Caution: Witch In Progress (17 page)

    ‘Are you sure?’ Gertie heard her say.

    ‘Oh yes, very sure,’ replied Miss Fiendish.

    ‘It looks a lot bigger than in the book,’ came Mildew’s reply at
last.

    Gertie heard Miss Fiendish do her best to explain that the shape
of a tree’s leaves was a good way to recognise what type it was. Trees, she
said, came in all kinds of shapes and sizes. Mildew didn’t quite get the point.
She drifted back three times to be directed to the right trees. The teacher
treated it all in her own patient way.

    Over to the left through the trees, Gertie heard a dull thud.
She immediately thought Owl had flown into another tree, but this time it
wasn’t him. Wanda and Haggie had both dashed for the same branch, and banged
heads as they bent for it. They were now glaring and grimacing at each other,
each holding one end of the branch and refusing to let go. Miss Fiendish hurried
over to sort out the problem. She looked like she was beginning to wonder if
letting pupils choose their own broomsticks was a very good idea at all.

    Once the teacher returned, Ghoul soon followed with a decidedly
old and maggoty ash branch, and showed it to Miss Fiendish with a big grin on
his face. ‘Look Miss, it has pets in the wood too!’

    ‘Very nice, I’m sure, Ghoul,’ said the teacher pleasantly. ‘But
it might not be very strong to fly on. Maybe you should try to find one a
little fresher, don’t you think?’

    ‘Okay, Miss,’ replied Ghoul, still giving an impressive grimace.
That was the way Ghoul smiled. He put a few pets in his pocket for good measure
before discarding the old rotting branch. ‘They’re so cute,’ he explained. ‘But
I must keep them away from Charlie. He looks keen to taste them.’

    Fang came back with quite the opposite.

    ‘Had that branch already fallen, Fang, or did you have to give
it a helping hand?’ asked Miss Fiendish.

    ‘I found it, just like you said,’ snarled Fang in his usual offhand
manner. He obviously didn’t like Miss Fiendish. He’d been heard to say she was
too namby-pamby to be a real witch.

    Miss Fiendish’s expression showed she wasn’t convinced about
Fang’s reply.

    Gertie thought the big branch did look to have been torn from a
healthy tree. There was nothing anyone could do about it now though.

    ‘Well,’ Miss Fiendish said, ‘I can only warn pupils beforehand. I’m
not able to accompany each and every one of you to make sure you have listened
to me.’

    Gertie couldn’t understand anyone ignoring her advice. But Fang?
Well, Fang was just Fang.

    ‘You will see though, Fang,’ she continued, wagging her finger. ‘You
will soon know about it if you have damaged a healthy tree to make your
broomstick.’

    Gertie thought that sounded quite alarming! She watched all the
young witches and warlocks arrive back eventually with suitable finds. The
unsuitable ones, Miss Fiendish helped to replace. It was now time to go back to
the Academy to put their assorted woody pieces into the boxes already marked
with each of their names. Apparently, they would all be miraculously
transformed into working broomsticks. Mr Wolfsbane would have them ready in
time for Friday’s first broomstick lesson. As if by magic!

On
the next day, Gertie had another levitation class. She was managing to make her
pencil hover quite well now, as were many of the others. Still, she didn’t rate
her chances of levitating a broomstick yet. Especially one she was sitting on!
Even though Miss Black said the principle was the same regardless of size or
weight, Gertie wasn’t convinced.

    Bertha’s abilities, though quite impressive, seemed limited to
making objects (usually edible ones) levitate towards her mouth. Gertie decided
her friend could cause herself a lot of damage in broomstick class unless she
thought carefully about what she was doing. A broomstick hitting her in the
mouth would be quite painful.

    The afternoon was free for personal study ready for the pupil’s
Presentations. Gertie spent the time in the library. Bertha went for a nap.

‘I have all my best ideas when I’m asleep,’ she reassured her
friend.

    Gertie was quite concerned about Bertha’s chances of passing her
Presentation, but nothing seemed to worry the overweight witch. She had
probably convinced herself that it didn’t matter. After all, her family could
well afford her place at the Academy, whether she passed or not.

    Gertie desperately wanted to pass for her Ma and Gran. They
would be so proud.

    Back in her room later, Gertie’s gaze wandered to her crystal
ball. Could she really see Ma and Gran if she tried hard enough? She hadn’t yet
been to her first crystal ball reading lesson, but the young witch had been
doing some studying in preparation. The idea, she had read, was to be able to
empty your mind. That wasn’t very easy, especially with Bat chattering away
about nothing in particular on the windowsill.

    He was currently talking about a walk Gertie had taken him on.
They had been to visit Wart. Bat had admired the stagnant pond so much from his
window that Gertie had agreed to take him to see it close up. He had also
caught a glimpse of the Moat Monster on the way. Life had taken on a whole new
meaning for the little umbrella. Gertie had to be very careful not to let the
Moat Monster’s name slip to Bat. He would really have got up to mischief with
it. Gertie could imagine him yelling ‘Mervin!’ from the high window, and then
laughing himself sick safely out of reach of the embarrassed monster. Poor
Mervin wouldn’t find it funny at all.

