Sooooooooo sorry for the tremendous wait for this chapter, but honestly it couldn't be helped. The last few weeks of term got utterly ridiculous in terms of how busy it was! I had no less than three essays in a very short space of time, and on top of that I had two filming projects to get on with. It was mad! I really wish they'd spaced it all out over the course of the term rather than lumping it in all at once at the end like that. But uni had to come first. So, here I am again and I'm hoping I'll be able to rattle off quite a few chapters now before I get stupidly busy again.

To the guest who told me that 'defence' and 'offence' were spelt with an S, not a C - indeed they are… in America. I am British, just like J.K. Rowling and Harry Potter (:P) and we spell it differently. Just as we spell words like 'realise' with an S rather than a Z. So thanks for trying to help, but I'm gonna keep spelling them our way. XD

Dance of the Fairies, Flight of the Phoenix

Chapter 19:- Devil On the Shoulder

The Erkling that had initially met Evergreen did not sleep that night like most of his comrades. Instead, he went on ahead, scampering through the branches like an overgrown woodlouse. A family of Bowtruckles jumped into a hidey-hole as he passed, but ignored them. Much fun as it was messing with Bowtruckles they were not important right now. He was on a different mission.

He eventually came to a stop when he reached the edge of a huge lake. The banks were overgrown, surrounded by trees on all sides, so much so that in most cases anybody wandering through the woods would not know that it was there until they fell into it. But the Erkling found one small patch of bank and sprang from the tree, landing on all fours like an incredibly ugly cat before rising up onto his legs and calling out across the rippling, clear water.

"Seek audience with Elder!" he cried. "Come out, come out, come out and face new ruler!"

For a long moment there was nothing but silence - it was so quiet that it almost seemed that the very air was mocking the Erkling's words. But then a slight wind picked up, causing the branches of the trees to sway and rustle, as a cloud that was covering the moon shifted out of the way. The reflection of the moon in the water seemed to bathe the entire lake in an eerie, otherworldly glow… and then blue lights seemed to emerge from the water. Not from beneath the surface - it was as if they'd just appeared at the surface and went zinging about in random directions. The Erkling's head twitched from side to side as he watched them… eagerly awaiting what was about to happen.

And then… time slowed down. Literally. The wind dropped and the branches continue to sway, but they made no rustling and they were moving so slowly it was as if the trees and lazily shifting them from side to side under their own power. The blue lights slowed down too, and the Erkling could get a good view of them at last.

Fairies.

But not ordinary Fairies. Oh no. Unlike most Fairies these one had deep blue skin that almost seemed to shine in the darkness, their dragonfly-like wings beating rapidly as they flitted over the shining pool like actual dragonflies. One Fairy in particular approached the Erkling. This one was male, with wrinkled skin that indicated his age and several waving tendrils dangling from his forehead and cheeks. He wore a dark brown robe that covered his entire body but for his head and hands, unlike most of the others who were garbed in less heavy clothing.

The Erkling felt a shiver pass through his body. The Fairy was only about the size of his large eyeball but he seemed to exude authority. The Erkling had to resist the urge to bend his knee and bow his head. He had to remain confident… in control… so he mustered up a toothy smirk as the Fairy pointed a gnarled finger at him.

"What is the meaning of this?" he growled in a harsh slightly low-pitched voice. "Are you truly foolish enough to declare yourself as our new ruler? That has to be the most absurd thing I have ever heard."

"Me new ruler now," the Erkling crowed. "Me ruler over all Fairies. You do what me say now or Queenie gets it!"

"Make sense, you moronic imp!" the Fairy glowered. "You know who I am do you not?"

"You are Elder Fairy. And you me subject now just like all others!"

"We are no common Fairies, halfwit!" the Elder spat. "We are the Sidhe, guardians to the realm of Avalon. I don't know what delusion has caused you to think that you can command us… but I assure you that you will regret it!"

A staff almost as big as he was, with a blue gemstone carved into the tip, suddenly appeared in the Elder's hand and was levelled at the Erkling, the gemstone crackling with power even despite its tiny size. The Erkling jumped backwards, eyes wide and snarled, "You kill me and your Fairy Queen die!"

"Fairy Queen?" the Elder Sidhe wrinkled his nose. "What the blazes are you talking about?"

"Erklings capture Fairy Queen yesterday! Erklings have Fairy Queen! All Fairies will obey Erklings or Fairy Queen die!"

"Is that so?" the Elder lowered his staff, an intrigued look crossing his face. "You have captured the Fairy Queen?"

"Yes! Yes! Yes!" the Erkling cackled. "Now bow before Erkling, titchy!"

"But…" another one of the Sidhe - a female with a leafy tube top and skirt hovered up next to the Elder. "There's no such thing as… GAH!" she cried out as the Elder slammed his staff into her stomach, hard, doubling her over as she gasped for breath and backed away, minuscule tears in her eyes.

"Silence!" the Elder growled over his shoulder at her, before he turned to the Erkling and said. "I do not believe you. Describe our… precious Queen… to us and perhaps I will reconsider."

