Chapter Text
They were all soon in the courtyard of Auradon Prep only minutes before they caught sight of the limo making its way up the school’s gravel road.
“Okay, everyone! Big smiles and cheers. Let them know they’re welcomed and wanted,” Ben told them all, pretty much begging them to at least pretend. They all complied and began cheering and hollering as, on Doug’s command, the band began to play. Ben, Harry, Melody and Audrey put themselves front and center of the path to the school's entrance. They were to be the first ones these students met. Well, them and Fairy Godmother, who had placed herself right in front of the foursome. Made sense as she was the headmistress.
‘This is it. No going back now. In mere moments, we will be building a bridge between heroes and villains,’ Ben thought, nervously folding his hands in front of him. A lot was riding on this moment. His future as king. His friends and family’s faith in him. He soon felt a hand on his shoulder and looked over to see Harry flashing him a comforting smile. Melody tightened her grip on his arm and he turned his attention to her and saw a similar smile. A quick glance and Audrey gave a, somewhat enthusiastic, thumbs up and a smile. He smiled back at them all and took a breath. ‘This is all going to go fine. Just fine,’ he told himself as the limo was now right in front of them and coming to a stop. The driver got out and maneuvered around to the other side of the vehicle. He opened the door and, before anyone knew it, each kid stepped out one by one.
The first to exit was a tall boy with olive skin and long dark hair underneath a maroon beanie. He had a muscular physique, especially his arms that were being shown off in a yellow, blue and red leather vest. He gave off a sneaky grin and tried to appear as innocent as possible as he attempted to hide the TV from the limo behind his back.
Second out was a cream skinned girl with short, velvet purple hair and piercing green eyes like that of a reptile. Her slim body dressed head to toe in black and purple leather. Her posture was extremely relaxed and her face was very blasé, almost like she could care less if she was even here. She was chewing a piece of bubblegum and gave a weak grin to the group standing before her.
Next was another extremely muscular boy. The guys of the Isle must have nothing more to do than workout. He had tan skin and wore lots of brown and yellow leather. A yellowish-brown bandana atop his head hid long, sandy blond hair tied in a bun beneath it. He seemed so very much in awe of his surroundings that he nearly pushed down the purple haired girl.
Last but not least was a girl with chocolate skin who insisted the blonde boy help her out of the car. She had her long teal hair in tight microbraids, all hidden under a large pirate hat adored with starfish and pearls. She wore plenty of teal leather with fringe; some purple finding its way into the mix as well. She sported a sword on her hip, something Harry took note of almost immediately, and she had a rather distasteful look on her face. Not for where she was it seemed, but more for who she was with.
Fairy Godmother was about to make her grand welcome and introduce herself, before she herself noticed the darker boy holding the television.
“Leave it like you found it,” she sang with a smile. “And by that, I mean just leave it,” she continued, pointing towards the limo. The boy got the hint and tossed it back into the limo.
“Just… cleaning up a bit,” he said with a chuckle. He then noticed Audrey and immediately got a huge, sly smile on his face. “Hello, foxy,” he said cheekily as he walked towards the four royals. He crossed his arms and grinned. “The names… Jay,” he said slyly and boldly with a cocky half smile as he flipped his hair.
Audrey laughed nervously and moved closer to Harry. Instinctively, he wrapped his arm around her waist. They might not be a couple anymore, but he would sooner die before he let anything happen to her. He raised his chin and arched his eyebrow at Jay; his grin fading as Harry smirked in response.
“Yours?,” Jay asked in a rather annoyed tone, looking the prince over with an almost snarl on his lips.
Harry replied as nicely as he could simply nodding his head. The two looked over each other for a moment. He wasn't intimidated in the slightest by the son of Jafar. And he let him know that in this moment by tightening his grip on Audrey and gesturing him to step back with his head. Jay did as suggested and rejoined his group. Audrey gave Harry a silent ‘thank you’ by brushing her head against his arm before Fairy Godmother resumed her introduction.
“Welcome to Auradon Prep. I'm Fairy Godmother. Headmistress,” she continued, being slightly over the top with a small curtsy to greet the new students.
