Chapter 104: ICW-2
A/N: HelloDarkness07
—
Albus didn't know what to think anymore. A mythological figure he didn't even know about was real. Madam Ya Zhao, the Chinese Ambassador, was at least 2000 years old, and has had contact with this Atharva Joshi, and there's no speaking of her siblings, who are also probably still alive.
The fact that there are immortal Wizards other than Nicholas and Perenelle, and the old Barry Wee Willy Winkle was also surprising. And judging by how strong a 2000 year old Atharva Joshi is, there's no saying that the other immortal wizards will be anywhere easy to handle.
Or if it was even possible.
And now, they had just learned that the Statute of Secrecy was going to become defunct. That muggles will find out about Wizards within 50 years at most. That muggles will try and experiment on wizards, just like Hydra did with Mason Aves.
And worst of all, that one muggle has already begun doing it.
With all these sudden revelations considered, it was no surprise that the entire ICW Meeting Chamber was full of shouting and yelling, of some people denying the redundancy of the Statute, and of others yelling for ideas about what they can do to prevent it.
With a snap of his fingers, Atharva Joshi returns the room to tense silence once again, and says, "See this is why I prefer solitude. Please don't start yelling once again, speak one at a time."
Realizing that they have their voice back, one African Wizard stands, and asks, "How do we know this is true? That this isn't a plot for you to take over the ICW."
Even Albus knew what a stupid question that was, but judging by the frowns on most of the people there, Babaji Akingbade wasn't the only man to wonder it.
Atharva smiles, amused at the question, and asks, "You really think I need to trick you to rule over you all? Trust me, if I actually wanted to, it wouldn't take me more than a single week to bring the entire Wizarding World under my rule. But I don't want that, so you're in luck."
That does not reassure anyone at all.
"As for the veracity of my claims, I can't prove it to you. I could show you my memories of the Vision I received, or I could take you to the future to prove it to you, but no matter what I try, you will not believe me. Illusions and tricks, you will say. So, I guess you have just my word to go by." Atharva says, as he waves his hand.
And just like he had said, an illusion starts covering the walls, showing them all what looks like a hospital, with multiple people laying on different beds. The vision focuses on one bed, which shows a young man lying unconscious, his gut cut open, with a team of doctors working inside it.
There was a file hanging near the bed, and as soon as Albus notices it, the vision zooms over to it, allowing them all to read it. Amongst other things, the file stated the name, Wilson Walker, nationality USA, age 19, and his Wizarding Status: First Generation. There was also a sentence underlined, that said, "Captured from his home, the Wizard used a manner of matter manipulation attacks, casualties four soldiers."
Attacked in his own home, Albus realises.
As the vision retreats, showing them the walls of the ICW chamber once again, Albus looks at Atharva, who was now sitting on a chair he had no doubt conjured.
Looking up, he says, "That was just one Wizard. As you no doubt saw, that particular room contained multiple beds. There will be countless such rooms, with countless beds, with muggles trying to tap into the secrets of Magic. And that vision will come true, if you do nothing to prevent it."
"What can we even do?" Someone voices, while Albus is too distracted with horror to notice who.
Children will be experimented on. Attacked in their homes, all so muggles could find out how Wizards use magic? So they could use Magic themselves? Did Gellert know this? Did his Sight see this? Was this why he was so adamant about Wizards ruling the world no matter the price? For the Greater Good?
"Why don't we.. take preventive measures? Put shadow rulers in place so that whatever future this happens in never takes place?"
"Why not yell 'for the Greater Good' while we're at it? Honestly, this is why Grindelwald was so successful! This is just a trick to make us war with the muggles! There will be no experimentation!"
Albus looks up at Atharva, and sees him snort. He says, "No experimentation? Dear boy," Albus internally snorts, seeing that the one who he called boy was definitely an old man of around 110, "There have already been experiments on Wizards. Didn't you hear me when I said it? One muggle already found out about Wizards, and he experimented on Wizards, tried to clone us, and succeeded on one count."
