Chapter 12

"We should really stop meeting like this."

"Well, see you tomorrow Dimitri, too bad you can't come to the concert."

Palladium said sadly to his friend while walking to the buses parked in front of the school. His dark haired friend shrugged his shoulders and replied teasingly.

"Someone needs to stay at Alfea. Anyway, I'll just start Working on my third year's essays tonight that way next week when you'll be complaining about your workload l will be able to rub it in your face that I'm completely free "

Instead of answering his friend the elf just rolled his eyes and climbed on the teachers' bus. Dimitri was heading back to the school when he was stopped by Griselda. What does she want? Nothing good that's for sure. He thought.

"Professor Darkell, I'm here to inform you that a few students are staying back as punishment for their intrusion in Cloud Tower. You are responsible for making sure they complete their task. "

"And that is?" he asked curiously.

"Cleaning all of Alfea without using magic or technology!" He smirked at that. Faragonda really loves taking away people's powers.

"Of course I will take care of it."

The girls were all looking out the window, watching the buses filled with their schoolmates and teachers leave for Magix. Bloom walked away from the window and sighed.

"There goes everyone. We are the only ones left..." But she was interrupted by a male voice coming from behind them.

"Well not exactly."

"Professor!" they all said at the same time, surprised to see their history teacher still here. He chuckled at their shocked expressions.

"Did you really think that Griselda would leave you here without a responsible adult to keep an eye on you?" They smiled at his words knowing that he was completely right.

"Sir I was wondering if we could invite some friends from Red Fountain to help us."

"Stella! That is against the rules!" Flora reprimanded her blond friend. The dark haired teacher seemed to think for a bit before answering.

"I don't see why not. As long as you finish cleaning the place."

"But isn't that cheating!?"Cried an outraged Tecna. But Bloom was the one to answer.

"Remember Griselda said no magic, no techno magic. She did not say no flesh and blood." They all smiled at that.

"Well ladies I'll leave you to it. If there's a problem I'll be in my class room. Good luck." And he left. Hoping for a peaceful night without interruptions by the fairies and their petty problems. Turning around the corner he could hear them planning the after party. It seemed that the calm, silent and peaceful night he was hoping for wasn't going to happen

An hour later sipping herbal tea in his office, he heard the roaring sound of motorbikes followed by the loud sound of music. The annoying specialists had arrived. What would he give to have his powers back and with a spell block the horrible noises that today's people called "modern music" from reaching his office. He might also spike the kids' drinks with some deadly poison or something. Now that would be fun! He smirked and plotted while drinking his hot beverage. When he heard the music getting suddenly louder he decided to go and demand that they turned it down. He didn't want them to forget that he was the one in charge here.

He walked down the dark corridors, the more he walked the louder the music got. However while turning at the last corner he bumped into something or more exactly someone. They both fell hard to the floor. That's weird, he felt he was experiencing déjà vu. And the feeling intensified when he saw the person he had bumped into. She was half sprawled on the floor rubbing a sore spot on her shoulder. A square box had fallen on the floor next to her.

He helped her get up.

"We should really stop meeting like this." She smiled at his comment and picked the box off the ground.

"Why aren't you partying with the others Flora?" he asked curiously.

"I was looking for you actually." She said, making him raise an eyebrow silently asking for an explanation.

"The boys brought some cake, I thought you might like some. I mean it's our fault that you didn't go to the concert and had to stay behind." She said an apologetic look on her face. His eyes widened in surprise. This girl was something he would probably never understand.

"Thank you for the cake." He said, reaching out to grab the box.

But suddenly he felt it. His locked up magical core went crazy trying to escape it's prison. And that could only mean one thing. Dark magic was being used not far away from here somewhere on the school's premises. Now the real problem was what he should do about it. Leave it be and hope that the instigator of this power will crush Alfea and all the fairies to the ground making him a free man. Or go investigate and report to the headmistress which could make a good impression on her and make her trust him more. He felt someone next to him shaking his shoulder waking him up from his thoughts.

"Professor, are you okay?" The flower fairy looked at him, worry evident in her eyes.

He sighed internally. Who was he kidding? The dark magic wasn't even very powerful. If he sided with them all his work to gain the trust of the fairies would fly out the window and he would probably be sent back to the archives re-reading all the books until his brain exploded.

"You froze up for almost 5 minutes, is something wrong?" He grabbed her hand and dragged her behind him while he walked fast in the Winx's apartment's direction. In their haste the box fell to the ground forgotten.

"Someone is using black magic in the school and I'm ready to bet that it is not one of your friends."

"How can you know?"

"You'll be taught how to recognize magical waves and cores in your third year. Now I need you to…" but he didn't finish his sentence instead he halted without any warning. Flora ended up crashing into him.

When she finally regained her senses she walked around him and stood in front of him.

"What is it?"

"They are using two different spells. A very powerful one and the other seems to be a conjuration charm."

"What could they be conjuring?" Asked a confused Flora. He looked her in the eyes. His calm hazel ones met her slightly panicked ones.

"A distraction."