Book 10: The Great Wizard

by Veronice

Henry Bellamy, the wizard once called Harry Potter, is now known as 'The Great Wizard.' He is very old, very powerful, and has gained a wisdom. Yet it is only now that he becomes interested in politics. The Arabic nations especially – wizards should not be free to act exactly as they choose - as the Khatabi family has done for centuries.

37. Chapter 37

Note: Characters and world originally based J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter series.

Note: By this time in the life of Harry Potter, he is known as 'The Great Wizard.' His name is John Bellamy. *Non-verbal communication is that in italics.*

Chapter 37:

Bellamy made a fleeting visit to Loch Lomand again in October, congratulated Gloria on her latest successes with Madigan, and admired the large photographs by Farfalla of their various guests and their triumphs. Gloria explained that it was now routine for them to attend every nearby gymkhana with any guests who wanted to enter. "We let them enter the Fancy Dress, and we have a stock of costumes for that. They also enter the showing, especially the pairs, with one of us riding the other horse." And she laughed. "We have the horses really well trained, and the one ridden by the guest just does what the other one does."

Bellamy said, with appreciation, "And then Farfalla takes their pictures, they go home happy and recommend you to all their friends."

"That's the idea, and we're mostly fully booked now. Fifty maximum, and that will do us. Any more would be too much."

"What else do you do with them?"

"Painting with Mary or Emma, sewing Fancy Dress costumes, we take them on excursions, especially to any Highland Games around, basically whatever we can think of. Keep them amused so they don't notice that it's mostly raining!"

Carol said, "Vince helps. The men are mostly city workers, and they love helping him play farmer."

Gloria said, "He's had them shovelling dung in teeming rain, and claiming to enjoy it!"

Inge said, "We've been watching the Olympics. We wanted to see if any of the horses named after us were in it."

"Probably a bit young yet, and anyway, a lot of their names get changed." He grinned. "There's one in it this year was called Two Socks. That year we also had One Sock, Three Socks and Four Socks. We're not very imaginative sometimes."

"What's Two Socks called now?"

"Villeneuve. He's competing for France."

Gloria said, "Gemma Cutter was in it, with Chaz."

"Out early though. Chaz might be too excitable for the job, I suspect."

"He jumped amazingly. And fast."

"He's one of the best and fastest we've had, though Sirius would match him, probably."

"Sirius always wins when we have Picnic Races. If there's a guest good enough, he rides Sirius, which almost guarantees him a win, and then his rider gets to celebrate, and makes a return booking for the following year."

Bellamy chuckled with appreciation. The medj were managing extremely well, and the ones too damaged, like Belinda and Emma, had a secure home among friends. The paying guests idea had been a stroke of genius.

**x**

Bellamy, Zoe and Najia were not in Britain again until a few days before Christmas. And this time Alison smiled on him, and said that he had enough money again that he only had to ask her if he wanted to make any major purchases, as he always had. Bellamy was very relieved. He hadn't liked having to worry about money. Loch Lomand?

"Fully self-supporting. Even the motel in Edinburgh for those going to University, is self-supporting."

Just the day after, he turned up at Loch Lomand, finding it almost empty. No guests of course, in the middle of winter. He finally found Belinda playing the piano. Belinda greeted him, blinking at him vaguely, almost as if she'd been asleep. She was slender, very fair, her hair naturally almost white-blonde. Very beautiful, in her thirties. She mostly lived in a world of her own, but she knew what was happening - "We're having a ball, and they're preparing the Bogridge Community Hall. It's to say thank you, because the locals have been so good to us."

"Any particular news?"

Belinda looked even more vague, and said that she didn't think so. Bellamy thanked her and wandered away to speak to the horses. Before long, he seemed to have about eight dogs at his heels, including Shona, the Border Collie he'd given Vince.

Mary and Gary were more satisfactory, and said that everything was fine, and then Mary said, with a profound satisfaction, "I've acted in two commercials, just like Vince."

Gary smiled at her possessively. "She did beautifully."

Mary said, "It was Vince's agent. We helped when he did an audition for 'Son of Satan,' and he asked if I was interested myself in doing some work."

"Son of Satan?"