"Fairy Queen big Fairy. Size of human. Wearing green cloth with brown mammal hair growing from head. Wears blue things on feet and these on face!" With a flourish, the Erkling produced Evergreen's glasses from behind his back and tossed them to the floor like some kind of trophy, triumph in its bulbous eyes.

The Sidhe Elder scrutinised the glasses for several moments. "I see…" he said slowly. "Well… those are the Fairy Queen's glasses… but that does not mean that you really have her captive. Bring her here. Show her to me in person… and if you really do have her… then we will do anything to ensure her safety."

The Erkling grinned and scooped up Evergreen's glasses again. "I bring," he snickered. "You wait and see. I bring. I bring tomorrow." And then he was off, scuttling back through the treetops and back towards their home. The Sidhe Elder watched him go with an open expression of disgust, as the time around them returned to normal.

"I don't understand, Elder," another of the Sidhe folded his arms. "We don't have a Queen."

"I know we don't, you dolt," the Elder heaved a sigh. "But its perfectly obvious what's going on to me. Obviously this is some human woman with delusions of grandeur that claimed to be a Fairy Queen to those Erklings. And those imbecilic creatures believed her and took her prisoner."

"Then why are you asking them to bring her here?" the female nursing her stomach asked. "If you'd told them the truth they would have just eaten her and had done with it."

"Because," the Elder turned around to fly through the others, who quickly parted to make way for him. "If this woman claims to be our Queen then I think she should meet the real ruler of Fairy-kind. I will let her know the true depths of her blasphemy. Besides, I haven't decided whether I'd like to see her dead or use her as a human slave. If she likes Fairies so much then let's hope she'd consider that an honour!"

Dawn sunlight peeking its way through the dormitory window woke Charla and the little white Exceed grunted slightly as she opened her eyes. At the sight of the unfamiliar room around her she gasped and leapt to her feet, spinning around and almost calling out Wendy's name before remembering everything that had happened the night before.

That's right. She was at Hogwarts right now, helping to keep tabs on what was going on at the school. Wendy was safe with Gajeel at the Hog's Head… she had no need to worry.

But she couldn't help it. She wasn't used to waking up next to the Sky Dragon Slayer. There had only ever been a few occasions in the past where they had been separated like this and it made her heart ache a little.

"Charla… you okay?" Ginny Weasley moaned as she lifted her head up from her own pillow, whispering so as not to wake up her fellow Fourth Year girls. She might have been let in on the secret of Fairy Tail last night but she'd agreed to keep everyone else out of the loop for Charla's sake, and thanks to Mavis' disguise she'd had to pretend to the rest of her dorm that Charla was little more than an ordinary kitty. It had led to Charla being petted for almost an hour, something she really had not appreciated.

"Yes… I'm fine," Charla murmured back. "Thank you, Ginny, for letting me stay here."

"S'no problem," Ginny rubbed her eyes and sat up. "Though I gotta admit, I did wonder whether I dreamed you up last night for a moment there. Still barely believe you're real, or any of that stuff that Ron and the others told me last night is true… I gotta meet with the rest of your friends as soon as possible."

"And you will, I'm sure," Charla nodded, quickly dropping down to all fours just in case one of the others woke up. "But not today. I think it would be best for me to spend today trying to get to know my way around this castle. It would be hideously embarrassing if I managed to get myself lost - I can't use my wings to help find my way around."

"Trust me, I know the feeling," Ginny chuckled. "It's always a nightmare for the first years - all my brothers said so and I remember it well myself. But I can come with you if you like. Got most of my homework done and its Sunday so there's no lessons today."

"I would appreciate it," Charla nodded as Ginny swung her legs out of bed. "We should probably meet up with Happy and Lily when we can. Though Happy will probably be sleeping for a few hours yet."

"Sounds like he and Ron will get along with one another splendidly," Ginny snorted dryly. "I dunno why he sleeps so late - none of my other brothers ever did that."

"By contrast I think Happy's habit started when he emulated his partner," Charla chuckled. "That and his appetite."

"Wow, that's another thing Ron has out of all my family - he eats the most. I'm surprised he doesn't weight three times as much as he does now."

"That's what I often think about Natsu." But then Charla's stomach growled slightly and she blushed, resisting the urge to place a paw over her stomach. "Erm… but speaking of appetite."

Ginny laughed. "Come on, I'll take you down to breakfast then. Most of the cats here don't really get fed - they survive by hunting all the rats and mice in the castle. But nobody will look twice at me feeding you a bit of bacon."

"Ugh… I'm not going to have to take it out of your hand with my mouth, am I?"

"Er… yeah. Sorry…"

Charla sighed. "Sometimes I wonder how I can even be compared to a cat. The way they do things is just… gross. I don't suppose you can get me a pot of tea to drink later when nobody's around to watch me do it, could you?"

"I'll do my best," Ginny promised. "Come on then."

