Hogwarts: Era of Darkness

"Are you still trying to make one?" Quincy asked, walking into my workshop and bringing a big cup of hot tea with her.

"Yeah, it is fun, just as your potion-making exercises!" I answered, leaning over my table, where I was trying to create a simple pair of rings with a magical enchantment embedded within them.

Since discovering Peverell's grimoire in the past months, I have been asking him questions and trying to learn artifact-making through him, just as Quincy worked hard to become a master alchemist via Flamel's books and equipment. The difference between our two chosen fields was not as big as someone would have guessed, looking in from the outside. It was almost identical; only the tools and materials differed slightly.

Quincy had the option to find alternatives, to change out certain components of a potion to a different one to alter, weaken, or strengthen the potion's desired effects. She could alter the method of the laid-out concoction to do the same thing or to create something completely different. My situation was pretty much the same. I had a long list of materials I could work with, mix, and match to create different results, and while working with them, I could even substitute them with different ones.

Right now, I was in the middle of creating a pair of jewelry that would be magic-reactive. I don't know how, but Grindelwald managed to procure some chimera scales when I mentioned my idea, so I diligently worked on not wasting any of them. Their effect was precisely what I needed because, as I mentioned, mixing and matching components is just as much part of my field as Quincy's.

My main component was Lussa Bark, the outer layer of a tree growing in the Nepali regions, blooming only once every hundred years under a full moon. We traded it while visiting Diagon Alley in disguise, dispersing our little propaganda pieces. We dictated them down, and our words were polished by Professor Lockhart in editing, turning them into something personal and direct. It reads now as if the reader had a one-to-one conversation with us. I had to admit, he did an outstanding job, making Grindelwald also nod in appreciation after checking it.

Anyway, Lussa Bark. It had an ashen color, almost like an already burnt log, yet it was surprisingly stiff and rigid. Working with it was difficult as I had to be careful not to break it. When it is shrunk to the size I was working with, it could be brittle if I went at it like a chimpanzee with a saw. On paper, I would have needed to reinforce it with Ollio Scales, a type of dog-sized lizard from Nicaragua with a magic-reflective skin. Sadly, we couldn't get any... and naturally, we don't have time to find them ourselves. According to Grindelwald's knowledge, they were rare creatures even in his time, hunted for their scales so much that they almost went extinct.

That is where the chimeras came into play. I was reading about alternates when I came across their origin and descriptions. They are unnatural beings, resulting from an ancient experiment that went wrong somewhere in the Middle Ages. Although they count as rare, they can reproduce and periodically cause trouble when they appear, so killing and harvesting them is always readily taken on by adventurous wizards. What makes them risky to hunt is that their tail, the snake part, also has the same effect as Ollio Scales. If a wizard is not careful enough, he could easily find his spells either deflected or reflected back onto himself.

By replacing the original requirement, I was on the road to creating my very first and genuine artifacts. I was simply taking it slowly, only committing to fusing the materials when I was confident in succeeding. I wouldn't want to waste any material, not when getting them is already a chore. Slowly but surely, I reached the point where the last remaining two steps were finishing fusing the rings into a whole and then using magic to infuse the two with enough power to become magical.

It didn't require special incantations, nor did it have to be accompanied by some magical formation or anything unique. It needed simple concentration, focus, and the creator's will to let loose his magic, funneling it through his wand into the artifact. It had to be controlled perfectly, ensuring enough goes in to have an effect but not too much to break it. When I told Quincy, she said it was similar to how she had to precisely stir her potions in the right direction, at the correct speed, and just as many times as needed. Making a mistake there could also mean the potion turns out to be a dud, only good to be flushed down in the toilet.

"It looks much more complete than a few days ago." She hummed, sipping on her tea, watching the two rings floating above the desk, placed in a magical field that I was using to 'bake' the materials together.

"They need eight more hours, thirteen minutes, and eleven seconds to merge completely. Then, I can move on to the last session, which will make me disappear for a day because I will need to concentrate."

"While you do it, I will also continue cooking my new potion, fufufu!"

