"Convincing her won't be difficult. Just say this will further explore the local secrets and the rules of Time Travel. As for me helping you, you only need to do me a small favor."
Miss Winslet smiled at the red-haired girl, who immediately became wary:
"Do you want to know about Shade's past, or do you want me to persuade Shade to go on a date with you again? No, I won't do that anymore. I know what you're thinking, Flora. That would be immoral."
The witch raised an eyebrow:
"Then you're mistaken. I'm not interested in men. Well, I am somewhat interested in your student, but not in that way. I do want to learn more about him. He's a rare and interesting person.
"I only want you to agree to let me teach him some Transformation Spell. No, don't look at me with such disgust and suspicion. I don't want to steal your position as his 'teacher.' I merely want him to trust me a little more, and he really does have talent for Transformation Spell."
Golden eyes met rose-red eyes. After a moment, the red-haired girl picked up her book again:
"Teach him if you want. It's not as if I can control him anyway. Now he wants to control me instead."
The witch smiled, speaking in a pleasant tone:
"The only problem is that everything will be fine if our plan goes smoothly. But if we run into trouble while trying to let you safely use the Tree Hollow, and your curse deepens... I don't even dare imagine what kind of look that young gentleman will give the two of us."
The red-haired girl did not respond to that.
No girls stayed over at home on Tuesday night, but Shade remembered that the train carrying the