A split second later, Adam sucked in a lungful of the cooler air as the apparition made him stagger for a moment, a wave of nausea and dizziness swept through him, although the odd squeezing sensation was still the same. It was definitely getting easier, he thought, as he took in his new surroundings, clutching at the rough bark of an enormous fir tree. He looked up, seeing the thick branches spreading out, blocking the midday light,
He was standing in a small grass-covered square, surrounded by quaint wooden houses with tall, narrow roofs and even narrower chimneys. Many small shuttered windows were open, allowing the summer air and light in. He followed Tony towards the largest building over a small twisted bridge. The building was enormous, made from vast tree trunks, reaching up over four floors. Extra rooms seemed attached randomly to the building's roofline, looking as if they could come down again at any moment.
They walked over the bridge and under the archway formed by the building, a sign on the wall pointing along a well-trodden footpath stated 'Drakes', and another sign below this said 'Durmstrang', with an arrow pointing the opposite way. Next to this was an immense door, which Tony shouldered open. Adam followed him in, surprised to find he needed his whole body weight to close it again. Around them was a neat tavern, carved wooden chairs around large solid tables. One wall had an enormous fireplace with an unlit fire sitting forlornly in the small grate. At the far end of the room was the bar, again made from the same wood as the rest of the tavern, only polished smooth from years of use. Behind the bar, rows of shelves were full of bottles of different colours and shapes. He looked at a couple and was certain he saw something move in a larger one.
"Velkommen til Torkel." Said a quiet voice from behind the dimly lit bar, making Adam look away from the bottles. A figure moved to the bar and banged two tankards down.
"Tor, this is my partner, Adam Croft."
"Welcome to Torkel Adam. I have no spare rooms at the moment, as the drakes are restless." Adam nodded back, no idea what he was talking about, guessing at what the man was saying, his accent so thick.
"Do you know where Ramsey Arn is?" Tony asked Tor.
"No, but Charley Weasley will know. The sun is shining, so you'll enjoy your walk." The man, Tor, leaned into the light. He was another Viking to look at, long blond unkempt hair, bushy beard, built the same as Pinne, only nowhere near as tall, still imposing though, thought Adam. "Enjoy your drinks." He turned and slipped into the dimness behind the bar.
Adam turned to Tony. "What's a Drake, and why are we going for a walk?"
"We need to talk to Ramsey Arn, and he is a Drake Hanterare." He paused for a moment, working out what to say next. "I'm hoping that we don't see a Drake, but if we do, no amount of explanation will prepare you for it."
Adam took a gulp of the drink and then followed this with an explosion of coughing. He was red-faced, trying to get air into his lungs. He looked at Tony and watched him take a delicate sip of his drink.
"They like their drinks with a little kick up here," Tony whispered.
"Yes," said Adam, trying to take a breath, "they do."
"Don't tell anyone I said this, but they make better beer than the Leaky Cauldron."
Adam looked at him in amazement. "This is beer?" He asked, before taking another smaller mouthful, finding himself enjoying the taste. "You seem to know your way around here?" He said as he emptied the glass.
"I've spent many evenings here, enjoying the local beer. Come here at the weekend in term time and the place will be crowded with older students and professors."
The drinks finished, and they both stepped out into the bright sunlight. Tony marched over the rickety bridge, back towards the edge of the square, turning right at the first building. The first shop they passed showed broomsticks hanging from the ceiling. A large sign stated 'Kosteskaft', which meant nothing to Adam; he assumed that this place sold the fabled broomsticks that could fly. He shook his head in bemusement as he trotted to catch up with Tony, who was heading out of the village along a well-used plank-covered path. Adam lagged, looking into the different shops, trying to work out what they were selling and failing almost every time.
As soon as they left the lee of the last building, they entered the primal pine forests. Nothing grew on the floor as the high canopy cut out most of the light. They walked on in the preternatural twilight, enjoying the smell of oranges, their footsteps muffled by the bed of pine needles.
