Chapter 1: The Invitation
The invitation arrived in a crisp black envelope, sealed with a wax emblem unfamiliar to Hermione Granger. It was neither the Ministry’s official crest nor the worn Hogwarts insignia. Instead, it bore an intricate design—a serpent wrapped around a crescent moon. The parchment inside was written in elegant, flowing script.
Ms. Granger,
We are in possession of knowledge you seek. A matter of history, erased from time itself. Meet us at midnight, August 12th, beneath the Williamsburg Bridge, New York City. Come alone.
No signature. No sender. Just the promise of something long lost.
Hermione, now thirty-three and working as a senior legal consultant for the International Confederation of Wizards, rarely entertained anonymous invitations. But something about this one—the way the ink shimmered as though alive—felt different.
She glanced at the clock on her London townhouse wall. If she left now, she could still catch the last international Portkey.
Chapter 2: Shadows in the City
New York City’s magical underworld was nothing like London’s. While Diagon Alley hummed with tradition and bureaucracy, this place was wild—full of unregistered artifacts, rogue spellcasters, and hidden markets. The air beneath the Williamsburg Bridge smelled of rain and old metal, the hum of Muggle life above blending with unseen enchantments below.
Hermione waited. The moon was high when she heard the whisper of footsteps.
A man emerged from the darkness, tall and sharp-featured, dressed in a dark peacoat. His hair was silver—not from age, but by choice, dyed in streaks that shimmered in the night.
“Ms. Granger,” he said, voice smooth as silk. “You came.”
“Depends,” she replied, crossing her arms. “Are you about to waste my time?”
The man smirked. “Not at all. My name is Silas Kain. I represent an organization that exists outside the Ministry’s reach. We know you’ve been researching The Covenant of Merlin.”
Hermione’s heart stopped.
The Covenant was a legend—a secret faction of wizards who had sworn an unbreakable oath to guard ancient magical artifacts, ones even Hogwarts had long forgotten. It was believed they had vanished centuries ago.
“You’re lying,” she said, though her voice lacked conviction.
Silas reached into his coat and withdrew an object. A small, tarnished key, humming with enchantment.
“This belonged to Godric Gryffindor himself,” he said. “And it unlocks something your Ministry would rather keep buried.”
Hermione hesitated. If he was telling the truth, this could change wizarding history. If he was lying, she was walking into a trap. Either way, she had to know.
Chapter 3: The Vault of the Forsaken
Two nights later, they stood inside the abandoned tunnels beneath Wall Street. Once, this had been the foundation of an old magical bank, long before Gringotts’ expansion to America. The goblins had abandoned it centuries ago, but the wards remained.
The key burned hot in Hermione’s palm as she pressed it against the iron door. The lock twisted with a metallic groan, gears grinding against years of dust.
Inside was a vast chamber, lit by blue torches that flickered to life as they entered. Rows of ancient tomes lined the walls, shelves holding relics wrapped in protective enchantments. At the center of the room, atop a marble pedestal, rested a single book—bound in black leather, its pages edged in gold.
“The Codex of the Forsaken,” Silas murmured. “The Ministry covered up its existence. Inside are spells lost to time. Magic the world fears.”
Hermione stepped closer, heart hammering. The air around the book was thick with energy, raw and untamed. She reached out—
And the ground trembled.
From the shadows, figures emerged, their robes marked with the insignia of the American Magical Congress.
“You are trespassing on forbidden ground,” a voice echoed.
Silas cursed. “They found us faster than I expected.”
Hermione turned to face them. She recognized the lead enforcer—Valerie Rookwood, descendant of one of Voldemort’s most devoted followers.
“This book is Ministry property,” Valerie said, stepping forward. “Surrender it, and we may let you leave unharmed.”
Hermione tightened her grip on her wand. She wasn’t one to be intimidated.
“You mean stolen knowledge? Erased history?” Her voice was sharp. “I don’t think so.”
Silas moved fast, flicking his wand in a silent incantation. The torches exploded, plunging the room into chaos. Hermione barely had time to shield herself before spells flew, red and green streaks of magic colliding mid-air.
She grabbed the book, feeling the magic pulse beneath her fingertips.
“Portkey—now!” Silas shouted, tossing her a silver coin.
Hermione didn’t hesitate. She grasped it, feeling the familiar yank behind her navel. The world twisted—
And then, silence.
Chapter 4: The Cost of Truth
They landed inside a dimly lit safehouse, the scent of old parchment and burning incense filling the air.
“You didn’t tell me they’d be waiting for us,” Hermione snapped.
Silas exhaled. “I underestimated their surveillance. But we have the Codex now.”
Hermione opened the book carefully. The words inside shimmered, shifting between languages older than Latin. Some were spells. Others were warnings.
And then, on the final page, an entry that made her breath catch:
The Blood Oath of the Covenant must never be broken. The price of betrayal is death.
Hermione frowned. “What does this mean?”
Silas hesitated. “It means there’s something bigger than the Ministry at play. And now that we have this knowledge…” He glanced at her, expression unreadable. “We’re targets.”
Hermione closed the book, a weight settling in her chest. She had spent years fighting for truth, for justice. But some truths came with a cost.
Outside, an ominous wind howled through the streets of New York, carrying the distant echo of something ancient—something watching.
And the Covenant of Merlin had just marked her as its newest enemy—or its only hope.
Chapter 5: The Unseen Foe
The safehouse they had Apparated into was eerily quiet, save for the occasional creak of an old wooden beam settling beneath the weight of years. The air was thick with the scent of tobacco and aging parchment, the walls lined with shelves that appeared to hold centuries of accumulated magical knowledge. For a brief moment, it felt as though they had stepped into a forgotten part of history.
