Joakim shoulders his way past us and into the courtyard as MacCrone screws on the lid. She gives the jar a good shake and the bogle flings itself at the warded glass in rage, its tail flicking back and forth like an angry cat’s.

Students start clapping and whistling, shouting admiration for MacCrone.

“Och, stop it. It’s our job.” MacCrone offers Fiona blueberries from her pocket. “What you been teaching them, Joakim? Summoning a bogle, indeed. Nasty critters those.”

“Yes, quite. My apologies.” Joakim turns several shades of pink as he accepts the containment jar.

“Come on, Hannah, let’s get you back to class.” Morgan loops his arm around his sister’s shoulders.

My gaze lingers on the jar as Joakim traipses sheepishly through the throngs.

“Hannah! Morgan! Are you all right?” The oldest O’Connor rushes over to us. Aoife flicks her gaze over Morgan before she kneels down, eye level with Hannah.

“We’re fine,” Morgan says.

“Truly?”

“Truly,” Hannah whispers and accepts her sister’s hug. I don’t think Toivo has ever hugged me, certainly not willingly at least.

The three of them look a lot alike, except Aoife has grown her curls out long where Morgan’s are cut into a bushy halo. Aoife’s eyes are a little more green than gray. She’s tall, a bit taller than Morgan even, with long legs I can’t help but envy given how I’m barely five foot one on a good day.

“Hannah was a star out there. What you did was really brave.” Morgan winks at his little sister and Hannah beams. “This is my friend, Taika,” he says. “They and them pronouns, please.”

“Oh, like Kelly.” Hannah is totally accepting.

It sets off a bath bomb of fizzy warmth inside my chest.

Friend. He called me his friend.

For now, the little voice quips. I bite my inner cheek hard enough to hurt in an attempt to shut that voice up.

“Taika, nice to meet you,” Aoife says. “I have Thaumaturgy with your brother.”

“Poor you,” I say and Aoife laughs, a warm and infectious sound that makes me like her immediately. “You have Joakim for conjuring, don’t you?” I ask, still needing to iron out a few details in my germinating plan.

“Yes, but not today. That critter came from the other class,” she says, her accent making all the consonants soft and round. The other class being Toivo’s. “Someone must’ve got their summoning spell backward,” Aoife continues. “Bogles are graylisted.”

“Why?” Hannah asks.

“On account of their being wicked little creatures with very nasty intentions. They’re very good at creating chaos. Not for an amateur summoner.” Aoife glances around the hallway, scanning faces as they pass.

“You looking for someone?” Morgan asks.