A low, deep rumble seemed to shake the ground as they walked on. Adam stopped in his tracks, looking frantically around the dark trees. He was about to ask Tony, but he was looking at him with his finger pressed to his lips.
"We're close now." Whispered Tony, striding on with almost indecent haste, thought Adam.
A figure stepped out from the trees in front. Tony stopped and waited.
"Are you Tony Garrett?" whispered a man with an English accent and a mop of ginger hair.
"Ramsey Arn?" Asked Tony, also whispering.
"No, I'm Charley Weasley."
Tony introduced Adam to Charley. Adam was trying not to look at the huge scar running down his face and the unruly ginger hair, wondering why they were whispering.
"I got too close to a Norwegian Horntail." He pointed at the scar, noticing Adam's stare. "One of my brothers has a similar scar, only his is on the other side, and caused by a werewolf."
Another deep groan seemed to come through the ground rather than the air.
"What the hell is that noise?" Adam asked, feeling very uneasy, deciding to ignore the werewolf comment, assuming he was trying to frighten him, and he didn't want to admit he'd succeeded.
"That will be a Drake," Tony replied as Charley nodded.
"That is the reason I met you here. We have a Welsh Green who seems to be getting ready for migration. It's a little early, but nobody ever explained clocks to them. She's more than a little miffed at the moment, so from here on, we need to be quiet." Adam perked up at the word Welsh.
Charley led them further into the trees for about two hundred meters, where he stopped again. Ahead of them, they could see a circular clearing in the trees with many unlit lanterns hanging at various points.
"Silent now, keep low, and try not to say anything out loud," He whispered as he looked at Adam. "And don't make any sudden movements."
Ten meters further on they came into the clearing, and another twenty in front of them was the serpentine neck of a thirty-foot long green dragon, wings held aloft, the head swaying from side to side like an enormous snake. Adam felt his insides go cold, and the hairs on his neck rose in primaeval fear. His hands clutched out and grabbed both Charlie and Tony. His mind refused to believe what he saw. He turned away, ready to run. Hands grabbed him, holding him still.
"If she sees or hears you running, she may consider you a threat or food and come after you," Charley whispered in his ear. "She can run at close to thirty miles an hour and she can fly at sixty, and they can smell you a mile away. Running is not a good idea. Keep calm. You're safe at the moment." Adam looked at Charley and nodded, trying to equate the immense beast in front of him with the word safe, and failed miserably. He could feel himself shaking and knew it wasn't cold enough to cause it.
The dragon's head dropped, folded itself into a circle, and the wings slid back and tucked themselves down. A deep rumble of infra-sound throbbed through the ground as she breathed. Adam was rooted to the spot, unable to take his eyes off the creature that, until a few moments ago, he thought was a myth. He took in his surroundings little by little, noticing that the trees and bushes surrounding the area had scorch marks on them.
After a few minutes of watching, Charley signalled for them to follow him. He led them through the forest to a group of wooden cabins. They were all in varying states of repair and age. Again, he could see more scorch marks on a few of the huts. They went to the nearest and found a pair of benches on either side of a large rough table. Charley took some bottles off a shelf. He gestured at the benches while he opened the bottles and placed them on the table. Adam realised his hands were shaking as he took a swig of the drink. Warmth flowed down into his stomach, he also realised that he would end up being an alcoholic if he stayed in this world for much longer.
"What the hell was that thing back there?" He asked Tony when he felt he could control his voice.
"Dragon, first Welsh Green I've ever seen." He said, smiling at both Charley and Adam.
"Welsh Greens are good-natured. Some others can be complete bastards."
"Some of them. How many are there?" Adam asked.
"A dozen Welsh, twenty-five Horntails, and several Icelandic Blues. It's taken us generations to get the Welsh Greens to come here to live, rather than in the Welsh valleys. More room up here, easier to keep them hidden."
Adam sank down onto the bench, his shaky legs finally giving way. Charley sat down opposite them and drank from his bottle.
