Chapter 35 – Tony Makes His Case And I Get Questions

When we returned to the Delegates Chamber, Tony sidled up to me. "You and Mrs. Toms are next," I told him. "You go even before Hermione and I are questioned, something which I'm assured will require multiple hours. The Bad Dude expressed a number of concerns: he's not convinced that the British model will work for the other Wizarding communities – their nonmagical governments don't know that magical peoples live in their lands, yet those magical people are far more integrated into society than we are; he worries what will happen when you are no longer Prime Minister; he thinks knowledge of our existence has spread too far in your government, military, and security services. He seems spooked by the leak and is sorry he allowed Salem to be a decoy. I think the American government is pursuing too vigorously for his comfort. He also wants you and Mrs. Toms gone before I'm questioned. He fears that you have already heard too much."

"So, I have a lot of heavy lifting to do. Let's hope I'm up to it."

We all took our seats. The Dude announced the schedule change. Tony and Mrs. Toms got up and made their presentation. Tony emphasised how very pleased he was to have the magical beings in Britain. He had gladly given refuge to dozens more Unicorns. He felt that his government and ours worked very well together. If not for these joint efforts, the secret would be out. There had been bad actors in both communities. One of his spies had tried to sell our secrets to the Americans. He had been caught and turned. That danger was largely passed. Our neo-Death Eaters, led by Barnabas Cuffe and he couldn't help but believe Gamot Parkinson, had been deliberately staging large incidents to attract attention to us. He hoped, really, he had good reason to believe, that this problem was nearly behind us. He didn't think the problem with the Americans was over. They were persistent. They sought every possible geo-political advantage and magic was both a danger and a new power they would seek to harness for their own benefit.

"Here's the thing: all nations spy on each other. If we know that you exist, it won't be long until the Americans and the bear know about you. If you and we manage things very well, we might stave that off for a year, maybe two. We will work to integrate Witches and Wizards into the greater British society. Hogwarts will help. The magical people need job skills, personal living skills, and a knowledge of modern culture. We and the Potter administration are working together on that, along with Hogwarts and its sister school. There is a bigger problem. It will be harder to get my citizenry to accept and to adjust to the Elves, Goblins, Centaurs, Unicorns, and giant talking spiders. My people tend to be very conservative. I can perhaps sell the Centaurs and Unicorns. The British love horses. Beyond that… I think the Merpeople can remain hidden. It will be harder for the others. The Western Europeans have the Giant sanctuary. That also won't be popular, it the natives find out about it."

Mrs. Toms echoed Tony's views. She suggested a plan to get the population of more nations adjusted to the notion that magic existed in their midst and was a generally good thing. The Harry Potter books, and movies had helped. She realised that this approach was beyond the pale in certain countries. Their governments were simply too murderous and would welcome another scapegoat to persecute and slaughter. Britain and Western Europe should take the lead. Preparation only, public attitude adjustment for now. But once the bear glommed onto the truth about magic and its correlation to the remarkable luck Britain had displayed over the years, then the project must become more overt and rapid, because the bear would certainly act, and it wouldn't delay.

The questioning seemed aimed at keeping the British project within the rails. Magic might have to be presented as the unique province of Britain. Viktor objected that his community was not that timid. Mr. Tsieh responded that Viktor's people weren't that timid NOW. What would they do if another Herr Hitler came along? Viktor almost said, 'that will never happen', but corrected it to "I seriously doubt that is a realistic possibility."

Mr. Tsieh looked at Monsieur Delacour, who had risen to speak and cut him off "same comment to you. You've just suffered through Minister LeDoux, who wanted to attack the nonmagical of your nations. You and the Germans also had Grindelwald, who wanted war with the nonmagical. Both of your communities could encounter perilous conditions quicker than you imagine. LeDoux, Bruce Montaigne, and the Goblins came very close to being able to start a war. Your nonmagical communities would not react well to magical humans fighting alongside Goblins and Giants and using weapons they can't understand. Your communities would be slaughtered. That would trigger a world-wide hunt to destroy magical creatures. The risk is large. It is especially large for us."

Tony, Mrs. Toms, and Captain Davies were excused, and McGonagall was tasked with Apparating them back to Britain. I couldn't help thinking: "wasn't that a truly great introduction to my question session? What could possibly go wrong?

