A/N: Before I start this chapter I would just like to thank each and every person that has read this fic so far, especially the very lovely plebs, DreamsInLilac and the-witchy-nerd/CrystalWitchAtCackles. Your support means the world to me. You may not leave a review but just to know that you're reading and still enjoying the fic really means the world to me.

"Thank you for doing this, Mr Blossom, I really do appreciate it." Miss Cackle said, blinking against the sun as it appeared from behind a grey cloud. She was walking alongside Mr Blossom, the school's grounds keeper, gardener, handyman, caretaker and gadget maker. He was a tall man, sturdy and strong from growing up breathing the fresh clean air of the Yorkshire Dales. He carried a broom, the bristle end over his shoulder, like a musket as he marched beside the headmistress who, despite acknowledging the necessity of his protection, thought he was taking the exercise a bit too seriously.

"I remember what happened last time your sister came to this school, Miss Cackle," Mr Blossom said, "I am taking no chances."

"But is the broom really necessary?" She asked as they continued to patrol the forest.

Mr Blossom stopped walking, looking ahead at Miss Cackle. Her head was tilted slightly to the side as she looked from the broom to Mr Blossom and back again. Mr Blossom turned to look at the object he held so tightly over his shoulder, but as he did so one of the needle-like twigs at the end caught the side of his head which drew a very loud yelp of pain from Mr Blossom and a shriek of surprise from Miss Cackle who moved quicker than she had ever moved before to make sure her grounds keeper was alright.

"You haven't drawn any blood, Mr Bloss-"

Miss Cackle stopped talking for a moment. She heard a rustling from behind one of the trees and a crunching of twigs.

"What-" Started Mr Blossom, but Miss Cackle hushed him loudly, pressing a finger to her lips.

The two walked very slowly towards the source of the noise; a tall oak tree with a very wide trunk. She felt Mr Blossom raise the broom as they moved closer and closer. The rustling was becoming louder and Miss Cackle could hear the sound of women laughing. It could be Agatha, she thought, with her wicked sidekicks. They drew around the trunk of the tree, Miss Cackle had her back pressed against the bark just as Mr Blossom swung the broom in the air-

"Got ya!" He shouted. There was a grunt of pain and the sound of someone falling onto a pile of dried leaves as Mr Blossom swung around the side of the tree, his face filled with delight at the thought of catching Agatha Cackle in the act.

"What on Earth are you doing?!" An all too familiar voice shouted. Miss Cackle couldn't believe what had happened as she came out from behind the tree to see Miss Hardbroom helping Miss Drill off the floor, dusting her down. The pair of them were coated from head to toe in pond-slime and dirt. Miss Drill's hair was flattened on one side by the thick layer of sludge that was clinging to it, the other side appeared to have been ruffled up, it was sticking up in every angle that was possible for such short hair. Miss Hardbroom had a patch of dried mud on the side of her head and it appeared that some of her dark lipstick had been smudged off.

"What has happened to you?" Miss Cackle asked as she caught sight of her usually pristine, well groomed deputy. She walked over to the two women who looked at each other, guilty expressions on their faces. Miss Cackle picked a small twig out of Miss Hardbroom's bun which had become loose and was sagging at the sides. Some of her long hair had fallen loose at the front.

"Never mind what we've been up to, Miss Cackle." Miss Drill said finally, scratching her face with a filthy hand, "Why is Mr Blossom attacking me with a broomstick?"

Mr Blossom looked at his weapon of choice as Miss Hardbroom asked through a sneering smile, "He won't be required to sweep up your sister will he, Amelia?"

Miss Cackle turned to Mr Blossom, "I did warn you, Frank." The grounds keeper flushed slightly as he lowered the broomstick.

"Right you are, Miss Cackle." He handed the broom to Miss Cackle. She would use it to fly back to the academy later on, it would save her aching legs.

