Veela Meet and Greet Selina stood in the Floo station in Tumbleweed. It was a bright Sunday and the sunlight streamed through the windows. Although it was autumn up at the school, the surrounding town had no such enchantments affecting its weather, and the desert retained its heat. Luckily there was a pleasant cooling charm blowing through the room.
She watched the fireplace, becoming a little more alert when it glowed green and, sure enough, a familiar figure spun into view, having to stoop awkwardly to navigate his tall, broad frame out of the grate.
"Nice to see you again, Mr. James," she smiled moving forward.
"Uh. Yes. And you. Um. Thanks for making the arrangements," he fumbled, pretending to brush soot off his sleeve so that she might get the impression it was this distraction, or the effect of the journey itself, which accounted for his lack of verbal dexterity. "So..." he said, scanning around the station and finding it devoid of hypnotically attractive blonde women, "They aren't here yet then? These... um... tutors."
"Actually, yes. They arrived a little before you, so I sent them up the road to get a coffee. Shall we join them?"
What he actually wanted to say was 'No sense putting it off - well, actually, what he wanted to say was 'no' given that he happily been putting this off up until now. But he was aware that both of those would be rather rude.
"Yes, let's," he replied instead, though the tone of his felt statements carried in his tone.
This was something Selina had taken care to warn her interviewees about.
Andrew James has never exactly confided much in me. But nonetheless, it’s been quite easy to form an impression of how he thinks about veela. It seems like the interactions he’s had with them - well, I suspect with just one - have not left a particular favourable impression. I don’t mean to predispose you against him, but I feel it would be unfair not to forewarn you that you might be walking into a situation where the other party is not particularly kindly disposed towards you, and to give you the option to back out if that isn’t something you’re comfortable with.
Neither had backed out though. She and Andrew James set off. The town was undeniably kitschy, and it felt somewhat more like walking through the set of a play than a real place. A real settler town during the move out west, Tumbleweed, like many other towns, had gradually seen its fortunes fade. A few particularly stubborn residents had hung on to living there even… well, even once they weren’t living any more. Gradually, that had taken hold as an idea, as a way of reviving the economy, and now it primarily catered to tourists as ‘The Non-Living Museum Town.’ Ghosts drifted past at regular intervals, some of them hustling, asking if they wanted to take photographs or come to the cowboy show. It did not feel like a place to hold a business meeting. Still, it was the closest magical settlement to the school - more importantly, as distance didn’t matter so much in the wizarding world, it had been the easiest way to decide something that was neutral ground. Their usual go-to was a hotel in Phoenix, a Muggle city but with a wizard-owned property which allowed them to host events accessible to Muggle parents. However, much as she trusted that the ladies they were meeting were in control of their powers, veela could have a funny effect on those who’d never seen them before, and bringing two of them into either a hotel full of Muggles or a school full of adolescents had seemed ill-advised.
Selina steered them through the swinging doors of the saloon, the main provider of refreshments. This early in the day, it was a quiet place, mostly offering up coffees and root beers, though it got livelier in the evenings - or, during peak season, when she believed it re-enacted one of the bar fights that had killed one of the now resident ghosts.
It was easy to spot the two women, their blonde hair shining, and the air around them almost shimmering enticingly. Indeed, they seemed to have attracted the attention of the human barman, who was standing with a polishing rag halfway to a glass simply staring, until the ghostly matron of the bar brought him to his senses with a slap through the head. Andrew James seemed to be developing a very determined interest in everything in the room but them.
Having already said hello when they arrived, Selina merely smiled in greeting when they made their way over, and offered an introduction of the newcomer.
“This is Andrew James, Cleo’s father,” she offered, “Mr. James, this is Tawny Jones, and Virginia Wallace.”
Andrew James stuck out his hand, giving each woman’s a very perfunctory shake and mumbled something in which words approximating ‘pleased to meet you’ and ‘....for taking the trouble’ could just about be discerned. He was still avoiding looking at them.
“I’ve told the ladies here a little about Cleo, and I’ve told Mr. James a little about each of you - just the basics,” Selina informed everyone, having well suspected that she might have to ease them all through the situation.
“So, is there anything in particular you’d like to know about each other? Or do we feel that’s been covered, and we can have a chat about what we’re going to do to help Cleo?” she asked, wanting to make sure they got onto something productive, and also wanting to remind them why they were all enduring this rather awkward encounter. That was another thing she had discussed during their interviews by floo...
However he comes across, I hope we can have a productive conversation. After all, he stands between you and giving Cleo the help she needs. As far as Cleo’s concerned, his heart is absolutely in the right place. He wants what’s best for her, but I think he’s a bit confused about what that is. We have to convince them that we are.