After putting a safe distance between them and the town, the wizards were disillusioned before mounting their brooms and taking to the air. None of them were certain what to expect. It almost seemed too easy that this should lead them to the vampire layer. Then again, there was only so much a person could do to hide and it hadn't expected for Alan to break of their grip...especially considering how long he had been controlled.
In any case, the plan was to remain hidden whilst studying the property. It wasn't wise to go in charging should there be enemies about and it wasn't preferred to start any attack prematurely. That being said, each of them were prepared to give it their all should an opportunity arise for them to save their brother. Having Ioana there would have been nice as well as the eldest Weaseley couple, but they were all doing what best they could for George.
It didn't take them very long to reach the ranch. There were three buildings to it, each built at the base of a large hill, the first of many leading to the mountains surrounding Biertan on that side. The main structure was approximately twice the size of Charlie's home, with the second about the size of, and the third couldn't be much more than a shed. In addition, there was a large coop in one of the pastures between the two larger buildings.
From the sky, it all appeared still and empty. They alllowed a brief campout to make sure it stayed that way before deciding 'homenum revelio' should be used since their main goal was to find George. Hermione cast the spell, patiently waiting to see if it yielded any result. Unfortunately, it did not. Disappointed, but not giving up, the wizards hovered a short time longer in case their spell had been picked up by any other. However, the property kept as it was before. Nothing at all changed.
It was at that point they began to believe that it had, in fact, been too good to think it would have lent to the case's aid. Nonetheless, the next step was to actually dismount and physically search the area themselves. Harry instructed the group to split, letting each land at one side of the main building and then creep to meet each other in the front to venture inside. It didn't seem altogether run down until they were actually upon it.
At first, they found the raggedy door locked, but the problem was easily remedied with a simple spell. Once more, they took the extra precaution of taking their time and preparing their wands for attack before actually flinging the door open and storming in. Inside, there was nothing except old bales of hay and some rusty pitchforks as well as other farming and gardening tools. The wooden infrastructure was rotting at many points and it was clear nobody had visited the site in quite some time.
Reaching the conclusion that nothing and no one was hidden inside, the wizards snuck back out carefully, to be sure that nobody had come on them since their entrance. They found themselves in the clear and set out to the second structure, then the shed, and finally the coop. The entire search came up with absolutely no results. From what they could tell, there were no charms or curses cast on the place and it was likely that it was not frequented. It was definitely not used. There were no disruptions or traces of another's presence. They even looked for blood thinking perhaps it had been used as a place for their 'cattle' or food in the past, but there was nothing.
Standing outside in a small huddle with his companions, Harry scanned the area, "We're not leaving yet," he stated, "We should fly around here, up towards the mountains to see if there is anything else. Any other possible lead."
"I was going to suggest the same," Charlie agreed.
"Stay quiet and hidden in case we do run into something. And stay close to each other," the lead auror instructed.
Everyone nodded at the same time and then used their drawn wands to cast their spells again. Even though it actually didn't take much for these charms to be broken through by other magical folk, they still helped quite a lot.
They were in the air soon again. It seemed that the night was getting closer. Harry took the moment to check his pocket and realize it was indeed coming into the evening hours. They may have arrived in Romania before three, but there was a two hour time difference between the places. And the gloomy atmosphere about the mountains in addition to the underdeveloped villages around aided in making it appear darker than it was in reality.
The group spaced out, staying within eye and ear shot of the next person. They made a long line forward past several hills, each growing larger than the next, until they reached an area that was somewhat forested just before the first full sized mountain came upon them. It was at that point that something caught the lead auror's attention. He halted his broom and glanced over to the side at Hermione. She had heard it too. Gradually, everyone had stopped and flew closer to each other as they slowly pursued the sound, flitting this way and that until they could better pinpoint from where it had come. The echoing within the hills made this somewhat difficult.
It was voices. They were...yelling...yet it wasn't apparent if they were angry. It sounded like...men. Two men. The five investigators were once again within close proximity as they slowly hovered nearer the targets. As they went, the echoes became less and the voices were clearer.
