Better than Binns
Throughout dinner, and afterward, Harry got regular visits from the dwarves bringing him cards and candy from other students, most of whom he didn't know. From his etiquette lessons, he knew he would be sending Hermes on a lot of deliveries to send thank-you notes over the next week to all of the senders. All of the edibles were set aside, as Tina Scamander had put a notice on their bulletin board that she would check over everything after dinner. Lyra also got a few more cards, but those were more cordial and most were just greeting cards without much of a message.
Even though the entire evening meal was full of Valentine's colors, dishes, and festivities, Lockhart was nowhere to be seen. After the encounter with Blaise's mother, he completely disappeared leaving quite a few rumors spreading about the inciting event and the outcome. Lyra wasn't sure how the most ridiculous of the rumors got spread as there was plenty of eyewitness testimony. One she had already heard from Lavender was that after cursing his way through Gorman Strauss's footman, the man himself confounded Lockhart into believing that Alessandra Zabini was a half-giant, half-hag hybrid, which made him run away in horror.
Following dinner, Tina started to check over all of the food that had been delivered to the Scamander students, with only one love potion found among all of their candy, belonging to Cedric from an unknown sender. The former American Auror collected the card and chocolates to track down the culprit. Even with the late hour, dwarves continued to visit the common room and deliver cards, though Harry was no closer to finding out who had sent him the singing message, and no one had revealed themselves to him.
At 9 p.m. on the spot, all seven dwarves entered the Scamander common room and made a beeline for Harry, sitting at the base of the trees, reading his history assignment for the week. Other students gathered around, hoping for another singing Valentine.
"Mr. Potter," the leader started, and Harry looked up from the book. "Our job is done for today, we would like to speak with you about the Duwende."
The other students watching saw that it wasn't another song, and went back to their other activities.
A smaller dwarf in the group asked, "Is there somewhere we can change out of these clothes? And a place we can speak in private?"
Harry looked around, the extra dormitories were gone this term, "If no one is in the greenhouse, you can use that room…" he trailed off and looked around. "Can you climb trees?" he pointed to the canopies of the tree above him.
"You must not know much about dwarves," the leader said and Harry shook his head, "We can climb trees," he responded to broad grins from the others. Then took his troop to the greenhouse.
Harry meanwhile went to gather up Lyra and Whispers to come as well. The three of them waited for the dwarves under the tree. When they exited the greenhouse, they looked completely different than before. They all wore heavy leather outfits, looking almost like armor including gloves, but with no shoes. They must have had some kind of makeup or glamor before because their skin tones were tan now and their hair longer, braided down their backs. Still no beards though.
The leader approached them and pointed up with a finger toward the canopies. Harry nodded and the two stoutest dwarves - the leader and one other, stood at the bottom as one gave a short run towards them and jumped. The two stout dwarves caught him by the feet and threw him all the way up into the branches. They repeated that with the next four dwarves before the leader tossed the other one he was with up into the trees then placed his hands together and motioned for Harry and Lyra to get tossed.
Lyra looked a bit unsure about getting thrown so high, so she just quickly ascended the trunk, just a few seconds slower than being thrown like the other dwarves. Harry also shrugged and started to climb, with Whispers following after him. The leader of the dwarves leaped halfway up the trunk and continued to climb until they both found themselves sitting around inside the canopy of the three merged Balete trees.
"Is it safe to speak up here?" The leader asked.
Lyra pulled out one of the orange and black owl feathers and activated the silencing field around it, covering the whole area they were sitting in. The group of dwarves looked around them in interest and the one that looked the youngest walked to the edge of the silencing field and pushed on the edge of it like it was a bubble, and it turned slightly opaque and stretched under his fingertips. He looked back toward the leader and nodded.
"This is magic you learned from The Giver you mentioned?" the leader asked Lyra, who nodded. "Does he perform magic with crystals?"
Lyra and Harry just shrugged. Crystals were growing in only one spot on the island, and the only thing they knew to do with them was going to be part of the animagus ritual.
The leader pulled a rough blue crystal from his pocket, as long as a sausage, and stuck it in the ground. "Can you turn off your feather?" he asked Lyra. Once the silencing field had fallen, he waved his hand over the blue crystal and they felt another silencing field grow around them, though the edge of the field had a blue tint to it as well.
"What is that?" Harry asked.
"A crystal called kyanite. It helps quiet and relax the mind when you infuse it into potions. It can also create silencing effects like this one. Now, I suppose you have many questions for us, please ask them before we get to the ones about the Duwende."
"Can you tell me who sent the singing Valentine?" Harry asked, which was met with many deep chuckles from the other dwarves.
A dwarf with sandy blonde hair replied, "I'm pretty sure it was a witch. I didn't get a name either, but it was quite a clever rhyme. I bet she had been planning on sending it to you even if we hadn't come along."
