Wanted: Allies and Friends

Khaat was trying, with all she had, to protect her father.  But she needed more food at the estate--some of the things they couldn't grow for themselves. Her new faithful shadow, Marcus Belby, agreed to help her slip out before daylight, while her father was still sleeping, and help her get to Sparks.

Khaat was very self conscious of how hideous she looked now. The bruises were multiplying. Her cheekbone was broken. Her face was black. Her hands were black.  She had chosen a full length black cloak that was had a very full hood. The cloak covered her entirely, including coming far enough down over her face to hide her identity.

Beneath it, she was wearing an old soft pair of jeans and a pink gingham flannel shirt. Her face was too battered for makeup. She had wanted to try a glamour spell, but Marcus had discouraged it in favor of getting into Sparks through the kitchen door and then getting quickly back home.  

Lizzie had been horrified when she saw Khaat's face and hands--the only part of Khaat's skin she could see. Khaat was family to her for all practical purposes, and she hadn't seen any of the Lupins since the attack. She had no idea what had happened, but when Marcus and Khaat had come in the back door and Lizzie had seen her for herself, Lizzie nearly dropped the mixing bowl tucked in her arm.

"Oh, my dear! I'll get you some coffee straight away. Your usual Earl Grey, Mr. Belby?"

"Yes, please, Lizzie," Marcus said. "And if anyone asks, we're not here." He opened the door to Khaat's office for her, and Khaat went inside and took off her cloak and sat down, beginning to open her suppliers' catalogs to make a large purchase order for the estate.

"Yes, Sir. Of course, Sir. And maybe a scone, Sir...Or...two...," she stammered, her face paled from the shock of what she had seen. She set the mixing bowl on her work table and hurried to the coffee bar to get a French roast and an Earl Grey.  She was definitely rattled, and that concerned Marcus. He was concerned, feeling that Lizzie wasn't going to be able to keep it under her hat whatsoever.

Jack had to see a Lupin. Everyone was saying Robert was gone, but nothing was being done to amend this either, it seemed. And in the wake of his disappearance, came this new law which seemed so keen to mess with the life she had become so happy and accustomed to. She was not pissed because it messed up her life. She was pissed because it was wrong, because they were forcing sixteen year olds to mate. Jack was up in arms, and she needed the Lupins.

She had checked everywhere, but Khaat was on personal leave everywhere she checked. Jack's last resort was Spark's. She was not going to leave until she spoke to Khaat Lupin or knew where she could find the woman. Jack often found that if one refused to take no as an answer, one typically did not get a no for an answer ever. Jack felt bad for what she was about to do, but this needed to be done, and she was going to do it, damn it!

She burst into Spark's, her wand arm at her side. She looked about and saw a woman at work. She approached. "I need to speak with Khaat Lupin." Her eyes flicked towards the office door, where she saw movement. Someone was here, if not Khaat, in Khaat's stead. She slowly raised her wand on the woman. "I must see her."

Lizzie spun around and was startled to see someone here demanding to see Khaat--Jack Dyllan. At the sight of the wand drawn on her, she dropped the mugs, and they broke on the floor. It took her a moment, but she was willing to try to protect Khaat. She quickly tried to put on a brave face. She got new cups and refilled them.  "Be off with you. I'm a busy woman."

Oh, how very subtle, Marcus sighed to himself. Somehow he had known this wasn't going to work. He looked in at Khaat. She had jumped when she had heard the cups breaking in the dining room.

"Calm yourself," he said soothingly.  "We're safe. Not alone, but we're safe.  Khaat, do you trust me?"

"Yes," she said slowly. "With my life, Marcus."

"Then just sit.  It'll be alright," he promised.  

"Are you...bringing someone here?" she asked. "Do I need a glamour spell?"

"Khaat," he tried to break it to her gently. "It won't hide enough. You're better without it. No magic will hide all that. Let it alone. I can always obliviate if I need to. Okay?"  She hesitated and then nodded.

