Chapter Two

Old Allies, New Enemies

What the hell was going on? Was the world ending?

It must be, he'd sworn he wouldn't come back here otherwise. Fate seemed to feel differently though, because here he was preparing to get screwed over…again, but before that happened he was going to let them sweat for awhile.

From his vantage point he could see the Council members shifting irritably in their seats. He'd been there for a good ten minutes already, just to let them think about things. Besides giving him the upper hand when he decided to show himself, it also taught the Council a valuable lesson; Talon Wittman was not theirs to control. The sooner that was understood the better everything would go.

And as he stood in the shadows he couldn't help but to think how strange it was going to be to once again stand in the very room where, seven years earlier, he had been found guilty of crimes as a Death-Eater. This time would be different though, he was no longer the same person. Which was lucky for them; maybe this time he would actually do the right thing.

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Hermione Granger, Headmistress of Hogwarts, to put it simply was pissed. The "mystery man" was already fifteen minutes late; he had agreed to come…he should at least be polite enough to arrive on time!

Besides that the Council members were already beginning their typical bickering, and she truly didn't want to deal with them. She didn't come here to feel like a teacher. She came because her children where in trouble; her world was falling apart, and for the second time in her life she had no idea what she was going to do about it.

"Look!"

Hermione was broken out of her reverie by the obnoxious shriek, it sounded so much like the others she couldn't be sure who it was. It had gotten everyone else's attention to though and the room was already in a mild state of chaos.

As the noise level rose she looked around the room in hopes of finding Arthur or Ron, but unfortunately it seemed they hadn't yet arrived. "Looks like I have to be the adult in the situation, again," she thought to herself unhappily. As a teenager she had been fine speaking in public, had even enjoyed it, but in the past few years she had become sick and nervous whenever she had to speak in front of a large group. But this time she had to, and that was the only thing that helped her courage.

"Well, you idiots before anyone can see you need to get yourself under control and sit back down!," she snapped out in a loud commanding voice; which was fairly intimidating after having six years as Headmistress of Hogwarts to perfect it. And thank all that was good, nobody seemed to have noticed how she shook as she spoke because they were actually sitting back down and becoming quiet again.

She on the other hand continued standing, noting that Arthur and Ron had arrived sometime while she had been reprimanding the Council members. As the final members sat down she was finally able to see what had so arrested everyone's attention, and when see did the sight left her slightly stunned. She thought it was understandable, the man who stood in the center of the room had to be one of the most intimidating men she had ever seen. From the way he surveyed the room he also seemed to think he was a god of sorts.

He was dressed entirely in black, from leather pants to a well fitted shirt; outlining a slim muscular frame. His dark hair was long, nearly to his shoulders; most of it in braids or twists, intertwined with small beads. It was his face though that captured the imagination. His eyes were dark blue and even from where she stood she could feel the intensity they radiated, a scar went from the inside corner of his right eye and fanned out across his jaw. A earring shaped as a dagger hung from his left ear. She could see that his nose had been broken at some time in the past, in her opinion more than once.

If he ever smiled he might actually have a slightly pleasant face she mused to herself. Then he opened his mouth to speak and much to Hermione's chagrin ruined the whole pleasant idea.

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"Well, well, well, I finally get to set eyes on the all powerful Council of Magic," Tal mocked with a smirk twisting his lips. "Do you think you can show me some pretty tricks before my mommy comes to pick me up?

"If it wasn't against all I believe I'd pull my wand out right now and curse his mouth shut permanently, the arrogant bastard," Ron said in a dangerous soft voice to the two Aurors standing beside him. They merely nodded their heads in agreement, and if they really didn't feel the same, well they weren't be stupid enough to say so. Especially after the fight the red haired Auror had just had with his father, the Council Head. No they were quite happy keeping their jobs thank you very much.

When the war with Voldemort ended Ron Weasley had officially become an Auror, he had quickly risen through the ranks and was now in a class of his own. As a result in the past years he had become used to a certain respect that people chose to give him. In his mind he deserved it all, most of his life had been lived in the shadows unwilling and he wasn't going back anytime soon.