That narrowed down the possibilities very little, so Harry asked the next question which he was surprised hadn't been given already, "What are your names?"
"Most people don't care to know our names," he pointed to his right and started, "Rolton, Tyur, Dalnu, Alberic, Lothar, Minto, and I am Gormadoc."
"Why do you all look like Hobbits?" Lyra asked.
The one identified as Minto, and the thinnest of the group, laughed, "Hobbits don't exist. We are Southern Dwarves. Northern Dwarves are the ones you are probably thinking of, the ones with big old beards, right?" He mimed a big bushy beard around his chin as he spoke.
Lyra nodded.
Minto continued, "Dwarves from further north grow longer hair and beards to deal with the cold. We are Adriatic Dwarves. Not as cold around there to warrant such facial hair. I also prefer to know if I'm looking at a woman or not. Nothing stranger than talking to another dwarf with a long beard and then finding out later that it's a woman under there." A few of the others gave deep chuckles at his statement.
"Or the opposite!" said Lothar, and set off another round of laughter.
"Any other questions for us?" Gormadoc asked Harry and Lyra, they shook their heads. "Well, the Duwende, you called him The Giver. Does he also have the ability to take things? From the picture, it looks like he took something to make him taller, give him fur, and stronger hands and feet, and possibly other things?"
Harry nodded but didn't want to give away all their tutor's secrets. He asked, "Can Dwarves do that too?"
"No, we work with the natural elements of the earth; stone, metals, gems, and crystals. We are able to draw out the power of these elements, refine them, and sometimes enhance them."
"So why are you doing Valentine's Day parties?" Lyra asked.
There was a lot of angry grumbling in the dwarven language from the others. It did not sound like pleasant and happy words.
"I take it that your history classes don't cover the Goblin rebellions?" Gormadoc asked.
"That's pretty much all they cover," Lyra said with annoyance. "Though Harry and I have had only one term so far."
"Have you learned of Gringott?" Gormadoc asked with a sneer.
"Like the bank?" Lyra asked back.
"Yes, like that bank. Goblins used to live in caves and mountains, far from human civilizations; they look too different from Humans to successfully integrate with them… unlike Dwarves. Have you ever wondered how there is a huge goblin civilization in the middle of a metropolis like London?" Harry and Lyra had never bothered to wonder about that, as they had nearly fallen asleep during most of their history classes, and paid the goblins almost no mind when being at the bank anyways. They shook their heads negatively, they had never wondered that.
Sensing storytime, whispers dug out a stash of berries he had in the tree and shared it around with the other dwarves while their leader continued the tale.
"Most of the recent Goblin 'rebellions' were just isolated skirmishes with wizards, as the last real war took place in 1451. That was the largest war between Goblins and pretty much everyone else. Battles took place all across Europe and North Africa. The Goblins were like a scourge on the land, but luckily the wizards made alliances. They allied themselves with Leprechauns, Werewolves, Centaurs, Dwarves, and even Muggles. They managed to turn back the tide of the Goblins and push them back into the mountains. The entire war took just over twenty years."
He looked angry, "Then came the treaty that damned us all. The Goblins sent tough negotiators to deal with their terms of surrender. They demanded that they be allowed to join wizard society, saying that the more integrated, the better so they would not need to go to war ever again. Some of the largest amounts of casualties in the fighting fell on the Dwarves and they were not represented well in the post-war negotiations."
"When the treaties were signed, the wizards signed away many of the homes and mines of their Dwarven 'allies.'" He used air quotes to visualize his sarcasm and disgust. "The Goblins were integrated into wizard society through the financial systems. In subsequent centuries, as European muggles and wizards spread around the world, the goblins went along with it, using the treaty like a scalpel to cut into any place wizards settled and building a bank wherever they went. The bank in London used to be a Dwarven hold before our people were betrayed by wizards. Now it, and all banks, are named after the chief negotiator for the Goblins, Gringott the," he spat to his side, "Gringott the Wise."
"That's horrible!" Harry remarked as the tale ended.
"That it is," Gormadoc replied glumly. "Though there's nothing we can do about it now. Most of us just work our whole lives like this, but at least we can live among muggles as well, unlike the Goblins. Though it is also the reason why we were interested in the Duwende you know."
"Why?" Lyra asked him.
"Because the Duwende are some of the oldest enemies of the Goblins. Wherever he is must be completely unpopulated by those little green bastards, and we would hope to meet him. Could you arrange it?"
Harry and Lyra exchanged a look, both of them had no idea what to say. Harry knew he'd need to talk to Brandt about this.
"We'll need to talk to some people first," Harry told Gormadoc. "Our home is somewhere secret. We're not supposed to talk about it." Though he did think it would be nice for The Giver to have people to speak to in his own language, and maybe they could help him with learning magic.
