I apologize for the incredibly long wait! But I'm back now and ready to continue the adventure!
Sandra sighed as she leaned against the pillows. Even though she was feeling better after a little rest, and a healing potion from Madam Duncan, she still wanted to get back to helping the others.
"Don't worry, Sandra, just rest for a few more minutes and you'll be up fighting alongside us again before you know it," Sofia said as Wendell came in again after he slipped out for a moment.
"This might speed up the healing process too," he smiled as he tucked a fluffy black and white plush toy at her side. "A Niffler! Just like the ones we talked about earlier."
"Thanks, Wendell," Sandra smiled a little, then she blew the whistle around her neck to summon Marcella. When her owl flew to the window, she reached into her bag and took out the lynx she'd won earlier. "Can you take this little guy home? Just set him on my bed next to Fig and Little Dragon Lady. They'll know how to greet their new friend-slash-brother-slash-writing associate, and we'll introduce him to Reno when we get home."
"No problem," Marcella hooted, taking the lynx and flying off with it.
James grinned beside her. He had a few plush friends he used as writing assistants himself, and said as much. He also held up a camouflage-colored cat-like creature he'd won earlier. "And just like that, my new writing buddy Cammo Kitty!"
"He's cute, and I use some of my stuffed animals as writing helpers too," Rachel grinned. She thought for a moment, then smiled as she added, "And Nara helped me write a poem for my own creative writing class!"
"I'm not a writer, but Efren likes watching me practice spells," Wendell added, smiling as he thought of the little off-white jaquin on his bed. "I'm sure my tiger friend will enjoy that too, when I get him home."
"That's great, Wendell, but did Professor DeRoche give you permission to take that Niffler?" Dorrie asked.
"He's got so many plush creatures for his class that he won't miss one," Wendell shrugged, "But if you're worried, I used the Gemino charm on the niffler and made a duplicate of it."
"Why does he have plush creatures? He's not allergic to them, is he?" Amber asked, thinking that it was ironic that the Beasts and Creatures teacher was allergic to fur.
"No; remember, Professor DeRoche taught us all about our owls at those workshops," Candice started, "Dorrie and I had a class with him last year, and he told us that the plush creatures were prizes he gave students who gave the best answers in class."
"That's right," Makayla grinned. "He also gives them to students who help him. I helped carry some books for him once, and he gave me a little plush Porlock as a thank-you gift."
"Just like this one house in Baraga," Sandra agreed, "That's a village close to my castle where this one family lives. Any time someone does something nice for them, the lady who lives there gives them a plush animal. She does the same every Halloween, too."
Flashback
Sandra was taking a group of children around the village of Baraga for trick-or-treating. Even she had been persuaded to dress up, so she created her own costume based on a book series she liked, the Bluecapes, and she even painted Ambre on her arm as her Animal Guide.
As she and some of her friends led the children around the village, they saw some small creatures approaching them.
Before she and Shawna could stop her, one of the little girls in the group left them. Being a Junior Knight and squiress, Sandra followed her to help her if she needed it.
However, the little girl came back with a black and gray kitten in her arms. "Kitty!" she smiled.
"I know this kitty," Shawna smiled. "She and two of her siblings sometimes get out of this one house. In fact, there they are now!" she pointed at some dark shapes coming up to them.
"Let's take them back home, okay, everyone?" Sandra asked as she and another girl picked them up.
Shawna led the way to a purple-colored cottage, and she knocked on the door. "Trick or treat!" she sang out.
"But this time we have a treat for you!" Sandra added.
"Oh, thank you!" the lady who opened the door smiled. "You found my little friends. They have a habit of getting out of my yard. They're not quite old enough to leave their mama just yet."
"Why don't we help you take them home?" Shawna suggested, explaining to Sandra that the lady, who introduced herself as Yvette Morgan, lived next door to this house.
"That would be wonderful! Thank you, everyone!" Ms. Morgan smiled. "My son and his family live here, and I'm helping out by handing candy out to the trick-or-treaters. I'll just step out for a moment and join you as we'll take them to my house. Once we get there, I have special treats for all of you!"
When they brought the kittens inside, Ms. Morgan gave everyone a small plush kitten, which looked like the ones they had brought back to the house.
