10.

"Maybe we should go to school." Peeta suggested from where he was lying on Haymitch's couch, distractedly doodling on a notepad. "We missed first period but we could…"

"What's the point?" Katniss cut him off. "You've got a headache and I'm sleep deprived."

He did have a headache.

Haymitch had taken one look at him that morning at breakfast and had snorted something about magical hangover and how it served him right. Then, before Peeta could grovel properly and apologize for hours like he had done with Katniss, the Watcher had slipped out to nail a tarpaulin across the hole in the side of Effie's house so her living-room wouldn't be damaged by the weather or wandering wild animals. After that, Haymitch had clasped his shoulder once, had ordered him to stay put and had gone to work.

He had fully expected a lecture but Prim had told him cheerfully that the lecture would probably come from Effie. Katniss' sister was the only one who had seen the witch that morning because she was the only one who had bothered to get up on time to get ready for school.

"Do you think Effie's really angry?" He made a face and added cartoon eyes to the vague shape of a cat he had been sketching. Buttercup wasn't exactly a good model for serious drawing. He kept switching positions. Peeta wasn't really in the mood for serious drawing anyway.

"Prim said she was still hyper when she saw her so... Who knows…" Katniss shrugged.

She was sitting on the floor right in front of the couch, so close he could have brushed his fingers against her dark braid if he had just moved one inch to the side. She was flicking pages of old musty books she wasn't actually truly reading in hope the words Reaping would jump at her from the paper. He had offered to help but he hadn't been able to read more than two paragraphs before his head had started throbbing something fierce.

He felt a nervous flutter when he thought about what Effie was doing – Haymitch hadn't elaborated too much on the matter in front of the girls but the fact that she had departed for the bakery without waiting for him to wake up was telling – and he wasn't sure he liked the thought of a superpowered witch confronting his parents.

Apparently, although he had been too out of it to realize it the previous night, Effie had been unable to even sit down for hours after she had healed him. She had been roaming the house, talking nonstop, laughing loudly, waking Prim and Katniss up every time they managed to doze off… It had lasted right up until Haymitch had tossed her over his shoulder and had carried her to her own house so she wouldn't bother any of them anymore.

"She was glowing gold?" he asked again because Katniss had caught him up on almost everything he had missed while he had been busy dying – with a lot of cursed words and quite a few punches to his arm; hence the numerous apologies.

"She looked like an angel or something." she sighed and then tossed him a glare over his shoulder. "Don't tell her I said that." She made a face. "It was more like an avenging angel anyway. Pretty but deadly. I really don't get why you like magic so much."

That was delivered with another glare and he winced again. He let himself slid off the couch until he could sit cross-legged next to her. "I'm sorry. I just wanted…"

"I know what you wanted." she grumbled, her lips pursed. "You were being stupid." He bowed his head in genuine contrition and apologized again. Katniss softened a little, tossing the book she had been skimming on the coffee table. "There's one good thing at least. You're going to stay here with us now. You don't have to see that horrible woman again."

"That horrible woman's my mom." he countered, not as loudly as he meant to.

So many things had happened in the last twelve hours that when he let himself think about it, he found his head spinning.

He had pushed his mother down the stairs.

He had almost died.

Effie had almost died.

"Moms aren't all they're cracked up to be." Katniss replied, staring straight ahead. "Sometimes it's better to have someone who actually wants to take care of you. Not just has to."

He thought he understood what she meant.

Effie had almost died.

To save him.

He was pretty sure his own mother wouldn't have bothered giving him CPR and Effie had gone above and beyond because…

"That fear demon made a number on me." he confessed, swallowing hard. "I've always been scared that I would turn out like her, you know. And now…"

"Now you know you won't." Katniss declared firmly, studying him hard as if she suspected he would grab another magic book the moment she turned her back and try another spell.

"Now I know you believe in me so I can't be that bad." he joked.

It was tentative.

His memories of the previous night were vague but he was pretty sure he remembered what happened in the cave.

He was pretty sure she had kissed him.

She stared at him and he wondered if she would actually confront the elephant in the room or, even better, if she would lean across the ridiculous lack of space between them and do it again. He was breathing faster than he should and his head was still hurting but he felt so alive and…

Her grey eyes darted to his mouth and back up and for a moment he thought this is it.

Then she flushed red, cleared her throat and grabbed the book again. "Good."

And that was that.

He leaned back against the couch and slowly pressed his thigh against hers in something that could absolutely have been an accident - and he would profusely apologize for invading her space if… She pressed her leg back against his.

Peeta's mouth stretched into a smile. He felt so happy he could have walked on clouds, nothing could touch him, he was…

The sound of the front door opening and closing followed by the very telltale clicks of high heels on the battered floorboards dashed his sudden elation. He sat up straighter and stared at the living-room threshold with wide eyes. He couldn't remember the last time he had felt that apprehensive to be confronted by an authority figure. He had long since stopped caring about his parents' approval but ever since he had met Haymitch and Effie…

The Art teacher had clearly seen better days.

