As Dangerous As It Is Wondrous
Huey, Dewey, and Louie Duck are being watched over by their pseudo aunt and watch her as she cleans their house boat with magic. The three boys get curious about the magic and want to learn more. Their aunt wishes them for them to understand the dangers of magic and appreciate the wonders.
Tags:
Warnings: Mentions of deaths, a graveyard
Word Count: 2935
“Wow Auntie! You can use magic so easily!” The red hat-wearing triplet exclaimed as his brothers and self watched their pseudo aunt easily cleaned the houseboat with only a few swishes of her wand. “How does it work?”
“Huey, not everything is super scientific.” The triplet wearing his trademark green sweater told his brother.
“Now now Louie, no need to say that. Even magic has a science to it.” Their aunt spoke, as the couch was set back into place. “And as for your question Huey, it all depends on the kind of magic I use.” She swished her wand again and the boys watched as that old stain on the counter left of the stove vanished away.
“The kind of magic?” The blue clothed triplet asked while a mop sprung up and started doing its job on the small kitchen floor.
“Yes kind of magic Dewey. By kind, I mean the universe in which this magic comes from. The magic I am using right now stems from a universe where the magical world is completely shut off from the mundane.” The dishes were starting to wash themselves and laundry was quickly being folded up. “Most of the magic is focused through wands but not just any wand.”
“Uh?” The three boys looked at each other in confusion but waited for their aunt to continue,
“Each wand is as unique as you and I. You will never find two wands that are exactly alike - even ones made from the same materials. ‘The wand chooses the wizard.’ the old wandmaker would say.” Their aunt sat down as the mopping finished up. She looked down at the wooden wand in her hands. The carving work turned the wood from a stick into a wand. For their aunt the wavy handle would sit comfortably in her right hand even when gripping it ‘till her fingers were stiff. The boys could see the grain of the wood, larch wood she told them once, even through the aging polish. The wand was old but well loved and cared for. Their aunt was very fond of her larch wand with a phoenix feather core. A phoenix’s feather resided in the twelve and a half inch wand! She had once shown them how she took care of her wand. The same one she had gotten when she was just eleven years old.
“To use the magic that is focused through this wand, one must have three key points to achieve a spell.” Their aunt took out a simple wooden match; they have seen this spell before, the trick of turning a match into a sewing needle. The match was placed on the table in which the small family gathered around for the spell.
“In order to change the match into a needle, I must first know the spell name and the wand movements so the magic can be manipulated correctly. The second thing to know is what you want the magic to do - do you want the match to vanish? Or do you want the match to change its size?”
“Is it the same with changing the match into a needle?” Huey asked even as Louie poked the match.
“Yes. But the final step is to picture exactly what is the goal. So to change this match into a sewing needle, I must envision the type of needle that the match becomes. How long is said needle, how sharp will the needle be, and how shiny will it be.” And then with a quick swish of her wand, its tip pointing at the match, the triplets watched in complete fascination as the wood changed into metal. They stared at the match head shifting into the eye, how the red melted into the rest of the silver. The other end of the match sharpened into the point of the new needle.
Dewey picked up the newly transformed needle with the same child-like wonder that his brothers had.
"How come you didn’t say the spell?” Huey asked while looking into his aunt’s stormy blue grey eyes. The question got the attention of his brothers. It was fascinating to see the magic at work but their aunt hadn’t said the spell name.
“I did say it but not out loud. Well not highly trained wizards and witches of that universe can use nonverbal magic - very advanced magic that not many can master; it involves thinking of the spell’s name and wand movements along with the other two steps too as well.” The three triplets’ eyes widen with amazement. Their aunt could do all that mental work without worry! It was amazing to know that she could do so much in order to make her life a little easier.
“Could you turn the needle into gold?” Louie asked with that schmeing glint in his eyes. Huey seemed to be wondering the science behind the magic but also how it could help other people out. Dewey seemed to be thinking about the adventures and dangers that the boys could get into and how the magic can get them out of it. If they were to look up, the triplets would see the worry in their aunt’s eyes, the tired shadows under her eyes as well that darkened at the idea of the boys using magic as an all powerful weapon or tool. The “answer” to every question and to every situation they may face. Magic could do so many wonderful things but it was as dangerous as it was great. Much like science or guns wielded by people, it could be used to kill. Their aunt had seen magic be used to kill. To slaughter so many innocent lives - to rip apart families.
