Harry Potter Squib Tales Chapter 84: Sirius Black, Dog of War (Part 2) (Patreon)

Chapter 84: Sirius Black, Dog of War (Part 2)

Sirius POV

The night was not silent in Kigali. There were lots of noises that caused Sirius’ ears to twitch. Sirens. Shouting. Gunfire.

‘It’s started,’ Sirius thought to himself, rising from his spot on the roof, pausing to scratch one of his ears.

It was early morning of April 7th. Last night, President Habyarimana’s airplane was shot down. Emergency government meetings had occurred and Prime Minister Agathe Uwilingiyimana had been meeting with the government committee trying to establish some sort of control.

Not too long ago, the Prime Minister had returned home after illegally being denied the presidency by the committee. They claimed she had ‘no support.’ A lie. Sirius had eavesdropped in many places and learned she was a respected leader amongst the Hutu moderates and even the Tutsi. She would have ensured calm, if this was happening in a vacuum. But it wasn’t. This was all part of an evil plan.

Coup forces were amassing in the streets, whipping up mobs, and the butchery was starting. Sirius had done what he could do to rescue as many members of the moderate government as possible late last night.

He had snuck into homes and Transfigured the inhabitants into marbles to protect them. The list Ed had given him was used, and Sirius also helped plenty of people who hadn’t been named thanks to his investigations, and he’d managed to ensure the Minister of Agriculture, the President of the Constitutional Court, the Arusha Accord’s negotiator, and dozens of lesser officials and their families would not be dragged out of their beds and butchered in the street. More than a hundred were now safely secured in their tiny spherical forms within a bag.

Now, it was time to act to protect the Prime Minister. He’d saved her for last, for a couple of reasons, but the main one was that he’d run out of time getting the rest of the people to safety.

Currently in his Animagus form, Sirius was perched on a roof close to the Prime Minister’s residence. He glanced around, making sure nobody was nearby, and turned back into a human, making sure to put on his identity scrambling sunglasses.

‘Heh, I look so cool!’ he thought to himself, still able to see through them normally thanks to a secondary enchantment on the lens.

Once he was back in his regular body, he fished out his Mokeskin bag, and got dressed in the body armor while taking out the Excalibur and Merlin firearms and laying the flying carpet down before getting onto it.

Making sure the bag full of the Transfigured people was safely secured, he cast some Disillusionment spells to prevent being spotted and took off into the air, circling the home he was protecting.

Ten Belgian UN soldiers and five Ghanese had been sent to protect the Prime Minister, along with several members of the Rwandan presidential guard. But Sirius knew thanks to Ed’s foreknowledge that around 7 am, the presidential guard would begin to act, surround the UN soldiers. The UN forces would foolishly throw their weapons down and surrender, only to be tortured to death by the coup forces later on.

Prime Minister Agathe would escape, but her mistake would be to head to the UN compound in Kigali. Then, at 10 a.m., the PG would invade the compound and, without resistance, start searching for her and any other ‘undesirables.’

Back in the present, a Hutu extremist mob had reached the gates of the Prime Minister’s home, and this seemed to be the sign for the traitorous PG. They started to act, rounding up and surrounding the UN troops. It began as a stand-off, the troopers refusing to surrender – for now.

‘Not on my watch,’ he thought, picking up the Excalibur and looking down the sight. Through it, the walls were practically non-existent as he could see the outlines of people through them thanks to the Human Revealing charm the scope was enchanted with.

He pulled the trigger, and a presidential guard dropped dead as a Piercing hex enhanced bullet went through the wall, and then the man in question. That cause an eruption of chaos, nobody sure what was happening, and the PG and UN both unsure of what to do or who to blame.

There were still enemies he had to eliminate, and Sirius began to open fire onto the traitors, killing them with well-placed, magically infused bullets. After eliminating all of the PG, the gunshots and bloodshed seemed to spook the mob outside in the street, and a few shots into them, targeting those who held blood-stained weapons, sent them scattering.

“That takes care of that,” he muttered to himself, before soaring down to land in the courtyard.

Naturally, his presence, and that of his ‘unorthodox’ method of transportation, startled the Belgians and one of them tried to shoot him. It didn’t work, and Sirius Banished the gun from his hands with a flick of his left wrist, where is hidden wand was sheathed.

“So, you won’t shoot murderous rioters or traitorous soldiers, but you will shoot the guy who saved your bacon,” Sirius snorted. “As expected of a Belgian.”

