Author's Note: Why yes, this is a second chapter this week. Enjoy, MNF
Chapter 30:
Visit
Saturday, June 3, 2000
"Well, everyone wants to get a peek at the Chief Warlock getting married at his advanced age," Junie teased Sirius as she sorted through the morning post while they lounged in their dressing gowns post breakfast. "We have fifty replies back already, and they're all coming."
"Hogwarts will hold them," Sirius replied confidently. "Surely some of these are people who you invited?"
"Yes, the one I brought home with me yesterday," Junie said, finding the slightly wrinkled one as it had been in her school bag and been crushed by the essays she needed to grade for her third years. "It's from Rosie. She's coming and bringing a date."
"Hmm, would it be a tall redheaded gentleman who she was recently Heart-Bound to?"
"Of course," Junie said, getting up from her chair and depositing herself in her fiancé's lap. "She seems extremely excited and happy to be matched with Fred now. Apparently, his kisses make her feel like her gut is so full of butterflies that she could float away. I told her I know the feeling."
"Oh, you know that feeling?"
"Absolutely. The first time you kissed me, my lips tingled, and my heart was beating a million miles a minute, and it was bliss." Not to deny her a racing heart, Sirius resoundingly kissed her. They were surprised when Minsey popped into the room, wringing her apron between her hands.
"Minsey, what is it?" Sirius asked kindly, as this was odd behaviour for his elf.
"There are three people who are wanting to come through the Floo to speak with you and Mistress Juniper, sir," she explained.
"It's quite early. Can you ask them to return at a more respectable time?"
"I tried, Master, but they be persistent." Sirius sighed and pushed Junie gently off his lap.
"Did any of them give you a name?"
"Yes, Master, the man I talked to be a Mister O'Riordan," she said, and Sirius immediately swore.
"Who is this, Mr. O'Riordan?" Junie asked.
"One of the High Mages," Sirius said. "They must want to speak with me about the legislation passed this week. Minsey, please show them into the formal sitting room on the first floor and offer them tea, and I will be there shortly."
"Yes, Master," Minsey said before popping out.
"We need to get dressed," Sirius said, dashing across the hall to their bedroom suite. "I'm sure they're going to want to meet you." He turned to look at Junie and realized she was already fully dressed in a lovely pair of summer-weight, white trousers, and a floral blouse. She even had shoes and jewellery on. "How did you?"
"Magic, silly, now hold still, and I'll get you taken care of too," she said. "What?"
"I didn't know you could do this," he said in awe.
"I've been practicing spells like this, just in case we were ever in need. Your best friends tend to drop in at the most inopportune times. I figured being able to get us dressed at a flick of the wand was a good thing. Now, that's the only outfit I had memorized, which is why you're dressed in it." She'd picked pair of tan trousers, a pale blue oxford shirt and a floral tie, and some comfortable leather shoes, which felt more like trainers than dress shoes. "Do you think you need an outer robe?"
"No, it's Saturday, and I didn't know I would be receiving them. I have a set of black ones hanging in my office if I feel the need. Have I told you that you're brilliant today?"
"No, but it's nice to hear," Junie said before she leaned in to kiss him. "Make sure to cleanse your mouth out. I'm going to put a bit of make-up on, and then I'll be down. Go and speak with the Mages." Sirius lifted his wand and quickly did the mouth cleaning charms and his hair charm. He then calmly walked down the stairs.
"Good morning," Sirius said as he entered the room. "I'm quite sorry that you had to wait for me; I wasn't aware we had a meeting this morning." He went to each of the mages, shaking each of their hands in kind.
"We did not," Emelda Shafiq said. "We come on an urgent matter, however. Time is of the utmost essence on the matter."
"Is there an issue with The Source?" Sirius asked. Minsey popped in with a tray appropriate for a morning cuppa, although she'd also included a pot of coffee for those who preferred it. There were also fresh croissants, which he and Junie had shared for breakfast that morning, along with butter and jam. She also had a tray that held biscotti for the coffee or rich tea biscuits, the perfect consistency to dunk so they wouldn't fall apart in the liquid, for tea. Sirius immediately began to serve his guests.
