Author's Note: I'm guessing that every Sunday might be difficult. So make it give or take a few days, but still once a week.
On AO3, I've added illustrations to the first The Guise of Family chapters and some casting photos to the last chapter. I will continue adding more as time goes on until the story is illustrated. Probably next week, I'll also start adding them to this story. I've fallen down a rabbit hole of addiction to MidJourney and have been having a blast creating stuff both for my writing and job.
Delegations
Following the determination of The Giver that Flare's hatchlings were magical, Nestor summoned the rest of his team to the island. While he had been transferred to his government's Department for the Regulation of Magical Creatures from law enforcement, he was not a magizoologist. His colleague Kailee was, and the other two who helped to chart the island and its resources, the twins - Than and Thao, were herbologists. They arrived the following day along with the local wandmaker who had crafted The Giver's wand, Kidlat Makisig Pelayo or, as he was usually called - Old Man Pelayo. The wandmaker also brought along a Dwarf that he had been using to help translate his lessons on wandwork for The Giver.
Due to his advanced age and magical power, The Giver had been learning at a much faster rate than the children at Hogwarts. However, Old Man Pelayo seemed to be focusing entirely on Transfiguration and Charms, with no instruction on magic that could be used strictly for offensive or defensive purposes. As a result, the area around The Giver's home had been transformed into a strange nexus that looked like a fever dream of Dr. Seuss. Trees and earth were now many different colors and made of metal, rubber, and stone, and they had body parts growing out of them at random points. Some appendages were animated and moved in repetitive motions, while others were as still as statues. It gave Harry a headache to be around it but luckily, The Giver was spending much more time at the Hidden Village. Lyra surmised that he must be lonely without the Usurper to keep him company.
After his first lessons, The Giver informed them that the Dwarf being used for translation was not treated well. After meeting others of his race at Hogwarts, they could see the difference. The translator walked with a hunched back and a sullen look. His clothes were worn and patched in different places. Though, unlike the ones they had met at Hogwarts, this one did have a long black beard.
Even with so many people present, Harry only allowed Kailee to see the newly hatched cobras. Pelayo seemed very unhappy at this turn of events and argued with Nestor as Harry led away the magizoologist.
"What's his problem?" Harry asked. "He's here for the Hoohoos and to train The Giver."
"I'm sure he's curious," Kailee replied with an awkward smile. "Anyone would be, but particularly a wandmaker."
Lyra appeared out of nowhere next to them as they walked, scaring her a bit, "Why's that?"
After catching her breath and trying to figure out where the girl had come from, she replied, "It's very advanced studies, but new magical creatures come from five places. The first place is natural birth. Two magical creatures of the same type will always have living magical offspring. Their bodies rely on magic so much that they'll die if they aren't magical. Not like wizards that can produce squibs and live. Very rarely, they'll gain new attributes, like the hoohoos here and their selective invisibility, but that is normally a product of the environment rather than internal magic."
After a pause, she continued, "The second way is the natural breeding of a magical creature with another that is not the same type. Just like mundane creatures, it is possible to crossbreed some magical animals, and even occasionally a magical one with a mundane one. In this case, only a non-magical creature can survive being born from a magical one. Though in any natural crossbreeding, The offspring will be weaker magically than the parents. I had specifically said natural cross-breeding because the third way is a ritual combination. There exists a highly regulated ritual that will combine different species into new animals that would only be possible with magic."
"Newt Scamander told us about that one," Harry told her. He tried to say something else, but his thought process was stopped by the magic involved when they were told about what he did.
Kailee smiled. "I bet he would have been able to create some interesting things with all his knowledge. It's complicated and challenging to create new species that are able to reproduce on their own, as they would need to create a fertile male and female pair. Most people who use this ritual will do it only for vanity or status, just to show that they have the money to do it or the skill to create something interesting. The fourth way is through many curses that affect people or animals and turn them into something else with magical properties."
"Like a minotaur?" Lyra asked, remembering the one she set on fire a few months ago.
"Exactly. You two do come into contact with many interesting things," Kailee said thoughtfully.
"And the last one?" Harry prompted.
