[ unedited ]

*

'Alec? Are you ready yet?' The voice floated up the stairs and crept past the tightly-shut door. The room's sole occupant replied by groaning and continuing to sleep worm-style, stomach and arms flat on the bed, face almost suffocating in the pillow.

Silence ensued for a second or so; then footsteps echoed as the speaker started up the staircase, calling out once again. 'Aleeeec? You have to get uuup. We need to leave at eight-'

The mahogany door that led into the surprisingly neat room of a fifteen-year-old slammed open, revealing its resident half-off the bed. With a final push, the golden-haired boy flopped onto the ground, blanket still tightly wrapped around his body. A pale hand reached out above the quilt, shaking.

'Leave me, dear brother... I have no hope left...'
'Shut up, idiot. Your suitcase is packed and all you need to do is get dressed and eat, then we can go.' The older brother, eighteen years of age and also golden-haired, although tanner in complexion and green-eyed, promptly pulled the outstretched hand and roughly set the younger boy on his feet.

Dark blue eyes stared pleadingly at him. 'C'mon, Jakob, you don't have to do this...' Alec swayed slightly, dressed lightly in black flannel pants and an oversized white shirt. He moved sluggishly to his suitcase and planted his face on the soft silver surface. 'Why did I ever agree to this?'

'Because living in the Evanden College school dorms could help you get out of your shell and actually socialise for once. It's also because the school offered you a dorm because of your absolutely outstanding academic achievements and we can't pass up the offer.' Came the curt and fast-spoken response. 'Now, please hurry up before Julie realises that you haven't gotten up and throws a book at you.'

Groaning once again, Alec grabbed the pile of clothes set next to his suitcase - a fresh pair of underwear, white socks, grey linen pants, black t-shirt and a Ravenclaw jumper. 'Begone, you canker-blossom, and allow thee to get changed in peace.'

Jakob rolled his eyes, muttering "Shakespeare", then walked out of the blue-walled room and gently shut the door, yelling 'hurry up' and leaving.

Alec sighed and reluctantly moved to the pile of clothes he needed to get changed into. He leaned down without bending his knees - he was somehow flexible, most likely from all the weird positions he slept in - and slowly began to get dressed.

Moving into the school dorms had been partly his decision, but that didn't mean he wanted to go live with a stranger basically the whole time for a month or so. Alec had never been very comfortable with people he didn't know well, and although he could be quite outgoing at times, that was with close friends and acquaintances. Not strangers. The decision had been made mostly by his older brother, who was responsible for the family when their parents weren't home; the aforementioned parents had had to give their consent for Alec to move into the dorms, but they sure as hell had seemed pretty happy about the change.

Grumbling as he pulled on his jumper, Alec rubbed his sore eyes. The only reason he'd gotten the dorm room half-way through the second school term was that there had been two students in the East Wing who were changing schools; Alec had been on the waiting list for quite a while now, and so he was the first to be offered the room. Of course, Jakob had practically peer pressured him into accepting the offer.

Alec rubbed a finger over the name tag on his suitcase - "Alexander Moeller" - and looked solemnly at the address marked. It ended with Australia, and not Germany; he quite missed his hometown of Dielhelm. He liked Germany a lot more than Australia, but his new-found friends at Evanden that he'd made two or so years ago were worth staying in Australia for.

'Alec!' came another familiar call of his name. This time it wasn't Jakob, however, not even Julie, but rather Jasper, the youngest of the four Moeller siblings. Julie was a year younger than him, and Jasper two, having started year seven that year. It was mid-June; hopefully, he'd gotten used to Ashwick High School - Alec was the only one going to Evanden College. He'd gotten in through a scholarship, thanks to his wizardry skills. Turns out reading did really help a lot. The scholarship also saved quite a lot of money for the family.

'Coming!' Alec yelled down the stairs, opening the door and grabbing his backpack situated just outside. It was filled with books, both fiction and spellbooks, a drink bottle, some medicine in case he got sick, a small blanket and a couple of precious ornaments. Alec turned his blue eyes back to his room, drinking in the sight. He'd be back here soon enough, but two weeks. He'd decided to come and visit every fortnight so that perhaps he could get used to being independent.

A black figure appeared at the window sill, taking on the form of a smoky cat. Alec smiled - how could he have forgotten?

'Come here, Scat.'

The cat glided through the air and landed on the dark blonde's shoulder, curling herself around the shoulder-length hair. She played with the strands, batting them around with her paws.

