Extra: Grabiner-POV: Troublesome people everywhere!

The next day another exam for the freshmen takes place. The first examinee is her. Let's see how she'll do this time. Ah, she found the chest. Alright, her approach at opening is careful and meticulous. I'm satisfied with her performance. Now, that she has managed to open the chest without facing any danger, all what's left to do for her is to find the exit. Wait, what's that? An illusion of a Manus? "Petunia? Why the hell did you add an illusion without telling me? Furthermore, with that motif… how tasteless! Do you truly lack so much decency, that you couldn't choose another image for the illusion?", I berate Petunia via telepathy. "Oh my, Hieronymous. You sound worried. Is it because of your cute wife? But look, she doesn't seem scared at all, there's no need to be anxious about her.", Petunia replies teasingly. Indeed, she already started calmly dissolving the illusion. "Nonetheless, you should have chosen another motif. Your little pranks are truly tasteless as always, Petunia.", I retort stubbornly. How can such an old woman still be that immature? "Don't you want to come over and personally congratulate her for acing her exam?", Petunia asks me. It's no use talking to this woman, so I ignore her obstinately and concentrate on my task instead. A few of the following students failed at safely disarming the chest, but most succeeded. However, only a handful of students managed to dissolve the illusion. Of those, who didn't dissolve the illusion, a few could at least deduct, that the Manus is just an illusion, for example Miss Middleton. I'm a bit disappointed, that Miss Middleton didn't try to dissolve the illusion, even though she should have been able to. Though she is right in that it's better to save your mental capacity in dangerous terrain if possible, but this is an exam after all. It's meant to be challenging on the students' concentration. Well, at least her method of ignoring the illusion didn't endanger her this time.

The next day, I have to supervise detention, this time not only for Mr. Danson, but Miss Danson as well. As Miss Danson forgot to take her medicine, which led to her chronic disease acting up, I give her the task of reading a book about her chronical disease and writing a report about it, containing the symptoms and repercussions of the disease, as well as the means of treatment and its side-effects. Hopefully, Miss Danson will take her condition more seriously in the future. As for Mr. Danson, I simply hang him up. I'm simply too fed up with him and his pranks, to think of a more adequate, educational punishment.

On Monday, the Valentine sales take place. I don't pay much attention to this silly event, but it seems, as if the sales are going well this year. The booths selling the Valentines look more crowded than last year. I guess this means, that her idea with the flower valentine was a success.

When I was heading to class on Thursday, I spotted her dragging Mr. Ramsey into a corner of the hallway. What the hell? Why is she approaching him?! Not to mention that he's a bad influence, she was molested by him before! Should I interfere? Ah, but it's not my place to interfere with her private life, unless… Does Mr. Ramsey pose enough of a danger for her? Though I don't know, what his intentions are, given what I know about him… But then again, she shouldn't be so foolish as to fall for whatever Mr. Ramsey is trying to do. Even if she feels something for him, it' not like she could act on it. She's married after all. And I told her about the rules of marriage. I wonder what she feels for him… I don't think she likes him. But maybe she feels attracted to him nonetheless. Most students succumbed to his charm, once he aimed for their affection. No, she is not as foolish as those other students… right? Well, whatever. I still need to prepare for my next lesson.

"And?", Petunia suddenly asks me out of nowhere during dinner. "What do you want?", I growl. Has she forgotten how to communicate? I wasn't using Telepathy on her, so how could I possibly know, what she's asking me? "You don't need to hide it from me… What kind of card did you get? Was it a romantic one?", Petunia jabbers with a big grin on her face. Card? What card? "I still have no clue what you're talking about, Petunia.", I retort annoyed. "I'm talking about your Valentine's card, of course. Surely, your cute little wife sent you one? Don't be shy, tell me all about it! Like, what did she write on it? Did she use this chance to finally confess to you?", Petunia squeaks delighted, while she's trapped in her own delusions again. Seriously though, this woman… "Why would I get a Valentine's card from my wife-IN-NAME-ONLY? To announce to the world, that I'm married? Furthermore, to a STUDENT? Thankfully, Miss- she is not as absurd and thoughtless as you are, otherwise the secret might have already leaked…" "Ah, secret love… How romantic…", Petunia whispers with dreamy eyes. For once I'm glad, that she's so easily distracted by her romantic delusions. "Well, if you would excuse me…", I use the short time frame, in which Petunia's mind wanders to unspeakable places, and hurriedly escape towards my room. This woman is my benefactor in many ways, but I simply can't stand her undivided attention for longer than five minutes.

