Chapter One

ii)

Lisete Quixley was a Protector. She worked for the Office of Protection within the Ministry of Magic, the primary responsibility of which was to detect and monitor Muggle born witches and wizards during their childhood. The Protectors educated the children about who they were, and carefully welcomed into the magical community so that they did not pose a danger to themselves or others.

Lissy had been working at the Office of Protection for just three years. At the age of twenty four, she was by far the most junior member of the office. Protectors were usually at least thirty years of age, often transferring from the Magical Law Enforcement Squad - the wizarding police. Lissy had taken a different career route. It was owing to her unusual previous qualifications that she had been allowed to become a Protector despite her youth. John Bosman had been her partner since she arrived at the office, and he had taught her well.

Muggle born witches and wizards were rare, so finding them was an enormously difficult task. She loved it. The Protectors made use a wide network of squibs, and worked closely with the Trace Registry, but most of the job was in investigatory work. Lissy's desk in her office was littered with Muggle newspapers, magazines and newsletters from various Muggle 'magic' cults. Whenever anything unusual was reported, she was there.

Today's events were far beyond unusual though. One of the children she had been monitoring, a boy called Richard Miller, had caused a car to explode in central London, killing innocent people in the process. This incident of underage wizardry was more serious than anything she had ever heard of. It was an absolute travesty, and it had happened on Lissy's watch. She blamed herself entirely. On the other hand, Richard Miller had absolutely no idea that he had caused the lethal blast.

Lissy knew Miller was unaware because the boy was only three years old.

...

Lissy apparated in a busy street in the East End of London.

She was standing below a block of grim, concrete-grey council flats, in a dark, discreet alcove with which she was familiar. A quick glance around confirmed that her presence had gone unnoticed. That was for the best. She pulled up the hood of her purple cloak and walked quickly towards the stairwell.

At the fifth floor, Lissy emerged onto a long balcony. The balcony ran the length of the building and overlooked the street. At regular intervals along the balcony there were doors into the individual flats. Lissy walked along the balcony until she reached the flat where Richard Miller and his mother lived.

Lissy knocked on the door. She did not expect a response, because there was no way that the pair could be home already. She did not receive one. Lissy looked around at her surroundings. The outside of the flat was a dingy place, and she did not particularly feel like waiting there for the Millers to turn up. It was better just to go inside, she decided. Strictly speaking she should not be entering a Muggle house without consent, but relative to the events of the day that was just a minor technicality. Lissy raised her wand to the lock and said: 'Alohamora!'.

There was a sharp clicking noise. Lissy turned the handle, and the door opened with ease, granting her access to the musty flat. It had the damp stink of cigarette smoke, set against the sharp smell of Muggle alcoholic spirits which lingered in the air. The room she was in seemed to double as both lounge and dining area. The curtains were drawn, allowing only a dim yellow light to illuminate the drab furnishings. 'What a dive,' said Lissy as she closed the door behind herself.

Lissy did a sweep of the flat to make sure it was empty. There was a basic kitchen, most of which was hidden under dirty plates and pans; and two small bedrooms, one for Richard and one for his mother. For a family so poor, the boy's bedroom had a surprising amount of toys littered across the floor.

Returning to the living room, Lissy sank into a grey armchair and switched on the television. The major news networks were all running special bulletins about the alleged bomb attack.

Lissy recognised the Muggle reporter that she had seen in the street ten minutes ago. Unsurprisingly she was standing in the same place. The reporter was carrying on a conversation with the newsreader in the studio, and the picture cut back and forth between the two. There were now three reported deaths, and a further person was in a critical condition.

Right now Lissy imagined that Kingsley Shacklebolt, the long standing Minister of Magic, would be paying a personal visit to the Muggle prime minister. He would explain that it was a magical incident. It would be up to the prime minister to decide what he did with that information, though no doubt he would just keep it to himself whilst the security services went into overdrive. After all, what could he say or do?

Shacklebolt would offer solidarity and some financial reparation for dealing with the aftermath. No magical medical treatment would be offered of course. Those with life threatening injuries would have to make do with feeble Muggle remedies like surgery. It was always that way. Lissy thought it was a disgraceful way to treat the injured victims of magic.

