A/N: It's been a long road since I started this fic and now we've reached the end. I apologise for how long it's taken to get this story updated and hope that it is not a disappointing end to the sequel. Thank you all for the reviews and for your support throughout this fic, I hope you enjoy its conclusion :) I apologise for any errors, I tried to keep them to a minimum.

Special thanks go to Dissecting Pomegranates for the ping-pong and proofreading.

This chapter is dedicated to NCD.


Chapter 7 – One Way Or Another

Amelia's heart sunk. She couldn't believe it; she refused to believe that all their efforts had been in vain, that the potion was still green, that it wasn't ready, that it had failed. The crushing reality that pushed against her shoulders made her body physically quiver and shake, made her mind swirl with dangerous thoughts and terrible consequences all in one almighty collision. Like a storm empowered wave against the innocent and delicate sand, so too was the crushing emotion against her fragile and wizened heart.

Closing her eyes, she forced herself to breathe through the tears already pushing themselves forward, though found the air catching and nicking the corners of her throat, staggering in short and shallow gasps as she breathed. Her hands clutched the desk with such force her knuckles turned white and every ounce of hope stripped itself away to leave nothing but a broken shell where the headmistress stood. It was over, one way or another, it was over.

At least, that was what she thought. So carried away in her muddled and pressing thoughts she almost missed it, the sizzling sound rising from the cauldrons swirling liquid. Amelia dared to open her eyes to look into the darkness, hoping that it was a good sign, that maybe, just maybe, they still had time to hope...and they did.

The potion changed from green to blue, making Amelia's smile widen with every passing second. Bringing her hands to her eyes she wiped away the tears, hoping that this was not a dream, that she hadn't fallen asleep after so many hours of gruelling stress and would wake and find herself back inside her crushing reality once more.

But it wasn't a dream, and the limbs that had once refused to move, and the brain that had stopped thinking, all started returning to normal function. She quickly grabbed a pair of tweezers and clutched the Golden Dewdrop leaf between its prongs and held it unsteadily before her eyes. It was black and poisonless, just as it should have been. Turning off the flame with the click of her finger, Miss Cackle poured the mixture into the phials and darted from the room with the last streaks of adrenaline flowing through her veins.

With the glass phials jangling inside their wooden confine between her hands, Amelia bounded down to the dungeons, her cloak flailing behind her and lantern guiding her path. Finally approaching the door she lowered the lantern and pounded her fist against its wooden surface. "Fenella! Griselda!"

"Is it done?" Asked Fenny as she ran to the door and practically threw herself against it for a warm embrace.

"Yes, I'm coming in," Miss Cackle announced before performing the unlocking spell and carefully stepping inside to finally see the real chaos.

Instantly she realised they had a problem.

She paused, stared at those lying unconsciously in their beds, eyes wide with realisation and mind flooding with decisions.

"Miss Cackle?" Fenny asked, standing closer to the frozen headmistress. "What's wrong?" The tray of phials was thrust into her hands and quickly she took a hold of them before watching her teacher charge out of the door with mouth agape.

"Don't give out anything until I get back!" Amelia ordered, voice echoing off the walls and entering her worried pupil's ears as she raced for Constance's beloved potion laboratory. Flinging the door open with such force that it hit the wall and made the shelves shudder slightly, she moved to the back and sifted through the cabinet shelves. Her fingers pulled bottles from their positions so she could read the labels that lay behind. She knew Constance would berate her for it later but time was off the essence and she'd rather give her the opportunity to yell and scream then to never have the chance to again. Then she found it, the potion she was looking for. With it in tow she ran back to the staffroom and rummaged through the cupboards rather breathlessly until she found the first aid supplies Mr Hallow had generously sponsored.


Fenella wasn't sure of what to do. They had their cure, their answer, right between her two hands and yet she was told to wait, to pause. It seemed so trivial and strange for all their efforts thus far to reach a stunted conclusion. But thankfully she did not have to wait for long. The trusty headmistress ran inside and quickly moved toward Mildred's bedside, her arthritic knees finding themselves against the stone floor as she ushered her student to her side. Opening the first aid kit on the bed with a click, she removed a pair of plastic gloves and quickly pulled them on. She uncorked the potion bottle, poured some of the mixture on a clean piece of gauze and wiped it against Mildred's skin, over the Brachial artery.

