Disclaimer: I own Sparkie, and Thorn... thats it... don't sue.

Author's Note: Sorry this chapter was kinda late... my computer erased half of it as I wrote... I was soooo mad. Anywho, here's chapter eighteen of Thorn Rose!

Chapter Eighteen

An Unwelcome Visit

Thorn and Severus went into the front room of their gloomy, yet somehow comforting house. Sparkie and Fang were in Thorn's room, waiting for her to come back. She hadn't wanted to worry the little lizard with whatever news the letter had to bring. He was very easily angered or worried in matters of Thorn. At that moment she was blocking him from her mind, making sure that he didn't know what was going on. Sitting in her chair, the Slytherin watched her uncle intently.

"They want to make sure that you're following all of the requirements that they've set for you," he finally said, "The minister and his secretary are going to be here, along with a few aurors, for his protection, I'd say." He sighed, "They're also going to search the house and area around it. Apparently someone has dropped a rumor that there is an illegal animal within our midst."

Thorn sighed and shook her head. "Which one?" she asked sarcastically with a hint of scorn in her voice. "I've got two. Fang, the illegal maniacal dragon, and Shadow, the illegal breeding crossover." She dipped her head down. "When will they be here?"

"They're coming mid August, about a week before the beginning of the school year. We're going to have to conceal those two by that time, the others are already registered under your name, we do not have to worry about them."

With a curt nod Thorn said, "Who do you think started the rumor?"

Severus's lips turned to a small snarl, "Probably Fudge himself. Either him or that foul secretary of his. They know that the dragon went missing around here and used that fact to make an opportunity to get you into trouble. I would be amazed if they had the brain capacity to think of that, though."

After a moment of silence Thorn spoke again. "By that time Fang will be near to fully grown. He'll be even harder to hide. How are we going to get him out of the way?"

Severus thought it over, his cold dark eyes deep as he pondered what they could do. It seemed hopeless. Finally he sighed, "I don't know."

Thorn looked out the small slit that was a window near the ceiling and her brow furrowed in thought. "There has to be a way. Nothing is impossible, not for me at least." She stood and began to pace the room in her ponderings. She would have come up with something by then had not a small inkling of anger appeared in her mind. How dare they think that I've been using the curses! I've never used them since that night. Well, except for when I uses the Crucaitus curse to immune myself, but that was ages ago! She was not expecting an answer from Sparkie this time, for she'd blocked him from her mind for the moment.

Then she stopped right in front of her uncle who was watching her with interest. "Well," she began, ridding herself of her anger, "We could use a shrinking spell or potion and hide them in the house or forest. I'm not sure how well that would work, though."

Severus thought about that as well. "It might work, yet they cannot be in the house. That's two risky. And another variable that we must consider is that Fang will be of a large size by then, and he will not shrink as small as we'd like, probably only the size of a young horse. Shadow will be smaller than a house cat, however, and easier to hide."

Thorn nodded, "We could keep Shadow in the forest, hide her beneath the ground, she knows to keep her magic hidden. We could even keep Fang with her, if we dig deep enough, and if he understands the fact that he must keep quiet and under control."

Severus sighed, "That might be hard to make a fully grown dragon comprehend. If they find him you know what they'll do."

A small scowl crossed itself onto her lips, "They'll sentence me to Azkaban, never to let me see the light of day, nor to experience fresh air." The disgusted look shrank away from her face as she cleared herself again and nodded. "It's the best thing that we can do, we'll go for it."

"We've got a lot at stake, yet I trust your judgment. I know that you will keep yourself safe." He stood and made way for his room. "I know that you can accomplish this."

Thorn nodded, "I know I can, too." She also stood and walked towards her bedroom. "Goodnight, Severus."

"Goodnight, Thorn."

