moonbeam

Family Tree
By Jennifer Moonbeam

"Miss Hallow, could you and Mister Hobbes please put on your Quantum Effect-Reducer Goggles please," asked Dr Andy Starfinder as he stood up. He had been bending over a machine of immense height and girth, fiddling with a control panel on the side. It consisted of an opaque glass cylinder which had a gap in the side, and which emitted a purple light. There were black bars round the edge, and a metal ball whizzing round and round the cylinder on a ramp of iron. The control panel was a very large chunk of metal, which was connected to the side of the cylinder through lots of wires. Starfinder too put on his goggles and they all stepped inside. It looked a bit like a lift, with another panel. Starfinder punched in some numbers and turned a knob slowly around. Was this it? Were they at last going to succeed in going back in time? The machine whirred and the purple light grew stronger and stronger. It began to make a funny "phutting" noise, and the purple light went out.
"Damn!" exclaimed Starfinder, throwing his goggles down on the floor. Ethel gave an apologetic look and Hobbes's face showed a considerable amount of annoyance - but who could blame him? They had been trying to make the machine work for over five hours without a break. "Okay, I think it's time you two had a rest now."
"Finally!" Ethel whispered to Hobbes, and they walked out to Misery's. As they sat there scooping up forkfuls of Misery's finest Triple Chocolate Sponge Cake, they wondered how much longer Starfinder was going to persist with his latest research.
"We've been up there for about seven hours every day helping that wannabe-genius," snarled Hobbes, "When is he going to give us a break?"
"When he finishes it," replied Ethel. "He's persistent."
"That's the problem," spat Hobbes.
"There's got to be a way, hasn't there," said Ethel, pushing away her empty plate. They fell silent as Ben came over, and then resumed their conversation once he had taken away their plates. Ethel looked at some people walking in through the door, and a change came over her face.
"What's that look for?" asked Hobbes, more irritated than concerned.
"I've just had a little idea," she said, that sly smile creeping up at the corners of her mouth

Milly, Cas, Tim and Azmat had just come out of the library, their brains and hands tired from writing a long and arduous essay on "The Benefits and Annoyances of The Foster's Effect" for His Worship Professor Shakeshaft.
"It would have been so much easier just to produce one out of thin air," wished Tim.
"Yeah," agreed Azmat, "I've never wished that The Foster's Effect didn't exist so much. Mind you, if there was no Foster's Effect, then we wouldn't have had to write that essay in the first place."
"True," said Cas, "But let's not talk about The Foster's Effect any more - I never wanna hear those words again!" Milly's finger pointed up to the ceiling and she laughed - a voice came booming down from the sky repeating "Foster's Effect, Foster's Effect," over and over again. Cas groaned and gave Milly a playful shove before stopping the spell. Milly pushed Cas back who landed on Azmat, who pushed her back, who landed on Tim. They all started a childish game of "Tag" and ran all the way down the main corridor and out to Misery's. They walked in through the arched doorway and took up a table.
"I wonder what's up with Ethel," said Milly, "She looked at me like she saw a ghost."
"She and dear Mr Hobbes are getting on very well today," Cas remarked. All the while, Ethel was whispering quickly and quietly to Hobbes, grins spreading over their faces.

"It was at Cackle's," Ethel was saying.
"Not that blasted school again," Hobbes groaned, "Every time you talk about it, it sounds more like a museum exhibit than ever."
"No no no," Ethel shook her head violently, "This could help us. It's something that Milly and her childish little friends did back there. And the unusual thing is, it was actually quite an achievement, although her peasant ancestors could have been wiped out."
"Just get on with it, for goodness sake Ethel," Hobbes said, exasperated.
"Well, we had to do an essay on Lucy Fairweather's defeat of Baron Overblow. The mentally deficient darlings had, umm, how should I put it, a bit of trouble doing the essay. They needed a little help." Her smile became more prominent. "Anyway, they had a friend - I believe her name was Ruby Cherrytree - who was always getting in trouble for having those things they call 'personal stereos' in school - we weren't allowed any kind of electronics whatsoever."
"Please get to the point, Ethel!" She saw that she would have to hurry up if she wanted to hold Hobbes's attention for much longer.
"They didn't go 'back' in time. But this Ruby Cherrytree devised a way of making people come forward in time." She said it very casually, like she had just told Hobbes that she was going shopping. His head slowly looked up at Ethel, and he grinned.
"Hadn't we better go and tell Dr Starfinder?" Ethel suggested.
"No," said Hobbes. "Ethel, think how great it would be if WE were the ones to get Starfinder's machine working. We'd be famous!" Ethel looked doubtful.
"And you'd be able to do your family proud - prove that for once Mildred Hubble hasn't beaten you at something." Her face became more resolute, but she was still unsure.
"Alright," she said, "But don't say that about Hubble Bubble - she's never been better than me. When do we start work?" she asked.
"Now," said Hobbes, and got up. They left Misery's.

