Chapter 4

CHAPTER FOUR

Dinner was Ivy's favourite meal: pizza with salad followed by warm chocolate brownies and ice cream. By the time she'd finished eating she was full and very sleepy but there was still the extra homework to do for Ms Hazel. While Lyra, Evie and Sienna played a noisy board game in their lounge, Ivy struggled with her essay. "Do you want any help?" asked Evie. "Or we could stop playing if we're being too loud?" "It's OK." Ivy didn't want to spoil the fun but she kept getting distracted by her friends' shrieks of laughter. "You should go and work in the dorm," said Sienna. "You're never going to get it done otherwise." "Chill. I've got this," said Ivy, but she ended up joining In with the game so that when they finally packed up to get ready for bed, she still hadn't finished her work. Evie went to sit beside her. "Budge up and I'll help you." Ivy waved her away. It wasn't fair that Evie should have to stay up late to help her. "It's OK, thanks, I'm nearly done." Evie looked at her doubtfully. "Don't be too long then." She dropped her voice. "We've got to be up at midnight, remember!" Ivy's head buzzed like it was full of sleepy bees as everyone trooped out of the lounge to go back to their dorm. At least it was quiet now, but it still took her a while to finish her essay. Finally she took it along to the teachers' staff room. Ms Nettles, the headteacher, answered the door and stared at Ivy in surprise. "Are you sick, Ivy?" Ivy handed over her book, yawning. "No, I just needed to give this to Ms Hazel." Ms Nettles frowned as she took the assignment. "Why wasn't this finished earlier?" "Sorry, Ms Nettles." Ivy swallowed another yawn. "I did try." Ms Nettles shook her head. "You need to be more disciplined, Ivy, and use your time more efficiently. You can cause yourself and others a lot of trouble if you put things off until the last minute." Her face softened. "All right, well, run along now."

"Thanks, Ms Nettles." For once Ivy didn't dawdle but ran back to her dorm. At midnight Lyra woke them all up. Ivy hated getting up at the best of times and now she felt like she'd only been asleep five minutes. Evie gently tugged her arm. "Come on, Ivy! It's time to go!" "Just a few more minutes," she mumbled. There was a cold rush of air as Sienna pulled her duvet off her. "No way! We've got an awesome adventure ahead of us!" Ivy gave in and swung her feet out of the bed. They all got dressed and then Lyra picked up a torch and led the girls out of the dorm, down the spiral staircase and through the silent academy. Outside, a full moon In a star-studded sky bathed the grounds in a silvery glow. Sparkle Lake and the rainbow-coloured fountain glittered brightly as the girls quietly ran past. The air was chilly but the stables were warm and inviting, the unicorns snorting as they slept. Ivy felt her stomach knot slightly as she ran to Flame's door. Would he still be upset?

To her relief he pricked his ears as soon as he saw her. "Hi, Ivy. I feel much better now. I can't wait for us to use the magical map!" He gave a whinny of excitement. "Shh," said Ivy, looking around. "You'll wake everyone up." "Sorry!" Then Flame mimicked her as they left the stables, creeping with exaggerated steps and lifting his hooves extra high. Ivy couldn't help but smile. Flame was really funny sometimes. The girls and their unicorns crept inside the academy, Lyra reaching the hall door first and pushing it open. Moonlight flooded the room, shining In through the domed roof and lighting up the magical map with a soft glow. A delicious tingle of anticipation prickled through Ivy as they approached the humming invisible force field that surrounded the map. Would the map let them pass?

There was a pop and a bright flash, then the room fell silent as the force field shut down. "See! The map wants us to go to the observatory," said Lyra, grinning in relief. "I knew this was the right thing to do! The map only lets students use it without permission if it approves of what they're doing." Flame tossed his head. "I hope I get to use my magic again tonight! I'm feeling much stronger now and I bet I'll be able to do it perfectly!" He stamped a hoof eagerly. There was a bright flash and a flurry of pink and green sparks fell over the map. Lyra gasped, staring at the map. "Flame! You've shrunk it!" Ivy leaned forward, her heart thundering. The map was still there only now it was half its original size! "Flame, no!" squeaked Ivy. "Quick, make it bigger again!" "Don't worry, I've got this! Stand back, everyone!" Flame stamped hard again. Coloured sparks fluttered and twirled around his head and landed on the map, but as they dissolved the map was even smaller. Ivy didn't usually let things get to her but now she felt a rush of alarm. This was serious. What if Flame made the map disappear completely?! Ms Nettles would be more than just mad– she might expel them! "Stop, Flame! Please!" she said quickly. "Don't use your magic again." "Shh!" Sienna suddenly hissed, motioning for everyone to be quiet and looking around. "I heard a noise!" Ivy's heart beat faster. Had one of the teachers heard them and come to see what was happening? At last Sienna relaxed and shook her head. "Sorry, guys. I must have imagined it." They all heaved sighs of relief. "Right, Flame. Come on," said Lyra, taking charge. "You're going to have to fix the map." "Wait, Lyra, maybe we should just go and tell Ms Nettles," said Evie. "We don't want to risk the map shrinking any further." Ivy nodded. She really didn't want to go and tell Ms Nettles what Flame had done but it would be even worse if he shrank the map completely. "Evie's right," she said. "We should go and get help." Flame shot her an angry look. "No," said Lyra. "We'll be in so much trouble if we do that. I'm sure Flame can fix this."

Ivy wasn't so certain but, seeing the cross expression on Flame's face, she pushed her doubts away. She didn't want him to get in a huff with her again. "Lyra's right, Flame. Your magic is strong enough." She stroked Flame's neck. "Maybe it will help if you try picturing it In your mind, imagine it looking exactly the right size, then use your magic." Flame looked uncertain for once. "You can do this," Ivy told him. "I know you can." He nodded. "OK, I'll try." He stared intently at the magical map and smacked his hoof on the floor. Green and pink sparks swirled around it and suddenly the map began to creak. As Ivy watched, the teeny mountains, rivers and meadows grew bigger until everything was back to its original size. Ivy flung her arms round Flame's neck. "You did it! Well done!" Flame snorted in relief. "Thanks for helping me, Ivy. For a moment I wasn't sure I could actually do it. Perhaps I do need to learn to control my magic better. Will you help me?" "Of course," she promised. "We can start working on it tomorrow." He nuzzled her in response. "Now the map's back to normal, let's go!" said Lyra. The girls mounted their unicorns and linked hands. Lyra kept one hand free as she leaned over the map, looking for the observatory perched high on the west coast cliffs. She touched the ground beside it and said, "Please take us to the observatory, magic map."