AN: I'd like to thank everyone who has reviewed the first chapter and alerted this story :) They all mean a lot to me. Enjoy and tell me what you think.
Chapter 2 – Preparation
Constance Hardbroom was no pushover. She was always the one doing the pushing; whether it was for her students to do the best or to stop them from doing wrong. She was never nervous, anxious or worried... until now. Hardbroom's history with Hecketty Broomhead was not something she liked to think about. In fact, before she started work at Cackle's she tried to remove her memories of her tutor through a potion, not that it worked at all. There was no quick fix or potion that could remove those years of pure torture from her mind. The scars she bore, both mental and physical, would remain on her tainted soul until the day she died. Hecketty Broomhead would never be that kind; she would never allow her a moment of rest. Why did she have to return?
Hecketty Broomhead's last visit almost closed down the school. If it wasn't for the quick and dangerous thinking of Sybil Hallow Constance knew that the castle would no longer stand as a testament to witch education, it would become her torture chamber... Just the thought of Castle Overblow becoming like Broomhead Manor made her body shiver with a combination of fear and anger.
Constance still remembered the rooms, the halls, the locked doors, running in the yards, the night lessons with her tutor watching her every move. Yes, it was her time inside those hallowed halls where girls from the highest witch families roamed desperately wishing for their parents to return and take them home while Constance desperately pleaded with whoever was above the stars to set her free; to give her the courage to escape. Hadn't she endured enough?
Refusing the urge to shatter a defenceless potion bottle perched on her shelf Constance had no choice but to close her fists so tightly her nails left marks in her skin. She was never going to let Cackle's Academy turn into Witch Training College. She wasn't going to give up the castle without a fight. Shaking her head to gain some composure she walked toward the window and watched the girls bustling around the yard, smiles over their faces. They all appeared so innocent, what she was long ago.
A much younger Constance Hardbroom was in a private tutoring session with Hecketty Broomhead. Sitting inside the potion room Constance added the last bit of pond weed to the cauldron and began to stir the mixture as it bubbled and brewed. Mistress Broomhead watching over her shoulder the entire time making her pupil nervous. Checking her potion directions Constance reached over the desk to collect the small glass bottle of newt eyes when a thud on her back made her sit straight in her chair. "Don't slouch Constance!" Broomhead barked. "You never slouch. Have you ever seen a round shouldered witch riding a broomstick?" The question was rhetorical of course. "No I – "
"And you want to know why Constance? It's because it would be a disgrace to Witches everywhere. You never slouch on your broomstick and you never slouch at a desk. Understood?"
"Yes," Constance replied though her voice shook with fear.
"Yes what?" Her head turned slightly sideways, like a cat eyeing off its prey before it struck.
"Yes Mistress Broomhead." With a nod of approval Constance continued to stir the sizzling cauldron ingredients, checking for changes in colour. "Look at your hair!" Broomhead yelled, referring to a single strand that had fallen out of place. "Fix it up girl. A true witch must always look perfect at all times!" She scoffed before watching Constance fix her long hair into the only hairstyle the older Mistress allowed in Witch Training College. The one hair style that Hardbroom would eventually wear on a daily basis to emphasise her authority, her trademark bun.
The biggest problem was while fixing her hair and worrying about her posture she completely forgot about the newt eyes and before she could try to rectify the problem Hecketty Broomhead was already asking her to pour the potion onto a lonely toadstool. Constance did as she was told but instead of watching the toadstool grow ten times its current size it shrunk to the size of a pea. "Pathetic," Broomhead almost spat, leaning over the toadstool next to Constance with her lip curled and teeth and back teeth grinding. "Will you ever get anything right?"
"I tried!" Constance yelled out of turn when the ingredients list Broomhead had been holding smacked against her face. "Never speak out of turn! I thought you had promise girl but look at you. You're a disgrace."
"Please, let me try the potion again. I only forgot about the newt eyes. I can fix it next time."
"No!" Hecketty screamed. "You will learn one day Constance that a witch should always and I mean always get things right the first time. If a girl dares to call herself a witch then she should be able to do any task without a moment's hesitation and get it correct every time without fault!" Constance had never felt so small. It seemed that Mistress Broomhead had grown ten times larger in height making the student feel like an ant on a vast desert land with only the toadstool for company. "Let's move on to spells then. See if you can get that right!"
A knock on the door brought Constance from her memories eye and back to her room in Cackle's Academy. "Yes?" She called a little haphazardly.
"Constance, are you alright?"
"I'm fine Miss Cackle!" She replied wiping a single tear from her eye and taking a deep breath before she walked to the door and opened it, her normal stoic expression meeting the terrified one displayed on Amelia Cackle's face. "But Hecketty Broomhead, she's coming back."
"Yes I am well aware. Was I not the one the letter was addressed to in the first place?"
"Yes," Amelia sighed trying not to look as scared as she felt. She knew the effect that her return would bring on her deputy headmistress. The first time she came to the school Constance completely changed. She wasn't as strong, she was almost... vulnerable. Amelia had tried to get Constance to open up about her past, to befriend her and help her understand that no matter what she was hiding from she would always be there for support. But, as always, Constance Hardbroom was not a fragile flower who needed to talk and hug in order to solve her problems. She was logical, strong, and defensive; her magical ability surpassed any that Amelia had seen before. Constance was more than just her deputy, she was her friend.
