Helen Speaks

By Derringer Grant

The so-called “Magical Year” has been particularly controversial of late, with teen witches Lucy Skylark and Olive Framley at the centre of the St. Bernice’s Field incident, a supposed haunting that turned out to be a travelling salesman who had been accidentally cursed by a neighbour.

I met Lucy Skylark in her adopted home of Barkmouth to talk about the incident. Far from the image of unprotected juveniles unleashing their magic on the world, Skylark lives in a pleasant boarding house under the motherly protection of the landlady, who is also Framley’s aunt.

Skylark and Framley’s powers are alarming, if also impressive – I witnessed a rainstorm, dramatic plant growth and a slightly fumbled but no less remarkable piece of spell-casting by Olive Framley.

Lucy Skylark is an earnest figure – capable of being commanding and assertive but also a generous friend to those in need, with a sharp problem-solving mind. Making me a cup of tea in the sitting room of her seafront home, she responded decidedly to the accusations that she is too young to be exploring her magic.

“You can’t make a law that stops people being who they are,” she said. “I’m a witch and I have magic. Yes that can be dangerous, but that means I need to learn how to use it well. If we hadn’t been there, Callum would still be stuck, or worse if the mob had had their way and burned The Green Dragon to the ground. Teenagers learning about magic isn’t the problem – it’s a lack of education that’s the problem.”

While her earnestness comes with the naïve optimism of youth, recent news of the investigation into the so-called wishing stone that turned Callum Brett invisible suggests that education into magic is indeed sorely lacking.

I cannot speak for other teenage witches, or say that all such “Magical Years” are for the best. But it would seem that the world is a better place for having Lucy Skylark and Olive Framley practising magic in it.

Question: Have you ever been interviewed for a newspaper or news site? What was the experience like?

If you enjoyed this post please share it with others. You can also subscribe by adding your email to the link on the left of my homepage.