Chapter 16

Atticus sat in the compartment on the Hogwarts Express with his friends as they were on their way home for the April break. He was deep in thought.

The Blitz and the other attacks were going to happen within a few months. If he remembered correctly, Cardiff would be bombed for the first time on the 3rd of July. Plymouth would be bombed on the 6th of July. London would be bombed starting from August 1940 for a whole month and would be intermittently attacked for a whole year. He didn't quite know the rest of the attacks.

His so called Seer abilities weren't at all mature. He initially hoped that he would gain total foresight but alas, he didn't. He only received vague dreams that were hard to recall and he could get impressions of people. The impressions felt more like evaluations of their future and of them themselves. It felt strange, like tarot cards but in real life. He honestly hadn't spent much time refining the ability though he thought it could well prove extremely useful to determine deceitful people. He imagined Snape's double agent status could well be exposed despite his abilities in the mind arts.

 It was why he disliked the Daryl boy so much. He felt bitter and vengeful and why he decided to kill him. Emily...she felt as if she was on a knife edge...one side anger and cruelty and on the other side brilliance and passion...as if it would take only a few incidences for her to tilt into a unrecoverable fall...it was why he was spending so much time trying to soothe her, calm her rage and dispel that poisonous hate she carries. He wondered what it said about him that he aimed to save one and yet condemn the other. He shook his head.

His vague dreams were aggravating. He recalled one dream eight months ago that showed a dark figure, definitely a wizard killing hundreds if not thousands of muggles. The muggles were French soldiers. The rest of his dreams were vaguer. He asked Benedict and his father how he could gain better clarity dreams and they had little information for him. It seemed it was up to him to improve his abilities.

He shook his head and returned to his previous thoughts. He knew that he needed to do something about the Blitz. Britain currently had a population of magicals of about 32,000. Five thousand lived in London alone. 

Wards did not completely protect against bombs. One bomb...perhaps if they had very good wards. Two would obliterate the home. He had taken four of the bombs at one of the military sites, two blockbuster bomb and two general bombs last summer.

He warded a home he built on an isolated island in Scotland without people to the best of his abilities. He dropped the general bomb that bombers carried onto the house and it nearly destroyed the wards. He redid the wards and dropped the blockbuster bomb and it destroyed the home completely. He knew then that a few blockbuster bombs would likely be capable of damaging the wards on Sayre Manor despite it being on a number of leylines. He believed anywhere between five and eight direct hits would be enough to destroy the Manor completely.

It had been a sobering experience. It also meant that he felt he had a duty to ensure the Ministry knew of the pending attacks. He recalled that relatively few people died, something like 50,000 out of millions in London but that was because of the extensive evacuation procedures. Procedures the magicals wouldn't bother with.

The problem had been how to get them to believe his words of the impending attacks and the dangers they posed to magicals. He was lucky that he was exceptionally highly regarded within the community but he wasn't certain they would heed his words.

It was why he took more bombs than necessary. He would show them the damage it would cause on a Gringotts warded house. Once he fixed the Scottish island up from the damage of the bombs, he once again built a house with the help of his elves. He got Gringotts to ward the house with their best package deal, which was better than 90% of warded houses in the country and gave him documentation that verified the work done.

"Atticus, are you alright?" Eden called out with concern tinged in her voice.

He turned his head towards her and saw her frown in concern "Yes, I am. Thank you for asking" he said kindly as he gave a small smile.

"You had your 'The Thinker' face on" Theodore remarked as he smirked at him "You know..." he said mimicking the famous muggle statue that was near the entrance of a popular French magical shopping district and the rest of the compartment laughed at his actions. 

"Well, considering that he has to do the thinking for you..." Nymera teased him which got Eden giggling. Theodore did often come to him pleading for help more than anyone else. 'Partly because he knows that he could get away with it' he mused quietly to his amused exasperation.

"Hey!" he protested as he scowled. Markus next to him "She isn't completely wrong" murmured lowly though it carried through the compartment.

Theodore elbowed Markus lightly in the ribs "Ah! Don't! Sto-" as he tried to fight off Theodore as they began to play fight on the seats.

Eden rolled her eyes "Boys..." she exhaled in mild annoyance.

"Don't lump me with them!" Atticus complained as he continued to glance at the two idiots "They are not representatives of the male species." he said twitching his lips in amusement.

"Please" Nymera scoffed "I've seen the Gryffindors behave like these pair of baboons all the time. That Prewett and his little gang of lions are prime examples. I see no difference" she said smugly as she looked at the two who began to settle down.

"That's harsh Nymmie" Theodore grumbled "Comparing us to those lions? What did we do deserve such unflattering and outright cruel comparisons?" 

"Don't call me that" she glared at him 

"To be fair, it is a harsh comparison" Atticus said with a raised eyebrow "Those boys really are Gryffindor stereotypes." He said glances at the two while his lips threatened to bloom into a smile as they twitched "These two, for all their faults aren't quite as bull headed and dense. The fact that they share some of the same characteristics is only a damn shame." He said as he saw their offended faces

"Yes" Eden piped up as she looked positively devious as she looked to contribute to piling up on them "Do keep it a minimum however boys...When Gryffindors act like you do, it's dismissed as 'Oh it's just Gryffindors'" she said in a haughty voice that she pulled off perfectly and he snorted in amusement "But when you do it...well" she shrugged as she glanced at them with what he could swear was a twinkle in her eye "There are implications that could be made"

He laughed out loud at that and Nymera struggled to breathe as she understood what Eden meant. Atticus glanced at the boys and laughed even louder as he saw their confused faces. "They're confused!" Nymera breathed out in laughter as her eyes began to water.

Their confusion turned into angry confusion "Implications? What? What are you talking about?" Markus asked in genuine befuddlement and more than a little anger.

"Oh you know" Eden said nonchalantly "Implications that the play fighting and rough housing are just an outlet for frustrations" she said daintily as her lips upturned into a smirk.

Markus finally understood and paled under the insinuations and moved away from Theodore who still didn't understand. He decided to take pity on the boy.

"Eden, Theodore is still too innocent it seems" he said smiling as he looked to her to wrap the teasing up. Eden was the kindest amongst them though she had a devious streak in her.

She sighed as she looked at the boy who was looking quite sour. She got up and whispered in his ear and Atticus looked at him in fascination. 

He didn't quite expect to see someone to turn so red so fast while at the same time paling in embarrassment.

"Eden!" he near shouted in horror as he turned to face her "Innocent Eden!" he said as he looked at her in disbelief and in weird respect "I didn't know you had it in you to make jokes like that" he said sniffing as he fake wiped a tear from his eye.

He got and hugged her, lifting her of her feet "I'm so proud, my dear Eden." He said twirling her down "Put me down" she demanded and the antics set the compartment off in laughter.

After a little while, the compartment settled down and talks continued about general Hogwarts rumour, one of them being about him to his displeasure. It was the nature that displeased him rather than the rumours themselves. He was always subjected to having rumours about him given his achievements.

"So, Atticus what's with you and Riddle?" Nymera asked genuinely as she attempted to keep an even face. Nymera has a cousin in Slytherin who had witnessed one of the actions that Riddle took in her first year so Nymera had been warned about the girl. 

She cornered him after the first meeting he had with Riddle in the library once that had made its rounds in the rumour mill as she was concerned for him.

It was sweet and it was kind of warranted in truth. They didn't know he knew what he was dealing with.