"Thank you, Ms. Morgan, and happy Halloween!" Sandra smiled, the group echoing their thanks.
"Happy Halloween to you too, everyone!" Ms. Morgan smiled back.
End flashback
"Ray-Ray, this coming Halloween, we have to go trick-or-treating in Orillia!" Noah grinned.
"That story was so cute!" Makayla smiled.
"And if you like that, her son and his family give out cans of pop as the treat," Sandra grinned.
"It's official, we're all going trick-or-treating in Orillia this Halloween!" James grinned as Noah nodded beside him.
"But first, we should talk about guarding the vanishing cabinet," Miss Lovegood smirked, "I saw some of the teachers going toward the room where we keep it, but I think we should have some extra people go with them."
"You know we'll help guard it too, right?" Sandra asked.
"I know, but I have a few other people in mind to help us as well," Miss Lovegood smiled. She cast her Patronus, and in a few minutes, a woman came into the hospital wing. "Leanne, it's good of you to come here so quickly." She turned to the group, adding, "For those of you who don't know her, this is Leanne Dorasha, the Wand Combat teacher."
"It's good to see you again. I remember seeing some of you at the workshops," Leanne smiled. "I brought someone who has an impressive arsenal of his own to help us." She looked to the side, and a dark-haired man stepped forward. "I'm sure you know Brad DeRoche, the Beasts and Creatures teacher."
"Well, we did talk about doing something with Nifflers to distract the Order of the Wand," Rachel agreed.
"Yes, and speaking of Nifflers," DeRoche smirked, seeing what Sandra was holding.
"I took the Niffler to help her feel better, sir," Wendell admitted, "But I did make a copy of it and it's in your office with your other plush creatures."
"Don't worry, Mr. Fidget," DeRoche chuckled, "You're not the first student to take plush from my prize cabinet without my knowledge or permission, and you won't be the last. But I will…be giving Stryker ten points for the way you tried to cover it up! Nobody's ever been that clever when they take my little friends!"
Even Wendell smiled as everyone had a good laugh. He really hadn't meant to cause trouble, and he wanted to help Sandra feel better. He also should have remembered that when someone took a plush creature from the cabinet, it would usually be replaced before too long.
"But shouldn't we talk about the vanishing cabinet?" Sofia spoke up. "How can we stop the Order of the Wand from using it? And who knows where they'll go to get reinforcements to take over the school or whatever they're doing."
"And another thing," Lucinda spoke up, "Will their magic be strong enough to turn Grimtrix back from a statue? I heard that the dark wizard who tried to take over Avalor was turned back to normal, but he was turned into a statue again."
Sofia nodded softly. She remembered one of Princess Elena's letters to her, saying that the malvago that Mateo had defeated had been revived from the stone spell, but he had been petrified again during another battle. "I think we'll be okay, Lucy," she said at last, "He was petrified again, and Elena said they don't have to worry about him anymore."
"That's good, but since Zeke's with the Order of the Wand this time, we should warn Mom, Dad, and Zoe," Sandra spoke up as Marcella came back and landed on the bedpost. "He tried to take over Orillia once, and he might try it again, now that he has reinforcements."
"I saw them when I was coming from Zoe's room," Marcella informed her, "They all looked okay."
"That's good, Marcy," Sandra smiled.
"Yes it is, and we can spy for you again," Rachel suggested, Noah and Makayla nodding at her side. "We can send our owls to where we saw them, then they can tell us what they find out."
"We'll still warn them, just to be safe," Sofia assured her, watching as Dorrie cast her wolf Patronus and send it off with the message to Robert and Patricia.
"I'll let King Roland and Queen Miranda know about this too," Candice added, casting her phoenix Patronus and sending it to Enchancia Castle. "I know our castles are all connected to each other through the crystal ball network, but we can't be sure if the Order of the Wand will listen in on us."
"Good move, and Dorrie, thanks for sending the message for me," Sandra agreed. "I've really got to work on learning to send talking Patronus messages."
"Don't worry, Sandra," Dorrie smiled. "We'll teach you how to make your Patronus talk."
