Family Feud

During the journey home on the Knight Bus other than the screeching stops, it was relatively uneventful. It was impressive how the bus maneuvered through the icy slush that covered the roadways. Best guess was that there had to be some form of enchantment involved.

Athena sat nestled in Sasha's arms, glaring around at the Knight Bus like it was her nemesis. She hated the Knight Bus, every time it slammed to an unceremonious stop, and tried to throw its passengers across the bus, her resentment grew.

It was amusing to watch Athena, as she went from basking in the attention of Sasha to glaring at the bus like it had insulted her. Personally, I was fed up with the bus as well. Don't get me wrong, it was fun the first few times. Now? Every time the bus makes a stop and my guts feel like they're trying to leave my body. I can't help but wonder why there isn't a better way to get to King's Cross Station, where the Platform 9 3/4 is hidden, or even to Hogwarts itself.

For Merlin's sake, we're wizards, why aren't fireplaces at the platform? It would be easy to use the floo network to get to the Hogwarts Express, the Ministry of Magic has them. Hell, for that matter, most of the magical community could get to Hogwarts by using the floo network to get to Hogsmeade rather than take a six-hour train ride. I understand the need for the train itself, how else would muggleborns get to school? But, for the rest of the magical community, it seems unnecessary.

Distracting me from my thoughts was Sasha and Rebecca. They were peppering me with questions about Hogwarts.

"Tell me more about the Forbidden Forest," Rebecca demanded with her blue eyes wide with anticipation.

Seeing how eager she made a feeling of unease well up within me, "You know it's full of monsters, right?"

If anything, my warning made her eyes tingle with excitement. "That's the exciting part," she explained, "I'll get that giant you told me about to come with me. You know, the one who fills the forest full of creatures."

Seeing the stars in her eyes made me sigh, Rebecca was the mischievous one between her and Sasha. She wasn't even at Hogwarts, and she was already planning on breaking the rules. Fred and George would be proud.

I turned my attention to Sasha, who was trying to comfort Athena. At least I don't have to worry about her going off and doing something crazy. Even though they were twins, they had different personalities.

While Rebecca was adventurous, Sasha was more diligent. They sorta reminded me of Dad and Uncle John. Rebecca took after Uncle John, and Sasha was more like dad. I wonder if they will end up in the same house when they get to Hogwarts.

Twins don't always make it to the same house. Fred and Geroge were both in Gryffindor. But in the books, Padma and Parvati were in different houses. Ultimately, I bet that they end up in separate houses, well I'll find out in my sixth year.

I had a surprise waiting for me when we all got home. Sitting on the grey sofa was Uncle John wearing his custom black leather duster. Next to him was Aunt Nefret and a banded mongoose lounging on the armrest. The mongoose's fur was dark brown with white stripes on its backside.

My eyes widened in surprise when the mongoose sat up when I walked in and leaped off the couch. In midair, there was a flurry of blurry movement as the mongoose turned into my cousin Omar who attended Uagadou.

A wry grin appeared on Omar's face, "Hey Alex. What do you think of my animagus form?"

Seeing Omar having already become an animagus even though he was only a year older made a feeling of intense jealousy well up within me. Not wanting to spoil his moment, I shoved the ugly feeling aside and grinned, "That's so awesome. When did you complete the rite?"

Shifting his long dark hair to the side, Omar bragged, "Just a few weeks ago. I was one of the first ones in my class to complete the ritual."

"That's so awesome," Letting out a sigh. I continued, "At Hogwarts, my professor won't even let you begin the training until after your fifth year."

Omar's face twisted in confusion, "Why?"

I shrugged, "Animagi aren't that common in Europe." I shot Uncle John a suspicious look. I was pretty sure he was an animagus too, just that he hadn't registered. "I think "officially," Europe only has seven animagus right now."

Uncle John's eyes widened in an exaggerated attempt to look innocent. Seeing my unconvinced look, Uncle John smirked, "I guess it's a good thing I live on a boat in the ocean. No government to report to out there."

"I knew it," I declared. "I knew you were an animagus." Remembering how Uncle John tends to smuggle things, I wondered if European wizards had a point. Maybe animagi are a bit dodgy, come to think of it. All the animagi in the Harry Potter books other than Professor McGonagall always used their animal forms for mischief.

Rebecca's blue eyes widened when she heard Uncle John was an animagus, "Show me." She demanded in an adorable bossy tone that only a little sister can manage to get away with.

