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A few weeks in the past, but not many...
Dear Perry,
Your father and I have arranged for you
to come home to visit this weekend. We
have something very important to tell you.
We can't wait to hear all about your time
at school, and we miss you very much.
With love,
Mum
Peran quickly shoved a couple of books, some school supplies, and a few sets of clothes into his bag, absolutely dreading going home. He knew what "something very important" meant. Divorce. What else could it be? They were always fighting about something other. Usually it was dad screaming about mum using magic.
He let out a quiet sigh and put the strap of his bag over his shoulder, walking down the dormitory stairs into the common room, and over to the fireplace. He fumbled in his bag for a moment, withdrawing a small glass bottle containing his floo powder, which only had a very small amount left in it. He removed the cork stopper with his mouth and poured the remaining powder into his empty hand, then spit the cork carelessly to the ground and put the empty bottle into his bag.
"Diagon Alley," he muttered before throwing the powder into the fire, whose flames turned emerald green. He stepped into the flames, and immediately started spinning. He spun and spun, watching other fireplaces flash before his eyes, before coming to a stop, standing in a book store. He nodded apologetically to the shopkeeper and walked out the door, still feeling a little dizzy. He paused for just a moment to take in the sights and sounds of the alley. In the days just before school started, it was very busy place with hundreds of people bustling from shop to shop, children running around in awe as they saw marvels they had previously only dreamed of.
He walked into the Leaky Cauldron, ignoring the adults giving him weird looks for being on his own even though he was clearly very young, then walked out the other door into muggle London.
"Hi, Perry!" his mum called out from the other side of the street.
He waved at her vaguely, glancing up and down the street for cars, jogging across once it was clear. She smiled warmly at him.
"You all set to go?" she asked happily.
What a useless question. Of course he was all set to go. Did she think he would come all the way here if he didn't already pack everything he needed? He nodded in agreement and started walking. Luckily, their house wasn't very far.
"How's school?" she asked, still grinning.
"Good," he replied, smiling a little, remembering Jade.
"What have you learned so far?"
He thought for a moment, then began listing off the spells and potions he had learned.
"Professor Lupin even taught me Cheerio, even though we're not supposed to learn it until second year!" He beamed at her and her eyes lit up.
"That's my boy!" she exclaimed, giving him a quick sideways hug.
She began asking him questions about his friends and his teachers, and, before long, they were home. He walked in, said hi to his dad, whom, by the smell of things, was cooking something in the kitchen, then quickly went upstairs to his room to avoid being in a room with his mum and dad at the same time. He wanted to put off the "something important" for as long as he could. He was missing Jade already, and it would still be another two whole days before he got to see her again. His room was surprisingly empty. Well, he took all of his books and comics with him to school, so of course it was going to seem empty, but it seemed...more empty somehow. It seemed less like his room and more like...an empty storage room that happened to contain a bed and a lamp. He carelessy dropped his bag, which fell to the floor with a thud, then he flopped down on his bed, staring blankly at the ceiling for several long moments. He could hear his parents bickering in what they seemed to think were quiet voices. He let out a sigh and rolled over onto his side, trying to use his pillow to block out the sound. No use. He could still hear them. He now detected a hint of what...fear, in their voices? He removed the pillow and got out of bed, standing a little closer to the door. Yes, they definitely sounded more worried than angry now. His mum suddenly shouted something a bit louder. Even though the distance muffled her shout, he could still make out two words. "Not safe."
Time to go downstairs.
As he left his room, he closed the door somewhat loudly to give his parents a warning that he was coming, and, of course, they stopped talking almost immediately.
His mother called out to him using a falsely bright tone of voice, "Oh, hi Perry! Dinner's almost ready if you'd like to come down and sit. It should be ready in just a couple of minutes."
