Chapter 7

The forces of Hogwarts landed smoothly in the great hall of Miss Cackle's Ladies' Academy, crouched ready for action and Kalashnikovs at the ready, wands taped to the barrel to reach the trigger guard for a swift change from a hail of silver to wand action. Soft soled shoes made no noise as Abraxus and Hawke ran to the door as advance guard and Hawke covered his brother opening the door.

"Clear" said Hawke softly.

Abraxus covered Hawke moving out; their squad followed them, Kinat and Romulus, Neville, Sephara and Myrtle.

Through the other door David and Erich performed similar actions backed up by Sirius and Lionel Dell's little group. Severus had designated Beloc as Connie's protector; and she was his guide with the third and most dangerous group to go to Miss Cackle's study and the staff bedrooms. That was Severus, Krait, Dione, Harry, Ron and Draco, and the Prowling Marauders were left holding the great hall secure, with Lynx levitating up to the little window that led to the storeroom behind the hall to hold that securely.

"David's taken down a couple" said Severus calmly "Will you like to take out the old bag yourself Connie?"

"With great pleasure Severus" said Connie.

And the door to Miss Cackle's room turned to ice and melted as Krait nodded at it.

"Impressive!" gasped Connie; but she did not pause long to be impressed.

The wand duel was vicious; and Severus signalled Dione to stay as backup as well as Beloc.

Dione grinned.

She, perhaps one of the weakest of the group in some respects, was accorded the respect from her beloved Severus of being equal to an old deatheater if Connie should go down; and indeed she was glad she had stayed! For as Agatha Cackle started to say

"Avad-" Dione automatically had the mirror shield up in front of Connie; and as Agatha Cackle completed the spell the green flash bounced off the mirror and took her rather by surprise.

"Sorry to steal her from you Connie" said Dione "Overtrained I guess."

"And I'm not about to complain about that!" said Connie crisply "What was that?"

THAT was the sound of breaking glass.

Severus was swearing and there were sounds of violent spells.

"What happened?" Dione and Connie caught up with Severus and Krait as Beloc went to support Ron, wrestling with a rather beefy witch for a wand.

Ron's was broken again.

Beloc poked his up the witches robe and let fly with some curse that made her squeal in a pained falsetto.

The Witch turned out to be one of Gerhardt Grindelwald's bodyguard in drag and Ron's expletives as he got over the idea of having to be more courteous about killing a woman were entertainingly fruity.

"THAT was Gerhardt getting away while his bodyguard detained us" said Severus "He's long gone; he's good, I'll give him that."

"And now the forces outside know we're here" said Krait. "Better mop up inside quickly."

It did not take long.

The efficient and well practised forces of Hogwarts made short work of witches more used to bullying children than taking on opposition their own size, and David Fraser was quickly checking the outer walls of the castle – for it was a small castle – to see how defensible they were.

"Bit Schloss Adler here" he said "Werewolves can make the climb, it's stiff for a human – but broom assaults well possible. Up on the walls people and make each shot count….here they come!"

Only the rigid discipline of the MSHG got the defenders into place in time.

Then they were firing, a ragged sound but each shot told.

Severus stood on the uppermost tower chanting protective spells, his hair streaming impressively in the breeze where it had escaped from its usual tie; and Dione and Beloc his bodyguards. Connie was told to go to the great hall and send the Prowling Marauders to gather the girls up.

One girl had issued from her bedroom; she had messy long black plaits.

"Hello" said Lynx "Are you a prefect?"

"No we don't have prefects…. I say, you're just a kid like us!"

"Yes, we're here to rescue you" said Lynx "I'm Lynx, who are you?"

"I'm Hilda Hubble."

"Oh a cousin of small Maud-Whatever-the-rest-was?"

"Maud Enid Hubble Langstaff, yes. What's really going on? Can I help?"

"I told you, we're rescuing you from Agatha Cackle and her Odessa agents and you can help by getting all the girls up and safely into dressing gowns and slippers and letting then use the lavatory before coming down to the Main Hall; Miss Hardbroom will tell you all what's going on there."

Jade approached with another girl who looked like the first.

"Oh you've found Hilda; this is Sylvia her sister she said they'd lead a muggle studies hobby group."

"I hadn't got that far" said Lynx "Only getting everyone up, in dressing gowns and slippers 'cos it's nippy up here and going to the loo 'cos you can't concentrate on a full bladder."

