Worthy of Magic - New World - Part 3

New World - Part 3

Years had gone by since the apocalypse had united humanity. Invisible boundaries that once needed tedious visas to crossover were a distant fiction. Humanity needed all hands on deck working together at the fastest possible pace to salvage their civilization and of course, Daphne got involved in the thick of things. Like a phoenix rising from the ashes, it hadn’t taken her long to shirk off her trauma, her loss, her pain, and forge ahead to rebuild the world… her world. 

And now here she was, the Prime Minister of New Europe, leading the rapid redevelopment of civilization with its headquarters in New London.

Daphne sat in her office, her large oak desk an organized stack of paperwork segregated region wise. Most of her days were now spent reading progress reports and signing off on resource allocations, trying to ensure that the development efforts were evenly distributed. Today, the focus was on the allocations of grain from Ukraine. 

As she reviewed the papers, signed some, and rejected some with comments on why and what she expected, an alarm suddenly blared throughout the office. She put down her pen and quickly stood up, shifting gears from administrative duties to security measures.

A couple of stern faced men dressed in black suits walked into her office, their wands drawn.

“What’s going on?” Daphne asked calmly.

An unauthorized intrusion ma’am. In the abandoned wing.”

“The abandoned wing?” Daphne frowned and then her eyes widened. That was where the Department of Mysteries used to be. They had to seal it off because the enchantments that protected it were strong, lethal, undeciphered and the apocalypse had left many of them dangerously unpredictable. It was on her to-do list to have the curse-breaking division up and running to get that wing all sorted out. There were secrets there that were too valuable to leave to scavengers to steal. It was the very reason she had chosen to rebuild their HQ in the same place as the former ministry and not to mention the proximity to the resilient Elysium meant a small but thriving metropolitan city now existed around them with the boundaries of the desert being pushed back every single day. 

“Orders, Ma’am?” 

“Who’s investigating?” 

“Charlie.”

Daphne nodded. “Let’s go and see how he’s doing then shall we?” 

“Follow us, ma’am.”

Daphne smirked and rolled her eyes as she walked out of her office and into the well-lit spacious burgundy carpet-tiled corridor heading towards the pearly white elevator doors at the end. The loyalty and obedience of her personal guards always amused her. She had told her head of security she had no need for guards but she had insisted. One could never be too careful was her motto. There were still disputes with Goblins to contend with. They had emerged like cockroaches once things had settled down and an agreement had been reached. What remained of Africa was theirs and a healthy trade partnership was beginning to take shape. Anarchists had also begun to grow in numbers.

One of the guards pressed his wand against the elevator door and it arrived with a gentle ding. 

They walked in and the other guard cleared his throat. “Level Six.”

The elevator began to descend.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Level Six - The Abandoned Wing.

Charlie and his team of agents hurriedly entered the abandoned section of the Ministry, their footsteps echoing through the empty corridors, seconds after the alarm had gone off. Their gazes scanned the dimly lit hallways as they headed towards the source of the alarm. 

They were just in time to see the light seeping through the door of the room, said to control mysterious power, glow blue for a moment before the light faded.

“Isn’t that the chamber that's supposed to be kept locked for all time?” One of the agents said quietly, his voice still echoing in the hallway.

“Yea,” Charlie replied equally softly. “I remember Dumbledore talking about it when I was part of the Order of the Phoenix. He had seen it once and had felt overwhelmed by the power radiating out of the gaps in the door frame but now, he felt nothing. The mysterious power was gone.

With caution, they approached the door. Charlie waved his wand over the handle checking if it was safe and when nothing happened he slowly extended his arm, wrapping his palm over the knob and opened the door. 

The room was empty save the motionless form of a naked unconscious man laying fetal on the ground.

The agents, five of them in total, exchanged glances with each other and without a word, one of them knelt down to check his pulse. “He’s alive.” 

