Author notes: Same as with the Prologue, I went over this trying to iron out all the problems. Italics for thoughts and enhancing the atmosphere are back, and I hope I got rid of all typos. Not gonna bother going over the disclaimer again, I obviously haven't bought the rights for neither Harry Potter or the Witcher. The next update will be within a week.

1270 AD, Bavaria

The two men were walking as slowly as possible over the fallen leaves, careful not to make any noise. The older one took a glance towards the younger boy and winked, while smiling, then signaled him to look ahead. They both saw them. Two beautiful, brown deer gently grazing the ground, looking for something still green to eat. The men in blue, long, coats drew their bows from behind the thick trees they were hiding and dashed from their cover, both taking aim.

The deer made a short noise and quickly raised their heads, but it was too late. The older man's arrow hit its target right in the head, the poor creature only leaving out a chocked scream before falling on the ground. The younger one, on the other hand, clearly was not favored by fortunes that day, as he only managed to hit the lower part of the neck, his deer screaming and darting away as fast as it could, lifting many of the dead leaves from the ground. The boy hunched his shoulders and groaned, clearly disappointed he missed. The older man laughed and playfully swatted him on his arm, while he turned towards him and rolled his eyes.

"I'm glad you are entertained, father."

"What was it you said, 50 groschen says I am faster than you? I suppose you did spook that poor creature faster; I'll give you that!"

The young man only nodded his head in disapproval and whistled loudly, four black hounds appearing out of nowhere from behind him and running by him, so close that he almost lost balance. The blue-eyed boy watched over them as they disappeared through the trees, then turned towards his father, which in the meantime retrieved his arrow and knelt next to the downed animal, inspecting his catch. The son looked walked next to him, merely tapping him on his shoulder and passing him by. His father looked up at him with a raised eyebrow, slowly stroking his beard.

"C'mon, father, let's see if the dogs chased down that deer!"

He sped up his pace and went in the direction of his hounds, while the father stood up and only raised his arm with his bow, scouring the distance. A few moments later, he heard a loud shout in acknowledgement and heard the hoofs of his servants' horses nearing him. With that, the man went in pursuit as well. He heard the dogs giving chase somewhere in the distance, their barks increasingly fainter, and his son running through branches and bushes, in pursuit of them.

The man ran through the woods, slowly starting to breathe increasingly heavier, and taking short stops to catch his breath. After one such stop, when he was just starting to resume his run, he was brought to a halt, and could only frown, focusing on his hearing. He turned his head towards the noise. And then once more, in the exact opposite direction! Where he heard… precisely the same thing?

"Mein Gott…"

He stopped and took on a defensive stance, looking around at the seemingly harmless trees. This could not be possible! He thrust a finger in his ears, and yawned as hard as he could, trying to fix his hearing, but the strange thing still happened! No matter in which direction he turned, he kept hearing the same thing! The muffled barks of his dogs, and his son tearing through the lower branches of trees! Suddenly, one of the barks seemed so loud as if the hound was right at his ear! He screamed and quickly turned a few steps back, instinctively pulling out his arming sword and swinging it in the direction of the scream, but seeing nothing! He held the hilt tighter, and scanned the area. His heart was beating increasingly faster, and he could not tell if it was just his imagination or if the surrounding noise was not actually increasingly louder.

"Konrad! Where are you?"

He felt foolish for his weakness, but something in him kept preventing him from dropping his sword and moving. It was as if he completely lost control of his body, while the chasing dogs around him continued their run undisturbed. And yet he could not see them anywhere! And then he noticed the other thing. The complete and utter silence of the forest. Other than the strange noise, he could hear nothing else! No humming of birds, no wind moving through trees, not his nearby servants, nothing!

Everything is so… still! That's what he thought as he looked around, growing increasingly worried if perhaps he was not losing his mind. Not only he could not hear anything besides the chase, but nothing even moved anymore! The trees were perfectly still! Nothing in his line of sight made even the tiniest move! The old Count Sigbot von Falkenstein rubbed his face and called for his son a few more times, all while keeping his sword ready. Why was he so afraid? What could have possibly been so terrifying that it made every bone in his body rattle? He looked around and saw only the most normal forest scenery one could imagine. And yet those trees. They were not… normal. And those blasted sounds!

Wait a minute, he thought. The sounds. They are repeating themselves!

"Oh, God. Oh, God, this is not good!"

Sigbot quickly took out the gold crucifix he carried around his neck and grasped his sword even tighter. That damned echo he kept hearing wasn't as constant as he thought. It was only a couple of seconds, which went on a loop. A terrible loop that seemed to worm its way into his very skull, entrancing his mind. An increasing feeling of dread started overtaking him. As if something was ready to appear from behind a tree and pounce on him. Or perhaps the trees themselves shall pounce on him! Were the trees alive?

Did I hear them whisper?! The forest will kill me!

"Father!"

Hearing his son's voice seemed to have broken the Count out from whatever trance had overtaken him. He dropped his sword on the ground and staggered a few steps back, taking a deep breath and clutching his head with his hands. It was over! Whatever that had been, it was over. He looked around and no longer felt any dread at the sight of the forest. Everything seemed to be in order once more.

