To say I was anxious about meeting other witches would be a fine understatement. What would they think of me? Would they treat me as Thad did on our first encounter, or with repulsion as with George? Of course I no longer looked like an abandoned ragamuffin, and yet, I had no way of knowing how these witches would react to someone like me.

My first encounter outside of Thad and George was a robust woman with cherry red cheeks and a mouse-like voice who greeted us as we ...