'Bloom!' A voice hissed in her ear. Bloom groaned and rolled over. 'Bloom!' the voice persisted. Bloom sleepily opened her eyes to gaze into scared green ones.

'Astra?' Bloom asked groggily, wondering why Astra would be so afraid.

'Get up!' she hissed, glancing around. 'Ms. Feregonda' s here and is demanding to see us all!'

'Why are you so scared?' Bloom asked, sitting up and yawning.

'Because I'll probably be expelled before I even get registered!' Astra never rose her voice from a soft hiss.

'Does she know you're here?' Bloom rubbed the sleep from her eyes and stood up. Stella was already standing, looking equally as disoriented. The girl still hadn't moved.

'No!'

'Ms. Feregonda' s really nice, she's let us off tons of times, stop fretting!' Stella said, much louder than Astra, her still sleepy voice full with confidence.

'Bloom? Stella?' A voice called from outside the door.

'Ya?' Bloom asked, immediately recognizing the voice as Tecna' s.

'Ms. Feregonda' s here to see us!' Tecna' s voice held a note of apprehension, and Bloom instantly knew that Ms. Feregonda had seen them come back if she hadn't seen them leave. Bloom, Stella and Astra resignedly came through the door, to come face to face with the headmistress of Alfea.

'Bloom, Stella, and …'

'Astra.' Astra finished for her, unwilling to look her in the eye. It seemed that she was not as fearless as she had seemed when on the walk, or maybe just when faced with authority.

'Astra…' Ms Feregonda frowned. 'Aren't you Stella's sister?'

'Yes.' Astra said quietly. 'I was coming to request registration at the school.'

'Why didn't you come to my office immediately?' her tone had softened some when she had realized how afraid the girl was of her.

'It was 6 am, and I saw my sister and her friends leaving the school. I decided to follow them, as I assumed that no one would be awake at that hour.'

'Why were you six out at that hour?' Ms. Feregonda turned her attention to the other six, who were also guilty looking.

'Well, you see, it was kind of my fault.' Stella ended lamely, fidgeting.

'Go on.' The headmistress prompted, adjusting her glasses a bit.

'I needed some flip weed for a… new recipe I was trying and there wasn't any in the school, so I was gonna go get some from the forest.'

'And why did the others follow?'

'Because I woke them up?' Stella as much stated as asked this.

'I decided to show them where they could find some.' Astra offered, her eyes still downcast. 'In a cave, about an hour and a half away, only I didn't think it would take that long.'

'Why do I get the feeling that you're not telling the whole story?' Ms. Feregonda sighed.

'The witches were in the cave…' Bloom started, only to be cut off.

'Icy, Darcy, and Stormy were there?' Ms. Feregonda said sharply.

'Ya, but we only saw them for a moment. They were doing some sort of spell, to transport them, I think. All the stuff they had in there vanished as well.' There was an uneasy silence for a minute.

'Why do I get the feeling that you're not telling the whole story?' Ms. Feregonda sighed.

'There was a girl there, in the corner.' Flora said. 'She fainted a minute after the witches left, and was covered in blood. She hasn't woke up since.'

Ms. Feregonda drew in a sharp breath. 'Where is she now?' she asked slowly. This morning was just full of surprises.

'She's in our room,' Bloom said, walking over and opening the door. Ms. Feregonda walked over to the door of the room, and gasped upon seeing the limp form lying on Bloom's bed. The other girls were crowded behind, their desire to see what was going on clashing with their fear of getting punished.

'How long has she been here?' Ms. Feregonda asked Bloom, her composure regained.

'Since we got back.' Bloom said truthfully. 'What time is it now?'

'Approximately 9:45.' Said Tecna' s voice from behind.

'About ¾ of an hour then.' Bloom corrected.

