FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

This is a work of fiction. Unless otherwise indicated, all the names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents in this story are either the product of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. All characters are of legal and consenting age, likewise if you are reading this story, you should be of legal age in your respective country.

All characters are my own creation, any resemblance to existing characters is purely coincidental and not intentional, please do not use them without permission. If you would like to use them in a story, please feel free to send me a PM either as Inja on SoFurry or TheRealInja on FA. As always, I am open to new story ideas or situations with existing characters as well.

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Authors note: It’s been a while since I last sat and wrote a long story like this, so please forgive me for being rusty. I also don’t usually like writing stuff set in someone else’s universe, but this just felt like a good fit, so I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it.

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It was an unusually warm and sunny day; the birds were chirping merrily and there was not a cloud in the sky over Charing Cross Road. It was as if mother nature herself was smiling down on all the people out and about today. One person in particular wore the slightest of grins as he leaned against the corner of a building, reading the latest issue of The Daily Prophet. The tall, shaggy looking Irish wolfhound with a touch of grey along his dark furred muzzle; dressed in his favourite brown tweed suit and mauve tie, read through the article which described the months long operation he and his partner had recently undertaken. A task which had been to successfully capture the dark wizard, Zelig Shadowmend. Even the stunned gasp of a passing muggle child, being dragged along by his mother’s grip on his hand, who had noticed the moving images on the pages of his newspaper, did nothing to dampen Merrill’s high spirits.

Merrill Vexx and his partner, Aria Crane, were Aurors for the British Ministry of Magic. They had been tasked with taking down a growing threat to the safety of not only the wizarding world, but the muggles world as well. Zelig Shadowmend was a firm believer in pure blood and saw anyone else who was not pure, as mere cattle to further his own goals. Zelig had shown a lot of promise during his younger years, but something had happened to set him on his path of domination. Unlike the dark wizards before him however, he did not wish to eliminate the mud bloods and muggles, instead he intended on subjugating them and bending them to his will and perverse desires. He was an enigmatic all black furred Doberman with sharp grey eyes that belied his true intellect; he had managed to grow his following at an alarming rate not long after he had graduated from Hogwarts. Zelig was constantly surrounded by rumours of his dark leanings; however, he was intelligent enough to never actually get caught. While the Ministry suspected he was up to something, they could never manage to make anything stick, until now.

Merrill and Aria had been students around the same time as Zelig, but a few years behind. They had encountered him before and Aria had rightfully not liked the dark canine the moment she laid eyes on him. She had an uncanny knack for reading people and it didn’t take long for Zelig to prove her intuition right, even before he left the school. There were rumours of other students, mud bloods specifically, who had been bullied and tortured at the hands of Zelig and his group of pure blood sycophants. They were very careful not to leave any witnesses however, along with using the Obliviate charm to wipe their victims’ memories, they managed to avoid being discovered before it was too late.

It was during this time at that notorious school where Aria had been cursed; she had stepped in between Zelig and a first-year student who the dark wizard intended to “teach a lesson”, as he put it. That day had turned her usual snow leopard spots into ever shifting Sanskrit text, with one word being repeated over and over again, “untouchable”. The true horror of the curse became apparent when other students rushed to the unconscious Aria’s aid and found they could not so much as touch her, their hands simply passed through her as if she were one of the schools many ghosts. At first there were fears that Zelig had actually killed another student, but by the time the headmaster had been summoned and arrived on the scene, Aria had come to and assured everyone that she was fine.

It was assumed the spell would wear off on its own as it was not a well-known or even recognized curse; but years later, Aria was still untouchable. At least as far as the wizarding world was concerned, she was. In reality, the curse had weakened enough that if she willed it, she could touch others, but that in and of itself was a very rare occurrence. Due to past traumas, long before being cursed, Aria had grown to dislike physical contact and had avoided it as much as possible. Merrill was one of the very select few who knew all this about his dear friend, even under the effects of a Veritaserum, he had managed not to reveal her secret and proved his loyalty to her. Over the years of working together, Merrill and Aria had grown rather close, it was obvious to all those around them that there was more than just friendship there. But with Aria’s curse and her past, she would never act upon her feelings and Merrill was too much of a gentleman to force the issue as well.

“It’s done” a familiar, soft and somewhat smoky voice spoke up behind him. Merrill’s smirk blossomed into a full-on smile before he turned around to face Aria. For as much as she teased him about his gaudy tweed suit, he still could not understand why his dear friend insisted on dressing like an early nineteen hundreds nanny. With her frumpy red ankle length dress and matching jacket over a frilly blouse, all tucked beneath a mustard yellow overcoat, she never failed to draw a few odd looks from passersby. Mostly because her hairstyle did not suit the outfit; Aria kept her black and white striped hair around shoulder length, along with a naturally occurring pink stripe at her fringe that often made her appear like a “punk chick” dressing up like Mary Poppins.

“About bloody time” the scruffy wolfhound smiled fondly down at the much shorter feline. “I thought we would have to reschedule our celebrations and Heaven knows I could use a drink after this case!”

“You and me both” Aria agreed wholeheartedly, as she raised a hand to brush the pink lock of her fringe behind a rounded ear. “Zelig is safely stowed away in Azkaban; the world can breathe a sigh of relief finally” she affirmed.

“Couldn’t have happened to a more deserving person!” Merrill said cheerfully. “Now, how about those drinks? First round is on me” he offered while using his folded newspaper to direct Aria along the sidewalk of Charing Cross road. Being the gentleman he was, the Irish Wolfhound took the outer side and put himself between Aria and the slow-moving traffic beside them, as they walked up the road toward the Leaky Cauldron.

“I could use a holiday now that our work is done” the snow leopardess mused, her hands tucked inside her long overcoat pockets as they walked side by side. Again, she smiled as the tall hound beside her took almost comically short steps, just so she wouldn’t have to practically jog to keep up with his natural long stride.

“Our work is never done, there’s always something…” Merrill began to say, just before his head snapped to the side at sudden movement beside them.

“Stoppit Tommy!” a little white furred rabbit girl cried, just as an older and bigger brown-haired rabbit shoved her off the top step they were stood upon. The little girls panicked cry was ear piercing, reminiscent of the time Merrill had the misfortune of encountering a Dementor. While Merrill winced and made to cover his ears, Aria leapt forward to catch the little girl. By the time he eventually removed his fingers from his ears, the little rabbit in his friend’s arms was apologizing profusely for scratching the nice lady that saved her.

“It’s nothing dear, just a scratch. I’ve had worse” Aria smiled at the little bunny while tousling her curly blond hair, before she levelled a stern stare at the sheepish looking older brother. “It’s not nice to push girls, you best be nice to your sister or I’ll have to have a word with your mother, young man!” the snow leopardess chastised the young rabbit buck.

