An Old Asset
Natalie sat at her desk in the analyst section, a faint smile playing on her lips. Despite the grim nature of the foreign affairs they were dealing with, life was surprisingly good for her personally. The monotony of her previous requisition job was a distant memory; she had been promoted to an analyst role, a role that made her feel like a proper agent! Today, she was cataloging various pieces of intelligence for the upcoming grand strategy meeting.
Suddenly, an old device on her desk started whistling and glowing, a sound and sight so unexpected that Natalie froze for a moment. The familiarity of the device tugged at her memory until it clicked—this was no ordinary gadget. It was an old communication device no longer used by the bureau. Then it clicked and Natalie rushed.
Throwing everything aside, she grabbed the device and bolted from her desk, her heart pounding. The corridors of the ministry blurred as she ran, dodging startled colleagues and bypassing elevators in favor of stairs. The urgency of the situation propelled her forward with a singular focus: she must get to the HQ!
Beneath the bustling offices of the ministry lay a decryption phone booth, an unassuming relic that held immense power. Entering it meant surrendering a piece of your memory, as you were obliviated and led away by courteous yet firm Aurors without knowing what happened. But for those who spoke the correct phrases, it served as a portal to the bureau's inner sanctum.
Finally cleared, she sprinted towards Director Owl's office. His secretary tried to stop her, informing her that the Director was in a meeting, but Natalie barreled past him. She pounded on the door with relentless urgency, fully aware that the Director's guards were likely aiming their wands at her.
She felt them approach and Natalie stiffened, the guards would drag her straight to the cells beneath! However, before the situation could escalate, The door swung open and Owl was standing before her.
"This better be good," he snapped.
Natalie swallowed hard, her pulse racing. She held up the glowing device, her voice trembling with the weight of its significance. "One of the ECLIPSE assets is reaching out to us."
"Come in," he said tersely, stepping aside to let her pass.
Planning
Nicolas Flamel waved his wand, and a still photograph of Mariam Shah materialized before the gathered members. All the shot callers and important mages of the bureau were present. Arcturus Black, one of their main financiers and political supporters sat with a stern expression. Next to him was Viktor Epcott, a muggle-born wizard turned business tycoon who also supported them. The Heads of Departments within the Bureau completed the assembly.
Viktor Epcott started first, "Yes, that is Mariam. Back in the ECLIPSE days, she was our main set of eyes and ears within Grindelwald's camp. Of course, ECLIPSE was too small and inexperienced in those days to act on these reports."
Nicolas nodded. "What happened to her?" he asked.
Viktor winced. "ECLIPSE made too many demands of her and forced her to tip her hand. She ran afoul of the Giovannis within Grindelwald's army. They outplayed her politically and forced her out of her job as head of military intelligence. We suspect that Kendra Dumbledore was behind this. However, last we heard was that she was under house arrest."
The head of counterintelligence interjected, "This is all the more reason we can't trust the lead here. Who knows what sort of mind control the Giovannis would have subjected Mariam to?"
He continued, "The entire Axis empire is on the backfoot right now due to the bubbling tensions within the factions that make up Grindelwald's empire. In all honesty, Mariam is a Trojan horse sent to sniff out the Bureau's operatives within the occupied territories. Kendra would use this as a win to show Grindelwald they are still important to his cause. And it would show that Grindelwald's Black Hand squad is useless."
"We have to check her out regardless." The head of the analyst's division said, "Grindelwald thinks he has all but won the war and he isn't correct. Our operations are a pinprick to him rather than the mutilation we expect them to be. We need more information."
"Hear Hear," Viktor said. "Regardless of anything, Mariam right now is our foremost expert on Grindelwald's empire. Even if she knows nothing about the weapon, we must debrief her. Her knowledge of the power players within Grindelwald's empire alone is worth a dragon's weight in gold."
"Or she could be a poison mixed with cake." Arcturus idly remarked.
The room fell into bicker with various stakeholders arguing the pros and cons of the move. Nicolas stood pensively, his own mind racing to judge the implications of the move here. He too was undecided on the best course of action.
