Chapter 13. The Nighttime Guests

On their return from the orphanage, the group was allowed to stay at a hotel in downtown Sofia, where Krum had taken them before continuing their investigation the next day. Krum was to stay with another Bulgarian Auror in the same hotel, leaving Harry and Teddy to share one room and Ron and Hermione another. Even though Harry felt extremely tired, he wasn't inclined to lie in bed. He stood in front of the curtained window and watched the quiet street outside the hotel. The pale white light from the street lamps illuminated the street as a few passersby looked down at their smartphones.

"Well, it wasn't so bad after all," Teddy said cheerfully, lying on his bed and looking up at the ceiling. "At least now we know who works for Eisenbein. . . ."

"Yeah, we should start from there," Harry said, continuing to watch outside. "If we catch Markus this time, I won't let him go like last time."

"Don't forget Slughorn . . . I still can't believe it — he was so good at hiding his true nature."

"Yeah, Edmund too," said Harry. The footage he had seen that day had clearly shown Edmund's allegiance to the Dawn Breakers, and his heart still sank terribly every time he heard his name. "But we still have little information on Eisenbein."

"At least we found out that he's an old fraud. How can he be both Voldemort's heir and Grindelwald's successor? The two barely knew each other."

Like his godson, Harry had his doubts. He still vividly remembered the look on Grindelwald's face at his last moment, as seen through Voldemort's eyes. He had once terrorized all of Europe's magical societies, but had ended up a miserable old man, trapped in a prison of his own making, before Voldemort, who had broken into his cell, had killed him. The two most notorious Dark wizards of the last century were hardly acquaintances, let alone close friends. How could Eisenbein be connected to both of them?

"Still, Eisenbein got a lot of support for claiming to know both of them," said Harry thoughtfully. "If what he said had no basis at all, it wouldn't have been possible. . . . Look at Crabbe — he said Eisenbein had revealed information known only to the most high-ranking Death Eaters."

"Then who the hell is Eisenbein?" Teddy said as he got out of bed. "I can't think of a name, no matter how hard I try."

"Me neither," said Harry darkly. "At this point, the only conclusion I can draw is that Eisenbein is extremely old."

Teddy gave a hollow laugh. "He really is, assuming he really knew Grindelwald well . . ."

Then Harry's eyes were suddenly filled with a bright, intense light as he looked out the window again. The glow was so strong that his eyes throbbed as if they had been hit by a bat, though there had been no physical impact. Despite his vision going completely white, Harry still fumbled and pulled out his wand.

"What was it, Harry?" said Teddy, his hand pulling Harry into the room.

"I can't see anything right now . . . Give a description of what you see outside," Harry said, leaning against his bed.

"Okay. The sky is lit by a very bright light — it almost looks like the sun has risen early."

"It's the Dawn Mark. . . . I saw one just before Diagon Alley was attacked," said Harry. With each closing of his eyelids, his eyesight slowly returned with the visionary twinkling stars floating in front of him slowly fading. Then the sound of footsteps running down the street was followed by a man's scream. "What is it this time?"

"Someone is being lynched. . . . A gang of black-hooded wizards are harassing him!"

Having lost his patience, Harry opened his still blurry eyes and staggered to the window. Of the four people on the street, one was a middle-aged Muggle man, his suit hem flapping and his arms flailing in the air. The other three were hooded, wand-wielding wizards, two of them chattering excitedly in Bulgarian as they cast spells on the poor victim; the other drawing a flaming red pattern on the nearby wall with his wand. Even with his sight not yet restored, Harry could see that the mark was the symbol of the Deathly Hallows, a circle surrounded by a triangle and pierced vertically by a straight line. The airborne Muggle, his screams echoing through the air, spun around the sign helplessly.

"Stupefy!" Harry shouted as he opened the window and pointed his wand at the street below. One of the giggling wizards was struck by a red flash and fell backward.

"Arresto Momentum!" Teddy shouted at the falling Muggle to slow his drop and lessen the impact.

From below, the mix of green and red lights flew directly at their window. Harry ducked his head in time, and one of the curses passed through where his face had just been, charring the ceiling of the room. He looked out the window and saw more Dark wizards in black robes running down the street to join the attackers.

"It's time to go. We might be able to catch them if we hurry," Harry said as he rushed out of the bedroom. They ran into Ron and Hermione in the hallway, who had just come out of their room.

"What just happened, Harry? There were flashes and a curse was shot at us from outside," said Ron, putting on his coat.

"The Dawn Breakers are here," said Harry. "Eisenbein may be with them; we have to check. Where's Viktor?

"He must be in that room over there. Come with me," said Hermione. They went to the room shared by Krum and his fellow Auror, but no one was in the wide open door. There were blankets and bedspreads on the floor; they must have rushed out in a hurry.