“Right, lift him up, let’s take him to holding,” Charlie commanded with a frown. The man looked awfully familiar.  The man kneeling on the floor nodded and tapped his wand on the body, turning it weightless and levitated it horizontally four feet off the ground.

They floated the body through the dimly lit hallways, out of the abandoned wing and through the lifts to the security wing. 

Finally, they reached the holding cells, and inside the white room, bright with harsh fluorescent lights, they dropped him into the steel chair in front of a steel table, his body slumping against the cold surface as soon as they let go of his arms. 

Charlie flicked his wand and a gray light shimmered over the body and clothing, meant for prisoners, materialized over the body.

He then stepped outside and waited for Daphne. He knew she’d be on the way. He had worked with her long enough to know she’d want to be part of the action. Minutes later, the entrance door opened, and Daphne stepped into the corridor lined along the holding cells and headed towards the fourth one where her agents stood, waiting for her. 

“What’s going on Charlie?” she asked. 

Charlie pointed towards the transparent glass that was just a wall from the inside. “We had an intruder in the most unexpected of places.”

Daphne looked in and her eyes widened. It couldn’t be, she thought in shock. His hair was the same, she’d recognise it from a mile away. His face was turned away from them, flat on the table but she knew who it was without even having to look. 

Charlie saw her expression change to recognition. “You know him? He looks familiar to me too.” 

“I’m not sure,” Daphne breathed. “Everyone, leave. Charlie, you stay.”

“Ma’am?” her personal guard questioned. “We can’t leave you alone. Charlie is capable but we still don't know the threat level.”

“It’ll be fine,” Daphne said in a no nonsense tone. “Charlie, open the door. Everyone else. Out.” 

The agents and her guards wanted to resist the order but gave in and left in a single file. 

“Wake him up,” she told Charlie once inside and the others had left. 

“Yes, Ma’am,” Charlie sighed and pointed his wand at the man. “Rennervate.” 

Both watched carefully as the man groaned and stirred. 

His voice, though scratchy, stirred memories from the past in Daphne’s mind, as he straightened up on the chair and looked around in confusion. 

It was his eyes that gave him away. A deep emerald green that Daphne knew went synonymously with Harry Potter. 

She let out a breath she hadn’t realized she had been holding and Charlie gasped, as he too, recognized the man having had spent time with him ages ago at the Dragon Reserve. “Merlin's beard!” 

Harry’s vision swam into focus, adjusting to the bright light and he saw two figures, a man and a woman standing in front of him. How long had it been since he had seen a human? 

It was the woman who drew his immediate attention. She exuded an air of authority, her gray and white pantsuit clung to her slim figure, her face, narrow, oval, with high cheekbones… she was beautiful. Long wisps of her blonde hair framed her dark eyes that held a shade of blue and the rest fell in waves over her shoulder and back.

His memory stirred. He knew those painted lips. He knew those calculating eyes. She had matured, time had passed, but he knew who she was. 

“Daphne,” he whispered. His voice sounded strange to him. Deeper, older. Had time passed for him too? How much time? He yearned to look in a mirror. He looked down at himself, clad in a dark gray shirt and pant. His body felt bigger. His left hand, which he remembered he had lost, was organic and intact. He realized his gouged out eye was back too. He felt good. He felt alive. 

He looked back at Daphne with wonder as scattered memories began to graze the surface of his mind. 

“You survived.” Daphne said, her voice even, controlled. A stark contrast to the emotions she was feeling within. Her fingers twitched, just itching to slap him across his face but she controlled the impulse. 

Harry stared at her. Just drinking in her image. She looked so good. It must have been years since he had fulfilled his Quest. Although to him, it felt like a faded distant memory. How long had it been for him? It must have been hundreds.

“I survived,” Harry replied, his voice still raspy. “Can I get some water?” 

Daphne nodded to Charlie and he flicked his wand, conjuring a glass jug of water with a glass beside it, on the gleaming steel table. 