The purple haired girl's demeanor suddenly perked up, her emerald eyes widening and her grin growing into a wide smile. “THE Fairy Godmother?,” she asked hastily. “As in ‘Bibbidi-bobbidi-boo’?,” she continued, making wand motions with her hand. Harry couldn’t help but chuckle to himself at this. This is who his parents were scared of? If anything, what he just saw was the perfect example of a kid being a kid.
Fairy Godmother pointed her finger and gave her a wink before she excitedly stated, “Bibbidi-bobbidi- you know it.”
The girl looked between the other villain kids and soon they all wore a similar grin to her. “Yeah, I always wondered what it felt like for Cinderella when you just… appeared, out of nowhere, with that sparkly wand and warm smile,” she told her in a very poised manner.
Fairy Godmother took in the praise with a small sigh and smile. Ben and Harry looked at each other and couldn't help rolling their eyes at her. She’d never admit she loved when people boasted about her past as a wishmaker, but the boys knew all too well that she relished in it from time to time.
“And that sparkling wand…,” the purple haired girl repeated, gaining her an eye roll from the teal hair girl.
“That was a long time ago. And as I always say, ‘Don't focus on the past or you'll miss the future’!,” Fairy Godmother replied, expressing her words with hand gestures. The villain's kids' eyes all grew rather wide at these dramatic motions. That managed to crack Ben and Harry, both of them letting out a laugh or two. Melody elbowed Ben while Audrey simply gave an annoyed groan at Harry. Fairy Godmother shot them all a quick look before stepping aside so the two groups could officially meet.
The four royals stepped forward in one motion. Each one stood nearly toe to toe with one of the new kids. Harry found himself looking directly at the purple haired girl and couldn’t help but give her a soft smile. She looked him over and, to his surprise, she gave him a quick smirk in return. Ben soon broke away from the group and cleared his throat.
“It's so good to finally meet you all,” Ben said, clasping his hands in front of him. “I'm Ben,” he introduced himself with a welcoming smile.
Audrey suddenly interjected with, “Prince! Benjamin. Soon to be king,” in a sickeningly sweet high pitched tone. It was Harry’s turn to roll his eyes this time. Her need to point out Ben’s status was in poor taste in his opinion. Like these kids wouldn’t figure it out on their own sooner or later?
“Oh, our friend PRINCESS Evie would be all over you,” the purple-haired girl commented somewhat sarcastically. “She’s the Evil Queen's daughter, so… she’s a princess. All about the prince’s, you know?,” she continued, placing her hands on her hips.
“The Evil Queen has no royal status here… so neither does she,” Audrey replied in a degrading sort of voice, but her fake smile still plastered on her face.
Jay and the purple haired girl glared at Audrey, the two of them looking extremely offended on behalf of their friend. But the looks meant nothing to Audrey, as she simply kept on smiling and giving soft giggles to seem innocent.
“This is Audrey,” Harry said in an embarrassed tone of voice, rubbing his temple slightly as he attempted to smile.
“Princess! Audrey. Of Auroria,” she corrected, nudging him slightly with her elbow.
“Right,” Harry said, rubbing his side. “I'm Harry, by the way. Ben's younger brother,” Harry said, patting Ben's shoulder proudly.
“And I'm Melody. Ben's girlfriend,” Melody introduced herself with a quick salute of her fingers. Ben wrapped his arm around her happily before Fairy Godmother burst through the group to continue her introduction.
“The four of them are going to show you all around, and I'll see you tomorrow,” she stated, before thrusting forward and making the new arrivals jump back. “The doors of wisdom are never shut!,” she exclaimed with her fists in the air. “But the library hours are from eight to eleven, and as you may have heard, I have a little thing about curfews,” she stated before scurrying off back to her office. The welcoming committee and the band soon followed suit; Doug giving Harry a quick fist bump as he walked by.
And then it was just the eight of them. They all seemed to be taking turns sizing each other up. While Harry was attempting to keep an eye on Jay, who seemed to be the shiftiest one of the group, his eyes kept finding their way to the purple haired girl. There was something about her that drew him in. But he wasn’t sure why that was.
Ben suddenly began walking towards the villain's kids and wore a large smile as he did so. “It is so, so, so good to finally…,” he began, reaching out to shake Jay's hand, before Jay slammed his fist against his chest to stop him. “... meet you all,” Ben groaned as the air escaped his lungs. Jay simply smiled and seemed delighted in his punch.
