"Good morning, Imogen," Miss Hardbroom said loudly as she materialised in the PE teachers room.
Miss Drill sat up in bed startled by the intrusion.
"Constance!" She shouted.
"Well we did agree that I would come to you this morning, didn't we?" Constance asked with a smirk.
"Uhhh yeah I suppose...what time is it?" Imogen asked, feeling sleepy.
"6.30am, it is when I rise. I have been having a small lie in," Constance stated, rather enjoying the moment.
"You have woken me up at 6.30am," Imogen moaned. She then opened her eyes fully and saw Constance stood there in her pyjamas. The potion teacher had clearly just got out of bed herself. "Ughh Constance, this is just you being mean," she said annoyed at the intrusion.
"I told you I can't wait to be humiliated each day, this is the compromise," Constance said serenely.
"You are not being humiliated. And I am not being woken up at 6.30am every morning by you randomly appearing in my room," Imogen said with defiance. She wasn't Mildred but she enjoyed her sleep. It might only be half an hour but the earliest she managed for her run out of term time was 7am.
"Fine, then it is settled. You can leave the burns for me to deal with," Constance said with precision.
"Take your bottoms off and lie down," Imogen snapped at her with a temper.
Constance raised an eyebrow and ignored her.
"I will get up each morning at 6.30am when you do. So, you can lie down now can't you and let me get this over with so you can disappear and give me some peace and quiet," Imogen said and enjoyed the surprise and then annoyance flash across her colleague's face.
Imogen had realised in time what Constance was trying to pull. "Making this harder for me might annoy me but it won't stop me," Imogen said. "You shouldn't underestimate how stubborn I can be when you are hatching your next plan!"
"This wasn't a plan. It is just easier for me to get it out of the way," Constance said as her stubborn front retreated a little.
"Maybe if you just relaxed and stopped making such a big deal out of it, it would be easier to bear," Imogen said with a softer tone.
Constance did as Imogen asked, more or less, and within five minutes the 'ordeal' was over once again.
"They are looking much better. A couple more days and you won't have to show me your bum ever again," Imogen said lightly.
"I know this doesn't bother you and I know you think I am stupid. It is just unpleasant. I feel exposed and I let her…" Constance said with emotion, she wished she could relax and take it all in her stride but it didn't feel that simple.
"I'm sorry, Constance. I know it's hard. But, just imagine if you didn't care and if her final act of pain towards you could be turned into something insignificant. You have already come a long way since the first time I looked at them," Imogen reassured her friend.
"I can read in bed for the first half an hour of each day and come to you at 7am if that is better?" Constance asked.
"Come when you need," Imogen said with a smile.
Constance nodded her head appreciatively and then disappeared back to her own room.
She wasted no time getting ready. She put on, rather unsurprisingly, a tight plain black dress. Constance Hardbroom had another plan that morning, one she was eager to get on with.
"Good morning Mildred," the familiar drone of Miss Hardbroom projected from the bottom of Mildred's bed.
Mildred rolled over and grunted.
"Rise and shine Mildred, we have work to do," Miss Hardbroom repeated.
"What?!" Mildred groaned. "What work...what time is it?"
"It is 7am. I told you we were going to have fun this week but then you started apparating all over the place so now I need to tutor you rather swiftly on the rules of transporting your cells one by one to a desired destination," Miss Hardbroom almost sang with her typical derisory tone.
"Couldn't we do that later?" Mildred asked, still half asleep.
"No Mildred, because I have that time pencilled out for fun activities and you won't find my apparition training particularly fun. I don't want to spoil the rest of the day, plus, I know how much you like early mornings," Miss Hardbroom said and she was clearly enjoying herself because her sarcasm had reached peak levels.
Mildred sat up in bed and frowned hard at the woman before her.
"Oh good you are up. Get yourself washed, dressed, and then down to the courtyard please. I will wait for you there," the deputy of Cackle's said and then vanished.
"Well that didn't last long," Mildred grumbled to herself as she got out of bed.
As she arrived in the courtyard Miss Hardbroom was laying out markers on the floor. Mildred could guess what they were for and was already regretting her new found talent.
"Right Mildred. What apparition needs most is confidence and control. You must be confident about where you are going and controlled enough to get there," she said brightly. Mildred could tell she was back using the rhetoric she adored so much.
Mildred looked at the markers and figured it couldn't be too difficult.
"I want you to stand next to this yellow marker and then apparate yourself to the green marker. I warn you, it might take you some time to execute the first one. Your progress may feel slow and frustrating but this is day one...so just do your best," Miss Hardbroom said and it almost sounded to Mildred as though she wasn't expecting too much from her. That was a nice change she thought to herself. Then she felt scared. It must be really hard if HB was being nice to her.
Mildred went and stood next to the yellow marker without a sound.
"Remember Mildred, clear your mind and just think about that green marker and how much you would like to stand next to it," Miss Hardbroom said encouragingly.
Mildred closed her eyes because that was what had worked before and thought about the green marker. She pondered why it was green and why Miss Hardbroom hadn't used destinations instead like the lake or the kitchens, or the Great Hall.
Mildred opened her eyes and found herself in the Great Hall.
"Oh terrific Mildred," she cursed under her breath. That was probably not a great example of a clear mind.
She closed her eyes again and focused on the green marker. She focused with all of her being and then wondered if Miss Hardbroom would be disappointed with her.
She didn't need to open her eyes to know what had happened that time. The loud yell from Miss Hardbroom was a clear signal that it had not gone to plan.
She opened her eyes to find herself laid on top of Miss Hardbroom.
"Mildred, if you would be so kind as to get off of me," her potions teacher demanded.
Mildred jumped off. "I'm so sorry, Miss Hardbroom," she said with a pained expression.
"What are you two up to at this time?" Imogen asked as she stepped out of the castle in her running gear, "have you started teaching wrestling, Constance?"
"It is Miss Hardbroom when I am teaching," she snapped, "and I am tutoring Mildred in apparition, only somehow she managed to appear right on top of me!" HB said with an icy tone.
"Oh well, practice makes perfect Mildred," Imogen beamed as she ran past them trying not to laugh out loud at what she had just witnessed. "Miss Hardbroom," she said like a formal greeting, as her right hand made a mock over the top bow gesture.
Miss Hardbroom raised her arm. For a second it looked like she was choosing a magical retaliation against Miss Drill. Then she thought better of it and brought her arm back down awkwardly, suddenly conscious that Mildred was staring at her.
Miss Hardbroom dusted her dress off and locked Mildred with an icy glare.
"I'm sorry, Miss," Mildred said quietly, feeling very small right now.
"Do you know what you did wrong?" Miss Hardbroom asked with a slightly less direct tone.
"I was wondering why you were using markers instead of destinations, like the Great Hall, and then when I came back I just thought for a second whether you would be disappointed in me or not, so it must have brought me to you," Mildred said feeling stupid and exposed.
"Well you have landed on the biggest problem with apparition in typical Mildred style! Clearing your mind is essential for executing safe and successful journeys," Miss Hardbroom said clearly, "the greater the distance the more important that is because you can go considerably off course and deplete your magic by doing so."
Mildred nodded in understanding.
"Okay Mildred, back to the yellow marker please. This time think only of the green marker. Concentrate on clearing your mind completely," Miss Hardbroom repeated.
Mildred closed her eyes and kept repeating the words 'green marker, green marker, go to the green marker, just the green marker'. When she opened her eyes she was still stood at the yellow marker. She frowned in annoyance with herself.
"It is common to overthink it. You will be worried about thinking any other thoughts. But you might not have given your body a clear enough signal that you genuinely wish to travel to the green marker. A clear focused mind can still consider this journey important. You can think about the green marker as the first step in your learning process, it will be the first perfectly executed journey you have taken. It is not just a green marker," Miss Hardbroom explained succinctly.
In truth most people felt their way to the destination. It became instinctive, but early on it was essential to walk through the basics as though they were key stepping stones. It was the feeling the student was getting used to, the words and thoughts reduced in importance as time went on.
Mildred walked over to the green marker and looked at it. She considered the steps she took and what she was intending to achieve. She imagined a box over the green marker that she needed to tick and that made her magic hum a little. She seemed to have given it purpose and clarity. She went back to the yellow marker with more enthusiasm.
"Try again Mildred," Miss Hardbroom instructed, noting a subtle shift in Mildred's aura.
