October 31, 12:00 PM
Outside the Three Broomsticks


Maiko’s weekends were busy—she had been filling them up by meeting old friends, focusing on a relationship with a certain tailor, and of course, grocery shopping. She was looking forward to chaperoning for the dance in the evening, and she already had her costume in her office, begging to be worn. She didn’t think many of the students would understand her costume, but she was sure that some of the muggleborn ones would appreciate it. In both hands, the counselor carried a bag of groceries, many of which were necessary for her to continue cooking as constantly as she did.

It didn’t take long for her to pass the Three Broomsticks--stopping there was not on her list of things to do, especially not while she had bags of groceries with her. However, she couldn’t help but notice a familiar face; Atash Hendurabi, the Spellworks professor, was leaving with a rather beautiful young blond woman. The woman didn’t look to be much older than Maiko, and where Atash was dark and handsome, the woman was fair and lovely. It was a nice contrast.

“Good afternoon.” She greeted, attempting to wave at the pair that resulted in her merely shaking a bag of fruit at them. Mai let out a low whistle as she got a closer look at Raizel’s features-- dark eyes, blond hair, high cheekbones, and light skin that looked prone to burning. “Wow, she’s gorgeous.” Maiko said honestly, “She looks a bit young for you, though.” Her green eyes sparkled mischievously-- Maiko loved teasing others, and Atash seemed especially fun to tease. He appeared to be so  uptight and proper that the counselor simply could not resist.

While a quiet conversation in a foreign language might garner some attention, the presence of the TetraWizard Tournament delegations meant that the locals were quickly growing to accept it as usual.  At least Atash had been relatively confident that no one else present would understand Farsi, which meant that he felt comfortable conducting the conversation in a public location.

Most of the discussion had been relatively predictable.  He had known what path Raizel Cohen had been walking since the death of her brother nearly a year before.  It had only been the name behind the request that had surprised him.  Several years had passed since he'd last encountered Dreogan Eleor, and neither of their meetings had come under the most friendly of circumstances; the fact that the other mage was willing to ask him for help at all was immediately cause for suspicion.

Raizel had been guarded -- she had not shared much beyond passing on the request -- but there were other clues that he could piece together on his own.  Raizel's certainty of her friend's predicament, Atash's own encounters with the former professor, and what he knew of the other mage's opinions on sharing knowledge that he gained through dreams and divination. The Iranian mage had not asked what had triggered this sudden desperation, but he could form his own conclusions.  The Jewish Seer had been skirting dangerously close to tragedy for long before Atash had ever encountered him.  Such stories had one inevitable ending.

The lone issue with meeting at the Three Broomsticks was the chance that he might encounter one of his new colleagues.  Maiko's voice had rung out just as they were leaving the pub.  Atash turned partway, barely keeping himself from reacting to the words.  He glanced at Raizel, who was quickly rubbing at her eyes, her posture immediately shifting from visibly upset to bristling.  The Israeli mage did not hide her emotions well in the best of times, and he had seen before how she responded to aggressive propositions.  He was going to need to head this off.

He gave Raizel a quick, sharp look and then turned to face Maiko, giving the witch a polite, friendly smile as she approached.  "Thank you for expressing your concern," he said mildly.  "I will certainly take the sentiment to heart.  Negaran nabashid," he murmured to the blonde woman, who looked like she was still readying herself to bite off someone's head. 

The Cursebreaker demurred, but only slightly; she was still eyeing Maiko as if she were a snake ready to strike.  Atash bit back a sigh, and then raised his eyebrows at the Israeli, quietly clearing his throat.

"Miss Cohen, may I introduce Maiko Biladeau-Yukawa?" he asked politely.  "Miss Biladeau-Yukawa works as the Hogwarts school counselor, and she has been kind enough to act as a host for me since I arrived here in Scotland.  Miss Biladeau-Yukawa, this is Miss Raizel Cohen.  A friend," he added, simply and without emphasis, "who is also presently working in the United Kingdom.  I invited her to catch up over lunch."   

There was no question that Raizel Cohen was not happy.  She was not happy about coming to Scotland, she was not happy about the prior conversation, and she was not happy about being verbally assaulted on her way out.  Years of traveling and working with less than civilized individuals had not softened her opinion that there was nothing more demeaning than being judged on her appearance.  If a man had approached her and made the same statement, she would have been hard-pressed not to drive a fist into his stomach.

