A/N: I changed the summary so it fits the story better. The original was written before I started the first chapter, so I felt the story took a different direction than I inteded. I'm still satisfied with how this has come out, but the summary wasn't totally accurate.

Anyway, yeah, I'm kind of on an updating spree with this story. I think I'm just going to keep on writing until I finish, then work on my other stories.

Oh, before I forget, I've been meaning to shamelessly plug my Wizards/Hannah Montana crossover, "Summer of '09." Alex invites Lilly, an old friend from camp, to star for the summer while - unknown to her - Miley as Hannah judges a reality show in New York.

Part IV

Alex was totally confused.

She should have been elated that she didn't have to learn magic anymore. When she had classes, she did everything she could to get out of them.

Instead, there was this sick feeling in her stomach, and the tears wouldn't stop. It didn't make any sense at all. This should have been the one aspect of losing her powers that she actually liked. She should be overjoyed and rubbing it in her brothers' faces that she didn't have to go to class and they did. She was the lucky one, wasn't she?

But she didn't feel lucky.

When she began to hiccup from crying so much, she said in a low whisper, "What's wrong with me?"

There was the noise of someone coming up the stairs. Alex wanted to run up to her room before whoever it was could see her, she really did. But she couldn't find the strength to stop her tears and put on a smile. Her exclusion from wizard training class had her devastated, and she had no idea why.

So she settled for lying flat on the couch, and hoping that whoever it was didn't see her.

Curiosity made her turn slightly to see that it was her mother. Alex wasn't surprised. Her mother usually took a break once the rest of the family got out of magic class, since she had to run the restaurant by herself when they were gone. However, Alex had to hide herself behind the couch even more. She did not want to have to explain to her mother what happened, or why she was upset…which she didn't know herself.

Unfortunately, a loud sob gave her away. Alex held her breath as the footsteps ceased, and she hoped that her mother would dismiss the noise and continue to go upstairs.

That didn't happen. "Alex?" Theresa called softly.

Even though Alex didn't respond, Theresa continued across the loft to see who was on the couch. When she finally reached living room side of the couch, Theresa let out a small gasp at the sight of her daughter's uncharacteristic condition. "Oh, my…sweetie, what happened?" she exclaimed. She moved Alex up off the couch cushions, sat down in the empty space, and gave her daughter a tight hug.

Alex didn't hate it as much as she thought she would. It was almost nice to be comforted when she was this down. "I'm fine' she lied. "I just, uh, didn't get much sleep last night and needed to take a nap."

"Don't lie to me, Alex," Theresa insisted. "I can tell you were crying." As another tear slid down Alex's cheek, Theresa wiped it away. "And you still are. What happened? I go into the bathroom to clean some spilt soda off my shirt, and Harper tells me you ran upstairs after talking to your father in the kitchen."

Though she knew it would sound ridiculous, Alex sat somewhat upright and answer, "Dad said I didn't have to go to wizard training anymore. Yeah, I don't get it either."

"Oh, honey," Theresa replied. There was a brief silence, and Alex could tell that her mother was trying to figure this out herself. "Well…maybe, you actually liked going to class with your brothers, and never realized how much until you didn't have to go?"

"I don't think that's it. I know I hated all that work," Alex assured her.

After some more thought, Theresa suggested, "Do you think, maybe…you feel left out?"

"Me? No, definitely not. I don't care enough about anything to feel left out, so…" Alex trailed off when she realized what she was saying.

As much as she tried to deny it, she did care about her powers. They made her life so much more exciting, not to mention how much she loved to use them to get what she wanted out of any situation. She missed having magic and the wizard world at her disposal. It had been a part of her.

And, though she hated the classes themselves, training made her wizard identity that much more prominent. Maybe she didn't like the work, but deep down she had to confess that she did like the quality time with her father and brothers. Magic classes were the two times a week when they all fully embraced their magical heritage, even her father. It was something to which they could all relate.

But all that was gone. Alex knew she could never view magic in the same favorable light she did a week ago. Her own father had the choice of giving up his powers, and even he had some resentment towards it. How could Alex ever talk about magic again when she had her powers taken away against her will?

There was a rift now, between her and her brothers…maybe even her father too.

Quiet while Alex thought, Theresa finally spoke. "Alex, honey?"

"It's not the same," Alex said. There was a jumbled mixture of sadness, anger, and loss in her voice. "It will never be the same, will it? Dad, Justin, Max and I…we had this huge thing in common, and it's not there anymore. I don't fit in to their world, and it hurts so much…" Then a proverbial light bulb went off and she glanced at her mother with newfound understanding. "That's why you hate magic so much, isn't it? You feel left out."

"Oh, I…" Theresa replied, surprised at the sudden turn to her own feelings about the subject. "I always thought it was because it was what almost tore your father and I apart. It didn't seem fair that I couldn't be with him just because he had magic and I didn't…" She trailed off and sighed. "I don't know, Alex. Maybe you are right on some level."

They each sat on the couch for five minutes or so, Theresa's arm around Alex's shoulders each lost in their thoughts about the shift in their relationship, the new bond they shared. Eventually Theresa gave her daughter a quick hug and said, "Alex, if you want you can take the rest of the day off. I better get back downstairs though, we're getting close to the dinner rush."

