The earth witch watched as her roommate went through the cafeteria line, asking the lunch lady for extra waffles. Nova was so energetic and cordial, she even made small talk with the dour Sandwich Witch—as the first-years had taken to calling the lunch lady— and made her laugh. It was when Nova picked up two glasses of juice for their trays that Beatrice's eyes went wide.

Nova hated mornings. Her roommate was always in a bad mood if she had to wake up early for class, and she always had coffee with her breakfast, not juice. And she never made small talk if she could get away with it! The tech witch kept to herself so much that Beatrice thought it was a miracle enough that she had warmed up to her roommate and was talking to her at all. As this Nova made her way back to their table, the earth witch kept a careful eye on her, hoping that her suspicion didn't show on her face. And she had called her Beatrice instead of Bee! It was a struggle not to squint at Nova when she arrived at the table.

"Here you are," Nova said, taking their plates off the trays and setting a plate of waffles in front of Beatrice. "And some juice for you."

"Thanks, Nova," Beatrice answered a bit more coldly than she intended. She didn't touch the food or drink but instead adjusted her satchel onto her lap. Her wand was in it; if she could just open the back without Nova noticing...

Nova leaned forward on the table, smiling idly at Beatrice. "I wouldn't reach for your wand if I were you."

The earth with kept her cool. "What are you talking about? I'm just moving my bag, it’s pretty heavy and I didn't want it hanging."

"I know what you were doing, Beatrice." Nova snickered. "Come on, is that any way to treat a friend?"

"You're not my friend." Beatrice's tone was icy. "And the fact you're using Nova's face for this is insulting."

"Insulting, but necessary." The false Nova smirked. "I will admit, you're a lot sharper than I thought. I expected to at least get through breakfast first."

"Well sorry to disappoint you, but I know my roommate very well."

"Good that you do. And because you do, I'm sure you'll know how much a shame it would be if something were to happen to her."

Beatrice sat a bit straighter. "You wouldn't dare."

"Beatrice, you don't even know who I am or what I'm capable of," Nova smirked, tilting her head in a mocking way. "You don't even know where Nova is."

"Alright, enough. What do you want?"

Nova snickered again. "All I need from you is to talk to Professor Hope."

"About what?"

"Nothing. Anything." Nova made a gesture with her hand. "Anything at all, really."

"And if I refuse?"

"Well then, how do I put it..." The false Nova leaned back in the usual way the real Nova would: with her foot pushing against the table leg and balancing the chair on its hind legs. "Anything can happen in Ravensburl. Accidents happen all the time, especially with students having such a free reign over the castle. Maybe a spell would go awry, or a block would dislodge from the battlements... Any number of things could happen, and no one would know why." She smiled, shifty eyes half-lidded.

Beatrice swallowed dryly. "And all you want me to do is talk to Professor Hope? When and where?"

"Ah, ah, ah." Nova wagged her finger. "Just do it, that's all I will tell you. You're not getting more information other than that."

Nova smiled again and stood, the scraping of her chair sounding jarring to Beatrice's ears. "It's a simple enough task, right? You should be able to handle it easily. So don't delay, I will be watching." She reached over to tousle the earth witch's hair before turning to leave.

Furiously smoothing her hair down, Beatrice stared at her roommate's back until she lost her in the crowd of students shuffling out of the main hall. With the pretender out of sight, the earth witch stood abruptly and rushed out, leaving waffles and juice forgotten and untouched on the table.

There was only one thing on Beatrice's mind: where is Nova? The real one, her morning-avoidant roommate? Where is Nova, with her dark, mysterious eyes and lopsided smile? The shy look, asymmetric style, and her hands always in her pockets with the easy, no-stress way she stands?

The earth witch was practically running down the halls, heart hammering in her chest from worry and tears beading at the corner of her eyes when she turned down the west hallway. The two of them always passed this way to enter the west courtyard and their dormitory, maybe she would see Nova coming from the other direction, safe and sound? But when she turned, she found the stone hallway empty save for one person standing in front of the locked Necromancy classroom.

"Headmistress Cassandra?" Beatrice stopped in her tracks in shock. The Headmistress herself was the last person she expected to run into.

"Oh, Beatrice, hello there." The Headmistress responded. "My dear, what's wrong? You seem all worked up."

"Headmistress! Actually, I'm so relieved to see you!" Beatrice all but flew to the Headmistress, and immediately told her tale of the false roommate and the vague threats they made towards her and Nova. As she spoke, the Headmistress's brow grew increasingly furrowed and worried.

"Threats were made against my students? This will not stand. And if what you say is accurate—"

"It is, Headmistress! It's just happened! I was on my way to the dorm to check on Nova!"

"Yes, I understand."

"I think it's the thief!" Beatrice blurted out suddenly. "The thief that broke into the Abjuration display case! The fake Nova told me to talk to Professor Hope, but they didn't say when or where. And the only reason I can think of to talk to Professor Hope out of the blue is to distract her from going to the Abjuration classroom!"

As the earth witch finished her outburst, the Headmistress glanced at the closed Abjuration classroom door just behind her.