"She is a ghoul! Ghouls can't disobey their vampiric masters. Our entire network in the occupied territories would be compromised." The Counterintelligence head shouted and he turned towards Nicolas. "And then we can kiss our beloved Team Pirhanna goodbye."
Nicolas's eye twitched. It was no secret that Harry was Nicolas's favorite in the bureau. The heir apparent once he came of age. For the counterintelligence to use a blow as low as this…. Nicolas shook his head, the man had his point.
The sound of a spoon clicking glass followed and everybody stared towards Chief Unspeakable Croaker. The man was a legend on par with Nicolas in the magical world, or at least who knew of him. Some even said his knowledge of magical theory was on par with Dumbledore himself. While Dumbledore chose to become the public face of Magical Britain, Unspeakable Croaker was the root. He rarely spoke during the meetings and when he did, he addressed only Director Nicolas. As if the rest were beneath his notice. So when he made an attempt to publicly speak, everyone fell silent and listened.
"Director," Unspeakable said.
"Master Croaker." Nicolas acknowledged.
"We do have a team operating in France, am I correct?" Croaker said and Nicolas nodded.
"Then we should simply have them vet Mariam. I do agree there are huge risks involved, but the team knows the stakes. Stagnancy only helps Grindelwald. We already have political saboteurs working 24/7 to call for a cease-fire with Grindelwald. Soon we would have families protesting in the streets, calling for their conscripted children to return home." Croaker said.
Before people could interrupt him, Nicolas raised his hand to silence them and Croaker nodded appreciatively.
"I believe the Unspeakables can be of help here," Croaker said and with his wand swish conjured a map. It showed various red lines connecting territories where Grindelwald was operating. "Our magical creatures division has been tracking the migration and travel of Owls between the territories. If we can devise a mechanism here to intercept these communications, we can gain further insight into the enemy's agenda. Who knows we might even stumble onto mentions of Mariam Shah."
There was a murmur at this.
"Young Hagrid has assured me that they can accurately capture the owls. Also, we can the migratory patterns of mundane owls to hide our movements between them." Croaker said. "Above all, we can vet Mariam's status as a ghoul as well."
The murmurs were louder this time and more intense.
"All we need is her physical presence in our labs for 30 minutes," Croaker said.
"Getting Mariam out of France will be a logistical nightmare. The military intelligence, Black Hand, and local Aurors – all have an interest in the woman. That's not to mention the constant monitoring of the magical international travel networks." The operations head spoke.
"Muggle means?" Croaker asked.
"Too long. Too tedious." Nicolas said.
"Then have her prove her own loyalty," Croaker said and Nicolas raised an eye at that.
"Our dark creatures wing has reported that ghouls are created by drinking a concoction of their master's blood with another potion. This grants a master vampire ironbound control over the ghoul even exceeding the prowess of an Imperious curse." Croaker said. "If she isn't a ghoul, write back to her to present one of the Giovanni vampires as a tribute to us. We even have concoctions of her own that would be lethal to a vampire but normal to a human. Our newest prodigy, Dorea Black, has worked wonders."
A faint hint of a smile emerged on Arcturus's face before he suppressed it.
"Good plan. But that still might not work. What if she is a vampire herself?" The analyst said.
"A meeting in sunlight will negate most of her powers if not outright burn her," Nicolas said. "We can demand that. Beyond that, all initiatives involve risk. As our dear friend said." Nicolas glared at the Operations chief, "They knew the risks."
"Could it possible to send a team of Unspeakables to review, Mariam?" the Analyst asked.
"We are already too few and stretched thin." Croaker protested.
"Just one who could help? For a brief moment of course." Nicolas said and Croaker reluctantly nodded.
Occupied France
A plea for aid
Charlus and Helena stifled another bout of a giggling fit as owls clamored to Harry and humped him relentlessly. A few feet away from him, Rho and Cho levitated the letters from the clamoring owls and placed them in packages.
*SNAP* A picture was taken and Harry glared at a smirking Sebastian.
"Who knew Petrov was such a certified babe magnet," Sebastian said and the others roared in laughter at that.
