13A/N First of all, I hope you guys are all home, safe and sound! These are trying times, which can be hard on each and every one of us. Take care of yourself and stay safe!
The current situation is not really helping with my creativity, so I'm not that pleased with this chapter. I hope you enjoy it nonetheless.
Five – Moving on
I splashed some more of the water over my shoulder, my eyes staring into nothingness as I was absorbed in my own thoughts. The last few days had been unusually quiet and unexciting. Staying with the three Muggles had been a given. After we had made it through the attack without being discovered, we emerged from the basement at nightfall. We all avoided the living room on the main floor and made our way straight to the first floor, were two bedrooms were. Bea and Elisabeth stayed in one and Rebecca and I had shared the other. The only person that really slept that night was Elisabeth. Although Rebecca and I laid both in our beds respectively – one which I had transfigured out of an old stool – and didn't speak a word, I was sure that she had been awake just as I had been.
The next morning, I had finally attempted the translation spell and at my first try I had succeeded. Being able to communicate with each other made everything far easier and we had started to clean the house before venturing outside. Dealing with the corpses of the three soldiers had fallen into my responsibility, and just thinking back to how ripe they had already smelled after one summer night made me gag. I had no experience with making bodies disappear, so I had transfigured them into a pile of firewood – which was exceptionally difficult as it was still human-to-object transfiguration, even if the humans were dead – and stoked up a fire in the old oven of the living room. I felt a bit like the witch in Hansel and Gretel. I still felt torn about that, but the girls never asked about it and I never told them.
At the end of that day we'd gathered enough courage to leave the house and realized that more of the village was preserved than we'd assumed. Even more so, very few of the villagers had been killed. But that didn't mean that they weren't injured or traumatized. I had a fight with Bea about that. She wanted me to help them all like I'd helped her and she didn't want to understand that I couldn't do that. Though I'd explained to her that my abilities needed to stay a secret, she wanted to help her neighbours so badly. In the end, she relented though she still didn't understand. It took her a whole day before she spoke to me again.
And even though there was no need for it, I stayed for a few more days, enjoying the certainty of a hearty meal and the comfort of a bed. Plus, I could take a bath, heated by a quick warming spell. It was a breather between being attacked in the woods and being followed by Grindelwald's people. But I knew that I needed to continue my journey, so I'd already decided that this would be my last day with the Muggles.
In one of our late-night discussions in bed, Rebecca had told me that I was already far into the German-speaking part of Austro-Hungary. Only a few hours away from this village was Vienna. Hearing that, it was decided that I would head for Vienna, maybe I could find the magical community there and get some information. Also, if I was lucky, I could find a branch of the Gringotts bank, the bank where my father had his vaults. First thing tomorrow morning, I would head for Vienna.
"Galina, supper is ready", Bea yelled up the stairs.
Understanding a language through a translation spell was kind of disconcerting. One couldn't understand the words, but could grasp the meaning behind them. It was as if I was blindly walking through the world, but always knew when I had to step aside to avoid colliding with something.
"Coming!", I hollered back.
Getting out of the tub that stood in the middle of our bedroom, I quickly dried off and wrapped my hair in a messy bun. Throwing on my usual Muggle gear – comfortable pants and a stiff shirt – I jumped down the stairs towards the kitchen. The tiny table was already set for four people and I joined the three girls. Smiling my thanks to Bea, I gladly accepted the bowl of stew. This was the last evening I would spend with them and I would enjoy it.
I got off the trailer and Bea's friend started his tractor again before we could exchange any words. He would continue his way to one of the market places in Vienna while I would try to find the Wizarding community. Waving after him, I turned towards what I assumed the direction of the centre of the city and started to walk. Hiking my knapsack higher, I waved through the city, keeping my senses open for any magical spark. But that didn't stop me from gawking at the buildings and the grandness of everything. Of course, I had been in bigger cities before, but only ever to specific locations. We'd never walked there, so I'd never experienced a city up close. It was exciting.
Simply following the flow of other people, I finally landed in front of a building that I recognized easily from books and photographs. It was the parliament, located by the Ringstraße, the street that circled the historical centre of Vienna. If the Viennese wizards were anything like the magical folk elsewhere, I guessed that they had their own district not too far from the heart of the city.
I grinned and marvelled at the building, before I turned to continue my walk, following the street to the two twin museums and the Heldenplatz. Deciding to relax for a time, I strolled through a park nearby and claimed a park bench. I watched the people hurrying through the park, most of them women and most of them with a worried face. The war had left its mark on Vienna as well and it wasn't even over yet. Who knew how much worse it would get.
