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OCTOBER 10TH, 1995
"So what do we actually need the brooms for?" I asked Nicholas when he finally returned from... wherever it was that he went to. In the days since I'd gotten the Firebolt Extreme, I dedicated my time to flying with the broom whenever I could. Sirius took a sick pleasure in designing more and more difficult aerial courses for me to figure out. The good news was that after days with the broom, I was sure that no one else, either on a similar broom, or even a lesser model, would manage to catch me if I was going all out. The broom had incredible straight-line acceleration on its own, and then there were the turns it could make. It had an impossibly tight turning radius and could respond to the faintest and slightest of movements with outsized returns.
In short, the broom was amazing, but the more I used it, the more I wondered what we could possibly use it for. There was a reason that Firebolt only made sports brooms and not brooms for everyday travel. Very few people still used them for that purpose these days, not when there were other options—Floo travel, Apparition, and Portkeys meant they'd basically been kicked out of the industry.
"What do you know about Japan?" he asked.
"You've asked me this before," I pointed out.
"Oh. And you still haven't bothered to get any better, have you? Shame on you, Mr. Potter." I gave him a deadpan look.
"Well, since you are the definitive source of information that I have access to, I felt it would be better not to create any preconceptions that you'd then have to beat out of me by reading the wrong things," I said.
"Uh huh," Nicholas nodded.
"Well, since you must know, the entirety of the island of Japan is covered by a series of wards. They deny magical entry through Apparition, Portkey, or even the Floo network—assuming you somehow manage to connect to Japan's Floo network from the outside. Needless to say, the only ways in are to either be invited or to enter by other means. For us, we'll be flying. And since you're going to ask why I asked for the best brooms specifically, it is because we can expect to run into a patrol or two during our entrance. And we'd be best served by either escaping or dispatching of them while flying. Hence the good brooms. You did get good brooms, yes?" he asked, remembering the last bit had been left in my care. Well, mine and Sirius'.
"The best brooms even money can't buy," I assured him with a nod of my head.
"Well, that's brilliant. And Perenelle should be on her way up here now," he said. We were on one of the many balconies around the villa, staring at the sea as the waves ate the beach before receding back to its domain, and then came back again. There was something calming about it—the consistent push and pull of it.
Perenelle ended up coming about three minutes later than Nicholas' prediction would have suggested. The sound of her heels clicking against the floor heralded her coming, and when she did, it was with a bag floating behind her. A satchel that opened up to reveal a line of potions.
"So Nicholas has told me what he plans on doing while there and the role you will be playing in his plans—well, in as much as you can call anything he's managed to come up with a plan. So I have brewed a selection of potions that I feel would be of great help to your adventures," she said.
"Thank you, Perenelle," I said, reaching for the satchel. She slapped my hand away before speaking again.
"No. I'll tell you what exactly each of the potions does and what they look like so you don't get them mistaken," she said. And then she made the motion of sitting down. Before she could sit on air, there was a chair beneath her. Nicholas slipped his wand back in his sleeve. That was an impressive level of coordination between them.
"So first of all, this is one you should already be familiar with," she said, taking out a clear bottle. It looked like there was only water within it, and the vial was extremely small, topped out by a dropper.
"Veritaserum," I said in recognition.
"Exactly. This you can use if you need to question anyone. If they have mastered Occlumency, you can use the potion along with your Legilimency to have an easier time of it," she said. I nodded as she put it back in the satchel. It had several internal notches for potions. The next one she took out was a bright blue that seemed to glow from within.
"This is my wide-awake potion. A special brew of mine. You can only use it twice in a row, but once you do, you will get eight hours of sleep in one minute. Of course, as you could imagine, you won't be able to wake up for the whole minute, so only use it when you are sure you have the time and are secure enough to do so. Don't forget, only twice in a row at most. It strains your brain with each use. If you use it a third time without getting any actual sleep, there's equal chances of you waking up mad or not waking up at all," she said. That, I nodded at rapidly. Yup. No abusing that one for me. Not worth the risks at all.
"Then these two, I recommend that you use in concert," she said, taking out two vials after stowing the bright blue potion away. The two vials she produced, one a deep dark red, and the other clear as water, but in a much larger vial than the Veritaserum had been. It had a standard cork, indicating it was to be drunk rather than dripped.
"This one," she indicated the red, "is a vial of what I call hundredfold strength. It is basically distilled Re'em's blood with a little something extra to give it even more of a kick. Use it if you're in a tight corner and need a tad more physical strength than usual," she said.
"A tad more?" I asked, wary. The name didn't seem like it was going to be giving me a light boost.
