The Secret Society of Snake



Book One
Crossing The Wire

It was a cold winter day.
“Margo, Dan, be back soon! Let me know if this is an odd adoption!” said Jessica running out the door.
“An odd adoption, that would be so true. Why wouldn't he just come here if he wanted to adopt us?” said Dan looking at the paper mailed to them.
“At least it’s close by us. That could have been a pain if it was farther” said Margo.
“We’re barely allowed outside the orphanage. I wonder why Jessica even let us out.”
“She likes us.”
“So where is this pla-”
Dan barely had time to finish his sentence when he saw a tall black building in front of them. He looked over, and a sign said the exact street name of the address on the letter. The number of the house was the same as the letter.
“Oh my God” said Margo.
Dan rang the doorbell. Seconds later, a pale woman wearing a black dress, with black hair, and black eyes answered the door.
“Are you Dan and Margo?” she asked. She was holding a long stick in her hands. A wand.
“Uh... I guess” said Dan.
The woman ushered them inside, and locked the door behind them.
“Upstairs.”
She pointed her wand to the stairs.
“It’ll be the first room you’ll see. A green snake in the shape of an S is on the door. Knock first.”
She walked to another room, and started using a feather duster to dust off a vase, which it clearly needed.
“This is so freaky. These railings look like snakes” said Margo.
“Who is this guy?”
When they were upstairs, they knocked on the door the woman had described. The door opened. The two cautiously walked inside, filled with fear. A large chair was put in the middle of the room, facing away from Margo and Dan. Dan saw two hands on each armrest of the chair.
“Come, sit” said a scratchy voice.
He flicked his wrist, at which Dan noticed he had a wand in his hand, and two chairs materialized in front of him. They sat down, exchanging nervous glances. The man had black hair, was wearing black pants, shirt and shoes, and had green eyes. He looked frighteningly like a snake.
“You may call me Snake, my last name” he said.
Big shocker, thought Dan.
“I have called you both here on an important matter. Just so we’re clear, you are both witch and wizard? Show me your wands” said Snake.
Margo and Dan pulled their wands out of their back pockets.
“Good, good. Now, answer me some questions. Where do Vanished things go?”
“Hmmmm... That’s a toughie. I guess... Into non existence, which is everything”, said Dan. Snake nodded.
“What potion makes the drinker look like someone else?”
“Polyjuice potion.”
“My last question... What animal only comes out during a full moon?”
“Duh! A werewolf! I’m one!” said Margo.
“So I thought. Now... Do me a favor. Go to the Bog and get Bathilda Widow for me. You’ll know her house when you see it” said Snake. He flicked his wand, and suddenly, they were all standing outside of Snake’s house, but in a completely different town. It smelled of muddy water.
“So, this is the bog? Makes sense” said Margo.
There were small mud puddles everywhere. They started walking, trying to find Bathilda’s house.
“Did Snake just leave us here?”
“Maybe he just wanted us to bring her to him. He must have a plan” said Margo.
Then they saw it. Bathilda’s large, yet rickety-looking house. Dan knocked on the door, knocking the door over.
“Ewww... This is going to ruin my clothes. It’s so dusty. Lumos” said Margo. A small light appeared at the tip of her wand. Dan did the same.
“Oh good, stairs!” Margo rushed towards them.
“Careful, God knows how old this house could be. You might break a step. A giant mutant spider could appear and-”
“Shut up. As if you know everything.
“Not everything. It’s just that I have more than one or two brain cells.”
“Shut up. Come on.”
Dan’s eye twitched at every little creaking noise, which happened every time he and Margo took a step. After what seemed like forever, they finally reached the second floor.
“Severus Snake?” a voice called from one of the rooms.
“Eek! God, you nearly gave me a heart attack! Bathilda?” asked Dan, his voice cracking.
“Severus Snake?” the voice came again.
“No. Margo and Dan” said Margo, who showed little fear.
