05 Meows, Magic, & Wands

by Madison Johns

“I’ll give it all to you if you kiss me like that again,” he smirked.

  Petunia walked back into the kitchen and pulled Merlin off the counter, where he was licking up a clear liquid. She bit her fist. “Oh no! Merlin, are you okay?” Petunia asked as she held him up.

  Merlin howled as he dug his claws into Petunia’s tender fingers.

  “What on earth!”

  “You better find out what fell off the spice shelf. I’d hate for something dreadful to happen to Merlin,” Pansy said.

  “Oh? I had no idea that you felt that way.”

  “We have a love-hate relationship. We both want to be the top cat. If only the schmuck knew I wasn’t a real cat.”

  Petunia began picking up the pieces of glass, tossing them into the trash along with the syrup she had cooking. She was careful to not get anything on her skin. She searched the label and smiled. “It’s not a potion ingredient after all; it’s nutmeg.”

  “Except that nutmeg is a ground powder, not a liquid,” Pansy said.

  “I must have spilled syrup on the counter.”

  “The bottle exploded when it hit the sink,” Pansy reminded her.

  Petunia glanced over her recipe. “Oops.”

  “That’s never a good thing for you to say.”

  “I was cleaning out my liquid smoke potion in the sink. I imagine all of it didn’t go down the drain.”

  Pansy backed away. “Does that mean Merlin will explode?”

  “I should hope not. All he could have ingested was the syrup and nutmeg.”

  “You had better find Merlin and put him into his carrier to be safe.”

  “I can’t do that. It’s too small ... or he’s too big to fit into the carrier.” Petunia smiled. “I’ll just lock him in the bathroom. See, it’s settled.”

  “Well good luck with that, Red.”

  “Please don’t be an alarmist right now, Pansy. I need to psyche myself up to accompany the children.” She frowned. “I think you’re right about making the candy apples. Today it might just not be safe to do.”

  * * *

  Petunia fidgeted with the thin fabric of the witch costume. It just didn’t feel right. She almost put on the one Bonnie bought for her, but she really believed that dress was enchanted somehow. Oh, but it was so pretty. Maybe it wouldn’t hurt if she tried it on one more time.

  She smiled when the costume was on, admiring her reflection.

  “No fair!” Pansy said as he bounded into the room. “Does that mean I get my hat back now?”

  “No. I believe that hat is very negative. I think I’ve been silly thinking Lake Forest is enchanted or that a dress or hat could be cursed.”

  “Cursed?” Pansy laughed as he rolled on her bed. “Finish up and meet me downstairs. Merlin might calm down after we leave. I wouldn’t be surprised if he ate his way through the bathroom door.”

  “I’ll be down in a minute.”

  Petunia was startled when she entered the kitchen. Aunt Maxine’s wacky friends were seated at the table.

  “Oh, there you are,” Aunt Maxine said as she stirred the contents in a pan.” Her eyes narrowed when she spied Petunia’s dress.

  “Is that the dress Bonnie gave you?”

  “Yes.”

  “I thought you said it was cursed.”

  “I thought you said it had bedbugs,” Noah said as he joined them in the kitchen.

  “I was wondering if I was overreacting about the dress.”

  “You think?” Noah asked with a smile. He then wrinkled his nose. “Whatever you’re cooking, I hope you don’t have enough for me.”

  “Noah! That’s not very nice,” Petunia said.

  “Be a dear and change into the costume I put on your couch,” Aunt Maxine said.

  “Hurry up, before something dreadful happens,” Hazel said. “You were right; it’s cursed. Bonnie gave me a costume, but it gave me the hives. See.” She lifted her shirt to show a rash.

  “I think I’d better come back later,” Noah exclaimed. “I think I forgot to feed my dog.”

  Petunia shook her head as she changed costumes and brought the cursed one back.

  “What should I do with this costume?” Petunia asked.

  “Toss it in the trash,” Aunt Maxine said.

  “Burn it,” Wanda said with a nod of her head.

  Hazel rubbed her hands together. “First cut it into small pieces and then burn it.” She smiled as if proud of her suggestion.

