‘That wand clearly does not want you!’ Margaret exclaimed, and Demi and a few of the other girls giggled.
‘Alice, some wands just aren’t right for the person, regardless of their appearance,’ Molly continued.
Begrudgingly Alice stopped chasing the silver wand and reached out for the one that was closest, a straight mahogany one. It glowed as she touched it and her face lit with a huge smile.
‘Right then, that’s your wands sorted. It is of the greatest importance that you look after your wand. Never misplace it or put it in a situation where it may break. A wand is a witch’s most important item, and each of you must remember that. Also, it should go without saying that you are not to use these to perform harmful or distressing spells on each other, unless you want to face your first warning or worse, be expelled.’
Charlotte looked down at the wand in her hand. It had stopped glowing, and this made its intricate patterning appear more discreet. She found herself wondering how something so small could be so powerful. Her mom must have had a wand at some point, and she wondered if she still had it, hidden away somewhere so that her dad would never find it.
‘Next up are broomsticks.’ Molly led them to the back of the room where there was an arched door. She waved her wand to unlock the door, and the girls followed Molly inside. Like the other room, it had grey stoned walls, but this one was slightly larger and its ceilings much higher. There were hundreds of broomsticks whizzing around, and Stef only just ducked her head in time as one flew directly towards her.
‘Broomsticks also have the power to reject you, so beware,’ Molly said as she gestured for them to find their broomstick.
Margaret instantly reached out and grabbed one, but it wriggled free of her grip and slapped her in the face before flying over to Stef, who grinned at Margaret as she gripped hold of it. Margaret scowled before looking around for another one.
A pale oak broom with flecks of green on the handle flew over to Charlotte and floated in front of her until she grabbed hold of it. Smiling widely, she held tightly onto it, feeling more and more like a witch. The broomsticks were easier to find than the wands, as they were more willing to track their owner. A plain brown broomstick floated over to Alice, and she took hold of it with a huge grin.
When all the girls each had a broomstick, Molly beckoned them into the next room where a hat for every girl floated overhead.
‘Uniforms must be worn for all classes, but hats and capes are only for formal occasions. Please remain still as your hats will find you.’ Molly looked up at the hats and then instructed them firmly. ‘Find your owner.’
All the hats swirled around before swooping down and landing on each of the girl’s heads. They all let out excited gasps and squeals as they reached up and felt their hats.
‘Nearly there!’ Molly grinned before she clapped her hands and the bats flew through the window. Each one carried a black cape and placed it gently on the girl’s shoulders.
‘You all look like little witches now but remember that you haven’t been properly trained yet, so don’t use your wands or broomsticks until you’ve been taught how.’
As they followed Molly out of the room, Charlotte and Gerty smiled at each other and then looked excitedly at the wands and broomsticks that each was carrying.
Margaret and Demi hung back and were the last ones out of the room.
‘This is ridiculous; I don’t need lessons. I’ve been using a wand and flying for as long as I can remember,’ she whispered to Demi, before double-checking that Molly couldn’t hear her. ‘Those rules are clearly for the other girls, not for us,’ she smirked.
Margaret flicked her hair behind her back and straightened her hat before she followed Molly and the others along the corridors. She briefly looked down at her wand and broomstick and gave a sly smile.
Chapter Nine
They all had enough time to go back to their rooms and put away their new capes, hats, and broomsticks before their first lesson.
‘Where do you think we should put them, they might become creased in our drawers?’ Stef asked, as she held out her cape and hat and looked around the room.
The wardrobe doors flung open, and all the girls immediately jumped back, worried that they’d be sucked into it.
‘Who opened that?’ Alice asked as she stared at Stef.
‘Don’t look at me,’ Stef said, ‘I was nowhere near it. ‘
‘You could have opened it with magic.’ She gestured to the wand in Stef’s hand.
‘Well, I didn’t.’ She stared at the wardrobe. ‘Have you all noticed how it isn’t trying to suck anything in?’
