Chapter 17: Busy Holiday
Beta Reading by Rosamanelle
The first night of the Christmas holidays – which began about a week before actual Christmas; a night where most of the people of Earth will reunite with family, the night signifying the beginning of a two week vacation from a whole year of hard work. This was proven to not be the case for a certain Rita Skeeter, who was now staying up late sitting at the small desk in the room provided by her host in the great castle of Hamel, the capital city of Senace Kingdom, where the representatives of the Elrios Coalition gathered in a meeting. An electrical light bulb on the ceiling illuminated the room and the parchment and quill that sat on the desk. Rita stared at in deep thought, recalling what happened over the past few days…
Sighing as no good ideas for an article came up, the reporter stared out of the window. Despite the lack of a moon in the clear sky tonight, countless dots of lights from the lampposts lining the streets below provided enough visibility for her to see the glory of the capital city of Hamel, the destination of Aisha's 'Apparition spell' from yesterday.
It wasn't just any Apparition spell; it was a gateway that opened the reporter's eyes to the other world outside Wizarding community, showing her how wrong those who buried their heads in sand were, those that believe Merlin's teachings were the only supreme magical style on Earth, with the only other contender being the inferior and closed circle Eastern magic…
Since her arrival, Rita had seen a lot of things that her closed mindset of the Wizarding world couldn't comprehended, like the concept of humans and other races working together as equals unlike the House Elf and Wizarding relation, or that everyone in Hamel was aware of supernatural power despite some people's inability to wield them, and yet they treated everyone with same respect.
Most importantly, in her eyes at least: their law enforcement was incredibly strict against mass media in general, as if they have no concept of free speech at all!
But then again, that little girl Aisha has pointed out that they actually allowed the freedom of speech, just they did not tolerate the lying, falsifying, downplaying or exaggerating of information that spread through mass media; which unfortunately included newspapers, radios, and all forms of mass communication. Aisha warned Rita to watch both her tongue and whatever she's going to publish, else she would be punished and there was nothing Aisha could do about it – unless, of course, she fancied being punished by the law herself.
Yes, speaking of the little girl; Rita slapped her forehead with her palm when she thought about it. It had been annoying her ever since she learned Aisha's real profession… Dumbledore really hit the jackpot when he met this little girl from Merlin-knows-where and persuaded her to be the new Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor. In Rita's opinion, if Aisha had just told Dumbledore who she really was, she's quite sure the Headmaster's excuse of keeping Harry within his reach due to safety reasons lose all weight in an instant.
Aisha was a magic practitioner who was recruited into the military, and then managed to climb her way up from a foot soldier to a general who commanded a unified army of magic users from across the globe! If that didn't qualify her for the measly position of a Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, which for all good intent and purpose is essentially a self-defense class, for one school in a small island country, then Rita didn't know what would!
The there's that redhead named Elsword who was revealed to be second-in-command of the Muggle equivalent of armed forces that's just as big – if not bigger than – the magical forces; and they worked together! A concept that never occurred to the Wizarding world or Muggle community before!
On that note, Rita felt like this world took the term 'child solider' to a whole new level! How could those two be leaders of an army for the whole planet when they're barely seventeen?!
And in the most logic-defying and common sense-lacking way possible, those two were both respected and admired by the army and population alike, even to this day, years after they resigned from their positions. Not because of propaganda, no, but because they were actually competent and could handle the responsibility pushed onto their shoulders! That is, according to the man who taught them their leadership skills, that scary tanned man called Raven who was part of the 'welcoming party,' and from what she had heard from the conversation at yesterday's meeting…
Her eavesdropping lead to her learning one more disturbing thing about Elrios, something that shouldn't befall on any civilization from her own experiences being a journalist during the First Wizarding War…
Apparently, there was a Great War that spanned the entire globe of this 'Elrios' world a few years back, and it was worse than the First Wizarding War for one reason : they were outnumbered. Badly. They were outnumbered to whatever enemy they were facing, even though it was the whole world against this enemy (She had tried to learn what this 'enemy' was, but Aisha, Elsword, and Raven refused to elaborate). It got so bad that the government had to draft anyone older than 14 to become a reserve army, which naturally included Aisha and Elsword.
Luckily, they managed to turn the tides and won the war, but it cost millions of lives, including thousands of the aforementioned child soldiers. If Rita was to be honest, the thousands of lives lost – about two-thirds of those lives were Muggles that the Wizarding World didn't really care about – from the ten years of the First Wizarding War was nothing compared to what these people went through…
She has to wonder what kind of PTSD the current Hogwarts Defense Professor experienced and how much control she had over it. It wouldn't be good for the students should she suddenly to experience symptoms in the middle of class and accidentally hurt them.
However, the thing that concerned her most wasn't just the girl, but the government of this world as well… There were so many things to write about, yet everything was utterly outlandish without her… tweaking details. The Quibbler may – no, will be the one ones willing to buy or publish her story, and no one believes The Quibbler anyways! This meant that if the Coalition of Elrios decided to wage war, then Wizarding Britain… no, the Wizarding World as a whole will be caught off-guard for sure when they struck!
War… with Elrios, who had years of experience in waging a global-scale war unlike the terrorist attacks of Voldemort in the so-called 'Wizarding War' – limited only to Britain and a small part of Europe near the English Channel – with outlandish tactics and strategies that involved Muggles and magicians working in concert… It didn't take a genius to figure out the outcome…
Rita had to put her usual 'writing style' aside and focus on getting only facts in a vain hope that some readers of The Quibbler would be aware of this and prepare for possible war.
However, Rita failed to realize that if the people of Elrios really wanted to war with her world, her warning message would never reach her home, considering that the only way to get back to her world (as far as Rita knew, at least) was to ask Aisha for a ride. Although she resigned after the last war ended, she was still their best general, what with her combat experience plus her information on the Wizarding World, and those leaders would be stupid to not reassign her to her former position to lead their troops in an invasion.
