Chapter Twenty – AC/DC (No, not the band)

"We've become the merry little group the last couple of weeks," Eric said.

"Just call us the four Musketeers," Dawn responded.

Eric, Faye, Willow and Dawn were sitting in the conference room of MI5's Special Projects division. They had been spending most of the morning being briefed by Director Buford and Jerry Cromwell on the current political situation in the Wizarding world.

"I still can't believe that most Wizards can't even say the name Voldemort," Dawn said. "Do you think they're all inflicted with some kind of psychosis? Maybe mass insanity from all the inbreeding? Ok, I get the guy's responsible for hundreds of deaths. But that's hardly Hitler level numbers. And he's way behind Mayor Wilkins."

"You got me," Eric responded. "From everything I've seen thus far the man seems a lot like the magical version of Al Capone. Good solid police work should be enough to take him down. I think you're right Faye. This Riddle is only the beginning of the Wizarding world's problems."

"So we're not the Musketeers," Dawn said. "We're The Untouchables."

"Who gets to be Elliot Ness?" Willow asked.

"I don't care," Eric replied. "I'll be Sean Connery."

"In your dreams," Faye said. "You can be Charles Martin Smith."

"Who?"

"He played Oscar Wallace, the accountant."

"You know, I don't make fun of you for knowing this kind of stuff," Eric said.

"Fine, you can be Andy Garcia," Faye responded.

"Who was he again?"

"George Stone, the sharpshooter."

"Oh yea, I liked him. That's acceptable."

Willow shook her head and decided to change the subject. "What gets me is how they stay so isolated. I mean with a population so large, you'd think more people would bolt from the enclaves. How do they keep such tight controls without telling anybody about why the walls were created or for that matter that they are even there?"

"That's a good question," Dawn said. "From what Jennifer told us she's one of only a handful of Wizards that both lives and works outside the enclaves. And the others all work in areas that directly support the Wizarding world. Buying food, materials and other necessities."

"We'll have to ask her when she comes back in," Eric said.

"That should be right about now," Faye said. At that moment the door opened revealing Jennifer Sinclair. A young man followed her into the conference room.

"Hello again," Jennifer said. "This is Dr. Marshall, the head of our research division. He can answer most of your questions about the nature of wand magic."

"Before we get to that," Eric started, "we were wondering if you could answer a question for us."

"Ask away," Jennifer said. Thus far she was impressed with the Council's representatives. Although she was moderately disappointed in her ability to talk with the Slayer. The young women seemed very reserved. She sat quietly, preferring to let the other three take the lead and only occasionally joining in.

She really wanted a chance to hear some of her stories. From what she learned from the other members of MI5 many of the Slayers had faced creatures straight out of her nightmares. The kinds of things that would make even a trained squad of Aurors turn and run.

"We were wondering why more Wizards don't live outside of the enclaves," Eric said. "It strikes us as odd that nobody ever seems to leave. Even Wizards born outside the enclaves move into them full time after they finish their schooling."

"You know, I've never really thought about that," Jennifer shrugged her shoulders. "It just never occurs to anybody to leave. We have everything we need. And the outside world seems very dull after you've lived in the enclaves for any length of time. The only reason I started living here is because my grandfather made me. Although at this point I wouldn't trade this experience for anything. I don't know how anyone could think of this world as dull."

"But you were raised in the enclaves," Dawn said. "You even attended school at this Hogwarts."

"Only for my first two years," Jennifer said. "My grandfather pulled me out of Hogwarts after Voldemort's Death Eaters killed my parents. He home schooled me after that. I didn't know it at the time, but that apparently caused a huge ruckus at the Ministry. It's illegal to home school Wizards. We're required to attend a Wizarding school. Only my grandfather's position as an Elder and a member of the Wizengamot made it possible."

Dawn got a thoughtful look on her face and then nodded. "We'll just have to chalk this one up to questions to be answered later," Dawn shifted her attention to other person in the room. "So Dr. Marshall, what's the difference between wand magic and what we do."

"Well, Talerie gets rather upset with me when I say this," Dr. Marshall said. "But magic is magic. Just like electricity is electricity. The only difference is in how it's wired."

"Ok, so how are they wired differently?" Willow asked.

"Bare in mind," Dr. Marshall said. "This is only an analogy. There are a number of exceptions. Basically, the difference between wand based magic and the magic practiced outside the enclaves can be summed up as AC/DC."

Dr. Marshall paused. "This is usually the part where someone in the room makes a bad joke about 80's bands."

"Dr. Marshall," Dawn said, mustering as much dignity as she could. "We are a professional organization. Such banal pop culture references are beneath us."

"None of you could think of good joke," Dr. Marshall said.

They all nodded.

"Please continue Doctor," Willow said.

"As I said," Marshall continued. "This is only an analogy. Basically your magic Ms Rosenberg and the magic practiced by the majority of people living outside the enclaves is Alternating Current."

"Meaning?" Willow asked.

"Your magic constantly interacts with the environment around it," Marshall replied. "When you perform spells, you shift magic back and forth between yourself and item in question. This constant interaction is the reason most mages can sense magic."

"I guess that makes sense," Willow replied. "Reality is a lot more complicated. That makes wands wielders Direct Current."

"Precisely," Marshall replied. "They focus magic directly. Where you interact, they push. This is the reason they need an external focusing element. Wands give Wizards the ability to control magic directly to affect the world around them. The lack of interaction with their environment is the reason most Wizards can't sense other varieties of magic. The 'push' nature of their magic is also the reason it's far easier to detect then most other varieties of magic. As Talerie says, it does not blend with environment."

