Although the primary focus of these "online blog posts" should be my plans for [undeserving of a name], they are not the primary focus of my life.

While it indubitably takes a high place among my priorities, as a senior witch at the great witch's coven, there are many projects where my oversight is required.

The execution of my plans, thus, takes the form of a chain of directives I pass along to my subordinates and [undeserving of a name] that should lead my mentee towards an outcome I desire.

This way of action, of course, carries a certain risk of things getting out of control.

For example, I have noticed an uncharacteristic change of activities from [undeserving of a name].

She seems to, according to the reports, have drastically reduced her relying on magic for trivial purposes since yesterday.

Considering the stressful environment of the office and her own busy schedule, she should have been relying on magic more than usual, rather than less.

I can see two possible reasons why it happened.

1) another junior witch has enlightened [undeserving of a name] to the ideas of rational spending and responsibility or, at least, to the general dislike among senior witches towards frivolous acts of magic.

With the office environment and culture being the way it is, it seems unlikely that a selfish witch would go out of her way to warn my mentee. But should this assumption turn out to be correct, I expect [undeserving of a name] to revert to her usual ways soon, even if she becomes more discreet.

In fact, this is the best scenario because once she reverts to her ways, I expect her to experience a rebound and become even more reckless.

2) A senior witch has admonished [undeserving of a name], or otherwise warned her about the dangers of frivolous magic.

This scenario is much more likely and is one of several I will have to prepare for.

It's possible that it was a coincidence and a senior witch has simply admonished my [undeserving of a name] out of sheer irritation - which would not be too terrible and cause, at worst, [undeserving of a name] to use magic at home during her private time.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

But it is also not unlikely that with an admonishment, [underserving of a name] has received a warning of dangers of such acts.

In this case I will have to mislead [undeserving of a name] personally. Thankfully, this should not be hard as long as she still trusts me. I will only need to clear up the space in my schedule for it and arrange for her to visit me or for me to visit her in an inconspicuous manner.

3) Worst case scenario - a senior witch has warned [undeserving of a name] of my plans.

This is a scenario I cannot call unlikely.

While I have been discreet about my actions, to a discerning senior witch it would prove effortless to see the intent behind them should they pay attention.

As it is an important time, few witches would go out of their way to scrutinise their colleagues but for those who have already completed their preparations it would not be impossible to find out and make a warning.

There are three most likely culprits, and for each case I will have to act differently.

First and most likely culprit is my Mentor. She has already shown her awareness of my plans by assigning me and [undeserving of a name] the task of writing "blog posts".

If it is indeed Her, then the extent of information [undeserving of a name] received would be minimal - both due to my Mentor's likely distaste for my mentee's habits and to satisfy Her tastes by watching my mentee's state of helplessness as she inevitably moves towards her impending doom.

It would implicate my plans and create a possibility of failure, but it is the mildest of the three possibilities.

The second most likely culprit is the deputy leader of the coven, Her Ladyship [redacted].

While the motive of my Mentor would be nothing more than to engage in some ill-natured fun, Lady [redacted] would want to get herself a mentee like [undeserving of a name].

I have concealed my [undeserving of a name] excelency and Lady [redacted] does not visit our coven branch often, but considering the numerous means That Lady has access to, I would not find it surprising if she had somehow found [undeserving of a name], took a liking to her and chose to earn her trust and favour in this way.

She will not disclose everything, nor will she be generous with help, however. She will use her knowledge as a leverage to hold power over [undeserving of a name] and will be open to negotiations with me.

The last and the least likely culprit on this list is myself.

While I have taken care to conceal my designs from my mentee, it is not impossible that she has still found flaws in my act which caused her to be put on edge and act with caution.

This would imply either fundamental problems with me or me underestimating my mentee's intelectual faculties and sensitivity.

Regardless of which of my assumptions is true, I will have to prepare accordingly.