Hunter and Eda stood backstage, Flapjack on his shoulder.

"What if I fail? What if glyph magic doesn't count as magic to Hexside and I'm not even allowed to enroll, let alone get put in the baby class?" Hunter worried, pacing back and forth.

"Nah, kid, you got this. Just do what we practiced." Eda said. Flapjack chirped, also trying to help comfort him. He took a deep breath.

"Alright." He said. But after a few moments he started pacing again. "But what if I mess something up, or do something wrong, or-"

"Hey. Calm down." Eda said, putting a hand on the shoulder Flapjack wasn't perched on, stopping him from pacing any further. "I had to do the same thing when I was a witchling. It's like a rite of passage. Granted, I was a little more skilled."

"Eda!" Hunter said.

"Right, right. Sorry. Now get pumped!" Eda said. Hunter nodded, taking another deep breath. "Get ready."

"I'm ready." Hunter said.

"Now go!" Eda said, pushing him onstage.

The curtains opened, to reveal Principal Bump sitting among the empty amphitheater seats, holding a clipboard. Hunter waved awkwardly.

"Right - your name is Hunter Noceda, correct?" Principal Bump asked.

"Yup." Hunter said.

"A powerless witch." The principal added. "That already has a palisman? Against my better judgement, I've allowed you to take this exam into Hexside. But can you even do magic to pass this exam?"

"Um, yeah. I can do spells with my palisman, but other than that I can do a couple glyphs." Hunter said, getting out and activating a light glyph. He took out an ice glyph and set it on the ground, before stepping on it with his foot and creating an ice pillar from the stage.

"Spells cast with paper? I've never heard of such a thing." Principal Bump said. "But is it enough to pass the exam?" He muttered to himself.

"Psst. Improvise." Eda whispered to him. Hunter looked at Flapjack, who chirped and turned into staff form.

"But I can do a spell with my palisman! That I've totally mastered." Hunter lied with a nervous chuckle. He thrust the tip of the staff towards the ice pillar, letting out a yellow energy blast, and ducked when it deflected off the ice pillar and was sent barreling towards Principal Bump-

With a duck, the blast hit the chair behind the principal instead, singed.

"Uh... I failed, didn't I?" Hunter asked nervously.

"Believe it or not, I've seen worse." Principal Bump replied. "Welcome, Hunter, to Hexside School of Magic and Demonics!"

Hunter let out a sigh of relief.

+.*.+

"Alright kid, since you have your own palisman, you can fly to school yourself." Eda said. "Don't die on the way there."

"Thanks for the support." Hunter said, crossing his arms. He was in the Hexside uniform, however the sleeves and pants were a light grey - signifying he hadn't chosen a track yet. Flapjack chirped.

"Eh, you'll be fine." Eda said.

"See you!" Hunter said, Flapjack turning to staff form as he flew to Hexside.

Landing at the front steps, he took a deep breath, Flapjack perching on his shoulder. A banner hung from the building, reading 'WELCOME TO THE NEW SEMESTER'. Various students were arriving at Hexside when Amity walked over, an abomination following and copying her movements.

"Hey Hunter. Congrats on getting in. And not being in the baby class." Amity said.

"Thanks." Hunter said. Amity gave the smallest of smiles before walking off. Their truce seemed like it was gradually becoming a friendship.

"Alright, my first day. I can't screw this up." Hunter said, talking to both himself and Flapjack at the same time. He headed up the front steps, walking through the halls when he encountered Willow and Gus.

"Hunter!" They said, coming over.

"Hey guys." Hunter said.

"Hello, classmate." Willow said with a wink. Hunter's ears went a little red.

"You did it, Hunter!" Gus said, summoning letters. They formed to say "BETTER LUCK NEXT TIME!". Willow glared at him. "Sorry, I was, uh, covering all my bases."

"So, do you know who those witches are?" Willow asked, gesturing to nine banners. "Those are the heads of the main nine covens. Each one excelled at a magic school like Glandus, St. Epiderm, and of course, Hexside."

"Cool." Hunter said. "Well, I need to go now, see you!"

"See you later, Hunter!" Gus said summoning more letters. They formed the words "GOODBYE FOREVER!", and Willow just glared at him again. "You know what? I'm, uh, I'ma just get rid of these."

