Fandom A Magically Chance Friendship [Private]

[KokoDragon]

The day started out like any other for Jamie Kross. She woke to the sounds of songbirds outside and the creaking of trees in the wind. The young twenty-one-year-old stretched and went to her kitchen to make her morning cup of tea. Dressed in flannel pajamas and a blanket draped over her shoulders, she padded barefoot over to her kitchen windows to gaze out into the forest surrounding her little stone cottage. A light cover of fog had moved in overnight, obscuring some of the surrounding trees from view. It was mid-autumn, and the most of the trees have lost all their leaves. The whistling of her kettle drew her away from the window.
After her tea was gone, a flick of her wand sent the cup and spoon to the sink, and they started cleaning themselves. Now it was time to get on with her work for the day. Dressed in her typical work clothes of brown leather boots, dark brown trousers, a cream button-up shirt, and brown tweed vest; Jamie headed for the smaller, shed-like building behind her house. Morning dew still covered the grass and made the blades sparkle in the soft glow of morning. Jamie reached the door to the shed and twisted the handle. Soon as she opened the door, the sound of barking, growling, and happy yipping floated out. Strangely enough, none of this could be heard when the door is closed. Several dog-like creatures ran up to greet the woman. A large white terrier jumped up on her, both tails wagging happily. A Neapolitan Mastiff with boar-like tusks came up to the witch, slobbering her all up with kisses.
"Alright, you two! Down!" She laughed and shoved them off her. Another dog-like creature could be seen lounging regally of to the side. It had the head and front legs of a black jackal while the back legs and tail were that of a white tiger with a tuff of black fur on the end. It was called an Arabasti, and she had gotten him all the way from Egypt. Several other canine creatures wandered about the room that was clearly too large to fit in the small shed. Others were in large cages, smaller versions of themselves romping around their legs. Jamie was a breeder of magical creatures, specializing in canines and winged beasts. Her usual customers were those who raised these creatures to compete in competitions and shows. So she kept each and every one in top condition. Jamie quickly went about doing her daily chores of feeding and watering the creatures and letting some out to stretch their legs and exercise while others were put away.
Her winged creatures were in another room with a high vaulted ceiling to allow them room to spread their wings. A small sparrow griffin landed on her shoulder and gave a little chirp. Jamie smiled at the small creature and gently petted its feathered head. Going through the same process, several creatures were let out to get their turn to run around while others were put up to rest. Jamie had a routine, one that never seemed to break from day to day. Some might have found it monotonous, but she found it reassuring always to have some kind of norm in her life. Once all the creatures were taken care of, she headed for the door, giving a sharp whistle and command for her Crup and Arabasti to follow.
Jamie lived right on the boundary of Yellowstone National Park, her home hidden by disillusionment charms from prying No-Maj eyes. So every day she would take a few of her creatures on a walk through the outer boundaries of the park. Rarely anyone strayed from the heavily trodden paths of the park, not wanting to get lost in its vast forest, so Jamie was safe to let her creatures out with little risk. However, today, she had forgotten entirely the small sparrow griffin that had landed on her shoulder and therefore hitched a ride out with her into the forest. Ten minutes into their walk, the tiny griffin suddenly flew off her shoulder and around the heads of her canine companions. Jack, her Crup, growled and barked at the small flying thing before giving chase to it. Jamie called out for the dog to stop, but he was already invested in the hunt. Then her Arabasti, Anubis, also felt the need to chase after Jack and took off. Frantically, the witch took off after the two, hoping to catch them before they reached areas where No-Majes wandered.

 

[rae2nerdy]

Odette grumbled to herself as she peered at the map in her hand. Emily had booked a trip to Yellowstone ages ago as an anniversary present for her husband. Owen had unfortunately gotten a bad case of the flu and had been unable to attend. Emily hadn’t been able to get a refund and had instead decided to do a “virtual” hike and asked Odette to come along.

