"Marius!" Theda cried as she waved to a familiar face across the busy Parisian street.
"Theda, darling!" He said as they kissed each other on the cheek. "It's so good to see you!"
"I know, It's been much too long!" She said, clutching his hand between her own.
"10 years." He said matter-of-factly. "I was thrilled when I received your owl!"
"Thank you so much for being willing to meet with me." She said. "I'm sorry I haven't been better at keeping in touch. What with work and all..."
"I completely understand." He replied, shaking his head. "Listen, I know you're here to do some research but I thought maybe we could get lunch first. I know this charming little café just around the corner. I thought perhaps Hugh could meet us there."
"Oh, that would be lovely!" She replied. Hugh was Marius' partner. The three of them had all been very close when they were in school, all sharing a love of history. Theda had spent years waiting for Marius to confess his love to Hugh, but he hadn't managed to muster up the courage until several years after they'd all graduated, so this was her first time seeing them as a couple.
They made their way to the café, which was every bit as charming as Marius had promised. They sat outside, enjoying the lovely autumn weather, and were soon joined by Hugh. He and Theda greeted each other with a kiss just as she and Marius had done, and then they all began catching up.
Marius, having been born in France, had gotten his job working for the Department of Magical Artifacts at the French Ministry of Magic shortly after finishing school. Once he and Hugh began dating, Hugh moved to Paris and began working as a journalist. They told Theda all about their idyllic lives, working just across the street from each other, meeting daily for romantic lunches, and walking home to their luxury flat in the heart of the city. Theda told them about her travels, her photography, and her new job as a teacher, all of which they found fascinating. Inevitably, the subject of her love life came up.
"Didn't you reconnect with that friend from Ilvermorny a few years back? The one you used to write to when we were at Hogwarts? What was his name? Donald?"
"Douglas."
"Oh yeah, I knew it was something like that... So what happened with him? Do you guys still talk?"
"No, he... We don't talk. It ended a little over three years ago." They'd been having such a nice time catching up, Theda really didn't feel like going into detail about it.
"You're telling me you've been single for three years?" Hugh asked in astonishment.
"Three years isn't that long." She said.
"Think about it," He continued, "In those three years, how many couples have met, dated, gotten engaged, gotten married, and settled down? Hundreds. Thousands, even. A lot can happen in three years."
"Thanks, Hugh. That makes me feel so much better." She said sarcastically.
"Honey, I'm not trying to make you feel bad, I'm trying to wake you up! You need to put yourself back out there."
She groaned. The pain of losing Douglas still felt so fresh. Not that she expected Hugh to understand.
"Really, I'm happy the way things are." She insisted. "I don't think I'm ready to pursue another relationship yet."
"Okay, well just because you're not ready for something serious yet doesn't mean you can't have a little fun, right? PLEASE tell me the teachers at Hogwarts are cuter than the ones we had when we were there."
Theda laughed.
"I hate to tell you this, Hugh, but most of the current teachers are the same ones we had. As far as new teachers go, there's just me and two others."
"And?" Hugh persisted. "Who are these two others?"
"There's the Potions teacher, Severus Snape, and the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Gilderoy Lockhart."
"Gilderoy Lockhart is teaching at Hogwarts now!?" Asked Marius incredulously.
"Well, if you can call it teaching..."
"And you have no interest whatsoever in a little fling with the winner of Witch Weekly's Most Charming Smile Award?" Asked Hugh.
"Not in the slightest." She said firmly. "He's an imbecile. I can't stand the man."
"Well, what about this other teacher then? Hmm?"
"Severus and I are friends."
"That's a start." Said Marius teasingly.
"I don't think he's any more interested in romance than I am." She laughed. "He's very fastidious and doesn't really take an interest in much outside of work."
"Is he good-looking?" Hugh asked.
"Umm... I don't think he's your type." She said, laughing. "He's not classically good-looking but... I think his features are handsome, in an unconventional sort of way."
"Well?" Hugh asked, looking at Marius.
"I give it a year." Marius said.
"I give it three months." Hugh laughed.
"I'm sorry boys, but I think you're both going to be disappointed. We're just friends."
"That's what they always say when they're already falling in love." Hugh teased.
"So, is this the friend who tipped you off about the Altier family?" Marius asked.
"Yes, actually. It's too much to explain, but we have reason to believe that I may be descended from that family. I was hoping, with your connections to the Ministry, that you could help me find some information about them."
"You came to the right person," Marius said, grinning.
They made their way to a small courtyard tucked away behind a series of brick-lined storefronts. There Marius led them to an unassuming bronze fountain depicting four Venus-like women standing in a circle, each helping to support a large dome-shaped tower. Marius coughed, triggering the roots of a nearby tree to quickly materialize into a cage-like elevator, taking them underground to the center of the Ministry. The three of them made their way down a series of maze-like hallways until they reached the Department of Magical Artifacts.
"Now, there are a few things I'd like to show you. The first is here in my department." He opened his desk drawer, revealing a small golden cameo brooch.
"This belonged to Collette Altier. She and her husband Laurent were two of the original members of the Ministry when it was established in 1790."
He handed her the brooch, which she thoroughly examined.
"Collette and Laurent, huh?" She said, thinking out loud.
