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.A pair of them glanced at Emily as she passed; the remainder ignored her, seemingly reluctant to risk catching the Grandmaster’s attention.Absently, she wondered what sorts of punishments were assigned in a magical school.Did they have to write lines, or do detentions? Or were they simply turned into frogs for a few hours? She shook her head, dismissing the thought.No doubt she would find out soon enough.They stopped in front of a blank wall that the Grandmaster tapped it with his staff.It opened, revealing another corridor leading away into the distance.The stone walls were interrupted, every few meters, by wooden doors.A short fat woman waddled out of a side door and looked up at the Grandmaster, before taking a long and thoughtful look at Emily.“This is Madame Razz,” the Grandmaster said.“She is your housemother for your first two years at the school.I suggest that you listen to her very carefully.”“Thank you, Grandmaster,” Madame Razz said.She had a tart voice that suggested that she wouldn’t stand for any nonsense.“What time is her first class?”“Mistress Irene will arrange that,” the Grandmaster informed her.“Until then, she is free to be outfitted with everything she needs for her first term.”He nodded to Emily, then turned and strode out of the concealed door.Emily turned back in time to see Madame Razz study her with a faintly disapproving expression.But before Emily could start to worry about it, she beckoned Emily to follow her down the corridor into a large storeroom, which was crammed with everything from clothes to bedding and toilet supplies.Madame Razz studied her for another long moment before producing a white robe from a pile of clothing and thrusting it at her.Emily held it up against her body and realized that it would fit, although it would also conceal the shape of her body from prying eyes.“The white robes are assigned to newcomers to Whitehall,” Madame Razz informed her, coldly.She plucked what looked like an oversized pair of panties off a railing, followed by an undershirt and a pair of socks, passing them all to Emily.“You are not permitted to wear anything else outside your room, particularly anything that may cause divisiveness among the students.You will be assigned five pairs of everything, which you will be responsible for.You will make sure that it is put out for wash, and then collected from the laundry room.If you lose anything, you will be charged for it.”I love you too, Emily thought.The Grandmaster had seemed a decent guy, even if he had issued heavy-handed warnings.Madame Razz, on the other hand, appeared to be inclined to assume the worst of any of the girls.She had to have stepped right out of a boarding school from hell.“You will change your bedding once every week,” Madame Razz continued, thrusting more packets of cloth at her.“Once changed, you will place the bedding to be washed along with your clothes.Luckily, the beds are standard, so we can interchange bedding if necessary.However, you are also responsible for removing any protective charms that you might have placed on the sheets.Accidentally leaving one in place to attack the laundry room staff will result in you being assigned to help them for at least a week.”She picked a small amulet out of a bag and passed it over to Emily.“This is a guide to the interior of the building, which changes regularly,” she explained.“In the event that you need to go anywhere, hold the amulet in your left hand and speak the name of the place aloud.A ball of light will appear in the air and guide you to your destination.If it refuses to work, you don’t have permission to enter that part of the building yet.Certain parts will remain off-limits until you reach a particular level.Wear the amulet until you learn how to ask the school for directions using your own magic.”Emily glanced down at the amulet, and then put it around her neck.“Toothbrush, toothpaste, washing powder, watch, medical potions,” Madame Razz continued, piling bottles of liquid on top of the clothes Emily was already carrying.“During that time of the month, take one swig of this liquid per day and the effects will be much reduced.Be careful not to leave samples of your blood lying around; it maintains a link to you and someone with bad intentions can use it to hex you, or worse.There are charms to cut the link; until you learn them, hand any bloodstained items over to me for disposal.”The watch was odd, seemingly out of place.Emily looked at it and realized, finally, that it was actually designed for someone to wear around their neck, or carried within their jacket, rather than worn on their wrist.It used clockwork, she decided, rather than anything electronic.She’d have to wind it regularly to keep it working.Madame Razz finally picked a book up from one end of the room, then led Emily back into the corridor.Emily followed her, staggering slightly under the weight, until they reached a single door, no different from any of the others.Madame Razz rapped on it sharply, then opened it by tapping a finger against a rune that had been cut directly into the stone.Inside, there were three beds, two of them already made up and surrounded by piles of books and devices that Emily didn’t recognize.The third bed was nothing more than an uncomfortable looking mattress.“Place the bedding on the bed,” Madame Razz ordered.“I assume you know how to make up your own bed?”She sounded as if she didn’t expect Emily to be capable of tying her shoelaces without assistance, but Emily nodded.The last thing she’d wanted was her mother or stepfather coming into her room back home, so she’d taken care of everything from a very early age.It wasn’t actually hard to change a bed; it had always amused her that boys–and a number of girls–complained about how unfair it was that their parents made them do their own beds.They spent longer complaining than it took to make the bed.“Yes,” Emily said.“That’s yes, Madame,” Madame Razz snapped.She scowled at Emily then nodded towards the door in the rear of the room.“Toilet, washbasin and bath are in there.You’ll have to come to an agreement with your roommates about rotas for using the bath; I’d prefer not to have to enforce one.The water basin over in that corner contains drinking water; if you happen to want food or anything else to drink, wait until morning.As a new student, you are not allowed to wander the building after lights out.”She turned and nodded towards the other beds.“I’ve put you in with Aloha and Imaiqah; Imaiqah is a first year student, like yourself, while Aloha is a second year student.As such, she is expected to take charge of the room
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