A Crow From Afar

by WhitherWinds

Harry Potter has always thought that he was the only one left of his family. That was until Sirius' words in the Shrieking Shack revealed a twin sister. Meanwhile, in a Wizarding Russia drenched in bloody conflict, a letter has called back a Crow to the nest from whence it hatched. Their roads cross and they soon find themselves running parallel in a looming crisis.

34. Chapter 34

Chapter 34 - Taking Action, Preparing for Change

His last class was over, his detention with Umbridge was over. The pain still clung onto the back of his hand unyieldingly but it was ignored as soon as he saw the familiar figure walking down the corridor. A soft smile reached his face, he did not get a chance to talk to her yesterday.

"Anya!" Harry yelled.

The girl turned around to face him, tilting her head questioningly as she stopped.

"I was just wondering," Harry walked up, scratching the back of head with his left hand. "Do you... want to hang out?"

"Is this you asking me out like the Yule Ball again?"

"What!? No!"

"I'm joking," Anya shook her head with an amused snort. "Lead the way."

Her eyes briefly glanced down and Harry hurried to hide the injured right hand in his pocket. He took a turn and headed down the stairs, Anya walking beside him.

"So where are we going?" Anya asked. "I still haven't eaten dinner."

"You haven't?" Harry echoed. "What were you doing?"

"Clearing out my homework. I've heard rumours of OWL year and I plan to keep my schedule clear from any backlogs of homework."

"That explains why I didn't see you yesterday," Harry reasoned. "At least now I know where to bring you."

"Where?"

"The kitchens," Harry smiled. "The house-elves there are the sweetest things in the castle, they make the sweetest things too."

"Lead the way," Anya nodded.

The twins made their way towards the Hufflepuff common room, stopping just a few corridors short in front of a painting of a bowl of fruits. Tickling the pear, Harry pulled the hidden door to the kitchens open and dragged Anya along with him.

The house-elves were eager to please, Harry was glad that Hermione was not present to witness this. Soon, the twins were lounging in a corner of the kitchens, seated on little chairs that the house-elves provided.

A plate of lamb chops was laid in front of Anya and she dug in immediately. Harry took several helpings of treacle tart for himself, awkwardly using his left hand in an attempt to keep his injured hand hidden. For the first few minutes it was a peaceful silence between the two. Harry broke the silence first, speaking between mouthfuls of treacle tart.

"Have you been to your Defence class?"

"Professor Umbridge? Yes, just had her today," Anya replied casually.

"I hate her already," Harry grumbled, his right hand tingling.

"Well... her lessons aren't exactly the most illuminating," said Anya. "I preferred the imposter last year."

"Heh, sad isn't it," Harry chuckled. "A Death Eater being a better Defense teacher than this pink monstrosity. I can't believe she's teaching Defense like that, it's absolutely useless. Voldemort is out there and she's teaching everyone to be walking sheeps."

Anya nodded silently, continuing her meal.

"You're alright with her doing this?" Harry asked incredulously.

"I honestly don't mind," Anya shrugged. "It's just OWLs after all."

"It doesn't prepare us for the real world," Harry replied hotly. "Exams and tests won't prepare us when war fully breaks out."

"So what are you going to do?" Anya asked, continuing the dissection of her lamb chop without pause.

"What?"

Anya looked away from her food and met his gaze evenly. "If the teachers here aren't helping and you feel like the lessons don't prepare you for the real world, then clearly you should be something else. So, what are you going to do?"

What am I going to do?

The question bounced around in Harry's head. Anne raised a perfect point, if nobody was going to do something about preparing them for Voldemort's, then he had to be proactive.

One way or another, Voldemort was coming for him. Anne was in danger too, whether she knew it or not. Harry promised Sirius to take care of her, he promised himself to take care of her.

Merlin, he promised mom to take care of her.

If Anne was somehow able to cover his back in the graveyard when Voldemort returned, then he would - he had to - claw his way, tooth and nail, to repay the favour. Anne was right, he should be doing something instead of waiting.

Harry grinned, for all the subtleties that Anne lived and breathed in, she could be blunt when needed.

"You have a point," Harry nodded. "I'll figure something out. War is coming and we have to prepare ourselves."