"Spontaneous magical birth. Similar to the appearance of muggleborn wizards, but different because with animals, the magical effects are limited instead of just giving the power to use magic. What abilities the new magical creature will have are also harder to predict. That seems to be what happened here. It is also the most interesting and rare. A wandmaker would be so interested in the snakes here because wand cores can only be made from the first and fifth types of animals. After a few generations of animals from the second and third type, it can be possible, but sometimes it may take at least four generations."
"Why can't wands be made from mixed births of the second type?" Lyra asked.
"All I know is that they are highly unreliable. A wandmaker might be able to tell you more," Kailee told her with a shrug.
Harry filed all that information away to discuss with his friend Hayden back at Hogwarts, who wanted to be a wandmaker. When they got to the area around the nest, Kailee looked toward the nest with curiosity. There were the feathers from many birds that Lyra had placed everywhere, and the raised fortress was covered in metal with various spikes to ward off predators.
"There're a lot of magical modifications I can see. Is there anything I can't?" Kailee asked as she pulled out a paper and a pen to start taking notes.
"I buried shedding from the Usurper around the area to ward off other snakes," Harry replied.
Kailee took a step closer, and a green blur exited the nest coming straight for her. She froze as Harry jumped in the way and, with a commanding tone, yelled,
§STOP!§
Since the newspapers in Britain had published that he was a parselmouth, there was no longer a reason to hide it from anyone. The green blur halted to reveal Ivy, who had been charging at Kailee.
Ivy hissed angrily,
§She is an intruder!§
Harry replied firmly,
§She wants to check on your children to see if they are healthy. You will allow this.§
Ivy grumbled in a way that only a snake could before reentering the nest. Kailee unfroze and relaxed.
"That is a most useful skill to have, Harry."
"It doesn't mean she likes me. Just that she would listen to me, I'd probably have hit her if she were a random snake, so she complied with me instead of just asking nicely. However, Flare wouldn't like it if I did that."
Lyra nodded along, "It took Flare quite a few hits to the head before he started following Harry's instructions for guarding the crops. The other cobras still need a good smack now and then because they forget who they are and who they serve."
"If the newly hatched snakes are magical, they'll never fully listen to me." Harry added, "They'll also develop their own personalities."
Kailee nodded, "One of the most interesting parts of this is that snakes don't have the kind of family structures that these two are exhibiting. I could just say it is because of magic, but I really think it's because of you, Harry." She continued at his and Lyra's questioning looks, "Flare is your familiar. The bond you share influences both of you, and your magic strengthens him… probably his mate too. Your family with Lyra and the Hidden probably changed the typical, non-existent cobra family structure to resemble your own more closely."
She left Harry and Lyra to digest that information and approached the opening in the nest to look inside. The tiny magical cobras were swarming around the inside. It appeared like they had grown a few inches over the last day, and they were running out of room quickly. Ivy was staring back at them, giving her a slow hiss in warning with her hood fully deployed. She slowly muttered a few incantations as she wove her wand over the young snakes.
Several minutes later, she looked at Harry and Lyra, "They are definitely magical. However, none of my diagnostics match any recognized magical serpents, and most are slightly different from the others. They are developing quickly, so much so that I could even detect their growth in the minutes I examined them. If you can convince them to leave the nest for ten minutes, I could expand the inside to give them much more space."
Harry had an argument with Ivy, which ended with her escorting her children into the sunlight while Kailee got to work. While out, they observed the first noticeable magical effect of First and the other darker green hatchlings as their colors seemed to shift to match the ground cover. It wasn't perfect by any means, which made them stand out rather than blend in, but it was still incredible to watch.
When Kailee had finished, Harry told Ivy they could reenter, and he returned to the spot at the top to observe. Kailee had to seal the nest, enchanting special portals for the snakes to enter and exit at the base for the magical expansion to work. She also transfigured a glass window where they had been looking in from before with an air vent next to it. When they gazed in, it appeared they were looking down on a room at least twenty feet below them.
The family of snakes expressed interest in the expansion of their nest but were more interested in the fifty or so bird eggs that Kailee had left as snacks. After a bit more time, Harry and Lyra led her back to the rest of the group, who were waiting patiently at the beach.
"Well, they are magical," she reported. "We got to see one magical ability that the darker hatchlings have - some kind of adaptive camouflage. It doesn't work well now, but semi-invisible cobras would be quite dangerous later on."
