***
In Kine, or Kinshasa as the Europeans call it, a city nestled on the left bank of the great Congo River, early morning had arrived. The Gombe district, not far from 30 June Street, where Chibuzo Inu's estate was located, was quite respectable by local standards.
Kinshasa is a city where the majority of people do not live in luxury, but this certainly does not apply to serious magicians. The Chibuzo Inu estate resembled a classic English manor, quite beautiful, with a fence made of wild stone entwined with green ivy. Lucius had seen something similar in Belgium when he was there on his travels through Europe.
The house itself was essentially a castle made of coloured stone, several stories high, with tall towers at the corners resembling minarets. There were, of course, cellars that went deep underground. On the lower level of the dungeons were dungeons and torture chambers, cells for successful and unsuccessful experiments. The basement also housed storerooms for various magical ingredients, food and artefacts. The facade of the house was made of grey and yellow stone, slightly darkened by time. The roof was covered with white and blue tiles, and the window frames were made of red African wood with floral ornamentation. There were almost no decorations on the facade except for stylised protective figures.
The first floor of the house is huge, with high ceilings. This is where receptions, dinners and meetings with guests take place. Starting from the first floor, the house is divided into two sides. The left wing houses a small kitchen for twenty people and an ethnic African-style dining room where the Inu clan and close friends have their meals. Next to it is a special reading room combined with a huge library, which is comparable in size and age to the best libraries in the world.
A little further on is the exit to a large swimming pool surrounded by palm trees and stone tubs with beautiful, fragrant flowers that bloom all year round. Although it was located in the open air, thanks to magic, neither dust nor rain could penetrate this truly heavenly place.Near the exit to the pool, among the paintings on the walls, antique wooden panels and frightening African masks, was hidden the entrance to the altar room, invisible to all and accessible only to Chibuzo Inu himself and those few whom he would bring, after first dripping their blood into a special bowl at the entrance.
In the middle of the altar room stands the altar itself, made of black crystal and encased in meteorite iron. Magical lamps on the walls and a milky-coloured marble floor only emphasise the gloomy beauty of this room.
In the right wing was a large living room, which could accommodate all the guests and relatives important to the owner of the house, designed for at least two hundred people. In the same right wing of the first floor, there was a ballroom with a transparent wall, behind which there was a view of a wonderful wild garden filled with bright exotic birds and flowers. The floor of the hall was covered with mirrored black wood parquet with inlays of ivory and precious metals. It is here that the most important public events in the life of the Inu family take place.
On the second floor were the bedrooms, guest rooms and master bedrooms, each with its own design dedicated to a particular country that members of the Inu family had once visited, and a built-in bathroom with all amenities.
On the third floor, which was specially protected, there were magical laboratories, a study and various rooms with sports and sorcery equipment, allowing both warriors and wizards to keep in good shape.
The minaret towers housed huge energy-storing stones, telescopes for observing the stars, and teleporters enchanted by the ancestors of the owner.
Each head of the Inu clan worked on something in the house and around the estate, so over time it had long since become a beautiful but dangerous place for strangers.
On the platform paved with polished red stone, which was located not far from the estate, they were greeted by Chibuzo Inu himself, flashing a white-toothed smile.
"Greetings, Lucius, good morning, lady, good morning, young man.
"Hello, Chibuzo," Malfoy greeted him. "My wife Narcissa and my son Cassius," the woman and boy bowed politely.
Leaving their belongings with the helpful house elves, the whole company moved slowly towards the house. Entering through the wide-open doors, the Malfoys found themselves in a spacious hall, which was clearly not affected by the heat from the street. Despite the early morning, it was already quite stuffy outside. Reaching the small dining room, they sat down together and, waiting for the house spirits to set the breakfast table, Chibuzo Inu, as the hospitable host, suggested they pay tribute to African national cuisine.
Steaming dishes with delicious moamba, plates with yellow and grey fufu cakes, more egg-shaped than flat, were served. There was a lot of stewed greens and fried fish. And around all this was a huge amount of fruit, beautifully arranged on crystal multi-tiered fruit bowls.
Having finished their magnificent breakfast, the magicians pulled the teapot and buns closer and returned to their conversation.
"How will Cassius's training proceed?" Narcissa decided to ask. "Will he study here or attend a special school of magic for the youngest students?"
