Third Edition Writer's Notes: In this chapter, I had to consider what role MACUSA would play in the conference in the wake of the Mole Men / Lava Men attack and what reaction they would have to the impending invasion of Britain by Logan and Wanda. Given the political environment, they would have to be involved on some level.
Chapter Nine: "Jamie's Super Christmas"
By the time Jamie and Ron returned to Manhattan on Sunday, a full week of their break was over, but despite everything, they were both enjoying the holiday so much that they hardly noticed. Things were barely getting started, however, because they stepped off the elevator to find that the Avengers were back. Most of them greeted her with hugs and Christmas greetings. Tony, however, hugged her and critically examined her brace.
"Okay, I'm impressed." He nodded almost reluctantly. "It's an excellent design, but I think I can make some improvements. Drop by my lab later and we'll see what we can do."
Jamie agreed to let him have a look, but she wasn't about to be the rope in a tug-of-war between geeks; especially not Tony and Forge.
Sensing her concern, Sirius quickly stepped in. "Look all she wants to let you, Tony, but any changes go through Wanda or me before you even think of doing them; no exceptions. That design is as much magical as technological. It's a delicate balance and nothing to play around with. You're the last word in technology, my friend, but you know next to nothing about magic."
Tony smiled cockily. "What's to know? You wiggle your fingers or wave your wand and utter some words, then reality reorganizes itself around you. Magic is easy. Engineering takes work. Still, I'll be careful. It's the kitten after all. No way I'm gonna do anything to hurt her. Not only would Wanda turn me into a toad and Natasha beat me to a pulp, Pepper would never speak to me again. No way am I inviting any of that."
"Smart man." Pepper smiled pleasantly.
And that was how it went around the Avengers. As insane as things were when dealing with gods, mutants, super soldiers, playboy geniuses and super spies, they were also surprisingly normal in so many aspects. Tony didn't mess with the brace, but he did order a fifteen thousand dollar track chair, paid a few thousand more for next day delivery and then proceeded to take it apart. By the time he was finished, he'd turned the thing into an honest to goodness anti-gravity hover chair; one that was shielded and designed to work even in the magical environment of Hogwarts, of all things.
Jamie was impressed. Ron was flabbergasted. For everyone else, it was Tuesday. Jamie gave Tony a big kiss on the cheek and thanked him, oohing and aahing over the chair appropriately. It really was a piece of excellent work. It would make her life back at Hogwarts a lot easier.
Ron's second fitting went off well enough and with a minimum of complaining. The rest of the week was spent sightseeing with Ron taking enough pictures with his dad's old magic camera to fill several albums. They visited the Empire State Building, the Statue of Liberty, the Freedom Towers and the 9/11 Memorial, Central Park and the New York equivalent of Diagon Alley. They even got to hit an indoor ice rink with the Richards and Power kids. Jamie wasn't able to skate, of course, but she had a lot of fun anyway, watching the others stumble around the rink. Only Julie Power was actually any good, but they all gave it their best shots.
Dr. Richards, of course, was absolutely fascinated by Jamie's brace. He asked her to put it through its functions while he scanned it with various pieces of equipment, then promptly forgot she was there and lost himself in studying the results. Fortunately, Mrs. Richards was on hand to save her. The kids even played poker with Ben . . . for candy, of course, with Johnny helping Katie and Mrs. Richards helping Valeria. No one kept track, of course. They all wound up eating most of their winnings.
Jamie brought a supply of magical candies to share with her American friends and they went over fantastically. Even the adults liked them. Reed found the Bertie Bott's Any Flavored Beans particularly fascinating even though he got an ear wax flavored one.
Then, Jamie woke up on Christmas morning. She absolutely loved Christmas. Not just because she got a lot of really great gifts, which she did. What she loved most was giving gifts to all the people she loved. She had gifts for her friends back home, of course; a rare book for Hermione, a mixed box of muggle prank gifts for the twins, a lump of coal for Draco, and so on. For the Avengers, however, she had to work rather hard. For Natasha, she got tickets to a Bolshoi ballet performance coming to Rockefeller Center in a few months. For Clint and Bobbi, she got a baby alarm and a magical camera to take living pictures of the little one who was due at any minute. For Steve, she got computer lessons. Thor got several bottles of mead from one of the best shops in Britain's magical community, which he promptly declared to be the ambrosia of the gods.