All the same though he still felt threatened by power and influence, so when he met anyone who might even try to usurp his position, in the wizard world, he put them in their place immediately. And as soon as Tal's comment had echoed through the room Ron knew the man was going to be an irritating unforeseen problem. But then he had known that from the moment he first saw him, disliking everything about him, from the incredibly stupid earring, to the snake tattoo on his arm and ending with his smart ass mouth.

Ron wasn't used to standing idly around while he or his peers were insulted so he didn't even think about it as he threatened, "Look you arrogant little prick, your already in enough trouble. Don't make me have to deal with you personally, you might get hurt."

Ron's statement was voiced with complete confidence, he was one of the strongest wizards and could easily handle Tal, no matter how he might retaliate. It had been years since anyone had even tried to defy him, so when he heard Tal retaliate he was more than a little surprised and irritated.

"Prick? Little?," Tal asked evenly in a suggestive tone, "Umm no, I don't think so and as to ever dealing with you personally…only if hell freezes over." As he smirked at the people around the room Ron's anger began to burn, if got worse as Tal continued to speak, this time looking fully at Ron. "As to my ego it didn't take me five years to find you now did it? I've been watching you trying to hunt me down, it was almost impressive…for a beginner. If you ask nice enough I might be persuaded to teach you about things, none of them being little either."

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"God, he's really changed," Tal thought to himself unhappily. Over the years as Ron tried to track them, Tal had teams watching him constantly. They had brought reports and Tal had merely thought they were extravagated but now seeing Ron in person he saw what the others already had.

Ron had become bitter, antagonistic and arrogant. Tal couldn't help but wonder what had caused the change and wished for a time from the past when things had been easier.

Before ever arriving in London Tal had firmly decided to try and stay on the best terms possible with the Council, but it seemed like it wasn't meant to be. Things were already going badly, Ron's words had been a blatant threat and if they had been alone he might have let it pass. But they hadn't been, so he had responded in like, implying things that he knew Ron had at one time detested and hopefully still did.

He knew as soon as he was done speaking that he had hit a nerve, he could see and feel the emotions emitting from Ron. And just for effect he smiled, a nice easy lascivious grin.

Next thing he knew was the wall colliding with his back and people yelling, brandishing wands about, like untrained children.

It was all he could do to not pull his wand out, defense mechanisms had been trained into him but he knew that for the moment he needed to just stay out of the picture. Nobody needed to know exactly what skills his training had given him. He looked around the room trying to note who stood by who and what they were saying but he found it almost impossible. He had forgotten how overwhelming it was to be in the same vicinity of untrained talent, everyone in the room was shouting verbally and some mentally.

After a few agonizing moments he was able to reconstruct his mental shield mental and the voices dimmed in his head enough that he was able to stand and take stock of the room.

Ron was being held back by two other wizards, he assumed they were Aurors. Things better calm down though, the Aurors seemed to be having trouble holding Ron and he truly didn't want to hurt the redhead. Enough though the swelling on the back of his head almost changed his mind.

A commanding voice sliced through the confusion, "Everyone stop, RIGHT NOW!."

When Tal looked to the source of the voice he was mildly surprised that it belonged to Arthur Weasley. The man had always been quiet spoken and kind, he apparently now wasn't taking grief from anyone. "Good for him," Tal thought as he looked at a man who had at times been almost father to him.

Arthur had aged, silver streaks twined through his red hair, wrinkles etched his face but it was the eyes that looked the oldest. While they still had a humorous glint, a different emotion was now there also, the knowledge of death. The lose of his sons during the war had affected him greatly, Tal could feel the grief that still echoed in Arthur's thoughts. He was glad all the same though that the man had been able to pull himself together and go on with his life, it was the sign of a truly strong soul.

"Now that I have everyone's attention," Arthur said when everyone finally became quiet, "please sit and no more outbursts." His gaze shifted to his son, "If at all possible could the Aurors please not act like children, we will be having problems enough as the day continues."

