Wondering why this story didn't drop in spring like I planned? It's 'cause I had to write this chapter four times! Four! Times! It's still not perfect, but if I keep retrying we'll be here all year.

15 163 Vera ~Reminders~

I stare at my phone trying not to be annoyed that Twig is out with her friends having fun while I'm here with a serious problem that I have to face sort-of alone. Not really alone, but Miss Nadine doesn't know anything about magic and Shimmergloom doesn't know anything about drugs or how we can't just tell grownups, especially rich famous rock stars, what to do.

I've texted-while-walking outside and around the house so nobody can hear us. Shimmergloom, seeing I'm done on my phone, asks, "What be all that?" with a general wave back at the house.

Officer Gomez wanted to make sure we all knew the truth about drugs, so I know this is only maybe a disaster. Plenty of people try drugs and don't get addicted, or they can get clean with therapy or whatever. But Officer Gomez also showed us mugshots of people who did get addicted, progressions from a healthy dude to a toothless sunken-eyed wreck. And it's probably a bad idea to be doing any drugs and have your shadow stolen.

I need… to ask Mom. But first I explain to an incredulous Shimmergloom that drugs change your brain and people who have a bad past can get caught in them and not be able to escape even if it wrecks their life.

"That's why Madder be like a loose cannon. Her head isn't shipshape."

"Right." For pirate talk, that's a pretty good description. "And now with her shadow gone, who knows what will happen. I'm going to call my mom and ask her. This is serious stuff for Earth, we need grownups to help or we're going to have nutty celebrities running around making trouble."

"Ok. I'll do the weeding!"

Which makes me worry about Madder's flowerbeds, but there are plenty of obvious weeds coming up already since Madder fired her gardeners after her meltdown before we came.

I type in, Mom? Can magic help someone get off drugs?

She immediately calls me, like I knew she would. I can see in the hologram that she's in the kitchen; behind her I can see a rack of hanging pots and pans. Mom's wrapping her hair, a style I've seen her wear in photos of when she was my age. Guess she's going back to it now that they're in the magic dimension. She pins the wrap up and says, "Not you I hope."

"It's Madder. I don't know what she's using but she's been acting weird for a while I guess. Can we just..." I wiggle my fingers to indicate casting a spell, even though that's not how you really cast spells.

"Well… no and yes. There's not one spell to un-addict somebody. Fairy dust would help, fairy dust always helps. Healing spells to make quitting less rough. But whatever made her get in trouble in the first place, which I guess is the stressful rock star life, that's still going to be a problem."

"Magic is remarkably non-useful."

Mom chuckles. "Magic's mostly good for solving the problems it created in the first place. Especially on Earth."

"Twig thinks magic is the greatest ever."

"Well it's that too."

And I feel suddenly terribly distant. Hurriedly, so mom doesn't notice, I ask, "So what did you do today?"

"Pretty normal day. Took Hex to the vet for a checkup, ate lunch with Lucy, now I'm cooking some potions that last so we'll have them in the cupboard. You called at a good time though; they're all cooling." She turns her phone so I can see four pots on cooling racks and a line of glass bottles waiting to be filled.

"What did you make?"

"These are all medicine potions. Energy booster, headache cure, sore throat balm and tummy tea. They're pretty easy to make and last for months."

I remember these potions. We had normal medicine at our house but we also had Mom's minty tea for bellyaches and herby-smelling stuff I'd dip a washrag in and put it around my neck when I had a sore throat. That was magic? They were just things we had. I say, "Cool."

"Your dad's off rescuing somebody from something. The magic dimension is really glad to have him back. I give it a month before he starts talking about a vacation on Earth to get away from his own popularity." Mom's shaking her head, smiling.

"Can you do that?" I ask.

"Anytime you need us. But we really shouldn't just for a vacation. Queen Nebula doesn't want too many witches and fairies running around scaring the locals."

I smile, "I'll try not to scare the-" I hear the crunch of shoes on the gravel driveway. We're not expecting anyone. "I have to go; someone's here. Call you back later Mom."

