"Guys I don't think this is a good idea…" stuttered Dani nervously, remembering the last time one of her family members dared to meddle with witchcrafts, all he did was light a single candle and it had nearly cost him, Allison and even her own life.
"Come on you coward, or would you rather go back to your lonely lunch table and lonely Friday nights?" sneered Monica, her high ponytail swinging, her pearly white teeth contrasting with her bright red lipstick, giving her an almost predatory look.
"Yeah, you dork, afraid of a little witchcraft!" taunted Maxwell "Max" Jones, the quarterback and resident bully, second in his cruelty only to his girlfriend Monica.
"This is a summoning spell! It's extremely dangerous and just as volatile as it is unstable!" warned Dani hoping to coax some sense into her peers as they crowded around her. She should have known better to accept an invite to a party hosted by the popular crowd, but she was just so desperate to make some more friends. High school had been rough for her, her best friend Aria was homeschooled, leaving Dani to face the social food chain alone. She'd quickly become an ideal target for the resident mean girl, Monica, and her posse when they'd discovered her rather unusual hobby, studying light magic. Never forgetting that faithful night where Dani saw how cruel dark magic could be, she'd swore to herself that should dark magic arise in Salem again in the near future, she'd be ready. She'd thrown herself into her studies in her free time, learning various herbal remedies and recipes that could heal and even repel or protect against darker spells, always careful to never stray too close to the darker side of witchcraft. Max had concealed all traces of Winifred's spellbook, with Allison destroying any other traces of the Sanderson sister's, and later that evening they buried Binx, next to Emily, with a hand-carved tombstone they'd made themselves.
After that night Allison and Max began dating, years later becoming engaged and moving only a street over from the family home. They scarcely mentioned that night, only acknowledging those events when the three of them holed themselves in at Max and Allison's home every Halloween night, leaving a bowl of candy on the porch, refusing to acknowledge any visitors. However there was one thing about that night that Dani couldn't, and frankly didn't want to forget, Thackery Binx. The young man turned black cat had been sarcastic and snarky towards everyone else, but to Dani, he had been patient, kind comforting, and even protective in an endearing kind of way. When he'd stepped forward in his human form, taking her hand in his and placing a kiss on her cheek, Dani had felt more at peace, more accepted, more cherished than she had in that moment. It was at that moment Dani knew she was smitten, her eight-year-old mind crushing on a young man whom she could never be with, yet a crush she cherished.
As the years passed Dani was no longer the eight-year-old she once was, now a strong-willed, sixteen-year-old with a personality as fiery as her red hair, she'd become a master of avoiding the popular crowd, knowing they'd taunt her for her unique interest as soon as they caught sight of her, but wouldn't hesitate to confront them if she spotted them picking on someone else. If there was one thing Binx had taught her it was to not put up with bullies, especially those that target those they know are too naive or afraid to fight back. However, other than knowing how to block a few punches and maybe throw one of her own from a demo they had at school a few years back, Dani wasn't much of a physical fighter, even the few potions she brewed were for remedies and the occasional spells she practiced were harmless, too weary to risk some of the more powerful spells. When she'd first began studying the light magic arts, she learned that there were three categories of witchcraft, light, dark, and grey. Spells and potions of healing and those designed for helping were often simple and while still considered were known as light magic, whereas the grey area contained spells that were mere pranks or just more powerful versions of the previous light magic spells. You see the more powerful a spell or incantation is the closer it borders to falling into the third and final category, dark witchcraft. Dark witchcraft was only the most malevolent and dangerous spells, which unfortunately were often the most powerful. Dani considered herself a white witch, or one who only uses her practices for good, and the spell that her classmates were considering was dangerously dark and could easily backfire.
"So we all know how you like to practice your little witchcraft out in the woods!" taunted Brent, best friend to Max, but just as cruel.
"Don't you idiots get it? This isn't a basic potion or conjuring a simple breeze! This is dark magic, far more dangerous than anything I've done let alone would ever be dumb enough to try!" snapped Dani growing irritated by her classmates' blatant refusal to acknowledge the dangers of what they were dealing with.
"Who are you calling and idiot dork!" growled Max, stalking over to Dani before shoving her to the ground, "We invited you here, can't you do something useful?" he sneered before leaving to go join the others in setting up the summoning circle in the center of the abandoned warehouse.
"Yeah loser, do this, or I'll make sure what little social life you have is over!" she snarled, before noticing the small pocketbook that had fallen out of Dani's pocket when she was shoved to the ground, it's small leather-bound cover latched with a buckle sitting face up. Both girls locked eyes before lunging for it, Monica only a second faster as Dani's fingers grasped air. Gripping the small notebook triumphantly, she grinned as she watched Dani's face pale as she opened the notebook. Dani could only look on in horror as the school's resident gossip held all her secrets in one hand.
Dani could only look on in horror as Monica flipped through her deepest darkest desires and muttered the one thing she'd tried to keep secret since she was eight.
"Who's Binx?" asked the resident gossip and with that Dani knew what little social life she had was over.