Patience
Patience, and a lot of it, this was one of the main things that all trainee witch teachers were taught as they went through the witches training academy.
And up until now her patience had come through unscathed, up until this point, and up until Mildred Hubble came rushing along the corridor and almost straight into her.
"Mildred Hubble" She said sternly as she looked down at this unruly girl, her hair all eschew as it normally was, her school uniform wrinkled as she had been sleeping it and like always her bootlaces were untie and flapping around. "Will please pay attention to were you going, yet again you have nearly ploughed your way into me, and for gods sakes please tie those sainted bootlaces" Constance walked away from just to her the small whispers of HB, a name she thought that she knew nothing about.
It was not like she was trying to be over strict with Mildred it was just they only way she could relate to her without telling her the truth about her real relationship with her.
Nobody in the school knew about it, not even Miss Cackle. And none of the students would ever work it out. In their eyes a person who hated the male species wouldn't have a daughter as that meant she would have had to being with a man.
Most people thought that she had never been involved with anyone, like Imogen. The maiden aunt stories from the camping trip still hurt even now, no-one cared to ask about her history and she wasn't willing to share.
She just never thought herself, that she would had to face her daughter one day, this is why when she gave her up for adoption that she made sure that they were was no magical side to either them , excluding her from joining the magical community and saving herself from the heartache of having to see her. But it had not worked; somehow she still developed some sort of a gift without any training or even knowledge.
But what about Mildred's father, he was a different matter. He was the reason the Constance hated all men. And the reason she had given up Mildred. They had meet when she was in her final year at Weirdsisters College, she had falling head over heels in love, and was cajoled into sleeping with him as a way of proving, what he said were their feelings about each other, her being so naive had falling for it and before she had realised what had happened, she ended up falling pregnant and he has disappeared when he was told. This is when she developed her hatred for men.
Adopting Mildred out had not been her idea, it was her parents, her family was a strict old-fashioned family and as they only daughter, she couldn't be unmarried and with a child, she was forced to finish the rest of the school year covering up the pregnancy and then forced to come back until she gave birthday, the only time she stood up to her parents was when they told her that they baby was to be adopted into another witch family close to the family, she knew that she would never be able to cope with seeing the child, so she gave them only one clause, that the child was adopted out of the witch world.
She still hadn't even told her parents that Mildred had turned up, at Cackles, knowing that they would jeopardized what small amount of time she would have with her daughter.
Constance walked into staff room to see Amelia standing in the corner of the room, taking water from the heater to make a cup of tea.
"Ahh, Constance. I need to speak to you." Amelia said heading towards her to the table where she placed the cup onto it, spilling small amount of it as she did.
"May I ask in regards to what?" Constance said as she moved her hand away from the spill to avoid being burnt
"Is it possible that you could take tonight's detention?" she asked in return, stirring her tea slowly
"I thought it was Davina's turn?" Constance replied almost knowing straight away the response about why she wasn't taking it.
"Davina is currently holed up in the supplies cupboard, and I don't see her leaving any time in the future, so Constance please can you cover it for me."
Constance stood up and walked over to the fire place and stood next to it, trying to work out what to say next.
"How many Students is their going to be?"
"Just the one." Amelia said in response
Constance didn't need to ask which student it was, she had put her in their her self, and now she was glad she had, time only with Mildred was important time for her, just a little while with her child helped her get through all the bad moments that would come when she had to punish her to maintain her cover.
"I'll do it headmistress as long as I am excused from supervising tonight's meal."
"Certainly, thank you for being so amenable."
Constance walked over to the heater herself and picked up a cup, a smile glanced across her face for just a second as she poured some water into the cup.
