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Disclaimer: If you recognise it, surprise, I don't own it.
Chapter 121- Untrustworthy.
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Landing in the middle of the woods in Italy in a place I don't even know the name of, I look around in confusion. I ended up here through the directions of Ivana, who was riding bitch while being a bitch on my broom. Now that we've landed here with nothing around, I make sure not to leave my back to her and keep a cautious eye on my surroundings, ready to pull out my wand.
"Why have we landed here? There's absolutely nothing around." I say, taking a step back and to the side as Ivana waltzes up to me, and she chuckles as she passes me by, walking up to a tree nearby. "It wouldn't be much of a secret hidden base if it was out in the open, and you could see it from the sky, no?" She says, moving her wand to the tree and tapping it in a specific pattern. Two taps on the bark, then one below that and then ending it with three taps below that, and then the tree begins to shift.
"Oh." That is all I can say as I watch the tree split apart and part like the Red Sea to the point that the tree is completely separated in two to the side, making a cave-like hole. The roots twisted and curved, the gnarly branches sticking out in jagged ways that looked dangerous, and through the hall was a nice and neat hallway of stone at ends with the natural surroundings.
"It's okay. A real man ought to be a little stupid." She smiles and laughs as she walks in, and I don't feign her with a response as I follow behind her in silence. I had only ever seen this type of magic at the brick wall behind the Leaky Cauldron that leads to Diagon Alley, and I know of it from the movies at the black house as it splits those two muggle buildings in two to reveal the black house. Different kinds of situations, as one is a passage being revealed and the other is an object/house being revealed.
This one is a mix of both, revealing a place that is bigger on the inside instead of the revealing something that is just behind the wall kind. Wait, the black house is actually a Fidelius, I think, so that doesn't count. It turns out this type of magic is quite rare and guarded, so I looked into it. The ministry didn't want people hiding things everywhere as it's hard to actually find this kind of opening with magic. I wonder how these guys got access to it. I've looked, even tempting some light bribery, but I could find it nowhere.
The walls are straight and smooth stone, nothing like the disorderly entrance tree. At the end of the hallway is a plain wooden door. There is no decoration; everything is flat and plain, so it is completely boring. I suppose with this just being a quickly set up base that there isn't time to focus on nice surroundings, that would be a waste of time. With Ivana leading the way and opening the door, I step into a room that is a complete concrete square.
We are surrounded by grey walls, floors and ceilings. There is a large table in the middle of the room where everyone is sat, focusing on their own things. To the side of the room is a row of cots, military style, with a trunk at the end of each bed. Clearly, they would be sleeping like this, and to the end of the room is a single door which I assume leads to a bathroom and toilet so these people could stay clean, but given the impression I get off of these people, I have the feeling they all just use spells to clean themselves and probably vanish their shit straight out of their rectum.
Truly, what dreary people. I know I said I understand their reasoning for such drab surroundings, but if I were to become an actual member of this team and not an honorary one, then I would definitely spice things up. I wouldn't be able to live in such a way, a way that is indeed practical but also soul-crushing. We have magic people, there is no need to be living in such close quarters and without any privacy. These people have completely forgotten the best thing there is about magic, and that is convenience.
"Who did that bit of magic on the tree? I must say, I exquisite work, truly a fascinating and beautiful work of magic." I ask, addressing the thing that is most crucial to me right now: that awesome magic that would slow me to make secret doors and hideaways for things, which would be incredibly useful for a man of my dubious stature. Plus, it might let me segue into another question I am dying to ask.
"That would be me, Lockhart." Madam Patricia Rakepick stands up to welcome me into the base. "Given my status as an undercover spy in the dark secret organisation 'R', Dumbledore saw fit to outfit me with this particular magic to hide things that needed hiding." Ah, no wonder she has access to such restricted magic. Dumbledore gave it to her, and nothing is unrestricted for that man.
"Truly, no one would know what was hidden inside the tree. Neither would anyone believe that such a wondrous entrance would hide behind such a drab and painful-looking room. No joy at all." I criticise looking around at the military-like room and the disgusting cots on the side as if they were pressed for space and couldn't just magic up another room. Honestly, it hurts me just to look at it.