Then again, it was natural for her to forget, considered Aisha's actions during the last two days. She adamantly objected to sending an expedition force to Earth alongside Elsword and Eve – well, the latter was questionable. She simply gave her observation report to the Coalition of Elrios members, including the state of both the Wizarding and Muggle government alike – which was anything but unified – and when combined with Rita's own statement (She had her own standards, and fueling the fires of war with lies and half-truths was a big no-no! Her article wouldn't be worth even a Knut if the whole world was destroyed) probably made a few members think that Earth would be easy pickings…
No matter what world they were in, warmongers were still present…
Thus, the sleepless night of Rita Skeeter continued as she tried to both write an article to sell when she's back to Wizarding Britain and plan how to sway the other members of the Coalition to veto the war option, as the last two days of meeting ended without a conclusion of what to do with this newfound world. There still time to persuade them into abandoning a war plan.
She didn't notice a small, metallic, four-legged spider crawling just below the window, stalking her without sound…
Meanwhile, on the highest roof of the same castle, a couple lay on their backs side by side at the edge, their legs hanging freely in the air without fear of falling down as their eyes watched the midnight sky above. Both wore their respective formal wear instead of nightgowns for the time of rest, partly because of the habits instilled upon them in their past, and another part; they were just too tired from today's meeting with leaders and representatives from all over Elrios to care…
They haven't had time to really talk to each other since they reunited two days ago, so they moved here the first chance they got tonight…
So far, neither spared the other a glance, something that would make outsiders think that they weren't on good terms with one another. Little would they know that they were just enjoying the rest – and the silence – after two days of straight meetings between leading figures in Elrios regarding their discovery of the Wizarding World and dimensional travel, which was party thanks to the purple-haired girl watching the stars – the first human to deliberately cross worlds for the sake of keeping a promise with her little brother.
After the midnight bell rang out into the darkness, the male broke the silence in a calm and affectionate tone. "It's been two years since we watched the stars like this. Do you remember, Aisha…?"
Aisha looked away from the night sky to look at the speaker, a young man with fiery red hair in a red-and-white uniform before murmuring softly. "Think about the days long gone, Elsword?"
"…Yeah…" Elsword nodded, turning to look at Aisha as she giggled. Raising an eyebrow, he spoke, confusion laced in his tone. "What's so funny?"
"Memories of days long gone indeed…" Aisha looked away from the fiery red orbs, looking at the sky once more as she continued in a teasing tone. "I just remembered when I first met you and Rena in Ruben. You had that hotshot attitude, thinking that you could take everything on by swinging your big sword and charge into it head-first. You always charged into problems too big for you to chew before Lowe, Rena and I bailed you out…"
Elsword frowned as he remembered his not-so-pleasant childhood adventure, but remained silent as Aisha continued rambling. "And whenever Lowe or I tried to explain anything – why we had to do this, why we had to do that – you plugged your ears and never listened to anything. Then…"
She paused to cough a few times – not a sick cough or a cough from talking too much, but a deliberate one – as she mimicked someone else's voice, in this case the voice of Elsword's mentor from his youth and a companion during their first few adventures, Lowe. "'Oh no! Elsword just ran in! Save him!' 'Damn you Elsword, stick to the plan!' 'Stop doing that, you'll get everyone killed!'" [1]
That made Elsword chuckle, effectively stopping Aisha's teasing and letting him point out one obvious fact that was garnered from every embarrassing tale. "Still, we won anyways…"
Aisha laughed heartily. "Yeah… We worked out in the end somehow… The point is, compared to you right now, I'm not sure if you're really the Elsword I met seven years ago…"
"People change; I'm not a kid anymore you know."
"You're still two years younger than me, brat." [2] Aisha shot back with a teasing smile, but unlike her arguments from younger days, she never meant it seriously.
The younger redhead saw this as well, and fired back his own comment that would make Aisha's blood boil… that is, the younger Aisha from the past. "Says the one who's mocking me for being childish. Aren't you still mad at me for being taller than you?"
Aisha pouted and blushed cutely, to the point where one of her students from Hogwarts would definitely doubt that she was the same strict and demanding teacher they knew for the past four months. Or maybe she was hit on the head or something?
Both were silent for another long moment, before Aisha's cheery expression was replaced with one of sadness. "Maybe you're right… Everything sure has changed a lot since those days… Since the peace of the world crumbled around us…"
Elsword said nothing, a grim expression on his face as he closed his eyes, thinking about the events that spurred the Great Elrios War into action. "You should stop blaming yourself already. Even Rena and Eve, who have many centuries of experience couldn't see it coming…"
"I know that!" Aisha replied harshly, before taking a deep breath and softening her tone. "But I can't help but think… What if I accepted the contract with that bat and became instantly strong? I'd be able to help everyone, like the others our age who had the potential to take up the contract. What if I had done what my late teacher recommended when the war first began?"
"It hardly makes a difference, if you ask me." Elsword replied without hesitation, making Aisha turn to him, a look of curiosity shining in her eyes.
Seeing that he's caught Aisha's attention, Elsword sat up, letting the midnight breeze toy with his hair while waiting for Aisha to sit up as well. Raising his index finger, he waved it around in front of Aisha's face as if pointing out the obvious. "One man or woman – no matter how strong – can't win a war for an entire country by themselves, let alone a World War. Sure, the battlefields you fought on may have won with fewer casualties, but what about the others?"
Aisha looked at the ground solemnly, muttering softly. "One cannot be everywhere at once. No matter how powerful he or she is, they still have the limits of a mortal… I think we already know that."
