Wizards vs. Muggles (Free-form)

London
Karla had said there would be dinner waiting would be available back at the house, and indeed the smell of something good wafted through the air when the teams reappeared one by one out of the fireplace.

When Chessie came out of the fireplace her owl was waiting; he gave her an affectionate peck on the head and patiently held out a talon with a small envelope attached. The address label was in a familiar hand, and the name was written "Chzeslawa Szymanska" The h was crossed out in a flourish.

Innocuous enough on its own—plenty of people got the spelling of her name wrong. But...

"H for 'heimlich'," Auntie Isolde had said the last time Czeslawa had seen her. Although she was wearing her usual cheerful smile, there was a killing rage like bared steel in her eyes that Czeslawa had seen before in the faces of coppers and soldiers. But never cheerful, elfin Auntie Isolde, the happy joker who could charm a smile out of a rock, who had made even her shadowy work under Herr Wolf seem like one great joke. "Secretly. I shall contact you, dear. You are clever enough to make your way out; the Zoo stash is good enough for at least one use. Your owl knows where to find me, so do not worry for me. I will be safe, meine fraulein...though certain others will not. Now go!" Doctor Hoo the owl had hooted in concurrence once before Isolde disappeared into the streets of Wroclaw.

A moment later Karla was the last one through, several packets of documents in her arms. She nodded towards the kitchen and dining room and headed to her office, uncharacteristically, quietly pensive.

---

RAF Minton
Goslen tilted his head before glaring at Warren with growing suspicion. "And if I ken it, whae then?"

The RAF policeman in the surveillance booth looked at Lita slightly askance, but otherwise said little, before looking at Clark knowingly.

edited 3rd Jun '12 12:35:23 AM by SabresEdge

Charlie Stross's cheerful, optimistic predictions for 2017, part one of three.

With a smile, Czeslawa kissed her owl on the head as she took the proffered letter. Stroking his wings, she murmured, "Dobra sowa, zajęty chłopak tak, jesteś. Muszę się wam trochę więcej przekąski, kiedy jestem w Pokątnej.

Let God do His work, we will see to ours. Bring in the candles.

RAF Minton

"Then you should have a good idea what it can do." Warren said with a grin "It would be a shame if you ended up like your friend; magic is strange like that, so full of possibilities. "

"For example, I could take this and go digging around in that tiny head of yours, pulling out all kinds of fun facts. Where you live, where you work, hell...the name of the first woman you ever slept with. And when that is all said and done, we really don't need you anymore."

He paused for a few seconds to let it sink in, before going back to his talk.

"So, do you feel like telling us anything? Or should I go get a bucket and some towels?"

Lita finally found a black robe and took it out from her bag "Here, once I enlarge this it should—" She froze as she looked at Warren trying to pass off as a legilimens in front of Goslen. A few second after he finished, Lita started to laugh and choked on the dragonbreath gum she had hidden between her back teeth and the inside of her cheek.

She started coughing for a moment, sizeable bursts of harmless fire coming out of her mouth before she finally got the gum out of her throat. She spat the gum out, making it vanish just as it hit her mouth, and began laughing.

"Didn't see that coming..." She said, regaining composure. "Anyway, um.. yeah, this should fit you once I enlarge it a bit..." She began casting engorgios and measuring by eye until she thought it would fit him.

"Try it on"

edited 3rd Jun '12 6:44:49 PM by Faramir

Give a man a fish, feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, you can't sell him fish anymore. http://thoughtfulspurts.wordpress.com/

Clark laughed at Warren's actions. "Well, that was...much more straightforward. I'll have to do some damage control later, but..." He looked at Lita. "Sorry, but nevermind. He's already done what I was trying to create a cover story for."

"Your mission is not to nuke the squid god." —Faramir

RAF Minton

Lita rolled her eyes, returning the robe to its original size and shoving it into her bag.

"So what now?" She asked, having a hard time containing her laughter when a squib was bluffing that he had legilimency to a muggle with a minute-old core-less wand. The gum she'd given him might end up handy for his purposes. He could growl at Goslen and have fire come out of his mouth if he wanted.

