Chapter 23: France
A/N: Pat-reon: HelloDarkness07
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France. A beautiful Country, with a lot of magnificent culture behind it. But, it's also not that interesting through a Magical person's perspective. It was dreadfully boring for me, a pursuer of knowledge, at least in the muggle world.
I've been here for two weeks, and I'm already ready to go back to Britain. Thankfully, I was able to speak French, my secondary mutation helped in that. Plus, as long as I renewed the sticking charm on the Mandrake leaf, I could speak without worry of the leaf falling out.
It did however, make me produce a lot more saliva than normal, so I spoke a lot less than I could.
I spent the first week visiting the muggle tourist places, like the Eiffel Tower, or the Notre Dame de Paris, and the Louvre Museum of Arts. It was.. an experience. At least I finally got to see the Mona Lisa!
Yeah, I wasn't impressed. It's literally a painting, an old one, but still a painting! But well, it is a part of their history, and hence, important to the French.
Then there were a few Magical places, like the Pyrenees Village, a Village near the French Pyrenees mountains, a little bit away from the Beauxbatons Academy of Magic. I obviously wasn't allowed inside, and I didn't even try, but I did roam a little bit around it.
There were many other places that I visited, by way of either portals, or by bus. Like the Palace of Versailles, or the Sacré-Cœur, and many more. I didn't stay in one place for too long, however, since I was excited to finally visit another country!
I didn't get to do that in my previous life, because I wasn't rich enough for that. And in this life, I never had the opportunity.
I suddenly stop, taking a moment to gasp out loud, and groan, realisation settling in, while in the middle of a walk. I could have literally roamed around UK, by using the Knight Bus, or my portals, or the normal buses! I could have metamorphed into an old person, who was just on the shorter side, and no one would have paid me any mind!
"Fuck! So many lost opportunities!" I mumble, and continue my walk.
I've decided, I'm going to visit the Stonehenge at least, as soon as I'm back in England. It's the most famous place I can think of right now, other than the Tintagel castle.
Of course, I have been back to England in these days, to check up on the Animagus Potion's progress. It was just a few days away from being ready, now, and a few more processes to do. After that, I'll have to keep the cooled down Potion underneath a water source that is out in the open until the next Full moon when the Animagus Ritual will take place.
Still a long way to go, however. For now, I'll roam France. Right now, I was going to visit the Magical District of France.
Rue Girardon is a street located in the district of Grandes-Carrières in the 18th arrondissement of Paris. Similarly, there's another street called the Rue Richer located in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. At the Junction of these two, under heavy protection spells hiding it from the muggles, stands a lone statue. And I was staring right at it.
The statue depicts a woman, sitting atop a pillar of granite, wearing a skirt that partially covers the pillar. Usually, and when I see her from above the stairs, the statue is still, even if anyone approaches it, it'll still be still.
But, when a magical person approaches it, as I am doing now by walking down the stairs, the statue turns her head to look at me, the magical person. And as soon as I'm near the pillar, the statue slowly slides her skirt to the side.
With no hesitation, I walk towards the pillar, and through it, like it is the pillar at King's Cross station. As I do that, the pillar becomes intangible, allowing me to pass through without any prompting from me. And just like that, I'm looking at the Magical district of France, the Place Cachée.
Okay, first things first, ~~Sly, you can come out now.~~ I say, poking at the pocket he's sleeping in, while walking leisurely, looking at sights.
Sly pokes his head out, and then sensing the magic outside, probably, he just floats completely outside my pocket. He just stays there, in the air, floating at my head level, looking at everything with fascination.
Thankfully now, he looks a damn better sight than before, although a lot bigger too. Turns out, he was just growing up, but him eating a highly magical meat, of a Basilisk, was getting in the way of his proper growth. It made his stomach bloat up, while the rest of his body stayed the same.
It took a few days of forceful fasting to bring him back to a proper ratio, and now, he was a 5 foot long snake, with a girth as wide as my own arm. The weight finally got properly distributed, and it took just two weeks to happen.
~~Where are we now?~~ Sly asks, looking around.
A woman passes us by, and shrieks at seeing Sly flying near my head. Whoops, forgot about that.
"Désolé de vous surprendre, Mademoiselle. J'ai un permis pour ça." I say, looking as sheepish as possible.
Putting my hand in my pockets, I remove a blank piece of parchment, and show it to her from afar. She looks at it, and then sighs in relief. She then scolds me in French, as she says, "You should be more careful, young man!"
