It didn't take long for the Headmaster to invite us into Durmstrang. By noon, we were walking through a giant, open field heading towards a much smaller castle than Hogwarts. It was four stories tall but had only two towers and way less space for classrooms. It could have been only one wing of Hogwarts if we placed the two next to each other. But... the land around it was vast. Way bigger than ours was.
Going by Grindelwald's explanation, many of the classes were practical in nature, and it was customary for lessons to take expeditions into the forests, caves, and neighboring lakes. While we were taught from books and maybe shown some samples, the wizards and witches here got first-hand experience facing the different magical beasts and monsters.
"Is that...?" I whispered, but of course, I didn't get an answer as Grindelwald kept leading us past the front door, confidently walking up the stairs, going past a wall that had the symbol of the Hallows etched into it.
I wasn't surprised to see it; he told me he did it after being expelled. Nor was I surprised by it being still here, untouched. What was weirding me out was that a giant tube was next to it, filled with a mouth-watering amount of gold. I watched as a student walked up with a bunch of others, slotting a gold coin in and then trying a spell to remove the mark... without success.
"They turned it into an attraction...?" Quincy murmured, making me nod, agreeing with her.
"Keep it together." Grindelwald's voice made us flinch, stopping speaking at once, before we entered an old office where the walls were filled with books upon books, and behind a black, wooden table, there he sat, Karkaroff... he was blowing smoke from a long pipe, acting relaxed and carefree. "Headmaster." Grindelwald said as he stopped, bowing while we imitated him, only stealing a few quick glances.
Although he looked calm, I do remember that he didn't used to have that sunken face, and some of the black circles around his eyes were not because of his age. Things were hard, huh? Good. I didn't care if he lived or not; I was just happy that we were going to flip the tables for Voldemort.
"The Archduke told me everything, and I am surprised that your esteemed bloodline is still present!" He started but never returned our gesture or stood up; instead, he kept sitting, blowing smoke from his nose and fixing his eyes on Grindelwald.
"It wasn't easy to stay afloat, and it still isn't easy. But, after what is happening in the world, it may be our last hope to regain our position."
"That is true..." He agreed, finally sitting up straight, moving his eye from Grindelwald's face and examining us. "Young. Not yet 16?"
"Close to 15." Grindelwald answered for us, but I was having a laugh deep within because Karkaroff's attitude was telling enough. He had already accepted us; he just wanted to make it look like he was unsure. It's that bad, huh?
"What field do you feel yourself to be the best at?"
"Dueling, the Dark Arts, and defensive spells."
"We already have a dueling teacher, but... we do miss someone who would be able to teach our students how to defend themselves against hexes, magical traps, and lowly beasts."
"Those are just what I am the best at. I can adapt to any position the Headmaster wishes me to fill in for."
"What about the children? I assume they would also attend classes as long as you are here. We can't take in people who are not up to our standards!"
"Perfectly reasonable. Please state what kind of tests you would like to subject them to, and we will make it happen."
"Confident! I like that!" With a laugh, he finally stood up, putting out his pipe and fixing the same clothes he was wearing when visiting Hogwarts. "Let's test it then!"
"Lead the way."
It didn't take long for us to walk back out of the school, and about ten minutes later, our group was gathering around a vast, oval field while hoops were being raised into the air via magic at different heights and sizes. Most, if not all, were wide enough for us to fit through, but a few were way too small for managing that. My eyes were already mapping out an optimal route from start to finish, and I was sure what the task would be... fly through all of them.
"This was one of my old student's favorite training regiments... that traitorous bastard..." Karkaroff grunted, making me smile, knowing he was talking about Victor. "Confident?" He snapped his head at me at once. Shit... he caught my smirk, but then again, it was not an option to back down.
"I can fly through all of them."
"Heh!" With a doubting laugh, he slapped my back, snapping his fingers, and a ghostly image of Krumm appeared, sitting on a broom, beginning to fly along. He easily got through the course, hitting the rings that glowed randomly, going through even those that were way too small. I could see that the image of him used some kind of spell, but whatever that was, it didn't get recorded. "There are 20 rings! They light up randomly, and you must cross through them all. The record time is 1:15:34. Do it under 1:20, and you pass!"
I didn't answer; I simply pointed my wand at my bag, making my Firebolt appear and causing him to finally ditch that stupid smirk on his face. Ignoring the old bastard, I glanced at Grindelwald, who gave an approving look, letting me take off and stop at the starting point in the air. A record by Krumm... eh? I hope he won't be angry that I am going to break it!