“Oh. Okay. I don’t really know why you’re here but... Second door to the left.”
The two looked at each other. Margo who showed no fear, and Dan, who showed utter fear, had been with each other for as long as they could remember. The first thing they ever remembered was the orphanage. Now, they had taken a task from a stranger, whom scared them both quite a bit, and were now inside of a rickety old house, that could collapse on them at any moment. But, they had gotten this far, so why stop?!
Margo, who could often be mistaken for a genie, was blonde, with her hair always in a ponytail, with grey-blue eyes, and wore a baggy pink dress.
“The better to ease into my wolf” she always said, even though she had never experienced full wolf form for as long as she could remember. No one knows why Margo and Dan’s hometown had never gotten a full moon, but no one ever cared; their lives were more important than seeing a beautiful full moon.
Dan had brown hair and matching brown eyes, and usually wore a t-shirt and jeans, who was more smart and fearful than Margo had ever been.
“Come quickly!” the voice called. They opened the door to a woman who looked like dust. She wore a light brown shirt and skirt, with blue eyes and matching hair the same dusty color. Had she not been holding a wand lit with Lumos, they might have thought she was dust, too. She was sitting a bed covered in dust.
“Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Bathilda Widow. I am sort of, how you say, the mayor of the Bog. Now, what brings you here?”
“Umm... Well, Snake asked us to come here. You know him, I’m guessing” said Dan. Bathilda stood up and looked Dan in the eye, as if he had told a lie.
“Severus Snake? You went to his house?” They nodded. “And... Does a woman with black hair and black eyes live with him? Like a maid?” Again, they nodded. “I see... Duel with me. Dan, you.”
“I’m sorry, what?!”
“You heard me! I will only come with you if you battle me! Ready? 3... 2... 1... GO!!”
“Expelliarmus!”
“Protego!”
“Ugh! Immobilis!”
Bathilda was sent into the air, as if an invisible rope was hanging her by one leg. She had dropped her wand onto the floor. Seconds later, she fell to the floor, hitting her head. She picked up her wand as Dan yelled “Expelliarmus!”
Her wand was sent flying out the window. She darted over to the window and looked out. She saw her wand sink to the bottom of a large mud pit, too deep for her to retrieve.
“Oh my Gob! I’m so sorry, Bathilda! Let me-”
“No! You won the duel, so, take me to Snake.”
As they walked, Dan noticed a sour frown forming on Bathilda’s face.
What did Snake do to her to make her look like she’s going to kill?, thought Dan.
When they reached their destination, which didn’t take very long, Dan rang the doorbell. The door opened seconds later, but no one was there.
“Hello? Snake? Maid we don’t know whose name is?” said Margo.
“Her name is Willow. She’s my sister,” said Bathilda.
“Oh. Cool,” said Margo
“Yeah... Cool...” said Bathilda.
“Uhhh... Bathilda, step outside. I’ll be there in a second,” said Willow from upstairs.
She did as she was told, and Willow followed far behind.
“We’ll have to wait a while. Could take them a bit,” said Snake, who had just come downstairs.
“Bathilda, be calm,” said Willow.  “This is what you have to do. You’re not supposed to be-”
“Shut up! Shut up, Willow! I know I’m doing the right thing!” hollered Bathilda.
“And I know I’m doing the right thing. Imperio. Now, walk with me to the police station.”
“Name, please,” said the policeman.
“Willow Widow. This is Bathilda Widow.”
“I see. What’s the crime?”
“Uhh... What do you, think? She’s one of the most evil masterminds in the wizarding world. She killed, like, four people. Probably more!”
“Oh... Yeah, I’m new and you see-”
“I could tell. Lock her up or something! The Ministry of Magic will have something good in store for her, I just know-”
“AVADA KEDAVRA!”
The police officer landed to the floor, dead.
“What?! How did you-”
Thud. The desk in the office hurled into Willow, and sent her flying to the wall. Proud with her work, Bathilda marched out of the room, and went back home to the Bog.
