Cassius closed the door to his room with deliberate care.
The muffled sounds of laughter and fabric rustling faded into the background, replaced by the quiet hum of wards and the faint crackle of protective enchantnts woven into the walls.
Grimmauld Place had many secrets, but this room—his room—was where the most delicate ones lived.
He crossed to the far corner and opened a narrow, reinforced case warded against detection, scrying, and accidental activation.
Inside lay a simple object.
A two-way mirror.
Unremarkable to the untrained eye.
Oval, silver-backed, faintly tarnished at the edges.
But Cassius knew better.
He lifted it carefully, fingers tracing the familiar runes etched along the fra—old magic, a form of alchemy bordering on futuristic tech.
He sat on the edge of the bed and angled the mirror toward the candlelight.
For a mont, nothing happened.
Then the surface shimred.
Not with words.
Not with sound.
But with motion.
Another mirror, sowhere far beyond Britain, tilted into view.
A face appeared.
Older.
Sharply defined.
Eyes like chipped ice, alive with intelligence and sothing far more dangerous—conviction.
Gellert Grindelwald inclined his head slightly.
Cassius mirrored the gesture.
They did not speak.
They never did.
Sound was too easily intercepted, too easily traced.
Instead, they watched one another closely, reading lips with the precision of duelists reading intent.
Grindelwald smiled.
Your Fa preceeds you, his lips ford.
Cassius allowed himself a faint smirk.
Prestige, is a requirent for our plans afterall, Master.
Grindelwald's smile widened, pride unmistakable.
His student had been away from his for three years now, and had never lost his drive for the plans they had devised all those years ago back when cassius first arrived at his fortress, as nothing more than a little boy.
He leaned back slightly, allowing more of his surroundings to co into view—but rather than the common stone walls of a castle, the interior looked comforting, almost holy.
Clearly his master was not back at Nurngard, and judging by the decor he could see, while the style was certainly European, it almost looked to Cassius like his Master was in an English household.
'I will be watching,' Grindelwald continued. 'Your match.'
Cassius inclined his head again.
'I assud as much.'
Grindelwald's expression sharpened. 'Egypt first.'
Cassius's eyes flicked briefly, acknowledging.
'They will not trouble .'
Grindelwald laughed silently, shoulders shaking just enough to convey amusent.
'Good,' his lips shaped. 'Confidence is not arrogance when it is earned.'
He leaned forward again, closer to the mirror.
'Our plans advance.'
Cassius's posture stilled, his focus sharpening instantly.
Grindelwald raised a hand, fingers spreading slowly as if unfurling a map.
'Your muggle presence,' he continued, lips precise, 'has expanded beyond projections.'
Cassius's eyes narrowed slightly in interest.
'France. Germany. Italy. The Low Countries. Scandinavia.'
With each region, Grindelwald tapped a finger against the desk, as though marking territory.
'Industry. Infrastructure. Information networks. Financial veins.'
Cassius nodded once.
'Nearly all of Europe now breathes through channels you helped design.'
Grindelwald's gaze burned with approval.
'They do not know your na,' he continued, 'but they feel your influence. That is how it should be.'
Cassius responded calmly.
'Visibility cos later.'
'Exactly,' Grindelwald agreed. 'First, dependency. Then trust. Then revelation.'
He shifted, expression turning thoughtful.
'Magically, matters progress just as well.'
Cassius leaned in slightly.
'Your manifesto,' Grindelwald went on, 'has spread further than anticipated.'
He gestured vaguely, as if indicating invisible currents.
Tracing his hands once more to indicate that his influence in the magical realm was spreading faster than his muggle persona's fa.
Arcana was on the tongue of almost every magical community for his cutting edge innovation, and foundation of the Arcanaum
Cassius's jaw tightened imperceptibly.
Mix that with the spreading manifesto that Magical and Muggle should rge, and together as a unified species of humans bring about a true glory for all Mankind working side by side for the betternt of all.
He tapped the mirror gently.
Their 'conversation' if it could properly be called such carried on for only a few minutes longer.
Grindelwald revealed Cassius's suspicions were correct, he had already arrived in Britain, though Dumbledore remain as of yet unawares to this fact.
Still searching through clues across Europe about the nurous sightings of the previous generations Dark Lord.
Cassius lowered the glass and returned it to its case, sealing the wards with a practiced motion.
For several long mont he just sat there digesting the information he had just gained.
The expected action against the current greatest wizard in the world was close at hand.
Sothing he figured he'd still have at least another year or two to prepare for.
But now while juggling his quidditch career, school life, and upcoming Triwizard tournent entry, he would also need to now add association to Grindelwald onto that list mixing in defending against the 'forces of light' acting against them rather than focusing on Voldemort and his still recovering Dark army.
A knock sounded at the door.
Cassius rose and opened it to find Hermione, cheeks smudged with gold glitter, eyes bright with excitent.
"We're almost done," she said quickly. "Ginny's insisting on a second banner, and Luna's arguing with gravity again."
Cassius exhaled softly. "I expected nothing less."
Hermione hesitated, then smiled gently. "You ready?"
He t her gaze.
"For the match?" he asked.
She nodded.
Cassius glanced briefly toward the closed case on his desk.
Then back to the corridor where laughter echoed, where loyalty took the form of paint-stained hands and carefully stitched fabric.
"Yes," he said simply. "I am."
Hermione grinned and turned back down the hall.
Cassius followed more slowly, his thoughts already racing ahead—to roaring crowds, to flashing gold wings, to a Snitch that would soon learn what it ant to be hunted by sothing inevitable.
His first world cup match against Egypt was fast approaching, with a few other matches also following closely after.
His things were already packed away in an expanded space bag, and thanks to being a competitor, Cassius had special access to a portkey that all of them could use ahead of ti to join the contest grounds, stake out a proper tenting location, while Cassius could prepare for the first match, getting a look at the arena, the overview of the pitch.
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