• Hogwarts, Headmaster's Tower, Bedroom •
• 03:25 PM, three hours after the gates opened •
[Albus Dumbledore]
It's always funny to see people's reactions to something outside their perceived environment and reality. I have no idea why I find it amusing, but there's just something about how wildly varied the reactions are that makes me laugh.
It has been three hours since the first gate opened in Italy, and that means it has been enough time for gossip to spread across Europe through wizarding newspapers, the Floo Network, and the many, many different magical communication methods.
This also means that the fact there was an angel present in the Vatican is a very widely discussed headline by now. Of course, the content of the meeting afterward is still up to speculation, but that won't last long.
'I give it until the end of the day,' I thought with an amused huff. Scrolling through the speculations about the origins of the angels and gates was really making my day. Despite the fact that I'd already published most of the findings about the gates, there were still a lot of people who thought this was the doing of a Dark Lord, or in some cases just pinning it on Grindelwald.
I shook my head and dropped back onto my bed, closing the Archive screen with a lazy gesture of my hand. I let out a loud exhale as I started to ponder the future once again.
As of today, I had much more complete evidence and data to build my theories on, which meant a lot less speculation on my part.
This also meant that whatever timetable I had before had been completely thrown out. Sure, it was rough, and mostly built on assumptions that had been proven wrong more than once, but at least then I had the illusion of control. Now I did not, and it was starting to itch…
'Let's ponder my control issues later, and focus on the more urgent problems,' I decided, like a grown, competent adult who has too much on his plate already, that ignoring my personality issues until they are no longer a problem is the way to go.
It's not like I don't know them, and the first step to healing is admitting you have a problem.
Well, there. First step taken, and now let's get back to actual world-ending problems.
'So what do I know so far?' I asked myself, stroking my beard as I closed my eyes. It might look weird to an outside observer, but lying in bed and thinking is a very good method. It tricks the body into relaxing while the mind is busy.
"So, divinity…" I muttered thoughtfully.
Divinity is still a little shaky subject to me. My original plan was to let it grow and develop on its own for the next five years while I trained control only, because that was the most rewarding way to achieve my goal of gaining divinity in the first place. Being a capital‑G God.
I wanted my divinity to be comprehensive. All‑encompassing. And I still do. Because having such divinity, one that has the weight of an entire world, would have made my position in the post‑merger world unquestionable.
'But that's all in the trash now.' I grimaced as I thought of abandoning my plan. 'Or is it?'
Huh.
A sudden flash of inspiration hit me. Couldn't I just tweak the nature of my plan just a little? Instead of just waiting until my divinity fully matures, I could make it so that it functions like a skill tree, with various individual concepts and authorities unlocking either automatically or manually.
Hmmm.
I sat up on my bed, my mind buzzing with ideas as I paused almost all my other parallel thoughts and minds and directed them toward my new idea.
It felt like time suddenly slowed down to a crawl, with questions, answers, and theories popping into my head from all sides.
'That won't work like…'
'No, it will. I just need to figure out how to change the faith distribution and conversion ratios.'
'No, it really won't work. This still counts as fracturing divinity.'
'Yeah, that would leave my world vulnerable to outside interference.'
'No it won't. I don't really need to unlock all authorities individually. At all.'
'True. The skill tree will still be an all‑encompassing divinity, and I can just unlock the one authority I need right now, which is miracle, while leaving the rest as is.'
'I don't know. Still feels like something is missing.'
'No, that could actually work. Unlocking the authority of miracles does not really affect my divinity all that much. My divine energy and self‑generated faith will still grow at an unprecedented rate thanks to my supernatural reactor. Not to mention that I can divide the skill tree however I like.'
'This idea might actually work. And it will allow me to plunder domains and authorities of others if I ever go to one of the neighboring worlds.'
My thoughts buzzed, different opinions flying around, methods and theories getting either rejected, accepted, or refined, all while I debated with myself on the validity of my idea and how to go about executing it.
'Looks like I will not be getting any rest after all.' I shook my head and jumped off the bed. A giddy feeling, like butterflies dancing in my chest, urged me to hurry up and head toward my laboratory.
If I could actually make that idea into reality, then some of my plans might be salvageable.
I grinned as I hurried out, not bothering to change my nightgown—I deemed it comfortable enough, and I was busy. It might have been the hope that my success would bring back my control over the current situation, or it could just be me being too curious about how this whole thing would go.
I don't know. But I was feeling very motivated at the moment. The maniacal smile on my face might not indicate such, but I truly was looking forward to testing and verifying all the input and tweaks I was thinking of every second.
'How exciting.'
XxX
• Meeting Chamber No. 3, ICW Headquarters, Switzerland •
• October 16th, 10:30 AM •
[Perenelle Flamel]
Perenelle was bored. Extremely bored.