"If you need to punch your way out of a mountain, this would be of some help," she said. I nodded. Okay, use that if you want to delete shit with your fists, I told myself.
"And since it has Re'em's blood, you can expect your cognitive facilities to experience some light degradation. You could try combating that with Occlumency, but don't expect to succeed much. Instead, you ought to use this," she said, pointing at the clear vial next.
"Mental acuity potion. Should give you a boost enough that you'll be firing on all cylinders even with the hundredfold strength in your system," she said, and I nodded.
She put both potions back, and then took out another potion that shifted colours in the light. "This one is another one of my inventions. Demiguise hair, chameleon urine, and a few other things make it so once you take this, no conventional means of tracking or recording your magical signature will work. There are several vials here, so make sure you take one every few hours once in Japan, to make sure you don't leave behind anything that can be traced back to you. Nicholas might be fine making enemies with every nation that exists, but there's no reason for you to inherit his bad behaviours yet," she said with a smirk anyway, even as Nicholas protested behind her.
"Then this should be another one you are familiar with," she said, taking out another vial. This one had Polyjuice in it.
"Polyjuice," I said in recognition. She nodded, slipping it back into the satchel before stretching it out to me. I nodded my thanks, accepting it.
"Nicholas was also able to work on the satchel as well. Just say what potion you need and put your hand inside," she said.
"Wide-awake," I tried, and placed my hand in the bag. When I took it out, it was clenched around a familiar vial of glowing blue liquid.
"So cool," I said, turning to the alchemist.
"You think that's cool? You haven't even gotten to my gifts yet."
"Your gifts? You're coming along?"
"Well, once I found Perenelle was making you things, I couldn't be shown up, could I? Wouldn't be much of a master if everyone got you something and I didn't."
"Everyone?"
"Oops."
"Now look what you've gone and done, ruining Sirius' surprise," Perenelle admonished her husband.
"I'm sure Harry here will pretend to be adequately surprised when the time comes. Now can we get to what I made?" he said with all the enthusiasm of a child, and none of the guilt of having ruined someone else's plans.
"Just get it over and done with," Perenelle sighed.
Nicholas reached into the inner pocket of his robes and took out a small bottle. It was one of those tiny glass bottles that wouldn't look out of place in an exhibition of some sort. The bottle was transparent, and within it, there was a series of flashes.
"What the hell is that?" I found myself asking before even thinking it through.
"Guess," he said.
"You didn't," Perenelle said, aghast, and taking a step backwards. Something dangerous then? I wondered, stepping even closer.
"I did." Nicholas didn't seem to share Perenelle's caution. I looked closer and closer. It was flashing. There was one straight line of energy, and other lines branched off of it, flashing every second or so. It looked just like…
"Lightning," I said, not even going to attempt hiding the awe in my voice.
"You captured lightning in a bottle. That's brilliant," I said.
"No, that's stupid. You're both… aaagggh." Perenelle seemed to give up on trying to talk any sense into the two of us as she turned and just left the balcony.
"How the hell did you do it?"
"Nuh-uh, apprentice mine. You have until we get back from Japan to figure it out. And as for how to use it, just throw it at something you want to stop existing in a few seconds, close your eyes, and brace for impact," he said.
"Simple and sweet," I commented.
"Just the way I like it. And as for my second, you should already be familiar with the compass," he said, taking out a familiar compass from another one of his pockets. I nodded. This one, I had gotten to use before. Choose what you want to find and let the compass lead you.
"I assume it will lead me to the stone," I said. He nodded.
"And finally, we have this." From his pockets, which had to be significantly magically expanded, came a pair of gloves.
"Do you know what these are?" he asked, tossing them at me. I caught them mid-air, feeling their weight in my hands. They were made of leather, black with red stitching that glowed even in the balcony. On the back of the gloves were engraved a set of runes. Actually dozens of runes, I noticed as I looked even closer.
"Alchemy gloves?" I tried, not seeing what else they could be.
"Indeed. Don't expect to be able to use magic within the Imperial Palace without getting swarmed. Their wards are so delicate that even a Lumos would give away your position. Of course, alchemy when using gloves doesn't trigger quite the same warning systems, so you shall be using alchemy, the potions Perenelle gave, as well as mine and Sirius' gifts instead of your magic while within the palace," he explained.
I nodded.
"I heard someone ruined my surprise," Sirius' voice came from the hallway a few seconds before he stepped out into the balcony, joining the two of us in the cool Mediterranean breeze.
