The main course was a selection of steamed meats and freshly cooked vegetables and dessert was an array of fruits and mini cakes that the bats brought in on three tiered stands. The food was so delicious that even Alice hadn't complained once, although when Charlotte thought about it, she realized that Alice hadn't said anything since she'd sat down.
When everyone had finished eating Molly stood up and said 'luculentam' as she waved her wand. All the dirty dishes, goblets and cutlery immediately vanished and the tables were perfectly tidy.
'I so need to learn that spell,' Stef said, and Charlotte and Gerty nodded in agreement.
'Now that dinner is over it is your free time to do as you wish, may you use it wisely. I request the new students to stay behind and Molly will give you a tour of the Academy. As for the rest of you, you're now free to leave,' Miss Moffat said. She got onto the broomstick that was floating behind her chair and led the rest of the teachers and older students out of the room.
Charlotte watched as the room became quieter. Then she followed the others over to where Molly was standing in front of the platform, her blonde-hair now tied into bunches.
'I don't see why I need a tour, I know where my room is and the meeting hall is easy to find. Surely servants should be on call to show me the remaining rooms as and when I need to see them,' Alice said, breaking her short bout of silence.
'This castle is huge and I'm excited to see more of it,' Charlotte whispered to Gerty.
'Me too.'
'Welcome to Miss Moffat's Academy, I think I've already met the majority of you but for those of you who don't already know me, I am Molly McDonald, head prefect. If you have any questions or problems then my room is on the third floor, it says head prefect on the door so you can't miss it. I'm happy to help you all out-'
'You get you own room?' Alice rudely interrupted.
'Yes I do but I had to share a room when I was your age. If you are insistent on having your own room, then study hard and maybe when you're in your final year here, you too will become a prefect.'
'Fat chance,' Margaret whispered snidely which caused Demi to giggle.
'This castle is a labyrinth of hallways and staircases so it is important to get your bearings. Although if you find yourself lost and alone then simply call out to the bats and they will come and help you. There is much to see so let's begin,' she stepped forwards and the girls that had been surrounding her stepped aside, creating a pathway for her to walk through.
They followed Molly out of the meeting hall and into the depths of the castle.
Chapter Six
The first room they were taken to was the huge laundry room, full of loud, spinning washing machines. Charlotte was surprised that this room looked quite normal and that the clothes didn't magically wash themselves.
'This room is only for your uniforms and ordinary clothes, your formal capes and witch's hats will be collected and washed by the Academy staff after each formal occasion and returned the following morning,' Molly said.
'Excuse me but where are the dryers?' Alice asked.
'Erm, the sun,' Molly pointed out of the window at several long clotheslines.
'What, we have to carry our wet clothes all the way out there and hang them up ourselves?'
'Yes you do.'
'That's an outrage, I am from the famous Smithers family, I can't be expected to do such a thing. I insist that the servants do my washing for me and carry it outside.'
Molly waved her wand in the air and pointed it at Alice as she said, 'Strideo!' Alice immediately shrunk down and her clothes fell into a pile on the floor. A squeaking sound came from within the pile of clothes and a white mouse with brown patches on it scurried out by Stef's feet, causing her to let out a shriek and jump back.
'I probably shouldn't have done that but she was driving me crazy,' Molly shrugged and all the other girls looked at her?shocked.
Charlotte bent down and picked up Alice, cupping her in her hands.
'That will shut her up for a while,' Margaret said to Demi and they both sniggered.
'It's probably best you keep hold of her so she doesn't get trampled,' Molly said, as she walked towards the door.
Gerty bent down and bundled up Alice's clothes, before she followed the others.
'We shall visit the common room next,' Molly said, after she stopped in front of one of the restrooms. 'But first things first,' she took the bundle of clothes out of Gerty's hands and threw them into the rest room before she carefully took Alice out of Charlotte's hands and peered down at her.
'Alice, your whining attitude has to change. If it doesn't I'll turn you into a slug next time.' She stepped into the rest room and lowered Alice onto the ground, before she waved her wand and said, 'Exero,' and then closed the rest room door.
About a minute later a sheepish looking Alice appeared out of the rest room, readjusting her dress.
'Right then, the common room it is,' Molly said, before she continued up the hallway.
The common room was as large as the meeting hall and just as impressive with its marbled floor and high ivory white ceilings. It was full of girls playing various games and Molly walked them over to a table-tennis table. Instead of bats, the girls used their wands and instead of a ball, there was a large, fuzzy bumblebee. When the girls playing hit it, it buzzed loudly and their wands flashed.
Charlotte didn't care much for bees, she'd stepped on a dozing one once and it had caused her foot to swell. On learning that the bee would have died after stinging her, she'd found herself feeling guilty, even though her foot hurt for about a week afterwards.