I see the top of someone's head over the hedge, someone wearing a big swoopy purple hat with dyed pheasant feathers. I stay where I am, sitting on a cement bench in madder's garden. The wearer of the hat comes around and up the gravel driveway. It's wearer is a young woman in a… goth business suit? That's the best description I can think of. it's dusty purple and sets off her fair skin and platinum hair. She looks like a model and up close can't be much older than I am. She must've seen me—but maybe not, she's looking around in a sort of sneaky way.

I know when Shimmergloom comes up behind me before she asks, "Who be that?"

I shrug. The visitor is dressed a little weird for a country where it rains half the time and is sometimes freezing cold in May. Maybe she's one of Madder's artsy friends.

She sees us and kind of jumps, then trills, "Pardon me young ladies, but is Ms. Whitfield at home?"

I hesitate, caught between politeness and wondering if this lady is a stalker or something. Her clothes and hat just aren't quite normal.

Shimmergloom says, "I'm not sure. We're just here to clean up the yard."

I hide my phone quick like someone caught slacking on the job. We're not particularly dressed for yard work but there are tools around and Shimmergloom was weeding so it might work.

The stranger gives us a sharp look that doesn't match her cheerful voice. "Well would you give her my card? I'm just back in town after a long absence and I'd love to sign her on as a client. I hear she's had some trouble recently, and I have plenty of experience rehabilitating ruined careers."

She holds out a business card and I go over to take it. Maya Verona, talent agent. Tours, bookings, signings. So she's not a weirdo, just a show business eccentric I guess. I give her a slightly less forced smile. "I'll give it to Ms. Whitfield when I see her. Thank you."

The stranger gives me a sickly smile and turns away, crunching back down the gravel driveway and out of sight. Her platinum hair falls almost to the backs of her knees, I haven't seen anyone but models or fairies with hair that long.

Well that was weird.

Shimmergloom looks down at the business card I'm holding, her brows drawn down in confusion.

I explain, "She wants Madder to give her a job setting up music shows. I guess."

"She was magic."

"She was?"

"Aye."

I start asking what that means but the front door opens behind us and Madder looks out, shading her eyes from the sun. "Who was that?"

"A music agent, I guess. She left you this-" I hold out the card and it goes slimy in my hand. Magic oozing out of the paper card, invisible but leaving trails in my vision. I yell and throw it away, and Shimmergloom's suddenly beside me, one hand holding out a magic shield around… whatever just happened. Now I can see it; magic oozing like plum colored jelly against the shield trying to burn through it. In surprise Shimmergloom's lost her illusion and the tips of her ears poke through her hair. Madder and Miss Nadine are gaping at us.

"What the heck!"

"Qu'est que c'est!"

Shimmergloom snarls and squashes down on her shield, squishing the spell out of existence. When she lifts her hand a few chicken feathers float to the gravel. "Pardon, Miss. It be all right, it didn't do anything." She smoothes her hair, and turns her ears back to normal.

Well it did something; Madder has her hand over her eyes and she backs out of the sunlight, but Miss comes over to join us. "Mademoiselles, what was that?"

"It be magic."

I tentatively reach my own magic out. I can feel the shield spell quickly fading and what it was protecting us from—a slimy, pulling, stealing spell. Like how that wizard yanked our magic out, but slower and nastier. It's fading out too, burning away in the English sunshine. I say, "She was trying to steal our magic. Or yours, maybe. Do Miss and Madder even have magic since they're not witches or fairies?"

Shimmergloom nods, "Everyone has a little. It be how you make your clothes look good, Miss."

The business card is gone but there are a few white chicken feathers left behind. What a mundane thing to magically appear. What a random thing to magically appear. "Why chicken feathers?"

Shimmergloom shrugs.

Miss looks at us, and the driveway where the magic went off. "Mademoiselles, that was a thing I 'ave never seen before. Are we safe?"

I stutter, "I guess… she's gone, whoever she was. I'll draw her so we'll have a picture in case we see her again..."

