Issue 82: Forbidden Magic

Forbidden Magic is the eighty-second issue of the Winx Club Comic Series.

Synopsis
Roxy has been doing poorly in her classes and seems to constantly be in a depressed mood. Wanting to help their friend, the Winx search for the cause of Roxy's plight and are surprised to discover that their young fairy friend has fallen in love! The object of Roxy's affections is a second-year Specialist named Manuel but Roxy is too shy to even be within a few feet of him! The situation starts to look very unlucky for Roxy as the Winx also learn that Manuel is dating a Cloud Tower Witch named Rachel, who is also known for being terribly flirtatious with other boys; even around Manuel! Roxy's emotional state also does not improve and she becomes desperate for Manuel's attention to the point that she begs the Winx to make her a love potion in order to make it a reality. Will they go through with it and, if so, will Roxy truly be happy this way?

Plot
It is sunset at Alfea, where Roxy is standing by herself on a balcony. She stares at a picture of a boy on her phone and walks back inside.

As she walks through the school building by herself, she bumps into Musa, who tells her that they will be meeting up for lunch in about ten minutes. Roxy tries to walk away by telling Musa that she does not think she will be able to make it, but Musa stops her to ask if she is feeling sick. Roxy tells her that it is just because she does not want to and rushes off in the other direction. Musa heads downstairs by herself, confused by Roxy's behavior.

She first meets up with Barbatea to give her the books that she asked for. After Barbatea thanks her, Musa leaves to meet up with her friends.

Soon enough, Musa catches the rest of the Winx in a nearby hallway. She greets them and Bloom asks her if she will be leaving with them. Musa confirms this and then Bloom asks if Roxy will be joining them. Musa reveals that she bumped into Roxy a while ago but she said she was not hungry. Bloom asks if this means she will be skipping dinner and Musa claims so, but suspects that something is not right with Roxy. Bloom is about to suggest that they help Roxy until she is interrupted by Stella, who claims to know what is wrong with Roxy. She claims that Roxy may be in love and that, as her friends, they should figure out who the special guy is.

Later that day, the Winx are stuck in another one of Professor Wizgiz's Metamorphosymbiosis classes. As Wizgiz tries to get someone to come up to the board, Stella can barely sit still as she desperately needs the class to end. Bloom assures her that class will end in just a few minutes and, soon enough, the bell signalling the end of class finally goes off. The girls quickly make it out into the corridors, where Stella asks if any of them can see Roxy. Tecna points out that Roxy is standing by herself by one of the windows and Stella goes off on her own to confront Roxy.

She asks if Roxy is alright, to which Roxy claims that she is. Stella then claims that she is conducting a survey to figure out what kind of guy each and every student likes. Roxy still seems distant, so Stella asks if Roxy has a guy she likes. Roxy claims that she does not know and then leaves, telling Stella that she does not like that type of survey. When Stella regroups with the Winx, Tecna asks how it went. Stella is frustrated that she could not get an answer out of Roxy and Bloom suggests that they should not meddle in Roxy's affairs. However, Stella claims that she is not meddling and that they cannot help Roxy if they do not know what the problem is.

Two days later, Bloom runs into Roxy and sees that she is crying. She asks what is wrong, to which Roxy explains that she did pretty badly on her mathemagic test. She claims that she cannot understand anything in the class and it ended up ruining her high average. Bloom assures Roxy that these things happen to everyone but Roxy insists that everything has been going from bad to worse lately. Bloom offers to help her talk about these problems but Roxy claims that she needs to go and walks off crying.

In the cafeteria, the Winx try to figure out what could be troubling Roxy so much. Aisha asks if it is really due to getting a low grade in Wizgiz's latest test and Tecna expresses her worries. Flora insists that Wizgiz's tests are not so bad and that Roxy must have done poorly if she got a low grade. Aisha points out that Roxy claimed to have been getting low grades in all of her subjects and Stella insists that she was right all along; claiming that if one's heart is not putting in the effort, then the brain will not either. She further insists that Roxy needs their help and Bloom agrees, wanting to help Roxy as well. Bloom then proposes that they send their fairy pets to Roxy's dorm to investigate and Stella, now eager, claims that they will do it tonight.