Merrill couldn’t help but grin at the wide-eyed look of horror on the young buck rabbits face as he nodded dumbly, as he quickly wrapped an arm about his sister’s shoulders and ushered her back inside the store, before the scary woman could get him into trouble. “You’re rather good at that” the old dog noted.

“I should be, with our job description, wrangling young hooligans should be easy compared to our average day” Aria replied somewhat absently while she stared curiously at the scratch on her hand, once more following close beside Merrill along the road. It had been years since she had last been injured, she had almost forgotten what pain felt like. Even most spells and curses were not effective against her because of her strange curse, something which had helped her become one of the top Aurors at such a young age.

“I’d take that level of excitement over facing off against Dark Wizards any day” the scruffy tall dog mused as he tucked his newspaper under his arm to hold the door open for Aria to enter the Leaky Cauldron before him once they finally arrived at their destination.

“No, you wouldn’t” Aria noted as she stepped past him, while a smile played along her lips. She was right, it wasn’t that he was addicted to the thrill of the danger. It was rather more because of some sense of doing what was right that drove Merrill to become an Auror. He had always had a strong sense of right and wrong, he detested anyone who abused their position of power against those weaker than them. Aria knew that about him too, it was also part of why she admired him so much, she knew Merrill was a genuinely good man and wizard.

As soon as they both entered the Leaky Cauldron, the rooms occupants burst out into congratulatory cheers. Friends and work colleagues alike filled the room, they had all come out to celebrate Merrill and Aria’s victory over Zelig Shadowmend. The tavern as always was filled with the scent of smoker’s pipes and mead, along with a small fire in the hearth which added a cosy atmosphere to the day’s celebrations. Even though it was barely entering the afternoon hours, the drink flowed freely, as did the conversations and cheers. Aria sat quietly to one side of the long table as she sipped her honeybeer, with a dash of lemon; something that often caused Merrill’s nose to wrinkle. Her eyes remained on his jovial face as he recounted their case and the subsequent capture of Zelig. Laughter erupted as the old dog recounted how Zelig had tried to use an unforgivable curse on Aria and the subsequent expression of surprise he made when his spell passed right through her. At the time, they had thought it rather apt that a prior curse by the Dark Wizard was the reason this latest attempt on her life had failed, his past reprehensible actions had been his own undoing. It had also added to his sentence when his wand was inspected and found to have cast the unforgivable spell.

As the day shuffled on into twilight and the sun began to set, the fiery hues glanced off the windows of the tavern and the once boisterous chatter began to die down to quiet conversations relegated to distant corners of the room. People had begun drifting off after they had said their goodbyes and gave one last congratulations to the pair of young Aurors.

Merrill was sat leaned back in his seat, while he watched as Aria sat and talked to another Auror with a smile. She didn’t smile often enough, he thought. She had a really nice smile; it was a pity he never got to see it more often. The last few years had been rough, but not altogether bad. They had been in a few tight spots, but they were doing good work and it really felt like they were making a difference. Cells of Dark Wizards had been popping up rather frequently as of late, he and Aria had put a stop to more than half of them and were quickly gaining a reputation as being “Lux in tenebris”, as Aurors who specialized in hunting Dark Wizards were known. They were the light in the dark, revered by other Aurors and hated by their enemies. The more famous they became, the more danger they found themselves in too however. There was no telling when the next threat would strike, it could be hiding in plain sight right in front of them that very moment.

Merrill slouched back in his seat as he lifted his tankard high, in order to drain the last dregs of his honeybeer. As he lowered his now empty glass back down, his eyes fell upon a familiar face, one which stared at him from a dark corner of the tavern. Surely it must have been a trick of the light or something, there was no way “he” was there right now. Even after he had placed his tankard down with a heavy clatter of glass against wood and rubbed his tired eyes, Zelig still sat there and smirked at Merrill from the shadows. Satisfied that he had been seen, the dark canine rose to his feet and casually walked out the back door to the courtyard beyond.

Aria was only briefly aware of movement beside her; she only registered it was Merrill on the move once he strode past her with some urgency toward the back door of the tavern. Though she couldn’t see his face, Aria could tell by how rigid his shoulders were that her partner was unusually tense. He strode at full stride, with purpose toward or perhaps after something. This was very out of character for the usually laid back and mellow Irish Wolfhound, she knew him well enough to know something was up. Aria politely excused herself, before she dashed after Merrill. Aria opened the back door of the Leaky Cauldron just in time to see Merrill step through the opening into Diagon Alley, before the bricks in the wall began to clatter and shift to conceal the entrance again.

She reached into the inside of her long coat and withdrew her eleven-inch, rosewood and unicorn hair wand, before approaching the wall. With practiced movements, Aria opened the entrance to Diagon Alley by counting and tapping the tip of her wand against the bricks, three up and two across, three times. The bricks before her began to shake a little, soon they started to flip and rotate outward from where she had tapped her wand. What started as a small crack in the wall, quickly grew to an opening big enough for two average sized people to enter through, side by side. In the time it had taken for her to open the pathway, Merrill had managed to get a bit of distance on her, thanks to his long legs and broad stride. Thankfully, his gaudy brown tweed suit stuck out like a sore giant’s thumb in Diagon Alley and she spotted him when he took a turn, down into Knockturn Alley.

“What is he doing going down there?” Aria wondered to herself. Knockturn Alley was well known for its dubious and often illegal businesses. The snow leopardess moved swiftly through the crowds to try catch up to Merrill, but with those damned long legs of his, she practically had to sprint. Even still, she only just could see the top of his head over the crowd, before he turned and went inside one of the shops. Her reputation clearly preceded her however, most of the witches and wizards turned their faces away from her as she passed, others openly glared at her with thinly veiled contempt.

The sign hanging out over the door indicated the shops name was “Skrimshaw’s Skullduggery”, even from outside it smelled of ash and rot. The wooden exterior was so dark it appeared to have been blackened from a fire. The windows were rather soot stained as well, making it nigh impossible to see inside very easily, but what she could see was that the shop appeared vacant. She hadn’t been that far behind Merrill, had she? But when she entered the front of the shop proper, there was indeed no one in sight. The crooked shelves were lined with a multitude of sickly-looking plants and body parts of various creatures. Even a novice Auror would be able to tell that most of what was on the shelves was illegal, from the still twitching monkeys’ paw, to the basilisk eye which floated in a jar of pale blue liquid and followed her every step, unblinkingly.

The shop stank of death and purification, the air was thick with it and made it hard to breath. Not that she wanted to breath in the foul air, her lungs burned and cursed her for entering the shop in the first place. Still with her wand in hand, Aria began to search the small shop, but there was no one about. It was as if Merrill had simply vanished into thin air.

