A/N: Hello there! I actually managed to get this chapter written in under two weeks this time. I am pretty proud of myself for that. Not sure if the same can be said about the next chapter, but we'll have to see about that. Things in my life have been going steady. Fingers crossed that continues to be so.

Now, I'd originally planned to put flashbacks in Chapters 26 and 27. However, I realised while writing this chapter out that doing so would actually be pointless, as not only is there no need given most of what happened could be easily summed up between the characters, but also because of another reason I'm not going to reveal at this stage. It should become more obvious what's going with Lizzie and her memory problems during this chapter, but Chapter 27 will definitely confirm everything. I also decided that there were a lot of revelations regarding Lizzie's family springing up now, especially because this chapter heavily covers Xander and finally reveals the secrets about him that most of you have probably wanted to know since his introduction back in Chapter 5. So, you'll find that over the next two chapters, you'll begin to learn a bit more about Lizzie's other relatives as well as Xander, which has been taking up quite a chunk of the word count. I'm not entirely sure whether I will completely ditch the flashback idea, though. I might plant some in Chapter 27. But it'll depend on how the flow of the story goes. Unless I feel it's necessary for context purposes, I don't like to use flashbacks too much in stories.

Even still, thank you to everyone who has been favouriting, following, and reading this fanfic (I would have included reviews here, but... haven't had any new ones in a couple of months, so...). Your support is greatly appreciated. I know my story differs greatly from the others that follow the same trope, but it's nice to know that there are people engaging with it despite it not being as popular and focusing on my OC more so than the main characters. I hope you enjoy Chapter 26 despite very little happening outside of character and plot revelations.


Chapter 26: A Trip Down Memory Lane

The dawn of the new day arrived in a blink of an eye for the Owl Lady and her young employee. The pair had agreed the night before that they weren't going to tell Luz or King about what they were doing for two reasons: one, Eda wanted to surprise Luz, and two, both witches knew Luz and King would want to come with them and likely cause havoc one way or the other, hence why they thought it best to leave early in the morning to avoid encountering either the young human or little demon. For Lizzie, this was just a usual day in the Owl House for her, as she was used to being an early bird when it came down to her sleep schedule. So, she had no problem rising at the crack of dawn and getting ready for the day (while tiptoeing her way round a slumbering Luz and King, the latter of whom had made it a habit to sneak into the bedroom Luz and Lizzie currently shared to nap on Luz's sleeping bag during the night), despite knowing where she was going to be heading. The same, however, couldn't be said about Eda, who was notorious for waking up late in the morning due to her strange nocturnal antics keeping her awake most of the night (which Lizzie was now aware was due to the effects of her curse). This was why Lizzie wasn't surprised when she entered the third-floor bedroom to see the older witch's body partially hanging out of her nest back first while she loudly snored the morning away, prompting her to wake her employer up by splashing her face with a spurt of water magic from a tiny spell circle she drew.

Once Eda and Lizzie had gotten ready for the day and Lizzie had grabbed her newly packed satchel and cloak, they left a note for Luz and King to find on the fridge claiming they were heading out on an 'urgent errand' and departed from the cottage as nimbly as they could (which may or may not have involved Eda threatening Hooty to keep his beak shut when he went to loudly bid they have a nice trip in typical Hooty fashion, lest they risk disturbing Luz and King). Eda had insisted that with her by her side, Lizzie didn't need to bother hiding her face or keeping her potion arsenal on hand (as she herself had decided to head to Hexside without her cloak). However, Lizzie still insisted she needed it as a precaution due to her history with the school, reminding Eda of what had happened the other day the last time the Owl Lady had said something similar in the marketplace in Bonesborough. With that apparently shutting Eda up (much to Lizzie's surprise, might I add), the two witches then set off in the direction of the forest side-by-side, heading south from the Owl House and following the path Lizzie recalled taking when she'd last chased Eda on the day Luz had first breached Hexside's walls.

Lizzie couldn't remember the last time she'd seen the forest surrounding the Owl House so quiet and still. Between the few streaks of sunlight that broke through the gaps in the trees and illuminated small patches of ground here and there, the only sounds she could hear came from their shoes scraping against the hardened dirt as they walked through. Aside from them, there was no indication of life moving anywhere amongst the red canopies of leaves, making Lizzie wonder if this was supposed to be an omen for what was to come. Since leaving the cottage, neither Eda nor Lizzie had spoken a word to each other, the two witches having instead focused their gazes ahead and allowed heavy silence to linger between them. Lizzie knew her silence was due to her nerves getting the better of her (as proven by the tight grip she'd taken on her satchel strap, evidenced by her shaking fingers and whitened knuckles), yet she couldn't quite understand the potential reasoning for the Owl Lady's silence. Maybe she was also nervous about heading back to a place she'd long since come to loathe? Lizzie assumed she would never find out the answer to that question, even though she thought she could see parts of the Owl Lady's face occasionally twitching out of the corners of her eyes.

For a while, Lizzie was convinced this was how it was going to stay. But then Eda's sceptic tone sliced through the nervous tension like a knife, finally prompting the younger witch to make eye contact with her senior.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Eda jabbed a thumb over her shoulder in the direction they'd just come from. "There's no shame if you want to turn back and try again some other day."

Lizzie found a smirk slipping onto her face at this, followed by her brow raising out of curiosity as she took on a playful tone. "Oh~. Don't tell me the infamous Owl Lady is starting to get cold feet~."

Eda's jaw dropped with a frown, a hand flying to her chest as she leaned back and began to stutter. "W-What?! No!" Her eyes quickly darted to the side. "I-I was just considering your feelings! After all, you are the one attempting to have the bones of your knuckles break through your skin!"

