Hello everyone! I hope everyone is well!. This is my first story in many years about The Worst Witch. I got the idea for this rewatching the 1998 series and from Series 2 Episode 5 The Inspector Calls. Now as an adult I can understand the characters a lot better. I know the idea of diving into the way Constance was abused by Broomhead has been done to death, but I wanted to include a scene where Amelia goes to comfort Constance sensing her distress. At times she looked about to go into a full panic attack which is why I wrote this. I don't think there are enough stories about Constance and Amelia's bond, which is by far the best in 1998.
Feel free to leave requests, right now I want to focus on oneshots, but I might consider a longer fic if it is an idea I love. I won't write for the 2017 version, I hate the changes, especially the character personalities.
This is by far not perfect but hope you still enjoy it.
Safe
Hearing the knock at her bedroom door, Constance opened the door, looking as stone-faced and emotionless as ever.
"Constance" Amelia started "Are you alright?" Amelia asked looking at her concerned.
"Of course Miss Cackle.." Constance replied unable to stop her voice from shaking.
"I have something I need to discuss with you," Amelia said. Constance stepped aside to let Amelia in her bedroom. The headmistress entered and looked at her deputy.
"Would you like to sit out of the inspection?" Amelia commented. Constance looked confused.
"No, I am perfectly capable of teaching whilst under inspection" Constance replied.
"Constance...You disappeared...literally, when you saw the inspector, I know you have a history, and if that is going to affect you…" Amelia started.
"I am fine, I just needed some space" Constance replied.
"Constance...what happened with this woman? You looked on the verge of throwing up, or having a panic attack, I have never seen you so on edge" Amelia said. Constance turned away sharply so her back was facing her.
"I told you, she was my personal tutor at witch training college" Constance replied.
"Yes, but you are scared of her...If you need to talk about what happened" Amelia started.
"I don't...just make sure she is kept far away from the students" Constance replied.
"But inspectors normally interact with the students alone" Amelia replied. It was after all common for inspectors to talk to the students alone so they could discuss any problems they might not feel comfortable talking about with teachers there.
"Amelia…" Constance started showing she was serious about what she was saying as she used her first name, which she rarely did. "You can not let any of the students alone with her, especially not the troublemakers...like Mildred Hubble...just trust me," Constance said.
"Are you implying that Broomhead would hit a child?" Amelia questioned not knowing what else she could mean.
"I know I am strict, but I know there is a line, that woman...she crosses the line without a care" Constance replied. "If I messed up, that was one of her favourite methods to torture me with, she knows I didn't know how to defend myself from non-magical attacks" Constance explained.
"Constance…" Amelia said sadly.
"Locking kids up in a dark cupboard for hours at a time, depriving them of food, you don't know what that woman is capable of, that is not even the half of what that woman did" Constance replied as she sat next to Amelia, who had sat on her bed a few minutes earlier.
Amelia sighed and touched her shoulder, an action which had only become possible over the last few years. When they first met, Constance would freak out completely by physical contact.
"I am sorry, I am sorry for what happened to you...I can't change the past but I need you to know, you are safe" Amelia told her seriously.
"I am never safe from her" Constance replied. She knew she would always haunt her.
"Maybe mentally no, but I won't let her hurt you again" Amelia told her.
"Why?" Constance asked her confused. She didn't understand why Amelia would possibly care so much.
"I love you dearly, as a friend, like a daughter, and we don't let the people that we love be hurt, if it comes down to it I will protect you" Amelia told Constance seriously.
Amelia had only seen her friend cry a handful of times, and even then it was only a few tears when she was much younger, but her words and assurance that she was no longer alone let for the first time in many years, the facade fade, the mask slip as Constance Hardbroom openly cried, touched at the woman's words, but also terrified of her old tutor.
"Come on sweetheart, it is going to be alright" Amelia said wrapping an arm around her and rubbing her back. Constance cried harder at this, her cries turning to sobs as if she had been waiting years to get them out. Amelia knew how much effort it had taken to talk about her past, the past she worked so hard to suppress.
"Thank you Amelia," Constance said through sobs "I.. l...c..care about you too," Constance said knowing she couldn't say the word love no matter how hard she tried.
Amelia knew that is what she meant though and beamed as she let the woman cry. She wasn't sure how long they sat there, and she wasn't sure she would ever know the entire story but she knew protecting her friend was second nature. She had known from the moment they met she would never give up on her, even when everyone told her to. Something about Constance Hardbroom made her want to care for her the way no one ever had been able to.
"We can do this...together...let's go save our school" Constance said feeling braver and free somehow after their chat. She knew Broomhead would always torture her, but things were different now as she had people who cared about her. She was no longer the teenager stuck with Broomhead alone in the corner.