"Didn't you know? It's a Hollywood production and he has a major part. In the middle of it, though I think they're coming back for Christmas."

Gary said, "The hero is Jean-Pierre Dequienne."

Bellamy was impressed, "Even I've heard of Jean-Pierre Dequienne!"

On his next visit, he was in time to say hello to Vince. Vince was astride a big bay horse, who pranced around and tossed his head. It was cold, and he wanted to gallop.

"Enjoying the acting?" he asked.

"Love it! I'm having a wonderful time." His horse reared a little and shook his head, but Vince just said, "In a minute," and asked politely about Bellamy's wives.

Bellamy answered, "Achieving a great deal. Egypt's on the point of applying for AOCWN membership, which means a reasonably law-abiding society. The penalty is that I've listened to more speeches this past year than I've had to do in the past fifty years." He sighed, mock sadly, "I guess it's worth it."

Caesar pawed the ground, and Bellamy stepped back and said, "You're keeping your horse waiting, obviously."

Vince laughed, gave the horse its cue, and Caesar streaked off towards the gate. Bellamy grinned, watching him. He'd heard that he was always being pulled up for speeding, though he still hadn't been fined. Vince was making the most of his freedom.

Two days later, Bellamy came into the sitting room with a sheaf of invitations in his hand. "Want to go to a New Year's Eve Party?"

Najia looked up, and asked, "You have an invitation?"

"About a dozen. What we do is politely thank each prospective host, and never say whether we're going to appear. That's for security reasons. Only the very small ones, do we tell them yes or no. Mostly no in the last few years."

Najia said, "When Pat used to write to me, you were often going out."

"We went out a lot around Christmas, mostly to the smaller ones, though."

Zoe suggested, "Tell us what you have."

Bellamy started flipping through them, giving a brief rundown. At one point, Zoe said, surprised, "Healers' Association?"

"I'm not a qualified Healer, of course, but they made me an honorary member years ago. They seem to think I should have an invitation."

Najia asked, "Would Mary and Bill be there?" Bill Davenport was Mary's boyfriend since her Pluravista.

"Probably."

"Others?"

Bellamy told them the last three.

"Personal preferences?"

"I'd like to go to the Bookshop one. Akila's crew will be there."

Zoe said, "The healers first, then the Bookshop, and wasn't there one from the Malfoys?"

"They would not be expecting me there."

"The Malfoys are very influential..."

Bellamy sighed. Even on New Years' Eve! Zoe laughed and promised, "I won't talk politics, but Bessamy Malfoy is going to be Dachier one day, I expect. She and Najia could exchange views on the newest fashions."

Najia smiled, "I very much enjoy fashion."

"Bodyguards?"

"We'll be perfectly safe at the Bookshop party, we'll only stay a little while at the Healers, but I don't know about the Malfoy affair."

Zoe considered, and finally said, "It would give the impression that our hosts are not trusted. We'll just take care."

There was no threat to them at any of the parties that evening, though he was rebuked by Pierre when they turned up at the Malfoys. "You've been away too long. I hear there's at least a dozen mothers with new descendants wanting you to hold their babies."

Zoe was deep in conversation with Bessamy, but Najia was still close, and turned to him for an explanation. She shook her head. She'd never been quite able to comprehend that he was so old that he had descendants seven and eight generations removed, even though some of her own family had been especially long-lived. But no Khatabi had stayed young, as her husband stayed young.

Bellamy said, "What I'll do is catch up with the spell-breaking as I've already arranged, then go to the London Aniragia, eat an ice-cream and wait."

"So how much longer will you be around?"

"About ten days, then Morocco."

"You're missed."

"Zoe's working wonders, and my presence helps. I may miss my home sometimes, but it's very well worth it."

Bellamy caught up with the spell-breaking, as promised, and afterwards, three days running, went to the ice-cream place, and waited. As expected, there were new young descendants to be introduced to him. As he had not expected, there were other mothers. It seemed that the custom had spread. Bellamy was beginning to think that he was expected to meet and greet every Aniragi baby in Britain. There was Yvette Bouys as well, and he joined her parents for dinner and greeted his newest grandchild.

