6 Chapter 6 : Conversation half a world apart
[Author Note : Hey guys ! Sorry about the delay : it was planned. For those of you who read my KoSP story, you already know this. So you can read on and enjoy (hopefully). For the others however, I'm gonna explain why I delayed : I've been advised to space out the posts of my stories to become more visible.
Don't worry, though ! This story is still going strong and I've already written up to chapter 10 (though, at the moment I post this, only up to chapter 9 is posted on my Patréon :https://www.patre*n.com/user?u=66371596). That's it. I hope you'll enjoy !]
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In the aftermaths of his battle in England, Ned had not only narrowly avoided a scolding from his mother, his sister had sent him a howler, a magical letter spelled to yell at the receiver. Frankly, more than the sound assault, it was probably meant to shame the recipient when he receives it in school. However, since he didn't go to school and his college studies didn't require his presence on campus much nowadays, he just had to put earplugs in to absorb some of the sound.
And then, he sent a letter back to his sister (a normal one) with their family owl. Like most of his family beside his father, she was inept when it came to handling technology, so he didn't bother giving her a comm device. The contents of the letter were relatively similar to what he explained to his mom, along with a few of his newspaper clippings to illustrate his point. Now, he was dreading a response from her… Would she send another one of those obnoxious crying letters ?
In the meantime, the young Stark resumed working on his armor. More precisely, with Mel's help and the occasional input of his mother (since it was one of her specialty), he was working on a legilimency enchantment. The idea behind it was to communicate with Mel more efficiently, and therefore with the armor since she controlled most of its functions. Of course, it was just one of his ideas to improve the controls. Unfortunately, the others were currently out of reach for him considering his means and researches.
As for the legilimency enchantment, he had the idea when thinking about what would happen if two natural legilimens were in the same room… Wouldn't they be able to communicate as if with telepathy, if they read each other's thoughts ?
As an added bonus, it would also help him not to show his hand against enemies… If the armor could read his thoughts and didn't need voice commands, he'd become more unpredictable. Much more so than a wizard using chantless casting as the movements of their wand could still give them away.
Unfortunately, he wondered if it wouldn't leave him open for a mental attack… Granted, his eyes which most legilimens needed to see and keep in contact with were out of sight, hidden most of the time by his armor, but he remembered times in the books when Voldemort used it on Harry even from afar. Although he had a direct connection with the boy in the horcrux on his forehead, maybe they were other ways to reproduce the same effects that he didn't know about.
It was stated before but his mother's help was invaluable in this as she'd always been passionate about the mind arts and divination. Obviously, the latter had no real use for him right now and to be truthful, Ned didn't see when it would be… Unless he created some kind of predictive system integrated in his HUD…
Hm, an idea for another time ! He thought.
Sarah explained in a crash course exactly how the mind arts worked. Apparently, the expression 'eyes are a window to the soul' was verified or inspired by this magic. Except for natural Legilimens who didn't need eye contact, there were very few occasions when a wizard or witch could use legilimency without it. However, it was possible to enhance your 'power' in certain ways. For example, physical contacts, and to be truly effective, contact with the skull of your target could amplify your mental connection with him or her.
Furthermore, she explained the difference between levels of mastery. A fledgling Legilimens could read emotions (if the mind is not shielded by Occlumency) while using a wand and keeping eye contact with someone. If the caster was more experienced, he could read surface thoughts, shielded or not. Then, the user could dive into the target's memories and the true masters of the arts could even plant ideas, memories and dreams or impose their will (much like Voldemort tried to do on Harry).
Ned only needed Mel and the armor to access his surface thoughts though… Still, the potential of the mind arts interested him. In fact, hearing about it, Ned thought of two fictions : The Matrix and Altered Carbon. In the first, the protagonists were able to download knowledge and skills in someone's brain, as well as project some kind of numerical construct inside a computer… Like a virtual reality. In fact, Ned believed it might have been one of the first of such stories. Or at least, the first most successful.
In the second, Altered Carbon, humanity had basically vanquished death… Or as close to it as they could with technology, anyway. They downloaded their conscious, thoughts, emotions and memories, everything that made them them, into something called cortical stacks, based just below the brain in the spine. With these, they could change bodies (referred to as sleeves) as long as the stack isn't destroyed… Though obviously, they're rather limited without a sleeve.
