I wasn't going to post a chapter today, but have had several inquires as to whether Pecabeth will return as a couple and whether Percy will somehow rescue Annabeth and kick Mitchell;s ass. I don't want to reveal anything, but I have paid attention to those issues and I hope you will grant me the patience of reading the next several chapters. Unless you mean Percabeth the Stuffed Narwhal Plushie, in which case I can tell you now; yes! That Percabeth will definitely reappear in the hands of a weeping little girl,
Thanks for reading, commenting and messaging!
-JPA
Estelle had worked on simple charm spells with Professor Flitwick most of the morning and showed real promise in his opinion. She had little trouble doing several first year spells after a few tries, but spend most of her time asking him about 'that spell that lets you send a glowing owl' to deliver a message. After some conversation he discerned that she was referring to a corporal form patronus charm, and told her that most witches lacked the power and skill to cast one successfully, and although more were able to cast a noncorporal patronus, it was still a rare skill. He also explained that the form of the corporal manifestation was different for each witch and rarely changed, as it was the animal they had the closest affinity to. It took a bit to explain what 'affinity' was.
Flitwick only agreed to teach her how to cast one as a simple test of her ability and did not expect her to achieve any result at all. It took several attempts to even generate the silvery ether that would give protection against undead, but Estelle wanted to keep trying so she could send a message to Annabeth. When she was finally able to it wasn't stable but the charms professor was startled that a first year, or actually a pre first year, was able to do that. He instructed her on how to send a message but imagined given the instability it would fail to arrive. He urged her to stop trying for the day, as it was an exhausting ordeal to cast the spell at all.
Both Estelle and the professor were surprised when Annabeth's reply came a few minutes later. Flitwick was delighted that his newest student was clearly as gifted as was widely believed, and as with her previously successes at casting charms, awarded house points accordingly. Estelle was delighted as Annabeth did not appear to hate her, but of course Annabeth didn't know yet that Estelle was the one that gave her the love potion. As Professor Flitwick was standing there she did not include what she was apologizing for.
The faculty had been overcome with a great amount of exuberance now that the school would reopen and would be on sound financial grounds, and this was reflected in their approach to house points. Professor Flitwick loved to give out points to Estelle, whatever those were, and gave them in lots of 10 for every charm Estelle successfully cast. He gave more for her casting of a generally successful corporal patronus. Professor Slughorn had given her a few for the two potions she succeeded at, as well as a few more just for figuring out answers to questions. McGonagall only gave out points in lots of either 1 or 5, but seemed to give them out for everything. As a result, and from working with Professor Sprout that afternoon, whichever house got Estelle would start the year at a significant advantage in the House Cup.
Marium had pedaled all day and was quite sore but was making great progress she thought. Truthfully she had no idea where she was other than at the day's end of the red line she followed. She knew she had a few days left before she had to be in London and had covered a lot of ground that day as it was mostly down hill and she had a steady breeze at her back. That it was a bit cooler helped as well, but by the time she stopped for the night she was still quite sore and her soreness seemed to increase each day she rode her bike all day. On the positive side she had rode all day without falling once, which was a first, and dinner was pizza just the way she liked it with a nice soda. A hot bath and early bedtime made for a great day.
While riding Marium had a lot of time to think, and what she thought about mostly was why she was riding a bike across the country based on unsigned notes and messages from owls and seagulls. She figured what ever this Hogwarts thing was about, it was at least getting her three meals a day, a comfy bed in a cool, dry, place to sleep, and a fun bike ride all day long that she enjoyed. Well, she enjoyed the riding for the most part. The up hill parts were lame but today whenever she got to one she noticed a strong breeze at her back that seemed to almost push her up the hill with little effort. Since it was all connected to what she called 'mom's witch stuff,' she figured to just keep running with it to see how it played out.
Annabeth knew nothing of Estelle's progress other than the patronus she had sent, and after lunch decided to do what any exhausted young professional did with a free afternoon. She napped. On waking, she took a long hot bath again just to wash the sin and sleep away, and then dressed for her evening. Promptly at 6:00 she apparated to the Ministry and met up with Shacklebolt.
The Minister was wearing a tux and didn't seem to be comfortable in it, preferring the loose fitting robes he normally wore; however decorum at the embassy required it. It fit well and for the first time Annabeth could see that Kingsley was in pretty good shape, but more like a boxer than the swimmers and runners she was usually attracted to.
