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Harry Potter and all of its characters belong to J.K. Rowling.
I own nothing but the original characters I make.
"Dialogue"
'Thoughts'
-Author notes-
Chapter 98: The Three Bases
A large table had been set up at the center of Morgan's shop. On top of the table, a world map was carefully secured.
Harry was leaning close to it, hovering his finger over its surface while muttering numbers. "44.797º North, and…let's see, 6.282° East. It should be here."
"The east of France," Morgan noted. "I'm not surprised. The Argent Flame has many bases in that country."
"Cirque du Valgaudemar. It looks like a very isolated valley. I don't see much in terms of civilization nearby. Just a few small villages," Harry said.
"It is supposed to be a secret base. They wouldn't put one of their main headquarters in a place where Muggles could see it," Morgan pointed out.
Harry's eyes went to another point on the map. This time, it was in the north of Spain, on top of a mountain range. "We have two places to investigate. And the third one…" He glanced at Morgan. "Give me the coordinates."
She looked down at the book in her hands and located the part where they had been written. "Fifty degrees north…"
Harry listened and ran his finger across the map, following her indications until it eventually led him to a tiny island south of Wales. "Lundy Island?" he muttered.
"What? Let me see that." Morgan left the book behind and approached the map, taking a better look at the location. "That's a British island! They had a base here?"
"Looks like they never left Britain. Not completely, at least," Harry said.
"The Argent Flame has not operated in Britain for over five centuries. I can't believe they still had a base here…" Morgan had been so sure of having chased them out.
"I bet that is the oldest base they have," Harry guessed. "Hey, don't beat yourself over it. You have no way to know for sure if they still had bases here." He saw how guilty she looked.
"You are not responsible for everything your half-brother did. And you had your own issues to deal with." She was sealed in London after all. It's not like she could travel around and chase him down.
Morgan nodded. "I know that, but…if I could have stopped Arthur sooner…before he had the chance to create that organization…so many lives could have been saved."
"You have done more than enough," said Harry.
The Argent Flame had been dedicated to exterminating wizards and witches from the face of the earth.
Morgan had chased them off the British Isles, thus saving countless lives of magical folk who could never have survived the attacks.
"Now you and I can finish the job and take them all out," Harry said.
Morgan went back to the couch and sat down, feeling very tired. "Okay, so…where do you want to start?"
Harry folded up the map. "I was thinking of doing something else before attacking any of these bases." His eyes went to the remains of Excalibur, which were resting inside a glass case in the shop.
Morgan followed his gaze and understood what he was thinking. "Are you worried about what the Lady of the Lake told you? Do you need to piece that sword together?"
"She knew something about the corruption plaguing Arthur. She said that only by completing Excalibur and returning the sacred sword to its old glory could I use it to destroy this corruption. I don't believe she would have told me something like that unless it was truly necessary. Those ancient dryads are not known for wasting their words."
"I'm not saying she is wrong, but…do you have any idea of where to even begin the search? Those fragments could be anywhere. It's been over a thousand years since Excalibur was broken," Morgan said.
"If it were a normal magical artifact, then it would be pretty much a futile quest, but Excalibur is special. I'm sure there is still something connecting it to its missing fragments. We can use that connection to find them by using the piece that we already have," Harry suggested.
Morgan stared at him for a moment before giving him a knowing look. "You have already figured out a way, haven't you?"
Harry nodded. "I do have an idea. A magical ritual that could help us locate the fragments."
Morgan felt a sliver of guilt in his tone and could guess where this magical ritual came from. Harry had promised her not to touch the Black Tome, but he had already spent many months studying its pages.
She did not doubt that he had learned much from it. After all, Harry was an unrivaled genius when it came to the study of magic.
"Alright, I won't ask. Just tell me the necessary materials, and I will secure them as soon as possible."
"I'll write you a list." Harry stood up and went to fetch some parchment.
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In a very different part of the country, there was a large mansion resting on top of a hill that overlooked a fishing village.
The villagers knew nothing of the existence of this mansion, as it belonged to an ancient wizard family and, as such, had powerful protections that prevented anyone from finding it.
Past these protections, its outer fence, its massive gardens, and its beautiful oak double doors, one could find a luxurious estate filled with expensive decorations and pieces of furniture.
This manor contained the best that money could buy, as it used to belong to the richest wizard family in all of Magical Britain.
However, it now had a different owner.
A tall man with long black hair and equally black eyes looked at himself in one of the hallway mirrors and adjusted his robes, making sure there were no obvious mistakes.
Once he was satisfied, he continued down the hall until he reached a large white door.
An unfriendly-looking man was standing in front of it. "You are late, Severus," said the man.
Snape frowned, glaring back at the other person. "I came here as soon as I could…Mister Goyle. I have many b—"
"You tell that to the Dark Lord." The man referred to as Goyle moved aside his large body and opened the door. "He is waiting…"
Snape hid away his nerves and walked inside. The Dark Lord didn't like to wait.
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