DISCLAIMER: THE BOOK BELONGS TO J. I HAVE ONLY BORROWED BOTH CHARACTERS AND PLOTLINE.
CHAPTER 43
Harry sat on his bed slowly fingering the blue velvet folder in his hands which bore the symbol of two crossed bronze wands and the words 'Belldane Academy of Magical Defense' above it. He had received it a week ago and had already discussed it with Draco in great detail during a long fire-call, dissecting every subject that the school was offering,
Shields and Wards
Defense against the Dark Arts
War Strategies and Planning
Civil Construction
Basic Healing
Aerial Warfare
Clandestine operations and Prisoners of War
Weapons Class
He was yet to inform his parents of this sudden development and had found no occasion to do so because of what had happened on the twins' thirteenth birthday. It had been during breakfast when they had all been sitting down at the table while their mum made three tier pancakes with oodles of chocolate syrup for each of them. She had been humming along to the deep voice of Blodwyn Bludd on the Wizarding Wireless Network from the radio, when there had been a sudden interruption in the broadcast,
"Peter Pettigrew, a known death eater and spy for You Know Who, who has been in Azkaban these past twelve years for his crimes against the Potter family, has escaped from his prison cell yesterday at night time.
No further news of his escape has been divulged by the Ministry. Minister Cornelius has been tight lipped about the entire incident and has said that all measures are being taken to recapture the criminal.
Rufus Scrimgeour, Head of the Auror Department however does not seem as confident, "Unfortunately Peter Pettigrew's animagus state is a rat, and to capture such a small creature will definitely prove to be a difficult task. Rest assured we have sent out a full force of Dementors under strict surveillance to help us catch the escapee."
All wizards and witches alike are requested to keep a look out for the man or rat, should you spot a rat with a missing digit on his paw from a potions accident, kindly notify the ministry through the Magical Law enforcement squad."
Lily had turned pale and had dropped the skillet she was holding and turned to look at James whose face had become contorted with rage, "How dare he" he spat, standing up in anger "The rat will not go far. Lily stay at home and look after the house, I'm going to the ministry to get more information."
"James" she called looking worried "Be careful, he might not be strong, but he is cunning and cares for nothing but his own well-being. And if you find him don't…" she stopped talking glancing at her two sons. James hugged her reassuringly and kissed the boys on their foreheads, wishing them a happy birthday and stepped out of the house to go to the ministry.
When the morning paper had come it had borne a large picture of a small, cunning looking man with protruding teeth and a large mole on his cheek, looking pleadingly at the Auror who was leading him away to Azkaban, his hands that had been clapped in irons clearly revealed a missing index finger.
The Daily Prophet had nothing extra to add and had stressed greatly on safety and precaution of the Wizarding world. Searching for any other relevant information, Harry sighed angrily, there was nothing of importance only some news about two random murders in a town by the port, some idiotic story about how there was an increase in the snake population in and around the same town and about how goblins were complaining about some financial crisis or the other.
How on earth was Harry supposed to tell his parents, in such a tense atmosphere about an exchange program in France. His father was barely at home and his mother was glued to the radio listening for any good news. Darren and he were literally under house arrest and were even forbidden to go to the Weasley's house unless they were being accompanied by an adult.
Today he would have to tell them as he had completely run out of time. Pulling out a fake letter from 'Beauxbatons school' that had come with the folder and addressed to his parents, he slowly slid off the bed and made his way downstairs to find his mum and dad who were luckily both at home today.
He passed the letter to James who had looked a tad bit confused at the crest of Beauxbaton's school and opened it to read it, his face had taken on a proud glow to Harry's surprise and he ruffled his son's hair happily, "This is such a great honor Harry, congratulations!"
Harry blushed from embarrassment feeling like a worthless bug at having to lie to his parents about everything. Lily took the letter from James curiously and read it eliciting a completely opposite reaction "Harry, you can't go this year" she said firmly, turning to James she said "I'm not letting the family separate during a crisis, for god sakes James, we have no idea where Peter is and what he's up to. How can we send Harry alone to another country at such a time?"
James looked at her and smiled a bit at the protective tone her voice had adopted, "Lily I think if Harry goes to France then out of all of us he will probably be the safest. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity and I'm not about to dissuade him from grabbing it."
Lily fell silent and asked Harry softly "Do you really want to go baby?"
Harry nodded and said "Yes, like dad said this seems like a lot of fun and I don't want to give it up."
Lily sighed and hugged him close, "If I let you go then you know the rules, stay safe at any cost."
Harry cringed inside, he was going to a school that taught them how to fight, there was no way safety was even an option. But he nodded and like the good little liar he had had to become, he promised.