Anya hummed noncommittally, finishing her meal. A nearby house-elf immediately swooped by to collect the dishes.

"We could train together," Harry suggested. "Having some actual practice in duelling would do us good."

Shaking her head, Anya let out a soft laugh. "Don't drag me into this, Harry."

"Why not?" Harry frowned.

"It's not my fight."

"It is," Harry exclaimed, surging forward to grab Anya by the shoulders. "It's your fight too."

Harry's voice trembled slightly as he looked at her right eye, knowing the scar that was hidden behind glamour charms.

"It was your fight the moment Voldemort cursed your eye."

"With no lasting harm done," Anya gave a wan smile.

Harry sighed, he had spent enough time with her in the summer to know that there was no point pushing any further. But he was not going to give up.

"We could still hang around and practice some spells," said Harry. "I get to train and you get to have some fun."

"I'll think about it."

Harry smiled, that was as good as he was going to get.

"Come on," Harry stood up. "Curfew is about to start. I'll walk you back to your common room."

Anya silently agreed and the two of them made their way to the dungeons. It was a silent walk but after all the time they had spent in the summer, Harry no longer found it awkward; rather, he found it peaceful. When they reached the entrance of the Slytherin common room, Harry received an amused look from Anya.

"You seem to know Hogwarts quite well," she smirked, a silent jab at his knowledge of the Slytherin common room's location.

"I've been here longer."

"Sure thing," Anya rolled her eyes.

"We'll meet to practice some spells?" Harry asked.

Anya gave a shrug and waved Harry off, Harry nodded and began heading back in the direction of the Gryffindor tower.

XXXXX

He had spent quite some time, he could feel it in his chest, a tingling feeling that seeped through every bone down to the marrow. Honestly, it was a pleasant feeling, as though the world's weight had been lifted off his chest. He felt light as a feather. Touching hard floor once again, Vergilius released his hold on the international portkey and left the building, back to London. Without any regard for the Statue of Secrecy, he disapparated, arriving at the Ministry of Magic.

Vergilius had no intentions of going home, that was the last place he wanted to be. Walking almost leisurely down the corridors, he made his way back to his workplace. The black-tiled corridor and marble pillars were a familiar sight to him, almost comforting but still feeling off. He entered his office, the stacks of parchment, lockboxes and scribbles on the wall staying where he had left them. Walking to the desk, Vergilius looked at the pieces of parchment, the creases of frustration still evident. He frowned at the contents, a firm reminder why he was about to do the right thing.

There was no reason for him to stay here, not when he could be out there truly changing the Wizarding World.

"Vergilius? You're back?"

Vergilius turned to the source of the voice and was met with the sight of his old friend.

"Scott," Vergilius nodded. "My holiday had to end some time after all."

"Well, you were away for a long time," Scott shrugged with a grin. "I guess everyone was just too used to you not being around. Quite the pain you gave me too, you were supposed to be working on a project with me, remember?"

"Please," Vergilius snorted. "I've already set most of the components up before I left, you aren't in any position to complain."

"True," Scott admitted. "So how was the Continent?"

"Wonderful," Vergilius smiled before giving a snide reply. "How's the project so far?"

"You were a right old arse," Scott chuckled. "But I've more or less finished it, give it a few more weeks and we can submit it to Blight for approval."

"That's good, I expect we'll revolutionise the entire concept of a National Ward Grid," Vergilius nodded.

"If it even gets approval," Scott shook his head. "I can already see all the ethical backlash from the project."

"Why not? It put an end to the need for Oblivators and the Status of Secrecy will never be compromised in Britain."

"The 08Ms will never approve it, don't even talk about making it to 09M or 10M," Scott sighed. "Blight knows that giving too much power to our department is going to bring the Minister and Wizengamot down on us."

"Well, we tried," said Vergilius. "Project Crescendo Line was fun while it lasted."

"Come off it, Vergilius," Scott said resignedly. "A way to channel magic from ley sources into a regional spell broadcast via ley lines of the National Ward Grid? Forget Oblivating a city of Muggles, you could curse all the wizards in an entire province with one fell swoop."

