Once more, fredfred deserves huge thanks for betaing. His help has improved the story a lot.
Chapter 10: Barbary Coast Misadventures
'The Barbary Coast Wizarding Enclaves - Magical Algiers, Tunis and Tripoli - are infamous among most European and Mediterranean countries for their piracy and slaving raids. The raids, targeting mostly France, Italy, Spain and Portugal, but striking as far as Iceland, started in the 16th century and continued for hundreds of years. As with other pirates, the implementation of the Statute of Secrecy in 1692 did not cause the wizards involved in piracy to stop their attacks, but merely made them focus on wizarding enclaves instead - chief among them the Veela settlements in southern France.
The unfortunate victims of these raiders found themselves sold on the slave markets of the Magical Ottoman Empire or ransomed back to their families, depending on the wealth of the victims and the whims of the pirates. Despite the fierce resistance of the European wizards and witches and retaliatory attacks launched against the Barbary Coast enclaves - one such raid freed dozens of Veela and set Magical Algiers aflame - this vile practice continued for over two hundred and fifty years since the pirates were nominally subjects of the Sultan of the Magical Ottoman Empire and enjoyed his protection.
It wasn't until the power of the Magical Ottoman Empire started to wane that the tide began to turn against the pirates, and it took the infamous Intervention, led by Albus Dumbledore in the 1950s, to finally end the organised and officially sanctioned slave raids. However, smaller raids continue to this day, despite the official condemnation of the Pasha of Algiers and the Beys of Tunis and Tripoli.
But the Barbary Coast Wizarding Enclaves are more than just dens of pirates and slavers. They have a rich history dating back to the times of the Romans and Carthaginians - even back to Atlantis, according to some tales - and close ties to the famous jinn. Many wizards and witches in the Barbary Coast Enclaves have a jinni among their ancestors, and the affinity for fire which some of them have inherited is probably the source of the tales of 'half-Veela' or 'male Veela' that circulate among the more gullible parts of the magical population.'
- Excerpt from 'The Rise and Fall of the Magical Ottoman Empire' by Lyndon Snyder, London, 1981
London, No 12 Grimmauld Place, September 12th, 2001
"Tunis?" Ron Weasley asked, wincing.
"Yes, Tunis," Hermione repeated. "Our best hope for deciphering the ghost's language lives in the very enclave from which we were banished." She was glaring at him, as he had expected.
"Technically, we weren't banished," he said. "Not officially."
"I don't think your jinni princess cared about the Bey's opinion or legalities when she threatened us with death should we ever meet again," Harry said.
"Jinni princess?" Ari narrowed her eyes. "What jinni princess?"
"The jinni princess Ron seduced," Hermione explained.
"I didn't seduce her - she seduced me!" Ron protested.
"I see." Ari was growling so fiercely that, for a moment, Ron thought she had changed.
"When I told her that I had no intention of staying in her palace, she tried to kidnap me," Ron went on. That hadn't been his finest hour.
"And we had to save him," Harry added. "And then we had to evade her clan - they chased us through half the Barbary Coast."
"Wrecking the Bey's personal garden in the process," Hermione said. "And half the bazaar. And two ships."
"The dhows weren't our fault!" Ron protested again. "They were sunk by the jinn."
"Trying to hit you and Harry," Hermione retorted.
"Still not our fault," Harry said. He cleared his throat. "Anyway, assuming we can't find another linguist with the background we need, how do we contact Omar Sayadi without starting trouble?"
"I can easily travel to Tunis," Mallory offered. "I am not a wanted wizard."
Ron scoffed. "You're one of our known associates. Tahira won't care that it's strictly business, trust me." She might, but Ron didn't trust Mallory to handle this by himself.
"Tahira?" Ari glared. "That her name?"
"Yes. And we don't want to meet, much less fight, her," Hermione stated.
Ari didn't look like she cared or agreed.
"Besides, you might not be wanted by several corrupt authorities or a scorned jinni princess and her clan," Harry told Mallory, "but we know someone's after you. Probably our competitors."
"I'm not completely helpless," Mallory snapped.
"All they have to do is to spread the word about you in Tunis, and you'll have to deal with a horde of jinn descending on you," Ron pointed out.
Mallory pressed his lips together but didn't argue. "We can ask for a meeting outside Tunis. Perhaps invite him to London?" he asked after a moment.
Hermione sighed. "I've looked into the man. He is wanted by France in connection with several counts of kidnapping."
"What?" Harry jerked, then stared at her. "He's a slaver?"
"He has been acting as a go-between for ransom demands," Hermione said. "Apparently, the French want to question him."
"And that makes it unlikely that he'll travel to Europe." Harry sighed. "Just our luck."
Hermione cleared her throat. "There's also Ron's sister-in-law. He might not trust us at all, since the Veela community is behind the French warrant, or so Percy told me."
"Great," Harry said.
"That's Bill's fault, not mine," Ron pointed out. "He married Fleur. Just saying," he added as the others stared at him.
"Troublesome affairs with the fairer sex are a family problem then, I take it?" Mallory said.
Ari looked puzzled for a moment, then growled at the wizard. Ron put his hand on her thigh to calm her down. "Let's focus on the problem at hand," he said. "We need to contact the man without arousing suspicion - his, or the jinn's. And any middlemen we could trust would be in danger themselves."