"That might also explain their ability to teleport so easily," Willow said.

"Again you are correct," Marshall nodded. "One of the principle advantages of wand based magic is the incredibly precise control it affords. It is far easier for Wizards to retain the tight control needed to direct a teleportation than it is for other magic users. This control also gives them a much greater ability to transform objects or affect the local environment. However that control is limited. No Wizard has ever developed powers to your level Ms Rosenberg. Because of their ability to sense and draw power from the world around them, ACs have far greater potential then DCs. DCs are all good at the small stuff. But ACs can cast spells that affect the whole world."

"So what are some of the other strengths and weaknesses of wand wielders?" Faye asked.

"As I said the principle strength is their control," Marshall replied. "The principle weakness is their dependence on wands. Without those a Wizard cannot direct magic. There are limited cases of Wizards using magic without their wands. The magic is uncontrolled and generally appears only in times of high emotional stress and from what we've learned only a very few Wizards posses such potential."

"So why only one wand per Wizard?" Eric asked. "I'm good with knife, but I don't bet my life on it. I always carry backup weapons."

"To return to the electricity analogy, every Wizard is wired a little differently; different wattages, voltage, amps. Each wand is made differently; different woods, shape, length and different magical cores. The wands have to match to the Wizard. When they're still young it is possible to find a replacement wand that will work almost as well as the original. As Wizards grow older they form a bond with their wand. The older a Wizard gets and longer they've been using a particular wand the more difficult it is for them to use any other wand. Even one made from the same elements."

Faye looked over at Jennifer, "So I take it many of your attack spells focus on destroying an opponents wand or at a minimal getting it away from them."

Jennifer reacted with a shock," Destroy another wand. We don't do that. Without their wand a Wizard can't function in our world. I don't know of any spells that destroy a wand. During my Auror training we were always taught to expel a wand. Destroying one," she just shook her head.

"As you've just seen," Marshall motioned towards Jennifer with his hand. "The Wizarding world has developed very strong prohibitions against deliberate destruction of wands. My understanding is that deliberately destroying another student's wands is grounds for immediate expulsion from school, without appeal and the destruction of offending student's wand, effectively making them a 'squib' in their world. The penalties for adults are on par with the use of an 'unforgivable' curse. They don't even destroy the wands of Wizards convicted of crimes. They are kept in storage."

"What's a squib?" Dawn asked.

"A person born to a Wizard who doesn't have any magic," Jennifer answered. "They are allowed to live in the enclaves and retain their knowledge of the Wizarding world. Most end up living outside the enclaves. They find it easier to live in the 'muggle' world. It's difficult for a squib to live in the enclaves without magic."

"Squib, muggle. Are all the terms for non-Wizards vaguely insulting?" Dawn asked.

"They're just the words we use," Jennifer said. "A rude term would be mudblood."

"I don't want to get all PC," Dawn said. "But that's where you're wrong. You define everyone not a Wizard as being immediately less than you."

"I understand what your saying Ms Summers," Jennifer replied. "And I even agree with you. I've been living out here long enough to know the Wizarding world doesn't have the corner on magic. I spent two years as an Auror before grandfather talked me into coming to work for MI5. Believe me, I know Wizards have a lot to learn."

At that moment Director Buford entered the room again.

"How are things going in here?" He asked.

"Quite well Sir Ian," Willow answered. "Your people have been most helpful in filling in the blanks."

"I just wanted to inform you that I've sent tasking orders to one our moles in the Ministry to get the file on Sirius Black," Sir Ian said. "Within the next few days we should be able to start actively tracking him down."

"Actually Director Buford," Dawn said. "We had our own plan for drawing out some of Tommy Riddle's Merry Band of Jokesters."

Jennifer blinked. "You're calling Death Eaters a merry band of jokesters?"

"Xander came up with it," Dawn said. "Scooby rule. It's always easier to defeat a big bad if you can mock them."

"Scooby rule, big bad?" Jennifer was still trying to process merry band of jokesters.

Eric rolled his eyes. The uninitiated had a hard time keeping up with the Sunnydale crew.

"Trust me," Eric said. "Just nod your head and go along with it. Trying to think through Scooby logic rationally just hurts your head. If you just roll with it, after a while, you won't even notice they've driven you completely insane."

"We're not that bad," Willow said.

"Yes you are," both Faye and Eric said together.

It was Director Buford's turn to shake his head. These people save the world on a regular basis? The universe has a very odd sense of humor he thought. He was going to have to come up with something special for Sophia to pay her back for subjecting him to these people.

"What does your plan entail?" Director Buford asked.

"We came up with it before we knew you would be willing to work with us," Dawn said. "We didn't want to breach the enclaves so we decided to bring the mountain to us."

"How?"

"Given what happened fifteen years ago, we can make some good guesses on what Riddle is after," Dawn answered. "We put the word out we have something he wants. And he comes to us. If we do it right, Riddle won't even know what happened to his people."

"Sounds intriguing," Director Buford said. "We figure Riddle is still setting up his organization. If supposedly loyal Death Eaters disappear, it could cause a lot of dissension in the ranks. Let's talk," Director Buford smiled and nodded. "Yes. A simultaneous attack on two fronts."

"I like that idea," Dawn smiled back.