Disclaimer: i don't own The Worst Witch
A/N: I have now officially spent eight whole years *lets off fireworks* writing Worst Witch FF and I do not know where the time has gone but I can sincerely say that it has been a blast and has brought me so much more than I could ever have imagined! :*
Anyway, moving swiftly on …
This is my first foray into the recent 2017 reboot of 'The Worst Witch'. I am honestly bricking it posting this but it was an idea that I had and thought I would see where it went. I have tried my best so hopefully it isn't *too* OOC. After all, despite both having the surname "Hardbroom" Hecate and Constance are two very different characters, lol.
I was very loosely inspired by a well-known Bette Midler movie. I have also managed to insert some Wicked references in because Hecate and Pippa just scream Elphaba and Glinda to me! ( ... also because Wicked is awesome. i have now seen it four times and it is still not enough! :P)
Oh, and the 'Spelling Bee' episode never happened! (although I have used most of *that* conversation)
*P. Sammi hits publish and then goes into hiding in her secret cave that comes with wine, Pringles and Wi-fi where she plans to spend her rare day off binge-watching the reboot*
Clouds Will Part And We'll Start Again
It had been less than an hour since she had received the letter.
It had been less than an hour since she had felt her heart plummet to the ground as the past flooded back to her.
It had been less than an hour since she had dropped everything, grabbed her broomstick and taken off into the night's sky, hoping against hope that she would get there in time.
Ever since she had first learnt that Pippa Pentangle was sick, she had wanted to go to her. She had come close to it so many times, even getting to the halfway point before she would change her mind and turn the broomstick around; telling herself that she would do it tomorrow.
Only tomorrow never came.
She had managed to convince herself that it was her pride that was stopping her but deep, deep down, she knew that was not the sole reason. When the letter had arrived though, asking to see her, Hecate Hardbroom knew that that tomorrow was now today, knowing that if she did not go this time, then she would likely regret it for the rest of her life.
That was how she had found herself going to visit her arch-rival and her one time best friend.
People would have been beyond utterly bamboozled if they were to know that. After all, there was no way on this earth that THE Pippa Pentangle would have been friends with someone like Hecate Hardbroom, but she had.
Well, they had … eventually.
It seemed a lifetime ago now that their paths had first crossed at College.
Hecate inwardly groaned, knowing that her afternoon of peace and quiet was over as the intoxicating scent of her roommates perfume assaulted her senses.
For a moment, there was no sound on the other side of the door; it was as though the girl was waiting to make her big entrance. Eventually though, the door opened and in she skipped, her arms laden down with shopping bags.
"Afternoon, Hecate," she said, trying to be civil more than anything else.
She didn't much like her unusually and exceedingly peculiar roommate. Granted, she didn't know her, but she didn't really have any strong desires to get to know her either. After all, who would want to be friends with someone who constantly wanted to study?
She had come to College to meet boys and to have fun.
The ebony haired girl looked up briefly before she turned her attention back to her book, silently cursing the universe for screwing her over, yet again. She hadn't wanted to share a room with anyone in the College but of all the people she could have picked from, Pippa Pentangle was at the very bottom of the list: it was likely the only list that she was at the bottom of, given she was the College 'It girl'.
Pippa Pentangle was popular, pretty and … blonde.
In short, she was everything that Hecate hated and everything she tried her utmost hardest to avoid but fate (or rather bad luck) had thrown them together and now she was stuck with this girl who was always so damn perky … and pink! The pair could not have been at more opposite ends of the spectrum if they tried, their differences apparent in every argument that they had. The only thing that they did agree on was that they loathed each other. It was pure and unadulterated loathing.
For a good while, there was a blissful silence.
Then it began.
"Can you go somewhere else and do that please? Some of us are actually trying to study!"
The blonde stopped mid-action; the nail file still poised in the air, as she arched one of her own perfectly groomed eyebrows.
"Taking care of your nails is just as important as the rest of your body. And I don't know why you are worrying, you'll do great. You always do great."
Unsure as to whether the last comment was sincere or not, Hecate went to say something else but was cut off by a loud exclamation of glee coming from her left.
"Oooh … I know. Let me do your nails, Hecate!"
