Chapter 24 ~ The Meeting.

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The drizzle had worn off, but the air was still damp and cold, sending a chill through Maxine's cloak as the group of fifth-years walked down into the village. Stark grey cloudss loomed above, threatening rain at any moment, and many who were watching the sky also had to beware of the ground - the mud beneath them was frozen, but sometimes you'd catch a puddle and the paper-thin sheet of ice would break, usually producing a wet foot and a hopping victim. Many of the students looked like emperor panguins on the march, huddled in their cloaks against the cold, as a biting easterly wind was sweeping over the bare ground.

However the temperature effected neither Maxine or Stefan, for both were buzzing with excitement. The conversation between them was'nt up to much - they couldn't talk about Grimms and Wesen when surrounded by classmates and bullies alike - but inside both were gathering the questions they wanted to ask, trying to anticpate what the meeting was going to be like. What was mainly on Maxine's mind was how she was going to tell Nick about Stefan's seconds name, and there, in her head, she devised the words to get to the point fast. She needed to mention Stefan's key, as well, to ask about that. To be honest, she was nervous. 

But excited, too. How could she not be, when she was finally connecting with some of her new world? And she had Stefan to influence her as well. If Stefan was excited, Maxine just couldn't help feeling the same.

Maxine's thoghts were cut short as they finally entered the village of Hogsmeade, which looked consderable friendly and warm if you regarded the weather. It was more sheltered and the wind was less biting. It was as they came into the village that the huddled fifth-years dispersed and hurried off with their dates and friends, into Honeydukes and Zonko's joeshop, into the warmth of The Three Broomsticks. 

However, Maxine and Stefan did not follow any of these routes, instead they walked a little further and appraoched the cold, dark pub and entered with shy expressions. The main room was empty of any customers apart from two witches who looked suspicously like hags and a blind wizard with a large ginger cat sat on his lap. Maxine approached the bar and swallowed as the owner came forward in a slightly menacing manner.

"Ummm, could we have two-"

"Fifth years?" He grunted in a low voice with a hint of enquiry.

Maxine looked so surprised Stefan could have laughed, but instead he took over dutifully. "Yes, we're fifth-years. Ravenclaws."

The bar man looked at them with small, dark eyes and there was a slight pause before Stefan added: "From Hogwarts."

"I know where you two are from." He said menacingly. "Hogwarts kids are always jumped-up and snobby."He jerked his head to gesture to their left. "There's people waiting in the back room for you two."

Ignoring the insults, Maxine looked at Stefan sharply and this time it was her to spoke to the man. "Did they give their names?"

"Sean Murphy and Finnigan MacDuff." The owner answered, still eyeing them closely. "They asked for you two."

"Ah." Was all Stefan could say. Then he worked it out. 'Well-"

"Foreigners." The bar man continued as he dusted a filthy glass with an equally filthy cloth. "Irish, you know."

"Right..." Stefan answered, now needing tobget out of the conversation and trying to stop the bar man ranting.

"Used to have an Irish girl who came in here. Sor-sha Evans or something. Used to come in with an American friend and cause complete and utter chaos with her fiddle. Never again, I said, never again shall I have Irish in y pub. But, here we are, well, at least they're fiddle-less - and not red headed. Red heads are always trouble." The bar man paused to take a breath, then continue rambling on. "Still around, that Evans, I believe-"

"Ok, well, um - we'll go."" Stefan cut across, needing to go. Maxine was looking confused, but Stefan had got it. He poked her hard to stop her from speaking and said; "Right, er, well, thanks." He eyed some bottles a little way down the counter. "Any chance of a few butter beers?"

The man grunted. "I'll bring them in for you."

"My thanks again." Stefan answered, and after an uneasy smile, led a confused Maxine away from the bar and down to the end of the room, turning off for a narrow door on the right.

"They'll be using false names, Max, and maybe accents. American accents are very similar to Irish ones."

Maxine nodded, finally working it out, and gave a small laugh. "Still, I would hardly call Irish foreign." 

