Before we get started there's something I need to say; for some reason I haven't been getting any messages from fanfiction . net, not one, not even the ones that tell you that a new chapter is up. So to all my fellow readers and writers out there, I'm sorry if I haven't been able to talk to you. I can be reached at my normal e-mail address: andrewk9000 (at sign) hotmail . com

thank you.

Last time Bloom and co. realized that Layla was suffering from chronic loneliness. Flora said that she knows a recipe for a love potion that'll help whoever drinks it find his or her soul mate. The girls prepared the potion and gave it to Layla who, after some hesitation, drank it. But it didn't work. Musa had accidentally mixed up two of the most important ingredients. Bloom decided that they should try again, when Tecna realized that she left the fire on under the cauldron they'd been working on. Even worse was when Stella remembered that she covered said cauldron, which promptly exploded. On with the show!

Chapter 2: Punishment and Dreams

Exactly fifteen minutes after the cauldron exploded, Bloom and her friends found themselves in the head mistresses office being grilled and charred by Professor Griselda, while Professor Faragonda and the rest of the staff watched. "Never," said Griselda in a voice that could chill the bones, "Never, in the history of this school, has there ever been a student who has destroyed two potions labs in a row."

"Oh come on Griselda," said Professor Wizgiz, "The lab isn't destroyed." "Don't interrupt her," whispered Professor Palanium, "She's in a bad mood." "You Stella," said Griselda, "Are by far the most incompetent student Alfeia has ever seen! Why you were allowed to return after your first destruction of a lab, I shall never know!"

"It wasn't all her fault," protested Tecna, but was interrupted by Griselda, "Silence! If I wanted your opinion miss Tecna, I'd give it to you!" "If you're going to expel Stella," continued Tecna, "You might as well expel me. I left the heat on under the cauldron." "It was my mother's recipe that we tried!" said Flora. "And it was my decision to try out the recipe in the first place!" said Bloom.

There was a second of silence before Bloom, Flora, Stella and Tecna looked at Musa. "What?" asked Musa, "What? Am I supposed to say something here?" "Well yes," said Stella, "You are the one who ruined the potion." "And that makes me part to blame for your mistake?" asked Musa. "Yes, it does," said Stella, "You can't tell the difference between the karat sizes of precious gems and stones, and you called me a dipstick!"

"Silence!" exclaimed Griselda, "Now, despite your repeated actions of saving the universe and other such matters, does not exclude you from punishment! If it were up to me…" "Fortunately," interrupted Professor Faragonda, "It isn't. Now before I decide your punishment, I want to know what you girls were brewing up and why it was so important."

"What difference does it make?" asked Griselda. "A world of difference," said Faragonda, "Now what were you girls up to?" "We were only trying to help our friend Layla," said Bloom, "She's been acting so lonely for a while now, and we were just helping her find her soul mate."

"What kind of potion did you attempt?" asked Professor Wizgiz. "It's my mother's recipe," said Flora, "It's how she met my dad." Flora then explained the recipe and what went wrong with it. "You're sure it was the different sized stones?" asked Faragonda. "Well it wasn't the chocolate," said Stella, "I made sure only the purest pieces were added in."

"You sure you didn't add any 'Crunchy Frogs'?" whispered Musa, followed by a stifled giggle from Bloom. "Oh I love those," said Professor Palanium, "Any left?" "No," said Stella, "But there's still some 'Rams Bladder Cut', as well as some 'Cockroach Clusters', 'Anthrax Ripple' and I think one 'Spring Time Surprise'." "What's that?" asked Bloom who was looking slightly green. "You don't what to know," said Tecna.

"I'm convinced your motives were reasonable and noble," said Professor Palanium, "Me to," said Professor Wizgiz. "I concur," said Faragonda, "You five had the best intentions in mind. However, you still have to take responsibility for leaving the lab with a lit cauldron that has been covered. Your punishment shall be that you five must clean up the lab from top to bottom, without magic."

"But Professor!" protested Griselda. "My decision is final," said Faragonda, "Now I believe you five had a potions lab to clean up, so get to it."

"That was too close," said Musa as the left the Headmistresses office, "I thought old Griselda would expel us for sure." "We should just count our blessings that Professor Faragonda is so understanding," said Tecna, "Our punishment could have been a lot worse." "How can anything be worse than cleaning up the potions lab without magic?" asked Stella. "Would you rather be expelled?" asked Bloom. "No," said Stella, "you have a point." "Hey Stella," said Musa, "I'm sorry I called you a dipstick. I shouldn't have said it." "It's okay," said Stella, "I'm sorry I said that you couldn't tell the difference between karat sizes."