"And you could temporarily ward an entire town from siege magic or Muggle weapons in the same fell swoop," Vergilius countered. "I see no issue unless the right people are in control of it."

"And who are the right people?" Scott sighed wearily.

"There's a reason I keyed our blood to the master controls, didn't I?" Vergilius smirked. "Gave you the second physical key as well too."

"You mean to say the fool who thought it was a good idea to jinx all the pumpkin juice in Hogwarts and the other fool who openly disrespected Professor Phineas Black in the Start-of-Term speech are the prime candidates for controlling this?"

"Decades old matter," Vergilius laughed at the past memory. "We grew up."

"We did," Scott chuckled. "I'd best be going, Terriers is waiting for me."

Vergilius nodded, waiting for Scott to leave before taking a suitcase he stowed in one of his lockboxes. Flipping it open, he stuck his head inside and checked the serviceability of the Extension Charm. Satisfied, he drew his wand and waved it in a sweeping motion. Sparks flew from all the lockboxes around him as he deactivated their protections, a flick of his wand caused each lockbox to open and a final sweeping motion caused all the documents and items within each box to fly into his suitcase.

Picking up his suitcase, Vergilius calmly made his way back into the winding corridor. If he was not going to stay, he was going to take back his creations and discoveries. This meant a trip to the archives, every single one in the facility.

Fear, anxiety, doubt. Those emotions shed themselves from his skin as he drew his wand, it felt as though he was reborn. The thought of being caught never came near his mind, for he was essentially a spectre when in the field, he had done enough missions to know.

The security spells and wards were tricky, but he had once temporarily been in charge of half of them. Slipping through was challenging but doable, his rank and knowledge was most convenient. He only needed to give an excuse to the guards and his rank did the rest.

An hour passed and he stood alone in the cavernous chamber. The walls crept all the way up, seemingly reaching the top of the world despite its subterranean location. The staircase that hugged the walls and pillars seemed to reach for the dark heavens as well. Balls of enchanted light illuminated the place countless rows of filing cabinets in a soft red glow.

His heart beat in wild excitement, he secretly relished the thrill of danger. Climbing from the bottom, he stopped once he reached the twelfth level. Turning, we walked down the suspended walkway and counted to eight. Inspecting the runes that protected each cabinet, Vergilius muttered a long incantation and jabbed his wand. The rune quivered slightly and its purple glow turned grey. Pulling at the handle, he took out a thick document. Reading the cover title, he smiled and placed it in his suitcase.

One down, Twenty-five more to go. He reached for the master index tome he picked up from the archive control room and traced his wand across the line of words.

E3H845A: L12-R08-C213

Those words disappeared from the master index tome. In ten minutes, all documents and items related to E3H845A disappeared from the archives - and by extension, the department - as did any reference to E3H845A. In eleven hours, twenty-six pieces of classified information was wiped out from existence overnight. Any names, locations, timings and references to those information on other documents were also blotted out. The only trace of their existence was the information vacuum it left behind.

XXXXX

Astoria took a deep breath and calmed herself, flexing her fingers to test the grip on her wand. Her target stood in front of her, slouched in a relaxed state but Astoria could see the firm feet and keen eyes. Ignoring the bruises on her body, she took another deep breath and lifted her arm.

"Stupefy!"

Her target dropped low, allowing the red spell to fly harmlessly above it, colliding with the tree behind instead. Astoria flinched as her target sprang forward, staying low as it moved, it's right hand skimming over the ground.

"Impediment-"

Astoria's incantation was cut off as her target scooped up the soil as it moved, flinging it into her face . Her eyes shut instinctively as she coughed out the soil. Shaking off the low blow, she hastened to find her aim but she could already see the white of her target's eyes.

"Diffindo!"

A hand went up to grab her wrist, redirecting her Severing Charm. Said hand jerked her forward and Astoria felt herself lifting off the ground. Her world spun and the next thing she knew, the ground came crashing back.

Astoria wheezed in pain, knowing that was another bruise added to her growing collection.

Come on. Get up. Get up. GET UP.

