I was beginning to think that the day would never come but here it is, the final part of this story. I've had an absolute blast writing it and I hope that you guys have enjoyed it. Thanks to everyone that reviewed. It's always good to know what people are thinking and it really does help to motivate the writing.

Here's to the next one…and hopefully it'll be slightly shorter. Ye gads this thing ended up over 60,000 words long!


Mildred stared through the green barrier as it flashed and fizzed as Haldane launched bolt after bolt at the group of girls standing in the doorway. She kept her eyes fixed on Miss Hardbroom and watched in amazement as wisps of red magic swirled and danced in the air. She was transfixed by the sight of the raw magic and fleetingly wondered if she'd ever manage to wield that much power.

A not so gentle dig in the ribs from Maud snapped her attention back to the task in hand and she put more effort into the incantation. If the spell worked as she hoped it would then HB would receive her magic back and Haldane would be returned to his normal self. Miss Cackle had shot her a disapproving look when she threw open the door of the room and announced her intention to the girls. She understood that witches were not supposed to steal magic from one another but this was an emergency.

Haldane let out a shout of frustration as he began to feel the magic slip away from him.

"You are not going to win." He yelled at the girls and pushed against the barrier again. He felt it give slightly beneath his efforts and allowed himself a small smile. Amelia Cackle might be a proficient witch but she didn't have the power of her deputy. Haldane closed his eyes and concentrated his power on where he believed the weak point in the barrier lay. He let fly with a bolt of energy and was pleased to hear a squeal of fear from the girls as the barrier faltered and then failed.

"Not so confident now are we?" He taunted them as he psyched himself up for another onslaught.

"If you think the girls are scared of you then you've seriously underestimated them."

Haldane spun round at the sound of Constance's voice. She was standing at his shoulder, two of the bands held in her hands. Well she was nearly standing there. As he stared at her, he realised that he could see straight through her and still see her sitting on the floor.

"I believe these are yours." The semi-transparent version told him and in one fluid motion slipped the bands over his hands. She then flicked her wrists and the bands tightened themselves around his wrists.

"What the…" Haldane exclaimed in shock.

Constance met his gaze for a second before she disappeared.

Mildred's mouth nearly dropped onto the floor as she watched what was unfolding in front of her eyes. She knew that she wasn't the only one to be impressed as she heard a sharp intake of breath from Miss Cackle.

"I didn't even know that was possible." Maud whispered breathlessly as she switched her focus between the two Miss Hardbroom's.

"What if she does this from now on?" A nasty thought struck Mildred. "We'll never get any peace."

Haldane stared down at the bands that were now snugly fitted around his wrists. Despite himself, he attempted to use magic to get them off. There was a bright flash of purple and he cried out as the bands resisted his attempts to use magic.

"I believe that the more you do that, the stronger the shock will become." Constance told him flatly.

Haldane snarled at the words and tried again to free himself from the bands. This was not the way that things were supposed to go; this was not the way that he had planned things. He cried out as the bands emitted another shock to his system.

Mildred's face lit up with a wide smile as she realised what had just happened. With the bands safely on Haldane's wrists, there was no way that he could cast any more bolts in their direction. She motioned for the others to stop the transference spell and a strange silence fell upon the room.

"This isn't over." Haldane raged and tried to free himself from the bands again. There was another flash of light and Haldane roared in pain as the bands delivered another shock.

"Oh for heaven's sake." Constance waved her hand and Haldane froze, statue like, on the spot. "Can someone put him somewhere where he can't do himself any more harm until we work out what to do with him?"

"Fenella, Griselda. I'd like you to supervise the movement of Mr Harrington to a secure location." Miss Cackle instructed. "And I don't want to hear any tales of how you accidentally dropped him during the journey!" She glared at the two girls and they reluctantly nodded in return. Satisfied that nothing untoward was going to happen to him she rushed to the side of her deputy and knelt beside her.

"How are you Constance?"

"Convalescent." Constance lied through her teeth, wanting nothing more than to pass out on the spot. "Where are the girls who lost their magic?"

"Let's not worry about that now Constance." Amelia secretly wanted nothing more than to sort the issue out then and there but she was very concerned about her colleague's health.

