Karen stopped in a clearing, looking around with all her senses she looked for any traces of Azaria's passing. The extra time they had here was making all the difference, though it still wasn't fast enough for her. Hogwarts was adamant that she not push Azaria to the next realm for another month earth time. She'd prefer it if they were one step away from the shore, but that was a pipe dream. She'd got the basics down, and they were now playing a version of cat and mouse, where Azaria would get a 30 second lead and Karen had to try and catch her before she got back to the cabin.

She found the trail after a couple of moments, it led back to the cabin which is typical. Stepping along the trail, and keeping her magic low she comes out near the cabin. Freezing where she stepped out, she listens as she hears the sound of voices in Azaria's native language. Cursing under her breath she edges forward until she can see the cabin. When she gets there she sees that there are 5 sidhe surrounding Azaria who is bleeding on the floor. Taking a deep breath she lowers her magic as much as she can as she allows it to fill the clearing and seep into the magic of the Sidhe. None of them would be escaping today.

Azaria was cursing her inattentiveness. She'd become so accustomed to being alone here with Karen that she'd let down her guard and stepped straight to the cabin rather than approach from the side. She'd been jumped, beaten down and was currently trussed up while the lead Enforcer gloated over her.

"I thought this was just going to be a boring excursion, escorting the prince through the world while he acclimates to the magic here. But here you are, just waltzing around right near our territory. I bet you were laughing at us, living here training right under our noses."

Azaria was considering calling out to Selene for help, as she was training Karen when she felt the faint traces of Karen's magic flow over her. If she hadn't been training with her for so long, she would have completely missed it, it was so low. She couldn't help herself, as she started laughing out of relief.

"What's so funny? Huh? Got a death wish do you?", she gets a kick in the side for her trouble.

"It's a good thing for you that they'll want you alive so that they can properly cow your clan."

Spitting out blood Azaria croaks out, "My companion has just arrived. I thought it was ironic is all."

Looking around they spot Karen and then start to laugh, "You mean the null? We've got one of those at the keep. We keep her around because she's just pitiful, doesn't even have enough magic to levitate a flower."

Azaria can't help herself, she laughs even harder at that.

"Why are you laughing?"

Karen replies for her, "It's because she's aware of something you're not. Now, you can either surrender and come quietly, or I will disable you and then take you with me."

The lead enforcer laughs, "You, what are you going to do to me?"

"None of you have been beyond the next world have you. And this must be the prince you were talking about. Don't worry, I don't hurt children, but I can't let you leave to tell people who you've seen so you'll be coming with us."

The Enforcer fires out a spell that should have quartered Karen, but instead fizzled against her magical aura as it passed the trigger line. Making a couple of hand gestures he throws out a barrage of spells that should leave her scattered across the forest behind her. His team make a half jump, intending to teleport around her. To their great surprise, they go nowhere.

Around the clearing the trees all transmute and turn into various monsters wielding wickedly sharp weaponry or claws. A cry of alarm comes from the Prince as he tries to shift realm, only to find it impossible to do so. Taking that as a signal, the forces arrayed around the clearing charge.

Azaria panics as the earth beneath her swallows her up, but the lead enforcer is too distracted by the charging creatures to notice. It only lasts a moment before she's spat out behind the treeline. Standing up, she limps her way to get a view of the fight, one-sided as it is. The enforcers are doing their best, but they just don't have the breadth of ability, or power needed to win a fight against someone like Karen. They were putting up a good fight, a couple of them having summoned their own creations to defend themselves. But they were limited to trying to use hand to hand combat against someone who just wouldn't let them get within reach. She could see the influence of Minerva in Karen's battle style, though there were also touches of her own influences there with the staff usage. That wasn't to say that Karen couldn't do with improvement, but that's more to do with lack of experience than ability. No, the most impressive thing about this fight wasn't what was happening, it was what wasn't happening. None of them had escaped, none of them could teleport, none of them were able to use direct magic on Karen, and none of them were able to get past the creatures that she'd summoned. Personally, she thought it was slightly terrifying, as Karen didn't appear to have cast a single spell as yet. Instead, everything she'd done was because her magic was surrounding the clearing, but so slight that it was nigh undetectable. Oh, she could do the same thing, and the enforcers had done the same to summon their own fighters. But anyone with a modicum of mana sense could tell it was happening, and someone that was stronger could suppress the spell if it was in their own area.

