Lovesick Witches

Potential Punishment

My ear pressed harder into the thick oak of the ancient door. I turned to face Mildred and cringed as her nose twisted and skewed through making a desperate attempt to hold in a sneeze. 

"Don't you dare," I whispered to her, making my voice as firm as I could whilst keeping my volume to a minimum. Mildred's face relaxed and she nodded to me, so I made a sigh of relief and reconnected my ear to the door. 

"I simply cannot believe that such sensible pupils as yourselves should even think of the idea to cause this chaos!" the voice of Miss Cackle scolded from inside her office. "All three of you are highly skilled on your broomsticks so I can only assume that you intended to create this disruption." 

"Sorry, Miss," Maud and Felicity muttered in an out-of-sync unison, the sound so muffled I struggled to make out the words. 

"And as for you, Miss Nightshade," Miss Cackle continued, "not only did you make a huge disturbance to the assembly by entering on your broomstick mid-way through, but you thought it necessary to fly straight into your poor potions teacher! I am so very disappointed in you, Enid." She paused and let out a sigh, as if to prove her disappointment. "I really thought you had gotten over all this silly mischief. But, I suppose some people just never change." 

"What are they saying?" asked Mildred, making me jump by her extremely close proximity. 

"Shhh," was my reply. But as I placed my head back onto the wood, I felt queasy with the knowledge that my friend was staring at me, too stubborn to accept my unhelpful answer. 

"Miss Cackle is telling them off. Stating her disappointment and whatnot, just the usual teacher scold. But, please just be quiet for a moment and let me listen." 

Mildred backed off and leant against the wall opposite the office. 

"If it were up to me, I would have all three of you expelled for this unacceptable behaviour. Especially you, Miss Nightshade. But, as I am not the one who has been most affected by your foolishness, I have left it to Miss Hardbroom to decide what your punishment shall be." 

"Thank you, Ada," said the soft voice of Hecate, and the sound of the creaking floorboards allowed me to guess that she had stepped forward, in place of Miss Cackle. I hadn't even been aware that my baby was in the room as, so far, I had not heard her speak. 

"I do agree with Miss Cackle," informed Hecate, her voice suddenly strong and intense, "but, on the sole basis that you fifth years are due to leave the school in just a matter of weeks anyway, I shall not think it necessary to expel you. That being said, one slip-up from now to the end of term, and I will not let you off so lightly. You have been warned." 

"Thank you, Miss Hardbroom!" exclaimed Felicity, her utter delight radiating through the little holes in the battered door. A 'thank you' was muttered from Maud quickly after. 

"That's adorable!" Mildred said, once again making me jump. I faced her and raised an eyebrow, both to question what she found so cute, and why she was incapable of not scaring the life out of me every two minutes. 

"I decided to listen in," she whispered. "Only caught the end of the convo, so you'll have to tell me the rest later on. But I think it is very sweet that HB is letting them get away with it." 

"Is it?" I asked. "Is it sweet, I mean. What is so adorable about it?" 

"Don't tell me you don't know why she didn't expel them." 

I just looked at her, waiting for a clearer explanation. 

"She knows how close you are to your friends. If you weren't here, she would have had all three of them expelled the second they entered the hall on their broomsticks. It's no miracle that she's allowed them to stay here." 

I felt my cheeks flush with warmth as I took in Mildred's words. It was true. Hecate was doing it for me. God, I loved her so much. 

"What's that?" said Mildred, curiously. I followed her line of sight towards a blob of shimmering purple liquid splattered on the ground a few meters further down the hallway. Glancing back at my friend, I nodded to let her know I would go and see what it was. 

I took care in tiptoeing as the faint muffling of Miss Cackle's scolding quietened down behind me. As I approached the sparkling gloop, I had to avoid the shards of glass surrounding it. It was definitely a potion. But it was so queer in appearance, and unlike any potion I had ever encountered. 

"Winning potion," exclaimed Mildred, somehow right next to me. I jumped at the surprise, once again. 

"Seriously, Mildred?!" I answered, louder than I probably should have. 

"Sorry." 

"Wait... what did you say?" 

"Winning potion," she repeated. "That's what the purple liquid is. It's easy to identify because of how unique it looks. I've only seen it used once, when Ethel made it in first year to win a broomstick competition." 

"Of course she did," I sighed. 

"What do you think it's being used for?" 

I considered this for a moment. It didn't make sense before. The results of the head girl contest. Beatrice should have won, and I couldn't make myself believe that Miss Cackle and HB thought otherwise. Something else then occurred to me. The look that Ethel exchanged with Fenella in the assembly this morning - it was definitely suspicious. Ethel knew that Fenella had won, even before it had been announced; I was sure of it. 

"You don't think..." I started. 

"Ethel," finished Mildred. 

It must have been. 

"We have to go," I stated, and the two of us ran down the corridor to find answers.