A/N: Well, I'm back! I've been on FanFiction for over 10 years, and I used to write stories way back when. But this is my first fic in a very long time, and I'm hoping my writing has improved since then! I apologize for previous unfinished fics, but I do plan on finishing this one, then perhaps going back and scrubbing up my old writings from a younger version of myself.

Please, please, PLEASE leave your reviews, comments and critiques—I'd love to hear them! I'm aware similar plotlines have been toyed with, but I'm hoping mine still has the capacity to entertain.

Thanks for reading :)

-TWO

She knew, any moment now, that her soaring body, hurtling backwards through the air, would meet the concrete wall; the sickening smack of breaking bones would be the last sound she'd ever hear.

Yet, the impact never came. She felt her surroundings melt away as she flew past the wall, into whatever the world determined for her as "safety."

Her body hit the ground hard as she used the last of her energy to materialise away from her nightmares, to a dark and secluded spot deep in the forest.

Lily Nightflight was knocked unconscious.

Something brushing against her cheek caused the girl to finally stir, hours after she'd landed in the middle of the pitch-black wood. Lily Nightflight's chocolate brown eyes snapped open to meet a small bird pecking the ground near her face. She blinked. Her mind swirled, memories of the previous day trying desperately to piece themselves together. From what she could tell, it was early morning, just after sunrise. She laid in a somewhat twisted position, her ebony hair splayed around her head; a light layer of dew covered her badly beaten body.

She was injured, though how seriously she could only determine by trying to move. She attempted to sit up and almost fell over from the rush of dizziness that overcame her. Every limb cried out in agony; she heard from muscles she hadn't even known existed. With a small whimper, the girl shifted her weight to her elbows and managed to prop herself up on them. The worst pain seemed to be radiating from the small of her back, she guessed that was the point of impact, and a sharp throbbing from the deep cut on her arm reminded her it needed care. She took a deep breath through her nose and felt a wave of dizzying nausea—nature's fresh air assaulted her senses; she was so unused to being out in the open. Finally coming to her senses, she surveyed the serene scene around her.

Somehow the chirping birds and frolicking squirrels didn't sit right with the last memories that were beginning to clear in the back of her mind. She winced in pain again and rolled up her crimson-stained sleeve to reveal a gash running from inside her elbow to right below her wrist.

Right, now she was starting to remember. The fight was intense, she was sure those few moments would be her last ones ever. The raging woman had thrown her arms out and hit her with something powerful-a direct hit, square in the chest. As she flew with frightening speed toward the concrete wall behind her, she knew she was experiencing her final moments. Her body hurtled through the air; she squeezed her eyes closed and summoned a power from deep within—a power she never knew she possessed. Lily Nightflight commanded every fibre of her being to dematerialise, thinking only of 'safety' as her destination.

And it seemed that she ended up... in…?

She squinted at her surroundings, wondering how safe she actually was in the middle of what seemed like... well, nowhere. But she wasn't afraid; anywhere was certainly safer than somewhere she could be. Even if it was… nowhere. Lily pulled herself to her feet and brushed off her tattered cloak, wincing as the gash on her arm protested to her movements.

She summoned a cloth saturated with water and dressed the wound, the cool liquid stinging its edges. She tied the cloth tightly, praying the pressure would staunch the scarlet flow. Almost in a daze, she froze to a sudden halt as the far away remnants of laughter and crunching twigs entered her earshot. Backing up against the nearest tree trunk, she folded her arms, closed her eyes and drew in a sharp breath. Her spell casting fingers extended, and she felt the invisible shield envelope her body. Knowing she was completely out of sight, she allowed herself to relax slightly, waiting to see who was coming up the path.

Two young girls approached, giggling and chatting amongst themselves. Lily held her breath. Both girls carried a broomstick in one hand and a suitcase in the other. They wore matching hats, dresses, shirts and purple sashes. From what she could deduce, the garb seemed to be a school uniform. The two continued their discussion, oblivious to Lily as they walked by her. She let out a sigh of relief, straining to hear part of their conversation.

"Are you nervous then?" One girl asked the other.

"A bit I guess. I hear Miss Cackle is really nice, though."

"I wonder if we'll be in any of the same classes..."

And then their voices faded away. Lily sat down slowly, leaning on the tree trunk for support. So, the girls were off to school. A school with a nice teacher named Miss Cackle. Perhaps where there was a nice teacher there was safety. Lily pondered this for a moment, then shrank back as she heard more voices. Another pair of young witches approached, chatting excitedly.

"We're going to get our cats today!"

"I know! I've already been trying to come up with the perfect name for mine."

Behind them, Lily could make out quite a few similarly uniformed girls, all of them about her age. This had to be safety; she just needed to be able to blend in. She studied each girl's uniform as she walked by, and after seeing it for the seventh time, she was pretty sure she could replicate it.