Shimmergloom says, "I put a spell around the house so nobody strange can come in without us knowing."

Miss nods, but she still looks troubled. I guess Miss knows we're magic since she knows the Winx, but she's never had any magic actually happen right in front of her. And she's a grownup so she doesn't read YA novels or watch anime and know about magic from stuff like that. I feel sorry for her so I semi-lie, "It's all right, weird stuff doesn't usually happen." But once Miss goes inside I ask Shimmergloom, "What was all that?"

"Nothing I know about. She wasn't from the World of Dreams."

Oh great. I'd really hoped Shimmergloom would have a clue, because I sure don't. What do we do now? I get my sketchbook and start drawing. I'm not great at faces but I can draw clothes on bodies, and the stranger's miles of hair are pretty distinctive so it should be a recognizable image. I wonder who she is… and realize I think she's from Earth. Her clothes were weird, but they were a style I've seen, on Earth not in Magix city. I get on my phone and look at some shopping sites and eventually find the long gothy tunic-jacket she was wearing. That's a clue! I don't know what it means knowing that she can afford an expensive jacket, but it's a clue.

Shimmergloom gives a squeak of surprise and I look up from shading. I can only see her bottom half; she's scrunched down half inside the hedge surrounding the yard. "Vera, come see!"

I leave my picture and go see what Shimmergloom's found under the hedge. Appropriately… "It's a hedgehog." It's rooting in the leaves for bugs I guess, showing no interest in us. Shimmergloom looks back at me. "What's that?"

"Just an animal—a wild animal, don't touch him." I've never seen a hedgehog in person before, they don't live in Gardenia. It's making cute snuffling noises. It's adorable, and Shimmergloom stuffs her hands under her legs to resist the temptation to pet its spiky back. We watch the little creature find a worm and chow down, then I think it notices us because it scuttles back into a… flowerpot? I squint. It's an upside down flowerpot with some flowers and the word 'Hedgehouse' painted on it. I wonder if Madder made it when she was a child, when these bushes were smaller.

Shimmergloom picks something up from the leaves and rubs it clean on her pants before showing it to me.

She's found a silver tag in the shape of a bone. Well, once silver, it must've been buried for years and is solid with grime. I can't read the dog's name but I remember the photo of Madder and her pugs. "I wonder if this would bring her shadow back."

"Maybe."

Which would solve one magical problem, but not the mundane problem. For that we need mundane help, like therapy and rehab, and random teenagers will definitely not be able to convince a famous grownup rockstar to go to rehab. I think we'll have to tell Miss Nadine. It would be better if it was a grownup… Madder is a grownup but maybe you still need a grownup even after you are one. Like her parents or their butler. He might be a better grownup since it seems like Madder and her parents didn't get along. Maybe I could find him and tell him Madder needs him, without her finding out it was me… I scroll through my phone, but Madder's celebrity website doesn't mention her family's butler. She probably didn't want to sound too one-percenty. Who even has a butler these days? I'm not even sure what butlers do. There is a website where you can hire them though! Seriously, English butlers in suits for hire for rich people. I read about everything butlers actually do, and how much they're paid, which is a lot.

From over my head a voice says, "Modern teenagers. Dinner in an hour, Mademoiselles." Miss Nadine and Madder are looking down on us. Clouds have come in while we've been hanging out, and I think the English rain is going to start again before bedtime.

I realize how we must look, me on my phone and Shimmergloom still half under the hedge. I smile back. "Hi Miss, hi Ms. Whitfield. Shirley found a hedgehog, it's in your little hedgehog house."

Madder smiles, her face relaxing in a way I haven't seen since we got here. Shimmergloom pops up with leaves in her hair and hedgehog photos on her phone. "Avast! And I found this."

She holds out the dog tag and we both watch the ground to see if Madder's shadow reappears. I have a little hope—but it doesn't happen. I guess it makes sense; playing with her dogs wasn't the moment Madder's dream came true.