Lizzie's smirk faded when she turned to look down at her hands still clutching at her satchel strap, her eyes widening slightly at seeing how pale the skin of her knuckles had turned atop her violently trembling hands.

'Yeesh. I never noticed I was holding onto this thing for dear life.'

Lizzie loosened her grip on her strap and focused her gaze towards the trees on her right, moving both hands to place them flat against her chest; she could feel her heart hammering away as fast as King running into a room at the mention of the word 'snacks'. "I won't lie that I'm not completely on board with returning to a place to stir up negative memories I've long since suppressed. But it's better than confronting the witch who caused them…"

Eda huffed loudly and crossed her arms, her lips pressing together for a moment as she gave the younger witch a sideways glance. "Why are you really putting yourself through this, kid?"

Lizzie tilted her head towards Eda with a faint frown. "What makes you think the reason I gave you last night isn't the only one?"

Eda raised a brow and allowed a faint smirk to slip onto her lips. "Because I know you, Redwood, more than you think I do." She tapped her nose with a finger. "It wouldn't surprise me if you're only doing this because that encounter with Mister Tool shook you up. After all, it's the first time you two have faced each other as ordinary witches and not 'law-abiding citizen' and 'rule-breaker'."

Lizzie's eyes drooped at this. "… It was that obvious, huh?"

"As obvious as King is when he thinks I can't see him snooping through my stuff."

Lizzie's shoulders slumped as she focused her gaze ahead, letting out an exasperated sigh and an annoyed grumble to match.

"Fine. It's possible I'm also doing this because some of what he said and did made me uncomfortable…"

Eda grinned triumphantly and puffed out her chest. "There we go. That wasn't so hard to admit, was it?"

Lizzie rolled her eyes at this. "But that doesn't change my reasoning." Her voice grew quiet as she lowered her head, her jaw clenching slightly. "This probably won't be the last time we confront each other, and if I have to keep seeing his face, I at least want to know who he is and what he can do so I know how to fight him back."

A mental picture of the masked face of the coven scout who claimed he was related to her popped into her head, causing her teeth to grit.

'I still don't know if this plan of mine is going to work. But even if I don't remember you, Xander, I will find out how you're related to me. And when I do, I'll make sure you won't hurt those I care about ever again…'

Eda's brow furrowed as she observed the younger witch's shift in demeanour, and she prepared to open her mouth to say something. But a tall building ahead of them immediately caught the Owl Lady's eyes, causing the older witch to halt and face the structure with drooped eyes. Lizzie heard Eda's footsteps stop, prompting her to do the same shortly after at suspecting they'd arrived at their destination. This was proven to be correct when she dared to raise her head, the sight of the familiar and open wooden gates of Hexside looming over them being the first thing to meet her eyes.

"Ugh," Eda groaned and put her hands to her hips as she and Lizzie locked eyes with the castle-like structure at the other end of the stone pathway, her lips curling a little as she did so. "I've had nightmares of coming back here. Didn't think they'd ever turn out to be true."

Lizzie swallowed thickly at feeling her legs beginning to wobble underneath her, a sudden feeling of déjà vu washing over her as she brought her hands close to her chest. She'd barely been standing there for more than a few seconds and already her earlier courage had vanished instantly, shattering just like those forcefields she'd attempted to cast during her fight with Hooty yesterday.

'Oh dear…'

Eda caught this reaction out of the corner of her eyes and chose to give the younger witch a sideways glance, watching for a moment as the colour practically drained from Lizzie's face. She was turning paler than her, and she knew that wasn't a good sign. She looked sickly.

"Are you absolutely sure about this?" She asked sternly. "You really don't have to force yourself into this if you're not ready." The blonde witch managed a weak nod without removing her gaze from the school building, prompting Eda to huff and shake her head in dismay, grumbling loudly enough to herself for Lizzie to hear her. "The things you kids are making me do…" Lizzie didn't dare respond, remaining unaware of the Owl Lady approaching her from behind until she took a gentle grip on her shoulders with both hands. "All right, Redwood, we're going in. Brace yourself."

Lizzie felt Eda give her a gentle push forward, forcing her legs to work and begin walking down the path against her mind's will. Yet the younger witch made no move to retaliate, letting Eda guide her down the path and up the steps towards the school building despite her current jitters.

Crossing over onto school grounds ultimately caused those same negative memories from the last time she'd been here to flood back into her head, yet just like before nothing had changed even as she gave her surroundings a brief glance. Most of the memories were vague at best, being nothing but a mass blur and tiny snippets of the little she actually could recall. She hadn't originally focused much on them at the time because of her concern for Eda and Luz. But this time was different. Lizzie scratched at her chest through her vest as she and Eda prepared to head through the open wooden doors of Hexside School of Magic and Demonics, feeling an ache suddenly spring up there out of seemingly nowhere.

'Looks like my suspicions were well warranted. I can't recall as much as I thought. Maybe that accident did suppress those memories, after all…'

Luckily for Lizzie, she was soon brought out of her thoughts at the loud squeak the heels of her boots made as they connected with the hard, reflective floor of Hexside's corridors, causing her jaw to slack while Eda kept pushing her forward, even though by this point her visible symptoms of her nerves had all upped and vanished.

The young witch found her gaze fixing on the narrow corridors' white walls and high ceilings supported by pillars, their walls on either side lined with red lockers with closed eyes and mouths with seven fang-like teeth placed on their doors. These sights were supposed to be familiar to her, and yet she couldn't help feeling like she'd gone back in time to three years ago; nothing had changed from when she'd last walked these halls.

