The Eagle and the Badger

Chapter Fifteen: When Worlds Collide

"Darling!" A tall, slim woman with high cheekbones and hair a shade lighter than Mike's rushed over to where the girls were standing with their luggage. She smothered her daughter in a fierce hug, then held her by the shoulders, scrutinizing her from the top of her head to the toes of her boots, which were peeking out from beneath the hem of her robes. Mike had maintained it was too much trouble to change clothes on a lurching train. Lucia hung back, not knowing quite what to do with herself.

"I must say," Mike's mother declared, "your witch costume wouldn't suit everyone, but it looks rather fetching on you."

It was very strange to hear a witch's ordinary dress referred to as a "costume", especially since the woman herself could have passed for a witch

in her long, flowing purple-and-green skirt and voluminous shawl.

Mike simply grinned and reached up to give her mother noisy kisses on both cheeks.

"Never mind that," she said. "Here's Lucia!"

She tugged on Lucia's sleeve to draw her forward.

"Oh, my dear, there you are!" Mike's mother exclaimed. "Camilla, you naughty child, why didn't you tell me how bea-yu-ti-ful she is? That hair! Those eyes!

She turned the full beam of her smile on Lucia. "I'm Cassandra Watts - that's my stage name, of course - but you needn't bother about that. Everyone calls me Cassie."

Blushing furiously, Lucia managed to remember her manners and held out her hand.

"Hello, Ms. - Watts. it's very kind of you to have me." Nothing on earth could have induced her to call a friend's mother by her first name.

Mike's mother flashed a brilliant smile. "Oh, my dear child, it's no trouble at all. And I insist that you call me Cassie."

Lucia smiled weakly, realizing she might just have met the irresistible force.

"I'm only sorry Camilla's father was unable to be here to meet you; he's so terribly busy with rehearsals these days. Shall we go, darlings? I'll just fetch a cart for your things."

Lucia watched in astonishment as Cassie Watts whisked a cart away from another family almost before they'd finished unloading it. As the girls put their own things into the cart, Lucia spotted Hugo with his sister and two people who had to be his parents. The man was very tall and had bright red hair like Rose's, and the woman bore a strong resemblance to Hugo. He wasn't looking in her direction, though, so she hurried after Mike and her mother. In a moment they were outside the station and into a taxicab, borne off into a world every bit as magical to Lucia as the one in which she'd spent her entire life.

ooOoo

Hugo set his bag down in the small foyer and looked around. Everything was just as he remembered it, from the fat porcelain vase on the hall table, now stuffed full of holly sprigs, to the worn Persian rug in soft shades of blue and red. When he was little, he'd spent hours sitting on it, muttering made-up "spells" in an attempt to get it to fly. Complicated, familiar odors of home filled his nostrils.

Yet something was definitely different. It took him a few minutes to get it: It wasn't Beech House that had changed, it was him.

His mum had gone ahead into the kitchen, but she came back when she realized Hugo wasn't following. Rose had already pounded up the stairs to her room to unpack and, Hugo suspected, make Floo calls to the friends she'd said goodbye to less than an hour before. HIs dad had gone back to the shop, promising not to be late for dinner.

"All right, darling?" Hermione asked, concern creasing her forehead.

"I'm fine, Mum," Hugo said. "It's just - "

He stopped, not knowing quite how to put his feelings into words

Hermione eyed him narrowly. "Good, then. I'll make us some tea." She turned and headed back toward the kitchen.

A few minutes later, Hugo was seated at the kitchen table, a steaming teacup and a heaping plate of biscuits in front of him.

His mother sat down across from him and smiled. "Whatever it is, you can tell me, you know."

Hugo blew on his tea to cool it and set the cup down. "Mum, do you remember your first year at Hogwarts?"

He realized that was silly and almost expected her to laugh and say, "It hasn't been that long, you know." Instead, she nodded, her brown eyes soft.

"It's surprising how much I do remember, actually," she answered, toying with the handle of her cup. "You can imagine, when one comes from a Muggle family, everything about Hogwarts comes as a shock at first. It's all quite vivid in my mind."

