A plot I wrote out in 2009, found last month and gave a complete overhaul and like 8000 more words. Hope it's not too OoC Enjoy.
(For PrincessSammi. And thanks for the reading through and tweaks too. tc Xoxoxox)
"Quadruple potions?!" Enid groaned over a nearly gone breakfast. Quietly. In case their form mistress was lurking.
"I'm not sure who's going to hate it more, us or HB." Mildred sighed.
They'd returned for the second half of the second term the Friday just gone. and new time tables was the norm this time of year. but this timetable seemed to have been arranged by throwing darts at a board. As third years, there was to be less 'soft subjects' and more of the core lessons as they prepared for their exams. but four hours on their first full day back with Miss Hardbroom seemed a terrible idea. Mildred would rather swim with sharks. The rest of the class were up in disagreement too. Even Ethel was smarting about it.
"and then lunch, then chanting and then Cross country? Could this day get any worse?" Enid said. and Jinxing it. because then Miss Crotchet started chivvying them all along to finish their breakfasts and clear up their plates. then moved on to the morning notices. and reminding the third years their holiday homework assignments were due today. "…Don't say it."
"You jinxed it." Maud smiled; saying it anyway. "What did you do yours on in the end?"
"Memory potions. I wrote it the night before we came back."
"Enid! You had to spend six weeks on it! What have you been doing all these planning lessons?" Maud tutted, ignoring Enid's grin and turned back to Mildred. "You've made sure to bring yours with you didn't you Millie? It's not left at home this time?" Mildred reassured her it wasn't, patting her bag. They then set off to class with Jadu and Ruby, discussing their chosen topics.
All pleasantly Unaware that Mildred, in her sleepy not-a-morning-witch way, hadn't put hers in her school bag like she thought she had...
No sooner had they sat down for the first of their potion lessons it was clear HB was in a foul mood. and would also going to be pushing them further this year as a class to do better. Judging by the full black board their work load was set to double. and seconds, not minutes, into the lesson she was handing out detentions. One break time for Mildred's 'once again undone' laces.
and another for-
"Miss Hardbroom!" Ethel had said, as the bell went. Her hand was raised to be fair. "Miss Hardbroom there must be something wrong with our time tables."
"Wrong?" Hardbroom queried. Honestly, rolling of the R and that raised eyebrow should have been warning enough. But Ethel still wittered out some thinly veiled insinuation that non-traditional subjects shouldn't be on the time table. and how everyone should give should give a snot about what she had to say, just because she was a Hallow.
In fact, she even ended with: "and I don't think my father as head of governors would like it."
"I'm sure you don't." Miss Hardbroom said and shot Ethel, ETHEL a look. Uh-ho. Everyone knew that look. it was normally saved for when Mildred had done something incredibly wrong. "But let me tell you now that all timetables are agreed to by the school governors first. so, whether he liked it or not, Ethel, your father has given it his approval. is there anyone else who wishes to begin the term on a sour note? come along, don't be shy."
Suddenly no one else not even Enid had any complaints about the new time table. Ethel quailed, and blushed. and got a detention for interrupting the lesson before it could even begin.
"Now as I was about to say; Welcome back girls! I do hope you had time in over you break carry on with your studies. And to remember your potions: 'theory into practice' essays are due in today! Have them out please, and pass them to the end of your desk row along with any extra research. Make sure you have EVERYTHING in order."
The two rows of four and one of three became a hive of activity of bag opening and paper shuffling. Bar one:
"Oh, pumpkin pips!" as soon as Mildred had opened her bag, she froze.
"Oh no. Millie, you didn't-?" Maud on the row behind her whispered back. She'd been friends with Mildred long enough to know what that meant.
"Tansy I need your name on the front, thank you!" Miss Hardbroom said snatching Tansy's back out the pile and handing it back to her to amend.
"You said you had it?"
"I thought I did. Could have sworn I put it in here." Mildred hissed. She fished out her little file of illustrations and research at least but no actual papers. "I packed my bag last night to make sure. Well I put everything out to go in my bag last night and put it all in there this morning."
"whose work is this? I will not have such garish folders used for academia!" Miss Hardbroom said, poofing all the glittery stickers Dawn had covered her work fold in. "Drusilla, I'm warning you now, there had better be no plagiarising in this one."
"Have another look. Maybe it's at the bottom or under something?" Maud urged. Mildred did. It wasn't.
"I know I had it-!" Mildred started twisting about in her seat.
