I See Danger [One-Shot]

[Bianca Alia Rivera]

February 2026

There were some things in life that seemed so obvious. If the fire burns you, pull your hand away. If the wind threatens to send you flying – take the proper precautions. Bianca would never have thought she would need to warn people away from Yrisle, a dangerous island with unpredictable magic and the potential to do great evil. But she was mystified by the fact that despite all the warning signs, despite everything that screamed at people to exercise caution and leave it to the professionals – people kept coming. They set aside the voice in their heads that warned against short-term fun that promised long-term harm, and flocked to the island in droves.

At first, Bianca was willing to wait for the Minister of Magic’s instructions, his views on how the island should be managed. And waited…and waited…and waited, until she had realized no such initiative was being taken. In the meantime, the island was wide open for anyone with a fancy to walk in, despite only having one navigable beach. Bianca had never been the patient type, and even less so when it quickly became obvious that people were getting hurt. Ministry personnel, civilians attacked by the fog, being changed irrevocably with physical, emotional, and psychological damage. It was becoming a liability for the Ministry to be so paralyzed by inaction, and innocent people were suffering for it. So some weeks after her promotion to Department Head, she began to mobilize the resources of Magical Law Enforcement in coordination with Interpol to lock down this dark island. Ministry personnel constantly posted on and around the island, guarding the sole entrance and carefully monitoring who entered and exited.

It was quickly discovered that being on the island for too long…did things to peoples’ heads. Employees on duty began to report nightmares, strange visions, odd impulses to leave. So Bianca implemented a new system, shifts of no longer than 2 weeks before the next batch came in. And the more time that passed, the more she could create an official process for oversight of the island. Within the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, she initiated training sessions for proper conduct, what to expect and who to allow. Officials who had already completed a shift could educate the next round, and record their findings to be carefully scrutinized and kept in the Ministry archives. What lessons could they learn, how could they better manage this threat and protect people? There were employees completely dedicated to this effort, managing the bureaucracy of keeping such a close eye on the island – issuing permits to those who could enter, managing the chaos around sending Aurors or Interpol agents to constantly monitor the island’s borders.

Even with the new measures in place, it was impossible to completely restrict visitors. There would be an uproar if access was completely cut off, and there were civilians with legitimate reasons to visit. Cursebreakers for Gringotts, potioneers seeking new ingredients, professors looking to write books or conduct fieldwork in this strange environment. But now they needed to register with the Ministry – when they would enter, and when they would leave. If Bianca had had her way, she would have shut down access completely, if only because the island only seemed to do harm when people set foot on it. But even she could recognize her own limits.

There would be those unhappy with this development – people who sought to use the island for their own exploitative purposes, or who didn't believe the government could protect them. Bianca couldn’t banish the thought of what the Purifiers might have been able to do if the Ministry hadn't stepped in -- thankfully, a thought she would never have to entertain seriously now. But, as much as some might complain, it was within the powers of her department to take such stringent measures, and she’d received little backlash from other departments (who seemed unwilling or uninterested in taking on the job themselves). Coordination was required, of course, with Interpol, but she could stomach the extra politics if it meant taking concrete action, actually doing something. That was what this was really about, after all – protecting people. Even if they succumbed to their worst impulses and desires, gravitated towards danger instead of away – well, the Ministry was here to be the protection they needed. Bianca didn't need, or want, to be popular. But Merlin forbid she be remembered for standing aside and doing nothing. Merlin forbid she continue to watch and suffer the knowledge of people putting themselves, and others, in harm's way.