"THEY'RE GONNA DO WHAT!?" Sparkie exclaimed as Thorn told him and Fang what was going on. The Dragon snorted angrily in agreement. "You mean that little... little... DUNDERHEAD, is looking for an excuse to throw you into Azkaban!? Over my dead and rotting body! I swear, he's got it commin' good—"

Sparkie was pacing angrily on Thorn's bed, wings crossed over his shoulders like a cloak. He was going on and on about what an outrage this was, and how if he ever met Fudge in a dark alley no one would ever meet him again. Every now and again he would throw his arms into the air and let loose a small flame onto the stone floor, where it would whither and die almost immediately.

"—the nerve! I'm more wizard then he'll ever be and I'm not even human!" Fang nodded and agreed with the raging lizard every so often, giving him an, "Of course!" or a, "Yeah!"

Thorn, however, was going through one of her thousand books. The World's Most Difficult Potions; the book that Maken had gotten her for Christmas the past year. Somewhere within its pages were the ingredients to the complex potion for shrinking. She'd known that this novel would come in handy one day.

"When I finely get to see this guy he's gonna regret the day that he decided to mess with us!"

It took her almost no time at all to find the potion that she'd been searching for, and read over the ingredients. It was probably one of the easier potions within this book's pages. The supplies were easy enough to find and the brewing would be simple, yet it would be ready the exact day of the inspection. There was absolutely no room for mistake. If they failed in this it was all futile. To use a shrinking spell would make the minister suspicious. He had to see nothing but spells made for occlumency come forth from her wand.

"—and then I'll shred the shreds, and burn those shreds—"

"Sparkie," Thorn stopped his rant, "It's time for bed. Don't worry, we have the way to keep them hidden, we won't be sent to Azkaban just yet. Now, its time for bed."

The following week and a half seemed to drag on everyone's mind. Thorn and Severus practiced her occlumency as usual and worked on the potion. Sparkie bad mouthed the minister every chance that he got. Shadow and the others searched the forest for a good place to keep she and Fang hidden and Fang himself grew, a lot. Soon he was no longer able to stay in the house, and had to keep his head down to keep it from penetrating through the top of the forest. Luckily for everyone, he'd not yet learned to breathe fire.

On the eve of the inspection Thorn was deep within the forest, manually digging the hole in which Shadow and Fang would keep hidden. She would have used her magic, but at the moment to use any spells could stand for disaster. This was one of those times when she was thankful that her body was in good shape, for the shovel against the hard earth was barely a fair fight.

Fang lowered his huge head down next to her, the whole of which could easily outweigh Thorn's entire body. "Can I help?" he lowly hissed through his teeth.

Thorn looked up to him and shook her head, "No, Fang. The very last thing we need right now is claw marks showing where you've hidden." She pushed the blade into the earth again and heaved another large portion out. "Severus is inside, working on the potion. When he's done with that and I've gotten this hole dug, he's going to set an invisible barrier over the top to keep the earth off of you two." Fang nodded just as Sparkie came whizzing into view.

"Just twelve more hours until that little... guy is here..." he muttered in disgust as he climbed into the hole and pushed large mounts of soil out with his wings and little claws. He continued to say nonsense things under his breath; every so often they would hear something like "Evil man," or "Kill him..."

They continued to work for about another hour, finally getting deep enough in to keep the later horse sized Fang and cat sized Shadow within. Hopefully the minister and his workers would fail to catch the magic scent. Thorn climbed out of the now rather large ditch in her forest, slapping her hands together to get the stray dirt off, and brushing the brown dust from her black clothing. "Let's hope that this will work." Then she walked back into the house to find Severus.

He was in the kitchen, standing over a large cauldron that was filled to the brim with a grayish blue liquid. He tossed some yellow powder in and watched as it changed to a light green. He looked up as Thorn entered and said, "Now we let it simmer over night, then the drought shall be finished. We will end up using all of it for both of them, which leaves out the possibility of them finding any bit of it left to suspect."

His niece nodded. "That's good. It makes less room for mistake." Severus nodded and they waited for the next day to come, hoping that their plan would work.

