Disclaimer: See Chapter 1
-oOo-
This time on The Magic of Amber: Beauxbatons, more wizards and their luck runs out…
-oOo-
November 24, 1993Isla Nublar, Costa Rica
Lex was happy that they were starting to get into what the locals called the dry season. Rainstorms weren't daily, or hourly like they had seemed to be when she first got to the island. With it being less humid, she was wearing longer khaki shorts and an opened button-down shirt over a sleeveless top. Over her shoulder was a bag with her homework and books.
Walking to the Visitor Center, she found herself missing Harry. He had been gone for nearly a week now. She was wondering if they had found Beauxbatons and when he would be back. They said they could be gone for as much as a month. She hoped not.
Things in the Visitor Center were busy as workers finished the construction on the few shops on the main floor and installed a few display cases with models or other skeletons. She had come here to meet with tutors. Grandpa and mom had found a few that would come in every week or two. She was keeping up with what she needed to, but for some reason she found she really wasn't that focused on her grades right now. She wanted to get her PSAT's done and then start looking at colleges, but she didn't want to leave Harry. He said he wanted to go to college. She didn't think he really had his heart in it though. He loved magic, the dinosaurs and was struggling some with the normal subjects she did so easily. Of course, going off on adventures like he was didn't help him focus on school. She found a goofy smile coming to her face though. Grandpa said not everyone was made for school. She never got that before. Being with Harry had her realizing that being smart and good at something didn't mean you had to excel at school. Harry studied and practiced, almost more than she did, it was just in a different way.
She greeted a few of the workers as she made her way up to the conference rooms on the second floor. When she got there, she wasn't too surprised to find Timmy already sitting at the table. He had his workbooks out and was already reviewing his math with the tutor.
Mr. Montague was an older gentleman with grey hair, a stern countenance and gentle voice. His light brown eyes didn't miss much of what was going on around him. She assumed it was from the years as a teacher before he had retired. He was the only tutor they had that would come out to the island every few days. Then again, he lived on the mainland and enjoyed it out here. The others were not as close.
"Good morning, Miss Murphy," Mr. Montague said.
"Good morning, Mister Montague," she replied.
"Please get out the assignments I left for you. Today I we will be going over vectors if you have gotten the basics of trigonometry proofs," he told her.
She nodded. She didn't like proofs, but it wasn't that bad. She wanted to get to the matrix mathematics her mother was using and starting to teach her because of how useful it was for programming.
She was just about unpacked when Charlotte came in. "Morning, Lex," the girl said with a smile.
Lex smiled at her, "You look cute," she complimented the girl who was in a blue skirt and a nice top with a flower design.
"Thank you. Can you braid my hair later?"
"Sure," Lex replied.
"Good morning, Miss Lockwood. Get your assignments out and you will be going over the same lesson as Miss Murphy," Mr. Montague told them.
"Yes, sir," Charlotte said. She leaned over to asked Lex, "What are we doing today?"
"Vectors if you understand proofs," she replied.
Charlotte let out a long breath. "I hate proofs. I'll be glad to get onto something else."
Lex could agree. She had been surprised that Charlotte was on the same level she was for math, being two years younger, but had easily kept up with her. The girl was sharp as a tack and driven. It made good competition for her. She was wondering if Hermione might be the same when she arrived?
They had been working almost ten minutes before the last of their group arrived. Owen walked in with the Greengrass sisters.
"Owen, I have a seat here," Charlotte said, moving her chair over a tad and making sure there was room for him to put his stuff on the table. He was living in the compound on the north side of the island, where Harry and Sirius had moved to.
The younger boy smiled and moved to the chair. She noticed that Astoria frowned. At a look from Lex, the girl didn't comment, moving to the side of the table with Timmy. Daphne gave her a look. Lex stared at the girl for a moment before turning back to her work.
"Charlotte, do you mind helping me with this? I'm really not that good with math," Owen asked her friend. He was a good year or two behind what Charlotte and her were doing, but ahead of Harry.
"Miss Greengrasses, please get out your assignments. We'll be going over basic algebra and how to solve equations again," Mr. Montague told them.
That had been a bit of a surprise. The Greengrass girls had an almost intuitive grasp of magic, like Harry, but were not that proficient in their normal studies. They were doing work that Lex could remember doing in elementary and middle school. She was pretty sure Timmy was at or above the level the sisters were working at.
