Tristan Parkes: Day of the Dementors

Tristan spent the next few hours messing around, trying to trace Phonekey routes out of Ashlee's hometown that had been used within the past few days. He managed to successfully find three such routes. One led all the way to Christchurch in New Zealand, one led to Adelaide and the third led to Sydney. After obtaining the routes, Tristan set the TARDIS for a location close to Ashlee's place and cloaked it as a pile of boxes. He then headed up to Ashlee's flat, unlocking doors with Alohamora as he went. Eventually he reached Ashlee's door and knocked.

Tristan heard Ashlee call through the door: "It's open! But if you're a robber, it's locked and I have a huge guard dog in here!"

With a quick "Alohamora!" the door unlocked. Tristan opened the door and walked in. "Hello, Ashlee."

Tristan was grinning at Ashlee's response to his knock.

"It's a robber! Get him, Ruffles!" she called with a laugh. The cat proceeded to rub up against Tristan and purred. Ashlee laughed and reached down to pat her cat. "Some guard you are. You'll let anyone in."

Tristan laughed at Ashlee. "Did you think that a lock would keep me out, Ashlee? A wizard's wand is the ultimate multi-purpose tool. I just used a simple unlocking spell on the door and on all the other ones on my way here."

Ashlee smiled and replied, "Yeah, I kind of figured that when I realised you didn't use the spare key I left out for you. You want some popcorn? There's half a bowl left."

"Oh, why not? Actually, I forgot about the spare key earlier on today and teleported myself directly into the living room."

Ashlee went over to the lounge and came back with a bowl. "You can teleport in here? Then why did you have to knock?"

Tristan took a handful of popcorn from the offered bowl. "I landed the TARDIS so close to here, I didn't think it would be worth the trouble of programming a teleporter," he explained. Munching on some of the popcorn, he added, "It's in a nearby alley, disguised as a pile of boxes."

Ashlee took a handful of popcorn for herself and popped some in her mouth. "So, what's happening with Corrine? Any progress?" she asked, her speech a little muffled due to the popcorn in her mouth.

"As a matter of fact, I have made some progress," replied Tristan. "I've only found three Phonekey routes leading out of this town that were used in the past two days. One went all the way to New Zealand, so I think we can safely rule that out. One went to Adelaide and the other went to Sydney. The Sydney route was the most-recently used of the three routes I found."

"So, you reckon she's there?"

"I'd say we've got a good chance that Corrine went to Sydney. Somehow, Adelaide seems too nearby for someone wanting to make a getaway with something like that gem."

"Yeah. But if she wanted to hang out with weirdos in Adelaide, Hindley Street would be our best bet. In Sydney, either Redfern or Kings Cross."

"Right. Well, let's take the TARDIS. You can show me where to land."

"So, where to? Adelaide or Sydney?" asked Ashlee.

"I think Sydney is the most-likely destination for her," replied Tristan. "She'd want to put some distance between her and us, even if she doesn't know we're the ones after the gem. I'll tell you what, Ashlee: I'll bring up a map of Sydney and you can point out the destination on it."

"Okay."

"Right. Back to the TARDIS," declared Tristan.

Ashlee locked up her flat and they headed back to the TARDIS. Once inside, Tristan brought up a map of Sydney. "Draw a diagonal line on the screen with your finger from top-left to bottom-right to select an area to zoom in on," he instructed. "Bottom-right to top-left zooms out."

Ashlee looked at the map. "Well, the most likely place for a wizarding community to go unnoticed would be Kings Cross. A lot of weirdos hang out there." Ashlee momentarily glanced at Tristan. "No offence."

"Actually, the Australian wizards keep their existence secret by blending in with the Muggle population. You could bump into a wizard on the street and you wouldn't know it unless he pulled his wand on you."

"If that's the case, I have no idea where they would hide," replied Ashlee.

"If we're dealing with unsavoury characters, like the sort who hang around Knockturn Alley in England, where would the most-likely place in Sydney be for them to put the local equivalent?" asked Tristan.