But even though Madder is squinting against the light she does look at Shimmergloom's photos and even crouches down to see the hedgehog's spiky bottom. Madder seems so prim and proper—no amount of red hair dye can cancel out that accent—that I'm surprised to see her getting down on her knees to see a hedgehog. Miss gets down with them and they're talking about hedgehogs. I go back to looking at this butler website, maybe I'll show it to Shimmergloom later.

And then I see a familiar face. It's Madder's butler, he's older but he's got the same high forehead and little polite smile. He works for this site, not as a butler-for-hire, he's in a group photo of all the staff. Well I guess after being a butler what other job would you go to?

"Ms. Whitfield, look what I found."

"On your mobile?"

I hold out my phone. "Isn't he the butler in your pictures? I never met anyone who had a butler before so I was looking up what they do." I semi-lie but it's probably not the time to tell her about stolen shadows.

"It's James! So that's where he ended up. Nadine, remember my butler James?"

"Bien entendu. He came with you to the Wow finale. Why don't you call him?"

Madder's smile drops. "It's been too long. And I didn't call him when Mother and Father retired to America. I'm sure he's forgotten about me." She rubs her eyes and hands back my phone, turning away.

Shimmergloom's amber eyes are wide and tragic, "I be sure he wouldn't! He looked very kind in your picture."

Madder glances back at us and I hurry to say, "We were playing spot-the-movie-star in your photos." and Madder smiles a little.

"James was very kind. Mother and Father hired him to take care of the house and the dogs, but he took care of me too." She's walking away as she speaks, going indoors to get out of the sun. Miss Nadine follows her but Shimmergloom's looking down the driveway, a thoughtful look on her face. Her hand goes up to the bell at her throat.

"Shim..?"

Before I can finish the question she's lifted her bell and rung it, a clear warm note that carries in the cool air.

"What did you do?"

She smiles, amber eyes sparkling, and doesn't tell me.

"Shimmergloom!" I protest, "Come on! You can't just do spells whenever!" It's a scary feeling, I was worried already about Madder's shadow and the stranger and I'm also worried that we're acting weird in front of grownups. "If we scare them too much we'll get sent away and then poor Madder will turn into a vampire and who knows what will happen!"

"There be time. Days. It be not as nice without a shadow, but she could still come outside." Shimmergloom does start to say more but the door opens again and Miss calls, "Mademoiselles? Maddy's not feeling well so it's just us for dinner. Any suggestions?"

"Curry!" Shimmergloom votes.

"Indian's fine with me." I'm going to be really tired of takeout soon.

We go inside and set the table for takeout. Or I do while Shimmergloom hangs around fiddling with her bell. If Madder's not coming to dinner we can eat and then play with her techie toys. She has a TV the size of a bedsheet and I can see every detail of every outfit on Project Runway. I like to pause and sketch details, which drives Shimmergloom crazy but she puts up with it because I put up with her asking a million questions as she tries to comprehend reality TV.

The doorbell rings and I go collect bags of aromatic food from the raincoated delivery guy. "Thank you."

"Here's your dog." He says, and I jump as a little dog dashes in past my ankles and shakes itself all over Madder's fancy entry hall. I stutter, my brain not moving quickly enough to say it's not our dog and my hands full of food and the guy closes the door for me. I turn to look at our sudden dog invasion. "Shirley?"

Thank goodness, she appears from the dining room. "Oh! Hello."

"He's getting mud all over the rug! Can you catch him?"

Shimmergloom tries, and the dog dodges into the fancy parlor with the piano. Exactly where we don't want him to be. I get the food to the table so my hands are free and go look for the dog.

It's sitting under the piano panting and looking bedraggled and unhappy. It's a fat little thing, light brown with a sort of smushed face and crinkly hair. Cute doggy underbite, I'd be charmed if he wasn't muddy from the belly down and staining someone else's carpet! I sit down and hold out my hand, "Hi baby, are you friendly?" Its little tail wags, spraying more muddy water as it stretches cautiously to sniff my hand. We can't put the poor thing back outside in the rain, but it's messing up Madder's house!

