| abstract
| - OFWITCH, the Witch School Inspectorate, decides to launch a surprise inspection on all the schools which they consider to be at risk of slipping through the cracks. Panic spreads amongst the teachers of Cackle's Academy; Miss Cackle recieves a letter from OFWITCH, stating that they will be coming to inspect the school the following day. The staff dismally looks toward having their GAS (guild aproved status) cut off and having to shut down. The particular individual appointed to inspect Cackle's Academy is none other than Mistress Hecate Broomhead, a tyrant of the first order and, as it happens, Miss Hardbroom's personal tutor from witch training college. Meanwhile, Clarice has gone to Fenella and Griselda for advice about Sybil. It seems that since Mildred saved her, Sybil's been leaching onto her and Clarice wants the older girls to convice her to lay off a litte (seeing as Mildred, Enid and Maud think it's really cringy). An emergency plan of action is drawn up and the staff of Cackle's decides to make every effort to cover up all the things which are wrong with the school. Miss Cackle enlists Fenella and Griselda to help her dispose of records of parent complaints and disasters. Miss Hardbroom stuffs Mildred's bats in a box and explains that in order to prevent any unforeseen disasters, Mildred is banished to her room for the duration of the inspection, and her bats are confiscated. Disgruntled by this, Mildred follows Miss Hardbroom to find out where her bats have gone, and finds out from Fenella and Griselda that they're locked in a trunk in the storage closet. Broomhead arrives the next day, angry that the directions she got from Miss Cackle were so muddled. After refusing tea she begins her inspection and runs into Miss Hardbroom. After saying sufficiently nasty and insulting things, she sets off on her own. Meanwhile, Gris and Fenny try to talk Sybil into rescuing Mildred's bats from the closet by way of impressing her. Sybil says she'll think about it and goes to class, where Broomhead introduces herself to Miss Bat. "I don't like bats," she informs the teacher. She then insults everything else about the class and makes her way to Miss Cackle's office. Sybil is distraught, since she messed up chanting in front of the inspector, and decides it couldn't hurt anything to go after Millie's bats. She takes Fenella with her and flies into the closet. "There is one name which keeps popping up," Broomhead informs Miss Cackle and Miss Hardbroom (who bolts to Mildred's room). Dragging Mildred behind her, Miss Hardbroom makes to put her in the storage clo set, but opens the door to see Sybil and Fenella staring in puzzlement at the empty chest, which contains a forbidden almanac of spells. Forgetting about being stealthy, Miss Hardbroom exclaims "Sybil Hallow, give me that volume at once!" Before the girl can comply, Broomhead apears out of thin air, delighted to have caught up with Mildred at last. Miss Cackle arrives and admits to hiding some things. The inspector informs her that the school is going to be shut down, and Sybil comes into her own and casts a spell on Broomhead, turning her back into a child. Miss Cackle recognises the girl as Whilemena Wormwood, a student she went to school with who tried to freeze everyone in a block of ice. Using this as blackmail, they recieve a marvelous review and a very polite goodbye- Once again, the school is saved from closure.
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