Chapter 2

Uncle Mack's Big Mistake!

KIARA

When I woke the next morning, I could hear my grandmothers moving downstairs and whispering excitedly about me. They weren't throwing a surprise party for me anymore; we had discussed it, and we agreed that seeing as I was thirteen now, I was too old for a birthday party. So I quickly leapt out of bed, grabbed my wash bag out of my bedside cabinet and went to the bathroom for a shower. When I got back to my room, I put my wash bag back, took out my hairdryer and brushes, did my hair and got dressed. I then turned to my bed, and just as I turned, Crooks jumped through my window, landed on my bed and jumped to the floor. I shut my window and did my bed quickly, as I saw Crooks was eyeing Harold and Arrol hungrily, as they were eyeing Crooks carefully. I quickly snatched my Dragsmeade form and scurried Crooks out of my room. As I closed the door, I could smell breakfast cooking, so I went downstairs and entered the big living room and kitchen area.

I turned to my right and saw my grandmothers. When they saw me they both yelled "Happy Birthday, Kiara!" and we hugged. I turned to my left and saw my birthday presents in a pile by the sofa. I was so happy, for today I didn't have to cook or clean or do anything like that, so I sat down and watched my grandmothers cook the breakfast.

Grandmother Sarafina turned the radio on as the clock struck eight in the morning, and the big headline was spoken.

"The big headline today is that two high-security prisoners, Simba and Nala Pride-Lander have escaped. The Prime Minister has sent out a notice to all forces across the country to tell the public that the Pride-Landers are armed and extremely dangerous. A special hotline has been set up, and any sighting of the Pride-Landers should be reported immediately."

As this headline was being spoken, I saw my grandmothers freeze what they were doing and looked at each other nervously, and throw a few uncomfortable glances at me. I think they were afraid that I would start asking questions, but I was a bit wiser now to know when to hold my tongue. But this didn't stop me from thinking about this, oh no. For I thought that this must have been about my parents! But they couldn't be, I remember telling myself, for everyone I had met always told me that my parents were good people …

I was bought out of my reverie by Grandmother Sarabi, who sat down next to me and said nervously, "So, Kiara. Did you – er – sleep well last night?"

"Yes, very," I said. "Although, I did get a wake up call at one o'clock in the morning by owls, who bought me presents from my friends and a few things from school."

"Oh, good," said Grandmother Sarabi, who cheered up as I told her what I got from my friends. She glanced at my hand with the form in. "What's that you've got there, Kiara?"

I glanced down at my hands in shock, for I had forgotten about the form because of the Pride-Lander story. "Oh, it's the form for Dragsmeade. Will you sign it for me so I can go?"

Grandmother Sarabi chuckled and said, "Let me go grab my pen." As she left, Grandmother Sarafina, who was cooking the rest of our breakfast, said, "So, Kiara, not asking us about your parents, are you?"

I thought this was an odd question, for she had never asked me about them. I always had been the one to ask, and whenever I did, they always sighed and told me some story or other. But I kept this in my head and said, "No. I know when to hold my tongue now."

I could sense her smile as she said, "So, do you think you'll take Timmy out today? After all, it's a beautiful day for it." And she was right; the sun was high in the sky and there was barely a cloud in sight.

"You know, I think I will," I said, as Grandmother Sarabi came back with a pen. I put the form on the table and she unfolded it and signed it. She said, "There you go, dear. I'll put this on top of the mantelpiece for you, just so you know where it is." I smiled and watched her as she put it behind a vase on the mantelpiece so it wouldn't fall off.

The breakfast was set and we fell to eating. Afterwards, Grandmother Sarabi got her camera and I began to open my presents. I got CDs, DVDs, video games, a few new quills and parchment and a jewellery box and some make-up; seeing as I was thirteen now, my grandmothers thought it would be good if I learnt how to do my own make-up and if I started to get jewellery now, which coincidentally, my grandmothers had also got for me. I had got my ears pierced when I was seven, so earrings were what I got along with bracelets and a few necklaces.

After I had opened all my presents, I took them to my room and when I came back down, I saw my grandmother Sarabi looking like she was going to go somewhere.

"Where are you going, Grandmother Sarabi?" I asked her, for I thought it was odd for her to go somewhere on my birthday, seeing as she always stayed at home when it came. I found out years later from Crighton's spirit that Grandmother Sarabi had been to see her to see if it was true about my parents.

She looked at me and said, "It's nothing, Kiara. It's just that I have to check a few things out, but don't you fret. I'll be back tonight in time for your birthday tea, fit with birthday cake and ice cream. And we can also give each other make overs. What d you say to that?" she asked me teasingly. At this I couldn't resist, so I just said, "OK, then", and we hugged. As she left, I went to the fridge, took out some snacks and two juice bottles with orange and summer fruits mixed in them, and then I got some carrots from the bottom of the fridge for Timmy, and then went out to see him. He perked his head up when he saw me.

