As the United States’ most renowned master of Charms, Eulalie Hicks made an extraordinary impression the moment she acted. The book in her hand was her unique magical device, a medium through which she could cast all manner of strange magic.
Now, she used that book to create a small Magic-Sealing Prison Cage.
Hogwarts already had an Anti-Apparition Barrier, but wizards like Voldemort and Dumbledore, who defied every ordinary standard, always had methods others could not comprehend.
The earlier Black Spectral Screen had blocked such unconventional teleportation magic. Now, Miss Hicks could do the same—and more.
As Hicks acted, several more figures hurried over. Professor McGonagall, Professor Flitwick, Professor Sprout, Rufus Scrimgeour, and Amelia Bones arrived one after another.
Together with Dumbledore and Miss Hicks, seven elite wizards surrounded Voldemort.
Voldemort gave his wand a light flick and discovered, to his surprise, that it was not merely Apparition being blocked. Powerful external interference kept him from gathering and directing his magic smoothly. He looked at Miss Hicks and raised an eyebrow. "I haven't seen you before."
"Well, you're still young, after all. It's only natural that you haven't met me." Miss Hicks nodded slightly. Though she was getting on in years, time had left more than marks upon her; it had also bestowed the elegance that came with age.
Voldemort was the Dark Lord, a man who had once come close to ruling Britain's entire Wizarding World. The older generation of wizards had been all but wiped out during that dark era.
Though he had not been responsible for all of it, he had certainly encouraged it deliberately.
At the height of his power, no one had dared call him a young man or a junior. Yet now, a woman he did not recognize had casually told him he was