"I heard you two were dating" Markus piped up "That you were all so in love and that you couldn't help but be in each other's presence" he smirked at Atticus who sent a wandless stinging hex at him.

"Ow!" he exclaimed in pain and was about to retort until he saw Atticus' glare.

"We're not dating" he said forcefully in irritation. It was a rumour that kind of annoyed him. He wasn't quite sure why. There were rumours about him dating so and so all the time.

"Good" Eden said seriously "That girl is trouble Atticus" she said seriously.

"I've already told you about what I heard from my cousin" Nymera interjected.

She continued "She puts up a perfect and polite mask outside of the Slytherin common room but she's said to be very dangerous and there is truth to it Atticus. You admitted yourself to me that you knew as well" she finished throwing her arms in the air. "I don't know why you continue to ignore this" she said crossly.

Atticus sighed "I know she's dangerous...I think I know why she's like this" he said while in truth knowing exactly why she was like that. he glances at her "I've told you this just as often as you've told me about her danger" he reminded her.

"There is no truth in us dating. Besides" he said in a strange tone he didn't quite recognise himself "It's not as if we're even talking at the moment."

"I hope you haven't pissed her off too much." Nymera grimaced as she looked him over "Given that you seem to be in good health, maybe she is just biding her time?" she looked at him apprehensively.

"Is that why you were thinking so hard?" Theodore asked as he munched on a chocolate frog from a small paper bag on his lap. Atticus wandlessly brought the bag over to himself and Theodore gave him a betrayed look at which Atticus simply smirked before he popped a chocolate frog in his mouth.

Over the years, he had slipped up using wandless magic in their presence. It had been stupid on his part but he learnt from it. He knew he could be absentminded and perhaps too impulsive at times but sometimes you just roll with the punches. In any case they had been awed but they promised to keep it a secret after he asked. It also was a partial test to see how trustworthy they were. He wanted to believe they were but life has taught him you seldom see betrayals coming if you trust blindly. 

He gave the bag to Eden who herself take a chocolate frog and she passed to Nymera.

"No I was thinking about the war" he said after he swallowed the frog. 

"Oh" Theodore said surprised and slumped in his seat. 

"Depressing" Markus murmured which garnered hums of agreement.

The magical war while not as devastating as the muggle war in scale, it was getting to be quite brutal.

When Hitler launched his invasion into Poland, Grindelwald launched his war at the same time and the Germany Ministry worked for him. He split his forces three ways and assaulted the Swedish Ministry and the Polish Ministry. Magical Poland wasn't the same as muggle Poland. The union of Lublin was a union that crossed over into the magical side as well.

His attacks were well coordinated and he managed to hold onto both ministries by the end of January.

Mass evacuations were trickling down south, mainly to France, Spain and Switzerland who opened their borders to these people.

Rumours were that MACUSA was planning on offering them a place in the States.

For the most part, the magical populations, the common folk, weren't bothered too much but it was only a matter of time before that changed. Day to day life was disrupted heavily and populations had restrictions placed on them while some were forcefully recruited to aid Grindelwald's war effort.

Entire family lines have been culled as a consequence of defiance around that area of Europe and it seemed to only get worse.

Grindelwald himself battled in Norway against their Aurors and ICW forces. Norway was one of the more capable ministries in the world, behind only Britain, MACUSA, Russia, France, Uganda and Japan.

It had taken him and his forces only months to completely eradicate the Aurors and ICW forces and two weeks ago he got complete control over the ministry while his forces subdued the population.

It had sent alarm bells all around the world as they were all shocked that he managed to subdue Norway so fast. Norway's forces were far more martial than many other forces given that Durmstrang was rumoured to be in the Norwegian mountains and most of the population of Norway attended the school. ICW forces were also amongst the Norwegians who were all trained for combat.

The death toll at the moment, a year into open warfare was approaching nearly six thousand, a third were Aurors and combatants while the rest were either political executions or nonsensical murders.

Already 1.5% of the magical population of Europe were killed off. It was grim.

There were also rumours that there was a dedicated team of Grindelwald acolytes that purged large scale Polish muggle populations. 

Bulgaria and the other smaller ministries that bordered the Black Sea threw their hats in with Grindelwald after coups were launched on the same day as the attacks.

Grindelwald finally managed to break through the wards of Durmstrang only a few days ago. That had been another devastating piece of news. Durmstrang's wards were said to be capable of holding off hundreds of above average magicals casting for weeks and he broke the wards in only a day and a half.

ICW forces were regrouping in France as they were beginning to face a monumental task. At the moment, the ICW forces were predominantly Auror trained internationals mixed with a number of battlemages and warmages.

The ICW Aurors deal with issues that cross borders on behalf of ministries, particularly those who are incapable of dealing with them effectively such as the smaller ministries. 

Most dealt with smuggling, trafficking and crime syndicates. This meant that they were woefully underequipped to deal with bona fide enemy combatants that have been trained for years for war.

Where muggles could pick up guns and be trained in a few simple months, it would take years to train the aurors into a force capable of dealing with Grindelwald's acolytes let alone his lieutenants.

 His lieutenants were exceptional. Vinda Rosier, the Queen of Illusions from the French Rosiers. Gerald Vermeer a Flemish Belgian half blood. Vladimir Dukesvky from an Old Russian family. Morbidly named the Choker. Klaus De Galle hailed from a cadet branch of a prominent Swiss family.

These four lieutenants were a cut above all other followers. They were all upper tier Sorcerer level magicals.

There were two levels below Archmage classification, which have their own diversity in magical strength, namely Sorcerer and Warlock. 

Warlocks were quite common, expected to be roughly 15 to 20 percent of any population. Sorcerers however...They were at most 2% of any population. 

The best of warlocks could reach magical strengths of sorcerers but the difference between them was attunement to magic and ease of expertise in branches of magic.

Sorcerers were specially attuned to magic, particularly to branches of magic that has been shaped by family magic that warlocks would find very difficult to achieve.

That was partly the reason why noble families have ruled for so long despite there being thousands of magical families. 

Family magic shaped the history of magical civilisation immensely. These families, whether it was through chance or not he didn't know, always produced powerful magicals at least every few generations. It was also a theory that only the most powerful families could survive hundred if not thousands of years.

The Black family famously produced Sorcerer strength magicals every generation. His own family produced minimum mid Sorcerer strength magicals just as frequently though the Black family were always a larger family thus had more Sorcerers on call hence their fame.

This was replicated, though in lesser frequency all across the world whereby certain lineages would produce more capable magicals that had higher ceilings.

Grindelwald's forces consisted of many sorcerers, far more than any individual ministry forces would have. The rest of his forces were estimated to have a mixture of warlocks and lesser magicals.

However, these four lieutenants were upper tier Sorcerers and that made a significant difference in the way the war is going. These sorcerers had combat orientated attunement to magic in addition to high magical strength along with being Grindelwald's followers for decades and the experience and training they received all contributed them being utterly deadly opponents to face.

They were capable of combating multiple mid tier sorcerers at the same time and they stood a good chance of winning on their own capabilities. But they were never alone as they had their own trained teams.

It was what caused ICW forces to fail so spectacularly in preventing the fall of Poland, Sweden and Norway.

Battlemages were powerful warlocks and sorcerers trained in combat and they aided the aurors dealing with lower level Grindelwald forces.

Warmages were specifically trained in dealing with the kind of sorcerers the lieutenants were. At any given time, there were always at least thirty sorcerer level warmages at the ICW and in wartime a hundred.

