PART 5

I freed one hand to plunge it into the depths of the box and frantically read the parchment again. As for the other accessories, there was almost nothing written about the wallet other than it allowed staggering substitutions. I wouldn’t go very far with that…

What would happen, I suddenly wondered, if I did the trick backwards? Would I manage to overturn the spell? I decided that I had to try, and opened the wallet’s secret pocket, the one that held the Happy Families card.

– Um… dear invisible audience, I stuttered (well, I had to speak to someone), here is the picture of a macaque. I am putting the wallet under um… the corner of the comforter, and now, let’s see: Hocus Pocus, restore without any fuss, even if it sounds ludicrous, my brother's original status.

To be doubly effective, I did a magic movement. I then took the wallet back and turned it over: my brother’s human face was back, there, on the picture in the envelope. My heart beating, I lifted the blanket, and my prisoner’s head burst towards me like a jack in the box. Horror! It was still the same macaque hairy head, but even more unruly!

RADIOACTIVE SUPPOSITORY!

the head had time to scream before I buried it under the comforter again.

All I had to do was not panic. I quickly went over all the other accessories, but nothing seemed helpful. My eyes found the box’s lid and, led by a sudden intuition, I turned it over. Stuck to the inside was the address of a store I had never heard of:

THE MAGIC WAND SHOP

DOUBLEKNOT CUL-DE-SAC

(CAULDRON  DISTRICT)

Right underneath was unexpectedly but thankfully written:

OPEN CHRISTMAS DAY

Someone in that store had to know something… After a few moments of hesitation, I decided that the best thing to do was for the three of us (me, my magic box, and my macaque brother) to head to see this someone and to ask for a refund. With one hand, I grabbed my school back pack and shook it in order to empty it. With the other hand, I grabbed my brother under the comforter and shoved him into the bag before he had time to react. He didn’t weigh much anymore. No more than my school things, anyway. This was a start.

The difference is that my school things usually don’t fight back and try to get away. My brother, on the other hand, had no such hesitation, and it took three tries for me to close the bag.

I threw on the first jumper I saw (a maroon one with fringes, it wasn’t my favourite, but that hardly mattered), I hoisted the bag onto my shoulders and left my room with my magic box. As I left, I made sure to close my door and to turn over the sign that said In a meeting – Do not disturb. As a precaution, I also went and closed Barnabé’s door. It was ten in the morning: with a bit of luck my parents would leave us alone until lunchtime. I sneaked towards the front door, quickly put on a pair of boots and discreetly slipped out.

(Go to PAGE 6)