Randolph the Broom Maker

As the world vanished around me, I couldn't tell where the spell I heard was directed, but as I found myself in an alley with a dishevelled Randolph in front of me, I realised the spell was not directed at me, but at Gregoravich. 

The soft slam of my suitcase hitting the floor made me jump slightly, it seemed Randolph had also grabbed the suitcase in those last few seconds, before casting the spell and apparating us away.

Randolph's eyes were panicked and bloodshot, akin to someone running on adrenaline after a fist fight. He was attempting to calm himself down as he kept his hand firmly grasping my shoulder for a while. 

Eventually, his hand lifted from my shoulder, but his gaze remained on me still, unwavering.

The eyes he stared at me with, the usual calm and kindness within them was replaced with a cold and calculating gaze. 

He was understandably worried and conflicted over the words that had been spoken in the wand shop. The silence in the alley was palpable as we both stared, using our eyes to speak rather than words for a while. 

I ended up breaking the silence first: "What did you do, Randolph?"

Randolph's gaze remained cold as he sighed. "I did what I had to. I may have been hasty and reacted too fast, but I could only think of obliviating that man when he said…".

His posture was guarded. He started to look at me like I was a loose cannon but, in his stance, there was a hint of confliction. He probably realised I'd lived with him a year now and never had any outburst, so he was confused by the prospect of me being an obscurus.

He spoke coldly, in a domineering tone. "Axel, I allow you to keep your secrets but after hearing of this situation I need to know. Is what he said true? Are you an obscurus? Well!?"

Randolph's tone was laced with fury, as if he had been betrayed but mostly saddened by the news that I was an obscurus. There was no hiding it at this point. If I denied it, he would never be fully convinced. With both Grimbolt's words and Gregoravich's words he was dead-set that something about me was different, and now that all formed into one thought… the thought of me being an obscurus.

As his eyes stared into mine, trying to piece together what 'I' was, I could see the difficulty behind them. There wasn't just confusion or fear but extreme sadness as well. If I was an obscurus he may have started to think that I was destined for death… he would lose another person in his life that he had come to love. That was what this man Randolph feared the most… hence his outburst. 

He had placed his love in me, saw me as a god-son and now he was too far gone in that direction. If I was an obscurus destined to die, he would feel as though the past year was all wasted. His 'healing' would all be for naught as I was just a temporary fix, another person he cared for that would leave just like the others. Grasping the wand I had gotten in my hand; I closed my eyes for a moment before deciding to speak.

"It's a long story…" I spoke. "I'll be transparent with you from now on Randolph, but understand I didn't tell you initially for your own safety, there are parts of this story that can implicate you into something dangerous…".

Randolph stood in silence waiting for me to speak, his gaze now showing concern. I sighed deeply as I started to weave my true tale.

Compared to when I first met Randolph, I retold the story in the black forest but only omitted the details of my appearance there; how I had a previous life. I explained how magical phenomena appeared around me at first, and that I suppressed it in fear of the beasts and things in the forest finding me which was the catalyst for the obscurus growing.

I then went onto explain how this obscurus became an object of interest for a man called Jason. He tracked me down and eventually captured me, torturing me whilst studying my obscurus. I explained how Jason wanted to understand how the obscurus worked and then I told him how I managed to break free of the obscurus' curse.

As I spoke of my methods he whispered under his breath. "Arum… and Mugwort? That's…"

I knew it was an unbelievable tale. Part of me sometimes thought that the obscurus in me was still dangerous at times, like an illness that could rebound at any moment but what I said was the pure truth.

"I know it's hard to believe" I murmured. "But it's the truth. It was a theory from a books content that led me to the idea, and it did kill the will of the obscurus. Ever since it's been dormant and only responds to my own intent and will, not lashing out or threatening me anymore…".

Randolph stood in silence for a long while, debating my words. They were unbelievable after all, so it made sense he was hesitant to believe them at first. Sweat dripped from my brow as I watched the fatherly man in front of me frown with a cold countenance.

It was a stark reminder that this man, whilst being the fatherly Randolph was also a businessman in the end. He was calculated and like a businessman he was reviewing his gains and losses looking at me in front of him. Time seemed to slow as he spent a long-time contemplating. I didn't move a muscle, letting him take the time to absorb all this knowledge.

Randolph sighed deeply. His eyes went soft as he placed his hand back on my shoulder, showing me a solemn and pitying gaze;

"I-I understand why you kept it secret Axel… That man you mention, you worried he could come after me and force that knowledge out of me, right?"

I quietly nodded, affirming his words. "Jason is an extremely evil man, Randolph. He has no morals. He cursed me every day, fed me potions, cut me, sliced me, he did all manner of things just to get my obscurus to appear so that he could study it. If he caught wind of my survival, anyone related to me would be tortured for information and he would want to recapture me again…".