At the edges of my consciousness, I finally felt a familiar tug of a strange magical signature. Usually, we could ignore the feeling of our fellow wizards and witches well enough, but I was seeking out the sensation. Getting to my feet, I followed the thug and found myself heading for a man, clothed in an expensive suit. He crossed the park at a smart pace and I pulled the cap, that I had put on my head once more to aid me with my alter ego as Miloš, lower down my face. Keeping my eyes on him, I followed him at a safe distance, hoping that he would head for the magical district and not for his home or work or something else.
I saw him entering an inner court of an especially big building and peered around the corner to watch him offer his wand to an elderly lady that sat on a garden chair next to an old and heavy wooden door, enjoying the few sunrays that reached her. She examined the wand only with her eyes before she nodded slowly, and the man walked through the door. When the door opened, it wasn't the interior of an apartment that I could see glimpses of, but a busy street, filled with people wearing the familiar wizarding robes.
For once, it seemed that luck was on my side and I had actually found some Wizarding street. Peaking over my shoulder, I decided to push my luck even further and also entered the inner court, walking up to the lady with false confidence. As I got closer, the lady rose her head and looked at me with foggy eyes that were a clear evidence of blindness. I almost faltered in my step, but if there was one thing that my father had thought me, then that there was nothing that magic couldn't do. Even if she was blind to the physical world didn't mean that she couldn't very well see the magical world no more.
I stopped in front of her and brandished my old wand, holding it out in front of her and copying the movements from the man earlier. The lady looked at the wand, turning her head one way, then another, as if she was searching for the right angle. I got nervous when she took her time, examining my wand longer than I'd anticipated. Finally, she shook her head and waved her head dismissively.
I gaped at her.
"What?", I asked, uncaring that the translation charm was no longer active and she probably couldn't understand me. "Why am I not allowed in?"
The lady rose her head up to me again, her old neck creaking with the movement.
"Not your wand", she said in broken English.
"It is", I said slowly.
She only shook her head again and turned away, a clear sign that I was dismissed. Opening and closing my mouth like a fish out of the water, I racked my brain about her statement. I really needed to go to the Wizarding district, I could gather valuable information there. I couldn't just walk away. So, what did she mean that this wasn't my wand? It had been my wand since I was nine years old, since my father had decided that waiting for my enrolment was taking too long and he wanted me to find my wand. It had been a faithful companion, working even through the current developments with Grindelwald and the supposed Elder Wand.
My thoughts came to a screeching halt and I clenched my teeth. Of course, even this problem was caused by the wand that had turned my whole life around. No matter if I wanted the wand or not, it seemed that the old hag knew that I had more than one wand that was loyal to me.
With an annoyed huff, I pulled the Elder Wand from my hip holster and presented it to the old woman. Once more, she turned towards me and examined the magical object, this time taking only a few seconds before she nodded her head. With another snort, I pocketed it again and opened the door, walking through it before the hag-like witch decided to change her mind.
The door closed behind me and disappeared but I continued to stand in the middle of the street where I had moved through. I had been to Wizarding London when I was a child and I remembered how awed I've been, but this looked so differently. The buildings were in the same style as the Muggles ones that I had seen in Vienna. Owls and other mail-animals were sailing through the air and scurrying across the ground to deliver their messages. Witches and wizards walked through the streets, some of them hurrying, some of them strolling in a relaxed fashion. The shop windows displayed the recent magical devices, the latest books and the newest fashionable robes. I stared with my mouth open in wonder and I supposed that I looked like a tourist, but I didn't care. Not only was this incredibly exciting, it was also the first time that I felt great amounts of magic around me again. I felt like I was coming home.
An annoyed shout behind me made me whirl around and then jump out of the way of a carriage that was pulled by creatures that I've never seen before in real life. They looked like horses, but were skeletal thin, their skin as dark as the night-sky. I had heard of them before. Thestrals. One could only see them if they had seen death as well. I took another step to the sidewalk as I coughed to get hold of the lump that had formed in my throat. No wonder that I could see them now. I had seen more than enough death in the last few days to last me a lifetime.
Pushing the negative thoughts from my mind, I followed the course of the road and peeked into the store windows curiously. Located at one street corner was a little stall, that sold newspapers. Instantly, I walked towards it, pulling my cap a bit lower on my face to hide my identity.