"Or busy at the ICW," Hermione added.
"Well, I have an idea," Ron said, smiling. "No one knows what we recovered. So, we disguise ourselves as a group of treasure hunters and contact him incognito."
"That's foolhardy," Hermione said.
"If we're uncovered, we'll have to fight our way out - again." Harry looked grim.
"They will have counter-measures in place to reveal disguises. This is a bad plan." Mallory shook his head.
"Good idea!"
Well, Ari liked his idea at least. But then, Ron suspected that she merely liked the idea of travelling to Tunis so she could fight Tahira.
"Disguising ourselves to sneak into Wizarding Tunis? The sheer number of ways that could go wrong…" Hermione Granger shook her head. "And what disguises could we adopt? We don't speak the language so we cannot pose as natives. Posing as British visitors wouldn't help us much - they keep an eye on us because of Dumbledore's involvement in the Intervention, remember?"
"I remember," Ron said. Of course, he wouldn't easily forget that. "American treasure hunters? We can fake the accent."
Mr Mallory snorted at that.
Ron frowned at the older wizard. "I don't think that the Tunisians are familiar with all American accents. We'll just claim you're a foreigner," he added with a grin.
Hermione sighed as Mr Mallory glared at her friend. "There's another problem: How would we travel to the country? Using fake identities for muggle travel could be problematic, what with the current crisis in the USA."
"Board a cruise ship?" Harry suggested.
"We can travel to Egypt without any problems," Ron said. "We just need to cross Libya to reach Tunisia."
"Muggle borders will be watched closely for the time being, but that won't hinder us much," Harry said.
"Unless someone wants to know why we don't have proper travel papers," Hermione pointed out.
"Confundus Charm." Ron grinned. "And Obliviation."
"Why not hire a smuggler?" Mr Mallory asked.
Harry frowned. "We don't have the best track record with them," he said. "One tried to betray us, the next one died getting us to Jamaica… I would prefer not to lose another one and get a reputation as cursed contraband."
Hermione pursed her lips. "Seeing as they still trade in slaves in Tunis, that really isn't a good turn of phrase," she pointed out. "Especially since, according to my research, he has contacts among slavers."
"Sorry," Harry said, smiling a little awkwardly.
"We could pose as agents for the family of a kidnapping victim," Ron suggested. "Checking if he can help."
"That would require a kidnapping to have occurred," Hermione pointed out. "Also, as I understand it, it's usually the kidnappers who tell him to contact a family."
"We can claim someone disappeared a while ago, and we were hired to find her," Harry cut in.
"Why not simply sneak in? I sneak in, you have your owl carry you to me," Ari said.
Harry shook his head. "We still would need a disguise to avoid being recognised by Tahira's clan."
Ari pouted, which caused Ron to pat her back. "We could wait until the Rover's ready, and fly over the border," he said.
"That will be a few more weeks," Harry replied.
"Not if we just settle for it being able to fly invisibly," Ron said.
"We might as well borrow your family's car for that," Hermione retorted.
"Good idea!" Ron beamed at her.
She needed to work on her sarcasm, Hermione noted. She sighed. "I am not convinced that this plan will work at all."
"We're still working on it," Harry said.
"I meant in principle," she explained.
"Well, do you have an alternative?" Harry cocked his head as he looked at her.
Hermione pressed her lips together. She didn't have one. They needed to talk to - and likely hire - Omar Sayadi. And for that, they needed to either sneak into Tunis or send a trusted envoy who wasn't known as their associate.
And after the recent events, Hermione couldn't think of anyone who fit both criteria. Which left sneaking into Tunis.
She closed her eyes and sighed. "I'm not wearing a harem outfit," she declared.
"What is a harem outfit?" Ari asked.
"Ah…" Ron coughed.
Hermione rolled her eyes. "A harem is what Ottoman wizards call the quarters of their women in their home. They can have multiple wives and concubines," she pre-emptively answered Ari's next question. "As you can imagine, there are a lot of rumours and myths surrounding the harems."
"Ah." Ari nodded. She turned to Ron. "You're no Ottoman wizard," she said with slightly narrowed eyes.
"Of course not!" Ron was quick to reply.
"Good." Ari's smile was rather toothy.
Hermione grinned. She was about to go into further details when Hedwig swooped in and landed in front of Harry, holding her leg out.
"I didn't know you were gone," Harry said, frowning, as he checked the letter for curses and poison before taking it. Then he winced. "It's from Auntie and Sirius."
Hermione winced as well. She didn't think that Petunia was happy with them.
...goes against everything I taught you about not rushing into danger. It's a miracle that...
Harry Potter winced as he read Auntie's letter. Perhaps he should have informed her of their planned trip to Jamaica beforehand. But she was overreacting slightly - they were fine, after all. They had defeated the worst the houngans had managed to throw at them. And they had found an Atlantean outpost. Or prison. At least Sirius was supportive. Mostly, anyway.
"...you weren't killed because you couldn't wait until the current crisis in New York has been handled and Dumbledore could deal with the houngans." Hermione, who was reading over his shoulder, shook her head - he could smell her shampoo. "She's not happy."
