Barty's summer started pretty alright, in his opinion.
Since Madeline now included him in her project, Barty had found himself spending time with Madeline all day - Which was awesome. With her, there were always new spells to master, new potions to brew, many things to buy, and a bunch of things to create. It was fun, and he got to spend time with Madeline! Very unlike his previous summer where he almost died from boredom except for that one wedding. To put it simply, joining Madeline in her project had made Barty's summer a lot busier than his previous one.
- Then the novelty cooled off and he realized he couldn't explore Sebiorn Frikk's book whenever he liked.
It was still fine. No problem! Barty could just make haste to master everything Madeline taught so he could finally enjoy some leisure. And after a week, he finally proved to her that he could make some of her product by himself.
- And then he found himself being in charge of the production for five of her products.
When he said he wanted in, boy did he forget that it came with responsibilities.
"Why are we making so many?" Barty grumbled as he brewed his third batch of a solution that Maddy would need for her Peace Powder. "Doesn't this one have a shelf life or something? I thought we won't be opening the shop until next year."
"We're giving them as gifts first," he heard his sister say from across the room and Barty's head never snapped so fast.
"What! But - but they cost a lot!"
Madeline shrugged as she checked the quality of each of the rune-engraved bells with a magnifying lens. "We want to introduce our shop to potential buyers, right? So we have to give them samples of it."
Barty gaped at her.
He knew, of course, how much money Madeline had for this business's budget. But still - "Giving away this many? Aren't we going to lose money if we do this?"
"Well, we're not going to give out all of them. Only some are gifts, then the rest will be sold at a discounted price for a limited time."
Barty paused.
"It'll urge them to buy it." He said, in realization.
He threw an impressed look at his sister, finally seeing her marketting plan in a new light.
"We'll also know if the product will sell or not," Madeline added.
Two birds with one stone! He liked it. "And if it don't?"
Madeline shrugged again. "I'll just give them for free. The first aim is to help the general citizen, after all.
Welp. Opinion redacted.
"That'd be a way to burn money," he muttered, focusing his attention back to the brew. "What about that fax thingy - will you give it away too?"
He was talking about something Maddy called 'Facsimile' or fax for short. A tool to send and receive documents instantly, inspired by a muggle invention. It worked like a duplicating charm, where the document sent was copied in the receiver end, but unlike the duplicating charm - the duplicate would not disappear after a while. That was because fax did not use the duplication charm on the document - rather, tiny quills that didn't have inks in it are enchanted to trace the ink in the document and those tiny quills would be connected to the tiny quills with ink inside the receiver's end so that it could replicate the document. There was also some mechanism about how one fax could connect with any fax once they tap their wand while saying the receiver's password -
It was brilliant. And Madeline said it could prevent official documents from being intercepted, unlike how owl deliveries could be intercepted, so it must be very useful now. The urgency was definitely there, what with the dark lord and everything.
But while Madeline did the enchantment casting all by herself, she actually employed some craftsmen to make those tiny quills and the body of the fax - and they were expensive.
Barty pursed his lips as he waited for his sister's answer.
"Well - i was planning to send the prime minister and each head of the department one as a gift - Just so they know the practicality of our product. Perhaps they would buy it in bulk for the ministry and promote it from mouth to mouth -"
"That won't do," Barty interrupted. "First, sending it as a gift and giving them the manual would be highly impersonal. What if it doesn't make any impression or impact on them? Our product will just sit uselessly in their office. Second, this is a product they desperately need. Why would we give them freely?"
Madeline put down the magnifying lens and looked at him straight, "so what do you propose we should do?"
"Let's use father's connection, duh."
Her sister blinked as Barty continued, "we could ask Father to arrange a meeting with all the heads and the prime minister. There we can do a demonstration for our products - perhaps sign a deal or two. The fax is a product they desperately need, after all. Father can vouch for us."
Madeline tilted her head, surprised, "you would ask father for help?"
Barty shrugged.
"Well, he's an investor so I bet he's interested in seeing our success. And it's better if he can be useful for once - Oh, what about doing a demonstration for the bracelet of aegis too? Father said many wizards in the ministry can't even perform simple shield charms."
"No, they can," Madeline corrected in impulse, "Their shield just doesn't hold against an experienced attacker, which is why they don't meet father's standard."
"Well then they would need them to defend themselves from the dark lord, right?" Barty retorted. "Perhaps the ministry will buy our bracelet in bulk to protect their employees better. And what about -"
.
Madeline headed downstairs immediately when she heard that Lord Bones had arrived in their manor. Today was the day she presented her tracker to the person who would use it exclusively: the leader of the Downfall Operation.