Hermione placed the Codex of the Forsaken carefully on a nearby table, her fingers lingering on the black leather cover. The weight of the book was unlike anything she had ever felt before, a force of its own that seemed to hum with untold power. She had thought herself prepared for the discovery of something ancient, but this? This was beyond anything she could have imagined.
Silas watched her closely, his silver eyes reflecting an unreadable expression. He leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed, and exhaled slowly.
“You didn’t expect this, did you?” he asked quietly.
Hermione glanced up at him, her brow furrowing. “I expected something dangerous. But the scale of this… this is something different.”
“You have no idea,” Silas replied, his voice dark with an undertone of something bitter. “What we’re dealing with here isn’t just some forgotten relic. The Covenant’s magic is older than you can fathom. And it’s more than a group of wizards who simply disappeared.”
Hermione felt her heartbeat quicken. “What do you mean?”
Silas took a long, deliberate breath before pushing himself off the doorframe and stepping toward the table. He ran a hand through his silver hair, as if trying to collect his thoughts.
“The Covenant of Merlin was never just about guarding magical artifacts,” he said, his voice lowering. “It was about controlling the balance of power within the magical world. The artifacts they protected weren’t just powerful—they were transformative. They could change the very fabric of magic itself, altering the balance between light and dark.”
Hermione’s mind raced. “So you’re saying these wizards were essentially the keepers of some kind of ultimate power?”
Silas nodded gravely. “Exactly. And the Codex is the key to finding that power. But there’s a reason it was hidden away. A reason no one has ever been able to find it.”
Hermione’s pulse quickened, the pieces of the puzzle starting to come together in a way that unsettled her. “And now we’ve found it. So what happens next?”
Silas didn’t answer immediately, his gaze flicking to the shadows at the far end of the room. Then, with a sudden shift in tone, he asked, “What do you know about the Prophecy of the Forsaken?”
Hermione hesitated. “I’ve read about it. A prophecy that was supposedly sealed away because it foretold the rise of a dark power that would challenge the entire magical world.”
Silas’s expression darkened. “It’s not just a prophecy. It’s a warning. The Covenant knew it would come to pass, that the world would be on the brink of destruction. They believed that only the blood of the original covenant holders could prevent it.”
Hermione blinked in confusion. “But that doesn’t make sense. If they knew about it, why would they let it happen?”
Silas hesitated, then looked her straight in the eye. “Because the only way to stop it… is to betray the Covenant itself.”
Chapter 6: Secrets of the Past
The silence between them was heavy. Hermione’s mind whirred as she processed what Silas had just revealed. A betrayal. The idea of such an oath, such a bond being broken, seemed almost unthinkable. But if it was true, the implications were catastrophic.
“Who…” Hermione began, her voice trembling slightly. “Who would make that choice? To break the oath and destroy the Covenant?”
Silas ran a hand through his hair, as though weighing the words carefully. “I can’t answer that. Not yet. But what I do know is that someone has already made the decision. And they’ve been preparing for this moment for a very long time.”
Hermione’s throat went dry. “You mean… someone has already betrayed them?”
“Yes.” His voice was low, almost a whisper. “The one who holds the Codex is meant to be the guardian. They carry the knowledge of the Covenant’s true purpose. But if that guardian falls, the balance shifts. And that’s exactly what’s happening now.”
A chill ran down Hermione’s spine as the weight of his words sank in. “So you’re saying that whoever is behind this… they want me to fall. They want me to break the oath. They want me to destroy the Covenant.”
Silas’s eyes met hers, his expression grim. “I don’t know. But whoever they are, they have access to powers that are beyond our understanding. They’re already making their move.”
Hermione stood up abruptly, pacing the room as the pieces of the puzzle clicked into place in her mind. “But why New York? Why now?”
“The answer is in the Codex,” Silas said. “We just haven’t unlocked it yet.”
Chapter 7: The Veil of Deceit
The Codex had become an enigma. The runes inscribed on its pages shimmered with an unnatural light, as if daring her to uncover its secrets. Yet every time Hermione attempted to decipher them, the words twisted and shifted, just out of reach. It was as though the book itself was alive, resisting her attempts to understand its true meaning.
As hours passed, Hermione’s frustration grew. She couldn’t afford to wait. The danger was too real. Silas was right about one thing: they weren’t the only ones after the Codex. The Ministry had long been aware of the artifacts’ power, but the American Magical Congress? They were a whole different force, with agendas of their own.
“This isn’t just about the Codex,” she said, more to herself than to Silas. “This is about something bigger. The Ministry’s been hiding this for years, but there are factions within the wizarding world that want this power. They don’t care about the Covenant’s original purpose. They only care about what they can control.”
Silas stood up, walking to the far end of the room where an old fireplace crackled softly. “And that’s what makes this so dangerous. We’re not just dealing with one enemy. We’re dealing with a network of power-hungry individuals, each with their own agendas.”
Hermione paused, feeling the weight of the Codex in her hands once again. “And if they get their hands on it before we do…?”
“It’s not just the Codex they want,” Silas replied, his voice dark. “It’s the power behind it. Whoever controls the Codex can control the world of magic. The balance of power will shift, and if they succeed… it’ll be the end of everything we know.”
Hermione clenched her jaw, her resolve hardening. She couldn’t let that happen. Not again. Not after everything the wizarding world had already endured.
“We have to stop them,” she said, more firmly now.
But just as she was about to speak again, the door to the safehouse creaked open.
A shadowy figure stepped inside.
Chapter 8: Betrayal Unfolds
Silas and Hermione both spun toward the intruder. The figure stepped into the dim light, revealing a tall, cloaked figure with a mask obscuring most of their face. Their voice, though distorted by magic, was unmistakable.
“I see you’ve come this far, Hermione Granger.”
Her heart stopped.
To be continued…