"Do you have The Daily Prophet?", I asked the salesman, hoping that he would speak English.
As I was heading towards the British Isles, I felt it more important to check their news than the ones of my home. Besides, asking for a British paper was less suspicious than asking for a Rumanian one, even more so if Grindelwald's men were close by.
"Of course", he said with a harsh German accent.
He gave me the paper and I paid the price, nodding my thanks, but hiding my face still under the cap. There was no need to leave an impression.
With the paper under my arm, I walked a few more minutes aimlessly, before I found a café that looked nice enough. I got seated by a polite waiter, being impolite in return when I ignored his stares when I didn't remove my cap. After browsing the menu, I decided and placed my order. The moment the waiter left my table, I flicked the newspaper open and skimmed the headlines.
It felt like ages the last time I had read a newspaper, though it had barely been a week. Nonetheless, so much had changed the past few days. I was almost antsy with curiosity. Was there something about Grindelwald in the papers? Had they written about the attack at our village and the death of my father? He had been a well-known man. But the headlines were not very expressive to begin with.
The waiter came back with my order. A Melange – a Viennese version of a coffee with whipped cream – and a simple breakfast of buns, butter and marmalade. I said my thanks and started to butter one of the buns, the newspaper flapped open on my lap so I could continue my reading. I saw that some of the reports were still about the same old and dull things. The newest Quidditch game and how it ended, a scandal about a scion to some important name had been caught fooling around with an unknown wizard and some unimportant snippets that every paper seemed to contain.
As I browsed through the pages, I froze when I saw my face staring right back at me from the newspaper. It was a shot of me during one of the festivities at Durmstrang. I was covered in an elegant gown, sparkling even in the black and white photograph. I looked a bit younger, but not too much, and people comparing the picture with my current looks wouldn't need to think too hard to realize that I was the very same girl.
'Still missing: The heiress to the House of Gregorovic' was the title to it. Under the caption was a short description that I was still unaccounted for and the contact information of a person that was commissioned with my case. It could be read as a follow-up article, as if this wasn't the first one about me. But curiously, I didn't know the man that was listed as the contact person and there were no signs of any connection with the Aurors. Paranoid as I was, I promptly assumed that this was a ploy from Grindelwald to gather information about my person. Any wizard or witch that saw me would contact that man, who would – if he really was Grindelwald's – contact the dark wizard to let him know about my whereabouts.
"Bloody hell", I whispered, glancing up to check if I'd already gathered unwanted attention.
Thankfully, the only other guests were some business men that were in deep discussion. I lowered my eyes back to the newspaper and skimmed through the pages with the hope to find another article about me, but there was nothing more. That one had been the only one about me and I had no idea if I should feel grateful that there wasn't a man-hunt for me, or if I should feel hurt that neither the few distant friends nor the family branch of my mother was trying to find me.
Taking another sip of my coffee, I turned back towards the beginning of the newspaper, wanting to read it properly, not only skimming it for news about my person. On the second to last pages, my eyes were caught one something rather interesting. It was a poll with some wizards and witches, regarding the Muggle war and the current wizarding riots – speak, the attacks from Grindelwald in Europe. Shockingly, all of them thought the Muggle war pretty unimportant, even more for wizarding folks. I couldn't believe some of the statements were really true and I was even more astonished that The Daily Prophet had published those words.
.
'Of course, it's awful that all those people are dying, but it's not really our responsibility to help them. They are destroying themselves and the Statue [editor's note: of Secrecy] prevents us from helping. So, really, it's out of the question.'
Tina Brower, from Liverpool
.
'There's no need for us to intervene. The media is exaggerating, like always, the Muggle war is really not that bad.'
Edwin Taylor, from Aberdeen
.
'It's truly terrible, but we should focus what is without a doubt more important: the protection of the Wizarding community and all of its citizen. This must be our priority.'
Allegra Fawley, from London
.
My mouth was hanging open in shock. I couldn't believe what I was reading.
Not only were they grossly underestimating the damaging effect the Muggle war had on the magical population, but they were also blind and ignorant to the sufferings of the Muggles. The media didn't exaggerate, quite the contrary. If we only concentrated on us and ignored all the Muggles in need, it would end awful for us as well. We were not two separated communities that never interacted with one another. There was economic exchange between Muggles and magical folk, as well as some intellectual mutual learning. But what shocked me most was one statement on Grindelwald.
.
