Chapter 9: A Secret Kept

October 1992 deepened into a crisp chill around Evan Grayson's cottage near Ottery St Catchpole, leaves crunching underfoot as he stepped from the barn, wand still warm from his final Scutum Latens test. At eighteen, he'd crafted something solid: a passive shield spell that slept until danger loomed, then flared blue to block harm. The dummy in his workshop bore scorch marks from hexes it had deflected, and a boar's tusk lay splintered from its last fling. He'd pushed it hard, tweaking Arithmancy curves and Latin resonance until it hit what he guessed was Tier 6, maybe 7, in the Wizards' Towers' system. The Towers ranked spells from 1 to 10, with Tier 1 being basic tricks like Lumos and Tier 5 holding charms like Patronus. High tiers, 8 to 10, were whispered as world-breakers—continent-shattering curses, city-vaporizing wards, magic so raw it could crack the earth. His shield wasn't that, but it was his, and he decided to keep it close.

Selling crossed his mind as he slumped onto a stool, Galleon pulsing in his pocket from old Hogwarts sales. The Towers paid big for high tiers, and his billionaire stash proved it, yet Scutum Latens felt personal. The world was a mess now with Muggles sparking wandless chaos and magical beasts like glowing stags or fire-spitting rats prowling the wilds. A shield like this was safety, a trump card, not a commodity for every fool to buy and botch. He'd share it with Lila Patel and Theo Finch, his Ravenclaw trio, but no one else. Trust ran deep with them, forged over seven years, and they'd need it too in their own paths.

Lila Apparated in that afternoon with a crack and a laugh, her cursebreaker gear—goggles, gloves, a rune-stitched satchel—slung over her shoulder. "Still alive out here?" she asked, kicking leaves off her boots as she stepped into the barn. Evan grinned and waved at the dummy, "Barely. Finished the shield, works like a charm." She plopped onto a crate, dark eyes glinting, and said, "Show me, then." He cast Scutum Latens, Defende Me, the sub-chant a whisper in his mind, and lobbed a Stupefy at her. The air shimmered blue, the hex bouncing off to singe a shelf, and Lila whooped, "Brilliant! Gringotts could use that, tombs are getting nasty." Evan shook his head and replied, "Not selling. It's ours, private. You and Theo get it, no Towers." She tilted her head, then nodded, "Fair. World's wild enough without every Muggle shielding up."

Theo's owl swooped in two days later, a scruffy bird dropping a letter smudged with ink and dirt. "Training's hell," it read. "Magical Enforcement's chasing wandless gangs in Glasgow, caught a bloke levitating carts yesterday. Send that shield, yeah?" Evan chuckled and scribbled back, detailing the incantation and wand moves—five-point arc, Scutum Latens, the lot—then sent it off with a spare owl from the hamlet's post. He met them both in Hogsmeade that weekend, the Three Broomsticks buzzing with locals sipping butterbeer. Lila wore her Gringotts badge, Theo sported a fresh Enforcement patch, and Evan slid into the booth with a grin. "Shield's yours," he said, passing charmed parchment with the spell locked to their wands. "Constant drain's low, just monitoring, spikes when it kicks in. Magic grows with use, so it's a bonus." Theo tested it, muttering Defende Me, and smirked when Lila's tossed peanut bounced off a blue flicker. "Handy," he said. "Beats dodging carts."

They lingered over drinks, chatter drifting to the world beyond. Lila sipped and noted, "Government's pushing Hogwarts bigger, more kids now everyone's magic. Turning it full wizarding, no Muggle fluff." Theo nodded and added, "Aye, and regular schools are getting Charms classes, Transfiguration basics. Saw a poster in Bristol, 'Magic for All' or some rot." Evan leaned back and said, "Makes sense. Towers changed it, can't stuff that back in the box." They toasted to chaos, mugs clinking, a trio carved from Hogwarts now facing a sprawling unknown.