Taking the needle she asked Fenella for Mildred's supply of the potion and carefully drew the blue liquid into the syringe steadily. Once full she pushed the cap to remove any additional air. "Can I borrow your tie please, Fenella?" Miss Cackle asked and she nodded, before pulling it from around her neck. "Can you tie it tightly around Mildred's upper arm, please?" Fenella did as she was told with Miss Cackle's eyes watching closely. Her left fingers tapped over the area until the vein made itself known and she took her moment.

Positioning the tip she fought against her fingers, now shaking the needle erratically against her will. They had made it this far, they had fought this long, now was not the time for failure and the weight of this one moment rested heavily on her shoulders. She had always relied on her staff and students for support, relied on them during times of distress and now they needed her. She couldn't fail them. Holding her nerve and inhaling a deep breath, she exhaled and embedded the steady needle into Mildred's skin.

With the entry successful, and Fenella's eyes burning into Amelia's head, she steadily pushed down the cap and expelled the antidote. Once administered, Fenella removed the makeshift tourniquet and Miss Cackle replaced the entry site with a fresh cotton ball before hanging her head and releasing a sigh of relief.

"Are you alright, Miss Cackle?" Fenella asked and Amelia nodded. It had been a long time since she had to inject a student with something before. Though she had read all the first aid instructions that came across her desk with the monthly school newsletters, she had failed to pay particular attention to every detail, usually leaving the treatment of wounds to Miss Drill or Miss Hardbroom's expertise. Between the two teachers she had performed little to no first aid over the years, except for the bread poultice recipes she had learnt from her grandmother all those years ago for the odd ankle sprain.

"Pass me a bowl, please," Amelia instructed and Fenella brought over one that Amelia placed the needle into before pouring some of the potion over it. She waited a few moments as Fenella secured her tie around Maud's arm for the next injection. Once the sterilising process was complete, Amelia performed each of the injections with precision, her years of sewing coming in handy as she worked with the lifesaving tool.

Once Fenella and a barely awake Griselda both swallowed their share, Amelia took a moment to sit and wait in the silence like a mother awaiting news of her children in a hospital waiting room, waiting for the best but preparing for the worst. Her eyelids slowly started to close and she startled herself awake, trying to make herself focus on something, anything to keep her mind alert. But she too had run out of energy, just as those lying before her had. And now she too needed her rest. Letting her chin drop to her chest, her fingers intertwined and rested in her lap. Her eyes slowly drifted shut with the hope that when she opened them again everything would be okay.


She didn't know if it had been hours or seconds between when she drifted off to her slumber in the very early hours of the morning, but when she felt a hand against her shoulder she instantly startled awake, feeling slightly better than she had before. Her eyes followed the long and slender arm to her Deputy's face and she stood to her feet and, without initially intending to, threw her arms around her friend's thin frame.

Constance was a little taken back; she had spoken to the others tittering and tattering between one another for hours about whether they should have awoken the headmistress and who should have been the one to do it. The duty had fallen on Constance and the students were clearly amused. Mildred, Maud, Enid, Fenella and Griselda's smiles beaming past the darkness they had all endured and successfully survived.

"It's good to see you too, Headmistress," she spoke, hoping to release the older woman's grasp. Amelia did so and cleared her throat, slightly embarrassed at her sudden outburst when a whirl of black flew in her direction and she found Miss Bat clinging to her like a glove. "It's alright, Miss Bat, it's over." Once Davina had calmed down Amelia surveyed the room with tears of happiness welled in her eyes. The girls were sitting upright, their colour returning to their previously pale skin. Imogen looked almost fit enough to run a marathon while Constance…well, she was still just as thin and pale as she was before, but she was standing in her trademark upright position, her hair obviously respelled to be much tidier.

"Words cannot express how glad I am to see you all," she sighed, relief evident in every word and the students and staff all nodded their acknowledgement.

"Thank you," Mildred cheered, standing to her feet and walking forwards. "Thank you."

