AN: This time we see what potions has in store. And find that HB isn't a fan of frogs.

Chapter 6

Maud Moonshine was never usually late. Today however she slipped in behind Miss Hardbroom praying that the teachers booming voice would disguise her hurried footsteps. Today she was lucky.

She had slipped away from the others after cat training to check on Mildred. No doubt she would be in a state; she often was when HB got mad at her for things that weren't her fault. She had gently rapped on the door to her friend's room, waiting for a hesitant reply or the scrabble of hobnail boots showing that she was home, only to hear silence. Pushing hesitantly at the wood she entered Mildred's sanctuary. "Millie? Are you here?" she called to the almost empty room.

"Reooow." Tabby mewed, winding himself around Maud's legs in greeting. "Hello Tabby, where's Millie gone eh?" she asked, bending down to stroke behind the warm ears as the cat purred softly, 'must have already left then,' she decided, straightening up and turning to go.

In the doorway she turned and scanned the room one last time, just in case she had missed something. Other than the open copy of Second year spells that they were studying with Miss Cackle, nothing was out of place. All was as it should be; untouched.

As she took her place in the front row Enid nudged her and whispered, "Seen Mildred? Only Ruby and Jadu say they haven't seen her." Maud cast her a look telling her they would continue the conversation later, after all Miss Hardbroom didn't approve of what she called 'unconstructive and useless conversations' in lessons; knowing HB a way would probably be found for discussing the whereabouts of Mildred to fall into either one f these categories.

While Miss Hardbroom threw the test papers and her bag on her desk, Maud glanced round at the rest of the class. Mildred definitely wasn't in her place.

Xxx

Constance had never felt so distracted. The rows of multicolour bottles on shelves around the walls cast a myriad of rainbow polygons across the bland stones, drawing her eyes in with invisible ropes. She shook her head, clearly she needed to brew some more of that Focus Potion before this lack of concentration became a real problem. She resolved that the best thing to do would be to go and gather some more ingredients at dawn, then she could kill the bud before it flowered.

A slight movement in her near vision caught her attention. Maud had raised her hand gingerly and was waving it above her head as if she swung an imaginary lasso. "yes Maud what is it?" she asked with a deliberate tone of frustration. "Please Miss Hardroom, Mildred's not here." As if to prove her point the girl rotated in her seat to look at the empty place that Mildred usually occupied. Constance tried very hard to hide the look of pleasure at her most despised student being absent; yet a slight smile creeped across her face. Addressing Maud she simply dismissed Mildred's absence as "still training her unruly animal," and watched with satisfaction as the girl bowed her head and busied herself with putting on her apron.

Turning to the blackboard she missed the quick smile Enid threw at Maud to reassure her that she had done the right thing. Picking up a rather green lump of chalk, which she was convinced had been white at the start of term, she wrote up the aim of that days rather short lesson. Advanced Invisibility Potion. "Potions for use in very tight corners." She informed them without turning round.

Xxx

As the aim was being written Mildred crawled out from the bag that lay abandoned on the table and observed the class from a completely new perspective. 'Wow, so this is what its like to sit at HB's desk.' She mused, ' bit isolated up here for me,'

Turning her attention back to the class she heard Enid and Maud talking in hushed, barely audible voices, "Don't think she's scarpered do you, she's done it before," Enid said, 'huh, wait a minute scarpered, they're talking about me,' she realised suddenly devoting her entire attention to catching the rest of the conversation, "no she wouldn't, I went to check on her and Tabby's still up in her room, she wouldn't leave without him,"

"so where is she then?"Maud shrugged, unable to provide an answer for once,

"Aww, where's hubble bubble..." Ethel tormented as loud as she dared, "hope she'd not in a sulk," Drusilla continued with an equally spiteful smile. Maud grabbed Enid's arm to stop her flying across the bench to tackle Ethel. Enid shot her an evil look, 'it's not worth it.' She mouthed at her friend, wondering how Enid would survive without her to keep her out of most trouble.

