Allison, Robert, and Jennifer were sitting at home, having a fairly quiet dinner at the table. There wasn't much talking going on, and silence, broken only by the sounds of cutlery, filled the air.

Finally, Allison broke the silence with a weapons grade topic. "I wonder how Weiss is doing?"

"I'm sure Mason's doing fine," Robert said. "If there were any problems, he'd let us know, right?"

She levelled a tired glare at him. "You know that's not her name anymore."

He looked at her. "Mason is Weiss and Weiss is Mason. Just because there's some kind of enchantment or curse that keeps him from telling or confirming anything about that does not invalidate that simple fact."

"It's the name she puts down for her schoolwork and, when the time comes, a summer job."

"That is true, but it's not by his choice. We can't forget what happened."

Jennifer let her silverware fall to her plate, drawing her parents' attention. "Why can't we just set that aside and simply be there for her?" She pointed to her mother. "You want to prepare Weiss for her future." She pointed to her father. "And you want to respect her as she used to be."

"And still is."

"Yes, that too. Both of you are just. . . You're stuck arguing on the pronouns for crying out loud! Again! I'm trying to come up with some kind of happy medium between your views, but both of you have merited arguments that I can't just dismiss or compromise on." She sighed and slumped over her meal. "I really wish I hadn't given him that sword."

"Well. . . Look on the bright side," Allison said with a hint of caution. "You two have spent more time together recently because of it, and you learned some kickboxing with her."

Jennifer nodded in thought for a moment. "We did, and she had fun with it too, but I can't help but feel like she has this undertone of resentment at me for what I did. I don't think I've seen her sincerely smile when we go do other stuff. Maybe it's just me."

"Is it clothes shopping that you do with him?" Robert asked, earning himself a hard smack on the shoulder from his wife.

"She doesn't have as much of a wardrobe as she should have," Jennifer defensively stated. "And she doesn't have the lifetime of skills that comes with shopping for women's clothes."

He nodded as he came to a conclusion. "I think I see the problem."

"Eh?"

"I won't deny the need for a decent wardrobe, but what if he doesn't want an extensive selection like you've got?" He let the question linger for a bit before continuing. "He's dealing with a lot of changes, and dragging him through Kohl's or wherever it is you take him as if he was one of your friends doesn't help."

"But she needs clothes!"

"And he has them. He has plenty to work with. You and your mother have probably given him more than he knows what to do with."

Jennifer shrunk back a bit. "Well, she did mention burning some of the dresses from Christmas at one point."

"She WHAT!?" Allison exclaimed. "We put so much thought and money into those, and she just. . . She wants to burn them?"

"There's the zealotry," Robert said under his breath.

"I. . . I. . . But why? Why would she want to do that? I'm only trying to help her."

Robert decided he was done with dinner and got up to put his dishes in the dishwasher. "I wonder if we'll get a letter from him at some point?" He conspicuously wondered out loud as he passed them.

Salem brought out a bountiful meal for her and her two followers. It was nothing more than a simple pasta dish, some salad, and tea, all put together by her own hands, but for the three, it was plenty. Salem said a few words to them. "Before we begin, I would like to first congratulate Walter on his recent mastery of Apparition."

"Thank you, my Lady," Walter said with a polite bow. "I only mastered it because of your assistance."

"Thank you." She turned to her first follower. "And Autumn, I've seen the progress you've made on your sword channelling. I'm proud of how far and how quickly you've grown with your magic."

"Thank you, my Queen," Autumn said with a sincere smile.

"I am also glad to see that you two are getting along well. Hopefully, we can get more faithful followers by the end of the year. MACUSA shall-" some snickering caught her attention. "Walter?"

"Sorry, sorry." Walter took a moment to compose himself. "I just realized that Autumn and I have names kind of like water and fire. Elemental stuff, you know?"

Salem reflected on the observation. "Huh. That is kind of funny."

Autumn got in on the fun. "What's next? A woman named Terra Cotta?"

"Or Ivy Garden?" Walter shot back.

"A guy named Gary Lacier."

"Hyde Rowe."

"Shay D. Guy."

"Woody Forrest."

Autumn pointed at Walter. "You can't use the same element twice!"

"Ivy is a woman, Woody is a man. Ivy's sister, Olive, wouldn't count."

"Olive Garden is a restaurant. It's pretty good."

"I've never heard of it."

Salem clapped her hands together. "Sounds like we have a possible future dinner plan. Can they host a large group?"

"If you call ahead, it's not really an issue," Autumn explained. "It can get expensive pretty quickly, though."

Their leader contemplated the information. "That's a good point. We may need to work some extra jobs to get the money for that."

"Wait a minute," Walter said. "Aren't we trying to throw the world into chaos? Why would we pay and work like normal people?"

"The longer we stay below suspicion and play by the rules, the more time we have to prepare and make a huge impact. In addition, it's an opportunity to explore no-maj territory and gain more information. Have you ever gone to a no-maj area?"

"It was a disgusting city. Flashing lights, loud noises everywhere, and the smell." He shuddered at the memory. "I don't remember what the place was called, but I did not like it."

