A Sign Of Things To Come
As the year went on, the girls settled into the routine of learning, training and practicing the art of magic. Proving that some things might never change, Mildred still got a lot of things wrong in Potions class. Hardbroom, however, was not as nasty as she had been in previous years, and encouraged her to try again when a Voice Changing Potion came out of her cauldron as a Sex Changing Potion. The Deputy Headmistress still gave her top marks as, turning into a male, the voice did change! When the girl got other work incorrect, Hardbroom offered to spend time after classes helping her to get better. As a result, her failings went down by a little – but it was a beginning. She still got detentions, but not as many as compared to other years.
"Are you coming outside to have a run about?" asked Enid. Hardbroom had been against witches running around the yard at first, but Enid had argued that they sometimes had too much energy that might affect their magic. The teacher had spent two days looking for some kind of other meaning to that, but she could find none at all and decided to approve the plan.
"I'm not sure" said Mildred. "I would rather get on with this work…"
"Whilst your new found devotion to work is admirable, Mildred Hubble" Hardbroom said as she appeared out of thin air, "You should not neglect your friends or take time to relax. Go out and enjoy the time outside" and Mildred smiled and nodded.
"Yes, Miss Hardbroom" she said.
"And to think there was a time that girl would do anything to get out of work…" Hardbroom was about to vanish to her office when she spotted a dark figure on a broom hovering in the sky. As she watched, it circled around before heading away at some speed. Sometimes witches and wizards, having gotten themselves lost, used the school as a reference to gain a bearing before heading off to their destinations. She wouldn't know until much later that it was someone wishing to cause them all great harm.
# # # # #
As it turned towards the winter months, Miss Bat began to draw up plans for a Christmas pantomime. Some of the girls came down with flu which caused no end of trouble in dealing with them all. Potions were made to help relieve some of the symptoms, but plenty of rest and hot food was the best method that anyone could think of. Drill made her normal complaint about the fact the school had no windows. If they had some, half of the illnesses would vanish. Hardbroom dismissed the idea as being too trivial and against tradition.
"Now, class" Hardbroom said, "Add the torn bat wings to the mixture and stir for exactly one hundred seconds in one direction before doing it in the other for the same period of time. When you have completed that, take three samples using your beakers and bring them to me with your names on them" and the girls hurried to finish their potion before the end of the class. "Those that are unable to complete their work" she eyed Mildred and Maud, "Will serve detention with me this evening at six and do it then" and she saw Mildred hurry with the wings. As she watched, the girl sometimes dropped a handful onto the floor – necessitating in a mad scramble to pick them up and put them in the cauldron. Waiting for the first samples to arrive, she reviewed the written part of the work already handed in. The potion, one to regrown damaged skin tissue, was complex to make and required the students to read all the texts for a week before actually starting on the potion.
SMASH
Hardbroom looked up from the written work to see Mildred and Maud jump away from their work area with some speed. One of the beakers had dropped to the ground and smashed – spilling the contents over the desk and floor.
"Mildred Hubble and Maud moonshine. As you can not complete your practical work, you will both serve detention with me this evening. Get cleaning supplies and clean this up please…"
"Yes, Miss Hardbroom" they both said, and Hardbroom noticed tears running down Mildred's cheeks.
"We're finished, Miss" Ethel said, handing over three beakers of the potion. It was exactly the right colour and thickness – not that she expected anything less from her or Drusilla. Both of them had top marks in each and every one of the classes, and she couldn't remember a time when they had given her substandard work. The infamous drink incident didn't count as the results were produced by the Foster's effect, and not by something they did to the potion.
"Another set of top marks, Ethel and Drusilla. Go back and write up what you did and if there was any way to imp-" the sound of more things falling to the ground made her look up and she saw Mildred in the middle of an even greater mess. In trying to clean the mess on the floor, she hadn't bother to see if the table top was clear. As a result, she had knocked over the Bunsen burner, the cauldron and the unused ingredients. "MILDRED HUBBLE! CAN YOU NOT DO ANYTHING RIGHT?" she shouted. "I thought you were greatly improving, but it seems as if you are truly the very worst witch ever to attend this school. You will serve detention with me this evening and also come at six each evening for the rest of the week. Now, stop crying you silly girl and get to work cleaning this up" and something extraordinary happened. A white light came from Mildred and shoved Hardbroom off her chair and dumped the older witch on the floor in a heap. She was a little stunned by the fall and need the help of Ethel and Drusilla to stand on her own feet once more.