"Holy Titan…" She muttered, hearing Eda make a sound of disgust behind her.

"Oh yeah. Nothing's changed since I was here. I've got to be having that nightmare again."

Lizzie didn't respond to that, allowing Eda to continue guiding her until they reached a circular intersection between the corridor they'd just left and the one that was ahead of them, indicated by a wooden banister that acted as the only protection to stop students falling through to the floors below should they dare to try peeking at the upper floors from above (unless they were on the ground floor, of course).

The pair stopped in front of the banister, where Eda released the younger witch and moved to stand at her side with a raised brow at seeing Lizzie was still and the colour had started to return to her face. However, before Eda even had the chance to open her mouth to speak to the young witch, loud sniffing sounded behind them, right next to their ears, in fact.

Lizzie's shoulders stiffened at feeling the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end, while Eda had no issue facing whoever—or whatever—had decided to invade their personal space with a scowl and an index finger raised ready to give them a piece of her mind.

"Hey, buddy! What's the big i— Huh?"

Eda's noise of confusion finally prompted Lizzie to turn around properly, only for her breath to catch in her throat at the upside-down skull-like face with stitched up eyes and protruding fangs (with two large ones on top and a pair of three lining them on either side) in her face after ceasing its sniffing. Lizzie let out a breathless gasp and instinctively backed up into Eda's front, allowing her to get a better look at the brown-skinned and pointy-eared creature looming in front of her as the Owl Lady caught her by the shoulders.

The creature was dressed in a black suit, blue robes and headdress (bearing a strange yellow symbol Lizzie was sure was associated with Hexside) and grey boots, standing before Lizzie and Eda with slightly bent knees and wrists. However, what really drew Lizzie's attention was the long stick clutched tightly in its left hand with the long hook attached to the end, which appeared to resemble a shepherd's crook. The sight of it sent a shiver down Lizzie's spine, while Eda only squinted and gave the strange newcomer a quick look over.

"Who the heck is this weirdo?" When the creature merely responded with the tilt of its head, she glanced down at the paralysed witch still against her front, seeming mostly unfazed by the events currently unfolding. "Lizzie? Any clue?"

Lizzie could only shake her head a little in reply, her gaze fixated on the creature staring directly at her. Yes, at her. Their silent stare down continued for a moment longer before the creature dared to step forward, bringing its shepherd's crook into both hands, uttering a single word in a distorted, highish voice and menacing tone.

"Trouble…"

Lizzie swallowed thickly and twisted her body to partially hide her face against Eda's front, feeling the Owl Lady already moving an arm to wrap around the front of her shoulders in a protective manner with a low growl.

"I don't know where you've come from, bub, but if you take one more step—"

Eda was suddenly interrupted by a familiar but stern voice loudly clearing their throat, prompting the trio to freeze in place for the moment.

"Ahem!" Three heads turned towards the right, where the wrinkle faced man dressed in black robes and with the red imp atop his head stood straight with his hands behind his back, a frown settled on his brow as he cast the teal-eyed gaze of the creature over the top half of his face between the three of them. "That won't be necessary. They were brought in after a recent… incident. You wouldn't have encountered them during your time here."

'Principal Bump…'

Out of instinct, Lizzie squirmed when his eyes landed on her, with the latter remaining unfazed when he stepped forward to approach them. The creature took this opportunity to straighten itself and return its shepherd's crook upright in its left hand, watching as Bump waved his hand and claw-like fingernails dismissively at it when he stopped beside it.

"I'll handle this. You have other troublemakers to be keeping an eye on."

Without complaint, the creature gave a stiff nod to Bump's words and wasted no time in walking off elsewhere, leaving Lizzie and Eda to watch with raised brows and the former slouching a bit out of relief.

'Bump brought them in because of Luz, huh? She must have caused a lot of trouble…'

Once the creature was gone, Bump focused his attention on the two witches in front of him, addressing the pair by name as he looked between them.

"Edalyn, Elisabeth. It's been a while." He squinted. "And why am I not surprised that the rumours of you two being acquainted with one another were true…"

Lizzie straightened her posture and clasped her hands behind her back, giving a nod of acknowledgement while answering with a tiny squeak in her voice.

"Principal Bump."

Eda, on the other hand, stepped round Lizzie and approached Bump with her arms wide out and a grin stretching across her face.

"Hey, Bumpikins!" Bump's expression didn't change even when the Owl Lady hooked an arm over his shoulders and proceeded to gently nudge him in the ribs with her elbow, which he showed no reaction to. He was probably used to Eda's behaviour by now, Lizzie guessed. "Bet you weren't expecting to ever see me again, huh?"

"To be frank, I wasn't expecting to see either of you again." He briefly glanced towards Lizzie, his eyes narrowing into slits. "Especially you, Elisabeth, since you were banned from school grounds upon your expulsion three years ago." Lizzie lowered her head at this and raised her shoulders a bit, prompting Bump to sigh heavily and relax his expression, his tone growing gentle. "But I know you well enough that you wouldn't have disobeyed the rules without a good reason." Lizzie slowly lifted her head with a wide blink as Bump held out a hand towards the corridor ahead of them. "Let's discuss this further in my office."