"Specially the little ones" said Jade "Right, heave out the sixth first they're known to the kids."

"There's only four little one, Miss Hardbroom took the others" said Hilda "We didn't understand why, but then Miss Cackle started being horrible and Professor Hauptman was all yucky and soppy."

"Excellent, one the love-confundment charm DIDN't work on" said Jade "He's done a runner and dad – he's leading the force – wants all the girls safely together so if need be Connie Hardbroom can lead everyone through a gate while we fight a rearguard action. C'mon, step to it; we need you civilians safe."

"If he's gone what's the trouble?"

Jade sighed with impatience

"The twenty dark wizards and their dozen werewolves storming the gates" she said. Sylvia gasped and Hilda paled.

"Can – can we help?" she said "We don't know any fighting spells you know but we could hit them on the head with cauldrons!"

"I like her spirit" said Lynx

"Yeah, but her spirit's most use to us right now telling younger kids that it'll be fine and getting them to Con" said Jade "Ta, Hilda mate, but not until we've taught you how to do it properly."

Hilda and Sylvia were left to rouse and hustle the younger ones while Jade and Lydia ordered the fifth and fourth out of bed; Jade pointing out that these rarefied souls would not obey a goblin like Senagra and would screech at Fabian for being that alien being, a boy.

"Whereas we're used to their foibles and many deficiencies" she added for Fabian's benefit.

"Thank you so much" he murmured and prepared to act as usher.

Senagra's concept of acting as usher – as she later joked – was to shout "'USH!" at over excited small people.

Of the four first years one of them was declaring that this couldn't be happening because her horoscope predicted a PERFECT term; one with a cage full of nifflers grasped in her hand as well as her official cat on her shoulders was busy asking questions and declared that she had not gone with Miss Hardbroom because she thought it was dishonourable to desert school and she would have to apologise – her name was Muriel – and a third lived up to her name of Prudence by declaring that it had seemed rather a drastic action and then adding with devastating honesty that she had been scared to go anyway and she was scared now. The fourth, Clementine, asked what PROOF had they of what was happening and Jade said

"Look out of the ruddy window, you cynical weevil".

Of course they all did; and cried out in fear at the sky black with the brooms of attackers silhouetted by the green flashes of the killing curse they were firing repeatedly and, it has to be said, unsuccessfully.

Once in the Hall Connie Hardbroom addressed the girls; who fell silent as she banged the table; they plainly respected and even feared her.

"Girls; by now the false Miss Cackle will have shown you her true colours I'm sure. The real Miss Cackle I'm afraid is dead; finding her body was what convinced me to go for help. I had not time to offer escape to any but the youngest, those in my form. The six who came have been installed in Hogwarts, at least for the time being; those who remained had various reasons which I naturally respect. My nephew, Professor Severus Snape, who teaches Potions at Hogwarts and who stood beside the famous Harry Potter, has come with a group to defeat the forces of Agatha Cackle and her grandson Gerhardt Grindelwald, masquerading here under the name of Professor Hauptman. Let me tell you that those who found him charming were under confundment; such as Gellert Grindelwald used once too. The young people from Hogwarts School are coming round all the older ones to remove any deeply laid magical charms; because the level of education at Hogwarts puts our school to shame. Do not fight their searching. They will not hurt you."

"But Miss Hardbroom, we don't want a boy or a GOBLIN in our heads!" whined one girl.

"Don't be ridiculous Morgana" snapped the Hardbroom "The lad is not looking for anything private; and Senagra is a little girl like the rest of you, I am ashamed of you displaying such ignorance and racism!"

It had been a shock to Connie herself; but she had quickly come to see that the goblin children at Hogwarts were essentially no different to their human fellows.

"Next person who makes a racist comment gets the Hogwarts prefects punishment" said Lynx laconically "Hoisted in the air as a four-foot woodlouse."

It was an incentive to keep any antagonistic views to themselves!

On the whole, Senagra was given more curious looks than antagonistic ones; the girls here were so wealthy that they had mostly never met a goblin or even thought about them.

Senagra was half horrified; that made her and Kinat, when they met him, ambassadors of a whole race to these girls – and consequently their families!

Jade discovered girls her own age whose surnames she recognised; Dilys Hornby whose Great Aunt was the Olive Hornby who had made Myrtle's life miserable and who was at this school to avoid Myrtle; she seemed a reasonable girl so Jade laughed and said,

"Actually she's out there fighting for you; my cousin Abraxus did a ritual and sacrificed his hand to put her back into her bones and she's married to him. It's your Great Aunt she has it in for, not you, you know!"