Mildred closed her eyes and arrived at the green marker almost instantly. She saw a big tick through the imaginary box.
"Excellent, Mildred. Can you go back to the yellow marker?" Miss Hardbroom asked.
Mildred went through the same process and transported back to the yellow marker.
"Right, that looks quite instinctual for you already, let's try different colours. I will shout out a colour, see if you can arrive at them each in turn," Miss Hardbroom said. She was impressed and hoped Mildred's diligence would continue.
Miss Hardbroom shouted out a series of colours and Mildred went from yellow to blue, to red, to white, to green, back to blue, back to red, back to yellow and finally back to white.
Miss Hardbroom looked amazed.
"Mildred how are you doing that?" she asked quite startled by the girl's progress.
"I imagined there was a box at each marker before I needed to go to it. Then I tick the box in my head when I arrive," Mildred said honestly.
"A box?" Miss Hardbroom said confused.
"Yeah like one you get on a form...or multiple choice," Mildred expanded.
"You gave your magic a task to perform and your creative side needed to complete it," Miss Hardbroom said, beginning to understand. "That is quite resourceful."
"Can I try different rooms in the castle?" Mildred asked cautiously, she didn't want to push her luck.
"How do you feel physically? This level of magic will be very draining for you at the beginning," Miss Hardbroom warned.
"I am a little tired but not loads," Mildred said.
"I think you mean, 'not too much' rather than 'not loads'" Miss Hardbroom corrected with an eye roll.
"Yes that," Mildred said which received a sigh from HB.
"Okay. You may try going to the kitchens and then back to the courtyard," Miss Hardbroom said. "Only if you feel confident on the exact spot you wish to apparate to. Precision and imagining the space are key."
The Deputy Headteacher knew this was an essential part of apparition practice but the fact that Mildred had flown through the first section didn't give her a true gauge of how confident and concise her skill was. Apparating into buildings was dangerous. But as she had just said, you must imagine exactly where you want to appear. If there was one thing Mildred certainly did not lack, it was imagination.
"I've got this Miss," Midlred said with a smile to reassure what she recognised as a slightly anxious HB.
Miss Hardbroom nodded silently.
Mildred apparated into the kitchens with ease. She grabbed a croissant from the plate Mrs Tapioca had put on the table and then travelled back to the courtyard.
As she reappeared in front of Miss Hardbroom she took a bite out of her pastry.
"Mildred is that a croissant?" Miss Hardbroom asked with disdain.
"Erm, yeah, sorry Miss. I'm hungry," Midlred said sheepishly.
Miss Hardbroom held out her hand, palm up, and waited for Mildred to deposit the croissant onto it.
Mildred huffed as she put it in her ex-form tutors hand.
"You can eat after we have trained, Mildred," Miss Hardbroom said with a tut. "Now you can go to your bedroom and back," she commanded.
As Mildred disappeared Miss Hardbroom took a bite of the croissant and then magicked it away.
Mildred was back in moments with a big grin on her face.
"Excellent Mildred. Are you still using the same technique as before with the crosses and ticks?" she said as though she were talking a foreign language that felt wrong on her tongue.
"Yeah, I position the cross where I want to appear in the room," Mildred said.
"Well it won't surprise you to hear that you are progressing much faster than students usually would when apparition training. Eventually, you will not need to use boxes. It will simply come natural to you. But, for now I think that is a safe tactic for you to use. I am happy for you to try some short distances yourself. But be careful. This gift is not a toy and can still be very dangerous. Mildred are you listening to me?" Miss Hardbroom asked suddenly. Her student looked like she was daydreaming.
"Sorry, Miss...I am really trying to. I just feel quite tired and really hungry now," Mildred said groggily.
Miss Hardbroom strode over to her and apparated them both to the kitchens. She sat Mildred down and poured her some tea.
"Eat, Mildred," Miss Hardbroom encouraged. "You may need to top up your magic. I should have realised that was a little bit too much for one morning. Your magical levels are hard to gauge given your drawing talents," she explained.
Mildred just smiled at her and shovelled croissants and jam in her face as though there was a chance they might run out.
A sweaty Imogen Drill soon joined them at the kitchen table with a strong appetite of her own.
"Mildred you look like you have been up all night" she said with surprise.