It felt like years since Lizzie had found herself in front of the wide wooden desk that belonged to Principal 'Hieronymus Bump' (yes, that was his full name, and yes, Lizzie and Eda were both aware and may or may not have gotten a bit of a chuckle out of it at each discovering this fact), and while that was mostly true despite only being three, the blonde witch could have argued that the feeling was more suited to Eda than her, given for the Owl Lady it had literally been years (and that was without her knowing at what age Eda actually dropped out of Hexside). Bump's wide office space mostly housed an array of wooden bookcases strewn along the four walls containing various collections of books of varying thickness and coloured covers (while also being partly separated by two large curtainless windows on the far-left wall), as well as other random knickknacks atop them (like a statue head of someone Lizzie didn't recognise, for instance) and different sized banners hung from the ceiling bearing Hexside's colours. Based on Eda's lax attitude to entering the office prior, Lizzie could deduce that the office's surroundings were likely no different to how they were when she'd last entered.

The youngest witch in that high-ceiling room was currently stood beside the lone, small wooden chair seated before the desk (which Eda currently occupied), choosing to momentarily eye the golden nameplate with 'Principal Bump' printed on it in golden capitals and the green coloured, bump covered cup moulded into a monster mouth with thick purple lips and blue tongue (whose beady eyes, placed at the bottom, blinked back at Lizzie as Eda snatched a pencil from the collection wedged into the tongue's tip) while avoiding looking at the larger and throne-style chair that Bump was sat in on the opposite side. No matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't look her former principal in the eyes, making Lizzie realise that it was basically habit at this point.

'It's been three years and yet standing in this room is making me act like that same rebellious fifteen-year-old I once was…'

The blonde decided to distract herself at seeing movement from the corner of her eyes, prompting her to focus her attention on Eda and watch the older witch perfectly balance the pencil she'd grabbed between her nose and her pursed top lip.

"Ah, this brings back memories…" Eda mused, placing her arms behind her head and pushing herself backwards to tilt the chair on its back legs. She steadied herself by plonking her heeled shoes crossed over each other onto the desk, pushing the golden nameplate off to the right a bit so it was no longer smack-bang in the middle. "Although, I gotta admit, it's weird not hearing you yelling at me for picking fights and stealing."

Lizzie dared to peek at Bump to see his reaction with the quick darting of her eyes, yet she found the principal merely observing and listening to everything with drooped eyes and his arms neatly folded atop the desk. He wasn't the slightest bit amused or disturbed by Eda's words and actions, causing the blonde's shoulders to slump.

'Eda's clearly at home in this room…'

"That can easily be changed," Bump replied calmly, raising his right index finger to draw a small spell circle. "considering you were close to engaging in yet another fight a moment ago."

A green glow surrounded his hand as he made a flicking motion with his fingers, causing the glow to extend to Eda and suddenly surround her. Next thing Lizzie knew, she was stumbling to the side and witnessing the chair Eda was on suddenly tilting too far, forcing the Owl Lady to fall backwards and hit the floor with a loud thud and a surprised cry. Lizzie winced and continued to observe Bump as he kept the green glow around his hand and made a brushing motion towards the right, edging the nameplate back into its original spot without batting an eye.

"Now then," Bump continued as Lizzie crouched beside Eda and took the older witch under the arm, helping her to her feet while Eda simultaneously grabbed the chair and pulled it upright again. The glow around Bump's hand eventually disappeared into thin air. "would you both care to tell me why you're here?"

Eda plopped onto the chair again and smoothed back large strands of her bushy hair that had brushed itself in front of her face during her unceremonious landing, sitting up straight and loudly clearing her throat before putting on the best 'matter-of-fact' tone she could muster.

"We're here for two reasons, actually." Eda held up a finger, puffing out her chest and raising her chin. "First off, I want to enrol my human student, Luz, in Hexside. And second off,"—she gestured a hand towards Lizzie beside her—"Lizzie needs your help with her memory problem."

Bump's brows raised as he locked eyes with Lizzie, who was rubbing at her upper arm. "Memory problem? I don't understand."

Lizzie saw Eda furrow her brow and briefly glance in her direction, which she responded to with pressed lips and a frown of her own. It looked like Eda was hesitating with what she was about to say, although Lizzie couldn't imagine why. But that suspicion was soon dispersed when Eda sighed heavily and leaned forward, resting her arms against the desk and lowering her voice for only her and Bump to hear.

"I'm sure I don't need to ask you if you heard the news surrounding Lizzie's arrest and 'mysterious disappearance' three years ago."

Lizzie's jaw dropped at this revelation, prompting her to turn to Eda with a hand to her chest and in a wide stance while Bump closed his eyes and slowly shook his head as he answered the Owl Lady.

"Not at all. The carriage accident was all over the news for weeks. It was the first time a criminal somehow managed to escape before they'd even made it to the Conformatorium. Though I was shocked it was Elisabeth to begin with…"

"Wait, wait, what?!" Lizzie shrieked with her voice going up an octave, her eyes growing wide as Xander's words from Covention immediately sprung back into her head.

'You've fooled the whole of Bonesborough into thinking you'd mysteriously vanished into thin air for three years.'

'Is that what Xander really meant? I thought my identity was never publicised and all the attention was on Eda. I didn't know there were people in Bonesborough outside of my family who were aware I was the one arrested…'

But then the latter part of Bump's words had Lizzie suddenly perking up the moment her mind processed them, causing her to squint a bit at her former principal. "Hang on. You were shocked it was me?"

Bump opened his eyes and nodded in confirmation. "Of course. Aside from the occasional accidents with your little potion experiments, you were a well behaved and diligent student." He reached a hand to rub at his throat at feeling a lump form, his gaze briefly downcast. "That was why it was so difficult to make the decision to expel you. Had it not been for members of the PCA pressuring me, you would have gotten a suspension at minimum."

"But…" Lizzie bent her finger slightly at Bump with a deepened squint. "weren't you the one who reported me to the guards in the first place?"

