Albus and Gellert move their pawns into position from behind the scenes. Newt tracks a Qilin.
On the Trail
Spring 1930, Nurmengard
"Your skills are needed, healer!"
Bedivere awoke to banging on their cell door. Galahad stirred against him. The cell was cold even though it must well into spring. They shared their bed and blankets like they often did as young boys. They had a third bedfellow then – Percy. During cold snaps, they would extend an invite to Timmy and Caradoc. Five to a bed was a far as they would go before the bed started creaking.
"Healer!" The rattling of keys. The last time a guard had walked in unannounced, Galahad had blasted him with a wandless Hex to the balls.
"Coming…" Bedivere untangled himself from the blankets. Galahad gripped his hand.
"Stay safe…" A squeeze before letting go.
The patient was bleeding heavily and ashen. The healer's first order of business was to demand the three wizards fluttering about her bedside move aside, or better exit the room. The last thing he needed was managing a frantic husband and his uncles. Queenie was sponging the patient's brow. Dona Severina was having a miscarriage.
"Any blood replenishers?" Bedivere asked. There was a case of potion vials that seemed to be of dubious age. No one had seen fit to maintain the potions cabinet and stocks since his imprisonment.
"One vial taken, and we are out," Queenie replied. The patient was fading fast. Bedivere took Queenie's wand and cast a Stabilizing Charm, followed by a diagnostic scan. The dead foetus had been successfully discharged but not the placenta. If they could not get it out…
Bedivere rolled up his sleeves and got to work. He might not like his patient, but he was still a healer and bound by his healer's oath.
He was exhausted when Severina was finally stabilized. He Scroungified the bedding and freshened it before Vanishing the bloodied rags and basin of red-tinged water. He had Queenie call the Prince menfolk in before collapsing into a chair. He briefly gave them instructions on how to care for the patient, and a prescription for potions to be filled at their earliest convenience. Strict bed rest was recommended for the next fortnight at least.
He allowed Queenie to help him up. They would leave the patient to her husband and family. Outside, Bedivere knew at least two of Grindelwald's loyal acolytes would be waiting. Instead, he was greeted by the sight of Gindelwald and his protégé Aurelius.
"I trust Madame is well?" Grindelwald asked.
Bedivere nodded. Aurelius peered warily from behind his master, as if trying to peer into the room before the door swung shut.
"Good, Madame Prince has her uses…" Grindelwald left his words hanging. The Princes were well-placed for the Alliance to reach out and recruit wixen to their cause. At least Alois and Benoit Prince were. Their nephew and his wife were almost an afterthought. So far. His followers believed that Grindelwald had intended to use Severina's connections to elite Latin American wix to scorch the Madame Santos' rising popularity. That had not happened. Santos remained protected by her supporters and the Brazilian Ministry. Likewise, Liu Tao was guarded by the Chinese. Foreign wix had little place in the country. No Chinese wizards had flocked to Grindelwald's banner.
"Come walk with me a bit…" Grindelwald smiled. Bedivere forced his mental shields in place and allowed himself to be led to a study, away from Queenie and Aurelius. On the table was a globe of the world indicating the various fractions of support for the two most likely candidates for the Supreme Mugwump elections. Much of Africa and Oceania remained neutral. The allegiances of Asia and Europe fluctuated in places. The Americas had taken on the hue of Santos' colours. On top of the changing colours were spots of black or red. Bedivere had worked out that these marked safehouses.
"A pity that, I had hopes for the Americas. Would you not agree that Santos is too soft for a leader?"
"My lord, what is your purpose in all this?" Bedivere asked humbly. Did he really think he could rise to Supreme Mugwump? Santos likely had the support of the Council of the Wise. Liu Tao had the backing of the legendary Old Masters who controlled the Chinese Ministry.
"All I do is for the greater good not only wizardkind but Muggles. Those animals need a firm hand lest they endanger us all with their folly."
Grindelwald smiled enigmatically before motioning for the guards lurking in the shadows to take the healer away, but not before Bedivere noticed one corner of Europe remained neutral and clear of any spots – the British Isles.
June 1930, on the shores of a Great Lake
The family was in a tizzy. Lally Hicks glared at the upturned earth, rage boiling inside. A coffin lay on its side, lid smashed. Someone had broken the wards protecting the hallowed resting place of two great wizards, not only in power but in heart. It was Cousin Suzy Walker who made the discovery where she came to place flowers and a glass of bourbon on the tomb in honour of Emancipation Day. She had raised the alarm. One of the occupants had been stolen. The other's bones scattered like garbage on the grass. The Baron's mouldy top hat sat rakishly on a bush.
"What now, Lally?" Cousin Stanley scratched his cheek. He had brought a shovel to rebury the bones. They had grown careless when graverobbing by No-Majs fell out of fashion. When the church fell into disuse with the demise of the nearby village and was forgotten. It had been a while since the bone theft, judging by the half-built bird's nest in the top hat. Since Lally scanned for magical signatures.
Too many fresh ones from her kinsfolk. None on the ground that would suggest they belonged to a trespasser. She considered the scattered bones of Captain Peregrine Graves. The bones still hummed faintly with power but not enough for a mere potions theft. They would gather them up and lay them to rest with the necessary rituals.
Lally Scanned the top hat again. The ragged remains of an anti-graverobbing curse. Dried blood on the brim. A possible magical signature. The hat would have been Charmed to transfigure into the graverobber's greatest fear and attack whoever disturbed the necromancer's rest. Yet it had failed. Her grandfather took his duty seriously, but he refrained from deadlier curses. In a moment of uncharitable feeling, Lally pondered the image of a third, fresher corpse in the tomb. Her grandfather had disabled that particular curse when he took over the guardianship. Perhaps Sister Minnie could look out for a wizard sporting suspicious magical injuries. The bones of a necromancer.
