Lovesick Witches

Contemplation and Discovery

As I lay in my cold, lonely dormitory room in my hard bed, facing the ceiling, I couldn't seem to settle my mind and go to sleep. I had so many thoughts, unnecessarily running through my head. 

My first full day at Cackle's Academy had been okay, to be honest. Aside from the mistake I had made in potions class. But I didn't really care about that anymore, as I understood what I had done wrong, thanks to the detention with HB. 

Although this particular incident wasn't worrying me anymore, some other things were. Miss Hardbroom said that my potion failed because the way I had been taught to brew it at Pentangle's differed from the way students are taught to brew it here. HB's words echoed in my mind. "Pentangle's teaches modern magic. Cackle's is more traditional. Same outcomes, different methods." Sure, I learned to add less pondweed next time I brew a protection potion. But what about all the other spells and potions? 

I assumed that all the potion recipes I had been taught at Pentangle's were taught differently here. More "traditional" magic, they call it. Meaning that every other potion I have been taught, every spell, every chant, will be different here. And if this is true, then all the other spells and potions I try will turn out horribly wrong, just like the potion this morning did. 

I'm going to have to re-learn everything I learned at Pentangle's over the space of four years, in just one year! I'm going to have to alter everything that I know and basically start learning magic from scratch! Oh no. I only have one year before my final exams and I have to learn everything all over again, differently this time. Same outcome, different method. 

I lay in my bed anxiously, worrying about how much I have to learn in such a short amount of time. But, it did then occur to me that lying there, stressing over all of this wouldn't change the situation. So, I decided to try and clear my mind and get to sleep. I would speak to Miss Hardbroom the next day about this and see if she could help. If it was just a case of many extra study sessions, I was up for it, as long as it meant I would pass my exams.

As I began to relax and empty my mind, something different occurred to me. I was no longer thinking about the re-learning magic situation. No. I, for some reason, found myself thinking about something else entirely. Rather, someone else. 

There was something about Miss Hardbroom in detention that night. The way she opened up to me. I knew that something was drawing me to her in potions class at the beginning of the day, but when I was speaking to her in detention, I felt somehow... connected to her. It was weird, as we had only just met and I barely knew who she was. But as I continued to reflect on the events of the day, I realised that she gave me a strange sense of happiness and comfort when talking to me. 

It was as though she had distracted me from any thoughts or feelings that had previously consumed me. 

I thought about how I felt when I was rushing to detention from the library. I was stressed about being late. I felt scared, nervous, that she was going to shout at me. I sort of felt ashamed that I had... I don't know... let her down or something. I wanted to impress her and was disappointed in myself. I felt this feeling until I saw her sitting at her desk. We made eye contact when I bursted though the door. It was an intense eye contact, yes. But when I reflected on my feelings when we made eye contact, I noticed that they had changed. Suddenly. All that fear and shame I was feeling whilst running there suddenly disappeared the second our eyes met. I reviewed this in my mind. It seemed so bizarre. 

It was as though she had just taken away my worries and cured my disappointment, even though she was angry at me. Yes. It was like a distraction. Distracting me from everything I was thinking about and from everything I was feeling, without me even noticing. I was entirely focused on her. It was like I didn't care about anything else. Only her. 

Oh no. I moved to this school to avoid distractions. To focus on my studies. Both of which, I had just discovered, had failed entirely. And I'd only been here a day. 

My studies needed a LOT of work, as I had realised, because of this more "traditional" style of magic here at Cackle's. 

And as for distractions? Well. Scrap the idea of boys being the problem. 

I think I may have just fallen for my new potions teacher.