The fact that a woman was accosting her did not make the comment any easier to swallow, but it was clear from Atash's sharp look that he intended for her to absorb the assault.  Raizel gave the mage an unhappy look, her nostrils flaring as she huffed out a breath, and then turned a suspicious eye on the other woman.  Scowling, she attempted to visibly gather herself.  If not immediately biting someone's head off was the price for the agreed-upon assistance, than she would swallow her pride and play nicely.  She was not going to be responsible for the Iranian changing his mind.

"It is good to meet you," she said to Maiko sourly.  In comparison with the Durmstrang professor's more smooth, fluid accent, her English consonants were much more harsh, each word crisply enunciated, and nothing about her body language or tone seemed to agree with her words.  "Hogwarts sounds very…nice, from what Atash has said."

Upon closer observation, it didn’t take a genius to figure out that Raizel was on edge. Maiko very noticeably took a step back and nodded slightly towards Raizel, silently respecting her need for personal space. It was a natural action, an immediate reaction to Raizel’s rather abrasive body language and bitter tone. She looked at Atash suspiciously, wondering what in the world he did to this woman to make her so upset. Of course, she was willing to accept the fact that her words could have been viewed as rude and offensive; many women did not like to be objectified, and Raizel was no exception.

“It’s nice to meet you.” She said gently yet firmly, eyes moving carefully from the female mage to the male one. “You don’t need to be polite, if you’re mad at me, be mad.” Maiko shot Atash an almost harsh look that contrasted her usual cheery countenance—she did not like that he had reined her in. In a way, Mai didn’t feel like he had any right to dictate how this woman should and should not react to certain situations. Obviously, the two had some sort of relationship where Raizel was forced to be polite, even though she obviously did not want to be.

“Hogwarts is okay.” Mai raised her eyebrows, “There are good parts about it, mais…” She shrugged, her body language clearly said "There are bad parts about it as well.” She prided herself on her honesty; though she respected Hogwarts as a school, she was not blind to it’s faults. The heavy turnover rate of the staff should have been the first clue. “I ‘ope that M. Hendurabi ‘asn’t tried to ‘ide any of the school’s obvious flaws. There are good parts, oui. Mais, we shouldn't ignore any weaknesses.”

The witch's response did not make her feel better, per se, but at least it liberated her to glare more freely at the other mage.  Raizel aimed another nasty look at Atash, who blinked and then raised one hand in surrender.

"I am not mad; I am annoyed," she said irritably, fluttering a hand for emphasis.  She gave Atash one last scowl for good measure, and then gave the counselor a prickly look.  She was young -- not the sort to be judging anyone else on their age, she decided sourly.  Her accent clearly wasn't English.  The sprinkling of French words made it harder to follow along; between the dropped letters and the linguistic integration, Raizel found herself having to focus to understand what she was saying.

Something about Hogwarts.  They hadn't really talked about the school much, save when she'd inquired how Atash was doing -- but she had been distracted, anticipating what was coming, and she hadn't really paid attention to his response.  Yes, there were good parts.  Yes, there were probably flaws too.  Raizel didn't care so much about this foreign school in a foreign country.  It wasn't as if she were planning to live here.

Atash looked entirely unfazed at his emerging role as the appointed scapegoat for the conversation.  He arched an eyebrow at the counselor's statement, and then cleared his throat.

"It would not be courteous to note any such flaws when I am here as a guest," he put in politely.  "I would never speak so poorly of a host."

Raizel snorted, though the look that she shot the mage was much less annoyed than it had been a moment ago.  "He wouldn't," she informed Maiko matter-of-factly, crossing her arms tightly against her chest.  "But it does not matter.  We did not talk about it for very long."

Maiko was grateful that Raizel clarified that she was annoyed, and nodded in acknowledgement, though she said nothing. No words needed to be said. She annoyed the female mage, end of story.  Any verbal apology at this point had a chance of coming across as condescending, so a silent acknowledgement had to do.  She vaguely noticed that the other woman’s right hand was missing the ring and pinky finger. Any curiosity that Maiko had was fleeting—she didn’t care about the reasoning behind the missing digits if she didn’t think she’d be able to get the answer today. It wasn’t any of her business, and it was probably a topic she would never approach unless the other woman brought it up first. Unless they were having some sort of cheesy heart-to-heart—but it was doubtful that would ever happen.

