had made from pressed cabbage leaves. She had written very carefully in ink made from crushed beetles mixed with water from the Mott. Aunt Zelda had not used cursive writing, because she knew that Wolf Boy had trouble with letters—he would often complain that they rearranged themselves when he wasn’t looking. There were a lot of letters—it had taken a whole family of beetles to make the ink. The beetles said:
Dear Wolf Boy,
Now you are outside the Port Witch Coven. Read this, remember every word and then eat it .
Wolf Boy gulped. Eat it? Had he read that right? He looked at the word again. E-A-T. Eat. That’s what it said. Wolf Boy shook his head and continued reading very slowly. He had a bad feeling about what was coming next. The note went on:
This is what you must do:
Take the Toad doorknocker. Knock only once. If the Toad calls, the Coven must answer.
The witch who answers the door will ask, “What be your business?”
You must say, “I have come to feed the Grim.” Say nothing else.
The witch will reply, “So be it. Enter, GrimFeeder,” and let you in.
Say nothing.
The witch will take you to the kitchen. She will tell the Coven that you have come to feed the Grim.
When you reach the kitchen, speak only the words “yes” and “no” and “I have come to feed the Grim. What will you give me?”
The Coven will bring you what they wish you to feed to the Grim. You may refuse anything human, but everything else you must accept.
They will Awaken the Grim. Be brave.
Now they will leave you alone with the Grim.
You will FEED THE GRIM. (For this, Wolf Boy dear, you must be fast and fearless. The Grimwill be hungry. It is more than fifty years since it has been fed.)
Take the silver knife I gave you this morning and, while the Grim is feeding, cut off the tip of one of its tentacles. Do not spill any blood .
At this point Wolf Boy gulped. Tentacles? He did not like the sound of that at all. How many tentacles? How big? As the bad feeling in the pit of his stomach grew, he continued reading.
Place the tentacle tip in the leather wallet I gave you, so that the Coven does not smell Grim blood.
When the Grim has finished feeding, the Coven will return.
Because you came in via the Darke Toad, they will allow you to leave in the same way.
Come straight back along the Causeway, and Boggart will be waiting.
Safe passage and a valiant heart,
Aunt Zelda xxx
When he finally reached the end of the letter, Wolf Boy’s hands were shaking. He knew that Aunt Zelda had something special she wanted him to do, but he’d had no idea it was anything like this . Attracting curious glances from passersby and an offer of advice—“you don’t wanna be standin’ there, boy. I’d go an’ stand anywhere but there if I was you”—Wolf Boy read Aunt Zelda’s note again and again and again until he knew every word. Then he screwed it up into a ball and warily put it into his mouth. It stuck to the roof of his mouth and tasted disgusting. Very slowly, Wolf Boy began to chew.
Five minutes later he had managed to swallow the last pieces of the note. Then he took a deep breath and gathered his thoughts. As he did, a subtle change came over him. Two girls walking past, who had been looking at Wolf Boy and giggling, fell quiet as the dreadlocked boy on the step suddenly looked less boylike and more…wolflike. They hurried on, clutching each other’s arms, and later told their friends they had seen a real live warlock outside the Coven.
Wolf Boy had retreated into his twilight world of wolverine ways—as he always did when he felt in danger—and with a heightened awareness of everything around him, Wolf Boy studied the door of the House of the Port Witch Coven. Therewere three doorknockers positioned one above the other. The bottom one was a miniature iron cauldron, the middle one was a curled silver rat’s tail and the top one was a fat, warty toad. It looked very realistic.
Wolf Boy reached up to the toad
Dear Wolf Boy,
Now you are outside the Port Witch Coven. Read this, remember every word and then eat it .
Wolf Boy gulped. Eat it? Had he read that right? He looked at the word again. E-A-T. Eat. That’s what it said. Wolf Boy shook his head and continued reading very slowly. He had a bad feeling about what was coming next. The note went on:
This is what you must do:
Take the Toad doorknocker. Knock only once. If the Toad calls, the Coven must answer.
The witch who answers the door will ask, “What be your business?”
You must say, “I have come to feed the Grim.” Say nothing else.
The witch will reply, “So be it. Enter, GrimFeeder,” and let you in.
Say nothing.
The witch will take you to the kitchen. She will tell the Coven that you have come to feed the Grim.
When you reach the kitchen, speak only the words “yes” and “no” and “I have come to feed the Grim. What will you give me?”
The Coven will bring you what they wish you to feed to the Grim. You may refuse anything human, but everything else you must accept.
They will Awaken the Grim. Be brave.
Now they will leave you alone with the Grim.
You will FEED THE GRIM. (For this, Wolf Boy dear, you must be fast and fearless. The Grimwill be hungry. It is more than fifty years since it has been fed.)
Take the silver knife I gave you this morning and, while the Grim is feeding, cut off the tip of one of its tentacles. Do not spill any blood .
At this point Wolf Boy gulped. Tentacles? He did not like the sound of that at all. How many tentacles? How big? As the bad feeling in the pit of his stomach grew, he continued reading.
Place the tentacle tip in the leather wallet I gave you, so that the Coven does not smell Grim blood.
When the Grim has finished feeding, the Coven will return.
Because you came in via the Darke Toad, they will allow you to leave in the same way.
Come straight back along the Causeway, and Boggart will be waiting.
Safe passage and a valiant heart,
Aunt Zelda xxx
When he finally reached the end of the letter, Wolf Boy’s hands were shaking. He knew that Aunt Zelda had something special she wanted him to do, but he’d had no idea it was anything like this . Attracting curious glances from passersby and an offer of advice—“you don’t wanna be standin’ there, boy. I’d go an’ stand anywhere but there if I was you”—Wolf Boy read Aunt Zelda’s note again and again and again until he knew every word. Then he screwed it up into a ball and warily put it into his mouth. It stuck to the roof of his mouth and tasted disgusting. Very slowly, Wolf Boy began to chew.
Five minutes later he had managed to swallow the last pieces of the note. Then he took a deep breath and gathered his thoughts. As he did, a subtle change came over him. Two girls walking past, who had been looking at Wolf Boy and giggling, fell quiet as the dreadlocked boy on the step suddenly looked less boylike and more…wolflike. They hurried on, clutching each other’s arms, and later told their friends they had seen a real live warlock outside the Coven.
Wolf Boy had retreated into his twilight world of wolverine ways—as he always did when he felt in danger—and with a heightened awareness of everything around him, Wolf Boy studied the door of the House of the Port Witch Coven. Therewere three doorknockers positioned one above the other. The bottom one was a miniature iron cauldron, the middle one was a curled silver rat’s tail and the top one was a fat, warty toad. It looked very realistic.
Wolf Boy reached up to the toad
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