"So you have reason to believe that the thief who broke into the case is back and is attempting again to achieve their goal." The Headmistress said slowly.

"Yes! That has to be it!"

"If that is so, then why would they be so bold as to approach and threaten you directly?" The Headmistress looked at Beatrice as if gauging her reaction. Undeterred, Beatrice held her head high. "Because I know it's them. Because I was there when the first incident happened, and they might know that I'll keep trying to catch them."

"It's a noble goal, but dangerous." The Headmistress sighed. "You are an Oakendale Gaia, and your sense of justice is truly inspirational. But Beatrice, there are some things in this world that are best handled by people who know how to handle them."

"What are you saying, Headmistress?"

Headmistress Cassandra's face was grave. "Leave this to me, Beatrice. You just focus on keeping yourself and your roommate safe and well, I will handle this."

"But Headmistress!" Beatrice's protest was silenced by a stern look from the Headmistress.

"You heard me, Miss Gaia. Leave this to me." She turned back to the locked Necromancy Classroom, a troubled and pensive look in her eye. "I won't let any students be in danger. Not again."

Despite her pleas and protests, the Headmistress sent Beatrice on her way without another word on the matter. Fuming and frustrated, the earth witch stomped her way back to the dormitory. But once there, she thought of Nova again, and her panic resurface. Taking the steps two at a time, Beatrice soon found herself flinging open the door to their shared room.

Startled, Beau gave a screeching yelp from its pot, which in turn startled Fleece who was sleeping on the floor beside Nova's hand which hung over the side of the bed. The sheep-shaped familiar started with a scared bleat and discharged a bolt of static which transferred to Nova's hand, which sent the tech witch jolting awake.

"Ah! What the fuck!" Nova yelped, flinging the blankets off her body. Instead of answers to the questions, she didn't have time to say out loud, she found her roommate flinging herself at her in a sudden hug.

"Bee?!" Nova yelped, thrown onto her back again on her bed. Her roommate threw her arms around her and she could hear the faintest sound of sobbing. "Bee?" she said again, softer this time. "What's happening?"

"I was so worried about you!" Beatrice said, the sudden surge of relief bringing up a well of tears to her eyes. "I thought something bad had happened to you, Nova!"

"What?"

Through her tears and some choking sobs, Beatrice recounted the events of the breakfast gone wrong. Nova listened quietly, patting her roommate on the back as she did.

"And I ran back up here, worried something had happened to you!"

"Bee..." The tech witch started softly. "You were worried about me?"

"Of course!"

To Beatrice's surprise, the tech witch was laughing. "What? What's so funny?"

"Bee, that's the sweetest damn thing." The tech witch said with a small smile. "But don't worry, I'm alright. Startled as hell, but alright."

Beatrice blinked. "That was sweet?"

"Come here," Nova said as she moved to make room on her bed. She pulled aside some of her blankets and patted the space beside her. Confused, Beatrice sat on the bed, till the tech witch pulled her down.

Lying beside Nova, Beatrice felt her cheeks flush again. As her hand accidentally brushed against Nova's arm, she realized her roommate was cold.

"Nova, are you okay?" she asked.

"Yes, why?"

"You feel so cold. Are you sick?"

Her roommate shrugged. "I don't know. I've always been really cold since coming here, but recently it's been getting a little worse. Might be coming down with something."

"I know a great tea that can help! It's nice and warming, it's got ginger too so it's good for the throat."

Nova chuckled. "Does it have ginseng in it?"

"I think so, yes."

The tech witch settled back onto her pillows, a smile still on her face. "You're really just so nice, Bee. Just...so nice. How do you do it?"

"I don't know what you mean." Beatrice mused, turning over onto her side so that she was facing Nova. Her roommate scooted a little closer to her, and Beatrice chalked it up to her being cold and seeking warmth. "I guess I was raised to be nice?"

"Yeah, but it's deeper than that. You have a good heart, a warm soul, even." Nova made a small scoffing noise. "Jae-in would tease me for being so poetic. And...I guess I'm just surprised you'd be so nice to me."

"Nova." Beatrice's tone was scolding. "You deserve all of the love and support the world has to offer. I know you had a rough start with the whole magic thing, but look at you now! You're amazing in class, your confidence has grown, and I'm so proud of you!"

Nova laughed and hid her face under her blanket. "You really are something else, Bee."

"I'm not lying! The way you were able to gain control of that lightning magic, you even entered the Skeet-shooting contest, sure that you would beat the competition!" Beatrice beamed with pride. "You did that all by yourself!"

"Hey, Bee."

"Yes, Nova?"

"Shut up for a minute."

Beatrice, suddenly feeling insulted, was about to retort, when her roommate revealed her face and kissed her on the cheek. A blush was burning on the tech witch's pale skin when she withdrew, shy and not looking at Beatrice. "You're wonderful. And amazing. Shush." Came the quiet explanation.

Beatrice was stunned. Her heart leapt in her chest! Here was her roommate, did she actually kiss her? So all those times Nova was nice to her, she actually...

