Clearheart Read online

  It was warm in the room and it smelt of the gardenias that grew in abandon out of a hole in the floor, up the wall and across the ceiling.

  ‘Welcome,’ said Ms Wheelbarrow. ‘Welcome,’ she said again, somewhat unnecessarily.

  Ella smiled politely.

  ‘How are you finding your first term, child?’ asked Ms Wheelbarrow, peering down at Ella over her beaky nose.

  ‘Weird,’ Ella answered honestly.

  ‘Yes, I suppose you would,’ said Ms Wheelbarrow matter-of-factly, though her eyes were warm. ‘Well, we are very pleased to have you with us,’ she added, tapping Ella on the hand.

  Ella shuffled uncomfortably in her spot.

  ‘I’m sorry we haven’t met more formally until now,’ Ms Wheelbarrow continued. ‘I wanted you to settle in and feel as normal as you possibly could here at Hedgeberry.’ Ella looked up at Ms Wheelbarrow to see if she was joking. There wasn’t anything normal about Hedgeberry. The headmistress looked completely serious. ‘And I have had rather a lot to do, meeting with the Magicals and whatnot. Now that we are allowed to fraternise after all these years. Thanks in large part to you,’ she added. A faint flush coloured Ms Wheelbarrow’s cheeks with the thrill of being able to enounce such words.

  Ella looked down at her bare feet, embarrassed. For it was true. Ella, with Dixon and Charlie’s help, had saved the Sacred Dewdrops of the Magical Kingdom of Magus from the dastardly designs of the Grand Duke only a few months ago. By performing such a Clearhearted act, Ella had restored the Queen’s faith in Flitterwigs, and as a result the Queen had lifted the Ban forbidding contact between Flitterwigs and pure Magicals. Ella hadn’t realised that Ms Wheelbarrow was one of the few Flitterwigs who knew her history.

  ‘But now we have had something out of the ordinary happen,’ said Ms Wheelbarrow. Ella looked up at the headmistress again. Everything was out of the ordinary here! But Ms Wheelbarrow was deadly serious still. ‘It is important that we get a few things clear,’ she said, patting Ella’s hands resolutely to reassure her. ‘So that you don’t feel too perplexed.’

  Ella wanted to laugh now. She’d been perplexed since the day she arrived. Wasn’t that the norm here? Ella may not have been to school before Hedgeberry, but even she knew this place wasn’t normal!

  ‘Firstly,’ said Ms Wheelbarrow, ‘you should know that you are doing very well. It takes some of us years to find the magic inside us, you know. Don’t feel disheartened by your shortcomings. You haven’t been studying magic for very long. But you are doing much better than expected. Must come with being—’ Ms Wheelbarrow dropped her voice secretively, ‘—the Clearheart. You do remember that is a fact which must be kept completely secret, don’t you? For your own safety. Plus, we want you to have as normal a life at Hedgeberry as possible. No-one need know your true heritage if you are discreet about it. Which brings us to today.

  ‘I need to know where you went in the water, dear. It is of utmost importance. It is most out of the ordinary for us to lose a student during such a simple exercise.’

  Ella looked into the lady’s deep grey eyes and began to explain. ‘When we were jumping into the water, I thought of Don Posiblemente,’ she said simply. ‘I suppose because the first time I ever travelled through water was from his house, you see, and it made me think of him. Although I didn’t get so wet that time,’ she added.

  ‘Ah, Don Filosofico Posiblemente,’ said Ms Wheelbarrow, looking reverently into the distance as she said the great scholar’s name. Keeper of the Flitterwig Files, Don Filosofico Posiblemente was a name every Flitterwig knew well, though few were lucky enough to have met him. The Flitterwig Files were the sacred text of magic past, present and future, drawn from memory of the Magusian Tomes that belonged to the Magicals themselves.

  ‘Well, that’s Posiblemente for you, from what I hear,’ said Ms Wheelbarrow, the way teachers do when they talk about other teachers they think are brilliant. ‘Always testing the rules. Developing new ideas. So I hear,’ she added again, with a funny laugh.