"Crumbs!" said Dilys.

Another familiar name was Hester Figg, only great niece of the squib Arabella Figg; she quite hero-worshipped Harry Potter from all the stories her great aunt told her – for Arabella Figg was NOT ignored by her family as so many squibs were – and was delighted to be meeting him in person! Jade promised to introduce her if she could, and Hester was overjoyed! Any romantic thoughts about Gerhardt were readily pushed aside for a more substantial hero!

The other name Jade recognised was Hellibore, a girl named Angelica; a bitter looking girl with a hunched back who passed snide comments on – so far as Jade could see – everything and everyone.

There was nothing to lose then; so Jade approached her and said bluntly,

"Your back looks uncomfortable; have your parents anything against putting it straight on principle?"

"My grandfather told dad that he was the greatest wizard alive and that HE couldn't do it" said Angelica "He's head of Hellibore's School for Wizards you know."

"Well pardon me but your grandfather's talking rot" said Jade scornfully "Even I know how to fix that; it's a condition that runs in the Prince line and I've watched Dad fix young Prince backs so many times, 'cos Snape and Hardbroom are both Princes, you know."

"All right then; if you're so clever, do it!" Angelica almost sneered and turned her back to Jade.

"This is going to hurt; it's well bad" said Jade, laying a soft hand on the worst of the hump and letting fly with a medical transfiguration that to her was simplicity itself.

Angelica paled and bit back a scream of agony; and straightened up to turn round in anger – realising how she was straightening as she did so!

"Merlin's bedsocks!" she breathed "You really COULD do it! What is my grandfather teaching then if a little girl no older than me can do what he can't?"

Jade shrugged.

"We do some deep stuff at Hogwarts; but my dad's going to take over here as headmaster so you'll get to learn more, you know. If you work hard; and specially if you join the MSHG for learning extra stuff. It's voluntary you see; its for those of us hard enough to be ready to fight, like we are today, us younger ones blooded by watching, though of course I've seen plenty of action because of living with Dad and Mum and watching since I wasn't s'posed to. I helped bounce the killing curse off of Harry and so did my sister because we were part of the pledge; it's why I have the scar. Not everyone in the MSHG is supposed to do that much but most back up those of us that do."

"It sounds extraordinary. Well your dad is a greater wizard than my granddad; you haven't even worked up a sweat!"

"Meh, transfigurations are my thing" shrugged Jade "My friends and me we're perfecting out animagus forms."

The Prowling Marauders had decided to honour the original marauders – as Lynx wanted to be an animagus anyway – and had chosen forms and nicknames. Lynx was a lynx, but picked the less direct name Velvet, for her silent paws; Fabian, an eagle owl, was Wol; Senagra, a falcon, was Swoop; and Jade, a snake, unsurprisingly, had picked the name Slink.

"You're pretty amazing" said Angelica, intensely "And I'm going to suggest to my dad that he sends my brothers to Hogwarts not Hellibore's!"

"Or they can come here" shrugged Jade "Dad's going to make it co-ed; it's more fun with boys around to taunt and jinx you know!"

"It'll lose him some" said Angelica.

"Meh, only the ones he wouldn't want to keep" said Jade "I say, it seems a lot quieter; which means our lot have subdued the invaders."

"Or they've been killed by the invaders" said Angelica.

"Huh, I TOLD you I have the blood pact; I'd have felt if any of our types were in trouble" said Jade. "I'll go and tell Great Aunt Connie."

Angeica gasped.

"Do you actually get away with calling MISS HARDBROOM that?"

"Oh only OUT of school of course" said Jade "In front of this lot I'd better be formal" and she went forward and curtseyed. "Miss Hardbroom, as acting head I have the pleasure to report that the forces without appear to have been subdued; my father says he'll be down shortly" she added as Severus imparted the information to her.

Shortly thereafter the grim eyed and slightly dishevelled group of Severus and a few of his cohorts came into the room.

The Prowling Marauders leaped to their feet and stood to attention from where they had been seated cross legged with the rest. Hilda and Sylvia, startled, copied them; and after a pause so too did Angelica.

Severus bowed formally to Connie and kissed her hand.

"Madam Hardbroom" he said "All is now under control; just a little mopping up. You may be seated, school" he added for the benefit of those who had risen, a straggle of other younger girls copying their elders.