If only Morrigan knew about this…
As if the gods of perfect timing intervened, a few of the female owls hooted appreciatively. Charlus and Helena chuckled once again and then went over to Rho and Cho to help sort the burgeoning amount of paperwork they had acquired.
I am going to kill you Hagrid. Harry raged internally. This was the latest plot of the Bureau to hinder Grindwald. Grindewald placed sole emphasis on magical might and what wandwork could accomplish. The other things were beneath him and as commander of the Axis forces, he didn't assign many resources to maintain a secure communication network. As such, they had rubbed heavy doses of attractive pheromones, hallucinogens, and mind compulsions in potions to lure the owls away from their intended targets. The ground team would take the messages, duplicate them, and then send the owls away.
They had even started a fake migration of mundane Owls to provide an appropriate cover story for why Owls were getting delayed to the front.
I suppose them laughing is a good thingHarry thought and grimaced. Their new mission could possibly be their most deadly one to date. An old asset had made contact and Owl had urged the highest levels of urgency and preparation for this. Harry had done so by ensuring their OpSec was immaculate and none knew about their plans. All contacts to England would be personally handled by Harry. Their wards would be monitored and refreshed daily by Helena. Rho and Cho would scan the news to ensure nothing unfounded was going on.
When all the letters were collected, Charlus had mercy had waved his wand at Harry, and all the excrement was wiped away from him.
"All right. Enough jokes." Harry announced. "Team meeting in 5 minutes."
The team straightened up at that and the mood became serious as hands rapidly worked to be ready in time for the meeting. Before they could jump the gun with Mariam Shah, they had to handle traitors back home. That would require something Owl had personally ordered. Something that left a bad taste in his mouth.
How many times would people go back on their agreements with him?
Mariam Shah watched in her scrying mirror as a series of witches and wizards pulled up outside her safe house. She let out a few tense breaths as she saw her Black Hand babysitters challenge their presence.
Good. I thought I was once again under arrest. Mariam thought. No auror force would dare and try to overrule direct instructions from the Black Hand. Not that of course her minders were from the real Black Hand of course. They were juniors who were aspirants or at least they gave off the impression of being one. These days nobody could comment on who was who. Your local bartender could be the station chief France for Grindelwald.
Strange. Mariam thought. The aurors instead of being turned back, were being told to wait. Her handler walked up to her quarters and handed her a message. It was a message written by the local Auror captain, addressed to her.
Strange, did zero announce my presence to the local Aurors? It wouldn't be too far from the realm of possibility. Intelligence agencies often worked hand in hand with local law enforcement. She opened the letter and it was a plea by the local auror force to help them investigate a crime scene. Her eyes widened as the attack's descriptions bore the telltale signs of vampire activity. The chief said that there were artifacts recovered from the site that they couldn't analyze. He requested her immediate presence at the station. Mariam contemplated this for a moment. She was expecting a meeting with ECLIPSE operatives in the evening. Perhaps the data she gleaned from the crime scene would better convince them of her worth? With her mind made up, she ordered her minders to escort her to the police station.
Police Station
Damn. They are good. Mariam couldn't help but spit out. As soon as she had entered the police station, everything had gone to hell. Anti apparition and portkey wards had been triggered. The guards immediately let their nervous rookie façade fade away and slipped out their wands. Spells were launched from all four directions.
Non-verbally I might add to conceal their motive. Mariam said to herself. Very skilled.
Her guards were no slouches as they immediately raised their shields and blocked every single one. Her lead bodyguard roared at her to run and turned to see she was already gone before the man had spoken. She had no intentions of being back in a Giovanni cell. She had caught a lucky break that her mercy petition had been forwarded to Grindelwald by manipulation of Lord Epcott. Instead of a torture chamber, she was tortured by being bored out of her mind in a chateau. This time with Grindewlad being unaware, who knew what Giovanni would have done.
The two guards prepared to fight back but instantly kneeled and roared in pain. They clutched at their heads and tried to claw their eyes out. Mariam ran faster. She spotted movement in the shadow of trees and fired a flaming orb at it. Unfortunately for her, that was a distraction. A spell raced towards her front and wrenched the wand out of her hands. A wizard approached her and Mariam roared in anguished and transformed into a deer and sprinted. Another spell hit her and thick ship ropes wrapped themselves around her limbs. She howled in anguish and struggled furiously against the ropes but to no avail. A wand pressed to her neck, "Finite Incatatem."
