Arc 2 - Ilvermorny
Saying goodbye to Hogwarts was more difficult that either Alice or Zander anticipated.
During the time following the end of the schoolyear—everyone in the wizarding world felt to be riding on a slow, silent wave of rising, steady urgency. The aurors and the ministry worked a little harder, and a little longer; the aurors traveled more, and the detective-inspectors—the American equivalent to the aurors—did very much the same. Chatter evoked across every wizarding community, from home to across the pond, and every magical citizen seemed to gossip nonstop about whatever latest news had been printed in the wizarding publications regarding Xyler and the Seal of Shadows. Some stories told of dark wizards being cornered and isolated in remote locations, rumored to be connected to the Shadow Hand, while others speculated about old Death Eaters possibly rising to power among Xyler's followers—but no story contained any details about Xyler, his whereabouts, or even sightings of him.
This allowed a subtle sense of anxiety to emerge among the wizarding communities like they hadn't known since the second rise of Voldemort.
But, as life carried on, and as things remained mostly normal, folks pushed the slow-growing fear to the backs of their minds, eager to forget and deny that another wizarding dark era was possible at all.
Besides—much of this newfound tension in the air was due to the upcoming Triwizard Tournament in America, which had countless Hogwarts students, and their respective families, rightfully worried and on edge.
Alice and Zander both received countless letters during their summer stay in the carnival, from the Potters, the Weasleys, Tobias, and even Lorcan, and each of them mentioned how anxious they were about the tournament.
In fact, whenever their friends managed to drop by the carnival for a day of fun during their summer holiday, they spent much of their day chatting with Alice and Zander about the very same thing, each of them speculating that they might enter their names in the Goblet of Fire, some of them more hesitant than others.
Alice and Zander would usually fall silent during these conversations, offering only short replies on occasion. Neither of them had told their other friends that they intended to enter the tournament, or that they'd strongly decided to a long time ago. But, the more they heard their friends converse about it—and the more they heard other passerby Hogwarts students chat about the same—the more they began to realize how unlikely it was they they'd be picked for the tournament at all.
Throughout the summer, Alice and Zander were greeted by numerous other visiting students from Hogwarts, who were all quick to shake their hands and shower them with praise for their heroic actions at the end of their sixth year—and many of them were excited to enter the tournament in America, just as the two of them were, and just as some of their friends were.
So many people from Hogwarts planned to enter the tournament, and Alice and Zander both began to feel as if they had little to no chance of being selected by the Goblet of Fire.
So—when the last week of their holiday came to be—the two of them started to train.
Zander would break away from the cabin on the hillside, vanishing into the wilderness and cautiously scanning the isolated area for muggles before he started casting spells, whipping one off after another and thoroughly damaging every branch of the unlucky trees he decided to target. He sometimes practiced well into the late hours, and on occasion, Samuel would visit him and gently urge him to return home for the evening.
Alice's training, however, took a different routine; she spent much of her time watching her father's incredible fire shows on his stage, and as the muggles all clapped and whistled from all around her, she gazed up at her amazing father, studying his every movement and wanting more than anything to master elemental magic to the same astounding degree he had. Rather than disappearing to the woods, she chose a safer place to practice such magic, often isolating herself on the edge of the ravine, far from the carnival and overlooking the great expanse of the Atlantic, blasting fire from her wand and periodically from her fingertips.
Whenever their days came to an end, they met in the cabin and sat with Samuel at their round, cozy dinner table, eating whatever he or another carnival vendor had fashioned for dinner, trading conversation as they did.
Once in a blue moon, Alice and Samuel broke into another playful battle with each other, casting harmless spells at one another and levitating furniture while the other was on it, the Swords of Salazar perched above the fireplace, crossed together in the shape on an X, glistening in the smooth, comfortable lighting of the O'Heiden home.
When evening came, and when Samuel retired to bed, Alice sank into her own bed and chatted with Zander for a while before he'd return to his spot on the couch, and the home would be filled with a smooth, peaceful silence as the three of them slept the night away.
This routine remained much the same on the second-to-last day of their holiday, though this time, it was much harder for Alice to fall asleep.
