AN: It's El-Melloi II Case Files Time! Certainly the longest chapter I've written so far. Enjoy!
London Clock Tower [place]
One of the three major branches of the Mage's Association. Originally it only comprised the headquarters of it, but it has since expanded into 12 Faculties with their own college towns that are sprawled around London. While on paper the the established goal is providing the best environment for thaumaturgical research and education, the organization is rife with backstabbing and open discrimination based on family pedigree. Any unwitting soul could and will be unwittingly dragged into the power plays of the factions.1
"Imagine like, the Department of Mysteries, but it's an organisation with multiple university campuses with its own nobility and politics and everyone is a hardcore Ravenclaw-Slytherin.." - Anonymous
~~o0o~~
Iris parried a clumsy slash of Shirou's.
"Remember to line up the edge alignment," she noted offhandedly.
The boy was heaving at this point, obviously nearing his limit. His white shirt with blue sleeves was soaked in sweat. He groaned in frustration and charged, putting all his weight behind a forward stab, shouting a battlecry.
"Haah!"
The witch stepped to the side and let the boy charge by her, who lost his balance and fell forward.
She looked on, feeling a sense of déja vu. Was this what it's like for her mother to train her?
'He really is like your little brother. I can totally see the resemblance.' Ivy teased, deadpan.
'Shut up.'
"I think we're done for today," she stated wryly.
It's been a couple days now since Waver and Medusa left with Kiritsugu on a rescue operation. Herself and Shirou have been left at home.
Being home alone (barring Sooty) wasn't anything new to her. Waver spent most of the week working at the Clock Tower, and her mother occasionally went out on a mission or two for the same institution, with her uncle acting as the middleman between the Enforcers and Medusa. They were vague about the details but she was pretty sure her mother's talents in combat were employed.
She sympathized with the Emiyas, but understood it was beyond her ability to help when the words "Castle Einzbern" were said. The adults were going to assault a castle. Unlike herself, the redhead boy was still sulking from being denied from tagging along to help.
"Iris-nee!" Shirou said (although it actually sounded like "Airisu-nee" because of the accent), agitated, "Please teach me how to fight! I know the old man and your mom and your uncle can save her together, but I feel so useless! My sister is trapped and I can't do anything..." he trailed off, upset. "When they bring her back, I want to protect her. Please," he implored, bowing deeply.
And so, sparring with Shirou had been added to her daily routine.
In return, he would help her with Structural Analysis. Despite the fact that she had probably been training for longer, the sisters found that the boy was more talented at those than her, capable not only of getting an item's makeup, but glimpses of its history as well. Perhaps recreating the history of an object was beyond her, but being able to learn it sounded useful; maybe it could even replace the Alchemy forensics her uncle tried to teach her before they decided she had no talent for it.
The rosette glanced at the conjured dagger, twirling it in her hand. She might have to get an actually forged pair if she wanted to let her tools actually accumulate history.
She was broken out of her musings by the doorbell.
Wha?
They can't be back that fast, can they? The only person who ever rang their doorbell was Uncle Kerry, who said it would take at least a week for them to be done.
Iris hurried to the front door, with Shirou running ahead despite his fatigue. He impatiently unlocked the old oaken door, and threw it open.
She was met with a tall and thin silver-haired man with equally silver smiling eyes, dressed in white dress shirt with rolled-up sleeves, gray vest, slacks and polished leather shoes. In a nutshell, quite posh. He held a couple boxes of what looked like board games under his left arm.
"Hullo!" he greeted brightly, "I'm Melvin Weins, your Uncle Waver's best friend! He sent me to check up on you every few days."
A beat.
Iris wordlessly shut the door, power walked to the shoe cupboard to nab the brick-shaped phone and punched a number in. After a few painfully long rings, it picked up. There was no small amount of background noise.
"Hey, hold on for a second- Iris? This is Waver. Is something up?"
"There's a shady guy at the door called Melvin claiming to be your best friend, saying that you sent him to check up on us," she explained, clipped.
"A-ah, that's- What? No! We're not going to turn every other Einzbern in the castle into sludge with Medusa's Blood Fort!" Iris held the phone away from her ear as her teacher raised his voice suddenly. "Oh, right. Sorry about that. So about Melvin..."
….
Waver was on his way to his office to pick up a few things, accompanied by Kiritsugu who was headed the same way to call in a favor from an acquaintance in the same Faculty. As they rounded the corner discussing what equipment to bring, they were accosted by a silver haired man.
"Oh hey it's Waver! How is my best friend doin-" Whatever words he was about to say died on his tongue as he gaped, looking between Kiritsugu and Waver with sparkling eyes.
"My friend...you never told me you were acquainted with the infamous Magus Killer," he said, eyes full of mirth.
He groaned, facepalming. "Look, Melvin, I don't have time right now. It's important. I promise I'll tell you about it later, alright? "
"Hmm..." the pale man hummed, holding his hand to his chin, making a show of thinking deeply, "You know, somehow, that phrase sounds familiar..." he said, pretending to look off to the distance.
Waver grimaced. "Really. I promise I'm going to call you first thing I get back."
That seemed to placate Melvin somewhat, but the greedy glint in his eyes still wasn't gone. "Come now, Waver. You know I don't ask much in return for borrowing my money...I'll even let you use my private jet for whatever you need to do! Just tell me the short version of what you're doing!"
A glance from the assassin told the magus that he should make nice, because having that private jet on call was something he actually really wanted.
Waver sighed in exasperation and forced a smile. "Hey, Melvin, have I ever told you about my niece?"
….
"...So yeah."
"So you sicced him on me so he would stop chewing your ear off and let you use his private jet?"
