The Serpent of Durmstrang
A/N: This is a rewrite of the Dragon of Durmstrang, where mistakes were made and are going to be corrected, while the story and writing will be improved. This is also my NaNoWriMo prep story, so all reviews are appreciated.
Chapter Two
The Quidditch game was more than what they had hoped for. The speed of the new Firebolt series was put to the test, and players' skill were pushed to their limits. In the end, the better team won, despite what he Bulgarian supporters would say. While the Bulgarians had the best seeker in the world, Viktor Krum, the Irishmen had a better and more seasoned team. In fact, most of the wins until this point of the tournament was because of Viktor Krum catching the snitch before the opposing team could outscore the Bulgarians. Viktor would deny this allegation in public, of course, but would constantly rant at Harry about the ineptitude of his teammates.
Harry watched his friend fly outstandingly, and in the end, had to cheer and groan at the same time as Viktor caught the snitch but still losing the game. He was grateful, however, that Viktor had given him his own box seats. While he enjoyed the company of his friends, Harry was not too keen sharing same row seats with Romanova. She had been quite irate at Aleksander's outburst that morning, and even more at Harry for god knows what. Aleksander found it quite funny, however, and continued his crusade against Harry as he recounted the tale of the Veela and her Hero, and Aleksander had dubbed the story.
Shaking his head at the memory, Harry sighed at the current situation of his friendships. Aleksander, and Viktor were his best friends, and both trusted each other with their lives. Kassandra seems to be quite vexed with him, while Alanna was still the same old happy-go-lucky girl. Between the five of them, they were quite literally the top students in Durmstrang, with Kassandra leading the pack grade-wise.
Taking a quick step down the long winding staircase, Sirius prodded Harry, "Hurry up, pup! We've got some celebrations to go to!"
"Celebrations? Our team lost, Sirius," Harry glanced back at his godfather with a deadpan stare.
Sirius chuckled, "Duh! But the Irish won, and you're looking at an Irish fan as of this moment!"
"Don't we have a portkey to catch back home?" Remus asked tiredly, his face already showing the signs of the coming full moon.
Sirius shook his head, before pointing towards the row of tents that housed the Irish supporters, "Not tonight! Tonight, Moony ol' buddy, we'll be prowling the Irish seas searching for booty!"
Harry had to chuckle at that, while Remus shook his head, not sure what to do at this point. When Sirius planned something out for the last two Marauders, there was no going back. Sirius laughed out loud as they took their final steps down the staircase which led to the camping grounds.
Over the loud chattering, Remus was able to quickly shout, "Stay with your friends tonight, Harry! We'll send a patronus tomorrow, or if anything comes up!"
Giving Remus a thumbs up, he saw the man quickly running after a skipping Sirius. He had always felt bad for his werewolf uncle, being the anchor that Sirius depended on after James' death, and therefore a glorified caretaker. Yet, Harry knew that this was how Remus Lupin worked, and despite everything, Remus Lupin was a good man who was always there for his friends. And to be fair, Sirius once told Harry that he liked dragging Remus around or else the man would hole himself up and out of the known world.
The trek back to Aleksander's tent was more like a death march. With the amount of people pouring out of the Quidditch pitch, it was hard to even maneuver and break off from the masses. In fact, trying to find the right tent would have been impossible without the Point Me charm. However, as he was swept up by the crowd, he could start making the silhouettes of the tents with Bulgarian colours. And within a few minutes, he was finally planted onto the small lawn that the tower-like tent had in front of it.
Harry immediately detected silencing charms around the tent, especially since he could not longer hear the loud crowd that was still pouring through the pathway. Nothing prepared him for the loud blast of sound that hit him as he pulled open the tent flaps.
"HARRY! YOU MADE IT!"
Looking around, he could see a very annoyed looking Kassandra on a love seat with Alanna, who seemed to have been drinking with the two other occupants of the room. First was Aleksander, already halfway drunk at this point, especially with his constant shouting, and second was Viktor Krum, still in his Bulgarian uniform, and looking like a truck had hit him...twice.
"Viktor, it was a good game," Harry smirked at the Bulgarian superstar, who only shook his head and sighed, "Too bad you didn't win."
"Really? Not at all surprised as to how I got here?"
Harry shrugged, "I'm sure you smuggled yourself here using the bodyguards they hired for you. How much did you bribe them?"
"Enough to keep them away for the rest of the night," Viktor smirked, "I'm not going to waste my time listening to the complaints of my teammates tonight, not when they performed poorly, as expected."