Ashlee grinned. "As I said, Kings Cross." She quickly found it on the map and zoomed into an area of a few square kilometres. "Home to prostitutes, druggies and their dealers." Ashlee gave a shudder. "You wouldn't catch me going there alone. You'd have to be mental."

"Lucky I gave you that stungun, then. You might need it."

"I hope you can defend yourself without weapons or your wand, Trist. That place is also home to some very talented finger smiths." Seeing the confused look on Tristan's face, Ashlee elaborated. "Pick pockets."

"They're not going to get into my pockets in a hurry. Not with fingerprint-recognition zip locks on them. I'm also pretty good at wandless magic, too. Remember when I made Matt's gun red-hot?"

"Yeah. That was magic?" asked Ashlee.

"Yep. If you have enough raw power of your own, you can perform spells up to certain power-requirements without a wand, but it's very draining. A wand simply acts as a magical amplifier."

"Reckon you could teach me a bit? In case of emergencies?" asked Ashlee.

Tristan shook his head. "Even with a wand, I'm afraid you simply don't have enough raw magical power to perform even basic spells. It might be possible for me to make a techno-wand that you could use, but it would take quite a while to build and program."

Ashlee shrugged. "Ah, well. It was worth a shot. At least I can box."

"Good point," said Tristan. "Now let's see... Here should do." Tristan tapped a location on the screen and the coordinates appeared on another screen. "Now, I'm going to need the lift-access passwords. I can get those online, but I'll have to do a bit of messing around to get at them." Tristan headed over to a side-computer and started entering commands.

Ashlee sat down on the ground and started stretching. "The last thing I need is to pull a muscle in the middle of a fight."

Tristan looked up from the computer. "If that does happen, I can just use a healing charm on you and you'll be good as new in seconds," he replied, then turned back to the computer and entered a few more commands. "Got it! I've got us a surface lift password for the lift closest to where we're going to land."

Ashlee stood up and stretched her arms. "Do I look too out of place? What if they recognise I'm a Muggle? Will they be the same as those bastards who got Mel?" Ashlee was speaking very fast and rapidly and her eyes began to fill with fear. "What happens if she takes you down? I can defend myself in the Muggle world, but you can't throw a punch at a spell."

"Woah, woah, woah! Slow down, Ash!" exclaimed Tristan. "Firstly, the Australian wizards only wear robes for two occasions: formal events and playing Quidditch. Secondly, for a defence against spells, I can replicate you a device that will generate a shield that blocks most spells. Thirdly, you can dodge out of the way of most spells, as they don't travel that fast through the air, but they do travel a lot faster in a vacuum. Fourthly, I'm a very good duellist and I have a century of scientific and magical knowledge that Corrine doesn't have."

Ashlee sighed with relief at Tristan's logic. "Okay. But you can't blame me for feeling a little nervous."

"I can imagine that most people who have only recently been introduced to the wizarding world would be nervous about visiting an unsavoury place like..." Tristan peered at the computer, "Dragon Dungeon. Interesting name."

"Hmm. If it's anything like the Muggle Kings Cross, we better be careful," said Ashlee.

"Quite likely, if it's anything like Knockturn Alley in England," agreed Tristan.

"Let me just check I've got everything," said Ashlee and began muttering to herself. "Goggles, stun gun, microwave gun, mobile. Yep, all set."

"Let's get going." Tristan activated the TARDIS and less than a minute later they were at their destination. "Right. Follow me and we'll visit Dragon Dungeon." They left the TARDIS, Tristan locking the doors and turning the cloak back on, not bothering to change what it looked like.

Ashlee looked around and shuddered, moving closer to Tristan. "Let's get going. This place gives me the creeps," she said, eyeing a toothless man who was leering at her. "Now would be a good time."

"We just have to make it to the next alley," said Tristan. "Then we take the lift to get into Dragon Dungeon."

Ashlee nodded and hunched her shoulders. Tristan could see her fists clenched in case she had to use them.

A short walk later, they arrived at the alley and Tristan pulled Ashlee into it. They walked a few metres down the alley and then stopped. "This is the lift," said Tristan. As far as either he or Ashlee could tell, it was just another piece of wall.

