The story so far: Amanda is charged with training a new batch of apprentices. They are nervous to be training under the famous witch. Amanda, in turn, is wary of one of them — Wendy, a notoriously naughty young witch. The training begins with the wands choosing their new masters .
Wendy stared at the wand with the largest flower. The wand hovered uncertainly before her, then it slowly moved towards Robert, the tallest boy with a mop of curly hair. A bee could get lost in his curly hair. Lunging forward, Wendy grabbed the wand, knocking down Robert.
At Wendy’s touch, a few sparks burst forth from the tip of her wand and crackled for several minutes. It was unusual behaviour from a wand. Amanda watched the meeting of wand and master with interest. She would keep a watch on this apprentice.
Amanda then demonstrated how expert witches and wizards held their wands. “A light wrist movement helps in speeding up the spells,” she said. She watched as a few apprentices grip the wand tightly, as though strangling it.
“This batch is the worst,” Amanda grimaced, as a student had dropped his wand.
Over the next few days, Amanda demonstrated a few simple spells to summon and attract objects, to repel obstacles and basic spells for safety and protection. The apprentices practised outside her house.
“Rexorus!” Samuel screamed, pointing his wand at a table. Samuel’s podgy face was contorted into a mask of concentration.
Wham! The large table crashed into Samuel. He fell with the table on top of him.
“Don’t shout while summoning objects; it makes the objects bang into the summoner,” Amanda pushed the table away from Samuel. “Summoning spells should be whispered. Watch me”
Apprentices continued to injure themselves with the Summoning Charm. The summoned objects collided into them, knocking them off their feet. Bruises and black eyes cropped up on embarrassed faces.
“REXORUS!” Dolna yelled.
A football struck Dolna’s face.
“Never yell while casting spells,” Amanda shook her head. “Watch me.”
“Rexorus,” Amanda whispered.
The football leapt off the ground. Moving slowly in the air, it hovered before Amanda.
Impressive
The apprentices were slow learners. But, Wendy was brilliant. Every spell of hers met with success.
“Rexorus,” Wendy pointed her wand at a tree.
A tiny bird flew through the air. Perching on her shoulder, it chirped.
Dexoram,” Wendy said softly.
The bird flew back to the tree.
“Good,” Amanda smiled at Wendy.
One day, during Transformation Training, Amanda carried an ornate jar. A plump frog sat inside it. The bewildered frog stared at eighteen pairs of eyes. What would they do to me, the worried frog hopped inside the jar.
“Transform the frog into a dog with the Transformus Spell,” Amanda said.
Rachel moved towards the table.
“Transformus Dogus,” she flicked her wand, as though brandishing her sword in front of an enemy. She towered above the other apprentices. She was also the oldest.
The green frog stared at Rachel. The table transformed into a ferocious dog. The frog’s alarmed eyes darted all around. The dog growled. The students shrank back and Rachel’s oval face turned red. She moved back.
“Transformus Tablea,” Amanda whispered the counter spell. The dog was transformed back into the table. “You must have pointed the wand at the table instead of the frog,” Amanda explained.
Robert moved to the centre of the room. His chocolate brown eyes were pinned on the frog. Pushing back his long blonde hair from his face, He flicked his wrist gracefully in a long arch, as though drawing a rainbow.
“Transformus Dogus,” he said.
The frog remained an amphibian. The wall disappeared. In its place was a canopy of green — long tendrils emerged from its depths.
“The boy with the green thumb,” Amanda mocked. With a flick of her wand, she conjured the wall back. “You must have imagined a garden while saying the spell.”
The other apprentices were worse. Amanda shook her head. Rosalyn, a skinny girl with sharp features, turned the frog into a stuffed Teddy Bear. Red-haired Clanny turned the frog into a block of wood.
Wendy moved to the centre. Seventeen embarassed apprentices watched her demonstrate her transformation skills.
“Transformus Dogus,” Wendy pointed her wand at the frog. Her eyes were focused on the plump frog.
The frog disappeared. On the table beside the empty jar, a small black dog growled fiercely.
Few terrified apprentices moved back.
“Good,” Amanda smiled approvingly.
“Transformus Frogus,” Wendy re-transformed the dog into a frog.
Amanda made her apprentices practise several times until they finally learnt to transform the frog into a dog.
To be continued...