That evening, in fact, Bloom goes over what the fairy pets need to do: first, they need to figure out whether Roxy is really in love or not and, if she is, look for the name of the boy she is in love with. She then sends the fairy pets out as Stella eagerly awaits the news. The fairy pets fly out of the Winx's dorm through the balcony doors and fly into Roxy's, where she is trying to study. Happy to see the fairy pets visiting, Roxy asks what they are doing in her dorm. The pets snuggle her face, giving Belle a chance to flip through Roxy's notebook. As Roxy tries to tell the fairy pets that she needs to study, Belle finds a page with the name "Manuel" written with hearts around it. Roxy pets Coco as she tells the pets that she was happy to see them and hopes they come back to visit again as they fly out.

Back at the Winx's dorm, the girls try to figure out who Manuel could possibly be. Stella wonders who he is since she has never heard of someone with that name, but no one else knows; it is only the name that Belle copied down. Bloom asks Belle one more time if she saw the name in Roxy's diary, to which Belle confirms. Musa then remembers that she has heard of a boy named Manuel before and suspects that he may be a student at Red Fountain. Tecna brings up her phone to talk to Timmy about all of it.

She calls Timmy and asks him about Manuel. Timmy confirms that Manuel does attend Red Fountain and further explains that he is a second year who hangs out with witches from Cloud Tower. Tecna confirms that Manuel is a Specialist and Stella urges Tecna to ask for a photo of him. Tecna does so and Timmy claims that there may be one in Manuel's personal file on the school system, but he is unsure if he should send it due to Manuel most likely wanting to keep his privacy. Tecna claims that this is for a good cause and Stella wants to know if he got a picture or not. Tecna asks Timmy to describe Manuel's appearance, asking if he is also a good guy, and Timmy claims that Manuel is really tall and looks like Brandon but with blonde hair. He claims that he cannot say if Manuel is handsome or not, but Sky and Helia, who are sitting with Timmy in the cafeteria, tease Brandon by claiming that Manuel is much more handsome than he is. That is when Stella grabs the phone and accuses them of lying as no one can be more handsome than her Brandon. Tecna grabs her phone back and asks Timmy to just send a picture of Manuel to make it easier.

Once she gets the picture, Tecna shows it to the rest of the Winx. Stella agrees about Manuel being handsome and Aisha recognizes his face, claiming to have seen him several times at the White Horse. She explains that he is always hanging around of group of witches and may even like one of the witches; the one named Rachel. Aisha asks if Musa knows of a witch named Rachel and Musa confirms this, claiming that she came into her music hall with friends one time. Stella asks if Manuel was with her that time and Musa claims that he was not but Rachel is a rather "interesting" girl; one who gets a lot of attention from guys. Stella laments over this as it will surely make Roxy feel even worse, but Bloom believes that Roxy may have a chance with Manuel. She claims that Roxy is a great girl and Stella adds that Roxy is very outgoing with friends but tends to be shy around others. Stella then claims that it will be easier to help Roxy now that they know what their end goal is.

In fact, during the very next day, the Winx approach Roxy between classes and invite her to hang out with them at the White Horse on Saturday, as there will be a sort of celebration by the lake. Roxy is unsure so Stella tries to convince her by telling her that she could use some relaxation away from all of those tests. Roxy claims that she was not thinking about her tests but accepts the Winx's invitation, believing that she really could relax for a weekend. Saturday quickly rolls around and everyone arrives at the White Horse. Bloom and Stella spot Roxy by the boardwalk looking on at a group of boys that she is too shy to talk to. Bloom recognizes Manuel in the crowd and Stella guesses that the girl with the green hair must be Rachel, his crush. Stella quickly takes notice to how Rachel is being courted by the crowd of boys and does not think that it will end up well for Manuel. Bloom agrees, believing that he does not look too happy, and takes notice of Roxy, who is too shy to even approach Manuel. Stella steps down from the balcony as she wishes to see if she can do anything.