Marcus adjusted his black suit and tie, always dressed for duty, fully intending to be well recognized as a bodyguard.  He stepped out of the kitchen into the dining room. He recognized the young woman from the dossiers he'd read of those who were even remotely associated with the Lupins.  Jack Dyllan. Order leader.  Not an enemy. His thoughts began to tick off the facts one by one.  He walked over to her, unafraid of her raised wand and stepped between Jack and Lizzie. He didn't believe Jack intended to fire on anybody. She just looked more desperate than anything else.

"Lizzie, take the coffee and the tea back to the office please."  He gave Jack a very business like smile and let Lizzie leave and head back to the kitchen.  "Ms. Dyllan," he said quietly enough to not be heard by the early morning breakfast patrons.  "You don't have an appointment.  Lower your wand. Subtlety would gain you far more at the moment than a display. What is it you want with the Lupins?"  He had no intention of denying the obvious. Khaat was here, and Jack knew it. His only intention now was in trying to set a boundary or two before he took her back to see Khaat.

Jack was doing no more than holding her wand steadily upon the woman, remaining calm and as gentle as she could with a wand pointing at the woman's face. Jack did not want to cause a scene, did not want to scare anyone, but she was getting desperate. She was going to be forced to conceive and marry if she remained, if she did not turn this unjust law around. She knew that the Lupins could be a beacon of light; she just needed to find them. And her heart broke everytime she was turned away. She had to find Khaat.

A man suddenly stepped between them. Jack did not flinch or falter, simply stared at his face, waiting to hear what he had to say. Jack kept her wand pointed at him, but lowered it slightly. In a voice that matched his, he said, "I have been told it is impossible to make an appointment. I need to speak with Khaat about her father and the state of the Ministry. The country is descending into madness."

"Then you have been told truth," Marcus answered regarding the appointment. "It is an impossibility.  They are both unwell. No one sees the Minister at the moment.  No exceptions.  However, I am aware that you know her." He had clearly her the urgency in her voice, and whatever it was, Marcus did not feel Khaat was in any position to help her, but nevertheless, it appeared to be in everyone's interest that Dyllan at least be heard.  

"Be aware, she has...injuries," Marcus chose the words carefully. "Providing I let you see her, you will not see the woman you know.  It is unavoidable.  No magic will hide them.  

"You also need to be aware that we are on a very tight timeline this morning.  She needs to complete her task and be gone from here before daylight. If I allow you to see her, you must agree to respect her wishes for her privacy, and you must also understand her need to get out relatively soon before the restaurant becomes active for the morning. If we can agree on those things, then I will allow it."

"I do know her," Jack said keenly, lowering her wand even more until it was at her side, seeing room for opportunity. "And even if she is unwell, she can still be of great help." All she needed to know was the involvement of the Lupins in this marriage law, and how they suspected it could be beaten. They must know something that could equip Jack in the rotten political battle that had been set before her. If Khaat was unwell, Jack would do what it took to recover Robert. Something had to be done before their world was ruined and Jack would do what she could to stop that ruin.

Marcus was going to allow her entrance! Jack nodded, seeing she was being given what seemed to be a rare opportunity to see Khaat. She bowed her head - injuries she could deal with, she would not say a word. "I understand completely. I hope to be brief as well, I do not wish to detain either of you from your purpose, I assure you." The quickest method would be the most efficient. She wanted to get in and out quickly and begin working on whatever tasks Khaat set before her to help the cause.

"This way, then," Marcus said, showing her back into the kitchen towards the office.  

Khaat heard the footsteps. The anxiety rose up like a panic attack in her throat.  She picked up the coffee cup that Lizzie had brought as a reflex and tasted it. Bleh!  She scowled. It wasn't French Roast.  She sniffed. It was Belby's Earl Grey.  Not the taste she wanted.  

"What'd you do?" he asked, amused, at the doorway, with Jack behind him.  He'd seen the scrunch upon Khaat's face.

