AN: This update is not betaedz.


Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Star Wars movies, books or games. They belong to Disney or their various copyright owners. I don't own any of the Harry Potter books, movies or games,they belongs to their respective copyright owners. This story is not meant for sale nor rent. I make no money from it.


Chapter 15

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Part 6

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early October 1991

Ministry of Magic

London

UK

They arrived in the Ministry's atrium in a swirl of green flames and for a single moment after stepping on the marble floor they could enjoy an instant of anonymity before the people in the area noticed their arrival, and more importantly, their identity. This was Chloe's first visit to the British Ministry of Magic and she couldn't help it – she had to compare it to the French one. The first thing that struck her was how dark and gloomy first impression this place offered. The brightest colour in the atrium came from the offending and quite ugly statue of various magical creatures looking up at wizards and witches in adoring, even awestruck manner. As a Veela in life, and something much more dangerous and darker now, Chloe instinctively found the message that sorry piece of "art" sent to all visitors, deeply offending. Further, the place was all too dark and gloomy for her taste, even if the vampire part of her immediately went noting all the shadowed corners she could use as an ambush/hiding place. In contrast, below its coloured domes, the French Ministry was well lit up, with an atrium that was wide open complete with multiple desks where helpful clerks waited to offer assistance to the citizenry.

Once the people around noticed them, a hush fell upon the atrium and everyone's eyes stared at them, either in fear, anticipation, judgment and rarest of all, honest curiosity. Chloe bit off a sneer, subdued her need to plant her elbow in her husband's side due to his amusement and looked around for any threats or anything of particular interests. Arches rose up in the air around the atrium and each one was covered with scores of offices, most of them dark. If they were all occupied and lit up, the light might have been enough to dispel the shadows clinging to the whole area, and thus made for a better first impression. As thing stood, the fires coming from the floo network cast brighter light than those supposed to illuminate this part of the ministry. It was a queer sight, especially for the place of power of people so steeped up in the conflict between the so called "light" and "darkness". Then again, what else should one expect? Those people were British and the exceptions like Dimitri or the Tonkses were few and far between…

Dimitri led them towards a nearby reception desk, glibly ignoring all the stares. There, a young Witch stuttered in fear at their approach.

"Dimitri Veil of the Noble House of Veil, here for today's Wizengamot session." Chloe's husband spoke in a voice like silk that brushed over her whole being like warm water, sending pleasant shivers through her bones. "With my Lady wife," she couldn't help but beam at the pride with which he pronounced her title – like she was the most important treasure in the world, "Chloe Veil."

"Ah… Yes, My Lord." The Receptionist shook herself from her stupor and fell back on stiff formality. "I'll need to verify your identity. Your wands, please."

Dimitri offered his own for inspection and tagging and when it was her turn, Chloe smiled pleasantly and opened her mouth just enough for her elongated fangs to be visible. "I don't own nor need a wand."

The young Witch blanched, all the blood remaining in her face draining making her paler than a ghost.

"If that's all, we'll be going now, my dear." Dimitri snatched his wand out of the Receptionist's numb fingers with a burst of wandless magic that sent ripples of of unease through all those observing them.

While Chloe wasn't thrilled at playing the role of an arm ornament for the time being, it was moments like this that made it almost worth it. This wasn't the kind of attention the Veela in her craved, she wanted awe, desire, lust and love from all who surveyed her. The apex predator she became against her will on the other hand, it reveled at the terror her partner, not to mention her own visage, could bestow upon people nowadays.

They walked deeper into the Ministry, with Dimitri humming in amusement all the way while the gathered observers parted before them. Visitors and employees alike, even Aurors hurried to make way, Dimitri's reputation alone enough to make them wary of even giving the impression that they barred his way. This was so different from their visits to the Muggle governments, it was much better. Here and now, Chloe felt powerful, and she couldn't wait until she would no longer need to hid her true nature. One day… Her lips twisted upwards, her smile becoming a wicked, stunning thing.

Soon, they reached the corridor leading within the Wizengamot Chambers. Wizengamot members milled around, gathering in groups for small talk or subdued conversations about today's agenda. Most of them didn't fail to send wary or even hungry glances their way. They met Andromeda near the closed and sealed doors of the Chambers, where she had been busy in an animated, yet quiet conversation with a trio of wizards. Two of them showed obvious familiar resemblance – an old man and who was presumably his son, both wearing identical Wizengamot robes, just like Dimitri himself, which made their resemblance even more striking. The other Wizard was middle aged and the first thing one noticed about him was his short, sand colored hair, which stuck out like a sore thumb in contrast with his dark official robes.

