Apple Pie and Schnitzel

Lee laughed when she brightened at the subject of chess and poker. "Good," he said. "I like a well fought challenge. I'm looking forward to it."

"As for where we have you stay, I think a safehouse would be a good solution. I have access to several in London that are all staffed either with Robert's people or my own or a combination of the two. They're secure buildings with dark arts prohibition spells on them, and you'll be safe there. I'll give you a portkey to your apartment, and you can get into and out of it without being seen. We can do that today if you like.

"However, we also need to get your magical signature scrambled so that you are not easily traced by your enemies. Otherwise, you can be easily traced every time you cast a spell. Leave that to me."

That meant he would have to have one of his agents on the ground in Germany to infiltrate the ministry there and alter Christy's magical signature so that it was not traceable. At least not for awhile.

"And then I'll get in touch with Brian and with the Lupins. That will be a good starting point, I think." He drew out a ring of keys and looked through them, thinking of where it would be best to put her for now. "Here," he said, removing one particular key.

"The portkey and the key are in the same key," he told her very quietly. It looked like a simple copper colored key. "It's simple but effective. To operate the portkey, turn the head of the key around backwards. That activates the porting spell. It will return to normal when you reach your apartment. To unlock your door, don't use the blade in the lock. Turn the key around backwards and use the head of the key in the lock."

He handed her the key. "Make sense?"

Christy took in a deep breath and slowly let it out before tucking a stray curl behind her ear. This was a lot of information for her to take in and it was happening faster than she had expected it to in all honesty. She had known most of these things needed to be done, but she had expected she would have had to do them all on her own. She was at least grateful that she did have someone on her side now. Someone that could help her become the person that she needed to be. The person her father wanted her to become.

“And I take it that it would also be in my best interest for me not to go and collect my own things correct?” She knew the second that she took the key from Lee that there really would be no going back. She would be on the path to where she wanted to be. At least where she had been told her entire life and prepared to be. She had to wonder if she was really ready to take this step. You really have no other choice. she thought to herself. After all, you need the help and he is offering to finish grooming you for this and more. It would be very unwise to turn this down after all this time preparing for this role in life.

Christy took the key from Lee, “It seems simple enough to me.” She replied. “Although I do have to ask Mr. Shepherd why are you so keen on helping me? Many people would see someone in my position and think it a fine time to take advantage of a young inexperienced woman, but not you. At least not that I can see yet.” She did have to wonder why he was wanting to help her. Of course there was always the possibility that it was from his friendship with her father. She knew that he could have also been after his own means to get certain things accomplished in Germany, but she had hoped at the most that his offer was genuine.

"Well," he said, "Seeing as you got here well enough on your own, you should be able to get here to get your things and get to your new apartment. Being reclusive isn't healthy for anyone, but do watch your back."

When she asked why he was helping he smiled. It was a reasonable question. He took a sip of his coffee.

"In my position, I could choose easily to take advantage of you. Then again, you have most everyone else around you trying to do that. No point in me jumping on board with more of what you've already got unless I'm prepared to do it better. But that defeats my own agenda.

"Here's what I do. I protect my people. I do the best I can do make wise decisions for them that will keep them and their families safe and happy for years to come. Whatever that means. If it means spending hours over national budgets, then I do it. If I spend days locked in meetings, then so be it. But--that also means I have to be willing to lay down my life, if it comes to it, to protect my country. Its just the job.

"America and England and Germany have had a long history of being aligned. Aside from the fact that I'm just plain not interested in taking advantage of you, you might be surprised to know that even though I'm American, I did go to Hogwarts. I am a Gryffindor through and through, and I suppose I live and die by those greater good ideals.

"Right now, the greater good calls for us to do the right thing. And that seems to me to be not allowing murderers to run your country for the long term and doing our best to put things right.

"You haven't considered, have you, that if I am basically the Minister of Magic for America, what am I doing in England? When you can answer that, you'll know how I can help you and not take advantage of you," he smiled. He needed to ensure that Robert was able to clean up the British ministry. Lee needed to know that there was an England to have an alliance with, and he had the same situation facing him with Germany. Robert needed his help, and so did she. It seemed to Lee that the best course of action was for them to work together.

She knew better than any one that being a recluse wasn’t the best idea for your health, and at this point Christabelle had slowly started to become one. It had been the main reason she had gone out of Godric’s flat today. She had always been someone who could not stand being cooped up in one place for extended periods of time. She was used to being able to go wherever she wanted pretty much whenever she wanted.

As she listened to his explanation, she could tell that what he had said made perfect, logical sense. There were plenty of people in the world that would have loved to take advantage of the young Mistress of Magic who had just celebrated her twenty-fifth birthday. Her inexperience alone would have been reason enough for people to take advantage of her…or at least try to take advantage of her. One thing that she had been taught very early on was to always anticipate your opponent’s next move.

She knew the risks involved with her position. She would always be at risk for being killed by someone who hoped that they could take the power from her and use it to further their own means. In all honesty it had actually disgusted her a bit. Not that Christabelle wasn’t one to want to further her own means, but she realized that she had to worry about the good of an entire wizarding nation before she could worry about herself.

Christy found it rather amusing that Lee had also attended Hogwarts. The only difference was, was that she had finished Hogwarts in a different house. “Then we have something in common.” She replied with a small smile. “Although I was only in Hogwarts for my seventh year versus my entire educational career. I was sorted into Ravenclaw. I’ve always prided myself on being a quick study in things.

“I understand that I have a long road ahead of me. Like I’ve said before, I had always hoped that I would have more time to fully understand my role and be able to do the best job that I can; it’s just no longer an option for me.” She paused thoughtfully for a moment as he spoke again. Of course she had considered why Lee Shepherd was in Britain. She would have been foolish not to wonder. It helped her at the same time that she had one of the people she needed to have her back here in such a time as this.

“Honestly, I had figured that you were here on business for your own country. Or to quell any unhappy citizens here. I was at the Ministry the day of the riot, there aren’t very many happy witches and wizards here right now from what I’ve seen. My guess would be that Robert Lupin needs your help in a great many things at this moment in time.”

"Well, you would be partly right," he said. "I know there were people at the times of the riot that were unhappy, but, frankly, I was here before that. I've been spending a lot of time here since the assassination attempt on Robert's life.

"Robert does need my help right now. As long as he's ill and he can't trust that the Ministry is in good hands, I need to do what I can to help protect him and his family and to help him catch whoever is behind all this at the Ministry, and, hopefully, help him get well again and get back to work.

"My guess is that riots may continue to happen as long as people's freedoms are being taken from them. Don't know that I can help that. I need to stay focused on the end game and not let the riots sidetrack me from where we need to be.

"I am on the business of the United States--and that's the business of international security, and preserving the alliance between my country and England. And, in its own way, the situation with Germany isn't all that different. If the wrong people are in power, then the international alliances are threatened, and the security of a lot of people is threatened. As I see it, right now, I am right where I need to be.

"Now, different question. Are you relatively safe here? Are there traces from the German ministry still active on your magic? Is that something you need to worry about?"