Circi | 2

THIRTY FOUR

"The Ministry has Fallen"

August 1997, 2 months later

A storm was in full force when an Owl burst through a hatch built into the outer dining room wall of the Rier Estate.

The poor creature was sodden, holding tightly to a dripping newspaper wrapped in twine, as it landed on the table in front of Théo. Théo looked at the owl with wide eyes and a mouth full of food, completely at a loss what to do with the creature. They had heard of the English using messenger owls but had never been confronted with one until now. It looked like a drowned rat.

Fortunately, Erin re-entered the room with their drinks in hand and pursed her lips at the state of the owl.

"Look at you," she spoke gently to the owl, putting the drinks down and accepting the newspaper from them. She waved her hand towards the fireplace and a great fire erupted. While the owl flew to sit beside the fire and dry off, Erin passed a hand over the bound newspaper to dry it- the magic preventing the ink from running any further- and unrolled it carefully. The ink had all but ruined the back page of the paper, but it was the front page which made her heart race. "Merlin's beard..."

"Ez?" Théo stood, abandoning their food, and rested their chin on Erin's shoulder as they read the headlines. "Mon Dieu," they muttered as their girlfriend grabbed their hand and ran from the room.

They paused in the foyer, long enough for Erin to listen to the house and hear her family speaking in the lounge. When they burst in, it was as if the entire family had gathered with the same news although Erin was the only one holding the newspaper. Dexter was present, which was her biggest shock since he was often in Hogsmeade during the summer break.

"Have you seen this?" She held up the paper.

Everyone was scanning the headline which dramatically announced the death eater's siege on the Ministry of Magic when the window burst and a ball of light floated to the centre of the room- a patronus.

The wind of the storm rattled the windows now that it could enter the room and the fire flickered in the fireplace. Christian raised himself from his seat as the patronus seemed to suck the light from the room. Tendrils of ghostly white smoke whipped fled from the light, forming images of ministry officials running in terror. as a voice echoed from it.

"The ministry has fallen. The minister for magic is dead. They are coming. They're coming."

The patronus faded, bringing the light back into the room as the wind whistled through the window. Everyone was shocked, unsure of what to say or do. Dexter looked up at Christian, who inclined his head to the window. The glass started to mend itself and fix back into place.

"What was that?" Théo asked, pointing to the spot where the patronus had once been.

"That was the patronus of Kingsley Shacklebolt, one of my old colleagues." Christian looked around, sharing a concerned look with Irene before reaching out to Serenity. "They'll be coming for you."

Serenity's eyes widened and she sunk down onto the sofa, watching the fire slowly start to rebuild itself.

"We won't let them." Erin spoke, confidence in her voice despite her grip on Théo's hand tightening. "Never again." She met Serenity's eyes and nodded, as if her cousin needed further confirmation.

Serenity tugged at Chrisitan's sleeve. "They'll hunt down Lakita if they can't get to me."

"Do we even know where she is?" Irene interposed, unwillingly to let her family go into danger without a serious plan. "You don't even have a wand, Ren."