Millie tipped her head, her cheeks growing warm underneath the delightful smile blooming beneath them. The compliment tickled her ears, prompting an itch that she knew she mustn't try to scratch. That would draw her mother to her in an instant, so the young witch put her hand at her sternum instead. It felt natural enough, despite her normal inclination to reach up to the silver chain at her neck, grasping for the satisfaction of its soothing texture running beneath her fingers.
"Thank you, Daffy," she said simply. She wanted to say more, return the remark in kind. Still, the young witch remained quiet, her hand unmoving from the green fabric against her chest. It filled with a breath, a hope that she might find a few more words for her cousin, and then stillness once more. Millie was grateful when her older relative filled the silence again, inquiring the way adults did about younger people.
"Pleasantly, I suppose," Millie found her attention drawn to the tree, its decorations spanning the range of crafting skills. Some looked like they might have been made by her baby cousins, if she didn't spot their scrawling signatures or dedications to her aunt and uncle. They cheered her smile upward, rising with her confidence, and the young witch turned her face back to Daffy. "I'm getting better marks this year, they're just not that easy to get. I positively dread Potions, and I don't think the Astronomy professor likes me very much."
It felt that way, in any case, from the professor's curt remarking that her observations consistently including both Aries and Pisces reflections. Millie thought those would improve her grades, even if she had more to say about Pisces than her own celestial sign.
"Oh," the young witch remembered at last, hardly noticing that her thumb was rubbing against the back of her necklace now, "I entered the dueling tournament a couple weeks ago. Don't tell my father, I didn't get very far anyway." All Millie had really earned from it was a shinier spot on her robes, right where she had landed from Eros Mohr's disarming spell. She didn't dare tell anyone else in her family, or they might learn that she lost to a second year. Her thumb paused for a moment as the young witch realized where it was, and then she continued, almost wanting her mother to spot it from across the room.
Suddenly, the younger Potts girl wished she had a cup of the cider like Daffy had. Or at least the hot cocoa, Millie wouldn't think anyone would let her do much more than taste the cider this year. Next year, she decided, next year she would ask for a cup of it for herself. Her eyes considered her cousin's cup carefully, too acutely aware that she had fallen silent again.
She hoped Daffy wouldn't hold it against her.
"Thank you, Daffy," she said simply. She wanted to say more, return the remark in kind. Still, the young witch remained quiet, her hand unmoving from the green fabric against her chest. It filled with a breath, a hope that she might find a few more words for her cousin, and then stillness once more. Millie was grateful when her older relative filled the silence again, inquiring the way adults did about younger people.
"Pleasantly, I suppose," Millie found her attention drawn to the tree, its decorations spanning the range of crafting skills. Some looked like they might have been made by her baby cousins, if she didn't spot their scrawling signatures or dedications to her aunt and uncle. They cheered her smile upward, rising with her confidence, and the young witch turned her face back to Daffy. "I'm getting better marks this year, they're just not that easy to get. I positively dread Potions, and I don't think the Astronomy professor likes me very much."
It felt that way, in any case, from the professor's curt remarking that her observations consistently including both Aries and Pisces reflections. Millie thought those would improve her grades, even if she had more to say about Pisces than her own celestial sign.
"Oh," the young witch remembered at last, hardly noticing that her thumb was rubbing against the back of her necklace now, "I entered the dueling tournament a couple weeks ago. Don't tell my father, I didn't get very far anyway." All Millie had really earned from it was a shinier spot on her robes, right where she had landed from Eros Mohr's disarming spell. She didn't dare tell anyone else in her family, or they might learn that she lost to a second year. Her thumb paused for a moment as the young witch realized where it was, and then she continued, almost wanting her mother to spot it from across the room.
Suddenly, the younger Potts girl wished she had a cup of the cider like Daffy had. Or at least the hot cocoa, Millie wouldn't think anyone would let her do much more than taste the cider this year. Next year, she decided, next year she would ask for a cup of it for herself. Her eyes considered her cousin's cup carefully, too acutely aware that she had fallen silent again.
She hoped Daffy wouldn't hold it against her.
![[Image: uHwnE8q.png]](https://i.imgur.com/uHwnE8q.png)