Strings of Fate

Cam 22- Glitter and gimmicks Harry is bouncing in place, eager to see what kind of mischief we can get up to. My home. might have been fairly serious growing up, but that doesn’t mean that | didn’t find a few practical spells that | adapted to be a little silly.

Not that | would have dared to try any of them. But it was fun to think about. | figure I'll stick with a potion since that’s something Harry can help with too. It won't be all that fun for him if I'm the one doing all the work. | start listing ingredients and Harry jumps into action to find them for me. He continues asking questions as he has every other the’s been in here to make sure he’s doing things right, but he’s got my organisational system down now and he knows what most of my basic ingredients are. | did let him put a label on a couple of the nearly identical herbs. | don’t want to accidentally use the wrong one and make a poison instead of a potion. Harry lays out all the ingredients meticulously, and | set up a little saucepan over an electric stovetop which I plug in and set up on the bench.

“What are we making?” Harry asks eagerly.

“It's a surprise. Now, | need you to measure out three grams of the rose quartz.” | direct. Harry's eyebrows fly up into his hair and he gapes at me.

“You're going to letmeasure something?” He seems stunned. | shrug.

for sale “Sure, this isn't a potion for consuming and it’s not for sale so if you mess something up the world won't end. I'll keep an eye out to make sure there’s nothing explosive or anything. It will be interesting to see if you're any good at it.” | declare.

“But I'm not a Witch. | don’t have magic, at least not the kind that works for this kind of thing.” He reminds me. | roll my eyes tically.

“Obviously, | know that. | can do that part. But you can do a lot of the prep. My dad always did the prep for mum’s potions. She HATES measuring out potions. She likes spellwork. She's basically my opposite.” Harry holds up the measured out quartz for my approval and | nod.

“Are spells and potions that different? | thought Witches learned both.” He wonders. | shrug.

“Sure, but a person can know how to bake and how to cook, that doesn’t mean they love both.

1/4 Cam 22- Glitter and gimmicks Most of them have a preference. I'm okay at spellwork, but it’s very rigid. You have to follow strict rules and even the slightest variation can have catastrophic effects. It is not something you can stop part way or change your mind about. You need to be completely confident in the spell and commit to it completely. Potions are a little more relaxed. You can mix and match and see how it turns up. Sure it can still go wrong, but it’s usually more intentional and easier to control. The physical ingredients are easy to measure, controlling thoughts and staying focussed for a spell is harder.” | sigh.

“Unless you ask my mum. She says measuring things out and keeping track of and memorising the ingredients is hellish and that spells are just a matter of being a decisive and confident person.” | frown. Mum always insisted | would do better on my spellwork if | stopped worrying about it so much. But it’s hard not to worry when you have your entire family judging and critiquing you.

“I suppose | see the difference. You like control and you like to experiment with new things so | guess potions make sense for you. But | don’t see how you could be bad at spellwork. You seem like a pretty confident person to me.” He observes. | shrug.

“I'm not bad. Just not as good as | could be. But | do have to admit that my family doesn’t exactly bring out my confident side. I'm not the saround them.” That's just depressing. I'm not able to be myself around the people who raised me, the people who should lovethe most. | shake myself from my thoughts.

“Enough of this, you're meant to be keepingdistracted so | don’t stress about my family. So next up you need to grind up the rose quartz. There's a mortar and pestle there that your can use.” | poke his arm to get him moving. Harry smirks at me.

of ideas on w “Don’t tempt me. | have plenty of ideas on ways to keep you distracted if this isn’t working.” He lowers his voice seductively and | glare at him.

“You should be grinding.” He opens his mouth to answer and | interrupt.

“Don’t you dare. You asked for fun magic and if you don’t get started we won't have time. It have invoices | could be sorting through.” | warn. Harry snaps his mouth shut, gives a cheeky salute and gets to work.

An hour later, the potion is almost finished and | tell Harry to step aside so that | can add the 2/4 Cam 22- Glitter and gimmicks magic while | heat it up with the little stove.

“You're bossy when you're making potions.” He notes. | raise an eyebrow.

“I let you help with a potion and you're complaining?” | ask incredulously. He's been constantly hanging around and asking questions. Isn't this what he wanted? He wavesaway casually.

“Oh hell no, I'm not complaining. It's hot. I'm just pointing it out.” He winks andand I fall silent. How am | supposed to respond to that? | choose to ignore him and focus on the potion. | finish adding the magic.

“Now what?” Harry asks. The potion is a bubblegum pink colour and it’s just about to come. to a boil.

“It’s almost done.” | tell him patiently. Five minutes later the potion is more of a pastel pink and | turn off the stove. | clap my hands together.

“Okay, now for the fun part. Grab a spoonful of the potion. DON'T drink it!” | say firmly.

Harry carefully scoops up a spoonful of the jelly like potion.

“What do I do with it?” Harry asks. I grin.

“Use the spoon and flick it into the air.” | gesture in the general direction of the door, away from where we are both standing.

“Seriously? Won't that make a mess?” He asks warily.

“Just do it, you'll see.” | promise. Harry shrugs and flings the potion into the air. Within a few moments of being airborne the potion changes from liquid to gas and basically turns into a miniature, pastel pink and very glittery cloud. Harry stares at it wide-eyed.

“Woah, that's awesome. It kind of looks like a little kid's dream decorations for sunicorn princess themed party. What exactly IS the potion?” He asks. | laugh at his description. He isn’t wrong.

“It's technically a distraction spell, intended for battles and a quick getaway, or to use as a 3/4 Cam 22- Glitter and gimmicks distraction. Traditionally, it’s a dull colour and doesn’t have any glitter, but it does a great job of obscuring vision.

But | think it’s more fun like this, and probably even more distracting. | thought this up ages ago and just never got around to testing it.” | explain. | scoop a spoonful of potion and fling it into the air, giggling as it turns to mist.

“How long does it last?” Harry queries.

“Probably only five minutes or so. It would last longer if | added more magic but | didn’t see the point.” “Fair enough...” Harry trails off thoughtfully as he watches the first cloud begin to dissipate.

“Have you ever considered creating magical decorations for the bar? Like your colourful magic lanterns, or glittery clouds for special events. You did call the place ‘Witches Booze‘. Why not lean into the aesthetic. Magic is pretty inaccessible for most people so | bet it would draw customers.” He reasons.

“That's... actually not a bad idea. I'll have to brainstorm up sideas. Different decorations for different occasions and ones that | can produce reliably for everyday.” This might actually be pretty cool. I've been trying to work out a way to make my bar stand out from all the others, and for bonus points, my family would HATE it.

I'm suddenly determined to make it happen. Harry beams at me, thrilled that | approve of his idea.

“Can | help?” He asks excitedly.

“You had better, you're the only assistant I've got!”