Chapter Twelve
Ron awoke, nice and warm, in the soft covers of his bed. He stretched his arms, but his hands brushed against something sticky. Ron opened his eyes and found he was covered in thin, white strands, covering him from head to toe. Ron gasped as he realized what was surrounding him. Ron whimpered and looked all around for the offending creature when he saw it lying on his chest, its eight beady eyes staring at him. Ron tried to scream, but no noise came out of his mouth.
The spider crawled closer to Ron, its fat, black, hairy body coming closer and closer. Ron finally found his voice and screamed as loud and hard as possible. The spider scuttled, jumped from Ron to the floor, and crawled into the room's shadows. Ron flailed to get the webs off of him. Suddenly, the door opened. Harry stood in a purple velvet dressing gown with a sleepy smile.
"Good Morning, Ron. Did you sleep well?" Ron continued to struggle against the webs that clung to him. Harry noticed Ron's situation, and his eyes widened slightly.
"Oh dear, I see you met Homer. Wednesday must have sent her to you last night." Harry walked over and pulled the webs off his friend. Ron panted for breath and jumped on the bed, pointing to where he last saw Homer.
"Spider! Killer…Spider! Tried to…Eat Me!" He struggled to speak. Harry walked over to where Ron was pointing and found Homer hiding in the corner, beneath the dresser. Harry reached down and picked her up.
"It's all right. Homer never eats people, so this must have been a little prank pulled by Wednesday." Harry started to walk back towards Ron, who squealed and scurried back against the wall. Harry realized Ron's discomfort and carried Homer to the doorway, setting her down on the floor and telling her to return to her mistress.
"I'm sorry about this, Ron; it seems Wednesday does have a little problem with you being here." Harry held out his hand and helped the still-rattled Ron off the bed. Ron's face was turning from pale green to deep pink.
"A little problem? She tried to kill me! She sicced her Bloody Spider on me!" Harry tried to calm Ron down.
"Homer may look scary to some people, but she's harmless. I think you scared her when you screamed. Wednesday would have gotten in much trouble if she tried to kill you; most likely, she just wanted to scare you. Homer was trained to do various tricks by Wednesday, so she must have told her to web you up." Ron looked ready to kill; his eyes boggled, his face was red, and his ears practically glowed pink. Harry patted Ron on the shoulder.
"Don't worry, we just have to get her the way she got you!" Ron looked a little happier at that. Harry took Ron to find Pugsley, who found Wednesday's prank rather funny but enthusiastically agreed to get revenge on their elder sister.
Harry pulled out his Grimoire, which held all the spells and potions he'd learned thus far at Hogwarts. Ron, Pugsley, and himself poured over the contents and some tomes in the Addams library.
The three boys sat at the kitchen table, along with Thing and Mano, who helped write down and organize their notes. Grandmama entered the kitchen and smiled at the three boys.
"What mischief are you three up to?" she asked.
"We're trying to find the right way to pull a trick on Wednesday!" Pugsley excitedly blurted out. Harry jabbed his brother in the ribs.
"Aw, nothing she doesn't deserve, I don't doubt. Which one did she get first?" Ron meekly raised his hand, still shaken from his encounter with Homer. Grandmama opened her ingredients cupboard and gathered some materials to return to her study.
"Have fun, boys. Just clean up after yourselves when you're done!" Grandmama left the kitchen, her arms full of bottles and vials. Harry watched his Grandmother walk away and then noticed she'd neglected to close her ingredients cupboard—a smile formed on his face.
"Ron, Pugsley, come over here!" Harry stood from the table and walked over to the open cupboard. Inside were various containers of ingredients and potions. Vials of faintly glowing liquids, bottles of gruesome bits and pieces, and notes scrawled in Grandmama's messy scribble.
"That's Grandmama's private stash, Harry! We're not allowed in there without permission!" Pugsley protested.
"Exactly, and she never would have left it unlocked if she didn't want us to use some of it!" Harry began examining the contents of the cupboard. Ron and Pugsley helped to sort vials and containers. Ron found some of the stock in Snape's classroom disgusting, but this cupboard could have put Snape to shame. Ron picked up a jar of assorted colored eyeballs, which all turned to look at him, giving him a start.
