Chapter 6

Fleur swallows hard as the portkey deposits her and her family just outside the Veela conclave. Ahead of them is a very nondescript archway covered in roses, a simple stone pathway passing beneath it.

"Maman, must we do this?"

Apolline, her mother, briefly hugs her, "She is your grandmother."

Fleur sighs as she looks back at her father, "I know, but she's only re-instated you because of my education."

Apolline sighs, "Fleur, my mother. My disownment was more complicated than you think. Even now, I am still not eligible for as heir to her position. Instead she has named you heir."

"What about Aunt Aurore?"

"She has been passed over."

"Non, I refuse. I will not take from Aunt Aurore when I may not even be able to hold a political position when I finish school."

"What are you saying? This is a great honour."

"For who Maman, for who?"

"For you, who else would it be an honour for?"

"Maman, I am barely an adult by our standards, but even I know that isn't true. Tell me, before we enter, why were you disowned?"

Apolline hunches slightly, "You know why."

"Pretend I don't, why?"

"Your father is a wizard, which meant that my children would have to be raised as witches. But you're not a witch anymore, you're a warlock."

"What if I choose to become a Magi, or a Sidhe?"

Apolline looks at her daughter as though she's grown a second head, "Why would you turn your back on your people like that?"

"Maman, you have no idea what so ever. If you wish for there to be a warlock leading the Veela, Hogwarts is doing a summer course with 20 places. I may eve be able to get you involved with an easter course if there's one next year, as long as you practice the precursors to it."

Apolline stutters slightly as she responds, "I'm not a fighter, I…I couldn't do something like that."

Fleur shrugs, "Then why expect me to be willing to do something that you are not?"

With that said, she turns to the archway and walks through to the other side. As she does so, the wash of the combined allure of a hundred veela crashes over her magic, leaving her untouched. Looking back, her face falls slightly as she sees her father's face take on the blank expression of tight occlumency barriers. Allowing him to catch up with her, she extends her magic out into a bubble to include him, and shield him from the ambient allure.

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Fleur watches dispassionately as her grandmother, Reine, stands from her throne and walks down the stairs to embrace her mother, and kiss her on each cheek, "Mon être cher, welcome home."

"Thank you mama, it's good to be home."

Reine turns to Fleur, "Fleur, you have grown into a beautiful and intelligent heir."

"Non grand-mére, I am not your heir. Aurore is."

"Nonsense. You are a warlock, how could you be anything else?"

"Much as I would like it, you child are far more suitable for the position. You can protect our people far better than she could."

"Non, I do not wish it, and I will not accept it. Aurore has daughters of her own, apply to Hogwarts for them to go."

"But then they will be witches."

"Non, non, non. OWL's and NEWT's can be taken with any focus, or none at all. Papa, help me here, what is a witch legally?"

Jean-Paul sighs as he wracks his brain, "I really don't want to get in the middle of this, as passion fire hurts. But most ministries say that a witch is any female magical that has passed their wanded OWL's, or is the head of a wizarding household."

Fleur smiles at her father, "Merci, Hogwarts is now examined by the ICW where you can do your OWL's without a focus. Papa, I am going home to Little Whinging."

Jean-Paul hurriedly brings up his occlumency as Reine imperiously says, "You are going nowhere young woman…" She trails off as Fleur jumps from the compound in the south of France to Little Whinging.

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Elder Isbeil smiles as she sits in the park watching the humans from her clan climbing over the playground climbing frames in the local park with the other children that have just moved into the area. Suddenly she turns to Leanne, "Child, would you run out of the park and fetch the woman with blond hair you see walking past?"

Leanne smiles and runs out of the park, returning shortly with Fleur dragging behind her.

Isbeil smiles, "Fleur, you said that you were in France for the holiday."

Fleur nods, "I did Elder, 'owever grand-mere wished for me to be 'er heir."

"And that is something you do not wish?"

"Non, I mean no. They only wished for that because I am a warlock."

"What do you want to do then?"

Fleur laughs, "You sound just like Elder Aodh. Honestly, I don't know yet. I would love to learn more Sidhe magic, as you saw with my demonstration, I have fallen in love with the sword. A have accepted my heritage, but I am more than that. Last year it was so easy, I wanted to be an enchantress and spell designer." Fleur shrugs, "Now, there's so much more. I feel like I'm a child that has just realised how big the world is."

Isbeil smiles, "That is because you are. You all grow so fast here that most never really know what they really want to do until their lives have nearly passed them by. Even those like Alexia were choosing their paths based on things other than their true talents and joys."

"I think I would have been perfectly happy being an enchantress."

Isbeil nods, "I have no doubt you would child. But I think you also become fatalistic with age. Connolly certainly seems like that, as though there are paths he would have preferred to have taken in hindsight. How often do you see people just watching children play, or play themselves?"

"I, I don't know."

"Why don't you want to be the heir of your people?"

Fleur startles at the question, and answers without thinking, "I don't want to be forced to mate with a man who cannot resist my allure." Isbeil smiles and just waits while Fleur thinks about what she's just said, "I see what maman and papa have, and I want that. I don't want to worry about if my children will be witches or not. I'm being childish aren't I."