Harry huffed. "She's done worse in the past." Kraft was trying to find Atlantis before them - they couldn't waste too much time.
He read further and winced again. "She thinks we should have gone with a muggle cruise ship to get to Jamaica. Smuggle ourselves on board and leave in disguise using Polyjuice Potion."
"Hindsight and all," Ron commented.
Harry didn't have to glance to his side to know that Hermione was biting her lower lip and berating herself for not thinking of that. He reached out and put his hand on hers, squeezing gently. "Nobody's perfect."
"I know," she whispered. "But if we had gone with that plan, then Captain Neva would still be alive."
"She knew dangers," Ari said. Then the witch frowned. "No, she thought she knew dangers." Ari nodded at her own words. "Her decision. Her fault."
Ron nodded in support of his girlfriend. Harry was tempted to agree - it made sense; the witch had been a professional smuggler, after all - but he still felt guilty.
"Yes," Mallory agreed. "But your aunt is correct. We should use that method to infiltrate Tunis."
Harry almost rolled his eyes. "That was what she suggested to enter Jamaica undetected. Tunis is another problem." That method might work as well - but with the current crisis in the muggle world, it might not. And he wasn't about to ask Auntie for help; they could do this themselves. She would only worry about them, anyway. Or take over their expedition.
"We could use a muggle delivery service," Hermione suggested. "We hide in a trunk and ship it concealed with other cargo. I think we can prepare a trunk that looks perfectly fine to any muggle border guard."
Harry nodded. It wasn't exactly the most dashing image, getting shipped as cargo, but it was clever. "That still leaves our disguises."
"American mercenaries," Ron said. "Looking for a kidnapped witch."
"Why witch?" Ari asked.
"They are more likely to be kept as slaves instead of being ransomed," Hermione explained. "As a relic of the time before the Statute of Secrecy separated wizards and muggles, the Barbary Coast Wizarding Enclaves are still very much patriarchal societies."
"Ah." Ari nodded.
Harry cleared his throat before a lengthy discussion of slavery could start. "That should get us to Mr Sayadi without problems. And once we're in his house, we can tell him the truth."
He smiled. "Now all we need is an address in muggle Tunis."
"And a prepared trunk," Hermione added.
"Big trunk," Ari said. "Need space." She tapped her nose with her index finger.
Mallory nodded. "Indeed. If we will be inside the trunk for several days, then we need enough space and privacy to be comfortable. Separate rooms are a requirement."
Harry looked at Hermione. She nodded. "We can extend a trunk and set up wizard tents inside it. It won't be elegant, but it'll work." She frowned. "I'll need a few days to enchant the trunk so it'll pass the customs inspections. We shouldn't use an actual trunk, anyway - that might catch the attention of a wizard or witch. Something more muggle and modern-looking. Like a shipping crate. That way we can use a regular shipment to muggle Tunis and insert our crate instead of the real one, filling it with the real cargo."
"Good idea." Harry beamed at her.
This would be a breeze.
London, No 12 Grimmauld Place, September 12th, 2001
Harry Potter found Hermione kneeling in the extended basement in front of a wooden cargo crate, her wand moving. "How goes the work?" he asked.
"I've got the basic outline down. The devil, as the saying goes, is in the details. I want at least one emergency exit just in case they don't unpack the crate quickly," she explained as she stood and stretched. "And, of course, some charms to protect the crate in case there's an accident. Did you find a company shipping cargo to Tunis?"
He nodded. It hadn't taken long. "We'll need to check it out later, of course. To make sure that they're not doing anything illegal." That would be very ironic, but also very dangerous.
She nodded. "Smugglers would likely have paid the authorities off, but you never know when such arrangements will be discovered or end." She conjured a couch and sat, waving at the statues they had taken with them from Jamaica. "It's such a shame the Atlanteans enchanted them. No muggle museum will ever believe how old they are."
"Wizards will know, though," Harry said.
She didn't look any more cheerful. "But there aren't any real museums in Wizarding Britain. Only private collections. The Ministry vaults aren't public either." Looking around the room in the basement, she shook her head. "This might be the greatest collection of antiques in Britain, outside of muggle museums."
"We could build a museum," Harry suggested. "Someday," he quickly added. He wasn't ready to settle down yet. Not before they had made a name for themselves.
Hermione nodded with a bright, if slightly wistful, smile.
"Of course," Harry went on, "we could use one or two of the statues as bargaining chips. They are Atlantean art, after all."
She glared at him. "As a last resort, only. These statues should be kept together." Which clearly implied that selling or trading away all of them was out of the question.
He nodded. "Of course."
But he'd trade away all of them and more in a heartbeat if it meant finding Atlantis.
Tunisia, Wizarding Tunis, September 22nd, 2001
"What do you see?"
"I haven't taken a look yet." Ron Weasley rolled his eyes before he stuck his head through the enchanted opening in the wall and peered around in the near-darkness. Only the starlight shining through the windows in the ceiling provided any illumination. He pulled back and cast a charm, then stuck his head out again. No one hiding in the shadows.
"Coast is clear as far as I can see," he reported a moment later.
"We in port still?"