Gormadoc nodded to Rolton on his right, and the Dwarf pulled out a card, "I own a small bar, you can contact us there if you need to." The card said the bar was called "The Poisoned Apple."
Harry put it in his pocket, as Gormadoc said, "We are taking a chance speaking with the two of you. On one hand, you are Harry Potter. However, on the other hand," he looked to Lyra, "you are a Black, and one of your ancestors was one of the signatories on the treaty that robbed us of our homelands."
Lyra looked saddened, Harry didn't need legilimency to read her thoughts and see that she was disappointed that so many Blacks did betray someone or do horrible things with their lives.
By coincidence, in London at this very moment, the Blacks were getting together to put a conspiracy into motion. At a conference table in the office for the Minister of Magic sat Cornelius Fudge, Delores Umbridge, Eugenia Fiddlewood - the Minister's Assistant, Arcturus Black, and Steward Brandt. Augustus Stevens sat to the side eating a plate of orange slices while spinning his wand through his fingertips.
"Thank you all for coming tonight," Fudge told them. "I wanted to get this started as soon as possible." He gave a small nod to Arcturus who ignored the man's lack of subtlety, then continued. "I have heard whispers that after releasing Lucius Malfoy from Azkaban, the people aren't confident in the prison, while others think there may be others inside deserving of release. It's in that regard that I want to organize a full audit of the prison, the treatment they receive, and the sentences that prisoners have been handed."
Arcturus spoke up now, "I had an additional thought the other night as well. There are a few members of the Wizengamot that labored under the Imperius Curse during the last war. I believe as part of this audit that their voting records should be examined for any trials that occurred during their enslavement by the Dark Lord."
"I don't see why we need to be digging up the past like this, Lord Black," Umbridge said with as much sweetness as a moldy piece of cheese.
"The faults of a past administration must be corrected," he replied. "By comparison, the Fudge Ministry will be stronger by weeding out past elements of dark corruption."
Delores Umbridge latched onto the idea of dragging someone else down, to pull herself up, and agreed with this line of thinking.
"Now that we're all on the same page," Fudge began, "we have put together a list of potential solicitors to manage the audit. Eugenia, if you would?"
Fudge's secretary tapped a pile of paper in front of her and copies of the list floated out to Umbridge, Fudge, and Brandt. Umbridge pulled out a pink quill and started crossing names off the list immediately. A charm on the papers linked them together and a pink line went through the copies in front of the others. Fudge also scratched off a few names with a black quill. Seeing the colors being used by the minister and his undersecretary, Brandt pulled out a green quill and crossed off a few names as well. In a matter of moments, the list of thirty names had been shortened to six.
As Umbridge and Fudge started to look through their documents to compare to the remaining names, a small argument was beginning between Arcturus and Brandt. They were pointing to one name on the list and the argument ended with Arcturus snatching the quill from his Steward's hand and crossing the name off himself, then saying, "You may leave now, Steward."
Brandt looked a bit angry, but stood up and obeyed, obviously displeased by why he was being dismissed.
Umbridge, Fudge, and Eugenia Fiddlewood looked at the paper to see the green ink had crossed out Andromeda Tonks. Eugenia asked, "What's wrong with this name?"
"She's my grandniece," Arcturus responded, "It would be totally inappropriate."
"If I remember correctly, she's your disowned grandniece," Umbridge replied. "Maybe you just are acting out of spite. She is very well qualified for the position and has a history of working against the ministry in the Azkaban trials, so she would be perfect for this as a way of redeeming herself."
"Definitely not," Arcturus remained firm. "She married herself to a mudblood, she is not the right person from the right family to take this responsibility." He looked down at the list, "I would say the best bet of the remaining candidates is Alistair Hawkins. He has three past generations of magical ancestors, enough to be pure, but also few enough to be supported by the commoners as well."
"You would turn aside your own blood so easily?" Umbridge pushed more. "Her daughter is employed by the ministry, she sounds like a very good fit for the role."
"Listen here, toad," Arcturus snapped at her. "The day I let you speak about the disgraces to my family will be the day that I challenge you to a duel for such an insult."
"Hold on," Fudge interrupted, "Please, no duels in my office. I rather like how it is decorated now."
"I've given my opinion on this matter, please heed my advice and choose Hawkins for this." Arcturus stood up and Stevens rose with him. Without another word, they both left the office.
Two hours later the fire roared to life in Black Manor, and Eugenia Fiddlewood stepped out of the flames into the sitting room. Waiting for her were Arcturus, Brandt, Augustus, and Goyle Sr.
"That took a little longer than I expected," Brandt commented.
"It took a little while longer than I thought to have him go against your suggestion," Eugenia said with a shrug. "I guess that without Malfoy around he's less inclined to disagree with you."
"Well, that's nice to hear," Arcturus smiled and poured a tall drink for the Minister's Assistant. "How mad was that old toad?"