“Aparecium” Aria raised her wand and whispered, intending to reveal any hidden spells or items that could explain her partners sudden disappearance. At the far end of the store, one of the shelves made a soft click and came away from the wall just a touch. But it was enough to make the jars on the shelves rattle and clink musically and alert Aria to her spell’s discovery. She wasted no time in moving to the shelf and pushed it open wider, ignoring the hissing plant on the middle shelf as she revealed a set of stairs which lead down into a dark basement below.

Not knowing who or what was down there, Aria did not want to risk using the Lumos spell to light her way and give away her position. Besides, there was just barely enough light coming in from the street level windows to make the steps somewhat visible, at least enough for her to cautiously make her way down into the gloom. She more than half expected the steps to creak under her weight, as if to make her caution worthless. Thankfully, there was not even a hint of a squeak as she put her foot down on the first step and let her full weight settle there for a moment. Gaining a bit of confidence from this lucky turn of events, Aria proceeded down the stairs with a bit more urgency.

“Shit!” Aria cursed as she reached halfway down the stairs, when something suddenly caught on her foot and was followed by the sound of scraping, then a loud crash as something fell off a shelf and shattered on the floor behind her. Almost immediately an ear-piercing scream sounded, it was the scream of a Mandrake root! A fully grown Mandrake roots scream could kill a person, which is what the snow leopardess assumed happened when her world went suddenly dark and utterly silent. She had fallen into a trap; someone had set a tripwire which was tied to a Mandrake roots pot. When she had carelessly knocked it over, it began to wail and she had been caught unprepared. The trap was not magic based either, so her revealing spell did not detect it and alert her to its presence.

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Merrill followed Zelig through Diagon Alley and into Knockturn Alley, his eight-inch black ivory and phoenix feather core wand held pointed down at the ground, just as they had been taught at the Aurors academy. “You don’t raise your wand to another wizard unless you intend to use it” their old gnomish instructor had always said.

If this really was Zelig Shadowmend and he had managed to escape Azkaban somehow, Merrill knew there would be no taking him so easily as they had last time. Not that it had been easy last time either, they had lost good people on that raid. There had been civilian casualties as well, when Zelig had used his muggle captives as shields. Thanks to the Imperio curse, they could not resist his command and willingly stood in between their illegitimate master and those who wished to take him down. If it came to a face-to-face confrontation, Merrill had resigned himself to using the most infamous of the unforgivable spells. It was better he ended Zelig here and now, before he could hurt more innocent people, no matter the consequences.

The all-black furred Doberman swiftly entered Skrimshaw’s Skullduggery, the jingle of the doorbell confirmed that he was at least real and Merrill was not just chasing an illusion. He was not entirely sure Zelig was aware he was being followed either, but on the off chance that he wasn’t aware Merrill was right behind him, the old dog thought it wise to use an Immobulus charm on the door chime. When he entered soon after Zelig, the charm remained frozen in place and did not jingle to alert anyone of his presence.

Up ahead, he spotted a shelf swing back into place with a musical jingle of containers, with Zelig nowhere to be seen; Merrill rightly reasoned that he must have taken a hidden stairway down to the basement. When he reached out for the edge of the shelf, a seemingly dead venomous fly trap suddenly reared its small bulbous head and attempted to bite him. Merrill snatched his hand back and growled at the slimy green plant, which simply hissed back at him in disdain. Again, he reached out and grasped the edge of the shelf, a bit higher this time, and with a light tug it easily swung away from the wall to reveal the dimly lit stairway down into the basement.

With a sigh of resignation, Merrill began his descent, taking the stairs two at a time with ease, thanks to his long legs. By the time he reached the landing at the bottom, he could just barely hear the footsteps of Zelig around the large stack of crates and boxes piled beside the stairs. The tall dog crouched low as he made his way behind the stack of boxes, finding a spot where he could peer through a gap unseen and finally see Zelig. The dark furred canine was standing before a silver mirror, the frame of which was made up of two writhing and slithering serpents in constant motion around the reflective surface. Zelig was talking to someone, but Merrill couldn’t make out who. The voice was too muffled and…

“We’ve been expecting you…” a soft voice suddenly said behind him. Merrill whipped around and frowned in confusion, he suddenly found himself face to face with the little bunny girl from Charing Cross Road they had met earlier. “Stupefy!” she announced loudly, her until now unseen long ivory white wand levelled at his chest. With a flash of brilliant white and blue, Merrill felt a wave of pressure hit him square in the chest, the breath knocked from his lungs as he flew backward into the pile of boxes. His vision turned dark before his head even hit the ground, the sounds of cruel mocking laughter were the last thing he heard before unconsciousness claimed him.

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Aria awoke with a groan, it felt like she had been kicked in the head by a centaur. Her ears were still ringing, along with her vision being rather blurry and unfocused. There was also the overpowering scent of iron in the air, but no, it wasn’t just a smell, she could taste it too. Aria raised a shaky hand to her face and touched the wet spot under her nose; when she looked at her fingers, she saw blood. The Mandrakes scream had damn near killed her it seemed, she knew she wasn’t dead however, there was still too much pain for that to be the case. Perhaps thanks to the strange side effects of her curse, she had managed to survive it and instead she just simply woke up with the world’s worst hangover.

The snow leopardess grunted and forced her aching limbs to move, slowly she rolled herself onto her hands and knees before taking a look around. Someone had clearly been through the basement recently, the shattered pot where the Mandrake had been planted was still there, but thankfully the plant itself had been removed. Aria thought to herself that at least whoever it was that came through the basement hadn’t killed her, they had even left her wand lying beside her, thank goodness for little mercies and all that, she supposed. That still didn’t resolve the whereabouts of Merrill, she didn’t even know how long she had been unconscious for at this point come to think of it.

Aria’s legs screamed at her when she forced herself to her feet, it almost felt like she had been hit with a Wibbly spell. Her legs felt like jelly, unstable and weak, barely able to support her weight, yet she pushed through it. Like an amateur lush, the Sanskrit spotted feline dusted herself and her clothing off before she awkwardly made her way deeper into the basement. As she no longer cared about her presence being known, Aria raised her wand and uttered a shaky “Lumos!” to produce a weak and flickering light to help illuminate her way. The going was slow at first as she had to stop and regain her balance every few steps, at least until her legs started feeling more sturdy beneath her. She could only imagine what Merrill would say just then, if he saw her in such a state. Her clothes dishevelled, her hair more than likely a mess. He would tend to her too, just as he had before, when she wanted him to touch her and those had been a few of the rare times he had gotten to gently dab a clean cloth against her forehead to wipe away the grime. She could really use his warm smile and soft touch right now, but there was no sign of him and the mere thought that she might never see him again was creating an icy lump in the pit of her tummy.

