//------------------------------// // Chapter 37: Guests for Diner // Story: Agents of Discord // by KittyrinnAiko //------------------------------// “So, anything from the letters? Ray asked as he, Mystique, and Hurricane made their way to a secluded location just outside of town. “The letters are fairly generic. They talk about a dig on an ancient monument, how they miss her, and the usual. They are also complete and utter fabrications.” “How’s that?” “The dig they describe was done several years ago, and the letters were postmarked in Canterlot.” “How about Ray and I check into it in the morning?” Hurricane suggested as they approached a regal chariot and a team of Canterlot’s finest pegasi guards. Mystique touched the amulet hanging from her neck, and Princess Celestia minus her regalia stepped forward. She then used that moment to lower the sun. “Well, if I’m going to be Scootaloo’s Aunt, I’d say I’m entitled to meddle. But where will you start?” “At the Canterlot Institute of Natural History, I’d say,” Ray offered. “Might try at the post office as well,” Hurricane offered as the three got into the chariot. They were off moments later. “Well, I’ll be a plucked Basilisk,” Applejack said softly as she came out of hiding. She was joined a moment later by Mrs Heardital. “Me too.” “And you are?” “Mrs Heardital. I’m Scootaloo’s social worker. When I saw Mrs Summers heading for the outskirts of town instead of the train station I decided to follow her and her two stallion friends. Applejack, isn’t it?” “That’s me. You heard what she said?” “Enough to know there’s something not right going on in Canterlot and so help me if I find out her parents just up and dumped her…” “Kind of begs a number of questions, such as who is Miss Sunshine Summers that Princess Celestia herself comes a running?” “Apparently her daughter.” “Now I can believe she’s a Shimmer, whoever that is, but Celestia’s daughter?” “Shimmer?” “Lofty mentioned that Scootaloo’s mother had been mixed up with a stallion named Dusk Shimmer and that Sunshine was likely Scootaloo’s sister. Could Princess Celestia have been mixed up with him and just kept it quiet?” “I suppose anything’s possible. Princess Celestia is a mare after all.” “And we can’t say a dang thing, we don’t dare.” “We may not have the whole story.” “There is that. It’s just that ponies place Princess Celestia pretty high up, and forget that she’s also a pony.” Back at the house, Aerie was surprised to find Professor McGonagall at the Sussex drive front door. London. “Professor McGonagall, whatever are you doing out there in the cold,” Aerie offered moments after opening the door. “Come in, come in.” “Terribly sorry about showing up unannounced. Professor Dumbledore was having some kind of panic attack. Wanted me to check up on you.” Aerie had to think for a moment as McGonagall came in, and she was about to shut the door when she spotted a Mrs Summers out in the cold as well. “Mrs Summer’s, this way.” “Hoshiko?” “No, sorry. I’m Aerie. Aerie Potter. Lily Evans' daughter. And a good possibility a second or third cousin. I'm Aurora’s friend from school. Come on in. Mom is just getting started with dinner and Aurora is in the kitchen with her.” “Oh, you just reminded me of her,” Mrs Summers offered as she came up the steps. “I swear, I’ve been going around in circles out here.” “Well, come on in out of the cold. The second door on the left is the kitchen. This is Professor McGonagall, but you’ve met though, haven't you.” Aerie only took a moment to realize she’d better make sure Flora and Sunshine knew that this Celeste Summers was not the same individual they’d spent the better part of the day with. “Hang on, I’ll show you the way.” Aerie then went down the hall ahead of the two women. “Mom, Aurora’s mother is here,” Aerie called as she entered the kitchen ahead of Celeste. “I’d like to introduce you to Celeste Summers, not Mystique, Celeste Summers.” “The Mrs Summers who blew off her own daughter?” Flora asked. “Mom?! Not one bit fair. Accurate, but not fair,” Aerie protested. “In my defense, I was helping one of my students,” Celeste offered. “And got so caught up in their problems you forgot about me,” Aurora added. She wiped her hands with a dish towel and then went to hug her mom. “And it’s not the first time either.” “I am so terribly sorry,” Celeste offered as she returned the hug. “Sorry about the chastisement,” Flora offered. “And now that you are here, I insist you stay for dinner.” “Dinner?” Celeste asked. She’d as likely had it in her mind that she’d be fetching Aurora and that would be it. “You didn’t have anything planned did you?” “Oh, and Professor McGonagall is here.” “Well, if she’s got nothing planned, she can stay too.” “Professor, care to stay for dinner?” Aerie called. “I must confess, I’ve nothing planned,” Celeste admitted. “Oh, I couldn't,” McGonagall protested. “Do you have anything better lined up?” Flora asked. “I…” McGonagall was about to say no but then realized that Flora was now using that wandless telekinesis she’d seen the girls using. “Actually, I think I will stay.” “Good, because I’ve made entirely too much food.” “You’re using magic?” “I am at that. I got my cutie mark today.” “It’s a vocational manifestation of Akkadian magic,” Aerie offered. “Do to where they typically show up, the muggles would see them as ‘tramp stamps’.” “Tramp stamps?” “A mark on the upper thigh. Typically on both sides.” “And who is this young lady,” Professor McGonagall asked upon spotting Scootaloo. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she recalled something about people with Akkadian ancestry getting tattoos as some sort of coming of age ritual, but it hadn’t occurred to her that they might actually be magical in nature. “By any chance will she be attending Hogwarts next year?” “This is Louise Shutter. She doesn’t actually live in England. So… probably not?” Aurora offered. “Should we get a letter for her we’d need to discuss it with her Aunts? We are looking after her for the time being.” “We?” Mrs Summers asked. “Aerie and I agreed to look after her.” “Hang on, how exactly is that supposed to work?” “Oh, we’ll be staying here. At least for the winter holidays. I hope you don’t mind?” “Oh.” “Right now we are her ‘temporary’ guardians while the authorities try to find her parents,” Aerie offered. “And there’s a lot more room here than in your, our, little flat.” “But you are just children yourself?” Mrs Summer’s protested. “I’m also part and parcel to her custody,” Flora offered. “The thing is, and I’m afraid you might not like it, Scootaloo, that is, Louise seems to be a half-sister, and owing to the circumstances she needs to stay here for the time being. Think of it in terms of babysitting her until things can get sorted.” “Half-sister?” Mrs Summers asked sounding just a little put out. “Oh, who am I kidding? You’ve probably got a bunch of siblings out there for all I know.” “Who’s got a bunch of siblings? Oh, hello?” Basil asked as he came in. “I see we have guests.” “Dinner will be ready shortly, dear.” “Ah, Mr Finch-Fletchley, good to see you well,” Professor McGonagall offered. “I’ve invited her to stay for dinner,” Flora added. “And this is Aurora’s mom, she’s here too.” “And by any chance is that Aurora's sister?” “Kind of a half-sister. She’ll be staying with us for a while. Her parents have gone missing, and the girls have agreed to look after her.” “Splendid.” “Splendid?” Mrs Summers objected. “About her staying with us. Not so much the missing parents part. Does anyone have any idea where they were last?” “Yucatan,” Aerie offered. “Snap, and Mane Shutter. Far as we know they are fine. Just extremely irresponsible. There’s still the possibility Louise might go to her Aunts, but it was decided by mutual consent to let her spend the holidays with us.” “Dare I ask who she was staying with?” Mrs Summers asked. “She’d been left at home. Latch key kid, just like me,” Aurora offered. “And then her house fell down. Fortunately, not with her in it.” “Fell down?” “Related to magic,” Aerie explained, and then added, “You probably don’t want to know the details. Also, it’s part of why we need to be here. It’s safer here.” “We had some issues last night,” Basil informed her, and presumably Professor McGonagall as he didn’t know if she knew about what had happened or not. “Did Professor Dumbledore get the packages sent his way?” Aerie asked. “Indeed he did,” Professor McGonagall responded. “Perhaps you’d like to fill me in from your perspective?” “First off there was the harassment at the train station. Trust me, dealing with grown wizards without using magic isn’t easy. After that, it was a fairly quiet evening until those idiots started terrorizing people around the corner and went and got themselves shot. Our block got cordoned off by the police, and then we saw a rather suspicious pair poking around out front.” “And then, poof, they were gone,” Aurora added. She didn’t really want to discuss how they went poof, even if Aerie had all but admitted it. “So, any idea what Dumbledore wanted?” Aerie asked. “Not really, no. He just seemed adamant that I go check on you.” “And in this weather,” Flora added. “No doubt heard about last night,” Aerie offered. Granted that there was one other thing. She’d taken off the tracking amulet that had Dumbledore’s spells on it and left it in her room prior to going into the basement to go to Equestria. The last thing she wanted was for him to track her through a portal. Outright destroying it at some point had also come to mind. “You know… if Dumbledore were to be using a spell to try to keep tabs on me, it’s entirely possible the enchantments on this place might interfere. That and the stronger my magic the more likely I am to resist such intrusions.” “Ah, yes, that could be the issue. Coupled with the trouble last night,” McGonagall confirmed. Granted that she may not have intended to, but if Aerie suspected as much there was no point in denying it. Aerie was a smart girl and could reason out that magic had been used to locate her when the Dursleys had gone out to that island. A house that was shielded along with some unknown divine presence intent on keeping her safe. McGonagall also suspected that Aerie had something to do with the two Aurors who’d landed on the head table at Hogwarts or why ask if Dumbledore had gotten the package, and she was reasonably certain that’s what she’d been referring to. Still though, to transport individuals that far and through anti-apparate wards suggested that Aerie was far more than she appeared to be. “Let me just see about getting a couple of extra places set at the table,” Aerie offered rather than pursue what she’d just accused Dumbledore of and went to set two more places at the dining room table. She came to a halt momentarily after going through the doorway. Two more place settings had already been added. “Thank you Kreacher,” Aerie offered, turned, and went back into the kitchen. “Kreacher?” McGonagall asked. “I’ve acquired the last remaining house elf from Grimmauld place.” “But, Kreacher?” “He’s not a bad House Elf, just a badly treated and poorly managed one. And as Sirius Black is my magical guardian, not Dumbledore, that technically makes me a member of the Black