  “Is that really necessary?” Petunia asked.

  Aunt Maxine and her friends chimed, “Yes!”

  “I’d feel really bad if Bonnie found out I just tossed the costume in the trash. Maybe I should return it.”

  “Throw it away, Petunia. If Bonnie ever asks you about it, tell her you misplaced it.”

  “I hope she doesn’t ask. I already hurt her feelings when I told her I couldn’t wear it. I’ve had a bad feeling ever since I put the costume on at Bonnie’s house. The hat she put on Pansy made him nearly kill poor Merlin.”

  “Are you sure the hat did that?” Aunt Maxine laughed. She poured the liquid from the pan into a coffee cup and tossed a match into it. Flames shot out of it and the kitchen filled with smoke, setting off the alarm.

  “What on earth?” Petunia shouted as she began to open the windows and door while Wanda and Hazel tried to disperse the smoke by waving dish towels.

  “Don’t be so dramatic, Petunia. I hate to see how you’ll act when you drink my potion.”

  Petunia’s eyes widened. “What? I’m not drinking that. It can’t be safe if you started a fire with it.”

  “I just had to sear the potion.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “It adheres the ingredients to the liquid.”

  “’I’m quite sure you don’t need to set it afire to do that.”

  Aunt Maxine tapped her foot. “And here I whipped up a potion to remove whatever curse was attached to that dress.”

  “You made her feel bad!” Pansy muttered as he wound around Aunt Maxine’s legs.

  “I’m sorry,” Petunia said. “I hope I don’t have to drink it.”

  “Well, you do. Pansy needs to drink some too.”

  Pansy shot out the door. “I’m outta here.”

  “So what are your plans for the night?” Petunia asked her aunt, trying to change the subject.

  “We’ll be working the snack station,” Aunt Maxine said.

  “I thought you were planning to have people visit Mystical Remedies? You even went all out to decorate it.”

  “I decided it might not be the best idea to open Mystical Remedies today.”

  “We’re making sure the food at the refreshment table doesn’t get tainted,” Wanda said with a nod of her head.

  “Since when are you so concerned about the festival, Aunt Maxine? You thought it was a good idea yesterday.”

  “I’m afraid I wasn’t thinking things through. I want to make sure that there won’t be any problems tonight. Keep an eye on the children they bus in. They’re not from here, and I’d hate for one of the darlings to go missing.”

  Aunt Maxine blew on the cup and set it down in front of Petunia. “Don’t be shy. If you drink it all at once it goes down easier.”

  Petunia picked up the cup and plugged her nose as she guzzled the potion down. She coughed and hacked until a purple mist came from her mouth.

  “See, I told you she had been cursed,” Hazel said. “We all had the same reaction.”

  “Did you ever think the potion caused the reaction?” Petunia said.

  “Well, we’re off now,” Aunt Maxine said. “I’ll toss the costume in the trash on my way out the door. Run and get me the hat Pansy wore. We can’t be too careful.”

  “Don’t forget to bring my wand tonight,” Hazel said. “You never know when you might need a little magic.”

  When the door closed behind them Petunia poured what was left of the potion in Pansy’s dish.

  He eventually returned to the kitchen a
nd sniffed at the brew. “I’m not drinking that. The last time I had a potion it transformed me into a cat.”

  “I promise that won’t happen to you this time. I drank it, and nothing happened to me.”

  “So far you mean.”

  “Aunt Maxine is a much better potion maker than me.”

  “Oh and how many potions has she given you?”

  “Well ... none before this.”

  “See! No way am I drinking that.”

  “If you don’t drink it I’ll throw you in the bathroom with Merlin and you can hang out with him all night.”

  “You wouldn’t!”

  “I most certainly would.”

  “Maybe you should give it to Merlin since you don’t know what he got into. You could always disguise the potion in his food. He always empties his dish.”

  “So you’re not worried that you might need it more?”

  “I don’t need it. What is it for?”

  “Aunt Maxine says it will get rid of a curse, or protect us from one.”

  “When you say it that way I suppose I’ll have to force it down somehow.”

  To be extra careful Petunia used a dropper to feed Merlin the remainder of the potion. It was almost worth the clawing she got.

