Chapter 4 – The Visit
When Genna woke up again, the pressure in her head was gone and the pain in her body was significantly less. She opened her eyes and looked around. Her dad was next to her, smiling broadly.
"Marcus went to eat," he said before she asked. "You know, I really like him. He has a great heart and I think he is very fond of you."
"You think?" she asked with hope in her eyes.
"Yes, I do," he said with a chuckle. "And the Healers are quite impressed with his skills. You should know he saved your life... again. It is becoming quite a habit for him, it seems," he added with an amused smile.
"You would approve of him?" asked Genna.
She was aware French and English wizards dating was practically unheard of.
"Of course," answered her father, surprised. "Why wouldn't I? If he meets your approval and he is good to you, I'll approve of anybody you chose."
"Well, he is not chosen yet; just immensely interesting," she said with a smile.
As if right on cue, Marcus walked into the room. Genna smiled at him and he smiled back, taking a seat next to her bed.
"I'll leave you kids alone. I'll go get lunch myself," said her father with a knowing smile.
Before either of them could answer him, he walked out of the room.
"Lunch? How long have I been out again?" asked Genna.
"About 15 hours. But you should be fine now," answered Marcus with a reassuring smile.
He took his wand and diamond, and whispered a few spells while moving them along her head and upper body.
"Nothing seems out of place now," he said, putting his wand and stone away. "Anything feels weird anywhere?" he asked.
"No. Sore, but everything else seems okay," she answered. "Marcus, the diamond, it's your focus stone, isn't it?" she asked when the silence was about to grow awkward.
"Yes," he answered with a smile.
"How did you get it?"
Focus stones were very commonly used in Canada, since they were so easily found, especially on the St. Leandre's grounds. Focus stones helped wizards focus their magical energy, consequently enhancing the results of their spell casting. While it did not necessarily increase the wizard's magical power, although it was known to have happened, the stone could give that impression as it would prevent the waste of magical energy.
Different types of stones worked better for different types of spells. Diamonds were relatively rare and were most effective with healing spells.
Genna was yet to find a stone for herself. Students who hadn't found one by their seventh year were usually sent into the grottoes behind the school to increase their chance of finding one. However, it was rumoured that stones which were accidently found and not searched for, or were gifts, were more in tune with their owners.
"I got it last year," answered Marcus. "I was at the lake when I came across some merpeople. A wailing mermaid was draped over a merlad, and I could see he'd been attacked by something. I just healed him. It was the right thing to do, really," he said, looking at his hands. "A few days later, when I came by the lake for another walk, they were five merpeople waiting for me: the two youths I had previously seen, and three elders. They spoke to me but I didn't understand what they were saying. Then I remembered the translation spell.
"The youth I healed, I actually saved. The merpeople told me he would have bled out if I hadn't intervened. The youth was also the son of one of the elders and he was promised to the chieftain's daughter, who was the wailing mermaid… You know, that story almost sounds like a fairy tale," he said with a chuckle. "In any case, they gave me this diamond to thank me for my taking the time to heal the boy. I was a little surprised you know; it's rather big," he said, taking the diamond out of his pocket and showing it to Genna. "But the merpeople seemed to think it would suit me perfectly, and it has."
"Where did they find it?" asked Genna, taking the offered diamond in her hand. "Did they tell you?"
"Yes. They said they found it in the stomach of a fish."
Genna smiled and gave the stone back.
"Where have you learned all those healing skills and spells? I mean, it's not part of the curriculum."
"I learned it from Nurse Feelgood and from books," he answered. "You remember the detention I got from the 'Pushing Genna' game? Headmaster Flynn sent me to work in the Infirmary and I realised then how much I was called to healing and taking care of people. After that, I would find any excuses to go to the infirmary and after a while, Nurse Feelgood just started to teach me stuff. She said might as well make myself useful while I was there.
"If my parents knew, they would be horrified," he added with a sad smile. "They want me to learn Defence and Transfiguration, and become a high ranking official at the Ministry. I like Defence and Transfiguration but I hate pushing paper around.