The two had gotten separated on the trail unfortunately and Odette was left struggling to figure out how to get back on track. She should have known not to tempt fate she had a terrible sense of direction. She should get turned around in her own neighborhood if she didn’t pay close attention. Out in nature where all the trees are the same she was destined to just walk in circles for hours.

As she was just preparing to call Em to see if she could maybe give her a marker to look for she heard a distant commotion. It sounded like barking and she felt a rush of relief. She must be near one of the trails after all if she could hear dogs. She headed off in the direction of the sounds calling out as she went.

“Hey! Hey! Could you give me a---wha??”

She gave startled yelp when something small and feathery slammed into her head and landed quivering in her hair. She didn’t have a chance to flail around too much trying to catch the bird when two dogs arrived. The first one wasn’t so bad, a little wishbone looking critter who was barking his little head off. The snarls and growls got even more pronounced when it saw Odette and charged her. She backpedaled a little with her hands out but was thrown off even further by it’s friend.

She didn’t know what kind of dog it was but it was big. And it had stripes. It didn’t seem quiet as mean as it’s little Wishbone friend but it definitely had her backing up a little faster.

“Hehe hey little buddy. How you doin’?”

She asked nervously as she backed away. The dog snarled and charged causing Odette to panic and scramble backwards until her back hit something hard. She could feel her teeth click as her head hit the barrier hard. The little feathered thing gave a shriek and flew off.

Unfortunately the dogs seemed to have figured out that she was a much more interesting target. The little wishbone dog lunged forward only to be halted by a loud noise.

 

[KokoDragon]

Jamie cursed her luck as she chased after her two rebellious canines. The witch wasn't too worried really about them running into anyone. That is until she heard a human shout come from where she lost sight of the two as they crashed through the brush. Cursing under her breath, Jamie pumped her legs faster and burst through the bushes separating her from the creatures and their new target just as Jack went to lunge at the No-Maj. Giving a sharp, loud whistle was enough to halt him in his tracks.

"Jack! Heel! Now!" The witch barked. Jack growled and kept his eyes trained on the cowering woman he had cornered. "Jaaack! Now!" With a dissatisfied huff, the Crup reluctantly returned to Jamie's side. With another whistle and a gesture to her side, Anubis turned more willingly from the woman and came back to his mistress. Now that she had her canines under control, Jamie turned her attention to the, clearly, No-Maj woman.

"Uh... Sorry about that...." She apologized taking a cautious step closer to the frightened woman. "You're not hurt are you?" That would just be the icing on the cake if the No-Maj had also been hurt by one of her creatures. She was already in deep trouble if she couldn't find that Sparrow Griffin and get it back in her shed. Jamie's applewood wand was very visible in its holster at her hip. Hopefully, the woman would be too frazzled to notice and Jamie could just wipe her memory and send her on her way.

 

[rae2nerdy]

Odette breathed a sigh of relief as Wishbone went back to his mom. The bigger stripey dog seemed to lose interest too and wandered back as well. Odette could feel her heart pounding and she had to fight the urge to burst into really inappropriate giggles.

Of course then she got a clear look at the woman’s outfit and lost the battle. She looked like she was cosplaying as some kind of victorian lord or steampunk character. She even had a holster with a wand of all things. Odette couldn’t help bursting into loud giggles at the sight.

She had seen some pretty dedicated cosplayers in her time but this lady was really going all out for dedication. She wondered if the stripey dog was a part of the costume? Maybe some kind of animal from the world of the book or show the woman was representing? Odette couldn’t think of any animal she had ever read about that fit the description but Victorian Fantasy and Steampunk weren’t really her normal wheelhouse.

Honestly the laughter helped even if it was a little high pitched and made feel like she was gonna pee her pants just a little. A cosplaying dog walker in the middle of Yellowstone. It sounded like the premise of a really weird urban fantasy murder mystery.

“I-I-I’m fine”

Odette finally wheezed as she tried to get her giggles under control.

“W-W-Who are you supposed to be?”