She smiled back, and said, "She tried to hide it, but she couldn't contain it and even her hair started to get frazzled." She picked up the offered drink and took a sip, "I had to balance her out in a few places so it wouldn't look like her suggestion was just blind rage at your insult. But now, Andromeda will be offered the position."
"She'll probably reject it out of hand," Brandt said with a bit of worry. "Do we know when they'll make the offer?"
"I'll deliver it tomorrow morning to her office," Eugenia replied.
"If she rejects it, try to get her to think it over for a few days. I'll pay a visit to Miss Tonks and see if I can smooth things over with her about it," Brandt instructed her.
"Take her out to a nice dinner somewhere," Arcturus smiled. "Give her my permission to throw a party at Elmswood too."
On Monday, Brandt received a letter from Harry about the Dwarves. He had known they were marginalized in society, forbidden from owning wands, and didn't even have their own liaison office in the ministry, but the tale that Harry wrote about was more than he could have imagined. Arcturus wasn't aware of the details either but said there had to be some record in the family archives, particularly involving a treaty that a Black had been a signatory for.
He eventually found a copy of the treaty which was signed by Janus Eos Black in 1474, ending the last major goblin war, and the founding of Gringotts Bank. While examining the text of the treaty, he found that it did indeed cede the subterranean Dwarven city in London, which still had the Viking name of Lundvic, to the Goblins as part of the permanent peace treaty. There were similar exchanges of territory in numerous cities across mainland Europe, all of which were former Dwarven strongholds.
The background in the treaty specifically stated that the strongholds were empty due to catastrophic losses of the Dwarves during the war. The ceding of the Dwarven strongholds was supposed to be exchanges, and in each case, former Goblin dwellings in the mountains were given to the Dwarves in place of their empty strongholds. In the signatories of the treaty, a name was listed as the representative of the Dwarves, who agreed to the treaty, Drachen Barkridge.
Brandt scribbled down as much information as he could in order to compile a report for Harry to continue to speak with the Dwarves he met with. It would be interesting to see how they might interact with The Giver if they were to meet Harry and Lyra's tutor. He was also very interested in their magic related to crystal warding techniques.
The sad thing about the situation with the Dwarves was there was nothing that could be done. There were too few Dwarves in the world, and there was no way that they would ever get their homes back as they were now swarming with goblins who controlled the financial systems of the Wizarding World. The best they could hope for would be a formal apology from the International Confederation of Wizards… and that's it.
When he was finally finished with the research and sent his report back to Harry and Lyra, it was already too late to visit Tonks at work. Maybe that would be better because now she would be able to discuss her mother's opportunity at dinner and then he could speak to her about it tomorrow. Yeah, that would be the better option.
At the end of the day on Tuesday, Brandt strolled into the DMLE bullpen and asked for Auror Tonks, only to be directed to one of the muggle sparring rooms. Taking a set of stairs down a few levels he ended up in a large room with sectioned-off areas with padded floors. Only one of the many sparring areas was in use with quite a few aurors standing around to watch the fight. Brandt squeezed into the throng of observers and his eyes widened at the sight.
On one side of the ring was an auror with curly brown hair and thick eyebrows, it took Brandt a moment to remember this was a legacy Auror named Remington Argent. He was wielding a quarterstaff and circling the thing on the other side of the mat. The thing was very thin, but about six and a half feet tall and had pale green scales on its entire body except for a yellow stomach that could be seen out the top of an auror jacket. At the end of its arms were large, thick hands with four-inch claws at the end of each finger. Its head had the face of a snake, with slits for a nose, needle-like teeth, and dark black eyes that had no pupils. It also had a short tail that barely touched the floor.
Tristan squeezed in next to Brandt, as the two combatants continued to circle each other, changing stances every few seconds, "Hey man. Want to place a bet? Tonks and Remmy are tied 2-2 now."
"That's Tonks?" Brandt said in slight disbelief, as he had seen her dragon-lady transformation before.
"Yep, she's been changing forms for each fight, so we never know what to expect."
"What are the odds on Tonks?" Brandt asked.
"After the first two rounds, we just put them both at 1:2. Tonks is way too unpredictable, and Remmy is too solid of a fighter."
"Put me down for ten galleons on Tonks," Brandt said as he fished out his money pouch.
"I'll put you down for ten sickles. We're aurors, not Goblins," Tristan told him as he scratched down the bet in a ledger.
The two of them stopped circling each other and proceeded to stare each other down. Brandt watched as the claws on Tonks's right foot curl inward to prepare for a lunge. He was proven correct as she made an incredibly quick dash across the ring leaping and spinning with a roundhouse kick toward the other Auror's head. He was prepared and swung the quarterstaff at her leg, knocking it to the ground as he was pushed backward. Tonks took advantage of the forced change in direction by swiping downwards with the claws on her left hand toward the man's shoulder.