"What about you?" he asked her.
"I'd like to become a professional Quidditch player," she answered. "But people tend to underestimate my skills because of my foot."
"Then they don't deserve you playing for them," said Marcus.
"Oh! Dear Merlin!" suddenly said Genna. "What day is it?" she asked, trying to sit up.
"Whoa! Slow down!" said Marcus, gently pushing her back on the bed. "I know what you're thinking and don't worry. Earth and Air agreed to switch their game with yours. You won't be playing until next month. Besides, not only was Fire one player short, so was Water, since one of their players came down with the Dragon Flu. The only thing you need to worry about now is to get well and come back to school."
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A week later, Genna was back at St. Leandre, and after another week, she was getting very frustrated.
"Audrey, this is ridiculous," she told her best friend when they were alone in their dormitory. "He likes me – even my dad says so – and I like him! Why isn't he taking things any further? I mean, he is nice to me and everything, and we have nice moments at the lake even if it is rather cold now, but he hasn't kissed me!"
"Why don't you initiate it?"
"Why, and give him the impression I'm easy?"
"Well, maybe he just doesn't think you like him that way," said Audrey with a shrug.
Genna sighed.
"But I do," she said quietly. "And yes! You were right!" she added quickly, before Audrey could tell her 'I told you so'.
"Of course I was right. As a matter of fact, I suspected it the minute he walked into our train compartment."
"Audrey, what if you're right again? What if he hasn't kissed me because he doesn't really like me? What if I'm only imagining things?"
"Somehow, I doubt it," said Audrey seriously. "I know you're a very popular girl and a lot of people want to hang out with us, but you're popular just with us Frenchies. No, I think he likes you because he wouldn't be hanging out with us if he didn't. And we both know Mathiew is gay as they come so he certainly doesn't have a crush on either of us."
"Yeah but what if he likes you and not me?"
"What do you talk about when you're together?"
Genna looked at her friend with a frown, puzzled by the sudden change of direction in the conversation.
"He talks about himself and I talk about me. Why?"
"Well, when he's with me, we talk about you. What does it tell you?"
"Oh!" said Genna, blushing.
"I meant to ask you," said Audrey, changing the subject again. "Do you know the new President of Water House? That Jeremy Ascott guy? Isn't he the Captain of their Quidditch team?"
Following Steve's expulsion, the Water House had re-elected all of their representatives and seventh-year Jeremy Ascott had been made President.
"Well, yes, he is the Quidditch Captain," answered Genna. "He's okay, I guess, but like most English, he doesn't particularly like us."
"I wonder what's up with their asses."
"Audrey, you got to admit Frenchies are not any better. Most of us don't like English either," said Genna sadly.
"I wonder why," said Audrey pensively. "We're all people. You know, Josée Cloutier, the Muggle born from Air? She was telling me the divide was not as bad in the Muggle world. She said she lived in a place called Greenfield Park and there were a lot of English there. She said some English never learn French but most of them were okay to hang out with. Here, no English would be caught dead with a Frenchie and she said it was rather disturbing."
"Well, I know of two English who don't seem to mind Frenchies," said Genna, trying to lighten the mood.
"Yes but they are quite the exception and I'm sure they are getting heat from the other English," said Audrey. "And the only reason we're not getting any from the Frenchies is probably your popularity at Quidditch," she added.
Genna figured Audrey was probably right and wondered again why the Canadian wizarding society was so divided. What she knew of the English did not really justify the animosity. Both French and English had good and bad people, and none was better than the other in performing magic. Besides, both societies got along fine with everybody else in the world, so why not one another?
"In any case," said Genna, changing the subject. "All this doesn't tell me why Marcus hasn't kissed me yet."
"Oh! Don't worry! He will," reassured Audrey.
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But a month later, he still hadn't and Genna was beginning to seriously doubt he liked her. He was with her as much as he could, in class, at the library, and during breaks, but he was yet to kiss her and Genna was becoming discouraged.
