Chapter 37: The Ball (II)
Destiny walked down one of the busiest Magical alleys in Hungary, right now, the alley was almost empty. Only a few shady people could be seen slinking through the alley from time to time… Even though Destiny had Human Transfiguration to disguise herself, she was still a Witch, so she was continuously getting lustful looks from the people.
None of the people had dared to make a move, but Destiny was sure that it was about time someone made a move… That was exactly what Destiny was waiting for. Destiny needed some information before heading off to wherever the dragons were and if someone decided to volunteer themselves to provide her with the information she needed, then who was she to complain?
Destiny didn't need to wait that long for the opportunity to present itself… Destiny almost ended up cackling…
"Well, well, well… What do we have here, guys?" A man appeared in front of Destiny with a lecherous grin on his face. Moments later, two more men appeared just behind the first man with similar types of grins on their faces. The situation was so cliché that Destiny didn't even know if she should laugh or cry…
"That would a Witch, you dimwit" Destiny answered dryly, surprising the men standing in front of her. The man at the front, who was possibly the ring leader, licked his lips in amusement.
"Oooohh… You are a feisty one, aren't you? I love feisty women" The man gazed at Destiny hungrily and even though Destiny was using a disguise, she felt that it was about time she ended this. She could no longer handle the fact that these men were eye-banging her.
"I see… Then I hope you don't mind" Destiny droned with a bored look on his face and before any of the men could react, they found Destiny pointing her Wand at them. "Crucio!" Destiny sneered and the man leading the trio, slumped down on the ground while screaming at the top of his lungs. For a moment, the two men standing behind the Leader did not understand what was happening, but when they finally did, they whipped out their Wands without wasting any time and pointed in at Destiny.
Meanwhile, the others, who were watching the whole scene from the sidelines quickly scampered away as they knew that the whole incident was going to become messy. There might be some worst Curses than the Unforgivables like the Organ Melting Curse, Skin Melting Curse, Flaying Curse, Entrails Expelling Curse, and so on, but the Unforgiveable Curses were special in a different way… The Unforgivables were feared by the Wizarding Population all around the world.
Right now, Spain was the only country where the Unforgivables were completely legal. While the others were running away, Destiny was fending off the two lackeys with extreme ease… The two of them couldn't believe how easily the woman was handling the two of them at the same time. The Leader was still lying on the ground, breathing heavily… This was the first time he had experienced the Cruciatus Curse and his body was still trembling and spasming from the after-effects of the Curse.
"You see… I am in a bit of a hurry, and I am also bored of your pathetic attempts of subduing me" Destiny deadpanned, and just as she finished speaking, she stunned both of them after disarming them. She stared at their Wands for a moment before she tossed them a few feet away from the two of them. Now that she was done with the Lackeys, she turned toward the Leader, who was trying to crawl away from Destiny.
That man had also noticed that his lackeys had been defeated and he knew that he could not win against this Witch, especially in his current condition, now that he couldn't even move a bit without trembling or wincing in pain. "Where the fuck do you think you are going?" Destiny asked haughtily as she arrived beside the man.
The man slowly raised his head to look at Destiny. He knew that his only option was begging… He could try Apparating and it might work too, but there was a good chance that he might end up Splinching in his current condition. He also wasn't carrying any other weapons like a dagger or anything, so there was not much he could do. He could always beg and it might end up working. After all, he did not have any other options, and begging was better than doing nothing…
"Please… Please… forgive me… I did not…" The man started to beg as he did not want to die… The woman had spared two of his lackeys, so there was a chance that she would spare him too.
"Oh… shut up" Before the man could continue, Destiny silenced the man with an irritated look on her face. "That's a lot better" Destiny nodded her head in satisfaction. After that, without wasting any more time, she entered the man's mind. She did even need to use the incantation as she did not feel it would be necessary.