"It's a figure of speech," he explained to Ari. "Do you smell anyone?"
She transformed and stuck her head through the wall, then pulled it back and changed again. "No. Only old smells."
"Can finally we leave this crate?" Mallory sounded eager enough to put his head through the unenchanted part of the wall. After spending a week inside an enchanted crate with the man, Ron shared the feeling. He almost missed his dorm mates from Hogwarts - at least Seamus, Dean and Neville were much better company, even if you had to protect your food, cast a Deafening Jinx on yourself to sleep and deal with exotic plants Hagrid would probably call 'cute'.
"Yes," Harry said. "Let's go!"
Ron was first through the concealed opening, stepping out of the side of the crate and looking around. Harry and Hermione came next, taking up positions across and next to him. Mallory stepped out, a little clumsily.
Ari was the last one to leave the crate, still adjusting her disguise after her brief transformation. She didn't look happy with her leathers despite - or because of, Ron wasn't entirely sure - the fact that they were authentic native shaman tribal fashion from North America according to Luna and Ginny. They certainly looked good on her, in his opinion.
Better than his and Harry's collection of mismatched pieces that Ginny insisted was typical clothing for American mercenaries. Hermione, of course, had insisted on picking French duellist robes for her disguise, which apparently were also in vogue in Wizarding Québec. Or had been, until that disastrous war with the Free Republic of Maine.
But between hair dye, new beards and new clothes, they didn't look at all like the famous Curse-Breakers they were and shouldn't catch the attention of Tahira's family or friends.
"Let's apparate next to the 'Folie Francais'," Harry said. "I'll take Mr Mallory. Ron, please take Ari."
"Remember, we are different people now, Jim," Hermione said with a toothy smile.
"Yes, Jeanne," Harry replied.
"Bob," Ari said, beaming at Ron. She found the whole thing amusing.
"Awena." Ron returned her smile.
Mallory sighed. "Mr Smith." He wore a full beard now, was bald and was wearing robes. Hermione looked at him. "Attorney for Mr Wallaby," he added, and Hermione nodded, apparently satisfied that she hadn't wasted a week's worth of lessons on their fake identities.
"Let's go," she repeated herself. A moment later, she disappeared. Harry quickly grabbed Mallory, whose protest was cut off as they vanished as well.
Ron smirked, then grabbed Ari's hand and focused on the side-alley next to the tavern.
The alley smelled as he remembered it - of stale wine, sweet tea and sweeter smoke from hookahs. Ari wrinkled her nose. "Stinks!" she complained.
"It smells better inside the tavern," Hermione said.
Ari looked at Ron. He nodded. "At least for us with not quite so fine noses," he said, touching his own.
That made her laugh, but she still looked apprehensive as they entered the tavern. Then she coughed. Ron winced - he didn't remember the air inside being so full of smoke. Then again, he had only visited once - they had chosen this tavern because they hadn't stayed here before. "Sorry," he said, which earned him a scowl. Most of the patrons were staring at them - perhaps they had overdone the disguises?
Harry, meanwhile, made a beeline for the innkeeper. "Howdy!" he said, too loudly and in a fake American accent that still caused Mallory to wince, "We need three rooms!" He rapped the countertop with a purse full of coins.
The innkeeper, though, smiled widely. "Of course, Monsieur. Although we're close to full, and a relative of mine might arrive any day, so I have to charge you a premium."
Harry maintained, once they were in one of the rooms afterwards, that he had thrown the haggling on purpose to maintain their cover.
Ron doubted it.
Tunisia, Wizarding Tunis, September 23rd, 2001
Wizarding Tunis hadn't changed much since their last visit, Ron Weasley noticed as he, his friends and Mallory walked through the alleys towards Omar Sayadi's house. Of course, it had been less than a year.
"Oh, look," Harry whispered despite their privacy charms, "they replaced the fountain. And restored the bazaar."
On the other hand, their last visit had left parts of the enclave somewhat damaged. Ron winced.
"I am beginning to suspect that you vastly understated the impact you had on the town," Mallory said in a tone that reminded Ron of Snape.
He frowned at the older wizard. "It was mostly the bazaar and not our fault."
"And the port," Hermione said, "with the two dhows."
"And the Green Wand," Harry added.
"It wasn't my fault," Ron said. "Tahira was the one who did most of the damage." Which was true. He certainly couldn't have let her hit him.
"Yes," Ari said, glaring around the alley. "Her fault."
Ron coughed. "Let's focus on our upcoming meeting," he said quickly, before things could turn into a row. "Everyone knows our cover story?"
"Miss Granger drilled us for a week, so I do not think anyone of average intelligence will have forgotten it," Mallory replied. He ignored the scowl from Hermione.
"Yes, we know it," Harry said, squeezing Hermione's hand as they passed the bazaar and entered the quarter of the town where the houses turned into free-standing walled manors and the number of flying carpets in the sky shrank significantly.
A few minutes later, they reached Sayadi's house, which was surrounded by a tall, enchanted wall. Strong protections - Ron hadn't expected anything else from a man dealing with slavers and pirates.
But they weren't here to break into the manor, but to talk to the owner. Mallory stepped up and touched the crystal set in the wall next to the gate with his wand. The crystal lit up and a chime sounded, followed by a voice. "Marhaba?"
