CHAPTER 3: REUNITED
No matter how many times he traveled by Floo, O'Bannon still couldn't get used to the weird feeling. The moment he stepped into the emerald green flames gushing from his apartment's fireplace, his body felt as though it twisted and contracted. Then came that rushing, pulling sensation, like being sucked down a drain.
Just like that, it was over. He stepped out of another fireplace and onto oak floorboards. A living room with furniture straight out of the 19th Century lay before him. In the corner stood a Christmas tree decorated with shiny balls that changed colors and patterns every few seconds. A small model of Santa's sleigh pulled by his reindeer flew around the top of the tree.
Before he could take another step, tendrils of green flame encircled him. A shimmering orange barrier formed around him. He simply stood there. It wasn't the first time he'd gone through this routine.
A tall, stout man with tan, angular features and a goatee sprinkled with some gray emerged from a hallway and marched toward him, wand raised. He stopped a couple feet from the magical barrier.
"Identify yourself," he demanded.
"Jimmy O'Bannon."
"Who's your second favorite Quidditch player in the world?"
"Rolf Rudcutt, Beater for the Philadelphia Warhammers."
"Why?"
"Because in the USQA Semi-Finals against the Miami Immortals four years ago he broke both his arms but still finished the game, which Philly won 540-460."
Almost immediately, the flaming tendrils vanished, as did the transparent orange barrier. The man lowered his wand and stepped toward him.
"Good to see you, Jimmy." Cesario Infante shook his hand.
"You too, Mister Infante." O'Bannon moved away from the fireplace now that he completed the standard security checks. One couldn't be too careful during these times. "I got your message in the advocosfaira. So what's going on?"
"You'll find out soon. Everyone's meeting in the basement. I need to stay here. We have a few more guests coming."
O'Bannon nodded and made his way through the Infantes' living room. A few more guests, eh? More and more this sounded like a big deal.
His pace quickened as he entered the hallway and headed for the basement door. He hurried down the stairs, jumping off the next to the last step. He briefly gazed around. Old fashioned oil lamps, burning brighter than any Muggle-made ones, illuminated the basement. To his left a large map of the United States hung from the wall, tiny undulating banners showing recent Death Eater activity. On the opposite wall was a piece of parchment with a black and white photo. The faces changed every few seconds, as did the bold face type underneath displaying the name of Death Eaters and other dark supporters to keep watch for. Tables had also been set up throughout the room for maps, books, piles of parchment and various dark detection devices. Several wooden chairs had been arranged in a semi-circle at the other end of the basement. O'Bannon smiled when he recognized the three people gathered near the chairs. One was a slender, striking woman with jet black hair falling past her shoulders. Next to her stood another woman with similar features, though younger with long, curled hair and several sparkling studs in her ears. A tall young man with an angular face and close cropped brown hair rounded out the trio.
"Jimmy!" Rosa Infante bounded across the basement and jumped on him, wrapping him up in a tight hug.
"Glad you remember me," he said as they broke their embrace. "You spend so much time training to save the Wizarding World these days I thought you'd forgotten all about me."
Rosa slapped his chest and smirked. "Quit trying to make me feel guilty."
"Yeah, like that's possible."
She made a face at him, then softly chuckled.
"Hey, Jimmy." Artimus Rand vigorously shook his hand, a huge smile spreading across his face. "Good to see you."
"You too, man." He slapped his friend on the shoulder. "Seems like these Guild meetings are the only chance I get to see you guys."
"I know." Artimus frowned. "But things are nuts at the Office of Wizarding-Muggle Relations now. My boss is meeting with Muggle government officials almost every day. They're in a panic with all those Death Eater-caused 'accidents' over the past few months. And everyone's working overtime trying to convince the families of Muggle-borns their kids are safe going back to their respective schools. Would you believe yesterday I spent nearly four hours trying to convince this man in West Virginia that keeping his Muggle-born daughter home and protecting her with a . . . a, um, shoot-gum . . ."
"Shotgun," O'Bannon corrected him.
"Yeah, that thing. He kept insisting that no wizard's immune to butt-shot. He didn't seem to understand that a simple Disarming Charm or Shield Charm could render his shotgun useless."
"Sounds like you really got your work cut out for you."
"Yeah. It stinks we can't hang out together all the time like at Salem."
"True. But at least Jimmy has someone to keep him company." Rosa waggled her eyebrows at O'Bannon, then nudged him with her elbow. "So? How's everything going with you and Talia?"