The morning went by relatively quickly with Mr Montague spending a good hour with each group. When they broke up, Lex joined Charlotte and Owen with Timmy trailing with them as they went towards the cafeteria on the lower level. Lex didn't feel like eating alone in the villa again.
"Have you heard from Harry?" Charlotte asked.
"Not since they left the hotel a few days ago. Last time they were out of contact for a week. I don't know how long it will be this time," Lex replied.
"Did you really get to play with the babies?" Timmy was pestering Owen. She felt a little bad for her brother not having anyone his age. Well, Astoria wasn't much older, but she didn't get along with him.
Charlotte cast a look to Owen and Lex smiled at them. It was cute to see how she danced around Owen while he was rather oblivious to her.
"How long do think they will be gone? I want to get back to the lessons now that I can finally do the levitation spell," Charlotte told her.
"A few weeks. A month, maybe," she replied. "If they found Beauxbatons and it was in good shape, I know Sirius and Mr Greengrass really wanted to learn all they could and take back anything that would help us."
"Father is hoping to find more wizards," Daphne said from behind them.
"Karl didn't think there would be any, or we would have heard from them," Astoria said.
"If they are hiding, I doubt it," Lex added.
Inside the cafeteria, they got into line to get their lunches. Her mom was sitting with some of the vets today. Not wanting to get into a conversation about dinosaurs, she went to sit at a different table. Owen and Timmy went to join her mom, probably wanting to see if they could go out to see more dinosaurs later.
Charlotte looked torn for a moment. "You can go over with him," she told her friend.
"Maybe I will today," she said. "Sorry, Lex."
"It's fine. I can catch up on the reading I need to do for that report due Friday," she said, reaching into her bag as Charlotte waived goodbye.
Even though she didn't want to eat alone, she found she didn't feel that way being in the cafeteria. She was about to open her book when Muldoon and Mr. Lockwood joined her. After a few greetings, Mr Lockwood asked, "Lex, would you mind maybe going to England for a few days?"
"Why? What's in England and what does my mom say?" she asked.
"Susan Bones and Hermione Granger have started to have accidental bursts of magic, like Charlotte. Doctor Bones and Susan are going to be moving out here next week, but we are having a challenging time convincing the Grangers to have Hermione come here. They want her to finish the school year in June," Mr Lockwood told her. "I already talked to your mom, and she said it would be up to you. Doctor Bones has also said she has detected two other traces of magic, so we may need to talk with two other families."
"Shouldn't Harry or Sirius be here to do that?" Lex questioned.
"I would like them to be, but we don't know when they will be available and Dr Bones says she only found one of them because he made a football disappear when it almost hit his head when he wasn't expecting it," Mr Lockwood told her.
"Ok. I didn't know we could do that," she replied.
"I think Sirius called it vanishing," Muldoon said.
"When do you want me to leave?" she asked.
"I'm going back to England tomorrow and I would like you to come with me. Muldoon is going to send Umbridge with us so she can determine if they will be safe to bring out here or not," Mr Lockwood replied.
Lex smiled. She liked Yvonne. "Ok. I need to ask my mom." She decided she wasn't taking any wands or anything else with me. Sirius and Harry didn't want them leaving the island. Her mom should be safe enough to leave them with.
"I understand. Why don't you talk to your mom then and get packed. I plan to leave about nine tomorrow morning."
"Sure, Mr Lockwood."
"Oh, and don't forget to bring warmer clothes. It's going to be colder up there than here," Muldoon told her.
"Will do," she said. Curious to know if these new people were anyone Harry said he used to know, she asked, "Do you know who?"
"Two brothers. Colin and Justin Creevey. Colin is twelve and Justin just turned eleven. Hopefully they will fit in," Mr Lockwood said.
She didn't recognize those names. "I'm sure Timmy would like to have someone his age. There hasn't been anyone else from back home?"
"Not that we found. We are speculating it has to do with initial exposure to Harry or Sirius, then a much longer exposure time in those that magic has awoken in. We are keeping an eye on things now that we know about Owen as well, but none of his classmates have shown any signs," Mr Lockwood informed her.
She nodded. "Okay. Thank you, Mister Lockwood. Mister Muldoon, can I leave the stuff that Harry and Sirius left me with you?"