"Bring them forward Miss Cackle." Constance instructed. As Mildred and co had started the transference spell she had felt immediately that some of the magic that had been returning to her had not been hers. She had welcomed the feelings but they had most certainly not been hers; there had been a certain naivety to them that she had not experienced in a long time. This was without doubt the magic of young witches. She watched as Ethel, Enid, Drusilla and Ruby stepped forward. She smiled inwardly, so this was how it felt to be a second year again.

"Come on girls." Miss Cackle instructed them, unsure as to exactly what it was Miss Hardbroom was going to do. She looked towards her colleague for instruction. "Do you need Fenella as well?"

Constance shook her head.

"This will be fine to start with."

Constance drew in a deep breath and motioned for the four witches to line up in front of her. She had to confess that it was a novel experience to be looking up at her pupils and it wasn't something that she particularly felt comfortable with; the purring grey tabby cat on her lap did nothing to improve the scene. She raised a hand and motioned for the girls to stand closer together.

"This should only take a moment." She raised her left hand to join her right and concentrated on the raw untamed magic that she knew wasn't hers. She closed her eyes and felt her forefingers and little fingers stretch out.

Miss Cackle took a step backwards as four coloured streams of magic leapt from Constance's fingers and enveloped the girls standing in front of her. She bit back the question that sprang immediately to her lips. She was certain that Constance knew what she was doing. She crossed her fingers and offered up a small prayer to whoever might be listening. If there was one thing she didn't relish it was writing more letters to parents explaining what had happened to their children. Over her years in charge she'd had to write more than her fair share of letters to horrified parents, explaining that daughters wouldn't be coming home at half-term because they'd be spending the break as frogs or rats, or elemental forces. That was the problem with witches; when they got themselves into trouble, they very rarely bothered with non-magical trouble. Just once Amelia wanted to write a letter home to a parent stating that a child wouldn't be coming back home for half-term because they'd hurt themselves playing volleyball and had to spend the duration in the sickbay.

Amelia's attention was drawn back to her girls as there was a flash of light and the four energy streams immediately died, leaving the four witches surrounded by a cloud of smoke.

All four took a step back and let out an exclamation of surprise.

"Are you ok girls?" Amelia rushed up to them, wanting to make sure that nothing had gone wrong with whatever it was that Constance had just done.

"Wow!" Was all Enid could manage to say. Miss Cackle was immediately worried. It was unlike Enid Nightshade to say a sentence that short. She left it a moment to see if any more words were coming. When they weren't she asked her question again.

"We're fine." Ruby finally managed to say.

The smoke began to dissipate and Amelia could make out the four girls. They all looked as though they had received an electric shock; their hair stood out and their eyes were wide open.

Mildred looked at her classmates and couldn't prevent a laugh from escaping from her lips.

"Mildred." Miss Cackle warned her to be quiet but she just couldn't help it, the four of them looked so funny standing there with their hair sticking out at all angles.

Amelia reached out a hand to check that Ethel was ok but she pulled up short. What if there was still a charge running through them? The last thing she wanted was to join the static hair brigade.

"That was amazing." Enid seemed to break from her state of shock and reached up a hand to try and touch the top of her hair. "I never knew we had that much magic in us." She held her hands out in front of her and watched as little sparks of energy jumped from one finger to the next. "How did you do that Miss?" She looked towards her teacher, waiting to hear the explanation. "Miss Hardbroom?"

Constance's head was tilted back against the wall and her eyes were closed.

"Miss?" Enid took a step forward but Miss Cackle waved her back. She offered up a second prayer to whoever might be listening and hoped that they wouldn't mind her double posting.

She knelt next to Constance and noted with concern that her colleagues face was a deathly shade of white. Whilst it was true that Constance could never be accused of having a rosy complexion her face was never normally this pale.

"Constance?" She whispered quietly. There was no immediate reply and Amelia bit her lips nervously; an unwanted thought rushed through her mind, making her realise that she had no idea who to inform if anything serious had indeed happened.

"Is she ok Miss Cackle?" She heard Mildred's voice at her shoulder.

"She'll be fine." Amelia lied and smiled up at Mildred. "Why don't you get everyone out of here, find the others and release them, then get them all to the Great Hall. Let's make sure that everyone is ok and accounted for."

"But Miss Hard…"

"Everyone to the Great Hall Mildred." Amelia repeated more firmly. "Find Miss Drill and Miss Bat and make sure that every girl is accounted for."

