"Son." Michael was quick to read the room, as soon as he realized the intruder was none other than his very own son, who seemed to have developed an inexplicable fondness for unnecessarily dramatic entrances, he immediately called out and motioned for him to come over. It was a complicated enough morning already. With the hall full of veteran officials trained by years of experience to react decisively to anything they did not immediately recognise, and with several extremely high-profile individuals present, the possibility of someone acting on impulse was very real. Sure enough, the moment the Prime Minister himself acknowledged the intruder, the tension in the room eased noticeably. Those whose hands had instinctively moved toward their gun holsters relaxed as well. Only then did they take a proper look. “It’s him...” “The one from the news.” “I heard he’s one of the highest-ranking among them.” “They call them Speakers... it’s said there are seven of them in total.” Those who were new to the realities of the magical world murmured among themselves, while those who held the relevant clearance and possessed a more comprehensive understanding remained quiet, though no less curious. “Wait... did the Prime Minister just call him son?” “I thought I heard that too...” “That’s enough. Back to work!”Fortunately, there were enough people present who knew when to gossip and when to leave it alone, and the hall gradually returned to its usual organised bustle. Maverick, meanwhile, after taking his seat and briefly acknowledging the faces he was less familiar with, got straight to the point. “How far along are we with the city’s restoration at this point?” He came simply to get a clearer picture of the city’s overall situation, while his magical sense had already given him a broad understanding and confirmed that things were stable, finer details that might require his intervention could still escape notice. Jameson Greengrass spoke first, “most of the structural damage has been dealt with, and the remaining issues are relatively minor...” He flipped through some papers, handed Maverick one, and continued, “Our people are coordinating with local law enforcement and addressing every concern raised by the public, even visiting individual homes where necessary.” Maverick skimmed through the report in a breath’s time, gave a small nodd, then turned toward the Commissioner of Police next. The man was slightly stocky and looked more than a little stressed. Well, understandable. Putting on an easy smile, Maverick asked, “I hope our people aren’t too difficult to work with...” “Not—ahem, not at all, sir.” There was the slightest hesitation in his voice, though to his credit, he kept it largely from showing on his face. He adjusted slightly in his chair. The man looked to be in his sixties, and after spending a lifetime in uniform, it was understandable that he found it somewhat difficult to reconcile the young face across from him with the level of authority he had been briefed to acknowledge. Maverick pretended not to notice and kept the mild smile on his face while the commissioner continued, “As the Minister of... Magic, said, we are working together to bring the city back to normal as quickly as possible. The citizens have been very cooperative, I think... it also helped considerably that they could see our officers working alongside the wizards. However extraordinary what they were witnessing, the presence of familiar uniforms seemed to reassure them enough to accept the help.” Maverick nodded. It was a reasonable assumption. “And casualties?” “This is the latest update,” Jameson said from the side, passing him another document. “Current reports from all major police stations and borough command centres across Greater London indicate zero casualties and no missing persons.” A small smile spread across Maverick’s face as he skimmed through it. He was genuinely glad to hear that.“And what about our friendly neighbours?” Setting the papers aside, he turned toward Prince Charles and his father next. “I understand martial law has been declared and the borders are closed. Has there been any trouble?” Michael gave a light cough and glanced toward Charles, a small, deliberate gesture that suggested the Prince was better placed to answer.Charles considered the question for a moment, a thoughtful expression settling over his face before he spoke, “we have been receiving a steady stream of calls since last night, almost from the moment everything began. Her Majesty has been quite direct in her response to each of them... the situation remains entirely under control, and outside intervention is neither necessary nor welcome.” He paused, turning sideways toward the old general seated two places from him. The general gave a curt nod and picked up without ceremony. “Early this morning, our radars detected several aircrafts approaching restricted airspace. Russian, German, Israeli to name a few.” He paused briefly. “Fortunately, there was no friction. Our pilots intercepted the moment they were detected, and all parties turned back shortly after.”