章節 46: The First Salvo (III)
When Destiny finally dismissed her Magical shield, the Aurors quickly realized that this was their only chance… The Aurors have become so desperate and excited at the same time that they completely missed the fact that Destiny dismissed the Shield with her bare hand… They also never considered the fact that something might be amiss…
Destiny jabbed Neptune toward the Aurors, banishing two of the unlucky Aurors, who were too late to realize what was happing… The remaining three Aurors quickly realized their mistake when they saw Destiny cast the Spell and they immediately ducked down under their quickly erected Magical Shields. Since Destiny used only a basic Spell, their quickly erected Shields were able to withstand the attack.
The two unlucky Aurors who were banished by Destiny's Spell crashed against the manor… The two of them crumpled down on the ground while leaving blood stains on the wall as they slowly slid down from the wall. Destiny wasn't sure if they were alive or not, but they won't be joining the fight even if they are alive. As long as they are knocked out… It wasn't going to matter to her.
"Avada Kedavra!" Someone screamed and Destiny simply leaned to her side to dodge the dreadful Curse. Horrified gasps were heard and the remaining Aurors turned around only to find that it was Arnold Picquery who used the Unforgivable Curse. To be honest, the Aurors did not know what to do, on one hand, they wanted to apprehend the man for using one of the Unforgivables, on the other hand, they could understand why the man had used the illegal Curse.
While the Aurors were contemplating if should apprehend Arnold Picquery or not, the said man was staring at Destiny with a hardened look on his face while internally, he was grimacing. Arnold has worked as a Hit-Wizard for the ICW, so he was quite good in Magical Combat. True, he was no longer in his prime, so almost all of his Skills have rusted, but there are a few things you never lose the touch with…
As soon as Destiny broke through the Wards, Arnold realized that the young woman was someone to be trifled with. The woman was strong… Her youth might be deceiving, but the woman was strong and it was an undeniable truth. The woman proved the fact by breaking through their Wards, which were top of the line Wards someone could buy and the woman broke through them like they were nothing… If that wasn't enough proof then the woman also erected a Magical Shield, which held strong against 5 Aurors.
So, Arnold tried to talk with the woman. He needed to know what she wanted and if he could, then he would try to negotiate with her… Arnold wanted to avoid a fight as he could guess that it wasn't going to be an easy fight. 'It is your daughter-in-law's fault that I am here… If you have to blame someone, then blame her' That is what she said and Arnold couldn't help but curse inside his mind.
At first, he was anxious and tense when he came to know that his foolish daughter-in-law arrested Gellert Grindelwald… Arnold wanted to throw the woman out of the Family as he knew that the stupid bint had painted a target on his Family with her actions. Gellert Grindelwald might have been arrested, but his followers were still at large. Gellert Grindelwald has gained a huge following in Europe. They would do anything to get him out of the prison or they might come after his Family, just for revenge…
Arnold Picquery wanted to avoid the conflict, but his son convinced him otherwise. Arnold had to admit that his son was right when he said that their Family's standing would increase, but he couldn't shake off the squeamish feeling. Even though a part of him wasn't completely onboard with their plan, he decided to go along with it as it would increase the reputation of the Picquery Family and whatnot… Gellert Grindelwald was an unstoppable force of nature, but he was captured under the command of his daughter-in-law.
So, Arnold wasn't able to hold back his greed and decided to go along with the rest of his Family members, but now, he couldn't help but curse himself for his stupidity… This is what he feared… A fanatic follower of Gellert Grindelwald has finally come to take revenge. Well, now there was no crying over spoiled milk… Like any Head of the House, he would try his best to protect his Family.
Even though the young woman was extremely strong, he realized that she was still quite young, so there was a high chance that she might lack experience. That is why Arnold decided to use the Killing Curse… If it worked, then good riddance. He would simply claim Self Defense and with their family's current standing in the American Wixen Society, he would walk away without any charges. At most, he would have to pay a small fine…
And if she dodged the Curse, then he might be able to scare her… Arnold had seen a lot of people break down after dodging the Killing Curse when they finally realize that they had just dodged their death, but unfortunately for Arnold, the woman didn't seem to be fazed in the slightest even after missing the Curse by such a small margin while explained quite a few things to Arnold and he wasn't happy with his development…
The woman was not only strong, but she was also highly experienced in Magical combat and not just normal Magical combat, she had also real-life and death experiences… It was simply impossible for an inexperienced person to dodge the Killing Curse in such a manner and act as if nothing major happened. Once again, Arnold Picquery couldn't help but Curse his foolish son and daughter-in-law.