Alec laughed softly. 'Careful, Scathatch.' He passed a hand over her materialised fur, to which Scathatch answered by purring gently. The spirit slipped out of Alec's hands and passed through the backpack's light blue fabric, curling up on the blanket inside. Closing the door, Alec smiled to himself.

The German sixteen-year-old, still content with the small interaction, went to make his way down the stairs. He concentrated for a moment, murmuring a spell under his breath - the silver suitcase began to gently levitate. Wizardry was the best - you just needed the patience and time to learn it, as well as the love. He directed the suitcase to the lower level, making it settle softly next to the door. Following along, Alec glided down the staircase railing, holding his bag tightly.

He landed with a gentle thump on his rear, looking up to see his younger sister looking down at him, suppressing a giggle. She had a book in her hand, which she - thankfully - didn't throw at him. 'You should really try to get up earlier.' Julie laughed at him - she had always gotten up early in mornings, whereas he was a night owl and considered ten to be a good time for getting up on weekends.

Alec groaned. 'Yeah, yeah, I know.' He moved towards the kitchen and living room area - a joint area, with the kitchen on the left of the hallway entry and the dinner table on the right. To his front were double sliding glass doors that led into the garden, which had been preciously decorated by his mother, currently overseas.

The blue-eyed teenager moved to the fridge, going to get his yoghurt and some orange juice. He noticed Jasper - blue-eyed, like him; the two boys were the only blue-eyed ones in the family - sitting at the dinner table, munching on cereal as he looked at his phone. Jakob was also at the table, also on his phone, having already finished eating.

'Hey, Jas.' Alec called out, finding his blueberry yoghurt and pouring himself a cup of orange juice. Next came the tea, which was an almost reflexive action. The kettle had already been heated, and so Alec reached up to grab himself a mug and into the tea box for the green tea.

'Hey.' Jasper answered, still very much absorbed in his phone. Alec internally laughed. I won't miss this boy. He plunked the tea bag into the mug and sat at the table across from Jasper.

Jakob looked up as he heard the commotion, green eyes stern. 'Hurry up.' He said, motioning at the time - it was currently 8:45 in the morning and Alec had fifteen minutes to eat, brush his teeth and make sure he had anything before the eldest drove him to Evanden, which was a thirty-minute drive. Julie and Jasper would be taking the bus, as usual.

Alec, understanding the motion and slight sense of urgency, began to eat. His breakfast wasn't much, and he could typically down it in two or so minutes. Julie sat next to him.

'Enjoy the Evanden dorms.' She smiled at him. Julie had always been his favourite sibling, second only to Jakob, who was the adult of the four Moellers. She was very much like the rest of the family - blonde haired, although it was long and in a braid that morning, and green-eyed. 'Make the most of it, yeah?'

'Yeah.' Alec answered. 'I'll try to.' The nervousness and fear settled itself back into his stomach - who would his roommate be? What would they be like? Would they get along? The butterflies swam around as he drank his tea. Standing up, he went to go put his things away, which he did as quickly as he could - it was now 8:55. He'd taken too long worrying, it seemed. They needed to be at the school to check into the dorms by 9:30 - it was a Sunday and apparently he needed to get settled in as soon as possible so that all arrangements could be completed. Oh, how he would've loved being able to sleep in until ten.

Chucking the empty yoghurt container in the bin and his cutlery in the washing machine, Alec rushed back upstairs to brush his teeth. He jogged up the stairs, feeling the strain in his non-athletic legs.

Once he'd brushed his teeth, he grabbed his toiletry bag and threw it over the staircase as he went to jump down along with it. Temporary moments of athleticism would come back later and make his body ache, but he was seriously in a hurry.

Jakob was already waiting at the door, tapping his foot impatiently. 'Take your time.' he murmured, opening the door and signalling Alec to go through to the car. 'I'll take your suitcase.'

'Thanks.' Alec beamed. 'See ya!' he yelled at his other siblings. He walked out the door and down the driveway to the car. Jakob followed not long after, also having shouted a good-bye.

Sitting on the passenger side, Alec waited for his older brother to put the suitcase in the back and come up to the driver seat and start driving. He was slightly impatient for all of this to be over - so that he could get to the dorms and then he could stop worrying about who his roommate would be.

Jakob sat down at the wheel and began to reverse out of the driveway. 'You'll be back here every two weeks for the weekend, yeah?'

'Yeah.' Alec hummed, putting on the radio at a low volume.

