章節 90: Unspeakable
A/N: Pat-reon: HelloDarkness07
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Alistor Davis. My new name, although this one's not much.. mine. Not like Athreos Aetos, Atharva Joshi, Harrison Evans, and Mason Aves are. It is just a name of convenience. I needed to infiltrate the DOM, and I needed to do it by replacing one of the members by myself.
Alistor.. was a complicated man. He wasn't evil, per se, but he wasn't spectacularly good either.
Born in the relatively new Pureblood family, the Davis family, Alistor was a very smart man. He was right near the top during his Hogwarts years, had taken Runes, Arithmancy, and Divination as his Electives, and had all around good grades in all the subjects too.
He caught the DOM's attention when he began creating an Artefact that he thought would be capable of combining Runes and Divination, since he did have some passing talent in Seeing.
And he did succeed, sort of. He modified a Pensive so that it shows not your memories, but your future. Instead of white wisps of memories, you drop some of your blood(or hair, skin, nails, anything with your genetic data, really), and the artefact that he named the Prophet, will show you some glimpses of your own future.
(Annoyingly enough, it is this Artefact that they later modified to be able to sense changes in time, to catch frequent time travellers, or those that play with Time on a large enough scale.)
And thanks to the weird relationship that Magekind- Wizards and Witches- have with Time, the future is almost always guaranteed. Almost.
For example, Alistor had Seen himself become the head of the Time Room seven years ago, but instead, he was transferred over to the Combat Division, while being allowed to work in the Time Room when his Combat Prowess wasn't needed. So, yeah. It can be wrong, as Alistor had noticed first hand.
He also sometimes spent his time researching with Spellcrafting, which he had some talent in, although it wasn't his best subject. And thanks to his invention, he was also delegated to the Prophecy room every once in a while.
But that wasn't the point. Alistor was a Pureblood, and even that wasn't enough to protect him from the DOM's clutches. They arrested him right when he successfully created his Prophet, the Pensive that shows your future, from his own house, going through the Wards and arresting him before he even knew what happened.
They interrogated him about his invention, to find who else knew about it, and when Alistor became scared enough, they put forth a job offer.
He would be allowed to continue to research in his subjects, but only as long as he joins the Department of Mysteries and becomes one of the Unspeakables. He was coerced into Oaths and Vows and Contracts that would kill him very much painfully if he ever tries to betray the DOM.
And so, Alistor Davis had spent the last 20 years working for the DOM, as one of their own. He found a home here, amongst kindred spirits like him, researchers to the bone, and slowly, he became what he is now. Unspeakable 179, Head of the Combat Division no. 3, a group made up of 15 men and women.
The numbers were random, of course, since there are only around 60 Unspeakables overall.
But with his success within the DOM, came estrangement from his family. His parents were dead, but his uncle was still alive, and so were his cousins, nieces, and nephews. He never married though, since he prioritizes his job over everything else.
And now, I was him.
Amongst the 15 people there that day, I chose Alistor simply because he was the highest ranking one there that day. That was supposed to give me the highest chances of finding the Head Unspeakable.
Unfortunately, within the two years that I've worked within the DOM, while I've met a Head Unspeakable, whose name I've learned is Daryl Brown, I have yet to find a single hint of the presence of THE Head Unspeakable. That person just does not exist, or so I would have thought if I didn't have evidence in the form of the journals of the first Unspeakables thanks to my Repository.
Hemmelig Forsker(rough translation from the Nordic tongue, Secret Researchers, or Students of the Secret Arts), were first formed in 1372, by three Mages that each came from Hogwarts, Beauxbatons, and Durmstrang schools of Magic.
That much I knew from the Room of Knowledge, since the then Hogwarts Headmaster knew about this Hemmelig Forsker. My own Repository of Knowledge, however, managed to net me a greater bounty than even the Room of Knowledge, at least when it comes to the creation of the Hemmelig Forsker, and their subsequent transformation into the Department of Mysteries.
See, the Hemmelig Forsker first formed because the three Mages wanted to study Magic together, help one another understand what Magic is, how it works, why only Mages and Druids are naturally born with it, and muggles, Sorcerers and Witches aren't.
(Demon dealing witches, not female Mages.)
From 1372, to around 1390, they kept to their goals of studying Magic, peacefully. But then.. something happened.
All three Mages mentioned in their respective journals that they saw something spectacular, a person falling from the skies from extraordinary heights, and only suffering some scratches, and a couple broken bones even when the ground itself broke after the fall. They didn't write who that person was, they didn't describe the person in any way, shape or form, and they didn't even write if the person was a man, or a woman.
And if that wasn't suspicious, they didn't write a single thing in their journals after that last entry. I suspect the original journals were destroyed, and before they could write anything more, something untowards happened to them.
