Switzerland:
Sirius took several deep breaths as he tried to quell his anxiety. A full week had passed since he had destroyed the IDA base hidden underneath the coliseum in Rome and now there was going to be an emergency ICW meeting later today. His upcoming mission to kidnap Frank wasn't what was causing him to be anxious, however.
It was Bellatrix. The woman had been hot on his heels for the last several days. To even call her a woman was a stretch, she was more like a being of pure malice and destruction, and Sirius wanted no part of it. Confronting Bellatrix while she was like this was not in his best interest. With Zephyr's help, he could probably beat his cousin, but the spirit had outright told him that if it came down to a fight, the spirit would not help him.
Now he was currently trying to find a vantage point within the large conference room. Delegates from other nations had begun to arrive and he couldn't afford to be caught before the meeting. That's why he had sent Antonin to meet with Bellatrix to stall her until the meeting was underway.
The chaos she would create would give him the chance to make a move. Sirius got set up on some rafters and applied some high-level invisibility spells to himself. He hated stakeouts but thankfully he wouldn't have to wait too long this time, only a few hours.
A few hours, and he would help ignite the first great wizarding war.
Obsidian Venue:
Within the large confines of the castle, Hydrus was currently in the east wing, where the laboratory could be found. He was researching something that his mother had given to him before she left.
Hydrus had wanted to go with her, but Bellatrix had said she was looking for a surprise gift for him and that he couldn't come along. Instead, she wanted to take a look at something she, and Amelia called the Light Remains to see if he could find something they couldn't.
Viewing the Light Remains through a microscope had revealed a tightly knit hexagonal pattern whose purpose remained unclear to him. A few new ideas came to him upon seeing the hexagon, but he wasn't allowed to research or experiment. In fact, Hydrus was forbidden to do magic at all for the time being.
After he had messed up his Synchronicity Waves and nearly unraveled his soul, Druella had grounded him until she saw fit. For the first few days into his punishment, no one had actually enforced the new rules, not even Druella herself. The only person who made sure Hydrus didn't practice magic was Hydrus himself out of respect he had for his grandmother and the very real shame he felt for needlessly worrying his family.
He had even given Druella his wand before she could ask for it. While he was all for bearing his punishment in silence, it was still a bit annoying. Since he couldn't practice magic, Hydrus had found other things to do like learning to use a sword.
Hydrus desperately wanted to research Synchronicity waves and other various metaphysical connections, but that was impossible given his current situation. Orchid and Druella had decided to stick to Hydrus like glue. Orchid had to be around him while he was still recovering, but Druella had become heavily obsessive over her grandson. Hydrus didn't mind it though. Being constantly cuddled, kissed, and milked by his grandmother was one of his favorite things. Just thinking about her was enough to bring a smile to his face.
Druella was in a meeting right now, handling something as the Head of House, which meant Orchid was the only one around for the time being. Hydrus flipped open his sketch book to the page with the drawing of the hexagonal pattern. Studying it closely, he figured that he could try to combine it with a different polygon to see if it would provoke some kind of reaction.
Flipping to the next page, Hydrus grabbed a fountain pen and drew a hexagon. As he stared at the six-sided shape he thought how best to complement it. The answer came to him rather quickly. If he added a four-sided shape, that would bring the number of lines to ten, a strong symbolic number.
He drew a diamond shape within the hexagon, making sure all four points touched a side of the hexagon. It glowed a harsh white for a moment before it faded. Hydrus felt a strange empowering feeling before that faded as well. Before he could ponder the situation any further, someone tapped on his shoulder from behind. He turned around to see Orchid wearing a mischievous look on her face.
"Orchid! Where've you been?" Hydrus asked, hugging the woman tightly. "Hello there baby boy, did you miss me? Look who I found lurking about." She responded. Orchid snapped her fingers and Bruma walked in. In the queen's hand was a golden chain attached to Andromeda's collar as she walked the woman like a dog.
Hydrus bounded up to his mistress and the elf queen was quick to pick him up and squeeze him in a tight hug. "How was your trip? Did you find what you were looking for?" He asked through the myriad of kisses.
"It was certainly something. I met with Cael, and we conquered an island in your name. It was hidden by magic, but the natives were rather quick to surrender once we murdered and ate all of their children." Bruma recounted.
"That sounds awesome! I wish I could've gone with you. What was it you were looking for anyway?" He replied. Bruma opened her mouth to answer before she was cut off.