Remmy deflected the blow with a bracer on his forearm and delivered a solid punch to Tonks's stomach with his other hand, though it meant he dropped the staff before he could swing. She started to fall from the blow but before she hit the ground, the tail under her cushioned the fall and propelled her back toward her opponent. Seeing the green monster flying back at him, he kicked the fallen staff, which didn't achieve anything, except annoy her.
When she was in grasping range, Tonks grabbed both of his arms with her clawed hands as a large bone began to grow out of her forehead. Remmy tried to kick upwards but was too late before Tonks delivered a devastating headbutt straight into her opponent's face, and he fell like a stone to the mat. Tonks touched down and started shifting back into her normal self as two healers jumped up into the ring to start examining Remmy while someone else threw a pair of pants to Tonks to cover up her legs.
"Well that was certainly something else," Brandt commented to Tristan. "Where were the other forms she had before?"
Tonks was busy doing a victory lap and exchanging high fives with people as Tristan told him, "The first one, that she lost, she was just herself. Then she shifted into this huge muscular man and made all these threats against Remmy while ending them with an 'Ohhh Yeah!' It was kind of weird, but it freaked out Remmy enough to cost him the second match. Then she changed into a dragon, but once he realized the fire she was breathing was just bluebell flames, he knocked her out in a few seconds. The fourth one she allowed him to fight with a weapon as she covered her entire body in spikes, but he still lost, and you saw this one."
"I never knew her shifting could be used in such versatile ways. It's more than just a little amazing. I got to see some of her muscle shifts before, but this was incredible."
Tristan just nodded and fished out Brandt's winnings as other people started to approach for theirs as well.
Tonks had made it around to their side of the circle and spotted Brandt, "You. I need to talk to you."
Keeping his smile hidden, he replied, "What a coincidence, I wanted to talk to you. Got time for dinner somewhere? My treat."
"Maybe later. I've got a double date with Remmy when he wakes up. Tristan and his girlfriend are tagging along."
"My business isn't personal. If you don't mind a fifth wheel, it's still my treat, and I'll leave before dessert."
Tonks considered his offer, and replied, "Let me run it by Remmy and Tristan. I'll be back in a minute." She left him standing there and went over to where Remmington was starting to sit up, with Tristan standing next to them. Brandt could see that she was sharing his offer with them, and they were agreeing, though he was pretty sure they didn't realize that this wasn't a free lunch. It was never a free lunch.
Once Tonks's sparring partner, and boyfriend? was back on his feet, he approached Brandt and introduced himself, "Remington Argent, 3rd Class Auror, though I'm sure that will change quickly."
"Brandt, Steward of House Black," he replied. "I'm sure you will go far, as a fourth-generation member of the DMLE you have all the right connections already."
"You've heard of me?" he asked, surprised.
"I've met your mother in the Werewolf Registry. I'm pretty sure I'll need to visit her soon as part of some research that I'm doing."
"I'll let her know to expect you. So Tonks says you'll be treating us all to dinner tonight?"
"That I will, but don't let yourself think that you're off the hook for whatever you owe her for losing that fight." He looked surprised and turned to Tonks, but Brandt got his attention again, "She didn't say anything, I guessed that you had some kind of personal stakes involved, especially if you're dating."
"Good guess," the young auror told him.
"Where would all of you like to eat?" he asked.
Tristan stepped forward, "How about The Brimstone Lighthouse?"
Brandt resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Of course, they would pick somewhere that there is no way they could get into on an Auror's salary, not to mention that you needed reservations at least three months in advance… and it was in Iceland. Though with the proper application of gold, anything was possible.
"There's a formal dress code at The Lighthouse," Brandt replied as if that were the only obstacle. "How long do you need to get ready?" That would be the time he would need to arrange for them a table.
Tristan unmistakably didn't think that his suggestion would be taken seriously, nor did Tonks and Remington, and they looked back and forth between each other before Tristan told him, with faked confidence, "Around three hours should be fine. My date is working for another half hour."
"Excellent," Brandt told them. "Arrange with Miss Tonks to meet at Elmswood Lodge before we floo to the restaurant." He gave them a nod and quickly walked to the exit as he would need to rush to make the reservations.
Arranging the reservation was easier than he thought it would be. A weekday, two days after Valentine's Day, didn't have as much demand as two days before on a weekend, so much less needed to be spent to steal a reservation. He had almost certainly bumped someone else who had made their reservation months in advance, but that was something someone who wasn't a Black could waste their time and worries on feeling guilty about.
With some time to spare, he changed into his favorite style of a slim-fit swallowtail jacket, in royal blue, with a white jabot underneath. Going for an extra bit of style, he also took a Beau Tophat to finish the look. He also collected a set of ten warming cuffs to deal with the cold inside the restaurant; he wasn't sure if his guests would know enough about where they were going to bring their own, or if they even owned them.
