Water flowed from the faucet into the sink. Sol cupped his hands, gathered some water, and splashed his face with it. He rubbed his eyes and looked into the mirror. He was going to be fourteen this year. Yet the problems just kept on coming.
He sighed turned off the faucet and wiped his face with a towel. His teeth were brushed and now he’s ready for the day. He walked out of the washroom and went downstairs. Everyone was already at the table eating breakfast table.
“Sol,” his mother called him from the kitchen. “Can you feed Faye?”
“Sure.” He got down and sat next to Faye. She giggled at him and raised her arms, “Uppie!”
“No, you have to eat first,” Sol smiled gently and looked at the bowl. His expression turned ugly. It was baby food made out of peas and she didn’t like them.
“Well, let’s get to it.” He sighed and raised a spoonful of baby food. He edged it next to her mouth.
“No,” she protested and moved her head away.
“Faye, come on. You need to eat.”
“Bloody hell,” Sirius remarked. He looked at the spoonful of green mush with disgust. “It’s only right the baby doesn’t like this stuff.”
“Man, you’re not helping.” Sol ignored him and tried again. She pushed his hands away and threw a tantrum.
“Why do I even try?” he stopped and started humming a lullaby. As he sang, she gradually calmed down and ate the mush spoon after spoon. Her eyes were blurry.
He continued to sing when he heard a crash and rattle in the kitchen. Faye instantly became lively again.
“Sol!” he heard his mother’s angry screams from the kitchen. Selene rushed out from the kitchen and thwacked him on the head.
“What was that for?” he rubbed his head and glared at her. She thwacked his head again.
“How many times have I told you not to use magic when you sing?” Selene berated him. “Look-” she pointed behind him, “-you’ve put your father to sleep again!”
He looked behind and saw she was speaking the truth. Tom was asleep in his chair, Harry looked like he had just woken up from his sleep and Sirius was on the verge of falling asleep.
“The last time you did this, the exact same thing happened and your father was late for his job!”
“Alright, alright,” Sol tried to calm her down. “I’ll wake them up.” He raised his hand and snapped his fingers.
“Heuh!” Tom woke up with a start and the others looked fully awake now.
“Look, they’re awake now.”
Selene thwacked him again, “Just because you fixed it, doesn’t mean it was right to make a mistake!”
“Fine, fine, but it’s a bit of a pain to feed Faye.”
“Well, turn on cartoons on the TV. She’ll eat and watch.” Selene sighed and went back to the kitchen.
She was just about to cook when Sol said, “You also fell asleep, didn’t you?” He got glared at in response.
After feeding Faye, he ate breakfast and watched some TV. After an hour or so, the doorbell rang twice.
He got up and went to the door. Before opening it, he turned around and mouthed the word ‘hide’ to Sirius. Sirius, having understood, ran upstairs. After five seconds, he opened the door.
“You are?” he asked with a questioning look towards the two men in front of the door.
“We’re Aurors,” the one who spoke had grey hair that went to his neck. He had a short beard and tired eyes. He talked very roughly.
“And?”
“Are you Sol Balor?”
“Yes.”
“Right, I’m Harold Sanderson. And this is-” he pointed towards his black-haired partner next to him.
“Hello, my name is Connor,” Connor spoke very stiffly, “the Auror sent from the Ministry.”
“Yeah, I’m Sol Balor but you two knew that.”
“Yes,” Connor nodded. “We are here to inquire about the Pettigrew case. I believe your mother; Selene Balor was the one to capture him. Is she here as well?”
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
“She’s here,” Sol nodded. “Come inside for now.”
“Yeah,” Harold went inside followed by Connor. “Thanks, kid!”
Sol led the two of them and made them sit in the living room. Harry and Sirius had both gone upstairs. He went into the kitchen and got them a glass of water.
“Where’s your mum, kid?” Harold asked after drinking.
“Oh, right.” He went upstairs and came back down with Selene. They both sat opposite the two Aurors in the living room.
“Good morning,” she greeted the two Aurors.
“Good morning,” Connor greeted her back.
“Let’s get down to business, lady.” Harold cut in and as if on cue, Connor took out a notepad and a quill.
“You caught Pettigrew, right?”
“That’s right,” Selene nodded in agreement.
“So, how did you-” Harold leaned in and applied pressure on her, “-know?”
Selene began to feel uncomfortable and started sweating. Sol picked up and set down one of the glasses on the table. It made a loud sound and startled Harold.
After breaking his momentum, he smiled, “She didn’t; I did.” He looked at him and did the exact same.
“How’d ya do it, kid?” Harold looked calm. Sol took back the pressure. It had the effect he was hoping for.
“Oh, that? I found Pettigrew out with the Marauder’s Map.”
“The Marauder’s Map?” Connor asked.