“You-! Who are you?!” another soldier demanded, his voice shaky.

“Stand down! Stand down, you idiots!” the sergeant in charge of the UN soldiers snapped, striding in between them, before glaring at Sirius. “You! What the hell is going on?!”

“Call me… Agent Black,” the Animagus said, a tiny smirk on his face. “And I’m here to rescue the Prime Minister and her family, since you guys cannot handle such a simple task.”

‘Yes, no one will suspect my code name is actually my real name! It’s so stupid it’s genius!’ he thought to himself, mentally patting himself on the back.

“Who sent you?” the sergeant demanded suspiciously. “And how did you… do all that?”

He was eyeing the flying carpet still hovering an inch or two above the ground, and Sirius chuckled.

“I was sent by… let’s say interested parties who will go unnamed for now,” Sirius replied. “As for this? Well, you want the truth? Or do you want the lie?”

“The truth, obviously,” the sergeant spat out.

“Magic,” Sirius said, his grin widening as the officer spluttered at that response. “Now, let’s go! We don’t have a lot of time.”

“You cannot expect us to believe that!” a soldier asked angrily, but was prevented from saying or doing anything else by a newcomer interrupting.

“Enough of this!” a new voice called out, and Prime Minister Agathe appeared in the doorway of her house, glaring at everyone, though a flicker of unease ran through her as she took in Sirius and his carpet.

“Ma’am, we have this under control…” the sergeant tried to say, but was cut off by her hand.

“Do you? Or was the mob about to break down the gates to my home a hallucination?” she demanded sharply.

“I, well, that is,” he stammered. “We have orders-!”

“And so do I,” Sirius spoke up. “And it is to protect the Prime Minister and her family through any means necessary. I’ve already secured a large number of the moderate government and their families as well, and she’s the last one.”

“You want me to evacuate?” Agathe asked, turning to Sirius.

“We need to get you to the UN headquarters, it’s the safest place… for now,” he confirmed. “I can get you all out, but we need to leave now.”

“What of the committee?” she inquired, a tone of wariness in her voice.

“Colonel Bagosora is behind the coup and has issued an order for Hutu extremist militias and the army to butcher every Tutsi in the country,” Sirius informed her. “Death squads have been tearing the city apart since the president’s assassination at his hands, and it won’t be long before more of them come this way after news of the presidential guard’s failure is learned about.”

“Bagosora killed him?!” she gasped.

“Yes. Who else would have access to military grade anti-air missiles, or the knowledge of where the president’s plane would even be at the time it was targeted?” Sirius asked rhetorically.

“That… that is just speculation…” the UN sergeant began, but trailed off.

“You promise to guarantee the safety of my family?” Agathe asked hopefully. It was telling that she didn’t disagree with Sirius’ claim of Bagosora’s actions.

“I will personally send your husband and children out of the country if need be,” Sirius vowed. It wasn’t quite a magical oath, but it had weight behind it all the same, and she seemed to sense this before nodding. Slowly at first, but then with greater determination.

“Very well,” the Prime Minister said. “Give me a few minutes.”

“I can do that,” he assured her, before turning to watch the gates. Nobody was coming just yet, but he could see some people further down the street starting to recover their bravery and regain their mob mentality.

Thankfully, before they could reform into a new group, Agathe and her family emerged from the house, a few pieces of hastily assembled luggage in their hands.

“Will it fit?” she asked, looking from her family to the carpet.

“Sure,” Sirius said, and he Shrunk the suitcases until they could fit in their pockets, to the shock and awe of everyone assembled.

“How…?” she whispered.

“Like I told soldier boy over there… Magic!” Sirius grinned.

“Ma’am, this… I must protest this decision!” the sergeant said, trying to stop her, but she shook herself and denied his request.

“No. You’ve done enough,” she said disdainfully. “Come along, children.”

The family boarded the carpet. It was a tight fit, but they all made it on. Sirius then had it rise into the air and the enchantments kicked in, ensuring they couldn’t fall off. The UN soldiers were left behind, jaws dropped open, and if they knew what was good for them, they’d skedaddle quickly.

As the carpet flew towards the UN compound in Kigali, Sirius would occasionally shoot down at checkpoints that had been set up in the streets and along the roads, blowing them up and killing the Interahamwe and Impuzamugambi, Hutu militia groups, who’d been manning them.

