Chapter 49 – China or France?

Harry pulled Hermione, Ron, Barb, and me into a quick discussion with Secretary Afshar. "We've been over all of this before," Harry almost scolded the Secretary. "We all gave you our reasons why we believe it unwise for the Questers to build or repair a magical circle in China – even an old-style stone circle. What has changed since then?"

"Nothing, other than Mr. Tsieh's growing impatience and irritation. It would be unwise to make an enemy of him. He holds a permanent seat on our governing Council. He is not without influence. You know that the people on other worlds, whom you have tried to help, haven't always acted kindly towards us and feel no particular loyalty to you as a result of your help. Why won't you help other magical people on your own world?"

"We have; we will. We intend to improve the malfunctioning circle in France as our next stop."

"And is China less worthy than France. At least France has a poorly functioning circle. China's circle doesn't function at all. Do you see Asians as less worthy than Europeans?

"I see Mr. Tsieh as far less friendly. Monsieur Delacour never demanded that Hermione and I walk to our deaths."

"But other French Wizards did invade Britain."

"And we fought those particular French Wizards. We beat them. The present French Wizarding government is our ally. So is the Durmstrang government."

"I warn you again: you risk making an enemy of Mr. Tsieh. You move very close to that point. You are obstinate and selfish, and I fear more than a little racist."

"How can one make an enemy of a Wizard who has already proven himself an enemy in word and deed?" Harry replied. "There is no benefit and much danger in our agreeing to Mr. Tsieh's proposal. His government was one of those who conspired with our pure-blood Wizengamot minority to press phony ISS charges against our government. He practically ordered my wife and Hermione to walk to their deaths. He is no friend and none of us are inclined to do favours for him. The British government sees him as the committed servant and official of a dangerous government. We don't want that government to know our secrets."

"You said that China is one of the points which is easily accessible from other worlds. It is in all our interests if they can protect themselves. They will also be protecting us."

"Or conspiring with our enemies. Apparate to Britain and we can discuss this further. It is time for us to return home."

"You'll have to side-Apparate me. I've never been to Britain."

"And doesn't that say an awful lot, none of it good, about you and the ICW? I'll bet you have visited China."

"No, it says that the ICW refused to cooperate with Voldemort and Thicknesse or the other puppet Voldemort-favoring governments. It says that Britain has held back from the ICW and shirked its responsibilities to other magical societies. If you aren't careful, you will make enough enemies in the ICW that they will join to bring you to heel. You are as arrogant as Voldemort. And yes, in my official capacity I have visited China as the guest of Mr. Tsieh. I was very well treated. We at the ICW are the rightful leaders of all magical peoples."

"In your own minds! Are you coming? We're leaving."

He grabbed Harry's hand. Harry nodded to Barb. We all joined hands in a circle. I wondered where Barb would take us. What would Harry permit the Secretary to see. What location could he be allowed to Apparate to in future, if the Secretary were capable of this long an Apparate. After several seconds of churn, I was quite surprised to see where we were - the backyard of our all-but-abandoned, no-longer-very-secret house in nonmagical Britain. I was headed to the back door, but Barb halted me and went up to the door. She knocked, rather than simply unlocking the door and entering. Her wand was drawn. So was mine. After a minute, the door opened and I saw the face of a young auror, whom I barely remembered seeing once. This was as big a surprise as was Harry choosing to bring us here. Why was our abandoned refuge home under auror protection?

"I wanted to see if Mrs. Toms had assigned a spy to watch the place, or even whether the friends across the pond or the Death Eaters were on to and staking out this house. The aurors have seen nobody and Wilbert here has been living in the house full time," my husband quickly answered that unspoken question.

Barb led us all into the sitting room, while Wilbert prepared tea. Even before the tea arrived, Ron asked in a somewhat belligerent tone "now, explain in detail why it's in our interest for the Questers to risk their lives giving a new weapon to the Chinese, after Tsieh has shown such hostility toward my sister."

"I readily admit that Mr. Tsieh made a very bad first impression upon all of you. You shouldn't blame him for China's participation in the phoney ICW investigation. The man who claimed to represent China was an imposter, who didn't even give you his real name or home monastery. He is on the far fringe of the Chinese Wizarding community. The Chinese government views him as an outlaw. He is in hiding at a small, abandoned monastery in Tibet - but you already knew all of that."

