The Shrieking Shack

The Meeting

"Where is everyone?" Thomas muttered, standing outside the town hall at a few minutes to 9. Barnaby was standing next to him, puffing on a cigar. "Cheer up. We've had some turn up. Remember, it's a Hogsmeade weekend for the school."

"Bloody hell," Thomas muttered. It meant that most of the shop owners would be in their shops, ready to make a few galleons off the happy students.

A few more villagers arrived, mostly housewives, and the two men went back inside. "I should have foreseen the influx of Hogwarts students when I scheduled this," Barnaby remarked to the small group of villagers, but he was well aware that merely tacking a notice to a lamppost hardly qualified as "scheduling."

* * *

"Goodness, where's everyone going?" James asked as the four boys walked down the main street of Hogsmeade.

"Looks like they're going to the town hall," Remus replied, watching the last stragglers enter.

James shrugged. "Well, it doesn't affect us." He paused. "Wait, the shop owners are still working, right?"

"Honeydukes had better be open!" Peter exclaimed, running toward it. "It is, it is!" he shouted, pointing.

"Isn't he cute? Just like a little puppy dog," James remarked.

Sirius frowned. "Hey, I resent that, buddy," he said. "So, where to now?"

* * *

"OK, are we all here?" Barnaby asked the small group. Everyone murmured and rolled their eyes. "Thomas MacInnie is the one who suggested this meeting, so perhaps he'd like to speak?"

Thomas stood up and faced the villagers. "We're here to talk about the monster," he said. "I don't know about any of you, but I want it gone."

Another murmur went through the crowd. "You mean the Shrieking Shack one, right?" asked a man.

"Yes. What other monster is there?"

This prompted a chorus of suggestions; to hear the villagers speak of it, the village was thick with the things. "Well, I think my neighbour's a vampire. He only ever goes out at night!" "I think my attic is haunted." "I heard there's an acromantula in the Forbidden Forest."

Thomas blinked. "You're all insane," he muttered under his breath. "Listen, I mean the thing in the Shack. That monster. I'm sure you've noticed?" Everyone nodded. "Well, I have reason to believe it's a werewolf," he said. Several people gasped. Many others shook their heads. "OK, it doesn't matter what the bloody thing is. What matters is that it's scaring us all, and we shouldn't have to live in fear."

An elderly woman stood up. "I agree with you that we shouldn't have to live in fear, Tom. But we should at least agree on what the thing is if we're going to deal with it. And that's no werewolf. I hear noises in the daytime!"

Another round of chatter spread through the group.

No one in the room noticed that Barnaby was shifting nervously in his chair.

* * *

"I'm not sure I'm in the mood for sweets," Remus muttered. This was mildly unusual for him.

"Well, I certainly am," said Sirius, ducking inside Honeydukes. James followed.

Remus merely shrugged. But as he turned to enter the shop, he noticed something odd. He blinked. "Um, fellows?" he said. He got no response. "James? Sirius?" He didn't bother calling for Peter; there was no way he'd leave Honeydukes. So Remus waited outside, puzzled.

James came out into the sunshine a few minutes later with a packet of chocolates. "Moony, what's wrong? You look pensive," he remarked

"Well, this," Remus said, gesturing to the notice tacked to the lamppost outside the shop.

James looked at it and gasped. "Oh my."

NOTICE

* * *

Town Meeting

Saturday, 9:00 am, Town Hall

All citizens invited

* * *

Topic:

The monster in the Shrieking Shack

"They're...talking about me?" Remus said.

James patted him on the shoulder, chuckling. "You're famous! You should be flattered!"

"For some reason, I'm not," Remus replied. "Merlin, James, what if they mean to kill me?" He envisioned an angry mob wielding torches and farm implements, all storming toward Hogwarts. Curiously, he had never seen any films or read any muggle books, so his mental image was purely coincidental.

Sirius emerged from the shop, dragging a reluctant Peter behind him. "You can't stay there all day!" he fussed at him. Then he stopped when he reached the others. "What's going on?"

"That," said Remus, pointing.

Sirius whistled as he read it. "How...curious. You know, fellows, I think I know where I'd like to go next."

James eyed him. "It says 'citizens,' Sirius. We're not citizens."

"Close enough," said Sirius, shrugging. "We're practically within the town border."

"But we're not bloody citizens of the town, and we don't fall under its jurisdiction!" protested Remus. "We're under the governance of the Ministry of Magic. We have no legal right to attend a meeting here--"

Sirius flicked him on the arm. "Stop that. Listen, town meetings are open to the public, last time I checked. I know this because my father was always attending council meetings in places he didn't live."

"Your father worked for the Ministry!" shouted Remus, inexplicably annoyed with his friend suddenly.