When she made her way around the scattered boxes, at first, she saw nothing out of the place. There were just more dusty boxes and filthy jars filled with who knew what sort of disgusting things. The jars ranged from everything from what looked to be a giant’s thumb, to the double heart of a hydra, which still beat with a staccato rhythm in the murky white liquid it floated in. As she slowly panned around the room, Aria saw something glint at the edge of her sphere of light on the ground. Precariously making her way over to the object, she found she had to kneel down to get a better look at it, thanks to her vision still being a little blurry. The object was slender and black with a glossy finish, it took a moment for Aria to realize what she was holding.

“Merrill’s wand!” she exclaimed with a note of panic, he never let it out of his sight, so something must be very wrong. Either that, or he had dropped it so she would know where to look for him, he was always such a clever dog. As her gaze slowly rose and Aria looked up from where she had retrieved his wand, she found herself kneeling before a large ornately carved cabinet. She had seen one of these before, it was a Vanishing cabinet, used to travel vast distances in the blink of an eye, undetected of course. They must have used this Vanishing cabinet to take Merrill to another location so he couldn’t be tracked!

Aria knew she should try call for backup, but she had been unconscious for who knew how long at this point in time. Merrill’s life could be in danger, if he was even still alive; time was of the essence. As she grit her teeth, the snow leopardess awkwardly pulled herself to her feet along the side of the Vanishing cabinet. With the doors open, it looked for all intents and purposes like a normal cabinet, but she knew better. Thankfully with her natural shortness, she didn’t even have to crouch when she climbed in. As soon as she closed the doors behind her, there was a sudden feeling of rapid motion which let her know she was correct, this was in fact a Vanishing cabinet. Even before the doors opened, a sliver of light could be seen outside. Aria waited for a moment as she listened for any signs of potential enemies who might be waiting to ambush her, but there was no sound outside. The snow leopardess rolled and flexed her tongue inside her maw, preparing to shout hexes and spells if needed and gripped her wand tight, it was now or never, and pushed the cabinet doors open.

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“Rennervate!” an unknown voice called out in the darkness. Merrill’s eyes suddenly opened and he found himself staring up at two familiar faces, who both smirked back at him. His thoughts were still sluggish and memories fought to be retrieved, but there was a strange sense of recognition that he just couldn’t quite grasp immediately; it felt like trying to catch smoke with his bare hands.

“Wait, I know you two…” The old dog grumbled as he shook his head, as if to shake loose the memories, while he strained against the coarse rope which held his arms in place. Merrill struggled against the rope binding him, but it was of no use; the damn thing felt like he was caught in the grasp of a large serpent as it slithered and coiled around him. “You’re…Rosedriah Frost” Merrill frowned while he stared at the short and somewhat chubby black tabby cat, with her long dark fringe covering her mismatched coloured left eye. Rosedriah was dressed in a low cut and figure-hugging black dress, if it wasn’t so worn and faded, it might have blended in well with her natural coat and given the impression that she was nude. Even still, the cleavage it was showing was generous to say the least and Merrill had a hard time trying not to stare. The chubby feline idly toyed with her long, slender ivory white wand as she stared bemusedly at her captive.

“And you’re Arwen Mortem…” he said, next looking at the taller and much more slender off-white furred Saluki and her piercing green eyes. One would think Arwen had just awoken with how shaggy her long hair was and how dishevelled her emerald green dress appeared, but Merrill knew that was not the case. Arwen was a borderline genius, unfortunately she was also the kind that crossed over the line from genius into insanity. It was a sad sight to see, Arwen could have been very beautiful if she wasn’t so…psychotic. Even her mascara left dark trails down her face from her constant mood swings and outbursts of rage. If it was not for Rosedriah’s companionship, Merrill did not doubt that Arwen would have gone off the deep end long ago.

The black tabby, though more of the silent partner of the two, was no slouch in her own right. While not quite as psychotic as Arwen, she did unfortunately wholeheartedly believe in the pure blood’s superiority, which had made her a prime target for Zelig’s growing following. The problem with Rosedriah however, was that she was unusually skilled with alchemy. In her younger days she was often fondly called “the alchemists stone” by her professor as she excelled in his class so much so that he joked she probably could turn lead into gold, if she wanted to. These days she instead made potions which had allowed Zelig to escape death more than once; if not for her, his threat never would have gotten as grave as it had, thanks to unnaturally prolonging his life.

“Yes, nice to see you again” Arwen replied haughtily before cracking a spine-chilling grin across her slender muzzle. The way her thin black lips pulled back to expose her teeth looked better suited to some macabre clown than a witch, it was as if an unseen force had hooked their fingers in the corners of her lips and had pulled back on them to stretch her smile to unnatural proportions.

“What’s the meaning of this?” Merrill growled at the two witches, though he had a suspicion he already knew. Arwen and Rosedriah had been suspected of being in partnership with Zelig, but there was not enough concrete proof for the Ministry to make anything stick. As far as the Ministry of Magic was concerned, these two witches were clean. Both he and Aria suspected otherwise, but could never prove anything to the contrary; now here he was. “Just wait until I nngggmmf!” Merrill began to threaten, but was suddenly cut off when his tongue refused to cooperate.

“Langlock!” Rosedriah sighed as she stuck his tongue to the roof of his mouth, quickly having gotten bored of his bravado and idle threats. The fact that they so quickly and easily tongue tied him was worrying, it meant they hadn’t captured him with the intent to get information from him. They knew he couldn’t get Zelig out of Azkaban either, even if he wanted to. If they wanted to simply kill him, they would have done so already, so that meant they must have something else even more sick and twisted in store for him.

“You’ll do nothing, at least, nothing unless I tell you to!” Arwen growled at the bound wizard, a dangerous and even deranged look began to grow in her eyes as she raised her bent and crooked wand at him. Unlike Rosedriah’s perfectly straight and polished wand, Arwen’s seemed to be an apt representation of her mental state. An eleven inch, bent and crooked, black rosewood wand which even had a few unnatural thorns adorning its length. It looked as cruel and vicious as everything Merrill suspected Arwen to be. She waited for Merrill to notice she had taken aim at him, the moment he did and his eyes went wide, Arwen shouted “Imperio!” with maniacal glee.

Merrill felt his body slouch and relax, even his head lolled to one side while he stared at the two smirking witches before him. He knew he was in danger and that he should be fighting to free himself, but…he couldn’t. He could not even seem to muster the will or energy to fight back, even to resist a little as they made him rise to his feet and shed his clothing. He knew the Imperio curse well; he knew if he fought hard enough that he could break out of it. Those with a strong will could break free of the spell and he definitely had a strong will! Time was of the essence, he needed to… wait…they were making him drink something. It tasted of overcooked cabbage and smelled even worse. He tried to spit it out, but even his lips and tongue wouldn’t obey him while he swallowed the foul concoction. At least the next one they forced him to drink tasted better, almost like rose petals and strawberries.

