Chapter One
The Weeping Lady, one of the only inns in the town of New Hoaten, was a large,
cheery place. It was decorated in mostly bright yellows and blues in a country
style. To the muggle farmers, it was a place of warmth and safety, a place to
stand by the fire and gossip the night away. The Wizards from the West Side of
town felt exactly the same way about the inn, and even the muggles had learned
to ignore any person entering the bar dressed in cloaks and robes. They were
just West-Siders, after all.
Mandy Delvo almost ran into the inn, her cloak wrapped around her tightly and
her dirty blond hair falling from her loose ponytail. The innkeeper, who was
just bragging about his daughter Samantha being named Prefect, looked up and
smiled.
Mandy, oddly enough, didn't return the smile. "They're dead!" she hissed.
"Who's dead? Here, Mandy, take your cloak off, you must be boiling in that..."
Jason, Mandy's fiancée offered Mandy a chair, his hazel eyes filled with
concern. Rumor had it that the only reason Mandy wanted to marry Jason was
because of his father's money, and that was backed up only by the well known
fact that Mandy was an idiot who could never remember names on time and was
hopelessly in love with gossip.
Jason, on the other hand, was a quiet man, with dark hair and olive skin, not
especially handsome, but he seemed to have some kind of air about him of
security that made up for it. Why Jason would ever go for a girl like Mandy was
one of the most discussed mysteries at the inn.
Mandy took the chair and gestured for all the wizards in the bar to come sit
around the small table. "I just came from the Draconis house!" she hissed.
"What about the Draconis'?" Jason asked.
"They're dead! The dark mark was flying above their house!" Mandy hissed.
"You-Know-Who himself probably did them in..."
"The Draconis'?" The wizard on Jason's right frowned. "I heard the entire family
was made up of illegal animagus... even Wiley, the boy... how old is he? Ten?"
"Eleven," Mandy hissed. "Honestly, Youn, you think an eleven year old boy could
possibly be an animagus? You haven't gotten enough sleep."
"Well, where is the boy going now?"
Mandy shrugged. "I think his godparents will take him... what was their names...
Jason, help me out..."
"Moreleous and Katrina Malfoy," Jason sighed.
"Malfoy!" Youn made a face of the utmost revulsion. "You can't mean the ministry
is going to send Wiley Draconis the Malfoys?!"
"Not Lucius Malfoy, pea brain, Moreleous Malfoy. No connections to the dark
arts. Well, none I know of, anyway. Besides, I do know that they have a son
about Wiley's age... what's his name? Jason..." Mandy shook her head in hopeless
confusion.
"Ian Malfoy," Jason said, sipping his ale. "Any reason You-Know-Who killed off
the Draconis'?"
"No clue. Then again, I heard that Wiley's father was involved with the
unspeakables, and..."
"Town rumors, nothing more," Jason put down his mug and looked bored. "Just like
the town rumor that the entire Draconis family is made up of illegal animagus."
"Oh, but they are! I swear, Wiley can turn into a dragon!" Youn insisted. The
other wizards shook their heads at the idiot and waited for Mandy to tell more.
Mandy, though, had apperantly exhausted her supply of gossip (amazingly), and
the other wizards left the inn, most of them heading for the Draconis house to
see if they could pick up anything Mandy missed.
* * *
The day started like any other, Ian and Wiley woke up simultaneously and had a
small brawl over the bathroom and as usual, Wiley won because of Ian's lack of
persistence.
The day was like any other, but Wiley had something he could not remember. As
he walked downstairs, he could not help but remember as the Malfoy's had put up
huge banners magically flashing 'Congratulations Ian and Wiley' to 'First Year
at Hogwarts'.
"Good morning all", Wiley said groggily. "What's with the signs?"
"Duh", said Ian coming up on him from behind, "it's our first day at Hogwarts tomorrow!
Aura went and got our books and robes yesterday, now all we have to do is get
wands."
Ian was a little too excited today. Wiley wondered if he had actually slept
last night, considered asking him, and then concluded that Ian had not slept.
"Um" if it's the first day of school tomorrow, why haven't we gotten our wands
before now?" Wiley asked.
Ian stared at Wiley in surprise. "Because you're Wiley and I'm Ian and that's
just what we do. What's for breakfast?"
"So, where exactly do we go to get our wands?" Wiley glanced up from the
pancakes that Aura had set in front of him.
"Don't you know anything?" Ian said.
"Well, if you can't remember the stories. Remember I just used to get wands
from my parents' old stuff." Wiley said. "So, tell me where we get this
stuff."
"Diagon Alley," Ian said calmly.
"Never been there before," Wiley said stuffing some pancakes into his mouth.
"How do we get there?"
"We have to go by Floo Powder," said Katrina shoving two more stacks of cakes in
front of each of them. "Now eat up quickly we have to leave in half an hour."
They were all in a mad rush to get all their things ready and Wiley wasn't sure
about this Floo Powder stuff, since he had never used it and from what he had
read it was a very unsuspecting way of travel.
Everyone was packed and ready to go, as all of their things were by the Malfoy's
large fireplace.
Katrina said to Wiley, "By the way dear, we will have to go to Gringotts before
we do anything for all of our currency!"
One by one they disappeared into the fire and then there were two, Moreleous and
Wiley.
Moreleous said to Wiley, "You next, I am right behind you. See you there!"
Wiley tossed in the powder and yelled, "Diagon Alley!" and in a flash he was
spinning and gone.
