The tall dark-skinned man left, having received his orders. "So we are in agreement to not raise any bigger fuss than we already have? Good.", the stern witch with the monocle stated. "Only the Chief Warlock, Hoper and me will investigate this matter. And in the meantime" - she locked her steely gaze onto the nondescript manager - "No one else will be notified of the possible severity of what happened and the people involved!" She waited to see vigorous nodding before sending the man off.
As only Harold Hoper had been to the muggle's place, they asked him to provide the address. With sweat collecting on his brow, he tried to remember the place. He really should have taken notes! At least about the village and the street name, he was sure. "I…will have to see it myself to be sure. The house was a bit receded from the street and the name was Italian, so we should find it quickly.", Harold said uncomfortably. Seeing the disgust in Amelia Bones' face and the mildly reprobative look from Dumbledore, he felt once more like a little school boy.
With the head of the DMLE's dispensation, the old wizard created a portkey to the approximate area of the village. Then, the three were whisked away, landing with varying amounts of dignity. They walked out of the small copse of trees that had concealed their arrival from the street. Not far down the road, Hoper exclaimed in relief his recognition of the small cottage. They walked down the path leading towards the front door. The only thing out of place was a sticky, brightly pink piece of paper with 'package on left side' scrawled on it.
Harold Hoper was, somewhat true to his name, hoping with all his might that everything would turn out to be alright any moment. He took the lead and made to unlock the door, saying: "Now see, everything seems in order. I will just talk to the man inside and clear everything up!" In his rush to get out of this mess, he did not notice a low rumbling emanating from behind the door. "Harold!", Dumbledore exclaimed. Bones also looked watchful, wand drawn and at the ready. "No worries", the heedless wizard continued.
With a deft "Alohomora!", the lock clicked. As he pushed the door open, head turned towards his seniors, he heard himself say "Only a normal muggle, you'll see…" After turning around, looking almost into the face of a very, very large leopard snarling ferociously at him, he froze. Just as the big cat was about to pounce, he emitted a scream that would have made the proverbial little girl flush with embarrassment…or pride.
He was hearing the footsteps of the intruders, interrupted by their voices. At that moment, Enzo did not recognize any meaning behind the weird babbling. Just as well, they were coming closer to his place. He growled to let them know. Only one of them continued to advance. He was continuously making those blathering noises. Suddenly the door clicked. Then it was shoved open. The trespasser had his head turned away. Enzo snarled and got ready to pounce on the intruder.
Suddenly, an infernal noise shrilled in his sensitive ears. It was the most disconcerting thing he could presently remember and it made him stop in place and crouch low to the ground. The man, Enzo had recognized that by the smell, collapsed in a dead faint. As that exposed Enzo to the rapidly widening eyes of the other two figures, one of them mumbled something sounding like 'Nundu!' and suddenly sprang into action. "Sphaera Signati Magicae!", he bellowed, moving a wooden stick in intricate patterns and also making a shaping motion with his free hand.
Something inside of Enzo resonated with whatever this man was doing. This peculiar feeling made him forget about defending his territory and also, in a way, nudged the anger aside, leaving the feline rather curious. A translucent sphere made of…something intangible surrounded the cottage and the two remaining people. Since he was no longer fighting, Enzo did recognize them as people. The woman spoke some words and waved another stick and all three heads of them were encased in some sort of bubble.
Slowly, the leopard sat up. Intruders or not, something - no, many things - were off. He somehow felt the bubbles and the large dome above them. And he realized that he was not under attack. Instead, both sides watched each other warily. The feline's head tilted to one side as he tried to make sense of the situation. He glanced down at the bubble-headed man in front of him.
'They must be wizards', someone seemingly stated in his mind. Slightly bewildered, the more feral side of Enzo was gently pushed aside by a part of him that claimed to understand far better what was happening. Yet his rational part was indeed facing some difficulty in wrapping his large head around the last seconds. The old man spoke quietly: "I have ensured that nothing can escape from this place for now. Let us avoid any sudden movement and threatening behaviour until we are sure or have no other choice - NO!"
