As the echoes of Harry's laugh fade, the sound of conversation slowly fills the air as the students realise that the free entertainment is now over. Moody and Buttons both head over join Amelia talking to Harry. As they approach, she half turns to include them.
"Miss Potter, these are Senior Auror Alister Moody, and Auror Doris Buttons from the Magic detection unit. Moody, Buttons, meet Harry Potter, heir and sometimes heiress of the Ancient and Most Noble house of Potter."
"Pleased to meet you. Any idea why Madam Umbridge decided to approach the questioning like that? After all, she could have engaged in protocol rather than shoving her station in my face."
Moody barks a harsh laugh before speaking in a voice that sounds like gravel pouring, "Ha! She's so obsessed with her station in life and the social hierarchy that she believes she can just cow anyone lower than her into compliance. If you ask me, the only reason she wasn't a death eater in the last war is that she was busy climbing over all the dead bodies to gain her position in the government. I can't prove it…"
"Moody, enough! These are school children not colleagues." Amelia's voice brooks no disagreement as she stops his diatribe before it can get started.
"Yes Boss. Lass, you've got good instincts if you picked up on her that quickly. Just remember, constant vigilance. Anyone could be your enemy, even Professor Quirrell there." Quirrell flinches badly as Moody points his wand at him. Clutching his hand to his chest he makes his excuses and leaves the table.
"Damn pansy, it's no wonder recruitment is down if that's the quality of defence teachers here."
Sally-Anne grimaces, "Sorry to interrupt, but his stutter is far worse than how timid he is. Also, how can you bear to wear a wooden leg?"
He laughs, "It's that or nothing so I deal. I've had the same leg for 30 years."
"But we've had legs like these for decades, and there's also legs like these that they use in sports." She pulls out the tablet that Harry bought her for Christmas and browses to the news group for disabilities and finds a grainy picture of a running blade. Moody looks at it carefully without touching the device.
"How can they trust something that looks so fragile?"
Harry briefly leans down to Sally-Anne's ear and says softly, "The Paranoid Loner might prefer to have a Good conversation in the Dorms."
Sally-Anne nods and looks up at Moody, "We have larger computers in the Dorms that I could show you how to use, that way it might be easier for you to get answers to your questions?"
Moody narrows his eyes at Harry before grunting, "You've got good instincts lass." He then turns back to Sally-Anne, "Aye, lass, I'd be more comfortable there. Lead the way."
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Amelia smiles as the young girl leads Moody off to the Hufflepuff dorm. She's fairly certain that Moody is going to be getting as much information out of her as he can without dosing her with potions or intimidating her. Especially about the new magic that she's been using. She's about to join the conversation that's just started between Doris and the remaining Hufflepuffs when Dumbledore finally makes his way around the teachers table to her.
"Amelia, how good to see you. May I ask what you are doing here?"
Amelia smiles softly as she replies, "You may."
Dumbledore doesn't even miss a beat, "What are you doing here?"
"Madam Umbridge asked us to accompany her as impartial observers to ensure that she acted within the laws."
"Ah, I see. Hoisted by her own petard then. What do you plan to do now?"
"For the moment, I plan to chat with my niece for a little while. I understand that she's joining Miss Potter in Transitionary Etiquette classes. If the undersecretary doesn't return within an hour, I will ask one of the phoenixes to transport us to the shop that was mentioned so that we can try to find her."
"That seems like a sensible precaution. You wouldn't have happened to see a representative from the DRMC?"
"Oh, yes. MacNair, he saw the nest outside and chose to ignore the dragon when it said that his precautions weren't enough. He is now in St Mungo's, I'll report it when I get back to the office and I'm sure that they'll send someone else out. I'll also suggest that they send a dragon expert this time."
"You didn't try to save him?"
"By the time I knew he was in trouble the Dragon was already moving. We know better than to tangle with a dragon on our own."
Dumbledore nods, "I see, I suppose I will need to wait until another expert becomes available. From what I understand, we are not currently in breach of the law by having the egg. We do need to have it inspected to identify it's breed, and whether it's one that we can get a permit to look after or not."
