Mildred shoved her dirty uniform cloak and all in to the laundry shoot then rushed to join them.
The castle seemed very dark and draftee after the bathrooms. Bryony, an invisible girl who looked like a floating empty uniform and a hair clip, was setting up skittles back up at one end of the corridor. At the other and in the queue, were an angry red haired satry-like kid, and most the other first year's bar Gloria. Drusilla Paddock was clearly losing. There were a few older girls too; a second-year girl with leathery wings and horns, another Newt that could be Gloria's older sister, and third year Ogre. Worryingly Ethel was there too. Even though she pretended to ignore Mildred, looking like the queen of England sat on the ancient radiator and hogging the only real heat in the place. She wasn't playing either.
Bryony kept score. Mildred completely missed her first shot. Maud only got one down. Jadu tried pingponging the ball between the corridor walls but only succeed in accidently knocking on three bedroom doors. Harriet scored an almost strike but also almost fell out of her wheelchair doing so. Something Drusilla was not very happy about.
"What happened to Ruby's ears?" Mildred dared to ask after a while as they waited for another go, still feeling a little green.
"HB happened." Maud frowned. "Didn't you see it?"
"Oh dear no you hadn't 'dropped in' yet had you Mildred?" Ethel sneered loudly, clearly ear wigging. It was the first time she'd addressed Mildred since the incident in the woods. Mildred cringed at the laughs Ethel got.
"Neither was she." Maud muttered quietly. Not enough to call Ethel out but enough to make Mildred feel a bit better and make Jadu snort. She turned back to Mildred "Sorry I forgot. Just before you both 'arrived' Ruby had our groups first run in with HB."
"Oh cripes!" Mildred said, in sympathy. She'd had two HB clashes today herself. But at least her ears had been left intact!
"Cripes indeed. One moment Miss is calling the register. Then she suddenly picks on Ruby. And Ruby ends up with the plastic all melting and her stiches torn!"
"To be fair Ruby had her ear phones in and her music on. I don't think she realised they were still playing. Loudly." Jadu said. With a pointed look at Ruby as she joined them in the corridor.
"Yeah yeah. It helps me concentrate when I'm flying. She didn't have to zap them." Ruby said. She rubbed the newly stitched lobes. "I think she's fried one my bolts too! I keep getting shocks from it. See?"
She tapped Mildred on the shoulder. Mildred yelped and felt static ran up her arm. A spark jumped from her to Maud, sending Maud's fur on edge like a fluff ball much to everyone's amusement.
"My hair's going to be a nightmare to re-do." Ruby complained ruffling her black and few white curls.
"you don't say." Maud sighed and huffed, trying to flatten her fur back down. "And I thought the humidity was bad!"
Before Mildred could say something kind like "it still looks nice", there was suddenly a smash.
A big smash, the sort you get off several glass bottles being hit far too hard. Along with the shrieks and explosion of fragments and a beat silence before the third-year Ogre said "Oops". And then footsteps rushed up and down stairs towards them!
On instinct, the first years fled the scene (bar Bryony). Harriet about wheeled. Ethel, wings a blur, took to the air zipping away overhead. Mildred grabbed Maud who grabbed Ruby, with Jadu running on all fours behind them. Drusilla galloped past shoving them aside and very nearly clipping Mildred's toe with a hoof but they didn't stop.
Somehow the four of them ended up in Mildred's room, barrelling in and snapped the door behind them. All four stayed perfectly not even daring to breath. Just listening. Backs and ears pressed against the wood.
It sounded like the poor ogre who'd caused the crash hadn't got very far. She was very apologetic, but there was still an awful lot of telling off from an out of breath prefect. A teacher whose quiet voice Mildred couldn't yet place was bandaging up poor Bryony. And then a dark and thunderous voice of HB. Mildred joined Jadu in lying on her stomach, peeking through the gap between the door and floor. She caught a slither sighting of the vamp but then Miss Hardbroom was gone with a "And Clean This Mess Up!"
Then silence. Before the four of them broke into fits of giggles.