She asked between gasps. It was perhaps not the wisest first question to ask but Odette was nothing if not a card carrying geek. She was genuinely curious on who the strange woman was cosplaying as and why she had painted half her dog in stripes to presumably fit the motif.

 

[KokoDragon]

Jamie could only blink and stare at the woman with a raised eyebrow as she suddenly started giggling uncontrollably. 'Oh no...Did she hit her head too hard? Has she lost her marbles now? How do you fix head trauma again? Is there even a spell for that?' Jamie thought to herself. Jack was still growling lowly at the woman but remained by her side. Anubis had sat on her other side, suddenly disinterested in the whole ordeal now. The witch almost breathed a sigh of relief when the No-Maj managed to say that she was okay.

"Uh... well good." Jamie wasn't sure what the woman meant when she asked who she was supposed to be. She assumed she was asking for her name. "Well, I'm Jamie...?" She found no harm telling the No-Maj her name since she was just going to be Obliviated anyway. Jamie slipped the wand from her holster and held it loosely in hand.

"Now, if you could, just stand still. This will be all over in a jiffy." Jamie raised her wand; a soft green light slowly emitted from the tip as she prepared to cast the spell. Just as she prepared to speak the word that would remove the woman's memory of Jamie and her strange creatures, she spotted her small sparrow griffin flit by. She knew that if she lost sight of it now, she might never find it again. So, taking only half a second to hesitate, she turned her wand away from the No-Maj and took off after the small winged creature.

"Stay right there!" She ordered as she ran off, Jack and Anubis in tow. The small griffin flew through the trees easily while Jamie had to dip and dodge around them. The chase led for several minutes until the witch could get close enough to cast a spell at the creature.

"Carpe Retractum Netus!" With a whipping-like motion, a golden-orange rope of light shot from the tip of her wand straight for the griffin flying just yards ahead of her. As the spell drew close to its intended target, the rope expanded out into a small net and seized the creature. A jerk of her wand brought the sparrow griffin sailing safely back into her possession.

 

[rae2nerdy]

Odette was finally able to get herself under control by the time the dogs’ owner started answering her questions. She didn’t know who Jamie was but given the dedication the cosplayer was showing in keeping in character they seemed like a fun character.

The wand even had some type of light in it and Odette was distracted from the still growling dog by the lighted tip. She wasn’t sure what the cosplayer was doing exactly but it was strange enough to settle her nerves. People being weird about their fandoms was so totally in her wheelhouse that she was willing to go along with whatever spectacle the girl was trying to do.

Then a bird thing appeared and the scene got really for real real. It was kind of hard to tell on a quick look but it had looked like a strange pigeon sparrow thing. With what Odette could have sworn were little hooves and a plumed tail.

Either the wand was making some frankly magical projections or things were starting to get into weird bigfoot territory.

Odette followed woman more or less on autopilot. Partly out of curiosity and partly because she was genuinely lost and didn’t want to lose the one person who might be able to help her find her way back.

She stumbled along behind the rest and managed to arrive just as the woman yelled some type of magical gibberish and made a rope appear. That turned into a net and caught the little bird thing.

Now Odette knew there were some really awesome things you could do with special effects and magician tricks. But she was pretty sure making a rope appear out of nowhere and turn into a net was either actual factual magic. Or so close as to make no difference.

She was still panting slightly from the unexpected run, physical exertion so not being in her wheelhouse, but she still managed a somewhat half-hearted clap.

While her breath came in gasps her mind was racing trying to figure out which variation of shear fangirl rapture to land on. There was that little girl who had grown up with sword wielding badass warrior women and mage children crafting magic in the every day that wanted to swoon and weep. There was the grown woman who reviewed fantasy novels for a living that wanted to do a happy dance at proof that all those imaginary powers were real. And lastly the nerd deep in her heart of hearts just plain wanted to know HOW.

“H-How did y-you do t-that?”

She gasped the nerd deep in her heart a little stronger than both nostalgia and childish glee.

