p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;" align="center"span lang="EN-US"Chapter 4. the epic journey begins/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US""do you hear me, or should I conjure another bucket? The seawater is quite cold, don't you think?" – the impatient elf brought the wizard back to his senses. Stowing the mirror away with a loud sigh of helplessness, he pondered his options. If he was indeed Sirius Black now, which was very possible considering his appearance, he had to get to Britain, quickly. If not, and he was still Marcus Longhurst, heading back for the states was a must. Anyway, staying on this thrice cursed island in the middle of nowhere, with no way to tell the date, time or the exact location, would be a bad idea. "well", - not Marcus sighed once more. "one way or another, I'm now a wanted man. Sooner or later, either an army of dementers or an auror squod will be after me, so you are right as always once more. Let's get the hell out of here." He pulled his wand, which was fortunately transported with him wherever he ended up, and started looking for a suitable rock to be transfigured into a boat. Alexa, understanding her master's intentions, shook her head and pointed to the trunk. Trunk, which somehow was undamaged and prepared for travel. Everything was neatly stacked inside, from clothes to some precious potions, to even Marcus' supposedly missing broom. Flying over the raging North sea was the dictionary description of the word "suicide" in Marcus' mind, so he continued looking frantically through his things for another half an hour. Finally, the wizard found what he was rummaging for – a small waxpaper boat with some runes drawn on it./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"The elf stared at the small boat, trying to decide whether her master was in his right mind. "it isn't what it looks like", - Marcus hurried to explain. "one of the Weasleys' new creations, that one. They call it Fantastic foldable flotilla. Don't know why did even take it to the States, but it seems to be our rescue straw. Heave!" with the last word, he thrust the ship over his shoulder. It landed in the water, hardening and expanding, until instead of paper floatable, there stood a small wooden sailboat. Satisfied, Marcus boarded it, Alexa trailing behind with his trunk. "heave away!" – they both shouted, magically setting course for Britain./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"-/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"Ministry of magic, July 29supth/sup 1993/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"Cornelius Fudge slumped ungracefully in his chair. Things were slipping out of his control lately, what with all the covering of that blasted chamber of secrets, dealing with angry parents and even angrier Lucius Malfoi. And if it wasn't enough, yesterday evening the impossible happened – Sirius Black, the Dark lord's right hand, managed to escape from Azkaban. At the same time, the unspeakables reported something about a huge magical discharge in the island just a few miles south from the prison. Sending aurors to investigate appeared fruitless, for they could not even find said island. To top it all up, a strange, possibly magical sailboat was spotted heading towards the Brittish coast. The boat itself was quite normal, if not for the observation of some broom flying off-coast patrols; according to them, it was empty except for a house elf and an unusual golden bird with some black feathers. Even more unusually, the elf was visible, seemingly directing the ship, every now and then listening to the bird. They were moving at incredible speed, so the fliers decided to contact the ground forces rather than risking their lives while following the boat. A report from the aurors at the sailing marina just a couple hours after the patrols left the minister utterly confused. How on earth could a wooden ship, sails and anchor and all, turn into a paper one? And what, by Merlin's name, does a house elf and a bird have to do with that? Or how, by the name of everything magical, did said bird disappear along with the elf, in a flash of fire? It was probably a phoenix, and if so, the minister would get a ton of legal papers to check. Everything pointed to one conclusion: Cornelius Fudge will not have peace for at least the following hour./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"Suddenly, a sharp knock at the door confirmed his suspitions. Without waiting for permission to enter (just how rude people are these days!) Amelia Bones, head of magical law enforcement, strode into the office. "my apologies, minister, but your presence is required in the DMLE." Fudge rolled his eyes, but one glance at the intimidating posture of the witch left no choice in the matter. "it better be really important, or else, - he mumbled, feeling the last remnants of non-existent peace and quiet fade away./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"Upon entering the animagus registration office of all things, the now absolutely furious minister of magic was shocked at the sight before him. A fully clothed and very proud female house elf was filling the documents, while a bird, all golden with some black feathers, silvery talons, fiery red beak and deep blue eyes, was purched next to the papers. Looking around in utter confusion (or maybe mildly confunded) there stood a representative from the creatures department, an archivist, an auror, and an unspeakable of all people. The elf seemed oblivious to all the shocked faces; after filling the form, she gave a quill to her companion, who signed the paper with a flourish, in whatever way it's possible for a bird. "complete and signed, sirs, as you see. Could you please confirm and archive it, to avoid problems in the future?" no one moved, just staring at the creature, slack-jawed. (you… speak… normal English…" – the archivist finally stuttered. "of course I do, I am an educated elf after all. Name's Alexa, by the way." Glancing at the now somehow composed minister and others, she continued in a more serious tone: "if you finished gaping like fish out of water, please review the form already. Or are you planning to stand here all day?" with that, Alexa grabbed Marcus' tail feathers, and disappeared in a gust of wind./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"-/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"Queen's woods, London, the same day/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"While the ministry workers kept trying and failing to unravel the mystery of one Marcus Longhurst, said wizard had other things to think about. The insane yet successful plan to register as an animagus was only the beginning of his epic journey. From now on, both aurors and dementers will keep snapping at his heels like hellhounds, no matter what form he would stay in. on the other hand, if he was really sharing a body with Sirius Black, he could as well try to sort out the mess that, as he knewfrom history, would happen in the years to come. The magical world wouldn't know what hit it. but at the moment, Marcus, with the help of histrusty elf, had to find food and a safe place to spend the night. Fortunately, native wildlife and Alexas exceptional cooking skills provided them with delicious dinner, and a cave in one of the hills became a decent place to sleep. Tomorrow the two lost magicals