Taming the Beast
Chapter 22
Chief Executives
A dark, short , bespectacled man was there waiting for them in a dark blue suit. He greeted the PM with a warm handshake. "Mr. Blair, good to see you again!" "And you, John!!" The PM introduced them. "This is Mr. Podesta, the White House Chief of Staff. John, I'd like you to meet Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Harold James Potter, the young man whom we believe holds the key to defeating Voldemort...and his allies. Finally, I'd like you to meet our newlyweds, Hermione and Ronald Weasley."
"Nice to meet you all. Well, the President knows that you must be exhausted, but with all that has been going on, he'd like to meet with you immediately. If you would please, follow me.
The followed the Chief of Staff into the West wing of the White House, past astonished-looking interns and staff members, into the Oval Office. Bill Clinton was on the phone. He waved them in, but was sure to finish his call.
"....I know Gary, I know...but if we can just delay it till ALL the members of the Senate are present, that SHOULD give us the votes we need. No, no...all the Democrats, if the GOP wants to push it. let them show up as well. Right....yes...yeah, alright. Good man. See ya!!" He hung up the phone. "Good kid, but a bit shaky upstairs! How y'all doing today?"
"Bill!!!, nice to see you!!" The two heads of state embraced. "These are the four I was telling you about." He introduced them all, and the President shook their hands vigorously. Mr. Clinton motioned them to sit on the sofas in the center of the room. "Why don't you tell me what you know about this Voldemort fellow, and what we can do to help you stop him? You look a bit young, but Tony here tells me you've scrapped with him before." Dumbledore told the President of Tom Riddle's life as a student, how he'd turned so many to darkness, how in the early eighties he'd been defeated by a mother's love of the young man beside him.
The President pondered for a moment, "Harry, I understand that you have been the one facing this Voldemort fellow the most over the past five years. Whadd'ya think about him?"
Harry swallowed. "Mister President, he is extremely powerful, and we are told that his allies, though they're not all magical, are extremely violent. His weakness, as much as I can tell is his own arrogance...but you should know that he does have the capability to make this into a strength." He took a deep breath. "And according to a prophecy made at Hogwarts, the only person that can actually destroy him is myself. Mister Clinton, I think the best way America can help us with Voldemort is by undercutting his support by removing his allies."
Again, Clinton thought deeply. "Thank you Harry. Tony...Tony, any support I can provide is going to be questioned. You know what the situation is with me. The American people are going to wanna know what the real threat is with Voldemort. All we've let leak out so far is that there were attacks at three military bases by both white supremicist and radical muslim terrorists...groups we haven't yet been able to ID by name. Can you give me something more to go on?"
"It's the real thing, William. Voldemort is a bloody scary person, and he won't stop till he's either killed or controls everything ." Tony chuckled wistfuly. "My guess...if we sit back and do nothing...is that Voldemort; or for all we know one of his lieutentants comes to power and starts massive exterminations of people, or possibly enslavement. He'll probably stab the terrorist groups in the back before taking power, but until that happens, we are going to be getting hit with everything that Voldemort and his allies have. I know you're in political hot water at the moment, but somebody in Washington is going to have to deal with it sooner or later. Call him a terrorist, call him a psychopath. Call him an evil wizard if you are feeling lucky that day." He smiled sympathetically. "Sorry to add this to your list of worries, mate!"
Flying over five time zones is hard on the body, even more so when you've only had a total of four hours of sleep in the last 24 hours. Both Ron and Hermione were struggling to stay awake, a task made only somewhat easier by their impressive surroundings. President Clinton noticed this with a smile. "Bit of jet lag there, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley?" They nodded sheepishly. "I appreciate you coming here as late as it was. Why don't we pick this up tomorrow and work out the details for a plan..er, that's just you Professor and you Tony. My daughter is back from college for the weekend, I'm sure that she and her...uh...escort will be happy to show the three kids around tomorrow morning."
"Yeah, Dad?"
"Chelsea, this is Ron, Harry, and Hermione. They're here from England, and I was wondering if you could show them around a bit tomorrow. Just make sure you bring Mike with you for security."