"A complete accident, I assure you. Very sorry about that, you know?" Nicholas said, not sounding all that sorry, to be honest. He still clearly hadn't gotten over Sirius conspiring with Perenelle so he could win their prank war. Sirius just gave a doubtful nod before turning back to me. Obviously, he didn't believe Nicholas, but he had the good sense to know that the alchemist would quite enjoy being called out on his bullshit just so he could deny it yet again.
"Well, it matters little, because surprise or not, my gifts are just so good that it won't matter. You're still going to be awestruck," he said, pointing straight at me with a showy smile on his face. Sirius had missed his career in show business. He would have made a fantastic TV host if he had been born in a different time—to a different kind of family, as well.
"So, are you ready to have your fragile, uninitiated mind blown and expanded?" he asked. I gave him a deadpan look, asking him to get over with it. He didn't move, clearly saying he was not going to be proceeding until I played along. We stared at each other for close to two minutes before my curiosity got the better of my patience and I sighed.
"Yes, I am, Sirius."
"Yes, you are what? I need to hear the full thing, Harry. And put some enthusiasm in it as well," he said, smile still wide. I was tempted to banish him off the balcony. If I hit the spell at the right angle and without force, I could send him straight into the sea in a matter of seconds, I thought to myself. It was tempting. So fucking tempting. Sirius managed to notice something was off because he stepped away from the balcony's ledge.
"Fine. Yes, I am ready to have my fragile, uninitiated mind blown and expanded," I said with a sigh.
"Splendid. I would have just settled for mind blown, but it is good to see that you are so enthusiastic. And for the first tool to aid you in your quest to rob the greatest magical empire the world has ever known, we have something from one of the oldest robbers in history," he said, before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a dagger. It was a short blade, curved at the tip. It looked like one of those stereotypical Arabic knives. Was that a good way to describe it? Probably not.
But it had a curve up to the tip that made it a curved blade clearly made for cutting and slicing rather than stabbing.
"This is the knife of Malik the Insatiable, one of the oldest thieves in history. Put this in any lock, and expect to find your way through in a few seconds at the most. Doesn't matter whether the lock is magical or mundane, or a safe, or whatever. If a thing is protected, this knife will help you get at it," he said, before spinning the blade and handing it to me hilt-first.
"And that is just the first of the great gifts from the Magnificent Sirius Black," he said with a theatrical bow.
"And are you going to hand over the second?" I asked after he straightened up and just kept staring at me.
"Oh, I thought you would never ask. Patience, my young Godson. The Great Sirius Black would never keep you waiting without due cause. Your second tool in your act of infiltration and robbery is not to be a robber's tool. Instead, it shall be a tool of self-defence. To you, Harry Potter, I present the Murder Weapon," he said before handing over a very short blade, with care.
I looked at it. Unlike the first, this one had no hilt. In fact, it looked terrible. The hilt was fraying with the leather peeling off in steady amounts. The blade itself was rusted in parts, and stained red all over so you could barely see any of the pure bronze—for yes, the blade was made of bronze. None of that was the notable part, though. That was the fact that it reeked with dark magic like nobody's business.
"What the hell is this?" I asked, taking the blade from him and looking at it.
"The Murder Weapon," he said.
"Murder weapon of what? What is the official name?" I asked. There was no way an artifact this powerful had escaped being named. It was easily one of the most cursed objects I had ever seen. And I was saying this as someone who had a Horcrux literally in his pocket right now.
"That's the name, genuinely. The book in the Black vault said it is one of the oldest weapons ever used in taking the life of another. You won't believe it, but this predates wands," he said.
"No shit, Sirius. It's made of fucking bronze. Of course it predates wands," I scoffed.
"Well, what will for sure surprise you is that the weapon was never intentionally cursed. The book said it was used in killing so many people that it just absorbed the negative emotions of it and all that. Don't stab someone with that if you don't mean it though. Wounds inflicted by the Murder Weapon never heal," he said.
"Never?" I asked, shocked. That was one hell of a curse.
"You think the name was for fancy? It's the Murder Weapon. You stab someone with it, they die. Don't go nicking yourself with it, either, but it does have some protections against that," he said.
"Wow… This is—"
"Amazing, I know. If you were literally any other kid, I wouldn't even tell you this thing existed, but we both know you're not in a position where you can pretend everyone deserves another chance. And you're going to Japan of all places. If you have to kill a hundred people to come back to me safe and sound, then do it. Just come back, Harry," he said, before enclosing me in a tight hug.
A/N: And so we have the final bits of preparation and planning. Next four chapters up on patreon (https://www.patreon.com/c/Oghenevwogaga)(same username as here and link in bio), support me there and read them early– 15% discount for a limited time.