AN: Here's chapter 4 as promised! I just want to say thank you to everyone who has reviewed, followed, and favorited the story thus far! I was really worried about people not enjoying the story because A) Midnight isn't the most popular character, and B) even I have a hard time getting invested in the lives of OC's, but you guys have been so gracious to me so far!

I'm not sure what the deal is with the review system right now, but I want to say that I AM getting emails when you guys review, even though the reviews aren't showing up on the review page, so don't be afraid to keep sending them!

Chapter 4: A Magic That Changes Emotion

The Fairy Tail Guild Hall:

"Dear me, dear me, do stop pacing lad!"

Jezran sat at one of the tables in the main room while Piper paced back and forth in front of the stage. His hands were buried deep in black pockets, shoulders tense, baby-blue hair unkempt.

"I'm tellin' ya, I got a bad feelin,' Pops." He slumped onto the bench across from Jezran. "It's been three days and not a word from her. Feels unlucky, if ya ask me."

"Oh, dear me." Jezran adjusted his top hat and stroked his salt and pepper mustache. "I am certain everything will be alright, lad. We must have faith in the lady."

"Ah come on, Pops!" He raised his voice. "You and I both know Dreamy ain't nothin' without us! If she runs into trouble and we ain't there to get her out of it…"

"Hey, what are you boys talking about?" Cana slid across the bench next to Piper.

"Master Makarov sent miss Dreamer out and she has not returned, dear me." Jezran fiddled with a pocket watch.

"Dreamer? On a mission by herself? You've gotta be kidding me!" Cana laughed out loud and took a deep swig from her beer barrel.

"Give me some of that," Piper demanded, reaching across her to try and grab her beer mug, which she held in the air out of his reach.

"No way. Aren't you three years sober? That's more for me!"

Piper was wrestling Cana for the pitcher when the guild hall doors swung open.

"We're home!" It was Natsu Dragneel, announcing his presence loudly to everyone, per the usual.

The guild erupted with applause as Natsu, Lucy, Gray, Erza, Happy, and two new faces walked in victorious. The new girl and cat were quickly introduced and the festivities underway. You know, since Fairy Tail had to celebrate any time someone came home from a mission—always a good excuse to drink more beer.

Piper clenched his teeth and called them over. "Yo, Natsu!"

"Huh?" Natsu swung his head toward the voice. His eyes lit up immediately, a smirk lighting his face. "Hey, Piper! I thought you'd never ask for a rematch after I whooped your butt the last time. But hey, if getting stomped is what you're into, then I'm totally game! Let's do it! Right here, right now!" Cue the dramatic leap onto the table.

"I ain't lookin' for a fight, hothead!" Piper bared his teeth right back at him. "I just wanna know if ya ran into Dreamy while you's was in Clova Town."

"Dreamy?" Natsu jumped off the table and crossed over to him. "Wait, you mean Didi?"

"Nah, man. Her name's Dreamer. Master sent her out afta you's guys to clean up your mess. Ya didn't see her?"

Natsu cocked his head like he was trying to remember. "HEY LUCY!"

"WHAT?" The blonde shot back at him from across the hall.

"Come here for a second!"

"This had better be good, Natsu!" She stomped over to him and put her hands on her hips.

"Did we run into Diane on our way home?"

"Dreamer."

"What he said." Natsu blinked at her.

"Dreamer?" Lucy put her finger to her chin in thought. "Hm… I don't think I'm really familiar with her. Can you describe her for me?"

"Yeah, she's like yea high, hair the color of uh…She's like... She looks real…" His cheeks seemed to take a little color. "Pops, help me out here!"

"The lady is precisely five feet, three inches tall. Her hair is an asymmetrical bob about shoulder length on the left side, dear me, and is a bit of a cream color, as one might expect when they put cream cheese and honey on a bagel. She has light pink eyes such as that of cherry blossoms or miss Mirajane's blush. She can generally be found wearing vests with leggings. Her bust size is approximately—"

"Alright, they get it, pops!" Piper cut him off. "Ring a bell?" He looked back to Lucy.

"Oh yeah, I guess I have seen her around the guild before…" She gazed into space. "But no, we didn't see her while we were gone. I'm sorry."

Piper sat back down with a groan. "We gotta go find her, pops."

"Dear me. Lad, have you checked the dice?"

"Checked the dice?" Lucy looked curiously at Natsu.

"Don't ask me!" The pink-haired salamander jutted his bottom lip out in a pout.

"Piper uses dice as his magic," Mirajane said, appearing out of nowhere behind Lucy. "One of his abilities is being able to determine someone's luck by rolling the dice in his pocket. It's not a hundred percent accurate, but it has been helpful for telling us what the chances are of certain people completing missions successfully. Master almost always consults Piper's dice before sending anyone on S rank missions!"

"Yeah, yeah, there's nothing accurate about it at all," Natsu scoffed. "He always tells me I'm gonna fail my missions. He hasn't been right once, huh Happy?"

