Mildred reluctantly opened her eyes as the September sun began to creep in through her paned window. The previous window shutters had been replaced on her corridor at the end of last year to keep out the cold, but she missed their ability to act like a black-out blind as light filled her room. She woke up with the familiar feeling that something bad had happened, but she hadn't been awake long enough to recall what it was. Instead, her chest felt unusually heavy and full of dread, as though someone was sitting on top of her and would not move.

Mildred's eyes were also extremely sore and they felt heavy to lift. As she woke up, she started to remember how she had cried herself to sleep the night before, and was all too aware that someone might have overheard her. Maud had knocked on her door so many times that she was sure she was about to be questioned by her later.

Deep in thought, Mildred decided that she did not want to move from her bed at the current moment. Breakfast was probably being served by now, but the last thing she needed to do was eat something. The thought of food made her feel ill. She was terribly anxious about showing her face in front of the school again after yesterday, so she rolled over and refused to get ready just for another ten minutes...

'Millie?' Came the timid voice of Maud. She was crouched down by the side of her bed, and was brushing Mildred's fringe out of her eyes as she started to stir from her sleep.

Mildred thought she was still dreaming as she sat up and was met with a very concerned face, dressed in her school uniform and wearing round glasses.

'Millie, you need to get up. Hardbroom is going to go mental if she finds out you're still asleep, what are you playing at?'

'What are you on about? Maud, it's like 7am please leave me alone' Mildred replied, groggy and disorientated as she lay down again and buried herself further under her duvet.

'No, Millie, it's almost 9am. Classes around about to begin - we have potions first! You weren't at breakfast and HB was on duty. She came over to our table asking where on Earth you were, she wasn't happy!' Maud told her quietly, careful not to startle her friend by bombarding her with information and shouting at her to move.

'Oh damn it! Maud why didn't you wake me up?! This is a disaster! I am already in enough trouble as it is and now I'm going to be ever so late!' Cried Mildred, having shot up from her bed in a frantic effort to pull her shirt and pinafore over her head which she yanked from her suitcase that was still lying unpacked on the floor.

'Actually, Mildred, Maud did try to wake you up. She knocked on your door twice, half an hour ago, just like the three times she knocked on yesterday night and was ignored' Enid intervened, as she appeared at the door way of Mildred's room while she was flustering about for her uniform. Mildred saw that Enid looked annoyed at her yet again, as the use of 'ignored' within her choice of words seemed like she was starting to get fed up of Mildred.

'Look, I don't know what happened yesterday, or in fact what happened over the summer, but it's not fair that you're shutting us out. We are your friends, so when you start physical fights with irrelevant little rat bags such as Ethel Hallow, and then proceed to avoid us all evening afterwards, well, I'm not going to take that lightly Mildred', Enid lectured, clearly frustrated by the last 24 hours of Mildred's antics.

'I'm not saying it to be harsh, I'm saying it because Maud is too nice to say it herself, but also because I care about you Mildred. You're my friend, so please, get up and tell us what's going so we can help support you!' She finished. Enid spoke with a lot of passion, as well as a hint of frustration in her speech. She had clearly planned out what she wanted to say to her, Mildred thought.

Mildred turned around to her friends, as the light from outside lit up her face.

'And you look awful' Enid stated, having finally said all that she had wanted to.

'Yeah, I'm sorry Millie, but Enid does have a point. Ruby and Jadu also asked us what was going on with you yesterday because of how tired you looked! You look as if you've been through the wars. You've got loads of dark marks across your eyes and your nose, it looks like sleep deprivation! And don't think we haven't noticed your red face this morning - I know you would have been upset last night which is why I tried to talk to you.' Maud lectured, as she turned around to face Mildred and stroke the side of her face once again in an attempt to be a comforting presence.

Mildred felt her heart begin to race as Maud mentioned her appearance. She urned away from her quickly. This was exactly what she wanted to avoid - her friends noticing that something had happened to her over the summer. Fortunately, neither of them seemed to question the dark bruising on her face, believing that it was due to poor rest or something. Her puffy face probably masked it too. They did not question her further about it or directly link it to any abuse, so she could still skirt her way around that. Still, was it her appearance that had caused Miss Hardbroom to stare at her for so long yesterday? Was it that obvious? Shit.

'Let us in, Millie' Maud said, exasperated, as she pulled Mildred from her thoughts.

'Ok, I will catch up with you at some point I promise, but I really should be getting off to potions before HB murders me. Or you'll never see me again for me to let you in!' Mildred explained, meeting her friends faces who were clearly unimpressed.

'Oh alright, I didn't have the best summer. I was poorly for quite a few weeks and because of that, I had no energy to contact any of you. I was isolated and unhappy, and since I've come back to school it's been disaster after disaster. I was just overwhelmed yesterday and I let Ethel get to me when I shouldn't have. I promise I will tell you more later but for now, I must go!' Mildred cried, as she stormed out of her room, making her way to the potions laboratory with seconds to spare.

Maud and Enid, however, decided to hang back.

