Beatrice lost her appetite quickly after the interaction with Circe Hawkswood, so Nova offered that they take a walk around the grounds for some fresh air and a change of scenery. Once they left the dining hall, they saw The Witches Three had just finished signing up for the team duels at the table. Professor Arcturus sat, nodding every few seconds, as Adeline told him what had happened. The three left soon after the folded paper bird hopped out of its box and flew away.

"Come on, this way," Nova said, taking Beatrice's hand and leading her roommate down the opposite hallway from where The Witches Three had stomped down. "Let them cool off for a while. I bet they need to talk about strategy too." The Asian witch looked over at her roommate, the sharp, dark eyes staring into Beatrice's brown ones. "How are you feeling, Bee?" She asked softly.

Beatrice felt her cheeks burn, and no longer from anger. "I don't know, really. Insulted, definitely. And worried."

"Why worried?"

"It's a duel. It's still a fight, even if they're going to be using spells. Actually, especially because they'll be using spells! What if they get hurt?"

Nova gave a non-committal shrug and shoved her hands into her pockets. "I'm sure Professor Hope and the Infirmary staff will be watching the duels closely. And Headmistress won't let anything get too rough. Besides, have some faith in our friends. They can handle themselves."

Beatrice sighed and looked up at the darkening sky once they entered the east courtyard. The stars twinkled against the dark blue, and it was a struggle for Beatrice to count them. "You're right, of course. I know they're perfectly capable... Oh!"

"What?"

"What if we helped them practice?"

"You mean, have mock duels with them?"

"Yes!" Beatrice's brown eyes shone with excitement and determination. "I want to help them, and I've always been curious about what they could do!"

Nova chuckled. "Some friendly competition, huh? Well, I guess it wouldn't hurt. I need to practice my skeet-shooting too so..."

"Don't zap them too hard, Nova!"

The tech witch just laughed and waved her hand.

Students from Ravensburl and Hawkswood alike began to trickle out to the fields from the dining hall, eager to enjoy the crisp evening air with new friends and rivals alike. Hawkswood students expressed that they almost never get to stay out on the grounds at night, while Ravensburl students expressed shock that Hawkswood's curfew was a whole hour earlier than their own.

Beatrice and Nova sat by the tree and pond that the earth witch had practiced her own magic near before, and just enjoyed the breeze and watched the students mingling.

"Nova?" Beatrice asked after a while.

"Yeah?"

The earth witch looked at her roommate, confused. "Do you know what Circe meant by Sascha being an abomination?"

"No, I don't. I thought you did, you were so mad."

"Well I mean, I was mad because she insulted Sascha." The earth witch mused. "But I don't know what she meant by it. Sascha isn't a werewolf or a vampire, and I can't think of anything else they might be."

"Is non-human the only thing you refer to when you say abomination?"

Beatrice sighed and stared up at the stars again. "I have no idea. It is usually an insult to non-humans, but Sascha doesn't look like any non-human I know."

"Is Sascha..." Nova took a breath. "...Like me?"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

The tech witch trailed off, awkwardly rubbing the back of her neck and looking away from Beatrice. In the dim evening light, Beatrice could still see the blush creeping up her roommate's neck. She said nothing and instead gave Nova the time she needed to find the words and courage to continue.

"That... I like girls, is what I mean."

"Nova..." Beatrice said softly. She lightly touched Nova's hand, the two of them resting on the grass. "That's not an abomination at all. And certainly not to me."

"Are you..." She swallowed dryly. "The same?"

Beatrice looked over to the crowds of students again, but her hold on Nova's hand tightened. She took her roommate's hand in hers. "You know, I'm not sure yet, but if it's you..." She chuckled, her cheeks burning as well. "If it's you then I'm happy. I'll have no regrets if it's with you."

Nova's eyes went wide and she covered her mouth, in shock.

Beatrice giggled. "Nova! We kissed already, why is this a shock to you?"