 

[KokoDragon]

Jamie had been frowning down at her small griffin, scolding it quietly, when she heard the No-Maj woman's voice behind her. The witch hadn't even realized that the woman had followed her. Jamie looked up from the creature in her hand turned to face the woman. Jack and Anubis still stood by her side, panting after the quick hunt.

"Hmmm? Well, magic of course." She answered matter of factly. Jamie let the magical rope fade and held her wand loosely at her side. "What to do with her now?... She's seen entirely way too much...." Of course, standard procedure was to Obliviate any magical memories of a No-Majs that had witnessed something they shouldn't, but the No-Maj before her now was obviously lost. Why else would she be this far into the Park?

So by social and moral obligation, Jamie needed to take her back to more familiar trails. Yet she had three magical creatures with her that would need to be put away first so as not to cause even more of a disturbance. Which means the woman would have to either come with her or stay here and wait for Jamie to return. The witch didn't trust the No-Maj to stay put or not tell anyone what she saw using the No-Maj technology she was carrying around. The young woman's brain was scrambling through different scenarios rapidly and the best course of action so far was to bring the woman home with her. Then she could put her creatures away, take the No-Maj back to the main trails and Obliviate her before leaving her. Yes. That sounded like a good plan.

"Alight, No-Maj." Jamie sighed. "Follow me." And she started to trek off into the brush towards home. The witch didn't even check to see if the woman was following her. She just assumed the woman would. Jack had given a low growl as they passed her by, but Jamie just snapped her fingers to silence him.

 

[rae2nerdy]

Odette blinked a little at the abruptness of the other woman. She wasn’t sure what No-Maj was but the woman seemed to think it applied to her. She supposed it must be a shortened version of no magic?

Before she could get lost in an vocabulary void she realized the other woman was walking away and hurried to catch up. She wasn’t going to miss the chance to quizz an honest to goodness magical person. She also didn’t relish the thought of being stuck out in possibly some mirror verse version of nature, she had seen enough sci-fi movies to know that never ended well for the chubby comic relief character.

“Hey wait ! So what kind of magic do you use? It’s academic right? Did you go to university? Or was it an apprenticeship? Are there more like you? Are magicals common ? Can I learn magic? Do the dogs help with your magic? Or the bird thing? Are they magicals too? Are they shapeshifters? Are they familiars? Oh hey um sorry if you can understand me. I don’t mean to be rude.”

The last part of the rapid fire barrage was directed at the large stripey dog. It looked at her briefly before continuing after the magical woman. The wishbone dog growled again and Odette decided it was best not to test it.

“Er...right. Did I do something to offend the little dog? What kind of dog is it? Hey is it’s tail supposed to look like that?”

Odette asked in the middle of another round of questions. She had only just noticed the forked tail on the little dog. She was sidetracked enough by the question that she actually went quiet waiting for a response.

 

[KokoDragon]

Jamie briefly looked over her shoulder at the woman as she shot question after question off. It nearly overwhelmed the witch. Jamie had no idea where to start or if she should even respond. After all, she was a No-Maj and therefore shouldn't even know magic exists. Forget about intricate knowledge of wizarding society. But Jamie also couldn't just be rude to the woman and not speak. Her Auntie raised her better than that and would be rolling in her grave if she knew. 'I suppose it couldn't hurt to answer the woman. She's going to get her memories wiped anyway.'

"Uh... well to answer some of your questions, I did go to school. But it wasn't a university really. More like a boarding school." She began as she led the way towards her home. "I guess I use all sorts of magic. Though I nearly failed Transfiguration and was average at Charms. And unless you're a Muggleborn who just never got her letter, you won't be able to learn magic." They were getting close to Jamie's home. The witch felt the thin veil of magic that surrounded her property to hide it from wandering No-Maj eyes and deter them from wandering farther in.