Ron had clearly understood Arthur's reprimand, and whether he was flushing red from embarrassment or anger Tal couldn't tell. He couldn't help but think that it might actually be fun to stay around, that was if Arthur continued to scold everyone like they were unruly hooligans.

"Tal if you would be please take your place?" Arthur asked politely, though making clear that Tal had better listen. "Good now that everything is settled," Arthur continued smoothly, ignore the glare Tal directed his way, " I believe we should start trying to answer some long awaited questions. If you would be so willing Mr…"

The answer was easily supplied, "Wittman, Talon Wittman."

"Then let us begin Mr. Wittman" The humorous glint wasn't evident in Arthur's eyes at all now. Tal could see why everyone had obeyed him so quickly, at the moment Arthur didn't look like a man to trifle with but then Tal was used to that. He knew that he himself projected the same impression and he knew what a good tactic it could be.

And while he still greatly respected Arthur, now more than ever, he couldn't let the man take the upper hand, it was the only way he could possibly leave the room with everything he wanted. He would try to be polite about it though, there was no reason to rub defeat in someone's face, unless of course they were jackasses.

"Unless I'm on trial," Tal said idly never once letting it slip how irritated he was, "I'd be more comfortable in a chair, maybe they could be nice children," he absently waved a hand towards Ron and the other two Aurors, "and run get me a chair and maybe something to drink?" Usually Tal didn't play games, but this time was different he could just come right out and kill these people, he would have to use finesse and besides it was kind of fun to upset Ron. He could see the man's face turning red again.

"Mr. Wittman-,"Arthur began, only to be politely interrupted.

"Please call me Tal, Mr. Wittman makes me feel like a old man who sits on his ass all day, pretending to make decisions." He could see that his rude comments were beginning to affect the Arthur's calm façade, the other man's eyes were starting to spark dangerously.

"Tal," Arthur said seemingly calmly but Tal could see it took effort on his part, "in your own best interest I'm telling you to stop playing games…the Council is currently handling many problems and we simply don't have time for this."

The Head of Council was trying his hardest to stay in control, Tal almost felt guilty but it was just a part of life, and always had been. He knew Arthur realized exactly how little control the Council had over him but Tal was sure the other members were unaware of the fact. And to make the situation understood they would have to realize it and quickly.

"Yes!" Tal agreed finally letting anger slip into his voice, "Your correct we don't have time for games, so why don't you quit playing them. As you well know this Council nor any council like it has any control over me. My magic is not your magic, that has been proven repeatedly in the past years, by trying to force others like me out of the wizard circles. So let me make this clear once and for all, you came to me for help not the other way around. I'll answer your questions when and where I feel like it. If that bothers you I'll leave…right now."

He could feel the anger and confusion that his words had created but he ignored them, never letting his focus move from Arthur. As he looked on and met Arthur's stare, the Head of Council tilted his head in what Tal readily realized was acknowledgment but not defeat.

And though Tal had won the small skirmish he couldn't help but wonder what had been going on to let Arthur so easily give him, an apparent outsider, control over the meeting.

"Now that we understand each other," Tal said quite charmingly, after everyone was still again "I'll be most happy to help you."

He added a smile, a polite one this time, just so they knew he could be nice…if he wanted to be.

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"Idiot! You stupid idiot!" Hermione chanted softly, though she wasn't sure if she meant it for herself or Ron. She had known from the start, even before she had seen Tal, that this meeting was going to be tricky. The Council never liked to admit they needed help and the only way to resolve this was with the help that Tal could offer them, or rather the help she hoped he could offer.

Now Ron might have ruined everything, she still couldn't believe he had attacked Tal. Even if nobody else had noticed, she saw how Tal had almost retaliated, gripping his wand readying for attack, her heart had nearly broke out of her chest it beat so hard.