It only took her a few minutes to gather all the information she wanted… The man was a part of a slave-trading group and their group was also a part of the Magical and Non-Magical Beast smuggling ring, so they had a lot of information about dragons. Unfortunately, even their group never dealt with a Hungarian Horntail, but fortunately, they knew where the Horntails lived in the mountains. After all, they needed to stay clear of the Horntails…
Now that Destiny had the information she needed, she pulled herself out of his mind. "Since you helped me, I won't be killing you" Destiny said with a grin and the man would have felt delighted after hearing her words if his head wasn't throbbing in pain. "Obliviate!" The man's eyes grew wide when he heard those words, but it was already too late… There was nothing he could do to stop the incoming Spell…
After removing the man's memories of their encounter, Destiny made her way toward the lackeys. Without wasting any time, she removed their memories too. Destiny would have preferred to kill them, but it was simply going to increase the security around the country… There was still a high chance that nobody had informed the Aurors, but if she killed them then the Aurors were going to be all over the case and the security around the country would be tightened…
Even though the chances were quite low, there was still a chance that someone might have informed the Aurors about her use of the Cruciatus Curse, so she decided not to linger around anymore, especially now that her task was complete…
After Apparating at some random locations for a couple of minutes, Destiny finally arrived in front of a Muggle hotel. She would be a fool if she allowed anyone to track her down… Destiny decided to spend the night in a hotel so that she could start the hunt, completely refreshed. She had a long day and it would be suicide if she tried to hunt down a Hungarian Horntail at night. After getting a room key from the counter, she made her way toward the room after paying the money.
The hotel Destiny had selected to stay at for the night was one of the better ones, so the room was quite big and luxurious. As soon as she entered the room, Destiny directly threw herself at the bed… After a few moments, Destiny released a loud muffled groan, and then she slowly rolled herself on the bed so that she would be facing the ceiling while her back was resting on the bed. Moments later, her whole visage started to transform as she reverted to her original form…
Even though she showered only an hour ago, she decided to take a long bath before sleeping… Well, there was still some time and she was a Witch, so she didn't need to worry about cold water, so Destiny decided to rest for a bit before leaving the bed to take a bath… There were a lot of things Destiny was worried about, but her mind slowly started to drift toward the Ball… Only if the Order of Light didn't exist, then she would have the support of the Rosier Family too…
<Line Break>
~~FLASHBACK~~
Sirius Black walked up to the balcony followed by Claiborne, Dorothy, Imogen, Fredrick, and Jasper. Destiny watched the whole group from a distance along with Ambika and Cassiopeia. A lot of people were gathered on the first floor too, and all of them were already paying attention to Sirius. Sirius slowly raised his glass in the air and tapped the glass with his Wand.
*Ting* *Ting* *Ting*
Several Tinging noises rang throughout the ballroom, gathering everyone's attention. Everyone present turned toward Sirius. Everyone guessed, that it was probably the time to introduce the newly Bone Family. After all, Lord Black has arranged the ball in honour of the newly established Bone Family.
Even though the Bone Family won't be considered a Pureblood Family, especially with the three-generation rule, Lord Black has basically announced that the Bone Family was under his protection… One of the remaining Most Ancient and Noble House in Magical Britain. The House of Black has a huge standing in the British Magical community, so nobody was going to dare to insult the members of the Bone Family or the House as a whole…
"Now that I have all of your attention, let me introduce all of you to the guest of Honors of this small gathering…" Sirius started to speak with a soft smile on his face. "The Bones Family had been traditionally a part of the Dark Faction since the beginning, but such a long tradition changed after the new Lord Black took the mantle… A lot of you already know what was happening in reality, and I won't bring up such topics to ruin the mood…" Sirius took a small pause and turned around toward Imogen, Fredrick, and Jasper.
"Recently, something changed… They finally decided to establish a new Family, a new House. Now, let me introduce you to the members of House of Bone… Imogen Bone, Fredrick Bone, and Jasper Bone! Please give a big hand of applause for them!!" Sirius smiled brightly as he gestured toward Imogen, Fredrick, and Jasper. Everyone attending the Ball started to clap. Even the staunchest Pureblood supremacists started to calp as House of Black was hosting the House of Bone.