"She can't tell you because it's supposed to be a Christmas gift. Isn't that right, elf?" Druella said, glaring up at the tall snow elf queen.
"Watch your tone, vampire. You may get away with bossing around the servants, but I will not be so easily cowed." The mad queen said venomously, spittle flying from her mouth.
"Bruma, behave or no more kisses." Hydrus warned. It was almost laughable how quickly she changed demeanors. "I'm sorry master, forgive me." Bruma said, kissing him all over the face once again. Hydrus wiggled out of her hold and went to put the Light Remains away. As soon as he was finished Druella snatched him up and apparated away. Orchid followed with a heavy sigh, knowing that the Black matriarch had no intention of sharing.
With the others gone, Bruma took out the Light Remains and began her own investigation. On his travels to conquer foreign lands and spread the glory of Noctis, Cael had found a large reservoir of energy that matched that of the Light Remains. They couldn't transport it overseas or even touch it as it completely burned away the soul.
After subduing the locals, Bruma had finally gotten a chance to study the Light and had come to a conclusive answer. That the Light was the power of destruction itself. Even more interesting than that, however, was that it contained very faint traces of magic.
Bruma had been puzzled by this until she had read her master's medical report on how he messed with his Synchronicity Waves. The answers had to lie in Soul Synchronicity, and if Bruma had to take a wild guess, the Light was really just the mind wave pushed as far as it could go. Deciding to run an experiment, Bruma held out her hand and focused on her psychic prowess.
Sure enough, the Light Remains had a reaction to telekinesis, glowing just a bit before it returned to its normal state. It seemed odd to Bruma that it would only have a weak reaction to external psychic energy. There had to be another factor that she was missing. Still, it had a reaction to telekinesis, Bruma could focus on developing a counter based on that info until she knew more. She would slay her master's enemies and give birth to his children.
An intense wave of friskiness washed over Bruma at the thought of serving her master. She put the Light Remains away and picked up Andromeda's leash and left the laboratory, intent on finding some relief until she had the honor of being with her master once more.
No one noticed the pair of snake eyes that watched from the shadows.
The ICW Meeting:
Bellatrix scowled and tapped her foot with impatience as she and her team watched the opening proceedings. Antonin had told her of Sirius's plan, and she had added her own to it. Once the ICW no doubt declared war, Bellatrix and the others would assassinate the leaders of the Western Alliance.
The chaos of Patricia Graves of MACUSA, Alejandro Rodrigo of the Mexican Magic Assembly, and Fiona Oswald, the minister of Magical Canada being murdered would give Sirius plenty of time to capture Frank Longbottom and get out.
Bellatrix was looking forward to killing Patricia personally. The Graves family had declined an alliance with House Black and actively blocked any attempts they tried to make to get a foothold in America. It was an insult that could not go unpunished. Once she killed Patricia, Bellatrix would take her wand and family ring and infiltrate the MACUSA archives. If anyone knew anything about what happened to Aberforth it would be MACUSA.
"Ladies, gentlemen, and esteemed leaders of the magical world, I welcome you to the three hundred and thirty third ICW meeting. My name is Franklin Longbottom and I'll be your representative for the duration of this meeting." Frank said, officially starting the meeting.
"Before I open the floor, there are some concerns that must be addressed. It has come to the attention of the ICW that some of you may have fallen under the influence of a dark cult called the Church of Noctis. From this moment onwards, the Church and its members are enemies of the ICW and we will be sending IDA operatives to assist you in dealing with this threat. The floor is now open." Frank said in a cold monotonous voice.
"This is madness! I cannot speak for everyone, but Magical France will not be subjected to military occupation or be told who we can or cannot worship!" Sebastian Delacour shouted.
"You were not called to speak, Minister Delacour. Talk out of turn again and I will have no choice but to fine you and your country for contempt of court. Regardless of how you may feel, this is nonnegotiable." Frank replied.
There was muttering amongst the world leaders before a man stood. "The floor recognizes Lord Shirogane of Japan." The ICW representative said.
"For over three hundred years the ICW has ruled as the overarching government of wizardkind everywhere. For over three hundred years our citizens obeyed your laws out of fear and respect for the power this governing body holds. For over three hundred years we have suppressed our true natures and lived in the shadows of inferior life forms. While I do not claim to speak for everyone gathered here today, it is in Magical Japan's best interest to no longer be restricted by the ICW's dogma. Thus, I would like to officially renounce our position amongst the International Confederation of Wizards. The witches and wizards of Japan are more than capable of ruling themselves." Shirogane spoke with a calm and quiet conviction.