Harry was about to charge at Jay, feeling his fingers wrapping around his sword before Melody grabbed his arm. “He’s okay. Don't do anything you'll regret,” she whispered in a calm voice. Harry looked at his brother, who was kinda laughing it off, and released his grip on his sword. He definitely knew his instincts were right, however. Keep a very close eye on Jay from now on.
Ben moved over to the teal haired girl and shook her hand. She quickly took her hand back and glared at him annoyingly. “This is a momentous occasion,” he continued, moving on to shake the purple haired girl's hand. “And one that I hope will go down in history…,” he said as he shook the blonde boy's hand, not realizing it was covered in something that smeared Ben's hand almost instantly. He licked the substance off his thumb and nervously chuckled. “Is that chocolate?,” he asked in almost a whisper as the blonde just smiled and licked it off his own thumb as well. “As the day our two peoples began to heal,” he boasted, causing Harry and the others to cringe with second hand embarrassment.
“Or the day you showed four peoples where the bathrooms are,” the teal haired girl replied sarcastically. Jay and the blonde boy laughed at her response.
Ben smiled nervously and could feel his cheeks turning pink. “A little bit over the top?,” he laughed, rubbing the back of his neck.
“A little more than a little bit,” the purple haired girl replied with a grin.
Harry couldn’t help but laugh at her response. “I honestly thought the same thing, Ben” he told his brother, placing a hand on his back.
“Well, so much for my first impression,” Ben chuckled. The three of them shared a short laugh for a moment before more introductions began to take place.
“So, we've met Jay, “ Ben pointed out, getting a wink and a finger snap from Jafar’s son. “And you are?,” he asked, gesturing at the purple haired girl.
“Mal,” she answered with a half smile.
“Of course! She Maleficents daughter,” Harry thought, finally seeing the resemblance to the Mistress of All Evil. ‘She’s here because of me,’ he continued. It was an odd feeling. Getting to match a face to the name he picked.
“Hey!,” Audrey suddenly burst out, causing Harry’s smile to fall slightly as his eyes once again rolled. “You're Maleficent's daughter, aren't you?,” she asked, getting a simple nod from Mal. “Yeah, you know what? I totally do not blame you for your mother trying to kill my parents and stuff,” she explained, her smile seeming even faker than before if possible.
‘Subtle Audrey,’ Harry thought. Mal raised her eyebrow before Audrey continued.
“Oh, my mom's Aurora. Sleeping…,” she began before Mal interjected.
“Beauty. Yeah, I've heard the name,” she said with an awkward grin. “You know, and I totally do not blame your grandparents for inviting everyone in the whole world but my mother to their stupid christening,” she replied with a similarly fake smile.
Harry leaned over to Ben. “Do we stop them?,” he whispered.
“Maybe…,” Ben replied, ready to get between them.
“Don't you dare, this is getting good,” Melody whispered excitedly.
“Water under the bridge,” Audrey giggled, squinting her eyes.
“Totes,” Mal replied with a higher pitched voice. They both give a very fake laugh before sighing and looking each other over once again.
Harry supposed he only had himself to blame. Not only did he personally choose to invite Mal here, he was also the one who encouraged Audrey to join them. To put Mal in her place. And it definitely felt like she was doing just that. To a degree. He definitely didn’t expect Maleficent’s daughter to be able to sling the mud right back into Audrey’s face. Pretty impressive.
Ben quickly walked between them and gestured towards the blonde to hopefully stop a cat fight from ensuing. “So you must be…” he began with a smile before being cut off.
“Wait! I'll give you a hint,” the blonde said eagerly. “My dad is quick, slick, and his neck…,” he pointed at his own for reference, “...is incredibly thick.” He grinned widely at the group as they stood there silently. “C'mon man, you can’t figure it out from that?,” he asked in confusion, cocking his head like a lost puppy.
“You're Gil. Gaston's son,” Melody replied quickly.
He looked at her in shock. “How did you know?,” he asked with genuine shock, forgetting his hints only moments before.
“Woman's intuition,” she replied with a laugh.
Gil looked at her in awe before turning his attention back to Ben. “Oh! I have a message to pass on to you,” he said in an excited voice.
Ben smiled and raised his eyebrows in interest. ‘Oh okay. This'll be interesting,’ he thought, but still keeping his smile. “I’m all ears,” he told him with no possible idea what was about to escape this kid's mouth.
