Legacy of Evil: He who flies from Death

I very gently, tucked Natya into bed and sighed out.

I felt a little bad, essentially drugging her to put her out of the way, but I'd need her space in order to conduct my investigation. That had always been the point of course but putting it into practice left a bad taste in my mouth. She had been kind enough, patient if a little confused and I reached into my bag and set down from my budget, two hundred galleons which I set upon the table next to her bed. That done, I then proceeded to take my wand out as I modified her memories. She wouldn't remember me, and hopefully would wake up all the more refreshed.

I'd miss her cooking.

But now came a much more difficult task as I breathed out slowly. I focused on her face, her form as I committed it to memory and held up my wand. I had mentioned before that magic was life, that magic wished to be used. In the case of this particular system, more than ever that was the case and I would be using it to my advantage. I had no polyjuice potion, and I certainly wasn't a metamorphagus... But did I need either of those, to mimic someone?

Not a proper transformation, but rather... A cloak. A manipulation of light, to take an image and make it my own. Like a projector upon a screen, something that had a principal in science and therefore, should make it easier for me to conduct. With that bit honed and ready, now I simply needed to give it voice and I whispered aloud.

"Dissimulo Me."

I poured my not inconsiderable will and power into it and was rewarded as I saw my body shift before my eyes. I seemed shorter, my chest swelled up, my hands grew smoother, more delicate but with the callus I had noted her to have. I was now in all respects, Natya in looks... But that was it.

I was essentially wearing an illusion, making it walk with me as I focused and hummed in thought. Still not perfect. My hand when I touched things made it looked like I was halfway into solid surfaces, or the like. I still had to be careful of my true height or touching people. One bump, I would be exposed and then things would get interesting. Of course, I was still happy to see my spell come to life and rough draft as it was, I looked forward to refining it later.

And of course, if it came to it? I had my escape route all planned for myself. I paused to take Natya's wand, hefted it briefly and adjusted my illusion to add a face mask as well as her uniform as I stepped out the door and headed for the Russian Ministry of Magic.

I vanished and appeared at the Red Square, following the crowd and keeping to the fringes as I approached the famous Saint Basil Cathedral. Wizards and witches approached a statue of a saint, repeating a phrase as the statue pulled aside his robe to reveal a door, as groups entered in ones and threes, the work day already beginning for some.

"Natya! Over here girl!" I froze, turning to look and as another maid came closer, she frowned and looked me over. She was the epitome of 'tall Russian stereotype.' Black haired with streaks of blonde, tied up into a tight bun. A bit mannish, broad shouldered and with eyes with crows feet at the edges. Her expression was sharp as she evaluated me and spoke, resting her hands on her hips as she scolded me.

"Dammit woman, you're not supposed to go through there! Our entrance is over here, what's wrong?"

I let out a hacking cough and gestured helpless to my throat-or rather, around my collarbone where Natya's throat would be. The woman immediately looked sympathetic as she spoke and reached out her hand to my shoulder.

"Oh, poor dear, you should have called out. Come now, let's-" I stepped back from her hands, letting out another cough as I threw a sad look and she nodded. "Oh, right. I hope it's nothing serious-but if it gets too much, we'll talk to the boss." She sneered and added, moving an arm up to flex like Rosie the Riveter.

"And if he grabs your ass again, I'll knock him flat."

I decided immediately that I liked her as she kept up running commentary, leading me over to the servant's entrance... Which was in an alleyway, where a faded poster of the Soviets was seen, Stalin looming large before his eyes flicked to us and he winked, a hidden door opening as we walked in.

The temperature change was immediate. From cold to warmth, as chattering workers undressed or grabbed uniforms from lockers, preparing as I kept my eyes level, scared I'd bump into someone. The woman kept on talking, leading the way as I followed in her wake.

"-and then I knocked him flat. Urgh. To be fair, his family were horrid people and I for one, was glad to evade THAT family of trolls! So!" She turned to me, and clapped her hands gently.

"You were supposed to work the lower levels, down on level six." I perked up immediately inside my head; that was lucky. I thought I was going to have to switch out a shift or something, as the woman continued to talk; "But that's cold and damp, so I'm going to switch MY shift with you instead!" She beamed and added. "Top level, lower ranked administrators but its warm and soft! Wait, what?" She looked puzzled as I shook my head and she spoke slowly.

