On the fifth day, Helga became worried. She deliberately chose a longer path that was also more isolated, but she felt they should have had already arrived at camp Salutem. She felt they were lost. Of course, she knew the camp was difficult to find on purpose. It was meant to be hidden in plain sight, protected from the dangerous gaze of muggles.
Sixth day. Still nothing. More walking, but now through mountains.
Day seven. It seemed they were moving slower and slower every day. The children were getting tired and upset. They didn't want to walk. One of the boys sat down and refused to move. He started having a temper tantrum. The others followed, like a strange mass hysteria but it was only fifteen small people. Exhausted, Helga ignored the tornado of crying and took out her trusted map. They were just about there, but there was nothing in sight. Of course, the camp had to be protected, but Helga expected she would notice something unusual that would lead her to the camp. But in front of her was only a plain meadow. The kids were getting louder and louder. Then the camp disappeared from the map. Helga took a closer look. What the fuck? How could it disappear? Was the map some kind of joke? Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. What now?
She clenched her jaw and collapsed onto the ground. How could she have been so stupid? She must have made a mistake! She rubbed her temples and kept swearing. When she stood up and prepared to tell the children her news, something at her feet sparkled. She bent over and noticed a sparkling seashell. In the middle of a meadow, miles away from the sea, this was very out of place. Oh, of course! A portkey!
"I've got it! We're here! Everyone come here!" she shouted at the kids, who got tired from their collective tantrum and were just sitting in the grass. The excitement in Helga's voice made them all walk over and look at the seashell Helga was staring at.
"All right, now, at three, we will all touch the seashell and hold on very tight." She instructed them.
"One, two, three". They all touched the shell and started spinning, as if they were in some hurricane of light.
Then they all crashed down on grass. In front of them was a tall stone wall that seemingly had no end and no begging and a small wooden door. Helga opened the door and walked into a busy street. People kept bumping into Helga who was stunned. There was magic everywhere. No one was hiding their wands. There were so many people. And the smells! It smelled awful, like a mix of human and horse excrements. There were white, big tents everywhere. It did not feel like a camp, this was a whole city! One of the camps had a sign that said "Registry". Helga looked at the similarly amazed children and told them to hold on to her tight as they ploughed through.
The tent was bigger on the inside! Helga had only heard of these tents but was never actually inside of one because they were too risky and too noticeable for muggles. Even though the inside was big, it was packed with people yelling over each other. Tired, grey-looking goblins were sitting at desks and writing something into their huge books while wizards argued with them and each other.
"Can I help?" a goblin asked the visibly confused Helga and took a stern look at the children.
"Yes, hello, we just got here –"
"Well, sit down then. We need to add you to the books and then we will get you settled" the goblin smiled at her and a chair appeared next to Helga with a table and a huge book.
"Name?" the goblin asked.
"Helga Hufflepuff"
"Of the children?"
This went on for a while.
"Welcome to camp Salutem" the goblin finally said. "The children will go to the children's tent and you will have to share. Your tent is number 39407B."
He closed the book which floated onto one of the hundreds of shelves above.
"Next!" said the goblin.
After finding the children's tent, Helga said goodbye to the children and set out to find her own place to write letters to their parents. Finding one's way through the tents was not easy, it was a labyrinth and all the tents looked very similar. She wondered how she would find Sylvia in this mess. After about an hour and a couple of miles, Helga finally found tent 39407B. She walked in and waited for her eyes to adjust to the light inside. It was simple, mostly made of wood and hay but it looked much more comfortable than everything she witnessed in the days prior. Helga took a deep breath and sat on her bed. She slept for almost a day.
She was woken up by the sound of birds and warm rays of the dawning sun warming her face. She stretched and smiled. How lovely it was to wake up after really sleeping and not worrying for your safety. She realised she had not really slept in a long time. She stood up and walked outside to see a dark blue lake hiding behind rows of tents. Inhabitants of other tents were just beginning to wake up and the lake looked empty. Helga touched the surface which was freezing and she suddenly could not resist its charm. She took off her worn out shoes, pulled up her dress and walked into the lake, feeling the cold water washing over her feet.
A figure, singing to herself started walking towards Helga. She looked up and recognised it was a woman who, seeing her, stopped and started running.
As she leaped in Helga's arms, Helga recognised the familiar smell. It was Sylvia. She pressed her lips against hers.