'I think we need to tell someone, Enid' Maud worried, as she turned around to face the other girl. 'Seriously, we do. I don't know if what she's saying is true, but even if it is and she has been poorly for some time, she should have someone in her corner at school, especially if she's lying and it turns out to be something more serious'.

'Oh right, I get you. Like a teacher to vouch for her, to tell the other teachers that she might need a little more help this year? Someone who can keep her out of trouble? Yeah, that might be a good idea actually.' Enid replied, understanding where Maud was coming from, despite thinking all the teachers were out to get Mildred.

'Who could we talk to? Miss Bat?'

'No way! Defo not Miss Bat, she's completely hopeless. We would tell her one thing about Mildred and she'd run away to the cupboard until fifth year, scared about being associated with trouble!' Suggested Enid. She was exaggerating, but she also knew that Miss Bat would be useless. Lovely, but useless.

'Well, Miss Cackle is too important to be ambushed with something like this, and HB - absolutely not, that's sickening! We would finish Millie off with that' Maud joked.

'How about Miss Drill? She's always liked Mildred. She just gets her, being non-magical herself as Mildred has also come from a non-magical background too. I'm sure shed be perfectly understanding!'

Eventually, the two girls decided they would mention a few things to Miss Drill, as they made their way to potions.

Meanwhile, Constance Hardbroom was distracted. She was rarely distracted, but this morning she had found her mind wandering much more than it usually did as she sat observing her potions class. She had experienced a rather restless night, followed by a frustrating morning. She found it hard to empty her mind before bed yesterday as she wondered if it was unwise to ignore Mildred as she thought about what could be going on.

Once she woke up in the morning however, she did not giving Mildred a second thought as her mind became cluttered thinking about her to do list for the day. The first day back was always chaotic. It wasn't until she entered the great hall for breakfast duty at half seven that all her thoughts came back to her again. The girls were slow to move this morning with it being the first day back, and many were not accustomed to the early starts that they had managed to escape all summer. God, how Constance hated the first week back at school - any sort of routine was impossible!

As the girls began to filter in, with the majority looking mopey and miserable, Miss Hardbroom found herself looking out for girls in her form, specifically, for Mildred Hubble. She was often doing this of course, as Mildred was normally the main culprit for causing some sort of trouble, but she was extra observant this morning.

However, as the minutes passed by, Constance did not find what she was looking for. Ruby and Jadu were the first to enter the hall as they sat down on a deserted bench. They were whispering in hushed voices and had anxious expressions on their faces which aroused suspicion in HB. Five minutes later, Maud and Enid scrambled in, with their heads facing the floor, obviously avoiding their form tutor.

'Could they be anymore suspicious?' She thought to herself.

Despite this, Constance thought it was all rather odd, as Mildred always entered the hall with her friends. After last night, it was obvious to see that something had happened, perhaps with another girl in her year? Yet, Maud and Enid had been concerned about Mildred, so the girls must still be friendly with her? Why was Mildred not with anybody?

Curiosity got the best of Constance as she made her way over to the table that Mildred's group were occupying. She looked particularly intimidating this morning and she knew it. Her usual confidence and flare for order was back in place despite a wobbly start to the term yesterday.

'Well I am not complaining about the smaller number of girls in your group today, for one less of you is one less of my troubles. However, I would like to know where Mildred is.' HB commanded, eying up each of the children carefully as they continued to look down at their feet, staying quiet.

'Ignoring my question is not going to help you girls! If you do not tell me where Mildred is, I shall have to go and look for her myself' she continued threateningly, 'and God help her if she isn't where she's supposed to be, doing what she is supposed to be doing. I am rather sick of her and her-'

'Please, Miss Hardbroom! Mildred wasn't feeling very well last night or this morning. Probably due to all the flying. That's why we told you that there was something wrong with her' Enid explained in a hurry. 'She told us that she's getting ready for lessons now, but she wasn't hungry and didn't want to risk feeling worse by eating'.

'Yes, Miss. She said she wanted to feel okay to go to her lessons, so I'm sure she will be here soon.' Maud continued, although to a very unconvinced Miss Hardbroom.

'Are you trying to tell me that Mildred is skipping meals because she is worried that she will miss her lessons? I wasn't born yesterday girls, and I don't know how you expect me to believe that! Mildred would usually do quite the opposite - anything she could to skip a day at school!' Constance criticised.

'I don't know what is going on with you girls, but I am not putting up with it. It ends now. You can tell Mildred that meals are compulsory, and she is not above the rules to refuse to attend them!' She snapped, before strutting away to the front of the room and out of the door to prepare for her fourth year class.

However, as she now sat observing her form group, she couldn't stop herself from staring at Mildred. That was all she had seemed to do this term, as she thought back to how she had overheard the girl last night. Mildred had entered the lesson with seconds to spare, before Maud and Enid surfaced late. After reprimanding the other two, she realised that the girls had come in separately again.