"Who? Who is it? If you know so much, tell us his name!" Someone else yells, gaining some support from his neighbours.
"His name.. was Nathaniel Essex, otherwise known as the Nazi General, Nosferatu." Atharva Joshi says, and for a second there's only silence.
Albus scowls, of course he recognises the name. When he had gone on private missions to destroy Hydra convoys by himself, he had heard that name spoken in hushed whispers. Nosferatu, the scientist they were all scared of. Last he had heard, Nosferatu had died after fighting Mason Aves.
Atharva continues, and says, "Nosferatu, after his battle with the British Wizard, Mason Aves, gained a hate for Wizard kind. Before, he didn't care about Wizards, thinking they were not strong enough to be under his notice. And make no mistake, he was most definitely strong enough to believe that. He had gifts of his own, not unlike our Magic, that allowed him to do a variety of things. Mutantur, I've called those gifts. And those gifts made Nosferatu believe that Wizards, we, were beneath him."
"But Mason Aves proved him otherwise by defeating him, and killing his body. And so, Nosferatu tried to experiment with Magic. He tried to clone Wizards into his personal weapons."
"Clone?" Someone near Albus whispers, not understanding the word.
Albus turns towards the French representative, and says, "It is exactly what it sounds like. Take one person, and make a twin out of him. In all ways, it is a clone of the other person with all the characteristics and quirks. You wouldn't know a clone from the real person unless you really examined them both."
Once again, there's a horrified silence, as attention shifts over to Albus now.
"Mr Dumbledore is correct. Nosferatu had a gift with that branch of science. As a matter of fact, he had already cloned hundreds of bodies for himself to use, each perfectly suitable for his soul to be housed in. Some even had more gifts than usual, allowing him to manipulate matter with his mind, or read thoughts and memories, or control the elements. All without Magic. But he.. he wanted Magic now. He wanted Magic of his own."
"Long story short, he failed. But in trying to do so, he managed to gain my attention and lost his living privileges. So, yes. Nathaniel Essex, Nosferatu, is now dead. But the point is, that Nosferatu may have been the first to experiment on Wizards, but he won't be the last. Muggles WILL try and gain Magic, they WILL try to steal Magic, and I am here to help you stop that from happening."
'And now, we come to the crux of the matter.' Albus thinks. He asks, "And how will you help us? How will we stop your vision from coming true?"
Because from what he knows of Divination, there is no way to prevent the Vision from coming true. He didn't believe it, personally, but having studied under Nicholas and Perenelle he had learned some things, one of them being the inevitability of Prophecies.
Atharva nods at Albus, and says, "Easy. We make a new home for ourselves, away from muggles, away from being forced into seclusion. Somewhere Wizards will be free to practice Magic into the open without a single muggle finding us."
"And let me guess? You become the King of this new world?" The Russian representative asks, his thick voice making everyone frown in thought.
Atharva snorts and says, "If I wanted to be King, I would have been the King. As I told Babaji Akingbade over there, I won't need more than a single week to take over the world if I actually tried. No, I will remain in seclusion as I always have, stepping in only when I'm needed. Just like always."
He looks around, and seeing the doubts in all their faces, he sighs, and says, "Look, my part in all this is just making all this possible. After that, I won't interfere in your affairs at all. Your countries can keep on governing as they always have, keep making stupid decisions like you always have, I won't give a single fuck about it. The only time I will interfere is when I will be absolutely needed."
For a moment, there's silence, as people think it over. What else can they do, Albus wonders? No one has their wands, Joshi has stolen them.
Berde stands up then, and with a trembling voice, he asks, "Wh- what now? If you have all these plans, why did you come to us? What do you want from us?"
Atharva smiles, and answers, "Cooperation, mostly. I'm hoping there won't be any issues in transporting us all to our new home, whenever I have it ready, but just in case there are, I need a consensus of Wizards within each country so I can scoop up those remaining behind and transport them right to you. I also need you to make the people ready for transportation, so they don't panic when the day eventually comes."
