The Friendship Trap The Worst Witch

Just destroyed the school...

..in the first five minutes of term.

Leftover bad magic from Agatha's annihilation spell last term.

-Sybil Hallow?

-She's Clarice.

I'm Beatrice. You can call me Bea.

You can call me Clarice.

Whatever did you land on, Mildred?

BELL RINGS

Fire drill! Quick!

Drills don't have smoke, do they?

Miss Hardbroom's on fire!

Neat lines, girls.

No fidgeting, no talking, no...

..need to ask which pupil

is responsible for this.

Uh...

You looked...

The smoke was for effect,

to prepare us for the real thing.

Line up now, please.

That's "super" Mildred.

The most heroic witch in the school.

At least I'm not the most selfish.

Imagine some time in the future,

you look back to fire safety at Cackle's.

What do you remember?

Nothing but squabbling and petty sniping,

because you weren't paying attention.

Sorry, Miss Cackle.

Sorry, Miss Cackle.

This feud has gone on for long enough.

Don't be sorry -

be better.

# Full of joy we mix our potions

# Working by each other's side

# When our days at school are over

# Let us think of them with pride. #

Very rousing!

Well sung, girls.

Please be seated for notices.

We will shortly be welcoming a new teacher,

Miss Mould, to the school.

She will be your art mistress.

STUDENTS CHATTER IN EXCITEMENT

I love art.

And you will be pleased to hear our rebuild is imminent.

The last few hundred stones are ready to be demagicked.

The founding stone will be on display in here

until we've secured its new home under the East Wing.

This really is a unique opportunity to see something very special.

"See" being the operative word.

Any pupil attempting to touch the stone

will be immediately expelled.

Indeed.

Anyway, I heartily encourage you all to take a close look...

..while you can.

PACKAGE TINKLES

The ancient Magical Council

granted a stone for each witching academy.

Without a stone, there is no school.

Acts like a battery, apparently.

Keeps the place charged up, so the magic doesn't run out.

Is that why they've got a teacher guarding it?

Probably because it's so powerful, too.

If it does all that for the school,

imagine what it can do for a single witch.

Ugh, witchball practice kerfuffle.

I'll have to step out for a second.

No-one touch the stone!

It's beautiful.

Just like when I found it.

-Ethel!

-What?

She likes the stone so much,

I thought she might want to be one.

Curiouser and curiouser!

Turn her back!

So, you're a bully now,

as well as a cheat?

Your project knocked me off my broom.

You practically gave it to me.

That's not what happened!

Who cares?

You will, when I turn you into a pig again.

As if you can remember that spell.

OK, you asked for it.

Wait. Mil, you've got something on your back.

-Don't try to stop me.

-She's not.

-Look.

-At what?

A weird, glowing hand thing.

Ethel's got the same!

No, I haven't.

Miss Mould must have sent it on ahead.

How very modern.

Ada told me she requested to teach here.

Rather irregular, don't you think?

What do you suppose she plans to do with it?

One can only guess.

A more frivolous waste of time is difficult to fathom.

A few art lessons never did anybody any harm.

Have you met our pupils, Miss Bat?

They can barely mix a potion.

Any time away from academic rigour

will hurt them very seriously, indeed.

Are you hurt, Ethy?

I don't think so.

What happened?

-Oh! Get off!

-You get off!

-Mildred!

-I'm not doing anything!

Get away from me.

I don't think that's possible.

You seem to be sharing an arm now.

There appears to be a fusion...

..at a molecular level.

Is that bad? Sounds bad.

No, I did an excellent job.

Some of my best work, in fact.

I set a self-activating friendship trap.

Sadly, you both fell into it hat first.

A what what, Miss Cackle?

You were arguing, again.

The negative energy between you made the trap react,

bonding you together.

Once that energy's gone, the bond will be broken.

So, we only get separated if we're...

Friends?

Ah, friends.

Now, that won't be so bad.

Will it, girls?

We have to get to class.

Tell them I'm poorly.

Every time I go out there, something scary happens.

Ethel's going to be OK.

Esme wasn't OK when she lost her powers.

And I wasn't OK when you gave me that fake courage potion.

You were fine,

before you find out.

When bad things happen to good witches,

it's usually a curse.

That's what's happening.

-My sisters and I must be cursed!

-No, you're not.

And hiding under a blanket won't change anything, if you are.

I want to be left on my own now, please.

Can I just...