Their trip to America was just around the corner, and she, Zander, and Samuel had to take a trip to Diagon Alley tomorrow, doing their final round of school shopping before they'd all be sent off to the American school of wizardry.
She lay in silence, gazing up at the ceiling and sighing, glancing over at the fireplace and the two swords on the wall just above it, the fire now gone, the home now dark, Zander snoozing lightly across the room, nothing stirring at all.
Honestly, she was quite proud of how well she'd been doing with elemental magic lately—and she was pleased with her holiday, having spent her birthday surrounded by Samuel, Zander, all their friends from school, and every wonderful attraction of the O'Heiden Carnival—but she couldn't shake the nervousness of the future away now.
The time of peace, fun, and whatever training she felt like doing was coming to an end—and a long, taxing year of new faces, new environments, and possibly new dangerous tasks was only two days away.
And, as she stared into the swords on the wall, she let out another breath, suddenly feeling defeated before she'd even started; after all, Zander was the one to call those swords, and Zander was the one to ultimately stop Mary-Lynn and Valefor. Zander was the expert duelist, and Zander was the one who'd rescued her in the chamber.
If the Goblet of Fire was going to pick either one of them—then it likely wouldn't be her.
Whooosh.
Alice jumped—her heart leaping into her throat as she sat bolt upright with a start.
The fireplace erupted with a sudden green fire, abruptly blinding her as the emerald flames shot upward and consumed the inside entirely—and then, a man strolled out, sauntering into the O'Heiden home as casually as could be.
Zander had jolted up as well—he and Alice both sitting up and ogling the man bizarrely, the green fires slowly shrinking down to the floor just behind him, flickering away as quickly as they had arrived.
"Hello!" Headmaster Arius said pleasantly, offering them a wave. "Have a nice holiday?"
"Blimey," Alice gasped, releasing a relieved cloud of breath. "You scared the life outta me…"
"Professor," Zander uttered, slowly reaching his feet. "Do you always blast into people's homes unannounced, or is this a special occasion?"
"Who said it was unannounced?" Arius replied whimsically, tilting his head at him. "Nooo… Samuel knew I was coming. Had to deliver Miss O'Heidin's birthday present, now didn't I? Although, I suppose it's not delivering if it's already here, but… well… c'mon. Come see."
He marched toward the door, motioning for them to follow.
Alice and Zander exchanged faces, slowly beginning to follow the headmaster. They grabbed their jackets, slipped them on, and stepped out of the house behind Arius, the three of them emerging under the night sky, fields and darkened woodlands surrounding the front of the home.
"You got me a birthday present?" Alice asked, trekking across the grass as she and Zander followed Arius toward the woods.
"Oh yes," Arius nodded, thumping his elegant cane lightly atop the ground as they marched. "I got it long before your birthday, but I couldn't tell you about it then. I wasn't quite finished with it then, to be honest. It takes a bit of time to mend a…"
He trailed off, stepping through the trees and shaking his head.
"Well… you'll see," he muttered. "Tell me… do wither of you enjoy muggle entertainment?"
"Well… yeah," Zander mumbled, glancing back over his shoulder and staring past the cabin, where he was just able to see the distant carnival lights. "This whole place is made of it…"
"Nooo… I mean television," Arius clarified as they strolled deeper into the woods. "TV shows. Do you like any TV shows?"
Alice and Zander glimpsed over at one another.
"A few," Alice shrugged.
"I never saw any until I started coming here," Zander said.
"Do you like Doctor Who?" Arius wondered, the trees now surrounding all of them from every direction. "It's quite a popular BBC program, with an old London police box at the center of the storyline."
"Oooh… the TARDIS," Alice recalled. "Aye, yeah, I've seen that show. Kinda lost interest after the writers started leaving, but…"
"Well… that police box, in the show, was bigger on the inside… much like what our expansion charms can do," Arius explained. "And, in the show, it's used as both a time machine and a means of transportation. But… in our lives…"
Then, he arrived at a clearing in the woodlands, slowing to a stop.
"It can simply be used as a getaway."