They had walked down the winding college corridors to the Experimental Magic Laboratory and entered.
"Right then," began Hobbes.
"Right then what?" asked Ethel.
"Well," continued Hobbes, "First of all we have to know how they managed to bring somebody forward in time."
"Oh, I see."
"Well?"
"Oh, I see. Well, they had made it out of a pinball machine. The electronic part of it had been connected in a different way, and I thought I heard them say something about a mirror, which was in a box. When the pinball was released by a spell, a person was brought forward in time."
"A mirror; a mirror," Hobbes mused, "What could that have been for?"
"They were saying something about bending round something"
"Ahh yes, bending round the time-space continuum to look back. In fact, I believe that the mirror could also be used to watch events happening back in time"
"You could be right."
"Shhhh Ethel, I'm trying to think. The pinball must have been the particle that disrupted the time-space continuum to enable someone to be brought forward. I think I have an idea!"
"Will we need to use parts from Starfinder's machine?"
"No."
"Will we need a pinball machine?"
"No."
"Good, because I haven't seen one since the day Milly and her little gang did the spell."
"Do you remember the exact words of the spell that they chanted?"
"Oh, um, ummm, no."
"Ethel!"
"Well, I'm sorry," she whined, "But it was a long time ago and I've had more important matters on my mind since then."
"I don't know if the spell they used would work anyway. I have a completely different idea, but it is the same in some aspects."
"Well, come on, tell me."
"I don't think that would help."
"Why ever not? We're partners in this aren't we?"
"Yes Ethel. But I think it would be easier if you just do what I tell you for now, okay? I'll explain it all to you at the end."
"If you insist," she grumbled.

Back at Misery's, Milly, Cas, Tim and Azmat had just finished their cake and were gossiping once again about Hobbes and Ethel's mysterious disappearances earlier.
"They were obviously up to something," said Milly, "I'd know that look on Ethel's face anywhere."
"I wonder what it could be," said Cas, "When we walked in I thought I heard them talking about Starfinder. Maybe it's something to do with his experiments."
"Rather them than me," said Milly, "I'm glad I'm not their guinea pig any more - it makes life so much easier."
"You had every right to quit," put in Tim, "What they did to Tabby was terrible!"
"Yeah," agreed Cas, "It's good that you didn't stand for it!"
"And you could tell that it wasn't going to end happily ever after couldn't you, I mean, come on - Ethel was dead jealous that you were helping out," Azmat also agreed. At that moment Ben walked over, and they all said hello.
"Can I talk to you Milly?" he asked.
"Sure," she said, and they went behind the counter. "So"
"Well I was wondering if you wanted to see a film with me tomorrow afternoon?" he asked.
"Yeah, sure - I'd love to," said Milly, and gave him a kiss. Ben went red in the cheeks.
"So how about you meet me here at three?"
"Sure," Milly said, "I'll see you then!" She gave him a sweet smile and went back to the table.
"So, come on, what did he want?" demanded Cas.
"He wanted to ask me out tomorrow afternoon," Milly said.
"You agreed, right?" Cas asked.
"Of course I did!" replied Milly.
"We'd better be getting back then," finished off Tim. They all agreed on this point, and made their way back to Weirdsister, saying 'goodbye' to Ben and his mum on the way.

While the others were all hard at work having a good time, Hobbes had been ordering Ethel around like a slave, and Ethel wasn't too happy about it. They had been working on the machine for a long time - Hobbes just wouldn't stop. Eventually the clock chimed midnight, and Nick stood back to admire his creation. It had the same structure as a fruit machine - a slot for the money, a handle to pull and a window which displayed different numbers (instead of fruit). However it was standing in front of a mirror, but the mirror was facing backwards, the reflective side away from you if you stood facing the machine. And on the floor in front of the reflective side of the mirror there was a circle marked out with white chalk, with a five-pointed star in the middle (the two-pointed side facing the mirror).
"Nick," Ethel said.
"Yes Ethel?"
"Nick, we've been working for hours, and if you don't mind, I'd like to go to bed."
"Well there's still a little more work to do, but that's only on the spell that summons the person forward in time. I suppose you can go, if I do the last bit. Just be here early tomorrow." He gave that little flick of his hand, indicating that she could leave. Ethel wasted no time about it. Her arms folded and her head flicked to the side like Miss Hardbroom and she disappeared, leaving Hobbes still gazing at the machine.

