Someone Is Waiting

She first picked up the Feather Earrings and handed them to Lucretia.

"These earrings are enchanted with a mild Confundus Charm. They won't cause harm, but they will briefly disorient the wearer. Items like these were often used for disruption during wartime."

Lucretia took the earrings and immediately felt a slight dizziness.

She closed her eyes and concentrated.

In her perception, the earrings' magic was like a wispy, tangled thread, attempting to scramble her sense of direction.

She said uncertainly, "I feel a... spinning sensation? Like my direction is being gently pulled."

Professor Sheffield nodded. She took the earrings back and then passed them to Sophia.

"Very good, Miss Crouch. That's precisely the sensation of a Confundus Charm. Miss Vera, you try."

Sophia hesitated before taking the earrings, her expression immediately becoming focused.

Her reaction was more pronounced than Lucretia's. She paused for a moment before speaking, "It feels like spinning in circles, but not entirely physical rotation... The magic has a... fuzzy quality."

The professor took the earrings back and placed them in the Wooden Box. Then, she picked up the Silver Pocket Watch. "Accurate observations. This item is different; it carries protective magic."

Lucretia took the pocket watch and felt a warm, comfortable flow of energy.

This magic was easier to discern, like a soft barrier unfolding around her.

"It feels very safe... like someone is specifically protecting you?"

"Indeed. This is an old-fashioned Guardian Charm, capable of warding off minor malicious spells. It was made by a retired colleague of mine... he was very skilled in this type of magic."

When the pocket watch reached Sophia, her brow relaxed slightly, as if the item's effect was far more pleasant than the earrings'.

"It's very calm, like a hug."

Professor Sheffield took the pocket watch back from Sophia, her gaze moving between the two women as if assessing something.

Finally, she picked up the item that looked the most ancient.

The Silver Compass.

"This is the last one, and the most complex. The compass has multiple layers of magic, ancient, like a superposition of history. Perceiving them requires deeper focus."

She handed it to Lucretia first.

The compass felt heavy in her hand, its surface carved with mysterious runes.

Magic fluctuations emanated from it, complex and multi-layered, like an ancient book that had been read for centuries, each page filled with different stories.

Lucretia gently closed her eyes, filtering out the most superficial perceptions, and described only the most obvious aspects.

"Like many voices speaking at once. The most obvious is a sense of guidance, but there's something else underneath..."

The professor nodded, seemingly unsurprised by her cautious description.

As she handed the Compass to Sophia, their fingers brushed briefly.

The moment Sophia's fingers touched the Compass, her entire body froze.

Her face instantly turned pale, her eyes lost focus, her pupils dilated, and she entered that state where she saw things only she could perceive.

Her fingers began to tremble, and the Compass slipped from her palm, landing with a dull thud on the cushion.

"Someone is waiting..."

Her voice became hollow, as if coming from a great distance.

"In the snow... so cold... waited for a long time..."

Lucretia could see Sophia's body swaying slightly.

She instinctively took a step back, but her eyes remained fixed on that nonexistent spot.

Then, as if abruptly severed by an invisible force, she suddenly stopped, her gaze refocusing.

Professor Sheffield's brow furrowed, the Parchment in his hand crinkling when he heard someone waiting in the snow.

His movements became somewhat stiff, but his trained professionalism prompted him to step forward immediately.

He picked up the Compass with a speed that suggested he had touched something scalding hot.

As he placed the Compass back into the Wooden Box, his hand paused for a moment before he slammed the lid shut.

Professor Sheffield's hand, resting on Sophia's shoulder, trembled slightly, but his voice remained steady: "Have some water, Miss Vera. Some items can cause strange sensations, especially those that have existed for a long time. It's quite normal, particularly in the early stages of perception training."

Sophia took the cup of water and slowly took a sip.

As Professor Sheffield adjusted his collar, a Pendant slid out from inside his shirt.

It was a silver Pendant inlaid with a Deep Blue Crystal, which gleamed with a faint, dark light under the Magical Light.

That particular shade of blue was identical to a rune on the Compass.

Lucretia only glanced at it before the professor noticed and quickly tucked the Pendant back inside his collar.

After this minor disturbance, the lesson continued.

"Let's move on to another exercise. Miss Crouch, try to perceive the magical traces on these Stones."

He took out several Stones, each carved with different runes, from another small box.