"Um, you sure?" asked Ashlee. "Looks like a wall to me."

"Positive," replied Tristan. "It may look just like the surrounding wall, but I assure you it's not. Dark Times and Dark Arts." The wall retracted inwards and split apart, revealing a lift. "See? I told you the lift was here."

"Woah," said Ashlee, hesitantly walking towards the lift.

"Come on, let's get in before it closes on us." Tristan stepped into the lift and Ashlee nervously followed him. Tristan hit the button to close the doors and the lift descended, changing direction on the trip. When the lift stopped, the doors opened, revealing a large underground area lit by green lights. "So, this is what Dragon Dungeon looks like. Reminds me of the Slytherin Dungeons at Hogwarts." Tristan flashed a grin at Ashlee. "I once snuck into them when I was a student and made a mess of the common room."

Ashlee snickered at Tristan's little tale. "Lord, I pity the teacher who got you."

"Nobody ever found out that I was responsible until the day after I finished at Hogwarts," replied Tristan with a grin.

Ashlee smirked at Tristan's reply. "The things I could learn from you, Mr Parkes..."

They headed into a seedy-looking bar and took seats.

"What'll it be?" asked the bartender.

"Information," replied Tristan. "Know where we can find Corrine Slecmann? We've got a business proposal for her."

"Something my associate here and I think she will be very interested in," added Ashlee.

The bartender eyed them over. "You two not from around here, are you?"

"Nope," replied Tristan. "I'm from England, she's from South Australia."

"Just in the neighbourhood," said Ashlee. "Now, could you tell us what we need to know?" With a persuasive smile, she added, "We would really appreciate it."

"No information for people who aren't drinking here," replied the bartender.

"Fine, then," said Tristan, irritably. "I'll have whatever you have that contains the least alcohol."

The bartender sneered at Tristan. "Yes, sir. And you, Miss?"

Ashlee smiled even more. "Got anything strong?"

The bartender smirked knowingly. "Yes, ma'am. Be right back."

While the bartender was gone, Ashlee turned to Tristan. "Not a good idea to order something like that here, Trist. Just pretend to drink it and you'll gain respect."

"I'll neutralise the alcohol in the drink before I drink it," replied Tristan. "Damn! I don't have any money. Hang on a sec." Tristan Apparated out and appeared on the street, topside. He spotted a drug-dealer selling his goods to some poor addict and thought that this would be the perfect way to get some money. Tristan tapped in the code for a stungun on his Pattern Buffer and shot the drug-dealer. The man went out like a light and Tristan quickly searched his pockets and relieved him of his money. "You don't deserve this, you scum," snarled Tristan as he stuffed the plastic notes into one of his many pockets. Looking around to make sure he wasn't being watched, Tristan put the stungun into slot 999 of the Pattern Buffer, erased the slot and then Apparated back to the bar.

When he arrived back, Ashlee shook her head and said, "Trist, you really need to think ahead. And pretend to drink. I don't trust that guy." Ashlee gestured with her head to the bartender.

"Not to worry," replied Tristan. "I'll put in an antitoxin as well. I've got plenty of money now."

"Where'd you get it from?" asked Ashlee.

"Mugged a drug-dealer," replied Tristan with a grin.

Ashlee snickered at this.

The bartender finally came back with their drinks and set them down in front of them. "That's a firewhisky for the pretty lady and a gillywater for the little man," he sneered.

"Thanks," said Ashlee. "Now, would you join us? We can talk more freely then."

"Hang on, I'll see if Rick can hold the bar for a little longer," replied the bartender and stalked off.

Tristan took a bottle of glowing blue liquid out of his pocket and poured a little into his drink, which then bubbled madly for a few seconds. He then tipped in a glowing green liquid and there were more bubbles. "Safe now," he declared and downed half the drink in one gulp.

"I told you that you should have ordered something strong," said Ashlee.

"I can't tolerate alcohol very well," replied Tristan. "None of the men in my family can."

Ashlee groaned. "That's not the point! He's not going to take you seriously now. Hand me some of that anti-toxin, will you?"

