"What is the cure you can offer me?" Trelawney asked dreamily.
Ajax shook his head in anger over the damage Albus had done, then said, "I called in a favor with the Fairy Queen. She gave me this." He held up a vial full of golden liquid. "She assured me that it would destroy any harmful magic working upon your person."
Sybil made as if to reach for it, but Ajax held it away. "I know what this potion is, Sybil. It will turn your body into a tree, you will be recast as a wood nymph, immortal unless your tree is cut down. If you sow the seeds from your tree, then whoever tries to kill you will need to cut down a great many trees all around the world."
"I see." Sybil said.
"What I met the avatar of Hogwarts, I obtained some hair, so that I could add it to a loyalty potion, making it keyed to Hogwarts itself. You would forever see Hogwarts as a dear friend if you took the potion and followed it with this one."
"And is that your condition for the wood nymph potion?" Sybil asked quietly.
"Yes." Ajax admitted. "I looked back through time, you were a good Seer, before Dumbledore used and abused you. You would be an excellent Divination professor."
Sybil nodded then. "I accept your conditions gladly."
Just then the door opened, and the four students Ajax had requested entered the room.
"Ah, good. You're all here. Mr. Potter, seeing as how you were to be emancipated at the age of eleven, and through the debacle last year with the Triwizard Tournament and your trial from driving off Dementors, I am willing to consider you an adult, as your behavior has been in line with how an adult would act. If you wish however, you could have Sirius come through the Floo as your guardian, or have Lady Longbottom here serve as your guardian."
"Okay…" Harry said.
"I would like to offer the four of you a full ride scholarship for the most prestigious education I can think of."
"Really?" Hermione asked. "And just who or what will be teaching us if we go?"
"If you go, you will be taught by two genuine Dragon Riders of old, on the Lost City of Atlantis."
Hermione looked stunned.
"If it helps," Ajax continued, "your guardians would be allowed to come with, and you would have access to several of Merlin's diaries and journals."
"What's the difference between the two?" Harry asked. "Diaries and journals I mean."
"Diaries tell more of the story behind the man, while the journals are closer to cut and dried notes on the various projects he was working on."
Hermione looked like she was about to pass out with this opportunity in front of her.
"Enervate." Ajax said, flicking his wand towards her. She steadied considerably.
"Full ride?" Lady Longbottom asked. "What does that mean?"
Hermione shifted into 'full lecture mode', saying, "A full ride, in terms of a scholarship means that provided we follow a specific set of rules, and keep our grades up, we don't have to pay for any of it."
"You would do that for my grandson?" Lady Longbottom asked, turning to Ajax.
"I would. He is a fine young man, you should be proud of him." Ajax replied sincerely.
She looked shocked and slightly insulted, but remained silent.
Xeno looked at his daughter, who looked back at him, and Ajax got the impression that there was more going on in their eyes than had gone on in some council meetings.
Harry was contemplative, and Hermione seemed to be vibrating with excitement.
It was Daniel Granger who spoke up first. "My daughter seems to be very excited by the prospect of this, and Emma would likely admit that this came at a most welcome time. It's not easy, paying for such a fine school as Hogwarts, but seeing her so happy has been reward enough. I'll let Hermione decide if she wants to take this offer."
The words were barely out of his mouth before Hermione was latched onto her father giving him a bear hug.
"I'll take that as a yes, then?" Ajax asked, amusement tingeing his voice.
"Yes." Hermione said breathlessly.
"I'll go with." Harry said. "I want to get away from Rita Skeeter."
"Atlantis might have some interesting information on crumple-horned snorkacks." Luna said dreamily. "I'll come with."
"Madame Longbottom?" Ajax asked. "I do need to know before we leave this room. Does he stay or does he go?"
"I will accept your gracious offer." Lady Longbottom said at last.
Ajax nodded. "Very well. If I remember correctly, your interests are best suited towards plants, yes?"
Neville nodded.
"I have to talk with someone first, but I think I'll have something incredible for you to see before we leave for Atlantis." Ajax said. So saying, he retreated into the adjoining office, and closed the door. There was the murmuring sound of voice being muffled by the heavy door, then it swung open, and Ajax re-emerged, Sybil Trelawney following a moment later.
"Albus performed a great many obliviations on Sybil, after she gave him prophecies. She is a true seer, regardless of how her class used to be. I called in a favor with the Queen of the Fairies-"
"You met with the Queen of the Fairies?" Luna asked, pen flying across parchment.