Clawing the ground in desperation, Astoria scrambled to get herself off the ground. Lifting her head, she was met with the tip of another wand. No spell went off and Astoria finally got back onto her two feet. Wincing in pain, she backed away from her target as it looked at her expectantly.

"Name your mistakes," Anya said curtly.

"I used an Impediment Jinx," Astoria muttered.

The spell was already up there in terms of jinxes used in Hogwarts, it was even labelled a dueling spell by some books. Astoria still could not force its usage out of her system. It had been a shock when Anya bluntly condemned the spell as situational at best.

Then again, it was a shock when Anya said that three syllables was the most she was allowed to use in an incantation for close quarters, anything more was for scenarios where life and death were not seconds away. But it did make sense when four syllables were all she could sound off before soil was flung at her face - and she knew Anya was going easy on her.

"Another?"

Cycling through the pointers Anya had given her, Astoria huffed another reply. "Getting up doesn't mean getting away from danger. Shield Charm and rolling aside should have been the first reaction. Cast a retaliatory spell if the situation deems appropriate. No shame in casting spells from the floor."

"Another?"

Ever since they had been ambushed in London, Astoria had been trying to find a way to better protect herself if she was going to involve herself in Anya's business. Duelling sounded like a good start but she knew books were not enough. A potential teacher was in front of her so she asked Anya.

"Relied too much on my arm when I could be using my wrist during casting."

Anya nodded at her answers in satisfaction before stowing her wand and taking several steps back. "One more."

Astoria cringed, she did not expect Anya to be this much of a brutal taskmaster. The older girl had no issue throwing her onto the ground repeatedly to make sure she learned her lessons. Nonetheless, she raised her wand in response.

"Diffindo! Reducto! Diffindo!"

Facing Anya had slowly taught Astoria that there was no such thing as overkill. In fact, the larger the damage the spell could cause, the better. The ambush in London had been her first stark reminder, it was do or die.

Anya dropped into a tumble to dodge the spells before dashing towards her again. Astoria took a step back, she felt quite pathetic being constantly flattened by someone who was not even using their wand. Aiming her wand at the ground, she cast the next spell to buy time.

"Fumos!"

Smoke erupted between her and Anya. Astoria seized the opportunity to dive behind a tree, crouching low while keeping her wand pointed at the smoke. Seconds passed by and Astoria saw nothing appear from the smoke. Anxiety pooled in her belly before the soft crunch of leaves brought her attention to her rear.

Wrist, not arm, Astoria!

Flicking her wrist back overhead, she lunged forward away from Anya. "Protego!"

The rustling of leaves was the indication that Anya stopped in her track to prevent herself from colliding with the Shield Charm. Going around the tree for cover, Astoria peeked out and took aim. A hand grabbed her wrist and swung her forward. A leg tripped her up and she fell forward landing prone. The grip tightened and she felt a pressure on her back.

"Expluso!"

Astoria took a wild aim and the tree beside her blew erupted in splinters, forcing her opponent back.

"Protego! Fumos!"

The Shield Charm was precautionary, the Smokescreen Spell bought her a window of escape. Now she knew why Anya forced her to perfect that spell, it was very useful in disengaging from opponents.

"Incendio! Diffindo! Reducto!"

Astoria released a volley of spells into the smoke, not waiting for Anya this time. She watched as the smoke illuminated from her various spells.

"Much better," Anya's voice came from behind her, a wand prodding at her back. "That's all for today."

Astoria sighed, releasing the accumulated tension in her. She turned around just in time to see Anya stowing her wand.

"How did you even come up behind me?"

"A smokescreen doesn't mean that you're the only one moving."

Astoria frowned, Anya always moved at a blindly fast speed, an impossibly fast speed rather. There had to be some type of secret magic involved. Maybe these were the special brand of magic that the Russians wielded.

"Let's get going," said Anya. "Or we'll miss dinner."

XXXXX

Vergilius flipped through the small notebook in his hands, checking his itinerary. He had collected back his work and erased all traces of it, it was enough for him to leave Britain, he doubted he had anything else he wanted here.

The first key of Project Crescendo Line was still lying in a sealed lockbox that he stashed in the basement of his home. However, the idea of dropping by his home was repulsive. He was never coming back, the key could stay there for all he cared.

