She stood before a gargantuan wooden door where a golden lion knocker stared her down from its mount. Tapping the handle three times, she awaited the answer anxiously. There was no verbal response, only a deep whine as the door swung open of its own accord. She was becoming increasingly perturbed by her odds of surviving this trip when the Dean's authoritative voice summoned her.

"Ms. Cole, you may enter," Lilly cautiously complied, checking either side of the door for any surprises. Before her was a long intricately carved table, where The Dean sat, along with four other administrators, ready to determine her fate at their establishment. "Lilly," The Dean dropped the formalities, "we would like you to perform a task for us," Lilly gestured for him to continue. He placed a thick stack of blank parchment on the table expectantly, "would you make some origami for us? Any design you'd like," Lilly's baffled expression could've summed up her thoughts on that entire day. The Dean, however, gave no signs of amusement and waited patiently for her to begin.

"Um, not to be rude, but is this a joke?" The Dean chuckled at her effrontery.

"No, no joke," his failure to elaborate made her even more incredulous. She was fully prepared for someone to pop out and confess that this was all some elaborate prank. Lilly shook her head at the absurdity of the task and walked towards the table to pick up a sheet of paper. She'd just begun to fold over the first corner when she was interrupted for what seemed like the hundredth time that day.

"Not like that," Lilly's brow furrowed. He wanted her to make origami, but when she did it, it was somehow wrong? "I want you to use magic."

"I'm sorry, sir, but I don't know any tricks-"

"Not tricks, real magic," Lilly cracked a smile in hopes he'd drop the facade. It was not reciprocated, "I'll walk you through it, don't fret. Please, take a few steps back," Lilly complied, she had nothing to lose, "now, close your eyes," she did so begrudgingly.

She heard The Dean stand from his chair and approach, circling like a cat sizing up its next meal, "I want you to clear your mind of whatever trivial crap is floating around in there," Lilly inhaled deeply, then exhaled, sending the stress and confusion out with her breath. A state of calm washed over her as she awaited further instruction, "now, picture each piece of paper folding itself into whatever shape you desire," Lilly envisioned the pile on the desk, sorting through and folding each one step by step.

He hummed in approval from beside her. She'd begun to feel a strange tingling in her fingers that spread throughout her body and enveloped her in a warmth reminiscent of sunlight on her skin. She could hear shuffling from somewhere in the room, "you may open your eyes now, Lilly. We've got all that we need from you," a flitting sound brushed past her ear, startling her, because The Dean had moved back to his spot behind the table.

Her eyes shot open, and she couldn't help but gape. All around her were hundreds of origami cranes. Not only were they folded to perfection, but they flew about the room like the little birds they were meant to imitate. Mesmerized, Lilly spun in place, her body gone slack with wonder. They flapped merrily about the room, some landing on the rafters to peer curiously down upon their creator. A few had begun to fly into the window, oblivious to the glass that separated them from the world beyond. Lilly reached out her hand to touch one, but as soon as she made contact with it, the lot plummeted like rocks and settled in a lifeless heap at her feet. Lilly stared at the table of the administrators, where the Dean had begun to clap proudly, a satisfied smirk tugging at his lips.

"Very good, we will be meeting with you tomorrow to explain everything, answer any questions you may have, and discuss your enrollment. Your student guide should be waiting outside to take you to the dorms for the night. We apologize that you have to stay here, but we can't let you out into the world knowing what you do. Please, send the next person in when you leave."

"Did that really happen?"

"Yes, it did. Now, get moving, we have thirty-two more people to examine today and I would rather not be here all night," his tone was casual and not at all what Lilly would expect after the miracle they'd just witnessed. She scurried out of the room, in too much of a daze to protest.

As promised, Margo was waiting. Just as the door shut behind her, a young man rounded the corner, huffing as if he'd just run a marathon. Lilly noticed a card clutched in his hand. She gestured for him to enter the room, and he nervously adjusted his glasses and smoothed the fabric of his blazer before pushing open the door. She approached Margo, who wore a gigantic grin.

