Chapter 37
Disclaimer: I own nothing. I claim no rights to any television show, movie, or book. I write for fun not profit. All television show, movie, and book characters are owned by their production studios, television stations, and authors. No copyright infringement is intended. Again, I write for fun not profit. I am not getting paid for this. This goes for all chapters past, present, and future.
A.N. I'd like to thank everyone for their comments in the past and thank them for the ideas some of which I already had those ideas in the mix. (Great minds think alike. ;) I like reviews and hope to receive more as they push me forward. Thanks again and on with the show.
A few weeks have passed and Harry and Xander were eating an early lunch at a restaurant near their hotel for a change as the hotel restaurant had a limited menu.
"The flounder is pretty good." Harry announced.
"So is the chicken." Xander replied.
"What did you think of the building we saw yesterday?" Harry asked.
"Well we've seen a lot of really great places since we found this new agent. Or should I say since he found us. There were a lot of pro's and con's to each place we've seen. My main concern was always that we would be spending the rest of our lives there and so I have to wonder would we feel cramped? Would we be able to call it home? I mean, none of the places we've seen give way to expansion but this last place was pretty big and seems to be the best we've been shown. I'm leaning towards signing the papers on it. Xander explained."
"Yes, it was very nice and I have the same problem with the knowledge that when the main event occurs we would be stuck with any property we have with little hope of getting any more. I'm sure real-estate prices will go through the roof by then. I was hoping for expansion as well but if this is the best we can do then this will have to be it. We could probably do a little expanding using magic." Harry said.
"How would that work?" Xander asked but at that moment the waiter seated a family close to their table.
"We'll talk about it later." Harry replied now that other people were in ear shot.
"Well, I think we're finished here. Let's go back to the hotel." Xander said.
"They walked back to the hotel and as they entered the lobby they saw there new real estate agent Ted Billings walking up to them."
"Mr. Harris Mr. Potter may I have a word?"
"Sure Ted but call us by out given names Xander and Harry. We were just thinking about you over lunch by the way. So what can we do for you?" Xander asked hoping the building wasn't sold.
"Let us move into your room for privacy shall we." Ted suggested.
"Sure." Xander replied.
As they got into the room Ted explained his purpose for being here.
"I've given your requirement on properties with the possibility of expansion some considerable thought. And I must confess that I've been holding out on you but with good reason. There is a property that I think would suit your need perfectly the only trouble is the way I acquired it and where it's located. You see the previous Belgian real-estate agent and I have been known to do a little gambling every now and again and well you see…the Belgian was in heavy debt with the casinos and needed money badly. He was so far in debt that he couldn't even get a loan. At least not enough to cover the amount he owed. So he came to me and arranged to sell me Belgian land at a fantastically low price if I would loan him the money so that when he earned enough money back he would pay me and I would give him back the deed for the land. This is a big no, no here in Africa. Belgian sells to Belgian's. The English sell to the Englishmen and so on. But you see the Belgian died and I'm stuck with property I don't know what to do with it. I mean everything's legal but I don't know who I would sell it to. That is of course until you asked about expansion potential. I know none of the properties have met with that particular requirement and I don't know if I even have anything the right size for you. However, the Belgian property does have it, and I can let you have it for a little more that what I paid for it."
"Well, of course you should make a profit. But where is it?"
At this Ted looked a little uncomfortable. "It's in the Democratic Republic of the Congo."
"Oh Damn." Xander exclaimed. "That sucks."
"Am I to take it it's not something you'd be interested in?" Ted asked.
Xander looked to Harry to see what he thought but saw that he only looked confused.
"I'm sorry, what's the problem?" Harry inquired.
"Don't the British schools teach you anything these days?" Ted asked. "We're talking about the Congo. Even the BBC news would tell you that the political climate alone makes it a very dangerous place to live."
"He's right, there be terrorist in them there wood." Xander explained.
"Granted there seems to be a lull in activity for the last few months but that could mean anything." Ted added.
"But from what you say we could be face with terrorist where ever we go in Africa." Harry said turning to Xander.
"That's true and from what I learned from my time here last time the Congo is like Sherwood Forest for terrorist. It's where they run and hide when the going gets rough. There are a few terrorist I'd like to get some payback on from last time but the place is so big and they are somewhat organized. I guess as far as this property goes it would really depend on just were in the Congo it's located."
"It borders the Sudan which the English hold the deeds to and Uganda of which the Germans hold deeds." Ted informed.
"Then I'd guess it gets a lot of traffic." Xander replied
"Not really there is a river that runs through it and no bridges cutting them off. It's actually out of the way of terrorist traffic but it doesn't mean that they don't know about it or that they haven't been there. But for the most part it looked deserted for quit some time. At least it was the last time I was there. The best of the building there are very old and may need extensive renovations but you'll have your pick."
"Xander, This place sound incredibly dangerous but I have this strange urge to see it for our selves. I guess the biggest question I would have at this point would be is it defendable?" Harry wondered aloud.
"Listen to me Harry, I've been in the Congo and it really is the most dangerous place besides a hellmouth that I know of but for some strange reason I feel the same way. I think we need to see it. I'm getting going to go out on a limb here and say the PTB have something to do with it." He said privately to Harry.
"PTB?" Harry wondered.
"Right, we haven't talked about that yet have we? I'll tell you later." Xander replied and then turned to Ted. "You wouldn't have time to show us this place today would you?"
"As a matter of fact I had everything set up at the airport in advance on the off chance you would wish to see it. But I must say, for how dangerous it is I don't know what came over me to even offer it to you and that I would make arrangements to head that way before talking to you is another thing I'm not prone to do. On some level I actually wish you'd reconsider."
"Everything happens for a reason Ted. This may be a way for you to unload that property you would otherwise be stuck with. Just give us a chance to get ready. Well meet you back here in the lobby."
"Very well, I'll see you then." With that Ted left the room.
As they changed and collected their exploration gear Harry thought it was time for answers.