A little over two and a half hours after he had left the Ministry, a bell rang at the fireplace before Opal lit the flames to allow people to arrive. Seconds later, the fire spat out Tonks, then Remington, Tristan, and Tristan's girlfriend in that order. They were all dressed to the nines, with Remington wearing an all-black Hussar jacket and slacks that made him look like he wished he was carrying a sword to match. Tonks was wearing an all-white tailcoat with black buttons and deep purple pants underneath, her hair had a high fade on both sides with short curls on top that had a purple hue to them as well. Tristan had a long black blazer that wasn't quite a trench coat, that had a golden tree stitched into the fabric on only one side, and a clip chain with two golden wings on his gray shirt underneath. His girlfriend was wearing a blue cocktail dress that had many butterflies both stitched into the fabric and on top of it, which would occasionally move their wings, to appear like they were alive.
Brandt nodded to all of them, "Welcome to Elmswood Lodge. We will head off in a few minutes, though I wanted to let Miss Tonks know the first piece of good news I had for her before we left; Lord Black has approved her to throw a party here."
"Seriously?" she said with surprise, as the others also looked shocked. "I never thought he'd go for that."
"A lot of it was my insistence for proper compensation for your assistance with Lyra, but he is trying to be a bit more generous with some things in the few years he has left, so I didn't need to push as hard as I would have if it were five or six years ago. Just make sure to organize everything with me in advance, and I can call in a few extra Black elves to help with the arrangements, and to open up the ballroom if you need it."
Tristan looked around the lodge, and asked suspiciously, "This place looks a bit too small to have a ballroom, even with magic expansions."
"There's an entire subfloor," Brandt explained. "It's closed off and usually reserved for dungeons and torturing kidnapped muggles, but it can be converted into a ballroom with ease." He just stared at their shocked expressions before laughing until they nervously chuckled along. "I'm just kidding," he smiled. It hadn't been used for that kind of thing in close to a hundred years… but it was one possible layout.
"Before we get going," Tristan started, "You haven't met my girlfriend. This is Adrienne Keeling."
She stepped forward and shook Brandt's hand. He hadn't met her before and the name didn't ring a bell, but she had the mannerisms of a pureblood in her poise and posture. She looked British-ish though there were a few hints of Russian in her face and blonde hair, which was styled up with magic.
"Pleasure to meet you," Brandt replied. "Well, we had best get going or they might give away our table to the people who I stole it from." He wanted to make sure they knew they were eating at someone else's expense, and that he had the influence to push off someone's reservation. "Opal, please expand the fireplace," he asked out loud.
There was the sound of the snapping of fingers as the fireplace grew dramatically, widening until it could easily fit all five people walking through it, and then the elf placed a small pouch of floo powder in his hand without being seen by anyone else. It would make for a better arrival for all five of them to appear at once rather than one at a time.
The group turned towards the fireplace as Brandt walked between the two couples, then took a handful of floo powder and threw it in a wide arc into the fireplace while calling out, "The Brimstone Lighthouse!" then they walked into the flames and vanished. When they had gone, the fireplace returned to normal size and a steel plate closed over the front.
The Brimstone Lighthouse was a very exclusive restaurant, located in a heavily warded section of the Katla Ice Caves of the volcano with the same name. Muggles would take tours in the caves and come close to the restaurant all the time, but could never get close to where there were dozens of wizards eating on the other side of a blue ice wall, layered with volcanic rock.
The interior of the restaurant was sculpted from the interior of the mountain, with black floors and blue ice walls, and a ceiling that glowed to provide a magical setting. Due to the ice, it was quite cold, but the restaurant would provide warming cuffs to patrons, should they require them. There was never a menu for the restaurant, you ate what they were serving, and it was always incredible.
The floor of the arrival area was enchanted to avoid guests slipping or falling from the floo travel, so when the group arrived, the four newcomers were able to admire the beauty of the restaurant immediately, before they began to shiver a bit. Brandt took out the cuffs he had brought and attached his own before handing them out to the others.
As they were taking in the sights, a hostess approached them and Brandt gave her his name and a red crystal half the size of his pinky nail, one of the ones he had gathered on the island. She guided the group to a table to the side and sat them down. All of the other diners were a bit older than them and stared at the young people that were obviously not as refined as them who stared at everything like children seeing something for the first time. Brandt did recognize a few of the others from various business dealings and gave them all small nods which were returned. They would at least know that he was bringing people from a lower class into their midst for a good reason.
Once they were seated, Brandt asked, "So what do you think?"
"It's even more incredible than I had heard," Tristan commented. "I really was just kidding when I brought it up as a possibility. I certainly didn't want you to steal a spot from someone else."
