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Three - In Stages
I stumbled from the lorry rather inelegantly, my legs weak from the prolonged stay in the folded seating position. The journey had taken up even more time than I'd thought. The streets had been awful and we had to circuit no less than four different obstacles on our way. Not to mention that we had to pass military controls numerous times. Gladly, they hadn't been too interested in the young boy, that I posed as.
After my short conversation with Ivan, I hadn't been in the mood to continue reading the diary. So, I had used the time to observe the villages and the people that we passed. Everywhere were clear signs of the hardship of the war. I had no idea how I had been able to miss it. Living in the magical world was no excuse.
"This is a ten-minute break", the driver, who looked obviously tired, informed us. "You can take a piss, you can stretch your legs, but if you're not back in ten minutes, we'll go on without you. We're already late, we can't afford any further delay."
Some of the men grumbled, but none of them voiced any real disagreement. I guessed that they were just as happy as I that we would continue our journey quickly. I couldn't wait to call it a day.
Waving off Ivan who offered me to join them to take a stroll, I walked a few paces into the light forest to pee. I was careful to cast a quick Notice-Me-Not charm. Being caught with my trousers around my ankles and my arse on display would not only embarrass me, but also blow my cover.
I took a few seconds to not only relieve myself, but also to take a breather. I re-braided my hair and secured it under my cap, using a weak sticking charm to make sure that I wouldn't lose it accidentally. Cupping one hand, I cast an Argumenti to drink some water, as I was parched from the long journey on the vehicle. It seemed that both the smelly fumes form the lorry as well as the dusty airstream did a great job drying out my mouth. Though I felt sticky and sweaty, I resisted the urge to use a Scourgify on my clothes. It would be too suspicious if I reappeared squeaky clean.
If my mother could see me right now – dirtied, taking a wee in the forest, surrounded by unknown male company without a chaperon – she would surely lose her pureblood shit. I pushed the thought from my mind.
With a few more minutes to spare, I got back to the truck, most of the other men had already gathered around it. They were passing a bottle of some clear liquid around and I declined with a thankful nod, because I assumed that it was similar to an alcohol that Mina had introduced me to a few months ago. I hadn't liked it. Instead, I reached for a bottle of water and sipped it, listening to the conversation. Their local Rumanian accents were too strong and I had troubles understanding them.
"… not, it's true!"
"Pffsh, no story like that could be true!"
I turned to Ivan who had taken position next to me. "What are they talking about?"
"Some stupid rumours."
"About?"
He heaved a sigh. "There are strange things happening in Budapest and they say that Hitler has found a way to use magic."
"Magic?", I asked a bit too quickly, but Ivan only scoffed.
"It's not true, băiat. Don't worry."
He waved his hand dismissively as if he wanted to end the conversation, but I was curious now.
"What kind of magic would that be?", I asked with a scoff in my voice, as if I thought the whole idea ridiculous.
The young man shrugged his shoulders. "It's said that they can bind you without any ropes and they can make you hurt without touching you." He shrugged again, a dismissive smile on his face. "Some even say that they have wands, just like in the stories my mother used to tell me."
I gave a weak laugh. That wasn't a distinct description of wizards, but I was already paranoid enough to fear that Budapest housed some wizards or witches. Even worse, it seemed that they were in service of Hitler, or maybe Grindelwald used the German dictator as a cover story for his own atrocities.
"Not so keen to get to Budapest anymore?" Ivan followed up when he saw the discomfort on my face.
It was my time to shrug my shoulders. "I have to admit that I believe in bad luck."
Ivan laughed. "Well, maybe you can avoid entering Budapest. I'm sure we'll take another rest before we reach the city. If it suits you, you could leave us there. The wicked vrajitori are only in the big bad city."
I gave him a nondescript smile and pushed off the side of the truck when the other men started to climb in again. It seemed that the break was over and we would continue our journey. I took my usual seat, feeling Ivan's curious eyes on me. Smiling politely, I turned away from him and got my fathers diary out of my bag again. Better to read this than to engage Ivan further in any conversation.
Leaning against the sack of onions, I ignored my fellow travel companions. If I really wanted to leave the travel party earlier, I should probably obliviate their memories of me, erasing my tracks. Less interaction meant less memories, less memories meant a less invasive memory spell.