The dawn of the next day was their alarm clock. They had few hours until the minister would arrive and they had to make sure that the potion was successful. Thorn let Severus do that as she changed into her nicest set of robes instead of merely wearing her regular tank top and pants. She had to look at least semi-formal for the minister and his secretary. Sparkie was grooming himself, getting stray dirt off of his scales. Yet he seemed not to be making any progress, so he went into the bathroom, filled the tub with warm water, and created his own cleaning pool.

Making sure that her amulet was still on and in good condition, Thorn stepped from her chamber and into the front room while she brought a brush through her long hair. Her face was untainted by make-up, though she didn't need it. She had an odd look to her that made her pretty without the feminine skin care products. Taffy Trelawney had once been caught admitting that she was second best in their year, only to Thorn. Yet she also said that Thorn's beauty came from evil origin, and that it was a cover for her normal, demonic self.

Sparkie joined her in the kitchen after a while, his blue scales shining from the dampness that still clung to them. His red webbing to his wings was also gleaming in the wetness. "Is the evil man here yet?" he hissed.

Thorn shook her head. "No." Severus was sitting at the cauldron in the kitchen, the brewing now completed. He shifted a portion of the concoction into a smaller container. Handing the smaller one to Thorn he said, "That is Shadow's share. Bring it to her." Then he muttered "Wingardium Leviosa," and levitated the cauldron out into the yard.

Thorn followed after, carefully carrying the small bowl to make sure that she didn't spill any. When they got outside she placed it on the grass and whistled to Shadow and Fang. They were there within seconds and waiting for her instruction. "Okay, Fang, that's yours." She pointed to the large cauldron. Then she turned to Shadow and thought, Shadow, this one's yours. Thorn gestured towards the bowl.

The pegacorn whinnied and dipped her mouth into the grayish greenish liquid and lapped every last bit of it up. Fang took the cauldron into his front claws and dumped the lot of it into his jaws. The two humans and the lizard all watched, waiting for the potion to take effect, or for it to poison the two of them. Yet soon enough their bodies began to shrink. Soon they were far smaller than they regularly were, Fang about the same size that he had been merely weeks ago and Shadow so small that she looked like one of Maken's old toys.

Thorn nodded and said, "Severus, we must hurry, Fudge will be here soon and I want to make sure that everything is in order." I picked up Shadow and Fang trotted behind us briskly as we sped to the little hole that they'd dug for them. She carefully set Shadow within and Fang leapt in as well. Luckily for them there was moving room, not much, but still. "Fang, Shadow, keep yourselves quiet. If they find you nothing good will come of it. Do you understand?" The both nodded. "Alright, good, we'll be back."

While walking back Thorn asked, "How long does the potion last?"

Severus looked to her then said, "Exactly twelve hours. Fudge should not be here that long."

When they got back to their home they barely had time to make sure that everything was in order. Merely fifteen minutes after they closed the door a loud knock echoed through the stone house. Severus was there instantly and opened the door. Standing before him was Cornelius Fudge himself, his bowler placed upon his head as always. Standing behind him was a short, squat woman, with a rather vulgar appearance.

"Ah, minister, welcome." Severus moved aside to allow them entrance. To his great relief it seemed that they had not brought aurors after all.

Keeping the forced smile that he hoped was welcoming; Severus led them into the den, where he had previously created a small couch across from his and Thorn's chairs. Thorn was sitting in hers, patiently awaiting their arrival. Severus gestured for them to sit down upon the couch and he sat in his chair next to Thorn.

After a moment of silence—that must have been unnerving for the minister, for he frequently cleared his throat—he finally spoke. "Ahem, Professor Snape, Miss Rose, I presume that you know why we are here..."

Yeah, Sparkie thought to Thorn, To try to ruin our lives! I gotta Thank him for that... Thorn smirked slightly, yet let the minister continue.