"Father, come!"

He looked in the direction of his son's cry and picked up his sword, sheathing it at his belt. Although safe, he was still shaking, and the more he thought about what happened to him, the fuzzier the memory of the event seemed. It was almost as if he was trying to recount a childhood dream which he wasn't even sure happened anymore. He shook his head, trying to regain his composure, and then took off towards his son.

He found the young man leaning on the trunk of a tree, holding onto his leather belt and surrounded by a most infernal noise. Sigbot could not even begin the imagine what could have made his hounds bark and howl and behave as if possessed, but it was certain his son did not even attempt to deal with the situation. For a brief moment, the Count felt a pang of fear in his chest, wondering if the dog's behavior and his own experience from earlier were not connected. The man neared his son and eyed him carefully. The boy was frowning, looking at the dogs and not making a single move.

"Konrad, am I glad to have found you..."

"They've been at it for almost an hour."

The boy spoke softly, evidently concerned. But his words brought his father to an immediate halt? An hour? The two split up less than ten minutes ago, fifteen at most! This was impossible! Surely, this must have been a joke of some kind. Yet, the more the Count tried to convince himself of that, the more his dread seemed to return. I will die.

"I sent everyone to spread out and look for you. Where have you been?"

Where the Hell has he been? What happened to him? And why did he kept having the feeling they were watched?!

"I… I must have gotten lost. What are you doing? What's with the dogs?"

Konrad gestured with his head towards the four black hounds, who by now were foaming at their mouths. They were barking and looked as if they wanted to rip something to shreds. Sigbot frowned and followed their gaze. His son's downed deer was right there, seeming to have eventually succumbed to its wound, if the pool of blood underneath it was any indicator. But something else drew his attention. The old man frowned and gently pulled on his beard as he took a few steps away from his son, surrounding the scene. They were in a clearing, a rather large one at that. It was quite odd to see how much of a perfect circle the tree line formed, almost as if they've arranged so by someone. And perhaps strangest of all, the rectangular patch in the middle of the whole thing! A patch of absolute nothingness, where not a single blade of grass, or flower, or living thing dwelt on. It made the Count feel uneasy, since it looked so much with a grave, and was wondering if the deer did not die because it happened to run over that empty spot, rather than because of its wound.

That's ridiculous, I am imagining things!

And yet, no matter what words he used to comfort himself, the fear remained. He looked towards his son, which, albeit pensive, did not seem to be sharing the same feelings as him. God, let us get out of here alive!

"Konrad! We should leave. The servants should not be far behind!"

The young man looked up, clearly confused by the suggestion.

"Leave? We just arrived here today, father." He smirked. "I see age is really taking its toll on you."

Sigbot gave a more desperate than amused laugh.

"So it does. C'mon, at least this way, we will have time to prepare for the ball in München."

The Count made sure to avoid the dead patch as much as he could, and went along the tree line, eager to get out of that place. His son's next words made his heart sink.

"Oh, I'm not leaving. We just got here. And that dreadful ball doesn't need much preparation, father. We are guests from the province, not the Emperor!"

Von Falkenstein took a deep breath and swallowed hard. He looked around at the trees, which this time looked strikingly normal. Yet he knew. He knew them. They are laughing at me! He could not take it anymore! He will not let his son alone in there. I will die here. Sigbot let out a terrified screech and slapped himself, much to the dismay of his son, that took a few steps towards him, asking him if he is okay.

"I'm fine! I'm fine! It's just… been a long day, that's all. Fine. Fine. If you want to remain, then let us shall. We should find a good spot to sleep though, it's getting dark…"

By God, this is my last day on Earth!

"Oh, this will do." Konrad said happily, not noticing his father's looks. He fixed his belt and smoothened his blue shirt with golden buttons, before walking towards the dogs.

"C'mon, you silly muts."

Sigbot didn't even notice the infernal noise the dogs were making at the dead patch of grass anymore, so captured he was in his thoughts. He looked as his son grabbed two of them by their collars, laughing at them, but quickly losing his balance as the beasts yanked out of his grasp. One even turned towards him, looking more like a wild beast than a hunting dog and bit him on his arm, before turning back towards the grave like patch and continuing its loud vigil.

"He bit me! The thrice damned dog actually bit me!"

The brown-haired boy was taken by surprise and fell on his backside, while holding his injured arm with his other hand. The bite was not that deep, but it was enough to bleed. He looked at his father, clearly shocked by the animals' outburst.

"Konrad, perhaps we should return" his father said diplomatically.

The boy simply waved his healthy arm and got back up on his feet.

"Nonsense. The servants will just take the dogs away for the night."

