Chapter 31: Home is where you are safe.
“Home sweet home,” Aerie offered as they climbed the steps to the house on Sussex street. Both inside and out were festooned with Christmas decor, and while it wasn’t anywhere near as grand as the Hogwarts decorations it felt far more like home.
“I’ve got a stew in the oven,” Flora offered once everyone was inside and the door closed. Aerie’s trunk was placed in the hall for the time being.
Aerie went to the door that opened to the basement and unlocked it. Down at the bottom of the stairs were the other two trunks.
“So, is it possible to open the trunk and this door at the same time?” Flora asked as she looked down the stairwell.
“No idea and I’m glad no one else has that trunk.”
“What? Your deluxe trunk is your basement flat?” Aurora asked as Justin went down to retrieve his trunk.
“Justin, just use the service lift,” Aerie called down.
“And I’m guessing no. Not technically. Or to be more precise, the trunk is merely an alternate doorway. Aerie then went to her trunk, unlocked it, and opened it into an ordinary trunk with all the things she brought home with her.
“Aerie, you want me to push the bookshelf back while I’m down here?” Justin called up.
“It needs to be unlatched first.”
“Got it.
“Aerie, there’s something down here?”
“What do you mean there’s something down there?” Aerie’s heart started to race. But then again having Moonie rubbing up against her ankles kind of told her not to worry about it. Still, though, her curiosity had the best of her. A moment later Aerie, Aurora, and Flora were headed down the stairs.
“Out in the front room was a very large object that stretched from the floor to the ceiling. It was wrapped in festive paper and had a big red ribbon on it.
“Marry Christmas, Aerie,” Selena offered.
“Who are you? Flora asked, startled.”
“Mom, that’s Moonie, my cat,” Aerie informed her without even bothering to take her eyes off the mirror-shaped package. “We call her Selena when she’s in human form.
“Can I open it now?”
“You wouldn't happen to know someone named Garry Seven?” Flora asked of Selena.
“Might be a sister you are thinking of.”
“Are you a witch?”
“Oh no, she’s a pony. Technically,” Aerie offered as she absentmindedly fingered the pendant under her blouse.
“Pony… oh!”
Selena had dropped forward and a winged unicorn now stood there.
“Wow, and you are so beautiful.”
Selena dropped her head and blushed.
“Can I open it up?”
“Well, Selena?” Flora asked. Selena switched back to human form.
“Go on, I think you’ll like it.”
The next sound was that of paper ripping as Aerie pulled the paper away.
“It… it looks like the mirror from the room of requirement? But that was larger.”
“It scales to size. Meaning it automatically fits the space it's given.” Selena offered. “I helped myself while you were berating Dumbledore, and I left a copy in its place. The copy will behave the same minus the portal. As for this one, I’ve shut off the function that causes a person to see their greatest desires and put limits on who can actually use it.”
“My greatest desire…” Aerie said softly. She wanted nothing more than to be done with Lord Voldemort and go home, and the mirror was making that day that much closer.
“What makes this so special that you had to help yourself to it?” Justin asked.
“It’s a gateway to Equestria, the true land of the Akkadians,” Selena offered. “There is a secondary enchantment that when active causes the viewer to see their heart’s greatest desire.”
“Seems to me that would change with alarming frequency,” Flora offered. “Short of someone has an obsession.”
“I set it so that only Equestrians and guests can use the gate. I thought it best that people think it a duplicate if anyone should see it and recognize it.”
Aerie had her right hand up on the glass, light was shining from the glass where her hand was.
“Aerie, it’s late and the other end is in the Everfree. The palace.”
“Right, no going through. Not now.”
“We could go in the morning,” Aurora suggested.
“We could at that,” Aerie offered.
“Well, let's get back upstairs,” Flora suggested, and then headed for the stairs. “Aurora, you can stay in Aerie’s room with her upstairs if you’d like?”
“Come on Aurora. To be honest, I’ve never used the apartment down here.”
So they went back upstairs and used the dumbwaiter to lift the trunks up to the third floor rather than haul them up the stairs. When they had accomplished that task Aerie and Auror went back down to the kitchen to see if there was anything they could do to help.
“Pretty much everything is ready if you could set the table, oh and add a place, Basil said he’s bringing home a guest.”
“Did he say who?” Aerie asked. She couldn't help but feel apprehensive after what happened at the train station.
“He said it was a surprise.”
“I think Aerie and I are kind of done with surprise guests for the day.”
“Oh, right. Ya, I’m sure it’s going to be fine. They should be here any time.”
“Well, here’s hoping they don’t have trouble getting past whatever is going on down the street,” Aerie offered as she looked out the window. “Police car just went by and it looks like the intersection is blocked.”
