Mayhem at the Ministry
Ben woke everyone up after a few hours of sleep.
He used some magic to pack up the tents before the entire group all left the campsite as soon as possible, passing Mr Roberts at the door of his cottage. He had a strange and dazed look on his face as he waved them off with a vague "Merry Christmas".
"He'll be fine." Ben said quietly as they all marched off onto the moor. "Sometimes, when someone's memories are modified, they become disoriented for a while… and it's a really big thing that they had to make him forget."
All of them heard urgent voices as they approached the spot where the Portkeys lay, and upon reaching it, there were a large number of witches and wizards that were gathered around Basil, the keeper of the Portkeys. Everyone was clamouring to get away from the campsite as quickly as possible.
Ben had a hurried chatter with Basil, leading them to join the queue and took an old rubber tyre back to Stoatshead Hill before the sun rose.
Along the way, as they made their way through Ottery St Catchpole, Arthur did his Animagus incantation when the sun did rise and this time, he felt excitement when he started sensing a second heartbeat with the touch of his wand tip over his heart.
Of course, everyone else barely talked as they were so exhausted and longingly thought about breakfast.
Eventually, they reached the forest that surrounded Merlon Manor and walked down the pathway where the back of the manor came into view. Then Martha was seen running out towards them with a copy of the Daily Prophet in her right hand.
"THANK GOODNESS YOU ARE ALL ALRIGHT!" She cried out, still wearing a brown nightgown and a pair of grey slippers. The first person she embraced was her husband, who she embraced tightly.
She then proceeded to do the same with everyone else, even kissing Arthur, Mike and Chrys on the cheek.
"Can I look at the paper, mum?" Rob said when they all walked to the manor. She obliged and handed it over.
Everyone entered the kitchen and Chrys helped make Martha a strong cup of tea, which had a shot of Ogdens Old Firewhiskey. Rob handed the newspaper to Ben, who scanned the front page with Sam looking over his shoulder to read it.
"Typical…" Ben spat. "Ministry blunders… culprits not apprehended… lax security… dark wizards running unchecked… national disgrace…. Is it… YEP, I KNEW IT! Rita Skeeter wrote this stupid article!"
"Honestly, she does nothing but write inaccurate hogwash and people believe it all. No wonder people these days are questioning the Ministry." Sam shook his head. "Just last week, she said we were all wasting our time over other business when we should be stamping out vampires!"
"It seems that I'm mentioned, listen: 'If the terrified wizards and witches who waited breathlessly for news at the edge of the wood expected reassurance from the Ministry of Magic, they were sadly disappointed. Auror, Benjamin Merlon, emerged some time after the appearance of the Dark Mark, alleging that nobody had been hurt, but refusing to give any more information. Whether this statement will be enough to quash the rumours that several bodies were removed from the woods an hour later, remains to be seen.' That stupid hag! No one was hurt at all! She's the one who's making these rumours that there's bodies removed from the woods!"
Ben then sighed as he handed the paper to Sam. "Martha, I'll have to go to the Auror Office, I'll have to try and smooth things over."
"I'll come with, dad." Sam said. "Mr Crouch will need any and all hands on deck. Plus there's that stupid cauldron report I need to hand in." He then marched out of the kitchen.
"I hope you sort it out quickly." Martha said to her husband.
"I'll try, but these things get dragged out needlessly." Ben said.
"Hey, Martha…" Arthur suddenly said. "Has Athena arrived with a letter, yet?"
"No… there's been no post at all, Arthur." She shook her head. This made David, Chrys and Mike look at him curiously.
"Is it alright if we can go up to my room for a bit, mum?" David asked, gesturing to himself, Arthur, Chrys and Mike.
"Sure, go ahead." Martha nodded and they all hurried out of the kitchen and made their way to David's room, where he locked the door to ensure privacy.
"Okay, what's going on?" He asked as they all sat on the floor.
"There's something I haven't told you guys." Arthur said before he took a deep breath.
"On Saturday morning, I woke up from a dream with my scar hurting."
Both David and Chrys reacted just like Arthur expected and Mike looked at him with some concern.
"So why would your scar be hurting if Voldemort isn't anywhere near Merlon Manor?" Mike asked.
"Most likely sensing him in a different way. Regardless… the dream was about him and Wormtail. And if I'm right, they killed Bertha Jorkins and are planning to kill me with information they got from her."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa…." David said. It was just a dream, there's no way you could've seen actual events that happened."
"But it had to be real events." Arthur retorted. "I mean… it can't be that much of a coincidence that my scar hurt three days before Death Eaters were on the march along with the Dark Mark being in the sky again. And there's Trelawney's prediction at the end of last year."
He was referring to the Divination teacher at Hogwarts.
"You're seriously paying attention to that fraud's words?" Chrys said with a snort.
"Look, Chrys, you weren't there when it happened. You didn't hear that voice she made. It was like she was in a trance. She said that the Dark Lord would rise again… greater and more terrible than ever before… and would do it because his servant would go back to him… and Wormtail, his servant, escaped later that night."