Everyone got something. Her best and most personal gift, however, was saved for last and she gave it to Sirius. It was something she had wanted to give him for a long time, but hadn't been able to get while living in America. "This is for you, Padfoot."
She handed him the carefully wrapped package. "I know you had to leave London without being able to gather any personal items and I know this can never make up for all you lost, but I want you to have it."
In the box, he found seven photo albums filled with pictures from each of the Marauders' seven years at Hogwarts. She went to a lot of effort to contact as many of their fellow classmates as she could find and ask them for any pictures they had of them. The response surprised her. Then again, she was the girl who lived and they probably thought the pictures were for her own collection. Copies of a lot of them did go into her growing photo collection, but this was her real purpose.
Sirius opened the first book and stared in wonder. Each picture brought back a flood of memories. A tear in his eye, he set the box aside and gave Jamie a huge hug.
"Thank you, kitten." His voice cracked, so he tried to clear it. "I don't know what to say. This is . . . ."
She hugged him back, but said nothing as they sat there for several moments.
"You nailed it, kid," Clint said as Sirius let go of Jamie and magically produced a handkerchief to wipe his eyes and blow his nose.
"Excellent choice, Jamie." Steve patted Jamie's shoulder.
Of course, receiving gifts was also fun and both Jamie and Ron received several. Clint gave them each a customized and personalized bow and a supply of arrows; along with the promise of a week's worth of lessons for Ron. Natasha gave Jamie a version of her widow stings and belt; complete with non-lethal versions of her toys. Steve gave her some SHIELD designed star spangled throwing discs that would work particularly well with her telekinesis. All three of them said that if she was determined to become a hero, she might as well be equipped for the job. Wanda and Padfoot weren't happy, but Jamie promised she'd learned her lesson and wouldn't try to play hero again until she was ready.
Having been paid by both Reed Richards and Tony Stark to let them scan him while he cast spells, Ron was able to get gifts for his family and his new friends, but the gift Jamie gave him was more than he could have ever dreamed. She handed him a thick legal sized envelope with a big red bow on it.
"Don't worry about opening it now," Sirius told the boy. "It's just a copy of papers that were delivered to your parents this morning at your brother's place in Bulgaria. It authorizes Gringott's to transfer certain funds from the Potter and Black accounts to the Weasley vault. Your parents were longtime friends of the Potter family and some of the only friends to stick by me after they were murdered. James and Lily set up a provision in their will for the group we were all members of when we were fighting Voldemort. Some of those funds are being released to them and I matched them. It's not a large amount given the size of our respective estates, just a few hundred galleons, but it should help your family."
"Before you say anything," Jamie interrupted when Ron true to his breeding was about to object. "Don't you dare say it's too much. If anything, it's not nearly enough for the friendship your family showed. My parents and Sirius were drawn into the fight from the day they entered Hogwarts. Your parents didn't haveta be. They were purebloods, but not one of the powerful families. They coulda lived out their lives and not even been touched by the war. Padfoot told me the risks they took. Just take the money and shut up. It's next to nothing to us and something big to you."
"Just like they considered their service during the war," Sirius added. "Nothing to them, but important for others."
Ron blinked several times. "I don't know what to say."
Jamie slugged him playfully on the shoulder, then hugged him. "Then just shut up and let's get back to the party."
That evening, Sif and the Warriors Three arrived from Asgard and Voltstagg officially challenged Bruce to a rematch with his other half.
"I bought a restaurant for the occasion," Tony announced. "They can normally serve a hundred people a night and I had them double their normal staff and close the doors for the occasion. I'm thinking of airing it on pay-per-view later."
"Absolutely not." Pepper stared him down.
He looked crestfallen for all of a second before steering them all to the restaurant where several turkeys had been set up and more were already being prepared for the contest. As predicted, it wasn't even a contest. Voltstagg put down a prodigious amount of food, but Hulk ate his turkeys bones and all. By the time Voltstagg finished his second twenty five pound bird, Hulk was on his fifth and gaining speed.
