A/N: This fic is a bit of an apology letter to my readers for not updating my other stories. My life has been a bit hectic, and I went through a period where I had writer's block and could not make the ideas come when I had free time. However now, since watching Series 3, my idea factory whirred to life again and I will be writing a series of shorter stories, with this being the first one. Those will have priority, but I will try and update my other ones in the next few weeks. Thank you all for being patient and for your support of me as a writer. It means a lot! Please follow, favorite and review!
Mildred Hubble had never felt so at peace. It was a bright spring day at Cackle's academy, a day where the sun shone down upon the castle grounds ever so perfectly, where the gentle, warm spring breeze ruffled its way through the grass like waves in the sea. Her sketchpad falling to one side, she lay up against a hollow tree not far from the castle, watching the 1st years' warm-ups with Miss Drill. Just as she was about to add a final detail to her drawing, Maud sat down with a huff beside her.
"Do you think I'm funny?" Maud mumbled.
"What?" Millie laughed. "Since when are you worried about that?" Maud shrugged.
"I dunno. I guess Enid's just so popular, and she's always playing fun pranks. I don't know I feel like everyone sees me as some kind of stuck-up rule-follower" Millie winced.
"Noooo" she said smiling nervously. "No one thinks that" The pair looked up to see Sybil and Felicity chatting as they crossed the courtyard to their next class. "Hi Sybil!" Maud cried.
"I'm going to class, okay!" she said, speeding up her walk, with Felicity hurrying to catch up with her.
"See what I mean?" Maud sighed and slumped back against the tree. "It's hopeless. I need to do so pranking, like Enid. Then people will see how fun I am!"
"Well, it's the perfect time of year for that kind of thing" Millie said cheerfully. Maud furrowed her brow in confusion.
"What do you mean?"
"You know, because of St. Patrick's Day coming up and all" Mildred explained.
"Um, okay. I don't know what that has to do with pranks" Maud said.
"They do have St. Patrick's Day, in the witching world, don't they?" Millie asked.
"Of course" Maud murmured. "But it's not that big a deal. You usually just spray your yard and whole house to keep the leprechauns away, and lock up your valuables. Sometimes, Mum used to read me stories of Irish witches, or Irish folk tales, but I was always scared the leprechauns would come take my things away." Millie shook her head, her braids flopping wildly.
"But that's no fun! Leprechauns are supposed to bring gifts, not steal things! And they also love to play pranks- when I was little, my mum used to put green footprints all over my floor, or turn my lunch green. We also got to dress in green and gold to go to school, and look for four leaf clovers" Maud shook her head.
"Four leaf clovers are really powerful Mil. Most witches if they find them would save them for a luck potion, or an emergency. They can only be used once, and they are super rare, there wouldn't be much point in looking for them. But the rest of your traditions sound really fun!" Millie beamed, and went on to explain about rainbows and pots of gold and things like that, and though Maud liked the idea of gifts and candy, she wasn't sure about Leprechauns.
"I don't know Mil, my mum told me they are dangerous, that they are tricksters who only care about themselves. That's why we never really learnt about them- only how to keep them away. Witches and leprechauns don't get on well- their magic is different than ours. Whatever spells they cast- we can't reverse." Millie shrugged.
"I just think it would be really fun if we did St. Patrick's Day here like in the non-magical world. I miss that" she remarked.
"Sorry Mil, but there's no way! The Leprechauns would never come here. HB salts the school grounds on St. Patrick's eve, and everyone knows salt burns faerie folk, including leprechauns. Better stay out of it- the teachers know what's best. Besides, I'm not risking everyone's safety for a prank. I'll figure out something on my own" she said, getting up abruptly and hurrying towards the kitchens. Millie sighed and tapped her pencil thoughtfully against her paper, staring down at her drawing.
A smug little Irishman stared back, his jaunty stocking-clad legs posed in a jig and his hat in the air in welcome. Smiling widely, Millie pulled out her maglet and typed out a hasty message:
Enid-
I know what we're going to do today! Meet me in my room after lights out!
Millie
"A prank?" The word was music to Enid Nightshade's ears as she huddled with Mildred underneath her sheets, passing the flashlight back and forth between her fingers with excitement.
"Sort of" Millie whispered. "Except we won't be doing the pranking" Enid strummed her chin with her fingers and wiggled her eyebrows.
"Intriguing!" she said, drawing out all the syllables in an exaggerated way. Mildred rolled her eyes.
"I'm serious Enid. You know Maud's pranks will be disastrous, so who better than the leprechauns to help her? Besides, they can do amazing pranks and we'll just tell everyone it was Maud!"
"Um. Since when do Leprechauns play pranks. My mum said they wreak disaster everywhere they go" Enid said, her smile disappearing.
"Seriously? What is it with the witching world? Leprechauns aren't dangerous, they're fun! Please Enid, there's no way I can do this without you!" Mildred whined.
"For Maud's sake, I'll help. But we don't want to cause too much trouble, just a little bit" Enid said cautiously. "But I'm not even sure if we can pull this off- I've not even heard of a leprechaun summoning spell"
"There has to be a way" Millie said determinedly. "We should check the library, there has to be something in there on leprechauns" Enid frowned.