"I think I might turn in too," Milly was saying. Ethel appeared when Milly's back was to her. Ethel waited a few minutes then crept silently into the bedroom she shared with Milly, got undressed and lay down in her bed.

"Ah, here you are - good morning Ethel," Hobbes said. They were back in the Experimental Magic Laboratory at the crack of dawn - five-thirty a.m. to be precise.
"Hobbes, why on earth did you have to make me get up this early?" she asked.
"The early bird catches the worm as they say," he gave a weak, half-laugh. "I thought I had explained it to you when you left Ethel - if we can do this on our own now, we can introduce the person we bring forward to Starfinder when he arrives.
"So will you explain the machine to me now?"
"I'll explain it as I go along." Hobbes walked to the centre of the white chalk circle holding his staff. He tapped it on the floor three times and a line of green light flew to each of the five corners of the pointed star also drawn out. At each corner appeared a white candle. He pulled up the hood of his cloak and tapped the floor once more, Ethel looking on helplessly. He took a step back and in front of him appeared a table covered in potion ingredients. A small cauldron was standing in the centre. Hobbes lit a small lamp under the cauldron, and added a few of the herbs that were beside it.
"Now Ethel," he said after five minutes of silence, "This bit needs to be done carefully - NOTHING must go wrong, do you hear me?"
"Yes Hobbes, but"
"No 'but's.' I want you to go and stand over by the fruit machine." Ethel did as she was told. "Now I have to say a spell, and while I am saying the spell I want you to put that coin which is by the side of you into the slot. Do you understand me so far?"
"I'm not a kid, Hobbes."
"Don't argue. When you have put the coin in, place your hand on the lever, but don't pull. When I say 'now', I will throw the Bogweed into the potion and you have to pull the lever at the same time. Once you have pulled it back to its full leverage, let the lever guide your hand back up again."
"I do know how to use a fruit machine Hobbes."
"I'm sure you do but let's just get on with it, shall we?"
"Historica, Magica, Transferta, Lurata, Genealous, Transportus, Recognisus, Importus!" Ethel had slotted in the coin and had her hand on the all-important lever. Hobbes had his Bogweed ready. "NOW!" Hobbes threw in the plant at the same time as Ethel pulled the lever. The coin sounded as if it was rattling around inside the machine, and the four cylinders in the little window were spinning around, each to rest on a number. When Hobbes had put in the Bogweed the cauldron seemed to explode in a puff of purple smoke, and the steam settled on the ornate golden mirror. Ethel was watching four numbers appear one by one in the window. First a one, then a nine, and finally another one and a five.
"1915," Ethel just managed to breathe, as her attention was dragged elsewhere. She knew that something was going on behind the mirror and she wanted to see. Ethel walked round in front of it just in time. An image was appearing faintly in the mirror - a woman in a white dress and hat. The image got clearer, until you could see every feature on her face. For a second Hobbes' face clouded, then it cleared again as the image appeared to become solid. A young woman lifted up her skirt and stepped out of the mirror frame, and took down her white lace parasol.

"Did Ethel come in last night?" Cas asked. It was about seven-thirty (they had an early lecture at half eight), and Cas had wandered into the kitchen in her floaty PJ bottoms and white V-neck top. Milly was in her nightie, feeding Tabby and making toast.
"Well her bed was slept in but she wasn't there," Milly replied, "Want some toast?"
"Thanks," she said, taking a bite, "I would have thought she was still asleep - she must have got in really late last night."
"Mmmm, maybe she just didn't want to answer all our questions so she went to the library early."
"Well I certainly have a few questions to put to her," said Cas.

