Chapter 1

"Alex!" I bellowed in the general direction of my room-mate's bedroom in our new apartment; receiving no reply I huffed and put down my project to go searching for her. I was immersed in my new sewing project, a new dress for the upcoming work party, and had misplaced a vital blue sparkly thread which I needed desperately to finish it.

Since I had hit my twenties I'd toned down the crazy outfits – no more themed accessories or over-the-top hats. But I'd still continued with sewing, managing to secure a job as a seamstress for my favourite designer, Algenio Pucci. As I marched up the stairs, avoiding cardboard boxes which needed unpacking and shouting Alex's name so loud it would annoy the neighbours, I bumped into a warm chest.

"Sorry, sorry!" I shouted, unusually loud, keeping my gaze firmly on the floor and trying not to blush.

"No need to worry, Harper! No harm done." Mason replied in his adorable British accent, "Are you okay? You seem a little stressed." He was still dressed in his pyjamas, well half of them, and I was finding it hard not to glance at his bare chest. Ever since he had taken to walking around half dressed I had developed a small crush on him, not that I would ever act on it; he was Alex's long term boyfriend! Still, I was allowed to look.

"I'm fine, just lost some thread. Where's Alex?" I asked, trying to compose myself and speak normally.

"Probably still asleep" he replied, pulling a face and walking past me down the stairs. When I got to Alex and Mason's bedroom the door was wide open and Alex was sitting up, reading an art magazine and eating toast. She was dropping crumbs all over the duvet, a sight I'm sure would have agitated Mason.

"Hey, Alex?" I started, standing in the doorway, "Have you seen my blue sparkly thread? I really need it to finish the dress for the party." Alex took her time chewing a mouthful of toast, staring at me blankly. Then just when I thought she was going to reply, she took another bite of toast. "Alex!" I shouted accusingly.

"Geez! I haven't seen your stupid thread." She retorted, still chewing her toast. When I rolled my eyes and turned to leave she spoke up with a more apologetic tone, "Wait, I can make you some more if you want." She reached for her wand which was sitting on her bedside table and was about to wave it when I objected.

"Ah, no. You don't have to do the whole magic thing – you know it weirds me out. I'll just go look for it like a normal person." At that moment the phone started ringing and Alex waved her wand to turn it onto speaker. I was just walking away from her room as she greeted the person ringing, still with a mouthful of toast.

Alex had definitely got lazier since she became a full wizard, even though it seemed impossible that she could have gotten lazier than she was before. I went back to searching for the missing thread; as I reached the kitchen the smell of freshly cooked pancakes hit me. Mason was standing at the cooker, flipping pancakes, not having bothered to put on a shirt. "Wow, those smell amazing!" I declared, all thought of the missing thread forgotten.

"Thanks, do you want one? They're blueberry – my speciality." Mason replied, placing the last pancake on a piled up plate. I nodded as he brought the pancakes over to the table, giving me a heart-melting smile as he did so.

I finished my third pancake, I was feeling extra hungry that morning, when Alex descended from upstairs. She was clutching her un-brushed hair, a worried look on her face. "Alright, darling?" Mason enquired as he put down his fork and got up to carry the plates to the kitchen.

"I've got, uh, some important news for you guys." She said with a grave look at me and Mason. I was starting to get that worried feeling in the pit of my stomach. "What? What is it? Who was that on the phone?" I asked, frantically going through theories of what catastrophe could have occurred.

"It was Max."