So he won't be coming with them, Albus thinks. Not visibly at least. He will be creating a new home for them, and then just let them be? That doesn't sound believable.
"People won't believe us, not without proof and possibly not even with proof." Albus voices out, frowning, giving Atharva the benefit of the doubt.
He didn't like the fact that the entire Wizarding World was going to be displaced somewhere else, and they didn't even know where. But what options do they have? If they try to fight, he didn't know how many Wizards would lose their lives.
And if, by any chance, this Vision they just saw was coming true, that Wizards would be experimented on, then who will be the ones to blame? The Wizard who tried to prevent it from happening, or the Governments that yelled 'lies!'?
Atharva nods, and says, "I don't expect you to believe me right off the bat. After this meeting, you're free to check these facts for yourselves. Use any Divination magic you know, meet with the obscure researchers of Time Magic. Hell, go meet the Sorcerer Supreme for all I care. You'll get all the proofs that you need. But keep this in mind. Whether you agree with me or not, I will come here once again, when our new home is ready. And when I do, you have one month to get everything ready before I begin the Transportation process. But until then, goodbye and good luck."
And with that, Atharva Joshi disappears as if he wasn't there at all, leaving some 300 men and women in thought.
Some believe him outright, like the South Asian or British representatives, but others like the Russian and Americans don't. Albus knew, however, that almost everyone here will try to prove or disprove Atharva Joshi's predictions.
—
Selene sat in her favourite chair, next to the fireplace, as she read a book. The book was one of the billions of books in her husband's repository, and one of the most that she hadn't read before. A primer on the Light Dimension, something her husband Athreos was intimately connected to.
It was something they both were looking over as an option for curing her dependency on Souls to survive. As she turns her page, her hand shivers for a bare moment, making her realize that it was time for her to have another Soul.
Once per century, that was how she used to live. And now, her Soul had gotten so.. addicted to feeding, so used to the constant supply of souls, that she needed to feed once every decade. Slowly, she knew, if the situation wasn't resolved, she would become what she once was. Selene the Black Queen, the Queen who kills her subjects daily, just so she could survive.
Sighing, Selene ignores it for a moment, and continues reading, knowing that she has a few days before her.. hunger, for a lack of better word, gets bad enough.
Suddenly, however, she feels something else. Something unrelated to her hunger. Someone was forcing their way inside her house, inside Aves Manor.
The House shudders, the barriers struggling to hold against the offensive attack on them, before they suddenly stop.
Selene stands up, her senses a bit dulled thanks to the hunger, and turning around, she asks, "What.. is the meaning of this.. Perenelle?"
Perenelle Flamel, the wife of Nicholas Flamel, stood with her hands in front of her in all her old glory, with a rift in space slowly closing behind her.
Looking at Selene with disappointment in her eyes, she says, "I have to say, Selene, it took me a surprisingly long time to recognise Selene, the wife of Mason as Selene, the wife of my old teacher, Athreos." She then looks around, and asks, "Where is he? I wanted to ask him what he did to Mason myself."
"Excuse me?" Selene asks, as she summons the shadows to defend herself, seeing that her husband's old student from when he taught at Beauxbatons was showing some aggression towards her.
She didn't know what got into her now, but she was coherent enough despite her dulled senses to realize that Perenelle had recognised her in the papers despite the disguise she had gone through.
Where Selene the External wore dark black eyeshadow, and a black lipstick, Selene Aves the Native American witch wore just plain make-up along with a pink lipstick. She had believed that to be enough of a disguise, since her black make-up, or her emo look as Athreos called it, was too iconic for her to be associated with anything else, but she was now realizing it wasn't so. First Essex, and now Perenelle, two people had still managed to recognise her, which means a lot more certainly would.