"Well, when you put it that way...In all honesty, despite my reservations about being his "best friend", I do trust him. Just tell him a few stories about us and you'll be fine. It's doubtful there's many people in the Tower as interesting as you. I'm quite sure he's not going to tell anyone, if only to keep his source of entertainment safe."
"Uh-huh," was Iris' intelligent reply.
"Er...I'm sorry for not telling you about this. I'll make it up to you when we come back, alright?"
The girl sighed in tandem with her sister's mental one. "Alright."
"We'll be back as soon as we can. Take care."
She grunted, finishing the call, put the brick of a phone back on the cupboard, and walked back to the door. Opening it revealed Melvin chatting with a clearly uncomfortable Shirou. She winced. Iris forgot him outside.
'It is not your fault. You did what you had to. Introduce yourself and invite him in,' Ivy chided her. Not for the first time, Iris envied her sister; despite only ever having Iris and Medusa to talk to directly, she always seemed to have a better sense of propriety.
"Er...sorry about that, you can come in. Uncle Waver forgot to mention you before he left and I had to call him to make sure you're okay," she explained with some trepidation. "I'm Iris Potter, Waver's adoptive niece."
"Ah! That's fine, I completely understand. You can call me Uncle Melvin!" he said, giving a stellar smile.
Then the blood came gushing through his teeth. Iris was suddenly grateful that Waver got her to start wearing these glasses that glamoured her eyes and fangs, so wearing them becomes a habit by the time she starts school.
After 30 whole seconds of panicking, it was finally revealed that he has a condition that makes him puke blood occasionally, but was completely fine otherwise.
Flustered, the Gorgonette finally managed to invite the man in and offered tea after washing up. Thankfully, Melvin defused the awkward mood with the idea of getting to know each other over a board game he brought. After some small talk, Iris couldn't hold back her curiosity any longer.
"I-If it's okay to ask, what do you do at the Clock Tower? Are you a researcher, or…?" she trailed off as she moved her piece five steps forward, unsure if she made a faux pas.
"Ah, it's fine, it's fine," Melvin reassured, "I'm a Tuner. Have you been taught what that means?"
"No, sir," Iris responded while Shirou shook his head.
"Ah-ah! None of that. Call me Melvin, or uncle if you must," he tutted.
"Okay, uncle."
"That's better," he smiled, rolling the die, "So, I as a Tuner, work with Magic Crests and Circuits themselves."
"How does that work?" She balked.
Crests were an accumulation of Magic Circuits that were transplanted from the head of the family to the heir, storing all of the spells learned during a lifetime, so the older the lineage was, the more that process was repeated, and the greater the amount of knowledge stored inside it is. Being the legacy of many generations of work, it's the most jealously guarded treasure of magi families, granting both legitimacy, knowledge and power, thus her surprise that families would allow an outsider to tamper with them.
Spurred on by the girl's interest, he elaborated: "All living things exist on a certain wavelength, and this includes Magic Crests. Yet, this also means that the Crest's wavelength isn't the same as its host's. One example of what I can do is move the wavelength of the Crest closer to the holder's to make their thaumaturgy more effective," he paused, remembering to move his own piece on the board.
His audience ooh'd.
"Furthermore," he continued with a self-satisfied air, pleased by the attention he was getting, "I can repair the damage a Magic Crest incurs, be it from a troublesome transplant, or other causes."
Iris hummed, contemplative. She was beginning to see the man in a new light. Being able to repair damaged Crests was something she could totally see him being respected and being in demand for.
"While I'm flattered about your interest in my work," which he was totally going to lord over Waver, "I'm more interested in getting to know you two. Waver didn't so much as hint to me that he had an adopted niece."
"Well..."
~~o0o~~
In a dingy corridor, a small girl with brilliant blonde hair that went past her ears, doll-like porcelain skin and mischievous emerald green eyes in an off-blue dress hummed to a nursery tune as she picked the lock to Waver Velvet's office after disabling the (for her) measly Bounded Fields on the door.
Reines El-Melloi Archisorte was performing what is probably a scandalously big transgression in the Clock Tower: breaking into a magus' office, one magnitude below breaking into their workshop. Unfortunately for her target, she was well aware that it would not be taken too seriously since the Velvets were a young family by magus standards with budding, minor political clout at best, with the latest heir making a reputation as an outside-the-box thinker.
She smiled in satisfaction as the lock clicked open and she surreptitiously let herself in. Now to look for her objective: any sort of disreputable or scandalous piece of information; bonus points if it's something she can use as leverage against him. Would it have been wiser to have someone else do what she does? Definitely. Would that be fun? No. Would the other reprobate adults in her family agree with her plans? No. Did they have any say in the matter? Also no. It's not like she needed any, anyways. She's already had to walk the political tightrope through primary school with settling her family's debts and walked away alive.
It was a cozy office; nothing too fancy, albeit a mundane person would call it so: lacquered mahogany, burgundy and forest green were dominant with lightly carved tables and chairs. Besides the large, comfortable looking couch and the game console in the corner, the office's defining feature however were the stacks upon stacks of papers, files, scattered documents.
She picked up a file at random and started skimming it. Research, research, alchemy notes for spells not at all ambitious, further uncontroversial research for another faculty...
Truthfully, there should really, really be nothing special about Waver Velvet, except for the fact that he walked away alive from that ritual involving Heroic Spirits in the Far East, where both her predecessor Kayneth, who was a first-rate magus in all respects, and other people of even higher combat capability had perished. There wasn't much else to do for everyone than to register his return as a fact and move on.