We hear Miss Nadine call, "Mademoiselles, is the food here?" Then Madder says, "What in the world?"

"Sorry, he came in when the food was delivered..."

The dog rolls over on her back—and it's clearly a her because that round belly is clearly full of puppies and ready to feed them milk. Miss Nadine kneels down and starts talking french babytalk to the petit chien. Madder's rubbing her eyes and looking really irritated—and then she's rushing out of the room and rushing back in with towels and a bowl of water and her phone to call the vet. I guess it's going to be all right after all.

I go to the kitchen to find something a dog would like to eat. Probably not curry, but maybe there's tuna fish or something. Shimmergloom is eating dinner, holding her plate so she can wait by the door and listen. She looks… satisfied.

I look at her sideways. "Did you..?"

"The tag gave me an idea, there be likely some dog around that needs help. So I called."

My hand pauses opening a cabinet door. "You can cast a spell to summon dogs?" I'm not sure why that's weird, but it is.

"Aye. But only one at a time. It be hard, the magic only calls a thing that wants to be in a different place."

I mentally sort through that while I physically sort through Madder's cupboards. Here's a can of chicken soup; that would probably do for a hungry dog. Back home Mom kept cans of dog food around even though we only had a cat, just in case Miss Morgana's dog Artu found a stray and brought it home. He brought home cats too; I've been in the Frutti Music Bar and seen Artu come in carrying a whining kitten and Miss Morgana would leap into action. I'm not leaping but I empty the soup into a bowl and take it back to offer to the dog.

She's happy to lap the broth and nibble on chicken pieces but she's still squirmy and uncomfortable and goes back to hide under the piano.

Madder puts down a cardboard box with towels in it and the dog goes in and lies down. "I think we're going to have more dogs before morning and the vet just said she couldn't send anybody!"

I don't know about puppy births but dogs don't go to the hospital like people do so it's probably all right, right? Miss Nadine looks it up on her phone and says a mama dog just needs food and water and privacy, like a box with towels in it which we have. All we need to do is stay out of the way unless something goes wrong. So Miss herds us back to the dining room to eat. Madder said before that she wasn't hungry but she comes to eat with us, grousing about the vet not wanting to make a house call on a rainy night. "The vet for Mother's pugs always came when James called for her!"

We eat with our ears toward the door in case the dog makes any sound, but she doesn't. Madder eats with us and actually talks. She's closer to friendly than she's been since we got here. "Mother's pugs had puppies a few times and they were fine but they hadn't been out in the cold rain. I do wish somebody could come check on her." She's on her phone ordering delivery from the pet store. Ordering delivery everything is weird to me; it costs a lot! But it's very sweet of Madder. "They were all named people names, not dog names. Let's give this dog a dog's name."

Shimmergloom suggests, "How about Nana? Because she be a mother dog."

I know Shimmergloom's thinking of the dog in Peter Pan, who was a giant Saint Bernard not a little terrier mix, but it's a cute name. Madder nods, "Oh! I know what we need! Come on." Madder pushes away her empty plate and beckons us to follow. We're all pretty much done eating so we all tag along upstairs and down a hall, then Madder pulls a string hanging from the ceiling and unfolds a creaky ancient ladder like something out of an old movie. It's so picturesque. We creak our way up into the warm, dusty attic. Only the middle of the room is high enough to stand in; the ceiling dips towards the edges and boxes and old furniture are crammed along both sides. Madder says, "My great grandparents made their servants sleep up here; it must've been miserable in the summer. There should be a box of dog stuff here somewhere."

Miss Nadine looks around, "Incroyable. Maddy, do you even know what is up here?"

"Nope. Four generations of my family lived here."

Shimmergloom's gone one way and found an amazing antique rocking horse. Its colors are still bright and there are jewels in its carved bridle. Then I see something just as wonderful: an ancient treadle sewing machine, its black enamel still bright. I want to pet it like Shimmergloom's petting the rocking horse.