Edgar Bones was a young wizard of 27, a newly appointed head of the Bones family. Completed auror school in just a year, he rose through the ranks quickly and became the head of auror office two years ago at the age of 25 after Alastor Moody turned down the position. A man with dark hair and sharp brown eyes that made him look dignified - though a friendly smile made him look more approachable.
"Miss Madeline, a pleasure to finally meet you."
Madeline curtsied, "Lord bones. The honor is all mine."
The wizard was extremely polite, it seemed. Not many grown adults would rise from their chairs to greet a fourteen years old girl.
"I heard we have you to thank for some of the breakthroughs we made at the department."
"I'm glad my little ideas could help," she murmured, hoping to sound demure as she remembered a small detail: this man was the brother of Amelia Bones.
"Let's not waste time," Father interrupted from his seat. "Explain how the new tracker works, Madeline."
Typical.
She nodded and took a seat, giving each man a bundle of parchment.
"The ministry's trace system, as you may know, relied on magical energy transfer detection. By calculating the flow of the energy and its wave, they may also calculate what spell had been casted. My tracker does not track the energy transfer," she stressed this part. "Instead, it tracks the disturbance in natural energy flow in the environment as a spell was casted. As natural energy flow can be disturbed by other things than our magic and distinguishing each of them from our magic can be very difficult, I made this tracker specifically to detect the anti-disapparition jinx only."
Father hummed, not even looking at the parchment she gave him. "How did you distinguish the jinx from all of the other disturbance?"
Was the parchment too difficult to understand? One look at the confused Lord Bones, she could conclude that it was indeed the case.
It seemed that she had to explain everything.
"Well, for one thing, it's very different from every-day occurrences in a way that it enforces space-time fabric so no extreme bending of the space-time could occur, no matter how much energy one might use."
This time, it was Lord Bones's turn to frown, his parchment lay limply in his hand, "If it only detects the strengthening of space-time from the jinx, then won't the tracker detect the same effect caused by anti-apparition jinx?"
"It won't. Unlike the anti-disapparition jinx, the anti-apparition jinx doesn't strengthen the space time fabric."
"But aren't they basically the same?"
She shook her head. "Both jinxes have a completely different mechanism. When you try to apparate into a place with anti-apparition jinx, you will be able to disapparate from your original position, but you just won't appear in your intended destination, correct?"
"Yeah," Lord Bones winced, "Too many have tried."
Father's eyes, meanwhile, had widened, his mind seemingly had grasped the implications.
"That is because anti-apparition jinx doesn't prevent apparition entirely, it just prevent someone from entering," she explained. "Which means an extreme space-time bending could still occur. Meanwhile, when people try to disapparate from an area with an anti-disapparition jinx, nothing will happen because the process can't even start to begin with. That is because in anti-disapparition jinx case, a space-time bending can't occur in the area."
"Wait - So how does the anti-apparition jinx work? And how can a place with an anti-disapparition jinx allow people to apparate inside if the space-time in the area is strengthened?"
Madeline nodded. It was a good question.
"You see, in the mechanism of apparition, the fabric of space-time in the destination is not manipulated - it was the bending of the original position's space-time that pushed one's magic to be able to reach the destination in an incredibly short amount of time. Once one's magical energy has reached the destination, a quantum-entanglement occurs which allows us to interact more with the environment in our destination with our magic. This process eventually enables us to push our physical body with the help of the initial space-time bending and manifest in our destination. The anti apparition-jinx simply disturbs the quantum-entanglement step in apparition, which, in worst cases, leads to people's limb being scattered across space-time during the process of manifesting our physical body. Meanwhile, the anti-disapparition jinx allows quantum-entanglement, but will not allow an extreme space-time bending in the area."
Madeline observed the two men in front of her. Father put his chin on his fingers, seemingly still processing her words, but Lord Bones only scratched his head.
"Okay you lost me a couple times there...Though i don't understand the space-time bending mechanism part and how it can pushes us through space, i can still get gist of it because of the name 'space-time' itself... But what is quantum-entanglement?"
Madeline smiled patiently.
"It's the science behind apparition magic aside from the space-time bending. Do you remember the mechanics behind the vanishing spell?"
Lord Bones nodded. "We don't really make the object cease to exist. We just transform them into a state of non-being."
"That non-being state, muggle science called it atoms. An atom is the smallest unit of matter that retains the properties of an element. When atoms bond together, they are called molecules, which can make up matter. What we do when we vanish an object is disassemble those molecules, and change it into a state of atoms that we can not see."
Madeline started to explain how atoms and energy works before she started to explain 'quantum entanglement'. It took her one whole hour, even when she was over-simplifying some of her explanations. Only then that she explained again the process of apparition from the first step to the last.