"Aye sir!"

"Natsu, that's because Piper's magic doesn't work on you for some reason," Mirajane said.

"No, it's because he's a lousy wizard. Step up your game, Piper!"

Piper ignored him and took a pair of dice out of his pocket. He shook them in his hands then held them up to Cana. She blew a breath of air on them for good luck and then he rolled them on the table.

"Five… and three."

"So, seven?" Lucy watched in awe.

"Seven?! Pops, that's only a fifty-eight percent chance! We gotta go help her!"

"Oh, dear me, perhaps it would be wise…" Jezran stood up and tapped several times on his pocket-watch.

Piper threw a leather jacket on and headed for the door. Before he could open it, however, a massive hand slammed down in front of the doorway, blocking him. It was Makarov, stretched out from the counter to stop him.

"Stay right there, young man," the master said, darkly. The guild hall grew eerily silent.

"Master, Dreamy needs us! Her luck ain't lookin' so good and she's on her own. You gotta let us go help her!"

"Not going to happen." Makarov and Piper glared back and forth at each other. "I sent Dreamer out so that she would learn a lesson about having confidence in her own choices and abilities. If you constantly do all of the work for her, she will never improve as a wizard."

"Oh, dear me…" Jezran clutched his top hat to his chest, revealing perfect slicked-back brown hair.

"Gramps, it ain't that simple! You know she don't stand a chance out there on her own!"

Lucy watched along with all the other mages in awe and confusion. "I don't understand," she said quietly. "Why doesn't he think Dreamer can handle being on her own?"

"It's a little bit complicated," Mirajane answered next to her. "It has a bit to do with Dreamer's past... Then again, she doesn't have combat magic to protect her, either, so that's why she's not always the best in battle. She's still an amazing wizard though!" She smiled fondly. "I agree with Master! I think she'll be great on her own."

Piper and Makarov continued to argue while Lucy thought deeply.

"Come to think of it, I don't even know what kind of magic Dreamer uses."

"Not many people do," Mira said. "And she usually likes it that way. It makes it easier for her to use her magic."

"That doesn't make any sense!" Happy chimed in.

"Dear me, the lady uses charm magic, dear me," Jezran said after a moment of hesitation.

"She has the ability to manipulate the emotions of others," Mirajane continued. "She can put almost anyone at ease and make them trust her, even if they don't know her at all. She can do a lot more than that, too, but that's the foundation of her charm magic. Actually, that's how we became friends!" She showed a bittersweet smile at a memory. "Sometimes, especially the first year after what happened to Lisanna, Dreamer would use her magic to comfort me. She can be so selfless and kind." It was clear that Mira and Dreamer were pretty close. In fact, now that Lucy thought about it, she thought she could remember something about the two of them being roommates.

"Wow, that's amazing," Lucy said. "I guess she does seem like someone who would be easy to talk to."

"The downside, dear me, is that if the target knows she's using charm spells, it will break the spell of course."

"Like with the fake salamander!" Happy piped up.

"That's true," Mira said thoughtfully. "She never told me when she was using her magic on me, but usually I figured it out after I was calm. Anyway," she looked back at Piper and Makarov, "her magic isn't combative and it's not very useful in battle. That's why Piper's so worried about her."

"He loooooves her," Happy and Natsu said simultaneously.

"OH SHUT UP!" Lucy snapped. "I see… But then why is Master Makarov so adamant that she be left alone?"

"The dear master sees all of us as his children," Jezran said, though it was funny to imagine Makarov considering an old man like Jezran as one of his children, "and as such, he often uses tough love to teach us lessons, dear me. It is true, the lady doubts her own magical abilities and often defers to dear me or the lad in times of need. I believe the master intends to force her to rely on her own strengths for a change."

"Oh, I guess that makes sense." Lucy folded her arms over her chest. "It must be hard on Piper, though."

Aforementioned wizard was still trying to negotiate with Makarov.

"Master, please!"

"The answer is no, Piper!" Makarov's voice rumbled through the guild hall. "I am personally ashamed of the lack of faith you have in your own teammate. If you truly cared about her as you claim, then you would trust her enough to perform simple clean up duties in another town without holding her hand!"

Piper's face flushed and he stared at the ground in shame, burying his hands in his pockets.

"It would seem that perhaps Dreamer is not the only child Makarov is teaching a lesson, dear me," Jezran said quietly.

"Yeah… The master is being kind of harsh," Lucy agreed.

Piper finally trudged away from the door, shooting glares at the guild mates who were still staring. Lucy thought passively about all the people in Fairy Tail who she really didn't know that well. Fairy Tail had so many other members, all with their own stories and relationships. It was truly amazing that Makarov was able to hold all of them together and to know each of them well enough to be personally invested in their lives. She had a newfound reverence for their master after seeing this.

"Fairy Tail…" She said. She smiled as she looked around at all of the faces, people she knew and the ones she didn't. "What an amazing guild."