Potter's Folly
Chapter 17
Anastasiou wished that his servants would bring him better meals. His latest meal had been a human filled with all sorts of toxins. Clearly, she had been addicted to all sorts of harmful drugs. These toxins couldn't harm him, of course, but they still gave the blood a bitter aftertaste that would linger for a while.
The bitter taste in his mouth was also partially due to concern about the sudden decline in the Australian vampire population. He'd sent a party out to investigate, and he'd be hearing about their findings in mere moments.
Then there was the problem with Selene. Anastasiou had sent her out on an extended mission to Romania in early autumn of 1995 to mingle with the local dark wizards and verify Voldemort's resurrection. When she returned six months later, Anastasiou had immediately noticed the changes in her scent and knew she'd been with child. She'd given birth to young Charles shortly before her twentieth birthday.
That day, he'd lost the girl he'd considered his daughter. Someone…probably the father of the child, had changed her forever. And as the years went by, Selene had started to challenge his authority more and more, up to the point where Anastasiou had had to take Charles into custody and keep him as a hostage of sorts, about a year ago. That move had certainly dragged Selene back into line, and she'd acted very sweetly towards him ever since, not even bringing up her son. But it had been just that…an act, and Anastasiou hated to have unwilling servants. They had the nasty tendency to turn on their masters at the worst possible moment.
Anastasiou absently ran his hand along his moustache and goatee. Little Charles had to be kept away from Selene, lest she do something crazy and make a run for it. He had no idea where she would run if she decided to do so. Maybe to the boy's father…but he didn't know who that wizard was, if indeed it had been a wizard…it could have been a Muggle as well. Selene had had her fair share of both wizard and Muggle lovers ever since her fifteenth year, and she had insisted that the boy was the product of a brief fling, and that she'd forgotten everything about the father. Anastasiou didn't believe this, of course. The relationship must have been brief, but Anastasiou knew her well enough to know that she was too intelligent to allow herself to get pregnant like that, unless she'd really cared about the man. The fact that she'd never had a lover since only supported this theory. She'd wanted this man's baby!
A few minutes later, he heard the typically noisy footsteps of a human, and his doors opened to allow entry to Vlado Velkowski, an old Macedonian wizard who was the highest raking mortal in his organisation.
"Lord Anastasiou!" The old man croaked, as he struggled to bow deeply enough. Anastasiou was pleased by this, knowing that the wizard was willing to bow despite the discomfort he felt while doing so.
"Tell me, Vlado!"
"The Bloodhounds have lost two of their number, yet they have accomplished their objective."
Anastasiou suppressed a wince. The Bloodhounds were his best team of both wizard and vampiric operatives, and they hardly ever suffered casualties. But he was nevertheless pleased by their success.
"Harry Potter is behind the destruction of the vampire population in Australia. He deliberately did it to attract your attention."
"Did he?" Anastasiou smirked. "From this I gather he wants to talk to me about something." He looked at Vlado, expecting an answer.
"He would not say, my lord!" The wizard said, sadly. I apologise for their failure to…"
"Don't apologise, my good man. You do not fail me often, and you haven't failed me right now. He did not reveal his reasons so as not to weaken his bargaining position. Besides, I think I know what he might want from me."
Anastasiou started walking around in his chambers as he theorised about what Potter could be after. Revenge…a definite possibility. He'd killed the former Death Eater, Saleh, and later he'd gone after his Muggle relatives who'd abused him, succeeding in killing his uncle before the Order of Illumination had arrived to stop him.
Anastasiou had nothing to do with the Muggles, and he'd only given Voldemort minor support in the dark wizard's campaign. Moreover, Voldemort had never found out that it had been he who'd given him that support, so there was no way that Potter suspected his involvement in the war.
That only left Saleh! The wizard must have revealed something about their information exchange…information Potter wanted! It was logical to assume that Potter needed power, and lots of it! Hence Anastasiou's suspicion what Potter might be after. The transformation notes! He smiled. "I'm sure Mr Potter left some instructions regarding subsequent meetings?"
"Yes, my Lord. He suggested a certain Inuit holy place, on June 13th."
"Of course…he wants to take advantage of the long days, and put me at a great disadvantage!" Anastasiou said thoughtfully. The date was three days away. "But I'm afraid we're not going to play his little games." He turned and strode over to his desk, siting down and writing a few quick lines on a parchment. Then he passed them to Vlado. "Hand-carry these to Tetsuo Yamato!"