"Good day to you Sir," said the woman who stepped out of the mirror - she was only just a woman though, for she looked about 17. She took her hat off and held it in her hands. "And good day to you, 'lady.'" She wasn't quite sure what to call Ethel, for on that particular day she was wearing a trouser suit. It was quite a funny sight to her really.
"Good morning," said Hobbes, in a sickly polite voice, "Could you tell me what day it is please?"
"It is the fifth of May in the year nineteen hundred and fifteen, Sir. If you will pardon me Sir, but where am I, and how did I get here?"
"Madam, you are in Weirdsister College, Cambridge, England and the date is the fifth of May in 2002. I and my assistant in magical research here, Ethel Hallow, have brought you forward in time by means of magic."
"'Assistant?'" Ethel said quietly to herself.
"And what is your name, good Sir?" the woman enquired.
"Gentle lady," replied Hobbes, slightly mocking her, "I am Nicholas Hobbes. I am pleased to make your acquaintance. What is your name?"
"I am Mary-Ann Hobbes," she replied. "How funny, we appear to have the same name! Would you like a cup of tea?" she asked.
"Tea?" Hobbes was puzzled.
"Yes, tea. Do you not have it in this strange time?"
"Yes we do, but there is none here at present. Ethel, fetch us some tea." Ethel sulkily began to move off.
"Do not trouble yourself," said the woman, and flicked her hand. There appeared a table covered with a white tablecloth, set with a pretty afternoon tea set. Ethel saw an opportunity to make an impression.
"Would you like a little something to eat perhaps?" she said.
"That would be lovely," the woman replied, "But please, do not go to any trouble."
"It's no trouble at all," she smiled and with a flick of the hand produced some scones and jam.
"Oh, that is nice," said the woman, "Shall we?" They all sat down and began to eat.
"So," said Hobbes, "Aren't you going to ask why you are here?"
"I already know that," she said, "I went to the fair yesterday with my sister and two brothers and a gypsy told my fortune," she looked thrilled at the memory of it. "She said that I had a special gift for something and that special gift would link me in to one of my family. I suppose she meant you. Are you family too?" She asked Ethel.
"No," said Ethel, "Just a friend. I'm Ethel Hallow; pleased to make your acquaintance Miss Hobbes." She held out her hand, and they embarked on a gentle handshake.
"Of course!" Mary-Ann exclaimed, "Are you one of the Hallows?"
"Yes, I am," Ethel stated proudly, "Have you heard of us?"
"I know one Flora Hallow - she is my greatest chum!" she smiled, "Are you a relative?"
"Flora was my great-grandmother!" Ethel was surprised. Hobbes gave an inward groan - now he would have to sit here listening to Ethel and Mary-Ann Hobbes talking about the Hallows for goodness knows how long. He would have to put a stop to it quickly.
"Miss Hobbes," he interrupted, "Does that then mean that you are my great-grandmother?"
"If we are of the same family Hobbes."
"Well there is one way to find out," Hobbes said, and stood up. "Great-grandma, I take it you are a witch?" It was a rhetorical question. "I know a little spell that can prove that we are of the same blood. Please stand up." She did as she was told. "Now when I come to the end of my chant, send a magical energy beam to me. I will counter it with one of my own energy beams and the colour of the energy beams will tell us if we are related."
"As you wish, great-grandson," she mocked.
"Identicappus, ancestratus, relicappus, positavus." Two beams of light emitted from their hands and joined. As they hit, the whole thing glowed red. Hobbes smiled and put his hand down. The beams broke and dispersed.
"Hello Granny," said Hobbes and walked across the room, bowed in front of her and kissed her on either cheek. Ethel looked a little surprised, but Great-Granny Hobbes didn't seem to mind.
"How do you do dear?" she said as if talking to a young child. Hobbes smiled and turned round to Ethel again, but before he could say anything, Mary-Ann Hobbes spoke:
"I should very much like to see this place - may I?" She looked expectant, peering around the lab in wonder and delight. Hobbes didn't answer her immediately but turned to Ethel.
"Ah yes, Ethel, I meant to ask you about that just now." He clapped his hands together and looked awkward. "You see Ethel, I have rather a lot of clearing up to do and of course we have to find a way to send her back."
"What do you want me to do for you now?" she asked grumbling.
"Well, seeing as she wants to have a look around the college, I was wondering if you could perhaps take herYou could talk about your family - I'm sure she would love to hear all about you and she could pass on a message to Flora when she gets home about how great your family is going to be." Ethel's face brightened and she walked past Hobbes and took up Mary-Ann's arm.
"Come on Mary-Ann, I'll show you around the college if you like" She led her out of the lab door, nattering about everything from Hallows to school dinners - but mainly Hallows.

