Potter does Prompts

Channeling Harry

Angelica stretched out her long legs and nestled into the hammock. "A perfect day for reading," she said to the cardinal perched in the old oak split in half by lightning. Her eyes drifted from the scarlet color of the bird over to the peeling red paint on the ramshackle barn. She inhaled the sweet smell of hay and listened to the horses whinnying. "A perfect day for reading," she told a blue jay because the cardinal grew bored.

"Angie," Luke called from the kitchen.

She blocked out her brother's voice and began the chapter titled "Aunt Marge's Big Mistake."

"Mom says you have to sweep the floor."

"Uh-huh," Angelica replied, turning the page. "I swept it this morning."

Luke loped around the yard, and free from his annoyance, Angela continued reading. That Aunt Marge is bad news, she thought. She cradled the book to her chest. The words seemed to come off the page and flow into her. I feel the power of magic.

"Angie?" Luke stood in front of her with the sun glaring behind him, forcing her to squint. "Dad said you gotta milk the cows."

The day changed. She lost the Harry Potter vibe. No birds perched on tree branches or dotted the power lines. Squirrels ran away. The breeze stalled and sweat pearled on her forehead. Angelica motioned her brother away with her hand. "Get outta here, Luke. Go play in traffic."

Luke huffed. "Traffic in this old farming town?"

"In the fields, then. Go let a tractor run over you."

"I'm telling Mom," Luke said.

From her pocket she wriggled out a five dollar bill. "How 'bout I pay you to go away?"

He toed the dirt with duck-taped sneakers. "Make it ten."

With a dramatic sigh, she held her place in the book and glared at him. "All I have is five dollars."

Luke shook his head. "Nope, ten bucks." Angelica ignored him until her sauntered away, a grin on his face.

The Harry Potter book called to Angelica. She tuned out her brother and the image of his grin. Pages flew through her fingertips. With each turn, her skin absorbed the words and the energy. "I'm channeling Harry!" Angelica murmured. She heard Luke say something that sounded like "I bet you forgot to water the garden."

A spray of cold water from the garden hose doused her, and the book. Luke stood there smirking.

"Luke I'm warning you. I have the book's power."

"Geez, all watered down, your clothes stick. He belly-laughed. "All that flab you try to hide? You look like a lumpy potato."

Angelica closed her eyes and concentrated, channeling Potter. When she opened them, Luke, filled with hot air from all his teasing, floated silently out of view.

The serenity of the day returned. A quickening breeze set the hammock in motion. Birds soared in an aerial ballet. Chestnuts plopped on the grass.

"Thank you, Harry," Angelica said, and began reading again.