"Listen, there is no need to do this… We could sit down and have a chat" Arnold said in a diplomatic tone… He completely ignored the fact that he had tried to kill Destiny only a few moments ago. Meanwhile, the Aurors finally came to a decision… They decided that they needed to deal with the intruder before anything else.
Destiny simply narrowed her eyes after hearing Arnold Picquery's words. "You should have said that before trying to kill me… Well, not that it matters, as I wasn't planning to negotiate in the first place" Destiny shrugged dismissively as she pointed the hilt of Neptune at the ground and large vines started to come out of the ground.
The massive vines rushed towards Destiny's targets and they could only watch the vines rush at them in morbid fascination… This time, none of them even tried to fight or protect themselves… It was simply too late for them to try anything and make a difference. They simply decided to accept their fates… Even Arnold admitted defeat in front of such power. Moments later, the vines broke through the Magical Shields the Aurors had created previously…
The vines soon wrapped around their limbs, completely immobilizing the Aurors and Arnold Picquery. Even the knocked-out Aurors weren't spared… Now that all of her attackers were completely immobilized, Destiny decided to deal with the rest of Picquerys. Destiny slowly turned toward the Picquery Family manor as her eyes started to glow. The rest of the Picquerys were hiding inside the house after the initial confusion.
More vines started to come out of the ground and break into the manor. Moments, later, massive vines came out of the manor and ripped it apart. Destiny nodded her head in glee as several loud screams of terror were heard from inside the manor. After a few more seconds, the whole manor broke apart as the vines started to pull out the people from inside the house. The last three Aurors were still conscious, so the three of them continued to scream threats at Destiny, which Destiny promptly ignored.
For the first time, Destiny laid her eyes on Seraphina Picquery… She had seen the woman in The New York Ghost and in the memories of Moira, but the real Seraphina Picquery looked like she deserved a punch to the face… 'Filthy Traitor' Destiny scowled in disgust as she stared at Seraphina Picquery.
The vines finally brought all of the captives in front of Destiny, though Destiny felt like she was missing something…
"Let us go!"
"Do you have any idea who you have messed with?"
"You will not get away from this!!"
"Yes! Our whole Auror force will come after you!"
"If you stop now then we will petition to the court for leniency!"
Destiny's eyebrow twitched in irritation… She raised her hand and snapped her fingers, silencing everyone… Destiny used her Magic to shrink Neptune and put it back inside her pocket. This time, nobody missed the casual display of Wandless Magic and their eyes grew wide in surprise and horror…
Destiny took a deep breath as a smug look surfaced on her face. "This is much better… It irritates me whenever people around me start to spout useless hippogriff shit!" Destiny sneered at the people gathered in front of her. Destiny pulled out her Wand and turned toward the direction of Ward line. "Expecto Patronum" Destiny muttered and a majestic-looking silver astral tiger leaped out of her Wand's tip.
Destiny decided to summon Arcturus and Cassiopeia as she had subdued everyone. The astral tiger leaped toward the forest without wasting any time… After that, Destiny finally turned back toward her captives. 'I was a fool to think that they might send a Patronus Message' Destiny internally shook her head when she noticed that nobody except for Arnold has recognized the Spell she just used.
Destiny shook her head in a mix of disappointment and amusement and then she finally turned toward Seraphina Picquery who was looking at her with an indifferent look on her face. The woman was trying extremely hard to hide her true feeling, but Destiny easily noticed the trepidation and fear the woman was feeling. Destiny internally smirked as she snapped her fingers to release Seraphina Picquery from the Silencing Charm.
"Madam President of the Magical Congress of the United States of America, Seraphina Picquery… That is quite an impressive Title, don't you agree?" Destiny asked with a hint of amusement in her voice.
"Who are you?" Seraphina asked Destiny with a straight face, but she wasn't able to stop her voice from quivering.
"I am Destiny Grindelwald" Destiny said as she slowly raised her hand to reveal the Grindelwald Heir ring. As soon as Destiny revealed her name, everyone paled drastically. Destiny nodded her head in satisfaction… This was the reaction she was expecting. "What, nothing to say?" Destiny asked in a mocking tone and Seraphina started to tremble in fear.
"What happened? Why are you shaking? Are you afraid?" Destiny cooed soothingly as she slightly turned her head to see the others' reactions. The others weren't faring any better than Seraphina, so Destiny simply smiled. "Go on, I clearly remember you saying that you aren't afraid of terrorists like us…" Destiny urged in a mocking tone.