"So what is this PTB?" He asked heatedly.
"The Powers That Be… they try to keep the balance of good and evil when it comes to the supernatural. They sometime send a messenger or give prophecies to someone with information to help us and for some reason they must think one of these building in the Congo suit our needs that they are giving us this feeling of attraction to the place. It's the same beings that have been sending Oz, Jim, and Blair to inform and save people from the cleansing."
"I don't know if I like these being making me feel things I'm not feeling." Harry confessed.
Yeah the G.C. has a love hate relationship with the PTB but in the end they are only trying to help. They usually give us the smallest amount of help possible but since we found out about the cleansing they've been more helpful then usual. Listen do you think you can do that protection spell on the plain again before we take off?"
"Sure, I'll even put a dissolution and notice-me-not charm on it so we won't be seen in the air. If it's as dangerous as you say I wouldn't want to be shot at from the ground." Harry offered.
"Good thinking. I'm ready if you are, let's go."
And with that they left their room.
/Scene Break/
As Jackie made her way into her apartment loaded down with boxes while maneuvering around boxes in her living room she had to let off some steam about the situation she found herself in.
"Just how long are we supposed to live like this Rose? I can barely make it into my own bedroom?"
"You don't even use the bed room, mum. You prefer to sleep on the couch. We could just put the boxes in there."
"But my cloths are in there. It's where I get dressed."
"So, if we sell the bed we can use that empty space for the boxes."
"But then you'd only get more boxes. When did you say we are going to ship them off?"
"First Mickey will go to Morocco and get and apartment and set up a few P.O. boxes in the name of something that sounds like an official and proper business so we can mail them to him. We wouldn't be able to get this stuff through customs otherwise. The drugs alone would set off alarm bells even though it's only ibuprofen, aspirin, an acetaminophen. A hundred and twenty pills in a bottle is one thing but a hundred and twenty bottles of each is probably a felony not to mention the heavier drugs we were able to acquire. I'm hoping the postal system just sees it as cargo."
"But that's six months away darling." Jackie pointed out.
"And Mickey will be leaving next week. We can't send this stuff all at once otherwise even the postal service will get suspicious. We need to prepare for the future. I'm trying my best to cover all our bases. I'm still a slayer. I'm prone to get hurt and need medical supplies but when the main event happens there may be fighting in the streets and you and Mickey could get hurt as well. By the way how did you do selling the second television?"
"I got twenty pounds more than you expected."
"Looks like your acting skills aren't the only thing I underestimated about you mum. Your bargaining skills are amazing."
"Well there's a lot you don't know about me sweetheart. But I've been impressed at how you've been handling all of this."
"I've only been doing the same things I heard the G.C. planning only on a much smaller scale since it's only the three of us. I'm collecting the things that will make up our version of bug out bags like the G.C. have been teaching us to use. All of this is what the G.C. has been doing."
"Yes but you found workarounds that the G.C. was using magic for. That's where you're a genius."
"Thanks mum." She said with an embarrassing smile. Truth be told, Rose was nervous that she would screw up along the way but with her mothers approval and support maybe thing would turn out okay.
/Scene Break/
After the plane landed Ted brought Xander and Harry to what resembled something a little better than an old west ghost town, better for the fact that many of the buildings looked to be made of stone. Stone, brick, and masonry were just some of what they saw. Many of the wood buildings had deteriorated down to their foundations while others were in different states of collapse. The road was wide enough for two vehicles to get by one another which Xander thought was forward thinking for its time. The only building that was in the best state was the bank. A building made of concrete that had holes in its walls showed it had steel rod reinforcement in them that these days would be called rebar. Between that and the style of the surrounding buildings told Xander that this town might have been made around the late 1850's but even then these building were much too small for their needs. Harry thought the size of the town reminded him of a slightly smaller Hogsmead village but also didn't see anything useable.
"Ted, I'm sorry but is this the extent of the buildings around here?" Harry asked.
"Yeah, we were expecting something larger with many floors like that last building you showed us. None of these are anywhere near big enough for the needs of our school." Xander added.
"Gentlemen I was never talking about selling you one of these building…I was talking about selling you all of them if you're interested."
This shocked Harry and Xander and they took another look around. Now they saw potential. This wouldn't be a simple school building. This could be a campus. Now this was worth some thought and investigation. Without a word they took their flashlights in hand and they started to carefully explore some of the building to see how structurally safe they were and if they could be made safe. The bank of course had the most potential but there were other buildings that also worked for them. There were two small building on the other side of the street from the bank that with very little repair they could live and sleep in while they rebuilt the other building. The bank would be first and be renovated into a large dorm for now as they needed to house all the slayers. Xander hated the idea of a large dorm because no mater how they decorated it, it would remind him of an old fashioned hospital ward but there wasn't anything he could do about it. They wouldn't have too much time for anything else before the slayers got here. But all in all this could very well work out to their advantage…depending on the price.
"So Ted, there is a lot of work to be done here. But we just might be interested anyway. So, now we come to the big question, how much?" Xander finally asked.
"Well that's where I think I will really surprise you. Now I had it figured out in American dollars as you requested Mr. Harris. It can all be yours for the low price of $1,100,100. Incidentally I only paid $1,049,985 so you can see I am making very little profit on it."
Ted mistakenly took the shock on their faces as a good sign. But Harry and Xander felt their hearts sinking. It was Xander who found his voice first.
"Are you in anyway joking? That's a large amount for a property that basically consists of a street of collapsed buildings."
Ted looked at them in confusion. "I know the engines were loud but didn't you hear anything I said on the plane?"
Xander and Harry looked at him blankly for a few seconds. The plane had been extremely loud. The headphone Ted handed them only made the sound of static the entire flight because the pilot forgot to tell them the com system was malfunctioning.
"You were speaking to us on the plane?" Xander asked. "We couldn't hear anything over the engines."