He nodded, even though they couldn't see him yet and continued down the stairs. His parents were having a very quick whispered conversation, which came to an end the moment he stepped in the room. His parents quickly went back to finishing up dinner, trying very hard not to look at him. He knew that if he asked, they wouldn't tell him what's going on. Not yet, anyway. They probably would during dinner, though. That's the time they're likely expecting him to ask about it, so it's more likely that they'd tell him then. He sat down at the kitchen table and glanced around the room. It was exactly the same as it was when he left for school, yet, somehow, it was completely different. It felt like he was in a hotel. Like he was on vacation, and Hogwarts was his home. Weird how things change like that. Before long, his dad put an empty plate in front of him, and his mum came over and dumped some corn and mashed potatoes on it before setting the bowls down and walking back over to the counter, coming back a very delicious looking steak. He grinned slightly, looking at his food. Sure, it was no yellow berries, but it was actually kind of nice to have a familiar meal. They had corn and steak and mashed potatoes at Hogwarts, of course, but something about his mum's cooking seemed to make it taste better. She was a witch, after all. For all he knew, she really could have put some sort of charm or a potion of some kind on it to make it taste better.
"Thank you," he said, smiling, "it looks delicious."
She handed him a glass of water, also smiling, "You're quite welcome."
He noticed his father wouldn't look at him. Whatever. He'd find out why soon enough. He wordlessly stared at his plate while his parents moved some dishes around on the countertop, occasionally putting some of them on the dinner table, or something. He wasn't really paying attention. moments later, his parents sat down at the table and began shoveling food onto their own plates.
"Hold on," he said, "I need a glass of water."
His mum grinned at him, "But you have one right there."
He looked down at the table. Sure enough, there was a glass of water there. He quickly looked at her hands and arms and could've sworn he saw her trying to nudge a wand back up her sleeve. He grinned and began eating, and it was just as delicious as it looked, if not more delicious. He looked up as he took a sip from his water and saw that his parents were watching him a little nervously.
"Okay, talk," he said, frowning slightly, "What's up?" He said this more to his father, who now seemed unable to look at him again. "Dad." His father glanced at him for a moment before looking away, opening and closing his mouth a few times as if trying to say something, but the words just weren't there.
His mum decided to spare his father the trouble and answered, "There's...something we need to tell you. Something we should have told you long ago..." Something clicked in his brain.
"I'm adopted?" He asked, looking slightly confused.
"Well, no. We know we should have told you years ago, but-" She jumped slightly, looking extremely worried as someone knocked on the door. His mother and father exchanged worried looks.
"Go to your room," his father growled as he walked up to the door, reaching for the door knob, "Now."
He nodded and headed toward the stairs, not daring to argue. He'd never seen his parents worried like this. What's going on? He stopped walking and glanced back as his father opened the door. Ah, more falsely bright tones of voices. People really need to get better at not making it so obvious.
The tones were coming from both of his parents, as well as a small group of five or six wizards wearing familiar-looking robes, which were now entering the house. They were from the Ministry of Magic. Was he getting expelled? Is one of his parents getting arrested? One of the wizards noticed him and waved, giving him a nervous smile and a nod. His mother glared at him and he went upstairs, not returning the wave. Ah. Something else clicked in his brain.
They were not really from the Ministry of Magic. He wasn't sure why he thought that, but he knew it must be true. But...why would Ministry imposters be at his house? Did his parents owe money to some shady characters? Probably not. They'd only consider borrowing money if they were buying something really expensive and knew they could pay the money back quickly. If they'd bought anything like that, they'd have told him. Or was that the part of the big secret?
No, that wouldn't really make sense either. They said it was something they should have told him years ago. He went back in his room and sat down near the door, keeping the door cracked a bit to try to eavesdrop, but it was no use. They were talking quietly. Then they started talking a little louder. And faster. Pretty soon, they were arguing, though he still couldn't hear what it was about. Suddenly heard his father yell, "NO!" Then there was a loud bang, followed by a dull thud, which he knew meant someone had just hit the floor. He immediately started repeating in his head, "Please don't let it be dad or mum. Please don't let it be dad or mum. Please don't let it be dad or mum." And then...