Everyone in the room could only shake their heads. It was not a surprise any more that Viktor cared less for the win, and more for the catching of the snitch. While a team is always judged by its performance, a seeker is ranked in skill based off of number of snitch caught. In the end, Viktor catching the snitch might have caused their team's loss, but it made him a much better catch for any team that might be scouting. In fact, Viktor's record for snitch-caught is at an all-time high this season, guaranteeing him a spot in almost any team that's scouting.
"Come in, come in! Harry, grab a drink!" Aleksander boisterously dragged Harry into the tent, making sure to pass a glass filled with Firewhiskey to him, and taking a huge gulped of his own.
Harry could only shake his head, and nodded politely at Kassandra and Alanna. Alanna waved back cheerfully, while Kassandra only nodded back stiffly. Harry could feel the tension in the air between him and Kassandra, but tried to ignore it in favour of sitting back onto one of the stools and facing Alanna.
"So, what's new with you, Alanna?"
The French witch glanced at Viktor, before shaking her head. Harry took the gesture as both her and Viktor breaking up, most likely mutually with a side of regret from Viktor. He would talk to the Bulgarian about that later, just to make sure he's doing well.
"Well, summer has been hot as usual in Southern France," Alanna started, before smirking, "and the nude beaches are still full at this time of the year."
"NUDE BEACH! NUDE BEACH!" Aleksander roared, taking another shot of Firewhiskey.
At this point, Viktor snatched the bottle from Aleksander's hands and placed it firmly beside him. Aleksander looked to be ready to protest, but a stinging hex from Kassandra stopped him.
"Fucking party-poopers," Aleksander grumbled, before stumbling towards his bedroom.
Viktor shook his head, placing the bottle back onto the coffee table in the middle of the room. Aleksander could be a pain when drunk, and he was often drunk. Usually it was because of the constant parties he threw during the school year within their dorm, but recently, it's been more and more personal.
"Has anybody heard from his father?" Viktor asked, looking quite pensieve.
Kassandra shook her head, expectantly looking at both Alanna and Harry. Harry shook his head as well, while Alanna spoke up slowly, "I'm not supposed to share this information, but my father was contacted by the Romanian authorities about an investigation."
"France? They think his father disappeared in France of all places?"Kassandra perked up.
Alanna shook her head, "They can't find a trace or hair of the man in Romania, and it seems he had business in France."
"But he didn't disappear on his own accord, we all know that. The man left everything behind," Kassandra followed up, her eyebrows knit together in concentration, "smells more like foul play to me."
Viktor slammed his fist on the table he was leaning on, "It doesn't matter. They're not investigating foul play because they don't want to. It reminds them too much of Grindelwald's reign of terror, when people would just go missing…"
"But it's just an isolated case, isn't it?"
"No, Alanna, it's happening across Europe," Harry finally spoke up, "People, both important and insignificant, are disappearing in broad daylight."
"Harry's right, my father works closely with the Ministry, and apparently it's making people in high places concerned," Viktor continued, his eyes darkening as he remembered the stories his parents told him of Grindelwald, and even Lord Voldemort's reign. Both left a scar too deep to heal in just a generation.
Silence reigned, only disturbed by the snoring that came from Aleksander's bedroom. The four remaining friends could only sink back into their thoughts about the whole situation. Everyone in Durmstrang knew about the Petrov family, and their influence within Romania and Bulgaria. The sudden disappearance of the family' patriarch created a power vacuum amongst the purebloods, but most importantly, it created a sense of foreboding for the rest of Europe. If a powerful and influential man such as the Petrov patriarch could just be upped and kidnapped, how would the rest of them fare?
Standing up, Kassandra coughed to grab the attention of everyone else in the cozy room, "Well, it's been an exciting night. I think Alanna and I should head to bed." Pointedly looking at Alanna, who only nodded solemnly, her mind still re-running their previous conversation.
Viktor and Harry nodded, and were about to retire themselves, when a loud explosion reverberated through the tent, making all of the occupants stumble just a little from the shock wave that followed.
Eyes darting quickly, Harry's blood ran cold, already dreading the situation. He could see Viktor already had his wand out, while Kassandra and Alanna were quickly taking their out as well. Harry's eyes hardened, before taking a quick step to open the tent flaps for a quick peek of the situation.
Kassandra, Alanna, and Viktor were behind him within seconds, their wands at the ready. Looking out, Harry could see people screaming and running away from a fiery blaze that seemed to have originated somewhere in the direction of the Irish supporter tents. His eyes widened, realizing both Sirius and Remus were in that general direction. But before his own panic set in, he quickly calmed himself down. It would do no one a favour if he panicked. Besides, Remus and Sirius could take care of themselves.
"What's happening?" Viktor asked, his voice sharp as steel.
Harry looked back, and quickly replied, "We need to get out of here. There's trouble brewing at the Irish side, and everyone's in panic."
