"Do you want me to stop?"
Looking directly into their eyes , I can feel the hatred burning toward me, but their movements beg for mercy.
"Make it stop (vomits a slug)... p-please,"—says one of the bullies lying on the floor.
"Apologize to Patrick and give back his money."
"You damned (vomits a slug).."—their stares show nothing but hatred for a moment, at least until they give in, and their gazes shift to resignation—"Fine… (vomits a slug)... I'm sorry, kid, we won't bother you anymore (vomits a slug)... please make this stop,"—says the bully with tearful eyes from the constant retching.
After they returned Patrick's money, Iolita jumped back onto my head. And even though part of me wants to give them a longer lesson—since the effects of this spell usually last several hours before fading—I know Alphonse wouldn't like me receiving a warning on my first day. So, from my bag I take out some treacle candies that cure the spell, making the effects disappear in just a few seconds.
"This time you won, brat, not bad," says one of the bullies while wiping his face after a few minutes of eating the candy.
"You'd better not run into us again; next time you won't get the chance to strike first. And you… Patrick, right? Thank this kid that we're not beating you up right here and now,"—says the one who seems to be the leader of the bullies.—"And you, brat, what's your name?"—he asks, pointing at me.
"My name is Dion," I answer with a threatening look.
"Hmmm, as my mate said, not bad, brat. If you're lucky enough to end up in our house, join us,"—the bully says proudly, pointing at the crest on his robe.—"And if not, be ready, because we won't let this slide."
"We'll see."
A duel of stares lingers for a few seconds before the lady with the trolley shows up, offering a wide variety of sweets. Seeing there's nothing left to take from us, the bullies leave.
Patrick looks at his money and gestures toward the trolley with his hand.
"Take what you want, it's on me, you saved me," Patrick says while eyeing the candy prices doubtfully.
"This time it's on me, let's eat together, what do you think?"
"I think that's a great idea, but I'd rather we put our money together to buy more things,"—Patrick exclaims while combining his money with mine to buy different sweets.
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London, Diagon Alley – The Leaky Cauldron.(outside of what Dion is experiencing)
Two silhouettes stalk through the alleys, walking with a menacing, territorial air. Their presence made many shopkeepers and buyers nervous as they moved through the streets.
"This is the place?"—asks one of the two men.
"That's right, this wretched place," his companion answers.
Once certain this was the right place, the two stepped in without hesitation.
"What a surprise to have you here," says Rakan, emerging from one of the habitats.
"Stop pretending, old man, you know why we came."
"Oh, me? I'm not pretending, I didn't expect two of you, that's what I mean. I'm not such a big threat for two Death Eaters to come to this desolate place," says Rakan calmly as he strokes one of his creatures.
"You know what we came for, so hand it over," one of the Death Eaters says threateningly.
"Sorry, but what you seek is no longer in my possession. I lost it," says Rakan calmly as he walks back to his desk.
"How dare you, filthy scum!" shouts one of the Death Eaters, blasting Rakan over his desk with a spell.
The other Death Eater quickly approaches Rakan, pointing his wand before Rakan can get up.
"You think we're playing games, old man? You know how we do things, we won't show mercy," one of the Death Eaters threatens.
"If I were you, I wouldn't do that here," says Rakan, pointing at the various habitats of animals and fantastic creatures around him.
Some creatures emerged from their enclosures, imposing, ready to attack if the Death Eaters dared strike Rakan again.
"Leave it... old man, it's better if you hand over that creature."
"I already told you that creature is no longer with me; it escaped a few weeks ago," says Rakan.
"Hmmm, so that's how it is. I'll speak with my superior, but you'd better have a better excuse or they'll finish you and your creatures, old man," says one of the Death Eaters, turning around and walking toward the shop's only exit.
After the two men left Rakan's magical creatures shop, Rakan searched through his library until he found a letter hidden in one of the books, an old, wrinkled letter with words written in very faint ink.
"The secret of the changeling creature… I have to warn the others, it's already beginning," Rakan muttered under his breath.
As Rakan hurried along with his wooden leg, he sought to deliver the letter to Philip.
"Find that dwarf and deliver this as soon as possible," Rakan ordered Philip.
"But where do I look, Master Rakan?" Philip asked nervously, seeing how worried Rakan was.
"Though I'm not proud of this… here."—Rakan pulled out a device completely unfamiliar to the wizarding world.—"This will help you find them, it's a tracker. I borrowed it from the Muggles, and the tracking chip is inside the creature. So hurry up now."
"Yes, sir."—Philip tucked the letter inside his robe and ran off without looking back.
Philip darted out of the Leaky Cauldron alley, dodging shady-looking people and merchants. But what neither he nor Rakan knew was that from the shadows, from the darkest corners of the alleys, they were being hunted.
"Shall we follow him, sir?" asks one of the Death Eaters who had been with Rakan moments ago.
"No… not both of us, at least. Filvor, you go. Nando, you stay with me, I need you for directing the new order forming in Spain," says the Death Eater leader, pulling out a map marked with several dark signs in different parts of the world, pointing directly at Toledo, Spain.—"We have a long journey ahead. Filvor, keep us informed, don't let them discover you."
"As you command, my lord," both Death Eaters reply at once.
____________________________________________
Hogwarts Express – Hogsmeade Station:
After a few hours eating Chocolate Balls, filled with strawberry mousse and Cornish cream, Chocolate Frogs, frog-shaped chocolate bars with collectible cards of famous witches and wizards, Licorice Wands, and Chocolate Wands, along with other magical sweets, we finally arrived at the station.
"Good thing there was a buffet car, otherwise with all that sugar I'd have puked it all up already," says Patrick while stepping off the train.
"Good thing you told me, I didn't know the back of the ticket said lunch or a savory meal was included. Otherwise, I'd have gotten cavities from the number of sweets I'd have eaten just to avoid starving."
Laughing with Patrick as we got off the train, we turned to see an astounding number of students of different school years filling the station corridor. Some wore robes with crests of different colors—I suppose this has to do with the Hogwarts houses.
Our belongings were left on the train under the staff's orders, along with the pets, which didn't please Iolita much, since it was difficult to get her into her cage.
"Alright, first years, come with me! Did you hear? First years, come with me!"—shouted a burly man over two meters tall, with a great beard and a booming voice.—"Alright, since you're all gathered, let me introduce myself. I am Hagrid, Keeper of Keys and Grounds at Hogwarts, and now your guide to the school. So don't stray from me, watch your step unless you want to get lost in the forest and die!"
After a few minutes walking along a dirt path covered in leaves, roots, and rocks that could trip us at any moment, we arrived at a dock where a number of boats awaited, ready to sail across the great lake stretching around Hogwarts.