"Everything's fine." Except during times like these. Thankfully, tonight had been better than other nights when he needed an excuse to sneak off to a Guild of the Light meeting. It turned out a couple former school friends of Talia's had come to Washington and planned a girls' night out. So he didn't have to tell her, "I just remembered. I need to pick up some supplies for my flag football program," or "I gotta meet an old hockey teammate of mine and see if he's interested in helping me out with my Muggle sports programs." Those other times had caused some friction in their relationship, but he'd always made it up to her. If only she could become a member of the Guild, too. That would make everything so much easier. But when he brought up the idea to Jared's mother, she hadn't been keen on having someone he had known only a short time join the Guild.
"During the last war," she told him, "it wasn't unheard of for the other side to use female spies to get close to wizards in important positions."
O'Bannon didn't believe for a moment Talia was a spy. But he did, begrudgingly, accept Mrs. Diaz's logic.
Despite all these obstacles, he was determined to make things work between him and Talia. But trying to have a normal relationship while fighting a war did not come easily.
Who's fighting? His lip bitterly curled at the thought.
"Rosa, quit trying to squeeze every single detail about Jimmy's love life out of him."
Adelaide Infante's voice snapped him out of his reverie. The witch strode over to him and gave him a hug. "How are you doing, Jimmy?"
"Fine, Mrs. Infante. So what did you want to see me about?"
"Actually, Liana's running this meeting. She should be here in a few minutes. Meantime, you three catch up. I need to check on dinner. We're having crusted halibut."
O'Bannon's mouth watered. "Cool. When do we eat? I'm starving."
"Sorry. Meeting first, then dinner."
O'Bannon fought to keep a frown off his face. Can't we eat during the meeting?
Mrs. Infante headed upstairs, leaving the three to talk. Most of their conversation involved O'Bannon and Artimus bombarding Rosa with questions about her auror training.
"We've had six more people either quit or get cut from the program this month. Nearly half the witches and wizards I started training with are gone. I mean, Mom, Dad and Aunt Liana always told me auror training was tough, but they never said it would be this tough. And you should see the guy we have as our potions instructor. You think Mister Korvette was bad? Or that guy you had at Hogwarts, Jimmy. What was his name, Snape? They're both cuddly little kittens compared to this asshole."
"Asshole?" A familiar voice called from the top of the stairs. "Well, if you're using a term like that, you can't be talking about me."
O'Bannon's eyes widened. He spun around and strode toward the stairs, followed by Rosa and Artimus. They got to the landing just as a short, stocky young man appeared before them.
"So how about some welcome home hugs, huh?" Jared Diaz smiled and spread his arms.
"Merlin's beard, you're home!" Rosa flung herself at her cousin and hugged him. O'Bannon and Artimus piled on and slapped Jared's back repeatedly.
"When did you get in?" asked Artimus.
"Port keyed in this afternoon. The museum decided to take a break from our dig so they can look over everything we found so far. You should see some of the stuff those old Mayan wizards and witches could do, especially with Divination."
"You should've owled us," said Rosa.
"C'mon, cuz. You know I can't do that."
"Oh. Yeah, right." A brief scowl crossed Rosa's face. O'Bannon wondered if she was annoyed at herself for forgetting that particular security measure. The Diazes and Infantes forbade the quartet from sending owls to one another, or any of their friends, since they could be easily intercepted by the other side. It didn't matter if they only wanted to write about a Quidditch match they attended or whom they were currently dating. Rosa's and Jared's parents told them even the smallest personal details could help the Death Eaters if they ever decided to impersonate any of them. Because of that, O'Bannon had no clue how any of his friends in England were doing. What were Fred, George, Lee, Angelina Johnson and Alicia Spinnet up to now that they had graduated from Hogwarts? Were Harry Potter and Cho Chang still together? Or Ginny Weasley and Michael Corner? How did Gryffindor's Quidditch team look this year? What about his friends from the Beauxbatons and Durmstrang contingents? Harkorth and Velich and . . . Mireet?
O'Bannon cast his eyes to the floor. What he wouldn't give for just some bit of news that they were all okay.
"What's this thing you're wearing?" Artimus asked.
O'Bannon's eyes snapped up. His brow furrowed when he noticed what covered Jared's curly black hair. An honest-to-God brown cowboy hat.
"You like it?" Jared slid his thumb and index finger along the rim of the hat. "I'm trying to look like that ass-kicking ark-log-ist from that movie you showed me, Jimmy. You know, Idaho Jones."
O'Bannon rolled his eyes. "That's Indiana Jones."
"Oh." Jared shrugged. "Well, I knew it was one of those states that started with an 'I'."
"And he wore a fedora, not a cowboy hat."
"Oh. Well, close enough. Anyway, check out what else I got."