"Professor Snape" said Miss Hardbroom "Allow me to present you to the girls; this is Professor Snape who will be taking over as your headmaster and will hopefully have lessons ready by the end of the weekend."

"Oh crumbs, we forgot the other teachers!" whispered Jade to Lynx.

Severus had ears as sharp as any lynx.

"Miss Weasley, Miss Snape, go immediately and correct your deficiency; and when you have found the unfortunate staff have the goodness to take them to the head's office, if they are not already there, and look in my pack for the labelled flask of Mandragora potion to restore them"

"Yessir!" the girls said, dropped a curtsey and ran off.

"What's all this curtseying lark?" Hilda muttered to Senagra

Others strained to hear.

"Oh it's a means of expressing our respect to the Headmaster or – temporarily – Headmistress" said Senagra, loud enough for straining ears to hear; Severus would permit that. "And boys bow. It's like rising when a Professor comes into the room; common courtesy, to show we're not oiks."

This was a new concept!

Severus surveyed the girls, half scared of him with his grim, scarred visage; he gave a small smile.

"Good er, morning girls" he said "I am sorry you have been taken away from your beauty sleep; you will all be permitted to sleep in tomorrow and the castle elves will run a buffet breakfast for you as you emerge; uniform will also be relaxed tomorrow if you wish to breakfast in pyjamas and go back to bed for an hour or two as this is an unusual alarum and excursion. We are hoping that your Professors will be restored to you unharmed by Monday, when the rules will return to being tight again; in the meantime let me introduce your new Professors. I will be teaching potions in addition to being Headmaster and I will take senior Chanting. My wife Madam Malfoy-Snape, who answers to Madam Malfoy in school, will be teaching Transfiguration and Arithmancy; Madam Parnassus will teach Charms; Professor Snape Von Strang will teach Defence Against the Dark Arts, a skill in which you are all SADLY lacking; Professor Fraser will teach Care of Magical Beasts and will teach Quidditch until you current PT mistress feels able to take that over; he is a national referee and expects to take his International test next year so you are privileged; he is also one of the few people in the World to hold an 'O' grade NEWT in Care of Magical beasts. Naturally all the new staff hold 'O' grade at NEWT in the subjects they are teaching and most cannot hold higher because one cannot score above one hundred percent. Professor Fraser's wife will answer to Professor Devlin and will teach Herbology – which you know as Botany and do not at present study as more than a theory subject. I understand you already have a chanting mistress and a Divination mistress and an elderly gentleman who teaches a combination of charms, transfiguration and enchanting under the catchall title of Spells and Enchantments. It is not good enough if you wish to achieve any kind of academic excellence. I am aware that many of you belong to wealthy families who do not need qualifications in order to survive; but nature has given you brains and wasting them is rather insulting to nature. I know it will be hard for the older girls here; but I expect you to work hard to catch up to a national average standard as far as you can. I will accept applications from the oldest to remain a year longer than normal if you wish to pursue subjects you have not previously covered. Madam Hardbroom has agreed to return to Hogwarts and take over my teaching post there; she will be returning shortly with the younger members of the group and those I borrowed. Cocoa is on its way now; when you have drunk it I want you to return quietly to bed. I will not insist you clean your teeth again; I would rather you fell asleep than woke yourselves up with cold water and scrubbing. Indeed, this once, I will permit you to take your mugs of cocoa to bed with you on the proviso that the mugs are returned to the kitchen when you rise tomorrow. Or rather, later today. I will say good night now; I still have things to sort out, Madam Parnassus will be here to supervise."

He inclined his head and strode out.

Myrtle had sent a summons.

Myrtle had a prisoner.

"He's a werewolf" she said "He had control as it's not full moon and he turned back and said he would not fight a pregnant woman or indeed any woman."

Myrtle did not show yet; but was well aware that the preternaturally sharp nose of a werewolf would easily discern her condition.

Severus turned a look of some respect on the scar-faced werewolf, who had a great gash down one side of the face.

"I didn't know there were any gentlemen left in Odessa" he said.

The man shrugged.

"I have my honour" he said. "We were plainly defeated; and I would not fight someone who should be protected. She says she is here to protect the little girls in the castle; what was in the castle I had no idea, my unit was moved here as guards to attack when we were told to attack. Have you killed all my men?"