And then she walks away.
Shaking my head, I put the enchanted parchment back in my pocket. It was an amazing invention of mine, made within the week that I had between buying the ticket, and leaving for France.
It shows them whatever you want them to see. If I wanted to show them a French Passport, it'll become that in their eyes, if I wanted to show them a Permit for a XXXXX Creature like the Horned Serpent, then they'll see just that. I made it especially for Sly, since I didn't want to explain to everyone why I had him, and how I can control him. And sometimes, Sly just refuses to turn invisible, no matter what I try to bribe him with.
A permit usually means that I know how to handle the snake, which makes her trust me immediately. Works like a charm, every time!
~~We, are in Paris. The same place where I showed you that tall tower?~~ I explain to Sly, as we start walking towards a cafe that I see.
Sly perks up, and asks, ~~Are we going to go there again?~~
Chuckling, I say, ~~Sure, if you want. But for now, I want to try a Magical French breakfast.~~
Sly really loved the Eiffel tower, despite having to be invisible all the time while there. Well, not like he had any troubles doing that, since his Invisibility band was still working. Don't know why he's being stubborn right now, though.
Walking inside, I'm greeted with wide eyes, and a lot of scared people. Once again, I show them the fake Permit, which makes everyone's stiff shoulders settle down. Really, too easy to gain anyone's trust, with something like this, since it can even fool most Occlumency users!
As I sit down on a two person table, I pick up the menu from the table, and read it, letting Sly join me on my shoulder once again. Finding what I want to eat today, I flag down the waiter, and wait.
"Ready to order, Mr?" The waiter asks, almost as soon as he appears before me.
I say, "I'll have the Cafe au Lait, and an omelette, please."
The waiter notes it down on a floating notepad, and leaves, leaving me to look around awkwardly. It was a nice cafe, if a bit on the smaller side. They could have added expansion charms or something.
Sly was getting some attention from a few men, and a woman, who were blatantly staring at the snake, which just makes me realize something.
There were 17 people here, only three of them women. But.. something was off. You know, Minds are in a continuous spectrum. I've said that before, even if it is a bit on the theoretical side. But this just means that I can recognise when there is someone in the same room as me, without listening to their thoughts.
But here, I could feel the presence of 13 people, not counting the 4 people working here, but I can see just 11 people. I could hear the thoughts of just 8 though, three of them having pretty good control on their loud thoughts. But the remaining two people were completely invisible to me, in sight, and in senses.
Discretely, I tap the side of my glasses, activating an Enchantment that allows me to see through most Privacy, Invisibility, and Camouflage spells. Unfortunately, even that reveals nothing. According to my glasses, the only ones here, are me, the 13 patrons, and the four Cafe workers. The two Invisibile people are still.. invisible.
I really hope they aren't going to cause trouble for me here. But, this is literally my first time here, so I don't think they're here for me.
Soon, my order comes, and I start eating, reading the newspaper that I have the waiter bring for me while eating. Well, Grindelwald was back in Germany now, having abandoned his Austrian base for a few months now.
Probably egging Hitler on, or something. I remember he had a hand in Hitler's rise, although I'm pretty sure that Hitler would have carried on with his plan even if Grindelwald was a non-issue.
Then there's the Americans. As always, believing that the entire World belongs to them. And this holds true even on the Wizarding side.
Their Auror force was raging through Germany, looking for any signs of Hitler, while another party, this one comprises of UK, France, and USA, was still looking for his Austrian base, wherever it might be.
Very few people have ever seen it, since no one that Grindelwald doesn't want knows where it is. And his prisoners? They never come back alive, not like their bodies are sent back. And since only loyal people have access to the base, it was staying hidden. They just know it's in the Alps, but by God, it'll be hard to find.
Hearing a clink, I look up to see something I didn't expect, nor see coming. An old woman was sitting opposite me, with a cup of tea, and a croissant beside it in front of her.
"Can I help you?" I ask, because what else am I supposed to say.
I don't recognise this woman, and I don't think she knows me either. Plus, I am getting nothing from her. No loud thoughts, no random memories flying away from her, nothing. It was as if her mind didn't even exist!
I didn't even see her walk towards my table, which is really creepy.
Damn, she's one of the two Invisibile people, isn't she?
The old lady smiles at me, which makes me want to trust her. I simply close my eyes, and take a deep breath to bring my mind back into focus. I am soo.. grossed out right now, I just had the thoughts of kissing an old woman, and by Gods the thought was disturbing.