"Yes. Something has invaded it," Brendan O'Riordan said firmly. "We don't know what's happening to it or what or who might have done this. It's dimming at a remarkable rate."
"What do you mean? I didn't think that was possible. There are so many protections on it, and it's housed in your castle," Sirius said, taking a cup of black tea for himself, although not sitting back in his chair.
"The Source is susceptible to Dark Magic being performed anywhere in the UK. We think someone is intentionally attempting to poison it," Brendan continued.
"What can I do?" Sirius asked. Junie entered the room as he asked the question, and he stood so he could introduce his fiancée to the others. He then prepared a cup of coffee for Junie, and she sat down next to him.
"The most urgent of our needs is to obtain permission from the DMLE to scry for the location of the person using the Dark Magic," Elias Greengrass said. "In the old days, we used to do the spells and ask for forgiveness if it was warranted. "Now we need permissions first, thanks to the leadership of Dumbledore and you."
"Mage Greengrass," Junie began, "I think it was wise for the laws to be changed to catch up with modern life. The Muggles need to have permission from the courts for what is considered unreasonable invasions of privacy. If you can prove that your need for information on a suspect outweighs that person's privacy, then the permission will be granted. The laws we've passed have brought us in line with the Muggle legal system."
"Why would it be important for us to be like the Muggles," he scoffed.
"If the children Junie and I produce are supposed to bring about the reunification of the entirety of the population on this island, then I would say it's imperative. Our people are woefully behind the Muggles in technological advances; we don't even use modern writing methods," Sirius protested.
"Again, what does it matter how we write or what we write with?" Greengrass said with increasing vigour. "We are not Muggles."
"No, we are not," Emelda Shafiq said, "but we are all sharing this island, and we must learn to get along. Sirius, would you escort Brendan to the Ministry offices and see about getting us the permissions we need so we may scry for the person using the Dark Magic?"
"Of course," Sirius said. "Brendan, we can Floo from here into my offices. I'll send a message to Amelia Bones, and we can expedite this. She's probably in her office anyway."
"Why would that be?" O'Riordan asked.
"Her niece is spending a year in France, studying at the International Training Academy for Mind Healers. I think she finds her home much too empty, so she fills her time with work," Sirius said, and Brendan nodded. The pair left after Sirius bent to kiss Junie's cheek.
As the two gents left, Junie gazed at the two remaining Mages, wondering what she should say.
"You're getting married in only a few weeks," Madame Shafiq said. "Are you ready?"
"I think we are," Junie answered truthfully. "That said, I'm certain something will pop up at the last minute, which will require immediate attention. My goal is to have everything I can control taken care of well in advance."
"That sounds about the best way you can deal with something as large as a wedding," she said. "Sirius has told us he is wearing robes, along with the gents, while you are wearing a Muggle wedding dress. I find the merging of the two intriguing. I don't wear much Muggle designed clothing, but if I could find clothes like your beautiful outfit today, I might be persuaded."
"Thank you," Junie said. "There are some wonderful designers based here in the UK I like to shop from. It wasn't always like this; up until I started dating Sirius, my wardrobe was rather bland."
"So, were you wearing more robes then?"
"When I was working in the Ministry, I usually had Muggle clothing under my black legal robes. I grew up more Muggle than magical, and teaching at Hogwarts, I want my students to appreciate that it isn't bad just because something is different. Honestly, though, I also couldn't find a set of wedding robes that didn't fit like a boxy tent. If there is one day in every woman's life, she wants to feel beautiful, it's her wedding. My gown is delicate and romantic."
"Ah, dam all that, missy," Elias said. "You're marrying into one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight families, the last of the continuously known pureblood lines; you should look like the witch that you are. None of this Muggle stuff should be at your wedding."
