Harry and Halsey walked down the hallway.

"I heard they installed new shower rooms for the students who wanted to take them. If the bedroom showers ever got dirty," Halsey said.

"Really?" Harry chuckled, genuine amusement in his voice.

Halsey nodded. "I'm going to focus on using my shower. I'd rather be by myself than with other guys."

Harry furrowed his eyebrows and grunted in surprise when someone suddenly bumped his shoulder.

He looked to see Jamisen walking past.

"Apologies," the Angelonian apologized. He was carrying books in his hands as he continued walking.

Harry watched him. "Who's that?" he asked.

"Oh, that's Jamisen Matthews," Halsey explained. "He's an Angelonian Transcendant; an angel, to be more specific. He's a follower of rules."

"...I see," Harry hummed.

"Hey! Harry!"

The two looked over at Matthew as he walked toward them.

"We've got chores to do, man!" The Evaran said sternly.

"Good afternoon, Matthew," Halsey greeted.

"Top of the morning to you, Hiccup," Matthew said playfully.

Halsey's eyes widened, and he pouted. "Matthew! I thought I asked you not to call me by that name!"

Matthew chuckled in response before he looked at Harry. "Come on. We've got chores."

"Alright, alright," the Dosyrian relented before he waved to Halsey and walked after Matthew.

In the music room, Paige was sitting at the grand piano, her fingers dancing along the keys.

"Very good, Miss Kendrick," Lady Marietta complimented. She glanced at the other students. They were staring at Paige in amazement, some of them were blushing.

She hummed softly before she cleared her throat.

"That's all for today, students," she said, "pack up and make sure not to leave any of your instruments. Mikaela, I'm looking at you."

"That was one time," the Dolvadian pouted, and Jared and Raf chuckled softly.

Paige chuckled softly as she got up from the seat.

"Miss Kendrick," Lady Marietta called, making the Evaran look at her, "may I have a word?"

Paige nodded. As the other students gathered their packed instruments and left the music room, Lady Marietta walked over to Paige.

"You do very well on the piano and your violin," she complimented, "you seem to have that kind of song going with your classmates."

Paige tilted her head, "What do you mean, Lady Marietta?"

Lady Marietta furrowed her eyebrows. "Well, surely you've noticed it, dear. The way most of your classmates look at you; the way you carry yourself. When you hold yourself as you play your instrument."

The Evaran blinked in confusion.

"Lady Marietta," a familiar voice called.

The two looked over at Lady Petrina.

"Headmaster Prokopios wants to see you," she said.

"Ah," Lady Marietta hummed, then she nodded. She looked at Paige, "You head on back to your dorm, sweetie. I'll talk to you later."

"Yes, ma'am," the Dual-Blooded girl nodded before she excused herself to Lady Petrina and walked out of the music room.

Lady Petrina watched her go before she looked at Lady Marietta. She cocked an eyebrow. "Don't be Lady Corice," she said.

Lady Marietta returned the look. "I'm just being nice. Unlike Florentia."

Petrina chuckled dryly as the two women walked down the hallway.

Harry walked down the hallway, holding his nightgown. He wasn't going to say it out loud, but he felt a little silly wearing the nightgown. He exhaled sharply before he walked over to the large door.

This must be the large shower room, he thought, and he slowly leaned forward and pressed his ear up against the door. He could hear laughter and water running.

He let out a deep sigh and tried his best to relax his shoulders.

It was just showering with other guys. Surely there was nothing bad about that.

So why... did he feel anxious?

The Dosyrian closed his eyes for a moment before he slowly pushed the door open and stepped into the large shower room. The tile floor was cold, and the walls were painted blue.

For the boys, hm? Harry thought.

"He's here."

He looked at a couple of the boys who were sitting in the large pool of water.

And he recognized one of them.

Thaine Torkill.

He had band-almond brown skin, deep green eyes, and raven-black hair.

He was a nineteen-year-old Hicarian. And one of the best students in Gym Class.

"Hey there," another nineteen-year-old boy greeted nonchalantly with a wave. He had pale ivory skin, bleached blonde and chestnut-coffee brown hair, and dark gray eyes.