"Hello," Mallory said. "I'm Mr Smith. I represent the family of a young witch we suspect of having been kidnapped by slavers, and we would like to talk to Mr Sayadi and request his help in the matter."
"Ah," the voice replied in English. "The Master is currently busy, but he is always willing to make time for people needing help. Which family do you represent?"
"The Ainsworth-Aitkens," Mallory replied. Wyona Ainsworth-Aitkens had disappeared six months ago on a trip through southern France, but no ransom demand had been made according to Hermione, who had found an article covering the disappearance in the Tribune Magique.
"Ah. Please wait a moment; I will inquire with the Master."
"So much for the vaunted hospitality of the Berbers," Mallory muttered. "Letting us wait under the bloody sun."
"Well, the man has his share of enemies," Harry said. "Akin to a blood feud with some Veela families, I believe."
A minute passed, then the crystal lit up again and the gate began to open. "Please enter."
Ron exchanged a glance with Harry. This was going more smoothly than he had expected. It seemed their luck was turning.
They walked through the lush garden behind the gate - which was larger than the walls outside - and the entrance to the manor - classic Arabian style, not Berber, Ron noticed - swung open as soon as they set foot on the stairs leading up to the door. A young man stood there, in local robes, bowing. "Please enter. My master is awaiting you in the inner garden."
That sounded promising. They passed through an entrance hall into the interior garden and were met by what had to be Omar Sayadi - and Gilderoy Lockhart. Both had their wands drawn. And Ron could see two more wizards standing in the alcoves to the side.
"Salamu alaykum," Sayadi said. "Please do not try to draw your wands; I do not plan to start a fight. I am merely a cautious wizard - and curious about this remarkable coincidence."
"Coincidence?" Harry cocked his head.
"Indeed." Sayadi's polite smile grew more sardonic. "I was just talking to the famous Mr Lockhart about Miss Ainsworth-Aitkens. He has been hired by her family to find and return her, you see."
Ron winced. It seemed their luck hadn't improved at all.
Hermione Granger drew a hissing breath through her clenched teeth. Lockhart, here. And, apparently, on behalf of the family of the witch they were using as a cover story. It seemed that she had been a little too clever by selecting a believable kidnapping victim and now Mr Sayadi probably thought they were thieves or worse.
She glanced at Harry and winced. She knew that expression. This wouldn't end well unless she stepped in. Smiling, she took a step forward. "Why, Mr Lockhart, we didn't know you were in Tunis. You didn't ask Petunia for help, did you?"
She saw Lockhart blink, then look at her and the others, tensing up. "Harry?" he asked, in a tone that made it a real question.
Hermione heard Harry sigh - he didn't like Lockhart, and he didn't like being pushed into things either. But this was the best way to avoid a fight, which would ruin the entire point of their visit. "Yes," Harry said, "given the attitudes of some of the residents here, we decided to use a disguise."
"Harry?" Mr Sayadi frowned.
"Potter. Harry Potter," Harry said, bowing his head.
Hermione knew he would be smirking and was tempted to add 'the Boy-Who-Lived', but managed to restrain herself. Mr Sayadi looked surprised, and his guards started to look a little uneasy.
"These are my friends, Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley, Ari and Mr Smith," Harry went on.
"Mr Smith?" Lockhart frowned. "Ari?"
"Yes," Mr Mallory said.
Ari merely nodded.
"Please excuse our deception; it was not aimed at you. We just wanted to avoid trouble with the jinn," Ron said.
"So why did you want to meet me, then?" Mr Sayadi said.
Hermione saw Lockhart starting to smile and struggled not to wince. She hadn't considered that Lockhart was a competitor as well and would know something was up if their group had travelled to Tunis despite the risk. But that could be dealt with once they were no longer staring down each others' wand. Figuratively - if anyone actually raised their wand, a fight would break out at once.
"We have a few questions only an accomplished linguist such as yourself might be able to answer," Harry said.
"Ah. A translation, then." Mr Sayadi nodded.
"Yes," Harry admitted.
"And since you took such a risk, there aren't many others who can help you." Mr Sayadi's smile widened.
"There are alternatives," Harry replied, but it didn't look like he managed to convince the other wizard.
It looked like they would have to ask Sirius to cover the bill.
"I'm certain we can compensate you handsomely for your efforts," Harry told Mr Sayadi.
Lockhart cleared his throat. "Not everything has a price in gold," he said.
Harry frowned, as did Hermione. What did Lockhart mean? He couldn't be thinking about...
Mr Sayadi raised his eyebrows. "While I might contest this, I am a wizard of no small means, and, therefore, I do not need more gold." His expression made Hermione think that he would like more gold anyway. "However, you seem to have something in mind, old friend."
"Indeed." Lockhart flashed his famous smile. "Harry and his friends are, as they have just proved by fooling even me, skilled at disguising themselves. They are experienced Curse-Breakers, brave and trustworthy. And they already know about the fate of poor Miss Ainsworth-Aitkens. I'm certain they would not mind helping me save the fair maiden."
Oh, no. Hermione had to struggle to keep her expression from showing her reaction.