"No child, it is not childish to want those things. While sometimes we are pushed into things we do not wish. Wanting things to be equal, that is not and never will be childish. I think the humans here use the word idealistic for that sort of thinking." Isbeil looks up at the sky, "The sun is getting high in the sky, so it is time for me to visit the clinic now. You may join me if you wish."

Fleur follows the Elder, still deep in thought.

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Azaria shuffles impatiently as the elders of the Sapphire Rock Court inspect the vials of Histories that Lore Keeper Yewglisten has provided. At the same time, she can see that Elder Petunia is standing with her parent serenely as though this could go on for hours yet. Finally, she looks back at Tonks, where she's looking after both babies by rocking them in a human pram she's conjured. With a sigh she turns back to the Elders.

Almost an hour later, the first of the Histories is finally viewed and it doesn't take long before all of them have been viewed.

Lore Keeper Sapphire Rock looks over to their own Lore Keeper, "I wish to know how to produce these vials with histories."

Lore Keeper Yewglisten nods, "It is human magic, so you need to hold the history in your mind and then pull it out with a finger while visualising it coming out. It will dull your recollection of the history for a short while, however it doesn't take too long to return to sharpness if you don't return the history to your own mind. You can also do the reverse with those histories by placing it against your forehead, and visualising pulling it in."

Lore Keeper Sapphire Rock nods before trying to absorb the histories.

Oberon Sapphire Rock looks over, "Lord Yewglisten, We have seen these histories, and they are now part of our own histories. Will you join us for meat and wine, and then we can discuss the import of these histories and the human magic you have been using in the new day."

Azaria smiles, "You honour us Oberon, and we will gladly partake of your hospitality. While we are sheltered under your roof, your troubles will be our troubles."

"Then let us dispense with the formalities for the evening. I find myself curious about the addition of a human in Elder's regalia, who also has the demeanour of an adolescent."

Seaghdh speaks up, "Elder Petunia came to us as a captured slaves of the Winter Court. However, due to the use of Human Magic, she was able to hide the fact she already had magic from her captors. During her captivity, she saved the life of the then heir of the clan by teaching her the same magic. She was allowed to become an Elder due to her maturity amongst Humans, along with the abilities she brought to our clan. That was before we found out just how limited Human upbringing really is. We are now treating her as an adolescent while she continues to learn our ways."

"I see, and this magic, will you be willing to teach it?"

Petunia looks the Oberon in the eyes, "I am sorry Oberon, but that is a clan secret, or a secret only available to Dark Walkers."

The Oberon steps down from the dais, "Come, I will show you to your rooms. What are Dark Walkers?"

Petunia gives a shark like smile, "They are Sidhe who are able to walk the Triple Dark without fear of the wild magic. We can pass unseen through the veils between worlds, and are not bound by the cycles of those barriers. We are oath bound allies of the Magi of the human world, and seek to defend this world the same way."

"Do these oaths not conflict with loyalty to your clan?"

"Not at all, we specifically designed them to be compatible. Though we do have our own Heart Room, where the secrets that cannot be shared with those who have not sworn to the Dark Walkers can be taught and shared."

"What of your humanness?"

Petunia looks at him confused, "What humanness? I am not more human than you are."

"Your appearance would say otherwise."

Petunia laughs, "Humanity is a state of mind, not of body. Humans live such short lives that they are always busy. Where we will examine things in great detail, they will give what we would consider to be a cursory glance. However, their society is such, that they will continue to look more and more. They have also invented machines to do the looking for them, so that they can see more in the time they have."

"Fascinating, maybe we could talk about it more while you are our guest."

"As an Elder or personal interest?"

"Personal interest."

Petunia smiles, "You would need to ask my father about that."

"I see." The Oberon stops outside a pair of doors, "These are your room."

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Hearth Mistress Star Bound sadly looks around a human dwelling. He has followed the trace that was left on the tassel, and each of the women and children here are tangled with oaths. The only exception being a young boy child who is possibly still nursing. Around him the elite trackers from the court are gathering all other people in the home and looking for traces of visitors. With a grimace, he leans down and examines the tangles that are snarling in the nearest woman's magic. Much as they expected, she has the same childhood oaths as the recently adopted. As he goes from woman to woman, each one is just as tangled as the previous, with a few that were so bad their memories turned in on themselves.

Hardening his heart, he examines the men in the household. There he is dismayed to find that one of the men is as badly snarled as the women of the house. "Amhlaigh, keep this one with the women, he may be as much a victim as they are. How are the trackers getting on?"

Amhlaigh nods and moves the man over to the woman, and replaces the neck band with a wrist band, "We have the location of 10 more houses, with their locations marked on the boundary of the desert. We have also captured several barely magical humans, and one magical human, that were investigating a ruin. They have been taken to our camp. The tracker reports that there is something off about the magic of that ruin, so I feel it would be wise for the council to discuss it, and maybe investigate it personally."

The Hearth Mistress nods gravely, "Tell them to take samples of the magical signature that feels off."

Amhlaigah nods, "We will."

"The barrier is closing, so we need to leave now. Do we have sufficient iron for all of the magicals we've found?"

"Yes Hearth Mistress. There were also no non-magicals in this home."