Hugo chose a biscuit and laid it on his saucer. "I guess what I mean is, did you feel different after a while? Like, the first time you went home?"

"Ah," said Hermione, leaning against the back of her chair. "I hadn't really thought of it, but I suppose I did. Hogwarts casts its own sort of spell on people. Oh, bother!"

A Ministry owl was tapping imperiously at the kitchen window, and with a sigh, Hermione got up.

"Sorry, darling. I'll be right back."

She let the owl in, detached the message, and fumbled in a drawer for a quill. After scribbling a reply, she sent the owl on its way and returned to the table.

"I told them not to pester me at home today, but would they listen? Now, where were we?"

Hugo suppressed a grin. This, at least, made him feel right at home: the conversations with his mum, who shared his penchant for chewing things over, punctuated by urgent demands on her time.

He could always count of her, though, not to dismiss his questions or laugh at his ideas.

"Hmm," she said, stirring her tea. "I suppose I started to change the moment that letter came, telling me I was a witch and inviting me to attend this school I'd never heard of. That was quite a day for me and your grandparents."

She smiled at the memory.

"It took Mum and Dad a good while to accept the truth, but I think on some level I'd always known. At least, I knew I was different from my schoolmates in some profound way. It was a relief to know the truth. And then I met your dad and your Uncle Harry and everything changed - including me."

Hugo tried to imagine what it must have been like for his mum to grow up entirely in the Muggle world, then find herself thrown into one she couldn't even have imagined. He was lucky, having a foot in both.

"Merlin's b - " Hermione closed her mouth abruptly and hurried to the window, scowling. While Hugo waited for her to finish with the Ministry missive, he remembered something else he wanted to ask her about.

"Mum," he said around a mouthful of biscuit when she sat down again, "what can you tell me about Professor Vector?"

"Swallow first, then talk," Hermione said automatically. "Professsor Vector was my Arithmancy teacher. Why?"

Hugo told his mother about Claudia, and Hermione nodded slowly when he finished.

"I see. What would you like to know?"

Hugo reached for another biscuit. "Well, for starters, what sort of person was he?"

Hermione cocked her head. "You know, that's something else I've never thought about. As a teacher, he was obviously brilliant, in command of his subject, although" - she smiled reminiscently - "he tended to talk over our heads, so it was difficult to tell. I never got to know him the way I did some of my other professors; he'd answer questions, but beyond that, he didn't have much to do with his students."

"That makes sense," Hugo mused, thinking of the unsociable Claudia he knew.

Hermione drained her teacup and poured another for each of them.

Hugo took a sip, then went on. "I don't suppose you know anything about his attitude toward Muggles, then - like, which side he was on in the war? Or why he disappeared from Hogwarts? Or whether he's still alive? I mean, he was obviously alive twelve years ago or so because -"

The words came out in a rush, and Hermione held up her hand with a little smile. "That's a lot of questions. I wish I could answer them, but unfortunately, I jsut don't know."

Hugo's face must have reflected his disappointment, because his mother leaned forward and patted his arm with a fond smile.

"Don't worry. It's very possible that your Aunt Andromeda can help. I'll talk to her. Now, why don't you go unpack and freshen up? We'll eat as soon as your dad gets home."

Hugo got up and carried his empty cup to the sink before heading up the stairs with his mother's voice following him. "Tell Rose, will you?" and then, in muffled but clearly audible tones, "Damn! Not again!"

ooOoo

Never in her wildest dreams could Lucia have imaged herself riding in a train so different in every detail from the Hogwarts Express and what's more, getting used to the sights and sounds and smells of Muggle transport. Today's trip was just one in a string of excursions, each amazing in its own way.

They'd shopped for Muggle clothing ("Of course, Camilla will happily share anything that fits you, but you must have some things of your own, darling") and Christmas gifts in a store that seemed almost as vast as Hogwarts. One night, they went to see Mr. Carmichael ("Call me Alan, darling.") in his current role in a West End comedy Lucia enjoyed but couldn't really follow. And now, at Mike's insistence, they were on their way to Diagon Alley.

Cassie Watts assured them she knew the way, having taken Mike on her pre-Hogwarts shopping trip. In fact, she was soon leading them through the Leaky Cauldron, stopping only to favor Tom with a brilliant smile.