That Tuesday, the Care of Magical Creatures class was to be held in a safe part of the forest, at one of the numerous lakes. Two days prior, one of the migrant magical creatures, the Red Nose Deer, had arrived from the Great North and Professor Noël had decided to teach the students about them. It had been years since Red Nose Deer had wintered on the school grounds and Professor Noël could not pass up this occasion. Red Nose Deer were at the origin of the stories with Santa Claus and Professor Noël found them fascinating.
It had snowed the night before and the path was relatively icy, conditions which made Genna's mobility rather challenging. Since she had a free period before class, she had decided to leave early to make sure she would arrive on time. Audrey, who had an errand to run, had told her she would catch up with her on the way once she was done.
'Why didn't I think about flying over there?' thought Genna for the twentieth time.
But she was halfway to the lake so there was no point in turning back now.
She was coming up an incline when she crossed paths with Marcus and Mathiew. They had Care of Magical Creatures right before her and seeing them meant they had been dismissed from their class already. And to confirm her assumption, she saw three more students coming down the path.
"They're fascinating," said Mathiew excited. "And so much bigger than I thought."
Marcus looked at her with a happy smile.
"Do you need help?" he asked her.
"No. I'll be fine," she answered, returning his smile. "Got to go if I want to be on time," she added.
She reluctantly turned, hoping she had had time to spend some minutes talking with Marcus, and resumed her way up the incline. She was now at the top of it, next to a steep cliff overshadowing the path, meeting with more and more students when she heard a loud cracking sound. As the ground began to shake, deep grumbles could be heard. Panicked, students began to look left and right then up when dirt and snow began to fall on them.
An avalanche.
Genna was stuck. Nobody could Apparate on school grounds and, while students began to run down the path, she knew she couldn't do that either. She knew, at that moment, she would die there and the only thing she could do was to allow the others to run away before it was too late.
Desperately, she grabbed her wand and cast the most powerful shield she could think of over her head, just in time to prevent a huge piece of rock from landing on one of the running students. Her life now measuring itself in mere seconds, she was determined to make every one of them count.
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"Hey guys! Have you seen Genna on your way down?" asked Audrey when she met with Mathiew and Marcus on her way up the slope.
"Yeah! We just passed her a minute ago," answered Marcus with a goofy smile.
Audrey had always noticed that for a guy who didn't smile a lot, mentions of Genna never failed to bring a smile to his face.
"So, how were the Red Nose Deer?" she asked.
"They were adorable!" said Mathiew, elegantly bringing his hand to his face and sighing with puppy eyes. "There were six of them and one of the female is pregnant! We will get to see the little one in about a month from now, when the path is all snowy and icy," he added, wincing. "Do tell that friend of yours that nobody would hold it against her if she was to fly over there instead of running the chance of breaking her neck on this icy path!" he added, rolling his eyes.
Audrey laughed and was about to answer when they heard a loud crack followed by shaking grounds and deep rumbles. They looked up the hill and saw it: the top of the cliff was detaching itself and topping over in the direction of the path below.
"Genna!" yelled Audrey, and she made to run towards the top of the hill but Mathiew caught her from behind, stopping her momentum. "Let me go!" she yelled at him.
Mathiew was so intent on stopping her from doing something stupid that he didn't pay any attention to Marcus who sprinted up the hill. Marcus soon had to fight the throng of students running away and pushed more than one away from his path. And then, he saw her, at the top of the hill, holding the falling rocks and debris with a rapidly crumbling shield. All he could think of was that he had never told her how much he loved her. He didn't know what to do but he couldn't let her die without telling her. He did the only thing he could think of, however incredibly stupid it was.
He ran to her.
He seized her as her shield gave way.
And he Disapparated, taking her with him.
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Genna landed ungracefully on the ground, held tightly against somebody's chest.
And it hit her.
She was about to die... and then she was elsewhere, wherever elsewhere was.