The first thing which could go wrong is that multiple Delegates insisted that Hermione and I should have simply refused to continue the Quest in the face of obviously erroneous and extremely dangerous instructions. This despite the acknowledged fact that the leaders of all of the magical communities of Britain kept pushing us to do our duty and complete the Quest, insisting this was the only way to prevent grave misfortune to all of them and to ensure a more felicitous golden age. The Dude summarised this thinking: "Ginny and Hermione wisely recognised that the Black Stone and its instructions had been seriously compromised. They prevented catastrophe by cheating as best they could, by sabotaging the circles they were ordered to build or repair. They killed local perpetrators of the treachery, prevented Slytherin from gaining full corporeality, and protected, rather than destroying, Little Ba'al - an innocent and distinguished Delegate. They fixed the Black Stone and identified the God responsible for its corruption. They did many things right. Still, in the end, they failed to stand up to Ginny's father and the other leaders of the British magical communities and the net result was the release into the world of the worst Wizard in history, a Wizard who might reasonably be expected to return to full strength. They meant well and were less blindly naïve than those who guided them, but in the end their actions harm all of us. I can applaud their bravery and determination, but not their actions or the result of their Quest. They are far from the biggest culprits here, but one must suspect that a yearning for glory and the approval of authority figures clouded their thinking."

That thought was punctuated by a banging of his gavel.

Other Delegates insisted that if our world was in danger, then the solution - the Quest - should not have been an all-British affair. The ICW should have been apprised of the planned Quest and included in the deliberations. Questers from other human magical communities should have been included. The later decision to include British soldiers, without consultation with the ICW, was certainly at best a poor decision. Britain kept all too many secrets. The magical world consisted of more than just Britain. The British, even the magical British, unfortunately retained their delusions of imperial grandeur and privilege. British Wizards were just one community of many. Didn't I realise that?

I replied that of course I realised that but didn't even know of every magical community or its leadership. We had encountered the Greek magical community very much by accident. I had never met a member of the Chinese, or Egyptian, or Mexican, or Indian magical communities. I had met Little Ba'al as part of the Quest.

Apparently, this ignorance did not excuse my lamentably poor judgment. I should have realised that there must be other magical peoples elsewhere on Earth and that my Quest might jeopardise their peaceful, hidden existence. I had no authority to expose them to scrutiny. They spoke not just on behalf of themselves - there were other hidden Wizard communities, which were not represented on the Council of Delegates. Yes, most were very small, but that made them even more precarious and in need of careful consideration and protection.

We were asked to explain how "those extremely large spiders happen to be on our world, and the magical communities outside Britain and Western Europe knew nothing of their presence. A new, intelligent, magical people and nobody thought it necessary to inform the ICW – how strange and probably illegal under ICW rules, to which Britain had agreed, along with all of the other magical communities."

Hermione spoke up, fudging the truth before I could speak. "Dumbledore gave the spider egg to Hagrid. Hagrid hatched the egg and protected the juvenile spider, providing it with a home in the Forbidden Forest at Hogwarts. There have been Acromantula at Hogwarts since 1943. They are an intelligent and magical people. They have been a great help on the Quest and have been a huge help in preventing Frijjo and Vili from doing more damage. I have found them to be honourable and peace-loving."

We were asked to explain how we were responsible for the death of the leader of another magical community. We were somewhat confused, until we realised that Mr. Ein Gadi was referring to the government of Vanaheimer. "Did we intend to rule Vanaheimer or install Arce as our proxy ruler?"

"We have no interest in ruling Vanaheimer, either directly, or by proxy. Weren't you listening when we described the misdeeds of Miomor and the dire threat she posed. Were you not listening, when I explained that she and dark Gods tried to kill us - twice! Did you not understand that we acted strictly in self-defence? I didn't think so." It was clear that Hermione viewed the Egyptian Delegate as an idiot, or worse.

We had to explain that Frijjo was dead. We had to detail how she had died. We had to explain what had become of Vili. Were we confident that he would remain in his cell? No, we were far from completely confident of that. Shouldn't we be working to be totally sure of that?

"How? Exactly how do you expect us to defy a major God and make that happen for you?"

Mr. Tsieh had a ready answer for that question. It was a perverse, stunning solution, but somehow I wasn't surprised: "As I understand what you said, young lady, Vili presently resides in a dungeon prison cell. If an unauthorised person approaches the fortress, then the fortress will automatically kill him. You have only to send a person toward the fortress and there will be no more Vili. You got us into this mess. It is your responsibility to get us out."

"Whoever approaches the fortress will be incinerated. I won't send an innocent to that death. Do you have a volunteer for that job? And, do you have a solution for how we will then handle a very irate major God?"

"I know who got us into this mess and suggest that you and your Muse flip a coin. Whichever of you dies can be blamed for the offence to Odin."

"What? Are you freaking serious?" I screamed at him.