Except…
Something changed about the brat who had an ego too big for his own good. He transferred over from the Faculty of Mineralogy to Modern Magecraft, and took it upon himself to buy the rights and teach the El-Melloi Classroom that Lord Kayneth left behind. At first, it had an abysmal attendance rate, but it then rapidly started growing in popularity after news spread of him being a first-rate lecturer despite being utterly mediocre as a magus, so much so that a few New Age students called him "Professor Charisma".
As her mind schemed a ridiculous scheme about using him to rebuild her family, something about him piqued her interest. It was a gut feeling, but she was so sure that there was something calumniously interesting going on with him.
The girl clicked her tongue in frustration. There was absolutely nothing of note; not that she would expect a self-respecting magus to keep anything too important laying around like this.
She began looking through the cabinets and the desk drawers. Packs of cigars, a hairbrush, stationery- whoa, is that a gun? Maybe those rumours of Velvet being seen accompanied by Kiritsugu Emiya are more than just rumours after all. Moving on...
Jackpot. Her eyes began heating up, as they usually do when in contact with magical energy. There was another bounded field on one of the drawers, this time significantly stronger. Her brows furrowed in concentration as she subconsciously stuck out the tip of her tongue. This one was a tough cookie.
But, as always, she succeeded. Hmph, as expected from a talented magus like herself.
The bubble broke, and a small statue of a lion was revealed to her.
That...that's it?
She picked up the copper lion and winced as her Mystic Eyes of Analysis began overheating from the magical energy on it as she turned it in her hands. It held some sort of magecraft Reines hadn't seen before. Made of mundane materials...activated by password, purpose…"going home"?
Tsk. If only she knew the activation word. She could go with the brute force method, but that might trip alarms. Whatever this is, it would be a one-time chance to perhaps look at Velvet's workshop since he was supposed to be away for a good while.
Reines drew a steady breath, pushed prana into the item and felt a yank in her navel.
~~o0o~~
The silver-haired man could barely contain his glee as he bounced his leg in the car he was driven in.
Oh man. Oh, by the Root. When Melvin agreed to babysit the kids a few times a week, all he expected were some embarrassing stories about Waver's domestic life, and instead hit solid fucking gold.
When he learned he was talking to the Magus Killer's son, he thought he already got to the juiciest bit.
But no.
Naw.
From the dark pink haired girl, who he thought would give him something along the lines of a sob story about being saved by Waver from a really bad situation, he gets bombshells after bombshells. It took a trade of information and a promise to teach her basic Runes, but that's nothing compared to what he got in return.
She not only freak summoned a Servant after the 4th Grail War ended, but also got blood adopted by said Servant. Then the Servant and Waver decided to co-raise the kid together (he was so going to rib Waver about basically living the married life). Oh, and she called the Magus Killer Uncle Kerry.
Saying Melvin Weins got a kick out of this was the understatement of the century.
He didn't say anything even though he could tell the girl was leaving things out, but he was completely fine with that. If Medusa being her mother was something she was comfortable telling someone she just met but was assured is trustworthy, then he was happy to leave the bits that would get a dramatic revelation for later. Especially since the kids seemed to have even more to tell.
Melvin couldn't believe his friend would keep something like this from him! Well...actually, he completely saw the reason for his best friend's recalcitrance to tell him about her. There's no telling what the folk at the Tower would do should they catch a whiff of this.
Iris was just too precious, even has her waist-long hair tied together at the end with a purple bow. She said her mother wears it like that, too.
Melvin swore himself to secrecy to keep his newest source of exciting stories- I mean his best friend's niece safe.
Hmm. Maybe it was about time to ask about the trip Waver left on. As he was pondering about how to coax that story out, the expensive car halted to a stop, signaling arrival on Hemwick street. Melvin quickly bid farewell to the driver,walked up to the entrance of Lion House and rang the bell.
He blinked as the door opened seemingly by itself.
"Hellos Mr. Silvery!" a high-pitched voice squeaked.
Melvin looked down, brows wanting to disappear into his hairline as his eyes met a house elf's big, green eyes.
"Uh, hullo?" he replied, uncertain. He was well aware of what the creature was and their role in a household, but the fact of one being in a magus' household was entirely too unexpected.
"I is Sooty! Young mistress Iri is waiting for you in Wavy's room with another guest!"
Another guest?
"I see. Er, lead on?" he replied, gesturing for the elf to go ahead.
He followed the little figure in, wondering with anticipation and trepidation why the girl or the Emiya kid wouldn't be able to come get the door.
Shortly, Melvin was met with the sight of Iris, sitting on the sofa, glaring at a girl on the opposite side of the coffee table to a girl in high-end clothes roughly the same age bound to a chair with ropes, gagged with a handkerchief and blindfolded. Shirou was standing right beside with arms crossed, looking rather concerned.
On further inspection, Iris' eyes were glowing a pale pink, which he deduced were some variation of Eyes of Binding, as she kept them locked on the girl who would be obviously squirming and protesting.
"Iris-nee, do we really have to do all this?" Shirou asked from the side, gesturing with a hand to the excessive measures of securing the...guest.
"Mistressy Iri, Sooty has brought Mr. Silvery!" announced the house elf, who then popped away after receiving a nod of acknowledgement from the girl.
"Hello, Uncle Melvin," the rosette greeted without moving her gaze, ignoring the redhead's question, "Do you happen to know someone by the name of Reines Archisorte?"
"Archisorte?" Melvin repeated, looking closer at the girl, eyes widening in recognition, "Reines El-Melloi Archisorte?"
"We caught her early morning after hearing some noise in Waver's office with his portkey in her hands. I think that's what she said she was, yelling it like she was supposed to be some sort of big shot name...is it?" she asked, hesitation entering her voice for the first time since she started speaking.