"Is There a Problem girls? Or a reason you need to be talking between yourselves in different rows?" and suddenly HB was there between them.
"no miss." They chorused. HB's raised eyebrow was back.
Maud started to explain. well she started, stammered and stalled. Miss Hardbroom mouth was doing that thing that would still scare her girls even when they all grew up.
Mildred, gulped and did a very brave thing of owning up to her own mistake: "I haven't brought my homework miss."
"You haven't What?!"
The class had been pretty quiet at that point anyway. Now it was on edge sort of quiet. frozen and silent, waiting. HB was now looming over Mildred, so she had to crane her neck up not to see only black dress.
Mildred repeated herself.
"You haven't got your essay." Miss Hardbroom repeated back, her tone like a low rumble of thunder. "A piece of work that is worth twenty five percent of your third-year grade. And you haven't got it. You are aware you are putting your very much must do better marks at further risk, Mildred Hubble? …I am very disappointed in this effort."
Mildred wished she'd shouted. Miss Hardbroom was always worse when she was quiet.
"Next time you choose not to do your homework come and see me at the start of the lesson. if only so I don't have to deal with setting detentions during class time!"
It was then a quietly fuming at the unfairness of it all Maud found her voice again.
"But Miss Hardbroom, Mildred has done it! We did study days over the holiday and talked about it on the phone! And she has her extra credit things to prove it. Can't she go to her room and get it?"
"Certainly not!" Miss Hardbroom snapped, and turned back to Mildred. "…Is what Maud saying true, Mildred?"
"yes miss," Mildred squeaked and presented her teacher with the work. The little file fax seems to hold enough merit at least for Miss Hardbroom to take her seriously. She flicked through it her face unreadable.
"While I am glad to see, you did take my advice on doing the extra work for additional marks Mildred," HB said. "it is very much of little use without the essay."
"Miss I did the work, I have the essay." Mildred pleaded. "I've just not got it with me. I've forgotten it."
"It is I trust, in the castle? You haven't left it in your mother's kitchen again but have remembered to bring it to school at least? If not to class?"
"Yes miss. I mean yes, it's in the castle. Not at home." Mildred said, wishing she could live that second-year mistake down at some point. Miss Hardbroom looked down at her as if considering something.
And then to a collective but silent sigh of relief from Mildred and her friends, put Mildred's file on top of the others.
"Very well Mildred. You know the rules on late course work." Miss Hardbroom said, (not exactly unkindly. but it still made the worst witch feel small.) "To save repeating myself, is there anyone else who has neglected to bring in their course work?"
No one past first year was ever did.
"You may give it to me at the end of the day. Come to the staff room promptly after your lesson and I'll mark it. but your mark will be capped. that is of course if you have done it. If you are late, or don't appear at all, or I find you have been lying to me there will be serious consequences. is that understood?"
"Yes miss." Mildred sighed.
With that done Miss Hardbroom strode back to the front of the class. With a flick of her fingers the piles of handed in work zipped with a pop on to Miss Hardbroom's desk at the front. shuffling themselves into one tall alphabetical stack as they went. Someone made an 'ooh' noise of appreciation and got told to be quiet. And then the lesson finally got underway.
As Miss Hardbroom finished covering todays potion, Mildred saw Ethel giving her that horrid sideways look. and that nasty secret smirk she shared with Drusilla. they were looks she knew all too well; and it told Mildred that she was defiantly going get held up at the end of the day somehow. or find it hard to get to the staffroom in time later.
(Enid, Ruby and Jadu had also all seen these looks. Which is why the pages of Ethel's chanting book would have turned into leaves when she would open it later. and why her gym bag suddenly had a newt eye ball dropped in it. But nicely petty as it was it didn't help Mildred's predicament.)
Knowing Ethel would be on her back was something Mildred could have done without that lesson. It was distracting. And it was almost as annoying as knowing where, if it wasn't in her bag, her course work was. In fact, she knew Exactly where it would be. She could in her mind, see it in her room, on top of her open sketch book on the desk, held together with a paper clip.
Mildred wished she'd brought it to class. She wished she had it in her hands to give to HB, wished it was here with her. just to prove she had done it. She wished it so hard she could practically feel it in her hands.
In fact, she could feel it.
Because suddenly in the blink of an eye there it was, in her hands. almost neatly stacked with her name and title on the top held together with a paper clip and everything. Mildred was so surprised she nearly dropped it.
"Miss!" Ethel practically shrieked, nearly taking Jadu's ear off she put her hand up so fast. "Mildred used magic without permission in class!"