"Miss Chase, you look amazing, is this really a 'simple black dress?' he asked with a smile.
"No, I thought about it and decided to go more dressy, make a good impression, you know? Is it too much?" Her dress was gorgeous and showed quite a bit of leg and made her feel beautiful and confident.
"No, no! Its amazing, almost as much as the woman wearing it," he replied.
"You're too kind sir, and you look quite handsome yourself. Hey! I received a patronus from the Headmistress of Beauxbatons saying she wanted to discuss a couple of things, any idea what that might be about?" Annabeth asked.
"Perhaps, at least part of it. For centuries there was a tournament between three of the European schools, held every four years, called 'The Tri-Wizard Tournament.' It stopped occurring for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is that Beauxbatons is too close to urban muggle areas to host it and with the rise of the secrecy acts Drumstrang chose to be completely unplottable. World War One ended it entirely for some time. Four years ago it was revived and would have been a great success, except,"
"Except Voldemort returned and murdered a student, a child named Diggory if I recall from my reading of the files," Annabeth interjected.
"Exactly. Otherwise it was a great boon to international cooperation and one of the few things we've done that the ICW approved of. As I understand it, the ICW would love for us to continue it, but obviously there are security concerns, as well as safety ones. Maxime has a proposal to bring it back, but it would need to be at Hogwarts, so she needs your backing, and at least initially it might frighten parents given the last outcome."
"Was that the first death from the competition?" Annabeth asked.
"No, they used to die all the time, that's another reason it was discontinued. Still, if we could come up with a way to ensure student safety it would be an excellent way to show the strength of Hogwarts and return her to the international reputation she should enjoy," Kingsley answered.
"Hmmm, would it be limited to the three schools or could we invite Ilvernmourny? Oh, 'TRI-wizard.' Of course its three."
"No, that's what I thought too. It's called the Tri-Wizard because there are three tasks. One air based, last time that was dragons, one that is water centered and one earth oriented. The last time we had 4 students competing. Of course the more you have, the more work it is preparing for it, and historically it has been the European schools that were invited."
"And Madame Maxime wishes to bring it back? It seems like a lot of work to put on the staff when we are still recovering from the war."
"Yes she does, as does the new Headmaster of Drumstrang. As to the work, yes it would increase it, but the Ministry did most of the heavy lifting last time. Olympe wishes, as I understand it, to get the ICW involved as well. It is believed their influence and support would help sell the parents and alumni of the security and safety of the competition. I should tell you that the last time there was much talk about it being rigged for Harry's benefit, although I worked with Albus on it and there was no preference shown."
"Well I should call a staff meeting when I get back tomorrow to discuss it. I will be interested to hear her ideas on how to carry it out, but it seems to me a lot to put on us at the last minute. I can also see that it would be a prestige event to show we are undaunted after the events of last year, so, you know, I have mixed feelings," Annabeth said. "Shall we get to the embassy?"
"The reception isn't for a couple hours, I thought we could have dinner first. There is a new muggle place I've been wanting to try if you're up for an adventure."
In an effort to impress Chase with his worldliness outside of magic, Shacklebolt had asked around his staff for muggle dining suggestions and had settled on a Pan-Asian place with an eclectic menu and excellent wine selection he felt would impress the California girl. Annabeth, having spent half her life at Camp Half Blood and most of the rest in college was more accustomed to pizza and beer, but didn't want to show it.
Dinner with the minister was lovely and the conversation light. Annabeth thoroughly enjoyed the conversation and most of it focused on potential challenges for a Tri-wizard Tournament if one were held. Each had suggestions and Annabeth's centered around past challenges from her days on quests for the gods. Instead of just a maze, why not a maze where to complete it the contestants had to make a rope ladder from kite string and scrap wood? Or another where they had to climb a rock wall with lava? She described dozens of such ideas to Shacklebolt and while some truly horrified the Minister, he listened attentively and was practically drunk by the twinkle in Annabeth's eyes. For her part, Annabeth was finding the Minister to be a particularly sexy man with a soft baritone voice and smoldering eyes that seemed to burn through her.
'I wonder if she knows how sexy she is' Kingsley thought to himself as dinner ended.
'I wonder if he knows I'm going to suck his cock… wait, where did that come from? That fucking Mitchell did this shit to me. Stop being a slut!' Annabeth thought at the same time.
Kingsley had gone by Gringotts and had muggle money to pay and after doing so extended his hand to Annabeth and asked if she was ready to go.