"Well, while I appreciate your expertise in all things fashion and decor, that is not the point of this base. The point of this base is as a base of operations to plan out an attack on hostile as well as a place to regroup and recover." She answers easily, not acting insulted by my criticism. "And the reason we are all sleeping by and staying in this one room is so that in the case of an attack, we are all together and can quickly mount an attack to repel the invaders or at least use one of our escapes. Anything else bothering you?" She smiles at me pleasantly.
"That is certainly sound thinking. However, isn't it also a weakness?" I say, looking around the room at the other members, and I am quite upset to see them all continuing with their work and not paying attention to me. I am trying to gain a standing here since no one really seems to respect me. "If you are all together, doesn't that mean you can be taken out in one fell swoop? A trap set in here if the location becomes known, or a very explosive attack on the tree, and with the tree gone, what happens to all of us?" It's a very valid concern: would we just plop out of existence, or would everything just explode out, like when you break a chest in Minecraft?
"I could honestly not say what would happen since it's never been done, or if it has, I just don't have that information. However, it is not a concern. The only way that would happen would be if our base was compromised, and that would only happen if one of the people here proved to be an idiot or a traitor, and that is not going to happen." Madam Rakepick says, very firm in that belief, but then her face takes a turn, and she doesn't quite seem so firm in that anymore. "Actually..."
I lean forward, eager to hear her admit that I was right and this whole base is stupid, and I could spice it up and get my own room, so I don't have to share with all these people like it's some homeless shelter. "That's not quite true. I trust all of the people here and know they wouldn't compromise this base, except for one person." She looks at me, and so does everybody else in the room, and I really don't like it. "The only one that would perhaps take things in that direction is the only person we have no reason to trust." Yeah, and that would be me. I guess these people aren't going to follow my orders or take my suggestions into consideration without me giving them a reason to, and I don't have a reason at the moment.
This is their operation now, and I'm just along for the ride. I know how those cops in movies feel now when they are all like, hey, this is my jurisdiction, and this case belongs to us. I would always watch those and think they are stupid; you are all law enforcement, so just work together on this and get the bad guys, but yeah, in reality, it fucking sucks. This is my thing, and I brought you guys in, so I would like a little respect and for you guys to go along with my ideas because this is my shindig, but in reality, it doesn't work like that. I've been downgraded to subordinate, or probably in their eyes, deadweight, and I gotta go along with their plans and ideas.
"Right, well, I appreciate the love. Really, I do. But you have nothing to worry about from me; I am a wanted man in this country, so I am definitely not going to let the one place I am safe get exposed." Even though I say that, I can see none of them really have any trust in me, but at least the rest go back to doing what they are doing. "Well, in the end, it doesn't matter since you will not be leaving this base." I blink, taking a second to check that my ears are working because I did not hear what I think I just heard.
"Excuse me? I am not allowed to leave the base?" I baulk at the sheer audacity of this woman to say that to me, completely befuddled that not only am I not in charge or even have a say, but now I am being confined here. That is bullshit. "That's right, you shouldn't leave this base." She replies, straight-faced, and it takes a lot of self-control not to blow up and start shouting or get pissed, but make no mistake, I am definitely pissed that they think they can keep me here.
"And you think you can stop me from leaving? If I want to leave, then no one is going to stop me. You can try, but that won't end well for anyone." I make my stance clear, adamant to not be restricted by anyone or anything. The one thing I have always been clear of is my freedom, and I refuse to give it up for anyone or anything, never. I am in a world of magic, and I am not letting anything stop me, let alone this uptight sanctimonious, righteous bitch Rakepick. I am close to drawing my wand, but I don't. I don't want to escalate things too much, but things are definitely heated.
"I don't doubt that Gilderoy. But no one is going to stop you." Patricia says, taking a seat back at the table and going back to reading the book she was going through before I entered, not even looking at me anymore. "You can leave if you want to; it is up to you. However, I do suggest that you stay here like I am requesting of you, for both your good and our own." I am irked by her and the rest no longer paying attention to me, but I know that is the ego of original Lockhart talking, and perhaps, maybe a little of my unloved and forgotten orphan self, so I rein it in.
"What do you mean for your good?" I ask, walking forward and taking a seat at the table, making things less tense as my taking a seat means neither of us is in a position to suddenly attack. It is the saying, take a seat at the table, I think, or there is one like it. "Exactly what I said. You are more likely than not a dead man if you go and start traipsing through Italy. Given the information you yourself gave us, the D'Arcana Clan has spies and eyes everywhere, so you will be found in no time at all, and given how you pissed off Lucian D'Arcana, you'll be dead within minutes." She states matter-of-factly, and I can't really deny it.