Not long after Valentine's day, the Day of Renewal (the magical equivalent of New Year's Eve) takes place. In order to celebrate this day accordingly, the Academy will perform a New Year's ceremony consisting of a simple ash renewal ritual and a bit of oneiromancy. This is actually one of the simpler forms of a New Year's ceremony, the reason being that this ceremony is the first ritual the seniors will perform. Rituals may seem simple, but small mistakes can have horrible repercussions, therefore only seniors are allowed to lead them. The rest of the student body is restricted to simply participating in the rituals. Thankfully, this year's New Year's ceremony proceeded without a hitch. I still remember the year before last year, where one of the seniors messed up and stirred the ash in the wrong direction, leading to bad memories of the past haunting a part of the student body and the staff. I also suffered from that, by having nightmares as intense again as I had directly after that incident. Just thinking back to this relapse makes me want to strangle the student, who failed the ritual.

On Monday, I witness Mr. Ramsey disappearing into a corner with her again. It bothers me, how much time those two spend together. Especially considering the way Mr. Ramsey tends to gaze at her. His behavior is upsetting and so is the fact, that she doesn't seem to notice the danger he's posing. Normally I wouldn't interfere, but I promised to protect her, therefore, isn't it my duty to set Mr. Ramsey straight for her? Ah, but I really don't want to meddle in the private life of my students and it's not like Mr. Ramsey has done anything. At least for now he hasn't.

I keep pondering over what to do with Mr. Ramsey. I have no reason to punish him, but I also don't want to do nothing. Just as I've been thinking this, I come across a glaring Mr. Ramsey. Speaking of the devil… Furthermore, he dares to glare at me? What a change in attitude, compared to his prior fake-friendliness. To be honest, I prefer glaring over fake-friendliness though. The latter reminds me too much of my father. "Mr. Ramsey, may I have a word?", I ask him, while smiling coldly. The question is naturally only pro forma, it's not like he has the option to decline our little talk. "Of course.", Mr. Ramsey spits out, with clear rage in his voice. What the hell is wrong with him today? I lead Mr. Ramsey to an empty classroom and close the door behind him with red magic, before turning around. We both scrutinize each other with obvious disdain for the other. "Is there a reason that you're glaring at your teacher, Mr. Ramsey?", I ask him sarcastically. "Oh, a teacher? I'm sorry, I forgot for a moment that you were one, Sir. After all, teachers should act like teachers.", he retorts despitefully. "Excuse me?", I reply with narrowed eyes, my voice growing dangerously low. "You know, it's unsightly to see someone of your age eyeing someone as young and charming as Elise. Do you have no shame?", Mr. Ramsey dares to mock me. "Preposterous! Who exactly is eyeing whom, Mr. Ramsey? I have no such interest in a student of mine, you however pay an awful lot of attention to said student.", I retort menacingly. "And what is wrong with that? After all, it's normal for people of OUR age to fancy each other.", Mr. Ramsey blatantly tries to provoke me. "Fancying each other is one thing, Mr. Ramsey, but stalking people is another. She might not be aware of your creepy habits, but I had the misfortune to notice them. Therefore, as a teacher, I must ask you to refrain from such activities.", I scold Mr. Ramsey, while forcefully keeping my composure. "Funny that you mention that, given how much attention you yourself have been paying to her. Shouldn't you practice what you preach?", Mr. Ramsey retorts. What the hell is he talking about? I furrow my brows. "You dare to accuse me of stalking a student? That's ridiculous. I would NEVER view a student of mine in such a way. You shouldn't project your own faults onto others, Mr. Ramsey." "Oh please, spare me this farce. It's a wonder Elise hasn't noticed it yet, but you obviously have a thing for her. I've seen the way you look at her. You should be thankful, that Elise is such an airhead, otherwise she'd be disgusted by you to death. I wonder, who is it really, that should keep a distance to her? There's no way she'd be disgusted by me after all.", Mr. Ramsey counters. "Enough with this nonsense! Just stay away from her, or I'll make it impossible for you to ever appear in front of her again!", I outright threaten him, before furiously dashing out of the classroom. The situation seems to be even worse than I thought.

