Darla White

A/N: Pat-reon: HelloDarkness07

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Lieutenant General Adam Rivers, that was his name. For 40 years, he had served the country, either in the British Army, or in the MI5, or as of the last decade, the MIS. 

Magical Intelligence Services, an organisation created by the hard working, normal people, to keep an eye on the British Wizarding Government, and even the British Wizarding World.

Never, in his 40 years of service, however, had he been through anything so insulting, as this.

One of their own, Captain Sir Mason Aves, or Captain Avalon, as he's more famous as, had deserted not just the British Army, but the MIS too. He had been recruited by the MIS a year ago, he had given oaths that made it impossible for him to lie to them, to betray them, and yet, he had done so.

At first, when Mason Aves had disappeared from the Hydra battlefield, everyone had thought him dead, or captured. Since that is the only thing that could prevent him from showing himself. Even the MIS thought the same, when their own Wizards couldn't track him down, even after using a variety of spells and Rituals.

But now, he had just received intel, that Mason Aves was alive and well, in the Wizarding World. He had disappeared off the face of the muggle world, and hidden away in the Wizarding one, with no one knowing exactly where he is.

This is why he was here now, in the most secure Room in the Buckingham Palace, meeting the most Politically powerful people in the United Kingdom.

Winston Churchill, the Prime Minister of the UK, puts his cigarette out in the ash tray, and says, "The conclusion is plain, the boy betrayed us, betrayed the United Kingdom. He must have found a way to get rid of the Oaths he took, Magical or not. I don't think how it's possible, otherwise, for him to not be here, giving excuses for his desertion."

Special Agent Watson, the only Wizard currently in the room, and the one who did the most research on Mason Aves's capabilities, says, "It's certainly possible for him to do so, Sir Mason Aves is a certified genius, even Grindelwald seems to think so. But, on the other hand, the Wizarding Government has ordered him to not show himself to the Muggle world, which does count this group of honourable people, I'm afraid."

Rivers nods, accepting the point. Aves's orders from the MIS included an order to lay low, under cover, unless called upon, so it could be that he's doing just that, laying low. 

Or, it could be that he has found a way to get rid of the Oaths binding him to the MIS, and decided to just leave. He certainly seemed like a strong Wizard, nowadays.

Major General Sir Stewart Menzies, the Chief of the MI6, scowls, and says, "We both know that Aves is more than capable enough of coming here without anyone knowing. If it wasn't for those flimsy Magical wards of yours, then I would have been afraid of him coming here too."

Director General Sir David Petrie, of the MI5, and Adam Rivers's boss, slams his hand on the table, and says, "I don't bloody care if he's a genius, or if he's the bloody Lord almighty himself. Aves deserted his station, deserted SSR, where he was needed still, and deserted the MIS, whom he was supposed to be loyal to. That. Is. Treason."

Adam Rivers nods, and says, "Yes, we still have need of him, and he betrayed us. He needs to be punished for his crime, at least his image needs to be tarnished."

No matter the reason he had decided to keep hiding, Mason Aves was a deserter. And the praise he's getting, well, he does not deserve it. Seriously, praising the man who deserted, saying he deserves some rest after everything he's been through?

The only rest that Soldiers get, is Death.

The King, who had remained silent up till now, reading the file, finally asks, "What of this Demon? The Demon that Aves supposedly fought and defeated, single-handedly."

Agent Watson fixes the glasses on his head, and says, "It's gone. Whatever parts of it were cut off, were destroyed by either Captain Aves himself, or by the ICW Wizards who were the first on site. The two immortal Wizards, the Flamels, made sure nothing remained of the Demon, so nothing can be used by anyone."

The King sighs, annoyed, as far as Rivers can tell. He then looks up, and says, "Three Wizards were bled dry, their blood used in the Ritual to summon the Demon. We don't know what kind of Demon it was, how Hydra did it, or why Wizards were the ones sacrificed. We don't even know what methods Aves used to defeat it. It seems Aves has all the cards, at this moment."

It is then that Rivers realised it. If 3 unwilling wizards can be used to summon a Demon that was so dangerous that the ICW showed up, then what can a group of Wizards do.. willingly? Aves might not be on their side if another Demon shows up, they have no guarantee he will be. Heck, he might be the one to summon the Demon.