"You really are an evil bastard, aren't you?" an exasperated man screamed, his voice cracking.
"Go on home," a loud yet calmer voice answered, "You have no idea what the fuck you are asking."
Harry was the first to see over the next clumps of terrain and spot the two who were fighting. His heart skipped a beat and his palms began to sweat. His wife, next to him, was barely able to catch her gasp by covering it with her hand. There, on the ground, perhaps ten feet from each other was an unarmed George...and Gerald Davis.
"You selfish son of a bitch!" George cried, jolting toward the dark wizard.
They probably should have made sure there was nobody else around before entering the scene, but the family knew George was without his wand and Gerald need only raise his hand to attack...so the entire group immediately swooped down just as the demon threw his hands up at the twin who had run at him.
Charlie was the first to hit the ground, jumping from his broom and then charging toward Gerald. The white haired wizard instantly twisted his neck to see the approaching family. It surprised the newcomers that he hadn't, in fact, attacked the twin but instead had only grabbed hold of George's shirt and threw him back on the dirt.
Charlie wasted no time in sending 'stupefy' at Gerald who easily deflected it with a shielding spell. The dark wizard instantly began backing away though his expression didn't read of fear. Rather, he seemed agitated. Harry, Ron, and Hermione likewise joined in on attempting to take Gerald down while Ginny fell to her knees beside George who was still on the ground. She desperately pulled at his clothes, searching for any wounds and simultaneously asking if he was alright. The twin just kept repeating in a soft whisper, "I'm fine, I'm fine" though he looked thoroughly shocked at the sudden appearance of his family.
The two siblings got to their feet again as Ginny pulled a frightened yet reluctant George away from the battle. She raised her wand, and kept a sharp eye on everything, determined to protect her brother. Thankfully, he fell back with her, realizing both the danger he had been in and how greatly his they all must have been worrying.
"Gerald! You're severely outnumbered!" Harry yelled, not because he didn't think the demon couldn't stand his ground, but because he realized it was growing dark...and that meant they might soon be the ones outnumbered.
The dark wizard reacted in no way other than to deflect another spell that had been shot at him. The lead auror was the first to cease attacking, seeing that Gerald had not done anything but shield himself. After Hermione and her husband each cast 'expulso' and Charlie ordered 'stupefy' again, they too took Harry's lead in halting. Gerald had been constantly pacing backward until the three stopped their assault. He then stayed in his position, staring back at them.
They all kept like that as a few moments passed. Ginny in the rear where the brooms had been discarded, defending George; Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Charlie in an aggressive line with wands pointed at the dark wizard; and Gerald now almost twenty feet away from them, hands casually falling down to his sides. Harry had no idea what the man was thinking...but he was doubtfully planning on surrender.
"Just come with us, Gerald," the lead auror said, catching his breath, deciding on a threat, "We've found where your friends have hidden you. Where else will you go that we can't find you?"
He knew the dark wizard was paranoid and he was hoping to play on that fear to get him to either give in or lose his edge. Harry kept his eyes stern on Gerald, waiting for any hint of his faltering yet none came. Gerald remained as calm and collected as he had the entire encounter. The auror suddenly felt that the man they were dealing with was not the same as he was before. He seemed...stronger. Like he was less afraid...more in control.
"Simple Harry," Gerald purred, completely unconcerned, "I know you don't like me. I wouldn't expect you to. But you should be more appreciative."
Harry grew annoyed with the casual speech amongst such grave circumstances. He opened his mouth to reiterate his treat, but Gerald had continued.
"You've no idea the ways I've helped you. For example," he tilted his chin upward, making an obvious glance at George, "Ask him why he's here."
"If you're insinuating that he's only alive because of something you've done, you're lying to the wrong crowd," Charlie growled, "We know about the mole. Polyjuice potion requires living samples."
"Oh obviously," Gerald's eyes fluttered in solemn sarcasm, "That's not what I meant."