I can't stop thinking about what Mr. Ramsey said. 'I wonder, who is it really, that should keep a distance to her?' I smile bitterly, as I recall these words. It doesn't matter what she thinks of me, she's just a student of mine. But I'm afraid, I can't truly leave her side, since we're married and I promised her my protection. However, what worries me, is that Mr. Ramsey seems to think that I'd be romantically interested in her, a student of mine. I don't know how Mr. Ramsey came to such a ridiculous conclusion. Could it be, that I paid her more attention as she is my wife, and Mr. Ramsey misunderstood this as romantic interest on my side? What if he's not the only one, who misunderstood things between me and her? In addition, Mr. Ramsey's obsession with her seems to be far greater than I assumed. In combination with her ignorance towards Mr. Ramsey's intentions, this is quite dangerous. I hate to admit it, but maybe it would be better to ask Petunia for advice on how to handle this situation. She's quite experienced in things like this, though her views on love and marriage are extremely twisted.

I knock on the door to Petunia's office, but no one answers. I try it again, still no answer. A little bit of white magic makes it clear that Petunia is currently inside her office. I frown and knock again, this time louder. "Yes?", Petunia finally answers and I step inside her office. Inside greets me the sight of Petunia, sprawled on her couch, while reading some kind of… children's book? Next to her couch are even more of those colorful books spread over the floor. "What are you doing?", I ask her disapprovingly. "Isn't it obvious, dear Hieronymous? I'm reading Manga." "Aren't you too old for such childish books?", I ask her with a raised eyebrow. "No… Just because they're Manga, doesn't mean that they're for children. At least those are definitely not suited for children…" Petunia's voice grew quieter at the last part and she glances at a pile of books farthest from her. I follow her gaze and frown again. The front of the book on top shows the drawing of a naked woman, playfully covering her private parts with her hands. Distasteful. "Anyways, it's rare of you to come visit me, Hieronymous. Is something wrong?", Petunia asks, as she closes her book and sits up. "Indeed, there's something wrong. I just had a little talk with Mr. Ramsey. He has been stalking Miss- her! And even worse, he didn't show any signs of remorse, when I confronted him about that! We must do something, Petunia. Miss- she doesn't seem to be aware of Mr. Ramsey's intentions. If this goes on, she might be in danger." Petunia looks at me pensively, after I finished my rant. She seems to be taking this seriously, which makes me relieved. "I understand. Don't worry, I will take care of it.", Petunia reassures me.

Petunia's POV

Hieronymous left, and I can finally resume reading again.

"Ah, senpai. You woke up…", Kyoko stammers embarrassed and shyly retracts her hand from his forehead. "Kyoko-chan? Why are you here?", Kotaro asks her confused. Kyoko's cheeks heat up and she hurriedly explains, "I- It's not like I was worried about you, or anything! It's just… It's my fault that you caught a cold, so I wanted to make it up for you, that's all." Kotaro smiles slightly at the red-faced Kyoko, startling her with his unusually gentle expression. "Make it up for me?", he asks. "Ye- Yes! Here, I cooked congee for you." Kyoko presents the bowl to Kotaro, while shyly looking away. "Kyoko-chan's handmade food…", Kotaro remarks softly, while accepting the bowl, causing the redness in Kyoko's face to deepen even more. "Tasty.", Kotaro says, after slowly eating a few bites. Kotaro's casual compliment causes Kyoko-chan's heart to throb for no apparent reason.

Wait. That's it! The sick-visit-cliché! That should help the two to get closer. It works in Manga after all. Mhm, but how to make Hieronymous sick, without him noticing it?

