Arthur Kirkland woke to the gloomy light from outside his window. It wasn't pleasant after all. Dementors were everywhere now, which was causing this horrid mist. Then there were Death Eaters, as well, wondering the streets. The only good thing was that this caused people to stay indoors away from an attack. Although causing them to stay in due to depression wasn't a right way of keeping them from harm.
Arthur didn't have to worry too much for he lived in a muggle town outside of London. It was a small town, not too much happened there. It had its own school where his three brothers attended. Well, Dylan and Seamus still attend it, Alastair graduated and is now attending a University. When people ask why Arthur doesn't go to school there, they just tell them that he goes to a private school. In all honesty, it was closely the truth. Hogwarts was close to being private, or away from muggles.
Arthur had been home from school for a couple weeks now. He hadn't been out too often due to dementors and Death Eaters. Here in this little town, though, you'd be more likely to find a dementor than a Death Eater. Which was kind of settling because not only did Arthur not want to run into a Death Eater, he also wasn't able to cast magic due to being underage. Well, this really wouldn't help against a dementor attack, in all honesty, so he guessed it really didn't matter. Arthur was more afraid of his muggle family and whether or not he could keep them safe. It was times like this that he wished he could be seventeen already so that he wouldn't be underage anymore.
Arthur sat up while stretching and yawning. His hair was even more messier than normal and he often pondered at how much messier it could get. He rubbed his emerald-green eyes trying to wake them. He had a room all to himself, which he was thankful for, and it was located in the attic. Technically, it was the attic; an attic made into a bedroom. He was thankful for not having to share a room with any of his brothers anymore; It was chaos.
His room up here was also chaos, you could say. His belongings were scattered everywhere. His school books cluttered his dresser and his clothes were scattered around the room. His wand was on the end-table next to him; a 10" Willow with Phoenix Feather. It was located next to his reading glasses. He had his barn owl, Alice, locked up for the night. Plus, his mother didn't like an owl running around the house, especially at night. There were also newspapers from the wizarding world lied out on the floor, and one piece of paper regarding the safety rules for keeping safe from the Death Eaters sent out by the Ministry Of Magic. Most of the articles from the newspapers consisted of "The Boy-Who-Lived", where as one was of the Minister of Magic being reassigned from Fudge to Scrimgeour. This also meant that if Arthur was caught for performing magic outside of school, then he might not totally get away with it. Meaning another reason to make Arthur fret for his family's safety. If he couldn't keep them safe, who could? He was the only wizard in the family after all.
Standing up from the bed and pushing the thoughts out of his head, Arthur straightened his winding shirt and made way for the bathroom. It was eight in the morning. Arthur always liked to get up earlier in the day. He liked to get things done without wasting half the day sleeping. Plus, he could also try and make it to the bathroom before his brothers. Once they claim the bathroom, all hope was lost.
Arthur opened his door and made his way down the little stairway that led to the attic. He ended up in a hallway. All the doors were closed except for the bathroom so Arthur took this as he successfully made it. Arthur went into the bathroom and started to get dressed. What he was getting dressed for, even he didn't know. He didn't have to dress up in robes anymore for it was summer, and he also couldn't go anywhere. He didn't have plans to go anywhere anyways as he had planned a reading day in his bedroom.
Arthur finished getting dressed by trying to fix as much of his hair as he could; no matter what it would still be messy. After doing this, he left the bathroom and headed downstairs to the kitchen. Just because he beat his brothers to the bathroom, didn't mean that he still wanted to be there when they did show up. Mrs. Kirkland was always the first to be awake. Then it was Arthur, and either Dylan or Seamus. Sometimes all three of them would wake up at the same time.
Arthur was the youngest out of the four Kirkland's. There's Alastair, Dylan, Seamus, then Arthur. Arthur had very blonde hair, like his mother, compared to the others. Alastair's was very red, like his father. It was a deeper red than the Weasley twins that always caused trouble. Dylan's was more of a strawberry-blondish whereas Seamus' was more on the reddish side, close to the Weasley twins'. All of their eyes were green, too. Arthur, Alastair, and their mother had pure-colored eyes. The others' were more faded.
