OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Chapter Fifteen
Ethel
Esmerelda and Sybil pushed through the crowd and were chuffed when they managed to get seats on the front row. Strictly speaking they were for the teachers but there was always some left and it was always these seats people tried to grab. Miss Hardbroom ended up next to Esmerelda and eyed her darkly but Esmerelda was to excited to see Ethel to perform to care about what HB was thinking.
Backstage Ethel was nervous, Sybil had done so well, and she knew the pressure was on her to do equally as well. She looked at the purple cape she had on and looked in the mirror….and that was when she decided, her sisters were right she should change herself up a bit. She pulled her bow and hair bobble out letting her hair hang lose trying to decide how to style it. She decided on a half up ponytail which left the majority of her hair down and opted for the purple bow she wore at selection day instead of her standard black one.
"Five minutes till we go on girls" Ethel heard Miss Drill said and the blond became more nervous at that but stood up to make her entrance on the stage. From where she was standing she could hear Miss Cackle.
"And now after that fantastic broomstick display it is time for the perfomance from our second years, the girls are going to be doing a potion transformation perfomance, I do hope you enjoy" the woman said, everyone started to clap and Ethel closed her eyes again before walking onto the stage where the cauldrons had being set up. She went to stand by the middle one and could sense her classmates at the ones at the side of her.
First each girl had to make the potions. Ethel racked her brain, she knew this potion from by heart. Two snakes eyes, four eagle feathers, half a spiders egg, and then of course the pondweed, the ingredient that had gone wrong last time because Mildred had taken it. Ethel measured it out, once twice, three times, she was not going to allow anyone to mess up her potion, not this time. She put the ingredient in her cauldron and dared to look up, seeing her sisters on the front row watching interested, and she had to stop herself from laughing when she saw Miss Hardbroom looking less than pleased by the seating arrangements.
Ethel looked back at her cauldron, seeing it was a fiery red colur. She had added everything perfectly, so there was no reason her potion could not work, now she had to get lucky and not have someone trip and knock it over, she thought as she carefully placed a small amount of the red liquid into the beaker. She knew the other girls were not happy about her being the leader, but the fact of the matter is she was. She waved her hand, monitoring to the girls it was time to take the potions.
They were going to be doing it smallest to largest animal. Enid drank her potion and turned into a bee, then Felicity drank hers and turned into a snail, then Mildred turned into a mouse and Maud into a guenia pig. Ethel watched as all the girls transformed, the gasps from the crowd getting louder with each one. As Ethel was a dragon she was going to be last, but so far so good.
Another girl, Margo, turned into a rabbit, turning a lot of the audience to say aww at the cute fluffy animal appeared. The next girl turned into a cat, and then the next a dog. Ethel watched each girl, glad none of them had messed up their potions, it would soon be her turn and she was nervous.
The last animal before Ethel was a cow. Of course there were larger animals such as dolphins and sharks, but the girls would not survive in the water so they had had to rule out sea animals. Ethel suddenly felt such an intense pain in her stomach, she almost dropped her beaker. She had never being so nervous for anything before, not for the entrance exam, not when they had being fighting Agatha, it was this moment which was making her a bundle of nerves and she was not quite sure she could go through with it.
Ethel knew it was time for her to transform and she lifted the beaker of red liquid to her lips and took a small sip. The young girls eyes glowed red, just like they had last year when she had taken this potion. Her eyes last year though had changed back to her standard blue within a second, because she had made it wrong because of the lack on pondweed, but today they didn't change back, of course Ethel couldn't see this so she did not know why everyone was gasping at her in horror, she couldn't see a lot of them because of the lightening, but she could hear them.
The intense pain in her stomach changed, it was still painful but it was a burning pain as the potion ran through her body, she knew she was about to transform, and all she had time to do was close her eyes and wish more than anything it had worked, and if it hadn't that she was at least a more interesting animal than a worm, and was at least something that would amaze the audience.
There was a puff of smoke as Ethel changed form. Whereas before a young blond girl had stood now stood a huge fiery red dragon, like the ones that were in fairytales or fantasy novels, with scales all over the body, a long narrow neck. and wings bigger than an elephant, Ethel roared as her transformation took affect, the girl was not sure it had worked, she was looking through the eyes of a dragon which was weird and she could tell something had happened but she didn't know if it was a dragon, because she could not see her reflection but she could hear amazed gasps through the air which told her she was at least something, to finish her performance she breathed fire, lightening the lantern in front of her and with that she heard a fury of noise.
The crowd went wild, clapping, cheering, whistling. They were absolutely amazed by what they had just seen, none of them could say they had ever seen a dragon before. Esmerelda and Sybil stood up, proud of Ethel and clapping and cheering with the rest.
"GO ETHIE" Esmerelda shouted making the strict teacher next to her jump and glare as the girl shouted in her ear. Sybil giggled to herself at HB before she turned her eyes back to the stage, clapping for her sister.
There was small popping sounds as the transformations started to wear of and the animals disappeared to be replaced by the young girls on the stage, the transformations wore of from smallest to biggest so Ethel was the last to turn back.
She turned back and was taken aback by the crowd she saw, she realised in that moment her transformation must have being successful and she smiled slowly before she found herself beaming, but for once it was a proper smile, not a smirk. All her year was smiling on the stage, none of them had seen the transformations in person, as they were meant to be a surprise, Ethel felt Felicity tugging at her and took her hand and another girls before bowing with the rest of the girls, and then they all rushed of the stage.
"That was amazing! Let's go find Ethel" Esmerelda said to Sybil, leaving with her sister to go back stage, she could sense HB was looking at them, as strictly they weren't supposed to do that, but Esmie found in that moment she didn't care.
Ethel sat down, smiling to herself, she couldn't believe it at all, she never would of expected it to go well, let alone as well as it did, and her smile got even larger as she saw flashes of blonde heads and her sisters walking through the door.
"Ethel that was amazing!" Esmerelda said, grabbing her younger sister and pulling her into a hug, so proud of her.
"Did it work?" Ethel asked, still not sure if it had being exactly right as she couldn't see.
"YES!" Sybil shouted excited, it was amazing, you were this big dragon, and all red and scaly, and I was a little scared, but I was more amazed" Sybil said, joining in and hugging her older sister.
"I can't believe it, I never thought…." Ethel said still flabbergasted it had not gone wrong, things never go the way she wanted them to.
"I knew you could do it, you were amazing, you both were, I am proud of you both" Esmerelda told her sisters, taking Sybil into her arms so she was hugging both.
"I am glad everyone finally got to see my transformation, that was what was supposed to happen last year" Ethel replied, enjoying being squeezed.
"My girls, you are both so amazing!" Esmerelda told them, tears falling out her eyes because she was so proud. Ethel beamed, happy her sister had being here to see her, and with the way things had turned out. She had missed Esmerelda, and all she wanted to do these days was make her proud.
"Come on, let's go, everyone will be in the perfomance, let's go have fun" Ethel told her sisters smiling.
"We can't sneak off" Sybil said, worried about getting in trouble
"Why can't we? No-one will notice we are gone" Ethel said and Esmerelda smiled as an idea entered her head.
"Who wants ice cream?" she asked. Her sisters looked at each other before both raising their hands and jumping on the spot.
"ME" they shouted, excited about their treat.