"They went down first, I guess. Let's follow them," said Harry. They walked down the stairs to the lobby of the hotel, where they found four white uniformed staff lying unconscious. Harry, Ron, Hermione and Teddy exchanged tense looks and slowly approached them.

"Someone's been here before us," muttered Harry.

"Were they after us, do you reckon?" said Teddy.

"Who else if not us?" groaned Ron in a low voice. "It's always us who are involved in this sort of thing. . . . Are we ever going to have a peaceful life?"

"Ron, stop whining," Hermione said in an irritated voice. "There's someone down there too — let's take a look."

Hermione pointed to a hinged door that led into a narrow, dark corridor where another employee had been knocked out. Perhaps a surprise attack had occurred while he was trying to open the door. To make sure it wasn't an emergency, Harry checked the fallen man's pulse before silently pushing the door open and entering the dim corridor. Under the light of his wand, which cut through the darkness, he could see no movement at all.

"This leads to the kitchen, I think." Hermione narrowed her eyes and stared into the darkness.

"Stand behind us, Teddy, and make sure no one follows. Look to the side — Ron and Hermione. I'll lead the way," said Harry firmly. They walked down the dark passage, all holding their breath without making a sound. Ron and Hermione carefully opened each door on the walls, aiming their wands.

"The rooms on my side are all empty," whispered Hermione.

"Mine too," added Ron.

In front of them was a metal sliding door with a round window glowing with blue light. Taking a deep breath, Harry motioned for Ron and Hermione to stand on opposite sides of the entrance, then kicked the door open and stepped inside with Teddy.

A faint blue glow hung just above the door, but since there was no other source of light, the kitchen was almost as dark as the hallway. Various kitchen appliances such as ovens, grills, and refrigerators cast strange shadows on the wall at the end of the kitchen, like monsters lurking in the dark. A long iron sink stood in the middle of the kitchen, flanked by two narrow passageways on either side.

Harry and Ron slowly crossed the kitchen through the left passage, while Hermione and Teddy went down the right one. There were some wet spots on the smooth tiled floor, so they had to be careful not to trip. Little by little, the light from the four wand tips drove away the darkness, but it was still difficult to see into the entire kitchen. As Harry walked past the huge fridge, a large tin pot fell to the floor next to Teddy. Ron, who was close behind Harry, fell backward in surprise.

"What a mess, you two . . ." Just as Harry reached for Ron to help him up, a dark figure suddenly jumped out of the shadows next to the fridge and struck Harry's wand, knocking it down. Then Teddy shot out a jet of red light, causing Harry's attacker to fall back and hit the wall. Then another dark figure rose from the front of the kitchen and Disarmed Teddy with a spell, then strode toward them, wand in hand.

"Stop, all of you!" yelled Hermione from behind them. "Viktor, it's us! Do not attack!"

Under the wand lights, a slightly hunched form slowly approached. Krum, as she had said, was there. As if in apology, he scratched his head. "I am sorry, Harry. Everything vas dark and ve couldn't see who you vere."

Krum lifted the gasping man and leaned him against the wall beside them while Harry picked up his wand, the end of which was still lit. A middle-aged man with short brown hair and a goatee of the same color was revealed by the light.

"This is Vasily Dimitrov, a friend of mine," said Krum. "Ve used to be on the same Quidditch team, and now ve work together as Aurors."

Dimitrov shook Harry's hand with a shaking hand, still looking dizzy.

"Why were you hiding in here?" asked Ron, his voice filled with suspicion.

"Probably for the same reason as you. There vas a commotion outside and ve came down, but then ve sensed someone approaching in the hallway," said Krum. "That's vy ve hid in here, but I did not realize it vas you. I tried to keep an eye on voo the intruder vas, but then this pot fell and seemed to have surprised Vasily . . ."

"Teddy, be more careful," said Harry sternly. "What if those people were really our enemies?"

"Sorry, but the pot fell by itself; I certainly didn't hit anything."

"Oh, is that so? If that's the case, I'll have to report it to the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures." Hermione picked up the pot that had fallen at Teddy's feet and sniffed. There was no sign that the pot was alive, of course, no matter how many times she shook and tapped it. She turned to Krum this time and said, "Come with us, Viktor. We were after those bastards as well."

"Sure thing, Herm-own-ninny. Ve'll lead the way."

They walked through the kitchen together and then into the adjoining dining room. The only light came from the large window facing the street, illuminating the luxurious room with round tables, red carpets, and a chandelier. In the pale moonlight, they approached the windows and hid beneath them. There were more Dawn Breakers than before, all wearing black hoods and pointing their wands at the hotel. The elderly Muggle man, who had been floating in mid-air, was now trembling and leaning against a nearby lamppost, surrounded by hooded wizards, giggling and occasionally tapping him with their feet.