Shaking her head, Azaria cursed her wool gathering and concentrated on the battle again. Seeing a chance to get the only non-combatant out of the firing line, she supresses her magic as much as she can and stalks up behind the Prince. Carefully putting the lessons she learnt from Zack into practice, she summons three tiny bubble headed charms, one for each nostril and one for the mouth. These are modified to produce carbon dioxide rather than air, and it doesn't take long for the prince to get drowsy enough for her to drag him off the battlefield without protest. Once there she carefully overpowers his magic and knocks him unconscious with a stunner.

Seeing the prince has been removed from the battlefield Karen stops sandbagging, and lets her magic unfurl to a similar level to the people she's facing. Realising that someone they thought they had a chance to defeat suddenly appeared to have more teeth than expected the lead Enforcer calls out, "Retreat, Tomaltach get the prince and get away from here. Everyone else, buy him time to leave."

"Mairghréad! The Prince isn't here!"

"Take her down fast then, no playing about, we need to find the Prince."

Karen just smiles as they failed to look up as they were too busy fighting. Hurtling out of the sky comes a meteor shower that she spent the fight conjuring. The first they know about it is when she suppresses their defensive auras so that they have to take the impacts head on. Soon enough she's the only living person in the clearing.

Walking out of the forest levitating the Prince, Azaria shouts at Karen, "What in the Dark was that?"

"That was Melf's Minute Meteors."

"Huh? I've not heard of a spell called that, even talking to Filius."

"You wouldn't, it's a made up spell for a game called Dungeons and Dragons. I'll show you the books in the Little Whinging library at some point. Come on, let's go home and get your injuries seen to, and the Prince secured."

With that they both set about erasing the magical traces of the fight and head back to the Sanctuary.

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Garund came into the house with a grim expression on his face. Looking up from her sewing Petunia immediately knew that something bad had happened just by his body language.

"What's the matter?"

"The prince has disappeared, and the Oberon and Titania are both livid. We need to keep our noses completely clean for a few cycles. So neither of you should do anything that requires removing your manacles. Petunia, we're going to need to give you more menial tasks, as they're likely to go house to house a few times questioning if anyone knows anything. Do NOT use your magic, no matter what they do. We can heal up anything they do to hurt you, but we can't rescue you if they take you in for questioning by the Oberon for being suspicious."

"Yes Uncle." Lyasa says demurely, a picture of innocence on her face.

"Lyasa, this is serious. I know you're still a youngling, but if you're taken to the Oberon you will still die. Petunia, I need you to keep an eye on her, as I'm sure she's going to try to avoid this. Maybe… Yes… Teach her how you clean, and push her to do it at the speed you did when you arrived."

Petunia nodded, "I will Garund, are there any rumours as to what happened?"

"Only that he was off in the next world getting used to his magic with an escort of trusted Enforcers. They were due to return a phase ago, but sometimes it takes longer. Half a phase ago they sent out search parties, now they're looking for traitors who leaked the excursion to another court."

"Damn, who do they think did it?"

"They're betting on the Summer court, but we won't know until Bethnes as gone through a cycle. As they're likely to want to let the winter Oberon stew in his own juices, and maybe thin out his own people looking for the traitor."

"This has happened before?"

"Not with this Prince, but yes. You hear stories of some courts sending the heirs back in pieces, or worse marrying them to someone in their court. If the latter happens, we won't find out until he's got an heir to tie him to the new court."

"Why is that worse?"

