Mildred's 'last first day' as Enid had described it, went rather smoothly compared to her return to school the previous year where she had crash landed into the staff room, straight on top of Miss Hardbroom. This time around, the mood was much brighter as friend groups of happy girls re-entered Walkers Gate, all glad to see each other again after a long time apart. The September sun was also warming up the castle's courtyard, dousing the usually damp area in rays of golden light providing warmth for the cooler weather had not hit Britain yet.

Unfortunately for Mildred though, one person was still acting 'cool' as ever, for Miss Hardbroom had been desperate the get rid of her once they had landed safely inside the school walls. She ushered her away to some random girls in the now fourth year, who Mildred knew to be friendly with Sybil and Clarice, but did not know them well enough herself to spark up any worthwhile conversation. As a result, she found herself sitting alone under the broom shed solemnly, wondering what on earth was going on with the dark-haired woman who used to want her around all the time - the woman she had grown to care so much about.

Despite her frustrated sulking, worrying about every possible scenario, Mildred was saved from marching up to the staff room herself and shaking HB out of her odd state as a familiar voice brought normality back into her life once more.

'MILLIEE' was the first thing that Mildred heard from her friend group, immediately snapping her out of her bad mood as she felt her best friend, Maud Moonshine, wrap her arms around her from behind.

'Hello, you' Mildred turned about before she grinned back, all of her previous thoughts forgotten about as she caught up with Maud. The pair of them hadn't seen each other all summer for a variety of reasons. In all honestly, Mildred had been too scared to ask Constance if she could invite her friends around for it wasn't her house to open up to the other girls in her year, which was why she was relieved when Maud had told her she was going travelling around America and Canada for the majority of the eight weeks, leaving Mildred in a lonely but easier predicament anyway. Despite this, Mildred had missed the company of those her own age, fearing she would have gone entirely insane without the presence of Wolf over the holidays.

'Go on then...how was the Hardbroom holidays? You're still alive? She didn't murder you and this isn't just some well constructed hologram then?' Enid interjected mockingly, putting her hand on Mildred's shoulder. She had crept up on the other two girls as per usual with Ruby and Jadu following closely behind, pointed hats, cats and broomsticks in tow.

Mildred had to mask her surprised expression as she hadn't expected Ruby and Jadu to return for the fifth year despite them discussing it briefly at the end of the last term. It was an elective year in which the girls chose to undertake, as long as they had achieved their place with sufficient exam results. Although everyone in the year had met the required standards for the fifth form, for Miss Hardbroom seemed to have given up on her usual focus surrounding 'standards and discipline' last year, it was still strange that so many girls had decided to return. In fact, a total of 10 out of the 15 in her year group had, a very unusual occurrence indeed.

Originally, Ruby had told Mildred that she wanted to leave the witching world behind after Cackle's, practising magic in her own time as her real dream was to set up a tap-dancing company and become a choreographer. Additionally, Jadu wanted to study a normal degree like English or History before taking up a magical career, desperate to see if she could combine her two skills into a unique job, having already proposed her own business plans.

The more Mildred actually thought about it, the more she realised that the non-magical community was becoming an increasingly appealing option to young witches in the modern world, even those who had attended some of the most prestigious magical schools such as Pentangles or Amulets. The reality was that the world was changing, and that witches no longer had to hide themselves away as they had done for centuries previously so they were free to do as they pleased. Naturally, young women who had been sheltered from the real world for so long probably found it as interesting to them as Mildred had about the magical world. Consequently, much to Miss Hardbroom's horror, it was common for many girls to consider their fourth year at Cackle's as the final year, only staying on for that tedious extra year if they had ambitions to go onto a traditional college such as Weirdsister or Warlock's in which the Witches Higher Certificate was required.

'Oh, come on Mil! You can't avoid the question by staring into space' Jadu laughed, oblivious to Mildred's wandering mind as she was eager to get the gossip on her summer holidays.

'Oh! Sorry...I will give you the rundown but I was just wondering Jadu...and you, Ruby...why did you come back this year? It's not as if I don't want you here, but I thought you'd be the first ones to get out of here before you could say toadstools and tree frogs!'

'No way! Have you not heard? I thought you'd be the first to know if you were staying with HB!' Ruby questioned, genuinely confused by Mildred's response.

'Heard what?' Mildred worried nervously. Was this what HB had been hiding from her over the last couple of weeks?

Ruby could say anything right now, and she was scared on what it was going to be.

'No need to look so worried, Mil. There's change coming to Cackle's, that's all - I saw an article about it in the Witches Weekly. Miss Cackle announced that she was going to be expanding the school curriculum to include more non-magical subjects. We already have basic maths and science as part of the potions course, as well as the history of magic, but she's also introducing Art and English!' Jadu elaborated, beaming at the other girls excitedly.

