The moon hung in the sky like a vivid white lantern as the teachers and students of Cackle's Academy flew towards the clearing in the woods. Miss Drill had already arrived on her bicycle and had greeted the grand wizard, Mr Egbert Hellibore.

Miss Cackle landed first followed by the first year class, then the second years and so on. Miss Bat arrived slightly later than the rest of the school; a bouquet of somewhat dried out wild flowers grasped tightly in her hand.

"Sorry for being late but I felt a pull to nature, Your Honour," she said wistfully as she admired her hoard, "The symphony of plants and wildlife chanting together in harmony just drew me in and-"

"Don't be ludicrous!" Snapped Miss Cackle as she placed her broomstick beside a twisted oak tree, "Plants cannot chant."

"They can!"

Miss Drill rolled her eyes as she began to take a head count. There appeared to be three fourth year girls missing and she knew exactly who they would be, "Henrietta, Crescentmoon and Mona aren't here, Miss Cackle."

Miss Cackle waved her hands dismissively, "No matter, we can continue the display without them."

"But what if something happens to them...?" Miss Cackle glared angrily at Miss Drill whose voice trailed off. Then she announced, "Apart from the three fourth years, everyone appears to be here apart from Miss Hardbroom, Miss Hubble and Miss Pentangle." It felt strange to Miss Drill to call her new friend by her proper title. She had grown so used to addressing Mildred by her first name that the noise that came out of her mouth sounded almost foreign.

The Grand Wizard stroked his beard, "No matter, ladies. I'm sure they will be along soon enough. Now let the celebrations begin."

The staff sat on their usual seats, made out of logs, beneath the hollow pine tree that had been decorated in paper lanterns for the night's proceedings; Miss Bat sat beside the grand wizard, gazing at him adoringly, Miss Cackle sat in between Miss Drill and the wizard. The students sat on the logs that had been placed down for them like benches and grumbled as they sat on their uncomfortable seats.

Miss Bat waved her hands and a collection of musical instruments appeared beneath a very tall willow tree; an electric guitar ("How on Earth is that going to work out here" Mused the wizard), a set of drums including cymbals and two microphones. Sylvia Ravensworth and Hazel Hembane, the first act to perform, approached the collection of instruments and looked to Miss Bat who nodded very happily. She waved her conductors baton and the instruments began to play themselves, beginning with a heavy metal guitar solo, soon followed by Sylvia and Hazel almost growling the song "Punkie Night." They flew and skipped about the stage, swirling ribbons that they had stored in their robes as they held their microphones.

Moonlight, starlight, the bogies will be out tonight.

Gives us a candle, give us a light! If you don't you'll get a fright.

It's Punkie Night tonight.

Time to meet for trick or treat, it's Punkie Night tonight.

Punkie Night, Punkie Night, Punkie Night tonight!

The music ended and Miss Bat was first to give a rousing applause. Miss Drill blinked, trying to absorb the bizarre performance that she had just witnessed but she slowly began to clap, followed by the rest of the school. The students had loved it. Some of them were whistling and shouting, cheering for their fellow pupils.

"How... unique, Miss Bat," Miss Drill said, patting her friend on the shoulder.

"A truly wonderful balance of chaos and elegance. Well done. Now for the next performance, Miss Cackle?" The grand wizard looked to the headmistress who was smiling to herself.

"Of course, Your Honour, but first," Miss Cackle looked behind one of the trees surrounding the clearing, "I would like to say a few words."

"How wonderful! I do enjoy your speeches, Amelia!" The wizard said cheerily as Miss Cackle rose to her feet.

Miss Cackle strode to the centre of the clearing so she could look around the amphitheatre of pupils that were gazing at her in wonder. Despite how much they disliked the school, not one of them could say a bad word against the headmistress, except the three figures that were flying down from the sky, shrieking, "Stop the performance!", "It's not Miss Cackle!"

The students in the clearing began to mumble with confusion. The grand wizard looked at Miss Cackle and boomed, "Don't be silly girls, of course it's Miss Cackle."

Henrietta Hubble jumped from her hovering broom, "I mean no disrespect, Your Honour, but that," she gestured to Miss Cackle, "is actually Agatha Cackle."