"Hey, boy," I said to him. "Do you fancy a ride today?" he neighed and reared on his front legs delightedly, and I laughed as I brushed him and got him ready. I put the carrots, snacks and juice bottles in the bags on either side of Timmy's saddle and we set off.

I picked up the bow and arrows that I had made for myself in the place where I had hidden them as I rode and decided to see if I was as good as I had been at doing archery on horseback; seeing as it had been a few years since I'd tried it, I thought I'd give it another go. We rode really fast through the woods as I shot arrow after arrow at the targets, and kept hitting the bull. If Merida or Sian could see me now, I bet they'd be impressed by this, I thought delightedly as I shot the last arrow, and yelled so loud in joy that I sent the birds flying out of their nests. I settled down with Timmy for a few hours afterwards, fed him some carrots, and saw a few deer, rabbits and birds come to me. I took a look at them to make sure they were well and fed them a few plants and berries that were close by me and stroked them as well. When it was time to go, I got back on Timmy and rode fast back through the woods and valleys to the cottage, dropping my bow and quiver of arrows in the hiding spot that I had close to home. When I had hid them, I rode Timmy home, took off his saddle, fed him the carrots I had left, washed him down and took the juice bottles and snacks I had left back inside.

After I had placed the snacks on the bench in the kitchen, I turned round and saw my grandmothers at the table, looking at me anxiously and not knowing where to begin. I knew that something was wrong, so I asked them, "What's going on?"

Grandmother Sarabi looked at me, took a deep breath and said, "Sit down, Kiara."

I stood for a few moments before I walked slowly to the table and sat down. Little did I know that at that moment during the next few minutes the words my grandmothers told me would darken the sunshine on my birthday.

My grandmothers stared at me for a few moments, before Grandmother Sarafina said, "Kiara, Mavuto just called me as soon as Sirabi got back and … well … she told me that Frank's cousin Mack has arrived today and will be coming to see us on the last night of his visit."

"Uncle Mack's coming?" I gasped, horrified.

"I'm afraid so, Kiara," Grandmother Sarabi said, as Grandmother Sarafina slowly nodded her head.

"Awww!" I sighed, annoyed, and put my head in my hands. I remember at that moment how my stomach seemed to drop out of me and my heart was still. I hated it when Uncle Mack came (this was his last visit, but still), for he always made my life feel like I was in a living hell. Even though he wasn't really my uncle, I had been forced to call him that my whole life. As far as I knew, Uncle Mack lived in the country in England, in a house with a large garden, where he bred bulldogs. He didn't often stay with the Smiths – which I was very grateful of – for he couldn't bear to leave his precious dogs, but each of his visits stood out vividly in my mind.

When I was younger – well, before I started Dragon Mort, anyway – I had to go to the Smiths for Carol's birthdays; so when it was her fifth birthday party, Uncle Mack had whacked me around the shins with his walking stick to stop me beating Carol at musical statues. A few years later, he had turned up at Christmas with a computerised robot for Carol and sent a box of dog biscuits for me. On his last visit, the year before I had started at Dragon Mort, my grandmothers had some things to do elsewhere, so they left me with the Smiths and Uncle Mack was there, and I accidentally stood on the paw of his favourite dog, Ripper. This dog then chased me out into the garden and up a tree, and Uncle Mack had refused to call him off until my grandmothers came to pick me up. And boy, was I glad when they did. The memory of this incident still brought the tears into Carol's eyes. Well they did, until four years later, when me and her became friends. Oops, I should have added spoiler alert, but too late now.

"Ursula has told me some rules to give to you," Grandmother Sarafina went on gently.

"What rules, Grandmother Sarafina?" I asked her.

"Firstly," she said, "that you are to keep a civil tongue in your head when you're talking to Mack."

"All right," I shrugged, "if he does when he's talking to me."

"I agree with Kiara on that one, Sara," said Grandmother Sarabi to her. "You know how Mack is around the girl …"

Grandmother Sarafina nodded and went on. "Secondly, Mack doesn't know about your magic, so she doesn't want any magic being let loose in the house. She wants you to behave yourself, Ok, sweetie?"

"I will if he does," I said bitterly; Grandmother Sarabi nodded her head.

"And thirdly," said Grandmother Sarafina slowly, with her eyes closed and taking deep breaths as she was wondering how to put this. "Kiara," she said at last, "there is no easy way to say this, so I'm just going to have to tell you. Mavuto has told Mack that you attend some centre for incurably criminal girls?"

"WHAT!?" I shrieked, jumping to my feet, my eyes mad.

Grandmother Sarabi came to me and put an arm round my shoulder. "I told you she's take it this well," she said to Grandmother Sarafina. Then she looked at me and said, "Kiara, sit down." I calmed my breathing and slowly sat down again. Grandmother Sarabi resumed her seat and said, "Kiara, Sarafina and I don't like this as much as you do, but it's the only way to not get in trouble with Mavuto."

"This sucks," I said, sulking.