"Doubt it. I told you, they don't want us learning about them. But I suppose it doesn't hurt to check. I'll do it at my free period."
The next few days passed in a blur of frustration, after finding absolutely nothing on leprechauns despite several constant searches. Mildred felt very tempted to give up this idea, when she recalled Maud's comment about salting the grounds.
"Maybe we don't have to summon them!" Mildred shouted, startling Enid awake from where she had dozed off over a very long history of Irish witches.
"What?" Enid grumbled.
"We just have to let them in!" Mildred exclaimed. "They are sure to show up if there's no salt, no traps or whatever on St. Patrick's Day to play their pranks and leave gifts!" Millie wrinkled her nose.
"Except that that's HB's job" Enid reminded her. "It's going to be near impossible to get past her. I mean there's no way we could stop her" But Mildred barely heard her.
"I've got a fix for that too. First and most basic prank, switching sugar for salt" she exclaimed, breathing heavily now. "All we have to do is break into her rooms-!"
"Woah, Millie! Going where no girl has gone before-" she switches from looking concerned, to excited. "I love it" Enid states, giving her friend a high five.
They were lucky in the sense that St. Patrick's Eve fell on a Thursday night, during which there was always a staff meeting in late afternoon, after classes, but before dinner. Mildred and Enid had carefully mapped several routes to HB's quarters, just in case. Neither of them had ever been of course, but they had passed the ominous black door several times. Now standing in front of it, Mildred gulped. Suddenly all of the urban legends about HB's quarters popped into her head: Felicity had claimed she kept a real dragon chained up beneath her office to keep her floors heated, another claimed she had once hung a student by their toes next to her desk for a full hour and cast a silencing spell so they couldn't hear her screams….. Mildred's heart beat like the drums of doom she felt thrumming in her veins as she pushed at the door. She fell forward inwards quickly, not expecting to find it open.
"Mildred Hubble" Miss Hardbroom drawled. "What an un-expected surprise"
"I….I was just…wondering….um, if…I could….wait what..what is that." Mildred stuttered, spotting a gold coin on her teacher's desk, winking in the light.
"Nothing you should concern yourself with" she hastily moved the coin into a nearby drawer. Suddenly there was a thud, and there was Enid, pasted to the window directly behind her teacher, gripping the sugar under one arm.
"Uh Miss Hardbroom, I'm really struggling with the luck potion for tomorrow's exam- I just can't seem to get the stirring routine down. Would you help me, please!" she yelled the last bit, trying to cover up Enid's sounds as she attempted to quietly open the window.
"As I have a bit of time before the faculty meeting, I don't see. Why. Not." She said slowly, narrowing her eyes at her pupil. "If I didn't know any better Mildred Hubble, I would say you were….up to something" she frowned. Mildred batted her eyelashes innocently.
"Nope just being a great student. Like always. Studying. In fact, I think it would be much more realistic for the real exam if I practice in the potions lab!" she chattered, moving towards the door. With a sigh, HB rose, and cautiously followed her pupil. The moment the door closed behind them, Enid tumbled through the window, breathing heavily, holding the sugar canister up so it didn't break.
"Ow" she squeaked to an empty room. "That was close"
The staff and students at Cackle's had some trouble when it came to dessert at dinnertime not gagging upon tasting Ms. Tapioca's famous chocolate pudding, which tasted suspiciously salty. Enid and Mildred were in too close conversation to notice, excluding Maud, who felt even more alone than ever now that her pranks were backfiring on her. She had gone up early to bed to work on them some more.
"We'd better stay up tonight to make sure the leprechauns make it here alright" Millie said grinning. "I can't wait! We're going to have real leprechauns right here at Cackles!"
"I know! I don't think I'd be able to sleep tonight anyway. We should keep a lookout from your window- it's the highest point anyway"
"And what has you girls in such a tizzy?" Ms. Cackle asked from behind them, smiling in amusement.
"Oh, Millie was just telling me about St. Patrick's Day in non-magical schools. It sounds like such fun" Enid lied easily, and Millie nodded frantically.
"Ah, yes. I'm sure it's times like this when you miss your non-magic school the most Mildred. But unfortunately we cannot embrace those particular traditions for safety reasons, as I'm sure Enid has already explained" Miss Cackle said sympathetically. "But with spring comes many great fun witching traditions, you wait!" she said, smiling and heading back to the faculty table. From across the room Miss Hardbroom took a taste of her pudding and frowned, eyes moving to the bench where Enid and Millie had been seated, just catching the tail ends of their sashes as they raced to bed. Her frown deepened.
"Ah, is it the pudding Hecate? Do try to grin and bear it. I'm sure it happens to the best of chefs" Ada commented at Miss Hardbroom's sour expression.
"What are you talking about, her face looks like that all the time!" Miss Drill cackled from the opposite side of the table- clinking glasses with Miss Bat and throwing back the contents of her glass.
"I would not try me, Dimity, because I unlike you am in full possession of my faculties" she hissed. And with a firm, "Goodnight" she withdrew to her quarters, unable to shake the feeling that something was very, very, off indeed and that without a doubt it was because of one Mildred Hubble.