So episode 15's preview/trailer just came out this morning and I'm just so glad I pretty much got Croix's character down-pat. But yeah, obviously the canon has different plans, so enjoy this self-indulgent idea from me while you can.

Disclaimer: I do not own Little Witch Academia.

Chapter 3. Opposition

Diana goes as far as to make a formal request to leave her final class a bit early.

She tells the professor it is so she may prepare herself for an important meeting, which isn't exactly a lie. Naturally, she is granted permission.

Therefore, Diana takes off down the hallways, and heads for the new wing where the daylight can't get through.

She draws her wand and casts an invisibility spell around herself. She's never gone to such extreme lengths for anything before. But this is major enough to drive her to this point.

There is only one hallway that leads to Croix's classroom. She plans to wait around the corner and confront Akko before she can make it that far.

Diana knows Akko will have to stay in class until the bell rings, and after that she'll need time to run back to her dorm room to fetch the Rod.

During the time Diana waits, she is plagued by every thought and emotion Croix elicits from her. Such as her tendency to lie so smoothly that it goes undetected.

Diana knows a liar as skilled as that has been fibbing all their life.

She shudders at the thought of her voice, calm and collected, but thick with an underlying tone of deception, like a sweetened cake laced with poison on the bottom.

Her breathing quickens slightly at the image of Croix's smile, that grin like a wolf's just before it lunges at the throat of a lamb-

Diana shakes herself off, though is careful not to make any sound. The spell conceals her body, not the sounds that it makes.

She tries to plan out what it is she intends to say to Akko once she arrives. She'll do anything to stop her from getting to Croix – or rather, to stop Croix from getting to her.

Diana is even prepared to use force if necessary.

Part of her wishes she'd been brave enough to go and steal the Shiny Rod from Akko's room, simply to hide it so Croix could never get her hands on it.

But the thought had been too much for her. This whole situation has already forced her to resort to eavesdropping and sneaking around invisibly, but she didn't think her heart could handle lying and stealing on top of that.

Diana knows this method is for the best. She can face Akko properly and tell her everything she needs to know.

Though in actuality, Diana herself doesn't know much for certain.

All she knows is that Croix gives her a horrible feeling.

Now that she thinks about it, all she has to persuade Akko from giving Croix the Rod are Diana's own misgivings, her own suspicions. She isn't sure if Akko will believe her based on intuition and opinion alone. In fact, the more Diana thinks about it now, the less likely it seems.

That's also the main reason why she's doing this alone. Because she can't simply tell other professors about her dislike of one of their fellows. If she turned out to be mistaken about this, it would ruin her reputation completely, and that's something she simply can't afford at this point.

But she has to try. She can't just let this happen without even trying to prevent it. It's her responsibility to act if she senses something is amiss.

Before someone gets hurt-

Suddenly, there's a noise coming from behind Diana. She purses her lips to keep the gasp from coming out as she looks behind herself.

Akko hasn't arrived yet. It isn't the sound of footsteps.

Rather, it's a disruption of the air-

She recognizes the sounds of Croix's modified "brooms" too late. One of the floating devices rounds the corner, its lights flashing, and all but sucks the spell right off of her.

Diana is horrified when she becomes visible again in a split second. She doesn't even have the time to react before a suave voice speaks from around the corner.

"Well, well. What do we have here?"

Croix's voice is calm, and there's a smile in it. It's the voice of a cat that's just cornered a mouse.

The woman crosses her arms, smug as she looks Diana over.

Diana can't breathe.

Croix enjoys that.

"The Cavendish girl, huh? I'm surprised. I never expected you to be the type to snoop around. I thought you had better manners than that."

A sickening dread grips Diana's chest and makes her heart freeze. A chill runs up her spine, and it's all she can do not to let herself shudder.

Croix hovers over her, green eyes narrowed. The smile fades into a growl.

"I thought I made it clear to you to stay out of my way."

She doesn't even give Diana a chance to explain herself.

Croix pulls her tablet out of her sleeve and swipes across it with chilling precision. Before Diana can even move, Croix speaks a spell she's never heard before.

"Venufex Silin!"

And from her customized broom shoots a blast of fabricated magic.

It engulfs Diana completely, sharp and paralyzing, like a bolt of lighting striking straight through her chest. It rips into her, stealing the air from her lungs, and the voice from her lips.

