November First

Summary: Disney's Halloweentown, post first movie. After that eventful first Halloween, the Cromwells have some unresolved issues to work out.

A/N: Alright, I know it's a little too late for a belated Halloween fic, but what can I say – I was Halloweentown-deprived this year. I got this plot bunny while watching the first movie on Youtube a few weeks ago, and I can't just let it drop. Besides, I like, NEED to write something other than my NaNoWriMo at the moment, but I don't want to go back to my chapter fics.

The sunlight bursting through her window woke Marnie up from the best dream ever. She'd had this elaborate dream of this place called Halloweentown, where creatures like ghosts and skeletons actually existed. To make it even more exciting, her own Grandma Aggie had been a powerful witch in that town, and Marnie and her siblings had followed her there. Then they'd all gathered ingredients for a potion and used their family magic to destroy the evil warlock mayor.

It was a great dream. She'd always thought it would be cool to be a witch.

Marnie sighed as she threw off her comforter, wiping her eyes as she sat up in bed and pulled her legs over the side. Her eyes widened.

The broom she picked out in her dream sat in the corner of her room

"It wasn't a dream! Yes!" Marnie exclaimed as she jumped out of bed and ran over to the broom. She picked it up and did a little happy dance with it, whirling around in a circle and then ending with it between her legs, as if she might fly off any second. "This is so cool!"

Woken by her shouts, Sophie sat up and stared at her sister. "Are you going to fly it now, Marnie?

"Sophie!" Marnie said, ignoring her sister's question. "Wasn't Halloweentown the best?"

Sophie nodded. "Yeah. The best. And we beat the bad thing!" she cheered as she hopped out of bed and celebrated with her sister.

"Yup!" Marnie agreed, letting Sophie play with the broom. "But you know what the best best part is?"

"No. What?" Sophie asked.

Marnie could barely contain her excitement while she answered, "We're witches! We have cool magic powers now! And Grandma Aggie is going to tell us how to use them!"

"Yeah!" Sophie cheered, jumping up and down with the broom, which was taller than her, still in hand.

Their celebration was interrupted when Dylan poked his head in the room. "What are you two yelling about?"

"We're witches!" Marnie exclaimed. She couldn't say that enough. In her excitement she took the broom from Sophie and held it out to show her brother.

Dylan's jaw dropped. "It wasn't a dream? Y-you mean…you're really…she's really…Grandma…Mom!" Dylan yelled, running to the stairs in panic.

Poor Dylan, Marnie thought as she shook her head. Doesn't even know a cool thing when he sees it. "Come on, Sophie, let's go downstairs."

"But I want to fly your broom!" Sophie objected.

Marnie paused. Honestly, she wanted to fly it too, now that she knew she had it. "Maybe Grandma will give us rides after breakfast."

It was all over. Gwen couldn't believe it.

She'd kept this secret for thirteen long years. For thirteen years, she'd kept them from magic shows, movies about witches, even forbade them from reading Harry Potter. There was always that fear. What if Marnie or Sophie tried a made-up spell, then realized…hey, it worked?

Because that was all magic needed. One little poke or prod, it would come out of them like a waterfall. Not really because of magic's nature…but because when discovered, the user didn't want it to stop.

That was why she'd kept it a secret.

She knew. She knew if Marnie or Sophie learned about magic, there would be no stopping them. Magic was hard to resist. Gwen found herself consciously resisting it day after day, over a decade after she'd given it up.

Magic was raw power. How could anyone turn that down?

But she'd managed. Ever since she met the kids' father that one Halloween night, she realized there was a greater power – love. It made her do things, feel things magic couldn't.

And then…then she had the task of choosing between the two. She'd like to say it was easy, but that would be a lie. It had to be one or the other. The kids' father wouldn't be allowed in Halloweentown. And visiting him once a year when the portal was open was not an option.

So she'd run away. Well, not run away, exactly. She'd gotten her mother's consent. Something about her mother knowing what it was like to run away from destiny. Then, before the town could object to the loss of a great Cromwell witch, she took the next bus out of there and never went back. And never regretted that decision.

