Saviour of Magic

The Obscurial Bunker

Sirius Black exhaled in frustration and annoyance as he looked through another report. His Senior Undersecretary was informing him of the situation, but he was barely able to concentrate.

"– the members of the Confederation have all been assigned rooms at the Pendragon Hotel in Diagon Alley, Minister. The meeting has been scheduled for this evening. We still have time to prepare for –"

"Time?" scoffed Sirius. "We don't have time. At this point, my main aim is to ride this shockwave out. Where's that report from Director Croaker?"

"Right here, sir," said the witch quickly. Having worked with the Minister for a few years now, she knew when the man was agitated. Hastily excusing herself, she left. Sirius closed his eyes and groaned. The Department of Mysteries too had not found any leads. Whoever they were dealing with was good ...

There was a vibrating noise and Sirius was highly tempted to destroy the mirror. Before he could do so, the ethereal female voice of the computer said, "Alpha priority message to the Minister of Magic from Lord Potter."

Taking a deep breath, Sirius casually waved his hand. The large mirror appeared out of thin air in front of him and the face of his oldest son was displayed on the screen.

"What is it, Harry?"

"Did Croaker find anything?" asked Harry.

"Nothing of value," sighed Sirius. "I'll be meeting the heads of the magical governments of Germany, China, India and the United States soon. With them on my side, Krum can't shift the blame on me personally. Really, what is it with that guy? Was Dumbledore so precious to him that he's willing to target me like this?"

"He won't stay popular for long if he continues to spout liberal propaganda during a time of chaos," observed Harry. "I wonder if he knows that."

"Nothing we can do for now. Let's see how the meeting this evening plays out. I've already stationed several teams of Hit-Wizards all over the city. Should the Obscurial choose to attack again, we shall be ready."

Harry's face was devoid of emotion. "Understood," he muttered. "Good luck, Dad. I'll see you later."

His face disappeared, letting the screen revert back to looking like a mirror. The Minister frowned at his reflection; there was something strange about Harry's tone. But he didn't have time to ponder over the issue as he quickly left for a meeting.

HP*SAVIOUR OF MAGIC*HP

"There's nothing here, Daph," he said through the mirror. "I've searched the place thoroughly."

"What about the surrounding area?" inquired Daphne. "Surely –"

"Trust me," interrupted Dylan. "There's nothing here. I've searched the entire neighbourhood."

She took a deep breath and exhaled. Her left eye was twitching. Gnarlak had lied to them. Interrogating him had proved to be useless. Clearly, he had not become the leader of the underworld without sufficient talent backing him. Daphne wondered if she should have been more forceful, but at the time, she had been under the delusion that Gnarlak had told Harry the truth about the location of the laboratory that housed the Obscurial.

"What should I do?"

"Come back home," replied Daphne. "There's nothing more you can do until we find the precise location."

Dylan nodded and the mirror went blank. She turned around, intending to inform her husband, only to spot him standing by the door to her study.

"He lied to us?"

Daphne grimaced. Harry's eyes darkened as he briskly walked down several flights of stairs. Ten minutes later, he was back in the corridor that led to the room that housed the castle's lone prisoner.