'Oh, Jadu! That's perfect for you if you want to study English at university, no wonder you stayed' Maud appreciated although slightly apprehensive about having to study even more subjects than were already required.

'Exactly, and Ruby didn't want to be the only one leaving because of her crippling FOMO, so I convinced her to stay behind for one more year too - I know right, expect the unexpected! No harm in it is there, Rubes?'

'No. None at all' Ruby replied glumly, looking unconvinced as she observed Miss Hardbroom storming down the staff corridor and down to the potions lab in the distance, already sensing how dramatic this year was going to be with the likes of her about.

'Well, the gangs all back together then...now, to celebrate - spill, Mildred' Enid commanded, eliciting fits of laughter from the entire crowd.

Mildred did indeed, 'spill' as she told her friends all about her summer with Miss Hardbroom, including the amusing screaming match she had enforced on her as a result of the entire Wolf situation which the other girls found hilarious.

However, despite Mildred's vivid retelling of events, by the time the entire staff body had gathered at the front of the courtyard, her good mood was short lived. Miss Cackle had announced the changes, and Mildred did not like it one bit. Nor did Miss Hardbroom by the looks of it, displaying a face of thunder as Miss Ravenscroft was introduced, not only as Art and English teacher, as school counsellor and wellbeing lead, but also, to Mildred's horror, as the fifth years form tutor. Mildred couldn't deny the sense of unease that washed over her, realising that for the first time in her entire life, her year group was not going to be under Miss Hardbroom's care. She remembered what Ruby had said, about thinking Mildred would have been the first to know about all the change having lived with Constance, but this was not the case.

Was this what HB had been hiding from her? The reason why she had pushed her away and been in such a distant mood over the last few weeks? Surely she wouldn't have been that dramatic? Despite Miss Hardbroom's hatred for change, she probably would have complained to Mildred about it during one of their conversations, or at least warned her about her new form tutor. No...she was hiding something else and Mildred was sure to get to the bottom of it, even if that was the last thing she did.

-x-

Contrary to the earlier sunshine, heavy rain hit the castle later that night as Mildred found herself unable to fall asleep despite having endured a decent first day back, familiarising herself with her friends.

Unable to bear the hammering of the opened heavens any longer, she had tip toed from her room and over to the other side of the corridor, going to chat with Maud when the clock had struck midnight. Unfortunately, much to Mildred's distaste, her friend had already fallen asleep, shattered from the antagonising effort that came with the first day back. Now she found herself lying aimlessly alone in her rickety bed, tossing and turning as she fought sleep. Her body was exhausted from the long journey across the country, but her mind wide awake, spiralling with a variety of thoughts and feelings about the year ahead.

Listening to the groans of the storm, Mildred thought about how strange it was that this time yesterday she was trying to have an honest conversation with Miss Hardbroom because she was worried about her, but now she was back at school and HB was back to being her usual, no nonsense self. It was almost as if the last year had never happened as she got extreme deja-vu to her younger years at school, when she was a small, scared girl who hated being left alone at night, and hated Miss Hardbroom even more.

Of course she didn't hate Constance, but as the wind shook the windows and the entire room seemed to contain a chilling draft, Mildred could not believe that she had actually spent the summer living with her form tutor, for it felt like another lifetime ago now. Although she was glad to be back at school with the girls in her year group, she also hated the change that it had brought about, not just in HB but also in her. The academy did not feel the same without the likes of Fenny and Griz as Mildred found herself wishing that she was still chasing Wolf around on hay bales, for the year ahead was bound to bring nothing but stress for the WHC exams and severe emotional turmoil around leaving for college.

She could only describe this feeling as homesickness, which made her heart sink as she realised that she had now come to accept HB as her new home. When did she allow herself to get so vulnerable - so damn attached?

In frustration, Mildred leapt up from her bed to go on a quick walk to the bathroom, in hopes that stretching her legs might clear her racing head and ground her body before she went back to bed. In all honesty, she still struggled a lot with coming to terms surrounding what had happened last year, so it was on nights like this where she had come to recognise her negative thought spiral and fight the urges that came to her when she was by herself, without anyone's help. Not wanting to bother with waking up Constance, for she was sulking with her slightly, Mildred simply went to wash her face to distract herself from any self-destructive behaviour until she froze dead in her tracks by her door, startled by a noise from outside of it.

At first, Mildred had no idea what she was hearing. It sounded as if an animal was shuffling about outside her bedroom, and her first initial thought was one of fear as she believed that someone had been trying to sneak up on her. It wouldn't be the first time it had happened, for Mildred could no longer count on her fingers the amount of times HB had spied on her from outside of her door, or when she had come into contact with evils such as Agatha Cackle, or the amount of times that Ethel and Drusilla had waited to childishly pounce on her from out there, whether that be in the form of turning her into a frog or creating a magical cyclone which wiped out her entire bedroom.