Sirius and Agathe could both see piles of bodies of Tutsis and Hutu sympathizers who had been gunned down on the spot when their ethnicity was discovered strewn about, and it caused the Prime Minister to clench her fists furiously while her husband covered their children’s eyes.

“How… how could this happen?” she whispered in horror.

“This was planned for a long time,” Sirius informed her sorrowfully. “Weapons were stockpiled, militias and army officials informed of the ‘culling’ months in advance, and the extremist elements have been indoctrinating the regular citizens for a while. The president’s assassination was just the starting bell.”

“Can we even stop this?” Agathe asked, uncertainty in her voice.

“Yes,” Sirius said. “But… I can’t claim that it won’t require more blood.”

He gestured to the north. “The RPF is going to be sweeping into the northern and eastern provinces soon, and will end the genocidal killings where they can, but it’s going to result in a civil war. And some people… they will have to be killed to restore order, because if left alive, they will be able to control the extremists.”

Sirius glanced at her. “However, with you still alive to push for peace, and to organize a legitimate government, it may be possible to end thing with much less loss of life and accompanying chaos.”

“I- yes, you’re right,” Agathe said, sitting up straighter, a determined glint in her eyes. “Thank you, sir.”

“Just doing my job,” he replied, waving a hand through the air. “Now, get ready to land, Madam Prime Minister.”

The UN camp could be seen up ahead, dozens of blue helmed soldiers guarding the area and doing what they could to rescue refugees. Sirius – or rather, Ed – knew that this wouldn’t last. The UN would eventually stop trying to help people, afraid of angering the coup forces, but for now, some lives would be saved.

‘It’s also the best place to put the Prime Minister for now, because she can use their radios and what-not to communicate with others. And, if need be, I can evacuate them when the presidential guard come looking for her,’ Sirius thought.

The wizard made sure to land away from the guns that could turn them into Swiss Cheese, and plopped the carpet down in front of one of the camp’s entrances before dismissing the charms hiding them.

Obviously, a group of people on flying carpet appearing from out of nowhere startled a lot of UN soldiers and nearby refugees, but nobody opened fire this time.

“Stand down!” Prime Minister Agathe shouted as she stepped off, and the UN relaxed minutely, but still were nervous. The refugees, however, all began clamoring for explanations, or begging for help, or just acting glad to see she was still alive.

Sirius let her take over, and instead helped escort her family to safety.

“That was amazing!” one of younger children exclaimed.

“Right? I’ll show you some more stuff, later,” Sirius promised with a grin, before shooting her husband, Ignace, a nod. He returned it, albeit shakily.

Up ahead, Agathe was getting into a shouting match with whoever was in command at the compound’s entrance, coming within inches of the man’s face.

“…and get them inside, now!”

“Ma’am, we cannot,” he replied. “We have our orders.”

“Your ‘orders’ are to protect my people and my country!” she snapped back. “Now stand aside and let us in! All of us!”

The captain reluctantly stepped aside, and she swept into the compound as if she owned the place. Sirius followed behind, and eventually found himself in a tent with Agathe and a tired looked man.

Commander Dallaire, Sirius knew thanks to Ed, was a Canadian and Force Commander for the UN military assets in the country. He was a man who had tried to do the best he could with what he’d been given, but the UN had absolutely bungled the whole thing by not intervening at all, even after many of their own were killed and they witnessed the butchery themselves.

Oh, they could claim that they were following the rules, but it’d been a stupid move to wait until over a month after the genocide started to allow soldiers to protect civilians and themselves using lethal force, one that Dallaire had condemned repeatedly.

“I understand your anger, Ma’am…”

“Do you?” Agathe snapped angrily. “Because it sounds to me like the UN forces are not going to intervene as innocents are raped and slaughtered in the streets!”

“Those are our orders,” Dallaire said bitterly. “Our mandate does not allow for direct intervention like what you are asking for.”

“You know, I think I recall the Nazis made the same excuse,” Sirius drawled, causing the people in the tent to finally pay attention to him.

“That was different,” Dallaire bit out.

“Was it? They were only following orders, after all, and that didn’t fly at Nuremburg, and it shouldn't fly now,” Sirius pointed out, glad Ed had given him a few ideas of how to address this issue. “Sure, the situations are a bit different. They were obeying their superiors’ orders to murder Jews and anyone else deemed ‘undesirable,’ and you are obeying orders not to get involved, but it all ends the same: with piles of dead innocents who could have been saved if you just acted!”