Seraphina started to frantically shake her head in fear and moments later, Destiny scrunched her face in disgust when the smell of ammonia reached her nose. Destiny looked down at Seraphina in disgust and just as she suspected… Seraphina had lost control of her bladder. Destiny snorted in derision… 'This is fucking hilarious… It only took this much to destroy her?' Destiny asked herself, but the answer was already in front of her.
Destiny waved her hand in amusement and ended up pointing at Seraphina's feet… "This is your Madam President's fortitude" Destiny snickered in amusement and Seraphina looked like she was going to pass out in embarrassment. The others quickly averted their gaze out of honor, but the damage was already done. Cassiopeia and Arcturus finally arrived at the scene and they also snorted in derision.
Destiny flicked her hand to remove the mess Seraphina had made… "So, Madam President, what do you have to say for yourself?" Destiny asked in a grave tone as she stared into Seraphina's eyes. This is the first time she found herself in such a quandary. True, previously she had faced Gellert, but she wasn't alone during the encounter. She was being accompanied by 20 Aurors and she thought it was Percival Graves when she decided to capture him.
Seraphina only had the guts to face Gellert because he was already unarmed and no longer a threat to her… "You know, it is rude to keep someone waiting who is talking to you" Destiny pointed out with a small smile, and then she waved her hand dismissively. "Well, never mind. I will get the answers myself" Destiny said as she entered Seraphina's mind.
Seraphina's mind was protected by Occlumency Shields, which were somewhat better than Basic Occlumency Shields. It was quite impressive as Destiny wasn't expecting anything from the pathetic woman. Well, the woman needed to mask ad and fake her emotions as she was highly involved in Politics. Politicians needed to be good at hiding and faking their emotions or they would never be able to become good Politicians.
Destiny ripped through the woman's Occlumency Shields with little to no difficulties. Destiny wanted to know everything about the Wards they have used to secure Gellert in his cell. That is when a memory surfaced in front of Destiny's eyes and as soon as she saw the memory, anger bubbled inside her mind… Destiny no longer cared… She started to ruthlessly rummage through Seraphina's mind.
When Destiny was finally done, she ruthlessly pulled out Seraphina's mind. Seraphina reeled back in pain and her head continued to throb in pain, she felt like someone was continuously hitting her head with a paddle… "You Bitch!! How dare you!" Destiny snarled in anger as she pulled out her Wand and pointed at Seraphina. "Crucio!!" Destiny exclaimed and as soon as the red beam hit Seraphina on her chest, the woman started to scream at the top of her lungs.
Both Arcturus and Cassiopeia were taken aback by Destiny's sudden reaction, but they decided not to interrupt Destiny. Seraphina must have done something to anger Destiny to such a degree… After almost a full minute, Destiny finally lifted the Curse from Seraphina and the woman started to pant. Tear streaks were running down both of her eyes. This was the first time she experienced the Cruciatus Curse and she never wanted to experience it again.
"I was going to let your family off with some minor punishment, but now… Now, I am going to make an example out of you and your family. I am going to show the world what would happen to someone and their family if they dare to stand against us" Destiny growled in anger and her eyes started to glow as she started to radiate her Magic subconsciously.
Destiny's eyes slowly trailed off toward the rest of her captives and all of them looked afraid and resigned. Destiny slowly made her way toward the youngest member of the Picquery Family. "No No! Leave her out of this… It was me who did that, my daughter has nothing to do with it" Seraphina heaved out with some difficulty when she saw Destiny making her way towards her 15 years old daughter.
"Hush" Destiny said as she waved her hand in a swishing motion and silenced Seraphina. She did not want to be interrupted, but it seems that fate had other plans for me…
"You will not be hurting, Missy Rolanda, bad Witch!!" All of a sudden, Destiny heard a squeaky voice from the rubble of the former Picquery Family manor, and before she could even turn her head to look at the rubble, she had to dodge two Spells and block one with a hastily erected Magical Shield.
'Fuck! I completely forgot about the house elf. That is what I was missing' Destiny cursed inside her mind as once again, vines came out of the ground and started to chase the house-elf. At the same time, Destiny started to fire Stunning Charms with her Wand for better aim as her target was quite small. The house-elf tried its best, but it wasn't able to keep avoiding the vines and Destiny's Spells at the same time. When the house-elf was finally caught, Destiny stopped shooting Stunning Charms in its direction.