"I'll have to check that out later," Alastor mumbled. "I want to know what could sneak up on me on this island."
"Just another fun bunch of critters that could kill us all," Tonks smirked nervously.
Pelayo spoke up in a tone that didn't seem to be asking, "I would appreciate a moment to inspect them myself. Now that Mr. Potter has returned, I hope to also have an introduction to the Lampong."
Harry glanced at the Dwarf, standing silently next to the wandmaker, then shared a look with Lyra. She gave him a nod.
"Can we talk about that privately?" he asked the old man.
Pelayo looked a bit irritated but agreed. As they started to move away, Harry could see Lyra and Whispers following him invisibly, and where Lyra was, Moody and Tonks were sure to be following too.
When they had been walking for a few minutes, Pelayo stopped and turned, "So? What do you want? I made a wand and trained that…" he trailed off, then corrected himself, "The Giver in exchange for gathering feathers at the Hoohoo nest. What do you want for visiting the Lampong and observing these new snakes on your island?"
Harry steadied himself before replying, "I want to know why you mistreat the Dwarf. He seems scared and unhappy." Remembering how he was dressed living with the Dursleys, "He dresses in rags and doesn't seem to have a voice of his own. Does he get paid?"
"That's what you want to know?" he replied angrily. "Such creatures are beneath wizards. They can never be what we are, better than muggles as they occasionally have uses, but they are still beneath us. I've spent valuable time training that Giver thing, and while he does show promise in wand work, it is a waste of my time to continue doing so. So what do you want now for an introduction to the Lampong and the magical snakes?"
Harry didn't want this man on the island anymore.
"Have you collected a lot of Hoohoo feathers?" Harry asked.
He smiled, "It took me quite some time before the birds trusted me and allowed me to see them and collect feathers and ash. Since then, I have collected quite a large amount freely given and fallen on the ground. I look forward to crafting many wands for the children and others of this country with them. The magic in them is strong."
Harry was a bit surprised that the Hoohoos trusted him. Still, since he had collected many feathers and taught The Giver the basics of his magical education, he wanted to end their arrangement.
He hoped Alastor was nearby in case he needed backup and said, "I want you to leave the island."
Pelayo frowned, "Because of the Dwarf?! He has less magical potential than a squib. You don't need to protect him."
Harry stood firm and said again, "I need you to leave the island."
Suddenly, an unseen force began to push Pelayo toward the beach. He stumbled a bit but began to walk along with the current that drove him as he yelled back at Harry.
"You'll regret this!" He then yelled something in another language before continuing, "This isn't over!"
Harry followed him as he continued to move along with the force pushing him. He eventually pulled a flying carpet out of his coat and flew off above the trees and toward the horizon.
Once he had lifted off, Whispers appeared next to him and growled towards the departing wandmaker. Lyra appeared at his side as Moody and Tonks approached right after.
"Good work, both of you," Moody praised them.
"What just happened?" Nestor called out as he ran up to them, followed by Kailee, Than, Thao, and the Dwarf came plodding after, still silent.
"The kids expelled the wandmaker," Alastor explained.
"But how?" Harry asked. "I just told him to leave."
Nestor replied, "Remember when we were building the wards before you left for Hogwarts?" Harry and Lyra nodded. "As the only two wizards living here, we tied them to you. At the end, you placed your hands on the biggest obelisk."
"It cut our hands!" Lyra exclaimed in remembrance.
"Exactly," Moody told them. "So now, if there is someone that you both want to leave the island, the wards will push them out. If they fight it, it could hurt them. Harry told him to leave, and even though she didn't say it out loud, Lyra agreed with him, so the magic protecting the island expelled him."
"What if we disagree?" Lyra asked.
"At that point, it might come down to whoever feels strongest about that person's presence. However, you should try to work out those things first," Tonks told her.
"Guys?" Thao asked the group. "What are we doing about the Dwarf here?"
It turned out that the Dwarf did not speak English or Tagalog. He spoke the Dwarven language and one other that none of the people knew. Than told them that it seemed to have some similarities to Japanese and Korean, but it was definitely not either of those. To translate, the group brought him to The Giver to translate into Parseltongue and back into English through Harry.
