13 | NEW ARRIVALS

   WINTER clapped along with everyone else as three SUV limousines holding all thirty children from the Isle drove the roundabout.

The cars were all in a line and Winter watched as the first one pulled up. The driver quickly got out and opened the door.

A group of ten or so children ranging between the ages of ten and seventeen exited one by one. Winter kept an eye out for either Harry or Uma, but when neither came she figured they must have been in one of the other two limos behind.

When the next limo pulled up, Winter was greeted with the same results, no Harry or Uma. Finally, the last limo pulled up and the driver raced out to open the door.

The first one to exit the car was a boy with vibrant red hair. Winter slowly counted one by one, growing anxious as the number climbed. Perhaps they chose not to come?

Her prediction was proven incorrect when a second later, one of Uma's friends that Winter recognizes as Gil steps out with a large smile. Jay smiled back, handing the teen a wave, Gil eagerly waving back.

Next came Uma, the teal-haired girl adorning much jewelry and ocean-wear in her long hair. Her outfit looked like one of a true female pirate mixed in with some sort of siren.

Winter's heart picked up, the girl swallowing as a familiar chain ridden boot steps out from the dark limo. Harry Hook in all his glory emerges from the vehicle. He was exactly how she remembered with eyes that resembled the ocean coated with dark eyeliner.

He was still tan, wearing an outfit similar to the one she first saw him in, a long red trenchcoat, dark chained-up jeans, a large pirate hat which covered his dark locks, and most of all, the gleaming silver hook.

He was smirking and stood ideally next to Uma, Gil on Uma's other side. It was as though both were bodyguards to her, but if one were to look closer they would see the unbreakable bond of three friends staying together for support.

None of the new VKs would ever admit it, but this was all overwhelming. From what they had seen of Auradon Prep, it was bigger than either Serpent Prep or Dragon Hall. And all of Auradon was way bigger than the Isle itself.

Most of these kids had never seen a place so green, so bright, so beautiful.

Harry Hook himself could only think of one other thing he had seen that rivaled the beauty of Auradon. A pair of big brown eyes came to his mind.

Winter stopped clapping along with everyone else as the Fairy Godmother held up her arms, a kind smile drawn over her face.

"Welcome," she cheered, "to Auradon Prep!"

A few of the Isle kids were bouncing in excitement, but Winter only had eyes for Harry.

Harry Hook was facing the Fairy Godmother, but his gaze slowly began scanning the student body as though looking for something. Winter tilted her head, wondering what he was looking for. Perhaps he was just looking around.

"I am King Ben!" Ben stepped forward with a smile. "Take this opportunity as a fresh start! Everyone is happy that we have come together as one. We are stronger as a whole, all of us united." Be suddenly turned to Mal with a large smile. "I have decided to allow Mal to give the majority of your introduction, as she is able to relate to you all far more than I would ever be able to..." Ben smiled while stepping back.

Mal cleared her throat, flashing a smile. Winter rose a brow in surprise when Uma smiled back and began clapping causing every other new VK to follow in suit. Harry gave a whoop for Mal.

Apparently Mal and Uma were now more than cool with each other. Winter suspected it was the start of a great friendship between the two.

"Hey guys," Mal smiled, "I think we can all agree when I say that I am so happy the day is finally here where we are no longer looking from the Isle wishing to be on the beautiful place across. While the Isle will always be our roots and for some of us, our home, Auradon is no doubt the fresh start that each and every one of us deserves," murmurs of agreement rang throughout the crowd.

"Trust me, adjusting is going to be hard, way harder than you think actually..." Mal chuckled.

Jay nodded from next to her. "Yeah, it is seriously going to be difficult..."

"But," Evie cut in, "eventually it gets easier and suddenly..." Evie looked to Carlos, waiting for him to finish her statement.

"—And suddenly, you're going to wake up and realize that this is all actually your life now and that feeling is one of the best things you are ever going to experience..." people smiled at Carlos's words, Uma putting her arms around Harry and Gil's shoulders.

All three of the pirates had huge grins on their faces. This was a day that none of them had ever thought would happen.

Mal took the floor once again, going back on with her speech. "Some of you may love it here and some of you may hate it, either way, it's okay because we are free to do whatever we want. Our futures are bright, whether you want to move as far away from the Isle as you can get or even stay there, it's up to you..." people burst into another round of applause at Mal's words of inspiration.

Winter smiled at the purple-haired girl, knowing she would make the best queen that history had seen.