"I'll make sure they get put in the main safe," Muldoon assured her.
"Thank you."
Needing to talk to her mom, she moved her stuff over to her table.
-oOo-
Same day…Beauxbatons' Reserve, France
The half-giants' town was a relatively quiet place. More than two dozen farms were spread out in the valley beyond the walled village. Hagrid's farm was near the edge of the forest closest to Beauxbatons, which probably made the hike a half-hour less.
As he led them away, his wife was going out to take care of the giant oxen they raised. Other farms with fallow fields could be seen nearby, the harvest already in and frost covering the ground. His daughter chased after them, playing with Rosy, Hagrid's graphorn, until they reached the woods.
"Now turn back. Your mum won't like me taking you too far away," he said kindly to her, pushing her back.
"But papa, I want to go with you. I'm big enough now," Mrogan whinged.
Hagrid gave her a stern look. "I said get back. You can come next time."
The six-year-old girl made a face but started back towards the farm. "Rose, make sure she gets back then come join us."
The graphorn snorted before trotting off after the girl.
"Children are like that. I remember when Daphne tried to convince me to take her into the preserve when she was the same age," Mr Greengrass said.
"I remember her sneaking after us and you having to hide her," Karl said with a smile.
Hagrid chuckled. "Mrogan is a good girl. Besides, Rose won't let her."
Harry watched the graphorn nudge the girl back onto the path when she went to run off into a field on the edge of the forest. Hagrid hefted his crossbow. "Nothing for it. Let's get moving."
It wasn't a long hike to the old castle. By midmorning they were entering what must have been impressive gardens at one time. Acres of land were covered in grown over paths, gnarled trees that would have been decorative, overgrown flower beds and broken fountains could be seen from the partially decayed cobble path that led up to the old gate house. Thick stone walls surrounded a castle that looked like it had been going through the transition from a place made for defence to the opulent palaces of the 1700's.
The west wing was ruins, as could be seen from down in the valley. The main keep and a large east wing were still in good repair.
"We don't spend much time around the old castle. Only the sages live here now. We keep them supplied as their magic helps protect us from the trolls and other things that live nearby." Hagrid shivered. "It doesn't feel right here either."
Harry had to agree as Hagrid kept up a monologue about the castle, the history he knew of the people and all the creatures that lived in the surrounding valleys. Sirius and the others looked as weary as Harry. The ground of Beauxbatons didn't feel anything like Durmstrang, but there was still a… foulness… bitterness? That was the best Harry could think to describe it. There was a bitterness to the feel of the magic.
Hagrid stopped just at the gates. He was looking into the courtyard before the main keep. Harry followed his gaze to see two ghosts following a large woman. She was in robes made from a material that was made from a finer woven cloth than anything he had seen. The robes were died a light blue and had some silvery runes on them.
The giantess looked them up and down, not looking impressed. "What are you doing bringing humans here? You know this is sacred land."
Hagrid shifted a little, palming his crossbow. "Good morning, Olympe. The gurg has allowed them to come. They are wizards."
The woman sniffed before looking at them. She eyed them up and down. "All I see is swords, muggle things and men." Harry snorted. The woman was just as arrogant and condescending as the headmistress from his world. Her brow rose. "You find this funny?"
"Not really. I just find it funny how blind you are," Harry said.
"Harry, we need their help," Sirius whispered. He tensed.
Her nostrils flared. "You should listen to your father, boy. Or else I will teach you what I can do. You look just like swordsman."
"You are blind," Harry repeated.
When a rod that was a good three feet long came out of her robes, Harry flicked his wand out. Just to show he knew what he was doing, he clearly incanted, "Protego Duo!"
The shimmering blue shield deflected a powerful gust of wind. The shield surprised the woman so much that when he incanted, "Expelliarmus!" she didn't even resist as the rod flew out of her hand. Harry grabbed it when it flew towards him.
"Care to try any other parlour tricks?" Harry goaded. He had never cared for this woman in his original world. He wasn't going to put up with her here either.
"Bloody hell," Sirius muttered.
Karl was looking at his father. They had seen Harry and Sirius against the selma and had been trained by them for a little bit now, but they hadn't had a chance to see Harry in action when they were just watching him. It was casual the way Harry disarmed her.
"You have a wand?" she asked in surprise.