The old wizard bowed again, and retreated from the chamber, leaving Anastasiou alone with his thoughts. He had to prepare for the meeting with Potter, and to do that he needed Tetsuo. The Japanese wizard had to make him a Portkey to transport Potter to a place of Anastasiou's choosing. That place had to have anti-Apparition wards, to prevent Potter from escaping. Anastasiou also needed some means of controlling Potter, since he had no reason to assume that Potter wouldn't kill them after he got what he wanted. After all, he'd killed Saleh.
Anastasiou's train of thought was interrupted as he picked up the silent footsteps of one of the Dark Trolls. Then again, maybe there were two or three of them, stepping in sync with one another to hide their numbers to listeners. Amazing, what these beings were capable of. As the doors to his chambers opened, his suspicions turned out to be correct. There were three of them, two of them holding large scythes, and the one in front, a female, had twin weapons that looked like sickles tucked into her belt. The crescent blades were large enough to slash a human in two, and no doubt those particular blades had done so many times, for their wielder had numerous tattoos that told tales of her prowess.
"Vampire!" The female barked. "She wishes to see you!"
Anastasiou's features twisted into a sneer. The Dark Trolls didn't acknowledge his authority, as their chieftain had pledged allegiance to the Magnificent One herself! They only took orders from their chieftain, and Her, of course.
He swept past the trolls and made his way deeper into his underground fortress to his former chambers, where the Magnificent One had taken residence after he had freed her.
The heavy doors, he noticed, had been transmuted into gold, and they magically opened to admit him. As he entered, he saw that the room itself had been lavishly decorated. She had accomplished quite a lot in very little time!
He glanced and saw several Muggle paintings decorate the walls.
"Rembrandt van Rijn's Return of the Prodigal Son," he heard von Brandenburg's voice say. "It seems our lady has taken a liking to the Dutch masters!"
"So it seems!" Anastasiou nodded. "Why are you here?"
"She has given me certain assignments," the younger vampire said.
Anastasiou frowned at this. Could She be thinking of replacing him? "Where is the Mistress?"
A statue moved all of a sudden and started transforming. Moments later, She stood before them. "I am right here, Athanasios!" She flashed him a dazzling smile. "I have not heard from you in a while. Is everything still proceeding according to plan?"
"To say that things have not been delayed, would be a lie," he admitted. "However, I have some good news. It seems Potter wants something from me. I have begun to prepare for the meetings. One of our people will start working on means to transport Potter to a secure location and subduing him, before the day is done over. He is quite good at what he does, and I have complete confidence in him.
"What were you planning?" Von Brandenburg asked curiously.
"Our stronghold in Morocco! The Portkey would take Potter into the main pit, where we could have dozens of wands and other long-range weapons trained on him. Then will give him a collar that allows us to control him."
"An enslavement collar?" Von Brandenburg asked quizzically.
Anastasiou shook his head. "If Potter is able to resist the Imperius, he will have no problem overcoming the curse on an enslavement collar. I had something a little more lethal in mind!" He looked at the Mistress apologetically. "I have nothing further to report at the moment, my lady. And I really need to start planning our meeting with Potter."
"Very well, Athanasios." She smiled and looked at Von Brandenburg. "I want you to help him, Wilhelm, and keep me informed about your progress." She glanced at Anastasiou again and saw his expression darken slightly. "I feel no need to bother you by having you report to me personally," she explained. "I have decided to give you more independence. You work better that way, I think.
"Thank you, my Lady. Will there be anything else?"
She nodded. "I am curious about the transformation rituals used by Voldemort. Could you send me the notes?"
"As you wish, my Lady!" Anastasiou said. "I will send the notes with Wilhelm!" Then the two vampires left the room.
**
"Mr Potter!" A voice echoed across the barren stretch of land Harry was standing on. Finally, they had arrived.
They were three hours late, and Harry hated to be kept waiting like this. A lone figure stood about a hundred feet away. Then there were two…three…four and in the blink of an eye he was confronted by seven hooded figured wearing brown robes. "Do you have the notes on you?" he asked impatiently.
His question was answered by mocking laughter emanating from the throats of the hooded figures. "Of course not!" the one who appeared to be the leader said. "You didn't think we'd just give you what you want without asking anything in return, did you?"
Harry chuckled confidently. "So you're here to kill me? Even the seven of you won't be able to take me!"
"We are aware of your power, and you'll be able to defeat us all. We aren't here to kill you!" another figure said. The voice sounded female. She seemed a bit taller than Harry was, but he couldn't be sure because of the distance. "We simply want you to accompany us!" She held out what looked like a bracelet. "This is a Portkey."
"Do you think I'm stupid?" Harry laughed disdainfully. "The meeting happens my way!"