"It has become obvious to us that nonmagical governments can use magicals as spies and assassins. We have refused to play that game. Living in China, Mr. Tsieh will have no choice but to play that game. Britain will inevitably be damaged. Which means our community will be in the greatest peril. We won't build a circle in China. We won't fix a circle in China. What you ask would reduce magical people from free people to captive weapons of war. It would be the greatest disservice to all magical communities."

"If you want me to validate your fears, I willingly do. But... there is the alternate fear of the full revelation of the existence of magical communities to the entire world. That will lead to real Witch-hunts. Your Muggle government is sympathetic to you now, but that can change. Many governments around the world will be decidedly unsympathetic. Many magical peoples will be slaughtered. That's why I oppose the proposal that you and Tony made to the ICW. Your proposal was at least somewhat measured. It allows for a gradual integration of ourselves with the larger world. There is a greater threat.

"Mr. Tsieh is desperate. He feels his influence within the Chinese government waning and sees nobody else able to make the case for his people. He feels that your community, as well as French and German Wizards, have already brought so much attention to yourselves that the government of China is already searching for magicals. That government has many spies. They know of the American's interest in your activities. They are analysing the same information that the Americans did and haven't fallen for your governments' ruses. They are convinced magic is real. Why wouldn't they be. As I said, China has a rich and ancient tradition of magic. Dragons originated in China.

"Mr. Tsieh believes that without access to the greater magic that a modern and rebuilt circle pair will provide - yes, he knows that this is what Britain has - his community will be defenceless. It won't be able to hide as well as if magic were strong. They will be found, and they will be slaughtered. He gave me an ultimatum: either your government agrees to order the Questers to China to build dual circles, or he will reveal everything. He gives you one week to decide.

"That would be disaster and I know he will carry out his threat. He views your administration and the Questers as fully responsible for creating the peril his community is in. He demands that you do the right thing."

"The right and totally lawful thing to do would be to kill Mr. Tsieh," Ron spat with the energy of total fury. "I will not be threatened by that man and I will not allow him to command my sister into danger. It is exactly this sort of situation for which our laws allow aurors to use the Avada Kedavra at their personal discretion."

"Do you know what you are saying? You threaten war against another magical community! It is important that all of the magical communities cooperate and maintain friendly relations."

"He and his community have never had friendly relations with us. They have acted as enemies. Now he issues what he views as a deadly threat. I know he's afraid. But what he fears isn't a threat. He's the threat. To my sister and to my community. If I can remove that threat, I will."

"I think you should at least meet with Mr. Tsieh. Perhaps, even without building a modern circle or setting foot in or under China, there are things that you and British Wizards can do to make the magical people of China safer. Say you'll do it! He can come here. I can Apparate him from the WCF headquarters. He can get to us. He often works with the Chinese Embassy staff in Tel Aviv and visits government offices in Jerusalem. Is here really the best place to meet? I'm sure this is a nice hide-away for you, but it is hardly suitable for hosting an important diplomatic meeting. I know you brought me here, because you wish to limit the spots to which I can Apparate. Interesting that you regard the safety of your personal retreat as more easily sacrificed than access to your, I'm sure very heavily defended, Ministry. But, your choice. If you want to present yourself to the representative of the great Chinese civilisation as a bumpkin who lives in a small rural cottage, who am I to object."

"I am uninterested in what Mr. Tsieh thinks of my living conditions. This is a calming spot. The backyard faces directly upon a small wood. You are correct that I don't want to give Mr. Tsieh Apparation access to more appropriate meeting spots. Frankly, I also don't want to be seen with him. The British government regards him as a likely spy, who formerly was a police official implicated in oppression of local workers. They have a very poor opinion of him. They allowed me to read his file. I fully understand their negative view of him. This yard is also sufficiently secluded that I can invite representatives of some of the other communities of thinking magical beings, if that would be of interest."

I was a little surprised when the Secretary responded "I most certainly would like that. The ICW needs a dialogue with the other intelligence magical peoples. Could you summon leaders or diplomats of those peoples?"

Several each of Elves and Goblins from the sanctuaries, as well as Cotto and King Gobbledygook appeared within five minutes. Harry must have used the Black Stone. The Secretary got along remarkably well with the Elves and Goblins. He made progress in selling his key point, as his "in this stressful time, isn't the most important thing that all intelligent magical beings simply get along, working together and helping each other," was later mimicked almost word for word by King Gobbledygook. It was agreed that we would all speak with Mr. Tsieh and his assistant. The Secretary would return to Jerusalem and fetch them.