They were all mid to upper tier sorcerers. It was why it was a shock that Norway, even with the aid of almost a third of the warmages couldn't deal with Grindelwald and his forces.

Those battles were extremely costly to the ICW as it was a heavy blow. The ICW was now recruiting Aurors around the world and fast tracking the ones with the necessary magical strength and skill into battle and warmage positions.

Prior to the war, there had been over a hundred and fifty years of peace, no large scale wars that required a large force and only Grindelwald's escape from MACUSA resulted a slow increase in build up and yet it had been done poorly and extremely lax in foresight. Not even after Grindelwald took over the German ministry did anything other than continue the slow build up. And now they were frantic in panic as they underestimated the man.

Vinda Rosier. She was exceptionally capable in Illusion and the Dark Arts. She combined the two branches and it made for a deadly combination.

She was in Poland taking lead of Grindelwald's forces. Only four Aurors survived the assault on their country and they brought grim tales of her prowess that was leaked to the papers. She was stated to have slaughtered over a dozen aurors with massive illusionary constructs of dragons and serpents that seemed to be capable of casting magic. Their spells were unable to damage them, some even passing through them.

While Rosier was in Poland, Dukevsky was in Sweden. He is named the Choker for his trademark kill signature. He was adept in cutting oxygen supply in people, even in combat and he was difficult to counter as he was an expert duellist at the same time. No ministry official that was present during the assault escaped to bring news.

Vermeer was a charms battle master and was extremely capable in combat. He reportedly said to be only second in pure combat skill to Grindelwald in their ranks.

Amongst all of Grindelwald's followers, De Galle was the most sadistic and the one who you do not wish to be captured or interrogated by. Before he followed Grindelwald, he was wanted for killing the main branch of the De Galle family. The remains of the family, including three pre magical school age children, were reportedly to have induced sickness in the investigating aurors. Investigations found that they were all flayed alive and magically kept alive and out of shock. Muscle was peeled off of arms and legs and in the case of the patriarch, his face whilst he was aware. 

He is a potions expert on top of being a Dark Arts specialist and he had the matriarch of the family on a concoction of potions and the imperius curse as he directed her to commit the acts of barbarity. She was the only kept alive and though her system was cleared of the potions, she was nonresponsive even though she was left unharmed...physically. Her mind is snapped from the experience.

He was the spymaster and chief interrogator. Fucked up and Atticus had no doubt that Grindelwald knows the value of having such a infamous monster known as his to unleash against his enemies. No doubt that it keeps whispers in the dark quieter than it would have other in occupied nations.

Then there is Grindelwald himself. A child prodigy in Dark Arts and had gotten himself expelled from Durmstrang, the school that excelled in the art, a champion, a magical powerhouse and a man who's crimes are infamous and lengthy.

He was an international duelling champion at the age of seventeen where he dethroned a powerful German wizard, Harold Ostermahn who was an upper tier sorcerer and who had won the duelling championship four times in a row. They met again the next year in the final and Grindelwald retained his title despite being subjected to illegal curses that the judges didn't call upon. 

The Ostermahn family were all killed off thirty years ago.

He was in Britain from the age of sixteen until he left Britain at nineteen and wasn't heard about until fifteen years later when he began to gather followers. From there was a host of actions attributed to the man, thefts, deaths and so on. 

Until he was captured in MACUSA, which Atticus believed to be a fluke or deliberate, for inciting breaking the statute of secrecy and the rest was history.

Archmages were a rare bunch of magicals for whom the stars aligned. Magical strength, lineage, intelligence, natural attunement to magic and willpower were crucial to achieve the power ceiling of being Archmage. Lineage was important as family magic played a big factor as it augmented power levels. 

Rituals, such as enhancement and augmenting rituals, do increase magical power but it is impossible, from what he gathered in his reading, to jump from Sorcerer to Archmage. You could jump from mid Sorcerer to high Sorcerer but a high level Sorcerer would not be able to augment their strength to Archmage level. You were either born with the potential or not. Warlocks who have achieved magical strength equal to low to mid level sorcerers were rare and they were still disadvantaged from a magical point of view.

Grindelwald was an Archmage...considered to be one of the most powerful Archmages to have known to exist...considered to be unrivalled in Darks Arts, Charms, extremely well learned in the more esoteric arts and stated to be a low level Seer.

He was a rare being that possessed all five elements in high droves. 

Among the 1 to 1.5million magicals, there were only four known Archmages; Gellert Grindelwald, Albus Dumbledore, Bosede Khari and Xavier Charleston though Atticus believed there were likely a few other Archmages in the world but have isolated themselves. 

Khari is a Namibian mage who is over two hundred years old and rarely ever ventures out of Central and Eastern Africa. Not much is known about his capabilities beyond the fact that he is extremely well learned and a master shaman who is specially attuned to natural magic. 

Xavier Charleston the Headmaster of Ilvermony, an American who is eighty six years old, middle age for a wizard. Charleston is a runes specialist and also considered to be the foremost expert in defensive magic in America.

Dark Lords were almost required to be Archmages as the disparity between sorcerers were far more easily to rectify and ministries around the world came down hard on upstart dark wizards quickly but Dark Lords...and Ladies had the magical strength to swat aside sorcerers if they were competent enough.

Historical accounts have shown that it always required an Archmage level wizard or witch to bring down another Archmage in a confrontation.

For that reason, it is likely that Charleston will be asked to fight against Grindelwald as the situation breaks further down. Atticus believed he would be joining the war front within the next few years.

"Do you think the war will come to Britain?" Eden asked quietly to no one in particular. Atticus looked at her and saw her biting her lip worriedly.

There have been...excursions by Grindelwald forces in the Isles but they were always sent as assassins rather than anything else. They've targeted only a few people so far but as the war continues, especially if France falls as he suspects, there will more outspoken individuals who will get targeted.

"Britain will largely remain unaffected, I suspect" Atticus began as he gained the attention of everyone "But...I don't expect it to last for too long." He sighed as he leaned back in his chair with his eyes closed 

"I expect that the Ministry will focus on defence rather than assisting the other countries and Grindelwald will be happy about that...for now" he said as he opened his eyes and glanced at Nymera.

She met his gaze briefly before looking away. Her father was investigated heavily for involvement with Grindelwald and it had taken a lot of bribing to prevent it from escalating beyond investigation. 

He would remain in close scrutiny for some time according to the news his father gave him at Yule.

It seemed that Treason was considered a big no no in this era, even if you were from an old family. He wondered if that was what caused the clusterfuck of the bloodwar, that it wasn't truly recognised as treason.

"You don't think the ministry would join the war?" Theodore asked blankly.

Atticus shook his head "No, not yet if at all. There are Wizengamot members who are preaching for us to get involved but the Wizengamot are locked dead in indecision." 

He pursed his lips "I think there are many who agree with Grindelwald's ideas but considering the threat of treason for openly supporting the man..." he trailed off and Theodore snuck a quick glance towards Nymera and Atticus rolled his eyes at his blatant action.

"And the way they show their support is by deadlocking the Wizengamot" Markus finished.

Atticus looked him and nodded "Aye. I think when the war gets worse, pressure will ramp up on these individuals...or families...who are forcing Britain to remain out of the war to change their stance"

Italy was currently embroiled in civil war as there is a power struggle between the ministry and the nobles. Spain is relatively stable but considered to be lesser power on the international state and considered largely unable to provide the aurors and mages beyond perhaps a hundred. 