"Do you know how to use that, Mademoiselle Hume?"

"Miss Morgana—a friend of my mom's—she had a treadle sewing machine, not as nice as this one. She let me use it until I got my own."

"A designer who can sew?" Madder asks, "Mine just hand over sketches. You can use it if you want, but I don't think we could get it down the stairs." Probably not. It's solid iron and built into a table. I think I have to give up on it.

"Here it is." Madder hefts a box with 'dogs' written on it.

Miss Nadine has found a pile of stringless guitars. She gives her friend an inquisitive look.

"They're to wreck on stage. It's a rock star thing, since Townshend did it everybody has to, but I'm hardly going to destroy a real one so I switch out. With the fog machine on nobody notices."

Shimmergloom looks up from the rocking horse to ask, "Is it fun?"

Madder laughs. Her whole face changes and her gray eyes sparkle. "Bashing a fake guitar around while spotlights flash and five thousand people scream at you? It's brilliant!"

And then it all goes out. She turns away and adds, "Until it isn't."

Miss Nadine starts, "Maddy..."

"Let's go back downstairs."

I look at Shimmergloom. I swear Madder just turned back into herself. She doesn't have her shadow back but she went normal for a minute. Maybe being surrounded by nostalgic things did it. Maybe if we came up here more…

Downstairs we open the box. Food dishes, some rope toys, a small dog bed with the price tag still on it. Miss Nadine takes that outside and whacks it against the wall a few times to get the dust off. I find a collar with a little bow that doesn't look like it was ever worn.

Madder has gotten bored with us, or at least gone silent. I wonder if she needs a fix, or if it's just the shadow thing. I offer, "We could go check on the dog." and Shimmergloom hops up to go with me.

Nana the dog is curled comfortably in her box, no puppies yet. She wags her tail at us and Shimmergloom puts the collar on her and she seems pleased in a doggy way. I hope Madder keeps her—she has to, right? It's pet destiny.

I glance over at the bureau and it occurs to me to wonder why Madder keeps her stash here when she has houseguests. Or servants, which she did before. She must not have been using for long or someone would've found it. Or there's a psychological reason, keeping your stash right under your family photos… Madder needs a real councilor.

When we go back the grownups are talking. I hear, "...what happened today? Was that real?"

I hesitate and touch Shimmergloom's arm so she stops to eavesdrop with me.

Madder continues, "We heard nonsense about the Winx being fairies but did you see anything strange then?"

Miss Nadine doesn't answer for a long minute then, "...yes."

"Really?"

"Shadows that moved by themselves. Something that looked like Sophie but wasn't her. Bloom… I don't know. But there was something. Then when I got sick and lost all my hair Stella asked if I wanted it to grow back. The doctor said that wasn't possible so I made a joke that I don't mind ze wigs but I'd like my eyebrows back and then…" I see Miss Nadine tap one perfect eyebrow. "Comme par magie."

I think we've reached the end of how much we can eavesdrop so I push the door open and say, "No puppies yet." like we didn't hear anything.

But the grownups do want to talk about it. "What was that in my driveway this morning? Are you fairies?" Madder just asks straight out.

I freeze up. I have no idea how to answer.

"Aye." Shimmergloom says. "Well I am. Vera be a witch."

"But we really don't know who that was, Ms. Whitfield, or what kind of spell she was trying to cast on us. We're just kids, we can't fix things with magic, not big things."

"But I could show you one big magic." Shimmergloom smiles and takes off her silver bell. The adults watch curiously as she waves it in an intricate pattern over her head. She looks a little silly doing it—then shining silver glitter spirals out from the bell, swirling through the air around us. Madder flinches back but Miss Nadine laughs and reaches out to run her fingers through the sparkles. They spread out and fall on us and the light show fades leaving the room looking just like it did before.

Shimmergloom flops down on the couch, grinning.

