In case some of you had forgotten from previous Chapters, allouitious is the cat that Maggie was petting when she first met Harry. He's just one of the average felines on privet dive ....or is he?.......................................
I own nothing, so please don't sue. (Can you even sue a minor for copyright infringement? Hmmmm.....possibilities.)
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A World Unknown-- Chapter 11: Answers.
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The world was spinning by in a rush of color and sound. The roar of the fire was echoing in her ears and she hugged her arms tightly to herself as all around her, images fleetly soared past. In the distance, Maggie thought that she could faintly discern a light coming from another fire-grate and the sounds of ordinary old muggle jazz music cranked out from a modest gramophone.
The colors slowed and blended together to reveal the rushing confines of a brick chimney enveloping her on all sides. She was falling straight into the blackened hearth that led into the foreign room below her. Her hands shot out to either side and scraped along the red sooty walls, leaving trails of exposed brick amongst the blackened grime. Her descent slowed but the rough blocks tore at her palms and scraped them raw and bloody. When Maggie's feet finally hit the bottom, she cradled her hands to her chest and tucked her head forwards before her knees gave way beneath her and she toppled to the beige carpeted floor, scattering a light spray of soot with her.
When she lifted her head a few moments later, the man was standing over her tutting and shaking his head.
"Should have known." He mumbled "never travelled by floo..."
Maggie raised to her hands and knees and held her head for a moment before she glared back up at him and then looked around the small room she found herself in. The furniture and decor were modest, old and more than a bit tack and the house smelled decisively of cat. Up on the walls were pictures of many cats, several of them being Allouitious (although due to recent events, she was reluctant to call him a cat anymore).
There were shelves stacked with records and photo albums lining the walls, as well as the gramophone which was still cranking out smooth jazz-via-sax through its polished brass bell.
The walls were a dull reddish rust and the beige carpet she was kneeling on sported bare patches from overuse. The air of the room seemed very familiar though, as though she had stayed in a similar place often before.
The man still stood in the middle of the room, now with a hand extended to help Maggie to her feet. She refused belligerently and instead, uneasily rose to her feet, wincing when her raw hands brushed the carpet.
Again, he was smiling at her with that little boy grin of his and he backed to the armchair at the far wall and sunk into it, lacing his hands across his chest.
"If you will allow me to introduce myself..." He said. "My name is Allouitious Figg and It should be established that I intend you no harm"
Maggie snorted.
"I suppose you think i owe you an explanation young lady." He started. "But more to the point,I think it is YOU who needs to explain yourself to me. What were you doing in Hogsmeade? As far as i knew, you are muggle as the day you were born."
"Who do you think you are!" Maggie retorted." First you scare me to death, then drag me to this place and expect me to explain myself to you!?"
"Do you see an alternative?" He cooly shot back.
Maggie sputtered for a moment, searching for a lie to how all this came about but in the end, thought better of it and told him the truth, form the dinner at the Dursley's up to meeting him in the bookshop.
Figg was leaning forward in his chair, intent on her words, but when she finished he sat straight and muttered to himself about lax security or something like that. Maggie, tired of standing in the middle of the floor, wandered over to the mantel and picked up a gilded frame containing a photo of Figg with his arm around a woman. They were both laughing and looked genuinely happy. All around that picture were smaller ones of the same woman holding Allouitious and a few of other cats.
A tap on her shoulder brought her face to face with Mr. Figg again who took a deep breath before he spoke.
"Your story adds up, little muggle Maggie, but I need to know one thing before we go any further." He said.
"And what's that?" Sighed Maggie.
"Do you intend to cause Harry Potter any harm?"
The question took her by surprise and she had to ponder it before she could answer. On one hand, he must have been directly linked to the 'incident' less than a week back, but on the other, all she wanted was answers from him, not to hurt him. That would only come if he was the one who caused all that happened.
"That depends...." She started. "Could Harry Potter have been the one who caused the explosion at My aunt and uncles house?"
Figg paused for a moment and then furrowed his brow. "Its entirely likely that Harry Potter was directly linked to the happenings at #3 privet drive." Again he paused "Although. You must be told that he would not have willingly placed you or your caretakers in any danger. He could have done nothing to prevent the actions of those who would act against him."
His words struck Maggie deeply and she felt a bit of remorse at how crazed she had been to get at him for blind vengeance but she could meditate on that later because, now, she had many questions that needed to be answered.
"Why are you so concerned about Harry Potter?" She asked.
"Well....." Replied Mr. Figg."As I am sure you are aware, Harry Potter did the Wizarding World a grand favor when he put an end to the Dark magic terrorist called Voldermort."
Maggie was impressed. She knew enough to recognize that speaking his name out loud was frowned upon by the wizards.