"Hello," Harry greeted with a nod as he slowly walked forward.

"So what's your name? I tend to forget at times," the blonde boy chuckled. "Why don't you join us in the bath and introduce yourself?"

Harry looked at him, then at the water.

"Why's the water so dark?" he asked.

"According to Lady Florentia, it's special herb water that she and a few of the other teachers brewed today," the blonde boy explained. "It's good for the skin."

"Never had a proper soak, country boy?" Another nineteen-year-old boy questioned, before he and a fourth nineteen-year-old boy snickered. The fourth boy was holding a small crystal that had mist flowing from the tip of it.

Harry frowned, "I'm not a country boy."

"Come and join us," Thaine coaxed gently, "make yourself comfortable."

Harry stared at him for a moment before he silently exhaled through his nostrils. He nodded once before he slowly stepped into the pool and sat down.

Thaine smiled at him. "I assume you already know who I am, but I'm Thaine Oyelowo," he said, "you may know about my brother, Torkill."

Harry nodded. Thaine gestured to the blonde boy. "This is Tywin Chatwin," he gestured to the other two boys, "and those two—"

"I'm Vonn Kingsbury," the first boy grinned. He had pale ivory skin, charcoal and jet-black hair, and heterochromatic eyes; the left eye was deep teal-blue and the right eye was light green.

"I'm Valerio Rebello," the second boy chuckled, blowing a small puff of smoke from his lips. He had almond-chestnut brown skin, deep red eyes, and wisteria-purple hair.

"I'm Harry Haddock," Harry replied.

"So you're fresh off the boat too, huh?" Thaine questioned, looking impressed but also curious.

"I... guess," the Dosyrian replied.

"So fresh," Vonn chuckled.

"Shh, shut up," Tywin hissed at the Satanian, splashing him with water. Then he cleared his throat and looked at Harry. "So, Harry, what made you want to come to the Academy?"

Harry blinked in surprise before he cast his eyes down to the water. A faraway expression formed on his features. "My dad... passed away," he began.

Thaine's eyes softened. "My condolences."

"So my mom thought it would be safe that I enroll here," Harry continued with a small nod. "So far... everything's been good. I've got good friends here. Friends that I recognize."

Valerio cocked an eyebrow.

Harry inhaled sharply, then cleared his throat. He looked at Thaine, then at Tywin, then at Valerio and Vonn. "What about all of you? Why did you guys decide to enroll here?"

Tywin let out a soft giggle as he scooted closer to the Dosyrian. "Well, you'll find out... AFTER THIS!" He grabbed Harry by the throat and dunked him under the water. Valerio and Vonn quickly joined the Etheran as they pinned Harry down against the floor.

Harry struggled frantically against the three Transcendants' iron grip, beating his hands against the porcelain, gurgled, muffled sounds escaping his throat.

Thaine smiled darkly as he watched Tywin, Vonn, and Valerio.

"Hold him under!" Tywin grunted.

"I've got his arm!" Vonn huffed with determination.

"He's as slippery as an eel!" Valerio smirked.

Tywin looked at Thaine. "We've got him! We're reeling in!"

The Hicarian didn't say anything.

Harry continued struggling, muffled gurgling sounds of panicked protest escaping his open mouth. His eyes flickered from emerald green to crimson red. Then they rolled to the back of his head, and he passed out.

Thaine's smile fell. "That's enough," he said. He immediately moved forward, pushing the three boys back. "I said that's enough!"

He quickly picked Harry up and slowly leaned his head down to the Dosyrian's lips. His eyes widened in horror.

"What did you do?" he murmured before he looked at Tywin. "He's not breathing!"

Tywin's eyes widened in alarm and confusion.

"I thought that was the plan!" Vonn piped up.

Thaine glared at him. "It was supposed to be a little trial. Not a goddamn killing!"

Vonn flinched back, a nervous expression appearing on his face. Even Valerio looked uneasy.

Thaine took Harry, stepped out of the tub, and gently laid him on the floor. "Hey, are you okay?" he said, gently shaking him.