Whatever they had forced him to drink, it was fast acting. Merrill dropped to his hands and knees, finally starting to break free of the Imperio spell they had cast on him. But it might have been too late, it felt like he was starting to be squeezed and crushed inside his own skin. It was so hard to breathe; his entire body was on fire, yet somehow, he felt ice cold at the same time. His insides stirred and trembled, one moment feeling like he had a whirlpool in the pit of his belly, the next as if he had been punched in the gut. The pain was good though, it helped him clear his mind and focus, enough to finally break free! Even the binding rope finally relented and slithered off to curl up in a far corner of the room to hiss at him angrily.

“What did you witches do to me!” Merrill stood up and shouted, but it wasn’t his voice that came out. Nor was it his hand that was pointing accusingly at the grinning Arwen and Rosedriah. Merrill raised both his hands up before him, they were not the shaggy black furred appendages he knew to be his own, instead, these were small and dainty hands. Soft and silky grey fur with Sanskrit text where the spots should be, these were Aria’s hands! But how and why? “The little rabbit girl…” Merrill suddenly remembered; she had been the one to stupefy him in the basement. That must mean that the little girl in Charing Cross Road, must have been one of these two!

“Indeed, you and your stupid little feline wretch fell right into our trap!” Rosedriah laughed almost maniacally as she handed a small glass bottle to Arwen. Merrill didn’t want to, it felt like an invasion of privacy when he looked down over his naked form…Aria’s naked form. He regretted his actions a moment later, having glimpsed her true and unhindered beauty left a pang of longing within him as he knew he would never get to see the real Aria like this. She was slender and toned, her coat rich and vibrant as it clung to her modest curves. Her bare flesh was the softest and most inviting pink hue, barely the size of a dime atop each mound of her pert breasts. He had known she was beautiful, from the first time he saw her in the school halls, but now he knew just how perfect she truly was beneath all that frumpy clothing she always wore.

“So much for the ministries best and brightest, eh?” the tall Saluki mocked as she and the shorter, more chubby, ebony furred feline clinked their bottles together, before downing the contents. Merrill frowned in confusion when Rosedriah and Arwen’s forms both began to morph and shift before him, but not like he had seen before. It was obvious they had used more Polyjuice potion, but they didn’t seem to be undergoing a full body transformation like he just had.

“Rosedriah is a genius with potions” Arwen began to explain when she saw the confusion on Merrill, now Aria’s face. “She found a way to alter our Polyjuice potions to only change us just a little, but enough to suite our purposes.”

Both Rosedriah and Arwen seemed to have grown a few inches taller, they also had broader shoulders and greater muscle mass than before. That was not all that had changed however, for when they began to shed their clothing, the imitation Aria’s eyes went wide at the sight of their lower bits.

“Centaur…” Rosedriah answered Merrill’s unspoken question with a smirk as she reached down to heft the large and dark equine package she was now sporting. Merrill knew the centaur weren’t exactly fond of wizards and witches, so he could only guess what laws and pacts these two had broken to get the ingredients needed for their special blend of Polyjuice potion.

“This is madness…why…” Merrill asked in Aria’s voice, suddenly starting to feel rather hot and dizzy. He didn’t know why, but his anger and hatred for the two witches before him had suddenly started to fizzle and fade. The more he stared at them, he almost felt a sense of admiration for them even. No, it wasn’t that, he was…smitten, perhaps even infatuated with them? A sudden yearning to please them had started to take root deep within him, as if he craved their approval and would do anything for it, it was all he lived for!

“It looks like your special Amortentia potion is kicking in finally” Arwen noted as the scowl on the pretty felines face before them soon was replaced by a look of desire. “Come here and kneel before me…Aria” the tall canine ordered with a note of haughty authority. Without question, the snow leopardess did as she was told as she quickly moved over and knelt before the canine witch. “Let’s give this potion a try and see how good it really is” Arwen continued as she gently brushed her hand across the snow leopardess’s cheek, before hooking a thumb between her lips and teeth to force her jaws to open wide. The Saluki grinned menacingly while she stroked at her thick and heavy sheath, stirring her temporary maleness to spill free of its soft leathery housing. She enjoyed the look of almost fear and a bit of desire in the fake Aria’s eyes as she stared at the thick ebony member. The look in her captive’s eyes was too much to resist and she could no longer hold back, Arwen needed to break Aria and so she stuffed her still soft ebony length into the snow leopardess’s maw with a satisfied growl. She also noted there was no resistance or struggle as their captive was more than willing to play along, thanks to the potent Amortentia potion, indicating it was well and truly in effect.

In the back of his mind, Merrill’s conscience was screaming at him to stop, to resist this madness. He was an unwilling passenger as he watched disjointed, while his body moved and obeyed the two witches every whim and desire. Even as they joked between themselves how well their potion worked, while gagging his body, now in the form of Aria, with their thick and rapidly swelling flesh. He wanted to scream, bite, scratch and claw at them to stop this, but his body just would not obey. So, it continued, the two witches with their new stallion sized equipment took turns in seeing how much of their cocks their plaything could swallow and for how long. Even worse was the mocking laughter when they slapped their now slick meaty shafts against his face, over and over again, until finally one of them climaxed and forced him to swallow their sickly salty load. Rosedriah was the last to climax, though she only made the imitation Aria swallow the first few shots of her spend, the rest was used to paint their captives face and chest with the sticky hot mess. Merrill could not escape the smell of virile centaur now coating him, or rather, Aria’s face and chest. Part of him wanted to be ill, but another part of him, hopefully under the influence of the Amortentia potion, was excited by it.

Merrill hoped this would be enough humiliation to satisfy them, as he watched their stiff lengths begin to soften and sag; though ultimately, he knew it wouldn’t be. Arwen and Rosedriah were well known for their cruelty, there was no way they would let him off so easily. Sure enough, Rosedriah retreated to a nearby potion making station to retrieve two small vials, once again handing one vial to Arwen who immediately downed its contents without question. They had very evidently planned this, their movements and routine seemed too methodical to be a spur of the moment idea. Merril began to wonder just how long this plan of theirs had been in the works, especially knowing Polyjuice potion took even a skilled alchemist, such as Rosedriah, at least a month to make.

“Invigorating draughts” Merrill groaned inwardly; he should have known they would stoop so low. Sure enough, no sooner had Arwen swallowed the last drop of the potion would the softening of her member cease. Not only cease, it quickly reversed her state back to full erectness and Rosedriah was not far behind. Arwen couldn’t help but cackle manically at the look in their captives’ eyes while she lewdly stroked her member, until a glistening bead of precum dripped to the floor before her, with malicious intent in her eyes, she once again approached the fake Aria.