Apparently, he was. He called for a vote to condemn the Quest, demand its dissolution, and direct the Questers to rectify the problems we had caused."

"This is outrageous!" Viktor was incensed. He screamed at Mr. Tsieh "Either you are sick in the head or your people are hopeless cowards. The Questers risked their lives every day to improve magic and increase our knowledge. They will make us safer. What have you done, other than pretend not to exist?"

"Yes, those were most undiplomatic comments from the gentleman from China and his resolution makes a mockery of this body. I am ashamed to be a part of this nonsense." It was good to have Monsieur Delacour roused to our defence.

To say that ensuing debate was raucous would be a gross understatement. It didn't become violent, because we had so many witnesses present, that Mr. Tsieh and his supporters were greatly outnumbered. Firenze produced his bow and arrows from somewhere. The Dude told him this was an extreme breach of decorum and he must put his weapon away, for the good of all.

Hermione and I left the podium and sat next to Harry and Ron. The Dude noticed our departure and pointed at the lectern. I shook my head no. He pointed again. I blasted a message at him: "No fucking way!"

The intensity of the argumentation finally dwindled. Viktor spoke again. "Does this body still have any value? Are we to submit to the fears of the smallest Wizarding communities? Communities which are magical in name only. I think we all know that Mr. Tsieh and Mr. Subramanian had to be fetched to this meeting, because they cannot Apparate. Can they do any magic at all? Are any members of their communities actually magical, as the rest of us think of magic, or are they simply a guild of bogus fortune tellers?"

"That is most unfair," Mr. Subramanian complained. "My colleague may have been intemperate in his remarks, but those of you from larger communities don't understand our situation. Your governments would not put you to death if your magic was revealed. Ours would. Yes, magic has dwindled in our lands, but we are the descendants of a magical people. Ginny spoke of magical circles. We once had them in our lands. I know where it is and how to travel the path to it. It seems cold and totally dead. I cannot revive it. Perhaps that is why our magic is weaker. We still have small schools and teach magic. You want to see magic?" He drew his wand. Reflexively, many of us drew ours is defence. Far too many intemperate words have been spoken here today. I know that Mr. Tsieh started it, but the responses to his words have not helped. I do not want Ginny or Hermione to walk to their deaths. I think they are smart, brave, and determined to be helpful. We should encourage them to help, not demean them. They have had bad advisors in the past. Many of us cannot trust Odin. His family were never our gods and they did bad things in our lands. I think the Quest needs a more reliable sponsor than Odin. A local sponsor. Perhaps this Council can be the sponsor. I will vote not to support the Quest, but only as it presently exists. I wish it to continue. I wish it to be more inclusive of all of the magical communities. Ginny has all of the magical beings represented, but only the British and German communities. I don't like the 'condemn' in Mr. Tsieh's mortion. If he removes it, I will vote with him. I believe the British magical community has been far too independent and has taken, for far too long, sole responsibility for issues which affect all of us. Issues which the ICW was created to deal with. That is all that I will say, other than to address the charge leveled against me."

He drew his wand. Some in our group reflexively drew ours.

"Has it come to this? I am no threat to you? I merely wish to demonstrate that I can do magic. He pointed at a document of perhaps a dozen pages. It rose about a foot, then fell to the table. He did a 'Lumos!'. I knew that was what he must have done, because I could see a faint glow at the tip of his wand. He gathered his dignity about him and sat back down. "We mean you no harm. We are weak and we are frightened. Don't make us less safe. We must stay hidden."

Mr. Ein Gadi and Mr. Tsieh apparently felt forced to demonstrate that they were magical. Mr. Ein Gadi did very well. Mr. Tsieh lifted a single sheet of paper about a foot. He lost it and it fluttered away. He looked embarrassed as he sat back. He then looked angry. "Imperialists stole magic," he declared. That was it.

In the end, only Mr. Tsieh, Mr. Subramanian, and Mr. Ein Gadi voted against us and the Quest. Actually, on second thought, I realized that Mr. Subramanian's vote was not against us. Perhaps Mr. Ein Gadi's vote also wasn't directed specifically against us. I had no doubt about Mr. Tsieh's motivation. We had won the vote. The Quest would continue. Somehow, this did not seem at all like a victory. The Dude called a recess for the day, "so that tempers have a chance to cool."

The Dude asked us to join him for dinner. Percy and Viktor were included in the invitation. I told him that I had been to Hel, I had won, and there was no way in Hell that I intended to dine with him. In fact, I refused to return for any more questioning. I had had quite enough of his sham tribunal. I wouldn't object if Harry ate with him, but I was finished. Hermione and Ron also declined the dinner invitation. Hermione announced that she would Apparate the three of us back to Britain. We would dine at 10101. Harry was less than pleased when I told him our intention.

