A Witches’ Broom

“Come to Woghart’s Academy of the Arcane Arts” Amelia muttered as the deadline for her class’s project was approaching “Home of PROFESSIONAL spellcasting, yeah right!”

The 3rd-year was perched over her desk, a candle lighting her snow white hair which flowed over the pages of her studies. “How come the male apprentices don’t need a broom, how come we can’t just learn teleportation?”

Her project was about gathering the materials for the best broom she could, and in her desperation she would go over her findings to make sure there wasn’t anything better:
“alright.. for the base, wood from the oak, charred for resistance. Oak is a sturdy choice, I wouldn’t want to change that”
“a binding ring of platinum, engraved with my spell and worn for a month so that I can connect with it” She held her arm up on which she wore her ring, admiring its sheen for a moment “I guess I could’ve used iridium, but it’s heavier and more expensive.. I just hope when I’m graduated I can make enough money to pay back the dwarfes that forged it”
“and then for the broom.. hair from the caster..”

She flipped through the pages of her book again. There were illustrations of how to take care of the hair before it was to be used, which she had followed rigorously
“Rosemary extract and brush twice a day, wash every second day, trim only when necessary.. All this for it to be gone in the end..” she sighed at the thought and eyed the last illustration. Her favorite model, usually seen with flowing, lilac hair, had been replaced by a face with a gray, fuzzy ball for a head. She had always wondered what it would look like on herself and how it would feel, but she also had found pleasure in styling her hair and couldn’t imagine living without something to braid when she was stressed

Still, the curriculum demanded the best materials, and when her aviation teacher saw her research she assured her that it was the single best material and how everyone who went through with it went on to get the highest grade and they’d get a nice broom, and “who wouldn’t want that?”

She had tried to reason with her teachers, noting how she could get by with a straw broom, but they told her that it wasn’t worth the expense for a tenth of the power, and a few witches even stated “clearly you’ve never owned a straw broom”

Tired from the stress, she decided to go to sleep. She knew there wasn’t alot she could do against it.

The next day during potionomics, Amelia couldn’t focus. All that was in her head was her hair and the dread of losing it. She looked around at her classmates and was surprised to see her dorm neighbor, Celeste, with long hair to her chest. The usual undercut which the chestnut haired girl had rocked previously was now covered by the beautifully shining tresses of her grown out pixie.

She also noticed how Serefine, her classroom neighbor, had less volume than before. Carefully she leaned closer and asked how her hair was doing.
Serefine smiled: “I cut it”
Amelia couldn’t believe her “Wh.. how-.. why? This project is worth your whole aviation grade!”
“Don’t care, plus I read that if you cut your hair before they do, you can channel more mana into the remaining hair, which gives you more capacity. They don’t use all of it anyway, you’ll see soon”
she smirked and ruffled Amelias still thick hair, who sat there petrified. How much did Serefine know? How did she not know? Had she not found out everything there was to know?

‘They’ in this case were the Conduits, elven saints that posess strong bonds with nature. Through their research, the students found out that only through them cutting their hair would they activate the needed properties to use them in their brooms, so they had scraped money together to hire professional broom conduits.

Finishing potionomics, Amelias head was now even more occupied with her thoughts, and she couldn’t focus for the rest of the day. She even got kicked out of Advanced Spells II, a favorite of hers, as she simply couldn’t focus on casting while thinking about Serefine’s words.

She continued her studies in her room before making her way over to Serefine’s once the class ended. After knocking a few times to many, she was greeted by Serefine’s roommate Freya, who stood in the door. She had her blonde hair in a ponytail, with her undercut clearly visible, and Amelia was stunned when she saw. “You too?”
Taking some time to understand what she meant, Freya suddenly realised and scratched her nape “Ofcourse darling, everyone in this dorm has it.”
Gathering her courage, Amelia presented her book and looked into the room “Can I.. come in? I want to get to the bottom of this.”
Freya laughed at Amelia’s determination and stepped aside, the two sitting down at a small table to talk

“So, Freya right? What did you study? Where did you read about.. this?” Amelia was desperate for answers, and to keep her hair.
“Well Serefine’s dad had connections to an agency for conduits. He really loves his daughter’s hair so he told her that you never need all of your hair to make a broom and the rest will often be donated to other schools for practice. We agreed that we didn’t want to give away our hair to just anyone so we researched the conduits’ guides her father provided and it turns out that cutting your hair in one place gives more resources to the rest, just like plants. That’s why we cut it three weeks ago. I can tell you it feels amazing!” She went through her nape again and smiled at Amelia “We can do the same for you! if you want ofcourse..”

Something didn’t sit right with Amelia. “But what if it’s not enough?”
“Well we’re gonna have to make do. It’s not like a few flaws in our broom will impact our grade if we build it well, and we can always regrow our hair and cut more in the next year”
(She basically doesnt want to do it, this is a rabbit hole bruh im no good writer)

THE CUT

Amelia’s morning on the day of the ceremony couldn’t have gone better. She unwrapped her hair from under her silk cap and made sure to apply the last run of rosemary extract, brushing it in with extra care. She wore her ceremonious Woghart’s sweater, her Woghart’s skirt and the finest boots she had. Tieing her hair with a silk band, she made her way to the dining hall to have breakfast with everyone attending, as they were expecting it to go through the next morning. Freya and Serefine had tied their hair low and loose to hide their cuts, and they were trying not to get spotted by the teachers. Feeling stronger after a good breakfast, the group made their way to the community hall where the conduits had already set up a chair each with their necessary utensils. Amelia really liked the light-blue shine that the caped monks were emitting. Their faces looked worn down from their job, but their motivation was still high.