"Er...quite important, if I recall correctly. Before the previous head died, they were highly respected, but they've been struggling a lot these past few years," he explained briefly before looking back to Iris, "I have to second Shirou's question, kiddo. Isn't this a bit much?"
"I don't think it is. I knew Waver had a portkey to the Clock Tower, and he and Mum hammered it into me to trust no one who wasn't invited, so I froze her the moment I met her eyes. I'm not about to take risks dealing with an actual magus. Besides, she has some sort of Mystic Eyes too that she almost started burning the ropes with, and I couldn't tell if she had more up her sleeve," she elaborated.
Melvin almost whistled, impressed by the judgement of the girl. Waver taught her well.
"Still, now I'm here, you two can relax now. How about you rest your eyes and let me deal with her?" he offered.
The girl appeared to contemplate the offer before acquiescing at Shirou's pleading gaze, rubbing her eyes tiredly. Reines crumpled into the chair she was tied to, likely stiff from being frozen for hours.
Melvin moved up to the girl and turned the chair so it would face him, before untying the blindfold and removing the gag with Shirou's help.
"Hello, Miss Archisorte," Melvin greeted. Seeing the girl struggling to form words, he murmured a request for a glass of water that appeared on the table, lifting it to her mouth. The blonde greedily gulped it down.
"Mr. Weins," Reines gasped, "Fancy meeting you here," she said, looking around with a wry smile before settling her gaze on Iris. "That's a real nasty pair of Mystic Eyes you have, holding me for so long. I never would have thought Velvet already picked up an apprentice! Dealt with me within seconds!" she exclaimed, a rueful smile on her face.
"So, what are you going to do with me? I somewhat doubt you'll get too big of a ransom, taking my family's debt into account," the blonde went on.
The silver haired man considered for a moment, maintaining a pleasant smile as he thought. 'Waver trusted me to take care of the kids...I should let Waver deal with it, otherwise, but I don't think keeping her here until they get back is a good idea. It's not overly serious since nobody knows and there's no actual damage.'
"Please, Miss Archisorte, even if I wasn't part of the Trambelios, your family pays me well enough for the repairs of the Archibald Crest," he replied good-naturedly.
"Now, would you mind telling me how you ended up here?"
"Oh, I was looking for Professor Velvet to discuss something with him. When I knocked and didn't get a response after five minutes, I remembered that one of his students said he was prone to doze off in his office, so I let myself in," she explained, her brows furrowing, looking away as though having difficulty remembering, "I recall my Mystic Eyes reacting to a trinket on his desk, after which I felt briefly disoriented and found myself in another office and then shortly bound," she finished, her face the icon of innocence.
"Ah, I see, I see. I understand if you feel perturbed over the reception. I shall unbind you and promptly have Iris apologize," Melvin replied wrily, letting the ropes fall around the chair.
Reines sneaked a glance at the other girl in the room, who was watching her, unblinking, ready to freeze her again at a moment's notice.
"The latter will not be necessary. Her reaction is understandable. In fact, it is I who should apologize for the intrusion," she refuted, looking sheepish, "Still, may I ask for Professor Velvet's timetable should he actually be away at the moment? I would like to apologize personally before seeking his advice."
He nodded as though he believed that. "Unfortunately I cannot say for certain when he will be back, besides that he will return from his trip by the end of the month. I shall relay it to him to expect you upon his return."
"I suppose I will have no choice but to wait," Reines acquiesced.
"Shall I call a car and escort you back? I'm sure your family is in an uproar over your unannounced absence," Melvin offered, though he was sure the only reason why her family would be concerned over Reines going missing is having the problem of who to leave the handling of the massive debt to.
"It would be greatly appreciated," the girl nodded with a practiced smile.
"It is no trouble. If you would give me a moment," the elder magus excused himself, stepping aside as he plucked a small stone plate with carved runes that lit after a murmur.
Iris bit her lip as she watched the conversation end, and got up to walk up to him as fast as possible without making it awkward, and rose to her toe tips.
"Uncle Melvin," she whispered nervously to the tall man who looked on with raised brows, "Could I- could I come with too? To the Tower?" the rosette asked, fumbling her words slightly. "I- I won't even come out of the car if you don't want me to. I just want to go see- Waver never tells me anything about it!" she haggled hastily.
The silver haired man hummed in thought. His first thought would have been a knee-jerk no, because Waver would really, really not want her to. Then again...for the same reasons, Iris might actually never get to see it at all. Her teacher would eventually confess about the reality of what goes on in that organization, making her predictably upset and disappointed about having her ambitions being denied like that. Melvin looked down into pleading green eyes. Maybe he could at least blunt the resulting bitterness, if she was able to honestly claim to have seen and been to the Clock Tower, even if it was just a small part of it.
"Okay," he finally said, "We'll drop off Reines, then we'll go visit a friend of mine, but this will be a one time thing, understand? Waver would have my hide if he knew."
"Yes! I'll be good, I promise! You're the best, Uncle Melvin!" Iris squealed, "I'll be ready in five!" she quickly said before running off.
Melvin let out a breath, looking on as the girl disappeared upstairs, then turned to look at the redhead boy who has been sitting quietly this entire time, watching with crossed arms and a raised eyebrow.
"I suppose you'll want to stay here in case the others get back?" he asked.
He couldn't help but appreciate the simple nature of the grunt he got in confirmation.
~~o0o~~
Iris was practically vibrating with nervous energy when she saw the sleek black sedan stop in front of the house.
She set down the paper bag she brought with herself on the expensive backseat and checked herself over again: ankle boots, dark jeans, dark green dress shirt, biker jacket. The dress shirt was pretty much the only part of her wardrobe resembling anything fancy, which would never ever hold up a candle to whatever Reines was wearing, but it was going to have to do.
