The letter that never came

Chapter 2

"Boooom".
I woke up instantly. Rubbing my eyes, I looked outside the window, searching for the source of the crash.
To my utter shock, the sky had turned black and thunder rumbled in the distance. What! I had slept the entire day! And missed my letter. Oh no!
"Glinda! Glinda! Get up!"
My mom came frantically in the dining room.
"What's going on? Where's my letter?" I said groggily while rubbing my eyes with my right hand.

"Letter? Which letter? Oh! Forget that. That's the least of our worries. Something's wrong. The weather changed in seconds."

I looked at her wide eyed. Then I stole a glance at the clock on the mantelpiece. It read five in the evening.

I looked outside the window. The sky was black with purple streaks of thunder rumbling crazily.

Me and my mom exchanged a look. It only meant one thing.

"Weasley watch!" Exclaimed mom and headed for the lounge.

I nodded my head and followed her out. The letter, I will inquire about it later. This was more important than that.

" Meteorologists are perplexed. Today was supposed to be a sunny day with no wind. Yet, there has been an abrupt change in the weather. Heavy winds with thunder have been observed all over the country. Stay safe. Stay inside. I repeat do not leave your house. The weather is going to get bad. This is Amelia Bones from Channel....."

"Dad, what's happened?" I asked as I came in the lounge where my dad was standing in front of the LCD, holding the remote in his hands.

" I don't know. Even the weathermen are confused. Do you know anything, Iris? Looks like a wizard's doing to me."

My mother had her lips pursed together. Silently, she moved towards the LCD and took out her wand.

We all stood shocked, waiting, waiting to know what was going on.

She tapped the bottom of the LCD with her wand thrice and muttered, "Weasley Watch 101"

Instantly, the screen changed. The news anchor's office disappeared. Instead a man standing outside in the dark weather was visible.

"Wizards and witches, be warned. The Grischlock has escaped..."

My mother gasped loudly at that. I stared at her. My eyes wide with worry. What's a Grischlock?

"The sudden weather is a sign that dark times are coming. You must be on guard at all times.
The Ministry is looking for the person responsible for such a heinous act. The new Minister for Magic will address everyone at eight tonight.
Follow all precautions. Do not leave alone..."

My mother tapped her wand at the screen again and it went black, just like the sky outside.

The room was eerily silent after that. Tension hung in the air. My father was pacing around in circles while mom stood rooted to her spot.

"What is a Grischlock, Iris?"

"Grischlock is the deepest, darkest, ugliest secret of the wizarding world. I shudder to think of it at large. Glinda, you would not go out alone now. And Alvan take extra precautions when you go out to work." She added in a worried tone.

"But what exactly is it, mom?"

"It's a deadly creature. What makes it so scary is that it can change its shape. You never know, the person next to you could be a Grischlock. Or a cat strolling past you. It could be anywhere."

I felt goosebumps on my arm as I imagined walking to the store and suddenly a cat jumped at me, changing into a scary creature (I couldn't imagine what it would look like but the terror on my mom's face, who was the bravest person I knew, had given me a vivid idea).

"There is one way to recognize it. It has green eyes with a purple mark beneath the eyelid. If you ever see someone like that, call the Ministry at once."

After being lost in thought for quite a time, mom reminisced aloud,

"It's going to be a tough time. Things will get ugly. Woodroe must round the Grischlock as quick as possible. No wonder he must be tensed. It was his first year as Minister. Aaah! What I can't fathom is who did it? Who let it free? It could never escape on it's own. It was well guarded. Who dared to do that? And why? Why put the wizarding community, even the muggle world in danger? Who is it?"