Of Shadow, Shine, and Shades

Ch.7 How to Face a Whale

It was nine o'clock in the morning when the mage Apparated to the alley again. He stayed for a moment in the shadows watching the identical houses before him, snow making them even more indistinguishable than during summertime. It was truly a sight of tranquillity and the man wished he could see it as such. But there were too many bad memories he had about this place and he only wanted to get this over with quickly.

The freshly fallen snow crunched beneath Caelum's dragon hide boots as he walked calmly towards Privet Drive, Number 4. A short muggle coat partly covered his transfigured robes, now in the form of an elegant black v-neck shirt and jeans of the same colour. The Black family ring was safely tucked away in the non-space (it really hadn't wanted to come off) and he'd even removed his earring. The mage was stripped clean of magical objects and he'd actually had to leave the Hallows in his warded bedroom because not even non-space could tone down the protection they offered - even if it was only detectable by him.

The only magic he had with him came from the documents and the case, and of course from his glamour that at the moment presented a malleable looking middle-aged man to the world. This man was maybe in his mid-forties and had laughter lines at the corners of his grey eyes, really looking like someone's uncle on his way to give a Christmas greeting to a nephew or a niece. But magic could be deceptive.

Beneath the glamour Caelum had wrapped a translucent black veil around his head so that only his green eyes were showing, and at the moment glowing in the sick light of the blood ward. This was a trick he'd learned in China and – never forgetting his training – now put to use. While the chance of someone magical popping up was slight, it existed, and he could not give out his identity this early in the game, and a slightly muffled voice was a small price to pay for this precaution. That's why the tattoo was hidden by make-up, even beneath the veil and the gloves he'd found for himself.

The muggle-disguised wizard stopped mere inches from the border of the ward to even his breathing and check his shields weren't letting any of his magic through. He had managed to get four hours of meditation and his Occlumency was working better than before. The shields were far from perfect but still strong enough to contain his murderous intent and not let the wards pick on it. He could have used a couple of hours more in the meditative state but he honestly could not stay put in the house anymore. He'd even left Syl and Citala behind, with them both being magical creatures.

The mage spent a couple more minutes watching the ward. The thought of passing through something so twisted disgusted him and he could only be grateful it would not be able to touch his magic and contaminate it. No wonder Harry was suffering from magical exhaustion. But the pull between them was almost tangible, and without thinking much of it, Caelum took the significant step forward.

The wards did not even ripple as he passed through them, nor did they seem to recognise him as Harry. The man gave a mental sigh of relief before walking to the plain door. The snow hadn't been shovelled and Caelum took that to mean the whale – the least provoking word he could come up with – had not forced a ten year old boy out on a Christmas morning to do his chores. But the man's expression darkened and even his glamour was affected when he realized this to mean his younger counterpart might still be in the cupboard.

He rang the doorbell, a feeling of nostalgia rising at the nearly forgotten sound.

The muffled voices of joy and excitement coming from inside quieted and soon the earth shook as someone tromped to the door. Caelum had just enough time to send a curse to any god that might be listening, before plastering a pleasant smile on his seemingly middle-aged face.

And it was the whale who opened the door, only dressed in a morning coat barely big enough to cover the enormous blob of a man. Caelum was subjected to close scrutiny by beady eyes and he suppressed a shudder. "Yes?" the whale finally grunted, clearly displeased with the disruption of his Christmas morning.