"Today is a big day for you. You will leave this school behind and become treasured members of this society."

The 100 students looked at their headmaster quietly, their heads raised in pride. No one spoke a word, although they used to be so loud in class.

"For 7 years you've attended this school. You have learned everything there is to know about magic, including the responsibilities that come along with this power. As you leave this school behind, I ask of you not to forget the things you've learned. It's a privilege to be one of the chosen to have learned the arts of magic. Don’t abuse the power and knowledge you've been given. People will try to make you use your powers for the wrong reasons and someday you might feel the urge to give in, but remember that magic does not make you superior to normal humans. We're all equal."

It was the beginning of a long speech, one they had heard from the headmaster many many times before. Still, the students remained still and quiet, some shifted impatiently from one foot to the other but no one danced out of their row. They knew how serious this talk was. There had been witches and wizards in the past who had used their powers for bad things. Some had wanted the "race of magicians" to rule the earth again. There were whispers of some groups still trying to achieve exactly that. It was the students’ responsibility now to protect the humans who had no power from those who abused their magic.

"I shall start reading out your names now. When I call your name, please step forward onto the stage to receive your certificate and badge, then state your future occupation. After you step down again, please proceed to the field behind the school. There, trainers are waiting for you with your future partners."

Partners as in cats. Only dragons and cats were able to extract magical energy from their surroundings, a skill not even humans could master. Witches and wizards only had a limited amount of magic and when that was used up, they were powerless; hence the need for familiars. Dragons were pretty much impossible to get; there were only a few left and they chose a new wizard or witch very rarely. So most of the magical community owned a cat - or the cat owned them.

Sunggyu snapped from his daydreaming when a loud shout broke the serenity of the festive moment. "A WITCH?"

"Is there a problem, Mr. Lee?"

He eyed the tall, lanky boy on stage. Sunggyu had seen him on the campus before. He was quite a loud one. "It says witch on my certificate!"

The headmaster raised her left eyebrow. "Witch is a gender-neutral term, Sungyeol."

"B-But I wanted to become a wizard! Like Harry in the books!"

A few chuckles could be heard in the crowd. Sunggyu sighed internally because the other student was slowing the whole graduation ceremony down.

"Sungyeol, your application said witch. You’ve visited every course for potion making and curses; courses, only witches attend. I'm sure you were well aware of that fact." She explained patiently.

"I- I thought that was part of becoming a great wizard! Just like Harry-"

Seven years and he only notices that he took the wrong courses now? , Sunggyu wondered.

"I assure you being a witch is a respectable job as well. You've done excellent in all your classes, so I have no doubt you'll do well. Now go, Lee Sungyeol." The last words were spoken with a firmness that made it clear she'd turn him into a frog or something if he didn't get going and accept his fate.

"What about my future o-"

She silenced him with a glare that could probably freeze hell. Sungyeol dipped his head in disappointment and shuffled away. The ceremony finally continued with no other disturbances.  Sunggyu went up the stage when his name was called and received applause for being the second best in his year. He was a bit angry with himself for only getting second place. First place had been stolen by Nam Woohyun, oh how much he disliked that boy! Sunggyu secretly thought that the younger boy had flirted with the teachers to get into their good graces; but the rational part of him knew Woohyun was first because he was better. Good enough that he was going to be a teacher at the school soon.

"Kim Sunggyu. I will open my own detective agency. I want to specifically resolve cases with magic involved." He stated proudly.

There were a few gasps of surprise and some murmuring. Sunggyu could see how shocked his former teachers were. He had never told a soul about his wish, except for his supportive parents. With his knowledge and intelligence he could technically work in a high position and possibly forge the future of their country, but Sunggyu has no interest in that. He wanted to help the "little" people. Those that were powerless against the supernatural.

"Well, good luck, Sunggyu. You're definitely going to help a lot of people." The headmaster said and her smile showed that she meant her words honestly. She believed Sunggyu could do a lot of good.

He bowed once more and then went down the stage again. Sunggyu left the big hall like everyone else had before him. Behind the school, a small group of students had gathered, some already walking away with their cat in tow. Sunggyu felt his excitement triple at the sight of the animals. He was finally a wizard! He'd make his parents proud of him and get a powerful familiar. Some cats could store a lot of magic, while others were quicker with extracting or transmitting it; a select few of them could even do magic by themselves. A powerful witch or wizard always had a strong partner by their side. Knowing a lot of spells was one thing (even normal humans could do that), but if you didn't have the magical resources to perform the spell, it was useless.

"Sunggyu! Are you done? Ready to meet your new partner?" A familiar voice asked. It was his aunt Sohee. She was a nice woman who taught the students everything there was to know about familiars.