Kassandra nodded, "Portkey's nor apparition won't work here. We need to clear the campgrounds."
"The woods," Viktor concluded, "Kassandra, take Alanna and go! Harry and I will take care of Aleksander."
Kassandra and Alanna nodded, before sprinting out of the tent. Harry watched them both leave, his mind already dreading having to drag their drunkard friend, but they couldn't leave him.
"I'll grab Aleksander, stay here and keep an eye out," Viktor grunted, taking quick strides into the young man's room.
Harry nodded, already peeking out of the tent once more. He could see that the crowd had not thinned, and in fact, seemed to be more panicked than ever. From behind him, he could hear Aleksander's protests, and finally a strong smack. Harry had to stifle a chuckle, Viktor must've knocked the young man out, to make it easier carrying him.
True to his prediction, Viktor came out of the room with Aleksander carried over his shoulder.
"Featherweight charm?"
Viktor nodded, "He wasn't cooperative."
"Not surprised,"Harry shrugged, "Shall we?"
"Lead the way."
Harry nodded, "Keep close, the crowd's much thicker now than earlier."
On the count of three, the two Durmstrang students quickly left the tent, and merged into the streaming crowd. Harry had to push his way through the hysterically screaming throngs of people, while Viktor slipped through the gaps made by Harry.
Chancing a glance back, Harry could see an outline of black-robed witches and wizards levitating a family over their heads. From the silver masks, Harry was immediately assaulted by the descriptions he had heard about Voldemort's followers, and couldn't help himself but growl in anger.
Viktor caught up with the Potter heir and shouted, "What's the hold-up, Potter! Keep moving!"
"Death Eaters," Harry growled.
"Keep going! Control yourself, Potter!"
Harry snatched his gaze away from the silver masked group, and shook his head in frustration. He had wanted desperately to make those pond scum pay for everything they've done to him, his family, and everyone else's for that matter. Taking a glance back at his friends, both conscious and unconscious, he cannot risk it. Not when these two depended on him for their safety.
Nodding stiffly, they continued their way, and in a few moments, finally made it into the treeline. Harry gestured for Viktor to go ahead, bringing up the rear this time with wand at the ready.
As they cleared the small gap that separated the campgrounds with the treeline, they heard a shrill scream that pierced the air. Harry immediately had his wand at the ready, and trained towards the eastern portion of the forest. At this point, most of the campers who cleared the campgrounds are apparating at a fast pace, and those with portkeys activating them as soon as they can. Nobody seemed to be taking notice as another scream resounded, before being muffled.
Viktor eyed Harry, already dreading what would happen next, "Don't be a fucking hero, Harry. Let's get out of here."
"Nobody's helping Viktor."
Harry stared hard at the direction where the scream originated from. His friends called it his saving-people-thing, but he just cannot leave someone behind when he himself can help it. And those screams were filled with fear, causing Harry's skin to crawl. If he can help, he had to, it was only the right thing to do.
"Fine, just come back to us," Viktor sighed, already knowing that nothing could prevent Harry from helping someone if he can help them. It was a trait that endeared him to a lot of his peers, and instructors at Durmstrang.
With a nod, Harry took off. With a quick swish, Prongs materialized wispily beside him. His patronus ran alongside himself, while Harry gave quick instructions, "Find Sirius and Remus, lead them where I'm going. Tell them them it's urgent."
A flick of his wand later, his patronus bounded off into the distance. Hopefully, Sirius and Remus were both sober enough to quickly get to him in time for help. While Harry had training in combat, he had never used it outside of the dueling ring. In a real life battle, Harry was unsure on how well he'd fare.
Sprinting into the forest, he finally found the source of the screams. A blonde haired woman was cowering, with a smaller version of the said woman clinging tightly onto her waist. They were both backed up onto a large oak tree. The woman was wandless, and was trying her best to shield the smaller figure from the three silver-masked men, Death Eaters, Harry quickly surmised.
The area immediately around the group was saturated with magic, and Harry could sense wards placed around the perimeter preventing portkeys and apparition. These men specifically targeted these two women, even so far as preparing these wards to prevent escape.
Reacting quickly, Harry quickly transfigured some of the pebbles and twigs on the forest floor into snakes, and sent them towards the Death Eaters. While Harry could fight with direct spell combat, his talent always was transfiguration. And in any fight, as Remus taught him, he had to use his strengths to his advantage.
The three Death Eaters cursed loudly, as they started fighting against the multiple vipers that were trying to take a chunk out of them. While that was all happening, Harry quickly Summoned a large boulder from beside the women, and transfigured it into a huge aegis, and effectively placed it around the blonde-haired women, cutting off any more advances that the Death Eaters could make against the two.