Aurora went over to the front window to have a look. “Table's set. Do you have a telly? Maybe there’ll be something on the news?”
“Go ahead,” Flora offered as she came out of the kitchen to have a look. “You’ll want BBC one.”
They found Justin with the set already on.
“I heard the sirens,” Justin offered even as the news was reporting on a forced entry at 106 Cambridge street. There had been a brief hostage situation perpetrated by some rather inept would-be attackers who were quickly neutralized by a counter-terrorism unit. The descriptions of the men and what they’d wanted left Aerie no doubt that they’d been trying to find her.
Aerie rushed upstairs to get her phone and called Nova Silverwood.
“Yes, two more wizards. They got shot for their efforts,” Nova’s voice offered over the phone.
“And the three at the station?”
“Does the name Mundungus ‘Dung’ Fletcher ring any bells?”
“In the books, he was a two-bit criminal who often did Dumbledore's dirty work.”
“Books?” Justin asked. He and Aurora had chased up the stair after Aerie.
“I’m guessing the two at 106 had gotten a hold of the mailing address,” Aerie prompted.
“You’re right, they got the address and when they couldn't find it got it into their heads to invade each and every place on the corner. They hit 108 first, and then crossed the street.”
“Basil is bringing a guest home, should I be worried?”
“You’ll be fine. It’s Sirius Black.”
“That’s a relief,” Aerie offered and then crossed into Justin’s room to look out the front window. Two men who were definitely wizards were standing out front watching the activity down the street. “There are two men out front, they yours?” Aerie’s hair billowed out.
“No, and don’t-”
CRACK!!!
Lightning in snowstorms is unusual but not unheard of.
The two men had been hit. They’d been lifted up into the air, a dark rip opened up, and then they were gone.
“Aerie, what was that?!” Nova shouted over the phone.
“Oh, I might have hit them with a lightning bolt and dumped them on the Head table at Hogwarts.”
“Aerie…
“OK, I was going to say no to using magic but I doubt they’d be able to contribute that to you. Just don’t do that again. They could have been from the Ministry.”
“Well, you’ll forgive me if I’m a little jumpy.”
Meanwhile, at Hogwarts, Dumbledore along with the other remaining faculty had sprung back from the table the moment the two came crashing down. The remaining students at the four house tables now looked on in stunned surprise as Madam Pomfrey checked for vitals. Moments later the two men were rushed off to the infirmary. Everything was cleaned up and Dumbledore stepped up to the table again.
“Kind of looks like someone attempted to apparate in,” Dumbledore offered. “They’ll… live.”
Nova Silverwood-Swan had just stepped into the dining hall.
All eyes followed her as she walked through the dining hall right up the center, and stopped when she was facing Dumbledore.
“By any chance did a couple of gentlemen happen to drop in?”
“Were you perhaps looking for them?”
“I kind of need to verify who they are.”
“Is Miss Potter alright? Just out of curiosity.”
“Miss Potter has the protection of a Goddess. Funny you should ask though. Seems there was an incident at Pancras station, perhaps you’ve already heard about that incident. Those three men are now in my custody. Given there was a Princess of Eques involved they are looking at some serious time in Tartarus.
“I have her Majesty's permission to extradite.
“There was a second incident at number one-oh-six Cambridge Street. They’d tried at one-oh-eight first which is what alerted the muggle authorities.”
“They, wouldn't happen to be in your custody as well, would they?”
“Oh no, they got off easy.”
“Easy, you say?”
“They’re dead.”
“Dead?”
“Shot. Seems someone put up an anti apparate field over the area so when they found themselves cornered by the police, the responding officers mistook their attempt to get away as a threat on their lives and fired. Muggle weapons. Every bit as lethal as the killing curse. As is, I’ve had to advise the Auror department to stay well away from Sussex street.”
“Not Cambridge street?”
“Oh? Did you perhaps think they were looking for Aerie? Pity, she doesn’t have that protection you keep on about.”
“Professor,” McGonagall prompted from a few seats down. “The house is on Sussex. Didn’t I tell you?”
“But the official registry says Cambridge?”
“That’s where they get their mail.”
“Professor Dumbledore, the men I have, say that they were put up to their dirty deed by Mundungus Fletcher,” Nova informed him. “Do you know him? If you are wondering why two men found their way here is because an individual capable of sending them halfway across the length of England and into Scotland likely thinks you had something to do with this evening’s tragedy. Don’t push that person.” Mrs Silverwood leaned closer to Dumbledore. “You wanted her to have protection, well she’s got protection. More protection than you could possibly imagine and if anyone else attempts anything you can count on more deaths. But then again, isn’t that why you trained Tom Riddle?” She slammed her hands down on the trellis. “Don’t deny it. You knew what kind of boy he was only he went off script, didn’t he?”
