It was a beautiful summer morning at Iris Academy. The sun shined its warm rays on the grass, slowly evaporating the morning dew. The birds chirped away happily on oak trees, and the warm easterly breeze enveloped the branches shaking its green leaves. The usual hustle and bustle of the courtyard were replaced with a calm, serene aura that was almost solemn. A few upper-class students were strolling in the shadows of the courtyard, talking in a hushed, revered voice. Perhaps they were discussing their plans post-graduation, or more likely, they were discussing the trials and tribulations of their daily life.

Hieronymous Grabiner looked away from the window stretched his arms. Summer vacation was here, and he felt as if he could finally breathe without having to be bothered by those pesky students. While he enjoyed teaching the new generation of wizards and witches, it was nevertheless soul-draining and time-consuming. Every year reminded him all his failings as a wizard, and this year was no different. In fact, it was one of the most challenging years since Violet's passing. The forced marriage with a sophomore student due to his stupidity and carelessness caused him nothing but grief. He was humiliated in front of the entire school, and of course, Petunia did nothing but make the situation worse. He was sure that his father was somehow involved, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

Hieronymous walked towards his small kitchen and put the kettle on. A nice cup of tea was in order to calm his nerves. He didn't often feel anxious, but today, he felt nervous. He picked up a book to distract himself, but soon, he drifted away in his own thoughts.

He hated that manus – or perhaps he hated himself. He couldn't remember why he decided to perform the experiment in that room rather than his room. He understood why Evie decided to "save" him, but nevertheless, the outcome wasn't what he expected. He was annoyed at the fact that his ritual came to a sharp end, especially when he was finally getting somewhere. Since that event, he had yet to re-enter the spirit realm. It was too risky.

Hieronymous tried his hardest to not let anyone into his life. He felt that this was the right thing to do never to let go of Violet. He almost felt obligated to stay as a bachelor. After all, they often talked about their future and their lives together. But now, six years later, he wasn't sure anymore. He was almost certain that there was no possible way to bring Violet back to the land of the living, and his memories of her were starting to face. He desperately tried to cling onto what he could remember of Violet., but even her face was starting to blur. You must let go of your past, Roni, his father would say. If only it were easier said than done…

Throughout the whole year, he pretended that the marriage didn't happen. It was easy at first. But of course, in due course, the whole student body found out. He still remembered that day clearly. The whole world went pitch black, and all he remembers is what Petunia told him later – he nearly killed that girl out of anger. He couldn't look Evie in the eye for weeks after that incident. Evie had been rather calm and collected towards this whole ordeal, attempting to comfort him in her own way where she could. He had started to look forward to her weekly mail deliveries, and his last interaction with her shook his emotions to the core. He still couldn't believe how impulsively he had acted, and just the thought of him kissing the girl made him blush. He felt ashamed yet excited; he didn't know what to make of the situation anymore.

But for now, it was over. Regretfully, she decided to go back home to her family. This was to be expected, but Hieronymous felt a tinge of sorrow as he saw her leave the school grounds. They were starting to get to know each other and he had started to open himself up to her. She almost sounded like she cared for him, and he was starting to care for her as well.

The sharp whistle of the kettle brought him back to the reality. He was letting his emotions run wild, and this wasn't like him. He decided go for a brisk walk. It always helped him to clear his thoughts, and he was in desperate need of change in scenery. He took his trusted dark brown hat and closed the door behind him quietly.

The walk in the enchanted forest was uneventful. Hieronymous decided to have a couple of days off from work to process his thoughts and to tidy his lodge up. He had some letters to correspond to and books to write, but all that could wait till next week. He would perhaps travel to his favourite district for a couple of things. Alasdair's knickknacks were always interesting, and he may have brought some more crystals for him from the otherworld. As he walked back to his room, a familiar voice called out to him from behind.

"Hieronymous!"

Hieronymous stopped mid gait. There was no way that could be…

"Hieronymous! Can you hear me? Gosh, I should've taken more attention in my white magic class…" Evie's voice ringed through his head loud and clear. He didn't know what to do. He ran back to his room, locked the door behind him, and cleared his throat. Did he make contact with her by accident? He wasn't sure.

"M..miss Astor. I'm surprised. How did you manage to reach me through Farspeak?" Hieronymous stammered. He was sweating.

"Potsdam told me how to increase my white magic to reach out to you. Now that we have shared a physical connection, it's much easier to find you." Evie replied, laughing. She was surprised that he replied. The truth of the matter was, she was bored and wanted to get away from her family for a while.

"Right. Of course, it was her." Hieronymous sighed. He was sick and tired of Petunia meddling in his business. What else did she instruct Evie about? Why was Evie reaching out to him? Was something…

"Sorry for randomly reaching out to you. I wanted to try it out before I forgot the spell." Evie said as if she read his mind. "Are you busy?"