"Then why suddenly worry over your decision?" Elsword inquired, confusion tinting his tone. Before Aisha could reply, he shook his head, speaking again. "…If anything, the contract would only make a difference in the beginning, but later on… You'd be relying on the contract and the bat's orders and not improving your own skills."
The redhead sighed and continued. "Just look at the other 'potential contractors.' There were a total of ten contractors during the War and how many survived to this day? Sure, the bat only asked because he owed your teacher a favor, and maybe the contractors didn't fill the requirements like you did, but he still upheld his part of the contract to the letter. There's no reason why the others couldn't hit their full power!"
Crossing her arms as she looked to the night sky, images of various people flashed across her vision like the twinkling of the stars. Eyes narrowing, Aisha sighed in defeat. "You're right… I'd hit the same huge brick wall like those unfortunate boys and girls… Without nature's assistance, that is."
Aisha fell silent, leaving Elsword to scratch his head – not at her brief explanation of her 'true ability' (Which he never fully understood), but at her behavior. After a brief hesitation, the swordsman spoke. "Is something bothering you? You never bring up bad memories like this…"
Noting Elsword's nervous aura, Aisha quickly calmed herself by breathing in and out slowly. After she felt able to answer, she let out a little chuckle. "Thinking back, I guess meeting with my little brother spurred memories of what I was thinking when the bat offered me a contract…"
Elsword raised an eyebrow, as Aisha never told anyone what contract the bat offered her – not even to her friends. They only knew that the bat approached Aisha in a dream and asked her to form a contract with him for more power; power to turn the tides of the war. No one knew what happened, but in the end Aisha refused and began her pursuit of a magecraft only few could master.
"You know, the reason I stopped the contract wasn't something honorable like you might think…." She stared into Elsword's eyes, trying her hardest to not blush. "…I just thought how bad of an older sister I would be if I sacrificed everything, even my own dignity, in search of power…"
"You make it sound like the contract involved you becoming a prostitute," Elsword couldn't help but remark dryly.
Blushing deeply, Aisha looked away, responding quietly. "A crude word… Why does it sound like you weren't expecting that? I thought you saw those girls who formed a contract – er, not including Senior Officer Speka, of course."
Now it was Elsword's turn to blush. "W-Well, we only met on the battlefield, since the voidus magi were specialized units not under our command. You know that place isn't for sightseeing… All I thought about was how to beat back our enemies and survive…"
If she were younger, Aisha would've been furious at the possibility of Elsword thinking something ungentlemanly, but she knew that the male contractors didn't fare any better. It would be better to close the topic quickly, before everything turned awkward. "The point is, I refused the contract out of my own selfish delusion that I would see my little brother again someday…"
Elsword sighed. "Aisha, let me ask you this. What was your teacher's reaction to your refusal to form a contract with the bat?"
Aisha lifted her hand to her face, wiping away a small tear that gathered at the mention of her dead mentor. Calming herself down, she recalled how the old man reacted and shook her head. "He just nodded at me and said, 'I wish you find your true self someday. I'm sorry for asking you to take up the contract.'"
"Then I don't think he's disappointed or angry at you," Elsword concluded, before quickly adding on to his previous thought. "And besides, you realized it earlier. In the end it was you who ended up turning the tide by using your knowledge and power that you gained from hard work. Those who got an instant power-up ended up hapless or worse because they let their new-found power get the better of them… I think the path you chose to walk was the best you could choose."
Sighing loudly, Aisha slowly reached her own answer. "You're probably right… I'm thinking too much, aren't I?"
"You were," Elsword replied, taking the chance to change the topic to one not so depressing. "So, on the subject of Harry, how's he been doing lately?"
Elsword definitely didn't expect Aisha to suddenly frown and sigh as if a heavy burden was placed upon her. Given her reaction, Elsword came to the conclusion that something was very wrong, more so than what Eve had told him and his friends many months ago…
At least Aisha didn't have a reason to hide it, as Elsword and Rena both doted on the boy since they last met seven years ago – almost as much as she did, if not more. They wanted to help him, and Aisha knew it. Letting out a breath, the Elemental Master-turned-Hogwarts professor began to explain carefully. "He's alright, actually… The press and their funky government are still trying to make his life as miserable as possible, though. And the Headmaster of the school he attends is quite protective…" She chuckled at this. "So protective that he didn't allow him to come here… I think you know how much Eve wants to see this kid in person. She's wanted to see him ever since we told her that story, right?"
"Yeah…" Elsword's ruby eyes narrowed at Aisha. "… But there has to be something more than that, right? Something unnerved you; otherwise you wouldn't talk about the things you said earlier…"
Aisha closed her eyes as her right hand touched her eyebrow, thinking carefully of how to explain her situation to Elsword in layman terms. "…The reason old Dumbledore, the Headmaster of Hogwarts, asked me to leave the kid behind had to do with his nemesis coming back to life… Well, really…"
And so, Aisha explained everything that happened up until the night before the travel, and the theory that the Headmaster came up with. The swordsman listened in silence, as interrupting Aisha would enrage her; a lesson he learned after many years of bickering and quarreling.
A few minutes after she finished telling her story, Elsword finally voiced his thoughts, his arms crossed over his chest and sporting an identical frown to the one on Aisha's face. "Now that we know the so-called Wizarding World's theory, what about yours?"
Aisha looked uncertain for a bit, before shaking her head. "I'm not sure. I wasn't present when the connection between Voldemort and Harry was established, so I'll avoid drawing any conclusions before I have solid evidence to look at first…"
"I see… That's… troublesome…" Elsword commented dryly.
"Understatement of the year…" Aisha snorted, before looking down at the city below. "As if that's not enough, now there's this meeting… Surely three years of peace is nothing but the calm before the storm, isn't it? Those warmongers never seem to learn from the war and how much we sacrificed to end it…"
Elsword shook his head, re-crossing his arms over his chest. "I don't think everyone thinks the same as you, Aisha… Although I'm not good in politics, I can tell that some of them were paranoid at the possibility of an invasion from another world – and thought that striking first may dissolve any possible threats, for once and for all. I think everyone has Elrios's best interests in mind, like us."