She was wearing a forest green dress that was positively dull compared to her usually bright clothes. He barely noticed the large navy blue belt fitting it at the waist or the matching heels, her hair was loose and tousled in wild curls that didn't do anything to hide the weariness on her face despite the liberal amount of make-up she had applied.

If she had been hyper when she had left, she had now come down from her high - either because it had been long enough since the magic rush or because of whatever had transpired between her and his parents. She didn't look any less energetic than usual though – which meant that she could only be compared to a hurricane.

"Katniss, dear, would you mind giving us some privacy?" she said a little tersely.

He wanted to object that he would tell Katniss everything anyway but before he could say any of that, the girl had bolted to her feet, clearly eager to escape an uncomfortable situation.

"Do you feel better?" the Slayer asked hesitantly on her way out of the room.

"Quite, thank you." The witch's smile was strained but she squeezed the girl's shoulder with genuine affection when she walked past her. "I am heading to work after I had a little chat with Peeta if you want a lift to school."

Katniss nodded. "Yeah, sure. Thanks. I'll get my stuff."

What had happened to being sleep deprived? he wondered. He had suspected she was only there to babysit him on Haymitch's order…

He scrambled back up onto the couch when Effie came closer, not quite able to meet her eyes.

"I'm sorry." he said before she could even sit down next to him. "I'm really, really sorry. I know I was stupid to do that spell and I shouldn't have tried to do magic and…" And he wasn't sure how to finish this sentence so he let it trail off for a moment. "I'm sorry."

He chanced a glance at her.

She didn't look furious. His mother would already have looked furious and he would already have been dodging heavy things tossed at his head but Effie looked calm if a little aloof. Her lips were slightly pursed but not as much as when Haymitch was annoying her.

"I have to say I am disappointed." she stated.

She didn't raise her voice. She didn't shout. She didn't try to hit him.

And yet he felt something crumble inside his chest and there was the stupid prickle of tears in his eyes because… It was perhaps the worst thing she could have said to him.

"I'm sorry." he said again. What else could he do but apologize? He had wasted everyone's whole night, he had put not only himself but all of them in jeopardy, he had…

"I know you are." She sighed and her voice softened a little. "But, Peeta, you have to understand that what you did could have turned out a lot more differently. It could have been another spell. You could have killed yourself in the attempt. You could have killed us all." She let the words sink and when he looked down at the hands he was twisting on his lap in shame, she reached out and squeezed them. "I know you did not mean any harm. You were hurting and you sought the closest outlet to relieve that pain and, as Haymitch so nicely reminded me this morning, I am partly to blame for leaving you in a room full of magic books."

"You trusted me." he whispered, his voice strangled. "And I destroyed that."

"I did trust you to be responsible. I should have remembered you are sixteen and I was not myself always trustworthy at that age no matter how much I loved my guardian." she sighed, amusement creeping in her voice. "What you did was positively tame compared to some of the stunts I pulled. Still… Peeta, I must stress this… Magic should never be used as casually as you used it last night.

He nodded meekly. "I'm never doing magic again. I promise."

"Well, that's disappointing. I was rather hoping to teach you." she huffed and he looked up at her with a frown.

"What?" he croaked.

Her lips stretched in a small smile and she lost some of her stern expression. Her blue eyes were twinkling with their usual spark. "You would not have been able to make that spell work if you did not have some talent for witchcraft. At best, the beast would have gotten loose and eaten everyone in sight." She waved her hand in the air and if her fingers were shaking a little, he pretended not to notice. "This is where you went wrong: you did not research the spell, you did not make sure you had the strength to control it, you did not make sure the source was even reliable and you did not check in with me first. If you are to do magic, you will do it responsibly or not at all. Are we clear?"

His heart was beating so fast he could have sworn there were tiny lights dancing in front of his eyes.

"I thought… I thought you'd be so angry you'd want me to clear out of your house." he stuttered.

But she wanted to teach him magic instead?

"Your familial situation is another thing we need to discuss." she acknowledged and even the dread of that upcoming conversation wasn't enough to douse the excitement of her offer to teach him magic. "And it is actually not unrelated to the magic problem. You showed some talent, as I said, which usually goes hand in hand with power." She lifted her hand. "Do not get your hopes up. Raw talent is only that and you are still very young. Do not expect to be all powerful in a couple of days. This sort of thing needs to be built up and, even then, I am not promising that you will turn out to be an extremely powerful witch. Nevertheless, I would feel better if you had formal training and that requires being nearby."

"Why witch and not wizard?" he frowned.

"Wizards are another class entirely. They do not use Earth magic and their ways are… brutal." she answered patiently. "Men are referred as witches too."

"What about warlocks?" he asked next because he had come across the term a few times.

"Warlocks are born from the union of a human and a demon." she explained. "They do not learn magic, they are magic. And not entirely human. Now." She clapped her hands before he could ask more questions. "I know you do not wish to talk about it but we must, darling. I went to see your father this morning."

His excitement was doused then. "Okay."