Ned was eager to study the subject and experiment with it. Who knew ? Maybe he'd find a more reliable way than a horcrux (and less murderous, too) of becoming immortal. Moreover, the idea of instantly learning something without having to read about it and then work on the subject's comprehension… It would be a real time saver, especially to someone like him who was a pioneer of his field. At least, that's what he believed…
« Okay ! Let's get to work ! Mel, play me some music, please ! »
And the song Killers from Iron Maiden started to play…
* * * * *
For the umpteenth time, Hermione Granger was sitting at a table in the Gryffindor common room with Edgar Stark's comm device laying in front of her. Unlike the rest of her party, she recognized the teenager when she saw him at the Ministry of Magic… Well, to be exact, he felt familiar to her and it took her some time to recall where she'd seen him. He was the front page cover of an issue of witch weekly a couple of months back. Although the usual drivel found in those magazines usually repulsed her, this time she was interested in the article… It portrayed a young squib entrepreneur founding his own company after successfully earning on the stock market. Apparently, he planned on developing some kind of magic source or something… And although the article didn't exactly go into details (because the reader base aren't exactly interested in technical and scholastic articles), Hermione could see how it could revolutionize the Wizarding World. Just as an example, the wards in most Wizarding homes were usually either powered by a leyline (a convergence of magical energy pathways under the Earth) or renewed every so often when the spell started to fade. With his magic source, however, they wouldn't need to pay the expensive prices to re-cast the wards, nor use any magical ingredients.
Seeing the man in action, however… Fully equipped in some kind of battle armor right out of a science-fiction novel… It was exhilarating, frightening, disheartening and confusing, all at the same time. The fright was mostly due to her situation. A battle against Death Eaters isn't exactly stress free after all ! And she felt… inadequate, since she'd always been considered a genius. By her teachers, her friends, her family. And then, she'd met him. A squib who seems to create wonders left and right. But it was also exciting to discover that, for all their centuries of History, there was still so much to learn, to build, to uncover.
And now, she was confused about this thing : the comm device. Why did he give it to her ? They lived continents apart, separated by an ocean. Did he want to communicate with someone likeminded ? But then, he'd just met her and unlike her, who had access to an article about him, he doesn't know anything about her. Did he just want updates about the situation with Voldemort ? He was just testing his armor and there was no real reason for him to get involved in this conflict.
« So, why ? » Her eyes suddenly lit up in realization and she muttered : « He couldn't be… » She shook her head, and gently knuckled the side of her head : « Wake up, Hermione ! There's no way he's interested in you ! He just met you. And I doubt you were looking pretty after this battle… »
She rhythmically tapped her nails on the table wood and repeated herself :
« Then, why ? »
Suddenly, music started to blare out of the comm. Although she didn't listen to a lot of music, she recognized it as 'hard rock'. She didn't have time to think too much about it as it started disrupting the quiet of the common room in this period of revision for the exams. So, she grabbed it and pushed the blinking button before inserting the earplug in her right ear.
« Hello ? » She whispered, uncertainly since she couldn't find a microphone on it.
« Hello, miss Granger ? I see the comm is working even at such a distance. I'm proud ! »
« Of course, you are proud… of yourself. After all, you made it, Ned ! Or should I call you sir ? » A third voice suddenly barged on the conversation. A voice, Hermione identified as Mel, the disembodied voice of his armor.
« Come on, Mel ! Are you still upset about the MBC ? You know you'll still control the armor, I'll just be able to directly issue commands to you. »
« Preventing me from making my own decisions… Besides, I know you're still working on a more direct interface for you to command the armor by yourself. »
« Of course, I am ! After all, an old man can't exactly always rely on his baby girl, right ? »
« Ahem… » Hermione interjected softly. « I don't understand… Why did you call me ? Better question : why did you give this to me ? »
Although she had other questions such as 'who the hell are the old man and the baby girl ?', 'Are you really a squib ?' or 'How does your armor work ?', she decided to keep these questions to herself for now and ask the most puzzling of the moment.