Grandmother Sarabi patted my arm and said, "I know it does, sweetie. But like I said, it's the only way to stay on your aunt's good side. Can you do that for us?" I looked at my grandmothers expectant faces for a few moments before I reluctantly nodded my head.

"Good girl," Grandmother Sarabi said, and kissed my head. After that, the air was far more cheerful. We ate fried chicken, and had birthday cake and ice cream, and then we watched a few movies and Grandmother Sarafina taught me a bit about make-up. Towards eleven o'clock, I kissed my grandmothers goodnight and went to bed.

The next six days flew by, and nothing exciting happened to report of, I'm afraid, except that every day I was dreading more and more the visit from Uncle Mack. But the dreaded day came at long last. About eleven in the morning, I heard a car pull up and it was them, the Smiths: Mavuto, short and stout with tightly-curled, mousey-brown hair that was shoulder-length and bouncy, with my mother's eyes; Frank, who was a tall, thin man with a handsome, youthful, friendly face and small, piggy, muddy-brown eyes; Carol, just like her mother with bad fashion sense, and the man that was with them was Uncle Frank, whose appearance I will describe to you in a moment. I knew why they were here, of course. Mavuto and Carol wanted to torment and embarrass me, but I wasn't going to give in that easily, oh no.

I slowly walked to the door as they got out of the car, sighed deeply and then opened the door. I saw Uncle Mack, who fortunately had not noticed me yet, but it was only a matter of time, after all. He looked just like Uncle Frank; tall, thin and with a handsome, youthful face and the same piggy, muddy-brown eyes. The only difference between them was that Uncle Mack hated my guts.

I stood back as the company came in and shut the door when they had all passed. They all greeted Grandmother Sarafina with joy, but when it came to Sarabi and I, their joy turned to mingled looks of disgust and hatred, although Uncle Frank, who was standing behind the rest, gave me and Sarabi small smiles, which we briefly returned before any of the others could turn on us.

"So," barked Uncle Mack to Grandmother Sarabi and I, "you two are still here, then?"

"Obviously," I said stiffly.

"Don't you say "obviously" in that ungrateful way to me," Uncle Mack growled. "It's damn good of Sarafina to keep you here. Wouldn't have done it myself. You'd have gone straight to an orphanage if you'd been dumped on my doorstep."

"Er, I keep Kiara too, Mack," Grandmother Sarabi said. Mack just looked at her, totally nonplussed and sat down in one of the armchairs that were recently added in the room. Grandmother Sarafina bought out a tea tray with some cakes as the rest of us sat down.

I wanted to say that I'd prefer an orphanage to him and the Smiths, but thought better of it. I forced my face into a painful smile instead.

"Don't you smirk at me!" boomed Uncle Mack. "I can see you haven't improved since the last time I saw you." He took a large gulp of tea, wiped his mouth and said, "Where is it you send her, Sarafina?"

"Some centre or other for incurably criminal girls," said Grandmother Sarafina promptly. "It's a first-rate institution for hopeless cases."

"I see," said Uncle Mack. "Do they cane you st this centre, girl?" he barked at me.

"Er –"

I saw Aunt Mavuto nodding curtly at me behind Uncle Mack's back.

"Yes," I said. Then, feeling as though I might as well do the thing properly, I added, "All the time."

"Excellent," said Uncle Mack. "I won't have any of this wishy-washy, namby-pamby nonsense about not hitting people who don't deserve it. A good thrashing is what's needed in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred. Have you been beaten often?"

"Oh, yeah," I said, "loads of times."

Uncle Mack narrowed his eyes.

"I still don't like your tone, girl," he said. "If you can speak of your beatings in that casual way, they clearly aren't hitting you hard enough. Sarafina, I'd write if I was you. Make it clear that you approve of the use of extreme violence in this girl's case."

Perhaps Aunt Mavuto thought that I might forget our bargain; in any case, she quickly changed the subject, to my immense relief.

"So Mack, did you hear the news earlier this week? About those escaped prisoners …"

It continued like this for the remainder of the day. Whenever Uncle Mack was speaking to me, I was always thinking about my Handbook of Do-It-Yourself Broomcare (for I was reading it before I saw Uncle Mack again, you see), which always made me look dreamy-eyed. Uncle Mack thought there was something extra wrong with me, and Aunt Mavuto, Uncle Frank and my grandmothers insisted that I went to my room, which I would have been more than happy to do, except that Uncle Mack wanted to keep me near him to discuss some of the differences between me and Carol. I could see that my grandmother Sarabi was holding back an insult or two on the tip of her tongue as though longing to say something to him, but what choice did we have? At last, dinner came at six in the evening, which I was glad of, for after this meal, the Smiths would be leaving. Thank God for that!

It was during dinner that we got to understand a bit more about where Mack was coming from about the differences between Carol and me. For it was when we were tucking in to a sumptuous chocolate gateau that Uncle Frank had made us, and he had bought a bottle of brandy with him.

"Can I tempt you, Mack?"

By this point, Uncle Mack had already had a lot of wine, for his face was very red.