While she and Ron might never again be the friends or lovers they once were, the thought of him being hurt, it still made her feel lost. It was painful to remember how things had been before Harry betrayed - "NO!" She berated herself mentally, stopping her train of thought abruptly, "I won't think about it, not now, not ever. It's over."

Thankfully she was pulled away from her thoughts as Tal spoke. "Now that we understand each other, I'll be most happy to help you."

She didn't know whether to laugh or cry, on one hand she doubted she would ever see this particular look on the Council member's faces ever again but being around Ron… "Now who's being stupid? Just forget about it!" she thought continuing her mental tirade.

It was hard to do though, every time she looked away her traitorous eyes went right back to him. Over the years he had filled out, his skin had tanned covering most of the scattered freckles. He might not be the most perfect looking man but she thought he was just fine…even with his face turning red from anger.

It was the thought of anger that brought her mind back where it belonged and she quickly looked to Tal. Just in time to see him smile, she couldn't help thinking that he looked almost pleasant, if you didn't look at his eyes to closely. And she mentally thanked whatever gods should hear, for there actually being a person alive who could control himself. Perhaps if she prayed hard enough it might rub off on other people? But then that was probably to much to hope for.

Before she could get lost in her thoughts again, which she had been doing lately Draco had told her she was becoming senile, Arthur lifted his gravel then letting it fall, creating a deep thud which quickly garnered everyone's attention. Moments after he began speaking "Thank you Mr. Wittman…very polite of you and we would like to ask you about some things. Normally I would be the one asking questions but Ms. Granger is the one who has to personally deal with it, so I give her the floor."

For a moment Hermione was so surprised that she forgot to stand, but then good sense kicked in and she realized everyone was staring at her. Including Tal, it was the first time he had looked at her and when she met his eyes, it was like…well it was like spinning back into time.

The eyes were the wrong color but for just a second she felt like she was looking Harry. The expression had for a fleeting instant been Harry's cynical humor but then common sense kicked in and she dismissed it as impossible, probably a result of her recent daydreaming. But at least now she felt he could be trusted…a little.

She knew she should try to gather her thoughts before she spoke but she was already so nervous, she was frightened she might faint right where she stood. So she said whatever came to mind, "Everything, I want to know everything." As soon as it came out of her mouth she realized exactly how inane it sounded and silently began insulting her own intelligence.

Surprisingly enough Tal seemed to disagree, looking her in the eyes smiling, "Well finally, someone who doesn't dick around."

Hermione smiled back hesitantly, feeling flustered in a good way, "I assure you Mr. Wittman I don't dick around," Tal was still looking at her and she could see the amusement in his eyes and couldn't help but be surprised at how relaxed she felt all the sudden.

"Tal my name is Tal, and Ms. Granger I'm quite happy to know that about you." He smiled mischievously, "I like dealing with people like you, so now lets get down to business."

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"He's going to regret this." Ron promised himself as he watched Tal speak to Hermione. Ron had seen the smile Tal had given Hermione, nobody should be looking at her like that except him! It only inflamed Ron more when she had smiled back at the traitorous bastard.

A soft amusement was now showing on her face, bringing out the beauty she kept hidden away. It brought thoughts into Ron's head and it angered him to no ends that someone else besides him could evoke such a reaction from her.

It wasn't smart thought to let your enemies know your weaknesses and Ron knew that if he didn't calm himself everyone would know how angry he was. So forcing himself to turn away he took several deep breaths, imposing a calm expression onto his face, though inside his anger was still red hot and seething.

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"As far as I know," Tal began explaining, finally done with the games and wanting to get on with the business at hand "the magic started to change around thirty years ago but the effects are just now beginning to show. From what I've learned it's basically the ability to perform magic without wands, augmenting talents already present. Which you are already aware of, but there are other advantages to it. Two of them being telepathic and telekinetic abilities, not everyone has these particular talents though and usually when they do they aren't particularly in strong measures. There are other deviations but right now there are to many to list, but no matter how strongly the gifts present themselves it is very dangerous to attempt magic with wands if untrained, some --"

"Yes," Hermione interrupted impatiently, wanting to get to the more detailed information, "I've already figured out that much, what I want to know is how you became involved and if you know how to train wizards in this type of magic."

