Rufus And Magic

Fifth-grader Rufus Breckenridge is spending the month of July in the South of France with his best friend Billy Cameron and Billy's parents. They are staying at a villa owned by the Beaufonts, friends of the Camerons. Rufus has a crush on Danielle Beaufont and hopes Billy won't slip and tell her he's a witch because she's sure to think he's weird. While down at the beach, the boys spot an old woman whom Rufus knows is a witch. They follow her and discover she's always accompanied by a young girl whom she treats as her drudge. Danielle arrives and discovers what the boys are up to. She thinks it's cool that Rufus has magical powers. She tells them the old witch's name is Grendel, and she's the last of a rich and powerful family of witches. Grendel has taken Violette from her family because the little girl has great magical powers. The children realize that Grendel, whose own powers are fading, is using Violette's magic to steal art and other items from local villas that once belonged to her family. And then, just before the DeGama celebration, DeGama's famous painting "La Gitana" is stolen from the local museum. Can Rufus, Billy, and Danielle return the painting, defeat Grendel, and return Violette safely home to her family?

Rufus attends his first Samhain celebration with his mother, grandmother and Aunt Ruth. He finds the evening boring and wishes he'd gone Trick or Treating with Billy and his other friends. When the entire circle of witches is outside watching a display of fireworks, a witch appears in the night's sky and puts on a show of magic that outdoes the fireworks. This is Rufus's evil uncle Hector, his father's brother, whom Rufus has never met. Later that evening, Uncle Hector shows up outside Rufus's room and takes him for a magical ride. He tells Rufus he has decided to make him his heir apparent. Though he's been warned to have nothing to do with Uncle Hector, Rufus makes secret visits to his uncle's amazing estate that includes a stable of horses and a small zoo. Hector tells Rufus that everything he owns-his many businesses and enterprises-will eventually belong to him. Hector teaches him powerful spells his mother would never teach him. Rufus is bedazzled by his uncle's wealth and power, but he's beginning to notice Hector's occasional cruel behavior toward innocent parties. Finally, Hector orders Rufus to do something bad, something Rufus refuses to do. Hector warns Rufus not to ask anyone in his family for help or there will be dire consequences. Sure enough, Hector stirs up trouble in a way Rufus has never imagined. What can Rufus do to stop his evil uncle, once and for all, from bringing harm and danger to the people he loves?