Before Aunt Evie and I set off to go house hunting the following morning, we decided to return Fatticake to his burrow. His injuries weren’t bad enough to keep him inside, and even though the burrow had been partly ruined, it was still his home.

I walked him over while Aunt Evie finished getting ready, and was on my way back when Mrs Campbell’s ute pulled up in Aunt Evie’s driveway.

‘Harry!’ I shouted, running to his side as he climbed from the passenger seat.

Apart from a sling across his left shoulder and a scratch down one cheek, Harry looked just the same. He smiled and then rolled his eyes towards his mum as if warning me of what was to come.

‘Shall we go inside?’ asked Mrs Campbell.

‘No!’ I took in a sharp breath. ‘Well, um, I-I don’t know,’ I stammered.

Mrs Campbell put an arm under Harry’s good elbow. ‘Harry needs to sit down. The doctors said it’s important that he rest.’

‘I’ve fractured my collarbone,’ explained Harry. ‘And I might have concussion. See here?’ Harry pointed to swelling on his forehead. ‘This is where Fatticake butted me in the head.’

I glanced at the reddened lump, trying to think of a way to stall Mrs Campbell. I would’ve thought Harry might help me, but he was peering past my shoulder.

I sighed. I’d already spilled the beans about Willow and Miss Pearl, and Mrs Campbell had told Aunt Evie she’d been evicted. How much worse could it get?

‘Well, I suppose you can come in,’ I said, leading the way and opening the door. ‘Just watch out for Pumpkin. He’s not too keen on visitors.’

True to form, as they stepped inside, Pumpkin pecked first at Mrs Campbell’s boots and then at Harry’s laces, but I skillfully pushed him out the front door and shut it quickly behind me. One less animal to worry about.

‘Oh,’ said Aunt Evie, joining us in the hall. Her handbag was slung over one shoulder and her keys jiggled, all ready to go. She’d even applied a swipe of red lipstick. ‘Mrs Campbell,’ she said formally. Then, ‘Harry! It’s so good to see you up and about already.’

‘I’ll put the kettle on,’ I said, straightening the cushions to cover the couch stuffing as I glanced around for the wombats. Willow was asleep, tucked in against a corner of the couch and hidden by the wrappings of her blanket, and by the sound of things, Miss Pearl was snoring on Aunt Evie’s bed.

I tried to act natural as Aunt Evie invited Mrs Campbell and Harry to sit at the kitchen table, but my breathing became shallow and fast. My chest tightened as I watched Mrs Campbell inspecting the cottage: the chewed skirting boards, the scratched wooden floors and the bags spilling carrots and oats onto the benchtops.

‘Anzac biscuit?’ I offered, to distract her.

Harry took two and Mrs Campbell one, which she promptly dipped into the tea that Aunt Evie had set down beside her. ‘Not bad,’ she said. ‘Could do with a little more coconut, but, all in all, quite nice.’

‘Thanks,’ said Aunt Evie, sitting next to me.

‘Now,’ began Mrs Campbell, ‘I’ve come to—’

She was interrupted by her mobile, and I exhaled with relief as she took the call out on the veranda. I leant closer to Harry.

‘So, what happened?’ I whispered.

Harry put down his hot chocolate. ‘I went to the burrow like we planned,’ he began. ‘But then I heard a kind of barking noise and it sounded like Fatticake was hurt. So, instead of waiting for you, I crawled down to take a look.’

Aunt Evie cleared her throat.

‘I know. It was a stupid thing to do,’ Harry agreed. ‘Mum has always warned me not to climb down wombat burrows. Just …’

Aunt Evie glanced at Harry’s bump. ‘You could have died, Harry,’ she said. ‘You’re lucky we found you when we did.’

Harry looked solemn. ‘I know. I am lucky. I know it was stupid. But I was so worried about Fatticake. I couldn’t see him at first, so I wriggled down further, taking a bend in the tunnel. And then …’

‘What?’ I asked.

‘Well, I don’t think he knew who I was. He growled and snarled at me, and then, the next thing I knew, he was burling towards me, hissing and grunting like a pig.’

‘Oh no!’