The lorry stopped jerkily and I almost fell in Ivan's lap. Straightening my posture, I hopped from the truck and went straight for the water, wandering a bit away from the lively group.
This was our last stop before we reached the city and I was certain that I would listen to Ivan's advice. I would avoid the city, hopefully bypass big Wizarding gatherings as well. This meant that I had to disappear and that I would lose my means of transportation. It was still probably the better chance.
There were quite a few men and I was not sure how I was supposed to obliviate them all, as obliviation needed a great deal of concentration and it required the spell to be individually. Unlike some spells that could be cast on a whole group of people, this one had to be cast for one after another. It was unrealistic for me to even attempt something like this.
Thus, I wandered away from the men, till I was standing far enough away to have them all in my sight. With an adept flick of my wrist, I had my wand in my hand and made a swirling notion, involving all the men in my spell.
"Confundus", I murmured lowly, deliberately overpowering the spell.
This was the best I could do. Thanks to this spell, they wouldn't realize that I was missing from their group. Additionally, for those of them who hadn't spent too much time with me or too many thoughts on me, they would probably forget about me altogether.
Hitching my knapsack a bit higher on my shoulder, I threw one last glance at Ivan and silently wished him the best. He seemed to be a rather good man, maybe a bit cynical, but I really hope that he would make it out of this war alive.
I watched them as the driver gunned the car and then drove off. With a small dust cloud from the dry ground, they disappeared behind a curve in the street. With a heavy sigh, I turned away, blinking away some irrational tears. There was no need to be sad about the loss of my company. I had only spent a few hours with them, not nearly enough to feel gloomy to be alone again. It was probably the stress of my situation that made me this emotional.
Resolutely, I placed my wand on my open palm and cast a simple Point Me spell to direct me towards the west. If I estimated my position correctly – which I somehow doubted, as I had no idea what several hours of Muggle transportation meant in covered distance, I only knew that we were already well in Hungary – I reckoned that I needed to travel farther west to cross Hungary and reach Austria. Hopefully I would find a map on my way there. Guessing my position and my route was just too uncertain to go by.
Hiking the thumbs in the shoulder straps of my knapsack, I followed the path that the spell had shown me, straight across the barren farmlands. With determination, I marched on, hoping that I would cover as much ground by foot as I could.
"Oh Gods", I muttered in exhaustion as I lowered myself inelegantly on the ground, my back resting again the rough trunk of the tall birch.
I had spent the rest of the day walking towards the west and my feet were killing me. I was used to physical exertion, as my father had always placed value both on my duelling skills magically and non-magically. This meant I was accustomed to hard training sessions, but even the longest took only two hours, never several hours on end with me traipsing through Hungary's backcountry. My feet hurt and my legs were heavy.
Pulling my boots from my feet, I carefully peeled the sweaty socks off, wincing when I saw the multiple blisters that caused my agony.
"Episkey", I murmured, watching as the battered skin was knotted together magically.
I wiggled my toes and sighed in relieve when I could feel no new pain. It was only the dull ache from overexertion. Pocketing my wand, I gently started to massage my feet, careful to not upset the newly healed skin. Kneading the skin made my feet crack but it felt good.
"Right", I remembered myself, "you need a plan, Galya."
It was almost nightfall, the dusk already casting long shadows caused by the trees surrounding me. I could probably continue my travels in the night, but I couldn't risk to mess up later just because I was tired. The sensible thing to do was be to rest and start anew tomorrow morning at daybreak.
I was ripped out of my thoughts by thundering noise above my head. Though it wasn't the first time that I heard that particular noise, I still froze up and made myself smaller, as if I could avoid detection by hiding myself under the leaf canopy of the small forest at my back. What I was hearing was a plane. I knew about them because of Mina and today I had seen them in the sky for the first time. It was a curious sight, metal birds high – or sometimes not so high – in the air, breaking the silence with their powerful propeller. Thankfully they always just passed over me, but I got still nervous when I heard one and the further I travelled, the more frequently I saw and heard them.
The noise disappeared slowly and I relaxed. They seemed to be no danger to me and I shouldn't be so paranoid all the time. They were probably just transporting something with those Muggle planes. No need to worry.