"Same old Hermione," Tal thought, "to smart for her own good." He would have liked to keep secret just how much he was involved but if he was going to get those kids he would have to be truthful, or at least to a point.

"Well," he drawled out answering her question, "You did say everything I suppose. For me it started a little less than seven years ago, I was in America, at first it was little things like my spells being too strong or not working correctly. It quickly evolved from there until I noticed that at times I didn't even need my wand. Then I started to hear things, such as people thoughts." He couldn't help the smirk of amusement when Council members starting to look at each other anxiously, they obviously had things to hide.

"Myself being muggle born I had heard of this kind of thing before but to muggles it wasn't referred to as a kind of magic, if anything they just considered it an oddity, a freak of nature. Fortunately a lot had been written about it so I studied as much as I could and began teaching myself. After a few months I had myself in control, mostly, and had also realized that certain difference existed that made it different from simple telepathic ability. I was able to sense other people like myself, ones already exhibiting it or merely having the potential. At first though I didn't find anybody nearly as strong in it as I was. I began to think it was just an another abnormality but then I met a woman who was as strong in Wild Magic as I was, she --"

He was interrupted again by a somewhat confused Hermione, "Wild Magic?"

"That's what my students came to call it and everyone calls it that now," Tal explained patiently. "I'm not quite sure why they started calling it that but I think it refers to the fact that there are no regularities within it, or at least that we've found. To get back to what I was saying…it took me about six months to find another Wild Magic, her name was Kirish and she was already using her talent unknowingly. What took me by surprise was the fact she was a true muggle, she had no concept of magic but she had an incredible amount of natural control and within a few weeks she was practicing intricate spells. It's believed that our talents give us a instinctive understanding of the interlaying basics of magic, our children seem to learn at a progressed rate. But I'm off track again, after working with Kirish I explained the situation to her, she agreed to come with me and that year we found and tested nearly one hundred people, only sixteen turned out to have enough potential to train, the others who had wizard potential I sent to Hogwarts or invited them to come with Kirish and I."

"And how did you know exactly where to send them?" asked Hermione, she didn't look particularly happy about him knowing anything about Hogwarts.

"Ms. Granger," he pointedly looked her in the eyes, "at this point that is irrelevant but I can assure you the knowledge will never be used against you." Tal could see that she wasn't happy with his answer, neither was the rest of the council but he wasn't prepared to deal with that question so he just continued on.

"The people we tested ranged in age anywhere from thirty years old to as young as two months, only four of these were from wizard families and the one wizard child that did test out was half muggle, all the rest were pure muggle" He could see the council members glancing anxiously at one another, he didn't quite know why but he stored the thought for later use, he continued as if nothing had happened, "Many of them were old enough to make the decision to come with us on their own but some were still many years off from being a legal age. So we had to approach their parents and convince them, all but two children were allowed to come with us. In the end though many of the family members decided to come with us including the lone wizard family, so with our group count at thirty-nine we decided to find a spot to build our own school."

At this point several wizards were getting ready to stand and question him, he cut them off defiantly, "Before you even ask the only detail I'm giving out is that it is located in a desert. As soon as Kirish was able to instruct on her own I went back out and began testing again. Within another year our numbers had risen to around to over one-hundred, at this time around ninety percent of the ones tested had potential to train with us and almost everyone came to Talis," There were many confused looks of confusion, "that's what Kirish and the rest, named the town."

"While I was away Kirish had also developed another way to find potential students, the only way to explain it is as a mental beacon. Unfortunately it also attracted some wizards, I had to put memory charms on most of them but some of them understood what we were trying to do. With their help we began to find out that we could combine traditional wizard magic with our own.

It was around this time that we became aware that Council Aurors were trying to track us down. So we did what we could to avoid them and --"

"Exactly why did you try to avoid them?" Arthur demanded. "It would have been much easier for everyone if you had just cooperated."