"Now, as Lord Black, the Lord of one of the Most Ancient and Nobles houses, let me welcome the House of Bone to our circle!!" Sirius loudly exclaimed and cheering increased. Imogen flushed slightly, just like Fredrick and Jasper. This was the first time the three of them were receiving so much attention. After all, even though they were a part of the Pureblood Family, they did not have any power because they were being oppressed by Lord Bones. So, now that everyone was paying attention to them, they were feeling kind of embarrassed.
Imogen was the one who was having the hardest time… She knew that now that she was introduced to the Pureblood circle and she was going to start receiving a lot of Marriage Proposals, especially now that she was no longer being oppressed by Lord Bones, but something was worrying her. She was already 26… Some Witches at her age were already mothers and almost all the Witches at her age her married for quite a few years…
Now, she was not only going to receive a lot of Marriage Proposals from old bastards, but they were also going to ask for a lot of dowries since she was no longer younger than 20. In Magical Britain, most of the Pureblood Witches were put into a Betrothal Contract just after finishing their OWLs and they were to be married by the time they passed their NEWTs or at most, they turned 19. She didn't hate the fact that she was going to receive a lot of Marriage Proposals, she hated the fact that she was going to receive Marriage Proposals from old bastards.
Even though Lord Black has announced that the House of Bone was under the protection of the House of Black, none of them were going to try to send her a Marriage Proposal for their Heir… If she was young, then it would have been a completely different matter. She would have at least received a Concubine Contract from the Heirs of respectable Pureblood families. Imogen could only shake her head in irritation…
After a whole minute, the applause finally stopped. "Now as the host of this small gathering, I would like to thank all of you for attending this small celebration in honour of the newly established House of Bone. Now that all the pleasantries are over, I would ask all of you to enjoy yourselves!" Sirius declared and another round of applause rang throughout the ballroom. Sirius simply smiled and waved his hand as he walked away from the balcony followed by Imogen, Fredrick, Jasper, Claiborne, and Dorothy…
"Milady, would you care for a dance?" Imogen was brought out of her musings when she heard a feminine voice. She turned toward the direction where the voice came from only to find Destiny Grindelwald smiling at her. The older Witch blushed as she finally realized that Destiny had asked for a dance. Imogen slowly looked down at Destiny's offered hand, After a few moments, she glanced toward her father and Lord Black to see their reactions. Claiborne was looking quite uncomfortable, but Lord Black was beaming at her with a bright smile on his face.
Imogen did not know what to do, so after thinking a lot, she gulped loudly and accepted Destiny's hand. Most of the time, Imogen was a crass, rude, and headstrong woman, she did not know how Destiny Grindelwald turned her into a blushing and stuttering mess. For Merlin's sake, she didn't even know that she was into women until now and now Destiny was making her feel like a hormonal teenager…
Destiny expertly led Imogen to the dance floor. Even though their standing wasn't that high in society due to the oppression of Lord Bones, Imogen had been taught how to dance by her mother. Imogen stopped caring bout all of that after Lord Bones stopped her from getting married… Imogen flushed brightly as Destiny slipped her arm around Imogen's waist and pulled her closer…
Imogen blushed brightly, but she didn't struggle or try to push away Destiny. If Imogen was being honest, she liked the feeling of being held close to Destiny. If Imogen didn't know any better, then she would have been sure that Destiny had bewitched her, but when she saw Destiny the first time, Imogen thought that Destiny was quite beautiful, but at that time, she failed to discover that she was into women. Only today did she finally realize that she was into women and the realization hit her like a ton of bricks…
Destiny started to twirl around with Imogen with a soft smile on her face… Imogen finally glanced around to see how the others were reacting. Imogen couldn't help but frown internally when she noticed several people were sneering at them, while some others were simply ignoring them. "Don't worry about them, they can sneer all they want, but I will make them fall in line" Destiny said, breaking Imogen out of her thoughts.
Imogen's eyes grew wide in surprise. She started to wonder if Destiny was using Legilimency on her. "I am not using Legilimency on you if you are wondering…" Destiny muttered softly as she continued to dance with Imogen.