“So, what, you think we should start shooting the rioters in the streets? Fight the Rwandan army?” Dallaire spat. “We have only two thousand five hundred people, and not all of us are military personnel. We cannot fight an entire country alone!”

“You don’t have you,” Sirius retorted. “You just have to make it known that you are willing to put down coup forces if you come across them, and that you will protect the people being targeted. If that means shooting some extremists waving bloody machetes? So be it.”

“Who even are you?” Dallaire demanded, realizing that something was off with his presence.

“I’m the man who knows what is going to happen if you don’t act,” Sirius replied darkly. “Consider me a free agent who’s working to make sure this does not get any worse.”

“He’s the man who saved me and my family when the presidential guard began shooting at my UN protection detail,” she snapped. “A protection detail who failed to fire even a single shot in my defenses, I might add!”

Dellaire grimaced and muttered under his breath, before glaring at Sirius once more.

“An analyst I trust with my life says that the genocide will end within four months,” he stated. “And it will happen because the RPF sweeps into Rwanda and stops the slaughter as they defeat the unprepared Rwandan military forces. But between eight hundred thousand and one million innocent people will die before then.”

Both the commander and Prime Minister winced at that declaration, and the other people in the tent all shared concerned looks. Some were skeptical, but they didn’t speak out against the claims just yet.

“I will repeat my question, then: what do you think we should do with what we have?” Dallaire demanded.

“I managed to rescue a large portion of Rwanda’s moderate government,” Sirius said. “The plan I’m following is to deliver the Prime Minister and her supporters directly to the RPF. Failing that, escorting them out of the country to form a government in exile. That is a last resort, though. Best option for stopping the violence is to coordinate with the RPF and eliminate the coup forces, who are, to be blunt, disgusting monsters who deserve a bullet between the eyes."

“We cannot interfere,” one aide spoke up. “Perhaps if both sides would be willing to negotiate peace…”

“There will be no negotiations!” Agathe spat at him. “This has obviously been planned! This is no spontaneous butchery but a coordinated massacre! Bagosora is orchestrating all of this, and your lack of support will cost lives!”

“The UN is going to dither and not come to a decision for a while, and your Chapter VI mandate means you won’t be able to intervene militarily,” Sirius added. “Plus, Belgium is a skittish country and if they lose even a single soldier to the coup forces they will withdraw all support. And considering they have the largest presence on the ground here..."

“We would never do that!” another aide, this one obviously Belgian, shouted angrily.

Sirius rolled his eyes. Based on the future report Ed had made, Belgium would indeed do just that. Following the torture and murder of the ten Belgian soldiers who’d failed to guard the Prime Minister, Belgium would pull out all support, crippling the relief efforts.

“Europe is going to be a problem, let’s not beat around the bush,” Sirius scoffed back. “Belgium will back out like cowards, England will protest but do nothing, and France is working with the coup forces, providing funding and backing in secret.”

That statement caused a Frenchman to shout protests, but Sirius continued to ignore him. “And then there is the United States. They suffered causalities in their Somali mission and aren’t keen to get bogged down in Africa. They could be convinced if there was proof the war would end quickly, or there was, say, a legitimate government, but generally speaking, the UN is going to be useless.”

Sirius turned towards Dallaire. “You, Commander, have to decide to do something to help. My suggestion would be to keep doing what you’ve been doing, but with the added caveat of shooting anybody who tries to attack you. Oh! And maybe bunch up all of the foreign tourists and citizens in a few UN compounds where you’re also keeping refugees? Gives you the excuse to use lethal force to ‘protect the foreigners.’”

Dallaire actually looked like he liked that latter idea. Sure, using foreign civilians as meat shields and an excuse to shoot genocidal forces was a terrible idea that could easily backfire, but it would allow him to act beyond the stifling limitations imposed on him.

“What agency did you say you were working for?” Dallaire inquired.

“Never did,” Sirius smirked. The commander huffed at that, but turned to meet the Prime Minister’s eyes.

“Alright, it’s not exactly a great idea, but it’s all we have to go on. I’d prefer not to send you out to the RPF, but it could be a way to coordinate the legitimate government’s movements, and ensure you’re protected. It would also give the RPF legitimacy, and allow my men to do a bit more if we’re acting together.”

“Commander, that isn’t wise!” a captain said sharply. “If we try to interfere, there could be consequences!”

“What is the UN going to do, Court Martial me?” Dallaire scoffed. “I happen to agree with the spook, there. The UN isn’t going to be helpful. We’re stuck here on our own without immediate supplies and reinforcements, and protecting ourselves and our charges is something we’ll have to take into our own hands.”

