Here's the second chapter. I won't always update so quickly, but this was just begging me to keep writing. Enjoy
Chapter 2 - The next morning
Having decided the previous night to wake up around 8 o'clock, Lucy was the first one up. Looking around her at her team, she couldn't help but smile. When everybody had tried to pile onto her bed the night before and realized that the 7 of them wouldn't all fit, she had called Aries out and asked if she could create a fluffy wool bed that would hold all of them in her cleared out living room. After a lot of unneeded apologizing from the ram spirit, they had a large mattress shaped Wool Bomb. The pink wool was a soft as it always was and allowed the mages and exceeds to sleep in a pile and cuddle as much or as little as they wanted.
As Lucy set about making eggs, bacon, and pancakes for her team, she realized that they may have a similar problem as they did in Edolas or that there might not be any Ethernano in the air on Earth. 'I better bring this up to First and Master,' Lucy thought, deciding she would go to the guild a little earlier than they had planned.
"Good morning, Lucy. That smells wonderful. Would you happen to have any strawberries for the pancakes?" Erza greeted her as she walked into the kitchen.
"Of course, I do. They're in the fridge if you want to get them out and washed and cut, that would be great."
Slowly the members of Team Natsu made their way into the kitchen/dining room and took a seat at the table. Once Lucy had set the table and gave everyone their drink of choice, orange juice for Wendy, Carla, Happy, and Natsu, iced coffee for Gray, and regular coffee with plenty of cream and sugar for Lucy and Erza, they dug in.
"Hey guys, I realized as I was making breakfast this morning that there were a few questions I forgot to ask about this mission, so I think we should head over early. Plus, that gives us more time with the members that are staying behind."
"That sounds good to me," Gray said, the others nodded or agreed verbally depending on if they had food in their mouths or not.
By the time breakfast was eaten and everything cleaned and put away, it was 10 o'clock. They walked as a group to the guild, Lucy hopping on the edge of the canal like always, laughing and joking with each along the way. When they reached the guild, Lucy broke off from the group and walked to the bar to ask Mira if Master or Mavis were around. "Good morning Mira. Is Master in yet? Or have you seen Mavis anywhere this morning?"
"Good morning Lucy. I believe Master and Mavis are upstairs in his office." Lucy thanked Mira and made her way towards the stairs only to be stopped by Levy.
"Lucy, are you going to talk to Master?" She nodded. "Did you realize the same thing that I did? That we might not have a way to replenish our magic?"
"Yes! I can't believe none of us realized that might be a problem before now."
"Well hopefully either Master or First did and have a solution," Levy commented. They walked up the stairs together and knocked on the door to Master's office together. When a muffled "Come in!" was heard they opened the door to find Makarov and Mavis bent over Master's desk with a bunch of what looked like beaded bracelets.
"Good morning girls. What brings you up here?" Makarov asked.
"Well both Lucy and I realized this morning that there might be a problem with Ethernano not being present on Earth and we hoped that one of you at least thought of this and had a solution, especially considering we're supposed to be leaving in less than 2 hours," Levy said, looking hopefully between the two masters.
Mavis giggled. "Why yes I knew it was a problem before we even accepted the mission. We've been working on the solution since yesterday morning. Actually, we just finished the last one before you came in." She spread her hand over the beaded bracelets that covered the surface of the desk before them. "These bracelets contain tiny transportation lacrimas that are set to continuously provide the wearer with Ethernano. It took so long, not only because there are so many of them, but each bracelet needed to be calibrated to the wearer. They have a few other functions, but we'll explain that to the group as whole."
"Oh, thank Mavis." Lucy practically melted to the floor in relief. Levy and Mavis giggled causing the blonde to blush.
"Well girls, let's go see if everyone is here yet," Mavis suggested, floating to the door. When the three girls made it to the second-floor railing, they scanned the guild to see if everyone had arrived yet, only to see a guild wide brawl in full swing. "Well that makes our task a tad difficult," giggled the First Master.