Stepping into Diagon Alley this time, especially amid the crush of Christmas shoppers, was nearly as novel for Lucia as going to a Muggle department store. Her mother rarely shopped here, preferring Diagon Alley's Parisian counterpart.

Then there was Mike's mother. Despite Mike's plea for her to try to blend in, Cassandra Watts wasn't the chameleon type. Her tall, lanky figure and striking features would have been enough to get her attention. Add a pair of tight jeans, high-heeled boots, and an emerald green suede jacket, and the total effect had shoppers tripping over themselves as she passed by.

"Mummy!" Mike hissed, pulling her away from a display of robes in Madame Malkin's window. "Please try not to exclaim so much. We're getting stared at."

Cassandra Watts smiled broadly, spreading her arms in an expansive shrug. "But sweetie, I'm used to that. People recognize me, you know."

"Not here, they don't," Mike grumbled under her breath. Lucia had to stifle a giggle.

"Where shall we start?" she asked in an effort to defuse the situation.

Cassandra glanced at her watch. "It's ten now. There's plenty of time before lunch. What do you two need to do?"

The girls compared lists and reeled off the names of shops until Cassandra held up her hands for mercy.

"All right," she said. "Madame Malkin seems to have some rather amusing things on offer; in fact, all the shops look so divinely eccentric. Go do your errands, and we'll all meet up at the Leaky Cauldron at twelve. I can't wait to see what magical food is like."

"Oh, Merlin," Mike groaned as the girls walked off. "I really hope she doesn't try to visit 'those cute little goblins' at Gringotts. Her words."

Lucia did giggle at that. "Don't worry, she'll be fine." That was probably true, though they really should have warned her about Knockturne Alley.

She bought Kitty Bites for Calypso at the Magical Menagerie and a broom servicing kit for Scorpius at Quality Quidditch Supplies, where Mike lingered over the newest Firebolt. Finding something for her mother proved more difficult, until Mike persuaded her to try Witches' Whimsies, one of the many new shops that had sprung up since the war. The scarf she chose was enchanted to change colors depending on the wearer's clothes and coloring.

The two girls stayed together until they reached the bottom of their lists.

"Erm," said Lucia. "I need some time alone at this point, all right?"

Mike grinned. "Me, too. Meet you at the Leaky Cauldron?"

They took off in different directions, though Lucia's steps soon lagged; she wasn't sure where to go for the wizard chess set she wanted for Mike. As luck would have it, Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes was just across the street, and she decided to begin there. She was curious about it anyway, as her mother had dragged her past it last August. If they didn't have what she wanted, they could probably tell her where to go.

She found the shop - it was hard to miss, as a dragon's roar sounded every time someone opened the door - and entered, wincing at the horribly realistic sound effect.

The shop was jammed full of customers, mostly young, all milling about except for the long line snaking toward a counter at the far end. Behind the counter were two very busy-looking men, one she recognized from the station as Hugo's father and a somewhat shorter, broader one. How would she ever get close enough to ask a question?

With a sigh, Lucia threaded her way cautiously through the crowd, peering at the signs on each shelf: Wonder Witch, Muggle Magic Tricks, Big Bangs . . .

"Need some help?"

A familiar voice behind her made her jump.

"Hugo!" She whirled around to see the brown-haired Hufflepuff grinning at her. "What are you doing here?" It was so strange to see him in a wholly different context.

"I could ask you the same thing," he said, his grin broadening. "I'm helping out Dad and Uncle George - this is their shop, you know. That's them, up at the counter. Dad's the tall one."

"Yes, I know, I saw you with him at King's Cross. It must be fun, working here." That sounded completely lame, but she couldn't think of anything else to say.

Hugo didn't seem to notice. "It can be. Are you looking for something special?"

Lucia told him, and he led her by a circuitous route to a shelf marked Games, which contained a surprisingly large selection of wizard chess sets.

"Dad loves chess," Hugo explained. "That's why we carry so many sets. Here, this one's nice and not too expensive. Who's it for?"

