witchcraft, all right.”
B’s mother lay down her fork. “Surely George doesn’t believe the curse is real.”
“That’s the thing,” B said. “He didn’t at first, but then all these bad things kept happening to him, and now he’s convinced he’s cursed. He stayed home from school today because he thinks he’s deathly ill with a cold.”
“Poor George!” B’s mom said.
“Ridiculous,” Dad said. “That boy needs to snap out of it. I thought he had more sense.”
“Now, Felix,” Mom said. “Emotions are tricky. It sounds like this Le Fay creature makes her living preying on people’s emotions.”
“And selling them potions,” B added. “Hey, it rhymes! Could one of you think up a spell to stop her from something-something emotions with her something-something potions?”
“You’re on your own, B,” Dad said. “Why don’t you spell something?”
“I’ve tried, but nothing helps,” B said.
“You’ll figure it out, B,” Mom said, rising from her chair. “And you’ll make a brilliant honesty potion, Dawn. I have complete faith in both of you. But right now, I have complete faith you’ll both help me with the dishes.”
Chapter 12
When they had finished the dishes, B followed Dawn up to her room, explaining about George.
“He’s bringing it upon himself!” B was saying. “He’s so sure he’s cursed, he’s practically useless. Thinking about the curse constantly. So of course bad things keep happening to him.”
“Expand the mind, loosen the tongue
…” Dawn was muttering to herself. “Hm? Oh. Yeah, George. He’s got it pretty bad, huh?”
“He’s totally paranoid,” B said. Nightshade leaped up onto Dawn’s bed and Dawn sat down in front of her cauldron.
“Hm. Whaddya think of this, B? A dictionary toexpand the mind, a picture of a sunset to fill the heart with truth …”
“That’s interesting. Why a sunset?” B asked.
“Well, nature is one of the truest things there is, don’t you think? Nature can’t lie.”
B stroked Nightshade’s fur. “I like that, Dawn. That’s really clever.”
Dawn looked surprised, but she smiled. “Thanks. Anyway, what would infuse the soul with courage?”
B scratched Nightshade between the ears. “Umm … I don’t know. I’m the biggest scaredy-cat there is.”
“No, you’re not. Think what you did at the Magical Rhyming Society when you found your magic! You did amazing spells in front of everyone!”
B flushed with pleasure to hear her sister’s praise. “Yeah, but you know what? I couldn’t do it until you came and stood next to me.
You
gave me courage.”
“Well, I only went up because you needed me. Otherwise I’d have been scared, too …” Dawn trailed off midsentence and stared at B. Then shesnapped her fingers. “That’s it, B. You figured it out. It’s family that gives us courage, isn’t it?” Dawn grabbed a copy of their family’s photo Christmas card that was lying on her desk and dropped it into her shiny EZ-Brew cauldron.
“And friends,” B said. She gestured to the cauldron, where the family photo was melting into potion broth. “I hope Mom has more of those pictures.”
“Now all I need is something to loosen the tongue.”
“Um, a drink of water? The principal always takes a drink before starting his ‘Welcome back to school’ speech.”
Dawn frowned. “I don’t think that’s what they mean.”
“How about a thumbtack?”
Dawn stirred her cauldron with a wooden spoon. “What are you talking about?”
“Well, if you sat on a thumbtack, you’d make some noise in a hurry.”
“You’re crazy.”
“Laughter loosens the tongue,” B said. “It gets people talking.”
Dawn froze midstir. “B, you might be a genius,” she said. “Can I raid your candy stash?”
“Since when do you ask? Go ahead,” B said, “but there’s nothing very good left.”
Dawn disappeared into B’s room and came back with the Easter basket B had had since she was tiny. She
B’s mother lay down her fork. “Surely George doesn’t believe the curse is real.”
“That’s the thing,” B said. “He didn’t at first, but then all these bad things kept happening to him, and now he’s convinced he’s cursed. He stayed home from school today because he thinks he’s deathly ill with a cold.”
“Poor George!” B’s mom said.
“Ridiculous,” Dad said. “That boy needs to snap out of it. I thought he had more sense.”
“Now, Felix,” Mom said. “Emotions are tricky. It sounds like this Le Fay creature makes her living preying on people’s emotions.”
“And selling them potions,” B added. “Hey, it rhymes! Could one of you think up a spell to stop her from something-something emotions with her something-something potions?”
“You’re on your own, B,” Dad said. “Why don’t you spell something?”
“I’ve tried, but nothing helps,” B said.
“You’ll figure it out, B,” Mom said, rising from her chair. “And you’ll make a brilliant honesty potion, Dawn. I have complete faith in both of you. But right now, I have complete faith you’ll both help me with the dishes.”
Chapter 12
When they had finished the dishes, B followed Dawn up to her room, explaining about George.
“He’s bringing it upon himself!” B was saying. “He’s so sure he’s cursed, he’s practically useless. Thinking about the curse constantly. So of course bad things keep happening to him.”
“Expand the mind, loosen the tongue
…” Dawn was muttering to herself. “Hm? Oh. Yeah, George. He’s got it pretty bad, huh?”
“He’s totally paranoid,” B said. Nightshade leaped up onto Dawn’s bed and Dawn sat down in front of her cauldron.
“Hm. Whaddya think of this, B? A dictionary toexpand the mind, a picture of a sunset to fill the heart with truth …”
“That’s interesting. Why a sunset?” B asked.
“Well, nature is one of the truest things there is, don’t you think? Nature can’t lie.”
B stroked Nightshade’s fur. “I like that, Dawn. That’s really clever.”
Dawn looked surprised, but she smiled. “Thanks. Anyway, what would infuse the soul with courage?”
B scratched Nightshade between the ears. “Umm … I don’t know. I’m the biggest scaredy-cat there is.”
“No, you’re not. Think what you did at the Magical Rhyming Society when you found your magic! You did amazing spells in front of everyone!”
B flushed with pleasure to hear her sister’s praise. “Yeah, but you know what? I couldn’t do it until you came and stood next to me.
You
gave me courage.”
“Well, I only went up because you needed me. Otherwise I’d have been scared, too …” Dawn trailed off midsentence and stared at B. Then shesnapped her fingers. “That’s it, B. You figured it out. It’s family that gives us courage, isn’t it?” Dawn grabbed a copy of their family’s photo Christmas card that was lying on her desk and dropped it into her shiny EZ-Brew cauldron.
“And friends,” B said. She gestured to the cauldron, where the family photo was melting into potion broth. “I hope Mom has more of those pictures.”
“Now all I need is something to loosen the tongue.”
“Um, a drink of water? The principal always takes a drink before starting his ‘Welcome back to school’ speech.”
Dawn frowned. “I don’t think that’s what they mean.”
“How about a thumbtack?”
Dawn stirred her cauldron with a wooden spoon. “What are you talking about?”
“Well, if you sat on a thumbtack, you’d make some noise in a hurry.”
“You’re crazy.”
“Laughter loosens the tongue,” B said. “It gets people talking.”
Dawn froze midstir. “B, you might be a genius,” she said. “Can I raid your candy stash?”
“Since when do you ask? Go ahead,” B said, “but there’s nothing very good left.”
Dawn disappeared into B’s room and came back with the Easter basket B had had since she was tiny. She
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