The only sound that filled the room was from David's tiny grey owl, Goliath, who hooted at the four.
"Why did you ask if Athena came back? Did you expect a letter?" Chrys asked.
"I wrote to Sirius about my scar." Arthur told her. "I'm now waiting for his answer."
"That's good." Mike nodded. "He'll have an idea what to do."
"I was hoping he'd get back to me quickly."
"But we don't even know where he is." David said. "Sirius could be in Africa for all we know. How could Athena manage that kind of journey in a few days?"
"Fair point." Arthur groaned as he looked out the window.
"You know what… why don't we play some Quidditch? Four on four. Rob, Kenny, Jack and Mary. You, me, Mike and Kevin. You can try out the Wronski Feint…." David suggested.
"Are you sure…? I mean, I'm sure Arthur would want some rest -"
"Actually, I would like to play some Quidditch." Arthur cut Chrys off. "I'll get my Firebolt."
"And I'll go get my Nimbus Two Thousand and One."
As the three boys left the room, they heard Chrys mutter "Boys."
Both Ben and Sam weren't at home much during the following week. Both would leave the manor each morning before the rest of the family got up and return well after dinner every night.
Halfway through the week, an electrical storm came in after everyone went to sleep. Arthur, woke up when he heard lightning outside and this caused him to feel excitement
He sat up in bed, looked out the window to see that there was indeed lightning in the night sky and so he opened the drawer he kept the crystal phial with the potion and gasped in delight to see that there was a mouthful of blood red potion inside it.
The final few steps to become an Animagus were now up next and he immediately grabbed his wand before exiting his room and entered the large library, which was still impressive to look at. Arthur still remembered how Chrys fainted when she first laid eyes on it when first arriving at Merlon Manor.
Arthur got to a space in the middle between two couches and took some deep breaths to prepare for the next step.
He placed his wand tip against his heart as he opened the crystal phial and spoke the incantation "Amato Animo Animato Animagus" and then drank the potion.
Almost immediately, he felt a fiery pain throughout his body and a really intense double heartbeat.
At this point, the shape of the animal he will transform into is appearing in his mind and he remembered that the instructions said to not show fear when this happened, but all he felt was excitement.
In his mind, he saw a mighty lion, just like his Patronus.
His body now started changing. He felt a tail grow out as he felt a large mane grow out and among all the other changes from being human to a lion.
His wand fell to the ground when his transformation was complete. He was glad that there's a mirror in the library because he awkwardly made his way to it and if he was human, his jaw would've dropped because he truly was an impressive looking male lion with a sweeping mane and the most perfect fur and he even turned and saw his tail waggle back and forth. He opened his maw and saw the set of teeth he had.
For the next few minutes, he tested out his Animagus form with how to move about and then he decided to do what the instructions said next.
He went back to where he transformed where his wand was and he was able to visualise his human self as clearly as he could in his mind. Within a few seconds, he transformed back to himself.
He laughed in utter joy as he had finally done it. But of course, he spent the next hour going back and forth into his Animagus form until the whole thing felt natural. Once that was done, he grabbed his wand and went back to sleep.
The following morning, everyone was blown away by his Animagus form and even though Athena wasn't back yet, they sent Goliath to deliver the letter to Dumbledore that he's become an Animagus and that he could log him in to the Animagus Registry.
Later in the day, Dumbledore sent a letter back saying that he's now logged in and that he and McGonagall are proud of him that he's become an Animagus.
"It's been quite the uproar." Sam said on the Sunday evening before they were due to return to Hogwarts. "I've put out fires all week. And people have been sending me Howlers and because I haven't opened one, it exploded and scorch marks were all over my desk, plus my best quill got reduced to cinders."
"But why would people send Howlers?" Mary asked as she was reading her copy of One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi.
"Because they're complaining about the security at the World Cup." Sam replied. "Everyone wants compensation for their ruined property. Plus Mundungus Fletcher made a stupid claim for a twelve bedroomed tent with an en suite jacuzzi, though I got that stealing git's number. I know without question that he slept under a cloak propped on sticks."
Martha kept looking at the grandfather clock that stood next to one of the windows. Arthur always liked that clock. It didn't really tell the time because it had nine golden hands that were all engraved with the names of each member of the Merlon family, and around the face weren't numerals, but descriptions of where each family member would be. Places like 'home', 'school' and 'work' were there, along with 'hospital', 'prison' and 'lost'. Where the number twelve should be instead was 'mortal peril'.
Eight of the hands were all pointing at 'home', whereas Ben's, the longest hand, still pointed at 'work', making Martha sigh.
"This was just like when Voldemort was in power, Ben would go into work during the weekends." She said. "At this rate, they'll be working him too hard. His dinner will be ruined if he isn't back soon."
"If only Rita Skeeter didn't write that article." Sam growled.
"Yeah, well, it's like her life's mission to make everyone look back." Rob said as he was in the middle of a chess match with David. "She even interviewed all the Gringotts Curse Breakers once and called me a 'long haired pillock'. If only she had something dirty… just so she could lose her job."