The earth witch was at a loss for words, so much so that Nova began to grow worried. "Uh...Bee? Hey, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that."

"No! No, uh, that's not what I meant!" Beatrice stammered, backtracking desperately. "I mean, I liked it--"

"You liked it?"

"I mean, I like you too, I'm just surprised--"

"You like me too?"

"Nova!" Beatrice covered her face with her hands, burning with embarrassment. "Wait, so all this time..."

"Bee." Nova's voice was soft. "Yes. Okay, maybe not at first, but I got to know you better...We got to talking about things and I realized... You really are one in a million. You are good. And I'm not just talking about the good in a shallow sense, I mean you're a good person. You want to protect people, improve their lives, heal..." The tech witch gestured with one hand. "Just thinking of how you sprang into action to help the werewolves. You didn't even have to do anything, they were more or less cared for by the school. But you saw some injustice happening and needed to do something about it. Bee, not many people do that anymore. Especially not outside, in the non-magical society. So just...Seeing all of this good that you do, it's..." Nova chuckled. "It's inspiring."

Beatrice's eyes went wide from surprise and flattery in equal mixture. "Nova... I never thought in a million years I would hear anyone say that about me."

"Why not? It's true. Give yourself more credit, Bee."

The earth witch wrung her hands. "To be honest, I always thought it was just the way I was supposed to be because my family was like that. We had that whole..."

"Reputation to uphold?"

"Yeah."

"But what do you want to do? You, as Beatrice Gaia?"

"Well..." The earth witch fell silent. Beatrice flipped over onto her back and stared at the ceiling. Beside her, her roommate came in closer and pulled her blankets closer around her. "I do want to help people. I really do. And I mean, I know how to do it too, with all the potions and poultices and stuff. And I do want to protect people, that isn't just because I have to."

"Then that's it. You just have a strong sense of justice, no matter what your family says."

"Yeah. My family hates the idea of non-humans so..." Beatrice trailed off and sighed deeply. "I came to Ravensburl with all these prejudices, and I'm happy that I met some people who changed those views. And you." Beatrice looked over to her roommate and smiled.

Nova burst out laughing, and a blush came on Beatrice's cheeks. "Me? You really are the sweetest, Bee," Nova said with a small smile. "I guess the nickname was more accurate than I thought."

"Nova!"

"Well it's true for me and you can't change my mind." The tech witch smiled, but right after her face seemed to fall.

"Nova?" Beatrice prompted, her tone turning soft with concern. "I'm sorry, did I say something wrong?"

"No, not you didn't do anything wrong at all. It's just..." Nova took a breath. "Give me a minute, it's... I'm working up the courage."

Beatrice nodded, lips pressed tight. She didn't say anything to prompt or prod, and only lay in silence beside her roommate. Nova had always been cagey and avoidant, so whatever was on her mind must have been heavy. "I’m just here, Nova," the earth witch whispered after a few minutes.

Her roommate took a deep breath. "My real name is Haneul. Kim Haneul."

"Haneul." Beatrice repeated, the foreign sounds clumsy on her tongue. She tried again, copying how Nova said it as best as she could. Then she smiled at her. "It's nice to meet you. Why did you decide to go by Nova?"

The tech witch scoffed as she brought the blanket higher up her body to better hide in. "For one thing, my name is hard for Western English speakers to pronounce and I don't want to have to try to teach everyone every time I have to introduce myself. It was a pain enough to do that the first time in university."

"Oh, I understand. I'm sorry, I'll keep practicing to get it right!" The look in Beatrice's eyes was so earnest and determined that Nova couldn't help but smile.

"You don't have to, but I'd appreciate it." The tech witch sighed and turned over onto her back to look at the ceiling. "I called myself Nova ever since I got the invitation to Ravensburl. I figured I could leave Haneul behind, you know? Leave the past behind, the one where I was a young, scared kid, shooting lightning everywhere all out of control. I thought I could be someone better than that, more powerful... At least I would learn how to not destroy everything I owned."

"And what about now? Did you think you did it?"

Nova said nothing for a long while. Eventually, she turned back to Beatrice. "You know, I'm not sure I'm quite there yet. But at least here at Ravensburl, I've been able to find out a lot about myself. And that's a huge step."

Before Beatrice could speak again, her roommate reached over to cup her cheek. Nova leaned in towards her, eyes fluttering closed and pressed her lips against the earth witch's.

Beatrice's heart leapt in her chest, and she leaned into the kiss, melting into her roommate's touch and taking in her scent. Even without all of Nova's blankets, it felt quite warm to her. She felt everything all at once: the giddiness of butterflies in her stomach, and her skin alight with tingling energy, all in the few seconds of the kiss. She dumbly opened her eyes when she felt Nova's thin lips part from her own, leaving a lingering feeling of longing burning on her lips.

Nova said nothing and only smiled back at Beatrice. What she saw in Nova's deep, dark eyes, sent the earth witch into a fit of shy, giddy giggles. Beatrice kissed her roommate again, etching the sight of the love and appreciation that shone in those dark, sharp eyes into her most treasured of memories.