Tristan passed her the bottle of glowing green liquid. "You only need a little of that stuff. That bottle should be enough to neutralise enough toxins to kill a hundred people. Sure you don't want the alcohol neutraliser, too?"

"Let me just try it first. I've never heard of firewhisky before." Ashlee added the anti-toxin to her drink and took a sip. Shaking her head and gasping, she said, "Wow. That is strong. Hand me the neutraliser."

Tristan handed Ashlee the bottle of glowing blue liquid. "Just a little bit. It's pretty concentrated, so you don't need much. I'm not surprised you haven't heard of firewhisky before. Only the wizarding community sells the stuff."

"It's pretty good. Shame I've got to keep a straight head."

"Believe me, if the people around here are anything like the folk in Knockturn Alley, you're really going to need a clear head," replied Tristan dryly.

Ashlee suddenly smirked. "Don't look now but our 'mate' is coming back."

"Wonderful," said Tristan sarcastically and quickly hid the bottles of neutraliser and antitoxin away in his pockets.

The bartender slumped over to them and took a seat. "So, what can I do ya for?" he asked.

"You do the talking, Ashlee. I'm going to take it easy with this drink," said Tristan.

Ashlee nodded in acknowledgement. "You do that, hon. Now, Mr...?"

"Cianic," replied the bartender.

"Mr Cianic. Do you know the roundabouts of Corrine Slecmann?" asked Ashlee.

The bartender grunted and asked, "Why you wanna know?"

"As I told you before, we have something of interest to her."

"You must be pretty brave to rub shoulders with her, girlie."

Ashlee's eyes flashed with annoyance. "I have a name. It's Ashlee, thankyou. Not 'girlie'."

"Use her name, or I'm going to start losing my temper with you, pal," snapped Tristan.

The bartender smirked. "Of course, Ashlee. But you should be careful. Don't want that pretty little face scratched."

Ashlee glared at the bartender and coldly replied, "I'm perfectly capable of looking after myself. Now, are you going to tell me where I can find her or not?"

"Maybe," said the bartender and slid a hand onto her shoulder, "If you can make it worth my while."

"Get your filthy mitts off me, or you'll regret it," growled Ashlee menacingly.

"How so?" inquired the bartender with a sneer.

"Well, for a start, I could curse you into next week and then Ashlee could beat the stuffing out of you with her bare hands," replied Tristan with a nasty grin.

"You wouldn't if you want information. And you better be nice to me, girlie," said the bartender, as he proceeded to slide his hand lower down Ashlee's back.

Ashlee had clearly had enough. She stood up and slapped him across the face. "Don't touch what you can't afford."

"How much?" sneered the bartender, rubbing his cheek.

"More money than there is on Earth in this time, I'll wager," retorted Tristan.

The bartender barked out a laugh. "What? That little tart? I don't think so. What you been slipping him, girlie?"

"Why you little-" growled Ashlee, glaring scarily at the bartender.

Tristan took out his wand zapped the bartender with a small bolt of electricity. "Keep your hands to yourself or you'll get worse next time."

The bartender glared at Tristan. "You can find yourself another informant," he replied, then got up and started to walk away.

"Can I hit him?" muttered Ashlee to Tristan.

"Go right ahead," replied Tristan with a smile, gesturing to the bartender with an open hand.

"Hey! Come here a sec!" Ashlee walked over to the bartender and stood flirtatiously close to him. He looked quite suprised by her change of behaviour. "You want a piece of me?" Ashlee drew back her fist. "You got it," she said and slammed it directly into the bartender's nose.

"OW! Why, you little..." began the bartender, but Ashlee hit him again, knocking him onto his back.

"Now, are you going to answer our questions, or do I have to get violent as well?" asked Tristan pleasantly.

The bartender spat out a blob of blood onto the floor. "Go to hell!"

"Been there, done that," replied Tristan loftily, then growled menacingly, "Now start talking," glaring at the bartender in the process.

"Why should I?" asked the bartender defiantly.

"If you don't, I'll re-enact a little tale I heard about when I was up at Hogwarts recently," replied Tristan.