In the next moment, she began to shake uncontrollably, unable to breathe.
"Genna? Genna!" called Marcus insistently. "Listen to me, baby: take a deep breath and let it out slowly. Genna, can you hear me?"
Slowly, she looked up at him, her mind in a complete fog.
"Breathe, baby, breathe," he said, gently holding her face in his hands. "Look at me and do what I do."
Genna took a deep breath and let it out slowly, doing what Marcus was doing. Finally, her breathing came back to her and she started to cry hard.
"Marcus, I was going to die," she said between sobs.
"I know," he said, gently kissing her forehead. "But you didn't, my love. You're alive and I'm here with you."
Genna was shaking so violently, her teeth clacked. And she was cold, so cold. She let Marcus hold her against his chest, taking deep breath and letting his calmness fill her. She was alive and the danger was gone but somehow, she still felt like she was right there on the path.
Eventually, his reassuring arms still around her, the feeling of imminent danger passed and the shaking began to stop. Finally, she could breathe normally again and took a look around her.
"Marcus, where are we?" she asked.
They were on a plush carpet in front of a warm fireplace.
"We're at the top of the Air Tower, in the Board Leisure room," he answered.
"How did we get here?"
"I Apparated us," he answered, gently caressing her back.
"You what? But how?" she asked astonished.
Everybody knew nobody was supposed to be able to Apparate within the school grounds.
"I don't know," he whispered against her hair. "And right now, the only thing I care about is that you're alive and safe.
"Genna, when I saw you up there, the only thing I could think of was that I – I never told you how I felt about you, how much I actually like you."
He put his finger under her chin and slowly raised her face up. He looked at her dark blue eyes and kissed her, once, twice, and then he opened his mouth to taste her lips, then her mouth as her lips also parted. She tasted like Heaven to him, like a dream finally coming true. How much he had wanted to kiss her this past month but never dared! And now, she was here, with him, alone, and she was kissing him back.
After a moment, he pulled back and held her against his chest, putting his cheek against her hair, and closing his eyes in pure delight at having her in his arms.
It soon became warm and they removed their winter coat, setting them on the floor next to them. Marcus lay on the carpet and Genna snuggled against him. They kissed, once in a while, but mostly enjoyed each other in the comfortable warmth and silence of the Board Leisure room, acutely aware this moment may have never happened.
Marcus did not know how long they were there but eventually, they had to rejoin the world since by now, everybody was probably in an uproar over the accident. Marcus took Genna in his arms and made his way out of the dormitory, and down the stairs and through the school to the Great Hall. Genna, her arms around his neck, her head against his chest, let him take her down, feeling more vulnerable than she had never felt before. She had almost died, again, because she hadn't been able to run for her life. And now, he was bringing her in his arms because she couldn't walk on her own without her crutches. She didn't want to face the world. She just wanted to hide so nobody else could ever try to hurt her again. But at least, now she knew Marcus loved her.
"Genna! Marcus!" whispered the few students who were still in the Entrance Hall.
Students had begun to gather for dinner and the news of the avalanche was all over the school already.
Marcus didn't stop to talk to anyone. With purpose, he walked into the Great Hall where the volume of conversation was louder than ever. As Marcus made his way to the great table, all conversations slowly faded away.
The Headmaster looked up from his animated conversation with Professor Shield and Professor Murray. When he saw his two missing students, he walked from behind the table and rapidly made his way towards them. Marcus had never seen him that worried before.
"Mr Tyler," said the Headmaster, more calmly than his appearance suggested, stopping in front of them. "Is Miss Hudon okay?"
The Headmaster was conscious that everybody around them was avidly listening to their conversation.
"Yes, Headmaster, just a little shaken," answered Marcus who was burning to find out what had happened for the cliff to come crashing down and how he had Apparated within the school grounds.
"Mr Tyler, would you please come with me?" asked the Headmaster.
