章 248: Eternal Rival
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4th October 2012, Potter Manor
(Jasmine Sayre POV)
"Rule the pitiable empire you have made up in your mind. Play with the media, drag my name through the mud, and I won't give a shit about any of it. I won't even notice it, probably. But don't think for one second that I'm not watching you. All it would take for everything to come crumbling down is a single mistake. Pray that we do not meet again, Hermione Granger."
I took one last look at the trembling girl and left alongside my sister. She gave me a warm smile; she must have wanted to do this to her for years, but couldn't because her brother would take his friend's side. I turned towards Nathan and looked him in the eyes, "You're a disappointment, Potter."
I then grab my sister's hand and teleport away. I relished the look of shock on Granger's face when we ignored the anti-apparition wards on the property.
In the blink of an eye, the two of us arrived in New York, specifically in a dark alley right next to my second favorite café, Central Perk, since the first one was still under repair after SHIELD tried to blow it up. They actually opened a donation website to get things going, and with the anti-SHIELD sentiment going around, they earned quite a bit more than the shop was supposed to be worth. I may have given them a pretty generous donation to get things rolling.
This café, on the other hand, was more casual than the previous one. It didn't cater to the rich, but to the working class. There were no paintings, or expensive ornaments, it was just a cozy place.
I sat down on the couch and ordered a cup of tea for Rose and me, and we started talking. Rose was the first to speak up, "Did you have to be that harsh with her?"
I gave her an incredulous look, "You know, Rose, you're pretty smart when it comes to magic, but when people are involved, you're pretty naïve."
She didn't seem happy with my answer, "That's really uncalled for, Jasmine. And you know as much as I do that you could have been a little less aggressive when dealing with Hermione."
I release a sigh of exasperation, "Look Rose, you need to understand how people think. Honestly, I understand people because I used telepathy a lot when I was younger. I might refrain from using it too much now, but I already understand how people think, well enough to identify their personality traits in seconds. Human beings might be complex, but their goals, and their motivations are quite simple. The truth is, I was forceful with Granger because it was the only way to deter her without resorting to physical violence, and even then, it might not be enough."
"And why is that?"
"Hermione Granger might try to hide it from the world or even from herself, but what motivates her is not the pursuit of a righteous cause, but pride and greed. She was originally a prideful child, proud of her intelligence, of her cleverness. It's why she studied so much, and there's nothing wrong with that. Having too little pride can be harmful, and she was just a child, so it's expected. But when she came to Hogwarts, when she was introduced to a world of magic, she wasn't the most powerful, the most skilled witch, she wasn't special, and over the years, she kept being reminded of this until her pride shattered and gave birth to greed and envy. She looked at the wizards with their family spells and magics, and she decided that they were better than her because of that advantage, that should things have been equal, should they have been born with the same advantages, she would have been the better magic user. It's what drives her to gain as much magical knowledge as she can, it's why she's trying to remove family magics all together, she wants to create a world of equals where she could prove to everyone that she's the best witch out there. It's why she dislikes you so much, it's why she absolutely hates me, and it's also why this quest of hers is doomed to fail."
Rose stopped being angry and instead had an intrigued look on her face, "And why is that?"
"The first thing you need to understand in politics, or any transaction in general, is that to get something out of someone, you need to offer them something in return. Granger wants people to give up their magics but is offering nothing in return, because she has nothing to offer the Pureblood families. They already have everything they could ever want; they have the gold, the knowledge, and the legacy. Why should they just give something up in exchange for nothing. Righteous speeches are good and all, but they almost never get anything done. Granger knew this and it was why she was so obsessed with you and now, me. Your magic, our magic, is a prize that everyone wants, and she wanted to use you as a bargaining chip to achieve her dream.
"She tried to get the other magical races to support her, to provide her with services that she could use to bargain with the Pureblood families in exchange for a voice in the political scene. You can see it in the fact that she didn't want to recruit any race that wouldn't have been useful for her, like trolls or giants for example. She failed of course, meaning that you're her only hope. It's why she's so desperate to get you back in Britain and is trying to pass any law possible to do so. It's also why the Wizengamot isn't denying it either. Everyone wants a taste of our power, and are willing to do anything to get it, even sacrifice their family's legacies."
Rose looked heartbroken at this, "And did Nathan know about any of this?"
I shrugged, "probably not. He doesn't seem malicious. Overly trusting in his friend, maybe, easily led around, probably, but he didn't look like a person that would be cruel to his own little sister. Granger probably fed him some crap about having you return home or something. He seemed to rely on her to pretty much run the Ministry in the first place. He's just a figure head now, nothing more. Granger probably has more say in the political scene than he does, and most of it is probably behind his back. She's a clever woman, I'll admit that, but the way she used her supposed best friend is pretty suspect."