Enzo jerked his paw away from the bubble on the unconscious man's head and looked indignantly at the man that had yelled at him. It just drew his attention with the buzzing feeling that got stronger, the closer he moved towards it. He had almost been close enough to touch it. Slightly annoyed, he bared his teeth and hissed softly. The two people in front of him froze, holding their breath. When nothing else happened, he licked his nose and again tilted his head, watching them.
Slowly bowing down, never loosing sight of the other two, he sniffed at the man lying in front of him. Again, the weird sphere (the term just seemed to make sense) caught his attention. It did not smell per se, but instead seemed to create an absence of olfactory information. 'Like a filter', his rational side mused.
Again, he tentatively moved a paw towards it and enjoyed the tickling feeling as he came close again. As he touched it, the tingling sensation increased and he could feel the surface yielding to the pressure. "Dont!", the man said, in a quiet but imploring manner. The huge cat looked up and pulled the paw away, slowly this time.
"Albus?" - "Could it be…", the old man murmured absently. After glancing at the name plate on the mailbox, he looked at Enzo's chest. "Mr. Velluto. You must not touch the bubble on Mr. Hopers head. It is necessary for our protection." The cat blinked slowly in an almost deliberate manner. The woman whispered: "Albus, the shield is preventing me from contacting reinforcements." "And I don't see that there is anyone home anymore.", she added with a meaningful glance towards the big cat. Which again hissed softly, at her this time, and in a way that could have been construed as offended.
"Oh-Hoh!", the old man exclaimed, minutely relaxing his tense stance, the hint of a twinkle in his eyes. "We might yet live to enjoy lunch…", he said with a smile. "Albus, are you thinking…are you daft‽ If this is indeed a Nundu, we might have a problem equal to the Dark Lord on our hands! We must not waste any time!" - "Au contraire, Amelia. If my hunch is right, we might indeed spare ourselves a lot of trouble by not rushing this. Forgive me, but many times I find myself quite right about the most vague of things. Let me thus place my bet…"
In the direction of the big cat (that had apparently watched their exchange closely), the old man spoke in a firm but challenging voice: "What is the square root of four?" Enzo blinked. The 'old' part of him almost wanted to raise his hand and blurt out the answer. A strange sound escaped from his muzzle, something like a "Mwah." But that was not the answer! Having an idea, human Enzo decided to pat the ground in front of him two times.
The woman raised her eyebrow and said dryly: "You do know that you are quite the dotty old man, don't you? If your silly riddles kill me, I shall haunt you rather severely!" "That might have been coincidence, I know." The twinkle intensified. "Once more: What is the square root of 144?" Enzo blinked. "12", old, educated Enzo told him. He patted the ground twelve times with his right paw. With every pat, the man seemed to relax more and more, until he smiled as broadly as possible with closed lips.
The woman stared. Shaking her head, muttering something about being damned sometime in the future, she exhaled and seemed to relax a bit. "Splendid!", the old man exclaimed. "Now: Are you Mr. Enzo Velluto?" The big cat thought. He was, and yet he was not. In that moment, he realized that it was indeed his choice. And the rational side of him grabbed onto the name. While a cat could not care less, for a sentient being, a name meant respect and, in this case, opportunities. A distinct nod.
With a severe "Hmm" and a grave nod in answering, the man relaxed a bit more. "We wish you no harm, sir. But there is a chance that you may harm us unintentionally. I would like to bring you to a safe place where there are few people around at the moment and where we can more easily -" The woman interrupted: "Don't tell me you want to bring that…that…to the school! This is a matter for the people from Magical Creatures!" Suddenly, the old man seemed to become bigger without growing a hair's breadth, a subtle aura of power flared.