Alice and Zander both emerged from either side of him, gazing across the open grassy clearing and spotting something that appeared out of place; it was a blue police box, identical to the one from the TV show, with the letters glowing a faint white and the light on the top doing much the same. The box sat idly at the opposite side of the clearing, and Alice's brows raised, staring at it with intrigue.
"I'm certain the two of you are familiar with vanishing cabinets," Arius said, smiling and placing both hands atop his cane. "Well… I simply had this one painted and styled like the TARDIS. That design is just a personal preference of mine. What's inside, however, is my actual present to you."
"Really?" Alice breathed, gazing up at him. "Where does this vanishing cabinet lead…?"
Arius glanced at her, his smile seeming to grow, and he gestured across the clearing.
"Go and see," he urged.
Alice beamed, breaking into a speed-walk and striding across the clearing, Zander following closely behind her. The two of them stopped at the double-doors of the blue box, and Alice inhaled before gripping the handles and pulling them open—a blast of light washing out from inside, and a wonderfully familiar sight meeting her eyes.
Inside the blue box was none other than the Slytherpuff room, with the mixtures of green and gold, the banners of either house strewn from up top, the couch facing the center, the desks off to the left, and now, there were even beds against the wall directly opposite, a slender door in the corner and another just across from it, full and complete, and even improved from what she could remember.
Zander peered inside over her shoulder, gazing around in surprise and entering the blue box just behind her, both of them marveling at everything inside in disbelief.
Arius smirked again, sauntering inside and leaning on the doorway.
"It seemed rather unfair to deprive you both of your personal common room on your final year of school… especially after becoming heroes to the school," he remarked. "So… when we all find ourselves in Massachusetts… you'll still have your little getaway."
"Is this…" Alice uttered, wheeling around to face him. "Is this the real…?"
"Oh yes," Arius nodded. "This is the real Room of Requirement inside Hogwarts, taking the form you most want and need. And, this vanishing cabinet took a very long time to perfect, seeing as how its existence alone is a direct threat to the security of Hogwarts… so, I had to make absolutely sure that only the correct people could use it."
"You have it warded?" Zander asked.
Arius nodded again. "Very precisely warded. There are only a select few people who can pass through the blue double-doors. You two, myself, Trocar, Samuel, Roman, and your friends, James, Tobias, Lorcan, and Rose. That short list of people—plus a couple of very trusted aurors—are the only ones who can enter the blue box. So, this vanishing cabinet isn't just a gift to you. It's also your greatest means of protection, in the event that we cross paths with… well… anything you might need protecting against."
"That's brilliant!" Alice grinned, totally overjoyed. "Thank you!"
"Oh, no… you've earned it," Arius replied. "Both of you have. Now, don't get too attached, because we have to move it from here before sunrise… but we'll be transporting it to the grounds of Ilvermorny, and then you'll be able to use it throughout the schoolyear."
"What's this?" Zander wondered, hunching over the couch and eyeing everything on it, seeing that a large amount of books and supplies were sitting on the cushions.
"Oh… yes, you'll need to take that," Arius replied with a nod. "Those are your school supplies for the upcoming year. You needn't worry about the school shopping this time. I thought you might like to take a stroll through the American Aisle without fretting about having supplies, in any case. Now, you can do whatever shopping you like just for the fun of it."
Then, Arius made a flick of the wrist, and the books began to levitate. He pulled a sack out from under his violet cloak, a sack with an expansion charm inside, and he began guiding all the items into the bag, allowing each book to float inside one by one. Afterwards, he handed the bag off to Alice, who was still positively beaming with delight.
"Speaking of transporting to Ilvermorny," Zander mumbled thoughtfully, squinting at the headmaster. "How exactly are we all getting there? I doubt if the Hogwarts Express can travel across the ocean."
"Well, it can, but that would be rather tedious," Arius pondered. "No, we'll all be going the fun way. The way the O'Heidens are already fairly familiar with, if I recall."
"We're flying?!" Alice gasped, nearly hopping in place. "Wicked!"
"Oh Christ…" Zander sighed.
Arius chuckled. "Oh, now, not to worry. We won't be flying in that way, Zander. If we had anybody falling off their brooms over the Atlantic, that could cause quite a problem. No… we have a rather special means of transportation in mind. Something that the Congress has graciously offered to us."
