Weava the Wilful Witch by Tiffany Mandrake

1. Weava Charm

    â€˜I’m not coming to Witchmeet,’ said Weava Charm. ‘Who wants to go to a boring get-together for witches for a whole week?’
    She waved her wand and a jam-jar lid spun into the air. It screwed itself onto a jar of black-magic jam. Weava smiled and sniffed the scent of blackberries, sugar and magic.
    Weava’s dad, Belfry, stared at his daughter. ‘Weava, you love Witchmeet,’ he said. ‘And if you get into that school for bad fairies, this might be the last time we go together.’
    â€˜Witchmeet’s no fun without Merry,’ said Weava, dropping her wand. ‘Everybody just talks about old times.’ Merry was Weava’s elder sister. She had left the village of Wandwood the year before to go to college.
    â€˜But what will you do instead of coming to Witchmeet?’ asked Belfry.
    â€˜I’ll stay with Merry at Wand College,’ said Weava. ‘I haven’t seen her for ages.’ She giggled. ‘Merry is so bad and funny. Remember when she cast that bouncingspell on the jam jars? They smashed everywhere, and she pretended she’d been trying to clean them!’
    â€˜Hmmm,’ said Belfry.
    â€˜And when she pretended to lose her wand and did all her work without magic when she came back last holidays?’ Weava sighed happily.
    â€˜Weava——’ said Belfry.
    â€˜I’ll take some of this jam and we’ll make black-magic cake. I’m going to make one for the Head Hags when I get to the school. What’s it called again? Hags’ Abademy?’
    â€˜Weava!’ said Belfry. ‘I need to tell you something about Merry.’
    â€˜What?’
    â€˜Merry’s not at college,’ Belfry said. ‘She’s…’ He sighed deeply. ‘I should have told you this before. She’s living in the city now.’
    â€˜With humans?’ Weava giggled with delight. ‘That’s even better! We’ll have fun.

    I can help Merry bother humans!’ She clattered towards her bedroom in her clunky shoes.
    Her dad followed. ‘Weava, you shouldn’t visit Merry just now,’ he said. ‘She’s not herself.’
    â€˜Why not?’ Weava pulled on her new cloak. ‘Where’s my skull buckle?’
    â€˜Use your witchsight to find it,’ said Belfry. *
    â€˜OK.’ Weava reached down and patted her stocking. ‘Dad, where’s my wand?’ She needed her wand to make her witchsight work. ‘I must have dropped it after I used it to screw the lids on the jam jars,’ she said.
    Belfry shook his head. ‘Weava, you must be more careful. You know the old saying: Weak is the witch who has lost a wand; she’s sure to sink if she falls in the pond. ’
    Weava searched the kitchen. ‘Maybe it slid across the floor,’ she muttered. She bent down to feel under the cupboards. ‘Ah, here it is.’
    She pulled out the wand and shook off the dust. ‘But…’ She stared at it in surprise. ‘This isn’t mine. It’s Merry’s! Oh, that’s right. She had a new one for college.’
    Weava found her skull buckle on the floor nearby, and used it to fasten her cloak. Then she spotted her own wand under the kitchen table and tucked it in her stocking. She thought for a moment, then added the old wand, too. She’d take it to Merry, for a surprise.
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    * Witchsight is a special spell witches use when they lose some thing. It makes hidden things easier to find.

2. Merry

    That night, Weava sat on her broomstick above the city. Lights twinkled through the streets.
    Her sister lived somewhere down below. Weava pulled her wand out of her stocking. ‘Find Merry,’ she said, and used her witchsight. She closed her eyes, waved the wand and pointed it downwards.
    When she opened her eyes again, her gaze was drawn to a tall block of flats.
    â€˜Here I come!’ she whooped, and swooped in to