Perenelle scoffs, and says, "Don't patronize me, Selene. You being suddenly married to Mason after living a very happy life with Athreos can only mean one thing. Mason is dead, and Athreos has for one reason or another decided to replace him. I want to know why. And I want to know if you had any hand in killing Mason."
For a second Selene just stares at Perenelle, not knowing what to say. But then, her lip twitches, amused at the conclusion her husband's student came to, and she asks, "Is that really what you think happened? That Athreos and I killed Mason to replace him? And for what? Pray tell, what purpose could we have had for doing this elaborate plan."
Saying so, Selene starts walking towards the kitchen, turning her back to Perenelle showing a disregard of her as a threat to her.
Scowling at her, Perenelle starts following Selene, and says, "I don't know yet. I assume it has something to do with the ICW meeting that's currently going on, since he's not here today. It could be that Mason was just a convenient target, someone that was strong enough that Athreos won't have to hold himself back too much."
Selene chuckles, and as she starts making tea, she says, "The truth is not even half as morbid as you make it out to be, Nelly. Sit, let's have tea."
"I am not here to drink tea! Mason was a good man, and I want to know if you had a hand in killing him!" Perenelle hisses, taking a threatening step forward, her wand now in her hand.
Sighing, Selene turns around, and says, "Mason isn't dead. The truth is something far more complicated, and will be hard to believe but I assure you, neither Athreos nor I had any hand in killing or replacing Mason Aves. I swear on my love for Athreos that I'm telling the truth."
Perenelle pauses, and Selene takes the time to wave her hand to speed the process of tea making, and pours two cups. As she sits down on the dining table, Selene points Perenelle at the other chair, and says, "Drink, and I will explain everything."
"Explain first." Perenelle says, not making a move to touch the cup.
A smart move, Selene thinks, but if she wanted to kill Perenelle, she could have done so already. Her hand shivers once more, making her sigh, and Selene puts the cup of tea to her lips.
She looks up at Perenelle, and says, "You have it all wrong, Nelly. Mason Aves and Athreos Aetos, both of them are the same person. They always have been. Since the moment he was born, till this moment."
Perenelle scoffs, not believing it, and says, "I've met Mason before, when he was a child still and then when he got himself involved in matters he couldn't handle. I would have known if it was Athreos. And I met Athreos during those times too, so don't bother trying to say Athreos did something as stupid as locking his memories away."
"Wouldn't be his first time, if it was the truth." Selene mumbles, taking another sip. Shaking her head, she asks, "When Mason got himself involved in matters he couldn't handle, as you so eloquently put it, what was he doing? What subject was he studying?"
"What's that got to do with this?" Perenelle asks, frowning in confusion.
Smiling, Selene answers, "Everything, dear Nelly. Everything."
Still confused, Perenelle says, "He was studying Time Magic. He had done some spell that was dealing with thousands of years at once."
And slowly, visibly, realization strikes Perenelle who comically widens her eyes.
Nodding, Selene says, "And therein lies your answer. Mason Aves was messing with time. Can you guess what happened and why I said he and Athreos were always the same person?"
Perenelle blinks, and swallowing her spittle, she hesitantly asks, "He.. he Time Travelled? But.. when? And to when?"
Selene nods, glad that she didn't have to explain too much. She says, "When Mason fought Gellert Grindelwald, and disappeared into the explosion, he found himself knocked back through time. Exactly two thousand years, to the day, hour, and even second. As I said, Mason Aves and Athreos Aetos have always been the same person. It's just that Athreos has lived 2000 years more than anyone knows."
"But.. he lived through all this time? He knew us even before he met us? Why didn't he say anything?" Perenelle asks, and Selene is glad to notice her pulling the cup of tea towards her.
Smiling, Selene says, "He knew you, of course he did. Why do you think Athreos taught at Beauxbatons? He wanted to see what Nicholas and you were as students, as young people. And let me tell you, he was glad he took that opportunity. As for why he didn't tell you, would you have believed him? If he had approached you 30 years ago, right after your first meeting with Mason, that he was Mason? Would you have trusted his words? No, no you wouldn't have. I doubt you completely believe me now."