He turned around and walked away without looking to see if Marcus was following him. They left the Great Hall full of curious students and went to the Headmaster's office. When they walked in, the Headmaster took them to the floor above his office and they found themselves in a cosy sitting room. Marcus, his arms now very tired from having carried Genna throughout the school, set her gently on a love seat and sat next to her.
"Miss Hudon, I think those are yours," said the Headmaster, giving her crutches back to her. "Of course, I took the liberty of fixing them. They were in quite a bad shape when we found them," he added with a chuckle.
"Thank you," murmured Genna. "Did you also find my wand?"
"I'm afraid we haven't," answered the Headmaster. "And any search will have to wait until tomorrow morning, I'm afraid."
"We'll go after breakfast," said Marcus, taking her hand in his and bringing it to his lips. "We could fly there if you want."
"I'd – I'd like that," she answered shyly, touched by the offer.
"Now, my dear children, would you care to tell me how you actually survived that one?" asked the Headmaster, taking a seat in front of them.
"I don't know, Headmaster," answered Marcus. "The only way I could think of saving her was to Apparate. And we did, to the Air Board Leisure room.
"Headmaster, why was I able to Apparate within the grounds?" he asked.
"Ah!" said the Headmaster with a smile. "There's something you need to understand about the wards. If your need is dire and desperate, and your intentions are good, the wards will let you Apparate wherever you want.
"You know, the Founders were, after all, very wise when you think about it. If I may say, Mr Tyler, I have no doubts your needs were dire indeed, and your willingness to die for Miss Hudon showed how good your intentions were. That kind of need and sacrifice would have shattered not only the school wards but quite a few other rather powerful wards.
"Now with that being said, you had us all very worried. If you, Miss Hudon, hadn't just saved lives with your quick thinking and your shield, I would give you detention for staying away for so long and having us all in an uproar. Same goes for you Mr Tyler. It was rather irresponsible of you to wait for dinner before you showed yourself. And of course, since giving you detention would only send the wrong message to the other students, I couldn't give it to you even if I'm very tempted to."
Marcus felt a pang of guilt at the Headmaster's words. He had been rather selfish in staying away with Genna but he thought they had both needed the time away from the crowd. Genna had, after all, gone through something really traumatic and while Marcus felt guilty about staying away, he was also glad he had.
"So now, since I can't give you detention, I guess I'll have to give you medals for your bravery," added the Headmaster with a sigh.
"Headmaster, how come the cliff gave way today?" asked Marcus. "I mean, this thing has been there and stable for thousands of years."
"That, Mr Tyler, I'm not sure," he answered hesitantly.
"You think it's not mere coincidence, do you?"
"I don't believe in coincidences, Mr Tyler," said the Headmaster seriously. "But I don't have any evidence that it was anything else than a coincidence.
"Miss Hudon, I need you to be very careful from now on," he said, looking at Genna. "I don't know what's going on exactly but this is the third time something rather bad has happened to you this year. I want you to be vigilant and never, ever be alone."
Genna nodded.
"Miss Hudon, you have a lot of good friends who deeply care about you. Please, do ask for their help."
"I... I will," said Genna, looking rather defeated by her vulnerability and her whole experience.
"Now, would you like some dinner?" asked the Headmaster, pointing towards a table. "I'm pretty sure you don't really care about joining hundreds of students who all want to talk to you and know what happened."
Gratefully, they joined the Headmaster for a private dinner.
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It was brutally cold the next morning when Marcus and Genna flew to the fallen cliff. There were no clouds in the sky and the bright sun, which reflected blindingly on the snow, offered no warmth.
They landed next to the pile of rubble and Genna sighed. The pile was enormous and Genna wondered how her crutches had ever been found. Marcus began to move the pile around with his feet when a red flash caught Genna's eye.
"Marcus, stop!" she said. "I saw something."
Slowly, she began to limp towards him. The major inconvenience of flying was that she didn't have her crutches when she landed which meant she had to try to walk on her painful foot. And in this cold, it was more painful than usual.