"I'm confused," Junie said, pivoting in her seat to look at the gentleman. "Sirius told me about some ancient prophecy that we're supposed to be fulfilling, and I'm the Muggle half of that equation. If this is true, then isn't my Muggle-ness important? This isn't about pureblood supremacy; history is quite clear about what happens when ANYONE declares one subset of people superior to another. Weren't those Grindelwald's talking points? That wizards of fine blood should be held above all others. I am a student of history, Mister Greengrass."
"I don't believe in this reunification idea any more than Dumbledore said you were," he barked back. "Two thousand years of separate life has served us fine."
"But has it served the Muggle population as well?" Junie asked. "Yes, Muggles have developed ways to travel in space, send their television images around the world in seconds, and have far superior writing instruments to quills, but they still have diseases which kill that we can cure in a day. Right now, a variant of the influenza virus is circling the world and making millions of people terribly ill, magical, and Muggle alike. We had quite an outbreak this past winter at Hogwarts, but no child was in the hospital ward for more than a day, and the hospitalizations were entirely due to the steam side-effect of the Pepperup Potion. Why are we allowing people, our neighbours in some cases, to die from simple infections like the H1-N1 virus? I think we, as the magical people of the United Kingdom, need to consider if this makes us superior or just bigots."
"I was under the impression it was just Lord Black who was the politician," Madame Shafiq said. "Your argument is one of the most concise anyone has put forward for the need for reunification."
"I'm not a politician; that is Sirius' realm. I'm just a teacher. I will say my sixth-year students had some brilliant ideas about how the magical world could help the Muggle. One of them wants to end hunger while another is working on ways to deal with the pollution problem. They're quite ingenious."
"Ah, they might be, but I believe this is their instructor illuminating them," Emelda said. "Why is it that you question your role in the prophecy, and it's coming true?"
"I found Divination to be quite silly, honestly. Muggles don't usually believe in things like fortune-telling. Sure, some folks might see someone to have their palms read at a carnival or read the paper for their horoscope, but if you're relying on it for more than entertainment, you're not looked upon terribly kindly, like you're weak-minded. Muggles have an intense sense of personal destiny – you make your future. The only exception, and it really isn't that close, would be with the Presbyterians. They believe in predestination, but that isn't magic making your future but rather God."
"What are Presbyterians?" Greengrass asked.
"It's a religion. They're protestants, and one of their core beliefs is that God knows what is in your life already and who you're going to be. Your life is set before you and how you embrace the challenges depends on the strength of your faith," Junie explained.
"And you'll believe that, but you won't believe in prophecy?" Madame Shafiq asked.
"Oh, I don't believe that either," Junie quickly explained. "I was raised Church of England. We don't believe in predestination. Really, that's something only the Presbyterians believe; it's straight out of their first leader's written doctrine. No, I believe in God, that the scriptures are the way of truth for living, that worship is important for the growth and comfort of the soul, and that participation in the sacraments allows us to know God."
"And this God you Muggles believe in," Greengrass blustered, "isn't he a magician? I've heard your story of creation; everything was made in a week! Sounds like drivel and misunderstood magic to me."
"Yes, there is a story in the Bible about the world being made in seven days, but not by a master magician. God is the originator who spoke, and creation began, and just because we live in a twenty-four-hour day does not mean that God adheres to our construct of time. How different is my God story from the one in the old faith, where creation began with the god and goddess's unification? Faith stories are ways to make the unknowable known and understood."
"You have quite an understanding of religion, Juniper," Madame Shafiq said.
"My fifth-years spent several months on the subject this past year. To teach them, I needed to have a broad understanding."
"No, it is more than knowledge; it is a respect for it as well. You will be an asset to your husband when he needs to explain some of the changes I foresee for our people. Now, I would like to know about these better forms of writing than a quill. I am constantly breaking the tips of mine, even if I have metal nibs on them."