Transforming her back to her human form.
"Lion to Chimera. We have the target. You knew she was an animagus?" She heard the man speak into his wand. Soon she was dragged into the police station and saw aurors drinking coffee and lazing around. They didn't even acknowledge their presence or notice a struggling woman being levitated inside their station.
"They have been imperious." Mariam realized. Soon she was taken to an interrogation room and bound to a patient bed.
"All yours, darling." The one named Lion spoke to a woman. "Say after we are done with this, I know a wine place-"
The woman slammed shut the door in the man's place.
"Do you know morons know who you are messing with?" Mariam hissed at the woman as she prepared a few needles and filled them up with potions.
The woman ignored her and instead demanded, "Are you going to cooperate or do I need to be forceful here?"
Mariam spat at her feet and the woman nodded and stunned her. She injected multiple liquids into her and forced a few potions down her throat. She even forced her to open her mouth and examined her teeth. The woman seemed somewhat disappointed in the results as her wand cast spells and came back negative.
Was she a healer? Is she checking for suicide pills? Mariam wondered.
Even more bizarre behavior, the woman pointed her wand at the ceiling, removed parts of it, and let sunlight fall on her. She observed for a moment and seemed even more disappointed in the results. Soon grogginess fell on her, a consequence of the potions pumped into her and Mariam lost consciousness. The woman then left the room.
The team watched from the other end of the looking glass and was disappointed as well. A few moments later Dorea entered the observation.
"All bloodwork and teeth samples point to negative. She didn't exhibit any pain when subjected to the ghoul potions. As you can see, sunlight itself has no effect on her. I'd say there is a 97% chance that she isn't a vampire or an associated being." Dorea said.
"Thank you Dorea. You are doing great work." Harry said. "Why don't you stick around for a bit - "
"If that all will be all, Captain." Dorea interrupted, "Am I dismissed."
Harry sighed, "You may leave."
Dorea left the room before he even finished his sentence, making sure to slam the door extra hard on her way out. Helena sighed in frustration and Charlus mouthed a sorry at him before running after her.
"What's wrong with her?" Rho asked.
"She is a Black. They are all barmy like that." Sebastian said. "Take it from me, I would know having bedded many."
"Is that why you were trying to flirt with Charlus's fiance?" Helena said.
"Wait is she? Oh crap." Sebastian said and they all laughed at him.
Interrogation
Mariam Shah sat in the interrogation room, her arms shackled to the table by magical manacles. Her eyes blazed with anger and annoyance as she fidgeted in her seat. The door creaked open, and a late middle-aged man with a balding head and a bushy beard entered the room.
"And you must be Chimera?" Mariam asked sarcastically.
The man nodded, acknowledging her. "Correct."
Mariam's eyes narrowed. "So, the story about the Aurors needing help was all a fake?"
Chimera nodded again. "Indeed."
Mariam, "You are not the black hand. Too gentle for that. You are not the Giovannis, not enough blood fuckery going around."
Chimera said nothing. "Who are you?" She demanded.
"ECLIPSE," Chimera said. "A friend."
Mariam's face turned even redder with fury. "If you're a friend, why the hell am I manacled? Shouldn't we be working together to fight Grindelwald's vampires?"
Chimera remained calm, nodding at her outburst. "Mariam, you had been AWOL for a very long time. We had to be sure it was really you and not a ghoul or a vampire acting undercover on behalf of the Giovanni family."
Mariam stared at him for a long moment before she laughed. Her laughter soon turned into full-blown cackles. "So that's what the earlier tests were about? To see if I was neither ghoul nor vampire?"
Chimera nodded in affirmation. "Exactly."
"The lack of fangs, not burning in sunlight, or using a wand wasn't proof enough?" Mariam spat.
"We cannot be too thorough with anything these days. You of all people should know the sheer tips and tricks under Grindewald's arsenal." Chimera said.