"This one's yours," she said.  "I'm sorry."

"You don't have cooties. Just give it here," he laughed. "Besides, five second rule applies to good tea." He put her rightful mug in front of her and took his own from her hand. "You have a visitor.  She says its urgent that she speaks to you."  Khaat looked beyond, seeing Jack.  Khaat was keenly aware that her father had made her almost unrecognizeable, which was why Belby was about the only humanoid, besides Brian, that was allowed to see her. It took her a moment to gather herself past her own panic to speak.  

"Hello, Jack," she said softly.  "Come in. Coffee or tea?"

Jack nodded, quickly pocketing her wand and straightening herself out in preparation to appeal to the Lupin woman for assistance. This matter was more than that of comfort or preference. It was setting a dangerous precedent - if the Ministry could force people to marry, move, and procreate, what other rights became the property of the Ministry? The magical population was less important that the rights of mankind. Why the Ministry did not instead seek more magical immigrants instead, Jack could not fathom. She could not understand what made them jump straight to dictatorial rule, but she hoped the Lupins would know how to quench this inflamed crisis.

Jack entered and found Khaat's face, to find that she was not looking at Khaat's face. Jack kept all traces of shock or surprise off of her face, for she doubted that would instill any confidence in the Lupin woman. A small look of empathy crossed Jack's face however, for she knew the pain of looking into the mirror and being unable to recognize oneself among injuries, bruises, and blood. It was a rotten feeling.

"Neither," Jack said, trying to keep her voice calm and soft. "I have a matter to discuss with you. I understand that this may be a trying time, but you and your family are the best equipped to help us." She withdrew the letter she had been given and handed it to Khaat. "This is a letter from the Ministry - summons. I have been paired and am to marry within a month and begin attempting to conceive a child. Every girl and boy at the age of sixteen or older has been given this letter as well. I've tried to insist otherwise, but they will have none of it."

"What?" Khaat frowned.  She opened the letter and read it. "What in the name of Merlin's boxer shorts is this? Who is the moron...wait...Marcus."

"Yes, Khaat," he said.  She handed him the letter.

"Do you see here what I see?" she asked.  He read the letter, a deep frown growing on his face. He saw very severe implications beyond Jack's distaste for forced marriages.  

"I do indeed," Marcus said. "Someone is either influencing your son, or they've slipped it under his nose. Either way, he's in over his head, it seems." Someone was pulling the strings in the Ministry. Eli was either a traitor to what she thought they all believed in, which she didn't see as likely. Or there was someone pulling his strings and the strings of others inside, and it had the potential to undo all they held dear.

"Which might be part and parcel of why whoever it was needed Daddy out of the way," Khaat said very softly, momentarily overwhelmed.  She looked at Jack. Maybe there was a lighthearted way to drop a bombshell or to drop one and not have it be noticed. How was she to say someone had already tried to kill the failsafe mechanism that protected them all? And, as her father's primary backup plan, she might well be next if they could easily get to someone as alert as her father was--and when he had had trained bodyguards with him at the time. And, what if Jack had never insisted on bringing her the letter? The danger suddenly felt immense to them all. And she had an obligation to tell the leader of the Order. She needed their alliance because she didn't know what would happen to the wizarding world if she had to face this threat alone. Silence would not help them now.

"My father cannot help with this," she was trying to cautiously make the revelation easier.  "I'm sorry. As the leader of the Order, you are well acquainted with secure information. My father was gravely injured. He was...attacked. The speculation in the papers is, well, essentially correct. I have him well hidden out of necessity. I have no choice."

She did not want to come out and say the words precisely. Jack wasn't stupid. She would put it together immediately. Someone had, outright, attempted to assassinate the Minister of Magic and had, minimally, seriously inconvenienced him. Any enemy of the Lupins was potentially a serious enemy of the Order. And given the letter Khaat now held in her hand, she saw clearly that the greater good was being undermined swiftly, harshly. Her father somehow had made sure it stayed in balance. Now he was out of the way, and it was all going to hell much faster than they realized.

