"Sabrina!"

I awoke with a start and rushed to make myself presentable as I went to answer her call. I opened my door with as sweet a smile as I could muster. "Yes, Aunt Zelda?"

She took a long drag on her cigarette before answering. "Do you have anything to do with that awful, heavenly mess along the path?"

"Maybe? Umm, did you want me to clean it up?" Hopefully my effort at that wouldn't turn out as awful as my spell last night. Though the alternative was my normal weak spells, which would mean cleaning it up might take all day. A chainsaw might actually be quicker.

"No," she said grimly. "Your Aunt Hilda already took care of that. But by Satan it was irresponsible of you not to tell us immediately. The mortals might have noticed." She took another deep breath of smoke before continuing. "And what on Satan's Earth did you do to cause such destruction? Did you summon a forest spirit? You know how unpredictable they can be, and you lack the strength and experience to properly control them."

"I didn't summon anything." 'I think.' I still wasn't sure what I did, or how I did it. And while normally Aunt Zelda would be an excellent source for all things related to magic, I didn't want to talk about what happened right now. The strange magic I'd channeled last night was inextricably linked to Harvey leaving me; I couldn't think about one issue without the other. Until I worked out things with Harvey I didn't want to think about the thing that caused our separation.

"We will speak of this more later," said Zelda. "But no more dangerous magic from you this week, or else. You mustn't let anything interfere with your dark baptism."

I had a feeling that I had a number of chores in my future but I dressed and went down for breakfast anyways. Breakfast that proved light on pancakes and heavy on a disgusting mixture of herbs that was supposed to purify me for my dark baptism. Aunt Hilda wasn't a vengeful person but I still suspected she'd gone a little out of her way to make it taste as disgusting as possible. Though, considering how sweaty she was from clearing away whatever it was that I'd done to the yard last night, I could hardly blame her.

My hope that I could make a clean exit for school evaporated when my aunts started chiding me for not picking a familiar yet. It was hard to explain why I was procrastinating without saying what I actually thought about the matter. I couldn't tell them that I hated the way their familiars were caged within their own minds. Goblins were relatively intelligent beings, but they acted like pets. Depressed pets, at that. I didn't know what happened during familiar training to make them like that, but I didn't want to order one of them from the catalog. I wanted a strong, wild familiar; one that could think for itself. And thankfully my aunts eventually allowed me to try for one, though they weren't very happy about it. Even Salem seemed skeptical.

I was going to be late for school at this rate but I detoured into woods anyways. I wasn't sure if I'd have time after school to do this and attempting to summon a familiar after dark would be a wretched idea for a witch of my meager abilities. I'd be at great risk of summoning a demon by accident, and unless it was the very lowest form of imp I'd have little hope of controlling it. And even if binding it did go perfectly I'd never hear the end of it from Zelda after what she thought I'd done last night.

I took out a simple wooden flute, hoping that I wasn't about to make a fool of myself. Musical spells weren't unheard of in the tradition of the Satanic Church of Night, but they'd fallen out of fashion centuries ago. This spell though was even older, and from a different source entirely. I'd found it in an old journal within the Spellman family library, notes taken from a European witch explorer on the practices of "heathen" witches in the New World. It was a spell taken from a tribe whose name was now lost to history but it seemed perfect for what I wanted.

I began to play, the wind and trees my guide as I focused my intent on the spell. It was less a set tune and more a general guideline, meant to adapt to the land in which it was played. I wasn't as accomplished at the flute as I was with singing, and less still this variant of flute, but I thought my playing was passable. I wondered though if this counted as cultural appropriation or respecting the traditions of the land I inhabited. Probably both.

The vague description my ancestor made had mentioned that the natives would sometimes spend days waiting for their familiar or "spirit guide", but I couldn't help but grow nervous as minutes passed with no arrivals. I didn't know what trick they'd used to play for so long but I couldn't imagine how I could keep this up for more than a few hours, at best. Maybe if I'd cast a spell on my lips to keep them from drying out and my lungs from tiring, but that wasn't really an option for me. My spells misfired often enough that I was wary of casting spells on my own body.

Long before I could tire, an interruption came of a different and most unwelcome source. "What are you three doing here? Isn't there some bridge that needs living under?" Troll joke. Obscure, but the best I could come up with on short notice.

The Weird Sisters smirked, their uncanny ability to synchronize their bodies and minds once more on full display. They weren't identical twins at least, but it was still quite eerie. As usual it was Prudence that spoke first, though given their mental connection I wasn't sure if she was truly their leader or just the one they thought had the best speaking voice.

The three of them circled me as Prudence asked, "Better question, what is a half-witch mongrel doing in our woods alone?" They stepped in closer like circling sharks, all moving around me as I tried to keep my eyes on all of them at once. "And doing such strange magic. Why, it almost feels like —" she paused, breathing in. "Yes, a summoning spell. Was little Sabrina trying to summon a familiar?"

Annoying. They were wretched bullies but also strong enough witches that I could just ignore them. "Yes, I was. What business is that of yours."