Aisha sighed, retorting sarcastically. "Aren't you being a bit too optimistic?"
"And you're being much too cynical," He shot back, before continuing. "Aisha, you're not the only one who wants to prevent a totally unnecessary war from breaking out. Our friends all agreed on this, and even if we resigned from our positions, it's not like the leaders won't listen to us. And you seem to be forgetting that Eve is another high-positioned ruler who vetoed the war. There's still a lot of indecisiveness, too. Why else would they postpone the decision for another week like this?"
Aisha pondered his reasoning silently as Elsword edged a little closer to her. He peeked at her frowning face, instantaneously feeling like he had to do something to cheer her up.
After a few moments of hesitation, Elsword slowly raised his hand, gently touching her shoulder. Aisha tensed up out of instinct, before relaxing after realizing who it was. Elsword took it as a sign to go on, gently rubbing soothing circles into her arm, speaking softly. "This is pretty late, but let me say it anyway. Welcome home, Aisha… I missed you a lot."
Aisha's face turned redder at Elsword's comforting touch, admitting to herself that Elsword was right about one thing; they would be each other's support until death do them part. She'd be betraying his trust should she try to deal with her problems on her own.
Putting the painful memories and stressful subjects aside, Aisha grabbed Elsword's hand, stopping him from drawing anymore nonsensical patterns on her shoulder. Holding it tightly, she whispered softly. "I missed you too…"
The girl leaned onto the taller man's broad shoulder affectionately as they looked up at the night sky, enjoying their short-lived peace together and preparing for the hardships they were going to face once again.
Neither saw the metal spider climb away for the scene – or rather, both knew of its presence but didn't care that it was watching them, as they both trusted the one controlling the spider completely.
"It took them this long to admit that much? …I guess that's all we're going to get tonight… It's still progress, considering their past records…" The Nasod Empress mutters to herself in a lone room within her castle, her form illuminated by multiple holographic images floating around her. Each image monitored a Nasod Scout drone that she had deployed earlier to watch over subjects of interest in Hamel, say, a certain Rita Skeeter for example.
Or just for her amusement, like the one stalking the young couple on the topmost roof of the castle. It was for the sake of their stalemate relationship that was going nowhere for the past seven years. If you didn't include the fact that they both knew how they felt about the other, but would never admit it in front of each other.
Many of her friends said that the couple was a lost cause, because neither side would admit their feelings towards the other whenever the subject was brought up. Even the elder Sieghart sibling never thought they'd get together before twenty-five… Eve was just waiting for the day that Elesis lost her bet…
Seriously, the redheaded woman was a hundred years too early to win a gamble against the Empress…
The next day was rather dull for most of the parties in Elrios, as there were no meetings to attend, and as it was the week of mourning there were no celebrations either. Most consigned themselves to their own assigned quarters, doing whatever needed to be done, like drawing up plans and a presentation to convince the council for a more peaceful way to deal with the new dimension in the case of Empress Eve.
Or slacking off in her room because she can't think of how to write an article and no one will let her leave her room anyway in the case of Rita Skeeter.
She doesn't dare transform into a beetle and fly around town for one reason; she feared that the guards would see this as an attempt to run away and warn the Wizarding World of this world's presence, effectively speeding up the invasion. And Aisha wouldn't betraying her homeland because she disagreed with their invasion plans either, so roping her into opening a gateway back home would be impossible.
So, she continued to roll around on her comfy bed before the results of staying up all night long caught up with her, causing her to fall asleep despite it being noon…
In a different place worlds apart, instead of a mourning week, it was the beginning of a week of celebration for the coming year all around… And 12th Grimmauld Place, the headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix, the (technically) outlawed organization with Dumbledore at its helm, is not exempted from this event.
The once moldy, dusty, dirty dining room from Harry's memory is gone, the nearly collapsed dining table replaced with a brand new one. The walls were decorated with mistletoe that hung from the ceiling; a large Christmas tree standing just below them. Members of the house, the landlord himself, and the Order of the Phoenix members bustled around, preparing dinner to share with everyone.
However, the news of Mr. Weasley's near-fatal injury completely dispelled any and all thought of a New Year's celebration, even if he's currently completely safe and under the care of professional healers in St. Mungo's hospital. There wasn't any worry that whatever attacked him would try to finish the job, since the other Order of the Phoenix members know from 'inside sources' that it was interested in what Mr. Weasley was guarding, not his life.
Yet the news didn't calm anyone down one bit. It may have dispelled the worry that Mr. Weasley's life was in danger, but it created more problems to think about.
Particularly for a particular raven-haired teen referred to as 'The Boy Who Lived,' thanks to some eavesdropping on a conversation between Mr. Weasley and the other members of the Order that was deemed so secret that they shooed the children out of the hospital ward.
Harry finally found out why Dumbledore put so much distance between them; he feared that Harry would be possessed and used to spy on him – or worse, controlled like a puppet! This revelation lead him to sullenly sit in Buckbeak's room, away from everyone as he's unsure if he can meet with his friends without putting them in danger.
Sure, Harry knew from his studies that he couldn't suddenly turn into a snake and bite someone, but that didn't make it any safer to be around his friends. Aisha's words from before the start of school came back to haunt him once more.
'There're many ways to interpret that, kid. Even information is a weapon, plans and strategies are also a weapon. You cannot assume that 'weapon' only means something that can directly do bodily harm to another.'
The closeness of him and his friends could also be a weapon for Voldemort to exploit; their personal lives, their family, their friends. To tell the truth, Harry wasn't sure anymore how open he could be to everyone and how much distance he had to keep from his friends.
