Chapter 1
I've finally arrived at Cackle's Academy! I never thought I'd be able to come here. Okay, sure, today's just Selection Day and I haven't actually got in yet but still! I doubt I won't pass the exam. I fly down to the ground and see two blonde girls talking to five teachers. Okay, the one in black is clearly Miss Hardbroom (she's beautiful!), the one in green must be Miss Bat (if what dad said is true, she's been here for a very long time), the redhead must be Miss Gullet, so the other teacher is Miss Drill and the one in pink is clearly Ada Cackle, Headmistress. She looks exactly like my mother.
I quickly took my little tube of Anxiety Pills out of my pocket and put one in my mouth before putting the tube back in my pocket. The pills are Enchanted Anxiety Pills. I hate that I have to take them and my Depression Potions. It's all my mother's fault. Luckily, I only have to see her once a week for an hour and, once I get into a Magic School, I won't have to see her during the school year. "Look out, incoming!" The taller blonde yelled as two girls on one broomstick came flying towards us and knocked the hats off of Miss Bat, Miss Cackle and Miss Hardbroom before landing in a Pond. I shook my head at them as Miss Gullet came over to me.
"Name?"
"Cassiopeia Black."
"Go inside with the others, Miss Black," she said as she ticked something off (probably my name) on her clipboard. I followed the other first-years inside with the taller of the two blondes at the front. Miss Cackle came over and introduced herself just before the two girls from the broomstick were transferred here (probably by Miss Hardbroom).
"Mildred, Maud, this is Miss Cackle," the girl said as she gestured to Miss Cackle. One girl squinted in the wrong direction.
"I'm over here," Miss Cackle said and the girl squinted at her.
"So sorry, I broke my glasses," the girl said as she held her glasses up and Miss Cackle walked over to her.
"Let me see," she said and the girl handed the glasses to Miss Cackle. Miss Cackle waved her hand over the glasses and they were fixed. She handed them back to the girl who put them back on.
"Thank you, Miss Cackle. Erm... Well met," the girl gave the traditional Witch greeting.
"Well met, Maud." She faced the other broomstick girl. "Well met, Mildred."
"Uh..." Mildred fumbled through a passable greeting. "Well met." The girl quickly covered her mouth with her hand.
"Are you alright, my dear?" Miss Cackle asked and Mildred shook her head before quickly turning around to throw up.
"Ugh, disgusting," a girl said as Miss Cackle placed her hands on Mildred's shoulder to steady her.
"Leave her alone," Maud said. "She's... Travel sick."
"Pathetic," the smaller blonde girl from earlier said.
...
The tour so far hasn't been very interesting. The taller blonde girl is called Esmerelda and she's Head of Year Three, Miss Hardbroom has the nickname HB, the other blonde is Ethel (Esmerelda's younger sister), Maud called Ethel a 'bossy, old toad' (Ethel, Mildred and Maud are definitely not going to get along), Esmerelda briefly turned green due to a second-year having not put enough Slugs' Eggs in their Invisibility Elixir at the end of last term and we were told we get cats assigned in Year One.
...
I closed my eyes, relaxed into my chair and tried to think about what I should do for my practical exam. I want to do a Level Eight but there probably won't be enough ingredients for that. There's definitely not going to be enough Pondweed to turn into a Dragon. As many people will do Level One and Level Two Spells and quite a lot of them require Pondweed. I could always ask if summoning ingredients (as Mildred and Maud had fallen into a Pond that will have Pondweed) that were already available (if they run out of them) is okay but I doubt it. They probably want to see if you'd be capable with what ingredients are already available to you. "Why are you just sitting there?" Miss Gullet asked as she walked passed me when we had 15 minutes left of our written exam. I opened my eyes and sat up straight.
"I'm finished and I've already been through it three times." She looked at me for a few seconds and nodded before walking away. Ethel turned around to look at me in disbelief and I smirked at her.
"Ethel Hallow, turn around," HB said and I smirked more as I relaxed into my chair and closed my eyes once more. I'll go with Level Seven. Most will go with Level Five and below and those that don't (other than Ethel) will go with Level Six. Ethel probably will try (and fail) at a Level Eight Dragon Transformation, though. She's clearly very full of herself. Overconfidence leads to mistakes... I'll go with a Wisdom Spell if all of the ingredients are available.
...
I can't believe Mildred got 1% on her written exam. How can anyone get that low? That's pathetic. "Before we begin," Miss Cackle said as HB and Esmerelda came in. "Miss Hardbroom has the results of your written papers.
"Some of your papers were utterly abominable, and those were the better ones." She used her Magic to make the papers appear in front of us. Naturally, I got 100%. "However, there were two chinks of light in the howling void. Both had a perfect 100%."
"Both?" Ethel asked as she stood up. Esmerelda was clearly proud of her sister.
"Ethel Hallow and Cassiopeia Black, you have equalled the school record."
"Equalled?" Ethel asked.
"Your sister also scored 100% in her written entrance exam," said Miss Cackle. Ethel looked unhappy. I smirked.