Asia and South America were simply too far away to be truly concerned about the affairs of Europe and would only give a token few teams of aurors or warmages.

Grindelwald is said to have a non aggression pact with the Russians, similar to how Hitler had one with Stalin. Atticus wondered if Grindelwald would break the pact the same way Hitler would.

It meant that MACUSA, France and the other free European countries would provide the bulk of mages to fight against Grindelwald. 

That Britain wouldn't send theirs would no doubt cause international problems down the line even if there were volunteers from the Isles.

He grimaced "I expect serious diplomatic damage done to the Isles the longer we stay out of the war."

"Shouldn't that be a good thing though?" Markus cocked his head as he furrowed his eyebrows "No British magicals dying in Europe has got to be a good thing. Besides it means we have more wizards and witches to defend the Isles if he ever dared to cross the channel"

Atticus shook his head "A defensive war on our soil would be more costly than a war on mainland Europe." He pursed his lips "We would have a safe haven here at home that we can retreat to should the worst happen." He hummed in thought.

"In addition, we haven't fought a war in a long time Markus whilst Grindelwald's are fast becoming veterans. That means our own will be dying quicker as they face opponents that have honed their craft the longer we wait to join the war. Denying Grindelwald time to sink his claws in deeply will be key" He said calmly.

He shrugged "I cannot predict what will happen, whether or not we will actually join the war beyond condemnations and a token few aurors but if we do not want to have a hostile power on our borders, it'll have to happen before he consolidates his hold on Europe. " he said as he glanced at Markus 

"Enough!" Nymera shouts in distress that startles Eden immensely.

Atticus eyes widened as he looked her over. Her hands are tightly holding onto the seat, her knuckles white from the strain and she seems to shake in distress.

The damage her father has done to their family must be more than what it seems if this is her reaction to word of the war.

"OK" Atticus nods at her and she sighs out in relief.

Atticus looks to Theodore who straightens out comically "Have you have heard the rumour about Becky bucktooth and Lance Carmichael?" he said gleefully as he rubbed his hands. 

Atticus smiled and closed his eyes as he rested his head back.

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Soon enough, the train arrived at Kings Cross and Atticus made his way to his family. Only his parents were here at present.

Atticus made his way to his mother who smiled at him and she hugged him tightly before she held him at arms length as she looked him over "You're not eating enough" she said disapprovingly.

Atticus rolled his eyes "I'm eating fine mother. Just because you want me to be a little pudgier..." he glared at her.

She sniffed disdainfully "Don't give me that look. Your father was more broad shouldered than you were at this age" she said teasingly "Can a mother not hope to make sure her son is growing up strong and healthy" she said as she lightly tapped him on the cheek.

"Mother..." he growled out and a chuckle rang out from his father who closed the distance between them.

"Anne dear, you're embarrassing him" he said smilingly.

"Nonsense! My little boy could never be embarrassed by me" she said haughtily though it was clear she was still teasing.

"Can we go already?" he said exasperatedly and then turned to his father "Hello father" he said warmly.

His father returned the warmth "Son." And slapped him gently on the back as they walked.

Atticus turned serious as he looked at his father "Father, I need to speak to you privately. It is urgent." He paused and furrowed his eyebrows "Is Benedict around?"

His father examined his face and simply nodded "Yes, we can talk in my office an hour or so after dinner. Benedict is in America with your sister." He thinned his lips "It is preferable for Benedict to remain in America with your sister for the next few years." He said calmly. Atticus nodded. He understood. They had already lost his grandparents. They would not lose another. MACUSA was a safer place than Britain.

"Alright, after dinner then" he confirmed.

"Enough of your business chattering boys" his mother interjected which both he and his father smiled at.

"So tell me, dear boy..." she said deviously and a chill rang through Atticus' spine. Nothing good could come from this. He just knew it. He glanced at his father who could barely restrain his amusement and Atticus sighed.

"Yes mother" he said defeated.

"I'm getting on in years you know...Not a whisper of you dating anyone. Not even amongst the ladies who I know have children your age at Hogwarts have anything useful to say. You're almost sixteen now, and I'm getting concerned" she said in faux concerned tone.

Atticus twisted his face in pain and horror "You talk about my dating life with other people?" he said looking at his mother in a new light. A horrifying one.

She looked at him as he was a buffoon "Of course." She looked at his father conspiratorially "It's when the fun begins" she said as she looked back at him.

Atticus quickened his pace towards the floo. His father began laughing at his antics.

"I think you scared him off dear" Atticus could just make out.

Atticus grabbed floo powder and shouted "SAYRE MANOR!"

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Atticus walked into his father's office. His office hasn't changed too much in the years since he started Hogwarts though he saw far more Wizengamot related books on the bookshelf that he always placed his more frequently read books on.

His father glanced at him and nodded to the seat in front of his desk and Atticus promptly sat down.

His father leaned back in his chair and appraised Atticus. "So, Son" he began,

"Tell me what this is about. You seemed quite determined to have this meeting as soon as possible" he said scrutinising Atticus with furrowed eyebrows.

Atticus sighed and ran a hand across his face and slumped in his chair. "We need to evacuate London" he blurted out. Atticus grimaced at himself for such a poor way to break the news but he didn't know exactly how else to start the conversation.

His father grew grim "Did you See something?" he asked seriously as he leant forward.

It was the only way Atticus knew that he dispel the information he had without it causing too much attention to himself.

Seers were rare but their input was valued. It made him understand Dumbledore a little more but Dumbledore was still a fool for following the Prophecy to the letter. He crushed that train of thought immediately.

"Yes." Atticus said seriously as he straightened up "Cardiff will be bombed on 3rd of July, Plymouth on the 6th and which from what I saw it will be the first of a series of attacks until they start a massive campaign to bomb English cities.

London will be bombed for a straight by hundreds if not thousands of flying muggle machines that will drop tens of thousands of bombs each day for over a month. 

A smaller bomb will have the power of a hundred Bombarda and the larger ones will have the power of thousands. A smaller bomb likely will destroy the wards of a house if they are good but the larger ones..." he says staring at his father.

"A single large one will obliterate a Gringotts warded house that isn't on leylines. Two or three hitting directly a warded house that has a leylines will likely destroy it too." He finishes.

His father's face grew paler and paler as he spoke "Surely the muggles aren't capable of breaking wards" he exclaimed in shock. It was the first time Atticus saw his father so un-composed.

Atticus shook his head "Father, the muggles are not sword swinging barbarians. They have been continuously at war for hundreds of years, slowly and but surely improving their methods of war. This last half century their pace has massively increased. They went from not flying around the beginning of this century to having tens of thousands of machines flying faster than a broom. They are not weak father and they will cause massive amounts of damage in this war.

Millions of muggles will die, my dreams are clear on that. My dreams they do not show much for myself but they show a lot of things on the muggle side that is inevitable." He stresses out.

"But it doesn't have to be for our people Father!" he gets up in agitation and he sighs as he calms himself "Father..." he says imploringly "We need to convince the ministry to evacuate London. The muggles have their own evacuation plans but we don't. 

St. Mungo's, the Alleys, the Ministry and so on, should be removed from London, temporarily. Potions, ingredient farms and so on " he says as he paces.

"Son" his father tries "Son" "especially have to secure" "ATTICUS" his father shouts which startles him slightly. He blinks.

He grimaces to his father "My apologies father" he bowed slightly. 