'I don't think that was he [editor's note: Grindelwald] does is too extreme. Muggles and their way of living are threatening us and it's time for a counter-attack. To preserve the magical world, we have to contain the Muggle one.'
Hamish Goyle, from Norwich
.
I paused, staring at the newspaper without seeing it. Ever since I was a little girl, I knew that there were people who were at best ignorant and at worst hateful towards the Muggle word. That was no secret. In Durmstrang there were some groups that viewed Muggles and Muggle-borns as lesser and wanted them separated from the wizarding world. My parents had raised me trying to teach me open-mindedness and tolerance, right along with a good compass of ethics and a sense of justice. For me, it had always been a given fact, that Muggles were no lesser beings. They just handled their lives differently. But I'd also always known about blood purists.
So, really, reading the statement from Mr Goyle shouldn't be a surprise – I remembered him from my mother's teachings about the Sacred Twenty-Eight – but I was upset nonetheless. First of all, did Goyle dismiss that Grindelwald was dangerous, to all of us, not only Muggles, but magical folk alike. Secondly, was it just plain evil to disregard other living beings so carelessly. And thirdly was I worried about myself.
What should I do when I reached London like my father had planned? The Ministry there was mostly controlled by the old pureblood families. Did they all share the thoughts of Goyle? Would they refuse my plea for help, because they secretly supported Grindelwald? Or worse, would they hand me over to the dark wizard?
I folded the newspaper carefully and put it on the table, leaning back in my chair. Reaching for my mug, I simply held it in my hands to warm them, without taking a sip. This was bad news and I had to think about this. Being on the run meant that every decision I made could end up getting me killed.
With new determination, I took the last sip from my now lukewarm Melange and gathered my things to get going, when I overheard something that made me pause in my movements.
"… the business trip to Paris", complained a male voice in English next to me, "and they moved it forward to in a few hours at short notice."
Covering my peeking as rummaging through my handbag, I took a glimpse at the wizard and saw him sitting at a table next to me with what assumed to be a colleague. Both of them were dressed in fine robes, briefcases standing on the ground next to their feet. It seemed that they were having breakfast together.
"They cleared a Portkey, which is a feat in itself, but I'd hoped to doge this trip, working things out via owl. But now I even have to go earlier than expected. I really hate to work with the Frenchmen, they're always so picky."
I continued to eavesdrop, while my mind was racing. This could be an opportunity to journey to France faster and with less dangers than by Muggle means or by foot. The Portkey would probably be monitored and they would know of the wizard had travelled with another person, which would raise suspicion if he was planned to start the journey on his own. Still, in a quick assessment, the advantages seemed to outweighed the disadvantages. But I needed more information to make an educated decision.
Listening for almost half an hour, the two wizards finally finished their breakfast and shook their hands in farewell. When the one that would leave for the business trip exited the café, I got to my feet as well and followed him outside. Trying to stay at an inconspicuous distance, I prayed to all the Gods that he wouldn't disapparated. Fortunately, he only walked for five minutes before he reached an impressive house in which he disappeared. I had no idea if this was his house or if this was where he worked. But it didn't matter.
Not far from the building, with a good view at the front door of the house, I lowered myself on a bench on the street corner that had seen better days. A quick tap of my wand, and I was charmed with a Notice-Me-Not charm, my eyes locked on the door. I readied myself for a few boring hours of sitting around, with nothing available to occupy my mind. At least I could try to re-evaluate my plan to make my way to London to seek help there. There was much to think about.
My muscles were stiff from sitting down so long and my butt felt like it was getting numb, when the door to the house finally opened again. The whole day had gone by and I'd just been sitting outside, enjoying the good weather in the beginning. After a few hours of hot sunshine, I felt much more like cursing it. I was sweating, I was hungry and sitting around with nothing to occupy my mind except my own thoughts made me restless.
So, when the door finally opened up again, I felt like jumping to my feet and rushing towards the man, simply because I was so thankful that something was happening. But I stayed on the bench and watched as the wizard straightened his robe before he marched off, heading towards me. Quickly, I reinforced the Notice-Me-Not.
The wizard came closer and closer and I got more nervous with every step the man took. I needed him to cooperate, so I could take the Portkey with him that would whisk us away to Paris. This was just too good of an opportunity to miss. This could help me save days if not even weeks of travelling. I just had to convince the wizard that I was his unplanned guest. And my guess was that I couldn't just persuade him with a few nice words.