"And that would be?" sneered the bartender.

"Ever heard of Draco Malfoy: The Amazing Bouncing Ferret?" asked Tristan, grinning nastily.

Ashlee smiled nastily. "Oh, do tell."

"Okay, Ash," replied Tristan with a grin. "In Harry Potter's fourth year at Hogwarts, the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher turned Harry's school nemesis, Draco Malfoy, into a ferret and kept bouncing him up and down all over the entrance hall. Harry has always said that was one of the funniest moments in his whole time at Hogwarts."

The bartender's eyes widened with terror. "You wouldn't."

Ashlee grinned nastily. "Oh, he would. And he will. Trist?"

Tristan pointed his wand at the bartender. "Last chance to talk before I start bouncing you. You have ten seconds. Ten, nine, eight, seven..."

"You'd better start talking quick," Ashlee said to the bartender.

"I-I-I- uh," stuttered the bartender.

"... Two, one, zero. You asked for it," finished Tristan.

Tristan flicked his wand upwards and the bartender bashed his head into the ceiling. Tristan moved his wand back to the centre, then repeated the process another three times. "Are you going to talk, now?" he asked.

"Okay! Okay!" yelled the bartender in surrender. "I think the guy who runs the bar down the other end of Dragon Dungeon would know something. Happy?"

Ashlee leaned in close to his face, glaring at the bartender and he backed up. "Very. Thank you for your time."

"Oh, one last thing," added Tristan, who then banged the bartender's head into the ceiling again, then bashed him into the floor, cracking the floorboards. "Don't drug your customers! If I hear about you drugging customers again, I'll report you to the Board of Health. Goodbye."

Tristan and Ashlee left the bar and started walking towards the other end of Dragon Dungeon.

Ashlee was beaming. "That was brilliant. Pure genius."

"Just goes to show what a cross wizard can do," replied Tristan with a grin.

Ashlee raised an eyebrow. "Cross wizard?"

"Well, I wasn't too happy with him. I just hope the next guy isn't like him. He was too much like Matt for my tastes," replied Tristan.

Ashlee's face took on a haunted look. "Hmm."

"Perhaps I shouldn't have said that?" asked Tristan.

Ashlee just shrugged and replied, "Forget it," as she gazed around the place. "You think this guy will know something?" she asked, when they were nearing the bar in question.

"It's worth a shot," replied Tristan, "but I think perhaps we should try a different approach."

"Like what?"

"Hmmm..." said Tristan, looking thoughtful. "I know. I could pretend to be drunk and order some wizarding super-coffee. Downside is that it will keep me up all night and possibly the next night, given I'm not actually drunk."

Ashlee rolled her eyes. "You're bad enough on your own. Imagine how bad you're gonna be when high on caffeine." She gave a small smile and added, "Probably something like me when I've had way too much sugar."

Tristan just laughed at this.

"So, can you put on a convincing act?" asked Ashlee. "Need a person to help you stagger your way to the bar?" she added with a grin.

"Oh, I'm pretty good at playing drunk," replied Tristan. "I used to irritate the other students who did drink by acting drunk when I was at Hogwarts." Tristan grinned, then said "'Oh, look asht me! I'm Mishter Get-shhloshhed-a-lot!'," slurring his speach as if he was drunk. Tristan gave another grin and added, "I lost count of the number of times I had to hex my way out of a situation after doing the drunk act sometime back in my fifth year."

Ashlee laughed at Tristan's act. "Well, come, Mishter Get-shhloshed-a-lot," she said, perfectly mimicking Tristan's drunk wording, "lean on me and let's get started."

They walked into the bar, or rather staggered, in Tristan's case and approached the bartender.

"Half a li-li-litre or Shuper-coffeeee. I gotta get shobered up fasht for a bushneshh deal," slurred Tristan.

"Sure thing, mate. Hang on a sec," replied the bartender, who sounded considerably friendlier than the previous one.

Ashlee smiled fondly at Tristan. "Silly thing. You had to get stuck into the Firewhiskey, didn't you?"