“Boys, you do know that magic can’t solve everything and can even cause more problems right?” Dewey brushed her off,
“How can something so amazing not be an answer to anything?”
"Well, many people would argue that with many technological advances.” Huey pointed out to his blue cladded brother. Louie only raised an eyebrow as his brother started to debate the good and the bad of modern technology.
“So how much gold could you change things into?”
“Louie, I am not going to transmogrify any of your items into gold. Magic should not be a cheat to hard work. And even if I did, I am not very good at Transfiguration: anything bigger than my hand will change back to its original form after a while.”
Louie grew a pout and stuffed his hands into his sweater’s single front pocket. He wasn’t really angry, just annoyed that he wasn’t able to cheat his way to riches. The boys’ aunt chuckled at Louie’s face. The way the boy’s green eyes screwed up in frustration, how his bill got those frown creases around his cheeks. Despite his chill exterior, Louie was really the most emotional of the triplets. Now, that wasn’t to say that the other two weren’t emotional, Huey and Dewey were still ten like Louie. The two older triplets just didn’t react as emotionally as Louie did.
The triplets’ aunt looked over the three boys and got up. Huey and Dewey stopped their argument to watch her walk over to her magic chest. Louie made eye contact with his brothers before looking at the oldest person. The woman said nothing but motioned for the three to follow her down the stairs in the chest. Their aunt’s magic chest was like a portable home. It had five separate compartments that all functioned differently but the most used compartment had a cat’s face attached to its plate. This compartment had a large living room complete with a wide screen TV and quite a few game consoles plus games. The compartment was also fitted with a master bedroom, a master bathroom, a fairly large kitchen, and a dining room. It was a mansion compared to the houseboat that the boys grew up on.
The boys would love to have their own magical chest too but their Uncle Donald told their aunt to not give them one. She had to promise Donald that she wouldn't get them a chest. Their aunt did later tell them that maybe in the future they’d get one but as of right now.
“Do you know what this is?” She had led them to her bedroom, the place where she kept some of the coolest items she collected/created. Their aunt held up a fairly large gold ring - one that had a faint ethereal glow to it.
“A gold ring?”
“No it’s her dimensional rift ring! You told us about it when you and Uncle Donald were talking about some dimensions that you had visited!” Huey answered with great enthusiasm. The red cladded triplet was bouncing with anticipation to see the ring at work. Huey’s brothers looked more skeptical than him but looked at their aunt all the same.
“Right Huey. Now, I know that your Uncle Donald doesn’t want you three to do anything dangerous but I believe that to understand the wonder of something, like magic, you must understand the dangers as well.” Their aunt speaks before throwing her dimensional rift ring to the side. The ring created a window to the other dimension but only their aunt would know exactly where they would end up.
“Now, where we are going will change your appearance quite a lot. Your feathers will become skin and hair and your bills will become more ape like.” Their aunt explained as she walked to the rift. Huey, Dewey, and Louie followed her while she explained the changes that will happen so they could fit into the other universe - universal defenses when beings from another crossover. Their aunt told them that the three would change into humans from ducks. Human, that was their aunt’s birth form but when in the triplet’s universe, she was a brown furred cat. It be interesting to see what their aunt looked like in her birth form but also what the brothers would look like.
And so, the family walked through the portal and ended up in a graveyard. The brothers took a moment to look at each other. Huey still had his red hat and shirt plus tie combo but now had light brown - almost tan - pants on. No longer did the oldest triplet have white feathers instead his skin now was fairly dark in color and blonde hair. The second oldest brother, Dewey, still had his blue outfit that now had blue jeans added to it. Dewey’s hair and skin were very similar to Huey’s. Louie had new grey sweatpants added to his mostly green attire. While Louie’s hair was the same color as his brothers’, Louie’s skin looked lighter than theirs but that may have been his sweater’s fault.
After having examined each other, the brothers turned toward their aunt. Long wavy brown hair was tied into her usual high ponytail; brown fur was now fairly pale peach colored skin. (“Her fur reflects her hair” Huey muttered) She still had her blue jacket and black shirt but now she had some soft looking black pants. Her eyes were still the same grey - blue storms but with the pale skin, the brothers could see the extent to her late night workings. The baggy shadows that weighed down on her eyes. And yet, their aunt’s eyes would glisten with the sparks of happiness when she caught them looking at her.
