To prove this, Sophie is showed the Witch of the Waste, who is now a powerless old hag. She also warns Howl that if he refuses to participate in the war, his powers will be taken away. Madam Suliman (Howl's mentor) requests his appearance and finds out Sophie's true demeanor and feelings towards him. Markl quietly mentions to Sophie Howl has done this before when one of his girlfriends broke up with him.

He attempts to summon demonic forces, but Sophie saves him. One day, Sophie causes Howl to have a breakdown because she had accidentally causes him to change his hair color to an orange-pink hue. Meanwhile, their country and the neighboring country is at war with each other. Pretty soon, Howl appears and Sophie is hired as their new cleaning woman. Finding Howl's gigantic castle, Sophie is allowed in by Howl's fire demon, Calcifer, and meets his apprentice, Markl. Wanting to find a cure, Sophie makes her way to the Wastes and finds a scarecrow who she then names Turnip Head because his head is a turnip.

A condition of the spell is that she can't tell anyone about it, further complicating her situation. Returning home that night, Sophie then closes up the shop as the Witch of the Waste appears and turns Sophie into a ninety-year old woman when she refuses service to the Witch of the Waste. Then, Sophie then tells her sister that Howl unknowingly saved her without realizing it was actually Howl. They are quickly airborne flying above the shops and parades because of the Labor Day Festival. He then takes Sophie away and tells her he's being followed. Happy and fun, but, a bit timid, Sophie politely declines their flirting when Howl appears. However, Sophie is walking down an alley when two guards stop to flirt with her.

After a debate and in a hurry, Sophie leaves to go visit her younger sister, Lettie. Hearing the excitement over the great wizard Howl, Sophie's sisters chatter on about how Howl has the capability of eating one's heart. In the beginning of the film, Sophie, her sisters and her mother are all working in a hat shop as a train rolls by. She later cuts her braid off to feed Calcifer, and her hair becomes bobbed. Near the end of the film, Sophie manages to become her young self again, although her hair stays silver. When she is cursed as an old woman, her hair is silver, her face is wrinkled and more grand-motherly, and her body figure becomes smaller and slightly hunched. Having brown eyes and brown hair tied in a braid, Sophie has a pretty smile and a blue dress with a white apron.

Wizard howl howl's moving castle