Hearing her demand, a pained expression appeared on my uncle's face. "What's the matter? Too embarrassed to show off your animal form." I teased.

Uncle John shot me a promising look of revenge. Aunt Netret patted his thigh, "Come on, my love, I think your animal form suits you very well."

Uncle John sighed in defeat. After a blur of movement, a set of beady-eyes surrounded by darkness greeted me.

Just arriving into the living room was Sasha carrying Athena in her arms. "Puppy!" Sasha screamed in excitement. Abandoning Athena, Sasha tried to grab the small little creature.

The little fur-ball dodged Sasha's grab with a quick spin, waved a tiny fist at her, and began scolding her with chittering squeaks.

Barely able to breathe from holding in my laughter, "Sasha." I gasped, "That's not a puppy."

Sasha paused from taking another lunge towards Uncle John and looked at me. Not convinced, she hesitantly asked, "Are you sure?"

Not able to hold it in any longer, I burst out laughing. Once I got control of myself, I mocked, "Sasha, that's a trash panda."

Uncle John chittered in outrage and leaped off the couch towards me, determined to get revenge. Thankfully, Aunt Nefert was prepared and reached out and scooped him out of the air and brought the adorable looking raccoon back to her side.

After giving his wife a disgruntled look, Uncle John morphed back into his normal self. He shot me a look that warned me not to say a word.

Unable to help myself, "Uncle John, Aunt Nefert was right." I praised, "Your animagus form suits you perfectly. You can sneak and skulk wherever you need too." For a moment, Uncle John looked pleased, but then I added, "I can see it now, no trash can will ever be safe again."

Not waiting to see his reaction, I bolted out of the room. A few seconds later, I heard a mad scramble from behind me. "Get back here, you little rascal. I'll show you what it means to be a trash panda."

Knowing that Uncle John had the transfiguration skills to back up his threat made me run even faster. Being chased through the house by Uncle John made a strong sense of deja vu well up in me. We had done this dance before, but unlike last time, I was older and wiser. This time I would successfully getaway.

A plan of escape flashed through my head, I ducked into the back room and softly called out, "Lola."

Appearing with a loud crack, our house elf appeared wearing her white toga with our family crest inscribed on the upper right-hand side. "Master Alex, You're back!" Lola happily cried out as she wrapped her arms and buried her face into my leg as she hugged me.

Knowing I had only moments, I gently pried her off my leg, "Lola." I whispered urgently, "I need you to take me to the safest place from Uncle John."

She nodded, flapping her big droopy ears, "I know just where to take you to master Alex."

Outside the door to the room, I could hear Uncle John chuckle, thinking he had trapped me. "Fee-do-fo-fum, I smell a brat about to become a raccoon."

Uncle John slowly opened the door, no doubt wanting to relish his revenge. However, when he saw me holding Lola's hand, he protested, "That's cheating."

I smirked at him and blew a loud raspberry. "Now," I commanded. Lola nodded, and we disappeared with a loud crack.

Similar to the last time I apparated with my grandma, it was one of the most uncomfortable sensations I had ever felt in my entire life. It was like being squeezed through a small rubber tube. What was worse about it was not being able to breathe or see anything. Just when it feels like you're about to explode, you arrive at your destination. The only thing that gave me hope about apparating was it supposedly got better. I was somewhat skeptical about that. I bet you just get so used to it that it doesn't bother you as much.

A little disoriented, I looked around and discovered I was in my grandmother's living room. Perfect, Grandma had always been a safe haven when I ran afoul of Uncle John and needed a shield.

Knowing I wasn't in the clear quite yet as it wouldn't take Uncle John too long to figure out where I had gone, hesitantly, I called out, "Grandma, are you here?"

From the back of her house, her voice rang out, "Alex, is that you? What are you doing here?"

When she got out to the living room, my heart sank when I noticed that she was dressed up. She was wearing a midnight-blue dress robe, on her neck was her favorite jeweled necklace that grandpa gave her. The last time I saw her that dressed up, we went to the party full of her fellow governors, she must have plans for tonight.

Trying not to give away why I was here, I said, "Can't a grandson visit his favorite grandmother."

She raised an eyebrow at my response. Maybe I laid the flattery on a little too thick. "Hmph, you're decades too young to fool me. What are you hiding from?"

"Uncle John, chasing me. He might be a tiny bit upset about a comment I made about his animagus form and possibly wants to transfigure me into a similar form." Once I explained, I put on my most innocent grandson look and pleaded, "You wouldn't let him do that to me, would you?"