"Just a small one, then," he chuckled. "A bit more than that … a bit more … that's the way."

Carol was on her fourth slice of pie. She was starting to put a bit of meat on her bones, which was a long time coming, even I had to admit. Anyhoo, my grandmothers and Aunt Mavuto were sipping coffee and Uncle Frank was drinking brandy with Mack. I really wanted to disappear to my bedroom at this point, but a warning look from Aunt Mavuto told me that I'd have to stick this one out.

"Aaah," said Uncle Mack, putting down the glass. "Excellent nosh, Frank. It's normally just a fry-up for me of an evening, with twelve dogs to look after …" He burped richly and patted his great tweed stomach. "Pardon me. But I do like to see a healthy-sized girl," he went on, winking at Carol. "You'll be a proper-sized woman, Carol, like your mother. Yes, I'll have a spot more brandy, Frank …

"Now, this one here …"

He weaved his head at me. I saw my grandmothers' freeze and exchange nervous glances as I felt my stomach clench. The Handbook, I thought quickly.

"This one's got a mean, runty look about her. You get that with dogs. I had one put down the other day, you know. Ratty, little thing it was. Weak. Underbred."

I was trying to remember page twelve of my book: A Charm to Cure Reluctant Reversers. I could see Grandmother Sirabi out of the corner of my eye with her eyes narrowed threateningly. We were getting into dangerous territory now, and make no mistake about that.

"It all comes down to blood, as I was saying the other day. Bad blood will out. Now, I'm saying nothing against your side of the family, Mavuto. Sarafina –" he patted Aunt Mavuto's hand and gave a swift smile to Grandmother Sarafina, "but your sister – daughter, Sara – was a bad egg. They turn up in the best of families. Then she ran off with a cheapskate and here's the result of it right here."

My grandmothers both stood up at this remark and all of us froze. I had never seen my grandmothers act like this before, for I was usually the one who kicked off in this house up until this moment. Carol looked up from her plate, and my aunt and two uncles looked at my grandmothers, who were towering over them with pure fury in their eyes. I was staring at them with a funny ringing in my ears. Grasp your broom firmly by the tail, I thought. But I couldn't remember the rest. The tension in the room was that thick it was like you could hardly breathe.

"Bad egg?" said Grandmother Sarafina indignantly. "That bad egg happens to be my other daughter. And I know her well enough to know that she is nothing like that at all, for your information."

"Yes and that cheapskate just happens to be my son!" shrieked Grandmother Sarabi, tears of pure, hot anger surging down her cheeks.

Uncle Mack looked at Grandmother Sarabi, chuckled nervously and said, "Well, if that's your son who's your granddaughter's father, I'm not surprised she turned out the way she did."

"WHAT?" my grandmothers shrieked, their mingled voices echoing round the silent kitchen. I saw Uncle Mack tremble slightly, which I was glad of.

"Oh, if you only knew what I could do to –" Grandmother Sarabi growled.

"Sirabi!" Grandmother Sarafina hissed, and Grandmother Sarabi took a few deep breaths and calmed herself slightly as Uncle Frank suggested more brandy.

"This Pride-Lander," said Uncle Mack loudly, ignoring this last bit as he seized the brandy bottle and splashing more into his glass and over the tablecloth, "you never told me what he does?"

The tension mounted once more as Uncle Frank and Aunt Mavuto looked tensely at each other. Even Carol perked up at this.

"He – didn't work," said Aunt Mavuto, with half a glance at me. "Unemployed."

"Oh, that's it," said Grandmother Sarabi sarcastically. "Spread more lies about our family, why don't you?"

"As I expected!" said Uncle Mack, again ignoring Grandmother Sarabi as he took a huge swig of brandy and wiped his chin on his sleeve. "A no-account, good-for-nothing, lazy scrounger who –"

"He was not," said Grandmother Sarabi and I simultaneously. The table was very quiet again. Grandmother Sarabi was glaring through her tears at Uncle Mack as I was shaking all over. I had never felt so angry in all my life.

"MORE BRANDY!" yelled Aunt Mavuto, who had gone very white. Grandmother Sarafina, who had gone white too, looked at me and said, "Kiara, why don't you go to bed, sweetie –"

"No, Sarafina," hiccoughed Uncle Mack, his tiny bloodshot eyes focussed on mine. "Go on, girl, go on. Proud of your parents, are you? After all, they've been dealing with mental health issues (through drink, I expect) –"

"They don't have mental health issues!" I said, on my feet now.

"And they aren't drunks, either!" Grandmother Sarabi put in. At this moment, the glass in Uncle Mack's hand exploded. Shards of glass flew in every direction and Uncle Mack spluttered and blinked, his face dripping.

"Mack!" squealed Aunt Mavuto. "Mack, are you all right?"

"Not to worry," grumbled Uncle Mack, mopping his face with his napkin. "Must have squeezed it too hard. I have a very firm grip, you know.

