CHAPTER 41: Bulgaria
"How are you holding up, Charlie?" Harry asked when they had returned to the large building. Charlie considered him for a few seconds before answering.
"To be perfectly honest with you, Harry, I want to kill that bastard. I know I can't but…well I can help you, and that's the next best thing. I just need to start fighting, I'm tired of the passive attitude Dumbledore and the Order are taking. That's why I was willing to help you. The sooner you end this the better." Harry nodded in agreement but Charlie hadn't finished. "What they don't understand is that their time is up! The Order was all well and good the last time around but now they are a bunch of old men who've been crippled by time! It's up to people like you and me this time around."
"It'll be soon Charlie. Once I finish getting the last few allies together I'm going to make it impossible for Voldemort to leave Hogwarts alone. But how trustworthy are the other dragon tamers?"
"Depends on who he chooses I guess. I'll be looking over his shoulder the entire time, you can be sure of that. Most aren't great fighters but they have a good deal of experience with controlling dragons. I'm going to ask him to give us as many Hogwarts graduates as possible, they'd be more likely to defend their school than turn on it." Harry nodded and there was an awkward silence between them. Neither of them really wanted to talk about Ginny, but it was nearly impossible to think about anything else. Charlie finally broke the silence. "How's Ron doing?" He asked quietly.
"Not so good. He took it really hard. I haven't seen him since he first got back actually." Harry went on to explain the situation that Ron had walked in on and how even though it may have looked bad there was no excuse for raising a hand to Hermione like that.
"He threatened her?" Charlie seethed. Apparently he was of the same belief as Harry, raising a hand to a woman deserved a sentence in Azkaban. "If we survive this war I'm going to bury that stupid git. He's becoming worse than Percy ever was. At least he just ignored us!"
"Where was Percy, by the way?" Harry asked in a barely audible voice. Charlie's anger abated.
"I don't know. To not show up like that…I almost want him to turn up at Voldemort's side so I can hex him into tiny pieces." For the first time Harry wasn't sure if Charlie waas serious or not. He knew that most of the Weasleys didn't see Percy as family anymore, but wishing that he would side with Voldemort was too much for Harry to believe. He did refuse to show up when Ginny…
"When's the funeral?"
"Day after tomorrow. At first they said it would take at least a week to prepare her bod…well, her. But now they say that somehow she is ready." Harry quickly turned away from Charlie's gaze. "Did you have something to do with that?" He asked suddenly catching on.
"I-I just couldn't let you guys see her like that." For the first time Harry broke down crying. Charlie pulled him into a brotherly hug and whispered a thank you. Harry had always been afraid to cry in front of others, especially guys lest he be judged weak. That was one thing he could not afford to be, but Charlie was a brother to him, as were the other Weasleys. They wouldn't judge him.
After a few minutes like that Harry finally pulled away and wiped his eyes. 'I'm sorry."
"Don't be. I remember when I heard the story about how Uncle Fabian and Uncle Gideon died. I was just a baby at the time and didn't really understand. I just knew that there were two men my mum knew that I would never meet. When I grew up though, and Dad explained it all to me I bawled my eyes out. I didn't even know them and it affected me like that. It just means you understand."
"Gideon and Fabian…Prewett? They were in the Order!" Charlie nodded absently.
"All I know about them is that they fought like heros…kind of puts mum's worrying in a new light doesn't it? Who can blame her, she lost twin brothers to Voldemort and now he's back and the rest of her family is right in the middle of it." Harry had no idea what to say. He remembered seeing the picture of the two the previous year when Moody had found it, but he had no idea who they were.
"I should be going, I have some more work to do and it's still pretty early." Charlie got up and gave Harry a quick hug.
"Just don't get too caught up in things, ok?" Harry nodded and dissaparated with a crack.
