Felix's mom screamed, "Felix, wake up! You're going to be late for school!" Felix remained deeply asleep. His mom screamed again, louder, "Felix, get up before you're late for school!" Still no response. She muttered, "Always the same story. Well, I better get him up before he gets too late."
She marched upstairs, grabbed a pan, and clanged a silver spoon against it, filling the room with a cacophony of noise. Felix woke up with a start, groaning, "Five more minutes, Mom."
"No, get up! You can't be late for school again!" she insisted.
"But Mom—"
"No 'but Moms'! Get up and go to school!"
Felix begrudgingly stood up, groaning, and shuffled out of his room. His mom smiled fondly, "He's just like his father." Felix brushed his teeth and hurriedly sat down to eat something, but his mom exclaimed, "Felix, look at the clock, you're late!"
His mom stood by the door, holding it open. Felix grabbed his school bag. She kissed his cheek and said, "Bye, sweetheart, have fun at school."
Felix turned, running, and said, "Bye, Mom!"
His mom smiled, "Be careful."
"Alright, Mom!" Felix sprinted the entire way to school but skidded to a halt when he saw the principal's assistant. She eyed him sternly and said, "Mr. Ravenwood, late again. Go to the principal's office."
Felix protested, "But, miss—"
"Now!" she insisted.
Felix knocked on the door of the principal's office. "Come in," the principal said. Felix walked in, seeing Principal Smith adjusting his glasses. Principal Smith looked up at Felix and said, "Ah, Felix, come and sit down." Felix sat in the chair, fidgeting nervously.
"Let's begin with the question: why are you late again?" Principal Smith asked. Felix, looking nervous, said, "Well, uh, I woke up late." The principal lowered his head, shook it, and then looked Felix in the eyes, saying, "If you keep this up, Mr. Ravenwood, we'll have to suspend you."
Felix said, "No—anything but suspension."
Principal Smith sighed, "I'm sorry, Felix, but this is your last chance." Felix nodded, and Principal Smith led him to the door. As Felix walked out, he heard a strange voice calling his name.
"Ravenwood, Ravenwood..." Everything turned dark, and he could only see shadows. "Ravenwood, Mr. Ravenwood," he heard again. He followed the voice, asking, "Who is this?"
The voice said, "Ravenwood, you are almost here." Felix felt dizzy and collapsed. He slowly woke up, hearing voices.
"Do you think he will wake up?"
Another voice answered, "Of course he will, I am not a killer, Miranda."
Felix fully opened his eyes and saw an orange-haired woman practically screaming, "Well, it looks like murder, Rovilla!" He turned to the other side, seeing another woman with black hair reading a book. The black-haired woman said, "Well, it's not, since he fainted by himself."
Professor Miranda said, "You scared that little guy."
Rovilla replied, "Stop being so dramatic, Miranda. He is not dead!"
A student walked in and said, "Professor Nightshade?"
Rovilla answered, "Yes?"
"Um, people are asking why the first years have to come later to the school."
Professor Nightshade replied, "Well, there are some problems, but they are going to be fixed."
Professor Miranda murmured, "Yeah, murder problems."
Professor Nightshade said, "He is not dead! I am not a murderer."
Limunos added, "Are you sure about that?"
Felix woke up, trying to sit straight, and said, "My head hurts. It feels like a rock slammed on it."
Professor Nightshade said, "Ha! Told you he was not dead."
Professor Miranda said, "Rovilla, we thought you had killed him. Not our fault."
Professor Nightshade said, "I would never kill students." She then thought for a moment and said, "Never mind, I take that back."
Felix, still confused, asked, "Where am I?"
Professor Nightshade said, "You are at Shadowcrest Academy. You have one hour to shower before you get your wands and other supplies."
Felix asked, still confused, "Wands?"
Professor Nightshade nodded and said, "Yes, wands."
Professor Miranda laughed a bit and said, "What are you waiting for? Go do your things; you just have an hour."
Felix walked into the Hall of Illumination and saw students flying on sticks. He didn't know what those sticks were until he noticed a tiny fairy nearby. The fairy first looked at him and then at the brooms. She chuckled and said, "Those are brooms. Wizards and witches mostly use them to fly; it's easier than walking."
Felix said, "Wow, so you guys are wizards and witches?"
The fairy replied, "Well, not all of us are. See, I am a fairy. There are also dragons and lingblings."
Felix asked, "What is a lingbling?"
The fairy chuckled again and said, "A lingbling is like a mix of a fairy and a witch or wizard. They mostly hide in small towns or in fairyland."
Felix said, "Wow, that is cool."
The fairy nodded and said, "Yes, it is!"
Felix then remembered, "Oh, I almost forgot. Where are the bathrooms?"
The fairy answered, "Well, you first have to go to the giant stone, then to the lime machine where the grimgroms live, and then left, and you're in the bathroom."
Felix looked at her in horror.
The fairy laughed and said, "Haha, I'm just kidding. I can lead you to the bathrooms."
Felix said, "Thank you."
The fairy replied, "No worries."
Felix walked toward the bathroom, following the fairy. When they arrived, the fairy said, "Here is the bathroom. Bye!" Felix showered, and when he was done, he found a wizard costume waiting for him. Professor Nightshade was outside the bathroom and said, "When you're done showering, put on the uniform. It's temporary until you get to know your house uniforms, and then you'll get new ones. But until then, wear this one."
Felix changed into the uniform and walked out of the bathroom. Professor Nightshade said, "Well, that took you long enough. Anyway, were you already in the Hall of Illumination?"
Felix said, "Uh, I actually don't know."
Professor Nightshade replied, "Well, you are going to know it soon enough." They walked toward the hall, and then Felix said, "Oh yeah, true, I walked in here!"
Professor Nightshade rolled her eyes and said, "Of course, otherwise you wouldn't have found the bathroom."
The two of them walked until they saw the magical wand stone. Felix noticed other students gathered around. Professor Nightshade walked to where she could see every student's face and said, "Welcome to Shadowcrest Academy. The magical wand stone will give you your wands."
Professor Miranda added, "It works like this: we call every student to touch the stone, and the stone will automatically give you your wand."
Felix approached the stone with a mix of excitement and trepidation. As he touched it, a jolt of energy surged through him. A voice echoed in his mind, whispering, "Beware the shadows that fall on the Ravenwood." The stone glowed, and a wand materialized in his hand, intricately carved with mysterious symbols.