"No, no!" Nova hissed, her voice dropping to a whisper. Her eyes were trained on a spot by the castle's wall, hidden in the shadow and ignored by the crowd of students. "You're lovely and wonderful and I love you, but look!"

The earth witch, her concern and alarm growing, quickly looked to where the tech witch was pointing. A lone figure was skulking through the shadows, sticking close to the wall and keeping a fair distance from the crowd. They moved carefully in an odd zig-zag pattern as the crowd moved, and Beatrice realized they were keeping the throng of people between them and the east courtyard's raven statue.

But most importantly, it was Nova.

"Nova!" Beatrice stared at the figure and their unmistakable silhouette. Tall, long, straight, black hair cascading down her back, the black and white asymmetrical top with skinny jeans and boots. She looked back at her roommate who looked exactly the same, even down to the clothes and pant legs tucked into the boots.

"I-I don't understand..." Nova muttered, staring in disbelief. Before the tech witch could say much else, Beatrice got to her feet and pulled Nova up with her.

"It's the impostor! See, I told you!" The earth witch said in a low voice, holding onto her roommate's hand as she speed-walked —not run, in case the sudden movement would alert the impostor— and made her way towards the castle walls. With her other hand, she drew her wand from her satchel and held it down by her skirts to keep it hidden.

"Don't lose sight of them!" Beatrice called back to Nova, keeping her voice low. She was barely audible against the din of the crowd, but she saw her roommate nod.

"Hard to lose track of myself." The tech witch muttered. This time, she drew her own wand and slipped her middle finger into the ring she had on her phone case so it wouldn't fly off or be snatched out of her hand. Electricity quietly crackled across the phone as they walked.

Inwardly, Beatrice breathed a sigh of relief. The sight of the bright arcs of electricity assuaged the small doubts that nagged at the back of her mind that maybe the Nova she had a hold of right now was actually the imposter, even if she could clearly see the other Nova acting suspiciously. With the extra layer of assurance, she carried on.

The imposter stopped by the entrance to the east hall to let a group of students pass. They looked just as cool and calm as Nova did, standing by the entrance with their hands in their pockets. Once the students passed, they slipped into the hall.

"Get ready," Beatrice said as they approached the doors as well. "We're going to catch this impostor."

"How?"

"Stunning spells."

The tech witch nodded, getting ready to let loose a stunning spell, then a thought came to her. "That would be attacking a student, wouldn't it? Bee, we could get in trouble."

"Not if we're right!" Beatrice's voice was laden with conviction as she entered the hall.

The earth witch locked eyes with the impostor just as they were glancing back. Shock passed over the false Nova's face, but it was replaced quickly by a smirk. A couple of students blocked Beatrice's view just as she raised her wand and pointed it toward the impostor. She hesitated for just a second, but once the way was clear, the impostor was gone.

"What!" Beatrice yelped, frustrated and alarmed. She scanned the crowd, but there was only one Nova and it was the one whose hand she still had in her's. "They're gone. Gods damn it!"

"Might have been an illusion spell," Nova said flatly, scanning the crowd too. "Could have just taken on the image of some other student."

"Damn, damn, damn," Beatrice muttered as she put her wand back into her satchel. "I let them get away."

"No, you did your best. They just slipped away."

"They might have gotten scared out of using your face though, and it'll be harder to spot them again if they're using some other student's look."

"Then we'll just have to figure out what they're after, right?"

The tech witch looked to her roommate, and Beatrice just looked so defeated and deflated that Nova couldn't help but pull her into a hug in the middle of the hallway. She stroked the earth witch's hair. "We'll catch them together, alright? But right now there are a lot of other things going on, so all we can do is keep an eye out. And believe me, I'll be with you every step of the way."

“Nova…” Beatrice said quietly and slowly, one hand reaching for her wand again and the other lightly tapping her roommate’s back. She was staring at a point over Nova’s shoulder.