Grabby's POV

I've been quite busy these past few days. I got so much work to do that I don't even have the time to worry about the situation between Mr. Ramsey and her. And just at this crucial time, I suddenly got sick. Dammit. Of all the times to get sick, I just had to get sick now. Yesterday, my headache was already heavier than usual and my throat felt scratchy, but I was too busy with the Honor society event to pay that any mind. Well, whatever. I still have some paperwork to finish before class. A bit of fever is not enough to keep me from fulfilling my duties. I force myself out of bed and head to the bathroom to take a quick shower. After stepping out of the shower, I suddenly felt dizzy and staggered, nearly crashing into the sink. Dammit, today is going to be hard. While massaging my temples with one hand, I cast red magic to dry my hair with the other. As I'm putting on my robes, my door guard suddenly informs me that Petunia has come to visit. Strange, what could she want from me this early in the morning? Hopefully it's nothing difficult or important, I'm already struggling as it is. "What?", I grumpily greet her after opening the door. "Good morning! Hieronymous, I wanted to talk to you about- Oh my! You look horrible, dear!" "Thanks, you too.", I retort with biting sarcasm. "It seems you caught a cold, dear. I don't think you'll be able to teach in this state. You should get some rest.", Petunia adds, while looking at me sympathetically. "No need. You won't be able to find someone to substitute for me at such a short notice. Anyway, what was it that you wanted to talk about with me?", I ask her impatiently. "Don't mind that. Then it's decided, you'll be resting today. I'll make you soup later, so just stay in your room, ok? Now then, I have to get going." And before I can refute, Petunia already left my room in a hurry. I'm a bit annoyed that she just decided for herself that I would need to take sick leave. But then again, I can't deny that I'm not feeling too well. I deliberate about ignoring Petunia's orders and going to class nonetheless, but ultimately decide against it. I might not be able to react in time in this dizzy state, if one of the students messes up and I can't take this risk. I sigh and return to my dressing room to change into more comfortable clothes, before returning to bed.

"Soup delivery", my door guardian chimes, thereby waking me up from my slumber. Is it really lunchtime already? I still feel drowsy. "Let her in.", I grumble, while forcing my body out of bed. The door opens, but instead of the expected silhouette of Petunia, she is suddenly standing in my quarters. What the… "You! What are you doing here?", I scold her immediately. She shouldn't be here. In fact, of all my students, she is the last person that should dare to ever step into my private quarters, and yet here she is… How could she be so foolish?! "I'm here on Professor Potsdam's request, Sir. To bring you your soup." My gaze slides down to the tray with soup in her hands. Right, soup delivery… And the culprit is Petunia, of course. That mad woman. "Very well.", I reluctantly reply. I'm too tired to be even annoyed at Petunia. "Where shall I place the tray, Sir?", she asks me politely. "That desk. Over there.", I reply, while gesturing towards my desk study. I can hear her mumbling something about 'documents', as she heads towards the desk to carefully place down the tray. After she placed down my soup, she turns around and stares at me accusingly. Excuse me? Have I done anything wrong? No wait, how dare she? I return her gaze questioningly, but she keeps her mysterious complaints for herself. 'Well, at least she still has a little bit sense of what's appropriate', I think, as I sit down in front of my lunch. "Is there anything else I can do for you, Sir?", she asks me from behind. I turn to her and observe her, confused as to why she would bother asking me this. Her eyes avoid my inquisitive gaze. Suspicious. "You can leave me in peace.", I reply dryly. "All right. Get well, Sir.", she calmly replies, seemingly unbothered by my harsh tone. She turns around, and finally heads towards the exit. "… Wait." No, wait, what am I saying? She turns around, looking at me surprised. "I appreciate what you have done for me. However, I would prefer that it were not necessary." She just silently continues staring at me. "I am not accustomed to having students in my rooms. I prefer my privacy.", I add further explanation. Seriously though, why do I bother saying this to her? It's not like I care what my students think about me. "Of course, which is why you should get well soon. So that you can trouble your students in the classrooms instead.", she retorts with a teasing smile. Cheeky. "I will be fine. Now go.", I dismiss her and she finally bids me goodbye and leaves. With her gone, I can finally concentrate on eating Petunia's special anti-cold-soup. As always, the soup tastes delicious. It's weird, despite being sick and unable to work, I'm quite in a good mood. I guess I really needed a free day.