Mildred glanced at Miss Hardbroom before meeting the stern gaze of Miss Cackle. She realised that there was no point in arguing with her and she reluctantly turned to obey her teacher.

"Come on Ruby." She approached her friends.

"I wouldn't touch them just yet if I were you." Miss Cackle warned. "They still seem to be a little highly charged."

Amelia turned her attention back to Constance and moments later heard a shout and a flash of blue light. She sighed heavily knowing exactly what had happened. Sure enough when she turned her head she was greeted by the sight of Mildred with her two plaits stuck straight up in the air.

"Do you never listen to a word that anyone says to you Mildred Hubble?" The words were spoken in a familiar scathing tone; it was lacking in strength but the voice was unmistakable.

"Sorry Miss Hardbroom." Mildred apologised, a wide grin on her face.

Amelia turned back to her colleague and saw that her eyes were now open.

"Are you ok?" She whispered.

Constance thought about it for a moment.

"I've felt batter." She confessed. "I think I may have to stay here for some time though."

"Why?"

"I regret to inform you that I am not able to stand." Constance looked down at her right arm and tried to lift it. She managed to move it a few centimetres before her strength failed her.

"Your magic?" Amelia asked; concerned that her colleague had lost everything.

"It's still there." Constance reassured her. "It's just going to take a little longer to allow it to settle." She arched an eyebrow. "I do have a little more than the second years."

"Of course, of course." Amelia tried to understand what was going on.

"I will need a little assistance in returning to my room." Constance confessed. If there was one thing she hated it was admitting that she needed help from someone else.

"Of course." Amelia immediately chastised herself for not thinking of that sooner. She heard a contended mew from Tabby and watched as the cat nuzzled against Constance's arm.

"It seems that we didn't make a bad choice with Mildred Hubble's cat."

"Hmm." Constance found that she couldn't disagree. "We really should get him back to her."

"All in good time." Amelia told her, thinking that it was probably better that Constance kept the cat until she had regained a little more of her strength. "You took a huge risk in taking on Haldane." There was more anger in her voice than she had intended and she saw Constance's eyebrows rise in response. "You think it surprising that I'm concerned? Good potion teachers don't just grow on trees you know."

"Someone had to make a stand." She muttered, trying to muster the energy to engage in conversation. She battled to keep her eyes open but they felt heavy and she found that the effort was just too much.

Amelia turned her head as Imogen entered the room.

"What's going on?" Imogen stared around, uncertain that she'd ever seen the room before. She'd been released from the room she'd been locked in by two of the second years and they'd not really explained themselves very well.

"The girls were all trying to explain what happened and I don't think that any of what they said made any sense." She explained and then caught sight of Constance propped up against the wall. "Oh my…" She took a pace forward. "Is she ok?"

Amelia shrugged her shoulders and crossed the room, pulling Imogen to one side.

"I'm not really sure myself what happened. At this stage I can't be certain just how much of her magic Constance has regained. We'll just have to tread carefully and see what happens in the next couple of days."

"Is there anyone we can call?" Imogen tried to come up with a solution. "Some kind of Witch…Doctor?" She tailed off as she realised what she was saying.

"No no, there's no-one." Amelia told her, "In fact it's come to my attention that I don't know if Constance has anyone listed as next of kin."

Imogen looked down at Constance and realised that she'd never seen her look so relaxed. Even when their paths crossed out of school hours, Constance was always straight-backed and serious. She shook her head and reminded herself that the situation was a serious one.

"What are the chances of her not getting all of her magic back?"

Amelia shrugged her shoulders.

"I have to confess that I don't really understand what Haldane did." Amelia gestured toward the amulet that was wrapped around Constance's right wrist. "That amulet seems to be at the heart of it though. It appears as though he used that to draw the magic out of the girls and also Constance."

Imogen shook her head as she tried to understand what Miss Cackle was saying.

"He drew their magic out?"

Amelia nodded.

"Please don't ask me to explain how it worked as I honestly don't have a clue."

Imogen looked in Constance's direction again.

"What's going to happen to Haldane?"

"Beverly Blackthorn should have gotten word to Chief Wizard Helibore by now so I expect he'll be here soon and we can let him decide what to do with Haldane Harrington. Until he arrives I think we can safely leave him in the custody of Fenella and Griselda."

Imogen took a pace towards the door.

"I'll organise a stretcher party to move Constance up to her room… that is if Tabby will let us move her."

