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Finnelan heaved another tome onto her desk. This was the seventeenth, if her count was right, and still she was no closer to finding any kind of solution. Nevertheless, she did not give up hope. All she needed was to find one loophole, one clause of ancient magical law which could be of use. Frankly, at this point it might have been easier to just search for ways to have Daryl Cavendish imprisoned. The Nine themselves knew how many things she was guilty of, but her blasted legal team made it impossible to actually pin anything on her.
At this rate, she was going to need a miracle.
A smart knock rapped at her door. She recognised that knock, but it couldn’t be.
“Good afternoon, Professor. I hope I’m not intruding?” Diana Cavendish’s voice rang through the door.
“Diana!?” Finnelan’s decorum left her entirely as she nearly threw the door open. “Ahem. Miss Cavendish? What brings you back to Luna Nova? I assure you your possessions are being moved as swiftly as the workers are able-”
“That won’t be necessary, Professor.” Diana smiled softly. “I’ve returned to complete my schooling. I was here to ask you for two copies of the notes for the days I missed.”
Only decades of practice in keeping her steely impasse up before her students prevented Finnelan’s jaw from dropping entirely. “Why… yes, of course. I can speak with the other professors and have them do the same, if you’d prefer?”
“If you don’t mind, that would be most appreciated.” Diana nodded.
“Consider it done.” Finnelan absentmindedly shut the legal tome on her desk, opening a cabinet to find a copy of her notes for the previous week. “Wait, two copies?”
“Yes, one each for myself and Akko,” Diana clarified.
Finnelan’s eyes narrowed. “While I did notice the lack of her usual… boisterousness in yesterday’s class, I’m afraid that if Miss Kagari wishes to sleep through her schooling, then she can ask for the notes herself.”
“Oh, you misunderstand, Professor. Akko was with me,” Diana said, not meeting her eyes.
“With you?” Fifty years of practice be damned, Finnelan’s jaw did drop at that.
“Yes.”
“Miss Kagari was with you at Cavendish Manor?” Finnelan asked.
“Yes, she was.”
“Did you… invite her there?” Finnelan said with disbelief.
“I did not.”
“So Miss Kagari, a witch who cannot fly, travelled from here to Wedinburgh, without your invitation, to visit you at your family’s ancestral home?” Finnelan clarified.
“Yes.”
“…Would you like my assistance in pressing charges?” Finnelan said.
“That won’t be necessary, Akko’s assistance was greatly appreciated.” Diana smiled. Fondly.
“She was!?” Finnelan nearly choked.
Diana nodded. “She went to great lengths for my sake, and was instrumental in my decision to return. As such, I would appreciate it if you were able to procure an extra copy of the notes to ensure her selfless actions do not interfere with her schooling.”
“I… yes, of course. I’ll see what I can do.” Finnelan stood in her office, dumbstruck as Diana left, nearly floating on air as she shut the door behind herself. What was going on? How had Atsuko Kagari been able to assist in any way with the Cavendish succession crisis? And in a way that had enabled Diana to return to Luna Nova!?
But aside from all that, there was an even more pressing concern. Anne Finnelan had been a teacher for the majority of her life. She knew how teenagers thought, and she knew schoolgirl behaviour like the back of her hand.
More to the point, she knew exactly what a schoolgirl crush looked like. It looked like Diana Cavendish smiling fondly and walking on clouds, while she thought about Atsuko. Kagari.
She closed her notes cabinet, and opened another one.
A single bottle of 1971 Redbreast Twelve Year Irish Whiskey greeted her.
Somehow, it got worse.
What Finnelan had expected to be a momentary infatuation brought about by whatever improbable nonsense Kagari had done at Cavendish Manor proved to be anything but. They spent time together. They laughed at each other’s jokes. They zoned out in class looking at one another. Diana Cavendish. Zoned out. In class. To gaze lovingly at Atsuko Kagari.
If this didn’t stop soon, Finnelan would be forced to consider drastic measures.
And then they had to go and save the bloody world together.
And really, if the Headmistress had just listened to Finnelan in the first place, they would never have found themselves in this situation. She told them all that Modern Magic technological stuff was nonsense, but would they listen? Oh no, not to Anne Finnelan. Not to the second longest tenured Professor at the entire bloody academy. Why not hire a megalomaniac in her twenties and give her the entire New Moon Tower as an office, what could possibly go wrong?
