I opened my eyes as someone incessantly knocked on my door.
Who the fu-...
I rushed to the door before this could continue on any longer, prepared to yell at whoever the hell was so annoying.
Flinging open the door all I could spot was a broom erect before my door.....
What?
Glancing left and right, I couldn't see a single soul outside, but as I had finished, the broom snuck into the room and began sweeping the floors.
An enchanted broom.... quite interesting. I had seen a few variations, but this one seemed complex compared to its previous alternatives.
It was moreso controlled by a set of spells that had already been stored in it, enabling it to perform a whole new set of functions.
After sweeping the floor for a few minutes, the broom carried whatever dust it had gathered outside. Piling it into a dust bag that had followed it along.
Seeing the convenience of it all, I did resolve myself to at least bother to study about magical enchantments...It might just be worth if I could escape doing chores in the future...
Anyhow, seeing that I was well rested, I refreshed myself and rushed out to one of the long winding halls to see where it would lead me.
The floors in this place were vast, and most rooms were simply empty...Or perhaps I had just woken up "early" around noon and everyone was busy working their ass off.
Besides that, going through the floor, I spotted a certain chimney tube that looked to be similar to the ones used for exiting. As such, I simply stood under it, and before I knew it, I had swerved through to exit at the main hall.
In my opinion, it was vastly more comfortable compared to apparition. Anyhow, following what I had been told I scuttled down the stairs, preparing to meet that psychotic bastard.
I suppose I had reached the "intel" department, because all I could see were stacks upon stacks of papers on every single desk. It was like a corporate office from hell, and not a single person even bothered to lift their eyes away from their work.
I couldn't quite understand what they were doing, but it somehow related to tracking? Reading through piles of documents and determining authenticity, managing trade routes and what not. It was quite a bulk of work.
Walking through the departments, I eventually reached a common area, but lo and behold a few wizards had finally noticed an 11 year old kid walking through their department. I suppose they knew who I was, because after a glance, most of them just didn't bother to look again.
Seeing as I would be lost without some help I decided to ask where I had to go.
"I am looking for Ivan, does anyone know where he is." I asked with the most innocent smile I could muster.
But in response, the group of wizards shared a few glances and an awkward silence ensued as we stared at each other....
Minutes later one of the men shrugged his hand towards a heavy door, leading me away.
Soundproof door, low lighting, secluded area? Yeah..this guy was doing something sketchy again...But I suppose he wouldn't be a crafty fox if he wasn't.
Pushing the door slowly, I entered what I would call the interrogation chamber....or basically what was written on the huge plaque above the door, but let's ignore that.
I could spot four chairs lined up directly under only one light, as the rest of the room was eerily empty. One man paced around the four, though they couldn't move at all. Restrained with locks and chains around their limbs.
-Who could've guessed...
Ivan saw me walking towards him as he flashed a sly smile.
"Welcome, welcome. You're a bit Late, but we're still on schedule." He smirked placing his hands behind the chairs he had professionally setup.
You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.
"I don't suppose you've brought your wand?" He asked glancing at my empty hands.
"Obviously, I never forget to bring it" I responded, pulling my wand out from my pockets.
"You know what you need to do?" He said, pointing to the man restrained in front of me.
Though I would say he seemed.... unnaturally hairy, with skewed teeth and rough side burns.
"Who are these people?" I asked, despite knowing that they were certainly the ones restrained in vines yesterday. I wasn't some genius to figure that out, it was simply because there were imprints of severe constriction on their skins. Like they'd been squeezed till their last breaths.
"Beasts our team managed to capture alive. Werewolves. I've already broke the rest and found out what I need to know. But I suppose the one left will prove good practice for you. Your task today is to find out everything you can about their supposed leader. Once you do, we can cross check to see if you've managed to dig deep enough."
"So what exactly do you need to me find?" I stood beside the man, preparing to invade his mind.
"Information regarding their team leader, and any intel on their plans"
"Got it."
