Disclaimer - I own only this story and the others under my pen name. I like the Worst Witch, which is owned by Jill Murphy and is better in many areas to Harry Potter.

Enjoy.

Mildred's Summer Holidays.

Arriving at Loch Ness.

Loch Ness. The place was definitely magical, she could feel it as soon as she looked out over the dark waters of the loch. Seeing the legendary water which was like polished black glass when you looked at it from a certain angle, the lake did hold a mysterious aura, but for Mildred the lake was truly magical. It was there in the air, a feeling similar to the one present all the time at school. Mildred had wanted to come here for years, the thought of seeing the monster was only a small part of it, but when she'd arrived she was amazed by the breathtaking open scenery and fresh air.

But there was something in the air, something she only felt at Cackles. She had only noticed it when she'd left the castle to head for the cottage Agatha had been exiled to and then when she'd been 'expelled' when the evil Cackle twin had taken over the school, but when she'd returned to the school when Ethel had sent that letter to her with Tabby; she still didn't know why the bitter Hallow girl who spent more time hating her for reasons Mildred simply couldn't be bothered burdening herself with had sent it, but she was grateful for a chance to redeem herself for her own mistakes.

Despite being a witch with only a few months of magical training, Mildred had learnt quite a few things despite her image as a girl who was a "slow learner" and had trouble grasping the basic concepts of magic; it was truly unfair that everyone expected her to catch up with the others who had 11 and more years of knowing and studying magic with their families because it was expected of them without giving her some one to one time to explain basic concepts to her in such a short amount of time, but truthfully she was struggling.

One thing she had learnt was that witches and wizards could feel magic in places where magic was strong, and even see witches and wizards in flight on broomsticks where normal people couldn't. That explained why there wasn't a panic when Maud and the other girls had mounted their broomsticks to go to Cackles for the selection day exam. Mildred had always wondered why she had seen the witches on the brooms and no one else had, but she'd quickly found that out after Miss Cackle had told her.

Thinking of Miss Cackle made Mildred's smile vanish slightly. It had been only a few days since the recent mess with Agatha Cackle, who'd tried to take the school from her sister for a third time running with the help of Miss Gullet; why the disgraced spells science teacher had decided to go to Agatha was anyone's guess, but revenge was a safe bet, but did Agatha really have what it took to give it to her? It might work for a time, but eventually Miss Gullet had more to lose. Finding out Agatha was actually the older twin had been horrifying to Mildred, especially after seeing the lengths the woman was willing to go just to become headmistress. How could anyone call themselves a good headmistress when they were willing to use the witches code to ensnare the school and try to discredit your own twin by killing two girls on a cursed broom, Mildred didn't know, shuddering at the memory of how that broomstick Ethel loaned her had nearly killed her; given a chance with not put under pressure, she was a reasonable flyer, not perfect but good enough, but under pressure and she was liable to crash.

Mildred frowned as she remembered her own stupidity the last time around. She had instantly believed Agatha had taken Ada's place simply because the headmistress didn't seem herself, but that was only because she'd found out her sister had gotten away from Darkwood cottage with Miss Gullet's help, but she'd stupidly thought Agatha had taken her sisters place simply because Ada wasn't her usual cheerful kindly self. Of course Miss Cackle wasn't herself, she was too concerned with Agatha, and yet she'd jumped to conclusions, again!

She had been so sure that she was even willing to hand over her magic to Agatha, and would have done but a little voice in the back of her head kept shouting and screaming that Ada would never ask for such a thing even in desperation because despite whatever her students did Ada always cared about them, and her suspicions were raised at once, so when 'Ada' condescended her she knew at once who she was; Agatha might have tricked everyone with her pretence during that incident with the Great Wizard, but it hadn't been until she'd tried and failed to cast a transference spell and potentially risked Mildred and Enid's life that her second plan failed, but you'd have thought she would have kept her condescending attitude to herself a third time. Mildred had only just managed to get away, just, only to find her broomstick had been stolen, taken by Miss Gullet who promptly turned it into magical dust. Mildred had barely managed to escape, though she had laughed privately to herself when Agatha had taunted her, said that she wasn't a witch simply because she was calling for help. All that from a witch whose powers had been removed? Please!