"I knew you were one of us!" Margo linked arms with Lilly dragging her down the hallway, "I could tell we were going to be friends from the moment I saw you."

"What exactly are you?" Margo laughed, amused at her ignorance, "a Magician, of course! Didn't Dean Fogg tell you?" Lilly shook her head, "that's just like him to keep everything vague and mysterious even after you got in. God forbid, you actually know what's going on! When I first got here I was so freaked out that I practically fainted when I did magic. I only found out the truth the next day during my meeting. Lucky for you, sweetie, I'm here to enlighten you," Lilly inwardly sighed in relief that she would finally be getting some answers, "well, if you haven't noticed, magic is real."

"No shit," Lilly rolled her eyes through her breathlessness. She managed to take a peek into a few classrooms and spotted odd contraptions, ancient alchemy equipment and a plethora of crystals covering almost every surface in one room.

"I knew I liked you," Margo smirked, "I'm assuming you've read, Harry Potter."

"Of course."

"Just checking, you'd be surprised how many weirdos there are who haven't," Margo continued, and Lilly silently begged her to spill out any bit of information she could give. "We're like Wizards, but we don't use wands, and this place isn't as whimsical as Hogwarts. Though, we do have a good amount of magical shit that goes down on campus. We haven't had a basilisk living in our basement yet, but there's still time," Lilly's eyes widened but Margo stayed serious.

"So, how do you do magic, then? If you don't use wands?"

"We use some pretty fucked up looking hand gestures," she paused her stride and untangled her arm from Lilly's. Margo's fingers clasped together, twisting in complex patterns. It took a moment but when she unfolded her hands, a tiny cloud floated above her palm. Flurries of snow fell upon her skin, melting instantly. Lilly gasped, moving in closer to inspect the miracle Margo had summoned. Margo closed her fist around the tiny snowstorm and twisted her wrist. When she opened her hand again, it had vanished without a trace.

"How did you do that?" Margo laughed as one would while hearing a baby babble.

"Cryomancy, it's my discipline, my specialty if you will."

"Will I be learning how to do that if I go here?" Margo relinked their arms, continuing to guide Lilly towards her dorm.

"That, and so much more." It took less than ten minutes to reach the dorm, passing the empty courtyards and old buildings. They arrived in front of a large building with ornate stained-glass windows bordering the massive oak doors. Only a few others lingered, Lilly recognized some from the exam room. Margo ignored them all, pulling the door open and shepherding her in. Margo had a way of holding herself that gave the impression that she was the queen, and they, her subjects, there for the sole purpose of serving her every need.

"These are the first-year dorms," a grand winding staircase was front and center in the entryway, a large panel of stained-glass on display above the landing. The ceilings in the entrance were two stories high and painted in vibrant blues, purples, and golds. On either side of the staircase were common rooms for students to relax in. One, filled with mismatched couches and chairs, and the other with tables for studying. "You'll be staying in this trash heap for the first month of the semester until you're placed in your Discipline group. Each Discipline has its own house, so where you're placed will determine where you live. In my opinion, Physicals are the best, but I may be a bit biased."

Margo smiled fondly at Lilly, watching as she took in her surroundings. Lilly couldn't imagine what the Discipline housing was like if Margo considered this a trash heap, "follow me," Margo ascended the staircase, "I'll show you to your room," Lilly along for fear of being left behind. At the top of the stairs were two hallways on either side, lined with medieval dark wood doors. Margo took a left, stopping halfway down the hall before one of the rooms. "You are in room 28, I don't know who your roommate is yet, but you'll find out soon enough," Lilly reached down to grasp the knob and pushed the door open. The hinges groaned, but the door opened smoothly enough. Inside, sat two twin beds, one side of the room completely bare, the other filled with boxes of what looked like Lilly's things from her apartment.

"Are those my things?"

"Yes, when you passed your exam they were brought over."

"Let me guess, magic?" Lilly smiled raising her eyebrows at the girl behind her.