"I wasn't aware it was possible to get a private permit to look after a dragon."
"Oh, yes. But it only applies to a few breeds, the Welsh Green, the Opaleye, and I think there's one more that's considered docile enough that a well trained wizard can manage them with a suitable tract of land and ability to feed them. In general, if they get out those dragons are considered to be a minimal risk to the statute, as they're more likely to just raid a farm for a couple of sheep before returning to their lair than attacking strange things they don't understand."
"You've been doing your reading then."
"Oh yes, a minor fact that may interest you is that it's illegal to transport, buy or sell an egg, and if you come into possession of an egg by legal means you are obliged to keep it alive until experts can retrieve it and take it to a sanctuary."
"Fascinating. Who's the lady with the purple hair?"
Dumbledore starts as he realises that L is now standing behind him, "L Faba, Amelia Bones head of the DMLE. Amelia Bones, L Faba. She is the Sorceress that removed my curse this morning. L has some fascinating insights into the way magic works and it's underlying rules."
Amelia smiles her little knowing smile, "I'm pleased to meet you L."
"You too Amelia. I couldn't help but overhear that you may be visiting a shop later."
"Yes, much as it is a burden sometimes, we do have a duty to look out for the members of our government."
"Yes, I can see that. Though, she did leave willingly, does that not count for something?"
"Oh, it does. Though it just means that we will be seeking her out to see if our presence is still needed rather than to rescue her."
L nods, "I understand, well I don't believe that we have any new statuary in the university. So I don't think you'll find her there."
It's not long after that when Professors Sprout and Tonks both come to collect the first years for their feminine etiquette lessons. When they did, Amelia turned to the first years.
"Would you mind if one of your Phoenixes took us to the wand shop so that we can look for our erstwhile undersecretary? After all, we do have a duty to put in at least a token effort to ensure that she hasn't got herself hurt."
Daphne shakes her head in amusement, "They might be bound to us as familiars, but they have their own minds and language. You really need to ask one of them. The one that's begging for bacon here is Spark her Human is currently on Duty for the moment, Harry's is Sunbeam, Ember and Solar are around somewhere."
Not missing a beat Amelia turns to Spark, "Spark, if Madam Umbridge hasn't turned up in the next 10 minutes, would you be able to take the three of us, once we retrieve Moody, to the wand, familiar, and spell tome shop in the Realm of Magic?"
Spark wags her head from side to side, Shenjing translates, "She said, 'Maybe, but only if you get me a fresh rabbit'."
Amelia nods, "I think that can be arranged, though you'll need to collect it from my home later."
Spark nods and goes back to trying to wheedle bacon out of the students.
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"Well done Harry, you had just the right level of attitude when dealing with Madam Umbridge. Your body language was wrong, but that's what these lessons are for. Daphne, what was the other major thing that Harry missed?"
Daphne looks up as she tries to think, "I'm not sure."
Hermione puts her hand up hesitantly, "Go on Hermione."
"Eye contact?"
"Yes, combined with your body language, your downcast eyes were screaming that you were in the presence of a superior. Sally-Anne, Wayne, Hannah and Neville you all have the same issues.
"Today and Tomorrow we're going to go over how both genders should deal with eye contact. We will also touch on how to set your body language. First of all, poise and posture. Everyone grab a book and place it on your head."
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Amelia, Doris, and Alister appear in a flash of light standing in front of a shop, Spark is kind enough to fly out of sight before disappearing.
"Welcome to the Realm of Magic, and the remains of the University campus where people from Scalluxe used to study all fields of magic." – She walks over to the shopkeeper – "Good morning, would you mind if I asked you a couple of questions?"
"Amelia, nice outfit." He responds.
"Sorry, this is official business at the moment. Have you seen a woman around this tall with a blond perm and wearing a lot of pink?"
"Sorry, I haven't. She's not been here."
"She asked a phoenix to take her to you though."
"Well, I'm actually at home, this is just an astral projection. I think there was a disturbance earlier. So you could check with my Grandfather on the brooms, as he's the one that dealt with it."
