Chapter Text
A knock at the door almost startled Hecate Hardbroom as she tied her dressing gown over her nightclothes, just about ready to begin her rounds. Whichever student, judging by the height of the knock, had decided to disturb her peace was cutting it quite fine with the 10pm curfew.
Hecate opened the door with a wave of her hand, and was hardly surprised to see a disheveled Mildred Hubble stood in the doorway, a stack of paper in her trembling hand.”
“Mildred Hubble,” Hecate drawled. “Why am I not surprised to see you up and about so close to lights out?”
Mildred remained silent, mouth slightly agape as if considering what to say. Upon closer inspection of the bane of her life, Hecate noticed that the young girl’s eyes were puffy and red, a clear indication that she had been crying. Mildred sniffled pitifully, and Hecate nearly felt sympathy. I must be going soft, she drily thought to herself. Hecate sighed, and conjured a black handkerchief, waving it towards the girl who hadn’t moved an inch since her arrival.
“Come on in, girl, and chin up. We wouldn’t want you ending up as miserable as your Potions Mistress, would we?” Mildred’s eyebrows would have lifted off her face if they could, the shock evident on her face. Had HB, the world’s most serious woman, made a joke?
“Try not to look quite so shocked, Miss Hubble, I’m not entirely devoid of a sense of humour,” Hecate remarked with a hint of a smirk on her face, offering a chair to the young girl. “Now, lest I have to repeat myself for a third time, come in and sit down, and you can tell me what is bothering you at this time of night.”
Mildred stumbled into Hecate’s quarters, tripping over the rug as she looked around the sitting room. Hecate sat down primly on the sofa, and invited Mildred to join her, inwardly glad that the hapless girl had the common sense to remain a safe distance away. She raised a dark eyebrow delicately, an indication that she was to start talking.
“Well, the thing is, Miss Hardbroom-“ Mildred stopped, as tears began to well up in her curious eyes.
Hecate huffed inwardly. This would be a long night.
“I’ve been struggling with Potions a lot, but you know that already,” Mildred stuttered, unsure whether she should continue. “I really want to do well, Miss Hardbroom, I don’t want to be the worst witch anymore, but I spend all night studying and I’m still no better! I didn’t want to ask for help ‘coz I didn’t want to be a bother, but I’m so far behind I don’t know what to do. Like this essay for you, I’ve spent all week on it, and it just doesn’t make sense.” And the dam finally burst, Mildred putting her face in her hands and started sobbing.
Hecate’s eyes were close to bulging out of her head, how was she meant to deal with this? She looked at the girl, cursing to herself. How had she not noticed how pale Mildred Hubble had become how dark the circles under her eyes were? This wouldn’t do.
“The problem, Miss Hubble, is that you’ve stopped taking care of yourself in your attempts to be a better witch.” Hecate consoled her quietly, awkwardly patting her shoulder. She thought about the best way to help her student, and wondered when she had ever been asked for help by a pupil before. Never, she realised sadly.
“For the time being, you need to go to bed, Miss Hubble.” She held up a slender hand as Mildred opened her mouth to protest.
“You don’t have to complete my essay tonight, I will give you an extension. Are you faring similarly in your other subjects?” Mildred nodded mutely.
“Any other essays due imminently?” A silent shake of the head.
“Alright, good. Meet me in my office at four o’clock sharp tomorrow. We will go over your essay together, and I will show you how to structure it properly. But, you won’t be able to focus tomorrow unless you get a good night’s sleep tonight. Now, I think it’s high time I return you to your own room, otherwise I fear I will have to deal with you falling asleep in my chambers.”
Mildred jumped up, the bright spark returning to her eyes. Hecate decided to walk her charge back to her room, rather than transfer, despite her distaste for the ordinary form of transport. It would do Mildred good to calm herself down before she went to sleep.
The pair walked up to Mildred’s turret in a stilted silence, Hecate trying not to stride paces ahead. When they reached the dark room, Hecate ushered Mildred into her bed, and extinguished the candle by her side.
She was just about to close the door behind her, when she heard a timid “thank you, Miss Hardbroom” come from the pile of bedding.
“Sleep well, Miss Hubble,” Hecate whispered, before transferring back to her chambers. She was so tired that she entirely forgot her rounds, instead falling straight into her own bed, asleep before her head even hit the pillow.