Seeing her thoughtfully looking at me, I felt a shiver of worry worm it's way inside of me. Had I overestimated my status as her favorite grandson? I let out a sigh of relief when she replied, "No, we can't have that."

However, the relief I felt slowly faded when she continued, "But, as they say. Nothing in life is free."

Seeing her knowing smile, she knew I had no choice but to accept—my grandma, what big teeth you have.

"What do you have in mind?" I asked suspiciously.

Smirking, she replied, "Nothing much, I just may have you attend a few more dinners with me, and I don't want you to back out after experiencing them. They can get quite boring sometimes, and I could use the company."

Seeing her knowing smile, I knew she already knew my answer, "Deal," I grumbled. "But, you have to get rid of Uncle John, I don't feel like spending the rest of the day as a raccoon."

"Don't you worry about me, I know how to handle my son." She replied with a smirk.

Uncle John showed up five minutes later. I flashed him a quick grin when he saw us seated in the living room. Grandma was sitting in her favorite red comfy chair while I had chosen the plushy couch.

"Johnny," Grandma gushed. "It's so nice of you to join us for tea."

Uncle John studied the situation for a second before giving me a nod and a wry smile, acknowledging that I had set up a robust defense. He walked over and hugged grandma and then took a seat next to me on the couch.

Putting his arm around me, he whispered out of the corner of his mouth, "You can't stay here forever."

"Want to make a bet?" I cheekily replied.

I was confident that Uncle John would beg off before I did. Grandma had a way of trying to correct behavior she thought was unworthy of our house. And as much as I love him, Uncle John is a bit of a scoundrel and is a little rough around the edges. It's part of his charm, but that hasn't stopped Grandma from trying to get him to clean up his act.

As Grandma sat in her favorite chair, her pose was perfect. Each movement was made to perfection as she sipped her tea. After thoroughly judging both of us with her gaze, she set her tea off to the side. "Johnny, when was the last time you had a haircut? You look like you've been living in the wild."

Next to me, Uncle John shifted uncomfortably in his seat and brushed his long black hair into a more presentable condition.

I hid a grin behind my hand. Sometimes it seemed as though every mum could zone in on their children and complain about them. Before Uncle John could muster a defense, grandma shifted tactics, keeping him off his game. "And that long coat is so dreadful. It definitely could use a sprucing up."

Eagerly leaning forward, she offered, "If you want, I'm sure I can make it a little more presentable."

Uncle John leaned back as if her words had landed a physical blow. "I like my coat just the way it is," he defended. "Besides, my coat has plenty of useful enchantments woven inside of it, and I don't want them damaged."

Grandma raised her eyebrow, and sternly asked, "John Fawley, Are you saying I don't know how to weave a simple enchantment? I'll have you know I've been casting spells since before you were born."

Sensing that only arguing would make it worse, Uncle John sighed in defeat. "No, mum." He appealed, "That's not what I meant. I meant I like my coat is fine the way it is. Besides, it's very useful out on the high seas."

At this point, holding in my laughter was becoming difficult. I liked how she went from pestering him about his appearance to seamlessly acting as he had somehow wronged her. Grandmother knows how to maintain control of the flow of a conversation. I need to take notes.

The side of Grandma's mouth rose at his response; it seemed as though Uncle John had given her a new avenue to attack. "You, and that boat of yours. When are you going to set some roots down? I hardly ever get to see you or my other grandson. You know we have a few vacated properties you could move your family into."

As Grandma continued to berate the aspects of Uncle John's life she disapproved of, I could see he was quickly becoming suspicious that we were ganging upon him. After unsuccessfully defending his choices to his mum, he glared at me and grumbled, "You win this round."

Soon, he made his excuses and claimed he had to be going. On his way out, Grandma winked at me. Being his mum allowed her to know what buttons to push.

Even though I required an assist, I put this down as a win in my book. It was rare that I pulled one over on Uncle John, thankfully I got grandma on my side.

Interrupting my thoughts, Grandmother cleared her throat. "Now that I've held up my end of the bargain, I do believe you have an obligation to fulfill."

Seeing her expectant look, I put the pieces together. "Tonight? But I just got home." I complained.

Seeing her uncompromising look, I sighed, I guess I needed to get my dress robes out. Not taking the chance of Uncle John catching me back at the house, I had Lola grab them for me.

It seemed I was in for another night of rubbing elbows with some of the most connected magical families out there.