His train of thought was interrupted when the door to the room burst open, revealing Hermione and Ron – two of his closest friends – standing there with twin unimpressed expressions on their faces. Even Buckbeak's squawking did little to startle them.
"Hey, mate," The youngest Weasley brother began. "Mom wants you to join us for dinner, so she sent us here to fetch you…"
Rising to his feet and ignoring the purr from the sleeping Hippogriff, Harry replied coolly as he brushed dust off his pants. "You should go ahead. I'll join you later on…"
It was Hermione who raised her voice, upset and worry coloring her tone. "Come on Harry; don't try to dodge the subject! We know you're thinking about what we overheard at the hospital, okay?"
Harry raised an eyebrow before replying solemnly. "If so, then you should know that Voldemort may be eavesdropping right now."
Hermione sighed, rolling her eyes. "Use your head, Harry. If Voldemort is actually reading your thoughts, the Burrow would've been sacked by now. And my parents wouldn't have sent me my Christmas present yesterday, either."
"She's got you there, mate…" Flashing a crooked half-smile, Ron then added on jokingly. "It'd be better if you don't use my family as an example…" Oh the irony, as the Weasleys were quite safe due to the extreme amounts of security of the place they were in.
A small laugh echoed around the room. Harry didn't know why, but the small talk somehow relieved him of a lot of worry. Yet he couldn't help but ask the bushy-haired girl a more solemn question. "Hermione, does anyone in the Order or the school know where Professor Aisha went during the holiday?"
The intelligent Gryffindor shook her head, instantly dousing Harry's cheery mood. Upon seeing his mood swing, she quickly remedied her error by adding on. "I guess Professor Dumbledore would know, but I doubt he'll tell us."
"You shouldn't worry about that, mate." Ron added nonchalantly. "Maybe your sister is out on an adventure somewhere to find you a Christmas present…" The redhead paused as everyone – including Buckbeak – was giving him a blank stare. "Hey, she was an adventurer, wasn't she? That was the kind of present I got from Bill when he dug out something interesting, you know."
"Achoo!"
"What's wrong, Miss Aisha? Catching a cold?"
"No, it's nothing, Denka. I'm not catching a cold or something like that."
An otter in a white and blue scholar's robe and matching blue academic cap raised a grey eyebrow at one of the famed Saviours of Elrios. Said girl was in the process of dumping a stack of books onto a desk next to an equally massive stack of books in Hamel's most protected library. She then proceeded to read them as if her earlier sneezing fit didn't happen.
Out of curiosity, Denka the alchemist/scholar slowly made his way towards the stack of books Aisha was piling up next to her and fetched himself the topmost book, knowing that she'd allow him to take it as long as she got the book back when she asked for it later
Aisha - who had reading glasses on to help with the small text scribed in most tomes – spared the large otter a glance before burying herself in whatever she was reading once more as the alchemist sat down on the opposite side of the desk and began his own reading in an attempt find out what she's trying to do.
The peace only continued for a little while before Denka had to hand Aisha the book he took from her stack. Now bored with nothing to read, he took a book from the top of the second stack only to notice that the subject of the book was completely different from that of the first. Instead of reading it like he had done previously, he quickly scanned the titles of each book and came to the conclusion he was looking for.
Now Denka had to ask her some questions. "Aisha, these books are on two mutually exclusive subjects. Mind if ya shed some light on what y'are doing?"
Adjusting her reading glasses, Aisha looked up at Denka with a somewhat annoyed look (She always made that face when someone interrupted her reading that wasn't Elsword, Denka found) before her expression softened. "I'm reading this pile," she patted the pile of books closest to her, "because when I went to that world, I came across an individual with… how can I say it… a curse of some sort that allows him to connect his mind with another occasionally. Technically speaking, they can see what the other sees, feel the other's emotions, and possibly share memories, too. The problem is they're both trying to kill each other."
If Denka was confused with her explanation, he was doing a damn good job at keeping his mouth shut and letting Aisha continue. "Unfortunately, one of them is someone Elsword and I were rather fond of when we were stuck in that world in the past. The incident that cursed him happened when he was only a baby, too, poor kid…"
That seemed to interest Denka. He stroked his beard thoughtfully, musing aloud. "A curse ya say? And at such a young age… So the loser who cursed this kid is still kicking and still bitter about being unable to off a little brat for this long?"
"That's pretty much it," Aisha replied off-handedly, not wanted to delve into Harry's past any further as it served no purpose but to fuel gossip.
Then the otter scholar spoke up again, much to Aisha's chagrin. "Not to discourage ya or anything, but are you sure our library will have something on that? We're a dimension apart, ya know… Our magic system doesn't even match what you demonstrated to the Council the other day…"
"The Elves..." Aisha's sudden interruption caused him to blink in surprise.
After he recovered, Denka continued to question the mage. "Elves, ya say? What do the Elves have ta do with this?"
Not bothering to turn around to look at the other scholar, she replied while closing the book she was reading. "Remember Kreacher, the little guy I brought with me?" Without waiting for Denka to reply, she grabbed the next book in the stack and started to read it. "It turns out that one of the Elven Elders recognized his species when I brought him to the Council meeting. He said he saw it in their archives – the records of the Elven civilization before they came to Elrios."
Denka pondered Aisha's explanation for the briefest of moments before he nodded. "I see. If the Elves once populated both of our worlds, who says they won't share some basic rules of the magic… That's what you're thinking, right?"
Aisha didn't answer, but the elder otter scholar took it as the correct answer. "But ya didn't tell me about this pile…"
"That's for the kid's present," Aisha said without looking up, still absorbed in her book.
"Y'are gonna bring a copy of them there…" Denka stated calmly – albeit with some difficulty, as taking those books over there wasn't the brightest idea when the government was still debating what to do with the gateway to their new neighbours. The only thing that stopped him from yelling at Aisha was every library on Elrios's golden rule: Don't be loud in the library.
