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Kamar Taj
–Damian Hawthorne–
"Why didn't you stop me before, then?" The words tumbled out of his mouth as they crossed through a portal into Kamar Taj once the Ancient One had thoroughly checked his shields and even complimented him on their absorption and strengthening functions. While the compliments were nice, the question of her just stopping him before doing something stupid was valid, in his opinion.
She, ofcourse, remained silent and sat down on one of the stuffy chairs, stiff and very uncomfortable. Somehow, she made it seem as if she could not feel it stabbing into her body, as he sat down on it, shuffling uncomfortably and resisting the urge to activate his forcefield to get that solid cushioning feel.
She then sighed, "Mr.Hawthorne, I am sure in the two years you have remained isolated from the world, you must have pondered on that question for quite some time. I am sure you have some idea as to what the answer to that question will be."
He nodded, she was right. He had a lot of time on his hands for the past two years, especially since he figured out that he could train his body to sleep less and less over time. With the correct diet, rest routine, and light controlled spaces, he had conditioned himself to sleep just 4 hours a day with no adverse effects.
"I have some theories, but I would like to hear it from you."
She then exhaled and shook her head, "This is not a Q&A session, Mr.Hawthorne. You just came very close to unleashing something the world was not prepared for. It would have killed you, if you had chosen to stay for just 5 extra seconds, creating an entirely new threat that had the potential of cannibalising life as we know it."
"What?"
"Celestials are not beings to be taken lightly, Damian, not even dead ones. They are the universe's firstborn and as such, are favoured immensely. Even in death, they are protected by life itself. Those beings you saw are a result of microbes feasting on Cosmic energy and evolving to become what they are now. Matter and energy eating nightmares, capable of reproducing infinitely."
His eyes narrowed at that, as he spoke, "Then why did they leave? They should have come through that wall and tried to eat me, judging by their aggressive initial reaction."
She nodded at him, flicking her hands as the Dead Celestial, sat as if on a throne, appeared in front of him, "They would have, had you not sealed that ice wall behind you. Those insects, they have fed on the Celestial's energy for thousands of years, gaining some of the Celestial's powers but also its thoughts. They are predisposed to protecting that Celestial, even if dead and hollow. Her current directive is just that. Once they have something else to feed on, other energy with thoughts, they will find new directives."
"So, you're saying that if they got their hands on me, they would have moved away from the Celestial and set their sights on the world?" He said, shoulders slumping slightly as he realised how close he had come to world ending stuff just because of his curiosity.
"Among other things, yes." She confirmed for him.
He threw his hands up in surrender, "Fine! I won't go near it again. I will just monitor it from afar."
"Oh, don't dismiss that possibility so soon. Instead, I would advise you to start preparing for an eventual encounter with them. I am sure it will come in handy. Now, I will consider this our monthly check-in in so you can skip your meeting with Master Corven."
He nodded, taking the dismissal as he stood up, "Sure. Bye!"
With that, he had to walk out of the hall and then head to the exit of Kamar Taj, like a pleb, because his brand of teleportation was banned from Kamar Taj's wards, and no matter how much he tried to explain to them the benefits of the Floo network, they refused to have one installed, even at his expense.
Once outside, the smell of incense, earth, and weed hit his nose as he looked around and found a few people passed out on the streets. Shaking his head at that, he twisted on the spot and teleported, leaving behind a single stone with a sound dampening enchantment that withered soon after.
Opening his eyes, he found himself standing on top of the platform he'd built for apparitions into his base. Taking a look at the mostly empty looking room, with just a few lights, and a door, he smiled as he sensed an entirely different landscape with his magical senses. Satisfied that they were working as intended, he whistled and began walking into his base.
Nestled deep into the Scottish Highlands, he had built his base by hollowing out a small section of a large hill, keeping in mind future expansions, by his own hands. Well, by machines built by his own hands.
It helped, a lot, that he had the book with data on how to use Dimensional Energy, which was -pretty much unlimited, to create objects. Armed with scrap he'd gathered on his way here, he began building a hollowed-out space for himself, reinforcing it as much as he could.
Very isolated, very secure, and very much away from the Magical Net that the Ministry had over the most populated zones of the UK. It was kept inactive at all times, only used during wars because of the expenditure, but he just kept his stuff out of its reach.