Placing my wands tip at the forehead, I focused to peek into his thoughts. It's not that I couldn't do it legillimnacy without a wand, I was without question a natural, but the distinction was barely there. Besides, I was still somewhat new to the wand, so I wanted to train in its use.
It was drastically different from my previous practice. The werewolf mind was essentially defenseless. I suppose not everyone could manage to learn occlumency.
Drifting through his thoughts, I could see countless memories, playing through his mind. My mind traced through to one's regarding his work. Everything else was useless clutter.
Sifting through memories until something resonated with his team, and I finally found it. A memory with his team, a pack of werewolves aiming to attack the wizards. Intentionally tripping an alarm, trying to ambush. It was all there. Easily accessible only if one knew how to filter through the mind.
I kept skimming until I reached his leader, a burly and tall man his attire matched a beggars, and his teeth were jagged. His beard only stretched below his neck, I could feel a slight resemblance with him in my memories, but I could not exactly recall who he was.
The memory played, I could hear what he heard, and feel what he felt. Sitting in a pub with his comrades as they plotted a rigorous ambush to kill some clueless wizards. I could hear their names.
But I wasn't interested until he looked towards the man in charge.
-Greyback
He called him, and now it all felt complete. I knew who this man was.... and why I had felt the resemblance. Of course, notorious werewolf and Old snake's lapdog, Fenrir Greyback. The werewolf's weren't aware of why they were here. Just knew that their leader would get them some good job, a thrilling hunt..
Little did they know, Fenrir would lead them into the trap and trigger it intentionally... I could only assume he did it to gauge the wizard's response. Unlucky for them, from what I could see in these memories, almost every single beast and been caught or killed.
This one....he was hit to the chest with an explosion, and then everything else went blurry....but he woke up to being restrained.
These slight memories had also allowed me a glimpse at the fighting strength of the wizards. In all honesty, it was impressive... or perhaps this enemy was weak. Having watched the movies, nothing I had seen could ever top the battle in the ministry. But these vanguard wizards.... they weren't bad.
If I could classify them, they would be masters in their own right.
Sensing that nothing else remained to be found, I withdrew my probing.
"Let's hear what you've found" Ivan inquired.
"Nothing too big, the leader, his name is Fenrir Greyback. No idea where he's from. Their plan, he proposed it. Wanted to ambush some wizards. I don't think he expected the response he got. This guy was swiftly captured, nothing else to see." I replied, cautious to not expose information I wasn't meant to know.
"Good job" He nodded his head
"Your skills are improving by the day."
"Quit it, you couldn't have called me here just for some menial practice. It's not like you."
"Still bitter I left without telling you? Anyhow, the rooms are available for duels, knowing you, I knew you'd run to get an opportunity like this. If you wish to continue our duels we can. Though I suppose it might benefit you more to establish your skills and duel various people that might be around your level." Ivan suggested while he began cleaning up the chamber.
As he did, the body I just checked jerked slightly, perhaps breaking and forcefully reading his mind had proved too painful to keep it enchanted. The body went through what I could only describe as a seizure, while Ivan and I watched.
The neural connection between mind and body had been so mangled because I had ruthlessly ripped through its memories....Perhaps it was best to stick to subtle methods in the future....The wand had given me an unexpected boost in legilimancy that I wasn't yet used to.
Seeing as Ivan was ready to close the interrogation chamber, I waited outside.
A few minutes later he fetched me and we entered a new room, that was lined with similar walls as my room. Possibly to preserve the walls and prevent damage.
"This place is?"
"Dueling Grounds" Ivan responded, as he walked around to start the place up.
I could see sparks of light shimmering and coming alive as we entered the dark room, illuminating a wide training area.
"We often train our new recruits here, the experienced ones show up once in a while to keep themselves battle ready." He took off his heavy overcoat and hung it on the rack near the door.
Ivan paced across the room, with wand in hand as he did some light stretches.
"Reckon you're up for another loss?" He mused, pointing his wand towards me.
"I will take you up on that offer" shuffling my wand in my grip as I braced my body for a duel.
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