Greyfriars Academy

Chapter 2

We had made our way to her office which was located on the second floor. She unlocked the door and held it open for me so I could walk in. Immediately, I was overwhelmed by the smell of fresh balsam with hints of vanilla. Her office was two stories, with a large iron chandelier hanging in the middle of the ceiling. Her simplistic, hand-carved wooden desk sat in the middle of the first floor on an antique rug. The wall behind her desk was completely made of windows which overlooked the lake below where a gym class was taking place. The remaining walls were covered in old wood paneling, likely original to the building. On the walls hung a map of the school, a world map, an old mirror which did not show a reflection, and in the corner hung a birdcage which was home to two tiny parakeets. The second floor of her office was her own personal library with floor to ceiling bookshelves filled with books and knick-knacks Lophora and previous headmasters have collected over the years.

Lophora entered the room and sat down in her chair. She gestured for me to sit across from her. I took my place in my chair as she pulled out a file from the cabinet behind her desk that had my name written on it. Lophora's eyes met mine as she slid the contents of the envelope out onto her desk.

"Eloise, I know that you have sensed for a while that you are gifted, but I also know that you are confused," she met my eyes with a reassuring gaze. "Do you see this map?" She asked as she pointed to the world map, which now had a tiny glowing dot located somewhere in Europe. I nodded and she continued, "Every time a person realizes they are gifted, truly gifted, a dot glows on the map showing me where they are. The day you realized you were gifted, your dot glowed brighter and stronger than any dot I had ever seen." I stayed quiet, unsure what to say. "I sent you that letter and brought you here with hopes that you will allow us to teach you our ways; teach you how to control your gifts and to step into the role you are meant to ."

She paused and began to look through the papers from my folder. "Eloise Montgomery, age 21, born in San Diego, adopted into a wealthy family in New York City." She had done her research. "One brother, three cats, one ex-boyfriend, three lovers," Her eyes met mine and I swear I saw the slightest sparkle.

"How you do you know all this?" I asked.

"It's my job to know, Eloise. One might say it is my gift, others may say I am a professional googler" she laughed to herself and continued through my papers. She handed me a copy of a class schedule, a map, a key, and a school supply list. "Eloise, the purpose of bringing you here is so you can understand and develop all of your gifts. I can sense that being an empath is your primary gift, but you are capable of many things, things you haven't even imagined. I have handed you your class schedule. These classes are catered to you and your gifts. We offer many different programs here at Greyfriars Academy; witchcraft, wizardry, warlock studies, programs for empaths, werewolves, shapeshifters, vampires, anything you could possibly imagine we have. Normally, you would have been assigned a female partner; someone in the year above you with similar gifts who can help you along. To my surprise Eloise, there are not many students like you. Since the semester has already started there was only one available partner who has slightly similar gifts as you; Levi Augustin. He is a third year and one of our best students. I expect you to learn from him as he is your best resource aside from me of course," as her hair spontaneously tossed over her shoulder. She looked at me curiously, as if she could read my own thoughts. Her eyebrows furrowed and she began shuffling the papers and placing them back in the folder.

"I know you are overwhelmed. How can I help," she asked as she tilted her head inquisitively.

"I don't know. I've always known there was something off about me. I've always been able to read people's thoughts and feel their feelings. I just assumed I was a medium like Theresa Caputo or something. I never considered the possibility that there are others like me. I couldn't have imagined that witches or werewolves existed. My parents didn't prepare me for any of this," I said as tears filled my eyes due to my anger making its way to the surface. When it comes to other people's emotions I can keep it pretty well controlled, unless it's Lophora's apparently. But when it comes to expressing my own emotions I am a therapist's worst nightmare. Lophora patiently handed me a tissue and ushered me to continue. "And now you expect me, a nobody from New York to be paired with some random guy and learn from him when I literally know nothing about myself or this new world I've just entered. 6 months ago I was prepping my applications for PA school. And now I am here finding out that the supernatural world is real and I happen to be a freak amongst them." Tears began flowing down my cheeks. A sudden wave of grief flowed through me as I found myself longing for my old life, for my mom, for my cats, for a world where I didn't know that any of this existed. I wanted nothing more than to walk out of her office and leave this behind. To apply to PA school next spring. To return to working as an emergency department tech. Lophora reached across her desk and placed her hand on my hand. Immediately my spiraling began to lessen and the sense of being overwhelmed began to fade. I met her gaze again, expecting to sense some disapproval from her; however, the only thing she allowed me to feel was a sense of safety and hope.