"Also just ignore, Jack... As a Crup he instinctively doesn't like No-Majs. It's in his breeding. Wizards used them as a No-Maj deterrent for their properties. Anubis is an Arabasti. The breed comes from Egypt. They usually were guards for Egyptian wizards' tombs and property centuries ago." Jamie rambled as she usually did when it came to the subject of magical creatures. "As for the 'bird thing.' She's a Sparrow Griffin. I'm sure you know what a Griffin is. Well, that's just a standard Griffin. There's Giffins of all sorts. Sparrows, eagles, owls, hawks, etc."

A small flagstone path began to take shape beneath their feet slowly. Within a couple of minutes, Jamie's roof came into view with a lazy stream of smoke coming from her chimney. The witch led the way up the stairs and pulled her wand out to unlock the circular door. She allowed Jack and Anubis to enter first, the two canines trotting off towards the back of her home.

"Well....come on in... I just have to put them away..... I guess you can have some tea while you wait. You do like tea don't you? I can have some coffee made instead if that's what you prefer." Jamie waved her wand, and a teacup and kettle came floating up from the kitchen and into the living room. "Just... make yourself at home for now I guess." The witch led her unexpected guest into the living room. It was furnished with earth tones and natural materials. The floors were made of dark cherry wood while the walls were cobblestone. A plush, brown couch sat in front of a warm fire, and green armchairs sat to either side. A coffee table rested in front of the sofa and was made from a slab taken from a fallen tree. Pictures and paintings of magical creatures decorated the walls.

One depicted a family of wolves. The mother lounged contently as two cubs romped and climbed over her. The father sat farther back keeping watch. As Jamie and her guest entered, the cubs stopped playing, and the whole family watched the two women walk by. Another painting showed a hippogriff flying over a forest surrounded lake. Every now and again the creature would land on the green hill in the foreground. The only non-magical pictures in the room were framed and sitting on the mantle above the fire. One showed a freshly graduated Jamie posing with her Auntie for the picture. The two were smiling and the older woman leaned over to place a kiss on the girl's cheek. The second was of a young couple posing for a family portrait with a small baby in between them.

Jamie left her guest behind in the living room and continued out the back door. She figured the woman would stay put until she got her creatures settled. Anubis and Jack were waiting for her and she let them out to head back to the shed. The two canines trotted off to different corners of the room and Jamie headed for the next room to put the Griffin back where she belonged.

 

[rae2nerdy]

Odette wasn’t sure what a muggleborn was, nor transfiguration, but she was familiar enough with charms from books. And the rest of the woman said sounded interesting even if she wasn’t familiar with the terms or the mythology. It was like picking up a new fantasy novel from the library, you knew enough of the genre to pick up certain recurring tropes but you didn’t know enough of the author or their lore to put things in their proper contest.

It was enough to have the critical reader and nerd inside of her salivating over a chance to read a book or just have an in depth conversation on all these new terms. The woman seemed busy though and Odette didn’t want to be too much of a bother.

So she simply followed behind her biting back more questions and trying to organize the information she had been given into what fantasy tropes and knowledge she was familiar with.

The little earthen house was cute and it fit more in with a high fantasy novel than urban fantasy. So it was possible the magical woman and her pets were a part of a totally separate society or world. Or it could be she was just a homestead witch that preferred to be self-sufficient.

The interior was very rustic with many natural touches. It was definitely a type of commune with nature vibe which fit with what little she did know. The woman wasn't good at charm or putting magic into things. She didn’t do transfiguration, which Odette thought might be another name for transmutation possibly. They sounded similar although transmutation was alchemy not magic. But then that could explain why she wasn’t good at it. Maybe she was more into earth or elemental magics. It would make sense. Although none of the books Odette had read said that elementalists went to schools, much less boarding schools. That was definitely more of a classical or academic magic thing.

Charms could also be classical magic and transmutation was academic type magic. So maybe she just had been more an “artsy” witch?