And at that… Bump gasped and leaned back in his chair, a hand going to his chest with a wide blink. "Me? Report you?" He scowled and straightened himself out, turning his chin towards the ceiling. "Just because Hexside has to follow the regulations set forth by the Emperor's Coven, that doesn't mean I tell them everything. I'm a principal, not a stooge."

"But I thought…" Lizzie trailed off, giving the room around her a sideways glance with a faint frown.

She couldn't put her finger on it, but she swore she could feel a strange sense of dread swirling round her gut.

'I always thought Principal Bump was the one who reported me that night. It makes sense, given everything he said to me prior to my expulsion and that he had knowledge of the incident itself. But if he's claiming he didn't tell the guards… then who did?'

There was so much Lizzie wanted to question right now, but at feeling Eda give her a comforting pat on her closest shoulder and a subtle nod, she tightened her jaw and returned it while relaxing her stance, deciding not to say anything more. That was Eda's cue that she was going to explain herself later and that they could also discuss this recent revelation, even though Lizzie could already guess the reason why she'd kept this information to herself…

Eda focused on Bump to continue with her explanation, but not before reaching up a fist to lightly tap the top of Lizzie's head with her knuckles, making the younger witch flinch. "Well anyway, Redwood here was pretty hurt and distressed after the whole ordeal, so much so her mind's blocked that event out… and then some."

When Bump tilted his head her way, clearly still confused over where this was going, Lizzie saw that as her cue to take over from the older witch. Quietly huffing, Lizzie balled her hands into fists and crossed her arms in front of her middle, staring at her boots as she spoke up in a quiet and low tone.

"A coven scout for the Emperor's Coven has been stalking me. He seems to be someone from my past, but I haven't had the chance to get a good look at his face to confirm if that's true."—She dared to raise her head and furrow her brow—"I've had trouble remembering the bully who got me expelled from Hexside three years ago, and after having a few encounters with him, I suspect they're the same person. However, it hasn't jogged my memory at all." Lizzie rubbed at one of her arms and shuffled her feet. "I was hoping you could provide me with more information about my former bully, just to see if it might trigger me to remember something."

"The Emperor's Coven…" Bump mumbled, resting both of his arms on either side of his chair and briefly looking up at the ceiling. There was a brief moment of silence before he spoke again. "Yes, you must be talking about 'Xander Blackwood'."

Lizzie's and Eda's brows at hearing the surname, the pair exchanging quick sideways glances while Bump pushed his chair backwards and stood up.

"Blackwood?" Lizzie repeated, which Bump nodded to as he walked over to a set of bookshelves behind his desk.

'Why do I get the feeling I know that name from somewhere? And not just because of Xander…?'

"Yes. He was the witch you injured with your potions; a well-known delinquent in the year above you who was also in the Potions Magic Track." Bump paused and brushed a long fingernail across the line of book spines at his eye level. "He tried to sneak into your potions class to steal your recipe project, but unbeknownst to him, you'd overheard him bragging about his plan and set up a dummy project that you blew up in his face."

A hand flew to Lizzie's mouth at this, while Eda was left blinking widely and straightening out in her seat.

"Oh, yeah. I remember. He didn't do well with potion magic. So, he always used to threaten other students and steal their projects to pass off as his own."

"That's what you meant by 'cheating at magic'?" Eda questioned, momentarily gawking before leaning back against the chair with her arms folded. "Yeesh! Talk about a low life. Not even I stooped that low." But then Eda snorted and elbowed Lizzie in the side. "Still, that trap totally sounds like something you'd pull off. I bet the look on his face was priceless, huh?"

Lizzie didn't say anything to that, instinctively gulping and gripping at her throat as she looked off elsewhere. But Bump eventually did after pausing his fingernail on a dark blue spine of a book whose title Lizzie couldn't see.

"It was…" He began dryly, returning to the desk with a scowl after collecting his selected book from the shelf. "…assuming you find second degree burns funny."

Eda sat up in her seat and gaped slightly, watching Bump open the book and skim through the pages before turning to Lizzie with a cringe, the look on her face suggesting she immediately realised her mistake and was greatly regretting saying anything. "Ooooh…"

Lizzie chose to remain silent as Bump stopped at the page he was looking for, continuing to talk while placing the book flat on the desk for Eda and Lizzie to see.

"Because you exposed his deceit, he was suspended for a week. But when he came back, we were shocked to discover that he excelled at other types of magic. And after two years of training, Xander qualified for the Emperor's Coven try-outs and succeeded at getting in, allowing him to graduate from Hexside despite failing at potions and suffering the scars that he did."

"Scars…?" Lizzie repeated with a faint frown, prompting her to move closer to the desk to get a better look at the pages when Bump pointed towards the left page.

On closer inspection, Lizzie could see the pages of the book contained the names and photographs of students who had graduated last year, with some faces she vaguely recognised as having seen in passing during her time at Hexside. However, it was when she caught Xander's full name under Bump's finger that she found her gaze fixing on the photograph placed above it, revealing an indifferent male witch with neat blonde hair held in a small ponytail and parted round the sides of his forehead.

Her mind immediately sprung to the coven scout who had gotten up in her face the other day, her hand subconsciously reaching for a strand of her hair draped over her shoulder to get a quick look at it. She recalled that his hair was a similar colour to hers and was styled in the same way the scout's had been (a fact only exposed thanks to Eda's distraction in pulling his cowl away from his head).

'There are certainly differences between us, but there's no denying it: we look like we're related.'

Focusing back on the photograph, she could also see his eyes were the same colour as hers, yet his left one was hidden behind a large, white, square shaped eyepatch strung with thin string round his head, appearing to hook behind his right ear.

