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She knew.

Belladonna knew in the very same way she knew most of the things she was aware of, that a new witch was in the reaper dorms. Mostly she knew this because she had spotted the girl a few times, a tiny thing with a cute little kitty. But the fact of the matter remained that there was a new witch and Belladonna had yet to introduce herself as well her own familiar. It would be rude to continue in such a vein, so finally the witch mustered up her courage and began preparations to meet this girl.
It had taken a few days, but those days mostly consisted of strange, stalker-ish tendencies where the witch would attempt to bribe one of the Reaper Dorm assists into telling her who had moved into what room recently and finally only ended when she caught a gnome looking up her skirt and forced him into telling her who he had helped moved recently. (He hadn't known anything, but he had a buddy that did and it was just the same to the witch.)

The next few days were spent gathering supplies, for a witch couldn't show up to a fellow witch's room empty handed! No! Belladonna spent at least two days visiting the various floors of the Reaper dorms in hunt for the finest foods the vending machines had to offer. She had even sent Binx out to the local grocery store to obtain a box of bat cookies to offer the girl. And then there was the matter of customization. Belladonna couldn't be sure what kind of witch this girl was, so she just covered her bases by including a number of colored candles, a few herbs and a very good spell book Belladonna happened to have a copy of in the little black wicker basket she had found.
To top it all off, she tied the basket with a black and blue striped bow to symbolize the friendship she was offering the girl. And with that, Belladonna skipped down the hallway toward the girl's dorm room.

For a moment she stood before the door, the basket tucked onto the crook of one arm, while Binx lounged on her shoulder and waited. What she was waiting for exactly was a bit more up for debate. On one hand she was waiting for some sort of noise to occur that would let the witch know someone was inside the dorm room. On the other hand, she was trying to steel her nerves. The long internment in her own dorm room had knocked the witch's self-esteem a little off course so now she doubted her every move.
"If you don't knock, I will." Binx finally growled from her shoulder and with one deep breath (and a big gulp of doubt) Belladonna reached out her hand and rapped three times on the dorm room.

Here goes nothing... She thought.

The scream from inside was not reassuring.

"Good job, you freak. You frightened the poor thing." Binx mumbled to his witch, his once perfect posture dropped as she stretched out his kitty-paws.
"Well I didn't mean to!" Belladonna hissed back as one hand lightly tapped his back-side in attempt to get him to sit straight again. It was extremely important they make a very good first impression!

"Oh! Hello!" The witch smiled cheerily when the door cracked open a little and one big, blue eye peered out at her. "Hi! I'm Belladonna, I'm a floor above you! I noticed you were new to the Reaper Dorms and I just brought you a little welcome to Amityville basket!" Here the witched brought it up a little higher so the girl could see. "So! Welcome to Amityville!"

"She doesn't do this for everyone, you know." Binx yawned with a flick of his tail. "Its because you're a witch too."
"Binx! Hush!" The witch chided, her cheeks suddenly flush with red embarrassment. OK. So maybe her plan hadn't been totally thought out all the way. Stalk an innocent girl. Bring her snacks. Hope to be friends.
Whatever. It was all in good faith! Belladonna just wanted to be friendly!

Besides, how happy would she have been had a fellow witch greeted her with such warmth and generosity?? The witch was doing this girl a great favor and hopefully the stalkerish aspect of it all would be covered up with the smile.

"Of course its for you, silly!" The witch smiled at the girl's glee and held out the basket for her, almost imploring her to take it and explore its contents. A dark, fuzzy feeling spread within the witch and she reveled in the idea of a job well done. Witches stuck together, they formed covens and did magic together. So it was only natural that she wanted to foster a sense of-- "Ooohhh! You have a familiar too?"

Belladonna bounced onto her tip-toes to see the little cat-creature that lounged on Anna's bed and her eyebrows momentarily crumpled at its appearance. She was by no means judging Shibey (that was its name, right?) but she was certainly... Interested in its appearance.
"Hello Shibey!" Belladonna called to the creature, hoping she could coax it out from the room. "Oh, this is Binx!" The witch then held out a hand to present her own familiar.

"Lovely to meet you." The cat told the girl with little aplomb, already distracted by the arrival of another familiar. His yellow eyes blinked once before he jumped down from the witch's shoulder and waited at the door for Shibey. This new familiar must be properly inspected after all...