Randolph seemed to hesitate as if an idea came to mind. He knew how I saw things; he knew that I was naturally untrusting even of him hence I never relayed this information to start with. Now the information had come out without my intention, he could tell that I was worried about the implications. 

Lifting his vine wood wand slightly, he spoke softly: "Axel, I believe you. After spending a year with you, I know you are not one to lie. Actually… hearing your story now puts the pieces together properly and is starting to paint the bigger picture clearer".

My eyes remained glued to Randolph's wand as I instinctively raised my own. Randolph's gaze looked saddened seeing me so guarded.

"I know you are naturally untrusting…" He spoke. "Especially after your time in that forest… Well actions will speak louder than words so let me take the floor here…".

Looking down with a solemn gaze Randolph spoke. "I know someone here on this Wharf, he's an old friend. Hopefully his shop is still up. If we find him, we can get him to help us with an unbreakable vow…"

Hearing the words 'unbreakable vow' my mind went blank. Words spilled from my lips the moment the vow was mentioned.

"Is… is this person trustworthy?" I spoke.

Randolph nodded. "I've known him for years… Axel, business in this world is darker than you'd think. Just like the muggle world, there is a dark underbelly of wizard trade and business. These vows are used more than you'd think for these dealings, as it's the most secure way of keeping information secret… It's far securer than a muggles NDA agreement as the person vowing is putting their life on the line to protect that secret".

My eyes flashed as I realised what Randolph was trying to say. He had experience with the unbreakable vow already it seemed, and most likely so did his predecessors in the broom company. If a certain project or patent is developed, a vow is able to hush such things so news of its development never spreads. Its brutal, but a guaranteed way of keeping things under wraps.

Maybe this part of the business is why Randolph secluded himself… With him making brooms alone, he didn't have to go through any of the dark dealings or vows to secure information. When he spoke of the vow initially, I could tell he had a past with it as his eyes seemed to glaze over as if he was recalling old memories…

Randolph really wanted to show that I could trust him by doing this. After our conversation went stale, he walked out of the alley leading me along the wharf. He looked at each boat stroking his beard mumbling things like – "Was he here?" and "Maybe over there?".

Judging from his actions it seemed Randolph hadn't met this friend of his for a long time now. Now I thought about it those in the pub did mention he was recluse…

As I watched him mumbling to himself, I kept on thinking to myself about the gravity of the situation. Part of me wanted to tell him right now to stop, that this was not needed and that I trusted him. 

Another part of me however, the darker untrusting part, whispered in my ear to let this happen.

If Randolph was not bound in some way, I would never rest easy even if it was Randolph. There was even a potential chance of me having to kill him if I let this be, especially if stakes were raised. With the vow in place, he would not be able to divulge anything about me even if he wanted to…

We both walked down the wharf a while longer until we came to an unassuming boat. Randolph's eyes set onto the boat and he smiled nostalgically for a moment. The boat looked the same as any other market stall boat with different materials, memorabilia and books littered the small boat markets tables. 

Randolph stepped onto the boat and I followed, looking at the different items on display. As our feet stepped onto the boat a man appeared from the captain's quarters of the boat appeared with a smile, speaking in a subdued tone. The German words translated by my compass;

"Ah some customers, how can I help you both to- "

The mans voice stopped as he looked at Randolph. As their eyes locked Randolph's gaze softened and he spoke. "It's been some time Stein".

This man Stein was really short, that was my first impression of him. He was only a head above my height and I was only 11-years-old. He also looked similar to how I looked when I was in the forest, his skin seemed stuck to his bones as if he wasn't feeding himself properly. Anybody who looked at this man at first glance would see him as weak and feeble.

Stein walked over and shook Randolph's hand with a smile. His eyes then fell onto me, standing behind Randolph. 

Speaking in a whisper, he said "Is this that god-son of yours?"

I was surprised hearing Stein call me Randolph's god-son. Randolph however just laughed quietly and spoke with a dull tone. "Nothing seems to get past your ears does it… Yes, this is Axel, my god-son…".

Stein smiled knowingly for a moment before glancing back at Randolph. Looking at the frail man he at first seemed like nothing much, however as I looked at his hands when he shook hands with Randolph I saw pronounced scars on them. His eyes that looked weak also held a fire behind them that I could only vaguely see. 

Maybe it was due to my time in the forest, but this man, despite his weak looks, screamed 'dangerous' to me.

"How can I help you, old friend… Need some special materials again?" he said. It seemed Randolph used him as an item broker as well in the past.

Randolph spoke quietly, in a hushed voice. "No Stein… I was actually wondering if you could overlook a vow…".