  Ella didn’t know what the woman was talking about, so she just carried on. ‘Anyway, next thing I knew I was at the top of his staircase. The one that leads up into a watery sky. A literditty—you know, one of those little imps with the big eyes and glasses, that read all the time—met me at the top and told me to get back to school at once. Next thing I knew, I was popping up out of the pool back here.’

  ‘Was this your first time travelling through water at school, dear?’ Ms Wheelbarrow asked.

  ‘Yes,’ said Ella. ‘So far all we’ve done is try to see things in the water and learn the spells for water travel.’

  ‘Of course,’ said Ms Wheelbarrow. ‘Of course. You are only in primary school, after all. And a new student, of course. Not terribly easy or reliable seeing things in water, is it? Mirrority is its proper term, dear. And travel by water is called Portality. Do try to use the correct terms.’ Ms Wheelbarrow looked at the girl sternly, then just as quickly her face became entirely soft again.

  ‘My, my,’ said Ms Wheelbarrow. ‘When they said the Clearheart can perform magic no other Flitterwig can, I didn’t think that meant such clarity of mind that you could just “think” yourself somewhere.’

  ‘Well, I wish I could just “think” myself up some wings,’ said Ella out loud without thinking.

  Ms Wheelbarrow patted Ella on the arm. ‘Now, now child. Don’t be downhearted. Or so hasty. Your wings will come. The magic is within each of us. That is what school is for. To teach you. You have only been here a term, after all. And judging oneself too harshly won’t help.’ Ella tried to take the headmistress’s advice to heart, but it was tricky.

  ‘Now, is there anything else?’ said Ms Wheelbarrow.

  ‘Um,’ said Ella, ‘I’m not sure if it’s that important,’ she said, ‘but I seem to be able to see an oak tree down near the poppy and herb gardens that Gloria Ulnus doesn’t think I should be able to.’

  Ms Wheelbarrow’s eyes nearly popped out of her head. ‘Well, Gloria can see it, dear, as can any number of other Dryad Flitterwig students at my school. As I can, being of dryad heritage myself. But you can too? Well, that is most fascinating.’ And as if she wasn’t too sure what to do with this information, Ms Wheelbarrow brought the meeting to a swift close.

  ‘Well, that’s that then,’ she said definitively. ‘Thank you for being so frank with me. Try not to think too many Clearhearted thoughts, dear. We don’t want to draw any unnecessary attention to you now, do we.’ The headmistress tapped Ella on the elbow. ‘Hurry along now,’ she said. ‘You will have to get dressed before your Essentials of Magic class. Oh, and before I forget, I must summon that Charlie Snoppit to see me at once.’ Tweaking her ear and muttering a spell, Ms Wheelbarrow Personified her teacup and instructed it to fetch him. The teacup grew wings, arms, legs, eyes, a nose and a mouth at once. ‘Charlie really must understand that, as your Goblin Protector, it is imperative that he keep an eye on you at all times.’

  Ella nodded compliantly. Smiling politely, she took her leave.

  Ms Wheelbarrow could not contain her own curiosity. She made her way at once to the Spirit Tree.

  ‘Is it true that Ella Montgomery can see you?’ she asked it, her voice a rustling hush.

  ‘Yessss,’ the tree whispered

  ‘But she is of elven heritage,’ said Ms Wheelbarrow, not meaning to hold on to old grudges but feeling a slight sting of envy all the same. For, while Ms Wheelbarrow did not subscribe at all to the animosity between those of elven heritage and those of dryad heritage, she was part human after all, and proudly possessive of her special affinity with the trees.

  ‘And do you feel beholden to tell her the truth, as you do to us?’ she asked the tree, curiosity more than anything now prompting her question.

  ‘I dooo,’ rustled the tree.

  ‘Well I never,’ said Ms Wheelbarrow. ‘How very incredible.’ She made her way back to her office. She sat on the sofa and shook her head. ‘The Clearheart,’ she sai
d out loud, for she hadn’t quite been able to believe it until right now, when she had had her own special affinity equalled by the child. ‘Right here at Hedgeberry.’ There hadn’t been a Clearheart at Hedgeberry in generations. ‘And with such a beautiful smile too.’

  chapter 5

  lessons & livewires

  Ella was pretty late to Essentials of Magic by the time she got dressed. Charlie looked up at her apologetically as she came into the room. He had copped quite a telling off from Ms Wheelbarrow, not that he had any idea what else he could have done. Harold, perched in his lap, looked utterly mortified. Ella smiled at them both. The boy and the frog visibly relaxed before her eyes. Charlie vowed to get much better at keeping track of her, that being his destiny and all. Being her Goblin Protector and all. Which would be hard, as Charlie really did have so much to get on with himself, for this was his first term at Hedgeberry too.