The older Witch's eyes grew even wider as several questions sprang into her mind. "Then how did you know what was I thinking?" Imogen asked suspiciously as she stared at Destiny accusingly and instead of feeling insulted, Destiny simply grinned.
"It was pretty clear what you were thinking… I will have you know, I have been practising Legilimency on people since I was 11. So, I can easily read people, especially when they are wearing their expressions on their sleeve" Destiny grinned and Imogen did not know if she should feel awed or feel insulted. Destiny accused her of her wearing her expressions on the sleeve and now that she thought about it, Destiny might be right.
Unlike Fredrick or her father, she was a Ravenclaw and they were good at hiding behind a mask, but they weren't good like the Slytherins. "I admit, it might have been my fault, but were you really practising Legilimency when you were 11. I didn't even start learning Occlumency until I was 15 and let's not talk about Legilimency" Imogen gushed out in awe. Now that Imogen realized that Destiny did not insult her, she decided to be awed by the fact that Destiny was learning Legilimency when she was only 11.
"Yes, Gellert decided I was old enough to learn Occlumency after I turned 11 and that is when I also started to learn Legilimency since the two of them go in hand in hand…" Destiny shrugged, She knew it wasn't common to learn either of them at the age of 11, but she honestly didn't think it was anything special. In fact, she found Blood Magic more special than anything else…
"I didn't know that, but I still it is kind of amazing" Imogen said, looking kind of impressed. "But how were you practising Legilimency, I mean, you need a target, right?" Imogen asked, she was really interested to know if Destiny practised Legilimency of Gellert Grindelwald or not.
"I usually practised on Muggles, and sometimes I practised on Gellert whenever he had some time to spare. When I was 11 he was still busy with Dueling Tournaments" Destiny explained dismissively and Imogen's eyes grew wide when she heard that Destiny practised Legilimency on Muggles. Only a small mistake could turn out to be fatal when it came to Muggles.
After all, they did not have any Magic to protect themselves, so practising Legilimency on them was quite easy, but a small mental injury could be fatal for them since they didn't have Magic to strengthen their mind… Imogen opened her mouth to say something, but she closed her mouth with a snap when she finally realized that she was going to ask a stupid question. She had seen how Destiny treated Muggles, so it would be surprising if Destiny cared about their mental health…
As a Pureblood Witch from a traditionally Dark Family, she had always looked down on Muggles, but she could never kill them as easily as Destiny. It wasn't about power… It was about mental fortitude… She didn't mind using the dead bodies to practice her Family Magic, but she could never bring herself to murder anyone. It might be different if it was a matter of life and death, but Destiny it was completely different. It was pretty clear that Destiny never considered them as humans…
"What's on your mind? Are you not enjoying the dance?" Destiny's questions broke her out of her thoughts.
Imogen immediately shook her head. "It is nothing like that… I am having a lot of fun" Imogen hurriedly blurted out, not wanting to anger Destiny, but when she finally realized what she had said, her cheeks lit up with a small blush. "I was simply wondering how different our childhoods were" Imogen tried to change the topic. It wasn't the truth, but it wasn't a complete lie… Something must have happened to Destiny to make her hate the Muggles with such intensity…
"Ah… Yes, our childhoods were very different" Destiny admitted with a nod of her head. Even though Imogen's family was poor and oppressed, she still had her parents to take care of her. Imogen was able to eat without worrying about getting caught and getting a beating. When Destiny was six, she was busy looking for food inside dumpsters… Well, technically they didn't have dumpsters in her village, but they did have some pits where everyone threw the thrash… Those pits were her main food source…
Everything changed after she was saved by Gellert, but she would never forget the life she had lived before she was saved by Gellert. She might have been extremely young, but she was an Occlumen, so she remembered everything in extreme clarity. She didn't remember her memories of her parents. Destiny guessed that her brain hasn't matured enough to understand or remember anything when her parents had abandoned her or she actually dropped from the sky…
"When I was six I was already travelling around the world with Gellert. I was only six when I received my first Wand" Destiny muttered with a soft smile on her face while reminiscing about one of her fond memories.