"It does, but let's see who all we can find. I see the Raijinshuu and Laxus, Panther Lily, Carla, Happy, Lector and Frosch are sitting with Erza and Wendy. So, that accounts for Gajeel and the Sabers. I came in with my team and its almost guaranteed that Natsu and Gray started the brawl."
"I see Mira, Cana, Lisanna, Merudy and Jellal at the bar. Juvia is behind a pillar collecting Gray's clothes. Oh, and there goes Elfman, so we're only missing Gildarts," said Levy.
"Hey Cana!" Cana raised her head from her barrel to look at Lucy. "Where's your father?" She shook her head and shrugged. "Well I guess we just have to wait then." Lucy checked the time with Horologium and found that they had a little over an hour before they had to leave just as the guild doors slammed open and admitted the Crash mage. His very loud entrance brought the fight to a halt. "This is our chance. Everybody! Those going on the undercover mission please make your way upstairs!" Lucy shouted down to her friends and family. Slowly in groups of twos and threes all 23 mages, including exceeds and masters, made their way upstairs to gather around Makarov, who had come to stand by Lucy with a box full of bracelets, Lucy, Levy, and Mavis.
Master cleared his throat, "Good morning, brats! We have some things to hand out before we and some instructions. First, there is no Ethernano on Earth, but we already have a solution for that. Each of you will receive a bracelet tuned specifically to you. These bracelets not only with replenish your magic, but they will also act a simple communication device. If while you encounter an enemy, known or otherwise, a signal will be sent to all other mages. If something happens to you, such as kidnapping or you fall unconscious during a fight with an enemy, a different signal will be sent and the bracelets with act as tracking devices. Only the wearer or First Master or myself will be able to remove the bracelets. And they will allow translation from any foreign language. If you wish to speak in Fiorian, all you need to do is wish it. Also, if you are a holder type there is a small charm on your bracelets that will be able to store your magical object, similar to requip. For the exceeds we have collars that do the same things as the mages' bracelets, but also have the added effect that anyone who does not have permission from Mavis or myself will only hear meowing when they talk and disguise them as regular cats. Any questions?"
Lucy raised her hand. "I am having Virgo store my teams' luggage. If anyone would also like for their luggage to be stored now would be a good time to get that done, so that we're not scrambling last minute."
"Good idea Lucy. We'll from two lines then on opposites sides of the room. One for bracelets and one for luggage."
Lucy nodded and walked to a large open space. She pulled out a notebook and pen to write down who had what to make retrieval easier later. Slowly a pile of everyone's luggage formed behind Lucy as she took down everyone information. After the last of the group had given her their luggage she called out Virgo. She was surprised to see Loke with the maid.
"Princess, I came to help Virgo," the orange-haired lion spirit said. "Go get your bracelet and we'll take care of this."
"Thanks, Loke, Virgo. I don't know what I'd do without you guys." The Celestial Spirit mage walked over to Makarov to get her bracelet. When it was handed to her, she saw that each lacrima had the symbol of one of her spirits on it and either gold or silver depending on which spirit it corresponded to. The charm was a little silver key.
"That storage space will hold both your keys and your whip," Master told her as she put the bracelet on her left wrist. "Now everyone gather round. Get in a circle and hold hands. Don't let go for anything."
Everyone stood in a circle and grasped the hands of those standing next to them except for Mavis. She floated in front of Makarov and put one hand on his shoulder and held a transportation lacrima in her other hand. Slowly the crystal light up from within as Mavis drew on her magic and everyone in the circle's as well. Once the lacrima was fully lit up Mavis shouted, "Hogwarts, Scotland, Earth!" Then a bright ring of light surrounded the mages and they disappeared in a flash.
