Historic Artifacts [Open]

Mordred's life had taken a completely new and unexpected turn, even for him. He had not been much impacted by the attack on the Ministry, but when the wizards of the Wizengamot had told him to fill in for the Minister until they could either reinstate Jeremy Rufford (a horribly stupid decision in Mordred's mind, the man was a danger to himself and everyone else) or have a proper election, he had been at a complete loss of words. Mordred Gaunt had been tongue-tied, a feat that not even his own daughter had ever seen. His daughter had been present, as the junior secretary, which Mordred had found hilarious; seemed that the administrative office had turned into a family business. And not just any family business. The lineage of Salazar Slytherin himself.

The interrogation and vows Mordred had to take after accepting the new position had been prying and perverse when it came to a private life. He'd have to move to London and he had more bodyguard than he'd care to have. Of course, the reason for his promotion (which he would in no way describe his current predicament) was that as Head of the Department of Mysteries, he knew exactly what was going on, and that the secret would be fatal to many people if it came out. He'd decided to keep Morgana home in Winchester, which she had not objected to; she knew his reasons. Now everyone would be looking to him, to fight the Reapers. And the Reapers would be watching him and his weaknesses. He'd never go as far as to call Morgana a weakness, she was more a strength, but he did not want to take unnecessary risks.

At the idea of the Minister being captivated, the item that had been placed in secret care was moved to one of the other two locations, so the Minister could not reveal the real whereabouts of the sword. And now, Mordred knew he would have to take a lot of fairytales into consideration. If Excalibur could do what myth told it could, it would be a dangerous thing to fall in the Reapers hands. So Mordred found himself in Flourish and Blotts, reading up on old tales of King Arthur and the knights of the round table. Maybe he'd come across something useful that wouldn't hurt their case, and that he could take back to his office and do some research.

Lucy didn't need to buy schoolbooks anymore. What she did need, however, was a book for children. Most specifically, a book for girls. Pushing her hair out of her face, Lucy pulled up the hood of her jacket as she walked through the always crowded streets of Diagon Alley. The November breeze was starting to get colder, and Lucy felt more relaxed than she had felt a few weeks before. With Wade's passing, Lucy never got the chance to hand over his daughter so she was stuck with the child until the mysterious Cynthia was brave enough to show up. Of course, Lucy had tried to find the girl's mother because the last thing she wanted was to have to deal with Wade's mistake. That was clearly what Harmonia was. A mistake.

There were very few things Lucy knew of Wade's relationship with Cynthia . She knew Cynthia was two years older than Wade, and that she was - undoubtedly - a blonde. She also knew that whatever she and Wade had had been set up by Kellin - and knowing her uncle, Lucy figured that Cynthia was most likely one of the Reapers. At first it had seemed easy to track her down, because any relation to Kellin could easily be tracked through Wade - but upon the realization that Wade wasnt around anymore Lucy felt lost in her search. The woman was nowhere to be found. No spell, and no curse, could show Lucy the woman's whereabouts.

The girl was apparently a fan of bed time stories, which Lucy didn't have any of, but in order to keep her entertained Lucy had set out to get her some books. Arriving at Flourish and Blotts, Lucy's eyes scanned the rows. There were too many to choose from, and Lucy couldn't imagine what a four year old wanted to read about. There were the traditional stories, The Tales of Beedle the Bard to be more precise, and a collection of Muggle findings that were apparently on sale. Without thinking, Lucy headed towards the cheap Muggle books. It seemed pointless to have to spend money on someone else's kid. However, Ryland's words of advice tugged at her conscience. In the middle of their grief, her brother had explained that it was now Lucy's duty to care for Harmonia in place of Cynthia and Wade.

Immediately, as if Ryland would appear out of somewhere between the rows of books, Lucy walked away and towards the Children's section, constantly looking over her shoulder. She immediately picked up Beedle's tales, not paying much attention. She really had no clue what a four year old wanted, or could read. Truthfully, Lucy didn't even know if Harmonia could read yet. "Can four year olds read?" she asked herself, her voice barely a whisper. Lucy didn't know much fairy tales, sadly, which she figured it was what kids her age liked. The only thing she had read when she was younger were the Arthurian legends among other things, of course. A lightbulb turned on, "Wait a second..."

With the Beedle's tales in hand, Lucy walked over to where she thought the Arthurian legend was held in books, passing by a man taller and much paler than herself, but without paying much attention to him. Her fingers scanned the spines of the books, they reminded her of Phoenix's library, a bittersweet memory.