Lily waited for the last of the recent group to disappear behind some far away trees. She extended her spell casting fingers and smiled as the familiar rush of magic escaped from her fingertips. As the tingling sensation wore off, she looked down to admire her handiwork. She was wearing a uniform identical to the girls' she had seen, right down to the pointed black hat with its striped gray ribbon. She stood up, ignoring the throbbing protest under her sleeve as she flexed her fingers and summoned her broomstick. The girl smoothed her dress and made sure her appearance was neat before she allowed herself to become visible again. Taking a deep breath, she began to walk in the direction the other girls had, not entirely sure of her plan. She had only taken a few steps when she heard someone call out behind her.

"Hey!"

Lily pivoted to see a blonde uniformed girl running toward her. Her heart quickened as her eyes shot around nervously, trying to eye the best escape route… just in case.

The girl caught up to her, panting as she tried to catch her breath. "You're on your way to Cackle's, right?" She asked.

"Er... yes." Lily answered hesitantly. Her voice cracked slightly—they were the first words she'd spoken in hours.

"Oh, do you mind if I follow you? I'm not exactly sure where to go." She said, readjusting the grip on her luggage.

"Erm... not at all." Lily managed weakly, hoping she wasn't already paving the way for trouble. She trekked on in the same direction she'd seen the others go in, hoping there'd be some sort of signage up ahead.

The two walked in silence for a few moments until the blonde one spoke up, "I'm sorry, that was rather rude of me, my name's Maud Moonshine." The girl said, her bunches bouncing as she walked.

"Lily Nightflight." She answered simply.

"It's nice to meet another first year. Are you nervous?" The girl eyed her curiously.

Lily scowled-she had never had a proper conversation with someone-let alone a girl her age, and it was making her extremely uncomfortable. She noticed the other girl's wary expression and forced herself to display a small smile. She racked her brain, trying to remember the conversation she had heard earlier. "A bit I guess. I hear Miss Cackle is really nice, though." She repeated robotically. She watched the girl's face flood with relief.

"Oh good." The walk continued with a few moments of silence before the blonde one spoke again. "Don't you have any luggage?" She asked, eyeing the girl's empty hand.

Lily mentally hit herself-she'd forgotten a very obvious prop. "I sent it up earlier." She said quickly.

After that, the conversation stopped, and Lily wondered if she had scared the girl off. But a quick glance to her left made her realise the other girl was staring straight ahead. Lily turned to see the majestic castle appearing on the horizon, its wrought iron gates only a few paces away.

Lily felt her heart begin to pound. Was this really such a brilliant idea? How was she going to enroll in a school and still stay hidden? She bit her lip as she tried to work out some sort of solution.

The two girls approached Walker's Gate and stood outside, joining the large swarm of identically dressed students who'd already arrived. Above them, dozens of girls flew over the gate on their broomsticks, slowly descending to land in the courtyard. Wondering if she should have flown in on her broom, she realised the flying girls wore sashes of other colours -yellow, green, red... but only the walking girls wore purple. Curious as to what was going on, her musings were halted by a creaking of the gate, slowly making its way open to allow them inside. The girls shuffled in slowly, heads turning in all directions, taking in the sights of their first journey through the gateway. The rest of the student body stood waiting, breaking out in a teasing rhyme about learning how to fly. So these purple-sashed girls couldn't fly. Lily thought about that curiously, she could fly for as long as she could remember, and it was almost unnerving that such a large group of girls her age could boast no one in a similar situation.

Except... suddenly a young girl flew through the gate, holding her head up proudly. A purple-sasher. Lily pondered if she should have done the same, until she noticed the enormous amount of attention the girl was deliberately drawing to herself. The last thing Lily wanted was for anyone to pay more than a moment's worth of attention to her. The girl landed right beside Lily, her haughty nose pointed up, obviously quite pleased with herself. Lily didn't even glance in her direction.

The girls conversed amongst themselves and Lily took the time to survey the scene around her, sort through whatever information she'd gathered this far, and plan her next move. So, she was in the youngest year of the group, the year that couldn't fly and was going to get their cats. This was the nice teacher Miss Cackle's school, a school where you stayed for an extended period of time, based on the amount the girls had packed, and… that seemed to sum up all she could figure out. The chatty ambiance died down suddenly, and Lily noticed two adults standing in the archway of the entrance to the castle. The pair of women seemed direct opposites of each other: the older one stood short and stout, with gray hair and spectacles, and a smile on her face. The other, considerably younger, but not too young, stood tall and thin, arms folded over her chest, her ebony hair scraped into the tightest bun. She expressed no emotion, her narrowed eyes scanning the group of girls. The two women stepped forward to address the crowd.

The gray-haired woman spoke first. "Welcome girls, to your first year at Cackle's Academy." She smiled proudly. "I am Miss Amelia Cackle, your Headmistress." The nice one. The woman gestured over to the younger witch to her left. "And this is my Deputy Headmistress, Miss Constance Hardbroom."