But I have no doubts that the Head Unspeakable that I'm looking for, is this person who fell from the skies. The timing is too suspect.
"Davis?" A voice calls out from out of my office that has been mine for the last two years, and I look up from what I was reading while thinking. It was a report on the last experiment on the Veil of Death, which was mostly left alone.
The Veil of Death was considered by the Mages to be a portal that kills anyone that passes through it, without exception. Even Sorcerers within the DOM who had tried to Astrally project themselves through the Veil didn't survive. And I know exactly why.
"Yes, what can I do for you, Bell?" I ask Katherine Bell, a woman who is responsible for the guarding of the Death Room.
Despite both of us wearing our white cloaks, and hoods, we have no trouble identifying each other. There are enchantments in place to tell each of us who we're talking to, but only if we know that person.
Katherine Bell tilts her head to point to her side, and says, "You've been summoned to the Death Room. The Minister's down here for another execution."
"Another? What is this, the fifth this month? Does the Minister want to push every criminal through the Veil or something?" I say, as I get up to start walking towards the Death Room.
We walk out of a wall, into the circular entrance hall, with a dozen doors around us, and I intone, "Death." Immediately, the doors around us spin once, and the door to the Death Room stops in front of us.
Bell says, "Moon wants all British Wizards who follow Grindelwald dead, quickly. Doesn't want them to embarrass us now, does he?"
I chuckle, and stay at her side as we stop near the Veil of Death. The Death Room was built like a courtroom, with the Veil in place of a Prisoner to be tried, and with a set of rising platforms around it.
"No matter how many times I look at it, I can't help but marvel at this piece of Magic." I mumble, as I hear the whispers of my mother, of Tatiana, of Master Ayesha, and even Tim, calling me towards it. Which is.. weird, given that Tim hasn't even died yet.
I feel my Magic.. thrum happily, as the Elder Wand that I keep inside Nowhere at all times resonates with the Veil.
Bell snorts, and says, "I have been the Guardian of the Death Room for 24 years, and the only thing this Veil makes me feel is dread."
Ah, my dear Bell, that's only because you have no idea what this Veil is. I know because someone else, who was there when this Veil was formed, told me what it exactly is.
An absolute marvel, that's what.
5000 years ago during the last Convergence, the energies of a single Realm began to invade into our own. Niflheim.
That Realm brought Death and Cold to whatever it touched, it destroyed villages, killed people within seconds, and even the Britannia Sanctum was in danger of being lost. And so, to prevent it from happening again, the Mages and Sorcerers worked together to create this. They bound the rift between Niflheim and Midgard to this Stone arch, they made it impossible for any other rift to form between Midgard and Niflheim.
Due to this, when the next Convergence comes, Niflheim will remain isolated from the effects. When all the Realms line up together, and rifts are formed between them, Niflheim will remain the only Realm unaffected. And it's all thanks to this Veil.
I suspect that when Odin banished Hela to Niflheim, and locked her there, he made it impossible for anyone to return from Niflheim before he dies. And the cold there is impossible for humans, mortals, to survive. So they die within seconds, a minute at most.
As for using Magic.. a Mage's Magic comes from the Earth, and the Realm of the Vishanti. So the Magic, while available for use, is very much weaker than what anyone would be used to. And if anyone does survive, I doubt Hela would like to share her Prison Realm with anyone.
And that is why no one ever returns. Because they're already dead.
The sound of footsteps makes both of us turn around, and we see a group of 10 Aurors, two Dementors, and the Minister for Magic, Leonard Spencer-Moon, leading someone through the doors. Well, by leading I mean floating in front of them.
"Unspeakable 179." The Minister greets, having been told about my identity.
Nodding, I say, "Minister. Let's get this over with, gentlemen. We have work to do."
The bound wizard starts struggling in the air, but it is all futile when Bell raises her wand and takes control of the charm keeping him afloat. Shaking and struggling, Bell floats him over to the Veil of Death, and with a simple push, sends him in.
Between one moment and next, the prisoner goes through the Veil, with no indication on our side of anything happening.
"It is done." Bell says, her voice unrecognizable to anyone but other Unspeakables.
And so, the unnamed Wizard landed in Niflheim, where he would die within a minute if he's lucky, thanks to the high cold and the Necrotic Magic there. If he's not lucky, Hela will find him.. and well, less said about that bitch, the better.
As we return to our respective offices, however, I can't help but feel.. disappointed with myself in this quest. I've been to almost every Room within the Department, and still, I haven't found a hint about the existence of the Head Unspeakable.
I had thought that I would have found the person before this year was up, but apparently not.
Sigh, if the situation persists, I'll have to take some drastic steps. Namely forgoing with the subtlety, and just.. declaring War on the DOM.