"Her training went very well and she may have done a little bit too much," Miss Hardbroom explained. "Not my fault, she was just a little too advanced for her own good," she added to deflect Miss Drill's frown.
"So what are we doing today then, esteemed leader," Imogen joked.
Constance looked at her with daggers which amused Mildred.
"I thought we might play magical paintball, actually," Constance said with a short smirk.
"And how am I supposed to play that? Can I?" Imogen asked with annoyance.
"Well I thought I might give you a potion that will give you limited magical abilities for a couple of hours...but if you don't want it?" Constance replied coyly.
Mildred looked at them both in horror. She remembered the last time Miss Drill had been given magical abilities and wasn't keen on seeing that again.
"Oh don't worry Mildred, the dose will be measured accurately and the powers will be limited to those a non-witch can handle safely," Miss Hardbroom reassured her after seeing her look turn to one of fright.
Miss Drill laughed, "Yes neither of us want her to come back," she agreed. "Great in that case I am going for a shower, shall I meet you outside?"
"No, in the Great Hall. It will be easier to clean up in there," Miss Hardbroom said evenly, but Mildred swore there was something she was not saying. There was just a glint in her eyes that looked like mischief...maybe.
Mildred could easily have had a nap all morning. She felt drained. As much as the food had satisfied her hunger it wasn't enough to restore her body.
Miss Hardbroom realised as much and transported them to the Great Hall straight after breakfast.
"Use the walls to restore your magic, Mildred," Miss Hardbroom suggested.
"Miss, which magic should I top up with?" Mildred asked and hoped it wasn't a stupid question.
"What an interesting question," Miss Hardbroom remarked. "You could actually choose one over the others I suppose," she said thoughtfully. "I would like you to let your magic decide but take note of what flows into you."
Mildred appreciated the answer. She didn't want to mess this up and each task now suddenly felt like it carried responsibility with it.
When she had finished Miss Hardbroom asked her what she had felt.
Mildred had been surprised by the experience. It had felt greater than it had felt before. She wasn't just topping up her magic, she was nurturing it and letting it develop in a way that it imagined for itself. She felt at times like a conduit and at others like its champion. How was she going to explain that to her tutor?
"It felt special," Mildred said shyly. "It was mostly soul magic, some creative and energy...I felt harmonious," she said.
Miss Hardbroom smiled at her warmly.
"Mildred, you are a very special witch and your unity with your magic is...well I feel like I am looking at a grown-up witch who is describing their relationship with a higher power. It is a special bond and to have felt that at your age is truly remarkable. I know I keep saying this but you are exceptional Mildred...truly," Miss Hardbroom said in her soft and comforting tone.
She understood magic. That was when she could be soft and submissive. She respected her bond with her higher power and everything outside of that felt far less significant. Mildred was beginning to understand her tutor and what mattered to her most of all.
"I think soul magic will always be my dominant power," Mildred said, she wanted Miss Hardbroom's opinion on that because it felt big to her.
Miss Hardbroom raised an eyebrow and offered a coy smile.
"I wondered if it might. If you feel that now then I expect you are correct. You may have noted changes to my aura, I believe my soul magic component will remain with me now and it is far greater than it has ever been before," she said emotively.
"What does that mean?" Mildred asked.
"It doesn't have to mean anything. I believe it means we are both good witches and our bond with soul magic is now without condition, meaning we do not need to be in trouble to call on it. I believe you have proven yourself caring and compassionate beyond any reasonable doubt so your magic now reflects your character. It means, as I opened with, that you are a very special witch," Miss Hardbroom said with a fondness and a love that she knew would also be there forever.
"Thank you," Mildred said. There was so much she wanted to say but those two words weighted with all of her feeling carried her message well enough.
"As I have also said before, Mildred Hubble. No, thank you," Miss Hardbroom smiled and bowed her head in a respectful gesture.
"Right, how do we play magical paintball then?" Miss Drill asked as she entered the room. What she didn't say is that she had just overheard that exchange. She couldn't be more proud of either of them. But she knew walking in and hugging them both would ruin the moment so she chose to pretend she had just arrived instead.
Miss Hardbroom looked up as though she had been in a different world for a moment. Mildred looked as though she might cry from happiness. They both collected themselves and threw themselves back in the present.