"Yep", I scoffed sarcastically at my own try to appease myself, "you're perfectly safe in this forest, surrounded by wild animals, the Muggle enemy and some of Grindelwald's men probably only a few miles away. Nothing to worry about."
Smiling at my dark humour, I pushed myself heavily to my feet and examined my surroundings. This tree would do just well enough to serve as my place for the night. I swished my wand through the air, casting cushioning charms, warming charms for the coming chill of the night, heavy wardings and detection spells around me. It wouldn't be comfortably, but it was enough for me to get at least a few hours of rest. Maybe I got a bit overboard with my protection charms, but I couldn't shake the nervousness I felt when I thought about spending the night in the open.
Finally, I settled down in my makeshift bed. After some tossing and turning, I fell asleep.
Only to wake up with a gasp in the middle of the night, cold sweat on my forehead because of the awful nightmare I just had. I had been caught in the little forest road my father and I had used to reach the nearby village from our manor. Over and over again, I had to witness the last moments of my father. The first time he had mouthed the words that would result in his own death. But after that, he had spoken to me, accusing me to cause his death, to be a coward, for being weak. The worst was that I agreed with him. I was a coward and I was weak. And in the end, it was my fault that Grindelwald's people were after us, because I had changed the allegiance of the Elder Wand.
I rubbed my hands tiredly over my face and wiped some of the sticky sweat off my forehead. There was still the lingering adrenalin in my body, trying to push me into a fight or flight reaction. With my hands pressed over my eyes, I froze when I heard a snapping sound nearby. Lowering my lands slowly, I flicked my eyes over my surroundings, seeing nothing ta first. Maybe I hadn't been woken by my awful dreams but by a noise in the real world. I grew more restless and felt for my wards. They were humming with their activity but they hadn't been activated by a Muggle or a wild animal.
There was rustling and then another crack, this time more audible. My head snapped in the direction of the noise and I trained my eyes and ears to find if there was anything out there. The forest was still gloomy, full of shades that seemed to move from one tree to another. I had a hard time distinguishing if it was the branches moving and casting shadows or if my imagination was running wild. But then I heard something different and I froze in fear.
A low noise, something between a wheeze and a growl came from the direction I was looking at and my eyes locked onto a form that I could only see because it revealed itself with a slight movement. It looked like a female with long and unkempt hair, that fell in greasy strains in her face. Her body was covered in rags, revealing spindly arms and pale skin, but also claw-like hands. Deep wrinkles and the grey colour of her hair spoke of a long life, but there was nothing grandmotherly in her eyes when she looked at me. The dark pools of her eyes were what really frightened me. They were filled with hunger and pure madness.
It was a hag. I'd never seen one before, had never been in close proximity and I was glad that I'd been that lucky up until now. There was a reason why hags were categorized as a dark creature and why witches and wizards were wary of them. She looked dreadful and if her glance was anything to go by, I guessed that she wanted to do dreadful things to me as well.
Both of us stood frozen in the forest, staring at each other as if we'd no idea what to do. I wanted to curse myself for my carelessness to link my wards only to Muggles, Wizarding folk and animals. Why hadn't I thought about magical creatures? How could I have been that naive?
Seconds passed and there was still no movement from us. My hand held my wand in a sweaty palm and I knew that I was still staring at the hag with almost comically wide eyes, but I couldn't keep myself from showing my fear. I simply didn't know how to react. Just as I was staring at her, she was staring at me. Was I supposed to attack first? Could I simply turn my back on her and leave his place?
From a distance, I could hear the rattling sound of another Muggle vehicle, but it closed in faster than I'd supposed. Judging from the direction, it was above our head. Another plane. I felt the urge to lift my eyes to look for the Muggle aircraft, but my eyes were still locked on the hag.
Thankfully, the hag was a bit more curious than me and looked up, breaking our eye contact. Though my heart skipped a beat, I took the opportunity and flung a full body-binding hex at her, but the hag moved faster than I'd ever judged from her old appearance.
With only a flicker in the dark nightlight, she crashed into me, throwing me on my back, as I was still sitting on the ground. The air was knocked from my body and I was barely able to raise my hands to cover my face as the hag came over me with sharp claws and vicious fists.