"Now you mustn't blame yourself on how she turned out, Sarafina," he said. "You see it in dogs, like I was saying to Ursula back at hers. If there's something wrong with the bitch, there'll be something wrong with the pup –"

"SHUT UP! SHUT UP!" I yelled, anger coursing through me as Grandmother Sarabi came to my side and put an arm around me. "My parents are not cuckoo in the head!"

"Yes they are, you nasty little liar, and left you to be a burden on your grandmothers!" screamed Uncle Mack, swelling with fury. "You're an insolent, ungrateful little –"

But Uncle Mack suddenly stopped speaking. For a moment, it looked as though words had failed him. He seemed to be swelling with inexpressible anger – but the swelling didn't stop. His red face started to expand, his tiny eyes bulged and his mouth stretched too tightly for speech. Next second, several buttons burst from his tweed jacket and pinged off the walls – he was inflating like a monstrous balloon, his stomach bursting free of his tweed waistband, one of his fingers blowing up like a salami …

"MACK!" yelled Uncle Frank and Aunt Ursula together, as Uncle Mack's whole body began to rise off his chair towards the ceiling. He was entirely round now, like a vast life buoy with piggy eyes, and his hands and feet stood out weirdly as he drifted up into the air, making apoplectic popping noises. Ripper came skidding into the room, barking madly.

"NOOOOOOO!"

Uncle Frank seized one of Mack's feet and tried to pull him down again, but was almost lifted from the floor himself. Next second, Ripper had leapt forward and sank his teeth into Uncle Frank's leg.

Grandmother Sarabi let go of me, her face was now one of shock mingled with slight amusement as she went to try and help, so I dashed away, and as I opened the door, the angry magic that had just recently built up within me made a gust of wind fly as the door to the stairs flew open, which then made me accidentally knock the vase that was holding my Dragsmeade form off the mantelpiece and the form fell into the fire. At that moment I was so angry that I really didn't care for anything else. I dashed to my room, opened my trunk and took all my books, quills and extra stuff that I would need for the next year and placed them in my trunk. I took my mobile 'phone out of my pocket and placed it on my bed, for I didn't want my grandmothers to call me when they'd found out what I had done, and as I did I grabbed a jacket, for it was quite chilly that night, and put my cloak on, so that I could use the hood to keep myself unseen. Harold and Arrol were off hunting, so I opened my window, climbed outside and using the piece of rope hanging just outside my window I abseiled down.

When I reached the ground, I saw a small shadow hovering above me. I looked up and saw Uncle Mack floating higher into the air. He was already past the trees when I looked. I glared at him for a moment and then looked inside the cottage. I could hear Aunt Ursula, Uncle Frank and my grandmothers were having a shouting match by the door, and judging by the fact that there was no one else in the room, I was under the impression that Carol was with them. I stepped in, took out the four juice bottles that I had made earlier that day that were in the fridge for my ride with Timmy the next day, along with a lunchbox full of sandwiches and a few other nice things. I filled another one of these boxes with snacks, put the lid on this and then got some apples, carrots and a few other bits of fruit and veg that I knew horses liked. I then went to the stables where Timmy was grazing, and before he could rear, I calmed him down, stroked him and got him saddled up. I placed the boxes and stuff in the bags on either side of his saddle and then we trotted as quietly as we could out of the stables.

I decided that it would be best to travel by the cover of darkness and I didn't turn to where the valleys and hills were. Instead I turned out of the drive, but did it through the cover of trees to give us some cover from any onlookers. When we were further away, I took a look back at the cosy cottage where I knew a safe haven was, but seeing as I thought I was a fugitive, I thought there was no point getting them involved in this, even though I knew that Grandmother Sarabi was a witch. I took a deep breath and whispered "I'm sorry", and then, still under the trees and with the hood of my cloak up, I turned Timmy round, squeezed his sides and together we ran away into the night, on the way to Southport.

But while this was going on, I'm going to have to go back a bit so you can understand what my grandmothers were doing, and it's going to be from Grandmother Sarabi's point-of-view before we get to the next chapter. Enjoy!

SARABI

Sarabi let go of Kiara and went to try to help Mack. It was awful what Kiara did to him, it was true, but Sarabi was also filled with a slight sense of amusement and justice for what he had said about her son and Nala's daughter. But he also had a point (or so she thought back then), for Sarabi and Sarafina knew what terrible thing their children had done, but then again, Kiara didn't know and they had to protect her. They knew that the truth would horrify Kiara after all the things she's heard from others who knew Kiara's parents and spoke well of them always to her.

Anyhoo, Ripper still had his teeth stuck in Frank's leg and this wasn't making it any easier for anyone to get him down; he was still bouncing off the ceiling and heading to the door. Sirabi knew that there was nothing that neither she nor anyone else could do until the Ministry arrived to help out, so she opened the back door and watched him float away, as everyone else did. Frank and Mavuto were horrified at this.

"What are you doing?" Ursula yelled.

