magic… excluding Oracle and Abomination magic. As it turned out, those types of magic didn't exist for angels and so Luz couldn't cast them.

All in all, it had been a pleasant couple of days… which Luz knew had come to an end when she saw the gleam in her teacher's eye as she mentioned they were going on a field trip to the beach. Still, Luz had held out some small hope that today would be a fun beach episode! At least until they arrived.

"Well, Luz? Did you ever in your life think you'd see something as breathtaking as this?" Eda grinned happily as she gestured at the sight in front of them.

It was a giant dead slug that had washed up on the beach, and was surrounded by garbage from both the Human and Demon Realms, though primarily the former. Luz wasn't squeamish; she'd spent enough time watching medical documentaries and helping her Mami at the vet's office to have developed a strong stomach to gore and dead things, but not even that could stop her from shuddering at the bloated corpse.

Luz shook her head slowly; "I don't like this…" she said, before the wind changed direction and the rancid smell of the corpse reached her nose. The poor girl immediately grasped her nose, her face turning green from putrid stench; "Ugh… I think I'm gonna hurl…"

Eda, ignoring or not noticing her apprentice's plight, walked up to the slug with a pickaxe she'd pulled from her hair; "Yes, it doesn't get much more inspiring than the Trash Slug! It makes a living from what others have thrown to the wayside." she pulled a rubber chicken from the creature's maw, "Until BAM! It gets hit by a strong wave and croaks from all the salt. Nasty way to go, but its loss is our gain 'cause now we get to sell this stuff!"

King raised an eyebrow; "Uh, Eda? I'm pretty sure Luz is dying."

"Say what now?" Eda said, looking over to her apprentice. Luz was emptying her guts into a hole she had dug in the sand, looking pale and shaky. "Oh wow, are you okay kid?"

Luz shook her head as she wiped her mouth; "The smell… ugh, please don't make me do this, Eda!" she begged, before vomiting again.

Eda tutted sympathetically as she knelt to rub Luz's back; "That sniffer of yours sure is sensitive. Don't worry, you'll get used to it soon. King was the same on his first few Trash Slug expeditions."

"Yeah, because who wouldn't want to pick apart a garbage carcass?" King asked sarcastically, unfurling his rubber ducky theme towel so he could sunbathe.

"Eda, please. I really don't feel well." Luz begged.

The Owl Lady sighed; "Alright, I guess it can't be helped. You're excused for the day. But first…"

Eda ran over to the slug and dug around in a puddle of slime by its mouth, eventually pulling out a slimy ball. She rushed back to Luz and happily plopped it into her hand, making Luz cringe. It felt strange, and the slime smelled like the dead slug, though admittedly less potent.

"A slime ball?" Luz asked.

"Yup! Since I'm excusing you from today's chores, without making you use your "Get out of Chores free" card, I've decided to give you a challenge to test you as both an angel and a witch's apprentice!" Eda said confidently; "Now witches are resourceful, and angels are helpful, so your challenge for the day is to find a way to use that slime ball to help someone! Plus being close to a weakened version of the stink might help you get used to it faster, so you can help me out next time."

Luz smiled; that was actually kind of a neat challenge! Though as she looked at the slime ball, the young angel worried it was next to impossible… who on the Boiling Isles could be helped by something like this? Either way, she put the slime ball in her pocket; "Thanks Eda. I'll head back to the house and study some more." She then went over to King and gave him a belly rub; "Love you, King! You little beach peach!" she cooed.

King giggled, then waved as Luz rushed off back to the house and Eda began tearing apart the slug. Luz ran as fast as she could to get away from the stench of the dead slug, finally beginning to feel better once she reached the forest near the Owl House and the familiar smells of wood, flowers, and living fauna filled her nose.

"Wow, the smell of nature is way better than the stink of decaying trash and slug guts. I need to remind Eda to wash that stuff before she tries to sell it." Luz muttered to herself. "Speaking of washing, I should probably clean this up…" she pulled out the slime ball, "I wonder if I can even figure out what it is."

"You can do it! You can!"

Luz blinked; "Mysterious voice of encouragement?"

She turned to the source of the sound and crept closer, peaking through the bushes to see the main road that went through the woods. On the road was a little witchling girl, wearing a grey tunic with a dark mantle and cowl, and pink sleeves and leggings; an outfit Luz had seen in other colours on kids around Bonesborough. Luz gasped softly as she took in the girl's features; she was a bit shorter and plumper than Luz, and wore thick round lensed glasses over olive green eyes. Her features were soft and cute, and her midnight black hair was short and neat. The witchling also appeared to be distressed, pacing in front of a cart with a large grey pot resting on it and giving herself a pep talk.

"You can do it!" the girl repeated to herself, "Even if you get a bad grade, it's not a reflection of you as a witch! And my parents are right, there are better opportunities on this track! Now get to school!"

She punctuated her pep-talk with a confident pose, which unfortunately had her step on a flower. Luz felt a small prickle of annoyance at that, but the feeling vanished when the girl gasped in distress as she saw what she'd done; "Oh no! Oh, little friend! I'm sorry!"

The girl created a green spell circle over the flower, and little green balls of light floated down from it and onto the flower, healing it and causing it to perk right back up, as if the girl had never stepped on it. Luz gasped and couldn't help but step out from the bushes. In the past she would have been far more reluctant to try and make a new friend; Luz had always had poor luck on that count, but this girl looked like she could use some help, and who better than the Boiling Isles' secret angel?

"Hey there!" Luz greeted, startling the other girl; "That was amazing!"

"W-What!? W-Who, me?" the girl squeaked.

Luz giggled; "Yes you! You're the only one here! I've never seen plant magic like that before! It was really cool!" Eda wasn't a big fan of plant magic, so she had only taught Luz a spell to make seeds begin sprouting; a spell she used to accelerate the growth of potions ingredients.

The bespectacled girl blushed and smiled bashfully; "Aw, thanks. No one but my dads have ever complimented my plant magic before."

"Well then I'm glad to be the first besides them!" Luz grinned, offering her hand to shake; "I'm Luz Noceda! Nice to meet you!"

"Oh, I'm Willow Park! It's nice to meet you too!" the girl replied, shaking Luz's hand. "I don't think I've seen you around before. Do you live in Bonesborough?"

"No, but I live nearby." Luz said; "I've only been here for about four days."