"Hey, Peter. Could you help us drive Miss Archisorte to the Modern Magecraft Faculty over at Slur Street, then drop us off at the Creation Faculty?" she heard Melvin ask the driver.
"Of course, sir," came the deep voice of Peter, as the car started up.
The rosette watched on as the buildings went by and the city started to change. Her thoughts whirred, wondering what sort of things she might see at the place her uncle was so adamant not telling her about. Will it be amazing? Will it be horrible? Both?
'Sis, your thoughts are going haywire. Defensive Meditation, remember?' for the first time in a while, Ivy's voice resounded.
Realizing her speculation wasn't going to help in calming down, she took her sister's advice and closed her eyes, deciding to use the opportunity to practice the technique to reign in her emotions. As she exercised the breathing patterns, her mind steadily began to clear of jittery thoughts and emotions, and felt her pulse start to slow down.
In the middle of her 6th set, a growl interrupted her, coming from her side. She blinked open her eyes, suddenly remembering that she was sharing the back seat with Reines. As she side-eyed the blonde, she saw that the girl had a small amount of red coloring her cheeks, even with her carefully schooled expression.
Iris picked up the paper bag she had asked Sooty to pack quickly right before she went out the front door, turning to Reines. She hadn't really known how to interact with her and so she just let her talk with Melvin uninterrupted. To her frustration, Ivy seemed to be more intent on letting her struggle for her own amusement on this one than helping her. Probably because she was being nice to the girl, even though Ivy thought she was really suspicious.
"Here. Some sandwiches I had packed before we left. It's my fault you didn't have anything to eat while I had you tied up so...sorry about that," the rosette explained awkwardly, cringing as she realized she neglected to use formal language.
The heiress stared at the bag offered for long enough for awkwardness to creep in, and Iris' face began to redden in embarrassment.
"I-I apologize, if you do not want them..." she stuttered, starting to retract her arm.
"No!" the blonde started abruptly, grabbing Iris' wrist with the package, "I mean, I'll have them, if you are so kind to offer..."
"Um, here you go then."
A slightly tense mood pervaded the car as the exchange ended, with paper being crumpled occasionally being the only noise that could be heard. After the noise hadn't repeated in five minutes, the witch dared a glance to her left. Huh. The paper bag was empty in her lap, folded into a small shape. She wondered how Reines could eat so fast so quietly.
"Was it okay?" Iris asked with an evenness that was at odds with her emotions.
"...it was adequate."
"Oh. I'm glad you liked it, then," she replied, silently thanking Sooty for his sandwich-making skills.
"...ank you."
If it was anyone but Iris, they would have most likely not have been able to hear Reines' near-silent murmur. With that, the rosette laid back on her seat, allowing a small smile tug at the corner of her mouth. Facing away from the blonde, of course.
~~o0o~~
Having dropped off and bid goodbye to the heiress, Iris observed as the buildings they passed by became increasingly….sophisticated. Old. They eventually stopped in front of what she would have guessed was a building housing a museum of sorts, with the roman pillars used in its architecture.
"We're here. Thanks, Peter!" Melvin grinned with perfect teeth as he disembarked with Iris following suit, the driver merely nodding in acknowledgement.
"Come on. Stay close, alright? I will be very cross with you if you wander off, okay?"
"Okay."
She followed the magus into an alley beside the museum. Halfway through, she felt something wash over her, and shivered.
"The Boundary Fields are pretty jarring, aren't they?" he chuckled. "It's a bit rough the first time. If you already know the Creation faculty is here, it will let you in."
The witch glared half-heartedly at Melvin as she shook off the sensation and caught up to the man standing at the entrance to what seemed to be an open area.
Bounded Fields were a type of magecraft that layered a network of magical energy over a certain area to separate the inside from the outside world. It certainly rang true as the university campus she was seeing shouldn't have been able to be so big, considering the cramped area the town surrounding it is. She suspected the Bounded Fields manipulated the surrounding space as well, not just making sure outsiders stayed away.
There were many pieces of carved artwork strewn about the courtyard, with a fountain in the center that was much more elaborate than was reasonable. Not only carvings filled every bit of surface on it, but there was some sort of optical illusion involved that made them seem like they were moving around. It was the sort of thing that would give you headaches if you looked at it for too long.
The buildings however, it was like they were an exhibition by themselves. Modernism, expressionism, renaissance style, and others that Iris' that had no idea what style they were supposed to be. Even so, there seemed to be an uncanny sense of harmony about it all.
"It's odd, isn't it?" Melvin asked, noticing the knitted eyebrows on the girl, trying to piece together why it looks good when it had no right to.
"People in the Faculty of Creation are all some sort of artists. This includes the architects who designed all this," he elaborated as he walked, "And me, of course. I do my Tuning work with a violin."
Following the man, Iris' trepidation steadily increased from a small sensation at the back of her head as she watched the buildings become increasingly less well-maintained, until she felt the need to ask Melvin, who hasn't really stopped talking since they entered the campus.
"Uncle Melvin? Where are we going? These buildings don't really look good..." she asked, glancing at the brick building spotted with moss.
If there was a seedy part of the Creation Faculty, they were probably in it.
"Hm? Oh, don't worry about it. These are just the parts where the less fancy magi set up shop. All the people in the pretty buildings are part-time politicians. The magi around here just want to be left alone to do their thing...mostly."
Iris hummed as Melvin opened a metal door with a creak that led to the basement level. Even with his reassurances, Iris couldn't help but feel uneasy in the dingy brick and concrete hallway.
