Mask of Osaka (After the Flaw: Oligarchy, Chapter 5)
Title: The Mask of Osaka (After the Flaw: Oligarchy, Chapter 5)
Author: kanedax
Spoilers: After the Flaw, Previous Chapters
Rating: R for language, graphic violence, and mild sexual content
Summary: Ted and Hermione Lupin's honeymoon brings dangerous visitors
Notes: I'm taking some liberties when it comes to Ponbashi. My assumption is that by 2019 it's morphed into an even more otaku-friendly area, with the various cosplay cafes evolving into a thriving cosplay nightlife. Call it artistic license.
I own these characters. The others belong to JK Rowling.
Wizengamot / Previous Chapters / When I Learn to Fly
HC&T,
HJ promo, DoMLE Head! GT when youre back!
Love,
M&D
"It's like some strange, twisted code," said Ted mysteriously, rotating the iPhone in his hand. "I might be able to translate it, but first I'll need a magnifying glass, three one-inch sapphires, and the DuLac Cross..."
"Nerd," Hermione Caroline chuckled, smacking her husband in the stomach and pulling her phone away from him. "It's Mum. She has this firm belief that they charge by the letter for texts, even though I've told her over and over that it's an email, and she can write whatever she wants."
"Doesn't listen?"
"Well, she does," Hermione shrugged. "But you have to remember that Mum and Dad were in their fifties before they even heard of text messaging. Teaching them to email a mobile's like teaching them Swahili."
"Or Ancient Runes, yeah," Ted smiled as the two continued to weave their way through the Osaka street, lit by the overhead street lamps as well as mile upon mile of flashing neon signs. "So you can translate it?"
"Most of it," Hermione said, squinting at the small screen. "HJ's Jean. Looks like she got another promotion, head of something, although I have no idea what DoMLE means."
"Sumimasen," said Ted to a passing pedestrian, grabbing an intent Hermione by the arm and pulling her out of his path.
"Sumimasen," the pedestrian replied quickly as he passed.
"GT means get together," Hermione continued, hopping on one leg to regain her balance but otherwise ignoring the passing crowd. "DoMLE... Any idea?"
"DoMLE, DoMLE..." Teddy muttered. "Department of... Department of... Holy..."
"Oh, sumimasen," said another passer-by as Ted slammed to a halt, causing the Muggle to bump into his back before veering around him.
"Department of Magical Law Enforcement?" Ted breathed, snatching the phone back from Hermione. "Good Lord, is she Head of...?"
"Muggles!" Hermione hissed, grabbing Ted's shoulder and veering him off to a nearby bench, where they seated themselves as well as the plastic bags filled with gifts that they had bought for themselves and the people back in England.
"We're in the Ponbashi," Ted assured, motioning to the passing shoppers. Many of them were dressed in brightly-colored skirts, cat ears, and other flashy cosplay outfits, a common sight in Osaka's otaku-friendly shopping district. "If there's anyplace we can talk about magic, it's here. Hell, I could be walking around in robes with purple hair and my Thunderbolt strapped to my back and no one would bat an eye. They'll think we're just talking about some manga, or something."
"Well, just be careful, alright?"
"Alright, alright."
"So what's Jean's new job, then?" asked Hermione. "Is it, like, a police chief or something? Cuz she's not an Auror--"
"No, more than that," Ted said excitedly. "A lot more. Head of the Department... They're like, I don't know, like a Lord Chancellor? That's the closest I can come up with. DoMLE's the biggest Department in the Ministry. They house the Aurors, the Hitwizards, the other law enforcement patrols, sure. But they have the Muggle Liaison Department, the Improper Use of Magic Office, the Wizengamot, all that stuff."
"Wow..."
"And Aunt Jean's going to be in charge of all the big court cases that come through the Ministry," he continued. "She's going to be a judge in addition to being in charge of all that other stuff. Mrs. Dursley's aunt used to be the head in the 90's until she died in the Second War. Harry said she listened to his case the year he and Mr. Dursley were attacked by Dementors."
"Sounds... Wow..." Hermione said quietly. "Jean's going to be in charge of all of that? My sister?"
"Oh, that's nothing," Ted said with a huge grin. "Hermione, half of the Ministers of Magic were promoted directly from Head of the Department. Sounds to me like Mr. Shacklebolt's setting up his successor."
"Minister?"
"Sounding likely now, isn't it?"
Hermione Caroline didn't know quite what to say. She had heard her family, Ron's family, and others say for years that Jean could be Minister someday. Even as Jean propelled her way up the ladder within the Ministry, Caroline had difficulty believing that their words of support and encouragement for her sister weren't any more than passing fancy. She was a Granger, for God's sake: daughter of Charlotte and Daniel Granger, sister to Hermione Caroline Granger (Lupin, she reminded herself with a flush of happy), and a Muggle-born. It seemed surreal that her sister was one step away from being a magical Winston Churchill.
"So you going to write back to your Mum?" Ted asked, pulling Hermione back from her thoughts.
"Probably later," Hermione said. "My brain's still trying to wrap around it."
"Well, it's just the afternoon there," said Ted. "They probably just found out themselves, you have plenty of time. Should we keep walking?"
"Probably later," Hermione repeated, resting her head against Ted's shoulder and wrapping her arms around his. "We've been walking all day, my feet are killing me."
Ted chuckled, kissing the top of her head. "We can sit for a bit."
"Then can we head back to the hotel?" Hermione asked.
"Want to put your feet up and watch some incomprehensible game shows?"
"Among other things," she said, gently tightening her grip his arm.
"And here I thought you were tired?" he asked, putting his hand on her leg and squeezing suggestively.
"It's our honeymoon, dear," she said with a small smile. "I'm never too tired for that."
"I'll do all the work, I promise," he said, kissing her on the lips this time.
"I never said that, either," she said, grinning wickedly and kissing him back.
"I do want to write your Mum back, though," he said, pointing at her phone. "Mind if I borrow your addy?"
"Borrow away," she said, handing it to him and putting her head back on his shoulder. "This is quite an area to people-watch at night. That'll keep me occupied."
Ted glanced up to see a man and woman both dressed as characters from Final Fantasy XVI pass by their bench.
"I'm amazed this isn't a more popular location for wizards," said Hermione as she watched the couple disappear into the crowd, the man's oversized sword and the woman's stuffed Moogle fading away into the night. "Seems like an excellent area to blend."
"How do you know it's not?" Ted said, pulling a Gundam box from his bag and setting it on his lap.
"Well, I suppose..." Caroline said with a shrug as her iPhone projected its holographic keyboard onto the box. Ted set his hands on the box and began to type:
Charlotte & Dan,
Ted here. Hermione's letting me borrow her phone to write you back. She'll be getting around to writing you herself soon enough, but right now she's practically falling asleep on my shoulder.
