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HP: Bloodraven Chapter 181 - Eyes on the Rising Star (I)
🕑 Added 2025-06-11 20:44:34 +0000 UTCTwo weeks had passed since the second round of the inter-school Quidditch tournament. The excitement of broomsticks and bludgers had only just begun to fade when a fresh storm of headlines swept through the magical world like wildfire.
“Youngest Archmage in History — Council of Speakers Expands to Eight”
That morning, newspapers snapped open in wizarding homes, shops, and alleyways across the country. Some readers gasped in excitement, others frowned in unease, and a few brushed it off as just another dramatic headline in an already unusual year.
At the Leaky Cauldron, the usual early-morning hush was nowhere to be found. The inn buzzed with energy as witches and wizards gathered around tables, their cups of tea and buttered toast all but forgotten. Copies of the Daily Prophet were passed from hand to hand, and the air rang with voices full of disbelief, admiration, and no small amount of pride.
“A new Speaker, is it? From Britain, no less!”
“You lot can laugh, but I met him! Swear on Merlin’s beard—he bought a butterbeer right here, not three weeks back!”
“Not surprised,” said an older wizard, folding his paper with a knowing look. “That boy’s been turning heads since the moment he showed up in the papers. This was only a matter of time.”
Behind the bar, Tom the barkeep stood oddly still. His bony fingers clutched the Daily Prophet, and his eyes didn’t move from the front page. A slow, crooked grin crept across his weathered face.
“Archmage, eh?” he muttered, half to himself. “Knew it the moment I laid eyes on you, young lord… You were never ordinary.”
Scenes like this played out all across the country. From the bustling restaurants of Diagon Alley to the hushed corners of school common rooms, from crowded train compartments to quiet wizarding cafés, and even at the breakfast tables of noble families—everywhere, one name had once again taken center stage:
Maverick Caesar.
At Malfoy Manor, silver cutlery clinked gently against porcelain as the couple ate in silence. Lucius sat with one leg crossed over the other, the paper held high in one hand. His pale eyes gleamed.
"It seems," he said, a faint smile curling on his lips, "that my lord has finally decided to step into the light."
Narcissa didn’t look up from her plate as she cut into her eggs. Her voice was calm and cool.
“This changes nothing,” she said. “We stay in the shadows. We are not the Greengrasses.”
Then, more softly, she added, “Though I do look forward to the day we no longer have to hide.”
At the Greengrass estate, the conversation was much the same. Lady Greengrass sat across from her husband, the newspaper laid open before her. She glanced at it, then at the man sipping calmly from his glass.
“I wonder what made the Leader reveal himself now,” she said quietly.
Lord Greengrass didn’t speak right away. He chewed slowly, swallowed, then set his cup down with a soft clink.
“If it matters, he will tell us,” he said. “Until then, nothing changes.”
His wife nodded, then let her eyes drift back to the paper.
The photograph beneath the headline moved slightly, its enchantment mimicking the seamless motion of a modern-day gif. There stood the man her family had pledged themselves to—Maverick Caesar. He stood at the steps of the ICW’s Grand Assembly Hall, dressed in a sharp dark suit beneath a long black coat.
Camera flashes lit up his face as he stood motionless, hands tucked in his pockets, his expression betraying no emotion to anyone trying to guess what might be on his mind.
To his right stood a towering man with golden hair and a confident grin—Edward Garling, his teacher, and one of the most powerful wizards alive.
To his left stood Albus Dumbledore, arguably the most respected and powerful mage in the world.
And beside Dumbledore stood Olympe Maxime, towering above them all, draped in a flowing cloak of deep blue, her presence as commanding as it was majestic.
Four Archmages. Each a force capable of swaying nations. And now, with Maverick among them, half the Council of Speakers stood together in a single frame. Outside of global emergencies or special ICW assemblies, it was rare to see even two Archmages appear side by side—let alone four. The photograph alone, without a single word, spoke volumes
And it was most certainly no coincidence.