No-one threatened him in Britain, though Dieter told him sternly that he was absolutely not to return to the Aniragia a fourth day. There was information that there were strangers around, strangers who looked Arabic. Bellamy said, "It could have been just the ones from Hillend."

"I consulted with Zhor. She investigated and said they were not."

Bellamy shrugged, and agreed that he'd keep away from the Aniragia. And after all, it was a bit silly to appear in the same place three days running. Too easy to mount an ambush.

**x**

Bellamy and his wives were not in England again until April. Bellamy gave a deep sigh of relief when he looked around at his own home. A month's holiday, where they didn't have to worry about their safety all the time. There was a team of four Khatabi Fighters left at Hillend, with strict instructions not to cause any trouble, and definitely not to annoy their medj neighbours in any way. There were two younger Fighters included that time, one of whom Zoe would be keeping an eye on. Yoweri was one of the last contingent to have been trained in the traditional way. He had dark brown skin, fierce black eyes, had very quick reactions, and was powerful. She wondered that Riza had made him Khatabi-Richi rather than Khatabi. He had a cruel streak, but like all Khatabis, and especially Khatabi-Richi, he'd been trained from earliest childhood in the absolute necessity for obedience.

The first that British Anirage knew their Bellamy was back, was when he turned up at the annual Ministry Ball, held every year, for centuries, Easter Saturday. Neither Zoe nor Najia were with him. Before he'd been there ten minutes, he was surrounded by uniformed aurors. And not much later, there was a new baby to greet.

Dieter arrived and stood close, talking about the decreasing Aniragi population. "The latest count, there's not much over five thousand in Britain, a drop of a thousand in the last hundred years."

Bellamy said casually, "Easy enough to remedy if it's a concern."

A few minutes later, another mother turned up, this time with a husband, who also held a baby.

"My name is Adele Davenport, and my twins are called Aaron and Simon."

Bellamy smiled, "Nice to see you again, Adele. Dieter was just worrying about the declining birth rate. It looks like you're doing your part."

Adele laughed, and replied, "Actually, I think I might have got the spell wrong. I wouldn't change it though."

Bellamy held out his hands, and a tiny baby was put in his arms. He stroked a velvety cheek, and the boy opened his eyes and looked at him solemnly. He asked Adele, "Aaron?"

Adele smiled proudly, "Aaron. They're both very bright. Only a week old, and they know their names."

Bellamy nodded. The baby knew he was Aaron. He touched a band around the baby's wrist, and Roddy Davenport admitted, "He might know his name, but I don't always."

Bellamy displayed him to Dieter, and said, "He'll be a redhead, like his parents. You can see."

But Dieter didn't look at the baby, and was very alert, narrow-eyed. He said, "I think you should be quick. You've made enemies these last two years."

Bellamy looked up and around, very carefully. He smiled, and said, "A good excuse to leave before the speeches!"

Adele held out her arms for her baby, and little Simon was put into his arms. Bellamy glanced up again, handed back the child, said he was incredibly beautiful, told Dieter that Jilla could contact Alison if he was wanted for spell-breaking, and silently disapparated.

Dieter swore, and complained to Jeremy, just arrived, "He could have told me who were the enemies."

Roddy asked, surprised, "Are there enemies here then?"

"Probably, the way he just vanished, but there's no way of telling who, now."

Early spring was Bellamy's favourite time at home. No kittens or pups that year, to his regret, and not even any foals, and yet the feel of the spring growth all around filled him with content. He resumed his custom of riding every morning, mostly on the moors, but not always. Naji was still fast, though she was no longer interested in bucking and playing with him. She was more staid now than she had been in her younger years. Bellamy was so seldom home, he thought it best not to encourage her. Other riders used her now.

Usually, he'd then have a morning tea and work with Fairy Floss and Damir, the four-year-old and three-year-old foals of Bess. He thought they could make good mounts for Jason and Robin once they were too big for their current small ponies. Victor disagreed. "They've already refused the spotted ponies - said they were too pretty. They want the chestnuts, Beau and Brandy."

"Don't Janie and Tilse ride the spotted ponies?"

"They've decided they're not interested in horses any more, and don't want ponies. So Paul sent them to Loch Lomand, where they're very popular indeed."

