Beth stared blankly at the wall of her office cum classroom trying to process what had just happened in the last hour. Her vision returned inwards again. Where once she used to have a single rune that signified her magic, now it was a cromlech with menhirs covered in runes that she just knew would actually function. It had been taking every ounce of willpower she'd had not to lose herself in there examining the runes and making notes. She ran her hands over the unfamiliar runes, some of the shapes teased the edges of her memory as though they almost fit in with what she'd seen before. This one was almost Algiz, this one almost the Egyptian hieroglyph for water. When she changed the level of her magic the runes that remained visible changed as well, leaving more and more familiar runes as the only ones visible. Experimentally she kept lowering her magic until it started to hurt, and there were only a handful of runes left.
She came out of her world panting, and to someone shaking her.
"Beth. Beth!"
"Ugh!"
"Beth, are you ok?"
Letting her magic relax to its natural level, she felt the fuzziness and inability to think fade away.
"Beth, you're scaring me." She could recognise Septima's voice now.
"Sorry, I'm back. I didn't mean to scare you."
"What were you even doing? I came in and you were barely breathing, and your eyes were fixed on the wall."
"I passed the Magi test and Tia, it's wonderful. My visualisation used to be a single rune, now it's an entire megalith, a cromlech made from menhirs covered in runes. When I change the level of my magic the visible runes change. Tia, I kept lowering my magic past what we'd need for the nest and there were still runes visible. Oh no! I've got to note them down before I forget."
"No Beth, you're doing no such thing. Instead, you're coming with me to the Library so that Hogwarts can ream you out properly."
Septima drags Beth out of her room by her ear and transports them to the Library.
"Hogwarts!"
When Hogwarts appears Septima starts, "I need you to tell Beth just how bloody stupid she was just now. I found her shaking and barely breathing."
Looking concerned, Hogwarts leads them into a nearby room with some chairs in it.
"What happened?"
"Beth." Septima growls.
"OK, Ok, I'm telling it.", Beth then outlines what happened.
What neither of them expect is for Hogwarts to collapse in near hysterical laughter.
"Zeus' nuts, it had to happen to me didn't it. Now all we need to complete the set is a diviner and a seer. Oh wait, we've got both of those, but they're not magi yet."
"I take it this is an extraordinary thing, and whether it's good or bad is to be seen?" Septima says to Hogwarts waspishly.
"Oh no, it's good, it's incredibly good, just stupidly complicated. You Beth are a Rune Master, you see runes. I'm not just talking about your professional and personal interest; I'm talking about your magic. Every magical effect can be described with runes if you have a large enough vocabulary. But like diviners and seers, they see the world differently to everyone else. Unlike diviners and seers, they need an anchor, it's not that it helps. A diviner can see through the sea of magic the same way you look to the horizon, a seer can see the multitude of futures out there. However, they can't follow what they see, they can't play or disappear of into tangents because of something they've seen. I've only ever met one Rune Master before you, and I've only heard of two others. Considering that I've met some two or three thousand Magi, which should tell you just how rare they are.
"What I do know is that none us would be here without them, as they designed the barrier that led to the nearly 1,500 years incursion free from sleepers we've had."
Septima asks, "What's an anchor?"
"Simple answer, someone that stops them from becoming lost in what they can see. They can pull them back and anchor them to this world. The answer you're probably looking for, I have no idea. I only know they exist because Seers and Diviners often had them if they were magi level, I think the Rune Master also had one. I don't know how it works, how it's formed or any of the mechanics of the process. I'm sorry, I know you're all relying on me for my knowledge on these things. It leaves me feeling like I've failed you."
Beth is the one that responds, "None of us expect you to have all the answers. It might surprise you to know, but we often feel the same way when our students come across a new problem that we've never considered before. The only thing that being older means, is that you have less of these holes in your general knowledge. I'm willing to bet that even before this I would have been able to talk circles around you about runes, and Septima here could do the same with Arithmancy. This is simply because they're our specialities."
"Thank you, though you might be surprised about both of those. Don't forget I shared the castle with Rowena and Salazar for a couple of centuries."
Beth smirks, "OK, why is it that adult magicals need to rest between moving from one world to another, while both Harry and Hermione went from here to the sea of magic with no ill effect?"
Septima's eyes sparkle as her mind starts going over the possibilities that this simple fact raises about how magicals are magical. Seeing this Hogwarts laughs good naturedly and holds up her hands, "OK, I give, I give. I have no idea, and also have no idea where to even start with trying to explain it."
