FicFrenzy

0726 The Confrontation

Behind the exhibition hall decorated in the classical ancient Greek architectural style stood a two-story red brick square building. During the dinner hour, academy professors constantly came and went through its doors.

Within this bustling faculty dining hall, Jasna Rosier sat alone at a small, round table by one of the tall windows that overlooked the campus grounds. Her attention seemed to be focused on the newspaper in her hands.

In front of her on the table was a cup decorate...

0725 The Gathering Storm

The oppressive industrial smog that had been choking the city of Berlin for the better part of a week finally began to dissolve and disperse under the blessing of a full day's worth of sunlight.

The atmospheric pollution that had transformed the sky into a sickly yellow-gray canvas, thick enough to taste and heavy enough to press down upon the shoulders of every citizen who dared to go outdoors, now lifted like a curse being broken, revealing the true beauty of the German sky that had b...

0724 The Request

"What is it you wish to request, Hayne?" Bryan's voice cut through the gentle rustling of leaves.

His gaze was fixed upon the Vogel family's house-elf, and despite the seriousness of the situation, his tone was calm almost casual.

"Hayne knows that Young Master Adam and Miss Jasna have likely violated the most serious wizarding law—" Hayne faced Bryan and bowed deeply, his breathing was slightly irregular, and his pleading voice trembled with emotion.

"Hayne understands th...

0723 The Tale

"Miss Jasna is master's great-granddaughter—"

By the gently rippling Rhine River, beside the creaking windmill with its spinning blades, the house-elf Hayne spoke in a voice heavy with melancholy.

"Great-granddauaghter?"

Bryan's gaze fell upon Hayne with intensity, the vertical line between his brows showing a hint of confusion.

"From her apparent age, it doesn't quite add up, And, if I may say such based on the observation in our recent conversation, it seems that M...

0722 Ideologies

In a heartbeat, the once-tranquil atmosphere of the courtyard transformed into something tense.

Lying motionless on the recliner, Anton Vogel had not risen since the beginning of their unexpected visit. Perhaps, more accurately, he no longer possessed the physical ability to rise without assistance.

Despite his frail, aging body which trembled slightly even in motionlessness, Vogel's presence emanated a sharpness that cut through the courtyard like winter wind, causing both Kingsl...

0721 Their Talks

"Hmm, Dumbledore?"

Seemingly drawn by Bryan's words into long-buried emotions and perhaps painful memories, Anton Vogel—a man who appeared to be merely a breath away from crossing the veil between life and death—began coughing violently. The tremors shaking his body made one worry they might snap the brittle ribs of his old frame.

The house-elf Hayne quickly moved to Vogel's side with the practiced efficiency of one who had performed this service countless times before.

...

0720 Vogel

In the European magical world over the past two years, no one's radiance had shone quite as brilliantly or as intensely as that of Bryan Watson. Resisting the request of such a formidable and influential wizard was undoubtedly an extremely difficult, perhaps even impossible, thing for a house-elf to do.

Nevertheless, Hayne, still bent under the immense psychological pressure. His shoulders hunched forward, his eyes were rushing anxiously between Bryan's presence and the path leading bac...

0719 Visiting

"Where in the world are, we?" Louise gasped, her voice was trembling with a mixture of confusion and barely contained panic.

One fleeting second ago, they had been standing in a holiday cottage on the outskirts of Berlin, but now, after experiencing a thoroughly unpleasant and overwhelming feeling of suffocation that had pressed upon every inch of her body, accompanied by the most peculiar and disturbing sensation of her entire body being compressed through a narrow tube, Louise found h...

0718 Intrigues

In the cramped living room of the cottage, the atmosphere became oppressive in the deafening silence that followed Bryan's unexpected words. Kingsley stared intently at the stone-faced Bryan, his lips moving slightly as if rehearsing words, yet eventually producing no sound. Through the subtle changes in his expression, he conveyed his confusion quite effectively.

Louise, as an intern reporter, considered reading people's complex expressions and unspoken communications a basic essential...

0717 Berlin

The Spree River, originating from the mist-shrouded northern foothills of the Lusatian Mountains in southeastern Germany, breezes its path through vast, marshlands and plains before finally merging with the Havel River in the heart of Berlin.

In February, the flood-swollen Havel River rushed forward with intensity. On its wide channel, the swift currents crashed against each other, creating mesmerizing patterns of white, fish-scale-like spray that fleetingly danced above the misty depth...

0716 Gringotts

Not many wizards in magical community knew about the connection between Bryan Watson and the highest echelons of the goblin world, but among the goblins themselves, it was no secret.

Unfortunately, when Bryan arrived at the Parisian headquarters of Gringotts, he discovered that the goblin Barnah wasn't present. Responsible for overseeing goblin financial operations across numerous countries throughout Europe and elsewhere, Barnah was typically occupied with far more busy matters than Br...

0715 Suspicions

"How much money have you borrowed from the goblins lately, Ludo?" Bryan asked with a hint of teasing in his voice, though his eyes remained sharply observant, studying Ludo's reaction.

"Oh, you're completely underestimating me, Bryan!" Ludo exclaimed, momentarily puffing up his chest in a grumble.

Hearing the sharp question that cut straight to the heart of his predicament, Ludo immediately became alert, his previously relaxed posture was becoming rigid.