The wardrobe shook, and all the girl’s capes, hats, and broomsticks flew up into the air, whizzing towards it. Gerty’s hat whipped into the air, directly from her head and Stef tried to grab onto her cape as it flew forwards. Every item disappeared into the wardrobe, and it slammed its doors shut.
‘Was that meant to happen?’ Charlotte asked.
‘I hope so. If not, we’re all in trouble,’ Stef replied.
‘How will I be in trouble? I didn’t do anything, Alice said.
Stef shrugged. ‘Let’s worry about it later.’
Charlotte nodded, although she found herself worrying that she may never see her hat and cape again and thought of the trouble she would be in if that were the case.
‘Are you girl’s ready for your first lesson?’ Sonya asked as she and Silvia appeared in the doorway. ‘Quickly grab your wands out of the magical wardrobe.’
The girls hesitated, unsure of the wardrobe and its mysterious powers. Silvia laughed and told the girls not to worry. ‘Just make sure you only put your magical gear inside that wardrobe, you don’t want to insult it with things from the ordinary world.’
They all nodded and tentatively grabbed their wands before joining the other new girls who were waiting in the corridor. They followed Sonya and Silvia and waited as they collected the rest of the girls and then led them all to their lesson.
Charlotte thought about what the lesson would involve and what the teacher would be like. The fitness lesson had been both exciting and terrifying, and Charlotte wondered if all the lessons would be like that one.
Sonya and Silvia stopped outside of a classroom, the words ‘Brewing Room’ written on the door in black font.
‘This will be your first lesson with Miss Maker,’ Sonya explained. ‘Lunch will be after this. Remember, if any of you get lost, call for the bats.
The two prefects stood aside and gestured for the girls to step through the doorway. Margaret and Demi pushed past the others and barged into the room first. They sat in the back row and sniggered at the other girls as they headed towards the remaining seats.
‘Hello girls, come in, come in and find a spot,’ an attractive young woman in a black corset and cape said. Her dark hair was tinged purple, and she wore her witch’s hat slightly wonky on her head.
Charlotte followed Gerty and Stef over to free seats in one of the middle rows, and Alice sat down next to her. There was a small, black cauldron placed down in front of each of the seats.
‘Hello, girls and welcome to your first brewing lesson. I am Miss Maker, the Mistress of Brewing. I always get excited when new girls start here, as I love teaching fresh minds who are so enthralled to be here.’ She smiled, as she looked around at all the girls. ‘I will tell you a bit about me; I have been working here at the Academy for the past seventy-five-years, teaching young witches like yourselves how to brew potions.’
‘She doesn’t look that old,’ Gerty whispered to Charlotte.
Miss Maker’s eyes fell upon Gerty, and she smiled.
Gerty looked startled, not understanding how Miss Maker had heard her. She wanted to tell the others that she must have bionic hearing, but she knew better than to say this…until they were out of the classroom.
‘Beauty is skin deep, real beauty comes from within,’ she said.
‘So, does that mean that if we are beautiful witches insid
e, then we will grow up to look as pretty as you?’ Alice chimed in.
Miss Maker let out a gentle laugh as she looked over at Alice.
The ordinaries have their ways, but of course, they aren’t as effective as ours. They have their creams and lotions and their Botox and surgeries. As a witch we don’t need these painful youth makers, we can simply brew a potion.’
Gerty exchanged an impressed look with the others. The thought of being as beautiful as Miss Maker for her whole life was an exciting one, and she couldn’t wait until she was older and had mastered the youth spell.
‘So, you’re saying that we’ll be able to stay beautiful for hundreds of years?’ Demi asked.
‘Well Demi, remember that I said beauty comes from within, to begin with. The potion will retain your appearance…BUT if goodness is absent from your soul and heart, then no potion is strong enough to save you from aging into an old hag. Perhaps you need to consider this carefully.’ She gave Demi a gentle smile.
Demi looked shocked and diverted her gaze down at her table. All the girls smirked including Margaret, who didn’t even try to hide this from her friend.
