Crystal the Half-Ghost Witch

Chapter 9

Crystal stared up at the place that had been her prison for most of her life. Soon, she would be confronting her jailers, Petunia and Vernon Dursley. Thankfully, Crystal wasn't alone. She had Grinlast and several goblin guards with her. She also had Dudley on her side—the Dursleys would never hurt her again, at least not without facing consequences.

She glanced at the goblins next to her. They were using magic to disguise themselves as humans until they got inside the house, ensuring they wouldn't break the Statute of Secrecy by walking around in front of Muggles. Grinlast looked over when he felt her eyes on him and gave Crystal a nod to calm her nerves.

Grinlast's disguise had dark brown hair slicked back. He had brown eyes and light brown skin. His outfit consisted of a black suit, black flats, and a pale green tie.

There were two more goblins with her, along with a human. Grinlast had said the human was brought along to check the wards around the property while she and the three goblins dealt with the Dursleys inside.

Kraggit's disguise featured brown hair with streaks of grey. His face had a few wrinkles and frown lines added to show age. His eyes were a deep brown, almost looking black in the right lighting. Like Grinlast, he wore a suit and tie, but his suit was brown instead of black, and his tie was a deep maroon color instead of pale green.

Boggus's disguise appeared younger than the others'. He had sandy blond hair and light hazel eyes with freckles over his nose and cheeks. His suit was bright pink, and he even wore a matching hat. He sported a baby blue bowtie and had a purple flower in one of his upper pockets.

Crystal thought she and Boggus would get along splendidly; she couldn't wait to see her aunt's reaction to him in his human disguise.

The human accompanying the goblins was named Edan Lyre. He had black wavy hair and silvery eyes. His clothes differed from the suits the three goblins wore; his were everyday wear, practical for movement but not likely to hinder him if he needed to fight or run.

Crystal steeled herself and walked into the house. She could already see Uncle Vernon's face turning bright red in anger. He was sitting in front of the TV and seemed oblivious to the three important-looking 'men' behind her.

"Girl, where have you been? You haven't finished any of your chores, and my poor Pet has had to get her hands dirty doing them instead!"

Crystal glared at him. "I was busy, and she'd better get used to getting her hands dirty because from now on, I'm not doing anything for you ever again."

Vernon huffed himself to his feet, his face starting to turn purple. "How dare you! After everything we've done for you, you treat us like this. We took you in, fed you, clothed you, educated you, and put a roof over your head!"

Enough was enough. Crystal was going to tell him what she truly thought of him. She noticed her aunt walking in. Unlike her uncle, Aunt Petunia noticed the three important-looking men behind her. Her lips thinned at the sight of Boggus in his bright pink suit.

"You've done nothing but give me the basics required of you, and even then, you withheld food from me several times! Feeding me? You only let me eat scraps leftover from your meals, despite the fact that I cooked all your food."

Uncle Vernon took a step forward, looking like he was about to hit her. Kraggit stepped between Crystal and him. Uncle Vernon suddenly noticed the three men and his face went from dark purple to pale peach.

"You've withheld food from me for days at a time, several times. Aunt Petunia has even given me moldy food before and got upset when I got sick from it. What did she expect would happen?"

Aunt Petunia kept glancing between the three disguised goblins and her niece, her face paling as she realized she and Vernon were in trouble.

"Clothed me? If it were up to you, I'd be wearing Dudley's old cast-offs that are too big for me. The only reason I have clothes that fit me at all is because Sam sends me clothes in my size once a year."