“We need to get back to the orphanage, Snake,” said Dan that night.
“I called them and told them that you would be staying at my house, for a while.”
“You’re adopting us?!” shouted Margo, excitedly.
“Not really, you’re just going to live with me until...”
“Until what?”
“Never mind. Tomorrow I’m going to go to the police station. You two stay here.”
“What?! That’s a stupid idea!”
“I need to find Willow! She’s been gone for a while now.”
The next morning, Snake left. Margo and Dan were somewhat scared; their possible new guardian had just left them to do a possibly dangerous task. But they tried not to think about the poor man.
Meanwhile, Snake tried to decide where Willow would’ve been. Likely the police station, he thought.
When he arrived, he found the office in shambles. He also found Willow crushed by the desk. Crushed, but alive.
“Wingardium leviosa!”
The desk flew up and landed safely away from Willow. Snake picked her up. He saw the police officer’s body on the ground.
“Great! Let’s add one more person to the list of people Bathilda killed!” exclaimed Snake.
Willow suddenly came to.
“Guh... Snake? Where’s Bathilda?” she said.
“I’m not one hundred percent sure. But I have an idea.”
Bathilda sat cozy on her couch, drinking tea that her new maid had brought for her.
“It’s amazing what you can get in an hour when you’re a criminal mastermind who just came out of hiding!” cheered Bathilda as she took another sip of tea.
Her maid came into the room, with a strange look on her face. It was a combination of lies, and revenge. And a man’s expression, even though she was obviously a woman.
“More tea, milady?” the maid said after she cleared her throat. A somewhat hoarse voice came from her lips.
“No thank you, Sue. However you might want some, you have a rather hoarse voice.”
“Uhh... Yes I may have some. If you turn yourself in, Bathilda!”
Sue took off her maid headdress, revealing graying hair that was slowly turning black and becoming shorter and shorter. Some wrinkles disappeared and rearranged themselves on Sue’s face, who was no longer Sue, but Snake!
“You dastardly fiend! I still have dreams!” Bathilda said dreamily.
“You’ll be asleep once you’re dead. Then you can dream as long as you want!”
“Crucio!”
“Protego!”
“Expelliarmus!”
“Immobilis!”
Bathilda flew upwards yet again and dropped her wand. Snake grabbed it and held it to her neck. Bathilda started panting, then Disapparated.Snake sighed, then Apparated back to his house.
Meanwhile, while all of that happened, Dan and Margo were left alone in the house, or so they thought. A girl’s voice suddenly came floating down the stairs.
“Hee hee hee!” it said.
Dan and Margo arose from theirs chairs with a start.
“Who goes there?” said Dan, trying sound cooler than he really was.
“You’ll have to come upstairs and find out! Hee hee! But it’s pretty hard! Just take the highest flights of stairs you can find! Hee hee!”
“What the heck?! She just leaves us here?! Who is she?!” Dan complained.
“I don’t know, but we had better start climbing up. She could be on the top floor, which is a lot of floors to go through!” said Margo.
“Oh no, I’m only on the eighth floor. That’s really only five floors to go through, since three of them are straightforward. The one you’re one, the next floor, which is easy, and the next. Then it gets complicated,” said the voice before disappearing.
“Oh, okay,” said Margo, thankfully.
They walked up the first three floors, but then they realized the voice was right! The remaining floors had many twists and turns. As they walked up what Dan and Margo thought was the fifth floor, Dan stopped.
“Careful, those are spell traps. They’re set off once you walk by them,” Dan explained. He pointed upward. “But you can tell what spell it is by the color on the ceiling. Red. Probably just Stupefy. We can easily slip past it, if we’re careful. Now, stand by my side, and run!!”
Just as they ran past, two Stunning Spells flew right behind them.
“That wasn’t too hard. Are there any more?” Margo asked.