"No wonder I haven't seen you. I've been busy all week trying to prepare for my Abomination test today." Willow gestured to the large pot. Taking that as an invitation, Luz lifted the lid and took a look inside, wincing at the watery purple muck that was Willow's abomination. Luz couldn't use Abomination magic, but Eda had still taught her some of the basics in case she needed to defend herself against it, and she could tell immediately that Willow's was far too loose and runny; it would never be able to solidify into a proper shape on its own. It also smelled bad; abominations always smelled earthy and a bit meaty too, but Willow's smelled of soggy marsh mud and rot.

Luz's expression must have betrayed her thoughts, as Willow sighed beside her; "It's not very good, is it? I try my best, but it doesn't come out right."

Luz opened her mouth to answer, when the sound of another cart approaching made hers and Willow's ears wiggle. They both turned to see a cart just like Willow's rolling down the path towards them, carrying another abomination pot and moving by itself. Sat on the pot was another girl in the same outfit as Willow. This girl was a bit paler than Willow, and quite slender, with golden eyes, black nail polish and dyed aquamarine hair partially tied up into a short ponytail that still left some hair to fall loosely down the back of her head. Luz would have thought the hair was naturally that colour (witches were a diverse lot) if not for the obvious brown roots showing at the front of the girl's hair line.

The girl was very pretty, at least as far as Luz was concerned, but her attractive face was diminished by her haughty expression.

The girl's cart stopped in front of Luz and Willow, and she closed the book she was reading and gave a condescending smile to Willow.

"Oh Willow! Wow, you're so unnoticeable I almost rolled into you!" she said, hopping off the cart with a chuckle.

Luz scowled as Willow groaned and replied; "Hi, Amity." in a dull tone.

The rude girl, Amity, looked from Willow to Luz, her expression going from condescending to curious. "Oh, made a new friend did you?"

"This is Luz Noceda." Willow introduced, still in a dull tone, "Luz, this is Amity Blight. She's in the Abomination track with me at Hexside."

"Where I am the top student." Amity proudly boasted, pointing to a gold star badge over her heart that had the words "Top Student" engraved on it.

"Nice to meet you." Luz ground out, not truly feeling it. She had seen stuff like this before at her human school; the popular and pretty girls that were bullies and liked to hold their status over the "lesser" kids.

Amity looked Luz up and down, "No uniform? Do you not go to Hexside."

"No. I'm in an apprenticeship." Luz replied. From the context of the things Willow and Amity had been saying, it wasn't hard to figure out that this "Hexside" was a magical high school of some kind. A part of Luz really wanted to go; it was a magic high school! There were bound to be amazing things and fun hijinks! But she worried how Eda would react, and after meeting Amity, she also worried that her experiences there would be no better than her human school…

"There are witches who still offer apprenticeships? I've heard of people being mentored by a Coven Witch, like I am, but they all go to school too." Amity mused. She stared at Luz for a few moments, before getting bored and turning back to Willow with her condescending smile back in place.

"While I'm happy for you finally getting another friend Willow, shouldn't you get to class early to prep your…"

As Amity pointed to Willow's abomination pot, it began to shake violently, tilting the cart and the pot over. It would have spilled, but Luz quickly put her hands against the pot to steady it and tilt it back. Willow and Amity blinked at her show of strength.

"Wow, you're stronger than you look." Amity commented.

Luz chuckled nervously; "Not really, I just have a trick to help. Trade secret I'm afraid!"

That "trade secret" was using her magically concealed wings as a second set of arms to hold the pot back. They might not be fully grown yet, but they were still stronger than her weak nerd arms!

"Thanks for saving my work, Luz." Willow said gratefully.

"I wouldn't call it saved…" Amity muttered lowly, walking over to Willow's pot and peering inside. Her smile grew even more condescending as she saw the thin, weak gloop inside.

"Oh Willow, this isn't going to work in class. You know that." Amity said, tutting as she ignored the weak groans of Willow's abomination. She shook her head with false sympathy; "This is why people call you "Half-a-Witch Willow" you know."

Willow put her her cowl up to hide her face as she blushed with embarrassment, while Luz glared at Amity; "Hey, that's a jerk thing to call her! If you're the Top Student, why don't you help her? I'm sure you'd love to show off your skills."

Amity smirked; "Aw, you're a good friend coming to Willow's defence. But you're right; I should give a demonstration so Willow has a proper example to follow!" she walked over to her own pot and snapped her fingers; "Abomination, rise!"

From Amity's large pot rose a large mass of Abomination slime, which formed a three-eyed humanoid form. It leaned down from the pot and at Amity's gesture, poked a sludgy finger against Willow's forehead.

"You're… a… star…" it groaned out, drawing a little purple star with its slime on Willow's forehead.

Willow bit her lip in humiliation as Amity grinned at the star, and Luz felt her hackles rise while also flushing with embarrassment that her attempt to stand up for Willow had backfired.

"Aw, it's like mine!" Amity pointed to her badge, "But much smaller and meaningless! You're friend is right though; as top student, it's my duty to tell you to keep at it!" Amity put an arm around Willow's shoulders; "Even you can get a passing grade someday! Abomination, cower!"

At her command, Amity's abomination melted back into its pot and Amity began to wheel her cart away; "See you in class, superstar! Nice meeting you, Willow's friend."

Both comments were said insincerely, and Luz and Willow were left seething as they watched the girl walk away. As soon as Amity was out of earshot, Luz stamped her foot; "Why that… that… WITCH! Ugh, I hate bullies… especially pretty ones." she complained.

"That Amity… "oh, see you in class superstar!" I hate when she does that!" Willow growled, wiping off the slime star; "I hate making abominations! I hate getting bad grades! Ugh, I can't take this any more!"

Suddenly, Willow's eyes were glowing green and Luz sensed a growing mass of magic beneath her feet, as well as something living. Before she could try to calm her new friend down, thorny vines burst out of the ground around Willow and whipped at everything around them, including Luz. It was like they were trying to protect their creator by keeping everything away. Luz yelped and dodged the vines as best she could, but there were just too many and she ended up caught. She was dragged to the ground by the vines, which wrapped around her legs to hold her in place, their thorns scratching her. Thankfully her skin was tough enough that they didn't pierce deep enough to draw blood, but it was still an unpleasant feeling!

"Willow! Stop, please!" she cried out.

That snapped Willow out of her rage, and she gasped at what she'd done; "Oh no nonononono! I'm so sorry!" she cried, willing the vines to release Luz and retreat back into the earth.