Amelia smiled as she noticed that Tabby was eyeing them both suspiciously.

"He's proved himself to be a very able cat." She remarked. "Not unlike his owner."


Time had passed inordinately slowly as far as Mildred was concerned. It had been two days since their confrontation with Haldane and still the school hadn't really returned to normal. Chief Wizard Helibore had arrived on the scene not long after Fenella and Griselda had locked Haldane away and taken charge of him. He had glared at the machine that purported to contain all of Pentangles magic and then proceeded to threaten Haldane with an eternity spent as a frog if he didn't help to put everything right. Haldane had initially resisted but after being turned into a frog for an afternoon as a warning, he quickly changed his mind and agreed to help.

Fenella had been summoned to see Miss Cackle and informed that her magic could also be returned to her. She was warned however that some of it was currently residing with Miss Hardbroom and that she'd have to wait for the potions teacher to regain some of her strength before she could regain it all.

Fenella had happily agreed to the terms and left the staff room, informing Mildred when she saw her that she had to report to Miss Hardbroom's room and that Mildred had to go with her as well.

Which was how Mildred now found herself at Miss Hardbroom's door wondering just how long it would take for Miss Hardbroom to finish with Fenella.

She had never been near HB's room before, none of the students had. It was a place that was most definitely not on the list of places where students were allowed to go.

She stood outside the door now and shifted her weight from one foot to the other. Fenny had been gone for at least 5 minutes and Mildred was beginning to get really nervous. She wasn't entirely sure why she had been summoned but in her experience a summoning to see HB was never a good thing.

Finally the door opened and Fenella emerged, her hair was sticking out at all angles but a smile was plastered on her face.

"Your turn." She told Mildred and then clicked her fingers, watching as the raw magic sparked from the tips.

"You've only just got the magic back Fenella, I wouldn't be quite so eager to lose it again if I were you." Came a stern voice from within the room.

"Sorry Miss Hardbroom." Fenella immediately replied.

"Hmm. Come on in Mildred."

Mildred swallowed hard and walked through the doorway. She tried hard not stare at the room around her but found that she couldn't resist. It was like walking into a forbidden area. She knew that she'd never get the opportunity to walk within these walls again and she had to make sure that she had all the details correct to report back to the others.

A quick glance revealed that there appeared to be no personal touches in the room at all. There was very little to distinguish Miss Hardbroom's room from her own small place. There was a regulation wardrobe, dressing table and bed but there appeared to be precious little else in the room to mark it out as belonging to someone.

"Come in girl." Constance felt her energy and her patience begin to wane. Normally she wouldn't have let any student enter her room but she really didn't have the strength to go anywhere else. She had to confess that she felt more than a little uncomfortable at receiving visitors whilst she was still confined to bed.

She picked up Tabby from where the cat lay contentedly on her bedclothes.

"I thought I really ought to return him to you." She waited for Mildred to step closer. "He's a good reliable cat and I hope that you continue to look after him."

"Yes Miss Hardbroom." Mildred mumbled as she reached forward to take Tabby from her teacher's arms.

"I take it you don't really understand what happened?"

Mildred shook her head as she hugged the cat close to her and was relieved to hear his loud purring continue unabated.

"We explained when the cat's were handed out that they were only there because of tradition but what we couldn't say was how they had the potential to become something else." She paused. "Something special."

"What kind of special?" She had wanted to ask Miss Cackle the question whilst they'd been down in the dungeons but the time had not seemed right.

"A good witches cat will be able to home in on magic." Constance tried to find the right way to explain the situation. "Over time a cat will soak up a little of it's owner's magic and be able to reflect it back at them."

Mildred tried to understand what her teacher was getting at.

"So Tabby was able to find you because of your magic?"

"Exactly."

"But I thought that Haldane had…" She paused, not wanting to remind her teacher that she had very nearly lost everything." "I thought he'd… well… you know?"

Constance narrowed her eyes.

"He had as you so delicately put it very nearly 'well…you know'."

"But…" Mildred was still someway from understanding what it was that HB was getting at.

Constance raised her hand and waved the subject away.

"It's not necessary for you to understand everything at this stage Mildred. Suffice it to say that your cat was able to help me when I needed a little magical energy boost. I was able to draw upon the magic that he carried. Your magic."

Mildred held Tabby out in front of her and regarded the cat. He didn't look any different than usual.