+.*.+

Hunter closed the door behind him, sitting down in front of Principal Bump at his office desk.

"Hey, Principal Bump." He said.

"Hello." The principal said. "Now, today we'll be visited by the Emperor's Coven for a routine inspection. If we want to impress them, you'll need to join a coven track before they arrive."

Hunter paled.

"What?!" Hunter said, immediately standing up as Flapjack chirped. "They can't find me here!"

Principal Bump looked confused. "What do you mean?"

"You haven't seen all these wanted posters?" Hunter asked, taking one out and handing it to Principal Bump. "I didn't even do anything and they're looking for me! If they find me here they'll capture me for sure!"

Principal Bump went silent for a moment, thinking. "Well, for the time being, you'll attend classes as usual. When the Emperor's Coven arrives, I'll put you in the Detention Track - not because you're in trouble, but because none of the coven scouts will be supervising that track." He explained. "So pick a track."

Hunter nodded, sitting down. Everything would be fine. It was a solid plan.

He looked through the nine options. All of them seemed really interesting, and he really wanted to try taking all of them, but he knew that Hexside only allowed students to pick one track. He stared long and hard, thinking.

"I'll choose the Potions Track." Hunter said finally.

"Good choice." Principal Bump said. He traced a spell circle, and Hunter's sleeves and pants turned from light grey to yellow.

+.*.+

Hunter entered the Potions 101 classroom with Flapjack on his shoulder, sitting down in front of a cauldron like the rest of the students were.

"Welcome to a new semester! Let's get stirring! Today we'll make..." The potions teacher said, grabbing a potion. "Fog brews." She smashed the potion on the ground, creating a fog, and when it cleared the teacher was standing in front of the desk instead of behind it. "Begin!"

Hunter got out a potions textbook and flipped to a page about fog brews, pouring a test tube into a cauldron, before stirring the cauldron with the rest of the class.

+.*.+

Hunter looked at the schedule, reading 'Potions for Beginners, Potions in Motion, Potions (again), Still Potions, Potions 'Till You Die, Potions After Death'. He rolled his eyes. Flapjack chirped and he looked up, seeing a coven scout and quickly hiding around the corner.

"I have to find Principal Bump." Hunter muttered to himself.

And so, a few minutes later, Principal led Hunter and Flapjack inside the Detention Track room. "You'll be safe in here. Try not to cause any trouble." And the door closed. Hunter sat down on one of the seats.

"Uh... hi." Hunter said after a few moments of silence.

"Hey! You all better be quiet, unless you want to scrub the classroom again." The detention teacher said. Hunter just awkwardly shut his mouth before he made things worse.

+.*.+

After a while, the detention teacher had fallen asleep, and Hunter was staring out the window, absent-mindedly petting Flapjack. He watched as a kindergarten class was happening.

"Hunter!"

He flinched, not expecting a sudden noise, before realizing that Willow and Gus were standing outside the window.

"Oh, hey." Hunter said.

"What's going on? We didn't see you in any of the classes for a while." Gus asked.

"Principal Bump let me hide in the detention track until the coven scouts leave." Hunter said.

"Oh, yeah. The Emperor's Coven is looking for you." Willow said. She paused. "But won't you miss some important potions lessons then?"

"I'll be fine. I can catch up." Hunter said.

"Well, we'll see you later I guess!" Gus said, and the two walked off. Hunter turned back to the room and yelped when he saw that girl from the Healing Coven suddenly right in front of him. Viney, was it?

"Shh." She said, pointing to snoring detention teacher.

"You're Viney, from the Healing Coven, right?" Hunter whispered. Viney nodded.

"Yeah, I remember you got attacked by some demon." Viney whispered back. "Now follow us."

Hunter, deciding he had nothing better to do, decided to just follow them. Viney led him to the chalkboard, where she drew a square with a keyhole in the center, and turned the chalk in the hole like a key. The square glowed and swung open, revealing a passageway.

They climbed inside, the square sealing shut behind them.

"What is this place?" Hunter asked.

"This is the last room you'll ever see alive." Viney said. "Nah, just messing with ya. What's your name, since you know mine?"