"Phew, no harm done. Just a few minor scratches and holes in my leggings." Luz sighed with relief. She had been taught a basic healing spell and a mending spell by Eda, so she tried to cast them on the scratches and holes. Luz hadn't gotten the hang of either spell yet, so only about half the scratches were healed, and only the smallest holes were repaired. "Dang it… I'll have to ask Eda to fix the rest."

Willow watched the display with a sympathetic smile; "I know how that feels… I'm not so good with magic, as you probably heard. Half-a-Witch Willow maybe a mean name, but it's not exactly wrong."

Luz smiled as Willow helped her back to her feet; "Hey now, your plant magic is amazing! Everyone has stuff they're good at and stuff they're not so good at. Like me; I'm only good at light magic and potions, and I can't use Abomination magic at all. And my plant magic is limited to making seeds sprout!" she pat Willow on the back with a cheery smile; "If being good at only one kind of magic makes you Half-a-Witch Willow, then I guess that makes me Half-a-Witch Luz!"

Willow blushed and smiled, happy to see her new friend wasn't going to ditch her after the display with Amity. Most other kids she knew would have.

"Thanks Luz. Well, class will be starting soon so I can't stay." she looked down dejectedly; "I have to go disappoint my teacher. Maybe we can hang out another time?"

Luz nodded, feeling sympathy for the poor girl. "I'd like that. Keep your chin up; you may fail abomination class, but you'll ace plant class!"

"Thanks, but it doesn't work like that at school. I'm in the abomination track, so all my classes are abomination ones. I'm not supposed to be doing plant magic." Willow explained.

Luz blinked; "Wait, are you saying you can only learn one kind of magic at school?"

Willow nodded, and Luz shuddered, suddenly feeling more grateful for Eda and her wild ways. "But that's so limiting! And why are you in the abomination track anyway? Is there not a plant track?"

"There is, but my parents put me in the abomination track. Papa was in that track at Glandus and he says there are better opportunities for a witch in that track."

Luz crossed her arms; "Not much point in having better opportunities if you can't use abomination magic well."

"I know, but my Papa means well. He just wants what's best for me." Willow said with a sad smile. Luz felt an ache in her heart as she thought of her mother.

"Yeah, I know the feeling. Our parents mean well, but sometimes they just don't understand." she said, before shaking the feeling off; "Hey, why don't I help you!"

Willow blinked owlishly; "Help me? How? I thought you said you couldn't do abomination magic."

"I can't, but my mentor still taught me how to make it; that's how we found out!" the secret angel grinned; "Mixing the gunk is basically just like mixing potions, I just can't animate it like a proper abomination. Do you remember what ingredients you put in yours?" Luz asked, eagerly rushing over to Willow's pot.

The bespectacled girl nodded nervously and pulled a list from her pocket and handed it to Luz. Luz quickly read through the list; from what Eda had taught her it looked like Willow had used all the right stuff, but her lack of natural ability with abominations meant she'd made her best guesses when it came to the quantities of each ingredient, rather than going off her gut feeling, so it had come out thin and sloppy. Luz had made the same mistakes on her first attempt, and remembered how to fix it!

"Okay, Eda taught me this! We just need some good thick tree sap! Mix that in to the goo and it'll thicken up!" Luz instructed.

Willow's eyes shone with delight and she rushed over to a nearby tree, only to freeze right before she got to it. "Isn't it cheating if you help me?" she asked nervously.

Luz shook her head; "Only if I actually help with the work. I'm just passing along what I learned from my mentor, so it's like… tutoring! Yeah, tutoring!"

"Oh! Okay then!" Willow smiled, not needing much convincing. She cast a spell on a tree, causing a knot in the wood to twist into a humanoid mouth. "Hello Mr Tree, can I have some of your sap please?"

"Okay." the tree said in a wizened grandpa voice, before hacking up a massive globule of sticky red tree sap into Willow's hands. Willow thanked the tree and released her spell, then hurried over to her abomination pot and poured the sap in, stirring it with a stick. The consistency improved immediately, and Luz breathed in deep, noting the swampy, marshy smell had become more earthy, like a proper abomination should be.

"That ought to do it! Try waking it up!" Luz said.

Willow nodded and ordered; "Abomination, rise!"

Slowly, the abomination goo congealed together and rose up in a vaguely humanoid shape, though that seemed to be all it could do. It's arms hung limply at its sides and it's legs were unmoving. Even it's expression was stiff and unmoving, unable to do more than groan. It was a lot better than before, but Willow could tell immediately that it wouldn't get a passing grade from her teacher.

"It still isn't enough… even the best abomination goo in the world is worthless if I don't have the magic to make it work!" Willow sighed with frustration.

"Sorry Willow… I was sure this could work." Luz said guiltily.

"It's fine. Thanks for trying at least; that trick with the sap helped a lot." Willow smiled. "Your mentor must be pretty great!"

Luz smiled softly, reaching into her pocket and pulling out the odd slime ball; "Yeah, she is. She's taught me a lot, even if I don't always get it. She gave me this earlier to see if I could find a way to use it to help someone."

Willow eyed the slime ball; "Oh, it's a seed. Kind of a slimy one, but still. Can I take a look?"

"Sure. I thought it was just some hardened ball of slug slime." Luz said, handing the seed over.

Her new friend peered at it closely, then smiled; "Yep, definitely a seed. It's from a Greater Thornivine plant, which is in the same genus as the vines I grew earlier. They aren't native to the Boiling Isles, and instead grow on some smaller islands to the west." Willow explained, showing off her plant knowledge as she handed the seed back.

"Whoa. I guess it must have gotten eaten by the Trash Slug that got beached here. Now I just need to find a use for it." Luz smiled.

"I'd love to help and return the favour, but I really need to get going. I don't want a tardy on top of a bad grade." Willow said, going over to push her cart.

Luz frowned, not wanting to leave her new friend just yet. She still wanted to help her too! She'd gotten Willow's hopes up by helping fix her abomination goo, so she wanted to make amends!

Suddenly, she had an epiphany; "Wait! Willow, I have an idea that might solve both our problems!"

Willow raised an eyebrow; "What is it?"

"Plant magic! Now that you've added sap, your abomination can at least hold its shape, it just can't move on its own. But the way you controlled those vines a few minutes ago could take care of that! Grow vines inside the abomination and use them like its skeleton; you can control the vines to make the abomination move!"

Willow gasped; "That could work! But I need to grow the vines from the ground, so people would definitely notice…"

"Not if you use this!" Luz grinned, showing off the slimy seed; "Stick this thing in the abomination's chest and grow vines from it instead! It'll be like the beating heart of your plant abomination!"