“I ‘ope you didn’t talk about it for too long, it’d be boring.”  Her wrists were beginning to get sore from carrying the groceries, though she didn’t know how much of it was from carrying the groceries for so long, or how much of it was from the general joint inflammation she occasionally felt. She gave Atash a curious look when he interjected. There was something off about him—it seemed like he was constantly on guard, and part of it was starting to annoy Mai. He seemed too fake, like he was hiding something. “I’m sure you’re right.” She commented, glancing at Raizel before looking at Atash out of the corner of her eye suspiciously. She wanted so badly to tell him to knock it off, to be a rude jackass for once.

“Is ‘e always like this?” Maiko motioned to Atash in an almost exasperated manner. “I mean, is ‘e always so…” She tried to think of the right word, “Irritatingly polite?” Oh, she still enjoyed Atash's company, but the way he tried to rein Raizel in had caused Mai to look at him in a different, not-quite-so-positive light. She knew that she'd get over it in a minute or two, but until then everything that he did would annoy her-- especially if it didn't seem genuine.

This felt far too much like his rare visits home to see his extended family.  Atash would have sighed if he'd thought that it would make any difference; as it was, he simply remained silent, eyebrows raised, patiently riding the wave of animosity out.  He couldn't have explained why Miss Biladeau-Yukawa was suddenly glaring at him -- with the Israeli, he was far more used to accepting the random swings in temperament as normal behavior -- but then, it was obviously some sort of show of feminine unity, and he was apparently providing the handy impetus for the two women to unite.

If it hadn't gone any farther, he would have simply ignored it, or bid them both farewell and started back for the school.  The previous conversation had given him plenty to mull over.  If he was going to be drawn into some sort of mess involving Dreogan Eleor and his comrades, then he was certainly going to do his homework on the other mage before he listened to any propositions. 

But Maiko apparently decided to push her luck a bit farther.  The third person reference to him might as well have been waving a red flag in front of the unhappy Cursebreaker.  Predictably, she bristled, and this time, Atash did sigh.

"That isn't --" he started to say, before Raizel, completely ignoring him, cut in sharply.

"Irritatingly polite?"  The Israeli glowered at the other woman.  Silently, Atash directed his gaze upwards.  This was going to require a trial of patience.  "No.  It is not irritating," she went on angrily.  "That is not very polite of you either, saying that.  Why would you be annoyed that someone is being polite to you?  I was annoyed because you talked about how I looked instead of making an introduction!" she added fiercely, now gesturing animatedly with her hands for emphasis.  "If you had been polite then, I wouldn't have minded so much!"

She let out a soft sigh and allowed her shoulders to slump forward in surrender. She set her groceries down for just a few seconds to give her wrists the tiniest break, before picking them back up again. Mai looked up and stared Raizel directly in the eyes. “I’m sorry.” She said simply, genuinely. She glanced at Atash, “There was something off about M. Henderabi’s politeness—it was a gut feeling. I shouldn’t ‘ave reacted that way. There’s no excuse for it.  I apologize.” Raizel obviously was looking for any reason to attack, and Mai didn’t really mind being the object of which she focused her hostility. There had to have been a reason the other woman was so worked up—part of it could have been due to personality, but Mai was sure that wasn’t the only factor.

Maiko stared at Raizel almost curiously, and she decided that despite her hostility and abrasive manner, she liked her. She may have had a bit of a difficult time managing her anger, frustration, or whatever it was—and she seemed prone to overreacting, but it was refreshing compared to the reserved, passive people she often saw every day. It wasn’t always encouraged to express any sort of emotion that could be perceived as negative. Where Atash was reserved and seemingly had to be in control, Raizel wasn’t afraid to let people know when she was upset. Although Mai didn’t realize it, the curious look she had been giving Raizel had turned into a silent approval.

“Thank you for speaking up.” Mai said genuinely, “I appreciate it.” She wasn’t sure if she should stay or go—Mai didn’t want to leave on completely horrid terms with Raizel, but she didn’t want to push the cursebreaker further.  On another day, it may have been fun to see how angry she could make Rai, but she wasn’t up for it at the moment.

It was nearly impossible to stay angry in the face of an apology.  Raizel gave a quiet huff, still scowling, but the indignant edge to her stance lessened.  She shot an annoyed look at the Iranian, who was a second too slow at hiding the faint amusement that showed through his normally placid expression.

"I am not the one that you should apologize to," she said stiffly.  "And I am just saying."

