Ex-Auror Manannán and the Tear of Ra

-Chapter Three- A Message in a Bottle

The apparition from the middle of France to Latvia had given Oliver the most excruciatingly splitting headache; more severe than he had ever endured. However, a migraine was a small price to pay. For a less gifted wizard, such a journey could have resulted in splinching. By the time the pain relented, he had walked from one end of Riga to the other. He didn't regret the long-distance apparition, in all fairness, there were few wizards that could have achieved such a trip. Travelling such vast distances via apparition, would leave most wizards, at best, unconscious, at worse, gravely ill. Fortunately, Oliver was extremely gifted in three specific magical abilities, these were his talent for apparating, his knowledge and skill with transfiguration and his mastery of defence against the dark arts. They were all key subjects at Mahoutokoro, and he had finished his schooling top of his year in all of three of these subjects.

The decision to make the hop all in one go, was taken out of a sense of urgency, as well as the desire to limit the number of locations he visited. The thought of travelling via broom or port key had not entered his mind. Flying by broomstick was never an undertaking he enjoyed, and hunting for a portkey to Latvia, would have brought him searching around Diagon Alley, which in turn, would have brought unwanted attention.

Oliver was a little surprised to receive the occasional, strange look from the odd passing muggle. He wasn't wearing a cloak or a hat, so why the peculiar stares? He was wearing his usual green canvas trousers, a blue navy t-shirt and his trademark green Barbour jacket; nothing eccentric. His blonde hair was not unkempt, it was combed and slightly parted to one side.

The strange gazes made Oliver consider spending some time in a small, quite café, down one of the narrow side streets he walked past. He did however, ignore such thoughts, he was close to his destination, a place where muggles would not be found, a place of secrecy and refuge, a place known by the wizarding world as Svetnica's.

The part bar, part hotel, part shelter, was the go-to place for any visiting witch or wizard. Svetnica's was nestled deep in Eastern Europe and had been a refuge for the magical community for over eight-hundred years. It had a revered reputation as a place of haven, the only blemish on its proud record, was the fact that it was once a hot bed of support for the dark wizard Grindelwald.

As Oliver neared the entrance to Svetnica's, his headache had completely subsided and he felt fully cognitively alert. His eyes fell upon the gorgeous fountain, the exquisite statue of a witch held a large shell above her head, as three nymphs rested near her feet. The enchanted doorway to the hidden magical hideaway, was relatively new, compared to how long the refuge had been there for. Oliver gave a glance around, there were a few muggles nearby, but not many; it was an ideal moment to enter. Reaching into his pocket, he took out a Knut and brought it close to his mouth; 'alohomora.' He whispered.

The bronze coin began to glow red as it heated in his hand. Oliver quickly flicked the coin into the ring of water that surrounded the statuette. The eyes of the female statue came to life, as they fixed on the young wizard. The nymphs too threw looks at his direction. At the same exact moment, a billow of mist swirled out from the pool and surrounded the fountain just behind Oliver. The mist raised into the air and formed a cloudy dome around the fountain.

It was not the first-time the wizard had visited Svetnica's, so he was not surprised by what he was observing. He glanced over his shoulder and spotted the few muggles that were around, who now all appeared to be frozen in time. Oliver knew that that was not an accurate observation, it wasn't that the outside of the foggy dome was frozen, it was in fact that time inside the dome was being sped up and concealed from the outside world.

The woman statue stepped down from the plinth and into the water as the three nymphs floated around. She pulled down the large shell that she had held above her head, brought it low and into the water. The pool began to part and build up behind the shell, as the floor of the fountain was revealed. Water built up high into the air, held-up like a reverse waterfall, the ground inside the fountain became completely dry. The stone flooring began to click and shake as some of the stones started to sink into the earth. In moments, a large downward staircase was revealed. Oliver quickly stepped into the fountain and made his way down the recently created staircase. The steps seemed a little slippery under his feet and the way ahead was pitch black; but he was aware that it was safe, so he continued.