Chapter 87 — A Conversation
Chapter 87: A Conversation
"So then, miss, let's begin with introductions. My name is Draco Black. Draco is my given name; Black is the name of the family I come from; in some cultures it is also called a surname. As for this Director Oz you just mentioned, I'm afraid I have no idea who that is. Beside me is my mother, Narcissa Black, who provided your initial medical care."
I looked at the girl expectantly; she appeared utterly lost after my words.
"Summer. Summer Rose. Summer is my given name; Rose is my surname."
I nodded, a faint smile on my lips.
"Well then, let's talk, since you specifically asked to see me."
"You look young. Perhaps fifteen."
She was studying me very carefully.
"I'm twelve."
Her eyes went wide with shock and disbelief.
"And my first question is this: what are those creatures that come through the breaches?"
"I don't understand."
She shook her head.
"I'm referring to these black creatures with bony growths. Personally, I've encountered wolf-like ones and bear-like ones, and it was a bull-shaped creature that carried you through the rift to us."
"Grimm."
She said it simply, and seeing that the word meant nothing to me, she sighed.
"I need to go home."
"I'm afraid that isn't possible."
I shook my head. The girl frowned slightly and tensed.
"And that isn't because we have any wish to keep you from going. It's because we have no way to send you. The rifts appear spontaneously all over the world and we have not yet learned to predict where they will open. The creatures, the Grimm as you call them, pour through in droves, intent on killing every living thing. That suggests that the other side of a rift is even more dangerous than ours. So even if by some miracle we learned that a rift had opened at a particular point in the world, and getting you there would take all of five minutes given a capable wizard nearby, what would you do then? You have no weapons. You cannot protect yourself on the other side. And what if the passage is one-directional? What if travel is possible only from your world into ours, and going back simply means becoming a corpse?"
"I..."
She bit her lip.
"In any case, rifts of this kind have appeared in our world before, though it was a very long time ago. No living witnesses remain, and the events are recorded only in the oldest books. But those records make one thing plain: the rifts will appear with increasing frequency, and in time whole fragments of your world will cross into ours."
She flinched.
"And your world, I'm afraid, will ultimately be destroyed."
"Why are you telling me this?"
"Why?"
I frowned slightly and looked at the scroll of questions, then set it aside.
"I suppose because neither you nor we wished for any of this, and yet it will happen. Regrettably for you, your world will be destroyed, being the weaker of the two. Fortunately for us, ours will survive. But the process will affect our world profoundly. We have already encountered the creatures you call Grimm, not an overwhelming threat individually, but numerous. We would very much like to learn about them, and about the other dangers from your world, in as much detail as possible. And in return..."
I looked at her steadily.
"In return, I offer you a flat (large, in a protected location, assuming the location itself survives the final convergence) into which you could bring your family."
She flinched.
"You do have a family?"
"Y-yes."
She nodded, and tears appeared at the corners of her eyes.
"Are they strong?"
"Yes. Taiyang is strong, but my daughters are still so young."
"If your husband is strong, he can protect your daughters. Your duty, as a loving wife and a caring mother, is to create a place they can come home to."
"I..."
She looked at me, tears running down her cheeks.
"If you wish, we will take you to a rift the moment we have the means to do so."
The Unspeakable standing in the corner of the room looked up sharply. Summer caught it, and gave only a bitter smile. She took it for empty words.
"Don't look at him like that. It's his job. Besides, I don't believe you wish us harm, and so you'll tell us about the Grimm and the other dangers from your world regardless. You will, won't you?"
She nodded, though the gesture was slightly jerky.
"You see. Which means there's no point in detaining you here. You'll be taken to a rift when one appears, and you can try to pass through."
She looked down.
"Or, as I said before, you can begin preparing a place for your family. We'll see to it that you have work. We'll create a small school where you can teach the fundamentals of your method of fighting these creatures."
"Fundamentals?"
"Well, we have schools for wizards already."
I shrugged.
"Mine is already shifting towards a more practical curriculum, so after a few years of study our wizards will be able to hold their own in a fight. What you'd mostly be teaching is everyone else, the people who would benefit from that energy you carry."
"Aura."
"Yes, exactly. Though personally I'd love to understand what it is and what it can do. So, shall we work together?"
"Yes."
Summer nodded twice and wiped the tears from her cheeks.
"We will. I can't risk myself in the rifts without knowing what's on the other side, so if you can promise me a place that my family and I can call home, I'll help you prepare for the Grimm."
"Good. We'll arrange the flat."
"You are exceeding your authority. She appeared on German magical soil, and we will decide what becomes of her."
The Unspeakable made himself heard.
"Then decide."
I shrugged.
"Only bear in mind that she is a human being, not a witch, but a human being with vital knowledge. The International Confederation of Wizards will be extremely displeased if it learns you chose to detain her and extract information by force. Knowledge obtained under those conditions cannot be considered reliable."
"You..."
"On the other hand, I offer you an excellent alternative. I will furnish a classroom: the first group to attend will be Unspeakables, a few from each country, and she will teach you everything she knows about the Grimm and her world. That way no country gains an advantage in preparation."