A Veela. Of course, it's a Veela. Just my luck. I really hope she isn't here to match me up, or something. I'm still underage.
Opening my eyes, I glare at her, seeing her look amused, and say, "The next time you try that, I'm stabbing you."
And I am actually serious about it. I don't mind Veelas, at least not the younger ones, I think. They get better with age, at using their Allure, and this one was old. I can literally see her bones on her face, behind pale white skin, she is that old.
Contrary to my expectations, the woman laughs a loud laugh, and says, "Oh, dear. You're just breaking all my expectations, aren't you?"
"Excuse me?" I ask, noticing that she had us surrounded by a Privacy charm, one I don't recognise, nor did I feel it being cast. Her accent was also odd.
She's speaking French, and the terms are mostly modern, but the way she speaks sounds ancient, as if she's here from the 10th century or something.
The lady sips her tea, and says, "Oh, nothing dearie. Just an old woman, satisfying her curiosity. That's a Horned Serpent, right? A hybrid, from the looks of it."
I immediately pat my arm on Sly, feeling his familiar form on my shoulders, and stiffly nod. He was currently in his Cobra form, which is normal whenever he doesn't fly. But she could have seen Sly when we first walked it, or flew in, for Sly.
The lady picks a cut off piece of the croissant with her fork, and after chewing for a while, she points her fork at me. She says, "I knew it! Nicky said 'No, it can't be a hybrid, hybrids aren't this small!' hah! Take that."
This lady is a bit off in her head, isn't she? Probably a bit demented too. Although I can't deny that she's a good Witch. Her spells are too subtle. Like the babbling hex she just caught me with. Thankfully, my mind is above such spells.
Dispelling the hex she cast on me with her fork, with the snap of my wand, I ask, "Well, anything else? Or is your curiosity satisfied?"
The lady giggles, all the while continuing with her breakfast, and says, "Oh, there's loads. Nicky won't mind you stealing me from him for that long, you know."
Sighing, I ignore this Nicky for now, lean back, and say, "What should I call you? If we're going to have a conversation, I need a name to go with it."
"Call me aunt Nelly." The lady says, and before I can even react to it, she says, "Now, the parchment you showed them all before? Did you just write the Runes, or did you do something else? I have a bit of a bet going on, you see."
At the end of the question, she's practically excited. Weird lady, but well, she is old. If by muggle standards, she looks 100, then she's definitely at least 150. Plus, considering she's a Veela, add a few more decades.
I pick up my own cup of tea, take a sip, and say, "Runes, and a few charms, after soaking the parchment in-"
"-the Confundus Elixer! Amazing! And you did it yourself?" The lady interrupts me, with a lot of excitement within herself.
What's even the point? Why am I even talking with her? Other than curiosity? Was there something in my tea? No, I would have known it.
I nod, and say, "Yes."
I don't elaborate, because something's fishy here. This lady comes out of nowhere, asks me questions, and I'm just answering? There has to be some manipulation at work here, because I seem to trust her too easily.
Could her Veela charm have actually worked?
"No, it didn't. My Veela charm failed to catch hold. Don't worry, you aren't being forced to answer my questions. Really, is it so hard to believe that I have no other motive than curiosity?" The lady says, making me even more suspicious now.
I point out, "That's exactly what a person with an ulterior motive would say."
I don't feel threatened by her, but that's just making me more suspicious. Am I too paranoid? Probably, but I think it's a good thing.
The lady chuckles, and says, "Very well, I give you my word, that you can leave if you want to. Please, try. I won't stop you from leaving, and I won't attack you in a place such as this, you know. I'm just.. curious."
I decide to do just that, and stand up to leave. As soon as I exit the privacy ward, the lady becomes invisible once again, and I hear a loud cacophony of noise, from the other patrons. Sighing, I take a step forward, and re-enter the warded are.
"Fine, I believe you." I say, as soon as her smiling face comes back into sight.
The lady claps her hands, and says, "Wonderful! You just won me a bet!" She then leans forward, and asks, "How old are you?"
"25" I immediately answer, having gotten used to being Harrison Evans in France.
The lady clicks her tongue, and asks, "No, I mean your true age. How old are you? I don't mean to ask the age of your face."
What. The. Fuck.
Never before, has someone seen through my Metamorphmagic. Never. I don't think she can see my face, but she probably knows that there's something hiding my true face.
Swallowing, more than a little afraid, but a lot more curious, I amswer, "15. Why?"