It was just the five of them living together: Mrs. Kirkland, Alastair, Dylan, Seamus, and Arthur. They haven't a clue where their father went. That was a long time ago. Now, it was just the five of them. Even sometimes it just felt like the four of them plus Arthur. Arthur felt left out sometimes due to his abilities. He was a wizard, and he was born in a family of muggles. Worst of all: he was a muggleborn sorted into the Slytherin house. Slytherins weren't that fond of muggleborns now-a-days. Even here at home Arthur wasn't safe from the wizard world. He could be anywhere.
"Let it go Arthur, you're home now. Not at Hogwarts," he whispered to himself as he walked downstairs. He heard his mother in the kitchen making breakfast, like always. Somehow he didn't get her cooking trait, nor a cooking trait at all. He was interrupted in thought as he heard commotion upstairs in the bathroom. His brothers were up, and all three of them by the sounds of it.
Arthur walked into the kitchen and said his good mornings to his mother. He then sat down at the table after making himself a cup of tea. His brothers were still being loud upstairs. His mother sighed.
"I wish they would just stop before they break something else," she said quietly to herself. "I wish you could fix it," she told Arthur.
"Mum," Arthur started, putting his tea down. "You know I can't do magic outside of Hogwarts. I'm still underage."
"Yeah, well if you ask me: I say that the age should be sixteen and not seventeen," she said flatly. Arthur smiled.
"Yeah, me too. It would be so much fun to do magic outside of school," Arthur said still smiling.
"Well, you wouldn't be doing it in my house if it meant you were using it to bother your brothers," his mother added. Arthur pouted a little.
Why not? They would do it to me, Arthur thought. With that he took another sip of tea. Arthur was sixteen. He just finished his fifth year and is now going on to his sixth year. His fifth year was the worst, and so was everyone else's. That Umbridge person was just horrible. Who decided to let her be on this planet was beyond Arthur, and Arthur was such a gentlemen that he would never think about a person like that. She was horrible.
The noise from upstairs became louder as they reached the kitchen. Alastair was trying to break Dylan and Seamus apart, but that didn't work as Dylan and Seamus both decided to gang up on Alastair.
"Alright, boys, enough," Their mother scolded them.
"Yes mum," they mumbled. They each sat down at the table with Arthur. Arthur pretended to not pay attention to them. Alastair was the closest to Arthur. He leaned in and started the mocking.
"Can you do magic yet?" he teased. Arthur sighed.
"You already know that I can't without the Ministry Of Magic punishing me," Arthur explained for like the thousandth time.
"Ministry Of Magic?" Seamus mouthed. Of course muggles didn't understand, especially his brothers.
"How are they going to know? It's not like they're watching you, are they?" Dylan asked.
"They're not exactly watching us, but they can detect where magic is being performed at, and seeing that I'm the only one here that can actually do magic, they would know it was me. Plus, I'm underaged so it wouldn't end well," Arthur answered more willingly this time. Dylan had a pondering look on his face as if he was actually thinking about it.
"Aww, Arthur's still a baby," Seamus teased. Alastair joined in on his laughter. Dylan chuckled a bit.
"Do you want me to feed you from a bottle?" Alastair said in a baby voice. Arthur's face was going red from his anger. He scoffed.
"Alright, enough boys. Be nice," their mother ordered them as she set the table with breakfast. Before she could sit down there was a knock at the door.
"I'll get it!" Alastair shouted as he jumped up and dashed to the front door. There were voices and then footsteps returning to the kitchen. More than one pair of them. Alastair walked back in and sat down as another boy entered and stopped. His blue eyes wondered around the kitchen for a bit before landing on Arthur, then over to Mrs. Kirkland.
"Alfred! It's so nice to see you!" Mrs. Kirkland greeted Alfred. Alfred smiled and kind of blushed a bit.
"It's nice to see you too ma'am. I heard Arthur was going to be back for summer break and so I dropped by to say hello," Alfred kept smiling. Arthur forgot about Alfred, honestly. He's been so busy at Hogwarts that he forgot he made a muggle friend.
