Pure Inheritance ~ Ominis Gaunt

Part 13

There were no lookouts, but so many wizards and witches were roaming about that a single step away from the alley would make her stand out. She could fight them -probably- for knowledge, but in doing so, MC would have to bring the building down to the seams.

"What's going on in there?"

Her first guess was that she was in another crime scene. But it seemed incredibly risky to kill a muggle in the city. Yet again, the Gaunt's prime suspects were a bit too narcissistic to care.

- Come on, MC. Think!

She wetted her lips to calm herself.

- I have to get in there.

Regardless of the time, the chatter coming from the building was overwhelming. People were screaming at each other, walking passively, and apparating everywhere. It was like a carnival inside the building- minus the music.

She thought that she could also appear inside and pretend she belonged, but her face was known to the entire community.

She thought hard but always came back to the same solution.

Her hand shuffled inside one of her coat's pockets and came out, grabbing onto a vial with a disgusting-looking potion. Byberg had taken her to several scenes like this one and provided her with a colourful assortment of Polyjuice Potions to keep her concealed. But without him, she didn't know which one to use.

The options varied, but pick the wrong one, and she would be facing the Head of Ministry, and Mr. Diels would be fired without a pension. Her eyes adjusted and scanned the blurry faces that danced between windows, trying to get a clue who was present.

That's when she saw him. The clerk, who had blue-black hair tied in a low and silky ponytail, was carrying a clipboard and making annotations. She didn't quite remember his name, but she did remember he had a soft spot for Tracy Wallace – the first person she impersonated during their ventures.

It was the best option because she had an inkling that she would need to look inside his box full of evidence. She put the vial back in her pocket and rummaged for the one labelled with the witch's name.

Without hesitation, she gulped the liquid, took a moment to gag at the taste, and waited for her features to change slowly. Once she stopped morphing, she apparated inside the building.

The sounds around her were overwhelming, and people screamed orders to one another. They walked quickly, bumping into her and running without giving her a second look.

She took the time to look around, but there was nothing out of place. Moving between the three apartments on the first floor, she studied the wallpaper, the rusty appliances and the abandoned mattress on the floor.

The clock was ticking.

She ran up the stairs to the second floor and was more of the same. Even rat droppings were being collected as evidence, and she saw the blue-haired man reaching to grab all the vials and pouches people handed him.

- Claus, this is disgusting – a young wizard complained.

- Keep at it – he wrote down in his notes.

His voice was monotonous, but a spark in his eyes told her he was highly motivated.

- THE WOMAN IS SEIZING!

MC jumped at the scream behind her, but when she turned around, all she could see was a bunch of grey coats running up to the third floor. Looking back at Claus, she saw him making notes like nothing else was amiss. When he looked up, however, his eyes found hers.

A small smile appeared in the corner of his mouth, and a subtle nod of recognition was his only greeting. He went back to his work, and MC thought he was waiting for her to make a move.