"There!"
With a quick dodge roll, Harry barely escaped a black-tinged curse that was sent his way. With a flick of his wand, the fallen leaves around him were transfigured into a handful of hummingbirds, which effectively caught the curses sent his way. It created a small blanket around him, as he quickly assessed the situation.
"It's a kid! This one is mine, Malfoy. He needs to pay for getting in between us and our entertainment tonight!" One of them exclaimed, although his stumbling form, and horrible aim told Harry that the man was likely very drunk.
The other two chuckled darkly, as they all sent more spells his way. With a wave of his wand, Harry transfigured more vipers from the sticks and stones on the forest floor, and sent them towards the Death Eaters. All the while, having to dodge some of the spells sent his way. His hummingbirds did well to catch some of the spells as well.
Looking up, Harry saw a few low-lying branches, and quickly flicked his wand and transfigured the branches into anacondas, that started to wrap around two of the Death Eaters, while the third was on the defensive against the vipers that were snapping at him.
"This little arsehole! I'm going to gut him when I get my hands on him!" The one fighting the vipers roared loudly, as his companions were struggling from the boa constrictor squeezing the life out of them.
"McNair! Cut us loose, you idiot!"
With a quick Diffindo, both Death Eaters were once again free. But the distraction was enough time for Harry to reach the two ladies behind his aegis. As he slid beside the two, he could recognize the older lady.
"Fleur?" Harry asked, peering at the cerulean-blue eyes that were tear-streaked.
"Harry," a relieved Fleur seemed to let out a long held-in breath. She stared into his emerald-green eyes, and couldn't help but be relieved by his presence.
Just as Harry was about to ask what had happened, his aegis was struck violently by spell-fire. Hitting the shield like a gong, Harry quickly ducked down and animated the roots of the nearby tree to start tangling the legs of their attackers.
"Fuck this!" One of the men exclaimed, and before Harry could do anything, there was a flash of fire that spread around the forest floor, immediately ending any attempts by Harry to incapacitate the men.
"What the hell do you you are doing?!" One of the others roared loudly, clearly not happy with the actions of the one who cast the area-wide Incendio.
"The kid was using transfiguration. This way he won't' have anything to transfigure!"
"You dumb shit! You just alerted the authorities to our location! Do you think that flash of fire isn't going to catch unwanted attention?"
Before anyone could reply, and just as Harry was about to start casting stunners at the three Death Eaters, the sky was illuminated by a sickly green light. Looking up, Harry could make out a symbol: a skull with a serpent coming out of the mouth. A cold chill ran down his spine, and his grip on his wand tightened. He knew that symbol, it was sketched into his memory after watching memories of Sirius and Remus fighting Death Eaters. The symbol struck fear into the hearts of many, and glee into a few.
Three hurried pops later, Harry immediately felt the anti-apparition wards go down, as well as any other wards in place. With a quick sigh, Harry transfigured the large aegis back into its original state was a boulder, before leaning on the tree trunk. The night had been stressful enough without the three Death Eaters, and this fight did take a toll on Harry's own reserves. The massive amount of transfiguration he had done depleted his magical core to less than a fourth of its strength, but the adrenaline rush had kept him going.
A soft whimper broke him from his thoughts, and he quickly was right beside the small bundle of blonde-hair. The little girl was crying, and her sobs broke Harry's heart.
Leaning down, Harry picked up a pebble. With a small wave, he transfigured it into a stuffed puppy, and gently pressed it into the hands of the little girl.
"Here you go, little one."
The little blonde girl looked up at Harry with her tear-stained eyes, before grabbing the stuffed puppy and snuggling with it, giggling just a little when the stuffed animal wiggled a little bit and gave a small bark.
"Thank you, Harry. For saving me, us," Fleur started, as he rubbed the back of her little sister. The horrors of the night was still fresh in her mind, and the way things went, it all seemed as though it was premeditated. The way her sister and herself were separated from her parents, the wards, and the way the men led them to this specific area of the forest was too suspicious to be a random attack.
Harry smiled tiredly at the Frenchwoman, "Don't worry about it, Fleur."
Before Harry could continue, several apparition pops were heard around them. Harry, with adrenaline still rushing through his veins, immediately got up and spun around, wand at the ready. He glanced left and right, and immediately counted about ten figures stalking towards them.
On instinct alone, Harry brought his wand up and blocked the first three stunning spells that were sent towards him. Growling, Harry started firing back his own stunners, but was caught by four stunners sent behind him. The last thing he remembered before falling to the ground unconscious were the terrified faces of both Fleur and her sister, and a familiar voice shouting, "Harry!"