"You.... Want to work the lower levels? But its freezing! Nothing there but records, cells and vaults! No! Not when you're sick!"

I put my hands on my hips, throwing her a Look as she blinked in confusion before sighing out. "Stubborn ass. Your future husband is going to be henpecked. Look, just take the damned shift-"

I shook my head, glaring this time before letting out another cough and she scowled. "Alright, listen up you stubborn woman. You are taking the nice, warm cleaning shift and I-"

I threw a quick glance, and apologetically cast a wordless confundus as she blinked, looking confused before speaking.

"... What were we talking about?"

I threw her an emphatic look and she lit up. "Ah right, that bastard-" There was a sound of a whistle, and she sighed out. "Alright, we talk later. You're buying lunch by the way."

I nodded in easy agreement and taking my cleaning materials, I headed out among others, deep into the Russian Ministry of magic.

As we walked, I glimpsed a sight of the main rotunda and wished I had time to examine it. Red and gold marble gleamed, the Russian Ministry emblem square in the center as statues of saints and wizards loomed on the sides beside what could only be floo portals. Wizards and witches surged out of the green flames almost constantly, directed by traffic as various paper airplanes flew across, back and forth rapidly. Hanging from the ceiling, a dragon's skull and spinal cord with the ribs roared silently, as it looked down upon the workers far more used to it.

I came to one of the elevator gates and the wizard on duty looked up, bored. "Wand please."

I nodded, setting Natya's wand down on the counter and the wizard weighed it, before returning and sliding over a badge. I snatched both quickly, nodded thanks and moved on, the wizard already going for the next one. The elevator would be a bit tricky, I had to position my cart to prevent people from bumping into me. Thankfully, a few hacking coughs were enough to have people give me a wide berth already as we descended down, every few levels going deeper till there were only a few left.

Level six was cold indeed, resembling more like a work tunnel than anything. Bright lights, few decorations and doors where as we passed, I'd see a number of folks practically married to their job. Archivists, security guards and the like as I cleaned with magic and pretended I was mopping or whatever else.

Now according to my research, the Russian department of Dangerous Artifacts was around here somewhere. It was mostly for mundane things gone awry, like laundry machines that attacked people, things like that. But it would also have paperwork, blessed paperwork that would enable me to check out far more and follow the threads to their connecting areas. And from there, Baba Yaga.

Admittedly, I needn't had gone through all this trouble. Despite my research, I was certain I could have found somewhere less convoluted or some book more easily. But I was Tom Riddle and I wanted only the best, only the finest I could find. Baba Yaga, the original Hag was an artist with curses and hexes and the more I read about her, the more I thought I could either find her research or find her cell and bargain in some way. I admit, there was also a touch of vanity in the picture, more than a little if I was being honest with myself.

As before when I fought with Louhi, I wanted to test myself. I wanted to break into the Russian Ministry for the challenge, for the thrill to measure myself against their defenses. What could I accomplish and what feats would I be capable of, if I had limits in which to shatter upon meeting them? Not the best of reasons, but nonetheless they were my own. I admit, it was fascinating as well to walk down here and I paused before a door, with the department title written in chalk upon a board over the frame. I let myself inside, then glanced about.

There were two wizards here today, as well as an astounding number of mundane objects everywhere. From television sets to ping pong tables, as the wizards in question seemed to be surrounding something that made me blink. One of those bobble head toys, of Elvis Presley that seemed bewitched to sing snatches of his songs whenever you made his hips and head bob in his 'dance'.

As both wizards looked up, I stunned them and examined their paperwork, leading me to the next area.

I also took the Elvis toy.

And one of their appearances, hiding both wizards in a closet in a compromising pose and with confused memories planted, as I left the cleaning materials behind and kept going.

As I moved, the security began to grow stronger. I sensed strong magic ahead and pre-prepared, closing up my ears and turned the corner only to see two Russian aurors behind a desk as one glanced up.

"Hey, you can't be here-" His lips formed and then looked puzzled as I set the Elvis doll on their desk and flicked it, smiling as I stepped back and averted my gaze.

Around the second note, the King suddenly exploded in dazzling light and a sharp noise, blinding both as I took the opportunity to stun them. As I unstopped my ears, I smiled and took the toy up, humming as I did so.