Perenelle shakes her head, showcasing some denial, and says, "Of course I don't believe you! This is.. this is crazy, unbelievable!"
Selene looks at Perenelle with a pitiful look, and says, "Nelly, you've known me for 600 years. What reason could I or Athreos have in lying to you now? When you're already here, in the place which you know belongs to Mason?"
With shaking hands, Nelly pulls the cup to her lips and takes the first sip. The calming effect of her special blend calms Nelly down a bit, but she stays silent, thinking.
Keeping the cup down, Nelly looks at her, the aggression from before all but forgotten, and says, "Tell me everything, please."
Selene smiles, and turning towards the door, she says, "Why not let Athreos tell it himself?"
Right as Nelly turns towards the door, Athreos walks into her view wearing his Mason Aves look, and stops seeing Perenelle sitting at the table. The smile on Selene's face, and the odd look on Perenelle's face makes him immediately realize, as he sighs, and says, "It's about time I stopped lying to you, I suppose. But shouldn't Nicholas be here for this too?"
Nelly sniffles, and standing up she asks, "Is it true then? You're Mason and you're Athreos? You travelled through Time?"
Mason sighs, and pulling Nelly into a hug, he says, "I've Time Travelled multiple times, Nelly. But yes, if Selene has told you what I think she's told you then it is true. Now, let's call Nicholas here, and I'll tell you the tale of my life."
The beginning of this conversation may have been a bit rough, with a lot of hostility shown by Perenelle, but at least now Selene could tell that it was getting better. At least this was one less pair of friends they had to lie to. And she knew that over anything else, this was going to take the load off of Athreos's shoulders some more.
—
As Nicholas and Perenelle leave for their home after listening, and thankfully believing my tale, I sit next to Selene as she sits in her favourite spot, holding her hand.
It was good that Perenelle found out and confronted Selene, or I would have never approached the couple on my own. I'm certainly glad I don't have to hide this from them anymore.
Suddenly, I feel Selene's hand shiver, as her hand wrinkles a bit, as if it had aged up half a century within moments, before she manages to bring it under control. Sighing, I pull her hand up and laying a kiss on it, I ask, "The intervals have been getting shorter and shorter, my love. I beg you, take my blood, flesh and bone, go through the Ritual as I once did."
Selene smiles beside me, and says, "I can manage for a few more days before I need to feed on a Soul, Athreos. Besides, as I said countless times before, we have no guarantee that the Ritual will even work, not with your Light Magic and my Darkforce battling for dominance."
I look at her with pleading eyes and say, "Or they cancel each other out, we know that either one is equally likely."
Selene sighs, and says, "Please, Athreos. Not now. We have a lot more serious matters to attend to, like where will you take the Wizarding World? And how?"
I frown at Selene, and say, "Don't change the subject, my love. Your dependency on souls is more important to me than the transportation of the Wizarding World."
Especially considering that the last time she tried to quit her Soul Addiction, she went berserk and tried to kill the entire Roman Empire. That.. was not a pretty moment in our life.
Selene smiles, and keeping her book down, Light Magic, I notice, she says, "I am not worried about myself, Athreos. I know that you will figure something out for me. Didn't I tell you about my vision? I see both of us safe and happy, with me cured of my condition, and you finally free from all the responsibilities you've stacked on top of your head. So yes, I am not worried."
I sigh, and getting up I kneel in front of her. Resting my head on her legs, I say, "Your visions can be changed, Selene. Just like I am trying to do with your vision of the muggles experimenting on wizards. I don't want either of us getting complacent and letting history repeat itself."
Smack!
Holding my cheek at the soft slap she just gave me, I look at Selene, eyes wide, and ask, "What was that for?!"
