Yes. Lily answered in a weak voice. She, of course, was flattered by Allans attention.
I have never heard such a parting word. I was told that the items for each are selected individually. And we must try, otherwise, instead of powerful enchantments, you will have to study something not so important.
Lily walked past me. I followed her and called out:
Lily, whats our next lesson?
I was clutching the schedule sheet and already read the names of the subject, but the classroom number opposite the lesson on «Water Enchantment» was not indicated.
Lesson? Ah, lesson. Let me have a look. Hmm, now there will be «Water enchantment», and where it is not written.
Allan looked at me, came closer and said:
Me too. We need to get together in the big hall. I think about big hours.
Allan turned his paper.
There is a note in my schedule: to gather in the main hall. And you have?
Allan looked over Lilys shoulder. She flinched as his cheek touched her hair and smiled.
Right. Lily chuckled and handed the sheet back to me. There it is written at the very bottom.
«I thought this meeting would be after class. I explained, feeling uncomfortable, felt that I made myself stupid.
Come on, lets see. Edge, Edge? Allan called. This is the Edge Lawrence.
Introduced a student from our class Allan. Edge looked out from behind Allan and said:
Hello.
And this is Lily and Cornelia. continued Allan. Then he turned to me and fell silent.
Roselyn. Prompted Lily.
Roselyn. Allan repeated.
The edge nodded to me. I just said hello. And we with such a company went to the ceremonial hall.
You see, Now Allan turned to everyone, including me: We have the same lessons! There is no individual approach yet.
Exactly noticed. Lily agreed, she caught every word of Allan.
But Im only glad of that.
On the stairs, Lily and Allan pulled ahead, and I nearly pushed on the narrow steps with James Clurence. He obligingly made way for me. I never saw him after I left the class. But the Edge breathed into my neck and did not lag a step. I was glad to get out of the narrow flight of stairs.
There was no one in the front hall. Allans voice grew louder, and the echoes of the huge stone hall only added solemnity to his speech. He talked about his family of wizards of the White family. Ive never heard of such.
I recognized the front doors of the castle. I only walked through them an hour ago, but they seemed to me to have aged, as if a hundred years had passed.
In the grand hall, we chose a place right under the clock. Now was a good time to check the time. My watch showed the time almost an hour ago. I set the time, glad that I had shown prudence and had not forgotten about it. Not far from us, Matilda was waving her magic wand. She tried to cast some kind of charm, but they did not work. Matilda was impatiently shaking her «artifact», and Bridget seemed to have lost all interest and looked sideways at us.
This stupid school stick is to blame for everything! Matilda hissed. I always did it! There are only problems with this piece of wood!
Maybe you mixed something up? Bridget told her.
What is Bridget doing there? Lily looked at them. «I dont know this new one.
Matilda. I suggested dryly.
I noticed that James stands apart from everyone. The overhead clock chimed and began to strike. The ringing sound of a small bell shook the air menacingly. The whole mechanism of the clock seemed to tremble along with this ringing. All silently looked at the dial.
And when the echo of the last blow rang in the air, several unfamiliar students appeared in the hall. Three girls and one boy. They were older and from the second Grant, as I noticed from the stars under the emblem on the chest. They slowed down and now looked at us appraisingly. It seems that something confused them. When the ringing died down, a quick knock of heels was heard from the side of the main staircase. The Water Charm teacher was heading towards us.
Chapter 10. In Depth
Good afternoon, class. Im Mrs. Wannelsker! The teacher said in an imperious voice. There was something about her that I didnt like right away. As I thought about what worries me about this sorceress, a chaotic chorus of greetings from my classmates was heard around me:
Good afternoon, Mrs. Wannelsker!
I was confused and only had time to open my mouth, scolding myself for my forgetfulness. The guys from the second Grant saved the situation. Their voices sounded louder and more harmonious than anyone else. Our greeting, that is, Allan, Lily, Cornelia, did not resemble much the way we greeted Frau Mendelssohn. Just unsure babble! But Mrs. Wannelsker wanted nothing more of us.
Please follow me! Mrs. Wannelsker said.
The teacher quickly walked away, and we all rushed after her.
Allan walked in front of me. Lily kept up with him. And I decided to stay close to them. Mrs. Wannelsker stepped around the front staircase, turned into an inconspicuous door.
Under the stairs, we woke up through a small door and stopped. Mrs. Wannelsker lit a flame in the air with a graceful wave of her hand. Bright flash. I covered my eyes with my hand, when the light became soft and even, to my surprise I did not see either a candle or a torch. Mrs. Wannelsker held a ball and chain in the palm of her hand. And I realized: «This is her artifact!» Although, having seen such a thing during the day, I would definitely have decided that it was a keychain or jewelry.
We crowded into a cramped, low-ceilinged room. And then the back door gaped. Our teacher stepped into the darkness, and immediately fell halfway down, went under the floor. One of the girls gasped. I leaned forward to see a new miracle, and saw a winding spiral of high, steep steps, and on them a teacher illuminated by a magic light.
She, like a firefly, fluttered on the stairs, going down below. The sound of her heels rang out over and over in the echoing room.
Lily took a shaky breath. Allan and one of the boys immediately rushed forward. I decided to keep up. Stumbling, leaning on the icy rough stone walls, I walked up the steps in almost darkness. The other guys were blocking my light. Their shadows slid across the floor. Everyone hurried after the teacher, afraid to fall behind her and find themselves in darkness.
The staircase wound in a spiral around the stone pillar and within a minute my head began to spin. It looks like the teacher led us through a vertical stone pipe, the shaft into which these steps were laid. I cant imagine that it would be a tower.
Descending in the twilight was difficult. Every now and then other girls stumbled, groaned, fell on me or their neighbors. And I was no better. Itself almost fell on Allan, who was walking in front of me, inadvertently pushed him in the back. After scratching my knee and nearly breaking a nail on my right index finger, I finally found myself on a flat floor.
Mrs. Wannelsker stood facing us and waited for everyone to come down.
So, everyone here? Have you lost anyone? And without waiting for an answer, she continued, looking around the guys a little strangely: We are now at the bottom level. It runs below the dungeons and cellars of the castle.
The girls from behind were pushing me, striving for the light, or just because of a joke. They pushed me towards the teacher. I had to take a couple of steps forward. Then I felt a stronger push. Someone poked me painfully in the back. I gasped, looked around, but could not make out who it was.