Harry informed the group, "He lives alone on the big island south of here. This was his first job for the Ministry in a long time. He normally works in a quarry for the muggles in the area, finding metals for them."
"Does he want to stay here?" Lyra asked.
The question was translated back through The Giver, and he replied. Harry translated that he wasn't sure.
"Can we bring the other Dwarves we met at school?" Lyra asked. "They wanted to meet The Giver."
For the others, Harry explained about the Dwarves from Valentine's Day during the last school year. Professor Lockhart had hired a troupe of seven Dwarves to dress as cupids and serenade the students and deliver gifts to them throughout the day. Like the Dwarf here, they had primarily been performing jobs unfitting for their true nature and had been doing so for generations. At the end of the last large goblin war, the peace treaty that had established Gringotts had expelled the Dwarves from many of their strongholds to provide homes and banks for the Goblins to be integrated into magical society. With their numbers drastically cut down in the war, the Dwarves were marginalized by society. They couldn't find regular employment, most being forced to work in the muggle world.
The ones they met at school had informed them of all of this and shown them a bit of magic using the natural elements of the earth. Whispers had identified them as possible kin to The Giver, and upon seeing pictures of him, the Dwarves expressed an interest in meeting him as there would be no Goblins wherever he was living. Tonks also reminded Harry of the singing Valentine he had received, reciting it from memory and asking if he still didn't know who sent it.
Harry shook his head, "No idea. I hadn't even thought about it for a while."
Nestor told him, "Well, they will either reveal themselves to you or won't. Until then, not thinking about it is a good policy."
"You two should write to Brandt," Tonks told them. "See if he can bring these Dwarves whenever he decides to visit this summer."
"Ah, speaking of visits," Moody spoke up, "Tristan will be coming next week on his vacation. He says he has some kind of surprise for you."
Harry and Lyra's faces brightened up at the mention of the young auror. He said he would vacation in their area and come by the island. They were also both very curious about the surprise. With nothing else to do, The Giver took the Dwarf back to his home while Harry and Lyra went with the others to the beach to write their letter to Brandt.
Tonks turned to Moody and asked, "Speaking of vacations, any chance of getting some time off and visiting the mainland?"
Alastor just looked at her like she was crazy, but then a smile began to form on his face. That didn't bode well for her.
"I'll tell you what, lassie," he started with a predatory grin. "Since you've made no progress in your ambushes, even with Lyra helping, we'll try something different. I'm going to start hunting you." Tonks looked terrified. "There's another island about thirty miles to the west. If you can get there without magical transport, you can have a week off."
Not even waiting for him to say 'go,' Tonks apparated to the other side of the island to start her preparations to escape.
Back in England, Brandt was leaving a meeting in the Ministry of Magic when Harry's owl, Hermes, swooped down next to him with a letter. Owls did not do well with portkeys as it screwed with their sense of direction, and it would take over a month for them to acclimate to a new location after traveling that way. Not that Harry knew about that, he just forgot he owned an owl in all the chaos of the end of the year. When Hermes couldn't locate Harry, the bird flew to his most common destination - Black Manor. Reluctantly, Hermes had been delivering letters for Brandt. Still, he had disappeared earlier in the day for what he had assumed was hunting.
Upon taking the letter from the bird, he realized he must have been alerted to Harry's desire to send a letter from the other side of the world and went to pick up his letter from the portkey post office. Brandt skimmed the letter and saw the part about the Dwarves. Amazingly enough, he could get in contact with them at the same time as his other business.
Since the winter break from Hogwarts, he had been in regular contact with Nestor and his friend, Cesario, in the Filipino Ministry's Naval Law Enforcement Division. He had been getting updates on starting the investigation into the poachers that had come to the island before Snape brought the children to Hogwarts, and the ship still sunk at the bottom of the ocean off the coast. Cesario had been having a significant amount of trouble getting the authorization he needed to start it, so it was time to make good on his threat to go over them and just hire Bloodhounds. His most recent meeting had been with Madam Argent of the Werewolf Registration Division, looking for the contact information of a specific wolf he had been told was in the business.