And so what if Croix Meridies had been one of Finnelan’s favourites as a student. That was then, and this was now. And in this now, she was having to witness her newest favourite holding hands with the school dunce on a legendary broom. In space!
Oh, and Yggdrasil returned and magic was saved and the flood of magic back into the world had given her an untold wealth of magical creatures to study for first-hand magical linguistics research.
And was a good thing in general, she kept reminding herself. Even including the fact that there were now, at their best estimate, around twelve times as many witches in the world as there had been the previous day. All of whom would be completely untrained, with no knowledge of the proud history and culture of witchcraft, just like Atsuko Kagari.
Just like Atsuko Kagari.
When exactly had her whiskey bottle reached half-empty?
Her machinations were subtle at first. A small adjustment to the seating plan here, making sure that Cavendish’s free time and Kagari’s detention time happened to line up there. All in a day’s work, really.
And it wasn’t out of pettiness. Truly, it was for Diana’s own good, nay, the good of magic as a whole. Diana Cavendish was one of the brightest lights the future of magic had seen in decades, and having that potential be corrupted by Kagari’s influence was downright unthinkable.
She was in her office in the flickering candlelight, midway through planning out Diana’s patrolling schedule for the next year (she wasn’t officially a prefect yet but, really, her selection was a formality at this point) and ensuring that it went as far from the Red Team Dorm as she could feasibly manage, when a quick knocking came at her door.
“Who is it? I’m busy.” Finnelan called, not looking up from her work.
“It’s me, Anne,” Professor Calli- DuNord’s voice came through the door. “We need to talk.”
Finnelan sighed. “Come in then, if it’s quite so urgent.”
Chariot entered the room, and Finnelan as usual had to stop herself from doing a double take at the complete transformation. Who knew hair dye and glasses could change a person so much.
Or maybe it was just the way she carried herself with a lot more confidence these days.
Oh dear.
Chariot was glaring straight at Finnelan with barely concealed contempt. “You need to stop your bullshit, now.”
“I beg your pardon?” Finnelan gasped.
“Funny thing about being a Professor is I also have access to all the disciplinary records,” Chariot said, walking closer. “And student duty rotas.”
“I fail to see the significance-”
“The other funny thing about being a Professor is I’m smart enough to put two and two together, Anne.” Chariot was now standing directly across the desk from Finnelan, glaring down at her through fiery red eyes. “Stop messing with Akko and Diana. Stop keeping them apart. Or I will escalate this.”
“Why would I be doing such a thing?” Finnelan scoffed. “Your favouritism is causing you to imagine things, Professor DuNord. And regardless, you have no evidence.”
“Aside from this prefect duty rota for Diana, who isn’t even a prefect yet, that just happens to avoid the Red Dorm?” Chariot gestured towards the paper that Finnelan had forgotten to cover. Finnelan’s eyes darted down, too quick for her to stop. Chariot’s gaze hardened, and Finnelan internally cursed herself for the inadvertent admission of guilt.
“The Headmistress will hardly believe you,” Finnelan countered, rising from her seat, the candle on the table casting a dancing light across the room as it shook.
“You might be right,” Chariot said, leaning closer, looking genuinely intimidating in the dim light. “But Diana will.”
“You wouldn’t.”
“Try me.”
They stood, glaring at one another in silence for a few moments.
Finnelan broke first.
“Fine, as you wish. Just know I was acting in the best interests of the future of magic,” she spat.
“As am I,” Chariot said, turning to leave. “A good evening to you.”
A few moments later, Finnelan poured the last of her whiskey. It didn’t even fill the glass.
“Welcome once again, treasured guests, to the hallowed halls of Luna Nova!” Headmistress Holbrooke declared. The banner behind her proudly declared it to be the five year reunion of the graduating class of 2020.
Of course, there was quite a bit of buzz about this particular reunion, it wasn’t every day that seven members of the New Nine visited their alma mater. Eight, if you included the fact that Chariot DuNord was still the Astrology Teacher and had started teaching Illusions in 2019.
With regards to the Headmistress, Anne Finnelan had always firmly believed that what Holbrooke didn’t know couldn’t hurt her. So, for example, if she didn’t know that Finnelan had instructed the minotaur security team to break the fingers of any paparazzi who even considered showing up uninvited, that couldn’t hurt her.
