Chapter 2
Anja
There's a surprising amount of chatter in the room as I enter, though no one is paying attention to me.
I tuck a strand of hair behind my ear and turn my attention towards the woman with frizzy hair and thick black glasses sitting behind her desk.
She looks up, almost surprised to find me standing in front of her.
"Hi," I say with an awkward wave. She nods and checks one of the main pieces of paper spread over her desk.
"Name?" she asks.
"Anja Greystone," I respond.
She ticks a spot on her sheet of paper, that I assume must have my name on. "Take one of the spare seats. There's one over there." She gestures to the left.
I'm not entirely sure that over there is enough direction, but as I look over the long wooden laboratory benches, I realise there's only actually one spot free. I guess that tells me where to sit.
I head over to it, trying not to feel as if everyone is watching me, despite the fact I doubt anyone is.
Most of the other students seem to be paying more attention to their friends than to me.
A quick scan of the room makes me realise that I don't know anyone here.
Maybe I should have waited to take Potions until I could do it with one of my friends, but it's too late now.
I take a moment to get a good look at the guy I'm supposed to be sitting next to.
I'm guessing he's around my age, with dark grey skin.
He pushes some of his black hair away from his face, revealing a batlike ear sticking out from beneath it.
Despite the fact he's clearly tall and broad, I find the ears almost endearing.
I reach the empty seat and clear my throat, hoping he hasn't caught me staring at him, though I don't think so.
He looks up, his black eyes, which almost seem to have a hint of purple within them, meeting mine and holding me captive. My pulse pounds in my ears and I'm suddenly very aware of everything around me.
"Hi," I manage to squeak, trying not to stare, but doing a terrible job at it.
I'm not sure what it is about him that has me so enraptured.
Maybe his eyes, or the way his dark grey skin only enhances the shape of his jaw.
"I'm Anja," I manage to say as I hold out my hand to him. Though perhaps that's weirdly formal.
Before I can pull my hand away, he reaches out to take it, causing tingles to race up and down me. "Nice to meet you, Anja." His deep voice perfectly matches everything else about him. "I'm Cethin."
"It's good to meet you too." I let go of his hand, only to notice a disappointed expression flit over his face. I try to ignore it, mostly because I think it's in my imagination. I want him to be as affected by me as I am by him.
I set my satchel down on the table and busy myself unpacking, mostly so I don't keep staring at Cethin and admiring how good his uniform looks on him. I don't want him to think that I'm rude.
I glance at him from the corner of my eye, getting a small smile in return. Heat rises to my cheeks, and I wish my hair were loose so I could hide it.
I pull out my chair and make a big show of sitting down.
"All right class," the professor calls. "We're about to begin."
A hush sounds over the room save for a few whispers.
"I'm Professor Fairburn, and I'll be taking you for Potions this semester. We'll be looking into the applications of both with the intention of good and evil."
"Why would we learn about the application for evil?" I whisper to myself. "I can't imagine anyone here is going to want to use it for evil."
Cethin lets out a deep chuckle. "You really believe everyone is good?" He keeps his voice low so he doesn't draw any attention to our conversation.
"Why wouldn't they be?" I'm sure the academy thinks about that before they accept their students.
"It's not how the world works," he points out. "And people change. Maybe you'll turn evil in twenty years."
"I mean, I'd like to think not. But that would be much less of a risk if the academy weren't teaching us bad applications of things."
He shrugs. "How can you fight against what you don't know? Good isn't the absence of evil, it's the choice not to use it."
Professor Fairburn clears her throat. "Mr Armstrong, Ms Greystone, do you have something you want to share with the rest of the class?"
My cheeks flame red. "No, Professor. Sorry."
She raises an eyebrow.
Cethin clears his throat. "I was asking Anja about the addition of evil to the curriculum."
I shoot him a surprised look, though I'm grateful that he's taking the blame for me.
"Ah, an excellent topic." The professor's face lights up as she ponders it. "And one we will touch on as the class goes on. The ethics of evil are a fascinating subject. Perhaps the two of you might choose it as the subject of your term paper."
"We can do that," Cethin responds.
"I'm not sure we can," I mutter under my breath.
"You want to know why they teach it and how it works, what better way?" he asks softly.
"Good, good," Professor Fairburn says. "As I was saying before the intriguing interruption, we'll be looking into the theory of the subject, and there will be some practical applications too.
We'll be starting with the easiest applications of the craft and work upwards. I do want you all to pass this class."
"Even if we're assigned hard essay topics," I muse.
Cethin laughs. "It could be fun. If you like late nights at the library."
"I don't mind them," I admit. "Though they're better with company."
"Then it's a good thing we're supposed to do the essay assignment together." He flashes me a charming smile that makes something within me react even though it has to reason to.
"You might be terrible company in the library," I point out. "Maybe you chew loudly, or insist on cracking the spines of books."
"Are those the standards that you're measuring terrible at?" He seems to be teasing, but I don't know him well enough to be sure.
"In the library, yes."
"Then you will be glad to know that I don't like to eat in the library, and I've never knowingly cracked the spine of a book," he responds.
"But you have unknowingly?"
"I can't answer that, or I would have knowingly cracked the spine." He grins at me.
A small laugh escapes me in response. "Then I think you will be an acceptable study partner," I respond.
"An excellent decision for you to make considering we're stuck together now."
"Only because you butted into a conversation that wasn't yours to comment on." I check the front to make sure our professor isn't paying us any attention.
"If you didn't want the response, you shouldn't have said it out loud."
"That might not have helped. For all I know, you could be a mind-reader."
He raises an eyebrow. "I'm not sure I'd enjoy that very much."
"Oh?"
"People can be judgy."
My cheeks flame red.
"Worried about what you're thinking about?" he asks, a hint of curiosity in his voice.
I push a stray strand of hair behind my ear. "It's not what you think it is."
"You don't know what I think," he points out. "Unless you're trying to tell me that you're a mind-reader."
"All right, class," Professor Fairburn calls, cutting off our conversation. "If you get out your textbooks, we'll start with the exercise on page thirty-two."
Panic fills me as I realise I don't have a textbook.
"Here, you can share mine," Cethin says, sliding his book in between us.
"So you are a mind-reader," I mutter.
He chuckles. "Your face is just very easy to read." He leans closer. "And that includes what you were thinking when we were introduced." The low, inviting tone makes me think he's telling the truth about that.
I swallow hard. I'm not supposed to be thinking of anyone like that, especially when I don't know them.
"I don't know what you're talking about," I murmur.
"Of course you don't." A satisfied smile flits over his face, and his ears perk up to go along with it, as if they're responding to his amusement. It makes me like them even more.
I ignore him, choosing to focus on the task at hand instead. But it's nearly impossible to with how close the two of us are sitting. No matter how I move, I can sense him. It's almost as if we're connected in a way that I'm not with anyone else.
I shake my head, hoping to rid myself of some of the delusion. I have no idea what's causing it, but there's no doubt that it's all in my head. And I'm only feeling this way because it's my first day of Potions class and I have so much pressure on myself to do well.
And I refuse to accept otherwise.