“Up on the table, lay back and spread your legs, Aria” the Saluki ordered with a lewd hungry lick of her lips, while she stood stroking her reinvigorated stiffness. Merrill wanted to curse the other canine, but instead all he heard was a weak and obedient “Yes mistress” slip from his, no, from Aria’s lips before she did as she was told.

Aria moved over to the table at the centre of the room and turned her back to it before she hopped up and scooted backwards a little to be a bit more in the middle. She shifted and wriggled until she was laying in the centre of the table, enough so she could raise her heels onto the edge of the table and spread her thighs wide, just as Arwen had instructed. She could feel the two witch’s eyes on her, their sick and perverse hunger grew with every step as they approached. Even their vile touches when they began to touch and explore Aria’s form, from the insides of her knees, down along her inner thighs and finally over the soft pouting petals of her sex.

“Huh, I would have thought the mewling quim would have a snapdragon for a cunt” Rosedriah commented as her fingers curled and sunk inside Aria carelessly. Merrill had not counted on the Polyjuice potion being so effective, he actually felt…wet? Was that what it was? The black tabby’s fingers worked in and out of his, no, in and out of Aria’s snug pussy with surprising ease. He hadn’t expected it to feel so good, more than good in fact. Goddamn he hoped it was just the Amortentia potion that made all this feel so thrilling and pleasurable, he could already feel the blush in his, or rather, Aria’s cheeks as her hips raised from the table a little to rock up against Rosedriah’s fingers till inside her.

“It’s almost…cute, perhaps even pretty” Arwen noted and agreed as she traced her fingers around the outside of the snow leopardess’s pussy. “Almost seems a shame to ruin it” she said, but her tone of voice did not match her words, the look of glee on the canine’s face was also a dead giveaway of her true intent. The fake Aria trembled at that look of hunger and perhaps even anger in Arwen’s eyes, the Saluki was going to make Aria scream, one way or another it seemed.

“We’re not really, but this is almost as good as the real thing” Rosedriah noted with a grin, when she finally withdrew her fingers from the now almost panting snow leopardess. Merrill’s relief was short lived however, when he felt the blunt tip of her centaur cock in place of the tabby’s fingers, as it nudged against Aria’s exposed and vulnerable pussy. The member the tabby cat was sporting felt far too massive for what the witch intended surely, there was no way it would fit inside Aria’s slender form. Pain suddenly flared between the captive felines thighs as Rosedriah bucked forward, roughly shoving her cock deep into the Aria’s exposed cunt without warning.

“Fucking Flitwick’s Forked Frongus!” Merrill shouted in Aria’s voice, it felt like she was about to be split in two and the pain showed no signs of abating any time soon.

“Oh, calm down, it’s just a little cock” Arwen sighed and rolled her eyes impatiently at the Aria’s overdramatic reaction to being fucked by a centaur cock. In reality however, she was loving every second of their captive’s pain and discomfort; it showed too with how hard her own member had suddenly gotten.

“Linireous!” Rosedriah grunted as she tapped the tip of her wand against Aria’s crotch, almost instantly the pain was extracted and the snow leopardess began to relax. “That’s better, dumb bitch was clenching so tight it felt like my cock was covered in gold and I was fucking a Goblins fist” the black tabby mocked as she began stirring her hips again. There must have been something more in one of the potions they had made Merrill drink, even in his current state, he knew that what he was seeing should be causing him at least discomfort, if not injury. But there was nothing but a sickening growing pleasure as every time Rosedriah thrust into Aria’s quim, a very noticeable bulge appeared at her taut belly. It only got more pronounced when the obscenely muscled, black furred feline grabbed the snow leopardess beneath her knees to lift and pull her closer, allowing Rosedriah to fully sheath her unnatural centaurs cock deep.

It was almost as if they had used the Capacious extremis spell on her, the way Aria’s slender little body was taking the evil witches’ large member so well and so easily. Merrill knew he should hate it, if not only for the fact that he was really a wizard who had been changed into a witch, but also just because it was two of Zelig’s underlings doing this to him…to Aria. Yet, with every clap of the black tabby’s thighs and large balls against his behind, as well as the strange sensation of being both overfilled and not filled enough, he wanted more. When he finally started to succumb to the full effect of the Amortentia potion, Merrill now Aria, could not stop from bucking and writhing beneath Rosedriah.

“I wonder which of you is the real little whore here, look at how you’re moaning and writhing while stuck on my nice fat cock” Rosedriah leaned over Aria to hiss, just as she gave an extra sharp buck of her hips into the snow leopardess. Aria’s cheeks bloomed with colour in embarrassment, for at that moment she felt her first climax break like the banks of a surging river. The snow leopardess whimpered and mewled as she reached up to clutch at Rosedriah’s arms, her eyes almost pleading with her for mercy. But there was no mercy to be found in those dark pools so filled with hate, the black furred tabby simply scooped the imitation Aria from the table and turned them about, without so much as lifting the snow leopardess off the ebony spire sheathed deep within her.

Time seemed to slow to a crawl as Merrill watched and felt himself be moved about with such ease, as if he weighed nothing. Then again, he supposed Aria, the real Aria, was a very slight and dainty woman and she did not weigh that much to begin with. This just further solidified just how good Rosedriah’s Polyjuice potion was, how closely it transformed him into his partner. Soon he was staring down at Rosedriah’s grinning face instead of looking up at her, but that same pressure still remained between her thighs. She was still impaled on the black tabby’s fat cock, but it wasn’t alone anymore. Something else was now nudging under her tail, pressing insistently against her backdoor. “Shh, you know you want this” the black feline uttered in a raspy sort of growl. The words were not comforting in the slightest, this was going to happen whether the snow leopardess wanted it or not.

“I want this” Merrill heard himself reply in Aria’s voice, much to his own surprise. No, he didn’t want this! The goddamn Amortentia potion was making him say that! But it made no difference, he couldn’t force himself to resist and soon, that pressure under his tail became white hot as another centaur cock soon found purchase and began to sheath itself up her tail hole. Thankfully, this time it did not hurt quite as much as Rosedriah’s entry, but it was definitely impossible to ignore. Merrill twitched Aria’s nose as he caught a strange scent of something peculiarly sweet in the air; was that, no, surely not. Had Arwen really just used Unicorn saliva as a lubricant? That would explain why Merrill felt Aria’s tail lift so willingly, despite the thickness stretching her tiny pink pucker so wide. Unicorn saliva would make even a red-hot iron poker under her tail feel good.

“Oh yeah, right in your chamber of secrets. How’s that feel?” Arwen mocked as she forced her hips forward, until they pressed flush with Aria’s firm spotted rear. Even with the pain extraction spell and the Unicorn saliva lubricant, Merrill could still feel a distinct ache from being so spread about Arwen’s unnatural shaft.