Enid backed down, silently fuming, muscles tensed in obvious aggression. ' oh dear Enid,' Mildred sighed, which came out as a muffled croak. "Awww." Cooed Jadu as she spotted the source of the noise,

"yes thank you Jadu." Said HB irritably as she turned from rearranging her shelves to see the frog sitting comfortably on her potion book. Replacing the bottle she had just picked up, she leant over her desk and scooped up the amphibian. Marching over to her potion cabinet she lifted the lid of a medium sized cylindrical glass jar, and dropped Mildred into it, leaving the lid next to it.

"Now you can stay in there where I can keep an eye on you, until I can find time to deal with you." She told the frog, not quite sure why she was bothering to.

Mildred however had other ideas. As the teacher walked away she tensed all the muscles in her legs, willing and praying that she had enough power within her to escape. 'Here we go' shutting her eyes, she sprang; and sailed clear out of the open jar.

Luckily Miss Hardbroom was too absorbed in Ethel and Drusilla's potion to notice that she was no longer where she had been told to stay.

Mildred surveyed the scene below from her vantage point. Now she had a bird's eye view of the whole classroom and could see that it was far too far from her current location to the nearest bench. To attempt that leap would be suicide. 'I need a platform to get down from here,' she imagined, ' that will make it a lot less dangerous,' she reassured herself.

For a few minutes she watched HB pacing back and forth along the front, then meandering through the other rows like a sinister black river. Suddenly watching the usual routine of the potions mistress gave Mildred an idea. She waited until HB passed close beneath her, exactly five minutes twenty nine seconds into her seven minute relay, to inspect Maud and Enid's progress. Seizing the chance, Mildred leapt in a graceful arc to land both softly and silently on HB's customary tight bun, without the owner even noticing.

Miss Hardbroom continued her rounds, leaving Mildred to remain comfortably unnoticed on her head until the lesson was almost finished.

"Attention girls, its time to test your potions," she stopped dea, intrinsicly aware that the class was tittering quietly, "Well, what are you all smirking at?" she asked, as her eyes rested on each individual, the giggle died on their throats and they purposely avoided her gaze, ""Well Ruby Cherrytree?" she arched one eyebrow questioningly, "come on girl spit it out, or you'll be writing out five hundred times I will not allow myself to be distracted by unshared jokes, now for the final time, what's funny?"

Ruby composed herself before replying, taking in three deep steadying breaths before saying, "Please Miss Hardbroom, there's a frog on your head." Miss Hardbroom's almond shaped eyes widened in horror and reached up to snatch at her hair, dislodging Mildred and causing her to slip forward over her face.

Xxx

Constance felt the cold slimy skin slide over her porcelain skin, leaving a trail in its wake, as it gripped on to her plastered back fringe.

The class exploded into hysterics as she began flapping and shrieking wildly, unable to see anything but the pinkish creamy underside of the frog obscuring her vision. Every time she moved it tugged at her hair and shoved its feet into her eyes trying to secure itself a better grip.

Finally she managed to catch the frog with one of her flailing arms, sending poor Mildred flying through the air to land on the bottle of invisibility potion that Ethel had just poured out. The flask tipped over and Mildred felt the potion being absorbed through her skin as if it was water. "Miss Hardbroom its in the potion, its disappeared." Ethel called out.

Constance wasn't listening; she was looking at Miss Bat. Quickly she recomposed herself before greeting the eccentric chanting teacher, hoping to God she hadn't just witnessed that slip of composure on her part. She was about to query as to what her colleague was doing when Miss bat smiled sweetly and said breezily, "Could use a little work, that chant Constance, it's certainly not one of your best."

Constance pursed her lips, so that they formed one thin angry red line, warning Miss Bat not to add further insult to an already humiliating injury. "I need a word with one or two of you about that chant for assembly, hope you don't mind Constance."

Clenching her fists and almost snarling Constance informed her icily that she did mind, "they can go in their own time, not my lesson time." She almost shouted the last part, causing the chanting teacher to let out a slight squeak, and hurry back to the safety of the stationary cupboard.

Constance rolled her eyes. Another bad day.

Next time: what to do with Mildred and we meet that frog by the pond.