The next day had been relatively stress-free thus far for Hecate, her older students being much more competent than the younger years. Her last class of the day was with the first years, which included one Mildred Hubble. She had looked a lot brighter that morning at breakfast, which was encouraging, and she hoped that Mildred would be able to focus more in the class that could be so volatile.
Hecate liked to remain invisible in her laboratory as the students entered, so she could hear things they wouldn’t normally say around a teacher. It was her way of catching out troublemakers, and today, Ethel Hallow was the target of her attention.
“Let’s hope you don’t blow up the lab like you did in Spell Science this morning,” Ethel remarked snidely, her pointy nose so far up in the air Hecate wondered whether a bat would fly up it.
“Leave it out, Ethel!” Of course, it was Maud Spellbody that came to Mildred’s defence, though the girl in question seemed subdued. She made a note to ask Mildred about that later.
“Maybe Miss Hardbroom will act on your incompetence, and get you expelled,” the middle Hallow girl pressed, and Hecate knew it was time to step in.
She moved until she was right behind Ethel, before making herself visible again, to the shock of everyone in the room. She didn’t know why this was still so surprising, it happened at least twice a week.
“Or maybe, Ethel Hallow, you shouldn’t presume to put words in my mouth. The only thing I shall be acting on is your intolerable behaviour towards another student. Surely, you can tell me Rule 53, Subsection C from the Witches’ Code?” Hecate was simmering with rage. Ethel Hallow had committed many misdemeanours, but she could not ignore the girl using her as ammunition for her taunts.
“Witches should never speak for another witch unless it has been directly requested,” Ethel recited miserably.
“And Rule 87 Subsection G?” Hecate bit out.
“Never speak in a derogatory manner about a witch in your own coven, Miss Hardbroom.”
“So you haven’t suddenly lost all knowledge gained in your magical education, you are just choosing to ignore it. How... disappointing,” Hecate hissed, watching as Ethel’s shoulders sagged. “I’ll see you in detention tomorrow night, Miss Hallow.”
Ethel nodded without a word, a scowl etched on her face. Hecate chanced a glance at Mildred, who still looked utterly apathetic, idly playing with her stirrer.
“Today, you will concoct an Enlarging Potion. Some of you,” she glanced pointedly at Ethel, “May be tempted to use this on your egos, but I ask that you refrain.
“Mildred Hubble,” Hecate directed her gaze at her morose student, who at least had been paying attention. “How many Waterlily Pads should one add to their cauldron, and when?”
Hecate watched as Mildred furrowed her brow, obviously thinking hard. She ignored a stifled giggle from Ethel and Drusilla.
“Five, Miss Hardbroom. You put them in after you’ve stirred in the crushed Chokeberries.”
“Correct, Miss Hubble. Well done,” and she gave the tiniest smirk as she saw Ethel’s mouth drop open.
“Close your mouth, Miss Hallow, or have you decided you enjoyed your stint as a frog? You look as if you’re trying to catch flies.” The whole class burst into laughter, as a faint blush coloured Ethel’s cheeks.
As the girls started brewing, Hecate patrolled her laboratory, catching any potential mistakes before they could occur. She was pleasantly surprised to find that Mildred had been mostly successful with her potion. The slight underestimation of the amount of Chokeberry needed (she suspected that Mildred had eaten a few when she wasn’t looking) had caused Mildred’s head to expand faster than it should have.
“The little mishap with the Chokeberries aside, an admirable effort, Miss Hubble,” Hecate commented, and Mildred could have sworn that she winked at her, though Hecate would deny it if asked.
The rest of the lesson passed without incident, and Hecate stood by her desk, hands over the back of her chair as the class filed out, with Mildred trailing behind her peers. Mildred indicated to her friends that she had a question for Miss Hardbroom, and that she would see them later. Maud and Enid accepted this, despite wondering whether Mildred was quite mad to ask the fearsome HB a question.
Hecate offered her arm to Mildred, who took it hesitantly, and transferred them both to her office.
“You don’t normally have to touch someone to be transferred by them, do you Miss Hardbroom?” Mildred asked curiously, noticing the lack of transfer sickness she normally experienced.
“No, but I find it reduces the chances of someone... losing their lunch on my shoes,” Hecate commented, smoothing down the fabric of her dress. Mildred nodded in understanding, and pulled out her essay plan.
Hecate sat down at her desk, and directed Mildred to the chair opposite. She was acutely aware of the girl swinging her legs in her periphery, while craning her neck to see the comments Hecate was writing.