    Though Bat wasn’t being too much trouble, all things considered,
Gertie was well aware she had to be on her guard when near him. It’s not that
Bat was evil, but he never thought about what he was about to say. It didn’t
cross his mind he could easily hurt people with his hastily spoken words.

    Bat fell silent because he had found something interesting to
watch instead.

    Gertie went to look what he was staring at. Fang was outside,
trying to levitate a big branch he had obviously brought back from the wood. He
wasn’t doing very well, but it clearly amused Bat to watch him. It had clonked
the warlock painfully on the shins twice already. Fang proceeded to jump on it
in anger, and the other end shot up and hit him on the nose.

    Bat carried on watching, chuckling to himself.

    Gertie took her chance while Bat was distracted. She sat on her
bedside chair in front of the crystal ball. She stared into it intently. She
could see her own reflection distorted in it, which distracted her. Now she was
trying to make out her face rather than think of nothing. How could anyone
think of nothing? Gertie didn’t believe it was possible. She stared for some
time, but the more she tried to think of nothing, the more her mind wandered.
After a while, Gertie’s eyes began to ache. She closed them for a few moments,
and then looked back at the crystal ball. She felt quite weary.

    Before long, Gertie felt herself drift into a world half way
between wakefulness and sleep. Still looking into the crystal ball, she saw an
image of Ma looking into her crystal ball at home. Ma’s expression suddenly
changed from one of concern to a surprised but happy smile. Gertie jumped, and
the image was gone. Had she truly seen Ma then, and had Ma seen her? Gertie
wasn’t sure whether it had happened, or if she had been entering a dream. Try
as she might, she couldn’t get Ma’s image to come back. Maybe she was trying
too hard.

    After a while Bat began to chatter again telling her something
else about Fang, so Gertie gave up. Maybe after her first crystal ball lesson
she would know more, and then it would become easier. She hoped so. It would be
lovely to be able to see Ma whenever she wanted.

    Some distance away in Vile Vale, Ma exclaimed ‘Mother! Look!
It’s our Gertie!’

    Before Gran could come to see, the image had disappeared.

    ‘Oh dear,’ said Ma, quite disappointed.

    ‘Never mind,’ consoled Gran. ‘If our little witch can do that
before any lessons, just think how good she’ll be after!’

    Ma nodded. ‘It would have been so nice to see her for a while
longer,’ she sighed. ‘But I suppose you’re right.’

    ‘Right? Of course I’m right,’ replied Gran. ‘Have you ever known
me to be wrong?’

    Ma resisted the urge to mention Aunt Satana.

    Almost before Gertie knew it, she and Bertha were sat in their
usual places in class, right at the back. Even though it didn’t always work at
protecting them from being asked questions, they still felt safer there.

    Miss Gory had arrived already and was reaching old crystal balls
out of a cupboard behind her desk. She said they would be loaned to anyone who
didn’t already have their own. Gertie carefully clutched hers, wrapped in its
silken cloth. Owl sat on her shoulder, probably wondering where they were
today.

    Bertha already had a crystal ball, and it was a very good one.
The big girl had everything money could buy. Gertie watched her carelessly pull
it out of her pocket, and cringed as she bumped it down on the desk.

    Miss Gory was quite an old witch, with a slight squint. Nothing
like Grothilde’s though. Gertie had never seen anyone with a wandering eye that
wandered quite as far as Grothilde’s. It didn’t even seem to want to be part of
the same head as its partner. It always gave the impression of trying to escape
off Grothilde’s face. Miss Gory just had one eye looking slightly off to one
side while the other stared straight forwards. Gertie guessed it didn’t affect
her crystal gazing in any way, since this must be her speciality.

    Once all the other pupils had assembled, Miss Gory introduced
herself. She then asked who didn’t have their own crystal ball. Some hadn’t,
which made Gertie extra pleased that she had.

    ‘Those of you without your own crystal ball,’ began Miss Gory, ‘please
step forwards and choose one to borrow for today’s lesson. I must however
encourage you to try to get your own, if at all possible. The crystal ball and
its reader build up a special connection. This can only happen if you use the
same one each time. Never let anyone else use or handle your crystal ball, or
the rapport you are building will be broken. Come along, these will have to do
for now.’

    Ghoul, Hexa, Clawd, Mildew and a few others headed over to the
teacher, and then returned to their desks with a rather dusty crystal ball
each.

    Clawd tried to blow the dust off his, so he could see into it a
little better, Gertie supposed. He left his pessimistic rat temporarily unable
to breath, and looking sure it was about to die. Clawd gave it a reassuring pat
on its humped back. ‘It’s okay, you’re not dying yet, rat,’ Gertie heard him
whisper.

