12 Sneaking Out

Six months. It had taken me six months to master every spell in the book. I was about 7 years old now, but my strength was comparable to a 2nd year Hogwarts student. Both because of my extensive collection of spells, and the wandless execution, that I had refined to the best of my abilities. The common wizard could barely blink before I stupefied his ass to the floor.(A/N: Slight timeskip, because there wasn't a lot to write about and I wanted to speed up the story)

During this period of preparation, nothing out of the ordinary had occurred. It was now October 1970, and winter was coming. I had been regularly visiting the shops with Sophie and also continued borrowing books from Earl. Regrettably, he refused to lend me advanced or intermediate spell grimoires, citing that I was far too young and would likely injure myself.

I also managed to survey the ins and outs of bloodfly alley. Seeing as I had a lot of time on my hands, getting to know this place wasn't a bad idea. I jotted down the various pathways and shortcuts to memory. Each of these were skillfully hidden, and would only reveal themselves had you known about them in the first place.

I don't know who had crafted such a system, but it served to keep the outsiders away from inner gatherings. Tourists and travelling wizards would never find these nooks and crannies, assuming they hadn't been informed of their existence on a prior notice.

I understood the sentiment behind them, soon Romania might turn into a battlefield. This was purely because of its position. Romania was situated between Russia and Britain. That meant it was surrounded by Durmstrang and Hogwarts. Hogwarts was headed by Dumbledore, staunchly opposing the Dark lord in the coming war.

However, Durmstrang wasn't too apparent about their involvement with either faction. It portrayed a neutral image, but reality couldn't have been further from the truth. Durmstrang supported dark magic within their walls, and most of its graduates would eventually come to support the dark lord. In reverence or fear of his power.

Romania, that housed a diverse and functional magical community, would then be stuck as a mediator between both sides. Resulting in discussions, debates, proposals..... and finally skirmishes.

Romania would slowly be engulfed within the flames of war, no matter which faction won, the people would suffer the most. This assumption hadn't taken into account vampires or other mystical creatures. Those forces could turn the tides in eithers favor. But considering that the dark lord might extend an olive branch, the conclusion could easily be extrapolated.

All this speculation stemmed from my extensive knowledge of tactics. I had read many books, and eventually somewhat familiarized myself with strategy. It was fair to assume that I was ignoring many factors, but that was simply because of my own shortcomings in gathering information.

I had no idea which side was inherently stronger. Not to mention, I was clueless about how Romania's ministry measured up to either side. Dalton would know, but I couldn't quite justify asking him such questions. Not to mention, that he wouldn't care to answer.

This was important information, not something he would divulge carelessly.

However, no one mentioned anything about stealing that information...

Yeah.. yeah.. I know. A stupid idea. But I really was out of options here. I was being kept out of the loop, everyone was seemingly tight-lipped and no one would even dare talk this out load. I had tried sneaking downstairs a few times, when the pub was open to customers. But not one of those drunkards mentioned anything about a war.

According to my knowledge, this was probably due to the secrecy charm. Of course... Information that they didn't want to leak out. even at the cost of their own life.

So the best case scenario, was that I follow Dalton to his hideout, scout out the area, and manage steal some info. Worst case scenario..... well that I get caught. Thought I wasn't sure what would happen to me, but probably nothing too serious.

Anyhow today was that special day. I was going to sneak out behind him, try to tail him and see what happens. Obviously, to account for suspicion, I planned to leave a few minutes after him.

Right now, it was 2 am in the morning. I had installed a clock in my room just for that purpose. This wasn't a spontaneous plan mind you. I knew I would eventually have to do such a thing. Currently, I was laying on my bed, waiting for Dalton to step out his room. I had committed his schedule to memory.

Nowadays, he wouldn't wait for breakfast, and leave very early, around 2-3 am. After that, instead of apparating right away, he would frequent the same pathways, possibly meeting someone, or just throwing off his scent.

However, today I had stitched together a brilliant plan. I didn't need to track him, I merely had to follow something that was tracking him. Fiddling with a dandelion in my hand, I plucked its yellow petals and threw them into the air. Each of them connected to me.

I could roughly sense their position. The plan was simple, I would attach this to Dalton somehow, and just follow the residue of my own magic.

Swirling the petals on around my fingers, I heard a small *click*. The door was opened. Presumably Dalton would leave any minute now.