As they walked to greet Andromeda, the pair passed through a privacy charm obscuring the topic of the small group's conversation.

"Dimitri!" Andromeda greeted with a warm smile and offered a her hand, which Chloe's husband took gently with a matching smile of his own and planted a soft kiss on the back of her hand.

Chloe's own smile became genuine as well as she greeted the Witch. Andromeda was one of the few British women she had met that not only passed muster and could be decent company, but she could consider a friend.

"Let me introduce you to these gentlemen." Andromeda's voice was rich honey, dripping in sincerity. "This is Lord Reginald Davis," she made the introduction using the courtesy title for all those who held a seat on the Wizengamot, "and his Heir, Charles Davis. My Lord, Charles, these are my good friends, Lord Veil and his lovely wife, Chloe."

More handshakes, courtesies and two pairs of lips warily ghosting over the back of Chloe's right hand later, Andromeda introduced the third Wizard as Lord Michael Greengrass, prompting another round of greetings.

As far as Chloe was concerned, these three had two primary traits that distinguished them – they were leaders among what passed for neutral faction in the Wizengamot and were relatives of two of Harry's friends in Slytherin in Hogwarts according to the letters Dimitri's Apprentice had been sending home.

"As we expected, some of our friends in the Wizengamot are going to make an issue of your business within the Muggle world. Considering what have been happening as of late, they do have a valid reason to be concerned so we can't simply brush it off." With the courtesies over, Andromeda went straight for the important topic.

"One way or another the Wizengamot will remain out of my business. The only question is if we'll do it through a successful vote or other means." Dimitri spoke in a light tone, while a small, amused smile graced his face, all the while, Chloe carefully watched the three Wizards they just met.

They were examining the pair with neutral expressions on their faces, obviously studying them as well. To give credit where credit was due, none of them visibly reacted at the implication that Dimitri was ready to go against the Ministry on this topic. On one hand, even implying so could be considered as treason by some, on the other hand, the primary and most important topic of today's Wizengamot session was going to be the meddling of said parliament into the private business of one of their members, a business that already offered an ungodly amount of money, influence and trouble in profit.

In the past, Wizards and Witches had clashed with and openly defied various Ministries of Magic across the world when much less wealth and power had been at stake. This time? The only questions were where these three Wizards stood and if the Wizengamot would entertain creating a precedent which could be used against many of its members if allowed. On the face of it, such a motion should be easily defeated on general principle. In practice, Dimitri and his "master", well, they terrified a lot of people something fierce and there might be enough people ready to support a motion that might be seen to curtail his influence and power. Chloe honestly wasn't sure how today's vote might go. That was something she found out she didn't fear. Instead, she found the unknown and the potential for unrestrained violence in case things went wrong, terribly enticing...


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Part 7

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early October 1991

Ministry of Magic

London

UK

Chloe settled down among the visitors gallery, while quietly participating in small talk with her newest two acquaintances – the wives of Charles Davis and Thomas Greengrass respectively, Amelia and Cassandra. Both of Witches appeared to be pleasant company, at least going by what little they had shown so far, pretty enough too, though they naturally simply paled in comparison when sitting near a Veela, something that made Chloe instinctively preen. Her mere looks, which easily betrayed her heritage made many of the other women in the gallery throw her poisonous and envious looks, and even with her allure kept under Goblins steel control, many of the men couldn't tear their eyes from her figure once they gave her on good look.

Chloe had to struggle to keep a wicked smile off her face, the attention tickled pink half of her heritage, while her newer vampire nature was excited at having access to so many eager and trivial to entice prey. While that did wonders to her ego, she had to struggle to maintain her focus both through-out the mostly meaningless conversation, and now, more importantly, the beginning parliament session. That was problematic, because the real reason Chloe was here was to observe, watch and learn. She cast her gaze upon the filling up seats of the Wizengamot, trying to recall the names of the most notable members and their allegiance.

The Parliament of Magical Britain wasn't divided among party or alliance lines, the sitting arrangements had only one real divide. To the right of the room, taking most available space were the actual Wizengamot seats, set up a long time ago by the importance said families held, with the higher ranking being lower, closer to the ground, while the rest were spread out on rising benches behind them. To their right, stood the raised visitors galley.