Safehouse

Once they arrived, Lita headed straight for the food as her stomach growled. Karla's departure went unnoticed by her as the need to have food inside her stomach took the highest priority.

edited 5th Jun '12 4:25:50 PM by Faramir

Give a man a fish, feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, you can't sell him fish anymore. http://thoughtfulspurts.wordpress.com/

Extracts from Guests at Ten Downing: a History of the Muggle Liaison Role
by G. W. Potter, 2004 report
Approved for public release, except where otherwise classified
Memoirs of past Ministers of Magic indicate that the tradition of visiting the Muggle Prime Minister did not truly begin until just before the 1939 European War. Prior to that point, the Minister of Magic had the tradition of reporting directly to the King or the Queen. Since news of coronations were common, it was not difficult to know when a new monarch ascended the throne. It is believed that this practice originated since the days of Merlin, advising the legendary King Arthur, although his actual role is unknown, as storytellers like Thomas Mallory blended history and legend.

Of course, this approach did have its drawbacks. Succession crises like the Wars of the Roses led to divides in the wizarding camp, though to a much lesser extent than in the Muggle world. The end of the Stuart dynasty and Cromwell's accession to the role of Lord Protector led to even more confusion; in that case legitimacy was determined by the Minister of Magic. (Incidentally, it is believed by some that Cromwell must have run into a hag, perhaps one of the Irish sidhe. It would go a long way towards explaining his subsequent antipathy towards witches, as well as his attempts to impose rule on Ireland. There is another camp of scholarship, however, that subscribes to the theory that the delay from the Ministry in recognizing his rule led to Cromwell's anti-witch campaign. The truth may never be known.)

As much as the Ministry of Magic attempted to return to the old days following the 1688 accession of William and Mary to the throne, it slowly became clear that something was wrong. Looking back at the memoirs left by the Ministers of Magic between the Glorious Revolution and the death of Queen Victoria, a period of over two hundred years and twenty-two Ministries (including three different Reformations), we see the slow confirmation of the decision of British wizarding society—to turn inward and cut itself off from the Muggle world, but unable to resist looking outward in increasing mystification, inexorably drawn by the accelerating change in the Muggle world. Up until that point, the Muggle world was relatively straightforward—crude, brutal, and childlike in wizarding perception. But suddenly coal and steam drove more changes in the span of ten years than there had been in fifty. While Wizarding society still looked askance at Muggles and Muggleborns, for the first time there was also a subconscious current of fear. It is hard not to imagine the reaction of the first wizard who saw a steam train, and compare it to the reaction of a Muggle who first sees magic.

Throughout all this, the Ministry of Magic clung to the old ways. No less than seven different Ministers of Magic paid their visits to Queen Victoria, who reportedly slowly turned from impatience to amusement as she tried to steer them towards the Prime Minister and other organs of power. It is ironic that the Ministry of Magic had, by its own choices, cut itself off from being able to actually liaise with the Muggle government right as British power reached its height, when Prime Ministers like Benjamin Disraeli and William Gladstone were arguably the most influential men in the world...

...it is not until the the accession of Ottaline Gambol to the post of Minister that the Ministry of Magic changed its approach. Upon the abdication of Edward VIII, Gambol took the for-then revolutionary step of contacting the Prime Minister, Stanley Baldwin, as well as the new monarch, George VI, in belated recognition that the Prime Minister and not the Monarch wielded actual political power. Working in cooperation with Baldwin and then with Neville Chamberlain, Gambol also helped fund the WWN, with cooperation with Muggle specialists from the BBC who were well-paid and memory-wiped—the first ever magical wireless broadcasting system. For her troubles Gambol was recalled in a vote of no confidence in late 1938. She would be remembered as one of the most important and most controversial Ministers of Magic, despite the fact that many of her innovations have since become standard practice.

The following section has been classified Most Secret and has been excised.

---

---

End Most Secret classification.

Postwar Ministries of Magic would never quite achieve the same level of cooperation as the wartime ministry. The reasons for this are many, but they are depressingly familiar...

edited 6th Jun '12 3:28:08 PM by SabresEdge

Charlie Stross's cheerful, optimistic predictions for 2017, part one of three.