Stella approaches Rachel's crowd and invites them to organize a dance competition for tonight. Manuel thinks it will be a great idea and tells Rachel that they could enter as a couple. However, Rachel does not want to dance, especially not with fairies. She begins to walk off with her crowd of flirting boys, insisting that they want to party on the shore around a huge bonfire, and Manuel tries to run off to keep up with the group. Stella stops him and suggests that he come on his own instead, but Manuel insists that he is with Rachel's group and runs off. Stella storms back to the White Horse and is stopped by Roxy, who wants to know what Manuel said. Stella claims that she just invited him to dance with them but he declined and then she asks if Manuel catches Roxy's interest. Roxy insists that he does not and Stella heads back inside. There, Bloom asks Stella what happened and Stella explains that Rachel has Manuel wrapped around her finger, as she forces him away from others by using her charms. Bloom asks about Roxy and Stella explains that Roxy is too scared to even talk to Manuel. She claims that she tried to arrange a meeting but nothing worked, so Bloom suggests that they can try talking with them again and bring Roxy along. However, Stella doubts Bloom's plan because Manuel only has eyes for Rachel and believes that they have reached an impasse. Once it gets late, everyone returns to their respective colleges. As the girls head for bed ahead of Bloom, Roxy asks her for a favor. She confesses that she is in love with a Specialist named Manuel but is too shy to get near him, so she begs for Bloom to cast a spell that would make Manuel fall for her. Surprised, Bloom reminds Roxy that love spells are considered as a forbidden type of magic since being able to freely manipulate other people's emotions could be disastrous. Roxy asks if this means Bloom will not cast the spell and Bloom confirms this. She tries to assure Roxy that she can help in any other ways but Roxy storms off in tears, believing that there is no other way.

Some time later that week, Roxy is still struggling with keeping her grades up. Wizgiz questions why Roxy is doing so poorly as he hands her the results of her latest test and, in Professor DuFour's class, Roxy ended up making the formula on the board worse.

One day, Musa bumps into Bloom and tells her that Roxy had been called into Headmistress Faragonda's office. Bloom asks why and Musa reveals that, according to Barbatea, Roxy's grades have been getting worse and worse, so Faragonda wanted to know what was going on. Bloom then asks what Roxy had to say, to which Musa further reveals that Roxy told Faragonda that she is not cut out to become a real fairy, and may even drop everything at Alfea to return to her home on Earth. Musa adds that Faragonda tried her best to dissuade Roxy but she just was not listening. Bloom becomes frustrated with the fact that this is all due to Manuel and demands to know where Roxy is now. Musa guesses that she may be in her room and leaves, so Bloom heads for Roxy's dorm. When she reaches Roxy's room door, Bloom knocks on it and asks if she can come in. There is no answer, so Bloom opens the door slightly, only to find Roxy sobbing in her bed. She rushes over to Roxy's side but Roxy claims that she wants to be alone. Bloom sits herself by Roxy and tells her that she wants to help with her predicament. Roxy asks if Bloom is joking and Bloom insists that she is not because friends are there to help each other out. Roxy then jumps into Bloom's arms, begging her to help and confessing that she does not really want to leave Alfea, and Bloom tells Roxy that it will take some time as they will need to do some extensive research beforehand.

Stella and Bloom go to Wizgiz to prove that they are really studying. This impresses him and he claims that he would be more than happy to help them in whatever they need. Musa asks for certain books from Barbatea, claiming that she and her friends have been assigned to cast a very hard spell that is able to differentiate between good and evil. The girls study for hours on end for the spell they need as Roxy tries to help in her own way by providing the Winx with food and beverages. That is until the girls finally find the spell they need and successfully create a love potion in secret. Stella comments on how the potion ended up clear and transparent, which Flora claims that the coloration means that the potion is ready. Bloom then declares that they will test out the spell at eight o' clock sharp.

