The Arcane Extraction : A Magical Heist

Chapter 6: The Newest member of the Team

Duncan was waiting in his office for a call that he expected. He was staring out of his window, at the beach which had white sands. 'Beautiful yet hideous. Illusions are always hideous' he thought. But he still couldn't look away.

Then a paper zoomed in front of him and rested on his stretched-out hand which read, "The meeting is at 10 P.M at the Minister's office."

Duncan checked his watch, he had five minutes left. He quickly picked up his leather bag and checked it, ensuring all his files are present. Then he quickly walked out of his office.

The Mister's office door was just a few feet away from him. He checked his watch again and there was one minute to ten. Duncan adjusted his walk a bit slower and at exactly 10, he knocked the door.

'The door was opened by a young woman who recognized him and said, 'Mr. Hill, please enter, Minister is here and we are still waiting for him." Duncan gave a nod and entered the office. 'Evening, Mam' Duncan said as he removed his hat looking directly at the woman who paused her reading. The woman had a bushy brown hair and her attire though was almost perfect reflected that she had been working non-stop for quite a while. Hermione Granger nodded and said "Welcome Duncan, please take a seat. He should be here shortly." Just as she uttered these words the door was knocked again to which Hermione mouthed 'Perfect timing'. The door was once again unlocked and A man with greying scuffed hair, a bi spectacle glasses and a lightning shaped scar on his forehead, entered, "Just in time" he said as he smiled at them.

"That will be all" Hermione dismissed the young woman and the young woman left the room at once leaving the trio.

Harry Potter looked at the two of them and said "Hermione, Duncan" and nodded to which they reciprocated.

Hermione pointed her wand and Duncan could feel the magical Aura of protection which she was enchanting. 'Must have done this many times' Duncan thought with an admiration.

'You have the floor, Duncan'. Hermione spoke. Duncan rose and he collected few files from his lather bag and he handed over to them.

'Mam, Sir, we have intel to believe that a well-known thief and his team are planning for a heist. This normally would require the attention of the Minister of Magic and the Head of Magical Law enforcement, but the severity of the effects if the heist was successful is of a huge concern.'

'What is the target?' asked Harry.

'Have you heard of the Arcane book? Simply referred to The Arcane?' Duncan asked both of them.

The both of them looked puzzled but their faces showed eagerness.

'Mr. Kingsley – the former minister of magic was the first man here to come to know about it and the knowledge of it was only known to a very handful of witches and wizards. So it is for this reason, our clandestine unit was formed. Mr. Kingsley himself was the lead Auror even while he was the minister. But later after so many months of searching, we disbanded the group and our unit became dedicated to watch and infiltrate higher skilled thieves.'

'But what is Arcane?' Harry potter asked.

'Sir, there are only rumors about it and we are still quite not sure. But the rumors are thus. It is said to be a powerful book which can control a person's fate, his life, his actions and even his death.' He finished and this earned a few moments of pause from all of them.

'Sounds difficult to be true but we cannot take the chance.' Hermione broke the silence. 'You have said that the search for it is given up, but why the sudden interest?' she asked.

'Mam, I was tracking the thief Ashford Thorne for a while when he had failed a break in attempt of the magical prison facility in Italy. Please read my report on the file. I was the Auror who was assigned to the case and Ashford was trying to break his father out of the prison. But me and a few Aurors intercepted him. We couldn't catch Ashford, but he was stopped from getting his father out.'

'Wait a minute' interrupted Harry. 'His father is a muggle! Why is he in a wizard's prison?' asked Harry.

'Sir the Report of that is still in the following pages but let me summarize, He was a muggle trickster magician under the name of Maestro Mirage. He had a wife – Isabella Thorne who was a witch and she apparently hid that from him. So, when Marius Thorne found that about it, he showed his true self. As a part of my psychological analysis of him, I have reported that Marius Thorne was a bit of self-eccentric and thus couldn't stand that his wife could perform real magic instead of tricks. Hence during one of his acts, he blew out an entire theatre, killing his wife, and most of his friends and family, the theatre audiences. You might have heard it. It happened here in England. The muggles reported it as a gas explosion gone wrong and Me and the Aurors arrested Marius. How ever Ashford was a young man who accompanied his father always and also supported him in acts. He was  enchanted by his father and would do anything for him. That is why Ashford still wants to break his father out and when we arrested Marius, Ashford attacked all of us using knives, we would have been dead if not for the quick thinking of one of our senior Aurors and his automatic projectile repelling hats. Ashford has talents, you see.' Duncan finished.

'So, then I was keeping an eye on Ashford. He partnered with Sylvia, the Thornes' neighbors and family friends – the Rosenblatts. They committed so many thefts and sketchy jobs for the underworld. Another one of their associates is one of the associates of Marius. His name is Maurice an old man with powerful contacts and highly cunning knowledge.'

'Now they are planning for a heist in Gringotts. With a team of four members for now and they are looking for a fifth.'

'The Gringotts? I do have broken into it but we were extremely lucky. And they have even increased their security. And how does Arcane figure in to it' Harry said.

'Yes sir, this was a reliable intel from my confidant. And I had another information that the Arcane is being temporarily stored in the Gringotts. The secret society who has the Arcane in their procession, doesn't have a place for it and they keep moving it constantly from one secure location to another. Most heists target it when the mark is being transported but the secret society is always one step ahead. This is the first time that we even have a location for it.'

Duncan paused and then he continued, "I only came across this when I was keeping an eye on Ashford and he was recruiting Sylvia, a German muggle engineer, Maurice and Marcus a young new forger. Then they are planning to rob Gringotts but I believe they are being hired by someone who is actually planning to steal the Arcane for themselves. I highly believe that they belong to the secret society themselves. May be a wizard or witch of the order who has gone rogue which is usually the case.'

'Have you made out who is the employer of Ashford for this heist?' Hermione asked. To which she got a shake from Duncan.

'Sir I need authorization to go undercover as a rogue Auror from Ministry of magic. I have established contact with Ashford and I believe I can pull this off, minister. I have given you very detailed information on Ashford, his family and his whole team. I am sure you can have that under strict confidentiality. And Please if any Aurors are to close in on them, I believe you could give me a heads up?'

After a while they both nodded. Then Hermione said, 'Well then please proceed and keep us updated. Dismissed.'

When Harry stood up, Hermione gestured Harry to sit and Duncan understood the situation and hasted out of the room.

Duncan was seated in a chair, his elbows placed atop the dusty table before him while his right hand enclosed his left, obscuring most of his face. He scanned the surroundings and eyed the table where he and Ashford sat not too long ago.

The door opened to reveal Ashford, dressed in his usual taste, who looked around and at once found Duncan. He then proceeded to sit opposite to Duncan, with two chairs empty next to each of them.

"It seems like you got my message, Ashford." Duncan said. "And you've got mine." Ashford smiled. "Were dispensing with the last names. My, my, I've got a very powerful friend indeed!" Ashford said. "I understand the sarcasm, but you do need to get along with me. Because you have got no choice, Ashford, as I am going to be a part of the team!"