While Uncle went to his next class, I went into my room to take a few notes on what I could have improved in my lesson. I didn’t quite agree with uncle's attitude towards my relationship with my students. I mean, it would sound so weird if they called me Miss Humblehill or something like that, and I don’t believe that it would hinder me from judging them fairly.

Time flew by when I focused on revising my lesson, and it was only when my stomach made weird noises that I realized that it was already time for lunch. To my surprise, Mother, Uncle, Aunt and HE were sitting at a separate table discussing something. I was unsure if it was a good or bad sign that they sat together again. I knew that they wouldn’t allow me to sit with them, and they always put up a sound barrier so that the students were unable to listen in. So instead of telling mother about my first lesson, I decided that my little brother needed to know about it. He was sitting at a table with Helena and the Baron. Judging from their expressions, I was sure that none of them were exactly happy with this arrangement, but I also know that it went against some sort of rule to send someone away during mealtime. While the space wasn’t exactly limited and everyone would get a place to sit, the hall wasn’t so great that every small group could have their own table, and I could already guess that the Baron would just follow them instead of sitting somewhere else.

“Percival good to see you. How is the second week? Did you learn any new spells to prank me?”

“Hey sis. No, I didn’t have the time. There was so much to do that I didn’t have the time.” Little liar, I can see it in your face.

“That is unfortunate.” I would let myself be surprised, and if I were honest, I wanted to know which kind of the easier spells with pranking potential he had learned. I would give him a pass for one, maybe even two more attempts to prank me before I would return the favor.

“Anyway, I wanted to tell you something. But I would like to tell you in private.” I said and glared at the Baron who decided to demonstratively look away. “Can we go to another table? This one smells like an unwashed pig.”

I could see a vein on the Barons head pulsate, but otherwise he didn’t react to my comment. My little brother looked between me and Helena, unsure if he wanted to really leave her behind. Was my dear brother really thinking about rejecting me for her? He definitely had a crush on her if he needed to think that long about it. Damned Brother, she is five years older an you.

“She can come with us if she wants to.” I said, a little annoyed that I had to make this concession just to get around my brother's obsession with her. Why was she not saying anything about his behavior? I mean, she is giving him hope where there should be none. Maybe she was a bit dense. Maybe she is a bit too much like aunt Seraphina and is basically blind to these kinds of things.

“Sit down. I don’t want you near me.” Did the Baron really think I would let him follow us to another table when we left this one just because of him? At least him standing up with us would suggest that he was indeed that dumb.

“So what do you want to tell me?” asked my brother curiously, and I told him everything about my first class. Even Helena was interested in listening and even asked about a few specifics about the potions. I wasn’t sure if that was her way of opening up to someone, but I answered her question even if it interrupted my story.

“You are evil. Did you really let him brew something to grow a beard because you thought his chin looked like a butt?” He said it as if he were judging me, but his laughter beforehand betrayed his real thoughts.

“If you had seen his chin, you would understand. Besides, it just fit the requirements. On another note, do you know if Mother and the rest get along again? Did mother say something?” I had the faint hope that they had, for some reason, made peace with each other and that everything could be like before, but I didn’t know how much my brother even knew.

“Do you really think mom would tell me anything? I have the feeling that the only thing she said to me since the ceremony was that I should do my homework and that my performance in class could be better if I just studied more. She didn’t even want to see the new spell I had learned. Why did no one tell me that mom could be so… so… heartless in class?” I needed to suppress a smile. If it came to the education of her students, mother expected everyone to put in a certain amount of work. I had experienced it firsthand. She made me go through the first four years of theoretical knowledge of spells I would never be able to cast. I think I had it even worse, as mother knew I didn’t need to sleep and thought I should use the time more productive. I guess in the end she failed there, but that doesn’t mean she didn’t try to make me into a workaholic. I think Percival is as shocked as I was at that time at how much mother could suddenly expect from you just because you had one little tinsy ceremony.

“My mother said the whole quarrel was useless from the beginning. So maybe they worked it out.” Wow, Helena took the initiative to participate in our conversation. But I didn’t know what I should think about Seraphina thinking that the quarrel was useless. She also thought that joking around was useless, or holidays, or the newest fashion trends, or making sure that even the stupid students understood her lessons, or taking care of her daughter, or love in general. Okey, I don’t know about the last, as I still don’t know about Helena’s father, but Seraphina had a strange perception of what was important.

“Did she say anything more than that?” Maybe Seraphina thought that keeping a war secret from her daughter was useless too.

“Only that she is annoyed that it was reasonable to take in some personal students because of Aunt Helga’s prophecy. Her three smartest students are probably not smart enough for her. But who am I to judge, she didn’t even consider me.” Okey maybe we should change the topic. It doesn’t seem like she knows anything and she seemed angry that Seraphine had once again ignored her existence. Okay, maybe that was wrong as they still talked from time to time but it was always Helena that needed to take the initiative.

“What prophecy? What are you talking about?” Oh, my brother knew even less than we did. But was it right to tell him? He would probably annoy mother or his father to death to make him a personal student, and he would probably think that this would make him the child of the prophecy. And that would probably put him in the center of the war, and if he wasn’t the child of the prophecy or if mother's prophecy was simply wrong, then it was quite likely that he would get hurt or worse.

“Oh, you don’t know? Your mother uch!” Helena probably didn’t see the problem with telling him and wanted to spell the beans, so I carefully kicked her under the table.

“It’s just that mother made a prophecy that one of the students that graduate in the next few years will become extraordinarily excellent, and now they want to make sure the prophecy comes true. Maybe your father will teach you in private too after you learn the basics. So maybe in two or three years.” He looked at me, doubting what I said. It was quite obvious that I was hiding something because I interrupted Helena, but I wouldn’t tell him that it would be a student that would end the war.