"The real people you should be thanking, Mildred, are those who have been in this room much longer than I. Miss Hardbroom, Miss Drill, Miss Bat, Enid, Fenella and Griselda, were of aid when they needed to be and went above and beyond the call of duty to help you. They are who you should thank, for keeping you here with us long enough for the potion to mature."

"So…is it really over now?" Maud questioned, eyes piercing through the frames of her round glasses.

"Yes, Maud, I believe it is."

"So what was it?" Mildred questioned earning Miss Hardbroom's attention. "The plant that cut me?"

"Golden Dewdrop, which I will be happily destroying from the school grounds later this morning," Constance explained.

"In the meantime," Miss Cackle began, "I think you should all rest. It is still dark outside; you have four more hours until sunrise, how about you all get back into bed and sleep the rest of it off. I will see you in the morning."

"Night, Miss Cackle," they chorused.


The bells around the school began to sound as anxious students entered the great hall and took their seats. On the stage in front of them were the victims. All eight of them sitting in their positions while Miss Cackle stood in front. Ruby and Jadu couldn't contain their happiness at seeing their friends alive and well, Drusilla and Ethel didn't share their enthusiasm.

"Girls as you know, yesterday evening, I stood alone on this stage," Miss Cackle addressed, her arms and legs still feeling heavy and body craving more rest, but she needed to put their minds at ease. "But this morning I stand with those who were affected by the plants poison and survived. I wanted to use this opportunity to thank certain heroes that came out of this tragedy. I would like to thank Miss Hardbroom for finding the cause of the illness and for helping Mildred. I would also like to thank Miss Drill for helping Maud Moonshine." The crowd clapped for the two teachers. "Along with them I would like to thank Enid Nightshade and Miss Bat, who, although suffering themselves, forgot about their problems and fought to help keep their fellow colleagues and classmates with us." Another applause and a smile from Miss Bat and Enid made the horror all worth it.

"Finally though, I would like to thank our third year students Fenella Feverfew and Griselda Blackwood for putting themselves bravely in the face of danger in order to help administer the potion. But along with these heroes I'd also like to thank you all for being well behaved and supportive during this ordeal. And thankfully, now that this is over, we can move forward to the future. Miss Hardbroom will be searching the local area with Miss Bat to find any remaining remnants of the Golden Dewdrop plant and will then destroy it. Tomorrow will be the start of the weekend, so, we have all decided that it should be a time for celebration. You all may do what you would like over the next two days as long as it is inside the castle walls or the courtyard. The last thing we need is another incident," she smiled kindly.

"Can I just remind you," Constance began her voice as loud and authoritative as ever, "although this weekend has been declared a free two days of celebration you are to still follow all school rules and teacher instructions."

"Yes, Miss Hardbroom," they chorused before everyone was dismissed.


Walking down the hill from the castle, with Miss Bat by her side, Constance made her way toward the offending bush to remove every trace of the poison. Carefully, the two worked using Mr Blossom's gloves and a pair of scissors to cut the plants outer edges to reveal the golden branch. Cutting it at the base, Miss Hardbroom placed it into the cauldron that Miss Bat carried with her, the removal potion already prepared appropriately back at the castle for its immediate demise.

Although the ordeal had passed Constance knew it wasn't over yet.

Miss Bat happily chanted as she made her way back to the castle making Constance shake her head. Although their ordeal three months ago had separated and created drifts between members of staff and resurfaced memories that they never wanted to repeat, this crisis had brought them back together. Whatever the reason, they had managed to defy the odds together, but even that made Constance wonder whether that was the original intention.

Constance had a strange feeling that the two incidents had been connected. From Broomhead's attack to try and turn staff member against staff member, to this latest attempt which had managed to bring them all closer together than before. Perhaps she was just paranoid; perhaps her mind was in overdrive since her bout of illness.

But if her instincts were correct then something dangerous was on its way…something Constance vowed to never face again.

THE END


A/N: There you have it folks :) I haven't chosen what I'm going to do with this story yet or whether I will follow it up with a third fic so I thought I'd leave it open and see what happens. Thanks again for all your support :)