There was a small pause.
"Ask your brother...why he's here," the dark wizard repeated, lowering his chin.
"We don't have time for this," Harry muttered, immediately jumping into his next attack, "PETRIFICUS TOTALUS!"
Gerald literally sighed as he pulled both hands up in a wave in front of him, each circling with energy as the motion formed a shield about him, successfully blocking both Harry's spell and the immediately succeeding one from Charlie. As his defense faded, it was Ron who disapparated quickly, reappearing to the side of Gerald maybe a couple of feet away.
"STUPEFY!" the redheaded auror yelled, actually taking Gerald off guard though not well enough to take him down.
In his surprise, the demon spun to the side, narrowly dodging the spell. Mid-turn, he lunged at Ron, successfully grabbing the wizard's wrist and pulling the armed hand toward his own face, letting it fall just beside his neck. The Weasely's chest thudded against Gerald's and instantly, the two rotated so that Ron's back faced his companions. This movement forced the others to rush near as any distant casting may inadvertently hit the auror.
And this was exactly what Gerald was hoping would happen. Rushing to get different angles on the dark wizard so that he couldn't not dodge all of them at once or trick them into firing upon their ally, the family failed to see Gerald's plan.
The wizard shifted nearly instantaneously from human to the ghastly demonic form they had witnessed during their last encounter. He used the beast's strong legs to jump upward above the battle just as each of the three attacks leapt from the wands. Hermione's stupefy charm hit her husband, dropping him to the ground before the second spell cast by Harry could strike him as well. Panic swept over the group as they watched the demon in the air, fall back to the ground, then bound again, into the space between them and George, protected only by his sister.
"GET RON OUT OF HERE AND GET MUM AND DAD. NOW!" Charlie yelled at Harry and Hermione as he ran after the demon.
Hermione nodded quickly at the lead auror, rushing to her husband's side and taking him into disapparation. Harry followed after Charlie, who had just gotten close enough to Gerald to launch another attack. The demon couldn't seem to dodge the blow though his new form was stronger than the human, as evidenced from a prior battle when a spell injured yet did not have the usual effect on him. It seemed that the extra strength was traded for slower reflex and less range of magical capability.
At the moment Harry put this detail together, he also took in the demon's odd stance. It seemed that he had not made the leap in order to attack the retreated couple, as he had halted far enough away that Ginny could not properly cast a spell, and had stayed there while allowing Charlie's to strike him. It looked like Gerald was considering the situation before making his next move. When he made his decision, however, the auror questioned his original assumption that the twin and Ginny were not his target.
The demon gave another powerful leap, soaring above the young witch as she unsuccessfully attempted to set the creature on fire. Gerald started transforming into a human again just before his feet hit the ground on the other side of the two. Bending at the knees in a hybrid form so to not damage himself, he rose again as a wizard, instantly throwing an arm around George's neck.
He pulled the redhead back against him, tightly grasping his arm in a full circle around his throat. As the unsuspecting twin reached upward to fight the hold, Gerald retained it and continued to drag George further away.
A cry was heard from Molly Weaseley then, alerting Harry and Charlie to the return of Hermione with the parents behind them. They all kept their wands aimed yet hesitated in pressing forward with the battle.
"Gerald," Harry said, "Just let him alone. Just leave. We won't chase you." It was a desperate plea and he wasn't sure himself if he meant it.
"Not that I believe that," the dark wizard called over his captive's shoulder, raising his free hand and holding it next to George's face, "But I have no interest in harming your family."
"Then let him go!" Charlie ordered.
Gerald cocked his head to the side.
"What do you want then?" Arthur stepped up to Harry's side, his voice shook just barely enough for the auror to catch it.
The demon tilted his head back. His expression seemed to change for the first time that day. Gerald showed then a hint of sadness, "Nothing you can help with," his tone had softened.
"Ger!"
A new voice sounded on the scene. The dark wizard along with the others cut their eyes to the side and saw Brad Angston had appeared just stop the closest hill.
