COPYRIGHT

Lottie Luna and the Bloom Garden and Lottie Luna and the Twilight Party first published in Great Britain by HarperCollins Children’s Books in 2019 and 2020 Published in this ebook pack edition in 2020 HarperCollins Children’s Books is a division of HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd, HarperCollins Publishers 1 London Bridge Street London SE1 9GF

The HarperCollins Children’s Books website address is www.harpercollins.co.uk

Text copyright © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2020 Cover design copyright © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2019 and 2020 Illustrations copyright © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2019 and 2020

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this ebook onscreen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.

Source ISBNs: 9780008342982 (Lottie Luna and the Bloom Garden) and 9780008343019 (Lottie Luna and the Twilight Party) Ebook Edition © April 2020 ISBN: 9780008402228 Version: 2020-02-20

CONTENTS

Cover

Title Page

Copyright

Lottie Luna and the Bloom Garden

Lottie Luna and the Twilight Party

About the Author

About the Publisher

For the real Lottie,

with much love

CONTENTS

Cover

Half Title Page

Title Page

Dedication

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

CHAPTER ONE

KING Lupo jumped and looked up at the ceiling. Water was oozing through a zigzag crack and splashing on his head.

‘I did warn you, dear,’ said Queen Mila. ‘If you will insist on sitting at the head of the table, you’ll get dripped on.’ She passed the king a napkin and he wiped his ears.

‘A king should always be kingly,’ he announced. ‘I may not have been king for long, but I do know how to behave. A king is head of his people, so he should sit at the head of the table – drips or no drips! And talking about behaving, ‘WHERE is Lottie? She’s late for breakfast!’

‘I think she’s getting ready,’ Queen Mila told him. ‘Do remember, dear – it’s her first day at her new school, so she’s bound to be a little nervous.’

‘Nervous? Why would she be nervous?’ King Lupo dodged another drip and took a bite of his toast. Finding it was soggy, he made a face and put it back on his plate.

Queen Mila sighed. ‘You know how happy she was at her last school, dear. She had lots of friends and was popular with the teachers too. She doesn’t know anyone at Shadow Academy. She’s starting all over again.’

‘But she’s the daughter of a king now!’ Lupo raised his whiskery eyebrows. ‘She’ll find that she’s treated with the greatest respect!’

‘I don’t think—’ Queen Mila had been about to say that she didn’t think that would make any difference, but she was interrupted by the door being flung open with a crash, and Lottie appeared. She was clutching her school bag in one hand and a bunch of pencils in the other, which she waved wildly at her mother.

‘Ma! I can’t find my pencil sharpener anywhere. It’s hopeless! Ever since we moved, everything’s been upside down. Nothing’s where it should be – and there are ZILLIONS of spiders in the bathroom! Do we have to live here?’

Boris, Lottie’s older brother, stopped admiring himself in the cracked old mirror by the fireplace and joined in. ‘But we’re royalty now, Lottie! Pa’s a king, and kings live in castles – even if they are a bit crumbly and falling down.’

‘Well said, Boris my lad!’ King Lupo beamed at his son. ‘Dracon Castle is our home. I’m sure once we’ve done a few repairs we’ll be extremely comfortable here. Now, Lottie, sit down and eat your breakfast.’

‘Hmmmph…’ Lottie sighed thoughtfully as she remembered her old home. Although it had been small and cramped, it had been warm and very cosy. The castle they had inherited had so many rooms she couldn’t count them all, and every single one was freezing cold.

‘I’m not hungry,’ she said. ‘Honestly, Pa, I couldn’t eat a thing.’ She looked at her mother. ‘Ma – do you think it’ll be okay at Shadow Academy? It’s awful being new in the middle of a term.’

Her mother hugged her. ‘I’m sure you’ll make lots of friends in no time at all.’

‘Huh!’ Boris looked down his nose. ‘Who’d want to be friends with her? Not me!’

Lottie made a face at him, then stuffed her blunt pencils into her bag. ‘I’ll be off now,’ she said. ‘I don’t want to be late, not on my first day. See you later, darling Ma. Remember I won’t be back until after moonrise! Bye, Pa!’ And she whisked out of the dining hall, banging the door behind her. Jaws, her pet bat, was waiting for her on the other side, and together they hurried along the cold, dark corridor. With a heave and a tug, Lottie managed to open the creaking front door… and then they were out in the morning sunshine.