Pulling a small metal case out of his pouch, Brandt fished through the cards inside until he came to the one Lyra had given him from the Dwarves she had met for a bar they owned. That would serve as a good meeting point to talk business with the leader of this group of Bloodhounds, and he could speak to the Dwarves after. As Hermes hadn't departed yet, Brandt sat down at the cafe in the Ministry atrium and drafted a letter to the werewolf he needed to speak with.
Three days later, Brandt arrived at the magical settlement of Mould-on-the-Wold. Over a hundred years ago, it had been a thriving town, but now it was just a stain on the land. Something terrible had happened here, which manifested as an effect that drove away non-magical people, similar to how the spirit of the dead basilisk on Harry and Lyra's Island made it impossible for anyone to stay near the northern coast.
Though that's not where the effect here ended. While it did not push away wizards, the place was dark. Even on a sunny day a mile away, the sky was dark here, as if the light was filtered and dimmed in the settlement. It was a very depressing place to live.
However, the lack of muggles made it a perfect spot for halfbreeds, the cursed, and outcast wizards to live. Not having to worry about prying eyes or curious muggles made it ideal for them and a cheap place to live. After learning about the basilisk on Lyra's Island, Brandt assumed that some other massive magical death occurred here and was never cleansed from the land. It couldn't have been another serpent king, but something just as horrible. The thought of something that would affect the light in the sky made him shiver.
Brandt made his way through the town square to a large drinking hall to the side. It was probably the nicest building in the town, perhaps because the depressing nature of the area led everyone to spend their money on alcohol. There was a sign on the door with a shiny red apple above it that read - The Poisoned Apple.
As he entered, he immediately saw two hags eating some kind of small animal near the door. One of the legs was still twitching. Most patrons wore face-concealing hoods, and even those who didn't were overtly engaging in their shady businesses. Despite the festive drinking by many present, the long hall was filled with various disreputable types. Brandt wondered what Obi-Wan Kenobi would think of the scum and villainy here. He also wished he hadn't worn something that looked so expensive.
Along one side of the hall was a bar with different kegs stacked against the back wall. There were two dwarves that Brandt was pretty sure were women serving the customers. He approached the one without facial hair.
"Whatcha want, big guy?" she asked gruffly.
"I'm here for a meeting. When Lennix comes in, can you direct him to me? And whatever the house beer is." He placed one galleon on the bar, knowing a drink would only be about two sickles.
"I can do that," she swept the coin into her apron. "Do you want anything to eat?"
Brandt shook his head, "No, but I was also hoping to have a meeting after with Gormadoc."
She looked a bit tougher as she replied gruffly, "Doc's busy. Why do you need him?"
"Tell him it's related to his meeting after his Valentine's Day job. I'll stick around as long as he needs to finish his other business."
The Dwarven barmaid looked at him strangely but then filled a large mug for him from one of the barrels behind her and pointed him toward a booth in the back of the hall.
After half an hour, Brandt was getting annoyed. The beer was good, but Lennix hadn't shown up yet. He was now ten minutes late. If he wasn't waiting for the Dwarf later, he would have left by now. Punctuality was important. Just as he was about to order another beer, the doors opened, and a large dirty blonde man with a fierce look in his eyes entered. He wore a sleeveless leather vest, revealing muscular arms thick with hair. He was followed by a small man with a similar look but without much muscle or hair. After a word with the barmaid, he was pointed towards Brandt's table.
As he got closer, Brandt could see the werewolf was a whole foot taller than him and had sharpened his fingernails into claws. Such a thing would be intimidating if it wasn't so cliche for many of the alpha wolves he had met before. He stood to greet the man.
"You must be Lennix," he reached out to the large man for a handshake. He just walked by and slid his way into the booth.
The smaller man reached out to him and shook Brandt's hand, "I am Lennix. The big guy here is Ivan. He's my muscle and often a perfect distraction."
The two of them sat down in the booth as Brandt said with a bit of a surprised voice, "Consider me to have been distracted then."
"First things first," the smaller werewolf started. "Where did you get my name?"
"First things first," Brandt replied, "privacy charms." He pulled out his wand and layered them thick. "I got your name from The Dapper Bazaar," Brandt told him. Among the many services provided, the couple was information brokers. They had probably informed Lennix immediately after Brandt had asked about recruiting a Bloodhound. He added, "I got your contact info from the werewolf registry."
