Master Xander

Chapter Fifteen

'Threats revealed: Coming together

Part I

Xander's Sanctum

Arthur and Molly Weasley enjoyed going to Alex's home located just outside of London. Both of them had gotten used to traveling by non-magical car as it felt comfortable while in muggle-land. The first few times felt so strange and exotic traveling by limo to Mister Harris' house, but it was necessary. Just because he could, Alex had taken them the long way so that they could see the sights.

Left to their own devices, they would have had difficulty trying to find the place for several reason.

Not only was Alex's home in a non-magical territory, but the Weasleys just weren't used to having to navigate anywhere outside of a magical community without appariting or using a portkey. The trip itself was only about a forty-five-minute trip, but to the two of them, it was exhausting!

There were so many things to see, so many people to look at, all doing muggle things! It was so different, almost incomprehensible.

It was frightening that those people lived their lives without a thought of magic to help them in their everyday lives. It was a shock to their systems at first. Now the two of them were used to it, and Molly even expressed a desire to walk around in the heart of London just to look at the sights. Arthur couldn't believe his ears. His beloved had never, ever even thought of doing such a thing until Alex came into their lives.

The Harris home, like the store, was apparition-proof. His home, however, was even more secured than the store. No witch or wizard could apparate without permission within two blocks of Sanctum Santorum de Harris, as he liked to call it. The home was only magically accessible through Alex's portal. Again, this wasn't unusual, but the method used was strange.

Unless the Americans allowed entry by that magical portal they used so often, then that left getting there the non-magical way, by foot or non-magical transport.

Getting out of the car and thanking their driver James for the pleasant ride, the couple climbed the stairs and ranged the doorbell. Seconds later, the door opened and once again; they stepped into a magical world different from what they were so used to. It was as if they stepped into another world full of strange magic and mystery.

The rooms were larger than they should have been. That was normal in wizarding society. The abundance of non-magical furniture and fine craftsmanship wasn't a surprise given Alex's tastes. But it was the multitudes of different magical creatures that always surprised the visiting couple. Alex and Ceraine never called them creatures and always treated them as equals, and that took a while for the couple to get used to. Molly had more difficulty accepting them as just people and truth be told, she was still had a hard time. But no one could say that she wasn't trying to deal with this strange reality that was Alexander Harris and Ceraine Delane, the Americans from other worlds.

The fairies and the many kinds of fae creatures loved this home. Their magical essence brought a sense of nature and ancient powers that added to the unique feel of the home. Not even Hogwarts felt this enhanced.

For all intents and purposes, Hogwarts was nothing less than a magical fortress, and it wasn't the only one. Few places in magical Britain could compare to it Several of the ancient and powerful families had wards and protections that all but guaranteed that their homes protected against their enemies and other undesirables for centuries. However, these places didn't come close to the Hogwarts school. The House of Black was a good example.

But Alex's and Ceraine's home was different.

Other-worldly magic filled and protected their home, and it always gave the couple a sense of awe and feelings of protection when they entered this place of sanctuary.

These same magical creatures were not found anywhere in in magical England, not anymore, and the other fair folk, Arthur couldn't even imagine what their names might be. They were of different sizes and shape, with most of them looking humanoid in form. The average witch or wizard, unless they read about them in some obscure or ancient book, wouldn't have imagined such creatures could exist, which was ironic considering the numbers of magical creatures running about. It was shameful how the Fae were forced to flee Europe. But if they hadn't left, a magical war worse than the Great Goblin War would have erupted. Arthur didn't want to imagine the resulting devastation, and if the Fae had joined the goblins against the witches and wizards…

Speaking of which, if their eyes didn't deceive them, there were two goblins speaking to two of the fairies and they weren't alone.

There were people here, likely no-mages (or no-mags depending on which part of the world you lived in), freely moving among the normally shy fae all eating and drinking and having a good time. And there was Ceraine moving among the guests. Seeing Molly and Arthur, she hugged them and began introducing them to the others in the room.

"I'm glad you could make it." She ushered them towards the food trays that the fairies were serving. "The Lichen Fae love serving and insisted so we couldn't refuse. But a warning. If you try forcing them, then be prepared for a fight." In that they differed from the elves that bounded themselves to wizarding families.

"This is an important gathering. Is Dumbledore coming?" Molly asked.

"No. He has other things to concern him, plus there are things you need to know. We will speak about that later and we'll talk to him and let him know the essentials. By the way, has he spoken to you yet?"

