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RoR, Hogwarts
–Damian Hawthorne–
He slumped back in his seat after going through the exhausting process of getting useful information out of Tommy, especially since the House Elf was clearly enjoying the process of tormenting him, which he realised after the third question.
Tommy didn't know they were Wakandans but could sense their weird magic and the questionable magical artifacts they had brought in, and the odd orders regarding the guests, as all House Elves had been ordered to stay out of their quarters, until the duration of their stay.
Not for cleaning, not for food, nothing. Their food was to be delivered at a fixed place right outside the quarters, and to retrieve the cleaned plate from them. That was to be the extent of interaction between the House Elves and the guests, as per Dumbledore's orders. It made sense since most wizards could take care of themselves indefinitely, provided they had a little sense and a reliable and safe source of sustenance, which they most definitely did as the House Elves provided it.
Tommy did not know their names, and was not willing to go and find that out, as that would be against Dumbledore's explicit orders, but there was another way he could prove himself very useful.
Turning to the smug House Elf, who looked far happier than when he first appeared in front of him, he asked, "So, Tommy, I have one last question before I give you the cigars I promised. The number is doubled if you answer this question."
Tommy tried to look uninterested, key word being tried, as he smiled at the subtly vibrating House Elf, who seemed positively manic at the mention of Cigars. Man, what a weird House Elf.
"How do I leave the Castle undetected? And come back as well," He added the last part, aware of the tendency of this particular House Elf, wherein he parted with just half information on purpose, just to mess with you. He wondered if he did the same with Dumbledore? Probably not.
Tommy the House Elf, who had been quite excited at the prospect of cigars, visibly froze before a defeated expression overcame his smiling face, as if the very joy of his life had been sucked out by the impossible question.
He sighed internally at that. It would seem that the only way to get out, at least without putting a giant spotlight on him, was through Hogsmeade, and that option was unavailable to him for now. The other option was to fake an emergency and get out, but once again, a very public method that would guarantee suspicion when he inevitably met the Wakandans in some manner.
Before he could console Tommy about the non answer and tell him that he was going to get him the cigars nonetheless, the House Elf spoke up, "It is through the Dungeons."
He froze, his mind going to one particular Dungeon under the castle, but before arriving at the conclusion, he asked Tommy, "Which Dungeon? Can you take me there?"
Tommy nodded before offering his hand to him. He looked at the hand, sat on the chair, and after a second, having made his decision, stood up and took the smaller hand in his own, ready for the unique brand of teleportation that the House Elves had.
One moment he was standing in the Room of Requirement, the next, he was squished into a tiny hole, which was expected, before he was spit out of the hole, taking a step to steady himself, which was much better than when he first experienced it, but he could do it much better now, after practice. He would give the teleportation experience a solid 7/10, with his own attempt being an obvious 10/10.
Self-glazing aside, he looked around and scrunched his nose due to the smell and saw darkness. Well, not completely darkness, but the area was very dimly lit by the bioluminescent algae present in the sewer line in front of him, which was very concerning. He had not heard of any research done on magical algae that could evolve out of magical waste. Something to look out for in the future. He did not want aggressively multiplying bacteria to form from the aftermath of some of his biological magical experiments he intended to carry out in the future.
After mentally noting total annihilation as the preferred method to get rid of experimental waste, he snapped his fingers, casting a quick and wandless Lumos, creating multiple balls of light around his body, illuminating his immediate surroundings, and what he found had him feeling glad that he hadn't eaten a lot before coming here.
Just gross all around, with questionable material sticking to the walls, and questionable fluids flowing in front of him. It was so bad that he instinctively floated a bit high off the ground, and looked at Tommy, who was also doing the same?!
"You can fly?" He blurted out, noticing that he was doing the same, when technically, most wizards could not fly. Since the cat was out of the bag, he did not do much except send the balls of light flying forward in both directions to see if any more information could be garnered. Quite a versatile spell, Lumos.
"Yes, will that be a problem?" Tommy asked him with a casual tone, but he sensed the deeper probing in the tone. It was probably a trust thing, so he instantly answered, "Not at all. I am doing the same. Anyway, you told me there was a way out?"
"Yes!" Tommy brightened at that, "It's just that the path is narrow and slippery. Very hard to climb. But," Tommy then looked him up and down, at him flying before continuing, "I think you can get out."
And so, Tommy showed him a series of increasingly shrinking tunnels that led to a straight tunnel that led outside, which was barely wide enough to hold him and also lined with the gross stuff from earlier. From the feeling of magic he was getting, he was now officially out of Hogwarts' Wards, and that might be a good or bad thing, depending on the result of the little outing he was about to take.
Turning to Tommy, "Thank you, Tommy. I'll call for you in a couple of hours. Don't worry, I'll bring your cigars with me." He added as Tommy opened his mouth to remind him about his bribe.
And just like that, he flew out of the hole, after covering himself in a forcefield to make sure none of the gross stuff landed on his clothes.
It was time to raise some mayhem. Let the world know that the Giant Killer was back!
…..
…
..
When he arrived four hours later, just as the sky was starting to light up, it was with a small grin on his face, which was kind of haggard as well, due to the magical exhaustion he was facing at the moment.
Even so, that was magic well spent in his opinion, as he got to hit two birds with one stone, taking out a reviled place and throwing off any attention that might hit him in the future.
As it turned out, Mother Magic really did not like Dementors.
___xx___
–Headmaster Kato—
Sighing, he closed the door behind him, the two Magic Tribe Juniors assigned to him still sleeping after gorging on the admittedly fantastic food that Hogwarts provided, not that he would blame them. Them being asleep was far better than them prowling about the castle and drawing Dumbledore's attention, which would just lead to a fight they were not equipped to win right now.
It was quite early in the morning, with the sun's rays shining down upon the pathway that was quite magically constructed, most probably to maximise the effect of the sun illuminating the otherwise dark surroundings, by the Castle itself. A fascinating and probably one of a kind Magical creature.
As he climbed to Dumbledore's office, the doors swung open on their own, skipping the whole password thing since Dumbledore knew he was coming. As soon as he entered his office, he saw Dumbledore reading a newspaper.
"Ah, Headmaster. What a pleasant morning today, don't you think?"
He sat on the chair in front of Dumbledore, confused at the sudden change in behavior, especially after yesterday's conversation which had ended on a hostile note, though Dumbledore displayed no obvious will to fight, but the meaning was clear.
Touch his students, and no restraint will be shown.
"Good morning?" he began, confused, only for Dumbledore to fold his newspaper and throw it on the table, with the headline visible to him.
The Giant Killer strikes again, destroying Azkaban in a single night of high powered, extremely destructive magic, leaving behind the now dismembered Dementors that have become immobile and unresponsive.
What will the Ministry's response to this be? What of the prisoners held there? What of the island? It's Employees? Its strategic location?
Will the ICW and Dumbledore finally step off their high horses and do something about this menace to society?
"As it turns out, Headmaster Kato, the Giant Killer, your target, is out there, destroying important government infrastructure, and your people have been moving around Hogwarts. I wonder how well that bodes.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a Ministry meeting to attend."
He could do nothing but watch as Dumbledore called upon his Phoenix and left the office in a blazing flame of fire, leaving him stunned and confused, staring at the newspaper in front of him, feeling as if the headline was mocking him.
If you would like to read ahead 12 chapters ahead, you can head to my P*treon.