Rivers looks around, and sure enough, everyone's faces looked as if they had sucked on a lemon.

The King closes the file, and says, "We will leave Aves be, for now. The Wizards need him to take care of this Dark Lord, who is definitely a threat to the entire World. They certainly believe so, or they wouldn't have recalled him so soon."

The King turns towards Rivers, and says, "Do not be mistaken, we will bring Aves to heel. He's a Knight of the Realm, sworn in duty to us. And he will do that Duty, whether he wants to or not. His Oaths will ensure that. For now, keep an eye on him, on his friends, and on the Wizarding War. Keep up with the recruitment, but don't do anything to ruin Captain Aves's image. He's a symbol of bravery to our people, and ruining his image will do nothing good for us."

'It might do a lot to harm Aves, though.' Rivers thinks, but holds his tongue. 

As they leave, Rivers can't help but feel as if the King had given Aves a free reign, despite his betrayal. But, well, Royal orders are Royal orders.

ooOoo

Darla White, an Auror. For 6 years, she has been an Auror, working with the same mediocre salary of G225 per month. Considering that her girlfriend's shop makes that much in a week, during slow days, is just..

But, well, she liked her job. Despite the discrimination against her in the office politics, the snide remarks of her ever becoming barely anything more than a low ranked Auror, and the leagues of paperwork she has to go through, for everything, she still liked her job.

There were days, however, when she found her job slightly annoying.

As she stuns the two Wizards, and a Witch, that she was fighting against, and binds them with the Incarcerous spell, she asks, "What number is this for this week?"

Auror James Fern, one of her team mates, turns away from the 2 Wizards that he had had to deal with, and says, "The number of muggle places attacked, or the number of Police stations? The number is too bloody high for the first, and it's the fourth Police station."

4. That was how many Police stations had been attacked by Wizards, either under Grindelwald's orders, or inspired by him. 

The Demon attack, and the fact that muggles had sacrificed three Wizards in a Summoning Ritual, had become very famous, no doubt thanks to Grindelwald's own actions. This had inspired many.. extremists, into attacking muggle Government buildings, places of importance to the Muggle Government.

Army Recruitment centres, Post offices, the bloody Palace of Westminster, the Libraries, and of course, numerous Police stations. The worst part was, these Wizards were mostly British, people who she remembered seeing at one point in time or another.

And these people wanted an all out War with the Muggle world, with a lot of the Pureblood Houses in support of the movement now. 

Hearing the sound of footsteps, she turns towards her Team leader, Madam Crickerly, and says, "The job is done, Ma'am. 3 Police officers lost their lives, unfortunately enough, and several more are injured."

The attacking Wizards weren't.. competent, not too much anyway. Muggles might have had trouble with them, but for experienced Aurors such as them, it was a job for just two minutes, without receiving a single injury.

Madam Crickerly nods, and says, "Prep them for transfer. The Obliviators should be here soon."

As soon as she says that, multiple cracks sound, as the Obliviation Squad appears. The place was already deserted, thanks to Muggle Repelling Wards that Darla's team had cast as soon as they had come in, and so, it doesn't take them long to start with their job.

Darla sees the Obliviators doing their job, and asks, "The situation is really getting bad, isn't it?"

Madam Crickerly glances at Darla, and the remaining members of the team, and says, "The situation can get a lot worse than this, White. My grandmother told me stories about the last Dark Lord, and he had managed to wage a one man war against entirety of Britain, with just an army of Inferi at his back. And he almost won. So, yes, the situation is bad now, but it can get a lot, lot worse."

Ah, yes. Darla had read about the Dark Lord Inferus. A Necromancer from an unknown background, destroyed the Leaky Cauldron building entirely, and was on his way to attack Hogwarts.

Thankfully, he never reached there, thanks to his Inferi army turning on him. The Unspeakables took care of the Inferi, by burning them with Fiendfyre. But before his death, he dealt a lot of Destruction and Death to Wizarding Britain.