"You can stay and satisfy your Ministerial duty to dine with the Chairman, or you can come with us. I fully understand and accept whichever decision you choose."

Harry started to apologise and say that duty demanded that he do that which was repugnant to him. Shacklebolt saved the day, telling Harry "it is best to let Percy negotiate for you. That way you can accept or reject whatever agreement Percy is able to negotiate. Percy was both Arthur's and your ambassador. Just trust him to do his job. Your wife needs you now."

Harry came with us. Over a very nice dinner, Harry agreed that we had been shamefully mistreated. Of course, we had only been trying to help all magical beings when we began our Quest. He understood that we had no ulterior, selfish motives. Yes, it was difficult to understand why the Delegates, at least some of the delegates, had taken such a negative view of us. We had to remember that the resolution to condemn us had only collected three votes. Those votes had come from the representatives of very small magical communities. Undoubtedly, they thought themselves in a very precarious position and acted out of fear and a desire for self-preservation.

"I think they confuse us with the government of Britain," Hermione declared. "Perhaps it was a mistake to include Tony and Mrs. Toms. We shouldn't have expected a British security official to be well received. Historically, the British have done bad things in these lands. Perhaps that memory lingers more than we realised. We didn't mean to, but I can't deny that we caused certain problems."

"The Goblin Kings, Cotto, Firenze, even Arthur pushed you to go where your instinct and up-close experience told you it was unwise to go. They belittled you and treated you as irresponsible for resisting the Black Stone's instructions. You were right from the start. You deserved far more support from everyone. Ron agrees with me on this. The two of you had purer motives and acted more responsibly than anyone."

"You want us to return for more questioning tomorrow, don't you?" I accused my husband.

"Please. I admit many of the Delegates have been very unreasonable, but we need to work with them. We don't want to be declared in violation of the ISS. That vote has yet to be taken. It is the big one. I'm sorry. I feel bad asking you to return. I wouldn't be a good Minister if I didn't do that. The ICW lacks the power to cancel the Quest. They can cause trouble over the ISS. Not big trouble, but do we really want to split the Wizarding world. We need the Dude to help us cover up Roger's leak. We're in a difficult position."

"We'll think about it," I told Harry. "I promise nothing."

As we were standing up and about to leave the 10101 restaurant, Percy, Shacklebolt, Mr. Brown, and the Dude arrived.

"I thought you might be at one of our favourite restaurants. I tried London first, after your houses and Hogwarts." He led us to a lounge on the second floor. He had apparently ordered drinks, because the hostess appeared as we were sitting down and put a tray of glasses and three large bottles of sherry on the table in the middle of our group.

"This is very bad, the ICW may not survive," the Dude admonished us. "You were unfairly attacked, and I admit I should have been supportive, but you shouldn't have avoided dinner with us, and you must return tomorrow. It is in everybody's interest that we salvage the situation. The vote went heavily in your favour. Those who attacked you are from very small communities, who badly need the support of the rest of us. The amount of change you brought - it terrified them. Their position is so difficult, they have learned that much change brings disaster. Viktor seriously insulted the Indian and Chinese Delegates."

"Not as seriously as insisting that Hermione or I die to force the fortress to kill Vili," I answered with some heat.

"That's the problem. Mutual accusations and insults get us nowhere. Think of what Mr. Tsieh said as a desperate plea for help, rather than a demand that you commit some sort of ritual suicide. I know that the two of you attended Hogwarts with first-generation British Witches of Asian descent. I doubt that either of you understand the serious threats from their nonmagical governments and their nonmagical neighbors which drove their parents to flee to Britain. You must talk to them and their parents. You need to understand their situation."

"This can still end well," Percy very modestly told us. "Dinner went well after you left. Mr. Tsieh and Mr. Subramanian joined us for dessert in the Chairman's dining room. The last thing they want is to mess up the ICW. It is their biggest lifeline. Mr. Afshar smoothed things over. His community is also very small and at very great risk. They all will support us if they think we are willing to help them. None of them like the nonmagical British government - too many bad experiences in their parents' generation. You must, without betraying your alliance with Tony, convince them that you are not pawns of the British government."

Hermione spent a minute Stone messaging back and forth. I told Percy, Harry, and the Dude that we would return to finish the questioning session in the morning. The Dude looked greatly relieved.

"There are many good places to eat in Jerusalem. When you returned to Britain, I assumed you weren't returning."

"So, did I," I admitted. "We also didn't want to be caught in Jerusalem without proper papers."