She had agreed to accompany Nicholas to this meeting because she lost their bet; otherwise, nothing in this world could have forced her to be here.
'Three seconds,' she lamented to herself. If she had opened her eyes as soon as she was done with the ritual, she would have been the winner of the bet. But no, she chose to take a deep breath and soak in the post‑ritual bliss she was feeling…
'Ugh, just thinking about it makes me mad,' she huffed in irritation, elbowing her husband for what might have been the hundredth time today.
She could have been home, sitting in her lab, experimenting with her new magic, and maybe trying the new magic control exercises she found.
Now she had to sit here, smiling softly and acting wise while listening to bumbling idiots who didn't know the first thing about magic or what was happening.
"When's Albus coming, Nick?" she turned her head and said, her voice only heard by her husband alone.
"I sent him a message just a moment ago; he said he's coming." Nick turned to her and replied, his youthful face full of exasperation.
She smiled slightly at the sight. 'This was good. Now he will not try to bring me here again for the next decade,' she thought slyly.
She wasn't really bothered by losing the bet—Merlin knew she had lost so many of them over the decades. She was just bored, and this meant she had to bother her husband too.
'And this has nothing to do with the ranks at all,' she reminded herself. She had to repeat that more than once a day to believe it; otherwise, her husband would find out, and that's just not a good look on a lady.
Yeah, her rank depended on how far she could take her new magic. And how fast. And with only two weeks until the end of the month, she had to be the one ahead.
Her enchantment magic was so much better than her husband's, and she needed to hear him say that.
Sigh~
She sighed inwardly, leaning back on her uncomfortable high‑backed chair, a fake warm smile on her face. The end of this meeting could not come soon enough…
XxX
• Meeting Chamber No. 3, ICW Headquarters, Switzerland •
• October 16th, 10:30 AM •
[Nicholas Flamel]
Nicholas pursed his lips together to suppress an exasperated sigh from escaping, while inwardly scolding himself for his most recent bad decision—making his wife accompany him here.
He knew his Perenelle wouldn't be mad at him for long, especially since she'd gotten her spark of competitiveness and drive back. She'd most likely forget about all of this while experimenting with her new magic later.
'But just in case she does not, I should think of a gift for her,' he reminded himself, not that there was anything left in the world that he had not gifted her before.
'Maybe a new kind of alchemically created roses?' He filed the idea as an option for later. He knew his wife, and she did love her roses. 'Or maybe a new in‑house garden?'
He furrowed his eyebrows slightly to suppress the ideas that kept popping into his head. It all depended on how angry she got later, after all.
'I really should have done more research on the ritual before all of this,' he lamented his situation as he spied his wife's mood from the corner of his eye.
They had been wrong about almost everything concerning it. They thought they would not be affected as much as most wizards considering they were physically immortal, but they were wrong.
The ritual's effect was more than just giving them a bout of enlightenment. They were no strangers to those. What the ritual did was connect them to the world in a way they had never before thought possible. They were judged and rewarded based on their success.
'Just remembering the experience makes me wonder how and why Albus was the first to encounter such a thing,' he thought, a little transfixed with Albus's luck.
He had theorized a lot since he woke up from his ritual, and the only thing he could come up with to explain everything was either a fascinating amount of luck or divine intervention.
Before yesterday, he believed in luck more, but after the whole angel thing, he wasn't so sure anymore.
Still, all of that wasn't really important, much like the chatter that was happening next to him.
"It's Grindelwald's doing, I tell you."
"How could Grindelwald do any of this? And when would he have the time to set all of it up?"
"The what? Don't tell us you believe Dumbledore's crazy idea about dimensional invasion."
"Of course I do! The man said we were on the verge of war with outside beings long before the so‑called gates opened yesterday, and he was proven right. Much like his talk about divinity and gods…"
"Don't start this again. The data in the Archive is clear and everything is explained in a way that most competent wizards and witches would understand…"
"Do you really think I would connect myself to such magic? What if I am then cursed under the same spell you all are under?"
Nicholas rubbed his forehead in a preemptive strike against the headache that would no doubt ail him if he continued to listen to that nonsense.
They had been going in circles again and again. Different people discussing the same topic with different opinions.
The only reason this whole stadium hadn't erupted into chaos of spells was the weight of his and Perenelle's attendance, as well as how severe the consequences of such actions would be.
'I pity you, Albus,' he thought. 'You are going to have your hands full with whatever it is you are planning.'
And he meant it. He might not know what Albus was planning, but he had a few guesses. One does not hand over power to every Tom, Dick, and Harry without having much larger plans.
XxX
• Meeting Chamber No. 3, ICW Headquarters, Switzerland •
• October 16th, 10:39 AM •
[Albus Dumbledore]
The soothing sound of Fawkes, my phoenix, silenced the room as I made my entrance in a show of flame and magic. An entrance grand enough to be worthy of the strongest wizard alive.