Harry raised an eyebrow. “Is it real?” 

“Summoned, not conjured,” Charlie said. 

Harry nodded and poured half a glass of water and sipped at it slowly. “That feels great,” he sighed, closing his eyes, relishing the taste of liquid life. He took a closer look at the man next to Daphne. He was a short man dressed in black robes, typical wizard garb and his hardened face and ginger hair rang a bell in his memories. 

“It’s Charlie. Charlie Weasley. I was your caretaker back when you were sent to the Dragon Reserve in Romania.”

Ah, yes. Harry remembered. The man who rode dragons. 

Daphne took a seat on the opposite side of the table, the legs of the cushioned chair screeching against the floor. Charlie joined her. 

“So where have you been all this time?” Daphne asked, folding her arms, looking at him with a mild glare. She was having difficulty controlling the anger bubbling within her. 

“Adrift,” Harry replied, his eyes drifting far away. The void he was lost in weighing down on him, even though he had escaped, even though he felt relief, the terror of being a wisp of consciousness, forever on the brink of annihilation, sent a shiver down his spine. 

Daphne and Charlie’s eyes widened at the brief haunting look in his eyes. 

“Hung on by a thread,” he added. “Don’t know how, but I did.” 

“Are.. are you okay?” Charlie asked. He didn’t look like he was all there.

Harry blinked, the pair opposite him coming back into focus and he smiled wryly. “Fine. It’s … just been a very long time.”

“Do you remember what happened in Atlantis?” Daphne asked. 

Charlie glanced at Daphne, he hadn’t ever heard the full story. Just bits and pieces. 

“Vaguely,” Harry mumbled, the high from escaping ebbing away allowing fatigue to enter his bones.

“All I remember is that I succeeded.” 

“You did,” Daphne acknowledged. “And what now?” 

Harry laughed. “Now? I sleep without the fear of losing my consciousness..” His dry laugh turned into hacking coughs and he took a gulp of water. 

“And after that?” Charlie pressed. “Any world domination plans… or crazy adventure plans … plans with insane collateral??” 

Snippets from the past roused his memories. His Desert. His Quest. The collateral.

“I get it,” he said softly, his eyes focusing on Charlie. “You’re scared of me. Sacred of what I might do. Considering what I did. I get it. You want to put me behind bars or on trial, go ahead. All I have planned right now is a good night's sleep and…” he glanced at Daphne, “Perhaps a conversation.”

Charlie glanced at Daphne. Her expression was stoic. He couldn’t tell what she was thinking. 

A moment later she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She exhaled slowly and opened her eyes. “Let him rest, keep him under guard and…” she gestured around the room, “make this place … comfortable I guess.” 

“Yes, ma’am.” 

“I’ll make a decision on what to do with him tomorrow,” she said and stood up abruptly. She looked into Harry’s eyes, her own, unreadable and then turned on her heel and walked out. 

Charlie turned to look at Harry with raised eyebrows. “Care to tell me what that was about?” 

“Some things can’t be explained, Charlie,” Harry said with a faint smile. “Can you tell me how long it’s been? Since… you know.”

“Eleven years.”

“Huh, not bad.” 

Charlie just looked at Harry quizzically. He had so many questions and the Minister wasn’t going to get away that easy without answering them. She better not leave without answering a few at least. 

He drew his wand from his wrist holster and waved ribbons in the air and a silver dust sparkled out spreading around the room, falling on all the surfaces and the room transformed into a decent sleeping space; a bed with blankets tucked into one corner, the floor carpeted and a wash basin and commode with accessories, in the opposite corner combined with an L shaped translucent screen for privacy.

“Nice,” Harry appreciated. He hadn’t reached out to his magic since awakening. He didn’t want to. He just wanted to feel human. 

“Don’t try to think about escaping. Magic has come a long way from what it was. The wards will keep you in.” 