"Of course!" She smiled as she took the offered hand. On feeling his long, thick fingers she fantasized for a moment about him finger banging her, but pushed the image to the back of her mind. Annabeth now knew where this arousal was coming from and was trying to control it, but it was like trying to hold back the tide with a plastic bucket and toy shovel.
Annabeth had never been the subject of a reception line, nor had a crier as ever announced her as she entered a ballroom, so both of these events were a first for her. She held onto Kingsley's arm as they entered and were announced as "His Excellency the Minister of Magic Kingsley Shacklebolt and Doctor Annabeth Chase, Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry" as a photographer snapped their picture. Her other firsts for the night were dating an older man, a true mortal, and a man of another race. None were an issue for her; she felt that Kingsley and her were only a generation apart and that seemed socially appropriate, although at the edge of propriety. As to him being black, that didn't occur to her; she simply didn't care about race. She was more worried that he was the first mortal she had ever dated and had to watch her words carefully as a result. It was a night of many firsts, not the least of which was having a conversation with an intellectual peer who was a half giant. The world of magic was just weird sometimes.
Just after the Minister made remarks with the primary ambassadors of the Anzus and Pacific Rim Congresses, Madame Maxime approached Annabeth and Kingsley. They were finishing shaking every single hand in London it seemed, with the women being gracious and friendly and the men being pervy and trying to stare down the top of Chase's dress. She was used to the leering but still wasn't entirely comfortable with it. It seemed the world of magic still had a large membership that saw women as objects rather than people. Of course so did the muggle and demigod worlds; some things didn't change.
"Excuse me, Professor Chase, I wonder if I might have a word in private, if you would excuse us Minister? Just for a few minutes, I promise to return Dr. Chase shortly," Maxime asked with a heavy accent.
"Of course Headmistress, although do come back, we have matters to discuss with all of us," he smiled. Kingsley imagined the French headmistress wanted to speak to Annabeth alone about her proposals for the Tri-Wizard Tournament, but on this, he was wrong.
Olympe Maxime was a beautiful woman with an olive-skin and large, black, liquid-looking eyes. Her hair was drawn back in a shining knob at the base of her neck. She dressed from head to foot in black satin, and also wore an opal necklace and earrings. The first thing one noticed though was her height. She stood several feet over Annabeth, who was usually the tallest woman in the room, and was taller than Hagrid if Chase had to guess. She was more Tyson's size, but had both eyes of course. They found a quiet side room and Maxime sat on a love seat, leaving a high back leather chair for Chase.
"Shall I call you 'Professor' or 'Doctor' Chase?" she politely asked.
"How about just 'Annabeth'?"
"Yes, please call me 'Olympe', or better still, my friends call me 'Oly'," the French headmistress smiled. "I would definitely enjoy being your friend. Do I understand that you have both muggle and magical doctorates? That is most impressive. I try to encourage my best students to pursue collegiate degrees, many do, but I don't recall knowing anyone that held them from both worlds."
"Oh, well if I have a gift it is academics. I can't say school has always been easy for me, but it seems easier for me than most. My mother and father were the same way. Despite all the other degrees, I think I was sent by the ICW because of a muggle undergrad minor I picked up in public administration, and I only took that as it required less additional class hours as my major covered a great deal of the basics. I'm an architect in both my doctorates, and the magical one has been really handy repairing the castle since the war," Annabeth smiled. "So I understand you want to bring back the Tri Wizard Tournament?"
"Yes, but let's talk about that with the Minister. I wanted to speak to you privately to warn you of a situation. I ask for your discretion and that you not repeat what I am to tell you."
"Of course, I mean, you surely know I am also an ICW agent so there are limits to what I can promise, but…"
"Yes, I was made aware of that, which is why I hoped for your help in resolving a matter quietly so as to not dishonor my school, and perhaps yours. Annabeth, several years ago I hired a professor who was charming and capable. The students loved him and he seemed a gifted instructor. Earlier this summer, it was learned that he had seduced several of the senior girls, mostly veela but some just very attractive human witches. He used unknown charm spells to suppress their will and put them to work in Paris as part of a prostitution ring after they left school. He was so skilled at this that it would have gone undiscovered except he unwittingly used the daughter of a senior ministry official and he spared no expense in finding her and rescuing her from a sordid life."
"Your muggle studies professor?" Annabeth asked, already knowing what the answer would be.