---
1944:
Okay, that's it. I'm bored, this is not as fun as I had expected it to be. No matter what the DOM has me(Alistor) study, it is always something I've already learned!
Death Room? I know more about the Veil's creation than they can even guess. I also know spells and Rituals that can pull Magic from Niflheim, through the Veil, which I'd only devised after seeing the Veil just twice. Not that I used it, but still. Twice.
Time Room? These pioneers in Time Magic know less about Time than I do! Hell, they believe that travelling to the future is not possible at all. Only to the past, and to your own time from the past. They also "know" that Time can actually be changed by a Mage, but that it will always either correct itself, or change everything.
Which I know is the fault of the TVA. Fucking bastards. I wonder how Sylvie is doing, we haven't seen her in.. ages. Not since she left that day, no. Hope she's okay.
Thought, Magic, Space, Fate(Prophecy Room), I've studied everything already, through either my own Repository, or through the Room of Knowledge. I might not have much talent in Divination, beyond Scrying for people and things, but I was not going to let a subject get one over me.
The only Room I haven't spent much time in is the Love Room, where the phenomenon of Love is studied. And it was purposeful on my part. Alistor Davis wasn't a loving man, he didn't love anything other than Magic. The only time he had tried going into the Love Room, he was assaulted by the Magic within the room, and was almost sent into a coma.
I have already deduced that the Room is filled with Magical energies from other Realms, that are aligned with Love. And being in the presence of such Magic without having an affinity to it was what harmed Alistor. And so, I stayed away. Him going there would be suspicious, him surviving an encounter even more so because of what happened the last time that he did.
Shaking my head, I get up from my desk, from Alistor Davis's desk, and walk towards the door. Stopping right in front of it, I lift my left hand up, and press my right index finger on the back of it.
Immediately, a wave of Magic erupts everywhere in the Department of Mysteries, casting a Runic Ward that will knock out anyone not strong enough to resist it. I hadn't just spent these days learning things I already knew, I have been setting up traps for such an occasion.
Opening the door, I leisurely walk out, my mind expanding as I go. I could feel 67 minds within the confines of the Department of Mysteries, 30 of whom were part of the Combat Division, 5 from the Warding Division, and the rest part of the Research division.
Yeah, for an organization this old, the DOM wasn't that big.
Feeling one mind still awake, I smile. Closing my eyes, I send my Magic into the shadows around me, which rise up from the ground in the form of bands. These shadow bands cover my body completely, and drag me underneath them, sending shivers down my back, thanks to the cold.
No matter how much I practice this one branch of Magic, I do not get better at it. Maybe I should leave Darkforce manipulation to Selene and Sylvie? Nah, it might be uncomfortable, but it is fun to scare people this way.
When the shadows retreat, I find myself to be at wand point, in the office of the Head Unspeakable. Or at least, the fake one, that should have direct contact with the true Head Unspeakable. But it seems there is a Ward that protected him from my Runic Ward.
"Davis? What the hell was that? What are you doing here?" The Head Unspeakable asks, as his wand tip glows a bit from his Magic, ready to attack. An intimidation tactic, really.
Smiling, I speed forward, grab the man by his neck, and lift him up by it. His wand clatters to the ground, as the man claws at my own right hand, suffocating. I feel a few spells being cast at my hand, but unfortunately for the man, my Magic is far, far superior to his. Spells by a being as weak as this one will just.. splash on my skin.
"I would have asked you questions, Brown, but I'm afraid I don't actually need to." I say, and before he can choke out a question, I enter his mind.
His Occlumency is as good as paper in stopping me, and I find myself in the middle of his mind, being bombarded by Daryl Brown's memories. A good secondary defensive measure, bombard the attacker with all your memories to overwhelm them.
If I was a newbie at this, I might even have been overwhelmed.
Raising my metaphysical hand, I summon all of his memories, each and every strand of it, and copy it into my own mind.
Daryl Brown, a 78 year old muggleborn from London. Studied Rituals to increase his strength, went through a few during the summers before his 7th year, and subsequently got caught by the DOM. They faked his death, and convinced him that joining them is good for him.
And he believed them. He worked through the ranks quickly, his freedom to go through any Rituals as long as it helps the DOM helping him, and then, 20 years ago, he became the Head Unspeakable, and he continued with what the DOM was originally doing.
I take a second to go through all of his memories, finding some new things, and confirming some old ones. He wasn't the true Leader of the DOM, as I expected. I just know from his memories that he's expected to write reports to someone other than the Minister, and take a portkey whenever it is activated, which would take him.. somewhere, to meet with.. someone.
There are gaps still, I suspect because of some spell keeping the knowledge hidden from me. Could be the Fidelius, could be another Ward.
But one thing I realise, when I see his memories of finding himself in a large hall, surrounded by people cloaked in different clothes, all of which hide their faces and disguise their voices. He was not the only Head Unspeakable in the world.
