Future Projects

On her way back to the Slytherin dormitory, Anna took a turn and headed in another direction.

She had spent the past two days resting in the Hospital Wing. Under Madam Pomfrey's strict supervision, she hadn't stepped outside the door, much less sent a letter.

Fortunately, Snape had brought her the documents delivered by owl each morning. With no classes to attend, she had plenty of time to deal with them.

On the way, Anna sought out an empty classroom and wrote another letter. She had to give her old father a meticulous account of the outcome of her conversation in the Headmaster's Office.

With the two letters tucked away, she made her way to the tower on the west side of Hogwarts.

This was the Hogwarts Owlery, where the school owls and the students' pet owls usually rested. Large, glassless windows surrounded it, letting the owls come and go while keeping the place well ventilated.

Even so, feathers and dust still drifted through the air. Sometimes students who had misbehaved were sent to clean the Owlery as punishment.

But no students had come to clean it today. Aside from the sound of owls flapping their wings, there were no voices in the Owlery.

Anna entered and called for her own owl among the hundreds upon thousands of birds, then handed it the two letters.

"Off you go."

The girl spoke softly, and the owl took flight at her words, soon disappearing into the dim night.

Standing by the railing, she gazed into the distance. Much of Hogwarts lay before her, and light shone from some of the castle windows like brilliant yellow sapphires, bringing life to the ancient building.

Anna thought about many things. The Order of the Phoenix, founded by Dumbledore, was already beginning to take shape and had started fighting Voldemort. Perhaps she could persuade Daddy to cooperate with the Acolytes; after all, she had had people secretly watching the Death Eaters for several years.

The sooner that blight was removed, the better. But the Horcruxes were a major problem. She didn't know how many more pieces Voldemort could cut from his soul if he was pushed too far, so she still needed to find more information about Horcruxes.

As for the Dawn Archipelago, it was home to half-blood witches and wizards abandoned by their families, people pursuing the ideal of a new world, and Muggles who had talent in various fields but no opportunity to use it, all brought back from around the world by the Acolytes over the years. Even so, they were still far too few for islands capable of holding ten million people.

At the beginning, it had been like clearing virgin land, and those had also been the two busiest years for all the Acolytes.

The archipelago now had a fledgling Fantastic Beasts breeding park and a series of laboratories, including a Potions technology research and development center, an alchemical technology research and development center, a spell improvement research and development center, a Muggle technology research center, and a Muggle weapons research center.

Supplies and the like were all shipped in from outside, but at least they had developed quite a few new products over the past two years. These sold briskly in the Wizarding World, so the funding could basically cover the archipelago's expenses.

Recently, the alchemical technology and spell improvement research and development centers had joined forces to tackle a new challenge Anna had given them a year ago: a small alchemical teleportation array.

The Dawn Archipelago lay in the middle of the ocean, and Floo Powder was currently the most common way to reach it, but using this means of transport consumed a staggering amount.

Portkeys left people far too dizzy afterward, and they were difficult to make and strictly regulated by the Ministry of Magic.

Because the entire archipelago was protected by numerous powerful Notice-Me-Not Charms, Confundus Charms, Protective Charms, and other spells, anyone using Apparition was likely to get lost. For now, the first two methods were therefore used to enter and leave the Dawn Archipelago.

If they could develop their own alchemical teleportation array that consumed less, transported only one person at a time, and worked like a ticket, producing a fixed Apparition effect whenever it was used to bring someone safely and accurately to the Dawn Archipelago, they would no longer need to use Floo Powder so often. It would also be convenient to carry.

According to North's latest message, some progress had already been made on the array. At the very least, they had recreated a large teleportation array that had been lost long ago.

With the support of ideas drawn from the ancient Chinese cultivation civilization, the project had incorporated the concept of teleportation scrolls. It would not be long before they could improve it into a small teleportation array with low consumption.

Once it was a complete success, it would be time to formally launch the "Dawn Magical Commercial District Project," modeled on Diagon Alley, and the "Magical Technology Commercial District Project" on the Dawn Archipelago.

For the first project, some Acolytes were currently traveling around the world, trying to persuade various wizarding merchants to set up shop there. They had not told them the exact location, however, and most of the arrangements were still under discussion.

The second project would consist of shops selling goods produced on the Dawn Archipelago itself. It was an important departure point for the great ship of the new world, a core plan of great importance both now and in the future.

After that, projects such as a magical technology primary school, a wizarding technology university, and a wizarding amusement island could all be put on the agenda. There was still much to do.

What Anna and the Acolytes lacked most right now was people, especially witches and wizards. This was also their biggest headache.

Their activities over the past few years had presumably alerted the Ministries of Magic in various countries that something was amiss. Aurors had already begun paying attention to where their countries' witches and wizards were going. Once the commercial district plans were launched, there was no chance of keeping them hidden.

For that reason, she needed wizarding families to settle there and invest, preferably highly respected ones, so she could use their support to withstand pressure from Ministries of Magic around the world for a time.

With the interests of several parties entangled, there would be no serious trouble as long as they refrained, for the time being, from openly reaching into the Muggle World and did not publicly overturn the International Statute of Secrecy outright.

Aside from the United States across the ocean, which opposed contact with Muggles, and the United Kingdom and parts of Europe, which were deep under Voldemort's rule, some wizarding families far from the conflict should be open to persuasion.

Since she was now at the center of the maelstrom, perhaps she could sound out Abraxas Malfoy.

Lucius Malfoy had presumably already reported what he knew about her to him. Old Malfoy, whose soul would return to the River Styx in a few years, understood the meaning of self-interest far better than his son and was harder to deal with.

But she had plenty of bargaining chips, as well as leverage over Voldemort and the Malfoy family. Even if negotiations between them failed, Anna would never let herself be placed at a disadvantage.

Thinking of all this, the girl felt that she and the Acolytes still had a long and difficult road ahead. She could not help letting out a long sigh.

These matters crowded her mind. Though she was at the very center of a future storm, just a few days ago she had still thought herself outside the world, even causing her magic to run wild. The complex thoughts and feelings of human beings were truly impossible to fathom.

The last glimmer of sunset had vanished from the horizon. A slightly chilly night breeze blew through the open windows, clearing her head considerably and sweeping away her distracting thoughts.

"Time to go back."

Anna spoke to herself, but as she turned to head downstairs, something caught the corner of her eye.

Hmm? Was someone on the slope over there?