Ron was in shock. He'd been told about this, but seeing it was a whole different matter. The kids back at Hogwarts would never believe it. His family would never believe it. Heck, he wasn't even sure he believed it and he was there. The most incredible thing for him, however, was when Jamie introduced him to the jade giant and he received a surprisingly gentle pat on the back from him
"Hulk like pretty kitty's friend." The massive turkey grease smeared creature smiled at him.
Late that night as they were about to go to bed, Ron knocked on Jamie's door. "Come in, Ron."
"I'd ask how ya knew it was me, but I figure I already know."
"Whattcha want?" She smiled at some inside joke.
"I wanted to thank ya for all this," he told her. "I mean . . . ."
She waved him off. "You already thanked me, Ron. I already told you the money isn't even from me. You're welcome, though. As for the rest of it, you and Hermione are my best friends. I'm just glad one of you was able to come spend Christmas with me. It wouldn't have been nearly as much fun without having you to torment."
"There is that." He gave her a crooked smile. "I'll never forget this, Jamie. If ya ever need me, I'm there. When ya face down Voldemort, I'll be by your side."
She laughed, but her eyes showed her gratitude at the gesture. "Don't be making promises. If we're lucky neither of us will haveta fight him. Just don't get mad if next time I bring Hermione instead of you."
He laughed. "I won't. I'll be jealous, but I won't get mad."
The week between Christmas and New Year started with a big super villain fight the day after Christmas. Jamie, Ron and several of the ladies were at Ron's final fitting for his tux and planning to have lunch at a very nice restaurant afterwards when moloids attacked Manhattan. Fortunately, Wanda, Natasha, Wasp and Captain Marvel were with them in addition to Pepper and Jane Foster, who stayed with Jamie and Ron while the others taught the moloids the folly of their ways. Dr. Banner, Thor, Steve, Clint and Tony were all getting fitted as well, making it a real party. The moloids were about to learn why it was a bad idea to attack Manhattan.
Nine Avengers stepped out of the clothiers and engaged the enemy. Widow and Hawkeye focused on the moloids. Hulk and Thor both went after a monstrous troll that accompanied the attack. The Wasp and Captain Marvel went after its twin, and Iron Man and Wanda teamed against the third one. Captain America coordinated their efforts, lent a hand wherever he found an opening and helped organize the evacuation of civilians.
Pepper and Jane kept Ron and Jamie out of the fight, but couldn't prevent them from lending a little magical help from range. Stupefy spells and petrificus totalis spells were easy enough for them, but when Jamie saw a bunch of people being threatened by moloids and no heroes near enough to help them, she let loose her Patronus and let it play whack-a-moloid, which left her far more exhausted than it should have after just a few minutes.
Of course, the Avengers really didn't need her help. Wanda attacked the troll she and Tony were fighting from the ground while Tony hit it from the air. Jamie watched as her godmother turned the ground beneath the monster into quicksand, then just as quickly solidified it into hardened stone once it was in up to its waist. Tony's repulsors weren't very effective against the creature, but his uni-beam blinded and confused it long enough for Wanda to finish her work. Then he knocked it out with an armor enhanced double fist to the chin.
Hulk tackled his troll's knee and knocked it down while Thor hit it with repeated blows of Mjolnir. At one point, the reeling creature grabbed Hulk and tried to jam him into its mouth. That move cost it most of its massive teeth. Thor then called down a lightning bolt and finished it off.
Captain Marvel softened the last troll up with punches and photon blasts. Wasp flew into its ear and stung its ear drum several times, leaving it off kilter. This gave Carol an opening to finish it off with a vicious flying knee to the face. They made a good team.
Widow and Hawkeye made short work of the moloids; particularly once SpiderMan, who happened to be in the neighborhood, showed up to lend a hand.
They were looking for more targets when Steve ran up to them. "You three, head to Hell's Kitchen. Daredevil's dealing with his own incursion and could use some help. The Fantastic Four are dealing with an attack in the financial district and the X-Men are on their way in. The attack in Greenwich already ran into Dr. Strange and is over."
As Spidey took off and Natasha and Clint commandeered motorcycles to follow him, Steve threw his shield and took out a last moloid who had been playing possum and was trying to slink off. Funny, these things usually weren't smart enough to even consider tactics.
