AN: This was initially going to be a one shot but then I figured there was too much to put in one chapter, so it'll probably be two if not three. This one takes place in the third year and is a sort of alternative for the events with the drawing powers of 'The uninvited,' PM's and Reviews welcome as always.

Mildred sat with the others in the secret room under the library; the DOBS hide out. Ruby was pouring over a large cluster of sheets of A3 paper and muttering to herself as she cross referenced and compared the various spreads.

"YES!" she suddenly proclaimed, causing everyone present to look up in interest. "What's up Ruby?" Fenella called to her, " I've finalised my plans for my radio, once it's made it doesn't require plugging into the wall, it's wireless and is powered by kinetic energy see?" everyone nodded in agreement, not entirely understanding what she had just said. Mildred put down her copy of their new potions textbook and went to join her friend, allowing her natural inquisitive nature to get the better of her, to take a look at the blueprints of the improvised device.

Ruby, delighted to have an interested audience for a change, began to fire information at her like a marksman in a shooting range.

Mildred did her utmost to try and keep up and process the whirlwind of facts being thrown at her, but she failed and confessed that she didn't really understand what Ruby was telling her. Her friend sighed while the rest of the group laughed, "Good old Mildred always says what's on her mind." Enid commented, attempting to draw attention away from the fact that she had no clue what Ruby was talking about either.

"Well it doesn't matter, as long as it works you won't have to understand it," Ruby interjected realistically, half sticking up for Mildred's lack of intelligence, half voiding the potential feelings of superiority that might have been working their way to Enid's head.

"Hey what's this?" Mildred asked, plucking at the corner of a sheet that was poking out of the pile, and glancing at the illustration on it, "Anti-Hardbroom machine?" she read off the top of the paper, "What's one of those?" she asked with a laugh. Ruby pulled the plan from her grasp and laid it out flat on the work surface, "Just a fun idea I had that's all, I doubt it would really work, HB'd just zap it like everything else she doesn't like." She said dejectedly, "not unless it was HB magic proof," cut in Griselda as she surveyed the plans, "like the idea, but doubt we'd find a spell even in these books for that sort of thing."

Filled with wishful thinking the group dispersed as the bell rang somewhere high above them; break was over. Mildred took one last look at the illustration, thinking about how funny it would be if it could be real.

She blinked. 'Huh,' the drawing had gone. 'that's odd' she mused. Before she had further chance to investigate Jadu called to her, "Come on Millie, we'll be late for Chanting."

"Coming." She replied, checking that it wasn't her imagination and that the drawing really had gone. Sure enough it had vanished. She shook her head, 'weird, it cant have just vanished,' "Millie," Jadu interrupted her thoughts, "Alright I said I'm coming." And this time she went, racing up the stairs with the others to sing out of key with their eccentric chanting teacher.

Xxx

Constance left the staffroom in unusually high spirits, she hadn't had the misfortune of teaching the third years yet and she was certain that her mood wouldn't hold out for long. As she was clip clopping her way along the corridor to the potions lab, or as some called it her second bedroom, she heard the unmistakable sound of whirring cogs. "Well, well, what's our little genius cooked up this time?" she asked without purpose and without audience, for the corridor was empty.

She turned to face the source of the noise; it was coming from the direction of the library. "DOBS no doubt." She said to herself, wondering what hair brained non witch contraption had been created this time and unleashed on the world.

As she rounded the corner the most extraordinary sight met her eyes. She was now nose to nose with the AH 2000. She peered in disbelief at the monstrosity that confronted her. "AH 2000, what an odd name." She voiced her opinion as she read the brass plate fastened securely to the front of the Mildred shaped machine, wondering why it would have such a name, 2000 for the year made sense but AH, why not MH, that seemed more appropriate. Then she read the tiny phrase in brackets beneath the name: 'Anti-Hardbroom millennium edition- Hubble approved'

Constance reread the label, and then looked the machine up and down, walking round it deliberately as she did so, subconsciously trying to intimidate it because she viewed it as a threat.

The machine itself was sleek and lifelike in almost every way, the grey exterior metal giving off an ethereal shine that gave the skin a lifelike appearance. It was perfect down to the uneven plaits and undone boot laces. The eyes stood out from the head like bright beacons in a monotone ocean, such was the intensity of their colour. They gave her the creeps; it was almost as if they were watching her. "Well, there's no doubt who you belong too, that is if you aren't Mildred Hubble yourself, after the art week incident that wouldn't surprise me." She said to it, unaware that the machine before her was running a voice and retina match against its target.

As she finished her sentence the mechanical Mildred said in a grating voice, "Target confirmed, commence hunt."

"Commence what?"

As it recognised its programmed nemesis it stretched out its hand and sent a bolt of electricity at Constance, causing her to buckle from the knees and greet the stones beneath her with a painful hello.