"Hmm... you're catching on quick," Margo strolled the rest of the way into Lilly's room, plopping down on the bare mattress like it was a throne fit for an Egyptian goddess. "You can decorate any way you'd like, but I wouldn't do anything elaborate, you won't be here very long."

Lilly eyed the second twin bed, pushed against the blue walls. Nothing betrayed the personality of her future roommate. The only other furniture in the room was two small bookcases, which definitely wouldn't be enough to store Lilly's extensive literature collection. Each side of the room had a desk pushed against the wall for studying. Lilly doubted she'd be using it though, she'd always preferred to study in the library.

"Now that you know where you're staying, let's show you around campus," she hopped up from the bed and pulled Lilly out the door.

"So, are you a... Muggle-born?"

"Born and raised," Margo said shortly, Lilly was about to ask her to elaborate but Margo's voice broke through her thoughts, "Eliot!" They had just begun to descend the grand staircase when Margo spotted the tall, slender, and impeccably dressed young man in the middle of the entryway.

"Ah, Margo, perfect timing," Eliot greeted, his voice suggested he was well-educated and of high class. Her assumption was further proven by his choice of dress. A white collared shirt and expensive tie showed from beneath his beige vest. His whole look screamed expensive, with a dash of 'I'm better than you.' He looked like something straight out of an F. Scott Fitzgerald novel. "My newbie fainted on us after his exam, so I have nothing to do until Sleeping Beauty wakes up."

"Well, we were just about to go on a tour of campus, if you'd like to join us?"

Eliot's gaze flicked to Lilly, examining her with a judgmental gaze, "and what's the little one's name?"

"Lilly, Lilly Cole," He watched her appraisingly, "nice vest, by the way, it's very... slimming," Lilly blurted in hopes of filling the awkward silence, only succeeding in making it even more uncomfortable. Margo giggled from beside her before Eliot responded.

"Hmm... well, she has good taste, I think we should keep her," he still hadn't smiled.

"Glad you agree," Margo smirked, "now, let's show our new protege around campus, shall we?" The two-headed for the door, assuming Lilly would follow along. Lilly couldn't help but think how odd the pair was, but she found herself liking Margo more and more by the second, and she hoped Eliot would be the same. Her two tour guides led her down the path and listed off the names of each building for her.

"The semester doesn't officially start for another two days, but lots of students like to get a head start on their studies."

"Is that why you two are back early?" Lilly asked and Eliot dramatically gasped, stopping in his tracks to face her.

"How dare you think we are the kind of people to sacrifice our vacation time to study." Eliot let out a horrified shiver at the thought, "no, we came back for the parties." Lilly would've been worried about having offended them, but the smirk on Margo's face told her he was only feigning insult.

"So," Margo interrupted, "as I said earlier, you'll be sorted into the house of your emphasis. There are six possibilities for where you may be placed. Physical, which is mine and Eliot's discipline," they pointed to a girl who had a deck of cards spread out in front of her. They watched as each one of the cards lifted by themselves and started to shuffle in midair. "We specialize in telekinesis mostly, which happens to be my Discipline."

"There is also Knowledge, Illusion, Nature, Healing, and of course Psychics. Pretty self-explanatory, I think, just don't think about anything too embarrassing when you're around a Psychic," Margo warned.

"They're always listening," Eliot placed a conspiratorial finger to his temple.

"Lexie!" Margo squealed, giving a little jump of excitement before skipping off across the lawn. Eliot sighed and placed his hand leisurely in his pockets. Lilly followed his lead as they sidled up to Margo, who'd stalled before a young man with kind eyes and short dark hair. From the branches of a towering oak tree, hung a circle of mismatched mirrors of all shapes and sizes. Some golden and ornate, others stark and simplistic, each hovering above the ground at varying levels.

"Margo," the man smiled brightly, "what fresh hell are you stirring up this afternoon?"

"I'm insulted you think that low of me," Margo paced a hand across her heart in mock hurt, "I'm simply doing my civic duty as an upperclassman and showing Lilly here around campus." The he turned his attention to Lilly, who stood outside the ring of mirrors hesitantly.