‘Some witchcraft is bad, and you should never practice it, not ever. We don’t teach those spells at the Academy; they are banned and for a good reason. You are here to become strong, independent and capable witches and I am here to teach you how to use your powers for good.’
When you are in your senior year, I will teach you about some of these dark spells, not so you can carry them out, but so that you can try to stop them and reverse them. They are too powerful for you girls to know about. This is why you must NEVER go into the restricted area in the library, at least not until your senior year, and only then with the Mistress of the Books assisting you.’
‘Miss, my mother attended this school, and she told me about the door at the end of the library with the dragon handle,’ Margaret quipped.
‘You are prohibited from going anywhere near that door, it is totally off limits and protected by a strong spell.’ She glared at Margaret, her tone suddenly very icy.
‘What is behind that door, Miss?’ Alice asked the question they were all thinking, but
none of the others dared to ask.
‘New girls often ask me this question.,’ She sighed, a concerned look on her face. ‘I understand your curiosity, but I shall tell you this only once. Hundreds of years ago, when the Academy first started, a witch called Dragina lived here. She was beautiful with long white hair and skin like silk. Dragina was obsessed with dragons; they were all she liked to talk about, and her free time involved ongoing research. She traveled the world looking for dragon eggs, eventually finding some and bringing them back to the Academy.’ Miss Maker held onto the table in front of her, a fearful expression on her face.
‘It is a long story and not one that I want to go into, but the dragons grew very large and caused mayhem. Miss Moffat, being the powerful witch that she is, thankfully brought the situation under control. The secrets to this terrible time are forever locked away in that room, and that is why you must NEVER go near it.’
The girls exchanged shocked glances between each other. Charlotte wondered about the mysterious door and was curious to know what lay beyond it.
Miss Maker shook her head and instantly the dark mood that had covered the room dispelled.
‘Today we are going to brew a potion to make you stronger.’ She smiled, as she leaned in closer to them. She chuckled. ‘Now, you must pay careful attention to my demonstration as you don’t want to be too strong.’
‘Right, let’s begin. You’ll find all the ingredients that you need, laid out in front of you, and I shall guide you through what to do.’
Charlotte looked down at the neatly laid out items, not knowing what half of them were. She was overwhelmed and hoped that she wouldn’t mess it up.
‘Firstly, take a pinch of agarwood.’ she picked up a small glass bowl that had what looked like shredded wood in it, and she took out a pinch and added it to her cauldron. ‘Two bay leaves, three hawthorn berries, which I agree are delicious but are also a very useful ingredient for potions.’
Charlotte looked from Miss Maker to Stef and then Gerty to check that she was doing it right before she dropped the berries into her cauldron.’
‘Half a long pepper and lastly a teaspoon of troll fat.’
‘Yuck,’ Stef said, as she looked down at the small bowl of fat.
‘Yes, it is a bit gross, but it’s very effective,’ Miss Maker said, as she walked over to the front row and paused by a cauldron that belonged to a girl with red hair. ‘That looks fantastic, Patricia.’
‘How does she know all our names?’ Gerty whispered to Charlotte, forgetting that Miss Maker could hear them.
‘Gerty, Charlotte, how are you getting on?’ She smiled over at them.
‘Erm, okay,’ Gerty muttered quietly.
Yeah, okay I think,’ Charlotte added.
‘Great!’ Miss Maker walked back to the front of the room. ‘Now take your spoons and place them into the cauldron, careful not to splash any of the potion. Turn it in a clockwise direction twenty times, like this’ She began to turn her spoon, counting the turns aloud. ‘When you’ve done that, carefully remove your spoon.’
‘Now take your wand out and say, ‘strength potion make me strong.’ Then add one cup of cranberry juice and stir another ten times in a clockwise direction. Pour a glass and drink up girls. This spell will only last for three hours, and then your body’s strength will return to normal.’
Stef was the first to drink her potion, followed by Margaret and then Demi. Charlotte and Gerty exchanged looks before they picked up their glasses and drank the liquid.