"Amelia", he said with a voice suddenly grave and laced with authority, "I was unable to connect to this fascinating being's mind. But I could sense a hint of consciousness and that hint grew stronger, as soon as Mr. Velluto solved the math exercises. If we hasten to treat this sentient being as a dangerous creature, if we are the ones to threaten first, we might bring exactly what we fear upon us. If the person of Enzo Velluto is still present, I want to encourage dialogue, I want to encourage rational thought. I do not wish to destroy a life unnecessarily…"
The man turned towards Enzo: "Indeed, I want to extend a helping hand. You do not yet know me, but I assure you, I am quite knowledgeable in a number of arcane arts. If you are willing to help me, I promise you to help, to look into whatever occurred to you and do my utmost to get you out of this predicament. But I do require your promise to not endanger anyone, to keep any wild side of yours in check as good as possible and to try and follow my direction."
"I want to prove my trust. For now, will you promise not to run away?" After short deliberation, Enzo nodded. A twirl of the wooden stick made the large dome around them dissolve. "I will cast a spell on you that will tell me about the danger you may pose. Do not be afraid." After another nod from the feline, a blue light shone around him. Then a yellow-ish glow. "Hmm. Amelia, you may remove the bubble-head charm. There is no trace of the pestilence residing in an ordinary Nundu."
The woman began to ask: "Are you -" "- Yes, quite.", the man cut her off with a reassuring smile. After she had waved her stick and the bubbles had disappeared, he turned back towards Enzo. "Will you come with me and allow me to help you?", the old man asked him. The big cat's forehead furrowed in mimicry of a thoughtful frown. As if weighing options in contemplation, the leopard's head moved from side to side.
Suddenly, a translucent doe appeared in front of the wizard, slightly startling Enzo and making him crouch down warily. It spoke with a decidedly un-doe-ish, gruff voice: "Managed contact. Investigation team from other side incoming. Arrival any moment outside the man's home."
While the spectre dissolved (to the puzzlement of one large cat), the stern woman closed her mouth and furiously spat: "Albus! I'll need an explanation this instant! By Merlin's beard, what game are you playing here‽" The man raised a hand, forestalling any further statement. After closing his eyes for a moment, he opened them again, two intensely burning blue orbs turning towards Enzo's green ones. "Mr. Velluto. Tempus fugit, it appears. Do you trust me?"
The big cat that had decided to stay Enzo for the time being, looked into the eyes of the old man. Under different circumstances, staring at one another like that would have provoked aggression, but somehow the sincerity of the man's intentions burned in those eyes. Making a decision on the spur of the moment, he followed his gut and nodded.
The man murmured a word and again there was that tingle, this time attached to a scrap of parchment. The woman was furious and pointed her stick at the man. "Albus.", she hissed in cold fury, "What. Are. You. Doing!" "In a moment, Amelia", the old man said with a sidelong glance at her, still speaking with power and determination in his eyes.
"Mr. Velluto, touch this parchment. I will say a phrase and you will be transported to the safe place I mentioned. Be not afraid, you will neither be hurt, nor lost. You will arrive at the edge of a forest. There will be a hut with a very large man inside. Bring him the parchment. Inscribere" - words appeared on the surface - "He will look after you until I can return myself. I trust him with my life." The piece of parchment floated towards Enzo and came to rest at his feet.
A big paw covered most of the piece. The old man nodded - two pops sounded nearby, making the cat jerk his head towards the noise - and spoke "To home!" Suddenly, Enzo felt a tug within himself and was flung through the very fabric of space time.
A/N: Wow, how insanely difficult to write was that? I was torn between letting it sit longer and revising and just thrusting it out there to get it over with. I do hope it did not strain your suspension of disbelief too much. But writing this outlandish scene proved quite challenging. The chapter is significantly longer than usual, yet it did not occur to me where to divide it in a pleasing way. Are the people involved sufficiently in character?
Should you discover any glaring flaws or wish for me to revise it, let me know. Meanwhile, hoping to have not messed up and hoping to get to know my reader's thoughts, I hereby remain your grateful author.