Looking at the scribbles on his notebook, he decided to make a small detour. Pyotr said that their group had been ready to raise the stakes but Vergilius had taken a look at some of the equipment the Russian firebrands had. Suffice to say, they were under-equipped, a problem that would only amplify if long-term violence breaks out. Vergilius knew that as a newcomer, he had to build trust to have the influence needed to make changes.

From his life experience, nothing worked better than a gift.

Apparating to Canterbury, Vergilius approached the Olive Estate. It was private property of the Ollivanders, taking up a portion of the ancient city walls first laid by the Roman. Stopping right before the threshold of the estate, Vergilius slowly opened a hole in the estate wards. Crawling through the opening, Vergilius entered the estate and made his way to the warehouse.

He had been in the Olive Estate as part of a ministry inspection before, he could still remember the layout. South of the main tower stood a cobblestone building, his target. It stood beside the workshop, which held more secrets about wandlore and wandmaking. It was therefore more protected, not that Vergilius cared. He was not here for wandmaking secrets, just the finished product.

"Specialis revelio."

Vergilius was not surprised to find no magical protection, it was natural to place faith in one's own estate wards. Magically unlocking the door, Vergilius peeked into the building.

The place was clean and organized, various crates stacked along the walls. Vergilius took out his suitcase and waved his wand, the covers of the crates were lifted aside. Most of the crates held ingredients and tools required for wandmaking, as well as various fruits and sugar lumps - presumably for the unicorns he had spotted in the estate.

Two crates held what he sought, Europe's finest wands. Vergilius inspected the wands, satisfied with what he saw. A particular birch wand caught his eye, picking it up, he ran a finger down the wand. Nodding to himself, he kept that wand in his coat, he wanted a spare wand after all.

A Summoning Charm brought the rest of the wands into the suitcase. Snapping the suitcase shut, Vergilius left the way he entered, closing the hole in the estate wards as he left. Now, he just had one more agenda to finish before he could leave.

It was a trip to Woolwich to acquire some items.

XXXXX

"So... what spells do you think we should start with?" Harry asked, flipping through the pages of a book titled Fighting Jinxes With Jinxes.

In the ten minutes he had spent reading the introduction and the first few pages, Harry was already convinced that this book was much better than the drivel Umbridge had made them read.

"Your call, isn't it?" Anya replied, referring to her Charms textbook as she worked on an essay.

"How about this?" Harry tapped at a page. "The Medusa Jinx?"

"Didn't think petrifying someone would be considered a jinx," Anya remarked drily. "I would hate to see what that author considered as a curse."

"No, the spell just turns the hairs of the opponent into snakes."

"That's hardly practical," said Anya lazily, scribbling another few lines in her essay.

"Hardly practical?"

"Harry," Anya sighed. "You could learn a thousand duelling spells but you wouldn't move an inch in terms of improving your duelling."

"Isn't a wider arsenal of spells better?" Harry asked.

"Quality over quantity. If you can afford to turn an enemy's hair into snakes, you can afford to put a Blasting Curse in his head and be done with it. And the same Blasting Curse can force a door open if you're in a pinch, that jinx wouldn't."

Harry cringed, that was the cold calculating side of Anne he would sometimes see. The side that reminded him that the girl sitting across the empty classroom was the same person who killed Death Eaters undetected in the graveyard. However, that same cold calculating side ensured he survived. If he needed to survive the upcoming war, it would make sense to have some coldness.

"What's a good spell then?"

"That's your call," Anya shrugged. "Just make sure it's a spell you're going to master instead of acquainting yourself with."

"Stunning Spell and Shield Charm I guess," said Harry thoughtfully, they were the essentials after all.

"Sure," Anya placed her work aside, standing up and drawing her wand.

They stood in opposite ends of the classroom, wands pointed at each other.

"Stupefy."

"Protego."

Harry's red spell ricocheted off Anya's Shield Charm. Harry prepared himself for a counterattack but Anya simply held the Shield Charm, giving a mocking smile.

"I'm not going to be practicing much if you just hold the Shield Charm up like that," Harry frowned.

"Then I believe the answer to your prior question is a spell that can circumvent a Shield Charm," Anya replied.