When the wizard was only a few steps away from me, I brandished my wand and pointed it at him through the folds of my baggy trousers. My hand shook and there was a slight tremble in my voice.
"Imperius!"
The curse made the man only stumble before he started to turn sluggishly towards me, his face a mixture between confusion and anger. It was no wonder that the curse hadn't worked, with me being so insecure about it. I didn't want to force my will on anyone but this was the safest option for me to take the Portkey. I simply couldn't let that chance go. The desperation was rising up in me and I clenched my jaw in anxiety. I needed this to work!
My despair obviously gave me the power and the focus to complete the curse, as the wizards stumbled another time, now fully turned towards me, and then froze with a limp expression. I puffed out a heavy sigh when I realized that I had successfully imperius'ed him. Glad that I could attempt to join his Portkey travels, I also felt bad that I was actually able to perform a real Imperius curse. I felt like it said a great deal about my personality.
Cancelling the Notice-Me-Nto, slinging the knapsack over my shoulder and coming to my feet, I looked the middle-aged wizard in his face, studying his empty expression. I had no idea how to go about this. How did I make him do the things I wanted? How did I get any information form him? Did I simply ask or was there some sort of casting and wand-waving involved?
I cleared my throat awkwardly. "What is your name?"
"Gustav", came the monotone answer.
"Hello Gustav", I coughed again. "My name is Galina. Were you on your way to the Portkey?"
He nodded. I stared. And cleared my voice. Again. Seldomly had I felt more out of control than right now.
"Well, I want you to take me there. I also want you to take me with you on your business trip. I don't care what you have to tell others to make it look as little suspicious as possible, but do whatever you can to help me reach France."
"I will take you to the Portkey. I will take you along my business trip. I will help you reach France", he said expressionlessly.
Gustave nodded in affirmation as if to strengthen his resolve and slowly regained a healthy life back in his eyes. It took him a few heartbeats before he looked normal again, a charismatic glimmer in his eyes that made him much more likable and attractive to me. It seemed that the Imperius curse was working on its own, relaying my wishes to my victim. I probably needed to concentrate very hard on the commands, but otherwise the curse would take care that my wishes were met. Gladly, it didn't seem to leave the victim in a state of half-vegetable, as opposed to his easy-going manner he was displaying now.
"Galina!", I he said, as if he'd just notice me. "Good of you to be punctual. Are you ready for the trip?"
I was slightly taken aback by his greeting, that was better meant for old friends. But I managed a nod and took his offered arm and smile up to him. If his subconsciousness thought that being friends was the way to get on me the Portkey- travel, then I'd be alright with that.
"Well, I should think so", I offered. "Was there something special I needed to prepare?"
Gustav faltered for a split-second before another charming smile broke out on his face and he shook his head. It was rather eerie to see the Imperius work on its victim, how it shaped their behaviour. At the corner of my awareness, I felt the current tug on my magic as the curse syphoned power from me.
"No, of course not! You're here, that's the most important thing. Everything you forgot can be bought in Paris."
He snatched my cap from my head, making my plait unfold from under it. I gasped in surprise, but he already threw his arm over my shoulders and pulled me at his side, my cap still clutched in his hand. We started to continue the way he had been headed before he'd been stopped by me. I froze at the sudden contact, startled about his familiarity. Even though my parents had been rather liberal, I had been raised by the pureblood standards, which meant much correctness and stiffness around each other and pretty little casual touching.
After the first few stumbled steps, I gathered myself and leaned into his side, trying to appear relaxed, even if I felt oddly naked without my cap. Others needed to think that we were friends so no one would question me travelling with him. Arranging my face in a carefree expression, I looked up at him and started to small-talk. He instantly jumped to answer my questions, being a pleasant conversationist all along. I learned about his sisters and his parents, how he was still unmarried and what his duties regarding his family business – for which he had to travel to Paris – were. All in all, he was a nice fellow. Which made me feel incredibly guilty for cursing him.
With him entertaining me, I didn't even realize when we reached the middle of the city again, heading for a big building in the typical architecture, that I already recognized for Vienna. The plate on the outside of the entrance door announced it to be the branch of a travelling agency. Greeting the porter with a friendly nod, Gustav walked through the foyer that was as grand as the building had looked from the outside. The ground was made of white marble, and huge chandeliers hung from the high ceiling. There was only one other person in the foyer and it was a young lady that sat at the reception. Purposefully, we walked past her, ascending the broad staircase, that circled up in a curve to the first floor. I tried to keep my gawking at a minimum, but the building was incredibly beautiful. One could clearly see the wealth.