"As for you two," Miss Cackle snapped in a tone neither of the two women had ever heard before, "I want the pair of you to get cleaned up for Miss Pentangle's arrival in a few hours. I will not have her thinking that our staff are capable of such poor behaviour."

Miss Hardbroom nodded, folding her arms and vanishing to her bedroom with a faint rush of air. Miss Drill followed Miss Cackle on foot as the headmistress flew through the forest and back to the academy.

X

The screeching of an owl filled the courtyard as Miss Pentangle arrived that afternoon. She stepped into the entrance hall followed by a crowd of mesmerized first years. Miss Pentangle was a tall, thickset woman with ashy blonde hair cut into a bob that hung around her long chin. She wore a pair of round spectacles with thin frames and a purple suit (purple was the colour of the Pentangle's Academy school uniforms and the headmistress' colour of choice for most, if not all of her outfits). Her owl, Perky, was screeching loudly as he sat on her shoulder, nibbling the ends of his mistress' glasses.

She swatted him angrily as he continued to pester her, which earned her a frustrated hoot as she looked up at her welcome party; Mildred Hubble.

"What are you doing here?!" She shrieked at Mildred, her face livid at the sight of the woman in front of her. Her voice was shriller than usual; she sounded almost like the owl perched on her shoulder.

Mildred looked taken aback. Miss Pentangle was an uptight woman, there was no denying that, but what had put her in such a foul mood before she had even entered the school? Mildred brushed it off. Perhaps the headmistress was tired from her travels. She said in a very well rehearsed voice, "Good afternoon, Miss Pentangle. How was your journey?"

Miss Pentangle blinked, realising her sudden outburst. Her expression softened, her drawling voice back to its usual low tone, "Lovely day for flying eh, Hubble?"

Mildred forced a smile as Miss Pentangle almost threw her very heavy overnight bag at her, following her to Miss Cackle's office. Miss Pentangle knocked on the office door and it swung open where she was greeted by Miss Cackle. She towered over the headmistress as she walked into the room, sitting down in a plush floral armchair. Perky hooted and swooped over to the top of a chest of drawers beside the window, nipping his feathers.

"How nice to see you again, Phyllis." Greeted Miss Cackle, her voice thick with sarcasm, "I'm glad you had a safe journey. Would you like a cup of tea?"

Miss Pentangle shook her head, "Not at the moment, Cackle. I doubt you'll have the blend I like," she picked a piece of lint off the arm of the chair and examined it absently.

Mildred could see that Miss Cackle was biting her tongue as she sat down in the winged chair behind her desk, "I'm sure you will be satisfied with the Halloween display tomorrow," she said, changing the topic as she knew Miss Pentangle would find every opportunity to pick at and emphasise each of Cackle's Academy's shortcomings and would compare it to her own establishment, "the best witch academy within a ninety mile radius as stated by OFWITCH," Pentangle's brochures boasted. They were frequently sent to Miss Cackle, perhaps as a way for Miss Pentangle to wind her up no doubt. It worked very well as Miss Cackle was often caught cursing the woman under her breath.

"I've heard you have a flying performance planned for me-"

"For you and the Grand Wizard, Phyllis." Corrected Miss Cackle.

Miss Pentangle continued; crossing her legs, making herself comfortable, "It won't be nearly as good as our display from last year, Cackle, but one has to encourage first division academies like yours. You won't be in the premier league like us at Pentangle's."

Miss Cackle's knuckles went white, Mildred could see a nerve jumping in the headmistress' forehead, "Perhaps I can show you to your room, Miss Pentangle?" Suggested Mildred, trying to break the tension she could feel in the room.

Miss Pentangle stood up quickly and snatched her luggage from Mildred, "Perhaps I can show myself to my room. It's in the teachers wing?" there was something behind her grey eyes that made Mildred feel uneasy and as Miss Pentangle slammed the door behind her to go to her room, Mildred looked at Miss Cackle who had a look of fury on her usually peaceful, kind face. She took her glasses, which were perched on her head, and placed them on her nose as she began to write something down on a piece of paper on her desk.