He felt cold. Everything seemed to come into focus and made sense. He was no longer worried about his parents, or anything really. In only moments, he removed his wand from his pocket and was already sprinting down the stairs toward the kitchen. There were shouts and cracks and pops and booms and bangs as he ran into the room, his mum standing over the body of his dad, holding off all four of the imposters on her own. He had never felt more proud to say that he was her son than in that moment. He pointed his wand at the imposters.
"Hypno! Incendio!" He started shouting the first incantations that came to mind, even ones that belonged to spells he knew nothing about, but knew the incantations because he had heard the older kids say them. "Stupefy! Uh, expecto patronum! Incendio!" At this point, none of the spells were doing what they were supposed to, and his wand was shooting out sparks of many different colors in many directions. He vaguely thought he saw the imposters crumple, but he wasn't sure. There was too much smoke and dust in the air. Before long, he could only hear his mother and one of the four imposters shouting. Wait...one of the four imposters? Weren't there...
Suddenly his arms were forced behind his back as his face was shoved against the wall. He couldn't see the person who was grabbing him, but he could see that the fighting had stopped. There was only one other imposter left standing and his mother looked horrified. Ah. The person holding him must have a wand to his head. Of course he would. It's the only thing that'd make sense.
"I've got it!" exclaimed the deep voiced man who was restraining him, "How are the others?"
It? It? He was definitely a he, thank you very much. In fact, it should be quite obvious. The remaining imposter walked over to the bodies on the floor near him and bent over them, presumably checking their pulses.
The man seemed to hesitate for a moment before saying very quietly, "Dead. All three of 'em. Dead." The man turned to look at his mother with hatred burning in his gaze, "We warned you! We warned you what would happen if you tried to fight!"
His mother spat at the man, narrowing her eyes, speaking with a cold voice,"I would rather die than let you take my son."
"You killed them," said the man, using the same cold tone of voice, "You killed the whole lot of them. Oh, he is not gonna be happy when he hears about this."
"Don't be stupid," replied his mother, "I can't have done. I was using all my energy just to stop you lot from killing me! It was one of your stray spells that did it."
"It's you, who must be stupid. You know we have orders not to kill. Severely maim, sure. But we wasn't casting no spells that could do that. Wait 'til he hears about this." The man laughed.
Peran's stomach seemed to drop. His mother didn't kill them, and that man didn't kill them, so that means...
He had killed three people. In all the panicked magic throwing, whatever he did, it killed these men. Their lives were over. They would think no more, see no more, hear no more, say no more. And now his family would pay the price for it. He heard a whooshing sound and the man holding him seemed to let go, then crumpled to the ground. Peran looked around frantically and saw four or five people coming out from underneath invisibility cloaks. The man who was just laughing ran toward his mother, who was pointing her wand at Peran, muttering something. The imposter grabbed his mother's arm and turned on the spot, disappearing with a loud pop just before the new arrivals sent stunning spells at him.
Peran's brain seemed not to be working properly for a few moments. He couldn't form complete thoughts, and his eyes seemed unable to focus. This fixed moments later, and he looked at the new arrivals, looking a little nervous. He took a step back.
"Don't worry," said a man with a kind voice, "We're here to help. We're Aurors. Dark wizard catchers." The man glanced at his father, then at the other bodies on the floor, then back at Peran. "I need you tell me what happened exactly."
His brain seemed to hurt a little when he thought about it. "Umm, well, I was eating dinner with my family," the man nodded as Peran spoke, "there was a knock at the door," another nod, "my parents told me to go upstairs, so I did. I heard arguing, then a loud noise, then a thud, and I ran downstairs to see what was going on, when the man grabbed me, and then you guys showed up and freed me."
The kind man walked over to the bodies of the deceased imposters and examined them. "Who did this?" he asked.
"Dunno," he replied, "they must have been like that when I got down here."
The man nodded again, "The spell that killed them was a piece of very dark magic. I'd say you're lucky to be alive."
