Something different for you to enjoy, feedback would be appreciated, and my thanks to ImaginationFan for the idea.

Now you see me…. now you don't - GONE!

Sitting in the library surrounded by piles of books, Ethel Hallow was shaking with repressed anger and was left wondering about why her parents didn't seem to care about her.

When she had started at Cackles last year she had hoped to make a great impression on her future teachers, and she had impressed Miss Cackle and Miss Hardbroom with her flying skills. She had hoped to wow her new school by doing far better on her entrance exam than Esmerelda, who was called the greatest student the Academy had ever known by Miss Cackle, something that annoyed Ethel no end even now.

Unfortunately the entrance exam didn't go her way since Mildred Hubble had cheated, but now Ethel was no longer bothered by it even after spending the last year never letting the other girl forget it. But ever since Sybil's entrance exam where the younger girl scored a slightly less than stellar score than Ethel herself, the 12 year old young witch was horrified when her parents had celebrated like there was no tomorrow. When Ethel had taken her results back to them, expecting a celebration, she was disappointed when both of her parents had acted indifferently.

Esmerelda had tried to make up for it, but it wasn't enough for Ethel and she'd rejected her elder sister's attempts to make her feel better.

The last year Ethel had tried everything she could think of to make her parents at least smile at her, but they hadn't. She had tried drawing attention to herself by creating a fake wart since warts were a great sign of a witch's power; it had seemed like a great idea at the time, but if she had known that everyone in the school would be so unutterably stupid to think she could do everything and expect her to get them out of that mess when Mildred's hair had swamped them all simply because she had a wart on her face then she would never have cast it.

Miss Cackle hadn't been impressed then, but then she and Miss Hardbroom had not liked the feud between Ethel and Mildred.

Mildred….

Ethel closed her eyes. Even now she had no idea what to make of the messy dark haired girl who seemed to lurch from one crisis to the next. When she'd first met her, Ethel had not liked her, but as the year had gone by Ethel had lost that dislike despite popular opinion. If she was brutally honest with herself, she could say she was jealous of Mildred, but why would she be jealous of a girl from a non-witch family who didn't have as much money as the Hallows? And who struggled with magic and flying?

It was because… Ethel knew she didn't have that many friends - Drusilla didn't count, the bigger girl was a lackey, plain and simple. She didn't have that much imagination whatsoever, in fact she didn't seem to have a personality at all. But Mildred had Maud and Enid, and she had quickly become friends with some of the first year girls, even those with magical families who had been teaching their children magic ever since they'd learnt how to walk. No, it was the girl's charm and friendliness that had appealed to them.

And then there was that story about how Miss Pentangle had offered Mildred a scholarship at Pentangles Academy. Ethel had no idea what had possessed Pippa Pentangle to offer something like that to the worst witch (no, that was unfair - Mildred had her faults, but she wasn't stupid), and besides Ethel had gotten hold of Pentangles' prospectus and she'd seen the various subjects on offer at the school. Enchanting, potions theory, technomagic, ancient runes, Celtic magic, Native American Indian shapeshifting, all those subjects weren't taught at Cackles, and many of them had been compelling, but she knew she would never see the inside of a classroom in Pentangles.

Despite obeying the Witches' code, Ethel had dozens of issues with it, and the rules of inheritance were one of them, but if she had had her way then she would have gone to Pentangles, and it wasn't exclusively for the boys (even now thinking of Zac Hawthorn, the cute boy from Pentangles who'd participated in the Spelling Bee last year, made her sigh), but it would have given her a chance to learn about different forms of magic without having to cram it all in at college or university. She would have started much earlier if she had gotten the opportunity to go to Pentangles, but unfortunately because of the laws of educational tradition in the code, she and her sisters would need to attend Cackles. Ethel had envied Mildred for getting the offer though she had no idea why Miss Pentangle would offer it in the first place.

Ethel shook her head, deciding to stop daydreaming of what could have been and just focused on what was happening now. Ever since she had tried to mirror call her mother and father after Esmerelda and Sybil, they had decided they had to go. Just like that, and Esme had only been speaking to them both for only 6 minutes. Honestly, she had thought last year was bad, but this year was worse since her parents seemed to have plenty of time for Esmerelda and Sybil, but they couldn't spare more than a second for her.

And then her mind jealously went towards the other girls - Enid Nightshade had glamorously rich parents, Felicity Foxglove had parents who loved her, and Maud Spellbody had parents who encouraged her regardless of the calamities she got into because of Mildred and Enid.

