Patrick Stump and the Flying Car Brigade

Chapter 54

Chapter 54

Yet another week passed, and Pete and I were doing better than ever. We went on two trips to Hogsmeade that weekend, even though we both knew that we should have been studying for finals. After all, Pete's NEWTs were coming up. He needed to do well on those to get a good job once he got out of Hogwarts. Nevertheless, it was glorious having Pete back.

Within a week, nearly everyone knew about what had happened to Gerard. Rumours spread around the school about what exactly the Death Eaters were up to, but the scary part was that nobody could tell for sure what they were going to do next. There was always a sense of fear, because they could go after anyone who disagreed with them. The Death Eaters weren't just persecuting Muggle borns anymore. They were going after half bloods and pure bloods too.

During lunch one day, Mikey glided over to the Hufflepuff table. "You might want to see this," he said as he placed a piece of paper in front of me.

"What is it?" I asked.

"I got a letter from Ray," Mikey explained. "The rest of the Flying Car Brigade might want to see this too."

I got up to find Pete, Joe, Tyler, and Josh at the Gryffindor table and brought them to the Hufflepuff table to see the letter. I also found Andy chatting with some of his fellow Ravenclaws and convinced him to come over as well. Once everyone was there, we started reading the letter.

Dear Mikey,

You will glad to know that though I am in the dark, I'm out of harm. I cannot reveal my exact location in case this letter falls into the wrong hands, but I'm safe for now. I'm still worried about Frank, so please reply and let me know how he is doing. He cannot possibly think that he can stay hidden in plain sight forever. He needs to move his body when the sunlight dies so he doesn't get caught.

As I stated previously, I cannot reveal my exact location, but I decided to change my course from my original plan. Right now, I am near Azkaban, although I plan to leave soon. At night, I can hear voices coming from the prison, and it's all proof that life is just a dream for the dead. Nearly everyone in there is innocent, and I can hear their screams of agony. It's torture being in there with a Dementor, and it's nearly impossible to perform an effective Patronus Charm, especially without a wand. I hope this nightmare is over soon, but I'm terrified that the Death Eater regime will last. None of us Muggle borns can live like this.

The scariest part was when I saw your brother being taken into Azkaban. I've known Gerard since I was a first year, and I don't think I've ever seen him that scared before, even when he was facing a Hungarian Horntail during the Triwizard Tournament. Two men, presumably Death Eaters, bound his hands together and confiscated his wand. One of them was wearing a black cloak, while the other one appeared to be much younger and seemed oddly familiar. The second Death Eater had an unusually large forehead. Both of the Death Eaters escorted him into Azkaban while Gerard looked around in desperation. I didn't see him after that, but he is most likely still in Azkaban. I wish I could give you more information on his condition, but that is all I know.

I hope you are doing well, and that you are safe at Hogwarts. Make sure that you're studying - NEWT level exams are extremely difficult. Is anything else new at Hogwarts? Please let me know. Some happy news would be nice for all of us.

Your Friend,

Ray Toro

Joe was the first one to comment. "I'm glad that Ray is okay," he said. "He's my fro buddy, you know."

"I was unaware that fro buddies were a thing," Tyler said.

"I miss Gerard already," Mikey said.

"Me too," Pete said. "He taught me everything I know about the art of guyliner."

"So that's where you learned it from," I said.

"Well, not exactly," Pete said. "I knew how to apply eyeliner when I entered Hogwarts. Gerard just gave me tips. They were good tips though!"

"You're not helping, Pete," Joe said.

Andy nodded and said, "We need to focus on getting rid of the Death Eaters. As Ray said, we can't live like this," proving that he was still a vegan straight edge kid who hated Britain, hated white people, and hated everything as much as he always had.

"How are we supposed to do that when two wizarding wars couldn't even get rid of them?" Joe asked.

"I don't know," Andy admitted. Even Andy seemed to agree that the situation was hopeless, but there wasn't any chance of anything getting better if somebody didn't do something, and I figured that it might as well be us.

Even though we weren't at a disco, Ray had only given us more reasons to panic. I was even more worried than usual, and the rest of the Flying Car Brigade seemed agitated as well. As I looked at my companions, I realised that Mikey had disappeared. I glanced over at the Slytherin table, but he wasn't there either. I shrugged and assumed that he had returned to his house's common room.

The rest of the Flying Car Brigade returned to their respective tables, and I took a few more bites of my lunch. Hogwarts food was always delicious, even during times of crisis, but I couldn't stop thinking about Gerard and Ray. They were out there somewhere, alone in the world, and nobody could save them. Everyone was too scared or didn't have a way to do it. It seemed as if the day's events only served to remind me of how much I hated the feeling of helplessness.