"Aha! Got it!" Harry exclaimed, holding a piece of paper. Ron and Pugsley looked over Harry's shoulders and glanced at the paper. Grandmama's handwriting was hard to read, but Harry had practice deciphering her messy hand.
"This will get Wednesday back in a most deliciously wicked way!" Harry brought the paper to the table and began forming the plan with Ron and Pugsley.
The boys pulled out and set up Grandmama's cauldron, filled it with water, and lit the fire underneath. They grabbed ingredients from the cupboard and whatever Harry and Ron had brought from school. Thing and Mano were attentive assistants, getting the boys each ingredient as ordered. Harry and Ron took turns stirring the pot and casting the spells. Pugsley watched in amazement as the two other boys worked their magic. Sometimes, Pugsley wished he had magical talent, but he never felt jealous of his family members who could wield magic themselves.
With a loud pop and a burst of smoke, the concoction was complete. Harry spooned the potion into several beakers, then cleaned the cauldron, put out the fire, and placed all the ingredients and equipment away. Harry stored all but one of the beakers of potion in Grandmama's cupboard, then closed and locked it. He held up the beaker to Ron and Pugsley. The liquid inside was a vibrant ruby red and bubbled incessantly.
"This will teach Wednesday not to mess with my friends!" Harry grinned wickedly and held out his hand. Ron and Pugsley placed their hands over Harry's, the three boys laughing together at their coming revenge.
Lunch came in the early afternoon. The family gathered and ate a delicious repast created by Lurch. Harry tasked Mano with implementing their plan. As Lurch prepared the drinks for everyone, Mano placed several drops into Wednesday's glass, unnoticed by the hulking butler.
Harry, Ron, and Pugsley ate their meal, casually talking amongst themselves but keeping an eye on Wednesday. The dark-haired girl took sup very politely and dignifiedly, as taught by Morticia, who had instilled proper table etiquette in her children. Wednesday had trained herself to detect poisons or sedatives by taste and smell, but she seemed utterly unaware of something extra in her meal.
The day went on, seemingly peaceful and regular as ever. Harry and Pugsley showed off the supercomputer Fester had designed in his laboratory. WHIZZO was an advanced machine created to solve nearly any question or problem.
Gomez had once used WHIZZO to plot his campaign to become Mayor of Kingsport several years ago. Sadly, Gomez's campaign was short-lived, as Uncle Fester had filled the petition of voters with names from the local cemetery, so Gomez was disqualified. Curious about how his reign as Mayor would have gone, Gomez punched the information into WHIZZO, who predicted Gomez would be impeached in his first week in office for gross negligence, chaotic rulings, and bankruptcy of the city's finances. Gomez took this as a good sign that he was disqualified since who would wanna be Mayor of a bankrupt city?
A bloodcurdling shriek echoed through the House as the three boys played with the advanced computer. Harry, Ron, and Pugsley glanced at each other and grinned. The boys raced up from the lab, following the horrified shrieking. Another scream echoed from Wednesday's room. Morticia walked daintily up the stairs to her daughter's door. Gently, she rapped on the door.
"Wednesday, dear, is anything the matter?" the door opened a crack, and Wednesday whimpered out,
"Don't look at me, I'm hideous!" Morticia looked confused and glanced down the hall where Harry, Ron, and Pugsley were gathered, mischief in their eyes. Morticia's face darkened slightly, and then she returned to the door.
"Wednesday, dearest, please let me in. You never have to hide from your Mother." Cautiously, Wednesday opened the door wider. Morticia looked inside and gave a brief gasp.
"Oh my!" she turned to the three boys and motioned with her finger for them to approach. Harry and his cohorts came closer to Morticia, who seemed to look through them all to their inner selves.
"Boys, did you have anything to do with this?" Morticia opened the door to Wednesday's room. Wednesday's room was as dark as she was, with black wallpaper, dark varnished wood, a coffin-shaped bed with black bedding, a black dressing desk, and a vanity mirror shaped like a skull. Hunched over the desk was a figure in a pink dress, with long golden curls flowing down their back.
"Wednesday, please turn around." Morticia gently but firmly asked her daughter. Wednesday stood and turned to face the others. Her skin was pink and rosy, her hair like a golden fleece, her eyes a bright baby blue, her lips pink and pouty, and her cheeks were dimpled. Despite their lovely blue, Wednesday's eyes were full of fury towards the three boys. Ron and Pugsley each gave a stifled snort. Morticia gave them a stern look, then turned to Harry.