Randolph's gaze landed onto me for a second and Stein's eyes followed. He looked at both me and Randolph for a moment, trying to decipher what could be going on.

Stein spoke calmly and soundlessly: "Of course, I can… it's been a while since you've asked me to do that…".

Randolph simply nodded. "I know it's a bit out of the blue-".

Stein stopped Randolph from speaking further. "Don't fret old friend. I know what you're like; always so extreme… You don't need to explain yourself…".

Stein seemed to agree with that statement as after he brought both me and Randolph into the captain's quarters of the boat, quietly closing the door behind us and flipping the sign on it to 'closed'. As he did this, I noticed the stock of items outside seemed to vanish, as if being stored away so nobody could poach them so easily.

As we entered the quarters of the boat, I noticed the inside was filled with all sorts of stock. The stock was so diverse that I instantly knew this man called 'Stein' was definitely not simple. There was the normal stuff, potion ingredients and so on but there were also some materials and artifacts that seemed dark in nature. Just looking at these things made me shiver.

Taking my eyes away from the surroundings, Me and Randolph walked into the centre of the dimly lit quarters and stood face to face, our arms interlocked. Stein stood in the middle of us, slowly pulling out his wand. Randolph quietly spoke of the conditions of the vow, so Stein was aware. He simply stated it was a trust vow, a vow that he would protect any secrets I had. 

Stein nodded and pulled out his wand. The wand he raised between us was an ebony wand, my eyes landed on it as I inspected the design. It was extremely simple and unassuming. It was straight with no fancy flourishes, completely different to my own I'd recently gotten. It had no extra details, seemingly looking a bit dull. 

As the wand hovered above mine and Randolph's arms though, I felt my body tense up.

Once again conflict arose in my mind as the red wire-like flame danced form his wand and wrapped around both mine and Randolph's arms. I kept thinking, 'was this right?', but my mouth never moved. I felt no drive to stop this truly, allowing this vow to happen…

Stein's voice quietly reverberated through the wooden quarters as he spoke. "Do you, Randolph Spudmore vow to keep any secret that Axel here has".

"I do".

"And do you vow to protect these secrets, with your life if necessary?".

"I do".

"And will you never act to betray Axel ever, despite knowing these secrets?"

A slight pause stopped the vows for a moment as Randolph's gaze warmed looking into mine. He smiled and spoke calmly.

"I do".

Stein gazed at us both and spoke coldly. "With that the vow is written…".

The red-wire like flames singed into both mine and Randolph's arms and hands in that moment, leaving behind lines on both of our arms. Randolph looked at the lines on his arms with a sigh and spoke.

"Don't worry Axel, these lines will fade but the vow never will…"

Once again, I felt my heart drop. I felt cruel binding Randolph like this, allowing him to go through with it. 

I also felt some relief though, now having someone I could fully trust with anything. The trust vow was stricter than I thought it'd be. He vowed to never divulge any secret of mine, that meant it was not limited to just the obscurus secret but any in the future.

Stein watched us both with an intrigued expression for a moment before looking over his stock in the back of the quarters.

"It was nice seeing you again Randolph" Stein spoke whilst rummaging around. "Let's grab a drink at one point…".

Randolph nodded. "Sure Stein … maybe after I take this boy to be shipped off to school".

Stein waved us both off as we exited the quarters of the boat back onto the boats deck. We both stepped back onto the pavement and started to walk down the wharf, heading towards the ocean where the Magical Barge was said to be at.

As we walked in silence, Randolph seemed content. His expression was relaxed, despite enacting that vow with me. I wanted to say something but didn't know how to put it into words. I spent each step about to speak but I didn't know how I wanted the next sentence to come out.

Randolph eventually noticed my attitude and turned, giving me a chance to speak eye to eye. 

I smiled naturally for the first time in a while.

"Thank you, Rand- no, thank you… father".

Randolph's expression grew emotional in a moment as he heard me call him father, tears forming in the corner of his eyes. 

I don't know why I called him Father instead of God-father, but seeing his reaction made me content. He probably never expected to be called 'father' in his lifetime and me calling him father seemed to heal a wound deep within him as his expression brightened.

He patted me on the shoulder with emotion as he led me through the wharf. 

We started to notice the density of the crowd grow and students of all ages seemed to appear in groups. Different languages flew through the air and I heard all sorts of comments and talk going on, some of which was slightly amusing.

As we reached the main part of the crowd, the Wharf seemed to open up. In front of me I could see a massive boat, glowing in the water. 

Randolph pointed. "That's the Magical Barge. You're transport to Beauxbatons…".

Maybe it was due to now having someone I could fully trust in this world but looking at the Magical Barge I felt some emotion rise in my gut. 

It was… a little breathtaking…