"Oh, I'm Hunter." He answered.

"Well, Hunter, it's pretty hard to ignore all the wanted posters of you around outside school. What did you do to get on the run?" Viney asked. Hunter simply shrugged. Viney stared at him for a few moments.

"Well, I guess that makes you a fellow troublemaker. And that means you get access to the Secret Room of Shortcuts!" She said, opening a door to reveal a tower-like room with a spiraling ramp. The walls, floor and ceiling were covered in doors and windows.

"Whoa..." Hunter said, looked at the place with curiosity.

"Hey, Jerbo! Barcus! You can stop hiding now!" Viney called.

Two students with dark gray sleeves and pants came through a door - although one was a dog.

"How do we know he's cool, man? How do we know he won't turn us in?" The boy said, most probably Jerbo. He turned to the dog student. "What do you think?"

The dog student barked.

"Barcus says your aura is determined and knowledgeable, and hints towards a mysterious past." Jerbo said.

Hunter stared. "Sounds about right."

"Well, welcome!" Jerbo said with a grin.

"I've never heard of secret rooms at Hexside before." Hunter said, knocking on one of the doors before turning back to them. "Where do these doors lead to?"

"This place connects the different parts of the school." Viney answered. "We found it after being thrown in the detention track. The witch who made it is known as..."

She gestured towards a defaced portrait and wall of signatures. "Lord Calamity."

"They started this troublemaker wall and we added our names in their honor." Jerbo added.

"What do you guys do with this place?" Hunter asked.

"Well, we got thrown in here for mixing magic, so we study all the kinds of magic in secret." Viney said, pointing to Barcus, who was listening in on an Oracle class. Hunter walked over and listened in too.

"Remember, seeing the end of a life is the beginning of reading a fortune. We have to work backwards from it to see the truth." The Oracle teacher said, folding a fortune teller. Barcus did the same.

"I tried mixing plant magic with abominations." Jerbo said. Barcus barked. "Barcus tried making potions with oracle magic."

"Mixing healing and beastkeeping was slightly unconventional." Viney said. "But Puddles was a great assistant, dang it! We all want to be in more than one coven track! But Bump just says we need to focus."

"It was hard for me to pick just one track as well. Shouldn't schools encourage learning?" Hunter said.

"Exactly! I'm glad you're one of us. You've made a great first impression." Viney said. She pulled out a marker. "Would you like to add your name to the troublemaker wall?"

Hunter hesitated, before finally taking the marker. "Sure."

+.*.+

After listening in on a bunch of different lessons (and Hunter occasionally info dumping on wild magic), the four of them heard Willow and Gus' voices through the walls.

"Hunter! There's something really bad happening!" Willow called.

"One second." Hunter said, and Viney, Jerbo and Barcus nodded as Hunter opened a door into the hallway, seeing Willow and Gus.

"Hey guys, what's going on?" Hunter asked.

"So you know how an inspector from the Emperor's Coven was coming to Hexside?" Gus said. "Well, turns out that the inspector is some magic-sucking creature, and now both Amity and Principal Bump and a bunch of other teachers and students are knocked out and everyone's running and panicking!"

They looked down the hall and noticed the basilisk, and Hunter quickly pulled Willow and Gus inside the secret room, closing the door behind them.

"I think that's a greater basilisk." Viney said, the detention track students having heard everything. "I heard about them in a class. My cousin at St. Epiderm said she saw one, but those things should be extinct."

"It must've attacked the other schools before coming to ours. We have to do something." Hunter said.

"But if Bump catches us mixing magic again-" Jerbo started.

"-He'd kick us outta school." Viney finished.

"We have to do something. Students are getting hurt." Hunter said. "If Principal Bump tries to expel you guys I'll try to convince him not to."

The three detention track students shared a look.

"Alright, let's do it." Viney said.

+.*.+

In one of Hexside's hallways, the basilisk was draining the magic of a student.

"Hungry! Still hungry!" It said.

An ice glyph was thrown towards the basilisk, activating a pillar of ice that knocked the creature back. Hunter held Flapjack in staff form, ice glyphs held in his free hand.

"What's about to happen should be relatively painless, if you just do what I say." Hunter said. The basilisk just growled.