"No. Not busy. Is there something I can do for you?" Hieronymous winced as he said the last sentence. Why couldn't he interact like a normal person?

"Um… no, not really. Well… things aren't going well with my family. I've told you this before I think. They have no idea of Iris academy nor magic, and I'm having to lie about what I am doing. Just before, I accidentally talked about the exam… and I had to try my hardest not to talk about dungeons and magic… It's getting harder and harder for me to talk to them as I have to watch every word that comes out of my mouth. I should've listened to Potsdam and stayed over summer. I guess it's too late, though now. On top of that, all my childhood friends have now moved on to high school, and they all have their own lives… I almost feel like I'm out of place." Evie replied with a tinge of sorrow in her voice. Hieronymous understood her emotions. Wildseeds often felt this way, and it was to be expected. Unbeknownst to Evie, this was another choice she would have to make before graduation. Give up magic or give up her family. He didn't know what to say back to her.

Evie's voice brought Hieronymous back to reality.

"Uh… are you there? Did I lose connection? Damn…" Hieronymous chuckled. It was so like Evie to blame herself.

"My apologies… I was listening. You, you could always come back to the academy." Hieronymous managed to squeeze out his voice through his heart. There was a long pause, and Hieronymous wondered whether he had scared her away. God dammit! He thought. You imbecile…

"Really?" Evie's excitement made Hieronymous nearly jump out of his skin. "Really really? But how?" Hieronymous sighed.

"I will talk to Professor Potsdam. I'm sure something can be arranged. This is normal for most wildseeds." Hieronymous answered with a tinge of happiness in his voice. He may get to spend some time with her, after all. He stood up to straighten his robes. "I will let you know of the outcome." Hieronymous started to walk towards the door.

"Okay. Sounds good. I'll be waiting to hear back!" Evie replied, and Hieronymous couldn't hear her voice anymore. He sighed. Today was going to be a long day. So much for tidying his room.

Petunia was relatively easy to find. She was amongst the greenhouses, tending to one of her strange plants. Hieronymous cleared his throat, and she turned around with a beam of a smile.

"Hieronymous! I didn't know you took up gardening!" Hieronymous furrowed his brows. Petunia was acting silly, yet again. It wasn't his place to judge her behaviours, however.

"I hate gardening. Gardening aside, Miss Astor contacted me. I was surprised that she was able to control her magic to such a degree." Hieronymous said with a hint of sarcasm in his voice. Petunia laughed. She was used to his mannerism, and it didn't bother her in the slightest.

"Mrs Grabiner, Hieronymous. She is a brilliant student, you know." Her eyes twinkled in the shade of violet as she looked at Hieronymous. "What did she say?"

"She… is having trouble at home. She requested to stay here at the academy over the summer break." Hieronymous stammered. He was blushing. Petunia put her watering can down and looked at the shell of the man Infront of her. Yes. She could feel his magic moving around him in a vibrant shade of orange. This was a good sign. It was the first time she had seen him like this, and it was reassuring.

"Well, you know the protocol. Why did you need to come and see me?" Petunia asked as she walked towards the next plant. Hieronymous didn't know what to say. He did know the protocol, but he didn't know what to do.

"Because…. Of the situation. Isn't it a breach of magical laws here? Shouldn't you do it?" Petunia laughed.

"My dear, you are one of the professors of the academy! You must protect your students first and foremost and provide them support when they need it. Besides, being married is a small technicality." No reply came from Hieronymous. Petunia tended the plants in front of her before continuing.

"A simple teleportation magic will do. You could make use of that manus while you're at it! I will take care of her family while you do that." Petunia stopped mid-sentence as if to give herself a moment to think. "… and Hieronymous, you may wish to discuss the next choice she has to make though. It may be beneficial for her to know this now rather than later. It will cause fewer heartbreaks later." Petunia paused briefly and looked Hieronymous in the eye. "You know what I mean."

Hieronymous nodded. He shifted his feet uncomfortably. He usually didn't have problem with discussing this matter with wildseeds, but Evie was different. After all that has happened to her, he didn't want to be the bearer of bad news.

Petunia finished tending her deadly horns and took her gloves off. She enjoyed gardening, even if it meant her hands got a little dirty. There was no response from Hieronymous, and Petunia could only but guess what was going through his head.

"Miss Middleton is also returning to the academy, so perhaps you could have the conversation with both of them. It might be easier that way." Petunia smiled warmly and put a hand on Hieronymous' shoulder. "It will be fine. You have done this many, many times."

Hieronymous didn't reply. Instead, he turned around and walked towards the exit. The sun was getting stronger and he was starting to get uncomfortable.

"I'll get everything ready."

With that, Hieronymous was gone. Darkness came over Petunia's face momentarily. She was worried about him, but there was nothing she could do. She looked up to the sky and sighed. I hope this works out for him. For his sake, and Violet's sake.