Harry stared for a moment before snorting in disbelief, smiling at Anne's antics. She always helped, she simply did it in a different way, making him figure things out on his own.

"And what spell is that?" Harry chuckled, not expecting an answer, a straight answer at the very least.

"They are plenty," Anya answered. "Just find one that suits your style, be creative if you have to."

"What's your style?"

"A Reductor Curse, cast it strong enough and it'll do," Anya said nonchalantly.

Harry thought for a moment, the first spell that came to his mind was the Killing Curse. It was completely unlockable but he would never resort to that. A Shield-Breaker Spell he had read in duelling books came to mind, but it lacked the utility and flexibility Anya spoke of. A Reductor Curse like Anne said was a good substitute with wider uses but Harry felt like there should be more spells he could use.

The thought of a literal shield - one held by soldiers of old - came to his mind, Shield Charms were similar. If he could get around the spell, he would strike his opponent regardless. With that thought in mind, he picked out another book from the stack he had borrowed from the library. Flipping through the pages, he tapped at a page, showing it to Anya. Harry had read some illustrated history books in the school library before Hogwarts, Byzantine defenders employed fire in the form of Greek Fire to great success.

"This one, Fire Serpent Spell," said Harry. "It's a derivation of Incendio but the fire is faster and its movements controlled by the caster."

"Go ahead," Anya gestured. "The floor is yours."

Harry took some to read up on the theory of the spells. Like all derivative spells, the incantation was the same as the parent spell but differing in theory and application. It usually meant that it was more difficult to cast, but it offered the caster more potential with the same incantation.

"Incendio."

The jet of flame shot straight from his wand, splashing against the wall. There was nothing different from the original spell.

"Looks the same to me," Anya jibed.

"Come on, that was the first attempt," Harry rolled his eyes, passing the book to Anya. "You can take a look too."

Anya began reading on the theory of the spell as Harry practiced. Occasionally Harry would ask Anya to recite parts of the page for him to reference from. Half an hour flew by and Harry could not get his fire to change in form and movement.

"You're doing it wrong," Anya stated blandly, resting her chin on her hand.

"What?" Harry turned to face her, her green eyes immediately giving the impression of peering into his very being, seeing something he could not.

"You're pulling on the magic the wrong way," she replied.

Harry frowned, wondering if this was another one of Anya's cryptic advice.

"Explain."

"Let's recap on Charms Theory, shall we?" Anya sighed. "State the non-physical variables for general spell casting."

"Non-physical variables can be listed as 'simple'," Harry recited, remembering Professor Flitwick's studying tips. "Spell sequence, intent of caster, medium of casting, power of caster, linking of magic and environment of magic."

"Which part are you failing?"

"Either spell sequence or linking of magic," Harry answered automatically.

Anya raised an eyebrow in silent questioning.

"It can't be the others," Harry explained. "And those are normally the reasons I fail at a spell. The number of times I've heard Professor McGonagall say 'spell sequence, Mister Potter' is enough to remember for life. Merlin, it's Transfiguration, not Arithmancy."

Anya's lips quirked up at Harry's rant as she continued.

"Your spell sequence was fine, you just didn't acknowledge the changes you made compared to the parent spell and didn't adjust your linking of magic accordingly. Tell me, what components changed in this derivation?"

Grimacing slightly from embarrassment, Harry took the book from Anya for reference.

"Directional component from linear to arbitrary and manifestation component from point to cylindrical... So what? I've been doing that."

"No, you haven't," Anya retorted. "We've always cast Incendio firmly in a controlled manner, that's what you're still doing. That's linear, channeling magic in a controlled manner. But this is arbitrary, your magic needs to be excited, wild, spontaneous."

"Linking of magic," Harry muttered. "As always."

Harry lifted his wand again, this time twisting his magic wild. It was a first-year lesson to feel magic itself; the professors would channel raw magic to the students for them to feel. It was different for everyone, he remembered Ron saying he felt a chill engulf his body, Hermione said it felt like a warm sensation.

For him, it was an outside force pulling within his body like a pulse. As his magic turned wild, he could feel the change as the pulse grew jittery. Focusing, he cast his spell, his voice turning slightly wild as well.

