Chapter 101 : One year later

[Author note : Hello, everyone ! Sorry about the late update. I had trouble with internet. And now that I'm writing those lines, I'm thinking I should have used my phone... Oh, well !

Come take a look at my Patréon page - e instead of é. Search for Cathbel on the website or use this link by replacing the * by an e : https://www.patr*on.com/user?u=66371596

And as always, please leave a comment, review or part with your stones if you like my stories !

Enjoy !]

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A year passed without much of note happening. As usual, Ned's life was filled with conflicts, discoveries and chaos. However, a couple of weeks after his discussion with Susan, he had his life relatively back on track : a body to call his own, his company welcoming him, Jacinth who was happy to see him (especially since the load on her shoulders would be lessened)…

While Ned was trying to find a new balance with his life, his children picked up his villain-bashing slack. Everyone of them, plus Lucio, who was (finally) truly born. They operated under the obvious Overwatch team moniker. And the public was rather happy with them. For the moment, anyway… Public opinion tended to change at the drop of a hat.

As for Silver Lad, AKA Edgar Stark… His life was going through so many motions, he hadn't had time to really disappear from the public eye, even despite the loss of his body.

It was especially true on the Wizarding world side with the launch of his new products. To this day, he was still fighting MACUSA, as well as most ministries abroad, to allow him to sell his MS-Focus beyond Wizarding kind. Not that he had waited much for their approval. No, on the contrary ! He started selling to goblins and centaurs first (House elves being too subservient to go against their witch and wizard masters), with the option to customize the MS-Focus in order to tap into the user's personal mana storage. Because unlike squibs and no-majs, some of them had magic in their veins ! Not all, but enough that offering the option (and monetize it, of course) could be an attractive offer.

The only house elf to buy his MS-Focus was a British weirdo by the good name of Dobby… Too bad Ned didn't handle sales ! He would have really liked to meet this particular elf. A good thing Harry didn't have to travel the UK like a fugitive in his 7th year… It probably saved Dobby and Hedwig's lives.

Anyways… After the first sales to non-wizards were discovered, MACUSA went all up in arms. The other ministries simply refused for his product to be sold until he managed to negotiate enough… Still, there was one thing most of them agreed with : selling to non-wizard was a heresy, a danger, a disgrace… It simply shouldn't be done and they aimed to forbid him from doing so.

Thankfully, he had long cultivated contacts in the US and UK ministries… Actually, Jacinth was the one who cultivated them, along with many contacts all over the world. She really was an amazing assistant ! The political contacts shared his views on the Wizarding world and fought, as politicians did : through words. They fought to propagate this ideal that, in order to create a truly strong Wizarding world, one that would stand even in the face of exposure, the magical race needed to be united. In fact, they also tried to change this wizard-centric view of their world. The idea that witches and wizards were the ones with the power and answers that everyone should accept and follow.

The truth of the matter was… Goblins held their savings and basically ruled over their economy. The noble houses were dependent on House elves and if they ever decided to rebel (not that they could at the moment), they were probably more powerful than most of their masters. As for Centaurs and other magical sapients, although they weren't as prominent, they had their specialties and strengths.

Knowing the state of the world and how humans were basically destroying it, squandering its resources and polluting the environment, Ned was of the idea that perhaps, they shouldn't consider themselves the master of their planet. He hoped other races could help them in righting the wrongs generations of their kind had done… Though, he also suspected that, being part of the Red, more races wouldn't change much. They were genetically and magically built to spread themselves all over the planet. Still, he had hopes, perhaps vain, that a few enlightened people could be key in advancing things in the right direction.

In fact, he was inspired by Metal-Ned in this regard… Whether it was something he came up with on his own, or the elemental force whispered in his ears, he couldn't tell. However, in his mind, unity of sapients on Earth, as well as unity between champions of all elemental forces would be a step in the right direction.

However, while his other self planned on imposing his will and plan on the world, in order to create a 'perfect' one in his opinion, Ned counted on the egoism, individualism and self-centeredness of people.

In any case, this was one of the reason why he was trying to make the other magical creatures his allies. Obviously, it wouldn't happen simply because he fought to sell his things to them, nor would it happen overnight. There was too much bad blood, too much heavy history between Wizarding kind and the rest of the sapient races. While he wasn't sure why Centaurs disliked them so much, beyond their innate bigotry and the general treatment of their kind… Which, now that he thought of it, was more than enough to justify it…

Still, there weren't many conflicts recorded in History between centaurs and wizards. However, centuries of strife, wars and conflicts opposed goblins to wizarding kind. In the end, witches and wizards had come out on top but… it was rather obscure how it happened. Thinking about it though, he figured that, if he were to read History from the goblins' standpoint, they would view things differently… Maybe, in their eyes, they were the real winners.

Because, while they couldn't use or own wands, they controlled the Wizarding kind's purses ! They minted coins, held it in their banks, and decided the exchange rates between No-majs and Wizarding currency. Yeah… Wizards weren't the true winners of this war, no matter what the historians wrote !

Still, while they might possess the place they wanted in their society and be content with it, Ned wanted to hear their ideas, their take on the world, society as a whole… Even (why the hell not ?) work on creating joint products.

Ned had managed, a long time ago, to buy an apprenticeship with theirs smiths, which allowed him to forge and use his own self-made goblin silver… Other witches and wizards however, didn't have this chance. And he thought that, if they wanted to truly advance as a society, it was high time their people all started working together.

Another difference between his other-self and Ned, he didn't mind conflict. Yes, it was painful, saddening and bound to create grief and anger, but it also pushed creativity and development. It also merged cultures that otherwise might never come together. As goblins, centaurs, wizards and every other races increased their interactions, the Wizarding world would grow. And perhaps, in time, the threat of no-majs wouldn't appear so… dire.

The thing, though, was that such change happened over decades. Perhaps even centuries. And their world, being slow as it was, stuck in the victorian era, might take even longer. On the other hand, no-majs were constantly evolving. Their technology progressing exponentially as of late.

Chances were, their secret society would be uncovered long before they were able to… even the playing field, as it were. And that wasn't even mentioning their biggest problem… Their population. This one really stumped the former squib, as he simply didn't see an easy way to solve it.

So, what he did, and what other should have started doing a long time ago, was work on a way to move to another world. A kind of Noah's arch but for space and wizards (and witches, and goblins… etc…). He also worked on an interstellar portal and also consulted the leftover files about what his former/other-self was working on…

Needless to say, this year had been busy for him and his family.