Aisha couldn't help but chuckle. "No Denka. You and I know that wasn't an option. I may hate politics, but I'm not ignorant of them."
"Then what are ya doing with them?"
Seeing that Denka would pester her until he got an answer, Aisha adjusted her glasses and answered to sate his curiosity. "I'm going to use a magical recipe to create something for the kid to use. But it won't be too obvious, or those Wizards will realize something's up." Then she shot the otter an annoyed look that clearly said 'are we done now?' before actually putting it out there. "Got any more question?"
Unfortunately for Aisha, Denka's answer to her irritated question wasn't helping her mood. "Where's this 'Kreacher' right now? Ya know, I wanna meet him once, just saying…"
Gritting her teeth to suppress her annoyance, Aisha took a moment to calm herself down before answering the never-ending questions of the curious elder otter. "Rena's taking him on a tour around the city." Letting out a sigh, she continued. "At least he's well-behaved when his so-called 'Ancient ancestor' is around."
"And ya other guest?"
Aisha nearly banged her head on the book she was reading as she replied to him nonetheless. "In one of the castle's guest rooms we provided for her. Last I heard, Eve sent down several drones to keep tabs on her and assured me that she can handle the watch."
"And ya boyfriend?"
Now Aisha's face turned red as she snapped at Denka irritably. "If I answer that question, will you help me with my project? I have a limited time to work with before the Council calls for another meeting!"
Fortunately for Aisha, Denka decided to shut up, seeing that he's about to overstep her patience and both finally went back to their books silently once again.
The Christmas holidays may be a time for celebration for most people on Earth, but not for a Dark Lord who was making one of his minion's homes his own lair.
Currently resided in the vast living room, the lean, pale-skinned man in a black wizard robe strode from a large bookshelf towards a couch situated in the center of the room before unceremoniously sitting down, his skeletal, spider-like hand flipping through the pages as he started reading – seemingly oblivious when another presence in the room which took form of a giant snake slithered in from the door before coiling itself in a corner of the room.
Voldemort skimmed through the content of the old, dirty book in hands, making sure he wasn't missing any of the obscure text on pages. He had all the time in the world here, as his minions are carrying out his plans faithfully (or fearfully in some cases), the recruitment of new Death Eaters is high, the Giants now support them, and they were getting closer to finally getting alliance deal with the Dementors, which meant more of his loyal servants who got locked up in Azkaban would be rejoining his ranks soon…
And still, no one in the Ministry of Magic noticed such thing. Everything was going smoothly for them…
Well, mostly being the keyword here. The attempted theft from Department of Mystery was nothing short of disappointment. None of the suggested tactics, tricks and various schemes that his Death Eaters cooked up worked; and his prized Nagini nearly got caught. Curse that blood-traitor Weasley! Little did the man know how close Voldemort was to losing one piece of the vital artifact that anchored him to the mortal plane!
Of course Voldemort was furious at the thought of that night, even if Nagini escaped unharmed.
The only benefit he got from that debacle was that apparently Harry Potter was able to invade his mind and see what he was doing at the time. Even though it was brief and there were no more connections between the two after that day, Voldemort's brilliant mind realized how much of an opportunity this was to him, and also vice-versa…
Even if the Dark Lord doesn't want to admit it, he feared that old Dumbledore would exploit this connection by asking Harry Potter about crucial elements in his plan. Even if the boy cannot make sense of what he saw, he was certain that Dumbledore would. Lacking knowledge of the magic which Voldemort studied and mastered or not, he's not regarded as the most brilliant wizard for nothing.
That's why he didn't want to invade the mind of accursed boy recklessly for now, as tempting to exploit it to get the boy to give him what he wanted in it may be…
So, he decided to shift his efforts on another matter instead. Namely, doing what Malfoy senior was doing when Voldemort sent him out to find a way into Department of Mystery without exploiting Harry Potter's curiosity and to bribe the Dementors.
That's why the Dark Lord of the Wizarding World (That is, he thought himself to be the ruler of the Wizarding World when in actuality his reign of terror was limited to Britain and a few costal countries even in his heyday) was sitting in the living room of Malfoy Manor, reading the old records of pureblood Wizarding Families ever known since time of Merlin… Hopefully to find out about the girl with such strange magical prowess that the old Headmaster get to be the DADA professor recently.
Truth to be told, at first the Dark Lord didn't pay much attention to this girl other than the fact that she made Dolores Umbridge – a potential candidate and a power-hungry, fine supporter of the pureblood cause unable to worm her way in to undermine the old bastard from within Hogwarts, assuming that she was just some Muggle unworthy of the Defense Against the Dark Arts position who would, sooner or later, be done in by Voldemort's curse like the dozens of teachers before her who dared to take the position the Dark Lord has been denied.
But the girl, from his spy's, Severus Snape's, report – and from what the spawn of the Malfoy house had told Lucius – who in turn told him – she's anything but normal…
In his search for immortality and power, the Dark Lord was sure that he had uncovered most, if not all, arcane knowledge in every path no one dared to tread. He could confidently say that there's no one on Earth who can surprise him with a spell he never encountered or read about before (Discounting Eastern Magic of course, since the Dark Lord shares the same view about Eastern People as certain a Muggle Dictator in 1930s who believed that they were inferior to Western people. Not that he's going to admit that his knowledge about the Eastern globe is severely lacking to anyone) He even uncovered a magic which is capable of stopping the Wizarding World's feared Killing Curse for Merlin's heir! He is also confident that no Wizarding Spell, Dark or not, can harm, much less kill, a Dementor.
Yet this Aisha girl just did the impossible, proved by precise memories of the event provided by the Malfoy heir. It baffled the Dark Lord, even now, that she actually did it!