Pointing towards the door, a petal slid from my finger, slipping underneath the doors gap, firmly planting itself under the sole of his shoes. It was a fluid execution, he probably hadn't realized what I had done.

I heard him leave, and now it was my time to shine. Doing my best to shuffle around without making noise, I creeped towards the door. Making sure to open it with a wave of my hand.

I made sure to wait a few minutes, then I blew upon the petal still in my palm. It sprang to life, teetering around to the others position. A makeshift compass if you would. Keeping the petal in my hands, I snuck outside.

The sky looked bleak, as clouds engulfed the horizon. The sun wasn't out yet. An umbral glow spread throughout the city. Even the moonlight shied away from the streets, hiding behind a faint curtain of fog.

I slithered through the alleys, tailing him through precise movements. Distancing myself about 50m did the job. He wasn't aware of my presence, and I couldn't see him. But the compass worked all the same. I reckoned if I went too far, it would stop. Hence, I kept myself in range at all times.

Following the jittering motion of the petal, it took me through cracks and crevices, many crowded areas and then finally, resolutely pointed ahead.

I could see Dalton going down the stairs, an underground pathway. However, I couldn't possibly follow him down. That would be too obvious. There was no crowd, and I would be immediately spotted in a straight stretch underground.

I instead chose to climb the rooftops. Motioning my hands towards the spires, I hugged the wall and dragged myself upwards. An awkward climb, but silently executed through magic.

Crawling over the wooden awning, I could peek on Dalton through the gaps. He eventually stepped out of the underpass, and walked towards the open town square.

Climbing over to the nearest buildings, I could see him walk towards the middle of the road. But as I focused my eyes on him, I felt his stride halt. He put his hand in towards his pocket, and before I could see any further, he disapparated....

What the... I lost him? Wasting no time, I turned my back, ready to leave. But as I turned around, I felt a pointed tip on my nape..... Ah shit...

Raising my hands in surrender, I had already guessed what happened....

"When did you find out" I questioned, curious as to how he had figured it out.

"You're smart Zack, tracking me was a good decision, but a wizard must learn to mask himself, and his magic" .... "Your activities gave you away"...

I see, because I was regularly stimulating my magic to check where he was. He noticed the surges.

"Why did you follow me?"

This time his eyes turning serious, as a deep frown etched onto his face.

"I was curious. About what you do that is"

He eyed me for a good few minutes, staring at me through an awkward silence.

"You're a talented kid, and drastically different from the others your age...." His words trailed off as he contemplated his own thoughts.

"I suppose if you can keep a secret, I don't mind showing you what you seek."

By secret, he probably meant not telling Sophie, which I was fine with. I was used to keeping secrets anyway.

"Don't worry, I won't tell a soul"

Seeing my determined expression, he showed a sly smirk, and extended his arm towards me.

"Then hold on tight"

Opening his palm towards my hands, he waited for a response.

I knew what this meant... Grabbing his hand stoutly, I saw him give an approving nod, and then my body twirled inwards, as I travelled through space. I felt that I had just swirled around in circles, someone had just grabbed my head and shaken it violently. At the end of the cycle, I heard a loud thud.

Holding my stomach, I felt completely out of balance and clumsy....Of course, apparition felt taxing on the body, specially because I was just tagging along.

I darted my eyes around the room, seeing a lot of papers and maps scattered around the walls. Dalton nudged forwards and opened the door. Ushering me into the living room.

"Welcome to Blood Moon" his voice resounded, as I saw a network of doors, interconnected leading to different rooms.

It felt like the ministries floo space, but at a smaller scale.

He pointed towards a door, as we both entered it. Inside, a few people discussed something inaudible, I could only make out a certain static noise.

Dalton knocked on the wall to gather their attention, the people saw him and tipped their hats or bowed their head in respect.

"Boss, you're back" one of them said..

They were all dressed in formal suits and dresses.

Damn.... This place, really gave the vibes of the mafia. Seeing that they called him Boss, I wasn't too far off.

Their eyes gazed at Dalton, but quickly landed on me. I looked into some, finding it easy to read their emotions. Curiosity, and astonishment..

Yeah me too.... Damn, so was this some sort of wizarding underworld? This was crazy.

Exciting.. but crazy.