Caution: Witch In Progress (16 page)

    Bertha told her ma all about the wonderful party over tea and
cakes before their journey began. She placed more emphasis on the food than she
did on Gran getting drunk, which Gertie was relieved about.

    Ma Bobbit looked delighted Bertha had enjoyed herself so much.
Gertie knew she didn’t get invited anywhere much. Well, not ever actually.

    ‘You’ll all have to come to visit us sometime,’ she said.

    ‘When?’ asked Gran immediately, the thought of visiting Bobbit
Manor shining in her eyes.

    ‘I’m sure we can arrange something once term is over,’
interrupted Ma before Gran could embarrass them any more.

    The flight back to the Academy was quite uneventful, providing
everyone could learn to ignore Bat. He spent his first flight yelling ‘Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
This is the life. I’m flying like a real bat. Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!’

    Gertie didn’t chastise him too much, because she couldn’t help
feeling a bit sorry for him if he found this so exciting. Maybe he had only
been so miserable and naughty because he led such a dreary, boring life.  It
couldn’t be much fun to only ever go out in the rain. Upside down. Still, she
hoped he would soon settle down a bit. Or at least quieten down.

It
was a tearful parting for Ma and Gertie when it was time to separate. They
postponed the moment by all going to check on Wart in his stagnant pond. He was
absolutely fine, and seemed completely unaware Gertie had even been away. There
was now no other excuse for Ma not to leave Gertie to settle in again, and head
off home. Ma Bobbit had already gone after making sure Bertha was safely in her
room. Bertha had her box of goodies for the week, or at least what she hadn’t
already eaten on the way upstairs. Jasper was back too.

    Right now, both Gertie and Ma were trying very hard not to cry.
It wasn’t that Gertie didn’t like being back at the Academy, because she did.
It had felt so nice to be home again though. And Ma, well, Ma showed she missed
Gertie terribly. Gertie knew Gran felt it just as much, but she remained strong
for them all.

    ‘Right then, you little imp,’ Gran called. ‘Have fun, and make
us proud!’

    ‘I’ll try, Gran,’ replied Gertie forcing a smile, but not
managing a very bright one.

    ‘Come on, Ma, time we were off,’ Gran encouraged. Gertie
couldn’t settle back in until they left her, and the longer they stayed, the
harder they were making the parting.

    Gertie knew Ma’s eyes would be bleary all the way home. She shed
a tear too once she was alone in her room. It didn’t last long, as Bat didn’t
give Gertie time to feel sorry for herself. She put him down on her bed and
carefully placed her crystal ball on the bedside table.

    ‘Hey, Gert, hey, buddy, where am I going then?’ he asked
excitedly, and repeatedly. He then looked towards the wardrobe. ‘Oh
nooooooooooooo, there’s not one of those here too. Not in there. Gertie, you
caaaaan’t!’

    Gertie sighed. She could do without this right now. ‘Where would
you like to go, Bat,’ she asked in a weary tone.

    ‘Me?’ asked Bat in amazement, ‘You mean, I can choose?’

    ‘As long as it isn’t a silly choice,’ the little witch agreed.

    Bat looked around himself, very carefully. He then watched Owl
heading out of the window on one of his missions, ‘How about over on the
windowsill, where I can look out?’ he asked, clearly not holding out much hope.

    ‘As long as you’re quiet, alright,’ replied Gertie, and took the
umbrella over. She stood Bat up, leaning on the side wall.

    Bat was quiet, temporarily. Gertie sensed he couldn’t believe
his luck. He stared out at the vast world before him, gasping in awe as he
muttered about the huge stagnant pond and the blasted oaks.

    Gertie believed that, despite being made of wood, Bat’s
expression changed to one of utter contentment. At that moment, Gertie felt she
had done the right thing to bring Bat with her. She then wondered how long it
would take him to change her mind.

    Gertie was awakened on Monday by the morning gong announcing it
was time to get up. The breakfast gong would sound in half an hour’s time.

    ‘Blimey, what’s that?’ asked Bat, who had been surprisingly
quiet over night. ‘I nearly fell out the window!’

    ‘It’s our wake up call,’ replied Gertie, quite pleased to have
someone to talk to. ‘You’ll get used to it.’

    ‘I saw lots of bats flying about out there last night,’ the
umbrella said, quite wistfully.

    Gertie didn’t know what to say. Bat could never be a real bat.

