chapter 3

It was only a matter of time before the teachers started to realize how much slower all of the students had gotten and how a little walk down the hall would leave them winded. It didn’t help that most of the students simply ate all of the delicious desserts Mari created out in the open without caring to put up an illusion spell.

But it was slowly getting more and more difficult to keep up her ruse no matter how impeccable Mari’s illusions were.

More and more students were having difficulty getting in and out of their desks, and no one could understand why. That is until Mari managed to conjure up an illusion that all the desks in the school were starting to bend and rust from years of use.

The school board decided to get all new desks, but in the meantime, we were given extra tables and chairs from the lunchroom to use instead.

But then Janet, who was one of Mari’s top customers and probably had the biggest butt in the school with her 5’3 frame having to carry 347 pounds of jiggling blubber, managed to crush one of those puny chains underneath her tremendous behind that would definitely be needing at least two chairs for the rest of her life if she didn't control her cheesecake addiction.

Mari had to quickly come up with the illusion that someone had pranked her by making it look like the screws were loosened purposefully and then she had to make sure that anytime Janet and anyone battling her for biggest butt in the school sat down, they would only ever use two or more chairs.

Mari was focusing so much on keeping up. with everyone else’s illusions that she had completely lost interest in her own physical state. She even started to secretly use her broom to travel around the school, just so that she wouldn't have to spend so much of her day panting and sweating like a pig.

Though to Mari, it looked like she was now the skinniest girl in the school, her quivering mass of a body weighed in at 416 pounds; over twice the amount she weighed when she started this whole ruse!

The gluttonous trio that followed her everywhere like a walking refrigerator were also clocking in at the four hundred, with Veronica weighing 408 pounds and Emma and Ava having surpassed her with their weight of 413 pounds each.

Even some of the teachers were starting to unknowingly expand; most notably the History of Magic teacher who would confiscate sweets being eaten by students and eat them herself rather than throwing them away.

The larger everyone grew, the more in denial they all became. Doorways were unusually challenging. Walking was exhausting. Stairs were nearly impossible.

‘But I'm skinny!’ they would proclaim while shoving more desserts into their greedy mouths surrounded by multiple chins; their breasts more like pendulums and their stomachs fatty aprons that flopped on top of their tree trunk thighs.

But something was exciting about it all that Mari didn't fully understand herself. She started to enjoy everyone around her growing obese that she was beginning to manipulate those select few that hadn't become addicted to her creations yet or simply didn't eat as much as Mari would hope.

Teachers and staff members were finding treats on their desks and indulging themselves. Mari wouldn't implant her illusions on them at first, but simply wait for them to watch themself grow before they came to her for Mari’s special diet sweets. As far as they knew, it worked! But they would still find themself coming back to her for more and more.

For anyone that spent a whole day not eating her sweets, they would struggle with putting on their uniform the next morning and go running straight back to her.

The whole school was under her control and no one even knew it.

She was so focused on all the illusions, in fact, that Mari completely forgot that the year was almost over, which meant it was almost time for finals.

Like most schools, they had their written and/or practical exams for every class for their finals, though Alderoc’s Magical Academy had a special bonus exam to help raise your grade in all of your classes, and also help you get scouted by different colleges, businesses, masters of their trade, etc for when you graduate. All you had to do was stand on a stage in front of the whole school and some special guests/representatives and perform a special feat with your magic that very few could mimic.

Mari smirked as she scarfed down an entire pan of brownies. She knew exactly what she was going to do for the bonus exam.
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As far as anyone else knew, Mari was walking confidently to the center of the stage. They saw the slim figure of a healthy and confident witch who only weighed 135 pounds. In reality, Mari wasn't even walking - she was gliding across the stage on her broom. She couldn't even remember the last time she actually walked more than a few steps at a time.

Mari had been ignoring her own physical state for quite a while now as her mobility rapidly declined, but she didn't fully recognize what she had inevitably done to herself until the other day when she was unable to get out of bed without the assistance of her magic. That day she stepped on a scale and learned that she was officially 451 pounds.

As she gazed out at the theater before her, however, she was able to clearly see the audience for how they truly were, rather than the illusions that they saw.

Rows upon rows of fat, jiggling bodies pressed tightly together, many of whom were still panting and sweating heavily from the excruciating walk to their seats, and all of whom were currently in the middle of stuffing their round faces with all kinds of desserts that Mari had provided for them. Nearly every single body in the room was pushing 300 pounds, and many were even close to 400. Bellies were consuming laps, huge breasts were sagging freely, and wide bottoms were pressed tightly together as their owners had no idea just how far apart they really needed to be sitting.

Veronica sat in the back corner, as close to the door as possible, and was struggling to catch her breath even though she's already been sitting there for quite a while. Though of course, she was barely giving her lungs a chance to even out as she continued to shovel an entire pan of cake meant for 12 people down her gluttonous throat. Squeezed in right next to her were the twins that were drenched with sweat and loudly heaving between bites of the 10-gallon tubs of double chocolate chip cookie dough they each balanced on top of their bulging bellies.

Mari smirked proudly at the sight before her before clearing her throat.

“Greetings, everyone. When I first started attending Alderoc’s, I was frequently teased for my weight. But then one day while at the library, I found a series of spells that would change my life.”

She looked around at the faces of the students and teachers. They all seemed to be certain of what she was going to talk about next. Mari’s grin grew wider.

“It was a book on illusionary magic.” Ah, those were the looks she was looking for. Mari snapped her fingers as she shifted her appearance to look the same as she did at the beginning of the year. “Little by little, I made it look like I was losing weight and coming out of it with a bombshell body. Everyone fell for it, even my teachers, and they all asked me how I lost all that weight.” Some of the girls were starting to look at the food they were eating nervously. “I told them I discovered a special chocolate recipe that helped you lose weight and soon, nearly every single student and teacher was coming to me to craft all sorts of treats for them.”

Mari snapped her fingers and the students seemed to wiggle uncomfortably in their seats, looking between each other with a mixture of fear and confusion. All of the guests noticed the change in demeanor and now had their eyes glued on the “chubby” witch on stage.

“This illusion magic usually affects all five senses simultaneously, though just now I turned all of your senses of touch back to normal. Feeling a little squeezed? Claustrophobic, even? Wait until you see how you actually look.” Mari snapped her fingers.

High pitch screams fill the auditorium as Mari continued her speech, making sure to use her magic to make it where everyone could hear her clearly even though all the panic. “For nearly a year now, I’ve kept up a complicated illusion to keep every single student and teacher thinking they were as thin as ever as they ate themselves into morbid obesity. Cast as many spells as you want that you may think will cause all of this to simply be a sick joke - this is what you all really look like.”

She couldn’t help but laugh as all the obese witches seemed to be trying to do exactly that, waving their wands as they screeched out every spell they knew through fearful tears. “If I can trick an entire school for months without a single suspicious whisper about something as personal as their own weight - imagine what I can do to a corporation, or perhaps even a small country.”

Some of the guests seemed horrified by what she could even be implying, while others seemed to ponder over her words while whispering among themselves.

Mari had her chubby illusion curtsey while declaring “I hope you will all consider my abilities.” before exiting the stage.