Forever Charmed

Something Wicked This Way Carm's

"Hello, viewers! My name is Laura Hollis!" The small blonde widens the shot so her entire bedroom can be seen. "Swish new digs compared to—"

"Laura? Who are you talking to?" a voice calls from outside the open doorway. Three redheads march into the room and stare at the camera, confused.

"My viewers!" Laura replies proudly.

The tallest of the redheads clears her throat. "Uhm, Hollis... You do know you can't be broadcasting magical stuff on the Internet, right? The Cleaners would be on you in an instant."

Laura nods. "I know, Danny. It's not going on, like, YouTube, or anything like that. Magic School has its own network."

"I'm confused. Who are your viewers gonna be?" Danny asks.

"Magic school students!" Laura beams. "When I was there, a bunch of students and I found ourselves wishing that we could've heard about what the real world of magic is like—not the watered down, kids' version we got there. Stuff like the dangers and beauty of the magical world, y'know?"

The three redheads exchange glances before shrugging.

"Alright, Hollis," the one who called in from the hallway earlier relents. "As long as you're not running around with a GoPro camera and risking your life out there."

Laura shakes her head. "Just post-mission vlogs, promise." She slides her chair back and gestures at them. "This is Danny, LaFontaine, and Perry," she says to the camera. "They were my friends from before magic school. Some of you may not know them because they're all older than me and graduated a few years ago."

The three witches awkwardly wave.

"Anyway, I'm in their coven," Laura continues, showing the Book of Shadows cover to the camera. "Like my mom was before me."

Danny clears her throat. "Uhm, not to interrupt, but... We sorta gotta get goin'."

Laura nods eagerly and stops recording.

They all take seats around Laura's bedroom. "You sure you're up for this?" LaF asks. "Absolutely nothing wrong with needing more of a learning curve. You're already pretty awesome at picking stuff up this fast."

Laura shakes her head. "No, no! I'm ready."

"Have you figured out if you have a power, yet?" Perry asks gently.

Laura lets out a sigh and shakes her head again.

"Well, you can cast spells, and that's good enough for me," Danny says with a wink.

"So odd." LaF frowns at Laura, observing her carefully. "Most witches exhibit some sort of power when they hit puberty."

"Well, she's not most witches," Perry points out. "She's half human."

Danny shrugs. "I'm sure she'll develop them when we need them. Everything happens for a reason."

Laura wrings her hands together, unsure. It had been a large source of insecurity for years, but Danny had always done her best to get rid of as much of it as she could. Besides, Laura was the best at coming up with spells on the spot.

"So... What's the mission?" Laura asks when a few seconds of silence has passed.

Perry perks up excitedly. "Well, there have been reports of some demonic activity in a warehouse downtown. Some warlocks trafficking humans."

"We're thinking this would be a great first mission for you. Some simple recon with all of us by your side. Since it won't always be like that," Danny explains.