"What about these then?"

"They're having more children at Loch Lomand, Melanie says. They'd be much appreciated there."

"I must visit again."

Victor suggested, "Start on Hero, as well. He'll be fine for patrol duty."

"Sparks?"

"At Loch Lomand."

Bellamy laughed, "What will Najia ride?"

"Does she actually want to ride? Or was it just to win over your friends?"

Bellamy grinned. Victor was a lot more shrewd than he appeared on the surface. He said, "I'll ask her."

"If she does want to ride, the chestnuts are still a bit flighty for her, but Paul has a few riding horses. We'll see what he's got."

But Najia said that she didn't mind not riding this time, and anyway, she'd be busy shopping. Bellamy suggested, "You could ask one of the Bourne boys to go with you, if you want." The three Bourne boys now had a security business in London, saying there was no point in hanging around to protect a boss who was never there. Instead, they hired themselves out as security for parties or other functions, finding occasional excitement in subduing a drunken wizard waving around a wand.

Najia smiled, "That would be good."

Najia did a lot of shopping in the next few days, carrying shopping bags, each with a picture of a flying pigeon in the corner. Most of what she bought was for later use as gifts, and was simply put away in the storeroom. Zoe had been very tired, and now lazed, reading books, enjoying the spa, swimming a little. She watched Bellamy one day when he was using the gymnasium, and asked him whether he'd like one in Japan and in Morocco. He was surprised, "I hadn't even thought of it." But then he smiled, "I'd like that."

In the afternoon, the girls were out, and Bellamy visited Loch Lomand. There had been a few developments. It appeared the permanent residents were now members of a 'club,' details never specified. Jimmy had a regular bus run, which included Duich Airport, Helene had started a model agency, specialising in older models. Vince was still working on his film, but Emma told him a little, that he'd been home for a short holiday, had worked hard, cleaning horse shelters and fertilising gardens with the manure, and had become thoroughly drunk one night and woken up the guests in the units by singing too loudly.

Bellamy laughed, "He sounds happy."

Emma smiled, "He's very happy. It's wonderful to see him like that."

Bellamy said, fishing for information, "Gloria said he was sentenced to death once."

Emma answered hesitantly, maybe wondering whether she should tell him. "Helene and I were sent to Kaede, as far away as possible. They tried to protect us, because we were the youngest. I hardly ever saw him punished, just sometimes heard it when he screamed."

"Did they always use the Spell of Pain to punish?"

"It didn't leave marks."

Bellamy waited, and Emma went on. "When we had appointments, we had to be showered and in fresh clothes, waiting in the dining room. To begin with, every time, he'd run. And every time, they'd punish, but just for half a minute, maybe, at most. And then, after several weeks, he was sentenced to five minutes a day for a week, every day after breakfast. He didn't run for that. He'd present himself at the specified time, stay still, and be punished. I never saw that, but sometimes would hear. By the end of the week, he was so weak that he was carried to Faheem to be used. He stopped running halfway through that week's punishment. About a week later, he tried to kill Faheem with a blade he'd found, and they nearly killed him then. The day he regained consciousness, Adil had him. They didn't even give him time enough to properly recover."

"So that was when Adil became his owner."

"For months and months, he was obedient then. He told me only last year, that it was because Adil had said that he was not to be castrated while he was his."

"But then he tried to kill Adil?"

"Yes."

"Then what?"

"He was to die under the Pain Curse, except that Kaede told Helene and I that he was to go to Japan, instead, because they still liked him."

"She lied to you?"

"I was only eight, Helene thirteen, the same age as Valencio. They could not protect Valencio, but they tried to protect us."

Bellamy was quiet, and Emma said simply, "Faheem and Brahim stopped Adil before he was quite dead, and when he recovered, he had a new owner, Brahim. But Brahim abandoned him when there was a cholera epidemic close, so he went into general use until that was over, then Narzu-Han."

"How did he take general use?"

Emma said uncomfortably, "He wouldn't like me telling you."

Bellamy apologised and asked about her painting instead.