Atash looked as though he were enjoying the exchange far more than he had a right to, and if the Cursebreaker were any judge, he was doing a purposely poor job of not showing it.  Raizel eyed him darkly for a moment, considering what awful reactions she could launch in her ire, and then finally sighed.  Shooting a self-conscious glance at the counselor, she fell back a step towards the other mage.

"Kheili mamnoon," she murmured, putting a hand briefly to his arm.  "And it was nice to meet you," she added in much more sullen English to Maiko, tossing her hair back over her shoulder.  "But I should go soon.  I have to meet a friend tonight."  She paused, looking between the two crossly.  "Do either of you know where to find the Hogsmeade divination shop?"

Raizel had settled down, but it only made it apparent that there was something that was deeply disturbing to the cursebreaker. She gave Atash a polite nod and apologized quietly and quickly, not wanting to dwell too much on feeling sorry about past events. It was already all behind her, and although it had happened mere seconds ago, it was a part of her history. Recent history, yes, but history nevertheless. Mai felt like Atash wasn’t too offended—he didn’t seem like the easily offended type, she also trusted that if she did something that was particularly atrocious, he had enough backbone to speak up about it instead of allowing others to walk all over him.

Then, the blonde mentioned the Hogsmeade divination shop.

She raised her eyebrows at Raizel inquisitively. “I know where it is.” Mai said softly, yet hesitantly. “One of my closer friends owns it.” She paused for a few seconds, and her muscles stiffened up visibly. She wanted to talk to a friend tonight—she also needed to go to a divination shop, and there was some urgency. It seemed that the friend and the divination shop were somehow related with the way she brought it up…

“Divination is…” Mai’s eyebrows furrowed together in concern, “It’s not as foolproof as people want it to be. The answers can be so vague that you only see what you want to see, or what you expect to see.” She shook her head, “There are an infinite amount of possibilities for the future, you cannot rely on divination alone.”

Raizel immediately regretted asking for directions at all.  Atash's gaze was fixed on her, silent and appraising, and now this new witch was staring at her too.  What was with these people?  Lifting her chin, she tossed her hair back over her shoulder, doing her best to look for all the world like she didn't care about being the center of attention.

"I don't rely on it," she said pointedly, giving Maiko a haughty look.  "If I did, why would I need to ask where the shop is?  I know it isn't foolproof."

But still -- ...the twisting feeling that had been lingering in her stomach since mid-June was now back in full force.  Raizel eyed the woman suspiciously, as if trying to take her measure.  Of all the people she'd ever met, Dreogan Eleor clearly had the most experience with Seers and divination, and the other mage insisted that his visions were foolproof.  He was so desperately certain that the dreams he'd had would come true.  Any sort of information to the contrary -- any sort of hope that he might be wrong, as unlikely as it seemed -- was something that they might cling to.

"That is not very polite to say about your friend's store, anyway," she added warily.  "Why don't you want her to get business?  I don't rely on divination, but a lot of people do.  That new Minister, for one."  She'd seen that first hand when she'd encountered Persepolis Zephyr the day before.

Mai shook her head, “He and I have similar opinions when it comes to divination.” She replied simply. “He gets plenty of business.” She waved her hand as if suggesting that it really wasn’t that important. “I feel like divination causes people to act in ways they wouldn’t normally do.” The counselor said softly, looking at Raizel with slight concern. “It can cause people to partake in more risky behaviors, simply because they believe that the future they think they saw, would happen.” She looked around and lowered her voice. She took a couple steps closer to the mages, wanting to make sure that others would not overhear.

“If a seer ‘as a vision, what she—or ‘e—sees is something that is very likely to ‘appen.” She said, “But it’s something that is likely to ‘appen depending on the choices that the people involved in the vision are making.” Mai bit her bottom lip, as if unsure if she should go on. “The way I see it, visions that seers  ‘ave are of the most likely future at that point in time.” She looked around, “If we discuss this further, I would rather speak in private.” She was a seer, and although she didn’t hide it, she didn’t announce it either. Mai also felt like announcing it in a very public area could possibly lead to people asking her to forsee things for them; something that she did not want to do unless the circumstances were grave. 

This conversation was not going in a way that the Cursebreaker was comfortable with.  The line of her jaw was tense as she eyed the other witch.  Everything she was saying -- acting in ways that they normally wouldn't, a rise in risky behaviors -- she could see coming to pass.  Her memory of how tense Adon had been back in June, how close he had seemed to boiling over underneath the surface, was impossible to banish.  Even now, he still had an edge, as if he might get desperate enough to decide that trying to live didn't matter.  She could see that same hint of desperation in Dreogan, too.