The President's daughter walked over an introduced herself. "How about 10 am?" She turned to her father. "Where do we pick them up?"
"They'll be staying at the Watergate."
"Great. See you then. Nice meeting you!"
Ten in the morning. A black SUV was waiting for the three (four? Five?). Chelsea stepped out of the car, and greeted them.
"Looks like my dad and your prime minister have a deal. The US is going to do what it can to shut down any and all IRA functions in the US. Looks like Boston will get the brunt of that. They are also looking closer at Afghanistan, some anti-Western wacko from Saudi Arabia is hiding out there."
Hermione asked. "Is your country doing anything about Voldemort?"
Chelsea was puzzled "Volde--who? Haven't heard that name before."
Harry, Ron, and Hermione looked at each other. Maybe they were keeping it secret?
"Ah, Chelsea...um, what do you have in mind for today?" Harry asked.
"Well, unfortunately, Mister Blair wants to leave pretty early. Around 4pm, so Mike, he's the Secret Service agent assigned to me, will just be driving us around, and all point out some of the sights. We'll stop somewhere for lunch as well."
As they drove through Washington, Chelsea pointed out some of the sights, noting what was worth seeing, and what just seemed to emerge for no reason at all. They were impressed, but no monuments or government buildings could compete with several hours chatting with the first daughter.
Hermione asked; "What exactly do you know about us being here?"
Chelsea mused, "They just told me that you had some inside information on the attacks we sufferered a few days ago. I keep up with the news and everything, but there are things that I'm not privileged to hear. Like who was that Volda-person you mentioned?"
Harry said; "You know we probably shouldn't be telling you this. Can you assure us that our words will go no further than is vehicle?"
Chelsea nodded.
Harry grinned. "Ok. Believe it or not, magic is real. We go to a school for witchcraft and wizardry. All those things you've heard as fairy tales: ghosts, giants, warlocks, trolls,vampires, werewolves.... ALL of that really exists!"
Chelsea was dumbfounded. She was not stupid. "OK..OK. I've heard some weird things over the years, but this pretty much tops it. VAMPIRES, did you say?"
Ron nodded. "It's all true, and yes, those vampires are nasty things. Voldemort is a wizard that wants control over everything, so he's recruiting every band of thugs he can find. Your dad will tell you it's so.
"Actually Chelsea, one of us is actually a werewolf, if you can believe it. I was bitten about two months ago." Hermione opened her mouth. "'Ook at 'y 'eeth."
Chelsea reached over to test for herself to see how real Hermione's nascent fangs were. Hermione backed away. "Careful. You can touch them, but they are pretty sharp and you really REALLY don't want them to scratch you." Hermione leaned forward slowly, and Chelsea examined her enlarged teeth. "Oh my goodness...they ARE real... H-how are you dealing with it? You really turn into a monster every full moon?
Hermione nodded. "Fur, fangs, the works. I've only been changing since last month though, and..." She wrapped her arm around Ron's, "since I'll be having Ronnie's kids, I'll be locked into wolf form for a whole year starting in less than a week. And before you ask, yes...yes I am frightened about it."
Chelsea could only shake her head in both sympathy and wonder as she gave Hermione's knee a soft squeeze. "Oh....and this is the Treasury Department. I know it probably sounds boring, but you'd be astonished at what they do in there."
It was really nice, Harry thought, to be in a world where HE wasn't the one getting all the attention for once. As they ate their burgers and French fries, (Hermione and Chelsea both limited themselves to a chicken salad), it was nice to go from being "The-Boy-Who-Lived" to "That Four-eyed kid with Chelsea."
They arrived back at the White House at 3 in the afternoon. They greeted Dumbledore, the PM , and President who escorted them all to Marine One, which in turn took them to Washington National. They said their goodbyes. Just as they were about to board, Chelsea rushed over, "Guys, uh, you know where I live, and here's my address in Palo Alto, so be sure to write. I want to know what's going on." She hugged the three. "See you!!"
.
.
Author's Note: The 1990's time frame limits this story to one of his successors, but I'd like to dedicate this story to Ronald Wilson Reagan. Rest In Peace, dear friend.