"I'm afraid not!" The leader of the hooded figures spoke, as he took the bracelet from the woman. "We have the things you need to accomplish you goals, yet you have nothing to offer us…except for an alliance."
"An alliance?" Harry frowned. This didn't make too much sense to him. "Why would you want an alliance?"
"Why did you think we bothered to meet with you in the first place, Mr Potter? Why didn't we just reveal your location to the Order of Illumination, hmmm? No…Mr Potter. As I said earlier, we are aware of your power, and with you in our ranks, we'd be able to crush all who resist us. If you refuse…well, it'll take us just a bit longer to accomplish our goals. You, however, need us!"
The more Harry thought about it, the more it made sense. But he still couldn't be sure that it wasn't a trap. What if that Portkey dropped him into a volcano? Harry thought, as he watched the woman whisper something to the leader, who then gave her the bracelet. Then she strolled over to Harry casually, taking off her hood when she was about five feet away. She was indeed about an inch taller than he was, and quite attractive, with an olive complexion, beautiful features, full lips and piecing dark eyes. "Would it make you feel any better if I slipped the bracelet over both our wrists, tying us together? That way, I will Portkey in with you…" She leaned in close and whispered. "And you won't have to worry about dropping into a volcano!"
Harry couldn't quite cover his shock. How had she known…
"You're a Parselmouth…I'm a mind-reader!" she said, winking.
"Oh!" he managed to say, as he gathered his thoughts and recovered from the shock. "So you're willing to accompany me?"
"As a token of good will." She nodded. "How about it?"
Harry realised that having her bound to him would make his bargaining position stronger. He narrowed his eyes. She was a mind-reader. Surely she'd be very valuable to her master. If he took her, he'd have a bargaining chip…
Before he finished the thought, she disappeared, and re-appeared among the hooded figures. "Shame on you, Mr Potter…wanting to abduct me!" She laughed merrily. "However, the offer for any one of them to accompany you still stands. But like you thought…I am much too valuable to my master to accompany you personally!"
As if to prove her point, the other hooded figures formed a defensive perimeter around her, and Harry groaned with frustration. He needed his revenge…and these people seemed genuine enough about granting him the possibility to exact it. He'd just have to take his chances.
"A wise decision, Mr Potter!" The woman nodded, and handed the bracelet to another robed figure, which purposefully strode over to him and slipped the bracelet over both their wrists. It was a very snug fit, and he felt numbness creeping through his fingers since the blood flow was being cut off.
"Let's get this over with!" he said irritably. The Portkey seemed to react to his very words, because an instant later he felt the familiar jerking sensation behind his navel.
The world swirled away, to be replaced by what looked like a dark dungeon, with six torches providing the only light. The dungeon had no visible entrances or exits, except a hatch in the ceiling. However, there were many narrow rectangular gaps in the walls, and Harry saw many wands at other weapons pointing at him.
The wizard next to him took off the bracelet. "I apologise for the reception, but we deemed it necessary." He shrugged. "You will find that you won't be able to Apparate out of this dungeon." Then he touched a brooch on his robes and disappeared. The brooch must have been another Portkey.
Harry snarled as his attempt to Apparate failed.
"Do calm down, Mr Potter. We mean you no harm, but this was indeed necessary. Please do not attempt to break out!" The hatch above opened, and something was dropped through it. It fell on the floor in front of him. "This is a modified enslavement collar," the voice continued. "It does not have the Imperius Curse on it, since I know you can resist that…nor does it have the Killing Curse, for you have repelled that too, once. I understand it was your mother's sacrifice that enabled you to repel the curse, but still…I haven't acquired so much influence by taking foolish chances. Now, do us all a favour and put on the collar."
"Which curse did you put on the collar?" Harry asked, eyeing it apprehensively. He had no choice but to put the thing on. He was trapped now, and he had to ride things out until the chance to escape presented itself.
"A highly concentrated Reductor Curse, so powerful that I doubt that even you could withstand it," the voice said matter of factly. "Now please comply with my request!"
Harry smiled wryly at his mysterious captor's choice of words. Request indeed! He picked the collar up from the floor and fastened it around his neck. After he fastened it, it tightened around his neck. He examined the result by looking into a polished bronze shield that hung on one of the walls, and saw that the collar was slowly fading away. He brought his hand up to his neck, and felt that it was still there."
"A little Invisibility Charm," the voice explained. "Now, you can think about betraying me all you want!" The voice laughed. "However, the moment you're about to act on those thoughts, the collar will activate itself, leaving only bits and pieces smaller than beetle's eyes."
The hatch in the ceiling opened up once again, a struggling figure was lowered down with the use of a levitation charm. "No!" the person howled. "I've been faithful to you, Anastasiou. Don't do this to me!"
