Page 70 of Practically Magic

Mom sighs. “I had the strangest sensation that I was needed, but then when midnight came, I felt more settled and knew everything was well.”

Harry and I look at one another as Aunt Viv pours tea and the teacup stirs itself with a spoon. “I can honestly say it brought us closer together,” I say.

“I couldn’t agree more,” Harry agrees.

“How is Grams?” I ask. “And Grampa?”

“They’re good, Kitty Kat,” Dad says. “They miss you both and are going to join us for Samhain next year for sure.”

“We can do the rituals with Grams. Together.”

Mom looks at us curiously. “So where did you bury the rope? I want to add Grams’s and mine to the site to strengthen the magic even more.”

“You didn’t bury yours?” I ask, panic flaring.

“You’re supposed to,” Harry adds, sounding equally nervous. “I thought they needed to go in dirt immediately.”

“They did,” Dad says, pulling a Ziploc bag of dirt out of his carry-on bag and holding it up proudly before staring lovingly at my mom. “Your mother is the best witch I know.”

Mom wipes her mouth with a napkin and stands up. “You are too sweet, my love. Let’s take care of that now. So where is the hole?” Mom asks.

My aunts, Harry, and I look at each other.

“For that, dear sister, we need to take a field trip,” Aunt Viv says. “We buried the knots at the Croft monument in town.”

“Why would you do that?” Mom asks. “We always do the rituals here at the house.”

“Well, this year,” Aunt Diane says, her eyes flashing in my direction, “Kat and Harry helped us realize there is always room for spell improvement.”

“But . . . in the center of town? Where everyone can see?” Mom asks, confused.

Mom looks at me and I realize there is no point denying this part. I glance Harry’s way and she nods in agreement, as if she’s heard my thoughts. “Yep! Why don’t we show you?”

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New post from Jackie Rogers: It’s November 1st! Halloween is over! When are you taking down your decorations, people?

“I don’t know why we never thought to do this before,” Mom marvels as we stand in front of the restored Harold Croft monument in the center of the town square a short while later.

It’s close to dinnertime and dusk is settling over Mystic Hollow, giving the town the best of magical feels with a sky that is popping with autumnal colors.

“I can feel the magic here in a way I actually don’t in the house,” Mom continues. “You girls are right. This must be the point in town where magic is the strongest with Beatrice’s spell book here. It’s the beating heart of our town. With all this love for Mystic Hollow . . . it’s perfect.”

“It was Kat’s idea,” Harry says as she pulls her green sweater tightly around her body to block the breeze. “When she suggested it, I was like, how can I refuse when she’s so right?” Harry grins mischievously at me.

“Sweetheart, I’m so proud of you,” Mom says to me as Dad grabs a trowel and begins digging in the spot we told him to.

The aunts restored the base to its original design with one improvement—a panel that will pop out if we ever need to reach Beatrice’s spell book again.

I sink into her hug, happy for the praise, while my eyes are still on my sister. “Well, I couldn’t have done it without Harry.” The two of us wink.

It’s a perfect fall afternoon. The green is packed with people enjoying the weather, and that includes droves of tourists. I’ve heard that the leaf-peeping tours have sold out for the rest of the year; the carnival has extended its stay, and lines snake all the way from the school parking lot to the green. And Witches Brew has been a madhouse, so packed I haven’t even tried to set foot inside.

Well, that, and I’m scared of running into Zach. I’m scared of how he’ll treat me, now that magic was fixed. My sister undid her spell with help from the aunts, who are experts at undoing magic, and she told me she’s going to reach out to Jack and see if he remembers. Now I’m not a boy magnet or completely invisible.

I’m just Kat.