Creeping slowly to listen in the crack of the door hinge, Mildred tried to get a closer listen to what was going on and her heart skipped a beat as she did so. A person was undeniably standing outside her door as she saw a shadowed silhouette and she heard heavy, laboured breathing, as if someone was trying to steady their resolve and encourage themselves to go ahead with whatever they were planning.

Taking a deep breath, Mildred knew what she had to do as she swung the door open at full force, her casting fingers in full 'HB-style' defence position, ready to strike back against anyone who sought to harm her. This time last year, she probably would have hidden under her duvet, but she was different now. She was wiser - she was stronger, and she wasn't going to let anyone hurt her again.

However, what she saw next was not something she could ever have expected as she froze dead in her tracks, her mouth falling wide open and her hands immediately dropping back down to her side, completely surrendering herself.

It was Ethel. But she was not with Drusilla, nor was she bitter, nasty or up to no good - she was crying, and she was crying heavily.

'ETHEL?!' Mildred shouted in confusion, before throwing a hand over her mouth, realising that this action could have summoned one of the teachers or sleeping students at any moment. Although she despised Ethel, she did not want to draw unnecessary attention to her when she was in this vulnerable state, so her action was more a result of shock rather than one of malice.

The more that Mildred thought about it, the more she realised that she had not seen Ethel all day, for she had been late to registration, as she wondered what on earth this was all about.

Without saying another word, Mildred steered Ethel into the centre of her bedroom before quickly plonking her down in the centre of her bed, unsure of what else to do with her. She had considered taking Ethel back to her own room, but having shouted so boisterously in the corridor at such a late hour, she was reluctant to be spotted anywhere but her own bedroom for she did not want to receive a telling off before the first full day of her fifth year had even began.

Mildred waited for about a minute for Ethel to say something, but when she didn't and continued to look down at the floor instead, she decided to take matters into her own hands as sensitively as she could despite the abnormal circumstances.

'Ethel?' She began, before going over to her face her, sitting cross-legged on the floor. 'Ethel, what's going on? Are you okay? Are you hurt? Why don't we go to Miss Cackle or something and-'

'How did you do it, Mildred?' She began, interrupting softly, before looking Mildred dead in the eyes, putting their entire past behind them for a few seconds.

'Sorry? Do what?'

'Learn to live again.'

Mildred's eyes widened in shock as she felt them well with tears, having realised what Ethel had just said. After everything that happened last year, for everyone knew about Mildred's gut-wrenching struggle with mental health and her experience with abuse, she put the two and two together, realising why Ethel had chosen to come to her tonight, rather than her closest friend.

'Because someone wanted me to live again. Someone gave their life for me and it made me want to live for them, so with the right support, I did.'

'Miss Hardbroom hated you though. She was horrible to you. How could you find it within yourself to forgive someone who treated you like that?' Ethel questioned, not wanting to hurt Mildred's feelings or drive the student and teacher apart, for she was genuinely curious and wanted to know if anyone could ever find it within themselves to forgive her.

'Because hurt people, hurt people' Mildred stated quietly, feeling her bottom lip start to tremble as she fought back emotion in what was inevitably about to be an emotional conversation. 'She did what she did, I felt what I felt, it is what it is. She changed - she gave up everything to save me - so in return, I moved on for her.'

'Hurt people...hurt people?' Ethel whispered questioningly, her entire body shaking as more tears fell from her tired eyes.

'Yes...something like that.' Mildred responded, clambering up onto the bed to sit closer to Ethel. 'Who hurt you Ethel? What caused you to hurt other people back? And why are you here now?'

Making eye contact with Mildred once more, trying to decide if she was being genuine right now, Ethel concluded that the other girl wouldn't judge her for explaining herself. This time, exactly a year ago, the two of them had been having a physical fight in the courtyard after Ethel had unintentionally wound Mildred up about her abuse, but now she found that things were entirely different as she believed that due to Mildred's experiences over the last year, this girl who she so often thought of as her nemesis was the only person she felt would understand her right now.

'I've been second choice my entire life. My older sister, Esmerelda, took everything from me. My intelligence, my friends, my mother's love - everything. She's always had to have it all. My father has always been too caught up in his own selfish world to see me for who I am, and I've spent my entire life trying to be the sister to Sybil that Esmerelda never was to me, and I've failed, drastically...I've been an awful person and it's made me so lonely as a result of it..."

Mildred stared at Ethel, waiting to see if she would carry on with her explanation once she'd trailed off. Although coming from a dysfunctional family was definitely not an easy thing to go through, Mildred thought that being compared to your older sister wasn't exactly a worthwhile reason for bullying everyone around you for the last four years, so she had to bite back a snide retort, not wanting to upset Ethel further.