"Will you be able to take Miss Pentangle's owl to her, Mildred?" Miss Cackle asked, her head low to her desk as she scribbled on her paper. Mildred said nothing in response but went over to the owl which hopped happily on to her arm, his long talons digging into her red sweater, and carried him upstairs. He blinked at her with his round eyes, as though he was trying to tell her something.

"I know you don't like travelling very much, Perky," Mildred told the owl as she walked up a spiralling flight of stairs, "But you're only going to be here for a couple of days and then you will be back home again."

She tapped on Miss Pentangle's bedroom door. When she could hear movement coming from inside the room she knocked again.

"Ah, Miss Pentangle has arrived I see." A voice came from behind Mildred. She turned to Miss Hardbroom who was staring at Perky. She looked confused, "Is this her owl?"

"Of course it is, Miss Hardbroom." Mildred stated, looking at the owl herself, stroking his chest feathers with the knuckle of her index finger. Of course it was Perky Pentangle. Who else would it be?

Miss Hardbroom seemed disapproving and was about to say something, her lips parting, just as the bedroom door swung open revealing Miss Pentangle.

"Constance, come in!" Miss Pentangle boomed, "I was just unpacking my things."

She held the door back to allow Miss Hardbroom entry into the small, unused bedroom that had belonged to Miss Gimlet so many years ago. Mildred followed Miss Hardbroom into the room, hoping that Perky would go back to his mistress. Instead he hooted loudly at her and began to dig his talons into Mildred's arm with great force.

"Is he alright?" Miss Hardbroom asked as the owl flapped his wings angrily, "He seems very unsettled."

Miss Pentangle faltered for a moment, "Not to worry, Constance. I'm sure it's just the trip here that's unsettled him."

"But he's travelled here before-"

"Glass of sherry?" Miss Pentangle cut over Miss Hardbroom, withdrawing a bottle of dusty sherry wine from her suitcase.

Perky the owl finally relinquished his grip on Mildred's arm as he flew onto the bookshelf, watching his mistress with his dark eyes. Mildred looked at the owl properly for the first time since Miss Pentangle had arrived at the school. She had never really had a good look at him when she had done her training with the headmistress but he did appear very stressed, as though something was very wrong.

"It's a bit too early for me, Phyllis," said Miss Hardbroom, looking up at the clock on the wall. It was two o'clock in the afternoon, much too early to start drinking, "Mildred, I have something to show you in my room."

Mildred did not know how to react to what Miss Hardbroom had just said, was she really being invited to her old form tutor's room? She followed her out of Miss Pentangle's room and walked further down the hallway, past a painting of a Hallow ancestor and to Miss Hardbroom's room. She pulled at the chain of keys around her waist and inserted a thin golden key into the lock, turning it and entering the room. Mildred followed her, closing the door behind her.

Miss Hardbroom's room was exactly as Mildred had imagined it. The furniture was all black; black bedding, black bed frame, black rug, black desk, black armchair in the window. The bed was positioned just next to the window above which, Mildred noticed, were two sleeping bats.

"You have bats?!"

Miss Hardbroom had pulled the stool from beneath her desk and sat down, rubbing her right temple.

"I would never have thought you would have bats-" Mildred caught sight of Morgana, Miss Hardbroom's cat, stretched out on the bed and lying on her back; the epitome of relaxed. She meowed quietly as Mildred stroked her chin, blinking her olive green eyes slowly at her.

"Yes, Mildred, I have bats. But that's not why I've brought you here," Miss Hardbroom snapped, lifting her hand from her temple, "Something is wrong with Miss Pentangle," She said coolly, her eyes piercing Mildred's, "I don't know what's wrong with her but her owl holds the key."

So we have finally met Miss Pentangle!

Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please leave a review to let me know what you think and if you would like to see anything in the story, any suggestions or anything like that.