Jamie knew she'd overtaxed herself. It was less than two months since she almost died and summoning a Patronus was a major casting. She wasn't so exhausted that she didn't sense the movement behind her. She turned just in time to call out the alarm. A hole was melting in the floor of the shop. Seconds later, lava men were flooding out.
Ron started freezing them, which worked even better on lava men than on wizards or muggles . . . or moloids. Jane pulled out her phone and alerted the team that they were under attack. Pepper reached into her purse and pulled out a gun.
"Tony gave me this as a Christmas present," she announced rather proudly. "Eat repulsors, scum bags!"
Ron and Pepper did their best, but there were just too many of them. Jamie wasn't able to be much help and knew it was only a matter of time before they were overrun. Then she noticed something.
"They're ignoring you," she said moving her chair away from the others and noting the focus change of the lava men. "They're after me. I'm too tired to do much, but I can go intangible. You three get out of here. Get help. They can't touch me. Hurry."
None of them liked the idea, but they went with it; particularly when they saw the first lava man tackle Jamie and pass right through her with a confused look on its face.
The ladies retreated, but Ron stalled until Jamie yelled at him. "Go, Ron. Get help. These things can't hurt me. You aren't so lucky. I'll be fine."
Jamie hoped she sounded more confident than she felt. She was on her last legs and in desperate need of a nap. She didn't even have the energy to teleport or fly and would soon be too spent to stay intangible. She was already getting dizzy and had spots swirling around the periphery of her vision. Fortunately, the chair could fly, so she engaged the gravity field and floated towards the door that was now blocked by lava men.
She redirected the chair through the outer wall and barely made it outside before she had to solidify. She was gasping for air and about to pass out when a large, shaggy dog with thoroughly soaked fur barreled through the lava men like a bowling ball through pins. An instant later, blasts of eldritch energy were coming from two directions and shattering any targets Padfoot missed. Her family was here. Everything would be okay now. She breathed a sigh of relief and let herself pass out.
The fight didn't last much longer, but the clean-up would go into the New Year. When Jamie woke up, she was in the Avengers infirmary and surrounded by serious looking adults. Dr. Hank and Dr. Reyes were there with Professor Xavier. So were Dr. Richards, Dr. Strange, Dr. Pym and Dr. Drumm. Padfoot, Mooney, Tonks and Wanda were in the background behind them. They were all deferring to a woman she didn't recognize, however; a woman dressed in a flowing gown and antique jewelry. She considered the woman for a moment. Some of the markings on the jewelry were Norse, but she still couldn't place her.
"Her magic reserves are badly depleted." Something about the woman's voice made Jamie feel safe regardless what she was saying. "Did no one realize that more than her body was damaged in the incident you told me about?"
"Some of the best doctors in both the muggle and magical societies examined her, your majesty," Jamie heard Padfoot say. "Of course, none of them can match Asgardian medical technology and healing magic."
The woman Jamie now realized had to be Queen Frigga, Thor's mother, nodded. "No matter. It can be fixed. Would someone please bring me a glass or water? Juice or wine would work even better."
Jamie heard Thor's voice. "Mead?"
Frigga turned to her son. "Asgardian?"
"Midgardian," he told her, "but some of the best I've ever tasted. Jamie gave me several bottles as a Yule gift."
Frigga nodded. "That will do quite well, Thor. Thank you."
They handed Frigga a cup and she added several drops of something from a vial she pulled from a bag she had with her then lifted Jamie's head and held the cup to her lips. Jamie took several sips of the draught, feeling a warmth begin to spread through her as she did.
"She'll sleep now. Make sure she drinks the rest of it a bit at a time as she's able. She's also to be forbidden to use any magic or other abilities for at least a week. The nectar I added to the mead was distilled from Idunn's golden apples. It is very powerful and will both heal her essence and recharge her energies. Still, it was a close thing."
That was the last Jamie heard as she fell into a deep sleep punctuated with several very interesting and even psychedelic dreams.
Down in the main meeting room, several minutes later, there was a sort of war council. Jamie's four guardians were in attendance along with most of the active Avengers, Professor Xavier and several X-Men, the Fantastic Four, Dr. Strange and Nick Fury. They were all tired and glad the fight was over for now at least, but also concerned. Cassandra Boot, President of the Congress of Magic was also present by way of a magical hologram. Ron managed to listen in.