'I know it doesn't seem like the end of the world, in fact, it probably seems ridiculously sheltered, but it's ruined my life. I really struggle with self worth because of it which is why I do dramatic things to find that attention elsewhere…anyway, I met this boy last year you see, and he gave me everything I ever wanted at first. He finally saw me for who I am, not for being 'Esmerelda's younger sister' or ' one of Mr Hallow's daughters', but for me, for my talents and my personality. I know no one at school sees it, but I promise its there underneath. I thought he...I thought he loved me...but he didn't, he-'

'He hurt you, didn't he?' Mildred interjected, placing a hand on Ethel's arm as she encouraged her to explain the harder half of the conversation.

'He-he did.' Ethel choked out, before completely breaking down on Mildred.

The other girl could do nothing apart from climb into the covers and hold Ethel closely, trying to calm her down so her sobs wouldn't rattle the room and awaken anyone else within the school. She felt her heart break for the girl as she thought back to her own situation last year and how different the pair of them had gone about it, all because Ethel felt like she had someone who could help her, whereas Mildred hadn't believed that would ever be the case for her last September.

'You're braver than me Ethel. I was never strong enough to tell someone, they had to force it out of me in the end, when it was almost too late.' Mildred reassured her, letting her know that she had done the right thing. 'What happened, Ethel?'

'He was called Alexander. He was always cruel. He had this underlying sadistic character that I was too blind to see. Even when it shone through I was too smitten to see it - I just wanted to be loved you see, and I thought I was. I thought I was all big and grown up, dating someone who was older than me, but he just saw me as easy - as vulnerable.'

'They always target the vulnerable ones. It's not your fault, it's his'.

'Either way, he hurt me a lot Mildred. It's been happening all summer and I finally found the courage to leave him yesterday, because he can't get to me here at Cackle's, but I was too scared at the time. He controlled every element of my life - isolated me from my family and the witching world by keeping me in his house. He'd assault me in all sorts of ways and I didn't know how to cope with it to be honest.'

'You need to talk to someone Ethel! Miss Hardbroom was very-'

'No, not Miss Hardbroom. She's yours, I couldn't take her from you. She loves you Mildred and everyone knows it. No one knows why, but everyone knows that she does'.

Upon hearing this, Mildred's cheeks flushed and a singular tear escaped from her eye because she had needed to hear this for a while now. Miss Hardbroom had pushed her away recently, but it was on occasions such as this where she remembered that she had been like a mother to her. She had risked everything for her and it would take more than a few stupid secrets to break everything down. She was going to have to tell her about how she felt soon, and she accepted this now.

'I think I'll try and talk to that counsellor, Miss Ravenscroft...she seems nice enough and it's not like I ever have to go back to him, unlike you did. The injuries weren't even that bad either.. It was more mental because I've got no scars but I was just more emotionally scarred than anything else and-'

'Ethel.' Mildred suddenly stated, very seriously as she turned to face her once more. 'There's no such thing as 'bad enough'. There will never be a 'bad enough' because no matter what happens, there will always be someone out there that you'll compare yourself to, especially if you've had a difficult home life. Your self worth does not belong in the hands of other people. Something horrible happened to you and you didn't deserve it, end of'.

For the first time that night, Mildred saw a genuine smile cross Ethel's face as the girl got up to leave her bedroom and take herself back to her own bed, tiredness now evident on her face.

'Thank you, Mildred. You didn't have to listen to me tonight and I am sorry for how I've treated you. I'd understand if you went and joked about all this with Maud and Enid tomorrow, I know I deserve it.'

'I won't, Ethel. I promise you I won't. I am always here if you want to talk, it'll stay between us. Let's just put everything behind us for the sakes of our last year, it's not worth it anymore. We can pretend this never happened.'

Nodding her head slowly and beaming back at the girl with two messy plaits, Ethel bid her arch nemesis goodnight, understanding that things would probably go back to normal tomorrow for they had to keep up with their convincing facade somehow.

'Oh...one more thing though. I'm never touching a boy ever again. We could make quite a good team, you and I.'

And with a wink and a flick of her hair, Ethel exited the room as quickly as she had entered it, leaving Mildred dumbstruck as she wondered if that conversation had actually happened, or if she'd merely dreamt it.

Only time would tell, she guessed, as she thought back to what Jadu had said earlier - always expect the unexpected.

A/N - I know Ethel wasn't really featured in the previous story but I just love a frenemies pairing. She is such a complex character so I wanted to try something new by including her central to this plot…exciting things are coming ;)

Does anyone have any thoughts on Mildred and Ethel's relationship or anything they'd like to see?