"Yeah. Kind of hard to be a wizard otherwise."
She sniffed. "We have been waiting for real magic users for a long time. Will you teach us how to make wands?"
Harry gave a quick look to Sirius. Sirius shrugged his shoulders, and indicated it was his show. "We don't know how to make wands. We heard there may be a place in Canada that does. We plan to go there in the spring. We had hoped to see if Beauxbatons still had a library or other knowledge or artefacts."
She regarded them, not looking so hostile. "Are there more of you?"
"Some."
"How many?"
"Enough," Harry said cryptically. He didn't like how she was now looking at him hungrily.
"Who is your teacher?" she pressed.
Harry nodded to Sirius. "My godfather, Sirius, has been lately, but I originally came from a place where there were many wizards and teachers. We are establishing a school."
She looked interested now. "How did you get here?"
"We took a car then walked."
"You did not use magic?" she asked.
Harry looked surprised. "We did not. Do you know how we could? We weren't sure if the wards would allow apparition. Do you know how to make portkeys?"
She looked at him confused. "What is a portkey and apparition?"
"You can enchant something to transport you across great distances. They are called portkeys. It works well for groups and can go much farther that apparating," Harry said.
She looked even more intrigued. "Interesting. And you know how to make this portkey or apparition?"
"We don't know how to make portkeys, but we do know how to apparate," he said a little slowly.
There was now a greedy glint to her beady black eyes. "And this shield you did?"
Sirius gave him another sidelong look. "Perhaps we can share knowledge, or trade for what you might have in the school?"
The woman nodded after a moment. "If you would come in. We can talk with the Matrons. You can go," she said rather disdainfully to Hagrid.
Hagrid shifted and the graphorn growled. "I have been asked to escort them and keep them out of trouble."
She sniffed, then turned back towards the school. One of the ghosts followed, while the other stayed for a moment. It was a woman that had a dress a few hundred years out of date. "It has been a long time since I have seen one of my kin. I urge you caution. The Matrons horde their knowledge and do not like to be challenged."
"Bloody hell," Harry said.
Sirius smirked. "You always make friends, don't you?"
"Shut it, mutt."
Sirius laughed as a more cautious Karl and Anders followed.
-oOo-
November 27, 1993Baker Hill, England
It was cold compared to the last few months on the island. Lex had put on jeans, a long-sleeve shirt, a heavy knit sweater and a jacket, and she still felt cold. Not long ago forty-degrees wouldn't have felt that bad. Luckily, the car was warm as the driver wove through the heavy traffic of London. She had never been to England and was looking forward to the next few days to see a bit of the countryside. Today they were heading south towards Hermione, hoping to convince her parents to let her go soon. Her last conversation with the girl had her looking a little scared after she had blasted a teacup apart after an argument with her parents.
As much as Lex still wasn't sure Harry didn't still harbour some feelings for his old friend, she was finding she liked Hermione. Once she joined them, she had a feeling she would give Charlotte and her a good go at their studies.
"It's been a long time since I've been home," Yvonne said. She was sitting in the back with her as Mister Lockwood was in the front with George Simmons. Grandpa and her mom had insisted they have guards with them.
"You grew up in England, right?" she asked.
"Grew up. Served. Was injured and then kind of thrown to the side here. Never really planned to come back," Yvonne told her. There was a certain edge to her voice that had Lex looking to her.
"What do you mean you were thrown to the side?"
Yvonne's hand went to her pink handled knife. "I grew up with my aunt in Norwich after my parents died. Let's say that Aunt Dolores was not a very caring person, and she did not like children or injured soldiers. I like where I am now, so it worked out in the end."
Lex frowned. Yvonne didn't look like she wanted to talk about it anymore, so Lex dropped it.
Not long later, they pulled off the highway and into a nice suburb south of London. She liked the mix of old and new buildings as they drove through the busy downtown and then into a neighbourhood with larger houses. When they pulled the to the curb, there was another one before them and a Land Rover in the driveway.
"Where we expecting other company?" George asked.
"Not that I know of, but someone could have stopped by," Mr Lockwood said.
Lex was looking at the house and missed the look that passed between Yvonne and George. Getting out of the car, she wished that the sun was out. A stiff breeze was blowing, and she swore it smelt like a freezing rain was on the air. It had a much different smell and feel than the island. Out there it was a musty, earthy smell with the oppressive humidity when it was about to rain. Here it was a little fouler, more like a hint of exhaust and a chilling feel.
