Best Wizard

Ada Cackle felt herself being strangled. Somehow she knew her sister had everything to do with her current state, though she could see no one through bulging eyeballs as her open mouth gasped for air that it was not receiving. Her hands clawed at nothing in desperation.

"Ada!" The flood of relief that rushed through Ada Cackle at the sound of that all too familiar voice behind her made her knees go weak with relief. She would've turned to see Hecate, but the air felt too thick to properly move through. Air never felt thick unless magic was being woven through it. This time, Agatha's magic! Struggling against another surge of rage at the fact her evil twin was literally trying to kill her, Ada choked out a sound which was the closest she could come to asking for help in present circumstances.

"Hang on, Ada... I'm unraveling it... Where is she?" Hecate knew who it was who'd done this! She understood that Agatha was trying to kill her without Ada even having to explain. The younger witch had, over time, become as a daughter to her. The fact she understood the situation without it even having to be explained, so effortlessly seeing the obvious, was heart warming for Ada.

"Mildred Hubble probably made another spell go awry," Hecate hissed angrily as Ada at last began to feel the bindings loosening on her body. "Sorry," Hecate apologized hastily. "I understand that the throat is the obvious point at which to begin, but if I do, the bindings will only tighten again when I move to those on your body. Those are far more subtle and look far less important, but they're what's holding it all in place. Bloody Mildred Hubble having accidents that end up to be complex magic that takes ages to undo is just like her but this time she has gone too far! I do hope you're planning to expel her for this one!"

As Hardbroom's rant ended, Cackle crumpled to the floor with a sigh of relief... Wait...she was sighing! That meant that she could breathe again, Ada realized, hastily drawing air into her lungs in huge long gulps. Hecate had released her from Agatha's spell! She had saved her life! When she could finally speak Ada turned weakly to Hecate. "It...wasn't...Mildred Hubble, Hecate. It was Agatha!"

Hecate blinked. "Again? And truly trying to kill you this time? This has really gone too far... We need to handle her. For. Good. This. Time," she concluded coldly.

Ada blinked. "What are you saying, Hecate," she asked in a near whisper as dread of what she believed herself about to hear constricted her throat.

"There are potions...they will kill with a single sip and leave no trace what so ever," Hecate said, tone calm enough to make Ada's eyes widen with shock.

Ada stared. She knew that Hecate could be more...extreme than she at times and leaned toward darker magics than Ada herself, but the younger woman always managed to use such things wisely. But this..."That's murder, Hecate!"

"And so was this...nearly... Had I not come along," Hecate shot back angrily. "Are you going to allow her to get away with near murder until she actually succeeds, Ada? The world would be less without you in it," she added, swallowing down obvious emotion. "Plus I have been abandoned enough and if you do that to me, I will have a serious issue."

Ada felt a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth even if they were talking very seriously of murder...or perhaps in spite of it. "I love you like a daughter, Hecate. Of course I don't plan to leave you. We will..."

"It is time to stop her," Hecate said, tone determined.

Sighing Ada wandered over to the mirror, wondering if she would see the eyes of a potential murderer when she looked into the glass and thinking not. She just didn't have it in her. Even if a tiny part of her was tempted to take Hecate up on her very reasonable offer, Ada Cackle just could not do it.

Looking into the mirror jarred him awake and with a cry, Albus Dumbledore sat up in bed. Every bloody night for the past month, he'd had nightmares. With the wizarding world fully aware that Voldemort had returned, and Harry Potter still a sixth year at Hogwarts, Albus knew the boy was nowhere close to being ready to defeat him. Consequently the stress was building and the nightmares reflected that.

Only now it was getting ridiculous. Scowling he pushed his feet into fluffy pygmy puff slippers and threw a robe over his pajamas. Nothing soothed away nightmares like a hot cup of cocoa and a few cookies. He would not wake the elves in the kitchen, but by now they knew to leave something out for him...just in case.

Sighing he opened the door to his bed chamber and slipped silently out into the hall...only to nearly run into Severus. "Severus," he hissed, keeping his voice low. "What on earth?"

"I was just...just checking up... You know," Severus said, tone hesitant with embarrassment.

Albus sighed. Indeed he did know. From the time Severus discovered Voldemort's assassination plans for Albus, he'd been excessively paranoid. The man did not sleep enough and now he'd taken to checking on Albus as well as generally prowling the halls. "I was just going for some hot cocoa... To help me sleep and to drown the nightmares. Want to come along with me?"

Severus shrugged and nodded. "Why not?"

"I had the most dreadful dream," Albus said as they walked together along the dark corridor that both knew well enough not to require light to navigate the turns that led to the kitchens. "You were my deputy headmistress and potions teacher."

"Don't you mean... Headmaster," Severus asked, obviously confused.

"Oh I was a woman too... I was Ada Cackle." Albus chuckled. "Do you see? I gave myself an A first name! And isn't Cackle an amusing last name? Yours was Hardbroom... Come on, you know that suits you! I have now discovered a brilliant and previously undiscovered naming ability."

"I suppose," Severus said slowly, obviously not amused.

"Well, let me finish telling you of my nightmare," Albus said. "Harry Potter was a girl named Mildred Hubble only at times her magic was more like Neville Longbottom's. You know as if Neville could almost be the boy who lived..." he chuckled again.

"Perish the thought," Severus said with a shudder. "That in itself is a nightmare and I have already had it."

"I am sorry," Albus said sincerely, but he chuckled all the same. He just couldn't help it. "But Aberforth, named Agatha in the nightmare, was actually my twin and trying to kill me. You saved me and you were going to kill him with poison. I should feel wrong about that bit but..."

Severus sighed. "If only he were the problem. Aberforth would be far easier to kill than Voldemort."

(Dear Reader,

If you'd like to read more of Severus and Albus without Worst Witch, check our novel length fic, Knowledge Is Power.)