Polyjuice Potion

Amar cast a sidelong glance at Anu’s hunched figure.

- Sarvamitra

“Uff. Not again!” It was the nth time Anu was reading Harry Potter. No, not just one book but the entire series of seven books. If not for those wretched books, his sister would have dragged him to the ground to play basketball, or made him cry just for fun, or scolded him to act like a grownup or tickled him endlessly till he had a stomach ache. This Harry Potter fanatic Anu was no fun.

With nothing else to do, he picked up the sports section and out flew his escape from boredom—a flyer. The flyer was an announcement of the launch of a new toy store and the Halloween Party accompanying it.

Come Dressed in Your Halloween Best. Perform in Your Chosen Vest. Bag Prizes. Steal the Show.

“Anu ... Anu ...” Amar thrust the paper under her nose. Anu gave a cursory glance.

“Dress-ups are for babies,” she murmured and buried her nose again.

“Best Costume and Best Halloween performance get prizes.” Amar tried again. Anu didn’t bat an eyelid.

Amar looked at the set of frayed and tattered-by-overuse Harry Potter books sitting on Anu’s shelf. “O books, I curse you to be eaten by rats.”

And that was when he hit upon a brilliant idea.

Amar sneaked up to Anu. “Reading Harry Potter is fun, I am sure,” he whispered in her ears. Anu swatted him off like a fly.

“Dreaming about it would be awesome too,” he continued after a pause. Anu rolled her eyes.

“But I am also one hundred per cent sure that nothing can beat …” Amar peeked at Anu, confirming that she was listening to him. He stopped mid-sentence.

“What?” Anu asked.

“What ‘what’?” Amar feigned ignorance.

Anu fumed, “Amar, nothing can beat ‘what’?”

Amar smiled. His idea worked. This was his chance to get Anu to do something fun with him. “Nothing can beat making all those potions and curses you read about in those very pages.”

Anu’s eyes sparkled.