You know, I confess, my curiosity will most probably kill me one day. Damn my Ravenclaw tendencies.
"Oh." The lady, aunty Nelly says, and then shakes her head. She mumbles, "I thought you'd be younger. Artefact creation, at 15, while impressive, is not too surprising."
"Excuse me?"
"Oh, don't mind me. I mean, I have seen a lot of people who created something unique for themselves, at 13,14,15 years of age. Artefacts are rare, their creators rarer. But 15 is just about right time for you to start learning." She says, and goes back to her tea.
Frowning, and more than a little insulted, I say, "Excuse me if I didn't have artefact creation as an elective for first year! Impressive or not, I don't care, I created all of my artefacts within a week at most!"
"..."
"..."
"..."
~~Psst. She tricked you.~~ Sly helpfully says, like I didn't notice that.
"Ah, you just had the moment didn't you? Where you found out you were tricked? Always a treat to see." She sighs in satisfaction, and adds, "But well, it is impressive. Your Rune work is solid, from the looks of it, and you have an amazing understanding of the Mind, judging by how you're able to affect them. You also felt us when you walked in, right? I'm assuming you're still in school?"
I shake my head, honestly impressed by her, and disappointed by myself. I really hate how much I'm trusting her right now.
I say, "I passed my NEWTs this year, got a special leave for it." And immediately curse myself. Fuck! There's definitely something fishy here! Another babbling hex? Or some type of subtle ward that makes you trust the person.
The lady nods, and then her eyes widen, as if they gain an understanding. Damn, she knows about me, doesn't she? Not like the papers kept it any secret, even the French papers had it, a week after the results were declared.
"Ah, the Aves. No wonder they allowed you to give your exams. You're good at magic, aren't you?" The lady says, stroking my ego with a smile on her face.
Not falling for it again.
I say, "I know some stuff."
She scoffs, and asks, "I read the reports, child. But, you know a lot more than even that it seems. Your gift with languages, or Artefact creation was not on the report, discounting the Shield ring that you made. But that's more of an Enchantment than an Artefact. Neither was the fact that you own a Horned Serpent."
I nod, but stay silent. I wonder who this is, and what she wants. My curiosity is.. fading now, and I just want to get the hell out of here. She creeps me out, despite looking like she'll die soon.
"Well, I will be sure to keep an eye on your progress, Mr Aves. I won't disturb you any longer. Take care of your little friend, hm? Horned Serpents are really rare, and they're really hard to find mates for." Saying that, she just… disappears.
Sly flicks his tongue a few times, and says, ~~She's.. gone.~~
I nod, trusting my own senses over Sly's. She's definitely not here anymore, and neither is the other invisible person. It's like she was here one moment, and gone the next.
Hopefully, I won't have to ever see her again. She looked old enough to die in the next five minutes, so hoping for the best.
~~Was she a pervert?~~ Sly asks, as we walk out of the Cafe.
I shrug, and say, ~~Probably not. She was just plain creepy, that's all.~~
She literally emitted an aura that said "trust me" which made me switch between trusting her, and not trusting her at all. Really, everything about her was creepy.
From the way she just appeared and disappeared, to the way she already knew so much about my projects. And she spoke about a Report? What was that about?
Well, I'm guessing I'll find out soon enough. That looked like a recruitment interview, although she definitely didn't know who I was before, that's for sure.
I'm just glad to be away from her.
-
Soon, I return back to Britain, and to my lovely new house in Islington, the woman in France at the back of my mind. I'd hired a few local teenagers to move some furniture to the house yesterday, to get some good reputation.
They got money, and free food for the two days, and I got my furniture set up, all the while looking like a posh rich man, and making a reputation as him. And then, after setting a few warning charms, along with a few basic wards, I returned to the Orphanage.
I'd told Sister Agnes about my trip, but she thought I was gone in a bus trip around England. Who was I to correct her? And I did plan a trip around England anyway, so I wasn't exactly lying.
Now, a couple weeks after my visit to France, and the creepy encounter with whom I think is the wife of the immortal alchemist, I was back in the chamber of Secrets, waiting for a Patronus from the girls.
The Animagus Potion was ready, finally, and we were going to drop our leaves in it now. As soon as the girls show up, that is.
"What do you think your forms will be?" Helena asks, floating around the chamber.
I shrug, turn the page of the book I was reading, and say, "Probably some snake, or a bird. I'm leaning towards owls, bird of Wisdom and all that."