"Welcome to one of my secret fortresses, Mr Potter," the voice spoke, unperturbed by the pleas of the person who was being lowered into the dungeon. "I am Athanasios Anastasiou, and I'm sure you and I have goals in common. Please accept this as a token of good will!"
It was then that Harry recognised the person, and his anger and hatred welled up again. He was going to enjoy this tremendously!
**
"That was a bloody scene." Selene muttered, looking like she was going to be sick. "The man pledged his allegiance to you! How could you sell him out like that?" she asked angrily.
"Because sooner or later, he would have done it to me!" Anastasiou explained, shaking his head at her naïveté. Selene had never been quite as ruthless as he'd liked her to be. "Lucius Malfoy would have had his uses, but I would have had to watch him all the time…alert for betrayal."
"What about Yamato, Chivu, and Maximoff?" Selene asked in a disgusted tone. "Are you going to sell them out too?"
"Maybe Maximoff. After all, it's quite clear that his gift doesn't extend to dark trolls. But Tetsuo and Horatiu have unique talents that I'd rather not lose." After all, the Seer and the Magical Artefacts inventor and part-time necromancer could further his goals a great deal. But Malfoy had just outlived his usefulness. It had been a simple matter of trading Malfoy for Potter. "Potter can further my goals better than Malfoy."
"And Draco Malfoy?"
Anastasiou sighed. Unlike his father, the young wizard still had his uses. He had never been branded a Death Eater, and therefore he enjoyed a certain amount of trust within the wizarding world, that Lucius Malfoy would never have been able to achieve again. "No, he is still useful to us. In fact, I think it is about time that we contact him with regards to his upcoming wedding."
Selene nodded, and hesitated, seemingly searching for a way to voice something on her mind. She wanted to ask about her son. He could feel it. "Charles is fine. He is being treated well, and I will let you visit him soon!"
She looked relieved and grateful. "Thank you!"
**
The bitch had done it on purpose! Draco was sure of it. Every time he fell asleep, all hell broke loose in the attic. And for some reason, Silencing Charms didn't work. Draco guessed that charm must have been used so often the ceiling had to be rejecting it somehow. He took a deep breath to calm himself before he dragged himself out of bed and made his way down the narrow staircase to the bathroom where he had a quick shower. The shower wouldn't give him any warm water. Mrs Weasley had been doing her best to make his stay as unpleasant as possible ever since he moved in. No doubt she had charmed the magical shower to refuse to give Draco any warm water, and this new cold shower treatment was highly annoying.
A cold shower! Draco thought it was surely yet another hint that he ought to keep his hands off her daughter. She'd been watching him like a Kneazle, never giving him more than two minutes alone with Ginny. Even ordering Ginny to protest on his behalf hadn't worked. Still, Ginny must have been resisting the ring a little. After all, its charm was a bit weaker due to the ring's relatively small size compared to a true collar, and its maker had warned Draco that the wearer might resist some of his more extreme desires. He wondered if he ought to try and feed her some love potion to lower her inhibitions, but he decided against it as the cold water lashed his back. The risk of being caught was too great. Besides, it was only six more days until the wedding. He could wait until then!
After drying himself off, he sauntered down the stairs, where he knew he'd find Ginny cooking his breakfast for him like a good little House-elf. He'd even ordered Ginny to give him breakfast in bed once, and that had really annoyed Mrs Weasley. He never did that again though, because he later overheard a discussion between the two women where Mrs Weasley had asked Ginny why she'd brought him breakfast in bed. Apparently that wasn't typical behaviour for Ginny, and he'd chosen to stop it rather than raise Mrs Weasley's suspicions that her daughter might be under his control somehow. Actually, Molly Weasley probably did suspect something, since he'd caught her snooping through his things, no doubt looking for ingredients used in love potions. At least, he'd assumed that's what she'd been doing, because he'd seen her hastily tuck away some notes about a week ago. He went back to see what she'd been so secretive about, and had seen that his future mother-in-law had been reading up on love potions and antidotes. Yet another reason that increased the risks of using love potions at the moment.
He descended the stairs and walked into the kitchen, noticing the penetrating scent of magical mess remover. Mrs Weasley was dressed in clothes his mother wouldn't be caught dead in, and she clutched her wand in one hand, and a cleaning rag in the other, wearing a look of nearly manic glee on her face. "I love the smell of Mrs Scower's in the morning!" she exclaimed, and took a whiff. "It smells like, victory!" Then she noticed Draco and gave him a dirty look. "Too bad Mrs Scower's can't deal with your type of stain!"