Seeing her wince, Marcus came to her and gave her a hand. When she reached the spot where Marcus had disturbed the rubble, she knelt and moved the dirt around with her gloved hands. Her breathe caught in her throat when she saw what had flashed in the sun. It was a ruby the size of a ping pong ball. She took it in her hand and looked at it carefully. Even in its uncut state, it appeared flawless and gave a radiant red glow.
"Ruby? Offensive spells?" she asked, referring to the type of spells the focus stone was most suited for.
"Yes, from what I recall," answered Marcus with a grin. "That's a pretty nice rock you've got yourself there."
Genna nodded, a huge smile on her face. She wondered for a moment why she would find a stone suited for offensive spells. She knew she was good at duelling but she didn't see herself pursuing a career where offensive spells would be greatly used. But regardless of the fact she had found a ruby, she couldn't deny how happy she was at finally finding such a wonderful treasure.
She looked at it a moment longer before putting the stone in her pocket and zipping it to make sure she wouldn't lose her newfound treasure. Assisted by Marcus, she got to her feet.
"You know, I was thinking," she said. "Since that pile is so big, do you think you could try a Summoning spell on my wand?"
"Good thinking," said Marcus with a grin.
He took his wand from his pocket and said: "Accio Genna's wand."
The pile of debris began to shift and a few seconds later, a broken piece of wood flew to Marcus' hand.
"Oh, Genna, I'm so sorry," he said, looking at the damaged wand.
"'S okay," said Genna sadly. "I guess I'll have to get a new one during the Christmas vacation."
"You can't stay without a wand until then!" protested Marcus.
"I'll manage," simply said Genna.
But Headmaster Flynn agreed with Marcus and sent Genna to Hidden Alley with Professor Shield that afternoon, right before dinner. Genna came back with an aspen wand with a Red Nose Deer tail hair core. This was an unusual combination as both aspen and Red Nose Deer were rarely used in wand making. The wandmaker had associated both with resistance and resilience, and suspected the wand, and its bearer, would resist and survive all sorts of unusual and dangerous situations.
Genna had thanked the wand maker and hadn't thought any further on it.
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Headmaster Flynn arrived at the British Ministry of Magic late in the afternoon. Just before Christmas, he had sent an owl to Minister Shacklebolt and Headmistress McGonagall, and was now more than eager to speak to them in person. He hadn't told anybody what he suspected but now was the time to seek help from his allies. He only hoped he would receive the same help he would have got had his good friend Albus Dumbledore survived the war.
When he arrived by Portkey in London, the day before New Year's Eve, a red-headed smartly dressed wizard wearing glasses walked up to him.
"Headmaster Flynn, welcome," he said, formally. "I'm Percival Weasley, Personal Assistant to the Minister. He asked me to take you to him upon your arrival. If you would please follow me."
Mr Weasley escorted the Headmaster throughout the British Ministry of Magic offices which greatly resembled the Canadian ones. A few minutes later, they arrived in a sumptuous office. The wall opposite the door consisted of a floor-to-ceiling window which afforded them an incredible view of the atrium. The room was furnished with six luxurious leather chairs set around a low coffee table upon which rested a tea set. At the other end of the room was a massive mahogany desk behind which could be seen a wall-to-wall bookshelf of the same wood.
"Headmaster, please make yourself comfortable," said Mr Weasley. "The Minister will be with you momentarily."
As Mr Weasley exited the office, Minister Kingsley Shacklebolt walked in by the door next to the bookshelf. Before even greeting his visitor, he flicked his wand and privacy wards activated.
"Headmaster," he said warmly, shaking Headmaster's Flynn's hand. "How nice to finally meet you. Circumstances must be very dire for you to come all this way to talk to us."
"Yes, Minister, they are," answered the Headmaster seriously.
"Well, I know you're anxious to get on with business, Headmaster, so if you would care to join me for dinner, we could discuss it then."
"Certainly," answered the Headmaster.
The Minister took him to an Apparition point and, with the Headmaster holding his arm, the Minister Disapparated.