Stefan answered with a chuckle and it was because of this that the nerves were forgotten as Stefan reached to open the door. However, the reactions were much different to as Maxine had planned, of course. No one in this world could ever have the power to decipher what will happen in that kind of meeting.

For a start, Maxine decided to throw herself at Monroe and envelop him in a bear hug. Perhaps it was because he looked so friendly and the warm smile on his face was so affectionate, his brown eyes sparkling both merrily and with shyness. Still, she did it, and a surprised but touched Monroe, who grinned down at her and chuckled, returning her embrace. However, it was when he looked up a gasp escaped his lips, and Maxine pulled out to see what was happening, she too reacting the same way as she looked upon the two other Grimms standing directly opposite each other.

How could she have forgotten just exactly the appearance of her other Grimm friend? Perhaps she could not blame herself, as she had only met Nick Burkhardt once in her life and that was a month ago. But Maxine still could not believe that she could not have seen it.

For Stefan and Nick were most definitely related. Moreover, they looked like twins. Well, not quite, but their similarities were mind blowing. Both had the same face shape and features, oval with less distinct cheekbones and a well-cut jaw, although Stefan's cheekbones were more prominent that Nicks. The eyes were roughly the same, wide-spaced with dark lashes, Nick's grey with a hint of green, Stefan's usually grey seeming to glint a little in that colour also. The nose was finely chiselled, the eyebrows sharp and accenting, and the hair a usual mess, although Stefan's was a little darker, almost black, and his skin paler than Nicks, which had a slight summer tan to it. But really, looking at them opposite each other and both of them wearing the same mystified expression, you would think they were brothers. Father and Son, even.

Monroe's involuntary "Woah" broke the astonished silence and a few seconds later, Maxine said in a hushed voice;

"My god. No wonder you're related."

Both heads turned at considerable speed and considerable synchronisation. "What?" Nick asked after another pause. But Stefan was thinking, and Maxine watching him.

The dork. She thought. He's only just figured it out.

"You have the same surname." She answered to Nick, walking over to Stefan. "Nick, this is Stefan Burkhardt. He's a Grimm born in Germany and the great grandson of Adolf Hitler." With a flash, Stefan shot a look at her, but she returned it with a look of calm that ultimately said "It'll be fine. We have to tell them the whole truth." - or rather that's what Stefan heard in his head before Maxine walked over to Nick. "And Stefan, this is Nick Burkhardt, a Grimm from Portland, Oregon."

"With German descendants." Nick was looking at Stefan with both interest and confusion. "Adolf Hitler, hey?"

Maxine was about to step in but then Stefan himself spoke. "I can assure you, I want no association with him. My great-grandmother was a whore and then made a decent living for herself on the cabaret stage, then after a few generations my mother met a mystery man whom I know nothing about but who is my father. I was born, Mother died when I was four, I was adopted by an English family of wizards and witches, moved to England, went to Hogwarts when I was eleven." He looked closely  at the Grimm opposite. "Basically my history."

Nick frowned. "You don't know who your father is?" 

Stefan shook his head. "No. I presume my Grimm abilities came from him. My Mother was a witch so it can't have been her."

Nick was shaking his head now. "Thing is, I always thought my Grimm lineage came from my Mother...it doesn't make sense." He looked up. "And Hitler? Is it true? I mean, Adolf Hitler was Wesen!"

Both Maxine and Stefan's eyebrows shot up. "What?" Was said in synchronisation by the pair.

"Unless his name wasn't Burkhardt." Monroe contributed from the corner, still on the subject of Stefan's father. " Maybe he was using a false name."

"A possibility." Nick returned, still thinking. "But Burkhardt isn't usually one that comes to mind..."

But now Maxine was over the shock of Hitler being Wesen, and entered another enigma into the conversation. "Nick, that isn't the only strange thing about Stefan's Grimm connections...you see, he has a key."

Nick stood up from where he had been leaning on the wall and advanced a step. "What?"