“Probably. There might be some on the ceiling, too. The colors must be well hidden, in order for us not to see it.”
“Mystery Voice must be pretty cunning and brave to get past these.”
“Yeah, and I love that!”
“Awww... Thanks!” said the voice.
“You’d better be attractive, otherwise you’re wasting our time!” said Dan.
“Come on, Cassanova! Let’s go meet your dream girl!”
Ups and downs were how the stairs were built. Go down one long staircase, they had to walk up one connected to it. After passing a spell trap or two, or three, according to Dan. Finally, they came across an strange part of Snake’s house, which they thought to be the eighth floor, because it looked vacant enough. The oddest part of the room was it looked like a forest.
After closer examination, Dan and Margo realized it was a forest. In a house. Whatever Snake had used the room for, it had to have already done its purpose, because it was totally empty. Aside from a lot of tall trees and one large clearing that resembled a golf course. There was one lone tree that had fallen down, from what seemed to be a thunderstorm.
It does smell like rain... What could Snake have used this room for?, Dan thought. Dan didn’t have much time to investigate before the tree leaves on the fallen tree started glowing green.
“What is that?!” Margo yelled.
“The Killing Curse! Look out!”
But it was a second too late, because right then, Margo was hit with one of the many curses.
Everything seemed to disappear at first for Dan. Margo had died, in one split second. Dan should’ve died in her place. Just as a tear rolled down Dan’s cheek, Margo casually got up from her place on the ground.
“Margo? What...”
“I don’t know either, but I ain’t question’ it! I’m alive!”
“Oh! That must have been a very similar looking curse, Green Ray! It causes the person it hits to throw up whatever they ate within an hour. I wonder why they made that silly curse. Stupid Snake!” Dan realized.
“Why would he have something like that!? That’s probably the dumbest curse in the world! Well, at least I haven’t eaten in an hour!”
Suddenly, a familiar voice started humming a tune from the golf course clearing.
“Hey, it’s the Mysterious Voice’s voice! I never thought I would say that,” said Dan.
“Come on!”
As they reached the “course” the image of the girl got clearer and clearer. She was sitting on a tree stump that had the tree cut off from it cleanly by an axe.
The girl had brown hair, and blue eyes that matched her t-shirt that she was wearing, along with a pair of skinny jeans. Suddenly, she jumped up from her stump and ran over to them.
“Oh my gosh you guys! I never would’ve thought you would’ve made it! I mean I hoped you had, but, you know!” she said.
“So, I’m Dan and this is Margo, who are you?” said Dan.
“I’m Eileen Black! I’m Willow’s niece!”
“Oh... So you’re Bathilda’s niece then, too,” said Dan.
Eileen grew quiet.
“Yes,” she simply said. “And I despise her. Don’t you?”
“Yeah,” agreed Dan and Margo.
“Oh, goodie!” said Eileen, growing peppey again. “Now that we’re off that topic, I want to tell you something about you, Danny!”
“I-I don’t like it when p-people call me Danny!” Dan stuttered. His face grew as red as a tomato.
“Awwww... That’s adorable, Danny! You blush like a firetruck when you say that! Anyway, I love a man who isn’t afraid to cry. Even though it technically wasn’t necessary back there! Still, you are just the hottest thing EVER!!!!” Eileen said.
Dan and Margo grew scared of Eileen, especially Dan.
“How did you get up here? It doesn’t make any sense, we’ve been here all day,” said Margo.
“Oh yeah! My mom Apparated us here, then told me about you, cause she heard from Willow. So, she wanted to know how strong you guys were. Way stronger than she had thought. Luckily, I can probably Apparate us down to the first floor without losing any limbs!” said Eileen.
She grabbed Dan and Margo’s arms as Dan was about to say “Lose any limbs?! Hold on, Crazy-Girl!”
Pop. They were downstairs in a split second.
“Okay, guys. Check everything to see if you’ve lost any body parts, which is called Splinching. Danny, do you want me to check for you?” said Eileen.