"Bloody hell," he muttered, trying to keep the panic out of his voice. He gently patted Harry's cheek before he looked at Valerio, "Go get me the towels!"

The Satanian nodded before he turned and hurried to the shelves.

The other boys poked their heads out from behind the nearby curtains.

"By the stars..."

"What's happening?"

Thaine shook Harry again. "Come on... wake up, man. Wake up!"

Harry slowly opened his eyes and looked around. He wasn't in the shower room. The sky was dark. There were barely any stars that seemed to flicker in the night.

He looked at his feet. The grass was black.

He swallowed before he heard a sound and he looked toward the sound... only to freeze when a large shadow appeared before him. It had the appearance of a dragon. It bared its teeth, its eleven eyes glowing bright crimson.

"Little Dragon," it rasped, walking toward him.

Harry's shoulders trembled as he watched the shadow-like creature. The prayer that he had been taught to say had died on his tongue.

The shadow circled around him. "Your little academy prayer will not work here," it hummed deeply, "it will not push me from your mind."

"Is he okay?"

"What if he's dead?"

"What do we do?"

"Thaine, we've got to do something!" Tywin urged, "preferably before the teachers come down here to check—"

"I know!" Thaine snapped, "shut up!" He glared at Harry's still form before he facepalmed with a panicked growl.

Harry watched the shadow-like creature circle around him. He noticed that its tails were fox-like. "What... you're..." he murmured.

"Hm?" The shadow-like creature hummed deeply, looking at Harry with an expression close to curiosity.

"You're tall," Harry said lamely. An amused expression formed on the creature's face before it rumbled with amusement.

"That's something I certainly wasn't expecting from you, Little Dragon," it said.

"What do you want with me?" Harry asked cautiously.

The creature suddenly leaned its head closer until its gaze met directly with Harry's.

"I wanted to see you," it answered.

Thaine's eyes widened in realization. "I know what to do," he said. He placed both hands on Harry's chest and started pressing them down and up.

The other boys watched nervously.

Thaine opened Harry's mouth before he leaned down and pressed his mouth against the Dosyrian's.

Tywin widened his eyes. So did Valerio. Vonn froze.

Thaine pulled away before he started pressing his hands down and up on Harry's chest again.

Harry stared into the creature's eyes. "Why me?"

"You are not the only one," the creature hummed. Shadows flickered past the Dual-Blooded boy's feet. "But I suppose I'm not the one who has to tell you that."

"What?" Harry questioned, his eyebrows narrowing back.

The shadow-like creature moved back, its maw opening. Before Harry could do anything, the creature let out a void-scream, and an unseen force sent Harry flying back as darkness seeped into the atmosphere.

Harry's eyelids snapped open, and he gasped sharply before he coughed out spurts of water. Thaine quickly turned him on his side, a relieved expression on his face.

"Breathe," he said gently, "breathe."

Harry took deep breaths, trembling slightly.

"Can you talk?" Thaine asked.

Harry took a few more breaths before he exhaled, then nodded. "I-I'm okay... I'm okay."

Thaine nodded before he wrapped a towel around the Dosyrian's shoulders. "I apologize on behalf of my friends," he said, "their baptism was meant as a welcome, not torment. Please forgive their misbehavior."

Valerio and Vonn exchanged a glance, staying quiet.

Harry swallowed, then exhaled.

"Get some rest," Thaine said before he stood up, turned, and walked to the shelf. He grabbed a towel and wrapped it around his waist. Then he looked back at the others. "What? Bathtime is over. Off with you—light a candle and say your prayers, then pass out. Go on, get!"

He opened the door, and the other boys started walking out, some of them casting worried glances in Harry's direction.

Thaine glared at Vonn. "Vonn, meet me in the prayer room," he said sternly before he walked out of the shower room.

A bead of sweat ran down the Dual-Blooded boy's face before he nodded. "Right," he murmured before he and Valerio walked out of the shower room.

Harry stared at the floor before he slowly rubbed his face. His heart rate had slowed down to a normal rate. After a few moments, he pushed himself to his feet and walked out of the shower room.