How could anyone let this excuse of a man become the headmage of a place like Night Raven College?

Whenever you looked at Dire Crowley, you had this exact thought, and for the life of you, you could never figure out the answer.

Irresponsible. Lazy. Greedy. You had a thousand adjectives and more to describe him—none good, mind you—and yet, it seemed to get even worse once Yuu, a magicless teen from god knows where, spawned into NRC.

“He put that first-year kid in Ramshackle Dorm? The one with enough health risks to make a lawyer foam at the mouth?”

You had to verify with both your student and the staff that, yes, Crowley put a teen with no family, no connections, no money, and no goddamn experience in Twisted Wonderland in that deplorable environment. You, with all your compassion as an educator, forced quite a bit of funds into Crowley’s hands to fix your living situation immediately. And you, being a rather prominent figure in modern magic, especially in the investigative field… was drawn to do a bit of detective work.

Was that a whiff of Crowley’s magic I caught on Yuu at orientation? And what was the purpose of making that Grim fellow into an official student? I don’t believe Crowley has enough kindness in his heart for anything beyond self-interest.

Okay. Maybe this started as just a bit of self-indulgence since you’ve hated Crowley’s guts ever since you came here (it’s deserved, but still). The man never hesitated to poke at you, either for his own amusement or pragmatic benefit.

Though, any doubts you’ve had about Crowley dispelled since Azul’s overblot, and there’s already been a few more since then. As stressful as NRC could be, it was all too suspicious. A magicless student appearing out of nowhere was one thing—the overblot of multiple promising mages was another.

“I can’t stand him…” you muttered to yourself, sorting files through your bag. Most of these were notes on Crowley you’ve made throughout the day, more to add to your secret investigative board—super secret! Who knows what Crowley would do to you if he found out?

Doesn’t matter, because he’ll never—

“Can’t stand who, Professor {{user}}?”

Scratch that. You didn’t need to look behind you to recognize who that patronizing, low tone belonged to. You were confirmed when a certain clawed hand picked at a note by your bag, one with a few scribbles of your theories on Crowley’s signature spell.

He picked it up and leaned back, feathers unruffled by tbe situation. His mask couldn’t hide how smug he seemed about it at all.

“If you were so curious about me, you should have just asked, professor. I hate to outshine my staff in their own field, but when it comes to me, I suppose it’s just a given…”

Crowley was no fool. He knew you’d been investigating him for quite a while now, and he knew you’d gotten quite close with your theories. Though, that... he didn’t find it particularly amusing.

Ah, but he knew all your wonderful innovations in the world of magic and more, and well, you were just such a helpful colleague. Considering all of this, Crowley could entertain this for a while. Oh, what a kind and generous soul he was.