"You think that's bad?" Autumn asked. "I'm trying to figure out how the wizarding world works on the political side. MACUSA just ignoring a huge swath of the country makes no sense to me. They even ignore and dismiss official representatives from the area, and I don't understand why."

"It's not just MACUSA, Autumn. It's the whole wizarding world. Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, South America, Central America, Canada, every single one of them pretends that we don't exist, and have done so for a long time. From what I understood in history class, it's because we adopted no-maj methods and ideas further than anywhere else, and instead of just hiding in secret areas, we also hide in plain sight. Some of my classmates lived in no-maj areas, and told me of how easily no-majes overlooked and dismissed an exclusive magic club gathering in public no-maj areas. That brazenness is probably why the area was magically blocked off from the world long ago, even without a single no-maj suspecting anything."

"So MACUSA is just a bunch of paranoid cowards hiding from the ignorant masses?"

"Exactly."

"Of course, nobody can hide forever," Salem ominously added. "Come, now. Let us eat."

Principal Celeste Mercia sat with Professors and House Heads Axton Duellington, Sherry Rose, Ashley Lovebreed, and Anthony Smith in her office. The day had been particularly hectic with some enthusiastic first year Virtus students skipping classes and flying through the halls, disrupting nearly everybody else until supper. They had decided to make an impromptu dinner meeting out of it to discuss important matters. "Axton, I hope those students of yours get properly disciplined for their actions."

"I asked Fiir to have a no-maj duel with them and let the doctor patch them up," Professor Duellington said. "That should be enough."

"You're sure that's going to work?" Professor Smith asked. "You're letting them fight and get healed. That's not going to teach them anything."

"You should ask Weiss about his methods. She's been in there a lot recently. You remember the mirror blade guillotine he used once, right?"

"I don't think he's ever lost anyone," Professor Rose added. "For all his oddities, he does deliver. Why is Miss Schnee going to him so often anyways? She's got to be setting a record by now."

"Noir is splashing potions on her in class," Celeste tiredly said. "If it was literally any other student doing that, there would have been disciplinary actions already, but we can't risk her bringing the wrath of her parents down on us. Not if we want to stay open and funded."

"Is there-"

"There's nothing, Sherry," Celeste firmly stated. "We can't interfere, only run cleanup and counselling for Weiss if she asks."

"There is a silver lining," Professor Lovebreed said as she started on her dinner. "Noir is focusing solely on Weiss, and Weiss seems to understand what she might do if she retaliates outside of an arranged duel. Say what you want, but Noir handles her duelling defeats pretty well."

"That, she does." Principal Mercia took a bite of her meal before continuing. "Speaking of Weiss, I've sent an owl to a friend of mine in St. Louis with a letter for Immolae."

"Immolae?" Professor Lovebreed asked. "You mean. . . The school for the Western Quarter?"

"Yes."

"Why would you-" a dartboard with a single dart in it caught her eye. Each section had a magic school name in it, and the dart was in the middle of the O in Immolae. Hanging from the dart was a blindfold. "You didn't think it through, did you?"

"Oh, I did think it through. I considered everything I knew and could find. My plan is for Weiss to exchange to a different school for a month, to get the word out that we're here, for her to experience a different magical culture, and to get away from Noir for a bit."

"But. . . Immolae?" Sherry asked, a shiver running down her spine. "Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"She used a dartboard to decide," Axton casually reminded her. "I don't think anything about this is a good idea."

"I presume the final choice will be hers to make?" Anthony asked. "I'm not against the exchange idea, but if she's just going to get picked up and shipped out, I've got some objections."

"The choice will be hers to make," Celeste assured. "And she will not be without information. I will personally inform her and give her a few days to think it over." She scooped some meat and potatoes up and savored them for a bit before changing the topic. "What about our Triwizard Tournament? Do you have your competitors chosen?"

"Funny you should ask that."

"The event will be in the spring."

"I have mine chosen, then."

"Weiss is your girl for the tournament."

"Isn't it odd how things seem to have been revolving around her recently?" Ashley asked. "Doctor visits, Noir, the tournament. Isn't she also the president of that club with the new pool?"

Axton tapped his chin in thought with his fork. "I wonder if I can talk her into letting me use it for underwater duelling classes."

"We have a deep lake," Sherry pointed out. "Why not use that instead?"

"I can see Axton's logic," Celeste said. "The pool is a varied environment, with high ground, low ground, cover, and more. That being said, the lake has things growing in it, so it would also be useful." She took a breath to calm her nerves. "If there's another Grimm attack like before, we need our students to be able to defend themselves and each other. We got lucky last time."

"Do we have any idea where they came from?"

"Nothing beyond the direction they attacked from. We can't exactly get any aurors from MACUSA out here to investigate, and we can't really do anything unless there's another attack. I think that's about all for now."

The highest authorities of Henway earnestly began their meals.

Weiss contemplated an inch tall light brown chocolate colored gem while Barb was on the table, eating her owner's dinner. The question of what to do with the neatly cut gem and what could be done with it burned in her mind, as it had since she got it and a massive amount of similar ones earlier in the day. She was truly displaying the typical behavior of a learned Scientia student.

Noir and the Starlight Squad were busy being loud and having fun at their table as they had dinner, at the expense of everyone else's peace.