"In theory, our courts are a meritocracy and the most powerful Sidhe become the Oberon and Titania. In practice, it all depends on where you're placed in the court. The children of the current Oberon and Titania are the ones that get the special training and escorts needed to safely progress through the realms. Everyone else has to work it out the hard way, and if you get too close to the shore you either become part of the inner circle or the current Oberon and Titania pay you a visit. I'm sure your meditation techniques are nothing new, but I'm equally sure that they are secrets kept by the inner circles of the courts."

For the first time since she's known him, he admits, "If we weren't hostages, I'd be joining you in your meditation, as it has given both of you a far greater understanding of your magic. It also feels vastly different to me too. Once you've found the method you need to use our sword skills properly, it will be safer for you Lyasa."

"Why's that?"

Garund shakes his head at Petunia's question, "Because then she will feel like a Sidhe. At the moment her magic feels very human. I put it down to the lessons you've been teaching her, as I don't remember her feeling human before she was taken for re-education. To be honest, I thought she'd been taken to her death when they did that. If it wasn't for you, she would have been, either that or she'd have sworn loyalty to the winter court, which would amount to the same thing for our clan."

Petunia shudders at the memory of where they were kept before she got here.

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Harry comes out of the portkey spinning, her head spinning even faster. Sprawling to her knees she vomits while Daphne and Hermione are getting their own bearings back.

"First time international?" the attendant asks.

"No, she's done it before, but not as far. She's never got on with portkeys at the best of times."

"Ah, there's always a few that suffer from portkey sickness every year. I've heard that chewing Liquorice root for 15 minutes before you take the portkey helps with the Nausea. Course, short distance, and well made portkeys will make the issue more or less make it a non-issue."

Hermione sounds grateful when she responds, "Thanks for the advice, I'll let her know."

"With that, welcome to MacUSA, can I see your papers and permits. It's just a formality as you're the ones I was expecting here."

"Sure, can you also stamp our muggle passports as well please?"

"Gah! One moment, I'll have to look out the stamp."

A few minutes later they were all stamped, and were escorting a recovering Harry out of the building. Taking a trip to a café, they ordered milkshakes while Harry finished recovering.

Daphne is the first to speak once Harry looks more with it, "Well, now we're here for the weekend, what do you guys want to do?"

"I'd love to visit the Library of Congress, but we need to get to the East Coast first. Maybe we should head for New York, then make our way south, and pop in on our way to Florida?"

Harry stared at her, "There is no way we are letting you anywhere close to a Library. After all, there's no such thing as a quick visit for you. Or has the punishment for going to Alexandria already gone from your memory?"

Suddenly looking like she bit into a lemon, Hermione hurriedly replies, "Nope, not forgotten. There's no way I'm going through that again. I had absolutely nothing to read for two days! What's worse is that Karen set my punishment for a weekend and enlisted the house elves to enforce it."

"I didn't realise Karen banned you from any books. What did you do?"

"You wouldn't, that was the weekend you were sent around Russia. I ended up playing with the first and second years most of the time, and I got really good with knitting."

Daphne interrupts, "Have either of you been taught how to read apparition coordinates?"

"I've never heard of them."

Harry voices her agreement with Hermione.

"Well, as we're in MacUSA, they probably have different laws on apparition to Europe and the old world. Maybe we can go back and see if we can get our licence for it. Mum said that they teach you how to use coordinates and work them out too. If we can do that, it might take a day, but then we can just buy an apparition map in the magical sector and go to the major apparition points in the country. From there it should be a simple matter for Hermione to work out how to convert apparition coordinates to non-magical coordinates."

"Let's do that then."

Hermione squeaks, "Hey, don't I get a say in this?"

Daphne laughs, "Would you have said no?"

"Well, no, but it's the principle of the thing."

"Weren't you telling me about this GPS thing that they have now?"

"Oh, yes, and there's already stuff to translate that to longitude and latitude. If we could build a system to do that for Apparition coordinates we could just carry a GPS device with us and put the batteries in when we need to."

"Well, there you go then." Daphne smiles at her.

When they finish their milkshakes, they all troop back to the arrival centre and spend the rest of the day learning how to apparate. As it turns out they do allow it younger than in Europe as everything is more spread out, so they don't have a national flue network.