"And went on to score 98% in the practical."
"Only 98?" Ethel whispered as she sat down. She must've done a successful Level Seven too then. Level Nine isn't allowed so 100% is a successful Level Eight. 98% would be a successful Level Seven so with my Wisdom Spell, I can't beat Esmerelda's score but I can equal it. It wouldn't be good enough for my mother but equalling the school record is good enough for me. And it'll make me Head of Year One if no one does a successful Level Eight.
"100%? That... That's amazing," a girl next to Ethel said.
"Not for a Hallow. It's just normal." I rolled my eyes at Ethel's response. Why do I have to sit behind her?
"Candidates, choose your Spells," Miss Cackle said.
...
In what order do the ingredients go in again? Hold on... I think it goes... 'To understand in 40,000 ways, find the stocking of one who's lived for 40,000 days.' I added in the stocking. 'Add a Beetle's Blood and a Frog's Tears, and know you shalt see the world far beyond your years.' I added them both in. Now for the incantation. "Give me a mind greater than my own and turn me into the cleverest of crones." I tasted the Potion and I felt myself get older and a lot smarter.
"Oh, congratulations, Miss Black!" Miss Cackle said. "A successful Level Seven Wisdom Spell!"
"There is no reversal for a Wisdom Spell. You will be stuck like that for who knows how long," HB said.
"Actually, Miss Hardbroom. I only went with a Wisdom Spell out of the Level Seven options because two years ago my dad had been put under a Wisdom Spell by one of his co-workers and was having trouble with it so I decided to make my own reversal. It took a few tries but I did come up with one."
"Then, go ahead," HB said. I emptied my cauldron with Magic and set it up for the reversal with the ingredients next to me. I put in the Dried Mandrake Root.
"To reverse this Spell and return my mind to my own," I said as I put in the Flower of Common Cat Trap and Slugs' Eggs. "Return me to my senseless state." I put in the Unicorn's Milk. "And turn back to my childish base." I tasted the Potion and went back to my normal self. Even HB seemed a little impressed. Ethel was pissed and everyone else seemed thrilled, impressed or both. I smirked at Ethel and she scowled at me.
"Well done, Miss Black," HB said.
"This shall be reported to the Great Wizard. We finally have a reversal for Wisdom Spells!" Miss Cackle exclaimed. "Why did you put in those ingredients?"
"Well, Flower of Common Cat Trap and Dried Mandrake Root are base ingredients. When I was trying to come up with a solution, trying different base ingredients first made sense. The Slugs' Eggs are baby Slugs. Those and the Unicorn Milk, which is used by adult Unicorns to feed child Unicorns, therefore going from inside an adult to inside a child, I thought to put in to symbolise the need to go from a wise adult to a younger, less intelligent, real you."
...
That was embarrassing for Ethel. I can't believe Mildred broke the Witches' Code like that. Ethel was so smug and full of herself when talking about her choice of transformation as well. I snickered a little but quickly schooled my face when HB turned around. Mildred's going to get 0% on her practical now. What she did is an automatic fail. At least Ethel definitely won't be Head of Year One now, even if it is all Mildred's fault. This is what happens when you get overconfident.
...
I can't believe Mildred interrupted Miss Cackle's speech and my mother tried putting everyone under a Total Obedience Spell. Why does she insist that she'd be a better Headmistress than Miss Cackle?
...
"Miss Black, what are you doing?" HB asked.
"This is none of your business, child," mother spat.
"You're my mother, it is my business." Everyone apart from mother gasped at my words.
"Cassiopeia Agatha Cackle, you will listen to me!"
"My name is Cassiopeia Athena Black! And, you forget, mother. You taught me everything I know about Magic. Including that, as my mother, I share blood with you." Mother realised what I meant.
"You wouldn't dare," she said and I quickly took my dagger out of my jacket pocket and slashed a deep cut on my palm.
"Despite it's against my creed, With this cut, I freely bleed, With not a drop astray, Take my mother's Magic away." Everyone gasped at my words and I held my hand out with the cut facing my mother.
"She's doing Blood Magic," Ethel said.
"What's Blood Magic?" Mildred asked.
"Make it last, Make it fair, Let it dissipate in the air. With every drop I spend today, Make my mother's Magic pay!" A red light came from the cut on my hand and rushed at my mother. She glowed red for a few seconds before the light faded.
"Blood Magic is Magic that uses a person's blood. It's forbidden by the Witches' Code," Maud explained.
"Now!" Mildred yelled and a cat pushed the trolley with the food on it. It hit my mother and spilt all over her as she fell to the floor. Mildred rushed over to her. I closed my palm for a second and focused on healing it. When I opened it, I placed my dagger in the hand I had cut and used my other hand to get my handkerchief out of one of the pockets in my jeans. I cleaned my dagger with it and put my dagger back in my jacket pocket and then used my handkerchief to clean my hand of blood. I always keep my dagger and a handkerchief on me in case I need to use them. Not that I have used them in the last four years.
...