"Not so eager Maud! That hover is too sharp. Try again." Miss Hardbroom said. Maud did so. "And be firmer with your commands, or you'll lose your broom. Good, good… There much better. Now, Up and away, around the yard…"

"It's like a computer game! All I need is a joy stick-!"

"Come on along Ruby. Concentrate. Show me again." She instructed with a drawl. "Straighten up, gal. You too, Jadu, Harriet. You're both pitching."

"No, Not you Gloria. bring that front end down a touch. Better. Into land... hmm and again. Maud Moonshine, leave a little more space between you. you're not flying in formation now."

"Yes, well done Ethel. You can sit down now."

"… Mildred. Mildred What are you playing at?"

Mildred wasn't playing at anything. She was as the rest of the class were, attempting to master basic flying and had been for almost an hour and a half. Some girls had been on broomsticks before-

('Some' being generous. Every year though their intake was steady, HB felt there was worryingly less and less monsters coming to the school with grasp of the witchcraft basics. Flying included.)

And had moved from perfecting hovers and mounting on to doing circles of the yard. Albeit a little slow and shaky. Ethel had moved on standing up on her broom, like a gymnast on the beam. Something that although was very impressive was not in the lesson plan and Miss Hardbroom was keen to discourage in class. Especially with it becoming a distraction for the others. The other distraction being the common scholarship girl.

If only Mildred would stop panicking and listen and use her senses. Perhaps then the rest of the class would improve.

On the whole there was certainly a lot of potential. At least the others had adjusted. And her night class were on similar levels. Jadu had asked for extra lessons. Harriet was surprising quite comfortable in the air, it was the mounting that was the problem. Maud was steadily growing in confidence, unused to flying with non-wolves. And even if she had to repeatedly tell Drusilla to stop kicking off so hard and "stop straddling her broom like a cowboy" for the entire term, Constance felt that at least flying wise her new form would do quite nicely, actually-

"Mildred Hubble- Oh for-!"

But then Mildred had lost her balance for the eighth time; and let go of her bashed up broom for the third time.

And Constance wondered how she would put up with this girl for another fortnight (a term if Mildred somehow passed her BAT. The year if Mildred Hubble somehow didn't leave!) when she was the back fang of Mildred's antics already. Or if she should just take up early retirement now at age two hundred and fourteen and let someone else try and teach the girl!