Odette frowned as she thought on it completely missing the moving pictures and offers for tea. It wasn’t until the pictures started making noises that she tuned in and noticed them moving. She blinked in surprise before moving forward in fascination. They looked like live photos from her phone only with audio. They didn’t seem on a loop so she wondered if they were real creatures trapped in the painting or maybe a sort of window to a specific place.

She fought the urge to poke at them and see if she went anywhere.

The creatures inside, a variety of griffins, fluffed their feathers and made weird cooing noises at her before going back to presumably looking for food.

“Are these real? How do you feed them?”

Odette asked peering intently at the painting.

 

[KokoDragon]

Jamie returned to her living room just as the No-Maj woman was asking her a question. The witch raised a brow at how close she was staring at the painting and shook her head.

"Well, they're real paintings.... I so don't need to feed them. Now you can either finish your tea or we can go now." She said sitting herself down on the couch. She fully expected the woman to begin another barrage of questions. She wondered what was going through the woman's mind. Most No-Majs freaked out at the first signs of magic. But this woman didn't seem scared. In fact, she seemed quite eager to know all she could about it. She was quite the strange one. Then again, Jamie was pretty strange herself she guessed.

 

[rae2nerdy]

Odette focused on the woman as she entered the room and offered some beverages. She smiled happily and settled down as well, tea time would be the perfect opportunity to discuss more of her questions. She wished she had her notebook and podcasting equipment. This would be an excellent bonus content episode for several of her podcasts.

“I’d love tea. I’m not fussy over what type although nothing too strong or bitter. It makes my stomach roll.”

She said settling down and fighting the urge to pull out her phone to start recording answers. It was weird and she didn’t even know if the woman knew what a podcast or phone was. As she thought about it she realized the woman also probably didn’t even know her name.

“Shoot I’m sorry I never told you my name either did I? I’m Odette but most people call me Odd or Oddy. I work as a book reviewer and podcaster. Um I do reviews for I guess a radio show only it’s on the computer. I mostly read young adult books but I love fantasy and urban fantasy as well. This whole place is like a real life walking tour through a new book series. I’d love to talk to you more about all of it. Maybe we could do an interview sometime? I know my friend would love to ask you questions too. I mean only if you don’t mind. I imagine you like your privacy and it might not be allowed. That’s a pretty common trope you know - magic and non magic being seperated. But there I go treating your like a literary character not a real person.”

Odette ended her triad with a nervous laugh. She was getting too worked up again and she wished she had that cup of tea so she could cover the awkward silence with a sip.

 

[KokoDragon]

Jamie flicked her wand and the tea kettle came floating into the room followed by a cup. The tea poured itself into a cup and floated over to the woman, Odette.

"Technically, I'm in big trouble already. I should have wiped your memory as soon as you saw me using magic. There's an International Statute of Secrecy that states no No-Maj can know about magic unless they're the parent of a magical child. Truth be told, I only brought you along because I needed to put away Jack and Anubis with the others before taking you back to the trails." Jamie waved her wand again and a second cup of tea poured itself and a bowl of sugar floated in. The witch put multiple spoonfuls of sugar into her tea. Jamie had quite the sweet tooth that became apparent whenever she made her tea.

"Sugar?" She offered testing the taste of her own cup. "And to reintroduce myself, I'm Jamie Kross. I'm actually surprised you're not tramatized by what you've seen. Most No-Majs freak out at the first signs of magic."

 

[rae2nerdy]

Odette was fascinated by the movement of the tea and tea kettle. It was a little like a live action version of Beauty and the Beast, without the random musical number. It was such a casual display of magic too that she was once again dying to know how it all worked. It wasn’t lining up with anything she knew from books, or rather only bits and pieces added up but not the whole.

She idly wondered if that was by design? Was there a secret magic conspiracy to throw the no magics off the scent by distributing conflicting and false narratives on magic? Or was it more of a happy coincidence or the case of people seeing a touch of magic and then just making the rest up as they went along?

