"I'm not sure what you are referring to, but I would suggest silence." A deep, gravelly voice said from the shadows. Beatrice felt a chill go down her spine, and her hand went to her wand.

"Who said that?" She whispered. "Did anyone else hear that?"

The pixie in Sascha's hair looked fearful as it hid in the nest of their tangled hair. Sascha gripped their black fountain pen just a bit tighter.

"Ah, you three must be new to Ravensburl," the voice said again. It sounded as if it was coming from everywhere at once. Instinctively, the three remaining friends moved to huddle closer together, in a sunbeam by the window. "I should not be surprised, I suppose. The new term has only just started, and the Headmistress has yet to add a tour of the Library to the yearly introductions."

Finally, Beatrice could make out a shape in the darkness as a man approached. He was tall, with pale skin and starkly white hair slicked back over his scalp. He wore robes in a deep black and maroon and carried a book with him. But his eyes caused Beatrice to gasp involuntarily: they were crimson, and slitted like a cat's. When he smiled, Hanan screamed.

"Vampire!" Beatrice said, jumping out of her chair and whipping her wand out at the ready. Immediately a barrier spell went up to surround the three of them. At her feet, vines were pushing their way up through the gaps in the stone flooring.

The man chuckled and held his hands up in a placating manner. "Yes, I am a vampire. Allow me to introduce myself, little miss, and please put the wand away."

Beatrice didn't waver, she kept her eyes on the vampire. As alert as she was, she couldn't help but think back to the time when the nearby village threw themselves into a panic, believing a vampire was among them. Her family —healers and protectors— went to investigate. Her mother's words rang in her head and she kept the wand leveled at the vampire: don't listen to a vampire's words, don't take your eyes off them.

The vampire cleared his throat and lowered his hands. "My name is Mortanius Caine. Yes, I am indeed a vampire, quite an old one in fact. If you prefer, I can take on a less intimidating appearance." He chuckled again, his mouth jauntily revealing a hint of a fang as he did.

"What are you doing here?" Beatrice demanded. She gestured for Hanan and Sascha to take cover behind her, in the sun.

"I am employed by Ravensburl as the head librarian, of course," Mortanius smirked. "What better job for a vampire, than to be in the dark among dusty old tomes? Yes, I have read them all."

"And what about when you're hungry? What do you do then, sneak a bite from the students?" The strength in Beatrice's voice surprised her.

"Of course not, that is a grievous breach of conduct, miss." Mortanius's gaze was level, but a look in her eye made Beatrice pause. He was actually finding this funny and relaxing, she could see it in his eyes. I was so different from Laurence. He continued, "More than a decade ago I would have taken offense, but you will not believe how consistently this interaction happens."

Still, Beatrice held her wand leveled at the vampire. "I don't believe you."

Mortanius shrugged. "Very well. You do not need to believe me for me to do my job. Just please do not open the curtains very wide, and put your books back on their shelves as much as possible. If you cannot, put the books in the rack by the door." The vampire nodded, and his red eyes seemed to glimmer in the gloom of the library. "Good day to you."

The vampire's retreat was sudden; it was as if he was there one moment then gone the next, leaving Beatrice and her friends bristling at an empty space in the air.

Cautiously, Beatrice dissipated her barrier spell and lowered her wand. "You two saw that, right? That really happened?" She said quietly.

Hanan was shaking like a leaf but nodded.

"I think we should ask the Headmistress," Sascha said quickly as they began to pack up their things.

The other two only nodded and were out of the library doors within a minute. Even in her rush to get out of the dark and creepy library, Beatrice took a moment to return the books to the rack by the door as instructed.

"A vampire! In the library!" The earth witch couldn't believe it! She all but stomped up the hallway from the library, then up an enormous set of stone stairs near the main hall, past a smaller raven statue on a plinth, up another staircase, then down a hall where the posted signs pointed to where the Headmistress's office was located.