Jared reached beneath his robes and pulled out a coiled object. O'Bannon's eyes widened when Jared unwound it.
"What the hell is that?" Rosa gazed at it with a perplexed expression.
"It's a whip." Jared stared admiringly at his new toy. "Just like the one that Jones guy had."
"Where did you find it?" asked O'Bannon.
"Some little shop in Tampico. This Muggle-born guy from Mexico's Department for the Investigation and Cataloging of Magical Artifacts assigned to our expedition took us on a tour there. I tried it out as soon as I got back to camp. You wouldn't believe how hard this thing is to use. And it looked so easy in the movie."
"So why do you carry it around if you don't know how to use it?"
Jared shot Rosa an elfish grin. "Because, dear cousin, I can use it. Well, after I put a ton of charms on it. Here, let me show you."
They all moved to the center of the basement. O'Bannon, Artimus and Rosa stood off to the side as Jared loosened the wrist of his whip hand.
"Okay, watch me grab that chair over there."
Jared raised his hand, then snapped it forward. The whip sliced through the air toward the chair. At the last second, it veered to the left and rushed toward them.
"Crap!" O'Bannon dropped to his knees, as did Rosa.
Artimus wasn't as lucky.
"Hey!" The whip tied itself around his waist.
"Oops." Jared winced. "Yeah, I guess I need to do a little more work on the charms. Sorry about that, buddy."
Artimus frowned as he tried to untangle himself from the whip.
Suddenly it unwrapped itself from his waist.
"Jared, put that thing away before you hurt someone."
The four turned to see a stocky woman with short black hair approaching them, her wand still aimed at the whip, now resting at Artimus' feet.
"C'mon, Mom. I just wanted to show everyone my new whip."
Liana Diaz sighed and looked to O'Bannon. "Do most Muggles emulate everything they see in moof-iz?"
He shrugged. "It could be worse. He coulda tied a towel around his neck and jumped off the roof like Superman."
"Hmm." Jared looked thoughtfully to the ceiling. "I wonder if I could charm a towel to fly."
"Don't even think about it," Mrs. Diaz said sternly.
Jared frowned, but O'Bannon noticed a glimmer in his friend's eyes that indicated he was thinking about it.
"Anyway, it's good to see you all." Mrs. Diaz hugged O'Bannon, Rosa and Artimus.
Two more people entered the basement, a thickly built balding man and a hefty, brown-haired young man. After the quartet greeted Jared's father, Irving, and Artimus' older brother, Hector, they took their seats in front of the floating chalkboard. Mrs. Diaz stood before them.
"Now, before I get to the reason I called you four here tonight, do any of you have new information that could be of importance to the Guild?"
O'Bannon presented Mrs. Diaz with a printout of the article on the mid-air collision in Provo, Utah. Artimus talked about the increased panic among the parents of Muggle-born students and Muggle government officials who knew of the Wizarding World's existence. Rosa had nothing new to contribute.
Then came Jared's turn.
"There was this guy from the Mexican contingent of our expedition. Umberto was his name. His fiancé was killed by Death Eaters during the last war. Told me he wishes death on You-Know-Who and everyone who supports him. He might be someone we could use as a contact down there."
"We'll look into that. Thank you, Jared." Mrs. Diaz nodded to him. "Is there anyone else from your expedition we might be interested in?"
"I don't know about you, but for me there's this hot little senorita from the Mexican Department for the Investigation and Cataloging of Magical Artifacts that I've gotten to know real well."
"Dude, gimmie some." O'Bannon held up his hand, which Jared high-fived. Mr. Diaz, sitting a couple seats away, gave his son a thumbs-up.
Rosa groaned and rolled her eyes.
The corners of Mrs. Diaz's mouth twitched. "Yes, and I'm sure I'll be receiving an invitation to the wedding very soon. Now, if there's nothing else of importance to share . . ."
The pause lasted a few seconds. When no one spoke, Mrs. Diaz continued.
"Okay then. Now, I summoned you four here because the Guild has an assignment we feel you are well suited for."
Yes! O'Bannon slid to the edge out his seat, holding his breath. This is what he'd been waiting for for six long months.
"We recently received information that Death Eaters have smuggled a pack of hostile creatures from the U.S. into Great Britain. Given your experience dealing with the British, especially you Jimmy, you'll be able to make contact with representatives of the Order of the Phoenix, inform them of the creatures' presence, and aid in hunting them down."
O'Bannon's insides felt ready to burst. Not only would he be on an important mission for the Guild, but it would take him to Britain. And if he had to contact the Order of the Phoenix, he'd likely run into the Weasley twins, Ginny, Ron and Harry Potter.