But now she had to face the consequences. Her mother was living with her now. Her mother, who she previously only saw once a year. Her mother, who never got over Gwen's rejection of family heritage.

Her mother, who had every intention of training Marnie, and then Sophie, to be powerful Cromwell witches.

Chaos would reign soon, and there was nothing Gwen could do about it. How long would it be before Marnie began turning Dylan into all sorts of animals?

She didn't want to think about it. For the moment, she'd sit here in the kitchen, sip her tea, and wait for the rest of the household to wake up.

She didn't have to wait much. Aggie Cromwell walked into the kitchen, wearing another one of her dresses from home. It was much like her outfit from the night before, but styled slightly differently and a bright shade of purple. "Oh, Mom," Gwen groaned.

Aggie glanced at her with confusion. "What is it, dear?"

"That," Gwen said, pointing her tea mug at her mother's outfit. "I need to take you clothes shopping today."

"Why? What's wrong with what I'm wearing?" Aggie asked, insulted.

Gwen shook her head. She had a feeling that getting her mother a new wardrobe would only be the first step in helping her adjust to the human world. "That's not an everyday outfit here, Mother. People will stare."

"So let them stare! I'm adjusting to enough of their world now, they can adjust to some of mine!" Aggie exclaimed as she took a seat at the separated kitchen counter. "Really. It's bad enough that I'll have find some place for my potion ingredients, my crystal ball, my cauldron…"

Oh boy, Gwen thought while she put her head in her hand. "Mother, you can't bring that stuff here. If one of the kids' friends comes over and sees that…"

"Oh, fiddlesticks. Gwen, I'm a witch. I need my potion ingredients," Aggie insisted.

"But where would you put them? You're already sleeping in my room as it is, and I refuse to be surrounded by that stuff," Gwen argued.

Aggie scoffed at her. "Well, then I guess I'll have to store them in the basement, or…" She paused as a twinkle appeared in her eye. "Or there's always that spell…"

"No! No, no, no!" Gwen almost yelled. It was happening already. Her carefully built normal world was falling apart. "I know what spell you're thinking of, and it's too much! What would I tell the neighbors?"

"But they wouldn't see the extra room from the outside," Aggie reminded her.

"But…but…" Gwen argued, then she collapsed into her barstool and put her head down on her folded arms. It was too much. It was all falling apart, and she couldn't take it.

Her distress caused Aggie to immediately forget about their petty fight and come to stand next to her daughter. "What's the matter, dear? I don't have to make the room…"

"It's not that. It's…" Gwen sighed.

"What?" Aggie asked.

"No, never mind. You wouldn't understand," Gwen answered. She stood up and went to the cabinets to get out the boxes of cereal for when the kids came downstairs. Halloween had been a Saturday, thankfully, so she didn't have to worry about sending them to school. Or calling in sick for them. There was no way she would've made them go after the night they had. While several hours had passed in Halloweentown, when they got back it had only been ten minutes after they left. Mere "jet lag," so to speak, was enough to send the three of them straight to bed without argument.

Aggie crossed her arms, and the look on her face made it clear that she wouldn't "never mind." "Gwen, I realize you're not happy that the kids now know about their heritage. But it's over – they know. And it looks like Marnie is quite eager to begin her training.

"This isn't just about you anymore…although, in my opinion, it never was once the kids came along. Marnie and Sophie have every right to accept, or reject, their powers. You did. And while I wasn't happy about it, I never stopped you. Nor do I think I could've. And, frankly, Marnie is just as strong-willed as you ever were, if not more."

Gwen froze with the cereal box in her hand as she listened to her mother's words, her eyes lowered and brimming with tears. She knew her mother was right. The hard part would be adjusting.

She wiped a tear away as she put the cereal box on the counter. "I know, Mother. I'm just…I'm worried. Yes, Kalabar is gone now. Don't get me started on how I feel about that. But because I dated him, I know…there's a whole side of Halloweentown that Marnie hasn't experienced yet. And while Kalabar isn't a threat anymore…there are countless others like him. All eager to get their hands on a young…naive Cromwell. I…I don't want to lose my kids."