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0811 The Wand
🕑 Added 2025-08-18 10:30:29 +0000 UTCSeemingly having encountered something completely incomprehensible and contrary to all her professional experience, Amelia blinked her eyes vigorously in rapid succession, as if attempting to clear some obstruction from her vision.
Her face contorted in confusion as she wrinkled her nose. Leaning slightly closer to the line of small silver text, she brought her face within inches of the parchment, her eyes scanning the magical lettering with intense scrutiny.
After several long moments of careful examination, during which she traced each letter with her eyes multiple times to ensure absolute accuracy, she confirmed with growing bewilderment that she hadn't misread the message.
Amelia made no direct outburst or fuss about her discovery. Instead, she reached for the quill pen that was inserted diagonally into the inkwell—one of the few personal items that occupied space on her organized office desk.
She dipped the quill into the black ink and quickly wrote a concise message on a slip of official ministry parchment.
Having completed her written inquiry, this young woman who had graduated from the Ilvermorny School less than a year ago quietly rose from her chair. She moved approaching what appeared to be an ordinary Muggle microwave oven.
However, this was clearly no ordinary kitchen appliance.
Amelia opened the microwave door and placed her handwritten note inside the chamber. She then turned the appropriate dial to select the correct department destination and pressed a red button. Accompanied by a brief flash of orange and gold flames, the note she had inserted vanished completely.
Although Bryan appeared to be engaged in polite conversation with Mrs. Hill, at least eighty percent of his attention was actually focused with intensity on the young assistant.
Due to Bryan's obvious interest, Remus was also secretly observing Amelia with growing curiosity. Both men noticed every detail of Amelia's actions with the device, and roughly guessed what she was doing, but neither pointed it out.
The reply came quickly. Accompanied by a slight humming from the device, flames once again swept through the microwave's dark interior, and a piece of parchment appeared out of thin air.
Amelia opened the microwave door with something approaching eagerness, held the document up to the light, and read through its contents at lightning speed.
"Mandy—" Amelia first glanced at Mr. Bryan Watson with slight bewilderment, then called out softly.
"What is it, Amelia? Already finished with the processing?" Mrs. Hill asked with distracted enthusiasm that showed she was still far more interested in her conversation with the famous Bryan Watson than in the mundane details of immigration paperwork.
Without waiting for a response, she turned back toward Bryan and Remus with bright enthusiasm, clearly eager to continue singing the praises of her exceptional assistant.
"Amelia is absolutely the most outstanding young witch I've ever had the privilege of working with in all my years with this department. It only took her a single week to understand and master all my procedures and protocols!
The previous assistant who held this position was, frankly speaking, something of a fool who required half a year of constant instruction and still couldn't manage to use the inter-departmental message communication system properly, despite repeated demonstrations and written instructions!"
"Mandy—" Amelia interrupted softly, knowing that her superior had completely misunderstood the nature of her concern.
She raised the reply letter and Bryan's receipt form in her hand, looked restrainedly at Bryan Watson, who was casting a concerned glance her way.
"Perhaps you should look at this. They—"
Seeming to realize something had happened, Ms. Hill hurried over. She first picked up Bryan's entry receipt and began reading. With Amelia's prompting, she quickly noticed where the problem lay.
"The Security Department wants to confiscate your wand, Mr. Watson?!" Mandy Hill's voice exploded with astonishment and confusion, the words bursting from her lips as if she couldn't believe what she was actually seeing written in official magical ink before her very eyes.
"How could they possibly justify such an action? Oh, surely there must be some terrible mistake somewhere, Amelia? Perhaps the wrong form was attached, or someone confused Mr. Watson's file?" She continued, her voice rising with each word as indignation began to override her initial shock.
Responding to her superior's desperate hope for a reasonable explanation, Amelia timely stepped forward and handed over the official reply she had received from the Security Department.
"This is a certified copy of the Security Department's official filing document, issued directly by Mr. Graves himself," She said softly.
"The order requires Mr. Watson to surrender his wand immediately upon entry to the United States and specifies that he must be accompanied by an authorized official escort at all times during his stay."
Bryan raised an eyebrow, and Remus's expression also darkened.
Regarding the orders from the MACUSA Security Department that Amelia had just relayed, they already knew about the first condition, but the second one—what did that mean?
Was the MACUSA Security Department actually treating Bryan Watson, one of the most respected wizards of his generation, exactly like a dangerous criminal or suspected terrorist requiring constant monitoring?
Were they planning to keep Bryan Watson under surveillance?
"Outrageous!" Mrs. Hill exclaimed with fury. She stared hard at the document, as if trying to find some trace of vomit on it to prove that the wizard who issued this document had drunk too much Firewhisky and was a bit addled. But after examination, everything was normal.
Remus frowned and stepped forward, preparing to say something, but Bryan raised his hand to stop him, smiling calmly.
"That's correct. We were informed in advance."
Amelia and Mandy looked at each other, both finding it hard to believe.