"One hand holds a magical shield, I will supply those," Miss Hardbroom said looking at Mildred, "and the other hand throws magical paint. The shield counts how many hits each witch receives on their person. No spells are aloud, no drawings," she added looking at Mildred again, "and no potions," she said looking at Imogen.
"Okay so it sounds quite even...what is the catch?" Miss Drill asked suspiciously.
"No catch, you use your shield to deflect the paint or move out of the way of the shot to prevent being scored against," Miss Hardbroom clarified.
Miss Drill was still dubious. It wasn't like Constance Hardbroom to take part in anything that was evenly matched, especially when it involved getting messy.
Mildred was hiding her suspicion under a sea of amusement. The fact that HB had come up with magical paintball and was going to actively participate. She didn't care if it was fixed, it was like a crazy dream.
"Have you played this before?" Imogen asked.
"Never...it isn't very witchy, or controlled" Miss Hardbroom admitted. She had watched her peers play it at college but as always when fun and trivial games were being played, she watched from afar.
"I think I like the sound of this," Imogen said.
"Well it involves running around, throwing things at opponents and scoring. It has PE written all over it...of course you like the sound of it," Constance said sarcastically. "Drink this," she requested.
Miss Drill downed the potion and instantly felt a surge of magic run through her.
"Mildred, you can drink this one please, it will make sure you create paintballs when you throw magic around the room and avoid any accidents," her teacher explained.
Mildred was relieved. She had been wondering how she was going to do that and wasn't sure if she could be fast enough if spell casting was involved.
"Right we will start with some test throws and a few deflections so everyone gets the hang of it," Constance explained and immediately lobbed a paintball at Imogen.
Imogen brought her shield up just in time to catch the paintball which smashed, splattering paint all over it.
"Does this stuff wash off?" Imogen asked as she threw an annoyed look at Constance.
"Yes, it washes off in the shower," Constance said as she moved her shield across to catch two paintballs Imogen had sent back at her.
They threw paint at each other and got used to moving their shields to block attacks. As they started trying multiples Constance blew her whistle.
"Right I think we are ready to begin. If I blow the whistle, play stops immediately, understood?" She asked.
"Can't I have the whistle?" Imogen asked. She felt a bit naked without a whistle or some kind of authority in the middle of what was essentially a sports match.
"No. I am in charge here," Constance took great satisfaction in stating. She had noted a change in Imogen lately. She was increasingly pushy, bossy and stubborn. It was time she remembered what Constance was capable of.
Mildred looked at Imogen and Constance squaring off at each other and wondered if this was some kind of passive aggressive domestic. Again, it didn't bother her. If she hit HB once in the head she would be laughing for an eternity.
"Fine," Imogen said and it was loaded with annoyance.
Constance smirked at the PE teacher. It was this side of their relationship that she savoured the most. Confrontation was enjoyable when most of the world was too scared to say two words back to you. That is why she admired her friend and why she looked forward to annihilating her now.
"You may begin after the countdown. Three, two, one," Constance said and immediately deflected a shot from Imogen with her shield and sent one back. As another came towards her from Mildred she simply apparated out of its path and appeared behind Imogen.
Constance fired two at Imogen from behind that scored whilst Mildred threw one that the PE teacher deflected with her shield. Imogen turned around with a furious look on her face and threw a number of paintballs at Constance who comfortably blocked them with her shield.
"How is that fair!" Imogen shouted. "I can't apparate!"
"Imogen, I can't give you everything in a potion. I did say it was magical paintball," Constance quibbed back.
Mildred had spent a moment considering her targets. She could have taken a shot at Imogen's back but that felt wholly unfair. The only way to even the odds was to try and protect Imogen by taking on HB. She had butterflies in her stomach. The potion teacher was not known for her love of sports...but neither was Mildred. But she was an underdog...always had been...so she knew how Miss Drill felt. Mildred walked forwards - she was going to war!
Mildred launched a series of paintballs at HB as she walked across the room. Imogen was moving side to side to dodge attacks from the black assassin. At one point she rolled on the floor to change angle and threw paintballs up as she went. If there had been a commentator that move would almost certainly have got her throw of the match.
