Patrick Stump and the Flying Car Brigade

Chapter 44

Chapter 44

The next weekend, only a few brave students ventured into Hogsmeade. Andy decided not to go, stating that he would stand by the Muggle borns in this issue, and Joe and Pete both had too much homework, but I cleared my throat and faced the world.

Nevertheless, I didn't feel safe going into the village alone. I had to find someone to come with me, so that morning at breakfast, I went over to the Slytherin table to talk to them. "Hi everyone," I said as I approached one end of the table. "Are any of you going to Hogsmeade today?"

"I don't know," Mikey said. "Mum and Dad are dead and gone, and now I don't know what to do."

He began to cry, and Geoff Rickly came over to him. "It's okay, Mikes," Geoff said. "Maybe a trip to Hogsmeade would help."

"I think I need to talk to Gerard," Mikey said as he tried to wipe away his tears. "He's the only family I have left."

"We'll talk to Gerard then," Geoff said. "Come on Mikey. Let's go."

Mikey got up from the table and glided towards Geoff and I. As the three of us made our way towards Hogsmeade, I asked Geoff, "Are you sure this is the best idea? I thought you were Muggle born."

"My mum is a witch," Geoff clarified. "She's Muggle born, and my dad is a Muggle, but I'm a half blood."

"I see," I said. "I just don't want to get into trouble with Professor McGonagall."

"It's a stupid rule," Mikey said. "Most of the people in Hogsmeade are against the Death Eaters, and the Muggle borns would be safe here. Frank's Muggle born and he's still here."

"You have a good point," Geoff said. "I wish this hadn't happened. Your parents didn't deserve this. They were nice people."

"Me neither," Mikey said, inching closer to Geoff. "Nobody deserves this."

"I remember when your dad yelled at me when we were flying around near your house," Geoff said, despite the fact that this seemed like the worst possible thing to bring up at a time like this.

Mikey didn't seem to mind. He smiled just a little bit and said, "I miss having him around, even if he was a little obstructive at times," he said.

I didn't have a lot to say while Mikey and Geoff just kept talking. I hadn't known Gerard and Mikey's parents, so it was difficult for me to comfort Mikey. Geoff, on the other hand, seemed like a natural at it. I couldn't help but wonder if Geoff was the one behind Mikey's eyelids when he was all alone.

We continued down the winding streets of Hogsmeade, and as we did, we passed by a bulletin board with several signs stuck to it. I stopped to read the bulletin board, and I was surprised by what I saw. There were posters for each of the four members of My Chemical Romance, featuring their pictures, names, and the statement "Undesirable: Contact the Ministry of Magic immediately if you know of his whereabouts, Reward: 1,000 Galleons." There were also posters of various Ministry employees, including Hermione Granger and Harry Potter.

"Mikey, hide," I whispered to him when I stopped his poster. As I continued to look at the posters, an older woman approached me. She stopped next to the bulletin board and posted two new posters on there.

"Who are you and what are you putting on the board?" I asked.

"I'm Euphemia Rowle, and I'm helping the Ministry of Magic," the woman explained. I looked over the new posters. One of them announced that the Ministry was starting up the Muggle Born Registration Commission again, and asked all of the Muggle borns to present themselves to the Ministry to be interviewed. How could they do this? I asked myself. Everyone knows that the Muggle borns are innocent. The other poster was even more shocking. It was another Undesirable poster, but this time, it was for the Flying Car Brigade.

I wasn't sure how the Ministry of Magic knew about us, but thankfully, they didn't seem to know much. There was only a blurry picture of the flying car and our codenames. The Ministry didn't know our real names or blood statuses, but that didn't stop them from charging us with "possible theft of magic," along with "assault of an Azkaban guard" and "illegal enchantment of a Muggle vehicle."

"What's this Flying Car Brigade?" I asked Mrs Rowle in an attempt to gather more information.

"A group that runs around with an enchanted car and causes all kinds of trouble," Rowle explained. "They're not terribly dangerous, but they did deter one of the Dementors that we placed near Hogwarts, and we have reason to believe that at least one of them is a Mudblood." I flinched hearing a pureblood say that word, but she was right. Josh was Muggle born. We would have to be more careful when we went out in the Flying Car from now on. "We're more worried about the others anyways. They've caused us a lot of trouble in the past. Do you know anything about any of their whereabouts?"

"No," I lied.

"Please let us know if you find out any information," Rowle said. "There's a good chance that the Ways, Iero, and Toro might be right here in Hogsmeade. Be careful."

"I will," I said. Rowle left, and I motioned for Mikey and Geoff to come out from their hiding space. "Everything's clear, but we should be careful," I told them. "The whole village is looking for Mikey and I."

"Are the Death Eaters mad about the unicorn thing?" Mikey asked. "That was an accident, but unicorns are awesome."

"They don't seem to care about whether it was an accident or not," I said. "You're still charged with murder."

"This must be how they like to do it in the murder scene," Mikey mumbled.

"Let's go to Gerard's," Geoff suggested. "We should make sure that Frank and Gerard are okay."

We walked down to Frank and Gerard's house. I knocked on the door, and Gerard cautiously opened the door. "Thank goodness," Gerard said. "It's just Patrick, Mikey, and Geoff. Come in."

The three of us entered the house. Frank was resting on the couch with his dogs, while Gerard just seemed disenchanted. "I just can't believe what happened," Frank said as he stroked one of his dog's fur.

"What are you going to do?" I asked.

"Stay here and hope for the best," Frank said. "Ray's already left Hogsmeade, but I can't leave my precious Gee."

"Thanks Frankie," Gerard said, pecking Frank on the lips.

"I miss Mum and Dad already," Mikey said.

"Me too, Mikey," Gerard said. He reached over to attempt to give Mikey a hug, but this was somewhat difficult for obvious reasons.

"I'm just a ghost, so I can't hurt you anymore," Mikey said.

"It's nice to have you here anyways," Gerard said. "I miss Mum and Dad. They were far too young to die."

Mikey nodded. "I am not afraid to walk this world alone though," he said.

"Me neither," Gerard said.

Geoff sighed. "I miss your parents too. My family and I would have been in huge trouble if they hadn't helped us move to Wales. They've done so many good things, and it's terrible that they're gone."

Gerard, Mikey, and Geoff continued talking about the Ways, their childhoods, and all kinds of other things that I had no involvement in. Once again, I felt out of place. I wished that I could help, but there was nothing that I could do. I couldn't tell Gerard about a memory that I had with his parents, or ask Mikey if he remembered when we used to make things up. I hadn't shared those experiences with them. All I had was bad news.

After an hour or so, Mikey, Geoff, and I returned to the castle, carefully avoiding the Death Eaters. We went back into the Great Hall, and I went to the Hufflepuff Common Room while Geoff and Mikey went to the Slytherin Common Room. It had been a long day, but all I could feel was powerlessness. There was nothing I could do to save the wizarding world, just as there was nothing I could do to help the Way brothers. The Death Eaters would ruin us, and I couldn't do anything but watch wizarding Britain fall apart.