As the lesson went on, Mildred was equally as distracted as Constance. Normally she performed poorly in potions because she tripped over her shoelaces, or had failed to measure out her ingredients accurately. Despite this, the opposite was the case today. Mildred did not have any mishaps, not because of her clumsiness, but rather because she did not do anything. She entered the lesson with her head down and sat quietly at the back of the room, away from the majority of the class. The entire lesson, she stared at the desk in front of her, while Ruby partnered with her in class and did all of the work. It was ridiculous, this wasn't like her at all and it annoyed Constance. She also looked awful. Her eyes were bloodshot and she was struggling to stay awake - which Constance didn't have to guess the reason for that!

'It's almost as if she has come to the lesson physically, but mentally she is not here' Constance thought to herself.

She was confused because Mildred was normally such a presence - such a character within all of her lessons. Today felt very different, and it made Constance slightly uncomfortable. She could handle a misbehaving Mildred, in fact, it usually shaped her lesson plans. But how would she handle such a distant Mildred who still needed to be reprimanded before she would be at risk of failing her WHC? She was truly out of her depth.

She would have to turn to what she always turned to - strict discipline! Zero tolerance and no nonsense was sure to snap Mildred out of this unusual daze, so, at the end of the lesson, Constance pulled the girl aside.

'Mildred. I'd like a word.' Miss Hardbroom said, blocking the door stop Mildred exiting as she was one of the last to leave the room.

Miss Hardbroom did not ask for Mildred to sit down, but she did come closer and looked down at her intensely.

'Do you know why participating in my lessons is important Mildred? Even more important than behaving properly and not blowing things up?' She started sarcastically.

'I think so, Miss Hardbroom' Mildred replied quietly.

'For goodness sake, look at me when I'm talking to you girl. It is important to participate because that is how you learn properly. Despite your ability to destroy my classroom and drive me up the wall, at least when you participate you are able to access the material that is required for your end of year exams' she said sternly. 'If you do not even listen, then I cannot help you Mildred. It is not like you to be so withdrawn in lessons.'

Mildred remained quiet as she attempted to look up at her potions teacher, but failed miserably.

'What is wrong?' Constance asked suddenly. It was demanding but there was an unusual soft tone to her question, which caused Mildred to stare at her teacher, clearly taken a back. She felt the sudden urge to burst into tears and tell HB everything. What on Earth had possessed her, she could never do that!

'Nothing, Miss Hardbroom. I am just tired. I was unwell over the summer you see and -'

'Is being unwell the reason you did not complete your potions project?' Miss Hardbroom interjected. 'Yes, Mildred. I did see you remove it from your bag before hastily shoving it back in. Let me see.'

Mildred's heart sank as she rummaged through her bag before taking out the shabby-looking book which contained a few handwritten scrawls and drawings for her ideas inside it. That was all she had managed to do before she started experiencing Ezra's hand. She had refused to open it again all summer out of fear after that.

Miss Hardbroom shook her head as she muttered under her breath. Mildred then began to shake underneath her, which Constance picked up on. She felt her patience with Mildred thinning. The girl had the audacity to be scared of her now, despite being so ignorant within the lesson moments before.

'Mildred, I do not know what has gone on over your summer holidays, but no story that you tell me, especially ones about sickness which are clearly made up, would convince me that you could not complete your potions project' Constance lectured, as hostility began to creep into her voice now. She knew that Mildred was not sick for the girl would have milked it for special treatment otherwise, or her mother would have informed the school.

'You will receive a two hour detention from me at 7pm tomorrow evening, where I expect you to make a substantial start on your project. Any more poor behaviour from you and I will have no choice but to go back to Miss Cackle about your future here, because you have not seemed to take the start of this term seriously despite your new responsibility being head girl. As I said yesterday Mildred, I am rather disappointed in you, and I wish you would tell me what is really going-'

Constance faltered mid sentence as she looked down at Mildred who was refusing to meet her eyes. The potions teacher had noticed that Mildred's lips were trembling and her eyes were full with tears that were beginning to form within them.

'Mildred, I-'

'Yes Miss Hardbroom, I will be there. P-please can I go to chanting now' Mildred said shakily, interrupting Constance's speech.

Miss Hardbroom began to open her mouth, as she reached out a hand to put on the child's arm, but no words came out. Mildred seemed to take the silence as an abrupt dismissal before she moved from the room and away from Miss Hardbroom at record speed, before she feld down the corridor.

Miss Hardbroom was left standing in the middle of her empty potions classroom in complete awe, wondering what an earth was going on. She had said plenty of harsh things to Mildred over the years, and the girl seemed to have become immune to her remarks, yet today, Constance had clearly upset her. Had she upset her yesterday too? Was that why Mildred was crying in her room? Since when did the girl become so sensitive? And why wouldn't she speak her mind like she usually did?

Constance did not understand what was happening and she hated not knowing everything. Absolutely despised it, in fact - she was starting to stress. She was going to get to the bottom of Mildred's behaviour if it was the last thing she did, and it was going to start with a thorough questioning in her two hour detention with the girl tomorrow evening, whether she liked it or not.