Hecate looked up in an immediate horror but then managed to quickly compose herself.
"No, thank you."
"Please?"
"Definitely not!"
Though she had her attention on the book, Hecate could still feel the penetrating gaze of the brown eyes as they focused upon her, feeling the blush rise beneath her cheeks as a result. She cursed, hoping that it was not as blatantly obvious as it felt. Damn that annoying little …
She hesitated as she tried to think of a name before settling on the perfect one.
... Pipsqueak.
"Pretty please?"
The blonde asked again, this time fluttering her naturally long eyelashes, batting away at them innocently as her bottom lip quivered, feigning that she was going to cry. It was her 'go to' trick when things were not going her way and it was guaranteed to work on most people.
Hecate Hardbroom, however, was not most people.
"If you let me, then I'll leave you in peace to study for the rest of the evening?"
Given she had just read the exact same sentence for the third time in the space of five minutes, it was becoming a rapidly attractive proposal. And both of them knew it.
"Alright, fine," Hecate grumbled,"But only because I need to finish this chapter by tomorrow."
Before her roommate had the chance to change her mind, Pippa jumped up excitedly from her bed and dived into the bathroom. There was a lot of rattling and clattering around but she soon emerged with an array of tools that Hecate had never seen before (clearly meant to be used for torture), various different creams, and a vast collection of nail varnish in all different colours and shades.
"Erm … for this to work, you'll need to put the book down."
Snapping the book shut with an exaggerated sigh and setting it to one side, Hecate reluctantly gave her right hand to the blonde who was now sat on the edge of her bed.
"I have two conditions."
Pippa Pentangle had expected nothing less.
In fact, if she was honest, she was a little surprised that there were only two conditions attached.
"Go on then?"
"First of all, you will tell no one about this."
The blonde nodded. "Witches honour," she said, holding up her index finger and her pinkie. "What's the second condition?"
"Absolutely no bloody pink!"
Pippa laughed.
"You know," she said, her dark eyes twinkling away,"Some people say that black is this year's pink?"
Not long after that had seen the beginning of the most unlikeliest of friendships as the two witches discovered they had far more in common than they had first thought. They were still as different as night and day but somehow that no longer mattered. Both of them needed each other and both of them brought the other something they hadn't known they needed: Pippa brought a sense of fun and the whimsical to the ordered life of the hardworking Hardbroom and Hecate brought a want to learn and better her skills to the popular Pentangle.
For both of them, it was a learning curve and was of course not without its incidents.
Like the time Pippa had attempted to give Hecate a lesson in 'hairography'; it turned out for the studious witch, it was nowhere near as simple as "toss, toss".
Or the time when Pippa's ridiculously high heel had gotten caught in a loose floorboard of the potions laboratory and she had gone flying, the potion she had been carrying slipping from her grasp and sailing through the air — almost as if in slow motion — before landing over a somewhat unamused Hecate. The blonde's apologies were lost under her giggles before the fumes of the potion started to spread and she too starting hiccoughing.
But not before she had christened her "Hiccup Hardbroom".
Hecate smiled slightly as she recalled that particular day, steering the broomstick left slightly as she continued on her way. Alright, so she had been livid at first but once she had calmed down, she had seen the funny side ... eventually. The smile faded almost as quickly as it had appeared as reality set back in. She was getting ever nearer to her destination and what was possibly her most difficult test yet. And though she was loathe to admit it, she was starting to get nervous.
She was more than nervous in fact.
She was truly afraid of what sight she was going to be confronted with upon her arrival.
Having lost both of her parents at a young age, Hecate did not fear death. After all, what was the point in fearing something which was always going to be inevitable sooner or later? There wasn't one. But this was Pippa Pentangle. She had always been so full of life! And so to picture her lying there helpless, practically at death's door, it just seemed ... unnatural.
Although she may have internally referred to her as "arch-rival" the truth was Hecate did not actually hate Pippa.
She had hated her.
She had hated her for a long, long time but, eventually, the anger had subsided, leaving only a dull lull and sense of betrayal behind. Along with something else. And, contrary to what people may have whispered when they thought she was not around, she was not some emotionless gargoyle that was made of stone. She had a heart.