Miss Hardbroom noted Mildred's assault and apparated to a different corner of the hall.
"There!" Mildred shouted just before HB materialised so that Imogen could pelt her with paintballs too. One caught her arm and registered the first score against her on her shield. She narrowed her eyes at Mildred and understood that there were two people gunning for her now.
The battle was fiercely fought by both sides. Miss Drill was using her body as a shield to help protect Mildred at times. She was rolling, jumping, swinging off ropes and using an array of athletic moves to try and get paintballs past HB's quick reflexes. She might not be great at sport but she had the reactions of a boxer, Imogen had realised on a few occasions.
Mildred was apparting out the way of paintballs but took one to the back of the head when she lost track of HB for a second. Constance seemed deep in concentration. Her shield movements were quick and they appeared to anticipate attacks almost instinctively.
She apparated in and out and surprised Mildred by coming within metres of her to throw a shot at her head. Mildred disappeared and appeared again stood next to Imogen. She realised her soul magic had united her with her ally. What she needed to do was start to imagine exactly where she wanted to appear and get Imogen to distract HB so that she wasn't waiting for her the moment she materialised.
"Cover me," Mildred said, knowing Imogen would absolutely have her back.
Mildred apparated around the room and threw paintballs from various locations before she focused hard and materialised on one of the beams above. She wanted to stop and congratulate herself for landing on such a small target but she was at war so there was no time for celebration. She dropped a number of paintballs like bombs on HB who looked up just in time to take three to the face. Paint rolled over her forehead, eyes, nose and dripped off her chin.
Mildred apparated immediately and stood in front of the entrance to the Great Hall. Deep down she probably just wanted to be near an exit. Miss Hardbroom wiped her face with her sleeve as Imogen charged at her sending shot after shot at her body. The PE teacher rather amusingly threw herself on her stomach and slid across the floor as she sent two more paintballs flying towards Constance's legs.
Constance vanished and appeared behind Imogen where she could pelt her with another five paintballs that all landed on the PE teacher's bum. Imogen rolled over onto her front looking both exhausted and defeated but she was smiling, she had received Constance's message loud and clear. The tall, powerful, woman was restoring balance because she needed to feel strong, capable, and commanding. Imogen understood that desire all too well and if Constance had to shoot the messenger then that was alright too. She got back to her feet and moved further away from Constance, using her shield to deflect paintballs as she aimed them low and high at her colleague.
Mildred took a moment to steady herself. Her energy levels were running low. She also saw the fight going on and realised she had another opportunity to score. She threw out three paintballs at Imogen. Imogen moved her shield in surprise and a distinct "aghhh" was heard as another shot from HB caught her on her chin. As Constance turned in surprise to view Mildred, she too took another shot to the face. She had used her attack on Imogen to disrupt HB's focus rather well.
Mildred didn't get chance to celebrate because that last shot seemed to light a fury inside of the black assassin. HB stalked forwards throwing shot after shot at a tired Mildred. With her last bit of energy she apparated away.
As Mildred disappeared the form of another woman appeared where she had been stood. Miss Cackle received two paintballs to the body and staggered backwards a few steps. Her mouth dropped open as she took in the scene before her.
"Oh, Miss Cackle!" Constance said with surprise. "Amelia," she said, softening her tone, "I'm so sorry."
"Constance...Mildred!" Imogen said as she ran over to the young witch. Mildred had fainted with all of the exertion.
Miss Hardbroom appeared next to Mildred.
"Constance, what on earth has been going on here?" Miss Cackle asked as she overcame her initial surprise and walked to join the others near the stage.
"Magical paintball," Constance said, a little absent minded. "Mildred, Mildred...you are alright. You have just fainted as your magic has grown quite weak," she was saying in a soothing voice to her student as she put her arm underneath her head to comfort her.
Mildred slowly came round and saw the fuzzy shape of her teacher's bun towering over her.
"Did we win?" Mildred said faintly.
"Yes Mildred. Well to be precise, you won," Miss Hardbroom said in an amused tone.
"Well I certainly didn't win anything," Miss Cackle said with a stern look at her deputy.
"Oh, hello Miss Cackle," Mildred said with a warm smile.
"Hello, Mildred," Miss Cackle said with a small smile.