"Allow me to introduce my personal secretary. This is Ms. Delores Umbridge." The squat woman smiled to them. Sparkie glanced out of Thorn's pocket and instantly dove back in. She looks like a big, fat, ugly toad! He whispered the thought to Thorn and she had to agree. "She's one of my most loyal employees and when I told her that I was planning on visiting you two she relished the idea of being able to meet Thorn Rose—"

"The girl who escaped?" Thorn finished for him. He looked to her, his fearful eyes trying, and failing, to look as if he hadn't the slightest idea of what she was talking about. The Umbridge woman, however, watched Thorn with mounting curiosity. Thorn stared back at her, empty black eyes showing a slight hint of anger. "You did want to lock me in Azkaban eight years ago. I'd wager the same now."

Umbridge's lips curled upwards in a smile that was supposed to be encouraging. "Dear child," she said, her voice an annoying high tone, one that did not match her appearance at all, "The minister merely wants to protect the wizarding community. You, my dear, have been named a threat to society."

Sure, Sparkie thought angrily with a hint of sarcasm, Everyone who makes a mistake like this is a threat to society. It's only because of the things that your parents and Severus have done that make you more 'dangerous.' Thorn nodded silently.

The foul, toad-like woman smiled wider and continued. "Now, dear, I need to see your wand, please. We are going to check what spells you have done since the beginning of this last school year." She held her chubby hand forward, the many rings looking as if they were cutting off circulation. Thorn only stared at her face, however. "Child," Umbridge said impatiently, the sweetness in her voice beginning to falter, "We don't have all day."

Reluctantly, Thorn placed the dark ebony in the squat woman's fingers. "Yeah, neither do we." As Umbridge snatched it away and she continued. "Be careful. That wand was my mothers."

She grinned in a sinister way to the Slytherin. "Well then I guess that gives me a reason not to be careful." Thorn's already angry eyes glared dangerously as she let her hand fall back to her side. White fingers grasped cold, black cloth, as she watched the secretary go through spells that her wand had cast. Usually the welcoming wood would have been held in her death grip, yet as the precious item was in this foul woman's chubby hands the hem of her robe would have to do.

Severus watched Umbridge as well, his eyes showing just as much anger and concern as his niece's. He was poised on the edge of his seat, prepared, just in case Fudge's assistant decided to harm his sister's old wand. Yet what could he do if she did anything? Attack her for doing no physical harm to either him or Thorn? No, so he merely watched, and waited, to see if the toad-like woman would really damage the wand.

About an hour later—it had taken a great deal of time to make sure that a simple invisibility spell was not something unforgivable—the squat woman's face distorted in anger. Thorn smirked. She had obviously been waiting for the trustful ebony to reveal an unhidden secret. Yet no sooner had the furious look come onto her face that it was replaced by that false, cheerful disposition. "Well, that's done!" she said through clenched teeth.

Thorn's grip loosened in relief and she held her hand forward to take back her heirloom. When her fingers were just within grasping distance the secretary noticed her advancing hand and snapped the wood away. "Oh no, my dear," she murmured sweetly, "You will get your wand back, but not until the end of the inspection. After all, you have been named a threat to society, and daresay you still are, we wouldn't want to endanger the minister, now would we?"

Thorn just stared at her, her eyes expertly masking the rising fury behind them. Her hand dropped back to her side and clutched the cloth again. Don't want to endanger the minister? she repeated to Sparkie angrily. I don't need my wand to kill him! I can do it with my bare hands!

Sparkie poked his head out of her pocket discretely as he heard her anger. His dark eyes watched her with worry. This was by far the most angry that he had ever seen her... Yet, as always, soon that anger had dispelled itself and she was relatively calm again. They both knew what the consequences of such unmarked fury could result in, and neither of them wanted that to happen...

And Thorn was not the only one angry. Severus, too, was livid. His face was set sternly into an unconcerned expression yet inwardly he was fuming. A vein in his temple was throbbing slightly, and that was the only thing that would give away his outraged mind.

Thorn sighed deeply and glanced at Fudge. He was watching Umbridge smugly, his arms crossed over his chest, bowler atop his head perfectly as ever. I want to rip that freaking thing right from his scalp! Sparkie muttered in her mind. She rolled her eyes slightly at his arrogant attitude. When he was brought down she was going to laugh long and hard, for her at least.