Lucia opened the box and examined the pieces, which stared up at her, blinking. "It's for Mike; she's really taken to the game, and I thought she'd like a set of her own."

Hugo nodded. "Actually, I got one of these for Trevor. He hadn't played before coming to school, but it took him about a week to start trouncing me."

Lucia closed the box and hugged it to her chest. "Well, I suppose I should get in line. Thanks for your help."

"No problem. Actually," Hugo added, lowering his voice and waiting until a gaggle of girls passed by - "I have some news. I asked Mum about Professor Vector, and she told me I should talk to Aunt Andromeda - well, she's not actually a relative, but she's Uncle Harry's godson's grandmother - it's complicated," he trailed off, feeling more than a little foolish.

Lucia's eyes widened. "Andromeda Tonks, do you mean? She's my great-aunt, my mother's sister, though I've only met her a couple of times."

Now that she mentioned it, Hugo made the connection. "I suppose that makes you sort of an honorary cousin or something," he said with a grin.

When Lucia didn't respond, he went on. "Anyway, it turns out that Aunt Andy was in Slytherin with Professor Vector, only he wasn't Professor Vector then, and I'm going to talk to her when we go to the Burrow for Christmas lunch."

"That's wonderful!" Lucia said. "I wonder if they still keep in touch; maybe we can find out all about him. Now, I really had better pay for this. I'm supposed to meet Mike and her mother at -"

A piercing whistle caused her to break off. Hugo made a face. "That'll be Dad's way of telling me to get back to work. I've got to go, but be sure to ask for the animated gift wrap, it's awesome."

"Thanks, Hugo" said Lucia as she headed for the end of the line. "Have a happy Christmas."

"You, too."

Lucia was glad to see that the line had shorted a bit while they were talking. She had one more errand to do before lunch.

ooOoo

"Dad," said Ron, knocking snow off his boots before stepping into the house, "I keep wondering when you two are going to Expand the house. It's a good thing not everyone could make it." Bill and his family were in France with Fleur's parents and Charlie's dragon research was at a critical stage.

"It certainly is not a good thing!" Molly Weasley mock-scolded her youngest son as she hugged him, then Hermione and the children in turn.

"Now, into the sitting room with you; we're just about to begin opening presents."

Hugo immediately found himself swept into the crowd of aunts, uncles, and cousins, each trying to raise his or her voice enough to be heard. Hermione unpacked her bagful of miniature boxes, restored them to normal size with a wave of her wand, and wound through the mob to place them under the tree.

The next hour or so passed in a happy, noisy blur. Hugo thanked Uncle George for the Instant Darkness Powder and the dungbombs and added them to the pile ready to be carried home.

Just then he spotted his granddad greeting Aunt Andy and Teddy. Teddy looked uncharacteristically glum, probably because Victoire wasn't there. He stepped around Lily, who was setting up a Reusable Hangman, and headed toward the door.

"Er, Aunt Andy?" he said tentatively. The statuesque, grey-haired woman always struck him as somehow formidable, and he felt shy about approaching her.

"Hello, there, Hugo," she greeted him with a pleasant smile. "Happy Christmas."

"Happy Christmas to you, too." He glanced into the kitchen, where the bustle seemed to be reaching a crescendo.

"I think lunch is about ready, but afterward, I was wondering if I could talk to you about something - alone."

Andromeda nodded. "Your mother said you'd like to hear about Claudius Vector. We'll talk after lunch, all right? Now, I should go help your grandmother."

She disappeared inside the already crowded kitchen

Hugo polished off the last scrap of Christmas pudding and pushed his chair back with a groan of repletion. As he got up to carry his empty plate to the sink, he caught Andromeda's eye, and she nodded in the direction of the stairs. He followed her out of the kitchen, hoping to avoid awkward questions.

"Your grandmother says we can use Ginny's old room, and to be sure to lock the door," whispered Andromeda conspiratorially as she led the way up the stairs and into the small bedroom. She waved her wand at the doorknob and sat down on the narrow bed, her back as straight as if she were seated on a throne. Hugo turned the desk chair around and sat down.

Andromeda listened intently as Hugo explained his interest in her old schoolmate and asked her the same questions he'd asked his mother.