The left side of the Chamber was relegated for the Minister, Ministry officials with votes, Chief Warlock and the stenographers. In practice, that meant every single department head should be in attendance in order to answer any relevant questions to their expertise and vote.

This in turn made it harder than one might expect to get a good reading on who belonged to what faction. For example, back in France, the Parliament was sensibly divided by party association.

Chloe could recognize individuals at least, either because she had met them before in a few cases, or more commonly, thanks to being schooled on their appearance by Andromeda over the past couple of days. There was Augusta Longbottom, one of the pillars of the Progressive Faction, she stood in the first row of seats, as befitting a scion of the so called Sacred 28. The old war-axe was distinguished by her trademarked vulture hat, which now rested in front of her and Chloe could swear, it glared at the Ministry seats. Thomas Greengrass sat on the roll behind Longbottom, just one seat to the left from the old Witch, chatting with a younger Wizard Chloe wasn't familiar with. Charles Davis on the other hand was to the far right of the second roll, speaking with another ancient Wizard, and judging by what she could see, that had to be Thoros Nott, one of the leaders of the Conservative faction.

Thinking about them, Chloe's eyes darted to the middle rolls of seats and sure enough, there was no mistaking Lucious Malfoy with his practically shining blond hair. He was flanked by a mountain of a man to the right and a short, mousy man to the left, neither of whom she could recognize. She made a note of Malfoy's position and her eyes darted to the back seats, reserved for mere Noble houses, like her husbands and sure enough, there was no mistaking Dimitri's form. He appeared relaxed and busy in an animated conversation with a skeletal ancient wizard, who nevertheless wore his pristine Wizengamot robes with pride.

While shew as busy trying to figure out who was who based on Andromeda's descriptions, Chloe was forced to nevertheless divide her attention between that rather important task and not alienating the wives of two potential political allies. Than in itself proved to be harder than one might expect. A few years ago, Chloe would have been interested in the gossip and the talk about the next big social event in Magical Britain – the Samhain celebrations at the end of the month. While she was still looking up to celebrating Samhain itself, nowadays Chloe was looking up to doing it privately with her family, perhaps one of the parties her husband threw regularly for people like them, instead of the world at large. Ever since she came to grips with her new nature, the usual expectations and what passed for celebrations by the magical world at large simply felt fake, oppressing and empty. That was a sharp contrast to how she felt back in the day, when her Veela nature made her hungry for the attention everyone eagerly offered her when she deigned to appear to a social function among civilized society.

Chloe simply hummed when asked whose gala she and Dimitri would be attending, or even if given her husband's status as the Master of the Boy-Who-Lived, they would be arranging their own along with Andromeda, declining to give a clear answer at this time. Thankfully, the session was finally about to begin, with the Parliament members settling in and the Ministry officials taking their own seats as well. That sent a hush through out the visitors gallery to Chloe's immense relief.

She paid scarce attention to Dumbledore's rehearsed words that opened the November's session of the Wizengamot – they were supposedly the same every damn time, and her eyes bored into the known members of the Conservative faction. It was going to be educational to see which way they were going to jump today.

"…session is now open." Dumbledore declared. "First term of business is swearing in new members of the Wizengamot or assigned proxies." The ancient Chief Warlock turned his attention to one of the secretaries supposed to handle said issues.

"There are no new Wizengamot Members ready to swear during this session, Chief Warlock. However, we have two cases of changing proxies." A young nondescript wizard raised his wand and levitated a pair of sealed parchments in front of Dumbledore.

The Chief Warlock produced his own wand and gently touched the seals while muttering an incantation, checking their authenticity, Chloe guessed. He proceeded to open and read the scrolls, before calling in the new proxies. The first one was a young woman who couldn't have graduated school more that couple of years ago.

"Lady Matilda Travis, standing in for my younger brother, Horatio Travis." The Witch introduced herself.

A minor branch of House Travis perhaps? Chloe was pretty sure that there was a Wizard in the middle benches of the same name, complete with at least an heir and a spare to inherit his title…

"Lady Joanna Zabini, standing in for my son, Lord Blaise Zabini." A tall striking woman announced as she stood up from the back of the Chamber. She had long black hair, dazzling eyes that even Chloe found enthralling and a voice that was made to melt, or harden men. Fine aristocratic features gave her face a classical beauty, all told, it was a very nice package.

