Chapter 300 : Temple of Aphaia
Fortunately for them, Phoebus harbored no ulterior motives, and Phineas had no intention of targeting them either.
Thanks to Astoria, the relationship between the Greengrass family and the Black family would now grow even closer.
"Father, Phineas said he'll come by soon to discuss the engagement ceremony with you," Astoria said after briefly summarizing her earlier conversation with him.
Phoebus was taken aback. "Soon?"
Astoria nodded. "Yes. Phineas said he'll be gone for a little while…"
Before she could finish, Phoebus understood. He nodded quietly to himself. Even he had to admit—Phineas was doing an excellent job as the leader of the Black family. No, more than excellent.
He couldn't help but look forward to the annual drama that was about to unfold due to Phineas's plan. He just wondered how many fools would take the stage this time.
Now, back to Phineas.
In order to create the illusion that he had vanished from the wizarding world, he chose not to travel to Greece by magical means.
Instead, he flew there the Muggle way. For international travel, this method was actually more advantageous for wizards. Muggle security checks could easily be bypassed with a Confundus Charm, and then it was just a matter of finding a comfortable seat and waiting for arrival.
The magical method, while faster, came with the oversight of the Ministry of Magic and required traveling via designated Portkey points. The process was unpleasant and often left passengers dizzy or nauseous.
Modern Greek architecture leaned toward simplicity—white-and-blue houses with clean lines, creating a sense of quiet comfort.
Phineas booked a hotel room with magic and settled in, awaiting a letter from Damon.
He was sure Damon had already notified their Greek contact of his arrival.
Although Phineas had asked Damon for details about the Black family's tavern properties in Greece before leaving, he didn't yet know where the ruins Lisa had mentioned were located. It made more sense to stay somewhere nearby and gather information before relocating.
As expected, once Phineas left England, a letter arrived from Damon.
After reading it, the Greek contact, Wuming Yi, hurried to Phineas's hotel.
"Master," Wuming Yi said respectfully after knocking.
Phineas nodded. "You're the one in charge here? I remember you used to run a magical item shop in the UK, right?"
Anyone trusted enough to hold such a position had earned Phineas's recognition. Wuming Yi was one of those.
Moved that Phineas remembered him, Wuming Yi felt honored. With over 800 lieutenants under Phineas across the wizarding world, being remembered was no small feat. Usually, only continental overseers received such personal familiarity.
Seeing Wuming Yi's grateful expression, Phineas simply said, "First, you haven't told anyone I'm in Greece, have you?"
"Absolutely not," Wuming Yi said quickly. "Lord Damon made it clear this was a covert operation."
"Good. Keep it that way. Unless I approach you directly, no one is to know I'm here. And if I do come to you, I'm to be seen as just another member of the Black family—not Phineas Black. Understood?"
Wuming Yi nodded vigorously.
"Second," Phineas continued, "Lisa mentioned that you discovered a ruin possibly connected to Herpo. What do you know? Give me the details."
Wuming Yi pulled a stack of parchment from his robes.
"Lord Damon said your visit was about that matter, so I brought all our documents for your review."
Phineas accepted them but didn't read them immediately.
"Good. I'll look at them later. For now, tell me what you remember."
Wuming Yi nodded.
"About three or four years ago, I was still working in the UK. I took a vacation to Greece. The magical community here isn't as developed—it's essentially a puppet of the Selwyn family, set up for their convenience.
"So instead of touring their community, I explored independently and stumbled upon traces of ruins near the Aegean Sea. I reported it to Lady Lisa and was later promoted to lead our operations in Greece.
"After further investigation, we confirmed that the ruins lie deep under the sea and are connected to Herpo."
Phineas nodded. "Where did you first find the clues?"
"In a temple on Aegina Island," Wuming Yi replied. "At first, it seemed like an ordinary Muggle ruin, but it was full of magical traces. Unlike the Parthenon, which is officially listed as a magical relic, this temple wasn't. It puzzled me.
"I later discovered the temple was guarded by a magical family. They cast spells regularly to maintain misleading magical traces—to hide the originals.
"If I hadn't studied magical signatures so closely, I wouldn't have noticed that some of the traces were modern, while others dated back a thousand years or more."
Phineas rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
A magical family tied to the Selwyns secretly guarding such a temple? Either they were hiding something from the Selwyns, or they were using their allegiance as cover.
Since this family had chosen to protect the temple, there were only two possibilities.
Either they had already discovered the magical ruins indicated by the clues within the temple and deliberately concealed them to avoid sharing with other wizarding families,
Or their purpose was to guard the temple itself—meaning they were directly connected to the magical relic it concealed.
Either way, Phineas knew where he needed to go next—Aegina Island.
Fortunately, he was already in Athens, and Aegina was just an hour and a half away by boat.
Two thousand years ago, King Xerxes of Persia led a vast navy to invade Greece. At the time, Greece was far less powerful than it is today, and prominent magical families like the Selwyns had not yet chosen to settle there. Faced with a fleet that blotted out the sky like a swarm of locusts, the city of Athens stood on the brink of destruction.
In that critical hour, the Greek commander Themistocles led his elite navy to a stunning victory, defeating a force three times larger than his own in the narrow straits of Salamis. It was this decisive battle—the Battle of Salamis—that brought lasting fame to Aegina Island.
According to Muggle legend, it was also where Zeus's most beautiful mistress hid. But Phineas wasn't here for myth or history.
His destination was the Temple of Aphaia—built in the late 6th or early 5th century BC. Said to honor the goddess of light, Phineas believed it might have actually been dedicated to the dark wizard Herpo.
He had his reasons.
First, the underwater ruins had yielded clues tied to Herpo. This temple might be the key.
Second, if it truly honored a goddess of light, why would a magical family go to such lengths to hide it?
Maybe it wasn't a shrine to Herpo—but to someone who had defeated him. The magical family might be descendants of that victor, or of those they saved.
Phineas didn't yet know the answer. That would depend on what he found underwater.
When he reached Aegina, he wasted no time and headed straight for the temple.
His actions didn't go unnoticed. The magical family on the island quickly grew alert.
The Temple of Aphaia resembled the Parthenon in its double-column style but was far less preserved. Now, it was little more than a ruin—broken columns, worn steps, and crumbling porches.
As Phineas approached, he immediately sensed the magical aura.
No wonder Wuming Yi discovered something, he thought. The magic here is too thick and too deliberately placed.
Activating his bloodline-enhanced magical perception, Phineas saw even more.
Traces of different magical eras—battle spells, and even the Killing Curse.
The Killing Curse?
Mixed with war magic?
That supported the theory that this was the site of a battle with Herpo—possibly where a great wizard once fought and defeated him. The temple was likely built to honor that wizard.
It gave Phineas a new idea. Perhaps he could use the lingering magical traces here to study ancient war magic. Then again, his energy-shaping magic already matched such power—his summoned Fire Phoenix had destroyed an entire city.
Since the temple yielded no further clues, his attention turned to the magical family guarding it.
Fortunately, his visit to the temple had triggered their surveillance.
They were already on their way.