He opened his mouth ...

0714 Meeting

Standing majestically upon the endless volcanic ash and ancient rocky cliffs, Edinburgh is a city, that possesses an almost supernatural power to calm even the most restless of hearts. No matter how fierce the external storms might rage or how turbulent the emotional undercurrents within a visitor's soul might churn, upon entering this city, they always transform into gentle, comfortable breezes and the softest, most soothing light rain that caresses rather than drenches.

As a world-ren...

0713 Plans

Would they truly go so far as to kill Hermione just to gain more gold galleons from the goblin betting operation?

If that was truly their motive, then this group of people could only be described as incredibly foolish and shortsighted, their minds were clouded by the shine of gold to the exclusion of all reason and consequence.

Not to mention that after such a calculatingly orchestrated incident involving a student champion, Hogwarts would undoubtedly investigate this matter with ...

0712 Connections

'Vice President of the International Confederation of Wizards, the most powerful and talented wizard of the current modern age?'

Louise stared at the gentle-looking Bryan Watson through widened eyes. Her facial features were frozen in an expression of utter astonishment, her lips parted slightly as if to voice a question but finding no words suitable to capture her disbelief.

Although she wasn't a wizard from the magical world—with her logical abilities enhanced through...

0711 Reasons

Hearing the critical words from the Muggle girl who stood bathed in the white daylight streaming through the doorway, observing her pale face that appeared almost translucent in its paleness, Bryan raised his hand to stop the restless Kingsley.

Bryan stepped forward, his expression solemn as he prepared to say something that might soothe her. But before he could utter a single word, Louise at the doorway suddenly shrieked as if struck by an electric current of pure terror.

"Don't ...

0710 The Vagrant (LARGE-CHAPTER)

A bone-chilling wind suddenly wandered through the desolate, forgotten courtyard, carrying with it the faint scent of decay and abandonment. The waist-high weeds bent reluctantly in the breeze as the cold air diluted what little warmth remained contained in the increasingly pale, weakening sunlight.

Louise, her eyes momentarily blinded by countless specks of irritating grass fluff, shuddered several times and instinctively hugged her arms tightly around her torso.

The "thud, thud"...

0709 Following the Clues

Thanks to the extraordinary prosperity of the once-thriving textile industry that dominated the regional economy for centuries, Bologna was historically crisscrossed with an intricate network of carefully engineered canals throughout the city's streets and bustling neighborhoods.

This complex aquatic infrastructure earned Bologna the nickname "Little Venice of the North".

However, in the aftermath of that infamous and catastrophic World War that intensely affected both the wizardi...

0708 Investigation Gains

As a city holding a position of extraordinary historical and cultural importance in Muggle art history, this ancient Italian metropolis of Bologna still preserves numerous breathtaking Renaissance-era palaces, medieval city walls that once protected its residents from invaders, terracotta-colored towers reaching toward the sky, and magnificent Gothic churches.

Meanwhile, the rapidly developing technological landscape of the 20th century has also injected new vitality into the city's vei...

0707 Shame

When the golden, warm sunlight pierced through the narrow gap in the closed curtains and fell upon Louise's forehead, gradually moving down across her long eyelashes, the contrast between intense light and shadow of her room caused a sense of discomfort in her drowsy state. With a slight flutter of her eyelids, Louise finally slowly opened her eyes.

Her dizzy head and insufficient sleep prevented Louise from fully controlling her body's uncooperative movements. After several clumsy, fai...

0706 The Chat

Click!

The sound of the door latch engaging was soft yet clear in the hushed atmosphere of the hotel room. Kingsley gently nudged Louise's elbow before leaving and thoughtfully closed the door behind him for the two people in the room.

Silence fell upon the space between them and the atmosphere was slightly awkward and perhaps filled with unspoken possibilities. The soft, amber light from the lamp fell across Louise's facial features showing her faintly pink cheek...

0705 Bologna

Unfortunately, Bryan, Kingsley, and Louise didn't manage to have dinner in Bologna, the ancient capital of Emilia-Romagna in northern Italy which was a city renowned for its rich culinary traditions, and medieval architecture.

This disappointing outcome was directly attributed to the fact that one of the three travelers, Louise, was a Muggle whose presence limited the efficiency and range of magical transportation options available to Bryan and Kingsley.

Originally, Bryan's plan h...

0704 Mysterious Visitors

The dim, melancholy world, saturated with the monotonous beating of falling rain was suddenly and violently pierced by two crisp, sharp bangs that echoed like gunshots through the deserted street.

Among the disturbed, chaotic trajectories of raindrops, two men wearing black woolen coats and hats, their faces in expressions of cold indifference, suddenly appeared in front of the postman.

Suddenly appeared—yes, truly, in the most literal and impossible sense of suddenly a...

0703 Accidents

With the heartfelt expressions of gratitude from the orphanage staff still echoing in his ears, Lawrence buried his anxiety deep within the his troubled heart and, carefully maintained a composed and polite smile, while walking through the gates of the orphanage.

'What would the young master say—what would his reaction be—when he found out about this?'

Gazing solemnly at the dreary world now stained black by the heavy rain, Lawrence was very worried. 'Would the yo...