The room went silent as if under a spell. Eyes locked on me as I stepped through the flames that appeared a few feet away behind my seat.
I didn't enjoy these shows of power as much as I did the first time, but that might have been because I was exhausted and without a wink of sleep.
It could also be because I didn't get to show off myself and kept my magic on a tight leash this time. Who could know, really? I just didn't have the whimsy for it this time, so I didn't.
I walked forward, the echo of my steps bouncing off the walls. I grasped the high‑backed chair, slid it back slightly, and took a seat.
I smiled and nodded to all those present. The Flamels on my right side, the ICW governing council on my left, the representatives, and the different ministers and government officials across from me.
My hands rested on the wooden table in front of me, my eyes taking in the tense atmosphere in the room. The table on the right had a primary feeling of anticipation if one was focused enough, while the one on the left had faces full of worry and nervousness. It was the table across from me, the one with too many chairs behind it, that was infecting the air with a stressed and rigid feeling.
'Well, let's just face the music,' I mused as I knocked on my table with my finger. The sound broke the silent spell that seemed to have overtaken the room.
"Welcome to everyone here…" I said, my tone soft yet my voice heard by everyone. I let the room breathe for a second before continuing. "We are gathered here today to discuss a great many things, some of great importance and urgency and others less so."
The witches and wizards gathered in the room were now looking at each other as they waited for me to continue.
"Unfortunately, I do not have the time to indulge every little problem today, as I have not had a wink of sleep in the last twenty-four hours. So, in order to achieve the best results of today's meeting, let us highlight the most important topics of discussion for today."
I saw most people nod in agreement, but I didn't miss the dissatisfied grumbling or eye rolling either. I ignored it, sure, but didn't miss it.
"Now," I clapped my hands, "the most important topics of discussion are the Gates and the Angel. Are we in agreement?"
"Aye." "Yes." A chorus of agreement filled the room.
"Alright, let's start with the Gates topic. Is there something that was not understood after the update I shared through the Archive yesterday? Now is the time to ask if you do…"
"Excuse me, Supreme Mugwump." One of the people on my left side raised his hand, making me look.
'Would you look at that,' I thought. 'Gregor Volkov seems to have a new scheme.' I suppressed a smile as I thought of the previous head of international security. One of the people vying for my Supreme Mugwump seat.
"Yes, Mr. Volkov." I answered, gesturing to him. "The floor is yours."
"Thank you." He replied evenly. "My concern on the topic is that you seem to have ignored all ICW disaster and anomaly procedures and simply reported everything to the world, treating said process as if it were a common courtesy rather than what it is: an old, tested, and operational system of our governing body."
"Is there a question there?" I tilted my head, noting how he tightened his jaw and creased his eyebrows a little.
"The question is, since when was the Archive the new operational system for international intelligence gathering and information trade?…"
"Ahem." I fake-coughed into my fist. "Mr. Volkov, I admire your rule-adhering nature, truly I do, but that's not what I asked." I said, a soft smile gracing my face as I watched the interesting shade of red that started to color his forehead. "Still, to answer your question, the system was effectively abolished the moment I created one that was better."
I spied the reaction of the few people sitting beside and behind him but filed that away for now.
"Now, returning to point, let me just explain the situation clearly since almost everyone that needs to know is here. Our world is in the process of merging with two other worlds according to the data retrieved yesterday. Said merger is an extinction-level threat to our world and its inhabitants, be they magical in nature or mundane."
"And how would you know that?" Someone asked, and I didn't really bother to even look at the source.
"I know that because I spent the last few weeks as well as the past twenty-four hours scanning and collecting data on everything concerning the dimensional invasion, world merger, and Gates. Said data shows that the level of magic in the immediate areas around said Gates in Rome and Texas is alarmingly rising, and if it continues as such, then by this time next week, muggles will not be able to live within a one-and-a-half to two-kilometer radius around the Gates, while wizards will find it difficult to live there after a month."
For a few seconds, silence cloaked the room like a thin transparent cloak. Not even a breath was heard—and it broke just as easily.
"That's not possible!"
"It can't be!"
"Are you sure?"
"Do you have any idea how high the magic concentration needs to be for such an event to happen?"
"Silence!" I hit my table softly, but the sound amplified by magic felt like a thunderclap. "I will say it again. I don't have time to hear you squabble like children, and I certainly don't have time to attend more meetings where we discuss the same thing over and over again."
"Albus…" A soft voice calmed the irritation I was starting to feel instantly. I looked to my right and saw Madame Perenelle give me that tight, schooling expression she used to give me when I studied with them back then.
I sighed softly and smiled back at her.
