The Maple Witches (Worst Witch Spin-Off)

Chapter Seven

She was running through a dense forest and trying to find a way out. With every step she took, more trees seemed to sprout up in front of her, further obscuring a possible escape route. Suddenly, she could no longer move at all. Rooted to the spot, she panicked - and then somehow started to glow. She looked at her hands and saw that they had turned to paper.

Then she heard a ruffle of feathers and a squawk and all of a sudden she was ripped free from the soil, rising further and further up through the trees, away from the forest floor and out through the leafy canopy towards a glaring red sky. She twisted her head to see her papery limbs were being clenched tightly by a large falcon, whose wings thumped against the air above them as they ascended.

But all of a sudden, the bird's feathers turned to an inky black and she found herself staring into the blood red eyes of a crow. The eyes narrowed, and without warning, its feet released her and she was falling.

Falling further and further, getting faster and faster, staring into the scarlet sky, screaming...

She awoke with a start.

It took her a few moments to steady her breathing. The dream had been so intense - almost as though she had been awake throughout.

Sun was streaming in through the cracks in the shutters that were closed over the window. She could hear birds chirping outside, as well as the rush of the wind.

Suddenly, something clicked into place and sent her heart racing uncontrollably - again. Throughout her entire dream, she had kept seeing the colour red. That was because her watch, which lay on the bedside table, was an angry red and glowing fiercely, illuminating the other side of the room. She was late. Wrenching the watch off the side and staring down at the face in shock, she saw that she had already missed breakfast and had just 10 minutes before potions started.

"Bats, bats, bats!" she swore. "I am so dead."

Thankfully she had no need to get changed, having fallen asleep in her now copiously crumpled uniform, but her hair was a rat's nest. She raked a comb through her hair before hastily working it into two plaits. Then she pulled on her boots.

Seven minutes.

She checked her timetable and crammed pens and the appropriate books into her satchel.

Five minutes.

She scoured her spellbook for a tidiness spell, only for the top of the page to remind her that magic must not be used for selfish or trivial ends.

Four minutes.

She ran to the bathroom at the end of the corridor, splashed water on her face and brushed her teeth.

One minute.

She ran for her life.

She bolted down stairs and unsettling empty corridors, seeing student witches getting their books out of their satchels every time she looked through a classroom door.

When she finally arrived at the potions laboratory, she was a minute late. She peeked through the small window in the door, wincing when she saw that the lesson had already started. But HB was writing on the board - maybe she could sneak in unnoticed? She highly doubted it, but it was worth a try.

She opened the door as quietly as she could, only opening it a quarter of the way. She slipped through to the other side, holding her breath before slowly shutting the door behind her. Then she crept behind the back row bench and took her seat next to Ana.

"How nice of you to join us Persephone."

Sephy looked up from getting her books out of her satchel and almost jumped out of her skin - Miss Hardbroom had literally materialised in front of her.