Part of her wanted to ask more, to question how this woman thought she knew so much.  Dreogan was by far the most knowledgeable Seer that she knew, and everything that the counselor was saying was in direct contrast with what her friend's brother believed.  They weren't sure if the visions were the most likely future or the only future; Dreogan was trying to determine how much they could change.  Everything he said implied that Adon's fate was inescapable; that it was only minute details that would vary, that her friend would still die.

But talking about it here -- with this strange woman, with Atash standing there, when Raizel had promised Dreogan that she wouldn't even hint at details that were not hers to share -- she couldn't do it.  Accepting an offer to speak in private would have been admitting too much.  And so she snorted, averting her gaze so that she did not look at either of them, and gave a bold laugh.

"That is very nice," she told Maiko with a slight smirk.  "But I am just going there to get some things for a costume for tonight.  Do you know what the prices are like?  If you know the owner, then you can tell him to give me a discount."

"You might try to ask, but it's not quite the same as negotiating in a souk."  Atash's voice was as mild as ever, but Raizel still gave a start when the mage spoke up; she'd nearly forgotten he was there.  Startled, she glanced at him.  He was still smiling slightly, but his dark eyes were fixed on Maiko now, and there was some sort of edge behind his gaze.

"You seem to know a little bit about the subject, Miss Biladeau-Yukawa."  Eyebrows raised, he gave her a politely inquisitive look.  "I did not realize.  Does divination come up often in counseling?"

A Halloween costume seemed unlikely, but she didn’t want to push Raizel into saying anything. It was futile, and knowing might cause more  harm than good. The set of the other woman’s jaw showed that Mai’s words were getting her too close for comfort—and Maiko didn’t want to push Raizel any more than necessary. If it came to matters of the future, it was not any of her business. “I published a paper if you want me to send it to you.” She said softly. “There are many factors involved, but understanding people may be among the most important if you want to figure out the future.” Maiko looked down and brushed her bangs out of her face. When Atash spoke, she looked up at him slowly.

Something was different. Why was the subject of divination so heavy for these people? Mai gave Atash a weak smile and shook her head,  “I excelled at Divination when I was in school.” She replied, “But I never use it.” She took a breath and stood up straight. “Although I am a seer, I believe that people ‘ave control over their own lives. It all comes down to choice.” She looked at Raizel through the corner of her eye before looking back at the Iranian mage, “There is a reason why many prophecies never come true. We rarely account for peoples’ ability to change the course of their own lives.”

She looked at the mage directly in the eyes. “I will not do readings for anybody. Their potential futures are not my concern. Seeking it out will do nothing. Yes, there are some times where I will ‘ave visions that can be ‘elpful, but I learn nothing about people through visions. Being a seer is essentially useless to me, I care about it as much as I care about the length of my index finger.” Mai spoke with a stubborn certainty, there was no smile in her eyes—there were many things she did not joke about, and this was one of them.

Atash watched her, his gaze wary, his expression growing ever the more carefully guarded as he listened to the witch's words.  Beside him, Raizel was shifting uncomfortably -- if she had come here on business for Dreogan Eleor, and if he was correct in supposing what had triggered it, then he could guess what might make her uneasy about those words.

For him, though, they decided it.  He had affirmed long ago what his thoughts were on Fate.  And this conversation -- the revelation that the Hogwarts counselor was a Seer -- decided other things, too.  He had no interest in getting involved here.  He would stay more carefully behind his guard.

"Then I am sorry," he began in a even, noncommittal tone, "that you do not get more use out of your gift, Counselor.  Perhaps someday that will change."

He had learned all that he wanted from this conversation.  Whatever caused Maiko Biladeau-Yukawa's visions, he had no desire of being close enough to trigger one.  With a frown, he glanced at the sun to check the time -- the easy, automatic excuse for a swift departure -- and then gave a sigh as he looked back at both women.

He gave Raizel a faint, warm smile, meeting her gaze briefly.  "I trust that next time you join me for lunch, we can discuss something more pleasant," he said, the barest hint of wryness creeping into his voice.  "We'll talk again soon."  He paused, his gaze shifting to the other woman as he gave a polite smile.  "And I'm certain that I'll see you at Hogwarts tonight, Miss Biladeau-Yukawa.  Enjoy your afternoon," he added graciously, adjusting his black cloak around his shoulders as he turned and began the long walk back towards the school.