  Chapter 9

  Petunia brushed her hair and met Noah downstairs. She smiled at his pirate costume, complete with eye patch.

  “You make a rather handsome pirate,” Petunia said as she moved in for a kiss.

  “Now you’re wearing a different witch costume. That doesn’t look like the one you bought at the costume store,” Noah said as he felt the fabric.

  “Whoa ... slow down, lughead,” Pansy said.

  “Be quiet you.”

  Pansy pranced around the room. “I almost forgot. You need to see Merlin. I think he’s near death from whatever he drank yesterday. Or that potion you gave him earlier.”

  Petunia hurried after Pansy and found Merlin on his back under the table.

  “Oh no! I think Merlin is dead,” Petunia cried.

  “Let me see,” Noah said as he picked up the cat. Noah petted Merlin, who made a noise that Petunia had never heard from him before. He was purring! “He’s not dead. He looks like he ate too much catnip.”

  Petunia went to a cabinet. “I don’t have any catnip, but yesterday Merlin lapped up some of the liquid of the counter. At the time I thought it was syrup for the candy apples, but now I’m not certain. I don’t know what he ingested.”

  “Alcohol maybe?”

  “If that was it, he wouldn’t still act like he’s on something!”

  “I doubt you need to take him to the vet.”

  “I suppose you think I’m overreacting, but these cats mean so much to me.”

  “I know they do, Petunia,” Noah said as he placed Merlin on the couch. She wondered if Aunt Maxine’s potion could have done this to Merlin.

  Gem and Sassy kept their distance, as though worried they’d catch whatever Merlin had if they ventured too close.

  “We had better get going,” Noah said, “if you want an escort tonight.”

  Petunia frowned. “You make it sound like I need a bodyguard or something.”

  “No, it’s just that with everything that’s been going on -- or what you think is going on -- it might be better if I escort you to the drug store.”

  “I think I can handle it.”

  “Promise me you won’t go near that thrift store alone. It might be dangerous.”

  “Dangerous?” Petunia laughed. “And here I was thinking that you thought I was a little crazy. I fear another witch has come to Lake Forest, thanks to this festival. A very bad witch.”

  Noah’s brow furrowed as he wagged a finger at her. “You mean like when you don’t make a potion right?”

  Petunia narrowed her eyes. “No. Worse.”

  “Now you’ve gone too far, lughead,” Pansy said. “Sometimes I wish I could communicate with Noah.”

  “Save it Pansy.”

  Noah motioned with his hands. “I was only joking. If you want to discuss witches you should probably do it with your aunt and her friends.”

  “Oh! You reminded me that Aunt Maxine, Wanda and Hazel are manning the refreshment table. Could you please check on them? Keep an eye on them so they don’t get into trouble.”

  “What trouble could your aunt and her friends get into?” He smiled as he headed to the door. “I’ll head over to city hall then. Good luck with the trick-or-treaters. For some reason I think you’ll need it.”

  Petunia was ready to head out the door until Pansy said, “Don’t forget to bring your wand.”

  “Oh I almost forgot. Thank you, Pansy. I’d be lost without you.”

  Petunia bit her lip. Who was she kidding? Pansy was an intricate part of her life now. At least she’d have some company tonight. She smiled to herself.

  It was nearly dark and the moon was full, a rare occurrence on Halloween.

  Petunia put the wand under her arm and Pansy scurried out of the way.

  “What’s wrong with you?” she asked.

  “You heard what Hazel said. That wand is loaded.”

  Petunia laughed it off. “I’m sure it’s fine. I don’t know if I could even wield this wand. It would seem its magic should only work for Hazel.”

  “Sorry, but I’m not buying that. I’d rather stay far away from it, if you don’t mind.”

  “Sounds like you’re afraid of it.”

  “It’s not the wand I’m afraid of. It’s the witch carrying it.”

  * * *

  Petunia sighed as a bus pulled to the curb in front of the drug store. She sprinted to the bus door, then moved the wand to her hand as she greeted the children who exited. Pansy pushed closer to Petunia as the children wearing hockey masks and ripped and torn clothing with zombie makeup spilled from the bus. They were about to scurry off, but Petunia said, “Wait! I think I’m supposed to escort you through town.”