"Look, the only people that can help him now are the Ministry of Magic," said Sarabi calmly. "They have the ability and skills to help. They'll know what to do."

Mavuto on the other hand wasn't calm. She was fuming. If steam could come out of people's ears, it would have come out of hers at this point. Her face was the deepest shade of red possible and she shouted, "WHERE IS THAT GRANDDAUGHTER OF YOURS, SIRABI?"

Sarabi headed to the door, for she knew that Kiara was in her room. "You will not lay a hand on my granddaughter again, Ursula." She didn't shout this time, but much like Crighton, you could feel a cold chill and power emanate from her. Mavuto trembled slightly at this, but stood her ground.

Frank touched his wife on the arm and said, "Maybe you should calm down, Mavuto –"

"I will not calm down, Frank!" she yelled. "Didn't you see what the girl did to your brother? Aren't you angry with her for what she did?"

"Yes, I did see what the girl did to Mack, and I am a bit upset by what she did; but Sarabi's right, Mav. We have to calm down and let the right people sort this out."

"Thank you, Frank," Sarabi said with a smile. At least some people here have sense, she thought, satisfied. But Mavuto wouldn't listen, though.

"I swear, Sarabi, I am going to make your granddaughter regret what she did to Mack by KILLING HER!"

"Not under our roof, Mavuto!" said Sarafina sharply, standing next to Sirabi. "After all, she is much my granddaughter as she is Sarabi's, and your niece –"

"I don't care whether she is my niece or not right now!" Mavuto shrieked. "All I care about is justice!"

"Mavuto!" Frank shouted. "Violence and anger only create more problems than they solve. Now calm down, will you?"

"I will not calm down, for Kiara Pride-Lander is no relation of mine anymore!"

The room went still again; no one thought that they would hear Mavuto Smith say that, but that did the trick to push Sarabi over the edge.

"That … is … it!" Sarabi said slowly. "That's it!" I've had it up to here with you, Mavuto! You come into our home, let your brother-in-law insult my son and your sister, my granddaughter's own parents to our faces and not take him home! It was wrongly done, Ursula!"

"So what are you going to do about it, then?" she asked, standing right opposite Sirabi now.

"Oh, I'll tell you what I'm going to do …" Sarabi said. And instead of saying anything, she grabbed Ursula's hair and dragged her to the door. Frank, Carol and Sarafina followed in shock, listening to Mavuto's squeals of pain.

Sarabi let go of Mavuto when they reached the hall. "What is wrong with you?" Mavuto yelled, as Sirabi threw her coat to her.

"I want you and your family out of my house, right now!" said Sarabi, looking angrier than ever.

"You can't do that!" said Mavuto indignantly.

"This is my house, Mavuto," said Sarabi matter-of-factly. "I have the right to do whatever I like here, including throwing those out who have displeased me. No offence to you, Frank. Or you, Carol," she said, turning to them, "for you haven't done anything wrong."

"Oh this is ridiculous –" Mavuto began.

"Mavuto, be reasonable here," Frank interrupted her. "We've caused enough trouble for one night."

"Thank you, Frank," said Sarafina.

Mavuto turned on her husband and said, "Whose side are you on?"

Frank looked taken aback for a moment, but quickly recovered as he said, "Yours, Mav, obviously. But we have to know when to stop and when to back out. Besides, we've caused enough trouble here tonight as it is. I'm sorry for all that has happened here tonight, Sarabi," he said, turning to her. "We'll leave you and Sarafina in peace now."

Sarabi nodded her head as Frank and Carol put on their coats. "We'll send Mack back to you as soon as the Ministry are finished with him."

"Thank you," Frank said. "Come on, Carol. Mavuto. Let's leave these people in peace."

Sarabi opened the door and Mavuto walked out first, saying to Sarabi as she went, "You will not forget this easily, Sirabi."

"At least your husband has some sense, unlike you, Mavuto!" she said, and before Mavuto could say another word, Frank had hurried her out of the door, with Carol skulking along behind them. When Carol had left, Sarabi slammed the door shut; they could hear Ursula's complaints all the way to the Smiths' car. Once they had heard the car doors' slam and the engine come to life, Sarabi and Sarafina waited until they heard the noise of the car fade away entirely before they sat down at the kitchen table, where the remnants of the disastrous dinner remained.

The two women were silent for a while. Sarafina was the first to speak up. "Well, we all know it was going to end in tears, didn't we?"

Sarabi sighed and looked at Sarafina. She was glad to see that Sarafina didn't blame her for what she did to Mavuto and her family. "Yes, we did," she replied at last. "We know how Kiara acts around them, but it was a bigger mistake for them to bring Mack up. We won't be doing that again for a while, that's for sure."

"Agreed."

"I know I shouldn't have dragged Mavuto like that, but you heard what she said about Kiara, and what Mack said about Simba and Nala –"

"It's all right, Sarabi," said Sarafina gently, "I understand where you're coming from. But you have to admit that Mack did have a point about Simba and Nala. I mean, we both know what they did; but there's always been that part of me that thinks that they are innocent; I mean, we both know how sweet they are, don't we?"