"Have you guys seen Ethel this morning?" Cas asked Tim and Azmat at the end of the lecture.
"No, why?" said Tim.
"Well her bed was slept in last night," said Milly, "But we didn't see her come in and we didn't see her go out this morning."
"She had been there though," said Cas, "The breakfast things were all out - unwashed but used. She never washes up her breakfast stuff."
"Hobbes wasn't at the lecture either," pointed out Azmat, "Maybe they went to the library or something and forgot."
"Or they were working on Starfinder's latest project," suggested Milly. They parted - the girls one way and the boys another - all wondering the same thing; where had Ethel and Hobbes got to?

Meanwhile, Ethel had been showing Mary-Ann all around the school. The early lecture for the Magic Foundation students meant that the corridors were slightly emptier than usual, as the second and third years were either still in bed or watching TV (the lazy) or in the library (the hard-working). The conversation had been kept up animatedly - even though it was Ethel doing most of the talking. At one point though, Mary-Ann interrupted Ethel's stream of babble:
"Excuse me for interrupting you, Miss Hallow, but do you think that you could show me the ladies room please?"
"Of course," said Ethel, "You can go in the one in our rooms, it's not far from here." They walked back to the girl's rooms and Ethel showed her the toilet. She plonked herself on the sofa and picked up a sorceress's magazine - the one that her 'daddy' had given her a subscription to for her birthday. She was so absorbed that she didn't know where the time went...

Inside the bathroom when Mary-Ann had locked the door, she pressed her ear against it to see where Ethel had gone. She heard her footsteps go into the living room and she breathed a sigh of relief - thank goodness she had got away from her. But now to truly escape for a while, until she could find Hobbes again and go back - she would have some fun. She smiled to herself and clicked her fingers. She disappeared and was no longer in the bathroom. She reappeared in an empty classroom and looked down at herself. She clicked her fingers again and was dressed in 21st Century fashion. She shivered - trousers weren't to her liking, so she changed into a long dress instead and walked out of the door. There was a stream of students coming out of the lecture, and Mary-Ann joined them. Nobody noticed her presence as unusual - you could always see people you had never seen around before. The crowd dispersed when they got to a crossroads of corridors. One larger door obviously went into a library, one or two went into other lecture theatres, and a few into teacher's offices. She headed towards the library door and entered with a group of girls, although they didn't seem to acknowledge her presence. She walked in among the shelves, looking at the titles of books. She ran her finger along the spines of some old volumes and with a look of disgust on her face, lifted up her hand. There was dust all over it. "Urgh," she proclaimed to herself. She didn't really have much of an idea what she was looking for, but she knew that some modern and powerful magic might come in handy back home. Mary-Ann passed more shelves, looking at the titles of them: "'Ancient Grimoires', 'Beginners Magic Philosophy,'" she read, "No use - too simple. No fun." She had come back to the centre circle of the library by then, with its white and black box-patterned tiles. She saw the group of girls that she walked in with practising magic, levitating heavy objects, competing to see who could lift the heaviest book
"Here's a challenge for you!" shouted one of them, "Levitate me if you think you're so good at it!"
"Okay," said the one who had the heaviest book lifted high up to the ceiling - she gently brought it down, and got her fingers ready to lift up the other girl. She put her books down on the floor, and as she bent back up again, Mary-Ann noticed the title of the top book. Printed in gold letters, read 'Advanced Guide to Levitation Skills.' "That's more like it," she thought, and watched a girl lift up her hands, straining. The girl who had challenged her was being lifted up off the floor, an inch at a time, getting higher and higher. She was only about 6 feet off the ground when a voice interrupted them:
"That's 10 shillings fine each for irresponsible behaviour, reckless use of magic and endangering witches' lives!" The levitated girl dropped to the floor as her holder lowered her hands suddenly. All of the girls put their hands in their pockets, trying to sort out 10 shillings each - they were having to borrow, so things were getting in quite a state.
"I can do better than that!" Mary-Ann thought, and while nobody was looking, she beckoned at the book entitled 'Advanced Guide to Levitation Skills.' It quietly slid across the floor to her, carefully avoiding all the legs. Nobody noticed as they were all too busy paying the Beetle. She picked it up, clicked her fingers and disappeared. She reappeared again in that empty classroom and set the book down upon the desk. She opened its pages and began to read...