Letting Gustav steered me towards a dark wooden door at the first floor, I waited as he knocked sharply once before entering. Inside was something like an office, just as decadently furnished as the foyer. It looked a bit warmer, as it had a large Persian carpet covering a bit of the cold marble floor, but it was still impressive with the wooden shelves filled with large editions of old books which complimented the desk in its colour. The ceiling of the room as adorned with delicate wooden carvings, but I couldn't make out a pattern, as I tried not to stare.
"Willkommen Gustav!", boomed the male, sitting behind the desk.
"Thank you", my companion answered, switching in English so I could understand the conversation. "I have an appointed Portkey for Paris."
"Ah, yes", the other replied, picking up the need to speak English quickly.
He leaned to the side and rummages through his desk drawers, getting an old and worn shoe from it. Putting it on top of it, he rattled down a list of information about safe Portkey-travel, some information about the Paris government, as well as the information about the journey back. During his little monologue, Gustav and I had made our way to the desk, Gustav's hand sitting on my lower back.
"… you just have to touch the item", the man finished his speech.
Both of us reached forward, but with a gasp and a quick lunge, the man in the office snatched the shoe from the table.
"Gustav, dear friend, only you had been listed as passenger!"
The wizard next to me pulled me a bit closer to him, making the movement look like it as more than just that, giving it more meaning.
"You see, I really hoped that I could bring my friend with me. You know how my mother can be sometimes", he winked at the office wizard, "she always thinks that all my female friends could be a good wife for me. But you know just as well as I do, that you just need something frivolous from time to time."
The other wizard sputtered at that statement and I froze up. So, we weren't travelling as friends but lovers. It made more sense actually. People were less inclined to ask troubling questions about me, if they thought that I was his mistress. They would feel too awkward to ask. Pushing my pride aside, I leaned closer to Gustav and gave the other wizard a little knowing smirk, making him blush.
"But- but", he stuttered, eyeing me with shock that turned to bafflement when he noticed my unusual outfit, "I need her passport! She needs to get a permission beforehand!"
Gustave stiffened next to me, before he smiled charmingly again. "Please, don't make this too hard on us. We've got only two minutes left and I looked so forward to mix business with please. And in Paris of all cities, just imagine that!"
The other wizard turned beet-red, obviously doing what Gustav had asked him to do: imagining it. Sadly, it didn't stop him from indignantly shaking his head, his mouth opening and closing helplessly. I had no idea if he was shocked because I wanted to travel without showing my passport or because Gustav was discussing our allegedly affair so openly.
My companion used the speechlessness to continue. "And don't you want to save my friend the trouble to have other gossip about her? We just want to have a good time!"
The two wizards stared at each other in silence and I tried to look as unassuming as possible, as I snuggled up at Gustav's side. With a quick glance at his watch, I saw that our time was running out. I guessed that Gustav came to the same conclusion when he reached inside his expensive suite jacket and pulled a few purple bank notes from it, that looked strange to me, laying them down on the desk before us. Judging from the growing big eyes from the other wizard, I assumed that it was quite a hefty sum.
The officer wizard still hesitated. "But… what if – what if someone finds it out? I could lose my job…."
Gustave added another of those purple notes with a dismissive flick of his hand and then pulled the Portkey towards us. The other wizard still stared at the little slips of paper money, seemingly ensnared by it and not caring about us anymore. He didn't even flinch when I put my finger on the old shoe. His whole focus was entirely on the money.
With another look, I saw the seconds tick away, and punctual as always did I feel a hook behind my navel that was yanking at me and I was magically surging through space. Next to me, Gustav was jolted by the harsh magical travel, but his face was lack again. Through the jostling and the rushing of the wind around us, did I concentrate on the steady stream of magical demand that tugged on me, thinking about my command to Gustav.
I need to get to Paris safely. I want Gustav to take me to his hotel room. I need him to help me. I need to get to Paris safely. I need Gustav to get me to his hotel room. I need to get to Paris safely. He needs to help me.
Another jostle of the Portkey made me bump into Gustav, who had a more alert expression again. Obviously, he was mentally occupied with the task to get me in his hotel room. He ought find a solution rather quickly, as I already felt the Portkey changing its magical tune, getting ready for the landing. Whatever Paris held for me, at least I was closer to my destination.
Please leave a review, I love those!