"Incendio."

This time, a lance of fire surged from his wand, it took a curve, eventually colliding against the wall. It was not what the book described but it was a sure step towards it.

"Brilliantly done, Harry," Anya clapped, giving him a smile.

Elation swelled up in Harry's gut as he whooped with joy, giving Anya a wide grin.

"Wow... just... cool, how did you even?" Harry babbled excitedly.

"How did I?" Anya smirked. "That was all you."

"No, how did you even know what I did wrong?" Harry asked.

"Experience," Anya replied. "I could see it when you cast."

Harry furrowed his eyebrows slightly, there was that vague part of Anne again, hiding something. However, that did not tarnish the sense of happiness, a happiness that even Anne seemed to share.

"Good, we should do this more often," said Harry. "It was nice."

"Hmm... I can't deny that," Anya admitted.

"How about tomorrow after dinner? Same place."

"Sure."

XXXXX

Fingers were pointing up there. Well, not that Thomas Stuart could confirm, but he could only assume that was the case as beams of light illuminated the zeppelin flying in the night sky over London.

There had been thunderous explosions in the distance, each one only creeping closer. Stuart quickened his pace, the faster he got home the better. This entire war had been one sordid affair. Another explosion echoed through the city, this one even closer.

All around him, people were moving. Some were panicking, diving into a bout of hysteria. Some had sought refuge in the closest shelter they could find, entering into the pubs that were still open in the night. However, one person broke the mould.

That man was down the street from Stuart, strolling down the street in a disturbingly leisure pace, holding onto a suitcase. The crowd seemed to part away from him, making him stand out. Not that it mattered because Stuart was sure that man who stood out anywhere. The silver hair, pale face and pointed features was a rare sight, Stuart had never seen anyone with silver hair in his life. The person's clothing was peculiar too, a sleek black double-breasted robe.

Stuart looked up and swore loudly, the zeppelin was above them now. He backed away but the odd man did the opposite and stopped.

"Hey! You there!" Stuart hollered at the man, this was war and everyone needed to watch each other's backs. "Are you mad? Run!"

The man did not respond and Stuart's patience wanned, turning to run away from the zeppelin. He looked back as he ran and saw the man still standing there. Stuart can only assume this man had a death wish.

Suddenly, a torrential force smashed against Stuart's body, throwing him off his feet. An explosion engulfed the odd man, his body vanishing from sight, a bomb had hit. Stuart groaned in pain, his entire body covered in dust from the blast.

Crawling onto all fours, he looked at where he last saw the odd man. There was nothing to see aside from black smoke. Stuart was sure the bomb had hit the man directly, there would not even be a scrap of the body to bury.

A burning sensation in his legs took away Stuart's attention, he looked down and realised his leg was bleeding profusely, likely cut by flying shrapnel.

"Oi, come on," a firm grip tugged his arm. "Smith! Give me a hand here! This man needs help!"

Stuart was quickly carried away by fellow citizens, but all he could think of was the body that vanished in the explosion.

XXXXX

CLASSIFIED 06M/06F

This document can only be read by personnel with Level 06M or 06F clearance or above. Personnel without proper authorisation caught possessing or viewing this document or a copy of this document will face an Azkaban sentence of at least 30 years in addition to a Memory Charm being performed.

MINISTRY OF MAGIC

DEPARTMENT OF MYSTERIES

INCIDENT REPORT IN191117S9B01E01

CASE TWENTY SIX: ANOMALOUS HIGH LEVEL SECURITY BREACH

DATE: 12 DECEMBER 1917

DOCUMENT BY: 06F Weedon Terriers

ABSTRACT

On 2 November 1917 in the Department of Mysteries 01 Archive there was an incident where a total of twenty-six documents were found missing. This prompted an IR Sweep in the department, resulting in the discovery of multiple missing information in various branches of the department, all suspected to be linked to the twenty-six documents. A Level 6 Investigation was conducted throughout a one month period to discover the cause of this incident as well as to develop countermeasures to prevent similar occurrences from happening.