As Lottie ran down the long, winding path that led from Dracon Castle to the village below, she was already worrying about the day ahead. ‘It’s all very well Ma saying I’ll make friends, Jaws, but what if I don’t? They’ll probably hate me because Pa’s the new king, and they’ll think I’m all posh and stuck-up when I’m not. But…’ An idea popped into her head, and she stopped to think about it. ‘What if I don’t tell anyone I live in a castle? Or that Pa’s a king? I’ll say I’m plain Lottie Luna and that I’m really rather ordinary, just like everyone else.’

Liking the idea, she walked slowly on. ‘But what about my superpowers? Can I hide them too?’ She touched the little moonstone necklace that she always wore and then, with a decisive nod, tucked it under her jumper. ‘There! It’s gone.’ And with a skip and a jump she was on her way.

If anyone had watched Lottie running along, they would have easily guessed that she wasn’t the ordinary little werewolf she so badly wanted to be. Born on the night of a lunar eclipse, when the moon was full, she had been gifted with special powers. She could run like the wind, her eyesight was as sharp as an eagle’s, and she was far stronger than her older brother… She had other, less obvious, powers too.

The little moonstone necklace she had been given on the day she was born reflected her moods. Now, as she ran, it was glowing pure white beneath her jumper. Jaws, flying above her head, was aware of it, and that made him happy too. He looped a loop, then swooped down to ride on Lottie’s shoulder.

Twenty minutes later, Lottie and Jaws reached the gates of Shadow Academy.

‘Oh, dear…’ Lottie was wide-eyed as she looked at the huge grey stone building in front of her. ‘I do hope it’s going to be all right. What do you think, Jaws?’

Jaws fluttered round her head. ‘Eeeek,’ he squeaked. ‘Eeeek!’

‘You’re right.’ Lottie took a firmer hold of her school bag. ‘I’m Lottie Luna and I’m not scared of anything!’ And with her head held high, she marched up the steps and in through the wide-open front door.

CHAPTER TWO

A tall boy was waiting in the hallway of Shadow Academy. When he saw Lottie, he gave her a little wave. ‘Are you Lottie Luna? I’ve been waiting for you. I’m Wilf, and you’re in my form. I’m going to show you around.’

He caught sight of Jaws, and his eyes shone. ‘Hey! Is that your bat? Does he always come to school with you?’

‘Should I have left him at home?’ Lottie was worried, but Wilf grinned at her.

‘It’s fine. Pets are welcome. I’ve got a pet rat myself.’

‘Oh, good.’ Lottie smiled back. ‘They were allowed at my old school – just as long as they didn’t squeak too much during lessons.’ She stroked Jaws’s furry head. ‘He’s usually very good.’

‘My rat’s terribly badly behaved,’ Wilf said cheerfully. ‘He crept into Mrs Wilkolak’s cupboard last week, and knocked all the paint pots over, so now he’s banned.’ He giggled. ‘You should have seen the mess!’

Lottie wasn’t sure whether to laugh or not. ‘Did you get into loads of trouble?’

Wilf shrugged. ‘Not too much.’ He gave her a sideways look. ‘Don’t worry. It’s okay here. You’ll get used to it really quickly. We’re really all right.’ Wilf paused for a moment. ‘Well, except for Awful Aggie.’

It was Lottie’s turn to giggle. ‘Awful Aggie? Who’s she?’

‘Agatha Claws –’ Wilf crossed his eyes – ‘she thinks she’s the best at everything!’ He paused for a moment and scratched his head. ‘And then there’s Bruno – Bruno Gnawbone. He’s a bit of a mystery.’

‘How is he a mystery?’ Lottie was interested.

Wilf shrugged. ‘His dad’s the deputy head teacher. They were both new this term, and none of us can make them out. Bruno doesn’t talk much, but he’s always listening in, and we’re sure he tells his dad everything. Don’t tell him any secrets!’

‘I won’t,’ Lottie promised, and Wilf grinned at her.

‘Good! Now, it’s this way. Our classroom’s right at the end of the corridor.’

As Lottie followed Wilf, she whispered to Jaws, ‘He’s nice. I like him!’