"The moloid attack was a distraction," Sirius was extremely angry. "Those lava men were specifically after Jamie. What the hell is going on? She's supposed to be safe here."
"We've done everything in our power to insure that, Mr. Black," the hologram assured him. "There was no hint of such an attack. Even now, my agents investigating the event are stumped as to how it could have been carried out with such secrecy."
"I know you have, Madam President," Sirius admitted. "Even you have your limits."
Captain America nodded. "I'm also concerned about the level of planning, tactics and coordination this attack showed. Mole Man's brilliant, but not much of a tactician. Tyrannus is a master tactician, but he's been in the Vault for over a year. I called and confirmed that he's still there. There's no way he was behind this and no way either of them would know of, much less have reason to target Jamie."
Dr. Strange agreed. "Even more interesting was the intelligence exhibited by each individual creature. I haven't dealt with them a great deal, but I was led to believe that the moloids, at least, were nearly mindless; their only threat being in their massive numbers."
"Correct," Reed confirmed. "Without guidance, moloids and most of the other creatures down below aren't much of a threat. They're barely smart enough to feed themselves and breed. The lava men are smarter and more organized. Some few are even capable of maintaining, if not designing and building advanced technology, but most of them are still more cunning than advanced. Moreover, moloids and lava men are bitter enemies. I've never heard of them working together on anything; least of all an attack on the surface."
Dr. Strange sighed. "I believe a powerful magical artifact called the Stone Skull of Madagascar could be responsible. It's tightly aligned with the powers of the Earth and can control creatures that dwell beneath it; creatures like all of the ones involved in the attack. It has a malevolent intelligence, and has been known to enable it's wielder to increase the intelligence of such creatures while insuring their loyalty."
Fury took over. "Word 'round the magic communities has it that about a dozen powerful magical items, including this stone skull thing, were stolen from various places over the past year or so. Y'r friend, th' Black Panther, actually fought th' thief when it made off with th' White Gorilla's pelt. Strange thinks it's some kinda poltergeist an' Dumbledore agrees with him."
Strange nodded. "Albus believes that a poltergeist that calls itself Cassius is responsible for the thefts. It has a great hatred of and disdain for what the British magical community calls muggles; making it a potential ally for the Deatheaters. I spoke with the local Wakandan attaché and am told that King T'Challa confirms the British nature of the creature; through its accent and use of the term muggle."
"The British magical community is the only one to widely use that term," the President confirmed. "Here in America, we us No Maj to describes non-magical types. Europe and other regions have their own terms."
Wanda had to ask. "Why haven't more artifacts been stolen from America?"
"I have a great many artifacts in my collection," Stephen confirmed, "as does Ms. Harkness. There's also the Museum of Antiquities at the Congress' headquarters in Washington DC and the Vault of Magic in Ilvermorny. Most of the artifacts in the States, however, are fewer than five hundred years old. With few exceptions, most of the artifacts the Deatheaters seem interested in are far older than that. Most of the truly ancient artifacts are on the Eastern Hemisphere and so are the Deatheaters. For that matter, to the best of our knowledge so is Voldemort . . . assuming he's still alive in some form."
"We think th' Halloween attack on Hogwarts was more'n a commemoration of his attack on th' Potters ten years ago," Fury told the heroes gathered, changing the subject to something he could speak on with some authority. "We think it was some kinda test o' th' school's defenses. Assumin' th' same folks 'r behind th' attack t'day could explain why th' lava men went straight f'r Jamie."
"They were feeling out our defenses," Steve agreed. "It makes sense. We have to figure that the Deatheaters have a fairly decent intelligence network. They have to know, given Jamie's importance to all of us, we're likely to get involved if and when they make their next big move."
"Makes sense," Logan noted. "Question is, what're we gonna do 'bout it? We all figured Jamie'd be safe over here. Don't seem so anymore. I don't know 'bout th' rest o' ya'll, but I don't like bein' on th' defensive."
"We need intelligence," Steve responded. "We don't even know who the players on the other side are."
"I think I can help on that," a woman in a conservative gray skirt and blazer stood in the doorway.