The moment the first hoop lit up in a golden hue, I kicked out, using the speed of my broom to its fullest. I will never get tired of the feeling of accelerating from nothing to sixty in only a few seconds. When the tip of my broom crossed through the first hoop, from the corner of my eye, I caught the one lighting up on my left. With a sharp turn, only a second later, I was through it, already scanning, going for the third... then the fourth.
When my eyes didn't register a change, I already knew the following one had to be behind me, so I pulled up, doing a loop, finding the hoop, and heading straight towards it. After the tenth one, finally, it was time for one so small that only my hand would fit through it. Luckily, I was not a muggle.
"Engorgio!" I whispered, making sure that if someone was watching me closely and saw my mouth move, they knew it wasn't wordless spellcasting.
Enlarging a target was not the only thing that was making this trial hard because when I passed the following ring, it shaved off a few twigs from my broom because it began shrinking the moment I flew through it. I see... No matter. I was fast and could be even quicker than the rings, so they couldn't trap me.
Flying through the last one, which was changing sizes by itself, I felt a type of freedom and happiness I really missed. I didn't count the seconds within me, but the feeling was strong that it had to be a time I could be proud of. This sensation only strengthened when I landed and saw Quincy's proud smile and happily glowing eyes.
"1:14:14." Grindelwald spoke up, making Karkaroff flinch, feeling lost for a moment because I just broke his old, favorite student's record. Even if he was no longer part of the school, it was still hurtful for him. Heh... prideful idiot.
"I knew it!" Quincy laughed and finally hugged me, planting a kiss on my cheeks that I received sheepishly, both of us forgetting our current roles. It made a few others around us look on weirdly, not just because I broke an old record, but... oh well. Who cares.
"C-congratulations, young Alexander."
"Thank you, Headmaster." I replied, bowing respectfully, saying nothing more, simply nodding back at Grindelwald.
"As I told you," He spoke up with unbridled pride and a bit of haughtiness hiding within his voice, "My children are in possession of a premium bloodline."
"Y-yes, we can see that." Karkaroff mumbled, turning towards Quincy, "For the young lady, we should do something appropriate."
"I don't mind difficulties." She answered with a slight bow, but her voice was just as proud as Grindelwald's, which, in turn, clearly incensed some of the onlookers. Well, in their eyes, we were outsiders, coming in and mocking them.
"A quick duel then should suffice." Karkaroff clapped, visibly frustrated, and one of the older students, looking even more senior than Victor did, stepped forward, volunteering. If I caught it right, his name was Vlad, but not that I cared to remember it.
I watched as they squared up, and I already knew Quincy's plan. It was the same trick that Grindelwald first taught us, and we also used it in our previous fight. By the time Vlady-boy raised his wand, Quincy had apparated behind him, immobilizing him, watching his body fall face-first to the ground.
"Should have I used the killing curse?" She asked, looking at Grindelwald with uncertainty in her eyes, making many previously louder students get real quiet, real fast.
"No. This is good." He answered, nodding at her to get back. "Now... it only remains me to be tested, yes?"
He wasn't giving Karkaroff time to find fault with us and was forcing him to keep up the cordial tone. I watched as he was thinking and became a little worried. Were we taking it too far? Was this going to play against us in the long run?
"Yes, you are right. Let's go inside for that!"
I tried to guess what he had in mind because the smile he gave Grindelwald was surprisingly confident. And, of course, it was... because we stopped before the emblem of the three Hallows.
"I assume you know the history?" Karkaroff asked, and we nodded simultaneously.
"Of course. Should I try and remove it?" Grindelwald questioned, unperturbed, and his confidence made Karkaroff's mouth twitch.
"By all means! There is a prize for it!" He forced himself to laugh, watching as Grindelwald took out his wand, casting one simple, wordless spell.
The symbol vanished like it was never there, but before the gasps could die down, in the end, it slowly reappeared. Still, watching their reactions, the fact that the symbol came back so soon made Karkaroff sigh, and his face smoothened out a lot compared to before.
"Very good! The wall remained intact for almost two seconds! Well, my record is four. Still... very good, very good! You will fit into our school perfectly!"
"Thank you for the opportunity, Headmaster!" He bowed, showing a smile but also visible frustration in his eyes, further widening Karkaroff's pleased grin on his face.
Heh... I wonder... how ugly his smile will be when he finally realizes all his work had been for nothing...