Sascha huffed and puffed after Beatrice, feeling the creak in their knees from taking steps two at a time to keep up with Beatrice's outrage. Hanan, on the other hand, was in better shape. "Why are you so upset about it, Beatrice?" They wheezed on the landing, leaning on the raven statue before catching up again. "Is it so bad that someone not human is working at Ravensburl?"

"It's not that the librarian isn't human, Sascha! It's that he's a vampire!"

"Yes, and? He's not eating anyone."

"Not yet, maybe! Not while we're watching that's for sure!" Beatrice huffed.

"Wait, please slow down, why are you offended?" Hanan squeaked.

"Yes, please slow down—" Sascha wheezed again.

Beatrice stopped just in front of the bronze sigil of Ravensburl that adorned the Headmistress' office door. The eyes of the raven on the sigil seemed to twinkle, but no one noticed. "It's unnatural," she said shortly.

Sascha's brow's furrowed a fraction.

"Vampires, I mean. You know what they are, right? Blood-sucking creatures of the night, prey on people, lure and manipulate innocents and turn others into vampires?"

"Y-es?"

Beatrice threw her hands up in the air. "I'm mad because they're undead! They're dead creatures "living" long past their allotted time, okay? My family has always said that everything has a time to die. It's just a part of life: the end of it. We return to the earth, and most importantly, we're not meant to come back. So that's why I don't like vampires! They're abominations! They're not supposed to exist!"

Sascha raised their eyebrows and Hanan stared back at Beatrice.

The bronze-skinned witch cleared her throat. "Well, I don't know, but I think Mortanius really isn't that bad. He was just telling us to be quiet in a library... I mean, we really should follow that, right?"

"You don't understand! Mortanius—"

"And what is this about Mortanius Caine, so loudly in front of my office?" A cool, feminine voice said from beside the three.

In the midst of Beatrice's tirade, they didn't notice the door had opened.

"And to what do I owe the ruckus outside of my office today?" Headmistress Cassandra asked, a cat-like smirk on her lips. Behind her, Adeline was looking out at her friends with the most confused expression. "Miss Gaia, how may I help you?"

Beatrice gulped. With the Headmistress standing in front of her, the fire and outrage dissipated. She suddenly felt very foolish and very small indeed. Of course, the Headmistress would know there was a vampire in her school's library! Her mouth suddenly going dry, Beatrice cleared her throat.

"Yes Headmistress, I wanted to talk to you about the vampire—"

Headmistress Cassandra raised a brow. It was as light as the straw-colored hair that was in a tightly pulled back ponytail. "Mortanius? Oh my, what's happened?"

"Nothing really happened, I mean, we met him in the library."

"Ah!" Headmistress nodded, understanding. "You're concerned that there is a vampire in the library at all. In the school as well, I mean."

"Well...Yes," Beatrice said sheepishly. "I thought he was a danger to us and other students."

"Did he tell you that he's the librarian?"

"Yes, he did."

Cassandra looked thoughtful. Where Beatrice thought she would be met with a scolding, disapproving glare, there was only concern when the Headmistress looked back at her. "We do get complaints about him every year, like clockwork, but I assure you Mortanius is quite harmless. My issue is how badly he is received, every year. Beatrice, have you had any interactions with vampires before?"

"Oh, um, I have, Headmistress," Beatrice nodded with some confidence. "My family went to tend to the victims of a vampire attack in a nearby village some years ago. My mother and father went to hunt and defeat it themselves while my brother and I stayed back as healers."

"Well, this will cause some friction..." Cassandra trailed off. "Step into my office for a moment, you three."

She moved back inside the office, and Beatrice looked around with wild eyes, utterly in awe. Much like the amphitheater in the Abjuration classroom, the Headmistress's office was significantly larger on the inside. It was a vast chamber with a ceiling so high Beatrice couldn't see the end of it once it got out of range of the light from many torches and candelabras. A massive chandelier hung suspended and unmoving in the middle of the room, and even that couldn't illuminate the ceiling. Every wall held a massive bookshelf with a rolling ladder and hundreds upon thousands of ancient tomes. It was its own library! Various other shelves, glass cases, and tables bore globes, rolls of parchment, quills and ink, more modern notebooks, and piles and piles of paperwork.

