"I'll make my job a bit easier by asking how much you lot know about Victor Frankenstein or Dr. Henry Hyde Jekyll," Roger Bulstrode said.
Everyone exchanged a glance before anyone spoke. Well, everyone except for Rhadamanthus, who was still occupied with his immense plate of breakfast. That or he had no idea who Frankenstein or Jekyll were. Bellatrix decided it was probably the latter as Acromantulas had no cause to care about obscure wizarding history.
"I know that Muggles believe both are fiction, as do many uneducated wizards," Lyra said carefully.
Bulstrode nodded. "But do you know why so many wizards believe them to be fiction as well?"
"Because both were working in some rather dark fields that many Ministries wanted hush-hush?" Rabastan speculated.
"Both became famous fodder for conspiracy theories, but that was only to contribute to the belief that they weren't real," Bellatrix chimed in.
"Anything else," Bulstrode asked, glancing around the table hopefully. "The more you know, the less I have to explain."
"I know that Victor Frankenstein is dead, and I am guessing that perhaps Jekyll is not," Rodolphus said.
"Very good," Bulstrode smiled. "You are all correct. Now I shall explain what all that has to do with current times. This gets us into the bit where you aren't ever allowed to speak of this to anyone outside this room. Are we understood?"
Everyone nodded.
"What about the spider," Bulstrode asked.
He was an observant fellow, Bellatrix thought in mild amusement. Her hangover was finally receding, so she had a bit more room to be amused. The spider in question, who hadn't nodded due to not specifically having a neck, glanced up from his nearly empty plate.
"What?" He blinked all eight eyes in confusion as he was generally left alone to enjoy his food at breakfast without being dragged into conversation.
"Do you agree not to speak of what you are about to hear to anyone outside of this room so that I don't have to kill you," Bulstrode asked.
Rhadamanthus chuckled. "Oh, but you cannot kill me," he explained kindly. "For I am far bigger and could easily..."
"He plans to use a Muggle weapon," Rabastan interjected. "It kills from a distance, and the only warning you get is a loud bang just as it happens."
Rhadamanthus blinked. "Hmm… Well then, I suppose that's something to consider," the Acromantula rasped. "I will not speak of whatever it is that you're talking about anyway, but there is no reason to go around threatening with Muggle technology," he complained.
"Whyever not," Bulstrode asked in a perfectly civil tone.
The spider's giant jaws gaped slightly for an instant as if he had trouble processing that the question had actually been asked. "Because it's simply bad form." He shot a questioning glance at Rodolphus. "Is it not?"
Rodolphus grinned. "Indeed it is." Glancing at Bulstrode he added, "You see? Even my Acromantula has better form than you international Ministry lot!"
Rhadamanthus's focus returned to his plate, and it was empty in seconds.
"That's right," Bulstrode agreed. "We're a bunch of monsters, really. But we're fighting even bigger monsters, which you should keep in mind."
"What, Jekyll and Frankenstein?" Rabastan scoffed.
Bulstrode shook his head in response. "Not Jekyll. And as we've already established, Frankenstein is dead fortunately. His creation, however, not so much, but he's not a monster so that's alright." He chuckled. "Or if he is, it appears he and Jekyll are on our side, though we honestly have no idea where the hell they are."
"I do hope your explanation is going to gain some clarity very fast," Bellatrix said drily.
"Yeah, for real," Rabastan chimed in. "I'm fucking sober and right now I'm honestly not getting sober vibes. Not good when I need to be at bloody work in an hour or something," he complained.
"I understand," Bulstrode nodded. "I'll just cut to the chase, then, shall I? Jekyll is a dream wizard. As you are likely aware, those are a very rare breed indeed."
"He used his potion to unlock dream abilities which gave him enhanced senses and the ability to change the appearance of his form without the use of transfiguration, or so the black market magic books say," Bellatrix said.
"And those books would be right. A brilliant thing, black market trade," Bulstrode said cheerfully. "After Jekyll learned how to access the powers gained in dreams for his own ends, he was a dark and unstoppable force that was kicked out of wizarding London. He didn't care though, because he had no designs on London or anywhere else. He simply sought hedonistic pleasures. He just went his own way."
"Sweet," Rabastan said with a wistful sigh.
"Indeed," Bulstrode said drily. "At any rate, he vanished… Slipped under the radar and many believed him to be dead or unreal in the first place. Recently some documents were discovered in America that suggest Jekyll has met up with the family of Frankenstein's creation."
"But I thought the bride never came to be," Rabastan objected, indicating that he did actually read while drinking in the library.
"He married someone that Victor Frankenstein did not create," Bulstrode said. "And that is where it links back to Jekyll. He married a dream witch. Apparently Frank, as he calls himself after his bastard of a creator obviously, has dream abilities as well, due to the way in which he was created. So Frank married a dream witch, they had children, one of those children had another child, she married Jekyll, and it's a big dreaming family."
"Cute, but what does that have to do with us?" Bellatrix drawled. "None of us have dream abilities."
"Hell," Rabastan protested."I'm dreaming of a big fat drink right now to help this conversation make sense!"
"It does not have to do with US as much as it has to do with Delphini," Bulstrode explained.
"Are they working with her," Rabastan asked. "I mean, I kind of wanted to admire Jekyll so that would really be a pity."