Safehouse

Lita served herself as much dead animal flesh and vegetables as would fit her plate, and took it over to her room to eat, munching on an apple on the way there. She spent what felt like the next hour and a bit eating in her room while working on the pseudo-proposal for Mr. Clark. The food wasn't as good as it could have been, but she was too hungry to complain.

Her notebook was halfway full when she realized she was still hungry and went out to get seconds.

Give a man a fish, feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, you can't sell him fish anymore. http://thoughtfulspurts.wordpress.com/

Chessie took the time out of her, wait, she had pretty much all the time in the world! Taking advantage of that, along with a comfy chair, the Pole lounged parallel to the table occasionally refilling her plate in between tossing snacks to Dr. Hoo. Watching Lita was of only cursory importance; the girl would do what she wanted. Much like their boss.

Let God do His work, we will see to ours. Bring in the candles.

Alex wondered as he walked, if maybe he should've stayed back at the observation room. The chances of something happening to Mrs. Barns in the time span between now and when the interrogation would end were pretty minor. But he was already nearly to the room she was staying at anyway, so he figured he'd at least stop in and check. Besides, maybe he could talk to her about Drear. Would be interesting to find out how much she knew about that incident.

Alex wandered up to the door. If there was a guard, Alex would give a quick nod to said guard. Then, he knocked on the door. "Hey, Misses Barns? Thought I'd come check on you" Alex said through the door, then waited for a response.

You are reading this.

Safehouse

"Hey, is Karla still in her office?" Lita asked as she served herself more food, and added a bit of the few available sauces to it to make it taste slightly less like the product of stale bread and poorly cooked meat loving eachother very very much.

edited 11th Jun '12 8:31:02 PM by Faramir

Give a man a fish, feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, you can't sell him fish anymore. http://thoughtfulspurts.wordpress.com/

Staring longingly at the sideboard and the bottle of Johnnie Walker Red Label someone had taken the care to stash in the far back, Czeslawa managed a second for a fleeting nod to Lita, "Ja, der Kommissar noch das Lesen ihrer post."

Let God do His work, we will see to ours. Bring in the candles.

"Okay" She said between bites. It took her a relatively short time to finish her food, especially since she hurried a bit with the owl watching her. Lita had never been too fond of Owls.

She put her plate in the sink and walked over to Karla's office, then knocked on the door.

Give a man a fish, feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, you can't sell him fish anymore. http://thoughtfulspurts.wordpress.com/

"I think now, we watch." Clark said. "I want to see how he does with this."

"Your mission is not to nuke the squid god." —Faramir

RAF Minton

"Okay, I guess" She said, leaning back on her chair and yawning. Dark circles appeared under her eyes as if some make up covering them had spontaneously vanished.

"Never thought he'd be one to pretend to be a wizard with an impromptu core-less faux-wand" Lita muttered stretching a bit. The effects of the invigoration draughts were starting to wear off. She'd have to drink a bit more soon.

edited 16th Jun '12 7:03:10 PM by Faramir

Give a man a fish, feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, you can't sell him fish anymore. http://thoughtfulspurts.wordpress.com/

RAF Minton
It was too subtle for the cameras to capture, but as he made his speech Warren noticed it. There was a manic gleam in Goslen's eyes and a flickering mad hatred that darted across his expression when Warren said the word "magic", before it subsided. This time the camera captured Goslen shaking his head like a man possessed even before Warren finished, muttering something completely unintelligible as his hands fought each other, clanking the handcuffs with their movement.

"BARNES!" he shrieked, his eyes unfocused, apparently not having heard Warren. "Whair is she, tha spawn of the devil? Whair is she? Ye're in league with her—take me tae her!"

It was loud enough for Alex and the guard to hear down the hall.

With that he sprang to his feet and lurched for the door, bumping into Warren but hardly heeding the impact. The policeman was caught by surprise but moved to trip him up; Goslen was not a big man, but with some hidden reserve of strength he swung his shackled wrists at the RAF man's torso with enough force to wind him, then whirled on Warren, howling in rage.