Lady Greengrass studied the picture in silence. Behind the Archmages, she recognized others—McGonagall and Flitwick, faces she had seen from Hogwarts days, standing alongside more she could not name but knew by reputation. Greatmages, every one of them.
They were not merely attending, but there... sending a message.
A rare smile found its way to her lips. This was her leader. Her husband had a front-row seat in Maverick Caesar’s plans. He had told her things—things that seemed like dreams at the time. And now, looking at this moment frozen on the front page, she felt a certainty rising in her chest.
The promised days were coming.
And while the magical world buzzed with the rise of a new Archmage, far beyond wizarding circles, another world was paying attention too.
The Muggle leaders, through their magical confidants and the witches and wizards quietly embedded in their governments, began to receive the news as well—first in whispers, then in full reports marked urgent.
---
Washington D.C. – An Undisclosed Location
The hallway stretched long and silent, its marble floors gleaming beneath a canopy of soft yellow light. The air was still and cool, the kind found in buildings where voices were never raised and every step seemed to carry weight.
Tuk.
Tuk.
Tuk.
Footsteps echoed through the corridor—measured, unhurried, and unmistakably confident.
A woman walked alone. She wore low-heeled black shoes, polished but practical, the sort a retired officer would pick out of habit more than style.
Her dark navy dress hugged her figure with dignity rather than vanity. A pearl brooch gleamed on her collar. She was older now—sixty-nine by her last birthday—but she moved like someone who hadn’t forgotten what it meant to run, fight, or lead.
Peggy Carter. Once Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., now retired in name only.
She passed men in suits and the occasional woman in uniform. Most offered a respectful nod. A few stepped aside. In her right hand, she held a rolled-up stack of papers, pinched tightly like it held the weight of something bigger than ink and parchment.
At the end of the hallway was a door made of oak and steel. On its polished surface, in gold letters, was a single word: Director.
She didn’t hesitate. A firm knock echoed through the door.
“Come in,” called a rough male voice from within.
Peggy Carter stepped inside.
The office was warm and dimly lit—the kind of place where secrets seemed to settle into the corners and stay awhile. Behind a wide mahogany desk, a man in his late fifties rose to his feet the moment the door opened, posture straight like a soldier meeting a superior.
He wore a crisp grey shirt, and his matching jacket was draped neatly over the back of his chair. His hair, streaked with black and silver, had been combed back with care. A half-finished cup of tea sat near his hand, with steam still curling lazily into the air.
Across from him, seated casually but alert, was a tall black man with a dark brown jacket, a tie that looked too big for the shirt it was knotted around, and a serious face that didn’t miss much.
They both turned as she entered. The older man rose at once, while the younger followed a moment later, standing with quiet respect. From the look in his eyes, it was clear he recognized her. When Peggy gave a small nod and gestured for them to sit, they did so without a word.
She stepped forward and placed the rolled papers on the desk. She moved to slide them toward the man in grey, but paused halfway, glancing at the other man in the room, eyebrows raised.
“It's alright,” said the man in grey with a chuckle. “I trust Fury. Unless you’re about to drop something that’s Level Nine or higher, you can speak freely.”
The younger man stood again and extended his hand.
“Nicholas Fury, ma’am,” he said. “Level Three agent. Currently reporting to Director Pierce.”
Peggy raised an eyebrow but shook his hand all the same.
“Carter,” she said simply.
Fury gave a small nod. Then Carter turned back to Pierce and pushed the papers toward him.
“Hot off the press,” she said, “from our friends across the veil.”
The man behind the desk was Alexander Pierce, the current Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.—a global agency that answered to no single government but reported directly to the World Security Council.
S.H.I.E.L.D. wasn’t about politics or borders. It was built to protect humanity from threats beyond the ordinary—whether they came from men, monsters, aliens, or something far stranger.
Pierce unrolled the papers without a word, his eyes moving swiftly over every line. Fury stayed quiet, watching. Officially, his clearance remained at Level Three, but Pierce clearly saw something in him that others did not. He had begun entrusting Fury with secrets far beyond his rank, confident that the agent possessed the drive and skill to handle them.