That evening, the girls call Roxy over to their dorm but, before testing, Bloom makes sure that Roxy is okay with going through with it. Roxy affirms that she is ready and they all go into their Believix forms. The Winx then combine their magical energies to activate the love potion, which goes off successfully. Bloom hands the activated love potion to Roxy and assures her that once Manuel drinks it, he will become attracted to her and only her. Roxy thanks Bloom as she takes the potion, but Bloom warns her that she will need to have him drink the potion every two days, as the effects are not permanent. However, Bloom is certain that with enough time and exposure to the potion, Manuel will eventually see Roxy for who she is and fall for hr naturally. Roxy promises to follow the instructions and thanks Bloom one more time. The next day, Roxy helps Bloom around the White Horse cafe during her shift. Bloom tasks Roxy with bringing a tray of drinks over to Manuel and his friends and Roxy happily obliges, remembering that Manuel ordered the frizzi-cola. She slips some of the Winx's love potion into the frizzi-cola, brings the tray over to the table where Manuel is, and hands him his drink. When he takes a sip, he starts to take interest in Roxy and asks if she is a new waitress. Roxy tells him that she is just helping a friend and introduces herself. Manuel formally introduces himself as well and asks Roxy when she will be going on break, to which Roxy claims that she will be doing so at that moment. She and Manuel then leave the cafe together as Bloom and Stella watch on from afar.

The two walk around the outside of the White Horse and chat for the whole day! Once the sun starts to set, Roxy and Manuel head back inside. Their hands bump together and the two of them decide to hold hands for the rest of the walk back.

Later that night, back at Alfea, Roxy excitedly tells Bloom about Manuel and believes that he may really like her. She thanks Bloom, insisting that it is all thanks to her, but Bloom does not feel as if she did Roxy any favors. She still feels guilty over making the potion but Roxy is positive that everything will work out since she and Manuel will be hanging out together all day on Sunday.

Sunday rolls around and Manuel and Roxy arrive at the White House on Manuel's hoverbike. Once Manuel parks his hoverbike, he and Roxy gaze into each other's eyes for quite a bit, and this catches the attention of the Trix. Icy cannot stand how Manuel hangs around Roxy and Darcy asks why he is not buzzing around Rachel anymore. Darcy then recognizes Roxy as a freshman at Alfea and one of the Winx's new friends. Icy claims that they need to take action and Darcy starts to tease Icy over possibly having feelings for Manuel. Icy insists that she does not like him as she thought that he had a massive crush on Rachel, but now that he only has eyes for "that little Earth Fairy," she cannot help but be irritated. Darcy points out that Stormy is approaching and notices a sudden change in her face as she walks passed Manuel and Roxy. When Stormy approaches her two sisters, she asks if they have noticed something. Darcy asks what she means by this and Stormy reveals that she sensed that Manuel was under the influence of a spell. Icy asks if Stormy is sure about this since the two witches were too far from Roxy and Manuel to tell and Stormy confirms this, claiming that witches have a sixth sense for those kinds of things. Darcy then realizes that Roxy must have used a love spell if she was able to win over Manuel so easily and Icy describes Roxy as being pathetic for doing so. Stormy insists that they make her pay for using such underhanded means and Icy urges for her younger sisters to follow her, as she just got an idea.

Down on the beach, Manuel returns to Roxy with two frizzi-colas in hand and then leaves to go get them some sandwiches. Once Manuel has turned around, Roxy takes out the love potion. The Trix, who are watching from behind a bush, take notice and Icy signals Stormy that now is their chance. Stormy conjures up a gust of wind strong enough to smack a nearby branch onto Roxy's hand which causes her to drop the vial. Manuel has also returned and quickly notices the dropped vial. He picks it up and demands to know what Roxy was trying to pour in his drink. Roxy insists that it is nothing until Icy walks by and claims that it looks like a potion. Manuel tells Icy to wait and asks if she is a witch. He then asks if she can tell him what the vial is and Icy obliges. Roxy tries to stop Icy from telling him before it is too late, but Icy manages to tell Manuel that she suspects that Roxy was using a love potion on him. She claims that Roxy had been playing him for a fool, which obviously causes Manuel to get upset. He realizes that he and Roxy have only been able to become friends because she bewitched him using a potion but Roxy tries to explain herself. Manuel storms off before Roxy can lie to him again and Roxy begins to cry as he leaves her. Two other witches walk by and mock Roxy for doing something that every student in Magix knows is forbidden. The other witch mocks Roxy for having to be pathetic enough to even use one in the first place.

The news quickly makes it to Cloud Tower, where Griffin arranges a call with Faragonda to tell her all about it.