"Touche Mr. Chimera." Mariam said. "Then undoubtedly your end goal would be to know the ultimate trick in Grindelwald's arsenal, the Wunderwaffle."
Chimera remained silent at that and Mariam chuckled.
"Before I was removed, I had compiled a significant dossier on Giovanni family activities in Axis areas. I may not know the when or how of the weapon's design. But I do know where we can know of it." Mariam said.
"You were the head of his military intelligence. I find it hard to believe he didn't tell you." Chimera said.
"Believe whatever you want, Chimera. This circus is yours to run. Just don't come crying to me when the lights go out and you are left holding your cock alone." Mariam said. "However, if you must really know, the details of a wunderwaffen are a classified secret above top secret. Known only to the Grandmaster of the Black Hand, Kendra Dumbledore, and Grindelwald himself."
"Then how do you know where to find the details about it?" Chimera said and Mariam stared at him.
"You are from ECLIPSE and you really don't know?" Mariam said. "I am beginning to seriously doubt your competency here."
"Everything is being documented here, Miss Shah. Please cooperate with the investigation." Chimera said and Mariam snorted.
"A weapon like that involves maintenance. Maintenance accrues significant logistics costs. Such costs aren't so easily hidden when you are in the system. Above all, Grindelwald never expected Henry Potter, one of your founding members, to accidentally stumble onto this." Mariam said and it took everything in Harry to not recoil at the mention of that name. In the other room, he could have sworn he felt Charlus tense as well.
"Didn't really know about that, did you? Young Chimera?" Mariam taunted and Chimera remained unmoved.
"How did that help?" Chimera asked.
"He raided. Raised a ruckus near a military base. Infantry reported weird shit so they called us. I saw the horrendous research being conducted in the labs. Before I could send it for analysis, the Black Hand showed up. Except me, everyone was obliviated and the lab torn down." Mariam said.
Harry opened his mouth to ask another question but Mariam interrupted him.
"Any more questions can be answered after I know what I get here," Mariam said.
"And what is it that you want?" Harry asked.
"I have had enough of playing cloak and dagger under Grindelwald. I want my retirement. I want a relocation to Britain and 800,000 galleons upfront." Mariam said, "Guarantee that and I will point you in the right direction. You have enough fight in you, you can succeed there."
"That's a steep price. Many pureblood families don't have that much money." Chimera said.
"No, they don't." Mariam grinned, "But large tycoons like Viktor Epcott and his friends, the Blacks and Potters do."
She leaned in, "A word of advice kiddo? From a veteran to a baby spy? The world has changed regardless of whoever wins this war. The old families are dying out of evolution. Those that adapt, are switching gears and going corporate. Private enterprise is the way of the future."
"How remarkable. Anything else?" Chimera said.
"Yeah. Quit while you are ahead. Grindelwald has broken the social contract between everyone. Every being from Veelas to Goblins to Gnomes will now be arming themselves to the teeth after seeing what a mere vampire family was able to accomplish. They don't want to die in Grindelwald's extermination camps. So the moment he dies, the true war will erupt. Nobody wants to live under mages anymore." Mariam said. "My advice? Grab as much money as you can and retire someplace good. Then wait for society to become normal again."
"She is insane." Helena declared from the other end of the looking glass.
"She does have a point, though," Sebastian said. Charlus didn't interject, still too shaken by the mention of his father's name.
Back in the room, Chimera continued.
"Fascinating theory. But before I can take your list of demands to HQ. I need something. Without it, this whole thing has been a time waste." Harry said and Mariam raised an expecting eyebrow at that.
Breaking In.
The two agents walked through the wards. The wards challenged them but they spoke the right phrases and were let in. A secure building suddenly materialized in front of them and it was hard not to look at it with contempt.
The building was part of the military intelligence operating in occupied France.
These fools were consistently getting in the way of Black Hand business. They were annoying amateurs comprised of all who couldn't meet the Hand's high standards so decided to play spy riding on the military's coattails. And of course, there were the budgetary meetings where they tried their level best to take their rightful funding for their own stupid and useless projects. Christopher glanced at Paul and saw the same professional contempt in his eyes for them. Unfortunately, the two had been chosen to meet with them and coordinate on threats to the Empire.