The strength drains from Diana's body, sapped away like dewdrops in a sweltering desert heat. An unspeakable agony fills her veins. The pain is so intense her legs buckle beneath her.

With a loud thud, she crashes to the floor, entirely helpless. She tries to breathe, but barely anything comes into her lungs. There's a little, but not nearly enough. Her throat constricts, but not a sound comes from her mouth. Her voice is gone.

With her body compromised and her wand useless, her voice had been the only weapon she'd had left.

And now that's gone, too.

Diana struggles for breath that isn't coming properly, fingers curling at the base of her throat, her eyes wide and filling with water.

And Croix laughs.

She cackles.

So hard she almost loses her balance.

"Oh, this is... this is too good! Watching the little Cavendish girl flopping around like a fish out of water! It's too much!"

She continues laughing cruelly, like a maniac.

All the while, Diana can feel her body getting weaker. Her heart beats frantically to keep her blood flowing, but it's little use when her lungs can't expand.

She's trapped in an agonizing, suffocating limbo. It feels as though the building has collapsed on top of her. She doesn't move, knowing that expending any energy will only worsen her condition and shorten her breath further.

After a moment, Croix quiets herself, though the wicked smile remains.

"You see, I knew you were gonna try to get in my way with this," she says. "So that's why I concocted this little curse last night. Just for you. I'm glad you like it. I call it the Hex of Silence."

She's talking so casually now, as though she's discussing the weather. Something completely harmless.

"This is the first time I've used it, though. Since I only just developed it. But it's good to know it works."

She begins stalking about, pacing around Diana, observing the results of the curse.

"As the name implies, it's meant to keep your prissy little mouth shut. Well, it's only supposed to keep you from talking. But who knows? Maybe it'll kill you. Death would mean the ultimate silence, right?"

She pauses right above Diana's head, green eyes glinting in the dark hallway. Her grin reveals her teeth, like the fangs of that wolf now about to sink into the lamb's exposed flesh.

"Oh, but if you're going to die... could you please not do it so close to my classroom?"

With that, she lifts back her boot and gives a vicious kick to Diana's chest.

Sputtering, the girl rolls several times, her head and back slamming hard against the floor. She'd been trying so hard not to move. But now, the anguish doubles, triples, weighing down on her more fervently than before.

Tears begin to drip down her cheeks, and she can't keep her eyes open.

Croix takes her time walking toward her. The sound of her boots is deafening.

"Fine," she shrugs. "You win this round, Cavendish. I'll get what I want some other way. I'll get it soon. And by that time, you won't be around to stop me."

The woman heaves a sigh. "It's a shame your new professor has to quit so suddenly. But you leave me no choice now that there's a dead girl outside my classroom."

With that, she types something else out on her tablet. Diana watches as much as she can past the tears, forcing her eyes to stay open.

She can see more of those customized brooms now, and spiraling cubes of substance swirling around their creator. The blocks float into the classroom, no doubt to absorb whatever magic and information that's being stored in the giant devices there.

Once they are sucked dry, and the blocks are saturated with all the magic and information Croix needs, the black cubes begin to surround her.

She has some of what she needs.

But not all of it.

At the very least, Diana can be proud of the fact that she hadn't allowed Croix to get her hands on the Shiny Rod.

Or Akko.

She blinks, and then the black cubes and Croix are gone, as if they'd never existed at all.

Diana knows she'll come back.

But hopefully, by that point, everyone will be aware of her true intentions.

Hopefully by then, Akko will know the truth.

Hopefully she'll be able to take care of herself.

Because Diana won't be around to help her anymore.

The pain is too great now. Her body is beginning to grow numb from it. The air comes to her with increasing difficulty every time she tries to breathe in.

She can't move. Only the tears can do that as they continue slipping down her cheeks.

It's so quiet.

Silent.

Just as Croix wanted...

. . .

But then...

Then there is noise.

Sound.

The sound of pounding footsteps.

The sound of a scream.

The sound of her name.

"Diana?!"

Akko pelts down the hallway until she reaches her. The Shiny Rod is in her hands, but she immediately drops to her knees and puts it aside. Frantically, she reaches out to touch Diana's shoulder and side, carefully rolling her over onto her back.

