The protege accepted me and started to like me better (6)
I believe the answer is:
warmed
'started to like me better' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this definition defines the answer.
'the protege accepted me' is the wordplay.
'the protege' becomes 'ward'.
'accepted' is an insertion indicator.
'ward' going around 'me' is 'WARMED'.
'and' is the link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for warmed that I've seen before include "gave enthusiasm" , "given thermal treatment" , "Heated" .)