SECTION 1: INCIDENT TIMELINE

On 02 November 1917 at a logged time of 0934, Administrative Unspeakable 07A George Tay was searching for research documents to support his writing of Field Report OV191017H37A. There, it was discovered that there was a missing gap in the documents. Document series E3H845 was incomplete, as it is standard for each series to be filled from 'A' to 'Z' (Refer to Annex C), 07A George Tay realised the absence of document A.

This was reported to 01 Archive Steward 07A Alexios Dunbar at logged time of 1002. 07A Alexios Dunbar proceeded to verify the authenticity of 07A George Tay's report, when unable to find the document himself, he went to check the logs of the archive. Archive logs did not acknowledge the existence of the missing document at all. Realising a potential security breach, 07A Alexios Dunbar then raised this incident to the Internal Security Branch at a logged time of 1144. (Statements of personnel in Annex A)

At 1745, a team of five men (Refer to Annex C) under 05F Septus Yaxley was dispatched to investigate. Unable to discover any causes or perpetrators, 05F Septus Yaxley deemed the situation (Refer to Annex A) as appropriate for a precautionary Level 4 Information and Records (IR) Sweep.

On 03 November 1917 at 0835, Level 4 IR Sweep reported that a total of twenty-six documents were missing from 01 Archive, 03 Archive and 07 Archive (Refer to Annex A). The magnitude of the security breach prompted an escalation to a Level 8 IR Sweep. Level 8 IR Sweep (Refer to Annex A) uncovered multiple missing information in documents, equipment and artifacts from various branches in the department, all suspected to be linked to the twenty-six pieces of missing documents.

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Based on the gaps in documents in the archives, statements from department personnel and the circumstances and contexts of points of missing information. The list of suspected missing information is as recorded below.

-Research and development of application of Active Runes on humans*

-Magical manipulation of wavelength reflection

-Research on improved methods of creating null magic

-Research of runic formation pathways

-High-clearance (suspected minimum of 07M) IR Disruption Tactics not yet released to Field Unspeakables**

-Augmentation of National Ward Grid ***

(cont. next page.)

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3th December 1917

I have done my part and submitted my statement to the investigation party. Yaxley voiced the same thoughts in my mind, it was likely Vergilius. Reading through the compiled report so far, it made sense, the disappearance of all the information was so clean it was obvious, as if someone scrubbed a tile so thoroughly it became the only shiny one in the floor. And the projects where I worked with him all vanished, if it wasn't obvious enough.

In fact, my memories of those projects are now a blur, I suspect a modified Redaction Charm at play. If that is the case, then I only know one man who could undo that spell, Vergilius himself, he was the one who invented that spell for the Department of Mysteries. Vergilius took the rank of 05M within half a year of joining the Department of Mysteries because he had developed and implemented the current Level 5 IR Disruption Tactics that every seasoned Field Unspeakable knows by heart. If there was anyone in the department who could have pulled this off, it was him.

Yaxley also yapped about how Vergilius' death was 'too convenient' and how 'it lined up in the timeline'. Honestly, I find these reasons amusing, the simple truth is that Vergilius would never die to something as simple as a Muggle bomb. As I mentioned in my previous entry, that was the reason I never attended his funeral. Some took it that I chose to grieve in isolation but the truth was that I couldn't grieve over someone if he or she never died.

I have spent most of my life with Vergilius ever since we entered Hogwarts, though I, a Gryffindor, and he, a Slytherin, were the supposed opposites, we were still bosom friends. If you removed the Blood Purity part, he was the embodiment of Slytherin, I have never met a man with more ambition than Vergilius. If he thought that burning down what he had would cause him to achieve a greater dream, he would do it unflinchingly and unhesitatingly.

That, I believe, is what he did, he burned down what he had here in Britain to fulfill his greater ambitions elsewhere. I must admit that I might have been the catalyst, encouraging him on that holiday, for the day he returned was the last day I saw him. Vergilius must have found a greater ambition outside of Britain during his travels. Honestly, it was expected, Vergilius had always seemed restless, pouring his endless energy into his work but the work was never enough to wear him out, never enough to satisfy him.

I wish him the best of luck in his endeavours, to always remember his roots and that we will never have to be on opposing sides.

Scott A. Potter