Maxine turned round to look at her friend and he understood. Putting his hand under the collar of his shirt, Stefan revealed the ornate brass key.

"You said there were three originally, and that the Royal's had four and you had two. I presumed I had the last, but then Stefan turned up." Maxine said to Nick, eyes confused and wary.

"We thought the Royal's had four." Monroe said after a pause. "But now...it seems they lost one about a decade ago."

"Then it's clear, isn't it." Maxine answered, looking at Stefan's key. "This is the one they lost, meaning..."

"Meaning my father was a Royal? That doesn't make sense. I mean, if he was, why abandon me? And he must of been a Grimm so he an't have been Royal" Stefan answered with a hint of anger.

"The Royal families have workers...Wesen and Humans alike...and Grimms." Said Nick solemnly. "It could be possible. But, by the way things are looking at the moment...." He exchanged glances with Monroe before turning back to the two teenagers with focus. "Have you been having any weird moments lately? Images in your head, words, that don't make sense?"

Maxine and Stefan were silent for a second. "No." Maxine was the first to answer. And as for strange images, all of them had made sense.

Stefan was shaking his head, too. "Why do you ask?"

"It's nothing we can tell you right now. We aren't even sure it ourselves." Was Nick's infuriating answer.

Stefan looked closely at the Grimm. "You must be able to tell us why Maxine is being hunted."

Nick's head turned accusingly to Maxine and she turned her gaze from Stefan to meet his. She raised her eyebrows defiantly as Monroe answered Stefan, and it was then Nick saw that he was most definitely correct in his suspicions.

"The Royals want Maxine's key, we think, and also something else that we haven't quite figured out yet." Monroe was saying. He was a bad liar but fortunately neither teenagers noticed this. "They had found out where she was living, and we discovered that they were heading for her. That's why we rushed to Maxine and hurried her off to Hogwarts."

"But you guys can enter Hogsmeade and Diagon Alley." Stefan said. "Couldn't a Wesen or Grimm Royal simply walk into Hogwarts and attack her there?"

"We may be able to come here, but Hogwarts is to strongly enchanted." Nick told him. "Besides, you are surrounded by staff, classmates, and even ghosts, I have heard. It would be very difficult to get Maxine away. She'd have to be lured somewhere where she was not protected."

Maxine was nodding, but she felt that that was talking about her safety. "What about Stefan? He has a key, couldn't he be targeted?"

"If the Royals haven't tried to get it off him before, they probably don't know about it." Monroe said. "They probably have no clue he exists."

"What about other people like us, though?" Stefan questioned. 

"Other Grimms? What about them?" Monroe questioned.

"Not just other Grimms, I'm talking about Grimms that are-"

The door handle was being pulled down in an attempt to open and Stefan cut off to lunge for a seat at the battered table, as did Maxine and Monroe. Nick, however, immediately said in a jovial Irish tone.

"How did it go in Dublin, then? Did you have a nice time?"

He cracked a wider smile as the two teenagers gaped at him, but it was that moment that the bar man finally shunted the door open and entered with two dusty bottles of butterbeer.

"Er, yes, it went well - we saw Uncle Sean there." Stefan answered hesitantly as he eyed the bottles.

"Ah yes, Uncle Sean sure knows how to welcome his guests! Tell me, did he play the fiddle at all?" Nick continued in his broad Irish accent that fortunately covered up Monroe's chuckles from the corner as the Bar man scowled at the Grimm and went away muttering. Maxine caught a few of the words; "Mad Irish coming into a respectable bar...called me an 'eejit'*...daring to spit cherry pips...all of them with bad teeth...crush leprechauns with hammers..."

"Er - Nick - how exactly did you order this room?" Maxine queried once the door had slammed shut once more.

Nick grinned. "Like any Irishman would." He replied in his normal accent.

"Seriously, he gets really into the part, don't you, Finnigan MacDuff." Monroe moved to pat his friend on the back with a laugh.

Even Stefan was smiling. "What was that I heard about Cherry Pips?"