Ted looked at them stunned. He had been speaking to them a lot on the flight here. This was embarrassing. "Gentlemen, I am not talking about just the street you see here. I'm talking about the whole peace of Belgian property I bought…"he paused looking at them seeing they still had no idea what he was talking about. He was going to have a talk with the pilot about his loud engines and fatly com system. "I'm talking about the surrounding three point five miles of land around us. Of course you'll want to get some survey equipment to better mark your territory but I think that would be more than adequate for your needs for expansion."
Again the men were speechless. This was bigger than the village of Hogsmead and Diagon ally and all the magical places Harry had ever seen in magical Britain put together. Xander knew that Sunnydale had been four point five miles in all. The place they were being offered was big enough for a small town and at that price it was a steal but would Giles go for it…could they afford it? Xander pulled Harry away from Ted for a private talk to find out how much he would be willing it pitch in. Earlier he had said he would put in half but Xander didn't know how much Harry could put together and wondered how much he could afford. Xander didn't know Harry was a millionaire several times over before he even left Hogwarts and since then his investments put him just above a billionaire so he looked at Harry in surprise that he would still be putting in his half. Not wanting Xander to look at him differently because of his wealth he said.
"Believe me, my friend Neville Longbottom as well as some of the others are ready to help cover our half of the expense. We can put in our half."
"This is great and will take a load off our budget. It is more than we hoped to pay but we would be idiots to pass up the best deal we've seen. Not that I don't trust Ted but we will need to get the contracts looked over by a bank or a lawyer."
"I agree but we should take it to Gringotts they know their way around contracts and real-estate better than anyone and they would get very angry if someone tried to cheat one of the clients they represent and would start taking pieces of the contract breaker ether fugitively through money and property or literally by slicing off a body part."
"You're kidding, right?" Xander asked.
"They are where the saying (it will cost you and arm and a leg came from). And I'm already a preferred client."
"I like them already. I just need to ask Ted some things and we can take the contracts to Greenguts."
"Gringotts." Harry corrected.
"Right, let go talk to Ted."
They walked back to Ted and Xander asked questions.
"Ted, you said there is a river that runs though the property?"
"Yes, it's just up beyond that ridge behind the bank?"
"Is the river a natural boundary between the other two countries?"
"No, this part or the river is one of the many runoffs of the Nile. The Nile itself is about a mile beyond that and is the natural boundary. The land between the two rivers will be all yours if you buy it."
"It's so cheap, I got to wonder if there's any other catch." Xander asked
"It's the Congo Mr. Harris that's the only catch I need to sell it so cheap. And as I said I'm still making a profit from what I had originally paid. Not much of one but at least my conscience is satisfied."
"Yes, that would be the only excuse you need. Sorry I asked. If you could give us a copy of the contract to read over we'll take it to our people for examination and if they agree they might buy the property."
"You mean you'll take it?" Ted asked happily excited.
"It isn't our money but we'll give a glowing recommendation and then let you know. Our word carries a lot of weight Ted, and I can almost guarantee we'll take it."
"That's splendid. I look forward to hearing good news."
"I have a question as well." Harry began. "Why did this town fail? I mean why was it abandoned?"
"There was a rail way that was supposed to run through here. There's even a rail way station set up beyond the other side of the street. The rails are there and connect to the main line but don't lead back out so any train that came here would have to back out again. And because of politics the line was never recognized or formalized. Since the only reason the town was built was because of the train, when plans for it died so did the town."
"Where were the train tracks suppose to go?"
"The tracks come from the ship yards at the Cape of Good Hope; and, run up to Libya making several stops along the way, and then makes its way between the borders of Mali and Mauritania. The tracks then head back to meet itself back in the D.R.C…
"D.R.C.?" Harry asked interrupting Ted.
"Democratic Republic of the Congo." Xander answered and Ted continued.
"The line that would have run through here would have run through Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia, Sudan, Egypt and reconnect in Libya."
"That would have been very progressive and profitable. I wonder why it didn't work out." Xander wondered.
"Being profitable was why it didn't go through. There are people in the African government that want what's best for Africa and its people but then there are the people that only look out for themselves and what they would get out of it. They have lots of money. More than we could ever dream of and the places the train would have stop on this new line are impoverished and they would want to see it kept that way."
"Why?" Harry asked shocked at the in-humanity.
"Land, power, you would get more definitive answers if you ask why the sky was blue. It would behoove you to listen to BBC news radio once in a while. It's pretty bad when the American has to educate you about something the British have a stake in."
"Harry lived a very sheltered life and I live in Africa for a year, well… traveled through it for a year is more like it. I promise to make him listen to BBC news for an hour a day every day we're here." Xander said with a smile while Harry looked indignant.
"Well what do you wish to do now?" Ted asked.
"Well we can go back so we can talk to our people about it."
"Are you sure? You haven't even taken a good look around yet."
"That's okay it's just that we want to get the ball rolling and besides we just missed a storm on the way here and I don't wish to fly through it on the way back."
"Yes, that's a good point. Perhaps we should get back to the plane."
"And so that's what they did. Harry assured Xander that he could bring them back here from the hotel at any time by apparition and would change his portkey destinations from here to G.C. England when they came back. Any other concerns about the property would have to be asked later."
/Scene Break/
The next day, as the P.T.B. trio made their way through Ontario on their ways to Middleton Jim and Blair were in the front seat of their station wagon talking about past adventures. They had just passed the Welcome to Middleton sign when Oz who was stretched out in the back seat listening to music on his MP3 player shot up and shouted. "Stop the car!" they weren't going very fast but Jim stepped on the breaks so hard that the tires squealed. Oz jumped out of the car so fast the pair left inside didn't get a chance to ask what was wrong. They looked back and saw Oz running back down the road only stopping when he ran past the welcome sign. Blair was ready to get out but Jim told him to hang on and put the car in reverse. They came up to Oz and got out of the car. Oz was pale, sweating, and out of breath.