7 families died out, 18 shops in Diagon Alley, and 13 in Knockturn Alley were destroyed, and a total of 1000 people lost their lives, before he lost his. The reason not many people spoke about him, was that he wasn't defeated by anyone.

His own spell backfired, turning his horde of thousands of Inferi against him. And the Ministry didn't like that, they wanted to forget about him.

Shaking her head, Darla says, "I just hope the War ends quickly. The muggles have caused enough destruction on their own, we don't need any Wizards to add on to it."

A few hours later, at the end of Darla's duty hours, Darla apparates home, right outside the door. The house was in Sutton and Cheam, in South London. It was a modest 3 bedroom house, that Darla had brought along with her girlfriend, a little over 3 years ago.

Opening the door, she walks right in, and says, "Darling, I'm home!"

No one answers her, however, and she smiles, knowing the reason. Putting her Auror Coat on the hanger, she loosens her tie a little, and walks towards one of the bedrooms, which was almost always locked.

Tapping the door with her ring, she whispers the password, causing the door to open with a click. As she walks in, Darla sees her girlfriend with her head ducked, as she sat at her workshop table.

Anastasia Greengrass, her girlfriend, doesn't even notice her, as she walks towards her, and puts her hands around her neck, causing her to jump a little, the wand in her hand immediately pointing at Darla's forehead.

"6 years of us staying together, and you still manage to be startled every time." Darla whispers in Ana's ears, as she kisses her cheek lightly.

Ana sighs, holding on to Darla's hand, and says, "You enjoy it, startling me. You know I'm in my own mind when I'm working, and you take advantage."

Hugging Ana from behind, Darla says, "Well, I could have been someone else, and you wouldn't even know. That's a bad habit, staying so focused. What are you working on, by the way?"

As Darla goes to sit on a chair on the opposite side of the table, Ana continues working on what looks like a Mirror, and says, "It's a Foe Glass, it is supposed to show me my enemies, any threats to my life. But, well, it's a work in progress." She then looks up, seeing Darla smiling in content, and asks, "Tough day at work?"

Darla shakes her head, not saying anything. But she doesn't need to, Ana knows her, too well. Putting the Wand down, Ana holds on the Darla's hand, and says, "You know you can quit, right? I won't think any worse of you, and I doubt anyone else will either."

Darla looks into the loving eyes of Ana, still wondering how she managed to bag a beautiful bird like her. She then remembers the day she had first found out about Demons, the day she felt the absolute Evil in Set. She remembered how afraid she was then, and she remembered how helpless she was. 

The most dangerous spell she knew, the Blood Boiling curse, was absolutely useless in front of the Demon, and Mason still fought it, held it back even. He didn't use anything too impressive, when it comes to magic, but he still kept Set busy, and then defeated the Demon.

Shaking her head, Darla says, "You know I won't do that, I became an Auror because I wanted to, and I'll be damned if I quit now that it's getting hard."

She then looks at the clock, and says, "Come on, I'll start heating dinner up. You better get down in half an hour."

Darla then approaches Ana's desk, leaves a heavy kiss on her lips, and then walks out, to go towards the Kitchen.

After Dinner, Ana asks, "Have you met Mason, recently? I've heard he's back now."

Darla shakes her head, and says, "I have no idea where he is. I know he visited St Mungo's 2 days ago, poor guy. I spoke with Healer Potter. She said he was devastated with everything that's happened. Lost two friends, lost his chance of becoming a Healer. I didn't even have the time to ask anyone where he is, let alone go visit him."

Ana frowns, and says, "Darla, our friend is upset, and we haven't even tried to find out where he is? Have you tried asking that House Elf of his?"

Darla automatically corrects her, saying, "Elf, not House Elf. Mason says he doesn't own Blinky."

"Miss White called?" A voice says suddenly from behind her, the surprise causing Darla to apparate in front of Ana, with her Wand raised at the voice.

Seeing Blinky, Darla sighs, dropping her wand down, and says, "Bloody hell, Blinky. I could have attacked you."

And it wouldn't have been the first Elf she had attacked on instinct, the Potter family's elf came to mind.

Blinky looks up, confused, and it looks so weird, that Darla can't help but snort. Wearing a black and white butler's uniform, Blinky also had dark black shoes on, and a monocle on her left eye.

