Chapter 2

The Knights of Asparukh

"Dark Lord?" asked Hugo. "Do you mean…? Certainly, you don't mean Vold…"

"No," said Harry Potter. "Someone far more dangerous. An old friend of mine. A wizard turned to the Dark Side over power and greed."

"What's his name?"

"Viktor Krum."

Hugo was stunned at the sound of that name. He knew who Viktor Krum is, of course. He was one of his heroes. An idol. When he was young his father, Ron, taught him that Viktor Krum was the best seeker alive. Not only was he a great Quidditch player, but he also was a brave and strong man who challenged his godfather during the Triwizard Tournament of 1994. During that time he was dating Hermione Granger, Hugo's mother, and this made his father loathe Krum more after he used to worship him. However, when Hugo's parents became a coupled and there was no reason for his father to still hate him, Ron went back to become his biggest fan. Later in his life, Viktor became one of the best International Aurors in the world, being responsible for the capture of hundreds of worldwide Dark Wizards. His greatest achievement was the arrest of a Chinese dictator, Tat Me Sung, who used magic to take control of the country and kill anyone who dares oppose him.

He couldn't believe what Harry said. This can't be true. He didn't want it to be true.

"What? No. He wouldn't…" Hugo paused. "Dark Lord? Krum?"

"I know it's a hard thing to hear," muttered Harry. "But it's true. He became corrupted because of all the strength and prominence he had. He realized that being 'good' has limits, but being 'evil' has no restrictions."

"What else has he done? Why haven't I heard of this until now?"

"He was secretly responsible for the slaughter and abduction of thousands of innocent people. And what makes it more impressive is how he did these things without anyone noticing they were all carried out by the same person. Wizards and Muggles.

"You didn't hear of it because no one else did," Harry continued.

"What about you?"

"This question brings us to why they kidnapped your cousin."

"They?"

"Oh, Hugo, you really didn't think Krum would've done all these horrible things by himself, did you. The Knights of Asparukh, they are called."

"So they're kind of like the Death Eaters."

"They are now. But they'll grow to be something much much worse. An empire ruling over all mankind, with cruelty and terror."

"So he's become much worse than the tyrant he spent most of his life fighting."

"Sung? Yes. Compared to Krum, he's merciful."

They were a silent for a moment.

"So, tell me why the kidnapped Albus," said Hugo.

"Oh, yes," started Harry. "My son was one of them…"

"What?" interrupted Hugo. "Albus is part of the Knights of Asparukh?"

"He was. Until he turned against them and admitted everything to me before they took him away." Tears came out of Harry's eyes. "They're going to kill him."

"No they won't. Don't say that."

"He betrayed them. Of course, they won't let him live. He's not much use to them anyway."

"Why did they kidnap him then? If they don't need him, then why didn't they just kill him where he stood? There must be something they want from him."

"Maybe they're planning to torture him before they finished him off. For what he did, maybe they thought death wasn't enough."

Harry wept.

"I'll find him, Harry. I promise, before they do anything to him, I will find him and bring him back."