Chereads / HP: Thunderstorm, Moon, and The Seer / Chapter 24 - Chapter 24: British Summer Time

Chapter 24 - Chapter 24: British Summer Time

April 17th, 199,0 221B Baker Street, London, 9:17 AM.

During British Summer Time (BST) in the United Kingdom, mornings had one hour less daylight and evenings one hour more.

Since the beginning of summer, Harry had been experiencing his arduously developed magical prowess with Jasper, his energetic golden orb of feather friend.

Months upon months of casting Accio, Repairo, and Lumos wandless had borne fruit, as he could now proudly be said to be proficient in casting those spells verbally with little effort.

Harry could summon objects that were not too big or heavy, such as his glasses, books, toy broom, and dishes, to even Jasper. However, when it came to the newborn Golden Snidget, Harry always handled his friend with the utmost care, as it was obvious how fragile the bird was despite its remarkable speed and agility.

The boy achieved the same level of proficiency with Lumos.

Three different shapes of bright light orbs could be seen hovering above Harry as he watched them with amusement while lying on his bed, remembering how happy it was when he got sincere praise from Ethan as he showed him the result.

Even Jasper stalled his zigzagging movement, looking at those orbs attentively with his brilliant red eyes.

Harry could sustain the spell for half a day without focusing too much on it.

As for Repairo, Harry had to pour a lot more focus and intent into executing the spell if he wanted to repair multiple objects simultaneously.

Other parts of his study were still progressing steadily, albeit slowly, as Ethan wanted to compensate for all those years Harry suffered under the roof of the Dursleys.

As a result, Harry now had the physique a nine-year-old should have; his mental state had also been much better over the past months, as being alone in the crowd wasn't too frightening for the boy, but still, that didn't mean he'd get rid of his social anxiety anytime soon.

With the addition of Jasper, Harry now had a quite peculiar friend to play with around the house. They both enjoyed each other's company, as the two rarely separated.

Ethan found it quite amusing, for he could always see the Golden Snidget perched firmly on top of Harry's head, navigating its surroundings whilst sometimes responding to Harry's whistle.

As of right now, the two were engrossed in the thrilling mystery atmosphere of The Clock by Agatha Christie.

Suddenly, Harry's ears perched up as he caught a rather dynamic melody coming from downstairs.

Clutching the book with both hands whilst making sure that Jasper was still firmly on his head. Harry began following the sound as he tried to hum to the tune.

The boy had always enjoyed Ethan's playing classical music, and as he began to learn it, they would sometimes have a duet.

With a grin on his face, the boy found Ethan standing in his room. Facing the man was a wall full of notes, pictures, a world map, and red threads connected by numerous pins. It was forming an intricate web that represented something.

Both Harry and Japer's eyes widened with curiosity as they tried to make sense of what was on that wall.

Ethan had been gathering information about the notorious organisation of poachers. After months of scanning through numerous newspapers and cross-checking with those possessed by the Ministry, as well as the result given by his well-founded divination (tarot cards, spirit pendulum, astrology, crystal ball, dream divination, etc.),.

This resulted in what was presented on the wall before the dazed Harry and Jasper.

Specifically, what was pinned on the wall was Altxorra Braconier's known operations, not-so-solid proofs of their legality, speculation regarding their modus operandi, inner circle members, sigil… and in the middle of the intricate web of thread stood a picture of a dignified man, seemingly in his fifties, Asmus Drazkhan.

One of those filthy rich, shady businessmen that Ethan could perceive from the get-go.

It took Ethan quite a few daring moves to confirm the man as the boss of such a notorious organisation. Ethan had directly gotten close to them during a few of their hunts in the Amazon. 

Once again, Ethan appeared as the mysterious magician, adorned with a black Moretta mask and a wide smile painted over the surface, shielding his entire countenance. Bringing those feeble 'dark wizards' down to their knees posed no challenge to the genius Ravenclaw, though dealing with a capable branch manager was something else.

However, with a little bit more caution, Ethan managed to capture the formidable manager, thus getting his hands on crucial information about Asmus Drazkhan.