Akko sees the rivers of tears smeared across her face. Her body is limp. There's no rise or fall to her chest.

S-She isn't breathing-

A horror unlike anything she's experienced before seizes Akko's heart.

She'd been coming here to show Professor Croix the Shiny Rod. She'd been about to learn more about Chariot. She'd been so excited-

"D-Diana? C-Can you hear me?"

Akko drops her head onto Diana's chest to listen for a pulse. She concentrates, pushing her ear against Diana's collar.

Her heartbeat is dangerously faint. It's almost nothing.

At the very least, Akko can hear a slight rush of air into her lungs, but it isn't nearly enough.

She sits up and lays Diana down as gently as she can while making a swift move to stand.

"I-I'll find Croix Sensei, sh-she should be-"

But Akko freezes when she feels a meek resistance on her sleeve.

Diana uses the last of her strength to curl her nails weakly into Akko's wrist. Her eyelids flutter, struggling to stay up. More tears fall.

Akko can feel her own welling up, too.

"D-Diana..." Akko gently lays her hand over hers, making Diana release her wrist. "I-I don't know what happened, b-but I'm gonna get you some help, okay? Just-"

But even after she's removed Diana's hand from hers, Diana grabs her again. Akko whimpers.

"D-Diana, I'm gonna get Croix Sensei-"

And Diana uses the last of her breath to make a strangled sound.

Akko's eyes widen. She swallows hard.

"N-No... it can't be... sh-she-"

But the look in Diana's eyes tells her everything.

Akko chokes.

"C...Croix Sensei... did this to you...?"

And Diana can't keep her eyes open any longer. Her eyelids fall shut, coaxing out two more tears before she is still.

Akko shrieks.

"No! D-Diana!"

She looks around desperately, but there's no one close by, no one who can help.

All Akko can think to do is grab the Shiny Rod. She clutches it to her chest with one hand, and squeezes Diana's hand with the other.

"Please... I-I need a spell, I need something... Chariot..."

If anything can save Diana, it's the Shiny Rod.

If anyone can save Diana, it's her.

Akko knows this. She truly believes it.

And her believing heart is her magic.

She can feel a surge of energy trickling through the Rod now, a familiar sensation she's felt before.

The magic is brimming. It's ready.

But Akko doesn't know the words. She doesn't know what spell she needs to use. Her mouth hangs open in a silent plea for help.

But oddly enough, she doesn't even need to be told which spell to use.

The words just... come up.

She speaks them without thinking, without knowing.

"Lilliu... Tena... Karakessa!"

She doesn't even hear herself say the words.

But the next thing she knows, there's a glow of light in this dark hallway.

The Rod shimmers with a bright magic, a spell that swirls through the air around them. It blankets itself ever so gently over Diana.

Akko watches, her tears still falling, her heart still praying.

For a terrifying moment, nothing happens.

Then, suddenly, Diana's chest heaves, and a frantic rush of air bursts from her lips. Her breath comes back to her, filling her lungs once again.

She gasps deeply, like someone who'd almost drowned. Her eyes fly open, then close again as she tries to focus on getting her breath back.

Akko sobs in relief, pulling Diana into her lap.

"I-It worked! Thank goodness it worked!"

It takes a few minutes for Diana to get her breathing back to normal. Akko carefully helps her sit up, keeping an arm across her shoulders.

Diana remains hunched over herself for a moment longer, until she's regained her bearings. She lifts a shaking arm up to pass over her face, clearing away the tears.

Akko sniffles hard, rubbing her free hand over her eyes as well.

"D-Diana? Are you okay...?"

Diana flashes her a glance containing many emotions all at once – fatigue, shock, relief, gratitude.

"I... I believe so..."

"Oh, thank goodness." Akko puts down the Rod now and throws both arms around her, hiccuping into her shoulder. "I-I didn't know what to do..."

Diana savors the feeling of breathing again. Slowly, she wraps her arms around Akko's waist.

"I am... very glad to see you, Akko..."

The sounds of Akko's crying rise up to fill the hallway. It isn't long before someone finally hears.

Drawn by the sounds of distress, Professor Ursula hurries around the farthest corner and spots them.

"Oh, my! Wh-What's happened here?" Flustered, she rushes to her students, dropping all the papers she'd been carrying, and crouches beside the two girls. "Akko! Diana! Are you all right?"

