Chapter 13 Senor Raton

As Hermione and Snape approached the thatched-roof cottage, Hermione felt that it looked like something out of a fairytale, perhaps Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Snape rapped on the door, and it was opened by a dark-haired young woman. She stared at the unexpected strangers dressed in evening attire.

“Is Senor Raton home?” inquired Snape.

Before the young woman had a chance to answer, a jovial voice was heard from inside. “Maria, ask our guests to come in.”

Hermione and Snape entered the cottage to find that the interior continued to reinforce the fairytale image. The whitewashed walls, thatched roof and wooden floors were enhanced with simple Spanish furnishings. Hanging from the broad, wooden ceiling beams was an assortment of dried and drying plants. Their aromas filled the air.

Standing in the middle of a room was a man whose mere demeanour caused Hermione to smile. There was no mistaking the resemblance to Dumbledore. While Senor Raton’s hair and beard were considerably shorter than Dumbledore’s, the twinkle in his eyes was a dead ringer.

“Severus, I had a feeling I’d be seeing you tonight, and you’ve brought such lovely company. Come in, come in, let’s go into the study. Maria, could you bring our guests some tea, please?”

Their host acted as though there were nothing odd about two people in formal wear dropping in out of the blue at his cottage in the middle of the Amazon Rainforest.

“Who is your lovely companion, Severus?” twinkled Senor Raton.

Snape introduced Hermione as a former student and colleague. He explained how he had chanced to meet Hermione at Disney World and how he had recruited her to help him accomplish his mission.

“Then I take it that you have accomplished your mission?” their host inquired.

Snape reached into a pocket and withdrew some minuscule scraps of paper. “Engorgio!” he commanded while tapping the scraps with his wand. The scraps grew to reveal numerous contracts, written on parchment.

“As I expected, I found these, and many others that I did not remove, in Michael Eisner’s office. They are contracts with certain magical entities who are placing charms on Disney products and services. It works like this: after basic manufacturing, the products receive a Compulsion Charm. Muggles who pick up, or sometimes just look, at the product are compelled to buy it. Some Muggles can fight the compulsion, but if they had any inclination to buy the product at all, it would be almost impossible to overcome the urge. There is also evidence of enchantments throughout the various amusement parks that operate the same way. The basic goal is to get Muggles to spend more than they would naturally,” Snape reported.

“The complexity of it is that these charms and enchantments are designed to act neutrally on witches and wizards. They didn’t want to risk detection by the Wizarding community, and since the American Ministry of Magic has been very lax in monitoring the situation, the likelihood of detection was slim. I expect there has been some gold changing hands at the Ministry. It would certainly fit the modus operandi in the earlier Eisner family scandal,” Snape finished.

While Snape was speaking, Senor Raton had walked over to a window and stood with his back to Snape and Hermione. With a heavy sigh, he turned to face them. He now looked every bit the old man that he was and had lost his twinkle. Maria had entered the room to serve tea, so he waited for her to finish serving before he spoke.

“I can’t say that I’m surprised,” began Senor Raton, “but I am disappointed none the less. In my haste to leave behind the identity of Walt Disney, and pursue my new dreams, I’ve left my brother Roy without the support he needed to prevent things like this from happening. I can see now that I’ll need to come back, behind the scenes of course, to help Roy clean house and make sure he has the resources he needs to succeed, including me.”

“Severus, I don’t know how to thank you. I know this was not a job you would have chosen to take on. I know Minnie McGonagall called in a favour to get you involved. You can be assured that I am forever in your debt. Rest assured that you will never lack for any potion ingredient that I can supply,” Senor Raton promised.

At this statement, Hermione actually saw Snape’s eyes light up.

“Then my time was well spent,” Severus replied.

“What about you, Ms Hermione? How can I thank you for assisting young Severus in this matter?” Senor Raton asked.

“I want nothing, sir. It is a real honour to meet you, and other than a few uncertain moments,” at which Hermione shot Snape a grin, “it has been a pleasure. I think I needed to get involved in something like this at this time. Stir things up a bit, if you know what I mean.”

At this enigmatic statement, Senor Raton looked from Hermione to Snape and back. “I think I do, my dear,” he replied.

“Well, the time is late, and I must get Hermione back before her friends worry about her,” Snape interjected.

“Yes, yes, we don’t want anyone turning into a pumpkin now, do we?” Senor Raton added with the twinkle back in his eye again.