Chapter 3
It was not long before I could talk again. Not because Dumbledore made me human, but thanks to a small hat, not unlike the sorting hat, who enunciated all my thoughts. You can understand how that was a problem. I don't want everything I think of heard.
"Who are you talking to?" Dumbledore asked.
"To the hat, of course"
I needed to learn to filter my thoughts.
"Well, that's not of much importance. What is important, however, is that you tell me how you ended up in this situation"
I gladly took up Dumbledore's offer. I love talking about myself, but sadly, most people loath hearing about me. It is my theory that they are just envious of my life
"I'll have to talk with Miss Granger and Mr Longbottom. It is not allowed to have five-meter monsters in the common room" Dumbledore said.
The headmaster then pondered, caressing his silver beard.
"Moody… That is certainly unexpected… Something will have to be done with him, that's for sure"
Dumbledore lazily lifted his wand, and with a crack, Moody appeared in front of us. But he was different. His magic eye was nowhere to be seen and he was missing a leg.
"Albus! Thank Merlin! I thought I would neve-"
"Alastor, you're fired" the principal looked at him with great sadness in his eyes. "But I must understand, Alastor. Why did you, of all people, betray us? You, the hunter of Death Eaters, the best auror in the ministry"
Moody's face changed its expression.
"What are you talking about? I've been in a trunk all year"
"That can't be! You transformed me into a ferret!" I screamed. Or that was my intention. The hat, with an excellent whistle voice, said these words slowly and calmly.
"It talks? I thought it was Fawkes's food"
I hate this man.
He then started telling Dumbledore a story about a Death Eater who had been taking his identity with Polyjuice potion. If this was true, finding this other criminal would be extremely difficu-
"DUMBLEDORE!" another Moody entered the room, this one with the expected magic eye and wooden leg. I don't know what the first Moody was thinking, but if he wanted us to believe he was the real Moody, he should have come with the necessary accessories. "SOMEONE HAS TAKEN MY TRUNK! THIS SCHOOL IS FULL OF THIEVES. THIEVES! I HAVE VERY IMPORTANT THINGS IN THAT TRUNK!"
The first Moody looked at the second Moody, with tears in his eye.
"That's all I was to you? A thing?"
"Moody? Er-I mean; another me? This is the work of dark wizards!"
Dumbledore got up. He lifted his wand and pointed it at both Moody's.
"Now… Which one of you is the real Moody?"
I remembered something. Fake-Moody had gone back to his true form when he transformed me into a ferret. I don't think that was planned. Maybe the time he could stay transformed was limited.
"Headmaster, maybe we should just wait" I said.
"It talks?" the second Moody asked "I thought it was dead"
"Draco, that's a great idea" Dumbledore said, seemingly dazzled at my intelligence.
So, we waited. And waited. And waited. Until finally…
"Albus, I'm hungry" the first Moody said, "What do you think of waiting over a sandwich?"
"Possible Alastor, that seems like a great idea. What do you think, other possible Alastor?"
"I think I'll have some chicken wings "
And they left, leaving me there with the phoenix. I tried to go with them, but apparently, ferrets don't have adequate table manners. The phoenix didn't either. It tried to eat me in a very impolite fashion.
A few hours later, Dumbledore and a Moody came back to the office, accompanied by a fat and seemingly stupid man. They were arguing about a dementor, who had apparently kissed fake-Moody. Dumbledore and Moody were angry about that, but I don't see the problem. The dementor may develop some underlying trauma after kissing a man of such ugliness, but I'm sure it will work it out.
"So… He's dead?" I asked.
Dumbledore looked at me, his face red: "Dead? No. His is a fate worse than death. He is still alive, but without a soul. He will be damned to spend the rest of his days as a shell of meat and blood…"
So that was the problem. A fate worse than death… Then we should just kill him. Maybe Trevor could sit on top of him.
"Draco, that's horrible!" Dumbledore said "He is still a man! He deserves a little bit of respect!" He stopped talking "Alastor, come back here!"
Moody was outside the office, his wand exhuming a greenish hue: "What? I was going to the bathroom. You know I would never kill anyone!"
"All right, Alastor. I'll trust you. You can go… But if I see even the faintest hue of green…"
Apparently, when Dumbledore and the other man went to see fake-Moody, there was only a ferret in the room.
