Chapter 10: See you later~

Mad Maddy, the granddaughter of Madam Mim and leader of the Fearsome Five, watched with unveiled interest as the trespasser made their way across the courtyard. Maddy was no stranger to trespassers, especially when it came to the Witch School, however something about this particular trespasser caught her eye. Perhaps it was that the trespasser couldn't have been any older than her, even in the nonexistent lighting it was evident they were around the same age. Perhaps it was that Maddy was fond of cats, all witches were after all, and something about this trespasser reminded her so much of a little black cat. Everything from the movement of her lithe, flexible body to the breathtaking cat ears resting on her head further crystallized that impression in Maddy's head.

Mad Maddy had been known to be more than a little obsessive with the stray cats that roamed the school. Over thirty 'regular' cats roamed the Witch School with even more that were just passing through. The school was the one guaranteed safe place on the Isle for stray cats to find food, warmth, and even affectionate touches if they desired.

Madam Mim's granddaughter was a favorite among a large portion of the 'regular' cats. Maddy was well versed in exactly what to do to win over any cat without fail.

Maddy blinked to realize that during her drifting thoughts the trespasser had wandered into the main building out of her view. She considered reporting them to the few staff she knew stayed this late, but that sounded boring. Instead the young witch moved away from the window and headed for the door. She was thoroughly intrigued by the girl in cat ears.

It wasn't every day she found such a rare gem.

~...~...~

Cassie had no clue where the food stores would be. Having never been in this building, or even one like it, she found herself feeling completely lost within a matter of minutes. The little cat wandered the empty corridors and cautiously stopped at each door to listen for any sounds before peeking inside. So far she had only found classrooms, locked doors, and what looked to be a janitors closet despite being filled with the oddest things.

Cassie knew that the first visit would be like this more or less, but it didn't make it any more pleasant.

After maybe the fifteenth door Cassie couldn't help wondering if the school even had a cafeteria or kitchen. The Witch School was the smallest of the three schools on the Isle, perhaps they just found it simpler to have students scrounge up their own food. Despite these doubts she was not ready to give up yet.

She continued to search.

Cassie found and passed more laboratories, along with an office that looked like it belonged to whoever was in charge considering how tightly it was locked up, as well as some more offices that were locked almost as securely.

After half a dozen more doors Cassie came to the end of the hallway and realized she had searched the entire building. She frowned at the last door in the hall which she knew led her back out to the courtyard.

She had hoped that the cafeteria would have been in the main building, but evidently not. There were still more buildings it could be in though...

~...~...~

Mad Maddy had been watching the little trespasser for some time. Her amusement only grew when she noticed that the cat-eared girl seemed to have no interest in the headmistress' office or any of the administration's offices. Anyone who had come here hoping to steal something of monetary value would not pass either of those rooms up, no matter how securely locked.

This trespasser didn't even give the doors a second glance.

Likewise, she had just as decisively passed by classrooms which Maddy knew also held items that would appeal to the common thief. Whatever she was looking for it was not in any of those rooms. At this point Maddy had no doubt that the trespasser was looking for something specific. She walked with too much purpose to be looking for anything else.

The question was what?

Maddy continued to follow from a distance, feeling wickedly delighted as she did so. It had been a long time since she had last felt like this.

~...~...~

Half a building later Cassie could feel her patience wearing. The Witch School was admittedly larger than she had originally thought it would be and at her current pace she wouldn't even have a quarter of the buildings and rooms searched before dawn.

"How hard is it to post a map?" Cassie mumbled darkly to herself, as she closed another door that was another proverbial dead end. Ten rooms later and her luck hadn't improved.

"I'm never going to find the cafeteria at this rate." she sighed dejectedly under her breath.

It had already been hours and Cassie knew that she was only halfway through this building, if that, and there were still half a dozen buildings after this one. Her likelihood of finding the cafeteria before daybreak seemed less and less likely. Still though, she did try, and ultimately fail.

Unbeknownst to her, she didn't fail privately, she had an audience. A very attentive audience.

