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Salem: 1693

A boy named Thackery Binx suddenly shot awake in his bed, thinking he had heard something. He glanced around but didn't see anything, and went to lay back down, when he noticed the empty bed of his little sister.

"Emily? Emily!" He called.

...

Thackery got up out of bed and walked outside his house, looking for his sister.

"Emily!" He called again, but didn't receive an answer.

He looked to the right to see his neighbor and friend Elijah standing outside his house as well.

"Elijah! Has thee seen my sister Emily?" He asked.

Elijah shook his head. "Nay, but look. They conjure."

He pointed in the distance, and in the woods, purple smoke could be seen rising from a chimney.

"The woods!"

The two boys ran towards the edge of the village where they could see a cloaked figure luring a little girl into the woods across a field.

"Emily!" Thackery cried.

"She's done for." Elijah whispered.

Thackery grabbed his shoulder. "Not yet! You wake my father, and summon the elders. Go!" He ordered, before rushing towards the woods.

...

Thackery ran through the woods, the leaves crunching underneath his bare feet. He jumped over rocks, and pushed small branches out of his way as he ran, but accidentally ended up tripping over a tree root and tumbling down a hill.

He picked his head up from the ground and saw a cottage in the distance, and watched as his little sister was lead inside by the cloaked figure.

Thackery snuck up to the window of the cottage and peered inside. His sister Emily was sitting in a chair surrounded by three witches. Emily saw Thackery by the window and her eyes widened, making the three witches turn in his direction.

Thackery ducked out of the way and slunk over to the water wheel that was spinning around their house as two of the witches came outside to look around.

The third opened the window and looked up at the sky. He was an older man with curly red hair that had gray in it, and he had very large canines that looked more like fangs.

He was wearing green a green cloak and a black collared shirt with a green vest over it, with black pants, black and green striped socks, and black boots.

"Oh, look. Another glorious morning. It makes me sick!" He shrieked, before going back inside.

"Sisters!" He called.

"Yes, Winnie."

"We're coming Winnie, right away!"

The other witches replied, going back inside.

"Must have been an imp." Winnie shrugged.

He made his way to a stand where a big book was laying. "My book. We must continue our spell now that our little guest of honor has arrived." He said, glancing over at Emily. "Wake up. Wake up, Book."

The book was clapped shut, and there was an eye on the cover that opened on its own.

"Mary!" Winnie called.

A plump witch with graying black hair that was twisted at the top of her head, wearing red cloak came over to him. The top and bottom parts of her mouth went in different directions making her talk a bit funny.

"Right here, Winnie, right here. Sorry."

Winnie gestured for her to keep stirring the cauldron.

"I noticed sister Sarah isn't helping." Mary snipped.

"I lured the child here." Sarah defended.

She was also an older woman with blonde, graying hair and a purple cloak.

Winnie grabbed Mary's ear and pulled her closer. "Leave her be. She hath done her chore."

Winnie released Mary and she went back to stirring.

"Your right, I'm wrong." Mary agreed, but not before barking at Sarah.

"Alright. Tis time!" Winnie announced.

The book opened and flipped to the page that showed them how to make a Life Potion.

"Here it is." Winnie brought a clawed hand to the page and began reading. "'Bring to a full rolling bubble. And two drops oil of boil'."

"I got it, it's heavy. You do that, I'll do this." Mary insisted.

...

Outside, Thackery grabbed onto the water wheel and let it lift him up to the upper level of the house. He opened the window and crawled inside.

...

"'Mix blood of owl with the herb that's red. Turn three times, pluck a hair from my head. Add a dash of pox, and a dead man's toe.' Dead man's toe and make it a fresh one." Winnie ordered.

"Dead man's toe! Dead man's toe, add a dead man's toe." Sarah sang as she spun around the room.

Thackery watched from the loft as Mary added a dead man's toe to the cauldron while Sarah kept singing.

Eventually, Mary and Sarah started throwing the toes at each other and one hit Winnie.

"Will you two stop that? I need to concentrate." He snapped.

Mary and Sarah looked down, and went back to their tasks, but Mary paused and began sniffing.

Thackery crawled across the loft, as Mary approached Winnie.

"I smell a child." She reported.

