THE KINGDOM OF KING BALTHAZAR

"You summoned me Your Majesty?" "Yes Marvin. After I banished my evil brother, the devious sorcerer from the kingdom he vowed to get revenge. Soon the kingdom will be under attack from dangerous, ghastly beasts. "But I am too old to save the kingdom with my magic. I taught your brother everything I know and now he is more powerful than I ever was."  "That is why I'm sending you on a quest to find a wizard that can do battle with my brother and save my kingdom."

"But where am I going to find a wizard capable of defeating the evil sorcerer on such short notice?" Marvin wondered aloud. And then like a bolt of lightning, the wizard got a brilliant idea. "Yes! The kid from the books and movies. He'd be perfect. He may even be better than I ever was. He will save the kingdom. I must go to Earth to speak to this boy wizard immediately."

HALLOWEEN NIGHT

After a successful night of trick-or-treating, Larry decides to call it night. It was after 8 o'clock and he promised his parents that he'd be home before 8:30pm. He said goodbye to friends and decided to take a short cut where he ran into a couple of kids from school. They were in Grade 8 and were too cool to dress up for Halloween. They just want to take Larry's candy. "Hey Magician, whaddya got there?" one of the bullies called out. "Hope you got enough for the both us" his buddy added. "I, uh, um...." Larry nervously stammered.

The bullies pushed Larry around before helping themselves to his candy. They knocked over his plastic pumpkin sending the rest of the goodies falling to the ground. Larry felt like crying but was able to stay calm. Suddenly a look of absolute terror appeared on the bullies' faces. Without saying a word they ran away as fast as they could. A confused Larry began to pick up some of the candy from the ground when he felt some hot breath at the back of his neck. Larry was not alone.

"Mr. Potter, the boy wizard I presume?" "Uh, yeah. I guess so." "I need your help. An evil sorcerer is threatening to destroy the kingdom of his brother King Balthazar. I am no longer able to work my magic so I came here to Earth to find my next pupil." "But I really need to be home by 8:30." "Ha! Ha! You amuse me young wizard. Now climb aboard the dragon and let's go!" "Um, okay" Larry nervously replied. The wizard and Larry flew off into the cold night sky to a land that was only possible in Larry's books and dreams.

Scared and in a daze Larry didn't say a word as he passed through different dimensions before entering the kingdom. "We have arrived my boy. Welcome to the kingdom of King Balthazar!" Larry looked around in awe at his surroundings. He felt like he was in some type of fantastical movie. "Shall we go visit the King? He will be thrilled to meet a celebrity as grand as he is." "Sure" Larry mumbled as he was barely able to get the words out of his mouth.

"Your Highness, allow me to introduce to you the boy wizard who is going to save your kingdom." "Uh, hi. My name is Larry Potter. I'm in Grade 4 and I'm from Saskatoon." "Did you say LARRY Potter?" "Yes sir." "You're not the boy wizard from the books and movies! Marvin you fool! We are doomed! Doomed!" The King shouted before storming off. "So you're just an ordinary kid and not a wizard?" "Nope. I'm just a regular kid from the Prairies." "Oh boy! We've got a lot of work ahead of us."

"So it appears my foolish brother has recruited the famous boy wizard from Earth. I've read so much about him and he seems like a worthy foe. Bah! He is no match for me. I am the most powerful wizard in the land and soon the kingdom will be mine. I will rule over my subjects like a tyrant. Now which wicked beast do I send first? The fiery phoenix? The marauding minotaur? Maybe the angry giant? Or perhaps I will unleash the wild wolf."

"So do you have any magical powers at all kid?" "Do card tricks count?" "No!" "I look like a real fool for bringing you here. But since you're with us you might as well learn a few spells. This is the very first book of magic spells I ever read." As Larry flipped through the pages of the ancient tome he felt a rush of power and knowledge filling his body and mind. He finished reading the book and slammed it shut. "I'm ready!" he boldly pronounced. There was no time to celebrate as the evil sorcerer had launched his first attack on the kingdom.

A vicious-looking wolf had scratched his way into the kingdom. The King's subjects ran for cover from the foul beast. All except for Larry. This was his chance to test out his new magical powers. The monster drew perilously close to Larry who stood there calmly. "Do something!"  Marvin shouted. "I don't have a magic wand" "Just use that stick. The power is in you. Not the wand." Larry pointed the stick at the rampaging beast. And much to his surprise his first magical spell had worked as he subdued the creature.

Larry had turned the snarling wolf-beast into a harmless little puppy. The kingdom erupted in cheers as Marvin commended his young apprentice on a job well done. "Excellent work Larry. You're a wizard now!" After getting a tummy rub from Larry, the puppy licked himself and then ran back into the woods. The evil sorcerer seethed as he watched one of his most fearsome creatures defeated by an amateur wizard from Saskatchewan. 

Larry was tested over and over again by the evil sorcerer. He sent over the fiery phoenix, the mighty minotaur as well as a lumbering giant. Larry concentrated really hard and with his newfound magical powers and confidence, was able to turn the beasts into a flamingo, a cow, and a baby. "I'm starting to get the hang of this whole wizard thing" Larry mused. "Tonight we will have a big feast in honor of our hero!" The King declared. Larry loved every minute of it as he wasn't expected to eat his vegetables.