Sure, the first thing he did after seeing the girl cast that spell from the memory of Draco Malfoy was to try and imitate her magic. But it was to no avail. While Voldemort can conjure lightning just like any other sufficiently strong pureblood wizard, his lightning was pale in comparison to the one Aisha cast, as it cannot leave any more lasting harm than a scorch mark on the Dementor's robe.
Not to mention that he cannot imitate those magical-snare things she conjured which simultaneously rooted the entire flock of Dementors on the spot and turned them into target practice for the aforementioned lightning.
It meant that whoever the girl was, she had demonstrated the ability possessed by nothing short of noble lineage, a pureblood wizard or half-blood at best. The thought that she was muggleborn was ridiculous in Voldemort's narrow view. So, if he can find the records of the likely noble lineage of Aisha, perhaps he could play on the girl's sense of honor to uphold the standards of the pureblood Wizarding World, or offer her a key position in society he will inevitably reform after he took over the world…
He also needed to get her to tell him how that spell of hers – and the many others she probably had and kept hidden due to a particular Ministry Hound (or Toad) snooping around – worked, so that he could become even more powerful than ever before! Plus, his survival may depend on denying that Golden boy a chance to learn something like that from the girl.
After all, the prophecy did state that Harry has the power to defeat him. Perhaps this is what the prophecy meant; the power from unknown spells which can kill the unkillable…
That's not the only reason Voldemort's hunting through the old records for Aisha's relatives and her lineage like this. Apart from Aisha, there're also those authors of the Revenant Summoning book that he needed to address the issue as well.
Voldemort was certain from his vast knowledge of noble pureblood Wizarding families lineage that he never heard of any wizards named Kischur Zelretch Schweinorg or Luto o Henir before, much less someone obviously from Eastern side of the world he look down so much like Yukari Yakumo. If they were still alive – which must be true as Voldermort didn't believe a Witch and Wizards of such caliber who devised such a powerful magic ritual would have a lifespan of a normal human – he must try to get them to join his cause rather than siding with that old Dumbledore…
Or if inevitable; kill them all before they side with the old Headmaster and try to stop him…
Even if it's hard to admit, just Dumbledore and this Harry Potter are already putting too much wrenches in his plans for the world already, there's no need for four more…
So the Dark Lord went through shelf after shelf, record after record in hope of finding the origins of these four mysterious witches and wizards, uncaring about the day of celebration going on everywhere in the world…
It was the afternoon of the next day that the meeting of the Elrios Council finally started again. The meeting took place inside one of the courtrooms in the Castle of Hamel. Dozens of seats situated in a half-circle around the main stage were occupied as leaders and representatives of villages, towns, cities and countries in both civil and military positions from across the Elrios were called to this meeting, unlike the first meeting a few days prior at which only the leaders of a few important countries like Velder, Altera and Hamel were present due to the suddenness of the call that no one was prepared for.
From the raised platform at the center of the room, the main Council, which including leaders from Velder, Altera and Hamel, the three big countries that formed the Coalition, stood, watching the representatives from across the globe actively talking among themselves, some shooting nervous and fearful glances at the two other-worldly people that Aisha brought along standing in the center of a clearing next to their platform.
Not that they can blame anyone for this particular anxious atmosphere hanging around the courtroom, it was natural actually. Since this's the first serious, global-scale event that came up after the Great Demon War that could potentially spiral out of control into another conflict, everyone was on an edge. The reports of the world in another dimension from its native's testimony did little to improve the image.
From the view of the residents of Elrios, they saw that a species that spanned about half the globe was forced into slavery. Although it was because of a pact made in ancient times during a war with the Ancient Elves, no one cared to revise it after it ended thousands of years ago. That's just the tip of the iceberg, too. And then there's a matter of unity of the world, or lack thereof. It was guaranteed to prove to be a huge problem if they try to establish first contact with this 'Earth.'
Standing guard over the two guests to the left side was the one responsible for this debacle, Aisha, who surveyed the scene with an impassive look on her face, her right hand gripping her metal staff in a relaxed position after all the briefing and question-answering during the last two hours. The only thing that would make her feel better is a glass of water to quench her thirst after all the explanations she provided to the Council once again.
To their right was a redhead, second-in-command of the Coalition Knight Order in full dress for combat, her long-time friend Elsword. He's currently standing with his eyes closed and arms folded, clearly bored out of his wits over the arguments and comments around them. It's understandable; he's not fan of politics either and is quite more open about this opinion than Aisha…
Although it was only two hours since the beginning of the discussion, both Aisha and Elsword feel like it's been a day before the main members call for a vote of what to do with the discovery of a new world in another dimension.
Soon the results were in. The King of Hamel stood up from his seat next to Eve. The old man's voice boomed out from an amplifier (Which was, coincidentally, Nasod technology imported to Hamel) installed in the Courtroom as the current leader of the Coalition spoke. "85% of the vote has called for a wait-and-see policy on Earth. We will use the method of silent observation that the Nasod Kingdom suggested by Nasod spy satellites that are already orbiting around the planet Earth."
Clapping echoed throughout the room. Even Rita Skeeter couldn't help but clap along happily, as this was much better than she expected. The warmongering faction lost here thanks to Eve explaining that her method of 'Crossing' was unstable for practical use outside of personal dimensional crossing, and Aisha telling them that her magic equivalent of that method wouldn't be able to transport an entire expedition force. Plus, most of the people here were not favor of war after theirs just ended few years ago.
Then the King of Hamel spoke to the bespectacled woman directly. "As a safeguard to our world, we ask of you to swear an oath that you will not disclose the existence of our community toward anyone else in your society until we decide upon it. We don't want them to panic and start anything… rash…"
Here Rita pondering the option of swearing secrecy towards them only to ditch out and publish her article about another world anyway before she spotted Aisha grinning at her, producing a paper with writing in her hand that she held out to Rita.
