Chapter 37: 37 Hospital and First Customer
"...to St. Mungo's today?" Healer Reynolds finished her sentence, taking a seat across from Lucas and giving him an encouraging nod.
They began to talk about a story Lucas had made up, in the meantime his second brain focused on her mind. He clearly felt her Occlumency, which easily outclassed most wizards and witches he had come into contact. Nothing too unexpected for a witch, who lived through the reign of Voldemort and possibly Grindelwald's as well, but he now had to be very careful.
As Lucas focused his Legilimency on Healer Reynolds, he found himself in a vast, ethereal space that mirrored the healer's calm and composed demeanor, completely different from the normal architecture. Instead of the house he was standing on the shore of a vast, yet calm lake, shimmering in shades of teal and gold. Around the body of water were large and sturdy looking oak trees as far as the eye could see. The sky was dotted with stars in the same colours as the lake. His own body was only faintly visible and could easily be disregarded as an illusion.
Lucas bent over the water looking at what would normally show his reflection, instead there was nothing. Whatever was inside was hidden by the same teal and gold that made this scenery so mind-bogglingly beautiful.
He extended his Legilimency gently, attempting to feel the texture of the mental defenses, wherever they might be hidden. Like hovering a hand above the stove top to ascertain whether it was turned on, he probed the surface, encountering subtle mechanisms that hinted at the intricate Occlumency wards in place. The colors responded dynamically, forming patterns that seemed to resist intrusion.
'Now this is what I would call Occlumency.'
Her mind arts were more than just a simple shield, they were the product of all her creativity and ingenuity and he had to give it to her, it was impressive.
Lucas, undeterred by the complexities of the lake's defenses, decided to shift his focus to something else, as he continued his careful exploration. His Legilimency gently brushed past the trees and he could feel an almost inconspicuous amount of magic radiating from them.
As he concentrated on the small imperfection of the landscape around him, he became aware of a soft hum in the air, like a distant melody of a soothing song. Upon closer inspection the sound's origin turned out to be the stars in the sky, which gave off a distinct sense of danger.
'Truly magnificent. She managed to turn everything into traps. All while hiding her actual mind.'
After carefully venturing through the forest, without touching or stepping on anything that could reveal his presence, he eventually came to a halt in front of the same darkness he had grown familiar with.
'This could proof harder than I expected.'
It was his first mind with, what he considered, actual defences. The ones back in Knockturn Alley were nothing more than child's play compared to this.
'Is this what a master Occlumens' shield should look like? Because Ron's was fucking awful, not much different from none at all. Does Harry's look more like his friend's or like her's?'
Lucas walked back to the lake and closely inspected the ever-moving specks of teal and gold, it was the only remaining place where her actual mind could reside. To the normal mind the pattern of the colours seemed completely random and erratic, but not to him. Over the time it took to slowly saturate the air with his magic, the rythm of the lake's mechanism became clearer and clearer.
'It's similar to blood!' was what Lucas concluded from his observation. In this analogy the gold was the oxygenated blood and the teal was the deoxygenated. They flowed crisscross in a complex pattern, but never mixed.
'If it's really like the blood system, then her house is most likely the heart.'
Unfortunately before he could explore more, the conversation in the real world had come to an end. Nothing to fret about, he had the whole summer in front of him and he wouldn't say it was completely pointless. At least now he had a better idea of how stronger wizard's minds could look like.
----
In the dimly lit streets of Diagon Alley, where magical shops nestled against each other like old friends, there walked a wizard on the brink of desperation. The name on his tattered robe read "Erasmus Thorne," but lately, his peers had taken to calling him "Erratic Erasmus" or "Mad Erasmus" due to the disheveled appearance he wore like a second skin. The exhaustion and hatred etched into his face was not a new addition, it had become a constant companion in his quest for a unique enchanted weapon, one that seemed to elude him at every turn.
Erasmus had scoured every reputable enchanting shop in magical London, he even visited the illustrious Ollivanders in his desperation, even though he knew that the old wandmaker didn't specialise in anything but wands. Yet, regardless how hard he searched, the specific object he sought remained elusive, as if it were a secret the magical world had conspired to keep from him, just like the events that brought him into this situation in the first place. His need was desperate, he must find it. There was no other option.
With each door that closed in his face, Erasmus' hair grew wilder, and his eyes carried the anger burning deep in his heart. Then, one day, while trudging through Diagon Alley, he saw it, a peculiar cart tucked between two established shops, its appearance almost whimsical against the backdrop of more traditional establishments. He had never seen it and also never heard of a shop like this. Additionally, it didn't look like it was trustworthy, yet he was strangely drawn to it, whether that was his exhaustion or desperation he didn't know.
Erasmus approached the cart with wary eyes, while inspecting it for anything that could hint at its purpose. No grand displays or flickering magical lights were visible, just a simple, unassuming wooden cart with a sign that read "Enchantments. As long as you can imagine it, we can make it."