There were pictures and notices on the walls and she looked at them with interest. Some of the pictures were of famous past pupils, and others showed exciting-looking moonlit trips and events. There seemed to be a lot of things going on – a forest club, a group that met to do moon dancing, a star-gazing club…

‘I’ll join all of those,’ she decided.

There was also a large notice about a competition. Lottie wanted to stop and read it, but Wilf was hurrying her along too quickly. She only had time to see that it was something about a special garden. Interesting, she thought. I’ll definitely have a look at that later.

‘Here we are,’ Wilf said at last, pulling open a door and giving a mock bow. ‘Please enter!’

‘Thank you,’ Lottie said. She could see rows of faces looking at her, and for a moment her stomach was full of butterflies. Don’t be silly, Lottie Luna, she told herself, they can’t eat you! And she took a deep breath and walked in.

The teacher, an elderly werewolf with greying fur and little gold spectacles, greeted her warmly. ‘Hello, Lottie! Welcome to Shadow Academy! I’m your teacher, Mrs Wilkolak, and I hope you’ll be very happy here.’

‘Thank you,’ Lottie said. ‘Ummm… where should I sit?’

‘Perhaps you’d like to take the empty seat next to Aggie?’ Mrs Wilkolak suggested.

‘That’s me!’ A very neat and tidy girl with a long nose gave Lottie a cool smile. ‘So you’re Lottie… Is that your real name? It’s a bit boring. My name’s Agatha Astra Claws. Astra means star, you know.’

Lottie saw Wilf rolling his eyes, and she smiled at him. He winked back, and a girl on the other side of Lottie stifled a giggle.

Aggie took no notice. ‘So where do you live, Lottie?’ I live in the new house up on the hill, near that awful Dracon Castle. My father says it should be pulled down. He says it’s an eyesore!’

Jaws, sitting on Lottie’s shoulder, gave a protesting squeak. Lottie, making sure no one could see her, put her finger to her lips to silence him.

‘Thank you, Aggie.’ Mrs Wilkolak’s tone was firm. ‘That’s quite enough.’ She turned back to Lottie. ‘Now, Lottie, I should let you know about a competition that’s running here at school at the moment – a competition to transform the wasteland at the back of the academy.’

Aha! Lottie thought. So that’s what the notice in the corridorwas about!

‘This land has been allowed to grow wild,’ Mrs Wilkolak went on. ‘A businessman wants to buy it, but the owner says that if we can make it beautiful she’ll give it to us instead. It would be wonderful to have that extra bit of space at the back of the school. So every pupil is going to draw their dream design, and the head teacher, Mrs Grubeloff, is going to choose the best one. Do you like gardens and flowers?’

Lottie nodded enthusiastically. ‘Yes, I do! I had my own garden at our last house, and I loved it! Ma and I arranged little white pebbles all round the edge, and they shone white in the moonlight…’

A wave of homesickness for her old house suddenly swept over her, and she stopped.

Mrs Wilkolak gave her a sympathetic look. ‘That sounds delightful. Why don’t you take a piece of paper from my table and see what you can do.’

As Lottie sat back down at her table, Aggie smiled a superior kind of smile. ‘I don’t expect you know much about gardens, but I do. We’ve got three gardeners, and we grow simply marvellous flowers.’

A small boy with strange green eyes leaned forward from the table behind. ‘Aggie’s sure to win,’ he said. ‘She’s very clever.’

Aggie nodded. ‘I am.’

Lottie wasn’t sure what to say, but the girl who had giggled earlier gave a loud sigh. ‘You don’t need to tell us, Aggie!’

‘Actually, Marjory, I was trying to be helpful to Lottie,’ Aggie said, ‘and so was Bruno.’ She gave the boy with green eyes a little nod. ‘Weren’t you, Bruno?’

Bruno didn’t answer, but Lottie thought he looked pleased. She remembered the name from earlier – so this was the deputy head’s son.

Mrs Wilkolak clapped her hands. ‘Class W! If all you’re going to do is chat, we’ll never find a winner for the competition. I’d like you to work for another thirty minutes, and then we’ll go outside and show Lottie the garden and the lake.’

A lake? Lottie’s eyes shone, and she put her hand up. ‘Please, Mrs Wilkolak – can we swim? Is it allowed?’