His father sighs "No need for that son. I understand your distress." He says as he massages his temples.

"First thing I want to know is how do you know so much about muggles." He asked Atticus sternly. "I know you couldn't have gotten all this knowledge about them from your dreams. You have strange notions but I have never called upon it, nor looked into it too much but I want to know now" his father said as he held a stony look.

He knew that he'd eventually have to answer so Atticus began "Father...the time that Ms Florence took me wasn't the only time" he began carefully "The books that I got that time were inspired" he said eying his father's reaction who remained stony faced "It made me curious...so I sought out more and what I found about muggles was horrifying" he said intoning that horrification in his voice

"They are not primitives father, far from it and they haven't been primitives for centuries now. When the statute went up, their development went up so fast it astounds belief. They are divining the nature of the universe" he said strongly "How the universe works, albeit without considering magic, but nonetheless they have increased their understanding to a whole new level. This understanding, father, it is what allowed them to create these weapons that they use to such deadly effect." He paused and looked at his father who was relaxing his face.

"I do not regret venturing out and obtaining the truth about them. This ignorance our world has of theirs is dangerous father and it will see us destroyed if we keep it up" he finished strongly.

His father after staring at Atticus sighs as he slumped in his chair. "Atticus, I do not begrudge you knowledge." He says glancing at him "I simply am disappointed that you did not bother to inform me of your actions."

Atticus looked at his father pained. 'There is so much more you don't know and I won't allow you to know' and he was filled with guilt. His father was truly a good father and importantly a decent man, far more decent than Atticus is. But Atticus also knew far more of the world than his father did. 

Could you remain a good man if you knew the horrors of the world? Perhaps, even if a small chance existed, you could prevent things from happening and yet you chose not to? That you convince yourself that interfering on such a massive scale could cause a future far worse? 

Atticus decided to settle on being a person who saved what mattered to him. Does that damn him a terrible person? He was brought out of his musings

"Nevertheless, I am glad that you have...enlightened..." he says slowly as he gazes at Atticus "me on the matter of the world."

He massages his temples "What you're asking me, I'm not even sure what you're asking me to do" 

His father holds up his hand and looks at him sternly as Atticus was going to interject "I understand that you want my help to get the Ministry to evacuate but it is exceedingly difficult thing to ask Atticus. My influence may be much but it is not that much" he says grimly.

He sighs and looks at Atticus "Can you prove your claims of the dangers of these bombs? That would aid in convincing them of the dangers you've told me."

Atticus nods "I have prepared for that." He grimaces slightly "I went into a muggle military site and obtained a few bombs and I had a house on an Scottish island warded by Gringotts, their best warding package" he said weakly.

His father simply stared at him and he shook his head and Atticus felt even worse "I won't even begin on that topic" he said thinning his lips and Atticus grimaced even more.

He got up and went to one of the cabinets and brought out a pensieve "Show me the memory of the bombs hitting the warded house." He said and Atticus nodded and put his wand to his temple and drew out a silvery mist from his head.

He got up and placed it in the pensieve and his father looked him inquiringly and Atticus shook his head. He didn't need to see it again. His father went in and a few minutes later came out pale "And these...bombs...are simple one of many?" he asked Atticus sharply as he regained his colour. 

Atticus nodded "Yes and as the war goes on, they will improve on their bombs." He almost said that they will continue to improve afterwards but he didn't want to give too much away.

His father looked away to his right and remained silent for a few minutes and returned his gaze towards Atticus "I will contact Lords Black, Potter, Malfoy, Bones and Nott" his father finally says.

"They have the influence we will need to convince the Ministry about the dangers of the muggle bombs. Regarding your...visions...I will not confirm that you have Seer abilities Atticus" he said sternly as he narrowed his eyes.

Atticus inclined his head "I agree. It would cause trouble of the family. How will you get the information across then?" he asked genuinely.

His father tapped on the table as he thought it through "Our family is exceedingly wealthy and well connected Atticus. Not only that, we are known to be secretive, our reputation for it is perhaps on par with the Potters. Though we do not actually have links to a Seer family, it is not difficult to believe that we have a secret Seer that we kept to our family only." 

Atticus inclined his head, he figured it would be along those lines "When will you send the call out? I'm only here for four days"

"Tonight I will floo call them and I will ask them to meet me tomorrow afternoon." He paused "You will come with me to explain and then we show them your memory in the pensieve" he said with a no nonsense tone. Atticus smiled and nodded.

----------------------------------------------Break----------------------------------------------

"Tell me what is so important Markus that you needed to meet with me immediately the next day" Arcturus Black intoned sharply as he sat down in the conference sized room in the Manor. 

He was the current Lord Black of the Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Black. He became Lord Black only recently.

His father died in Germany while he attempted to retrieve his wayward son Perseus Black. Perseus Black joined Grindelwald as soon as he left Hogwarts though it was kept quiet by Orion Black the Lord Black. 

Given Britain's stance on Grindelwald, Orion Black went to Germany and somehow gotten himself killed by Grindelwald. In the end, Perseus was enraged and killed a few acolytes and eventually was killed by Grindelwald himself. 

It hardened Arcturus' position against Grindelwald and united his faction and was one of the more ardent speakers, in private, against Grindelwald. The man was curt and dominating in his personality and held purists beliefs. Despite that, he wasn't a total loss and could be reasoned with based on the interactions he's had with him.

On his right was Theobold Nott, of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Nott. 

Their family were ward specialists and their wealth was built on that though with the prominence of Gringotts warding, their business has shifted elsewhere predominantly. Atticus didn't know him too well but from what his father has said, he was a man who was cautious and preferred to observe.

Next to him was Armand Malfoy, Lord of the Noble house of Malfoy, a House that is approximately 500 years old. 

They moved to Britain in the 1690s, just as the Statue was being implemented. The circumstances for which they left France were unclear, even to this day. 

 Their time in Britain till now has extremely paid off for them. They were among the most wealthy of the Isles, most of the ones who were wealthier than them were families that were Ancient or Most Ancient. 

Their legal stream of revenue is Acromantula Silk but it well known that the Malfoys had revenue streams that were at the very least frowned upon. 

They have spent most of their time in the Isles building up their political influence to the point that they were very influential in the Ministry. Generations of Malfoys joined the ministry in one capacity or another until they managed to bribe their way into being one of the elected sets in 1874 when the laws changed to allow commoners to sit in the Wizengamot rather than just nobles. Since then, they have continued to be elected without fault and it was well known that the Malfoys sought to gain a permanent seat which was extremely difficult for them to achieve.

There were only five permanent seats added to the Wizengamot since Myrrdin himself created the magic of the Wizengamot that ruled the Isles. Only those five seats could change hands and even then the requirements to quality were stringent and respectful of the importance of those seats.

Only a minimum Ancient house could become a permanent seat holder. The Malfoys were off by half a millennium. Even then, it required the extinction of a family for the seat to become available. The permanent seat holders reserve the right to refuse though they are required to pick a house that was brought forth for consideration.

This meant that the Malfoys were shit out of luck and Atticus was quite pleased about it despite the current Lord Malfoy being quite tolerable but he believed it was only because of his own status. Atticus was wary of the man as Malfoys were synonymous with ambitious.

In any case, opposite them are Lord Fleamont Potter of the Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Potter and the brother of sixth year Charlus Potter. Like Arcturus Black, he was only recently elevated though it was simply to take over the reins of his aging father. 