And even as he typed it, Ted heard Hermione emit a huge yawn and snuggle up closer beside him.
That's fantastic news about Aunt Jean's promotion! he continued. I did my best to explain it to Hermione, and I hope Jean and the others have done a decent enough job explaining the importance to you. You know what it means, right?
Better Christmas presents from the Weasleys, of course. ;) jk
I hope you're not waiting for us in order to give Jean a proper shindig. Oh, who am I kidding? If Molly hasn't invited everyone over to the Burrow to celebrate tonight then she just wouldn't be Molly... We'll get around to getting her out for dinner and a drink as soon as we return.
We're having a great time. We've been staying in Osaka the last few nights. Visited the aquarium, which is one of the biggest in the world. Spent a lot of time downtown and a lot more time visiting the temples and ancient places around the region. Incredible stuff, and that's not even getting into all the magical places we've visited. More on that when we get back, I don't want to get into too much detail about it over e-mail.
Right now we're in an area of Osaka called Nipponbashi. It's this big shopping district with electronics stores, game stores, and a lot of really... well... let's just say stores that Hermione and I find heaven on earth. Stores for anime, for manga, for toys. They have an entire store dedicated to Gundam! It's multi-story! You have no idea what I'm talking about! They also have a lot of nightclubs and cafes where people dress up as comic book and cartoon characters, and it's an incredibly cool place at night just to see all the crazy costumes. And I think Arthur's head would explode from all the tech stores.
We'll be checking out of our hotel tomorrow morning and getting on a train for Kyoto, where we'll be spending even more time playing tourist. Might see if we have the energy for Nara or Kobe, as well, before we catch the 'Key home next week. In our own visions of glory we thought we could make it to Tokyo, but that's a trip in itself. Next time, next time...
Let Gran and the Potters know we're doing fine. I sent owls to them this morning, and Hermione sent one to Jean and Ron, but I reckon the almighty cellular signal's a touch faster than a few rented birds.
And let the kids know we have plenty of presents for them, too. Wait, on second thought, don't tell them. We want to make it a surprise.
Love to everyone, and we'll see you all when we get back to reality next week!
T&HC
---------
A half hour later, Hermione Caroline Lupin fell face-down onto the hotel bed with a hard thump.
"You must be tired," Ted said with a smile as sat down at the small hotel desk, Hermione's computer humming warmly beside him. "You're not even checking in on your guild."
"They're fine for a night without me," Hermione mumbled into the pillow. "Bed nicer."
"Hear hear," Ted said, pulling the screen closed and pulling off his trainers. "Bed fluffy."
"Bed fluffy," Hermione replied. "What time's checkout?"
"Eleven," said Ted, setting his shoes beside the chair and moving to the end of the bed. "Breakfast is till nine."
"You think I'll be awake for breakfast," Hermione snorted, turning her head to the side and trying to blow her long blond hair from her face. "That's funny."
"Planning to sleep with your shoes on, are you?" Ted said, untying Hermione's trainers and pulling them off one after the other.
"Was debating it," she slurred sleepily.
"And your stinky socks?" he chuckled, pulling them off as well.
"You're a good husband," she yawned, curling her bare toes. "I think I'll keep you."
"What do you expect?" he said, massaging her insole. "I just wanted to get into prime tickle position."
Hermione squeaked sharply, pulling her feet away and curling her legs to her stomach. Ted smiled and stretched out next to her, face-to-face.
"Good trip?" he asked quietly, sliding the hair out of her face.
"Best trip," she whispered. "Only why'd you stop with my socks? There's so much left to take off..."
"Well, you seem so tired," he said, running his hands along her side, finding bare skin between her jeans and her dark blue t-shirt. "Didn't want to get my hopes up."
Hermione Caroline slipped her hand along the back of Ted's neck and pulled him in for a deep, passionate kiss. "I told you," she breathed three minutes later as the couple pulled apart, "I'm awake enough for that. And it appears that I'm not the only one..."
"Well, what can I say?" Ted gasped as his wife's hand slid below his beltline and his slid up under her shirt. "There's a cute blonde laying next to me, all barefooted and prone. I can't help myself."
As it turned out, the rest of their clothing just as easily disappeared from their bodies as their shoes and socks. In what felt like an instant, Ted Lupin felt his wife's bare breasts against his chest. Hermione Caroline Lupin felt her husband enter her. And as she arched her body above him in extacy, they felt like the only two people in the world.
Too bad they weren't alone.
---------
The Lupins had had company for most of that day, even if they were too enamored with each other to realize it.
And now, as he decided that the twisted freaks had finally finished their rutting, Antaeus Carrow placed his Omnioculars into his coat pocket, emerged from the park across from their hotel and made his way inside.
Little did he know that he had company of his own trailing close behind him.
Carrow had, of course, learned early on that Lupin had been the one pretending to be Deepneau. You didn't elude Ministry apprehension for twenty years without having a few friendly, well-paid, or well-threatened eyes on the inside. Finnigan had been smart, using a metamorph. They were tricky, metamorphs. Carrow remembered stories of Lupin's mother and her various deceptions against the Death Eaters over the years. The fact that there were no metamorphmagii currently under Ministry payroll was the main reason why Lupin evaded Carrow's attention until that night. Finnigan brought him in as an outsider, a wild card. That was smart, so smart. Smart enough where they had almost captured him after all this time.
Oh, how they'd all pay for their cheek. First Lupin and his Muggle. Finnigan next. Then, even though Rosen's resurrection spell had been a lot of cock and bull, Carrow felt a strong desire to kill Harry Potter, Ron and Hermione Weasley, and Neville Longbottom anyway. Their wives and children, as well. And maybe, after the killings, he would go about doing a little bit of grave-digging. There was no logical reason to dig up Dumbledore, Crabbe, and Riddle, but after what Carrow had gone through, it would be worth it just to piss on their rotting faces.
The difficult part came in finding Lupin alone. Carrow, unlike his famous brother and sister, preferred working under the radar. His kills were private affairs, far from the eyes of friends and strangers. And with Lupin performing that... that sordid Muggle ritual just days after Carrow's escape, surrounded by witches and wizards and Ministry officials and half-giants, he had no choice but to bide his time.
And when the blood traitor and his Muggle disappeared via Portkey the next day, Carrow forced himself to break from his hiding. Imperiusing a Portkey official, Carrow had been able to find Lupin's exact destination.
After that it was only a matter of time...
Dressed in Muggle clothing that he had stolen from a Japanese Muggle businessman soon after using the Killing Curse, Carrow had shadowed the couple for most of the day. Watched them as they shopped and laughed and visited various Muggle landmarks. When the blood traitor and his Muggle stole kisses from each other, Carrow felt the sudden urge to vomit.