He nodded nervously. She patted his shoulder. "Some of my strongest haven't chosen a new master yet. I'm sure one of them will pick you. Go on forward."

It was never the witch or the wizard who chose the cat. Just as it was with dragons, magical cats also chose their own master. Sunggyu anxiously walked closer. The cats were all strewn over the grass field. Some were lying lazily on the floor, others were sitting and scanning the students quietly, and a few strolled around to sniff the humans or rub against their legs, only to go on their way a moment later.

Sunggyu walked around without a clue what to do. He kept walking towards the cats but they'd turn away or run from him. It was quite discouraging. He even tried some spells to get their attention but they treated him like something contagious.

His aunt came over to him, a relatively big black cat in her arms. "Dante, what do you think about my nephew?"

The cat let out a long hiss and jumped out of her arms. Sunggyu sighed. "None of them like me."

Sohee tried to encourage him. "This isn’t the end, we’ll find one for you. Maybe in another country."

Sunggyu had never heard of a master and his cat being from different countries. No one had ever walked through this field full of cats without finding their partner; he was the first. He felt a deep emptiness in his chest and his excitement was gone, replaced by resignation and sadness. What was he going to do without a familiar?

"Try a little longer, honey. There are so many cats and students, maybe you overlooked each other."

And so Sunggyu tried for two hours. Students came and left, their new cats with them, throwing him curious looks because he’d left the hall long before they had, but he was still lingering around. Sunggyu gave up eventually. His aunt told him she'd try her best to find a cat for him but Sunggyu wasn't so sure. It's not like any cat could work. All cats had some ability, but most were just simple animals and had no awareness of their power. They wouldn't work.

He headed home with a heavy heart. Usually, Sunggyu took the subway because it was faster, but today he felt like taking the long way home. How was he going to face his parents now? He was a failure! Sunggyu slowly walked down the streets, his head hung low in shame and sadness. Nam Woohyun would surely laugh at him if he knew...

'Bark! Bark!'

Sunggyu stopped in his tracks when he heard the sound. There wasn't anything unusual about dogs barking or growling, but something made him stop. He had a really bad feeling. He walked closer to the sound, although the growling was making all of his hairs stand up. He had magic to defend himself but he wasn't invincible.

He glanced around the corner. The small alley was quite dark, but he could see four Rottweilers cornering something much smaller. A weak meow reached him and Sunggyu his lower lip between his teeth. He had promised to protect the weak. That probably included helpless cats. Four against one was pretty unfair too. Sunggyu took a deep breath and concentrated. A flash of light should be enough to scare those dogs.

"Lumis!" He hissed.

A white flash of light appeared out of nowhere in the alley. The dogs yelped and ran past Sunggyu, fleeing from the alley. He smiled, proud of himself, though feeling a little drained after the spell. Wizards and witches needed a lot of time to regenerate their magic energy supply, so they got exhausted easily; part of the reason why a cat was handy.

Sunggyu went into the alley to check on the animal. The cat was clearly injured, some blood was sticking to its fur and one of his legs looked dislocated. He crouched down and the black cat hissed at him. "Hey, I don't want to hurt you. I actually saved your , but I guess a street cat can't possibly understand."

The cat narrowed its eyes at him as if it had understood the insult to its intelligence. "If you're not dumb and know I'm no danger, then let me hold you. I'm going to get you home and treat you. I have no magic left to heal you here."

Sunggyu heard a soft purr and smiled shortly. He reached out to touch it and when he did, the young wizard felt something strange. It was like something went into him, almost like a ghost but it didn't feel scary at all. Sunggyu felt it in every pore of his body. It touched his mind and he let go of the cat in shock. The feeling was gone instantaneously. He checked his body again but the invisible force was gone.

"What are you? You're not just a-"

Every hair of his body stood up and it was only thanks to his instincts (and a hiss from the cat) that Sunggyu dodged the fireball in time. It burned the hairs on his neck before clashing against a wall. His heart raced and he stood up quickly to check the other end of the alley. Three hooded figures accompanied by dogs blocked his only exit. Fear grabbed his heart. What the hell had he run into?

One of them stepped forward. "I don't know who you are, brat, but hand the cat over and you can live."

Sunggyu glanced at the animal to his feet. It was trying to stand up but obviously had problems with more than one leg. It looked up at him and the young wizard felt a strange prickle in his head again.

'Help me. I can help you get out of this alive. They'll kill you the instant they have me.’

He blinked in shock for a second and then looked at the cat again. How was it possible for the animal to talk to him?

'We can talk later. Don't worry and just use your spells.’

"What is it going to be, brat?"

Sunggyu swallowed hard. "No, you can't have him."

"You don't know what you're getting into, boy. This is your last chance."

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