Ethel grimaced as she thought about Mildred and her mother - she had only seen the woman once during the parents evening last year but seeing the way Julie Hubble doted and adored her daughter made Ethel jealous of Mildred for another reason.

Oh well, she would find a way to make her parents proud of her. As she read the book open in front of her Ethel had no idea why everyone considered Magical Transportation so difficult. It was so easy when you got the hang of it, and she couldn't see any reason why she couldn't do it, not even Esmerelda had reached the level needed for her to perform it safely. Logically and deep down in her head where her common sense lived in, Ethel knew that what she was thinking was dangerous. It not only took quite a bit of magical energy to move from place to place, but you needed to be experienced enough to travel long distances. Ethel had no idea how to do that. No author of a book based on this subject would be so stupid to write a detail like that down, and Ethel had heard stories about the dangers of magical transportation, over the years but she was sure that she should be able to handle it.

She was Ethel Hallow, A star student of the second year at Cackles Academy, she should be able to handle it. But even Ethel with all of her arrogance knew that simple certainty could only take her so far, so she spent the next hour ignoring the quiet chattering of other girls in the library and devoted all of her concentration to reading the book, her eyes skimming over the basic principles of magical transportation to make sure she had it right. If she was going to perform a piece of magic that wasn't taught at her current level, then she needed to be prepared and she needed to have the full facts to make sure it worked right.

Esmerelda Hallow was worried deeply for her sister. Ethel had been spending a lot of time in the library recently, but what worried the elder Hallow sister was the fact Ethel was withdrawing herself again, and Esme had no idea what her sister was reading because she seemed to be moving from one section of the library to another as she tried to make herself better.

The summer after the previous year had been, in a word, fun except for the way the sisters' parents treated Ethel, which was they ignored the younger girl's very presence. Esmerelda simply didn't understand, what was it Ethel had done to make both their mother and father ignore and neglect her? Contrary to what Ethel believed Esmerelda did notice their parents attitude, she wouldn't have tried so hard to downplay her own accomplishments even though she wanted nothing more than to grab her parents' heads and smash them together until they rocked like bowling balls so they could both see reality.

Ethel had been besides herself when school had ended after that mess with Agatha Cackle, apologising constantly for her own part in the successful (near successful, Esme added in her mind) part - finding the birth scroll, conning Esme into handing over her powers to Agatha, getting Esme turned into a trophy. But it wasn't all Ethel's fault, Esme was also to blame. Many people believed she was a girl who was flawless, but Esmerelda knew she had flaws like everybody else. Esme hadn't held what Ethel had done against her, she was just glad that her younger sister had seen what kind of people Miss Gullet and Agatha were really like - that head girl sash Ethel had worn was not like the one Esme wore, hers was an award for hard work whereas Ethel's had been awarded like a dog. It had taken Ethel time to realise what it really meant, but by then she had already seen enough to make her worried.

Esme had hoped that her sister wouldn't return to the depressed mindset that had plagued her for the whole of last year. Ethel had driven herself mad trying to be as good as her, and while Esme hoped that both Ethel and now Sybil, who was a first year at Cackles did well, she didn't want them to burn themselves out. What really concerned the elder sister was what her sister might be studying in the library. There were dozens of books which were extremely dangerous for a girl like Ethel to touch at her current level. Esmerelda knew her sister was smart, daring, but she genuinely hoped Ethel didn't do something unimaginably stupid. The consequences would be severe if she touched them, and Esme wasn't just thinking about the Witches code, but she was also thinking of her sister's personal safety as well.

Walking towards the Great Hall where dinner was being served, Esmerelda hoped that she could catch Ethel and speak to her, though what she'd say to the girl was anybody's guess. As soon as she entered the hall, Esme caught sight of some of the second year girls. Mildred, Maud and Enid were talking quietly to themselves while eating their meals, whereas Sybil and some of the first year girls were talking loudly to each other. Esme smirked when she caught sight of Mildred smiling gently at the youngest Hallow girl in the school - last year Ethel couldn't go a day without talking about the 'worst witch' in such a derogatory way, now Ethel's view of Mildred was still the same but she had no real idea of how to define the girl.

Esmerelda shrugged to herself. In a way it was a good thing for the girls to have a rivalry, even though one or both of them did something for it to be taken to the extreme, but it wasn't always Mildred's fault and Ethel was unfair with how she bullied Mildred. But the rivalry also made the girls improve themselves and their magical repertoire.

