When Shiori Minamino opened the door, answering the bell, she was confronted with a person in a courier uniform.

"This is the Minamino residence, correct?" he asked, pulling out the pencil from the top of his clipboard.

Shiori nodded. "But I don't remember ordering anything," she said.

The man shrugged. "I just deliver ma'am," he said. "Sign here please."

Shiori signed and accepted the large, thick envelope.

"Have a good day ma'am," the man said and turned to go.

"You too," Shiori answered absently, staring at the package as she closed the door. "Shuichi, did you order something and not tell me?" she called out.

"No Mother. Is something wrong?" came an answering call, and her son came running down the hall.

"Well, it isn't your birthday or mine, and neither of us ordered anything, so what is this package?" Shiori asked, moving to sit at the kitchen table with the large envelope.

"You could open it Mother, and find out," Shuichi suggested with a smile.

Shiori chuckled. "Fetch me the letter opener?"

~oOo~

"It's a school. Kagome, when did you find the time to apply for a new school?" Souta asked, curious. "And why didn't you say anything?"

"I didn't apply for a new school," Kagome objected. "I fully expected to go to the middle school attached to the primary school."

Mrs Higurashi calmed both of her children and picked up the second sheet of paper in the pile that they'd withdrawn from the fat envelope. "Oh my," she said, her eyes going wide.

"Mum?" Kagome asked, concerned.

"Never mind the school we intended Kagome," Mrs Higurashi said. "You're going to this one."

"But my friends!"

Mrs Higurashi shook her head. "I'm sorry dear, but this is really a much better school for you. I'm going to send the positive response now, you go through all the material they've provided."

Kagome groaned in disappointment. "But that -" Kagome gestured to the first sheet that Souta was still holding "- says that it's a boarding school! I won't see you or any of my friends for months at a time!"

"That can't be helped dear," Mrs Higurashi said, shaking her head. "You're going."

Kagome grumbled and slumped in her chair at the table, then drew the pile of paper closer to herself to read over.

~oOo~

Misao stayed close to Kyo as they walked through the shopping district looking for the items listed as 'required student equipment' on the list. He'd received the same invitation that she had, and Misao had jumped at the chance to not have to hide having a 'taboo' relationship with a teacher. The courses offered by the school were appealing as well, and she'd been able to talk her parents into letting her transfer.

"What's next?" Kyo asked, smiling down at her.

"I'm taking art classes, and there's an art supply shop just over there," Misao said, pointing. "How about that next?"

Kyo nodded. "Are you happy Misao?"

Misao beamed up at Kyo. "Very much," she said. "I know that I'll have to leave my family to be with you eventually, this is like an intermediate step, and I'll get to learn more about you at the same time."

~oOo~

Watanuki couldn't believe that he was actually sharing a table with Doumeki. It seemed that they had both gotten invitations to this mysterious and exclusive school, and accepted. He knew why for himself, but Doumeki had never seemed the type.

And now they were on the private jet that taking students from Tokyo to the school on its private island.

If it wasn't such a good school, with such an attractive course list, Watanuki would have been having a fit at the lavish expense. Apparently there were going to be students from America, Europe and all of the other Asiatic and Australasian countries as well.

An exclusive international school. Sounded like an oxymoron, but whatever. As long as they could live up to the class list that they sent out, then he didn't care what the school tried to pass itself off as.

~oOo~

Hermione Granger stared in awe around her as she got off the plane and into the terminal. She'd gotten an invitation to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry the day after she'd gotten the package from this place, and the professor who had come to deliver it and explain about the school – and magic – to the family had been surprised that, even after her demonstrations of magic, they had said that Hermione wouldn't be attending. They'd really just wanted proof of the esoteric before they responded in the affirmative to this place.

Hermione turned. "Come on Harry!" she called. She'd made a friend on the plane from a shy boy who looked like he'd been put through the wringer. "You've got to see this place!"

Harry Potter had said that his relatives hadn't waited for proof when he got his package, just seen that they could turn him over to the school permanently if they wanted to, and they'd sent him off. Hermione had supposed that they must be very busy, since she couldn't imagine her parents not wanting her, and therefore assumed that it was roughly the same for everybody.

Harry didn't disillusion her, but he was very excited too. He never had to go back to the Dursley's, and the faculty person who had come – at request of his Aunt Petunia – to help him buy his things, had been very kind to him.

~oOo~

Wednesday Addams sat down at a table in the hall that all of the students had been directed to by the faculty member who had been assigned to meet and greet. She wasn't sure about this place. It didn't look like her old school, full of normal people who were full of hopes and dreams. It looked like half the student population had come here to get away from something. Maybe the place had promise.

"Welcome, new students and old, to the TEA Polytechnic. I am the Principle, or Headmaster of the school, and my name is Milo Thatch. I hope all of you brought your care-packages with you, because they included school rules and a map to help you get around our buildings. We can move onto proper announcements the day after tomorrow when everybody has gotten over their jet-lag. For now, I'm sure you're all hungry, so let's eat."

Food appeared on the tables, as if by magic.

Wednesday frowned. Of course, it was by magic. So why wasn't there anything like Granny Frump's cooking?

As if responding to her wishes, a bowl of dubious character appeared before her, an eyeball floating in the middle.

Wednesday grinned and speared it with her fork.

~oOo~

The TEA Polytechnic. The Technological and Esoteric Atlantis Polytechnic. A place where anybody with 'powers' could come and learn how to handle them while still being given the best education that they would need to survive in the rapidly changing modern times.

If the faculty all wore glowing blue crystals and looked no older than thirty, even though all of them had white hair – except for the school doctor, who was bald – then nobody made comment.

~The Beginning~

Except that I'm not going to write any more of this.