Duck, Duck, Wizard Solo Reopened

Friday: August 24, 2018 | 4:30 pm

He knew there was some jealousy, he speculated. Even if it was only a fraction of a percent. If he were in his Muggle siblings’ shoes, Andrew thought, he’d probably feel a little jealous about being left out of the “magic circle” too. While his parents and siblings had been nothing but excited and supportive towards the prospect of Andrew becoming a “professional wizard” and going to Hogwarts… Compared to the rest of his family, Andrew felt the guiltiest about being the only one with magical abilities. He wished he could do something to make up for it, to show his brother and sister that, no matter what, the three of them were still a team. He was still the same old Andy. No amount of magic would change that.

Inside the Vance family house, Andrew cracked open the door to his nine-year old brother’s room, which was the attic that had been renovated into Kyle’s bedroom.

“Hey, what’cha doing?” Andrew stepped inside the room to observe Kyle reclining in a chair, folding a puffed origami heart, with a small pile of them assembled on his desk.

“Makin’ hearts,” Kyle replied, focused on his paper-folding task. “All the girls want one, in my class. I sell one for 20 pence.”

“Seriously?... So that’s how you buy lunch.” Andrew chuckled. Even though the Vance siblings packed their own lunches for school, Kyle had managed to acquire his own funds to sneak in a weekly lunch at the cafeteria. Already he was on the path to becoming an entrepreneur.

“I wanna give something to you and Stacy, but we need her here, too,” Andrew said, ushering Kyle to come along with him.

Locating Stacy in her bedroom, Andrew reached his right hand inside his sweater pocket, while Stacy and Kyle waited eagerly in suspense.

“Alright. I wanna give you guys this.” Retracting his right hand, Andrew held out a blue toy car, extending it to his brother and sister. It was the same flying car that Emma Hill had given to Andrew as a late-birthday present, nearly five months ago. Currently, the car sat unmoving in Andrew’s palm, where it would remain lifeless until tossed in the air, when it would sprout invisible wings and take flight.

“Really? For keeps?” Kyle’s eyes lit up with surprise. He plucked the car from Andrew’s hand. Unable to resist the urge, Kyle launched the car into the air, watching it glide up and down around Stacy’s room.

“But it’s yours.” Stacy hesitated concernedly, flicking her gaze at Andrew. “Emma gave it to you.”

“I know.” Andrew shifted from one leg to the other. “But I want you guys to have it, when I’m away at school… you know… so you can remember me by.” Was that a weird thing to do? It wasn’t like he was dying or vanishing or leaving them forever. He just wanted to share with his siblings. His experiences would be their experiences. Letting Stacy and Kyle keep the toy car was Andrew’s way of saying that he would always be with them, that he didn’t need to keep all of the magic to himself, by taking the toy with him. After everything that had happened, Andrew felt it was only fair. He’d let his siblings hold onto a bit of magic, while he was away. Hopefully there wasn’t any harm in that.

“Yeah…” Stacy hopped off her bed excitedly. “We should give you something too! So you can remember me and Kyle, when you’re away.”

The fourteen-year old began sifting through her vast collection of model horses (equines of all species, both real and mythical) that were displayed on various surfaces throughout her room – bookshelves, dresser, desk – until she picked up one particular model that would be both compact and durable enough for Andrew to pack in his suitcase, yet also resemble her most, in spirit.

“Take this one.” Stacy held out a figurine, daintily between her hands, and passed it to Andrew. A pure white unicorn foal with a golden horn, lavender mane and tail (Stacy’s favorite color), and floral curlicue designs along its coat. It was made of a cheaper, more flexible plastic that wouldn’t be easily broken during transport, but no less detailed in its paint job. The model itself was only 6 centimeters tall – small enough for Andrew to bring along. “Let me know if you see any real unicorns, okay?” Stacy pleaded.

“‘Course, I will,” Andrew assured.

“What’re you gonna give Andy, Kyle?” Stacy turned to her little brother. “Maybe something origami?”

“Uh... I can give you a heart?” Kyle’s eyes were distracted by the toy car, which he then caught in his hands as it floated towards him.

“Paper might get crushed, though,” Stacy pointed out.

“I can make a flat heart. Oh, wait!” Kyle struck an idea. “What about a bookmark? I’ll make a wolf, ‘cause wolves are awesome.” He sped off without further word, stealing the toy car with him.

A few hours later that evening, Kyle came running into Andrew’s room, clutching his creation and handing it to his brother.

“Finished. D’you like it?” He waited with a bubbly grin on his face.

Sitting at his desk, Andrew twirled the gray, square-shaped bookmark in his hands. It had two pointed ears and some jagged-cut edges resembling fur patches, with the distinct face and moon yellow gaze of a wolf painted in with acrylics. Impressive handiwork for a nine-year old.

“Yeah, it’s really cool,” Andrew commented. “I’ll use it for my textbook.” He grabbed his copy of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (which he had been reading a lot, as of late) and capped the bookmark onto the corner of the last page he left off, which fitted perfectly. “Thanks, bro. Now I won’t forget ‘cha.”

Not leaving right away, Kyle lingered for a moment and sighed wistfully. “I wish I was a wizard,” he pined, dejectedly. “I wanna do cool things too.”

Andrew scoffed at himself. “What cool things?”

“Like what you did with the wand, back at the shop.”

“You mean like, start a fire and break some windows?” Andrew laced his reply with sarcasm.

“Kinda.” Kyle giggled, remembering the “accidents” at Ollivanders. “But you’re gonna learn other things too, right?” He pouted, crestfallen. “I wish I could go.”

Sharp, bitter feelings surfaced within Andrew, aching in sympathy for his brother. “Me too. It sucks why we have to do things separately. Wish you could visit.” He didn’t understand what the big deal was, not letting Muggles into the wizarding world. Why couldn’t the two just get along? Then there would be no need for hiding or secrecy.

“Remember, you can’t show the car to anyone,” Andrew warned his brother for the umpteenth time. “Only you, Stacy, Mom, and Dad. Don’t bring it to school ever. Keep it in the house.”

“I know, I won’t show anyone.” Kyle rolled his eyes.

“Hey, you’re my protection,” Andrew emphasized, highlighting that Kyle had a special purpose as well. “You have to protect me from everyone that… won’t like me for what I can do now.” He pointed out, “You know all this stuff about magic that no one else can ever know. Thanks to me,” he joked.

Kyle chuckled. While he still wasn’t over the debate about not being able to see the rest of the wizarding world like his brother, Kyle felt a little better, knowing that Andrew could at least count on him for something (not spilling the wizard secret), while he was away. Time passes slower when you’re young. From Kyle’s point of view, three months felt like ages, before he would get to see Andrew again for Christmas.

“Can we finish Zero Panic before you go?” Kyle asked hopefully.

“Sure.” Andrew rose up from his chair, grinning. “We got all weekend.”

The two brothers snacked on popcorn as they sat in front of the video game console, where they played all night, to the very last level.