Ethel looked up at the clock - an hour had passed since she had shown Mary-Ann Hobbes the door to the bathroom. "An hour?" she looked at the clock in disbelief - "That can't be right." She checked her watch. Yes, indeed it had been an hour. Ethel was very puzzled and walked to the bathroom door. It was shut, and she tried the handle. It was locked from the inside.
"Miss Hobbes?" she called, "Mary-Ann?" She knocked on the door - there was no answer. "Mary, if you don't say something or come out I'm going to have to force my way in." Still no answer. "Well, alright then - but you've given me no choice." She zapped at the door with her finger, and it swung open. There was nobody in there. "Oh no," she thought, and ran through the rooms looking. Nobody. "Great," she thought, folded her arms and flicked her head. She appeared, standing before Hobbes in the Experimental Magic Laboratory.
"Ethel will you not do that please," Hobbes looked up annoyed. He was bending over an ancient book, reading the small print.
"Hobbes, Mary-Ann's gone missing."

Meanwhile, Mary-Ann Hobbes had levitated everything in the classroom from desks to a cupboard. She was getting bored. She tried to levitate herself, but that didn't work. She tapped the book. It disappeared and reappeared in the arms of the girl who had originally had it - much to her surprise. Mary-Ann couldn't afford to lug around a heavy book all day now could she? Maybe she would levitate some other stuff - a moving object perhaps. She slipped out of the empty classroom into an equally empty corridor, and started walking. After about 10 minutes she started to wonder where she was. In fact she had absolutely no idea where she was. Her only idea was to transport herself back to Ethel's bathroom. She would come out and apologise for the delay. There might be awkward questions as it had been rather a long time, but well, she could easily make something up. Mary-Ann disappeared and reappeared in the bathroom. To her surprise, the door was unlocked and open. She hadn't counted on the fact that Ethel might have noticed that she wasn't there. She zapped herself back into her Edwardian clothes and walked out into the living area. She set herself down on the sofa, looking at all the strange contraptions that surrounded her. Suddenly she saw a movement underneath the sofa that startled her - a large grey tabby cat slithered from underneath the sofa. She screamed in fear. Her father had dogs, but she couldn't stand cats! They scared her half to death. Still screaming she stood up on the sofa, clutching at the wall to keep her balance. Tabby looked up at her with his big adorable eyes, wondering why she was making such a racket and looking so scared - had she seen a mouse? If she had, he would take care of it. He circled round, his tail in the air, ready to pounce, but there was nothing. That was weird - no mouse. So why was she screaming? He jumped up on the sofa and tried to get close to her. Her voice rose even higher and the first thing that came to mind was to get rid of it somehow, to get it away from her. Mary-Ann's finger moved before her brain did, and it lifted the cat up into the air with her new-found levitating power. She twirled him round and round, and suddenly her fear was gone and she began to laugh hysterically. Her most feared thing was circling round and round in the air, looking very afraid - it served him right, she thought, for creeping up on her like that. Her laughing continued, until the door was banged open and a group of people stood there, led by Milly

"Ethel, what do you mean, 'missing?'" asked Hobbes.
"Well, you know - gone."
"How can she have just gone?"
"Well, she asked to be taken to the bathroom, so I took her to the one in my rooms. I sat down to read, and, well. The time went a little quickly, I didn't notice at had been so long!"
"How long is 'long?'"
"An hour."
"AN HOUR?" Hobbes shut his book, and then said - "So what happened then?"
"Well I looked up at the clock, and wondered why she hadn't come out yet. I knocked on the door but there was no reply, so I opened the door with magic and there was nobody in there. Don't tell me you haven't seen her?"
"No I haven't Ethel! How could you be so careless?"
"It wasn't my fault! She went off - I suppose she can make herself disappear too; as she's a witch."
"No kidding Ethel - now we have to find her. Let's try a Locator Spell." He tried it, but nothing happened. "I suppose it doesn't work on people that aren't really real."
"Well I guess there's only one thing for it - we'll have to search the normal way," said Ethel, and they ran out of the lab door.