Eventually the two made it back to their hotel. Ten minutes after they entered, Carrow followed behind. A quick Confundus Charm on the receptionist was all it took to get him a room number. He so wanted to kill the smiling bitch, but decided that a dead Muggle would only attract unwanted attention before he was ready to strike. So he slipped outside, cast a Disillusionment Charm on himself, and waited for his moment.
Thankfully his view of the couple was limited from his angle. What he had been able to see through his Omnioculars, thanks to its night-vision attachments, caused him to run to the bushes and regurgitate his dinner. To Carrow, watching the blood traitor rut with the Muggle was like watching a wizard get fucked by a Thestral in heat: No matter how you looked at it, it was unnatural and repulsive.
Eventually, Carrow stopped seeing naked bodies bouncing in the window. The room remained dark. Any subtitles were muddled, as the Omnioculars were also picking up the conversations in the surrounding rooms. He waited a half hour and then entered the hotel, Disillusioning himself as he went. His Muggle garb was subtle enough, after all, and Disillusionment wasn't a perfect science. He didn't want Muggles to think they were seeing a ghost, after all.
If they're asleep, Carrow thought as he entered the lift, good. If they're still fucking, all the better. Naked and unprotected, it will be a pleasure killing them in their perversion.
Antaeus pressed the button to take him to the sixth floor. There was no response. After two or three attempts, the door slid shut. A vein pulsing in his forehead, Carrow snarled as he selected the sixth floor over and over before seeing a slot in the panel beneath the button.
Must need a key of some sort, he thought. Odd-looking key, whatever it is...
Carrow focused all his thought onto the sixth floor. He had never been there, but it should be easy enough to Apparate--
Just then, the door slid open and two giggling Muggle Japanese females, no older than twenty, entered the lift. The two stopped giggling immediately as they saw him. One of them spoke to him in Japanese, a language he had no comprehension of.
"I forgot my key," Carrow said in English, hoping one of them would understand.
The other one spoke again, and pointed to the slot.
"I forgot it upstairs," Carrow repeated, shrugging this time and patting his pockets before pointing at the ceiling. "My wife's in our room, but I can't get there."
The two Muggles gobbled at each other some more. Carrow had only heard their chatter for ten seconds, and it was already giving him a headache.
"What... floor?" one of the Muggles asked slowly.
"Um, six," Carrow said, holding up five fingers and a sixth on his other hand.
"Oh!" the Muggle replied cheerfully, babbling some more and pointing at her and her friend. The two continued their bird-like giggling, and it was all Carrow could do to not reach for his wand and strike them both down as the Muggle slid a white card into the slot and pressed the 6.
"Thank you," Carrow said with a bow. Maybe stab it through one of their eye sockets, if I have the chance... "You're very kind."
"You...American?" the Muggle asked.
"Yes, I am," Carrow lied smoothly. "From Memphis."
"Oh, Memphis!" the Muggle tittered. "Memphis Grizzly! OJ Mayo, yes?"
"Yes, that's just it," Antaeus answered with no clue what the fuck she was talking about. "OJ Mayo..."
"Very big, yes?"
"Yes," Carrow said with a smooth, natural smile. "Very big."
If I strangled her right now, just blinked out her worthless Muggle life, the world would give me a fucking medal.
"Oh! Memphis!" The other Muggle said, her eyes wide with comprehension. "Memphis! Graceland! Elvis!"
"Yes, I have an aunt who lives in Elvis," Carrow replied, his patience waning. He looked up. 3... 4...
One of the Muggles started gyrating her hips, causing the other to screech uncontrollably.
6.
Thank Merlin.
Antaeus Carrow pulled out his wand and pointed it at one Muggle and the other, driving them both hard against the back wall before exiting the lift. He didn't know if he killed them or just put them in a coma, but the snaps of their spines as they hit the lift's railing and the smears of blood following their skulls as their lifeless bodies slid to the floor was prize enough for him.
They'll be found, he thought as he walked briskly down the hall. You've cut your time considerably.
I won't need long.
You'll need one of those cards...
Like hell I will.
623.
Antaeus stopped in front of the door. He closed his eyes, forcing the red haze of violence to pull back. He wanted to do this coolly and calmly. He wanted to savor this kill, after the trick this damn metamorph had pulled on him.
On the other side of the door, he could hear slow, even breathing. Whether it was the blood traitor or his bitch Antaeus couldn't tell. All he knew is that they were asleep, their naked bodies pressed against each other, smelling of Muggle stink and sweat.
He opened his eyes and looked down. Sure enough, another slot was placed within the door, right above the handle.
Easy enough, he thought, pointing his wand at the slot.
"Alohamor--"
"You're right," said a female voice from his left side, causing Carrow's blood to freeze. "They will be found. Very foolish, Antaeus."
Slowly, Carrow turned to the source of the voice. Before him stood a black-hooded figure. Female from the sound of her voice, Antaeus couldn't see the face beneath the hood despite the the bright electric light overhead. A long, thin wand was clutched in her right hand.
"And sad, really," the figure continued, speaking with a Japanese accent, yet in perfect English. "They did not deserve to die."
"You..." Carrow breathed.
"You do not even know me, Antaeus," said the figure. Her head twitched, causing light to slip in beneath the hood briefly, and Carrow swore her chin was covered in red hair.
That unnaturalness was all the motivation he needed to move.
CRACK
Carrow Disapparated from the hotel, landing roughly on the grass of the park across the street.
Oligarchy, he thought, pushing himself to his feet and looking around frantically. They've found me. Fuck! Have to move.
CRACK
"Good idea," said the hooded figure calmly into his ear. "It would be wise for us to get away from the Muggles for now."
Carrow's eyes widened. He focused on another location, and Disapparated once again.
CRACK
He now stood in the sitting room a dark, abandoned house outside Osaka, one that had been damaged in an earthquake six months ago and still sat condemned. It had been Carrow's base of operations upon crossing the Sea of Japan days ago. He was safe.
CRACK
"Really, Antaeus," the female continued unabated as Carrow recoiled against the wall in shock, "if you keep running like this, leaving your mind open for me to follow you, how will we ever have our little chat? Goodness, did you not learn Occlumency? Or did Riddle like to leave his followers nice and unguarded?"
Carrow focused his mind again. Where... Where...
"No, I think not," said the figure, extending her wand, Carrow felt his mind tire. His vision blurred slightly, and he suddenly found it difficult to concentrate on anything but the woman before him. "Let's stay here. This is cozy enough."
"Who..." Carrow found the mental focus to mumble the single word, but the difficulty came in remembering what was next.
"Oh, I am sorry," said the hooded figure. "I do apologize for not introducing myself. As I stated, we have never met before. In fact, you should consider it an honor that we are meeting at all, Mr. Carrow. All these years, you have been slipping through our clutches. You are proud of this fact, yes? Proud that you have stayed alive for this long while others around you have died? Proud, despite the fact that, for all these years, you have evaded nothing but henchmen?