Petunia's soup was effective as always, therefore I'm fit as a fiddle the next day. I expected to be buried in work again, but my work load seems to have lessened a bit instead. I have no idea how Petunia managed to do that, but I'm thankful for the decrease in stress.

It's the first Tuesday of March, which means it's courtship-day, the day which officially initiates the courtship-season. Iris Academy celebrates the begin of the courtship-season by performing the Maple ceremony, one of the simpler courtship-ceremonies. Iris Academy changed its courtship-ceremony from the more difficult Cake-decoration ceremony to the Maple ceremony about thirty years ago, due to the accidental engagements committed by students, who didn't pay enough attention to the rules of the ceremony. Accidently promising to marry someone can't happen in the Maple ceremony, the only faux pas that remains is the mistake of participating despite being married. As only eligible bachelors can participate, I'm fortunately excused from participating this year. Courtship-season is my least favorite season, I'm quite happy that I don't have to attend. The year before, I even made myself get sick to avoid participating. This year I can relax in my rooms without having to do that. Lately, I've been interested in architecture. Petunia mentioned that Iris Academy might need another hall, due to the increasing number of students. Since Iris Academy started to allow wild seeds to attend, each year's batch of freshmen has been bigger than the last. No one knows why that is the case, it's quite peculiar. Black magic has never been my forte, but I'm one of the more skilled teachers in black magic of Iris Academy, therefore it's likely that I'll be involved in the planning and construction of that new hall. For that reason, I want to do some research on magical construction methods and artistical styles, which would fit the image of our Iris Academy. Having finished reading 'Arhitektura Slovenskega Kozolca', I head to the library to return it, while contemplating which book to read next. As I enter the library, I immediately notice her sitting in a corner, while browsing through one of those tacky teen magazines. I didn't expect her to be interested in such rubbish. I place the book into the return slot and turn around to head back, when I suddenly hear her saying, "Good evening, Sir." "Good evening.", I mumble in reply, somewhat unsure how to react. I'm her teacher, she's my student. We're married, yet not even friends. I don't know how to treat her, when no one's around. "What kind of book are you returning?", she asks me curiously. "It is an interlibrary loan." She seems unsatisfied with my answer. "Arhitektura Slovenskega Kozolca. A particular form of handcrafted architecture, of which you have heard nothing", I add. "You're right, I haven't. Have you heard of deconstructivism?,", she counter-asks me defiantly. Deconstructivism? Must be a non-magical architecture style. Given the lack of non-magical construction possibilities, it can't be very amazing. "No I haven't." "Well, I doubt it would fit your taste, Sir, but you should check it out nonetheless, if you're interested in architecture. Also, I'm sorry for my ignorance regarding your slightly unusual interests." The last part she said with a voice drippling of sarcasm. Well, she has a point… I sigh. "You have nothing to apologize about. No one would expect you to know about such things at your age, not even at mine, and my expectations are no exception." Why am I rambling on about expectations and what not? "Good night to you.", I hastily bid her goodbye and walk away. It's peculiar, for some reason I felt the need for her to understand that I'm not looking down on her for not knowing something. Usually, I wouldn't bother to correct my students' misconceptions about my character, but this time I simply didn't want her to think badly of me. What's wrong with me?