Harry took the opportunity to summon additional aurors, including Director Shacklebolt. The Director ordered up two wand arrays, which were secreted out of sight, but commanded excellent views of the backyard. I had used the Stone to invite Captain Davies to represent the British government and suggested that she might want to add several of her soldiers to our defensive position. I reminded everyone to set their defensive charms on maximum. Ron reminded us that escape was to the pyramid if needed, with Shacklebolt's borrowed estate as fallback. Captain Davies arrived with three soldiers, whom she dispatched to the roof of our house. My gut told me that we were not over-reacting. I had no idea exactly what caused me to take such extreme precautions.

King Gobbledygook expressed skepticism with all of these precautions: "this could look like great treachery, as if you invite guests only to murder them. That is not good diplomacy. You must have trust. At least keep them hidden. I will say no more of this."

I felt the fool, when Secretary Afshar arrived fifteen minutes later with Mr. Tsieh and his two aides, Mr. Chu and Madam Chen. We introduced the leaders of the other communities, describing Captain Davies as the British government's representative on the Quest team. We exchanged greetings with the assistants, then Mr. Tsieh got right to the major issue. "We need a circle. Are you willing to build one of your modern circles teamed with our ancient stone circle?"

"It will take a lot of convincing to get our agreement to do that," Harry responded."

"That is most unfortunate. If you feel it is too great a risk to provide a dual circle or a stand-alone modern circle, then simply getting our old stone circle in working order will improve our present situation considerably. If you are afraid to come to China, I'm certain we can repair our circle ourselves, but we will need detailed instructions from you, as well as the borrowed use of some of the tools you use to tune circles. Is that satisfactory?"

"We can certainly do that," I told him. "Do you have a viewer to visualise the lines of magical force?"

"No. You'll have to give us one and show us how to use it."

"We can certainly do that," I assured him.

"See," Secretary Afshar beamed. "It isn't that hard to begin to cooperate, is it?"

"I guess not." Hermione reached into her bag to grab a viewer. She started to explain how it worked, but Mr. Tsieh stopped her. "I'm not the one who will be using it. I'm an administrator and a diplomat, not a technical person. I'll send Madam Chen back to Jerusalem to bring our technical team."

Hermione reluctantly lay the viewer on the table. We waited.

Ten technical people appeared in the far corner of our lawn. They all had guns. Mr. Tsieh grabbed me, placing a knife blade to my throat.

"You will get your wife back, when our circle is finished," he told Harry.

I used a silent "Off!" Calling for everyone to take cover on the ground. The technical people started shooting as we dove for the ground. Hermione and I prepared to fire an "Exterminate!" from the ground. There was no need, Captain Davies troops were firing from our roof and all the technical people were lying on the ground. Most weren't moving, but aurors were cursing them for good measure.

"Treat those that are still alive," Shacklebolt ordered. He dispatched an auror to bring back Doctor Wright and an assistant.

"Nice negotiating technique," Ron snarled at Secretary Afshar. "We'll keep Mr. Tsieh."

"I swear, I had no idea that was going to happen," Secretary Afshar pleaded.

"No, you didn't think we could repulse that attack," Harry replied. "You were Mr. Tsieh's advocate and agent. You must have at least suspected he was planning something like that."

"I am not his agent. I merely encouraged you to help a weaker and very endangered magical community. Mr. Tsieh was more desperate than I realized. Are you also going to hold me? Is Mr. Tsieh dead."

Harry placed a hand on his shoulder. "You are free to go. Mr. Tsieh is alive. He is also our prisoner. We will turn him and his dead soldiers over to the British government. This was a failed invasion of Britain."

"That's absurd. This was a foolish attempt to gain help by a desperate man who feared for the survival of his community. To involve the Muggles will violate the ISS. You may not do that!"

"Given what has just happened, you are in a very poor position to tell us what we may not do to protect ourselves."

"How does turning these prisoners and bodies over to the Muggle government help you to protect yourselves? That makes no sense."

"Because, I think we all suspect those men to be members of the Chinese military," Captain Davies answered for us. "We must determine whether or not that is the case. It is a very serious problem for our government, if it is the case. Would it be out of place for me to request that Ron fetch Mrs. Toms."?

"No, I support that," Harry answered immediately. "We will learn much more when we question Mr. Tsieh and his assistants."

"You wouldn't dare use an Unforgiveable Curse on a delegate to the ISM," Secretary Afshar looked truly shocked.

