The Wicked Witch of the South East - Part 2: Exodus

PART TWO — EXODUS

The school began to lose something even more precious than goodwill: its people. First came the teachers. One by one, experienced staff passed through the great gates, some quietly carrying their belongings in wooden chests, others leaving with heavy hearts after enduring more than they could bear. Some had served for many years; others had arrived only recently, soon discovering that the school was not what they had expected.

Then the children began to leave, too.

Pupil numbers fell and the corridors grew quieter. Where children had once hurried between lessons, empty spaces appeared. Desks stood unused, and classrooms that had been comfortably full began to feel hollow.

The Head Witch did not appear inclined to consider what this might mean. Instead, she reached for another spell.

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THE ENCHANTMENT OF THE RECEPTION CHILDREN

Each year, families of the youngest pupils, known as the Reception children, chose which magical school would become their child’s home. Families visited schools, met teachers and head witches and wizards, considered their options and made their decisions. Once a place had been accepted, everyone generally regarded the matter as settled.

But the Head Witch had other ideas.

She began contacting families whose children had already accepted places at other magical schools. Those schools had welcomed the families, prepared classrooms, planned staffing and added the children’s names to their registers.

Nevertheless, the Head Witch tried to persuade them to change their minds and bring their children to her school instead.

The other schools could scarcely believe it. When the new school year began, some of the pupils they had expected never appeared. Registers no longer matched reality, and carefully made arrangements were thrown into confusion.

Gradually, the truth became clear: the Head Witch had been working behind the scenes to lure children away, even after places had been promised elsewhere.

Other heads were astonished. Some were furious; others simply appalled. Magical schools had always understood that, while they might compete to be excellent, they should not deliberately undermine one another or create chaos for the families and children they all served.

The Head Witch seemed to care little for such conventions. To her, winning mattered more than the rules of the game.

The neighbouring heads began to question how this could be happening and why nobody seemed able to stop it. Surely some council, guardian or Ministry of Magic existed to ensure that school rulers behaved properly? Surely someone would intervene and call the Head Witch to account?

But the tale took an even bitter turn. The Head Witch had powerful friends. Deep within the Ministry sat officials and advisers who appeared remarkably well disposed towards her. Whenever concerns were raised, the Ministry’s great machinery seemed to move very slowly.

The other heads discovered that outrage was not the same as power. They could shake their heads, whisper in corridors and warn one another, but what could they actually do? The Head Witch seemed to have the Ministry safely tucked into the pocket of her robes.

And so she continued. Teachers left, pupils followed, and families were courted away from other schools. Still, the Head Witch stood in her castle, waving her wand as though everything were proceeding according to plan.

From outside the gates, the school looked very different. A community that had once valued its teachers was steadily losing them. And a Head Witch who claimed to be saving the establishment seemed determined to rule it at any cost.

Yet there was one thing she had perhaps forgotten.

A ruler may control a school for a time. A Ministry may protect a powerful witch for a time. Frightened people may remain silent for a time.

But no spell lasts forever.

Beyond the castle walls, parents, teachers and neighbouring schools were beginning to remember something very important: they, too, possessed magic.