Miss Drill leapt from where she sat to join the students, trying to quieten them down. Miss Cackle smirked, "Oh you are a clever girl, aren't you?" Her voice seemed to change ever so slightly as she chuckled to herself, "Perhaps I should have trapped you in the cupboard along with your cousin and my sister."

Four more figures soared into the clearing; Mildred, the real Miss Cackle, Miss Pentangle and Miss Hardbroom. They dismounted their broomsticks and joined the three pupils that had only just arrived.

Agatha's pale eyes widened, "How did you escape?!" She shrieked, "And you!" She rounded on Miss Hardbroom, "You couldn't possibly have been changed back without-"

"The All-Purpose Witches Reversal Spell from The Advanced Book of Spells?" Hettie finished Agatha's sentence for her, "Miss Cackle had it open on her desk when you forced her into the cupboard and Miss Hardbroom found the spell we needed to use to turn her back into herself."

The grand wizard rose to his feet, "WHAT ON EARTH IS HAPPENING?!" He roared.

Miss Cackle stepped forwards, her still-hovering broomstick in tow, to greet the grand wizard and she explained the situation in great detail for him, "I understand how confusing this may be for you, Your Honour."

The grand wizard nodded, "Most definitely, though I do appreciate your honesty."

"You forgot to mention, Amelia, that Betty and Millicent will be joining us this evening as my guests of honour." Agatha cackled as two stooped figures appeared from behind one of the larger trees. They approached the crowd of students like a pair of skulking hyenas, watching from either side, awaiting Agatha's signal.

"You may not have noticed the beautiful lanterns that have been hung up here, this evening, Your Honour," despite her wickedness, Agatha Cackle still acknowledged the grand wizard's superiority as she gestured to the many golden and orange coloured lanterns that hung from the tree branches, "These lovely lanterns have been infused with a special kind of magic. When the lanterns are ruptured they turn the nearest person or living being into stone. For example," She targeted a lantern hanging from the branch of a lone tree. With a flash of orange light, the tree had turned into a cold, grey statue of its original form. Silvery flecks of magic hung in the air for a moment around the tree as Agatha continued, "This school is mine by right. If it wasn't for Amelia stealing it from me all those years ago I would be running things around here."

"And of course, you would go to any means to ensure that, wouldn't you?" Miss Cackle added, her eyes twinkling behind her spectacles as she looked over to Miss Hardbroom. No words needed to be said as Miss Hardbroom nodded to the headmistress, beginning to cast a protection spell silently.

"You poisoned Granny Cackle against me, Amelia! You went to her when she was on her deathbed and told her to give the school to you!"

"I did no such, thing, Your Honour," Said Miss Cackle apologetically, seeing the look of concern on the wizard's face, "Now if you don't mind, Agatha we have a Halloween display to be getting on with."

Agatha pursed her lips angrily and clapped her hands together. At once the clearing filled with a dazzling beam of orange light as all the lanterns burst. The light hung in the air for a moment and disappeared again. Agatha shrieked with laughter, expecting to see the teachers, students and the grand wizard as stone statues.

"So that was your plan, Agatha Cackle? To turn us all into stone?" The grand wizard asked, cutting through the dusty fog that lingered in the air. His eyes were low as he looked at the witch who was now joined by her henchwomen, Millicent Coldstone and Betty Bindweed, who looked rather sheepish as they realised that their plan had failed.

"I... I..." Agatha stammered, shrinking away as the grand wizard approached her.

"All three of you have breached many of the rules laid out in the witches code. Punishment for so many crimes is, Miss Hardbroom?" The grand wizard turned to Miss Hardbroom who was smiling smugly.

"Permanent removal of magical powers and being turned into trees for twenty five years." She stated crisply, "That's if we remember to turn them back, of course."

The grand wizard beckoned for the students to gather in a circle around the three witches as he and the teachers of Cackle's (excluding Miss Drill who stood with the pupils) formed a ring, joining hands as they closed their eyes as they began to chant a spell. The sound of their voices echoed around the dark clearing like the sound of a bell in an empty stone tower. As they stopped their chanting, Agatha and her henchwomen began to glow blue as the magic was drained from them. The air around the women glistened as each ounce of magical power was taken from the witches and absorbed into the cosmos.

