Harry and the Six Virgins

Chapter X

Saturday, April 23, 1881

"Good morning, Eloise," Harry said as he sat back on their bed.

"Morning," she mumbled.

"Are you alright?" Harry asked, concerned, putting his hand on her bare shoulder.

"I can't tell you how sore my jaw and, well, privates are this morning," Eloise admitted, trying not to move her mouth too much. "I'm glad we did . . . everything we did. I just wish I wasn't so sore, so we could do it again!"

"I couldn't do it again right now if I wanted to!" Harry said with a small laugh. "Three times a night is my limit, even past it for that matter! Here, if you rub this potion lotion on you, you'll be ready again this afternoon, and with luck, I might be, too. If not, maybe tonight."

Eloise smiled. "Oh, we'll at least try this afternoon."

Harry wondered yet again at how insatiable these witches were. Ginny had wanted him to satisfy her three times a day when possible and in a variety of ways; Daphne preferred taking him multiple times at night, riding him when necessary; Susan had preferred long, languorous sessions in the late afternoon or early evening. Harry could barely believe that Eloise was apparently the same as well. 'No wonder witches have to wait,' Harry thought as he poured Eloise a cup of hot chocolate. 'If we all shagged this much at Hogwarts, we would all fail!'

Casey picked them up at 10:00. All three were in conventional robes. "Where are we going?" Eloise asked.

"To a public meeting," Casey answered. "The Seven, as they like to call themselves, will be trying to whip up enthusiasm for their racist policies and announce Eichmann's trip. Eichmann and his six virgins have already left to take the same trip you were supposed to make. Alas, Grindelwald and most of the second tier leadership will be leaving to spread their message of hate this afternoon, and so will not be around for the meeting tonight where the me of this time period will try and stomp on this nonsense." He shrugged. "If I knew Grindelwald would cause to much trouble, and inspire Voldemort, I'd have tracked him down and killed him."

"Do we have any part to play in all this?" Harry asked.

"No," Casey assured them, "you merely have to watch and observe. There will be much confusion tomorrow and the next day, of course, but since the Seven are not all that popular, it should not affect us if we keep our comments largely to ourselves."

Eloise looked at them. "Are you really certain it's safe?"

"We're perfectly safe with Casey, and neither you nor I are totally helpless," Harry told her. Casey smiled.

A crowd of nearly five hundred had gathered by 10:30. Perhaps a hundred seemed to be followers, and another hundred and fifty somewhat sympathetic, to the so-called Seven. The other half seemed to range from the merely curious to the fairly hostile.

There were six wizards sitting on a platform. Harry still thought in Muggle terms, and to him they looked like they ranged from their early twenties to late forties. Grindelwald was the youngest. At 10:30, the next-to-eldest stood up.

"Alfred Rosen," Casey told them. "He's the most obscure and mystical of the Seven. They'll probably speak in Latin; that's the commercial language here, and whenever Rosen speaks in German, he gets lost in his own language."

Rosen started his remarks in Latin. "Six years ago, Seven wizards came together because of their worries about our World! The Mud-people have long controlled the entire world, and over the last fifty years, their power and population have grown beyond their own comprehension! They must be put in their place! And now the Mudbloods and other Mongrels are trying to take over OUR world! Although we disagree to a degree on HOW to regulate the Muds and Mudbloods," here some on the platform gave Grindelwald dirty looks, "our goals remain united!"

A few people clapped.

"We have decided to take action! Our young comrade, Hermann Eichmann, has put our plan into action!" Here two of the people on the platform tugged on Rosen's robes. He was obviously going beyond his mandate. "But to tell you the exciting news, let me present to you the glorious Founder of our Movement! Wizards and witches, Parsifal!"

The applause was a bit louder for the oldest wizard on the platform. Casey again leaned over, "He's actually an English wizard whose grandparents were three squibs and a near-squib, named Austin Stanley Chambers."