"It's not illegal, Auror Nevitt," he chided Tristan like he wasn't only a few years older than him. "If you want, we can always go to a McDonald's near Piccadilly Circus."
The entire group collectively shook their heads to reject that idea.
"So, I know three of you are Aurors, but what do you do, Miss Keeling?" Brandt asked Tristan's girlfriend.
"I'm a clerk in the DMLE, but I'm working on my mastery in Magical Painting, I also do pensieve sketches when they're needed for the department," she responded.
"So she's the one that…" Brandt trailed off, looking towards Tristan.
"Yes, I did the animated sketch of Mr. Potter for the quidditch museum," she responded. However, Brandt was referring to the one that helped with Tristan's manhunt. He just gave a small affirmative nod to Brandt in that regard.
"Very impressive work," he replied without missing a beat. He took one of his cards out of his jacket. "When you complete your mastery, I'll try to send some portrait business your way. That is where the big money in artistry comes from these days." She took his card with a thankful look in her eyes at getting such an incredible connection.
"She also just helped us with an investigation we were working on," Remington joined the conversation. "Tonks got herself assigned to an investigation I was working on with Tristan tracking down some wizards who were working with muggles to smuggle drugs into the UK. We had to coordinate with Scotland Yard and use pilfered memory sketches from some muggles we apprehended to locate the ringleaders."
"It was fun," Tonks smiled. "Once we identified the people we were after, I shifted into them to take better photos. We had two bobbies we were working with, who were read into the Statute, and they were still shocked by my ability. We ended up keeping me in their forms and taking more pictures of me partying at a cop bar, then spreading them all over the muggle underworld. The real suspects practically begged us to arrest them and be put in protective custody a few days later.
"That's one way to do it," Brandt nodded with a smirk. "Don't do something like that too often or no one will believe it in the future."
The young aurors all nodded at his wisdom.
Their conversation was interrupted by the arrival of drinks and appetizers. They were all given a glass of local schnapps, called Svartidauði. It was a bit savory with hints of rye. It was clear to Brandt that Tristan and Remington didn't care for it, but squashed down their opinions to keep the mood pleasant. The waiter served them Harðfiskur, a local fish jerky with salad. Brandt scribbled a reminder in his schedule to have Harry learn how to turn fish into jerky as well.
While they were waiting for the second course, Brandt addressed Tonks, "You said you had something you wanted to speak to me about, Miss Tonks?"
As if remembering something unpleasant, she turned to him and said, "What do you know about the Azkaban Audit?"
"I know a little about it, but that's because Lord Black was consulted on the implementation of it. What do you know about it?"
"The Minister's assistant asked my mother to run it, said that she came highly recommended and was of the 'right sort' to tackle such a high profile assignment. Now you're telling me that Arcturus was behind it?"
Brandt used his limited metamorph powers to raise his eyebrows extra high, and responded, "He was consulted on it, he's not behind it. I can also assure you that Lord Black did not have anything to do with her assignment. When we were shown the list of potential solicitors to take the lead on it, I pointed out that she was on the shortlist, but he rejected her involvement, that it wouldn't be proper for him to push for a disowned family member."
"Also, my apologies, but he would never say that your mother was of the 'right sort' due to her marriage to your father. He put in his personal recommendation for Alistair Hawkins. The person who was pushing for your mother's involvement was actually Delores Umbridge."
The group of young workers collectively looked like someone had put some fermented shark meat under their noses. Luckily, that particular Icelandic delicacy wasn't being served tonight.
"Why on earth would that toad want my mother to work with the ministry?" Tonks asked.
"I'm guessing it was just to annoy Lord Black, and because he called her a toad to her face."
"Damn," Remington cursed. "Only Lord Black could get away with something like that."
"If she weren't occasionally useful, he probably would have stuffed her in the dungeons under Elmswood that definitely don't exist," Brandt commented, getting a forced chuckle from the other four.
"Hawkins is probably the best bet for such an undertaking," Remington mentioned. "I don't know too much about what your mother has worked on, Tonks."
She looked like she wanted to show strong support for her mother, but decided against starting an argument, simply saying, "I'm sure he would do a good job, but he was right next to my mum on the shortlist."
The waiter delivered the next course of the meal, smoked Puffin. The waiter explained that they used to be eaten in times when food was scarce, but now were treated as a local delicacy, mostly by tourists. This particular recipe used Wiggen planks to smoke the meat, which gave it a magical boost to the flavor, and was one of the few mundane birds that did not taste like chicken, having its own strong and unique flavor.
Having had it before, Brandt waited for everyone else to take a bite and savor the flavor before cutting into his as well. It wasn't his favorite dish in the world but it was certainly somewhere in the top thirty. It was the smoked flavor that he really enjoyed as his wilderness survival class at Durmstrang would often smoke the meat of the animals they killed and then preserve them for future hunting trips. So a journey into the wilds would always have good food. All those animals were much bigger than puffins but still delicious.