"What happened?" What was that all about? Jim asked
"Wards." Was all that Oz could say between breaths at the moment.
Jim handed him a bottle of water which he gratefully accepted. Once he caught his breath Jim asked.
"These ward, are they what Elise Davies referred to?" Jim wondered.
"Must be, she said that the witch who lives here put a sanctuary spell of her own making around the whole town." Oz replied
"The sanctuary spell is the spell we saw and felt in L.A. at the Hyperion Hotel?" Blair asked.
"Yeah, only she changed it and I think we can safely say what the results are. I can't go anywhere near the town. Its wards give demons plenty of pain. The further and longer a demon stays within the warded area the more pain they receive." Oz stated.
"But you aren't a demon. I mean you were bitten by a werewolf and I suppose that technically that's a demon but you transformed it into a moon wolf." Blair said.
"That only means that I accepted the demon wolf that resides in me as part of myself. It isn't a separate entity we are one and the same I am the werewolf I am a demon and live in harmony because there isn't any separation. There isn't an us there is only me. Even though I'm one of the good ones those wards still affect me." Oz explained
"Wow, I'm sorry I never thought of it that way. You never said…" Blair said stunned at the revelation.
"It's alright. Listen I obviously can't go with you. You're going to have to do this one on your own. There was a motel and little diner we passed a mile or two back. Just drop me off there and I'll wait for you to come back." Oz said
"Are you sure you could take the portkey back to Ohio." Jim asked.
"No that's okay; we'll keep that for emergencies. Go see Cassandra Russell make a good impression and tell her we're here for her." Oz replied.
"Alright we'll see you when we're done. Just stay out of trouble."
"I can't promise anything you know how trouble likes to fine us and besides you pretty much jinxed me when you told me to stay out of trouble."
"Smart ass, come on lets get you to that dinner. Well keep you posted by phone." Jim said.
/Scene Break/
Harry and Xander made their way to Egypt for their arranged early morning meeting at Gringotts. Harry loaned Xander some of his robes but told him not to be surprised if the goblins knew he was a muggle. Xander wondered aloud why he needed to ware them if it wouldn't fool them. To which Harry told him that he was trying to fool the wizards.
Harry stood in line while Xander sat in the waiting area reading a book. After Harry was done with the teller and had him announce their presents to the real-estate manager for their appointment, Harry motioned Xander to follow.
Xander was impressed when they entered his office. It was like walking in to Buckingham palace. The walls were trimmed in gold which was a bit gaudy for Xander's taste but it was as big as half a basket ball court which also seemed ostentatious to him. They walked up to the goblin at the desk that seemed to be excited about something. It wasn't until he introduced himself that he explained what it was that had him nearly jumping out of his skin.
"Mr. Potter It is an honor to meet you. My name is Meatslicer. I've followed your fight against Voldemort for some time. The battle of Gringotts England is legendary and I have so admired the tail of your escape. Tell me did you really ride a dragon bursting through the walls to freedom?"
"Um... well, yes, I suppose I did, but you must understand that at the time it wasn't about robbing the bank, it was to remove a dark relic illegally stored in one of the vaults."
"Yes, I have heard. That you and your friends submitted yourselves to a goblin trial says something about your characters. But tell me; is it true that you rode that dragon off into the horizon?"
"Um yes, I suppose that it also true."
"I must say you have some big brass ball to have thought of that one."
"Harry snorted as he said. It wasn't my idea. Believe it or not Hermione is the one with the brass ones when it came to that desperate act. She refused the idea that we would die there."
Meatslicer laughed loudly. Once he calmed he asked. "But how did you manage to get off the blasted thing?"
"Oh well, it was still in flight when it passed low over a lake so we jumped off."
"Good lord! That was in the beginning of March. That water must have been freezing."
"Yes it was." Harry replied and then caught Xander staring at him with a giddy type of smile on his face. "What?" Harry asked
"And I thought the Scooby's and I did some crazy bat shit things. If I had any doubts before they're gone now. Our groups will fit together just fine."
"Indeed, Mr. Harris and his friends have done some amazing things as well. Things that he and his friend were never given thanks for. And I'd like to be the first to do so." Meatslicer said.
Xander was taken aback. "You know of us?" He asked.
"Oh yes, we aren't a religious people but if we were we would have been caught praying several times for your successes. The hellgod and the first springs to mind of the time we all held our collective breaths in hopes of your victory." Meatslicer explained.
"I see." He said.
"What's a hell god and the first what?" Harry asked.
"I'll tell you later. Right now I was hoping to get down to business."
"Ah yes, you are trying to negotiate a land deal. May I see the paper work please?" Meatslicer asked.
Harry handed over the documentation and sat back as Meatslicer looked over the document.
As Meatslicer went through the pages Harry and Xander explained how the English real-estate agent acquired Belgian property and their concerns that this was on the up and up.
Meatslicer looked up from the pages and said. "This will take some time to go over. Plus I'll need to make a few floo calls to verify a few details. I may have to add few lines to the contract to sneak in a few magically binding lines so that they won't be able to double-cross you. Come back around four, I should be done by then."
With that they got up and shook Meatslicer's hand. It was Xander that said. "May gold flow into your vault and may you dance over your enemies bones."
Meatslicer grinned with a twinkle in his eye and said. "May all your ventures bring forth gold and may your enemies tremble in fear long after you've destroyed them. "
With that they left Meatslicer's office.
"Where did you learn how to give honor to Goblins?" Harry asked.
Xander pulled out the book he was reading. "The book you gave me on wizarding economics. It tells you how to deal with goblins."
"I've really got to start reading those books."
/Scene Break/
Jim and Blair made there way into Middleton to meet with Cassandra Russell the town mayor. Her shop Bell, Book and Candle was easy enough to find as they pulled up to the front door. They walked into the shop and found a brunet woman with her back turned to them arranging merchandise just so, to make it look fresh and more appealing. Hearing the bell of her shop door she started speaking even before turning around to see who she was speaking to.