"Now that everyone's apologized," said Bloom, "What are we going to do about Layla? She's still lonely, if not even more." "There's always the old way to find a man," said Stella, "As soon as we're done cleaning up, we take Layla to town for a good old fashion Man-Hunt!" "Let's worry about man-hunting later," said Flora, "Right now we've got a mess to clean up."

As the girls proceeded to clean up the potions lab, they were soon joined by Layla. "You shouldn't have to do this without me," said Layla as she began to help them. "You didn't have anything to do with the cauldron exploding," said Bloom, "It's our punishment." "But you made the potion for me," said Layla, "So I should help. Anyway Flora, I really do appreciate what you tried to do for me." "Don't sweat it," said Flora, "We'll find you the perfect man, someday."

It was near midnight when the girls finished up and returned to their dorm. "I'll never take magic for granted again!" groaned Musa. "You can say that again!" agreed Tecna. "Good thing tomorrow is a Saturday," said Bloom, "We can sleep in." "Not me," said Stella, "Tomorrow I'm getting up bright and early to help Layla find Mr. Right."

"You really think what I need is a boyfriend?" asked Layla. "Would we have done what we did if we didn't think so?" asked Flora. "I guess you're right," said Layla, "In that case, I'll be up and ready to go when you are Stella." "That's the spirit!" said Stella.

The next morning…

"What's keeping her?" whined Stella as she checked her watch, "It's almost 9:15 a.m., all the best boys will be out and about by now!" "Give Layla a break," said Bloom, "She's been having a rough time." "But she said she'd be up and ready to go when I was!" whined Stella. Just then Layla came out of her room looking like she was anything but ready to go searching for her soul mate. However, she was smiling like she had the world in her pocket.

"What kept you?" asked Stella, "We were supposed to hit downtown Magicx an hour ago!" "I'm so sorry," said Layla, "I was having this incredible dream." "About what?" asked Musa.

"Well," said Layla, "I dreamed I was in this huge ballroom. The walls and columns were painted gold and silver. Bronze chandeliers were hung from the ceiling, each lit by a hundred candles or more. There was a Waltz playing, but I couldn't see where the music was coming from. There were maybe a thousand people in the room, dancing. I couldn't make out their faces. I was wearing this blue and green dress with silver sequences."

"You must have looked dazzling," said Stella, all thoughts of hitting the town forgotten, "Tell me more." "I wore diamond earrings," continued Layla, "With a matching diamond necklace. I had silver colored high-healed shoes." "Wow!" exclaimed Flora who was entranced by Layla's story.

"Anyway," said Layla, "The crowd parted to reveal a man. He was tall, at least 6'2", with shoulder length brown hair. He had the most gorgeous hazel eyes. He saw me; I admit that I was more than a little nervous as he walked over to me. He then asked me if I wanted to dance."

"And did you?" asked Musa. "Of course I did," said Layla, "I wasn't about to turn down a regular 'Don Juan,' so we danced. One waltz played after another. I lost count of how long we danced. All that time, I was feeling something, I can't rightly describe it, but it felt good. Finally, the music ended. The man I danced with bowed, thanked me for a wonderful time and said that he would love to dance with me again. Then I woke up."

"Now that," said Bloom after a moment of silence, "Was a dream." "You can say that again," said Musa. "I wonder what it means," said Flora, "Could it be something that is going to happen to you?" "I don't know," said Layla, "But I sincerely hope this is a recurring dream."

"What do you think Bloom?" asked Musa later that morning, Layla and Stella having already left for the city. "I'm not sure," said Bloom, "I'm getting mixed feelings about Layla's dream." "You don't think," said Flora, "That the potion caused the dream?" "It's a distinct possibility," said Tecna, "However, more data is needed for a proper analysis."

"I still feel mixed about all of this," said Bloom, "Part of me is happy that her dream has helped Layla feel happy again. On the other hand, can't help but feel that something bad was on its way."

That night Layla and Stella returned from Magicx. "Any luck?" asked Musa. "No," said Stella, "Layla is still single. But there's always tomorrow." "I'm going to bed," said Layla, "I'll see you in the morning."

Sunday morning…

It was almost 10:00 a.m. before Layla got out of bed. She told the others that she had the same dream; with the ballroom, the music from nowhere and her dance partner. "I never experienced anything like it," said Layla, "It was like the man I danced with was meant for me." "You don't look well," said Flora, "Like you're coming down with something."

"I feel fine," said Layla, "I feel better than I had ever been in my life." "She may feel good," said Tecna as Layla left the room, "But she doesn't look well rested. Like she'd really been up all night dancing." "I'm beginning to believe that I was right about something bad about to happen," said Bloom, "And there are times when I hate it when I'm right."

The end of chapter 2. Next chapter, while her outlook on life has changed for the better, Layla's life at Alfeia is getting worse. See you next time!