“Tell your mamma that, Gaston says ‘Hi’. And, also, tell your dad that my dad says he wishes he'd finished off your dad when he had the chance,” Gil told him, thinking back to make sure he got it all out before smiling.
The teal haired girl smacked his head and wiped the smile clean off his face. “You're such a bubble-brained barnacle, Gil,” she hissed at him.
Ben couldn’t help but laugh at the two’s sibling-like relationship. “Um… I'll be sure to pass on the message, Gil. Thank you,” he replied as Gil rubbed the back of his head. He looked at Harry who was having to cover his mouth in an attempt to keep his laughter in. Gaston was, not only still holding a grudge, but a flame as well. This was hilarious and awkward at the same time. Doubtful they’re ever gonna relay this to their parents.
He then made his way right in front of the teal haired girl as she crossed her arms and stared at him coldly. “So that must make you…,” he began with a grin. He looked her over for a moment, taking in all the ocean themed details on her clothing, and his smile widened. “... Ursula's daughter. Uma,” he said happily.
“That's my name. Better remember it,” Uma replied dryly, flipping her braids till they slightly smacked Ben in the face.
“You don't seem like someone I could easily forget,” he said with a small laugh, hoping to lighten her mood a little.
“Hmm, funny and a gentleman,” Uma half smiled while shaking her finger at him.
Melody walked over to the two with pure excitement in her eyes. “Oh! You're Ursula’s daughter? I'm Ariel’s daughter,” she said, reaching out to shake her hand.
Uma grinned somewhat menacingly as she took her hand in hers. “You don't say,” she said through gritted teeth. She let her go and was about to reach for her sword before Melody said something she definitely wasn't expecting to hear.
“I've been looking forward to meeting you! Our swim team definitely could use another ocean dweller to help us take the trophy this year,” Melody explained, lightly punching her shoulder. While she may have been laying it on a little thick, she genuinely wanted to try and make Ben’s proclamation work. Besides, she was tired of carrying the entire swim team on her own every year.
Uma huffed out a laugh before getting right in Melody’s face. “I'm a pirate. Not an ocean dweller,” she explained, adjusting her hat. “Remember that… little mermaid,” she continued rather aggressively. Melody simply nodded in response and went back to standing behind Ben.
Suddenly, Ben clapped his hands together and looked at the group. “Okay! So, how about a tour? Yeah?,” he asked as he looked over the villains. They gestured for him to lead the way, even though they truly had no choice but to follow the prince. He and Melody locked arms and began leading them towards the school while explaining its history to them. Harry and Audrey chose to walk behind their new students just in case they truly were going to try anything. Though at this point, Harry doubted it. If they were going to, they would have the second Fairy Godmother left.
“They're up to something, I can already tell,” Audrey scoffed in a whisper. “Mark my words, these kids are bad news for all of us. And what is with all that leather? Like, news flash, it looks trashy,” she continued, flipping her hair.
Harry couldn’t help but chuckle while he rolled his eyes. “Please, it’s been, like, twenty minutes. How can you say they’re up to something when you can’t even get through a conversation without being sarcastic?,” he asked her, trying to look at her while simultaneously glancing at the back of Mal’s hair as it swung back and forth. “And I think the leather looks kinda cool. You're telling me you don’t think old Chaddy-Waddy would look good in a little leather now and then?,” he added in a mocking tone, raising his eyebrow at her?
Audrey simply huffed and ceased speaking to him as they followed the group as they approached the statue of their father that sat in front of the school. A clap from Ben’s hands and the whole group got to witness as the statue transformed from their father’s human form to his beast form. The group seemed unbothered by it, except for Gil. It startled him enough that he fell back and hid behind Uma's legs for protection.
“Gil, it's okay,” Ben laughed, reaching his hand out to assist Gaston's son. Uma hastily helped him to his feet herself and glared between him and Ben. Clearing his throat, Ben explained to the group, “Our father wanted his statue to morph from beast to man to remind us that anything is possible.”
