Humbling Reflections [Nigel]

[Nigel Dextera]

Nigel considered Morgan’s words carefully. “My apologies, I was operating on a lot of assumptions and worst-case scenarios.” Sensing their discomfort and realising that their injuries had been more serious than he initially thought, he drew his wand and pointed it at where their hand was. “Hold still,” he said. “This might sting a little. Episkey. There. Feeling better?”

In a bid to lighten the moment, he thought of making a joke about how time heals all wounds, but the punchline eluded him, perhaps for the better.

“How alive these reflections are…” he repeated as his gaze turned to Morgan’s reflection. Both their reflections had seemed real enough, and likely could pass as a proper living being under scrutiny. But just what exactly were they? Might the existing classification system prove inadequate? They were sentient, that was for sure. They had a physical form, and thus were conclusively not spirits. But if they weren’t actually alive…

He shook his head. It was giving him an aneurysm, so he filed that thought away for a later time.

“Right, let’s start with the basics. Containment”

Containment was, despite being the most critical part of the issue at hand, was probably the most straightforward. “Double layered security spells, like an airlock, to prevent unauthorised access while allowing you to enter the warded area. The spells could be attuned to you, so only you can lower or raise the wards, although my question would be whether the spells would mistake them“—Nigel gestured towards Morgan’s reflection—“for you. As for my reflection, a single, bi-directional temporal lock spell can prevent anyone from entering or leaving the area via time magic. This ward can be permanently active since no one should be able to access the warded area via time travel.”

“Physical location next.” Nigel bit his lower lip absently as he pondered over the problem. Finding a secure place free from prying eyes was not impossible, albeit challenging. “The Department of Mysteries is highly secure, but it’s also home to some of Britain’s most intelligent and curious minds. We could spin a cover story.” His tone suggested that he wasn’t entirely confident this approach would work, yet it was clear that the option remained open if Morgan could conceive something sufficiently convincing. “Or Jaywick, maybe. There’s a Ministry-owned property there under a false name. It’s a quick jaunt from London, and while it is free for any Unspeakable to use, as far as I’m aware nobody else other than me has visited that house in maybe seven or eight years. Nobody would bat an eyelid if you reserved it for research purposes. Not perfect, but we could do worse.”

“And there’s the matter of how we’re keeping the reflection…” Nigel’s voice trailed off as he fumbled for the right words. Restrained? Imprisoned? Not inaccurate, but a touch too harsh. “Confined,” he said, finally arriving at a suitable term, “within the inner layer of security spells. I stand by REDITZ as a somewhat humane and very secure method, albeit too secure if you require frequent access to your reflection. On the other extreme: restraints, physical or magical. They are not going to like it, but given how they have already proven themselves to be hostile towards us, my point might be moot.”

[Morgan Blackwood]

Morgan flinched a bit at the spell being used but nodded, "Yeah," they answered the question. They listened as he talked about what the containment would require, crossing their arms as they took it all in.

"I don't want to be able to get in or out either," Morgan said. "I don't want to take the chance that if it can let me in, it might let that one out," they shook their head. "No, we'll have to find some way to communicate that won't require us being in the same room, considering they were quite willing to start a fight. If yours is willing to play the long game, I don't want to think what mine would do without knowing what made them so violent in the first place."

"And the house is alright, but how close is it to any other kind of person's dwelling? People would notice over time if one person never left a house. They might start to get nosy. And you say that, but you said both that it involves stabilizing something unstable and that it's difficult to do that at a large scale, so I'd rather us not be relying on something that sounds like it could be temporary or disrupted easily by someone else who knows a thing or two about time magic, such as your reflection. We don't know if he'd let her out, even if just as a distraction so he can move more quietly." Morgan walked over to their reflection, having found something akin to zip ties to bind their reflection's hands for the time being, then patted them down and removed any weapons they found. The number of knives was a bit alarming, considering how much worse the whole encounter could have gone.

"It would be interesting if there was a way to create a space not too dissimilar to the Room of Requirements. A liminal space that can only be found by specific people at specific times."