When Harry appeared he was in what must have been Bulgaria's version of Diagon Alley. Wizards and witches walked the streets in woolen robes and hats to fight off the cold. Harry walked down the road without being able tor ead the signs, but looking threw the windows told him exactly what kind of shop it was. He passed an apothecary and many other shops that looked best suited for Knockturn alley. He remembered that Durmstrang, supposedly, put a lot of emphasis on the dark arts. Stores like this would naturally gravitate towards a school with that type of curriculum.
After a few minutes of searching Harry found the small wand shop. He walked inside and found a very old man, not unlike Mr. Ollivander looking at him very suspiciously. He said something in a different language that Harry didn't catch.
"Mr. Gregorovitch?" The old wizard straightened up.
"You're English." It was a statement, not a question.
"Yes, Mr. Ollivander from Diagon Alley sent me."
"Oh? And how is old Ollie?" He asked in heavily accented English. Harry had to stop himself from laughing at the name.
"He's doing very well and sends his regards."
"And vot is it you vont me to do?" he asked suspiciously. Harry didn't want to drop his own name so he casually brushed his hair back out of his face, revealing the scar. Despite its subtlety the effect was not lost on Gregorovitch.
"Harry Potter!" He said with wide eyes.
"Please don't shout! I'm here to see Viktor Krum and I needed a safe place to arrive. Mr. Ollivander trusts you so I though this would be a good place to come."
"I vill not say a vord. You know vere to find Viktor?" Harry shook his head.
"I was hoping you could tell me." The old man waved him towards his desk and pulled out a map. He pointed his wand at one point on it and a red dot appeared on it.
"You are here." He made another red dot. "Viktor is here. You vill see from road." He handed Harry the map, effectively concluding their business. Harry thanked him and walked out onto the street. He made his way towards the second red dot on the map and soon realized that Gregorovitch had been right, you really could see the house from that far away. It was a giant white building set up on a hill. It gave Harry an eery reminder of the Riddle house in Little Hangleton but wasn't sure why.
Despite being able to see the house it was still a pretty long walk. It seemed even farther than it was due to the bitter cold of winter in Bulgaria. When he finally got to the huge black gates leading up the driveway he wasn't sure what to do. He had never been at a house with gates, and the ones he had seen on muggle tv had an electric call button, there was nothing like that on these gates. They were just giant, wraught iron bars. Harry touched the gate, afraid that he was going to receive an electric shock. As soon as he touched it, however, the gate buzzed and began to open. He wasn't sure whether it was his special ability or someone opening the gate from the house but decided to proceed inside anyway.
As Harry took the first few steps inside the gate began to close behind him. He had a very uncomfortable feeling but kept walking. When he reached the massive double doors he rang the bell and waited anxiously. When the door finally opened there was a well dressed butler on the other side.
"Mr. Potter, I presume. Come this way, please." He said in a perfect British accent. Harry followed him quietly to a large room with a comfortable couch and two chintz armchairs. There was a fireplace on the wall the couch was facing and many large portraits. Only some of those portraits, Harry realized, were wizarding ones. The butler motioned for Harry to take a seat on the couch, bowed, and walked out. Harry waited for a few minutes before the door opened once again.
"Good day, Mr. Potter." Harry turned towards the familiar voice. A tall, skinny man with sleek silver hair stood before him. The man also had a silver goatee that ended in a curl. Harru jumped up, his wand appearing in his hand.
"Karkaroff!" The former death eater put his hands up in surrender and smiled.
"Yes, Mr. Potter, it has been quite some time. I never did congratulate you on your victory in the triwizard tournament."
"I believe that was because you were too busy running for your life." The man's smile vanished.
"Yes I ran, and you would have as well if you were on top of the Dark Lord's hit list." Harry sneered back at him without lowering his wand.
"I am on his hit list, the top to be exact." Karkaroff rubbed his temples and sat down in the armchair to Harry's right.
"That is only too true, I forgot to whom I was speaking. The Dark Lord knew I sold his men out so he was going to kill me. I ran to the safest place I could think of; here. Viktor's family and I go way back and I doubt the Dark Lord would doubt attack such a prominent pure blood family." Harry holstered his wand and sat back down.
"If they're pure bloods why do they have a butler and muggle portraits?"