    ‘I’ll have my own broomstick soon,’ she finally replied. ‘Then
we can fly about too.’

    ‘Really?’ asked Bat. ‘You would let me on your broomstick?’

    ‘If you’re good,’ promised Gertie.

    ‘Gosh,’ said Bat with a sigh. ‘Then I can fly too,’ he added,
going off into a little world of his own.

    This morning’s lesson should be fun, as it was a field trip of
sorts. Well, more of a wood trip really. They were all going out to prepare to
make their broomsticks. They would need a strong, straight, branch; twigs, and
binding. The pupils had been told they would have to leave their finds in boxes
marked with each of their names, then Mr Wolfsbane would make them all into
broomsticks in time for their first broomstick lesson on Friday. The necessary
tools for shaping the wood would be too sharp for young witches and warlocks to
use themselves. It was all quite exciting. Gertie didn’t mind being back at all
now.

    First of all, the pupils had to go to the Main Hall after
breakfast because Miss Wick wanted to address them about something. Gertie was
intrigued to know what.

    She and Bertha were two of the first pupils sitting waiting to
find out. Once they were all gathered, Miss Wick drifted into the Hall in her
flowing cloak. She always looked every bit as a witch was meant to look. Gertie
found her quite imposing, and didn’t like to get too close to her.

    Everyone quietened down at one glance from the head teacher. She
had a way of seeming to be staring directly at each of them, but all at the
same time. No one understood how she did it, but they all knew she might be
staring straight at them. The pupils were not willing to take the chance of
looking inattentive, just in case. Once Miss Wick had everyone’s attention, she
began.

    ‘Welcome all, and thank you for attending.’

    We didn’t have any choice but to attend! Gertie thought.

    ‘By now, young witches and warlocks, you should all be
considering what your end of term Presentation will be. This will not only be
the final deciding factor as to whether you pass or fail the term, but will
also give you the opportunity of winning the Golden Spider Award. As you
already know, the Golden Spider Award is much sought after by all who attend
the Academy. Indeed, it is recognised far beyond the Academy’s walls as the
sign of a fine witch or warlock. Only one of you can win this award, by
finishing top of your class. All your teachers have been marking your progress
in their given classes, but your own final Presentation could be the make or
break for you. What you need to be doing is deciding which your best subject
is. You then need to work on a project based on your strengths. Whatever you
excel at, will give you a greater chance of performing your most impressive
spell or witching activity.

    There isn’t long to go until the end of term now, and I am
depending on each and every one of you to give a good show of what you have
learned. Your teachers are available for advice, but may not help you in any
way. No working together either. This must be your work alone. The library is
also an excellent source of reference.

    Good luck to you all. I look forward to judging your efforts
personally. Class dismissed.’

    Everyone muttered to each other on the way out. Some, because
they hadn’t even considered what they might do. Others, because they had bright
ideas. Most seemed to believe they were well able to win the Golden Spider
Award. Especially Malicia, who said she had set her sights on it long ago. She
said she didn’t know what she was going to do yet, but whatever it was, it
would be impressive. Fang implied it was in the bag for him, but he didn’t go
on about it to Malicia. He said he enjoyed some good competition. Gertie knew
that was providing he won.

    Bertha didn’t say anything, because Gertie knew she hadn’t a
clue what to do. She didn’t seem to have much interest to think about it
either. Gertie, as yet, didn’t want anyone to know what she hoped to do. Not
even Bertha. The young witch felt rather superstitiously that if she told
anyone her plan, then it wouldn’t work. Gertie had been spending every spare
moment reading the old heavy volumes in the library. At last, she wondered if
she might be getting somewhere. She had taken many notes. It was so important
she got this right first time, or the results could be disastrous. It wasn’t so
much the Golden Spider Award Gertie wanted to win, though it did sound very
nice. Gertie’s main concern was whether her idea could work. It would be so
wonderful if it did.

    Soon after, Gertie and Bertha found themselves in a group of
young witches and warlocks on the edge of the woods bordering the Academy.

    Miss Fiendish made sure they all knew what they were searching
for before they set off. They had to find all the necessary parts to make their
broomsticks.

    ‘You need a good stout branch of ash for the handle,’ Miss
Fiendish began. ‘Ash is an enchanted wood, and allows travel between the worlds
of the Earth and the sky.’

    ‘You’ll probably need to dig a tree up so you can use the whole
trunk, Fatty,’ Gertie heard Fang mutter to Bertha.