"To begin with, he will learn magic here under my guidance, and then we'll see," replied Chibuzo. "If he is lucky and receives a magical sleeping stone with an invitation, he will study at Uagadu, our most ancient school of magic on the entire continent. The most famous wizards in Africa received their knowledge there. Some of them are now promoting magical science, while others work in various intergovernmental organisations, including the MCM. I also studied there once," sighed Chibuzo Inu with a slight smile. "Those were good times, but we'll talk about that later, if Cassius gets an invitation. It's not up to us. Usually, the current headmaster performs a simple ritual every year, and then the sleeping stones appear in the hands of a child chosen by magic, who is invited to Wagadigu the next morning. If the stone does not appear, then Cassius will have to study at Hogwarts, and he will come to visit me during the holidays," the wizard shrugged.
"An interesting way," Lucius said in surprise. "In our world, invitations are delivered by owls.
"Ha ha," laughed Chibuzo. "In our country, they'd eat the owl before sending a reply with their consent.
Thoughtfully twirling his cup in his hand, he said:
"The school of magic is located on the border between our country and neighbouring Uganda. It was built long before our era in the moon mountains. In fact, ancient magicians once turned an entire rock into a castle, creating a place of amazing beauty where the best magicians of our continent study magic. At dawn, when the fog still hangs in the lowlands, it seems as if the castle is floating in the sky," the magician sighed nostalgically. "The school's students often master animagi in their first years, and those who become capable of transforming into large birds of prey often soar on their wings near the castle."
Pouring himself some tea, the wizard continued:
"In Wagadu, there have been four departments since ancient times. The Faculty of Combat and Dark Magic, the Faculty of Healing and Potion Making, the Faculty of Transfiguration and Transformation, and the Faculty of Nature and Stars. Self-transfiguration is a fairly common subject at our school. Even students from other departments," continued Chibuzo Inu, "enjoy taking extra classes in this subject. They learn to transform themselves into elephants, lions, birds of prey, and other local animals. It's a very popular field in Wagadu.
Taking a sip of tea, Chibuzo Inu looked at the Malfoys with a smile:
"You believe that an Animagus can only transform into one animal that is close to his inner beast. At our school, this is considered a totemic transformation and is used very rarely, as such animagi can change the character of the wizard, and not always for the better. They take on both the good and bad habits of their animal form. It is believed that even magical animals can be totemic, unlike ordinary animagi.
After asking the house elf to bring more tea, the African returned to the conversation:
"Here's an example," he grinned, "let's say your totem creature is a sniffer! You train to turn into a sniffer, become familiar with its form, and little by little, you begin to love gold and greed more than anything else in the world. And you drag gold from everywhere you can find it.
"A-ha-ha," Lucius laughed naturally, "in our Ministry of Magic, many officials surely have such an animiform. What's more, some departments won't even hire you without it.
Meanwhile, Chibuzo Inu continued:
"Because of his powerful gift, your son is likely to be accepted into the faculty of combat and dark magic. Of course, this does not mean that he will study only that. It is only a specialisation, an in-depth study of certain disciplines. Such as maleficism, necromancy, combat and astral magic, demonology and healing. The other subjects are similar in all major schools around the world, so if you want to continue Cassius's education at Hogwarts," Chibuzo smiled at the Malfoys, "he can transfer there without any problems or take the necessary subjects at the Ministry of Magic later.
Thus, chatting leisurely about the differences in the programmes of the schools of magic and the characteristics of each, the wizards did not notice how the day flew by.
In the evening, the Malfoys said their goodbyes to their hospitable host on their way to the portal platform. Cassius slept peacefully in his new room on the second floor, while Narcissa struggled to hold back her tears, knowing that this was for the best for her son.
"Here is an enchanted portal to my estate and a mirror for long-distance communication," Chibuzo Inu handed the artefacts to Lucius. "When you decide to visit your son or just want to know how his training is going, contact me through the mirror.
Reassured, the Malfoys disappeared in a flash of teleportation, and Chibuzo returned to his estate. A new resident and a young apprentice had arrived at the house, which meant that Chibuzo had a difficult day ahead of him tomorrow.
***
At the same time, a meeting was taking place at the Lestrange Manor among the Dark Lord's closest servants. All the participants gathered around the table in Voldemort's office and looked intently at their leader. The Dark Lord's magical power swirled around him in an ominous vortex.
"Well, gentlemen, how are things going in your areas?" asked Voldemort, looking at the elder Malfoy.
Abraxas stood up and reported:
"My lord. The organisation's finances are in excellent order. I am making a profit from the sale of valuable ingredients collected by the werewolves. Some of the shops on Diagon Alley and in the Slum pay us for protection. Smuggling prohibited goods to us and through us to the continent also brings in a lot of gold. I even invest some of the money in the Muggle world. Trading weapons and drugs among Muggles brings in a lot of gold.