Peran nodded, looking at the floor, and was inwardly glad he had not taken part in the fight. What would he do, Alohomora them to death?
The kind sounding man turned to the other Aurors and gestured toward the bodies. "Take care of these, I'll get Peran back to school."
Peran repeated that last part in his head, 'I'll get Peran back to school.' How did he know his name? Either this guy was in cahoots with the imposters, or his parents had planned for the Aurors to come, knowing there would be a fight. They just...got there a little late.
"Where did they take my mum?" He asked, "And how did you know to come?"
The man looked at him for a long moment, then said, "I do not know where they have taken her, but I can assure you that we will-" There were a few loud pops as the other Aurors disapparated with the bodies, leaving Peran's father behind, "-find her and bring her back as soon as we can. I promise." Peran nodded.
"And to answer your second question," said the man, looking thoughtful, "your mother and I were once close friends. When she told me about..." the man hesitated, looking at Peran curiously, "Well, if you don't know about that, it isn't my place to say, but your mother explained the situation and asked me for help, and I pulled some strings down at the Auror office where I work. I offer you my deepest apologies that we did not arrive sooner. It would appear as though trouble began a bit earlier than planned, as it often does."
Peran nodded, and was very glad this man was an ally, but also inwardly hated the man right now. You can't plan for trouble. What a fool. If you know that trouble will come at some point, you sit there and wait for it. Something about this didn't sit right in Peran's brain. Something felt off, but he didn't know what. They had invisibility cloaks. How long were they in the room before they actually decided to help? Something clicked in his brain. Ah, of course. Peran looked around for his wand, which he had dropped when he was shoved against the wall. He picked it up, but did not put it back in his pocket.
"It's okay," Peran finally said, "Do you mind if I ask you a question?"
The man furrowed his brows and shook his head, "No, I do not mind. Ask away."
Peran pointed his wand at the man.
"Hypno."
Peran was already walking toward the stairs when he heard the man's body hit the ground. The old fake rescue routine. He had almost fallen for it. First you attack, then you pretend to rescue. No one would suspect that their rescuer is actually also their attacker. When he got up to his room, he reached into his bag and pulled out his plain black robe with the hood and put it on, keeping his wand in his hand at all times. He put the strap of his bag over his shoulder and headed back downstairs, walking up to where his unconscious father lay on the ground, pleased to find that he was still breathing.
"Please be okay, Dad." Peran kissed the top of his father's head and whispered, "I love you."
Peran slammed the front door opening and walked out, not bothering to shut the door behind him. Thanks to his walk with his mother, he knew how to get to the Leaky Cauldron from here. When he was a good distance away from his house, he heard a series of loud pops, followed by hurried shouts.
"I hope we're not too late!"
Peran grinned in spite of himself. What a bunch of incompetent morons. He had no doubt that this time it was the real ministry, and that was the saddest thing of all.
He knew then that he could never rely on the ministry for anything.
He was still very confused about what had happened. Not thirty minutes ago he was sitting down, getting ready to enjoy a nice meal. What were his parents going to tell him? The man with the deep voice said, 'I got it!' when he grabbed Peran, as though he were some sort of thing. Something valuable. Was all of this his fault?
Whatever, he would find out soon enough. And when he did, when he discovered who did this to his family, he would destroy them.
"Ravenclaw Common Room, Hogwarts," he said as he stood in front of the fireplace in the Leaky Cauldron, just before throwing down some floo powder that he had borrowed from an irish witch who was drinking coffee and said he looked like her nephew.
He sprinted up the stairs and went straight to his dormitory, not caring that people were giving him odd looks. He slammed the door to his room and pointed his wand at the lock, muttering "Colloportus," then checking to make sure the door was locked. He walked up to the side of his bed, staring at it for a few long moments before he collapsed.
He didn't bother sliding the pillow under is head or getting under the covers, or even taking his ridiculous robe off. He wanted to think no more. Then, he did something he had not done for many years.
He began to cry.
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