Molly paused in front of some girls playing limbo under a trail of hairy stinging caterpillars. A shorthaired girl didn't lower herself enough and brushed her arm against one of the caterpillars. The part of her arm that had touched the caterpillars began to turn green and her hair floated straight up. The girl looked mortified, before rushing off to the rest room.
There was laughter from new girls but the older ones went back to playing limbo with little reaction at all.
'Will she be okay?' Charlotte asked.
'I've told Hetty a hundred times to bend lower, she'll be fine in twenty-minutes,' Molly replied.
Charlotte nodded but made a mental note never to play that version of limbo.
There was laughter coming from the other side of the room, so Molly led them over to it. There was a large picture of a fierce looking green dragon.
'They are playing put the pin on the dragon's tail,' Molly said.
A tall, slim girl placed a blindfold over her eyes and the girl by her spun her around before she reached out her hands and cautiously moved closer to the painting, then stuck a pin into the dragon's tummy.
The painting let out a loud roar that startled the new girls. The girl who was having a turn, was given the pin back. After being spun around once more, she had another attempt, but this time she placed the pin on the dragon's neck. Once again, the painting roared.
'Last chance,' one of the girls said and the others giggled.
Taking more care, the girl hesitated and then placed the pin on the dragon's leg. There was no roar at all and the girl took off the blindfold to see how accurate she'd been. Immediately the dragon came to life and became 3D as it stepped out of the painting and spat fire at her, causing her to jump back as the other girls laughed.
'Sorry.' The girl patted the dragon on its head, which it shook before it went back over to the painting and stepped back into it.
All the new girls behind Molly had moved quickly back, startled by what had taken place. Charlotte was both fascinated and terrified at the same time and wondered what she would stumble upon next.
'I won't be playing that game,' Gerty announced.
'I don't want my hair to be singed,' another girl with long curly red hair said.
'As you can see, you only get three chances and if you miss all three, well then you should be prepared,' Molly grinned. 'These may seem like games but this is whe
re you can practice and refine your skills.'
'I thought games were meant to be fun,' Stef whispered to Charlotte.
'You're a chicken, cluck, cluck,' Margaret sniggered.
Stef looked annoyed but she ignored Margaret and instead focused on Molly.
'Enough of this room, next on the tour is the grand library,' Molly beckoned them to follow her. She walked across the room with the sound of the dragon roaring behind them.
The library was crammed to the high ceilings with row-upon-row of books and a musty old book smell filled the room. To Charlotte it resembled a Victorian library and stepping into it was like going back in time. There wasn't a computer or any sign of modern technology in sight and even the large oak tables looked aged and worn.
'The Mistress of the Books is busy so we have to wait here,' Molly whispered, as she gestured with her eyes over to where two attractive women were standing in conversation with each other.
Feeling impatient and not understanding why they needed the librarian to talk to them about reading books, Stef walked over to one of the shelves and picked a book up.
A face appeared on the cover of the book and said, 'How to Use Herbs in Potions by Roberta Mayfield.'
'Shi...vers,' Stef shouted out, dropping the book.
Before she could fully comprehend what was going on she was lifted off her feet up into the air and then turned upside down so that yet again her holey knickers were on display to everyone.
All the girls giggled, even Charlotte who tried to disguise her laughter under her hand.
'Young lady, never drop any of my books again. This is my kingdom and I am a ruthless leader. These books are mostly hundreds of years old and they will be treated with respect,' a woman with long mahogany colored hair said, her stern voice seeming too severe for her youthful appearance.
Stef's face turned a beetroot shade of red from a mixture of the blood pooling to her head as well as her embarrassment. She tried holding her dress over her knickers but it wasn't an easy thing to do as she was feeling dizzy and nauseous.
'S-sorr-.'
'Just don't do it again,' she waved her wand and Stef turned the right way round and landed back on her feet, holding her pounding head and trying to ignore the large smirks on Margaret's and Demi's faces.
'My name is Mistress of the Books and this is my library. I am not here to be your friend, but I am here to assist you with your book choosing if you should need it. This library is a place of great learning and knowledge and you will treat everything in here with the utmost of respect,' she straightened her velvet black hooded cape.
'There will be NO misbehavior in MY library. If you make too much noise or are disobedient in here, then I shall have no hesitation in turning you into a toad. Do it again and I will send a needle and cotton to sew up your mouth. I know every single one of these books from cover-to-cover and I will make sure that they are all respected. I am always watching and I see everything that goes on in this library?everything!' she said, staring at Stef.
'The books have no words or pictures on the cover and they are all very old and all surrounding different aspects of witchcraft. When a book is picked up a face appears on it and the book announces its title, as you already know,' she shot Stef another stern look, causing Stef to look at the floor and hope that she wouldn't be lifted upside-down again.'