Selene chuckles, and says, "That was to bring you out of your depressive thoughts. Now, you stopped me from the genocide I was about to commit in Rome. Why do you think you wouldn't be able to stop me if I relapse? I have trust in you, Athreos, my love. I know that we will find a way to cure me, and so, I am not worried. Now, tell me about the new Wizarding World and how you're going to do it."
Rubbing my cheek, I rest my head on her legs once again, and sigh. She was right, worrying won't do anything productive. It will only hinder me. Besides, I trust her enough to choose an appropriate enough target for her Soul sucking, that should keep her at bay for the next decade or so.
As for the plans, I say, "I don't have anything concrete yet. I have multiple plans running through my mind, most of which require me to be off this world for a few years at least. Some may need me asking for help from Gaea, and we all know what my opinion on her is."
Gaea.. she's a Goddess, she's the one who gave Magic to the Magical plants and animals, the one who created the Elves, Goblins, Dwarves, and most of the other Magical races save for Wizards and witches. But she is also the one who kept Elves under her employ as rescuers of Magical Creatures, without even considering their new freedom.
So, yes, I don't trust her too much, just like I don't trust most of the Gods. Bast is probably the only one I trust, but that's only because she's been in actual contact with me, and we've had a good working relationship.
Selene sighs, and running her fingers through my hair, she says, "Let's try to do it ourselves first. We still have time. The Scientists won't capture the first Muggleborns till 1973, which gives us 14 years to work with."
1973, the year when the Timelines actually start becoming hard to see. Even with the Time Stone, I can't see for sure what will go on after that year. But I know that somehow, Magneto, Xavier, and Apocalypse are in the midst of it, along with the little twat named Bolivar Trask.
Nodding, I say, "Very well. I'll start looking for a suitable place. Although, I should also figure something out to excuse Mason Aves's disappearance during this time."
"You aren't going to use your Time Watch?" Selene asks.
Humming in content at her fingers scratching my head, I say, "No, not this time. Time will probably be required for what I'm planning. Trust me, you will love it."
Selene hums, and asks, "Okay. You won't be leaving right now, will you?"
Looking up with a smile, I say, "Not for a week at least. Why, what do you have in mind?"
Keeping her book down, Selene stares mischievously in my eyes, and says, "Just some.. fun."
I chuckle, and taking control of the shadows, transport both of us to our bed. Fun, that is what we need right now in this tense time. Because there's two things I need to focus on right now. The new Wizarding World, and Selene's condition.
And I'll be damned if I fail in even one of them.
—
A/N: The ICW is warned, but as it is with politicians, most people don't believe him.
The Eternals probably won't make an appearance during this anytime soon, but they might make one when Mason finally does the deed and moves the Wizarding World somewhere else.
Nicholas and Perenelle now know that Mason is Athreos, and about the Time Travel. I felt stupid when I realised I wrote Essex recognising Selene from a newspaper photo of her. Which meant that her other friends should also recognise her.
And while I don't think the other Externals subscribe to the Daily Prophet, you can assume that a few other Immortals will recognise her, including one very annoying immortal Wizard. I hope I wrote Perenelle's reaction to it well.
Some events mentioned here are just for a background, and have little to no effect on the story. Like Selene's rampage in Rome. It's just to show that she does face some consequences over her Soul sucking, and her mind isn't completely well. They're trying but they haven't found a way to heal her yet.
I've figured out what I want to do to the Wizarding World, thanks to some help from Christian Jeffress, and I'll be posting it soon, during one of the chapters.
Now, people might know this, they might not. But I've decided not to include the X-Men movies in this book. I will either do a callback for the events of those movies and how Mason's presence changed them, but the movies themselves won't be coming in this story.
I'm hoping to write a spin-off for just the X-Men events, including Apocalypse. So, wish me luck!
This book will skip after this arc directly to the MCU, and probably with the first Avengers movie. How it will go, I've yet to decide. So, stay tuned either here, or on my public channels!
Thank you for your support! Tata!
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