"Yes, on three separate occasions. The first was when I miscalculated a jump, and ended up on the bank of Fairy Lake. She needed my help apparently, and when I finished with the task, she told me that she was forever in my debt, blah-blah-blah, all that boring gratitude platitude type stuff. Two weeks ago, I went to the shore of her lake, and told her I needed a favor. After explaining, she agreed to help, and two nights ago, I returned for the third time to retrieve this." Ajax held up the potion flask.
Hermione looked closely at the golden liquid. "How does liquid luck help her?" she asked.
"It's not liquid luck." Ajax replied. "It's a fairy potion, not a human potion. It will have considerably different effects." Ajax tucked the bottle back into his pocket. "The house elves have already packed your gear and it's just been transported been transported aboard the craft we will be using to get to Atlantis, but I understand that some of you need to do things on the home front. Do you want to remain here in Britain, with visits once or twice a month, or do you want to live on Atlantis full time?"
"I have duties that would constrain me from leaving England at this time." Lady Longbottom said. "But I will stay in touch."
"The same goes for us, I'm afraid." Daniel said. "Our dental practice is rather busy right now, we couldn't possibly leave for more than a day or two here and there."
"I understand perfectly." Ajax said. "Mr. Lovegood?"
"All I need to do is lock up the Rookery, and I am ready to go to Atlantis." he said.
"Well then, we'll stop by if you can give me good directions." Ajax said. "Now, if you will please follow me?"
The group came to a stop in the wide open courtyard. It was ringed with paving stones, but the middle was grass. Trelawney came to a stop in the center of the courtyard, looking up at the moon, and she reached her hand towards Ajax.
"Give it to me." she said quietly. For once, she seemed lucid. Ajax silently handed over a potion, this one was clear, rather than gold, and she drank it down without hesitation.
"Seems rather sweet." she said, swallowing.
"Yeah, I couldn't bring myself to make a British potion." Ajax admitted. "I used a French variant."
Sybil nodded once. "And now the other."
Ajax handed over the golden potion, then stepped back. "Watch." he whispered to Neville.
Sybil drank the potion, and for one long anti-climactic moment, nothing happened.
The moment passed, and Ajax noticed that Sybil's hair was floating up, as if the tips of her hair were being picked up by some unseen force. Her feet, which were bare, forked and buried themselves in the ground as Sybil laughed, feeling happier than she had in a very long time. The changes began happening more rapidly, as her hair turned to branches, which sprouted leaves as her body turned to wood. Seeds fell from the tree, followed by the leaves as the tree sped through the seasonal cycle, from spring to winter, in the span of a few seconds.
"A bay tree." Ajax said, gathering up the seeds, and storing them safely before straightening up again. "Appropriate."
"What did you do to her?" Emma Granger asked in awe.
"I did nothing." Ajax said. "All I did was hand her the potion, she drank it. She is a wood sprite now, and the harmful magic that Albus laid over her mind is gone, permanently. She is immortal, provided one of her trees is alive. She will be a good Divination teacher again. Believe me what I say she knew what she was doing, and that she accepted it willingly."
"It's just so…strange." Emma replied.
"Welcome to fairy magic." Ajax laughed. "It's synonymous with change."
"It's beautiful." Luna whispered.
A moment later, Trelawney stepped out of her tree, looking positively radiant. "Thank you." she said, tears of joy and relief flowing down her face. "Thank you so much!"
"You're welcome." Ajax said. "I have several seeds of yours, I'll leave one at the site of the Oracle in Delphi for you."
"I knew you had my seeds." Sybil said, fixing him with a look. "I can sense them, even now."
"Well then, where to now?" Ajax asked, turning to the group.
"We need to return home." The Gangers said.
"Alright." Ajax said. "Regular technology doesn't seem to work quite right here, so I'm using something a little more low-tech. Everyone gather together, now." Ajax pulled a flare out of his pocket, and lit it up. For several seconds, nothing happened at the group blinked in the glare caused by the green flare. Suddenly, the world turned white briefly, and they found themselves in a massive steel-grey room.
Ajax opened the hanger doors and threw the flare out in such a way that it would hit the atmosphere and burn up.
"Welcome to the Phoenix." Ajax stated. "For those of you who aren't going to Atlantis, we will have you sent to coordinates of your choosing, and the rest of us will continue on to Atlantis. I just wanted everyone to get a chance to see Atlantis from space."