Charla allowed Ginny to carry her in her arms on the way down to the Great Hall, so that they could move quicker and so that Ginny could point out all the trick steps that Charla would have to learn to avoid. She did her best to commit them all to memory but this place was so vast that she failed dismally. But she was going to have to get used to walking around this place on all fours and navigating it on her own… 'why did I agree to do this again?' she thought.

When they arrived at breakfast Charla was quick to spot Lily across the room, and Lily seemed to sense her arrival because he looked up at her. They exchanged a quick, surreptitious nod before Lily turned away and went back to allowing Luna to hand feed him by dangling bits of bacon in front of his face. Charla couldn't help but stare for a moment - how on earth could he do that with a straight face? He was a former military commander, letting a fourteen year old human girl feed him tidbits as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

Ah, but maybe it was the fact that Lily was a military commander that was actually helping him. She was willing to bet he'd never done an undercover assignment before - Pantherlily's huge body had always stuck out among human and Exceed both back in Edolas. But he had done missions before and he knew that you had to do whatever you had to do for the sake of that mission.

And Charla had her own part to play. It wasn't going to be easy but she had to play it, which was why she was able to hold back her distaste just enough to allow Ginny to feed her in a similar way.

It took another half an hour before Happy showed up in the room, accompanying Ron and Harry. Nobody paid the blue cat a second glance - most of them didn't even pay him one.

'At least Mavis' disguises are working at any rate,' Charla thought to herself.

But they couldn't take to each other with all of these people around. That was something that would definitely get noticed. Still, Ron sat down next to Ginny and Harry took a seat on his other side before saying, "Well, has anyone else got used to it yet?"

"No," Ron and Ginny said at the same time.

"Me neither," Harry shrugged.

"We shouldn't really talk about it now. It's noisy but anyone could overhear us," Ron noted as he loaded about four eggs onto his plate while Happy searched around for any fish that might be on the table.

"Yeah… and we've got a lot of homework to do," Harry agreed. "Particularly for Umbridge. That essay she set us last week is even more pointless than anything that Professor Binns has ever set. Look at her up there… does she own any other colour than pink?"

Happy and Charla swung their heads around to look at the staff table and locked eyes on the woman in question, who was sitting with a rather self-satisfied smile plastered over her face and talking to Professor Sprout, who looked like she would rather be anywhere but where she was right now. 'So… she's the one we're here to keep an eye on, are we?' Charla thought.

"Yeah, I know," Ron said. "It's mad. You wait and see, Harry - she'll have painted all of Classroom 3C pink by the end of the month. Bad enough she makes us head down to the third floor and read that Slinkhard book all day but that would really take the cake."

Charla quickly understood what they were doing, especially when Happy winked at her surreptitiously. They were trying to give the Exceed all the information they would need for their little spy mission without looking like they were talking to their cats. She now knew who they were after and where they would find her. Third floor, 3C. Very clever.

It was that point that Hermione walked in, toting a large book under one arm, which she thunked down onto the table. "Sorry, I'm late," she huffed as she sat down and tried to turn the page of her book while buttering her toast at the same time.

"Where were you?" Ginny asked. "It's not like you to come down after the boys."

"Oh, I came down a couple of hours ago. I wanted to look through the library, see if I could find out anything about alternate universes written in there somewhere."

"Ah, of course," Ginny nodded. "Anything?"

"Nothing of note really. A few things mentioned them but they were never more than a sentence and always described them as a possibility. Honestly I don't think I'm going to end up finding much to be honest but you know… every little bit helps."

"Sometimes I think that's just your excuse to go and read something new," Ron snorted as he reached for a bottle of ketchup. Hermione glowered at him, but it was that moment when she was quickly interrupted by something furry and ginger jumping up onto the table next to her. It was Crookshanks, and the large feline immediately turned his rather squashed face around to gaze at the two Exceed.

"Oh hello Crookshanks," Hermione scratched him behind the ears. "Yes, those are some of our new friends. It would be nice if you got on because you'll probably be seeing a lot of each other in the future."

Crookshanks seemed to ignore her words, his tail curling slightly and his gaze lingered on Charla for a moment. Charla blinked a little at the intensity of his stare and coughed slightly, before murmured, "Nyaa…" She wasn't sure why, but she was getting rather uncomfortable under the gaze of this slightly larger cat.

But then Crookshanks moved forward and shouldered past Happy slightly to come and stand before her until they were practically eyeball to eyeball. Charla stared right back at him, her tail twitching but refusing to back down, wondering if maybe he was trying to pull some kind of dominance test on her. But then she grew really confused as he stepped past and around her, rubbing his flank against hers slightly as he did so.

"Aaww, look he's being friendly," Ginny smiled.

"Erm… I'm not quite sure you could classify that as… friendly…" Hermione coughed, her face reddening a little as she watched Crookshanks turn around Charla's other side and step a little closer to rub against her again.

"Then what would you call it?" Harry asked.

"I'd… erm…" Hermione coughed, but paused briefly when she spotted what Happy was doing. The Blue Exceed had gone rigid and his fur was bristling, standing on end over practically he entire body as he glared at Crookshanks, watching as the larger tom stepped a little closer and Charla stepped aside as a result.