They turned a corner into another hallway and stopped after passing a few doors of reinforced steel, at number 8th, which he knocked. The metal resonated with each it, making the witch shiver as the sound rebounded on the walls, echoing. Muffled shouting could be heard after a few moments.
"On second thought...Iris, could you wait here for a moment?" the magus asked, grabbing the door handle that apparently wasn't locked, "I'll go in and make sure there isn't anything dangerous lying about. My friend tends to be rather...absent-minded with her tools," he explained with a wry smile.
"Please hurry?" she asked with trepidation.
"I'll be back in a jiffy. Don't wander off!" He warned hastily before the blast door closed behind him with a clack.
'I'm fine, Ivy,' Iris reassured, a small bundle of worry in the back of her head alerting her to what her sister was thinking of.
Minutes trickled by as Iris absentmindedly Structural Grasped the bricks around her, trying to get a feel for their age. She roughly estimated that they're roughly two centuries old when the hairs on the back of her neck suddenly stood on their end.
Clack.
The sound echoed in the hallways, and the origin seemed to be right behind her.
Iris gulped, and mechanically turned around, unable to decide whether it should be better to run or buy time for Melvin to get back.
She immediately flinched away from the face that stood a mere ten centimeters away from her own.
"My, my, what a pretty little thing I've stumbled on. Aren't you a bit too young to wander around these parts alone?"
If you could be beautiful in a disheveled way, this woman would be it. The woman's wavy hair was streaked with legitimate streaks of gray, as though they were dyed, furthermore, both her arms and her apron were splattered with paint. Even so, her posture was that of a noble.
She appeared to study Iris closely for a moment before she gasped, and an unhinged sheen took over her blind eyes, though the witch suspected deception on that end.
The magus stepped closer with an extended arm that Iris inched away from, mumbling.
"...if I could have those pretty eyes of yours, I wonder what I could do with them...irises with divine proportions..."
'But I have the glamoured glasses on! How does she know?!' Iris thought incredulously.
Panicking and figuring the glasses were useless in their role, she tore them off her nose and cast them aside, firing up her Core to channel prana into her Eyes.
She looked into the woman's milky eyes whose movement froze. Before Iris could contemplate relief however, she resumed her movement in spite of making eye contact with her Eyes of Paralysis.
The woman appeared to have only stopped out of surprise.
"...amazing, they are even more beautiful than I thought! To see the world through irises of perfection..."
She didn't know what, but Iris felt the air around start saturating with prana. There was some sort of spell being cast, and she didn't know what.
'Run!'
Iris' heart beat in her ears as she pumped prana into her legs instead and turned to-
The blast door opened abruptly, and with great noise as it impacted the wall it was affixed to. Melvin looked haggard as he hurried through and headed straight to the unhinged woman, fixing a pleasant smile on his face.
"Good day, Imogen! I trust you are doing well?"
Abruptly, the woman's expression schooled into graceful smile, along with her posture.
"Oh, if it isn't the Weins boy! Here to visit Alba again, I suppose? I don't understand why you come back to her after all this time. You could visit me instead! I'm sure I could make it worth your while..." Imogen replied, her tone becoming sultry towards the end.
It was one of the creepiest things Iris has ever witnessed.
"Very funny, Imogen. Please, spare me your paintings. Remember, it's impolite to put your hands on things that aren't yours," Melvin brushed her off, rolling her eyes.
"Hmph. Very well. Do remember that my door will always be open for you!" she winked a milky eye before walking off, her heeled shoes still unnervingly silent in the halls.
"What...what was that?" Iris gasped at Melvin.
"That was close," Melvin breathed out, "I'm really sorry for taking so long. Come one, we'll talk inside."
Wordlessly, the rosette hurried inside and plopped on the first chair she saw inside as the magus shut the door. Her legs felt like jelly.
"I'd forgotten about Cruorholm. She usually doesn't leave her workshop," she heard Melvin say, more to himself than anyone else.
As she was focusing on evening out her breathing, a bottle of water was shoved in her hands, uncapped. She gulped it down greedily.
"Easy, girl."
Iris' breath hitched at the new voice, making her choke on the water she was drinking. It took a minute of being pat on her back to breathe evenly again.
"Heh, I'm not helping am I? Imogen snuck up on you just like I did," the voice commented self-deprecatingly.
'Certainly not,' Ivy spat. Iris could tell that she'd be glaring at the person if she could.
At this, the witch finally looked up to see wrinkled, steely blue eyes looking back. Just like Imogen, the elderly woman seemed to have a disheveled grace to her and wore a dirty apron, but unlike her, she didn't make her feel like she was in danger just by existing. Her arms with rolled-up sleeves were crossed and her wavy gray hair was tied back.
"Melvin, introduce us, would you?" she asked, a smile tugging the corner of her mouth.
"Right; Iris, this was one of my teachers before I took up Tuning, Alba-Flora Cantacouzine; Alba, this is Iris Potter, niece of my best friend that I'm looking after," Melvin gestured from across the table; Iris nodded as finally noticed that she was seated at one. There was a table with a few chairs to it, a leather sofa and in the room...daggers? Swords?
It was like she was like Ollivanders' again, but the walls were littered with all sorts of equipment and tools.
"Haven't seen something like this, have you? I reckon other magi don't really put their work on display like that. Well theirs, and others'."
Iris blushed in embarrassment, distracted by the room. Turning back to face the others again, she asked a pressing question.
"Melvin? Who was that? Why did she act like that? It was so creepy, an- and my Mystic Eyes couldn't affect her!"