They found themselves in a dark hallway lit by torches. Voices could be heard down the hall and someone came running from the floor below.
"Minister, welcome," said a young man with a warm smile.
He had unruly black hair and green eyes behind round glasses.
"Headmaster," he said, offering his hand. "I'm Harry Potter. Welcome to my home."
The Headmaster took the offered hand and looked at the young man's forehead. Sure enough, he saw the lightning-shaped scar.
"I see they heard of me even in Canada," said Harry.
"Dear Harry," said the Minister amused. "Everybody has heard of you.
"Headmaster," said the Minister, turning to his guest. "I hope you won't mind. I took the liberty to invite some people to partake in our conversation."
"No, not at all," said the Headmaster, hoping this was really a wise decision.
"The others are waiting for us," said Harry. "Come this way."
He took them to the dining room a few feet away. As he entered, Headmaster Flynn recognised Headmistress McGonagall who was in conversation with a brunette with bushy hair, and a petite red-head with long straight hair all the way down to her lower back. A red-headed man was in conversation with a round-belly older man and a dwarf who was shorter than the table.
"Headmaster," said Minister Shacklebolt, "may I introduce you to Hermione Weasley, Ginny Potter, Ron Weasley, Professor Horace Slughorn and Professor Filius Flitwick? I think you already know Headmistress McGonagall."
Headmaster Flynn inclined his head in salute. Most of them he had heard of and he knew Professor Dumbledore had trusted them.
"These people are trustworthy enough to be part of the very few who know the location of this house which is under a Fidelus Charm. In addition, they're all veterans from our own war against Voldemort, and are members of the Order of the Phoenix," added the Minister, confirming the trustworthiness of all around the table.
Headmaster Flynn nodded again and followed the Minister to the table. Headmaster Dumbledore had talked to him about creating the Order of the Phoenix back in the days when they had shared their fears about the future of their respective communities, and the Headmaster was immediately reassured, upon hearing the name, that this group could be trusted.
Harry took a seat at one end of the table while the Minister took the other. The Headmaster sat on the Minister's right and all the other guests took seats at the table. As soon as they were seated, food appeared on the table. It was only once they were all sipping tea after desert that the Minister turned to the Headmaster.
"Headmaster, we all know Headmaster Dumbledore had promised you assistance any way he could and we will gladly honour the promise our dear friend made to you. However, we don't exactly know how we could help you," said Kingsley. "Would you care to explain your situation to us?"
"Certainly," answered Headmaster Flynn. "I don't know how much you know about our society so bear with me if this is old news to you.
"Canada was colonised first by the French and later the English. At the beginning when the English came to Canada following the defeat of France at the hands of England, there was a lot of animosity between the two cultures. However, at the time, French and English wizards got along pretty well and my ancestor, with one of his French friends, founded our school, St. Leandre.
"A few years later, relations between French and English wizards began to deteriorate and the wizarding community grew apart. A neighbourly dispute grew into a full-fledged feud when one of the neighbours inadvertently killed the other.
"Right now, as it stands, the English and the French wizarding communities barely speak, even when they attend St. Leandre. While this divide exists in the wizarding community, it does not in the Muggle community."
His last statement was greeted by more than a few raised eyebrows.
"A few years ago, my predecessor, a French wizard, found out a dark secret: the source of the accident and of the resulting division. The wizarding community is controlled by a very powerful vampire and her army of minions. I say army but in all truthfulness, I have no idea how many they are, and we don't know how they control us. For a reason you can probably imagine, our literature on vampires is practically non-existent.
"Now, our school, which seems to be the only unified ground in the entire country, is the guardian of two prophecies. The first one, most of my allies know and the second one, only I know.
"The first one, which I foolishly released thinking nobody could act on it, says: A girl, apart from the others, and her consort who heals all, will come and may lead the society towards reunification by defeating the darkness that would seek to keep it apart.
"Unfortunately, this prophecy did find its way to the vampire's clan and ever since, she's been attacking one of my students who's handicapped.