“No! NO! N-O! NO! I am good! No!” said Dan, quickly ran his hands all over his body to check. Eileen frowned.
“I’m all good!” said Margo.
Just as she said that, Snake Apparated back with Willow in his arms.
“Willow! Snake!” Dan said cheerfully.
“Sorry about that, but we’re all good. I’m going to make a little potion for Willow, and she’ll be back in no time. Oh, and I see you’ve met Eileen. How are you doing?” said Snake.
“Good, thanks, Uncle Snake!” she said.
“Uncle? Wait, what?!” Margo questioned.
“Oh, I forgot to tell you, Willow and I are married.”
“Oh, that makes sense. Did you have any kids?” asked Dan.
“No,” said Snake as he headed up the stairs, then came back down a few minutes later to find Eileen tickling Dan on the couch while Margo watched and laughed almost as demonically as Dan was.
“Dan’s weakness is tickling, as Eileen has discovered,” Margo said. “It’s how I got him to do things for me back at the orphanage!”
The next morning, after Eileen had come over, Margo was in a bad mood. She was mumbling things to herself. “Werewolf... Friend... Eileen and Dan... Die peppy girl, die...” were some of the few things Dan heard Margo muttered. Sanke had noticed this, too.
“What are you muttering to yourself about, Margo?” he asked her.
“Dan gets a friend exactly like him! Why don’t I?! Why isn’t there a werewolf fiend for me?!” she complained.
“Okay, first of all, Eileen and I are not friends! Second of all, she’s nothing like me! Third and last, where can I hid in this house without getting too lost, because I’m playing hide-and-go-seek with Eileen mainly just to hid!?” Dan said, coming up from behind Margo.
“Uhhh... It’s useless, Eileen knows this house a bit too well,” said Snake.
“Ohhh... Danny? Where are you?” said Eileen from another room.
“Gah! Gotta hid!”
“What were we talking about? Oh, werewolf friends, right? I don’t know any,” said Snake, matter-of-factly.
“Why did you answer my question so fast?”
Snake muttered something under his breath as he pretended to read the newspaper.
“What was that? Didn’t hear it?” she said.
“I didn’t say anything.”
“Yes you did.”
“No I didn’t.”
“Yes you did.”
“No I- Aha! Yes, I know someone! Let’s go to the Market Town!”
A few minutes later, Willow, Snake, Dan, Eileen, and Margo were in a small town with small farmer’s markets stand all around the city.
“Why are we here?” asked Willow.
“I’m going to search for potion ingredients, while you lead the kids to Bethany’s house,” said Snake.
“That really didn’t answer my question.”
“Who’s Bethany?” asked Dan.
“She lives here. So do I,” said Eileen.
“If you say so, dear. Well, come along,” said Willow.
She lead the children to a small house among many rows of houses that was painted yellow and white.
“Is my friend behind that door?” asked Margo, excitedly.
“Oh! Know I understand why we’re here!” said Willow as she rang the doorbell.
“Willow? What are you doing here? I didn’t know you were coming over. Who are these children? Well, I know Eileen,” said the woman who answered the door. She had curly blonde hair, brown eyes, and a red t-shirt and jeans.
“Hello, Bethany,” said Willow, “These two are Margo and Dan. Snake sent us here so Margo could meet Fefnir.”
“Oh, you just missed him! He went to the marketplace. He’s getting some fruits for me,” Bethany replied.
“I’m tired, though. I was working myself too much last night. Do you mind if I say here for a cup of tea?” asked Willow.
“What a coincidence you asked, I have some heating up right now. Come in, Willow!” Bethany replied.
“Lovely! Kids, just go back the way we came, that’s where the market is! Tell Snake I’ll be here!” said Willow as she and her friend entered the small house.
“What is this, some kind of wild goose chase?” said Margo as they headed back.
