Not the Best Witch

By Varsha Lalla

Get ready for an enchanting tale that proves believing in yourself is the ultimate magic! Meet Hattie, a witch who’s not exactly top-notch in the wizarding world. She struggles with spells, has a cute and cuddly familiar, and can’t quite get her evil cackle right. But when the Kingdom of Wraikaborg is threatened by the forces of Good, Hattie discovers she’s the chosen one who can save the day!

Follow Hattie and her pals as they embark on a hilarious adventure filled with spooky foes like eerie aunts, ghostly henchmen, and overly-excited Halloween pumpkins. And who knows? They may even have time to snap a selfie or two!

Join the fun as Hattie learns that with a little bit of self-belief, even the most unlikely heroes can achieve great things.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Austin Macauley Publishers
• Release date: Sep 15, 2023
• ISBN: 9781398499669

Varsha Lalla

Varsha is a South African Gryffindor living in the Netherlands with her Slytherin husband. Varsha studied international relations in South Africa and, for reasons she still doesn’t fully understand, decided to pursue an MBA a few years later. She still has nightmares about that time in her life. She worked for a number of years in the publishing industry, but after moving to the Netherlands, she ended up working in another industry that she’s passionate about: food. She now works in communications for a food ingredients company.

Book preview

About the Author

Varsha is a South African Gryffindor living in the Netherlands with her Slytherin husband.

Varsha studied international relations in South Africa and, for reasons she still doesn’t fully understand, decided to pursue an MBA a few years later. She still has nightmares about that time in her life. She worked for a number of years in the publishing industry, but after moving to the Netherlands, she ended up working in another industry that she’s passionate about: food. She now works in communications for a food ingredients company.

Dedication

To Adrian, my love and light.

Copyright Information ©

Varsha Lalla 2023

The right of Varsha Lalla to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by the author in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers.

Any person who commits any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library.

ISBN 9781398499652 (Paperback)

ISBN 9781398499669 (ePub e-book)

www.austinmacauley.com

First Published 2023

Austin Macauley Publishers Ltd®

1 Canada Square

Canary Wharf

London

E14 5AA

Acknowledgement

I would like to acknowledge Adrian Wilson who encouraged me and believed in me, even when I didn’t believe in myself. There can be no greater partner in the world, and I’m grateful to you every day. I’d also like to thank my family including my mom, and Brian and Lizette Wilson.

I would not have been able to write this story without the continuous support of my friends including Dragana Stankovski, Inka Finne, Stacey Kaye, Janet Biemold, Kim Anderson Harvey, Elsa Alice van Horn and Mark Mushabe. I would also like to thank my sister, Aradhana Ramchandra.

I’d also like to thank my mentor Helen Bain, who helped me rediscover my love of writing.

This story is also dedicated to my beautiful rabbits whose love I can never repay. But I’ll try everyday anyway.

Chapter One

Hattie wasn’t the best witch of her generation. She probably wasn’t even in the top ten. She wasn’t good at turning people into toads. She hadn’t even mastered the evil cackle. She was excited once when she grew a wart on her face. She was severely disappointed when she realised it was a raisin from a fruit bun she had eaten earlier.

All of these little failures added up to why she wasn’t thrilled about the fact that the entire existence of her people lay on her bony shoulders today.

Are you ready Hattie? Today is the day. Today we defeat the forces of Good so that Evil can stay in power for another fourteen years!

This would have been a more motivating speech for an evil-witch-in-training if it hadn’t come from the mouth of an adorable little black bunny named Mr Jiggles. Mr Jiggles was her witch familiar. It was another thing that didn’t exactly make Hattie feel like she was the best choice for this role. All of the other witches had familiars like black cats, owls, or frogs. However, ’Hattie’s partner in crime was so adorable that whenever he appeared, the villagers ’couldn’t help but let out an aww. It did nothing for her image.

Hattie took a deep breath and tried to feel the source of her power surge in her. She was dimly aware of it. It was buried very deep, but she could feel it stirring within her. Not for the first time, Hattie wished that her mother was here. She had heard stories about her mother from her aunt, Madame Enchantress. Her mother had been the greatest witch of her generation, until she was killed fourteen years ago defeating the King of Good in battle.

Mr Jiggles hopped around Hattie’s feet, bouncing himself into the air in excitement. Hattie, we’re going to beat Good today! Yes, we will. And then the Kingdom of Wraikaborg will belong to Evil for another fourteen years!

Hattie chewed her thumbnail. It was a habit she’d developed a few months ago when she turned fifteen, when the reality had set in that the only way Evil could keep Wraikaborg was if she won this battle.

She turned to her familiar. Jigs, you’ve seen me in Hex class, right? Yesterday I tried to turn a toad into an orange, and now all we have is an orange toad whose farts smell like citrus.

Yes, but this is ORDAINED, Hattie. You’re the only one who can defeat Good! Remember, Mr Jiggles cleared his throat as he recited the rules of the curse, Every fourteen years, the curse that surrounds the lush Kingdom of Wraikaborg will come down for seven days. The Chosen Ones: The Eldest Child of the Family of Good and the Eldest Child in the Family of Evil will be the only ones who can fight each other. The magic of evil will battle the physical power of good. Whoever wins shall claim the land for their people. Whoever loses, shall be ostracised into the wasteland until the next battle. Mr. Jiggles nose twitched in pride for remembering the prophecy word-for-word.

Thanks, but I’ve heard this every day since I was born. I really don’t need to hear it again. Hattie turned her head to make sure that no one could hear them. Jigs, she whispered, do you sometimes wonder whether Good might not be as ‘bad’ as we think?

Mr Jiggles stopped hopping, his nose twitching rapidly. What? Hattie, Good tried to banish all the magical creatures. It’s why your great grandfather started all of this.

I know, I know. The words rushed out of Hattie before she could stop them, "but, like, maybe if selkies hadn’t lured sailors to their death or trolls hadn’t eaten travellers, Good wouldn’t have gotten so upset. And, you know, maybe it’s not okay to curse princesses just because their parents didn’t invite you to a party. I mean, I didn’t get upset when Mr Howler didn’t invite me to his werecub’s birthday. I’m not saying banishment is good but there must be a better way to do this. Fighting to the death is just so dramatic. Don’t you think?" Especially, she thought, because the death would most likely be hers.

Hattie, a cold voice said from behind her, I expected better from you. Madame Enchantress was striding towards her, her boots clacking on the floor. Mr Jiggles hopped behind Hattie, his long ears tucked down, and his little body started to tremble.

Hattie turned to face her aunt, whose sharp features gave her a majestic beauty that was both enchanting and terrifying at the same time. Aunty, I didn’t mean what I said. Hattie scrambled for anything