So saying, Ajax picked up a pair of binoculars that had been resting on the door control console, and handed them to Daniel Granger.
"Right over there, sir." Ajax said, pointing to Atlantis.
"Amazing." he breathed.
"You should visit sometime." Ajax chuckled. "She was the capital of the Alterran empire, such as it was. When they fled this galaxy, they simply flew the ship to the Pegasus galaxy and set it down there."
"It flies?" Emma asked, peering through the binoculars.
"She can. She prefers not to make a habit of it, but yes, she can fly through the atmosphere, enter space, and access hyperspace. She's also got an onboard Stargate in the secondary command center."
Lady Longbottom squinted through the binoculars, moving about for several seconds before she found it. "Simply amazing." she said, handing the device back to Ajax. "The things Muggles come up with in the absence of magic."
"That city is magic and technology working together in perfect harmony." Ajax said seriously, accepting the binoculars. "I suspect the Alterrans were technomancers."
"Necromancers?" Daniel asked. "Hermione won't be going there after all. Sorry sweetie." he said to Hermione. She looked ready to cry.
"Technomancy is different from necromancy. The only similarity is that the two branches of magic end in the -mancy suffix. There is nothing to do with the dead here." Ajax explained, attempting to avert disaster.
"Oh. I take it back then." Mr. Granger said.
"Right. Well, I need to get some coordinates plugged in so you can get back to your homes." Ajax said, closing the massive bay doors. "This way."
The group walked to the bridge, where Amaranth was seated in the central chair, and the holographic representation of the entity in the ship was seated at tactical.
"Coordinates?" she asked, looking up at the group.
"In a few moments." Ajax replied, guiding the group to the map table in the back. "I've upgraded the sensors using Alterran technology, so I can see through the wards that hide your homes from Muggles. There are Muggles who know about your homes, but there aren't many in the know, due to the Stargate Program being secret. Elizabeth Wier, the civilian administrator on Atlantis, knows about magic, John Sheppard, the ranking military officer on Atlantis also knows about magic, and of course Eragon and I know about magic. Eragon is currently playing the part of the magical administrator on Atlantis, though that may change when Atlantis returns to the Pegasus galaxy. While you are on Atlantis, you will answer to Eragon, or for those here who don't have magic, Dr. Wier."
The group nodded their understanding while Ajax brought up the maps for Britain. "Alright, Lady Longbottom, where is your home located?"
It took several moments, but eventually, she found the place, and Ajax rattled off the coordinates to Phoenix, who promptly deposited Lady Longbottom directly outside the wards of Longbottom Manor.
Shortly thereafter, Xeno and Luna Lovegood were standing outside the wards to the Rookery, and Ajax was a bit further away.
Several minutes later, they came back out of the rook-shaped house, and Ajax lit his wand with green before holding it aloft. A moment later, he cut the light, not wanting to interfere with the mundane systems of the Phoenix. A white flash of light engulfed the three, and they were on the bridge once again. The Grangers had found their home rather easily, being more familiar with mundane equipment, and Harry had managed to bring Sirus Black aboard the Phoenix.
"So," Ajax said, looking at a display. "Are we all ready to go to Atlantis?"
"I should think so." Hermione said.
"Great." Ajax said, turning towards them with a grin. "We aren't transporting down."
"We aren't?" Neville asked. "How are we getting to Atlantis then?"
Ajax threw a look to Phoenix, who shrugged and looked back as if to say 'your call'.
"Well, we could take the ship down to Atlantis, or we could take a Jumper." Ajax said. "But since I doubt anyone would be very happy to endure the shaking and rattling associated with re-entry of a large craft into the atmosphere, we'll be taking the Jumpers. Thrill seekers with me, quiet, safe people with Amaranth." Ajax grinned and walked off the bridge, saying "Look out below, cause here we go."
"I'm going with him, pup." Sirius said, grinning.
"Me too." Harry replied, looking at his godfather.
"I guess I should go as well." Neville said, looking resigned to his fate.
"You don't have to go with him." Amaranth said. "The Jumpers are more than large enough for everyone here and their things."
Neville looked relived as the group made their way to the 302 bay.
Eventually, Hermione spoke up. "Aren't we going the wrong way? We followed a green line when we came aboard, now we're following a red one."
