Ex-Auror Manannán and the Tear of Ra

-Chapter Seven- Mahoutokoro

Despite the incredible success that Oliver had over the past week, tracking down the sword and returning it to Finikis, he was in no way dissuaded from his commitment to find the Domantas Bracelet and therefore the Tear of Ra. He spent the last two days solidly in the library. Finikis and Jynx barely left him alone, and he had to wait until the late hours of that first night before he could search for the book that he knew he needed. As Jynx retired to bed, he utilised the summoning charm and called for the, 'The Imperial Line of Dark Creatures.'

The book came to him. And it was what he had suspected. The book on the outside appeared like a standard edition of the encyclopedia on dark creatures, but the writings inside, where in no way the intended print. Inside, it contained journal entries from Finikis' great-grandfather. Oliver had to use a translation charm on the book, but he was well versed on them. Reading the book, the first thing Oliver took on board was the author's name, Radoslav. It struck him as odd for up until that point, in his mind, he always referred to him simply as Finikis' great-grandfather. Having his words in front of him, it made the man more real. It made Radoslav a person. 

Oliver decided not to share his discovery with his host. He needed to scrutinise the pages and devout his focus to it. He couldn't afford to share it with Finikis, who would no doubt want to read it and connect to his ancestor. The only person Oliver shared the knowledge with was Dumbledore. Using the enchanted whiskey bottle, the ex-Auror sent the headmaster an update on locating the book and finally obtaining unfettered access to the Bergmane library. There was no reply to his update. Oliver believed that it was due to Dumbledore being busy. And he was not mistaken.

Oliver had tried to read it as much as he could without being disturbed or observed. It meant sneaking it in and out of his bag and going to bed early on the second night. Finikis didn't suspect too much, he was still overjoyed with the return of the sword. Jynx too didn't pick up much on Oliver being more closed off. She knew he wanted to devout his time to researching the Tear of Ra and she was more than happy to spend time with Finikis, who seemed like a different man. A more relaxed and happier one.

A Blizzard moved in early the next morning as Oliver woke again chilled to the bone. He created another fireball to instantly heat his room. As he looked out of the window, he smiled at seeing the snowfall. It laid thickly on the castle and the grounds. It brought forward a childhood memory of when he lived in Scotland with his mum and his dad before his dad's untimely passing. He pushed the memory to one side, had a very tepid shower, got changed and then headed downstairs to the dining area to get some breakfast. Jynx and Finikis were not yet up, and Voran kindly and eagerly rustled up a delicious bread and sliced meat platter for Oliver. He quickly scoffed it down and headed towards the library, hoping to get a couple hours of reading before the others woke.

It was three weeks to Christmas, and Finikis had his elves decorate the house. Oliver didn't mind, he enjoyed Christmas and the mansion seemed stunning with the wonderful green and red garland everywhere. Several decorated trees and floating enchanted candles were in every room. After discussing his desire to focus on finding the Tear of Ra, and patently the Domantas bracelet, Oliver decided to spend the whole of the Christmas season at Tree Top Castle. Finikis, of course didn't mind. He was more than happy to have his school friend and sword finder stay with him. Finikis pretty much offered Oliver anything, as gratitude for bringing the sword back.

Oliver found the library empty; it too was decorated with beautiful Christmas garland. Sitting at the table he took out Radoslav's journal. From what Oliver could decipher it was an incomplete second journal. Throughout, it made references to details in the first book. This naturally frustrated Oliver, however, he was able to gleam some interesting stuff about Finikis ancestor. Although nothing about the Tear of Ra, yet.