"Mr. Weasley," Tal questioned, using the name easily, "what would the council have done? It would have tried to take us over, even at that time you were beginning to worry. No!" He waved his hand about angrily, " Don't deny it. Talis would have been taken apart, the families forced to come here to the council and their magics pulled apart bit by bit until you were satisfied that we weren't the new Voldemorts!"

"How do we know your not?," shouted a voice from above, "For all we know you could be his bastard offspring!."

After that nobody could be held back and the room erupted once again in madness.

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Ron could hear his father over the raised voices but just barely, "Ron! Ron, you have to get them under control! If they get hold of Tal --"

And then he could no longer hear his father's voice, hoping that everything was all right he yelled back in reassurance, "I'll try! Try and get somewhere safe!"

While his father might think Tal should be protected Ron disagreed and pushed his way through the crowd of people that were converging around Tal. Who knew they might even solve the problem for him and this way he could see exactly how strong the man was, it was doubtful that he had anything more than a few tricks up his sleeve though. Anything he got he deserved.

"Noooo!" He had almost made it to the other Aurors when he heard the scream and seconds later he realized he couldn't move…no matter how hard he tried.

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"Noooo!"

Just as Tal was about to knock some dolt out of his way, his whole body froze…he couldn't move and from what little he could see the others were affected the same way. "Concentrate!" he willed himself, "move NOW!" It took all his willpower just turn his head, he wasn't even sure who he was looking for but he was sure the cry had been both mental and verbal. When his eyes brushed Hermione's he could feel the connection. He was surprised to find it was her and a bit impressed that her shields had been strong enough to hide her from him.

"Hermione listen, you have to relax, it's the only way we will be able to move. Just relax." He kept repeating the same thing over and over, he wasn't sure if it got through to her or if it even would. "Relax, I'll help you, I'll come to Hogwarts, I promise. You have to let go first though. I promise."

He hoped it would work, otherwise they were in deep shit.

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"I'll help you"

It was like the sun breaking through, she could feel the warmth, felt the darkness receding. All the sudden she was back in the council room and everything was still. "What happened?" she wondered in confuse.

She looked down into the raging mass of people and looked right into a pair of dark blue eyes, then she smiled, not completely sure why.

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Tal couldn't help but smile back she looked so…confused, he was fairly certain that she didn't realize what she had done. This wasn't the time to elaborate on it either, but maybe he could turn it in his favor. "If everyone doesn't sit back down right now," he snarled fiercely, "I'll do it again and I'm sure nobody wants that.

He hoped they listened the first time, Hermione's little trick had left him a bit shaken, it would be awhile before he got his focus back. His must have made it sound right though because everyone backed off quickly in apprehension. They retreated back to their seats as if they would somehow keep them safe.

As soon as they were seated Tal began to speak, calmer this time though no less threatening. "Now lets make this clear if I was another Voldemort you would all be dead right now but your not. So shut the hell up and listen, I'm only going to explain this once, so listen closely.

You may not like me or others like me but you need us. If you look at your records you will find that the birth rate of powerful pureblood children is decreasing" He saw Arthur look at Hermione and suddenly he realized they already knew about it. "This has been happening long before Voldemort and like Wild Magic, the effects are just now taking shape.

Yes Voldemort had some Wild Magic -" Before anyone could seriously panic Tal harshly shouted, "BE QUITE!" When all was calm again he continued, "As did Harry Potter and his mother Lily and your own Headmistress of Hogwarts has it also."

He could see that his words had hit the council hard, most of them wore expressions of fear or bewilderment, it was the looks of absolute hate that scared him the most though. Those people he knew would cause as much trouble as possible and even worse from what he could see Ron felt the same. This was going to be very risky.

"To put it simply the pureblood families are dying out and the magic has evolved itself into something that will be able to keep the wizard legacy alive…and it is our magic that will save yours."

Amid the shocked gasps and questioning voices Tal sat back in his chair and prepared the answers he knew would have to be given. Answers that would in all probability change the wizard world forever.