"Blimey." She muttered.

"Don't treat him any differently." Constance warned her. "He'll get big-headed if you make too much of a fuss of him."

"Yes Miss Hardbroom." Mildred replied dutifully.

Sensing that the conversation had come to an end, Mildred turned to go. There was one question that was still nagging away at the back of her mind and she needed to hear the answer from Miss Hardbroom and no-one else.

"Miss." She turned and met her teacher's gaze. "You will… you know…won't you?" She waggled her fingers.

She felt her teacher's dark eyes boring into her and thought that maybe it had been the wrong question to ask. But suddenly the glare was lifted and a faint smile ghosted briefly across her face.

"Yes Mildred Hubble. I will…'you know'. Thank you."

Constance waited until she heard the door close behind Mildred before raising her right hand and removing the envelop spell she had cast on her room. Her surroundings blurred at the edges before dissipating and revealing the true contents of her room. She heard the chirping of her bats and smiled up at them before casting her eyes around at the rest of the items in her room, making sure that everything was still in its proper place. There was the sound of four paws landing softly on the bed followed by a loud purring. She reached out and absentmindedly scratched the head of her cat Morgana. It didn't do any harm to further the students' belief that she was without any need of home comforts. A little reinforcing went a long way to upholding the image she wanted them to have.

Morgana pushed her head beneath Constance's right hand and mewed gently. When no response was immediately forthcoming, she repeated the action, putting more force into the second nudge. Constance looked down at her cat and arched an eyebrow. Morgana was usually the most well behaved when it came to seeking attention and it was unlike her to be so pushy.

Constance was about to make some comment but there was something in the yellow eyes that stared back up at her that made her stop short.

Morgana blinked slowly and then pushed her head under Constance's hand, the level of her purring increasing.

Constance's face softened and she gently scratched Morgana behind the ears, the jet-black cat mewed in response and edged closer.

"I know you'd have done what you could." She reassured her cat as it gently nuzzled against her arm. "I'm going to be fine…really."

Morgana looked up at her again, her yellow eyes staring intently at her mistress, before she nudged at Constance's wrist. Constance turned her wrist round slowly looking at the deep red marks that the bands had left. Her right wrist also bore the patterns left by the amulet. She shook her head and scratched Morgana behind the ears.

"You worry too much." She advised her cat solemnly. "These marks will, I'm sure, fade in time and everything will be returned to normal."

Morgana's purr seemed to increase in volume again as the cat stretched out and laid her head on Constance's arm, regarding her owner carefully.

Constance closed her eyes as she felt another wave of tiredness wash over her; the road back to full health was obviously going to take a while but she was certain that Morgana was going to be at her side all the time. As she drifted off to sleep all she could hear was the contented purr of her cat.


Mildred returned to her room with Tabby and found the rest of her friends gathered there. Although she had told them all, several times, what had happened in the dungeons with Haldane they kept asking her to repeat the tale.

Sighing slightly Mildred told them again and this time added in one detail that she had previously missed out.

"You hugged HB?" Enid was shocked as she heard the new addition to the story. She opened her mouth to say something else on the subject but found that the words just wouldn't come. "HB!" Was all that she could add.

"Millie!" Maud also seemed as horrified as Enid had been.

Mildred simply shrugged her shoulders.

"I thought I'd killed her. I was really pleased to see her there."

Mildred couldn't add any detail to her story. When she looked back on the moment, and she had to confess she had tried to, she couldn't recall exactly the way that her teacher had reacted. She had been so relieved to see HB still alive that she had reacted without thinking. She remembered reaching out to hug her and then the next thing she could clearly recall was sitting back on her heels and hearing HB tell her that they weren't out of the woods yet.

"But she didn't turn you into a toad." Ruby reminded her. "And I'm sure I heard the 3rd years whispering about what she'd done to the last person that had dared to invade her personal space."

Mildred closed her eyes and tried to recall exactly how things had happened in the dungeon. Every time she thought about it the jump in her memory happened in the same place. It was almost as though someone had changed her memories. She shook her head; that was impossible surely.

"Well one good thing's come out of all this." Mildred decided to move things on.

"What?" Maud asked.

"HB being out of our hair for a few days?" Enid suggested but Mildred shook her head.

"I've finally got something to put in my next letter home." She smiled at the others. "Not that my parents will believe a single word of it."