It was hard not to feel … something towards her. After all, they had been friends once.
Good friends.
Best friends.
Glancing up briefly from the essay she had been working on, Hecate caught sight of the time and acknowledged that she was now officially 18 years of age. Not that it really mattered; she was not really one for celebrations and parties. When she was younger, her birthday had meant so much more to her.
Now, it was just another day on the calendar.
She could still remember how her grandmother — who had raised her after the death of her parents — had always presented her with a new Spell Book every year, recalling how voraciously she had devoured every word within, her brown eyes growing in wonder as "Granny" had explained certain elements of the craft. She had been so very close to the old woman and she still missed her terribly, but she had inherited her middle name and that made her feel like there was a tiny part of her grandmother still alive.
Lost in reverie and thoughts from times gone by, she didn't hear the door open nor her roommate enter.
"Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday, Dearest, Darlingest, Hecate, Happy Birthday to you …"
"I hadn't time to get a cake and well ... you've tasted my baking skills so I improvised," the blonde explained as she gestured to the donut with a candle sticking out of the top, not missing the look of horror appearing on her friend's face as she eyed the sweet and sticky confectionery with suspicion. "Don't worry, I'll eat it; it's meant to be symbolic more than anything."
"It's really sweet of you, Pips, but I don't really do birthdays."
"Humour me then."
Hecate shot her a look and smirked, "Fine, if it will shut you up and prevent you from burning down the College," she said, noting how the candle was now rather lopsided, clinging on somewhat precariously to the doughy substance. She went to blow the candle out when a well-manicured hand shot out and stopped her.
"No, you need to close your eyes or the wish won't come true!"
Reluctantly - and not before an eye roll - Hecate closed her eyes and went to blow the candle out when she felt something touch her lips, planting a gentle kiss. Shellshocked and rather giddy from the moment, she slowly opened her eyes.
"Happy Birthday, Hiccup."
When Pippa had first approached her, Hecate had told herself to be wary, convinced that she was the unfortunate prize in some bet that the popular girls had going on. That didn't seem to be the case though and as she had gotten to know the blonde better, she had felt terrible for having misjudged her: Pippa Pentangle may have loved clothes, shoes and the colour pink but she was nowhere near as shallow and mean as her loyal army of followers. No, Pippa Pentangle was different.
Or so Hecate had believed.
She couldn't believe it as she looked around at her surroundings and down at the bridge she was standing on. She had just completed her first successful transference spell! Though she rarely got excited over much, Hecate was currently grinning from ear to ear.
She couldn't wait to tell her best friend later on.
Speaking of Pippa, Hecate saw that she was actually stood at the other end of the bridge: she may have had her back to her but she could recognise that profile anywhere. She was about to appear beside her — possibly giving her a heart attack in the process — when she saw the popular girls approaching the blonde, feeling her own heart sink in the process.
She didn't like those girls.
And they didn't like her. A feeling they made quite clear every time they saw her. Her eyes locked with Hortensia Horrocks who smiled nastily before she started.
"Did you see what Hecate was wearing today? Dear god, where do you find something as dreary as that, I doubt even the library stocks outfits so awful ... then again, what with her gangly features, she's lucky she's got her precious books as no one is ever going to want to be shackled to that weirdo."
The girls laughed as insult after insult continued.
The only one who didn't so much as smirk was Pippa.
She bit down on her lip nervously, always hating whenever they started to bash Hecate. She didn't see what was so wrong with being friends with both sets of girls. Although ... nowadays she always seemed to have so much more fun when it was just her and roommate …
Unfortunately, Hecate had inherited the "Hardbroom's can hear a pin drop" hearing ability so although she was at the opposite end of the bridge, she heard every word.
Loud and clear.
Tears streamed silently down her cheeks as she disappeared, reappearing in the entrance hall before going to talk to the Head; to beg him to let her change rooms and, most importantly, change roommates.
Pippa Pentangle was dead to her.
It would be a long time following that incident until Hecate would entertain the notion of having a friend again, her resolve only faltering in later years when she would meet Ada Cackle, the woman who would become her employer and eventual close confidante. Even that relationship though would take time and years of trust to build.
The journey had taken her much longer than she had anticipated but at last she had arrived.