"Huh... So! How long have you been here at Amityville?" Belladonna asked Anna, already fond of the small girl's innocent expression. "And have you not meet anyone else nice? That's a shame... I'll have to introduce you to some people..." For a moment the witch considered the thought before bursting out with: "Why! Whoever could have been mean??" To say she wasn't at least slightly interested in the gossip of it all would have been a lie, so she didn't say it.

The witch smiled happily at the girl and bounced forward on her toes, glad to have completed a job well done.
Ha! Take that karma! Belladonna couldn't help but gloat to herself, but quietly stuffed it away after the one thought, for it was best to attend to her new ward. Because, obviously, this darling little creature needed a mentor, an older witch to help her get acquainted with Amityville!
Well, maybe Belladonna would wait a bit before she went about forcing people to be her new little friends. It wasn't as though the witch had been very active within the school lately anyways...

Just as Belladonna was about to question the new familiar further, she felt it speak within her mind and both she and Binx took an involuntary step backwards.
"Ooohhh~" The witch cooed with a smile, "Its been a long time since I've communicated in that manner!" Binx, on the other hand, was not so impressed and instead flicked his tail once.
"Formal? He doesn't seem so bad! When he starts bringing a dance card to the prom, then you have to worry about being too formal!" The witch giggled to herself and forgot to mention the fact that being formal at a formal was the joke she was giggling at. Oh well.

"A dumb boil in class?" Instantly the witch ruffled up, her spine straighter and her fists clenched. "Which class? Which boil? Was he rude to you? If so, let me know. I'm a second year and I could certainly teach him a lesson or two!" It would be a travesty if the boil was also a second year, but that was besides the point. The point was that Miss Anna be properly taken care of and welcomed to the school! It was full of very lovely Halloweeneers! And Belladonna would certainly not stand for someone treating her new witch friend improperly!!

"Oh." The witch let out a tiny cackle of nervous joy, "That was a joke." Here she inserted a hand wave, scooped up her own pet and smiled at the girl.

"There are probably a lot of boils with a 'n' or 'm' name. And its entirely possible he doesn't like reapers." Now she sighed and rubbed her cheek against Binx's, much to his chagrin. He didn't say anything, but a deep, low whine was the hint that he was not enjoying the affection. (Hecate forbid he wanted to make a good impression to the new familiar who could speak in minds! He just spoke out loud... Not anywhere as cool.) "Unfortunately it happens from time to time. But no matter. If he ever is mean to you again, you call me." Here the witch whipped out her eyephone and waved it for the young girl to see. "And I'll come flying."

Speaking of, Belladonna wondered...
"Do you have a broom? What I mean is, do you fly?" There were all kinds of witches and not all of them had the time (or inclination) to take flight on a piece of kitchen equipment.
But now that the first question had been asked, Belladonna couldn't help herself.
"Are you from around here? Does your family live nearby? Maybe I've heard of them!" She was just about to ask another question when Binx took this moment to chomp down on one of her fingers. The witch let out a tiny squeal of pain, but quickly got the message and instead titled her head to one side and smiled.
Although they had only been talking for a few minutes, Belladonna knew she would very much like this little witch. Already she had a bit of fight in her, however hidden it seemed. Maybe with a bit of help Belladonna would be able to help the girl break her shell and blossom into the powerful and strong young woman she had the capability to be.
But then again, Belladonna was waxing poetically to herself by having such grand daydreams. Regardless, she would want to be good friends with this darling girl.

For a moment Belladonna could only stare at the younger girl in awe as she rattled away. Then the moment passed and her awe was replaced with a great sense of endearment. A girl after her own heart! Belladonna certainly wanted to be better friends!
"Well, since you are here at school, which is a place of learning... I suppose it couldn't hurt to try! I could always teach you to fly. And if you're magic has changed and you can't fly, I'll just take you riding with me. How's that sound?" The witch asked with a smile.
Yes, very good friends indeed.

"My mother never really made us wear long underwear no... We did always have to wear pants when we were younger, but now she couldn't give two seeds whether we wore skirts or not. I always fly in skirts, but I also wear petticoats and bloomers too, so there's no worry about that whole business." The witch waved her hands in a manner of brushing the subject away and opened her mouth to say something else, but Binx cleared his kitty throat at her feet.
"Oh, goodness. Its a bit late and I've got some homework to attend to, so I must be going. But feel free to visit me anytime! There in the basket is a card with my dorm number and skellyphone number, so give me a ring or visit me whenever you want."
The witch paused before she smiled down at the girl.
"It was lovely meeting you."

Then she was off down the hallway, skipping happily and hoping they could hang out soon. It would be such fun!