They were jogging down a corridor when they came upon Cas and Milly.
"Cas, Milly," breathed Hobbes, "You haven't happen to have seen a woman around here have you?"
"Well there's plenty of those," said Milly, "That doesn't help much - what does she look like?"
"Brown hair in a bun, long white dress, white parasol, big white hat?" Ethel said.
"What?" said Cas, and looked at Milly. "I would definitely have seen her in that case. But I haven't. Why are you looking for her?"
"She's kind of, missing, and we need to find her. That's all."
"If she's dressed up like that then there must be something up. Tell me what it is," said Milly.
"We can't," said Ethel.
"Why not?" said Cas, "Hobbes?!"
"Hobbes tell us," Milly and Cas both stared at him.
"Well, you see - she's kind of, historical."
"Historical? What on earth does that mean?"
"Kind of old."
"Old? You mean like, seventy?" said Cas.
"No. She's 17 - I think."
"Then how can she be old?"
"It's too complicated to explain now."
"Hobbes!!" they both shouted.
"Alright alright, keep your hair on! I brought her here from the past."
"And of course I had nothing to do with it," remarked Ethel sarcastically.
"Yes Ethel, you did help - a bit. But I did most of the work."
"Is that what Starfinder's latest experiment is then?" asked Milly.
"Yes, well, no. He was trying to go back in time, but we improvised."
"And where exactly did you get this idea from?" Milly demanded. "Ethel - it was you wasn't it!"
"Okay, so I improved on your idea a little, but yes, you were the 'inspiration.'"
"Milly?" said Cas, "You've done this before?"
"In Cackle's - it'll take too long to explain now, I'll tell you later. For now, we'd better look for her and send her back quickly. How about we split u..." Her words were cut short as there came a loud scream.
"That's coming from our rooms!" shouted Cas and they all ran up the corridor. Milly opened the door and went in. They were greeted with the sight of a woman in a white dress standing on the sofa and twirling a very frightened looking Tabby around in the air.

"What are you doing??" shouted Milly. Mary-Ann's hand had dropped in astonishment as they had all burst in. Tabby fell to the floor, and lay down, scared and exhausted. Milly rushed in and picked him up.
"How dare you," she said, "How dare you scare my cat! Look at him- he's frightened out of his life!" She gave him to Cas to hold.
"I'm going to teach you a lesson! You can't do that to poor helpless animals!" She flicked her fingers, and little magic sparks appeared at the ends - some of them flew off as she pointed her fingers at Mary-Ann, they turned into a little ball and hit her. She fell off the sofa, but got up again.
"You can't do that to me!" she shouted and flicked her fingers. Milly dodged the sparks and sent one flying back at her. She also dodged this, and suddenly a fierce magic fight exploded into action. Cas tried to intervene:
"Stop, stop you can't do this!" But Mary-Ann Hobbes flicked a finger at her and she was thrown back against the wall. Cas picked herself up and shook her head - "Right that's it!" She stood next to Milly and more fingers lit up with magical energy. Hobbes and Ethel looked on for a minute helplessly, as a few pictures were singed and the sofa burnt. Finally Hobbes decided to do something. He stood by the side and moved his hands over the space in front of him. The three girls carried on flicking their fingers but no magic sparks appeared this time.
"Now now girls, can we all just think rationally please," he said in a silky-smooth voice.
"Hobbes!" they all shouted at him, and started jabbering at him.
"Ladies ladies ladies," he said, and as if by some power that was in his voice, they quit their argument. "Please, can we just stop and take it slowly. Now Milly, I know you're angry about Tabby, and Cas and Mary-Ann I know you're angry about being attacked, but this could have disastrous consequences if you took this any further. For example, I may never be born."
"What do you mean, Hobbes?" asked Milly.
"How about a good old-fashioned introduction?" he smiled. "Cas; Milly - meet my great-grandmother, Mary-Ann Hoobbes."
"Okay," Cas said, "That's unusual."
"Well it explains the evil laugh anyway," whispered Milly. Cas giggled: "I guess so."
"In that case," said Milly, "I think we had better send her back right away before you completely disappear Hobbes. Or maybe we should let her stay"
"I don't think any of us could put up with a double Hobbes around, do you Milly?" Cas put in.
"Good point," she said. "We should get back to the lab."
"But aren't we going to show Starfinder what we've done first?" asked Ethel.
"Oh what a good idea," said Cas, "We can tell him how Milly brought people forward in time too!" Ethel abruptly spoke: "You're right - we'd better get her back as quickly as possible. Let's go. But I think that maybe Hobbes should hold his great-granny's hand to make sure she doesn't go walkabout again while we travel" A smile crept up at the corner of her lips. Hobbes looked distinctly uncomfortable. "Well, I'm sure Mary-Ann is perfectly capable of following us, wouldn't you say?"
"No Hobbes," said Milly, "I think that as your family you have a duty to make sure she stays safe"
"Yeah, come on Hobbes, how bad can it be?" Cas looked at him. They were all smiling.
"I really don't think so"
"We do!" Milly and Cas flicked their hands and Hobbes and his great-granny's hands were stuck together. "Let's go now then." Five people disappeared, and five people reappeared in the Experimental Magic Lab.