Esmerelda had just collected her food and had sat down with her friends and exchanged some of the usual gossip when a loud voice shouted.

"I've done it!"

Ethel Hallow was standing in the great hall, and then she flicked her hand and disappeared. Esmerelda's jaw dropped, and out of the corner of her eye she noticed that her friends themselves were just as surprised. The younger girls chattered excitedly, but the upper year girls weren't as enthusiastic even when Ethel returned safely in the hall again. None of the girls noticed Miss Bat, the teacher on dinner duty tonight, also disappear from the hall.

The blond girl didn't notice the looks on the upper year girls' faces as she reappeared once again. "I did it!" she cheered. "I did it, I can do magical transportation!"

That was enough for Esmerelda and she stood up quickly. "Ethel," she said cautiously, "when did you learn the transportation spell?"

Ethel looked at her with a bright smile. She was drunk on her new skill and she didn't seem to know the danger which annoyed her elder sister. "Just now," she said cheerfully. "Aren't you proud of me?"

"Yeah, I am," Esmerelda smiled in a manner she hoped was not encouraging, the last thing she wanted was her sister to transfer herself again and end up materialising in a wall. "Listen, Ethie, I'm proud of you, yeah, but maybe it's a good idea to give yourself time to adjust after using the spell."

"Why should I?"

Esmerelda's attempts at tact and diplomacy were leaking faster than water through a sieve, and the older girl knew it. "Ethel, magical transportation can be dangerous," she decided to get down to facts and try to make her careless sister see sense. "You know that. You are not ready for this, not until you're much older."

The cheery attitude Ethel had been basking in disappeared entirely. "But I can do it," she protested, "you're jealous, aren't you? You're just jealous I've mastered something you haven't, that's why you're behaving like this."

Esmerelda wanted nothing more than to close her eyes and try to get a grip on her sanity, but she knew if she did that then Ethel might disappear again. "No, I am not jealous of you Ethel," she ground out, hoping she didn't sound as exasperated and as annoyed as she was beginning to feel, "I'm just worried that something might happen to you."

"Nothing will happen to me Esme," Ethel folded her arms and huffed, "I've got it sorted. I can handle it."

"No, you can't!" Esme suddenly lost her patience and snapped. "Magical Transportation is dangerous; why do you think those rules about when people are supposed to even learn the basics when they're older than 13? There are so many ways it can kill you, is it really that worth it?"

"I can handle it!" Ethel repeated herself.

"Ethel, do you remember all those lessons you took when you were younger, how magical transportation has been known to be the cause of dozens of accidents? Stop jumping before its too late," Esmerelda snapped, losing her patience and not even bothering to be diplomatic anymore - what was the point when her idiot sister played this stupid game?

"Nothing is going to happen to me," Ethel argued back firmly. "I've got it under control, that book I found in the library gave out clear instructions-"

"You shouldn't have looked at those books, Ethel. Those books are for the eyes of students who have been at the school for a lot longer than a year, besides you should know the story of Mary Wolfsbane, how she transported herself and ended up not only missing her destination but scattered her body parts over half a mile. That's why witches of a certain age are meant to read those books. You're good Ethel, but you've got a lot more to learn about magic before you can use magical transportation correctly, that's why officials and teachers monitor transportation class to make sure you do it properly."

Miss Cackle and Miss Hardbroom arrived, and Ethel took a hasty step back when she saw the expressions on their faces. Miss Hardbroom's face was more angry than Ethel had ever seen it, and Miss Cackle's expression didn't look any better.

"Ethel Hallow, stop using the transportation spell before you injure yourself!" Hardbroom ordered.

Miss Cackle had her hands raised as she cast a spell to stop Ethel from transporting again, but since she had no idea how many times the foolish and reckless girl who should have known better than transported, she didn't know if the spell would work at all. "Listen to your sister dear, the transportation spell could prove to be dangerously unstable even if you think you've mastered it."

Ethel's frustration returned full force with the force of a hurricane. "What do I have to do to make you listen to me? I've mastered the transportation spell, I can handle it-"

"No, you can't!" Miss Hardbroom interrupted fiercely. What happened next should have been considered inevitable, but it was purely an accident and one the teachers were trying to prevent, but with the current instability of Ethel's magic she transported out of the hall.

Where has Ethel gone? Stay tuned for more.