On June 30th at precisely noon, Professor Dumbledore had gathered his staff in the large open field before the Forbidden Forest. About twenty feet away from the group, he had set the odd green crystal on the ground. He was getting many questioning looks from them, but he had not explained anything to them. Madam Pomfrey had just opened her mouth to speak when the crystal started glowing. Unlike when Albus had sent his request, the orb was pulsing with light until a huge flash of blinding light lit up the field. When the light died down, a circle of 22 people and 5 cats had appeared holding hands around the now dull crystal ball. A very short older man was seen pocketing a very similar orb.
Several of the males fell to the ground holding their stomachs and looking like they were going to hurl. The youngest looking girl with long blue hair in twin tails rushed forward and touched each male with a glowing hand. This pulled gasps from a few of the witches and wizards looking at the strange scene in front of them. The small white haired man walked forward with the others standing in a group behind him.
"Hello, I am Albus Dumbledore. With me are some of my staff, Minerva McGonagall, Severus Snape, Sybill Trelawney, Aurora Sinistra, Charity Burbage, Filius Flitwick, Pomona Sprout, Rolanda Hooch, Septima Vector, and Poppy Pomfrey." He pointed out each person as he said their name.
"Good afternoon. I am the Third and Sixth Master of the Fairy Tail guild, Makarov Dreyar. With me are Jellal Fernandes, First Master of the Crime Sorcière guild, and Sting Eucliffe, Second Master of the Sabertooth guild. They each only brought one other guild member with them, Merudy Milkovich from Crime Sorcière and Rogue Cheney from Sabertooth. From Fairy Tail I brought Natsu Dragneel, Lucy Heartphilia, Gray Fullbuster, Erza Scarlet, Wendy Marvel, Gajeel Redfox, Levy McGarden, Laxus Dreyar, Freed Justine, Evergreen, Bickslow, Mirajane Strauss, Elfman Strauss, Lisanna Strauss, Cana Alberona, Juvia Lockser, and Gildarts Clive. We also have five exceeds with us, Happy, Carla, Pantherlily, Lector, and Frosch." When their name was called, each mage stepped forward before stepping back into the mass of people again.
"Albus, who are these people?" McGonagall asked.
He flashed a small smile. "I hired these people to help protect the school during the next school year. These mages come from a world called Earthland and I requested that they come and spend the year undercover as transfer students and teachers. However, since their world's magic is different than ours they're going to need a crash course in 4 years' worth of our magic. I figured today we could give a tour of the grounds and tomorrow take them to Diagon Alley to get wands and supplies for the school year. Although I'm not sure all of their attire is appropriate for our world."
At this a short, curvy blonde stepped forward. "I can probably help with that. I'm assuming that what you guys are wearing is appropriate?" At her question, there were several nods. "Great." She pulled out a golden key from seemingly nowhere and said, "Open Gate of the Maiden, Virgo!" There was a bright flash of golden light and a pink-haired maid with broken shackles attached to her wrists was suddenly there.
"Punishment, Hime?" Several teachers gasped at this.
"No, no punishment Virgo. I was wondering if you would be able to provide us with clothes similar to these people here for all of us by tomorrow morning?"
Virgo examined the witches and wizards in front of her before turning to the group of Earthlanders. "I can do it, Hime. What time would they need to be delivered by?"
Dumbledore answered her. "By 9 o'clock in the morning would be ideal." He didn't really understand what was going on, but he wasn't going to question it too much.
"It will be done. I'll deliver your luggage and any finished garments when you have been provided living quarters, Hime. Or Big Brother Leo will. Good bye now." And she disappeared as quickly as she had appeared in another flash of golden sparks.
"I'm sorry, but can you explain what whatever that was?" McGonagall asked Lucy.