On Saturday morning, my door guardian informs me that a letter has arrived for me. No doubt it's from that annoying father of mine. He's probably nagging about how I should marry and produce an heir for him again. Damn that old geezer. When I arrive at the post office, she is already there, sorting the letters. Without looking up, she silently points towards an opened letter with a package next to it. My mail? Why is it opened?! "It was addressed to me, so naturally I read it. I couldn't simply burn my mail, just because I might not like, what I would read, right?" Cheeky. "However, I'm not inclined to accept presents from a man, who I don't know and who obviously doesn't know me, for a wedding that was in name only, so you might want to deal with that instead." What is she talking about?! It couldn't be… "I see.", I manage to say calmly, despite feeling anxious. I take the letter and skim through it. Bloody hell! Why does my father know about my marriage?! … Petunia! It has to be her, she's obviously the only one, who could've informed him. But why would she do that? Ah, but more importantly, the package… Thankfully, it's still unopened. Anyways, she wasn't curious about this present for her? "What? It's not my business how you deal with your relatives, I won't interfere. However, I have to deliver the mail now, so please excuse me.", she replies to my inquisitive gaze, while loading the delivery cart. I follow her outside and bid her goodbye, before heading towards Petunia's private quarters.
"Oh good morning, Hieronymous. Please, come in." I greet her back, while stepping inside. "You rarely visit me, so what's the occasion? Is something the matter? Do you have problems? Oh my, could it be… love problems?", Petunia bombards me with questions in her usual annoyingly high-pitched voice. "Not 'love' problems, but I do have a problem: with you. Why does this father of mine know about... her?" "Her?", Petunia asks, acting confused. "My wi-, I mean, my… my marriage.", I force the word 'marriage' out of my mouth. The word 'marriage' still causes chills to run down my spine. "Oh, well, about that it's only natural for parents to know about their child's marriage, no? The circumstances prevented him from attending the ceremony, but there's no reason to keep your marriage a secret from him, is there?", she replies unfazed. "No reason?! Petunia, you know my father! Without a doubt, he won't stop bothering her – and me – about conceiving an heir for him. He already wrote her a letter, urging her to do so! Not to mention the wedding present he sent with it, which could've killed her! Thankfully, she is an intelligent young witch, so she didn't toy with it… Anyways, informing him was a huge mistake, Petunia. How do you intend to mend that?", I interrogate her angrily. "Mend that? What's there to mend?" How dare she play dumb with me?! "You know damn well what I'm talking about! How will you keep my father from contacting her again?!" "Relax, Hieronymous. Ms Ojousama-Grabiner is still a student of Iris Academy, his lordship has no power here, remember? And I'm certain she'll be able to deal with him, once she graduates. As you said, she is an intelligent one and her decisions tend to be quite rational as well." "If her decisions were rational, we wouldn't be in this situation now.", I retort spitefully. "Not to mention that this situation naturally won't last till her graduation, the issue remains: your protection is not enough. As I said, he already sent her a letter, and even worse; a present! This is unacceptable!" Despite my rage, Petunia stays calm and just smiles at me softly. "Dear, calm down. It's just a letter! My protection is enough to keep his lordship from forcing you two to consummate your marriage, don't worry." SERIOUSLY?! "What do you mean 'don't worry'?! Do I have to be content with the worst situation possible not being the case?! Who knows, what damage my father could cause her, just by writing her, pressuring her into trying to fulfil her duties for the sake of his retirement! Or sending her more presents, which may threaten her life. "This is your fault, therefore it's your responsibility to fix this. I don't care how, but make it impossible for him to contact her again." Petunia sighs. "Oh dear, you still have this habit of ordering people around. I'll tell his lordship to not disturb your honeymoon-phase, alright? Now then, I still have stuff to do, Hieronymous, so if you would excuse me…" And with this half-assed excuse, Petunia ushers me out of her rooms. Unbelievable…