Ethel, I need to cut my food.

Improvise.

I need to break this. Fast.

Just try and be nice to each other.

Smile a bit.

Give each other a few compliments.

That will do it.

Your ponytail...

..is very...

..swishy today, Ethel.

I, um...

..like your...

..socks.

A word of advice -

you have to mean it.

There's no fooling the trap.

Hey, Mithel, want to partner up?

Mithel?

It's your names smooshed together.

Saves time, now that you're one person.

We are not one person!

And, anyway, it's obviously Ethred.

No, it is not.

Guys, negative energy, remember?

Where is she?

What's that?

Where is this new teacher, anyway?

She's late.

This room looks amazing.

ROCK SQUELCHES

STUDENTS GASP IN AWE

Oh!

Actually, I'm right on time.

Hello, year two.

Are you ready to have some fun?

Ethel's fine, and you aren't cursed.

We saw some second years at lunch.

Miss Cackle set the spell on purpose.

Come on, let's go to Spell Science.

It'll be utterly boring, I promise.

I'm good here, thanks.

Are the cats in bed with you?

Sorry for being such a worry wart.

That's OK, it's just...

We should really get to...

Does it come with instructions?

It most certainly does not.

Should we maybe weigh it out first?

Does this look like a potions lab?

Definitely not.

Exactly.

Because in here,

we don't weigh or measure, or...

..follow instructions.

In here,

we let our imaginations run wild.

Well, go on.

Scoop it, knead it.

See what happens.

Mmm.

You two seem very close.

It's a friendship trap.

We would find things so much easier

if you'd be kind enough to break it for us.

Hmm. And why would I do that?

When you clearly make such an excellent team.

Oh, very nice work, Mildred.

You're a natural.

And one-handed, too.

Impressive.

Oh, my hat.

Sorry.

It's my asthma.

I know some of you may be wondering,

what has all this to do with witchcraft?

Well, with magic,

you need to be creative to get the best out of it.

This is where art helps.

It really stretches your...

Snakes!

Oh!

And who invited our friends here to join the party?

Mildred, trying to show off.

Why would I ruin my own pot?

You ruin everything else.

Can someone please get rid of those?

You do know how a friendship trap works?

They look pretty angry, Miss Mould.

Yes. We have to be nice to each other to get out of it.

And if you're not nice,

it sticks.

Forever.

Uh, Miss Mould, the snakes!

Ah, yes.

Smithereens!

Ew, yuck!

Ugh.

Oh!

Perhaps, that was a little too creative there.

Enough.

Well met.

Marigold Mould.

-And you must be...

-Class is dismissed.

Ugh, you aren't even trying!

-You're making it impossible.

-To break the trap, I mean.

You jinxing my pot has probably made it stronger.

You heard Miss Mould.

Ugh, that excuse for a witch.

She knows nothing.

What's up with you?

You've been nastier than ever this term.

No, I haven't, toad brain.

Is it because you miss Esmeralda?

Why would I miss her?

She gets more attention than ever now that she's powerless.

She really got no magic left at all?

She gave it away, didn't she?

Can't she just get it back again?

Agatha took it.

So she has to return it.

So Esme's stuck.

That's awful.

Anyway, I've got prep to do.

Stop trying to distract me.

When is this going to stop?

Just have to ride it out sometimes.

Not again. Not again.

Thanks. Sorry.

Where have you been?

Everywhere, unfortunately.

Um...

What are you doing with that?

I made no secret of the fact that I'd be taking a more

unconventional approach.

And what precisely did the girls learn

from being unconventionally sprayed with clay?

To relax a little.

Enjoy their magic.

One girl, in particular, really shone.

Ethel Hallow shines in every class.

Mildred Hubble.

Ah, how nice to hear.

-She isn't gifted.

-Really?

I heard she located the founding stone.

She landed on it.

There's a difference.

KNOCK AT DOOR

Miss Cackle.

I'm afraid we have something of a situation.

I told you I was cursed.

But does anybody listen? No!

Did the curse tell you to grab the stone?

I was trying to stop us from vanishing.

By touching the one thing that gets us instantly expelled?

Let's just put it back before anyone notices.

Who could have taken it?

I don't know.

But they're going to be in big trouble when we find them.

Let me...

Will you give me the toothpaste?

There must be a way of putting it back without being caught.

Yeah, simple.

Disappear everyone, so there's no-one around to see us.

Bingo.