I stumbled back a step as she drew her thumb along my chin in a perversion of a lover's caress. With a deceitfully silken voice she said, "Why Sabrina, didn't you know? Only real witches get to have familiars."

With that she drew back into their circle of three, a chant beginning as their voices combined. A subtle whirlwind whipped up around me and I could hardly believe it. "Are you, are you cursing me?" It was unexpected. They'd bullied me for years. Thanks to witch longevity they'd hardly aged at all throughout my entire life, nor had they matured as human beings. But throughout all of that it had always been words and petty things like roots rising up to trip me. Never before had they gone this far.

"Succu-bitches." Before I could figure out what to do they disappeared, no doubt teleporting back to the Unseen Academy. Or they were still here, watching me…

I didn't have time for paranoia, not once I noticed blood dripping from my nose. I didn't recognize the curse incantation and thus had no idea how serious it was, but better to plan for the worst.

Two miles to my house, one to the school. By a narrow margin I chose the latter option and took off running. I wasn't at all sure this was the right plan but better a half measure than none at all if I failed to make it the two miles.

Even with the bloody nose I managed a seven minute mile. I raced into the gym showers, stripping out of potentially corrupted clothes as I repeatedly cast a water-based cleansing spell that hopefully wouldn't poison any fish. On the fourth repetition my magic shuddered to a halt, refusing to move.

Rather than exhausting myself trying to force out any more magic I instead lay my head against the wall, trying to breathe evenly. I felt… better. Not good, not wholly clean. I could sense a sickness working its way through me, clogging my thoughts and unsettling my heart, but I'd washed away much of it. The oily taint that had clouded my skin was gone, but they were three witches to my half. Before long the curse would reestablish itself in full. All I'd done was hopefully buy enough time to make it back to my aunts for a full cure. There was no way I could let this go until after school. Whatever the curse was, it felt awful. I'd gladly take the hit to my attendance record if it meant getting it out of me.

I dressed in my gym clothes, grateful I'd left myself a spare pair. My sneakers were still at home, sadly, but I could make the journey in socks if I was careful in my steps. At least I wouldn't have to run back starkers while relying on a shoddy invisibility spell. Honestly, that would be bad for more than just the obvious reasons.

The cleansing spell was the first spell I'd cast in mortal territory in ages and it had all my nerves fraying. After my magic blossomed back in middle school I'd cast all sorts of ill-advised spells, and my incredibly bored (and under house-arrest) cousin Salem had only egged the matter on by giving me dubious incantations to use. Often my magic just puttered out or performed weakly, but every once in a while I'd pull off a full-powered spell in the wrong direction. Only my aunts intervening in various ways had kept me from getting outed as a witch, and eventually the punishments and near-misses had convinced me it was better not to cast spells at all during school. Their warnings about witch hunters still stuck with me and so I would gladly make my home without the aid of any more spells if I could pull it off.

I was nearly to the door when I heard tons of boys make their way into the locker room next door. Harvey had a morning gym class, I remembered. And while normally that would mean little more for me than a vague desire to visit the gym to see if I could catch him playing basketball without a shirt, today it meant a possibility. That strange magic I'd felt last night, if I could unlock it again with his help there was no telling what I could do. It was dangerous and unpredictable but it was also strong, far stronger than any other magic a half-witch like me could muster. With even a tenth of what he'd given me last night I was sure I could free myself of the curse without having to risk collapsing in the forest on the way back home.

The thought of channeling such powerful magic again had my feet moving before I could think better of it. Young men squawked as I burst into the boy's locker room but I paid them no mind. Today I only had my eyes on one boy, and that was, "Harvey."

"Sabrina? You can't be in here."

He was still dressed which made this all a little less awkward, but this wasn't at all how I'd intended to greet him next. My next line was going to make misunderstandings even worse but I didn't have time to mince words. "We need to talk. Outside."

Swiftly his initial surprise at my appearance turned to worry and more than a hint of fear. It was obvious he remembered what happened last night. It was too much to hope for that he'd think it was just a dream, not at that relatively early hour. But at least that meant I didn't have to reexplain everything to him now.

"Sabrina…"

"Come on." The whistles some of the boys let out when I grabbed his hand and pulled him out of the locker room with me told me that my reputation would pay for this for a long time, but it had to be done. I kept pulling him along until we reached a janitor's closet that they always forgot to lock. With great reluctance he followed me inside.

"I haven't told anyone about your witch thing," he said with some nervousness. Worse, I thought I detected a hint of disgust which was a lot harder to ignore. I wasn't one of those boil-covered crones like in the stories so it was hard not to feel affronted that he was treating me like one. But for better or worse, now wasn't the time to get into that.

"I need you to do what you did last night." I knew almost immediately that I needed to clarify my request. Kissing me and saying he loved me were both quite nice things and things I wouldn't mind repeating, but they weren't quite what I was after in this moment. "I need you to call me a goddess again. I need you to —" what was the word I was looking for? "I need you to pray to me."

"What?" His hand went for the door. "This is just too weird. I'm leaving."