"Yes, but if I may suggest something," Leanne spoke up, motioning for Amber, James, Wendell, and Sandra over. "You never know when a spell like this could come in handy during a fight. If I could see your amulets and medallions for a moment, I'll give you each a power to use against an enemy."
"Well, Lucinda did enchant my necklace with the power to talk to animals before it was upgraded to an amulet," Sandra nodded, pulling her amulet out from under her blouse.
"And look how far you've come since then," Lucinda grinned.
Leanne smiled as she took out her wand and aimed it at Sandra's amulet. "Speciosus formosus praeclarus!" she chanted. As the amulet glowed, Leanne cast the same spell on Amber's amulet and James and Wendell's medallions. "And I'll add the reversal spell too," she continued as she pointed her wand at the amulets and medallions again. "Speciosus formosus reverto!"
"And what will these spells do?" Amber asked.
"You now have the ability to turn into dragons and back again," Leanne grinned, aiming her wand at herself and chanting the transformation spell again. Everyone watched in awe as she turned into a large green dragon. "Of course, you'll have your own individual dragon colors." she continued as she turned herself back.
"If that isn't incredibly brilliant, I don't know what is!" James grinned.
"Yes, James, but try to keep the drooling to a minimum," Amber smirked, trying to cover his mouth with her handkerchief.
"Noah, that goes for you too, and you don't even have that ability," Rachel smirked, trying to cover Noah's mouth too.
"And James, you and Amber better make sure you tell the knights that you have that ability when we get home, or they'll try to slay you!" Lucinda added, laughing as she watched James try to fight Amber off.
"But why aren't Sofia, Dorrie, Candice, and Lucinda getting this?" Sandra asked.
"Because I can already turn into a dragon," Sofia explained, giggling as she watched James and Amber, "You borrowed Candice's ability to turn into a dragon, Dorrie can use her werewolf form in a fight, and Lucinda, as a witch, has shapeshifting abilities of her own, so she can turn into a dragon too."
"I could turn into a dragon if I wanted to, but I prefer turning into a werewolf," Dorrie added.
"So, should we go back to the Wanditorium and practice this new ability?" Wendell suggested.
"That's a good idea," Leanne grinned.
When they were back in the Wanditorium, Sofia clutched her amulet and murmured, "I wish to be a dragon!"
As they watched her turn into a small pink and purple dragon, Amber, James, Wendell, and Sandra clutched their amulets and medallions and recited the spell to turn into dragons.
Amber looked at herself and smiled. She had turned into a golden dragon. "This is amazing!" she smiled.
James nodded as he looked himself over. He had become a blue dragon. "Almost like my plush dragon Sir Blaze-a-Lot, but he's blue with a gold star pattern," he observed. "This is still incredibly brilliant either way!"
Sandra smiled as she looked at herself. She had become a red dragon. "This is just like my own plush dragon, Little Dragon Lady. I'll have to see if Zeke remembers her, but I'll make sure he doesn't forget this! And the kitty Marcy took home can meet her, along with my other plush friends, when I get there again!"
"Indeed," Wendell smirked as he looked himself over, and learning that he had become a gray dragon. "Wait til my mum sees me now! But you know I'll tell her I'll be careful when I use the spell."
"We know that, Mr. Fidget," Leanne chuckled. "I'll teach all of you how to use your new powers."
"I can't wait to see your new powers in action!" Noah grinned.
"Well, let's get back to practicing with them," Amber suggested.
"You're right, Amber," Sofia agreed. "The sooner we get to practicing with these new abilities of ours, the sooner we can use them against the Order of the Wand."
Author's Notes
Thanks to Niagara14301 for helping with the details in this chapter.
Lucinda's thoughts of Fiero were from the Elena of Avalor episodes Spellbound (when he was first turned into a statue), Rise of the Sorceress (when Shuriki revives him), and Song of the Sirenas (when he's turned into a statue again)
Leanne Dorasha is from Niagara14301's Once Upon a Time in Enchancia. In that story, she was given the power to turn into a dragon (chapter 36), while in this story, she already has the power, since she turned good.
Sandra's flashback of a Halloween in Baraga was based on events from theblindwriter95's and my story Royal Halloween Hijinks.