The toys belong to J.K. Rowling and Notwolf, and I am grateful to be able to play with them. I hope you will like what you read!
It is canon- and Notwolf- compliant, if situated immediately after The Voldemort Diaries—Chapter 76 (The Young and the Restless)
Marcus was sleeping quietly curled on the rug before the fireplace. His werewolf monthly cycle was almost over and with some luck he would wake up a small blond boy and not a blond pup. However the doors and windows were securely closed and warded. Luna had gone to bed already and in few minutes Dimitar Tanassof would follow. Relaxed, he was sipping a night cup in the company of Dora the Talassam. She would watch the boy until the morning.
- Do you think it is reasonable to continue with the sounds, Dora? – he tried as politely as possible to interfere with her questionable method of introducing Marcus to Bulgarian language.
- Just a little bit more. It entertains him and while he thinks he learns the sound, he learns the related term without knowing, just by association. Moreover, while imitating sounds, he prepares to shed the British accent. It is a pity the elves there speak such limited version of the language, we could have used someone here. Mrs. Luna is great, but we need children his age.
- May be we should be able to invite some families with children for the summer vacation, what do you think?
- It will be lovely! The talassams will otherwise be bored as Mrs. Klyucharova would have to invent jobs for them to do. One can gather just so much elderberries, right?
Tanassov laughed quietly. There were very few things that Dora missed. But it was to be expected. She was an ancient talassam, as wise as she was white with the centuries she had spent with his family. For an outsider it could be shocking, but he had grown accustomed that she had laced his great-great-grandmother's wedding dress, had brought to his great-grandfather his sword in a dungeon, had rocked his own cradle. If Loyalty needed a given name, it would be Dora. Once upon a time one Tanassov had managed to escape from a burning castle and had picked up and carried to safety the tiny ball of black yarn that Dora had been at that time. Since than she had never hesitated to get into whatever trouble was on her way to help one of Tanassovs. She had left for herself only the choice with whom of them to remain. It was a great privilege to be Dora's choice. With her Marcus was safer than in the best vault of Gringots.
- Good night, Dora!
- Merry dreams, Doctor! – the talassam waved a stick-like hand.
It was a wonderful sunny day. Durmstrang was almost empty as the children had gone home for the spring break and Marcus could roam everywhere. Few of the remaining teachers were at the school but during the daytime they kept to their laboratories to prepare for the last term. Dimitar was in sour mood – the British Ministry of Magic had summoned Luna as an expert at some forsaken trial –and in a hurry at that. She had floo-ed an hour and a half earlier but had promised to be back for supper. So much for the entire family picnic they had planned to the Dragon Camp. Marcus was the most disappointed. He loved dragons, he could even pronounce the name of the famous Borimetchka. And Drago the Dragon was allowing the child to ride him. Well, they would go only the three of them – father, son and Dora.
Marcus came skipping like a rubber ball.
- Tate, tate, otiva Borimetchka? – it was not exactly correct Bulgarian, but there was a huge progress.
- Da, otivame pri Borimetchka s Dora. (Yes, we are going to Borimetchka with Dora) – Tanassov smiled.
- Otivam vzemem Dora! – this was closer to "Going to get Dora!". Marcus did not wait for permission and bolted to door. Dora was probably in the kitchen packing the basket or sunbathing at the Bell Tower. It was her favourite place for relaxation and Marcus loved it as well despite the innumerable stairs to the top. But Dora was a traditionalist talassam, adored bell towers and insisted that climbing kept her healthy. The Durmstrang director went to pick up a volume he wanted to go over with Charley and Draco and followed the child.
Dora was not in the kitchen but the basket was there. Marcus sighed and continued to the tower. It was at the end of a long narrow corridor without windows. The darkness did not bother him but the cold did. He could smell the trace that was intrinsically Dora's – a mix of cookies and hot fluffy blanket. She had gone up only few minutes ago.
One more creature was not bothered by the darkness. Greyback had managed to fool the wards guarding the castle as they were set for humans and he did not have much human left in him. He had discarded the clothes as unnecessary and had slipped in. He could not believe his luck. The cub was alone. Greyback had done what was necessary to get away that crazy Lovegood but he expected a resistance by her dumb husband. What else you call a man who adopts a werewolf knowingly? There were no humans in the tower – at least no trace of them in the air. So the cub was his!
Marcus sensed the werewolf and panic washed over him like cold water. He could not go back, he could only run up and ask Dora to hide him and fetch Dad! The little boy ran as fast as he could.
The fear has a smell and Grayback picked it up. The meat with adrenalin was getting a better taste. Let him run, he thought, there was no other way out but the tower or so said his instinct. He would have a picnic al fresco with a view, he thought.