    ‘Seen that in your crystal ball, have you?’ asked Fang who was
sitting nearby. Fang had a large, shiny, expensive looking crystal ball of his
own. He looked down his long hooked nose at the poor old object sat in front of
Clawd. ‘No, maybe not,’ he answered himself. ‘Doubt if you’ll see anything
through that muck.’

    Clawd looked embarrassed, and stared down at his warty hands.
Fang was a master at making others feel small and uncomfortable.

    ‘As I said,’ repeated Miss Gory, ‘If you will quieten down and
listen.’ She was staring at Fang, who flushed a little. ‘Every witch and
warlock has the ability to see images in a crystal ball. This is known as
scrying, and has been used for centuries as a form of fortune telling. The
word, scrying, comes from an old English word, descry, meaning to reveal.
Witches of all ages have practised scrying, and even some normals have the
ability.’

    She paused as a shocked hiss passed through the room.

     ‘Yes indeed,’ she continued. ‘Not many however. Not really
anyway, though some pretend to for their own purposes.’ She paused again to let
that thought sink in. ‘All of you though will have the ability to see messages
or symbols, or even clear pictures. These might represent past, present, or
even future events. Your task will be to learn to interpret what they mean.
They might not be very distinct images at first, but as you gain more of a
connection with your crystal ball, they should become stronger and clearer.’

    This made Gertie feel quite good. Her image of Ma had been quite
clear, although very short. Maybe it was because Ma had bought the crystal for
her?

    ‘You all have the ability to predict the future, answer
questions, and solve problems.’ Miss Gory said. ‘But the power might be buried
deeper in some of you, than in others.’

    ‘It has more layers to dig its way through in some people,’ Fang
joked to Malicia, while turning to stare at Bertha. Malicia giggled in
appreciation of his wit.

    With a glance at them, the teacher carried on. ‘Look after your
crystal ball, and it will look after you. It will become a friend you turn to
for help. When not in use, keep it wrapped in a dark cloth to preserve its
energy safely inside. Also keep it out of direct sunlight, because sun will
quickly sap its power. I see some of you have sat your crystal balls on dark cloths,
and that is very good,’ Miss Gory nodded.

    Gertie smiled. Hers was on the black silk she kept it wrapped
in!

    ‘The dark background will help with the reading,’ the teacher
continued. ‘It is also much better to scry alone, but we will have to do our best
as a group in class. You need to try to work alone, and ignore each other as
much as possible.

    A few sniggered at that. Fang muttered something about some
being a bit big to ignore. The teacher glared at him, so he soon shut up.

    ‘Not all witches use crystal balls to scry,’ Miss Gory
continued, ‘since they are rather expensive. Many use a cauldron painted black
on the inside and filled with water. Into this, they drop a silver coin to
represent the moon in a night sky. It can be quite an effective method of
scrying, but at the Academy we like to teach the best.’ She paused with pride
on her yellow face.

    ‘Without further ado,’ Miss Gory concluded, ‘I think it is time
you all had a try. Remember, don’t expect immediate results. The main points to
remember are relaxation, and concentration. Try to clear your mind of
everything but the crystal, and what it is trying to show you. Don’t worry if
it takes a while. This varies even with experienced witches. Time doesn’t
matter. You will, eventually, start to see changes in the ball. It might be a
milky mist, or colours, or even darkness through which your images appear. All
be quiet now, and try to relax. Let’s all scry!’

    Bertha quietly said she liked the idea of relaxing. Maybe this
wouldn’t be too bad a class after all. She could do relaxing very well. She
looked into her crystal ball, and relaxed so much she was soon asleep.

    Gertie gave up on Bertha, and stared intently into her own
crystal ball. She tried to see Ma again.

    She saw Bertha jump a few minutes later as Miss Gory tapped her
on the shoulder. ‘That’s a little too relaxed,’ the teacher whispered, so not
to distract the other pupils. ‘Look into your crystal ball. A fine one it is
too! Do you see anything?’

    Bertha pursed her lips and thought about it for a few minutes
while Miss Gory patiently waited. She seemed to have decided to stay there a
while in case Bertha fell asleep again.

    Finally, Bertha said, ‘I can see myself looking all weary and
bleary eyed. Is it a premonition?’ She sounded slightly worried.

    ‘No,’ replied Miss Gory, ‘it’s your reflection.’

    Gertie saw Miss Gory’s eyes look up to the ceiling. She seemed
to be finding her new pupils a bit difficult.

    Gertie concentrated hard as the teacher approached her desk, and
was relieved when she passed by and went on to the next one.

    A shocked call from Ghoul had Miss Gory hurrying over to his
desk.

    ‘Whatever’s wrong?’ she asked, in some concern over what the boy
might have seen.

    ‘Sorry, Miss,’ said Ghoul, shamefaced. ‘Charlie peered through
the other side of my crystal ball.  He looked so big, I thought I was seeing a
vision of a monster coming after me.’

    ‘Not everything you see will be a premonition,’ Miss Gory
assured Ghoul. ‘Try to keep calm. Just keep trying, or should I say, scrying!’