Ever the pragmatist, that was Finnelan.
Amanda O’Neill walked into the room, suit jacket rolled up past their elbows.
Finnelan had never been more grateful that the budget stretched far enough to allow for double the necessary fire prevention measures for tonight’s event.
Most of the students appeared to be interacting with each other, which suited Finnelan just fine. Someone needed to be keeping an eye on things, making sure nothing went too badly awry and- “Amanda O’Neill! Get down from that chandelier!”
“Wow, rude, I hadn’t even jumped onto it yet,” O’Neill rolled their eyes, dropping the thirty feet to the ground with aplomb. “Same ol’ Finnelan, eh?” they said to Miss Amalie von Braunschbank Albrechtsberger, who shrugged, and had her robot pinch some more food from the table.
Pick your battles, Anne. Pick your battles.
The two of them then perked up, waving at a set of newcomers that contained-
Diana Cavendish and Atsuko Kagari.
Arm in arm.
With rings on their fingers.
How!?
Finnelan’s entire mindset came crashing down around her. It was a schoolgirl crush. One that had happened to last nearly two and a half years, but a mere infatuation nonetheless. Something that had been sure to pass. Hadn’t it? Finnelan would never have been so crass as to hope for their relationship to collapse but, well, it had been inevitable, surely?
The sheer number of obstacles were staggering. Between the burdens of being Cavendish family head, the nine thousand mile gap, and perhaps most importantly, the genuine awfulness of Daryl Cavendish as a human being. Would Kagari have been able to even live in England after she graduated Luna Nova? Her student visa would have ended, wouldn’t it? The concept that Diana Cavendish had endured so much difficulty for the sake of a relationship with Atsuko Kagari of all people was… Unthinkable. Insane.
Diana must have noticed her staring, because she detached from Kagari’s arm and headed over. “Hello, Professor,” she greeted with a polite incline of the head. “Hard to believe it’s been five years.”
“You hardly need to call me Professor anymore, Ms Cavendish,” Finnelan said, a small but genuine smile finding its way onto her face.
And best to play it safe with the title.
“And you hardly need to call me Ms Cavendish.” Diana smiled back. “But I must admit, the thought of calling you ‘Anne’ is… bizarre, so I believe I shall stick with Ms Finnelan, if that’s alright with you?”
“Perfectly so, Diana,” Finnelan said. “How has your education fared? Last I heard you were to go to St Andrews to study mundane medicine?”
Diana nodded. “I’m graduating in July, yes. I’m still in discussions for my specialisation training.” She smiled a little ruefully. “Unfortunately, no course in magical medicine exists as yet, so it’s looking increasingly likely I shall simply have to make it myself if I wish to study it.”
Finnelan laughed a little at that. “Always overachieving, I’m glad to see nothing’s changed.”
“I wouldn’t say nothing.” Diana looked down bashfully.
“Ah yes, my congratulations on your marriage,” Finnelan said, as diplomatically as she could.
“Oh no, we’re not married yet.” Diana clarified. “Engaged, as of this week.”
“My apologies, congratulations on your engagement, then,” Finnelan corrected.
“That’s actually… part of why I wished to speak to you.” Diana looked up at her, somewhat nervous. “Akko and I would love nothing more than for our wedding to be here, at Luna Nova. Where we met one another, among so many other treasured friends, and accomplished so many incredible things together. I was going to ask Headmistress Holbrooke directly, but it would mean the world to me if you were able to put in a good word on our behalf.” Diana smiled gently. “You always were one of my favourite teachers.”
Finnelan froze. Her mouth was half open, but she couldn’t even bring herself to respond. Was that a tear pricking at the corner of her eye? When was the last time that had happened? Not since the nineties surely? “I… do not know what to say, Ms Ca- Diana,” Finnelan said, eventually, hoping her voice remained neutral but knowing it wasn’t.
She glanced across the hall, seeing Atsuko smiling widely as she caught up with Professor DuNord. Finnelan realised that Diana was following her gaze, still smiling fondly as she gazed at her new fiancée.
Still smiling fondly.
Still walking on clouds.
All these years later.
A single tear flowed freely down Finnelan’s cheek.
“I’ll see what I can do.”