"Of course not. We have other means. We are more civilized than Mr. Tsieh," I smiled at the Secretary.

Doctor Wright had arrived and was rushing over to tend to the fallen Chinese soldiers.

I asked Harry, "What happened to Mr. Tsieh's assistants?"

"They were reaching for weapons when Mr. Tsieh attacked you. Ron and I 'Off!'ed them. We'll question them separately from Mr. Tsieh."

"I insist upon being present during that questioning." Secretary Afshar's tone and posture were far less bold than his words. He seemed surprised when Harry replied, "Oh, very well," before Shacklebolt could object.

I suggested that since the Chinese 'delegation' had arrived from Jerusalem, that it made sense to include Yael and her boss, Danny, as observers when we questioned our prisoners. Harry agreed instantly and dispatched an auror to fetch them.

We were all assembled. I had also summoned Cissy. Secretary Afshar didn't know that she was a truth-teller. I assigned her to keep a close eye upon the Secretary. Hermione and I focused upon Mr. Tsieh, who had been dosed with spiked Veritaserum and was the first to be questioned. I was surprised that Harry was content to sit back and allow Danny and Mrs. Toms to ask the initial questions. It made sense. They each had detailed files on Mr. Tsieh. Still, it struck me as un-Harry behavior.

Mrs. Toms asked "explain your relationship with the Chinese communist government. We both know those were regular Chinese army soldiers."

"You know that I am a party member and was administrator of a city and then a province, before joining the diplomatic corps. You know that my main duty was spying - recruiting local agents. I tried to identify magicals and blackmail them into becoming agents for me. You must understand that my primary loyalty is to the magical people of China. I associate with the party only to be able to protect my fellow magicals. We are a tight community. I have no affection for what you call Muggles or their philosophies and political intrigues. Yes, the soldiers I brought are members of the People's Army, but they are also magicals. I went to great risk and effort to assemble them as a group under my personal control. I have discretion as an active spy-diplomat."

He had no spies in Britain. This was not an invasion of Britain. It was a simple kidnapping to gain leverage to get a much-needed circle for his people. He would not have harmed me. He reiterated this last point. "I absolutely would not have harmed you. I don't believe magical peoples should fight among themselves. I needed a dual circle. You left me no other choice. I assure you; this was not done to help the Chinese government. I desperately want to keep my magic secret and my people hidden. You risked that with your all-too-public actions. You needed to make up for that. It was only fair."

Danny questioned him about his spying in Jerusalem. He had four spies. All but one was magical. He summarised the reports he had sent back to China. Some quite important technical and commercial information had been stolen. The plans for an American weapon had also been pilfered. He told us nothing else of value. Secretary Afshar told Mr. Tsieh that he was "extremely disappointed" by his actions and that he would no longer be welcome at the ICW.

The interviews of the two aides and one wounded soldier, who was able to be questioned, yielded nothing of significance. The soldiers had been secretly Apparated to a house in Jerusalem, where Madame Chen lived.

What to do with them? That question occupied us for a while. The Israeli government could charge Mr. Tsieh with spying and expel him from the country, along with his two aides. The spies he had recruited would be arrested. The soldiers were a stickier issue. They weren't even known to be in Israel, including the Chinese government having no knowledge of their presence there. Mr. Tsieh would have some explaining to do, when they were missed. He must operate with a lot of autonomy for the soldiers not to have already been missed. I had detected no lies when he was questioned but spiriting ten soldiers out of China suggested that he had more power in the government than he admitted. I would think on that. We could not repatriate all the soldiers. Seven were dead. Two were injured. The tenth was lucky to have been only cursed, rather than being shot. There was no way to avoid Mr. Tsieh having to explain himself back home. That was his problem, but if enhanced questioning caused him to spill his secrets, it would also be our problem.

Shacklebolt thought of this at the same time I did. "We can't just send Mr. Tsieh home. He lost soldiers, who were never supposed to be outside China. He will be questioned hard and we must assume that he will talk. That puts us in a bad position."

Danny had a solution. "Perhaps it's best if he is seen to have defected, along with his aides and three of his soldiers. They could have killed the other soldiers. We can keep them sequestered, if there is a way to un-magic them. If they just Apparated away, the consequences could be serious."

Don't worry. Anti-Apparation barriers have been in place since just before our spells were reversed. They aren't going to escape from here."