Yet her eye rolling had not gone unnoticed. "Dear child!" the foul creature scolded, "How dare you show such a disrespectful gesture towards your minister! Apologize this instant!" The man in the bowler looked to the youthful Slytherin, obviously having been unaware of her motion.

Thorn's cold glare moved onto Umbridge's less appealing face. "Well, Dolores," she said curtly, briskly amused at the fuming redness that had risen into her cheeks. "I would show Cornelius respect had he ever shown me even the slightest bit of human compassion. He acts as if I will just leap up and strike out at anything living. Dolores," she said again, "I am just as human as you are, in fact, I'm more human than you are... You look more like a toad than a woman."

Sparkie cheered. Whoo, yeah! That was great! You deserve a medal for that one! Thorn smirked. Not only had she just seriously insulted the toad-demon, yet she had also shown the most disrespect for her than anyone had ever previously done. To use the first name of your superior in direct conversation with them was almost always thought of as rude, some exceptions made for Thorn, for she constantly would directly name the teachers at the school, having known them so long.

Severus smirked and proudly crossed his arms over his chest. Thorn was doing quite well, she had even showed the utmost mockery for these two ministry figures. She never ceased to amaze him. Fudge's face was a rich purple color as he suppressed the rage that must have built up in his smaller-that-dirt heart. Umbridge's eyes glinted maliciously and she seemed to want nothing more than to whip out her wand and curse Thorn herself. That little fact made Thorn chuckle inwardly.

"Well," Umbridge muttered, "I never... Now! Back onto business! We need to reconnoiter the surrounding area." She smirked, "Now, you will be under my watchful eyes... and no talking while we search. Professor Snape?" she turned to the potions master. "You have no need to accompany us."

He shook his head. Preposterous! Leave these two alone with his unarmed niece? He thought not. She was well protected, having numerous magical creatures to aid her if things turn ill-fated, yet he would still feel better if he was with her. Besides, being alone with that foul woman could be enough to kill anyone. "No, I think I shall come, you might need my guidance around the area."

Umbridge's face contorted foully. "No, professor, it is not required that you come—"

"It's not required that I stay, either," Severus pointed out coldly. The secretary didn't fight against him after that. The minister led the way through the forest, Thorn after him, her hand clutching cloth within her pocket, Dolores following her, and Severus in the back. Sparkie was within Thorn's pocket, standing on her white hand.

"Now, child," Umbridge said after at least two hours of trudging through the trees. "Where are you pets? I know that you have at least four, counting that one that the oaf had gotten you for Christmas." Thorn's eyes flashed dangerously for a second. Hagrid was no oaf... He was related to her, in some distant way, her father's uncle, she believed. But the point was, that Rubius was no moron... Sparkie had to fight of the impulse to claw the fat woman's eyes out...

"My animals," Thorn said calmly, "Are in another part of the wood."

Umbridge's eyes seemed to bug out at this, "What!?" she demanded shrilly, "Well, why hadn't you directed us in the correct direction!?"

Thorn stared blankly up to her, "Answer me something first... How could I have done that when I was told to be silent during the exploration of the perimeter?"

Now the secretary looked as if she wanted nothing more than to see Thorn at the mercy of the dementors. "Don't get snide with me!" She exclaimed as she began to take charge, grabbing Thorn by the arm, digging pink-painted nails into the girl's flesh. Obviously hours of aimless wandering had begun to plant a slight seed of insanity in her mind. She pulled her ahead, forcing her to the front, her nails beginning to draw blood. Severus instinctively took hold of his wand at the sight of the beads or redness under the pink polish. "Show me the way!"

It somewhat surprised Thorn how quickly the change in character could occur in someone such as Dolores Umbridge. One minute she was a happy camper, and the next she was trying to tear your arm from its socket. She ripped her arm from the toad's grip, causing vivid red welts to stain her right forearm. She felt Sparkie compulsively twitch in her pocket and ran her left hand over his thin form. "This way," she said monotonously as she led them to the main part of the forest that the creatures dwelled within.