"L…love… ri…val…" he hissed so low that most people wouldn't have heard him even if they were listening for it. He looked for all the world like he was about to throw himself at Crookshanks but Hermione quickly diffused the situation by stepping up and hauling Crookshanks into her arms, despite a mewl of protest from the large cat.

"I am so… so sorry, Charla," Hermione gasped. "He's never been around other cat's besides Mrs. Norris and he can't stand her - I had no idea he'd react like that."

"I have a feeling I know the answer," Ginny said slowly. "But what exactly was he doing?"

"Well… with a normal cat its usually the female that makes the first move," Hermione muttered. "But Crookshanks is part kneazle. And with kneazles its the males that make the… erm… advances… on the female for… for… breeding."

"WHRROAH!" Charla was about to scream the word 'what' at the top of her lungs but managed to turn it into a cat-like squeal at the last possible second. Happy jumped over towards her and glared at Crookshanks, who seemed to glare right back. You could practically see electricity sparking through the eyes of the male cats, before Hermione quickly said, "I think maybe from now on it would be best if I kept a closer eye on Crookshanks here."

"Yeah… yeah, good idea," Harry nodded, not sure whether he could laugh or not since Charla was hardly an ordinary cat. But Ron then elbowed him in the ribs slightly and nodded up to the staff table where Umbridge was getting to her feet. "Whoa, looks like she's going. If you guys want to start your mission soon, you'd better get ready."

"I can't believe what just happened in there!" Happy cried as soon as they were out of earshot of any human. "Who does that cat think he is, pulling the moves on Charla like that! If he wasn't Hermione's cat… I'd let him have it!"

"That would have blown your cover very quickly," Lily noted - he had met up with the others quickly and were now heading over to the third floor.

"Not to mention he was bigger than you," Charla noted. "He would have won easily."

"That's mean, Charla!" Happy pouted. "I could have taken him. I could be strong too when I get all fired up!"

"Well, despite that, I don't need you to defend me," Charla sniffed. "I'm perfectly capable of looking after myself."

"But he was attracted to you, Charla! Attracted to you!"

"And that is your business how, exactly?" Charla raised a brow at him. "In any case that was not attraction. I don't know much about kneazles but what he saw was a female cat who might end up being receptive to him and he took a shot. He pick the wrong girl. I don't need you to fight my battles, for me, Happy."

"But Charla… I can't just sit back and do nothing when a guy tries to…"

"Happy," Lily interrupted him before he could finish. "It might be best if you didn't finish that sentence."

"…Aye…" Happy muttered slowly, looking down at the floor as they continued walking. Charla, meanwhile, was very deliberately trying to look anywhere but at Happy. She was aware that the blue male was… smitten with her. It had been painfully obvious to her from practically the moment she had set eyes on him and he'd made many attempts to get into her… good graces, so to speak. But of course she'd always turned him down because well… they had more important things to worry about than stupid things like romance. Especially now, when they were stranded in another universe like this.

"I have no interest in that Crookshanks cat," Charla assured him. "You've got no need to worry."

Almost immediately she chided herself - why had she said that? She'd meant that to mean that he had no reason to worry about her safety but all of a sudden it sounded as though she'd said he didn't need to worry about another male winning her heart. Which was of course utterly ridiculous because she was pretty sure her heart would be something no male cat would ever win…

…wouldn't it?

She was momentarily so distracted that she almost walked into a wall. She backed away quickly and said, "So… Lily… how was your first night with Luna."

"Quite alright," Lily nodded. "It got a little awkward when the girls in her dormitory started to get changed last night and this morning but I hid under the bed to make sure I saw nothing inappropriate. And a boy that tried picking on her at breakfast before you arrived ended up with his shoelaces being tied together from under the table. She's quite the unique child. But there seems to be very few people around her that are willing to say nice things to her. I don't think anyone referred to her by her actual name except Harry's group. 'Loony' is the word I keep hearing in its place."

"That's horrible," Charla protested.

"I know, but she does not seem to mind. Still… she deserves better all the same."

"Well she won't get that kind of thing from us," Happy nodded as he walked up the next couple of steps in two quick bounds. "But I think we're on the third floor."

"So how are we meant to find Classroom C3?" Lily wondered as they stared down at the corridor before them. "My guess is that its not exactly going to be marked."

"Let's just search them one by one," Charla said. "And quickly. There aren't that many doors here but its going to be one of them."

The three cats quickly bolted to the nearest door, where Happy activated his wings and lifted up to turn the doorknob, while Charla and Lily kept an eye out for passersby. But there was nothing in the room beyond except a broom closet so they tried another, and another, and then they hit their mark - a large classroom with what looked like a skeleton of a dragon hanging from the ceiling and a set of stairs at the front which lead up to another door.

"This must be it," Happy guessed. "Wow, that dragon looks small compared to Acnologia."

"I can hear voices coming from beyond that door up there," Lily agreed.

"Well, we've found it. What's our next move?" Charla asked, as they slipped through the door and shut it quietly behind them. "Do we just… hang around, stay hidden and wait to see what happens?"