Chapter 22
Chief Executives
A dark, short , bespectacled man was there waiting for them in a dark blue suit. He greeted the PM with a warm handshake. "Mr. Blair, good to see you again!" "And you, John!!" The PM introduced them. "This is Mr. Podesta, the White House Chief of Staff. John, I'd like you to meet Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Harold James Potter, the young man whom we believe holds the key to defeating Voldemort...and his allies. Finally, I'd like you to meet our newlyweds, Hermione and Ronald Weasley."
"Nice to meet you all. Well, the President knows that you must be exhausted, but with all that has been going on, he'd like to meet with you immediately. If you would please, follow me.
The followed the Chief of Staff into the West wing of the White House, past astonished-looking interns and staff members, into the Oval Office. Bill Clinton was on the phone. He waved them in, but was sure to finish his call.
"....I know Gary, I know...but if we can just delay it till ALL the members of the Senate are present, that SHOULD give us the votes we need. No, no...all the Democrats, if the GOP wants to push it. let them show up as well. Right....yes...yeah, alright. Good man. See ya!!" He hung up the phone. "Good kid, but a bit shaky upstairs! How y'all doing today?"
"Bill!!!, nice to see you!!" The two heads of state embraced. "These are the four I was telling you about." He introduced them all, and the President shook their hands vigorously. Mr. Clinton motioned them to sit on the sofas in the center of the room. "Why don't you tell me what you know about this Voldemort fellow, and what we can do to help you stop him? You look a bit young, but Tony here tells me you've scrapped with him before." Dumbledore told the President of Tom Riddle's life as a student, how he'd turned so many to darkness, how in the early eighties he'd been defeated by a mother's love of the young man beside him.
The President pondered for a moment, "Harry, I understand that you have been the one facing this Voldemort fellow the most over the past five years. Whadd'ya think about him?"
Harry swallowed. "Mister President, he is extremely powerful, and we are told that his allies, though they're not all magical, are extremely violent. His weakness, as much as I can tell is his own arrogance...but you should know that he does have the capability to make this into a strength." He took a deep breath. "And according to a prophecy made at Hogwarts, the only person that can actually destroy him is myself. Mister Clinton, I think the best way America can help us with Voldemort is by undercutting his support by removing his allies."
Again, Clinton thought deeply. "Thank you Harry. Tony...Tony, any support I can provide is going to be questioned. You know what the situation is with me. The American people are going to wanna know what the real threat is with Voldemort. All we've let leak out so far is that there were attacks at three military bases by both white supremicist and radical muslim terrorists...groups we haven't yet been able to ID by name. Can you give me something more to go on?"
"It's the real thing, William. Voldemort is a bloody scary person, and he won't stop till he's either killed or controls everything ." Tony chuckled wistfuly. "My guess...if we sit back and do nothing...is that Voldemort; or for all we know one of his lieutentants comes to power and starts massive exterminations of people, or possibly enslavement. He'll probably stab the terrorist groups in the back before taking power, but until that happens, we are going to be getting hit with everything that Voldemort and his allies have. I know you're in political hot water at the moment, but somebody in Washington is going to have to deal with it sooner or later. Call him a terrorist, call him a psychopath. Call him an evil wizard if you are feeling lucky that day." He smiled sympathetically. "Sorry to add this to your list of worries, mate!"
Flying over five time zones is hard on the body, even more so when you've only had a total of four hours of sleep in the last 24 hours. Both Ron and Hermione were struggling to stay awake, a task made only somewhat easier by their impressive surroundings. President Clinton noticed this with a smile. "Bit of jet lag there, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley?" They nodded sheepishly. "I appreciate you coming here as late as it was. Why don't we pick this up tomorrow and work out the details for a plan..er, that's just you Professor and you Tony. My daughter is back from college for the weekend, I'm sure that she and her...uh...escort will be happy to show the three kids around tomorrow morning."
"Yeah, Dad?"
"Chelsea, this is Ron, Harry, and Hermione. They're here from England, and I was wondering if you could show them around a bit tomorrow. Just make sure you bring Mike with you for security."