‘We do allow swimming on hot days,’ Mrs Wilkolak told her, ‘but you have to be careful. The lake’s small, but it’s very deep. Can you swim, Lottie?’

‘I absolutely LOVE swimming!’ Lottie beamed at her, and Jaws squeaked in agreement. ‘I was—’ She stopped dead as she remembered she’d decided to be ordinary Lottie Luna. At her last school she’d been the year’s swimming champion. She’d have to remember to swim slowly. And splash a lot, she told herself. All the same, she was thrilled, and as she picked up her pencil case she was smiling happily.

CHAPTER THREE

IT was only when she saw her pencils that Lottie remembered how blunt they were – and she didn’t have a sharpener. She turned to Aggie and asked if she had one that she could borrow, but Aggie shook her head.

‘I never lend my sharpener,’ she said. ‘It might get spoiled. It was VERY expensive.’

‘Here, use mine,’ someone said, and the same girl as before – Marjory – leaned across to pass it over, and Lottie thanked her.

I like her, Lottie thought to herself, and I expect I’ll get used to Aggie… Well, maybe. And she settled down to plan her dream garden.

It seemed no time at all before Mrs Wilkolak was clapping her hands and asking everyone to put their plans on her table. ‘Well done, all of you,’ she said. ‘I hope you enjoyed yourselves!’

‘I’ve designed an utterly beautiful garden,’ Aggie announced. ‘All the roses will be pink, the paths will be pink, and there will even be little sparkly pink lemonade fountains everywhere.’

‘Yuck!’ Wilf spoke more loudly than he’d meant to, and Aggie glared at him.

‘Just because you haven’t got any good ideas,’ she said, ‘you don’t need to be rude!’

Mrs Wilkolak nodded. ‘That’s quite right. I don’t like rudeness in this classroom. Wilf – apologise to Aggie at once, please!’

As Wilf was making a half-hearted apology, Lottie noticed there was a faint smell of peppermints in the classroom, and she saw Bruno was chewing. Without thinking, she said, ‘Ooh, so we’re allowed to eat sweets – how lovely!’

Mrs Wilkolak was shocked. ‘Eat sweets? Certainly not! Whatever made you think that, Lottie?’

Too late, Lottie remembered that her special powers gave her a much keener sense of smell than other people’s. She could feel Bruno’s furious glare on the back of her neck as she stammered, ‘No, I just – I was just wondering, that’s all.’

But Mrs Wilkolak was suspicious. She got up from her table, and it was obvious that she was about to investigate further.

‘Oh, no!’ Lottie held her breath, but—

RRRRRING!!

The bell went and the teacher changed direction.

Phew! Lottie thought as Mrs Wilkolak told the class to line up.

‘Time to go out to the garden,’ Mrs Wilkolak said. ‘Make sure you wipe your shoes when you come back in!’

Lottie followed Wilf and Marjory, and found Bruno right behind her.

‘Just you wait, you sneak!’ he hissed. ‘I’ll get my own back, you’ll see!’

Lottie spun round. ‘Fine, I’ll be waiting!’ she said, then she bit her tongue. When would she ever learn to think before she spoke?

Once outside, Lottie looked around her in delight. The lake was sparkling in the sunshine and there were several cherry trees in amongst the long grass and thistles. They were old and twisted, but they were covered in snow-white blossom. ‘That white blossom will be so beautiful in the moonlight,’ Lottie whispered to Jaws, who fluttered close to her. ‘And my plan is for a moonlight garden—’

Her thoughts were interrupted by Aggie, who was looking at the trees and frowning. ‘Those are horrible,’ she said. ‘They’re so ugly! If I win, I’ll have them cut down. They won’t be in MY garden!’

‘Squeak!’ Jaws had landed on Lottie’s shoulder and was waving a wing. Lottie turned to look where he was pointing, and saw a teacher leading a group of tiny werewolf cubs out from the school. Each of them was carrying a piece of paper and a crayon, but the littlest one was skipping in circles, and not looking where he was going. ‘Be careful!’ the teacher warned. ‘Stay near me. Don’t go too near the lake!’ But just as she turned back round again, the smallest cub dropped his piece of paper. The wind caught it and blew it towards the shining water, and the little cub dashed after it. He slipped – he was in the water and sinking fast.