It was the summer of last year and Arthur had just finished his fourth year at Hogwarts. That was an interesting year with Cedric and a few other things. He was also thankful then that he wasn't eligible to participate in the TwiWizard Tournament. Although, he still thinks that Harry cheated a little. Anyways, Arthur came back home for the summer. Alastair was back home from college for the summer as well. Their mother had to work on Dylan and Seamus' last school day, so since neither of the two boys had a car, Alastair had to pick them up. Thus, bringing Arthur along because (1) he made him, and (2) so that their mother wouldn't worry about an unsupervised, underaged wizard alone in her house. Not that she didn't trust Arthur, she just worried for his safety. Since Alastair made him come along, he decided to drop Arthur off at the playground and the other three to go get ice cream. Sure enough they were gone for an hour, but they did get Arthur some ice cream, too.
Of course, it wasn't all that safe out then as well, but while Arthur was waiting for them at the playground, another boy approached him. He had darker blonde hair than Arthur's and stunning blue eyes. He even had a strand of hair on the top that stood up. His name was Alfred F. Jones. He wanted to know more about Arthur since he's never seen him before. It was quite understandable since Arthur didn't go to muggle school anymore. They talked for the whole hour. They got quite fond of each other, though Arthur thought he was a little annoying sometimes with his outbursts and childish attitude; it reminded him of his brothers. Nonetheless, Arthur appreciated making a friend that day. He never did tell Alfred that he was a wizard, though. He knew that that piece of information needed to be kept a secret from any muggle, besides his closest family.
Since that day, Arthur and Alfred had been friends. They hung out together for most of the summer, and have gotten to really know each other well. Arthur was able to tolerate him after a while. Towards the end of the summer, Alfred was the one who would come over to Arthur's house and Arthur would end up being annoyed with him. It was their daily routine. Arthur would never admit it, but he did enjoy Alfred's visits from time to time. It gave him something to do plus someone to socialize with.
All this came flashing back to him when the sight of Alfred happened. He snapped back out of it when he noticed the attention was on him, mostly by Alfred.
"Yeah, it's nice to see you too," Arthur said. The awkwardness started to swarm the room. His older brothers started snickering. Arthur gave them a look. Mrs. Kirkland interrupted the silence.
"Why don't you stay for breakfast, Alfred?" she asked.
"Sure, I guess," Alfred said cheerfully. A big grin on his face. "What's for breakfast, then?"
"Waffles," answered Mrs. Kirkland with a smile back. Alfred grinned even more and sat down to eat. Arthur was quite content that his friend hadn't forgotten about him, even though Arthur forgot.
"So, what about this weather, eh?" Alastair tried making small-talk while shoving food into his mouth.
"Yeah, how did you get here anyways? Didn't your parents tell you not to leave your house?" Dylan asked. Mrs. Kirkland gave her full attention as it was now her responsibility as a mother to take care of this boy. She was always motherly to any child that set foot in this house, in a good way.
"I rode my bike. Plus, my father was out and he told me it was okay if I stayed at a friend's. I don't think he wanted me home alone," he said biting into his waffles. Dylan forgot that it was just Alfred and his father living together. His mother left with his twin brother awhile ago, and even though they often meet to see each other again, it was quite saddening.
"In this weather? You shouldn't be going anywhere," Alastair added. Mrs. Kirkland and the three older brothers did take into the wizarding news. Even though they tease and don't take it seriously, they do pay attention to what's going on so they know how safe Arthur is. Saying that meant that they knew not to leave the safety of their home because of the danger that lurked outdoors, and Alfred of course wouldn't have known that.
"Seriously guys, it's just foggy. What harm could it do?" Alfred asked with a smile. He kept on eating, not paying attention to the looks that Arthur's brothers gave Arthur at the table.
Alfred gave his thanks after they were done eating their breakfast. Alastair, Dylan, and Seamus started helping their mother with cleaning up. Arthur was about to help when Alfred asked if he wanted to hang for the day.
"Sure, I don't see why not," Arthur smiled. Alfred jumped up and started for the door. Arthur gave a confused look and then started after him. When he got to the door, he stopped and looked at Alfred. Alfred was down by the street with two bikes. Arthur was still confused.
"C'mon! Let's go hang!" Alfred said seeing the confused look on Arthur's face.
"You just so happened to bring two bikes here?" Arthur asked.
"Well, yeah," Alfred replied.
"You didn't even know if I was going to say yes or not."
"Didn't have to, I already knew you were going to. You're predictable."
"I am not "predictable"."
