A/N: Oh dear. Well, this took far longer than I thought it would. I... really have no excuse to give you, dear readers. I can only apologise, and present you with this new chapter, and hope that the next will not take as long.

Chapter Two

"Dear Maud,

Well, here I am, back at Cackles! It's extreme in such a surreal way – who'd ever think that I'd be a teacher of all things?It's been lovely so far though, all the girls are really interested in what I'm teaching them, though I'm sure we were never as chatty as they are. Oh, well, perhaps we were a bit. Dee's teaching here too – Miss Drill married Serge a few years back, and left the school shortly after. Apparently they've opened a camp; Cackles girls can go during half-term, I've heard. Don't think HB was much pleased about that, but is she ever?

But, yes, what should I tell you?"

Mildred's first week as a teacher had went by so quickly, she could hardly think where to begin to explain it in her customary weekly letter to Maud. Did she start with the revelation that Hetty, for all her faults, was actually one of the brightest in the class? That a Hallow was best friends with a Hubble? Maybe the incident involving the frog, the beetle, and the spider would be best to open with... No, maybe that was best left for another letter. She still had no idea how they ended up in the pencil case.

She sighed, placing her pen down, and sitting back in her small but comfortable chair in the corner of the café. Mrs Cosie hadn't changed her tea rooms much since Mildred had last been, and she couldn't help but find it to be a comfort: no matter what was likely to change, Cosies Tea Rooms would always be that quaint little place where you could get a nice cup of tea, and a cake. It was odd, usually she never had enough space to say what she wanted to say to Maud, and yet for once in her life – at least when it came to speaking with her friend – Mildred Hubble was lost for words.

Speaking of words... There was a familiar tinny ringing, her phone beeping out the ring tone. Mildred had never intended to get a mobile phone, she hadn't really had much luck with technology in general, but her Mum and Dad had bought her this model when she got confirmation of the teaching position at Cackles, as a reward of sorts. Also, she suspected, as a subtle reminder to keep in touch more – letters were all well and good, but her Mum often expressed the wish to hear her voice more. The phone continued to ring out, and she picked up it, pressing the answer button, before speaking. "Hello?"

"Hubble."

"Nick," Mildred smiled a little. "It's good to hear from you, how's the research going?"

"It goes, but where it can't be revealed. State secret," Nick replied, a faint tinge of humour in his tone. It had been nearly five, or was it six, years since the incident with the Whisperer, and Mildred had been one of the few privy to seeing the change Nick Hobbes had made since then. His experiences in that incident had been the springboard for his research, and his papers were amongst some of the most highly spoken of for such a young writer. "How are you faring teaching obnoxious little brats then?"

"Nick..."

"Belladonna Bindweed is in one of your classes yes?" Nick cut off whatever Mildred was going to say, dismissing the warning tone in her voice. "She's my niece, and a perfect example of a spoiled little snot." Mildred couldn't help that laugh that came from that.

"Yes, Belladonna is in one of my classes," she clarified, "and for your information I find her to be quite charming, even if she reminds me of Ethel when I first knew her." She cringed as she said it. Really, Belladonna had been such a sweet girl in classes, but Mildred couldn't shake the image of a young Ethel Hallow from her mind whenever she spoke to the girl. It was entirely ridiculous, she knew, but it still didn't change the fact that it was there.

"Spoiled little snot, and that's the polite version," Nick repeated, giving a soft snort of disdain for his young niece. He never had gotten on with his family, and his elder sister's daughter really had picked up many of the worst qualities of the family. "Heard from Wraitheright," he said suddenly. "The deal's gone through." Oh, so that's why he was calling. She should have known. Nick Hobbes did not pick up the phone during a period of experiments unless he considered it a matter of absolute importance.

"I'm glad for them, they've put so much into those phones," Mildred replied honestly. "It would be nice to not have to leave the school to make a phone call," she added, smiling though he couldn't see it. "Is Ethel still the backer?"she enquired.

"I suppose, I haven't asked." There was a long pause, and Mildred could almost see the look on Nick's face, as if he was trying to determine what the hell she was hiding from him this time. He seemed to change his mind. "I'm getting invites from schools, to come and speak on Halloween."