“Right, I’ll get it!” having said that, Sol got up and went upstairs. After a while, he came back down with the Marauder’s Map.
“What’s this?” Harold took the Map from his hands and looked at it. He opened it but the insides were empty. “Are you taking the piss outta me?”
“It needs magic to activate,” Sol shrugged. “I would open it but I can’t do magic outside of school.”
“Then, tell us what to do,” Connor came up with a solution quick.
“Point your wand at the Map and say, ‘I solemnly swear that I’m up to no good’.” He revealed everything without hesitation. Although it was a loss to lose the Marauder’s Map, it will help them get out of this predicament.
Connor took out his wand and did exactly as he was told. The Map reacted and ink started blotting the surface.
The Map now read: “Messrs Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs Purveyors of Aid to Magical Mischief-Makers are proud to present- THE MARAUDER’S MAP.”
Connor opened the parchment and saw a bizarre map. Words were everywhere. They were words used as the walls and occasionally, he’d see some words walking around with footprints below them.
“Huh?” Connor focused on one of the moving words. It said ‘Argus Filch’.
He looked up at Sol and asked incredulously, “Does this map-?”
“Yup!” Sol nodded. “This map tracks everyone inside Hogwarts in real-time.”
“Then-” Connor looked at the Map and then back to him, “-how did you find Pettigrew with this?”
“Oh, that Map also looks through Animagus and reveals their real name. Pettigrew disguised himself as Ron Weasley’s pet rat, so, I just happened to see it.”
“And when did you see it?” Harold asked. He took out a cigarette from his pack and put one in his mouth. Just as he was about light it up, Sol grabbed the cig from his mouth and crumpled it. He smiled in response to Harold’s resentful glare.
“Well, just before school closed down,” he had a smiling but calm face. Harold tried to read his expression but clicked his tongue when he got nothing.
“Then why didn’t you say anything to this Ron Weasley or any of the professors there?” Connor chimed in with a question.
Oh, that’s a good one! Sol inwardly nodded in satisfaction. Outwardly, he shook his head, “Didn’t have enough time nor evidence. Actually, it wouldn’t matter either way even if I said anything to the professors there.”
“Why’s that?”
“Pettigrew has eluded the Aurors whose only objective is to catch bad guys for a decade. I don’t think the professors could catch him without alerting him or worse, letting him escape. If the Aurors couldn’t catch him, the professors wouldn’t be able to.”
Connor stiffened up and Harold looked away. Connor coughed and composed himself before asking, “What about Headmaster Dumbledore? He’s the Strongest Wizard right now.”
“Few people get to meet him and I, a student, will have even less of a chance. And do you think the Headmaster will take action without any evidence?”
At this point, Sol had successfully drawn attention away from his mother and onto him. This was the best-case scenario for him since he was the only one who can fill the gaps in a story that didn’t happen. Of course, he was mixing his story with both truths and lies.
“He is the strongest wizard. I’m sure he has some way to figure it out,” Connor insisted.
“You’re sure? Or you know?” Sol looked at him like he was a retard. “Wow, the Aurors sure do like to base things on thin air!”
“Ah hell!” Harold scratched his head. He smacked Connor on the head, “You’re making us look bad, rookie!”
“Listen,” Sol called the two of them. “Even if the Headmaster had that sort of magic which he should’ve made public, how would I know? And on top of not having evidence, you want me to act on a guess? Are the both of you like, new to the job or something?”
“Alright, ignoring your snarky words,” Harold took Connor’s notepad and looked at it. After a while, he closed it and said, “Well, I think that’s all the questions. He looked at Sol, “You should get ready.”
“Why?”
“Aside from taking your account, we’re also responsible for escorting you to Wizengamot.”
“O-Only him?” Selene finally asked.
“Yes,” Connor nodded. “It seems you have had little to do other than the usage of the untransfiguration spell which matches up with the other testaments we’ve taken. And your part in this is minor, so, we won’t bother you.”
“But I can still come with him, right?” she insisted stubbornly.
“Yes, you can, Ma’am. But you won’t be able to enter the courtroom.”
“Why not?”
“They usually don’t let people irrelevant to the proceeding enter.”
“Why am I irrelevant to the case?” she was getting agitated.
“That’s because your part in this was minor and can be covered by the testimonies we have. It’s him-” Harold looked at Sol, “-who’s the problem.”
“I’ll still go!”
“That’s fine, Ma’am,” Connor assured her.
“Then get yourselves ready, we’ll be going in 10 minutes!” Harold went outside after taking out a cigarette. Connor followed behind him.
“Are you okay, Mom?” Sol asked Selene.
“Are you going to be okay?”
“Yeah, I will.”
“Get ready then.” Selene went upstairs and Sol did the same. After bidding everyone goodbye, they grabbed onto Harold’s arm and apparated out of there.