"Am too," Alfred teased. He had a mischievous smile on his face whenever he messed with Arthur. Arthur kind of missed this, but he would never admit it. Alfred kept gesturing Arthur to take the bike. Arthur didn't move. He was actually starting to get anxious with Alfred out there by the street.
"Where are we going?" Arthur asked from the door. He tried to hide the worry in his voice. Alfred didn't even notice.
"Let's go to the playground," Alfred suggested.
"I think we should stay here. I mean, this weather and all..." Arthur trailed off. He didn't know what to say in order for Alfred to get back in the safety of the house.
"Why are you guys so interested in the weather?" Alfred started, annoyance in his voice.
"I just think we should stay here for the day. I have things I wanted to do today anyways," Arthur continued. Alfred pouted a bit before agreeing. He then walked back into the house and he put back on a cheery face. If it made Arthur happy, then he wouldn't argue against it.
"So what'dya wanna do then, Arty?" Alfred smiled looking at Arthur. He was now messing with him.
"How many times do I have to tell you not to call me that?" Arthur huffed. Alfred put his hands up in defense.
"Alright, don't get your panties in a twist. I'm just messing with ya," Alfred smiled a sly smile. Arthur's face went a little red. He didn't know why but he thought it was just his anger reaching his cheeks.
"Let's go upstairs," Alfred suggested. Arthur froze. He still had his magical stuff laying out all over the room. There was no way he wanted Alfred to find out, yet.
"Wait, I have to clean it," Arthur started after him.
"Can't you clean it while I'm up there?" Alfred asked. That was a good point.
"No," Arthur reluctantly said. Of course it seemed weird and Arthur knew he was going to lose the argument, but before Alfred could say anything else Arthur added, "Why don't you help them in the kitchen, or wait here?"
"Alright, I guess," Alfred gave Arthur a confused look while heading off to the kitchen.
Arthur went upstairs and quickly straightened up his room, and by straightening up his room, he just piled everything he didn't want Alfred to see in a suitcase and then he stuffed it in the back of his closest. If he couldn't fit it in there then he stuffed it under his bed. His wand though, he hid in the top drawer of his dresser underneath his underwear. Alfred wouldn't touch those, hopefully, so it'd be best to put it there for emergencies. The only thing he didn't need to hide was Alice, his owl (It's not like he could hide her anyways). Alfred's seen her before and she's quite fond of him actually. In fact she gets overexcited whenever Alfred is over.
There was a knock at his door. Arthur opened it to find Alfred standing there peering in curiously.
"So what're you hiding from me?" Alfred played. Arthur scoffed.
"I'm not hiding anything," Arthur replied confidently. Alfred smiled a bit as he squinted faintly at Arthur. Arthur was busy letting Alice out of her cage so that she could greet Alfred. Alfred took Alice into his arms as she flew from the cage. They both missed each other very much.
Alfred sat down on Arthur's bed while Arthur started cleaning Alice's cage; Alice was now perched on Alfred's shoulder. Alfred looked around Arthur's room. It was different now. Some posters were taken down and some were new. He fixed his eyes on a piece of paper that lay on the floor near his closet. It wasn't that there was a paper there, it was that the picture on it was moving. Alfred kept staring at it for a moment. Alice rubbed up against his cheek and Alfred looked at Arthur with a concerned face. Arthur closed Alice's cage and turned around. He gave a confused look at Alfred when he saw Alfred's expression.
"What?" Arthur asked. Alfred's expression became relaxed.
"What? Oh, nothing," Alfred recovered. Arthur disposed of Alice's mess and then sat down next to Alfred. He started petting Alice. A lot of questions started coming to Alfred's mind. He never really thought about where exactly Arthur went to school, and given what he just saw (whether it be his imagination or not) he decided to ask.
"So...umm..where exactly do you go to school, then? I mean, I know you go to a private school, but I never really thought about why," Alfred quietly asked. Arthur stopped petting Alice and looked at him. Alice looked at Alfred too. Arthur was kind of freaking out now. He never thought that he would've had to answer a question like this. He didn't have an answer either.
"Why do you need to know?" Arthur replied.
"I don't, I was just curious," Alfred said.
"Well..." Arthur didn't want to be mean to Alfred, but he didn't know another way to end the subject. "Well don't be."
Alfred was taken aback. He must've struck a nerve there. Arthur got up and walked across the room, but where he was going or what he was going to do, he didn't know.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean..." Alfred started.