"Are you alright, Miss Hardbroom?" asked Ethel.
"More or less, thank you, Ethel" Hardbroom said. "Where is Mildred?" the girl was missing.
"She ran off after… that" Enid said, pointing at the open doorway.
"I must go after her at once. Jadu, I trust that you can make sure that everyone finishes their potions?" and the girl nodded. "Just have them leave all their samples on the work surface with their notes" and Hardbroom vanished into the ether.
#
"Attacked?" Cackle couldn't believe it.
"That is what I believe I said" Hardbroom said. "And by Mildred Hubble, no less…"
"Come, come" Drill said from the tea urn. "Mildred would never attack a teacher, even if she had good cause for it…" she looked at Hardbroom pointedly.
"What exactly happened, Constance. If you repeat your tale again, we may find a cause and a solution"
"Very well, Headmistress" Hardbroom sat in the chair and took the tea given to her by Drill. "Imogen, it is not really necessary for you to examine my head"
"Then shall I leave the cut to keep bleeding?" asked Drill.
"I am bleeding?" Hardbroom touched the part of her head that hurt the most and found her hand with some blood on it. "I apologise, Miss Drill. I had not realised I had gotten that. Would you mind running to the potion lab and getting a small bit from one of the cauldrons the girls are using? I can see no better way then this to test their potion" and Drill nodded and left the staff room.
"So, Constance" Cackle said, "What happened?"
"Mildred was working with Maud Moonshine as normal. She had a few problems with putting the bat wings into the potions, but that was nothing to worry about. She had dropped one of the beakers and spilt the sample. She stood there crying so I gave her and Maud a detention for this evening. I would have let them go the minute they had remade the potion anyway"
"And that is when she attacked you?"
"I told the pair to get some things to clean the mess up, but she managed to cause a greater mess and so I admonished her and gave her detention for the week for being so clumsy in the potion lab. I would say, with hindsight, I spoke to her a little harshly. Before I could say another word, a white light came from her and threw me off my chair and to the floor"
"She cast a spell?"
"I am not sure, Miss Cackle" Hardbroom sipped more of the tea. "It seemed to come out of her entire body rather then any place in particular"
"I have got the potion" said Drill, bursting though the doorway. "Jadu Wali was about to throw her contents away when I arrived"
"How fortunate" said Hardbroom, knocking back the contents in one quick gulp. She flinched as the skin began to regrow and quickly healed the cut.
"I never thought the day would come that I would have to expel a pupil" Cackle said. Hardbroom was about to say something but was stopped when the sound of running made her twist round on her chair.
"Miss! Miss!" Enid said quickly. "You have to come quickly"
"What is it, Enid?" asked Cackle.
"We went to Mildred's room to see why she did what she did, and she is curled up on her bed and covered in some kind of orange haze" Enid explained as best as she could.
"Orange haze?" the three teachers followed Enid up to Mildred's room where they found her other friends outside.
"Oh, Miss Cackle, Miss Hardbroom, Miss Drill!" Maud said, "Mildred is in so much pain"
"What sort of pain?" asked Hardbroom, pushing the door open to see the girl lying on the top of the bed with the orange haze over her.
"Something like a spasm, Miss" said Ruby. "But she keep clutching her head and stomach when it happens"
"I know you shouted at her and she threw you around, but can you help her?" asked Jadu.
"That is why I am here, Jadu Wali" Hardbroom said primly. A few muttered words and she banished the haze from over Mildred. She checked that the girl was breathing, found she was and started muttering other spells quickly.
"Do you know what is wrong with her, Constance?" asked Cackle.
"I am not sure" Hardbroom replied. "I will have to take some of Mildred's blood and examine it in the potion lab. Unfortunately, I have a lesson in five minutes"
"I'll take it" said Drill.
"Are you sure, Imogen?" asked Cackle.
"I hardly do anything else around here" the PE teacher replied.
"The lesson plan is on the desk in the teaching classroom" Hardbroom said. "All they are to do is read up on the properties of certain potions and to write a three hundred word essay on what they are used for. It is a first year class, non practical and easy for you to handle"
"I'm not sure how to take that, Miss Hardbroom" Drill said.
"I was not being demeaning, but I apologise if I was" Hardbroom said.
"Apology not accepted and accepted" Drill said. Hardbroom raised an eyebrow but said nothing. "I will not speak of this, unless I have reason to do so, if you do a little something" and she whispered something in the Deputy's ear.
"Yes… That would make them listen and obey you more" and she and Drill vanish into thin air – Hardbroom returning a second later.
