Chapter Text
Horror that slowly turned to confusion. Amongst which Frank nearly went blue in the face from oxygen deprivation. (He’d never been that good at holding his breath.)
“Isn’t something supposed to happen then?” Imogen asked. “I’m not complaining but I’m assuming something was supposed to happen.”
“Yes. Instantly. Love potions are notoriously very fast acting.” Constance blinked, then addressed the group. “But… I don’t …feel any different.”
“You two certainly aren’t acting like you’ve been dosed with love potion.” Amelia said, relieved. “Are you sure it’s Montmorency? I can’t say for certain I’ve ever actually seen it outside of a book.”
“Positive.” Constance nodded. “It looks to be the same consistency and has the same sheen. However, I’d rather not test it on anyone else to make sure. If I may?”
Miss Cackle handed it over. She took the bottle in one hand and held it up for a closer look, examining the remaining potion. Her frown deepened. And then she tentivly laid her other hand palm up in the middle of a clear space of the table. Amelia caught her drift and laid a hand over hers, again palm up, so their fingers over lapped. (Constance flinched a smidgen at the touch but didn’t pull back). And with a nudge, Davina cottoned on and added hers on top of Amelia’s. Imogen watched on confused and intrigued; but took her lead from Frank and Ms Tapioca not to interrupt as HB placed the bottle on their raised palms, spell fingers of her other hand pointed up.
Constance closed her eyes. Then murmured a confirmation spell, finishing with what they were looking for. “Montmorency…”
Amelia cast with her, magics flickering from her other hand. Davina with her own other hand, gnawed on her fingernails. Together in a rare show of unity, the three witches channelled the magic into the one spell. The bottle rose, up righted itself. Pale light rippled from the bottle, then changed colour. Davina squealed and pulled her hand away. The spell broke and the bottle landed back on Miss Cackles hand with a plasticky THUNK.
“…Well?” Imogen asked. “Is glowing pink a good or bad sign?”
Constance opened her eyes and glowered at her.
“in this case Bad.” Amelia said, retrieving her hand before Constance could be rude. “ That spell confirmed it was love potion. Defiantly Montmorency.”
“yet nothing different?” Mrs Tapioca frowned. “You defiantly feel fine, both of you?”
Miss Hardbroom and Miss Drill nodded.
“…Maybe we didn’t eat enough?” Imogen said.
“It’s a foul little potion. One drop is exceedingly potent.” Constance sneered. “It looks as if at least half a bottle has gone into the pan. One bite should have been enough to send anyone gaga.”
“Maybe we didn’t eat any of the potion then!” Imogen snapped back.
“Aye or maybe the sauce has diluted it?” Frank suggested. “Or made it go off?”
Constance looked as if she would very much like to shoot down his ideas for suggesting a tomato could do that to a potion, but he was allowed to live and carry on suggesting suggestions.
“Maybe it’s a trick? You said it LOOKS like the whole bottles gone in the pan. Maybe the girls only put the bottle in the kitchen to make us think the Pasta’s Poisoned? Maybe it’s a double bluff and there’s nothing actually in the food.”
That seemed plausible, and everyone agreed more a Cackle’s girl style prankwise.
However it seemed not to be a joke but very serious indeed. A version of the same spell confirmed it was in food (but not in the tea thankfully). worse In very large quantities, as the table lit up like a glow stick. The spell stained the tablecloth, the plates, forks and-
“Your mouth!”
Constance let out squeak she would hotly deny later and covered her mouth.
“Me too?” Imogen asked.
“Let me see?” Frank said. “Yup. Looks like you licked glow in the dark paint lass.”
Amelia winced and nodded. Davina pulled out a mirror from the cupboard for them to see for themselves. both women’s lips and teeth and tounges lit up with the spell. Under any other circumstances bioluminescent togues or bubble-gum pink lipstick on HB would have been hilarious. And it was a little. Davina let out a giggle which set Imogen off, till Constance snapped at them.
But even a non-witch like Imogen knew how bad that was.
“I don’t understand!” Constance said as the pink of the indicator spell faded. More to herself, yet voicing what everyone was thinking. She got up and moved around the table Imogen who obediently stood up and kept still without command, as Constance held her by her shoulders and re-examined Imogen more carefully this time. “You don’t look to have any systems. And you feel normal?”
“As normal as one can be around here. What about you?” Imogen shrugged. Constance ignored the question too busy scrutinising every inch of Imogen’s face, using two gentle fingers hold the smaller woman’s her chin up. “Actually, what even are the symptoms?”
“Oh, pretty much what’s in Shakespeare and bad fiction about love at first sight and potions affecting the heart.” Davina shrugged, with an air of been there done that. “The first person you see is suddenly your One True Love that you’d do anything for, with lots of declarations about passion and ravaging. So if the first person you saw after eating Montmorency was each other, then reason stands you should be all over each like teenage rabbits.”