“Her Majesty made personal calls to the relevant heads of state as soon as she was briefed,” the Prince continued. “She left them in no doubt, for the second time, that the matter is well in hand and that outside intervention is not welcome.”"And how did they receive that?" asked Maverick. “They were... persistent,” Charles said after a pause. “Rather keen to know precisely what was happening. But as you advised beforehand, we did not elaborate beyond what had already been shown to the general public. We made our position perfectly clear... any further incursions into closed airspace would be treated as a direct threat to sovereign security.” Maverick couldn’t help but chuckle softly. He could almost hear the old woman’s voice in his head. “And the foreign press?” he asked. “What stories are they running with?” “WNN broadcast the entire incident live alongside BBC and Sky News. The narrative they’ve settled on was superhumans clashing above London. There was very little mention of magic until quite recently.” “Oh... they used the word magic?” “Yes,” the Prince replied. “Since the media were not restricted from filming the restoration efforts, both in the southern region and here in the capital, everything has been carried out in full public view.” He paused, “at this point, it is generally accepted that there exists a group of people capable of performing what many first described as miracles, which was the term first used, until several reporters managed to get a response directly from one of your people in the field...” The Prince then glanced toward Jameson.Maverick also turned to his side, looking at him inquiringly. Jameson nodded slightly before explaining. “It was one of our recent recruits. She told them, quite plainly, that it was not a miracle, but magic. We pulled her off the field immediately before she could say anything further she shouldn’t have...” He paused. “She should be one of your graduates, I believe. Nymphadora...” Tonks? Maverick’s brow lifted slightly, a faint smile tugging at the corner of his lips. “It’s fine. Put her back in the field. There’s no need to suspend her.”“Will the ICW not hold her accountable for that?” Amelia Bones asked, a faint trace of concern in her voice. "They won't have time." Maverick shook his head. "And after tonight it won't matter in any case. Though do advise everyone in the field not to use the word magic just yet. It is better to announce everything formally at the press conference tomorrow, otherwise we risk unnecessary conspiracy theories taking hold before we have the chance to frame things properly." "Mr High Councillor," Charles said, "will your congress truly vote to dissolve the Statute of Secrecy... just like that?" "It will happen," Maverick said without any particular inflection. "We hold the majority among the Speakers. There will be a lengthy debate, no doubt, but the council will follow the majority regardless." "Would it be possible for us to observe the congress?" one of the military officials asked. Maverick turned toward him with a thoughtful expression. "The press are, in principle, permitted to be present in the chamber. In practice, live broadcasting to the wider world has never been done in the wizarding world before now, but there is no particular reason it cannot be." He turned to Jameson. "Minister, please arrange for Magic Vision to be set up here as well." "I'll see to it." “Wonderful.” Maverick allowed himself an easy smile, looking across the assembled table. “I may as well tell you. The venue for the congress has just been decided—it will be held in Vienna. It has been a while since the assembly was last held in Europe. Normally, it takes place somewhere in the Americas or Asia, but perhaps this time, with everything unfolding here, a closer venue was chosen.” “You’re leaving now to head there?” Michael asked. “Yes.” Maverick nodded. Well, he'll visit Nurmengard first. Coming here had simply been to get a clearer understanding of the city’s overall situation as well as the international response. "I presume the World Security Council will be convened shortly after?" the Crown Prince asked. "Tomorrow, Your Highness," Maverick confirmed. "You can expect the notice. To make the announcement formally in the non-magical world, we will hold a joint press conference with the World Security Council and the relevant world leaders present. That way the public sees their own governments at the table alongside ours, which will make the news considerably easier to absorb." "With respect, sir," the old general said, "how confident are you that the world won't descend into chaos regardless? You're asking people to fundamentally revise what they believe to be true. Particularly those with strong religious convictions." "You're right, of course," Maverick said, without dismissing the concern. "We are not expecting the world to accept a new reality overnight. That is precisely why this will be handled as a process rather than an announcement. And I am sure you are aware, given your clearance, of the incident with the alien army last year. We intend to make use of that during the press conference as well. I won't go into the details here, but the approach will be considered carefully enough that people can understand we are part of this planet too, and that it is our home just as much as it is theirs." The general gave a single, measured nod and did not raise any further questions. Maverick swept his gaze across the table one last time, and seeing no one with anything further to add, rose from his chair."Thank you for your time, ladies and gentlemen. If anything urgent comes up, the Minister of Magic and the Prime Minister both know how to reach me..." Once he left the old stone building behind, the next destination was the Austrian Alps near Tyrol. The Fidelius Charm was one of those unreasonable magics whose rules cared little for power. It did not matter how vast one’s magic was, if you did not know, you simply did not know. Before last night, locating Nurmengard would have been impossible for him, but now, after Dumbledore revealed its location to him last night, finding it was no more difficult than going to any ordinary address. Well, it did not even take a minute before he arrived at the destination, and there it was. Perched atop a desolate mountain of black stone, the fortress looked straight out of a supervillain’s lair, a towering monument to despair. He wasn’t sure whether magic had anything to do with it, but with dark clouds blanketing the sky and thunder rolling endlessly across the distant mountains, it felt as though this storm had no intention of ever ending.