"It's alright, I just don't want to talk about it," Arthur quietly said.
"Just so you know, you don't have to be ashamed of anything. If that's what it is. You also don't have to tell me anything either. I understand."
Do you? I doubt it, Arthur thought.
"I know, I'm not ashamed. I just..."
"Then what is it?"
It's for everyone's safety.
"I don't know."
Alfred saw how Arthur was starting to shake a bit. He didn't want to press the matter any further. He also felt like getting up and comforting him, but Arthur, and even himself, might find it a tad bit weird.
"So...glad to have summer back?" Alfred tried to changed the subject. "Well, most of it I guess," he said looking out the window. Arthur turned around and walked over to the window.
"Yeah, I guess," he smiled looking out of it. At least he attempted to smile to let Alfred know he was alright, but he wasn't. Death Eaters and dementors were out on the loose, and even they weren't safe here at home. Hogwarts might be the only safe place nowadays, and his family nor Alfred could ever go there.
It was still foggy outside, but the sun kept trying to peak through every now-and-then. Arthur's eyes moved down to the streets, where he saw movement. There were three people in black cloaks walking down the street. They were headed through town it looked like. Fortunately, they weren't looking at any houses. What were they doing in the middle of a muggle town?
"Everything okay?" Alfred asked.
"Yeah," Arthur lied. He took his curtains and closed them. Alfred got up and Alice flew across the room into her shelter. She always did that when something dark was coming. Arthur started for downstairs. Alfred followed.
"Are you sure you're alright?" Alfred asked. Alfred didn't know what was going on. Arthur was behaving differently than when he saw him last, and it was spooking Alfred. Did he see something outside? What did he see?
Arthur went downstairs and closed the main curtains. His brothers started complaining until Arthur gave them a look. They shut up immediately and gave him a reassuring look back. His mother came in asking what was going on when she saw Arthur peeking out of the window. Alfred turned to Mrs. Kirkland and gave her a questioning look. Mrs. Kirkland put an arm on his shoulder and whispered that she'll explain later. Arthur felt for his wand but soon realized that it was upstairs. He then hoped to God that the hooded figures wouldn't make a pit stop.
It was silent throughout the entire house, and Arthur kept sneakily peering through the window. His brothers were silent and standing back watching Arthur. Arthur let go of the curtain and closed his eyes and they heard a huge crack as a flash of green light seeped through the curtains. Arthur opened his eyes and then stood there for a moment. He was basically praying to God right now, and he usually wasn't that religious. Everyone held their breaths as another crack came out of nowhere, but seeing that there weren't any flashes of light this time, Arthur knew they were safe. For now.
Arthur peeked outside again, only to see nothing but a figure on the ground. He waited for another minute before turning to his family. They watched in anticipation. Even Alfred did, although his eyes were really more in surprise.
"Are we clear?" Mrs. Kirkland whispered.
"I think so," Arthur replied. Just then they heard a loud voice outside and another flash of light, this time in the sky. There was another crack not long after that. Arthur opened the curtain and looked up into the sky. Sure enough, the Dark Mark was up there. He looked into the streets and saw a big crowd of people that had left their homes, all scrambling around the dead body and yelling, pointing at the sky. Arthur turned around and motioned for Alfred to follow. Mrs. Kirkland let him go as she turned to her other sons.
When they got upstairs, Arthur shut the door behind Alfred and immediately started pacing. He was debating on just telling him the truth, since what just happened must've seen really weird to him. But on the other hand, he might just sound really crazy and he might lose his friend, and he didn't want that. Alfred then answered his first question for him.
"You want to tell me what's going on, or do you want to keep keeping it a secret," Alfred said. He wasn't all that polite either. Arthur stopped and started rubbing his face with his hands. He should just come right out, seeing that the Ministry of Magic would be here any minute now to clear the minds of the muggles. Oh, and Alfred's here too so that's not good.
"Well?" Alfred asked. He was more polite this time. "Do I have to say it in order for you to confess?" What did he mean by that? Arthur let his face go and he looked over at Alfred. He opened his mouth but nothing came out. Alfred sat patiently. At least he wasn't pestering him about it.
Arthur couldn't speak. He didn't know how to anymore. Just then he got an idea. He took off for his dresser and he opened the top drawer. He got interrupted before he got any further.