“I’ll try not to dream about it,” Harry retorted mildly, with a roll of his eyes as he made straight for the bed, his intentions clear. 

Charlie nodded and left, the door clicking shut and the lights dimmed. 

“Perfect,” Harry mumbled as he drew the blanket over him and let his head sink into the pillow. “Perfect,” he whispered again as eyes drifted shut.

He was alive. 

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

After a brief conversation with the agents, Charlie walked out into the lobby and saw the Minister leaning against the wall, next to the exit. Her two bodyguards closeby. She had been waiting for him. 

“Let’s go to my office,” she said and walked towards the lift, nodding to the staff who greeted her. The floor belonged to the security agents. It was a hexagonal shaped lobby with six doors each leading to a specific department. 

She walked towards the large central lift, her guards pressing the buttons and silently they made their way to her office, where the guards stood outside and Daphne and Charlie sat opposite each other at her desk. 

Daphne sighed and opened her bottom drawer, pulling out a bottle of whiskey and two glasses. She poured a generous amount in both and pushed one towards Charlie. 

“Fuck,” she sighed and took a sip. 

Charlie grinned. Amused in spite of the situation and took a sip himself before setting down the glass and looking at Daphne. “So what’s the history, Daph?” he asked as the setting changed to casual. 

“It was the end of the world, Charlie. We had a thing,” she said, rolling her eyes. “It just feels … surreal now. What happened that day… the memory of it. It’s like a fantasy. I thought he died at the end but here he is. He managed to survive.” 

“He looks a bit cuckoo if you ask me. Whatever happened to him. He’s definitely not all there mentally. We should keep him confined under medical observation. Let them assess him and let us know if he belongs in the nuthouse.”

Daphne scoffed. “He belonged in the nuthouse before as well.” She chuckled, thinking back to Hogwarts. How stupid she had been. “Only back then, no one could put a leash on him. He was a loose cannon.”

“And now….?” Charlie trailed off the question. He sensed a but coming.

“If he’s sane and cooperative. We could use him. Give him his freedom and in exchange, resolve some of our… security issues.”

“You mean Bellatrix?” 

“To start with,” Daphne said, holding her glass gingerly, her fingers around the rim, rolling the liquid within, before taking a deep sip. Her brain was working, planning. She’d deal with her emotions later.

Charlie pursed his lips, thinking over it. “That would be an ideal scenario if no one knew about it. Are we talking about covering this up or are we talking about taking it to the World Government.”

“Keep it under wraps of course. For all we know it could be a shapeshifter. Just more anomalies in the Abandoned Wing which demands more funds to investigate,” she said slyly. 

“I don’t know how you do it,” Charlie replied with a chuckle.

“What, politics?”

“Yeah.”

Daphne laughed. “We should be glad there’s politics to deal with. It just means our civilization has made progress. We’ll tell them eventually, once we've done a full assessment. And if there’s a chance this goes to trial we need the most dangerous man on the planet compliant. Force will get us nowhere. Just leave him to me for now. Get him checked by medical and keep the circle small and sworn to secrecy unless otherwise instructed.” 

Charlie raised his glass acknowledging the orders and chugged the remains of his glass and let out a content sigh. “Good stuff.”

“From the vaults of Rome,” she said with a smirk. “A gift from our last conference of leaders.” 

“We should start investing in rebuilding vineyards,” Charlie said with a chuckle before standing up. “Just be careful, Daphne. Don’t take any unnecessary risks with him. Not now. We have enough on our plates to deal with.” 

Daphne nodded and the moment Charlie left, she locked and silenced the room with a flick of her finger and dropped her head on the table and groaned out loud. Seeing him after more than a decade had past brought back memories she had long buried deep in the vaults of her mind. Memories she often questioned if they had been real. She had been holding it together, but now, alone at last, she could let it all out.

She poured herself another drink, this time filling the glass to the brim. Getting drunk sounded like a perfectly sound line of reasoning to her.