Without her broomstick a journey which had only taken an hour took a whole night - the forest was unfamiliar to her, so she was lost, and she didn't know any direction spells. Mildred had returned to Cackles the next day in the early morning feeling extremely tired and despondent, but she wouldn't know until much later that Agatha and Miss Gullet had already taken the school over during the night.

Maud had met her at the gates, clearly annoyed and disappointed. Mildred had tried to apologise, but her best friend hadn't listened, instead she'd called for Miss Hardbroom. Despite now knowing the truth that Maud and HB had only done it to keep her safe because there was no telling what Gullet and Agatha would have done to her, but knowing it would be unpleasant, Mildred would never forget the cold look on HB's face and the look on Maud's face; she knew it was meant to look good, but did Maud have to resemble Ethel Hallow? At the time Mildred had been sure Maud was finally tired of her going off on her own and ignoring everything she told her not to do. It brought back memories of when Maud had used that powder to make the teachers forget their misdemeanours, but got it so wrong that it made Mildred and Enid forget their friendship with her! Surely Maud wasn't willing to make the same mistake again?

It wasn't a mistake. Maud had found out she had sneaked out and told Miss Hardbroom when Agatha made her presence in the castle known, and realised she would be in danger. Mildred was thankful to them since she hadn't liked the looks Miss Gullet and Agatha had sent her way when they'd cornered her in the forest, but she would've preferred a bit more notice. How could she have known the two crooked witches - she was sure they were crooked at the time, her definition for them would change later when she saw what they would do later - had taken over the school when she was tired from her trip through the forest, alone and without any kind of guide?

At home with her mother, Mildred had found herself feeling…..empty without Cackles, despite Maud's attempts to mirror-call her and that exercise mat in her living room. Her mother knew she wanted to get back but couldn't, and it wasn't until Ethel who'd had a rare change of heart, but after seeing her elder sister losing her magic and being turned into a trophy, of all things, and sent Tabby to her with a letter did the whole story come out. HB had sent her home without her beloved cat, and Mildred wasn't sure what to do about it until he was sent to her via Ethel mail. Mildred smiled at the pun, but her mind cleared when she remembered the flight back on that mop - it wasn't like a broomstick, and she'd quickly found it out. Miss Gullet loved talking about health and safety all the time, but she was right about the number of spells placed on broomsticks to keep their riders safe, and Mildred didn't know any spells to make the trip safer, so after a slow journey she returned to the academy. There she witnessed her friends - and Ethel - being transformed into cakes and nearly being eaten alive by their own friends, saw that Miss Cackle had been imprisoned in the portrait of her and her twisted sister on the wall, heard that Mr Rowan-Webb and Miss Bat had been changed into frogs and the Great Wizard himself was a balloon, but it would be the cake thing that made her ill - Mildred had heard of cannibalism, but that was taking the cake. She winced at the pun, not noticing the look of worry on her mothers face when she winced. Bad Mildred.

At least Miss Hardbroom had smiled reassuringly at her when the spell she'd tried to cast on the portrait to free Ada Cackle, proving the usually icy woman had a heart, and she felt happier knowing that Miss Hardbroom was trying to keep her safe from Agatha and Miss Gullet. Mildred had left the office and Miss Hardbroom, more or less planning on heeding her potion teachers order to simply leave and keep herself safe, but she'd wandered the corridors trying to think up a plan to deal with the two witches now running the school…..and she'd stopped Drusilla and Felicity from taking a bite out of the cakes of who had once been either Maud, Enid, or Ethel.

