Muggles and Mudmen
By: Ira Ko
Disclaimer
I do not own any of the following:
Artemis Fowl By Eion Colfer
Harry Potter By J.K. Rowling
Never Gonna Give You Up By Rick Astely
Any characters from HP or Artemis Fowl
Chapter One-Bad Business
Quite a few centuries ago, sailors from China used magnetic compasses. The Europeans, however, used them only a few centuries later. With much luck and balance which the Chinese called "harmony". The procedure was tough and was never completed ten out of ten times. First, the Chinese sailor in charge of the compass, or the Magician (as the Chinese called it) would magnetize a needle. The magician used a composure of powdered iron oxide and barium carbonate ceramic to create a useful, but temporary magnet. Placing it on a cup or circular object in a windless area, the needle would scientifically point South. There were many interruptions however, especially the wind. Maybe, that's the magic about science, variables and control.
Artemis' compass was different. Other than the natural, default human instinct of direction, he had magic in his eye socket. Magic. Artemis' natural compass resided flatly on his green eye. Though he was wearing very thick contacts, that changed his eye color, his vision was not blurred, neither was his magical powers. Artemis could be considered a powerful human, at his age, but compared to fairies and wizards, he was not strong at all. Artemis' eye enabled him a variety of things, (1) to exceed vision, as if it were a built-in 10x sniper scope, (2) to sense time accurately, estimated to every two minutes, (3) to store an amount of magic, which can be drawn out and used at will, (4) to sense objects around him in a half mile radius. Although it was only four different attribute additions, to an average human it was remarkable.
The heavy robe of responsibility was heavily draped upon Artemis' shoulders; now being the older brother of a family of six, Artemis had to be very cautious of his dangerous actions, behavior and now, the schemes of his younger brothers. Drifting away in his thoughts, Artemis stared at the red sunset and admired its beauty. He stood still, a teenager as wise and as observant as Artemis was miraculous and nearly impossible. Listening to a familiar cooing of birds, Artemis smiled and closed his eyes briefly.
Stubborn, obnoxious and average, were not the correct adjectives to describe Artemis. In fact, they were far from even being close. The teenage genius wore a dress shirt and a black jacket, blue, faded jeans and dark slacks, casual and professional at the very same time, alas, his technical personality was not being displayed today, or any other day he wore these clothes. His hair was ruffled and his face showed a relaxed and peaceful image. A Blue-Tooth headset hung from his right ear, and he wore dark sunglasses, covering his magical eye.
"Ireland is truly beautiful." Artemis thought. Unfortunately his stay in Ireland would not be long. Artemis had a fair amount of time to enjoy Ireland, and then kiss it away for boarding school. "Boarding school with Minerva," Artemis reminded himself with a smile quickly spreading across his face.
Ireland is a magical place, not just in beauty. As you know, humans and fairies once fought for the magical land of Ireland. Ireland, the home of the Irish, mostly until the ever-so-famous Potato Famine that eventually wiped out almost the entire population of Ireland, if above fifty percent looked so decent. Ireland sure has its wonders, but consider the wonders of France, England, possibly America (despite the pollution). Is it possible that magic does not simply lie in Ireland? Though he's saved the world from doom several times, and is much more than brilliant, Artemis has a question in which he's stumped on. Artemis sensed slight movement, but he did not nod. "No, nodding would be too noticeable." Artemis forgot about his troubling thoughts, temporarily. His curiosity was a hole that can never be patched.
Butler was not the type of man to be suggested as kind. He wasn't anywhere near "nice" rather "loving". Butler was also the type of man who put others to shame. If one said he was tough anywhere near Artemis, that man should have watched his mouth. The seven feet tall Eurasian man would immediately put him to shame. Having a strong IQ himself, of 167, Butler could have been a one man team.
Flicking his wrist (which was noticeably bulging with muscle), Butler read his watch. Designed to be capable to show every time in the world and modded to attach a small mechanism that concealed a laser, capable of stunning and death, the watch was an essential one of the most dangerous men in the world.
"Artemis, the time –" The soldierly bodyguard was cut off midway. Artemis had clearly kept watch of the time, even in his thoughts. That, Butler knew. Being the bodyguard of a former dangerous child, who had succeeded in many robberies, missions and even the extinction of a type of lemur, he was very important. Butler and Artemis, physically did not seem to be a good partnership, but psychologically, they were the best partnership and friendship ever.
"Do not worry my old friend, I can sense the time with my eye, remember?" Artemis replied calmly. Artemis' behavior was exactly contradictory to Butler's. Artemis seemed to always be calm, and confident. These two adjectives depicted wisdom and much brilliance. His brilliance was shown through simply his many successful missions, several IQ tests, the many psychologists, he'd put to shame and a variety of other tests.
Butler hadn't, forgotten that Artemis picked up more than a bit of magic in his risky ploy to unravel the time tunnel and finish off the demons closely two years ago. Butler reminded himself, though that the current mission had to do with the time tunnel, Artemis had much more experience than the first time they'd tweaked the time tunnel and this time, No. 1 is fully trained. That didn't seem to relieve Butler very much though.
No. 1 was a demon, a very childish one as well. No. 1 was a warlock who immigrated home his home land, where the other warlocks were extinct. When he first entered the present, he was a pivotal point, an importance in an another genius child's plot to break a Guinness World Record. Minerva. Minerva could be considered Artemis' girlfriend. She was now 17 years old, going 18. Minerva was beautiful and intelligent. Though Artemis had outsmarted her before, she could also be said to be at his level of intellect.
Butler's hand shook slightly; the upcoming mission was going to be a dangerous one, much like the nightmare five years ago with Kong and the demons. Butler suddenly winced, and nodded horizontally. His right hand touched the holster of his Sig Sauer handgun in a ready position. A bead of sweat slowly made its way down his forehead as Butler clenched his teeth and bore for anything to come and attack. His instincts triggered and Butler's eyes started to dart back and forth. He looked towards Artemis.
Artemis suddenly closed his eyes. He had sensed it too. It was a very small pitched sound. The sound was some type of clinking. Somebody was running and carrying a metal object. Artemis closed his eyes tighter and tried to pin-point the origin of the near-silent sound.
The clinking stopped.
Artemis opened his mouth and murmured a few words to Butler.
Butler nodded his head in disagreement. He disliked Artemis' idea. It was way too risky; Artemis' ideas were always very risky, he sighed. Butler attempted to negotiate with his employer, but Artemis would not agree.
Suddenly, Artemis pulled up his sleeve. It was a watch, without hands or numbers. Positioning it towards the mountain range behind them, Artemis showed Butler the reflection being displayed on his watch. It was a bright and sharp beam of light, meaning there was glass at that location, reflecting light.
A thought flashed in Butler's mind, "Artemis' watch didn't tell time, but the location of a sniper!" It was a quick thought. Butler smacked himself in the head. He had lost his guard, even before Artemis did. Artemis was truly beginning to be more and more alert. Adolescence had played a strong role on the teenage Artemis. Butler now understood. He was reluctant to Artemis' idea, but finally, the approved of it. Artemis took a leaping run with a fair amount of speed; with a quick burst of speed, he launched himself forward.