"Dinner!" It yelled, charging towards him. He ran further down the hall, the basilisk chasing him.

"Viney! Now!" Hunter yelled.

A griffin, called Puddles, flew through the halls and attacked the basilisk.

"Attagirl, Puddles!" Viney called. "Jerbo, now!"

"On it!" Jerbo replied. An abomination opened a door on the floor as Jerbo summoned several thorny vines, which latched onto a door handle on the ceiling.

The basilisk threw Puddles off it and threw her, and fell through the opened door. Hunter hopped in after it, sending it through the door in the floor of the Secret Room of Shortcuts. The basilisk fell onto the auditorium stage, where Principal Bump and Amity lay. Bump stirred.

Hunter flew down to the stage on Flapjack. "All you, Barcus!"

Barcus barked and grabbed the basilisk's palm, before dumping a potion on the basilisk's hand. He squinted at it, before his eyes glowed.

Jerbo's abomination pulled on a rope that Puddles cut with her beak, which dropped sandbags on the basilisk's stomach. All the magic it ate released and returned to their owners. Amity and Principal Bump gasped and sat up.

Viney went over to heal Puddles' scratched paw, before she flew off.

"Yes! We did it." Hunter said.

"And you are in so much trouble." Principal Bump said, referring to the detention track students, getting up and dusting himself off. "Leaving your homeroom, mixing magic - and is that a secret hideout?"

Willow and Gus quickly shut an open trapdoor closed.

"Yeah, it is. But let's think about this, Principal Bump. Isn't a school supposed to educate?" Hunter said.

"Yes, but Hexside needs funding from the Emperor's Coven. They'd never give us that if our students studied multiple tracks." Principal Bump said.

"Look, I get you need money, but if you have to hinder students' learning then what's the point? They saved Hexside. They should be allowed to study what they wish." Hunter argued.

"B-but-" The principal said, hugging a rule book.

"Do the right thing, ya dingus." Gus said.

"Alright, I'm smart enough to know when I've made a mistake." Principal Bump said finally. "Which tracks would you like to be in?"

"Healing and Beastkeeping!" Viney said.

"Plants and Abomination!" Jerbo said. Barcus barked.

"Then so be it." Principal Bump said. Viney's sleeves turned blue and her pants turned orange - Jerbo's sleeves turned green and his pants magenta - and Barcus' sleeves turned yellow with purple pants. "But if any of you cause more property damage, I'm feeding you to the Choosy Hat."

The principal turned to Hunter. "And you? Assuming you want to multi-track as well."

"Yes, I do." Hunter said. "I'll choose Potions and Beastkeeping."

With a flash, Hunter's pants turned orange, leaving his sleeves yellow.

"You know, there used to be a student who wanted to multi-track as well - except she wanted to study everything. Unfortunately she was never given the opportunity." Principal Bump said, pulling out Lord Calamity's photo. He wiped the graffiti off, revealing a younger version of Eda.

"Makes sense." Hunter said with a chuckle.

+.*.+

Arriving back at the Owl House, Hunter flopped onto the couch next to Eda.

"Have a fun first day?" Eda asked.

"You could say that." Hunter said. Eda's eyes widened when she saw his sleeves and pants' colors.

"Wait, you're in both Potions and Beastkeeping?" She asked.

"Yup. Managed to convince Principal Bump to allow multi-tracking for everyone." Hunter said.

"How?" Eda asked, bewildered.

"By using the Secret Room of Shortcuts, Lord Calamity." Hunter said, pulling out the previously graffitied picture of young Eda.

Eda choked on her own spit, clearly not expecting that. Eda quickly snatched the picture out of Hunter's hands as he gave her a smug grin.

"How did you get this?!" Eda asked. "Also, don't give me that look."

"It will forever be a mystery." Hunter said.

After a few moments of silence Eda spoke again.

"Bump gave it to you didn't he."

"Yeah he did."

+.*.+

In the Emperor's Castle, the Golden Guard stood in her room, holding a picture. The picture was of a young boy and girl - Hunter and Luz as kids. She caressed the photo.

"Don't worry, Hunter. I'll find you, somewhere in the Boiling Isles." She said, taking off her mask to reveal Luz staring out the window at the night sky.