"Ah...that was Imogen Cruorholm, distantly related to Lord Valueleta Atroholm," Melvin explained, "I recall she sacrificed her eyesight for improved magical senses. Figures that she would use that to give herself some sort of protection from Mystic Eyes."
"Oh, I can see why she was so interested in you," Alba commented, "Any Creation Faculty member would recognize the rectangles with the Golden Ratio in your eyes."
"Golden Ratio? Like...maths?" Iris asked, confused, "But what does that have to do with anything?"
"You really don't know, do you? How beauty, mathematics and magic are related?" she asked, sighing, "That you will have to ask your teacher about at a later time. Weins boy here has something pressing to ask you, it seems," she said, gesturing to the silver haired man, who smiled sheepishly.
As Iris turned to him however, his face gained an uncharacteristic air of seriousness to it.
"Before I just thought your Circuits have an abnormal composition, but you're a witch, aren't you, Iris? You ought to start Hogwarts this fall, shouldn't you?"
The girl paled; she had left that detail out in telling Melvin about herself.
"But...how? I didn't cast any spells," she asked weakly.
"My magical senses are tied to my hearing, Iris. I can hear Magic Circuits. It's why I'm so good at being a Tuner," Melvin explained, a smile tugging the corner of his lips, "Your...tune...was like a person with mutated Circuits until you opened your Circuit in the hallway. It was the only explanation left."
"Oh..." Iris huffed, and stayed pensively quiet for a long moment. "Are you angry at me for tricking you?"
"Of course not!" Melvin replied, grinning.
She blinked. "Huh?"
"I think it's hilarious! You could just totally waltz into the campus and nobody would suspect a thing! Even I thought that you just had to have abnormal Circuits, because being a witch simply doesn't occur as a possibility," he elaborated energetically, clearly getting a kick out of the situation.
"Do you...do you think Waver would let me attend the Tower then?" Iris asked with hopeful eyes. Maybe Melvin can convince Waver to let her attend the Tower!
"No. I won't bring you anywhere like this if I can help it," he continued, dashing Iris' hopes just as fast.
"But why?" she asked petulantly, "I don't wanna go to Hogwarts."
"Iris, if I may call you so," Alba began, setting down a freshly brewed cup of tea, "You thought Imogen was crazy, right? You saw how suddenly her entire personality changed?"
She nodded.
"To reach the Root, the majority of magi deemed having things like right or wrong and sometimes sanity...disadvantageous. The moment you step within the Clock Tower's Boundary Fields, people may follow its customs, but can't expect them to abide by the rules of normal society," she paused again, glancing at the rosette if she was following, "For example, magi even train themselves to have borderline split personalities in order to be in a more effective mindset during socializing and research, all for the sake of reaching the Root. Practices that would be normally considered disturbing or repulsive are also considered the norm among respected magi."
The woman noticed the girl glancing at Melvin with a questioning expression. "Of course, there are outliers like Melvin, but I digress," she said, glancing at the Tuner before rolling her eyes.
The woman fixed Iris with a stony gaze, and she had to hold back the urge to squirm. "As it is, you, child, irrespective of what sort of Circuits you have, will be eaten alive in this place."
"But Reines-"
"Reines doesn't count," Melvin interrupted, "She's had to grow up fast and handle family business like an adult since she started primary school. And unlike you who barely became aware of magic two years ago, she was raised to become the heiress of a magus family her entire life."
At this, the witch had no reply to and merely looked away with a pout.
Seeing Iris downtrodden, the violinist's expression and tone softened. "This is why Waver didn't want you to have anything to do with this place," 'Among other things,' he left unsaid, remembering the girl's special circumstances. "He didn't want you to be interested in the Clock Tower because you weren't raised to survive in it. You don't have the experience."
A lightbulb lit in his head and he clapped abruptly, making the Gorgon look up.
"So, you'll have to get your experience elsewhere. In another magical society where you can get both life experience and magical knowledge. I wonder where else these things can be found? A certain boarding school, perhaps?"
The girl's expression became pinched instead. "Besides witchcraft, how am I going to get more experience at Hogwarts than a mundane school?"
"It's not just a school, Iris. It's a magical school. There is no such thing as an establishment with magicals without its own strange incidents caused by magical shenanigans or plots," he explained with a wave of the hand as though he was stating something obvious, earning a raised eyebrow from the witch.
"So kiddo, go to Hogwarts, get some friends, learn witchcraft and develop your magecraft, get some action in, and then you can start wondering how you can get in your uncle's class. You got that?"
Iris, a bit overwhelmed, quietly did a slow, deliberate nod.
~~o0o~~
A sullen silence descended on the table, only interrupted by the clinking of china.
"Tea?" Alba offered belatedly with a wry smile.
"Please," Iris' shoulders slumped as she replied.
The woman stood with a chuckle and disappeared behind another door, deeper into the workshop.
Melvin snorted. "Well this is not how I expected this visit to happen either."
There was a muffled groan on the other side of the table, as the witch rested her head on her forearms. "So...Alba?" She asked, trying to change the subject.
"Right. So, I've told you that I'm a Tuner, right? I didn't always specialize in this. I promise it's relevant," he added hastily at the girl's raised eyebrow, "When I was a teenager, I spent a lot of time trying to figure out what I'm talented at. You see, people have a lot of expectations when you're part of the Trambelios, even if just a branch family. Almost every person I've apprenticed to wanted to get something out of being the teacher of the Weins heir, like a typical magus. Prestige, political clout, that sort of thing," he paused as he looked aside, reminiscing.
"But Alba...she wasn't interested in any of those things. The offer to apprentice with her was already unusual by itself. It was an invitation for tea, but when you try to see too hard between the lines, you start seeing things that aren't there. So I came expecting another test for my abilities, but she just literally sat us down for tea, and then asked me to tell her about myself. Asked me what I do for fun."
