Agents of Discord

by KittyrinnAiko

Chapter 2: Committed to living in a cupboard.

Security wasn’t buying it, and Nova soon found herself in an office by herself. Further down she could hear Mr Dursley shouting about the zoo not being safe. Granted that she wasn't totally alone as Moonie had taken up residence on Nova's lap.

“Now…” Offered a man in a gray suit as he entered. “My name is Nissim. I’m a detective with the London Metropolitan Police.” He gave the cat a glance, and then decided it'd be best to just ignore it rather than figure out where it had come from.

“The snake getting loose was clearly Dudley’s doing, not mine. Or do you think that I somehow snapped my fingers and magically made the glass go away?”

“I’m actually more interested in a certain tape recorder.”

“Not my fault the bloody thing blew up.”

“Then you do know about it. And how about these photos?” Dumpster diving, Nova thought to herself. He placed the pictures of Riddle and the Dursleys one at a time on the desk closest to Nova. “And what does England's most wanted have to do with the Dursleys?”

“Mr Riddle murdered my mom and dad. My Godparent is a Mr Sirius Black. Petunia Dursley is my Aunt, though I doubt the Dursleys have any sort of actual legal custody.”

“And neither would Sirius Black, given he's abandoned you to your aunt. So, you decided to do a bit of detective work, was it? Who provided the recorder?”

“Calls himself Discord. He gets a kick out of reenacting moments from popular media,” Nova offered as she pulled out her identifications. “Might be over your pay grade though.” She lay down both IDs and watched the man for a reaction. Sure it was a gamble but now was as good a time as any to see if that Section Six ID was any good. She watched him pick up that ID, and pull out a cell phone that looked more like a handheld radio than the modern phones she knew. He dialed a number and then stepped out into the hall.

A short time later Nova would be both delighted and disappointed. Her power play had worked. Which also meant she would be sleeping in a cupboard under the stairs that night. Win some lose some.

The ride to Number Four, Privet Drive was anything but enjoyable. Especially given that Moonie had gone back to her pendant for the duration of the trip. Dudley and Piers were going on and on about how the snake had come at them and how bravely they fought it. Naturally, Dudley tried to cast blame for the snake getting out on Aerie. All Nova could think was at least she hadn’t been talking to it and had had the sense to get well away from the enclosure. As such, any blame being cast her way simply wasn’t going to stick. Was it? Granted Nova had no idea what sort of things the Lings had been doing, but then again it really didn’t matter. Dudley was bound and determined to blame Aerie, and that meant Nova, for everything that went wrong.

“Like you’d know!” Nova shot at Dudley after one of Dudley’s harrowing descriptions. “Seems to me that from where I was, Piers was the only one to remain standing! Nor was I anywhere near that glass!”

“That’s enough!” Vernon Dursley shouted even as Nova was about to say it was Dudley’s fat head. “I don’t want to hear it! No, Dudley!” Dudley had tried to protest and now sat with his jaw hanging. Mr Dursley had never even once raised his voice to Dudley. That is, so far as Nova knew. “While on the one hand, that glass should never have broken, you two had no business pounding on it, or shoving Aerie up against the glass panels! Don’t think I didn’t see what the two of you were doing.”

Only the sound of the road answered.

“Now Vernon…” Aunt Petunia whined.

“No dear, I think we’ve been entirely too permissive. And the boys know full well that Aerie doesn’t like snakes.”

More silence. In fact, the remainder of the trip was met with a sort of awkward silence. That is except for Dudley who got it into his head to hit Aerie on the leg just as hard as he could. Nova saw his fist come up and then brought up her shield just as his fist started back down. A moment later his fist had rebounded right into his face.

“She hit me!” Dudley wailed.

“I never touched you!” Nova shot back.

“I said shut it!” Mr Dursley had the rearview mirror trained on the back seat.

The sound of the road had a comforting effect on Nova’s nerves, and when they rolled up to the house a short time later she felt a little less inclined to teach that boy a lesson.

“Piers, you can go home now,” Mr Dursley said in an emotionless tone as the car stopped.

“Yes sir,” Piers replied, waited just a moment, got out, and walked away.

Nova followed Piers even as the Dursleys got out of the car.

“I don’t want to hear it,” Mr Dursley barked just as Dudley started to protest. He then proceeded to the front door, unlocked it, and ushered everyone inside. “Dudley, go to your room.”

“But?”

“Go!”

Dudley stomped upstairs.

“Aerie, go clean up your forehead, and then I want to talk to you,” Vernon said in an unnervingly calm tone.

Nova quickly found her way to the kitchen and used the sink and a paper towel only to discover dried blood on her forehead. Curious that the detective hadn’t said a thing. Nova fished around in her shoulder bag, found the make-up kit, fished out a small pocket mirror, and had a look at her forehead. She was dismayed to find a lightning-shaped cut, and it looked like it was going to scar as well. She’d a mind to rearrange Discord’s horns.

“Why can’t you use the lavatory like any normal person?” Aunt Petunia asked from the doorway.

Was there a downstairs washroom? Probably, and she’d walked right past it no doubt.

“Normal people don’t live in a cupboard under the stairs,” Nova supplied as she put away her mirror.

Aunt Petunia was spluttering.

“I wonder what people would think? Just imagine the gossip going on about how you make me dress. How you can’t be bothered to buy me or is it, afford to buy me, a girl, decent girl’s clothing? Normal girls don’t wear their male cousin's cast-offs!” And with that Nova strode on out of the kitchen past Aunt Petunia before she could regain her wits. Plus there was that realization that Aerie was right. In attempting to hide Aerie, in treating Aerie the way they had, they’d made themselves the number one talking point of the block. What they were actively doing to Aerie wasn’t normal and she knew it. But why though? Why had they treated her like that?