"You got your first Wand when you were six?" Imogen asked with a bewildered look on her face. She knew that Destiny probably wasn't lying to her. If she didn't know about Destiny's true identity, then she would have felt that Destiny was making it up, but Destiny did not have any reason to die.
"Yes, at first, Gellert gave me one of his Wands, but it wasn't a good fit, but I could still perform Magic with it, but I could never reach my full potential with it. So, he decided to get me one from China… It is not widely known, but someone can get Wands for children from China" Destiny explained with a smile. Sometimes, she still remembered all those times. To be honest, she missed those times…
"The Magical Society of China is also affiliated with ICW, so how can they sell Wands to children?" Imogen asked with a confused look on her face as she inclined her head in confusion.
Destiny simply smiled at Imogen. 'Ravenclaw indeed, so curious'. "Well, technically they are the part of Asian Federation of Magic, and AFM is affiliated with the ICW, but I get what you are saying. The Wands they are selling to the children and crafted differently. They are made from second-class materials and their integrity is also very weak. They are specifically designed to break or shatter under pressure…" Destiny explained with a thoughtful look on her face. She needed to find the correct words to explain…
"Oh… That is quite amazing and what is the limit of Magic you could perform with those Wands?" Imogen gushed out excitedly with stars in her eyes.
"Not much, just simple Magic… It failed when I tried to cast the Blood Boiling Curse" Destiny revealed nonchalantly, making Imogen freeze for a second. Destiny just said that she was practising Blood Magic with her training Wand, which meant that she was learning Blood Magic even before she turned 11.
"Ohh… So, how did you get around it?" Imogen asked as she gulped nervously.
Destiny simply smirked because she could feel what Imogen was thinking, but no matter what, Destiny was never going to reveal anything about the Deathly Hallows. "He gave me the Wand I have started practising Magic with. It wasn't a good match, but it was still a good enough match to let me practice Magic" Destiny shrugged dismissively.
"So, you were learning Blood Magic since you were younger than…" Imogen began to speak, but she was interrupted by Destiny.
"7, I was 7 when I started to learn and practice Blood Magic" Destiny clarified and Imogen finally froze. Destiny decided that she had danced enough, for now, so she decided to take a break. She also needed to dance with Cassiopeia and Ambika, it would be her loss if she didn't, especially when the two of them were looking extremely fetching.
"How about we take a break, Imogen?" Destiny suggested softly as she looked down at Imogen. Destiny was 4" feet taller even without her heels, but now that she was wearing 6" heels, she looked even taller. Destiny could wear 6" heels if she wanted, but she felt that 4" heels were the best for her.
"Yes, of course" Imogen nodded her head. "…Um… You know Blood Magic is extremely dangerous, right?" Imogen asked in concern and Destiny simply hummed in confirmation.
"Don't worry, my dear. I know all the risks entailed" Destiny grinned as she finally led Imogen off the dance floor.
"...Can you teach me a bit of Blood Magic?" All of a sudden Imogen asked as Destiny led her toward the seats.
Destiny simply raised her brows as she glanced at Imogen from the corner of her eyes. "Hmm… it is fine with me. Tell me what you want to learn" Destiny asked as she pulled back a seat for Imogen to seat. Imogen understood what Destiny was trying to do, and to be honest, Imogen didn't mind. Destiny was trying to assert her position in the relationship if she decided to pursue a relationship with Destiny in the future…
There is no way that Imogen could decide something like this out of the blue… Same-sex relationships weren't anything uncommon in the Magical World, but all same-sex relationships took place behind closed doors… Imogen did not know if her attraction toward Destiny was a one-time thing or not, but she couldn't risk anything since they were a newly established House and the repercussions would be lethal for her House if she decided to openly pursue a relationship with Destiny. A single dance in a Ball wouldn't mean anything in the long run…
"So, what do you want to learn, after all, Blood Magic is a branch of Magic?" Destiny asked as she sat down right beside Imogen. Before Imogen can give an answer, Destiny summoned a house-elf to get drinks for herself and Imogen. The house-elf popped away and moments later, a tumblr filled with firewhiskey and a glass filled with wine appeared on the table before them. Destiny grabbed the tumblr and extended the wine glass toward Imogen.