The young man turned around just as the horses and the servants neared them, waving and arm and shouting after them. In a matter of minutes, the horses were hitched, a fire was made, and a butcher started preparing one of the deer to be butchered. The men, all wearing a blue and golden belt, the colors of the House von Falkenstein, set up their beds, and a beautiful, blue tent was erected, with a golden eagle on top of it. It was circular, and the interior only decorated with a golden carpet with various patterns on it, blue and silver. The beds of the two nobles were clearly more comfortable than those of the commoners, though nothing overtly complex. The hunting party soon set down to eat, and one of them took out a lute and sang a few songs as the Sun went down. Still nursing his bandaged hand, Konrad laughed and used a spoon to play conductor. By night fall, the spirits settled, and Sigbot felt a little more at ease, after the happy evening and now surrounded by more people.

"Are you coming to sleep, Konrad?"

The two were sitting at the entrance of the tent, the young man holding a chalice in his hand and taking sips of wine. He seemed to be contemplating something as he tapped the edge of the cup with one of his gold rings.

"Does that not seem… odd, to you?"

He pointed towards the dead patch on the ground. Sigbot threw a quick glance towards it, but then quickly shifted it towards somewhere between the branches of the trees, as if only glancing at the accursed place was enough for something to crawl out of it and snatch him.

"God knows, Konrad. Looks like a regular patch caused by fire to me."

"No…"

The young noble left his glass at one of the supporting beams of the tent, and moved towards the dead center of the clearing.

"This looks like… like something was buried here."

The Count huffed, rather irritated.

"Someone's body, by the looks of it!"

For some reason, his son became rather ecstatic at hearing that, turning towards his father with unhidden joy on his face.

"A giant's tomb! Like that boy in Salzburg said last year, do you remember? At the banquet for the old Archbishop! I remember he had a funny name… Asger. Asger Elerik, wasn't it?"

Oh, how Sigbot remembered that abomination! It was his first introduction to one of them! And he prayed to God and all the Saints that it will be his last. Sadly, the younger abomination managed to infest his own son with some of those demonic stories. The Most Ancient and Noble House of Elerik, such an influential family in those parts of Austria. Known for their charity events and patronage of culture. Loyal citizens. Rich beyond any's imagination. Wizards. He spat. And to imagine that an Archbishop of His Holiness, the Pope, would entertain relations with such creatures. And to make matters worse, that was when he found out just how many from the upper echelon of the Holy Roman Empire were intimately acquainted with such spawns of the devil. He was told that the wizards had their own nation, slightly larger than the Empire, ruled by some drivel called the Imperial Magisterium and that House Elerik was of great renown and power in that gathering.

"There are no such things as giants, boy!"

Konrad did not seem to pay any attention anymore, instead he stood right next to the empty patch of land, slowly tapping it with the tip of his leather boot, as if testing it.

"Everyone! Gather round! Pull out anything that could be useful and start digging! I am quite certain there is something valuable buried in here!"

"By God, what do you think you're doing?!" hissed his father, grabbing him by the arm.

Konrad was always too adventurous for his own good. Normally, his father would have stomped down such pointless misbehaving, but this time he did not find the power in himself to do so. He started feeling nauseous, and the same dread he felt earlier started to return. He simply sat down next to his tent and silently prayed his son was not going to find anything in that damned pit he started to dig.

And dig he did. Along with all the servants. They used their swords, a couple of spades, and one young servant even dug using his bare hands. They were at it for a little over an hour now, and Konrad kept encouraging his men with tales of riches and fame. There was quite a mound of dirt piled up in the middle of their camp now, and once the hole was too deep, they expanded their dig outwards, improvising a sort of ramp that allowed them to return to the surface and take out whatever it was they were hoping to find. With every thrust of the spades, Sigbot sent passionate prayers, hoping that nothing will be found. And with each silent throw of dirt into the ever-increasing pile, he felt the very essence of life and joy returning to him, only for the process to repeat itself in the span of less than a second. Surely, they were going to quit soon. Even his naïve son had limits. They were going to give up and whatever was buried there was…

Von Falkenstein froze. He heard a powerful echo, as if metal hit metal, reverberating across the entire forest. He then heard cheers coming from the pit. His eyes started tearing, and his hands shook, his fingers clenching on the gold cross he was holding. He felt completely alone, even among the merry shouting just a few meters away from him. I will die here.

"What is this?" asked Konrad, while gently tapping his discovery with his spade. He pushed away a bit more dirt, showing a piece of immaculate black cloth. One of the servants kneeled and swept even more dirt away. It looked like the clothed rectangle was exactly the same size as the empty patch of grass above it was. It took them another half an hour to smoothen the improvised ramp and completely unearth the object, before they all grabbed it and lift it out of the pit. It appeared to have some supports on one end, so they planted it firmly on the ground on that side, the now dirty group taking a few steps back looking at their reward. If anyone found it strange just how perfectly clean and intact the black cloth was, no one mentioned so, just as no one could mention where could it have possibly have disappeared once they finally pulled it down. And pull it down they did. Konrad reached out with one arm and pulled at the knot that kept the whole thing tied up. His hand moved slowly, filled with emotion and anticipation. He let out a short breath when the covering fell on the ground, and the entire group took a step back, then looked at their prize in awe.