‘Help!’ he screamed. ‘Help! I can’t swim!’

Lottie began to run. She ran like the wind, forgetting about everything except saving the tiny cub. As she came close to where he had disappeared, she dived into the water – a long, smooth dive without a single splash.

There was no sign of the cub now, except for a few bubbles. Down Lottie swam, down and down. Where was he? All she could see was water weed. She looked again… and there he was!

She grabbed him and headed for the surface. The next moment, she was swimming back towards the side of the lake, the whimpering cub in her arms. She climbed out, dripping wet, and gave him a hug. ‘Don’t cry any more,’ she said comfortingly. ‘You’re safe now.’

As she put him on the ground, she was astonished to hear applause: her classmates, Mrs Wilkolak, and the tiny cubs and their teacher were all clapping. ‘Hurrah for Lottie!’ Wilf shouted, and there was a loud cheer.

Lottie blushed and shook her head. ‘It was nothing,’ she said.

‘Well done, Lottie!’ Mrs Wilkolak smiled warmly at her. ‘You’re an amazingly fast swimmer! It was quick thinking too. Now hurry inside and get dry. And our head teacher will certainly want to thank you when I tell her what you did today – although I suspect she’ll have seen what happened through her window. She sees most things.’

‘Oh!’ Lottie looked anxious. ‘Will she be cross with me?’

‘Of course not!’ Mrs Wilkolak said. ‘Now, Wilf and Marjory – could you take Lottie to the home room? There are towels there, and some spare clothes. Hopefully there’ll be something to fit you. We keep clothes mainly for the little ones… they’re always getting themselves covered in paint and mess.’

As Wilf, Marjory and Lottie walked away, Lottie heard Aggie mutter, ‘What a show-off. Did you see her, Bruno? Diving straight in without asking anyone first.’

Lottie couldn’t hear Bruno’s answer, but she was sure he was agreeing with Aggie, and she sighed. Sometimes having extra-special hearing was a problem: you heard things you weren’t meant to hear.

Wilf saw her expression. ‘Cheer up,’ he said. ‘You’re a hero, Lottie Luna! I’m really glad you’ve come to Shadow Academy!’

CHAPTER FOUR

LOTTIE could feel butterflies in her stomach as she walked down the corridor to the head teacher’s office. She was wearing the strangest collection of clothes and didn’t feel at all comfortable. Aggie, who was supposed to be showing her the way, had sneered at her too-tight jumper and too-large trousers before pointing at a staircase. ‘Up there, then straight on. You can’t miss it. Not unless you’re really stupid, of course.’

Lottie was sure she could miss it, but didn’t say anything in case Aggie made another unpleasant remark. She headed up the stairs and looked carefully at each door on the corridor until Jaws, who was circling above her, pointed with a claw.

‘Up at the end?’ Lottie asked him. ‘Thank you, Jaws.’

The end door had a small brass plaque on it: ‘Madam Grubeloff. Knock and wait!’

‘Be brave, Lottie Luna!’ Lottie told herself, and she knocked as firmly as she could.

‘Come!’ The voice was brisk, and Lottie could feel Jaws trembling on her shoulder as she walked in… and gasped.

Madam Grubeloff’s office was not at all how Lottie had imagined it would be. It was light and airy, and the walls were covered with drawings done by her pupils. A huge window looked out on the lake and overgrown wasteland, and plants tumbled happily over the window ledge. Books were piled untidily against the walls, and a comfortable sofa was covered with heaps of cushions and soft woolly throws.

Madam Grubeloff herself was quite young, with pale grey fur and big brown eyes. She jumped up from her desk, ran towards Lottie and shook her hand so enthusiastically that it made Lottie smile. ‘So you’re our heroine! Well, Lottie Luna – I can’t tell you how delighted I am that you’ve joined us here at Shadow Academy! You saved little Bernie – such a naughty little cub! He has seven much older brothers and I’m afraid he’s just a little bit spoiled. I’m so very, very grateful to you.’

Lottie blushed and a warm glow spread up from her toes. ‘Thank you!’ she said, and then something caught her eye. Madam Grubeloff was wearing a moonstone necklace… a necklace very like her own. Lottie’s heart skipped a beat; Jaws quivered. ‘Please, Madam Grubeloff… may I show you something?’ And she pulled out her own necklace.