"Y'ain't never caught a rabbit.... ye ain't no friend of mine."

One of the aurors wands I'd use to run along the door, unlocking it as I stepped inside and saw a snarling, three-headed dog. In response, I increased the volume of my voice and resisted the urge to shimmy as the dog fell asleep to my music as I walked on. A barrier of fire and ice would be circumvented and finally, a great pit leading to a vault door awaited without a bridge.

A revellio dealt with that, showing the blocks invisible to jump to and I rolled my eyes and waved my wand, enforcing my will.

The stones began to move, dragging themselves to lock into a bridge for me as I stepped out and calmly strode towards the vault door.

And ignored it entirely, going for the stone next to it as I began to turn it into mud.

One yank later, the vault door would be flying down into the pit as I stepped into the vault of XXXXX dangerous artifacts.

.... God, I hated wizards naming conventions and ranks. Here at least, looked a little bit interesting. There were a number of pillars, each one under a light and each one showcasing a strange artifact.

From a child's doll, faded if well-loved to a cauldron with a chained lid atop it. One of those Russian Dolls would also be present, with a painted face of a glaring old woman, right next to a black sword with a serpents head on the pommel that caught my interest, and many others besides.

Hmmm.... I looked around, considering before I spoke aloud. "I seek Baba Yaga."

The various pillars began to move, as a number of objects descended before me-the child's doll, the Russian matryoshka and the chained cauldron. Alright then, so one of these had to either contain Baba Yaga or was related to her story in some way. I examined them closer, pacing back and forth slowly before I reached out for the doll.

As I touched it, my body felt as though I had just been struck by lightning. A malicious presence hitherto quiet, focused intently on me and for the first time, I felt small. There was an invasive presence in my head, a twisted sort of attention as I gathered myself and growled aloud.

"Grandmother, I presume?"

A harsh cackle echoed in my head, as a new voice spoke aloud.

"Foolish boy. You've alerted them."

I spun and brought my wand up. Over by the door where I came in were an entire squad of aurors, men and women all grim of face and armed with wands up as I noticed Louhi amongst them. I guess it didn't take her so long to break my enchantments, and she turned it into a trap for me.

Credit where it was due, as I broke my illusion spell and stood straighter as Louhi cried out.

"TOM RIDDLE! SURRENDER AND I SWEAR, YOU SHALL BE WELL TREATED! REFUSE, AND WE WILL CONSIDER THIS AN ACT OF WAR AGAINST THE RUSSIAN MINISTRY! WILL YOU YIELD?"

As I was opening my mouth to respond, my eyes suddenly saw one of them-some officer from the looks of him immediately cast a spell. Do you know what happens, in a tense stand-off with armed people and someone shoots?

Everybody shoots and as I ducked to the side, I could hear Louhi scream over the sound.

"NO, DON'T! YOU'LL AFFECT THE ARTIFACTS-!"

"Too late! Far, too late!" Baba Yaga's mind cackled in my own as almost in slow motion, I saw spells slam where I had been, including one hitting the cauldron.

The chains on it snapped and it began to rattle and the lid exploded off as the room immediately froze over. Frost formed on the walls, the floor grew slick. When I breathed, I could see my breath come out in a cloud as a skeletal hand gripped the sides from within and pull themselves out.

He was human, or looked close enough that it was moot. All bones and skin, pallid and pale with wisps of white hair along a bald head, and a withered face. His eyes glowed a bright blue, almost incandescent and his fingernails and toenails were more like claws as he shambled out.

Before he could do anything, spells came down and began blasting him. Severing, explosions, fire and more. By the end of it, his corpse looked like it had gone through a machine before it twitched and began regenerating. Swiftly, his expression unchanging as he said jovially aloud.

"You've forgotten all about me I see!" He reached into the cauldron and drew out a wicked looking broadsword, black and dull as he hefted it one hand and spun it around idly in a display of strength. In his other hand, he held the cauldron by its handle, swinging it back and forth as if to test the heft of it as he crouched and giggled gleefully.

"Time to make the world, remember my name."

And with a laugh, he leaped swiftly-far more swiftly, than he should as he cackled and whacked away the spells that were blasted his way as he leaped among the Russian aurors.

And then the screams began.