81 ch 81 Those in power
8:42 am Ministry of Magic, Office of the Minister
-Third-person POV-
After being denied… or more like deterred to meet Merlin's heir, Marshall Witcherly, Fudge and Umbridge quickly returned to their Office.
Along the way, they assess the atmosphere around the Ministry and the attitude of people in reaction to today's shocking news.
Though the reactions were varied, the only consistent part is that everyone is anticipating great change- but the question is… who will benefit, and who will suffer when that change happens?
As the two enter the office, Fudge quickly turned to Dolores and asked, "What should we do now? Dumbledore has complete access to Witcherly and can easily manipulate him. First Harry Potter, now Merlin's heir."
Instead of replying to Fudge, Umbridge walked straight to the tea cabinet and brewed a fresh pot. She knows that Fudge is currently lost in his paranoia and will take a few minutes to calm down.
After pacing back and forth, Fudge sat down on his chair, exhausted. Just in time, the tea is ready and Dolores pours him and herself a cup.
Silence ~
"Hmmm.." Umbridge savor the tea before saying, "You were too hasty. The letter clearly stated not to bother the kid, but you still went there. On a school day, no less. What were you thinking?"
"But Dumbledore…" Fudge was going to argue but stopped when he saw the stern look on Dolores face. He just sips the tea to calm his nerves.
Putting down her cup, Dolores said, "That Witcherly obviously doesn't want to be bothered by you. Even our invitations for banquets last Holiday were denied. We need to know more about him before approaching the kid."
"Information about Witcherly? How? I doubt half of what's written on the Prophet was even true. And Dumbledore won't allow us to approach the boy, even on the weekends." gaining some clarity, Fudge asked.
With a devious smile, Dolores said, "Isn't that boy in school? With many other students? Some whose parents are currently working here in the Ministry… Under us."
Fudge's face brighten upon the realization. He look at Dolores and nodded in approval.
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11:20 Professor Quirrell's Chamber's
*BAM 🚪‼
Quirrell quickly closed the door and reached out toward the hidden compartment under his bed.
Taking out a wooden box and opened it, he to see there's only three remaining vials of unicorn blood.
Though reluctant, the unbearable pain in his body forced him to immediately drink one.
After gulping down every drop, he breathed a sigh of relief for a moment, but then he panicked, looking at the two remaining vials.
A sense of urgency and a mountain of stress washed over him. Especially today after hearing the news and discovering that Marshall Witcherly is Merlin's heir. His situation have become more perilous.
He was afraid that the security in the school will tighten. Or worst, there might already be secret guards protecting Witcherly and he had been in their radar this entire time.
Suddenly, a scruffy black owl landed on the window, dropping off a letter.
Quirrell, recognizing that it's Mundungus' owl, hurriedly read the letter.
Fortunately, he was not disappointed, the scoundrel was able to gain a dragon's egg. He could now proceed with his plan to fool Hagrid.
Taking out another box from the compartment, he checked the number of vials of polyjuice potion he had concocted a few months ago.
With a clear plan in mind, Quirrell hid the boxes back in the hidden compartment. While doing so, he accidentally touched a small, slender box that his Master ordered him to take from the Room of Lost Things.
The box looks like one used to house a wand. Though curious, he never dared to open it without his Master's instruction.
His Master only said that what's in it is their 'assurance'.
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11:55 am, Hogwarts Gryffindor Boy's Dormitory
Scabbers, Ron's pet rat, was on top of a copy of today's Daily Prophet pacing back and forth. It's difficult to believe, but the rat is actually reading the news.
This peculiar rat shows high intelligence, not seen among its species.
There's a disturbing reason for that peculiarity. Because it is not actually a rat, it's a human man disguising itself as a rat for almost a decade now.
He is none other than Peter Pettigrew, a graduate of Hogwarts, a close friend of James Potter and the traitor who caused the death of Harry's parents.
Peter infiltrated the Weasley family several years ago, posing as their pet rat, Scabbers. He plans to continue his disguise, until the return of Voldemort or as long as the situation allows it.
However, he might have to end his charade and flee immediately, away from the Weasleys, because of what he read in today's paper about Marshall Witcherly being Merlin's heir.
He first met Witcherly a few years ago and just thought he is one of those kids that likes any animals, even a rat, by how well Marshall treated him.
But after some times, he discovered that Marshall is no ordinary young wizard.
Peter was not sure when he noticed it. Maybe when Marshall obtained his unique and strong magical pets and finding out that such a young boy has XXX international license. Or when the boy help Frank and Alice Longbottom overcome the Cruciatus Curse.
But with the news of Marshall being related to Merlin, Peter feels unease being too close to such high-profile individual.
After thinking it through, he decided to flee and find a place to hide and lie low for a while. The sooner, the better.