"Okay. I'm probably just going to hang out and watch TV," Alex replied, while her mother nodded in understanding that her daughter needed some time alone. When Theresa got up to leave, Alex said, "Thanks, Mom. And not just for the day off."

"Any time, honey. I'm here for you whenever you need me," Theresa replied with a smile, then began to go downstairs.

Her arms around her bent knees, Alex watched and waited for her mother to leave before she whispered, "I know."

Life without magic would take some adjustment. Alex could admit that. While she could continue to wallow in her denial of her real pain, she couldn't ignore that some aspects of her life automatically changed.

For starters, her appearance was taking a beating. Though her parents forbade her to use magic for the small things, Alex of course had ignored them. Her morning routine used to begin with casting her acne spell, since at this age, she was prone to tons of pimples. Then she would use a spell to have her make up appear on her face as if a Hollywood make up artist had done it. Finally she would use magic to create the perfect hairstyle.

Well, her ten minute morning routine was history. The first couple of days, she struggled with using a brush and hairdryer to style her hair, or getting her make up to even resemble how the spell used to do it. Both tasks were impossible.

To make the whole situation worse, she could see the hint of a pimple on her chin.

Frustrated with the whole process – especially since she hated any kind of work –Alex ignored it and went to school the whole week with no make up and her hair as-is Her clothes had actually been wrinkled too. Being a somewhat messy person, she had cast a "wrinkle remover" spell on her dresser and closet. The spell must have been cancelled at the loss of her powers, because every clothing item she wore looked like it had been crumpled into a ball.

Naturally, people talked. Alex heard whispers, saw students and even teachers glance her way. From what Harper told her, they were all concerned that Alex was depressed or something. Harper then confessed that she was wondering also.

The worst part was that Alex couldn't even shrug it off. Her usual tough exterior had been broken by the loss of her powers, and she walked around school in a distracted fog. Gone were the sarcastic comments, the attitude she was known for. At the very least, she still had her uncaring outlook, so the rumors and the whispers didn't bother her at all.

But the weekend brought a chance to get out of her funk with some quality best friend time. Harper had demanded that Alex go to the Creature Feature Confidential that night. While Alex hadn't been up for socializing during the week, she was so sick of her zombie-like behavior that she readily agreed to the outing

Though she wasn't ready to give her new morning routine another try. After she took a shower and got dressed on Saturday morning, Alex ignored the make up on her desk, threw on whatever halfway decent outfit she could find, and went downstairs to the loft. "Good morning," she greeted.

"Afternoon, you mean. It's one ' clock already," Jerry replied. He did a double-take at his daughter. "But it's nice to see you in a better mood."

That made Alex pause, since she was pretty sure she'd acted okay enough not to worry her family. "What do you mean?"

"We meant to tell you, Mr. Larritate called yesterday to ask about signing you up for meeting with the school's guidance counselor," Theresa explained, her voice and expression full of concern.

When her brothers glanced at her from their position on the couch, Alex hesitated as she came up with the right thing to tell everyone. "I…I'll admit I was a little shaken up this week, but I'm fine now, really. I'll be so back to my old self by Monday that everyone will wonder if they just imagined I was any different."

"I hope so," Jerry replied, also worried. "Because if Mr. Larritate calls again, I might sign you up for a session with a wizard therapist."

The thought that she would have to talk to a stranger about her feelings for a whole hour horrified her. "N-no, that's okay, you don't need to, I swear!"

Her parents shrugged at her response, then went back to their conversation, something about if they should start having daily specials at the restaurant. When Alex started to go to the living room to watch TV, Justin jumped up, grabbed her arm, and pulled her towards "Come with me."

"What? Justin, where are you taking me?" Alex demanded. She followed him downstairs through the restaurant and into the kitchen. He then went to open the lair. "The lair? I don't have any reason to go in there now, remember?"

"Just trust me,' Justin insisted. He ran into the lair and began to pace.

Alex slowly walked in and stopped about a foot past the chalkboard. "Justin! What do you want?"

"Alright, Alex…" Justin trailed off, unsure how to continue. "Look, you want your powers back, right?"

The question shocked her. This whole week she'd been so overwhelmed with her denial of her feelings on the subject that she never thought to come up with a way to get them back. To be honest, she didn't think there was one. "I…guess. If I could."

"Alex, now is not the time to be your uncaring, 'cool' self," Justin retorted, with air quotes around the word "cool." "Do you want your powers back, yes or no?"

What's going on? Alex thought in confusion. Though she didn't want to admit to Justin, of all people, he sounded so urgent that she could only reply with honesty. "Yes, yes, I want my powers back," she whined as she flopped down on the sitting area chair. "They were my powers! I need them! I…I'm not really me if I'm not a wizard. Justin, if you can get them back, please…"

"That's all I needed to hear," Justin interrupted, relief on his face. "Come on, we're leaving now."

"To where?" Alex asked. But instead of answering, he grabbed her arm again with one hand and cast a transport spell with the other.