She landed expertly in the courtyard, briefly taking in the grandeur of the grounds.
It was all so very ... Pippa.
When the Pentangle had first announced that she was going to open her own school, the magical education community had laughed her out of the room but Pentangle's quickly rose to become one of the top witching schools in the country and, suddenly, it wasn't so funny anymore. Despite her complicated feelings towards her former friend, Hecate had been so proud of her: she had always told the blonde that she was so much smarter than she gave herself credit for.
Leaning her broomstick against the wall, she took a minute to mentally prepare herself for what lay ahead before knocking on the door. After a few minutes that felt more like hours to the deputy headmistress, the door opened and she was met with a kind looking nurse whose name badge said: "Cynthia Wintercharm."
"Hello, I-"
She stopped, her mouth was as dry as a desert. Trying to maintain her composure, she swallowed, suddenly feeling very sick.
She couldn't do this.
"You must be Hecate. Please come in," Cynthia extended her arm to show the older woman in. Once in, Cynthia closed the door behind them before fixing Hecate with a knowing look, "She's been waiting for you."
The nurse lead her through a maze of corridors until she stopped outside a door. "I'll give you both some privacy. If you need me, just press the green button."
Hecate thanked her as she turned the handle and entered the room, her hand instantly flying to her mouth in shock. It was like stepping out of Oz and back into Kansas; everything just seemed so lifeless and dull. The woman herself was lying unconscious in the bed, hooked up to various machines, so far removed from the young girl she had once known. Taking a deep breath, Hecate made her way across the room and sat on the chair next to the bed, unsure of what to do next. She had rehearsed a speech on the way, but now nothing seemed right ...
She noted — with some surprise — that Pippa's nails were devoid of her trademark nail polish.
... in fact, everything just seemed wrong.
"I know, they're a mess; my manicurist couldn't fit me in," a quiet voice joked, breaking through the heavy silence of the room. "Its been a long time, Hecate Hardbroom."
"Yes," the dark haired woman agreed as she nervously fiddled with the edge of the fraying blanket; all the little signs surrounding her, telling her that this long-term image of pure perfection was fading away to nothing before her eyes. The bright, sunshine aura the blonde had always possessed was now nothing but a mere flicker. "And we know whose fault that is," she couldn't stop herself from adding the last bit nor could she help the edge of bitterness in her voice as she said it.
"If you only came to gloat, Hecate, then you might as well just leave now," the words were stuck in Pippa's throat as she dissolved into a coughing fit; the action wracking her whole body. Hecate quickly picked up the glass of water from the bedside table and held it steady while the only slightly younger witch took a few small sips using the straw. Once she was satisfied, Hecate placed the glass back down.
"I didn't come here to gloat, Pippa. And I didn't come for a fight either. Despite ... circumstances, I never wanted to see you ... like this."
"Why did you come then?" the blonde inquired, truly curious. She had hoped, but she honestly hadn't expected Hecate to reply much less to drop everything and rush to her bedside.
You always could leave it to Hecate Hardbroom to do something to change the game entirely.
"Why did you ask me?" Hecate countered, not missing a beat.
Pippa slowly reached out for the pocket watch hanging on a chain around her neck. "I can't believe you still have this. Does it still work?"
"Yes," Hecate whispered. "Now, stop trying to change the subject."
"I suppose that I wanted us to clear the air once and for all. I've been over it in my head again and again and ... I still don't understand, " Pippa rasped. "You were my best friend, Hecate and then suddenly, you stopped talking to me. Why?"
"You were always the popular one," Hecate said coolly. "You didn't want me getting in your way."
"What's the real reason?"
For the first time in longer than she cared to remember, Hecate Hardbroom faltered. She remained silent for a few minutes before she let out sigh of defeat. "I heard you that day ... on the bridge ... the morning of the competition. You were standing with Hortensia and Priscilla laughing and joking ... about me."
Pippa was instantly transported back to the past and reminded that although Hecate could portray herself as a stoic bitch, she was still that same vulnerable teenager underneath. The one who had always been so different to their classmates.
The outsider.
The odd one out.