Helena chuckles, and says, "Yes, I think an owl will suit you. You'll finally manage to fly on your own though, won't you?"
I scowl at her, for reminding me of that failure. I was trying, but other than casting Runes on my clothes, all of them, I hadn't found anything to allow me flight. It was embarrassing.
I say, "Shut up. I'll figure it out, you'll see."
And I will, soon enough. But first, let's become Animagus.
It was as I was reading the part in the book about the actual Animagus Ritual, which is still about a month away, that the expected happens. A white spiritual lioness phases in through the wall, stops in front of me, and says, "We're here."
The voice that spoke it, was Dorea's. At least they're learning how to send messages with the Patronus charm, finally.
Getting up, I keep the book back on the shelf, turn towards Helena, who herself was reading a book, and say, "Well, you can stay here if you want. I'll be entertaining my friends down in the Chamber."
Helena nods, and says, "Be careful not to be seen by anyone. If anyone finds out that you lurk around here, they can cause troubles."
Don't I know it. But, I have some methods of staying out of sight.
~~Speak to me, Slytherin! Greatest of the Hogwarts Four!~~ I say, once I'm in the main chamber, and in front of Salazar's statue.
Walking in, I see Sly resting on one of the Rocks, and leaving him be, keep walking. I'd found, that of the many tunnels here, two led to the outskirts of the castle. One came out right in the forest, while the other came out in a cave that's a little bit away from here.
I had told the girls to wait near the Three Broomsticks, from where I was going to bring them here, via the cave. Thankfully, I'd asked them to bring their brooms, because this road is a long one.
"Hey! What happened to the giant dead snake?" Ana asks, as soon as we return to the Chamber.
Huh, they haven't been here for so long? I hid it months ago!
"Sly kept on eating it, a lot. He basically became bloated, and I had to hide the corpse. It's.. safe." I say, not saying where it is. It's better that way. Less chances of Sly finding it that way, bloody glutton.
I then say, "Anyway, we're not here for the Basilisk, but for the Potion. Follow me, ladies. You can keep your brooms on the side there."
The journey here, with brooms, still took us 10 whole minutes, and we were already a bit tired. Thankfully, the Potion wasn't that far away. It was in the main chamber itself, hidden behind a pillar. So, not exactly hidden.
Soon, I divide the golden yellow potion into four vials, one for each of us. Then, with the wave of a hand, I write our names on each of the vials, and start handing them out to the respective person.
I say, "Now, slowly dip the leaf in, and then let it go. Don't drop it all at once. Like so."
Saying that, I remove the leaf from my mouth, still wet from the saliva, and slowly sink it into the liquid. The leaf, instead of floating above the surface, starts sinking to the bottom of the vial, and stays there.
Dorea, Ana, and Darla do the same, and then hand me the vials. Putting the rubber cork on them, I say, "Well, that's done. Now, just have to keep them in an open lake, out on the surface, that is at least 50 meters deep."
Darla asks, "How long do we have to keep it there?"
"Until the next Lunar Eclipse, which is in December. So, a long, long time." I say, remembering that the Total Lunar Eclipse happened back in January, and a partial Lunar eclipse happened last month, in July. Meh, doesn't hurt, having to wait too long.
"So, we just have to wait? That's.. boring. I was hoping for some excitement today." Dorea says, pouting.
"Well, we can practice our magic, if you want. I'll just be gone for 10 minutes, have to keep these underwater," I raise the vials as emphasis, and add, "or we can practice our Occlumency."
Dorea scowls, and says, "No thanks. I'd rather not do any studying in the Summer. It's summer!"
"We'll just have a girls day out then, why don't we? Mason can do whatever he wants, and we'll have a short trip to London!" Ana offers, already having one supporter in the form of Darla.
Darla exclaims, "Yes! Let's go to London, I'll show you good places to go to!" And holds Ana's hand.
Smiling in amusement, I start leading them back through the caves, once again atop our brooms. I could have just brought the Potion outside, but the Potion shouldn't see the light of day from the moment the process begins, to the moment you drink it. And the Chamber, even if well lit, is still not the 'light of day.'
Now, to find a lake suitable and secure enough for this. Don't want some treasure hunter finding and running off with the Potions.
And then, it's a few months of break. Ah, finally I can tackle flight.
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A/N: About 5-7 more chapters before WW2 starts! Excited to write about it! Short time skips are annoying, so I'll finally get to write actual plot!
Thanks for your support!
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