"Didn't even need to us Alohomora to get it up her ass" Rosedriah teased with a strangled laugh. “By the Deathly Hallows she’s tighter than a Goblins fist during tax season now” the black furred tabby noted. With both of them fully sheathed inside the smaller snow leopardess, there was barely any room to move inside her. Every little movement cause their members to rub against one another through the thin walls of flesh that were Aria’s passages.

“Considering how good you are at alchemy; I wonder if we kept feeding him your Polyjuice potion…if we could knock him up and make some ugly half centaur babies” Arwen mused as she ground her hips against Aria’s behind.

“I’m not sure, but that could be fun to try out next time” the black furred tabby uttered, before she grit her teeth and gave a few sharp, short thrusts up into the snow leopardess. Aria soon found out why, the sickening warmth began to fill her deeply while Rosedriah groaned and panted beneath her. The witch was cumming hard and fast, soon to overflowing as the slimy warmth began to matt the snow leopardess’s inner thigh fur. “Here, roll her off me for a moment. I need to get another invigorating draught” the black furred feline huffed and panted; spent and tired, as she lay back and stared up blankly at the ceiling above.

Arwen easily lifted Aria off of her friend and shifted them about, to instead sit back on the table with the snow leopardess sitting impaled in her lap. Aria was left exposed as she sat with her back against Arwen’s bare chest and faced out toward the room, with Rosedriah only a few paces away. The Saluki witch made sure to keep the felines legs on the outside of her own, which further forced Aria to keep them spread so her well fucked cunt was exposed and the white mess the other witch had left behind was clearly visible while it dripped from her well fucked pussy. “Keep moving your hips, I’m getting closer to giving you a matching load under your tail” Arwen growled as she wrapped her arms about Aria, one going low as the other reached up to grope over a breast. The fingers down below started to use Rosedriah’s spend as lubrication to rub and tease at the impaled felines clit. Even if not for the Amortentia potion making her so eager to please, the constant stimulation to her, or rather Aria’s clit, would be more than enough to keep the captive felines hips moving.

Merrill, in Aria’s body, huffed and panted heavily. He was at first somewhat thankful for Rosedriah having ceased her use of him, but now that just created another problem for the transformed wizard. Being so impaled on Arwen’s length as he was, he found that it was no longer as uncomfortable as it had been initially. In fact, it had started to feel rather good actually. More worryingly was the fact that he wasn’t entirely convinced it was a result of the potions either, that same burning heat he had felt initially at the start had already started to calm down to a mere constant smoulder. Yet, having what felt like an Ogre’s club under his tail had him squirming and grinding against the Saluki’s lap eagerly, the fingers against his imitation of Aria’s clit just made it feel that much more intense.

A few paces away, Rosedriah had collected another vial of invigoration draught and swallowed it in one go. Within moments, her thick ebony spire rose anew once again, just as it had the first time and soon it began to drip thick and sticky precum from the flared tip in preparation of further breeding. Aria was so lost in her own internal conflict that she had closed her eyes while slowly shaking her head, she had not noticed the witch approaching again. It wasn’t until she felt Arwen’s thighs spread her own wider again to allow the black tabby access to her exposed cunt once more that she knew she was in for even more trouble. Rosedriah wasted no time as she sheathed herself back inside their copy of Aria, another cruel smirk played about her lips at the sounds Merrill in Aria’s body made when she was filled to the brim with centaur meat again. Arwen lay back on the table and pulled the snow leopardess along back with her, so Rosedriah could get back to work on wrecking her pussy. Even though the dark witches knew Merrill was not the real Aria, that did not stop them from using and abusing her as if she was in the slightest.

Unfortunately for Merrill, he was still fully under the influence of the Amortentia potion and could not yet break free of his desire to please Arwen and Rosedriah. No matter how savage or perverse their desires for Aria were, he was compelled to let them and at times, even assist them. Even when it meant sheathing both of their temporary centaur lengths in first Aria’s snug cunt and then later, under her tail. As degrading and perhaps painful as it might be, Merrill was at least glad it was happening to him and not to the real Aria. He did not know if she could withstand such torment; there was not a doubt in his mind however that Arwen and Rosedriah would take the utmost satisfaction in knowing they had broken her, if they ever did succeed.

Merrill didn’t know how long the couple of dark witches used and abused him, but near the end, before he passed out from sheer exhaustion, he saw spots of his own natural scruffy dark fur begin to appear as the Polyjuice potion started to wear off. Unfortunately, when he passed out and most of his forearms he could still see had reverted back to normal, Arwen and Rosedriah were still busy taking turns with him and probably would continue long after he had fully returned to normal.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Aria burst from the Vanishing cabinet with her wand raised, ready to defend herself from ambushers; or at the very least, attack anyone she found to be a potential threat in the room before her. However, there was no one to be seen in the room, which appeared to be just an ordinary basement. Dusty boxes were packed along one wall, with a large wooden table in the centre of the room. Off to one side appeared to be an alchemy station, some remnants of herbs and other items lay strewn about, as if someone had been hastily concocting various potions. The room still smelled faintly of overcooked cabbage and something sweetly floral. She knew the scent of Polyjuice potion well, but she couldn’t quite place the other, less offensive scent. A knot began to form in her stomach, with no sign of Merrill and the lingering scent of Polyjuice potion in the air, something had occurred here, but she just couldn’t imagine what.

Light already streamed in from outside as pairs of feet walked past along the street outside, which meant either Aria had been knocked out for longer than she initially thought by the Mandrake, or they were far away from Knockturn Alley. After another brief look around and having confirmed there were no more hidden passages or rooms, she was satisfied that Merrill definitely was not in this basement with her, though there were signs he had been there at some point. Tufts of his unmistakable scruffy black hair were all over the place, along with his earthy scent. Cautiously, the snow leopardess made her way over to some stairs, which appeared to lead up to the street beyond the windows, and pushed open the heavy wooden door with a clatter.

“Diagon Alley?” Aria mumbled to herself as she looked around in both confusion and surprise, she suddenly found herself standing in a side street behind one of the many stores which lined the main road. A few witches and wizards who saw her appear from the basement below shot dirty looks her way, as if she had stepped in dragon dung or perhaps kicked a baby. Before she could take more than a few steps, Merrill appeared out of nowhere and threw his tweed jacket over her head and wrapped an arm about her shoulders; as he urgently directed her down the back alley and out of sight of the onlookers.

“Keep quiet and keep your head down, we’ve been had…” the scruffy dog growled agitatedly. Even though she was confused as to what was happening, Aria trusted Merrill enough to do as he said without question. Her own questions would have to wait, for now, more specifically, how was he able to touch her just then.

