Prologue

It was a dark and stormy night. The wind howled and moaned, and the rain pounded against the top of the hill. Trees swayed from side to side, and tender grass stalks were flattened by the fierce gale. A rock atop the hill was rattling and shaking in the wind. However, under the rock, in the secret cave in the hill, all was quiet and calm. In one of the rooms, a cat lay on a soft rug, curled up and fast asleep in front of a cutting board and knife. In another, animals of all sorts were snoozing gently on bunk beds, wrapped in blankets. However, in a third room, where the fire burned low, and the candle flames had been snuffed out. Two figures sat in large armchairs by the glowing coals in the fireplace, conversing in low voices.
"Yes, but the question is, how?" said the meerkat, who was clutching the arms of the chair very tightly.
"We must proceed with caution," said the arctic wolf quietly. "No attempts must be made before the Quidditch World Cup. It would be too risky."
The meerkat nodded slowly. "I agree," he said, "but still, some action must be taken, and quickly. Otherwise, he will soon work to tear down our stable army."
"I think that we must-" began the arctic wolf, but was interrupted by a loud knocking on the door.
"Enter!" commanded the meerkat. The door opened, and a turtle walked in, with a large tray upon his back.
"Dinner for you, Mr. Tiggerpaka sir, and for you, General Hedley sir," said the turtle in a slow, deep voice.
"Thank you, Weatherby," said Tiggerpaka absently. He lifted the tray off of the turtle and set in on the table in front of the fire. The turtle bowed his head down low, and turned and slowly walked out of the room. Tiggerpaka took the teapot off of the tray and poured some amber liquid into a cup. He took a sip of it, and smacked his lips together. "Ahh. I love this grub cordial Weatherby makes," he said. General Hedley nodded and selected a jam tart from the platter. Tiggerpaka took another drink from his cup, set it down, and withdrew a tightly bound scroll from one of the cushions of the armchair. He unfurled it and spread it out on the table. General Hedley gaped at him.
"How did you get that?" he asked in amazement. "That's one of the Scumulos Scrolls! Those scrolls are under heavy military protection, they are."
Tiggerpaka smirked. "The security guards were out with a simple tap from my Stun Stick, and those lasers are absolutely pathetic. It just took one of those S-Ray Gun that Captain Nutello developed to shatter the beams," he said contemptuously. "Those humans are just plain stupid."
General Hedley nodded, and together with Tiggerpaka, he leaned over to read the strange writing on the scroll.