Faragonda gets the call and Griffin explains that the Winx may have been involved because making a love potion is too advanced for a first-year fairy to know how to make. Faragonda promises to let Griffin know once she has investigated the cause. News also travels quickly around Alfea, where Musa and Roxy storm into the Winx's dorm as Musa warns the rest of the Winx that Roxy had been outed. She further explains that Faragonda came to the realization that they were also involved and everyone begins to panic. Tecna insists that she knew making a love potion was too risky and Stella demands to know what Roxy had done. Roxy, barely able to keep from sobbing, claims that everything just went wrong and that the Trix were there. Bloom tries to console Roxy as she urges for the rest of the Winx to help her calm down and let Roxy speak. Roxy then cries in Bloom's arms as she apologizes and reveals that Manuel no longer wants to see her. Now that she has become a laughingstock amongst all three magic colleges, Roxy fears that she may also lose the Winx's friendship. Bloom assures Roxy that none of that will happen and sits her down on the couch, telling her to keep calm and listen to what they are going to do. She snaps her fingers just in front of Roxy's face and Roxy finds herself in her usual attire. She does not remember what she is doing in the Winx's dorm and wonders if it was all a bad dream. Roxy asks the Winx if it really was all a dream and Bloom claims that it was not only a dream, but a spell that she and the Winx all put together to help let Roxy see what could have happened if they really did make a love potion for her.

While Bloom does not know what Roxy had to see, she suspects that it was an unpleasant experience and hopes that Roxy now knows why they cannot make her a love potion. Roxy insists that she understands as she jumps into Bloom's arms. She feels as if anything is possible now that she never became a laughingstock and that, most importantly, she still has the Winx's friendship. So, that evening, Roxy is able to sleep soundly without dreaming of Manuel after such a long day.

The next weekend quickly comes around and the Winx wonder if Roxy will be coming to the White Horse with them. Roxy confirms that she will as a little puppy fairy pet flies around her. The seven fairies catch a bus outside of the school and make it to the White Horse. Roxy takes a walk on the shore where Rachel is kissing another boy just farther out. Manuel catches them in the act and the two walk away together as Manuel sits on the bench, heartbroken. The puppy fairy pet rushes towards Manuel and sits on his shoulder. Roxy apologizes for her fairy pet's behavior but Manuel is fine with it since the puppy pet is cute. Roxy sits herself down next to Manuel as he asks what her fairy pets name is. He then realizes that he is being foolish and asks for Roxy's name instead as he introduces himself.

Spells Used

 * "Activate the magic potion to create emotion in the heart of the one who is the prisoner of great love, as if it were true!" - Used by the Winx to activate the love potion.

Mistakes

 * The blue paw print on Roxy's shirt tends to go missing throughout this issue.
 * Some of the Winx's Believix designs are either heavily altered or hold major errors in them.
 * Bloom's gloves start at her elbow have ruffles flaring outward from the wrist.
 * Aisha's headband comes with a bow.
 * Musa's gloves are full gloves instead of fingerless ones.
 * Stella's Believix design fits the alternate/mistaken version which debuted on the cover of Issue 61.
 * Flora's top is made up of a pink fuzzy fabric, her skirt is now a layered pink and green skirt with no petal motif, and her bracelets are missing.
 * On page 6, as the Winx try to figure out what is troubling Roxy, Musa's dark pink sleeves are missing.
 * On page 9, as the fairy pets cuddle Roxy, Milly turns pink for a moment.

Debuts

 * Manuel
 * Rachel (Green hair)
 * Puppy Fairy Pet

Characters

 * The Winx Club
 * Roxy
 * Bloom
 * Musa
 * Stella
 * Tecna
 * Aisha
 * Flora
 * The Specialists
 * Manuel
 * Sky
 * Brandon
 * Timmy
 * Helia
 * Animals
 * Fairy Pets
 * Belle
 * Pepe
 * Ginger
 * Chicko
 * Milly
 * Coco
 * Puppy Fairy Pet
 * Alfea Staff
 * Barbatea
 * Wizgiz
 * DuFour
 * Faragonda
 * Alfea Students
 * Alice
 * Cloud Tower Students
 * Rachel
 * Sabrina
 * Yakobetta
 * The Trix
 * Icy
 * Darcy
 * Stormy
 * Cloud Tower Staff
 * Griffin

Trivia

 * The description of the love potion is very similar to the one Icy had Darko use on Bloom in Issue 27: Darko the Black.