The teachers relinquished their hold on each others hands and looked at the three women they had formed their circle around.

"I'll arrange a place for these women to be planted, Miss Cackle." The Grand Wizard said as he turned the three witches into snails so they were easier to transport, "I'll let you know when it's all sorted out."

He gathered Agatha, Millicent and Betty into his hands and withdrew a small box from within his magnificent purple robe. He placed the snails/witches gently inside and placed them back into his pocket.

"Are you not stopping, Your Honour?" Asked Mildred who knew her fourth year girls were going to be disappointed if they couldn't perform their broomstick display for him, "My students would love to show you their act."

The grand wizard lingered for a moment and then beamed at Mildred, "Of course, my child. The witches council can wait until the morning. After all, it is Halloween."

Mildred breathed a sigh of relief as she took her seat beside Miss Drill who was now sitting next to Miss Hardbroom. She could see that the gym mistress had a gentle hold on Miss Hardbroom's bony hand. Miss Drill gave it a soft squeeze and Miss Hardbroom allowed herself to smile slightly. Without giving the interaction beside her a second thought, Mildred signalled for the girls to begin their display.

The fourth year girls stood up, Hettie and her friends were smiling brightly as they took to the air and began to circle the clearing on their broomsticks. Crescentmoon Winterchild slalomed in between her fellow students as they performed their waterfall drops and nosedives one by one. The whole class went into an elongated V shape, like geese in flight, as they all began the final manoeuvre. Hettie had aptly nicknamed this move The Drop of Death as it could go disastrously wrong if performed badly.

The girls began to swoop in a barrel roll across the sky, one over taking the other to create an elegant rippling effect as they came hurtling towards the ground at speed. The first set of feet touched the ground as the girls began to land in a perfect circle. The manoeuvre was over and the pupils could finally breathe a sigh of relief. Even Crescentmoon Winterchild had managed to do the final move without a problem.

"A credit to the academy, well done!" Miss Cackle announced as the clearing rang with applause.

As the pupils caught their breath after an evening of excitement and celebratory dancing (and drinking for the teachers) the headmistress bid farewell to the grand wizard. He disappeared in a puff of purple smoke. The sun was just appearing over the peaks of the mountains as they returned to the school that morning. Miss Pentangle smiled brightly as she followed Mildred, Miss Cackle and Miss Bat up to the teachers wing.

"I'll be getting off now, Cackle. That was a truly excellent display. It was worth waiting for." Miss Pentangle stated as she entered her room to gather her things. She came out with a heavy-looking suitcase.

"I'll help you with your things, Phyllis." Miss Cackle said, smiling as she helped Miss Pentangle carry her suitcase down the narrow flight of spiral stairs.

Miss Drill and Miss Hardbroom, who were still quite awake, walked past them, heading towards the staff room. They entered and sat down at the table. Miss Drill had not let go of Miss Hardbroom's hand throughout the evening. They had danced together, drank together. They had been inseparable. After so much panic and concern Miss Drill did not want to let go of the gorgeous woman before her. She gazed admiringly at the witch whose long dark hair draped over her shoulder like a sheet of shimmering silk.

"You should wear your hair down more often, Constance," she said after a long silence.

Miss Hardbroom narrowed her eyes, "I've told you before, it's not practical."

Miss Drill removed her hands from Miss Hardbroom's for a moment, tucking a loose strand of hair behind the potion teacher's ear.

"I know."

She cupped her cheek in her hand and she could feel her self being pulled towards the witch like a magnet. She closed the ever-narrowing gap between them and their lips met. Miss Hardbroom's hands moved to Miss Drill's shoulders as they kissed. Soft pale lips caressed burgundy as the two women held each other.

As the two women remained so consumed by one another, they were unconscious to the fact that they were being watched. A pair of twinkling blue eyes were peering around the edge of the door which had been left ajar. Miss Cackle smiled to herself as she walked away from the staff room and back to her bedroom. A cup of hot chocolate and a pink wafer could wait until later...

A/N: I hope that you have enjoyed this fic! Thank you so much to everyone that has left a review (and to DreamsInLilac, TypicalRainbow and Plebs for providing some inspiration to what happened with Agatha and her cronies at the end).