This was not the only Department of Mysteries in the world.
And if this DOM was a part of the British Magical Government, I have no doubts that the other.. branches.. have also become a part of their respective governments.
Opening my eyes, I see the blue faced Brown still suffocating, as he starts losing his life. I just glare at him, and my Magic starts vibrating inside me, slowly taking my body through a change from that of Alistor Davis to Daryl Brown.
And then, Daryl Brown, the Head Unspeakable of the British Department of Mysteries.. dies.
"Agh!" I cry out, feeling pain erupt all over my body. I drop down on one knee, as I feel the force of a Ward send tremors through my entire body, a curse highly similar to the Cruciatus.
Damn! Must've been a dead man's switch. How the fuck did he hide it from me?
Raising my hand, which shakes because of the pain I'm continuously going through, I.. grab hold of the Ward, and pull it inwards. It causes even more pain to me, but I grit my teeth and keep at it.
Slowly, as the pain keeps increasing, the Ward that I had pulled towards me.. shatters, and the pain stops coming. I take a few deep breaths, a smile on my face despite everything that's happened right now.
I hear the sound of alarms blaring around me, probably another switch triggered by Brown's death.
The reason for my smile, however, is that while I still do not know who the true Head Unspeakable is, or where they are, since those memories are protected by something a lot stronger than what protects this building and most of its secrets, I know where I can find the answers. Where I can find someone who has also met with the Head Unspeakable.
Brown's memories of the giant Hall, filled with different people comes to the forefront of my mind, and I see a wand within hundreds of other wands. A very familiar Wand.
The Elder Wand, in the hands of a Wizard wearing brown robes, with his head covered by a black hood, and the symbol for the Deathly Hallows standing proudly on his chest. More than a few people were staring at this man, since while the others were wearing the normal Unspeakable robes in varying colours, and wore a small patch on their biceps denoting their nationality, this man was wearing almost casual robes, with just the Deathly Hallows symbol showing who he's aligned with.
Gellert Grindelwald.
And if that avenue fails, well, I do have the Portkey that would have taken Brown to the Head Unspeakable. It's child's play to track the destination.
---
All around the world, in the different Research Divisions of the Magical Governments, an alarm blares, as an automated voice says, "The British Branch of the Hemmelig Forsker has fallen." And keeps repeating it.
The Head Researchers within these Branches are all shocked, but then, a single letter appears in front of them, through a glowing orange portal. The letter just says one thing, and one thing only. "Bring everyone - TD."
---
Gellert Grindelwald smiles, when he sees the letter summoning him to Britain, ordering him to reclaim the Department of Mysteries from whoever managed to take it over. And then, he promptly burns the letter.
"Ahh.. your crimes are finally catching up to you, aren't they? I will enjoy seeing your Empire fall. Pity I won't be there to witness it." Gellert says, as he leans back on his chair.
Closing his eyes, he Sees the person known as TD fighting with another person, one he doesn't recognise. The second person snaps his head to look towards where Gellert was observing from, and with a snap, Gellert finds himself forcefully pushed back into the present, the force sending him slamming back into his chair.
"Yes, cough, I'll enjoy it." Gellert says, as he drinks some water.
Feeling something, he looks around, but nothing looks out of place to him. He knew that something was happening, something was making him vigilant in his own home. But then slowly, the feeling retreats, as if nothing was wrong in the first place.
Gellert returns to his planning, pushing this matter to the side. He had an insurrection to plan, and governments to topple. The Hemmelig Forsker was not his problem, not anymore.
---
A/N: Another small chapter, sorry for this. I think I'm just too eager to start the future, and this makes it hard for me to write these chapters. The alternative is that I have writer's block, which I doubt, since I do write still.
Hemmelig Forsker is the original name for the DOM, and it is also the worldwide name. DOM, in fact, is the name given to the British branch. There are others, hundreds of branches, all of them working under this Mysterious Head Unspeakable.
And Mason just found out about them. He only knew about the British branch.
The reason I'm not writing anything about his studies in the DOM is because he already knows everything they are researching about. He has the Repository to help him with that. Also, I'm bored and I want to get on with the next parts. Sorry.
One thing I want to say is that his Repository spell is almost useless right now. The spell covers the entire planet, and because of that the spell is not as strong. Room of Knowledge could break through any spells protecting the books without issue, but it was because it only covered a single castle. Mason's Repository sacrifices power for area of effect.
And by now, there have been a lot of spells protecting knowledge from being stolen this way.
If he goes from Library to Library, and uses the first Knowledge theft spell he invented, it will work, because it uses the Astral Plane to copy the knowledge into a single Tome. But the Repository? No. Most books will remain inaccessible to him.
Thank you for your support! Tata!
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