"Harry, do you have anything to do with this?" Harry stepped forward and nodded.
"Yes, Mother, I charmed Wednesday to change appearance. She sicced Homer on Ron this morning, so I decided to pay her back."
"I see." Morticia glanced at Wednesday, whose righteous fury had changed to sullen regret. Morticia sighed and said she was disappointed in the four children.
"Wednesday, Ron is a guest in our home; we should make him feel welcome. Harry, Pugsley, you know better than to sink to the level of those who do you wrong." The Addams children hung their heads and apologized to their Mother.
"How long will this charm last, Harry?" Morticia asked. Harry told her that and Wednesday it would go away overnight. He then told his Mother there was more potion he had locked away in Grandmama's cupboard for her use. At the mention of Grandmama, Morticia realized she would have to talk with her Mother as well.
"Very well, I hope you all learned your lessons. Dinner will be in a few hours. Wednesday, you may eat in your room if you don't want to come down. After dinner, you boys will help Luch with the cleaning up." Harry, Ron, Wednesday, and Pugsley said, 'Yes, ma'am.' And the boys followed Morticia out of the room.
Morticia walked down to the basement under the House, where her Mother had set up a lair to work on her projects. A brief explosion and a sharp cackle came from behind the door. Morticia opened the door and entered her Mother's lab.
Grandmama was chanting, consulting her Grimoire, and waving her wand in complex fashions. Various objects and ingredients flew through the air and fused, changing shape and alchemical function.
"Mother, you shouldn't have encouraged the boys in their mischief." Grandmama glanced briefly at her daughter and shrugged.
"Oh, the boys meant no harm; they were just blowing off steam!" She waved her wand and watched two viscous fluids fuse in the air and change to a glowing purple. The bubbling, floating mixture hovered before the two Witches before exploding into a burst of purple flame.
"Whoo! That was a good one!" Grandmama added her notes to her Grimoire.
"What magic are you working on, Mother?" asked Morticia. Grandmama shrugged.
"Nothing in particular, just noodling around and seeing what happens. Anyway, don't be hard on the kids; they're just doing what kids do: bug each other!"
"I've already dealt with the matter, and the children have apologized, but you shouldn't have let them access your private cupboard. There are powerful and advanced concoctions within there; luckily, they didn't blow up the kitchen."
"Oh, there was no worry about that; I've trained Harry well in the arts of potions. He knew what he was doing. By the way, what'd they do? I heard the scream; it must have been a doozy!" Morticia refused to discuss it, as it was a sensitive matter where Wednesday was concerned. The two Witches went back upstairs to join the rest of the family.
The boys had to help clean up after dinner for their trick on Wednesday. Harry, Ron, and Pugsley carried the dishes and containers to the kitchen and began to wash, dry, and put them away under the careful watch of Lurch, who gave a low grumble of approval once they were done. As Harry and Ron went upstairs to bed, they passed Wednesday's door.
Wednesday opened the door, dressed in a black robe, her hair covered by a hood, her face shaded by the cowl. The three stood there silent momentarily when Wednesday held her hand to Ron. Surprised, Ron took Wednesday's hand and shook it.
"Well played," Wednesday said, retreating inside her door and shutting it tight. Harry nudged Ron and smiled.
"See, now she respects you!" Ron shook his head in bafflement and followed Harry to their rooms. Before getting into bed, Ron searched the whole room but found no trace of Homer. Harry offered to let Mano stand guard over Ron during the night, but Ron was still a little nervous around the animated hand, so he braved the night on his own.
He was still surprised they had gotten off so easy with Mrs. Addams. If Fred and George had tried something like they'd done today, their Mother would have tanned their hides with her broom and then sent them to bed without supper.
Mrs. Addams seemed disappointed with their behavior but accepted an apology and gave them a light sentence of doing the dinner dishes. Harry just shrugged and said that was the way of his family.
Before retiring for the night, Gomez told the boys he had business in New York City tomorrow and asked if they would like to accompany him. Ron was excited to see New York City, and when he went to bed, he wondered what marvels they might see the next day.