"Well, I am not a henchman, Antaeus."
She pulled back her hood, and the shock of it cut through the haze that was Carrow's brain.
"Werewolf..." he gasped, trying to scramble backwards, but found himself stopped by the wall. The woman's face was covered in red fur above the cheekbones, and white below. A short snout with a small, doglike nose stuck out from between her small, golden eyes and a pair of pointed ears emerged from her hair, which shifted sharply from red to black as it reached her temples.
"I am not a werewolf," the fox-woman said simply. "I am Kitsune, the Mask of Osaka, and a member of the Circle of Thirteen." And if the face was indeed a mask, it was well-enchanted: the mouth moved as she spoke, and the forehead and eyes moved as a living creature's would. "You have incurred the Oligarchy's wrath, Antaeus Carrow, and it will be your honor to die by my hand.
"But not yet. Sit."
"No," Carrow snarled, his wand still clenched tightly in his hand.
"I insist," said Kitsune. She flicked her wand hand idly to the left, and Carrow was lifted off the ground and hurled onto a dusty couch. "That is more like it," she said sitting across from him in an equally dusty chair. "It is highly unlikely, but you may still be of some use to us. Your life may still be spared, depending on your level of cooperation. So...
"What do you think of him?"
Carrow stared back at the woman. "Who?"
"The boy," Kitsune answered, crossing her legs with a lazy flip. "The Lupin boy. And do not consider telling me lies. I will know if you are saying only what you believe I want to hear."
"He's a monstrosity," Carrow growled, his mind returning. "A blood traitor and a Muggle fetishist. Avada Kedavra!"
"Iie," Kitsune said, flicking her wand and throwing a nearby footstool in front of her, which exploded as it collided with Carrow's Killing Curse. "Jikana." Carrow's wand flew from his hand and crossed the room, landing neatly in Kitsune's own outstretched palm. "Thirteen inches," she said calmly, twirling it between her thumb and index finger. "Ironwood. Dragon heartstring. Quite nice. Thank you, Antaeus, it will look lovely in my collection." She pulled open her cloak and slid the wand into an inner pocket.
"Personally, I think he is fascinating," she continued as though talking to anyone but a man who tried killing her seconds before. "The boy, that is. His mother is a metamorphmagus, and his father is a werewolf. You did know that, correct? His father is Remus Lupin, a late member of the Order of the Phoenix and one of Fenrir Greyback's creations."
"Might have heard it once, yeah," Carrow said, his eyes narrowed in hate.
"He is a wizard through and through," said Kitsune. "Raised by the last surviving Black, with a helpful hand from The Chosen One, and was one of the more successful students in his years at Hogwarts. Yet he wants to be a Muggle as much as a wizard. Fascinating, is it not?"
"I can hardly contain myself."
"Fascinating," she breathed, now balancing the tip of her wand on the arm of her chair, twirling it with her fingers. "A wizard who wants to be a Muggle marrying a Muggle who wants to be a witch. The potential there... I wonder, Antaeus, how much of his father he has left in him. Do you think, if he used his metamorph powers to take the form of a werewolf, he could turn his wife with a single bite? Would he remain in control, or would he lose himself as his father did? And werewolves do not breed. I wonder, do you think werewolfism skips a generation? Will their child be a werewolf? Will their child's child?"
"Hoping to not wait that long to find out," Carrow sneered, "Miss Kitsune."
"No, I am afraid that will not do," Kitsune said, the steel returning in her voice. "Antaeus Carrow, there is much potential in Theodore Lupin. He has been under the Oligarchy's protection for years now, and will remain under our protection until our work is complete. Until The Next is found."
"Not doing a very good job, are you?" Carrow said with a loud laugh. "I would have killed him weeks ago if Finnigan hadn't gotten in the way."
"And yet you are still under the delusion that our hand was not in play that night," Kitsune sighed. "Poor, shortsighted Antaeus. The only reason that you still live, the only reason that Mr. and Mrs. Bletchley are sitting in Azkaban prison and Mr. Deepneau is facing first-degree murder, is because we allowed it. However ignorant and ineffective they may be, the English Ministry is continuing our good works, and we will not cross their path, reveal ourselves to them or to the world in general, until the time is right. So long as their goals and our goals mesh, then we wish them well.
"However, you may rest easy in knowing that, had they failed in their mission, and had Theodore Lupin's life had been in immediate jeopardy, you and your fellow Death Eaters would have suffered deaths so quick and painful that you would have been halfway across the River Styx before your rotting corpses even touched the ground."
"Oh, such witty prose," Carrow snarled. "If you're going to kill me, then get it over with."
"Very well," Kitsune said, coming to her feet. "I believe the interrogation is over."
"Interrogation?" Carrow said. "You just talked at me for the last fifteen minutes."
"And yet I learned all that I need to learn from you," said Kitsune, her fox mouth twitching with a dark smile. "Stand."
"Make me."
"Very well." Kitsune twitched her wand yet again, and Carrow felt as though a noose had slung around his throat. It pulled upwards, cutting off his breath, and he had no choice but to stand in order to not have his head ripped from his neck. "Zairuna," she said, and Carrow's arms were yanked behind him, wrists bound with invisible rope.
"Now kneel," Kitsune ordered. "Kanadzuchi." Sharp, throbbing pain exploded in Carrow's kneecaps, as though they had been smashed with large sledgehammers, and he buckled and fell face-first onto the mouldy carpet.
"Antaeus Carrow," Kitsune said to the prone and cringing Death Eater. "Kitsune, Mask of Osaka, of the Circle of Thirteen, and protector of Eastern Asia has tried and found you guilty of murder of your fellow wizards, murder of Muggles, and the continuation of the pure-blood practices of Salazar Slytherin and Tom Marvolo Riddle, practices which have turned wizard against wizard and threatened to undermine and destroy the Oligarchy's primary objectives.
"However, Kitsune, Mask of Osaka, of the Circle of Thirteen, and protector of Eastern Asia has also deemed you powerful, cunning, and relentless, which are qualities that the Oligarchy prides in its fellow witches and wizards. I shall give you a second chance for redemption. Antaeus Carrow, do you wish to turn your back on the path of Salazar Slytherin and Tom Marvolo Riddle, devoting your life instead to the blood-blind practices and philosophy of the Oligarchy?"
Antaeus Carrow, brother of Amycus and Alecto, and one of Lord Voldemort's last surviving Death Eaters, bit through the pain and forced himself to his knees. His hands still bound behind him, he looked up into the golden eyes of Kitsune's fox mask, worked his jaw, and spit on her feet.
"Kitsune of the Circle of Blood Traitors," he growled, "I'd rather roast in Hell than join you."
"Very well," Kitsune nodded, as though expecting nothing less, "you will not have to wait that long."
She raised her wand, pointed it at his forehead, and said the word: "Yakedo."
Antaeus Carrow died in flame.
Wizengamot / Previous Chapters / When I Learn to Fly
Author: kanedax
Spoilers: After the Flaw, Previous Chapters
Rating: R for language, graphic violence, and mild sexual content
Summary: Ted and Hermione Lupin's honeymoon brings dangerous visitors
Notes: I'm taking some liberties when it comes to Ponbashi. My assumption is that by 2019 it's morphed into an even more otaku-friendly area, with the various cosplay cafes evolving into a thriving cosplay nightlife. Call it artistic license.
I own these characters. The others belong to JK Rowling.
Wizengamot / Previous Chapters / When I Learn to Fly
HC&T,
HJ promo, DoMLE Head! GT when youre back!
Love,
M&D
"It's like some strange, twisted code," said Ted mysteriously, rotating the iPhone in his hand. "I might be able to translate it, but first I'll need a magnifying glass, three one-inch sapphires, and the DuLac Cross..."
"Nerd," Hermione Caroline chuckled, smacking her husband in the stomach and pulling her phone away from him. "It's Mum. She has this firm belief that they charge by the letter for texts, even though I've told her over and over that it's an email, and she can write whatever she wants."
"Doesn't listen?"
"Well, she does," Hermione shrugged. "But you have to remember that Mum and Dad were in their fifties before they even heard of text messaging. Teaching them to email a mobile's like teaching them Swahili."
"Or Ancient Runes, yeah," Ted smiled as the two continued to weave their way through the Osaka street, lit by the overhead street lamps as well as mile upon mile of flashing neon signs. "So you can translate it?"
"Most of it," Hermione said, squinting at the small screen. "HJ's Jean. Looks like she got another promotion, head of something, although I have no idea what DoMLE means."
"Sumimasen," said Ted to a passing pedestrian, grabbing an intent Hermione by the arm and pulling her out of his path.
"Sumimasen," the pedestrian replied quickly as he passed.
"GT means get together," Hermione continued, hopping on one leg to regain her balance but otherwise ignoring the passing crowd. "DoMLE... Any idea?"
"DoMLE, DoMLE..." Teddy muttered. "Department of... Department of... Holy..."
"Oh, sumimasen," said another passer-by as Ted slammed to a halt, causing the Muggle to bump into his back before veering around him.
"Department of Magical Law Enforcement?" Ted breathed, snatching the phone back from Hermione. "Good Lord, is she Head of...?"
"Muggles!" Hermione hissed, grabbing Ted's shoulder and veering him off to a nearby bench, where they seated themselves as well as the plastic bags filled with gifts that they had bought for themselves and the people back in England.
"We're in the Ponbashi," Ted assured, motioning to the passing shoppers. Many of them were dressed in brightly-colored skirts, cat ears, and other flashy cosplay outfits, a common sight in Osaka's otaku-friendly shopping district. "If there's anyplace we can talk about magic, it's here. Hell, I could be walking around in robes with purple hair and my Thunderbolt strapped to my back and no one would bat an eye. They'll think we're just talking about some manga, or something."
"Well, just be careful, alright?"
"Alright, alright."
"So what's Jean's new job, then?" asked Hermione. "Is it, like, a police chief or something? Cuz she's not an Auror--"
"No, more than that," Ted said excitedly. "A lot more. Head of the Department... They're like, I don't know, like a Lord Chancellor? That's the closest I can come up with. DoMLE's the biggest Department in the Ministry. They house the Aurors, the Hitwizards, the other law enforcement patrols, sure. But they have the Muggle Liaison Department, the Improper Use of Magic Office, the Wizengamot, all that stuff."
"Wow..."
"And Aunt Jean's going to be in charge of all the big court cases that come through the Ministry," he continued. "She's going to be a judge in addition to being in charge of all that other stuff. Mrs. Dursley's aunt used to be the head in the 90's until she died in the Second War. Harry said she listened to his case the year he and Mr. Dursley were attacked by Dementors."
"Sounds... Wow..." Hermione said quietly. "Jean's going to be in charge of all of that? My sister?"
"Oh, that's nothing," Ted said with a huge grin. "Hermione, half of the Ministers of Magic were promoted directly from Head of the Department. Sounds to me like Mr. Shacklebolt's setting up his successor."
"Minister?"
"Sounding likely now, isn't it?"
Hermione Caroline didn't know quite what to say. She had heard her family, Ron's family, and others say for years that Jean could be Minister someday. Even as Jean propelled her way up the ladder within the Ministry, Caroline had difficulty believing that their words of support and encouragement for her sister weren't any more than passing fancy. She was a Granger, for God's sake: daughter of Charlotte and Daniel Granger, sister to Hermione Caroline Granger (Lupin, she reminded herself with a flush of happy), and a Muggle-born. It seemed surreal that her sister was one step away from being a magical Winston Churchill.
"So you going to write back to your Mum?" Ted asked, pulling Hermione back from her thoughts.
"Probably later," Hermione said. "My brain's still trying to wrap around it."
"Well, it's just the afternoon there," said Ted. "They probably just found out themselves, you have plenty of time. Should we keep walking?"
"Probably later," Hermione repeated, resting her head against Ted's shoulder and wrapping her arms around his. "We've been walking all day, my feet are killing me."
Ted chuckled, kissing the top of her head. "We can sit for a bit."
"Then can we head back to the hotel?" Hermione asked.
"Want to put your feet up and watch some incomprehensible game shows?"
"Among other things," she said, gently tightening her grip his arm.
"And here I thought you were tired?" he asked, putting his hand on her leg and squeezing suggestively.
"It's our honeymoon, dear," she said with a small smile. "I'm never too tired for that."
"I'll do all the work, I promise," he said, kissing her on the lips this time.
"I never said that, either," she said, grinning wickedly and kissing him back.
"I do want to write your Mum back, though," he said, pointing at her phone. "Mind if I borrow your addy?"
"Borrow away," she said, handing it to him and putting her head back on his shoulder. "This is quite an area to people-watch at night. That'll keep me occupied."
Ted glanced up to see a man and woman both dressed as characters from Final Fantasy XVI pass by their bench.
"I'm amazed this isn't a more popular location for wizards," said Hermione as she watched the couple disappear into the crowd, the man's oversized sword and the woman's stuffed Moogle fading away into the night. "Seems like an excellent area to blend."
"How do you know it's not?" Ted said, pulling a Gundam box from his bag and setting it on his lap.
"Well, I suppose..." Caroline said with a shrug as her iPhone projected its holographic keyboard onto the box. Ted set his hands on the box and began to type:
Charlotte & Dan,
Ted here. Hermione's letting me borrow her phone to write you back. She'll be getting around to writing you herself soon enough, but right now she's practically falling asleep on my shoulder.
And even as he typed it, Ted heard Hermione emit a huge yawn and snuggle up closer beside him.
That's fantastic news about Aunt Jean's promotion! he continued. I did my best to explain it to Hermione, and I hope Jean and the others have done a decent enough job explaining the importance to you. You know what it means, right?
Better Christmas presents from the Weasleys, of course. ;) jk
I hope you're not waiting for us in order to give Jean a proper shindig. Oh, who am I kidding? If Molly hasn't invited everyone over to the Burrow to celebrate tonight then she just wouldn't be Molly... We'll get around to getting her out for dinner and a drink as soon as we return.
We're having a great time. We've been staying in Osaka the last few nights. Visited the aquarium, which is one of the biggest in the world. Spent a lot of time downtown and a lot more time visiting the temples and ancient places around the region. Incredible stuff, and that's not even getting into all the magical places we've visited. More on that when we get back, I don't want to get into too much detail about it over e-mail.
Right now we're in an area of Osaka called Nipponbashi. It's this big shopping district with electronics stores, game stores, and a lot of really... well... let's just say stores that Hermione and I find heaven on earth. Stores for anime, for manga, for toys. They have an entire store dedicated to Gundam! It's multi-story! You have no idea what I'm talking about! They also have a lot of nightclubs and cafes where people dress up as comic book and cartoon characters, and it's an incredibly cool place at night just to see all the crazy costumes. And I think Arthur's head would explode from all the tech stores.
We'll be checking out of our hotel tomorrow morning and getting on a train for Kyoto, where we'll be spending even more time playing tourist. Might see if we have the energy for Nara or Kobe, as well, before we catch the 'Key home next week. In our own visions of glory we thought we could make it to Tokyo, but that's a trip in itself. Next time, next time...
Let Gran and the Potters know we're doing fine. I sent owls to them this morning, and Hermione sent one to Jean and Ron, but I reckon the almighty cellular signal's a touch faster than a few rented birds.
And let the kids know we have plenty of presents for them, too. Wait, on second thought, don't tell them. We want to make it a surprise.
Love to everyone, and we'll see you all when we get back to reality next week!
T&HC
---------
A half hour later, Hermione Caroline Lupin fell face-down onto the hotel bed with a hard thump.
"You must be tired," Ted said with a smile as sat down at the small hotel desk, Hermione's computer humming warmly beside him. "You're not even checking in on your guild."
"They're fine for a night without me," Hermione mumbled into the pillow. "Bed nicer."
"Hear hear," Ted said, pulling the screen closed and pulling off his trainers. "Bed fluffy."
"Bed fluffy," Hermione replied. "What time's checkout?"
"Eleven," said Ted, setting his shoes beside the chair and moving to the end of the bed. "Breakfast is till nine."
"You think I'll be awake for breakfast," Hermione snorted, turning her head to the side and trying to blow her long blond hair from her face. "That's funny."
"Planning to sleep with your shoes on, are you?" Ted said, untying Hermione's trainers and pulling them off one after the other.
"Was debating it," she slurred sleepily.
"And your stinky socks?" he chuckled, pulling them off as well.
"You're a good husband," she yawned, curling her bare toes. "I think I'll keep you."
"What do you expect?" he said, massaging her insole. "I just wanted to get into prime tickle position."
Hermione squeaked sharply, pulling her feet away and curling her legs to her stomach. Ted smiled and stretched out next to her, face-to-face.
"Good trip?" he asked quietly, sliding the hair out of her face.
"Best trip," she whispered. "Only why'd you stop with my socks? There's so much left to take off..."
"Well, you seem so tired," he said, running his hands along her side, finding bare skin between her jeans and her dark blue t-shirt. "Didn't want to get my hopes up."
Hermione Caroline slipped her hand along the back of Ted's neck and pulled him in for a deep, passionate kiss. "I told you," she breathed three minutes later as the couple pulled apart, "I'm awake enough for that. And it appears that I'm not the only one..."
"Well, what can I say?" Ted gasped as his wife's hand slid below his beltline and his slid up under her shirt. "There's a cute blonde laying next to me, all barefooted and prone. I can't help myself."
As it turned out, the rest of their clothing just as easily disappeared from their bodies as their shoes and socks. In what felt like an instant, Ted Lupin felt his wife's bare breasts against his chest. Hermione Caroline Lupin felt her husband enter her. And as she arched her body above him in extacy, they felt like the only two people in the world.
Too bad they weren't alone.
---------
The Lupins had had company for most of that day, even if they were too enamored with each other to realize it.
And now, as he decided that the twisted freaks had finally finished their rutting, Antaeus Carrow placed his Omnioculars into his coat pocket, emerged from the park across from their hotel and made his way inside.
Little did he know that he had company of his own trailing close behind him.
Carrow had, of course, learned early on that Lupin had been the one pretending to be Deepneau. You didn't elude Ministry apprehension for twenty years without having a few friendly, well-paid, or well-threatened eyes on the inside. Finnigan had been smart, using a metamorph. They were tricky, metamorphs. Carrow remembered stories of Lupin's mother and her various deceptions against the Death Eaters over the years. The fact that there were no metamorphmagii currently under Ministry payroll was the main reason why Lupin evaded Carrow's attention until that night. Finnigan brought him in as an outsider, a wild card. That was smart, so smart. Smart enough where they had almost captured him after all this time.
Oh, how they'd all pay for their cheek. First Lupin and his Muggle. Finnigan next. Then, even though Rosen's resurrection spell had been a lot of cock and bull, Carrow felt a strong desire to kill Harry Potter, Ron and Hermione Weasley, and Neville Longbottom anyway. Their wives and children, as well. And maybe, after the killings, he would go about doing a little bit of grave-digging. There was no logical reason to dig up Dumbledore, Crabbe, and Riddle, but after what Carrow had gone through, it would be worth it just to piss on their rotting faces.
The difficult part came in finding Lupin alone. Carrow, unlike his famous brother and sister, preferred working under the radar. His kills were private affairs, far from the eyes of friends and strangers. And with Lupin performing that... that sordid Muggle ritual just days after Carrow's escape, surrounded by witches and wizards and Ministry officials and half-giants, he had no choice but to bide his time.
And when the blood traitor and his Muggle disappeared via Portkey the next day, Carrow forced himself to break from his hiding. Imperiusing a Portkey official, Carrow had been able to find Lupin's exact destination.
After that it was only a matter of time...
Dressed in Muggle clothing that he had stolen from a Japanese Muggle businessman soon after using the Killing Curse, Carrow had shadowed the couple for most of the day. Watched them as they shopped and laughed and visited various Muggle landmarks. When the blood traitor and his Muggle stole kisses from each other, Carrow felt the sudden urge to vomit.
Eventually the two made it back to their hotel. Ten minutes after they entered, Carrow followed behind. A quick Confundus Charm on the receptionist was all it took to get him a room number. He so wanted to kill the smiling bitch, but decided that a dead Muggle would only attract unwanted attention before he was ready to strike. So he slipped outside, cast a Disillusionment Charm on himself, and waited for his moment.
Thankfully his view of the couple was limited from his angle. What he had been able to see through his Omnioculars, thanks to its night-vision attachments, caused him to run to the bushes and regurgitate his dinner. To Carrow, watching the blood traitor rut with the Muggle was like watching a wizard get fucked by a Thestral in heat: No matter how you looked at it, it was unnatural and repulsive.
Eventually, Carrow stopped seeing naked bodies bouncing in the window. The room remained dark. Any subtitles were muddled, as the Omnioculars were also picking up the conversations in the surrounding rooms. He waited a half hour and then entered the hotel, Disillusioning himself as he went. His Muggle garb was subtle enough, after all, and Disillusionment wasn't a perfect science. He didn't want Muggles to think they were seeing a ghost, after all.
If they're asleep, Carrow thought as he entered the lift, good. If they're still fucking, all the better. Naked and unprotected, it will be a pleasure killing them in their perversion.
Antaeus pressed the button to take him to the sixth floor. There was no response. After two or three attempts, the door slid shut. A vein pulsing in his forehead, Carrow snarled as he selected the sixth floor over and over before seeing a slot in the panel beneath the button.
Must need a key of some sort, he thought. Odd-looking key, whatever it is...
Carrow focused all his thought onto the sixth floor. He had never been there, but it should be easy enough to Apparate--
Just then, the door slid open and two giggling Muggle Japanese females, no older than twenty, entered the lift. The two stopped giggling immediately as they saw him. One of them spoke to him in Japanese, a language he had no comprehension of.
"I forgot my key," Carrow said in English, hoping one of them would understand.
The other one spoke again, and pointed to the slot.
"I forgot it upstairs," Carrow repeated, shrugging this time and patting his pockets before pointing at the ceiling. "My wife's in our room, but I can't get there."
The two Muggles gobbled at each other some more. Carrow had only heard their chatter for ten seconds, and it was already giving him a headache.
"What... floor?" one of the Muggles asked slowly.
"Um, six," Carrow said, holding up five fingers and a sixth on his other hand.
"Oh!" the Muggle replied cheerfully, babbling some more and pointing at her and her friend. The two continued their bird-like giggling, and it was all Carrow could do to not reach for his wand and strike them both down as the Muggle slid a white card into the slot and pressed the 6.
"Thank you," Carrow said with a bow. Maybe stab it through one of their eye sockets, if I have the chance... "You're very kind."
"You...American?" the Muggle asked.
"Yes, I am," Carrow lied smoothly. "From Memphis."
"Oh, Memphis!" the Muggle tittered. "Memphis Grizzly! OJ Mayo, yes?"
"Yes, that's just it," Antaeus answered with no clue what the fuck she was talking about. "OJ Mayo..."
"Very big, yes?"
"Yes," Carrow said with a smooth, natural smile. "Very big."
If I strangled her right now, just blinked out her worthless Muggle life, the world would give me a fucking medal.
"Oh! Memphis!" The other Muggle said, her eyes wide with comprehension. "Memphis! Graceland! Elvis!"
"Yes, I have an aunt who lives in Elvis," Carrow replied, his patience waning. He looked up. 3... 4...
One of the Muggles started gyrating her hips, causing the other to screech uncontrollably.
6.
Thank Merlin.
Antaeus Carrow pulled out his wand and pointed it at one Muggle and the other, driving them both hard against the back wall before exiting the lift. He didn't know if he killed them or just put them in a coma, but the snaps of their spines as they hit the lift's railing and the smears of blood following their skulls as their lifeless bodies slid to the floor was prize enough for him.
They'll be found, he thought as he walked briskly down the hall. You've cut your time considerably.
I won't need long.
You'll need one of those cards...
Like hell I will.
623.
Antaeus stopped in front of the door. He closed his eyes, forcing the red haze of violence to pull back. He wanted to do this coolly and calmly. He wanted to savor this kill, after the trick this damn metamorph had pulled on him.
On the other side of the door, he could hear slow, even breathing. Whether it was the blood traitor or his bitch Antaeus couldn't tell. All he knew is that they were asleep, their naked bodies pressed against each other, smelling of Muggle stink and sweat.
He opened his eyes and looked down. Sure enough, another slot was placed within the door, right above the handle.
Easy enough, he thought, pointing his wand at the slot.
"Alohamor--"
"You're right," said a female voice from his left side, causing Carrow's blood to freeze. "They will be found. Very foolish, Antaeus."
Slowly, Carrow turned to the source of the voice. Before him stood a black-hooded figure. Female from the sound of her voice, Antaeus couldn't see the face beneath the hood despite the the bright electric light overhead. A long, thin wand was clutched in her right hand.
"And sad, really," the figure continued, speaking with a Japanese accent, yet in perfect English. "They did not deserve to die."
"You..." Carrow breathed.
"You do not even know me, Antaeus," said the figure. Her head twitched, causing light to slip in beneath the hood briefly, and Carrow swore her chin was covered in red hair.
That unnaturalness was all the motivation he needed to move.
CRACK
Carrow Disapparated from the hotel, landing roughly on the grass of the park across the street.
Oligarchy, he thought, pushing himself to his feet and looking around frantically. They've found me. Fuck! Have to move.
CRACK
"Good idea," said the hooded figure calmly into his ear. "It would be wise for us to get away from the Muggles for now."
Carrow's eyes widened. He focused on another location, and Disapparated once again.
CRACK
He now stood in the sitting room a dark, abandoned house outside Osaka, one that had been damaged in an earthquake six months ago and still sat condemned. It had been Carrow's base of operations upon crossing the Sea of Japan days ago. He was safe.
CRACK
"Really, Antaeus," the female continued unabated as Carrow recoiled against the wall in shock, "if you keep running like this, leaving your mind open for me to follow you, how will we ever have our little chat? Goodness, did you not learn Occlumency? Or did Riddle like to leave his followers nice and unguarded?"
Carrow focused his mind again. Where... Where...
"No, I think not," said the figure, extending her wand, Carrow felt his mind tire. His vision blurred slightly, and he suddenly found it difficult to concentrate on anything but the woman before him. "Let's stay here. This is cozy enough."
"Who..." Carrow found the mental focus to mumble the single word, but the difficulty came in remembering what was next.
"Oh, I am sorry," said the hooded figure. "I do apologize for not introducing myself. As I stated, we have never met before. In fact, you should consider it an honor that we are meeting at all, Mr. Carrow. All these years, you have been slipping through our clutches. You are proud of this fact, yes? Proud that you have stayed alive for this long while others around you have died? Proud, despite the fact that, for all these years, you have evaded nothing but henchmen?
"Well, I am not a henchman, Antaeus."
She pulled back her hood, and the shock of it cut through the haze that was Carrow's brain.
"Werewolf..." he gasped, trying to scramble backwards, but found himself stopped by the wall. The woman's face was covered in red fur above the cheekbones, and white below. A short snout with a small, doglike nose stuck out from between her small, golden eyes and a pair of pointed ears emerged from her hair, which shifted sharply from red to black as it reached her temples.
"I am not a werewolf," the fox-woman said simply. "I am Kitsune, the Mask of Osaka, and a member of the Circle of Thirteen." And if the face was indeed a mask, it was well-enchanted: the mouth moved as she spoke, and the forehead and eyes moved as a living creature's would. "You have incurred the Oligarchy's wrath, Antaeus Carrow, and it will be your honor to die by my hand.
"But not yet. Sit."
"No," Carrow snarled, his wand still clenched tightly in his hand.
"I insist," said Kitsune. She flicked her wand hand idly to the left, and Carrow was lifted off the ground and hurled onto a dusty couch. "That is more like it," she said sitting across from him in an equally dusty chair. "It is highly unlikely, but you may still be of some use to us. Your life may still be spared, depending on your level of cooperation. So...
"What do you think of him?"
Carrow stared back at the woman. "Who?"
"The boy," Kitsune answered, crossing her legs with a lazy flip. "The Lupin boy. And do not consider telling me lies. I will know if you are saying only what you believe I want to hear."
"He's a monstrosity," Carrow growled, his mind returning. "A blood traitor and a Muggle fetishist. Avada Kedavra!"
"Iie," Kitsune said, flicking her wand and throwing a nearby footstool in front of her, which exploded as it collided with Carrow's Killing Curse. "Jikana." Carrow's wand flew from his hand and crossed the room, landing neatly in Kitsune's own outstretched palm. "Thirteen inches," she said calmly, twirling it between her thumb and index finger. "Ironwood. Dragon heartstring. Quite nice. Thank you, Antaeus, it will look lovely in my collection." She pulled open her cloak and slid the wand into an inner pocket.
"Personally, I think he is fascinating," she continued as though talking to anyone but a man who tried killing her seconds before. "The boy, that is. His mother is a metamorphmagus, and his father is a werewolf. You did know that, correct? His father is Remus Lupin, a late member of the Order of the Phoenix and one of Fenrir Greyback's creations."
"Might have heard it once, yeah," Carrow said, his eyes narrowed in hate.
"He is a wizard through and through," said Kitsune. "Raised by the last surviving Black, with a helpful hand from The Chosen One, and was one of the more successful students in his years at Hogwarts. Yet he wants to be a Muggle as much as a wizard. Fascinating, is it not?"
"I can hardly contain myself."
"Fascinating," she breathed, now balancing the tip of her wand on the arm of her chair, twirling it with her fingers. "A wizard who wants to be a Muggle marrying a Muggle who wants to be a witch. The potential there... I wonder, Antaeus, how much of his father he has left in him. Do you think, if he used his metamorph powers to take the form of a werewolf, he could turn his wife with a single bite? Would he remain in control, or would he lose himself as his father did? And werewolves do not breed. I wonder, do you think werewolfism skips a generation? Will their child be a werewolf? Will their child's child?"
"Hoping to not wait that long to find out," Carrow sneered, "Miss Kitsune."
"No, I am afraid that will not do," Kitsune said, the steel returning in her voice. "Antaeus Carrow, there is much potential in Theodore Lupin. He has been under the Oligarchy's protection for years now, and will remain under our protection until our work is complete. Until The Next is found."
"Not doing a very good job, are you?" Carrow said with a loud laugh. "I would have killed him weeks ago if Finnigan hadn't gotten in the way."
"And yet you are still under the delusion that our hand was not in play that night," Kitsune sighed. "Poor, shortsighted Antaeus. The only reason that you still live, the only reason that Mr. and Mrs. Bletchley are sitting in Azkaban prison and Mr. Deepneau is facing first-degree murder, is because we allowed it. However ignorant and ineffective they may be, the English Ministry is continuing our good works, and we will not cross their path, reveal ourselves to them or to the world in general, until the time is right. So long as their goals and our goals mesh, then we wish them well.
"However, you may rest easy in knowing that, had they failed in their mission, and had Theodore Lupin's life had been in immediate jeopardy, you and your fellow Death Eaters would have suffered deaths so quick and painful that you would have been halfway across the River Styx before your rotting corpses even touched the ground."
"Oh, such witty prose," Carrow snarled. "If you're going to kill me, then get it over with."
"Very well," Kitsune said, coming to her feet. "I believe the interrogation is over."
"Interrogation?" Carrow said. "You just talked at me for the last fifteen minutes."
"And yet I learned all that I need to learn from you," said Kitsune, her fox mouth twitching with a dark smile. "Stand."
"Make me."
"Very well." Kitsune twitched her wand yet again, and Carrow felt as though a noose had slung around his throat. It pulled upwards, cutting off his breath, and he had no choice but to stand in order to not have his head ripped from his neck. "Zairuna," she said, and Carrow's arms were yanked behind him, wrists bound with invisible rope.
"Now kneel," Kitsune ordered. "Kanadzuchi." Sharp, throbbing pain exploded in Carrow's kneecaps, as though they had been smashed with large sledgehammers, and he buckled and fell face-first onto the mouldy carpet.
"Antaeus Carrow," Kitsune said to the prone and cringing Death Eater. "Kitsune, Mask of Osaka, of the Circle of Thirteen, and protector of Eastern Asia has tried and found you guilty of murder of your fellow wizards, murder of Muggles, and the continuation of the pure-blood practices of Salazar Slytherin and Tom Marvolo Riddle, practices which have turned wizard against wizard and threatened to undermine and destroy the Oligarchy's primary objectives.
"However, Kitsune, Mask of Osaka, of the Circle of Thirteen, and protector of Eastern Asia has also deemed you powerful, cunning, and relentless, which are qualities that the Oligarchy prides in its fellow witches and wizards. I shall give you a second chance for redemption. Antaeus Carrow, do you wish to turn your back on the path of Salazar Slytherin and Tom Marvolo Riddle, devoting your life instead to the blood-blind practices and philosophy of the Oligarchy?"
Antaeus Carrow, brother of Amycus and Alecto, and one of Lord Voldemort's last surviving Death Eaters, bit through the pain and forced himself to his knees. His hands still bound behind him, he looked up into the golden eyes of Kitsune's fox mask, worked his jaw, and spit on her feet.
"Kitsune of the Circle of Blood Traitors," he growled, "I'd rather roast in Hell than join you."
"Very well," Kitsune nodded, as though expecting nothing less, "you will not have to wait that long."
She raised her wand, pointed it at his forehead, and said the word: "Yakedo."
Antaeus Carrow died in flame.
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