Family Portrait, pt 2: # 40 Spell

“Just… keep smiling,” the artist told them tightly. His brush dabbed the canvas, while he dabbed at a smear of paint on his arm.

Dora leaned forward to whisper in her mother’s ear. “I didn’t do that.”

“I know, pet,” Andromeda sighed. Her eyes drifted to Dora’s shoe. “Oh, dear! Paint on your new shoes!”

The girl pulled out her wand. “I know this spell, Mum. I’ll fix it.”

Ted sigh. “You know you can’t do spells out of school.”

“I can do it,” she insisted.

***

There is a half finished portrait with scorch marks on the sitting room wall.