"what have you done Mildred?" Miss Hardbroom said turning away from the blackboard in such exasperation, she didn't even need to add the 'this time' to the end of that sentence. Given no one else was screaming, and nothing had exploded, HB didn't seem to worried either.
"I-! I don't know Miss Hardbroom. But I have my essay." Mildred said. it didn't help she herself was still trying to process what had happened.
"Oh, let me guess…" HB drawled unimpressed. It was hard to tell if her annoyance was with Mildred's folly. or if she was getting sick of the over the top interruptions. "Was it in your bag all along?"
"I- it was on-!" Mildred stuttered. Now caught between lying at the risk of looking silly; or telling the truth and then be in more trouble for using unauthorised magic (possibly extra if Miss saw it as cheating), she didn't know which to choose.
"It wasn't." Drusilla said, taking Mildred's choice away from her.
"Ethel's right Miss, Mildred used magic. she summoned it! It appeared in her hands."
Confusion and its muttering rippled amongst the class. Magic'ing something away and back again was no big deal. they'd learnt the basics in second year. (well the end of first year if you count the mishap with Agatha.) But Summoning something from faraway and that hadn't been sent away in the first place now? that was seriously clever stuff. Not third year material. not a third-year Mildred Hubble sort of thing to be able to do.
HB's face set like stone and thunder. her suspicious glare swept the class Like a laser, cutting through anyone whispering. And almost physically stung when it returned to Mildred.
"Mildred. Come up here."
Mildred did as she was bid. but wasn't 100% sure if she was doing it of her own accord. Miss Hardbroom was towering over her again. and making Mildred feel she'd much rather tuck herself all tiny and small. and hide in her school bag away form that look. Proving herself to the formidable woman was no longer such a nice idea.
"this, is your essay?" HB asked Lips pursed, like a shopkeeper faced with a potentially dodgy ten-pound note. "give it to me."
Mildred held it out. and Miss Hardbroom took it from her, scanning though the first few pages to be sure it wasn't some trick; a stack of black paper charmed to be an essay perhaps or something not even paper at all. But even with magic it would be difficult to fake Mildred's handwriting.
Mildred wanted to apologise and explain but she couldn't find her tongue.
"…I didn't hear you speak. And yet here it is." HB said quietly. Then addressed the rest of the class. "did any you help Mildred then? Or hear her cast?"
Ethel made like she very much wanted to say she had and was glaring at Dru, willing her to say she had too. Drusilla shrugged confused mouthing "but I didn't". one does not lie to HB not without a plan in place.
speaking of witch, Miss Hardbroom seemed conflicted how to treat Mildred efforts.
"well, Mildred." She started, speaking in a measured tone. but there was a teeniest smidge of a pleased look cracking on that facade. Even if the words clearly felt foreign her tongue, "good work. I shall mark it after all. Although if you had remembered to bring it in the first place we wouldn't have had such a fiasco to begin with. You may sit down."
Mildred (and collectively Maud) sighed in relief. Too soon. "and I want a hundred lines of "Summoning spells are not to be relied on." Miss Hardbroom continued, her bark back. "You will hand them into me after supper this Friday. I won't tolerate using trivial magic or flouting school rules in my classroom. You may sit back down."
Maud made to argue on her friend's behalf again but both girls sat either side of her gave her a nudge. it was only a hundred and a very short sentence. HB was being very very lenient on Mildred considering.
Mildred returned to her desk. accompanied by a Quiet murmuring as she shuffled back through the row.
"how'd you do that?" Jadu whispered with huge smile as Mildred passed her.
"I don't know. it just sort of happened." Mildred said glumly.
"everything always just happens with you Mildred Hubble," Ethel hissed nastily. A tad too loud to get away with.
"Ethel one more word out of turn and it'll be a weekend detention." Miss Hardbroom said, "Don't gawp at me like that. alright, Quiet! Back to work girls. you've had your fill of distractions for this morning."
What Miss Hardbroom said was technically a lie. For two reasons. For one the homework on her desk jumped to attention. and parting exactly five twelfths down to let Mildred's essay sit with her research folder. then settle back into an unanimated stack of paper, was overall fairly distracting.
The same someone from before made an "ohh" noise of appreciation. and got lines for not being quiet when already told too. (Later HB would realise Gloria had never ever gotten lines in any lesson form any teacher until now. Truly a Cackles record.)
The second reason would happen a little later... as the bell went for the next lesson and the girls moved on to putting theory into potion practice.