As a member of the infamous Marauders, Peter knows his way around Hogwarts. It just so happens that it's currently lunchtime and most of the students will be at the Great Hall.
When he was about to start to move, Peter sensed some movement in the room.
Whoosh~🧺Whoosh~🧺Whoosh~🧺
Panicked, the rat turned around to see the dirty clothes being collected into a bin.
Realizing that it's only the elves collecting the students' laundry, the rat calmed down and crawled towards a hidden hole at a corner of the wall.
*Tik🍪 *Tik🍪
As one of the robes flew from the basket under the bed to the large laundry bin, two pieces of cookies fell on the floor.
With a rat's strong sense of smell, Peter can't help himself and quickly snatch and started eating. He savored the strong almond flavor of the cookies.
After finishing the two cookies, the rat proceeded to make his way towards the hole.
But, Peter suddenly felt sleepy, and before he knows it, his vision turned black.
The laundries, being collected in the room, suddenly dropped on the floor.
*Snap
With a snap of a finger, Wigby appeared holding an iron cage. In the cage, a chubby rat with a finger missing is moving around.
The elf let the rat in the cage free, and it scurried toward the hole at the corner of the room. It didn't go far, the rat just lay down in the hole near the entrance, out of view.
A second later, the newly released rat stop breathing.
Wigby witness this but was not affected. He then looked over the sleeping rat on the floor and, with a snap of his finger, levitated it into the iron cage.
With another snap of his fingers, the cookie crumbs on the floor varnished.
The elf then look around, double-checking everything in the room and snap his finger again. He disappeared from the room with the sleeping Peter Pettigrew in the cage, and the bin full of dirty laundry.
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12:03 pm, Hogwarts Kitchen
-Marshall's POV-
I'm sipping my tea in a corner in the kitchen, watching the elves cook and prepare today's lunch selections.
A moment later, Wigby appeared with a pile of laundry and a metal cage containing Ron's pet rat, Scabbers,... or should I say… Peter Pettigrew.
Taking the cage and inspecting the rat, I turned to Wigby and thanked him, "Thanks Wigby. I guess almonds really mask anything you lace a cookie with."
"You're welcome, Young Master Witcherly." The elf replied and stare at the rat in the cage.
With a smile, I asked him, "Are you curious why I need to swap my friend's pet rat?"
Wigby just nod waiting for my explanation.
I started to explain, "This is not a rat, but an animagus form of a criminal. I want to spare my friend from being traumatized when he found out the truth. So instead, I just swap it with a corpse of an identical rat…"
"... Oh!... That reminds me, when that dead rat starts to smell and decompose, don't move it. Let my friends discover the corpse."
Nodding, Wigby understood. He said, "Thank you for trusting me, Young Master. Rest assure, I'll personally watch over that room so that everything happens according to your arrangement."
The fact that Pettigrew hid among the Weasleys will be found out eventually, I'll just coordinate with Amelia Bones to exonerate my friend's family.. And if need be, I'll come forward myself to testify their innocence.
In response, I added, "Well, it's only right for me to explain the situation to you. There are other troublesome things and individuals in the castle that needs to be taken care of. And I'll need the elves' assistance to cleanly and quietly deal with them when the time comes."
Wigby's bat like ears flaps for a second indicating that it was glad to be of help.
After I transferred the cage with the sleeping Pettigrew into a special space inside my suitcase, I thanked Wigby again before exiting the kitchen and walking towards the Great Hall for lunch.
On the way, I'm contemplating if I should tell Lady Black and Amelia Bones about capturing Pettigrew. 'Hmmm... Maybe it's still early. Quirrell might try to do something if news gets out. But... maybe Cassiopeia can quietly snatch the Lestrange vault while the attention is still at me. I need to write a letter to the goblins first..."
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2:55 pm Queen's Lane Coffee House,
40 High St., Oxford, United Kingdom
-Third-person POV-
In an empty coffee shop around Oxford University, an elderly man is sipping a cup of coffee, reading today's copy of The Daily Prophet.
The man is wearing a light purple shirt, dark purple khaki pants, black suspenders and a lavender bow tie.
*Ting🔔 *ting🔔 *ting🔔
The shop's door opens and an elderly woman in a one piece navy floral dress, a headscarf, and large dark sunglasses enters.
Through the shop's glass window, it was seen that the elderly woman was accompanied by large bodied men wearing suits. Instead of going in the shop, they just stayed outside by the door.
"Thank you for accepting my request for a chat, Uncle Merriman." said the woman as she approached the man in purple attire, while taking off her gloves, scarf, and sunglasses.
Merriman put down the papers and replied, "No trouble at all, Liz. Coffee or tea?"
"Tea please…" Liz replied, her gaze landed on the newspaper and recognized it as the Daily Prophet. With the man's permission, she reached for it and started reading, waiting for her tea.