"No," Bulstrode said. "They are not at all. They are, in fact, working against one of her allies, but the problem is that they are losing. Or at least they are not winning."
"She has allies who are dream wizards," Rabastan asked.
"One ally," Bulstrode replied.
"Fuck, doesn't she have enough going for her without adding shit we do not know at all how to work against?" Rabastan banged the table with a frustrated fist.
"It seems you understand the situation," Bulstrode said with a humorless chuckle.
"So what is the plan," Bellatrix asked, arching her brows. "I assume, as you are sharing this information, there is some sort of plan."
"A plan of sorts," Bulstrode said. "Frank's son has contacted Mr. Grindelwald as well as some of his close associates via dreams. He has offered to spy on Delphini and pass on any information he can. As we are having a great deal of difficulty tracking her movements before they actually happen, this is a great deal better than nothing."
"That's true," Rabastan agreed.
"So you are telling us, in particular, why," Rodolphus asked.
"Because the latest tip off is that she will infiltrate a wand supply house in America today, and as we'll be in the area on Murtlap and Fire Crab business, Grindelwald wants us to deal with it."
"Wand supply house," Lyra asked."You mean a wand maker?"
Bulstrode shook his head. "America is big enough to require a supply house," he said with a slight chuckle.
"Why is this creator of Frank a bastard," Rhadamanthus asked.
The question caused Bella to understand how little creatures actually followed wizarding history. Logical really, because why should they give a shit? "Because Victor Frankenstein created him then fled, abandoning him to become a feared and shunned target of Muggles."
"I always found that bit of the story perplexing," Lyra said. "I mean, he wanted his creation to be the perfect human and even believed him to be beautiful until the magic worked and he actually came to life!"
Bulstrode shrugged. "Two words. Mad scientist."
"So as you are apparently in the know, were the Shelly's dream wizards too," Rabastan asked.
"No," Bulstrode replied. "They were Merlin and Nimue reincarnated. Only in an ironic turn Merlin was Mary."
"How do you know that," Bellatrix asked, unable to hide a bit of skepticism.
"We do not have time to get into everything that my department knows today, Mrs. Lestrange," Bulstrode replied somewhat curtly. "For now I want to wrap this day up by showing you what Jekyll and Frank look like on the off chance that any of you happen to encounter them. We have yet to locate them in the flesh, and Grindelwald's dreams are too unclear to pin down a location when Frank's son sends him information."
"Do they not wish us to know where they are," Lyra asked.
"It is more a matter of being unable to clearly communicate their location," Bulstrode said vaguely.
Drawing his wand from his robe, he flicked it at the air in front of the table. An image of a tall man with wide shoulders and a barrel chest appeared. He wore a long black duster much like Grindelwald's. His hair was short and black. His hands sported long, blood red claws and his face looked like that of a hag. The skin was green, the chin and nose were long and pointed, the teeth sharp, and the smile delightfully wicked. Somehow, Bellatrix found herself smiling back.
"Jekyll, I presume," she said and Bulstrode nodded before vanishing the image with another flick of his wand.
"Now for Frank." The man in the next image that sprang forth from Bulstrode's wand was very tall and willowy thin, with waist length gleaming black hair, and glowing pale blue eyes. His skin was extremely fair save for the slightest of yellow tinge. His face was elegant, delicate, and nearly pretty. His lips were black as were his nails, providing a stark contrast even if they did match his hair.
"We fondly call him the first ever Goth. And unlike all the Muggles who paint themselves up to achieve this look, his is natural," Bulstrode said almost proudly.
"Well, if we run into either of them at the bar, we promise to report it directly," Rabastan said breezily.
"Good," Bulstrode replied, voice and expression entirely serious. "Dream communication can be spotty at best and nothing beats face to face conversation even with the use of magic."
"I assume you are unable to speak to them as we can with Merlin and Nimue," Rodolphus asked.
"You assume correctly," Bulstrode agreed. "We aren't sure why that is, but things work differently with this lot." A flick of his wand and Frank vanished away just as Jekyll had.
With their unique appearance, Bellatrix seriously doubted they'd be showing themselves at any bar, even in Knockturn Alley, but one never knew.
"The main problem at present involves Frank's concern that Delphini's ally and their dream enemy, the Doctor, could be using negative dreams to affect the Muggles," Bulstrode said. "The gods know their bloody minds are easy enough to control, so it likely would not be that hard."
"Well, that's certainly going to make me sleep easy tonight," Rabastan drawled.
"Why shouldn't it," Bulstrode asked, arching his brows nearly to his hairline in a comic gesture. "You aren't a Muggle."
Rabastan scowled. "No, but we are all Delphini's enemies, and we all dream, so by all rational rights wizards will be next."
From Bulstrode's expression, the one a person might have if choking on a very fat frog, he had not considered that possibility.
"We could always use dream shields for protection," Bellatrix said. "There are those Grindelwald taught us."
As she spoke, she wondered what the blonde had known at the time. Had he already guessed that risk and moved to prevent it?
A brief look of hesitation crossed Bulstrode's face that he was quick to cover. Bellatrix smirked. She just bet he'd be visiting Grindelwald as soon as possible and asking to be taught the shields that he'd apparently just heard about for the first time.