And how beautiful it was! A mirror! A mirror with solid gold framing, and who shown a reflection of a clarity no one ever imagined it is even possible to exist! The mirror was tall, about two meters tall. Its shape was rectangular, but the top narrowed into an arch, the gold design directly framing the mirror also following the visual of an arch. As if it surrounded a door, rather than glass, and truly, all that looked in it felt that the image looked more like an opening towards a mirror world, and their copies were also gazing at them, that was how clear the image was and how detailed the etchings on the arch decoration were. Flanking the arch decoration were two columns, slightly taller, which had two square, highly decorated cones on their tops, while the space between the two merged into the shape of a triangle.

"She's beautiful!" said one of the servants.

"God, I never seen such artistry before!" said another.

"Who could have buried such a work of art?!"

Konrad was about to say something himself when suddenly his entire world stopped. His heart beat faster and he felt his cheeks redden, while he mumbled something no one quite understood. Completely overtaken by emotion, he reached out towards the mirror, touching its surface with so much passion that it looked as if he was about to ask it in marriage. Confused, one of the servants asked him:

"What is it, sir?"

Only for the briefest of seconds did his gaze torn from his own reflection to look at that of his servants, and he was clearly baffled by such question. He returned his adoring look to himself, and spoke only after a few moments.

"Do you truly not see it? Are you blind?!"

The servants quickly exchanged glances, clearly not understanding what their young master meant.

"Umm… we see our reflections, sir. What exactly do you mean?"

This time, Konrad did turn towards them, and spoke with a completely uncharacteristic ire.

"Are you playing a trick on me, you insolent fool?! Be mindful in whose presence you are!"

This time, the poor men were starting to feel rather uneasy by their young master's attitude, and one even took a step sideways, so that he no longer reflected in the mirror. For the first time since they started their dig they looked at their prize with suspicion. With a great effort of will, Sigbot stood up and went closer to his son. He did his best to avoid any eye contact with the damned object.

"Son" he spoke gently "what do you see?"

Konrad looked to his father with the most beautiful smile he ever saw his son have, and his eyes had tears of clear happiness.

"I'll do it, father! I see it! I see myself! A bit older, ten years from now, perhaps! I am in München! The Pope is there too! He is crowning me King of Bavaria and Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire! I'll actually do it! I… I think this mirror shows the future!"

With every word, Sigbot's heart sank ever deeper, fully realizing just why that accursed mirror was buried. He saw his servants quickly disperse, and a few even made the sign of the Cross, while muttering prayers for themselves. He knew he could not let word of this discovery spread. He reached out an arm, trying to take his son from it, but the boy only yanked his arm away from him.

"No! How can you even consider pulling me away from it? If the mirror shows the future, I must see how exactly I will become Emperor in the first place! I must figure out how it works!"

The two argued some more, but no matter what Sigbot said, his son remained adamant. And now his servants stood as far away as possible from it, so he couldn't just order them to restrain him. It would not have looked well either, not at all. Still, it was almost midnight. The boy had to fall to the charms of sleep sooner rather than later, and perhaps his head will be clearer in the morning. With that hope in his heart did von Falkenstein go to sleep that night, though his mind raced for long after he lay in bed. He just knew there was something more about that mirror. Something evil. He felt it in the forest today. He did not know what it did, but he was quite certain that it did not show the future. No. Whatever that mirror was, giving clarity was not one of them.

He awoke grasping for air and immediately stood up from his bed. He took a few moments to collect himself, then noticed all the candles were put out. Must have slept a few good hours. The first thing that struck him as odd was the coldness. Sure, it was Autumn, but this was freezing weather! Even the harshest winters felt warmer! He quickly pulled the blue sheets from his bed and wrapped himself in them. That was when, while looking around, noticed that Konrad was not in their tent.

What's that boy got himself into now?

Rubbing his palms together and blowing in them to warm himself up then slowly walked out of his tent. What he saw next made him stop in his tracks. Everyone was gone! The horses, the servants, his son, it was as if they were never there! He looked around, shouted, searched for tracks, nothing! To make matters worse, someone somehow filled up that giant mess of a pit that was dug up earlier, the ground looking as if it was never touched, save for the dead patch disappearing and being replaced by regular grass. Unfortunately for him, whoever did that did not have the decency to also bury that blasted mirror too! The object stood there, right in the middle of the clearing, like an eerie monolith. A change did occur however, as its surface no longer reflected anything, instead it was pitch black!

How very strange.

He took a careful step towards it, but then let out a short scream when the complete silence was broken a group of seven birds that landed on a branch near him. They were rather odd-looking birds, if he may say so himself. Small, black, with white eyes and long, pointy beaks. They started humming a strange tune, what that had the cheery rhythm of a lullaby but for some reason, filled Sigbot's heart with terror. The way they were singing it was strange too, in such perfect unison. When he next looked at the mirror, he frowned. He just noticed. The surface was not black. It was open! It was as if the archway surrounded a door, and that door opened towards… darkness. Towards pure, blinding darkness! It was like a place which not even the most powerful light could penetrate! It felt like nothing he ever felt before, and that simple, pitch black sight filled him with a dread he never imagined possible.