~...~...~

Following a trespasser around all night certainly wasn't Maddy's usual nighttime activities and surely Ginny, Anthony, and the twins would wonder why she hadn't met up with them as planned, but she simply couldn't pass up on what she had found. She would explain to them later why she had bailed on them; for the time being she was content to known that her little pussycat would probably be back since she hadn't found the cafeteria she had apparently been searching for.

This girl was positively delicious, a cat-like girl complete with beautifully crafted cat ears was a walking wet-dream to most witches—and she had laid eyes on her first. If Maddy didn't know any better she'd think the cat-girl was her soulmate.

To Maddy's delight, she had been right and her pussycat came back the next night. She saw her in the courtyard around the same time as the first night and watched as she entered the wrong building again. Seeing that, Maddy decided to have a little fun with the pussycat. Honestly, she couldn't help herself.

~...~...~

Just as Cassie reached her hand out to grab the next door handle she heard a noise behind her.

An airy and eerily chilling chuckle drifted down from the hallway to her left.

A feminine voice came from around the corner, "If you're looking for the cafeteria I could take you there."

Instantly Cassie froze, hand halfway to the doorknob. Tension filled the air. She unmistakably heard the soft shuffle of shoes over the linoleum. The little cat's taut muscles protested slightly as she slowly turned to face the noise. The hallway was short and she knew that she had heard the noise near the end of it.

Cassie firmed her stance and attempted confidence as she raised her voice, "Who is there?" Her eyes were focused on the left side of the hallway, where the corridor turned.

Out stepped a female roughly her same age. The first thing that struck Cassie was the girls hair and eye color; both were aqua green. Even on the isle such a color was rare to see on someone's head. There was something in those aqua green eyes that sent all her red flags shooting up and made her feel a chill she had not previously.

Cassie took a moment to assess the new person in front of her.

She was pretty Cassie acknowledged. Her matching aqua-green hair and eyes were a striking combo. Her hair was long and wavy, almost reaching down to her elbows and it framed her face beautifully. Her rogue-red lips were twisted into a devious smile as she returned the little cat's staring in kind. Her outfit was a combination of dark blue, dark purple, and what the locals knew as 'Maleficent-green.' Her dark blue shirt had purple accents on the sleeves and was torn fashionably at the sleeve-ends and bottom. Her dark purple skirt was not a straight-cut but wavy at the bottom and featured zippers for style as well as Maleficent-green swirling, thorny vine patterns. Cassie's eyes fell to the other girl's knee-high dark blue heeled boots with dark purple strips of leather circling the blue, tying the whole outfit together.

Overall it was not a look Cassie thought many could pull off but one which she carried flawlessly.

Absently Cassie realized this girl must be a student here, which would make her a witch or at least the daughter of a witch.

"You can call me Maddy." the aqua-green girl continued to walk towards Cassie, showing no signs of stopping. The way her eyes were roaming up and down the little cat's body with a strange spark of something or other glinting within reminded Cassie of Harry. It wasn't too different from the look Harry had given her when they had first met. She could feel her skin flush with warmth even as the red flags of warning waved rapidly in her mind.

"I've never seen you here before." the aqua-green haired girl, Maddy, continued. She came in close, maybe a little too close in Cassie's opinion, but the brunette didn't react outwardly to it. Inwardly she was hearing screaming sirens, but outwardly she stood her ground.

From this close it became apparent that Maddy was half a head taller than Cassie. Despite this Cassie put on a brave face and lifted her chin up defiantly.

"And?" Cassie raised a single dark-brown eyebrow, perfectly projecting confidence that she didn't feel.

The other girl smiled wickedly, "Mmm, I like you little pussycat. Would you like to be mine?" At the witch's purred words Cassie could feel the heat in her cheeks visibly color her face and simultaneously felt her spine stiffen. If she actually were a cat, her back would be arched and the hairs thereon would be ruffled.

Cassie frowned and answered curtly, "I don't much care what you like."

That seemed to only further amuse the other girl.

"And if I am willing to help you find the cafeteria?" Those aqua-green eyes were sparkling knowingly, "Would you care then?"