"What dost thou call that?" Winnie irritably pointed at Emily.

"A child."

"Hmm!"

"Sisters! Gather round." Winnie gestured for his sisters to gather around the cauldron. "One thing more and all is done. Add something that each one loves."

The three each took out a personal object and tossed them into the cauldron. Winnie took out another item tossed that in as well, and the cauldron began hissing.

"Winnie are you sure she'll be okay with this?" Mary asked.

"Of course she will. I can be very...persuasive." Winnie replied huskily.

"Oh, Winnie. Thou art divine." Mary praised.

"'Tis ready for tasting. One drop of this and her life will be mine!" He declared. "I mean...ours." He corrected.

Winnie scooped some of the potion onto a spoon, and the three turned and stalked towards Emily.

"Alright girl, open up your mouth." Winnie demanded, bringing the spoon to her face.

"No!" Thackery yelled, and jumped down from the loft.

The three siblings turned in surprise.

"A boy!" Sarah gasped.

"Get him you fools!" Winnie demanded.

"I got him. I knew I smelled a boy."

The three chased Thackery around the cauldron, and Thackery pulled it back and swung it forward, causing the cauldron to hit Sarah and Mary, knocking them to the ground. He then tipped the cauldron, spilling it's contents on the ground.

"No! My potion!" Winnie shouted in frustration.

"Emily!" Thackery rushed to his sister, but before he could grab her, Winnie blasted him with green lightening, sending him to the ground.

Mary groaned and sat up, looking over at Emily. She smirked and got Winnie's attention.

"Winnie. Winnie, look."

The three looked over at Emily and saw that she was glowing, indicating that she had drank some of the potion.

"Sisters, prepare thyselves. 'Tis her life force. The potion works. Take my hands. We will share her."

"Oh, Winnie, how generous of thee."

The three siblings joined hands and stalked towards Emily. After a few seconds her life force began to drain from her body and spilt into four different trails. Three of them went to the witches and one lead out the window somewhere else.

"Sisters, behold!"

The three turned around and their gray hair and wrinkles had disappeared, and they were now younger and more attractive.

"I am beautiful! Boys will love me!" Sarah cheered.

"We're young!" Mary laughed.

Winnie turned and held up a mirror. "Well...younger. But it's a start!"

He cheered, and the three began dancing.

"Oh, Winnie, you are but a young sprig of a boy." Mary complimented.

"Liar, but I shall remain a young sprig forever once I suck the lives out of all the children in Salem."

Thackery and regained consciousness at this point, and had pulled himself up to lean on a ladder.

The three siblings turned to him and stalked towards him.

"Let's brew another batch." He declared.

"You hags!" Thackery insulted. "There are not enough children in the world to make thee young and attractive."

"Hags." Winnie repeated. "Sisters did you hear what he called you? Whatever shall we do with him?"

"Let's barbecue and filet him." Mary suggested.

"Hang him on a hook and let me play with him." Sarah purred.

Winnie hummed at their suggestions, but his thoughts were interrupted by someone pounding on the door.

"Winnie! Open the door! I know you're in there!" An angry voice yelled.

Winnie's eyes widened, and he turned to his sisters. "Keep him quiet." He hissed.

Winnie rushed towards the door, holding up a hand mirror to check his reflection and smooth out his red hair.

Once he was sure he looked presentable, he threw the door open and posed in the doorway seductively. "Ah, (Y/n)!" He purred.

A young, attractive woman with smooth (h/l) (h/c) hair, beautiful (e/c) eyes, and soft (s/c) skin stood outside. She was wearing a white top, a corset, and a (f/c) skirt with black tights and black boots underneath, and a cloak around her shoulders.

She narrowed her eyes at Winnie and had her arms crossed with a scowl on her face.

"What brings a sweet little thing like thee to our humble cottage?" Winnie asked flirtatiously.

"Winnie, did thou kidnap a child?" The girl asked bluntly.

Winnie hesitated. "...No..." he lied.

"Really?" She said, not believing him. "So thou didn't brew the Life Potion and steal the life force of a child to make thyself look like this?" She gestured to his younger self.

"...No..." Winnie replied, very unconvincing.

"Help! Please!"