"Did you know the bark of slippery elm is one of the oldest folk remedies for an upset stomach?"
"Yes we did… well I did that is. Under different circumstances I'd trade herbal cold remedies with you. Being well traveled you'd find I have quite a few." Blair said.
The woman who was now facing them introduced herself. "Hello I'm Cassandra Russell the owner of this shop and the mayor of Middleton. How may I help you?"
"I'm Blair Sandburg and this is my partner Jim Ellison and at the moment we kind of work for the Guardian Council Academe and…"
"I'm sorry but you can stop right there. I'm not interested in anything the Guardian Council has to offer. I have no plains to use my magic for battling demons. I'm not that kind of Wicca. I stay away from magic that invokes three fold rules."
"Actually, we're here to save your life."
"I can assure you that I don't need it I've put up wards that protect myself, my family, and the people of this town."
"Yes, we have first hand experience of them and what they do."
"You would have to be a demon and if you were you wouldn't be standing here right now."
"No, were traveling with a moon wolf, he was nearly killed when we came into town."
"I'm sorry to here about your friend. I didn't take into consideration of the fact the ward may affect more than demons with evil intent. Will he be alright?"
"Yes, we think so but getting back to what we are actually here for. We may be getting paid by the Guardian Council but its higher being that sent us to warn you. It's not just you nor is it the whole town but it is most of the continents of the world. They're going to sink into the oceans by the end of the year. Your wards won't save you. What we are talking about is in several prophecies and the governments of the world know about it. If you'll allow us we can show you what we've learned."
"You've caught my interest." Cassandra said out of concern.
Blair pulled out his laptop from his shoulder bag while Jim pulled out the DVD player. Cassandra watched the video with interest. It worried her. Jim handed her a copy of several different prophecies which she looked through and it frightened her. Blair showed her the government site that showed the temperatures of the earth between two thousand ten and now and she was shocked that this was really happening. She wanted to break down and cry. That's when her husband Sheriff Jake Russell came in. Seeing her distress he sprung across the shop to embrace her.
"Cassie what's the matter? What happened? Are you alright?" He asked.
"Um darling I um… need you to keep an open mind. Actually I think we need to take some time to have a long talk in private. There are quite a few things that need to be explained before we can even talk about the cruces of the problem."
"Are these gentlemen part of the problem?" He asked.
"No, I believe they are part of the solution." She said looking at them. You do have a solution don't you?
"Yes, we're here to help." Jim said.
"And just who are you two." Jake asked.
"Jim Ellison and this is my partner Blair Sandburg."
"You guys cops?"
"Yes, out of Cascade Washington but we're on sabbatical and helping some friends at this point."
"Boy are you out of you jurisdiction." Jake said
"Like we said we're not here as cops." Jim replied.
"Honey please, we need to talk." Cassie said and then looked at the two men and asked. "Can you come back later and explain this again please?"
Just then Jakes police radio blared an announcement.
"Car Six and four report to Paul Bunions Dinner and Hotel for a disturbance of a…monster and a ….wolfman."
"Oh crap that's got to be Oz. That's the dinner we left him at." Blair announced.
"Damn, we forgot about the Morrog." Jim said in realization.
"Sorry, Cassie we have to go. Well try to be back as soon as we can." Blair said.
"Jake, you need to go with them." Cassie urged.
"But Cassie that's about two miles outside of town that's out of my jurisdiction and honestly it sounds like a job for animal control." Jake said.
"They need to get to their friend quickly. Use your sirens and escort them out of town before it's too late." Cassie pleaded.
"Alright, alright I'm going." Jack said as he ran after Jim and Blair. He caught up with them outside and told them he would give them an escort.
They sped down the road Jack leading the way. Once they made it to the welcome sign Jack pulled over and let them pass as he watched them disappear around the bend he shook his head. "Ah hell!" He grouched out and drove on to the dinner.
Blair dug out the silver knives in their new sheaths and slings from the back of the SUV as he asked. "How the hell did we forget we had a Morrog demon after us? How could we have left Oz there alone?"
"Oz didn't seem to think of it ether and he's hunted demons longer than we have." Jim replied
"You don't think he purposely put himself at risk do you?" Blair asked suspiciously.
"After being weakened by those wards? No, I think he forgot like we did." Jim said.
Just then they came to the dinner as two huge humanoid things burst through one of the windows tangled in each other as they viciously fought. Jake was just in time to see the things roll on the ground for a few seconds and take off running into the woods behind the dinner. As Jake got out of his car he shouted to Jim and Blair. "What the hell were those things?"
Nether of them answered as they took off after the monsters as if hell were on their heels and pulling out knives the size of his Billy club. As he watched them go he said. "Ah hell!" and took off after them.
Jim and Blair caught up to the pair and waited for them to separate so they could get in their licks without hurting Oz by accident. It was then they saw Jake come running and pull his revolver. Blair jumped in his path so he couldn't get a shot off.
"Get out of the way!" Jake shouted.
"Not a chance in hell. One of those two is a friend of mine and there is no way in hell I'm letting you shoot ether one because the only thing you'll do is piss them off. And oz is grumpy enough when he wakes up in the morning before his coffee."
"Are you serious?" Jake replied.
"Deadly serious, you can't win using a gun. Let us handle this." Blair stated.
Just then the two separated and Jim yelled. "Sandburg now!"
Without even the slightest hesitation Blair turned and ran at the Morrog demon. Blair was able to slice its arm while Jim plunged his knife into its shoulder. Throwing them off with a screech and a growl the Morrog then disappeared using it dark corridor ability to escape.
"Damn, wounded but not dead." Blair said.
Jim moved toward Oz putting his knife away and Jake exclaimed. "Hey are you crazy? I don't know what that thing is but it's wounded and more than likely wild. It's not a good idea to approach it even if it weren't wounded."
Jim ignored him and crouched down in front of Oz.