Headmistress Cassandra saw the three's gawking and gestured to her office. "Welcome, welcome. Please don't be shy, take a seat."

Adeline waved at them, and as Cassandra gestured again in Adeline's direction, three more chairs appeared beside her.

"Darlings, what was that I heard? Something about a vampire?" The French witch whispered once her friends were able to sit down. "In the library?"

"We'll tell you later," Hanan whispered back.

"Settle down," Came the instruction from the Headmistress. She didn't sit down at her massive chair and desk carved from dark wood, but she did clear away some of the paperwork so she could see her students better. "Now then, I believe I may have been remiss in explaining what Ravesburl Academy of Witchcraft's values are." She paused and looked into the eyes of the four friends one by one. "Inclusivity. To give the chance to learn magic to those who otherwise cannot."

Hanan nodded, thankful for the opportunity. Beside her, Sascha nodded as well.

"Yes, I understood that very well when I decided I wanted to come study here, Headmistress," Beatrice said with a smile. "Your attitude towards inclusivity and giving others a chance was what inspired me to come here instead of stuffy, traditional Hawkswood. And I've met such great friends already because of it, and learned— wands don't even need to be polished wood!"

"I agree, Headmistress!" Adeline beamed. "I believe Beatrice and I come from a rather established lineage, so we wanted...something different," she laughed. "The youngest children rebelling against their family, you could say."

"The Oakendale Gaias and House LeStrade, yes. Your families’ reputations precedes you indeed. But here at Ravensburl, I strive to put those aside. No class gap, no income gap, hopefully, Ravensburl can lessen the experience gap as well. And, that will include, breaking down the prejudices against people of other species as well." Headmistress Cassandra's words were met with confused silence. Sascha looked away, and the pixie that hid in their hair made sure not to peek out.

After a moment of silence, Beatrice piped up. "What do you mean by other species?"

Cassandra sat down, took a breath, and spoke in an even, patient tone. "What I mean to say is that Mortanius is not the only vampire in Ravensburl. He is the only vampire on staff, yes, but we have students that are vampires as well. We have werewolves, fae folk, changeling shifters, and other non- or demi-humans. I am expecting an interview with a centaur soon, to hire him on as groundskeeper. There is a dragon that lives in the hills several miles away from here, and I have been working on befriending him for years." The Headmistress continued, "Inclusivity, dear students. For years we have been led to believe that these creatures, no, these people, are dangerous just because they are not like us. But trust me, quite a few of them just need to opportunity. And I, as Headmistress and Founder of Ravensburl, will never turn away those seeking knowledge and shelter."

Beatrice's world was rocked. A multitude of emotions passed over her face and it took her a long moment to gather herself. Eventually, she looked back to the patient, cat-like eyes of the Headmistress. Cassandra let down her ponytail and let her straw-colored hair cascade down her shoulders. Beatrice was surprised, she looked a lot younger than she thought the Headmistress was.

"Miss Gaia, what's on your mind?"

"The..." Beatrice scrambled to gather her thoughts. "The security of the students and staff? During the full moon, the werewolves will be beside themselves; feral!"

"Professor Meowstaff tends to the wolfsbane plants himself. Then with those, Professor Hope makes wolfsbane potions ready for them come the full moon. The werewolves are forced to transform, but they still have all their wits about them. They then pass the night as quietly as they can."

"Then...What about the vampires? What do they eat?"

"I and Professor Hope have found alternatives for human blood that they have agreed to. I assure you, any concerns you might have, have already been thoroughly thought through." Headmistress Cassandra leaned back in her high-backed chair and sighed. "Although I will understand if, faced with this new information, you would like to transfer out of Ravensburl. Hawkswood is always open to receive you, of course."

"No!" Beatrice spluttered, reacting on instinct. "No, I don't want to transfer out. I'm fine, I'm happy at Ravensburl. It's only been a day but I've had a good time so far..." She trailed off and thought about it. In truth, her stay at the school had been okay, with some rocky patches, but she wasn't going to let that get her down.