"I don't know what she thinks of cats," Lily shook his head. "But I've seen one or two around the place and they walk through the halls as if they own them. I think our approach needs to be more… direct."

"Like what?" Happy asked, but before they could say anything more the door to the office opened. All three cats instantly dove behind a desk and peered out from beneath it to see a man exiting, and Umbridge stopping at the door to see him out.

"So you'll definitely sort it out with the Ministry?" the man turned back to ask her quickly. "I won't be punished for that whole regurgitating toilet thing?"

"No need to worry about a thing, Willy. I will ensure that you are expunged of all charges. After all, the Ministry favours those who are loyal to it as you have been today," Umbridge smiled with such a sickly-sweet tone you could have practically honeyed apples in it. The man looked relieved and began to head for the door, while Umbridge watched him go.

"Who's that guy?" Happy whispered.

"I don't know, but it looks like we just missed something that could potentially be important," Lily threw in.

"Well then… it's vital that we don't miss anything more…" Charla muttered, as she took a deep breath and leapt from her hiding place onto the table.

"Charla, what are you doing?" Happy hissed, but Charla lifted her front paw and licked it for a couple of seconds ('ugh, this is revolting,' she thought) before swishing her tail and calling, "Nyaaa…" just as the man left the room. The sound caught Umbridge's attention and she frowned when she spotted the white cat perched on the desk below her.

"Where did you come from?" she asked. "I don't recall letting you into my classroom."

Charla made no response, not even to acknowledge that Umbridge had spoken. She just kept licking her paw for a moment before she looked up at Umbridge and padded to the edge of the desk, springing off it and walking towards the stairs in the obscurely bold yet cautious way that cats do when investigating something new.

Umbridge stood there, observing Charla quietly as the Exceed boldly bounded her way up the stairs to Umbridge's legs. Fighting the urge to hurl at her own behaviour, Charla let out a low noise in the back of her throat that could only be described as a purr, while stepping around Umbridge's body to rub herself against her. Dear gosh, she wouldn't even do this kind of thing with Wendy, but if they were going to be here at this castle then they might as well do their job properly.

"Well, aren't you adorable?" Umbridge knelt down to rub her stubby-fingered hand down Charla's back briefly. "And rather clean too. Immaculate almost. Which student do you belong to, I wonder."

Charla didn't answer of course. She just looked up and meowed again and even went as far as to rub her own head against Umbridge's hand.

"Whoa… she's committed…" Happy muttered. Lily could only nod.

Umbridge giggled in a high, girlish voice as Charla allowed her to give her a scratch beneath the chin for a moment before the short witch stood up and said, "I have nothing to feed you but feel free to stay. Most cats I find to be quite dirty animals but I might just have to find out which student is your owner so I can confiscate you."

She chuckled to herself before retreating into her office, Charla following close behind. The sight of the office beyond made her stop for a moment - the lurid pink walls and numerous cat decorations all over the place gave her chills. Happy and Lily, who crept up the stairs to stop by the door and peer in, had to agree. Happy was reminded of the room of that girl from the Tower of Heaven - Erza's old friend Millianna. But while her obsession with cats and the bizarre decor of her room had made the whole thing quite cute, albeit also bonkers, this place was just plain creepy.

The white Exceed ushered for her companions to stay out of sight before quickly tried to think of a cat-like thing to do next and so she hopped up onto Umbridge's desk and idly stretched out across it as if she was claiming it as her own. Umbridge ignored her and turned to the fire, throwing in a substance that Charla recognised to be Floo Powder.

"Minister of Magic's Office," she called into the fire and after approximately ten seconds the face of Cornelius Fudge appeared in the flames.

"Dolores?" he asked. "What is it you have to tell me this time? Is all well at the school?"

"I fear that I have learned something that might not bode well for us. I just received a visit from Willy Widdershins, who claimed to have information to trade in exchange for all charges being dropped against him. It seems that yesterday during their first trip to Hogsmeade village, several pupils gathered together in the Hog's Head to talk about forming something like a club. A club to learn and practice Defence Against the Dark Arts as they are unsatisfied with the Ministry approved curriculum. They want to learn to fight."

"They want to learn to what?" Fudge gasped. "Are you absolutely certain of this?"

"I am certain that that is what Willy Widdershins told me. Whether he was truthful or not I do not know but he seemed to be sincere. And of course, Minister, you know as well as I do that this cannot go… unregulated."

"Yes… yes. Quite right, Dolores, quite right," Fudge nodded. "This is an… extracurricular activity then, is it? None of the staff are involved?"

"Not that I know of, Minister."

"In that case I shall send you another Educational Decree forthwith. It should have arrived to you by the end of the day. That ought to nip this group in the bud. We absolutely cannot allow anything that Dumbledore might be able to use against us in the future."

"I couldn't agree with you more," Dolores simpered. "Quite the wise course of action indeed, Minister."