"Very tidy. Except for you, who'll be able to train fighters at will."
"Please."
I shook my head.
"I'm not arrogant enough to think my country, even with Mrs Rose's assistance, could hold off everything that will come from her world. The school will be open to fighters from any nation. Yes, it will charge fees, but surely you understand that to prepare a home for her family to come to, Mrs Rose will need funds."
The Unspeakable grimaced.
"Very well. We will consider this proposal."
"Excellent. The classroom will be ready."
I glanced at my mother.
"In two days, if Mrs Rose is permitted to come with us, she can take part in organizing it. If she is not permitted to leave, then I suppose the ICW's human rights advocates will be making themselves known shortly."
"Oh, damn it, fine. But we begin questioning her now, and if she refuses to speak..."
I glanced at Summer. She gave a small nod to indicate she was, in fact, prepared to speak right away.
"As you can see, she is quite willing. And since we've reached an agreement, I'm afraid I need to be getting back to Hogwarts."
I sighed.
"Years One through Three won't teach themselves Charms."
"All right, I'll stay here and make sure no pressure is applied to Mrs. Rose. You go on."
I walked over to Narcissa and kissed her on the cheek, picked up the scroll of questions, and headed for the door. The Unspeakable slipped out after me, and didn't speak until we'd gone several floors down.
"Thank you for your help. She'll realize in time that this was a performance of sorts, but by then she'll already have begun cooperating."
"A performance? Come now."
I shook my head.
"If you had a way to quickly extract the necessary knowledge from her mind, you would have done it already, and the fact that she might have ended up a vegetable afterwards wouldn't have stopped you."
"Ahem."
The Unspeakable looked at me with mild disapproval.
"I'm not judging you. I'm stating a fact, and I'll acknowledge that in your position I would probably have done the same. The fact that you found this way to get her talking and presented it to me as an alternative to direct questioning tells me you have no such method available, and you need the information."
"Fine, you're right. But you've gotten something out of this yourself. A source like her, and she'll be right beside you."
"If not for that, I wouldn't have participated in your performance. You simply made me an offer I found sufficiently interesting."
We reached the ground floor. I Flooed back to the hotel, went straight up to my floor, and found Bella waiting in my room.
"Mom, could you stay here for a while?"
"Mm?"
"Mom Cissy needs cover. I don't entirely trust the Unspeakables."
"Fine. And what about you?"
"I'll go back to Britain with Flitwick, straight to school."
"All right."
She nodded. I told her where to find Mom Cissy, then sent a Patronus to Flitwick and, once he arrived, the two of us made our way to the international Portkey station and headed home.
This time there were no journalists waiting. When we stepped out into Diagon Alley, we found damage in several places.
"So it happened here as well."
I closed my eyes for a moment.
"Yes. Though I had hoped Britain might have been spared."
Flitwick nodded as he said it, and then we hurried to the Leaky Cauldron, from which he sent a Patronus to Dumbledore. The Headmaster unblocked the fireplace in his office, and that was where we arrived.
"How are things here?"
"We repelled a Grimm attack."
"Grimm?"
Dumbledore looked at me.
"The creatures, black with bony growths. They're called Grimm, at least in the world they come from. We know this because this time we were fortunate enough to have a resident of that world carried through the rift on one of them."
Dumbledore's glasses caught the light.
"So a school will be opening shortly, for Unspeakables and Aurors, where this young woman will explain what these creatures are and how best to fight them."
"That is good news."
The Headmaster gave a satisfied nod.
"I wouldn't entirely say so."
I shook my head.
"Or rather, yes, it is good news, but the Grimm are growing more numerous and larger by the month. My estimate is that we have five to ten years to prepare. At best. In the worst case, it could all happen tomorrow."
The Headmaster grimaced slightly.
"Well, that is of course of vital importance, but it can sit for a few hours. How did the competition go?"
"I won my age group and the two above it. I would have liked to issue a challenge to the seventeen-to-eighteen champion as well, but I'm too exhausted at the moment to manage a Wingardium Leviosa, let alone anything useful."
"Hm. Those are good results."
Dumbledore nodded.
"Your victory will raise Hogwarts's standing considerably."
"Yes. And we should also put more emphasis on combat spells, or the standing will be all we have to show."
"I understand. After the most recent rift, our current Defence teacher came to me and suggested making the subject entirely practical. I agreed. But your subject..."
Dumbledore shook his head.
"No more than half the spells your students learn should be combat spells. After all, our students need to find employment after school, not just survive duels. Most careers do not require combat magic unless one becomes an Auror."
"Don't worry."
Flitwick shook his head.
"We won't overload the students with battle magic. But wherever possible we'll choose spells with broad practical applications. The Duelling Club, however..."
"In the club you may do whatever you like. Just don't maim the children."
Dumbledore left us, and Flitwick and I settled at his desk and turned our minds to everything that still needed to be done this half-year. The list was very long indeed.
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