I took her hand and shook it affirmatively. There was no harm in that, at least. And she was right, even the things that angered me had helped me in some way or another. We didn't see eye to eye, and I saw why the twins thought of her as an 'ice queen', but some redeeming qualities existed, even if they were probably self-serving in at least some way.

Yes, she has heard all the rumors about her. But nothing was more satisfying to have her Prefects or servants understand just what she is doing in this school. Whether Linnis did the same or not did not really concern her much. The teal haired woman could think what she wished. Both parties got what they wanted out of this deal. Linnis had her spirit back and Vera has at least another Head Girl actually willing to do her job for the most part. Furthermore, they had at least formed a sort of business relationship. Whether that grew or not only time would tell.

Giving a gentle squeeze, Vera released the other woman's hand. "Was there anything else you need, Miss Van Ryan?"

I shook my head slowly, "No, there really isn't anything." It had been an interesting exchange, I learned a great deal about what the face of the position had been, I learned that I had a lot of work to do to recapture the hearts and minds of the students here. But I also learned that Vera was, somewhere beneath it, just trying to make the best of a bad deal. That I identified with.

Maybe we'd both be forgiven one day.