Charla felt an urge to wretch - dear lord, this woman was a shameless suck-up if ever she'd seen one. But this definitely highlighted something to her - there was no question that this Willy Widdershins had been in the Hog's Head when Harry and the other students had been discussing their plans. And if there were people entering the Hog's Head who were willing to report to this witch then the Fairy Tail members residing there would have to maintain extra caution not to be discovered from this point on.

"I will be sure to administer the Decree to its full effect," a rather twisted smirk appeared on Umbridge's face for a moment before she shook it off and added, "What of you, Minister? How goes the hunt for Fairy Tail?"

Charla's ears twitched and now all three Exceed were listening with increased intent. Happy almost laughed and possibly would have done if Lily hadn't quickly bopped him on the head to keep him quiet - they were searching for Fairy Tail and had no idea that a few of its members were in the room with them right now.

"The members who attacked our Headquarters remain elusive," Fudge shook his head. "We have no idea where they might be hiding, but I've issued a statement claiming that anyone found hiding them will face all the consequences of harbouring a fugitive. And these Fairy Tail people… they are akin to the most illegal immigrants ever. But I believe we may soon be making some progress - there is the possibility that we will soon locate another golden Sphere."

"Really? How exciting. What makes you say that, Minister?"

"We received a report that two Muggle hikers were up in the Cairngorms, not too far from where you are now, when they came across one of the Spheres. They took photographs on one of those… I forget the name… deegee-tall cameras, is it? Anyway they took a photograph of it and showed it to their neighbour, who is a wizard, when they returned home, and he sent a report to us immediately. I have seen the picture myself - it is definitely one of the Spheres."

"Where in the Cairngorms is it?" Umbridge asked quickly.

"The Muggle hikers marked its position on a map, but rather frustratingly they lost that map while on the way home. But we have been given an approximate area and we are currently combing the mountains for any sign of it. Hopefully it won't be too long before we have another Sphere in our custody and if there are any Fairy Tail members inside I will ensure they do not get away to rejoin their allies."

Charla's head swung around to lock eyes with Happy and Lily, who gazed right back in shock. Charla quickly flicked her head, urging them to get moving, and Happy quickly bounded down the stairs and lifted into the air, unlatching one of the windows of the classroom and soaring out over the school, making a beeline straight for Hogsmeade to warn the others. If there was another Fairy Sphere in danger of being found out there, then they needed to move quickly to ensure they got to it first.

"What do you intend to do with these people once their Sphere lowers?" Umbridge asked, dragging Charla's attention back to the conversation at hand.

"I am not yet sure," Fudge shook his head. "But we must make sure that they are not a threat to our citizens."

"Have you considered the Death Room?" Umbridge asked.

That instantly caused Charla's fur to bristle. She didn't know what the Death Room was but she definitely didn't like the sound of it. Lily's hand went for his sword before he remembered he wasn't wearing it anymore. And Fudge's face in the fire also looked a little perturbed.

"Dolores… that is a rather extreme suggestion… You think it would be wise to push these Fairy Tail members beyond the Veil?"

"When I think about them, and mull over all the information about them you have relayed to me, Minister," Dolores murmured, "All I see is a bunch of outsiders. They are not from our universe, ergo they have no place in it. And if there is no place for them here, then why should we keep them here? Is incarcerating them even good enough? How can we be certain a place like Azkaban would even hold them? I seem to recall you mentioning one of them actually killed Dementors. Killed Dementors! Nothing like that should be allowed to stay in our world, Minister, surely."

"That is true but it has been centuries since anyone was executed in such a manner," Fudge replied. "The plan at the forefront of my mind was to keep anyone we captured dosed with a Draft of Living Death until we found a way to return them to the dimension they came from."

"But Minister, what if they were to return home and tell others about this world? If they came through once then they could come through again and perhaps next time they could bring an army. What would be to stop them from trying to take over?"

"You think they would?" Fudge asked slowly. "You really think they would?"

"Well, the fact they come from another world means there's a high likelihood there are hundreds, thousands, perhaps millions more like them out there, maybe each of them just as destructive and powerful as the others. Who knows what the consequences of letting them run free would be, in either world. I think, for the good of wizardkind, drastic steps sometimes need to be taken, don't you agree, Minister?"

"…That is true," Fudge muttered. "I am still unsure that a death penalty is a wise option… but I will consider your words. Thank you, Dolores."

"Of course, Minister," Umbridge smiled sweetly. "I do my best."

"And it is much appreciated. Your work at the school is already having a profound effect. And if it hadn't been for your idea to use Vertiaserum on that Levy girl, perhaps we would have realised the threat that Fairy Tail posed too late."

Charla almost leapt off the desk. What!? This woman… this woman had been the one who came up with the idea of drugging Levy with a truth potion?! Of course, it made sense - Levy had told them that there had been quite a wait before she'd been summoned into the courtroom. They'd assumed that had just been time to convene the court but Fudge would have had time to come and talk to this terrible woman too.

"I do what anyone would in a situation like this," Umbridge waved it away, though the smugness in her voice made all attempts to appear nonchalant pointless really. "But I should not keep you Minister. You have a Sphere to find."