"Lex, let me do the talking. If you can, see how Hermione is doing since you last talked with her," Mr Lockwood said.
"Okay," she replied.
When they got close to the door, it flung open, and Hermione was jumping out. "Lex!" the girl exclaimed, throwing her arms around her. "Tell me you are coming to take me away!"
Lex, surprised at the action, hugged the fourteen-year-old girl, who started to cry. Mister Lockwood gave them a look.
"Hermione, we weren't done talking to you," Mrs Granger said from inside the house.
"Good afternoon, Helen," Mister Lockwood said.
Mrs Granger stepped up to the door. "Oh, hello Sir Benjamin. We weren't expecting you for a few more hours."
"You will have to excuse us then. My secretary said she had made an appointment with you for ten this morning," he said. "Is everything alright?"
They were looking at the crying girl in Lex's arms.
Mrs Granger frowned. "I wouldn't exactly say that. Why don't you come in. We are in the middle of discussing your offer and another."
"Mum and dad don't want me to go," Hermione said, pulling back and wiping at her eyes.
"You have to go," Lex said.
Mr Lockwood looked around. "Lex, let's take this inside."
Hermione pulled her up the stairs once they were inside the house. "Hermione, get back down here. The vicar was still telling us about the opportunity he has for you."
Lex stiffened as Hermione pulled her up the stairs. Mr Lockwood looked alarmed for a moment. Both their actions had Yvonne and George on alert. "I'm sorry, Misses Granger, but did you say a vicar is here?"
Yvonne came up behind them. "I could use the loo. Hermione, can you show me where it is?"
Yvonne shuffled them up the stairs.
"Yes, Vicar Harding and two monks from a rather prestigious private school in Wales contacted us this week," she heard Mrs Granger say. Lex was feeling uncomfortable and reached for her arm.
"Not here," Yvonne said in an urgent whisper.
"Why is a vicar here?" Lex questioned.
Hermione sniffled. "When we went to church last weekend a boy from down the street was annoying me. I think I accidently threw him into the wall with my magic," she said. "The vicar saw it. My parents don't want me to go. They don't want me to learn magic. They can understand science and how the dinosaurs are made, but not what I can do."
"Bloody hell," Yvonne said. "Hermione, can you pack a small bag or something?"
"Are we going to get her out of here?" Lex asked. Hermione looked hopeful.
"You know what we have been told about the church. It's why Mister Hammond wanted us to come," Yvonne told her.
Hermione sniffed as they walked into her room. "What about the church?"
"We can tell you later. Pack up what you need for a few days," Yvonne ordered, moving over to the window and looking outside.
"Lex, what's going on?"
She had pulled her wand out. She only knew a half dozen spells, but she was getting good at the stunning spell. "Hermione, we didn't tell you, but we think people in the church are still hunting witches."
Hermione's eyes grew wide. "Are you saying the old witch hunts were real?"
"Yeah," Lex said. "Yvonne, what do we do?"
"Hermione, pack something. I have no clue how we will get out of here if we kidnap her," Yvonne said.
"Kidnap?" Hermione squeaked.
"What else would it be if we go without your parents' permission?"
Lex shook herself. "Hermione, do you have a bag?"
"Just my school bag," she said.
Lex must be spending too much time around Harry. Seeing the bag, she walked over to the desk, took the bag and then dumped it out onto Hermione's bed.
"What are you doing! You just damaged those books!"
"Hermione, if you go to this school, you won't be coming back," Lex said. She knew everything that Sirius, Harry and her mother had uncovered. "Do you remember Owen?"
The girl's cheeks flushed some. "Yes."
"Sirius rescued him from a priest back home. They had been trying to 'purify' him by using starvation, beatings and prayer. If the priest downstairs get you, they will probably try the same thing," Lex told her.
Hermione looked petrified. Lex huffed. She now understood how Harry felt when others didn't react. She moved over to a dresser. Opening a few draws, she put two bras, a few panties and socks on the bed before Hermione moved to start going through her own draws.
Yvonne was still looking out the window. "There is another car pulling up. Are you expecting any more company?"
"No," Hermione said, jamming one last sweater into her bag.
