To be honest, I wasn’t sure why they worried about it. Que sera sera, and all that. With footholds in every major city in the country, not to mention representatives in the House of Lords, I suspect that Order will be standing long after the university has crumbled into decay.

I avoid this part of town as much as I can. Other taxi drivers can reap the benefits of students separating coins from pocket fluff to pay their fares. I’m not going to let the Order keep me out of my town but neither am I going to wave my existence in their faces.

Winter and I strolled down the pavement towards the main doors. Well, I say strolled: I strolled and Winter marched. Still, it did afford me a very enjoyable view of his arse, which was a particularly tight and well-rounded specimen. He might have had a rod jammed up it but that didn’t mean I couldn’t appreciate the way it was put together. I was considering whether he maintained a regime that involved several hundred squats a day when he turned round and caught me staring. For the briefest moment, I thought he looked amused.

‘Do you like what you see?’ he growled.

I shrugged. I’d been caught out; there was no point in denying it. ‘Yeah,’ I said. ‘I do.’

‘And how would you feel if I afforded you the same attention?’

‘Hey, I’m all for equality.’ I turned round to give him the same view of me as I’d had of him. All I heard, however, was a loud scoff and him striding away from me. A girl could get a serious complex hanging around him for too long.

I caught up with him, forcing my legs to move faster so I could keep up. The few students milling around were giving way to more and more red-cloaked Order witches. Considering the wide berth they gave us, coupled with the looks cast in his direction, Winter was both admired and respected. I stifled a smile. Wait until they found out who he was supposed to be working with.

No one had recognised me yet because they didn’t expect me to be here. It was some years since I’d trodden these stones but I still remembered what this place was like; word would get around quickly enough. That wasn’t my ego talking; I was being realistic. There’s nothing like several covens of witches for passing around juicy gossip.

‘Adeptus!’ a voice called from behind us. ‘Adeptus Exemptus Winter!’

Winter stopped walking and I smirked. ‘Always got time for an adoring fan, then?’ I murmured under my breath.

He looked irritated but didn’t say anything. ‘Practicus Lindman,’ he said, greeting the First Level young woman. ‘What can I do for you?’

I stilled. Anthea. I’d not seen or spoken to her in over eight years. She appeared considerably more serious than the girl I used to giggle with over fake IDs and attempts to complete complicated runes to encourage acne-free skin and glossy hair. She didn’t even have the pink dye any more; instead her hair was a shiny brown and held up in a sombre bun.