Cassie blinked in surprise but quickly recollected herself. Something about this girl was unnerving, and not simply because she had no regard for personal space or propriety. She felt just a little too off-kilter to be trusted. Cassie was no fool, this girl was no kind stranger looking to help her. There was something unmistakably unbalance about her.

Then there was the question of how she even knew that Cassie had been looking for the Cafeteria.

"Why?" Cassie's eyes narrowed suspiciously as she focused on Maddy's facial expressions.

Aqua-green eyes stared straight back. Instantly Cassie felt unnerved. It had been a long time since she had direct eye-contact with anyone, let alone from such a short distance. Maddy seemed to notice this and revel in her discomfort. Her aqua-green eyes were dancing with barely contained mirth.

"I'm sure you can appreciate this..." the taller girl smirked, taking care to enunciate the next word slowly, "Curiosity."

Somehow Cassie felt like she was being mocked. However she searched the aqua-green girl's face and eyes and saw no hint of a lie.

Cassie frowned, finding the answer unconvincing.

"No? Don't like that?" the aqua-green witch cooed, "Consider it me buying good faith then pussycat. You caught my interest."

Cassie's face pinched in distrust. She didn't know how but she could tell that the other girl's kindness was a facade, a Trojan horse of sorts. She had the sense the aqua-green witch would only be kind so long as it was necessary to draw Cassie in, though for what purpose she couldn't tell.

Cassie had no intention of getting drawn in by anyone, much less a witch that set her hairs on end.

"Well, you can follow me, or continue to search all night. Maybe you'll even find it on your own in a few days." Cassie watched with bewilderment as the other girl turned on her heels and walked away with an air of lazy confidence.

Cassie's better judgment was screaming for her to walk away, even run away. Inwardly she knew she would be a fool to follow this stranger. She knew she was not genuinely kind. She had no reason to trust her and in all frankness she did not trust her.

Still though...no one on the Isle was kind, but maybe Cassie could still benefit from her thinking she trusted her.

It was amazing how stupid she could be when her curiosity came into play. Had the green-haired witch offered to walk her there Cassie would have refused or had she simply given up interest and left Cassie would let her go without a second thought. However she had played her perfectly. Even with all her gut-warnings Cassie couldn't deny she was bewildered, and in turn, curious.

Cassie had followed her curiosity before and it had resulted in Harry realizing their bond and chasing her over rooftops. Surely she had learned her lesson. Surely that experience had been scary enough, scarring enough, to dissuade her from following this complete stranger to Hades knows where.

Evidently not.

Even though Cassie had given into her insatiable curiosity again she was still not so foolish as to walk side-by-side with this unbalanced witch. The gap between them was around three meters distance. Cassie followed her outside of the previous building and across the courtyard to another building tucked away to the west-corner.

While she followed her Cassie sized up the other teen.

There were no visible weapons and with how form-hugging the other girl's outfit was there weren't many places she could be hiding weapons. The boots though. Cassie had had the misfortune of witnessing too many mugging in alleys below on her night walks. Boots could stash a number of things, a knife being one of the most popular.

Cassie had just made a conscious decision to keep a good distance between her and the other girl, when said girl broke her thoughts.

"It's not the first time I've seen someone trespass here." Cassie frowned at the word 'trespass', but for the moment she could not deny it.

"Though, I think you would be the first one who was looking for the cafeteria."

It was obvious she was prodding for an answer.

"So?" Cassie pushed back.

"So, pussycat," the witch emphasized that last word, obviously delighting in calling her that, "why exactly are you looking for the cafeteria?"

"Oh I figured I would check out the school food first before enrolling here." Cassie snarked.

"That's funny," the witch snorted before switching to a lilting voice, "We're here."