Confiscation of wands and supervised entry, these were treatments reserved entirely for criminals or criminal suspects. Yet Bryan Watson, with his current reputation, was actually willing to accept such harsh conditions?!
Not only did this treatment seem completely inappropriate when applied to Bryan Watson himself, but even Mandy and Amelia, despite being employees of MACUSA who generally supported their organization's policies and decisions, found it extremely difficult to accept that one of the most outstanding and heroic wizards of the current era should be subjected to such suspicious and disrespectful treatment by their own government.
"This is absolutely absurd and completely unjustifiable!" Mrs. Hill shouted with passionate anger, her voice trembling with the force of her indignation as she began moving toward the modified microwave communication device with determined strides.
"I'm going to compose a formal protest note demanding an immediate explanation for this outrageous decision. Just because the Graves family happens to wield overwhelming political influence within the Congressional power structure doesn't mean they can simply ignore established legal precedents and constitutional protections.
Trask Graves has no legitimate authority to make such arbitrary decisions affecting the civil rights of visiting dignitaries, not even President Quahog himself would dare to overstep legal boundaries in such a blatant manner!"
"Trask Graves," Remus said softly, leaning close to Bryan's ear so that his words wouldn't be overheard by the two women. "He's the same high-ranking official who has repeatedly rejected every single one of our sales permit applications over the past several months."
Bryan nodded slightly. He had already heard Remus mention these matters several times.
Amelia looked at Bryan with indecision. Her superior's orders seemed inviolable, but at the same time, she also agreed with Mandy's assertion that this had no legal basis whatsoever and constituted an "unlawful order."
"Thank you both very much for standing up for justice on my behalf—"
Bryan walked over and stopped Mandy from writing the note. He nodded his thanks to the two MACUSA officials he had met for the first time and smiled warmly.
"Although I personally cannot understand the Security Department's decision, I believe they must have made this decision after careful consideration. Therefore, I believe Mr. Graves will not easily waver either."
This was something everyone understood clearly, but except for Bryan, everyone else felt indignant on his behalf.
After hesitating, Mandy said quietly, "I don't know what's really going on, Mr. Watson, but as I said, the Graves family was one of the original twelve founding families who followed President Josiah Jackson in establishing the Magical Congress. His family is very powerful within Congress, with the ability to control many key decisions. If you've come here hoping to accomplish something..."
"Thank you for the reminder," Bryan nodded.
Bryan's arm trembled slightly, and a wand fell into his palm. He held the wand out to Mandy and Amelia.
Amelia accepted Bryan's wand with a somewhat respectful expression, then walked to the filing cabinet behind the office desk and retrieved a brass alchemical device resembling a single-pan balance from one of the cabinets.
Amelia placed the wand on the balance. The machine began vibrating slightly, and a narrow strip of parchment quickly emerged from a slot at the bottom. Amelia tore off the strip and read the text on it.
"Maple wood, nine inches in total length, phoenix feather core,"
Amelia's breathing quickened slightly. She pressed her lips together and glanced at Bryan, then looked to Mandy with a pleading expression, but Mandy was still angry about the Security Department's harsh treatment of her family's savior and didn't notice Amelia's gaze.
"I'm very sorry, Mr. Watson," Amelia took a deep breath, as if this required great courage. But she still looked at Bryan with a stern expression.
"The specifications I just announced don't match the wand information that was registered on your original entry application. According to our records, your wand should be..."
"Oh!"
Bryan slapped his forehead and blinked innocently. Another wand slipped from his left sleeve, and he handed it to Amelia.
"Sorry, I forgot I have two wands. I use them alternately sometimes."
Remus's mouth twitched. He made no comment on Bryan's statement, but looking at the girl Amelia Depp, he suddenly saw some resemblance to Hermione Granger in her.
"Oh, Amelia, honestly, I've told you many times that sometimes you really don't need to be quite so meticulously thorough about every minor detail," Mandy interjected with a tone that carried mild reproach.
Amelia's cheeks reddened. She didn't defend herself, just silently placed the wand on the balance again.
"Ebony wood, twelve inches in total length, dragon heartstring core," Amelia said with obvious relief in her voice as she confirmed that these specifications matched perfectly with the information contained in Bryan's official entry documentation.
Seeing that the technical details were now properly aligned and that there were no remaining discrepancies to resolve, Amelia breathed a quiet sigh of relief.
She placed both analytical strips along with both confiscated wands into a small wooden box. With a series of wand movements, Amelia activated the various magical locks and security protocols that would keep Bryan's wands safely stored until such time as they could be legally returned to him.
Throughout this entire process, Bryan had been watching Amelia's careful attention to procedural details with an expression of thoughtful observation.
When she finally completed the credential processing and handed him the small official booklet that would serve as his temporary identification and entry permit, he suddenly spoke.
"Before we conclude this process, could you perhaps help me convey a specific request to the Security Department?"
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