Draco just gave her his trademark superior smirk. She'd been openly challenging him for a while now, dropping all pretence of doing her best to accept him. But he couldn't care less. He intended to take Ginny as far away from her pauper relatives as possible, once they were married. He'd make a proper pureblood witch out of her!
He didn't say a word while he wolfed down his breakfast. Then, before he went to the Ministry by Floo, he kissed Ginny passionately in front of Mrs Weasley, making quite a show of feeling her daughter up. The old hag's reaction was delicious, and the dark clouds over her face brightened his day.
*
"Good morning Master Malfoy!" Slinky the House-elf greeted him brightly, as he stumbled out of the fireplace and into his office.
"Morning." Draco replied, having to keep up the façade of actually regarding House-elves as something more than convenient slaves.
"Master Malfoy…Master Percy Weasley is wanting to talk to you. He is waiting in his office!"
"This early?" Draco frowned.
"He is not wanting to leave his office. Slinky is thinking he is going home after he is speaking with Master Draco."
Draco sighed, threw a pinch of Floo powder into the fireplace, called out his destination, and the flames roared out and took him moments later.
The trip was short, and he stepped out at the Department of International Magical Co-operation, brushing the soot off his robes. Weasley really needed to have someone clean the excess soot out of his fireplace.
Draco made his way to the Department Head's office and knocked on the door.
"Enter," Weasley's voice said, and he pushed open the door. He was genuinely surprised to see the Minister for Magic sitting in one of the armchairs, and appalled to see two Aurors. Had some of his less legal activities been discovered? He fought to keep his face impassive.
"Come in, Mr Malfoy," Diggory beckoned.
"Do the Aurors make you nervous, Malfoy?" Percy asked, watching him closely.
"Most people who've had bad experiences with Aurors have that problem!" Draco countered. "Why are they here?"
The Aurors swept him with a golden brush. It was a magical device that searched for concealed magical items…particularly spying tools.
"He's clear!" the Aurors said.
"Good." Diggory nodded. "Please cast the appropriate charm after you close the door. We'll wait for a minute before we start our meeting."
"Yes sir." The Auror nodded. "And make sure that you say everything you need to say before you open the door. The Silencio Secreto Charm will wear off when you do, and we won't be able to re-cast the spell for twelve hours."
Draco knew the Silencio Secreto Charm. It was invented by a Spanish Unspeakable in the late 1970's. It was a solid, powerful charm. It blocked people who eavesdropped outside the room, and it could block any eavesdropping charm. It couldn't block spying tools inside the particular room, however, which was why the Aurors must have swept the room, and Draco. The drawbacks were, that the Charm would end once a window or door was opened, and that two people were needed to cast it. Moreover, the Charm could only be by those people once every twelve hours.
After waiting for a minute, it was Diggory who spoke. "Mr Malfoy…Percy came to me with some concern earlier this week. He believes that his family might not be quite as safe from Harry Potter as you believe they are, and upon reflection, I am inclined to agree with him. Potter might not err…appreciate the fact that they supported Ron Weasley after the unfortunate incident three years ago. That would make them targets." Diggory got up and started pacing about. "I have managed to secure you a safe-house, so you will be moving out of the Burrow tonight. Then there is the matter of your wedding. Potter may be able to find out about it through the media. Therefore I suggest you change the location from the magical creature reservation in Somerset, to Hogwarts. The wards there will give us an additional layer of security that we couldn't otherwise provide. I have already discussed it with Minerva McGonagall. I strongly suggest you change your plans."
Draco frowned. Weasley was right! Draco had never quite looked at matters like from that perspective. Maybe he wasn't as safe at the Burrow as he'd previously imagined. Moving out of the Burrow would mean leaving Ginny alone for six whole days with her mother, who would no doubt do everything within her power to change her daughter's mind. But that was a chance he was going to have to take. He sighed. "I assume you've managed to find me some protection?"
"Three Aurors will be watching over you until your wedding day. Then…if Potter hasn't been caught yet, we'll have to find another way to protect you and Miss Weasley. Perhaps the Fidelius Charm."
"Who will be my secret keeper?"
"We don't know yet," Percy Weasley said. "But I'm thinking Hermione Granger. She's quite safe with the Order of Illumination, and she loves Ginny like a sister. I'm sure she'll do it."
"Granger?" Draco muttered thoughtfully, before nodding. "I agree."
"Then I believe we have nothing further to discuss," Diggory said, walking towards the door and opening it. "We are done here!" he said to the Aurors. "You may leave."
"Yes sir," the Aurors replied, and left.