Blinky says, "But you couldn't have, I have learned to defend myself."

Ana, who had taken her own wand out when Blinky came in, uninvited, says, "Gods, Mason's really hell-bent on his free Elves movement, isn't he?"

Darla shakes her head, and says, "Not the point. Blinky, do you know where Mason is?" As Blinky nods, she asks, "Can you take us to him?"

Blinky hesitates, and says, "I need to ask Mason Sir before taking you. He wants to be alone, you see."

Darla shares a look with Ana, both of them now really concerned. Bending down, Darla sits on her knees, right in front of Blinky, and says, "Blinky, you want to help Mason, don't you?"

Blinky nods, now looking upset, and says, "Mason Sir has been working, just training or learning, continuously. I want to help him, but there is nothing I can do right now."

"Take us to him, Blinky. We're his friends, you know that. I can talk to him, try and bring him back to a better mood." Darla says, while Ana looks on.

Blinky frowns, thinking, and after a while, she says, "Mason Sir never told me I couldn't bring his friends to him."

Trust an Elf to always know about loopholes. Darla couldn't remember the number of Elves that had snitched on their Masters simply because they never told the elf not to do that.

Smiling, Darla turns to Ana, and says, "Can you see if Dorea wants to come, we'll get the gang back together. Maybe that will help make Mason feel better."

As Ana nods and walks out of the Kitchen, towards the floo, Darla turns towards Blinky, and says, "Just a minute, let's see if Dorea wants to come."

A few minutes later, Ana walks back in, Dorea with her, whom Darla greets with a hug. While Ana and Darla stayed together, and hence were always in contact, Dorea was currently living alone, and they rarely met.

She was training for her Alchemy Mastery, which she had gotten interested in after her 17th Birthday. Mason had given her an introductory book on Alchemy, as a Birthday gift, one that had been banned almost a century ago.

Even 7 years after beginning learning, Dorea was barely 70% done, with her highest Alchemical capabilities being Transmutation of one precious metal to another. She could also create Alchemical Potions, and transmute other things, but she was nowhere close to figuring the Philosopher's Stone out, let alone the Universal Solvent.

All three of the girls take Blinky's hands, and close their eyes, bracing for the Side Along Apparition. Side Along was always rougher on the senses than apparating by yourself, it was a result of someone else doing the Magic.

And then, they disappear from Darla's and Ana's home, within a wormhole created by Blinky's magic.

When she opens her eyes, now out of the Apparition tube, Darla sees that she is in the Chamber of Secrets, and smiles. 'Of course, he's here.' she thinks.

But, as she looks around, she doesn't find Mason anywhere, or even any evidence of the place having been lived in. She knew, that there was a Secret room somewhere, where Mason could live in if he wanted to, but she hadn't seen it, ever.

"Now what?" Dorea asks, sounding a bit annoyed, as Blinky apparates away, to God knows where.

Darla ignores the annoyance, somewhat understanding it. Dorea must have dropped some research to come here, to meet with Mason, and he was nowhere to be seen.

Summoning her wand, Darla closes her eyes to focus on a happy memory, and waves her wand in a wide arc over her head. She whispers, "Expecto Patronum!" And smiles, seeing the familiar lioness Patronus. She says, "Tell Mason, we're in the Chamber of Secrets, where are you?"

And then, the Patronus flies away, surprisingly enough, going into the floor. As they watch the Patronus disappear into the ground, Dorea asks, "Okay, did you know that there are more rooms below the Chamber? We're already what, a mile underground?"

Shrugging, Ana says, "It could be a room, or it could just as well be something Mason created. You know him, his preparation borders on paranoia. He probably hid the room away behind Wards or something, even if no one can come to this chamber anyway."

"Oh yeah? Is that why you're standing inside the main Chamber, without me bringing you here?" The familiar voice of Mason Aves says from behind them, startling all three girls there into pointing their wands at him.

Mason just looks at the wands, as if they're an annoyance to him, and knowing what she does about his capabilities, Darla can't say it's not true. Putting her Wand back in its holster, Darla is the first one to approach Mason, as she hugs him tightly.