"She wants to do another inspection but I think it's more than that." She needed to voice her opinion, state the obvious, try to get Constance to tell her what she could be planning but again she came up dry. "Obviously she has a plan and I don't think it's a friendly visit shared over tea and scones," Miss Hardbroom responded making Amelia nod her head in agreement. "We need to devise a plan of action as soon as possible."
"I need another moment alone Miss Cackle," Hardbroom interjected, looking to the floor as if asking for one moment away from the troubles of the academy was committing a sin. Miss Cackle simply nodded her head and left without another word.
Imogen sat on one of the chairs around the staffroom table with her head in her hands. She had read and re-read the letter again and again. It was only when her eyes passed over each word once more that she wished she had magical abilities. Not a lot of magic, just enough, to wipe this letter from between her fingers and that vile woman with it.
Davina had disappeared into the supplies closet as quickly as she could. Imogen never understood why she felt so at home inside that cupboard let alone how she managed to stay in there for hours at a time. She supposed that Davina could have been a turtle in her past life, retreating during any moment of danger. Resisting the urge to stand beside her within its wooden oak walls Imogen sighed and leant back in her chair. "Uh I just don't get it!" The door creaked open slightly. "Why would she want to come back?"
"You don't think she wants revenge for what happened last time do you?" came a muffled voice from beyond the door.
"She very well might," Imogen replied making Miss Bat choke a sob "Miss Bat will you come out of there?"
"No!" She yelled. "I'd rather stay in here for the next year than have to face that woman again. Do you know how humiliating it was when she last visited? That woman is vile and cruel."
"Now I know where Constance gets it from," Miss Drill sighed. "I wonder what happened while she was being tutored."
"Tutored?" Miss Bat yelled before she flung the cupboard door open and stepped outside. "More like tortured!"
"Ladies we need to devise a plan!" Miss Cackle announced as she stepped into the room and took a seat at the table. "And what do you suggest we plan?" Imogen replied, finally looking up from the letter sitting on the table innocently. "The last time she visited we had everything organised and it was completely shut down!"
"I understand that but maybe Constance will be able to help us find everything we need to get through the inspection unscathed," Amelia secretly hoped before the door opened and Constance Hardbroom entered. She stood at the door, the other three ladies all turning to look at her even paler white face. "Have you devised the plan?" She asked. The teachers looked between themselves which signalled a 'no'. "We were waiting for you," Amelia explained.
"So you could give us some tips," Miss Bat smiled as she sat down delicately next to Imogen in front of the open window.
"I'm afraid that no amount of preparation will be able to fulfil Mistress Broomhead's standards."
"How high could they be?" Imogen asked before Constance took a seat at the table, folding her hands together as they sat on the table. "Let's just say that if one girl even slouches in her chair we will fail the investigation."
"What?" Miss Bat yelled. "But what about Chanting?"
"Chanting she hates, singing is a waste of time for Hecketty Broomhead, much less the lack of posture and flailing of arms. PE is good because it keeps the girls fit but if they don't play like pro-athletes then it annoys her."
"So what are we supposed to do then?" Amelia questioned. Constance looked to Miss Cackle her eyes never blinking. She saw it, the smallest glimmer. If she had blinked she would have missed it. Constance Hardbroom didn't know what to do. The all-knowing deputy headmistress didn't know what to do. Miss Bat looked between the two for a moment, wondering why they seemed to be having a staring contest before she spoke up. "When does it say she's coming?"
"Two days time," Amelia finally spoke as Constance broke her gaze, hiding the spark of uncertainty. "So what do we do?"
"Run!" Miss Bat offered as she started running into the closet only to find her arm taken a hold of by Imogen's strong grasp. "Sit down Miss Bat."
"Yes there is no need to panic," Amelia soothed but it did little to help the nervous Witch.
"No need to panic?" She questioned, her voice quaking with every word, "don't you remember what happened last time? She scared the music out of me and my students and Constance hardly got a word in." The room was quiet again; they knew that Davina was right. "I think there is a lot to worry about Miss Cackle." She spat before returning to her favourite place in the castle. With a sigh Imogen returned her hand to the table and her head to the current conversation.
"She plans on shutting down Cackle's Academy," Imogen spoke, not remembering her previous talk with the hardened witch earlier that morning in the forest. "It's the only purpose of her visit."
"She could have shut us down last time," Constance began as she stood and began pacing the room. "Hecketty Broomhead is not a failed witch. She had enough power to attack the school and remove our Guild Association Status. Sybil Hallows little spell only bought us time. I knew she would return. I just didn't think it would be this soon."
"But how do we prepare is the question," Miss Cackle offered.
"We don't," Imogen answered making Hardbroom stop her pacing and Davina to open the cupboard door. "If she is hell bent on shutting down Cackle's then what's the point of a plan of any sort?"
"We need to inform the girls," Miss Cackle replied. "Tomorrow morning organise a school assembly first thing. Meanwhile we need to work on some sort of action plan tonight. It doesn't matter how useless a plan is we have to have something," it seemed from the silence within the room that they were all in agreement. "We cannot let her shut down Cackle's Academy without a fight."
AN: I decided that, like Castle Overblow is the setting for Cackle's Academy, Broomhead Manor would be the location for Witch Training College. Chapter 3 will be up in a week or so (if everything goes to plan).