“So,” Louie began while drawing out the o, “Why are we here in a graveyard?”
“To understand that magic is very dangerous and can harm you if you treat it as a toy. You must also understand that magic can’t cure everything and how some diseases are born from magic as well.” Their aunt replied as she walked deeper into the final resting place of many. The boys followed her as quickly as they could. They are still children after all and graveyards can be very scary. As the family walked about, each of them would stop in front of a headstone where their aunt would tell the boys how the person died. Some were killed by magic directly - magical spells like the killing curse that were created just for that task she had said. Some were killed by magic fighting itself and the person getting caught in the fight - like the woman who was killed in an explosion that was caused by a spell and potion not working well together. One woman was killed by what was basically the magical version of cancer and no one knew how to cure it even with magic. And then there was one of the worst and sickening deaths - a young girl not much older than the boys.
She had been killed by her own magic. The magic within the girl had never been properly trained which would cause it to lash out and drove the girl to insanity. The young life was lost one day in late winter by her mundane mother - with the girl’s magic having killed her in her sleep. That was the only good thing that came from that death - the girl had died in her sleep almost peacefully. When asking what happened to the girl’s mother the boys learned that in grief the mother would strive to have four powerful magicals come together and create a school in which young magical children would learn how to properly train their magic as the girl’s death would never happen again.
The trip to the graveyard of the magical humans was quite sobering for the triplets. It didn’t take the wonder out of this incredible power but it did remind the three that magic - much like science - wasn’t all knowing and very dangerous when people weren’t properly trained or even when people were properly trained. As quickly as the family came to the graveyard, they had to leave. Before leaving, Huey asked if he and his brothers could leave some flowers for each of the headstones. Their aunt liked that idea and conjured up flowers for each of the boys for the graves. Huey received violets, in which are used to communicate peace, devotion, loyalty and healing to others. Dewey got a bunch of beautiful peace lilies, which were used as a sign for peace, prosperity, and the afterlife. Louie started putting the white poppies he had gotten on the graves. When asked why white poppies, their aunt answered that white poppies were symbols of remembrance of war, peace, and are said to bring peace and tranquility to homes.
Back at home, Huey made notes on any proper training techniques and tips that his aunt was willing to share. Dewey and Louie would listen closely to their older brother and their aunt as so they knew what to do if they had a (unlikely) chance to face dangerous magic. The boys may not have magic themselves; their aunt was able to give them a bracelet each to practice magic with a simple practice wand. Their aunt encouraged their learning of magic and didn’t want to hinder that drive. The only rule to learning magic was that the three were to practice using it when she was around so she could either help them with anything that they were stuck on or to keep them safe if the magic got out of control.
“Boys, I am back!” Donald yelled out as he entered the houseboat. His nephews ran up to their uncle and father figure to greet him plus ask him how his day was. Donald gave a positive reply before sharing a hug with his pseudo sister. The older duck thanked the female cat for looking after the boys, which she only said that it was a pleasure to look after them while the father figure went to his job interview. Of course, Uncle Donald did want to know how the day had treated his family. Taking turns, Huey, Dewey, and Louie told their uncle about their day and the four of them went to another dimension. Yeah, Donald wasn’t happy with his sister taking the boys away like that. She was able to calm the angry duck down and explained that the boys were safe with her. No one was going to tell Donald that the place they had gone to a graveyard - none of them wanted to see how mad the older duck would get if that bit of information got out.
The boys, with permission from their aunt, began to show Donald any magic that they had learned. Huey used a lighting spell well under the sink - it lit up a small break in the pipes, something that was quickly fixed by their aunt. Louie used a levitation spell to slowly take one of their uncle’s potted plants down and then put it back into place. Dewey got to show Donald the transformation of a match into a sewing needle. All of which were first year level spells but the boy’s uncle was still proud of them. Their uncle did get confirmation that the triplets would only use and practice magic when their aunt was around which did relieve much of Donald’s anxieties.
Soon, the boys got shooed to their room by their uncle so the two adults could begin making dinner - their aunt insisted on helping Donald out. Whenever Aunt Caroline was over, Huey, Dewey, and Louie got to learn so much stuff. Today the brother got to learn that magic was just as dangerous as it is wondrous.
