Straight-Up Not Having A Good Time At Night Raven College: Prologue

Prologue Chapter 3: A Dismissive Ranking

"OFF WITH YOUR HEAD!"

The loud shout carried over the noise of the disrupted ceremony room, making Kat jump.

A few moments later, the crowd parted for the silver-haired glasses boy and the red-haired boy, with the redhead carrying Grim by the scruff of his neck.
Grim looked mildly shell-shocked, not really reacting even as he was dropped unceremoniously onto the floor.

The glasses boy stepped back, fingertips delicately on the bridge of his glasses as the red-haired boy put a hand on his hip.

"Queen of Hearts' Rule 23," he announced.
" 'One must never bring a cat to a formal affair'. As a cat, your very presence here is an affront to the rules. Thus, you are to vacate these premises immediately."
This seemed to get through to Grim, who shook his head, standing back up.

"But I ain't a CAT, either!" He protested, pawing at-- at SOMETHING around his neck.
It wasn't just the ribbon now-- there was a...
A red-and-black heart-shaped thing clamped around his short neck, with a large, flat stylized padlock in the front.

"An' as for this collar-- I'll burn it off in no time flat! Hrrrrgh..."
He concentrated, puffing out his cheeks.

Kat drew back, but nothing happened.

"H--Huh--?!" Grim spluttered, ears drooping. "What gives-- the flames ain't coming out!"

"Hm."
The red-haired boy gave a quiet laugh, a cold smile spreading over his face.
"That collar is MY handiwork. Until I decide to remove it, you will remain unable to use magic-- making you no more powerful than an ordinary pet cat."

"WHAT?!" Grim shrieked, bristling. "I ain't NOBODY'S pet, you hear me?!"

"Oh, don't worry-- I have no interest in keeping something like YOU as a pet," the redhead replied.
He shrugged.
"Well-- the collar will disappear as soon as you're removed from campus, at any rate."

The boy with the glasses laughed again, and Kat looked over at him.

"Splendid as always-- my, my, that Unique Magic of yours is certainly something, Riddle-san! Sealing away any and all magic..."

He exhaled oddly, looking at the red-haired boy with a strange, covetous glint in his eye.

"I want it..."

Before Kat could glance at anybody else to see if they heard that, he'd cleared his throat, a smile replacing the weirdly sinister look on his face.

"That is to say-- I don't want to go up against it, of course. Ha ha!"

What the fuck...?
Well, that wasn't suspicious or anything...

Stomping over to her, Crowley planted his hands on his hips, glaring angrily at her.

"MISS KAT!" He shouted, making her jump.
"Was I not clear that you are expected to take responsibility for your own familiar?!"

She looked blankly at him.

Familiar?
Come to think of it, he'd said something like that before, in the library...
She knew what a familiar was, obviously, but--

"I expect you to THOROUGHLY DISCIPLINE your--" Crowley was saying.

"I-- I don't have a familiar," Kat interrupted him.

Apparently thrown off-track, he trailed off, giving her a surprised look.
"What?"

"I don't have a-- I mean, the mirror literally JUST said I can't use magic, how the FUCK am I supposed to have a familiar?" She said irritably, hands on her hips.
"And if I DID, it definitely wouldn't be anything that just tried to KILL me! Fuck...!"