The main hall of Ravensburl was massive. Made of stone on the inside, what should have been a dark hall was lit with windows that stretched from floor to ceiling. Statues of ravens and lined the halls, and banners bearing the school's crest swayed gently from a cool breeze. Beatrice looked up at one of the banners as they walked past: it bore a raven upon a branch on an azure field. She knew the heraldry of the other major magic academies, but this was still very new to her. She had only seen the crest once before, on a letter of admittance.

Beatrice glanced back at the line of new students that Ashford was leading, and saw wide eyes and mouths agape. The nervous girl looked like she was walking through a dream. The look on her face brought a bolt of realization so sudden that Beatrice moved towards Leo before she could think better of asking such an obvious question.

"Excuse me, Leo?"

"Yes?"

"The other line of students, the ones with no wand and familiar yet..." Beatrice started, then her train of thought got ahead of her. "Actually, nevermind."

"Why, what were you going to ask?" Leo furrowed his brow. "Do you need something?"

"Why don't they have wands yet?"

The upperclassman smiled patiently. He gestured to another set of double doors that they were approaching. "I'll let the Headmistress explain that. You're in my line, so that means you're all set, right? Just sit and enjoy the food."

Beatrice nodded, and stopped as the second set of double doors began to open.

A banquet hall was laid before them, with many tables laden with a variety of food. Roasted chicken shared the table with large bowls of egg drop soup and curries. Fresh white rice sat beside mashed potatoes and gravy, and stews of all kinds that Beatrice didn't recognize painted a multicolored splash on plates. Many of the tables were already full with other young witches and wizards: the upperclassmen of the Academy.

Leo led the three of them to another table and sat with them, while Ashford led his sizable line towards the front of the room. As Beatrice watched her schoolmates go by, she caught the sharp, unimpressed eye of the Asian student from earlier. She didn't sneer this time, but Beatrice was left puzzled. The other witch's expression was unreadable.

"Hey, excuse me? What's happening?" The other girl in their group leaned in and whispered. "Sorry, my name's Adeline. Got here late so I'm a bit lost. What are we doing?"

Leo chuckled. "That group is going to get their wands and familiars. You have yours, right?"

"Right here!" Adeline produced a smooth wand of polished mahogany with a white ivory tip. "And my familiar's a little winged lion."

"Aww, that's so cute! Mine's a mandrake." Beatrice beamed.

"A mandrake! I want to see it! Oh it'll be great if we were roommates!" Adeline said, then a flash of doubt crossed her face. She turned to Leo. "We do have roommates, right? What's the living situation here?"

"It’s one room to two students of the same gender." Leo started to explain. He reached for an empty glass and it began to fill with water. "They've already been assigned and your things have been moved. But if you have an issue with your new roommate, please ask the Headmistress about it."

The student with messy hair raised a hand.

"Yes? Uh..."

"Name's Sascha. Can we decorate the room?"

"You can decorate your side of the room as much as you want. But do leave space for your roommate to do the same."

Sascha nodded and fell silent. They looked neither female nor male, or were somewhere in between. One of the creatures in their hair peeked out of the tangle.

"Pixies?" Adeline asked.

Sascha nodded and stared down at their plate. They seemed to shrink. "I know familiars are supposed to go with the porter to our rooms, but I can't get rid of them."

Adeline smiled. "I think it’s okay. Oh! If we end up roommates, would you mind if I brushed your hair?"

To Beatrice's surprise, Sascha laughed. "If you can get the pixies to leave it alone for five minutes, you can do whatever you want with my hair."

Leo smiled, but shushed them. He pointed to the side of the room where Ashford and the other students were gathered. "It's starting!"

A woman in a crimson velour robe strode out to a dais at the front of the room. The whole room fell silent in moments, so fast that Beatrice was left looking around in surprise.

The woman cleared her throat and smiled. "I am Headmistress Cassandra Cherith, and I bid you welcome. Welcome to Ravensburl Academy of Witchcraft."

Applause started within the banquet hall, and the Headmistress let it go on for a few moments before holding up a hand and continuing. "As is our tradition, we will begin the new school year by equipping the incoming first year students with what they will need to properly begin their journey into the magical arts."

Another smattering of applause was had as two men in robes who looked to be professors brought a large mirror to the Headmistress. It floated through the air by itself and landed with hardly a sound, and elicited gasps from Ashford's line. After it followed a large basin of water that hovered still in the air beside the mirror as if it was resting on a table.

The Headmistress smiled. "When I founded Ravensburl, I believed that everyone who has the potential for it deserves the chance to learn magic. No matter where they may come from, no matter from what culture. And as a school, I believe it is Ravensburl's duty to make sure all who come to us to learn have the means to do so. So please, step up and find your wand. Then, your familiar."