'Coolio.' Jakob murmured, having pulled out of the driveway.

Alec rested his head on his hand, having wedged his elbow against the window. He didn't like talking much in cars, and when Jakob attempted small talk he answered with short and firm answers. He almost felt sorry for his older brother - the green-eyed adult wouldn't see him for two weeks and here he was being unhelpful again.

*

The drive went faster than expected and soon they were at the entrance of the portal to Evanden College. It was a large school, almost like a mix of Hogwarts and Rowan Academy but to a smaller scale. Since it was so large, it was situated on a mountaintop - students who didn't live there accessed it through portals. They were currently at one - Electra Reserve. The school boasted over a thousand students of all races and backgrounds, with an extended curriculum fit all kinds of practitioners (except for necromancy and black magic, which was illegal).

'See you in two weeks.' Alec smiled painfully at his older brother, who smiled back, then went out of the car to grab his suitcase for him.

The two brothers stood at the entrance to the pathway to Electra Reserve - or, for Alec, the portal to Evanden College. Alec quickly hugged his brother then grabbed his suitcase. Jakob drove off, probably to work.

Alec sighed - he wasn't used to going to school on weekends. He walked through the portal and immediately his surroundings changed.

The school was made up of multiple buildings and large, open areas - the Science Lab, Visual Arts & Technology Wing, Collaborative Learning Centre, Gymnasium and Performing Arts Centre were the more ordinary of the buildings. Then came the large ponds and streams, exterior to the main school campus, were merpeople spent their time - the large forest where the elves and dryads went to rest. There was the large unnamed building where all of the advanced classes - mostly for magic, although some for fighting - were held. There were, of course, the East and West Wings; as well as a small hospital area, a library, and multiple other areas Alec had never been.

And, of course, there was the long and winding pathway that led up to the main campus. The staff insisted on enough exercise, and a fifteen-minute walk was half of the daily requirement.

Alec sighed and began to trudge up the path. There was no-one else there today, it seemed; which was natural, considering that it wasn't a school day. Scathatch slunk out of the bag and floated around his shoulders, resting her black head on his. She blinked her eyes at him - they were heterochromatic eyes; one green, one gold.

To say the walk wasn't agreeable would be a lie - Alec definitely enjoyed the scenery. It was made up of forests, rivers, a lot of snow (it was Winter, after all) and it was nature at it's best, undisturbed by pollution and man-made destruction. From what Alec remembered, the lands were from all around the world to accommodate all species; a lot like Rowan Academy, he thought.

Alec reached the entrance to the main campus - two great silver doors, laced with all kinds of metalwork designs. He pressed his hand to the copper doorknob, which was in the shape of a hand itself. It moved, beckoning him in; the gates opened and Alec made his way in. He wasn't used to using the school's security system, which was active only on early mornings, late nights and weekends, for those who lived at Evanden. It was a cool technology-magic hybrid, though.

The blonde made his way towards the office - a small, ordinary building painted in designs of black and white. He pushed the glass door open and was greeted by a small Asian lady who was sitting at the front desk, typing on the computer. Scathatch hid in his bag.

'Hello! You must be Alec.' she bubbled. 'I'm Cecily - I take care of dorm room arrangements. I'll lead you to the East Wing.' Cecily moved out of the Reception area and through a sliding door to greet him. She was a short and stout lady, fae-like in appearance, with pointed ears.

'Hi.' Alec squeaked, unsure of what to do.

'Oh! Pass me your suitcase, we'll send it directly to your room. It's a fifteen-minute walk to there, and I'm sure you wouldn't want to walk more with it.' Cecily chattered. Alec nodded and gave her his suitcase - she opened a small door that he hadn't see in the corner, revealing some kind of conveyer belt. The black-haired woman keyed in a number on the keypad next to the door - fourteen, if the blonde's eyes were right. So that was his room number.

Cecily led Alec out of the office and they began their walk East, to the East Wing where he would be staying. The walk was filled with Cecily talking about how he would enjoy staying in the school dorms. Each of the wings - North, East, South and West - had their own cafeteria, common room, private library (one of the only pluses of this situation, in Alec's opinion) and the rooms were two-bedroom ones with a bathroom and living room area. He would be sleeping in a king-sized bed (that would definitely be enjoyable) and he could either make his own dinner there or go to the cafeteria. Each wing could house up to fifty students each.There were multiple portals for him to go back to Victoria and buy ingredients there, although, he had to inform the staff if he were to stay at his home and not in the dorms for the night.

