Chapter Fifty-One

Arriving in the office the three people went to find chairs to sit in. Constance sat in the middle and for the first time Amelia and Mildred could see she was in shock as they sat down either side of her.

"What on earth happened in the caravan Constance?" Amelia asked.

"It was an trap, my dad had set it all up to lure me there" Constance said

"But the caravan was on fire.."" Mildred said

Constance was surprised to feel an tear fall down her face. After all she had not liked her parents maybe it is the fact she hadn't been able to save her mother.

"They are dead..." Constance said.

Mildred and Amelia looked at each other neither knowing how to respond to that comment.

"Alright I think you best explain exactly what happened" Amelia said.

"I arrived and spoke to my mother for an while and then I got upset so went to leave but my father showed up, we fought for an bit as you probably guessed and then he got angry and started throwing petrol all over the caravan he had also secretly planted Carbon Monoxide into the air. He got an lighter and threatened to burn the place down and I was scared because I had just gotten Mildred back, I managed to hold him back for an little while with an shield charm and I told my mum to come with me a few times but each time she refused, eventually the shield broke so I had to leave them both in there as I escaped and then the caravan exploded meaning he must have gone through with it, somehow I thought he was teasing" she said

Everyone sat there for an few minutes in silence totally lost for words until Constance in an quieter voice than normal broke the silence.

"This is all my fault, I am so stupid I didn't even think to use magic until it was to late to stop him" Constance sighed

"Constance none of this was your fault and you were under the effects of the deadly gas I am surprised you even managed to do an intense piece of magic like an shield charm" Amelia told her

"I had to get out...for Mildred" she said looking at the girl who cuddled into her.

"What happened to your face mum?" Mildred asked looking up at her as she noticed her red cheek and scabbed lip, there was also an red line down the side of her face which was dried blood.

"My father hit me don't worry I am perfectly fine" she said.

"How could he did that to you?" the girl said sadly not understanding how anyone can hit their own child and then she held onto her mother tighter.

"Thank you for saving yourself for me because I do need you" Millie said. Constance kissed her head.

"I know, I wish I had not left my mother though who leaves their mother in an situation like that?" she asked. Amelia spoke up

"Constance what happened to your mother was not your fault,you had to make an choice and stay alive for your daughter, equally she had to choose her husband or daughter, even if he was controlling her she choose him that is the reality of it, it was all her choice to stay with him" she told her as she squeezed the woman's shoulder to comfort her.

"I was worried I wouldn't be able to get out and you wouldn't even know where I was" the woman confessed.

"What happened to your phone mum? It said it has been disconnected" Mildred asked remembering.

"My dad threw it against the wall and it smashed, sorry honey I didn't mean to scare you, I know I should have told you where I was going I don't know why I didn't" Constance said.

"That doesn't matter anymore, what are we going to do about this will you want an funeral or anything?" Amelia asked.

"I suppose we should call the police to go and sort the caravan out, I am their only living relative now, well apart from Mildred, my grandparents are dead and both of them were only children, I suppose we can do something small" Constance said.

"I think that is an good idea, I will also call the doctor that gas can be deadly let's make sure there is no long term effects from you inhaling it" Amelia said.

"What about all their stuff? Their house and things?" Mildred asked curiously.

"Well I suppose as your mother is their only living relative she will automatically receive everything they own, what she chooses to do with it is up to her" Amelia told the girl kindly.

"Why can you not transport anymore?" Mildred asked worried.

"I can honey my magic is just weak right now" Constance replied

"I didn't know that could happen" Mildred replied.

"Yes sometimes if you use an difficult spell or an spell that takes an lot of energy it can weaken you for an while, that is what happened with me and the shield charm which is very powerful magic and the gas that entered my body made my body weaker too and until you have an chance to rest it can be dangerous to do an powerful piece of magic as you can end up hurting yourself" Constance told her.

"Wow, I thought magic never ran out" the girl said with an laugh.

"Mildred your phone is the only one in the school right now can I borrow it to call the police?" Amelia asked the girl nodded and handed it over.

The police went to investigate the caravan where it was confirmed there was two bodies and an doctor came to check on Constance where he found there was no long term effects from the Carbon Monoxide as Constance had not been exposed to it for long enough to cause to much damage.

"Well that is one good thing to come out of this you are perfectly fine" Mildred smiled

"I suppose it is an good thing and my dad can't hurt us anymore" Constance said

"I have been meaning to ask what on earth is an shield charm?" Mildred asked

"We will explain later dear your mother needs to sleep now and it is quite hard to explain" Miss Cackle said.


As her mother slept Mildred went to the library but she was still very curious about an shield charm. She saw her third year friends and smiled wondering if they knew what an shield charm was.

"Fenny, Gris, do you know what an shield charm is?" she asked them joining them at their table.

Fenella and Griselda were an year older than Mildred and her friends and they explained they had just learned about shield charms in their spells lesson with Miss Cackle, the two girls explained to Mildred exactly what it is.

"Shield charms are not standard magic they are known as advanced magic" Fenella started

"What is advanced magic?" she asked

"It is magic that is an lot more difficult than standard spells and an lot harder to pull of correctly, shield charms are some of the most advanced magic there is because there is no way to cast one just by saying words" Griselda explained.

"What do you mean exactly?" Mildred asked confused

"Shield charms are protective charms and you can only cast them through feelings, basically as cheesy as it sounds it is cast by the love of someone, it is complicated shield charms were first invented during war time where people would be trying to save soldiers and their strong feeling of love or protecting that person would form the shield, it is something that happens when someone wants to protect someone more than anything" Griselda said

"So the person casting the charm do they have any choice about it? Like do they control it?" Mildred asked.

"They have no way of stopping the shield forming if the feeling is strong enough it will form, they can control the shield though through concentration the shield will only break when concentration is lost" Fenella said.

"So there is no way possible for someone to learn the charm?" Mildred asked still slightly confused.

"No it is an charm that is only made by feeling, the best, most powerful witch in the world could not produce an shield charm if she did not love someone enough" Griselda said

"That is really weird I never knew there was spells like that"" Mildred said.

"This is one of an kind it is the only charm like that, though shield charms do put an lot of strain on the caster because they are so advanced and powerful some people have fainted or injured themselves afterwards" Fenella said.

Mildred couldn't help but smile. She knew in that moment how deeply her mother loves her if she is able to produce an shield charm. Mildred hoped if she was ever in that situation she could do the same.