Mason just stands there, taking the hug, barely reciprocating. He instead, looks them all over, and says, "Hey, Dorea. Long time no see, how have you been?"

"Pretty good, better than you, in any case, from what I've heard." Dorea says, just shrugging. She was no longer the cute little Dorea, who was head over heels for Mason. She was still cute, beautiful even, but she no longer pined after anyone, preferring to focus on her Alchemy.

Mason chuckles, and says, "Yeah, I've had a rough month."

Even if his voice sounds normal, and he looks normal, Darla somehow knows, that he's anything but normal. She could feel it, his sadness.

Looking up from the hug, as Dorea and Ana come closer to hug him too, Darla softly says, "You don't have to pretend, Mason. You can show your emotions here."

Mason smiles, a bit sadly, separating from the hugs, and says, "I'm afraid I'm already done crying, Darla. I might still be upset, but I've gotten over it."

He then waves his hand, creating a portal to somewhere, and says, "Come on, let's talk somewhere comfortable."

Darla walks through the portal immediately, already having experience with the Sorcery Portals, while Ana and Dorea stop in the chamber itself, slackjawed.

'Oh, yeah. They don't know about his Portals.' Darla thinks, as she looks at Ana's surprised face, sheepishly smiling. She hadn't told Ana about Set, or the battle they had had. It was Mason's secret, and she wasn't going to share it with anyone he didn't agree to tell.

"I didn't know you had learned Sorcery, Mason." Dorea says, being the first to get out of shock, as she walks through. Of course she knows about Sorcery, her family has had dealings with some Sorcerers, and even some of the Demons in the past. 

Her voice manages to bring Ana out of her shock, and she says, "You aren't surprised, you knew about this?"

Mason says, "I asked her not to share it with people, you know how the relations between Sorcerers and Wizards is.. barely there. I didn't want to create problems for anyone."

Darla internally thanks him, wondering if he'd read her mind or something. After a moment, she dismisses it. Her mental shields were too good, thanks to Mason's own teachings. She would have known if he had entered her mind.

"Where are we anyway?" Dorea asks, as Mason leads them towards what looks like a house, at the end of the path.

Mason smiles, and says, "This.. is my Home. The Aves Manor. It had burned down some 50 years ago, and I had it rebuilt when I became an adult. I'm sorry for not bringing you here before, I was content with just staying in my Islington House, you know."

Darla could think of a few words for Mason, but she understood his worries. He wanted a house to remain private, she could accept that.

For the first half hour or so, Mason gives them a tour of his house, and the grounds. She was glad to know that this place is as secure as they come, thanks to the Fidelius charm. She was also glad to know that the only people who knew about this house were the ones inside the house.

'At least I have one more place to look for, when I can't find him.' Darla thinks, as they sit down in the living room, taking a chair each.

-

Mason POV:

Waving my hand, I summon a few bottles of different alcohols, and place them on a table in between us. The talks that we were going to have will surely need drinks.

I wasn't upset anymore, I didn't lie. There was some pain in my heart, sure, but it wasn't anything I couldn't manage. 

As I hand them a glass of scotch each, I can't help but notice that Dorea has gotten a lot more attractive than the last time I had seen her. Which was.. wow, I haven't seen her in years!

"So.. ready to talk it out?" Dorea asks, raising an eyebrow at me.

I chuckle, as I go back to my own seat, and say, "I wasn't lying before, you know. I'm over it." Seeing all their dubious faces, I say, "It still hurts, everything that has happened, sure. But I'm not being a bitch about it."

"Are you sure? You know we're here for you, right?" Darla asks, as she drinks her drink.

Nodding, I smile at Darla, and say, "I'm sure. I appreciate it though." Pausing, I smile, remembering my Army days, and say, "Tim wasn't the first friend I lost, you know. I'd made a few friends in my training days, and more than a few on the battlefield. Tim was just.. special."

I see Dorea smile, with Darla joining in. Ana was just observing me, probably trying to see if I'm actually alright, not trusting my own judgment.

I'm glad Blinky brought them to me, that Darla bothered to try. She might not be much help in taking my psychology back to normal, but the fact that she tried does make me happy.