"I know, Sara, and I want so desperately to believe that, too. But you saw the evidence that was collected as well as I did. Twelve eye witnesses saw what happened that day. There was no way out for them."

There was silence again, before Sarafina said, "Is it just me, or is it quieter than usual?"

Sirabi listened and had to agree. What is Kiara doing up there?, she wondered. "I'll go and see what Kiara's up to." Sarafina nodded as Sirabi got up and went to the door. She looked at the mantelpiece and saw the broken vase and the shrivelled piece of paper that was the Dragsmeade form. She sighed gently.

"What is it, Sarabi?" Sarafina called from the table.

"Kiara's Dragsmeade form has been burnt by the fire," Sarabi said. She heard Sarafina's sigh as she moved to the stairs and up to Kiara's room.

She knocked at the door and said, "Kiara?" She didn't hear anything, so she knocked again, but still there was no answer, which was odd for it was only half seven. She opened the door and saw Kiara's trunk standing open with her trunks and books stuffed pell-mell into it and her phone on the bed. Worried now, she moved to the open window and looked out, but there was still no sign of her dear grandchild. She then grabbed Kiara's phone and hurried back downstairs to where Sarafina was. Sarafina raised her head when she saw Sarabi, and looked questioningly at the worried look on Sarabi's face.

"Sarabi, what is it?" Sarafina asked, startled, as she got up and walked to where Sirabi was.

Sarabi took a few deep breaths before she said, "Kiara's gone?"

"What?"

"I've looked in her room and she's not there. Her clothes are in her trunk and her phone is still here." She showed it to Sarafina. "It was left on her bed."

Sarafina thought and then said, "Timmy?" at this Sarabi dashed to the stables and looked, but Timmy wasn't there, and some of his riding gear had been taken, too. She went back to the kitchen and looked in the fridge and he freezer; she saw that the lunchbox and drink bottles had been taken, as had a few more snacks and carrots and veg, too.

At last Sarabi stood up and said, "Kiara's taken Timmy with his riding gear and a few snacks."

Sarafina gasped in shock. "Where could she be going?"

Sarabi thought and said, "To the only place she knows where she can lie low: in other words, The Witching Service in Southport."

Sarafina looked worried. "Well, we have to call someone," she said at last. "Kiara's thirteen now. Barely a child, but still. We have to call people to find her and –"

"No," Sarabi interrupted her. "I will go and wait for her at Southport."

"But, Sarabi –"

"I know, Sara, but look at what Kiara has done. She's left her phone so no one knows where she is, and she's with Timmy now and will be staying with him and travelling under the cover of darkness, because she thinks she's broken the law because of that letter she received from the Ministry last year."

"But the Pride-Landers –"

"I know about that, but Kiara wants to remain inconspicuous, and that is exactly what is going to happen." As Sarabi said this, there were a few loud and yet distant cracks in the back garden. Sarabi and Sarafina dashed to the window and looked; in the distance they saw a few wizards trying to pull down the rather small balloon shape in the sky that they knew to be Mack.

"Ah, good," said Sirabi in approval. "Members from the Accidental Magic Reversal Department. They should sort Mack out. I'll go and see them, whilst you wait here." Sarafina nodded as Sirabi headed out the door and ran to meet them.

One of the men turned round when they saw her. "Sarabi Pride-Lander?" he asked her.

"Yes. How do you do?" she asked, shaking his hand.

"Ah, pretty good, ma'am, pretty good," the man replied. "We're just going to puncture him, modify his memory and then get him back to his brother's place. Is that al right?"

"Yes, perfectly," Sarabi breathed. "Is there anything you'd like to do after that?"

"Yeah," said a second man, turning to face her. "We'd like to speak to you and your young Kiara."

Sarabi gulped and blanched. "K-Kiara?" she asked, panicking now.

The men looked at her. Then the first asked, "Is everything all right, ma'am?"

Sarabi took a few deep breaths before she said, "I'm afraid Kiara's not here."

"What?" the men said.

"But she has to be," said the first.

"Hear me out, for what I say is true," Sarabi said. She then went on to describe what went on that evening. The men listened with interest.

"I believe that Kiara thinks she's broken the law or something because she got given a warning from the Ministry last year, and now she's taken her horse and has run away, and she doesn't want anyone to know where she has gone. You can search her room if you like if you don't believe me."

She looked at the men earnestly. They looked at each other, nodded in silent agreement, and then the first man said, "All right, ma'am. What we'll do is, we'll get this fella fixed up and I'll let my right-hand man here take him to his brother's." he nodded his head to the second man. Then he spoke to Sarabi again: "Then I'll call the Minister and see what will be done to help you out a bit. Just go back inside, ma'am, while we clean this mess up."

"Thank you," Sarabi spoke to them. Then she ran back to the cottage, where she could see Sarafina looking at her in earnest.

"What's happening, Sarabi?" she asked as Sarabi entered the kitchen.