"Collette came from a long line of sorcerers known as the Bellamarre family who were once in the service of the French aristocracy. However, in the years leading up to the Revolution, Collette sensed what was soon to come and broke off from the family. It was around this time she met Laurent Altier, and they were soon married. It was said that Collette was the first invoquor, a trait she passed down to each of her daughters who all, in turn, passed it to their daughters as well."
"So, hang on... It sounds like you're telling me that the invoquor abilities came from the Bellamarre family then, right?"
"Actually, no. Because the Bellamarres worked for the King and his court, we have an exceptional paper trail detailing all of the unique talents and services that they performed. It would seem that none of them but Collette ever possessed those powers."
"Hang on, you mentioned that she passed it to her daughters... did she have any sons?"
"Yes. Interestingly, it would seem that her abilities were only passed to the women in the family. However, it seems that both female and male Altiers were equally likely to become legilimens. Laurent was known as one of the most gifted mind-readers of his day, so it's no surprise that he taught his children, who continued the tradition with their children, and so on."
"Amazing." She said, hanging on his every word.
"Let's continue the tour." He said, holding the door open for Theda and Hugh.
They made their way to the atrium, then took the elevator three floors down. They came to a large door guarded by two tall marble statues, one male, one female.
"This is the Records Room," Marius said. "Any idea who these statues depict?"
Theda thought for a moment.
"Don't tell me..."
"You've guessed it. That's Laurent on the left, and Collette on the right."
"They must have been incredibly important to have been immortalized in the Ministry headquarters like this." Theda said.
"Yes, very much so. Collette and Laurent were personally asked to join the Ministry by the Comte de Saint Germain himself."
Both Theda and Hugh's jaws dropped in amazement.
"The Comte de Saint Germain!?" Theda cried.
"The same Comte de Saint Germain who worked alongside Nicholas Flamel!?" Hugh added.
Marius nodded, his eyes glimmering with excitement.
"But, that means..." Theda began.
"Hold on, I'm getting to that. Collette and the Comte were longtime associates, having met many times at the court of Louis XVI. Until the Revolution, as you know, the existence of witches and wizards was known to most muggles, although those who did not have the protection of the king were heavily persecuted. Now, once the king was overthrown, there was no protection for even the most noble wizarding families, which is what prompted the establishment of the French Ministry of Magic. The Comte was one of the founding members, and he personally requested the Altiers' assistance in forming what was to become the Ministry. Not only did this offer the Altiers protection from the witch hunts enacted by the Catholic Church, but with the formation of the Ministry, they, in turn, could better protect the average wizarding folk. It was generally accepted in the muggle world that all the witches and wizards in France were eradicated during the Revolution, but in reality, many of them survived as the result of the tireless efforts made by the Altiers and the other Ministry founders. They played many roles in the Ministry over the years, but, considering the nature of their unique talents, they primarily worked as interrogators and spies."
"Do we know what became of them? Their descendants, I mean?"
"Well, that's what had me so fascinated when you contacted me. If you are descended from them, you'll be the only living descendent of theirs that we know of. In the 1800s the entire Altier family disappeared, almost overnight. No one knows what became of them. It's one of the greatest unsolved mysteries in French wizarding history. Every student at Beauxbatons learns about the Altier family as part of their core curriculum."
"That's so interesting... I don't know how I never came across anything about them. But... about the Comte..."
"I know where you're going with this. The Comte was one of the closest friends of the Altier family, and, as you know, it's rumored that he's still alive today."
"You don't really put any stock in that urban legend, do you?" Hugh interjected.
"It's not impossible," Theda replied. "You said so yourself that he was an associate of Nicholas Flamel, who, may I remind you, is over 600 years old. I wonder if he knows where the Comte could be. If we have any hope at all of finding out what happened to the Altiers, we'll need to find him."
"Well, there's the rub. If the Comte still alive, he's laying low... People have been trying to find him for over a hundred years. Even if you found a way to get in contact with Flamel, he probably wouldn't reveal the Comte's location, if he even knows. But, if you did manage to track him down, I'm willing to bet the Comte de Saint Germain would hold the key to the mystery."
Theda pulled out her camera and snapped a few shots of the statues before Marius opened the door to the Records Room.
"I can't let you take any of these records with you, as I'm sure you know, but you're welcome to photograph anything you might find helpful." He said. "I have a few on the disappearance of the Altiers set aside for you, as well as some further records pertaining to Collette and Laurent. While you're taking photos of those I'll dig up what I've got on the Comte."
As Theda proceeded to photograph the records Marius had given her, he approached the center of the room which contained dozens of rotating file cabinets, each about 25 feet tall.
"Le Comte de Saint Germain." He said, causing one of the tall gold cabinets to approach, spinning until the box containing the Comte's records was facing him.
Once Theda had finished photographing the records, she took several photos of Collette's brooch, which she was still carrying, making sure to capture it from every angle.
"Oh, I didn't realize it was inscribed." She said as she focused her lens on the back side of the brooch.
"What?" Marius said. "Let me see that!"
He grabbed the brooch from her, then tapped his wand against the rim of his glasses, causing the lenses to zoom in, magnifying the brooch. He read it aloud:
To she who can claim
The Altier name
I await where three join
To embrace the flame
"What do you think that means?" Theda asked.
Marius looked at her with astonishment.
"It means... you are, in fact, an Altier."