Everyone had been sick when they'd heard what Miss Gullet had done, but they were terrified when Agatha cast that annihilation spell on the castle after finally getting it into the woman's twisted mind no-one wanted her in the school as headmistress. It had reminded Mildred of all the disaster movies she'd watched, but she'd found Agatha's parting remark of "Until we meet again, Mildred Hubble" a tad over the limit. Did the evil twin of her headmistress really see her like that? All Mildred had done was interfere a little bit, but most of what happened was blind luck, she wasn't experienced or knowledgeable enough to cause Agatha that much trouble. The second plan for instance, she'd only told Maud and then Enid about Agatha and Maud was the one to find Ada Cackle and wake her up and tell her what was happening. Ada only managed to stop Mildred and Enid from falling to their deaths whereas Agatha had been more than content to watch.

With the school crashing around them, the solution had come to Mildred as soon as everyone was out, well everyone not transformed into frogs or paintings or trophies that is. Mildred would always remember fondly how everyone had chanted with her and repaired the damage, using their combined strengths and magic to reverse the annihilation spell and free Miss Hardbroom, Miss Cackle, Esmerelda, the Great Wizard, and Miss Bat and Mr Rowan-Webb. For the first time everyone had rallied around her, chanting the spell to stop the school from being destroyed.

Mildred actually thought it poetic justice to see Miss Gullet and Agatha be trapped inside a picture and then hung up in the headmistress's office - she was sure there was a way to free them, but at least in the coming year Agatha wouldn't try anything though whether it would do any good in the long run, Mildred didn't know.

Agatha had spent god knew how many years stewing in her jealousy over not inheriting the school from Ada, she wasn't going to let a little matter of the students not wanting her around stop her. She'd lost her powers, and she still wanted the academy, and she had an equally angry witch helping her along to help her! A picture wouldn't make any difference after being in Darkwood cottage for a year.

But still…..Mildred's brow furrowed, she was still surprised by Agatha going so far, she'd thought that the woman had wanted Cackles for herself, and yet she was willing to destroy it when she finally realised that her actions and her methods of punishment were so cruel and bizarre they wouldn't be accepted. She'd thought Agatha just sitting back and letting her nearly die on an out of control and cursed broomstick had been bad, but seeing her and Miss Gullet nearly destroy the school had been…..terrifying.

"You okay, Millie?"

Mildred smiled at her mother. "Hmm, yeah, I'm fine. Why?"

"I just saw you wince," Julie said. "You okay?"

The two Hubbles were staying in a small rented cottage not far from the loch but on the road to Inverness. The place was larger outside than their flat, and yet on the inside the rooms were bunched in together, not exactly the TARDIS from Dr. Who, but comfortable. Mildred was just glad she wasn't living on top of other people for the holiday. She was also glad she and her mother weren't staying with other people, not with the homework she had brought with her.

Mildred nodded, "Yeah. I was just thinking about what happened at the end of term."

"Uh, huh," Julie had heard the story and had been scared stiff by what Mildred had told her about what Miss Cackle's twin sister had done, but she was proud by what her daughter had accomplished even if she had problems understanding why Mildred was so taken by the being a witch, but knew her daughter loved it. "You did good, Millie. But in future please be careful, I nearly jumped out of my skin when you told me you'd been changed into a frog by that Hallow girl."

Mildred winced at the memory of her mother's reaction, but she smiled. "That was one year. There're four more to go. With a bit of luck," she added to herself, remembering how close she had come to being kicked out of Cackles even when it wasn't really her fault. But she quickly smiled back at her mother. "Anyway, we're on holiday in Scotland," she said, putting on a bad Scottish accent that made Julie laugh, "we're gonnae see Nessie!"

"Okay, Mildred," Julie smirked, and put on her own Scottish accent which was no better than Mildred's, "when do ye wanna see Nessie?"

"Tomorrow?"

Julie agreed.

It would be good to visit the loch the next day, Mildred reflected. What could possibly happen?

Authors note - Hmm, what can happen indeed.

It's a bit short, but it will grow larger throughout the chapters. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this new story which will fit in with Mildred's summer holidays between first and second year at Cackles. I just wanted to write a story where Mildred develops into her own as a witch without depending on Cackles and the support of her friends and teachers.

Anyway I hope you enjoyed this little introduction where Mildred ponders on her successes and her mistakes.