Chapter 10: Friends and Futures

November 1992 swept in with a bite, frost glazing Evan Grayson's cottage windows as he brewed coffee by the hearth, the barn humming with leftover potion steam. His passive shield spell, Scutum Latens, was a quiet triumph, its low drain a steady hum in his magic since he'd cast it on himself. He felt it, a whisper of power ticking along, watching for threats, and grinned at the perk: magic grew with use, like a muscle, and this kept his sharp without taxing him much. The world outside churned with proof of that need as magical animal attacks spiked in the Prophet—a shimmering bear flattened a barn in Norfolk, a flock of electric crows fried a power line in Manchester. Muggle wandless stumbles added to the mess, from sparked fires in London flats to a levitating bus in Cardiff that crashed into a shopfront. Evan's shield stayed his secret, shared only with Lila and Theo, a bond tighter than Galleons.

Lila popped by one gray Saturday, Apparating into the kitchen with a crack and a curse as she tripped over a chair. "Bloody cold out there," she said, shedding her cursebreaker coat, runes glinting on the cuffs. Evan poured her coffee, black and steaming, and asked, "How's Gringotts?" She sank into a seat and replied, "Mad. Tombs are waking up, wards shifting since the Towers hit. Used your shield last week, blocked a hex from a sarcophagus trap. Tier 6, you reckon?" He nodded and said, "Maybe 7, not higher. High tiers are insane, continent-crushers, city-wipers. Towers keep those locked tight." She whistled and added, "Good call not selling. Every git'd have it, and I'd rather not dodge shielded bandits." Evan laughed, picturing her cracking a tomb while his blue shimmer saved her skin.

Theo arrived Sunday, owl-posted ahead from Bristol, his Magical Enforcement badge pinned crooked on a rumpled coat. He slumped onto Evan's couch, mud on his boots, and groaned, "Glasgow's a zoo. Caught a Muggle sparking Incendio at a pub, shield caught it, cheers for that." Evan grinned and tossed him a biscuit, "Drains low, yeah?" Theo chewed and nodded, "Barely feel it till it flares. Magic's tougher now, Enforcement's pushing us to grow it." They sprawled by the fire, swapping tales—Lila's run-in with a glowing cobra in an Egyptian vault, Theo's wrestle with a wandless thief levitating bins. Evan listened, Galleon pulsing in his pocket, and said, "World's a madhouse. Government's scrambling, Hogwarts is all-magic now, more kids flooding in." Lila smirked and added, "Saw it in the Prophet, Muggle schools too, teaching Lumos with chalkboards. Daft, but it's working."

Talk turned to futures over stew Evan cooked, thick with beef and carrots. "Spellmaking's my road," he said, spoon clinking. "Travel, craft, hit the Towers with new stuff. High tiers pay, but I'll keep the best private." Theo stirred his bowl and asked, "What's next, then?" Evan shrugged and replied, "Something big, maybe Tier 8 someday, not world-enders, but close. Innovation's hot now." Lila grinned and said, "Stick me with a cursebreaker's shield, yeah? I'll pay in gold." Theo chuckled and added, "Aye, and me an Enforcement stunner. We're set with you around." They clinked mugs, a pact sealed, the fire popping as night fell.