---

England
"Enter," said Karla. She had a half-eaten plate of food and a flask lying on her desk, which was covered with paperwork, and Lita could glimpse her forcibly suppressing her fatigue. "Miss Garza. What is it?"

Charlie Stross's cheerful, optimistic predictions for 2017, part one of three.

Safehouse

"You told me to talk to you about visiting our...'special sources' earlier..." Lita said, feeling like an intruder as she closed the door behind her. "You said you'd brief me, or something?"

RAF Minton

Lita's jaw fell and she covered her mouth with her hands. She grabbed her wand to apparate outside the interrogation room. "Um, suggestions?" She asked Clark, not sure if this man freaking out was part of the plan.

edited 18th Jun '12 5:04:39 PM by Faramir

Give a man a fish, feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, you can't sell him fish anymore. http://thoughtfulspurts.wordpress.com/

Clark didn't take his eyes off the screen. "As expected." He said.

Intervene, or let Warren deal with him and then come in oblivious? Intervene: I act now, I have control. However, it won't accelerate the subject's pacification—Warren can handle that. Cons: The subject might associate me more strongly with wizards, thus limiting the good-cop-bad-cop routine. Warren's move: I am less strongly associated with negative stimuli on the subject's part. Less factors going into the situation and thus less unforseen outcomes.

This all ran through Clark's head in a moment, and he then answered Lita.

"Let him handle this. He can take care of himself."

"Your mission is not to nuke the squid god." —Faramir

"It's not Mr. Peace I'm worried about" She said and grimaced while looking at the screen.

Give a man a fish, feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, you can't sell him fish anymore. http://thoughtfulspurts.wordpress.com/

Alex looked back as he heard the yell, at first thinking it was more of just Goslen's craziness but got a little worried when he heard more angry screaming and some kind of thump. Alex glanced back at the man guarding Barnes' room and quickly said, "stay here" then ran down the hall towards the interrogation room.

If there was a window in the door, Alex would peek in. If there wasn't, he'd just get close and listen intently. Regardless of which, he put one hand on the door handle, in case it looked like he might be needed in there.

You are reading this.

Clark nodded. "Good point—we should try to avoid brutality cases if we're so unlucky that he gets out to the mass media. He lowered his voice so the others in the room couldn't hear him, then addressed Lita. "How do you feel about using a Confundus?"

"Your mission is not to nuke the squid god." —Faramir

"I can apparate in there and cast it on him in less time than it takes to say antidisestablishmentarianism" Lita told Mr. Clark.

Give a man a fish, feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, you can't sell him fish anymore. http://thoughtfulspurts.wordpress.com/

"That's still quite a bit." He said. "Do it, and try to avoid spooking Mr. Peace too badly."

"Your mission is not to nuke the squid god." —Faramir

Lita's eyes grew for a moment and she paled slightly, then she frowned. "If he shoots me, I'm turning him into a penguin"

Lita was about to apparate inside that room when she yawned again, and the dark circles under her eyes darkened.

"Accio ivigoration draught" She muttered, and a bottle flew out of her bag and into her hand. She drank a small sip, she hadn't bought another one and she had less than a quarter left, and felt more awake again. Lita put the bottle on the chair she'd been sitting on before, and dissapparated.

She apparated inside the interrogation room, a little under a meter behind Goslen, who turned toward her with anger and a crazy look on his eye. She aimed her wand at him said "Confundo" before he could do anything, making sure she kept the charm weak to avoid screwing up his mind even more than it already was.

Give a man a fish, feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, you can't sell him fish anymore. http://thoughtfulspurts.wordpress.com/

London
"Yes," Karla said. She took a manila envelope, slippery with magic, tapped it with her wand, and held it out to Lita. "As long as you are liaising with our friends in black and their merry band of marauders, it helps to have an unofficial backchannel open for negotiations. Hand this one off to Mr. Clark; it concerns certain information relating to Transylvania." She smiled, with a faint trace of pride. "Do take care that no one else tries to open it. In that case the contents would be lost."

RAF Minton updates will be coming later, or upon posts from other players as well.

Charlie Stross's cheerful, optimistic predictions for 2017, part one of three.