PART 11

The cul-de-sac was in the middle of nowhere, nearly invisible, in a maze of small streets, but thanks to the bag lady’s directions, I managed to find it. When you’re in the cul-de-sac, always keep yer right 'and on the wall, she had instructed. That tip was odd, but not any odder than everything else that had happened so far. So I did what she said, and as I walked into the cul-de-sac, holding Benedict against my chest with one hand and letting the other follow the wall, I suddenly felt cold glass under my fingers. I turned my head, surprised: instead of the poster-covered wall I could clearly see as I was coming down, was now the much-coveted shop, as if it were expecting me!

It was a brightly coloured shop with a painted wood façade that smelled new. The cut-out metal sign hanging over the door read, as I somehow had expected it to, The Magic Wand Shop. Behind the glass, the shelves were threatening to collapse under a mountain of accessories of all shapes and sizes. The shop seemed empty. I pushed on the doorknob, and the door opened with a squeak. Ding ding went a bell as I walked in.

The inside looked exactly like Ali Baba’s cave. There were more shelves, each covered in objects of all styles. There were wooden boxes, stackable cups, golden cylinders, disco balls, transparent glass cubes, tons of multicolored scarves, top hats, giant decks of cards, silver hoops, and plenty of other objects of various sizes that were mostly unknown to me. I crossed the room. At the back was a large counter and on the wall behind it were portraits of boys and girls about my age.

There was something captivating about this display. The subjects of these portraits (artistic photographs, or maybe paintings, I didn’t really know) all had the same serious expression, as if they knew something important was taking place. The background was the same for each one – a midnight blue sheet with golden stars – but the portraits seemed to have been taken at very different times, because the clothes and haircuts were distinctly different. The strangest thing I noticed were the little copper plates under each frame. They each had a name engraved in them. Even though I didn’t recognise some of them, others I knew very well. Maybe they’ll ring a bell: Dynamo, David Copperfield, Robert Houdin, Derren Brown, Criss Angel… All the great names in the world of illusion, past and present. Could it be that these portraits were of them when they were children?

The sound of footsteps suddenly brought me back to Earth and an old man with a long white beard came out of the back store. He had very bright emerald green eyes: the exact same as the bag lady! I immediately suspected that they were most likely the same person. My suspicions were confirmed when I saw him put – guess what – a bright red pipe between his lips… Nothing seemed impossible anymore, and I felt that in this magic shop that appeared out of nowhere, I would be getting many more surprises…

My visitor had a delighted expression on his face, as if my presence made him particularly happy.

– You’re finally here! I bet you have no idea who I am, he said by way of welcome.

I sighed. Would I, after everything I had done, now have to play guess-my-name with this stranger?

– You’re, um… Professor Dumbledore? I answered, just to say something.

The old man laughed softly.

– Very funny! You have a sense of humour. That’s important.

I deliberately put Benedict on the counter then took a deep breath:

– Listen, Mister shopkeeper. Or Madam bag lady. Or whoever you are. I haven’t come all the way here to play guessing games. I came because I have a huge problem: look what happened to my brother.

I took my backpack off and pulled the magic box out of it:

– All this is because of this darned box that was bought in your store. Don’t tell me you don’t know anything. You must help me.

The old man thoughtfully looked at my brother before taking the box and carefully putting it in a cupboard under the counter. Then he adjusted his round glasses on his crescent-shaped nose.

– I’ll help you, he finally said. But first you will have to pass my little test.

(Go to PART 12)