"Oh, that's my magic. I'm a Celestial Spirit mage, which means that I use these keys," she pulled a key ring with gold and silver keys on it from nowhere, "to call forth spirits from the Celestial Spirit Realm to help me for various different things like fighting or company. It really all depends on the spirit. Like Mr. Dumbledore said, our magic is different than your magic. We each have a magic that is unique to us. Although, there are similarities. Six of us are Dragon Slayers, but each has a different element." She gestured to the slayers and had them step forward. "Natsu is fire, Wendy is sky or air, Gajeel is iron, Laxus is lightning, Sting is white, and Rogue is shadow. And then there's a seventh back home, but he's in prison after trying to take over the world twice and he's the Poison Dragon Slayer.
"Then we have our Ice Make, Requip, Solid Script, Runes and Jutsu Shiki, Fairy, Seith, Card, Water, Crash, Heavenly Body, Maguilty Sense, Titan, and the three Take-Over, Demon, Beast, and Animal, mages." As she stated each magic the mages stepped forward and did a small demonstration of what their magic looked like. She then decided that since most of the staff looked extremely overwhelmed by the amount of knowledge being thrown in their faces, it would be good to stop before someone passed out. "I believe there was a mention of a tour?" she asked Dumbledore, the only one who looked even remotely okay with the bombardment of information.
After the Earthland mages had been given a tour of the grounds and told the rules of the school that students would have to follow, or at least look to be following in their case, it was time for dinner. They ate at one big table in the Great Hall. The staff members had had enough time let the fact that this was real sink in. they were all now staring in slight horror at the appetites and general lack of manners of the Dragon Slayers.
"Where did they learn table manners?" Snape sneered.
"Well, Natsu, Gajeel, Sting, Rogue, and Wendy were all raised by dragons, so there's so much that can be expected of some of them. Luckily Laxus was raised by me and Wendy has Carla to help instill manners. I think we just got lucky that Gajeel and Rogue aren't as bad as Natsu and Sting," Makarov answered, matter-of-factly.
"Dragons! And who is Carla?" McGonagall asked.
Master nodded. "Yes dragons. They're a superior species on Earthland. I assume that is not the case here. And Carla is Wendy's exceed. Oh, I guess we forgot give you all permission to hear them. I, Makarov Dreyar, give those present permission to hear Happy, Carla, Pantherlily, Lector, and Frosch." To the surprise of the Hogwarts staff, five more voices join the din in the Great Hall.
"Are . . . Are those talking cats?" Madam Pomfrey stuttered.
"Well technically, they're exceeds. They're a race that originated in Edolas, another world, but they got expelled when their prince, now king, sent all the remaining magic to Earthland because they were losing their limited magic anyway." Levy explained. Her explanation got a lot of blank looks.
"There are more worlds?" questioned Dumbledore.
"Well we only know of four, but that doesn't mean that there aren't more out there." Lucy told them.
Professor Flitwick cocked his head, "Four?"
"Earthland, Edolas, Earth, and the Celestial Spirit Realm." She stated. "I'm fairly certain I mentioned that earlier when I was telling you all about my magic."
The tiny teacher flushed. "Oh, that's right you did. You have to admit though that this is all a bit overwhelming. I mean finding out that there's other worlds and magic that is extremely different than ours would throw anyone for a loop."
"I definitely agree. When we went to Edolas to rescue our guild and town from the power-hungry king, it was an adjustment to using their magical objects when we didn't have access to our magic. If it hadn't been for Mystogan none of would be here today. And of course, it was a lot weirder going there since it was a parallel world and everybody looked like people we knew. I even met my own counterpart. Lucy Ashley is definitely different than me. I think the only counterpart I saw that wasn't different than their Earthland version was Erza. The fight between those two was insane."
"Counterparts? That's fascinating. Maybe you can go over this with me in detail later?" Flitwick asked.
Lucy nodded. "Sure, but I think Lisanna would be an even greater help. She did spend two years there, so her knowledge of Edolas is way more comprehensive than mine."
Lisanna turned to look at where Lucy was seated, "Sure, I don't mind telling you about it sometime. Lucy, do you know what time it is?"
"It's almost 8 o'clock."
"Really? Master I think now would be a good time to get settled wherever we're going to be staying." The youngest of the white-haired siblings said.