The colors in the room look brighter. Suddenly I want to sketch. Madder is really lovely, sweatshirts aren't doing her any favors and neither is her dye job honestly but with some makeup and the right tailoring…

It isn't just me. Madder reaches for a notebook of musical staves and starts writing, her lips moving silently. Miss is on her phone texting, probably with Madame by the way she's smiling, and Shimmergloom sinks dozily against my shoulder.

"I made enough fairy dust for three people and a dog." She mumbles with sleepy pride. She's heavy and warm but kind of comfy and my drawing hand is still free and my head is full of wonderful colors. I draw and draw, a few different skirt designs, leggings and tops. The greatest silver jacket, it'd pick up the spotlights and look like Shimmergloom's fairy dust. Now if only inspiration came with the budget for that many rhinestones. My mind wanders to the budget Madder must have for her clothes and I drag it back to reality. The rush of inspiration fades, it always does eventually, my mind just runs out of ideas. Madder is still writing music, her other hand playing an imaginary guitar. I think she can hear it in her head as clearly as I can see colors.

Eventually I close my sketchbook and look at what else is in the dog stuff box. Lots of fading photos of adorable pugs and adorable child Madder. At the bottom of the box is an old notebook. I open it and see names and numbers. I think it's a puppy record of all Madder's family's pugs. They did all have people names, it's weird.

Madder closes her music book with a satisfied sigh. "I'll let that rest a bit before I play it. What did you find, Vera?"

I pass the book over.

"These were all our dogs… James took care of the puppies. These are weights, you have to weigh them every day when they're tiny. Bet there's a kitchen scale in there."

"Yep." I say and pull it out, an old scale with a bowl top.

Smiling, Madder turns the pages. "When Mother and Father moved to Florida they found homes for the last litter, James wrote all of them down..." She turns a page and gasps a little. I can see it's not another list; looks more like a letter. Madder reads, then she's up with her phone in her hand. "I have to call someone."

As soon as she's gone Miss Nadine looks at us. "Mademoiselle Barrie, what was that? It's wonderful!"

"Fairy dust… it does good."

"Can you do it all the time? Could I learn how?"

Shimmergloom shakes her head hard. "I be only an Onyrix fairy, it be ages 'til I can make fairy dust again. And ye be not a fairy, Miss."

Miss frowns a second, probably sorting through what Shimmergloom said. "I'm not sure whether to be disappointed or relieved. Are there any other fairies around?"

I shake my head. "There's not, like, a secret society of fairies on Earth. Just the normal world and then once in a while something happens. Right now it seems like things are happening to anyone who met the Winx back when. I don't know why."

Miss Nadine says, "I think I would prefer these things did not happen to my friends and my school. But you do not make them happen do you. What were you drawing?" She gestures at my sketchbook and I hand it over.

"It's for Madder, rock star clothes. I just got the idea. Do you think she'd like it?"

Madder calls, "Come see!"

In the parlor Madder is sitting next to Nana and her four puppies. They look kind of like fuzzy brown jellybeans at this point, curled against their mother's belly. Nana thumps her tail when she sees us.

All three of us reach out then pull our hands back when we remember we probably shouldn't touch them when they just got born. Shimmergloom makes one little squeak of delight and Miss Nadine sighs, "Comme ils sont mignons."

"Mum looks so proud. We should probably leave them be." Madder says but doesn't immediately. The puppies are so tiny and sort of folded up, eyes closed and ears folded flat, blunt muzzles pressed up against their mother. Nana yawns, gives a few licks to the closest pup, and puts her head down with a long sigh.

Miss says, "We should probably go to sleep too. What time is it?"

Late, is what time. Miss herds us to our beds.

In the morning Shimmergloom's up first and I'm just after her because we both want to check on the puppies. Dressed and coming downstairs we see Miss Nadine outside pacing while she talks on her phone. I wonder if she's talking to Madame. We probably should get back to school—but we can't leave Madder without her shadow. Getting hit with fairy dust did her good but unless she gets her shadow back she's going to go off the rails again soon.

