The Maple Witches (Worst Witch Spin-Off)

Chapter Six

Sephy was shattered after the day's lessons had finished, and a little wary of the fact that she was quite behind in more than one subject. She enjoyed music, but she had never been a fan of the classical chanting that she was now studying. She could identify exactly 2 of the 50 magic runes they had been asked to identify in Magical Languages - she'd tried to learn a few over the holidays but found they all looked exactly the same. Plus, she'd had more pressing issues on her mind. And to top it all off, they had been told in Witching History that they would have a test on ancient witches next week.

She'd never meant to let all of it get on top of her. She really did want to do well at Cackle's, and learning to be a witch had been a dream for as long as she could remember. But life had a cruel knack for putting things into perspective and after the accident, she'd left her new schoolbooks to collect dust on her bookshelf whilst she helped her father search for a cure for her mother. Even modern magical medicine had yet to discover a foolproof method to awaken comatose patients. Both her and her father knew that it would probably take a miracle. Sephy also knew that the chances of her thinking of something that medical professionals, including her father, wouldn't arrive at were slim to none, but she wasn't about to sit around and do nothing. 

All the same, there were several things she had enjoyed about her first day at Cackle's and those were all centred around the friends she had made. Ana had always been so bubbly, Cassandra and Hazel had continued to crack jokes throughout the day and Sephy couldn't wait to spend more time with them.  However, when everyone returned to their rooms after dinner, she decided to go to the school library instead. She had a few things to sort out.

Firstly she went to the Magical Languages section. It wasn't long before she found the type of book she was looking for. It was entitled: "Learn Your Magic Runes and Symbols In A Week".

"That would be nice," she muttered under her breath as she tucked the tome under her arm.

Her next stop was the potions section. As she looked along the shelves, she realised that she had seen or read most of them before, and she wanted something new. She drifted further and further along the isle until the light of the candles in the room didn't quite reach her anymore and she found herself squinting at the names that were embossed on the spines.

'Covert Brewing', 'A Potion A Day', 'Ye Olde Aynciente Elixeers', 'Weather Potions'...

Suddenly, a large book with dust clinging to its faded red spine caught her eye.

'Remedies Throughout the Ages'

She'd never seen it before, and maybe it could provide the answers she was looking for. She tugged it from the shelf and placed it on top of the book on runes.

Finally, she made her way over to the History section, which boasted by far the biggest collection in the library. Sephy resented the fact that everyone but her seemed to recognise the significance of Maple Grove, and she didn't intend to be out of the loop for much longer.

Scouring the index cards hanging under the plaque that read Witching History,   she found an entry of relevance.

'Maple Witches, A History of : Ref 87CWH53'

She pulled out a notebook and pen from her satchel and scribbled down the reference number, then went on a search throughout the shelves. That was when she heard someone come in. Peering through the books that were shielding her from view, Sephy saw that it was Miss Hardbroom.

She watched with curiosity as Miss Hardbroom made her way over to the librarian's desk in the corner of the room.

"The key to the staff collection, if you please Miss Alabaster," she barked.