Willow's eyes sparkled with delight; that idea just might work! She was briefly worried that this would definitely count as cheating, but technically it wasn't; the seed would count as an ingredient of her abomination, and Willow was also technically using her own magic to manipulate and move the abomination, just via the plants and not the slime. It was mixing magic, which would get Willow in trouble if she got caught, but nothing else about it was against the rules.

"That's a great idea! Hold on, let's give it a try!" Willow finally said. She gratefully took the seed from Luz and had her abomination rise, before stuffing the seed into its chest. Once the seed was good and buried, Willow used her usual green spell circles to grow vines from the seed to each of the abomination's limbs. Both girls took a deep breath of anticipation, then Willow manipulated the vines. Just as she wanted, the abomination stepped out of the pot and began to walk around like a proper abomination; it's thicker goo body bonding well with the vine skeleton.

It might not be the best abomination, but it worked! Willow was sure she'd get a passing grade!

"Ahahaha! Yes!" she cheered with glee, sending the abomination back to its pot before pulling Luz into a bear hug, "It worked! Oh thank you, Luz! You're the best!"

Luz blushed and returned the hug. She felt warm and fuzzy on the inside; not only had she completed the task Eda had set for her, but she'd also helped her new friend with her creative streak. The zany schemes and creative thinking that always got her in trouble back in Connecticut had finally done some good and helped a friend! She was starting to love the Boiling Isles more and more!

"O-Oh, it was nothing." Luz said bashfully, "My idea only worked because you're amazing! I've got a lot of catching up to do."

Willow smiled, understanding that lack of confidence well; "And I was only able to make it work because you thought of a solution. It wouldn't have worked without both of us! So, one Half-a-Witch to another, I'm glad I met you."

"Well two Half-a-Witches equals a whole Witch!" Luz joked, feeling her heart swelling.

The two girls laughed, after which Willow checked her watch (which was actually some kind of weird imp with a timepiece for an eyeball) and said; "I should get going; I don't want to get a tardy and ruin what is sure to be a great day now!"

"Wait, I'll walk with you! I was just gonna spend the day trying to figure out my mentor's challenge, but now that I'm done I can do whatever I want. I'd love to see your school!" Luz grinned hopefully.

Willow giggled; "Well the company would be welcome. Let's go!"

Luz beamed and happily skipped after Willow as they left the woods and made their way to Hexside. They chatted a bit, mostly about their misadventures with magic and the cool things they'd done with their signature magic. Luz had also confessed to being half-human (without letting on that the other half was angel) and had lived in the Human Realm, to explain why she didn't understand a lot of the little things Willow referenced in her own stories. Willow had been excited by that and promised to introduce Luz to her other friend; Augustus, who was a human fanatic. They were both in high spirits by the time they got to Hexside, and the instant she caught sight of the school, Luz squealed with joy.

The school looked like it had been ripped from a fantasy book, similar to Adegast's illusory castle, but the details were all distinct to the Demon Realm, such as the school bell tower having a giant eyeball instead of a bell, and the students heading inside having very inhuman forms. Witches like Willow, who basically resembled humans with pointed ears, were a minority from what Luz could see; most had over additions like a three-eyed girl in a yellow accented uniform, or were full on biped demons, who could cast magic like witches and had numerous unique appearances. The sight practically screamed magic school, and Luz dearly wanted to go inside.

"Welcome to Hexside School of Magic and Demonics." Willow said as they walked up.

"Wow! This place is awesome! Aw, I wish I could look around!" Luz said, pining to explore.

Willow smiled; "Well, why don't we go and ask Principal Bump if you can look around for the day? He's bound to say yes if we tell him you don't go to school anywhere else."

Luz gasped and squished Willow's cheeks; "You'd do that for me!? Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Willow giggled and playfully swatted Luz's hands away; "It's no big deal; you've helped me a lot, so I want to return the favour. Come on."

The two walked into the school and immediately headed for Principal Bump's office. The inside looked a lot more like an ordinary school than the outside did, but it still had that Boiling Isles aesthetic that Luz loved. It was divided into three floors with four wings splitting off from a central round chamber, with lockers lining the walls. Banners in support for the local sports team; the Banshees, were hung everywhere, as were banners representing the nine magic tracks and the school emblem. As the girls made their way to Bump's office, Willow gave Luz a brief tour and explained the four wings; three of which were for the different tracks (each track had their own floor in their wing) and the fourth of which was for miscellaneous rooms like the cafeteria, teachers' lounge, offices, non-track classes like Kindergarten, and even the dreaded Detention pit.

When they finally reached the office, Willow knocked on the door and was invited in by a voice on the inside. Willow and Luz entered, coming face to face with Principal Bump. He was an older man dressed in a black robe with a gold mantle and accents, and blue stole with the Hexside emblem on each end. His eyes were a sea-foam green, and he had some kind of large imp creature sitting on his back, it's mouth spread over the top half of his face like some kind of odd mask.

Compared to that oddity, Luz thought his office looked fairly normal.

"Ah, Miss Park. What can I do for you today? And who is this young lady?" Principal Bump asked with a pleasant smile.

"Good morning sir. This is Luz Noceda, a friend of mine. She's new to the area and isn't enrolled in a school at the moment, so I invited her to check out Hexside." Willow introduced as Luz waved with a shy smile. Her experiences with her last principal were still prominent in her mind.

Bump looked Luz up and down; "Ah, a potential new student! Well, we at Hexside are always happy to accept powerful new witches, especially if it keeps them away from Glandus and St. Epiderm. How far along in your magical training are you, Miss Noceda?"

Luz gulped nervously and cast her basic light spell, then opened the Principal's office window and shot a light blast at the top of a tree in the distance, vaporising the top inch or so. "T-This is the best I have at the moment. I can also do a little bit of magic from each of the main branches, except Oracle and Abomination. I'm best with light magic and potions though." she said quickly, hoping her display didn't look too pathetic.

Bump scratched his chin; "Not bad at all. I've never seen light magic cast like that; your spell circle appeared without you drawing it, and there was something inside it… how curious."

Luz began to sweat a little, worried she might have just outed herself as an angel, but the Principal just shrugged and smiled; "Well, you've had a good start, but you'll improve much more by attending our school. I'll allow you to attend today as a trial day."

He drew a spell circle above Luz's head, causing an ID badge with the words "Visitor's Pass" to appear and fall around her neck. He then drew another circle to make a piece of parchment appear in her hands.