Monroe grinned as Nick chuckled. "Nick here asked for some cherries and then the bar man asked why..so, in a traditionally Irish way, Nick started going on about how swell cherries were and how you could use the stones for spitting competitions."

Maxine and Stefan both laughed, but it was then that Nick broke the lighter mood and the more tense atmosphere then set in again.

"What was your question, Stefan?"

Stefan recovered quickly and his serious expression returned. It was at that point that Maxine and Monroe found themselves exchanging glances. They really were alike, these two Grimms.

"What I was going to ask, was, are there any other Grimms like us? Who are Grimm and Magical?" Stefan asked after the briefest of pauses.

Now it was Nick's turn to exchange a glance with Monroe. "It's very rare." Nick admitted. "Most Magical Folk don't know about us and only a fraction of us know about you guys. Also it would be complicated with genetics and everything..." Nick looked at Monroe again.

"There are more of you out there, though." Monroe finished for Nick uneasily. "There have to be."

But Maxine wasn't convinced. She could see Monroe wasn't telling the truth. But seeing as she still didn't know these men that well and was hesitant at heart, she ventured no further with questions.

However, Stefan was at it again. "And you guys...what do you do in Portland?"

"Well, I'm a cop." Nick said after a pause. He was taken aback by the questions but could see the hunger for learning in Stefan's eyes, whereas Maxine wasn't quite so forward. 

Both teenagers looked slightly blank in expression, and Monroe looked at Nick, who promptly added. "A muggle policeman. It's what we call them in the USA."

Stefan and Maxine nodded. "Do you deal with Wesen in any cases?" Maxine asked, interested.

Both Monroe and Nick laughed. "More than you could possibly imagine." Monroe answered. "They cause a lot more trouble than humans do."

"How many types of Wesen have you encountered?" Stefan queried. "I mean, there's about twenty different types in that book you gave Maxie, but are there more."

Nick nodded. "Many different kinds. We must have dealt with more than fifty individuals who are different species of Wesen, and there are tones more the other books I own written by my ancestors. We have even encountered Wesen not yet recorded."

"You gotta understand, though, Wesen are usually based on one animal...a blutbad, for instance, which is what I am, is kinda wolf-like." Monroe put in. Both teenagers were listening intently and he could see their hunger for knowledge on their new world.

"Like a fuchsbau is sort of fox-like?" Asked Stefan with a creased brow.

Monroe nodded. "Yeah. In fact, my girlfriend is a fuchsbau."

Maxine looked interested. "What's her name?"

Monroe grinned. "Rosalie. She's the one who runs the spice shop."

"Well, not really a spice shop. That's what they tell muggles." Nick explained. "It actually specialises in Wesen ingredients for potions, and remedies...that kind of thing."

Maxine sighed. "There's so many things to learn...how did you cope with it all, Nick?" She asked.

"Most of my help came from Monroe here, the Wesen books, and a little from my Aunt." Nick answered.

"Your Aunt?"  Maxine enquired.

A pained look dawned on Nicks face. "Marie Kessler...another Grimm. I became a Grimm just before she went into a coma and well, died."

"Oh." Maxine blushed at her blunder. "I'm sorry."

"Let's just get off the subject." Monroe cut in, saving Maxine from any more painful silence. "What we really need to discuss is-"

He stopped at loud voices were heard in the bar - enquiring voices.

"Excuse me have you seen two fifth-years in here? Maxine and Stefan...the girl has dark hair-"

"In the back." They could hear the bar man grunt as all stood frozen. There was shuffling and then everyone began to move again.

"Lock the door." Nick told Stefan seriously. 

Stefan nodded and drew out his wand. "Colloportus."

"Right, Monroe, the window." Nick told his friend, grabbing a chair and heaving it beneath the small opening. Monroe reached to open the exit with a rusty catch.

"Everyone out. Come on, Maxine." Nick gestured to the chair in hurry.

Maxine looked confused. "Nick, you guys need to go, but me and Stefan are fine."