As they arrived back at the market, they looked for Snake, but couldn’t find him. Instead, a boy found Margo. He was standing behind her, sniffing her shoulder. When she noticed this, she turned around with her wand pointed at the sniffer.
“Whoa, sorry! It’s just you smell like... Me, a werewolf. Any comments?” the boy said.
“Oh. Yes, I am! So, if you’re a werewolf, too, then are you by any chance named Fefnir?” said Margo.
“Yeah. Fefnir Wolf.”
Fefnir was tall and had broad shoulders. He had brown hair with matching brown eyes, much like Bethany’s eyes.
“Oh, you found each other! I said to myself Fefnir would be able to smell his own kind,” said Snake who came up from behind them.
“Yeah...” said Fefnir and Margo in unison.
“Good. Eileen, would you mind Apparating everyone back to my house? I have more shopping to do. Oh, and that reminds me, where’s Willow?” said Snake.
“She’s at Fefnir’s house,” said Dan.
“Okay! See you later!” said Snake.
Eileen waved her wand, and in one second, they were back home.
The next day came, starting with a letter in the mail for Margo.
“Mail! Margo, here’s an official looking letter for you!” said Snake that morning.
Margo ripped it open, just as Snake said, “Wait, it’s 9 o’clock!? Ohm, no! Willow, we’re late for our conference!”
“Really?!” said Willow as she poked her head into the foyer, “We have to go then! See you kids later! There’s cold cereal in the cupboards! We’ll hopefully be back before lunch!”
They darted out the door as Eileen and Fefnir came down the stairs.
“Where’s Snake and Willow?” asked Eileen, yawning.
“They had to rush to a conference,” said Dan, “but they said the should be back before lunch. Willow said there was cereal for us.”
“Who wants to read my letter for me? It’s in a strange writing,” said Margo.
“Let me see. Yeah, strange, but I can manage. Let’s see...” said Dan.

Dear Margo Leslie Crosswire
The Ministry of Magic has dictated that you, under the conditions of being a harmful werewolf, you have been sentenced to a hearing of your final punishment.
Your defendant will be Mrs. Irene S. Black, who is a somewhat considerable
lawyer. I hate her.
Please come to the Ministry of Magic building at 9:30 or sooner.
Please do so. Really, I mean it, Miss Crosswire.
Your punishment will most likely be carried out by
Mr. Aberforth D. Crosswire The Third.

My Least Great Regards,
The Mistress of Magic

“What does that little part say right there, after the word, “lawyer”?” asked Eileen.
“I hate her,” said Dan.
“That’s my mommy!”
“What should we do? There’s something fishy about this letter. Of course, it says Mistress of Magic! That means a woman was put into position. Weird,” said Dan.
“Well, what should we do?” asked Eileen.
“We can’t go without Snake and Willow!” said Fefnir.
“Or at least any adult supervision, since it’s the Ministry of Magic,” said Dan.
“Well, I can try to get them to believe that I’m my mom’s daughter. I mean, convince them who I am,” said Eileen.
“Yeah, but how do we get there?” asked Margo.
“Wait, remember earlier? We can Apparate!” said Eileen.
“It feels weird. And what if we Splinch?” said Dan.
“What is Splinching, anyway?” asked Fefnir.
“It’s when you Apparate but something goes horribly wrong, like losing a body part,” said Eileen.
“Gross!”
“But isn’t that a bit too risky?” ask Dan.
“We have to take that risk! Come on!” said Margo.
“Okay, but don’t blame me! Okay, Dan, Margo, grab my arms. Fefnir take Margo’s. 3... 2... 1... GO!”
In a split second, they were in front of a towering building. The Ministry of Magic. They carefully walked in. A secretary was at her desk, chewing gum. She had big, red lips, with her hair curly blonde in a beehive hairdo. She stared right at the children who walked in.
“What are you kids doin’ ‘ere?! Did your mommies leave you at the ice cream parlor!?” she said in a thick Jersey accent. Many drops of spit landed on the kids.