"Oh, and Malfoy?" Percy Weasley called, as Draco was about to leave.
"What?"
"You'll be working alone today. Ms McCormack had to take the day off. Her father has fallen ill."
Draco moaned, and he mentally prepared himself for the long day as he entered his office. He nearly failed to notice a letter lying on his desk. It was an ordinary envelope, and inconspicuous. It was addressed to him, but as he examined it, he couldn't determine who had sent it to him. His father had taught him never to open mysterious letters, and he was about to toss it into the fire, in the smaller fireplace inside his office, when the envelope opened by itself and the letter came floating out, and unfolded itself in front of him.
Mr Malfoy
This letter has been charmed to open at your touch, and only you can read these words.
Draco smirked. A 'for your eyes only' charm.
If our intelligence is correct, you are alone in your office at this moment. Ms McCormack had to take the day off to visit her ill father, did she not? Amazing, what a bit of mild and completely traceless poison can accomplish.
Should you not be alone in your room, please request some privacy. Say that the letter is from your fiancée. They won't question it, since others will see the appropriately mushy text typical to such a letter, produced by an illusion charm. This would normally make it completely safe to read the letter in public. However, the letter will turn to dust after you are done reading it, and that will no doubt strike most people as odd.
The purpose of this letter is to inform you that we now control Potter. He will be attending your wedding, so we've taken the liberty of creating a Portkey for you to ensure you that you get to safety when the attack begins. It is in the envelope.
Draco looked into the envelope and saw a small silvery comb. He took it out and tucked it away in a pocket of his robes before continuing to read the letter.
The deaths will be quite deliberate, but we will make them look like collateral damage, of course. It is a pleasure to be collaborating with you, Mr Malfoy.
As he finished reading the final line, the letter turned to dust. Draco bit his lip. There was no turning back now!
**
It was exactly midnight in Concordia, and Galatea and Hermione were making their way to the their town-house. Only Ron, Clara and the house-elves were there. Lilia had relieved them in the medical wing. Gudrun had been pulling double shifts all week because the Artificing Rangers were trying to finish the second battle cruiser in record time. They way things looked, they were going to need them too! Heidi had gone to Africa to settle a mining dispute between to local goblin mining clans that had escalated to unacceptable levels of violence, and the tiny Mayumi had been deployed to Japan to aid in the search for Tetsuo Yamato.
Lieutenant Montoya had made a shocking discovery a few days ago. It had complicated matters about Ranger Quist immensely. It turned out that the Ranger had been controlled. Someone had magically inserted a second personality that functioned as a spy. Under hypnosis, the medical Rangers had been able to subdue the secondary personality long enough for the real Quist to explain to them what had happened. He didn't know who had given him that second personality, but he guessed it must have happened during his leave eleven months ago.
When Quist discovered evidence of this second personality, it had taken him over completely as a defensive measure. This had happened one month ago. From that day onwards, Quist had been unable to gain enough control to warn the Rangers in any way. The evil personality's control over those areas of his mind had been too great to overcome. Then he figured out a way to send a message indirectly. The second personality never bothered to stop any evil and aggressive actions…something he'd figured out as he'd briefly regained control of his body when destroying one of the training golems in frustration. He'd known that he'd b able to send a message to the Rangers by doing something truly appalling. He'd counted on them confronting and stopping him.
Padma had provided him with that opportunity, because they'd been on a couple of dates, and she'd been at the right place at the right time. He said he'd jumped at the chance, because the parasitic personality had been on to him and had been about to cut off that possibility too. When the deed had been done, it had tried to terrorise Padma into silence. Hermione frowned, as she remembered. And it had nearly succeeded too. If Max hadn't read her mind…
She sighed. It was also thanks to Quist that the parasitic personality hadn't killed Max, Quist had fought it from within, as much as Max had fought it on the outside. If he hadn't done so, it would have killed Max cleanly and quickly.
Then there was Padma's emotional state. Would she ever be able to forgive Quist? Hermione had told Padma about the situation, after she'd been authorised to do so, but Padma hadn't been as understanding as they'd all hoped she would be. Not that it really surprised Hermione. It was going to take a lot of time and therapy for Padma to recover from this ordeal. And Hermione hadn't even told Padma that the rape had actually been Quist's doing. Sure, it had been the only way for him to alert the Rangers about his situation… but she doubted that Padma would ever see it that way.
Now, they had to find a way to remove the parasitic personality from Quist. This parasitic personality was nothing new. Grindelwald had used it liberally in the thirties and early forties, but no one had ever worked out how to remove those personalities without destroying the original personality along with it. Hermione took a deep breath and let it go again, clearing her mind of worries. Tomorrow was another day.