And after that grueling hour, the result of her effort had finally come.
"So during apparition's first step, that is to think of our 'Destination', our magical energy bends the space-time fabric and the bending space-time pushes our magical energy to be able to reach our destination first before our physical body," Lord Bones confirmed his understanding.
Madeline smiled. "Correct, as it is easier for energy to transport."
"In that state, our magic basically exists in two places at once and are connected by this 'quantum entanglement', where what happens in one location will occur in the other."
"Correct!"
Encouraged, Lord Bones continued, "The second step, which is 'Determination' pushes our energy to interact more with our destination. The more we, in a quantum state, interact with the environment in our destination, the more we are ready to manifest there."
"Which is why the apparition instructor tells students to spin before apparating into a hoop," Madeline added excitedly. "By spinning, students become dizzy enough so that to cope with it, they start ignoring the information input regarding their current position's environment while their mind focuses more on their destination and the stability of their destination's ground. Of course, there are cases with students who concentrate on the spinning act instead, but that's a learning process."
Lord Bones nodded. "Only then can we deliberately push our physical form with the help of the initial bended space-time, and manifest in our intended destination? And in the case of apparating into areas with anti-apparition jinx, the quantum entanglement process is disturbed because the jinx confounds us in the quantum state? Which is why it can lead to dismemberment across space or throw people into another place entirely?"
Madeline beamed.
"Congratulations! You've mastered the advanced magical theory behind apparition." - The man beamed back at her - "Now, I'll start explaining how the anti-disapparition jinx works." - The man's smile dropped as he looked at her oddly. "Enforcing the space-time fabric can be done through directly countering the energy which intends to bend it in the first place. So the enforced space-time fabric in this case is not a passive state - it's reactionary. When - "
"Madeline," Father cut her.
She frowned at the man.
"There's no reason to explain it in more detail," he grunted. "We now know for sure that tracking an anti-disapparition jinx can be done through other methods that are completely different from the ministry's method. Now how do we operate the tracker?"
Ah.
Madeline blushed, finally realizing that perhaps they had strayed from their original purpose by delving into too much detail... The next part of her explanations was more concise, as she explained all the functions and features her tracker had. She also gave them her cautions for all the possible scenarios that could disturb the tracker's functions, and started the bonding process between the watch's magic and Lord Bones's magic.
"So basically - that alarm will alert you when someone casted an anti-disapparition charm, and by touching this watch, you'll know immediately the location in your mind. It's because the watch is able to send its magic, and through the bond, an imprint of your magic, to the location. So if you concentrate on your magic, a quantum entanglement can immediately happen."
"Just like in the apparition process!" Lord Bones stared at his new watch in awe, lifting his hand high in the air to stare at it more clearly. "Why, how simple and easy that is!"
"Which is why you can also apparate to the location immediately. You can also bring some people with you, similar to a side-along apparition," Madeline added, smiling at the excited man. Hopefully he was still listening.
"Remember to not show it to anyone," Father grumbled. "No one can know that we are tracking their casting of anti-disapparition jinx using this watch."
Lord Bones finally let down his arm. "You got it, sir! Now, about the protocol of the operation that will make use of this tracker - "
"Madeline, your work's done here," Father interrupted, looking at her expectantly.
This man…
"Can I at least sit here during your discussion?" Her smile tight and tone overly sweet to disguise her annoyance. "Perhaps i can even offer some input-"
"No. This is our work. You can go and rest."
Urgh. He's so frustrating!
Madeline stood from her seat with her nose up in the air. It was only Lord Bones's politeness that made her refrain from stomping her feet.
"Thank you, miss Madeline," the man said, nodding his head deeply at her as he stood. "This tracker of yours will be a great help in our effort. I will make sure to use it to its full potential."
She nodded. "Of course. I am glad I could be of help."
Lord Bones smiled, before turning his head at his boss.
Barty Crouch senior coughed awkwardly. "Yes, thank you, Madeline."
"That's it?" Lord Bones said.
My thought exactly, Madeline shouted inwardly.
But Father was unperturbed. "I'm sure the five thousand galleons I invested in her business plan speaks for my gratitude."
"Five thousand galleons?"
Lord Bones glanced back and forth between father and her as Madeline's eye twitched. Sure, yes, five thousand galleons were a lot, but still - that was just his obligation to help her daughter's advantageous endeavor when he had the means -
Great. Now she sounded spoiled and entitled.
"I'll retreat to my room then," she curtsied for one last time, "Lord Bones, a pleasure to meet you."
The man cleared his throat, "Likewise, miss Madeline."