"Please Harvey, I'm begging you. The Weird Sisters cursed me. I might die without your help." Well, probably not, and I'd probably be brought back to life right after with the Cain Pit, but it wouldn't be pleasant.

"Evil witches? They did this to you?"

"Well, not evil, per se. They're bullies. Young witches with nothing better to do than torment the half-witch half-mortal." Bitterness dripped from my words. Near-immortality in their grasp and they couldn't think of anything better to do with their time than mess with me.

Harvey wavered before moving for the door again. "I'm Christian, I can't pray to any god but Him. And I shouldn't be hanging out around witches."

That hurt, more than he knew. It felt like there was something physical in my chest that was tearing from his renunciation of me and what we meant to each other. But despite the pain he'd inflicted on me I still wasn't ready to give him up. "Make an exception? Just this once?" I clung to him, wrapping my arms around him to prevent him from walking out on me. It was a desperate move but desperation was my whole being unless he said the words I needed. "Didn't you mean what you said last night? Do you really not love me? Does this necklace mean nothing to you?"

He held firm against my entreaty for three seconds before sagging, eyes turning to meet mine. "I believe in you, Sabrina. You are my lovely goddess."

Dimly I noticed him brushing hair out of my face but I hardly felt that against the wave of warmth flowing into me. It felt like so much less than he'd given me last night but it was still more than enough to overwhelm me if I lingered in it. Before it could melt my brain or burst out of me in a massive magical explosion again I instead put it to work. Roaring rivers of energy raced through my body, pouring through every limb, every cell. Light pulsed from my skin as it purged the corruption from me but I didn't need to see it, I felt every moment of it, every battle inside me as the dark curse was vanquished.

The war ended swiftly, curse crushed into nonexistence, but still the strange new magic burned inside me. I struggled to contain it, knowing just how much damage it could cause within the school. Tree growing in the field was suspicious enough, but having a forest burst up through the center of school would raise eyebrows nationwide. Or the magic might do worse and turn Harvey and every other student into a beetle, the energy was chaotic and strong enough to do just about anything once it was out of my grasp.

Lacking any better ideas I sent it coursing through my body once again, circulating it through every vein and artery. In fighting the curse I'd grasped instinctually how to purge my body of impurities, or at least so I hoped. There was still the chance I'd spontaneously combust, but so far so good except for my skin glowing in a way that would out me if anyone besides Harvey saw me.

It took what seemed like ages but it felt like the magic was doing something, gradually shrinking until what little remained became quiescent, controllable. I held onto the remainder greedily, not willing to give up the unlimited potential it represented, nor the warmth it created inside me.

"Sabrina! Sabrina are you okay?"

"S-s-stop shaking me." I stuttered until he stopped the incredibly annoying attempt to break me from my fugue. "I'm fine now. Thank you Harvey."

More than fine, actually. I was a little exhausted but despite that I'd never felt better in my life. The slight bit of hay fever I'd been suffering was gone like it never was, and so too was the little ache in my ankle from the sudden sprint to the school. My freckles were also gone which was… fine, I supposed. I hadn't really been for or against them. More exciting was how small my pores were, almost like they'd disappeared entirely. The emerging pimple I'd been forced to cover up with mortal means thanks to my fickle magic was now back to perfectly smooth skin. I finally felt like a proper witch, no longer limited by my half-mortal ancestry. If this was what I could get from a few simple words then I dearly wanted more of it. In fact, I wanted more of it right now.

"Say it again," I pleaded. "I — I'll sleep with you if you call me your goddess again."

"What? No!" He pushed me away, and firmly enough that I stumbled and had to catch myself on a storage rack. "What's gotten into you Sabrina? This isn't like you at all." He paused briefly on his way out the door. "But maybe I never knew you that well after all."

My face flushed like a tomato as anger warred with embarrassment. How dare he. I'd offered up the thing that all men desired and he'd turned me down just like that? And suggesting that I was somehow out of my mind on top of that betrayal was just beyond the pale. I hadn't offered him anything I wouldn't have anyways. I'd intended to make love to him as a going away present before joining the witch world forever. If I'd been particularly daring and things hadn't gotten so out of control I might have even done so last night, and to heaven with being virginal for my dark baptism.

"Heaven," I cursed, fist lightly punching the wall as I finally admitted he was right. And the fact that it took me so long to admit it that showed just how deeply I'd fallen into obsession. I might've slept with Harvey regardless, but not like this. Not in a janitor's closet of all things. I wanted my first time to special, and if that strange magical power hadn't clouded my thoughts I would have remembered that.

'I can't use it again.' It was too addictive, too alluring. I couldn't trust myself to handle it responsibly. At least, not until I was blessed by the Dark Lord during my baptism. My aunts told me it would fully awaken my witch blood, overpowering my mortal roots. Perhaps then I could try acquiring the strange power I'd discovered again without losing myself. It was odd though that I'd never heard about it before. I hoped the Academy of Unseen Arts would have something on the subject. I could always ask my aunts, but that might require telling them about how poorly I'd reacted to the power and that was something I was loathe to embarrass myself further with.