Turning towards Dorea, the one I hadn't seen the most out of the girls, I ask, "What are you up to anyway? Last I'd heard you were beginning with Alchemy."

Dorea pours some more scotch for herself, her glass already empty, and says, "Yeah, I'm still learning." Seeing my dubious face, she adds, "Oh, piss off. I'm studying by myself, and I don't have much study material. I've bought many books, but Old Alchemy books are hard to find. My family had.. other interests, even in the past. Alchemy is not something they bothered too much with."

Oh, understandable. The Black Family is notoriously famous for being Dark. 

I say, "I'll see if I have any more books on the subject." 

I doubt the Flamels will take Dorea on as a student. They're really selective over whom they take, and Dorea, as impressive as she is, does not fit the bill.

Soon, our talks move on to our lives, all of us telling how our lives have gone for these years. Just listening to them speak helps me, since it makes me realise that I'm not alone. Steve and Tim might be gone, and I might have lost the Howling Commandos and the SSR too, but I still have these girls.

"Excuse me? You were going to be married?" I ask, stopping Dorea's talk, as she was explaining her own life.

Dorea frowns at me, making me realise what I just said, and asks, "What is that even supposed to mean?"

Raising my hands, I say, "Nevermind, I'm a twat. Please continue." I poke my tongue out at Darla, who had laughed at me taking my words back so soon. I might be a better fighter, but I know how to choose my own battles.

As she continues speaking, I take the Firewhiskey in my hand, knowing that I'll need this. Didn't know my actions changed this much out here.

"His name was Charlus Potter, a son of one of my father's old friends. He lost his life recently, in one of the Muggle air raids. Don't know which one though, his uncle didn't tell us much. I'm just glad to not have to marry someone I don't know." Dorea says, and the last part does make me sigh internally.

Thank God, I thought she loved him or something. Not that I have feelings for her, no, we don't know each other enough for me to say that. I just didn't want one of my friends to be upset because of my actions.

Yeah, I'm not mentioning that I was the one to kill him. If Monty didn't mention it, then it means they don't want his image tarnished. Good enough for me. 

When the girls leave, at almost 12 AM, I have a smile on my face. I love Darla, no question there. She came here, to make sure I was okay. She's a true friend, and I'm glad she's my best friend.

Ana too, she might not be as close to me now as we were before, but she still came here, she bothered. And so did Dorea.

Dorea, now that's something I'm pleasantly surprised to see changed. She doesn't have feelings for me anymore, not a huge crush at least. And you know what, I'm glad. I might ask her out some day, I might not. But that doesn't mean I want her to keep pining after me, keep waiting for me.

If she finds someone that makes her happy, good. She deserves it. If I find someone that makes me happy, also good. I probably deserve it too. I think.

But before that, Dorea has to focus on her Alchemy Mastery, via independent studies, while I have a War to win.

After waving them goodbye, through a portal that takes them to Darla's house, I turn around, and summon a book. I've been practicing Runes, the last few days. I might have taken Grindelwald's Scrying advantage away from him, thanks to a handy Runic Tattoo branded on my back, but that doesn't mean he's any less knowledgeable.

He just can't scry anything about me, but he can still scry the future. Which means, he probably already knows whatever result is destined to happen, or one of them. 

Scrying, unlike using the Time Stone, does not show you multiple possibilities, with no fixed result. It just shows you one vision each time, the rest depending on your own capabilities.

But, from what Grindelwald said, he has seen multiple versions of our fights, which means he has something else, probably a mutation, that allowed him to look into different futures. There is no fixed future, I know that. But every future he has seen, gives him that much more advantage.

That's not counting whatever other Mutations he has, and the fucking Death Stick in his hands. The Elder Wand, the most powerful Wand, in arguably the most powerful Wizarding hands alive. 

If I'm hoping to defeat him, since I doubt Dumbledore will be able to, then I'm going to need to use every advantage I have, or gain advantages myself. Which is why, Runes.

Rowena was right, I need to use my imagination a lot more than I do now. 

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A/N: This chapter was a filler, I know. It does not have anything important, or any major changes to the ongoing plot. This will, however, help me when I write the eventual battle between Grindelwald's army, and the Good guys.

Thank you for your support! Tata!