'Some pages have words but many of them have images that come to life and talk to the reader. There are two sections in this library, the common section that you can all access,' she gestured around her. 'And the restricted section,' she pointed to further down the room where a section of shelves was roped off. 'You are NEVER to go into the restricted area,' her eyes darkened. 'That section is only for staff and for students in their final year.'
'Choose which book you want out of these drawers,' she led them over to a wall of wooden drawers, all with various categories labeling them.
The highest drawers had an image of a skull on them. 'NEVER go near the restricted drawers, told apart by the skull on them. There will be dire consequences if these are ever tampered with.'
'Look up what you want to read about and choose a card,' she opened a drawer with 'common pets for witches' written on it and pulled out a card. 'The book will come to you,' a book wedged itself off a nearby shelf and flew over to her, landing in her hand.
'How to Train Your Toad by Cassandra Jemina Woodley,' a voice said, after a face had appeared on the book cover.
'When you've finished with the book put it down on this shelf on your way out,' she gestured to an empty shelf that was close to the door. 'Books must NEVER leave the library and you must sit down at a table to read them. They are fragile and very old so treat them with the care they deserve.'
Then she narrowed her eyes and stared at all the girls, 'Remember, even if you can't see me I'll be watching you. And no loud noises in the library are tolerated, witches are here to learn.'
Her face turned even darker and she bent down towards them. 'At the far end of the library hall there is a huge wooden door with a dragon handle,' her tone was low and serious. 'Nobody except for Miss Moffat and myself are allowed to enter through this door. The Book of the Dragons is behind it, a book so dangerous that the door is protected by a powerful spell. You must never go anywhere near this door as it would put your life in great jeopardy!'
'That will be all, I best get back to my books. I shall no doubt see you all shortly,' she said, before she walked away from them.
'Right, let's continue the tour,' Molly whispered.
All the girls remained silent until they had left the library, even Alice who after having seen what the Mistress of the Books had done to Stef knew better than to test her.
'She was terrifying,' Stef whispered to the girls, as she rubbed her head. 'I wonder what her real name is. Miss Mean Mistress?'
'Mistress of Misery,' another girl chimed in.
'Mistress Miserable,' Gerty chuckled.
'I'd advise you all to be quiet,' Molly said.
'But we aren't in the library anymore,' Stef said.
'I suggest you always do the right thing, unless you want to be turned into a toad for the day.'
Some of the girls looked over their shoulders and back at the library entrance. No more was said about the Mistress of the Books, but Charlotte couldn't stop thinking about the library. She liked books, always had, but she was worried about going back in there. What if she accidentally dropped a book or what if a restricted book card was in the wrong drawer and she accidentally pulled it out? It was definitely the scariest library she'd ever been into.
'Last up is the flying arena,' Molly said, as she stopped by two large bronze doors that were on the ground floor.
They followed her out into a large courtyard, overlooked by vine-covered walls.
'Here you will be taught by Miss Firmfeather, one of the most accomplished flying instructors in the world.'
'When do we get our broomsticks?' Alice asked.
'Miss Firmfeather will meet with you tomorrow and tell you all about the flying program. As for your broomsticks, you'll be getting them tomorrow but whether you can fly on them or not will be up to Miss Firmfeather.'
There were excited murmurs between the girls at the prospect of soon being able to fly.
'Excuse me but won't we be hurt if we fall off?' Charlotte asked, as she stared at the hard looking ground.
Molly smiled as she jumped up into the air then landed back down on the ground which became bouncy beneath her feet.
'I don't need a soft surface to land on because I've had lessons from my father, so I will simply blitz through the flying lessons,' Margaret said loudly.
Molly gently shook her head but didn't respond, a faint smile on her face.
Charlotte was definitely more excited about flying than she was about going back into the library. Especially now that she knew she would bounce off the ground if she fell off.
'You've all had a huge day today but tomorrow will be e
ven more exciting, so you all need to go back to your rooms and get ready for bed,' Molly said, as she walked towards the doors.
Charlotte took one last look at the flying arena and wondered what it would be like to soar around it on her very own broomstick, before following the group back into the castle.
Back in their room they were excitedly discussing the tour, and how they couldn't wait for flying lessons and how they'd help each other out when doing laundry. Charlotte and Gerty knew better than to mention Stef being turned upside-down or Alice being turned into a mouse, and instead they tried to keep the conversation bright.
'This can't be correct,' Alice shouted from the bathroom. 'Why is there only one? I can't be expected to share a bathroom, I need my own.'
'Seriously, at home I have to share a bathroom with my two older brothers, my little sister and my parents so I don't know what you're whining about,' Stef said.