“Beatrice….” Nova replied in the same tone. She dropped her voice and stood still. “You’re tense and doing that thing you do again. You found them?”

“I think I did.”

“I have my phone.”

The earth witch nodded, and this time she didn’t hesitate. “Consisto!” She said in a strong, clear voice, pointing at a student in the crowd with her wand. Pointing at Hanan.

At first, Nova faltered. It was Hanan, their friend! But she saw this Hanan’s face contorted into a smug smirk just seconds before Beatrice let loose her spell. Adeline and Sascha were nowhere near, and Hanan was never seen away from the two. The tech witch followed suit, whipping out her phone and sending a single arc of lightning from it. “Stun.”

This Hanan had surprisingly good reflexes, much to Beatrice’s disappointment. They dropped to the floor, and the two spells crashed into the stone walls of the hall. They bolted down the hall with Beatrice giving chase, followed by Nova. The students yelled still there yelled in shock and surprise, and most were stunned, rooted where they stood, which forced Beatrice to have to go around them or shove them aside.

“Please get out of the way!” Beatrice said as she ran, skirts flying as she powered through the crowd. She kept her eyes on Hanan, but they were getting away! Just as she was stopped by another group of stunned students, she felt a breeze past her. Nova sprinted past without a word, practically flying down the hall. Where the hall started to clog up with students, Nova just ran up the wall, if only for a few steps. The chase was short-lived with Nova's burst of speed, and the tech witch was launching herself into a mid-air tackle at Hanan by the time Beatrice had caught up to them.

"What the hell!" Hanan screamed as the two witches crashed to the floor. "Nova!"

Beatrice leveled her wand at Hanan and spoke the words of her vine spell. Bright green vines grew from between the cracks in the stone floor and wrapped around the person wearing the face of her friend. That same face, which Beatrice had only ever seen happy, focused, or on the verge of a panic attack, was now twisted in such an expression of rage that the earth witch was taken aback. There was such venom in their eyes that Beatrice was sure this was not her friend.

The adrenaline surged through Beatrice's veins so much that she didn't notice the crowd of shocked students from Ravensburl and Hawkswood alike swarming them. Questions were being thrown her way, and she ignored them.

"You're causing a scene," Hanan said through gritted teeth while Nova picked herself up and dusted herself off. Hanan struggled against the vines but they only tightened around them. "Is this really necessary, Beatrice?"

"Yes, and you know why," Beatrice replied. She held her wand still pointed at Hanan.

Beside the earth witch, Nova sighed. "Well, we caught her and made a mess. What do we do now, Bee?"

"Find a professor, or call the Headmistress." Beatrice nodded, sure of her decision. "Priority is the Headmistress."

"Alright—" Nova took one step away from the scene when she stopped, physically frozen to the spot. A raven's loud call echoed through the hall. It was followed by two more decisive calls, and Beatrice and Hanan found themselves unable to move.

Nova's eyes frantically looked this way and that, and back to Beatrice, pleading and panicked. Every joint in her body was frozen solid and no amount of effort and willpower was getting through to her limbs. It was the same with Beatrice, who knew with a sinking feeling that all three of them were under a much more powerful version of the same stunning spell she used in the hall.

A motion above her head caught her eye, and it was all the earth witch could do to swivel her eyes upwards to look. One of the decorative raven statues that adorned the doorways of the east and west halls was staring down at her. Its stone eyes were alive with an intelligence that moved its head jerkily at her, Nova, then Hanan, and back to Beatrice. The earth witch felt the urge to swallow dryly from fear, but her body refused, remaining frozen and trapped in the spell. That raven, and the Headmistress behind it, were very disappointed.

Beatrice took a shuddering breath and fell to the floor of the Headmistress's office sometime later. Beside her, Nova was on her back breathing heavily and spread eagle, while Hanan was still bound in vines but likewise catching their breath. Headmistress Cassandra sat behind her desk, her hands delicately folded across her lap. Her every countenance was calm, but her eyes were hard and disappointed.

