Chapter 4
"Hi!" Why won't this boy leave me alone? I turned around to face him to tell him off for stalking me but I saw that the girl from Pentangle's and Miss Pentangle was also there. Damn it! "I'm Zac Hawthorne. Well met."
"Well met. I'm Cassiopeia Black. I prefer Cassie." He held his hand out and I shook it. "If you don't mind, I have a lot to do so I have to go."
"Miss Black?" Damn all of these Pentangle's people! Leave me alone!
"Yes?"
"I'm Miss Pentangle. It's nice to meet you." I shook her hand. "This is Sapphire Hailstone."
"Hi," the girl said.
"Hi," I reluctantly said.
"Are you the Witch who created the Wisdom Spell Reversal?"
"Yes. I am."
"Did you come up with it during your entrance exam?"
"No. I used it in my entrance exam to reverse the Wisdom Spell I'd used. I created it two years before then."
"So you were how old?"
"Nine."
"Wow. You know... Pentangle's Academy currently has a few scholarships going and a Witch like you would be a great asset to our school."
"Thanks but Cackle's is my legacy. Miss Cackle is my aunt. Besides... My favourite teacher is here and I doubt she'll be going anywhere any time soon so neither am I. If she transferred to your school, although I doubt it with how much she loves Cackle's, I'd be glad to consider transferring to Pentangle's Academy. Unfortunately, however, I don't see that happening. If you don't mind, Miss, I really need to get back to my project."
"Sure, just one more question. I can be very persuasive... Who is your favourite teacher, Miss Black?"
"Miss Hardbroom, of course. She's the best teacher anyone could ever have... Can I get back to my project now, Miss?"
"Yes, yes. Thank you, Miss Black. This was a very enlightening conversation." I'm sure it was.
...
"You can't be Headmistress! You haven't even got Magical powers!" Miss Drill said and mother turned her into a snail.
"Wrong. Anyone else want to question my leadership?"
"How do you have Magic? Cassie took your powers!?" Maud asked.
"You can thank Esmerelda Hallow for being stupid enough to give her powers away without checking that I was the Miss Cackle she wanted to give her powers to."
"You tricked Esme?" I asked.
"Shut it, child."
"No, you can." I threw a Mouth-Removal Spell at her. Her mouth disappeared. "I'm sorry, Miss Hardbroom. I remember what I promised you and Miss Cackle but I can't let her get away with this." I used a Spell to tie Miss Gullet up. I pulled my dagger out and cut 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." I pointed my cut hand at my mother.
"Not again!" She rushed over to a wall, said an Annihilation Spell and the castle started destroying itself.
"In my mother's body, you don't belong, Magic go back now to the Witch who's strong, Return now from whence you came, Magic go back now to the Witch I name. Esmerelda Hallow!" A bright red light shot from my hand and covered my mother for a few seconds before turning a golden colour and hitting Esme. Esme changed Miss Drill back from a snail.
"My Magic's back!" Esme ran over and hugged me. "Thank you, Cassie."
"Never give your Magic away to anyone no matter what the situation. It is your Magic. Understand?" Esme nodded.
"Thank you!"
"Please stop hugging me." She quickly stopped.
"Sorry. I'm just really grateful." I chuckled at her words.
"I can tell."
...
The Great Wizard walked over to me after HB and Miss Cackle explained everything. "I've heard you are to thank for saving the school."
"I'm sorry for all the trouble my mother's caused everyone."
"It's not your fault. It's hers... You're the girl who came up with that Wisdom Spell Reversal, aren't you?"
"Yes, Your Greatness."
"Well done. And Esmerelda Hallow now owes you a Magical Debt for what you did. You didn't have to get her Magic back for her. Be sure to be careful around her for a little while. Her Magic will latch onto as a sort of... Leader. She'll see you as someone to look up to. Someone she doesn't want to disappoint. Be very careful. She owes you everything and her Magic will act accordingly so expect a huge change in her when it comes to you."
"I will, Sir."
...
I can't believe Mildred crashed into a tree and broke a brand-new broomstick and HB still let her pass the exam and stay at Cackle's... Although... I am really happy about that smile HB sent me when I was talking to the Great Wizard. That's the first time I've ever seen her smile so obviously... Her smile is so pretty and she's so beautiful and- Okay, so I may have developed a slight crush on HB but it's not like anyone can blame me. She's the most gorgeous Witch I've ever seen. Besides, I'm only 12. It'll fade soon... Right?
...
"The school just collapsed, didn't it, Miss Hardbroom?" There were a few more noises.
"I believe it did, Miss Cackle." Miss Cackle sighed at HB's words. A new term and Mildred's already causing problems within the first five minutes... I sighed. At least HB is still stunning. Damn you thirteen-year-old brain of mine! Stop getting so distracted! You have a school to save. Along with my projects over the summer and finishing off my secret project from last year, I started a new project and a new secret project.
"It's okay, Miss Cackle. I thought something like this might happen."
"Miss Black?" HB asked.