“Well, my name is Eileen Black, and this is Margo Crosswire. Well... my mom is the lawyer for her in the-”
“Oh! Eileen and Margo! Good!” she said. She picked up a walkie talkie and said, “Aberforth. Yeah, she’s ‘ere.”
A tall man with brown hair and brown eyes came running down the large hallway. He was the most muscular man the kids had ever seen up close, especially for Dan and Margo, who had only seen many people on TV at the orphanage.
“Blonde ponytail, Aberforth,” said the secretary woman.
Aberforth nodded and simply picked up Margo by the waist and carried her over his shoulder, down the hall. As he picked her up, Margo dropped her wand, and Aberforth picked it up, and scowled. Dan swore a tear rolled down his cheek.
“Leave my Puppy-Pie alone, you Fatty!” said Fefnir.
He pulled out his wand and casted a spell to his back, but the man felt nothing.
“Where can we go for the trial hearing? Can we be part of the jury? Loopholes, lady?!” asked Dan, frantically.
“The name’s Shirley, punk. Anyway, just sign these forms and you can be part of the jury. Except for Eileen, you can put this uniform on and go down that hallway,” said the secretary as she hand them a form and a black uniform.
Margo woke up with chains around her wrists and ankles, all alone in a dark room. She had a little blood on her cheek, and a deep cut was made on the back of her hand. All she could hear was someone walking around. Suddenly, a woman that looked like Eileen opened an invisible door to her prison. She was wearing a black cloak and a tall, black hat that narrowed from top down. A Ministry of Magic uniform.
“Hello, Margo,” said the woman, “I’m your lawyer, Irene, Eileen’s mom. Now, when I say “ham and cheese on rye bread, go!” you go, Margo, understand?”
Margo nodded, not fully understanding.
“I’m using this knife to shave off a little of the chains. Just enough for you to break out, and just enough so the Ministry of Magic members don’t notice. I should get going. Don’t worry, I have the case covered. Later, Miss Crosswire.”
Irene closed the invisible door again, leaving Margo all alone. She felt the chains around her wrist. She could easily break out. But Margo couldn’t help wondering why Fefnir hadn’t gotten a letter, too. She didn't have a lot of time to think before she fell asleep yet again.
When she woke up, Margo was in the prison still, but the walls had been replaced with strong glass, so she could see outside. It was actually meant for the members of the ministry to see Margo cry for mercy, but she was doing no crying.
The whole crowd was dressed in the same black uniforms as Irene had. Among the sea of black, Margo recognized but a few people. Three were Dan, Fefnir, and Eileen, who looked miserable among all the adults. They were all looking directly at Margo. Two others were Aberforth and Irene, who were glaring at one another. The last person who Margo recognized was Bathilda. She was standing in the middle of everyone, wearing a yellow uniform and a smug look in her face.
Then everything fit into place. Bathilda had done something horrible to the former Minister of Magic, to replace him and gain power. She slowly had tried killing everyone she despised, starting with werewolves. She had written the letter, saying that she hated Irene, her sister. There were two things Margo still didn’t understand. One being who the mysterious figures in dark robes that covered their faces were. Two being why Aberforth and her shared the same last name.
“Attention! Everyone! SHUT UP! Thank you. We shall be hearing today the punishment of Miss Mago Leslie Crosswire!” said Bathilda. Most of the crowd cheered.
“If Irene Black would please approach!”
Irene walked up, winked at Margo, then turned towards the audience.
“Wizards! Witches! Werewolves! What is the difference between them all?! This is all simply racist, if I say so myself! Miss Crosswire should be treated no differently. After all, my great friend and brother-in-law, Severus S. Snake banned full moons from happening in this town as soon as... you-know-what happened! What is the threat of Margo? Thank you,” said Irene.
Hardly any of the audience clapped. Bathilda motioned for Aberforth to come forward.