"Huh." to Cassie's surprise the witch had actually brought her straight to the cafeteria. Floor to ceiling the room was aged, riddled with scuffs and markings from years of V.K.s running it down. Table after table lined the linoleum floor. As they stepped past some tables Cassie noticed that all of them were covered in graffiti, scratched-in words, and personal markings. Unharmed though were the sky-lighting windows on the rooftop. If Cassie could figure out how to get up there it would be a good entry point. It was probably the largest room Cassie had ever been in. The witch was still leading her, straight towards the back of the room and where Cassie could see a food line made of buffet displays and food warming stations. Behind that though were doors which she assumed led to where the food was actually prepared and stored—where she wanted to be.

The witch stopped short of the food line and turned on her heels to face the little cat.

"So, here's the cafeteria." her voice and eyes were expectant, "Now what?"

Cassie stared blankly.

Now what indeed. She hadn't planned on actually taking any of the food tonight; she had expected it would take much longer to find it.

"What?" the witch seemed disappointed, "That was the whole plan? What did you plan to do once you found it?"

Cassie shrugged, not really trusting the witch with more than she already knew. Honestly the little cat wasn't crazy that the witch knew as much as she did.

Cassie's eyes flicked to the door to the kitchen and food storage. The door was probably locked. Still though, she had to try it. She would feel damned stupid if she climbed through a window and the door was unlocked.

Cassie stepped forward and jiggled the handle. It was definitely locked.

"The lunch-lady and janitor are probably the only ones who carry a key."

It didn't matter, Cassie could figure out a different way in now that she knew which building it was in.

"Oh well, guess I'll give up." Cassie gave a dramatic sigh and turned from the door dejectedly.

"Right." was the prim answer the other girl gave in return, her aqua-green eyes were still watching Cassie carefully.

Cassie knew she wasn't fooling her, but she also knew she didn't want to stick around her any longer.

"Well," Cassie rubbed at the back of her neck uncomfortably as she side-stepped towards the exit, "Thanks for the, uh, help. Bye then."

When the other girl didn't immediately respond Cassie proceeded to make a cringe-worthy exit, complete with a stiff little wave and a half-jog start.

However, before Cassie was out of ears-length she distinctively heard "See you later~" in a soft singsong voice.

Honestly, it gave her shivers down her spine.

The Witch School was looking less and less appealing. Maybe she would be checking the Goblin's Wharf again after all.

Cassie had no clue yet that catching the attention of Mad Maddy would be a mistake she would come to regret acutely.

Author's Note:

Well, that chapter was a monster for me. I really hope it flowed smoothly because I rewrote and rewrote it and reorganized and added and cut a lot on this chapter.

As always, thank you for reading and please do take the time to leave a review. Reading reviews is one of the most rewarding parts of being an author.

Review Recognition:

Historic Soldier: I will consider your request though I make no promises.

rose444100: Her father's experiences with SoulMarks is a sad and unpleasant tale, though I had an interesting idea come up that I am still toying with and considering as an alternate backstory for his SoulMarks. At this point I am still weighting my options.

forbidenjutsu: You re-read the WHOLE story every time I post a new chapter? Oh my, that must take hours! I don't know what to say but that I am glad you can stand to re-read it so much. Thank you for the support! I hope you continue to enjoy the story!

Alessandra.12: Unfortunately, I cannot say there will be no more emotions. There will be many. Like wow. I am planning a tsunami.

Lottielue1: Good guess and you were correct! It was in fact Mad Maddy. Thank you again for your review. It is obvious in the movies (and presumably the books though I haven't read them) that Harry and Uma are both very loyal to one another. And although I do not ship them together I do love that rare loyalty on the isle and enjoy writing them as friends.

Heaven's Mistake: Yes, the Harry in 'Here Kitty Kitty' is much more unstable than the Harry that I write. I loved her writing but imagine Harry as someone who puts on a guise of being off-kilter while at the same time being fully (or at least mostly) level-minded. Your review was lovely and I am glad my story can be a reprieve from reality for you.

GreatBigBookofEverything: You guessed it! I used to always write cliff-hangers in my stories but oddly enough I haven't done it so much for this one. Thank you for your review!

Kim: I'm so glad you're enjoying my story and connecting with the characters! Thank you so much for loving my story and reviewing! I hope the wait was worth it!

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