"And then he looked at me like I told him I deciphered the Sixth True Magic," came the woman's voice from behind holding a tray of tea, who closed the door behind her with her foot.
"Quite," Melvin chuckled, taking a cup of tea, "And then I puked blood on her table when I tried insisting on an aptitude test for crafting."
"Which you failed," the crafter added, setting down a cup of tea for the witch.
"Obviously. Then I asked, "But then why did you invite me?""
"Because I thought I could get something interesting out of it. Which I did, because you kept coming back after a while to tell me about all the interesting stories you've heard."
"That I did," he continued, sipping his tea, "After that, I decided that even if I'm going to try something that might not work, I'll do it if I think I'll get something interesting out of it. Life becomes too dreary if work becomes your only focus."
Iris hummed as she drank her tea. She couldn't really disagree on that. 'That does sound like his life philosophy,' Ivy commented, speaking up for the first time in a while.
The rosette was about to ask her sister if there was something particular she wanted to ask the magi about, when she noticed her attention was directed to the wall cluttered with Mystic Codes in her peripherals.
"Is everything you have on display?" she asked the crafter, eyeing some of the blades.
The magus scoffed. "Of course not. These are merely the pieces with the best aesthetics I have."
'Figures. It's the Creation Faculty,' she thought. "If I wanted to buy a Mystic Code, would you sell it to me?"
As she looked back to the owner, she was met with an evaluating gaze that accentuated the magus' wrinkles. "I'll be frank. You are both young and inexperienced. I am...hesitant to let you off with a piece you might bring with yourself into the wizarding world."
Iris was about to give an acquiescing nod, not having expected a yes, when Melvin spoke up. "Why don't you divine whether she should have one or not? I don't think I need to mention how special Iris is, and she might need it in her future magical shenanigans. Besides, it's been a while since a customer bought something you divined for them, right?"
Well. She was skeptical of the argument used, but she's not about to look a gift horse in the mouth.
"Well..." Alba drawled, "I suppose that would be fair. She won't get one if she's not meant to have it," she agreed, standing from her chair. "Do remember that this means you don't get to be picky, so you only get what I give you."
Iris nodded, following suit with some trepidation, directed to stand half a dozen steps away, facing the crafter.
"At ease," she said, taking out an eyepatch from her pocket and placing it over her right eye, "All you have to do is to let me look at you," the magus instructed, forming a frame with her fingers and looking at Iris through it.
"Eu nu strivesc corola de minuni a lumii," she chanted, her voice laced with power, and faint tattooed runes Iris hadn't noticed before lit up around her exposed eye with an otherworldly glow. She recognized Ansuz, Peorth and Algiz among them.
This is what Waver meant when he said "when casting, a magus becomes nothing more than a cog in the machine of enacting Mystery", she thought, watching the crafter work with impeccable focus. Ollivander's piercing gaze had nothing on this woman.
After a few long moments she felt the surge of prana recede and together with it, the magical tension in the room. Iris let out a breath she didn't notice she was holding as she watched the blue "film" between Alba's framed fingers fade away.
"Oh dearie me," she exclaimed, taking off the eyepatch, "Those are some calloused hands, girlie. Handy with a dagger, aren't you?"
"...I am," the witch confirmed. She knew it was divination but people suddenly just knowing things about you was still disconcerting. "So?"
"I Saw that you're going to live through...interesting times, so I do have something I am willing to part with," she drawled, walking up to the display and picking up a short blade that she began scrutinizing in her hands. "Give me a minute," she stated, abruptly disappearing behind the door to her workshop again. The muffled sounds of machinery could be heard.
Iris glanced quizzically at Melvin who merely shrugged unhelpfully.
Moments later, Alba came back and presented a dagger to Iris. The witch eyeballed the weapon to be a little over a foot long, with a concave handle shaped like the roman "I" numeral, made of a red-tinted wood capped with metal on top and bottom. The blade itself was shaped like an elongated triangle of a dark metal with satin finish, and etched with jagged lines on the fuller.
"It's called Balisarda. Honestly, it's more of a dagger with a special feature than a real Mystic Code, but this is what you get. Oh, and I added a ring on the bottom of the hilt you can hook your chain on," the magus noted, making the Gorgon look up in surprise. Using chains like her mother was what she was wondering how she would implement next.
The woman grinned impishly as she flipped the dagger in her hand and held it out, handle first. "This is why I don't get to divine people often like this. Magi really don't like giving away information about themselves."
"I can see that. What does it...do?" she asked as she took the weapon and turned it in her hands.
"Oh, I'm sure you can figure it out with that pretty little head of yours. I already gave you the biggest hint possible."
Iris rolled her eyes. She should've expected this from the person Melvin got his attitude from. "How do I pay you?" The girl was pretty sure she could afford it, but it doesn't cost to ask before agreeing. Goodness knows Waver hammered being careful with her money into her.
"This particular piece has already been paid for, actually. The Enforcer bloke that commissioned it went off and died on a mission before he could claim it," Alba explained before Iris had the chance to wonder if Melvin was throwing wads of cash at a whim again. He did offer to buy that python she chatted with at the Zoo when they visited, and he was completely serious about it, as far as she could tell.
"So take it and carve your path with it, come back with some interesting stories, and I might consider actually making something for you," she said with a mischievous glint in her eyes.
"...I will."
Somehow, it felt appropriate to end the meeting there, and the witch-magus pair were shortly ushered out of Alba's room.
~~o0o~~
1 - type moon wiki - Clock Tower , Lord El-Melloi II Case Files Material