"Maxine, it could be undercover Royals! We need to go, now!" Nick looked at the door wildly as multiple footsteps approached it.

Maxine almost laughed. "I would hardly call our friends Royals, Nick." She answered, watching a bemused Monroe and a surprised Nick as Rose's voice came muffled from behind the door.

"Max, Stefan, you in there?"

"Get out, now." Maxine whispered with a laugh, pushing Nick towards the chair beneath the window.

Nick, raising there was no time to argue, leapt onto the chair with considerable speed and was out of the window in a less flattering method a second later. Maxine could hear the thump as he hit hard ground beneath it. 

"You next. And hurry." She told Monroe as Rose continued to batter the door.

"Max?"

"We're in here Rose, the door's just a bit jammed." Stefan said loudly before stifling a laugh as Maxine shoved Monroe out o the window and he plunged down to the ground head first. Maxine turned with a smile and whispered to Stefan after they both chuckled.

"Ok, you get to the door and pretend to be trying to pull it." She told him. "And I'll unlock the door then join you."

Stefan nodded, still grinning as Maxine murmured "Alohomora."

Thus the next second the door opened suddenly as Rose and Jack, her date, flung open the door to cause Maxine and Stefan to almost fall to the floor as the object they were leaning on disappeared. Jack caught Stefan and Rose Maxine, and once all were firmly on their feet again laughter erupted from the quartet.

"Oh god, I'm sorry you two, I should have guessed." Rose chuckled. "I'll try not to do that again."

Jack Hiddleston smiled his beaming white smile. "What were you guys doing in there, anyway? We saw you disappear in to the pub and were completely mystified. You've been in here for like, half an hour as well."

"We just decided to explore a bit. Then we got into the room there and the door jammed." Maxine explained, ignoring Rose's unexplainable raised eyebrows.

"We heard voices..." Rose ventured.

"Yeah, that was Stefan doing his wonderful imitations." Maxine answered, earning a subtle look from her friend. 

"Well, your certainly very talented." Jack said with genuine admiration. "However, I don't believe we've really met before...I'm Jack Hiddleston."

Jack held out his hand politely to Stefan, who smiled back and shook it. "Stefan Burkhardt. Nice to meet you. You're the captain of Ravenclaw Quidditch team, right?"

"Yup. And you are..."

"Hitler's great-grandson. My greatest asset." Said Stefan said, his tone a little more sardonic.

Jack's eyes flickered with uncertainty and recognition, but Maxine tactfully intervened before Jack attempted a reply.

"Come on, let's get out of here. It's so dark and dreary." She took a step out of the door frame and past a grateful Rose. "I'll just pay the bar man, then we'll go."

The others nodded in assent and waited by the exit of the pub as she payed a confused Bar man. He eyed her with suspicion as she payed the bill for the room also.

"The Irish?" He grunted in question.

"They err, they had to make a quick escape. On account of the cherries." She almost laughed at the Bar Man's perplexed expression, but instead gave a curt nod and collected her change with precision, although she was merry inside with amusement. She exchanged a glance of similar feeling with Stefan as she approached the door and the group exited the pub, both grinning to each other as Jack and Rose began to talk.

"Okay...where to next?" Jack asked his date, grasping her hand affectionately.

"Hmmmm, Fauna and Damian are in the Three Broomsticks." Rose turned to look at Maxine and Stefan, who were slightly behind the couple an both in deep thought. "What d'you guys wanna do?"

"Er - yeah - erm, the three broomsticks sounds good." Stefan answered, nudging Maxine. She looked up and immediately smiled, despite having no clue what Rose had just said. 

"Yeah." She said. "Sounds good."

Rose gave a slightly suspicious smile and looked from one to the other before declaring; "Right then, three broomsticks it is." She kissed her date on the cheek and they changed direction for The Three Broomsticks, Maxine and Stefan following behind, murmuring between themselves.

But no one noticed the hooded the hooded figure slipping into the pub behind them.