"You all know how birth deformities can be corrected with magic. Well, the Healers could not fix Miss Geneviève Hudon's clubbed foot and Miss Hudon has walked on crutches all of her life, effectively setting her apart from the others.
"I wouldn't have thought, by her handicap alone, Miss Hudon could be the girl in the prophecy. However, the second and very old prophecy states the following: As the old world finds some peace, an union shall be born and consummated between two people of opposite sides. United, they shall have the power to defeat the shadow that blankets their world and reunite it as one, as they will understand things others do not. As a new Era begins, the confrontation approaches and conquerors shall reign while vanquished shall perish. As the new Era begins, the force to defeat the shadow and reunite the world approaches."
"Why does this point to this girl?" asked Harry amidst the growing silence.
"Miss Hudon is now dating Mr Marcus Tyler," answered Headmaster Flynn. "This is the first time since the feud began that anybody from the French side dated someone from the English side."
"Oh Dear Merlin," said Headmistress McGonagall. "This girl is in great danger!"
"Doesn't that sound familiar!" said Harry with great sarcasm.
"Yes, it does," said Hermione, angry and concerned at the same time.
The Headmaster could not determine what the source of her anger was, the situation or Harry's sarcasm.
"Yes, Headmistress, she's in danger," he said. "As long as she's at school, I can try to protect her. However, even at school, there've been three attempts on her life already: from one of her classmates I suspect to be in league with this vampire, and from somebody else I'm yet to discover.
"But I need help," continued Headmaster Flynn. "My skills lie with managing the school, not at leading a fight and conducting investigations. That was where Dumbledore assisted me in the past and I do not know who I can trust and turn to within my own country to help me with this."
"I assume this is where we would come in?" asked Minister Shacklebolt.
The Headmaster nodded, feeling grossly inadequate for the job at hand.
"Ideas?" asked the Minister to the rest of the assembled people.
"The Headmaster will need all the information on vampires we can get our hands on," began Professor Flitwick.
"I'll do the research," volunteered Hermione.
"We need somebody to investigate and begin to organise those poor people into some type of fighting group," said Professor Slughorn.
"Yes, someone who can observe what's going on right now," added Hermione.
"Headmaster," said the Minister with a sudden smile. "How would you like your students to benefit from two weeks of special Defence Against the Dark Arts training?"
Everybody, except for the Headmaster, turned around and smiled at Harry.
"Me?" he asked surprised. "You want to send me?"
"Of course," answered the Minister. "Who else, Mr Potter? Your popularity alone would hide your real mission. Beside, you're more than capable of fulfilling this mission."
"Mr Potter, I agree with the Minister. You began the D.A. and successfully investigated and arrested scores of Death Eaters and Dark Wizards," said Headmistress McGonagall. "Who else would be better suited to the task than you?"
Harry looked at Ginny and took her hand in his. He opened his mouth to say something when the Minister interrupted him.
"Yes, she may go," he said, anticipating Harry's question.
The young man grinned at the Minister.
"Minister, you know me too well."
"Harry, when will you be able to go?" asked the Minister, becoming serious again.
"At the end of March," he answered. "That's when Ginny can get away from her own obligations and it will give us enough time to plan ahead."
"And it will give me time to announce it to the school so it doesn't look suspicious," said Headmaster Flynn.
"Harry, as my representative, you will have the authority to commit to whatever resources are needed from us," said the Minister. "However, I would only ask that you remain within what's reasonable... It wouldn't do to arrive at the Ministry one morning to find our coffers empty," he added with an amused smile.
"I'll keep that in mind," responded Harry also amused.
Following Harry's remark, conversation broke in smaller groups and the Headmaster looked at his empty cup of tea as worried as he had been when he arrived.
"Headmaster," said Headmistress McGonagall. "Have no fear. We will help you protect her. Harry may look young but he knows what he's doing."
The Headmaster smiled at her, hoping her words would hold true.