I would've screamed in pain as her claws ripped the skin of my arms in an attacking slash, but I had too little air to even mutter a sound. Trying to get my feet between us to kick her off me, I also flicked my wand at her again and sent her reeling with a nonverbal Depulso. It gave me enough time to roll away from her and scramble to my feet.
"Protego horribilis", I gasped between two desperate breaths and a shimmery bubble formed around me.
The hag didn't stop in her attack and slashed her sharp fingernails through my shield and made it waver and flicker before it crumbled in itself. I threw myself out of her way, shocked that my shield had failed me and thrown off completely how vicious the hag's attack was. With another stumble I just avoided a slash to my face.
"Confringo!"
My curse grazed her shoulder and she lost her balance for a second when blood spluttered form her wound, but it only delayed her shortly. In my attempt to get a bit more distance, I had unknowingly turned my back to her – oh, how my father would be disappointed – and she used the opportunity to jump me.
With her heavy weight on my back, I crumbled on the ground, my surprised gasp muffled by the moist forest ground. I felt a sharp pain at my upper back and cried out and bucked to get her off me. I only accomplished to lose her hold on me enough, so I could roll on my back, pushing her off me in the process. Within a few seconds she was on me again, and I raised my arms to cover my face once more as she slashed and hacked, hissing viciously at me.
With a wordless scream, I aimed my wand and sent a few cutting curses nonverbally at her, to breathless form the pain to voice them. The hag was flung back, wreathing on the ground, her numerous wounds leaking deep-red blood on the forest ground. Crawling backwards crab-like, I gained a bit more distance, staring at the hag with wide eyes.
"Diffindo", I panted, pointing my wand the hag's throat.
She was thrown back by the force of my spell and started to twitch on the ground. I trained my eyes on her belly to avoid the view of her blood spilling from her veins, nausea creeping up on me nonetheless. Pulse after pulse, the blood seeped from her body, painting her surroundings red. I swallowed heavily, still trying to catch my breath after the short but intense fight. My back and my arms were aching and still bleeding, but I wanted to finish this before I cared for myself.
With a bread swish of my wand, I summoned flames that licked at the now still form of the hag. The blood loss had been severe enough to finally cause unconsciousness and the flames consumed her body without the hag witnessing her own death. I watched as the flames grew higher and the smell of burnt hair filled the air, biting and disgusting.
I weaved another pattern with my wand and muttered a quite Protego, encapsulating the burning remains of the dark creature so the rest of the forest wouldn't ignite as well. Also, I simply didn't want to take another sniff of that awful smell. It only lasted a few minutes, but the body of he hag was finally destroyed and I lowered myself heavily on the ground, wincing when I disturbed my back.
Peeling me shirt from the wounds and over my body, I examined the injuries. They looked mean and quite painful – which they were – but not too serious. Canting a healing charm, I carefully ran the tip of my wound on the defensive wounds on my arms, stopping the blood flow and the pain thus. For the bite on my back I had to twist a bit around, which tugged on the injury. I had no other option than to feel for the wound with my fingertips and follow with my wand. It burnt to touch the open flesh, but it was better than to leave the wound untreated.
I threw another glance at the hag and swallowed harshly. That had been close. And a hag wasn't even the most dangerous thing that could happen to me. How was I supposed to make it to safety, when I couldn't even defend myself? My aim hadn't been true, my wand-arm had been unsteady and my casting unsure and hesitant.
"Bugger", I cursed lowly.
How should I make it through the European mainland to reach England, when I was so incompetent? What could probably happen if I came face to face to a real threat, like Grindelwald himself? My fathers training was fine and well but it seemed that it was not enough to make me persist in this hostile environment. If I wanted to endure, I had to step it up a notch.
Looking at the ashes and smouldering pieces of the hag, I already had an idea what I could do. But it was borderline dark magic, a method that was long banned and quite invasive to execute. Yet, it would be effective.
"Bugger", I repeated, rubbing my hands tiredly over my face and wincing when the newly mended and scarred skin stretched uncomfortably.
What would my father do?
I sighed and took a few deep breaths to ready myself to put my plan into action. My father would've already gone through with it. There was no reason to hesitate.
A/N
băiat: boy
vrajitori: wizards, sorcerer
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