"Can we help you, Miss Hardbroom?" asked Maud.
"There is nothing that you cou-… Actually, I would like you to collect the following items in the potion cupboard and start a clean cauldron on the heat" Hardbroom said. She felt that they wouldn't like to see them slice into their friend's skin to get a blood sample.
#
News of Mildred attacking Miss Hardbroom had spread like a plague through the school, though the events got a little distorted from retelling. Some students, overhearing the talk of the orange haze, had tried to sneak inside Mildred's room to glance at the girl. Jadu had to give out three detentions before the word spread Mildred was not to be disturbed. Hardbroom spent two hours working in the potion lab to see if there was anything in Mildred's blood work that could explain it. She was no medical person, but she kept up to date with the latest thoughts and theories about science. Once the potion was completed, Hardbroom spooned the stuff into a silver bowl and poured the blood sample in. Once the sample had time to mix in, Hardbroom decanted it and examined the contents. She was surprised by what she found and went straight to the other staff members.
"Araema beans?" Cackle said. "Where did they come from?" she asked.
"I do not know, Amelia" Hardbroom said. "I did not find the beans themselves, but trace elements from them instead. I presume some kind of toxin was extracted from them and placed into something that she consumed. It would account for our inability to get her to move or respond to us when I removed the magical field"
"But what about her pushing you away?" asked Drill. "Enid, Maud, Jadu and Ruby all said that it was pretty bright and something of a powerful magical surge. What do you think could have caused it?"
"Any number of things, Miss Drill. Mildred could have been the victim of a prank, but I do not think this very likely. Why she attacked me is a mystery, but she may have been the subject of some poison and mental control spells and potions" Hardbroom said. "The important thing is that, knowing what she was given, I can brew a counter agent in a matter of an hour or two. The unfortunate side effect will be that the poor girl will be sick once every hour. She will need someone to sit up with her all night to take care of her"
"I can think of at least four people who would be delighted to help" said Cackle with a smile.
"I wonder why someone would want to hurt and attack poor Mildred" Drill said.
"She isn't the person we should be worried about" said a voice from behind them. The cupboard door was open and Bat came out with a worried sort of expression on her face.
"What do you mean, Davina?" Cackle asked.
"I was sat in my cupboard thinking of stuff and I suddenly realised that Mildred wasn't the person meant to be the victim – Constance was"
"I beg your pardon?" Hardbroom raised an eyebrow.
"She has a point, Miss Hardbroom" Drill said in support of the chanting teacher. "You pick on Mildred out of the others here. If someone was to know that, surely they could turn her into some kind of weapon"
"She didn't turn into a gun" Hardbroom reminded her.
"Who was the only one attacked in that classroom?" Bat asked. "None of the girls in there were attacked by the light – just you. Someone could have keyed Mildred to explode magic at you when you said or did something towards her"
"She has a point, Constance" Cackle said.
"I know" Hardbroom agreed. "That is why it is all the more alarming…"
"The main thing is that you can cure her" Drill said.
"And let us keep Mistress Broomhead away from here. If she gets wind of this, she'll be round here like flies on rotten meat" Cackle said.
#
"I am going to give Mildred something to cure her from the poison" Hardbroom told the girls. "Although she is asleep, she will wake up every hour to be sick and then fall asleep again. You are to look after her if she needs anything at all, or to wake me if there are problems"
"Yes, Miss Hardbroom" they chorused.
"Have you any idea why Mildred would attack you like that?" asked Maud.
"I am afraid not" their teacher replied. "But we shall work on those. Mrs Tapioca has kindly made you all hot chocolate in flasks which I have spelled to keep warm"
"What about the Foster's effect?" asked Enid.
"It does not apply, Enid Nightshade. The magic I used for a small purpose was to keep the contents warm as she watched over a sick person – hardly something trivial or selfish reasons. Decide amongst yourselves who will watch her for the first two hours and after that…" Hardbroom opened Mildred's mouth and tipped the potion down her throat.
"I hope she will be alright" said Maud.
"Of cause she will, child. She is not going to get out of detention this easily" and Hardbroom decided the looks she got from the four girls were not worth the joke. Maud elected to take the first two hours, and so they split up for the evening.
#
The witch knew that Hardbroom would have figured out the contents of the potion she had slipped into the drink the Hubble girl had had. It would cause some concern amongst the staff, give them a mystery to try and solve and all the time she would be planning her next attack on the students of Cackle's Academy.