“Oh, please say yes,” said Caliburn, sensing weakness. “We’ve answered all your questions. The disguises are wonderful. Won’t you give us a chance?”

“After all, they ARE family,” said Perdita.

“Everyone is chasing us…” said Caliburn.

“We’re wet, we’re cold, we’re hungry,” said Bodkin, his tummy rumbling.

Wish laid a hand on Hoola’s wing. She looked into the little owl’s eyes.

“And we’re scared, and we have nowhere else to go,” said Wish.

There was a long silence.

Hoola looked at them all. Bedraggled, covered in scratches, the Bodkin-turned-into-a-hob was limping, the Xar-boy had a really nasty wound on his leg that looked like it was going septic.

It would take a harder owl than Hoola to turn down such a plea.

“Oh bother,” sighed Hoola. “Bother, bother, bother, bother, BOTHER. All right then, you’re in. But that boy with the cursed hand better not start misbehaving, or you’ll all be out again…”

“We’re IN!” shouted Caliburn.

And way, way up at the entrance to Perdita’s study, the pixies, who had been trying to eavesdrop but hadn’t been able to hear anything, heard the loudness of this cry and reacted jubilantly, shouting, “They’re IN they’re IN they’re IN! Hurrah hurrah hurrah!”

“The longer you stay here the better,” said Perdita’s warm, hypnotic voice. “It will give you time to heal, and you have so much to learn. Stay here for as long as you can…”

“All right, then,” said Xar grumpily. “We’ll stay… not for TOO long, though…”

And in his head he thought: Just until I can burgle some of those Droods’ tears…

Perdita nodded and then turned to Ariel.

“You can add the piece of flame that we took from the forest fire to the fire on my hearthstone, Sprite-whose-name-is-Ariel,” said Perdita. “It will be happy there …”

So Ariel opened his firebox, and when he added the little piece of flame to Perdita’s fire, the flames there burned bright and high as if they were welcoming it.

“But why would you want to keep a piece of fire from such an unhappy experience?” asked Wish curiously.

“You’re already asking questions, how wonderful!” said Perdita, which was interesting, because Wish was normally told off for asking too many questions. “Life is made up of so many things, happy, sad, indifferent, and you cannot ignore the sad things or even the indifferent. That drop of fire will only make my own fire stronger …”

Now that Hoola had finally agreed to let them into the learning place, she became very practical. “Okay, I’m going to show you all to your sleeping quarters,” said Hoola, “and you can get warm and dry. The snowcats and magical creatures can stay with you, but there’s a special area for giants. This bear needs to go urgently to a sleeping cave—it’s way past its bedtime for the winter.” The sleepy bear agreed with a great bear yawn.

“You’re just in time for supper at the dining hall,” finished Hoola, “so I’ll take you to that, and then I’ll drop the door and the boys off at the infirmary—they all need urgent medical attention.”

And then they trooped up the stairs to be greeted with rapturous delight by the pixies. Perdita turned Crusher green and then she hurried off, saying she had work to do making good the hole they had made in the Magic protecting the school by bringing iron in with them and Hoola would look after them in the meantime.

“Onebearonegiantonewerewolftwodrowned humansthreewolvesthreesnowcatsEIGHTuselesss pritesoneperegrinefalconandababyALLTHECOLOR GREEN… and a hob! WELCOME ALL!” sang the pixies as they trooped off toward the sleeping quarters.

“Oh for goodness’ sake,” said Hoola.

“You’re HOME, you’re HOME, welcome to your HOME!” sang everyone all together at full blast. Then Crusher sang,

“Your magical,

marv-e-lous,

magnifi-cent…

…new HO-O-O-OME!!!!”