Ari was less restrained. "What?"
"Mr Lockhart proposes that we help him save a kidnapped witch in exchange for Mr Sayadi's services as a linguist," Ron explained to the witch.
"Ah." Ari nodded. She didn't realise just what this would entail, Hermione knew.
"Indeed." Mr Lockhart beamed at them. "A great adventure with a noble goal no true Gryffindor could resist, right?"
Hermione smiled politely. She was too experienced to fall for such flattery. But she also knew that to refuse their help wouldn't look good in Lockhart's next book. Not at all.
Harry would know that as well, of course. He frowned. "And what is in it for you, Mr Sayadi?"
Mr Sayadi smiled widely. "Why? Do you think I wouldn't be willing to do this merely because it is the right thing to do?"
"Not at all," Harry lied with a thin smile.
"But you are correct," their host went on, "I do have an ulterior motive." He sighed. "As you are no doubt aware, my reputation has suffered from slander and lies even though all I did was serve as a go-between in negotiations. I've been called a slaver and risk getting arrested, should I enter certain countries."
"My next book will set things right, though," Lockhart cut in. "People will know the truth about my friend and his noble deeds."
"And if anything goes wrong, you won't be implicated if we replace whoever you were thinking of sending as help," Harry said.
Mr Sayadi inclined his head as his smile grew wider. "Caution is a virtue."
"Of course, the Boy-Who-Lived and his brave friends would jump at the chance to help me save a poor girl from a pirate's harem," Lockhart said. "And my noble friend, impressed by such heroic inclination, promised them his services as a reward out of the goodness of his heart." He shook his head, beaming at them. "The story practically writes itself!"
And Hermione knew what kind of story would write itself should they refuse the deal. She nodded at Harry, as did Ron.
At least they would be doing a good deed, saving an enslaved witch, she told herself.
And she couldn't help but shake her head at the irony of their cover story becoming true in this manner.
Harry Potter wanted to curse Lockhart. That glory hound had seduced Auntie, only to cheat on her, and, to add insult to injury, tried to steal her accomplishments! And now the man was forcing Harry and his friends - and Mallory - to help him with his own task!
Granted, saving a kidnapped young witch from being imprisoned in a harem sounded like a good thing. And Harry certainly wouldn't walk away if he could help her. But the way Lockhart had forced things… He really wanted to curse the man.
But they were guests in Mr Sayadi's house, and Lockhart was apparently a close friend of the other wizard, so Harry was forced to smile and be polite.
"I assume you know in which harem Miss Ainsworth-Aitkens is being held?" he asked.
"Oh, yes." Lockhart flashed his annoying smile again. "I recently discovered that she's a prisoner of Murad Bey."
"The son and heir of the Bey of Tunis?" Ron blurted out. "Blimey!"
"You are already familiar with him, I see." Lockhart's smile widened. "You can understand how the situation is somewhat delicate, I think."
"I think 'volatile' is a more accurate description," Hermione said. "The political and diplomatic consequences...
"...only matter if we fail, which we won't!" Lockhart interrupted her.
"You're planning a book about this affair," Hermione pointed out. "That will reveal our involvement even if no one recognises us during the rescue."
Lockhart nodded. "That is a good point. If you prefer to avoid such consequences, I will omit your contributions in my book."
"No. We can handle it," Harry said, baring his teeth. Let Lockhart steal their accomplishments? Over his twitching body. Lockhart's, of course.
"Are you certain?" Hermione asked.
Harry shrugged. "It isn't as if we weren't already among Tunis's most wanted, is it?" And there wouldn't be too much trouble from freeing an enslaved witch. Most of Magical Europe was quite opposed to slavery in general, and to that of the Barbary Coast Wizarding Enclaves in particular. Especially France.
"Oi!" Ron protested. "We aren't officially wanted by the authorities!"
"I have to admit that that does not matter as much in my home country as it would matter in yours," Mr Sayadi said.
"Oh, bounty hunters are a fact of life!" Lockhart made a dismissive gesture with his hand. "I've lost count of the number of attempts on my life by such people. None of them succeeded, of course - they were facing me, after all." He sighed. "Some wizards seem incapable of gracefully admitting defeat even though there's no shame in losing to me."
Harry could very well understand the sentiment of people who put a price on Lockhart's head. "We've been dealing with similar trouble," he said, as nonchalantly as he could. "Pirates, grave robbers, houngans…" He shrugged, ignoring Hermione rolling her eyes. "You get used to it."
Lockhart's smile seemed to falter a little for a moment before it was restored. "I see you have been busy, then. It's always a joy to see the younger generation following my example."
Harry clenched his teeth while Ron whispered explanations into Ari's ear and Hermione sighed.
"I presume you have a plan already since you've been working on rescuing Miss Ainsworth-Aitkens for a while," she said.
"Oh, indeed." Lockhart beamed at Hermione as if she were still his student. "As you may already know, we are faced with several problems that would be daunting to wizards not as experienced as I am."
"Of course," Harry said with a fake smile.
"First, the protections on the palace of Murad Bey. They are old and powerful, and his guards patrol the wardline regularly, which makes breaking through the protections a little tricky."