"Do you know which one you'll go to?" Mildred asked, genuinely wondering. She knew some schools liked to use Halloween as a chance for special lectures, but she had never known if Nick's studies would really make such great topics for younger students.

"Not yet." There was an odd noise coming from Nick's side of the phone call – almost like someone calling his name in a panic. "Damn. My lab exploded. Got to go, Hubble."

"Wait, Nick, what do you mean explode-" It was too late, he had already hung up. Mildred sighed slightly, and set her phone to the side. "Exploded, really. Wonder what he'll need to pay out this time," she muttered softly, picking up her pen again, and looking back down towards the letter.

"Perhaps it'd be best to start with the phone call I just received. Apparently Belladonna is Nick's niece. She's rather a lot like Ethel. Well, Ethel as she was, really..."

xXx

"Here, Hettie, your cousin's really cool," Cressie looked up from the homework she had been doing. What was the cause for this sudden outburst? Well, the homework was from Miss Hubble's class – a simple essay to explain different ways in which magic might be performed, which meant that Cressie could write about her own experiences as a Hedge-Witch. True, it did cause a little pang of home-sickness, but it was fun to get to write and explain about different traditions and habits that her coven had. The bonus was she didn't need to do much research for it – Hettie was currently looking through a book on wand-magic, and Mona was scribbling equations for her 'science of magic' essay.

"I know," Hettie smiled proudly, only a tiny hint of smugness in her tone. "She's the best witch ever," she added, loyal till the end. She frowned at a page in her book, before slamming it shut. "Oh I don't know, wand magic seems so... pointless," she declared loudly, carelessly tossing the book back on to the table. "All that fuss when a finger does it just as well," she demonstrated with a grin, levitating the book back off the table. Mona rolled her eyes, and placed her hand on top of the book, sitting it back down, as Cressie giggled lightly in the background.

"If you'd done the research," she began pointedly, "you'd know that it was initially used as a sign of power, sort of like how the Chief Wizard has the staff," she shrugged. "Ceremonial mostly, but those who did use them for magic said something about it concentrating the power – no scientific basis, of course, but," another shrug, "magic." The girls shared an eye-roll, and they seemed to settle down long enough to go back to their own respective works. Well, they would have, had Belladonna not chosen that moment to steal Cressie's essay from her.

"Hey! Give it back!" Cressie yelled, glaring at her. Belladonna gave a snort, reading through it.

"Hedgewitches really are just a bunch of hippies, aren't they?" She threw the paper back at Cressie. "My essay is far more interesting than that," she declared with a self-righteous smug tone. "I'm looking into family magic," she told everyone, though no one had actually asked. Belladonna turned her self-righteous and smug grin on Hettie, who fought to keep the bemused smile from appearing on her face at Belladonna's attitude. "You're not the only one with interesting family members, you know." she added snootily.

"I'm happy for you, Belladonna," Hettie said, nodding. "Really."

She managed a moment longer, before bursting into laughter.

xXx

"We've had an acceptance from one of the letters we sent out, Constance," Amelia spoke out loud, holding the letter close to read the messy handwriting. Really, these up and coming wizards in the field of magical research, they all needed to learn better penmanship in her opinion. "At least, I think that's what this is saying," she said, giving up and holding the letter out to Constance in the hopes that she would be able to decipher the mess on the paper. Constance took the paper, allowing herself a small tut on the general mess.

"Yes, I would have to agree." There was a pause, as the paper was handed back. "Two wizards presenting at our Hallowe'en celebrations, it's a first," she commented lightly, punctuating with a slightly unimpressed sniff. "Do you think we might be spoiling the girls?" she asked, having had a moment to consider the matter. "Two informative lectures on magic in the one night, they might begin to expect such things." Which, of course, would be far better than the displays of vanity they indulged in, in her opinion. Still overindulgence in any subject was overindulgence, and it would not do if it was thought they were spoiling the girls they had to duty to educate.

"No, I don't think so," Amelia said. "If anything, the girls might think we're punishing them."

"Whatever for?"

"Well, we are asking them to sit through two long lectures on the one night." She picked up her tea cup, and took a drink from it. "Young girls just don't seem as interested in lectures. Not at this age," she added. Constance looked perplexed. "Never mind, I'm sure they'll enjoy it at the end."