The Weeping Lady, one of the only inns in the town of New Hoaten, was a large,
cheery place. It was decorated in mostly bright yellows and blues in a country
style. To the muggle farmers, it was a place of warmth and safety, a place to
stand by the fire and gossip the night away. The Wizards from the West Side of
town felt exactly the same way about the inn, and even the muggles had learned
to ignore any person entering the bar dressed in cloaks and robes. They were
just West-Siders, after all.
Mandy Delvo almost ran into the inn, her cloak wrapped around her tightly and
her dirty blond hair falling from her loose ponytail. The innkeeper, who was
just bragging about his daughter Samantha being named Prefect, looked up and
smiled.
Mandy, oddly enough, didn't return the smile. "They're dead!" she hissed.
"Who's dead? Here, Mandy, take your cloak off, you must be boiling in that..."
Jason, Mandy's fiancée offered Mandy a chair, his hazel eyes filled with
concern. Rumor had it that the only reason Mandy wanted to marry Jason was
because of his father's money, and that was backed up only by the well known
fact that Mandy was an idiot who could never remember names on time and was
hopelessly in love with gossip.
Jason, on the other hand, was a quiet man, with dark hair and olive skin, not
especially handsome, but he seemed to have some kind of air about him of
security that made up for it. Why Jason would ever go for a girl like Mandy was
one of the most discussed mysteries at the inn.
Mandy took the chair and gestured for all the wizards in the bar to come sit
around the small table. "I just came from the Draconis house!" she hissed.
"What about the Draconis'?" Jason asked.
"They're dead! The dark mark was flying above their house!" Mandy hissed.
"You-Know-Who himself probably did them in..."
"The Draconis'?" The wizard on Jason's right frowned. "I heard the entire family
was made up of illegal animagus... even Wiley, the boy... how old is he? Ten?"
"Eleven," Mandy hissed. "Honestly, Youn, you think an eleven year old boy could
possibly be an animagus? You haven't gotten enough sleep."
"Well, where is the boy going now?"
Mandy shrugged. "I think his godparents will take him... what was their names...
Jason, help me out..."
"Moreleous and Katrina Malfoy," Jason sighed.
"Malfoy!" Youn made a face of the utmost revulsion. "You can't mean the ministry
is going to send Wiley Draconis the Malfoys?!"
"Not Lucius Malfoy, pea brain, Moreleous Malfoy. No connections to the dark
arts. Well, none I know of, anyway. Besides, I do know that they have a son
about Wiley's age... what's his name? Jason..." Mandy shook her head in hopeless
confusion.
"Ian Malfoy," Jason said, sipping his ale. "Any reason You-Know-Who killed off
the Draconis'?"
"No clue. Then again, I heard that Wiley's father was involved with the
unspeakables, and..."
"Town rumors, nothing more," Jason put down his mug and looked bored. "Just like
the town rumor that the entire Draconis family is made up of illegal animagus."
"Oh, but they are! I swear, Wiley can turn into a dragon!" Youn insisted. The
other wizards shook their heads at the idiot and waited for Mandy to tell more.
Mandy, though, had apperantly exhausted her supply of gossip (amazingly), and
the other wizards left the inn, most of them heading for the Draconis house to
see if they could pick up anything Mandy missed.
* * *
The day started like any other, Ian and Wiley woke up simultaneously and had a
small brawl over the bathroom and as usual, Wiley won because of Ian's lack of
persistence.
The day was like any other, but Wiley had something he could not remember. As
he walked downstairs, he could not help but remember as the Malfoy's had put up
huge banners magically flashing 'Congratulations Ian and Wiley' to 'First Year
at Hogwarts'.
"Good morning all", Wiley said groggily. "What's with the signs?"
"Duh", said Ian coming up on him from behind, "it's our first day at Hogwarts tomorrow!
Aura went and got our books and robes yesterday, now all we have to do is get
wands."
Ian was a little too excited today. Wiley wondered if he had actually slept
last night, considered asking him, and then concluded that Ian had not slept.
"Um" if it's the first day of school tomorrow, why haven't we gotten our wands
before now?" Wiley asked.
Ian stared at Wiley in surprise. "Because you're Wiley and I'm Ian and that's
just what we do. What's for breakfast?"
"So, where exactly do we go to get our wands?" Wiley glanced up from the
pancakes that Aura had set in front of him.
"Don't you know anything?" Ian said.
"Well, if you can't remember the stories. Remember I just used to get wands
from my parents' old stuff." Wiley said. "So, tell me where we get this
stuff."
"Diagon Alley," Ian said calmly.
"Never been there before," Wiley said stuffing some pancakes into his mouth.
"How do we get there?"
"We have to go by Floo Powder," said Katrina shoving two more stacks of cakes in
front of each of them. "Now eat up quickly we have to leave in half an hour."
They were all in a mad rush to get all their things ready and Wiley wasn't sure
about this Floo Powder stuff, since he had never used it and from what he had
read it was a very unsuspecting way of travel.
Everyone was packed and ready to go, as all of their things were by the Malfoy's
large fireplace.
Katrina said to Wiley, "By the way dear, we will have to go to Gringotts before
we do anything for all of our currency!"
One by one they disappeared into the fire and then there were two, Moreleous and
Wiley.
Moreleous said to Wiley, "You next, I am right behind you. See you there!"
Wiley tossed in the powder and yelled, "Diagon Alley!" and in a flash he was
spinning and gone.