"We need to move," Yvonne said. She grabbed Lex's and Hermione's arm and pushed them out into the hallway. "Simmons, we have company!"
Yvonne charged down the stairs. There was some yelling from a room and then flashes of red and white lights. Lex knew it was magic. She didn't think the priests were that proficient. "Get them out of here," Simmons yelled. There was another flash as Hermione screamed.
"Is there a back door?" Yvonne yelled.
"Kitchen," Hermione got out.
"Lex, use that wand," Yvonne demanded.
There was another flash from the room next to the entry hall. Lex and Hermione both screamed as something heavy hit the wall and a few pictures fell off. A man in black robes, holding a cross in his left hand and a rod in his right came charging out of the door. "STUPEFY!" Lex cried out.
The red beam of light went wide, but the man ducked. It was the last thing he probably would remember doing for a bit as Yvonne's boot met his face. Hermione screamed again.
"There is a witch!" someone else yelled from the room.
"Don't hurt our daughter!" Mr Granger yelled.
"GO!" Yvonne yelled at them.
Lex grabbed Hermione, who dropped her bag, and pulled her down the hall. "Where is the kitchen?"
"Lord, hear my prayer," a man cried out. "Stop these heathens!" There was a red flash behind them. Hermione screamed again when a bit of the wall was hit and blasted them with a little plaster. Lex turned. "Stupefy!"
It was the best spell she knew of at the moment, doubting that levitating a spoon or making bright light would help much. The spell went wide again. Yvonne was in a crumpled heap on the floor. Lex pushed Hermione forward. The front door was kicked open as they rushed into the doorway at the far end of the hall.
"Stop!"
Lex dodged a red ball of light that had leapt from the man's rod. It hit a row of plates in a hutch and the hutch exploded.
"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!" Lex muttered. She really wanted Harry at the moment.
"The door is on the other side," Hermione cried.
"Fuck!" Lex yelled.
"Down the hall," a man said.
"Fuck!" Lex grabbed Hermione's shirt. "Run." Pushing the girl, Lex brought her wand up. She had stupidly left her knife back on Isla Nublar because she was told they couldn't really get it through customs. Yvonne and George were able to take theirs because of their visas and being registered as guards to InGen. As they ran by the door, she shouted, "STUPEFY! STUPEFY!"
Three men were in the hallway. One of them shouted something in a language she didn't recognize. They were just past the door when a red wave of energy raced through it. She dived towards the floor. Hermione, obviously not having a boyfriend like Harry or doing some of his training, turned and was hit in the chest by the red wave of energy. She had never seen Harry or Sirius do anything like that wave of energy. When it hit her, Hermione's eyes rolled into her head, and she dropped to the floor.
"HERMIONE!"
A shout from the door had her flinging her wand around. She didn't even say anything. Her magic rose in her panic, channelled through her wand, then a sickly yellow bolt left her wand. It hit the man in his side as he raised a staff. With a cry of pain, he went spinning to land on the table in the kitchen. She didn't even know what she did. Her magic was just reacting with how scared she was.
Unsure what to do for just a few seconds was all that was needed for one of the other priests or whatever they were to charge through the door. He had a golden ball in his hand. Again, shouting out whatever he did before, a wave of red energy erupted from the sphere.
Lex pulled on her magic again. "STUPEFY!"
She was hit by the red wave of magic before she could see what happened to her spell…
-oOo-
The same before…Beauxbatons Reserve, France
The last few days had been 'enlightening', as Sirius had said rather sarcastically last night. Frustrating was more like it. While the gurg and most of the half-giants were nice to them and welcoming the more they got to know them, the Matrons and the dozen or so shamans at the school were not as much.
Harry was leaning against a column in the old entry hall of Beauxbatons castle. At one time the place must have been spectacular to be in. Most of the interior was made of colourful granite that had to have been highly polished. Fanciful decorations were carved into the ceiling or the top of each column. There was evidence of gold filigree everywhere. The evidence of how prestigious a school this must have been was all around them.
That prestige had died a long time ago though. Now it was a hall full of women that thought it wrong for a male to use magic. They didn't want to share anything but demanded that Harry and Sirius share all their secrets. They didn't seem to regard Karl or Mr Greengrass the same way, saying they recognized most of their magic already.