"His parents, tragically, were killed in the attack and he was left to be raised by the Muggle family that you associate him with, The Dursley's. Only, recently, Voldermort and his supporters have begun to rise again with a strong thirst for vengeance against Harry Potter for all the trouble he had caused them. Only last year, young Harry was a contestant in a tournament, but he and a school friend of his were kidnapped under the noses of the school faculty. Cedric, Harry's schoolmate, was killed before his eyes and then harry was used in a ritual that would bring Voldermort back to his full power. Again, Voldermort tried to dispose of Harry, and again, He managed to escape, and retrieve the body of his fallen friend. There was a spy doing insider work in the school and several have been discovered in the ministry."
" We suspect that the Voldermorts supporters used a powerful locating spell on Harry but only managed to track him as far as Privet Drive. The fact that they attacked the wrong house has nothing to do with Harry, But in a way, he WAS linked to the incident."
Maggie shifted uncomfortably as the realization hit her how much Harry had been through and that she couldn't blame his odd behavior now. The things he must have seen over the years would fuel a lifetime of nightmares.
"Now, where I come in in all this, Is that My Wife, Arabella Figg, Is an auror designated to protect Harry During his stay at Privet drive for as long as possible. After the attack and his disappearances, she took up a job at the school as a defense against the dark arts teacher. Harry will be very surprised to find the funny old cat lady in his neighborhood is a powerful auror."
"Now, I became a registered animagus to keep even closer tabs on Harry. When you came to the neighborhood, Harry, as well as I, suspected that you could have been a spy of Voldermort's and this is why he was in such a hurry to get away from you that night."
The pieces of the story were all coming together now and Maggie had a clearer realization of where she stood. It very suddenly dawned on her that she was only less than a block from #3 privet drive, or at lest, what remained of it. Her eyes widened and she rushed out of the room to tear open the front door and sprinted off down the block. Mr Figg had seemed to realize her intentions, and so, made no move to stop her.
She arrived on the lot, which had been roped off and marked with police tape. It was still a charred, singed shell of its former self, but it seemed so grounding to see something from the real world again that Maggie didn't mind. She caught movement out of the corner of her eye and looked to find aunt petunia, peering through the glass with her beady little eyes. When she made the connection in her head, she dropped the tea platter that she held and crumpled to the floor in a dead faint.
She Turned to find Mr. Figg standing at her shoulder with a faraway look in his eyes. He composed himself and began to usher her back to the house. On the way, he assured her that her aunt and uncle were recovering and expected to be out of the hospital in at least a week. This put her mind at rest and she allowed herself to be lead back to the Figg residence and to the fireplace.
After a few questions about how she was faring in the Three broomsticks, Mr. Figg warned her that she was going to have to watch her back out in the wizarding world and he bent down to one of the wall shelves to retrieve a long, thin box. Inside was a dark polished maplewood wand that glinted in the light. He held it out to her.
"Dragon heartstring. Eleven and 1/2 inches. Its an excellent wand for defense and, oddly enough, curse work." He tipped the box into her hand and it rolled out onto her open palm.
"I cant accept this." Maggie objected. "I don't even have any magical abilities."
"Think of how odd it is for a young witch to be wandering the world without a wand. That sort of thing attracts unwanted attention and, that, is the last thing you need."
After more hesitation, Maggie wandered. "Why are you giving this to me?"
"It belonged to my late son." Allouitious somberly replied. "He was killed in a raid by Voldermort and the only wish i have for it is that it may be of some use assisting any cause against the murdering bastard." His fists were shaking and clenched hard against his sides. Maggie couldn't refuse it if it meant that much to him. Especially since he was one of her only 'allies' and he did have a point.
She tucked the wand into the folds of her robe and nodded firmly.
"I know that you have more questions that need to be answered but I've done all that i can for your cause, so now its only right to let you return to your mission for justice, as i suppose it should be called, for to do what you think is right can only be that."
He smiled warmly down on her and tossed a handful of the same shimmering powder into the hearth. Again, green flames sprang to life and warmth washed over her. She embraced Allouitious in a hug between comrades and stepped into the flickering light for her journey back to Hogsmeade.
Now, Her journey for justice.
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TBC
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I doubt any of you guessed who Allouitious was because i left it kind of hazy until the end.
Oh well.
Sorry it took so long to update, I'm just a lazy-ass. There is no other sensible excuse for it.
BTW, I really enjoy good harry potter Fanfiction so if you know of any great stories, point the way and id love to check them out.
I'm gonna be gone for a bit so i wont update for at least another 2 weeks. Sorry about that.
THANX SOOOOO MUCH FOR REVIEWING!!! I LOVE PPL WHO REVIEW!!!
~*~Mags~*~