Realisation was quick to smack her in the face when Bump's words from a minute ago sounded in her head, forcing her to grab the front of the desk at feeling her knees go weak and her body drop a bit towards the floor.

A pair of hands grabbed both of her sides and steadied her—the owner of those hands being Eda—eventually helping her to stand up properly before she dared to speak. Lizzie wondered if her face had gone pale, because Eda's question made her assume it probably was.

"You all right, kid?"

"… Yeah," Lizzie answered breathlessly, her gaze never leaving the eyepatch in the photograph.

She wasn't able to stop herself from feeling like someone had gone and punched her right in the gut.

'No way… Did I… scar him?'

And, as if having telepathically heard her question, Bump responded quietly, clasping his hands behind his back and bowing his head a bit.

"You told me you'd miscalculated the amount of magic you'd put into the concoction; you apparently put in more than intended, which is why he received second degree burns severe enough to leave burn scars." He paused at catching sight of Lizzie's hands tightening their grip on the desk's edge, her arms visibly shaking slightly. "He was lucky his sight has remained intact."

Xander's words echoed in her head as she stared into the lone green one exposed in the photograph, which appeared vacant in comparison to the blazing fire she recalled seeing in them the other day.

'I'm going to make sure you suffer, not just for what you did today, but also for three years ago!'

Lizzie ducked her head down and gripped a hand at the middle of her forehead with quick and heavy breaths, an action that prompted Eda to rise from her seat with a frown and move her hands to the younger blonde's shoulders.

'Is that why he's so angry at me…? Because I left permanent scars…?'

"… Kid?" Eda's gentle voice broke through and silenced Lizzie's mental shock, bringing her back to reality with the single rough shake of her shoulders. The pair of witches remained unaware of Bump observing them with a raised brow and a hand under his chin, almost as if he was scrutinising their current interaction. "Did you remember something?"

It took a moment for Lizzie's body to slump and relax from its tensed state, her breathing slowly evening out enough that it could barely be heard anymore. She waited a few seconds before attempting to make a muttered response, her voice low.

"… No." She straightened out her posture and released the desk, which Eda took as her cue to let the younger witch go and watch her eyes droop in dismay. "But I'm okay. It was just a lot for me to take in, that's all."

"Well, dang. Really thought we were on to a winner there." The Owl Lady stepped away from Lizzie by a couple of steps and turned her gaze to the opened book, squinting at Xander's photograph for a moment and then switching to Lizzie's face for the same amount of time. "Gotta admit, though: the resemblance between you is creepy. If it wasn't for the different surname, I'd have thought you two were long lost siblings or something!"

"You're not far off," Bump commented as he dropped his hand away from his chin and returned it to his front with his other one. "They're actually cousins."

Both Lizzie's and Eda's heads snapped up with wide eyes the second the words were processed, shouting out at the same time. "Cousins?!"

Bump nodded, prompting Eda to turn to Lizzie with a low whistle as she appeared to snap out of her shock faster than the younger witch. "Darn. I never would have guessed that."

But Lizzie remained frozen in place for a moment, her eyes once again wandering to the photograph of Xander in the book on the desk.

'I see. That must be why I feel like I know his surname. I've always been an only child, so I knew there was no way he was my brother.'

The Owl Lady reached out her knuckles to give the side of Lizzie's head a light tap, bringing her out of her thoughts for the moment with a blink. "But surely that must have triggered something in your noggin, right? That's a big revelation you didn't remember, after all."

Lizzie frowned at Eda's words then, pressing her lips together and turning her gaze down to herself.

'Eda's right. Up until now, I didn't know how Xander was related to me or what his full name was. But I know them both. And yet…' The blonde witch raised her palm close to her face to stare at, seeing it shake ever so slightly. '…why don't I feel any different?'

Lizzie and Eda remained unaware of Bump momentarily stroking at his chin with his fingers, his gaze trained on the former as if lost in thought. However, his brows were soon raising with a blink when an idea came to him, allowing his hand to return to his front again.

Meanwhile, Eda tilted her head to the side when Lizzie didn't respond to her question, her brow furrowing a little out of concern. But just as the Owl Lady opened her mouth to speak, she became distracted by Bump addressing her and holding out a hand towards her.

"Edalyn, didn't you mention you wanted to enrol your human at Hexside? Luz, I believe you said their name was?"

"Oh, yeah! Almost forgot about that," Eda exclaimed, facing Bump with a scowl and her hands on her hips. "Now, before you start judging—"

Bump held up a hand to cut Eda off. "No, no. It's actually not a bad idea."

That brought Lizzie back to reality, while at the same time giving her a distraction from her momentary mental crisis. The blonde followed Eda's gaze to the aging principal, the pair wide eyed as they once again spoke simultaneously. "Really?"

"Absolutely," Bump answered with a smile, clasping his hands behind his back as he started to walk towards a set of three brown wooden drawers to his right. "Despite the trouble caused, I do believe the student body could learn from having such an exchange student, especially if magic capability is there."

Eda and Lizzie turned to one another with a couple of blinks then as Bump stopped in front of the drawers and pulled the top one open, exposing a light purple drawer with fang-like teeth lining either side of it.

'Wow. I wasn't expecting Principal Bump to agree to that so easily. Looks like Luz has caught a lucky break.'

After a few seconds, a pair of wide smiles slipped onto their faces, with the latter observing the former raise her chin a bit with pride while leaning forward to whisper her way.

"Well, Redwood, at least something's finally breaking our way, eh?"

"However," Bump continued, causing the witches' smiles to fade as their attention was drawn to his back, where the pair witnessed him rifling his hands through the books stored in the drawer. "before I consider that, there's a lot that still needs to be answered for."