would continue their journey towards home back in the future./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US""do you hear me, or should I conjure another bucket? The seawater is quite cold, don't you think?" – the impatient elf brought the wizard back to his senses. Stowing the mirror away with a loud sigh of helplessness, he pondered his options. If he was indeed Sirius Black now, which was very possible considering his appearance, he had to get to Britain, quickly. If not, and he was still Marcus Longhurst, heading back for the states was a must. Anyway, staying on this thrice cursed island in the middle of nowhere, with no way to tell the date, time or the exact location, would be a bad idea. "well", - not Marcus sighed once more. "one way or another, I'm now a wanted man. Sooner or later, either an army of dementers or an auror squod will be after me, so you are right as always once more. Let's get the hell out of here." He pulled his wand, which was fortunately transported with him wherever he ended up, and started looking for a suitable rock to be transfigured into a boat. Alexa, understanding her master's intentions, shook her head and pointed to the trunk. Trunk, which somehow was undamaged and prepared for travel. Everything was neatly stacked inside, from clothes to some precious potions, to even Marcus' supposedly missing broom. Flying over the raging North sea was the dictionary description of the word "suicide" in Marcus' mind, so he continued looking frantically through his things for another half an hour. Finally, the wizard found what he was rummaging for – a small waxpaper boat with some runes drawn on it./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"The elf stared at the small boat, trying to decide whether her master was in his right mind. "it isn't what it looks like", - Marcus hurried to explain. "one of the Weasleys' new creations, that one. They call it Fantastic foldable flotilla. Don't know why did even take it to the States, but it seems to be our rescue straw. Heave!" with the last word, he thrust the ship over his shoulder. It landed in the water, hardening and expanding, until instead of paper floatable, there stood a small wooden sailboat. Satisfied, Marcus boarded it, Alexa trailing behind with his trunk. "heave away!" – they both shouted, magically setting course for Britain./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"-/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"Ministry of magic, July 29supth/sup 1993/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"Cornelius Fudge slumped ungracefully in his chair. Things were slipping out of his control lately, what with all the covering of that blasted chamber of secrets, dealing with angry parents and even angrier Lucius Malfoi. And if it wasn't enough, yesterday evening the impossible happened – Sirius Black, the Dark lord's right hand, managed to escape from Azkaban. At the same time, the unspeakables reported something about a huge magical discharge in the island just a few miles south from the prison. Sending aurors to investigate appeared fruitless, for they could not even find said island. To top it all up, a strange, possibly magical sailboat was spotted heading towards the Brittish coast. The boat itself was quite normal, if not for the observation of some broom flying off-coast patrols; according to them, it was empty except for a house elf and an unusual golden bird with some black feathers. Even more unusually, the elf was visible, seemingly directing the ship, every now and then listening to the bird. They were moving at incredible speed, so the fliers decided to contact the ground forces rather than risking their lives while following the boat. A report from the aurors at the sailing marina just a couple hours after the patrols left the minister utterly confused. How on earth could a wooden ship, sails and anchor and all, turn into a paper one? And what, by Merlin's name, does a house elf and a bird have to do with that? Or how, by the name of everything magical, did said bird disappear along with the elf, in a flash of fire? It was probably a phoenix, and if so, the minister would get a ton of legal papers to check. Everything pointed to one conclusion: Cornelius Fudge will not have peace for at least the following hour./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"Suddenly, a sharp knock at the door confirmed his suspitions. Without waiting for permission to enter (just how rude people are these days!) Amelia Bones, head of magical law enforcement, strode into the office. "my apologies, minister, but your presence is required in the DMLE." Fudge rolled his eyes, but one glance at the intimidating posture of the witch left no choice in the matter. "it better be really important, or else, - he mumbled, feeling the last remnants of non-existent peace and quiet fade away./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"Upon entering the animagus registration office of all things, the now absolutely furious minister of magic was shocked at the sight before him. A fully clothed and very proud female house elf was filling the documents, while a bird, all golden with some black feathers, silvery talons, fiery red beak and deep blue eyes, was purched next to the papers. Looking around in utter confusion (or maybe mildly confunded) there stood a representative from the creatures department, an archivist, an auror, and an unspeakable of all people. The elf seemed oblivious to all the shocked faces; after filling the form, she gave a quill to her companion, who signed the paper with a flourish, in whatever way it's possible for a bird. "complete and signed, sirs, as you see. Could you please confirm and archive it, to avoid problems in the future?" no one moved, just staring at the creature, slack-jawed. (you… speak… normal English…" – the archivist finally stuttered. "of course I do, I am an educated elf after all. Name's Alexa, by the way." Glancing at the now somehow composed minister and others, she continued in a more serious tone: "if you finished gaping like fish out of water, please review the form already. Or are you planning to stand here all day?" with that, Alexa grabbed Marcus' tail feathers, and disappeared in a gust of wind./span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"-/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"Queen's woods, London, the same day/span/p
p class="MsoNormal"span lang="EN-US"While the ministry workers kept trying and failing to unravel the mystery of one Marcus Longhurst, said wizard had other things to think about. The insane yet successful plan to register as an animagus was only the beginning of his epic journey. From now on, both aurors and dementers will keep snapping at his heels like hellhounds, no matter what form he would stay in. on the other hand, if he was really sharing a body with Sirius Black, he could as well try to sort out the mess that, as he knewfrom history, would happen in the years to come. The magical world wouldn't know what hit it. but at the moment, Marcus, with the help of histrusty elf, had to find food and a safe place to spend the night. Fortunately, native wildlife and Alexas exceptional cooking skills provided them with delicious dinner, and a cave in one of the hills became a decent place to sleep. Tomorrow the two lost magicals would continue their journey towards home back in the future./span/p