Rose relaxed and took a sip of her tea, "And you got all that from just a meeting with her. Are you sure you didn't use your telepathy on her?"
Honestly, I was getting a bit leery of constantly using telepathy. After a while, everything just becomes noise. A telepath constantly hears the ugly side of humanity, the part that everyone keeps locked in, safe in their heads. The cruelty, the anger, and the hatred, that society forces people to suppress are always there, constantly in the background. When I was younger, I thought that it was the price for my powers, the responsibility that I had to bear, a way to remind myself about humanity's darkness and to not fall in easily. But now, with the quality of life getting better in the last century of so, thoughts of survival started to fade and instead greed reigned. Everyone wanted more, more money, more power, more of everything, and after a while it just becomes noise, like a song that's always on repeat in your head. Unless I am actively trying to read someone's mind, I try not to use my telepathy too much. If only to save myself the headache.
"I didn't. I felt her pride back at Hogwarts and you told me what happened in the past and I could easily see her ambition and plans. It's nothing new, people are mostly motivated by Pride and Greed in the first place. Granger is just ready to betray anyone and do anything to achieve her goals. It's why I was so forceful, why I implicitly threatened her. She needed to see the danger in pursuing her actions. And she might push past this and still try to push the borders. This was more of a test of how much she's willing to risk for her dream. We'll see what she'll do in the future. As for now, we have a few visitors on our hands."
Rose stiffened and looked up. In front of them were two seemingly human beings, a dark-skinned woman wearing casual clothes and a scarf, and a tall man with brown hair wearing what looked like and expensive suit. I recognized them immediately, "Ajak, Ikaris , it's been a long time."
These were two of the Eternals, beings who served the celestial Arishem who tried to cultivate this planet to give birth to a celestial at the cost of the planet. I had stopped its birth, for a while at least. Soon, humanity will start moving to the stars and in a few thousand years, when the child celestial emerges, they should have spread out throughout the universe by then.
I haven't seen the Eternals in a while. I honestly had no idea what they were doing without their purpose on the planet, but at least they were hunting down Deviants, saving me the trouble.
Ajak smiled at me, "Yes it has, Morrigan. It's good to see you."
Ikaris just nodded. He has never liked me, since I stopped them from achieving their purpose. Rose, on the other hand, gasped in shock, "These are two of the Eternals that you told me about."
I nodded, "Yes, they are. They look remarkably human, don't they?"
Before she could answer, Ikaris interjected, "This is not the time for this nonsense. You have been summoned, Morrigan. You need to come with us."
I shrugged and raised him an eyebrow, "I still haven't finished my tea yet."
Ajak snorted, "Ah, nothing beats a good cup of tea," she then gave me a curious look, "you seem different."
Oh, so, she must have noticed the cosmic energy that was flowing through me. I nodded, "I feel different. In a way, I am closer to your kind, and to that of your patron's, than I am to humanity."
Ikaris visibly gritted his teeth and I continued, "Don't get me wrong, I'm not close to being as powerful as he is, nor as experienced, but I might be closer than any being born mortal has ever been to joining his race."
The two Eternals stiffened at my declaration, Ajak broke the silence, "How is that possible?"
"I did something very risky and nearly lost myself in the process. I was desperate, you see. But this is not the time for tales of the past. I have been meaning to speak with your patron for a while. I was just too busy to do it."
"Does this have anything to do with your fight earlier today?" Ajak asked, "I felt a huge amount of cosmic energy being released. We almost intervened in your fight."
I shook my head, "No, this is an unrelated subject, one that Arishem will want to speak of as well. Grave danger is coming, and it will not be merciful to any of us. I understand that there are complications between your race and myself, certain tensions were never resolved, but in the coming crisis, I will need your help."
Ikaris shook his head, "We do not intervene with humanity's development. That is one of our biggest orders."
I shook my head, "To live is to interfere with the others around, or you'll have achieved nothing but waste your years in solitude. But I am not talking about an event that threatens this planet. I know that you are quite willing to let it be destroyed without issues, but what I'm talking about is destruction on a scale never seen before. I cannot foresee Arishem disagreeing with my idea, because if he did, he'll be a hypocrite to his own purpose of creating life."
Ajak shook her head, "You do not need to convince us, you'll need to convince Arishem, and we will follow. We need to go, you're expected."
I nodded and prepared to meet Arishem the Judge, the leader of the celestials. I truly hoped that things would work out.
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