The child Valencio had run from the use, yet had submitted to the agonising punishment without a fight. It was no wonder that it had filled him with conflicting emotions when he'd started to enjoy it. Poor, poor child. And Bellamy remembered again Gloria's image of him, the stiff, upright form of the boy, stalking away, not looking at any of them, and with the blood stains that showed exactly how he'd been abused. And Emma. She'd been just eight, and they'd tried to protect her. Emma was looking at him, stopped talking about her painting, and suddenly offered, "I was never popular, and hardly ever hurt when they used me."

Bellamy smiled at her, and said, "Thank you."

Emma said practically, "There's no earthly point you getting upset about what's in the past. You are not responsible for all the evils in the world."

"I feel like I am. I can do things no-one else can do, and it puts an obligation on me. But I can't do it all. I know it, and still I feel responsible."

"If you'd like, we can go riding and I'll show you where the wildflowers grow best."

Bellamy put away his irrational guilt, and agreed that he'd like that very much.

The Cull again, and Susan and Marcus chose another five mares to keep for breeding. There was no need for more riding horses. The Bourne boys were all in London, and their horses were left behind. Security was very much relaxed now that Bellamy spent almost all his time in Arabia. There were the dogs, whose duty was to raise an alarm if strangers came, as they'd always had, and Archie had also bought two more donkeys, saying that they were excellent watchdogs. They wandered free, as the one remaining 'refugee' wandered free.

Their month of relaxation ended, and in early June, they were in a small but luxurious hotel in the heart of Beirut. It was a wizarding area. Bellamy sat in his own specific spot as an 'Observer' of a meeting of the AAAN. Flanking him and very alert, were Pitono and a young Fighter called Abariki, with a reputation for speed. Standing directly behind Zoe, was Yoweri. Two more Khatabi Fighters were ranged at the wall, keeping a watch on the participants in the meeting, as well as the half dozen observers.

Morocco, Egypt, and Lebanon, with Iraq as a new member. Iraq would never be viewed as an important member. There was only one family of Anirage in Iraq, and just one meeting with Zhor Khatabi-Vrie and her husband, the great wizard, had been sufficient of an incentive that they'd fallen into line straightaway.

They were currently involved in sorting out details of order of precedence of business. It was extremely boring. Bellamy yawned and shifted restlessly, though trying to stop fidgeting when he noticed Zoe's stern eye on him. He thought that Zoe was doing it all. Zoe insisted that she would have much greater difficulty if he was not seen to be taking a close interest. He did as he'd been instructed to do from time to time, merely looked at the observers, almost casually and knowing their minds. Some resentment, some interest, and a distinct unease when they noticed his eyes on them. The great wizard, who'd been around so long, still looked young, and was known as such a Fighter as had never been seen before.

His mind wandered. What was needed was an automatic speech limiter. Five minutes per speech, no more. He started turning plans over in his mind as the talk went on to details of an obscure law that Iraq said was needed. He had his own workshop now, as well as a gymnasium, in each of their homes. Zoe knew his frequent boredom, and tried to make him happy. He didn't have horses. In Japan it would be too dangerous to go riding, and in Morocco, it was almost always unpleasantly hot. But he had his own workshop. The speech limiting device was a simple invention that would automatically silence any speaker going over his allotted time. Bellamy had the plans clear in his mind when his look of abstraction cleared. He shook his head and looked around, frowning. Bodyguards alerted. Bellamy scanned quickly over the observers, and then briefly over the face of each bodyguard and participant.

They were in danger, but where was it coming from? He looked away and all around. There was definitely something. Zoe was watching him closely. At his first alert, she also had scanned minds, but now looked at him in confusion. There was no upset outside, but she felt his escalating unease.

Bellamy would never have reached anything like his great age, if he had not paid attention to the spine tingling warning of danger he sometimes felt. He stood abruptly and snapped, "Everybody out. Now!"

Zoe rose promptly, and said, "Sayyid, Rafik, take station outside, everybody else, we go out straight after them."

There was hesitation, but Bellamy snapped at a few waverers, didn't tolerate argument, and was last out, hard on the heels of the elderly wizard from Persia. He herded them further away, and there seemed to be a panic among those scattered around, as well. There was a mass retreat until Bellamy's alarm died down, and he turned to look at the evacuated building, frowning, trying to work out just exactly why he'd felt the need to clear the building.