So that was the so called Black Widow who was on husband number five now if the rumours about her were true. Wasn't her son quite chummy with Harry and his friends as well?

This session might turn out to be quite interesting for more than one reason after all, Chloe concluded. She paid no attention to Dumbledore swearing in the proxies and instead, she concentrated on studying the various reactions of Zabini taking her place in the Wizengamot. The visitors' gallery exploded with outraged whispers, though there wasn't anything useful Chloe learned – it was primary rumours and careful digs at Zabini's reputation.

The reactions among the Wizengamot were more interesting. Many a member showed undisguised surprise at the woman's appearance among their numbers. What game was she playing, they had to wonder, just as Chloe did.

The furor died soon enough, and the real show began.

"Item two on today's agenda is hearing the various concerns this body has..." Dumbledore began and immediately six wands rose up among the Wizengamot members, glowing bright and two more joined them from the Ministry Side.

"As per tradition, we'll hear the Department Heads first, going by seniority. Mr Diggory, you have the floor." Dumbledore nodded to a plump aging wizard.

Diggory stood up with quiet dignity and pushed his glasses up his nose. His wide face showed numerous smile-marks, however there was no trace of joy, much less smile as he began to speak.

"Honored Members, I have a few most concerning announcements to make." Diggory began speaking in a grave tone. "First, now we can officially confirm that last month the Ministry lost control of two Dementors from Azkaban, which were consequently used in the attack upon a member of this exalted body in Coventry."

On the face of it, this was no news – it was confirmed that there were Dementors present during the attack upon her husband last month, something that still infuriated Chloe. The very thought that someone dared attack Dimitri in so braze a way, that people dared try and take from her the one person who saved Chloe and her daughter from fate much worse than death, she bit the inside of her cheek hard, tasting delicious blood in an attempt to keep herself from hissing furiously. Her fangs elongated, her eyes narrowed, her vision sharpening as her vampiric nature came to the forefront. Chloe had to close her eyes grip her sides and use all her willpower to regain control before making a proper scene. It worked thanks to the endless hours of therapy and days spent on meditating and mental exercises to keep herself under semblance of control.

Amelia and Cassandra gave her brief wary looks, though thankfully declined to comment, while everyone else was too busy muttering over Diggory's report.

The man's next words brought a smile to Chloe's face and helped her re-establish proper control over her predatory nature.

"The second Dementor used in the attack is missing, presumed destroyed." At that, everyone sent wary glances at the back of the Wizengamot benches, where Dimitri endured the attention with a hint of a smile on his otherwise blank face.

"Currently, the DMLE continues investigating this incident." Amos continued. "Another point of concern that I must report is in relation with our Vampire and Werewolf population. There have been more accidents as of late, as well as persistent rumours that the various packs and covens are consolidating and conducting regular meetings, something we haven't seen since the Blood War. As of this moment, we have no concrete evidence about the agenda and the reasons about their change in behavior, merely speculations." At that, Diggory sent an accusing glare towards Dimitri, something her husband disregarded as of no consequence.

"Thank you, Mr Diggory." Dumbledore nodded. "We'll be open for discussions after we hear from Mr Crouch."

The former director of the DMLE rose next and glowered at the assembly. "I must bring up to your attention the international fallout from the attack in Coventry and the concerns many of our friends abroad, and within the ICW have over the actions of one of our esteemed members." Crouch spoke with an undisguised sneer. "The attack in Coventry and the multiple times Dimitri Veil has been called to testify in front of various Muggle governments is of a grave concern for the international community. In fact, many an ambassador have made it clear that their own governments watch the current developments with utmost concern. The reason for this is simple, the attack in Coventry and the close contact Dimitri Veil has with the muggle world places our world in grave danger of exposure – that is what our counterparts in Europe and across the world believe."

So, that was how they were going to play it, Chloe concluded, anticipation building within her. Placed in this light, a bill to try and restrict Dimitri's dealings with the muggle world, especially the muggle governments and impact his business might just pass out of fear if nothing else.

A few moments of silence reigned while everyone digested Crouch's words, before the whole Chamber exploded in concerned whispers.

"Thank you, Mr Crouch. Now the esteemed Lords and Ladies of the Wizengamot have the floor to bring up their own concerns and discuss the reports from our Department Heads..." Dumbledore spoke in a cool tone, betraying nothing of how he truly felt. As soon as he said his peace, at least two dozen wands lit up.