Not just a little, Harry thought. It was one thing to break through wards on a tomb with traps and maybe a few conjured guards. It was another thing trying to break into a protected palace with living guards.
"Second, the protections on the harem within the palace. They are as old, and as powerful, as the protections on the palace, but they will be constructed differently for security reasons," Lockhart went on.
"Meant as much as to keep the women within from escaping as to keep men from breaking in," Hermione added.
"And third, the enchantments on Miss Ainsworth-Aitkens which prevent her from escaping," Lockhart said. "It is nigh-impossible to break through the palace wards and the harem wards undetected, which means we cannot count on being able to break the enchantments on Miss Ainsworth-Aitkens without being disturbed by whatever guards Murad Bey can send after us."
"Including his father's guards," Ron said.
"Quite." Lockhart nodded. "Fortunately, my plan will allow us to successfully deal with all those problems " He paused, looking at them expectantly.
"And what is your plan?" Harry asked, not quite rolling his eyes.
"Let me explain," Lockhart said, beaming. "We will smuggle two of our number into the harem, thus bypassing the outer protections entirely and allowing them to work on freeing Miss Ainsworth-Aitkens from any binding spells and dealing with the harem's protections, while the rest of us work on breaking through the outer defences and provide a distraction for the guards."
Harry clenched his teeth as he realised just what Lockhart must be planning. And, judging by the outraged expression on Hermione's face, she had the same idea.
He really wanted to curse Lockhart.
"We're not going to smuggle Hermione and Ari into Murad Bey's harem!" Ron Weasley spat, glaring at Lockhart. He felt his wand twitch as if it sensed his need to curse the man.
"Are you crazy?" Harry sounded as, or even more, enraged.
"That… that is preposterous!" Hermione sputtered.
"What?" Ari asked, looking lost.
Ron leaned over to her to explain what exactly Lockhart was proposing, but the other wizard raised his hand and cut him off. "I understand that my plan might seem a little dangerous at first glance," he said, without losing his annoying smile.
"'A little dangerous'?" Harry scoffed. "You're planning to sell them as slaves!"
"That's a plan straight out of a robes-ripper!" Hermione added. "A bad robes-ripper!"
"Please do not compare me to those hacks," Lockhart replied, frowning now, "I am a bestselling author, among many other things."
"Such as a glory hound," Ron heard Harry mutter.
Hermione took a deep breath. "While I sympathise with the fate of poor Miss Ainsworth-Aitkens, I am not willing to subject myself to the same indignities in order to rescue her," she said, and Ron could almost hear her teeth grind.
"What?" Ari asked again.
Ron whispered: "She means she won't let the Bey's son sleep with her to save the witch."
"Ah." Ari nodded, then glared and growled at Lockhart. "I will not sleep with him either! I rather rip him to shreds. Or you!"
"No one will have to sleep with anyone!" Lockhart said. "Can you imagine how such a thing would look in my book? My readers would never forgive me! I could never forgive me!" He shook his head, his perfectly styled hair not even slightly disarrayed. "My plan takes this danger into account, of course."
"How?" Harry snarled, but Ron saw Hermione put her hand on his arm, and Ron's friend huffed but stayed silent.
"As you know, I am not merely a famous, bestselling author and an accomplished Curse-Breaker, but also an honorary member of the Dark Force Defence League. This isn't the first time I have had to deal with a harem, as anyone who has read 'Mastering Mummies' would know."
Ron most certainly hadn't read that book. And he doubted any of his friends had read it, either - not after Lockhart had tried to steal Petunia's fame in an earlier book.
"I can assure you," the wizard continued, "that you will be perfectly safe. Murad Bey won't accost either of you while you are in his harem."
"What?" Ari narrowed her eyes at him. Hermione did the same, Ron noticed.
"He will be too busy to bother," Lockhart went on.
"Bother?" Ari growled.
"I mean, he will be busy hosting me, the famous author, explorer and Curse-Breaker," Lockhart said. He sounded a little put-off, Ron thought. Only a little, though. Then the man flashed his vaunted smile again. "As accomplished Curse-Breakers, I don't think you will need more than an evening to deal with whatever spells have been cast on the poor witch and the harem itself, won't you?"
Ron could see Hermione being torn between her pride and common sense.
"I'm no Curse-Breaker," Ari stated before anyone else could comment.
"You aren't?" Lockhart looked surprised for a moment. Then he nodded. "Ah, you're a bodyguard."
"She's not merely a bodyguard," Ron said, once more glaring at the man. "She's got many talents!"
Ari nodded. "I can show."
"No, I think we keep that a secret," Ron said hastily.
"Well, Miss Granger is a very talented witch. She should still be able to deal with both the spells on Miss Ainsworth-Aitkens and the wards on the harem," Lockhart said. "Certainly, if Mr Potter and Mr Weasley are able to provide a sufficient distraction. And, of course, I will be on site to intervene wherever it might be necessary."
"It's still too dangerous!" Ron said.
"Yes," Harry added.
"Why don't we let the two witches decide that themselves?" Lockhart beamed at them. "After I've explained the details of my plan, of course."
Remembering how much Hermione hated it when others, even or especially Harry, tried to make decisions for her, and how proud Ari was, Ron couldn't help wincing.
