4 4. Steen National Bank

An inexplicable evil wind rolled up the curtains in the room, and black mist rose and shrank. Wisps of black mist reassembled into limbs. After a while, Aurelius, who was wearing pajamas, fell onto the carpet at the head of the bed.

"Well - sure enough." Aurelius woke up and couldn't help but rub his shoulders. He woke up from the pain. There was another bruise from the fall just now. This was a habit he had since he was Credence, occasionally waking up somewhere other than his bed. Mary told him he was sleepwalking, and the poor kid believed her. He would have no memory of when the Obscurus breaks out. Credence is too simple and trusting, but Aurelius is not.

Combining the plot he knew, he quickly made a conjecture: whenever he 'sleepwalks,' a strange disaster occurs in New York City. It's interesting to think about it - every place where a disaster occurred, the children of Second Salem had distributed flyers not long ago, and it would also be a place where Credence was bullied. Before, no one connected these. Maybe Grindelwald may have thought of something, but he believed too much in the records about the Obscurus - no Obscurial could live to be ten years old. Therefore, Grindelwald only noticed that Second Salem was related to Obscurus, but he never doubted Credence. Also, because the Obscurus had no memory when he was in the Obscurus state, Grindelwald did not find any problems even if he used Legilimency. If all goes well, these misunderstandings will not be revealed until Credence is provoked by Grindelwald, causing the Obscurus to explode completely. But who made Aurelius a time traveler? By connecting these clues through the plot, he unexpectedly gained insight into some of the unknown characteristics of the Obscurial.

"It seems to be a little stronger. Does it mean that the Obscurus grows by killing?" Aurelius suppressed Obscurus, feeling the stronger resistance of Obscurus, and silently began to change clothes. It's still breakfast as usual, but it's a little different. Today is Sunday, also called Sunday. Instead of going to church, they had to read with Mary the Second Salem Program, which she had written. Well... it's just brainwashing. Mary adopted these children because they were innocent and more likely to be instilled with the seeds of hatred for wizards. The nonsense program is comparable to scolding and it stings Aurelius's outlook on life, especially... It's already 1926, and there are still people saying that electric lights and cars are the work of wizards?!

Finally, it came to an end, and Mary announced today's plan: They are going to the gate of Steen National Bank, where the elite gathers, to continue promoting Second Salem."Bank? It's not where I thought it would be, is it? Is time so tight?" Aurelius's heart tightened as he realized the bank was not where he had expected it to be, and he wondered if time was running out. He had only just remembered that the story was meant to take place in 1926, which was the current year, but he hadn't expected it to happen so soon.

"I traveled through time just yesterday, and now the plot starts today?"

"No, I have to make some preparations!" Aurelius thought to himself, feeling the need to plan something secretly.

Meanwhile, the Elizabethburg from the United Kingdom slowly entered New York Harbor.

The somewhat reserved little freckle, Dougal, clung to an old suitcase and rested his toes uneasily on the ground.

"Dougal, be quiet, please. It won't be long," Newt said, trying to calm the anxious creature.

As Newt anxiously prepared his secret plan, he remembered that he had worries about the strange land of America. Little did he know the kind of crisis he would soon find himself involved in. During his wild adventure, he would meet a group of people who would become very important to him.

...

In front of the Steen National Bank in New York City, Aurelius raised a flag made by Mary. The red and gold flag depicted a pair of hands breaking a wand.

Today's meeting was of great importance to Mary. She had even changed into one of her most precious outfits and had provided new clothes for Aurelius and Chastity.

Aurelius was even given an elaborate top hat.

"This great city shines with the crystallization of people's wisdom! The theaters showing movies, the motor vehicles, the radios, the electric lights... it's all so dazzling!" Mary stood on the steps, speaking passionately, as if she were delivering a campaign speech for the presidency of the United States.

"It's like a witch cast a spell on us!"

Aurelius, standing to the side, kept his head lowered in fear, but his eyes were constantly scanning everyone like radar.

Suddenly, his eyes narrowed. He spotted a guy with messy curly hair, dressed in a blue woolen coat, who had a clear sense of naivety in his eyes. He looked like a primitive man who had just emerged from a deep forest and was curious about everything.

And there were even Muggles nearby who were openly criticizing the wizarding community.

"Damn it! The plot has begun," Aurelius cursed to himself.

The plot would only last a few days, but the power of Obscurus had expanded so much.

This meant that he would suffer during these days...

Though it was slightly different from his original plan, it was still expected. After all, he couldn't miss an encounter with this protagonist.

Today's "Sniffing Treasure Hunt" was also an important part of his plan.

As an orphan, Aurelius was poor, and coincidentally, the building behind him was probably the wealthiest place in the city.

Aurelius stared intently at Newt's luggage, watching it trip the rather plump Jacob. He also saw Mary notice Newt's conspicuous package.

Then..."Credence, hand out leaflets," Chastity's low voice interrupted Aurelius's thoughts. He lifted his head blankly and met Mary's unfriendly gaze. Aurelius briskly descended the steps and distributed the leaflets to the spectators one by one. However, his attention was still fixed on Newt's box. Suddenly, a pair of sharp little claws opened a gap in the box, revealing a long, flat mouth resembling that of a platypus.

"It's happening!" Aurelius exclaimed, his eyes lighting up. His fingertips flickered, and a white object resembling a snowball materialized. With incredible speed, he aimed the projectile at the adorable creature's head.

Startled, the creature instinctively covered its eyes with its paws. But when the snowball made contact, it vanished into thin air. Perplexed, the creature lowered its paw and blinked its adorable eyes, looking incredibly cute.

However, Aurelius sensed Sniff, the Summoner, and knew he could track the little creature no matter how far it went. Regardless of the distance, Aurelius could instantly appear beside the creature simply by thinking about it.

Among the four Summoner Skills that Aurelius possessed, one of them was called "Mark." This ability allowed him to throw a snowball and mark the first target it hit. The mark not only enabled Aurelius to continually monitor the target's location, but it also served as an anchor point for teleportation - the second stage effect of the mark.