"Congratulations, my son. You finally managed to fulfil the bare minimum of what your position requires you to.", the old geezer says with a sleazy smile. "What?" I follow his line of sight… Miss Ojousama?! Oh no, they've met?! "You're congratulating me for my marriage? Even though my wife hasn't even graduated yet?!", I ask him indignantly. Just when I thought he couldn't be any more obnoxious… "Of course not. I'm obviously congratulating you for giving me the heir I've been waiting for all these years." HEIR?! My eyes wander down towards Miss Ojousama's belly, which looks suspiciously round. WHAT THE HELL! "You understand the importance of your current situation, don't you, Lady Grabiner?", father asks her menacingly. "Fire warning" "Yes, your Grace. I will do my best to safely birth my Lord husbands' son.", Miss Ojousama replies in a flat tone. Her eyes look eerily dead. "Fire Warning" No. No, no, no. This can't be happening. How could it come to this? What did my father do to her? This is a nightmare! "Fire warning" The sound of sirens causes me to wake up with a start. "Fire warning" Fire warning? I immediately jump out of bed and hastily ask the door guardian, "What's the emergency?", while grabbing a robe to pull over my night gown. "A fire was detected in Falcon Hall, second floor." Without missing a beat, I teleport myself to Falcon hall. Unfortunately, the second floor is the floor, where the freshmen are. They lack experience in how to stay calm during a crisis, therefore I'm especially worried for their safety. When I arrive on the second floor, I spot a crowd of freshmen running around panicky, while shouting, "Fire!". Some are standing in front of the burning door and attack it with breeze. It seems like they're trying to blow out the fire, but instead they're fanning the flames. These idiots… Using red magic, I erect a barrier around the flames and suck the air out of it, thereby smothering the fire. While I'm putting down the fire, the students thankfully calmed down a bit. After extinguishing the fire, I teleport myself inside the room. Inside, the sight of the slightly frightened Mr. Phifer and Mr. Blaising greets me. Both have always been very calm during the exams, therefore seeing them flustered is quite a rare sight. I use green magic, to make sure that they're unharmed and then teleport us out of the room. Thankfully, they haven't inhaled much of the smoke, their lungs are still in a good condition. Nonetheless, I'm going to send them to the infirmary, once they have reported to me what happened. "So? What happened?", I ask them. "We don't know. We woke up from the shouting and when we tried to open the door, the handle was hot. That's why we wanted to leave via the window, but then you suddenly appeared, Sir.", Mr. Blaising reports. "Does anyone know more about what happened? Who was the first person to notice the fire?", I ask the other students. None of the students replies, everyone is just unsurely looking at each other. Dammit, it seems no one knows what happened. "We will thoroughly investigate this incident. I advise the culprits to come forth on their own, since it will guarantee them a milder punishment." After making this declaration, I teleport Mr. Blaising and Mr. Phifer to the infirmary. Just a moment after I made the victims disappear, Prof. Kralik appears. "Prof. Grabiner… Is the situation already under control?", he asks me out of breath. Damn, he's late. "Of course. Mr. Blaising's and Mr. Phifer's door was on fire for unknown reasons, however I extinguished the fire and brought Mr. Blaising and Mr. Phifer to the infirmary. The two of them are safe, but it's unknown as to why the door was burning in the first place as of now. It's clear however, that the fire was set by someone.", I report to him, before relaying the same message to Petunia, using white magic. Prof. Kralik and myself are in charge of the protection of Falcon hall, but Petunia as the headmistress naturally needs to be informed as well. Next, I send the students back into their rooms, so that I can investigate this case without being bothered. First, I inspect the door, using black magic. Unsurprisingly, the seal on the door was destroyed. Otherwise, the door wouldn't have burned in the first place. Judging the fragments of the seal left behind, the seal was destroyed by a fire spell. Which either means, that someone weakened the seal, before attacking the door with it, or the fire spell was strong enough to break the seal. Weakening a seal is quite difficult, it is unlikely that someone used this approach. But for the fire spell being strong enough to break the seal… As for the freshmen, only Mr. Danson – the foolish one – should be able to cast a fire spell strong enough to break the seal. Thinking back, he was already able to cast a fire dragon during the first duel practice. His affinity to red magic is without a doubt remarkable. Additionally, he has a passion for pranks and has underestimated his own strength more than once. Like the way he exploded the wall in his very first exam. Destroying the wall using red magic is a common method of passing the first exam, but there was barely anything left of his wall. Compared to his sister, who is also quite adept at red magic, Mr. Danson is stronger. There is no proof that Mr. Danson is the culprit, but given his past behavior, he's a suspect. Though he wouldn't purposefully harm his friends, it's possible that he simply misjudged his strength.