"Will you be alright Oz?" Jim asked.
"Yes." Oz said in his spirit animal voice. "Just give me a few minuets for my wounds to heal."
"Alright I'll send Blair for your clothes."
"I'm way ahead of you guys I got them right here." Blair said throwing Oz's back pack to him.
Oz took one look at the bag and said. "You grabbed the wrong one this is your backpack."
Blair just shrugged and said. "Honest mistake but we're the same size so feel free to use them."
Jack looked back and forth between the three of them and said. "Am I to believe you too can understand what that creature is saying?"
Blair looked to his friends and said. "Jake Russell I'd like you to meet our friend Daniel "Oz" Osbourne. Oz this is Sheriff Jake Russell, Cassie's husband."
At that point Oz's wounds were healed and he began to transform. Once in human form Oz said. "It's a pleasure to meet you."
The shock on Jakes face was so severe that the others were worried he may go into shock.
"Jake are you alright?" asked Jim
"What the hell is happening? Did you people drug me?" Jack said worried.
"No, I'm sorry but what you see is real. Cassie can confirm it if need be." Blair said.
"What, what is this. What's going on?" Jack said his mind spinning.
Just then Jakes phone rang. Jake answered it. It turned out to be Cassie.
"Jake is everything alright?" Cassie asked worried for her husband.
"I'm not… I'm not sure. Cassie I think I've been drugged. I'm seeing things, things that can't be real." Jack said.
"You need to come home right now. Bring Jim Blair and Oz with you. Let one of them drive you back. You don't sound like you're in any condition to drive." She said.
Do you even know what's happening? Jack asked.
"Yes, not the specifics but I think I know what you saw and you need to come home. Tell Oz I've altered the wards to accept him now. He'll know what it means." Cassie replied.
Jake looked towards the man thing that had been fighting something else and repeated what his wife said.
Oz nodded and thanked him.
After Oz put on the cloths Jim helped him up.
"Well what do you think? Is it a good look for me?" Oz said while modeling Blair's clothes. Jake however had other concerns.
"Was anyone in the dinner hurt when you were battling that other thing?" He asked.
This kind of threw them off a bit because Jake had just implied Oz was a thing. They kept their cool as they spoke hoping to educate him. Blair knew that Jake might not get the point right away but would probably need to wait for the shock to wear off before he would see his error and just hoped the other would give him time before jumping down his throat.
"For the record Oz is not a thing he's a human being with an unusual ability. Now the other thing was a monster, a thing, or a demon and was the one responsible for what happened."
"As far as the people in the dinner I tried to keep the thing away from everyone. I had a real hard time trying to get it outside and away from everyone but I don't think anyone was hurt. The only ones in there was basically the cook the waitress and one other patron who stayed on the other side of the dinner." Oz explained.
"Did anyone see you transform?" Jim asked with concern.
"No, I was alone in the restroom when it showed up. I'm not sure if anyone even noticed me come into the dinner as I headed directly there." Oz replied.
Just then three hunters and two police officers came running up the trail the battle had made.
"Hey you guys see the animals that tore up the dinner?" One of the hunters asked.
"We tried to track them but lost their trail right around here somewhere." Jim replied.
"Amateures." One of the hunters said as he took a whack at tracking the beasts.
"What are you doing her Jake? This isn't your jurisdiction." One of the cops who knew him asked.
"I was in the neighborhood." Jake said wishing he wasn't a part of this. "Actually I was on my break and had a craving for a Bunion burger. Just as I was pulling in we saw these two wild beasts fly through the window."
"And you guys are?" The cop asked.
"Suppose to be on vacation. I'm Jim Ellison and this is my partner Blair Sandburg we're cops from Washington State and this is our friend Oz."
"And you guys just go charging after dangerous creatures?" The other cop asked suspiciously.
"I was trying to get a picture of them." Blair stated. "I've never seen anything like them before and thought I could get some money from the papers if I got some pictures with my cell phone."
"Did you get any?" One of the Hunters asked.
"No, the only time we actually saw them was when they came through the window and I couldn't get my phone out fast enough." Blair responded.
"Can any of you describe what you saw?" The first cop asked.
"I was asleep in the back seat and the next thing I know we were running through the woods for some reason." Oz said.
"I was looking for my cell phone." Blair said.
"And I was looking right at those things and couldn't tell where one started and the other ended. It was like watching one of those cartoons where the fight gets so fierce that it becomes a cloud of dust. Those things were a blur they were fighting so fast." Jim replied.
"He's right about that I couldn't even tell you what it looked like." Jake said deciding he didn't want to sound as crazy as he felt. It could cost him his job if they felt he had some sort of break down.
Just then one of the hunters asked. "Do any of you think they could have been Bigfoot?"
All four men looked at each other before saying. "No comment."
/Scene Break/
After leaving the bank that morning Harry had some concerns that he asked Xander about. The concerns were that the goblin nation would lose many of its people when the main event hit. Concerns that if the goblins knew that Harry and he knew of the up and coming destruction could affect banking for them if the goblins ever found out. They had agreed to save other magical creatures but hadn't given a thought to the goblins. It was then that they agreed to make the call to their friends and find out what should be done. Xander called Willow and Harry called Hermione. Within an hour Harry's friend got together with the G.C. to discuss the right course of action and realizing it could be bad not telling them. They decided that since Harry and Xander had an appointment for later that day that they would be the ones to tell them.
Harry and Xander were back at the bank at the arranged time and were shown straight to Meatslicers office.
"Ah, Mr. Potter, Mr. Harris I'm glad your back. I'll have you know I just finished a work of art. A full proof contract that once signed can not be broken without all owners agreeing to sell. This is what you both wanted is it not?"
"That's sounds exactly like what we want." Harry said.
"You will need to get Mr. Billing to sign it as well. He will also have to sign as testimony as to how he acquired the land in the first place reviling he took it as collateral for a loan and the amount he paid. While also filling in the amount you will pay. Now as I have seen you'll be buying three point five miles of land. Just how much is he asking you for it?"