“I can see why my dad wished he would have finished off your dad. He was pretty scary lookin’ as a beast,” Gil said, once again not really thinking before he spoke. Uma elbowed him before he continued, “Ow! What? I mean, wouldn't you be scared of something like that attacking you? I mean if my dad hadn't had his knife…”
“Gil!,” Uma snapped, elbowing him hard enough to knock the air out of his lungs. “Your dad also thinks split ends are scary. Start watching your mouth around here,” she said, folding her arms and looking back at Ben. “He's not always the sharpest sword on the ship,” she explained, giving Gil one last death glare.
Ben laughed, “It's no big deal, Uma.” He then walked past her to Gil and placed a hand on his shoulder. “When mom and dad were telling us their story growing up… I was pretty scared when I saw what dad used to look like too,” he told him, looking over at Harry. “Any child would be. I mean, you’re right, look at him. He was horrifying,” he continued as his brother joined them.
“But, we at least got to know the whole story,” Harry chimed in. “Your dad probably only told you what he wanted you to know,” he suggested, getting a nod from Gil. “Maybe we could let our dad tell you all about it someday, if you’d like,” he suggested with a smile. Gil looked at Harry and gave a soft grin before squinting his eyes. Harry’s smile wavered slightly as Gil’s look intensified.
“You look so… familiar… like I've seen a picture of you or something before,” he stated, looking the most confused he has since arriving. But one could tell his brain was definitely thinking something out. He cocked his head from left to right like an owl, trying to pinpoint what it was about Harry that was making his brain hurt.
“His face has only graced posters scattered across the Isle for our entire lives, oh brilliant one,” Mal sarcastically replied before sticking her gum to the base of the statue. She and Jay laughed and shared a fist bump while Gil’s face turned red with embarrassment. He dropped his head and just slid absentmindedly behind Uma.
Uma placed a hand on his shoulder and immediately shot Mal daggers so sharp, you could almost feel them in your skin. “Excuse him for thinking for once in his life, Scaly,” she hissed, placing herself almost toe to toe with Mal. The daughter of Maleficent snickered and rolled her eyes at Uma.
“Calm down, Uma. You’re steaming. And you know no one likes boiled shrimp,” Mal said snarkily, gently shoving the pirate before turning to walk away. But that didn’t stop Uma from letting out a small growl and placing her hand on her sword. Harry took note and quickly put himself between the two right as she began to unsheathe her steel.
Uma took in a deep breath and glared at the prince before her. “Can I help you with somethin’?,” she asked through a gentle, unassuming smile. She attempted to pull her sword free of his grasp, but was out of luck.
“You can help me by putting that back,” Harry said in a whispered command. He was trying not to draw any more attention to the situation than there was already. He knew the rest of the tour group was watching, but the students just going about their day didn’t need fodder for the rumor mill that Ben’s first royal proclamation was already failing. Harry hoped it wasn’t anyway; these villain kids were better than common criminals, right?
Uma’s nostrils flared as she huffed and continued fighting the weight of Harry’s grip, to no avail. He maintained calm eye contact with the angry girl and pushed the sword back into the sheath himself. Uma glared but before she could do anything else, Harry’s other practiced hand had unclipped the sheath itself from her belt.
Now Uma’s mouth opened as if she were preparing to yell, but Harry didn’t think she wanted to let everyone know she’d just been bested. He was right. He smirked at her as he lifted the sword and began to inspect the hilt closely.
“Everything alright, Harry?”, Ben asked, stepping to his brother’s side, curious why the group had stopped. Mal had also turned back around to see what the hold up was
“Just admiring the craftsmanship of this sword is all,” Harry replied, and held it out for Ben to see. Utterly confused, the future king nodded in agreement. “I noticed it right away when she arrived and I couldn’t help myself asking for a closer look,’ Harry explained. He looked past Ben and glanced at Mal. “Forgive me, I’m something of a master swordsman myself and have a tremendous amount of respect for the weapon, as well as the rules of fair play.” He stressed those last two words with a quick, but meaningful glance at Uma, then smiled.
“Sorry, Ben,” he continued, now holding the sword close to his chest. “I didn’t mean to interrupt the tour, that’s why I was trying to be discreet about asking our guest to see it. Isn’t that right, Uma?”
Her glare continued for only a moment longer underneath Ben’s expectant smile and Harry's raised eyebrow. She seemed to deflate, at least for the moment, and put on a smile of her own, huge and obviously fake.