  A child drew a plastic machete, causing Petunia to halt.

  “I hope you know it’s not real, Red,” Pansy said.

  “Of course I know that,” Petunia said continuing to smile at the children. “Aren’t you a little big to be trick-or-treating,” Petunia asked a boy who wore only a baseball jersey and cap.

  “At least I’m not as old as you!” he spat.

  “Be nice, Jerome,” a balding man scolded him.

  Jerome ran off down the street.

  Petunia, seething, slowly raised the wand.

  “Don’t you dare, Red. He’s only a child!”

  “When I was younger I had much more respect for adults.”

  “I’m sorry. I’m dating Jerome’s mother, and she insisted I bring him with us,” the balding man said. “I hope he won’t cause any trouble.”

  “Meaning he’ll cause plenty of problems for us,” Pansy said.

  “Why us? Didn’t you see he ran off?”

  “Aunt Maxine told you to look after the children, so we might have to track down that loudmouth.”

  “Hopefully the baldy is capable of reining him in.”

  “I’m Mr. Robbins. I’m a math teacher at Gatorsville middle school,” the man said. “We’re so happy we were invited to come to Lake Forest for trick-or-treating. Our town is quite small, and I’m afraid the children get shortchanged.”

  “It’s our pleasure,” Petunia said. “So do you want us to show any of the children around town?”

  “I don’t think that will be necessary. I’m quite certain once the children get off the bus they’ll be on their way.”

  “We have three little angels dressed as witches,” a robust woman said as she stepped off the bus. Her cheeks were red and she was dressed as a secretary in a getup featured on Madmen.”

  Three girls dressed as witches came off the bus with a leap.

  “Oh my! Are you a real witch?” the girl with blue hair asked Petunia.

  One of the other girls had yellow hair, and the other red hair. They all wore black costu
mes similar to Petunia’s.

  “Uh-um ... I am tonight.”

  “This is Velma, Samantha and Tabitha,” Mr. Robbins introduced. “We’d really appreciate it if you keep a close watch on them.”

  “That’s fine by us. We want to pick the witch’s brain,” Tabitha said as she scratched her red wig.

  “Quit acting as if you have bugs,” Velma complained.

  Petunia smiled. “Now that will be enough ... I think we should go get some of that candy.”

  Pansy meowed and shook his head.

  “You have an actual familiar?” Samantha said as she picked up Pansy and hugged him tight. “I love cats. I wish I could have one of my own. But my mother is allergic to cats.”

  “H-help,” Pansy squealed.

  “Well, the first lesson of having a cat is to not squeeze them so tight.”

  “Yeah, stop squeezing the stuffing outta that cat,” Velma ordered. “Put him down so we can get moving. We’re wasting valuable candy-getting time.”

  “So are you a witch or not?” Tabitha pointedly asked.

  “Witches are never supposed to tell anyone if they’re real.” Petunia winked.

  “She must be fake. A real witch would want the entire town to know she was a witch,” Velma said.

  Petunia frowned. “I’ll show you the way into town.”

  “I love your wand,” Samantha said. “It looks more real than mine.” She held up her plastic wand for emphasis.

  “I was told it was real when I bought it, but sometimes sales people will tell you anything for a sale.” Petunia winked again.

  “We need to use the bathroom,” Velma announced.

  Petunia stood there for a moment, searching her mind for the nearest bathroom. “The drugstore has a bathroom,” she said, snapping her fingers.

  She led the way, and the girls followed without complaint. “The bathroom is back there,” Petunia said, inside the store.

  “Pansy can’t come in here, Petunia,” Nelly, the owner, ordered.

  “You heard her, Samantha. Hand me Pansy.”

  “Just open the door, Red. I think it’s about time I make my great escape.”

  Petunia opened the door and scooted Pansy outside.

  “Where is the bathroom?” Velma asked. “We can’t find it.”

  Petunia sighed. She should have known to show the girls to the bathroom. They were only children and needed more direction.