« I'm sorry, Miss Granger. » He paused briefly. « The reason I gave you this is twofold. First, I wanted to make connections with a group that, I believe, would become influential in the future. Secondly, the armor still needs to be tested since I won't stop improving upon it… Although given the distance, I might not be able to get to England at the drop of a hat, if I can somehow help or if the threat you face isn't immediate, I would be able to fly to you guys' location. Plus, though this one is secondary since I'm confident in what I make, I needed to find out whether the comms worked even in a magic-rich environment like Hogwarts. And it does, so… I'm the best ! »
« Okay… I guess it's somewhat believable. And so ? Why call ? We're currently in an exam period, just so you know… I can't have your music blare through the speakers in the common room like this. »
« Oh ! Right… I completely forgot about that. Sorry again ! Since I'm working on another PhD, I don't really need to be present on campus much… I forget people aren't in the same situation. »
Hermione felt the familiar disheartening feeling again. This man had a way of bragging about himself that was almost innocent. It infuriated and saddened her that someone so brilliant could live in the same generation as hers. It helped that he was on another continent but, then he had to come in contact with her and, worse yet : keep in contact ! She decided to change the subject :
« What about your company ? »
« My company ! » He scoffed. « I don't really trust anyone with my designs so it's just me in my workshop… At the moment, my only client is Gringotts, but since we're also kind of partners, they don't pay all that much… So, I don't really have much work to do. »
« Why would you build your company if you didn't plan on selling your product ? Do you have any idea how your magic source would change the world ? »
« Magic source ? I call them mana batteries and mana reactors… And yes, Miss Granger, I do. I built them, remember ? But, I'm not satisfied right now that my work can't be copied… Not to mention, you might think of all the good we can do with my batteries and reactors, but I think of all the bad people will do with them… Bombs, powering weapons and curses, dark magic and other bad stuff. And then, there're the safety concerns. Is it safe to stay around them or would it cause a deterioration in health ? Can they malfunction and, if so, can they hurt people ? » He sighed on the other end of the comms : « I'm just… not ready to open this particular pandora box ! »
« In answer to your question, though, I called you to find out about the situations. I've read a bit about it in the papers but… Well, I doubt their information is complete ! » He paused and asked : « I hear the Minister of Magic will resign… Any idea who'll replace him ? And what about Snake-face ? »
Hermione suppressed a laugh. Despite the man's infamy, Ned Stark just called him…
« Snake-face, really ? Not very imaginative… » She then proceeded to explain the current situation : « Yes, apparently, Minister Fudge was judged unfit to continue in his post by the Ministry. They've asked for his resignation… I think that, given the situation, either the head of the Department of Law Enforcement, miss Amelia Bones or the head of the Auror office, mister Rufus Scrimgeour will be appointed. As for… Voldemort… » She seemed to hesitate before saying his name and paused again after speaking it. « We don't really know. Originally, only the Order of the Phoenix was fighting it but now the Ministry should finally help. »
« Well… At least now I know what Snake-face will do… »
« Oh, yeah ? »
« Yeah. I mean, no offense to your country, but it's pretty clear your government's corrupted to the bone. Otherwise, there's just no way a lunatic like this Dark Lord would have operated for a whole year without being threatened by the authorities. Now these… miss Bones and mister Scrimgeour… You seem to think they'll push to apprehend or kill Mold-in-the-Shorts, right ? »
Another repressed giggle. Now, this was a better nickname ! She nodded in agreement before realizing that Edgar Stark couldn't see her, she said :
« Yes. »
« Then, he's just gonna kill them. They seem to be the only ones in the Ministry willing to risk their hides to face him, it's only natural to have the leaders of his opposition eliminated, is it not ? »
The conversation was followed by silence. Hermione was agitated hearing this : it was true ! The Art of War written by Sun Tzu spoke of eliminating the officers and, if possible, the generals of the opposing army. Since they couldn't get to Dumbledore because he was protected by Hogwarts' wards, it was natural to attack the 'officers' in the fight against Voldemort. She sincerely doubted that the two heads of departments had anything as powerful protecting their houses.
« I think, if I were Vaunt-his-Mound, I'd start with the DMLE head… What better way to cripple the Justice system, and by extension the Ministry, than to kill its most important protector ? »
Despite the new nickname, Hermione wasn't amused. She had to tell someone, do something ! But what then ? The Order couldn't protect miss Bones 24/7 and she didn't know how many aurors were trustworthy… Because she had no doubt Voldemort had his own men and spies in the Auror office. Moreover, from what she knew of the woman's career, she didn't think that miss Bones would accept to hide. And even if she did, what did this tell about the government to the population ? That they couldn't protect their own… So, how would they protect them ?
« I'm sorry, mister Stark. I-I… I have to go ! »
« Hm ? Oh, right. Goodbye, miss Granger ! »
She didn't reply and just pushed the button on the comm before putting it in her pocket. She had to tell someone !
* * * * *
Across the Atlantic, in a messy workshop.
« Well, that was… unexpected. » Ned said as he dropped the comm on his desk. « Wonder why she ended the conversation like that… » He shrugged and returned to work. After all, despite what he 'assumed' while talking to Hermione, it was a fact to him. In the story, Amelia Bones had been reported killed at the start of the sixth book during the summer. And Ned planned on preventing the Dark Lord to get his way !
« Mel… »
« Music. I know. » Mel's voice replied.