“Sure,” she replied, eyeing her sword securely in Harry’s grasp. “He certainly didn’t want to interrupt this… extremely educational tour we’re being treated to,” she continued, trying not to sound extremely sarcastic.
“That’s my brother,” Ben beamed. “Always the courteous one,” he continued, clapping Harry’s shoulder before returning to the head of the group so they could resume. Uma, with one last venomous look at Harry, began to walk again as well.
The group soon made their way into the main entrance of Auradon Prep, the new students taking in their surroundings. This building was so full of books and plants and… sunlight. The looks on the villain kids faces definitely made it seem to be a culture shock to say the least.
“So, you guys have a lot of magic here in Auradon? Like… wands and things like that?,” Mal suddenly asked, continuing to unwrap candy from the limo she’d shoved in her pockets.
“Yeah it exists of course,” Ben answered, stopping in front of a large fireplace with his brother and friends by his side.
“But it’s pretty much retired. So, most of us here are just… ordinary mortals,” Harry added on with a grin. That’s the one thing he could confidently say he had one hundred percent in common with his fellow royals. They were all just normal people. Well, other than Melody.
“Who happen to be kings and queens,” Uma responded, still trying to fight the urge to tackle Harry and get her sword back.
Audrey suddenly jumped in with her over the top chipperness. “That’s true! Our royal blood goes back hundreds of years,” she bragged, getting a well deserved eye roll from Harry and an awkward smile from Melody and Ben.
The tension between the group became thick after that. The villain kids were visually annoyed and tired of being toted around like animals at a zoo. Uma wasn’t letting up her glare at Harry. Jay kept subtly flexing his muscles in an attempt to get Audrey’s attention; to no avail. Mal looked as if she was going to die from boredom as she rolled her neck in an attempt to pop it. And Gil simply looked around like a lost puppy.
‘This could be a lot worse… but it could also be a lot better,’ Ben thought to himself, a smile still plastered on his face. They were all at least… cohabitating? At least for the moment. He then caught sight of who he’d been waiting to come by and finally break this awkwardness.
“Doug! Doug, come down,” he shouted, everyone turning their attention to the band leading dwarf at the top of a staircase not far from where they stood. Doug waved to them as he held a clipboard and made his way towards them. He joined the group, directing between Ben and Harry and nervously smiled at the villain kids before him.
“This is Doug… if you didn’t know by Ben calling his name,” Harry said, getting a chuckle out of Doug and a head shake from Ben.
“He’s going to help you with your class schedules and show you the rest of the dorms. And trust me, if anyone knows their way around this school, it’s old Dougy,” Melody laughed, reaching around Ben and nudging the dwarf. The villain kids simply shrugged or nodded in response before Ben cleared his throat.
“I’ll see you later, okay?,” he told them, giving off a very caring and meaningful aura. Once again, a few nods and shrugs is all he got. “And if there is anything you need, feel free to…,” he started to continue before Audrey, in true Audrey fashion, interjected once more.
“Ask Doug,” she told them with a cheeky grin before giggling. Mal giggled back and the two once again sighed and rolled there as at each other. On the note, Ben took a breath and smiled once more before leading Melody back towards the entrance. Audrey grinned, twiddled her fingers in a wave and followed suit. Doug was about to take over before Harry felt the urge to say one more thing.
“I apologize for Audrey,” he said, getting some surprised looks. “She’s not as into this idea as the rest of us. But truly, if you guys need something, anything…,” he began telling them, before suddenly making direct eye contact with Mal and giving her a quick smile. And to his shock, she gave him a small grin back. “… please ask me. Or Ben… or Melody… or Doug,” he began to ramble, fumbling and making his way in the direction of his fellow Royals. Before he got too far though, he heard someone clear out their throat authoritatively.
He turned back to see Uma standing before him with her hand outstretched.
“My sword,” she pretty much demanded.
He lifted the weapon and gave it a quick look over once more. “Sure. I’ll give it back… when you learn to play nicely with the other kids,” he told her with a soft chuckle. He saw her eyes turn to fire before he spoke again. “Next time, don’t draw your weapon on someone when their back is turned. We don’t serve Mal on a stick here,” he explained, this time getting cocky and winking at Mal. He then turned and left with the blade still in hands. And while Doug was waiting and Uma was fuming… Mal was… blushing?