Akko pulls herself away from Diana only to look over her favorite professor.

Professor Ursula.

Who always stood up for her.

Who always believed in her.

And Akko had left her for Croix.

For the person who'd nearly killed Diana.

"U... Ursula Senseeei!"

Akko throws herself at her, clinging to her so tightly she nearly drags the woman all the way to the floor. Ursula frantically holds herself and Akko up.

"A-Akko, what's going on?" She glances over the Shiny Rod lying beside the girl. The last of the light is just now fading from it.

It's just been used...

But now, the confusion in Ursula's head exchanges itself for something even more pressing.

She can sense a darker magic here. It's wafting off of the other girl sitting on the floor in front of her.

"Eh? D-Diana!" Ursula gasps. "Are you all right? There... There's a curse on you! H-How did this happen? W-We need to get you to the infirmary right away!"

Professor Ursula staggers to her feet, pulling Akko up next to her. She wipes the girl off and gently clears the hair out of her face.

"Akko! We have to take Diana to the infirmary. You'll have to explain everything. Please take the Rod and come with us!" With that, Ursula crouches back down to offer Diana her support. "Please take care in moving yourself. From what I can sense, the curse on you is very dangerous."

Diana shyly accepts the help as Professor Ursula coaxes her to her feet. But only now does Diana have the breath to explain things.

"Sensei... The curse is already broken."

"...Eh?"

"Akko cancelled it out... with the Shiny Rod."

"Ehhh?" Ursula looks from one girl to the other.

Akko's just picked up the Rod, and hurried to support Diana's other side. Now, she looks up at Ursula and nods.

"Yeah... I-I didn't even know what spell it was, but... somehow I said it, a-and... and Diana woke up..."

When Ursula takes a moment to reel in her panicking thoughts, she realizes the malicious aura surrounding Diana is indeed fading. The benevolent aura produced by the Rod is much more prominent, and is still working to stifle the effects of the curse.

Ursula lets out a long, long sigh of relief.

"I... I see... B-But in any case, we must get you treated, Diana! I won't take any chances!"

Diana willingly leans her weight against the professor, and Akko holds onto her other side.

Together, they begin making their way toward the infirmary. Akko explains all that she can along the way.

"I-I was bringing the Shiny Rod to Croix Sensei. Sh-She said she might be able to tell me about Chariot, or even find her..."

Ursula stiffens at the mention of her old classmate's name. It was bad enough Croix was at the school now, but the fact that she was trying to get her hands on the Rod is more troubling than anything.

And still, Ursula learns there's something even more troubling than that.

Akko goes on.

"I-I found Diana on the ground. Sh-She wasn't breathing. She had that curse on her and I used the Shiny Rod to break it."

Ursula shudders, her fingers pressing a little more firmly to Diana's back to ensure she's really there.

"Gracious..." she whispers. "How terrible."

From there, Diana coyly admits to what had happened to her.

"I... I overheard Croix Sensei... saying she wanted the staff," she confesses. "I... was under the impression her intentions were less than favorable. As such, I..."

She trails off, flashing Akko a brief glance. Akko whimpers and finishes the thought.

"So you were... trying to stop me from bringing it to her...?"

"Yes..."

By now, they've arrived at the infirmary. Ursula frantically explains to the nurse what's happened as best she can. Diana tells of how Croix had cursed her for trying to interfere with her plans.

Furious at the news, Ursula leaves both girls in the nurse's care and quickly hurries off to inform the Headmistress of what's happened.

But Diana knows Croix is long gone.

She'll be back one day to try and claim the Rod as her own.

But by then, all of Luna Nova will be ready for her.

The nurse leads Diana to a clean bed to check her over. Akko follows a little more slowly, still clutching the Rod. She waits until the nurse finishes her task and informs Diana she's completely free of the curse's effects.

"It was a strong one," the woman says. "One I've never seen before. But it's broken now. You are very fortunate, Miss Cavendish."

Diana nods, crossing her arms over her stomach as the nurse leaves to fetch her a bit of medicine. Diana then directs her attention to Akko.

"You have my thanks, Akko. You saved my life."

Akko looks up, but her eyes begin to water right away. Slowly, she makes her way over to the bed and sits beside her.