Why didn't I think of that?

Because we don't have the power for that kind of spell.

We don't need power.

We need...

..fire.

A small magic one, just to set off the alarm.

Nothing.

Untraceable.

I'm so sorry, Ada.

No need to panic.

Yet.

Oh, considering our girls, it could easily be some sort of prank.

If it was one of our girls.

Who else could it be?

Perhaps a search of the grounds wouldn't go amiss.

No-one else hears of this.

Not until we know more.

Earth...

..hear me.

Air...

..hear me.

Fire...

..hear me.

ETHEL SNORES

Why hasn't it set off the alarm?

It's not making any smoke.

But we need everyone to evacuate!

Why did it do that?

It says one firefly.

Yep. One jar.

No, one fly, only.

More than that can cause...

Real fire!

FIRE ALARM RINGS

Not another drill.

Try not to drown anyone this time.

Ah!

Sybil, let's go now!

I can't move.

Sybil, come on!

We have to get help.

I can't.

We'll get Miss Cackle.

The smoke's not purple!

That means it's real, doesn't it?

They want us to think it's real.

HB probably changed the colour!

It's coming from down there.

So, we go in the opposite direction!

Isn't that Sybil's room?

-Ah!

-What are you doing?

I tried to evacuate the school.

Why?

So we can put that back where it belongs.

Miss Cackle is going to skin you alive!

Sybil, we have to get you out of here.

I can't. I've tried.

Don't be so ridiculous.

Sybil. It's OK.

Everyone gets scared sometimes.

You're brave.

Deep down.

You just have to find it.

Close your eyes.

Find it.

You're a good witch, Sybil.

You've got nothing to be scared of.

And I can't let you get hurt, too.

We have to be strong, don't we?

For Esme.

OK?

OK.

Excellent work, deputy.

Quite the surprise.

And I especially appreciated the eerie glow

emanating from that first year window.

You've surpassed yourself.

Help! Our bedroom's on fire!

Glad to see you're getting into the spirit,

but we really don't have to be quite so dramatic.

I didn't organise a drill.

-You didn't?

-I didn't.

As if we haven't got bigger frogs to fry.

This first year is proving to be quite the handful.

Thanks.

Does this mean you're friends with Ethel now?

All I know is we helped Sybil, and we came apart.

I'm so nervous, I just want to get started.

Over here...

Off you go.

Sorry I freaked out.

We're just happy you're OK.

We did have to tell Miss Cackle about the fire, though.

But we didn't say anything about the stone.

I think we might be...

..in seriously deep trouble.

First year attempt at a wildfire spell.

Effort, ten.

Control, nil.

They'll learn.

We'll make it safe in the morning.

Please tell me your stone search went better than mine.

No trace.

It'll turn up.

You think?

It has to.

Without the stone, there is no school.

I thought if I did some extra homework,

I'd make up for missing Spell Science.

But I used too many fireflies.

And, well, you know the rest.

The three of you put the entire school in grave danger.

Your cats will be confiscated, effective immediately.

Sybil, we'll talk tomorrow.

See if we can't get you fully settled in.

You may go.

Miss Drill will find you somewhere to sleep.

I should've known she was so afraid.

How could you? She's a Hallow.

Yet completely unlike her sisters.

I'm sure there's a capable witch underneath.

Speaking of Hallows, dare I ask how Ethel got on with Mildred?

Separated.

Ah! Good news amongst the chaos.

KNOCK AT DOOR

You were great with my sister.

Thanks.

You helped, too.

We aren't friends, though.

Nothing's changed.

Thanks for clearing that up.

KNOCK AT DOOR

They haven't sent you home?

I wasn't expelled.

I kind of didn't mention the stone.

And they haven't found it?

It's still in my room,

only they've locked the door.

Sybil!

The Hallow name will be slime if this gets out.

I thought maybe you could help me get it in and put it back?

You made a mistake.

A huge one.

No-one should fix it but you.

I didn't want to take it.

It was an accident that snowballed.

Well, fireballed.

I know that how that feels.

I'll help...

..if you'd like.

Really?

Why?

Let's just say I've made my fair share of mistakes.

You can't always fix them without a friend.

It's gone!

The essential ingredient of every clone spell.

What are you going to copy?

Me.

This is crazy!

-There's another you?

-And we all have to stay away from her

because she is out of control.

The founding stone's missing,

and if Mrs Hallow realises,

the council will shut us down.