“This is entirely unstructured, and your essay makes no clear argument,” Hecate remarked crossly, red slashes appearing all over the paper. Looking up at Mildred, she berated herself when she saw a bowed head and trembling hands.
“But, the information is all correct, and some superfluous details there also. Well researched, Mildred. I would say that it would be just about worthy of a Passable.” She was desperate to salvage some of the girl’s confidence, annoyed that she had reverted back to her usual self so soon.
“A Passable? I’ve never had one of those in Potions before!” Mildred exclaimed, hands gripping the arms of the altogether too large chair tightly.
“Don’t get too ahead of yourself, Miss Hubble. Correctly structured and well argued, I could be tempted to give you a Remarkable,” Hecate returned to her comments, writing less aggressively now.
“Wow,” Mildred breathed. A Remarkable was something she hadn’t dreamed of achieving in her time at Cackle’s.
“Look here. You could form an argument for the more suitable use of Toad’s Guts over Frog’s Guts if you link these few points, and use these as an antithesis.” Hecate invited Mildred to stand beside her as she pointed out the flow of the essay, the girl nodding in understanding.
“Does that help you going forward?” Hecate pressed, keen for Mildred to actually understand, rather than just agreeing for posterity.
“Yes Miss Hardbroom, I think I can go away and write this now!” Mildred smiled broadly at her feared teacher.
“Before you go for supper, would you explain what occurred in Spell Science this morning?” Hecate asked, placing her spindly hands on her hips as she stood up.
Mildred sighed, her smile dropping, but explained that due to an Ethel-induced falter in her concentration, her Candlelight spell had gone out of control, and scorched the desks of all the surrounding girls, but Ethel’s was completely destroyed.
She could not decipher the look on Miss Hardbroom’s face, waiting for a sharp reprobation. Mildred was dumbfounded when, instead of telling her off, her demure teacher sniggered. Covering her hand with her mouth, Hecate could hardly hold in her laughter, as she was reminded of an almost identical incident when she was a schoolgirl.
Rather than rage, she had been distracted by Pippa Pentangle, of course, who had been sporting a lovely new hair ribbon that day which swept her hair off her elegant neck. Instead of conjuring butterflies, as was the assigned task, she had transfigured Pippa’s desk into a swarm of pink butterflies, which had flown all around the room. It was one of her most treasured memories of the fair witch, who she hadn’t spoken to in nearly thirty years.
“Well done, Miss Hubble,” Hecate chuckled, finally reining in her outburst. “An impressive, if not slightly out-of-control display of magic.”
Mildred still stood there with her mouth hanging open. Even if she told anyone about this encounter, which she knew HB would put her in endless detention for, she doubted anyone would ever believe it.
“Off to supper now, Miss Hubble.” Hecate gestured towards the door, as she sorted out the files on her desk. Mildred had reached the door, when she turned to face her teacher.
“I know you don’t like me very much, because you don’t think I try much in lessons, so thank you for helping me.”
“You’re very welcome, Miss Hubble. It would be remiss of me as a teacher to allow one of my students to struggle.” Hecate frowned at Mildred’s statement, whilst Mildred collected her things and moved to the door.
“But I don’t dislike you, Mildred,” Hecate said, more gentle than Mildred had ever heard the Deputy Headmistress speak, stopping her in her tracks. She also realised that Miss Hardbroom had never addressed her by just her first name before.
“It’s alright, Miss Hardbroom. You don’t have to pretend to like me because you’re my teacher, I know I’m the worst witch here, and I just cause trouble all the time.” Mildred looked down at her feet, a bashful look on her face.
“I don’t dislike you, let alone hate you. I worry about you,” Hecate continued quietly, yet persistently.
Mildred was gobsmacked. She had been certain that Miss Hardbroom despised her, she was the opposite of everything her teacher valued.
“I’m sorry for worrying you then, Miss Hardbroom. I try my best to be good at magic, but it doesn’t often work out.” Mildred took a step towards her teacher, jostling her bag on her shoulder.
Hecate merely nodded in acknowledgement, sure that words would fail her if she tried to respond.
She was overtaken by surprise when Mildred ran around the desk, hugged her briefly, then ran out of the door. Hecate heard her run into something, or rather the exclamation of pain from a distance. Hecate smiled to herself; Mildred Hubble certainly was an irritatingly likeable child.