"Quite right," Fudge nodded. "Have a good day, Dolores."

His head vanished from the fire and Umbridge turned around to head back to her desk, sitting down in her chair and reaching forwards to run her fingers through Charla's fur. Charla had to use every calming technique she knew to avoid slashing her claws up this woman's hand - she had to be one of the most revolting humans she'd ever encountered and the fact she was now touching her made her sick.

"Those Fairy Tail people need to be dealt with permanently," Umbridge murmured almost gleefully. "And if not even the Dementors that I suggested be kept on hand at the interrogation will be enough then we must take any option possible, don't you think?"

Charla made no response but another spike of anger gripped her. So she'd been responsible for that too, indirectly at least. It was quite clear that Fudge was a rather incompetent Minister all on his own, but it was this woman sitting on his shoulder and whispering into his ear that was feeding that incompetence to the max, raising his paranoia, pushing him to extremes. It was almost as if she was pulling his strings, even if only just enough to get Fudge to make the rest of the mistake himself.

Lily was also bristling and had to force himself to remain composed despite his sudden wish to change form and punch the living daylights out of this woman. It was because of her that Gajeel and Levy were having problems right now. He had no doubt that if Gajeel were here, he would be knocking her teeth out, restraint be damned.

"If he consents to the death penalty, I wonder if I can expand on it," Umbridge muttered. "Spur things on until all werewolves are given the same fate. That would certainly make the world a safer place."

Charla was fairly certain that she had never hated anyone more than at that moment.

'You put one hair on Wendy's head,' she breathed. 'And I'll claw your eyes out myself… just you wait and see.'

Evergreen didn't struggle much as she was lowered down from the branch and tied to the litter once again. She knew already that she couldn't hope to break the vine ropes through strength and she would only waste energy by trying. Energy that she could be using to try and think of something better. After all, it was not just her that she had to think about right now, but also these poor captive Fairies that had now joined her on the journey to wherever the Erklings were taking them. The jar of fairies had been placed on the litter next to her head, and Evergreen kept glancing sideways at them to make sure they were alright while they buzzed around inside, looking for any possible way out, and finding nothing.

But try as she might, Evergreen couldn't think of a way out. She couldn't reach any convenient knots to help untie herself with and she didn't have anything sharp to cut them with. These Erklings might be dim, but when it came to holding a prisoner, they knew what they were doing.

But perhaps the most humiliating part of all was when they reached foliage too thick for them to carry the litter through so they ended up untying her legs and attached several ropes to her waist like leashes, pulling on them like multiple humans trying to control a giant as they tugged her forwards through the leaves, the jar of fairies now hanging around her neck. Evergreen grunted and resisted, twisting around in an attempt to run but the Erklings irrevocably drew her forward all the same.

'They could at least take the gag out,' she thought to herself irritatedly as she was yanked forwards, the branches snagging at her dress the whole way.

But eventually she was yanked into the clearing where the initial Erkling had been last night. Almost instantly, the area went deathly still and Evergreen blinked slightly when she saw how unnaturally slowly everything was going, even the branches in the wind, swaying as if the trees had somehow managed to get drunk. And the blue flashing lights that rose from the lake homed in on her quickly, one zipping in towards her face so fast that she almost fell backwards. She could only stare, wide-eyed, at the blue fairy-like creature hovering in front of her nose.

"So…" he said, baring his teeth to reveal a cluster of mismatched fangs in his mouth. "You are the one that calls yourself the Fairy Queen, are you?"

"Rhhn?" Evergreen blinked. "Hhmm… wwhr mrrnhh… thrssh rhh aawwh aah bbr msshnnsnntd…"

The Sidhe Elder sighed and lifted his staff, the tip glowing brightly for a moment before he blasted a thin stream of light from it that impacted with the vine wedged between Evergreen's teeth. The vine almost seemed to burst as it sprang free and Evergreen gasped and narrowly avoided falling backwards, trying to reach up to touch her teeth to make sure they weren't damaged but the bonds holding her tight.

"Be careful with that!?" she protested. "You know my teeth won't grow back if you blast them out!"

"Silence!" the Sidhe Elder flitted in further to aim his staff between Evergreen's eyes. The weapon was the size of a toothpick but Evergreen had already seen firsthand that it was not to be trifled with. "You will not speak unless you are spoken to. Now, I repeat, are you the one that calls yourself the Fairy Queen?"

Evergreen bit her lip, glancing around herself slightly and wondering what the Erklings would do now if she revealed everything. But to her surprise, the Erklings were not moving. They were just standing there, many of them looking at the place she'd been standing in fifteen seconds earlier, utterly immobile as if in suspended animation. And the surroundings were all the same, nothing was moving except for Evergreen, the Sidhe elder and the rest of the Fairies, both the ones in the jar and the ones hovering a slight distance behind the Elder.

"Do not concern yourself with them," the Elder hissed. "They have been momentarily immobilised so that we can talk. I will not repeat the question a third time."