"Yes" said Severus "We've had experience of Odessa Werewolves before; they are generally as brutal as one of their progenitors, Fenrir Greyback."

The prisoner's eyes flared.

"Yes, he made me; and left this scar" he said "I was thirteen. But Odessa offered a haven; and also for muggle werewolves when I suggested it."

"There are muggle werewolves?" Severus was horrified.

"Yes; my wife was one such" there was a brief softness in his face. "And there are more than….anyway, my name is Hauptmann Wolf Luytens and I led the wolf troupe."

Severus saw in his eyes the guilt of having suggested to his recruiter that they might protect and use muggle werewolves too that had led to the wholesale biting of muggles to swell the ranks; read too how he feared for his little daughter, safe for now but who knew what might happen….the tale was there of true love for his muggle werewolf wife and her death in childbirth, leaving their baby the sun and moon of her father's existence.

"You could always change sides you know" said Severus "We do not despise werewolves out of hand; it is Odessa we despise. One of my best friends was a werewolf until I developed the cure."

"There is a cure? But I thought…."

"It is still very raw; the pain is like taking the cruciatus curse for minutes at a time."

"Huh, anyone but a fool would accept that exchange! But I will not change coat; I pledged my loyalty. And loyal I will remain. I am your prisoner and of myself I will speak freely but of my Prince and any military matters I will not speak."

"The cure I offer you freely whether you will change sides or no" said Severus "If you wish it."

"Oh yes, I wish it" said Luytens "But I will not speak out of gratitude for it; nor will the pain of it induce me to speak either. I made my choice; and I will not betray."

"Then I honour you for that; but you must remain my prisoner" said Severus "I will fetch the cure and then you will be confined in this dungeon room indefinitely."

Wolf Luytens clicked his heels.

"My parole ends in four hours" he said "I gave it to dawn."

"Your honour impresses me" said Severus.

Luytens screamed as the injection took hold of him, shaking his body with agony as he cycled back and forth between man and wolf; and Severus, unable to bear it, laid a hand on him and drew the pain onto himself, sharing it out through those that reached to him willingly.

At last the ex werewolf collapsed on the floor still shivering slightly.

"You shared the pain with me" he said, his voice hoarse.

"I don't like hurting people" said Severus "Especially a brave man. I had enough of seeing agony under Voldemort's twisted rule; and I'm sorry the potion is not yet good enough to cut that out. I have limited subjects willing to be experimented on. This one was supposed to be improved; but perhaps you have been a werewolf for some time."

"Since the second muggle world war" said Luytens. "We don't age as fast as humans. Well I guess I will now; and that's an exchange I'll take any time."

"What can you tell me about your family?" said Severus "I could perhaps contact them."

"No! I'm not being caught that way" said Luytens "No more information."

"As you wish" said Severus "I will come to see you from time to time; if you change your mind you have only to say. You are the best man in Odessa I have ever met; it makes me hope that there are others as honourable."

Jade meanwhile had introduced Harry Potter to Hester Figg as promised; and Hester turned shy and then blurted out a request for Harry's autograph. Harry laughed and provided it.

"Your great aunt did a great job looking after me" he said "It must have been hard for her; Dumbledore told her not to make the time I spent with her enjoyable in case the Dursleys stopped me seeing her. Figgy's a good friend."

Hester was delighted!

There was one more job to do once the main clearing up was done outside; and that David was in charge of, summoning bullets, not merely to hide the agency of the deaths of the werewolves but also to reuse the precious silver. Accio silver nitrate and a flask had also worked when the werewolves had backed up the huorns and that too could be repeated. There was some wastage of course; but a substantial amount could be recovered. And that brought a brief danger; one werewolf was not quite dead and the removal of the allergen had him leaping at David with hate-filled eyes.

David absently backflipped out of the way. Werewolves were resistant to magic in wolf form and David had handed in his gun; and was out of sight of Romulus on overwatch. A tricky little problem easily cured by casting diffindo out of the corner of his eye on the yew tree there so it fell on the hapless werewolf; whilst apparating out of the range of its branches.

David returned down the slope quickly as the tree fell with a rending groan and crash; he would not leave any creature helpless and hurt.

The werewolf was however quite dead, impaled by a branch as well as having a broken back. Yew was a strongly magical wand wood; and overcame the resistance to normal weapons.

The body would be burned with the others and David apparated it out to levitate to the pyre they were building. There would be no evidence a fight had taken place by the morning.

And he would be a professor here on Monday.