They found Ron and Clara downstairs, playing a rather difficult strategy game, and Binks was their audience. Wizard's Stratego… like the Muggle game, but the board and pieces were enchanted. Every piece had a certain value, and the higher values usually defeated the lower values. This went on until the opponent's castle was captured.
The thing Hermione liked about the game was that it was partially based on luck, giving people like her a marginal chance against people like Ron and Clara. At the outset of the game, neither opponent knew where the other had placed his or her pieces, so at times the game would be over very soon, with the less tactically gifted person being the victor.
This game had several added dimensions, however. Instead of the usual pieces, the players could choose several types of armies, each with their specialities. The main rule was that there had to be equal numbers of pieces of every value.
Ron had become hooked on the game, and he and Clara would spend every free moment playing it. Hermione shook her head. Clara's shift in C&C would start in six hours. She glanced at the game board, and it looked like Ron and Clara were about even.
"Don't you two ever get tired of that silly game?" Galatea asked.
"This game is not silly." Ron replied indignantly, not taking his eyes of the board.
Clara nodded. "It enhances one's strategic insight."
"Please!" Galatea chuckled. "In the beginning, you don't even know which pieces your opponent has. "How can there be any strategy to that?"
Clara made a move, ordering one of her pieces to reveal itself and attack.
"Hah! Flood-rock!" Ron said triumphantly as his piece revealed itself, and this being Wizard's Stratego, the relevant patch of the board actually flooded, taking several pieces off the board. Then he looked at Galatea. "Actually, it's guesswork at first, but there are several tactics that can be used to work out which pieces your opponent has, while suffering only minimal losses," he explained. "And I've found that Clara here is partial to certain game-pieces. That's why I beat her in the last three matches!" He grinned.
"Right! I'm still up by half a dozen victories," Clara pointed out.
"Yeah, but I had to work out how to play the game," Ron protested.
"Face it, Clara. You're no longer the greatest tactician in Concordia," Galatea teased. Then she yawned. "I'm going to catch some sleep. You should do the same, Clara."
"Hmmm!" The Brazilian witch replied, her brow furrowing in concentration as she surveyed the game.
"Don't keep Clara down here too long. She needs to get some sleep," Hermione said, after having watched the game for fifteen minutes. It seemed like Ron was winning now.
"Half an hour!" Ron muttered, not looking up.
Hermione bent down and kissed him goodnight. He'd probably be down there for two more hours, unless … Well, why not? She smiled and bent down again. "Don't be too long," she whispered into his ear, and to leave no doubt in his mind what she wanted from him, she briefly tugged at his earlobe with her lips.
Ron's ears turned red. "Hermione! How d'you expect me to win with such a distraction?"
"Don't see it as distraction…see it as motivation!" Hermione winked, and walked up the stairs, heading to her room. Then she noticed Galatea, standing in the doorway to her own room, with a troubled expression on her face.
"Hermione…can I talk to you for a second?"
Hermione nodded, and Galatea stepped aside to allow Hermione into her room, closing the door behind her. Then she walked over to a large, classic four-poster, and sat down, fiddling with her night-dress
"What is it?" Hermione asked. She had a feeling it would be about Max. After his fight with Quist he'd been forced to spend a whole week in the medical wing with someone guarding him around the clock because he'd received a fairly heavy concussion in the fight. This had been necessary, because they'd had to wait for all the other healing magic to wear off before healing the injuries he'd sustained in the fight. Of course Galatea had volunteered for most of the shifts, and Hermione had noticed a subtle change in Galatea's relationship with Max after he'd been healed and released. One day later, Galatea had confirmed her suspicions. Like a teenaged girl, Galatea revealed how Max had confessed his feelings, that she and Max had kissed and that it had seemed like heaven every single time!
"Well, it's about Max…"
Hermione grinned and sat down beside her. "I thought it might be about him."
Galatea blushed. "Yes…well, Max and I…we've known each other for a long time…and I know he loves me very much…and I love him…" She blushed even more profusely.
"You want to make love to him, but you're afraid that something might go wrong?" Hermione ventured.
Galatea nodded eagerly. "Could you give me some advice?"
Hermione ran her hand through her hair and tousled it, as if it were a way to jump-start her brain again. "I'm not sure I'm the person you ought to be talking to. Ron's my first and only lover. Maybe you ought to ask Lilia. She drags a man into her room often enough."
"I can't go to Lilia for advice…Hermione, she'd tell the whole world about it!" Galatea said exasperatedly.
Hermione grinned. She had a point there. Lilia took sadistic pleasure it revealing people's embarrassing secrets. "True. How about one of the older witches then?"