"$1,100,100" Harry replied, which made Meatslicer nearly choke on his own tongue. "It is however; in the Congo which I'm informed is the most dangerous place in Africa." Harry added.
Meatslicer took a drink from a goblet to clear his throat after choking and said. "Congo or not that has to be the best land deal Gringotts helped broker in many decades." He replied with a chuckle. "You and Mr. Harris here are very shrewd land barons. You have done well for your institution and your people. Once you get all parties to sign all the papers the contract will be iron clad."
"If that's the end of this topic we actually have something else to discuss but we would probably need to talk to either the bank head or maybe even higher, someone like one of your government officials." Harry announced.
"The highest would be preferable." Xander added.
"The highest I can get you is the bank manager. He could then see if he could grant you an audience with someone higher."
Finding this expectable they agreed. Not five minuets later they were brought to a more magnificent office of the bank manager and after stating their request once more the manager brought them to another more magnificent chamber of their head government office.
"Wait, are you saying your government works out of the bank." Xander asked the Bank Manager.
"Mr. Harris, Gringotts banks are the seat of power wherever in the world you find one. That you both are highly respected within its walls is the only reason you've been brought this far. Humans don't usually see the inner working of our government."
"Make no mistake sir; we are honored to be here." Xander remarked.
Just then a regal looking female goblin entered the chamber surrounded by six guards. Xanders eyes were wide with shock. He surprised Harry by getting down on one knee with his head bowed and pulled on Harry's arm for him to do the same, which he did.
"Your majesty I had no idea that our request would have got the response of the queen. We are honored to be in your presents." Xander said.
This shocked the queen as she looked back and forth between the two people before her. She didn't have human guests too often but when she did most of the time they refused to see her as the royalty that she was. She knew the one human to be Harry Potter and wasn't impressed. As far as she was concerned he had been a thief and had embarrassed the goblins by exposing the fact that they had a dark object within its walls. She didn't see him as a hero but she didn't see him as enemy ether. To her he was simply on probation.
"Your majesty may I present the wizard Harry Potter and The One Who Sees Alexander Harris." The bank manager announced.
This surprised the queen once more. She didn't know the revered one even knew of them. She wondered if the Guardian Council was aware of their presence.
Because the floors were highly polished Xander was able to look upon the queen by the floors reflection. He saw some sort of negative emotion cross the queens features when she saw Harry and correctly believed it had something to do with the bank heist and decided to do most of the talking.
"Your majesty we come here today because Mr. Potter realized that we had information your nation needed to know about and I agreed. We contacted our people to tell them we were going to give it to you and they agreed as well. This Information will affect your people as well as ours. We never imagined that we would be given an audience with the queen but it works out better that we did."
"Given the people you both are it was felt that your request to see our highest official would be granted." The bank manager replied.
"What information is it you wish to offer?" The Queen asked.
Knowing that they would never get the Queen away from her guards Xander nudged Harry to reply.
"Um… your majesty it has come to our attention through prophecy and muggle science that the world is soon headed for a cleansing of biblical proportions. The continents will sink and destroy the world as we know it. There were however hints as to where a safe land will be."
"And you came to us in hopes that we would know what the hint implied. Is that it Mr. Potter?" The Queen asked.
"No ma'am we already know where it is. We came to warn you so you could save as many of your citizens of your nation scattered across the world as you can. The safe land is here in Africa."
This surprised all the goblins present. The queen whispered something to the bank manager in their native tongue and dismissed him. The manager ran from the room. The queen considered them for a moment seeing Mr. Potter in a new light. The one who sees said that it had been Mr. Potter's decision to divulge this information to them. She didn't know that Xander was trying to make Harry more favorable. Now she had to deal with them. A gong was heard through out the bank and Xander and Harry were able to hear the sound of goblins hurrying along the corridors outside the room.
"Mr. Harris, Mr. Potter if you will please follow us." The queen said.
They stood and followed the Queen out of the chamber and down the halls. They found themselves going deeper into some sub terrain caverns where Harry and Xander found a whole city. There was a large very bright globe of light over head. They were astonished to find out it was the sun. The inside of the cavern had the same enchantments the great hall in Hogwarts had. The ceiling was enchanted to look like the outside sky above, this allowed for vegetation to grow within the cavern. It looked amazing. The houses had yards with flowers and trees there was a goblin made river. There was a farm growing vegetables. There were huge columns of stone and metal beams that heavily supported the walls and ceiling. This place was in no danger of collapsing. They were lead to what Xander thought looked like the largest arena he had ever seen and as they entered they found that they were intended to be the center of attention. They follow the Queen right to the center where the bank manager was. When she stopped so did everything else. The arena immediately went quiet ready to hear the words of their queen.
"The goblin nation is honored today to have among its people two of the finest humans the world has known Alexander Harris and Harry Potter. They have come here today to deliver a warning that concerns us all, a warning that in a short time in the future the world as we know it will come to an end."
This announcement had the entire arena chuckling, and was silenced by the queen raising her arms.
"That we know of this already does not mean that the act was not considerate to the extreme. That wizards and the humans thought to warn us at all shows us great honor."
Harry and Xander were surprised to hear that they already knew but listened to the queen continue.
"It is of my opinion that we honor them as well. Today the goblin nation will award Alexander Harris and Harry Potter with the title of heroes to the goblin nation and that the people of their organization be granted friend of the goblin nation status for their part in the decision to inform us. They didn't have to do this but that they did show us the ultimate kindness. These awards in my opinion are well deserved. Are there any that disagree?"
None disagreed. In fact they all cheered loudly. Harry and Xander wondered if they ever disagreed with their queen. The queen asked the bewildered pair to say something. It was Harry that spoke.
"This really wasn't necessary but we thank you all the same. I can assure you that the act of warning you was reward enough. We are very honored to receive these awards and will cherish the titles bestowed upon us and hope we can continue to live up to the expectations you expect of us."