family as well.” “Aerie, why don’t you go find Justin and let him know that we’ll be serving dinner shortly.” “I’d best run upstairs as well and get cleaned up,” Basil offered, and a moment later he was out in the hall headed for the stairs. Aerie followed and found Justin working on his homework on the next floor up. She let him know that Aurora's actual mother was downstairs along with Professor McGonagall. They washed their hands in the sink in the first-floor washroom and headed downstairs. “Ah, young master Justin,” McGonagall offered a greeting as he entered the dining room. Scootaloo was directing her and Mrs Summers to the new place settings, and Aurora was bringing in a serving tray loaded with fresh bread. Basil arrived just as Flora was bringing out a roast surrounded by baked potatoes and vegetables. There was also a big bowl of mashed potatoes with a boat of gravy, a vegetarian enchilada casserole, and baked orange cauliflower casserole. “I am so glad the Ministry of Magic has those above-ground offices,” Basil offered as everyone sat down. “Soon as I got to my office I had to deal with superiors who wanted to know entirely too much about what I had to do this morning.” “You gave them the number then I gather?” McGonagall asked. “Thank you for the food,” Aerie offered quietly and then looked up. “Right, right,” Basil offered. “Let us all be grateful for the bounty before us and the efforts of everyone that had something to do with bringing this scrumptious repast to our table. And now, let us dig in.” “Oh, something we need to look into,” Aerie began as everyone began to dish up the various delights. “We seem to have a Floo connection in the vault under the street. Any idea who we’d call to get it looked at?” “A vault under the street?” McGonagall asked. “Accessible via the trench out front,” Basil offered. “Aerie and Aurora explained to me what it was last night. Sure would make getting around in a pinch more convenient. “So what did you end up telling them at work?” Flora asked. “I told them the truth, that there’d been an incident at the School Justin and Aerie are going to and that Aerie was needed to testify at a hearing. I told them it was held at the Ministry offices in the old War office. Which they took to mean there’d been a meta involved because that’s what everyone thinks is in the old War Office. The Meta Management Ministry. Also known as the Mum. I saw no reason to correct them and politely explained that the details were confidential owing to an ongoing investigation that was linked to the incident.” “Meta?” Professor McGonagall asked. She was just a little worried that Meta might be a muggle code word for Wizard kind. “People with abilities well beyond the norm,” Aerie offered. “It can be applied to a variety of archetypes, including individuals with abnormally enhanced strength, and it can be applied to individuals of extraterrestrial origin. Afraid that people who can do magic are only a small portion of that pie.” “Costumed villains and vigilantes,” Justin offered. “Here in England among the heroes we have the Black Knight, Union Jack, Captain Britten, Britannia, Spitfire…” “Spitfire?” Louise asked. “Ya, a woman who dresses in red and gold, and uses super speed.” “Likely just using the name,” Aurora whispered to Louise. “There are rumors that Merlin is back as well,” Justin added. “Merlin?” McGonagall asked. “The Wizard of legend himself. No idea if he’s the real deal or if he’s even a real wizard.” “If he’s a wizard he’s likely violated the secrecy accords,” McGonagall quipped. “Not necessarily,” Aerie offered. “One unconfirmed legend from the ancient past doesn’t reveal the Wizarding community. The thing is, the non-magical community knows about magic and a fair amount of notable historical individuals in the wizarding community. Such as Nicholas Flamel and the Sorcerer's stone.” McGonagall cringed. “What they don’t know is whether or not any of it is real. And of course, the Wizarding community has turned a blind eye to the ‘non-magical’ world, haven't a clue about everything that goes on around them.” “I see.” McGonagall was shocked. After all, the philosopher’s stone was presently at Hogwarts. “Now, about the Floo?” Aerie prompted. “You’ll need to go into the ministry and request it be either reconnected or repaired.” “And the old Floo Powder?” Flora asked. “There’s a pot about halfway full.” “It’s still got some spark, but it’s kind of gone off,” Aurora offered. “Not sure if it’s safe for just anyone to use,” Aerie added. “Floo powder?” Celeste asked. “Think transport tube,” Aurora offered. “The powder is what activates it. Step into the fireplace, cast the powder, and say the place you want to go, and Bob’s your Uncle.” “Seriously? But there’s nothing at the train station?” “It would make things a lot easier if there was a Floo at Platform nine and three quarters,” Aerie admitted. “Wonder why?” McGonagall asked. “It would make sense to connect the floo network to the platforms. There would certainly be far fewer people needing to traverse through the station.” “All have to ask Nova Silverwood if she knows why?” “Well, I for one would love to hear about how the girls are doing in school?” Celeste asked. “Any chance I can get a demonstration?” “Unfortunately, we aren’t allowed to do any magic outside of school,” Aurora informed her. “But I suppose we can tell you a little about what we do at school.” “No one’s interested in what I’ve been doing?” Justin asked. “Yes, you too,” Flora offered lovingly. From then on the remainder of the evening was filled with Aerie, Aurora, and Justin telling their parents about school.