Flustered she rapidly pulled herself up from the floor and sent a puffification spell in her customary manor; from the pinky and index fingers of each hand.

Satisfaction briefly flared within her, then was dashed against the rocks when the orange beam had no effect on the machine. In fact the attack had done little more than to convince the robot that it was doing the right thing.

(Unbeknown to Mildred and Constance Ruby had included a brain that could think for itself in the plans and it had come complete with a full set of reasons as to why it should hunt down Miss Hardbroom. It had also been programmed with a full list of identities, copied of course from the often unattended filing cabinet of Miss Cackle's office.)

Constance was now afraid; she couldn't defeat a steel plated machine that was impervious to magic, not when it wielded that dangerous non magic thing called electricity. No the only thing she could think of was to run; something she had never done in her life.

Turning on her heel, she fled down the corridor with the AH 2000 in hot pursuit, sparks narrowly Missing her head as it endeavoured to hit a moving target, still warming up its aim.

In her panic she had subconsciously run to the staffroom. As she realised her whereabouts it struck her that her colleagues would be in danger if it followed her here; no she would have to find somewhere else. Before anyone could question her as to why she was charging about like a headless chicken he threw open the door and disappeared down another corridor.

After a few minutes of intense running, she stopped threw open a side door and shut the door firmly behind her. Breathing heavily she waited a moment, then tentatively opened the door ajar to find that her pursuer was nowhere to be seen, and the tell tale whirring couldn't be heard either. She breathed a sigh of relief, shutting the door again and leaning heavily on the frame.

As she gazed at the ceiling she became acutely aware of a low murmuring. Curious she looked down to find to her horror Lavinia and the whole of the third year gawping at her, gossiping amongst themselves as to why she was interrupting their class.

"Is everything alright Constance dear, you seem a little out of breath?" asked the ever concerned Lavinia, "Did Imogen take you on one of her cross country runs, I keep telling her exercise isn't good for elderly witches." she stopped dead at the look on Constance's face. The witch straightened up and said in indignation, "No Lavinia I have not been running with Miss Drill," then she added as an afterthought, "and I'm not old."

Most of the class refrained from laughing at her childish remark; those who didn't soon were silenced by the angry look HB shot at them.

Constance suddenly remembered which year this was and a smug smile lighted her face as she folded her arms across her chest.

"Ruby Cherrytree I would like to see you in Miss Cackle's office in 10 minutes regarding your latest technological escapade,"

Ruby looked puzzled, "what do you mean Miss Hardbroom?"

"Don't play dumb with me girl, I know your little game and I'll see to it you're dealt with."

And with that she bid Lavinia good day and stalked back out into the corridor, her close encounter forgotten for the time being, replaced by her ingrained hatred of disobedience and back chat.

Xxx

Miss Cackle jumped at her deputy's sudden entry, spilling half her cup of tea over her cheesecake and complaining loudly, "Really Constance what was that for?" she looked up to find the witch had gone, "Did you see the look on her face, she looked as though she had just seen a ghost, I think you should go talk to her Miss Cackle, she's clearly in distress." Miss Cackle hummed and dabbed the tea off her beloved confectionary, "We'd better not rush in too quickly and assume these things." she said, getting with difficulty to her feet, her natural concern overriding the logic of her words,

"but none the less I will talk to her immediately." the older woman paused few paces from the doorway and looked left and right; which way had she gone?

"She went left" called Miss Drill from the staffroom.

Just as she was about to embark on her search she heard a whirring sound, quite unlike any other she had ever heard before, 'what on earth is that noise?' she asked herself, Constance temporarily forgotten.

Around the corner, now wielding a large ended, long handled broom, clearly for use in melee combat, came the mechanical Mildred. "Mildred what on earth is wrong with you?" the witch enquired. The robot brain automatically ran an ID check at the sound of a new voice and matched it to Miss Cackle's profile. The notes clearly said 'friend.'

The robot instantaneously changed to a less aggressive posture and took on Mildred's voice and traits, "oh nothing Miss Cackle, just a potion went wrong because I added too much of one of the ingredients," it said politely.

Miss Cackle was convinced by this information that this really was Mildred; after all it was the sort of thing that made Mildred frequent her office. Then it occurred to her that it was lesson time.

" Mildred what are you doing wandering around, I doubt Miss Hardbroom let you out so get back to your lesson, and why do you have that broom with you?" she asked with irritation as she looked down over her angular glasses.

The mechanical brain worked out an answer in a split second, "Well Miss Cackle, I was looking for Miss Hardbroom as she ran out of our lesson crying, the only way to reverse the effect of the potion is to hit her with a broom, but I just can't seem to find her." Amelia processed what she had just heard, she had never in all her time of teaching heard of a cure like that before. What finally swayed her was that Miss Hardbroom had seemed in a bit of a state, but crying, was that true? She hadn't seen the woman's face but if so then Constance was more in need of help than she had expected.

"Come on Mildred let's go find her."