It was then that the Empress of the Nasod spoke to the reporter with subtle twinkling in her golden eyes. "As a safety precaution, you must be bound by a magical contract to ensure the secrecy of our existence. You do not have to worry; this spell is basically a modification of your Fidelius Charm with we, the Council, as the Secret Keeper."
Rita cursed under her breath; now even a slightly modified story of being in this land is busted…
Eve observed Rita's reaction with a small amused smile before elaborating. "Of course, you can still publish your story there as long as you never mention the method of getting here and/or any implication that it is a whole other world. I think that would save you a bit of salary, since we cannot give any of our treasury to you. You must understand, it would look like we are trying to bribe the media…" She giggled a little quietly, so quietly one would've thought she hadn't laughed at all. "… Even if the media in question does not hail from Elrios…"
The terms of magical contract Eve stated at first glance has a potential secret leak, but upon closer inspection, the only thing to leak is misinformation; the Wizarding World will know that Rita Skeeter came in contact with another magical community, but since she cannot mention that it was another world in another dimension they'd naturally think that 'Elrios' is another secret sect of a magical community on Earth, just like those Eastern magic communities. There was nothing to worry about there.
Of course, to get all the members to agree with this meant that they had already reached the agreement beforehand and today was nothing but a formal meeting.
Not that Rita was going to complain, it's better than nothing anyway. She giddily signed the magical contract Aisha provided after she heard the terms, much to the relied of some members in the Courtroom. Elrios was safe from invasion, for now anyway.
As Aisha handed the paper to the King of Hamel, the meeting continued.
The Empress of Nasod then spoke again. "As you know, orbital satellite can only gather intelligence in the form of pictures, weather reports, or any natural parameter. Everything else must be up to the ground crews." A glint of amusement shone in her eyes as she looked at both of her friends standing below. "As Aisha already familiarized herself with Earth, particularly the magical community in the country called 'Britain,' she being our field agent is the most logical. However, I would like to have someone go along with her this time, so that they can help each other if they get into any unforeseen trouble…"
Eve paused a bit, and when no one raised any objections, she motioned her hand towards the redheaded Knight quite dramatically. "I suggest that we dispatch our second-in-command of the Elrios Knight Order, Elsword Sieghart, to keep her company."
Elsword's eyes shot open at the mention of his name, surprise clear on his face as he turned to look at Aisha, who looked just as confused as he was, meaning that she's just as clueless as he is.
Ignoring the two, Eve continued onto the vote. "Those who are favor sending of Elsword Sieghart to aid Aisha in intel gathering please raise your hand!"
The representatives from every community looked at each other in confusion. Even the Kings of Hamel and Velder, who were seated next to Eve, also looked perplexed by her sudden suggestion. Letting Aisha act as field agent in the Wizarding World due to her being there for the past few months and thus accustomed to the locals was a given. But sending Elsword, another renowned Hero of Elrios, to assist her seem like a little bit too much, as everyone knew about their exploits in the Great Demon War and knew how much these Heroes were capable of.
Basically, they felt that sending the two of them together on this mission was nothing short of overkill. And the reason for that train of thought is simple; they were disregarding the fact that this is a subtle intelligence mission, not their usual battlefield action, and still expect Elsword and Aisha's performances to be the same!
But still, the representatives cannot disregard Eve's suggestion easily, as Nasods are renowned for having logical thinking. They cannot lie, they aren't superstitious, and they reason with facts and proof or statistics. Everyone knows that there must be some reason that made the Empress of the Nasod suggest this. And it won't take long for them to finally realize that both Elsword and Aisha are not expert spies, so having a helping hand is always a good idea to help cover each other.
And so, once the King of Hamel repeats the call for a vote, everyone agreed in unison… much to the chagrin of both Aisha and Elsword, who never expected this turn of events.
Hiding the small smirk that began to cross her face, Eve watches the duo's priceless expressions at the vote of the Council, making sure to remember this moment for the rest of time…
…And of course, the bet between her and Elesis was now in her favor…
Author's Note
[1] I think anyone who played certain MMORPG that has its title begins with "W" and watch video of certain individual with initial "L. J." know exactly where these came from.
[2] Supplement material stated that Aisha was 15 and Elsword was 13 at the start of the game, and since this's post-game, so she's 22 now like I wrote in earlier chapter, thus that make Elsword 20.
As for Rita thought that her world wouldn't have a chance against Elrios is because the closed society of Wizarding World in general blinded them from Muggle improvements, thus they still think that Muggle of their world are underdeveloped because they have no magic, simple as that.
Eve may seem out of character in this chapter, but then again, this is Eve After the conclusion of Elsword storyline I'm using here. It was my own interpretation of what would become after all is said and done, so while you're free to criticize, just please remember this fact.
I'm not sure if I portray Denka correcty, however minor the role he had here, since I'm not that good with slangs and the like, only know that he use slangs a lot while didn't know what in the blaze he's saying sure did a number on my writing. Well, Elsword IP block me, restricted on Thai server as of now with access only to Korean voice acting...
While I'm aware of many shipping of Elsword out there, I chose this one due to the plot demand and nothing else.
And the Backstory now reveal a little bit that somehow Aisha's old master can make Angkor went "Kyubey Mode" on all potential contract san Aisha out of desperation that the humanity will be wipe out by Demonic force. So make that what you will. It'll remain a Noodle Incident forever!
So, this chapter is another all talk and no action, hope that everyone out there aren't bored of this yet.
But I assure you readers that you'll get the action soon enough, after Umbridge attempt her summoning. Which I also promise to all readers that there'll be No Void Princess Umbridge here in this fiction. It's as much implausible as it was, as some reviews say; too much to imagine...