"...However, as of now, you are all students at Auradon Prep. With that being said, I am going to be blunt. Auradon is extremely different from the Isle, the usual things a lot of us are used to are strictly prohibited. For one there is no stealing and definitely no weapons..." a few exchanged nervous glances as guards came around with rucksacks outstretched, "we ask that you all place any weapon you may have into the rucksack, you will get them back later this evening, but walking around campus bearing any weapons is not allowed meaning that after you get your items back they must remain in your dorm room at all times..."

All of everyone, though they were wary, eventually gave their weapons. Uma rolled her eyes but placed any weapons on her in the bag. Gil followed and Harry placed his sword in afterward.

"The hook please," a guard standing in front of Harry motioned to the gleaming hook on his hand.

Harry immediately glared defensively, opening his mouth to put up a fight before Uma elbowed him. Winter watched the exchange.

"You will get it back later, Harry," Uma hissed as Harry begrudgingly gave up his beloved hook.

"Thank you all for the cooperation," Mal folded her hands together. "We have planned out all of today's activities accordingly, after your introduction, you will follow a few us on a tour of the school. Auradon Prep is large compared to the schools on the Isle and we have many more kids in attendance here, so it is important you get to know your way around. After the tour, I assume you will all be tired, so we will be giving you your assigned roommates and taking you to your rooms where your stuff will be waiting."

"You will remain in your dorm rooms to rest or explore campus until dinner. At dinner, myself, Ben, Evie, Jay, and Carlos will pick you all up and we will go to the dining hall together. After dinner, we ask that you remain in the dining hall so that we can sign you all up for classes. The process may take a while, but we have a few helpers so we will try to get through it as quickly as possible." Mal smiled, looking to Ben who stepped forward speaking for the first time since his opening.

Ben placed his hands behind his back in a formal manner. "Once your schedules have all been created, you will go back to your dorms for the night—" Ben was cut off by Fairy Godmother.

"I have this little thing about curfews, so please no loitering after hours or consequences will be delivered," quite a few VKs looked as though they wanted to laugh in Fairy Godmother's face, but luckily all of them refrained.

Ben cleared his throat awkwardly, addressing the crowd once more. "On your schedules, your assigned classes will have the building and room number, if you any trouble with directions then anyone on campus will be happy to assist you. The teachers have also been told to be lenient on times for the first few weeks as we understand the school can be quite hard to navigate at first—"

"—But you'll get used to it!" Evie piped with a cheery smile, her eyes finding Harry's and a mischievous grin spread across her face.

Harry actually looked slightly scared, unsure as to why the preppy fashion-designer was looking at him like that. Winter groaned seeing this as well, having a feeling she knew just why Evie was smiling.

"Any questions we will be happy to answer on the tour, but before we begin, Fairy Godmother would like to introduce a few people..." Ben nodded at Fairy Godmother who came forward.

Fairy Godmother who wore her usual blue skirt-suit had her wand in hand. Since the barrier had come down, it was decided the Fairy Godmother would once again keep her wand in case an emergency arose. After the whole Audrey thing especially, it was simply better if Fairy Godmother had her wand on hand at all times.

"At Auradon Prep, the majority of our students come from people with rather prominent roots. I would simply like to introduce our students who are of these backgrounds." Winter's eyes went wide along with Ben's.

Neither one had been expecting this, but it was obvious what the Fairy Godmother was doing. She was going to be introducing the students with royal backgrounds, the reason behind this was obviously a clear sign that these students were especially not to be touched.

It was upsetting that the Fairy Godmother was doing it, but it was also apparent to Winter that Fairy Godmother was simply nervous. It was not only the VKs allowed off the Isle, it was all villains, meaning a few may just want a chance to pick at their old enemies once again.

"First and foremost, we have our very own King Ben who is the son of King Adam and Belle," Fairy Godmother introduced, motioning to Ben who's cheeks were now burning a bright crimson.

Most of the VKs had deadpan expressions on their faces, though a few made faces of interest. Harry and Uma for one had unimpressed looks etched on their faces, a clear sign they knew exactly Fairy Godmother was doing.

"Next, may we introduce Princess Audrey, daughter of King Philip and Aurora," Audrey sighed but slowly made her way to the front, standing next to Ben.

A few VKs glared at her, Audrey herself looking as though she wanted to shrink away and die. At one point, Audrey would have loved the attention and no doubt would have made a small speech of her own, but now all Audrey wanted was to disappear from all eyes.

"Next is Prince Chad Charming, son of King Charming and Cinderella..." Chad quickly made his way up, a cocky smile on his face, though he stood slightly in front of Audrey as though protecting her from the glares of some.