Tunisia, Wizarding Tunis, Palace of Murad Bey, September 25th, 2001
"Yeah, we've picked up a few... things that we can't take with us on our next trip. So, we heard you're a collector and might be interested."
Harry, still disguised as an American mercenary, was overdoing the accent, in Hermione Granger's opinion, but Bey, sitting cross-legged on a silk cushion, didn't seem to notice. Although the wizard did seem to be rather distracted, if the looks he sent towards her and Ari, standing to the side of Harry and Ron, were any indication. Perhaps she shouldn't have agreed to Lockhart's plan, but she hadn't been able to think of a better alternative.
"I can see that," Bey said with a leering smile, patting his thighs as he leaned forward.
Hermione shuddered, and not only because she was wearing a rather flimsy outfit - the sort of outfit she explicitly hadn't wanted to wear! - and the Cooling Charms in the reception room of Bey's palace were rather effective. The man was revolting. Not physically, but his attitude… she shuddered again.
Ari growled, which, apparently, amused the man. "I see," he said, nodding. "And the girls?"
"Picked up on the same occasion," Ron said, in a slightly better accent. "Waste not, want not."
"Indeed." Bey nodded. "Early Samanid Empire. Quite rare these days."
Hermione resisted the urge to rub the collar they were talking about. As disgusting as these things were, they were also historical artefacts. And they had had to alter the enchantments on them for Lockhart's plan. Granted, the original enchantments were illegal in most civilised countries, and Hermione and Ari needed the protections they had put on them, but still!
"You're an expert," Harry said. His smile was forced, but Bey wouldn't realise that.
"I would call myself merely an interested amateur." The man smiled with obviously fake modesty. "May I inspect them?" He gestured towards Hermione and Ari. Or at their collars.
"Of course," Harry said, after a moment.
Bey stood and stepped up to Hermione and Ari, peering at their necks. "Exquisite." He looked back at Harry and Ron. "And the enchantments work, I presume?"
"Check for yourself," Ron said. "But those two certainly wouldn't be standing here, all docile, if the spells were gone."
Hermione glared at the man as he drew his wand and cast a few spells. As expected, he was no Curse-Breaker - he wouldn't see through their deception. Fool.
Bey nodded, apparently satisfied. "You have the control ring as well?"
Harry held up a gaudy-looking golden band studded with jewels, far too large for a ring - unless sized for a giant. "Of course. Couldn't have used the things without it."
"Perfect."
As Bey returned to his seat, Hermione resisted the urge to pull out her wand from where it was hidden with Ari's in a piece of enchanted jewellery and cast a few cleaning charms on herself.
As if he had been reading her thoughts, Bey asked: "Their wands?"
Harry held up the two wands Sayadi had provided. They would even work for them, in a fashion.
Bey nodded again, and his smile grew. "You are thorough."
Harry shrugged. "In our business, it pays to be thorough."
"And you need to sell your merchandise before you can leave," Bey said, showing a hint of teeth as his smile grew.
"Yes," Harry replied.
And the haggling began. Hermione knew that Bey was more interested in the collars - he was a collector of such paraphernalia, according to Lockhart. She also knew that this was a good thing. The man wouldn't be too eager to bed them, as she recalled such things were euphemistically called in those robes-rippers Lavender used to read all the time, and so they wouldn't be forced to go with plan B, also known as 'take the Bey hostage'.
Still, even knowing that, she couldn't help feeling insulted that she was considered a living display stand to be sold with a piece of valuable jewellery. It was petty and vain and stupid, but she felt that she and Ari deserved better.
The bargaining involved lots of praise and - unfair - criticism of both jewellery and witches and took half an hour until a deal was reached. Bey seemed to thoroughly enjoy it, though - after the control ring was handed over, Hermione and Ari were sent away with one of his servants while Harry and Ron were invited to enjoy his hospitality. That meant Lockhart would be serving as the distraction outside the palace and Harry and Ron were ready to intervene.
Hermione was glad - she didn't really trust the glory hound. And she most certainly didn't want to owe him anything.
The servant led them through a series of luxurious hallways - Hermione spotted several artefacts from the late Umayyad Caliphate of Cordoba and the Abbasid Caliphate decorating the walls - until they reached a door. It was massive, made of ebon wood, with runic gold inlays, and guarded by an equally massive troll dressed up in the classic 'harem guard' outfit and apparently doused with a gallon of perfume.
The troll was sniffing the air as they approached, and Ari growled in response at him. "Smells," Hermione heard her mutter. But the servant chided the guard and opened the door, ushering Hermione and Ari inside without following them.
The actual harem looked almost disappointingly ordinary after that display. Unlike in Lavender's books, the women inside, who were gathering in response to their entrance, were fully dressed and not lounging around naked, and Hermione could see that most of them were wielding wands as well. "So much for the male fantasy," she whispered.
"Huh?" Ari replied.
Hermione was about to explain what she meant when a yell cut her off. "You!"
A tall, voluptuous and very beautiful woman stormed out of a side room, snarling at them. No, at her, Hermione realised with a sinking feeling as she recognised the woman.
Tahira the jinni Princess.
What was she doing here, and why hadn't Sayadi known about it?