He woke up screaming and with a splitting headache. He was covered in sweat and quickly reached got up from his bed, trying to calm himself. The first thing he looked for was Konrad. That unruly boy was not in the tent! At least the candles were still burning. He took a peak outside, and much to his relief saw the small mountain of dirt and his servants sleeping. Slowly, trying not to make any noise, he went out of the tent. He sighed and his heart sank when he saw his son sitting cross legged in front of that damn mirror, eyes glistening at whatever lies and deceptions it fed him. In that moment he resolved to get rid of it as fast as he could. Or if that will not be possible, destroy it. He will pull his son out of its grasp!

16th November 1689, Paris, The Kingdom of France

"Putains d'idiots, n'ayant aucun respect pour la vie des autres, sauf la leur! Petits paysans et lâches consanguins!"

Madame Marie Épelion rolled her eyes, and put down her book with an exasperated sigh. She tried to enjoy her final morning in her beautiful manor, but it appeared her husband decided to go on yet another tirade. The ninth, this morning alone. It looked as if she could truly not have a moment of peace lately, not even in what was supposed to have been a rather solemn occasion. She looked around at the now empty ballroom, with its ancient expansion charms making the inside large enough to give even the beautiful halls of Versailles a run for their money. The reddish wooden floors were so polished they were almost gleaming, and the gold frames of the windows stretching across an entire wall looked at her sadly, with their intricate, floral decorations. On the wall opposite stood a magnificent mural painting depicting the founder of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Épelion, Théoda, the great wizard warrior that opened the path for the armies of King Clovis, more than a thousand years ago, when the Franks conquered Gaul. Ever since those distant times had House Épelion owned the lands on which this manor was built. She sighed. She could hear her husband continuing his tirade while traversing the manor's empty halls. She placed a beautiful, blue silk ribbon as book sign, while gently stroking the book and closing it. A most fascinating writing on the nature of Blood Magic's interaction with defensive wards, written by none other than Perenelle Flamel herself! Madame Épelion removed her elegant, dark wand from the dragon-hide holster at her belt and pointed it towards the beautiful pink settee sofa with ivory legs. She vanished it just as quickly as she conjured it a few hours prior, both times silently and with only a flick of her wand. She then put her wand back and walked barefooted on the wooden floors. She was so grateful for the moments she had no Muggle guests to entertain or merely interact with. She could never understand how their women would wear those horrid, restrictive dresses of theirs! By Athena, they could barely move in them! What if they had to run, or merely turn quickly towards something? Even when she enchanted them, she could still barely breathe in such a thing! Waste of good cloth, if anyone asked her. She placed a hand over her beautiful Acromantula silk shirt, which reached her knees. It was white, with navy-blue lilies sewn all across it. The sleeves were slightly larger at the end, having a pleasant, golden colour which matched well with the gold necklace she wore over around her neck. And she would not have traded those blue pants for any of those Muggle concoctions they called lady fashion.

"Porcs dégénérés! Eux et leur stupide loi!"

She finally tracked down her husband to their old bedroom. She placed a hand over the wooden door engraved with flying eagles, allowing her husband a moment to sense her presence. How much she wished she could do something about his current state of mind, but in truth she quite agreed with him. It was only as a way to temper his own outbursts did she not give in and threw her own temper tantrums or merely break down in tears. Although, after she ordered the House-Elves to empty the manor she locked herself in her study and drank and cried for the rest of the day. She knew her husband knew. He even tried to force open the door at one point, but decided to leave her mourn in peace. They both had to deal with this harsh new world they found themselves in. And for the first time in Marie Épelion's life, she hated the Wizarding World. Taking a deep breath, she slowly opened the door, finding her husband sitting over a conjured wooden table, where he placed some letters. Leonard Épelion looked up towards his wife, his large, once so full of life, blue eyes staring deep into her onyx ones. By Athena, how much she hated seeing him like this. So… broken. She went closer to him, giving him a kiss and gently stroking his back. In an instant, she then grabbed hold of his strangely long golden hood and straightened it. Marie let out an annoyed sigh, then couldn't help but smile. No matter the situation, her husband could never fix his own robes properly, and no matter the situation, she could not help herself and did it for him. Even he smiled, and tried looking over his back at the long hood, then back down at the long, navy-blue robe he was wearing.

"Thank you, my dearest."

"You know you are hopeless with your clothes, Leonard" she said while smiling absently. "Anything new?" She looked warily at the stack of letters in front of him. He only shook his head and kept looking at them.

"Non, same old. The announcement, the eviction notice, some idiotic refusals to my appeals. And this" he said with disdain, as he picked up a letter "is a warning. They say that if I do not register as citizen with the new governmental structure, they will remove my family's status as Most Ancient and Noble House and seize my vaults at Gringotts!"

Marie gasped, clearly shocked by this news. He did not tell her of that particular information, and she grabbed the letter, not for one moment believing such tyranny could exist in the world! She read it and reread it, and still could not believe it! This was blackmail! It… it could not have been legal, it… It was not fair! Yet there it stood, at the end of the letter. That vile, vile seal. With her hands shaking, she placed the letter on the table and looked at her husband, outraged.