Musing out aloud Septima wonders, "Is it related to the fact that non-magicals can be taken to the same place and will become magical assuming they survive the environmental effects of so much magic. Does that imply that there's some minimum level of magical saturation required in a body before it's able to hold onto that magic permanently? How does that work with the fact that House-elves can go to any level immediately with no ill effects but can't survive on earth without an external source of magic. Or how Azaria couldn't spend longer than a day here until she met Tonks."
Hogwarts laughs, "Looks like you're not the only one that needs an anchor Bathsheba. Though hers is certainly less life and sanity threatening."
Beth just puts her head in her hands and groans.
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An owl bearing Hogwarts Heraldry lands on the desk of Secretary of the ICW, a position that holds a surprising amount of power considering they don't have a seat. Frederick DuPont takes the letter from the OWL and thanks it before turning to the seals on the letter. Carefully opening the letter without damaging the seals, he reads it before frowning at the lengthy list of titles at the bottom. He re-reads it and frowns further.
Standing up, his old bones creaking in protest, he retrieves his walking staff and makes his way down to the archives. Walking up to a middle-aged Wizard manning the front desk he addresses them.
"Boy, I need you to check these seals. Also get someone to research these titles."
"When are you going to remember that I've been working here for 40 years old man?" the wizard responds with the tone of someone that's had this conversation many times in the past.
"When you reach half my age."
"You'll be dead and buried by then."
"And be happier for it."
"Why don't you retire then?"
"What, and leave the job to the likes of Dumbledore? No thanks, that is one Wizard that can't say no to anyone offering him responsibilities. Problem is he believes his own hype. Why I remember when Griselda apprenticed here…"
"Yes, yes old man, I know that you're older than dirt."
"If the person that holds that particular title is real, I think that you'll have a chance to meet someone that really is older than dirt.", he points at one of the titles on the letter.
The wizard looks at the title, "Why does that seem familiar?"
"Cursed if I know, I just recognise it and I have a feeling it's from the historical records about the ICW."
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Minerva was extremely frustrated as she stormed into the waiting room before taking a seat next to an equally frustrated Karen.
"No luck?"
"We're been stonewalled by some flunky who is so full of their own self-importance that they are refusing to let us see the Governor unless we have credentials that he recognises, or our own credentials have been verified."
"I'm of half a mind to find out where the Governor is and just storm into their office at this point."
"Why don't we?"
"Because we were trying to be nice."
"Right, fine, my Master wants this done urgently, and it's been two days now and we've got nowhere."
Minerva stands up and blankets the area with her magic before walking back through the door. Karen stands up and follows suit, matching Minerva's magical output.
By the time they reach the Flunky's desk, they are already absolutely terrified at the oppressive feeling of the magic, the local equivalent of Aurors are coming out of the woodwork and then stopping in fear at the feel of it.
"Where. Is. The. Governor!" Minerva grinds out.
The flunky raises a shaky hand and points to an unassuming door.
The door slams open violently as they storm in and the governor sits behind his desk somehow managing to look the picture of smug calm.
"You need to gather all of the original haul of tablets that you found and put them under armed guard." Commands Minerva.
"I would if I could, however they were shipped out to the capital yesterday, and will have been sent out already."
"Where is the capital?" Karen's voice and magic lash out like a whip crack. The sudden increase in pressure wipes the expression off the Governor's face, as he realises that he may have just made a mistake that he'll be paying for personally.
"Istanbul" he stammers out.
"Oh good, unless you have a handy portkey, we're going to take the scenic route and you are going to show us how to get to the seat of power. Don't think I have forgotten about you either." She rounds on the flunky that had been stonewalling them.
One of the Aurors gives up on trying to cast spells at Karen and draws a knife before lunging at her. Reflexively she bats him away with her magic and he lands against a stone wall with a loud crack as his head cracks open like a watermelon.
Grabbing Minerva and the two wizards in her magic, she wraps them in a notice-me-not and then steps them to the Istanbul conference centre that she'd attended an ancient Mythology conference at several years ago.
Pulling her magic into a bubble, she puts her hand on the Governors shoulder, "Lead on. And I hope for your sake that your idiocy doesn't lead to the destruction of your Empire."
He gulps as the two women that he thought had been trying to just exert their pitiful foreign authority showed that they had something far more important than a simple appointment.
Getting to the magical district took them an hour as they had to avoid breaking the Statute. Getting in to see the Emperor once they were able to let their magic loose again took them 15 minutes. 15 minutes where the Governor's expression turned ever more ashen.
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As they entered the Court of the Emperor, a man standing next to the Emperor bowed deeply. Following that the rest of the court went down on one knee.
The man that bowed said something in Ottoman Turkish which was then translated into English by an unassuming man kneeling to one side.