Merrill led Aria down winding and narrow passages, until they came to a sudden dead end. “Nos requirere tectumquous” the tall dog said softly, barely above a whisper. The bricks before him began to shake and shift, groaning in protestation as they were forced to move. Much like the entrance to Diagon Alley from the Leaky Cauldron’s courtyard, the wall opened to reveal a narrow doorway, which Merrill ushered Aria through while looking behind them to make sure they hadn’t been followed. As an added precaution, the old dog also placed down an anti-intruder jinx to alert them if anyone approached their hideaway.

Aria stepped into the room, which looked like a cosy little English village kitchen, complete with a handmade wooden table and a fire happily crackling away in a little iron stove fireplace. There was a kettle already perched atop the stove and was on the boil, of which the soft whistle had just begun, as if timed perfectly for their arrival. Despite the inherent warmth of her new surroundings, when she turned to look up at Merrill’s face, Aria couldn’t help but feel like a Dementor had reached into her chest and gripped her heart. “What’s going on, Mer?” she asked with a note of growing panic.

“Sit down and I’ll show you” He sighed, the old dog suddenly seemed so tired and weary. As Aria took a seat at the small wooden table, Merrill poured them some tea and set a small chipped cup down before her. Alongside the cup of tea was a copy of The Daily Prophet. “You’re wanted for questioning in the fraudulent and unfair imprisonment of Zelig Shadowmend…” the old dog finally said.

“WHAT!?” Aria almost exploded at Merrill, thinking it surely must be a joke. Merrill however, was not smiling, he simply nodded his head down at the paper. Aria’s heart sank as she opened the paper and laid it out on the table beside her tea to begin reading. On the front page was the current minister of magic angrily gesticulating at the crowd before him, under the headline “Ministry seeks top Auror for questioning in Zelig Shadowmend mistrial.”

As she continued to read, the report stated that new evidence had come to light which proved she was the true mastermind behind all the recent attacks on the muggles and mudblood wizards. She had worked alongside Rosedriah Frost and Arwen Mortem, who had helped her implicate an innocent Zelig Shadowmend as the scapegoat. The report stated that Aria had used her power and influence within the Ministry to alter their findings and secure the two dark witches’ appearance of innocence. There were also witnesses who had seen Aria Crane, alongside her two consorts, performing vulgar and lewd rituals in the basement of a Diagon Alley store in broad daylight. The witness’s memories had been retrieved and placed in a Pensieve for the council to inspect and confirm they all matched, showing no sign of tampering.

“How…” Aria frowned and looked up from the paper, her hands trembling in both fear and anger.

“I don’t know, they must have done something. The last thing I remember was having a drink with our friends at the Leaky Cauldron to celebrate Zelig’s capture” Merrill sighed and leaned forward, his head in his hands as he rubbed soothingly at his temples, as if he had suddenly gotten the world’s worst headache.

“You don’t remember leaving the party and heading to Knockturn Alley?” Aria paused and stared intently at her friend.

“No…why?” Merrill asked without looking up at her.

“I followed you there, you left so suddenly without saying anything” Aria began to explain. “You went down into Knockturn and into Skrimshaw’s Skullduggery. I lost track of you then; I haven’t seen you until now. Maybe a couple of hours ago…”

“That was a couple nights ago, actually” He corrected her, tapping the date on the newspaper. It had been a couple of days she had been unconscious after the Mandrakes wail apparently. More than enough time for Zelig’s underlings to enact their plan.

“These vulgar and lewd rituals, what do they mean by that?” Aria asked tenderly, though she had started to suspect what really occurred as she recalled the scent of the Polyjuice potion in that basement.

“According to what my sources say, you…” Merrill paused and briefly looked up at Aria, but he could not hold her gaze. She even thought she detected a hint of a blush, which made her frown in confusion. “That is to say, you and those two witches were…intimate, with one another. They used some kind of Polyjuice potion to…to give them the anatomy of a Centaur and…pleasure you with them.”

“That is preposterous, you know I would never do such a thing…I never have actually…” Aria blurted out before she could catch herself. Suddenly it was she who could not meet Merrill’s look of concern and understanding.

“I know that, but how else do you explain what the witnesses saw?” Merrill asked as tenderly as he could, his heart knew she was telling the truth, but another part of him perhaps held some doubts about what others had seen.

“They must have used a Polyjuice potion to look like me!” Aria snarled softly, staring hard at the newspaper beside her.

“But how, with your curse, no one can get any part of you to make one?” the old dog gently reminded her. Aria sighed and sat back in her chair, the gears in her mind grinding as she tried to think of a plausible explanation for how they had pulled this off. As she scratched at her hand, she felt the mark where the little rabbit girl had accidentally clawed her when she’d fell and Aria had caught her.

“The little rabbit girl in Charing Cross!” Aria almost shouted, sitting bolt upright in her seat and staring wide eyed at Merrill.

“What?” Merrill replied in confusion, frowning as he stared at Aria. Though, the mere mention of the little girl made the fine hairs at his scruff stand on edge, as if there was something important about her which was hidden just beyond the edges of his memory.

“She scratched me when I caught her, that must have been one of them in disguise!” the snow leopardess reached her hand across the table for Merrill to see. Sure enough, there was still a clear red mark along her hand, one which could easily have allowed Arwen or Rosedriah, whichever had been posing as the little girl, to get a sample of Aria’s fur.

“It’s a stretch, but I agree, it’s more plausible than you actually being in cahoots with those two witches” Merrill nodded in agreement, again he reached out and took her hand in his own.

“How are you able to do that?” Aria asked finally.

“Do what?” Merrill absently asked, as he held her hand and turned it to see the scratch better.

“Touch me” she noted with a nod down at his hands holding her own.

“I…don’t know” He replied with no small measure of surprise, he hadn’t even realized he was doing so, until she pointed it out.

“Merrill…” Aria began to say, trying to put her thoughts into words very carefully. “I think…I think they used that Polyjuice potion on you…which is why you can touch me now” the snow leopardess stated, swallowing hard as she finally raised her gaze to meet his. “That must have been why I couldn’t find you in the basement of Skrimshaw’s and why they left that Mandrake trap for me.”

“And why I was found wandering around Knockturn Alley in a daze…” Merrill growled as he nodded in agreement. “They must have used Obliviate to wipe my memories of what they did, which would be why I never went to look for you…until it was already too late.”

“I’m so sorry Mer, the things they must have done to you, to me…” Aria felt the warmth of tears beginning to trickle down her cheeks as she held Merrill’s hand tightly in her own.

“It’s so much worse than that, Ari” Merrill sighed and the look in his eyes changed, showing a brief flash of anger at what he was about to tell her. “Zelig…he’s…he’s been set free” Merrill sighed and closed his eyes while shaking his head in disbelief. “They played us and fooled the council into letting that monster out, not only that, but now…now you’re probably going to take his place in Azkaban if they catch you.”