He would hate to have to build his base once more. He was very much attached to it now. Which is why, despite having stealth wards that could throw off that net with ease, he still lived in the middle of nowhere.
Thank god for teleportation. He very much wanted to get his hands on Kamar Taj's sling ring but the Ancient One was adamant on him getting his wizarding education completely before she could allow him entry into Kamar Taj's hallowed halls.
Shaking his head, he walked into his office, and began completing his regular tasks. First and foremost being tracking important people across the world.
The internet was a thing here, with online attention seekers rapidly spreading across the world, giving him far more information than he would have had access to just a scant few years ago.
Tony Stark was still in school, with most PR access stonewalled by his guardians, but it was nice to get confirmation of the genius' activities, what with him having an entire lab built for his activities in MIT, to be used by him exclusively and to be donated to the university after graduation.
His gaze then slid to the other display, the magical one, showing a disturbing lack of data. Sighing, he swiped it shut.
It would seem that HYDRA also had wizards on employ, which would make sense since there were Nazi wizards just a few decades ago. They still exist now, just not openly.
He had gone to New York, just to move about once his base was secure, and he had expressed interest in going to New York through the London Sanctum, a request that MAster Corven granted.
There, he explored all the five boroughs, noting the magical activity he found, killed a few vampires, and then came across a man walking in the streets, with a hand full of magic. Now, he'd already seen a few wizards during his walks, but nothing like that man. Very strong magic, just concentrated around his arm.
Then, the man, as if sensing his gaze, turned around to look at him, but he'd gone invisible on instinct, hiding himself, if barely, from the gaze of the Winter Soldier.
One James Barnes, brainwashed super soldier, was walking through the streets like a normal person, hand in hoodie pockets and everything. It was a risk, but by that time, he could escape with ease, so he just tagged the man with a tracking charm, from afar.
He noticed it immediately but he was already gone from the street before Winter Soldier, super soldier or not, could reach.
It was not a powered enchantment, just a tracking spell so its range was not as massive as a global tracker he'd built months ago, but he had hoped that with the help of his satellite network, he would be able to track him down.
Alas, he had gone underground since then, with no trace of that tracker, even when he did periodic sweeps of the planet, disturbing magicals across the planet. Some of them even complained to Kamar Taj, who just forwarded those complaints to him, and gave no indication whether they wanted the system gone or not.
So, he just improved it, and after generations of iterations, he now got only a single complaint for every deep scan, from Talokan. It was just a letter threatening action against Kamar Taj for breaching the sanctity of Talokan's magical sovereignty. Basically, just empty words since the Ancient One would just clip the wings of Namor if he stepped too far.
Still, it just told him that there was still room for improvement, which was fine.
What was not fine, however, was the fact that HYDRA was not just active but actively aided by wizards of all people.
Sighing, he swiped the magical display, the screen rotating before it showed a familiar area. One of immense importance, housing a single wizard, with a deep red sphere around that wizard.
Harry Potter and the Blood Wards, cast upon him by his mother and later modified by Dumbledore.
He looked at the time, and realised that it was his monthly visit time to the Dursleys, just to keep the fear of god in them.
No other reason other than to keep them in line. Yeah, no other reason.
His face most definitely did not curve in a sadistic grin. No, sir.
__xx__
–Albus Dumbledore–
He sighed, as he sat in his office in Hogwarts. The exploration had to be called off because of the sudden spike in magical interference. It would seem that the Frozen Citadel would have to remain there until the spike subsided or they had something to get past that.
Until then, they were stuck with what they had, and what they had? It was not nearly enough.
More than once, the thought of starting Harry's training crossed his mind. Harty was 10 now. Starting his education a year early should not affect his growth. What mattered was the structure of it.
What to teach? Where to teach?
And most important of all, how to explain it all to Harry. He loathed himself for failing to protect Harry from his burden, much less a 10 year old Harry, but it would seem he had no other choice.
Exhaling in resignation, he looked at Fawkes, muttering, "Well, old friend. Time to go against my principles, once more. Hope it is my last."
Fawkes trilled and flew on top of him, as they both disappeared from his office in a flash of Fire.
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