They encountered the first checkpost and the guards demanded the purpose of their presence there. Christopher glared at the man for his insolence but Paul quickly pulled out their credentials without a word. The guard paled at seeing their badges and immediately let them through. The two walked through the courtyard as if it was their personal fiefdom and they were the feudal lords.
They came to the main reception and felt a hundred pairs of eyes on them and several dozen wards pass over them to gauge who they were.
"Can I help you, gentlemen?" A man in a smart military uniform asked them.
"We are from The Black Hand. Let us pass." Chris said in a barely a whisper but their organization's name still reached the receptionist's ears. The man stammered and made some excuse about needing to talk to a supervisor.
He held a hand to his head. A tingling sensation. Nothing more.
Chris turned to one of the guards standing next to them and demanded he guide him to the nearest washroom.
"I beg your pardon, sir." The guard asked.
"Toilette? Lavotory? You French military reject. Take me to it." Chris spat and the guard briefly turned red with embarrassment before taking Chris with him. Paul was left behind waiting for the receptionist to return.
The duo marched until they reached the men's rooms and the guard paused outside. Chris raised an eyebrow at him.
"Sir?" The guard asked.
"The intelligence didn't teach you manners, yes?" Chris said. "Open the damned door for your superior officer."
The guard blushed red once again and held the door open for him. With the guard's dominant arm occupied, Chris gave a brief look at the hallway they were in and saw nobody nearby. He struck at the man's neck with a vicious karate chop and the guard grunted in pain. However, Chris didn't relent and dragged him into the bathroom. The guard took out his wand but a stiff shot to his groin and he kneeled over. Another blow to the head and he was knocked out. Chris took out a wand and transfigured a nearby tissue paper into an "Out of Order" sign and hung it outside the door. He then sealed the door shut.
Chris reached into his backpack and took a miniature trunk from it. With a wave of his wand, the trunk turned to its original size and a heaving Harry and Charlus burst out from it. When they recovered their breath Charlus looked at Christopher's stoic form and remarked, "Your Imperious is improving."
"Thanks," Harry said and removed a lock of hair from the guard's head. He pulled out a potion bottle, poured it in, and vigorously mixed it. He handed it to Charlus who made a bitter face as he drank it. Soon he adopted the guard's form and made to change into his uniform. Meanwhile, Harry opened the notebook and looked at the schematics Mariam had told them about.
He looked up to see Charlus now completely transformed into the guard.
"Dorea's potionmaking has improved significantly. Give her my regards." Harry said.
"Give them yourself, you damned coward," Charlus said.
"I am afraid if I attempted to speak to her again, she would let loose with some of her family's most heinous spells," Harry said and Charlus winced at that.
"I won't deny, seeing Helena here broke her heart. You did your utmost to keep her out of field operations. So seeing Helena in the field was a betrayal for her." Charlus said as he fixed his belt.
"Owl lied to me. He and Arcturus said neither Helena nor Dorea would be out on the field." Harry said.
"We'll figure out something. She loves you as a troublesome little brother. She won't stay mad long." Charlus assured him but Harry remained unconvinced.
"Find the pipeline?" Charlus asked and Harry nodded. He put away the papers and pulled out a solid black box. He pulled the lid and a mechanical spider with a crystal charger jumped out.
"You have a really scary penchant for inventing spooky stuff," Charlus remarked. "Metal or not, spiders are still spooky."
"Duly noted, Noble," Harry said as he charmed the mechanical being to life. The spider whirred appreciatively to its master before Harry transmitted a command. The spider leaped up into the vents and followed Harry's command. There was a brief knock at the bathroom door and the handle rattled. Charlus took out his wand but Harry waved him down. Harry morphed into one of the employees Mariam had told him about.
The door opened and it was one of the other guards.
"Ah, gentlemen. I trust everything is ok? Agent Nicolas? I didn't know you had returned from your vacation." He said.
"Classified," Harry said and the guard shut up immediately. Christopher and Charlus immediately left the bathroom and thankfully the new guard didn't check the stalls and stumble on the dead body of his colleague.
