u/mellow-mel

I believe this series came out some time in the 2010s. I remember quite a few details but unfortunately no character names or book names.

• The fox was the familiar of an older witch/sorceress who was in peril in the other world. She was intelligent, semi-tame, and wore a collar with a stone in it that allowed her to communicate with her sorceress
• The fox had an arc in a later book where she had a crisis about being a familiar and ran away. She eventually came returned but as a mother to several fox pups. I believe she allowed one of these to become one of the children’s familiars but I think she chose life as a wild fox for herself from that point forward
• There was an older and younger sister among the siblings along with I think a brother in the middle.
• The younger sister was the one who was first led to the house.
• Getting to the other world required the siblings to perform a spell, the instructions to which were written in mirrored english (and maybe a spiral?)
• One of the siblings became the apprentice to the witch/sorceress
• In the other world, at one point one of the siblings had to trick a monster that would kill you if you answered any of it’s questions but would die if you got it to answer one of your questions.
• I think one of the siblings rescued a friendly winged serpant from a cage
• In a later book the house got attacked by monsters in the real world and the siblings had to defend it.

Thanks so much for any suggestions or answers!!