Steve got up and walked over to greet her with a hug. "Jackie. Good to see you again."
She hugged him back platonically. "You, too, Steve. Nick and President Boot asked me to come over here and brief you chaps. Care to introduce me?"
"Ladies and gentlemen," he said, turning to the room, "I'd like to introduce you to Baroness Jacqueline Falsworth. Back when we served on the Invaders, she was known as Spitfire. Now, she heads the British government's Weird Happenings Organization; basically, their version of SHIELD."
Logan smiled. "Hey, darlin'. Long time. Whattcha got f'r us?"
Jacqueline blinked. "Only one person, other than my late husband, ever had the temerity to call me 'darlin'. That you, James? Of course it's you. You're looking well."
Logan nodded. "So 'r you. An' I go by Logan now . . . or Wolverine. James is somethin' from th' past."
She cleared her throat. "As for what I have for you, there's been no sign of his nibs, of course, but the Deatheaters have been real active over the past year or so. Those who haven't honestly repented appear to be divided into two camps; one led by Lucius Malfoy and one led by someone called the Beastmaster, but believed to be Walden Macnair. The Malfoy group is larger, but the Beastmaster group is better connected. If the belief about Macnair's role is accurate, that would make sense. He's the Ministry's pet executioner."
She paused. "The two camps have very different and frequently conflicting agendas, which has them wasting a lot of energy fighting each other. Lately, they seem to each be trying to impress someone with their cunning and audacity and brutality. We don't have to guess who that someone is."
She placed a medium sized portable drive on the table. "The rest of the information is on this, but that's the basics. We believe the Malfoy group is behind the thefts. The other group is looking for ways to crack Azkaban and free the Deatheaters held there."
Logan smiled evilly. "Ya got addresses on th' two of 'em? Think I'll go pay 'em a visit. If y'r up for it, Wanda, figured I'd invite ya along as back up."
Wanda nodded grimly, but Jacqueline seemed concerned. "Do try not to destroy half of Britain while you're there. It's a small country with pissy weather, but most of us love it."
"Not t' worry, darlin'." Logan promised her. "This'll just be a soft probe; maybe a surgical strike at worst. I don't plan on killin' either of 'em. That'd just mean ya'd haveta go t' all th' trouble o' figurin' out who their replacements were. I'm just gonna impress on 'em th' folly o' messin' with Jamie. I probably won't haveta hurt 'em . . . much."
"I can't say I agree with your methods, Logan," Steve offered, "but I know better than to tell you not to do something you've decided on. Just be careful. Wanda, can I count on you to keep him in line?"
Wanda's answer wasn't very promising. "These people killed two of my best friends and a lot more. Now, they're a threat to my goddaughter. Frankly, Steve, I'm probably the last person you should be counting on for restraint."
"I know I can't stop you," Cassandra Boot told them in a resigned, but far from pleased, tone, "but please be careful. Mr. Logan is one thing, but whether you've ever accepted the authority of the Congress or not, Ms. Maximoff, you do represent the magical community of the US; native citizen or not. Relations between the Congress and the Ministry are strained enough without an American magical icon declaring war on British magical citizens . . . no matter what their affiliation."
Logan grinned viciously. "Not t' worry on that front, darlin'. I'm gonna be th' one doin' th' attackin'. Wanda's just along t' have my back. Odds are they won't even know she was there. Even if they do, she's a known renegade. Shouldn't be a problem."
Twelve hours later, it was in the wee hours of the morning at Malfoy Manor, but something; some foreboding of doom disturbed Lucius Malfoy's sleep. Word reached him earlier in the evening that Macnair had been attacked. Normally, he wouldn't have cared, but there was just something about the attack that he found very disturbing. Someone had broken Macnair's wand in several pieces. That simply wasn't done in wizarding society.
Then there was the fact that Macnair's home had been locked and warded at the time and not even the best the aurors had to offer could figure out how the attacker got in. One had gotten in, however, and had ravaged the man; nearly shredded him. The attack had been violent and bloody even by Greyback's measure. There was a new player on the board and he was making his own rules. That never boded well.