“Uncle Vernon,” Nova offered a moment later with a slight hint of agitation. He was sitting in his recliner looking haggard.

“Care to tell me what I saw?”

“I’ve been sneaking out. They are a friend Dudley hadn’t managed to drive off. No, I’m not going to tell you who they are. Not considering it took you so long for you to catch us. Granted that going to the zoo did kind of throw us off.”

*“Go – cupboard – stay – no meals,” Mr Dursley spat out and seemed to sink even further into his chair.

Nova turned, went out to the entry hall where the stairs were, opened the cupboard door, and entered. Above her head was a light bulb that hung from a wire. Nova reached up, pulled the chain that turned the light on and shut the door behind her. There really wasn’t much to look at. A cot filled the better part of the floor space, there was clothing piled up in a corner, school books on a shelf, and not much else. Nova turned, sat on the cot, lay down, and looked up at the ceiling.

No spiders. Not a one. Weren’t there supposed to be spiders?

"What are they doing, eating them?” Nova whispered to herself. Who knows what Changelings eat? Besides love that is. Nova didn’t know a lot about Changelings but did know that they did eat solid food. The whole eating emotions thing was how they replenished their magic.

Moonie popped in and landed on the cot. She then did the typical cat thing by walking up onto Nova’s chest and laying right in the middle. Out in the parlor, Nova could hear the television airing the news. She almost laughed out loud when the news began talking about the incident at the zoo. Ground settling under the building was being blamed. Mr Dursley swore and shut off the television. Nova had to admit that it had been a long day, Put her glasses on a shelf, and decided to just go to sleep.

She woke up sometime in the middle of the night to discover a changeling in the cupboard with her.

“Who are you?”

“Princess Kitsumi Nova, daughter of Luna Moon. And I need to pee if you’ll excuse me…”

“Toilet is across from the bottom of the stairs. Princess, shouldn't you be in Silverwood?”

“Different Nova. I got talked into this gig by Discord. As in he didn’t exactly give me a choice. I’m going to be going to Hogwarts, and I’m thinking it might be a mistake for any of you to try to go in there as a student.”

“Discord? Why would he?”

“Apparently he thinks I have what it takes to do in Tom Riddle, AKA he who must not be named. Idiot extremist who goes by Lord Volda, tack on Mort, don’t say the two together it’s a snitch spell.” Nova opened the door and looked around. “Unless you can get hundreds of people saying it of course.”

“They are heavy sleepers,” the ling offered as Nova ventured further out.

“Then I should be fine so long as I’m not in my pony form,” Nova replied with a grin. She then went to the toilet, opened the door, went in, and shut the door behind herself. She emerged a short time later and headed for the kitchen and was followed by the ling and Moonie. She was actually glad the ling was there.

“You have a name?” Nova asked.

“I’m Silverfish. What happened to Mealworm?”

“I gave them some money and told them to go have fun. That and they were likely marooned at the zoo.”

“They’ll find their way back.”

“You’re all heart.”

“We’ve got a small hive under the house. The hive hatch is right where you stand when you enter the Cupboard under the stairs. Lift up the cot, it’s on a hinge, and there’s a catch. And it’s camouflaged with magic so that the Dursleys can’t find it.”

“Ah, I suppose I should have checked,” Nova replied as she opened the refrigerator.

“They will expect you to cook in the morning.”

“I think I can manage. Any chance you can tell me where everything is, and what they like?”

Silverfish affirmed that they could and began pointing out where everything was while Nova fished out various delights to eat. Aunt Petunia was at the very least a decent cook.

“Hey,” Offered another ling as they joined them.

“Oh, hi Mealworm. See, what I tell you, Mealworm made it back.”

“You are all heart,” Nova repeated from earlier.

“So, are we going to raid and go downstairs?” Mealworm asked.

“Hang on, someone’s coming?” Silverfish announced in a whisper.

“I have got an idea,” Nova announced with a devilish grin, pitched forward, and transformed into her pony form. The two lings hesitated but a moment and transformed as well. Silverfish was now a dog, and Mealworm had turned themselves into a baby hippo, and Moonie was now standing on the ceiling in her pony form. With bat wings just because.

Petunia stepped into the doorway, saw a diminutive pony with wings and a unicorn horn, a dog, a hippo, and, and promptly passed out.

Nova caught her with her telekinetic field, took her upstairs, and deposited her back in her bed with Vernon who was snoring very loudly. She then went back downstairs, gathered up the lings and as much food as they could carry, transformed back into human form, and went down into the basement.

“Wow, you have really outdone yourselves,” Nova offered as she had a look around. The entirety of the underside of the house had been dug out with vaulted arches to support the structure overhead. There was light coming from green bio-luminescent lamps and the entire place looked as though it could be a grand hall in a castle from which tunnels fanned out in all directions. Where they were, the way in and out of the house, was on a landing, and down below were a dozen changelings. Silverfish and Mealworm introduced Nova to the other Lings and they all delighted in giving her a detailed briefing of everything she’d need to do or be aware of. By the time Nova was back to her cot, it was nearly morning.

Comments

[badninja]

I wonder how they are surviving here with the Dursley’s? They are not the most loving family out there.

[KittyrinnAiko]

11316985
They are reformed (healthy), Dudley gets lots of love, and it makes a great base of operations. Dysfunctional doesn't mean there's no love. That and they can easily harvest from the local community.

[harts fire]

wow awesome chapter. this is going to be sooooooo much of a fun story.