The new terms being thrown her way by Jamie didn’t help her curiosity. No-Maj. The Statute of Secrecy. There was so much going on that Odette wanting nothing so much as a stack of notebooks and about a week solid just to ask questions and learn more information.

She politely declined the offered sugar, she preferred to monitor that stuff due to a family history of diabetes. The comment about No-Majs freaking out though definitely got her attention. It was an interesting way of looking at things, one that was a common trope in books.

“Why do you say that? The bit about most No-Majs freaking out? Is it a common thing for mages to use magic in front of non magics? Is it a big crime? Are you going to go to jail? I mean if you need me to I can go full mafia. I didn’t see nuthing, I don’t know nuthin, I didn’t hear nuthin’“

Odette said doing her butchered impression of a Chicago mobster. She quickly tried to cover it up by continuing her thought.

“I mean I’ve met witches before, or at least people that were into wicca or paganism. Some of them did rituals, cast spells, read cards, stuff like that. I never got into it too much, I’m too scatterbrained and I would spook myself by being convinced I’d do it wrong and summon some demonic death god.”

Odette couldn’t help pausing for a bit of a self deprecating laugh. She had always felt a little silly for her worry. But she was definitely more of a reader than a doer, and if the floating teapot was any indication she was probably better off keeping it that way.

“Even outside of the pagan circles there are all kinds of sci-fi and fantasy nerds out there that would probably embrace your abilities as just live action representations of stuff from their favorite fandoms. That said probably smart not to go babbling it to everyone. There is enough bigotry in the world over gender, race, and social class. I can only imagine how bad it would get with magic thrown into the mix.”

Odette finished her long monologue with a grimace and a sigh. It was a bummer of a thought but certainly true. There was a reason isolation between humans and “others” was such a common trope. Humans could be raging bigoted dickbags to anything that was different. She’d like to think that most of society would embrace magic in the same way she would. But the sad fact is probably a not small portion would go full angry townsfolk wielding pitchforks.

 

[KokoDragon]

Jamie gave Odette a tight-lipped smile and took a sip of her tea.
"I'm sure you've heard of the Salem Witch Trials. Since then American wizards have tried cutting themselves completely from No-Majs. I think it's also what prompted the Statute of Secrecy." Jamie recalled the stories told in History of Magic about that time. She couldn't imagine being actively hunted by everyone. It was the wizarding version of the No-Majs' zombie apocalypse. But the threat to the wizarding world can become very real if they were discovered.

"A person can be smart and reasonable. People are dumb, panicky animals that rally into mobs when something they don't understand is presented to them. Wizards and witches can be the same way. I mean it's only been about twenty years since the last war in Europe." Jamie commented off handily trying to remember what she could about the war from what Auntie told her.

"And those No-Majs that call themselves witches are nowhere near what actual witches are like. We don't all go around reading people's fortune through cards or performing rituals." The real witch rolled her eyes. She had heard a bit about the so-called No-Maj "witches". They seemed a bit ridiculous to her, but if that's what No-Majs wanted to consider magic then she'd let them. "I for one was terrible at Divination my first year and didn't take it after that. It's honestly only for those who have a natural inclination for it. I for one preferred Potions, Herbology, and Magical Creatures. Probably why I became a breeder." Jamie had a terrible habit of saying more than she should. If someone from the MACUSA came right now and saw her having tea with a No-Maj and spilling a bunch of information, no doubt she would be hauled off to the magic sub-levels of Alcatraz. Deciding that she should return the women back to the trails soon, Jamie set her cup down and pulled out her wand.

"Now, I really should be wiping your memory and returning you to the main trails now." Jamie didn't worry too much about the moving pictures on her walls since the effects of the Obliviate spell will cause her some confusion and disorientation at first. Just long enough to get her out of the house and on her way back to the trails.

 

[rae2nerdy]

Odette listened to Jamie’s responses with a growing air of confusion. The part about mob mentality made a certain degree of sense but the Salem comment came totally out of left field. What did religious persecution and historical misogyny have to do with floating teacups?


