They get more attention with negativity.

“They get more attention with negativity.” whispered my classmate to me in my “Entry to Spells” course. It was my first year at Beauman’s Academy, and I knew close to nobody. I had been anticipating this day for years as it was my childhood dream to attend this school. And the day was finally here. I knew getting into this community of witches, warlocks, and wizards would be an adjustment, but I don’t think I really knew what I was getting myself into.

My first class, “Entry to Spells” was in the lower left wing of the castle in room 008. I don’t even remember how many times I lost my way and had to ask the elf hallway monitors for help. When I finally arrived at my class, there were about 30 kids all sitting in small groups talking so loud I could barely hear myself think. I look around and spot a familiar face, Linda, the girl who gave me the tour of the school a few months back. She seemed to have a smaller, less intimidating group surrounding her so I decided to venture over to her. As soon as Linda saw me, she broke into a wide smile and waved me over. A sense of relief filled my body. I put down my wand and stack of textbooks I was carrying as she began introducing me to her table mates. “Everyone, this is Grace!”
“Hey! I’m henry”
“I’m Jack!”
“My name is Mckenna!”
I smiled shyly at them. Immediately Henry started practically interrogating me. “So, where are you from? Who are your parents? What classes are you in? What curses do you know?”
“Woahhh Henry give the girl a second to breathe would you?” Linda interjected as she turned to me “Sorry, he’s just excited to have a new friend, I told them you were coming and we were super excited. Anyway… do you have any questions for us? I can imagine you might, considering this is only your second time on campus. I know I would have a million.”

I did in fact have a million questions that I could ask, but one thing in particular piqued my interest when I first arrived at the school. There was this group of students, who strutted around campus as if they owned the place. I couldn’t help but stare. This group of students were supposedly notorious for using forbidden spells and getting away with it. They made their presence known everywhere they went and always looked as if they were up to no good. Linda told me to stay far away from The Shadows, which is what they called themselves, but I was so intrigued. I kept my questions about The Shadows to myself and resorted to a more generic one.

“How’s the food?” I said after a long pause.
“Oh let me tell you…” Henry started. As he ranted about the Morsus Hall food choices, a roar of laughter coming from one of the classroom corners caught my attention. I tuned into the conversation from the other side of the room and away from Henry for a brief moment, and immediately knew who I was listening to. The Shadows. They were loudly talking about a get-together they would be hosting for back to school, and made it clear that if anyone was against using dark magic, that they should not attend. The last bit I caught before being brought back to reality by Henry was that the party was being held in the abandoned dorm building, near the edge of the Blackbriar Forest.
“…But you have to try the soup. Anyway, want to sit with us today?” said Henry, almost out of breath from speaking so much.
“Uh yeah sure!” I said feeling a little guilty that I was more interested in what The Shadows were up to rather than my very welcoming new classmates.

Later that day, I was minding my business reading a book in the library when I heard a rambunctious group heading in my direction. I knew immediately who they were and I turned an ear to listen. They were discussing details of their “get together” which I had previously heard about in my morning class. I was supposed to go to Linda’s dorm later that night but I was becoming more and more interested in what The Shadows were up to. I decided that I would sneak out that night, to the abandoned dorm and see what it was all about. I couldn’t help myself. The details I overheard were that it would begin at 10pm and that strictly dark magic users were allowed in. I had barely cast any real spells yet, let alone any curses or dark magic, but I wasn’t going to let that stop me. I would tell Linda I was feeling tired from the day and I would exit the dorm building when everyone was finally asleep. I would just go see what was going on, and I would leave. That is it. Or so I thought.

When I had successfully snuck out of the dorm, wand in hand and hood of my jacket up. I started toward the forest. I hadn’t realized before, and maybe it was only because it was so dark. But the academy grounds seemed very eerie. I felt a bit uneasy and contemplated going back, but my curiosity took over. I used a simple stealth spell that would mask the sound of my steps and my appearance for a brief amount of time just so I could make it to the abandoned building with no interruption. The academy was rather large, so it took me a while to locate where this gathering even was. But once I heard mischievous howling and saw a flame flicker in the distance, I knew I had found it. I got within earshot of the voices and heard something that sent a chill down my spine. The Shadows were speaking in tongues. Which is absolutely forbidden in the world of magic as it can summon the most powerful and evil spirits. The Shadows however, seemed like that is exactly what they were trying to do. I was scared, but still fascinated with what they were doing in that building so I encroached further. The group outside by what looked like a firepit had the strangest look on their faces. Their eyes lacked pupils and they seemed strangely peaceful. This sight gave me a very bad feeling and I felt like I had seen enough so I began to turn around. That’s when I stepped on a stick and a loud SNAP could be heard all around me. I froze. Not knowing if anyone had heard the sound or if my stealth spell was still in effect, I kept moving, now with increasing speed. I ducked under branched and hurdled large rocks, feeling my heart pump with great force. I glanced behind me to see if anyone was there, and didn’t see anyone. I almost felt something like relief when I turned my head back around and was met with the most terrifying sight. An unmoving person with the familiar pupilless eyes and slight smile. The mouth of this person began to move and a hissing sound escaped. The hissing felt like it was invading my ears and made my head feel like it was being split in two. I collapsed in pain and looked up at the person, who was continuing the same repetitive sibilation. This was the last thing I saw before the world went completely dark.