Black

XX // Alas: it's Trouble Time

Thursday

November 20, 1977

Great Hall

It turns out that it was a good decision to eat breakfast at a 'normal' time with Lily, Lottie and the boys this morning as I was witness to the mass panic that came with the flurry of owls delivering the Daily Prophet.

Fear strikes at the heart of London as Ministry officials gather around the crumbled remains of the Villalobos property on Murray Street, a twisting serpentine image cast above the scene of destruction. It is clear that last night's attack on the Villalobos family was no accident; an anonymous worker from inside the Ministry suggests that followers of the man who calls himself Voldemort are "targeting wizarding families that have muggle blood in an attempt to 'purify' the wizarding community". No victims of the attack survived, and the perpetrators are yet to be found, despite what the Ministry describes as "ardent efforts". Amanda and Amara Villalobos, the only remaining members of the family, were fortunately safe at Hogwarts School of Wit-

"Oh stop reading that," chided Lily, grabbing the Prophet out of my hands. "You know what it says, you don't need to reinforce the negativity."

"Ignorance isn't always bliss, Lily," was my well thought out response.

"Yeah Lily," Potter added, taking the newspaper back from her twitchy hands. "Besides, we need to be educated about what this absolute maniac is doing to innocent people so we can stop him."

"Stop him?" asked Peter, looking alarmed. "He just killed an entire family!"

"Exactly," Potter responded with a raised brow. "He just killed an entire family for no reason other than the fact Mrs Villalobos was a muggle."

"How'd you know that?" asked Lottie, peering at her own copy of the Prophet. "It doesn't mention it anywhere here."

"I tutor Amanda in Transfiguration," said Potter. "That's correct, I'm a good person. And as a good person, I believe it is our duty to stop this fiend and his filthy followers."

"Nice use of alliteration, Potter," I said. Potter looked surprised that I had even addressed him.

Black, who had been silent during this entire conversation, suddenly spoke up. "By filthy followers, I suppose you mean the Slytherins?"

Potter sent a furtive glance to the other end of the hall. "I suppose I might."

"Well what are you hoping to do there, Prongs? They're all far too thick-headed to listen to reason," Black said.

"Well I was thinking maybe you could have a chat to Regu-"

"My brother and I aren't exactly on talking terms at the moment, James," said Black, screwing up his face into an unpleasant looking scowl. "Besides, he's just as thick-headed as the rest of them."

Potter stared at Black for a moment before nodding in agreement. "Alright Padfoot, fair enough. We'll just have to scope the situation ourselves."

"What's that s'posed to mean?" Peter asked, looking with concern at the Slytherin table. "Avery and his cronies are nasty to the bone, they probably wouldn't be worried about using," he whispered then, "unforgivable curses."

"I'm not scared of those idiots," said Potter. "Don't be so craven, Wormy, you're a Gryffindor after all."

"Easier said than done," Peter muttered, glowering at his empty plate. Lottie patted him reassuringly on the shoulder.

"Well I think James has a good idea," said Lily. "We can protect ourselves fine, plus, Eva's already demonstrated how easy it is to sneak into the Slytherin Common Room."