Curse of the Serpent: Chapter 3
As I entered the Leaky Cauldron, I saw a shady-looking figure standing by the fireplace. He wore a long, tattered robe, with a hood pulled over his face. He reminded me of the Dementers of Azkaban from horror stories. I reached my hand into my pocket and scooped up the last of the Floo Powder. Holding on to my Owl and pack, and ran into the fireplace. Right before I hit, I threw down the powder, and as I stepped in, I said, "12 Griffin Lane, London, Britain!"
The world spun again, but right before I was whisked away, the man reached out of his cloak to try and grab me. I would never forget his hand. It was that of a dead man.
I spun round and round, until I finally saw my fireplace. I rolled inside, causing a couple of shrieks from the Barn Owl. I decided to name her Isis, the Egyptian goddess, matron of Magic and nature. I checked our Magic Location Device, or MLD, and it told me no one was in our house. Our MLD gave a list of anyone in the house. It also told exactly where I or my mom was at any time of the day, unless a powerful charm was on one of us. Mom was still at the Auror's Office.
I knew Wizard Rules by heart, so I knew that if a building housed an adult Wizard and/or Witch, the Trace Charm upon an underage Wizard/ Witch is null and void. That means I could practice Magic. I took out my wand and pointed it into the bag.
My first spell: "Accio The Complete Spell Index" Instantly, the book flew out of the bag and landed in my hand. I waited a couple of minutes, the smiled when no letter from the Ministry came. I cracked open the book to a random page and was astonished by what I found:
The Animagus Spell
Unknown to most Wizards and Witches, this is the easiest way to become an Animagus. Using a simple spell, a Wizard will gain the ability of an Animagus. The Animagus form will be that of your Patronus and will be determined by your attitude and feeling at the time of casting the spell, as well as your human appearance.
Spell: Tribuo mihi vox animagus
Pronunciation: Tri-b-yew me-hi va-ox an-ih-may-gus
I knew this was an incredible, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. What if mom revoked the book from my possession? I had to cast it.
I held my wand pointed at my temple, and said, carefully, "Tribuo mihi vox animagus!"
My vision swirled, blurring, then becoming incredibly sharp, then blurred again. Suddenly, I blacked out.
I slowly came back to awareness, but couldn't stand up. My feet felt awkward. In truth, everything felt awkward. I lifted my head, and realized that my vision was sharper; I could easily read the tiny print on a pot across the room. I looked down at my hands to figure out why I couldn't get up. But they weren't hands. They were paws! The shock scared me into a standing position, on all fours. I was a night black cat, the same color as my hair, with white paws. I jumped onto a table, and was surprised how effortless and quiet it was.
But I knew this couldn't last. I leaped back to the floor, and focused on changing into a human. Quickly, I was back. I picked up my wand and book, and then put them away. I went back to the MLD and saw mom was on her way home. I stashed the pack up in my room, and then turned on the Muggle television.
After about fifteen minutes, the door opened. "Alex?" mom called.
"I'm here mom."
She came in and said, "It's really late. You should be sleeping." I looked at the clock, and realized how long I blacked out. It was nearly midnight!
"Sorry mom, time got away from me. Night." I went upstairs, and was quickly asleep.
Over the next week, I practiced Magic or messed around as a cat whenever mom went to work. Otherwise, I did chores or prepared for the year at Hogwarts. I had almost forgotten about the Dementer until the day before Hogwarts started, mom came home.
"Hi, Alex."
"Hi, mom."
"Alex, have you heard of Dementers?" The name sent shivers up my sides.
"Y-yeah, why?"
"We have a problem in the Ministry. A Dementer has gone rouge, and regained some of its human memories. In our records, this Dementer was the man formally known as Barty Crouch Jr. Did you see anything in Diagon Alley?" I knew I ought to tell her the truth.
"Yes, I did."
"What?"
"Well, when I was leaving, something in a tattered robe was standing by the fireplace. I ran past him and threw the Floo Powder in the fire, but he tried to grab at me. I just barely got away."
"I would wonder why you didn't tell me, but I need to report this. See you later. Remember, you have to be up early tomorrow. Get some sleep." I went upstairs to my room and prepared for bed. Before I slept, I checked to make sure the bag was still safely hidden under my bed. It was. Satisfied, I fell on the sheets, but didn't fall asleep until around 1:00am from excitement. Finally, I drifted off.
"Alex, we have to go!" I heard mom yell. I woke up and jumped out of bed, excited. I quickly dressed and grabbed my bag. I ate quickly, and then met my mom in the living room.
"Side-along Apparate or Floo Powder?" She asked.
"Apparate." I had always liked the feeling of Apparating, although I've heard most Wizards don't. She grabbed my shoulder, and soon we were off. It was over quickly, and we were right in between of Platform 9 and 10.
"You know the way in?"
"Yep, bye!" Without a look back, I ran through the stone pillar.