"Well, there must be a way to get in, anyway. I didn't say we'd waltz in and sit in the front row, Remus. There are plenty of ways we can get in and listen."

Remus sighed. "You're nuts, you know."

"Yeah, and that's why you love me," Sirius teased.

* * *

"I went out to the Shack," Tom told the villagers. "I couldn't get in."

"Couldn't?" asked a man. "Why? And if you can't get in, how are we meant to?"

Thomas shrugged. "Well, that's what this meeting is about. Perhaps between us, we can figure something out."

* * *

Sirius, James, and Peter opened the front door of the town hall and found the entryway empty. Everyone was in the meeting room, and they heard a man talking.

"What now?" Peter whispered, loudly smacking his blue gum.

Sirius stroked his chin and then looked at James. "I hadn't counted on this place being so small," he remarked. Then he shrugged. "Well, plan B then--we'll just listen at the door."

The four boys crowded around the meeting room door and opened it a crack so they could hear. Remus found himself pressed rather awkwardly against Sirius and wasn't sure if he enjoyed it or not. He thought a moment longer and eventually decided that he did. Unbeknownst to him, so did Sirius, who "happened to" shift a little to get some friction.

Neither James, Peter, nor the roomful of villagers were aware of the homoeroticism going on at close quarters.

* * *

"Like what?" asked someone. "What are we going to do? Burn the place down?"

"No luck," Tom muttered. "It's impossible to get inside."

Barnaby stood up. "The Shack is protected by some charms, yes. What this means is that no, we can't get in. There is no way to get in. But nothing can get out, either. So I'm not sure why all of you are worrying about it so much." He sighed. "I agreed to this meeting because legally, we have to hold one when it's requested. And maybe it's time this was sorted out, publicly, once and for all."

Thomas stared at the councillor. "Merlin's beard! What are you hiding?" he shouted.

The gathered villagers whispered excitedly. You Know Who's name came up several times. Any time something strange and secretive happened, it seemed to have to do with Lord Voldemort, the dark wizard who had been terrorising people for years.

"Well, it's just that, um, the Ministry is using the Shack," Barnaby muttered.

"For what?" Tom asked.

Barnaby shifted again and tugged at his shirt collar. "I promised I wouldn't say why," he said. "All of you will have to trust me that everything going on is completely above board and safe. But, well, with You Know Who around, we can't divulge...certain things."

Thomas raised an eyebrow. "So you're telling me that the Ministry of Magic is keeping werewolves in there?"

"No one said it was a werewolf!" Barnaby retorted. "You've just assumed that."

"So...are they breeding them? Creating a master race of super-werewolves? What?" Thomas continued.

Barnaby flushed with anger. "There's no bloody werewolf, MacInnie!" he cried. And he wasn't lying, not knowingly. He had been told a vague story by a Ministry official that he suspected wasn't true, especially as he got the impression that Aberforth Dumbledore, of all people, seemed to be in on it. But then, in fairness, Aberforth did have an uncanny habit of listening in to conversations in his bar.

"So you say," said Thomas. "But I know a howl when I hear it. It's a bloody werewolf!"

* * *

Sirius snickered. "So true," he whispered. He turned to Remus. "Where exactly are you putting your hand?"

Remus froze, his cheeks turning pink. "Sorry, I guess it slipped."

"Get a room!" hissed James.

Peter faced them. "Am I the only one confused by what's going on here?" he asked. "The Ministry?"

"Well, I suppose they had to tell the councillor something, didn't they? They were putting in a building that was magically sealed. It was bound to raise questions. I'm sure the councillor's been encouraging the rumours of a monster to draw attention away from what he thinks is the real reason for the Shrieking Shack."

"But you're the real reason," muttered Peter. "These people are stupid."

James smirked. "You'll get no argument from me, Peter. But this...what's this bloke's name? Tom? He sounds like trouble."

Peter nodded in agreement but suddenly inhaled a cloud of dust, common in the musty old building. "Achoo!"

* * *

Barnaby looked out into the audience. "Bless you," he said, and then he turned back to Tom. "I'm telling you, Tom, there's no werewolf in this village. The Shack is very drafty; I'm sure you're misinterpreting the sounds of the wind."

Tom rolled his eyes. "Well, I only hear it on the nights of the full moon," he pointed out.

"Well, it doesn't matter what is in there, anyway, because we aren't allowed to know or find out. You'll just have to have some faith in the Ministry. There's nothing any of us can do."

A few people in attendance rose to leave. "This is silly," they muttered to each other. A few minutes later, the doors opened, and the townspeople headed back out into the sunshine, passing a few Hogwarts students just outside.