"Then you are no longer welcomed here. You and your people are now enemies of the world government." Frank said stoically. Sebastian stood.
"I am of the same mind as Lord Shirogane and renounce France's position amid the ICW." He said.
"And I am doing the same." Said Contessa Zabini. "The ICW made no attempt to offer assistance to Magical Italy when we were hit with a natural disaster. The ICW doesn't care about us, they never did! The only things they cared about were their own power and maintaining control over us!" Contessa said passionately.
Frank met their gaze unflinchingly. "Is there anyone else who would like to make the same foolish mistake as these three?" He asked.
Almost everyone stood at the same time and the world leaders of the magical community stared down the representative of their oppressors.
Frank stared back, unyielding. "Then I hereby declare war on you all. The First Great Wizarding War."
Immediately after the declaration of war, Patricia Graves' head popped like an overripe grape. She wasn't the only one either. Amelia and Antonin had coordinated their attacks to kill the remaining leaders of the Western Alliance.
There was screaming and people drew their wands, casting protective shields and barriers. Within the chaos Sirius leapt down from the rafters, tackling Frank and using Zephyr's powers to breeze out. Bellatrix summoned the body of Patricia Graves and raised her wand, blasting a hole in the wall that led outside. She dodged curses as she and the rest of her team leapt out the hole and portkeyed away.
Selwyn Homestead:
Severus, Lucius, and Miranda Selwyn all sat in the private study of Selwyn Homestead listening to the wireless. They, like the majority of the magical world, had heard the declaration of war and the chaos that ensued.
"Severus? Are the muggles still destroying themselves?" The minister asked. The oily man nodded in affirmation. "They no longer require constant oversight. I have someone check in on them periodically to make sure the operation is still going smoothly, but their destruction is all but assured."
"I heard Barty went and became a crusader. Do you think he'll succeed on his mission?" Miranda asked. "I don't know. And you know better than to ask. That's classified information, Miranda." Lucius said, clearly having had this sort of conversation many times. Miranda and Lucius were no longer together, their marriage having been pre-arranged by their respective Heads of Houses. They didn't have any animosity towards each other, they were just too different. Lucius didn't feel sexual attraction towards anybody, man or woman, and Miranda was more interested in defiling young boys than she was men her age.
"You shouldn't doubt Junior. He'll do anything for the sake of the mission, and he'll go beyond even that to serve Lord Noctis." Severus defended. Barty Crouch Junior was one of the very few people Severus could call his equal, and one of the very exclusive people that he would even go so far as to call his friend.
"I'm not doubting him, Severus. I've seen his work firsthand after all. It's just that we probably can't afford to lose someone so strong overseas." Miranda countered.
"Enough, Junior is one of my highest-ranking hit-wizards. A simple assassination is well within his capabilities. What we need to be discussing is Severus's findings on the liquid that Black brought us." Lucius said, bringing the conversation back on track. The blonde man indicated to the other, prompting him to speak.
"I did some analysis and found something rather disturbing. Here, take these." Severus handed the other two a folder filled with pictures and handwritten notes. "Your handwriting remains as atrocious as ever Severus." Miranda quipped. The man in question ignored her.
"If you look closely, you'll see some sort of strange hexagonal pattern. It looks to be some sort of strange even sided arithmancy schematic. It reacted very well to blood. I think that whatever this stuff is, it boosts life energy."
"Life energy?" Lucius questioned.
"The metaphysical energy that all living things have within them. Muggles call it different things depending on the region and history. Ki, chi, chakra, nen, it's all the same thing. In wizards this would be represented by the Body Synchronicity Wave." Miranda explained.
"That's the worrying part. Wizards and other magical beings are completely incapable of manipulating their life energy because magic compensates for that flaw. It's impossible to use both magic and life energy, it's either one or the other." Severus added.
"Do either of you have any knowledge of muggles tapping into this life energy?" The minister asked, looking deep in thought.
"It happens very rarely, in only the direst of circumstances. A classic example would be a mother somehow finding the strength to lift an automobile to rescue her child. On average muggle athletes and martial artists are more likely to tap into their life energy than the average person, but it is never intentional." Severus said.
