Remembrance (sequel to 2017 worst witch season 4)

Memories- or the lack thereof?

Ada Cackle

Ada returned to her office after a long day at the academy to make arrangements for the upcoming Parents Evening for the first and fifth years. The non magical parents would, of course, have to attend the meeting online on Zapchat. The protective enchantments on Cackle's wouldn't work on them- and she certainly wasn't going to allow the spread of coronavirus among non magical parents in her school. 

Ada glanced at the wall repeatedly, as though if she did that, her sister might magically reappear in the portrait next to that awful Gullet. She gave a sad sigh, for she knew her sister was gone forever. Not even the most powerful magic could bring back what had been recycled after vanishment. People would be sure to look at her like she was out of her mind (which, perhaps she was) if she said it aloud, but she missed her sister. Before Agatha sent herself to vanishment, at the end of the day, when she retreated to her office, she'd rant to her sister about all the broken cauldrons, spells gone wrong and pranks by the students; the irrational aversion Hecate had for Miss Mould during her time as art teacher; the bad feeling she had when she hired Julie Hubble but her feeling of obligation to do so- and pretty much everything on her mind that day. Truth be told, it sometimes did feel weird to talk to a portrait, but she knew her sister was listening in there. She missed that. Originally she ran the school with her sister. It was truly a disaster, but she missed that. She missed the times Agatha went around the school wearing her glasses so that everyone mistook her for Ada back when they were girls, all the pranks they pulled together and blowing out birthday candles together. She never had a birthday cake after Agatha went to Wormwood, for she couldn't blow out the candles alone- and couldn't eat it without first having Agatha smear the icing on her face and then run away laughing. She missed nearly everything about her sister from the way she threw her head back and scrunched up her eyes when she laughed, the way she knew her so well that she never failed to fool people every time she impersonated her, the way her eyes shined on the rare occasions when their mother complemented her and not Ada to merely Agatha just constantly being there in her life- even though she was nearly always a nuisance. Although Agatha may have gone wrong on multiple occasions, Ada had always known she was redeemable. She was naughty and ambitious- and liked a good laugh, but not evil. She had never been evil before Wormwood. When Mildred and Maud told her what Wormwood was really like, she felt a huge rush of sympathy for her sister like she never had before. She had always known it deep down, but what use was that, when Agatha had already been given a permanent label as 'the bad girl'? Even when everyone saw the extent of the damage Agatha could cause, Ada always knew that beneath her evil exterior, the Agatha Cackle she knew and loved was still in there, buried deep inside. She felt a huge incompleteness as she stared at the portrait- at the place Agatha used to be but was no more. The incomplete portrait was now no longer a means for Ada to talk to her sister or to keep her safe and make sure she couldn't cause any more damage, but merely a constant reminder to her of the twin sister she never made amends with- and would never get to. Sure, Agatha had tried to take over the academy multiple times, rule the witching world by taking the Great Wizard's title, put her precious innocent girls in mortal peril and even tried to kill her. She could never forgive her sister for any of that- especially for endangering her girls. But that didn't mean she didn't love her. Anyone who didn't understand how Ada could possibly love her sister and want to wring her neck at the same time was probably an only child. 

She set aside her thoughts and began arranging the report cards of the first years in the order they were to meet the teachers- reverse alphabetical order. She gave satisfied nods looking at the report cards of the students who had scored high marks and disappointed shrugs at those who hadn't. When she saw the last report card, she gave an audible gasp, and nearly dropped it in surprise. It wasn't the marks that were shocking (the marks were above average), it was the name. 

Azura Joy Moon. 

So Indigo had remembered her childhood best friend after all. Hecate and Indigo must have been closer than she had thought. Indigo's memories of the magical world had clearly been wiped, she had seen that for herself. Yet, it could not be a coincidence that Azura's middle name was Joy. The only way forgetting powder's magic could have failed would be if the memory was too strong to be erased. She decided to save telling Hecate until later, knowing she would freak when she found out. She didn't want to distract Hecate just yet. She signed Azura's report card, kept it at the bottom of the pile and carried on with her work as if nothing had happened. 

A/N: I know I made a small mistake when I wrote first and fifth years because if Mildred was in her fifth year then by now Azura should be in second year. But Azura and Izzy randomly joined in the middle of the year, so they probably missed over half the syllabus. So let's just say they weren't moved up into the second year yet because there was no way they could pass their year end exams having learnt only a little bit. Also, I always thought it would be hilarious if Indigo turned up at Cackles with a kid named Joy who went out of her way to drive HB mad. I would kill to see HB's reaction to Indigo's kid being named Joy and convincing herself  that Joy is a common name and that this has nothing to do with anything. Azura's middle name being Joy will have to bring about at least half the same effect. Other than that, I think Ada really would miss her sister because she actually begged Agatha not to send herself to vanishment even after all she did. Ada definitely loved her sister, there's no disputing that.