A Web Of Magic

Magnus stood in one corner of the park tapping his foot deep in thought. In front of him lay his attackers arranged in a neat line, still bound. They were all conscious now and were looking at him with fearful eyes, even the vampire. Magnus got all the information from them one by one. They saw their compatriots become glassy eyed whenever Magnus questioned them and spill every secret they knew. Even the vampire whom they saw as far superior to them wasn't spared. This sent chills down their spine and made them regret coming here. They thought with guns they could easily tackle a wizard, but unfortunately reality proved otherwise.

Magnus went over the information he just extracted from them. These men were closely related to his family's enemies no doubt. They knew when and where to wait for him ahead of time. They even had a compass with a drop of blood which [Identify] showed belonged to one of his family ancestors. There's only one enemy who has the motive and resources, not to mention the skill at divination to accomplish all of this. It's no wonder they were able to find him despite his disguise.

The muggle men were all mercenaries from Egypt. They came to Britain through the muggle channels. They worked for some company called Hounds of Anubis. It seemed like the organization is a mixture of wizards and muggles. The Statute of Secrecy seemed like a joke to them. Either they are very foolish or very influential to do that. No Ministry across the world dares to break the Statute as that would bring the anger of the ICW.

The vampire on the other hand didn't let out much information. Not because he didn't want to, but because he can't due to some oath. Magnus was only able to glean some details through Legilimancy. He was from a clan called Kaima. Magnus couldn't get their location or any details unfortunately. He only knew that the vampire was sent by his clan to Egypt to cooperate with the hounds. He too came via the muggle methods. If the ministry of magic knew a vampire has come without permission, it wouldn't end up so well for the blood-sucker. They were dark creatures and not looked upon kindly by most. They weren't supposed to be able to roam under sunlight but this one had a trinket that enabled him to do so.

'It looks like all clues point to Egypt for now. I might have to make a trip there sooner or later. Things might become clearer once I find this Hounds of Anubis. There's also that Widowed Hags business to take care of. The Hags apparently also have a connection to the Hounds. They cooperated together more than once. The Hags are not getting out of this no matter what,' Magnus thought grimly. These fellows didn't have anything to do with Jenkins. It seemed like whoever was behind this took a two-pronged approach.

"Now what should I do with you? You know you broke the Statute of Secrecy and who knows how many laws of the Ministry today. The least that could happen is lose all of your memories, but since you also attacked a wizard, you all might go to Azkaban. You know Azkaban, the wizarding prison? I heard it could be pretty intense," Magnus scared them as he thought what to do with them. Magnus's words further scared the men, especially the vampire. He knew what waited for them at Azkaban. Even vampires are scared of the Dementors and as a long-lived species, their torment will last a long time.

'What should i do? Kill them? I never killed before. Besides, that would be letting them off too lightly and the clues will stop with them. Hmm, if it comes to light that a bunch of muggles attacked a wizard, some wizards might take extreme measures. That will only lead to unwanted chaos. It's better to let the muggle authorities deal with them. This might also pull out some of the forces hiding behind them into the light. Someone had to have supplied them with their weapons, right?' Magnus decided.

Magnus moved from one muggle to the next using a generous amount of "Obliviate", "Confuse" and "Charm." Obliviate and Charm were what he learned when Mind arts increased to Lv5. The former was learned from the books in Hogwarts but he had never applied it till now. The latter was given to him upon levelling up. The men forgot all about Magnus, wizards and their mission and a new mission took root in their minds. While someone skilled in the mind arts could find some traces, Magnus doubted anyone would bother to. The muggle men soon stood up free of their bonds and picked up their weapons. All traces of wounds on them were healed and they walked away to accomplish their new mission. They didn't pay any attention to the vampire tied up and lying on the ground.

"You are the only one left Mr. Vampire. You know I always wanted to find a vampire. Many recipes I found required their "assets" you see. I didn't plan on going after them because that would be too cruel. But since you were generous enough to come knocking…" Magnus left the sentence unsaid. There really were many recipes left behind by Slytherin that required items from vampire blood to their organs. Salazar Slytherin did not pull his punches when it came to research. Vampires during his times were pure menace and they were killed at sight. Thus, it wasn't surprising that they became ingredients for some.

Of course, Magnus wasn't going to dissect the vampire for his organs. That's against his style. He'll only draw some blood and test a few spells that he hadn't practiced till now since they required live targets. This vampire wasn't some sparkling good guy. There were plenty of crimes he had committed both against muggles and even weak wizards. Their clan had an annual sporting event where they went on a hunt. The targets were of course humans. Thus, Magnus didn't have any pity for him.

The vampire's eyes widened as he heard Magnus's words. They opened as wide as they can and were filled with fear as he saw Magnus approach him with a few vials. His mouth wouldn't open even if he wanted to scream. "Stop being a drama queen. It's just some blood. Aren't you a big bad vampire? Stop squirming. I know you heal fast."

The vampire could only curse his own fast regeneration as his wounds kept healing again and again. This enabled Magnus to draw a few pints of blood for research purposes. He only stopped when the rate of healing slowed down. It was still fast compared to a normal human and he might be alright with a few days of rest. Truly vampires had their advantages. Their long lifespan and superb physical capabilities made becoming one very enticing. Unfortunately, a wizard loses his magic when he turns into a vampire. While they might gain some vampiric abilities, to most that is a great loss. A regular wizard can easily live over 100 years. Powerful wizards can push that limit and go beyond 150 to 180. And it's not like they become senile once they reach 100. 100 is just close to retirement for them. They can still function well even at that point. Dumbledore is a good example. There's no need to talk about wizards who undergo rituals or find other methods to extend their lives. The most famous example being Nicholas Flamel the alchemist. He must be over 600 years by now. That is the potential a wizard has and in comparison, vampires just don't compare.

Magnus tested many spells on the vampire that he wouldn't usually get the chance to perform for one reason or the other. He was very satisfied with the results. The target healed up nicely and not much damage was left beyond the mind. The vampire was messed up in the head to begin with so Magnus wasn't bothered. When it was time to go, Magnus decided to wrap up the events of today. His eyes were like deep whirlpools that pulled in the vampire's mind.

"Listen well. Run away from Britain and take your pursuers on a trip across the world. I heard America is a nice place. Get them to chase you for as long as you can. And when they finally catch up to you, you know what to do," Magnus left a strong compulsion in his mind while casting a spell on the blood drop. The vampire will not remember anything about him of course. He'll only be supplying his clan some fake information to get them to follow him. Any divination attempts on Magnus for the time being will point towards the vampire now due to the Webb's blood drop he carried. But this spell is temporary and might only last for a month or two. Magnus could have killed the vampire, but he decided to divert the attention for now. If they could divine his possible location once, they can do it again. He saw a possible way of hiding himself from Merlin's book, but he hadn't started on it yet. Today's events were a wake-up call for him. There were people other than him who were equally skilled in divination and he shouldn't take things for granted. The vampire left to complete his orders. His destination was America. What happens next is on MACUSA's head.

[Impact Points+50]

Magnus left after cleaning up the traces of the battle. Elsewhere, a group of armed men tried to break into the Prime Minister's office in Westminster, London. It was determined to be an attempt to assassinate the Prime Minister by some unknown terrorist group. The men were swiftly apprehended and their details were dug up. The people who supplied their gear were also found out from the clues. It turned out to be a militant organization that masked itself as a certain corporation. Needless to say, they were all caught and the armed men found themselves in a prison somewhere with little light. Few days later the ministry received a confession from an extremely rattled Jenkins. No one knows what happened to him later.