Ethan was slightly taken aback by this truth, though he quickly collected his thoughts as this was rather reasonable, considering who Asmus was as well as how Altxorra Braconier could still exist and operate fiercely within the shadow all these years.

It was at that moment that the seer's intuition set off. Ethan's mind was flooded with danger warnings coming from everywhere. Instinctively, Ethan pulled out his trusty spell, Impervius Cortina—the Impervious Curtain.

Borrowing the hindrance brought by the spell, Ethan narrowly made his escape. Just a second later, the place was flooded with daunting dark wizards, and shady hit wizards appeared out of thin air, paying no mind to those who had fallen uncoucious to the ground. They immediately bombarded the place where Ethan was with colourful, vile curses.

As much as Ethan was looking into them, so were they. The organisation had been searching for 'the mysterious magician' restlessly, setting up deadly traps lest the flashy wizard decide to show up in front of them once more. The destruction of the Interlarken's hideout made Ethan an unsettling threat that required immediate elimination.

Ethan's mind drifted back to the wall in front of him. Other than the picture boss of Altxorra Braconier, Ethan shifted his gaze towards two other prominent things on the wall: one was none other than Rachelle de Frautois, and one was a sketch of Re'em pinned on the world map, China.

As the classical music piece rushed towards the end, Ethan's eyes shone with brilliance, starlight circling the three prominent figures.

A smile was drawn on his cold, calculative face as he ended the violin sound.

Seemingly aware of the existence of Harry and Jasper beforehand, Ethan turned to the two with a beaming grin as he suddenly asked.

"What do you think of China, Harry?"

"Uhm, big, and... Asia?" The boy blurted out an answer, albeit bewildering. Which managed to squeeze a chuckle from Ethan.

"Yes, Harry, and much more... much more to it. Now, let us prepare for lunch." With that said, Ethan nonchalantly ventured downstairs, hands behind his back, while humming joyfully, leaving Harry and Jasper momentarily dumbfounded by his sudden cheerful action.

Harry exchanged a shrug with his little fellow on his head before briskly catching up with his Dad.

April 18th, 1990, 12 Diagon Alley, London, 5:50 PM.

The teeming alley also ushered in the hot season, with the most distinguished changes being the outfit worn as well as the anticipated Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour, which was filled with guests of all ages.

Samantheus was watching the rowdy alley with his icy blue irises from a window on the top floor of Atid Stella's headquarters.

He was having a peaceful teatime with Remus in the office after a long day of dealing with tonnes of paperwork.

Heaving a long sigh, Sam recounted the silent uproar recently within the wizard world. Well, to be honest, it was what the three—Ethan, Sam, and Remus—had anticipated once they founded the company.

The emergence of Atid Stella's astounding products, along with the respective theories behind their mechanics, made the academics of all magical fields indulge in heated debates.

Many conventions, meetings, and workshops in and out of the country were opened to discuss the legality as well as the safety and many more touchy issues revolving around these 'progressive artefacts'. Coupled with the new, much more efficient version of the Wolfsbane potion announced lately by Damocle Belby in cooperation with the company.

The name Atid Stell secured itself an entire front page in many newspapers, being the centre of the controversy.

Leading to numerous renowned figures in various academic fields visiting 12 Diagon Alley lately, hoping to truly observe its wonders as well as confirm the rumours.

However, with the backing of the Department of Mystery, these impeding opinions would soon be resolved.

Perhaps in a year or two, the wizarding world would be adorned with a new look, as modern and civilised as it could be.

Sipping from his fresh chamomile tea, Sam consciously massaged his temples as he considered the second problem that arose just today.

Simply put, Etha brought Harry, along with the golden bird, to China for an early summer vacation. Leaving a letter, rather a small note for Remus and Sam.

Sam could already guess 70% of the true meaning behind Ethan's action. With that said, he made sure that Ethan would regularly give him an update, especially before that eccentric genius decided to pull another hideout down like before. Sam would make no hesitation to teleport to where Ethan and Harry were with a top-notch team of Unspeakables, lest things go awry.

'Altxorra Braconier... Re'em's horn'. Sam's icy eyes shone with contemplation.