An Academy for Witches (A Witch in Progress Book 1) Read online

  An Academy for Witches

  Copyright © D. L. Auberry, 2020

  No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the copyright owner.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Description

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Epilogue

  Also by D.L. Auberry

  Description

  After the disastrous date with her witch crush, Anwen becomes convinced to cast a spell on him, trying to get him to fall in love with her, but after doing so, the date wasn’t the only thing gone wrong.

  Convinced that the disastrous spell that stoned the guy was due to the lack of witch skills of her roommate, she decides to go on a forbidden journey.

  As it turned out, this disaster had a different explanation. Along the way she learns a lot of secrets about herself, like the fact that she wasn’t even a real witch.

  With an enchanted crush and a shattering truth that she learns about herself, how will she manage to stay enrolled in the Witch Academy when it was a place meant for witches only, which she factually was not?

  Chapter One

  Enrolling in the college of your dreams is an amazing emotion, but being accepted to the only witch academy is a totally different experience.

  The cat lingered around the girl’s gothic shoes, purring in disapproval.

  "You don't quite like it, do you?" she bent down and held the cat in her arms. "In the blink of an eye, it's going to feel like home." She tried to assure him, though the wrinkle on her face suggested that she wasn't as convinced as she thought she was.

  “Meow,” the cat replied, cozying up on her forearm, and then jumping out of her hands and into the dark ground.

  The tower was enchanting. The Enchanted Academy—the place that every witch dreamed about. A degree from the college could give you a top-notch witchy reputation. You could get easily through the Witch Lagoon, you could practice forbidden spells, and you could do a whole bunch of other things that a regular witch couldn't do. Well, you would be a complete witch only after you grabbed the degree from the academy. Meanwhile, you would be just a witch in progress and you couldn't do things like flying on a broomstick or getting into important places that defined a real witch.

  Anwen heard a cracking sound, and it wasn’t the cat lingering behind her legs. This sound came from afar, well not so far to be precise, but however it was far enough for Anwen to tell that it wasn’t the cat demanding attention.

  “Anwen Dukes,” the witch with the crooked hat spewed her name out, and it sounded so terrific from the vocal cords of the lady in front of Anwen. "Welcome on campus. We've been waiting for you for so long.”

  The cat purred.

  “You too,” the witch added to the cat.

  "It's nice being here," Anwen said, trying to hide the fear in her voice. And then she reminded herself that she was a witch, which meant that she shouldn’t be scared to meet the academic dean, who was going to be around the campus all the time. “This is Apricot, by the way.” She directed the attention to the cat.

  “Hmm, such an unusual way to call a cat,” the dean poked her chin with the index finger. “You can call me Mrs. Flinstone.” She turned around, and Anwen realized that she was supposed to follow Mrs. Flinstone. “You’ll have a wonderful time on campus, probably the best time of your entire life. It is such a wonderful experience for all the witches.”

  Apricot waddled behind his owner, and he looked so happy.

  Anwen was glancing over the building, while the dean kept telling her that this would be the best life experience she could ever get.

  The building was situated above the hill as the cold air swirled around it. They made their way around the lawn surrounded by vicious, leafless trees. Pictures of well-known witches swamped the interior. A spacious hall was packed with a bunch of rooms inside the tower. She could probably make herself at home easily. After all, even Apricot was now lurching around with a proud joy.

  “You will attend all the classes regularly and, there are forbidden rooms for students on campus and you’ll learn all about it on the fixture to the left side of the hall. I don’t know if you’ve heard, but you’ll share your room with another student, and I hope you two will get along just fine.”

  Anwen thought all this talking was just annoying. They could just skip the formalities and jump to the part where she officially commenced her university life, without all this unnecessary description.

  “412, B. That’s your room. You shouldn’t go outside the campus. And don’t forget to bring your books to each of your classes.”

  “I think I’ve got the hang of it,” Anwen tried to assure her, but she was just trying to get rid of her.

  “I hope you’ll shine so bright, dear. Your ancestors have set quite a standard.”

  That was the last sentence that the dean said to her that day. She now remained on her own and she was grateful for that.

  She climbed her way through the staircase to her room and there it was. 412, B. She opened the door, which crackled through her way in, and she found herself into the same gothic design which was integrated into the entire building.

  “You must be Anwen,” the girl in front of her smiled. “I’m Eudora, your roommate,” she tried to smile in a friendly way.

  “Hey,” she tried to sound nice. “Good to see you.”

  “You brought a cat.” She pointed at Apricot, bending a little.

  "His name's Apricot," Anwen noted.

  “Wow, such an unusual name.”

  Anwen rolled her eyes and sat on her bed.