"Like who?"
Hermione shrugged. "Evgenia…Serafina," she suggested
Galatea shook her head. "I'm not that close with Ranger Ivanova…and Serafina is an even bigger gossip that Lilia, even if she doesn't do it on purpose."
Another good point. Serafina Esposito was the Lavender Brown among the Rangers. She liked gossiping so much, that at times Hermione wondered whether she posed a security risk. "All right! I guess you'll just have to remember what you did last time, and guide Max though it. He's the inexperienced one, after all!"
Galatea looked at the hem of her night-dress nervously. "Actually…I've only had one boyfriend…and we never got that intimate."
Hermione's mouth fell opened in surprise. "You're…you're a virgin? How come? I mean…I can't imagine that you've ever had any trouble finding men! Didn't you have any boyfriends in school? What…" She realised there was no way Galatea would get a word in if she kept up the interrogation stream, so she forced her mouth to close.
Galatea looked terribly embarrassed. "Yes…I'm nearly twenty-five…and I'm still a virgin."
"But…but, how?" Hermione continued her interrogation. "Are the rumours true then…have you been saving yourself for Max?"
"Of course not, don't be ridiculous…" Galatea began, but then she seemed to doubt her own words. "Well…maybe…partially," she then admitted. "After Max saved my life, I wasn't interested in anyone else anymore."
"But what about before you met him?"
"Well, I couldn't meet any boys at school, because Southern Cross is an all-girls school." Galatea explained.
"Right…I forgot about that!" Hermione said, remembering what she'd read in a book about all the schools around the world. Southern Cross was an all-girls school, but she hadn't made the connection in her mind when she and Galatea had exchanged information about their magical education, and Galatea hadn't mentioned it then. So that explained why Galatea had never met boys at school.
"And after Mama died… I had to take care of my brothers and sisters, because Papa took a job that required a lot of travel to support us all. Studying and taking care of my family didn't leave me much time, you know!"
Hermione nodded sympathetically. Galatea had told her about her mother's death. Unlike her older sister, who'd married a rich wizard of the Delacour family and thus had never had to work in her life, Galatea's mother hadn't used her looks to find herself a rich husband. Instead, she'd become an Auror and married a young man whom she'd been in love with…against the wishes of her family. Unfortunately, she'd got poisoned by a dark witch who'd infiltrated the French Ministry in Galatea's final year at school. Galatea had then taken care of her brothers and sisters, while her father travelled the world and earned money with some groundbreaking research, to support the lot of them. Then, after completing her mediwizardry training, the Order of Illumination had approached her, and Galatea had readily accepted their invitation. By that time, three of her siblings had started to go to school, and she'd earned enough to help her father pay their tuition, relieving him from having to travel around the world to make enough money. He was able to stay home and look after his two youngest, who were going to school too now.
Hermione had never considered how the death of Galatea's mother had affected her life. She'd become a surrogate mother of sorts to her younger siblings…but she'd had to give up a lot that many young women took for granted. It was a miracle that she'd managed to successfully train as a mediwitch…with all those extra responsibilities. No wonder that she'd never had time to get serious with men.
"What should I do?" Galatea asked, snapping Hermione out of her thoughts.
Hermione got up and started pacing about. She had no idea how to help her friend, but she was going to try anyway. "The main thing is to make Max feel at ease. He'll probably be nervous."
Galatea nodded eagerly. "What else?"
Hermione shrugged. "I don't know. Take it slow. Be prepared to share some laughs if things don't go quite the way you expect! Hope for the best, I guess."
Galatea looked a bit disappointed. "You haven't been much help!"
"Well I never claimed to be all-knowing!" Hermione huffed, feeling slightly insulted. "I told you that someone else might have helped you more with this sort of thing."
"I'm sorry!" Galatea sighed.
"It's okay!" Hermione grinned. "So what have you got planned?"
"Max is taking me out for an evening picnic after my noon shift. Then we'd fly to the hills and look at the stars."
"How romantic!" Hermione sighed.
"Actually, we're really going to watch the stars. It's a hobby of his…and I liked Astronomy too when I was in school." Galatea added. "Something else we have in common. Would you and Ron like to come with us?"
"No thanks, I think you two need some time alone." Hermione said, shaking her head. "Besides Ron and I are leaving tomorrow. His sister is getting married this Thursday."
Galatea winced. "To the slimy git, right?"
"I see Ron told you about it." Hermione nodded. "We're all hoping for a miracle, but it looks like Ginny's really going through with it." She turned to leave. "Goodnight, Tea."
"Night, Hermione!"
***
