Themis didn't react to the girl's attempted deflection. Alright, either this girl was breaking curfew or, tragically, she could be telling the truth. Themis opted to test the theory, knowing that a lie would break the girl before it had Themis giving up and apparating home. Even if she wasn't a professor, she was a mother. It would take much more than a child's posturing to get her to leave.
She was quickly gathering the opinion that the child was not, in fact, joking as the deep of the night darkened, lights going out in the village around them. The young girl made a whistle of the grass and Themis hid her smile in the darkness. She was fond of doing the same, as a girl.
She was silent for a while, simply listening to the sounds of the darkness, as she listened to the younger child. Themis considered her next words; considered them carefully, before saying. "Learning, growing, changes all of us. I am sure you have changed very much since you were in my class." She looked at the girl, really looked and tried to imagine her shrinking in her robes and eyes darting about the classroom. The image almost matched a memory. "You were sorted into Gryffindor, I believe. Miss?"
She was quickly gathering the opinion that the child was not, in fact, joking as the deep of the night darkened, lights going out in the village around them. The young girl made a whistle of the grass and Themis hid her smile in the darkness. She was fond of doing the same, as a girl.
She was silent for a while, simply listening to the sounds of the darkness, as she listened to the younger child. Themis considered her next words; considered them carefully, before saying. "Learning, growing, changes all of us. I am sure you have changed very much since you were in my class." She looked at the girl, really looked and tried to imagine her shrinking in her robes and eyes darting about the classroom. The image almost matched a memory. "You were sorted into Gryffindor, I believe. Miss?"
![[Image: Bka0H0x.jpeg]](https://i.imgur.com/Bka0H0x.jpeg)