"Well… I do think your hair is a bit too long… perhaps -"
"No. Thank. You, mum." Rob said with finality.
Rain was lashing against the kitchen windows. Chrys was immersed in her copy of The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 4, copies of which Martha brought her, Arthur, David and Mike in Diagon Alley. Arthur already read his copy. Arthur was currently polishing his Firebolt with his Broomstick Servicing Kit that Chrys got him for his thirteenth birthday. Kenny and Mike sat with him, the three conversing about Quidditch as both Jack and Kenny sat at the end of the long table closest to the living room door, quills out and talking in whispers, their heads over a piece of parchment.
"What are you two doing over there?" Martha asked them curiously.
"Just going over homework, nothing to worry about." Jack said, waving her off.
"This late in the holiday?" She questioned.
"We nearly forgot about this, it happens." Kevin told her.
Arthur looked over at the clock and saw Ben's hand move to 'travelling'.
"Martha…." He said, pointing at the clock.
"Ooh! Ben's coming!" She said before the hand shuddered to a halt at 'home'.
Everyone then heard the front door slam open and shut. He then trudged into the kitchen, sitting near Arthur, Kenny and Mike. Martha placed his dinner in front of him.
"You're a lifesaver." He thanked his wife with a kiss before digging in his dinner for a bit until he decided to talk about work.
"That bloody Skeeter woman has been ferreting around all week, looking for any more mess ups by the Ministry to report. And she's just recently learned of Bertha having gone missing, which will no doubt be the headline tomorrow. And I've kept telling Bagman that we should've sent someone to look for her for ages."
"And Crouch has said the same thing." Sam said.
Arthur exchanged looks with David, Chrys and Mike, seeing if they think he should tell Ben that Bertha's been killed by Voldemort. They all nodded and he prepared himself for the questions.
"Ben… sending someone to find Bertha will be pointless. Because if I'm right, she's dead."
This caused everyone to stare at him in disbelief.
"WHAT? How would you know that?" Ben asked, demanding an explanation.
"Because three days before going to the World Cup, I had a dream that I'm sure happened where Voldemort, under Wormtail's care, talked about planning to kill… me… after having killed Bertha." Arthur explained.
"Have you ever had dreams that vivid?" Ben asked him.
"I haven't and I woke up from the dream with my scar hurting."
"Hmm…. I'll see if I can talk with Dumbledore about this and see what he thinks."
"In the meantime, why don't you all go upstairs and check that you've packed properly? Don't want anything to be missing, now do we?" Martha said so that Ben can have a moment to himself.
Arthur repacked his Broomstick Servicing Kit and put his Firebolt over his shoulder as he went upstairs with David, Chrys, Mike, Mary and the twins to the floor where their rooms are.
The rain outside sounded much louder in the upper floors, along with the loud whistling and moans from the wind. Not to mention the sporadic howls that came from the ghoul that lived in the attic right above them.
Arthur noticed all the new stuff Martha got him in Diagon Alley. Apart from Miranda Goshawk's The Standard Book of Spells, Grade 4, there were a handful of new quills, a dozen rolls of parchment and refills for his potion making kit, having run low on spin of lionfish and essence of belladonna.
Then he noticed something that struck him as odd. It was an all red tuxedo with a red blazer (that had a design of half the face of both a lion and a dragon, clearly a nod to his ancestors, Godric Gryffindor, one of the four Hogwarts founders and Arthur Pendragon, the famous king who was allied with Merlin, the Merlon family's ancestor), a red button up shirt and red trousers. It also came with a gold tie. This left him confused.
After Arthur finished checking his stuff, seeing that it was all packed, he went to David's room and saw that he's nearly done. And little Goliath was twittering and zooming around his cage.
"Here… give him some Owl Treats." David said, throwing a packet to Arthur. "That'll calm the little guy down."
Arthur then poked a few of them into Goliath's cage, reminding him how Athena's cage is still empty.
"It's been over a week now." He muttered to himself.
"What the heck?" David questioned, making Arthur turn and saw that David noticed that he had a tuxedo as well. But this one was all grey with an electric blue tie, matching his eye colour.
"What's up with this?" He asked Arthur.
"I don't know, I have something similar myself, but it's all red with a gold tie."
"Uh… guys…. Look at this." Mike's voice came from the door and he entered with a tuxedo of his own, this one being purple with a white tie. Arthur imagined him in it and he actually thinks he'd look good in it.
Martha then entered, seeing that her son and Mike held their tuxes.
"Mum, what's up with these?" Her son asked.
"They were on all of your school lists this year. I asked for custom ones to suit all of you."
"Does this have anything to do with the top secret thing that's happening at Hogwarts?" Mike asked, something that Arthur didn't consider.
"They just might. Now go and finish packing up, we don't want to have any near misses in the morning." Martha said before leaving the room to check on the twins, Chrys and Mary.
"Why don't I show you two mine?" Arthur asked, leading them out to the guest bedroom he's using.
Finally... Arthur is now an Animagus.
And we have our first mention of that hag, Rita Skeeter. Oh... she's gonna be quite the handful.