One of the students from the bus nervously went first. They walked up to the Headmistress, stood where instructed, and looked into the first mirror. The mirror shimmered as they looked, and began to come into focus with an image.

Headmistress Cassandra patiently explained what was happening for the nervous students still in the line. While she did, the young man that went first was peering puzzled into the mirror.

"This is the wand ceremony." The Headmistress said. "Usually, young witches and wizards who come from a magical background find what item becomes their wand when they are young. It is a natural process, where an object that you are particularly attached to becomes so attuned to your energy that it becomes a conduit wherein it focuses and flows naturally." She paused and smiled as the waiting students stared back at her in confusion. "Traditionally, wands are carefully crafted sticks of wood made by experienced wandmakers using wood naturally attuned to magic. Rowan and ash wands are particularly common, but at Ravensburl, anything goes. Anything. Young man, what is your name and what do you see?"

The young wizard tucked a lock of blond hair behind his ear. "My name is Felix. Felix Carter. Headmistress, I don't understand. I don't see anything new, but I'm wearing the earring my sister gave me for my 15th birthday..." He straightened up and fidgeted with his ear. "But I left it in my trunk. Wait. Don't tell me, is my earring my wand?"

The Headmistress smiled as Felix looked incredulously back at her. She nodded. "I recommend that you put it back on once you return to your room. And now, the familiar ceremony. Please approach the basin."

Felix did so and looked into it. The waters were murky, but as he looked into them they began to clear. "Hey, I think I can see something!"

Headmistress Cassandra continued with her explanation. "More often than not, familiars are nature spirits or magical creatures that form a bond with us. They choose you, and this basin helps them come to you. These familiars will assist you in your magical studies and in honing your skills. You may even find that they make wonderful friends as well. Felix, don't put your face too close to the water."

As Felix pulled back from the basin, a small snout rose from the waters. The rest of a fuzzy, dark brown face followed, along with a pair of paws with fur that lightened gradually from a dark brown to a cream color. A Siamese cat pulled itself the rest of the way out of the basin, its fur completely dry despite the water. It landed by Felix's feet and meowed plaintively as it looked up at him with uncannily intelligent blue eyes.

"Wonderful!" The Headmistress clapped as Felix picked up the cat in shock and was directed to sit at a table. He was soon laughing and petting his new familiar once he settled down.

Beatrice squealed in happiness. "I love when others get their familiars! I love seeing what kinds of creatures choose their owners, you know?"

"Oh I know exactly what you mean. When I got mine, I was so surprised! He looked just like the Lion of Saint Mark in Venice!"

"The one with the wings?”

"Exactly!"

"You've got to be joking." An unimpressed voice at the dais suddenly caught Beatrice's attention and she looked back at the wand and familiar ceremony. A few other students had gone after Felix and were settled at their tables. Peering into the mirror was the tall Asian witch, and she looked like she wanted to be anywhere else right now. Her clothes were dark and form fitting, and bore asymmetrical patterns that confused Beatrice the more she looked at her. "This can't be right."

"Is something wrong?" The Headmistress asked.

"This is showing that my wand is my phone."

"Your wand is your phone, Nova. The mirror is correct. You use it constantly, do you not?"

The witch shook her head in disbelief as she moved onto the basin. The murky waters cleared after a moment, and she took a step back as what looked like a large cotton ball squeezed itself out of the basin and fell to the ground. It bleated happily beside Nova's boots, and rolled itself down the dais steps once its new owner moved on.

"Aww! That one's so cute!" Beatrice squealed. "It’s such a fluffy sheep!"

Nova took a seat at one of the tables, staring at the bundle of soft fluff that rolled into her boots as she sat. She looked puzzled, unsure of what to do about it. The sheep-shaped familiar bleated softly.

Beatrice couldn't help it. "You should name it!" She called to Nova whose table was next to hers, beaming excitedly. "Your familiar will be happy to have a name."

The tall Asian squinted back at Beatrice, looking her up and down. Mousey brown hair, large green eyes behind horn-rimmed glasses, clutching a polished wand. "I didn't ask for your help," she bristled. Her familiar bleated again and lightly headbutted Nova's ankle to get her attention. "What? What do you want?"

Stunned, Beatrice sat back in her chair. Her smile faded as quickly as Nova's snap. "What was that about?" she looked at Adeline who shook her head.

"No idea. But if she keeps acting like that, she's not going to make any friends at this school." Adeline was more focused on helping herself to the spread of food in the middle of the table, scooping a ladleful of Thai curry onto hot white rice. "I don't know if she's aware, but Ravensburl is a boarding school just like the other academies. We're stuck in here together till the holidays. It's best if she isn't so rude about it."

"I don't know..." Beatrice furrowed her brow. She glanced back at Nova who looked like the embodiment of impatience: bouncing her leg up and down, tapping her fingers on the table, and trying her best to ignore her new sheep. "I don't think she's rude."