"What may the Ottoman Empire do for two esteemed Magi?"
Reigning in her temper, Minerva responded respectfully, "Some of students recently brought three tablets that were gifted for Hogwarts to the school. My master recognised those tablets and identified that the ones on white stone were dangerous due to a flaw in their contents. She sent us out to try to prevent their distribution until we can verify that these are indeed the tablets she's afraid they are. We know that the other two tablets are safe Rune Master Babbling identified the Runic array and found that only the white one differed. We would ask that you prevent the distribution of those tablets and place them under armed guard."
Karen threw the two wizards they'd brought with them in front of the throne and added in an acid voice, "We wouldn't even have needed to bother the Emperor with this, but these two kept us waiting until after they'd already shipped the tablets out to destinations unknown. The Bloody Rose wouldn't be worried about them if they weren't truly a risk."
One of the kneeling men near the back gasped at the name drawing the attention of the Emperor.
The Emperor himself spoke up and was translated by a shaky interpreter, "We thank you for bringing us this warning. We will prevent these tablets from being sent on to their final destination if they are still within our possession."
With this statement a few people near the back discretely left to see that it was done.
"We greatly enjoyed the spectacle that was the Warlock graduation the other day. We wonder if it would be possible to send some of our young to be educated without being subject to the British Ministry."
Minerva stepped forward and curtsied slightly, "We are currently looking at our options for becoming an international school of excellence. It may also please you to know that the British Muggle government was recently granted permission by the ICW to convert the town of Little Whinging to a purely magical enclave independently of the British Ministry of Magic. I understand that they are currently looking to appoint a magical Ambassador, but you may have some luck with sending a representative to them."
The voice takes over again, "We are thankful for this information. Once your status has been established, please keep our court in mind and send a missive. We wonder if our young would need to wield a wand?"
Karen takes the lead indicating her staff, "While we are not familiar with the usage of other focus' than wands, we will have no such requirements. Other than ensuring that new students have a matched focus that they can cast magic with, we do not have any particular requirements for a focus."
"Thank you. If it pleases our esteemed guests, as our business seems to be concluded would it be possible to return to our normal court duties?"
Deciding to take the out, and also throw a cat in amongst the pigeons, "We are grateful for your time. We will take our leave, and maybe next time we meet we can share bread and salt."
Once it's translated, the governor looks as though she's just signed his death warrant.
With that they both step back to Hogwarts.
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Later, in the Sanctuary with Bathsheba and strangely Septima, who is looking a little ill, Hogwarts is currently lying on the floor holding her sides in laughter. Karen and Minerva look at each other confused.
"Erm, Master. May I ask what was so funny about our account?"
Gaining control of herself, Hogwarts smiles broadly at Karen, "Karen, never ever change. That was a beautiful parting comment."
"But why was it so funny?" Karen inquires still confused.
"You just threatened the Emperor of the Ottoman Empire without even realising it."
"How so?"
"Sharing bread and salt is not just a symbol of friendship, it's also a promise of mutual support and at the very least neutrality while you are under their roof. If the Emperor had invited you to share Bread and Salt, he would have been personally guaranteeing your protection while in his court. By making the invitation to him under his own roof you implied that if you weren't sharing bread and salt you would be there as enemies."
"But I didn't mean to imply that!"
"I know, that's why it's so funny."
"I need to write him a letter and let him know I wasn't actually threatening him."
Hogwarts fell over laughing again.
Beth laid her hand on Karen's arm, and spoke gently, "You can't, if you don't leave it as it is then it will damage both yours and the Emperors position. And from the fact that Hogwarts is laughing I think you inadvertently did the right thing."
Hogwarts brought herself under control again, "By the Styx you did, you most certainly did. You went to the Emperor because one of his people screwed up so badly that something that could have easily been resolved with no need to involve him if they weren't abusing their power. The Emperor was either there for the graduation, or he viewed a pensive memory. Probably the latter thinking about it. Even if they haven't had researchers digging into old records about warlocks and magi, the fact that you were referred to as a magi while the others were all warlocks. Coupled with the fact that you were the one making the presentations would tell anyone that was politically astute that you were going to be either just higher ranked than them, or more likely more powerful.
"You demonstrated that you were willing to try to play by the rules, you also demonstrated that you were personally powerful enough to ignore them if you so choose to. The fact that Minerva said that she has a Master, and it's not you, because you referred to one of my old titles, which I'm sure you did for shock value rather than anything else."
"Actually, I did it because everyone knows you as a school rather than a person."
"That makes sense too."
The impromptu lesson in politics trailed off into less serious subjects, such as Beth and Septima's presence.