"Why... did you try to stop me?" she mumbles. "A-After I said all those mean things to you... You still wanted to help me anyway..." Her tears start dripping down into her lap again, some landing on the staff.

Diana can't help but offer a tiny smile. She reaches one arm out and pulls Akko close to her side.

"Akko... if that woman had gotten her hands on the Shiny Rod, there is no telling what she might have done. To you, or to anyone else. She surely would have stolen it from you and used it for her own ambitions. I could not simply stand idly by and allow her to do whatever she pleased. I was not about to let her take your dream away from you."

Akko wipes her eyes again, looking Diana over. She still looks so pale, not only from the curse, but because she'd likely been trying to figure out a way to stop this for the past few days. Akko can tell she probably hasn't slept or eaten due to how anxious she'd been all this time.

In the end, Diana had achieved her goal of sparing Akko whatever pain Croix might have caused her, and she had exposed Croix's true colors as well.

But Diana paid the highest price here...

Again, Akko wipes her face off on her sleeve. She pulls Diana into another big hug, hiccuping into her shoulder.

"I'm... I'm sorry, Diana... I said such awful things about you..."

Diana quietly returns the embrace.

"You saved my life, Akko. You do not need to apologize."

"But... But...!"

"It is all right. I am merely thankful the threat has passed."

Akko blubbers a while longer, squeezing Diana a little tighter.

"I'm just glad... you're okay..."

Diana rests her chin on Akko's shoulder and closes her eyes.

"As am I."

A moment later, the nurse returns and hands Diana a glass of water enchanted with medicinal herbs to help stave off any potential aftereffects of the curse. Akko pulls away to let her drink it.

Soon afterward, Professor Ursula returns; she looks slightly concerned. Akko calls out for her.

"Ursula Sensei! What did the Headmistress say...?"

Her professor maintains a tight expression.

"We will be doing all we can to keep an eye out for her. But now that everyone knows she is a threat, Croix would do well not to show her face around Luna Nova again." She heaves a sigh, and a bit of venom drips into her voice.

"A professor cursing a student. How horrifying. I can't even fathom it. It's unheard of..." She spits out the words disdainfully at first, but then allows her tone and expression to soften once more. Her eyes travel over Diana, who's just finished drinking her medicine. "How are you feeling, Diana?"

"Much better," she assures. "I am sure the curse is entirely gone."

Just to be safe, Ursula raises her hand in a silent inquiry. Diana dips her head in consent.

Ursula rests her hand on Diana's shoulder and tries to perceive any more negative energy around her student. But she can detect none.

"That's a relief. I'm so glad you're both all right..."

Akko fidgets a little bit, touching the Rod beside her.

"Ursula Sensei? Did you... know Croix Sensei...? When you were a student here...?"

Ursula purses her lips.

"Something like that... As such, I feel it's partially my responsibility to stop her. She has stolen away all the magic she'd utilized during her short stay here posing as a professor. In addition to that, she attacked one of my students and attempted to steal the Shiny Rod. I will not let her go through with whatever she's planning..."

Akko and Diana share a glance. They can sense there's something Professor Ursula isn't telling them – about Croix, about the Shiny Rod.

But they've been through a lot, and have revealed enough secrets for one day.

Ursula swears to tell them another time.

For now, she simply wraps an arm around each girl and hugs them both.

"Let's all work together in this," she murmurs.

She knows Akko is aware of what she's referring to – reviving the final Words.

And something tells her that Diana has already known about this for a while as well, though she hasn't let on yet.

Both girls nod in agreement.

"Yes," Diana affirms.

"We'll do it!" Akko declares.

Ursula nods and lets them go.

There's a big smile on Akko's face, and even a small one on Diana's as well.

Ursula offers one somewhere in between.

"I'm glad to hear it."

A/N: Gosh, I was toying with so many different scenarios for how Croix would go after Diana. But ultimately, I decided to use the Shiny Rod as a way of incorporating Akko and Ursula into it all as well.

Even though what happened to Diana here might have seemed similar to some of my other fics, (like Lessons Learned), the Hex of Silence spell felt like it made the most sense for Croix to use in order to keep Diana quiet. We still don't know much about her "magic" yet, since only episode 14 is out at this point, so I just tried to wing it.

Please review!