"Oh. Look at that." Sascha said softly, pointing back to the front of the hall. "Isn't that the girl that looked like she was gonna keel over at any moment?"

Beatrice looked back at the ceremony, and sure enough the nervous girl was next. She fidgeted quite a lot even as she put a lock of black hair behind her ear.

"Hanan, my dear, are you alright?" Headmistress Cassandra asked softly, putting a hand on the girl's shoulder. "You look rather pale."

Hanan nodded quickly and wiped her hands on her shirt. "Just nervous, ma'am."

"It is quite alright. Many have been in your place before; you're not alone." The Headmistress directed Hanan to the mirror and, cautiously, she looked into it. "What do you see?"

"I'm holding my favorite pen. Drawing sigils in my notebook." Hanan replied, looking more and more confused. "But I do that all the time!"

Headmistress nodded. “It’s a personal item to you, one that you use every day — and for drawing sigils! That was the personal magic you have been practicing even before the visit, yes?”

“Yes, that’s true.”

“Then it is the right item to focus your energies.” She smiled, then gestured to the familiar basin.

Hanan moved onto the basin and nervously looked into the murky water. As the water cleared, it turned a bright yellow with an orange shine. It looked like the sunset trapped within a stone bowl. A creature rose from the basin, clearing the water and flickering softly as it floated.

The young witch gasped. “Santelmo!”

The familiar was a floating ball of fire, flickering softly as it circled Hanan. She tentatively reached out a hand to touch the fire, and gasped in surprise as it didn’t burn. The ball of fire seemed to dance and wiggle.

“Oh wow! That's a Will-o’-the-wisp isn’t it?” Beatrice said, adjusting her glasses. “I’ve never seen one as a familiar before!”

“A fire elemental as a familiar?” Sascha waved a pixie out of their hair, then waved that same pixie away from their bowl of soup. “Elementals don’t usually choose to become familiars so… What does this mean?”

Leo shrugged. “I have no idea, but I have a feeling we’ll find out!”

Beaming excitedly, Hanan took her seat at Nova’s table with her familiar floating after her, glowing softly.

Nova glanced at the familiar. “Are you going to name it?”

“Yes! I think I’ll name you…” Hanan trailed off, studying her familiar. “Sonny! How do you like that name?” The will-o’-wisp crackled like a burning log in a hearth. “You like it! Great!”

Nova watched the familiar crackle happily, and it even flipped in the air as she watched. She looked back to her feet where her own familiar had laid across her boot. It still bleated occasionally, as if asking for attention.

Hanan beamed, excited with the ball of fire hovering beside her. "What are you going to name yours?" she asked.

"I don't know yet."

"It looks like it's waiting for one! It looks sort of like a sheep, but I can't see its face."

"It's buried its face into my ankle..." Nova trailed off. She leaned over and picked up the large cotton ball that was her familiar and turned it over. It weighed so little, as if it was all fluff and nothing else. Eventually she came face to face with a small sheep face. It bleated happily once Nova moved and cleared the fluff from its face.

"It's so fluffy!" Hanan squealed. "Can I touch its fleece?"

Nova looked back at Hanan. "Fleece? Um...Sure."

Hanan giggled as she reached out a hand. It sank into the fluff as she touched Nova's familiar.

"Fleece, huh." The Asian witch mused, still looking into the horizontal pupils of her sheep-shaped familiar. "Do you want that, as a name? Fleece?"

The familiar bleated loudly, wiggling the little legs that were hidden among the fluff.

"Oh, it's really happy with that!" Hanan said.

The sides of Nova's mouth turned up into a smile.

"Aw, I wish we were able to bring our own familiar here, Leo!" Beatrice said, looking over to the upperclassman.

Leo just chuckled. "I know, I know. They would have been so happy to see so many new friends, is that what you're thinking?" He was met with both Beatrice and Adeline nodding enthusiastically at him. "I know how you feel, but this wand and familiar ceremony is for the new students. Having our own here would pull the attention away from their new friends, and you all know how important familiars are."

Sascha was running a hand through their hair in a vain attempt to untangle it. "Familiars help us learn and focus our magic," they said flatly as if reciting from memory.

"That's right." Leo nodded. "You'll have all the time you want getting to know everyone in your year and their familiars, but today is for them. Look at them," he gestured over to Nova and Hanan's table, and to the others that were steadily filling up with students. Nervous faces were replaced with smiles and laughter. Chatter from the tables was rising in volume around the hall as first-years were talking about the wand that the mirror had shown them and what the item meant to them, puzzling even on how such random objects could be used for spellcasting. And above all of that, the students were much more focused on finding the right name for their new familiars instead of the feast that was laid out just for them.