It didn't take long for the Headmaster to invite us into Durmstrang. By noon, we were walking through a giant, open field heading towards a much smaller castle than Hogwarts. It was four stories tall but had only two towers and way less space for classrooms. It could have been only one wing of Hogwarts if we placed the two next to each other. But... the land around it was vast. Way bigger than ours was.
Going by Grindelwald's explanation, many of the classes were practical in nature, and it was customary for lessons to take expeditions into the forests, caves, and neighboring lakes. While we were taught from books and maybe shown some samples, the wizards and witches here got first-hand experience facing the different magical beasts and monsters.
"Is that...?" I whispered, but of course, I didn't get an answer as Grindelwald kept leading us past the front door, confidently walking up the stairs, going past a wall that had the symbol of the Hallows etched into it.
I wasn't surprised to see it; he told me he did it after being expelled. Nor was I surprised by it being still here, untouched. What was weirding me out was that a giant tube was next to it, filled with a mouth-watering amount of gold. I watched as a student walked up with a bunch of others, slotting a gold coin in and then trying a spell to remove the mark... without success.
"They turned it into an attraction...?" Quincy murmured, making me nod, agreeing with her.
"Keep it together." Grindelwald's voice made us flinch, stopping speaking at once, before we entered an old office where the walls were filled with books upon books, and behind a black, wooden table, there he sat, Karkaroff... he was blowing smoke from a long pipe, acting relaxed and carefree. "Headmaster." Grindelwald said as he stopped, bowing while we imitated him, only stealing a few quick glances.
Although he looked calm, I do remember that he didn't used to have that sunken face, and some of the black circles around his eyes were not because of his age. Things were hard, huh? Good. I didn't care if he lived or not; I was just happy that we were going to flip the tables for Voldemort.
"The Archduke told me everything, and I am surprised that your esteemed bloodline is still present!" He started but never returned our gesture or stood up; instead, he kept sitting, blowing smoke from his nose and fixing his eyes on Grindelwald.
"It wasn't easy to stay afloat, and it still isn't easy. But, after what is happening in the world, it may be our last hope to regain our position."
"That is true..." He agreed, finally sitting up straight, moving his eye from Grindelwald's face and examining us. "Young. Not yet 16?"
"Close to 15." Grindelwald answered for us, but I was having a laugh deep within because Karkaroff's attitude was telling enough. He had already accepted us; he just wanted to make it look like he was unsure. It's that bad, huh?
"What field do you feel yourself to be the best at?"
"Dueling, the Dark Arts, and defensive spells."
"We already have a dueling teacher, but... we do miss someone who would be able to teach our students how to defend themselves against hexes, magical traps, and lowly beasts."
"Those are just what I am the best at. I can adapt to any position the Headmaster wishes me to fill in for."
"What about the children? I assume they would also attend classes as long as you are here. We can't take in people who are not up to our standards!"
"Perfectly reasonable. Please state what kind of tests you would like to subject them to, and we will make it happen."
"Confident! I like that!" With a laugh, he finally stood up, putting out his pipe and fixing the same clothes he was wearing when visiting Hogwarts. "Let's test it then!"
"Lead the way."
It didn't take long for us to walk back out of the school, and about ten minutes later, our group was gathering around a vast, oval field while hoops were being raised into the air via magic at different heights and sizes. Most, if not all, were wide enough for us to fit through, but a few were way too small for managing that. My eyes were already mapping out an optimal route from start to finish, and I was sure what the task would be... fly through all of them.
"This was one of my old student's favorite training regiments... that traitorous bastard..." Karkaroff grunted, making me smile, knowing he was talking about Victor. "Confident?" He snapped his head at me at once. Shit... he caught my smirk, but then again, it was not an option to back down.
"I can fly through all of them."
"Heh!" With a doubting laugh, he slapped my back, snapping his fingers, and a ghostly image of Krumm appeared, sitting on a broom, beginning to fly along. He easily got through the course, hitting the rings that glowed randomly, going through even those that were way too small. I could see that the image of him used some kind of spell, but whatever that was, it didn't get recorded. "There are 20 rings! They light up randomly, and you must cross through them all. The record time is 1:15:34. Do it under 1:20, and you pass!"
I didn't answer; I simply pointed my wand at my bag, making my Firebolt appear and causing him to finally ditch that stupid smirk on his face. Ignoring the old bastard, I glanced at Grindelwald, who gave an approving look, letting me take off and stop at the starting point in the air. A record by Krumm... eh? I hope he won't be angry that I am going to break it!
