The Headmaster peered inside the room with the mirror, briefly. Then he turned and started down the stairs. When he looked back at her, she swallowed nervously and started after him. How would she escape? Pretend to head back to her dorm when they reached the bottom of the stairs? If she tried to ignore him, that would merely attract his attention as to why she was doing so.
“I must say,” he said, “I never expected the Mirror of Erised to be so popular!” He shook his head genially. “It’s considered a very Dark artefact because so many have found themselves trapped in its allure. They became convinced it was real, you see.” He glanced at her, then the other students in the stairwell.
She nodded, her throat painfully dry. “Yes, sir,” she managed in an almost normal tone of voice.
They were both silent for a moment, the Headmaster nodding and waving to students.
“But it is very interesting to know what your heart’s desire is,” she ventured as they descended past a classroom.
“Yes,” he said. “For ones soo young as yourselves it can be quite a revelation.” He paused, then continued. “However for someone of my age, it is old news and not interesting at all.”
She nodded. “That makes sense,” she said. “With age comes wisdom.”
He chuckled. “Not always, but thank you for thinking I am wise. I shall announce at dinner tonight that the mirror will remain in that room for a while, but it will be locked at night and alarms set.”
There went her thought of sneaking in at night.
“Students may visit it under supervision, as they are now.” He continued in a conversational tone. “Then it shall be moved. It is too dangerous to leave where it can easily be accessed by children.”
They stood at the landing that led to the castle, proper. They had reached the end of the line of students. Any more and the students knew they wouldn’t see the mirror before dinner.
What he said next nearly sent her fleeing the castle in a panic.
“Well, good afternoon, Miss De Rippe,” the Headmaster said and started striding down the corridor.
He knew who she was! By sight and by name! It was with the greatest difficulty that she managed to just stand there, gobsmacked, as he walked away. Probably to his office, she guessed. She almost started hyperventilating. With a steady step that masked her inner turmoil she headed back to her dormitory. She didn’t dare break her role, not even for a second. A true infiltrator never broke her cover. She would wait to have her nervous breakdown once she was in the privacy of her own bed. With the curtains drawn and a silencing spell cast on them.
He stopped a few steps away, turned to face her, and smiled. “Maybe next time you won’t be so nervous.” He resumed walking away.
The Headmaster knew her well-enough to pick her out of a crowd and name her. He expected to talk with her again! She was not as anonymous as she had thought. She might need that hideaway in Scotland a lot sooner than she had thought.
She would go through the folder of possibilities that the goblins had sent her, thoroughly, once she recovered. The sooner she selected one, the sooner they could notify her that the property was ready. And the happier she would be.
۸-_-۸
Albus had just finished his breakfast and was starting in on his morning paperwork when the owl flew in and landed on the edge of his desk. He set aside his quill and gently removed the letter attached to the bird’s leg. He opened a drawer and retrieved an owl treat, which was eagerly accepted.
The owl showed no signs of moving on.
“Ah, you’re waiting for a reply, are you?”
The owl nodded.
He looked at the envelope. It was from Princess Sparkle. He frowned and pursed his lips. He opened the letter. It was short and simple.
Dear Chief Warlock Dumbledore,
I’m terribly sorry to bother you, but a situation has arisen at the Portal and I am in need of your advice. Could you come to the Equestrian Embassy at your earliest convenience? Show this to the receptionist and someone will conduct you through the portal to meet me.
Sincerely,
Twilight
Not an emergency, but something he could help them get sorted. Excellent! If he could get them to depend more upon his advice, things would be easier. He cast his patronus and informed Minerva he would be out of the castle until further notice.
Not long afterwards, he was being led through the portal by a Guard. Twilight met him in an office in the Portal Wall separating the portal from the rest of the Portal Exclusion Area.
“Oh thank you for coming so quickly,” she said, jumping up from the table she was at. She set aside the book she was studying at the moment. After exchanging a few pleasantries, she continued with, “Last night, as one of the Embassy employees was coming through the portal, something very puzzling happened . . . .”
۸-_-۸
Ralph had just gone through the portal, after picking up the day’s courier pack at the Embassy, when he suddenly felt something large and soft fall on his neck. He collapsed to the ground. Almost immediately he heard guards charge up to him yelling, “Don’t move! Don’t move!”
Realizing he had something furred atop him, trapping him, he complied. He tried to see something besides the acid-green fur and the wooden decking, and failed.