Meanwhile, the spider marched without delay inside the vents and came up on the designated pipe. The crystal chimed with magic and transfigured one of the spider's legs into a drill. A slow-flowing liquid was in the pipe and started to flow out. The spider moved inside the pipe and spat a thick substance at the new hole that immediately coagulated. The spider then moved inside the water leaking several potions from its tanks that compromised the mixture.
"Ah, you are here, gentlemen." The receptionist said. "General Nimitz is waiting for you in his office. You will have to and do pardon the trouble, pass through a thief's downfall."
Christopher and Paul glared at the man and he stammered, "I-its pr-protocol sirs. E-everybody has to do it."
They glared at him harder before Paul spoke, "Lead the way."
Harry's heart ran at a beat of a hundred miles an hour as they approached the freely flowing semi-liquid semi-gas. This was the moment of truth. If Harry's spider failed or Dorea's potions did, all their disguises would fail the moment the water touched them. Then they would be in a foreign land with no backup and a hundred agents descending upon them in an instant. He wanted to yell or roar as Paul and Christopher passed first. Nothing happened. Two down. Two to go.
Charlus disguised as a guard walked through it and Harry almost exhaled in relief as the polyjuice held firm. He too walked through it and Harry had to admit, the misty liquid smelt really nice. But he didn't take his chances to admire it and moved fastly through it. He didn't know if waiting long enough under it would cause it to overcome the tampering. Also, Harry was in no mood to test that theory.
"Guard, please escort them to the General's office." The receptionist said and Charlus saluted before proceeding.
The Office.
General Nimitz frowned. He wasn't expecting a meeting with the Black Hand nor was it on his schedule. Was this a powerplay by the Grandmaster? Unfortunately for him, he never got to find out. As soon as his door closed. One of the wizards fired a stunner at him while the other went to ward the door. Another came up to him and whispered, "Imperio."
The wizard commanded him to use his official letterhead and stamp to sign out a series of orders. The general immediately compiled. He then ordered him to let the others use his floo network and once again he complied. Before leaving, he ordered the general to visit a police station near the outskirts of the city. The general bowed deeply and let the mages pass. He then called for his secretary, gave her a letter, and demanded urgent delivery.
The Next Day
Eldermoor
Lord Goldilocks,
The time to act is now. You are hereby ordered to activate all sleeper cells under your command. Coordinate with them immediately to execute the overthrow of Minister Bones' government. Begin negotiations with Grindelwald's regime at once. Your swift and decisive action is critical to the success of our cause.
Failure is not an option.
Yours in the service of the cause,
General Nimitz.
Military Intelligence of His Empire.
Lord Goldilocks sat in his opulent salon, the flickering candlelight casting shadows on his golden locks. His brow furrowed in annoyance as he read the audacious letter. "Who dares to command me?" he muttered, letting the offending document drift to the wine table. Tonight was supposed to be filled with revelry, not insolence. Besides he had never heard of this upstart before. Probably his son playing a prank on him.
Suddenly, the salon doors burst open. A dozen men in porcelain masks stormed in, stunning his wife and son. House elves appeared to defend him, but the invaders swiftly overpowered them. One masked man retrieved the letter.
"Do you know who I am?" Goldilocks bellowed, his voice shaking the room. "I'll have your badges for this!"
A masked man stepped forward and slapped him, silencing his rant. The man's finger pressed to his lips in a shushing gesture. Goldilocks' eyes widened as Nicolas Flamel entered the Salon. One of the men handed him the letter and he gave it a cursory glance.
Nicolas smiled coldly and said, "Lord Goldilocks, you are under arrest."
"How dare you?! What for?! You have no authority!" Goldilocks roared.
"Treason," Flamel replied, his voice icy. Goldilocks' massive frame trembled as his world came crashing down around him. A guard near him leveled a wand at his neck and the world went dark for him.
Author Notes: Hi all. I hope you enjoy this. Thank you all for your lovely reviews this month. Especially you, Anon-Kun.
Please enjoy this new chapter and don't forget to fav, follow, kudos, and review/comment on this fic.