"Shorry Ashhlee," replied Tristan, wobbling uneasily on his seat. The bartender left and came back with a big mug of coffee and Tristan downed it all in four big gulps.

"That'll have you sober as you can get in about a minute," said the bartender confidently.

"Thankyou," replied Ashlee. "Lord help me if he was in that state all night. I'd be clearing up after him."

"So, how many did he have?" asked the bartender.

"One," replied Ashlee. Leaning forward, she whispered to the bartender, "He can't handle his drink too well, bless him."

The bartender looked quite surprised. "Only one? Now there's a fella who can't hold his liquor."

Ashlee merely shrugged. "Feeling better?" she asked Tristan, rubbing his back in a comforting fashion.

Tristan rubbed his temples for a moment before responding. "Whoa! Thank goodness for wizarding coffee. Too bad I can't handle alcohol very well."

"I'll say," said the bartender. "From what your lady friend tells me, you got that drunk from just one Firewhisky. You must have the lowest tolerance for booze I've ever seen."

"Afraid so," replied Tristan, looking a bit sheepish. "How much do I owe you for the coffee?"

"Two dollars-forty."

Tristan fumbled in his pocket and took out a ten-dollar note. "Here's ten and you can keep the change if you can tell us where to find Corrine Slecmann."

"It's quite important that we find her," added Ashlee.

"Well, seeing as your friend is paying so well, I'll tell you."

"So, where can we find her?" asked Tristan.

"Shop 128 Dragon Dungeon. She owns the place and only has the one employee. I gather she doesn't pay her staff very well and she's pretty cruel to customers who don't pay their bills on time."

"Sounds like her nephew, just not quite as bad," remarked Tristan.

"She has a nephew, does she?" inquired the bartender with considerable curiosity.

"Yep. He's currently at Hogwarts with three of my relatives," replied Tristan.

"Well, they better watch their backs if he's as bad as you say."

"They can handle him. I'm not worried about them."

"Well, glad to be of service," said the bartender. "You'll certainly need your wits about you if you're going to deal with Corrine. She's a nasty one."

"Thanks for the coffee and the info," replied Tristan. "Come on Ashlee, let's pay Matt's ex-girlfriend a visit."

On their way out, Ashlee gave Tristan a stern look.

"What?" asked Tristan. "She was his ex, even before that nasty incident with the Dementors."

Ashlee shook her head sadly and muttered something that sounded suspiciously like "Tactless".

"Right, well, we'll need a plan to get to Corrine," said Tristan, as he checked his handheld computer. "We are certainly inside the dead zone, so that gem is probably in her shop. Any ideas?"

"Hmm. Maybe one of us could pose as a customer? Throw her off her guard?" suggested Ashlee.

"Not a bad idea. I think it's your turn to pose as the customer. I did it back at the bar. You go in, pretend to be a possible customer and I'll turn up a little bit later," said Tristan. "Oh, don't touch anything. Dark artifacts can do all sorts of nasty things to you."

"Got it," acknowledged Ashlee. "Look, don't touch. Um, what should I ask for?"

"Hmmm... Not the gem. I'll ask about that. Why don't you ask what she has in the way of artifacts that you could use to give someone some well-deserved torture?"

"Fine," said Ashlee, not sounding particularly enthusiastic about asking for a torture device. "Well, if you'll excuse me, I have to tread the boards once more," she added in a dramatic tone.

"I can see why you got top marks in Drama at school," replied Tristan with a grin.

Ashlee bowed. "Thankyou, kind sir."

Tristan laughed. "My pleasure. Now you had better get going. No, wait. Here, put these on." Tristan handed Ashlee a pair of glasses that didn't affect one's vision. "There's a tiny camera in the bridge of them and tiny microphones on the corners. I'll be able to monitor what goes on via my handheld computer."

Ashlee giggled as she slipped on the glasses. "I feel like I'm on an episode of 'Get Smart'."

"Or maybe the movie 'Mission Impossible'," replied Tristan.

"Alright. See you round, Big Brother," said Ashlee, walking away and softly humming the Mission Impossible theme.