"I suspected you might know that," Oly answered slowly. "One of the rescued girls said he was going to go to Great Britain and would send for her once he was established here. He may try to enter Hogwarts under some pretense, perhaps seeking employment. The name he gave us was Rene' Amore, but we believe that is an alias as no record of a magician by that name could be found at any of the major schools. He's tall, very attractive with dark hair and sterling blue eyes, quite a lovely man to look at, but quite depraved. Currently the Gendarmerie Magique have warrants for his arrest for pandering, abuse of magic against muggles, abuse of magic against witches and several counts of fraud in inducement. Candidly his defense skills are wanting, so if found he should be easy to capture, but if arrested in Britain there would have to be an extradition process that would be public and could be quite devastating to the reputation of Beauxbatons and possibly Hogwarts. You can see why discretion is important. To be certain, the parents of the girls just wish this would go away, and it should be easy to keep his trial quiet in France."
"So, if I find him I should just kill him?" Annabeth asked sincerely. At that moment she was perfectly willing to remove Mitchell's head from his body with no remorse.
"Oh! No! I suggest nothing that severe! I just wanted to warn you that he might be coming for your girls next," Oly replied, seemingly shocked at Annabeth's suggestion.
Annabeth smiled.
"I'm ICW, I've killed for less, it's sort of my job."
"No, I ask for nothing that extreme. Only that if you do locate him you advise our officers so they can lure him back to French territory for arrest. I understand they have a plan for that, though I don't know the details of course, it's really not my bailiwick," Oly explained, still worried about the casual nature with which Annabeth approached killing a person.
"That's too bad, he seems the sort that needs killing," Annabeth grinned, "but if you will have your officers use the flue network to arrive at my office around 11:30 in the morning, I can deliver him and take care of extradition quietly. The ICW doesn't worry about extradition normally."
"Unfortunately, if extradition isn't lawful, he could walk on all charges from what I'm told."
"Then we will do it properly, your officers will just arrest him somewhere it isn't required. That can also be arranged," Annabeth smiled.
"I take it you have had some contact with him?" Oly asked.
Annabeth sighed.
"His real name is Mitchell Laurens, we were looking at hiring him as a library assistant as our muggle studies professorship has already been filed by a reserve agent. I can get him to my office tomorrow and take care of all the other matters related to getting him back to France. I would like one of your officers there to confirm his identity if that is possible, and of course escort him to the French authorities," Annabeth said.
"That will be done. Our ministry has required me to travel with bodyguards until this affair is settled, and one of the, well you would call them 'aurors,' is a graduate who knew Amore when he taught. She was only able to over come his charms by, well, some more discretion is required here as well but I don't think she would mind me saying, she's not attracted to men in general" Oly replied.
"Finally, may I make a gift to you of this?" Maxime asked as she took a book from her purse and handed it to Annabeth.
The book seemed quite old, but not ancient, with a hardbound cloth cover that was a faded red color. The title read "Sorts Magiques pour L'amour et les Malédictions."
"There is a disenchantment in the back that can slowly remove the curse he afflicts ladies with, but it must be cast thrice daily for a week in order to fully work. It is important that any students afflicted by his curse receive this treatment, they may cast it themselves but works better if it is cast by a trusted person familiar with the malady, I have marked the page for you," Maxime told her.
"And if they don't get the treatment?" Annabeth asked.
"Well there seems to be no time limit, we've been using it on ladies under his control for over a year, so the victim could always get it at a later time. But until they do they are doomed to have intercourse several times a day. For some, that is no deterrent obviously, the skills they acquired from the curse stays with them after treatment so most wish to be cured and given control of their lives back."
"May I ask a delicate question?" Annabeth sheepishly inquired.
"Yes. I am a victim as well. Based on how quickly you recognized the details of his actions may I presume that you…" Oly began to ask before Annabeth interrupted.
"Yes. He can be quite, uh, seductive. It is part of his power." Chase admitted.
"You should begin treatment in the morning then, I find it easiest to remember if the recuperative counter charm is cast at meal time. If you miss just one you must start the entire cycle over."
"Why not right now?" Annabeth asked. Before she believed Mitchell had done something to alter her sexuality, but now that it was confirmed she felt urgency in getting her life back.
"It tends to reduce one's libido for several hours and you are on a date at the embassy of several magical consortiums that practices the rites of sacrorum amor magicae."
"Ummm, you would think Kingsley would have mentioned that," Annabeth replied.