B.Q. Book Two: Black Princess Ascendant

Chapter 7: Unannounced Visits

EVERYONE: NO, Luna is not the white witch the Baron was telling Jen about! I'm getting worried that so many of you wanted to chase that imaginary squirrel; do you really think I'd be that cruel to my favorite HP character? Her familial connection to Holda will play a minor part in year 6, but she is not going to be in danger of being murdered in her bed for being on the opposite side of the Powers' war.

Disclaimer: Did Dumbledore try to get a member of the Order to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts in fifth year so he could avoid the Ministry appointing someone to the post? If not, I don't own the Harry Potter franchise; it belongs to J.K. Rowling, Scholastic Press, Warner Bros., and whoever else she sold the rights to.
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A soft pop split the silent night air, and with a twirl a dark-haired young woman appeared from thin air in the middle of the street. Jen pushed her curls out her face and smiled softly at the grimy facades that her eyes revealed. She had never seen these buildings before, but she knew them extremely well. Intimately, one could say.

Especially the old building directly in front of her. 145 Delilah Street.

Taking a deep breath of the salty sea air, she strode to the dingy door with a confidence that would normally seem out of place for a solitary girl in the bad part of town. She, however, not only had magic, which no one else in the city had, but no one with any sense who lived in this section of Avryporth for longer than a year would be foolish enough to cross her. She ran a finger under the faded script on the wood and opened the door.

"Welcome to..." a young blonde, maybe seven years old, just inside began, only to give her senior a double-take. "I'm sorry, miss, but you're not supposed to be here. This is private property—"

"Don't even waste your time, sweetie," Jen rejoined with a grin. "You're new, aren't you?"

The girl blinked rapidly at being blown off like this. "What?"

"There's a reason you don't have bouncers. No one who doesn't want to be here can come through that door." Starting down the hall, she added, "Not to mention, I don't recognize you."

"Wait!" A bell started ringing. "You're not allowed back there!"

She stopped in her tracks and looked over her shoulder with a glare that caused the girl to take a couple of steps back and shiver in her short, shimmery dress. "Word of wisdom, kiddo. Never tell me I can't go anywhere I damn well please in this place."

The door at the other end of the corridor creaked open, and a nine-year-old redhead slipped out. "What's going... on..." The girl shook her head a few times and whispered, "Mama?"

Jen shot her a grin. "Why, Paula, you look like you've just seen a ghost."

"Mama Jen!" The girl sprinted towards her with a bright giggle and practically threw herself into Jen's arms. "You came back!"

She rolled her eyes even as she spun the glomping girl around in a quick circle. "All I did was move out and go to school. It's not like I dropped off the face of the earth or something."

"...No one else ever comes back."

Well, it helps that I can teleport wherever and whenever I want. Despite herself, she gave her former coworker another tight hug before letting Paula reluctantly back out of the embrace. "No one else kept in touch, either, did they? How is everybody?"

"We're good for the most part. It's been... interesting to see Dicky try to figure out how to do your job, but Tommy and Crystal have gotten real good at shoplifting, so we haven't had to go without too much."