Henry Potter was infamous in pureblood circles, particularly in the grey and darker circles for his pro-muggle stances. It was what got them excluded from the Sacred 29. The Sacred Twenty Nine were pureblood families that could claim pureblood descent for some kind of arbitrary length of time that was never made clear.

There were a number of families older than some on the list that were excluded. The Weasleys were on the list because while they were poor and considered blood traitors, they were still very old and have remained pureblooded for a long time, longer than House Malfoy has existed. 

Fleamont Potter was fast becoming a renowned Potions Master on the back of his Sleakeazy hair potion. Atticus had never met the man before today so he was looking forward to profile him. He was...would be...could be the grandfather of Harry Potter.

Lord Archibald Bones was the oldest of the Lords currently in room and he sat next to Potter. A veteran politician who bordered light and grey in opinions and views.

Atticus was seated at the head of the table, next to his father. His father calmly sat in his chair and began "I have news of grave threats to come to our country, threats that we never saw coming and threats that we must take action for" he said gravely.

Lord Bones spoke up first "Lord Sayre, what is this threat? I have not heard a whisper of anything on the scale you seem to imply." He asked curiously.

His father thinned his lips before he spoke "We have...access...to certain knowledge that is 100% certain of this threat. You would not be able to obtain the information without us" he said calmly.

Black looked to Nott and they both shared a look and Black looked at his father with narrowed eyes "Is it a Seer?" he asked straightforwardly. 

His father nodded slightly "The information that we have received does not pertain to magical threats" at this Malfoy and Black narrowed their eyes but his father continued "It is a danger that will kill many magicals."

Fleamont slammed his hand on the table and looked at his father furiously "Are you implying that the threat comes from muggles?" he asked 

"Preposterous! What could muggles" Malfoy half sneered "do to us? Don't they also have their own war to fight?" 

His father tilted his head at the outburst but he continued "Yes, the threat is from the muggles. The Seer has given me information that the German muggles will bomb various cities in the Isles but will utterly cause devastation to London via the air. They will drop tens of thousands of bombs each day on the city destroying much of it." He stated calmly as he took in the room.

Atticus did the same and scepticism and derision were on the faces of Black and Malfoy but surprisingly not by Nott was quietly observing both him and his father.

Potter and Bones were suspicious though they were not reacting much beyond that.

Bones was sharp however "You said drop...What do you mean" he asked intently.

"My son will explain" he said nodded to Atticus. Atticus cleared his throat "The muggles will be dropping via aeroplanes, large machines that they have invented to fly through the air." But before he could further explain he was interrupted by Lord Nott who spoke for the first time.

"You are saying muggles can fly. Muggles capable of flying" he repeated slowly as he stared at Atticus with his pale grey eyes.

"Yes, muggles have been flying for...over half a century though they have been improving on it for that same amount of time now. Muggle aeroplanes are capable of over 300 miles an hour, three times faster than the fastest model of broom" he said calmly.

"Impossible. The muggles cannot have improved that fast." Lord Bones protested "We'd have known, surely" he said disbelievingly.

Atticus took it into stride. He felt as he was shattering a delicate piece of glass as he was speaking to these people.

"They have. For the past hundred, hundred and fifty years they have been improving themselves in a startling pace. They are becoming unrecognisable. When my great grandfather was a child, muggles used horses and wooden ships to travel. They used candles to light to their world, they required runners and ships to communicate with each other over distances. Now..." 

He pauses for effect "Now, they can use planes to fly across the oceans and lands, tens of thousands of feet in the air. They have metal vehicles that get them across the lands far faster than a horse ever could with comfort. They use electricity, a form of energy that they produce, to light their world, to communicate long distances almost instantly and even record things with machines, devices." Atticus states to the silence of the conference room.

"The statute may have removed the presence of magic in the muggle world but it still exists in their myths. No doubt that they have stories, children stories about witches and wizards flying on brooms and they use their science to bring their fantasies into existence." He pursed his lips. Not quite true but it'll help make them understand

"Aeroplanes are simply one of their many inventions. They are capable of carrying half a dozen of bombs capable of destroying an entire district. And that is simply one bomber. The Germans have thousands. The British have similar numbers." He said calmly.

"You cannot be serious Lord Sayre. You cannot take the words of the Seer serious that the muggles will be able to cause us problems! They're muggles for Salazar's sake" Malfoy said with derision "Even if what the Seer says is true, even with these erosplanes" he said angrily "our wards will protect us. The Alleys, St. Mungos and the Ministry are in no danger. You are wasting our time with your fear mongering" he said getting up. 

"Armand, sit!" Arcturus Black snapped and Malfoy looked at him in disbelief "Arcturus you cannot take this seriously" he said waving his hand at the two Sayres.

His father narrowed his eyes. Atticus could see that his father was getting angry at the blatant discourteous behaviour. 

"You are behaving in a matter unbefitting of yourself and more importantly you are edging closer to offending the Most Ancient and Most Noble House of Sayre" he said boomingly. 

Armand Malfoy paled and quickly looked at his father. He bowed deeply "My apologies for my behaviour Lord Sayre." He said sincerely though Atticus doubted it.

His father nodded "Accepted." He said calmly though Atticus knew that his father was far from pleased with his behaviour and the rest of the room knew it.

His father looked at him and Atticus understood and he got up and retrieved the Pensieve.

"My son" he said while looking at the rest of the room "Sought to verify the claims of the Seer, of the dangers they posed to our kind." He said as indicated for Atticus to place the Pensieve on the desk.

"See for yourself. The first memory is of a house warded independently and the second is warded by Gringotts top tier package" he said simply.

Potter looked at his father "That can't have been cheap." Potter asked as glanced at Atticus.

"No, it wasn't" Atticus said simply "But when it comes to the threats of the magical world, it proves prudent to ensure that you understand the nature of the threat rather than dismiss just because you do not like the place the threat comes from" he said aptly. Malfoy thinned his lips as he understood the little dig.

Potter and Bones simply chuckle and Nott had an amused glint in his eye.

"Well said, young Sayre" Arcturus said approvingly. "Makes me wonder why you aren't a Slytherin with such pragmatism and threat observation"

Atticus simply shrugged and looked at Black with a devious look in his eye "I am a seeker of knowledge first of foremost. Besides" he said smiling at Black "This Ravenclaw tendency won out on my Slytherin tendencies." 

Black laughed at that "I'm sure it must have been narrow." He said searchingly though Atticus simply smiled at him at which Black simply chuckled at.

"Come forth and watch the memories" his father spoke up breaking up. They all encircled the pensieve and began watching.

A few minutes later they all came out pale "That can't be true" Malfoy exclaimed.

Before he could continue his father interjected "You cannot mean that. If you did then that meant that you were questioning my son's honour and my own." He said calmly though there was a threat implied.

"He doesn't" Arcturus Black said sharply as he glared at Malfoy and Malfoy nodded hesitantly. They all sat down in silence as they processed all this.

"And you say that the muggles will be bombing London when?" Potter asked quietly as he looked his father.

"From August onwards for a month at the least. It likely will be continuous until the British muggles stop them which cannot be known at this time.

Nott spoke up "You seek our aid in convincing the Ministry of the veracity of the impending attack and the importance of leaving London." He states more than asking.

His father nodded lightly "Yes. Each of you hold importance in the ministry, either you are faction leaders or you hold sway in the ministry or both." He said as he waved at the pensieve "With those memories and the words of the Seer along with your support we can shift the more vulnerable people and things critical to our people away from London. The ministry itself likely is safe considering that it is underground. St Mungos however..." he trailed off.