"No, he hasn't," Arthur told her. "What should he talk to us about?"

"We'll talk after this is over," Ceraine promised.

Everyone turned their attention to Alex, who had just entered the room. Everyone quickly took their seats in the semi-circle. Many of the fairies simply hovered or took seats next to those Fae who were already sitting, including one very uncomfortable male trying his best to blend in with the other more seemingly. non-magical people in the room.

Anthony Stokes was uncomfortable, surrounded by people and creatures of myth. Her Majesty's government had intercepted rumors of unusual happenstances occurring in a suburb just outside London and began investigating. Dozens of murders and terrorist activities in the last two years occurred without any discernable patterns or reason had caught their attention.

Extensive interview with eye-witnesses turned out to be an exercise in futility. None of them remembered anything. It was frustrating to all concerned, including the witness who seemed to have a piece of their memories erased by unknown means.

The mounting evidence strongly suggested that an unknown organization with an unknown agenda was preparing for something big. Discrete references about the presence of advanced cellphones was very little to go on but his people were thorough when running down leads and one of those leads led to one Alexander Harris and one Ceraine Delane, recent American emigrants.

Upon further investigation, their bank accounts were impressive, but they lived in a more than modest home in a rather affluent neighborhood. Their bills were paid on time, but no trace of observable income was identified. Their neighbors knew very little about them. The two rarely left their home, and when they did, their tails lost them. It wasn't much to go on, but it was enough to warrant further investigation. Quiet entry into the home proved impossible. The doors, windows, resisted every known technique. The inability to gain entry into the home was something that the Research Division had taken an interest in.

That in and of itself raised their suspicions.

A break came when agents noted that the Americans were preparing for some type of party. MI-6 decided to crash the engagement. Hence Stokes' predicament.

There were fifteen agents ready to storm the home with heavy weapons if things went sour. Being Stokes, he went up the stairs and rang the bell. A young woman opened the door, looked at him and flashed a dazzling smile at him. She allowed him entry without him even having to introduce himself. For a secured place, this lapse was unconceivable in his eyes. For a moment he was convinced this was a trap.

Then he stepped inside, and his mouth dropped open.

The room was impossibly huge, but that wasn't the most shocking thing. There were creatures here, things of myth and legend interacting with each other in a most casual manner that set his teeth on edge. He nearly pulled his gun when a small fairy flew up and asked him if he wanted a drink. "

"Scotch on the rocks with a twist of lime," he told the tiny, but exquisite creature. Madness! he thought as he moved into the room, trying to be innocuous as possible.

The man felt completely out of his depth. What had he stumbled into?

"Having fun. Mister Anthony Stokes of MI-6?" Ms. Delane asked.

Anthony hadn't even seen her, and it rattled. Being in this place for only a couple of minutes had thrown him off his game, a problem he would correct. His cover was completely blown, so there was no use pretending. "It's most interesting, Ms. Delane," he answered her without missing a beat.

Ceraine beamed and honored him with an elegant curtsy. Her antics didn't fool him. He looked as delicate as a flower, had the grace of a ballerina, and the strength of a tank all in a very attractive package. In short, she was a very dangerous woman.

"I'm very glad you made it," she told him in no uncertain terms. "We've dropped hints in your direction almost seven months now. I almost believed that we should have called your people. Maybe we should have made an appointment with your boss."

Again, she'd surprised him. This woman knew she was being watched and who was doing it and had planted clues for them to follow. "That might have been easier on our agents," the man deadpanned. "We had a devil of a time keeping track of you." He paused. "Can I use the word devil in this place?"

She waved him off. "That's an entirely different group," she answered with all due seriousness. "To answer your question, we preferred that you work for it. It kept you interested and gave your people a hint of how serious this is without being obtrusive. Furthermore, you needed to come to us, not the other way around. You needed a reason, although trying to break into my home was a bit much when you could have just rung."

"One never knows what will happen when one just ring," he countered as he gazed at the–people in the room.

"True," she admitted. "Sometimes the direct approach can lead to a whole new world."

Anthony looked around. "I can see that." He looked around some more, his gray eyes missing nothing. "Since you destroyed my carefully prepared alias, I believe you owe me an explanation for all of this."

Ceraine looked thoughtful. "That seems fair, since that's the reason you're here in the first place."