‘You were born when there was a full moon and a lunar eclipse,’ said Madam Grubeloff. She sounded as if it was the most ordinary thing in the world. ‘As soon as I saw you running, I knew.’ She suddenly looked serious. ‘Your powers are a gift, Lottie – they make you special. But they will bring great responsibility, and may sometimes be a problem too.’

Lottie sighed. ‘I just want to be plain Lottie Luna, not someone special.’

The head teacher looked at her thoughtfully. ‘I see. And am I right in thinking you don’t want your friends to know that you live in Dracon Castle, or that your father’s a king?’

Lottie blushed again. ‘People make such an awful fuss about kings and queens and princesses and stuff like that,’ she said. ‘I’d much rather be ordinary.’ She leaned forward. ‘Can I ask you a question, Madam Grubeloff – about the powers? Sometimes I hear things I’m not meant to hear… What should I do when that happens?’

Madam Grubeloff threw back her head and roared with laughter. ‘Oh, Lottie! You and I will have to have a little secret! Everybody wonders how I know the things I know… but I’m like you – I can hear pupils and teachers talking from the other end of the corridor. Sometimes I can even hear what’s going on inside a classroom when the door is closed!’ Madam Grubeloff stopped laughing. ‘But we, with our special powers, must always respect people’s privacy. The only time we should make an exception is if we hear something that might endanger others. It’ll be up to you to decide what you should hear – and what you shouldn’t.’

Lottie nodded. ‘I’ll try my best.’

‘Good! Now, hurry back to class, and please give this note to Mrs Wilkolak. I want to have this evening’s Howl a little earlier than usual.’ The head teacher suddenly looked questioningly at Lottie. ‘Did you have an Evening Howl at your last school?’

‘Oh, yes.’ Lottie nodded. ‘We always all got together at the end of the day to sing at moonrise, unless it was summertime.’

‘It’s just the same here,’ Madam Grubeloff told her, and she handed Lottie a piece of paper and patted her arm. ‘Thank you again, Lottie Luna.’

As Lottie made her way back down the long corridor, she gave a little skip of happiness. ‘Hey, Jaws, I didn’t need to worry! I’m going to love being here! I’ve already got two new friends, and Madam Grubeloff is AMAZING! And I’m sure Awful Aggie and Bruno will be okay too. After all, what can they do?’ And Lottie gave another little skip.

Jaws didn’t answer. He was pleased to see Lottie so happy and her moonstone necklace glowing pure white, but he had his own opinions about Aggie and Bruno.

CHAPTER FIVE

MRS Wilkolak nodded when she read the head teacher’s note. ‘Evening Howl will be early tonight,’ she announced. ‘Madam Grubeloff is going to announce the winner of the garden competition.’

Aggie sat up, looking very pleased with herself. ‘That’ll be me!’ She gave Lottie a superior smile. ‘I win everything, you see. My father says I’m very, very special.’

Wilf growled something under his breath, but Aggie just stuck her nose in the air. ‘Some people are just SO jealous!’ she said. ‘I can’t help being clever. It just comes naturally.’

The rest of the day went very quickly. Lottie found, much to her relief, that she could remember the names of most of the stars in the astronomy lesson, and after astronomy they had moon studies.

‘I’ve written a WONDERFUL poem about the moon,’ Aggie announced, and she read it out. Lottie was surprised to find it was very good, and she joined in the clapping at the end with enthusiasm.

‘That was excellent, Aggie,’ Mrs Wilkolak said, and Aggie bowed, pink with pleasure.

She does love being best, Lottie thought to herself.

The last bell went soon after. There was just enough time to tidy the classroom and get ready for the Evening Howl. Lottie was sent to change back into her own clothes, which were now dry. When she got back, she found to her disappointment that the class had already started leaving the classroom. Wilf and Marjory were nowhere to be seen, so she had to follow behind Aggie and Bruno.

Quickly, they walked down corridor after corridor and into the Great Hall. Lottie gasped. She had never seen anything quite like it. The ceiling was painted with swirling clouds and silver stars, with walls of midnight blue. There were no windows, and the hall was lit entirely by tiny sparkly lights. Soft music was playing, and Lottie was sure she could hear the distant sound of owls hooting. ‘It’s beautiful!’ she breathed.

