Professor Bramble cleared his throat, ever so softly, as if that alone could distract from the psychic intensity radiating off East like heat from a sunlit crystal. "Well, if you look at the, ah, broader context—"
"There was no context, Bramble," East cut in, not unkindly, but very much like someone about to grade a test with a red quill dipped in disappointment. "There was an event, and it was forbidden. Contextually speaking, that makes you all… law-breaking spell hooligans."
Professor Thaddeus leaned back, arms folded behind his head. "I mean, in our defense, it worked. The spell did give us a lead."
"Ah yes," East said slowly, "because nothing screams 'academic integrity' like accidentally unleashing a pocket blizzard and tearing open a sealed frost chamber from the inside out."
"You make it sound so dramatic," Professor Ilyra mumbled.
"It snowed in the Fire Wing," East replied flatly. "The Fire Wing, Ilyra. The Flame Phoenix had to be rescued with oven mitts."