'It is a good thing that the Blood Magic Ritual I invoked also stops house-elves Apparition' Destiny sighed internally. Destiny looked at the house-elf with an indifferent look on her face as the vines brought the house-elf in front of her. The house-elf continued to struggle, but the vines weren't budging in the slightest. Destiny pointed her Wand at the house-elf… "Avada Kedavra" Destiny called out loudly and the green beam hit the house-elf squarely on its chest and the house-elf was dead.
House-Elves are known to be extremely loyal to their Families if treated nicely. The way this house-elf was dressed, it was pretty clear that it was treated nicely. Destiny would have been a fool if she spared it… It needed to die or it would come for revenge and house-elves are extremely good at Stealth. Destiny wasn't planning to take any chances. Destiny looked at her captives and all the Picquerys seemed to be screaming at her.
Destiny flicked her Wand to cast the Life Revealing Charm… Destiny had already made the mistake once, she wasn't going to repeat it. Everyone alive was already in front of her so Destiny nodded her head in satisfaction. Now that she was satisfied with the results, Destiny turned toward Seraphina Picquery's daughter and with a snap of her fingers, Destiny released her from the Silencing Charm.
"Hello, Rolanda… Is that your name?" Destiny asked with a gentle smile on her face.
While Destiny could clearly see the fear in the girl's eyes, she could also see that the girl was quite strong. The girl was holding herself much better than her mother did. "I am not afraid of you" The girl said as she bravely stared into Destiny's eyes. Destiny had to admit, the girl was much more impressive than her father and mother combined. "You are just a monster who only knows how to bully the weak!" The girl spat out bravely.
"How dare you, you stupid girl?! You don't even know…" Cassiopeia snarled in anger, but Destiny simply raised her hand to stop her rant.
Instead of getting angry, Destiny simply smiled at the girl, which confused the girl. "You are right, to some I am a monster, but to some, I am a freedom fighter. I personally believe that I am a freedom fighter, but everyone is free to have their own opinions… Don't you think?" Destiny asked softly as she slowly loosened the vines wrapped around the girl's limbs.
Rolanda didn't say anything, she also realized that the vines which were stopping her from moving have loosened quite a bit. Rolanda knew that she couldn't beat Destiny when the woman has already defeated all the Aurors along with her grandfather. Rolanda decided that she simply needed to wait for an opportunity.
"You attend Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, right?" Destiny asked and Rolanda realized that she couldn't keep Destiny. She needed to distract Destiny and the best way to distract the woman was to go along with the conversation.
"No. I attend Salem Witch Academy" Rolanda answered and Destiny nodded her head in understanding. Salem Witch Academy wasn't recognized by the ICW, but she had heard of the Academy. It is an all-Witch Academy and that is why it wasn't recognized by the ICW, but according to Destiny's sources, it was a good Academy to learn Magic.
"Ah… I have heard quite a bit about the Salem Witch Academy. All good things, I assure you" Destiny answered back brightly. "So, you are in which year?" Destiny asked curiously.
Rolanda beamed at Destiny when she praised Salem Witch Academy… Well, even though it was an act, Rolanda couldn't help but feel proud when she heard Destiny's words. "I am in my 4th year" Rolanda answered with a scowl.
"I see… So, you are somewhere around 15 years old, right?" Destiny asked and after getting a reluctant nod from Rolanda, Destiny decided to continue. "You know, when I was half of your age, I was always busy looking for food through the streets. I also needed to be extremely careful while looking for food… On many occasions, I have been discovered by the Muggles and then they would proceed to beat to an inch of my life… I had to struggle so much to survive each day" Destiny started to recount her past to the 15-year-old, who looked somewhat disturbed after hearing Destiny's story.
Meanwhile, the others were also paying rapt attention to her story, especially, Arcturus and Cassiopeia as Destiny never talked about her past or her childhood. "I am fighting so no other child has to live through what I have… I don't want any other child to experience what I have gone through… I am fighting so that we…" Destiny pointed at herself and everyone else present around her "could live freely, without fearing the Muggles" Destiny said in a solemn tone.
"For I, do not fight out of hatred… I am fighting for our freedom and it is the same with Gellert" Destiny solemnly shook her head. "Rolanda, what do you know about an Obscurial?" Destiny asked.
"I don't know much except for what was written in The New York Ghost" Rolanda hurriedly answered. She didn't know much about an Obscurial, she has only heard that Gellert Grindelwald has tried to expose their world to the Muggles by using an Obscurial.