“What are you hiding, sis?” Sometimes I question my brother's intelligence. Just because he knows I'm hiding something doesn’t mean he can get me to talk just by pointing it out. If that were the case, mother would just ask me if I did something if someone in the family got pranked again.

“Nothing. You can ask Helena. What I said is the truth. I just wanted to be the one to tell you.” I touched Helena’s shin with the tip of my shoe to signal her that I would kick her the moment she said something wrong. It’s for the greater good. I’m sure she understands.

“Ahm, yes, yes. It’s as Charlotte says.” Ohh, come on, brother, you don’t even trust your crush now. Don’t look at me like that.

“Tell me, or I will tell mom about the rumor that you have a boyfriend now. She will pester you for months then.” Did my evil little bother just try to blackmail me? With a rumor that for once is actually true. But I guess my dear little brother isn’t up to date. Mother already knows.

“Oh, you can tell her. She already knows.” Haha, the look on his face. He really didn’t know that it wasn't just a rumor.

“You? A boyfriend? Don’t lie to me. Just imagine yourself as a housewife for a second. You can’t even cook.” Okey, that hurt me a little. I mean, I can’t cook. At least not yet, but maybe for Will I could learn it. Wait a moment, how did me having a boyfriend turn me into a housewife. I’m not married yet. And even if so, why would that make me an housewife. I mean, it's not like its likely that I can get kids, so becoming a housewife would be the most boring job ever. I could become a potion master or even a teacher instead of just cleaning the house.

"Wait, you are not jocking? That’s even funnier.” I love my brother; I should not hit him. I love my brother; I should not hit him. I love my brother…

“So who is the unlucky one?” I would have gladly told him if he hadn’t made fun of me a second ago.

“It’s William Whimsby.” I relented.

“I thought you didn’t like him. Why did you change your mind?” How do I answer something like that? It’s not that I can tell my little brother the details of my date. He doesn’t even understand why I have the problems I have in the first place.

“I just gave him a chance, and it turned out that he can be quite sweet. I will introduce you two after he has recovered from his cold.” He nodded at me, thinking about something.

“Is that the reason you didn’t eat in the great hall in the recent days? Did you take care of him? Maybe you will become a good housewife.”

“Percival, listen to me. Just because I have a boyfriend now doesn’t mean I will instantly become a housewife.” It was probably his stupid father who influenced him to think like that. I hoped the influence stopped there. I didn’t want my brother to become one of the women chasing idiots who only had one thing in mind.

“But even mom said…” So mother was to blame too. Still, he needed to understand that this is not how it is.

“No buts, Pev. It’s my choice, and if I become a housewife, it's because I want to be one. Besides just because he is my boyfriend doesn’t mean we have to instantly marry.” Why does Helena look at me like I just revealed some kind of world-shaking secret? And why do I have the feeling that it should be mother’s job to have this talk with him? Oh, right, because I enjoy what comes next.

“Just imagine for a second that Helena was your girlfriend.” Sweet Revenge. The two of them grew so red that it was funny to watch. Still, I shouldn’t interpret too much into that. I would have reacted the same way. Maybe not as intense as Helena, but I guess she was exceedingly vulnerable to teasing. “So, you knew each other for a long time, but you have not been her boyfriend or girlfriend before. At the beginning, you would not immediately think about marriage. You would instead try to get to know her better. Marriage is something that binds you together for life, so it's normal to wait a little and be sure you choose the right partner. You wouldn’t expect Helena to live with you and do your household chores just because you are boyfriend and girlfriend, right?” I refrained from saying that there were a few lines you shouldn’t cross until you were married, as his father was the prime example of doing the opposite. I also didn’t want to talk about arranged marriages, as it changed things a lot. But I was sure that mother would give him the same freedom as me.

“I…I don’t know. I mean, I wouldn’t mind. I mean, I …. Marrying … Helena?” I think I fried my brother's brain. But now I was sure that he definitely had a crush on her. How did that happen? Just because they learned together? But I could also see that Helena was having similar thoughts as me. She looked at him as if she were sorry before she looked at me a little helpless. Well, maybe my revenge was a bit to cruel. I wanted to tease them while teaching him a little lesson, but I didn’t mean for this to happen.

“Hey Pev, calm down I…”

“I need to go to the bathroom. See you later.” Said my little brother and ran off before I could calm him down.

“I’m sorry, Helena. I didn’t mean to.” How could I fix this situation? Damned Charlotte, why do you have to always ruin everything.

“It’s not your fault, I guess. But I don’t know what I should do now. I mean, he is like family. It was nice to spend time with him because I thought he was one of the few who liked spending time with me, not because of mom, but because he actually liked spending time with me, but I didn’t think he would… I mean, he is far too young; he has to understand that too, right? Do you think he will get over it? Do you think I should stop spending time with him?” How should I know all this? He might be my brother, but it's not like I can read his mind.

“Honestly, I’m not really sure. I mean, when I was his age, I too had a crush on an older boy, but I got over it in a few weeks. Maybe he just needs some time. I’m sorry that I made it more complicated than it needed to be. I just wanted to tease him a little bit; I didn’t know that he would just run off. I don’t know if he would want to talk with me at the moment. Maybe it would be better if you did it. I mean, he would surely be willing to at least listen to you. The last time he ran off like that and I went after him, he just screamed at me.”

“I will try. After the next class. I don’t think it would be wise to talk to him when I would need to leave in five minutes. I just hope he will get over it in a few weeks, as you said. It wouldn’t be good for any of us.”

“Thank you. I owe you one, Helena.” Thanks the magic, Helena was so understanding.