"Now that I have lifted the spell, I would quite like to be enlightened as to what on earth you two were thinking." The Headmistress said with a stern, even voice. "Fighting in the halls, casting stunning spells at students, a flying tackle? I would be impressed if I wasn't so disappointed in you two. And with Hawkswood students and faculty running the halls!"

"But Headmistress!" Beatrice managed a gasp. Her lungs had been frozen and only allowed shallow breaths till they were unfrozen. She pointed accusingly at Hanan. "That isn't Hanan! That's the impostor! We saw them at the east courtyard sneaking into the hallway looking exactly like Nova!"

"Yeah." Nova stammered as she got to her feet. "Looked like my twin or something. We started following but they spotted us and we lost them in the crowd."

"Then I spotted them later, looking like Hanan! Headmistress, if you don't believe me, look for the real Hanan!"

"I've already sent Hope and Grace to look for Miss Hanan Gonzales." The Headmistress stood and approached the three. "Now my question for you two, Beatrice and Nova, is why did you not leave this daring chase to the professors?"

"But Headmistress, there wasn't time to find anyone," Beatrice explained. "And this is the impostor, might even be the thief that tried to steal relics from the Abjuration case! You have to believe me!"

"I do believe you, Beatrice. But what I cannot believe is how foolish your decision-making has been."

"What?"

The doors to the Headmistress's office opened, and Professors Hope and Grace entered, with The Witches Three following them. All of the three: Adeline, Sascha, and the real Hanan. Hanan gasped when she saw who was tied up in vines on the floor of the Headmistress's office, while the other two looked on in shock and disbelief.

"Hanan! There, that's the real one!"

"What's going on? Who is that?" Hanan's face was all concern and confusion, and she attempted to approach the tied impostor but Hope held her back.

"So your story is indeed adding up, Beatrice. Let's see who this is." The Headmistress leveled her own wand at their captive and spoke a spell in a language unfamiliar to Beatrice. She gestured with her wand, moving it from side to side as if wiping something away.

Hanan's visage slowly melted away, with her facial features rearranging and even her body changing shape. Where there was a bronze-skinned girl with dark hair and eyes bound up in vines, there was now a thin man with an angular face and sharp, piercing eyes. There was something unsettling about him. As Beatrice watched him struggle in his binds in protest of the illusion being lifted, it seemed like the man's body was truly too thin, too bony. The points of his shoulders were visible through the thin shirt he wore.

The Headmistress gasped as her spell continued to dispel the illusion further. She threw her hand out towards those assembled. "Out! Get out, now!"

Beatrice moved quickly, grabbing Nova's hand and heading for the door. Hope and Grace likewise herded The Witches Three outside. The feeling of dread and something being off and wrong only grew in Beatrice as she crossed the office floor without complaint.

As the doors were shutting behind them, Beatrice chanced a glance back at the Headmistress and their impostor. On the floor, covered in vines, the thin man's very skin seemed to peel off from his face with every layer of illusion that was stripped away. She saw a glimpse of something dirty white on his face and hands before the doors shut with a definitive snap.

"You five." Professor Hope said softly, but sternly. "Do not mention anything that you saw here. Do you understand?" She waited for all of the assembled students to nod, even in shock as they were, and confirm that they understood. "The Headmistress will surely call all of you back here again, but for now, don't say anything to anyone. If anyone from Hawkswood asks about the incident in the hallway, tell them it was a misunderstanding, a fight among friends."

"But—" Beatrice started, but Hope held up a silencing hand.

"You have been reprimanded for your actions, and the matter is settled." The look in Hope's eyes was usually stern and uninterested, but this time there was nervousness. She was scared.

The earth witch glanced at Nova and her friends then nodded. "Yes, Professor. We understand."