"How could they do this?! How do the Goblins even stand for this?!"

He let out a small grunt, which served as quite indicative of his opinions on Goblins.

"As long as there is gold to be made, do you truly think they care about the morality of the problem? This… this disgusting thing… the…" he picked up one of the letters, to read the exact name "the International Confederacy of Wizards, they clearly managed to sell their idea to Gringotts."

Marie closed her eyes, trying to fight back the tears. Eventually, she spoke again, her voice slightly choked.

"Madame Pelletier… and Madame Beaumont, they… they were supposed to visit us this Tuesday."

Leonard stood still, lost in thought.

"Madame Beaumont, she has a daughter the same age as our Amelie, non?"

"Yes" Marie nodded. "A few months older. "I guess it's all over now. They will not even remember us soon enough."

"I had so many meetings scheduled at Versailles. And that business trip to Marseilles… I suppose none matter anymore. We… it's all over now indeed."

He clenched his fist and punched the table, cursing the ICW and their law. His wife kept patting his back, clearly thinking the same things he was saying.

"We had lives, my dearest. We had such beautiful lives, and they stole it from us! And not just us, so many others as well! We lost everything! All so some cowards can enjoy their own uselessness in peace!"

"I still can't believe this is happening! That they can't force us to obey this… this travesty of a law! The Statute of Secrecy, how does one even come up with such a thing?! Do they not think of how many wizards and witches they will ruin with this? How many friendships broken, or heritage lost?! I still don't understand why they force you out of your ancestral home!"

He gave a grim chuckle and turned towards her.

"Well, they claim the manor is simply to famous for a Fidelius to catch onto it, and the wards are simply too reactive with the surrounding Muggles to simply make the manor Unplottable. And since the structure is so obviously magical, we can't just masquerade it, or sell it. Which I would not have done in the first place."

He rubbed his forehead and continued.

"As to how this is happening, well… There is no opposition strong enough in the places it matters. In Europe, it's only us, the Greeks and some places in Italy where the resistance to this Secrecy nonsense is stronger. There is no place in Europe where our stance is a majority though. And that blasted Magisterium in Germany is flexing its muscles on all the smaller states to bend the knee. Their Empire will be the most dominant political force in Europe for centuries to come, if we break off from the Muggles."

"What about Britain? Doesn't a branch of Lord Malfoi's family have sway over the country?"

"Clearly not enough. The Ancient and Noble House of Malfoy, yes. They, like us, have been quite adamant against it. But their opinion is not a majority view. Only a few minor families support it, when it comes to folk that would matter in the political scene. And the Gaunts, but they only do it out of principle. They call the Statute cowardice. Which, in all truthfulness, is not all that far from the truth." He looked at his wife and hugged her. "If you truly want, we could go to Qing. I heard the Dragon-Emperor is quite adamant in his country not having anything to do with the ICW. Some rumours of defiance keep popping up across Africa too."

"Our lives are here. Our friends… were here. Our heritage remains France, even if the country abandoned us. No, we… we have to stay. We have to persevere, somehow. If not for us, for Amelie."

He smiled and he kissed her.

"Speaking of, you should go fetch her. It's time to go. I wonder if she will keep breaking into your library even in the new home. I'm still surprised she even understands those Enchanting books she keeps stealing, even I have trouble following them!"

Marie laughed, thinking of her daughter and how she always thought herself sneaky when she managed to nib one of her mother's books.

"Beauxbatons certainly can't start soon enough for her, non? She will surely be one of the best the school ever had!"

Madame Épelion left her husband behind and started scouring the deserted manor for her ten-year-old daughter. She would call out her name and look through every room, but the girl was nowhere. Eventually starting to feel worried, she took out her wand and cast Homenum Revelio, a sphere of red light building up on the tip of her wand, and feint flashes of light in the sphere appeared in the direction of everyone present in the house. One, she knew was her husband. The other, must have been Amelie. She followed the blink in the direction it showed, as it progressively got brighter, until it reached a closed door where the girl was. Marie ended the spell and sheathed her wand, her chest slowly feeling up with dread. She was there. Again. Her daughter was there, again! By Athena, she warded that door with as many wards that Gringotts itself seemed lax by comparison, how could a ten-year-old daughter have possibly broken them?! She knew for a fact her husband did not let her in, he never dared question her again on letting their daughter near it again after their first fight on the subject. So how did her child find herself near that thrice damned object?!

Marie slowly opened the door, trying to catch her daughter doing whatever it was she was doing near that thing. She always seemed to know when she was following her under a Disillusionment, so perhaps a simple, Muggle sneaking would yield more results. She was staying there, in front of that horrid gold mirror, cross legged. She always stood there, for hours on end, staring into that thing. She stopped in her tracks when she heard her daughter hum a rather eerie tune. Somehow cheerful, yet… terrifying all the same. What was even more strange was what she was saying.

"Sein Anlitz ist schön, seine Worte Fantastisch"

By Athena and all the gods, since when did her daughter speak German?! And those words! Who was she singing about?! And why did that song make her feel like she was being chained by some cold, unknown terror.