"How did you know the time without looking at a watch?" Professor McGonagall asked.
"One of my spirits is the clock constellation. Pretty handy if you ask me."
"I know a few of my students who could use that," the Scottish teacher laughed.
Dumbledore stood up from his seat in the center of the table, "If you would all kindly follow me. I set up an unused part of the castle that you can use for housing until term starts and you can use for headquarters during the year." The mages stood to follow and had to grab the reluctant Dragon Slayers to drag them from the Great Hall.
The rooms that had been set up for them included at large round table with enough seats for everybody, a large open room for training, a kitchen, separate bathrooms for boys and girls, and a large sleeping room. The bedroom had a bunch of hammocks strung up with a large open center area.
"Hey, Luce. Do ya think Aries can do what she did last night here?" Natsu turned to his tiny partner questioningly.
"What'd she do, Blondie?" Laxus asked her.
"You're blonde, too. And she made a large wool mattress for everyone to be able to sleep together in my apartment." She stuck her tongue out at the much larger blonde. "I can ask her. Open, Gate of the Ram, Lion, Aries, Leo!" Both spirits popped into the room with stacks of luggage and clothing.
"I'm sorry. What can I do for you, Princess?" the timid, pink-haired spirit squeaked.
"My Princess, Virgo asked that I bring these things to you and that the rest of the clothing would be ready by the morning." The lion spirit said.
"Thanks, Loke. Aries, I was wondering if you could do what you did last night here just bigger?"
"Yes, ma'am. Wool Bomb!" she shouted as pink wool shot out from her outstretched hands. "I'm sorry."
"Thank you, Aries. You did a wonderful job, as always." Lucy praised. She closed both their gates, knowing from experience that Loke would smother her if she let him hang around too long. "Now let's get everyone all their stuff so we can get some sleep." She took out the list she'd made earlier and started handing out luggage.
Once everybody had their luggage and gotten ready for the night, they started settling in to sleep. Almost everyone was piled on the wool mattress, except for the Jellal, Sting, Rogue, and their exceeds. Merudy had decided to sleep with the Fairies because, "who doesn't love a cuddle party?!" as she had so elegantly put it before hopping into the mass of tangled limbs.
The next morning brought the gentle wakening that came from sleeping surrounded by loved ones. Lucy saw that Virgo had brought out the rest of the clothes and set them by the corresponding person's luggage. With her own clothes came a list of everyone's measurements, though she wasn't sure why, she tucked it in the pocket of the robes that Virgo had made for her before heading to the kitchen. When she walked in, she wasn't at all surprised to see Mira at the stove cooking. As she set up the coffee maker, she greeted her, "Good morning, Mira. Did you see your clothes?"
"Good morning, Lucy. I did. You have to thank Virgo for me. They're perfect. Would you like to help me set the table before they start pouring in here?" Lucy nodded and got to work. Slowly the table filled as the mages woke up and started their day with Mira's stellar cooking.
Once everyone had eaten and gotten ready for the day in the robes provided by Virgo, they gathered in the meeting room. Dumbledore was sitting next to Makarov.
"Good morning all. Today we're going to go to Diagon Alley and shop for your school supplies, uniforms, and wands. When we get back, we shall start your training."
Master stood on the table to be sure that everyone could see him. "Mavis, Albus, and myself decided that splitting into groups would be the best way to get this done. The groups that we are splitting you into are also going to be your guard groups. Group 1 will be Natsu, Erza, Lisanna, Elfman, Evergreen, and Jellal. Professor Snape shall be accompanying you. Group 2 will be Lucy, Wendy, Sting, Rogue, and myself. Professor Flitwick will be accompanying us. Group 3 will be Gray, Cana, Mira, Laxus, Bickslow, and Merudy. Professor Sprout will be accompanying you. Group 4 will be Gildarts, Freed, Levy, Gajeel, and Juvia. Professor McGonagall will be accompanying you.