Lizzie's and Eda's shoulders slumped as they observed Bump pulling out a small stack of thick books of varying colours and a small stack of files on top, which he proceeded to bring back to his desk. Only one thing sprung to mind at Bump's words, and it was something Eda became the first to comment on as she dropped back onto the chair with a quiet sigh, with Lizzie quickly following up.

"Ah, right… The abomination incident."

"Yeah. Luz already clued us in on that."

"Oh, I wasn't talking about Luz." Bump paused in front of his desk and chair with a squint (the stack in his hands only just reached under his eyes, allowing him to see where he was going), looking between both Lizzie and Eda once before taking on a stern tone. "I was referring to you two." Bump proceeded to let the stack slowly fall from between his fingers and land on the desk with a loud thump, causing both Lizzie and Eda to wince and recoil with raised brows as he took a tiny pile of papers off the top of the pile and placed it on the desk just to the left of it. "I don't think I need to remind you of the trouble you caused this school and its staff whilst you attended here, do I?"

Both witches dared to lean forward to get a closer look at the items Bump had put in front of them, only for the pair to gasp and stiffen up at what they saw.

The two stacks of papers each had a piece of paper on top whose writing was split into two halves by a single, golden horizontal line. The top halves of the paper had 'PERMANENT RECORD' printed in gold lettering and capitals, while the bottom halves had 'EDALYN CLAWTHORNE' and 'ELISABETH REDWOOD' scribbled in capitals and black ink. Eda's full name was on the paper atop the large stack of books, possessing enough pages in its pile to fill up at least the minimum number one would find in a novel, while Lizzie's full name was on the tiny paper pile settled on the desk, its pages around about an eighth less than Eda's amount.

"Oh boy…" Eda mumbled, stretching a finger up to the collar of her dress to give it a small tug at the sweat she could feel gathering on her forehead.

Meanwhile, Lizzie blinked widely at Eda's stack, her eyes briefly darting between her record and Eda's before she dared to say anything; as surprised as she was to see her own permanent record in front of her, she couldn't hide the surprise of the difference in thickness between their papers.

"… Dang, Eda! What in the Titan's name did you do to earn a pile that thick?"

"I'd be happy to enlighten you on that, Elisabeth," Bump answered, jabbing his index finger into the paper and causing Eda to hunch her shoulders and slide down the chair a little. "This pile consists of the necrotic experiments Edalyn performed,"—he continued to prod the paper with each item he began to list off, with Eda slowly inching further and further down the chair with each item as well—"the graffiti she left on the lockers, the scams and cheating she pulled, the theft of Miss Jenkinmeyer's teeth…!" Bump paused and glanced at Eda as he addressed her sarcastically when the Owl Lady had stopped sliding down the chair, her eyes only just about poking over the top of the desk. "Need I go on?"

Lizzie looked to Eda with a raised brow. "I thought you said you never stooped to cheating."

Eda frowned up at Lizzie and raised a finger to waggle in her face, staying in her current position for now. "With magic." She eventually pulled herself up and looked off towards the windows of the room with the roll of her eyes. "Can't say the same about the written tests, though."

Lizzie facepalmed at this and closed her eyes with a small grumble. "Geez, Eda…"

But Lizzie was quickly dropping her hand away from her face when she heard Bump sternly address her. "And don't think you're off the hook just because your pile is smaller, Elisabeth." Lizzie watched Bump slam his hand down on top of her record, causing her right eye to twitch. "Your antics may not have been as bad as Edalyn's, but you still cost this school a lot of snails with the damage your potion experiments caused."

'Of course he brings me into this…'

The blonde witch scooted backwards two steps, holding her hands palm-up as she prepared to retaliate despite the slight waver in her voice. "Hey! I-In my defence, a lot of that damage was accidental!" She turned her gaze to the floor and bent her fingers a bit, her voice growing quiet. "I hadn't worked out the correct balance between the magic and the potion ingredients for either potion yet. That takes time, you know."

Bump raised a hand and counted off each item he verbally listed with a finger. "That doesn't excuse how often you shattered the glass of the classroom windows, nor the number of holes you blew in the ceiling." He lowered his brows and voice for the next part. "And let's not forget that tiny crater you managed to create in the middle of the grudgby field."

Eda slowly turned to look at Lizzie with the twist of her lips and wide eyes, prompting Lizzie to cross her arms at her front and tilt her head towards the ceiling.

"You told me to stop doing my experiments inside. I thought the grudgby field counted as 'safe'." Lizzie lowered her head again at hearing Eda snort and then break out into brief loud laughter, scowling at the sight of the Owl Lady throwing her head back and slapping her thigh. "What are you laughing at?!"

Eda hunched forward and wrapped her arm round her middle, waving Lizzie off with her other hand until she sucked in a deep breath to calm herself down. "N-Nothing, Redwood!" She sighed and moved a finger to wipe a loose tear from her left eye, shaking her head back and forth. "I just can't believe how alike you and I actually were at that age! If we'd been at Hexside together, we would have made a terrible duo, wouldn't we?"

Lizzie pressed her lips into a thin line and narrowed her eyes at the older witch, jabbing a finger at the air in her direction. "I doubt it!"

"Ahem." Bump clearing his throat caused the pair of witches to fall silent and turn to the aging principal with a blink, which the former took as his opportunity to continue talking with folded arms and drooped eyes, already fed up with the antics and banter between the Owl Lady and her employee. "Can we please get back to the matter at hand?"

"Sure," Lizzie replied, putting one hand to her hip while using the other to indicate towards the papers and books on the desk. "But I don't understand what our past antics have to do with Luz getting into Hexside."

