what a beautiful profile, page-23

bell potter and the overflowing bedside chamber
Smuggler seeps out of the room hurriedly. Billbixby waddles behind, tripping
as he mounts the deep dungeon steps. Off they trundle with a new mission.

It is not too far away from their destination - The Forum - where Sophisticats meet to discuss all matters of great worth. The Forum has many characters small, tall, feathery, slippery, wholesome and loathsome. All of them tote at their thick cigars and quaff their fine half-blood wines and guffaw as they recount the day's proceedings.

Suddenly, the low level hum of chatter is broken.
"Here me! Here me!" An authoritive voice shouts. The dark shadow of Severus appears. Billybixby is not very far behind, waddling noisly into the room.
Without caution, Billbixby immediately tosses the first of the potions in the middle of the room. It smashes as liquid of Prophectic Announcement gasifies and mildly begins to relax those in the vicinity.
"It's gonna blow!" he says excitedly, bouncing around.
Severus hisses loudly and stares evilly at Billbixby. Billybixby's tail stops wagging and his ears drop.
"Tool!" he mutters under his breath. "I'll leave if you don't want me here!" he sulks.
"Know this, all the Muggl.. Sophisticats! Bell Potter is aligned with the great Lord Pallister!" Severus announces.
The room erupts into a flurry of debate and confusion. How can this be? They argue. Potter would surely never band together with the likes of Lord Pallister. What would Potter's mentor, the Great Warren Buffet, have to say about this?
Ineptly, Billbixby approaches one of the Sophisticats. The Sophisticat recoils in horror, as the stench permeates his nostrils.
"Want to know something?" Billbixby taunts, half revealing an official-looking piece of paper from his pouch.
Shaking, the Sophisticat's eye piece falls, dangling from its silver chain. The Sophisticat makes an approach to appease the wild beast.
"PSYCH!" Billbixby yells and shoves the paper back in his pouch. "He wants to know! But he's not gonna know, that it's gonna blow!"
Billbixby loves to mock the Muggles by wagging his tail in their faces. It is quite a crude method, but it does raise the curiousity of the younger and inexperienced. After all, it's the fresh essence of soul that is the most valuable to Lord Pallister.


To be continued... (See Hotcopper Forum: QTK)