"So Claudius Vector has a daughter your age, does he?" Her eyebrows lifted in surprise at this news. "I'm afraid I have no idea what's become of him, since he left his teaching post, or what happened to him the night of the battle, I wasn't there myself, as I was at home taking care of Teddy."

A shadow crossed her face, and Hugo felt like kicking himself for reminding her of her terrible loss.

Andromeda must have sensed his dismay, because she gave him a reassuring smile. "You mum is right, however; I did know Claudius at school, though not well."

She shifted her weight slightly, causing the old bed frame to creak. "I was a year ahead of Claudius, and he was in Ravenclaw, not Slytherin. However, he and Lucius Malfoy were in the same year, and from what I heard at the time, they weren't on the friendliest of terms, to put it mildly."

Hugo sat up straighter, all ears. "Really? Why not?"

Andromeda pressed her lips together. "Claudius had a reputation for academic brilliance. Rumor had it that he was appointed prefect but turned down the honor - no one semed to know why. He was what you'd call an odd duck - standoffish, definitely a loner, but not shy about showing off his superior intellect."

Sounds a lot like his daughter, Hugo thought, but he wouldn't have interrupted for all the chocolate in Honeydukes.

"That got Lucius' goat," Andromeda continued with a wry twist of her lips. "I know, because my younger sister Cissy - Narcissa Black at the time - had a tremendous crush on Lucius from the first day she arrived at Hogwarts. Since I didn't quite share her high opinion of the boy, as her big sister I felt obliged to keep an eye on her. Lucius didn't like that much, but he couldn't be overtly nasty to me without risking alienating Cissy."

Hugo mulled this over. "So, Mr. Malfoy and Professor Vector were rivals?"

Andromeda nodded. "Academically, yes, but that's not all. Claudius Vector was also skinny and weak, which made him a perfect target for bullying. To make things worse, his parents were Muggles."

Hugo's mouth dropped open at this piece of news; it was the last thing he'd expected. "So," he said slowly, not realizing he'd spoken aloud, "that means Claudia's grandparents are Muggles . . . " He couldn't wait to share all this with Lucia. What were the odds that a girl with Muggle ancestry would want to hurt Muggle-born schoolmates?

Andromeda raised her eyebrows and gave Hugo an amused little smile at his statement of the obvious.

"Yes, her grandparents are Muggles, at least one set of them. In any case, I hated all that pureblood nonsense, especially after I met Ted. Lucius and his friends, on the other hand - well, you know what happened to them."

Hugo nodded. "Yeah. They became Death Eaters."

"So they did, but they practiced their Muggle-baiting at school first, and Claudius Vector was a favorite victim. I remember seeing him with heads of cauliflower in place of ears once. And shortly before O.W.L.s, Lucius gave him hooks for fingers. The poor boy couldn't write or hold a book for days and nearly had a nervous breakdown.

"But Claudius was clever, and he soon learned to fight back. Lucius always swore that Claudius Obliviated him before their Potions N.E.W.T., and that's why he scored so badly on it. I think Cissy would have killed Claudius herself, if she'd had the chance. Lucius' success mattered to her more than anything else in the world. And look what that got her."

Andromeda's voice dripped with disgust.

This was all very interesting, though it didn't explain why Professor Vector had left Hogwarts and where he was now.

"Thanks, Aunt Andy," said Hugo, getting up. Lily was pounding on the door, calling for him to come play Hangman or else.

He held out a hand to help Andromeda to her feet.

"Thanks for telling me all this, Aunt Andy."

"You're welcome, dear," she said with a smile. "How did you come to wonder about Professor Vector?"

Hugo told her about knowing Claudia Vector's dorm mate and mentioned the Ravenclaw's eccentric behavior, though not any suspicion about her possible role in the threats to Muggle-borns.

"Ah, I see. Little Lucia - she Sorted into Ravenclaw, did she? How interesting that the two of you should be friends."

Hugo couldn't think of a response and anyway, nless he opened the door immediately, Lily was going to break it down.

ooOoo

Lucia scarcely recognized the person staring back at her from Mike's full-length mirror. Mike had insisted on brushing her silver-blonde hair until it shone, and it now fell smooth and straight down her back. Her dark blue velvet dress fitted her to perfection, though it felt odd to be wearing anything except dress robes to a party.