"That badge will let the staff know you're a guest, and that parchment contains your schedule. We run nine periods of 40 minutes each here at Hexside, with a break after third period and lunch after sixth. I've scheduled you to attend one period with each track, so you can have a proper taste of what we have to offer." Bump said with an expectant grin; "This includes the oracle and abomination tracks; perhaps learning here will help you figure them out. If not, then you've lost nothing but time. I'm sure Miss Park will help show you around, if she hasn't already."

"Thank you, Principal Bump." Luz said, feeling a little better. Maybe it was just because Bump wanted another student in his school, but he was a lot nicer than she'd expected!

The girls were dismissed to prepare for the first class of the day, and as luck would have it, this was the abomination track for Luz, meaning she'd get to see Willow's test and see how her help worked out. They headed down to the second floor, where the abomination track hallway and Willow's locker was.

"He was actually kind of nice." Luz commented as she watched Willow retrieve her books by tickling the demonic mouth on the front of her locker, causing it to hand them to her with its tongue.

"Yeah, Principal Bump is a pretty good principal. Apparently Hexside was way stricter under his predecessor, though nobody talks about him." Willow said, before feeling someone bump into her back. She and Luz turned to see the person was a young witch boy reading some kind of human teen magazine. He was a dark skinned boy with cropped black hair and dark blue-grey eyes, and his uniform had cyan accents, identifying him as an illusion track student. He was also noticeably younger, looking more like a preteen than a teenager.

"Willow, you would not believe humans!" the boy said, not even looking up from his magazine.

Luz and Willow exchanged a secret smile before Willow said; "Got a new human magazine I see. Don't those cost a lot at that market stall?"

"It's worth it!" the boy proclaimed, "All the knowledge in these things is invaluable! Like this." he showed Willow the article he'd been reading, which had a picture of a girl with braces. "Did you know humans nail barbed wire to their kids' teeth? But why? Maybe to make them magnetic?"

"Actually, it's for storing treats." Luz couldn't help but joke.

The witch boy looked up at her, finally noticing her by Willow's side. "Treats?"

Luz giggled; "Sorry, that's just a dumb joke of mine. They're actually for straightening a human's teeth as they grow. They're called braces, and they aren't actually nailed on."

"Whoa… are you a big fan of humans too?" the boy asked eagerly.

"Nope, it's way cooler than that!" Willow grinned; "Luz, this is the friend I told you about; Augustus Porter, president of the Human Appreciation Society. Augustus, this is my new friend Luz Noceda, and she's a half-human!"

Augustus gasped as Luz gave a little showman's bow; "Nice to meet you, Gus!"

"Gus? Nickname? Human nickname!? Call me it! Wow! Gus! This is the best day of my life!" he gushed; "I can't believe I'm meeting someone with human blood! Where are your gills? Did you not inherit them? Did you live in the Human Realm?"

Luz giggled at his excitement; "Glad you like the nickname; it's a fairly common one for Augustus in the Human Realm. As for your questions; Humans don't have gills so I couldn't inherit them, and yes I lived there until a few days ago."

"No gills, huh? But your world is like 70% water, and most of it isn't even boiling! Weird… But what about-"

Gus's next barrage of questions was interrupted by the screaming of the demonic school bell; "I've gotta get to my spelling class! Talk to you both more at lunch!"

With that, he ran off and Willow directed Luz to follow her to her classroom. "Gus is my only other friend here at school. He's a couple of years younger than us and skipped a couple of grades, but a lot of people look down on him like he's a little kid. Since we're both sort of weirdos, we stick together." Willow explained.

"I'm glad you two found each other. Us weirdos have to stick together!" Luz grinned. She was a little jealous of Willow; there hadn't been any other weirdos like her back at her human school.

The two walked into Abomination 101 and sat together at a work bench as Luz looked around at everything, especially the other students. Amity was present at the bench in front of them, and she'd raised a curious eyebrow upon seeing Luz enter the room. She hadn't commented though, and after seeing the visitor's pass hanging around Luz's neck, she'd lost interest and turned back to the front of the class. The bell screamed again to signal the beginning of class and in walked the professor… or rather, in walked a fleshy coloured abomination carrying the real professor, who was small and resembled a half-witch, half-imp.

"Good morning class! I hope you're all ready for the day's abomination exam! You've had all week to prepare, so I am expecting excellence!" he said sternly. He then looked to Luz; "Miss Noceda, I am Professor Hermonculus, teacher of the abomination track here at Hexside. There won't be much teaching going on in today's class due to the exam, but it should still let you see the kind of things you can learn from me. If you have the aptitude for it." he said, adding that last part as his eyes roamed over Willow.

The plant-loving girl gulped nervously, while Luz leaned forward in her seat in anticipation. Professor Hermonculus then took attendance before beginning the actual exam. Each student had to wheel their abomination to the front of the class and make it perform as Hermonculus ordered, and if they were up to snuff then they got a pass, otherwise they failed. Unfortunately, the first few were a mixed bag of decent to dreadful; one had misshapen proportions that made moving difficult, while another had hardened into something resembling a purple stone golem. There was even one that was physically perfect, but refused to obey orders and instead fiddled with its creator's smart scroll. The highest grade given had been a very begrudging pass to one that had technically met the requirements, but it was getting more obvious with each student that the Professor was losing his patience, and those that remained were getting more and more nervous. Willow was on the verge of panicking, and even Luz was feeling the stress despite not having to perform herself.

Finally, after a young witch with horns produced an abomination that had; "Too many toenails in unexpected places!" and received a fail, Professor Hermonculus had had enough.

"The biggest abominations here are all of you!" he scolded, "If the next abomination is a failure, everyone gets extra homework for a month!"

There were groans and complaints from everyone in class, and Luz swore she heard one of them mutter "Not again…"

"Now, the next one to come up will be…" Hermonculus hummed as he looked over the remaining students.

Amity quickly raised her hand; "Excuse me sir, but I am ready to present my abomination! Rise!"

As ordered, her abomination rose from its pot and immediately performed a ballerina-like pose. Hermonculus chuckled at the display and said; "Now now, I always save the best for last, Amity. You'll have to wait your turn. In the mean time, how about… you, Willow."

Willow wilted as more students groaned.

"Not Half-a-Witch…"

"Great, extra homework for a month!"

The poor girl put her cowl up to hide her face, and Luz shot a glare at the muttering students. She then put a hand on Willow's back; "Don't listen to them, Willow. You've got this!"