"Doch dieser Teufel ist verdorben und garstig"

Her hands started shaking and decided it was time to intervene, if only her knees did not fail her. What was wrong with her?!

"Die Wünsche würd er dir gerne erfüllen"

"Amelie!"

The child did not seem to have known her mother was behind her, judging by her reaction. She let out a short gasp and stood up, her face bright and happy as always. She smiled and hugged her mother, who was starting to regain her senses. She swallowed and hugged her back tightly, trying to protect her from something even she did not really know if truly existed.

"Mon Amelie, what were you singing? And how did you speak German?"

The child's playful onyx eyes got even larger than before, and she looked at her mother confused.

"I was speaking another language?! But how?! I never realized, I just understood the words and thought it is French!"

Well, this was definitely alarming and yet again Marie received proof there was more to that damned mirror than mere curses, compulsion charms and Legilimency enchantments, as her husband thought.

"But, where did you hear it, my little baroness? And who is it about?"

The child regained her explosive, cheerful mood, as she bounced under mother's touch.

"He taught it to me, mama! It's about himself! Which, I thought was a bit arrogant, making a song about yourself. I even told him! He laughed and said that because I am always honest, He will teach me something! He taught me Ansuz! I never knew Runes are so interesting, mama!"

Marie was getting increasingly alarmed with every word her daughter spoke. She felt a cold chin run down her spine and her lips started trembling, yet she mustered up whatever courage she had left and spoke to her daughter.

"He, mon Amelie? Who are you talking about?"

The child looked up at her confused, as if the answer was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Why, Master Mirror, of course!"

"Master Mirror?"

"Oui, mama! He is a really funny guy that lives in papa's mirror. He sometimes visits me in my dreams, but mostly we just talk here. He knows a lot of stuff! He used to show me silly stuff I like, but every once in a while he shows me stuff from where he's been! Did you know Archmage Aldin used to badmouth his own wife to his cat when she was not around? So funny, non!"

Do not look up! Do not! By Athena, the gods, and whatever deity that has ever been worshipped Marie, do NOT look up! If you so much as glance into that mirror, He will kill you!

For a few good minutes she just stood there, frozen. There was an eerie cold taking over the room. She did not trust her feet not to collapse, so she just remained in place, her eyes fixed on the top of her daughter's raven hair. She was afraid she will accidentally see the mirror, so sometimes she just closed her eyes shut. Her daughter sensed her troubled mood and started squirming, but she only tightened her grip on her, keeping her head tightly against her abdomen.

"Do not move, Amelie! Stay still! And whatever happens, do not look back, do you understand?"

"Mama?"

"Do as I say, Amelie!"

The girl's voice started breaking, but let out a muffled oui, mama. Marie started moving backwards, with as much care as she could. She did not risk letting go of her daughter. Whatever happened, she must not let her even turn towards the same direction as that… thing. The risk was too great. She may die, but she will not let Him have her daughter! It a long amount of time until the two, now teary-eyed women, finally were out the door. Once the mirror was fully out of sight, she let out a long breath, and whipped her wand into her hand, sealing the door behind her with a powerful locking charm. She grabbed her daughter's hand and practically ran down the stairs, looking for her husband.

"Mama, what is going on? Can't I say au revoir to Master Mirror?"

"No! We are leaving! Now! Do not look back!"

In a few minutes she was back into her old bedroom, Leonard still looking angrily at the letters. She must have missed another rant, she concluded. When he saw their state, he quickly sobered up ran up to them.

"What happened?!"

"Not now. Leonard. We must leave! Immediately! I shall explain later."

He clearly wanted to protest, but decided to trust his wife and merely nodded. He waved his wand over the table, the letters flying right into one of his pockets, and then the conjured piece of furniture disappearing. He took one last look around the room and then stretched out his arm. His wife grabbed it strongly, while she held her daughter with the other. Leonard was clearly distraught and she was saddened that she could not support him. But more important things were at play here. In the span of less than twenty minutes, she went from being devastated by losing this ancient dwelling to not knowing how to tear it down faster. Lord Épelion raised his wand, every fiber of his being filled with hatred for the Statute of Secrecy and the International Confederacy of Wizards. And he was going to channel all of that into this one spell. His mind made; he spoke the incantation harshly.

"Ignis Malus!"

Fyiendifire. A bolt of blazing hot, red flame darted out of his wand and into the hallway outside of his old dormitory. As the quickly expanding fire started engulfing the manor, he took one more look at his wife, which had a strange determination on her face, and Apparated his family away from everything they once held dear.

12th August 1771, Bilbao, Spain

"I still can't believe they did something so stupid, hermano."

"By the gods, little brother, this again?! Will you stop?"

The two men could not have been older than twenty-five years old. They were both handsome men, with olive skin, and shoulder-length, black hair. One of them, the slightly taller one, had a finely trimmed moustache, while the other was sporting a short stubble. They were wearing black cloaks, with knee-length shirts underneath, red and silver respectively.