  Professor Samuel Happenstance, better known as the Chairman of the Flitterwig Rooniun (the Prime Minister of Flitterwiggery, if you like), had taken time out of his very busy schedule to grace the children with his presence once a week, to teach the Essentials of Magic class.

  He watched Ella closely as she sat down at the back of the class. She was the primary reason why he was taking the class this year. For he wanted to keep an eye on her progress.

  ‘You are late, young lady,’ the graceful man said, tucking loose strands of long, wild grey hair behind his delicate, pointed ears. They were very much like Ella’s own. Ella touched the tips of her ears absently and pulled out her notebook. He looked at the child carefully, as if to read what had made her tardy. ‘You had better hurry up and get down what is written on the board.’

  Ella felt about in her dungarees pocket for her pencil. It wasn’t there. She felt in the pocket of her hoodie. Dixon was there, wrapped around her pencil. The pencil was struggling to get away from the pixie. He had Personified it! Which was absolutely not allowed, except in Transmogrification.

  ‘What are you doing?’ Ella whispered crossly, leaning under the desk and whipping the pixie and the pencil out of her pocket.

  ‘Just trying to help. Help. Rhymes with kelp,’ Dixon whispered back grumpily, glaring at Ella as he struggled to contain the pencil. ‘Need to write fast. Must be quick. Faster if the pencil does it. It. Tit. Nit. Wit.’

  ‘Objectify it at once!’ Ella whispered. The pixie’s big eyes welled up, horrified that the child should be so snappy.

  ‘Just trying to help,’ he whimpered. ‘And I can’t actually get to my ear to Objectify it again!’

  Ella just couldn’t stay cross with the naughty creature. She looked over at the sundial. She really needed to get on with copying the notes off the board.

  ‘Okay,’ she said, tearing a page from her notebook and putting it on her thigh. She pulled the pencil out of Dixon’s arms and stroked it gently to calm it down. ‘Would you mind?’ she asked it. The pencil settled at once, lulled by the softness of her voice. It began scribbling.

  She pretended to write in her notebook with her finger and tried to listen to what Samuel was saying.

  ‘We Flitterwigs do not like to subscribe fully to Magical Hierarchy, of course,’ said Samuel. ‘They can get a little precious, those dear Pure Magicals. But one must understand the order of things in Magus in order to appreciate one’s own special abilities.’ Samuel smiled reassuringly at the two Imp Flitterwigs at the front of the class, who, being at the bottom of the Magical pile, had no particularly unique skills other than making mischief. ‘So, we will take it from the top, most to least powerful,’ he said, turning to the board. Samantha, who had just stabbed herself in the eye with her own pencil, marvelled at the way his long white shirt and baggy slacks seemed to float about him. Some Flitterwigs were just so cool, she thought to herself. He wrote on the board.

  Royals

  The Elven Royal Family

  Eligible for Royal Court Membership

  Goblins (including Royal Protectors)

  Elves

  Gnomes

  Sprites

  Elementals

  Dryads

  Salamanders

  Sylphs

  Marshlins

  Others

  Pixies

  Moglins

  Imps

  Brownies, etc

  Nymphs

  Ditties

  Siths

  ‘Of course, each of us has our own special attachments to the elements of water, earth, air and fire, but not necessarily in isolation,’ said Samuel. ‘For example, the Dryad Flitterwigs have a special affinity with trees. Who can give me a few examples of this?’

  Gloria Ulnus shot her hand up.

  ‘Yes, Gloria?’ said Samuel, looking the child up and down with a certain reservation.

  ‘We can interpret the whispers of the breeze in the trees, sir, and we can see the Spirit Trees, and we can whistle up the wind in the trees to do our bidding, and the trees tell us truths.’

  ‘Quite so,’ said Samuel. ‘But what is your elemental connection?’