“Irene is an idiot, I must say that. You-know-what was horrible, and I am the only one to blame. What happens when everyone who knows how to make the moon disappear, die?! There is no written record of it, and never will be, since it was made Untraceable. Margo should be executed as soon as possible. Thank you,” Aberforth said.
The whole audience clapped as Bathilda smiled.
“It takes more muscles to smile than to frown, and as you can all see I am smiling, which means I have my way,” said Bathilda after the roaring of the crowd had silenced.
“Aw, crap,” Margo murmured to herself.
“Ham and cheese on rye bread, go!” yelled Irene.
Margo broke free of her shackles and charged out the door as the two mysterious figures along with Dan, Eileen, and Fefnir charged out of the courtroom.
Margo ran as fast as she could, with Irene and Aberforth closing in on her. Then the others along with Bathilda came out. The mysterious figures took off their cloaks. Willow and Snake’s important conference had been the hearing!
Margo charged out of the building as Snake shouted an incantation. A white figure slowly started appearing in the sky. A crescent moon, for now.
“What’s you-know-what?! I don’t know what! Tell me!!” screeched Margo at Aberforth.
“My niece, be silent! I bit you as a baby, to save you from everything! You are stronger now! Danger lurks in every corner! My dear MLC!” yelled Aberforth.
Everything stopped.
MLC.
MLC.
Margo Leslie Crosswire.
Margo remembered his smile, his fangs. Before they sank down into her neck...
“This is almost a family reunion!” shouted Bathilda.
Snake yelled the same incantation. Suddenly, the white figure shaped into a circle. The second full moon Margo had ever seen in her twelve year old lifetime. Suddenly, Margo couldn’t control herself. She became full wolf, as did Aberforth and Fefnir. Snake waved his wand and became a snake. Dan and Eileen started to run up to them, but Irene and Willow stopped them.
“I hate werewolves! I hate snakes!” screamed Bathilda. She began to run past the wolves and snakes, but that was the last thing Bathilda would’ve done.
As she ran, Margo tried lunging at her, but lucky Bathilda managed to escape every time but once. Margo pounced on her back as the evil witch screamed. Margo ripped Bathilda apart, piece by piece.

Mistress of Magic, Dead

That was the headlines of the next morning’s newspaper. Snake was astonished, yet somewhat happy. Snake, Dan, Margo, Fefnir, and Eileen were all outside that morning.
“I can’t believe that all happened,” he said after reading the article.
“What did it say?” asked Margo.
“Well, basically the whole story with some very small errors. The only major thing of concern was that it said that Bathilda’s son, Gellert, might be planning something, too.”
“What?! She was married?!”
“She kept her last name, as did Willow. Bathilda was technically a widow in more ways than one. You see, the Widows are a proud and powerful wizarding family, as is my family. Each family tries to have at least one male child so that the names Widow and Snake live on.”
“Interesting... Where did Uncle Aberforth go again?”
“He adopted you, so he’s your dad now. You’ll still be living with me, though, because he has many things to do and travels a lot.”
Willow came out the front door.
“Margo, go play with the others. We have some grown-up things to talk about,” she said.
Margo nodded and got up.
“So, tell me again about S.S.O.S.,” said Willow.
“The Secret Society of Snake. I have names of members on this list,” said Snake as he pulled out a small sheet of folded paper from his back pocket. Many names were on the list in Snake’s handwriting.

Severus S. Snake
Willow W. Widow
Irene S. Black
Bethany P. Wolf
Aberforth D. Crosswire
Dan M. Flemmer
Margo L. Crosswire
Eileen S. Black
Fefnir B. Wolf
Bonnibel M. Lovely
Abraham D. Lovely
Isis G. Lovely

“Who are the last three?” asked Willow.
Snake winked and chuckled.
“Soon enough, my dear.”
Someone, somewhere else was looking through a crystal ball.
“My relatives are weak fools,” he said.
“Quite, milord,” said a woman beside him.