Winter felt a deep pit forming in her stomach when she realized who the next was to be called. Winter was next in line to be Queen of Ice, Winter, and Snow. At one point, there had been five truly royal students who attended Auradon Prep. It had been Ben, Audrey, Chad, Winter, and the daughter of Snow White and King Florian, a sweet girl named Sonny.

They had been known as the big five as they were the only students whose parents were truly considered royals. However, Sonny left the second it was announced that Evie from the Isle would be coming, Snow White and King Florian immediately pulled her from Auardon Prep and sent her to Dynasty Academy where many other royal children went.

Sonny never even had a chance to meet Evie and see how nice she truly was.

Winter shook off thoughts of Sonny as Fairy Godmother met her gaze from upfront, the woman smiling and holding a hand out.

"And last but not least, daughter of the King of Winter: Jack Frost, and the Snow Queen: Elsa, also the very student who holds the highest grades that Auradon Prep has ever seen, Princess Winter Frost..." Winter's face burned pink, but she was only glad the Fairy Godmother had enough mercy not to use her full name.

She would not know what to do if people started calling her Winterfell.

Harry Hook thought himself immune to the idea of love at one point. He was one of the most feared pirates on the Isle, he was Uma's first mate, and together he, Gil, and Uma made the sea three.

Sure, he often flirted with women—but at the Isle—no relationship ever got further than a night in bed. It was just that simple.

Unlike most kids of the Isle, Harry knew what love felt like. He knew because he felt it for his two sisters: Harriet and CJ, he felt it for his best-friends: Uma and Gil, and while hated to say it, he felt it for his father: James Hook (even if he was a raging drunk). Harry himself may have been wild, sneaky, and quite a bit insane, but he was loyal to those he loved.

When Harry first set his eyes on the girl with long brown hair, ghastly pale skin, and huge doe eyes, he swore he felt his heart actually skip a beat. She had been the most beautiful creature he had ever laid eyes on. He still remembered when he first saw her, it had been right after they realized Mal had given them a false wand and Uma yelled attack.

She was standing near the back, her small body was trembling and the sword she was holding had been shaking. She looked petrified, and it honestly amused Harry.

When he actually got to her and had her backed against the wall, he basked in the way her small form fit against his and how she looked at him with those wide eyes. Not to mention, she smelled nice, a complete opposite of how most girls from the Isle smelled.

She smelled of berries he had thought, something that he absolutely loved.

He never wanted anyone more than he wanted her. He would not lie either, he was both sad and enraged when she and the others got away. For a second, he had thought he would be able to act on his selfish desire and keep her on the Isle with him. But she got away, slipped right through his grasp.

At first, Harry tried shaking her off, thinking he would forget about her. But then no matter what or who he did, he could not get those big brown eyes out of his head. She was haunting him and he did not even know her name.

The unnamed girl invaded his thoughts for months, and he eventually promised himself that he was going to find her again. He would do anything to get to Auradon and get her in his grasp once more.

During the months he thought about her: all he knew her by was 'his little duckling' and as much as he loved the nickname for her, he wanted to know her birth name. When the opportunity to get to Auradon presented itself, Harry wasted no time in grabbing Gil and breaking out. Uma had been MIA somewhere out there too, so he had two people on his mind to find.

Find his little duckling and Uma.

Eventually, while helping save Auradon, he learned from Evie that the girl he had been pining after for months was Winter Frost. Daughter of Jack Frost and Elsa. That little factor only intrigued Harry all the more, and he could not get sick of the name Winter which was invading his mind.

That explained why her skin had been slightly colder than average and the reason she was wearing those gloves. At first, he thought it was an Auradon girl thing, but he now understood it was simply a Winter thing.

Now, as he stood listening to the introduction, he was scanning the crowd around for Winter. He was not sure what he planned to do when he saw her, but he figured it involved quite a bit a flirting.

He still remembered how flustered she got last time, it was adorable. Especially when she spouted that random fact.

Once Fairy Godmother announced Winter's name, Harry was turning his head and his heart lurched at the sight of the girl he vividly remembered. Except, she looked slightly different. She still had the same big brown eyes and small body, but now she wore clothing which made her look like the pure opposite of everything the Isle stood for.

She looked clean, organized, respectable, and still utterly beautiful. Though Harry wished her hair was down so he could run his hands through those long brown locks.

Winter was blushing the entire time she made her way to the front, standing next to Ben, all four of them looking to the VKs with large smiles.

"Winter here will also be helping in giving the tours as well as showing some of you to your dorm rooms. She will also be helping with your schedules later!" Fairy Godmother smiled.

Winter looked back to the large crowd of VKs. And like that, her gaze clashed with Harry Hook for the first time in over ten months.