I had always tolerated my sister's bullying. But today, Bernadette had crossed all limits; she had somehow managed to shrink me. I was barely two inches tall now.

Standing at her feet, I looked up at her towering figure. The grin on her face was pure evil. I had to escape from her before she decided to squash me under her boot.

I sprinted towards the nearest hiding spot, a shoe left on the floor. Barely a moment later, I heard her footstep behind me. She was chasing me!

I reached the shoe just in time. Her boot hit the spot where I had been standing a moment ago. I was safe, for now.

"Come out, little brother, don't be shy," she taunted. I stayed silent, hoping she wouldn't notice the shoe. But luck wasn't on my side.

She grabbed the shoe and turned it upside down, I plummeted out onto her open palm. "Gotcha!" she laughed, looking at me with delight.

"Put me down!" I screamed at her. But my tiny voice was barely a whimper. "What's that? I can't hear you," she replied, feigning ignorance.

She began to raise her other foot, she was going to squash me. I panicked. I needed a way out, and fast.

I spotted a hole in her shirt pocket and made a desperate run for it. She seemed surprised, but it was too late. I slid into the pocket, just in time.

"Come back here!" she shouted, reaching into her pocket. I ducked and weaved around her fingers. But she was too big, and her hand too small to navigate the pocket.

I noticed a loose thread in the pocket. With a bit of effort, I broke it, and the pocket opened from the bottom. I fell out, onto the floor.

I needed to do something to distract her, to buy myself some time. I saw a toy car nearby, I had an idea.

As fast as I could, I pushed the car towards Bernadette. The little toy hit her giant foot and she let out a squeal, hopping on one foot.

In the confusion, I darted towards a mouse hole in the skirting board. I slipped inside just as she regained her balance. I was safe, for now.

But I was still two inches tall. I needed to find a way to reverse the spell. I had an idea. The spell book she had used must be in her room.

I ventured out of the hole, running along the skirting boards, avoiding Bernadette who was stomping around, looking for me. I slipped into her room undetected.

Her spell book was on her bed. But it was massive compared to my size. I could barely lift a single page, let alone read the reversal spell.

I had to think. There had to be a way. I noticed that my phone was still in my pocket. I could search for a solution online.

I climbed up the pile of her clothes onto her desk and logged into my phone. Thankfully, it was still my normal size, and not shrunken like me.

After some searching, I found what I needed. There was a simple counter spell that could reverse the effects of the shrinking spell. But I needed Bernadette's magic wand to cast it.

The wand was on her dresser. With some effort, I managed to climb up and grab it. I recited the counter spell and... nothing happened.

I recited the spell again and again. After the seventh attempt, I finally felt a tingling sensation. I was growing back to my normal size!

I managed to hide before Bernadette entered the room. She looked around, puzzled by the empty room. "Where did you go?" she mumbled, scratching her head.

"Surprise," I shouted, jumping out from my hiding place. She turned around, shocked. But her shock turned into fear when she saw the wand in my hand.

"You... You grew back," she stammered. "That's right, and now it's my turn," I replied, holding the wand high. But I didn't cast any spell. I just wanted to scare her.

She backed away, tripping over her own feet. I just stood there, grinning. Now she knew how it felt to be scared. Just like how I felt when she shrunk me.

"I... I'm sorry," she stuttered, tears streaming down her face. I wasn't sure if she was just scared or if she really felt guilty for what she had done.

"Promise me you'll never use magic to harm me again," I told her. She nodded, sobbing. I handed her back the wand. I decided to give her a second chance.

That night, I slept peacefully, knowing that I was safe from Bernadette's bullying. And from that day forward, she never used her magic to harm me again.

It wasn't easy to forgive Bernadette after what she had done. But I saw it as a chance for her to learn from her mistakes. I hope she did.

From that day forward, I was no longer afraid of Bernadette. Not because I had grown back to my original size, but because I had faced my fears and won.

Bernadette and I started to get along. We even worked together to make safe and fun use of her magic. After all, magic isn't all bad if used responsibly.

Bernadette learnt a valuable lesson that day. She realised the importance of using her powers responsibly and never to harm others. And I learnt to stand up to my bullies.

From then on, our relationship as siblings started to improve. Despite our past misunderstandings, we managed to understand each other and got closer as brother and sister. It was a new beginning.

In the end, it turned out that the day Bernadette shrunk me was a turning point for both of us. It was the day we grew closer as siblings and learnt valuable lessons about respect and empathy.