That was Shacklebolt. It was timely. Mr. Tsieh's look of frustration confirmed that he had tried to Apparate and had failed. In response to Harry's challenge, he confirmed as much.

Mr. Tsieh was very nervous. "I can't defect. That would be very bad for my people. You don't know how much worse it is that my government think I led some of its soldiers to shoot other soldiers, on foreign soil, so that we could defect. It won't be public, but there will be an extremely serious investigation. Everyone I know will be harshly interrogated. It will be brutal. The same for family and friends of my aides and the defecting soldiers. Detection of our magical community would be a certainty. The community would be wiped out."

"Well, you attacked us. That's what put you in this mess. What do you suggest?" That was Harry and he didn't seem in a mood to accept any crap. Really, he was in a Ron mood.

"I'm willing to take an Unbreakable Vow."

"Not good enough. You'd still spill your guts. You'd die the next day, but that doesn't help."

"I don't know. You have many spells you can use. I don't understand many of them. I just know that the best solution is to find a way for us to go home. I've heard of the Imperius curse. Would that work."

"If we did that, Secretary Afshar would hold it over our heads forever. No, it's not possible."

"Special circumstances. I'll authorise you to use it."

"Our Wizengamot could still act against us in future."

"I'll Imperius him, myself. You can Confund him first. We can do it with all of them."

"That might work. We could also Obliviate them, but it would be difficult to pick out what must be Obliviated and what must not. They are going to have to seem normal when they return to China. I still don't see how this solves the problem of the soldiers having left China and seven of them being dead." With Harry's approval, I'll task Wood to start working on this."

Harry blessed that plan.

"You don't have a lot of time. We'll be missed if we don't return to Jerusalem. This was supposed to be a quick operation and return with Ginny."

I could tell that he spoke the truth. At least one confederate waited for him back at the embassy."

Harry sent for more aurors who specialised in Obliviation. He tasked the rest of us with coming up with a plausible story, which would allow Mr. Tsieh to be sent home with his aides. The soldiers were the key. The rest was simple. Mr. Tsieh and the aides had stolen commercial secrets. They had given those secrets to their government. That part was solid. It was reasonable that they had finally been caught at this. The soldiers could not go home for several days. Magical healing is very good, but some of their injuries had been extreme. They couldn't be healed in an hour or even a single day or two. And the dead soldiers were dead.

"Inferi?" Harry suggested. "They could be observed in China. They could then be lost at sea, or something like that."

"Their dull, white eyes would give them away," Shacklebolt objected.

"Large contact lenses can fix that," Mrs. Toms countered. "They'll have to lose the lenses, before the bodies are recovered. The Chinese use different munitions than our soldiers. You'll need to replace the bullets in their wounds. It can work. It can also easily fail, but it can work. Our soldiers can fire the Chinese weapons at sheep and pigs. You need some bullets that hit bone and some that don't. They look different. If the Chinese look closely, and I think they will, they will be able to tell the difference. It should help that the bodies are fresh, shouldn't it?"

We built our plan around that and created a storyline that allowed the soldiers to be almost immediately returned to China. The inferi would almost immediately drink a lot and get into a fight with locals, injuring some of them, then making a run for it and almost being captured by the other three soldiers. They would seize a small boat and escape. The other soldiers pursue them. Gunfire exchanged. The inferi are mortally wounded and fall overboard in water deep enough to hinder recovery, wearing enough gear to sink. Shuck the lenses. Go inert. Stay in the water for at least a couple days, before being found. It might work. It had to work.

A very spelled-up Mr. Tsieh was off to Jerusalem with his aides, so that they wouldn't be missed. The story was to be that when we saw the soldiers, we all Apparated away and Mr. Tsieh Apparated to Jerusalem, before we could return with reinforcements. His soldiers hid in the woods. Mr. Tsieh would return to Apparate them back to China. He would lie low and return to Jerusalem in time to be expelled. It was too tricky a plan to work. Luckily, early results say it actually might have worked.

Part of our spell-work on Mr. Tsieh left him an ardent supporter of British Wizardry. He was now our spy in China. He would stop demanding a circle. He realised he could not keep it safe from his government. If he were ever severely questioned, newly installed protections in his mind would drop down like an impenetrable curtain. He would not know that he had ever been magical or that a magical community existed in China. He could survive and so could his community. It was possible that torture lay waiting in his future. He would be found not guilty and not magical. We all acknowledged that this possibility verged upon likely. Ron was a lot less disturbed by that possibility than I was.