"No, but I mean. You have to admit, the sanity of the aforementioned idea is of rather dubious statute. C'mon, really, you? Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher? Crazy."

The one that was apparently a newly appointed teacher merely rolled his eyes.

"Could you speak any louder? I think there are a few Muggles down in Sevilla who didn't manage to hear you!"

The younger man chuckled and merely fidgeted his right hand. His brother saw the tip of the wand coming out of his sleeve and smiled. Privacy wards. Young Ignacio may have enjoyed playing the part of the local dolt, but it was clear to see he was actually far from it. The two made their way to a small, run down store, specialized in Magical antiques. It was one of the last Wizarding stores left scattered in the Muggle world. Since the implementation of the Statute of Secrecy less than a century ago, all Wizard owned stores were legally forced to activate within warded, Magical areas, and any Muggle owned store that used to sell Magical artefacts was found, the artefacts in questions seized, and the owner and all that had knowledge of the Wizarding world were Obliviated. A store such as that one was a rather illegal business nowadays. Some people still did it as a form of last stand defiance to the ICW, though some simply did not have the money to relocate, despite the funding allocated by the Confederacy for such cases.

"I want to get you a new-job-gift. Mios Dios hermano, curse-breaker at Gringotts, resident expert in troll hunting and always having an open job offer with the Unspeakables here in Spain! You really took all the good genes, you greedy brat!"

The older brother, Diego, grinned and fired a silent Stinging Hex at his brother, who merely clicked his tongue at him.

"Rich of you to complain, mister youngest-potion-master-in-the-Iberian-peninsula-to-ever-live! If your forays into the matter of ladies of pleasure and overall debauchery were not so well known, we would have probably been colleagues right now!"

Ignacio waved his hand.

"Ah, to hell with that! I live well enough, don't need the recognition of some snotty Purebloods down in Madrid. I'd rather live a life I won't be regretting when I'm old and grumpy."

The two entered the store and gave a warm greeting to the old owner, who merely looked at them questioningly. They looked around the ridiculously crowded place, which seemed more of a dusty storage facility rather than store. There were mountains and mountains of various things, all placed in such a fragile equilibrium that Diego felt that merely looking at them will make them topple. He was about to head towards the exit when he heard his brother's voice calling from somewhere in the back.

"Heeeey, Diego! Come here a minute!"

Diego merely sighed, not trusting his brother's judgement when it came to antique artefacts, but followed along anyway. He found Ignacio standing in front of an old, dusty mirror, whose only redeeming quality was that it was, at least on first inspection, made out of gold. The new professor wasn't overly impressed with it, especially given the small burn marks the thing had here and there.

"Hermano, am I losing my mind, or do you see this too?"

"Ignacio, your mind has long since slipped from any state resembling normality. Just tell me what you see."

"Us! I mean, not us us. More like… older us, I guess. We're both married! I have two kids. You too! With that delicious brunette you keep lusting over, the one down the street from us! I don't recognize my wife though. Mios Dios, what is this?!"

"Move over!" Diego commanded. This was surely rather strange. In a few moments after stepping in front of the mirror, the normal reflection of himself changed. He saw… No. That was impossible! His first idea listening to his brother was that the mirror showed the future, but this was… Unless… "It shows us what we want."

Ignacio was more thoughtful than his brother ever remembered seeing him. At least since he broke father's wand as a child and thought of ways to hide his involvement in the destruction. Next he spoke, his voice was strangely… solemn!

"The thing I want the most is a family?"

"So it seems" his brother said gently.

"And for you to hook up with that curvy chick with huge…"

"Ignacio" his brother warned him. "Assuming this thing doesn't have any curses on it, it's a rather neatly enchanted thing to have. And… I guess it can be quite an eye opener too, right?"

He only nodded. "You want it?"

"If the price is right. Even if it turns out to have some nasty stuff on it, the Legilimency enchantments on it must be quite impressive to look at."

"Well, let's get it then."

The two started walking towards the counter, when Ignacio made a weird noise, as he usually did when he had an idea he thought hugely impressive but turned out to be quite annoying. He quickly pulled out his wand and pointed it towards the mirror, pushing his magic through it. That next moment, some words got engraved right above the mirror, much to Diego's dismay.

"Did you just… vandalize an object of unknown origin and warding?"

"I'd rather call it an improvement. Look!"

Diego looked towards the mirror; his mouth still open in shock.

"I show not your face but your heart's desire" he read. How unoriginal. How Ignacio. He rolled his eyes and did a wand wave of his own. "At least be more interesting!" The letters rearranged themselves so that the whole sentence was in reverse, as if read from a mirror.

"You're right, look how awesome that word sounds! Erised! The Mirror of Erised!"

Diego nodded, conceding to his brother's point. "It does have a nice ring to it, I admit."

"Well, let's buy it! I really hope it's not dangerous, truth! Those upcoming brats you will teach since September would quickly fall in line for a chance to look into The Mirror of Erised. Pfft, still can't believe you are leaving all the way to Hogwarts!"

Author note: The French in this chapter is courtesy of the dreaded Google Translate. I hope it is not too bad.