"Well, I personally prefer a Biro," Junie said, lifting her wand and summoning her school bag. "You can buy them in a pack of ten for the equivalent of two Sickles and twenty Knuts," Junie said, scrunching her face while she did the conversion. "It's about one pound and forty-seven pence in Muggle money. So that's ten of them, we spend between five and eight sickles for plain quills, plus the cost of ink. I have students who go through ten quills in a term, as well as two bottles of ink. The carrying of ink in their bags is usually a hazard as well. With a biro, there might be the occasional leak, but it's generally rare." She removed two different pens from her bag. "This is the traditional biro," she said, handing Madame Shafiq a Bic Crystal. "Those are the cheapest ones and I have them stashed in every bag I own and every desk I have. This is slightly more expensive, it might have cost four sickles, but I prefer it for marking the student's papers," Junie said, handing her the red ink roller-gel pen. "I buy those in large boxes, and they're in every desk."
"The nib is quite different," Emelda said.
"Yes, the red ones are smaller, and with the side grips, they don't tend to make my hand cramp when I'm writing with them."
"You said your student papers," Greengrass injected. "Don't you use parchment?"
"No, since we're in Muggle Studies, I think we should use Muggle implements. They write with pens on either lined paper or in their composition books," Junie said, pulling one of the books out of her bag. "These go on sale before the school year starts and cost less than one sickle, as does a whole package of loose-leaf paper."
"I'm afraid to ask what you use when you need to give an exam," the annoying wizard asked.
"I have a Muggle computer at my home in Sunderland. It's a Muggle house, and I'm able to use some electronics there. I simply type up the test, print off one copy, and then use magic to duplicate it. I can save the files so that when I need to test on the same subject next year, the exam is already prepared, and I just need to print it out."
"Glad there's some magic in there," he grumbled.
"How ingenious," she said.
"I'm not against magic. I love magic, and I do it all the time, but there are areas we can progress in without losing who we are in the process." The conversation turned away from the differences between Muggle and magical life. It went in Hogwarts classes' direction and some of the more ridiculous things her students had said when their coursework wasn't done in time. Junie also made sure to keep the Mages' cups full and stuffed Elias Greengrass with croissants, figuring if he was chewing, he couldn't be arguing.
Sirius and Brendan returned about thirty minutes after Sirius, and Mage O'Riordan went to the Ministry. They returned with a duly signed and sealed warrant to scry for whoever was using Dark magic.
"Amelia was amassing a team of Aurors when we left," Sirius explained. "Frank Longbottom will be leading it. When you have an address, Floo call her, and she will send them out. Good luck with the scrying."
"We shouldn't need too much luck. Brendan is a fine scryer. Why don't the two of you head back to the castle? I would like to speak with Sirius and Junie for a few more moments," Emelda said, and the two gentlemen bid their goodbyes, and Sirius escorted them to the Floo.
"Is there an issue we need to talk about?" Junie asked. "Something pertaining to our wedding?"
"Not your wedding," the mage said. "But I do want to ensure you're planning to have children. I cannot overstate how important it is for you to have children."
"Not that we're making plans because of what a prophecy says," Sirius said, re-entering the room, "but we intend to have children because we want a family. Juniper is an only child. I had a brother, but my family life was not one to emulate. He was my best friend until I went to Hogwarts, was sorted into Gryffindor, and met James Potter. When Regulus died, I realized how much I'd missed out on because I allowed bigotry to tear us apart. So yes, Junie and I will be parents."
"Do you not believe, Sirius?" Emelda asked him.
"I believe that there are some talented seers; there was one in my family who was spot on until she became senile, and then all she saw was the Grim. However, she kept most of her prognostications to things happening in the here and now. She found lost shoes and divined where that platter we hadn't used since the last family feast was located. Great Auntie Cassie only looked forward into time on a few instances, and usually, it was to see if a baby was to be a boy or girl or if a particular match would survive. I wouldn't take anything she said about the future more than a few years out without hesitation. A thousand-year-old prophecy? I am not dismissing it completely, but I need more than just words to believe it."
"I can understand that," she said thoughtfully. "At least the pair of you have talked about it and will be having children. That will be enough for now."