Charlotte looked down to see her arms begin to bulk up under her cardigan until large muscles were visible.
‘Look, look!’ Gerty lifted her blouse, revealing a six-pack of muscles on her tummy.
”Whoa,’ Charlotte said, as she looked down at her own stomach and legs and saw that they were changing too.
‘My thighs are huge,’ Alice said disgustedly, clutching hold of her muscled leg.
‘I feel so strong,’ Gerty giggled, as she reached out and lifted Charlotte with one hand and balanced her above her head, spinning her around like a spinning top.
‘I feel weaker Miss Maker, what’s happening?’ Stef asked, as she stumbled and gripped onto the table for support before looking down at herself. Her arms and legs had become much smaller, and she looked skinny and haggard.
There were gasps at Stef’s appearance as the other girls gathered around her.
‘Can you show me what direction is clockwise?’ Miss Maker passed Stef a spoon.
Stef nodded as she put the spoon into the cauldron and stirred to her left.
‘Oh dear.’ Miss Maker shook her head. ‘That is anti-clockwise, you’re lucky the spell is only for three hours.’
She led Stef over to the comfy chair that was behind her desk and then addressed the other girls.
‘This is a perfect example of how careful you must be when brewing potions and a great lesson for us all. Now, we have to tidy up. Please be careful when cleaning the cauldrons and glasses, don’t forget your new strength.’
‘Have you seen Demi’s muscles? They’re huge!’ A girl with black hair pointed to Demi’s arms.
Demi had taken off her cardigan as her arms had almost torn through it, revealing muscles much larger than anyone else had.
‘You look like the Hulk!’ Alice giggled, and the other girls laughed, including Margaret.
Demi burst into tears and snorted as she tried to wipe the tears away with her fingers.
Miss Maker walked over to her and felt her muscles.
‘Did you add a little too much troll fat, Demi?’ she asked, which caused the other girls to laugh even more. ‘It’s okay, you are all new here, and mistakes are expected. You will all be back to your old selves in a couple of hours.’
After the girls had tidied their area,
they sat back down in their seats, still excited at their first lesson as well as their super strength.
‘Miss, when will we learn a beauty potion?’ Gerty asked.
‘It seems that I am always asked this question. Girls, you will soon go the ball with the boys from the Wizard’s Academy. I’m sure many of you already know that their Academy resides across the mountain range.’ The girls began to giggle at the mention of boys. ‘I am sure that you’ll all want to look your best for that. And young Stef and Demi, I’m sure that you two will follow my instructions carefully for that potion.’
Both Stef and Demi looked sheepish, and all the other girls glanced from one of them to the other.
‘Off with you now, back to your dorms,’ Miss Maker instructed. Smiling as she pretended to shoo them with her hands.
‘I wonder what the boys will be like,’ Gerty said after they’d left the classroom.
‘Cute, hopefully,’ Stef responded with a grin. She still looked frail, but the potion was beginning to wear off.
‘I hope they will be nice,’ Charlotte added.
‘And good looking,’ Gerty giggled. ‘What do you think we’ll look like after we use the beauty potion?’
‘I hope it gets rid of the frizz in my hair.’ Charlotte grabbed hold of one of her curls and tugged on it with disgust.
‘Mine too,’ Gerty agreed.
‘And mine,’ Stef added.
‘I hope it dulls down my freckles,’ Alice said hopefully.
‘I can’t wait,’ Gerty said, the excitement bubbling through her veins.
‘Me neither,’ Stef replied.
‘Or me,’ Charlotte said smiling.
‘Or me,’ said Alice.
‘Do you think there’s a potion to make time hurry up?’ Gerty asked, the curiosity filling her features.
‘There might be,’ Stef responded confidently. It seemed to her that there must be a potion for just about everything.
‘Miss Maker said the ball was soon, so we shouldn’t have to wait long.’ Charlotte looked thoughtfully at the others, all the while imagining the excitement that lay ahead.
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