Miss Constance Hardbroom... Constance Hardbroom... Hardbroom... Hardbroom…

The name seemed to echo, repeating itself over and over in her brain. Nothing could prepare Lily for the complete shock that went through her body at the mention of that name. Her eyes grew wider than ever before, her jaw dropped, and she felt almost as though she couldn't breathe. A chill ran down her back as she struggled not to faint. Could it really be? Could this woman really be the Constance Hardbroom? She noticed the rest of the group also chatted excitedly, obviously hearing of her before as well, but probably not in the same way Lily had.

You see, to Lily Nightflight, Constance Hardbroom was the ultimate goal. When she was under Mistress Broomhead's tutelage, she was constantly being compared to the woman's former protégé. Constance would have done this... Constance was impeccable at that... her entire life was practically devoted to emulating Constance Hardbroom, who was, until this very moment, a woman she'd only ever known of through the descriptions of her accomplishments. And if she ever failed to meet or exceed those accomplishments, she would be severely punished.

Lily came back to the present and surveyed the tall woman in front of her, scanning her from top to bottom, trying to finally finish the mental image of the woman that moulded her life. She shuddered. Could this possibly be safety? Lily found herself wondering again. Right under the nose of... Constance Hardbroom?

"Quiet." The woman spoke for the first time, her voice ringing out strongly and silencing the girls. Lily noticed the resemblance to Mistress Broomhead's clipped tones immediately. "Apparently many of you seem to have heard of me." The corner of her mouth raised in a sarcastic smirk. "Do be aware that a lot of what you have heard is most probably one hundred percent true." At this she noticed some girls gasp and stiffen. Lily wondered what they had heard. "That being said, absolutely no nonsense will be tolerated at this institution. With your permission, headmistress, I will now begin the roll call."

Miss Cackle gave a nod as Miss Hardbroom pulled out a clipboard with the attendance list written on it and began to read off the names... "Millicent Applebell."

A young girl from the crowd piped up "Present, Miss Hardbroom."

"Bella Bergtrot."

"Present, Miss Hardbroom."

Lily realised her name needed to be on that list. She stole a glance around, making sure no one was looking, and moved her hands behind her back. With a quick flick of her wrist, she added her name to the roster.

"Harriet Goodcharm"

"Present, Miss Hardbroom."

"Ethel Hallow"

"Present, Miss Hardbroom"

Lily scowled at the girl who'd showed off her flying earlier, and was horrified to see Miss Hardbroom smiling approvingly in her direction. Surely someone as knowledgeable as the great Constance Hardbroom wouldn't fall for such haughtiness?

"Mildred Hubble" Miss Hardbroom called out. No one responded.

"Anyone seen Mildred Hubble?" Miss Cackle asked. The girls were silent. Poor girl, thought Lily, must've been locked out.

"Miss Cackle, would you care to finish the roll call?" Miss Hardbroom turned over the clipboard to the headmistress, eyes darting around in search of the missing pupil. The girls relaxed slightly as the floor was given over to the nice one again.

"Of course, Constance. Maud Moonshine?"

"Present, Miss Cackle."

"Lily... Nightflight?" Miss Cackle questioned the entry, raising her half-moon spectacles and squinting to make sure she'd read it right. For some reason, the name hadn't rung a bell, but there it was, written plain as day in her own handwriting.

"Present, Miss Cackle," Lily spoke up. Miss Cackle shrugged and proceeded down the rest of the list.

The rest of the proceedings were a blur to Lily, she stood staring at Constance the rest of the time. Constance. Hardbroom. The girl who's parents had an met an unfortunate and untimely demise when she was just 16 years old. The girl who Mistress Broomhead had taken in as her own, before Lily arrived to replace her. The girl who'd succeeded in becoming Mistress Broomhead's "most talented, powerful charge to date." The girl who "disappeared, never to be heard from again." Lily smiled to herself—it felt surreal, as if she should ask the woman for an autograph or something. Constance Hardbroom was real. And she was standing right in front of her. And she was… speaking. Lily tuned in just in time to hear Constance berating a girl with messy plaits and undone bootlaces.

"….punctuality at all times! That is if they intend to stay enrolled at this establishment." She narrowed her eyes at the girl quivering in front of her.

The girl identified as Maud went over to comfort the quaking girl. "It's alright, Mildred." She whispered. Mildred Hubble, Lily mused, the one who was late.

Lily looked over at Mildred, her bootlaces undone, her uniform unkempt, her face stained with tears, crying and shivering—a complete mess. Lily gave a small, sad smile. She couldn't blame the poor girl for being so afraid—Constance Hardbroom was the most frightening woman ever.

That is, she seemed to be the most frightening woman ever… to someone who'd never personally met Mistress Hecketty Broomhead.

A/N: Well, that's the beginning... what do you think? I already have some more written, so I'd love to post it if anyone is interested ;)