"You have to remember that this is all metaphysical, we can't definitively prove that life energy exists. If IDA researchers have found a way to tap into life energy at will, then we could potentially be dealing with wizards who are capable of utilizing both magic and life energy." Miranda said softly, looking very grim.
"I don't like the sound of that. Tell me, would it be possible to seal life energy away." Lucius asked.
"No, life energy and magic don't mix. Any attempt to suppress life energy using magic just cancels out, which is why Amelia had to use a physical blow to get rid of that Light Being."
"Wait, Light Being?" Miranda asked. Severus and Lucius nodded. "What are you thinking?" The blonde man asked her.
"I'm thinking about gravity. Or in a case like this, a really dense material." Miranda said, rubbing her chin as she pondered. Lucius stood suddenly.
"Mythril! Mythril is dense as all hell and cancels out magic, so what are the chances that it also cancels out life energy?" He said as inspiration struck him. Severus's eyes widened.
"That could work. Miranda, you wouldn't happen to have any mythril lying around, would you?" The oily man asked. The woman nodded and snapped her fingers. A house elf appeared presenting bloody mythril handcuffs. Severus took them, placed them in his pocket and stood up.
"I have more testing to do. If I discover anything new, I'll inform you." He apparated away, leaving Miranda and Lucius alone.
"What are you thinking, Lucy?" Miranda asked. The minister turned to look at her, a serious expression on his face. "This life energy, you said it's metaphysical, which means metaphysical things have to make it up. What can you tell me about what the muggles came up with?" He asked.
"It's complicated but it's a whole bunch of things. Life energy, if it actually exists, would be made up of things like vim, vigor, will power, courage, and spirituality." Miranda explained. Lucius gave a horrible evil smile.
"Well then, that makes things simple. All we have to do is break their spirit." Miranda looked at her ex-husband in surprise before she let out a cruel laugh.
MACUSA Headquarters:
Barty Crouch Junior stood on the ceiling, peering down at his target. Aberdeen Goldstein the head of the Department of Magical Justice.
"The targets are marked, and the charges are set, boss. We're ready for your signal." A voice spoke through his telepathic earring. Barty pulled a lacrima filled with explosive magic out of his pocket and without a second thought dropped it right on Goldstein's head.
There was a massive explosion in the Department of Justice as almost all of the American aurors were completely incinerated. Outside, he could see a red tinged barrier go up.
"Perkins, Chang, you're with me. Everyone else, air this place out." Barty then dropped from the ceiling and landed nimbly amongst the debris and corpses. He walked lackadaisically as he explored the Department of Magical Justice looking for the archives.
"Stop right there criminal scum! Nobody breaks the law on my watch!" An auror who had survived called out to him.
"Verto." Barty said lazily, flicking his wand and transforming the auror into a potted plant. Another lazy flick set the plant alight, and Barty continued on his way. He finally bumped into Perkins and Chang who were waiting for him outside of a massive vault door.
"Took you long enough." Perkins complained. "Shut the hell up Perkins and get this door down. The last thing we want is IDA breathing down our necks while we're trying to work." Barty snapped.
"Alright, geez relax a little. Expulso Spiralis!" Three spiraling blue bolts of light impacted the heavy vault door, causing it to implode on itself.
The hunk of metal fell to the floor and revealed a room stacked to the ceiling with shelves that held countless scrolls and heavy tomes.
"Holy shit! It's going to take forever to comb through all of this!" Perkins complained. Barty shook his head. "No, our part here is done. Now we wait for her."
Just as he finished speaking, Bellatrix appeared in a flash of light. She gave a single nod of acknowledgement towards Barty and stepped into the archive room.
"I don't want to be disturbed. Hold this position until I return." Bellatrix ordered, not bothering to even look back at the others. She continued further in completely unfazed by the sheer number of books.
Bellatrix continued even further into the archive room, occasionally swiping something that looked interesting until she finally reached her destination. At the very back of the archive room lay an empty display case. Her eye twitched, and she had to fight down the rush of violence that threatened to consume her.
She took a deep breath and reached into her robe pocket. Bellatrix pulled out one of the Black Family's greatest treasures, a pair of glasses enchanted by Rowena Ravenclaw herself. She put them on and felt her magic start to drain away at a rapid pace.
Bellatrix laid a hand in the display case. "Show me the history of this object." She intoned. For a while nothing happened. Then suddenly, images flashed quickly within her mind. Bellatrix focused, ignoring the irrelevant details as she watched carefully for what she was looking for.