  “So, I’ve decided to take this part of the room. If that’s ok with you.” Eudora looked at her.

  “It’s alright. Don’t worry about it.”

  “Oh,” she mumbled surprised. Obviously, she didn’t expect her to oblige so easily. “If you say so.”

  Anwen hesitated for a moment trying to remember the spell that was going to transport her belongings into her new room, but as a new witch that she was, Anwen was struggling to recall the right words.

  “Is something wrong?”

  “Oh, yeah.” Her lips purled. “I was supposed to remember the spell that is going to transport my stuff in here, but aughh, if only I could recall it…”

  Eudora hurried her way to the stack of books on the shelves and grabbed an old formulary and ruffled through it.

  “Rebus arveho,” she said and a pile of things seemed to gather up all around the room, but none of this stuff wa
s Anwen’s.

  “See, you’re supposed to summon your own things. Now we have to find a way to get rid of this mess.” Anwen pointed at the disaster in front of her.

  “That’s going to keep us busy, huh?”

  Anwen shrugged.

  “I think I got it.” She ruffled through another page. “Rebus accerso.” She muttered as Anwen’s belongings gathered up on top of Eudora’s stuff and the disaster just became more tremendous than before.

  Apricot jumped onto the bed.

  “It’s weird that your family’s not here giving you annoying little chats. My parents were so overwhelmed by all this university thing, they refused to leave me alone.”

  “Yeah, we made a deal. We drifted apart as soon as they dropped me off at the front lawn. Our deal stops them from mingling with my academic life. You know, at this point I need some privacy…”

  “Exactly. Though your rule is kind of harsh.”

  “Well, if you knew my family you wouldn’t be saying that.”

  “No matter how weird they are; I don’t think they’re weirder than my parents, and still I didn’t stop them from putting their nose in my business.”

  “You see, they’re not exactly weird. Not at all actually. If it weren’t for their successful academic lives, then I’d be totally okay with them being here. I mean, it’s hard enough having a bunch of medals all over the house, I don’t need them to remind me how hard I have to try to keep up with their unreachable standard.”

  “Well, in that case,” Eudora purled her lips.

  “By the way, how on earth are we supposed to get rid of this mess?”

  “I’ll find something,” she focused on the book in her hands again.

  She could see the entire lot from the window as the students were walking around in different directions. Constant smiles, hugs, and tears could be seen everywhere.

  “Here, I think I got it,” Eudora focused on a particular spot on the book and read it loudly. “Consarcio in loco.” All the messy stuff disappeared “See?” she said proudly until a big mess came back to the room. “Oops.” She wrinkled her forehead.

  The mess kept swirling around the room, and her roommate was not able to get rid of it.

  “I don’t understand, I’m totally sure it is the right spell.” Eudora frowned.

  “Quite a way to start my life on campus,” Anwen got out of the bed, trying to think like a witch, but she didn’t know any spell that could fix this disaster so she started tidying up on her own without the help of magic.

  Chapter Two

  “So, who’s the cutie?” Eudora was standing in front of Anwen, waiting for a response.

  “Hmm?” She pretended she didn’t hear what she was saying.

  Eudora just pointed at the picture on Anwen’s laptop and stood there quietly.

  “Oh, no one.” Anwen managed to close her laptop, saving herself the trouble.

  “So you’re just gonna stand there pretending that this didn’t happen?”

  “What happened?” Eudora’s insistence was starting to bother her.

  “Why did a guy’s pic appear on your computer screen?” Was it just Anwen, or was there a demanding note on Eudora’s tone?

  Anwen decided to disregard it, feeling just tired, and with the first day of school right around the corner, she tried to find the right books for her classes. She didn’t want to get in trouble.

  “Is this the right book for the chemistry class?” Anwen held two different books in each hand and waited for her roommate to answer.

  “I’m not sure.” She tipped her bottom lip with her index finger, squinting. “But you know what? I can find a spell that can find all the right books for us.”

  “No, no more spells until we know how to use them.” She surely didn’t want any of last night’s drama coming back all of a sudden. Not today. And she kept looking for the right books on her own.

  The first day at the academy was annoying. The chem class was the first one to go and it couldn’t have been worse than this. The professor kept babbling all the time about things they didn’t give a damn about.

  “The Chemistry book, volume one, is one of the most important books this semester. Now I’d like to show you some of the things that you need to have in my class. You should have your personal pet. Though pets are not allowed in auditoriums. You should have your own broomstick, the book of spells, and the cauldron. Now suspicious lotions are strictly forbidden. Being a good witch or a good necromancer takes a lot of time.”

  “Boring.” Eudora shifted through her seat.

  “You should be more attentive.”

  “Who cares?”

  Anwen shrugged.