Amelia turns to face her companions and is forced to control her expression as Moody looks out of sorts, "Auror Moody, are you well?"
Moody shakes his head, "Yeah, it's just there's so much magic around. I swear there's an orb of it right there."
Amelia laughs, "There probably is. Remember I said that this is the Realm of Magic, it wasn't hyperbole. Are you ok to continue?"
"Aye, I'll deal, even if I have to take my eye out."
Doris says quietly, "Would you like me to talk to the other shop keeper while you're helping Moody?"
Amelia nods gratefully, so Doris slips over to the next shop. As she approaches the shop keeper he greets her in a foreign language. Not seeing any point in trying to play charades, she instead says.
"I'm sorry, but I don't speak your language. Would you happen to speak English?"
"Oh, yes. Sorry, about that. Got ol' Simeon to teach me a while back."
"It's OK. We're just looking for a colleague of ours, one Madam Umbridge. Would you mind if I used my wand to cast a spell?"
"No, go ahead."
"Thank you." – She pulls her wand and, carefully visualising Delores' picture on a sheet of parchment, conjures a picture of the person they're looking for – "This is the person we're looking for."
"Oh, her. Yes we saw her, my youngest great grandson said she was screaming outside the house before she clutched her broach and collapsed. I called an ambulance, and they took her to the nearby hospital."
"Thank you, would you be able to tell me where that is?"
"Sure, it's in Plaport in Iosdashe, you might have trouble getting there though."
"I'm sure you're right, but as least I know. Thank you for your assistance. If you could, would you let them know that she doesn't speak your language?"
The shop keeper grimaces, "I could have done when they were picking her up, but I don't know what name they'll have listed her under. I'll ask the youngest to give them a call, but that's the best I can do."
"That's better than we could do, is there more than one hospital in Plaport?"
"There is. And we don't know which one she would have been taken to."
"If you have any information, could you pass it onto Amelia over there, or one of the students to pass on to me please? Here's my owl details." She conjures a small card of parchment with her details on it.
As she returns to the other two, she makes a note of the information she gained in a small muggle notebook that she keeps on her for such a purpose. After updating the other two on what she found out Doris follows Amelia as she leads them through a glittering portal to another part of the University grounds.
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Amelia led the other two Aurors to one of the few tables that has chairs around it. Most people just taking advantage of the couches or armchairs for their reading.
"Moody, what's your opinion on Deloris' situation?"
Moody grunts as he rolls his eye from one hand to another thinking. After a moment he looks up again, "I think that we treat it as though she took a phoenix into another country like India and ended up in a muggle hospital there."
"So, let the magical authorities know that she's in their country, and also let the Wizengamot know through the office of the Minister."
"Sounds about right, though they don't exactly have any relationships with the magicals here."
Amelia laughs, "They couldn't do anyway, there's no such thing as a magical community here. This is about the closest you'd come to one, and as you can see it's just a place of learning."
"You're right about that. Can we finish up here soon, as I feel naked without my eye."
"We can leave whenever you want. I just thought you might like to undergo the rite of Ascension and get a Glimmerstone that will allow you to come here through any wards that we have at home."
Moody squints at her, the socket of his missing eye making the expression look decidedly creepy, "What's the catch?"
"You'll need to get a familiar and broom from here, learn the language which involves body control, and then join one of the classes to learn a basic spell, which will take a couple of weeks in the evenings."
Moody just stares at her until she continues, "The process of learning the language is really quite painful, and you won't be able to stop yourself. You can still think and do things that aren't being controlled, such as talk, but you can't stop yourself from doing what you've been made to do."
"Why would I want to let someone control me again?"
"The main portal out there can either take you to a village called Glimmerstone, or to your home. You can learn to use the potions and spells that they use here, which you couldn't use as you are due to the fact they take too much magic. You can get a familiar that can't be taken away from you. You can get a broom that can't be used by anyone else that hasn't gone through the same rite. You'll never need to worry about magical exhaustion again, though you'll need to learn how to discharge yourself. You'll be able to do wandless magic as easily as you can do wanded magic."
