Chapter 102: Chapter 102. A Drive Past A Lonely Cottage

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… Albeline Manor…

… Outskirts of Slough…

(A day earlier)

I stared at the letter that had been delivered by owl that morning, it had the Minister of Magic's seal on it. Without opening it, I could guess the contents of the letter. It had only been a few weeks since I turned Celeste over to the Ministry and although I was quick to turn down their re-offer to join the Ministry as an Auror, I expected this outcome. The Ministry of Magic couldn't force me to join their ranks but they were well aware that it would be better to have me on their side, as well as keep me close enough for them to spy on.

I broke the seal with a letter opener and quickly scanned the letter, my brows furrowing. My left eye was revealed, a thin jagged scar running over it. It was an invitation to Celeste's trial, not as a witness but as a member of the Wizengamot. It was a peace offering of sorts and I would accept it graciously, things were going according to plan.

It was an odd occurrence indeed but the Minister of Magic held some sway and could make special exceptions. I knew that Harry Potter had a hand in this because he had been a little too earnest in recruiting me to join the Ministry, almost like he wanted to pay off a debt. The trial was in a couple of days and I would be attending, of course. The trial was merely a formality as she had already been convicted, and the evidence against her was extensive.

For now, there was a separate matter that I had been looking into before the letter from the Ministry came in. I stuffed the opened letter into a drawer and turned my gaze to the pile of chocolate bars on my desk.

They were chocolate Ro-Bars and were edible, the original harmless candy bars, not the deathly drug that had recently been introduced to the market. Ro-Bars themselves included an ingredient that released dopamine to whoever took a bite out of it. The blue Egyptian lotus was Rowan Roberts' secret ingredient.

Blue Egyptian lotus was a plant that fell into a gray area as it wasn't endemic to Britain and was also not a dangerous substance to ingest. However, it could be mixed with certain plants to produce some immensely dangerous substances.

I had gotten my hands on the drug-infused Ro-Bars as soon as they were released into the market and a thorough test revealed what it was that was being infused into the bars. Wood Rose, also known as the Flower of Hades. Its usage was banned in Britain as well as several other Wizarding communities from the dangerous effects of the plant.

Combined with the long-lasting euphoric effects of the blue Egyptian lotus made it the dream drug. Ingesting the drug would cause a long-lasting high and no matter how often or how long the drug was being used, the intensity of the high achieved never waned.

It was exactly the kind of drug that heroin addicts would sell their kidneys for but the side effects were far worse than going bankrupt. The price of being able to remain in the best kind of high nonstop was a heavy one.

Wood Rose was a fully parasitic plant and when ingested after being activated by magic, it sucked its host dry from within. It was also dangerously addictive to the point of insanity. Not to mention, the pollen of the plant was a very potent poison that killed without a trace, and it was an endangered species endemic to New Zealand.

It truly lived up to its name of being the Flower of Death and was rightfully ruled illegal to use and consume.

After dissecting the drug, I did further research on who was behind it. Rowan Roberts didn't strike me as a man who would make such a risky move, even though I had never met him in person. If he had been behind it though, what was his purpose? What did he hope to achieve by putting out such a dangerous drug for public consumption?

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My research led me to a shabby apartment in 'Dead street', the basement of the apartment was where the drugs were being made. My research into the place provided no answers, it was clear that the grubby Wizards preparing the drug weren't the masterminds behind the dangerous drug and were working for someone. Could it be a ploy of Rowan himself? Or an upcoming Wizard hoping to take out a Dark Lord so that they could replace him.

After finding out all I could, I sat back and watched it unfold. I had no obligation to get involved in whatever mess was going down, it was better to have a front seat to watch the chaos that would stem from it.

Juni had actually been the one to buy the Ro-Bars on my desk for me. She said that she noticed that I seemed a little stressed so she had asked Ji-hun to help her get some for me.

'Stressed?' I'm no stressed than I was last week, last month, a year ago… I massaged the sides of my head with the tips of my fingers, my eyes squeezed shut. Would there be no end to it?

I flicked my eyes open to stare at the Ro-Bars, maybe Juni had a point. Instead of reaching out to pick one up though, I rose from my chair. I had made a decision to depend on no one but myself, which included drugs as well. It was so easy to come to depend on those periods of fake happiness. I would not be falling into that trap because I knew well that there would be no coming out of it.

I grabbed my coat and made for the door of my study. A quick check of the time told me that it was mid-afternoon, not mid-morning as I thought it was. It would also do me some good to eat some food so that I wouldn't be considering ingesting a happy pill in form of a sticky chocolate bar.

Wilkins was quick to attend to me when I requested a meal to eat. The entire dining table was filled with food although I was the only one sitting at the table. I made no comments on this, quietly eating like I always did. As long as the food wasn't going to waste, Wilkins was free to do whatever he wanted.

I planned to go on a drive, it was one of the little pleasures that I allowed myself to have. I was the kind of collector that wouldn't hesitate to drive my collectibles around. As long as they remained in good shape then they were certified drivable by me.

"Inform Juni to get ready for a drive." I dismissed Wilkins after the table had been cleared. I stared outside a window from the dining hall, it was a fine spring evening. The skies were clear and the breeze gentle, the perfect weather for a casual evening drive.

Juni was already waiting patiently at the foyer when I got to it, barely banked excitement filling her small form. Of her own volition, she chose not to leave the mansion again so these evening drives were the only inspiration materials for her scenery painting hobbies.

I drove in the direction of the town instead of away, keeping the speed of the car steady. I had no intention of entering the town, I would just drive in this direction for a while and then return. Just like with the Albeline Manor, the little cottage that Vannessa used to live in was visible from the main road. I had thought about mowing it down a couple of times since it was unoccupied but I never got around to doing it.

I could still see the crooked sign that informed travelers that they had reached Butter Street, it was a silly little landmark.

"Vanessa was long gone by the time I returned back to the manor house, I never looked into her disappearance because it didn't matter…" I said in a distant voice to Juni when she asked about the cottage.

Juni was frozen in shock, perhaps shock from hearing me speak so much or shock from hearing me actually answering her question, most likely both. She recovered quickly, a faint smile on her face as she turned to stare at the lonely cottage till it went out of sight.

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