  “What’s your next class?”

  “Quantum Physics.”

  “Aughhh, me too.” Eudora scoffed. “Could this get any worse?”

  Actually, it could.

  The physics teacher was a real freak who spent his entire class telling his students that being a good witch wasn’t just about being smart, but you had to be decent too.

  Anwen was already focused on some thoughts in her head at the moment Eudora decided to draw her attention.

  “Third row, second seat.”

  "Hmm?" Anwen frowned as if she was dragged in here from a parallel dimension.

  “Look at the second seat, third row.” She summoned.

  “What?” she glanced over, though she couldn’t understand what was going on.

  “The guy on your laptop…he’s here.”

  She flinched on her seat. Sure, Harvey was going to be around—she’d spent quite some time fantasizing about it—but hearing that his presence was so real and tangible was quite unbelievable.

  “So, who is he?” Eudora nudged Anwen’s arm with her elbow, raising one eyebrow.

  “He’s Harvey Bryton, he’s been my neighbor since we were children. I’ve been kind of obsessed with him my entire life.”

  “Okay, I’m gonna pretend I didn’t hear that.” She shifted in her seat. "So are you two close in any way?”

  “Well, not exactly. See I don’t think he even knows I exist.”

  "Shut up! Haven't you talked to him? I cannot believe you two have been neighbors."

  “He’s my neighbor, and it so happens he’s also the son of the witch prime minister. He’s kind of important, I guess.”

  “Well, you should talk to him.”

  “Oh, I wouldn’t dare.”

  "Damn right you would." She said stubbornly. "Actually we're gonna talk to him together after the third period." She brought her phone out of her sweater’s pocket and started texting. “Relax, that’s what college is about. Meeting new people—new guys, and hooking up with them.”

  Anwen almost burst out in laughter but the professor stopped talking and turned over to them.

  “Miss, is there something wrong?” He looked at Anwen who wanted to disappear. It was the first day of school and she was drawing attention upon her.

  “Um, no. It’s fine. You can proceed.” Eudora said with her annoying attitude.

  She disregarded the professor and made it feel so natural.

  “So we’re settled. We’ll finally get to meet Harvey after class today.” Eudora whispered.

  Anwen didn’t respond. She shifted down on her seat. Now, sure she’d spent long hours dreaming of sharing moments with Harvey, though, throughout all these long, long moments, she hadn’t figured out how she would go about it.

  But things didn’t go quite right as planned. With all the drama that had captured her, Anwen finally came to terms with the fact that she was going to finally talk to her lifelong crush.

  “Here we are,” said Eudora right after they walked through the hall. “He’s over there,” she let go of Anwen’s hand, after having forced her to walk with her to their planned location.

  Harvey was talking to some guy on the other corner of the room. His face made Anwen dream.

  “Hey,” Eudora s
hook her off. “What are you waiting for? Go ahead!” she pointed at him, indicating the direction.

  “Hm,” she drew back nervously. “You know,” Anwen hesitated. “I can’t!”

  “Well, we…” she looked up in the air. “You cannot—hmm, what’s the word,” Eudora put her index finger on the bottom lip as if she was thinking. “Yes… draw back.”

  “How do you expect me to talk to a person that I have not had the guts to talk to all these years?”

  “That’s your problem,” she said, pushing Anwen forward. What other choice did she have other than getting along with it?

  But someone made her stop in the middle of her way. A seriously pretty girl walked along and hugged Harvey. But that wasn’t even the most annoying part. Her index finger lingered on his jawline, which was followed by a long, obnoxious kiss, that made Anwen enraged. Now, that was enough to make Eudora stop. Like, she was not going to barge in on them like this.

  “Look, I’m sorry.” Eudora’s previous joyfulness was now all vanished.

  “Nah, it’s not your fault.” She tried to hide the shock on her face.

  "Well, don't stay up there, feeling sorry for yourself, when there's plenty we can do."

  “Now you’re getting me all confused. I’m not following.”

  “I mean, you’re not some silly girl who dreams of her crush and lacks the courage to talk to them. You’re a witch in progress, which means that someday you’ll become a real witch—well, hopefully—but anyway, I mean, like, yeah there’s a lot we can do, especially now that we’re in the perfect place where all the magic comes from.”

  “So you mean you’re gonna put a spell on him?”

  “No,” she corrected her with the most joyful voice she could bear. “You’re gonna put a spell on him. But anyway, girl, you learn fast.” And she nudged Anwen on the arm, feeling all excited about her devious scheme.

  “But that’s, like, forbidden.”

  “It is…” she rolled her eyes, annoyed. “If anyone finds out.” And the widest smile joined her face. “Which they won’t.”