"Freeze!" The image stopped on two men who were having an intense conversation. Bellatrix recognized both of them. One was Aberforth, as she expected and the other was someone who sent an eerie chill down her spine.
"Play." The scene resumed and Bellatrix watched and listened.
"After what've you done, you're out of your mind if you think that I would ever work with you, monster!" Aberforth spat.
"You won't be helping me, besides, I'm at the end of my life anyway, I can sense it. But you and I have both suffered the same pain of loss, and when two people share the same pain it's impossible to be enemies. We both loved Albus, in our own way, and you know as well as I do that it would be impossible for him to rest peacefully with the world in this state."
"A state you helped bring about! Your ambitions and senseless destruction are directly responsible for the way things are! If it wasn't for you then things would be different!" Aberforth glared at the other man with his electric blue eyes.
"If you truly want things to be different, then complete his dream. Build Sanctuary City and protect the world from darkness." The other man handed Aberforth a wand that radiated power, even in a memory.
"I'm not my blasted brother and I'm certainly not you…but his dream was my dream and I'll do what the both of you couldn't. I'll create a world of peace, free of darkness. But I won't do it with this wand, it's caused too much pain and suffering. Now get the hell out of my sight, and if I ever see you again, I'll kill you. IDA be damned."
The memory faded as the two men went their separate ways, Aberforth turning away and and and placing a hand on the stone wall, and Gellert Grindelwald limping away.
Bellatrix ripped the enchanted glasses off her face, panting from exhaustion. She had a lot of magic at her disposal, more than what was reasonable, due to a byproduct of constantly milking her son. However, using Ravenclaw's glasses, even for a little bit, was enough to almost knock her out. On shaky legs, Bellatrix made her way to the part of the wall she saw in the memory and placed her hand in the same spot. She was electrocuted and she pulled her hand back quickly.
On the section of the wall was a tightly knit hexagonal pattern that glowed with a harsh white light. She sucked her teeth in annoyance. Bellatrix reached into her pocket once more and pulled out a glass phial filled with a nasty looking orange liquid.
It was a liquid-gel explosive that the Unspeakable Alchemy Department had developed. Bellatrix threw the phial against the wall and took several paces back. The orange liquid started to foam and flash before it exploded violently, sending chunks of wall and dust everywhere.
Bellatrix walked into the hole in the wall and saw it at last. A spherical barrier covered in a tight hexagonal pattern that glowed with a white light and protected a simple stone pedestal. She walked up to it and glared. Bellatrix put on some thick gloves and used pure physical strength to shatter the stone pedestal, in an attempt to breach the force field.
The sphere rolled for a bit before Bellatrix picked it up and poured more explosive gel on it and punted it away. The explosion went off and after the smoke cleared the sphere remained completely undamaged. She snarled like a wild animal, baring her elongated fangs and growling. Bellatrix bit her arm hard enough to draw blood and the pain was enough for her to start to calm down.
Reaching into her pocket one last time she pulled out a shrunken duffel bag, she resized it, placed the sphere containing the wand in the bag and left. As soon as she figured out how to get past the forcefield she would present the wand to her beloved Hydrus, and he would be so happy and impressed with her that he would kill Druella and the others in order to make her his true one and only queen.
Bellatrix giggled as she lost herself in her delusions. She skipped out the archive room with a wide smile on her face, not paying Barty or anyone else any attention. They were all just ants compared to her and Hydrus. Her laughter grew more manic as she thought of her son. Her heart fluttered, her knees went weak, and a deep needy heat formed in her core. She had been away for far too long.
Once she slaughtered and enslaved the Graves family, she could finally go home to her perfect, lovely son. Bellatrix licked her lips with a dreamy expression on her face. Perhaps when she got back, she would take Hydrus on another vacation, and they could commit more atrocities. Or perhaps she would take him to a smaller battlefield and get a snapshot of her baby boy committing his first war crime.
Bellatrix practically danced with glee at the thought of her son becoming even more like herself. "Amelia, take this bag back home and guard it with your life. Inform Antonin that his and Sirius's mission is over and that I need Sirius's prisoner to be transferred to the Shadow Realm. Once you've done all of that you have my permission to become Hydrus's full time cum-dump." Bellatrix ordered. Amelia nodded seriously at the tasks given to her, but Bellatrix could feel the crimson-haired woman's excitement.
Bellatrix sent her slave away while she left MACUSA headquarters and thought of a way on how to optimally fulfill her side quest.