There was a slight argument over what was to be done with the captain's bones. Should they bury the top hat in his coffin? Or rustle up a brand-new coffin?
Kama had warned her. A chill ran down her spine. She would have to inform Silverfoot and by extension the headmistress and the Council of the Wise. The bones of a necromancer as powerful as the Baron could be used for powerful spells. Assuming the bone-thief lived that long.
Atlantic Ocean off Lisbon
Salvatore Cortez knew resigning from his Ilvermorny post before embarking on this endeavour was the right decision. He was less sure about abandoning his godsons, or more accurately, his sons. He had set them up well. If he should die… He checked the blackened stump of his left wrist – a careless mistake. There was no turning back for him. The rune he had carved into his flesh only slowed, not stop. Dona Severina needed him to deliver the bones to a contact in Lisbon. It would be a long and likely painful voyage across the ocean.
You're a bloody fool, Sal… Yet when could he turn down Severina's request?
He had spent months studying the curses and hexes that warded the tomb. He had prepared the runes to bind the coffin. A careless slip of the hand before the runework bindings were in place and his fate was sealed. He took a swig of the pain-reliever in his flask.
The boys. His twins. They were almost of age. They would survive Lally Hicks and Silverfoot, who had the care of the older magical orphans over the summer. Or would the Council of the Wise claim guardianship? What mattered now was to fulfil his promise to their mother. Though he could not think why a Blood mage would need a necromancer's bones. His head ached. They were nearing port. Officially, he was a No-Maj returning with his dead brother to the Old Country. He had glamoured the magical bindings and the patina of age on the coffin. He had also surrounded the coffin with repelling wards and notice-me-not charms to deter any curious customs officers.
The two brothers watched the wizard disembark with his luggage and the coffin.
"Dead man walking. He'd be dead by morning."
"Have you made the arrangements with Zabini for the transfer?"
A curt nod. The railway would bring their precious cargo into Germany. A relay of Granian-pulled carts would take it the rest of the way to Lord Grindelwald.
"Any instructions from dear Severine?" Alois asked.
"Only one – if he is suffering, put him out of his pain," Benoit replied. They strode down to the docks. Alois would slip a lethal dose of poison into the man's flask after they have concluded their business. Never do for the wizard to drop dead before then.
Woods near Ilvermorny
"Salvatore resigned? Most interesting coincidence…" Lally scowled at the news. "His godsons know nothing?"
Silverfoot shook her head. They sat outside the large caravan used for the summer students. Professor Cortez was in the wind. He had approached the headmistress pleading a family emergency. Lally had checked in on Severine's daughter in the hospital. There was no change in her condition and Cortez had not been to see her. Then the theft of a necromancer's bones. Cortez could not be reached.
Lally Hicks glanced over to where the twins were innocently playing wizarding chess on a tree stump. Summer camp. Their godfather had signed them up for it. Two weeks of camping in the woods and using their magic under the watchful eyes of their tutors. Silverfoot would likely introduce them to the more dangerous denizens of the woods around Mt Greylock.
"Delance has been informed of the bone-theft and it will be relayed to the Council. The bones are likely on their way to Grindelwald's possession if not already in it. Boys, let's spar!" Silverfoot barked and leapt up.
The twins leapt to attention, wands at the ready. Eulalie watched as Silverfoot put the pair through their paces. Both had expressed an interest in joining the Aurors.
"I'm writing to Dumbledore…" Lally murmured. She wanted more answers from him before she would hand over that snakewood wand. She did not see the momentary lapse in Silverfoot's concentration at her mention of Dumbledore before she tossed up a Shield to deflect a hex from her student.
"Go in peace, young man. The Pure One blesses the pure of heart…"
Newt had located Old Master Ang after a convoluted journey across much of the States. The Ang clan had their base in San Francisco but moved constantly to safeguard the welfare of Chinese wixen all over the States. They also ran a smuggling racket on the side trafficking borderline illegal potion ingredients like human bones and body parts. He found the Old Master in Colorado overseeing a cleansing ritual for a countryman. There had almost been an attack by on the party by a mob of angry Sasquatches, but Newt managed to talk them out of it. It was nothing but a case of mistaken identity. The Muggle huntsmen who had wounded a young Sasquatch by careless shooting had long moved on and the Chinese wixen did not carry firearms. Newt was able to treat the injured youngster.
Newt journeyed to the city of San Francisco with the Old Master and his assistants, during which he had obtained the blessings of the old wizard as well as the small jade tablet that would allow him access to the Chinese interior. However, the condition set by the Old Master was that he had to travel by water, not magic.
"Follow the waters of the Pearl, young man. Water springs pure from the source where the sweet osmanthus bloom, where man and bird work in harmony. There you will find what you seek… and maybe more…"
A steamer took him across the Pacific to Hong Kong. A succession of local river craft took him upriver from the Pearl Delta. The leisurely journey was an eye-opener. There were times when the boatmen insisted that they wait out a storm or the surging river to calm before they continued. The banks were more gorges and the overland trek treacherous. He had watched a Chinese Fireball prance among the bamboo under a full moon. Seen locals fishing with their cormorant partners.
Yet sitting by the campfire and listening to the nightbirds calling, Newt felt something, or someone was missing.
Author's Notes:
The theft of the bones by Grindelwald has unknowingly placed Lally in Dumbledore's army. Yes, Newt will be on the road for a very long time. Guilin (or Kweilin) means 'forest of sweet osmanthus' in Mandarin.