I nodded. Vanishing charms didn't actually destroy things, nor did they teleport the target away, they simply broke them down and scattered them on a sub-atomic level. It was completely safe and non-lethal. Toxic and radioactive substances were effectively rendered inert this way as they were rendered down into particles too small and too spread out to clump together and cause issues with living things. We still made sure to check the health of everyone involved afterwards, of course. But so far it seemed to be working!
"It's working just as I envisioned it," I murmured, awestruck by it all. I'd known it worked for a while. After all, we'd been doing this for a few weeks now. But to see it happen before my eyes? To know the countless hours of hard work and study to not only come up with the plan, but to also the implantation, as well creating the runic sequences and alchemical formula necessary to make it all happen had successfully paid off?
There was no other word to describe it except 'euphoric.'
"Yeah. Thank God and Merlin this place is so close to a Leyline, otherwise we'd never have been able to get enough energy to use the alchemical formulas," Mark said, and I nodded. It was why I'd chosen this location in the first place.
Without a dozen wizards or a Philosopher's Stone or two to provide the insane energy requirements, the only other way to obtain so much magic to power the exceedingly complex runes sequences and alchemy formulas I'd come up with was to use a Leyline, and those were somewhat rare. Most magical sites were built on them. The Leaky Cauldron, the Ministry, and all the other parts of Magical London only existed thanks to the small convergence of three Leylines nearby. Hogwarts was built atop four. Stonehenge, the most important mystical site in all of England? Seven Leylines. Only a few other places in the world had that many Leylines connected together.
And one of Stonehenge's seven Leylines ran right through the junkyard, which was why I was able to draw so much magical energy from it in order to power my wards, runes, and alchemy.
"Well done," I praised with a wide grin. "Do you have any suggestions for improvements?"
"A few," Mark admitted. He gave me some ideas about ways to streamline the process as well as selling off the reclaimed materials. Gold, silver, and other metals, both precious and otherwise, could be sold or used for our own needs. Magic worked a lot like electricity in that gold and silver and other conductive metals could channel it far more efficiently when incorporated into runes and enchantments.
The rest of the stuff, like paper, plastic and oil? Best to be repurposed. The oil could fuel our trucks and cut down on the price of gas. Plastic could be melted down and used for a variety of uses. And the paper could be made into new Ofuda talismans. There was going to be very little waste.
"And like I already said, we need more magical folk," Mark added. "Squibs like you and me can only go so far."
"True, but like I said, recruitment isn't easy," I reminded him.
"Well, we don't actually have to go looking for humans if we need magic users," the older Squib reminded me.
I blinked, then slowly nodded my head. 'Of course! Why focus on human spellcasters when there are plenty of other people the magical world has sidelined who need jobs!'
I'd become somewhat tunnel visioned while setting up my business, and nearly forgotten there were all sorts of different species living alongside humanity in the Wizarding World! Vampires, Hags, Goblins, Centaurs, Mermaids, Veela, Dwarves, and so many more!
And all of them had been pushed to the fringes by human encroachment. Magical Britain was bad when it came to treating 'Dark' creatures, which was what all non-human sapient beings were considered, but some countries had it even worse! The only ones that were truly tolerant and welcoming were France and the United States. The rest were, at best, disdainful.
Most importantly, all of them could use magic. While they might be banned from using wands in Magical Britain, that didn't stop them from being able to use other forms of magical foci like runes and Ofuda.
Hags were well-known for their potion brewing skills, so they'd fit right in with my main business. Vampires would make excellent night security watchmen, and Dwarves rivaled Goblins for their craftsmanship. Those three were the species most likely to work with us, and some of the most numerous in Great Britain.
"Mark, you're bloody brilliant," I praised, and he puffed up his chest proudly.
"Don't mention it, boss," he replied with a grin. "If you want me to, I'll reach out to a couple people on the other side I know might be interested."
"See if you can get into contact with some Dwarves, first," I instructed. "They'd be easiest to incorporate into our business right now. We'll need their runecrafting and enchanting abilities. Plus, they could be the easiest to pass off as, uh, 'little people' if we need them to work around any Muggles. Which they likely will have to at some point."
"Ah, hadn't thought of that," Mark nodded. "Got it, I know a guy who knows somebody who works for one of the Dwarven Thanes over in Wales."
"Great," I said with a grin as I thought about what I could do with a whole bunch of non-human magicals at my side. "I'll be heading back to the office for now. Yourself?"
"Gonna head over to the club. Working two jobs isn't easy," Mark chuckled.
"Tell me about," I agreed. I called for Inky a moment later and I was whisked back to my office in the factory. Where, to my surprise, I found Remus pacing back and forth waiting for me.
"What now?" I asked him, and he jerked in surprise before handing me a letter. It was from the wizarding world. The parchment and quill writing gave it away, really.
"Took her long enough," I grunted, reading it over. It was from Amelia Bones, Susan's aunt. We'd asked Harry to help out with this, and since he knew it was about Sirius Black, he'd done so with gusto.
Still, even with a line of communication open, Madam Bones was still a busy woman and a hardline member of the Grey, or Neutral faction. She didn't trust Dumbledore, which was why she wasn't a member of the Light party. She seemed to think he had too many fingers in too many different pies, and he should just focus on one job and let other people do the rest. Which to be fair I also believed.
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