"Yes, St Mungos would have to be evacuated and would have to be the top priority. Potion apothecaries and ingredients have to be ensured to remain supplied and running" Nott said his quiet voice

"Where would we relocate them?" Potter asked.

A murmur rang across the room until Atticus spoke "Godric's Hollow or Hogsmeade. The most obvious choices"

Potter gazed at Atticus "Why Godric's Hollow?" he asked intently "There are a few other magical villages in the country." He asked curiously.

Atticus pursed his lips lightly "Because it is a historical village with roots of magical settlement springing thousands of years. Other than Hogsmeade, it is the only other worthy location to place St Mungos"

"It is a mixed village" Malfoy pointed out "Hogsmeade would have the advantage of no muggles." 

Atticus tilted his head "We are wealthier than most muggles. Why can we not purchase the lands and houses from the muggles and make it into a pure magical village like Hogsmeade?" he asked confusedly "Why must we live in the same locations where muggles live, especially now that they continue to grow in population." He shook his head 

"It's asking for more work to maintain the Statute of Secrecy. Given how the muggles continue to improve their technologies and machines, it would serve us well to remove our populations from dense muggle locations sooner than later.

This coming danger from the muggles can prove to be the catalyst that we need to establish magical villages and towns." 

"Separating ourselves from the muggles to this degree is dangerous Heir Sayre" Potter said disapprovingly. "We have lived amongst them for as long as there have been magicals."

"Yet during all that time, we lived uneasily with them until we enacted the Statute." Nott reminded as Malfoy looked at Potter with mild contempt.

Potter shot Nott a glare but Bones interjected "Let's not deviate from the purpose of this meeting." 

"I quite agree" intoned Arcturus as he looked at Atticus in an odd manner before he turned his gaze towards his father "We will go to the ministry tomorrow, with these memories. There is likely going to be a demand to meet with the Seer." 

His father shook his head "That won't be possible." He simply stated.

"You have been trying to convince us of this threat and you wish to hide the Seer that could prove it?" Malfoy asked sharply.

"Malfoy is correct. We know now the dangers of bombs but it doesn't mean that the future that the Seer foresaw is bound to happen, if it even will happen" Bones said carefully "We will need to meet the Seer to determine their trustworthiness." 

"No." His father simply replied and before anyone could retort he raised his hand "I will take a magical oath that the Seer is trustworthy and that to the best of my knowledge the knowledge given to me is true" he calmly states and Atticus looks at his father in shock. 

Magical oaths while not as binding as Magical Vows, were still penalising on the caster. Oath breakers were known to be subjected to severe pain and sometimes even death depending on the severity of the act of oath breaking.

Atticus looked at his father about to speak but a sharp cold glare shut him up. 

He understood that his father would not allow him to confess.

"That is severe" Nott breaks the silence

"Yes, if you are willing to go that far, to not only protect the Seer but also to convince Minister Spencer-Moon..." Bones trailed off as he took in his father.

His father nodded "If I'm willing to go this far then you understand the severity of the situation, do you not?"

"I do" Black says grimly.

"Well, it's agreed then. We will go to the ministry tomorrow and talk to the minister about this threat."

"Cardiff will be bombed on the 3rd of July, Plymouth on the 6th of July. That can be measuring stick of the truth" His father says. 

Nods rang around the room. They left and shortly afterwards Atticus sat down with his mother with his father in support and informed her of the situation. She had been pale when she understood the implications of the muggle bombs but Atticus assured her that they were safe in the country as there was nothing for the German muggles to bomb where they lived. 

His father had sold him out on his antics in the muggle world and his mother had spent the rest of the day chewing him out. 

He felt betrayed, even more so when he saw the amusement in his father's eyes.

----------------------------------------------Break----------------------------------------------

His father left early in the morning to go to the ministry. It had been decided that Atticus didn't need to be there and he grudgingly agreed with it. 

He spent the rest of the day with his mother who had mercifully stopped with teasing and simply talked about his days at Hogwarts.

He sat in the spacious living room on his own in his favourite chair as he read a treatise on the use of Swooping Evil in Potions Monthly. He was brought out of it by coming footsteps and he glanced towards the hallway and saw it was his father.

His father looked slightly weary and Atticus understood. It was past eight PM and his father had left at nine AM. 

"Boy, you have given me a lot of work" he said grumpily as he went to the globe drink cabinet. He brought out a bottle of liquor that Payet had given his father a little while back and poured himself a glass.

He sat down across from Atticus who looked at him expectantly.

His father sighed "They will heed the warning. They will observe Cardiff and Plymouth for the veracity of the Seer's visions. Once it rings true, they will move St. Mungos to Godric's Hollow. As of this moment, the Ministry is purchasing lands in the village from the muggles." He drink from his glass and savoured the drink.

"They liked the idea of Godric's Hollow becoming a magical village like Hogsmeade and will persuade shopkeepers to move there, regardless of the visions."

Atticus smiled at that and nodded "Good, it is preferable we create distance between ourselves and the muggles." He shook his head "I never understood why we lived so close to them after the Statute." 

His father mock glared at him "Don't you start now with your reasonable points" he sighed "I'm far too tired for that conversation." 

Atticus laughed at that lightly. He closed his book and looked at his father. "Father..." he began and his father looked up "Do you think you have the...capacity" he smiled dryly "for one more serious conversation? Mother will be necessary for this conversation as well" he said seriously.

His father inspected his face and nodded "I can manage one more. Though I hope it won't take too long" he said seriously. 

"I will try not to drag it out" he promised.

"Tweenie!" Atticus called out

 *pop* 

"Yes master?" he asked eagerly "Could you ask mother to come down?" 

"Yes master!" he saluted and popped away.

Shortly, he heard his mother came down the stairs and making her way towards the living room. 

She furrowed her eyebrows which cleared up when she saw his father "Markus" she said warmly as she walked up to him and kissed him on the cheek "Anne" his father said softly.

"Why did you call me down Atticus?" she inquired as she sat down next his father.

He sighed and closed his eyes. "There is this girl..." and his mother made the customary excited noises. He opened his eyes and his mother was so happy that it made him feel bad for crushing it soon.

"Mother..." Atticus said, definitely not whinging. 

"Yes, yes, continue dear" she said waving her hand frantically.

"This girl is an orphan..." he furrowed his eyebrows. She wasn't technically but they didn't need to know that. Also he didn't want to make it known he knew about Emily's family. Even to his family. Secrets told are secrets known. Plus he expected that that conversation would go terribly wrong if it ever was known he knew about her from the start.

He continued "I'm quite certain she is a half blood, though I do not know what families she's from. But that is not what is important" he quickened his talk as his parents faces grew stonier.

"She..." he struggled to put into words on how to describe her, accurately...without concerning his parents.

"She's at a precipice" he began "She's an extremely powerful witch, father, mother, and she is likely will become an Archmage level witch" he said and his father looked shocked.

"Truly?" he asked concerned. Atticus nods and he looks to his mother who now had an air of total seriousness. 

"Yes. Her life so far has not been great. She's been at a muggle orphanage her entire life and I'm certain it was a tormenting time..." he grimaced "likely for her and the other children at the orphanage." He paused and furrowed his eyebrows "she has a lot of hate in her, poisonous hate along with bitterness and more than a little cruelty." 