'Very well.' Ms. Feregonda said. 'Healus' As soon as this word was uttered, the blood disappeared, and the girl had many bandages wrapped around various parts of her body. She still did not stir. 'These wounds would do better to heal naturally. Since you've brought her back, she'll be your responsibility until we can find out where she came from.' She turned to leave. 'Oh, and remember, not all wounds are physical. You are excused from today's classes. Astra, see me in my office first thing tomorrow.' Ms. Feregonda left, closing the door behind her.

There was silence for a while, and then Astra hesitantly spoke.

'So, what do we do now?'

'I guess we should see if we can help her in any way.' Bloom said doubtfully. 'I wonder what Ms. Feregonda meant by not all wounds are physical.'

'What other kind of wounds are there?' said Musa, cocking her head and looking at the girl, half expecting to see some extraordinary magical wound to appear before her eyes.

'I'm not sure.' Said Bloom uneasily, unable to shake the feeling that something significant was going to happen soon, but as to what it would be remained a mystery.

'My search engine is only getting physical symptoms,' Tecna commented, looking at the hologram emerging from her wrist.

'Maybe it wouldn't usually be described as a wound.' Said Astra thoughtfully. Bloom regarded her calmly, her eyes clouded as if pondering over what had just been said, but the others, except for Stella, could barely conceal the shock evident on their faces. Even though Astra was a completely different person, it felt strange to hear something like that from one who so closely resembled Stella, whose main concerns in life were fashion, make-up, and boys. In any case, most information offered by her in a situation like this would have been a snapped irritable reply, as if chiding them for not thinking of it sooner.

'Do you think she meant like a wound inside the body?' Stella asked excitedly.

'Technically, that would still be considered a wound of the physical category. The real question is, are there any other categories?' Tecna had closed her search engine, and was now standing close behind them.

'Well, what about like if a friend ditched you, or something?' Mirta said, uncomfortably breaking the silence that had been lingering in the air after Tecna' s comment.

'So, you're saying she's been tortured by the Trix, and now she's hurt becuz her peeps don't like her anymore?' asked the fairy of music, confused.

'No, she's saying that another type of hurt is like, psychological of something.' Flora corrected. Tecna looked thoughtful, and was about to point out something when a whimpering noise from Bloom and Stella's room caught their attention.

When they had been talking, they had made their way over to the room Musa shared with Tecna, and now hurried back over to where the sound had come from.

The girl on Bloom's bed was curled up, whimpering, though she was still in sleep. She cringed, as if an invisible foot had just kicked her. Flora went over and sat on Bloom's bed while the others sat on Stella's and Astra' s, which had suddenly appeared in the room after Ms. Feregonda left.

'It's ok, you're safe now.' Flora said gently, placing her hand on the girl's forehead, seeing if she was sick. A pair of blue eyes snapped open, focusing instantaneously. They widened at the feel of someone else's hand on their face, and in one lithe movement was against the door, eyes still wide as they took in their surroundings. All of the members of the Winx Club (which Astra and Mirta are now classified in, I'm tired of writing 'and Mirta and Astra'.) were staring up in astonishment.

'Hi!' Bloom said, standing up. 'I'm Bloom! This is Stella, Astra, Musa, Tecna, Mirta, and Flora!' she said, gesturing to those around her.

The girl showed signs of comprehension, but didn't reply. She looked wildly around the room for any means of escape.

'What are you afraid of?' Flora asked kindly. The girl didn't reply, but her eyes fixed on the window.

'Oh no you don't!' Astra said, following her gaze and leaping in front of the window, limbs spread wide, blocking her passage. The girl looked around one last time, and slumped to the ground, curling up into a ball again, trembling.

'What go her so spooked?' Musa said in an undertone, staring at the figure at the foot of the door.

Astra shrugged, and walked over to the door. The girl cringed, and was suddenly still, awaiting a blow. When none came, she hesitantly peered up at Astra, who was staring at her with a mixture of pity and understanding written on her face.

'She's afraid of people.' Astra said softly.

Thank you so much for the reviews guys! Sorry for the delay, I had writers block! I'll post more as soon as I can, but I gotta go do my stupid homework now, so C-ya!

Alora Darkmoon