“You cannot mean you will actually allow the soldiers to fire on civilians!” somebody else protested. “Even if they are rioting!”

“They would be shooting illegal militiamen who are killing people,” Agathe shot back.

“That will just cause retaliations and reprisal killings!”

“The coup forces are already going to be murdering any native Rwandan UN agents they find, be they Hutu or Tutsi,” Sirius pointed out. “If you won’t protect them, people who are employed directly by the UN, then what’s the point of even being here? Should just take off your helmets and give your weapons to people who will actually use them.”

There were a lot of angry faces glaring at him, but some actually looked ashamed and weren’t able to meet his or the Prime Minister’s eyes.

“So, what will it be?” Sirius asked, breaking the silence. “What’s the plan?”

Before the commander could reply, a soldier rushed into the tent.

“The presidential guard are coming!” he shouted, sparking panic, and Sirius straightened up.

“You should have your troops start setting up in the front of the entrance and deny them entry if they ask for it,” Sirius ‘suggested’ to Commander Dallaire.

“And what if they try to force matters?” the Frenchman from before demanded.

“Shoot them?” Sirius replied. “I mean, is that even a question or are you just stupid?”

“The UN compound has its own rules and adheres to the UN mandates,” Dallaire eventually stated. “That means we will not allow the presidential guard entry unless they surrender their weapons and agree to act peacefully.”

“Will they agree to that?” a Belgian asked.

“If they don’t they won’t be allowed in,” the Canadian replied. The soldier who’d brought the message saluted and then left to relay the orders, and Sirius decided to leave the tent to check on things.

‘Let’s see if I have to do something,’ he thought as he wandered towards the entrance, and discreetly slipped a Notice-me-not charm onto himself while keeping a hand on his Merlin.

There were presidential guard standing in front of the gate, armed and bloody. It was clear they had been involved in the killings, and recently at that.

As he was looking through the group of PG, he spotted one, in the back, who was not looking at the UN soldiers, but rather, he was mumbling something while staring at some of the Tutsi refugees.

‘That man… he’s using magic!’ Sirius realized, eyes widening in shock.

Magic that solely relied on verbal incantations was rare and Sirius began to look more closely. Doing so, he also was able to see that the PG had something in his hands… no, it wasn’t in his hands, rather, it was wrapped around his wrists, like a bracelet.

Made of some sort of bone, Sirius’s nose twitched as he let his animagus side out and used it to discreetly sniff the air. It was faint, but he could just barely detect a stench of a curse of some sort.

Animals were far more sensitive to magic than humans, even non-magical ones, and combining the senses of a beast with that of his own magical awareness granted Animagus like himself an ability to detect magic in subtle ways.

It was a rare skill, something Sirius had only learned could be done thanks to Remus discovering he could do the same after practicing some Native American meditation techniques to control his inner werewolf.

‘Must be an African curse, I don’t recognize the words he’s chanting,’ Sirius guessed as he stared at the mage as they continued to mumble.

He quickly raised his wand, and while still under the influence of his Notice-me-Not charm, cast two spells in rapid succession.

The first was another Notice-me-Not, directed at the mumbling PG. Then, when he jerked in shock at being surrounded by a foreign spell, Sirius blasted him with an overpowered Transfiguration spell, morphing the soldier into a wooden cube that clattered to the ground.

Nobody noticed that one of the presidential guard had just disappeared, and Sirius uttered “Accio!” to summon the object to his hand.

‘Won’t last for long,’ he thought to himself as he quickly pocketed the Transfigured soldier. ‘I’ve got maybe an hour before I have to worry.’

Living things turned inanimate never lasted that long, and those with active magical abilities would passively resist the Transfiguration.

With the curse disrupted before it could do anything and the potential enemy mage dealt with for the moment, Sirius returned his attention to the PG, who were growing very loud and angry at being denied entry into the compound.

“…just stand aside!” the PG demanded. “The Prime Minister needs to be secured!”

“You have received the Commander’s conditions for entry!” the UN blue helm replied curtly. “You can comply with them, or you can leave.”

“This is illegal!”

“No, it is within the remit of our mission statement,” the soldier shot back. “Even if you are here on the Prime Minister’s behalf, we cannot allow entry if you refuse to follow simple instructions!”

“You-! The colonel will hear of this!” the PG officer snarled.

“Yes, I’m sure,” the UN soldier said, unimpressed.