The girl furrowed her eyebrows. "Who was that?"

"Nobody my sweet! Mary was just...practicing her...impression of a man." Winnie told her.

(Y/n) rolled her eyes and pushed Winnie aside, and stormed into the cottage. She saw Emily slumped down in the chair, and Thackery was leaning against the ladder with Sarah and Mary trying to keep him quiet. Sarah and Mary greeted her with shy waves.

"Hi (Y/n)..."

"Hello (Y/n). Nice to see you..."

"Winnie!" (Y/n) growled, turning to face him.

Winnie gave her a sheepish look. "Now, before thou says anything, would it help if I said I did this for thee?"

"Winnie, I've covered for thee for a long time when thou was practicing magic, but this is too far. Thou cannot suck the lives out of children just so thee can be young and immortal forever." (Y/n) scolded.

"Apparently I can. " Winnie smiled and shamelessly looked up and down her body. "And from what I can see, the potion worked on thee as well."

(Y/n) rolled her eyes at him, but Winnie just smirked and wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her into his chest.

"I am terribly sorry my sweet. I've learned my lesson and shall never do this again. What dost thou say we...kiss and make up?" He suggested.

The girl scoffed and pulled out of Winnie's hold and turned her back to him.

Winnie sighed. "Oh come now, no need to pout. What's done is done."

Winnie came up behind her and placed his hands on her hips, pulling her back into him.

"And think...now that we know the potion works, we can be young and beautiful forever." He swayed them back and forth, and nuzzled his cheek against her hair. "We can be together for the rest of our lives. Maybe have our own cottage where my idiot sisters can't disturb us..."

He leaned his mouth down to her ear. "What dost thou think, my sweet? Doesn't that sound...enchanting?" He purred, and put a clawed finger under her chin and made her face him.

(Y/n) hummed, and their noses brushed together, and Winnie began to lean forward to capture her soft lips.

"No! Stop!" Thackery yelled, making them jump apart, and Winnie scowled. "Do not give into him! He is wicked!"

"Mind your own business boy!" He barked. "Can't thou see I am talking to a lovely young lady? Sisters! Kill him."

"Yes Winnie."

"Whatever you say."

(Y/n)'s eyes widened and her gaze moved over to Thackery.

"Now...where were we?" Winnie whispered, and moved her head back to face him.

"Thou surely is not going to kill him?" The girl asked incredulously.

"No, of course not my sweet little thing. Mary and Sarah are." He corrected before puckering his lips and leaning down to kiss her.

(Y/n) put a hand on his chest and gently pushed him away. "Please don't kill him."

"But he knows where we are. He'll alert the townspeople. I simply can't let him go." Winnie told her.

"Well, isn't there any other kind of punishment thou could give him? One that won't kill him, but also won't make him able to give away your location? Maybe ask thy book?" She asked.

Winnie sighed in frustration, and hesitated to agree. (Y/n) saw he was debating on what to do, and helped persuade him.

"Please Winnie?" She said in a sultry voice. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and pushed her chest up against his. "For me? For old times sake?"

Winnie groaned softly as she placed light kisses on his cheek, and he finally made up his mind. "Well...I suppose if...that's what my love commands..." He huskily agreed, running a finger along her cheek.

"Sisters! I've changed my mind. I have something else in store for him. Book? Come here."

Book floated through the air over to Winnie, and he grabbed it. "His punishment will be more fulsome, more lingering."

Book opened and flipped to a page titled 'Excruciating Punishments.' "Let's see...amnesia, bunions, chilblains, cholera...Hmm, no...we can do better for my sweet than that..."Winnie flipped the page and a certain spell caught his eye. "Ah! Perfect...as usual."

Winnie closed the book and handed it off to Sarah. "His punishment shall not be to die...but to live forever with his guilt."

"As what, Winnie, as what?" Mary and Sarah asked.

"Jump back." Winnie ordered, and Mary and Sarah stepped behind him.

(Y/n) stepped off to the side as well, giving Thackery an apologetic look.

"Twist the bones and bend the back."

"Itchita copita melaka mystica."

"Trim him of his baby fat."

"Itchita copita melaka mystica."

"Give him fur black as black. Just..."

"Like.."

"That!"