"Because they live in the middle of Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. The house isn't exactly hidden. If they had a house elf answer the door it would look rather strange, wouldn't it?"
"So where is Viktor?"
"I'm right here, Harry." Viktor Krum announced as he opened the door and strolled in. Harry noticed that he still looked rather awkward on solid ground but his English had greatly improved. Harry stood and shook his hand. "I apologize for my tardiness, I was in my room completing some work when you arrived. I see Igor here has been speaking with you." Krum sat down in the armchair to Harry's left.
"I see you've been improving your English." Krum smiled and sat back in his chair.
"Yes, I have been working most diligently. I understand I will not be playing quidditch must longer, seekers never last long in the better leagues. I wish to work for my ministry at some point and seeing that your Ministry of Magic is quite possibly the most powerful I would need to be able to do business with you." Harry smiled.
"I thought it was for Hermione." Krum laughed heartily.
"Yes that may have been part of it as well. Tell me, how is she doing?"
"She's going through some hard times, we all are. My girlfriend, a close friend of hers just…she was killed." Both Krum and Karkaroff were taken aback.
"It was the Dark Lord, wasn't it?" Karkaroff said quietly, Harry nodded. "I can almost feel him sometimes. Well, I can feel him when he touches the dark mark." The three sat in silence for the next few minutes.
"So what is it you wanted me to do, Harry?" Viktor asked getting back to the business at hand.
"I need to meet with your Minister of Magic. Voldemort's going to attack Hogwarts soon and, to be honest, we need help."
"And you thought between the two of us the Minister couldn't possibly refuse." Harry nodded. "I can see your logic, but what exactly would you want him to do?"
"I assume you have something like Aurors or hit wizards?" Karkaroff nodded.
"The Bulgarian Ministry boasts a very well trained Defense Corp. They are both your Auror corp and hit wizards but much more. They are trained to be a police force and something of an army. They are very powerful and very organized, unfortunately they are very rarely held accountable for their actions. In this case it may be good for you, fighting fire with fire so to speak."
"The Minister will not be in his office at this time. I'll use my contacts to set up an appointment for first thing int the morning. Would you like to use one of the spare bedrooms for the night?"
"Yes, I would appreciate that."
The three men sat in the room for another few hours chatting. Viktor wanted to know all about Hermione and Harry's quidditch career. They reminisced about the Triwizard tournament, glossing over the part where Barty Crouch Jr. had put Krum under the imperius curse to cast the cruciatus curse on Diggory. Karkaroff seemed very interested in what happened inside the maze. He had not seen the obstacles and ran before he could speak with anyone. Apparently in the time he had been hiding with Viktor he had more important things on his mind than the triwizard tournament. Karkaroff also asked how Professor Snape was doing. When Harry told him that he was no longer acting under cover Karkaroff seemed to be put at ease. Apparently the man really did care for people.
The next day Harry awoke early and got dressed. He made his way downstairs where a house elf was preparing breakfast. Viktor was sitting at the table reading the newspaper.
"Good morning, Harry. Igor told me that you were wondering wear my house elves were. There he is." Harry couldn't help but laugh. "Even though he looks normal when opening the door my butler cannot cook to save his life."
"You mean you don't hide your house elves because of Hermione?" Krum laughed again.
"It always comes back to her doesn't it? She is pleasant to speak to, but I'm not sure I could be with her. She was always too loyal to you and too liberal. Don't get me wrong, I feel it is reprehensible to mistreat any creature, but I do not wish to join spew." Harry burst out laughing. "So, would you like to get going?" Harry nodded and grabbed a piece of toast before walking back into the room where he had met with Krum and Karakaroff the previous night. "Just say Ministry of Magic." Viktor told him as he handed him the puch of floo powder.
When Harry stepped out of the fireplace he was in a lobby much like the one found at his own Ministry of Magic. The only difference was that it wasn't as brightly lit and there was no fountain of magical bretheren. Then again after last year there was no fountain of magical bretheren in Britain either.