It took several minutes, but soon he was standing beside an unsteady unicorn mare, with her legs splayed to maintain her balance. She was staring around in amazement. He was coolly looking at his fellow guards. A soft-gold dome surrounded the two.
“Sorry Ralph,” said the unicorn in front of him.
He nodded as Sergeant Happy Pear hit him with the changeling-reveal spell. Happy used three other spells, each designed to reveal anything hidden behind an enchantment.
They both grunted at the result — no change. They were both relieved.
He watched curiously as the unicorn turned and did the same to the mysterious mare. Again, no change. Although she did gasp and give the guard a startled look.
Moving quickly, Happy Pear brought up a metal ring in wooden pliers with his magic and dropped the ring over the mare’s horn. Only, then did the Guards around them start to relax.
They might have relaxed, but the spears were still held steady and the cross-bows unlocked. A quick glance up showed that the two were still the targets of several of those new “mini-guns” and “rifles.” Although why they were called mini-guns left them all puzzled when they were so much bigger than the rifles or pistols.
The mare, meanwhile, was going cross-eyed trying to look at her horn, and the ring on it. She tried to reach up to the ring with one hoof, and promptly face-planted before the guards could warn her not to touch the ring.
“Who are you?” barked Happy Pear, who had a crossbow steady in his magic and pointed at the mare.
Ralph saw an earth-pony equipped with a new rifle-saddle manoeuver beside them to view the mare’s side. He had the trigger mechanism in his mouth. A unicorn stood beside him, horn pointed at the intruder. Ralph moved farther away from the mare. No need to court getting caught in a crossfire. Another pair had him targeted.
The mare stopped trying to stand, stared up at him, and frowned. “I’m Rita Skeeter!” she said pompously. “The Daily Prophet’s best and most famous reporter!” She scowled. “Don’t just stand there, help me up!”
“Ralph?” Happy Pear growled inquisitively.
He shrugged. “I haven’t a clue, Sir. I was returning from the Embassy on the other side of the portal with today’s courier bag,” he swung his muzzle at the saddle-bags he wore with the Equestrian Embassy seal marked on them.
“Everything was peachy keen, no problems. Then, when I stepped through the portal, something fell on me — her.” He shook his head. “I haven’t a clue where she came from. I’ve never seen her. Don’t know who she is.”
“Right,” said the Sergeant, turning back to the mare still sprawled on the deck. He studied her as she resumed slowly working her legs under her body. She occasionally glanced at him scowling as she struggled to her hooves.
He sighed.
“I’m sorry, Ralph, but it’s quarantine.”
Ralph nodded. “Just send word to Canterlot that I have the courier bags and to send somepony for them.”
Happy turned to a pony behind them. “Hostile quarantine for the mare, friendly quarantine for Ralph.”
In short order the mare found her front and rear legs manacled together with no room for movement, and a mask was fitted over her face that blinded her and prevented her from opening her muzzle more than a little bit for talking and drinking.
“Wait a minute! What are you doing? I’m a reporter for the Daily Prophet! You’ll regret this! Put me down!” Her cries were becoming more and more desperate, as well as louder, until a unicorn cast a silencing spell on her.
“Thank Celestia!” Ralph muttered as they started to the quarantine cells in the nearby hospital.
Sergeant Happy Pear just nodded as several of the closer ponies chuckled. None came close enough to cross the shield that prevented them from contaminating Equestria.
His room was rather comfortable, with a soft bed, personal toilet and shower, and a basket of fresh fruits and sandwiches. He would have preferred his own room in Canterlot, but . . . circumstances.
After a quick look around, he took off the robe and saddlebags, setting them beside himself as he sat in front of the interrogation window. The guard on the other side nodded to him congenially as he nodded back.
He pulled up a sheet of paper and fed it into the typewriter. He might as well get started on an action-summary while he waited for somepony in authority to arrive.
Miss Rita Skeeter wasn’t nearly as complacent with her room. They had set her on the bed, loosened the manacles so she could walk, removed the silencing spell and mask, and left. They had left the ring on her horn with the warning that if she touched it, they would restrain her completely, again. There were two guards on her window, staring impassively as she ranted at their inconsiderate treatment of an important and influential visitor to their world.
Her interrogator was polite, but persistent.