With hesitation and distrust, his weary eyes scanning the modest excuse of a shop. A thousand doubts crossed his mind. Was this just another dead-end? A lunatic, who overestimated his or her abilities, preying on the desperate? Or could this be the answer he had been chasing after for so long?
*pop*
With the usual sound of an Apparition a neatly clothed house elf appeared in front of him. "What can this one do for you, sir?"
Erasmus was startled, not expecting the sudden appearance of the house elf. He looked at the small creature, his skepticism deepening. "What is this place? What kind of enchantments do you offer?"
The house elf, with an eager gleam in his eyes, replied, "This is an enchantment shop by this one's master, sir! We offer everything. If you can dream it, we can make it a reality. From practical to whimsical, we cater to all magical needs."
Erasmus eyed the house elf. "All kinds of enchantments? Really? I've been searching for something very specific, something I couldn't get anywhere else."
The house elf's large, round eyes blinked up at Erasmus. Pippin was a little insulted that this bum would question his master. "This one's master is very skilled, sir. What is it that you're looking for?"
Erasmus hesitated, his desperation conflicting with his distrust of the situation he had found himself. He glanced around, half-expecting this to be some elaborate ruse. Yet, nothing stood out to him. Perhaps it was the weariness that clouded his judgment, or maybe it was the spark of hope that he denied himself.
"I need an enchantment. A very specific one, for a very specific purpose. I've searched everywhere and found nothing. Can your master really help?"
The house elf stayed silent, just as Lucas had taught him. Sometimes the best way to get someone to open up was doing nothing at all. Pippin stared at him until the homeless looking man relented.
Erasmus took a deep breath and with a resigned sigh, he said, "Fine, I'll give it a try. I need an enchanted weapon that can kill a room of powerful wizards."
Pippin eyed the man closely. It was one hell of a request, but as Lucas had said he wouldn't deny anything. The house elf snapped his fingers and a blank parchment floated out of the cart. "Please write down your desired product with as much detail as possible and please supply the material you want to have enchanted."
The rugged man was about to start writing when he stopped, "What do you mean I have to supply the materials. Can't you get them?"
"No, sir. No can do." Pippin said plainly, leaving no ground for negotiation.
"What if I pay extra?"
"No." A firm refusal was all that came back.
"What about a magical contract? I can work for your master, I have worked in construction all my live. There has to be something I am able to do." Erasmus was desperate and this seemed to be the last and only shop that would give his request a chance. He also didn't have a lot of money left. He had lost most of his savings on swindlers, who had promised him they could create his desired weapon. This could be another one for all he knew, however, at this point he didn't care anymore. If this shop wouldn't be able to fulfil his wish, then he might as well stop living. But, when he saw the stubbornness in the house elf's eyes he knew that there was no other way.
"Okay, what do I need to get?" he relented with a sigh.
Pippin was a little caught off guard, because he as well didn't exactly know what he was supposed to do now. Lucas had not told him. "Wait a moment, I will ask this one's master."
*pop*
The house elf was gone and after a few minutes:
*pop*
Two figures appeared. One was the well dressed elf and the other was a fully veiled person. Pippin had explained to Lucas what their customer had requested and although he had planned to accept all orders indiscriminately, he didn't expect to recieve one for domestic terrorism as his very first one.
That brought up a lot of questions, like where should he draw the line and should he inform the ministry? All questions Lucas had not thought would ever come up. He had thought he would get requests like: please craft me a good luck charm so that I pass my exams easily, please give me more confidence, or I lost an item dear to me help me find it again.
Reasonable ones, not like domestic terrorism.
Lucas wanted to at least know with what kind of person he was dealing with and who would be at the end of his creation, before deciding on how to proceed.
The moment Erasmus had laid eyes on the second figure his body froze up. He couldn't move a muscle like he was hit by an Arresto Momentum.
Lucas had done the same thing to him he had done to Narcissa, which wasn't particularly difficult once he had access to their minds. He just hid the connection to their own bodies inside their minds. Afterwards he quickly scanned Erasmus' mind for the information he wanted to know.
'What the fuck did I stumble upon?'
If he had met him a few days earlier then this whole conversation would have been a lot more erratic.
The poor man's live was in shambles.
It all started when the son of a noble house took a fancy to his wife. Said noble didn't hesitate and on the same day broke into Erasmus' house. There he incapacitated his wife and forcefully fed her Amortentia, the most potent love potion on the market. Erasmus only knew this because the culprit taunted him with this information once he had returned from work and could see the state his wife was in.
As a rather mediocre muggle-born wizard he could only powerlessly watch as his living nightmare truly started. The thought of the husband watching as he did unspeakable things with his wife turned the noble man on. In the end Erasmus was a broken man, who could only watch as his wife with hearts as eyes followed the man away.
Even the justice system had abandoned him, because with his wife disputing all his claims and a few strings pulled by the noble son, the ministry stopped caring.
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