This is too friggin' cool!
"What kind of creatures are we talking about?" Rosa's eyes widened. "Reptoids? Wendigos? Shadow Panthers?"
"No. Chupacabra."
Mrs. Diaz's words hit O'Bannon like an invisible fist. Had he heard right? Did she really say . . .
"Chupacabra?" Jared's face scrunched up. He aimed his unblinking eyes at his mother. "Chupacabra, Mom?"
"I thought you said these were dangerous creatures." Disbelief coated Rosa's voice.
"They are."
"Yeah. If you're a goat or a sheep." The skin around Rosa's nose crinkled.
"You don't think protecting livestock is important? There are still a few witches and wizards who make their living raising and selling goats and cows and sheep for food or clothing material. Need I remind you of the Chupacabra attacks in Texas and Northern Mexico in the 1930s and 40s that wiped out entire herds of farm animals?"
"Okay, we get it." Jared's shoulders slumped. "Chupacabra are bad for livestock. But for Merlin's sake, we learned how to deal with them, like, in our Third Year at Salem."
"You don't want to take them lightly, Jared," said Mr. Diaz. "My first year with the Bureau for the Management of Magical Creatures, I helped eradicate a pack of Chupacabra in New Mexico. One wizard on my team got too close to one and the little bastard nearly ripped his arm off with one swipe."
"Probably because he was careless," Rosa griped. "C'mon, Uncle Irving. How many Chupacabra attacks have there been on humans in the last twenty years? Ten? Fifteen? Most times they run off when they get just a sniff of people."
"Why would You-Know-Who even waste his time with these things?" O'Bannon threw up his arms.
"Most likely it's just another tactic to spread fear and panic, not just among magical folk, but Muggles as well."
"Pretty lame way to do it," Jared grumbled. "Chupacabra. Jeez, what's next? Letting loose garden gnomes in the Department of Magic?"
"Just remember." Mrs. Diaz's tone grew a bit firmer. "The British have no experience dealing with Chupacabra."
"I could send 'em my Defense Against the Dark Arts book from Third Year. They can learn all about 'em that way."
Mrs. Diaz's jaw stiffened as she fixed a hard stare on Rosa. "If we had any secure lines of communication or transport between our two countries, we would. We're still working on that. In the meantime, this is our best option. Not only that, but we can use the opportunity to exchange information. There's probably a lot happening in England that's not being covered in The All-Seeing Eye's International Section. And I'm sure the Order's curious to know what's happening with the war effort here in the U.S."
Mrs. Diaz drew a slow breath. "Now, thanks to Hector's position with the Department's Office of International Magical Travel, he's managed to set up a port key for you. It will take you to France, just outside Calais."
"France?" A quizzical look came over O'Bannon's face. "I thought we were supposed to go to Britain."
"Too risky," Hector answered. "If You-Know-Who and his goons don't detect your port key, the British Ministry of Magic will, which means the other side will find out about it eventually. Plus there are still plenty of young people port keying from America and Canada to the continent to broom across Europe. They think all the bad stuff is confined to Britain despite all the travel warnings the Department of Magic and the Canadians have put out. Still, you'll raise a lot less suspicion landing in France as opposed to the U.K."
"After that," Mrs. Diaz took over, "you'll fly across the Channel to England. We'll put multiple stealth charms on your brooms to make it difficult for any wards set up by the Ministry or You-Know-Who's forces to detect you. Then, Jimmy, I'm sure you can lead everyone to the -"
"Man, this is bullcrap," Jared groused.
"Jared!" Mrs. Diaz's eyes blazed with anger. "I have had enough of your smart mouth!"
"Oh c'mon, Aunt Liana," Rosa snapped. "Chasing Chupacabra around Britain? This is the best the Guild can do for us?"
"The Guild of the Light exists to fight You-Know-Who, not to make you happy. This is the assignment you've been given, so accept it!"
"After every -"
"Enough!" Mrs. Diaz's body jerked as she shouted. "I don't want to hear another word out of either of you until this meeting is over!"
Both Jared and Rosa sat back in the chairs, glaring at Mrs. Diaz.
O'Bannon's eyes flickered between his friends and the witch. He empathized with Rosa and Jared. He, too, was pissed off at Mrs. Diaz right now. Hadn't they all proven themselves in combat versus Death Eaters and aurors? Hadn't they done enough monkey work over the past six months? Didn't they deserve a more important mission?
He slumped in his seat, staring at the floor instead of Mrs. Diaz. He'd come here tonight expecting to fight, to make a real contribution to the war effort. Instead he and his friends wound up as the wizarding version of pest control.
TO BE CONTINUED