Constance ran to mistress Broomhead her class. She was actually way earlier than scheduled, but for some reason she felt the urge to run anyway: what if something would happen which caused a delay in her way to class? Broomhead would yell again, make her feel more useless than she already felt and add an extra essay of 15 pages to her homework. If she was lucky, Broomhead had already done worse. Luckily, today nothing happened and she was 15 minutes early. She decided on reviewing her essay for a final time. Last time she didn't had the time to do so, so she was worried about what Broomhead would say this time. Right at the moment she had unpacked her essay, Broomhead materialised right in front of her. Constance her heart sank. She had seen that face more often than she wished. Tears came up her eyes. "Constance. Reviewing your essay?" "Y-yes mistress Broomhead.", she answered quietly. "Sounds like a good idea. Your last essay was worthless. We even expect a higher level from the first years here at Witch Training. What on earth was happening in your head that you could hand in this essay?" "I don't know, miss Broomhead.", Constance answered while looking down to her feet. She could feel a hot tear running down her face. Mistress Broomhead started to yell: "Of course you know! Tell me!"

Constance woke up with a little yell. She sat up in her bed straight away, without even noticing. Nick also woke up. "Are you okay, sweetie?", he asked her while he wrapped his arms around her waist. Constance put her arms over his. "Yeah, I think so. It was just a nightmare. About Heckety again. She really never showed she cared back then…", she answered. Both of them laid down again, Constance on Nick his chest. "Yes, I could hear that. I hope you didn't wake up Mildred with that yell." "Probably not. She's quite a deep sleeper.", Constance answered sleepy. "Are you sure?" "Yes.". Constance started giggling, which caused Nick to have a huge smile on his face. "The care-taker once installed a new alarm for emergencies, and we decided to test it in the middle of the night. I'm sure you could still hear the alarm over here in the city, but she slept right through it! Turned out she had been studying for her potions exam the next day… Which reminds me I still have to check her class's exam from a couple of days back.", Constance answered. "You can do that tomorrow morning. Now I want to hear more of this funny stories.", Nick said with a grin on his face. "I like to see a smile on your face again. I've missed it.".

When Mildred came downstairs, she still felt a little sleepy. "What day is it? I completely lost track of days…", she asked, when she entered the living room. "Yes, that's what you get when your headmistress gives the whole school a holiday of a half week, while you should be studying hard in disciplined.", her father said to her, with his arms crossed and a strict face. Mildred looked at him with a lame face. "Could you please stop acting like mom? You fail in it.". "HEY! I can still HEAR you!", her mother's voice came from the living room. Mildred and her father started giggling. "That's no good, what if she'll deduct a point from your potions exam?". Mildred started to feel a bit panicked. "Mommy? Are you checking my exam?" "Yes, after Enid's. Couple of days later than usual, but still, I had a really good reason for that.", she answered. "I still don't know what day-" "Tuesday, sweetie, you're still free for today and tomorrow and at Thursday, the classes will begin again.", she answered.

An hour after breakfast, the bell rang. Nick already wanted to go to the door, when Mildred ran past him. "MAAAUUUD!", she yelled while running to the door. When she opened the door, she immediately hugged her best friend. "We both have an A- for our potions exam!", she yelled in her ear. "Are you serious?", Maud asked, with a surprised face. "Oh, don't sound so surprised, Maud. Both of you worked really hard for it.", Constance, who had followed her daughter, said. "Yes, Miss Hardbroom." "Oh, don't call me 'Miss Hardbroom', in my own house. That feels awkward.", Constance answered. "Please just call me Constance.". Maud looked thoughtful for a moment. "But that feels awkward for me…", she answered shy. "Then we make a deal: you call me Constance while your hear, and back in the castle, I'm Miss Hardbroom again. Come in, have some tea!", Constance invited Maud.

Heckety hoped Nick and Constance could forgive her. They both try, but she had done more harm to them than she had ever known. 'It was just my way of acting', she thought. 'No one ever told me how wrong I was. I hope they once realise how sorry I am.'.