For a moment everyone in the cottage sat in silence. Then the door creaked open and the chilled air threaded through the room. A red-cheeked woman wrapped in a woolen shawl paused at the threshold and peered around the room.
“Where am I?” she asked.
Mattie rushed to her. “Henrietta Blunt! Thank goodness. You’ve returned!” Mattie grabbed her and pulled her close. “Are you alone?”
“No, Blacksmith Twillager and Baker Mina Stout are outside. They sent me in to find out if we’d really come home.”
Mattie released Henrietta and smiled. “You’ve really come home. Now tell Twillager and Mina to go back to the village and spread the word. The Timelock has been fixed. All is well again. It’s safe for people to go about their normal business.”
As Henrietta left, Rush shook hands with Snipe. “Well, the portal’s ready for you. My job’s done. Hope you’ll come back and if you do, ask for me as your Guide.”
“Absolutely. There’s a lot I’d still like to see in your century,” Snipe said.
At the door Rush stepped aside and let Margaret Kingsley slip past him. “Good day, everyone,” she said, her eyes searching until she spied Snipe.
“Margaret!” Snipe went to her and she held out a paper for him. “A Time Traveler Passport. You’re coming with me?” he asked.
“I’m very interested in the future where I think I might fit quite nicely.”
Weasel shook his head. “Mushy stuff.”
“Thanks, Pete,” Snipe said, and he guided Margaret through the door.
She glanced back, waved at Pete, then she and Snipe vanished.
The Glopp sisters filed by, hugging Pete and Weasel goodbye, their scratchy wool shawls rubbing against the boys’ cheeks.
When they’d gone, Mattie busied herself tidying up the table and setting her cottage back in order. “Haven’t had this much company in years. Quite tiring, really.” She bustled into the kitchen with the teapot.
Dr. Wraith pushed himself onto his feet. “So, now things are back as they should be.” He laid a hand on Pete’s shoulder. “And I want them to stay that way. Understood?”
“Understood,” Pete said.
“Well, then off you go.” Dr. Wraith bent to look under the table. “You, too, Fanon. Back to where you belong.” He pointed to the open door.
Pete started out, Weasel and Fanon next to him, then he stopped. “Thanks,” he said to Dr. Wraith.
“I just did my job.”
Mattie stuck her head out from the kitchen nook. “Tell those Hadleyville witches they owe me a visit. It has been a very long time since I’ve seen any relatives from the future. I really want to see that aunt of yours, Pete.”
Mattie and Aunt Lizzie would hit it off. Pete was sure of that. He waved and stepped out of the Stranglewood Cottage door.
Pete stared up at the full moon that poured its clear white light over him. When he moved, the grass prickled his back. He sat up, looking around. The cottage was gone and so were all the people he’d just been with. He was in front of Weasel’s house, on Weasel’s lawn. He glanced down at his feet and his tennis shoes. His favorite jeans were back, too and when he touched his head, the cap Mattie had conjured up wasn’t there.
“Hey, Weaze. Where are you?”
“Right. Here.” Weasel’s voice came from a few feet away. “Your landings aren’t getting any better. Just so you know.”
“We made it home. Look!” Pete pointed at the familiar front porch. His bike was on its side, the wheels still spinning from when he’d dropped it and tried to escape from the moon that had gone crazy. “We’re back in our own century!”
Weasel got to his feet and headed up the steps to his house.
Pete followed at his back. “Aren’t you going to say something?”
“Like what?”
“I don’t know. Thanks?”
“You are kidding, right?”
“Fine. Great. Next time I get to do something fantastic, like see a queen get crowned or something like that, I’m taking somebody who’ll appreciate it.”
“Thank you,” Weasel said.
“That’s better.”
“Not for getting me stuck in 1837, for asking somebody else next time.” Weasel opened his front door and stepped inside. “I’m going to bed now. Do not throw any rocks at my window. Do not come here if you screw up another spell.”
“So you don’t want me here anymore.”
“I want you here when you’re not in trouble. Try that for a change, okay?”
“Whatever.” Pete grabbed up his bike. “You’ll get bored or you’ll get hungry for Aunt Lizzie’s pot roast. Trust me.”
“Trust you. Right.” Weasel closed the door, but then opened it again and stuck his head out. “Pete?”
“I’m still here.”
“I liked seeing the coronation, and” —Weasel looked up at the moon—“you, uh, well, in the end you did good.” The door closed again, and in a few moments, his bedroom light went out.
Weasel had just said he’d done something right. “Well, okay.” He grinned and squared his shoulders. “I knew he’d come around.”
He wasn’t the best wizard, but he wasn’t a total failure if Weaze said so.
Now he had one more little problem. He had to sneak back into Aunt Lizzie’s without waking her up. He pedaled fast. He’d have to slip under that Encircling Spell and up to his bedroom. He’d sneaked out okay. He should be able to sneak back in.
But as he turned the corner, he knew he was busted. All the lights were on at his aunt’s house, and she stood on the front porch. Next to her Harriet Hadley paced, her long, thin shadow reaching out across the walkway.
He couldn’t go back to Weasel’s. He couldn’t hide out in the swamp for long. He might as well face those two right now and get it over with. He biked up to the ramp that was still there for Miss Gladys and her motorized chair, but he didn’t swoop up the way he usually did. Instead, he dropped his bike on the lawn and walked up the steps. He thought, Gallows ahead.
He didn’t look them in the eyes as he said, “Sorry.”
“Yes. I believe you are,” Harriet said. “You almost didn’t make it back, you know.”
Now he looked up. “I know.”
Aunt Lizzie held him by the shoulders and said, “Oh, Pete. You might have been trapped. Think how terrible that would be for me and what about Weasel’s parents or Cenozo? Fanon is quite dear to him.” She wiped her eyes. “What am I to do with you?”
He hated to answer that question, but he knew what he should say. His aunt had threatened it often enough. “Send me to Widdleton Military Academy?”
“That’s a possibility,” Harriet said, “but instead I believe doubling up on the lessons at the mansion might serve us better.”
“Doubling?”
“Indeed. You still need more structure and you still need more guidance. I’m here to give you both.” She marched down the steps. “Now I’m off to visit Cenozo and make sure Fanon is safe. Reports are that he had a hard landing.” She gave Pete a sharp look.
“Sorry.” He needed a different word. That one wasn’t enough for saying how he felt.
“Oh one more thing before I go.” Harriet looked up at him. “I was quite pleased that you didn’t resort to any magic during this little journey. For that you are to be congratulated. You’ve made a giant step forward in your training.”
“But I think I did something. I didn’t mean to. It just happened.” He was about to tell on himself. That was a first, and it felt weird. The real Pete Riley wouldn’t ever turn snitch, especially when it might mean quadrupling his wizard lessons instead of only doubling them. He was about to tell how he’d hissed and snapped like a real alligator and sprouted some significant teeth.
“What?” Harriet asked. “Oh, you’re referring to the red-eyed alligator moment.” She grinned. “Fanon did that. He asked to save you, and as a reward for at least following one rule for a change, I said he could. His telepathy is really remarkable for such a young familiar. He reached me in seconds and didn’t create so much as a ripple in the Timelock when he gave you that bit of assistance.”
Before Pete could say thanks, Harriet strode through the opening in Aunt Lizzie’s hedge and disappeared into the swamp.