    She didn’t think Miss Fiendish heard him, because she continued.
‘For the brush, you need the bristles of the birch tree. This is the most
magical tree in the woodlands. It is associated with the Winter Solstice, which
is the darkest day of the year. It is a firm favourite amongst witches,
naturally. You will often find birch trees on the edges of woods, so bear this
in mind. You can all refer to your books if you have any trouble recognising
the correct trees. You will then need long strands of willow to bind it all
together. Willow is used in honour of Hecate, the Goddess of Witchcraft.

    Whatever you choose, make sure you feel comfortable with it.
That will go a long way to making it easier to fly. You need to be able to feel
as one with your chosen broomstick. Remember,’ she added, looking carefully at
each of them, ‘do not damage any tree. You only need what they have discarded.
There will be plenty of suitable fallen branches lying around. Anything that
Nature gives freely, will serve you much better than something taken by force.’

    Gertie liked that. It was just like Miss Fiendish to consider
the wellbeing of the trees too.

    ‘Right, class. Off you go then. Don’t wander off too far alone,
and come back to ask if you are unsure about anything.’

    The class broke up into ones and twos, and small select groups;
and all set off with eyes glued to the ground for suitable branches.

    ‘This is fun!’ said Gertie, and headed over to what she knew at
once were ash trees.

    Bertha trudged along behind her.

    Gertie knew exactly what to look for. Bertha simply looked for
similar, but bigger. Gertie was happy to help. She knew Bertha consoled herself
with the thought that Gertie could not levitate cakes to her mouth. Bertha won
hands down on that one.

    Gertie soon had an ash branch in her hands. It was strong
looking, but not too heavy for her to feel comfortable with. As she was
weighing it experimentally across her open palms to make sure, Owl fluttered
down and landed on the end of it. That settled it for Gertie.

    ‘This is the one, isn’t it, Owl?’ she said to him.

    Owl blinked at Gertie, and walked sideways along the branch
until he was in the middle where he could see her better. Gertie giggled, and
then looked around to see how Bertha was getting on. Jasper wasn’t being quite
so helpful. He seemed to be trying to mark his boundaries on every branch lying
within reach. He was waddling about from one to the other, cocking his leg up
to wet as many as he could find. This didn’t make Bertha’s task any easier. She
couldn’t move much faster than Jasper, so was struggling to find a dry one.
Seeing her predicament, Gertie darted ahead and picked up a sturdy branch for
Bertha before Jasper could gasp his way to it.

    ‘How about this one?’ she asked, waving it in the air out of
doggy reach.

    Bertha took it gratefully. It would do. She didn’t seem entirely
enthusiastic about her search. This wasn’t surprising, considering it didn’t
involve food in any way.

    Gertie and Bertha were soon back with suitable branches, brush
and binding. Miss Fiendish looked delighted.

    ‘Well done, girls! Splendid,’ she exclaimed.

    Gertie loved Miss Fiendish to be pleased with her, she said as
much to Bertha.

    ‘I’m happy for anyone to be pleased with me.’ Bertha chipped in.
‘It doesn’t happen often. I like being your friend, Gertie, even if you are a bit
strange with your blonde hair and blue eyes. After all, it’s not your fault.’

    ‘Have you decided on your Presentation yet, Gertie?’ Miss
Fiendish asked with interest. She seemed sure Gertie would want to do something
connected to her lessons.

    ‘Uhm, well...’ began Gertie, not quite knowing what to say. She
didn’t even want to talk her idea over with Miss Fiendish at this point. Gertie
knew it was something she had to do herself.

    Miss Fiendish smiled, and Gertie sensed she didn’t want her to
feel uncomfortable. ‘Oh that’s fine, Gertie!’ she replied cheerily. ‘If you
need any help, you know where I am.’

    ‘Yes, and thank you,’ replied the young witch. ‘You would be the
first person I would come to.’

    Miss Fiendish smiled again, a real smile rather than a witchy
grimace. She then turned her attention back to the other pupils.

    Some of them were not so lucky in their search. They began to come
back gradually for help and advice. Gertie noticed Mildew wandering about
aimlessly. They could see her passing between one tree and another, then coming
back again. Finally she came to Miss Fiendish to tell her there were no trees
in the wood that looked like the ones in her book. The teacher went along with
her to point one out nearby. Mildew stared hard at the tree, then at her book,
then back at the tree.