"Ok, ok, I get the point. I'll do it damnit."
"What about you Doris?"
"Good or bad, are there any other side effects?"
"Not as such. If you come here regularly, then you will eventually reach a level of saturation with something called nano-machines. At that point you will gain what they call the interface. Amongst other things, that will give you access to an inventory system that works like a Mokeskin pouch, without the pouch. You'll also gain access to something called Build Mode, which allows you to buy things for a home or building through the interface using your own money. Moody, you saw the redesign in the Hufflepuff common room? That was all bought using build mode. But you can only use it on recognised properties that you own, are public or you've been given permission to build on by the owners. The only problem with the interface that I've found so far is the profanity filter, which will stop you from cursing."
Doris laughs, "I guess you're going to try and avoid getting that then Moody."
Moody just swears under his breath.
All told, it doesn't take the two of them long to go through the rite of ascension. Once they have, Moody places the small crystal in the cavity behind his eye before slotting his eye back in and nodding. Doris holds her hand to her mouth as she dry heaves seeing him do that. Simeon, the person that did the rite looks at him oddly.
"Doesn't that hurt?"
Moody laughs, "Not at all, there's plenty of space in there as the healers had to remove the muscles in the socket to allow the eye to work."
"How does your eye work?"
"Very very small runic script that's then covered and had an iris painted on it. Beyond that I don't know, I got it made as a favour owed by a Runic Master."
"Very interesting, would you be willing to talk to a couple of Virtuosos that have been looking at your magic? They have been very interested in the runic script that you use, as it seems to be very different to the one that we use."
"I'll have to meet them first."
"Of course, we all have to make allowances for the traits of others. It can't be easy living with Paranoia."
"It's saved my life more times than I can easily recall."
Simeon nods, "I'm glad you've found it of use. Far too many people with that trait live in situations where it's only ever a hinderance."
Moody laughs, "It's not like you're a ray of sunshine yourself."
A faint smile graces Simeon's lips, "Being moody has certainly helped with learning practical magic though."
Moody grunts, "Always assuming that something is going to go wrong?"
"Close enough, we should get your familiar's and brooms."
That process also went well, even if it took a while for Moody to successfully activate his orb and draw the familiar in, due to his instinctive reaction to anything entering his mind. Once it's there, he's able to summon his raven familiar fairly easily. No, for Moody, the worst part was learning Simian. As he was forced to sit in the centre of a crowded room reading a poor rendition of a romance story. His eye was spinning wildly even as he read each page in detail with the other eye. In his opinion, he's now found a worse spell than the imperious. Though this spell seems to be crude in comparison to the honeyed feeling that the imperious give. The fact that it's controlling his body and not his mind, beyond the processing of the words on the page, he'd shudder imagining what some of the dark wizards would do if they learnt this spell. Instead, his body blithely continues to read despite the turmoil in his mind. Then there's the fact that Simeon just pulled out his phone and called L, and suddenly they were grabbing a book to read.
Eventually the torture finishes for Moody, much to his disgruntlement he finishes a whole hour later than Doris. When they get to the point where they're going home, he informs Amelia that he's going to take the rest of the day off, before holing himself up in his home and revelling in the feeling of being behind his wards. Once there, he promises himself that he will not only learn the minionise spell, but he'll also learn how to block it.
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Delores groans as she wakes up in a pale blue sterile room staring at a white ceiling with holes in it. An unfamiliar beeping nearby draws her attention. As she looks over she sees coloured strings going to some sort of muggle device that seems to be attached to her, along with a clear tube leading to a bag full of liquid. Grimacing, she sits up and looks around the room for anything recognisable while trying to work out how she got here. The last thing she remembers doing is blindly activating her emergency portkey after that blasted bird blinded her outside that mansion, then there was a massive drain on her magic before everything went dark.
She sees a few signs around in a language that she doesn't understand, as well as a couple of chairs and the incessantly beeping machine. It slowly dawns on her that she can't see her wand or her stuff. Because of this she does the only thing that comes to mind. She screams.