Pure Inheritance ~ Ominis Gaunt

Part 13

MC opened the small note from one of her pockets for the twenty-seventh time that night, questioning every street, building or alley that crossed her path. She knew she was in for an eventful night when she abandoned the magic world and landed in front of a muggle street lighted with oil lamps. Despite the lamps doubling on each side of the road and the odd gentleman heading home after a long day in the office, MC felt a gloomy atmosphere that contrasted with the vivid and boisterous energy of Diagon Alley.

One was full of life, while the other was buried in shadows that fluctuated around her like curtains disturbed by the wind. Not even when she lived between muggles did MC venture outside her home at that ungodly hour?

Her steps took her deeper between the streets of London, passing by smelly alleys and small restaurants that exuded the stench of rotten fish. MC's heart leapt when she kicked a trash can by mistake, and a cat that seemed to have lost half its life bolted out of the container and ran past her, leaving a strident mess behind.

- Boggarts! – She whispered/yelled.

With her heart and nerves on edge, she followed the glow of the butterfly that guided her down the alleys. The glittering light paled with the darkness surrounding it. The dreadful catacombs she used to visit did not achieve this feat.

Either that or years sitting behind a desk had made her a wuss.

Suddenly, she saw the butterfly fade into nothingness, and MC extinguished it once she realized she was in front of a magical shield created to keep muggles away. She saw the thin veil wavering like the soft threads of a spider web.

She looked down at her pocket watch.

8:23 pm

Her body subconsciously moved closer to the brick wall, making sure that not even a sliver of light could reach her concealment. However, the impatient tapping of her boots on the cobblestones gave away her position, an annoying and dangerous behaviour for a future Auror.

Far away from her, she heard the whistle of a train.

She looked at the watch again.

8:25 pm

- Come on! Where are you?

The veil was so close to her that she only needed to extend her hand a touch it, but doing so would suck her into the space that was created. If anyone was keeping watch around the vicinity, she would be found immediately.

There was no other choice than to wait for Mr. Diels to come and get her. When she looked up, hoping to get a good view of the stars, she was met with a thick cloud of chemical fumes smelling like pulverized soap and salt.

Disgusting.

Once again, she looked down and waited for those last seconds until it finally reached the 8:30 pm mark.

Yet still, she was alone in an alley.

Mr. Diels was nothing but punctual. If he said 8:30 pm, then 8:30 pm would be 15 minutes too late for him. She decided to wait some more but felt like her chances of learning something useful were slipping away.

After 20 minutes of pacing, singing, and bumping her forehead against the wall, she called it. She had to get in there, even if she had to confront an entire front of Aurors. She made a few heel jumps to charge herself with fake courage, palmed three times, and dove in.

As soon as her skin contacted the veil, she was met with a line of ash-covered buildings that had lost all colour, illuminated by humble oil lamps sitting on the windows. The ones on the sides were barely big enough to be considered houses with two floors, but the one in the centre was in flames. Not literal flames, but bright enough to cause some confusion since the windows and only door were bursting out with light coming from enchanted orbs that moved around the structure.