The PG decided not to push it, as his eyes darted to the numerous machineguns that had been set up to cover the entrance of the compound, and after some more empty threats he stormed off, leading their group away. People breathed out in relief once that happened, and Sirius decided to step away and interrogate his captive.

In a secluded area of the camp, Sirius dropped the wooden cube down, but before turning them back to normal, he set up a bunch of wards to deflect notice, and to prevent magical spying. Last but not least, he stuck one of Ed’s Stunner Ofuda on top of the cube.

Once that was done, he turned the cube back into a human. Naturally, they were spooked and startled, and tried to start casting a spell of their own, but the Ofuda that had been stuck onto the cube hadn’t transformed when the cube went back to being a human, and meant that Sirius was able to activate immediately. The mage collapsed to the ground, stunned.

‘A surprising use of Ed’s talisman,’ Sirius thought with a flicker of amusement. He then hit the mage with a Petrificus Totalis to make doubly sure he couldn’t escape.

Sirius then stripped the man of his uniform, and everything on his person, including a wand and the bone bracelet he’d used as a tool to channel the curse earlier.

Once he was done, he conjured up rope to bind his entire body from head to toe. Even if he wasn’t paralyzed, he wouldn’t be able to do more than wiggle his toes.

“Wakey, wakey, buddy,” Sirius said, hitting the soldier with an Rennervate, waking him up. He spluttered loudly and he tried to sit up, but when he discovered he was trapped, he began to look around wildly.

“What is this?! What is happening?!” he screamed, hoping to be heard, but Sirius had taken care of that already.

“This is an interrogation,” Sirius informed him. When the PG soldier saw who was standing over him, he growled angrily.

“One of the Tutsis’ mercenaries!” he scowled. “What, did they call for aid from the ICW?”

He then sneered. “Heh. They knew they could not defeat us, so they had to beg like dogs to their European masters for help!”

Sirius just looked down at him silently, processing that. ‘Okay, it seems the Hutu magicals have something against the European mages. Which, fair, but still, raises some questions.’

“Making sure the Statute of Secrecy remains intact is paramount,” the animagus said, deciding to go with the cover the Hutu had provided him.

“Filthy white dog,” the soldier replied.

“Since you’re with the presidential guard, that makes you a Hutu,” Sirius said, continuing to talk, mostly to himself. “And with the fact that you’ve got a wand, that means you’re a wizard. With how easily you integrated into the military… also some sort of Muggleborn.”

“What’s it to you?” the bound mage spat.

“Just speaking aloud. Though I am somewhat surprised you have a wand. I thought African mages preferred other tools,” Sirius hummed curiously.

“Of course I have a wand,” the magic using PG spat. “The Truebloods do not allow us to use proper staves or foci!”

“Pretty sure a wand is better than a staff, but that might just be my European sensibilities talking,” Sirius replied as he thought over what he’d just learned.

‘So, the Tutsi mages don’t allow anyone other than themselves to use certain magical foci,’ Sirius mused. ‘Must be one of the points of contention between the factions.’

Staves were strong, but they weren’t as versatile as a wand. They need to be attuned to a specific user and a Ley Line. As a result, the staff becomes almost unbeatable in the land where it was created, and can perform spells far more efficiently. It can even be passed down through bloodlines, growing stronger with every successive generation.

Yet the downsides were just as severe. Staves lost a significant amount of power outside of their place of attunement, and in the hands of another person, was useless. They were also far more fragile. A wand could work even if cracked or broken. Not well, and with the risks of backfiring, but it still did magic. A staff that got cracked, though? It withered and lost all power… or exploded. And any spells, enchantments, or wards ever erected with the broken staff died with it.

There was a reason why Europe had turned away entirely from staff-based foci around two thousand years ago. It was a tradeoff of being capable of use anywhere in exchange for raw, overwhelming power.

“…and then we will butcher that cockroach loving woman and ensure that her bones will burn for eternity-!”

Sirius narrowed his eyes, returning his wandering attention back to the bound man.

“So, you’ve got more assassins coming after her. Magical ones, too,” Sirius hummed.

The PG went still and silent as he realized he’d said more than he should have. It was too late, though. Sirius knew he had to act quickly, and he had a few ideas on how to do so.

“Bye-bye,” he said, turning him back into a wooden cube and pocketing it. He’d toss it away outside of the compound’s walls later. Maybe with a curse or two slapped on for good measure.

For now, he had a Prime Minister to protect.