He gave them both an open, measured stare. "An Auror, and whatever you are, this is not a social visit, is it?"
"This is Detective Chief Inspector Croft. He's a police officer working with the Ministry in a string of murders. One of which took place right here." Tony said between sips of his drink.
"We've had a death, but no murder," Charley replied.
"Ninian Ferhe was killed by the Avada Kedavra curse."
"So you say."
"I'm an Auror; it's my job to know."
"Do you know where Ramsey Arn is?" Asked Adam, his voice's authority surprised Charley for a moment.
"Ramsey is a friend of mine, has been for over twenty years."
"That's not what I asked?" Adam continued, Tony left him to it, enjoying the way the authority in his voice seemed to put Charley ill at ease.
"What do you want to know?"
"What's he been up to recently?"
"He left the camp and village about a month ago."
"Why?" Spat Adam.
Charley looked at Tony as if expecting him to defend him. He smiled and took a sip of his drink.
"I'm not used to Muggles asking me questions," Charley said after a moment.
"I'm not asking Mr Weasley. Why did Ramsey Arn leave the village?" Charley stiffened again and looked at Tony, who had turned his head away and continued to drink.
The silence in the room continued, broken only by the infrasound coming from dragons in the distance.
Charley gave in and broke the silence, as Adam knew he would. "He disagreed with some of us and was asked to leave."
"Continue Mr Weasley."
"That's it."
"No, Mr Weasley, that is not all. What was the argument about?"
Adam leant forward, trying to put as much pressure on Charley as he could. He was unsure of what he was about to say, perhaps worried about the ramifications.
He took a deep breath. "He found out six months ago that the last family of Salamanders had been wiped out by an attack by Muggle weapons." He spat the word Muggle. "The species is now extinct. Ramsey spent many years living in desert conditions, studying them, keeping them safe."
Adam looked at Tony and received a shrug. He looked back at Charley.
"Salamanders are fire dragons." Continued Charley. "They live or at least lived near the mountain regions, between the Syria, Chad, and Niger borders. The Salamanders live in caves in the mountains, in exactly the same places that the local tribesman hide from whatever forces are attacking them at the current time. This has been going on for hundreds of years." Charley was getting into his stride, so Adam left him to carry on. "Forty years ago, the locals and the dragons had to contend with guided missiles and idiots with guns, which they could cope with, but now they have to contend with lethal computer-controlled drones that have no muggle involvement at all, and they do not miss."
Charley sat back from the table, anger etched on his face.
"What else aren't you happy about, Mr Weasley?" Snapped Adam.
"Surely your Auror here has filled you in on our little problems." He looked at Tony.
"The problems you are ascertaining too are nothing to do with these investigations," Tony said, keeping his voice low.
"If Ramsey Arn is involved, then the problems are everything to do with your investigation," Charley spoke angrily, spitting the words out. "Has my brother told you everything, or are you running around in the dark?"
"How about you explain it, so a simple Muggle like me can understand?"
Charley sat forwards and stared at Adam. "Our problem is Muggles."
"Stop." Said Tony, standing up. "That's all for now. We'll talk later."
Charley stood, his entire body tense. "So you know. Shouldn't you tell him?" He pointed at Adam. A crack made Adam jump, and Charley had gone.
"I wish you lot would stop doing that," Said Adam. "What aren't you telling me?"
"The problem he is talking about has nothing to do with the case."
"He doesn't seem to think so, and you've been saying that since we met."
"I know."
"How much danger are we in because of this little problem?"
"I would say it depends on how desperate the wizards or Muggles are."
"Someone, probably a wizard, has killed six people, for a reason you know and I don't. That does not make me a happy man."
"I don't know any reason; I have ideas, but nothing certain."
Adam looked down, trying to work out what he was missing as the door opened, and Tony stepped out into the early morning light and stormed off.
Adam gave him some time and then broach the subject again until another round of infrasound shook the floor. He realised he didn't want to be alone out here and ran after him.