"You're a wizard."
Arthur paused, he already had his hand on his wand. He slowly turned around with it in his hand and faced Alfred. Alfred looked down at it and the back up at Arthur.
"How did you know?" Arthur asked. Alfred sighed.
"I'm not that stupid. I saw the moving picture over there..." Alfred pointed to the piece of paper on the floor. "I also know that flash of green light."
Arthur was taken aback.
"You...you do?"
"Yes, my grandparents are no longer here because of it."
Arthur's heart sank.
"Plus, my mother...she went to Hogwarts as well."
"What? I thought you were from America?"
"I am, but my mother was born and raised here in England. She was a Gryffindor. She told me."
Oh, Arthur thought.
"It explains the owl too," Alfred chuckled looking over at Alice. "So is it just you or is everyone in your family wizards?"
"It's just me," Arthur sighed.
"So that's where you go to school," Alfred kept smiling.
"You're not mad?" Arthur asked. He sure thought that Alfred would've been at least mad at him for keeping it a secret.
"No, I get it. My mom has to be in hiding too. So what House are you in?" Alfred asked intriguingly. Arthur hesitated.
"What has your mom told you about the other houses?"
"Well, she told me that the Hufflepuffs are loyal and friendly, maybe a bit too nice; The Ravenclaws are smart and kind of cocky sometimes; The Gryffindors are brave and sometimes stupid; and the Slytherins are nasty."
Oh...
"Although, there's those few, she said, that are very nice," Alfred finished. "Why?"
Arthur looked down and started fiddling with his wand. "Slytherin."
"What?"
"I'm a Slytherin," Arthur said louder. Alfred smiled.
"And you thought that would change my view of you?" Alfred asked.
"Well, yeah..." Arthur admitted. "Does it?"
"No, I know you Arthur, and your not a bad guy if you think you are."
Arthur smiled. This made him happier.
Just then there was a knock at his door.
"Arthur, some guys are asking for you downstairs." It was Dylan.
"What do I do?" Alfred asked Arthur.
"Stay here unless they need you."
"Why would they need me?"
"I hope they don't," Arthur left it at that.
Arthur made it to the living room where he found his mother talking to two men. Alastair and Seamus were standing in the kitchen out of the way. That was were Dylan went as he reached downstairs, too.
"Ah, Arthur is it?" one of the men asked.
"Yes, sir," Arthur hesitantly said. He didn't move from his spot at the bottom of the stairs.
"It's ok, we don't bite," said the man.
"He might, but I don't," joked the other man. Arthur walked towards them only to recognize who they were.
"Can you please be serious?" asked the first man.
"I can, but I choose not to," replied the other man.
"Professor Lupin? Professor Moody?" Arthur asked.
"Yes and no kid," Moody said. "We're not professors anymore, but it is us."
"How do I know that?"
"I fed you chocolate when that dementor almost got you," Remus said. Alright he's clean.
"There's someone upstairs," Moody said. His magic eye was wondering everywhere and was then fixed on the place where Alfred was. He's clean too. "Who's upstairs?"
"That's my friend," Arthur answered.
"He's not magical," Moody said.
"No," Arthur said.
"He know?"
"Yes sir, he does."
"Alright," he said.
Remus gave him a look of questioning.
"You're just going to let that slide?"
"Yes I am."
"Why are you guys here? What about the Ministry—" Arthur started.
"The Ministry is making its way here. We were called here to warn you to be safe from the Ministry. Any one of them Death Eaters could be controlling 'em—"
"Or they could be working for You-Know-Who," Remus finished.
"Why me though? What about Harry?"
"The others are watching him, we were called here to talk to you. You are in Dumbledore's Army, aren't ya?" Moody asked.
"Yeah..."
"One of the only Slytherins in the "so called club"," Remus added.
"That's why," Moody said. His magical eye kept watching Alfred. "We need to hurry off," he added as his eye went to the streets.
"Arthur, please be safe. And, one more thing: don't hesitate to use magic."
"But—"
"I know your underage, but when it comes down to it: you have to defend yourself. Dumbledore will help you if you get caught," Remus warned Arthur. Arthur nodded.
"Now we must be off," Moody said.
"Be safe Arthur!" Remus warned again as they left out the back. Not long after they left, there was another knock at the door. This time two more men entered the house.