"I'm Alex," Lilly accepted his offer of a handshake, "I'm a second year."

"Lilly," her nerves had been placated now that she had a name for the man Margo invited into the conversation. "Are you a Physical Magician as well, then?" All three of her peers laughed.

"God, no," Alex made a show of disgust, though it was clearly all in good fun, "I'm an Illusionist." He tilted his chin in the direction of the closest mirror, which captured Lilly's reflection within it. Alex stepped up beside her, his fingers traced out an invisible pattern in the air, forehead creased with concentration. For a moment nothing happened, then her lips curled into a seductive smirk. Not her lips- her reflections lips. Her mouth fell open in shock as her reflection waved back at her, though in reality, her arms lay slack beside her.

"That's incredible!" Lilly gaped at her reflection, which had taken on a life of its own. Alex seemed to enjoy her naivety and childlike fascination.

"If you're into that sort of thing," Eliot drawled, unimpressed.

"Mirror magic," Alex explained, "that's my Discipline," Margo wrapped her arms around his shoulders with a teasing smile.

"As much as we'd love to stick around and stroke your ego, Lexie, we have to get the little one back for nap time."

The three continued their tour and Margo showed her the many fountains and their magical properties. The most interesting of which being the fountain of love. It featured three cupids who would shoot their love arrows at anyone who stepped too close to the iridescent pink water. Lilly made a mental note to steer clear of that one. They passed by another fountain, which Margo explained was bottomless. Nicknamed the suicide fountain for obvious and morbid reasons. Their campus tour was coming to a close and soon enough they were back inside the first-year dorms.

"I'm gonna go check on Sleeping Beauty," Eliot bounded up the stairs ahead of them, "he's lucky he's cute, for all the trouble he's put me through, bye, Bambi!" He called to Margo, then gentlemanly tipped his head to Lilly, "Thumper," he disappeared around the corner with a mischievous wink. Lilly smiled sweetly at her newly dubbed nickname.

"Well, you should be okay from now on," Margo turned to leave, "see ya!"

"Wait!" Lilly called to her, "Quentin Coldwater and Julia Wicker, they took the exam too, did they get in?" Margo barked with laughter.

"You know Sleeping Beauty?" She continued to cackle like this was the funniest thing she'd ever heard. "Yes, Quentin got in. Room 48, but I wouldn't go see him till the morning, he's probably still knocked out. As for your other friend, I've never heard of her," with that, she vacated the building. Lilly wondered if Margo just hadn't heard of Julia or if she hadn't gotten in at all.

She found her way upstairs to her room, seeing a few students milling about in the hallways and through open dorm room doors. Pushing her door open, she was surprised to see a woman standing in the middle of the room. Hearing her enter, she spun to face Lilly, her jet black hair was cropped short, and styled back away from her face. The style accentuated sharp cheekbones and flawless dark skin. Something was unnerving about the way the woman's striking gray eyes assessed her. It was as if she was determining her worth before she even spoke. Lilly smiled politely despite her first impressions.

"Hi, you must be my roommate, I'm Lilly," she held out her hand in greeting. The woman hesitated a moment but returned the gesture.

"Ava Westmore," she supplied, leaving much to be desired.

"So, where are you from?" Ava turned away and began to unpack the boxes piled up on her side of the room. Lilly decided to do the same, unloading one of her book boxes onto the shelves beside her bed.

"Washington D.C., you?" Her tone suggested she didn't care what Lilly's answer was.

"Originally England, but my mum moved us to New York when I was really young, so I didn't have a chance to develop the accent. It's a shame really, having a British accent probably would've made me a lot cooler in school," Lilly chuckled at the attempt at an icebreaker, but she was the only one. "Do you have any Magicians in the family? I just found out that magic existed a couple of hours ago, bit of a shock," Lilly was forced to leave a pile of books on the floor once the shelves reached full capacity.

"Both my parents went here, Knowledge students."

"You must be pretty good at magic already then, got a head start on the rest of us," Ava sighed, frustrated.