"The simple fact of the matter is, we can't trust that they won't have some fun with you before they kill you, and you could end up compromising this base, which is why the second you leave, if you do decide to do so, we will immediately change locations. Of course, we will not compromise ourselves or reveal anything more to you afterwards, so if you leave, that is the last contact you will have with us. More than likely, the advantage of surprise will be gone as well if you are found by them and reveal us, so ultimately, it is up to you." What she says makes a lot of sense, and I am indeed a sensible man.
"Alright then, I acknowledge that. But what am I supposed to do in the meantime? I'd rather not just sit around here twiddling my thumbs while that monster is out there getting close to being all-powerful." I am not an idiot, but I am a man with pride, and I know she framed it the way she did so I could accept and be left with some face when, in actuality, I didn't really have a choice, as I would be dead out there. "Well, you could spend your time refining your magic and staying sharp by training with us, or you could try and decipher the riddle we have on our hands. If we get to the Lunar Heart before Lucian, then we have already won." Right, the riddle; I completely forgot all about that. I was just kind of focusing on us killing the vampires, really.
"I can do that; I can decipher the riddle. The riddle..." I trail off, putting my finger on my chin as I lean back in thought and start to rock back and forth on my chair, in thought. "When twin moons rise in mirrored sea, Seek stone above the storm's decree. In Fury's throat, where old waves chant, The Heart shall bloom where shadows slant. By salt and wind, by oath unspoken, Beneath the vow of bridges broken. Where time forgets and tides rehearse, The Lunar Key unlocks the verse. Mark the seventh when tide runs red, When Luna weeps and stars have bled. There, in silence, carved by flame— The Heart awaits, and speaks your name." Patricia says aloud, and I don't acknowledge it, but I am grateful since I did need the refresher.
So, what could it mean? Hmm. Twin moons rising in a mirrored sea, well, the key word there would be mirrored, and there aren't two moons, which means for there to be twin moons, they would need to be reflected off of something like water. So it has to be nighttime with a full moon and near a lake big enough to fully reflect the moon, and there's a lot of water around Italy, so that isn't really helpful. It does have to be nighttime, though, that is clear.
Seeking stone above the storm decree, clearly, we are looking for a stone structure near water, but I have no clue what a storm decree is. Same thing with fury's throat where old chants wave and the heart blooming where shadows slant. Again, it alludes to water and nighttime, but I don't know what Fury's Throat is, and old chants point to it being a historic spot, which is obvious as the Lunar Heart itself is an ancient artefact, so, of course, it would be near something else historic and ancient. Honestly, a lot of this is confusing, and I probably won't get anywhere with it, but I still gotta try.
Next, oath unspoken, beneath the vow of bridges broken and where time forgets, and tides rehearse. We could be talking about an actual bridge, which is very likely, or since it says vow, we could be talking about a relationship, and that also fits with oath unspoken. I don't know about where time forgets or tides rehearse, but since the word rehearse is used, maybe something needs to be said, like some kind of passkey to get to the Lunar Heart. That also fits with the lunar key unlocking the verse, which makes me think it's some kind of tune or song that needs to be said.
Mark the seventh when the tide runs red, when the luna weeps and the stars have bled. So, the number seven could be the seventh hour, the seventh day or maybe the seventh... something else. The red colour might mean something in the blood, which would fit with the theme, and the moon weeping, which might mean rain, but I don't think that's the case. There in silence carved by flame what the heart that speaks your name. I think that's just a fancy way of saying it's waiting there for whoever wants to find it, though maybe some fire is needed. It's all very quite confusing, really.
Then the door opens, and everyone looks up as an animalistic-looking yet somehow refined man walks in. "Talbot?"
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I tried to get close to a girl, and it didn't go great, and I feel ugly. Which is great, because now I have the motivation to hit the gym twice as hard and get shredded. Let's see how long the motivation lasts because I forget things easily.
Upcoming Chapters:
Hero: Chapter 122- Allergic To Blood?
Super: Chapter 124- Where My Weasleys At!?
Legendary: Chapter 126- Betrayal on The Bed.
Galactic: Chapter 130- Get Him To The Three Broomsticks.
Mythic: Chapter 133- Remarkable.
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