"Group 1 will be getting enough potion ingredients for the 16 students along with enough parchment, quills, and ink for all 22 of us. Group 2 will be going to Madam Malkin's for 3 sets of plain black work robes, 1 pair of protective gloves, and 1 black winter cloak with silver fastenings for each of us. Group 3 will be getting 1 pewter, standard size 2, cauldron, 1 set of glass or crystal phials, 1 telescope, and 1 set of brass scales for each of the 16 students. Group 4 will be going to Flourish and Blotts to get the schoolbooks for the students. I have the list of books and numbers for you. After getting the supplies, we're going to meet at Ollivander's to get our wands. Now let's hop to it."
They had decided to use the Floo Network, hoping it would be easier on the Dragon Slayer's stomachs. When they arrived, after standing and staring in awe of the buildings and witches and wizards, they separated.
Erza spent the entire time staring daggers at Natsu, just daring him to step the wrong way.
Lucy was happy that Virgo had left the list of measurements with her so that she could order the supplies her group was in charge of getting. They were to be delivered to Hogwarts as soon as they were ready.
Gray and his group had to figure out how to carry the fragile instruments without breaking them.
Levy and her group had the privilege of carrying 8 copies each of Unfogging the Future by Cassandra Valdatsky, Numberology and Grammatica, Spellman's Syllbary, and 16 copies each of A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot, One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore, Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander, The Monster Book of Monsters, Home Life and Social Habits of British Muggles by Wilhelm Wigworthy, The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 5 by Miranda Goshawk, and Defensive Magical Theory by Wilbert Slinkhard.
When they met up outside of Ollivander's, Erza offered to put their supplies in her requip space, then they all piled into the tiny wand shop.
"My this is a lot of wizards. Do you all need wands?" Mr. Ollivander asked the group of 22 mages in front of him. Then he spotted Professor McGonagall. "Ah, Minerva are you helping this group out today?"
"Yes, Garrick. Everyone here will require a wand. Take as much time as you need."
After much shuffling around and many wands later, each mage had obtained a wand.
Wands – Core, Wood, Length, Flexibility
Lucy – Phoenix, Cedar, 9 ¾ inches, Supple
Natsu – Dragon, Dogwood, 10 1/8 inches, Solid
Gray – Unicorn, English Oak, 9 ½ inches, Reasonably Supple
Erza – Dragon, Ash, 10 ½ inches, Unyielding
Wendy – Dragon, Beech, 9 inches, Surprisingly Swishy
Gajeel – Dragon, Blackthorn, 11 ¼ inches, Rigid
Levy – Unicorn, Elm, 9 5/8 inches, Pliant
Laxus – Dragon, Cypress, 12 ¼ inches, Hard
Freed – Unicorn, Elm, 10 ¾ inches, Rigid
Evergreen – Unicorn, Holly, 10 1/8 inches, Slightly Springy
Bickslow – Phoenix, Dogwood, 11 5/8 inches, Supple
Mira – Dragon, Cherry, 9 ½ inches, Unbending
Elfman – Unicorn, Ebony, 13 7/8 inches, Pliant
Lisanna – Unicorn, Chestnut, 10 inches, Quite Bendy
Cana – Unicorn, Aspen, 10 ¾ inches, Surprisingly Swishy
Juvia – Unicorn, Hazel, 10 ¼ inches, Supple
Gildarts – Dragon, Fir, 12 inches, Solid
Sting – Dragon, Dogwood, 10 3/8 inches, Unbending
Rogue – Dragon, Pine, 10 ½ inches, Supple
Jellal – Phoenix, Apple, 12 ¼ inches, Rigid
Merudy – Unicorn, Hornbeam, 9 7/8 inches, Surprisingly Swishy
Makarov – Phoenix, Cypress, 8 7/8 inches, Hard
After getting their wands the group of Earthlanders made their way back to Hogwarts to start their 2-month training.