"You see, an Obscurial is Witch or Wizard who had developed a dark parasitic magical force, known as Obscurus inside them" Destiny explained sadly. "Do you know how an Obscurial comes to be?" Destiny asked and Rolanda quickly shook her head. Even though she was waiting for the right opportunity to make her move, she couldn't help but become entranced by Destiny's story.
Destiny smiled solemnly. "An Obscurial is born when a Magical child is forced to repress their gift of Magic through physical and psychological abuse" Destiny explained and Rolanda was old enough to understand what Destiny was trying to say, so as soon as she understood what Destiny was trying to say, she gasped in horror. "Yes, Gellert was in fact trying to save the Obscurial, and he would have succeeded if it wasn't for your traitor mother" Destiny sneered venomously and Rolanda flinched back in fear.
Of course, Destiny was lying through her teeth… She knew that Gellert only wanted to get the Obscurial because he had seen the Obscurial defeat Albus Dumbledore in one of his visions and he also needed to lay low as he was getting too much heat from the ICW, but they didn't need to know that. "Your mother decided to choose the Muggles over the life of a tortured Magical child… Did she ever consider that it was the Muggles who were responsible for the birth of the Obscurial?" Destiny asked as she threw a glare at Seraphina who was frantically shaking her head.
"Your mother is supposed to be the Head of the Magical Government, right? Then why is she choosing them over us?" Destiny asked with a pained look on her face.
Rolanda simply stared at her mother and decided to speak up. She believed in her mother… She didn't know the exact details, but she had heard a few things from her mother and father. "You can't blame her completely. As the President, it is her duty to protect our society as a whole…" Rolanda began to speak up in her mother's defense, but she was cut off by Destiny.
"If that is what you truly believe, then I do not have anything to say… If I was in her place, then I would have never sacrificed a child, especially when the child wasn't at fault from the very beginning…" Destiny looked down at Rolanda.
"That is not the end of her crimes… Do you know what she did to Gellert?" Destiny asked and Rolanda had no idea what Destiny was talking about, so she simply shook her head with a confused look on her face. Destiny smiled nastily… "She decided to cut out his tongue" Destiny finally revealed the reason behind her anger and a part of Rolanda's mind was glad whereas, the rest of her was horrified at the implications.
Cassiopeia and Arcturus also grimaced when they heard Destiny's words… Cutting off someone's tongue shouldn't be taken lightly… Most Wixen needed to speak out their out loud to perform Magic. Silent Casting was good and all, but removing someone's tongue would also mean that they would never be able to make any Magical Vows or Oaths. Then, there are the Spells like the Patronus Charm and the Unforgiveables, which cannot be performed nonverbally, no matter how hard you try.
Now, Gellert Grindelwas was an extremely strong Wizard, so he would probably be able to use almost all the Spells he knew nonverbally, but it was still going to hurt his ability to perform Magic. Arcturus and Cassiopeia finally understood why Destiny lost her cool and if it was one of their Family member instead of Gellert Grindelwald, then they would have been clamoring for blood too. In fact, they felt that Destiny was acting much calmer than they would…
"Yes… Your mother has sinned, and now, I am going to make an example out of your Family. I need to send a message to all the traitors out there, who would betray their own kind in favor of Muggles. Everyone needs to know that there will be consequences for their actions…" Destiny trailed off grimly as she placed her hands over Rolanda's shoulders. "But, you don't need to worry… I am not cruel enough to punish you for the crimes of your mother" Destiny said softly.
Destiny's gently placed both of her hands over Rolanda's cheeks and caressed them almost lovingly with a soft smile marring her face. Rolanda wanted to move back out of sheer principle and even though the vines wrapped around her limbs had loosened quite a bit, they weren't loose enough for her to move freely. "That is why I will set you free" Destiny said softly as her grip on Rolanda tightened much to the confusion of the younger girl.
*snap*
Moments later, Rolanda found herself staring at the ruins of their manor and it confused her to no end… After all, only moments ago Destiny Grindelwald was standing in front of her and the ruins of her house were behind her back. Rolanda opened her mouth to say something, but before she could say anything she spat out a mouthful of blood, and then she started to choke on her own blood. Rolanda tried to move her head, but she was assaulted by so much pain that she blacked out…
Life left Rolanda's body before she could even realize what was happening to her… At least, Rolanda didn't suffer before her death and she left the world almost peacefully… Destiny true to her word freed Rolanda from a life of suffering and misery. The Picquerys were going to beg for their deaths when Destiny was finally done with them…
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