Willow felt a bit of her confidence return and nodded with a small smile. She pulled back her hood and rolled her cart and abomination pot up to the front of the class, wearing a confident smile to hide how nervous she was. She blocked out the frowns and glares of her classmates, who had already assumed she would fail, and created her spell circle.

"Abomination, rise!" she ordered, voice cracking at the end. Her spell manipulated the vines inside her abomination and made it rise up, then clamber out of the pot. Hermonculus and the students gasped, including Amity, while Luz just nodded with satisfaction.

"Abomination, bow." Willow ordered, making the abomination perform a showman's bow. Thanks to her ability to finely control its movements through her vines, the way it moved looked almost as natural as a person!

"Impressive! This is a big improvement, Willow!" Hermonculus praised, "Can you make it speak?"

Willow gulped and shook her head; she could make its jaw move to simulate talking, but she had no idea how to make it actually speak using her vines. "S-Sorry, I'm not that good yet…"

"A pity, but that is an extra credit requirement. I have to dock you a few points for needing spell circles and not just verbal commands, but considering your massive improvement, I think it is fair to give you an A-. Well done." Hermonculus smiled. "Keep it up and you may just become the new top student!"

Willow sighed with relief as the other students in class cheered with relief, and Amity just continued to gape in shock at the abomination, before her teacher's words fully sank in. Now feeling defensive of her position, Amity exclaimed; "How did you fix it!? Last time I saw you, your abomination was mush!"

"Oh, I had some help from Luz! She tutored me on the way to school." Willow answered, gesturing to Luz. The other students turned to look at the disguised angel like she was a miracle worker, making her chuckle nervously.

"Uh, I just gave her a few tips! Willow did all the actual work herself. It was nothing, really." Luz said dismissively. She was glad for some positive attention from her classmates for a change, but this was Willow's triumph, so Luz wanted the attention off of her and back on Willow, where it belonged!

"Well, if you can encourage an improvement this large, then I hope to see you in my class next semester, Miss Noceda. Now, who's next…" Hermonculus said.

Willow put her abomination away and headed back to her seat with Luz, feeling like she was walking on air. She gave her new friend's hand a squeeze of thanks as the rest of her classmates demonstrated their own abominations. There were none as good as Willow's until the very end, when Amity finally got to properly display her own abomination, earning an easy A+. Luz may have mixed feelings on the girl, but she couldn't deny she had talent!

Class ended soon after and everyone headed out to their next class. For Luz, this was the plant track's class ironically enough, so she promised to meet up with Willow at lunch and hurried off to the greenery-filled hall of the plant track. Watching her go was Amity, who eyed the girl with open curiosity.

For a moment in class, Amity had actually worried that Willow would outshine her and take her spot as Top Student. Thankfully for Amity, the plant lover's miraculous improvement hadn't been that miraculous and she had easily performed the best in class just as she always did, but it had been too close for comfort. Willow's new friend had managed to improve her so much in just a short time… it begged the question; just who was Luz Noceda? The girl didn't go to any school from what Amity had heard, and yet she'd salvaged Willow's abysmal efforts. Amity remembered their first meeting that morning, and the mention of Luz's apprenticeship, which was odd in and off itself. Amity smelled a mystery, one she was eager to solve.

The strange new girl occupied Amity's thoughts for the rest of the morning, even coming dangerously close to distracting her in class (not that Amity would actually allow that; she was a Blight, after all)! Amity wasn't sure why Luz got into her head so much; perhaps it was the way she'd stood up for Willow against her? Perhaps it was her mysterious apprenticeship? Perhaps it was the way she'd improved Willow and then tried to refuse credit for it? Or perhaps it was all of those things. Amity didn't get any answers until the morning break, when Luz came running to the abomination class to talk to Willow, and spent the entire time flitting back and forth between gushing about what she'd learned in the other classes and excitedly asking Willow and Augustus what they had learned. That was when Amity realised the first thing that made Luz interesting.

Her happiness was infectious, spreading like the Common Mold to everyone watching her. Her eyes seemed to sparkle like stars, and her smile made those she was talking to want to mimic her. She was also never still, always fidgeting and wiggling in place, her whole body expressing her every emotion like an open book. To most people, Luz would probably come across as just an overly excitable teenage girl, but to Amity, who was always expected to be cool, calm, collected, and in control, Luz was like her complete opposite. That fascinated Amity; it was a peek into a life that she could never have (nor admit that she'd want). Watching her talk to Willow and Augustus during the break had almost brought a smile to Amity's face.

More classes came and went after the break, and Luz still cropped up in Amity's head whenever she allowed her mind to wander. This continued all the way until lunch, where Amity found herself watching Luz with Willow and Augustus, to the point that she was accidentally ignoring her friends; Boscha and Skara.

"Uh, hello? Boiling Isles to Amity?" Boscha scowled, snapping her fingers in front of Amity's face.

Amity swatted Boscha's hand away; "What is it, Boscha?"

"That's my line. What's with you today? You've been staring off into space forever!"

"I am not." Amity said primly.

"Yeah, she's not staring off into space." Skara giggled; "She's staring at the new girl."

Amity glared at the other girl while Boscha rolled her eyes; "Seriously, Amity? Isn't she friends with Half-a-Witch? Plus she doesn't even go to school here."

"For your information Boscha, Luz apparently has an apprenticeship. And I don't know how, but she turned Willow's project from a guaranteed failure to an A-! She got the second highest grade in class, behind only me!" Amity snapped, feeling like she had to defend her interest.

Boscha scoffed; "No way."

"It's true. I heard Professor Hermonculus talking to Professor Beat about it during the break." Skara chimed in, "I also heard that something weird happened in the oracle track class the new girl was in; apparently she scared the spirits or something, none of them would talk about her or even acknowledge she existed."

That caught both Amity and Boscha's attention; if the spirits channelled through oracle magic refused to acknowledge someone, then that person couldn't use or be effected by oracle magic. That meant no being spied on and being immune to one of the more tricky forms of magic to defend against. Amity was very interested, since her mother was an oracle witch, while Boscha was interested because oracle witches were a pain to deal with in Grudgby games.

"Huh. This new girl might actually be worth knowing. The Grudgby team could use a new member, since you left Amity." Boscha commented, "We've just got to get her to ditch Half-a-Witch and that dweeb she hangs out with."

"Good luck with that." Amity snorted, "Luz stood up to me when I was… being unkind." Now that Amity was saying that out loud, she actually felt a little bit bad. Sure she couldn't associate with a weak witch like Willow, but that didn't mean she had to be cruel either.