Although the walk with Cecily hadn't been the best walk of his life, he appreciated how Cecily was mostly explaining how things worked - what time he'd have to get up in the mornings, how the library would be open twenty-four hours, general bedtimes - and not asking him questions. Alec really disliked being asked too many questions at once - he needed some time to think, after all. It was also quite difficult to talk openly with strangers.

The two arrived in front of the East Wing - a large building that resembled more an oversized mansion. It had large double rowan doors which were engraved with a large Celtic sun, with multiple more runes on the edges.

'Here is your key.' Cecily handed him a small metallic key in the shape of a rune at the end. If Alec was right, the rune was "open". Alec turned it over in his hand - he could feel the slightest amount of magic within it. The number fourteen was engraved on the flatter end of the key. 'Your room is number fourteen - up the right staircase and further along the hallway. It shouldn't be hard to find. Have fun!' With that, Cecily turned around and left Alec all alone, black bob bouncing in the wind.

Scathatch jumped back onto Alec's shoulder now that the stranger was gone - not many people knew about the spirit that he kept with him. Scathatch was also his familiar, but no one needed to know that. She was his own private secret.

Alec moved forward and tentatively opened the doors. They were lighter than expected and opened smoothly into a large open space. The flooring and walls were wood - oak, this time. Everything seemed well-maintained, the wood almost shining.

The open space diverged into a left and a right staircase which led up into a common area, complete with tables and chairs and a small bookshelf. On the lower level, doors could be seen on the left and right sides - there were even some underneath the joined staircases. Separate hallways extended from the sides of the common area. Chandeliers shone with conjured flames and coloured glass - everything gave the sense of an old-timey inn or mansion. It was all very bright and natural.

All of the occupants of the East Wing seemed to be either away or within their soundproof rooms; no one came to greet Alec.

Alec moved up the right staircase, remembering Cecily's words. He looked at the door numbers on the right side - 8, 10, 12 - 14. This was his - and his roommate's - room. Alec looked down the hallway - it was long, and there seemed to be separate hallways diverging off of it. There were some rooms on the left side of the hallway - 9, 11, 13 - as well as a large door with a sign hanging off of it which read "LIBRARY".

'All the better for me.' Alec sang to himself. He'd probably find himself in the library or perhaps the common area most of the time. He turned back to his room and slid the key into the lock - the door opened with a soft click and he was inside.

There was, as Cecily had said, two bedrooms - one on the left, one on the right - and a comfortable living area with a couch, table, two chairs and miniature kitchen. It was all in birch and mahogany. His silver suitcase was situated next to the couch.

Alec picked the left room - the door was mahogany and reminded him of his own room at home. It opened up to a king-sized bed, white small bedtable, white desk, cream wardrobe and a wooden bookshelf.

'I might actually enjoy this.' Alec hummed, putting his suitcase down next to the wardrobe. He'd empty it later - it was still early in the morning to him, around 10 or so now. For now, he'd just read or sleep the rest of the day off - he was, however, still impatient to find out who his roommate was.

The books beckoned.

*

Alec was deep into his book - 'Clockwork Prince' by Cassandra Clare, the second of the Infernal Devices series. He still cringed at all the romance parts of the book - the setting, characters and plot themselves were quite good, but the teenager had never quite enjoyed reading romance. All the physical parts of romance still freaked him out. The blue-eyed boy had decided to sit on the couch in the living room, just in case his roommate came in.

Scathatch was curled around his shoulders, sleeping. Alec had gotten bored from reading and went instead to conjuring flames.

The door opened, surprising Alec - he looked up to see what his roommate was like.

She was a short and muscular dark-skinned girl, with long black hair pulled into a braid. Red-amber eyes blinked - almost glared - at him.

A demon. Alec thought. Probably a higher one, or a half-demon. He went to greet his new roommate.

'Hi.' He bleated and promptly sneezed. Scathatch miauled in anger and vanished into thin air, the conjured flames going everywhere.

[ authors note ]

Hope you enjoyed! Sorry not sorry for the slight cliffhanger, but I had to stop it here. 3.5k or so words is quite a lot for me.

The first chapter is done! What did you think? This was more introducing characters and setting, hopefully, I can write about Alec's mysterious roommate next chapter. Opinions, ideas, etc? I also need a chapter title lol.

I'll try and write more next week - don't expect but hope for another update next Saturday night AEST.

- Zemi is going to watch some movies now