The moment the first hoop lit up in a golden hue, I kicked out, using the speed of my broom to its fullest. I will never get tired of the feeling of accelerating from nothing to sixty in only a few seconds. When the tip of my broom crossed through the first hoop, from the corner of my eye, I caught the one lighting up on my left. With a sharp turn, only a second later, I was through it, already scanning, going for the third... then the fourth.
When my eyes didn't register a change, I already knew the following one had to be behind me, so I pulled up, doing a loop, finding the hoop, and heading straight towards it. After the tenth one, finally, it was time for one so small that only my hand would fit through it. Luckily, I was not a muggle.
"Engorgio!" I whispered, making sure that if someone was watching me closely and saw my mouth move, they knew it wasn't wordless spellcasting.
Enlarging a target was not the only thing that was making this trial hard because when I passed the following ring, it shaved off a few twigs from my broom because it began shrinking the moment I flew through it. I see... No matter. I was fast and could be even quicker than the rings, so they couldn't trap me.
Flying through the last one, which was changing sizes by itself, I felt a type of freedom and happiness I really missed. I didn't count the seconds within me, but the feeling was strong that it had to be a time I could be proud of. This sensation only strengthened when I landed and saw Quincy's proud smile and happily glowing eyes.
"1:14:14." Grindelwald spoke up, making Karkaroff flinch, feeling lost for a moment because I just broke his old, favorite student's record. Even if he was no longer part of the school, it was still hurtful for him. Heh... prideful idiot.
"I knew it!" Quincy laughed and finally hugged me, planting a kiss on my cheeks that I received sheepishly, both of us forgetting our current roles. It made a few others around us look on weirdly, not just because I broke an old record, but... oh well. Who cares.
"C-congratulations, young Alexander."
"Thank you, Headmaster." I replied, bowing respectfully, saying nothing more, simply nodding back at Grindelwald.
"As I told you," He spoke up with unbridled pride and a bit of haughtiness hiding within his voice, "My children are in possession of a premium bloodline."
"Y-yes, we can see that." Karkaroff mumbled, turning towards Quincy, "For the young lady, we should do something appropriate."
"I don't mind difficulties." She answered with a slight bow, but her voice was just as proud as Grindelwald's, which, in turn, clearly incensed some of the onlookers. Well, in their eyes, we were outsiders, coming in and mocking them.
"A quick duel then should suffice." Karkaroff clapped, visibly frustrated, and one of the older students, looking even more senior than Victor did, stepped forward, volunteering. If I caught it right, his name was Vlad, but not that I cared to remember it.
I watched as they squared up, and I already knew Quincy's plan. It was the same trick that Grindelwald first taught us, and we also used it in our previous fight. By the time Vlady-boy raised his wand, Quincy had apparated behind him, immobilizing him, watching his body fall face-first to the ground.
"Should have I used the killing curse?" She asked, looking at Grindelwald with uncertainty in her eyes, making many previously louder students get real quiet, real fast.
"No. This is good." He answered, nodding at her to get back. "Now... it only remains me to be tested, yes?"
He wasn't giving Karkaroff time to find fault with us and was forcing him to keep up the cordial tone. I watched as he was thinking and became a little worried. Were we taking it too far? Was this going to play against us in the long run?
"Yes, you are right. Let's go inside for that!"
I tried to guess what he had in mind because the smile he gave Grindelwald was surprisingly confident. And, of course, it was... because we stopped before the emblem of the three Hallows.
"I assume you know the history?" Karkaroff asked, and we nodded simultaneously.
"Of course. Should I try and remove it?" Grindelwald questioned, unperturbed, and his confidence made Karkaroff's mouth twitch.
"By all means! There is a prize for it!" He forced himself to laugh, watching as Grindelwald took out his wand, casting one simple, wordless spell.
The symbol vanished like it was never there, but before the gasps could die down, in the end, it slowly reappeared. Still, watching their reactions, the fact that the symbol came back so soon made Karkaroff sigh, and his face smoothened out a lot compared to before.
"Very good! The wall remained intact for almost two seconds! Well, my record is four. Still... very good, very good! You will fit into our school perfectly!"
"Thank you for the opportunity, Headmaster!" He bowed, showing a smile but also visible frustration in his eyes, further widening Karkaroff's pleased grin on his face.
Heh... I wonder... how ugly his smile will be when he finally realizes all his work had been for nothing...