Imogen accepted the glass with a grateful nod. Imogen took a small sip from the glass and then she raised her brows in Destiny's direction when she saw Destiny taking a large sip from her glass. "Are you sure you will be fine?" Imogen asked in a slightly worried tone. Imogen knew the real reason why Lord Black has arranged the Ball, so if Destiny ended up getting too tipsy, then it would be a bad thing…
Destiny simply smirked. "You don't need to worry, I can handle my drinks" Destiny dismissed Imogen's worries.
"Yes, she is an alcoholic, you shouldn't worry about her" Ambika added as she decided to sit down at the other side of the table followed by Cassiopeia. The green-eyed Witch had an annoyed look on her face while Ambika had an amused look on her face. Destiny started to wonder what might have happened, but she was sure that whatever it was, it would be somewhat amusing…
"I detest that! I am not an alcoholic! I can handle my alcohol, that doesn't make me an alcoholic!" Destiny retorted with a scowl on her face. "By the way, what happened to you, Cassi?" Destiny asked in an amused tone.
Cassiopeia growled as she made a sort of unintelligible noise. "Sorry, I didn't get that!" Destiny added with an amused grin on her face.
"It is not funny!!" Cassiopeia growled menacingly, but it would have worked if she was anywhere strong like Destiny, but unfortunately, she wasn't. So, she only ended up making Ambika and Destiny snicker in amusement. Cassiopeia at the two of them and huffed. "If you were at my place then the two of you wouldn't be snickering!" Cassiopeia snarked heatedly. Imogen decided not to show any reactions. After all, she had no idea what happened and her status wasn't high like either Ambika or Destiny, so she couldn't simply laugh at Cassiopeia's plight…
"I don't even know what happened" Destiny reminded Cassiopeia as she snapped her fingers to raise a couple of Privacy Wards. She did not want anyone eavesdropping on their conversation.
"Well, nothing serious happened. One of her friends decided to show up with a rich fiancé… She wanted to show off her fiancé while making everyone jealous. Well, she succeeded" Ambika explained with an amused grin on her face.
Cassiopeia's eyes grew wide in shock… She immediately looked toward Destiny, the way Ambika explained the whole ordeal, it could easily give Destiny the wrong idea. "No… I am not jealous!! I am angry over the fact that she dared to mock me by calling the Cursed Bride" Cassiopeia hurriedly clarified the reason she was irritated.
"Ah… Well, she wasn't wrong. Unfortunately, they did die…" Destiny muttered with a grin. Destiny knew for sure that Cassiopeia wasn't into men, so she wasn't worried and if Cassiopeia had already agreed to enter a Betrothal Contract with her. If the green-eyed Witch did back out from entering the Contract, then it would be Cassiopeia's loss…
"Ohh… Well, you will be able to show me off after we succeed in enslaving the Muggles. I bet, you will love the look on her face when that happens" Destiny decided to comfort Cassiopeia with a small smile on her face as she took a small sip from her glass. Cassiopeia grinned maliciously as she nodded her head.
"By the way, you never answered my question, but I suppose I can't blame you. We were kind of interrupted" Destiny grumbled as she gave Ambika and Cassiopeia a stink eye. Imogen wasn't expecting Destiny to remember what they were talking about since Ambika and Cassiopeia interrupted the chat.
"Well, I already have the Spells. The book is a part of our Family Magicks, but the book was kind of forgotten. It is important that I learn those Spells if I want to progress in our Family Magic" Imogen said while glancing around. She knew that Destiny had applied Privacy Wards, but she still wanted to be safe…
"You want me to teach you Blood Magic that belonged to your Family… Is that right?" Destiny asked incredulously. The Pureblood Families protected their Family Magic like their life depended on it… Just taking the Gaunts for example… Their whole line was destroyed, but they never gave away their Family Magicks...
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