It was this reluctance to not share any knowledge the half-giants had but demand of Harry and Sirius to share theirs that had Harry blowing up at Maxime and the others, getting him banished from the negotiations. Karl was leaning against a pillar across from him.
"They have been in there for a while," Karl said.
Harry just grunted. He wanted to get out of here. He was starting to feel that Beauxbatons was as much of a dead end as Durmstrang. Not to mention he had this bad feeling and didn't know why. Something was telling him that he had to talk to Lex. It had been over almost two weeks now and he thought that too long. He was kicking himself for not calling her before they left the last hotel.
"They will work with us, yes?"
Harry shrugged. "I hope so. The library is still here, and the hags know more about elemental magic than I have ever seen."
Karl regarded him. "I thought you knew everything?"
Harry snorted. "Hardly."
The doors to a large dining room off the entry hall suddenly burst open. Sirius stormed out, followed by Mr Greengrass, Maxime and one other half-giantess. "Monsieur Black, you cannot leave!" the other giantess was demanding.
"We are not giving you all our books and wands! If you are not going to share, then go fuck yourselves," Sirius yelled over his shoulder.
Harry reached over his shoulder to undo the strap on his sword before reaching for his wand.
"This is the only place left that has this knowledge. If the church finds you and takes what you know, how much will we lose? You must stay," the woman said, quickly catching up to Sirius.
"We have people we need to get back to. We'll come again in the spring. Maybe you will listen to me then," Sirius yelled back.
"You can't leave!"
"Watch us! Come on, pups. Time to go," Sirius told them.
"But the goblin artefacts, the way you make wands… you have to give us this knowledge," Maxime told them.
Mr Greengrass nodded to Karl. Harry and him fell in behind Sirius.
"Monsieur Black!"
Sirius threw up a two-finger salute over his shoulder.
The half-giantesses stopped at the door as they made their way down the stairs and into the fallow gardens. Hagrid was waiting at the old gates.
"Papa, what happened?" Karl questioned when they were half-way to Hagrid.
"They wanted us to stay," Mr Greengrass said.
"They threatened us and tried to put us to sleep. Don't eat or drink anything else from here," Sirius told them.
Harry was on high alert now. Looking over his shoulder he could see that eight of the giant women had congregated at the doors. "Do we need to worry about fighting? I'm not sure the gurg won't back them up," Harry said.
Sirius ran a hand over the back of his neck. "I don't know. I think we need to get out of here. Maybe come back in a few months."
Harry frowned. "Bloody hell. This was useless."
Sirius laughed. "Well, not fully. I found out a few things."
"Like?"
"They know how to make, what did you call them?" Mr Greengrass said.
"Vanishing Cabinets," Sirius answered.
Harry's eyes widened. "Really?"
"Yeah. Not sure if we were supposed to know, but one of those giant hags walked out of one while we were meeting. If they know how to make them, we could set them up at other preserves," Sirius said.
"Or between islands," Harry added.
"What do they do?" Karl questioned.
"You walk in one, close the door and when you open it again, you are at a different location. I remember Lily talking about them once. You can link one cabinet to another. She was speculating if it could be a room, but I don't know," Sirius replied.
"That could have many uses," Mr Greengrass commented.
"Yeah," Sirius agreed.
They quieted as they approached Hagrid. An hour later they were on the path out of the settlement being escorted by three warriors. Beginning later in the day, they had to sleep along the path before finally making it back to the ward line. A heavy snow was coming down.
"You will return?" Hagrid was asking.
"Yes. The snows are setting in, so we probably won't be able to until the spring," Sirius replied.
"You are welcome. If you bring things to trade, Gurg Rolmith has allowed for it."
"Thanks. Hagrid, thank you for letting us stay with you and let Aurelie and Mrogan know we are sorry we had to leave so fast," Sirius said.
Hagrid shrugged. "I know how Maxime can be. Safe journeys."
"And to you," Harry said, moving to shake his huge hand and pet Rosy. The large graphorn nuzzled him. They were soon walking back towards the SUV.
"Will we be able to make it through this storm?" Mr Greengrass asked.
"I hope so," Harry replied.
There was a good six or so inches on the ground by the time they found the Land Rover. Harry let out a sigh of relief when they pulled into a hotel a few hours later. Entering his hotel room, he wanted to have a shower, but decided to go for the phone first. It took him a moment to get the connection. The phone rang almost a dozen times before Mrs Murphy picked up the phone.
