With a dark wizard's rise to power, the International Confederation has assigned two aurors from the British Ministry to apprehend Gellert Grindelwald. The responsibility to protect the wizarding world and to stop an outbreak of war lay on their sho...
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Having worked late with Mathéo to finish the paperwork and release Eloise, Ariadne finally stepped into their townhouse. The light of the living room was still on as Theseus read the paper. The front page had been replaced with an uninteresting story about a famous wizard. Grindelwald's rally long forgotten.
"Dinner's cold," Theseus commented calmly, his eyes never leaving the paper.
"No kidding," Ariadne grumbled, taking off her coat and placing it on the hook. Bombey had made the pair a nice stew and with a quick tap of her wand, the bowl let out steam again. Carefully picking it up, Ariadne grabbed a spoon before heading upstairs, leaving Theseus alone.
Locking the door behind her, Ariadne stared at the pocket watch. She furrowed her brows as a plan came into mind. Was it really impulsive and dangerous? Yes. Was it her only option to gain more information? Possibly yes. Could she pull it off? Definitely.
The house they were staying in was protected by a charm that made it impossible to apparate in and out. The spell had its pros and cons. One of the cons was that Ariadne had to wait for Theseus to return to his room. Staying in the same house was already awkward enough but to tell him her plan? He would go ballistic.
Soon enough, Ariadne heard footsteps travelling up the stairs. The door to Theseus' room opened and closed. After waiting a few more minutes, Ariadne slowly opened her door, careful not to make any noise. Her steps were light on the stairs. She made her way outside and in a blink, she was gone.
Passel Manor sat on the outskirts of a small town in France. It was beautifully large. Tall iron fences surrounded the land, keeping the Manor secluded from peering eyes. Ariadne could faintly remember the last time she was here, in an itchy dress being cluelessly led by her parents. Passel's family hosted many balls, some more extravagant than the other. She remembered the uneasy feeling of being watched, like everyone there had something bad to say about you.
Pushing past her memories, Ariadne used a quick spell to unlock the gate. There wasn't much greenery surrounding the building compared to Cycad manor. Instead of blossoming flowers, dead branches and thick vines, unkept and untrimmed, crawled all over the exterior. Even with natural death covering the manor, it still stood with all its glory. No light shone through the dark windows and Ariadne took that as a good omen. She sneaked along the left side of the building. Her heart thumping in her chest as she opened a window. Climbing up, she glanced at both ends of the hallway before jumping in.
"Lumos." Bright light lit up the dark corridor. Ariadne counted three doors from the end and opened the fourth. The room was Mace's study. Ariadne remembered seeing her father enter the room multiple times. When she asked her mother what they were doing, she would always reply with: 'They're just catching up, they were school friends.'
There were no windows here, blocking prying servants or even nosing family members. The dark room laid untouched, the ghost of Mace Passel still lingering around. Shelves fitted one wall and a large table stood in the middle, a leather chair paired neatly with the set. Books lined the wall and a glass cabinet filled with liquor caught her attention. Ignoring everything, Ariadne rushed to the large table. She had seen it once as a small girl caught up with her father's business. She emptied the drawer, filing through each chamber, hoping to uncover secrets hidden away. Just as she was about to give up, something deep within the draw caught her attention. It was an opening for a secret compartment. She knew it was because he had one.
Ariadne pushed the objects away from the end of the drawer, careful not to make any noise. Shoving her arm deep within the drawer, her fingers latched onto a small circle handle and she pulled. The end of the drawer fell easily and Ariadne found what she was looking for.
Letters written by her father spilled out and Ariadne couldn't help but stare at the broken Nott seal. Without wasting another second, she grabbed all of them and placed them in her pouch that she had enchanted beforehand. A quick charm sent everything she had thrown back in their place. Swiftly getting up, she almost let out a gasp as her eyes focused on a figure.
It's just an armour stand, she thought to herself, trying to calm down her racing heartbeat. She rushed out of the room, her mission was complete and she wanted to get out. It had taken more bravery to get into the manor and right now she was running low. She was so close, all she had to do was escape the confining walls of the manor that she wasn't invited in. As she ran down the hallway, memories of a younger version of herself followed. For a second, Ariadne swore she saw a flash of blue, long ruffles that fell to the floor. A dress she hadn't seen since that night. However, her body froze, eyes glossing over her escape path. The window which she had entered through was now closed. Funny, she was sure that she had left it open.
Before she knew it, a spell was shot at her and through the reflection of the window, Ariadne quickly dodged, casting a protective shield around her.
Stepping into the light of the moon, Ariadne recognised the face of Arthur Passel. He was Mace's father, an older man whose mind was deteriorating. Many would stare at him with pity when he entered the room. Whispers of his glory days were the only thing that carried Arthur higher than others. Ariadne remembered one night, he had entered the ballroom, exploding with anger. It took a few men to get him back to his room where the yelling was silenced. Arthur wobbled as he leaned on his cane, his wand in the other hand. He threw the first spell and they started to duel. It was not in Ariadne's intention to hurt the man, but it was definitely his.
His spells were sloppy but dangerous, traces of dark magic lingering between each spell. He created and threw blasts at her while she sent stunning spells, hoping to knock him out cold before anyone got hurt. Ariadne lifted a shield from a nearby knight stand, sending it flying towards him. Inspired by her idea, he raised the sword up. It was soaring towards her and because she was too focused on softening the shield's speed, the sword sliced her arm.
She inhaled sharply as red blood rushed to the gash. He smirked wickedly at her. Okay, now she wasn't going to play nice. With a flick of her wand, the carpet they were standing on rolled in wave motions, causing the man to trip over his feet and fall. His wand fell out of his hand along with his cane and Ariadne sent the final stunning spell. Just like that, the hallway fell quiet. Silence covered the tall room as she caught her breath. Quickly, she obliviated Arthur and cleaned up the mess he created. Then she left.
Apparating in front of the townhouse, the adrenaline was leaving her body and the wound that Arthur had created was starting to sting. She fumbled as she unlocked the door and walked inside. Ariadne walked straight to the kitchen, leaning against the counter as she caught her breath. Exhaling slowly, she closed her eyes. Every ounce of magic leftover from the fight slowly travelled to her arm. Groaning, the clean cut closed. It was still sore, the skin around red, and with the wrong movement, the wound would reopen, but for now, it would do. She squinted though as the light from the living room turned on, illuminating the kitchen.
Theseus sat in an armchair. "Where have you been?"
"What are you? My mother?" she replied bitterly, her back still facing him. "Oh sorry I didn't come back before curfew."
"Ariadne," he reprimanded.
"Theseus," she mocked, finally turning to him.
His eyes went straight to her left arm, "You're bleeding," he commented. Staring down at her arm, blood stained her cotton shirt and left trickles down her forearm to her fingers.
"I healed it," she disclosed numbly, rubbing her fingers up the blood trail. While she wiped the stain away, Theseus opened his mouth to say something but shut it after a moment of debate. "I'm going to go clean up," Ariadne let out, leaving the room before Theseus could say anything else. As she walked up the stairs, she let out a smile. For she had gotten exactly what she wanted.