"So this is what you had set up," said Cas.
"Very ingenious," said Milly, "Only Ruby used a pinball machine at Cackle's."
"Umm, Milly - Cas?" Hobbes's hand was still stuck to Mary-Ann's.
"I think you can stay there for a little while longer Hobbes - just to humour us." Milly said, and turned away to look at Hobbes's set-up.
"So have either of you two managed to find a reversing spell?" asked Cas.
"Hobbes was working on one last night, but I went to bed. Ask him," answered Ethel.
"Hobbes?"
"Ummm, there wasn't exactly one"
"How do you mean - not exactly one?"
"Well, I, er, didn't find one."
"You idiot Hobbes! You mean you brought her forward in time without knowing the reversing spell?"
"I suppose so - yes." Cas, Milly and Ethel all made annoyed noises and looked exasperated.
"It'll be his own fault then if he starts to disappear," said Ethel. "But who says that would be a bad thing?"
"We can't just let him fade though - there must be something we can do" a concerned Cas brought Ethel back down to earth.
"She's right," agreed Milly. "As arrogant, pig-headed, annoying, selfish, greedy, power-obsessed"
"I'm not that bad!" interrupted Hobbes.
"Yes you are!" the three girls shouted at him.
"How did you get the people back to their own time when you did it Milly?" asked Cas.
"That's an idea! They just walked back into the mirror and disappeared again," Milly informed her. "We used HB's Magic Mirror at Cackle's - this must be a Magic Mirror too. It's big and elegant enough." She walked over to the mirror and ran a hand down the gold decorated sides as she said these last words. One of her fingers accidentally touched the glass and it rippled. She gave a small yelp of shock and pulled her hand away.
"What is it, what happened?" Milly told them that the glass had rippled. "That must be the way back alright!" Ethel stepped up to the mirror and put her finger up to it. The surface rippled. Suddenly her whole arm was dragged in, and the mirror was pulling the rest of her in too. "Ethel!" the two girls shouted and grabbed her other arm. They heaved her out just in time, and she stumbled back, breathing heavily and in shock.
"Thanks," she said to them both and they nodded their heads to acknowledge her brief display of gratification.
"That's the way you're going." Milly turned round to Mary-Ann Hobbes and spoke to her. A flick of her wrist broke the binding spell that held Hobbes' and her hands together. Hobbes snatched his back, and checked to see if there was any damage. Mary-Ann tied her bonnet around her head and took up her parasol delicately. She turned round to Hobbes. "It was a lovely surprise to meet you grand-son," she held out her hand. Hobbes took it and they shook. "It was, err, interesting to meet you great-granny." Hobbes joined the girls as they took a few steps back from the mirror. Mary-Ann stepped up. "Goodbye," she said to Milly, Cas and Ethel. "Bye!" They all gave her a little wave. She lifted up her white skirts and stepped over the frame. The mirror glass accepted her without sucking her violently in. She turned round to face them, gave them all a little wave and her form was gradually swallowed up by the rippling glass.

Milly, Cas, Tim and Azmat were helping Hobbes and Ethel to get rid of the equipment.
"You could have let us know," said Azmat, "We missed out on all the fun!"
"Yeah," said Tim, "Come and get us next time you decide to have a cat fight - we can place bets!" They both laughed, but stopped as they saw Milly and Cas looking daggers at them. "Ahem, sorry."
"So you're definitely not going to tell Starfinder then?"
"No," said Ethel, "Bringing people forward in time is slightly more dangerous than going back. We don't want anyone else nearly wiped out now, do we?"
"Don't you think that Starfinder would want to know?" Tim asked. At that moment, Dr Starfinder walked through the lab door. "Dr Starfinder would want to know what?" He stood there.
"Oh, nothing," said Milly.
"What's this?" asked Starfinder and walked over to the fruit machine.
"Oh, nothing," said Hobbes, and made it vanish in front of his eyes. Starfinder looked up in surprise, and as the room was now cleared up, Milly, Cas, Ethel, Tim, Azmat and Hobbes started to file out of the room.
"But what was that?" Starfinder persisted, "Why did you get rid if it? Was it part of an experiment? Did it work?" Hobbes turned round - he was the last one to walk out. He looked at Starfinder.
"Put it behind you Dr Starfinder - don't ask about it, it's all in the past. And the past is best left alone." And without speaking any more, he closed the door of the lab behind him, leaving Starfinder completely baffled.