"Is that why you left me to do our double act solo?" the blonde tentatively asked, remembering how Hecate hadn't turned up on the afternoon of the Broomstick WaterSkiing Display and how, when she had gone to confront her afterwards, she had found all of her things gone, following her request for a room transfer. Hecate Hardbroom never spoke to her again after that.
Hecate nodded slowly. "I wanted you to feel as humiliated as I did."
"And? ... Did it make you feel any better?"
"Honestly? ... No."
Their eyes met and both started to laugh slightly, realising the stupidity in their decades long feud. Hecate couldn't remember the last time she had laughed.
"All this time we've spent hating each other and for what?" said Pippa. "Goodness, old Monkswood would likely want to bang our heads together!"
Giggles abated, the atmosphere turned serious again.
"For what its worth, Hecate, what you heard that day ... it wasn't me. I mean ... I never said anything ... but I never stopped them either. I guess I was just trying to impress those other girls who would cling onto my every word and tell me how wonderful I was," Hecate went to say something but Pippa cut her off. "Only it turns out, I didn't care about those silly witches; you were the only one I wanted to be friends with."
"But ... I thought-"
"I mean ... I've had so many friends but only one that truly mattered."
"... I do hope it's not too late to tell her that?"
Hecate sniffed, trying to remain indignant. "You always did like to leave things to the last minute, Pippa Pentangle."
"I know, and I really am sorry."
"I'm sorry too," Hecate whispered, feeling shame and regret rise within, "I should have talked to you, rather than behaving like some silly teenager and just cutting you off like that, and then ... maybe we wouldn't have lost all this time."
"Hey, it doesn't matter now ... I'm just so glad you're here," Pippa reached out for the other woman's hand, gently intertwining it with her own, already feeling the last of her strength ebbing away; it wouldn't be long now. "I've missed you, Hiccup."
Hecate stared at her, fighting back her own tears before eventually managing to choke out: "I've missed you ... too ... Pipsqueak."
It had been a long, long time since those nicknames had last been used but they meant as much now as they had done back then.
It was as though the powers-that-be had waited patiently in the wings, watching on as the reconciliation between the two witches took place and years of misunderstandings and feelings were finally laid to rest.
The time had come.
Pippa's smile never faltered for a second as she gazed at Hecate with the same look as she always had during their all too brief friendship: as though Hecate was the most important person in her world. Hecate watched on breathlessly as the light finally faded from her best friend's eyes.
She was gone.
Hecate was unsure exactly how much time had passed as she sat frozen to the chair, her mind a whir as past memories flooded her mind one after the other; all merging together into one. Knowing she could not stay there forever, she cleared her throat and slowly stood from the chair. For a moment, she simply stood, drinking in the image of everything about the now lifeless woman; telling herself that she wanted to remember her all the while knowing deep down that she would never, ever forget. Her composure was rapidly melting as she leant over the blonde, placing a gentle kiss on her forehead.
It was the last gesture she would ever give.
She turned to leave when, out of the corner of her eye, she spotted an envelope that she would swear had not been there before.
"Hiccup"
Picking it up, she headed towards the door.
She kept her head held high as she left the room, passing by the people who had come to prepare Pippa for ... for the next stage, and as she meandered her way through the twists and turns of the corridors. It was only when she had exited the gates and crossed the threshold that she allowed herself to crumble. Leaning against the stonewall for support, she looked down at the envelope in her hand, running a well-manicured nail along it to break the seal and remove the contents: an ageing photograph of two teenage girls.
Carefully, she traced the outline of the smiling blonde as a solitary tear ran down her cheek.
"Stop moaning will you and just smile. The sky is not going to fall if you have fun for a few minutes!"
"Alright, fine," Hecate said grudgingly, wanting to get this over as soon as possible. She hated getting her picture taken, only seeing her own flaws magnified by the sheer beauty of the blonde.
"Right," Pippa said brightly as she set the timer on the camera before appearing back at her roommate's side. "Now ... say friendship!"
Friendship...
It was still such an alien concept for Hecate to have a friend let alone have one like Pippa Pentangle.
"Pipsqueak," she asked just before the flash went off, "We are friends ... aren't we?"
"Of course not, Hiccup," Pippa replied as she pulled her into a hug, "We're best friends!"