The Bear and Barnacle

Q stepped out onto his front stoop and almost trod on the small package lying there. He eyed it, surprised. He automatically grabbed for his wand and looked around suspiciously. No one should have been able to get to his house without the wards sounding, let alone leave something. He didn’t see anyone and he knelt to inspect the parcel. It was small, wrapped in brown paper, and had his name in flowing script written on it. No address, so it wasn’t the regular post. Q prodded the thing with a finger. The paper crackled. Frowning, he ran his wand over it, checking for any hexes. Nothing. Gingerly, he picked it up. It was very light. He shook it gently. It made no noise. Recalling every spy movie he’d ever seen, he wondered if it might be a bomb. He discarded the idea immediately. It was much too flimsy for that and no one would be sending him a bomb. Still puzzled, he carried the package inside and set it on the table. It felt like there was something made of cloth inside. He debated whether or not he should do more sophisticated tests on the thing. Obviously it was meant to be a surprise of some sort, but who could have sent it and why? It was months away from his birthday and the only person who might give him anything certainly wouldn’t resort to anything like this. Oh well, only one way to find out. Holding his wand in one hand just in case, Q tore open the parcel with the other. It was a t-shirt. A blue one. “What on earth…” He muttered to himself. There didn’t seem to be anything wrong with it, so he picked up the shirt, unfolding it. His face lit up when he saw what was written on it. ( Read more... )