"I'm sure you would all like to hear something funny that will probably hit the gossip pages of the papers by tomorrow," Brandt thought this would lighten the conversation from before. "At Hogwarts, Gilderoy Lockhart hired a team of dwarves to dress as cupids and serenade students all day long on Valentine's Day."
"No way," Adrienne said in disbelief. "I guess it's better than house elves though."
"That's not the real news though," he said as he shared a quick wink with Tonks. "Guess who was the first person to get a singing Valentine, right in the middle of the Great Hall?"
It could only be Harry Potter that he was talking about, as Lyra wouldn't be that big of a deal for the newspapers. That, and after the last reporter to write a story about the Blacks turned up after being missing for a week with a gap in his memory and missing fingers, no one would dare write about a child from the same family.
"What was the song?" Tristan asked curiously.
Brandt recited it from memory,
"With streaks of silver all through his hair
And a sense of style that's very debonair
When a lass is in trouble, he will console her
Then stick his staff into someone's shoulder
When things are darkest, he is the light
I hope he'll be my valentine tonight!"
"That's adorable," Adrianne cooed. "Who wrote it?"
"He never found out," Brandt told them. "Several people tried to claim credit after it was sung, but nothing for certain. So if the papers tomorrow have any speculation, bear it in mind that Harry doesn't know himself."
"Well, it's very well written for someone Harry's age," Remington commented. "I would have expected something a lot more awkward from a first or second year."
"Could it be an older girl?" Tristan asked.
Their waiter took that moment to deliver the main course; peppered whale steak, with vegetables and potatoes.
Brandt asked the waiter, "Is the steak cruelty-free?"
"Of course, Sir," the waiter replied. "We only serve whale meat caught by wizards."
Once he was gone, and they had each taken a bite of what was a very very good steak, did Tonks ask, "What did you mean by 'cruelty-free?' They had to kill it for us to be eating it."
"I'm not sure if you're familiar with whale hunting methods, but muggles will spear them and then drag them for miles before they die. It is exceptionally cruel, and many believe that this adds a bad flavor to the meat."
"And how do wizards do it?" Adrienne asked delicately.
"Just one killing curse, and a team to levitate it onto the boat. No spears, no dragging, no torn carcass. Cruelty-free," Brandt informed them as he took another bite of the delicious steak.
Everyone but Remington looked a little unsettled by this, and Tristan commented, "This was killed with a killing curse?"
"Most of the meat you eat is," Remington informed the others as he cut himself another piece.
"He's right," Brandt said. "It's much more humane than cutting throats or putting a bolt in their heads. Just one quick spell and it's over."
"I was always taught that you needed hate to power a killing curse," Tonks said cautiously.
"Yes and no," Brandt told them. "Hate is a good way to fuel it, but you just need the total mindset that something should no longer be alive. Indifference and greed are also two emotional triggers to use. The only thing that would keep someone from using the curse is if you have something, somewhere in the back of your mind which makes you think that your target should go on living. You might be able to cast it on a really ugly fish, but not on a fluffy bunny rabbit, despite both of them being food. The spell is only illegal when you use it on people," Brandt added. "You can still get in trouble for killing things other than people, but not for the use of the killing curse itself."
"We all know that last part, working in the DMLE," Tristan said. "Kind of interesting about the other emotional triggers though."
"Part of the Drumstrang education," Brandt shrugged. "It's always better to have more than just defense classes."
They continued to chat through the main course about the various legal hiccups of when you could and could not use unforgivable curses. It reminded Brandt of being back at school and discussing dark magic with his classmates. He doubted very much that any of these British Ministry workers here ever had such conversations.
When the waiter came to clear their plates, he told him, "Please bring my dessert to go, with an extra order for me to take home." Then to the others, "I promised you all that I would be gone before dessert." They all started to object, but he held up his hands. "This has gone a bit long for me anyway, and it has been an enjoyable evening but I have been a fifth wheel, and I would like to spend the remainder of the evening with my betrothed."
The others looked a bit shocked at the mention of a betrothal, except Tonks who knew.
Tristan told him, "Well, I can't think of a good reason for you to spend more time with us if you have someone else to go home to. Thank you for bringing us here, even if it was a joke at first."
"Seconded," Adrienne told him.
"If there's anything I can do for you, later on, let me know," Remington told him as he shook Brandt's hand.
They said their goodbyes as the dessert arrived. It was a pie that none of them could repeat the pronunciation of. It contained an extra-thick blueberry jam and a flaky, buttery crust. Brandt took his two servings and gave a tiny pouch of coins, obviously expanded, to the waiter to pay in advance, then walked to the floo, whispering his destination, and vanishing into the fire.