It took her the better part of an hour to notice the food basket. And half an hour to make her way to the table. Someone had considerately sectioned the fruit so she could more easily eat it.
She discovered there was a window in the toilet/shower room. Which led to another tirade at the perverts watching her. Until she realized she needed a little help. Then she demanded that they help her. Which the unicorn mare outside the room did without complaint or comment, except to give instructions.
۸-~-۸
“. . . it turns out she had intended to sneak through the portal to see if the rumours were true about Equestria,” Twilight concluded, “although she kept insisting this was Atlantis.” She shook her head dismissively. She dropped the papers back into the folder and put it back on the desk.
“We’re pretty sure the unicorn mare really is Rita Skeeter. She at least knows everything publicly known about the witch. And going through the portal would have counter-acted polyjuice . . . I think.” She frowned, but then shook her head again. “But it’s been far more than a mere hour and she hasn’t shape-shifted, so that can’t be in use. And illusions would have failed as soon as she changed to a unicorn. Or she would have appeared as an extremely clumsy person instead of a pony.
“So, she’s not a changeling, not poly-juiced, and not illusioned. She doesn’t have a cutie mark, so she’s not an Equestrian. She appears to be just a witch.”
Twilight sighed. “She said she didn’t want an official visit because, as she said, she was sure we would only have let her see what we wanted her to see. And that we would have used illusions to hide the truth. If we had allowed her through the portal at all. Which she was convinced we wouldn’t do.”
Albus nodded wisely. “That sounds like something Rita would say and do,” he said sagely, stroking his beard. “She is . . . an enchantingly nasty and clever witch.” He paused a moment. “The story she will write will be quite entertaining . . . and might even contain some truth.” He looked at the princess and chuckled. “I’m sure it won’t be very flattering.”
“Ah,” Twilight said. And contemplated the folder on her desk for a moment.
“The problem is, the thing I’m concerned about, is how did she slip through our checks on the other side? She couldn’t simply have been invisible and following Ralph, or our spells would have detected her. Similarly, if she were concealed in something with an undetectable expansion charm, then Ralph would have had to carry it. And the only bags he had, had been checked in the embassy before he went through the portal.”
She looked at him quizzically. “Any thoughts?”
He sat thinking, stroking his beard with a free hoof. Finally, he said, “Animagus.”
Twilight looked at him curiously.
“An animagus could be almost any creature, even an insect,” he explained. “If she were an insect, she could easily have slipped through your spells undetected. She could have hitchhiked in on Ralph’s hair. And then when she went through the Portal, it returned her to her human form, which on this side is a pony.”
Twilight sighed deeply. “Yes, of course.” She shook her head. “So. We need a spell to prevent hitchhikers down to . . . what size?” She paused. “I’ve already set a spell to prevent insects from crossing into the Portal Dome from this side, either crawling, flying, or burrowing.”
They discussed it some more until finally, she asked, “What would you like us to do with her? Is she wanted for any crimes? I don’t recall any muggle or wizarding laws that prohibit anyone from leaving the United Kingdom. And the only thing we can charge her with is trying to sneak through the Portal without declaration.” She sighed. “And that’s not a crime, yet.” She frowned. “I’m sure the Princesses will fix that oversight.” She brightened a bit. “Although we can keep her in custody for as long as we want while we research the situation.”
Albus smiled genially. “While many of Rita’s detractors feel she should be locked up in a deep dungeon, she hasn’t actually committed any crimes that we know of. On the other hand, if she is an animagus, she has broken the law in England. She’s unregistered. The penalty is a rather large fine. And if she used the animagus form to commit a crime, such as using it to spy on people in private situations, or the ministry, then time spent in Azkaban might be included. Especially if she has done it more than once.” He chuckled. “And based on how many Ministry officials are upset over stories she wrote based on things they thought were confidential, that is probably the case.”
Twilight thought about that for a moment. Then nodded firmly, stood, and said, “Let’s find out.” She trotted out the door, clearly expecting him to follow her.
Several minutes later, they were looking at an irate mare with a white-blonde mane and tail, and acid-green coat, sitting on the bed. She was glaring balefully at the window as they walked into view. Naturally, she recognized Twilight, immediately, having seen pictures of her taken by students at Hogwarts. Her expression broke into what was obviously a fake smile. “Oh, thank Merlin someone intelligent has arrived,” she said.