"You are not going with the Professor?" I asked, looking at her, leaning in, and taking a sip from her mug.

"Lockhart can handle the drop-off. He may be a bit whiny, but he is not as incompetent as we were still in school. Maybe he matured?"

"Heh. Maybe." We chuckled at the same time before she continued asking me. 

"How powerful will it be by your estimations?"

"It is not easy to tell until it is finished, but my goal is to make it automatically deflect or cancel out three to five spells a day."

"Woah, that much?!"

"The minimum I want is three... but I try my best to make it five. And I don't think it would deflect high-level spells; it has limits... I am still a novice."

"Yeah, a novice who can make something like that!" She giggled, kissing my face. "I'd say intermediate! I do count myself as one when it comes to potion making, hmph!"

"Hehe, sassy!" I grinned, patting her bottom, "The thing is, even when done, it will not be able to reflect strong and most likely deadly spells. It is for an extra layer of defense when being ambushed, to prevent us from being flung away, disarmed, and the like. Even when I put it on your finger, you must remember not to trust it blindly!"

"Wait..." She gawked, her eyes locking onto mine, sparkling. "You mean..."

"Duh. We are already married in name, so I want others to be aware of it by simply looking at your finger!"

"...!" Putting her mug down, she jumped on me, hugging my neck and passionately kissing my lips.

"Let's get to the bedroom..." I mumbled, but we only got as far as the workshop's couch, where she pushed me down, already half-stripped from her and my clothes.

...

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.....

In the heart of Manchester, the trio of Hermione, Neville, and Krum were waiting atop an old, four-story building's rooftop, surrounded by a spell that made their presence masked before muggles and most detection spells. They had been enduring the stormy, windy weather an hour before the sun even began rising above the horizon, and by eight, they could barely feel their fingers.

"Are we sure we are at the right location?" Neville asked, making Krum nod.

"We are." Hermione agreed, watching the little park they had in their sights. The crowd was beginning to thin out as schools were starting, making the kids disappear, leaving behind those who were skipping class or were late and those who were heading to work. As the minutes ticked on, they were also getting less in numbers, and the park became empty once again. "Just keep watching the tree mentioned. They will make the drop there."

"Oh... It appeared." Krum flinched, and the others knew at once what he meant. The moment they knew the destination, the group placed down multiple enchantments, all for the purpose of alerting them if something happened, be it normal or magical. 

"There!" Hermione pointed with her wand towards the left end of the park, using it to find the source of magic, where they could see a man dressed in casual, muggle clothes, slipping something back into his sleeve before hurriedly leaving.

"Pursue?" Krum asked, ready to go after the supposed wizard who just made something appear within the tree itself, disturbing their detection spells.

"No." Neville whispered, trying to figure out why the old-looking, balding man's walking was familiar.

"Don't try too hard; he has to be using polyjuice and who knows what else."

"He was walking differently than Quincy or Conrad, so it shouldn't be them. But I think I saw the same posture somewhere, sneaking around the Anguine's villa the same way... Hm..."

"Doesn't matter." Krum added, making Hermione nod her head.

"I'd like to go directly to them, but that would not be the right choice. It would make them defensive and question why we are looking for them. We have to make them want to meet us if we want them to be forthright. Let's wait and see who comes to get it... we will introduce ourselves to that person and see if we can gain the trust of their helpers."

They didn't need to wait for long as a young man appeared, looking around nervously, brandishing his wand way too openly. He was looking around, stopping, waiting, maybe trying to see if anyone else would appear, but he was too obvious about it.

"Not good spy..." Krum chuckled, noticing that Hermione was furrowing her brows. "What?"

"Is that a rat on his shoulder?"

"Huh?" Neville exclaimed, perking up and taking a closer look. "And he is talking to it... His body language is not normal... Something is not right!"

"Animagus?" Krum asked, and the others couldn't help but think the same thing.

"Let's keep looking. Don't interfere yet. Let them collect the package, and we will follow up with them! Who knows, if we can help out Conrad... we will have an even better position when meeting with them!"