Mike came up behind her, her own honey-colored plait sporting a wide black bow that matched her skirt.

"You look marvelous," she gushed. "Do you know, you and Scorpius are the only two people I know with hair that color?"

Lucia shrugged and turned away from the mirror. "It's a Malfoy family trait. I wish I knew a Detangling Charm, though." Mike's ministrations had been rather painful.

"Girls, whatever are you doing in there? Uncle Edward's here."

At the sound of Cassie Watts' voice, the girls smoothed down their skirts quite unnecessarily and headed for the door.

"You never mentioned an Uncle Edward," Lucia said as they went down the hallway.

"That's because he's not a real uncle," Mike explained, "just a good friend of the family. I call most of Mummy and Daddy's friends Aunt and Uncle. C'mon, let's get moving before the guests get all the food."

The next few hours went by in a blur of color and sound: introductions to dozens of people whose names she'd never remember; silks and satins, jewels and feathers; shouts of laughter and an ever-intensifying volume of talk. One moment Lucia found herself squashed on a sofa between a corpulent soprano and a reedy man in evening dress; moments later, the man was at the piano accompanying the soprano, whose voice managed to pierce the din.

"Bravo, Marcella!" called out Mike's father when the woman finished her aria. He led a smattering of applause, then announced in his own plummy voice, "It's almost midnight, darlings, so everyone do grab a glass of champagne."

To Lucia's surprise, Mike managed to thread her way through the crush to arrive at her side bearing two slender, tulip-shaped glasses. She handed one to Lucia with a wink, looking very pleased with herself.

"Daddy said 'everybody', so here you are. You'll love it, I promise. We're supposed to wait till midnight for the toast, though." She looked at her watch. "Only two minutes to go. I suppose we could have a tiny sip now."

Following Mike's lead, Lucia lifted the delicate glass to her lips and nearly dropped it when the mysterious beverage tickled her nose. Well, if she could manage that pus-colored punch at the Halloween party, she shouldn't balk at a few bubbles.

She took a tiny sip, expecting sweetness and rather disappointed not to find it. The taste wasn't unpleasant, exactly, but it was strange.

"Ten, nine, eight . . . Happy New Year!"

So loud was the clamor that it drowned out the knocking at the door. At last, the man Mike called Uncle Edward, who'd been using the doorframe to prop himself up, said "Oh, all right," and flung back the door to reveal a regal figure standing on the threshold, her distinguished brow puckered in irritation.

"Oh, my." Uncle Edward took a step back, the better to take in the the vision that presented itself. The woman's flaxen hair framed her perfect features in a complicated and very becoming style, and her slender figure was drawn up to its full height as she looked down her patrician nose at the odd little man standing in front of her.

As an actor, Edward Morgan regarded eccentric dress as rather the norm. Therefore, the long satin robes the woman wore scarcely merited a second glance.

What did rather set him back on his heels was her tone.

"I am Astoria Malfoy," the woman announced in the poshest of accents, "and I have come to take my daughter home."

At that moment, the hostess swanned through the crowd, professionally shaped eyebrows raised and a quizzical smile on her face.

Uncle Edward melted into the crowd as the two women stood facing one another. Cassandra Watts held out a shapely, ring-bedecked hand.

"How do you do?" she said in her throaty contralto. "I am Cassandra Watts, Camilla's mother. What a lovely surprise that you could join us. Do come in."

Astoria Malfoy did not budge, and she stared directly into the other woman's amused green eyes.

"Perhaps, you did not hear me, with all this noise. I have come for Lucia. It was very kind of you to have her, but it is time for her to come home."

"Ah." Neither Cassandra's gaze nor her smile wavered. "I see there's been a change in plans. Regrettable, as we've so enjoyed your lovely daughter's company. She is a credit to her parents."

Astoria inclined her head ever so slightly.

Silence ensued.

It was Lucia who broke it. "Mother!" she cried, racing to the door and flinging herself into Astoria's arms. "You've come to the party!"