Sophia also gradually calmed down, but deliberately kept her distance from the wooden box that had already been closed.

In the subsequent practice, Lucretia carefully controlled her reactions, neither appearing overly sensitive nor feigning complete ignorance.

She responded to the professor's questions and instructions like a talented but still learning newcomer.

Sophia rejoined the practice, focusing on more modern magical markings and simple sensing exercises.

As the lesson neared its end, Professor Sheffield summarized, "Today's basic training concludes here. Cultivating perceptive abilities requires time and patience, but it can provide you with valuable warnings before danger arrives."

She handed two pieces of parchment to the two of them separately.

"This contains detailed explanations and practice methods for the Magic Sensing Charm. Spend five minutes practicing it daily to accumulate gradually."

Professor Sheffield then handed them a simple table.

"You can record different feelings and reactions here; it will help you analyze your progress."

She glanced at the time and continued.

"We will continue at the same time and place next Thursday. It's almost curfew, so you'd best hurry back. I heard Filch is in a particularly bad mood tonight."

The two left the practice room and returned along a relatively safe route.

The corridor was deserted, with only the occasional soft snore from the figures in the portraits.

They walked for a long time without speaking.

"That compass..."

Sophia stopped, leaning against the wall.

Moonlight streamed in from the high window, making her face appear even paler.

She hugged her arms. "It was like opening a door that shouldn't have been opened. I saw a girl... lying in the snow, waiting for a long time. It was cold, so lonely." "That feeling is still in my head."

Lucretia walked to her side. "Are you okay?"

Sophia shook her head, then nodded.

The corridor was not a safe place to discuss such matters.

As they neared Ravenclaw Tower, a Student Council President on patrol spotted them.

Lucretia explained that they had just returned from Professor Sheffield's special class and showed the professor's note.

The Student Council President nodded in understanding but reminded them to plan their routes in advance next time to avoid lingering near curfew.

Back in the nearly empty Common Room, Sophia sat by a corner window, her voice dropping even lower.

"I noticed the pendant around the professor's neck."

Lucretia replied, "I saw it too. That blue crystal doesn't look very common."

Sophia clutched her sketchbook, "That compass... it's connected to the pendant. I'm not sure how, but I have a strong feeling."

Lucretia mused, "The course material is indeed useful. But we need to be careful."

Sophia agreed, then checked the time, "Yeah, let's keep participating, but don't show too much. It's getting late, and we still have Transfiguration homework to finish tomorrow morning. Let's go to bed."

After the girls left, Professor Sheffield remained alone in the practice room, slowly opening the Silver Compass she had put away earlier.

Confirming the door was locked, she cast an even stronger Muffling Charm.

The compass lay quietly on the table, gleaming with Silver Light under the Magical Light.

Her hand reached for it, then hovered in mid-air for a long time.

Finally, her fingers brushed over the surface of the runes.

The cold touch of the metal reminded her of another hand, the moment the compass was last touched by another person.

"Someone is waiting..."

Miss Vera's words cut through her carefully sealed memories like a blunt knife, inch by inch.

She closed her eyes, but the images still flooded in.

Snowflakes, a waiting figure, the Promised Return, and the person who never came back.

Her fingers began to tremble, then her whole hand, and finally her entire body.

Professor Sheffield touched the pendant at her neck, the only memento her student had left her.

The compass once belonged to the person who waited in the snow, the person who never returned because they were protecting someone else.

To the students, it was just a teaching tool, but to her, it was an unhealed wound.

She wiped the corner of her eye, forcing herself to stand up straight again, put away the compass, and lock the Wooden Box.

But she was also more certain than ever that her judgment was correct.

These two girls possessed extraordinary perceptive abilities.

What Miss Vera had seen just now was likely her final moments.

This filled her with both fear and determination.

In increasingly dark times, she had a responsibility to protect them, to teach them how to control their abilities, and how to protect themselves when danger arrived.

She couldn't let history repeat itself.

No one else could lose their life because of talent, no one else could wait in the snow for someone who would never return.

Professor Sheffield turned off the lights in the practice room and left silently.

In the corridor, her figure was elongated by the moonlight, casting a shadow on the ancient stone walls.

Not far away, the hoot of an owl pierced the night sky, like an echo from a distant memory.

If you find this book good, remember to add it to your bookshelf so you don't lose it next time.