Mastering Protego Diabolica

The next day morning;

Somewhere in the eastern part of Greenland, a group of four wizards, comprised of two teenagers and two adults, was seen walking in the snow at the pace of a snail.

As the chilly winds were flowing against their faces, Malfoy complained as loud as he can, "Neal, is there a need to come here just to cast a spell? We will be frozen to death before we reach the destination."

"C'mon, Draco. Don't be a girl. Where is your sense of adventure? This is why I told you to exercise your body…" replied Neal, trying to tease Malfoy's weak physique.

"When did I tell you that I was feeling cold?" As Malfoy suddenly turned his speech around while shivering in cold, Oakley took out his wand and shot a heat charm at Malfoy.

Malfoy immediately stopped feeling cold, albeit only for a limited time. But, due to heavy winter clothes, he started feeling so hot that he wanted to take off his clothes but didn't do it, remembering how the entire UK was experiencing the heat wave. Had he been at home, he would have experienced the same thing anyway.

Meanwhile, Neal continued to walk while looking at the map very often to check whether he reached his destination or not.

After a few hours of walking, eventually, the group reached their destination, an unnamed valley and a frozen lake landlocked by three mountains. The place doesn't seem that special on the surface but according to Oakley, this place is one of the places with the highest concentration of magic because of the presence of an ancient magical creature named Myticetus, an ice whale.

Contrary to the other normal whales, Myticetus could breathe underwater. And with the lake staying frozen all year except from the last week of June to the second week of July, it takes incredible luck to even take a glimpse at the magical creature.

Oakley originally doesn't want to visit this place as he had no idea whether the beast is a peaceful one or an aggressive one. He doesn't know whether it will attack if they disturb its slumber.

However, as a person who was quite interested to tame the magical creatures of XXXX and even the XXXXX category, Neal insisted on going there.

Having no other choice, Oakley Avery had to personally tag along with his grandson for fear of losing him. The other wizard who came along with them is a renowned curse-breaker working for the Gringotts bank. Her name is Patricia Rakepick.

But, that's just her formal title for the rest of the world. In secret, she was a member of R or the Cabal, an enigmatic and powerful secret society that was formed after the fall of Voldemort.

The organization's enemy is the British ministry of magic. As a result, a number of death eaters are in it.

For the past decade, they were quite active all around Europe. However, with the return of Voldemort, the loyalty of the former death eaters who were now high-ranking members of the organization is questionable.

If they weren't careful, their entire organization might even become a slave to Voldemort.

As the dark wizards who work for a noble cause (in their view) like searching for immortality, fighting for the free use of magic without restrictions, and de-corrupting the British ministry of magic, the R's leader decided to ally with Oakley and sacred 28 families that are neither on Voldemort's side nor ministry's side.

Of course, Neal was also the reason. For him, it's like investing excess wealth in a promising company with the confidence that the returns will be tenfold.

This alliance was formed only a couple of weeks ago and as a sign of trust, R's leader sent Patricia and a couple of other notable members to serve the Avery House while accepting a few members from Avery House into the organization.

Anyways, back to the present, as the group of four reached the location, Oakley and Patricia proceeded to create a barrier around the lake just as a precautionary measure.

Meanwhile, Neal stood at the bottom of the valley along with Draco.

Taking out a crooked-looking Acacia wand, Neal closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

Looking at the boys from a distance, Patricia finally voiced the thoughts she kept to herself until now. "Lord Avery, I'm curious. What is it that powerful ice spell that Mr. Slytherin had to master for we traveled all the way?"

"Who said it is an ice spell?" Oakley snorted in response.

A look of surprise appeared on Patricia Rakepik's face. "It isn't an ice spell?"

It is obvious that she thinks that way. First, they came to a place that is filled with snow and ice even during the summer. Secondly, Neal's ice magic knight is featured in Daily Prophet and almost every wizard was aware of how his magic knight went toe to toe against a creature like Dragon. These two things are enough for her to make an assumption.

However, to her surprise, Neal stretched his wand and slowly walked in a small circle around his friend, creating a large ring of black fire and taking Patricia by surprise.

"Black flames forming a ring of fire… I read that description when I was young…" Patricia gasped as she took a step back. "It's Grindelwald's…"

Wizards of the present age have no idea about Grindelwald as the era was completely dominated by Voldemort but Patricia was born in the mid-1950s. In her school time, the global wizarding war launched by Grindelwald was known to every wizard from her time. Naturally, just from the scene, she recognized the spell.

Looking at her shocked face, Oakley proudly said, "Yes, it is the Grindelwald's black fire. You can consider this as the test of your loyalty too, Ms. Rakepick. If you don't have any bad intentions for my grandson and are truly on our side, then, you will be unharmed. Or else, you will be incinerated."

There's a reason why Patricia was also brought along on the trip. Neal also wanted to know whether the 'R' organization was their true ally or if they have any nefarious designs on him.

The only problem here is the fact that Neal never intentionally killed any human. He once killed the guy from Ilvermorny at the age of 11 before he joined Hogwarts by accidental magic and that too when he was being attacked.

Since it was accidental magic and the body was completely destroyed, leaving behind no evidence, he could be innocent in a sense. But, that story is for another time to talk about.

At the moment, it is necessary for him to see that his companions are safe from the black fire before he goes to the next step. Hence, he waited after conjuring the ring of fire.

"Come, Ms. Rakepick, let's go…" Oakley urged Patricia to follow him. Surprising everyone, she just took a deep breath and followed him without a look of hesitation on her face. It looked like she was determined to prove her loyalty.