Enid felt regret about her decision the moment she opened her mouth. "Miss, I noticed that …" But Miss Hardbroom cut her off immediately, and her voice was hardly more than a whisper, quivering with strain. "We agreed on keeping this quiet. If your memory needs to be refreshed, I shall gladly do so. It's up to you."
"I remember our deal, and I'll stick to it, but how exactly do you want to hide her from the students? And anyway, why is she coming here?"
"Do you really think I am telling you? And for all gods' sake, keep your voice down. It is not necessary for the whole school to know about this!" "But there has to be a reason!", Enid exclaimed, not bothering to be quiet. She noticed that HB's eyelid was dangerously close to twitching, which was always an alarming sign, but she didn't care. She was getting furious herself now, and had difficulties to stop herself from yelling.
"There has to be a reason why they're sending that old hag! You can't hide her forever! And unless you're telling me now, I'll shout until the whole school knows about this. It's up to you, as you said so precisely."
Enid could practically see her teacher's mind working. Should she tell the girl or should she take the risk that Enid told the whole school about what she had seen in the forest? After a minute or so Miss Hardbroom seemed to have made a decision. After closing her eyes briefly, she looked directly into Enid's eyes. Her face was very serious. "Are you sure that you want to know?" The girl's expression was answer enough. "Very well then. Follow me."