The Worst Witch and the Wishing Star (8 page)

‘Come on, Tabs,’ she called to the shadow at the top of the wardrobe where she could just see the end of his tail, ‘you’ve still got your place on my pillow. He’s a really
nice
dog, Tabs. He won’t hurt you. I just know it.’

But the only reply from Tabby was one last low growl before Mildred blew out the candle and settled down for a night of anxiety, hoping that the two of them wouldn’t do anything that was going to end in a noisy argument.

t seemed as if Mildred had only been asleep for ten minutes when the alarm clock shrilled in her ear. Star leapt up and began barking and Mildred grabbed his snout and held on until he had fully woken up.

‘You’ve got to be
so
quiet,’ she whispered to him, gently releasing his nose. ‘Come on, into the bag and you can come with me for a run around outside the gates.’

Mildred was dressed and ready as the grey morning light crept into the room. It was bitterly cold, despite the new glass, so she put on two cardigans over her uniform, which seemed a safer option than the voluminous cloak when handling candles.

Tabby was still on top of the wardrobe. She could see his glinting eyes glued to the holdall.

Mildred set off down the deserted corridors, flipping open the lanterns and dousing the candles as she went. It was so much easier than lighting them and, as the candles were all new, there would be another few days before she had to replace them.

It was odd being the only one out in the deserted corridors. Every now and then one of the pupils’ black cats came slinking past on its way back to its owner’s room after a night’s hunting.

Most of the cats stayed out all night and Tabby was unusual in spending the whole night on Mildred’s bed. He stayed in as much as possible because the other cats bullied him.

‘Poor Tab,’ thought Mildred as she doused the large lantern above the main door, pulled back the bolts and stepped out into the playground. ‘No wonder he’s scared of our little newcomer.’

Mildred hovered up over the gates, doused the candles and landed behind the high wall out of sight of the windows in case anyone was looking. She just
knew
Miss Hardbroom would be on the prowl and that she needed to be extremely careful if she was going to keep her new pet a secret.

Mildred opened the holdall, lifted Star out and emptied the bowl of dried catfood that she had brought for his breakfast on to the grass.

The little dog bolted it down in seconds and wagged his tail gratefully. He had been lost in the woods for a long time and his previous owner had not been kind to him, and he could see that Mildred was the owner he had dreamed of. He was as bright as the wishing star he was named after and was determined to make his new mistress proud, bearing it bravely when Mildred produced a flask of water, flannel and a bar of soap, and gave him a thorough wash.

Mildred had been right to keep an eye out for Miss Hardbroom, who was at that very moment in the staffroom, watching Mildred’s progress from the window.

She turned as the staffroom door opened and Miss Drill came in, clad in a purple and dark green zigzag striped dress with a rather garish lime-green cardigan. Miss Hardbroom winced.

‘Oh, good morning, Miss Hardbroom,’ said Miss Drill. ‘I thought
I
was the first one up.’

‘It seems that Mildred Hubble is the first one up today,’ said Miss Hardbroom. ‘She’s even beaten Ethel and Drusilla, who are still toiling round the East Wing. I have to admit,’ she added grudgingly, ‘she really does seem to be taking her duties seriously. I checked the lanterns last night and they were burning brightly, with all the lantern doors completely closed. It seems that being in a fine old establishment like Miss Cackle’s Academy has finally rubbed off on our young misfit.’

‘Well,
I’ve
had no trouble from her,’ said Miss Drill. ‘Would you like a nice cup of tea, Miss Hardbroom?’

‘That would be just the ticket, Miss Drill,’ said Miss Hardbroom, feeling somewhat relieved that the term had got off to such a calm and orderly start. ‘Well, Miss Drill, we’d better sit down and work out a way to find the perfect “act”, for want of a better word, to give us a good chance of actually winning this competition.’

Mildred was still outside the gates. She had taken Star for a walk through the trees, keeping close to the wall so that no one could possibly see them. It really was an ideal task, being the Lantern Monitor, she reflected, as it meant that she could easily get Star out for a walk in the morning
and
evening without being seen, and, if Tabby could just pull himself together, the two pets could stay in her room all day and she could train the little dog to hide under the bed if anyone came in. He seemed ultra-trainable and anxious to please and was already very steady on the broomstick. Perhaps she could even teach him a few tricks.

‘Come on then, in you hop,’ she said, opening the holdall.

Star jumped on to the broom and into the bag, flattening himself down helpfully.

‘Good boy,’ said Mildred, zipping him in. ‘You really
are
my little star.’