  ‘The earth,’ said Gloria.

  ‘Exactly,’ said Samuel. ‘But who among us also has an affinity with the earth?

  ‘We do!’ called out a blue-eyed Sylph Flitterwig.

  ‘But what is your element?’ he asked.

  ‘The air,’ said the Sylph Flitterwig.

  ‘Precisely,’ said Samuel. ‘Whilst we Elven Flitterwigs, what is our connection?’

  ‘The air too?’ a short, stocky Gnome Flitterwig with very knobbly arms piped up.

  ‘Funnily enough, no,’ said Samuel. ‘Though that is a good guess, as we are Flitterwigs of flight. But so are sprites and imps. No. Our element is water.’

  Charlie Snoppit was trying to keep up, but he really wasn’t understanding a word. He scratched at his freckled, snub nose absently. There was just so much to take in. Although it was rather exciting to know that his kind, Goblin Protectors, were right at the top of the Magical pile. He puffed his chest out. It deflated almost immediately. What a responsibility, protecting royalty.

  At that moment, the bluebells rang. The children were up in an instant, gathering notebooks and chattering at nineteen to the dozen. Which was just as well, for quite a ruckus had broken out on Ella’s lap. The pencil, annoyed with Dixon for telling it to write faster, had had enough. It was trying to stab the pixie in the tummy with its pointed end. The pixie, meanwhile, had wrapped itself tightly around the pencil’s stem and was kicking it in the side. Ella wrapped them both up in her hand and made for the door.

  ‘Remember, children, next week we will review the essentials of finding one’s magic within. We will take another look at dust, Ponkalucka wishes, tears, flight and speed in relation to the fingers, ears, eyes, wings, feet, ears and so forth.’

  Samuel watched Ella nip out the door, the pixie and the pencil in her hand not escaping his attention. He smiled to himself. The girl had much to learn.

  Ella didn’t wait in the corridor for her friends. She had to rein Dixon in! She slipped into a broom cupboard, held the pixie and the pencil up in front of her face and tore the two battling oddities apart.

  ‘Stop it!’ she hissed. But neither of them was listening. Ella grabbed at her ear as Dixon kicked and punched. She tweaked it and tried to remember the spell for Objectifying a Personified object. As she did so, Dixon’s foot flew out and caught her in the eye, making it water. She tried to wipe it clear with her other hand and poked herself in the cheek with the pencil. As soon as the pencil made contact with a tear, it started to grow! But it was still Personified, arms flailing and wings flapping, shouting at the pixie for all it was worth.

  ‘Oh, for Magic’s sake!’ said Ella, remembering immediately that her tears had the strangest effects on things. The pencil had grown to the size of her arm. Twisting free of her grip, it launched itself at Dixon. Gracious, she was going to be ever so late for Animumble!

  She was. In fact, so were Charlie, Samantha and her best friend Humphrey too. Not
icing that she had not followed them to the next class, Charlie had turned back, dragging Samantha with him. It wasn’t hard to find her. Anyone passing by would have heard Ella scrambling and squabbling with Dixon—and something else—in the broom cupboard.

  ‘I don’t think we should disturb her,’ whispered Harold to Charlie outside the cupboard door. ‘You know how huffy she gets about not being good enough at magic.’

  ‘Don’t worry,’ said Samantha, noticing Charlie’s hesitation and ushering Humphrey over. ‘Quick, Humph,’ she said, dragging him over to the closet. ‘Bongle us. Then we can go in there, help Ella without her knowing, and get to class ten minutes late at worst.’ Charlie looked at Samantha as if she had just said a word that made absolutely no sense at all. Which she had, as far as he was concerned. Samantha crinkled her face up.

  ‘Oh, you and Ella are just so cute!’ she squealed. ‘You don’t know much about anything at all, do you?’ Charlie gave Samantha a thanks-very-much-for-making-me-feel-stupid smirk. Samantha quickly explained. ‘Humph has a power hardly any Flitterwigs have, because there are hardly any Moglin Flitterwigs left.’

  ‘Which is?’ said Charlie impatiently. The sound of Ella struggling in the closet seemed to be of very little import to Samantha.

  ‘Humphrey can make us invisible. That’s what Bongling is.’