Wide awake, Lucius slipped carefully out of bed so as not to wake his sleeping wife, Narcissa, the put on his robe and padded down to his office. If he couldn't sleep, maybe he could get some work done. The report from America was waiting unread, among several other things.
Entering his office, however, he found a man waiting for him. The person was shortish, stout, hairy and ill-disposed; dressed in garb that somewhat resembled what one would expect to see on some American western movie on the telly. He was sitting in Lucius' chair behind Lucius' desk and had the file Lucius had come down to read in his filthy hands.
Lucius had no idea how the man had gotten in without setting off alarms or alerting his guard beasts, but it didn't matter. His hand went for the wand in the pocket of his robe.
"I wouldn't," the man warned and Lucius stopped in spite of himself. "Y'r friend, Macnair, tried that an' lost his wand. In y'r case, I may not stop at th' wand."
"Who are you?" Lucius tried to sound braver than he felt.
"Doesn't matter." The man shrugged. "I'm just a messenger o' sorts."
"Messages are usually delivered during the day." Lucius frowned.
"Not this one." The man rose slowly to his feet, still standing just under five and a half feet tall.
"What's your message, peasant."
"America's off limits. So are th' Avengers. Most importantly, so is Jamie Potter. Tell y'r Deatheaters an' tell Voldemort. The second he pokes his head outta whatever hole he's been hidin' in, we're comin' f'r him an' there ain't nothin' ya c'n do t' stop us. Try testin' us again, 'r harm Jamie an' we won't settle f'r destroyin' him. We'll take alla ya out."
Lucius tried to bluff. "I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about. The Dark Lord is dead and I only served him under an Imperiatus curse in the first place I'm an upright member of this community and a man of some influence, and I don't take kindly to being threatened."
"Macnair said ya'd deny it," Logan responded, standing casually. "In between pissin' himself an' cryin' f'r his mommy, that is. We know y'r group's th' one behind the thefts o' magic artifacts lately. We know y'r boss was behind th' attack at Hogwarts on Halloween. This file I'm takin' with me confirms ya were behind th' attack in Manhattan yesterday. We know what he's after an' he ain't gonna get it. We even got a pretty good idea why he want's th' artifacts ya been stealin' f'r him."
Logan finished with on last threat. "Ya better realize one thing. We ain't y'r Ministry an' we don't play by their rules. Mess with us an' life in Azkaban'll seem like a holiday in comparison."
"Do not threaten me, muggle scum!" Malfoy made the biggest mistake of his misbegotten life; he pulled his wand.
Logan moved faster than Lucius would have thought possible, popped his claws and calmly destroyed Lucius' wand with the claws of one hand and removed his wand arm just below the shoulder with the claws of the other. "I ain't a muggle. I'm a mutant. There's a difference. Get usedta it."
As Lucius screamed and collapsed, Narcissa Malfoy, who actually woke when her husband got out of bed and was alerted to trouble by the sound of voices, apported in and attempted to attack Logan. Her killing curse missed, however, when he dove out back behind her husband's desk. An instant later, Wanda appeared in the room in all her scarlet glory.
"Conlidamus!" She gestured, not even bothering to use a wand.
Narcissa's shattered wand joined her husband's sectioned one on the floor. Terrified, she knelt and held Lucius, doing what she could to stop his bleeding.
Logan turned to Wanda. "Ya wanna take care o' that. If he's dead, he can't learn an' can't be a lesson t' others."
Wanda cast a spell to cauterize the man's wound. "I know you know who I am. Tell your people. We play for keeps. You threatened my goddaughter. Do it again and, Congress and Ministry be damned, I'll be back."
Logan nodded. "Trust us. Ya don't want us t' haveta come back."
He picked up Lucius' severed arm. "We'll be keepin' this. We know some folks who are pretty good at sympathetic magic. Remember, we'll be watchin'. Tell y'r boss he'd be smart t' just fade away."
"Take your husband to a healer, Narcissa," Wanda said calmly, "before he dies of shock and consider yourselves lucky that all you lost were your wands and his arm. I wouldn't have been as gentle."
Wanda put her hand on Logan's shoulder and apported them both away. Narcissa sat there for a moment in shock and terror, then apported her unconscious husband to St. Mungo's; glad that Draco hadn't been awakened by the battle.