One last woman came hurrying out, followed by a man, protesting. Someone pointed at something in the sky, though there was nothing to be heard. The woman broke into a run, and the man turned back, disgusted, before being abruptly hurled to the ground as the missile hit the hotel. Shocked eyes looked at the flattened hotel, and then at Bellamy with fear and awe.

Zoe smiled to herself. She suspected there had not been a single casualty of the medj missile. She put on a calm air and said, "I suggest we adjourn this meeting, next week in Morocco, as already planned, and we'll leave it to our hosts to clear the mess."

The Lebanese representative pointed at the sky a fair way away, and said, "It's a bombardment. The medj are fighting again."

Zoe looked at him, and he sighed, "Sometimes I think we should just remove ourselves entirely from the region. We're always having to quell this sort of thing."

"What's it all about?"

"Two slightly different variations of religion, I believe."

Superstition, and the Anirage smiled smugly at each other. Fancy fighting over superstition! The medj were very primitive sometimes.

Bellamy and Zoe were surrounded by their Khatabi Fighters now, Yoweri, Abariki, Pitono, Sayyid and Rafik, each with wands raised and very alert. All Fighters, trained in the traditional way. Zoe still thought them superior to the 'Defenders,' trained without human subjects. There was another resounding explosion not far away, and Zoe said calmly, "Bellamy and I will apparate. The rest can go to your transport, or make your own way if it's too difficult to get there."

The Fighters inclined their heads, but only very slightly. They were still on guard. Bellamy held out an arm, Zoe moved underneath, and the pair vanished.

Persia's representative shook his head. Who could go against a wizard who could sense a missile aimed at them, probably before it had even been launched? He'd argue for membership, and anything else decreed by Zhor Khatabi-Vrie and her great wizard.

Meantime, Bellamy was being hugged by his young wife. "Brilliant!" she crowed. "When this gets around, we'll have a dozen new members. See if we don't!"

Bellamy smiled at her slightly, but said soberly, "A war is starting."

Zoe dismissed his concern. "That'll be taken care of. Happens every few years in Lebanon."

"I was inventing a speech limiter. Do you think there'd be a market?"

"I heard you. But if Erekat was abruptly silenced, for instance, he'd probably draw his wand and start cursing everybody."

"Maybe I'd best not make it then."

Zoe's glee was not shared by Najia. She'd come close to losing her husband and her cousin in the same instant.

As Zoe had anticipated, there were several more applications to join the AAAN after the incident of the missile. She was thrilled, though in front of others, she pretended to imperturbability, and was becoming better and better at the pose. Time to delegate, and she suggested to Bouchra that she appoint Vesna as her assistant and representative. It was on the suggestion of Ryuichi, who'd been first choice, but who didn't want to travel.

Vesna and Ryuichi were sired by the same wizard, Ismael. But Riza had not valued high intelligence as she had valued power and a fierce fighting spirit. Vesna had been sterilised, as Ryuichi was supposed to have been. Ryuichi now had three children, and was begging his young wife to have more. He loved being a father. The latest argument had ended when Melida declared he could find a third wife if he wanted any more children. Ryuichi was thinking about it.

To begin with, either Bouchra or Zoe observed when Vesna acted as Morocco's representative. But Vesna was very competent, and Zoe suggested to her husband that he might like an English summer. She cautioned, "Just need to check on Abensur first."

There were children in Japan, as well. Not merely the school children, but three of the male Khatabi-Richi had found widows with children, though none had been as lucky as Zhang, to find one still pregnant, so that he could pretend he was truly the father.

The visit to Japan extended. Bellamy did as he always did, as long as he was confident his girls were safe. Regularly every week, he apparated home to check on things there and look at his correspondence. He seldom stayed more than an hour, but it saved Alison sending him letters that followed him place to place, sometimes, it seemed, never quite catching up.

It was not until the second week of July that Zoe, Najia and Bellamy stepped into the App. Box, with four Khatabi Fighters, and stepped out at Hillend. After quickly checking with the caretakers, Bellamy and the girls walked the few steps to the App. Zone, and were at the external App. Zone at Emohruo.

***chapter end***