"I see many of you, perhaps most of you, still have doubts about us and our Movement!" the lanky wizard yelled. "You prefer to touch the Mud-people's world, allowing them to dictate our place in the world. They are polluting the world, with their factories and railroads. Just smell the air! Look around you!" He waved his arm. "See the coal smoke of this great monster that has grown up around us! Their trade has penetrated to every corner of the world! Every year, we are pushed further into the fringes; every year we are threatened with exposure and destruction! Every year, we lose more tradition!"

He looked around. "You can see one of our number is missing. Hermann Eichmann has left to invoke a very venerable tradition, in the company of six of our young pure witches. Yes, he has gone to invoke the Cassiwallan!"

A buzz swept through the crowd, most of it from those in the crowd asking their neighbors who or what Cassiwallan was. Parsifal waited a few minutes for the buzz to die down.

"The Cassiwallan will heed our call! He will teach us as Merlin was taught! Then, we shall teach you, and we shall finally put the lesser peoples in their place!" Parsifal's gestures now became more hostile. "Beware! You are either with us, or you are no better than the Muds! Soon, you will have to choose your part!" The six and their more devoted followers went cheering and yelling down the Platz equivalent of Knockturn Alley.

As the rest of the crowd started to breakup, Harry saw someone that made him draw a deep breath of surprise.

"What is it, Harry?" Casey asked.

Harry jerked his head. "Dumbledore!" he said very softly.

Casey looked. "So it is. I'm impressed, Harry. He looks very different than he does in your time, of course."

"Where?" Eloise asked.

"The tallest red-haired man with that trio of other red-haired young wizards, moving towards the entrance portal," Harry told her. "Next to the one that looks a little like Ron." Dumbledore here had a closely trimmed beard.

"Come, let's meet them," Casey said. Eloise squeaked, but followed.

"Excuse me," Casey said to the slow-moving, talking quartet in German-accented English, "Am I correct in identifying you as English?"

"British, anyway," the youngest said. "I'm Aberforth Dumbledore. My elder brother Albus Dumbledore, our second cousin Percy Weasley, and our friend Ian McGonagall."

"I'm escorting my brother and his friends on a trip around Europe," Albus said. "They left Hogwarts School of Wizardry last year."

"I am Stefan Causey, a black agent of the Cartel of Magic. My guests are Henry Porter and his bride Eloise, from a community of our friends in western Canada." Harry and Eloise sketched bows, and the four young wizards bowed back at Eloise.

"The Cartel of Magic?" Aberforth asked. "Isn't that the group that owns Gringotts and most of the magical city property in Europe?"

"It is," Casey replied simply.

"What is a black agent?" McGonagall asked.

"There are nine types of agents," Casey answered. "Orange, Red, and Black are security agents."

"If some of the rumors are true," Albus said as they moved into the Broken Broomstick, "you probably have an accurate estimation on Eichmann's chances of success."

They found a long table all could sit around, a number of the wizards around them staring at Eloise, who was one of the few women in the inn.

Eloise looked around, her eyes wide open. "Shouldn't I be here?"

"It is not common, but forbidden it is not," Casey stated. "Public displays of affection are frowned upon for . . . ladies, as opposed to more common types."

"How . . . repressive," Eloise said simply. She merely sat back and mostly just followed the discussion thereafter. Casey ordered two bottles of white wine and a carafe of water. Eloise drank one glass of wine, and water after that.

Casey turned to Dumbledore as the wine was brought and opened. "I know enough to say that no one should believe they can command Cassiwallan, let alone command his active interference. They are pursuing a dream, because they could not agree on their next move. Grindelwald wants to influence the Muggles into destroying themselves, while the others are much more . . . mystical."

"So you believe the Cassiwallan is a succession of individuals, rather than a group?" Albus asked.

"I believe so, but I wouldn't say for certain."