The reporter carefully slid off the bed and unsteadily walked to the window — the manacles making it only slightly more difficult. She didn’t spare a glance at the Headmaster’s pony form. “This is all a misunderstanding! I simply wanted to take a look at your wonderful country so I could tell my readers all about it and your colourful people,” she corrected herself, “ponies.” She smiled a bit like a predator about to eat something it had just caught.
“After all, I couldn’t very well walk into the Equestrian muggle embassy and start talking about my magical newspaper, The Daily Prophet, now could I? And there isn’t any way for a wizard or witch to contact you, either. So what other choice did I have?” She looked down, then back up under her eyelashes to see if they were gullible enough to agree with her placing the blame on the ponies for the situation.
An owl, after all, would easily have gotten through to the right person.
Twilight took a step back in surprise, but then gathered herself, frowning. “Will you tell me how you managed to make it through the Portal Dome on the other side?”
The Headmaster nodded slightly, watching the witch in pony form.
“And what proof can you offer that you really are Rita Skeeter?”
They watched the mare on the other side of the glass drop her jaw. She sat abruptly and begin to splutter, “But, but, I’m Rita Skeeter!” She looked at her side and they could imagine her frowning. She turned towards the Headmaster and the guards to either side of the window in the hall. “I’m Rita Skeeter,” she repeated, loudly, and a little desperately.
The Headmaster turned his head slightly, then nodded. “Of course you are,” he muttered.
“I’ll swear on my magic that I’m Rita Skeeter,” the witch said, frantically.
“Would you take a drop of a truth drug?” Princess Sparkle asked.
She nodded eagerly, “Yes! I am who I say I am!”
Twilight looked at them both. Albus was gazing back at her serenely, nodding. She shrugged. “I’ll be back in a moment,” she said, then disappeared in a teleport.
Twilight returned seven minutes later with a small vial in her magic, inside the room beside Rita.
Rita reared back and fell heavily to the carpeted floor.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” Twilight exclaimed, and used her magic to set the mare back on her hooves. Almost as soon as she was upright, Rita had her tongue stuck out. Twilight carefully applied a drop of the liquid in the vial.
“What is your name,” she asked
“Rita Skeeter.”
“Are you an animagus?”
There was a pause, then Rita said, “Yes.”
“What form?”
Again there was a pause, then Rita said, “A water beetle.”
“Are you a reporter for The Daily Prophet?”
“Yes, and others.”
“Have you used your beetle form to spy on others to get stories?”
There was a long pause, then, “Yes.”
Twilight stood indecisively for a moment, then teleported out of the room into the hall. “Thank you for your cooperation,” she said to Rita. She hesitated, then added. “If you’d like to help me develop some spells to detect small insects such as yourself before they reach the Portal, I’d be happy to escort you anywhere you want, within reason, in Equestria. And answer your questions about it.”
Rita looked uncertain for a moment
“That’s not a question, of course,” Twilight said, “merely an offer.” She smiled slightly. “Why don’t you just lie down a bit and wait for the drug to wear off? You can think my offer over and give me your decision later. Just mention it to one of the Guards.”
A purple aura surrounded the mare in the room and gently placed her on the bed.
Twilight turned to the guards. “She is no longer in hostile quarantine. I’ll notify your sergeant and new orders will be here shortly.”
The two guards nodded.
She turned back to the mare staring at her from the bed. “We’ll have those manacles off in short order.”
She and Albus walked back to the room where he had initially found her.
Once they had settled, Twilight looked at him and raised her eyebrows in inquiry. A paper floated out of a drawer and a quill started writing on it.
Albus chuckled amiably. “That mare is definitely Rita Skeeter. When you asked her to prove it, she was practically shouting it in her mind. And when you asked her if she was an animagus, before then, she unwittingly revealed the truth. Your confirmation with the truth drug . . . was it veritaserum?”
She shook her head, smirking.
“. . . was just that, confirmation.” He frowned ever so slightly. “She wasn’t as passive as most such recipients of a truth drug.”
Twilight snickered. “It wasn’t a truth dug. It was mint tea with a mild calming potion in it. Zecora taught me how to brew it several months ago.
Albus raised his eyebrows in surprise.
“From my experiments with the potion, I know it makes you relax. And, under these circumstances, I didn’t think she wanted to lie. So, the mint taste combined with the calming potion made her think she had been drugged. The rest was just her thinking she had to tell the truth.”
