Morgan le Fay Institute for Magic

Chapter 2 - Mighty Moody

Ravenna dragged her feet as she walked onto the campus of Morgan le Fay. Nerves fluttered about in her stomach, but she pressed her lips into a thin line and pushed them down as far as they would go.

Morgan le Fay Institute for Magic, read the wooden sign forever floating above the entrance. It was simple, much like the rest of the campus behind it, with a clear, plain font over a background of lilac and royal-blue – the school's colours. It stood out beautifully against the green background of the Welsh Valley.

Still a little dizzy from the Portkey, the magical item that had transported her here, Ravenna hauled her huge backpack higher up her shoulders and walked down the path towards the campus.

Morgan le Fay was small. Even including the campus, it took up barely a quarter of the Welsh valley it was located in. Shaped like a U, the school stood with open arms, welcoming her back inside. The back of the building, the bottom of the U, was built into the hill behind it, which meant that the classrooms on that side were always cloaked in darkness. This was quite useful for subjects like potions, of which the effectiveness often deteriorated when brewed in bright light.

To the left lay the campus; four white blocks of building housing the bedrooms, two for the girls and two for the guys. A lantern-lit pebbled path connected the campus to the school, which lit up the valley at night.

"Hey there, Little Raven."

Ravenna jumped at the sudden voice in her ear and scowled at the grinning boy in front of her. Her heart made a little leap, which she purposefully ignored.

"I'd really hoped to have at least a few minutes alone, Dante," she said, purposely using the given name he hated so much. She continued her trek towards the school, but her pace had slowed to allow him to catch up.

"Don't c-c-call me that," Dan grumbled.

Ravenna threw a victorious grin over her shoulder and watched him grip his old trunk to follow after her. "Then stop with the stupid nicknames."

"Wow," he said, his ocean-blue eyes twinkling. "Someone's mighty moody today."

She groaned loudly. "Again with that. Just let me go to my dorm in peace, please."

Ravenna knew it wasn't fair how she treated him. She knew she should be kinder to this sweet, tender boy who had stuck beside her for years despite her constant bad mood. But she couldn't. Because if she dropped her mask and opened her heart, he would easily find his way in. The consequences would be disastrous. The stunt she'd pulled in Diagon Alley last week proved that. And so she kept him at arm's length, fighting to ignore his adorable, lopsided smile.

"In c-case you're wondering, my summer was shite, too." His voice had lowered, the smile on his face replaced by a frown. "But at least we're back here now, right?"

Her gut twisted at his words. Even without his irregular letters or his refusal to talk about it in Diagon Alley, she would've known full well how shite his summer really was. As the youngest son in a family of almost-purebloods trying to fit in with real purebloods, Dan's weak magic was humiliating for them. And they never passed up an opportunity to let him know just how much of a disappointment he was.

"Yeah," Ravenna muttered eventually. "At least we're back."

"We're gonna ace level five this year." The smile on his face had returned as if it had never been gone. "Both of us. We'll make sure of it."

Dan's enthusiasm was annoyingly infectious. The corners of her lips tugged upwards. "I will," she teased. "I'm not so sure you can keep up, though."