The origin of the Vanishing Cabinet

The year is 1940, war was officially declared in the muggle world September 1939. Europe is in turmoil. Hitler has invaded Poland. The whole of Europe is scared and on the run. But that is not the whole story. Grindelwald is foremost in the minds of wizards. His push for the greater good is an all to disturbing similarity to that of Hitler.

While the wizard community was prepared to wait out the war with Germany in hiding and keep themselves safe and hidden. This additional threat from Grindelwald has changed matters. It is no longer just a muggle problem, it is now a war for everyone.

It cannot be allowed to continue. Muggles were having enough trouble flying to safety but now with magic in the mix they haven't a hope. If they aren't caught by the Nazis then Grindelwald followers will find them.

So many disappear in war, no one is suspicious. But those of us with our feet between the two worlds see it clearly.

He is taking muggles for experiments. He is torturing them with magic, controlling them with the impetus curse.

It is now impossible to distinguish the two wars from each other.

We must get out, it is not safe, we have to flee.

My family have been prominent cabinet makers for as long as we can trace back. My uncle and father worked for months and months designing it. There was so much magic flying around while they put the final charms and protections on it though they would find us for sure. But it is finally finished; The Vanishing Cabinet.

They are a pair and work by transporting a person through a sort of black like tunnel to the twin cabinet. Whether it is a meter away or a thousand it makes no difference.  After many bribes and negotiations we smuggled one across the channel into Britain.

We set up a small house near the southern border of Germany. Working with the underground missions both the muggle and wizard rebels we set up an escape route. In the years that followed we manage to save many lives, wizards and muggles. Of course the muggles never really understood how hiding in a cabinet in France could get them safe passage to Britain, but some local wizard with the ministry working on the other end ensured that all muggles passing through with have the memories modified and a new life set up. After the war ended with Grindelwalds defeat and the Nazi's loss, many wizards returned to Europe to help those that had stayed rebuild.

In those last few months the fighting was so severe we could not continue to stay. We closed down our operation, leaving muggles without another option and wizards struggling to get those that couldn't apparate out of the country.

A year after the conflict had ended I returned to find the other half of the cabinet but to no avail. I assume it was destroyed in the war. It is my understanding that the one in Briton ended up on display with other artifacts from the war. And was studied by other wizards that wished to have a pair of their own.

In the 5 or so years we ran our rescue operations we smuggles out over 200 wizards and 500 muggles. My father and uncle did not live to see the end of the war, they both were killed in those last furious months trying to save as many as they could.