Cassandra nodded. "Very well. But I mean this for all four of you but are still free to leave whenever you like. Be free as a bird here at Ravensburl, seek the knowledge that—in other circumstances—you would not be allowed to. That is what Ravensburl stands for."

The four friends were stunned as they sat at their table for dinner. Beatrice could hardly touch her beef stew, and the squash with coconut cream was getting cold. Eventually, after a long while of sitting around thinking about the revelations they had learned today, Hanan made the first move and began to eat. That seemed to break the others out of their stupor.

"So... Are you all okay with it?" Beatrice asked.

Sascha nodded immediately. "It's fine with me. It's not really any of my business, and Headmistress told us to respect other students' privacy. If no one makes a problem about it, then there won't be a problem."

"I really like the inclusivity of it, you know?" Hanan said around a mouthful of fried shrimp cake. "I was given a chance to come here and learn, so why shouldn't they have the same opportunity too? And they're even closer to the magic communities than I was so... it just makes sense to me."

"It does to me as well, darling." Adeline sat back, sipping from a glass of grape juice and wondering if she could somehow spell it into wine. "I agree with Headmistress, and if she has everything handled, then we need not worry. I imagine she's had this going for the whole ten years Ravensburl has been standing, and it's clearly still standing so why worry about it?"

"I guess you're right," Beatrice said, deflated. She finally turned her attention back to her food. "We have a lot to worry about with homework and stuff anyway. By the way Adeline, why were you called up to the Headmistress's office?"

"Oh! Yes, that, it was actually quite a sudden predicament," Adeline chuckled. "Don't look at me all worried, darling! It was just because my roommate had decided to transfer out, over to Hawkswood I suppose. She was an Irish witch, Lana O'Hare I think? I hardly got to know her at all, then Headmistress called me to discuss room arrangements."

"Room arrangements? We're all supposed to have one roommate each, right?"

"Yes, exactly. One of the same gender, but with Lana gone that's made our year's count of girls odd. So, I hope you don't mind Hanan and Sascha, but I've been offered the chance to move into your room. That is if you're fine with that set up."

Hanan coughed and spluttered, earning a swift pat on the back from Adeline, concerned that reaction might be a no. "We'll be roommates?!" She said, her face radiating pure excitement once she had stopped coughing. "Sascha, Adeline, the three of us will be roommates?!"

Sascha chuckled. "I think that'll be fun. Why not?"

"That settles it then! I'll move my things into your room, Headmistress said she will have the furniture moved around and the space divided."

Beatrice smiled as she watched her friends discussing how the three of them can decorate their room, how to put their beds, or where their familiars could sleep. The three's energy was infectious, and soon Beatrice found herself laughing along and getting excited with them, all thoughts of dangerous creatures in the school lurking as students gone.

"You three are so cute! I think you'd have a wonderful time as roommates. Oh, I think I'll call you..." Beatrice trailed off, thinking. "I'm thinking, "The Witches Three," how does that sound for you?"

"The Witches Three." Sascha repeated slowly as if tasting the name.

Adeline looked rather pleased. "Well I think it's rather apt, don't you? Three witches— oh do you mind us calling you that, Sascha?"

"I don't mind it."

"Wonderful! The Witches Three." Adeline gestured in the air as if reading the name on a brightly lit marquee.

"Just don't get into trouble you three!" Beatrice chuckled. "I hope other people pick that name up and have only good things to say about you."

"We'll do our best, Beatrice!" Hanan laughed and pushed a plate laden with shrimp cakes towards the middle of their table. "But enough of that, let's eat! Tomorrow's a new day, with new stuff to do, and new stuff to eat!"

The earth witch laughed and ate heartily with her friends. She was right to choose Ravensburl, she thought. Without the school's focus on inclusivity and uniqueness, she wouldn't have met the friends that she had now. Hopefully, she could eat and laugh as freely with her own roommate as she could with The Witches Three.