Madeline walked to the door, leaving the two men to discuss their business, though not without talking about her first.
"Five thousand galleons on a business plan?" She heard Lord Bones ask in whispers.
"She's a bit of an entrepreneur," Father replied nonchalantly. "You'll see the fruition of her plan in a year."
She closed the door of his office.
.
Another week passed by, and both Madeline and Barty finally managed to convince Father to arrange a meeting with the ministry's higher ups on Friday, August, 29th. Just before Hogwarts term started again. Since they had enough time left before the meeting, Madeline allowed Barty some rest days, where he could finally enjoy his new haunted book.
Unlike Barty, however, Madeline could not relax. After all, there were still many bigger projects, waiting to be completed.
Her project with the killing curse, for example, had finally reached the experimental phase. She killed many plants during it, but that was to be expected. Her project with the torture-curse counter was also on the way, though not as fast as she would like.
Meanwhile, she still had little to no progress for the horcrux-tracker device and the surveillance tool - though she had a rough idea on how to progress with the surveillance project.
That idea was the reason why she found herself contacting Regulus Black to take up his offer of using his library.
It honestly came as a surprise when Regulus Black, through his letter, said she and Barty could come anytime. That was not usually the case between two families who had no standing alliance - the host should have set up the date of the invitation. Taking that into their consideration, Madeline and Barty chose the weekend to visit Grimmauld Place, and informed Regulus of their plan three days ahead. The boy readily agreed to the date.
And now Madeline stood on the front porch of a typical looking townhouse in the middle of Islington, London, with a curious Barty next to her who was, for the first time since forever, visiting a muggle area.
Maybe she should bring him next time she does a survey for the research facility location…
The black door in front of them opened, revealing Regulus Black in his casual white shirt and gray vest.
"Madeline. Barty. Did you have any problem finding our place?"
The boy opened the door wider and let them in, with one hand playing with his hair - he looked a bit different.
"No, not at all. By the way - did you cut your hair?"
The boy cleared his throat as he closed the door. "Yeah - it doesn't look weird, does it?"
She slightly shook her head. "It suits you. You look sharper than ever."
"I see. Thank you."
Barty walked past them with eyes rolled.
"If you want to smile, just smile, Reg. No need to hurt your cheeks. Come, Madeline. I know where the library is."
Regulus caught up with him while Madeline followed them quietly, "actually, my parents are both waiting in the parlor. You should greet them first."
Barty stopped walking and looked at Regulus, confused.
"I thought your father never comes out of his office unless it's breakfast or dinner."
"Well - we're having a guest today."
"What was I last year, then? A chopped liver?"
Regulus put his hand on Madeline's back and led her, "it's this way, Madeline. Don't mind my parents' attitude too much - just keep it short and polite."
"Got it," she nodded, before glaring over her shoulder at Barty. "Do remember to be polite, Barty. This isn't our house."
This was actually her first visit to another family's house. She thought the fact that her first visit would take place in a familiar place would help - but it didn't.
Entering Grimmauld place again after years felt strange. It wasn't until she arrived at the parlor that she realized it was an entirely different house altogether - it had a life in it. No cobwebs, no grime. It was every bit of the magnificence of an old pureblood house. There were some different furnitures, different curtains, different lightning -
It made the memories of the old grimmauld felt far away.
"Mother, Father, our guests have arrived," Regulus announced, pulling her out of her head. "Mother, You've met the Crouch siblings before. Father, you've met Barty, and this, is Madeline Crouch."
She curtsied, looking down at the floor. "A pleasure to meet you, sir, ma'am. Thank you for allowing us to visit your home."
"A friend of regulus is always welcome."
Madeline finally took in the appearance of Orion Black and Walburga Black. While she had met Walburga Black before, the current setting made the lady look more dignified - and intimidating - than ever. Meanwhile, the man, sitting quietly on one of the dark velvet sofas, had a countenance that declared regality. Sharp features with equally piercing eyes - Madeline couldn't help but blush. Handsome would be too shabby of a word to describe him.
She felt Barty nudge her side.
Right.
"We also brought gifts for our hosts," she said, as Barty pulled out two boxes from his pocket. "It's a simple gift, but we hope it conveys the sincerity in our gratitude."
Bringing gifts - that was the basic etiquette when one visited a family with whom they had no ties. Barty put the two boxes on the table and opened each of them.
Orion Black's gift was a seemingly ordinary fancy quill. With each use though, he would find that it had been enchanted to minimize wrist pain while writing.
Meanwhile, Walburga Black's gift was something that they had ordered from a craftsman.
"What are these?" The lady said, inspecting the objects inside.