The President's daughter walked over an introduced herself. "How about 10 am?" She turned to her father. "Where do we pick them up?"
"They'll be staying at the Watergate."
"Great. See you then. Nice meeting you!"
Ten in the morning. A black SUV was waiting for the three (four? Five?). Chelsea stepped out of the car, and greeted them.
"Looks like my dad and your prime minister have a deal. The US is going to do what it can to shut down any and all IRA functions in the US. Looks like Boston will get the brunt of that. They are also looking closer at Afghanistan, some anti-Western wacko from Saudi Arabia is hiding out there."
Hermione asked. "Is your country doing anything about Voldemort?"
Chelsea was puzzled "Volde--who? Haven't heard that name before."
Harry, Ron, and Hermione looked at each other. Maybe they were keeping it secret?
"Ah, Chelsea...um, what do you have in mind for today?" Harry asked.
"Well, unfortunately, Mister Blair wants to leave pretty early. Around 4pm, so Mike, he's the Secret Service agent assigned to me, will just be driving us around, and all point out some of the sights. We'll stop somewhere for lunch as well."
As they drove through Washington, Chelsea pointed out some of the sights, noting what was worth seeing, and what just seemed to emerge for no reason at all. They were impressed, but no monuments or government buildings could compete with several hours chatting with the first daughter.
Hermione asked; "What exactly do you know about us being here?"
Chelsea mused, "They just told me that you had some inside information on the attacks we sufferered a few days ago. I keep up with the news and everything, but there are things that I'm not privileged to hear. Like who was that Volda-person you mentioned?"
Harry said; "You know we probably shouldn't be telling you this. Can you assure us that our words will go no further than is vehicle?"
Chelsea nodded.
Harry grinned. "Ok. Believe it or not, magic is real. We go to a school for witchcraft and wizardry. All those things you've heard as fairy tales: ghosts, giants, warlocks, trolls,vampires, werewolves.... ALL of that really exists!"
Chelsea was dumbfounded. She was not stupid. "OK..OK. I've heard some weird things over the years, but this pretty much tops it. VAMPIRES, did you say?"
Ron nodded. "It's all true, and yes, those vampires are nasty things. Voldemort is a wizard that wants control over everything, so he's recruiting every band of thugs he can find. Your dad will tell you it's so.
"Actually Chelsea, one of us is actually a werewolf, if you can believe it. I was bitten about two months ago." Hermione opened her mouth. "'Ook at 'y 'eeth."
Chelsea reached over to test for herself to see how real Hermione's nascent fangs were. Hermione backed away. "Careful. You can touch them, but they are pretty sharp and you really REALLY don't want them to scratch you." Hermione leaned forward slowly, and Chelsea examined her enlarged teeth. "Oh my goodness...they ARE real... H-how are you dealing with it? You really turn into a monster every full moon?
Hermione nodded. "Fur, fangs, the works. I've only been changing since last month though, and..." She wrapped her arm around Ron's, "since I'll be having Ronnie's kids, I'll be locked into wolf form for a whole year starting in less than a week. And before you ask, yes...yes I am frightened about it."
Chelsea could only shake her head in both sympathy and wonder as she gave Hermione's knee a soft squeeze. "Oh....and this is the Treasury Department. I know it probably sounds boring, but you'd be astonished at what they do in there."
It was really nice, Harry thought, to be in a world where HE wasn't the one getting all the attention for once. As they ate their burgers and French fries, (Hermione and Chelsea both limited themselves to a chicken salad), it was nice to go from being "The-Boy-Who-Lived" to "That Four-eyed kid with Chelsea."
They arrived back at the White House at 3 in the afternoon. They greeted Dumbledore, the PM , and President who escorted them all to Marine One, which in turn took them to Washington National. They said their goodbyes. Just as they were about to board, Chelsea rushed over, "Guys, uh, you know where I live, and here's my address in Palo Alto, so be sure to write. I want to know what's going on." She hugged the three. "See you!!"
.
.
Author's Note: The 1990's time frame limits this story to one of his successors, but I'd like to dedicate this story to Ronald Wilson Reagan. Rest In Peace, dear friend.