Effie's fingers were drumming on her thigh. It reminded him of how fidgety Haymitch became when he needed a drink and he wondered just how addictive doing powerful magic was. She had suffered from that when they had been under the Lachnoc demon's spell.

"I respected your wishes concerning the involvement of the police." she told him. "But I am putting my foot down when it comes to where you will be living. It is your choice, ultimately, of course. If you truly wish to go back…"

He winced. "I just don't want to be a burden…"

"You are not and never will be a burden to me or Haymitch. Let that be crystal clear and please do not use that word in reference to yourself." she retorted. "I had a long talk with your father and he agreed it was probably best for you to move out. He also agreed to sign his parental rights over in case your mother got it into her head to cause troubles. My lawyers are drafting the waiver as we speak and a spell or two will ensure it goes through without problem." He didn't ask how she had convinced him that his son would be better off with a virtual stranger than with his own family. His father had always been the first to encourage him to sleep at friends' when his mother was in a mood. His attempt at protecting him. "Now… The choice is for you to make." Effie continued in a lighter tone. "I talked it over with Haymitch on the way back…"

"He's at school." Peeta pointed out with a small frown.

She pursed her lips and rolled her eyes. "And if he took that job seriously we would be the first ones to know. His class is watching a documentary as we speak. He was napping, actually, so it was not a great bother for him to answer his phone. Anyway…" She cleared her throat. "As I was saying, the choice is for you to make. You can stay with me or you can stay with him, pick whichever option you will be more comfortable with."

"He's okay with me staying here?" he asked, a little disbelieving.

It was one thing for Effie to offer. She was kind.

But Haymitch…

"Peeta, dear, he told you a thousand times you were welcome to stay." she gently reminded him. "I can assure you he means it." Her smile was sweet. "If you want him to become your guardian, he will do it."

But Haymitch belonged to Katniss.

It had been so long since she had had an adult to herself… He couldn't take him away from her. And he found he didn't want to. He loved Haymitch. He did. He might even have a bad case of hero worship. But…

It was Effie who had risked her life for his.

"Can it… Can it be you?" he asked, a bit hesitant.

Surprise and emotion flashed on her face before she schooled her features into something neutral again. Her smile was dazzling though. She looked overjoyed and it only cemented the idea that he was making the right choice in his head.

"It would be my honor." She grinned. "Although you might reconsider your decision when I ground you until your majority for the gaping hole in my living-room."

Peeta winced. "I can probably get Dad to pay for the repairs."

Which sounded all kinds of wrong but…

"Oh, darling… We will repair it ourselves." she declared. "And what I can't teach you to do with magic, you will help Haymitch fix with a good old hammer and a can of paint."

Peeta couldn't stop himself from beaming. "Does Haymitch know he's going to do that yet?"

Effie didn't bat an eyelash but her lips twitched. "Not quite yet, no."

Peeta chuckled and then it turned into a full laugh and then it turned into something that wasn't quite a sob.

"Are you alright, dear?" she worried, rubbing his shoulder. "I know it is a lot to take in and I know you had a difficult night…"

"Are you kidding?" he half-snorted half-scoffed. "I feel like Hagrid just burst in and told me I was a wizard! I feel like I just got my Hogwarts letter!"

She did bat an eyelash then.

"I am not quite sure I enjoy being compared to Hagrid." she deadpanned. "Please, do not ever say that in Haymitch's vicinity or I will never hear the end of it."

Peeta didn't think Haymitch knew who Hagrid was because he was pretty sure he didn't know what Harry Potter was.

"Fine." he chuckled. "Then I feel like I just won a trip in the TARDIS."

"That is more like it." she hummed. "Those doctors are usually quite dashing. I would fit the part much better."

His eyebrows shot up. "You know Doctor Who?"

Was it possible his pop culture references would at last be understood by someone?

"Peeta… I have spent most of my life in England…" she teased. "There are three things the British hold sacred: tea, discussing the weather and Doctor Who." She was mostly joking though because then she shook her head, her smile still blinding. "I cannot claim to know the show very well. I only caught the occasional episode. It is not quite my cup of tea, shall we say."

Effie Trinket had watched Doctor Who.

It was maybe even more impossible to accept than the idea that vampires were real.

"Thank you." he blurted out abruptly when he realized he hadn't yet. "For last night. And for… For everything. I won't disappoint you again."

"I know, darling. I trust you." She squeezed his shoulder before standing up, less steady on her heels than he would have liked to see her. "Now… You should get some rest. I am certain you must still have a headache. And I shall go teach." She winked at him. "Although perhaps I will take a leaf from Haymitch's book and put my students in front of a documentary for once."

He dropped his head on the back of the couch once she had left the room and contemplated the change twenty-four hours could make.

He wasn't scared of himself anymore.

Katniss had kissed him.

He was going to be a witch.

And he had found someone who actually wanted him around.

Life, he decided, could sometimes be sweet.

Well... I'm sure Effie will get better at the grounding part XD And now Peeta lives with the team! Tell me all your thoughts!