The dismissal of paganism was even more puzzling than the mention of Salem. How could someone with real magic discount mysticism so blatantly? But maybe Odette was missing something, perhaps it was an academic vs. ambient debate.


But Jamie’s final comment blasted through her confusion and had her sitting up in shock.


“Whoa whoa whoa whoa. Now wait a minute you can’t just take away my memories. That’s unethical, abusive, and just plain wrong. That’s like if I broke your wand for no reason. I haven’t done anything to you that was threatening or belligerent. You don’t get to mess with my mind just because, what? I saw your dogs and I wasn't supposed to? That’s not my fault. And you're the one who took me to your house. That was your choice. I mean it wouldn’t have been okay if you messed with my mind on the trails and just abandoned me but it’s not okay to do it now either.”


As Odette spoke she rose outraged from her seat. Her hands started to shake and she could feel her chest rising rapidly and her throat closing up. The blurring of her vision meant that tears were fast approaching but she refused to show weakness. If this woman was going to take her mind away than Odette was going to do her best to fight back.


“If this is your so called real magic than you can keep it. Paganism might be silly nonsense to you but the people who practice it don’t hurt anyone. They don’t go around trying to take people’s minds away just because they happened to say too much. It’s not my fault you made a mistake and I am not about to let you take my mind away to fix it. No I’ll find my own way back to the damn trails thank you v-ve-very much.”


By the time she reached the end of her triad Odette was properly crying. She still got to her feet and stormed to the door. If the woman was going to hit her in the back like a coward than she could go ahead and do so. Odette was going away and she was going to find her way back into civilization if she had to wait until the middle of the night and try to use the stars to guide her way home.


She couldn’t even process which was worst. The fear that the woman would attack her and there would be nothing Odette could do to stop her. The anger that the woman thought it was okay to attack someone just because they didn’t have magic. Or the disappointment that the wonderful whimsical bit of magic she had found in the real world had turned out to be so tainted.


She stumbled to the door and tried to open it. Her vision blurred as the tears came hard and fast. Desperately she tried to control herself. If it came down to a fight she was going to have to be able to move and move fast. She didn’t know if running would help but she was going to give it her best shot. She wasn’t going to get erased so easily.

 

[KokoDragon]

Jamie blinked in surprise as Odette suddenly stood and started going on a tirade. When the witch saw tears she started to panic internally. Oh no. Not tears. Please don't cry. She begged. Jamie had never been the best with comforting others, so tears made her more than uncomfortable. And what was she even supposed to do? This wasn't exactly the kind of situation you are ever warned about in school. When the woman headed for the door, tears in her eyes and clearly distressed, Jamie jumped to her feet and followed.

"Oh no! Please don't cry! It's not like I want to wipe your memories!" Jamie tried explaining as she held up her hands in a non-threating manner in an attempt to calm the woman down as she tried opening Jamie's front door. "MACUSA have laws and procedures when it comes to No-Majs finding out about magic. I mean I could let you go without wiping those memories.... But I might get in trouble...." The witch frowned thinking the worst case scenario. She lets Odette go without Obliviating her, she tells people about her experience, someone from MACUSA hears about it, they arrest her, and her creatures would be confiscated.

"Oh dear...." She muttered to herself. She looked up at Odette with a troubled expression. "Look, you seem like a very nice person, but how do I know you won't tell anyone about what you saw. If I get in trouble, they'll take my creatures away and then where would they end up? Oh gosh, please don't cry. I'd rather you yell at me than cry." Suddenly there was a chime comming from her pocket watch. Checking the face, Jamie cursed when she saw the message: Client arrives in ten minutes. The witch had forgotten about the clients coming to look at her creatures. What was she going to do now? She had a crying, upset No-Maj in her house and clients on their way soon.

"Hey, alright. I won't Obliviate you. Alright? But I really need you to either hide upstairs or act like this isn't all new to you fast. I have clients coming and they cannot know you are a No-Maj."