"Oh, God," she said to herself softly. She was suddenly feeling sharply inadequate. As much as she thought she knew, she still wasn't him. And a whole new fear rose up for her father's life. As serious as his situation was, it might well get drastically worse very suddenly. Had she done enough to protect him? Had she done the right thing to try to help him?

"Chief Warlock," Marcus addressed her officially and formally--something he rarely did, and it caught her attention. She looked up and saw him handing her back the letter, but she got the message. It was a reminder she was not as powerless as she felt like. "What are our options?" he asked. She picked up her coffee cup and took a sip, thinking before she spoke.

"I might be able to help," she said to Jack, trying to stay on the subject of the letter, "but contesting a new law through the Wizengamot won't do. It isn't enough.  I need to know who, inside the Ministry, is serving in their own twisted interests.  There's someone there who has either orchestrated this or who is taking full advantage of my father's unfortunate circumstances.  I will need time. Time you might not have if you hope to remain single."

Her mind was racing.  She would not stand for this. The law would allow her father to overturn the law and or write new laws to clear it up, but since Eli's signature was on it as the Deputy Minister, unless she was prepared to haul virtually him and the entire wizarding government into court, her rank meant little. And that would not catch the culprit who designed this madness.

This was not how Eli ever thought about much of anything. Someone was getting to Eli, of that she was sure.  And as his mother, she did have some influence with him, but that would need to be carefully done.

"I don't know that I can promise I can keep you from needing to marry.  But if I can help my father recover, that would resolve the problem in its entirety.  Hopefully, it would be shortlived. And, I can get my father to draft a law allowing easy divorces on the basis of the error of the law itself for those who don't wish to stay married.  We can overturn the existing law, but, again, this all depends on my father. Or, if we can find who's behind this and get them out, then Eli might be able to repair it himself."

"If you catch the culprit, then you have a rather handy prison filled with some nasty dementors for that," Marcus said. "Or you have a death chamber if it comes to it. Providing the Wizengamot would not hesitate to convict."

"No," Khaat said. "We will not hesitate, and I have more leverage there."

"With all due respect," Marcus said. "If you are to try to deal with this, Khaat, you cannot do it alone. You will need a bit of old fashioned espionage and subterfuge. You will need confederates. Ms. Dyllan might well be in a unique position to provide that for you with an alliance." If she were to do that, Jack would need to know--well, everything.

Jack watched Khaat with interest, relief sweeping over her as she saw that the woman was just as disturbed by this law as she was. For one terrible moment, Jack had considered the possibility that this would not be important enough for Khaat (who looked thoroughly preoccupied) or that she somehow knew about it, and some political reason kept her from opposing it. It was her cynicism in politics that had caused this doubt, however, but the goodness of the Lupins triumphed yet again.

Jack flinched at the blow of Robert's attack, for she had felt as though nothing could possibly truly come to harm them with Robert in his right wits. Outside of that, however, no one had full rights to speak and act for him, besides those who seemed to keen on this idiotic law. And the implications of an attack so near the creation of this law all pointed to one thing - someone was trying to usurp Robert and take power for themselves. There was a scramble for power, and she would have to work hard to keep it out of the hands of those who wished to change their world for the worse.

Jack paused at Khaat's words, certain she was about to upset the Lupin woman, but found it necessary to do it. "There seem to be two people pushing this legislation and enforcing it. Elijah Krum and Ana Levski." Jack knew of a connection between Krum and Khaat, but she could not treat Elijah as a saint either. Not when he was so intrinsically involved.

Jack listened between Lupin and Belby, having no more to add then what was being said. Jack straightened a bit, saying, "I'm here because I am willing to do anything. My cousin is being drafted for marriage, as is my roommate, and I do not know if they will let me keep guardianship of my niece. I'm refusing to let anyone dictate our choices to love and children. I am willing to do anything to take down this law."