This brought even more cheering.
The queen turned to them and said. "Know this, if your organization ever has need of us as warriors or bankers all you need do is ask. A business vault will be opened in the Guardian Councils name. We will store anything that isn't of a dark nature. Your money and valuables will always be safe with us."
"Thank you your majesty we will pass on your gratitude to the rest of the Guardian Council they will be incredibly happy. I'm sure the rest of our managing staff would like to express the honor they will feel as well."
It was at this point the bank manager spoke to his queen in their native language. In doing so she gave a nod and so the manager spoke to Xander.
"It would be a great honor to meet with Miss Summers and Miss Lehane I'm sure our warriors would like the chance to spar with the chosen ones. If you could arrange that at some point it would thrill the nation to watch the heroes of the hellmouth show the moves that have destroyed so many of their enemies."
Xander smiled and said. "I'm sure that this can be arranged at some point and I'm sure they would love new opponents to spar with you, but you must understand that they may not get to that until way after the cleansing. They have so much to do to save the others of our organization. But perhaps I can coax them into taking a break to come here for a relaxing brawl."
Harry looked shocked at those last two words that didn't seem to fit together while the goblins smiled.
"We understand and will hope to see them at some future date and again we thank you." The queen said and then dispersed the goblins back to their duties and turned to the bank manager and asked him to show her guests to the banks main floor. He bowed and they were on their way to the surface with many of the crowed. Harry and Xander were simply bewildered by today's turn of events and now knew that they were stronger for it.
Once they were in the banks main floor they were on their way out when a familiar but angry voice rang out.
"Potter what the hell did you do to my sister?"
It was Bill Weasley and as he crossed the floor he brought forth his wand. Before Bill knew it he had several sword tips at his throat, chest, and back.
"What the hell? What are you doing I work here? I'm a Gringotts employee."
And you are dishonoring us and your position as curse break.
"Harry Potter is married to my sister and has somehow got her thrown in prison. Surly as goblins you can see my need for family honor to be restored."
"All I see is that you are threatening heroes of the nation. You may have already lost your job but if you value your life you'll put away that wand."
"Heroes of the nation?" Bill said now sweating and slowly put his wand away. "I beg the nation's forgiveness as I was unaware of this information."
"You have even less information than you think Bill." Harry said and turned to the bank manager. "Please don't fire my brother-in-law he has every reason to be angry but not enough information to know who to correctly be angry at. If you can give us a private room to discuss the situation then I believe I can straighten this out."
"As you wish Mr. Potter."
"And would you happen to have a pensive I can use? It would make everything go a lot faster." Harry requested.
"Yes, we can provide you with one. Right this way." The bank manager said.
Xander stayed behind in the main lobby of the bank. Once Harry and Bill were inside the room with the pensive, Harry loaded it with memories of how the woman that was Harry's wife, and Bill's sister had been acting for the past couple of years; what it was that got her arrested, and how he had tried every avenue to help her stay out of prison. He finally finished off with Bill's own father telling Harry that he appreciated everything he had tried to do before he left, while staying away from the information of the cleansing. Harry even threw in what was happening with Ron so that wouldn't come up to bite him as well.
Once out of the pensive Bill asked in bewilderment. "What the hell has gone wrong with my family?"
"It's like what your father had said in the memory, they were drawn into their celebrity and changed into people unrecognizable from the people they were. Your sister always had a Harry Potter fixation that I had thought was long over. Ron always wanted to be popular and Hermione and I let him have it. When he cheated on her it came out that he abandoned us. In my opinion he didn't deserve our silence any longer. I always liked your mother but now she's too important to be a mother because all she does is advise others how to raise their children, which isn't anything like how she raised your siblings."
"I'm sorry Harry I didn't know it was that bad. I did notice that the letters from mum seemed different but didn't read into it to much. Maybe I should go see her."
"That would probably be a good idea. She's still very upset about Ginny and blames me for her actions." Harry said as he absorbed his memories from the pensive.
"Harry, how the hell did you become heroes of the nation? Last I checked the nation was split about your guilt over the Lestrange vault."
Harry paused as he thought of a quick lie base on the truth and found the more truth the better.
"I gave the goblins secret information about a plot that would have lost the goblins billions and many of their lives as well."
"What kind of information?"
"Sorry Bill, I can't divulge that information to you yet but I'm sure you'll be told at some point."
"Well thanks for the information on my family and talking the goblins into saving my job. I nearly ruined my whole life."
"You need more control over your occlumency Bill. That cursed scare is getting the better of you."
"You may be right about that. I seem to loose my control when working too much."
"Prehaps you need a vacation. See your family. Maybe you can straighten them out." Harry suggested.
"Maybe your right. It'll mean that I won't be able to afford to go home for Chrismas but they sound like they need me as much as I need a vacation. Thanks Harry."
"Don't mention it. I did what I came here to do and now I have to go back to England as well." Harry said to make Bill think he wouldn't be staying or coming back to Africa. "Give everyone at the Burrow my love."
So long Bill replied and they exited the privacy room.
/Scene Break/
Oz Blair and Jim had waited nearly all day while touring the town of Middleton as Cassie explained about the night life of certain places and the job of the Guardian Council to her husband. Once she felt Jake had digested enough information to start to believe it all, she called Jim's cell phone to bring them in to explain the other unbelievable thing headed their way. Needles to say it didn't go over well. Blair thought that maybe they should bring him into the G.C. for a deeper understanding of what goes bump in the night. Hoping maybe it would help him digest the rest of what he had been told. In the end Cassie vetoed that idea and told them that she and her family would be on board with going to the safe land by the time the cleansing started if they would just send the portkey they mentioned. They agreed and left Middleton heading back to Ohio.
A.N. I know nothing of Africa's Train system. I actually know very little of Africa itself but I'm looking into it. However, what I've written is the way Africa works in this story's universe.
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