We look in on the puppies. Since Miss was already up she gave Nana fresh food and water and the dog is having breakfast, leaving her babies in a squirming pile of cuteness. Nana doesn't seem to mind us cooing over them.

Miss Nadine comes in to see us, "Good morning, Mademoiselles et les petit chiens."

"Were you talking to Madame? Are we going back to school?" We can't leave yet, but I kind of want to get back to my fabric stash and the shimmery stuff Twig sent me from someplace called Zenith.

Miss Nadine's expression clouds and she puts her hands up, adjusting her wig. "That was my friend Annabelle with an invitation."

"Really?"

"To what?"

I say, "Her concert, probably." One of the puppies has squirmed just far enough from its pile of siblings to get lonely and whine. I cautiously scoop it up between my hands. It's light as a cotton ball and softer than anything in the world. I put it back in with the others.

Miss Nadine leads us to the kitchen to raid Madder's cupboards for breakfast. "Annabelle is ze very famous musician. I sent her a message to ask her what she remembered about meeting the Winx and get back, 'Want to come to my concert at ze 02?'"

Shimmergloom asks, "Can we? I want to see it!"

I make my face more enthusiastic than I actually feel. I want to go back to school and follow my real dream of learning to be a clothing designer, not wander around the world chasing a book character who wants to turn famous people all nutty. But Annabelle was the winner of the Wow show so the Shadow Thief will probably go after her too. So we should probably go make sure she's all right. If we even can; we don't have the kind of money to get into such a big show.

Through the window I see a car pull onto the gravel drive. "Is Ms. Whitfield awake? Someone's here."

"I'll tell her." Miss hurries upstairs and Shimmergloom and I drift towards the door just in case it's another strange person with an exploding business card.

But an ordinary car pulls up and a young man gets out and opens the other door for a tall old man with a cane. He looks up at the house.

Madder comes rushing down the stairs, opens the front door and flinches back from the morning light. But then she scowls and runs out into the sunlight. "James!"

"My dear Miss Madeline-" The old man begins, and Madder hugs him.

Her shadow flows from under the hedge and snaps back to her feet.

Shimmergloom squeaks happily and hugs me.

Madder steps back suddenly and stands straight for the first time. "What have I been doing? I need to call—but not yet. James, it's so good to see you! Come in! Who's your friend?"

"Well this is—this is my son, Nigel."

"Ta." Nigel says. He's cute in a shaggy, awkward sort of way.

"Son?"

Cheerfully Nigel says, "I'm a youthful indiscretion. Grew up and decided to track down my other dad and we ended up sharing a flat. I'm a penniless nursing student… and you are famous."

"Right now for all the wrong things. Come in, meet my friends. Have you had breakfast?"

Restored, Madder is sharp and talkative. She vanishes for five minutes and reappears dressed in real clothes and on the phone to her agent, who she soon says goodbye to in favor of cooking eggs and sausage for us all. As soon as she realizes her old butler and his son don't have much money she invites them to move in here, "Have you seen the size of my house? You can watch the puppies and order the staff around once I hire them back and live in your apartment here and I'll pay you. Nigel too. I need someone to take care of the place since I'm going back to performing."

"Puppies?" James asks.

The adults go into the parlor and I think Shimmergloom and I, and Nigel, should clear out so Madder can talk to her old friends. So we go outside and look for the hedgehog and end up sitting on a bench trading school stories with Nigel. It sounds like nursing students are just as weird and catty as fashion students. Nigel asks if Madder really means it about moving here and I can say she doesn't seem to mind longterm houseguests. "But I think we'll be leaving soon."

"To the concert!" Shimmergloom chirps.

"Or back to school."

"Nigel, do ye listen to Madder's music?"

"Liked it before I knew Dad knows her! I'm a little starstruck."

"What be your favorite?" Shimmergloom scoots over and gets her phone out. We're watching videos when the adults come to get us. There's something about how they're standing and looking at each other that makes me think they had that talk Madder really needed to have with someone. Miss Nadine looks relieved and Madder and James just look happy.