"We're heading in the right direction." Amaranth assured her. "The colored lines are the difference between the port and starboard 302 bays. The port bay holds all the small craft carried aboard this ship, while the starboard bay is kept empty for use as a large gym or for new arrivals. If someone coming aboard becomes violent, it is best that they not be on the bridge or in the Engineering section where they could destroy vital systems. If we were on the ground, it wouldn't be life-threatening, even if they completely destroyed the life-support systems. Here in the blackness of space, we take things like air and radiation shields a bit more seriously."
"Oh." Hermione said. "That makes sense. What are the pipes for?"
"Coolant." Amaranth replied. "Most of this deck is dedicated to coolant and system access points. Engineering is in the aft section on this deck."
She swiped her keycard, and the lock buzzed before clicking. Amaranth pulled the heavy door open, exposing the sealed shaft that lead from the ship to the semi-detached 302 bay.
Each 302 bay was held to the rest of the ship by three or four major struts that could be detached by means of explosive bolts if needed, and one of the struts was built on a massive scale so it could double as a walkway to the bay. At the other end of the tubular walkway, Ajax was ranting and raving at the door which had refused to open because Amaranth had opened her end just before he had.
The shipside door closed, and Ajax tried the door again, getting a positive result this time.
Twelve 302s gleamed in the lights of the hangar, and the group wondered if expansion charms had been applied to them. There were four craft, different from the 302s, lined up on glowing pads against the far wall. They were grey, and roughly the size of a minivan. Odd hexagonal panels were arrayed on the hull of the strange craft, and the doors were open, ready and waiting for someone to enter and fly.
Ajax, Sirius and Harry entered the first craft, though Harry and Sirius were a bit apprehensive due to the sounds the strange craft kept making as the lights powered up.
Ajax sat down in the pilot's seat, and laid his hands on the control panel. It lit up with a burbling sound, and then the whine of a motor filled the Jumper as the door closed.
"Alright, everyone strapped in? Here we go!" Ajax said, pulling back slightly on the flight stick.
The Jumper lifted off, and Ajax carefully directed it to the back of the bay while Amaranth closed the door on her Jumper. A few seconds later, the door opened, and Ajax moved the throttle up to full.
Inertial dampers were on just enough to ensure that the passengers wouldn't be turned to goo by the twists and turns Ajax was likely to pull, but off enough to ensure that everyone fell the movement of the craft. Ajax rolled left, then right before moving to a point almost directly above Atlantis and putting the craft into a straight dive.
Amaranth was directly behind him, but had the dampers all the way up. To her passengers, it was if the scenery was simply changing around them.
As the water came up towards them at high speed, Sirius began to look a little worried, while Harry seemed to clutch his seat a bit tighter. Ajax pulled up, and dropped the throttle to a low speed before taking his hands off the controls. He pulled the radio out of a small storage compartment and clicked it on.
"Ajax to Atlantis, Jumpers Five and Six are glad to be back home." he said.
"Glad to have you back." a female voice responded. "We missed having you around to help fix things."
Ajax landed the Jumper without incident, and the group waited for Amaranth to power down her Jumper.
"Welcome to Atlantis." Ajax said. I am one of the two Dragon Riders I spoke of earlier when I told you about Atlantis, and I will be covering defensive magic and runes while Eragon will be handling the physical education part, as well as offensive magic. You will probably learn how to use a sword, but you'll never have a hope in hell of beating him. He's part Elf, and I'm not talking about House Elves. Remember that while the Secrecy doesn't apply here, as everyone has the highest security clearance available, magic can still give the mundane technology serious issues."
"I thought you said that magic and technology work in harmony here." Hermione said, looking a little disappointed.
Ajax winced slightly. "Well, not all technology is native to the city. We have 'modern' laptops, wireless sets, servers…we have our own little internet here, thanks to all the wireless technology. One of our science guys went and cooked up a cool little internet application that works with Alterran technology and mundane technology, but my point is that there are mundane pieces of equipment that can be fried by magic, so try to keep your magic off of the mundane tech. We're still working on shielding for that, and it hasn't been implemented fully yet."
"Right." Harry replied, seeming to be the least awed of the group.
"Well, let me show you to your rooms, I'm sure that you are all ready for bed, despite the uh, slight time difference going on here." Ajax said. "I'm just about ready to turn in."
The group entered a hallway with several doors in it, and stopped at one saying "This section of the city has been devoted to magic users, for the simple reason that we don't have much tech shielding just yet, so we're trying to keep equipment failure to a minimum. This door is my room, every room in this hall is empty, so take your choice. I'm going to bed."
So saying he wiped his hand over the crystal, and entered the room, the door groaning closed behind him.