Lottie Luna and the Bloom Garden Read online

  COPYRIGHT

  First published in Great Britain by HarperCollins Children’s Books in 2019

  Published in this ebook edition in 2019

  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 2019

  Illustrations copyright © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2019

  Cover design copyright © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2019

  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 ISBN: 9780008342982

  Ebook Edition © September 2019 ISBN: 9780008342999

  Version: 2019-09-27

  For the real Lottie,

  with much love

  CONTENTS

  Cover

  Half Title Page

  Title Page

  Copyright

  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

  About the Author

  About the Publisher

  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—’