Three weeks after what students had started calling "The Great Void Incident," life at CAM had settled into a new kind of normal. If you could call anything normal about a magical academy where stars attended classes and library plants debated quantum physics.
I was in the newly expanded Stellar Integration Laboratory, trying to help Twinkle master a particularly tricky form of energy conversion, when Sarah Chen burst through the door.
"Lyra!" She launched herself at me in a hug that nearly knocked us both over. "Why didn't you tell me our families have been cosmically connected for centuries?"
EMOTIONAL REUNION DETECTED, Twinkle observed. PRODUCING APPROPRIATE ATMOSPHERIC LIGHTING.
The lab filled with soft, warm starlight as Maya looked up from her experimental setup. "Sarah! Perfect timing. I need another Chen perspective on this stellar-enhanced growth formula."
"No more experimental potions near the library," I warned. "The philosophy section is still arguing with the physics books about the nature of reality."
"That's not the potion's fault," Maya protested. "They're having legitimate academic discourse!"
Sarah looked between us, grinning. "I leave you alone for a few months and you're casually revolutionizing magical theory with sentient stars and talking books?"
REVOLUTION MERELY SIDE EFFECT, Twinkle contributed. PRIMARY GOAL IS SCIENCE. AND FRIENDSHIP.
"Speaking of which," Caspian said, entering with an ancient-looking scroll, "we found something interesting in the Chen family archives."
The Crown hummed with curiosity as Sarah unrolled the scroll. It was covered in a mixture of stellar script and what looked like early Chen family notation.
"It's a record of the original partnership," Sarah explained. "When the first Star-touched worked with the Chen family to develop ways of stabilizing stellar energy."
"Which explains why Maya's potions work so well with our stellar friends," I realized.
"More than that," my mother added, joining us with her own stack of research. "The Chen family wasn't just helping with stabilization. They were working on something bigger."
She spread out several documents on the main workbench. They showed complex diagrams of what looked like a network of stellar energy channels spanning the globe.
"The Celestial Web," Caspian breathed. "It's not just a myth."
"The what now?" Maya and I asked simultaneously.
Aurora, who had been quietly documenting everything as usual, stepped forward. "According to legend, the original Star-touched and their allies created a network of stellar energy channels connecting sacred sites around the world. It allowed for instant communication, power sharing, and..." she paused dramatically, "reality stabilization on a global scale."
REMEMBER THIS, Nova announced, floating in through the ceiling. GREAT WORKING. GREAT PURPOSE. LOST IN WAR.
"But not destroyed," my mother said. "Just dormant. And with the Crown's power restored, and the Chen family's ancient knowledge..."
"We could reactivate it," Sarah finished, eyes shining with excitement.
I looked at the diagrams more closely, letting the Crown's knowledge merge with what I was seeing. "These connection points... they're all still there. Ley line intersections, ancient standing stones, even some modern magical institutions."
"Like CAM," Caspian added. "Built on one of the primary nodes."
Maya was already pulling out fresh parchment. "If we combine the original formulas with our new stabilization methods..."
"And incorporate what we've learned about stellar rehabilitation..." Aurora continued.
ASSISTANCE OFFERED, Twinkle said. HAVE THEORETICAL KNOWLEDGE OF ORIGINAL NETWORK.
"This is huge," Sarah breathed. "This could change everything."
The Crown pulsed with approval, sharing glimpses of what once was and what could be again—a world where stellar and earthly magic worked in harmony, where knowledge flowed freely across borders and barriers.
"It's also dangerous," my mother warned. "The original network collapsed for a reason. If we're going to attempt this, we need to be careful."
"Which is why we have something they didn't," I said, looking around at our unlikely team. "We have true partnership between humans and stars. Plus Maya's weird potions."
"Hey! My potions are revolutionary, thank you very much."
POTIONS ARE WEIRD AND REVOLUTIONARY, Twinkle agreed. LIKE BEST SCIENCE.
Professor Vale chose that moment to enter, raising an eyebrow at our excited gathering. "Do I want to know why there are stellar entities doing victory laps around the astronomy tower?"
"Probably not," we all answered.
She sighed. "Well, whatever you're planning, the Inner Circle has approved an expanded research budget. Try not to remake reality too dramatically before filing the proper paperwork."
BUREAUCRACY ACKNOWLEDGED, Nova said solemnly. WILL FILE REALITY-ALTERING PERMITS IN TRIPLICATE.
As Vale left, shaking her head, I felt the Crown pulse with something like laughter. This was what it had been waiting for—not just a bearer, but a true partnership between all forms of magic.
"So," Sarah said, eyes gleaming, "when do we start?"
Maya was already mixing potions. Caspian and Aurora were cataloging relevant texts. My mother was drawing up research protocols. And our stellar friends were vibrating with excited energy, making the lab equipment float.
"First," I said, "we need a plan. One that preferably doesn't involve accidentally giving sentience to any more library sections."
"The astronomy books have been very well-behaved," Maya muttered.
EXCEPT DURING SOLAR ECLIPSE DISCUSSIONS, Twinkle noted. DEBATES BECOME HEATED.
Looking at my expanded family—human, stellar, and everything in between—I felt the weight of the Crown shift from burden to blessing. We weren't just fixing the past; we were building something entirely new.
"Alright," I said, pulling out fresh parchment. "Let's remake some history."
The stars pulsed in agreement, and somewhere in the library, the philosophy books started another debate about the nature of existence.
Just another normal day at the Celestial Academy of Magic.