A man in an all black attire entered through the backroom door pushing a vintage tea trolley and parked by the only occupied table in the shop and started to prepare a fresh cup of Earl Grey.
Once Liz received her tea, the man in black returned to the back room with the trolley.
Only when Liz finished reading the front page of the Prophet did she put the paper down and started sipping her tea.
After a few sips, she asked, "What does this mean for England and the Monarchy?"
Merriman smiled and simply said, "Nothing."
Liz's eyebrow raised in disbelief, "Really?"
"Yes." Merriman look the woman in the eyes and explained, "… Marshall Witcherly don't need anything from the Monarchy. In the same way, he has no obligation to help you in anything… Just like me."
Liz understood what he said and was relieved, but at the same time she is also regretful.
As Merlin's heir, Marshall Witcherly is destined to be a powerful wizard in the future. And if she can gain Marshall's allegiance, the Monarchy will have a strong backer to depend on in times of trouble.
At the beginning, Merriman... or better known as Merlin was England and the Monarchy's protector because of the promise Merlin made to King Arthur.
However, Liz's ancestor, Henry IV, tried to persecute and chased away Merlin at the start of the 1400s because he felt threatened by his existence.
This mistake, free Merlin from his promise to King Arthur.
When Merlin left, England was at the mercy of the magicals, immortals and gods.
Chaos was everywhere. Some happened in the open and were recorded in the history books as natural calamity.
On 1666, John Dee's set loose a Fire Elemental in London in his pursuit of the Flamels. Thankfully, the fire wreaked more havoc on buildings and architecture than it did human life. But six life was still lost.
Scared and desperate, Charles II use all possible means to contact Merlin and plead for him to go back and live in Britain again.
Thankfully, Merlin agreed, took residence in London and assume different names and occupation throughout the years.
Unfortunately, Merlin only promised Charles II that he will return to Britain and nothing else. He is no longer obligated to step in during times of crisis, both mundane or magical.
But Merlin's presence still serve as a deterrent to the immortals and gods. And now that he announced his existence and heir to the Wizardry world, Liz is hoping that if another Dark Lord appeared, like Voldemort, they will at least thread carefully fearing disturbing Merlin and forcing him to take action.
Merlin's announcement also came at a good time, as the immortal John Dee returned to Britain recently in search for the Immortal Alchemist, Nicholas Flamel... again.
At least this time, with Merlin presence known, Liz is sure that Dee will at least be discreet in his search and won't use excessive means when he found the Flamels.
Focusing on Marshall Witcherly, Liz wants to make a connection with him and form ties. She even considered marriage if possible.
At this moment, Merlin smiled and put his cup down, which woke Liz up from her thoughts. He warned, "I'm warning you now, Liz. Whatever you're planning, you will just create trouble for yourself."
*Cough* Liz gave a guilty smile, "You can't blame me, Uncle. Trying to gain more benefit for the family comes with the job. But I have to say, you seem very protective of your heir."
"Hoho… " Merlin gave a laugh, "... You're mistaken. Marshall doesn't need to be protected. I'm more afraid of the kid's grandmother."
Raising her eyebrow, Liz asked, "His grandmother? Who is she?"
"An old friend and teacher, who taught me after my time in Hogwarts. She's also an Elder." said Merlin nonchalantly.
Shocked, Liz can't wrap her head on what she heard. 'An Elder? A god?!!'
Troubled by the new information, Liz try to calm her nerves by taking another sip of her tea. After a minute, she calmed down and made up her mind.
Disregarding marriage and other 'dirty tricks', she is still determined to form ties with Witcherly. The benefits outweigh the risk.
Liz asked Merlin, "Uncle, how should we approach Marshall, and gain his favor?"
"Give the kid 'convenience'...with no strings attached." said Merlin and continued "… You're lucky. Marshall grew up here in Britain and have friends here, both muggles and magical. He still wants to 'live out in the open' and travel the world…."
He added, "... Though I barely know him, I'm told by his grandmother that Marshall greatly value his relationships. Provide him with some 'convenience', in and out of the country. Even if he stays abroad for a few years, he will surely return back here as he treat Britain as his home."
When she heard Merlin's suggestion, Liz felt more at ease. Convenience? That's easy for the Queen of England to provide.
Reaching for her handbag, Liz took out a card from her wallet and handed it to Merlin, "Uncle, I have to trouble you with sending this card to Marshall and give my regards to him."
Merlin took the card and hid it in his pocket and nodded.
No further words were said between the two and Liz left the café, leaving Merlin alone.
Merlin continues to sip his coffee and thought, 'It really is satisfying to talk to smart people. Such an exceptional woman… too bad her descendants are…well... never mind.'
~end chapter ~
Next chapter is on April 22nd.