"It's said that the Cassiwallan controls the Cartel of Magic," Dumbledore stated. "Others believe that the Cartel controls the Cassiwallan."

"No power in this world controls Cassiwallan," Casey said simply. "Beyond that, I find it safer not to speculate."

"We have little contact with urban Muggles and have had less with European wizards," Harry put in, changing the subject. "I find them, and you . . . fascinating. Do these Seven have much of a following in Britain?"

"Some," Albus answered. "Our oldest, most noble families will no doubt hold themselves above it all, as usual. The Pure-Bloods whose lineages are not so antique will go according to their nature."

"Bloody Malfoys," Percy Weasley muttered.

"Percy!" Albus remonstrated, nodding towards Eloise.

"I beg your pardon, Madam," Percy said, blushing much as his great grandson would.

"Granted, Mister Weasley," she said with a nod.

"Will we be seeing you much in Vienna during our stay?" Harry asked.

"Alas, no. We are actually taking that wonderful Muggle device, the train, tonight to go through to Milan. I did want to hear what this alleged 'great announcement' would be." He turned to Casey. "I am certain your speculation is correct. Hopefully, the current Cassiwallan will send Eichmann and his companions back with some sort of public remonstrance. Otherwise, I fear they will cause more trouble."

"I'm sure they will manage that in any event," Harry grumbled. Seeing everyone look at him, and the slightly dirty look Casey was giving him, he added, "Come now! There will always be troublemakers. The only question is, will this group make major or minor trouble? Or perhaps I should say, will their ideas cause major or minor trouble? Even if something happens to these so-called Seven, their ideas may catch on."

"Too true," McGonagall agreed. "Albus takes too genial an out-look of human nature."

Casey finished his second glass of wine. "You gentlemen probably have to pack, and we must go back for a light luncheon. I hope to meet you all again." Casey stood, and he, Harry, and Eloise took their leave.

"Did I say too much?" Harry asked.

"Not exactly," Casey said. "The problem is, Dumbledore is already a very powerful and skilled Legilimens. He had tried to use it on me, and was using it on you, with only a little more success. It was just a matter of time before he might have used it on Eloise, who has had no training in Occlumency."

"What did you think of that trio?" Ian asked.

"The Porters sounded more English than Canadian," Aberforth said. "And Porter looked a great deal like Gerald Potter, except for the eyes, of course."

"Actually, the two men looked like close cousins, including those eyes," Percy pointed out.

Friday, July 19, 1996

Albus Dumbledore stared at Tonks, who had just finished describing what had happened, including a description of Cassiwallan.

Albus sat down from the shock, which was unfortunate, since there wasn't a chair behind him. Tonks helped him up and sat him down. "Albus, what is it?"

"I believe there is a very good chance that was the genuine Cassiwallan. And I know where Harry and Eloise are, or at least were."

"And where is that?" Tonks demanded.

"I met them in Vienna, in April of 1881."

"What!"

"Harry and Eloise looked to be in their early twenties, and were said to be on their honeymoon. But it was them, Henry and Eloise Porter indeed! And the Cassiwallan was called Causey in two of Harry's dream fragments, which is the name he was going under in Vienna!"

"Is it really possible to travel that far back in time? And does that mean that Harry and Eloise are growing older in the past, and are married?"

Albus had to admit, "I just do not know. All this," he waved his arm around to include Remus' condition and the entire situation, "it suggests that Cassiwallan might really be one person, not a succession of people. If so, then no doubt Remus really will be partially cured."

Sunday, April 24, 1881

"Eloise isn't joining us?" Casey asked.

"She really prefers to avoid confrontation," Harry said. "I'm not certain if she just lacks confidence, or if she's a natural pacifist."

"Possibly a bit of both," Casey speculated as they went on the spiral stairs.

They could hear the uproar coming from the dining room even before they came off the stairs. Walking to the entrance, they saw the room was fairly full. A few people were crying, but most were circulating, trying to discover exactly what had happened.

