Maria's heart stopped when the interdimensional portal closed behind her. A pain she had never felt before encapsulated her lungs as she struggled to breathe, a few stray tears slipping from her eyes. The past few months had numbed the fairies' senses, and now in one burst of emotion, all her sentiments overwhelmed the system.

What have I done? She murmured to herself, lowering herself onto the ground in an attempt to slow her pulsing heart. A small voice in the back of her head was quick to remind her of her purpose. Pull yourself together, Maria! You know there was nothing left for you at Hogwarts, so get up and get on with it.

Making sure no one was around to see her breakdown, she cast a spell to remove all traces of tear stains and restored the flawlessness to her makeup. After she had smoothed out the creases from her dress, Maria picked up her luggage and began her walk down the cobblestones to the place she had called home during her childhood and into her teenage years: Alfea College for Fairies.

All the memories of her school days re-emerged in her mind as she came closer and closer to the border walls that separated mortals from those gifted with magic. Maria was beyond ecstatic at this point. The smile that was absent for so long crept onto her lips as she passed through the barrier. Once the school came into view, the fairy enchanted her cases to follow her and transformed into her fairy form.

Giving her wings an energetic flutter, Maria soared into the air, relishing the breeze as she flew towards Alfea. Now, this was something she missed. Gazing along the horizon, an inquisitive sparrow challenged the fairy's speed, passing her out. Smirking to herself, Maria gave her wings a large flap, zipping across the treetops where she pulled up and stopped. The bird was quick to catch her, landing on a nearby branch.

"You have a lot to learn, my friend," she told the sparrow, her smile growing when she realized she was at the gates.

The bird tweeted a mellifluous tweet before flying back to its nest. Taking a deep breath as she landed, Maria opened the gates, making a butterfly with her hands. Looking around her, the fairy revelled in her surroundings. Her eyes lit up as she came upon a familiar face, dashing over to her.  However, when the figure seemed unaware of Maria's presence, she decided to dust off her old tricks.

"Full name and date of birth," the tall woman demanded, her eyes glued to a checklist of new student arrivals, with a pair of dark glasses resting on the bridge of her nose.

" I hardly think that's necessary," Maria replied, hoping to get a reaction.

The woman's expression hardened as she repeated the question with urgency, still not looking up from the enchanted paper.

Rolling her eyes, Maria huffed," Maria Mavilla Lightly, 1st of May 1927, but you already knew that, Grizzy."

Lifting her eyes off the paper, Griselda leapt up in the air, encapsulating the other fairy in a tender hug. This was what Maria missed most about Magix: her friends. After they broke away, Maria took a moment to study her friend. She had grown quite a lot older than Maria, with grey hairs reminding the fairy how much time had passed since she last set foot in Alfea, time passed since the war.

"I can't believe you're here! Why didn't you tell me you were visiting?!" Griselda inquired, sitting down by the fountain they spent hours at during their school years.

"I wanted it to be a surprise, that, and it was a... last-minute trip," Maria divulged, steering the conversation away from the recent events at Hogwarts.

As the two fairies caught up with each other, Maria couldn't help but feel melancholic and pensive as Griselda chattered about what had happened during her absence.

"Ooh, we have to go tell Faragonda you're here!" she exclaimed, dragging the fairy across the courtyard.

Maria laughed at her friend's antics but allowed her to pull her along. Yet as they were speeding down the hallway, Maria's cheeks flushed a luminous red when she noticed a certain wizard she limerence for so long was conversing with a student, with no indication he had seen her.

The fairy quickly pulled Griselda aside, hiding behind one of the stone support pillars.

"What is Palladium doing here!?" She spoke in a barely audible whisper.

Griselda smiled and laughed it off.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you! Palladium is a professor at Alfea. He teaches Potionology," She responded, a cheeky smirk appearing on her face.

"Forgot?" Maria emphasized, peeking around the corner to make sure he hadn't seen her.

Before she could face any further embarrassment, Maria followed quickly behind Griselda, cooling her cheeks with a simple wind spell as they entered Faragonda's office.

"Who is- Maria! How wonderful of you to join us," Faragonda wasted no time in embracing the fairy, it has been over thirty years since they saw each other.

It seemed as though they weren't alone.

"I apologize if I've interrupted something," Maria began.

"Not at all! I was actually hoping you would be able to help us," Faragonda gestured to an armchair in front of her desk and introduced her to whom she now knew as the Winx.

"Do you remember the chaos that engulfed the magic dimension sixteen years ago, Maria?"

Pondering the question, Maria responded," It almost destroyed the wards of the castle, but it was an inconvenience for us at Hogwarts at the most,"

Showing the scenario for the younger fairies, the redhead, Bloom, spoke up in confusion," But it was the three old witches who destroyed Domino, my planet. Isn't that what you told me?"

Maria's eyes darted to her friends on the mention of Domino. They swiftly sent her a shared glance: they would tell her later.

"Yes, but in truth, they were just carrying out the orders of the shadow creature, who had managed to recruit the help of those old witches. Today it has the support of the Trix. I'm afraid history is threatening to repeat itself." Faragonda explained, clicking her fingers to make the image disappear.

"Are you saying the thing that did all this is the same that kidnapped the pixies?" Layla asked from the back.

Joining her hand behind her, Faragonda seemed reluctant to admit it," Considering your description of the monsters, the spells that were cast and the transformations into a shadow phoenix, it could only be Lord Darkar,"

Sitting up straight, Maria couldn't believe what she had just heard. All the rumours she had heard sixteen years ago were true. The Company of Light had captured the three old witches, locking them away, but the Lord of the Temfires dealt with Lord Darkar. Now he returned, seeking revenge on those who locked him away.

"He also wants all the power in the universe to be absolutely invincible,"

"Just like Valtor," Maria confirmed, standing up," It's a good thing I arrived then, you're going to need the help,"

"And how can you help us? What makes you so special?" Musa countered.

Grinning at the young fairy's feistiness, Maria replied to her question with enough sarcasm to get her point across," Well, as you know each fairy is born with a gift, the source of their power. While the rest of you have but one, I have four. Earth, Wind, Fire and Water," She created a small ball of each in her palm as she listed them.

"An elemental," Tecna confirmed.

Once the fairies understood enough about Lord Darkar's powers, and strengths, Faragonda dismissed them with a strong warning not to dare to return to the pixie village. Closing the door behind them, Faragonda cast a silencing spell, making it impossible to hear inside the room.

Her hardened expression made Maria nervous as she sat back down with Griselda. Never did she imagine what Faragonda was about to say would change her life for the foreseeable.

Taking off her glasses, Faragonda spoke with authority, taking off her glasses, "We need to call a meeting of the Company of Light if we want to have any chance of keeping the Codex out of Darkar's hands."

"And Maria," Faragonda began, unsure of her friend reaction, "I think it's time we talked about Bloom. She is your niece after all."

~~~~~~~

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*The_lost_flower*