Everyone (partially the younger teachers) cringed both embarrassed and nauseous at hearing that from Davina Bat.
“But they aren’t. You both look the same as you ever do.” Amelia commented as Imogen ducked out of Constance’s hold much to the witch’s annoyance. “Although you are being civil to each other; should I be worried?”
“No.” Constance said in the same tone she’d used earlier. It still didn’t do her much good.
“Miss Hardbroom, are you sure you’re alright?” Imogen pushed, “You don’t feel any different? At all?”
“Yes. No, I feel no different at all.”
“How can you act so calm about this?!”
“Clearly one of us has too!” Constance snapped. “Don’t be ridiculous, Miss Drill, you’re perfectly Fine. We both are.”
“How can you be certain?”
With that the pair went back to bickering as per normal. The remained of staff shared a look, the “worse then an old married couple” look.
“I’m set be going back to the kitchens,” Ms Tapioca sighed piling up the plates again “I’ll whip up something to replace this avvelenato non buona pasta.”
“That would be lovely Maria thank you.” Amelia sighed. “speaking of which, Miss Hardbroom-“
The argument paused mid slander. Good thing too as she and Imogen were almost toe to toe with spite again. “Could you brew an antidote please? “
“Is it really necessary if she’d so certain we’re fine?” Imogen bristled.
“Best be on the safe side, Miss Drill we may need it later.” Amelia said. “just in case it’s gotten anywhere else. Like the girls suppers.”
There was a horrible dawning moment on everyone’s faces.
“Ah.”
“Yes.”
“I will delay dinner shall I?” Mrs Tapioca asked.
“We’ll have it checked first. Constance if you’d-?”
“Certainly, headmistress. We have some Antidote in the medicalstore for emergencies-“ Constance started. And was cut off.
“What!?”
“Why didn’t you say so?”
“If we had an antidote why did you make such a drama over it!?” Davinia shrieked.
“We didn’t know What we’d poisoned with!” Constance snapped. “We have some cure all antidote base potions, but it needs to be tailored to the cure! What good would a flu cure or a wart cure have been?”
“You’re a wart.” Davina muttered.
“Ah!” Miss Cackle said. Everyone stopped. Before Constance could blast Davina to the moon. “Miss Hardbroom if Could you brew an antidote please?” She repeated. “You’d better come with go with her anyway Miss Drill and have a dose. Best be on the safe side.”
She politely ignored Imogen rolling her eyes.
“Of course.” Constance clipped, glanced at the gym mistress and turned on her heel clearly expecting Imogen to fall into step behind her. Not expecting Miss Bat to do so as well.
“I don’t think it will work.” Davina said what would be in a sing-song voice if wasn’t more chant-chant. Both stopped in their tracks. Well Constance stopped in her tracks. Imogen stopped in Constance’s to narrowly avoid crashing into her and ended up caught between the two.
“excuse me?” The taller witch said, turning about glaring at the batty woman over the PE teachers head. “Are you questioning my ability as Potions teacher?”
“Not really but I thought you of all people would know better than this.” Davina smiled with a look of someone who’d straight away worked out the entire plot of a will they won’t they rom-com saga. Imogen looked as confused as everyone else.
“Do you know what she’s going on about-?” Imogen asked HB, then suddenly concerned, “Miss Hardbroom? Are you alright? You’ve gone very pale- well paler..”
“The Antidote. I don’t think it’ll work. On you two.” Davina sighed, as if Constance was being extremely thick not noticing that all the colour had drained from the potions mistresses face. “Oh honestly. You two. Constance really, you’re in charge of potions, you ort to know better then anyone about the effects of love potion. It’s common knowledge after all!“
“Common knowledge?!” Miss Hardbroom scorned. “Don’t be so perpostioious!”
Realising everyone was looking at her she added defensively, “it’s just an old wives tale.”
The three non-witches looked confused. Amelia rested her head in her palm and inwardly groaned.
“It is not!” Davina argued. “You know very well it isn’t!
“It is too!”
“What is?” Frank asked over the top of stacked plates.
“It’s not!”
“Is too!”
“Cos’é?”
“Not!”
“Is!”
“What is or Is not?!” Imogen asked getting really irritated at the arguing and being stuck in the middle. Enough to push them both back from her, jabbing HB in the chest for attention.
“Nothing!” Constance hissed. “It’s a just a silly silly superstition that-!“
“It’s not!” Davina hissed back. “Everyone knows that-!”
“That love potions-” Amelia finished, having cottoned on to what Davina had been implying. “Montmorency in particular,”
“Miss Cackle, Really! I must protest-!” She could have said she was going to Atlantis for all the good it did her. “Please! don’t!”
Amelia continued. “Doesn't have any effect on you if the first person you see… is a person you’re already in love with.”