"Muggles bring us galleons?" Bellatrix Lestrange exclaimed in amazement.
"What are you surprised at, Bella?" Voldemort said with a nasty smile. "When a thrifty master feeds and grazes his sheep, and then shears or slaughters them, it doesn't cause any confusion in society. So our Abraxas wisely feeds poison to the Muggles, receiving resources and gold from them in return. It's very clever and not without a certain irony," he continued. "Rookwood, what is the talk in the Department of Mysteries?
"My lord! The Unspeakables," Augustus stood up, "will not interfere in our confrontation with the Ministry of Magic. The main thing for them," he grinned, "is that funding for their research continues, so if everything remains the same for them, the Department of Mysteries will not even pay attention to the change of power.
"Dolohov, how are the militants' preparations going?" Voldemort looked at the Russian."The majority are weaklings, of course," the gaunt man rose slowly from his seat, "but they'll do just fine as cannon fodder right now. Fenrir Greyhaired has also prepared a good team of hunters, so in a few more months, we'll be ready to take action across the country.
After a moment's hesitation, the devourer continued nervously:
"I am concerned about Krauch, my Lord. He is a proud upstart from an ancient family and the head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement. He sees these changes in society and is promoting laws in the Wizengamot that are already harming us. He is preparing special units of dark wizards within his organisation," Dolohov said grimly. "Wizards who are as skilled in combat magic as we are.
"Yeah, right," Rudolphus Lestrange sneered, "and while he's busy training Dark wizards, we're welcoming his son into our society of talented young wizards.
"And he's making progress," Nott grinned. "At least he already knows how to torture Muggles without turning their stomachs inside out.
Everyone laughed quietly.
"The young are growing up well," Voldemort said with a smile. "And your son, Abraxas? I haven't seen him at meetings or raids for a long time.
"My lord," Abraxas rose. "You know that it's easy to train good fighters, but it's much harder to raise a real financier. As that squib Bonaparte once said, to win a war, you need gold, gold, and more gold. Lucius is currently busy organising your swift victory, my lord," Malfoy bowed his head respectfully.
"Oh, Abraxas," said Voldemort with a frightening smile. "My slippery friend. I hope Lucius has fully adopted your talent for finance. Every day, our organisation needs more and more funds to win.
"Have no doubt, my lord. We Malfoys are ready to do anything for you," Abraxas replied respectfully.
***
Albus Dumbledore had another difficult day. No, everything was fine at Hogwarts. The children were studying, the professors were teaching. Everything was as usual. He was concerned about the political situation in old England. Tom Riddle had gathered a party of pure-blood radicals around him, and they were increasingly inclined to believe that the wheels of history were best greased with blood. As long as their terrorist activities were directed at simpletons, the Ministry mostly turned a blind eye. Thousands of Muggles disappear every year, and no one cares. Even during the war with Grindelwald and his minions, more than seventy million Muggles died, which is far more than the entire population of the islands.
"Oh, Gellert," he sighed, remembering the past. "Why did you need all this? Was it all for the greater good? And where is it now?"
On that terrible day, when the war was already drawing to its inevitable end, his friend called him through the two-way mirror:
"Albus, those damned Russians have finally got me," Grindelwald's pale and agitated face appeared in the mirror, his left eye twitching nervously. "If you don't help me, I'm afraid death will be the easiest thing that awaits me. These mad disciples of Koschei have performed some kind of ritual that is simply draining the life out of me. All my necromancers who were bound to me by ties of power have already gone to Valhalla. I feel that the Russians will soon come for me too," Gellert wrung his hands in fear. "The only place where I can escape the effects of this ritual is Nurmengard Castle. I built it on the bones of a million Muggles, and its protection against outside magical influence is perfect. But I can't hide there and continue the war," he sighed.
"I want your wand and everything you've dug up about the other Deathly Hallows," Dumbledore replied after a moment's thought, "and I promise I'll help you. We will stage a show duel in which I will defeat you, and as punishment for your misdeeds, you will spend the rest of your days in prison. Your castle, Nurmengard, will be your dungeon, since it is the only place where you can be free from the influence of that strange ritual. And there, in time, as soon as it wears off — they won't keep it up for years — we will create a doll of you, which will die a peaceful death in the castle, and then you will have your freedom, a new identity, and all the other joys of a free wizard," they laughed conspiratorially.
That is exactly what happened: a beautiful duel, grand words spoken over the defeated enemy, imprisonment in Nurmengard, and the glory of a great wizard. Admittedly, the power of Grindelwald's wand was impressive. It may not have been very beautiful, knotty as it was, but what power it had. Magic simply flowed through it. Dumbledore was delighted.