Aggie sounded almost friendly as she said, ‘It is, isn’t it?’ Then she gave a self-conscious little cough. ‘Actually, my grandfather built it.’

‘Wow! He was really, really clever!’ Lottie was so obviously impressed that Aggie smiled at her.

‘My dad’s a builder too,’ she said. ‘And so is Bruno’s dad.’

‘No he’s not!’ Bruno was scowling. ‘He’s a teacher!’

‘Oh, yes.’ Aggie was flustered. ‘I forgot. He’s a teacher now, but he used to be a builder.’

Lottie wasn’t sure what to say in answer, but at that moment Madam Grubeloff sailed on to the stage, and everyone was silent. She was wearing a long black cloak trimmed with silver, which made her look much grander than she did when Lottie met her earlier. The music stopped, and she looked around. ‘Good evening, everyone.’

There was an answering chorus of, ‘Good evening, Madam Grubeloff.’

‘Before we have our Howl,’ the head teacher said, ‘I have an important announcement to make.’

At once there was a rustling and whispering, and Madam Grubeloff held up her hand for silence. ‘As you know, you were all asked to design a garden for the wasteland behind the school. The owner has said that she will let us have it if we can make it truly beautiful, and you have all been working hard to create a very special place where we can feel peaceful and at ease, walking among flowers, looking at the water—’

‘I did fall splosh in the water, though!’ a squeaky voice interrupted.

‘Thank you, Bernie. So you did.’ Madam Grubeloff smiled at the tiny cub. ‘And before my announcement, I’d like to thank one of our pupils, a pupil who not only joined us today, but did a very brave thing too.’ Lottie felt herself begin to blush and she stared hard at her feet. ‘She saved little Bernie from drowning,’ Madam Grubeloff went on. ‘Thank you, Lottie. Not only that, but she has also designed a delightful garden. It therefore gives me great pleasure to declare that our competition winner is… Lottie Luna! Lottie, would you please come and collect your certificate of honour?’

Wilf and Marjory led the applause as Lottie made her way up on to the stage. Only two people didn’t join in – Aggie, who stood open-mouthed, and Bruno.

As Lottie took the certificate, Madam Grubeloff smiled at her. ‘Well done, Lottie!’

Lottie smiled back. ‘Thank you most enormously,’ she said. ‘And could we…’ She hesitated, in case she was about to ask too much, but Madam Grubeloff looked at her encouragingly.

‘Yes? What is it, Lottie?’

‘Could we possibly call it the Bloom Garden? I’ve chosen flowers that look extra beautiful in the moonlight… Would that be all right?’

‘Oh, yes!’ The head teacher clapped her hands. ‘That would be PERFECT. It would make our full-moon parties and ceremonies extra special. I love that idea!’

It seemed that everyone else loved the idea as well. The applause grew even louder as Lottie made her way down from the stage, but as she passed Bruno he sneered at her. ‘You only won because you can swim,’ he hissed. ‘Your garden’s rubbish! Aggie’s was much better.’

Lottie was saved from replying by the sound of an owl hooting three times, and the hall fell silent.

‘The time has come to join together,’ Madam Grubeloff said. ‘Everyone – take your neighbour’s hand.’

Aggie didn’t look at all happy as she held out her hand to Lottie, but Lottie gave her a friendly grin. ‘What happens now?’ she whispered.

‘Look up,’ Aggie said, and Lottie glanced up at the beautifully painted ceiling. Slowly, very slowly, a silver moon floated out from behind the swirling clouds. Lottie held her breath as it shone brighter and brighter, almost as if it was real.

WOW! she thought, when at that moment Madam Grubeloff began the Howl. It started very low, gradually building to a wonderful harmony as all the teachers and pupils joined her. Lottie could feel the hairs on the back of her neck prickling as the noise grew louder and louder. At her last school, the Howl had been nothing special, but now she felt as if she was swept up into something so grand and magnificent that her heart swelled with pride.

I’m so very glad we moved, she told herself as the Howl gradually died away and Aggie let go of her hand. Goodness! I’ve SUCH a lot to tell Ma and Pa!

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