Boscha seemed disappointed for a moment, then shrugged and smirked; "Then we'll just have to show her how the pecking order works around here. She'll wise up… or else."

Amity frowned, as did Skara. They exchanged a look; they had a very bad feeling about this…

Meanwhile, Luz was having the time of her life!

Every class she went to was a new experience, teaching her a little more about the real Boiling Isles and Demon Realm, not the nightmarish versions she'd been told about by her Mami whilst still a little cherub. Of course, it was still a far cry from the fantasies of her Good Witch Azura books, but that didn't bother Luz, who not only got to learn new magic, but also got to help the other students! In each class she went to, the teacher would pair her up with another student who was struggling with the current project, using the reasoning that two heads were better than one and as a guest, Luz didn't have a project of her own already so it was best to help someone who did.

After the abomination class, was the plant class where Luz was allowed to help another student care for a magical plant known as a Silken Daggerdil; a kind of demonic daffodil that spat out silk when stroked and had razor sharp metal leaves. Luz was more an animal lover than a plant girl, but she'd been raised to appreciate all life and the semi-sentient nature of demonic flora helped her figure out the Daggerdil enough to help her poor partner improve its health. Luz even attempted to mimic the spell Willow had used to restore the flower she'd stepped on earlier, but it hadn't worked, forcing her to try more mundane methods.

Then in the oracle track class, she discovered the reason angels couldn't use oracle magic… the spirits that the magic relied on were absolutely petrified of her! The moment Luz touched her assigned partner's crystal ball, the spirit that had emerged took one look at her then promptly panicked and retreated back into the ball. Other students in the class had tried to use their own spirits to divine what had just happened and what it was about Luz that caused the odd reaction, which made Luz paranoid that her cover was blown, but each attempt resulted in the spirits involved fleeing back into their crystal balls. Most refused to come back out while Luz was around, and the few that could be coaxed out (including her partner's) had refused to acknowledge that Luz even existed. That meant she couldn't use oracle magic at all, but nor could she be effected by it. It was a fairly disastrous class from a learning stand point, but on the bright side, she'd accidentally terrified her partner's rowdy spirit enough that it now obeyed them much more readily!

Following that class was a short break period in which Luz met up with Willow and Gus, where the former asked her questions about the plant track and the latter asked about her knowledge of humans, all while Luz had the distinct feeling she was being watched. She hadn't let it get to her though, and had then excitedly recounted her day so far whilst answering the questions.

After the break, Luz had classes with the healing, beast-keeping, and illusion tracks. Healing was fun and informative, and while Luz hadn't yet mastered a healing spell, she and her partner were able to perform well in the practical, which was healing the injuries of other students in the nurses' office. Witch and Biped Demon biology all shared a few baseline features with human biology, so while her magic wasn't good enough to heal anyone yet, Luz's knowledge of anatomy was very helpful, making up for some of her inexperience and helping her partner figure out what they needed to do. Beast-keeping was great fun; they were caring for a bunch of different animals, including bug and beast demons of lower intelligence, and Luz seemed to have a real affinity for them. She had never been one to be afraid of animals; she even liked spiders and snakes (so long as they didn't sneak up on her), so she felt right at home with the weird and wonderful animals. It came hand in hand with being the daughter of a vet, who regularly used her own angelic magic to help her patients. Illusion was less interesting to Luz, but she got to see Gus in action as well as discover that since visual illusions worked by using magic to refract light to create their images, her skill in light magic gave her a knack for it. Having a class with Gus right before lunch also proved convenient, as it gave Luz someone to talk with as they made their way to the cafeteria to meet up with Willow.

Lunch was just like the break, right down to the feeling of being watched, but Luz was too happy talking with her two new friends to be bothered by that. She'd gotten to share a PB&J with Gus, which had been great since it had been a while since she'd had normal human food, but then it was off to the final few classes of the day; bard, construction, and potions.

The bard track was the first, and definitely the most unusual as bard magic revolved around using music and vibration to alter aspects of the world around them. It was versatile, as it could create sonic shock waves or even blades by altering the air into a fast, sharp form, or it could levitate objects by altering the way gravity effected them. Almost any kind of spell could be cast with bard magic, if one knew how to make it work as a song, but this was also far more difficult than other methods and required musical ability on top of magical ability. Eda had taught Luz how to cast a basic light spell by whistling, but that was it, and Luz had gotten the feeling Eda hadn't been eager to continue teaching that topic. In the class itself, Luz mostly listened to the other students' music and tried out different instruments to see if one suited her. None of them did, but that was fine; Luz's musical talent was limited to her singing voice, which was admittedly amazing. The other students in class had been amazed by her voice, with the teacher calling her a little songbird. Luz was glad for the compliments, but it felt a little like cheating; all angels had great singing voices after all. The saying "Voice of an Angel" was pretty close to the truth.

Construction was probably the class that Luz felt the most neutrally about; it neither excited nor bored her, and seemed to primarily revolve around the manipulation of earth and stone, shaping it into new forms. The classroom was basically an indoor construction site, in which Luz and her assigned partner had to construct an assigned structure using only their magic and a blueprint. Luz's construction magic was limited to making bricks and thin tiles, while her partner could make bigger but less refined objects and somewhat increase their strength to move heavy loads with ease. They created the foundations and frame of the structure, as well as placing the bricks and tiles that Luz made, while Luz used her light magic to accurately carve their rough creations into something smoother, whilst also carving details for extra credit. They'd gotten a pretty good grade, especially when her partner made a large block of stone for Luz to carve into a statue of their teacher. Her practice with drawing hyper-realistic portraits had paid off there!

Finally it came time for potions class, the final class of the day, and one in which Luz felt quite confident. Eda had taught her a lot about potions in the few days she'd been learning with her, and her Mami had also taught her a thing or two about mixing remedies with magic; it was something Luz had done a lot whilst helping at the veterinary clinic.

Luz walked cheerfully into the potions classroom and was met by the jovial professor, a female witch with extremely pale yellow skin and a beak replacing her nose and upper lip.

"Ah, Miss Noceda! I've been expecting you. My name is Professor Sybillus Sip, potions professor here at Hexside. Principal Bump tells me that you've had some instruction in potions before, is that right?" Professor Sip asked.

"Yes, but only simple ones. I've brewed a Not-so-Common Cold cure, a draught of dozing, some chromatic eye drops, and a fog brew. Plus some medicines for animals." Luz replied.

