My words worked, and she started practicing the same spell over and over.
“Like this?”
“Yes, very good. Just like that.”
Being there in that room with her, looking on as she did her best to learn magic, was so fun that the time flew by. Come noon, I stopped her, since she was only to practice with me in the morning, and she thanked me with a smile for the lesson I had given her.
All of a sudden, Larna barged into the room. Given the timing, she had probably managed to finish the work she had to do before rushing here to see the Dark Magic she was so interested in with her own eyes. Katarina showed her what she could do, and Larna seemed very pleased by what she saw. Once we were done, I checked the room to make sure that everything was in its place and then locked the door, reminding myself to give the key back later on.
In the past few hours, I had witnessed a few surprising events, but more than surprise or shock, right now, I only felt happiness. I put a hand on my face and felt my cheeks. They had risen into a smile without me even noticing. It took a serious effort to keep my expression unchanging throughout the morning, but now that I was alone, I couldn’t help it anymore.
I knew that this was only work, but I was still delighted by the time I could spend with Katarina. This pure, honest girl had reached her hand out to me, offering salvation…and in that same stroke, she had stolen my heart. Despite all the time that had passed, she still held onto it, and I wondered if I was ever going to be able to retrieve it.
I did not want to make her mine and mine alone, but I longed to help and protect her from the shadows in any way I could. I needed power in order to protect her, and I needed to keep giving my best at the Ministry in order to obtain that power. It was tiring work, yes, but that was no big issue. Seeing her smile after so long had filled me with such vigor that I felt that I could spend a week straight, without sleep, sifting through documents behind my desk.