Page 48 of Magdalene Nox

“Such adulation you bestow upon her, Professor.” Acid dripped from her every word, but Magdalene couldn’t find it in herself to regret it. This woman had been one second away from throwing her on the table and devouring her whole and yet, here she stood, tall and proud, defending someone who wouldn’t object to Magdalene being as dead as the very flowers George had brought in.

“Orla Fenway would never do this, Headmistress. You said yourself, she’s been confronting you and fighting you left, right, and center every day. Why send you dead flowers or put dead animals in your room? And why would she even have access to your room?”

“Well, the first rat was found here in my office and I haven’t changed the locks since I started at Dragons.”

Sam flinched, the implication that Orla easily could have gotten a dead rat into the Headmistress’ office if she’d wanted to clear. Magdalene knew she’d scored a hit, yet Sam was relentless.

“How long has this been going on?”

“It started sometime after Lily sprained her ankle on those wet tiles.”

Sam hung her head, her cheeks flaming red. Had she really already forgotten? Or had she figured it was a mere accident? Whatever her thoughts, it was clear that she hadn’t foreseen further incidents and their aftershocks in the form of dead creatures and massacred flowers.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“For all we knew, it could have been you, Sam.” George’s voice made both of them jump. Magdalene had all but forgotten the secretary was in the room with them. Judging by Sam’s expression, so had she, and it took her a second longer to recover. Unsurprisingly, considering the allegation George had flung at her.

“George is joking.” Magdalene deliberately gentled her voice. She would take George to task later. Sam did not deserve to be accused like this. Even at her worst, Magdalene had never seriously considered her to be at the heart of this.

Unable to hold the gray, earnest gaze any longer, she finally turned away from Sam and moved to look out the window into the pouring rain pelting the glass in rivulets.

Behind her, George had the grace to hurriedly amend her earlier statement. “Yeah, I’m joking, Sam, of course. But this is getting out of hand.”

“The police—”

“And what will we say?” Continuing to stare into the distance, Magdalene could hear George speak and pace the room at the same time, her heavy steps, despite the petite frame, leaving indents on Magdalene’s thoughts, tangling them up even more. “That we are receiving wilted flowers? Hardly a crime.”

She wanted to hang her head, falter, but she kept her back ramrod straight. She was so tired of it all. So tired, and this day was endless.

“Enough drama, George. Just throw these away. If more arrive, let me know preferably after you dispose of them. And let’s get the locksmith in here to change most of the locks in the school and dormitories. It might have been a mistake, taking some things on faith.”

Judging by the amount of clattering and mumbling behind her, George was making a huge production of dragging the massive bouquet out of the office. When the door finally snapped closed, Magdalene did not turn around from the window. She felt so fragile; she was afraid one wrong move from Sam could shatter her.

* * *

She sensed morethan saw Sam approach her. For a moment, they stood side by side, mirrored in the cloudy glass, looking at the storm outside.

“I would have never done… that.” Sam stumbled over the words, but Magdalene ignored it and simply shook her head.

“I never thought you would. That last comment about taking things on faith. It wasn’t about you.”

Sam stepped closer, and the moment was now charged with a different kind of electricity, one of comfort and intimacy. The cocoon that this intimacy was weaving around them gave Magdalene another surprise for the night. She was suddenly aware of exactly what she was about to say, and she also knew that she was absolutely powerless to stop herself. Magdalene wanted to tell truths to this woman. To share pieces of herself with Sam she had never shown anyone else.

In fact, she understood the enormous risk she was taking by even broaching any of the subjects she was about to, and yet… Sam’s face, full of sadness and longing, gazing back at her in the reflection of the stormy window, was slowly knitting small pieces of her heart together. It was impossible to resist. She let the words fall, as both flower petals and grenades. Sam’s closeness, that now familiar warmth, emboldening her.

“For as long as I can remember, I have always had this feeling of being stalked. Like I was prey to a wolf that was simply taking its time before pouncing. Sometimes the sensation is so strong, I swear I could just turn around and see the animal looking at me from the shadows. I never simply leave things to chance. I should have changed those locks a long time ago.” She stopped to take a deep breath, considering her words more carefully now, reluctant to wound with what was to come.

Still, it felt right to say it. They’d been dancing around it long enough.

“But I never for one second thought it could be you. You hold very obvious leverage where I’m concerned. If you had wanted to really hurt me, scare me, or make me reconsider some things around here, all you had to do was use said leverage.” Magdalene could feel her heart hammer in her chest as she tried very hard to solely state the facts, get the words out, then let the chips fall as they would.

“You mean…” Sam faltered, shaking her head, then raising a questioning eyebrow at Magdalene.

“I mean that you could rather truthfully accuse me of sexual harassment or favoritism based on our previous history, and short of outright lying, I’d have very few ways to deny it.”

She didn’t acknowledge that she’d considered, for the briefest of moments. In the reflection, Magdalene could see the shock on Sam’s face as her head snapped around to face her fully. When Magdalene didn’t avert her gaze from the window, Sam grabbed her by the shoulders and forced her to meet her eyes.

“What happened in New York had nothing to do with sexual harassment. How can you think so after everything?” Sam struggled with words, her mouth opening and closing. Magdalene remained silent so as to not interrupt, sensing how important it was for Sam to say what she needed to.

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