The girls sat down in the rows of chairs facing the chairs of the ceremony, a few arguing over the places in the back so they could get some time. Amelia could see her friends infront of her, and soon it was their turn. They seemed to whisper something with the conduits, and she watched anxiously as the conduit nodded their head and put a cape over them before getting out hairbands to section their hair into manageable patches. Soon after, it took a manual clipper and used it expertly to reduce section after section to short stubbles, which sent the girls into a relaxed trance. During her haircut, Serefine would open one eye to search for Amelia, sticking out her tongue when she saw her. Though the conduit quickly corrected her posture, Amelia wasn’t sure what to make of Serefine. She was seemed relaxed, but her hair was going shorter and shorter, how could she enjoy this?

After the conduit was finished with the duo’s hair, they stood up and collected the sections of hair that had been cut. Freya would admire them and show them next to her head to Amelia, laughing before going off stage.

After a few more students, it was Amelias turn. With wobbly knees she managed to sit down in the chair after which her conduit would throw a cape over her and tighten it: “It is no use to be scared” she could hear it whisper, commenting on her anxiety “You have kept your hair well, it will grow back to color in a month”. Amelia didn’t understand what ‘to color’ meant, so she asked. The conduit was already sectioning her hair, but still answered “Men often keep their hair grown to color. To your length it will only take five years”. The conduit didn’t realise how Amelia interpreted its words, but her anxiety only grew, which it noticed again “We elves have rituals for growing healthy hair, you can partake aswell. Your friends have told me about your anxiety, they will participate.” The conduit finished sectioning her hair and she could feel the weight pulling at her scalp “I am going to collect your hair now. Are you acceptant of these proposals?” The conduit had already taken the clippers in its hand, and Amelia’s worries had been taken care of.

“Yes I am” she said with confidence, quick to be overshadowed by regret as she felt the clippers go in from the top of her crown to take the first section. She had mixed feelings. The vibrations were keeping her mind off the worst, but her skin was feeling much colder, making her worry about fall. The speed at which her hair was cut was too fast aswell, so with a desperate tone she asked “Uhm.. can we.. go slower?” to which the conduit adjusted, giving her a feeling of control again.

More and more sections were cut from the top of her head, until the conduit stopped: “You have not cut your sides?” It asked to confirm, leaving Amelia wondering why “Yeah.. was I supposed to?” The conduit shook its head, both in disbelief and to calm her “No, I just thought since your friends did it.. it’s also common knowledge among conduits that witches should cut their sides before the ceremony..” Amelia regretted not following the girls’ advice now, but there was nothing she could do. “Your broom will still have great power, do not worry, and it will look better with volume”. With these words, the conduit set the clippers on her nape and began cutting. She could feel her skin going colder and colder, and imagined herself having to wear a hat over her bald head. The thought was weird, but with most of her hair gone she could finally imagine what it would feel like. Now cutting at the sides, the conduit expertly cut around her ears, her head now almost bald.

Finally the last section of her hair was cut off and placed on the table next to her. She couldn’t believe her eyes when she was finally able to see the white glowing pile with the occasional black sticking out from a hairtie and noticed how much lighter her head had gotten. She shook it with excitement and was eager to touch it once the conduit took off her cape. When she touched it though, she realised how there was really nothing left and tried to hide her tears. A form of how she expressed herself had been taken from her, and she couldn’t cope with the fact that this would be her hair for atleast a month. She noticed something cold on her head and flinched, turning around to see the conduit holding a hand over her.
“Fear not, child, you will get used to the change.” The conduit lifted its cape, below which a face with a gray, fuzzy ball for a head could be seen. “We conduits have chosen to make it permanent. Now go and finish your assignment.”

Amelia would admire her Conduit’s head a little longer before it put its cape back on and directed her to the pile of hair. Collecting her hair, she thanked the conduit and went off stage. After safely storing her precious locks in her room, she went outside to search for the café where she was meeting the duo.

Freya and Serefine had reserved a spot for her, and they proudly presented their shaved heads. Amelia told them about her experience with her conduit and they all argued about how bizarre it was. Amelia noted how she hadn’t seen herself after the cut, and Serefine got out a mirror. After admiring herself she couldn’t help but laugh at how goofy her head looked, and passed the mirror to Freya. She too couldn’t hold her laughter, and soon all the girls were laughing at each others looks.

(this is my first story and I’ve noticed so many issues that i just couldn’t fix. The idea came to me after noticing how similar straw on brooms looked to hair)
(you’re welcome to rewrite everything in the story since it doesn’t even have a proper ending (actually getting the broom), i just wanted to get it done)

+15