Maybe she was being hard on Gavin, coming in off the street, so to speak, and laying down the law on how he should treat his sister, but Sabrina had a sister herself, (albeit a younger one) and knew what sibling teasing could feel like. And in her limited experience, men could be very insensitive about this kind of thing.

She was surprised when Gavin acquiesced, though.

"No. You're right. I probably could go a bit lighter on the teasing."

Sabrina looked at him; reassessing this young man.

He looked down into his teacup, both hands wrapped loosely around it. "So, former Head Girl, then? I can see why,"

This line also took Sabrina by surprise. There was definitely more to Caitlin’s brother than she had thought. Her other brother, mind you, Sabrina would gladly forgo seeing again.

"Were you this tough on those in your charge back at Hogwarts?" he asked.

“Oh, I don’t know. I shouldn’t think you are the kind to be stricken by a gentle rebuke to be kinder,” Said Sabrina, smiling. “You don’t strike me as the kind who gets his feeling hurt by some plain speaking.”

"And just what does a former Head Girl find to do in the world with school behind her?"

That had Sabrina laughing out loud. “Sadly, there is no career path based on being Head Girl, is there, Caitlin?” She shrugged at her friend and then gave a wobbly thumbs up, to demonstrate an uncertain approval of her own words.

“This particular ex-Head Girl is in college. Art school as it happens, in Norwich. I’m doing fashion.” She tried to downplay her educational efforts, because there was nothing after Hogwarts for most witches. “I was just telling Caitlin earlier about working for a friend of my cousin in Milan over the summer. That was fabulous! So interesting, and I learned such a lot! Hard work, mind you. The Milanese are not your stereotyped fun loving Italians. At least not my boss!” She smiled broadly at the memory of staying behind to get some pattern grading done in time for the end of the week meeting. “I won’t pretend I was suffering, though. I loved every minute.”

Sabrina sipped her tea and chatted on. “The plan is to get my degree, and maybe work a couple of years in Milan after that. Of course, I’d love to go to Paris and New York, to see what the fashion scene is like there, but the goal of all this is to have a little design house of my own. To make something more modern but still to the taste of your well to do English witch.” She smiled over at Caitlin. “Special rates for former Head Girls, of course.”

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