He had enjoyed teaching for the last year at Rowan House; and had not been entirely sure that his talents were not wasted on a bunch of spoilt and possibly stuck up little girls who were purposely sent to an all girls school; and who were sent out of the country by terrified parents afraid of the fact that Hogwarts had been the centre of the fight against Voldemort. Such precious poppets were, to David's mind better for being ignored once rescued from this intolerable predicament, or else integrated into a proper school like Hogwarts.

Severus had however mustered some fairly cogent arguments.

It placed them bang in the middle of Odessa territory, in influence at least, for ease of striking at the organisation; it gave European witches and wizards another school to opt for other than Durmstrang and the dubious achievements of Beauxbatons which produced polite witches and wizards of limited skill; and it stole the hearts and minds of those rich and mildly influential young witches to reach further. It was also a place to which Germanic goblins and muggleborn might go. It would continue to teach along English lines; and Ellie had giggled and said it would be a kind of wizarding Chalet School and would they spend days speaking different languages? To which Severus had looked far too thoughtful and declared that he would see about that.

To help out foreign talents who would not otherwise receive the education they deserved David was willing to give up Rowan House, since Vladimir Malfoy was happy to teach care of Magical Beasts as well as muggle Biology. And Ellie had been undecided if she wished to teach or not. Teaching in a boarding school and living in together was a different proposition to teaching the free school which might not at first show respect to a half breed like Ellie.

They would always be a target for Odessa of course.

Well, it concentrated them onto an excellent killing ground.

There would need to be much to do to bring the place up to date; a rail link for one and a decent cable car run on good old fashioned water power and goblin clockwork; or steam. Either would do.

That could be added in due course!

There was the clearup to complete for now.

And Gerhardt Grindelwald's body was not amongst the slain; so one must assume he had got away and that Odessa might now know about guns.

Back in the castle, Miss Hardbroom and Severus were administering mandragora potion to four disconsolate looking frogs.

They quickly returned to their natural forms, three women ranging from early middle age to the thoroughly decrepit; and one old man.

"Oh Miss Hardbroom!" wept the merely old woman "She threatened to kill us! That WASN'T Miss Cackle, she did it again like she did it before when Mildred Hubble turned her into a snail!"

"The Hubbles are talented transfigurationists even if they can't brew a potion to save their lives" said Connie "This is my nephew Severus Snape; he is now headmaster here."

"Oooh!" said Miss Bat the oldest, and passed out.

"I didn't realise my appearance drove women that wild" said Severus mildly. "Mr Blossom; I hear you like research. I intend to make you my pensioner. You may have a turret for your own use and experiment to your heart's desire. I have other teachers available to take your classes. Miss Drill, how come you miss out teaching Quidditch?"

"Miss Cackle thought it unladylike" said Miss Drill crisply. "I don't know how to play it myself; I was a student here in Miss Cackle's mother's time."

"If you wish to retain your post I shall expect you to learn and to teach it" said Severus crisply "My ward is an accredited referee; he will be taking lessons for now and you may learn from him so he can go back to teaching only one subject."

"Yes Professor, if you wish" said Miss Drill "At least, I'll try. It looks such fun" she added wistfully.

She'd do fine.

Miss Bat had come round; largely because Connie had emptied a vase of water on her.

"Miss Bat" said Severus "In view of your age I wish to relieve you of senior chanting classes to help you out; I will take those myself. I cannot offer you retirement for another year or so until I can replace you; I am sorry. But I will see you well cared for when I can find a replacement. Miss Gimlet; are you a seer?"

"Not as such" said the Divination mistress "I am skilled with a crystal ball and I sometimes KNOW things; it's not reliable."

She sounded quite no-nonsense.

"Well so long as you are aware of its unreliability and teach that I have no problems" said Severus "I would like you to add dowsing to your curriculum; we have discovered that there are sometimes some quite competent dowsers of one or more materials in those who are otherwise hopeless diviners, and it's worth while developing. Write to Rosemary Spikenard at Hogwarts too; she's had some good ideas to develop practical skills in her pupils, for all diviners are different."

Miss Gimlet brightened. She was used to her subject being treated as a bit of a laugh and the concept of being given a bit of respect – and the tacit option to experiment – was exciting!

Neither Miss Gimlet nor Miss Drill said anything but each was experiencing a guilty pang that things might actually be improved by Miss Cackle's death and her replacement with this grim but flexible Professor!