"Albus. Most of us saw the data," she continued. "We know all of this already, and those who do not can simply connect to the Archive to learn it or be left behind." She gave a stern look over the room, and I saw a few people duck their heads and avert their gaze.
"What I want to know here is if you think those two Gates are the only ones, or if there will be more, and what can we do to combat this?"
"Well, these two are certainly not the only ones. There will be more in the future—of that much I am sure." I paused, making sure my words settled in their heads before I continued. "As for how to combat this? The answer is power. We need to raise the average wizard and witch's magical power to C+ rank at the very least."
I reined in my senses a little as the room was suddenly filled with a chaotic mix of feelings. Worry, fear, disbelief…
"And that's where the Archive comes in…" She nodded, her eyes bright as she looked at me with a knowing look.
I don't know what she thinks she figured out, but I am sure it's not correct. Or at least she wouldn't be able to prove it if I denied…
"Exactly. The Archive helps bridge the gap. It significantly lessens the time needed for independent studies and research, as well as helps in many more ways…" I agreed with her.
"You don't need to explain it more, Albus." Nicholas cut in. "Those who wish to know already do, so just leave it at that." He said, looking at me and ignoring all the eyes on him. "I just need you to tell me something…"
"Of course. Go ahead." I pivoted slightly toward him.
I was a little giddy inside because I already figured out what he was going to do. This was the Flamel combo. The husband and wife play with any topic and change the opinion of most people listening to them. It was a very useful trick back in Grindelwald's war.
"How many of us survive in your most optimistic calculations?" He asked, slowly and clearly. He then continued as he raised his finger and pointed at me. "And don't even think about saying you don't know. I taught you, and I know how you think, so just give me an honest answer…"
I paused, acting as if I was struggling to tell them. I was not, of course, and just needed them to stew a little.
"I have not done any magicals only calculations yet, but by my overall estimate, less than 20% of all inhabitants in the world would be alive by this time in five years…" I said with a somber tone. "And I mean everyone. Magical and mundane, including animals…"
There was a small pause of silence following the moment I finished speaking, broken by the sounds of gasps, which ignited the spark for people to argue and lose their minds. I saw the Flamel couple exchange looks as they watched the chaos before turning their attention to me.
I just smiled and gave them a slow blink. An everything-is-okay sign. I didn't jump to stop the escalating voices and noise either, as I deemed it a good time for everyone to vent their fear now rather than later.
It took a minute, but they calmed down quickly once Fawkes started singing. The soothing voice of my phoenix was enough for people to get their bearings together.
"Had enough?" I asked calmly, my eyes traveling across the room, making people duck their heads or avert their gaze.
"I know the news sounds ominous. But the statistics are built on the worst possibility, which is the current overall ranks of wizards and witches as well as many other factors."
It was now time to give them something to cling to. A faint light of hope.
"I am very optimistic about how these statistics will change in the upcoming months, with everyone's effort to study and raise their ranks…"
"Supreme Mugwump." A rough voice interrupted me again, making me sigh in resignation. I turned my head to look at the source, and there he was. Vasily Dragomirov, the previous Bulgarian minister of magic, looking at me with furrowed eyebrows.
"Yes, Mr. Dragomirov." I nodded at him.
"Thank you." He nodded back. "I am concerned about the side effects of failure. My country has had a few wizards and witches hospitalized because of the backlash…"
"Ah, yes. The backlash… there's no need to worry about it. I have studied similar cases back home, and the most dangerous side effects are the trauma, magical exhaustion, and fatigue that follows. Other than that, everything is fine."
"You say that, but all of those who left the hospital have been reported to be studying and practicing magic to a concerning degree…"
"Okay, let me ask you something," I said. "What would you do if you laid your soul bare to the world and Mother Magic found you lacking?"
He fell silent, as did the rest of the attendees.
"That's the essence of the promotion ritual. The ascension. Or whatever term you want to call the process. It's a trial where one proves himself worthy of the gift he carries. Magic." I paused and let my words hang in the air for a moment.
"We should be thankful that the backlash is so tame, as opposed to other rituals…"
"That's fair and true," Nicholas vocally agreed, and easily pulling most of the attendees into his momentum.
"Now, let's continue our talks, starting with the Angel topic before following up with our countermeasures for the Gates. The seals around them will not last more than a week, so we better start planning."
"So we are not leaving here anytime soon, huh?" Madame Perenelle said jokingly. Her eyebrow raised as she smiled softly.
There were a few chuckles here and there, but I just sighed and slumped back in my seat as the realization finally hit me.
'We really are not leaving here anytime soon.'
It's not that I didn't know that coming in. It's just that I was so focused on a lot of different things that this simple fact just registered to me.
'This is going to be hell…'
X_
A/N: no I don't plan on dropping this story. I just happened to be busy and didn't want to write much.