"Look, I'm not trying to make friends. I just want to learn, so don't waste your time trying to get to know me and tell me all your little secrets like we're best friends. It's not going to happen," Lilly was taken aback by the outburst.

"Sorry, I was just being friendly."

"It's better if we just stick to our own worlds and sides of the room. I've been through this before and if this roommate thing is going to work, don't touch my stuff, and try to refrain from talking to me, okay?" Lilly nodded, still stunned by her attitude. Ava turned back to what she was doing and Lilly followed suit. She didn't dare speak again. She unearthed her leather-bound diary from the depths of a box and placed it safely inside her bedside table. The sheets and comforter for the bed were provided, given that Lilly didn't have anything that would fit a mattress that small.

By the time she'd unpacked and set everything up, night had fallen. She'd hung pictures of herself with her mom and friends on the walls, giving the small room a homey feel that was lacking on Ava's side. The sun had finally set in the perpetual bubble of summer that Brakebills inhabited. Not wanting to stick around in her room much longer, Lilly decided to venture out to meet the rest of the new students. She entered the common room to find a group of others gathered on the couches and milling about the room, all in conversation. Lilly at a loss for who to approach.

"Lilly!" She whipped her head towards the voice and spotted the pink-haired woman she sat next to during the exam.

"Dani! I see you passed," she sat perched on the arm of a large armchair next to a pale man with short jet black hair. Lilly didn't have to fake the grin that came to her, glad to see a familiar face after the encounter with her roommate. The pale man looked up from where he sat and smiled.

"Yeah, that's a first. Lilly, this is Oliver Graves," Dani gestured to her chair mate, "Oliver, this is Lilly," The two shook hands and exchanged polite greetings. Due to the lack of available spots, Lilly took a seat on the other arm of Oliver's chair.

"I think we're neighbors," Oliver declared, smiling up at her, "I saw you walking by earlier."

"You'll have to come to visit sometime, but be warned, my roommate is a piece of work. How about you guys? Get a good roommate?" Graves pointed across the room to a curly-haired muscular man who resembled a professional football player.

"His name is Dawson, he's nice enough, but I get the feeling he doesn't sleep much," Oliver suggestively raised his eyebrows. Dani spoke up from the other arm of the chair.

"Mine is a total bookworm, she would barely even talk to me, she had her head too far up the ass of some textbook to hear me. Don't get me wrong, I love Legally Blonde, but this blonde is one nut short of crazy," Dani complained, leaning into their circle conspiratorially. They chatted with the other students, trying and failing to remember all of their names. Graves spilled a bit of information about his life, though not more than the average introduction required. Lilly managed to compile a rough profile on him. His father was a Magician, but his mother was as mundane as they come and worked as a dental hygienist. His younger sister showed signs of magical aptitude, and he was convinced she'd be accepted into Brakebills next year. That was the extent of her findings. He seemed nice enough, but he had a mysterious air about him that she wasn't sure he would ever shed. He, along with a few others, left at some point to check out the on-campus bar. Its reputation preceded it as quite the attraction, but according to Margo and Eliot, the best place to party was always the Physical's Cottage. Lilly and Dani talked until the early hours of the night, staying in their spots even after the rest of the newcomers had gone to bed.

Lilly learned almost everything there was to know about her, including the fact that she loved to talk and had no shame to speak of. Dani's mother was a Magician herself, a world-renowned Alchemist. She grew up in the middle of nowhere, Arizona, and already had a good amount of magical training. Surprisingly, the magenta hair grew out of her head that color. Dani always loved to change her hair color when she was a kid, something her mother unsurprisingly loathed. Dani got sick of having the color fade so quickly and tried to mix a potion to make it last. Long story short, it did more than make it last longer. It made the color permanent.

Lilly shared as much as Dani had with her and how she found a dead body with Quentin and Julia that morning. Dani was extremely intrigued by that one and by the time Lilly had crawled beneath the covers of her bed, they'd formed a bond that would not soon be broken.