Cover Blown?

Ezra made his way through the winding halls of the grandiose Nevermore Academy towards his final class of the day - Fencing Lessons. As a young wizard who was accustomed to dueling with wands and casting spells rather than lunging with swords, he felt a bit apprehensive about how he would fare in a class focused on such an unfamiliar form of combat.

When Ezra arrived at the vast fencing hall, with its tall ceilings and rows of glistening blades along the walls, he saw students eagerly pairing off and selecting protective pads, masks, and slender foils from the racks. He caught sight of his new friend Enid waving eagerly for him to come over.

"Hey Ezra! Want to be partners?" Enid asked cheerfully, her eyes bright with enthusiasm. Ezra nodded and joined her in gathering the necessary equipment, the metal and mesh feeling foreign in his hands. As they got suited up, Ezra couldn't help asking, "So is fencing a really big deal here at Nevermore? Seems like an odd class to have at a school for the supernatural."

Enid shrugged as she deftly fastened her padded chest protector. "I'm not really sure why it's mandatory. I guess Principal Weems thinks it encourages discipline and strategy or something like that."

Once fully outfitted, Ezra and Enid took their starting positions on one of the long, slender fencing strips. Enid held her foil in perfect form while Ezra tried to mimic her stance, feeling awkward and uncertain. At the instructor's sharp command, the two began to duel. Enid moved with graceful steps and precise lunges, easily parrying Ezra's clumsy attempts to prod at her torso. Though unfamiliar with the proper techniques, Ezra relied on the footwork he had learned from intense wizard dueling to stay light on his feet, managing to score a point with a lucky thrust. Despite his best efforts, Enid swiftly scored the winning point against him with a swift flick of her foil. 

"Well done," Ezra said sincerely, humbly conceding defeat to his skilled opponent. "You clearly have some real experience with this."

"Thanks!" Enid replied brightly. "I've kinda been doing fencing since my first year here."

Before Ezra could respond, a sudden commotion across the hall drew their attention. Wednesday Addams was fencing intensely with Bianca Barclay, their slender blades clashing in rapid succession as the two rivals battled fiercely for dominance. Wednesday scored a point with a swift lunge by doing a split but Bianca quickly evened the score with a sneaky sideways swipe. Both girls then dramatically removed their protective face masks, continuing to duel without the extra gear in a glamorous display of bravado and skill.

Ezra watched with fascinated curiosity as they battled intensely, neither giving an inch. Eventually Bianca landed a grazing blow across Wednesday's pale forehead, drawing a thin crimson line of blood.

"Does everyone know how to expertly wield blades in this world?" Ezra murmured dryly to himself in bemused wonder.

Enid turned to him in confusion, her brow furrowing quizzically. "What do you mean, 'this world'?

Ezra's eyes widened as he realized his poor word choice had nearly exposed his secret origins. "Oh, I just meant in this country - America," he quickly covered, scrambling for a plausible explanation. "Back in Britain we don't usually learn fencing growing up."

Enid seemed skeptical, her eyes narrowing slightly, but she appeared to accept his hasty explanation. "I guess it's not as common everywhere. But Nevermore really emphasizes it for some reason."

Ezra nodded, silently kicking himself for the careless comment that had nearly blown his cover. He would definitely have to be much more cautious about references to his true origins as a wizard from another realm. The last thing he needed was his secret identity being revealed through a thoughtless slip of the tongue. 

As fencing class ended, Ezra's mind was racing with burning questions. Why did Principal Weems insist on mandatory fencing lessons for all students? What was the real story behind Wednesday's intense rivalry with Bianca that drove their competitiveness? And most pressing of all, how long could Ezra possibly keep the truth concealed about his magical identity as an outsider in this world? Though only his first day of classes, Ezra could already sense that life as a new student at the prestigious Nevermore Academy was going to be anything but ordinary.

As Ezra was absentmindedly walking across the quad, lost in thought about his first day of classes at the imposing gothic Nevermore Academy, he felt utterly overwhelmed. The unfamiliar supernatural curriculum and strange surroundings were a lot to take in for the young wizard accustomed to the halls of Hogwarts. He was so preoccupied reflecting on the peculiar lessons in gorgon anatomy and advanced shapeshifting that he almost didn't notice Wednesday Addams exiting one of the academy's ominous towers up ahead, her braided pigtails swinging as she walked.

Ezra changed course and started briskly heading in her direction, thinking perhaps he could try again to strike up a conversation with the notoriously aloof girl. But as he drew nearer, a sudden shadow passed over him. Glancing up in surprise, Ezra saw one of the large gargoyles perched on the edge of the tower's roof had broken free of its mount and was plummeting straight towards the unsuspecting Wednesday.

Acting on pure instinct, Ezra swiftly pulled out his vinewood wand from within his jacket sleeve, aiming it at the rapidly falling stone statue. "Wingardium Leviosa!" he urgently incanted with a swish and flick. The massive gargoyle froze in midair just before it would have crushed Wednesday. With intense concentration, Ezra carefully maneuvered the suspended statue away from Wednesday before releasing the levitation charm and letting the gargoyle continue on its path, smashing into the ground with a deafening crack.

Wednesday stared at Ezra, with the same stoic and unreadable expression he'd come to know from her as if she had not just had a brush with death. "What was that?" she asked in her signature flat tone, though upon further inspection Ezra could see that her doe eyes couldn't hide the hint of incredulity in them.