"Follow me." Krum told him as he walked towards the elevator. "A visitor like you should not need to waste time checking your wand." There was a single wizard standing in the elevator when the two approached it. As they stepped inside the wizard looked up and, obviously recognizing them, hustled out of the elevator muttering something in another language. When harry looked at Krum for a translation he simply shrugged and said, "He said he'd wait for the next one. My country is still somewhat aristocratic. I'm not complaining about the treatment, but the pairing you chose impressed more people than just the Minister."
"Viktor!" A booming voice came from the hall as the elevator doors opened on the fifth floor. Harry looked up to see the man he had met in the top box of the quidditch world cup in his fourth year. He racked his memory for a name but could only remember that Fudge kept mispronouncing it. "Ah, Harry Potter, I must say I vos most excited to hear you vere coming. Please, come inside my office."
Harry shook the man's hand and followed him into his office. Harry realized that it wasn't nearly as plush as Fudge's office had been and had a very different feel. This man seemed to be more of a soldier than a diplomat. He had the heads of various creatures that he had supposedly hunted and killed himself along with their hides as rugs. He assured Harry that no part of their body went to waste, to kill a creature for sport was the ultimate insult to the hunt.
The Minister, Mr. Dimitriy Obalonsk, told Harry that he had once been a celebrated warrior from the Bulgarian Defense Corps, one of the reasons he was elected to his current post.
"I am usually not vun to allow another person to call me by the wrong name, your Cornelius Fudge was a different story."
'You respected him enough to allow the mistake?" Harry asked incredulously. The man let out a booming laugh.
"He vos so insignificant I vould not listen to him, so I vould not care. Betveen the two of us it vos for the best that he vos killed." The man, who had leaned forward to whisper this last piece of information, sat back in his chair and steepled his fingers as if trying to read Harry's expression.
"I happen to agree, Minister. He was especially harmful because the final battle approaches quickly. Voldemort will soon attack Hogwarts and if we fall he will have won. The rest of the world will be almost a formality."
"You put much emphasis on your school, why?" Viktor asked.
"Because at this point in time there are only two people Voldemort fears or hates, the first is Albus Dumbledore-"
"It vould be a great loss if he fell."
"The second is me." Harry continued as if the Minister had not spoken. Both Bulgarians looked at him with a degree of shock, fortunately both saw the logic in his statement. "That is why I have come to ask for your help. You were at the Quidditch World cup two years ago, you saw the Death Eaters. That is only a fraction of what they can and will do. They have no honor, they will kill unarmed, helpless people and enjoy it. We have to draw them into a battle and finish it now."
Harry watched the Minister for a reaction. He realized that if the man was half the warrior he pretended to be he would not be able to give up the opportunity to do battle with a seriously evil force. Harry was right.
"If I agree to do this, vot kind of aid would you seek?"
"Anything you can lend us. I understand that your Defense Corps is an incredibly well trained force and I would appreciate any number of them. I have already spoken to the creatures surrounding Hogwarts and they have agreed. I have also recruited the aid of five dragons. I'm going to speak with the French Chancellor of Magic as well and see what aid he would be willing to give us." The Minister snorted.
"That man won't give you a thing. It isn't because he wishes to see Voldemort succeed or you fail, that's just the type of person he is." Viktor added for Harry's benefit.
"Perhaps I can convince some other people that there time will be well spent defending Hogwarts even if the Chancellor will not approve. I must try regardless."
"Yes, I understand. I will agree to send you fifty of my personal Defense Corps. They will be led by a Captain that I would, and do, trust with my life. I will tell him to listen to you and your battle plans, but please accept his aid if he offers it. He's a brilliant mind and above all wants to keep his men alive. Don't worry, he won't hinder your plans, he knows some sacrifice is necessary." He added seeing Harry's look. Harry thanked him and told him that as soon as he could get the team to the castel the better. He would want them to look ocer the castle if they were to aid in its defense. It wouldn't pay to have half of the warriors lost somewhere inside while the battle was raging.