Casey led Harry over to the small table which had been reserved for his use, grabbing a waiter along the way. "Are you serving, or is this some sort of meeting?"

"If you want more than coffee, chocolate, and rolls, you had best order from your room."

"Your largest pot of chocolate, some extra cups, and a double helping of rolls, please."

While they were waiting to be served, Casey surveyed the crowd. When they were finally served, Casey stood and plucked a man from the crowd. Harry saw with some slight surprise that it was Theseus Noir, the man from the Parisian restaurant of 1913. "Sit yourself down, sir, and tell us what has happened."

Noir was shaking a bit. An elderly wizard patted Noir on the back. "The man is in shock," the elderly man stated.

"Drink the chocolate," Casey said. "It has a very positive effect on wizards after all."

"Really?" the elderly man asked. "I always thought that only worked on witches."

"No, it's very good for us as well."

Noir drank off two helpings of the hot chocolate, and slowly calmed down. "You seem to have been correct," the elderly man stated.

"You are a healer of some sort?" Casey asked.

"A researcher, at least. Sigmund Meynert."

"Stefan Causey."

Meynert patted Noir on the shoulder again. "He seems much better."

"Tell us what happened."

Noir looked at them. "Where you in the Platz yesterday for the announcement?"

"We were."

"There was a meeting of the First, Second and Third Circles last night. . . ."

"The Seven is the First of seven circles," Casey explained to Harry.

"Exactly," Noir agreed. "Apparently Eichmann not only failed to induce the Cassiwallan to help us, he turned the Cassiwallan against us! Five of the Seven, and nearly all of the Third Circle, were slaughtered. By all accounts, it took less than five minutes. Only Grindelwald and most of the Second escaped, since they left yesterday afternoon. We don't know for certain what happened to all the Travelers. . . ." Here he trailed off and drank more chocolate.

"Why are you certain Cassiwallan did this?" Harry asked. "I understand there were some . . . disagreements between Grindelwald and the others." Casey gave harry a dirty look.

"He brought back Eichmann's head, and those of two of the girls'," Noir said, shaken. "The movement to preserve our heritage is dead."

"There must be better ways to preserve our heritage than violence," Harry argued. "Some way to bring the Muggle-born into a fuller knowledge of our heritage."

"There probably is, Henry," Casey stated in English, "but now is not the time to argue such points." He turned to Noir and asked in German. "Where you a member of a Circle?"

"Seventh," Noir said, also in English. "I was to leave tomorrow to return to England."

"Oh?" Harry asked, innocently. "You're English?"

"Yes; actually, Parsifal is . . . was my cousin. He asked some of us to come to the Continent to help him meet the right people. I was sent to Paris, which is why I was just a member of the Seventh Circle here."

"So I take it your name is really Black?" Harry asked.

"Oh, yes. Theseus Nigellus Black. My maternal grandfather was Professor Nigellus, who was head of Hogwarts, which I'm certain you've heard of."

"A passing knowledge," Harry acknowledged.

Noir heaved a heavy sigh. "I don't know what to think," he said to Harry. "You might be right, if only we could convince the Mudbloods to go along with us."

"Perhaps it would help if they weren't called Mudbloods," Casey drawled. "In any case, violence only works well against other violence."

Noir shrugged. "I suppose." He stood. "In any event, I have to see what I can do to comfort the survivors of the Inner Circles."

"Did I say something wrong?" Harry asked.

"Nearly," Casey grumbled. "Not as badly as I did, however."

"Why what did you say to him that was so bad?"

"Not him; Meynert. I forgot the full medical uses of chocolate on wizards were only established in 1884, by Meynert." Casey shrugged. "This is why I so seldom go into the past."

"Do you know what relation Noir was to Sirius?"

"Great-great uncle or great-uncle, at a guess." Casey stood. "Come along. We might as well go back to our rooms. We can start to explore Vienna later, say on Tuesday."