He smiled as if he heard a joke, "Good, good. That address forwards mail to me anonymously. I have a few ways for people to get in contact with me. It's always nice to know how someone sniffed me out. So what kind of job do you need me to do?"
"I actually might need a team. There's a sunken ship that needs investigating. Maybe 60-80 feet deep, clear, warm water, with probably a few bodies in it. They were poachers by trade and attempted to kill some of my associates, but it didn't end well for them. If possible, I need to know who they were and who hired them, assuming their deaths aren't the end of their operation, which I highly doubt. The other wrinkle is that this happened between 2-3 years ago. I don't have an exact timeline yet. Any more information would come after contracts are signed, in blood, with secrecy clauses and curses to prevent and punish betrayal."
Lennix was about to reply when Ivan held up his hand and pointed away from the table. The two barmaids were approaching with a large platter containing an entire roasted turkey and drinks. Brandt rolled his eyes and took down the privacy charms for them to put the food on the table. They had also ordered another drink for him, though he would be paying for everything anyway. When they were gone, Brandt put the wards back up. Lennix looked deep in thought as he bit into one of the turkey legs. The muscle, Ivan, pulled the rest of the plate over to himself and started to eat, though he kept his eyes upwards and faced the door as he did.
After thinking things over, Lennix replied, "That will require a diverse team. You're looking at at least one merfolk or selkie, two wolves for tracking, and a veela for interrogations if you need it. It doesn't sound like you need a vampire or hag. We have one wizard in our employ to handle other wizards covertly, and it sounds like we'll need to bring him in. Did you say clear and warm water? That's not England. Where is the job?"
Brandt wasn't going to give that away just yet, so he replied, "Near Vietnam."
"Definitely not Selkies, then. How are you paying?"
Brandt reached into his pouch and pulled out the remaining tourmaline gems from the island, along with a few sapphires and diamonds. He placed them on the table in front of him but out of reach of Lennix. When going off the books, it was always better to deal with untraceable currency than galleons.
"Consider this a downpayment. Any day-to-day expenses your team has will be reimbursed in the currency used. There will be a bonus upon completion of the job. I suggest you check the value of the red stones yourself; they are more valuable than the diamonds. If there is any special material you need, I can supply it, but it might detract from your pay, depending on what it is. Additionally, the main site of the investigation will have no werewolves during the full moon. It is a delicate ecosystem that will not be disturbed."
Ivan spoke up, with his mouth full of turkey, "What if I told you I was a vegetarian?" Brandt and Lennix just stared at the large man for a moment before turning back to each other.
"Prepare your contracts. I'll put together a team by next week," Lennix told him.
Brandt pulled out a card with a fake name and address that would get forwarded to him, "Send me an owl when you're ready for the contract." He used the card to push the gems across the table and left the card there with them.
Lennix scooped up the gems and stuffed the card in his pocket as Brandt took down the privacy spells. Ivan picked up the remainder of the turkey and the platter it was on, and the two left the tavern.
One down, one to go. Brandt took a big drink from his glass as the seat opposite him was taken by a very strong-looking Dwarf.
"You're here representing Mr. Potter and Miss Black?" he asked gruffly.
"I am," Brandt replied. "I will be traveling to their location in one to two weeks. In addition to the Duwende, you were interested in meeting, they need assistance communicating with a Dwarf recently released from bad employment. Would any of the members in your troupe be interested in joining me?"
"Straight to the point. I was not expecting that from a Black," he looked suspiciously at Brandt.
"Take it however you want. I am not my ancestors, so any ill intentions you have towards me for being a Black mean very little. Since it was you who requested to meet the Duwende known as The Giver, it is up to you to decide if you wish to extend a little bit of trust or not."
The Dwarf looked conflicted, so Brandt just took one of his regular cards with his real name and placed it in front of him. "I will be leaving in less than two weeks. Let me know if you would like to join me."
With that said, he placed enough money on the table to cover the drinks, food, and platter Ivan had taken along with the turkey, then headed out.
A week later, Brandt was in a rented cottage outside of Edinburgh. With him were Lennix, Ivan, one Veela, two Caribbean Mermen in a half tank of water: one with blue hair, the other with black, one ordinary wizard who did not stand out in any way, and Gormadoc with three other Dwarves from his troupe. The Dwarves were in another room while Lennix poured over the contracts he was supposed to sign.
