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Description
Ding dong ding dong, ding dong ding dong! The doorbell of the quaint shack bellows, completely drowning out the swarms of children dressed as monsters and princesses that ran amok in the dark, almost unsupervised by their distracted parents. The shack's door creaks open, emitting a faint light from inside the dingy walls.
"Hello?" An old voice croaks out. I see a single eye, vividly hazel and piercing. I smile, flashing my naturally pearly whites.
"Yes, Mister Montgomery, is it?" I ask. The door opens wider, revealing a tall frame, with a thick torso. As my eyes adjust to the light, I can make out the crow's-feet around the man's eyes.
"Indeed, although you may call me Howard." The old man steps back, gesturing me inside. I smile and notice that the street full of children had faded away, leaving us as the only two people in a dark infinity. I walk through the doorframe and the dim light brightens, revealing a bright pink interior. Walls a pastel rose color, with white trimming around every doorway and floor. The floor was a dark spruce, waxed and polished to perfection, as though nobody ever walked upon it.
In the reflection, I see a small plaque. Looking up to the wall, I see it in it's fullness, surrounded by tens- no, hundreds!- of tightly spaced wall decorations. I see a cuckoo clock dominating the center of the wall, slowly ticking. As I stare into it, I get lost in it's counter-clockwise spin. I shake my head and snap out of it. Counter-clockwise? I turn around and notice the deep purple furniture. A long couch, velvet upholstery smooth from countless years of sitting. Angled away were three separate recliners. All but one seat was occupied, with cats. Three Siamese conquer the recliners, poised like royalty. On the couch were two small kittens, both tabby, curled up against a calico laying on her side.
"This is quite a collection you've got there, Howard." I say. He smiles and nods.
"Indeed, I put up every award that I or anybody in my family have earned on this wall." He states.
"You have a family? I thought you lived as a hermit without kids. That's what your registration says." I begin to pull out my file on the Montgomery household. All of a sudden, the largest Siamese leaps up and tackles me, sending me to the floor. I almost choke on the dander when Howard claps his hands twice.
"Jeremy, enough!" The cat suddenly morphs into a human shape- a stocky young man, probably in his late twenties, with familiar hazel eyes.
"Dad! We always did this though! With every other witch that came through here! Why is this one so different?" Jeremy interrogates. I brush myself off and stand.
"Sir, what is going on here?" I ask Howard. Howard sighs and claps his hands several more times. One by one each cat morphs into a human. The remaining Siamese morph into a man and a woman, the calico into a woman, and the two kittens into a couple of young boys.
"Look, Agent... what'd you say your name was?" He asks.
"I didn't. The name's Agent Hawthorn, Jesse Hawthorn." I say, offering my hand. "I work in the Department of Household Demographics, and today happens to be your biennial census. The last Agent to do this for you was likely my predecessor, Agent Elfrazer. Except she disappeared sometime after submitting her report on this household." I explain. Howard smiles and flicks his hand, latching his front door. As soon as the lock clicked, the interior doorways shut, effectively trapping me inside the den.
"Well, it's a secret that I've kept hidden well-enough. I can't have magical children." Howard explains. "Despite the petitions and action, our community still puts taxes on non-magical relatives of the household. My wife and I, we've disguised our children, and eventually our grandchildren as cats. Recently my wife passed so it's just been myself. Therefore I could keep you officials off of my back by appearing as a hermit with a cat obsession whenever you people arrive." He takes a breath. "Furthermore, I was going to let you go after updating my file. Until my son-in-law Jeremy pounced on you. Now you can't ever leave." He takes an even deeper breath and begins chanting. Immediately I begin to feel different, as if I'm stiffening from the inside out. I breath deeply and begin to chant a counter-curse. Softly at first, Howard fails to notice my murmuring. As I grow louder, Howard tries to drown me out with his chant.
I quickly become even louder than Howard and begin to feel the effects reverse. Encouraged, I chant even louder, eventually silencing Howard, who cowers in the corner. Once the hex finally comes to its completion, I hear a loud *POP* behind me. I turn and see a person standing there that wasn't there before. I notice the badge and read the name: E. Elfrazer.
"Eli! You're alive after all! We thought you'd disappeared and died! We need to get out of here." I exclaim, grabbing Eli's hand, rushing for the door. I unlock it and step onto the porch, once again surrounded by the bustling neighborhood of children. I glance at my watch, almost no time has passed out here.
"Jesse! What are you doing here? How'd you find me?" Eli asks me. I take Eli's hand and lead them off the porch. I lean behind the hedge and grab my broomstick.
"Hop on, Ellie. I'll explain as we fly. Right now we should leave because this house is about to be destroyed by hundreds of other wizards trapped like you had been!" I climb aboard and Eli follows myself, gripping the handle tightly as we take off.
"Now, it all started after you were cursed to be a plaque on that wall. The Congress appointed me as your successor in light of your disappearance. Now I came back to the Montgomery house to for their biennial update-" Eli interrupts me.
"Wait, so it's been two years since then? It felt like a few hours!" Eli exclaims. I scan Eli's body.
"Well, it looks like it too. Now, yes, two years have passed. Apparently Mister Montgomery was just outraged at the government for taxing his non-magical relatives. He apparently couldn't have magical kids, so he disguised them as cats whenever witches outside of the family came to visit..." We zoom even higher through the atmosphere and Eli cuddles up to me like we used to as the cityscapes pass by under us every minute, all the while the moon sets on the horizon, bringing up a new day on the earth.