"I decided against calling the University together," said the Headmistress, to the onlooking crowd of eighty or so teachers and faculty. "Instead, I will be relying on you all to spread the word of what I am saying here tonight, because I need to be frank, and I felt that such information would be more easily conveyed by a trusted mentor."

The faculty looked surprised at this news, wondering if the Headmistress really meant for them to parrot her liberal opinions to their students, wondering what was in store for them...

"The fact is that a boy was killed," she said slowly, "and we all know why."

"Forgive me, Headmistress," came a snide voice of Magister Bavaldi, "but that was an accident, wasn't it? The boy tripped on his own feet."

"He was the subject of a prank," said Ophelia sharply. "As a result, a roomful of our students will need counseling, and a boy was severely beaten and remains in hospital care. If we do not examine why this happened, more incidents will occur."

There was a thick silence, wherein several members of the faculty coughed into their hands and exchanged meaningful looks.

"I expect you all remember why we gate passives," the Headmistress continued. "Their diableries are extremely dangerous. Had the boy been cursed with a more destructive diablerie, those students might have been killed. This incident is merely a symptom of a more dangerous problem. Passive-baiting has become something of a sport with the students; they have stopped seeing our passives as unfortunates and begun to see them as objects worthy of ridicule and derision. I am disappointed to see that this opinion is mirroring the general attitude of the galdori people."

Her voice was tense and stern, not angry, but resonated with authority. In the back of the room, Professor Devlin watched her, admiring for a moment her control. He recognized the words she was using; to less sympathetic audiences, referring to a passive as an equal was a sure way to get them to ignore you. The Headmistress was carefully tempering her words.

"If this passive-baiting does not cease, there will be another incident like the one we saw last week," she said. "Though we do not yet know the cause of a passive's diablerie, current research suggests that they seem to function as a self-defense mechanism. We must take this new development as a cautionary tale. Passives must be kept calm and unharmed.

"This means an immediate moratorium on passive-baiting as well as any form of corporal punishment. I have informed the Matrons and Patrons that they are to cease using force to control the passive population. This is a necessary measure," she said louder, speaking over the sudden outburst of chatter in the room. Several faculty members looked as though they were about to walk out.

"Are you so angry, then, that passives won't be beaten?" said Ophelia suddenly, standing, a piece of hair beginning to come loose from her tight bun. "Does it affect you personally? You should be ashamed. We are not monsters or savages, beating our brothers and sisters who have been so unfairly cheated out of their birthright."

"They will run wild," protested Magister Bavaldi loudly, to vocal agreement.

"You do not know that," said the Headmistress, beginning to lose her cool. Devlin frowned, seeing the dark circles under her eyes, her tight mouth. "I believe the passives at our University will continue to serve their own people. Would you prefer for more students to be hurt? Perhaps a building has to blow up before you see that I am right."

The faculty quieted, beginning to listen once more, though they did not look very happy; several looked apprehensive, and there was more than one muttering "I knew this would come," or "Told you so."

"You do not agree with me, I understand this," she said, and once again she was the calm, authoritative person that she had been at the beginning of the meeting. "But you do see the necessity for what I am ordering. I do not want to be responsible, through negligence, of a student's death. Passives must be kept unharmed, by any means necessary. Any student - or faculty - who lays hand on a passive will be severely punished."

"And we're to spread this news to our students?" Professor Runesrow asked quietly.

"Yes, right away," said Ophelia, nodding. "I will see to it that posters are printed and passed around." She paused, looking around at the annoyed and perplexed faces of the teachers. "I need there to be consensus on this ruling. In these troubling times, we cannot be seen to be divided on any issue as important as this. Are we in agreement?"

There was a pause and a lot more muttering before the room halfheartedly said, "Aye."