Thackery groaned and fell to the ground as his body began to twist and change. In a matter of seconds, his groans turned into yowling and he was transformed into a black cat. Thackery looked up at the witches and hissed at them, and Mary barked back. Sarah went to touch him, but Thackery hissed at her and she jumped back, and the three began laughing.

"Ah, what dost thou think my sweet. Is it to your liking?" Winnie asked as he approached (Y/n).

(Y/n) smiled nervously. "Yes, Winnie. Tis very...clever..."

He backed her up into one of the beams and placed one arm around her waist.

"Maybe I should...get some kind of reward?" He suggested, placing a finger under her chin, lifting her head up.

(Y/n) blushed and Winnie smirked and began to lean in, when there was a pounding on the door.

"Open up!" Someone shouted.

Through the foggy windows, they could see several people with torches.

"Witches!"

"Children of darkness!"

"Open this door!"

Winnie scowled at once again being interrupted. "Hide the child!" He ordered.

"Witches? There be no witches here sir." Mary said, as she covered Emily up with a sheet.

"Don't get your knickers in a twist." Winnie hissed. "We are just simple villagers!"

The siblings walked to the door and pushed on it to hold it closed.

"Spending a quiet evening at home." Mary added.

"Sucking the lives out of little children!" Sarah exclaimed, making Winnie grab her neck to silence her.

"Keep holding the door." Winnie told his sisters.

He moved away from the door and opened a trap door in the floor.

"(Y/n), hide down here." Winnie ordered.

"What? No, I can't just leave you to the townspeople. They shall hang you!" She objected.

"Yes, and if they find you here, they shall hang you too."

Winnie marched over to where she stood, and picked her up bridal style.

"Wha-? Winnie!"

Winnie carried her over to the opening and dropped her inside. He then closed the door and cast a spell on it, so she couldn't escape and so no one would be able to hear her screaming.

"Sorry my sweet, but I'd rather me and my idiot sisters hang than you!" Winnie called to her, as she pounded on the door for him to let her out.

...

"Winston Sanderson..." a man began.

The three Sanderson siblings were standing on barrels under a gnarled tree with nooses around their necks, and their hands tied.

"Yes?" Winnie responded casually.

"I will ask thee one final time..."

"Yes?"

"What hast thou done with my son, Thackery?" He demanded.

"Thackery...hmm..." Winnie hummed, pretended to think.

"Answer me!"

"Well, I don't know. Cats got my tongue." Winnie joked, making him and his sisters laugh.

Sarah moved her neck around a bit. "Listen, this is terribly uncomfortable."

"Sisters, sing." Winnie announced.

They all began to sing a random song, and the townspeople recoiled and covered their ears. The man holding their book threw it down to cover his ears, and the book flew open to a certain page.

Winnie looked down and his eyes widened, and a sinister smirk spread onto his face, baring his fangs. "Fools! All of you! My ungodly book speaks to you. On All Hallows' Eve when the moon is round, a virgin will summon us from under the ground." Winnie declared.

'So I guess that means my (Y/n) won't be the one to do it.' Winnie thought to himself with pride.

"We shall be back! And the lives of all the children shall be mine!" Winnie declared.

The siblings all laughed and Thackery's father gestured to kill them. The barrels fell from underneath them and they were left hanging by their necks from the tree.

All the townspeople slowly began to disperse back to their village, and Thackery came up to his father and began meowing at him, and rubbing against his legs.

"Away! Away, beast." He shooed, and walked away.

Once the towns people had all left, (Y/n) came running outside. With Winnie dead, his spell on the trapdoor was broken and she was able to escape.

She paused when she saw Winnie and his sisters dead and slowly sank to her knees, tears running down her face as she sobbed into her hands.

Thackery came up to her and rubbed against her. She sniffled and picked him up in her arms. "I'm...so sorry about your sister...and about getting you turned into a cat...I...just couldn't watch him kill you...but I suppose this isn't much better..."

Thackery nuzzled into her and meowed, letting her know that it was okay, and that he forgave her. (Y/n) wiped away her tears and stood up.

"Come on. You can stay with me."

The girl took one last look at Winnie before turning away and walking off to her home, thinking that she would never see Winston Sanderson again.

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