They were hairsticks, one designed to look like an ivory snake while the other decorated with a silver butterfly. They indeed looked unusual for a hairstick- but still, she and mother thought that they were rather pretty...
"Those are hairsticks, ma'am. If you allow it, I'll help you put one on to see if it suits you.."
The lady's sharp eyes narrowed at her, and Madeline's heart skipped a beat, thinking that she had crossed a line, before Walburga Black finally turned her head away, presenting her simple low bun.
Madeline blinked, processing, before quickly coming to the lady's side. She carefully released the bun and twisted the lady's dark hair in a way that would look good, before finally locking it in with the hairstick. After finished, she silently conjured a mirror for the lady to see the result.
"Hmm," the lady said as she gazed at her reflection. Her cold and blank expression was really hard to read - Madeline could not even guess if the lady liked it or not.
"Silver is truly the right choice," Barty suddenly said from her side, smiling at the lady and to her.
She relaxed. "Right? It contrasted Lady Black's elegant black hair so beautifully." She turned to the lady, "What do you think, ma'm?"
A silent pause.
Then the lady turned to her husband, "So this is why they have daughters, Orion."
Orion Black, who was quietly observing the phenomenon in front of him, tilted his head in acknowledgement. "Apparently so."
Madeline smiled in relief. Now all they had to do was to order Regulus to lead them to the library -
"Kreacher! Bring some tea and snacks here!"
She blinked and bit her lips. Surely not...
A glance at Regulus told her that this was expected. That he was not surprised, at all, by this turn of events.
With a pop, Kreacher appeared with a tray full of snacks and a pot of tea.
"Take a seat," Walburga Black finally said the dreaded words. "We should have a small talk before you go to the library."
But why?!
Of course, the reason was not important. The only thing important was that she could not refuse. Madeline quietly took a seat as ordered. She could see Barty stiffly followed her - this was not what they had planned at all. Where were the promised books?
Regulus took the seat on her left, a smile briefly flashed at her direction.
She swallowed her sigh and resigned her fate.
Relaxing her tense muscles, she beamed as her eyes settled on a familiar figure who was serving the tea. "Hullo, Kreacher. Thank you for your help last time."
Kreacher tensed in his motion, before bowing, "It's Kreacher's honor to help master Regulus's friend."
"You've met Kreacher?" Lady Black asked, eyes scrutinizing.
Madeline smiled brightly. "I have. I was not feeling well during the Malfoy's wedding last year. It would have been a problem if Regulus and Kreacher didn't kindly help me then."
"You were not feeling well?" Barty quickly joined the conversation, previous tension forgotten. And now Madeline had two people scrutinizing her. Just great. "Why? When? Why didn't you tell me?" He turned to Regulus, "Why didn't you tell me?"
Regulus lifted one brow at him.
"You were trying to steal one of the peacock's feathers."
"... That is beside the point."
"It was just a light headache, Barty," Madeline lied. "Nothing serious. - Oh speaking of, is Sirius away at the moment?"
Another tension coiled in the room.
Well, whoopsie. She just walked into another landmine, didn't she?
Orion Black sipped his tea, sharp hawk eyes watching her. "Are you also familiar with our eldest?"
She tried to smile, "A bit. Sirius is... well he's not someone one can ignore in Hogwarts. If he wants to get acquainted with someone, he will have it."
Somehow, the married couple managed an expression that looked reluctantly proud, exasperated, and annoyed at the same time.
"You are welcome to ignore him," Lady Black said eventually.
"So where is he now?" Barty asked Regulus. "Please tell me he won't be at the library when we use it."
"Sirius has locked himself in his room," Regulus revealed with a shrug. "He refused to talk with anyone. The house has been quiet because of this."
"He didn't lock himself, Regulus. I locked him," Walburga Black said calmly, sipping her tea. "The boy has been too impolite because of his refusal to speak. Do not worry - you won't be bothered by him."
She said the last part directly to Madeline and Barty, which made Madeline smile awkwardly. She turned to Regulus, "but you're sending some books to his room, right? It could be awfully boring, being trapped in one's room for a long time."
Regulus froze for a moment, before nodding with finality.
"I haven't. But you're right, I'll do it immediately after this."
Orion Black sent a look at his son, which Regulus pointedly ignored.
The man smirked and turned to her, "Is there something specific you want to read while you're here, miss Madeline?"
A change of topic!
Madeline beamed at the man, "I'm actually searching for books on rituals that intersect with blood magic and mind magic."
A long silence ensued.
Barty closed his eyes, his lips forming a tight smile, and very slowly, it finally dawned on her about what she just said.
.. Should she just obliviate them all already?