"The American wizard government?" Zander questioned. "They have something they can use to fly a whole school of people…?"
Arius smiled, nodding and raising his eyebrows. "Well, Zander… Americans, both muggle and wizard, tend to do everything in excess. And… this particular scenario is no exception."
"What is it?" Alice inquired.
"It's something they use for a lot of big wizarding events like this, and they tailor it differently for each occasion," Arius told her. "You'll see."
Alice nodded, glimpsing around at the Slytherpuff room, then facing him again. "Thank you so much, Professor. Honestly, I was really nervous about this year… but this room's definitely gonna help me relax more."
"And me," Zander admitted.
"I thought it might," Arius said with another smile, this time a calmer one. "And… truthfully… it helps me to relax just as well. Knowing you'll have a safe place to go at all times really puts my mind at ease."
"You're awesome," Alice said happily. "You're really just the best headmaster ever."
"Oh, now, don't make me blush," Arius chuckled. "Ah… but, there is one thing I should tell you. Trocar is expecting to meet up with a certain detective-inspector in America, and the two of them intend to work together in investigating the Shadow Hand while we're in Massachusetts. That detective-inspector is rumored to be the best in America, and he's even become somewhat famous, although some speculate that he's gone a little mad… but that man also has access to this blue box. I wanted him to be able to check in on the two of you if I'm unable to."
"Wait." Zander made a face, raising his hand and giving the headmaster a quizzical look. "Are you talking about who I think you're talking about?"
"Who?" Alice stammered, glancing between Arius and Zander. "Who's he talking about?"
"Don't you ever keep track of the aurors in the world, Alice? You should, if you still wanna pursue that as a career like I do," Zander ranted. "The best auror in America is—"
"Vance Calloway," Arius confirmed. "Yes, he's absolutely the best of the best, and he's one of the very few people that Trocar and I can trust. You might actually see him in passing a few times when we're there."
Zander seemed to fall strangely silent, slowly raising his head and giving Arius an incredible sort of stare.
"R… really?" he uttered. "We might get to… meet him…?"
"Whoa," Alice breathed with a laugh, examining Zander and feeling a touch of surprise. "I have never seen you get so nervous so fast, Zander. You're like this guy's number one fan, arentcha?"
"He's the best auror in the world!" Zander whisper-yelled at her, making her choke out a laugh.
"Aurors are often just called detective-inspectors in America nowadays," Arius corrected. "They like to use modern and discrete titles rather than old and traditional ones. Not to mention, they do happen to do a lot of detective work. They operate a little differently from our aurors, but they're basically the same thing. We have a couple of our own aurors, we have the best American auror, and we even have Trocar worming his way out of retirement. We shouldn't need to worry about another mishap transpiring again. Now… I think you two ought to head back home and get some rest, because my friends and I have to move this box fairly soon."
"Aye," Alice nodded, she and Zander squeezing past him and strolling outside. "Thanks again, Professor! This is so awesome!"
Arius stepped outside, giving her a nod and a wave.
Alice and Zander marched off together, trekking across the open clearing before slowly vanishing into the darkened trees.
Arius watched them go, leaning on the outside of the blue box and sighing deeply.
Then, another figure appeared, emerging from behind the box and joining his side.
"They seemed to like it," Arius murmured with a half-smile.
"I imagined as much," Trocar replied, staring into the woods, then turning to him. "Did you only tell them the good news, or did you actually manage to deliver the bad as well?"
Arius hesitated, still gazing into the darkness, his smile fading.
"Ah… I couldn't tell them," he mumbled. "They were both in a good mood…"
"Well… they're sure to find out before long," Trocar commented. "An Azkaban prison break isn't exactly small news, Emmett."
"Yes, well… they needn't dwell on it," Arius said profoundly, straightening up and finally meeting his eyes. "They have more than enough things to worry about already. Their futures are riding on this upcoming year, after all."
Trocar nodded mildly, sighing and facing away. "Yeah. All of ours are…"
The two of them fell silent, abandoning their conversation and working to bewitch the blue box, sure to remove it from the woods of the Aran Islands before dawn.