The Witch's Daughter

Chapter 4

I looked down at the crisp piece of paper the teacher handed to me the next morning.  It was my class schedule.  "Let's compare!" Annabelle said.

"Wow!  We have Study of Magic together!" Annabelle said excitedly.  "We don't have any other classes together, but thats okay.  I'll still see you at lunch!" Annabelle was sounding upbeat as always.

"I didn't sign up for Study of Magic.  There must be some mistake.  I signed up for astronomy as my elective."

"Well what did you put down as your second choice?"

I thought back to when I was filling out the form.  I had been in a bit of a rush, but I thought I filled it out completly.  I would never put Study of Magic as a class I would take, I came to the Academy to get away from magic.

"I must have forgotten to write down what my second choice was.  I'm such an idiot"

"You're very smart Elynora, you just forgot.  Maybe we can tell someone and get you switched out." 

"I'll try talking to the Study of Magic teacher later." I said, I was worried that I would have to take the class, but I needed to focus on getting downstairs to breakfast first.

My classes were amazing. I had never been more excited and thrilled about learning in my life. We went in depth about topics that were really interesting, and I understood most if it pretty well. The only thing I wasn't a huge fan of was the massive amount of homework I had at the end of the day. But I still had one more class left, the class I had been dreading since that morning: Study of Magic. I was not at all looking forward to it.

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I looked around the room of desks. There was a student in each one, except for the one next to Cecil, who was sitting next to Annabelle. I was happy to have friends to sit next to as I sat down. I looked around the small classroom. There were about twenty desks, a writing board for the teacher, and a large desk in the front where the teacher was supposed to sit. On the walls were posters with quotes about magic.  The only thing missing was the teacher.

Ms. Rylum, the teacher who had led us to the Dining Hall earlier, walked in. "Hello I'm Ms. Rylum, some of you may have already met me. I'll be your Study of Magic teacher, a class most students call S.O.M. . In this class you will learn where magic comes from, how it is used, and more. And yes there will be homework on the weekends. Any questions?"

The once chattering class was dead silent. Something about Ms. Rylum was very intimidating.

"Good. Now let's begin."

The class was more interesting than I had expected. We talked about how magic was used, which I already knew plenty about, but then we talked about how magic was abused. It happened more often than most people thought. Some witches would use magic for their own purposes, often hurting others to get what they wanted. It was very hard to catch, because most people who didn't have the gift of magic had trouble knowing when magic was being used, even if it was in plain sight. Only witches could stop magical crimes.

Even though I had no interest in magic. Ms. Rylum made the class fascinating. I wanted to know more about magic, when before I wanted to leave it behind for good. After the class was over, Annabelle came to talk to me, "Are you still going to switch classes?" She asked me.

"I don't think so." I said, "I like the class, and Ms.Rylum is a really good teacher. "

"I'm so glad you're staying! It would be horrible to go the whole school year without having any classes at all with you."

"You're being a bit dramatic," I laughed, "You would have survived, you're one of the most outgoing people I know."

"Yes but you're my friend and I like having friends in my classes."

"Fair enough," I said. We walked back to our room together.

As soon as I got back to my room I started on my S.O.M. homework.  I flipped open the textbook and began to read the chapter on misuses of magic and how to spot it. 

'One of the most infamous witches ever to misuse magic was a man named Axel Overton. He is know for killing any witches who perceives to be a threat to him. The only way non-magical people know when he is the murderer is when they see faint green smoke surrounding the victim. Green smoke is know to be his signature.'

Next to the passage was a picture of him. He looked young, and had dark hair. Something about his face seemed strange to me, but I couldn't decide how. Even more strange was what the book said about green smoke. Green smoke came out of my locket! That worried me more than I wanted to admit. It seemed like it was a very weird coincidence, if it was a coincidence, and if it wasn't... I didn't want to think about what that could mean.

"Annabelle, have you ever heard of Axel Overton?" I asked.

"Of course I've heard of him," She said.

"Well I've never heard of him. But he seems pretty famous according to this book."

"How could you-Oh right I forgot, you're from a small town. It must be really remote if you've never heard of Overton before."

"What do you know about him?" I asked.

"He used to kill people. Mostly powerful witches, but once or twice he killed detectives who were investigating him. He would always leave green smoke surrounding his victims. About seventeen years ago, he disappeared. Most people think he's dead but no one knows for sure. Everyone is just happy he's gone. They all thought he was going to try and overthrow the government. He was a powerful witch, he could have done it alone."

"Does green smoke always mean it's him?"

"No one else uses green smoke because it reminds people of him. But you shouldn't worry about him."

I took a deep breath. "Annabelle, there's something I need to tell you."