"They're going to puncture Mack, modify his memory and then one of them is going to take him back to Frank and Ursula's, while the other is going to call the Minister for Magic to see what can be done about Kiara to help us out a bit. We just have to wait, that's all."

And so they did. They waited anxiously for at least twenty minutes before they saw a shadow pass over their back garden. Sirabi and Sarafina sat down at the table as he came through the back door. He shut it and looked at the two women.

He looked carefully at Sarafina before he said, "Are you Kiara's Muggle grandmother?"

Sarafina looked taken aback, but said, "Yes, I am."

The man said, "Sorry, had to ask." Then he took a deep breath and said, "I've just been in touch with the Minister of Magic. She has told me to tell you that there will be no punishment for Kiara under the common circumstances – nothing important, don't ask –" he said, before Sarabi and Sarafina interrupted him. He then went on, "She has also told me to tell you that we have set up people from here to Southport to keep a look-out for your granddaughter and that we will not try and stop her as she rides there."

"But there are those dangerous convicts who have escaped," Sarafina butted in.

"Look, she's on her way to Southport and if anyone notices that she's in trouble or being attacked, our forces will step in and protect her. Furthermore, the Minister has insisted that Sarabi will pack immediately and get to Southport as soon as she possibly can, so that Kiara can at least see a friendly, not to mention familiar face when she gets to The Witching Service."

"I'll get packing now, then, shall I?" Sarabi asked, getting up as the man shook his head.

"I've got to get back to the Ministry now," he said to them. "Good luck with your granddaughter, and I hope she'll be in good health when you do." He nodded to Sarabi and Sarafina, before he Disapparated with a loud crack.

Sarabi got up and went to her room. She took out a couple of suitcases and started to pack everything she needed. When she had finished, she took her things to Kiara's room, sorted out Kiara's trunk and with her wand,

sent her things and Kiara's to The Witching Service. She saw Harold and Arrol. She knelt close by them and said, "Arrol, you're going to have to go to the Dawsons; and Harold, you're going to have to travel to The Witching Service to wait for your mistress. Can you do that for me?" Both owls blinked their eyes in understanding, and then both of them took off out the open window. Sarabi closed it and went back downstairs, where she saw Sarafina holding her coat for her.

"Thank you, Sarafina," she said as she took her coat and put it on.

"You will keep me updated, won't you?" said Sarafina to Sirabi as they hugged.

They let go and Sarabi said, "Of course I will. And I'll let you know when Kiara turns up. Will you be there to see her off on September the first?"

Sarafina chuckled and said, "I wouldn't miss seeing our granddaughter off for anything." Then with a smile and a goodbye, Sarabi Disapparated and ended up just opposite to the door of the girls' public toilets in Queen Anne's Street. There in the shadows lurked a woman. Sirabi checked that no cars were coming and stepped forth to meet her.

"Minister?" she asked when she saw her.

The Minister smiled as she replied, "Yes, Sarabi, it is I. And please, call me Cornelia." And indeed it was Cornelia Sweets; she was the same short, plump woman with short grey hair and an anxious expression, who wore the same pin-striped suit with a skirt to match, a scarlet tie, a long black cloak and pointed purple boots that Kiara saw her in the first time they met; and to top it all off, in her hand was the same lime-green witches' hat that she always carried around with her.

"Tell me, Cornelia," said Sarabi imploringly, "what has happened to Kiara? Where is she?"

Sweets held up her hand and said calmly, "Calm yourself, Sarabi. I know you're frightened, but nothing has happened to her yet. Besides, I have Harry Potter's people in the Auror Department, patrolling at certain points from your cottage in the south of Wales to here. If anything happens to her, we'll know. Of course, I would have got Matthew Dawson on the job as well, for I know he likes the girl, but he's on holiday in Egypt at the moment with his family. But getting back to the point; they will inform Harry of where she is, who will thus inform me and I will tell you, along of what state of health she is in and how long she has got to go before she arrives here. And I give you my word that no harm will come to her, not while I am still Minister for Magic."

"Thank you, Minister," said Sarabi, as the tears started to form in her eyes. Fudge quickly got her inside The Witching Service, told Dizra to get her a room with some tea with some of Ogden's Best Firewhisky brought up to it and took her through to the back room, where she calmed Sarabi down. After a while, Sarabi's nerves calmed and she thanked the Minister for what she was doing to help her family out and also thanked her for not punishing Kiara for what she did to Mack.

"Oh, not at all," she said politely. "I wouldn't think of punishing her at such a time as this." The two women shook hands and then departed; one for the Ministry and the other for her room.

KIARA

Don't get me wrong, I felt terrible about leaving my grandmothers in the state that I did and as for Fudge not wishing to punish me, just wait until my fifth year at Dragon Mort, but we'll get to that. anyhoo, back to me now and in the next chapter we will explore what I did as I rode to Southport. It'll be very brief for I can't remember much about it, but some things stand out more vividly for me than others during those five days that I rode.