"Good. it's nice to have cooperation," he answered. "First, what is this place and exactly who are you?"

"This place is my home," she answered. "Think of it as a fledging embassy, unofficial but not for long." Her dark brown eyes turned even darker as he stared into them. They were like bottomless pits, so deep one could fall in and never climb out. "I am Ceraine Delane, owner of Xander's Magic Shop and Curiosities. This place is…call it a meeting place for now."

"Giving what I'm seeing right now, I assume this is a place for magical creatures," Anthony slowly answered. "I would have never believed it if I wasn't looking at it right now."

"Not creatures," she corrected. "They're different kinds of people who have been on this planet as long as humanity. And that's the point as to why we let you in the front door. They are beginning to believe that mankind is almost ready to accept them and treat them as equals. We're not there yet, but we believe that small steps like this can start the process. The rest of your half a million questions will be answered later, after this is over and the real work begins. after all, when mankind begins to explore space and meet aliens for the first time, how will we explain that we couldn't even get along with intelligent life forms on our one planet? Something to think about, Mister Stokes."

Anthony stared at Ceraine, trying to see if she was telling him the truth. She stared back. Finally, he turned his gaze towards the others in the room. "I'm looking forward to our little talk," he told her. "But I have one question that I'd like answered now."

"And that is?"

"How is this room so huge?" he asked as he waved his arms around. "Is this an illusion or is it real and this is some kind of," he groped for the right words, "spatial compression, beyond the laws of current science?" He stepped back a bit as his drink arrived as well as to process what he'd just said. The tiny fairy's wings fluttered quickly as she carried a huge tray with his drink. He graciously accepted, not playing to the absurdity of the situation. "Is this real?"

Once more Ceraine's demeanor returned to the delicate flower she wasn't. "Yes, it's real. Explaining it from a scientific perspective, it would be defined as spatial compression. As for myself, this isn't sufficiently advanced science pretending that its magic. This is magic. and I would classify this room as being dimensionally transcendental. Meaning that it's bigger on the inside than it is on the outside."

"Of course it does," Stokes answered with absolute sincerity. "Magic?"

"Magic," she answered. "Walk around, mingle," she said. "There is something new being born, and it's beginning right now. I do believe Britain should be in on it."

"That would be wise."

"I think so, too," she whispered with equal intensity. "Please excuse me. I have to introduce some of our other guest to one another. Oh, and find a seat, we'll be getting started soon."

Alexander 'Xander' Lavelle Harris moved around the room, introducing several of his guests to others and generally making sure they were comfortable. This official meet and greet was important, and it demanded that things start off on the right path. Several of the invited guests were meeting one another outside the field of battle for the first time. Several of the magicals still harbored ancient feuds which were never fully resolved, and Alex wanted to make sure that fights didn't break out in his home.

Surprisingly, his guests were relatively civil towards one another, not wanting to offend their host. Both Alex and Ceraine had invested considerable time and effort cultivating relationships between these various groups and many of them would feel dishonored in front of the others if something were to happen in the sanctum of two of the more powerful magic users on the planet.

Dinner was served, and everyone seemed to enjoy the preparations. There were specialty dishes from several of the cultures served. The cross-talk between the guests was lively. Sometimes it turned heated, but not to the point of coming to blows. Stokes participated a little but basically kept to himself or tried to initiate quiet conversations with people he believed were closer to what he considered normal. One of the goblin females present took an interest in him, which made Alex use his impressive willpower to keep from smirking in the man's face. It was well known that throughout history there were references about liaisons between humans and goblins. Stokes merely looked impassively at Alex as if this was the most normal thing in the world. He entertained the goblinas (as he thought of her and would continue to do so until he discovered the correct name).

With dinner over, the tables were cleared, and the people were ready to start. Several of the fairies who volunteered to act as retainers quickly did their jobs, informing the guests that carry-outs were available upon request. That met with quiet murmurs and small nods of approval.

Once the room cleared, Alex and Ceraine pulled out their wands and transfigured the hall from a dining room into a massive conference center much to the surprise of several of the guests much to the surprise of several of them who weren't used to such displays of magic at that level.

Stokes silently acknowledged that he was out of his death. Watching chairs being transfigured for the various guests, from the smallest four-inch fairy to the regular-sized humans was suitably impressive as the man mentally catalogued everything he witnessed.

Ceraine looked at a discombobulated Stokes and mouthed the word, "magic."

TBC