Lissy waited in the flat, watching the news bulletins roll in silently, thinking about the implications of the incident. No underage wizard had ever demonstrated such violent power, much less unknowingly. Lissy reminded herself that no matter how bad the situation was, no blame could be placed on Miller. The Aurors would try to prevent such a hazardous child remaining loose in the Muggle community. She had to stop them, even if she could not yet work out how she would do so. This was an issue for the Protectors.

A little over half an hour later, there was a clicking and a turning of keys in the door. Lissy stood up and composed herself. A young woman stepped into the room and a sandy-haired little boy tottered in after her. The mother had dark stains under her eyes, as though she had been crying and her makeup had run. She did not see Lissy at first, but Richard did.

'Mummy!' he exclaimed, pointing a finger at Lissy.

The mother looked up and gasped. 'Get out of my 'ouse!' she said instinctively, ushering Richard aside and grabbing an empty glass bottles from the window sill.

'Mrs Miller,' said Lissy, wishing she had just waited outside. 'It's ok. I'm a police officer.'

Richard's mother stayed still and frowned with deep suspicion. 'Police? I ain't done nothing wrong. You got any ID?'

Lissy routed in the pocket of her robes and finding a small black wallet. 'Here'. She held out the wallet to Richard's mother and waited for her to take it.

The mother took the wallet cautiously, and flipped it open to reveal Lissy's badge. 'Office of Protection,' she read. 'What's that?'

'Mrs Miller, sit down,' said Lissy, in her most persuasive voice. 'Please?'

'Not till you tell me what you want,' said the mother. 'I ain't done nothing wrong!'

'Mrs Miller,' said Lissy again, sitting back down in the armchair and gesturing to the sofa. 'Have a seat, this is very important.'

'It's Miss Miller,' said the mother, folding her arms. She took stock still for a moment, eyeing Lissy up and down, as though wondering if she could overpower her. Richard's mother was quite short, about the same height as Lissy, but she looked like she had a strong arm. After a few moments, she sat down tensely, and pulled Richard close to herself.

Lissy smiled at Richard and tried not to think about the people he had unwittingly killed today. The little boy looked sheepish, and sat on the sofa awkwardly beside his mother.

'Miss Miller, were you at the scene of the explosion today?' Lissy tilted her head towards the mute television set, upon which overhead images of the disaster area were being displayed.

'Is that what this is about?' said Miss Miller, incredulously. 'Wait, how would you know I was there? Are you accusing me of something?'

Lissy shook her head. 'I just want to know if you're feeling ok. You were there then?'

'Well, yes,' she said, looking away.

'What were you doing at the time?' asked Lissy.

'Nothin'!' said Miss Miller. 'There was a huge bang and the car just blew up and I got out of there as fast as I could.'

Lissy leaned forwards in her chair and looked sympathetically at Richard, who looked understandably perturbed by this whole situation. 'What were you doing the moment before the explosion?'

Miss Miller shrugged. 'Can't remember.'

Richard spoke. 'I wanted sweeties,' he said, matter-of-factly to Lissy.

'Oh, yeah,' said Miss Miller. 'Ricky was bawling 'cause he wanted sweets.'

'And you wouldn't get him any,' said Lissy.

'No,' said Miss Miller.

'And then...' said Lissy.

Miss Miller shut her eyes and shook her head. 'I don't want to think about it. It was horrible.'

Lissy sat back in the chair and sighed. It was true. In his tantrum, Richard had caused the explosion. How strange it was that neither of them should yet know just how much of a stir this would cause across the magical community.

'Miss Miller, I have to tell you something about Richard,' said Lissy, as calmly as she could. She had seen Bosman give this explanation a couple of times, but she had not had to give it herself before. 'He's a wizard.'

Author's note: Thank you for reading my story, I do hope to read your thoughts on it. The next instalment will be up in two days, and features a very familiar character. I hope you will continue to enjoy it. Best wishes, HeartHermione.