On the wave of popularity, he returned to Hogwarts, where he had previously worked as a professor of transfiguration, and Headmaster Armando Dippet immediately made him his deputy.
"You'll learn all our tricks," said the elderly wizard. "And in twenty years, when I retire, you'll take my place."
Grindelwald continued to live and hone his magical skills in his castle. On rare visits from visitors, he dressed in rags and made himself look emaciated with the help of his loyal house elves. The castle was guarded by the same soldiers who had served him before. Everything was fine, but the curse of the ritual showed no signs of weakening. The Russians, of course, failed to get Grindelwald executed, so they probably decided to keep the curse until Gellert died sooner or later. But Albus hoped that everything would work out and that he would find a way to free his old friend sooner.
Dumbledore had already found out who was the keeper of the third Deathly Hallow and hoped to obtain it soon as a result of a little intrigue. But he still hadn't figured out where the other one was. "It would be ridiculous if the second and last Deathly Hallow was with Tom," a strange thought suddenly occurred to him, but he immediately dismissed it. Today he had planned to visit the young Potters, and their friends had also been invited.
Appearing out of thin air on Godric's Hollow, Dumbledore strolled leisurely towards the Potter house. James was already waiting for him on the doorstep of the small two-storey cottage.
"Come in, Headmaster," he said cheerfully. "Everyone's been waiting for you."
Dumbledore entered the living room, where his former students were sitting on the sofas and around the table.
"Good evening, my dears," Albus said with a smile. "I am very glad to see you, my dear girls and boys.
"Good evening, sir," replied everyone in the room in unison.
Dumbledore sat down at the head of the table and began to speak:
"My friends! In these difficult times, when dark forces are growing stronger every day, only brave wizards...
His speech flowed and flowed, instilling courage and determination in the hearts of his listeners. Only Alastor Moody, the battle-scarred head of the special task force of dark wizards, watched the proceedings with a wry smile.
After Dumbledore's inspiring speech, everyone present was ready to face the Death Eaters with renewed strength. Staying behind after the meeting with the Potters, Albus asked,
"James. I would like to study your invisibility cloak. The one that allowed you to have so much fun at school — or did you lose it long ago?" he said with a fatherly smile.
"No, of course not, sir," Potter said indignantly. "Accio, invisibility cloak," James waved his wand, and a silvery piece of fabric appeared in his hands.
"Here, Professor. Study it as long as you need to. I don't have time for tricks right now. Sirius and I are doing our internship with Moody, and he's working us to the bone.
"Yes, indeed," said Dumbledore. "My old friend knows how to train young people.
After a while, Albus began to get ready to leave.
"Well, my boy, I think I'll be off. I have so much to do at Hogwarts today. Minerva can't manage everything on her own." Stepping out onto the porch, Dumbledore patted Potter on the shoulder and, wishing him good night, apparated away.
Lily met her husband in the living room and, looking at him anxiously, said,
"I'm afraid for us, James," she said, stroking her protruding belly. "Our boy is kicking more and more, and I'm about to give birth, but you're spending more and more time fighting the Death Eaters. If you get killed, what will I do with a baby? Your parents didn't even let me into the family," Lily continued indignantly. "They disinherited you and managed to die of dragon pox themselves. Now we have no access to the Potter manor or the vaults at Gringotts. All we have left is your childhood safe and this cottage," she said sadly, looking around. "What will we do if the Death Eaters come here? There's no protection here except for the Muggle-repelling spells," the young woman said nervously, wrapping her arms around herself. "And now you've given Dumbledore the invisibility cloak when we could have at least hidden under it."
"Come on, dear," James stroked her shoulder gently. "I made a deal with Albus, and as soon as you give birth, we'll cast the strongest protective spell on the house — the Fidelius. No one will even be able to find our cottage. We'll make Sirius the keeper. My best friend has never let us down."
James hugged her gently around the shoulders and sat her down firmly on the sofa:
"Darling, don't worry, everything will be fine. I'll take care of you and the baby. Let's go to bed, I've missed you, and tomorrow morning I have to go back to Auror training.
And the two of them slowly began to climb the stairs to the second floor. This year's summer promised to be very hot, and although it was only the beginning of July, James had to readjust the air cooling spells for the umpteenth time.
Lily, satisfied and calm, had long since fallen asleep, while he lay there thinking about how his life would change with the birth of his son.
***
patreon.com/posts/dark-lord-malfoy-137771654