"So…" Lennix said slowly, looking at his team. "The cost of revealing the identities of any people we will meet soon, or their location, even after the job is complete, will be all of our toes or fins falling off. For harming any of the wildlife at our destination without the approval of our hosts will be boils lasting for a whole year around our reproductive parts. Working for an outside party against our current employer will cause death by our blood boiling. Hostile action against our employer or those under his care without authorization will bring blindness, and further action will cause our lungs to shut down. Any breaches in the contract will brand a traitor's mark on our dominant arm, even if we are killed for the breach. Sounds peachy, but high risk, high reward. The good news is that the money is enough; should we complete the assignment, we won't need to look for more work for at least two years, and our expenses will be covered while we are on assignment."
The two Mermen dipped their heads underwater and spoke to each other in what sounded like a whale song. After a minute, they surfaced, and the one with blue hair reached into the water and pulled out a sphere of water that didn't collapse back into the tank.
He put it over his mouth like a mask and said in a bubbly voice, "My cousin and I are in."
The unremarkable wizard replied, "Lennix, you know my involvement is minimal unless you need to interact with bigots or to be forgotten. Will there be opportunities to pursue any of my crafts?"
Lennix turned to Brandt, "Are there any opportunities for herbology experiments where we are going?"
Brandt smiled, "Most certainly. The area has a richer magical soil than Hogwarts, and one of the location's owners makes his own very potent fertilizer."
The wizard's face lit up, "I'll need to pack extra supplies."
Brandt amended quickly, "However, I need to draft an additional contract for you that any production of plants at the location will need a profit-sharing agreement with the owners. That or a rental fee for any land used if you have no plans to sell anything you want to produce."
"Most likely, I will be fine with that."
The Veela had been silent the whole time, mostly just brushing her long silvery hair in the corner, but asked quickly, "Will there be any unattached people where we are going? I assume hostile action in the contract includes ruining any existing relationships."
"There are three that I do not know their current situation," Brandt told her, then smiled. "Scratch that; there are four. One is a mighty wizard, at that." Brandt continued smiling, thinking what Moody would think of a Veela trying to seduce him. "I can't speak for the Dwarves outside. They are with us on a separate assignment, nor do I know if they are compatible with Veela." He decided not even to speak about The Giver.
Lennix and Ivan just exchanged a nod and picked up the blood quill on the table. Due to the magic entangled in a contract this size, each signatory would have their own quill the size of an eagle feather. After that much blood and magic being spent, the quill would be burned. When he had finished signing, he looked a bit out of breath and placed the quill in a lit brazier by the table as Brandt handed the next quill to Ivan.
The Veela's blood sparkled a bit when she signed and held up the contract and two new quills to the mermen, who signed, followed by the wizard. When they had all finished, Brandt called for Opal, who passed around a tray with small shots of a blood-replenishing potion.
Then he addressed them all, "In accordance with the contract, I will now inform you of those under its protection. Nestor Balindong, Nenita Estrada, Kailee Vargas, Than and Thao Sanchez, Cesario Capillo, Nymphadora Tonks, Alastor Moody, The Giver, Lyra Black, and Harry Potter."
They all had the usual reaction to Harry's name, but Ivan also spoke up, "I don't want to be anywhere near Mad-Eye Moody."
"I assume you've done something he would disapprove of?" Ivan nodded. "Does he know your face or have evidence implicating you?" The wolf shook his head. "Then there is no issue, and I don't care. Just keep your distance if you don't like him."
The extra large werewolf wasn't happy but still stayed with the group. The Dwarves were let into the room to sign a slightly different contract with just secrecy clauses. Once everything was set, Brandt called Opal again and had more replenishing shots brought for the Dwarves and food while they discussed a timeline.
As they were doing that, Arcturus Black's personal elf, Darby, popped in with a letter. Brandt scanned it, and as he finished, it burst into flame, and the elf vanished.
"New timeline!" Brandt shouted, getting everyone's attention. "We will be leaving tomorrow evening. I will explain to you at that time the reason for our hasty departure. Meet here at 7 pm and do not eat a lot in preparation for an international portkey. That's all."
Needing to do his own urgent preparations, he apparated out.