Chapter 18
Martin Mini scratched his head as he glanced up at the magnificent castle surrounded by rolling hills and a glistening aquamarine lake. A couple of dark robed figures flew around on brooms in the distance. He scratched his head again. "Lord Potter," he ventured, "What do you want me to do again?"
"I want you to renovate this castle, and make it a headquarter worthy of the dark forces."
Martin Mini considered himself a fairly light person, but then again, he had no other jobs at the moment. Beggars couldn't be choosers. "A dark themed castle then..."
"No, no," Lord Potter laughed, "I absolutely hate dark places. Make it white and welcoming. Think out of the box. If I hire a couple wizzes or witches they'll just add the standard enchantments. I want you to propose your dream castle. If we can't do it, we'll research it."
A strange high keened laugh escaped Lord Potter's mouth, and Martin Mini gave a start. This was a madman, an enterprising madman, but a madman still.
"And the budget, Lord Potter?"
"Padfoot will guide you on the budget. He will be your boss. You will report to him."
A black shaggy dog with a bowtie emblazoned with the words 'Padfoot 606' trotted up to them, and Lord Potter nodded towards it.
The dog was scrutinising him closely, Martin Mini noticed. Then within a split second, it morphed into a man, and Martin shouted, "We'll make a morphing castle!"
The dog-turned-man grinned, and said, "Welcome to the team, young muggle!"
Martin scowled and said, "I'm not young, grandpa!"
Both of them glanced up at him in amazement, then Lord Potter slowly backed away. Martin felt a sliver of fear course through him. "NOBODY CALLS SIRIUS BLACK OLD, YOU, YOU..." the dog-turned-man started frothing in his mouth. Then he slowly took out a little piece of slender wood.
"Levicorpus!" he hissed.
A wisp of neon smoke exited his wand. Martin felt a sudden pressure on his back, and suddenly he was flying, tumbling over the ground, until he fell hands over heels in front of Lord Potter.
"Amazing, Prongslet, amazing!" the dog-turned-man whistled. "I've never seen the shield spell work this way!"
Martin looked up at Lord Potter in confusion, and Lord Potter nodded, "Yeah, no one can harm you here. If someone targets you with a spell, you'll come flying straight to me. And here, always wear this enchanted hat. If someone tries to read your mind, it'll knock the jelly out of him/her."
Martin struggled back up with a strangled expression, "Pink and pointy, milord..."
Lord Potter gave a nonplussed shrug, "The enchantments wouldn't take hold on any other color. And pointy hats look good, you know."
"They also speak," Sirius whispered in his ears, and suddenly Martin felt excited. How lucky he was to gain entrance into the world of magic! Oh how he wished his detractors could see him today! Experiencing real magic and gearing up to build the most wonderful palace in the world ever!