"I'm about to get to that, Elisabeth." Bump straightened out his posture and glanced between the two witches with his chin raised and chest puffed out. "The bottom line is that you two caused a lot of damage to this school. And while I'll admit Elisabeth's damage wasn't too severe and easily fixable…" Bump squinted at Eda, causing the Owl Lady to recoil and twist her body towards the back of her chair. "Edalyn's antics have remained and are still running rampant long after her leave of Hexside."

Lizzie gave Eda a brief sideways glance and drooped eyes, prompting the Owl Lady to shrug her shoulders and tilt her head with a wide smile.

"What can I say?" She pointed towards her chest with both thumbs and grinned. "I have a knack for leaving my mark behind."

"Therefore, I am willing to make a little proposition. I'll consider Luz's enrolment into Hexside…" A smirk slipped onto Bump's face, causing both Eda and Lizzie to raise a brow out of suspicion. "if you two clean up every last mess recorded in Edalyn's school record."

Both Eda's and Lizzie's jaws dropped in sync, the pair looking as if Bump had just given them some shockingly bad news. Luckily, their shock didn't last for long, with Eda being the first to break out of hers with a defiant screech and the action of leaping up out of her seat.

"Are you kidding me?!" She gave the books and record a quick glance. "I mean, I admit it: I thought there was gonna be more…" She glared and waggled an index finger in Bump's direction. "But I don't appreciate you using Luz to get cheap labour out of me!" She jabbed a thumb in Lizzie's direction. "Nor do I appreciate you dragging Lizzie into my business either!"

Despite Eda's outburst, however, Bump stood still and allowed his smirk to drop, patiently waiting with slow blinks every so often for Eda to finish her vent. When she was done, the principal merely responded with the slight raise of his shoulders and the closing of his eyes, placing his fingertips together against his middle.

"The decision is yours, Edalyn. But you should consider the good example you'd set for Luz, considering the recent mess that was caused. Also,"—he opened an eye and focused on Lizzie for a few seconds—"it seems like a good opportunity for Elisabeth to explore Hexside and see if she can jog more of her memory, wouldn't you agree?"

Eda's posture slouched as she heard Bump out, her once straight finger slowing bending inwards to indicate the sudden evaporation of her former anger. The Owl Lady dared to peek behind her at her technical employee, seeing the younger witch had since snapped out of her own shock and was staring at Bump with raised brows, her green eyes lit up like she'd just had some sort of epiphany.

'Ah. I get it now. Obviously, he can't just let me wander the halls of a school I'm no longer attending, even with his permission. But it makes sense for me to be there if I have a reason to be on school grounds in the first place. He's using Eda's mess as that reason.' When she noticed Eda silently staring at her from the corner of her eyes, Lizzie faced the older witch with a small smile. 'I think this is also his way of encouraging Eda to be a better role model for Luz. She's a great witch, but Eda does sometimes lack the maturity to own up to her mistakes. This might be a good opportunity to help Eda grow as a person.'

When the silent stare down between the two witches had gone on for a while, Lizzie held her hands out on either side of her with the slight tilt of her head, knowing exactly what she needed to say in as little words as possible.

"… Principal Bump does have a point, Eda."

And, as if hearing the magic words from the young witch she'd come to trust when it boiled down to judgement, Eda allowed her arms to fall limp at her front and dangle limply with drooped shoulders, throwing her head up with an overexaggerated groan.

"Ugh, fine!" She moaned, facing Bump and lowering her head with a squint. "I'll do it."

Bump smiled widely and clapped his palms together, his next words spoken enthusiastically. "Excellent! You can start right away." Neither Lizzie nor Eda moved, instead choosing to watch Bump make his way round the desk and return his hands to his sides, their gazes fixing on his back as he retreated to the office door. "It'll be nice to finally get rid of that hexed graffiti you left us, Edalyn, as well as those ghosts in the changing rooms." He paused for a moment and glanced over his shoulder at the Owl Lady, his smile dimming down to appear slyer. "And that's just scratching the surface."

Eda's body drooped forward when Bump continued walking and turned away, only to turn to Lizzie after running her fingers aggressively through the sides of her bushy hair. "This had all better be worth it, Redwood."

In response, all Lizzie did was smile and nod, her body shaking slightly with suppressed chuckles while watching Eda drag herself after Bump and hearing her grumbles under her breath:

"Dang kids. Look what they're making me do."

Lizzie knew Eda was just joking, yet she couldn't deny how funny it was when the Owl Lady pretended she was annoyed at her or Luz for making her do something nice.

'Sorry, Eda. It's not my fault you seem to have gained an attachment to us.'

But as Lizzie went to follow the two senior witches, she wasn't able to stop herself from halting and peeking back at the desk, her eyes lowering to the spot where the graduation book was still open flat on the page that showed Xander's photograph. A lot had been revealed during the short space of time she'd been in here, and it was because of this that Lizzie knew her moment of amusement was going to be short lived. Once she and Eda were left alone to start the cleaning up, they were going to address the elephants in the room, and that thought made her grab at her chest with a hand through her vest.

'I still can't wrap my head around any of this. And yet that doesn't change the fact he's at the centre of it.' She tightened her grip slightly, Xander's words from the other day once again springing to the forefront of her mind. 'You complained I've ruined your life, Xander? Well, the evidence suggests that this wouldn't have happened if you hadn't ruined mine first. And yet…' She closed her eyes as she turned away and resumed her walk, stepping over the threshold of the office and into the corridors of Hexside once again. '…I fear what I might uncover next is only going to prove that statement as fact.'