He paused and gave off an unconscious small smile "but she is also brilliant, a genius and extremely capable in magic. She had control over her magic well before she even knew what she had was magic." He said excited before clearing his throat "But she is at a precipice. She's never had anyone care for her and she is in Slytherin" he said seriously 

"A house filled with purists and from darker families at that and with her initially seen as a mudblood, she's had to do certain things to assert her dominance and what her place in the snake pit is...she's climbed to the top and likely will be in the hierarchy. I'm quite certain she has an impressive lineage despite it not being proven" He opened his mouth to continue but his mother held up her hand.

"Son...why are you telling us this?" she asked seriously.

"I'm telling you this because I want her out of that orphanage." He sighed "I'm hoping if she is taken out of that orphanage and into a caring if not loving home, it will reduce if not remove..." he paused thinking removal was unlikely before continuing "the damage the orphanage has caused her." He turned to his father.

"If she isn't removed from that situation and given help to get past her hate, especially her hatred for muggles, she can easily be warped, or rather let herself be warped into a path that is deadly...for all of us." 

He sat back in his chair and looked at the ceiling "I've been spending time with her and I don't think she's far gone, mother, father. It would be a waste of magical talent and importantly, it would be a tragedy to see one of magic's children walk the path she's walking."

He let a small smile cross his face "She is intelligent, headstrong, has a passion for magic" but he grimaced slightly "She's also manipulative, extremely cunning, vindictive, has a penchant for cruelty and has a power fetish" he pursed his lips.

"I do not know how successful it would be if she ended up in a caring home. She has many faults and she will likely fight care and affection with fervour, most likely out of fear of rejection though she'd deny it forever and even, even if she accepted it, I cannot be certain if it will make enough of a difference. She has...issues as I've said but at the end of the day, every magical child needs someone that cares about them. She hasn't had that someone in her entire life and the circumstances of her life would leave plenty of people bitter. With her intellect, her determination and ruthlessness, that can easily warp into something else."

A silence comforted them. He returned his gaze to his parents who were looking at each other for a little while. They both returned their gaze towards him.

"You're concerned that she'll end up as a Dark Lady?" his father asked grimly.

"Yes." He said simply "But I do not think it is a foregone conclusion. I genuinely think she doesn't have to go that route. The problem is, she is floundering, though she is doing it extremely well, through life and magic." He says.

"Does she practice the Dark Arts?" his mother asked frowning.

"I'm quite certain she does. I'm also quite certain she will be a dark witch. Or at the very least a witch who knows extensive amounts of Dark Arts." He shrugged.

"I see nothing wrong with practicing Dark Arts...as long as it is reasonable which many young magicals are unable to determine" his father said slowly "not without aid." 

"You said she is Archmage level?" his father asked once again.

Atticus simply nodded.

His father remained silent.

"Atticus, do you know more than you are telling us?" His mother asked worriedly.

Atticus pursed his lips. He tilted his head "Mother, have you been practicing your Occlumency?" he asked. She looked at him in slight confusion but understanding dawned. She nodded. "I have. I can detect probes and I have good shields"

Atticus nodded absentmindedly. His father's shields were excellent and it would take Atticus concerted efforts to breakthrough, likely hours. Dumbard probably could do it in minutes.

"May I test your shields mother?" she frowned "Is it really necessary?" Atticus simply nods. She sighs and nods and Atticus moves towards her and begins his probe once she met his gaze. 

After a few minutes, he withdrew and smiled at his mother "Your shields are good enough mother" he said warmly and gave her a little hug before moving back to his chair.

He sighed and looked at his parents "Before I talked to her, I did receive...visions..." he said slowly...it was true in some form "that verified that she would become a Dark Lady if left alone." He said simply.

His father pursed his lips and frowned at Atticus "Why did you not bring this to us sooner?" he asked sharply.

"What would you have done?" he tilted his head. His father didn't respond. They both knew the answer. 

"And now you're asking something of us" his father simply stated. "Taking a huge risk and exposing the family." He said as he grew in volume. "We cannot afford another Dark Archmage Atticus" he said exasperated. 

His mother, who remained silent in this exchange spoke up "Haven't you been listening Markus? She doesn't have to be" she said quietly.

His father turned sharply towards his mother "He's also said that she has major flaws that contribute to the likelihood of her becoming one" he reminded her.

"I also said that if I left her alone, she would likely become one. Father, it is not set in stone. And treating her as if she will become one is not the way to prevent it from happening in the first place" Atticus says raising his voice.

His father glared at him and slumped in his chair "Son, you are causing me a lot of problems today" he said wearily but with a hint of humour.

"I know father. I apologise" he said inclining his head while his lips twitched.

"Ah my boys, making up already" his mother exclaimed dramatically and they all chuckled until a amiable silence rang out.

"So she can't return to the orphanage" his father states. Atticus nods. "She can't return to the orphanage." Atticus confirms.

"She'll need a home" his mother adds. 

Atticus nods grimacing "She does. I do not trust many people outside our family with raising...or well fostering a child like her. Do you know anyone father?" he asked.

His father thinned his lips as he thought it over "We could set her up with our allies...but would she even agree?" he asked Atticus intently and he grimaced. 

He hadn't thought of that. He remembered something about Riddle asking to remain at Hogwarts and him being refused. Surely Riddle could have gone to one of his pets places? Given Riddle's personality, he likely wouldn't have allowed such a thing.

Fuck. How was he going to convince a prideful potential Dark Lady to accept.

"We have a home" his mother speaks up and both Sayre males look at her in disbelief.

"Mother..." "Anne..." she held up her hand and looked at the pair of them sternly "Look, you have said that she needs a home and we have one. We do not trust anyone to foster her rightly beyond ourselves as we know the risks and dangers." 

She paused "Do you really want to her out of sight?" she asked "now that you know the potential the girl has?" she asked his father intently. His father acceded.

His mother grimaced "At least she isn't a mudblood" she murmured lowly.

"Mother!" Atticus chastised her "You cannot hold such opinions or rather voice them loudly, not in front of her." He dragged his hand across his face "She is already insecure about her status and given that she hates muggles with a passion, she doesn't need any negativity from us" he said sternly and his mother conceded.

"At least she hates muggles" she says primly and Atticus rolled his eyes.

A silence began until his father broke it "How will you convince her to agree?" his father said tilting his head "From everything you described about her, she will fight you on it" 

He sat back in his chair "Well, I simply have to prove to her that we want her with us without any hidden agenda. That we want to help her, including escaping the orphanage with no debt to us" he pursed his lips. 

His father nodded in approval "Yes, she will be suspicious of the offer, naturally. You will have to offer her a place without asking for anything in return. She will be used to dealing in favours and debts. That you are asking for none...well, if she isn't far gone then she will appreciate it regardless."

"Truth is, now that mother spoke about it, I agree. We have a home and we can show her...help her." He paused "We have to be genuine about this. I don't want anything ruining this." He said as he looked at them. He felt odd asking like this but he knew he only had a sparse few chances to avert her from falling. 

"Agreed" his mother says seriously. She sighs "I suppose I will have to sidestep this whole thing when it comes up during my tea with the ladies" she said morosely.

"'Saint Lady Sayre fosters poor orphaned half blood'" she states brightly before dimming "Such a lost opportunity" she sighs sadly.

Atticus shook his head. "Thank Merlin" he murmured as he got up and stretched. 

"I think it's time to go to bed" he yawned.