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Chapter 92 - Chapter 92: Searching for a Trace

Chapter 92: Searching for a Trace

"So, for your own safety, sir, I really think you should return to Britain for the time being," Julia advised. "You can, of course, leave me a way to contact you. Once I—once MACUSA has a detailed explanation for this incident, I will inform you immediately."

She had wanted to say, Once I uncover the truth, but a sense of loyalty to the institution, a desire not to tarnish the legacy of the original twelve Aurors in front of an outsider, held her back.

The old wizard was the very picture of a well-mannered gentleman. He didn't press her for details. "Of course, of course," he said kindly. "As it happens, the British wizarding world has just launched a new magical device called a communicator. It allows wizards in different locations to contact each other." He produced a device that looked like a pocket watch and handed it to her, briefly explaining how it worked. "It has a built-in tutorial. You can also use it to contact me directly, which will save us the trouble of sending owls."

Julia took the communicator. Following the old man's instructions, she saw that a contact named "Percival Gellert" was already saved in the device's directory.

"My, he left quickly," she murmured to herself a moment later, looking up to find the old wizard had vanished. "Probably for the best. Who knows what new laws those scoundrels at MACUSA will dream up next to silence people." Fuming, she tucked the communicator into her pocket and prepared to head to the Great Lakes region herself. With a sharp crack, she Disapparated.

From a seemingly empty spot on the street, a thoughtful voice spoke to the air. "For a young lady like that, perhaps I should have sent Ryan. He might have had a better effect..." Percival Gellert reappeared, his eyes fixed on the spot where Julia had just been, as if tracing the trajectory of her Apparition. "And to go to the scene without any preparation... Merlin's beard, the youth of today are certainly bold."

The old man shook his head. MACUSA's younger generation was not what it used to be. The friends he had known at the Congress in his day had been far more professional.

"I suppose I should follow her. Things at MACUSA can't have decayed that badly," he mused. "Their decision to cover this up is likely not just a simple case of silencing dissent. It's more probable that they are utterly incapable of solving the problem themselves." In the next instant, he too vanished.

Julia arrived at what she thought was her destination, only to be confronted by a significant problem: the exact location of the massacre was a closely guarded secret. "The Great Lakes region is a vast area. Where exactly is the settlement?"

A wave of frustration washed over her. She had finally mustered the courage to pursue justice and prove her capabilities, only to be stymied by a lack of basic information. She considered going to Britain to question the wizard who had broken the story, but she remembered the Prophet article mentioning he had signed a magical contract. Even the primary witness couldn't reveal the location. The Aurors who had investigated the scene were likely under similar gag orders. The only people who knew the full story were probably her father, the MACUSA President, and the Vice President.

After a fruitless search using the investigative techniques she had learned during her Auror training, she resorted to questioning the locals.

"Excuse me, sir," she said to a wizard tending his garden. "Have you heard of any... tragic incidents in this area recently?"

"Tragic incidents? What are you talking about?" the wizard asked, his brow furrowed. "Has something happened? Is it not safe here anymore? What is MACUSA doing to protect us?!"

Taken aback by his hostile reaction, Julia stammered, "No, no, I'm just a tourist. I heard there was some trouble nearby and wanted to see for myself."

The wizard shot her a suspicious look. "Bizarre," he muttered, and turned back to his plants.

"Sorry to have bothered you," Julia said, making a hasty retreat. She tried several other wizarding households in the area, but the response was the same. None of them had seen or heard anything about a bloody incident nearby. After several dead ends, she was certain that the local wizarding communities were completely unaware of the massacre.

If there were a mass murderer on the loose, surely the neighbors would know something, she thought. She concluded the settlement must be in a different part of the Great Lakes. "There are only a dozen or so wizarding settlements in this region. I'll just have to check them one by one." With renewed determination, she Apparated to the next area.

As she was making her inquiries, she remembered the old wizard she had met outside MACUSA. He had said he had friends in one of the settlements here. What if his friends' settlement is the one that was attacked?

She took out the pocket watch-like communicator and, following the instructions, sent a message to "Percival Gellert": Sir, I was wondering if you could tell me where in the Great Lakes region your friends live. The area is so vast, I'm having trouble finding the location of the incident.

"I hope this thing really works as well as he said," she muttered.

She was about to put the device away and take a break when it projected a screen of light into the air. The screen read: Mr. Percival Gellert is inviting you to a face-to-face call. Below it were two options: Accept and Decline.

"It's that fast? He responded almost instantly!" Julia was stunned. Had the British wizarding world truly advanced so far, leaving MACUSA and its territories in the dust? This was a generational leap in technology. "It's all the fault of those incompetent, self-serving officials at the Congress!" she fumed, and accepted the call.

At that moment, a certain old wizard who called himself Percival Gellert was frantically trying to invent a plausible wizarding friend who lived in the Great Lakes.

~~~

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