She took them through the over hanging branches to the thickest part of the woodland, where her dark eyes scanned the shadows to catch a glimpse of the four legal beings within their depths. Nothing, well, not yet. They would eventually come. After another half an hour of fighting through the foliage, Umbridge began to complain rather loudly. "You're leading us in circles! I saw that same tree five minutes ago! What are you trying to pull here, Rose?"

Ooh, Sparkie muttered in her mind, Someone's not too happy, now is she? And where the heck did that 'I'm a nice person, don't hate me because I lie,' voice go?

Thorn shook her head, I have no clue, probably the same place that her looks did. Sparkie snickered at her dry wit and she spoke to the whining secretary. "Every tree in my wood looks the same, and if I were leading you in circles there would be a fine trodden path under our feet." Umbridge's face turned purple with built up anger, and Thorn silently smirked to herself.

Then the fluttering of wings caught their ears and the trees above them rustled as the thestral, Fell, landed in front of them. Dolores screamed at the commotion of the forest around her, for she could not see the reptilian horse, and clutched onto Thorn's shoulders, as if using her as a personal shield. "What's happening, child? Tell me!"

Severus rolled his eyes as Fudge, too, became fidgety. "It's a thestral," the potions master confirmed as Thorn shrugged Umbridge's ring clad hands from her shoulders. "You can't see them unless you've witnessed death."

At this a snide smile came across Dolores's lips. "Witnessed death, yes. I haven't seen such a such an occasion. It doesn't surprise me that this little... family... has."

Sparkie jerked again and he began to try to fight his way through to the hem of Thorn's pocket. "Lemme at her!" he hissed to Thorn as she held his tail, causing the three others to look to the mass of moving cloth, "I'll kill her! I swear I will! That's the final straw!"

"What's that?" Umbridge shrieked, this time leaping behind one of the trees, snagging, and ripping, her robe on a low, and I mean really low, branch.

Thorn sighed and pulled Sparkie free. He was flapping his red wings vigorously, and clawing angrily at the air as he desperately tried to get to the offender. He looked nothing short of rabid as he fought futilely against Thorn's firm grip. "This," she said acidly, "Is Sparkie, and congratulations." The secretary looked petrified, "You just made him mad."

She screeched again. "Put that thing away!" she demanded angrily. "Put it away!"

Thorn's wicked smirk appeared once again as she considered releasing the thin blue tail. Yet, as that would result in very bad consequences, she calmed the lizard through her mind and replaced him in her dark pocket. After the toad-human had recomposed herself she stormed up into Thorn's face, a few inches shorter than the tall second year, "How dare you!" She scolded, "You have endangered the life of a ministry worker! I will see to it that you are locked away forever, mark my words!"

"More correctly," Severus put in coldly, "She saved the life of a ministry worker." The insane glare turned its attention to the professor. "Had she released Sparkie, who knows what he would have done. He may be small, mind you, but he is fierce. If you dare try to place her into Azkaban for such an act I swear to you, you will not last long in your high position."

Its times like these, Sparkie thought to Thorn, his voice a forced calm, That I really really love Severus and Albus. Thorn agreed.

Umbridge breathed harshly, still pointing an accusatory finger at the Slytherin. She looked to Fudge, then dropped her hand and let the false jovial look replace itself into her features. "Well, no need for that! Now, I believe that this inspection is almost finished, we must first see the remainder of your creatures, Miss Rose."

Thorn nodded and let a shrill whistle escape her lips. No sooner than she's taken another breath the white form of Shooter sped towards them, and the sounds of wings were heard over head. Feather and Talon landed next to Fell, who quietly conveyed to each of them the recent occurrences. Shooter skidded to a halt on Severus's left side, neighing lowly his resentment at the two ahead of him.

It was not long later that Umbridge, Fudge, Thorn, and Severus were back at the house, the Minister and his secretary making way for the door. "Well, thank you!" Cornelius said with a jolly wave. "Good luck, next year, Thorn!" She gave him an empty smile as Sparkie took the liberty to slam the door after them.

"Good riddance..." he muttered.