“I wanted to help him,” Dumbledore protested.
“Some people can not be helped by giving them more power!” Her voice resounded throughout the great room. “And a wise old man such as yourself should know that.”
“I must confess that I was not always as wise, and still have much to learn. It would seem.”
Back at the house, Justin, Aerie, and Aurora have gone back downstairs to the reception room, or rather the family room where the family could hang out together. The news was speculating on the loud report they’d heard wondering if it was an explosion or not, and Moonie the cat was lounging in a chair. Outside, night was falling.
“That, what you did?” Justin asked.
“It’s an elemental ability,” Aurora offered. “Not really magic as you understand it.” Aerie’s hair billowed out again, there was a loud crackle overhead followed by the on-the-scene reporter getting excited about snow lightning.”
“Aerie?” Aurora said in an almost scolding tone.
“Well, they were saying it was an explosion.”
“Oh no, just you playing with lightning and opening portals.”
“Portals?” Flora asked from the doorway.
“Nothing to worry about,” Aurora reassured.
“It’s kind of cool, actually,” Justin offered with a grin on his face.
“Just don’t tell anyone I can do that,” Aerie cautioned with a smile of her own. She then went to the window, opened it up, and stepped out onto the balcony. “Oh, they have the street blocked off.”
“And probably can’t even see you,” Aurora offered as she poked her head out. Her hand found a switch and turned the porch lights on.
“They’ll be able to see us if Dad points us out,” Justin offered as he joined them. “The place has always been weird that way.”
On spotting his father in the gathering crowd he waved and was delighted when Basil waved back. A moment later a large man who wore a heavy fur overcoat that reminded Aerie a bit too much of Hagrid’s great coat, waved. The two were approached by a uniformed officer, they spoke, and the place was pointed out to the officer, who then spoke into a radio.
“Aren’t you two getting cold out here?” Justin asked as Flora came out to have a look.
“Yes, it is mighty cold,” Flora confirmed.
“Father isn’t being allowed through the police line,” Justin informed her.
“Well, it won’t do him any good if everyone catches colds out here in the snow.”
“Alright, come on Aurora, you’re starting to glow anyway,” Aerie replied and headed for the door.
“Glow?” Flora asked, looked over at Aurora, and saw that she was indeed starting to glow.
“Why am I glowing?”
“Subconscious reaction to the cold weather I’d imagine,” Aerie offered as she went inside. “Does the fireplace work?”
“They do. Everything you’ll need to get them going is in the vault.” Flora offered as she followed.
“Vault?”
“I’ll get the key,” Justin offered. “Aerie, it’s right across from your front door.”
“Wait, what?” Aurora asked and a moment later all three were on their way downstairs, turning lights on as they went.
In front of the basement door, between them and the vault was a foot of snow. The only light that of the porch light, a street light above, and the light from the room behind them.
“Shovels?” Aerie asked.
“In the vault. Unless there is one out back?”
The girls looked at Justin and went to the back door where a goodly amount of snow met them there as well. It was also still day out back.
“I hate not being allowed to use magic!” Aerie griped bitterly, trudged out into the snow, stumbled forward, and landed on all four hooves. Not a one of the three had yet to realize that there was way too much light out back.
“Aerie? What are you doing?” Aurora asked. “No magic.”
“I didn’t do that, it just sort of did it by itself.”
“What am I seeing?” Justin asked as a small group of pastel ponies walked past a small garden gate. Beyond the garden wall the back of apartments in Pimlico, London had been replaced with a picturesque little village. The sun was still up where it had already set out front, a fact of which was just now starting to dawn on them. Or is that even-fall on them? Gloaming? Justin stepped out into the back, pitched forward, and landed on his hooves, now a little golden unicorn pony with an auburn mane and tail. He was a foal and had no cutie mark to speak of.
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Narnia reference near the end there?
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Combo package. Narnia + Howl's moving castle. Remember the dials.
I think Dumbeldor needs to listen to the Muggle song “The Gambler”. He just needs to know now is the time to fold ‘em and walk away from the table. He isn’t going to win and he is running out of chips to use for his plans.
11440035
Never saw howl's moving castle
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You should it's a movie I can practically rave about.
aww Justin sounds sooo cute.
Oh boy Dumbledore is just so slow to get the hint to keep his fingers away from stuff that will get him dead.
11440097
i looked up howl's moving castle it looks interesting just to bade it is in Japanese.
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There's definitely an in English version. Though where you can find it, well that depends on the nature of your web usage.
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and there is the problem.
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Disney has the rights to US distribution of howl's moving castle. Your best bet is to just buy it online. Short of getting really lucky and finding it at Walmart.