It was something she had only noticed a week ago.

Alice had started coming to class late, and leaving even later. It didn't register as a problem at first. Plenty of students stayed after school for a variety of reasons, so she dismissed it.

But as time went on, she became increasingly suspicious. Alice had no friends at school, so that wasn't the reason she stayed behind. She wasn't a part of any clubs either, so that couldn't be the reason.

Amelia had tried her best to get the girl out of her shell, but nothing worked. Alice shied away from all physical contact and kept to herself. Nothing worked.

So she gave up.

Not entirely. But she did stop trying to include her in every activity.

She wasn't proud of it, but she had no choice. She had an entire class to run, and if Alice didn't want to interact with her classmates, then she wouldn't force her to.

Now, though, she was starting to get worried.

"Ms. Hailey?"

Amelia looked up at Alice, once again covered head to toe in a long-sleeved jacket and jeans two sizes too big.... In the middle of summer.

"Yes, Alice?"

The small blond girl looked like she was ready to bolt already. Amelia offered her a kind smile, and she relaxed somewhat, though she was still tense.

"I-I can't go on the school trip. M-My parents said no."

At this, Amelia frowned. That was.... unfortunate. She had organised the excursion as a reward for the class's good behaviour, and no one was better behaved than Alice.

"Oh. Well, maybe I could talk to them--"

"No!"

Alice's shout surprised her enough that she actually listened. When the girl realised what she'd said, her blue eyes widened in shock and terror and Amelia was suddenly struck by just her tiny she was.

"I-I-I d-didn't mean...."

She couldn't even finish her sentence before bolting out the door, leaving the red-haired teacher in shock. She snapped out of her stupor and her eyes narrowed.

Enough was enough.

It was a simple matter to find Alice's house. A simple locating charm and a teleportation spell and she was there.

She frowned at the sorry state of the building. The paint was faded and the wood seemed to be rotting in several places. She wasn't sure if the interior was any better. Still....

This was no place for a child.

The universe seemed to agree with her as she heard a scream and then a booming shout. She practically glided to the door then, though she didn't bother knocking when she arrived.

Instead, she merely walked through it.

The first room she entered was empty and she didn't waste any time before moving up the stairs where the voices came from. There was a broken-down door at the end of the hallway and Amelia dreaded what she would find.

When she saw the blood, her gaze hardened.

Faster than the two adults could perceive, she waved a hand and they flew backwards, crashing through a wooden wall.

Amelia immediately rushed over to Alice and cradled her limp, bleeding form. She muttered a few words and Alice's wounds started slowly closing. Just enough to prevent any bleeding until she could get medical help. As powerful as Amelia was, she wasn't a healer.

"Ugh." Alice's "parents" groaned and stirred, drawing Amelia's attention.

Taking care of subhuman pieces of trash, on the other hand? That was something she could do.

A quick, single-syllable utterance later and pitch-black flames consumed the entire house, burning everything inside to ash, including the souls of its two occupants.

Amelia watched it burn, then turned her gaze back to Alice, cradled in her arms.

"No one will ever hurt you again."

She'd make sure of it.