Professor Sip blinked; "What an eclectic bunch! A few of those are a bit more than "simple" if I do say so myself."

Luz blinked; "Really? None of them needed any spells; I just needed to follow the recipe."

"How curious! Well, we're working on the tonic of tidiness today, which is considered a bit tougher than a draught of dozing, but easier than a fog brew. Borrow some equipment from the cupboard and set up over there, next to Boscha." the professor instructed, pointing to a table in the front row where a girl with three eyes, dark violet hair, and light pink skin was sitting.

Luz nodded and obediently grabbed a small cauldron and the other necessary equipment from the store cupboard, then went and set them up beside Boscha. Once she was done, she turned to the three eyed girl with a smile and offered her hand; "Hi, I'm Luz! Nice to meet you. I guess we're seat buddies for today!"

Boscha raised an eyebrow at the offered hand, "Buddies? I don't think so. I heard about you from Amity; you're friends with Half-a-Witch. Word of advice, that's a bad call if you want to have a social life or hang out with the big dogs around here."

Luz narrowed her eyes; "Don't call her that! Her name is Willow, and she's awesome!" she defended.

Boscha scoffed dismissively and went back to playing on her scroll; "Ugh, whatever. You'll learn eventually. In the meantime just don't get in my way."

That made Luz growl quietly to herself; great, she got put next to one of the mean girls. Well whatever, if Boscha wanted to ignore her then fine; Luz would brew her potion all by herself! Eda was a master potioneer and how could Luz call herself Eda's apprentice if she messed up a potion easier than a fog brew? So she waited patiently until everyone else in class was set up, then listened to Professor Sip give her introduction of the potion whilst handing out the recipe and the ingredients they would need. The professor also pulled out a cauldron of perfectly brewed tonic to use as an example, and as soon as she gave the go ahead, Luz got stuck in.

The tonic of tidiness only had a few ingredients and didn't need any spells, so Luz flew through the prep work using the methods Eda had taught her and the cleanliness habits her Mami had instilled. She carefully washed and prepared each ingredient, then began mixing the potion together, following the recipe for the most part but making little deviations here and there. Her intense focus helped her to detect any changes in scent, colour, and consistency, and since the recipe also explained what each ingredient did, Luz was able to use some common sense to add extra pinches or dashes to keep her potion looking like the example. Beside her, Boscha was following the recipe to the letter and scoffed when she saw Luz deviating. Luz frowned and narrowed her eyes at that, but she'd show Boscha! Luz wasn't going to be outdone by one of the mean girls!

Focusing so intently on her potion made the time fly by at record speed and before Luz knew it, she was done. She carefully bottled her tonic of tidiness up and waited for the professor to come by and judge it. Boscha finished around the same time and their potions were obviously very different; Luz's was a chocolatey brown while Boscha's was more amber coloured, making the three eyed witch smirk.

"Did you brew mud? Ha! How pathetic. Maybe you're on Half-a-Witch's level after all." Boscha smirked.

Luz growled and cast an eye over to the example cauldron. The potion in there was chocolatey brown too, but apparently Boscha still thought hers was better.

"Alright class, it's time to test out your potions! One by one, I want you to pour it over your work stations. If brewed correctly, the tonic of tidiness should enchant the mess you made while brewing it and clean it up! If you did it wrong… well you'll have a bigger mess to clean up by hand!" Professor Sip proclaimed.

There were some groans as a few students anticipated having to do just that, but Luz was confident! One by one, the students poured their potions over their work stations as Professor Sip watched and graded them. Some did nothing at all, some worked either partially or slowly, and some managed to multiply the mess by melding with the leftover ingredients on their maker's stations, turning into a weird sludge that looked like it would need a chisel to get off. As Professor Sip worked from the back to the front of the class, Luz and Boscha were the last ones to go. Boscha confidently poured her potion over the mess she'd made and smirked as the leftover ingredients vanished, her tools were cleaned, the rest of her potion poured into numerous bottles, and all of her equipment marched off to the storage cupboard.

"Excellent work, Boscha! You followed the recipe to the letter and got a marvellous result! Well done!" Professor Sip praised, writing an A+ on one of Boscha's potion bottles.

Boscha smirked; "Of course, as if I would get anything less!" she said, eyeing Luz with a twinkle of cruel amusement in her eyes.

Luz just huffed; "Watch and learn, sister!" she muttered in Spanish as she poured out her own potion. Professor Sip noticed the colour and leaned forward expectantly as the potion performed its task. Luz's potion did everything Boscha's did, as well as making everything it touched spotless, an effect that slowly spread too. The emptied potion bottle looked like it hadn't even been used, while her cleaned equipment caused the entire storage cupboard to become spotless as soon as they entered. Even the floor below the class's feet became shiny and new looking as some of Luz's potion dripped off the work station. Luz's potion was perfect, and to really rub it in to Boscha, Luz's side of the work station had become shiny and new-looking, while Boscha's had just returned to the state it was before she'd started working, complete with decades old stains and marks that normal cleaning would never shift.

"Oh my! This is absolutely perfect!" Professor Sip praised, "Either you're an absolute natural at potions, or you've had one amazing mentor, Miss Noceda! A+! I wish I could grade you higher!" she gushed, happily painting an A+ on Luz's bottle.

"Thanks Professor Sip! My mentor really is amazing; she has a business selling potions, so she knows her stuff!" Luz beamed.

"B-But she didn't follow the recipe!" Boscha protested, "I saw her! She was adding things at the wrong times and in weird amounts! How could hers be so much better!?"

Professor Sip smiled patiently; "The recipe is designed to get the most reliable results without worrying about external factors. They're meant for young witches to produce the potion with relative ease so long as they follow it exactly. However potions can be finicky, and sometimes you have to change the recipe to compensate for ambient temperature, environmental contaminates, and varied ingredient quality. My example potion is made to show what a really perfect potion looks like, so those with sharp instincts can see their end goal and figure out when to deviate." she explained. "That's also why the recipes list how each ingredient works."

The other students listened intently to Professor Sip, while Luz basked in more positive attention from a teacher. Boscha just crossed her arms and glared furiously at Luz until the bell rang and classes ended for the day. As Luz skipped off eagerly to meet Willow and Gus again, Boscha trudged to meet her own friends, still in a foul mood over the new girl.

Boscha wanted to crush her!

A cruel smirk crossed Boscha's face as she eagerly began hunting down her usual gang. She'd put this newbie in her place; Boscha was the queen bee of Hexside, and this newbie would kowtow like the rest or suffer the consequences!