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flew away. She thought of Agnes Leadwing and her mouse carriage, and swallowed hard.
    The different flying teams clustered together in the Common Branch that night, making plans. ‘Let’s do some extra practice tomorrow!’ suggested Zena.
    Twink watched as Sooze fluttered her wings in agreement. ‘Glimmery! We’ll do some loop-the-loops, and give Mrs Lightwing a real surprise!’
    It was obvious that she had forgotten all about the fairy dust. Twink looked away. She was sitting alone at one of the mushroom desks with her Flower Power homework: a drooping daisy that needed a cheering-up spell.
    Taking a deep breath, Twink put her hands on the flower’s leaves and tried to imitate Miss Petal, sending the daisy cheerful thoughts as hard as she could. But her thoughts must not have been very cheerful, and the daisy drooped even further. Oh, great! Twink let out a heavy sigh.
    Her extra flying lesson with Mrs Lightwing that afternoon had been a complete disaster. Twink had shot straight up in the air again and got hopelessly tangled in the lower branches of Glitterwings. It had taken Mrs Lightwing and two of the Sixth Years almost an hour to get her down again. Twink’s cheeks flamed at the memory.

    It’s all right for Sooze, she thought crossly, watching the lavender-haired fairy laugh with Sili and Zena. She’s not the one who can’t fly!
    Then she felt guilty. Sooze was a sparkly, wonderful friend. Why shouldn’t she be looking forward to the exhibition?
    Because I’m dreading it , answered a tiny voice inside of her. Wouldn’t a real friend notice how Twink was feeling? Twink’s wings slumped, and she pushed the flower away. It would just have to cheer up without her, somehow.
    Suddenly Sooze appeared at her side, violet eyes shining. ‘What are you doing hiding over here, Opposite? I’ve got something for you!’
    Twink scrambled from her seat. ‘You mean –’
    Sooze pulled a small pouch from her petal bag. ‘Fairy dust,’ she announced proudly. ‘Winn gave me a good pinch of it. We’ll have you flying properly in no time!’
    Happiness burst through Twink. Sooze did care how she was feeling after all. She had been such a wasp brain to doubt her!
    Sooze pulled at Twink’s arm. ‘Let’s test it out over here, in front of the fire rocks where there’s a bit of room. Come on, everyone, clear a space!’ The first-year fairies all crowded to one side, murmuring excitedly.
    â€˜Good luck, Twink!’ cried Sili. ‘We’ve got our wings crossed for you!’
    â€˜You’re going to do it here in the Common Branch?’ said Pix doubtfully.
    â€˜Why not?’ said Sooze, positioning Twink on the moss carpet. ‘We all want to see Twink fly, don’t we?’
    â€˜We’re not allowed to fly in here, though,’ pointed out Pix.
    â€˜I’ll only fly a little bit,’ promised Twink. She bounced on her tiptoes, excitement tingling through her.
    â€˜But you can’t control it, that’s the problem!’ Pix flapped her yellow wings in exasperation. ‘Sooze, I really don’t think this is a good idea – ’

    Sooze ignored her. Reaching into the pouch, she scooped out a glistening handful of fairy dust. ‘Twink, are you ready?’
    Twink nodded, and screwed her eyes up hard. Please work, please, please! she begged silently.
    The tinkling of chimes whispered through the air again as Sooze threw the dust on her. The same wonderful feeling as before rushed through Twink, and she gasped. Had it worked? She cracked an eye open cautiously, her heart beating hard.
    â€˜Well, how do you feel?’ demanded Sooze. ‘Oh, I bet it worked, you look all flushed!’ She shot a few inches off the floor, bouncing up and down in the air. ‘Come on, Twink, fly! You can do it now, I know you can!’
    Twink took a deep breath. Almost everyone in the first