"Arthur Kirkland. He live here?"
"Yes sir," Arthur answered. "That's me."
"Alright, you're a wizard then?"
"Yes sir."
"Alright. Did you see what happened?"
"Yes I did. I was up in my room when I saw three figures walking down the street. I went downstairs and watched from there. I saw them walk in front of my house and run into someone out there. There was a flash of green light... then they conjured the dark mark and left," Arthur gave them the details. One of the men had a quick-writing quill just like what Rita Skeeter had.
"Alright, now I'm sorry, but I must ask you one thing only the real Arthur Kirkland would know. Just so we know that you aren't being controlled or otherwise a disguise."
Arthur thought for a bit before he found just the thing.
"My father left my family not long after I was born. To this day, we still don't know where he is or if he's alive," Arthur stated.
There was silence.
"He's good," the man said. With that the two went to leave. Mrs. Kirkland walked over to Arthur and hugged him.
"They're not very nice," she said.
"They're doing their job, mum," Arthur said. There were footsteps on the stairs and Alfred showed up in the living room.
"Is it safe to come out yet?" Alfred asked as he had already come out of hiding.
"I guess since you already came downstairs, then yes," Alastair sarcastically said. Alfred smiled.
"You get in trouble?" Alfred asked Arthur.
"Luckily, no," Arthur smiled. Alfred smiled back.
"So, what now?" Alfred asked.
"It's almost five o'clock in the afternoon," Seamus said.
"Alfred, you want to stay for dinner?" Mrs. Kirkland asked him.
"Sure! My dad won't be here until seven, unless I leave early," Alfred replied.
"Why don't you stay until your dad comes. The weather and all..." Dylan suggested.
"What is it about the weather? Is it some other magical thing I should know about?" Alfred asked looking at Arthur. Everyone else stopped what they were doing and stared at Arthur.
"I explained everything to him upstairs," Arthur assured them.
"Are you allowed to do that?" Alastair asked.
"I'm not sure, but I'm guessing I'm good as long as he doesn't tell anyone else," Arthur said.
"Please, not like anyone would believe me anyways," Alfred said. Everyone shook their head in agreement.
"They're called Dementors," Arthur started.
"Sounds...fun..." Alfred half-smiled.
"They used to guard the wizard prison known as Azkaban. When the prisoners rioted and broke free, so did the Dementors."
"Then are they trying to catch these prisoners?"
"No, they could care less. They suck your soul out of you as they feed on your happiness," Arthur said.
"Oh..." Alfred cringed. "They can only hurt wizards, right?"
"No, they can hurt you too. What they do is create fog like this, and then when they find someone, they kiss them and take their soul. The person is left with no soul to live out its miserable life," Arthur concluded.
"How do you stop it?"
"Well, Harry taught me to think of my happiest memory and use that to create a Patronus, or shield against the creature. Or creatures if there's more than one."
"More than one?" Alfred repeated.
"Yeah."
"What's a Patronus like?"
"Well, everyone's is different. Like their personality."
"What's yours then?" Alfred was paying attention like a little kindergartner listening to a fairy tale.
"Well, I haven't made a fully successful one yet, but I've made enough to figure out that it looks like a unicorn," Arthur blushed a bit. He rubbed the back of his neck.
"Cool, I wonder what mine would be like if I could do magic," Alfred smiled. Arthur smiled back. He wondered the same thing too, plus what house he would be in, his wand type, and many other things.
"What was your happy memory?" Alfred asked a little shyly. Arthur's cheeks went red, and this made Alfred smile mischievously. Alfred could use this to his advantage for something now.
"I'd...I'd rather not say..." Arthur said. In reality, it was just him meeting Alfred and making friends for the first time.
"How come your not a wizard?" Arthur asked changing the subject. Alfred chuckled.
"I don't know, neither me nor my brother got anything like that from our mother. Maybe it skipped my generation. My dad isn't magical, maybe that's it," Alfred said. "You don't want to tell me your happiest memory?" Alfred teased. Arthur blushed again.
"No, and that's final," Arthur snapped as he then turned and headed to the kitchen. Alfred kept smiling as he said his apologies. He followed to help with dinner, and after they ate and had conversation at the table, Alfred left for home. At least until the next day came.