Albus had to chuckle as he shook his head.
The quill finished writing and the paper folded up on her desk.
“Are you going to escort her yourself?”
She made a face of disgust. “Yes. I’ve had some experience with tabloid reporters.” She looked up at him. “I’ll introduce her to a few squibs here in the hospital, and show her how we’re helping the muggles and hiding the fact that wizards and witches are real.” She paused a moment, as if pondering something.
“Are you going to report her as an animagus to your Ministry?”
He had considered the situation while they were walking. “No. But I will send her an owl letting her know that I know her secret and that she should consider registering.” He smiled condescendingly, “But I know she won’t. She considers it too valuable.” He frowned. “But I will alter the protective charms at the school to warn me whenever an animagus crosses onto school grounds, or leaves.”
She nodded. “She does have a point, though, in that no one can contact us without going through the Equestrian Embassy. And depending entirely on owls would be problematic.” She tilted her head, looking at him. “Perhaps we should open a small office with a secretary for answering questions in Hogsmeade or Diagon Alley. It could floo directly to the Embassy. That way wizards and witches could easily contact us and travel conveniently.”
It was his turn to nod. “Yes, perhaps that would be better.”
“And the non-magicals there would never see a wizard or witch.”
He nodded.
Another paper floated up and the quill again started writing.
۸-_-۸
Rita spent the rest of the week exploring Ponyville and meeting some of the residents. Her first meeting with Spike sent her scurrying behind Twilight for protection. And she nearly fainted at the sight of a Griffon Guard, equipped with a spear, sword, and armour, at Twilight’s castle.
۸-_-۸
True to his word, the Headmaster left the Mirror of Erised in place for a week, and gave all the interested students a chance to see it. Which was most of them. Then he moved it elsewhere, and no one could find it.
Not before he caught Elly, though on Thursday morning. She had snuck in during the previous day and carefully unlocked a window. Then waited until late at night. She had snuck out of the dormitory after curfew using her notice-me-not spell combined with silencing spells. And an illusion spell that she was a wall. She was really good at that one.
Sneaking into the room had been easy. She had just gone outside, applied a feather-weight charm to herself, climbed up the wall with sticking charms, and snuck in through the window. A very easy operation, compared to what she had done in Ponyville.
She wasn’t sure how long she had been sitting there when the door opened and the Headmaster had walked in. She had remained still, frozen in fear. Her spells were still in place, so maybe he was just randomly checking the mirror. Or maybe he had his own wishes he wanted to evaluate, in private. He glanced around then room, then he smiled straight at her. “Those are quite good spells you have cast,” he said. “However, you can always see through other’s spells if you are powerful enough.” His eyes had twinkled. “And a wall standing in the middle of the room is quite distinctive.”
She had blushed furiously.
“Being engrossed in a single purpose makes you blind to things around you, Miss De Rippe,” he said softly to her. “And you can be caught unaware.”
He had gazed at the mirror. “It is a terrible thing to lose your family,” he said.
She could feel regret and sadness flowing from him.
“Don’t let your losses prevent you from growing and enjoying the future.” He turned to her and smiled sadly. “You have a full future ahead of you, don’t waste it, as others have, by looking backwards.”
She stared at him. “How . . . how . . . ?” she looked at the mirror.
She felt amusement from him. He smirked.
She felt her eyes bulge out at the sight. He had actually smirked at her?
“A simple alert charm on the floor in front of the mirror.” He waved his hand and a large white triangle appeared on the floor. She was sitting almost in the middle of it.
She blushed again.
“Come, I will walk you back to your Common Room.” He half-turned towards the classroom door.
She stood and docilely walked ahead of him to the door. Just as she reached it, she felt all her charms being dispelled. And she heard a click from the window.
The walk was mostly in silence. He wasn’t upset or angry with her, she felt. He was amused.
They had just reached the Hufflepuff entrance when he said, “Never fear, my dear, you aren’t the first to fall for the mirror’s charms. Not even this week. I’ve had to chase a few others away as well.”
She nodded and started into the Common Room.
“Oh, and Miss De Rippe?”
She stopped and stared at him.
“Ten points for an impressive suite of charms for a First Year.”
She blushed again, and hurried inside. She spent a sleepless night, wondering if her cover was blown or if she had simply been unlucky.
۸-_-۸