The boy was running up the stairs floor after floor. He had raced Dora so many times here, he should be able to be on the top before the dreadful creature catches him. The tower was cold even in the hottest days as it had thick stone walls that never heated through, but to Marcus it seemed that his lungs were burning. He did not stop for a second to think what would happen if Dora was not there.
The talassam was indeed in the tower, sorting the bell ropes. Apart from the set of narrow stone stairs spiraling up along the walls the Bell Tower was hollow. In its cavern a huge set of bells was nested since time immemorial. They were hanging on ropes and could play marvelous melodies in the proper hands. Every summer the talassams were re-roping them but the lower bells were huge and heavy, so by the spring the ropes were wearing off. The floor was covered with thick layer of straw in case a bell fells. But its softness was deceptive. Under it there was the polished stone floor made of boulders so tightly chiseled together that they formed a single flat surface.
Dora heard the child running and looked among the bells to see what was causing his distress. At the sight of the black figure leisurely running after Marcus, the talassam's eyes glowed red. Someone intended to hurt a Tanassov. He would regret the day he was born, and one could take this statement to the bank.
Marcus reached the small stone pad at the top of the tower and fell to his knees. Dora lifted him up.
- Breathe! – she said in English.
The frightened child did not register the change of language.
- Wouf, wouf, vlak! – he cried.
- Fine, fine, sit down! – Dora pushed him behind her and stood at the top step just in time to face the emerging Grayback.
- Come here, little one, there is nowhere to go! Why are you throwing rags at me? – Grayback had never seen a talassam and tried kick Dora down into the hollow. It was a wrong move. With a force much outweighing his, Dora threw him into the void. Grayback was a werewolf, not a simian, but managed to get hold of a small bell. Dora grabbed the ropes and shook him off his flimsy catch, he fell few meters down, got another one and it went lose under his paws as Dora kept ringing. The bells were swinging and twirling, making it impossible to get hold of them, bouncing him with their edges, the din making any thought impossible. He fell on the straw with a thud, breaking few bones. Dora played one last triumphant accord and the three lowest and heaviest bells fell off their ropes.
The entire Durmstrang had heard the chaotic concert. Everyone immediately dropped whatever they have been doing and run or flew to the Bell Tower. Mrs. Klucharova the chatelaine reached the top floor first on her broom. There Marcus was hugging Dora who was patiently repeating:
- Wouf, wouf, valk, vlak is pif-paf, pif-paf! - The talassam tickled the boy. – Repeat!
- Pif-paf, pif-paf, vlak, wouf-wouf, valk! Dora, what is puf-puf? – Marcus giggled.
- Aha, puf-puf is your Tate running up the stairs as he is somewhat out of shape. You need to exercise more, Dimitar! - Dora handed the boy to the man who was hardly able to breathe after the mad dash. He hugged him tight. Marcus hugged back.
- Tate, Dora e super!
- I know, - replied Tanassov, forgetting the language practices. – You are fine, my dear? What happened?
- Greyback was after me, but Dora threw him down. I did not look but he is probably badly hurt or gone as he is not howling.
- Greyback? The one that had bitten you? Are you sure, Marcus? He is supposed to be in prison!
- Well, he is in a prison of a sort, - drawled Dora. – To save you the search, he is under the second biggest bell. Or more precisely, he was.
- Did he manage to wiggle out? We shall search for him immediately! Let us get everyone and …
- Ah, I did not phrase it right. The body still is there. He happened to die somewhat, of suffocation after the bell tongue dropped on his chest. I was just going to tell Mrs. Klyucharova that this year maintenance shall be more laborious. Oh, and we will have to change the straw. After that we still will have time to go picnicking.
- You go, I will take care of it! – Mrs. Klyucharova shook her head. – Marcus had had enough bad emotions for today. Marko, letim (Marco, are we flying)? See you in the kitchen!– She took the smiling boy and jumped on her broom.
The kitchen floo sparked green and Luna came out. There was a picnic basket on the table and it had a note "Tanassov" on it. The young woman took it and headed to the door. Before she reached it, her husband came in hugging Marcus. Dora followed them.
- Mommy! You are back! There is so much to tell you! Grayback came and Dora played him some music and he dropped dead, so we can go now to the Dragon Camp! – Marcus fired rapidly.
- I will tell you the story in few more words later! – said the Headmaster and soundly kissed his wife. – How was the trial?
- As usual for the ministry, it was not even today, but it took them two hours to find it out. What slobs! Dora, would you like a ride in the basket, my dear? I managed to get you the beret I promised, with the skulls. – Luna was Luna, no matter what.