"Hello? Lex? Benjamin?" the woman asked sounding concerned.
Confused, Harry said, "Hi, Misses Murphy. It's Harry. Is Lex not there?"
"Hi, Harry. Lex took a trip with Benjamin to see Hermione and her parents, then to talk with some others that are showing signs of magic. Lex is supposed to call. I figured they would be done by now but must have gotten busy with Hermione," Mrs Murphy told him.
Harry sat up. "What do you mean she went to talk with Hermione and others? Which others?"
"Oh, you don't know. The Grangers were talking about Hermione staying in England until the summer. Lex and Benjamin went to talk with them because she was starting to have worse bouts of accidental magic," she told him.
There was a real sinking feeling in his stomach. Harry looked at the clock on the bedside table. It was close to six. "When is she supposed to call? Do you have a number I can call her at?"
"They were meeting her in the morning. Well morning in England," she said. "It's got to be about five there. I'm sure she just got busy."
"Do you have a number I can call her at?" Harry asked.
"Not yet. I only know they were to stay at the Mont Country Manor Hotel in Wolverhampton. Tomorrow they are going to meet with a family called the Creevey's," she told him.
Bloody fuck! He yelled in his head. Not Colin and his camera! That concern was drowned out by the ever-increasing ball of nerves in his stomach. "Right. Misses Murphy, can you get me the addresses? Sirius and I should go and help."
"Are you done with your trip? Did you find the place you were looking for?"
"Yeah, we found it. Things didn't go quite as well as we thought it might. Misses Murphy, can you give me the addresses of where they were going? Sirius and I can catch a flight as soon as possible and go help her," Harry said.
"I'm sorry to hear things didn't go so well. Do you know if your hotel has a fax machine? I can send the information to you. I'm sure Lex and Benjamin would like the help," she said sounding a little more upbeat.
"I'll go find out and call you back," he told her.
"Thank you, Harry. Tell Sirius to give me a call when he can?" she requested.
"Sure thing, Misses Murphy."
Harry had a very bad feeling about all this. He didn't know why, but he did. As soon as the phone hung up, Harry had his wand out. "Expecto Patronum! Rexy, tell Sirius we have to go now!"
Harry was glad he hadn't unpacked his bag yet, even if he did smell from not washing in the last week, he had to get to England as fast as possible. He laced up his boots and was out the door before he could get his jacket on.
Across the hallway, Sirius was opening his door. He was in his trousers, no shirt and a towel going at his sopping wet hair. "Harry, what's going on?"
"Misses Murphy said that Lex went to convince Hermione's parents to let her go. She was supposed to call her mum. She never did," he explained.
"Well, shite," Sirius exclaimed. "Where are you going? It's dark and starting to snow again."
"Bloody hell," Harry huffed. "I need to find the nearest airport and see if I can get us tickets."
"Right. Go to the lobby and ask. I'll call Hammond and get a way for Karl and Anders to get back," Sirius told him. The fact that neither of them even considered the two men for this must have been telling at the seriousness they both thought of the situation.
It was an hour later and four inches of new snow when Harry was met by Sirius in the lobby. "It's supposed to snow all night and the front desk said the roads aren't passable. They may not be until later tomorrow. I got the fax from Lynne though."
"Damn. How about flights? Or a train?"
"If we can make it, there is a train from Labarthe-Inard in the morning. John will probably be able to find a plane or something for us by then too," Sirius informed him.
Harry pulled at his hair. "Sirius, I don't have a good feeling about this."
Sirius looked concerned as well. "I know, pup. I hate saying it, but if we are stuck here for the night, get dinner and try to get some sleep."
"I have to call Misses Murphy again. She said she would let me know if Lex called her," Harry told him.
"I already talked with Lynne. Lex hasn't called yet. Go take a shower, call for room service, get some sleep and we will find a way out of here in the morning, even if we have to apparate the entire way."
Harry let out a long breath. He didn't like this. "Fine," he finally agreed.
-oOo-
Next time on The Magic of Amber: The chase to find Lex and Hermione.
-oOo-
A/N: I know it was a long time between updates. I can only blame my muse. It fled me on this story for a bit. Hope you enjoyed.