"I am… I am Evergreen," the Fairy Mage replied. "And yes, I… I did say that but when I told these idiots that I was the Fairy Queen I didn't mean… actually a Queen of Fairies."

"Then what were you referring to?" the Elder asked fiercely.

"My guild. We call ourselves Fairy Tail and as I use Fairy Magic, I was saying that I think that entitles me to owning the title of the Fairy Queen…"

"Fairy Magic? You use Fairy Magic? What blasphemy are you spouting now - there is not human that can learn or use the magic of Fairy kind. Not any more at any rate. And even if you could, you think that would give you the right to be our ruler?"

"It's not the actual magic of fairies," Evergreen protested. "It's just magic akin to that of the Fairies. And like I said, the Fairy Queen is just a title. A nickname even. Definitely not my true name - I am not really the Titania."

"But these Erklings seem convinced that you were indeed telling them you were a Queen of Fairies."

"Well that seemed like a good tactic to try and get them to lead me out of the woods at the time - make them think I was someone important, you know. I didn't really mean it. Look, can you just untie me and let me go. I don't know where I am and all I really want is to get the heck out of this place."

The Elder paused to stare at her balefully for a couple of moments, but then just smirked and said, "I could… or I could simply… take you with me."

"…Excuse me?"

"I am the Sidhe Elder! I am the true leader of the most powerful race of Fairy kind and you have come here deceiving others into thinking you were royalty. That cannot go unpunished. I think one-thousand years of servitude to me should suffice."

"What!?"

"It's either that or I kill you right here," he hissed. "I will not have someone claiming themselves to be above me. Not even… in jest… as you seem to have done. You must suffer the consequences of dishonouring the Sidhe."

"You… you can't be serious?" Evergreen cried.

"Sir, maybe that is a little much," one of the female Sidhe hovered forwards. "It really seems to me that she was just trying to look out for herself. I'm sure she didn't mean to disrespect either you or us."

"Yes, that's it," nodded Evergreen. "That's it exa-HEY!" she gasped in shock before finishing her sentence as the Elder backhanded the other Fairy with the bulbous end of his staff, smacking her upside the cheek hard enough to send her reeling back into the water with a fake plop.

"I believe I just said I am the Sidhe Elder here," he growled. "I am the one that makes all the decisions - you do not speak to or for me without my permission first."

"What did you do that for?" Evergreen demanded angrily.

"SILENCE!" the Sidhe sent off a bolt of miniature blue lightning at Evergreen's leg, that she just managed to avoid by hopping backwards, but it still created a crater about the size of a football in the ground. "The same goes for you, blasphemer. The word of the Elder is law. And my law states that you have earned enough punishment to last one-thousand years as a slave of the Sidhe."

"One-thousand… are you freaking kidding me?" Evergreen yelled.

"No, I am not. And if you refuse then the penalty is death."

"What kind of fairy are you supposed to be?" Evergreen spat angrily. "Fairies are supposed to be beautiful and flighty, maybe a little vain but still goodhearted. You're not any of those things. You're just a tyrant."

"What would a human know of our ways anyway?" the Elder hissed. "I don't care what you think my kind should be like - I'm showing you what we are now." He fired another bolt that sailed over Evergreen's shoulder and caused a tree branch to explode into splinters. "So… what will it be, human? Death or enslavement?"

Evergreen gritted her teeth, and the fairies in the jar around her neck were huddled together in fear, each one trying to be the one on the bottom. The Sidhe Elder was absolutely minuscule in comparison to her, but Evergreen knew that he was a dangerous person indeed.

But that didn't stop her from growling, "Option Three - kick your ass!" And suddenly leaping upwards. Her upper body was still bound but with her legs free and the Erklings holding her leashes frozen she was quite capable of delivering a spectacular roundhouse kick right at the Elder's direction. He dodged nimbly out of the way and growled at her.

"So be it," he hissed and raised his staff once again. Evergreen glared defiantly at him while mentally scrambling through her options. What should she do? What could she do? She would never surrender as long as she could still fight - that was what Fairy Tail did after all. But how could she fight him while half tied up like this?

And right at that exact moment… the vines around Evergreen's wrists and elbows snapped. Evergreen gasped as her arms suddenly jerked apart and the ropes were almost flung off her body right at the moment the Elder fired at her. Instinct kicked in and Evergreen seized the jar of Fairies in her hands and rolled to the side in time to avoid the blast, flipping back onto her feet and extending her wings.

"What!?" the Elder cried. "What happened!?"

That was a question Evergreen herself very much wanted to know. She glanced back at the fallen vines on the ground and she could see the places where they'd snapped. It wasn't like they'd been torn apart - it was incredibly smooth, as if they'd been cut with a pair of scissors or a knife. But who could have cut them? There had not been anybody around but all the Fairies so how was she suddenly free.

But that was a question that could wait for another time. Right now, the Elder had zipped around to face her again and she narrowed her eyes at him challengingly. "This time…" she said. "I won't be caught off guard."

Yes, I know the Sidhe have never been mentioned or alluded to in the history of the Potterverse ever. But hey, nobody ever said they didn't exist, did they? XD