"What happened?" Mildred asked as she started to sit up. Miss Cackle had clearly been hit. She was covered in green and yellow paint.
"Miss Hardbroom threw paintballs at the Headmistress," Imogen said with a badly disguised smirk.
"I most certainly did not!" Miss Hardbroom protested.
"I think you might have apparated out of the way, Mildred, and unfortunately that left me in the firing line," Miss Cackle explained.
"I really am so sorry Amelia. We weren't expecting any visitors," Constance said in a very flustered demeanour. She didn't do apologies well.
"Well I think I might have got off lightly looking at poor Imogen here," Amelia said softly.
"Yes well somebody forgot to mention the part in the rules where witches are allowed to apparate at will during the game," Imogen said whilst glaring at Constance.
"Oh Constance," Amelia reprimanded her deputy.
Constance frowned at Imogen and then took in the state of her.
"Well I think your left ankle escaped any paint," Constance said with a smirk.
"What on earth were you doing playing magical paintball in the Great Hall...and how is Mildred apparating?" Amelia asked and wasn't sure which was the more surprising question.
"Perhaps we should meet for some lunch and bring you up to speed," Constance said lightly. "I think Mildred here needs to eat something and I can fetch her a revival potion."
"I look forward to that. Yes, Mildred doesn't look her best. Clearly winning has come at quite a price," Amelia said with a wink at Mildred and another look at the paint soaked Imogen Drill.
"I am going to get a shower. Meet you in the Staff Room in half an hour?" Imogen asked.
"Yes, that's fine, I will make sure Mrs Tapioca knows," Constance said.
"Oh I can see to that, Constance, you see to Mildred and perhaps you might like a shower yourself," Amelia said with an amused chuckle.
Constance felt her face, suddenly conscious of all the paint that must be on it and saw bright pink residue on her fingers.
"Pink...of course," Constance said eyeing Mildred with a disgruntled look.
"I didn't choose that colour!" Mildred said defensively.
"I think it suits you," Imogen piped up before she walked out of the hall.
Miss Cackle chuckled to herself. This was the last scene she had expected to walk in on but perhaps it was the best she could have hoped for, all things considered.
"Right Mildred, let's get you to the wall first. I want you to take enough magic so you can walk and take a shower but as you have already topped up this way once today we don't want to be greedy," Constance said plainly.
She apparated them both closer to the wall so that Mildred could lean out and touch it.
"I will see you in the Staff Room. I suppose I had better make sure I go through the post while I'm here," Amelia said as she trundled out of the Hall.
"How do you feel Mildred?" Constance asked.
"Fine...just drained," her prodigy replied.
"Well you certainly gave it your all didn't you. I didn't realise you could be so competitive," Constance mused.
"I just wanted to help Miss Drill...I think you were...well I think…" Mildred stumbled.
"Oh spit it out girl. How scary can I possibly look covered in pink paint!" Constance asked with irritation and impatience.
"She was the underdog and you weren't being fair," Mildred said quickly.
"No...I wasn't," Constance said slowly. "I had my reasons."
Mildred considered her teacher for a moment and saw the delicate whispers of pain and annoyance flit across her eyes.
"You are probably not really mad at her," Mildred said cautiously.
"Oh I know, Mildred. And I think Imogen is capable of handling herself...don't you?" she asked with a faint tone of mischief and admiration.
Mildred smiled. She knew she was right.
"I can walk now," Mildred said as she carefully got to her feet.
"Good," Constance said and transported them both to the potion lab. She gave Mildred a revival potion and then transferred them both to Mildred's room. "The revival potion should keep you fairly alert but if you feel faint make sure you get out of the shower," Constance warned.
"Yes, Miss," Mildred said as she looked at her bed longingly.
"You need to get washed and get downstairs for some food Mildred. You will feel much better once you have eaten something," she added. That was the second time today she had needed food and rest, but it was so worth it.
"Yes, Miss," Mildred said simply.
"Now take one last look at your handiwork. This is the last time you will ever see me with paint on my face," Constance said. Mildred wasn't sure if it was a threat or a statement but it felt dangerous as it hung in the air.
She let out a nervous chuckle in response and then the formidable HB had vanished again. She had looked slightly less formidable covered in pink and orange paint though. Not that Mildred would say that particular truth to her face!