‘He headbutted me, and that’s all I remember. Until I heard the tractor roaring and you shouting.’

‘He must have knocked you out cold,’ suggested Aunt Evie. ‘Or you blacked out from the pain.’

‘Shh, here comes your mum,’ I warned.

Mrs Campbell took a long sip of her tea when she sat back down. ‘Talk about daylight robbery,’ she murmured, reaching for another biscuit. ‘Charging that much for hay? You’d think the stuff was gold.’

Aunt Evie tutted sympathetically. We sat for a moment, crunching our biscuits and sipping our drinks, waiting for Mrs Campbell to tell us when Aunt Evie had to move out. I stared into my hot chocolate. What was Aunt Evie going to do? Where would the wombats go?

By the time we’d finished our drinks, I could hear Miss Pearl scratching around the bedroom and I decided I couldn’t wait anymore.

‘You wanted to talk to us?’ I reminded Mrs Campbell, dipping my head in preparation for the berating that was sure to come.

But Mrs Campbell’s voice was surprisingly gentle. ‘Yes, nearly losing Harry has given me quite a fright. We have had a long chat since last night,’ she said, ‘and I’ve decided I’m prepared to hear out your ideas. If you’d like to explain how I’d go about “catering” for wombats, as you put it, I’d like to show my son I’m willing listen.’

I sat up straight. Had I heard Mrs Campbell correctly?

I looked at Harry to double check.

‘Last night in hospital, I told Mum about the skulls,’ he said, as if that explained everything. ‘I said maybe we could think of a way to help her pay for the changes.’

‘Oh, okay. Um … just hang on, I won’t be a sec.’ I ran to my bedroom and grabbed my scrapbook. Dusting off the cover, I took a deep breath. ‘It’s now or never,’ I murmured.

Back in the kitchen, I placed my wombat-ology book in front of Mrs Campbell. ‘It’s all in here,’ I said. ‘You can take it if you like. To have a better look at home.’

But instead of rushing off, Mrs Campbell pushed her teacup aside and opened up my book. She carefully looked through each page, running her finger along the words and taking time with the pictures. I watched, my shoulders tight, as she read about how wombat gates and fenced-off burrows could help farmers live with wombats.

I glanced around the table, my pulse whooshing in my ears. Aunt Evie gave me a sneaky thumbs up while Harry’s eyes danced with hope.

‘Mmm, interesting,’ Mrs Campbell said when she’d finally finished. ‘You’ve gone to a lot of trouble, here, but I can’t afford to do these things on my own. I imagine it’ll cost me at least a thousand dollars.’

My cheeks flushed. That was a lot of money.

‘But, if, as Harry suggests, you can find a way to pay for the changes – then I might consider them. What say I give you … two weeks to come up with the money? If you can do it, then Fatticake’s burrow will be the first on my list to fence off.’

I gulped. Two weeks? How would we raise a thousand dollars in two weeks?

‘It’s okay, Mouse,’ said Harry. ‘We can do it. We’re the Wombat Warriors, remember?’

I gave him a small nod before turning to Aunt Evie. ‘And what about the cottage?’ I asked. ‘Does Aunt Evie really have to move out?’

Mrs Campbell frowned at Aunt Evie before adjusting her glasses. ‘Well, I do really need the rent, and I was amazed you would even rent this place when it was in such a bad state.’

Aunt Evie studied Mrs Campbell, her lips pressed tight like she was holding her breath.

‘Look, I’ll allow you to stay. But no more animals inside. And you will have to repair the damage.’

‘Thank you,’ mumbled Aunt Evie.

If Mrs Campbell wasn’t so prickly, I might have whooped and given her a hug. Instead, I high-fived Harry on his good hand and offered everyone another biscuit.

Mum and Dad would never believe what I’d done! My cheeks ached from my massive grin. But the corners of my mouth soon dropped.

A thousand dollars was an impossible amount to raise in only two weeks. Plus, even if Aunt Evie decided to stay, where would Miss Pearl and Willow go? Fatticake had returned to the wild, but Willow was too small and Miss Pearl too tame. And Pumpkin – who would take on a duck like him?

I hadn’t really done anything great at all.