Page 42 of With the Potion in the Courtyard

We stepped out of the boat, onto the squishy forest floor that looked like a toddler's finger painting gone rogue. My boots sank into the ground with each step, but relief washed over me as we left the swamp behind. That was until Robbie, who grabbed the pole as he exited the boat, froze mid-stride and hissed, "Guys..."

Jessie and I followed his gaze. There it was—a jungle cat straight out of a fever dream. It had tentacles—yes, tentacles—with polka dots waving in the air like some deranged octopus impersonator. And its eyes... they were faceted, like those of a bee, catching the light in a kaleidoscope of colors.

"Okay, what now?" I whispered, my heart thudding against my ribs.

"Back away slowly," Robbie suggested, voice barely audible.

"Uh-uh, no," Jessie cut in, eyeing the creature. "I've got something better. How about I turn us into something it'll run from?"

"Like what? A bigger, spottier cat with more tentacles?" I asked, unable to keep the tremor from my voice.

"Elephants. They're big, loud, and this thing probably has never seen one before," I said, an idea sparking.

"Elephants!" Jessie clapped her hands once, and magic flowed from her wand. The world around me shifted, expanded. My perspective shot up, and suddenly, I was staring at two other elephants—one with a messy bun flopping on its head, the other still holding onto his pole like a security blanket.

"Wow, this feels weird," Robbie trumpeted.

"Let's scare it off then," I said, finding that myvoice now came out as a rumble.

We raised our trunks, the sounds we made booming through the forest. Stomping our feet, we charged forward, a trio of elephants causing the ground itself to shudder. The jungle cat's bee eyes widened, and with a surprisingly ungraceful plop, its tentacles flailed as it turned tail and fled.

"Ha! Look at it go!" Jessie laughed, her elephant form somehow managing a gleeful wiggle.

"Never thought I'd be grateful for being turned into an elephant," Robbie said, shaking his head—or trunk—in disbelief.

"Let's not wait around for it to come back with friends," I urged, and we continued, still in our glamour-induced elephant forms, leaving the echoes of our victory trumpets behind us.

We trudged deeper into the forest, our elephant forms feeling less bizarre by the minute. The tree leaves dripped with paint splatters.

"Keep your eyes peeled for the Scribbleberry," Jessie reminded us, her voice still deep and rumbling from her elephant form.

"Hard to miss something that's supposed to look like a giant ruby," Robbie said with a chuckle.

"A ruby?" I asked.

"That was what I pictured when she described it," he said, which, thinking back to it, made sense.

In a clearing a few yards ahead, nestled between two lopsided clay boulders, we spotted a bush, if you could call it that, with branches that twisted like pipe cleaners and leaves shaped like misshapen hearts. And hanging among the metallic green foliage was the Scribbleberry. I knew that without a doubt.

"That’s it." I pointed my trunk at the vibrant object.

"Looks like it," Robbie confirmed, his elephant form lumbering closer.

The berry glistened under the crayon sun, its surface jagged and irregular, a ruby drawn without any concern for symmetry or realism. It was hard, almost crystalline, and larger than any of us had anticipated.

"Wow," Jessie murmured. "It really does look like a kid drew it."

"Can't believe we're actually here, looking at this thing," I said, reaching out with my trunk to gently touch the berry. It felt solid and cool, like touching the idea of a gemstone rather than the stone itself.

"Let's get it and get out of here," Robbie suggested.

"Agreed," Jessie said, carefully plucking the Scribbleberry from its branch with a tendril of magic.

I watched as the berry floated toward us, encased in a soft glow. "This is it. We've got what Luna wanted."

Robbie nodded, still eyeing the berry. "Scribbleberry, huh? Well, it sure fits the name. That's what I'm calling it too.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN