They remembered their dorm was never a shared space but a cozy room meant for couples.
What kind of place was this? The ceiling was made of hollowed-out bars, yet the sunlight never reached inside.
Were they still dreaming, trapped somewhere between sleep and waking?
"Where am I? Why am I here?" voices echoed anxiously.
"Wake up, wake up!" someone urged.
"Where's my wand? Where's my stuff?" another cried.
"Who locked us up in this place?"
"Help! Someone save me!"
Slowly, wizards and Muggles inside each cell began to stir, confusion settling over them as they tried to make sense of their surroundings. But as more people woke up, feelings of doubt, panic, and anger spread quickly.
The warehouse stronghold, once quiet, erupted into chaos, like a noisy vegetable market filled with cries, questions, and curses. No one understood what had happened or why the world seemed so different when they opened their eyes.
Suddenly, a row of bright lights flickered on throughout the warehouse. Each cell was equipped with a magic lantern, apparently taken from the place.
The dim space instantly flooded with harsh light, forcing everyone to shield their eyes. The sudden brightness silenced the noise as if someone had hit pause. After a moment, as their eyes adjusted, they finally saw the full scene around them.
They weren't just confined alone, they were surrounded by others, and beyond the iron railings in front of them were cages just like theirs, filled with people. Among these figures, some were coworkers from the place, familiar faces that brought a flicker of recognition.
Others were strangers completely unknown to them. A few were acquaintances they had met briefly before but didn't work at the place.
Leaning close to the railings, many in the cells called out to those nearby in shock or panic. "Diane, do you know what's going on? Why are we here?" one asked.
"No idea," Diane replied, "I just remember going back to the dormitory after curfew last night. Then I woke up here, with no clue how I got here."
In the dim light of the cage, wizards who worked in the same magical place exchanged confused glances, trying to make sense of their strange predicament. "Nancy? What are you doing here? I thought you were from East Germany," a West German witch asked, spotting a familiar face from the other side of the bars.
Nancy looked just as puzzled. "I don't know. I used to work at a magical animal breeding place, but I just woke up here," she replied.
"Wait, you worked at the breeding place too?" the witch pressed. "Which one? Could it be that you're from the same place as me?"
"Yes, I'm in charge of the Magical Zoo section," Nancy said. "Though the job requires me to work non-stop for half a year, the pay is good. But my place is definitely in West Germany!"
Their conversation splaceed more chatter among the others imprisoned nearby. Gradually, everyone started to realize that all of them had been employees at various breeding places, although many worked at different locations.
"So, everyone here is connected to the Fantastic Beasts place somehow?" one wizard asked.
"That's right," another confirmed. "I work at a place in East Germany."
"I'm from West Germany," said someone else.
"Me too, but I've never seen you before. Are there multiple places in West Germany?"
As they talked more, it became clear that something was seriously wrong with the places they worked for. How else could they have been taken here without any warning?
Suddenly, a wizard raised his voice. "We didn't just end up here by accident. It has to be linked to the breeding places. Does anyone know what's going on?"
Just then, a wizard from place spotted Nathan in the cage next to his own. Pointing at him, he called out, "Nathan, you're the captain of the maintenance team. Do you know anything?"
Nathan, still groggy from a powerful stun spell, stared back blankly. "Me? I don't know what happened.
But my situation's different, I was attacked by two men wearing white masks. They broke into the dormitory suddenly while I was on the first floor and stunned me right away."
The others nodded, recalling his words as they tried to piece together the mystery of their capture.
One wizard spoke up, "I was knocked out from behind when I went out to pee at night, but it seems like the rest of you just woke up right after falling asleep."
Another wizard from the place chimed in at that moment. After they spoke, several others in the cell said they'd also been attacked by someone. Some even claimed to have seen the attacker, a figure wearing a white mask.
"A white mask? Could that be the man with the Silver Wand? But that doesn't make sense," said a wizard who clearly knew more than the others, looking confused.
"Mark, are you saying you know these people? Could the Silver Wands be smugglers who deal in magical creatures on the black market?"
Someone nearby overheard Mark muttering and quickly stepped forward, grabbing his shirt and asking loudly, "I heard that too. What do you mean by 'doesn't make sense'? Do you know more about these people?"
Another person joined in, "Your patrol team works with the leader, right? Are you hiding something from us?"
The commotion spread to other cells, and all the civilian wizards and Muggles turned their attention to Mark and the other patrol members they recognized.
Feeling the tension and noticing some people seemed ready to confront him, Mark hurriedly explained, "It can't be the Silver Wand who tied us up here.
Our place was actually built by them, in other words, the Silver Wand is our employer. Why would an employer kidnap their own employees?"
The common wizards in the cells erupted at Mark's words. "What? We've been working for the Silver Wand all along? Does that mean we're all accomplices in a smuggling ring?"
In Germany, most people knew about the Silver Wand Club. They were a shady criminal group operating in the gray area, not openly criminals, but certainly not respectable citizens either. Most wanted to avoid any connection with them. Meanwhile, Nathan, standing nearby, was also stunned by this revelation.
Nathan had heard Jimmy mention before that the patrol team was connected to the Silver Wand, but he had always been honest with himself and tried not to dwell on it. Now, a member of the patrol team had openly admitted it, and combined with other rumors he'd heard, it seemed undeniable.
Lost in thought, Nathan glanced around the prison, and his eyes suddenly lit up when he spotted a figure slumped in the corner of a cell.
He immediately called out, "Sir Claremont, you're our leader! You must know what's going on!"At Nathan's shout, the others nearby turned their attention toward the cell.