"Unfortunately, my mother's Annihilation Spell she did at the end of last term wasn't removed from the school. It was just stopped. I knew no one would be in the school until Selection Day. Something like this was bound to happen eventually. The Spell would have to be removed brick by brick but, to save time, I decided to make it a project of mine over the holidays to come up with a way to remove the Spell completely in one go whilst doing my other projects. I was hoping to have my Annihilation Reversal Spell done by Selection Day but, unfortunately, I wasn't done with it. If everyone can just stand farther back from the school, I can fix this, Miss Cackle."
"I doubt a second-year can perform Magic that requires that level of power, Miss Bl--"
"Let's at least give her a try, Miss Hardbroom. Her reasoning is sound. I'm sure she's thought it through." HB and Miss Cackle got everyone further away from the school.
"Go ahead, Miss Black," HB said. I pulled out the Magic Enhancement Potion I created and drank it all. I felt myself get a lot more powerful. I walked over to the closest wall of the castle.
"Bricks and stone, Beams and slate, Restore my home, Lose the hate. Make it last, Hold it fast, Remove the past, Undo what has been cast. Feel my power, Restore the tower, Remove the past, Undo what has been cast." I saw the castle start to repair. The parts of the castle that had fallen on the grounds flew back to where they belonged in the East Wing. "Bricks and stone, Beams and slate, Restore my home, Lose the hate. Heed my words now, Make them true, Hear my vow, The dream I pursue. Feel my power, Restore the tower, Remove the past, Undo what has been cast." The castle restored itself completely and everyone came back over.
"Well done, Miss Black!" Miss Cackle said.
"It was easy after I realised I didn't have enough Magical power to do it and I created a Magic Enhancement Potion for this very reason. It's only temporary and they're only for things like this. The important stuff. I made sure I wouldn't even have any on hand in case someone tried to steal from me. I haven't even written down how to make one. It's all in my head. Don't want something like that getting into the wrong hands now, do we?"
"No, we don't," HB said.
"What's that?" I questioned as I saw an orange glow coming from the East Wing. HB transferred herself, Miss Cackle and me to the glow. It was some kind of orange orb with an attached orange base.
"That, Miss Black, is the Founding Stone of the school. No one's ever seen one before," Miss Cackle said as she picked the Founding Stone up. "The East Wing being destroyed must've knocked it out of its hiding place."
...
"I guess I just have to... Stay here and be brave," Esme's younger sister said.
"I think I can help with that," another girl said.
"Hi. Sorry, I couldn't fix the furniture in the rooms but the Spell was designed to fix the castle and not the stuff in the castle. So sorry."
"Don't be! Hi, I'm Sybil Hallow. Well met."
"Well met, Sybil. I'm Cassiopeia Black. But you can call me Cassie." Esme came into the room.
"Cassie! Sybil! I see you two have met. Sybil, Cassie is the one who got me my powers back using Blood Magic on her mother, Agatha. She's the one who made sure I can continue at Cackle's. Otherwise, you'd be here with just Ethel." Sybil made a face and the other two girls snickered. "Oh, hi! I'm Esmerelda Hallow, Head of Year Four. You two must be Beatrice Bunch."
"It's Bea." Esme nodded to Bea.
"And Clarice Twigg, Head of Year One. Congratulations, Clarice. You'll have some trouble filling the shoes of the last Head of Year One, though."
"Who was that?" Bea asked.
"Cassie, of course! 100% on her written exam and 105% on her practical. She's gotten 100% in every exam since and is the Founding Member of her Coven: The Starfire Coven."
"You're the Founding Member of a Coven?" Sybil asked in awe.
"Yep. Now, if any of you need help with something, feel free to come to me, okay?" I told them.
"Or me," Esme said.
"Got it," Bea said.
"Understood," Clarice said as Sybil nodded.
"And, Sybil?"
"Yes?"
"It's okay to feel worried. I get worried so much I have to take Enchanted Anxiety Pills. If you need someone to talk to, don't be afraid to ask someone, okay? And my door's always open. Well... Actually, it's always closed and I'd prefer if you knocked first because I have some very sensitive things in my room but you know what I meant, don't you?" She nodded. "Good. Goodnight, then, girls."
...
I'm so glad I made that Transformation Spell. A Spell that allows you to turn something into something else. No matter what it is. Usually, you need a specific incantation for that specific item into that specific thing. Now that's not necessary. "For the most imaginative and unusual holiday project," HB smiled and gestured for me to stand up so I stood and walked over to her. "I declare Cassiopeia Black the winner."
"Congratulations," the talking Crow, Cyril, said.
"Your prize: Toadstool in Crow Saliva. Use them sparingly," HB said. Yes! This is just what I needed for my new secret project. And I got a smile from the most attractive Witch in the school. I'm so glad I didn't disappoint HB.
"Thank you, Miss Hardbroom." I took the jar and sat back down. I can't believe Ethel copied Mildred's project when she's always going on about how terrible Mildred is.
...
"I don't know but they're going to be in big trouble when we find them," Miss Cackle said to the other teachers. I saw Bea, Clarice and Sybil in front of me with Sybil holding the Founding Stone. They turned around and spotted me.
"It's not what it looks like," Sybil said.
"Oh, great. What have you three done now?" I sighed.