"Those gits! Bullying someone just because they know a few magic tricks, that's what they do," whispered Hermione indignantly. "What now, Harry? There are a lot of them."

"Not to worry. While Ron and you wait here, we'll go through the back door," said Harry. "Get their attention after a few minutes. Once you do, we'll flank them."

Teddy, Krum and Dimitrov quietly followed Harry to the side door of the dining room. The smell of garbage wafted out as the narrow alleyway was exposed. Careful not to step in the puddle, Harry and the Aurors made their way through the alley to a point overlooking the street.

Then they hid behind an overflowing dumpster and watched the Dawn Breakers. There was still no sign of Ron and Hermione at the hotel window where they were supposed to be hiding. Muttering to each other in Bulgarian, the hooded wizards moved closer to the hotel. They reached a point where they could see who was hiding under the windows if they bent their heads a little, when an amazing thing happened: The glass fluttered as if it were melting, then blew up like a balloon and became a human face.

"You hoodlums! You enjoy bullying the weaker, don't you?" shouted Hermione's face made of glass; the Dark wizards, confused and frightened, fled or crumpled on the ground.

"Now! Attack!" shouted Harry, standing up and revealing himself. A beam of red light split the air with each wave of his wand, and the Dawn Breakers fell one by one. Nearly half of their enemies were Stunned on the ground when Teddy, Krum, and Dimitrov followed him out of the alley.

"I haff never seen anyone cast so fast!" Dimitrov exclaimed as he looked admiringly at Harry. "It vasn't by accident that you became so famous . . ."

"Needless to say. Even in his early years, Harry showed a lot of talent," Krum said, patting Harry on the shoulder. At that moment, the expanding glass had melted and lost its facial shape, allowing Ron and Hermione to get out through the window.

"Ron, bind the fallen and erase this gentleman's memory before you let him go," Harry said, pointing to the hooded wizards lying on the ground and the Muggle victim looking up at them with frightened eyes.

"As for the rest, let's go after those who ran away. Hopefully we can locate their base of operations."

"Er — stay still, this might sting a bit," Ron said as he approached the shivering Muggle man.

Ron pointed his wand at the frightened Bulgarian gentleman, who backed away, while the other five began to chase the small figures that were getting farther and farther down the street. After turning right, the runaways disappeared at the end of the street.

"Come on, I know a shortcut!" Krum led them into the narrow alley between the brick houses.

"Wait, I've got an idea," Harry said, slowing down. "Viktor, bring Teddy with you and take the shortcut to catch up with them. The rest of us have to run down the main road until we pretend to miss them."

"What for?" asked Teddy curiously.

"Once they drop their guard, they will return to where they came from. Then you can disguise yourself, Teddy, and find out where their base is."

Krum took Teddy into the dark alleyway like he had been told, while Harry, Hermione and Dimitrov continued their pursuit of the fleeing Dawn Breakers. With each turn around the corner, the Dark wizards got further and further away until they finally lost track of them. They sat on a nearby bench in the street and waited for Krum and Teddy to arrive; the two finally emerged from the alley and approached them. Harry almost didn't recognize his godson, for now Teddy's hair had turned bright yellow like a canary's, and he had a blunt nose and a protruding chin.

"I found them, Harry. I checked where they entered!" cried Teddy happily. His features and hair color gradually returned to their original state.

"He's right, your Auror was very helpful," said Krum. "It would be great to have a Metamorphmagus like him at our Auror office. . . ."

"I suggest we bring more Aurors with us when we raid the Dawn Breakers tomorrow, Viktor," said Harry. "Do you think you can still locate their base during the day?"

"No problem. They carved a huge sign of Grindelvald on the entrance," Krum said, grimacing in anger. Having lost his grandfather to Gellert Grindelwald, he seemed to have a strong dislike for the infamous Dark wizard to this day. "But there aren't enough Aurors in our Ministry. I vill have to ask other Ministries of Magic for help."

Keeping an eye out for other possible threats, they all walked back to the hotel. Ron had finished tying all the stunned Dark wizards to the lamppost with a rope, as Harry had instructed, but he was still having trouble erasing the memory of the Muggle gentleman.

"Obliviate!"

The gentleman groaned when the spell hit him. Ron then approached the man in pain and put his face close to the man's, which was covered with his hands.

"Do you recognize me, mister?"

"Vat? Of course I know you! You keep shooting that thing at me!" the man shouted with a face full of pain and fear. "Just let me go, sir, please!"

When the rest of his group drew near, Ron looked desperately at Harry and Hermione. "It never occurred to me I'd ever admire Lockhart's skills. . . . How the hell do you use this spell?"