Chapter 86 — The Guest
Chapter 86: The Guest
"A person?"
I watched with no small surprise as the creature's body crumbled to ash and the figure dropped to the ground without moving. I had spent a considerable amount of energy, but the axe in my hand was still a formidable weapon, and I stepped out from behind the barricade and walked towards the figure.
"Where do you think you're going?!"
"I'm going to check who that is."
I didn't respond to the mothers and carefully approached. When I was close enough I could see it was a girl, not very young, but certainly not old. Black hair with red streaks. Black clothing, all torn. The remains of a cloak, red? Or had it been another color, soaked through with blood?
"It's a girl. Looks about thirty. She definitely needs medical attention."
"Allow me."
Narcissa was at my side within moments, her wand moving in quick passes over the girl's body.
"Mm, extreme exhaustion, and a great many superficial wounds. Remarkably, I can sense energy in her, but it isn't magic. I would call her a Squib, except she is significantly more resilient than one, and will clearly recover quickly."
I nodded, then exhaled and dropped the transfigured axe, crouched down, and lifted the girl into my arms.
"And where exactly are you planning to take her?"
"Hospital."
I looked at the Auror with a slight shrug.
"She won't survive in your offices. But there you can post a guard outside her ward."
"That's reasonable."
At that moment the girl's eyes opened. They were silver. Her hand shot up and seized my shoulder.
"Ani us ka botira tu ko nop."
Panic rang through her voice.
"Easy. You're safe."
I kept my voice calm and low, even as the Aurors and Narcissa brought their wands to bear on her. But the girl paid no attention to anyone around her; her eyes were fixed on me, and I kept talking quietly, steadily, while gently projecting feelings of calm and safety towards her. This required very little magic.
Within two minutes, her grip loosened and her eyes closed again.
"You'll also want a Legilimens to teach her our language."
"Ours? Not the other way around?"
The Auror looked at me with a slightly mocking expression.
"Both directions will be necessary, eventually. I suspect her language contains a great deal of terminology that has no equivalent in ours. But for initial communication, teaching her our language will be more than sufficient. It will also be far more convenient for questioning."
The Aurors gave a collective snort. We moved towards the exit and left the arena. Outside, one of the Aurors wrapped a chain around my wrist and the girl's, took hold of it himself, and turned to his colleagues.
"You, to the Department of Mysteries. Tell them we have a visitor who came through a rift. Have them go straight to the hospital. We'll meet them there."
"Yes, sir."
The Aurors obeyed. The man spoke a code word, touched a Portkey, and in an instant we were in the hospital.
"Line!"
One of the orderlies shouted at us. I gave a quiet snort and walked straight in.
"I said line!"
"This is a material witness. She may be able to tell us a great deal about the rifts, the aftereffects of which you are currently surrounded by. If she dies and we learn nothing, you'll rot in Azkaban."
The young man flinched.
"But we simply don't have a specialist available..."
"Don't trouble yourself over that."
The next moment the Apparition point crackled and both my mothers stepped through.
"One of my mothers is a qualified Healer. She can treat the patient."
"Very well. Fifth floor, ward twenty."
I nodded, carried the girl up, and settled her in the ward as Narcissa began working on her. I found a chair in the corner, sat down, and closed my eyes.
Blissful rest. I was utterly exhausted.
"Tired?"
An Auror came to stand beside me, leaning back against the wall.
"Yes."
"Well, you did brilliantly, for what it's worth. Without you, that arena would have had far more casualties."
I gave a grateful smile.
"Though I'd suggest you head back to the hotel and get proper rest."
"Once my mother's finished with the first aid. Then we'll both go."
"As you like."
I had to wait nearly an hour for Narcissa to finish. After that, the whole family Flooed back to the hotel and went straight to our rooms, though not before ordering several full meals to be sent up.
"Draco!"
The moment we stepped off onto our floor, Fleur was there, standing outside her door. She saw me and immediately came towards me.
"There, there."
I pulled her into a hug and gently patted her back.
"I'm fine. You saw me yourself when I was carrying that young woman to the hospital. You don't need to worry so much."
"I know."
Fleur gave a small sob.
"But I worried anyway!"
I sighed and brought her into my room. I had ordered plenty of food, and when it arrived, we both set about doing it justice. She even forgot for a time how anxious she had been. Afterwards, we fell asleep in the same bed, holding each other tightly.
The morning was somewhat unpleasant.
Not because of the company (quite the opposite, that was the only thing softening the discomfort) but because I had come very close to exhausting myself the day before, and my body was making its feelings known in no uncertain terms. I had overdone it. There had been no other way, but I had still overdone it.
I climbed carefully out of bed and unfortunately woke my girl in the process. While I showered, she ordered breakfast from the restaurant downstairs, and we ate together in our small group.
"What do you think will happen today?"
"Well, they'll either offer to refight the bout that never finished, which was already decided in everything but the official result, and if so I'm in rather a bad position because I'm in no state to duel today. Or tomorrow."
I shook my head.
"Or they'll decide not to continue the tournament at all after yesterday."
"Possibly."
I shrugged lightly.
"We'll see. Judging by the time, we ought to be heading out."
Shortly afterward we were standing in the arena, waiting for the judges' decision.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we spent the entire night in fierce debate over the bout that was interrupted yesterday. Some argued for a rematch, but every judge understood that in that case Mr Black, who played the most prominent part in holding back the creatures, would have no real chance of victory. He quite simply pushed himself too hard yesterday. He was visibly unsteady on his feet."
I shot a glance at Fleur. She nodded; yes, apparently I had genuinely been swaying. I hadn't noticed at the time, which told me a great deal about how thoroughly I had overextended myself.
"Others argued that the victory should be awarded to Inna Liman. Still others argued that it should go to Draco Black. There were even some who simply proposed declaring the bout void. But in the end, we have reached a decision on who deserves the win."
The referee paused. The other members of the judging panel, who usually remained in the background and played no active part in deliberations, stood behind him and nodded, though I could see that some of them were not pleased with the outcome.
"And the winner of the champions' duel is..."
He let the pause hang, though he didn't stretch it too long.
"Draco Black! Great Britain! Trained by Filius Flitwick!"
The applause was thinner than usual, not because the crowd lacked enthusiasm for me, but because there were far fewer people here today.
I walked up to the judges calmly and accepted the trophy.
"Mr Black, once again you have a chance to say a few words."
"Could you amplify my voice?"
I looked at the referee. He nodded and cast the necessary charm.
"Hello to all the guests of this wonderful tournament, wonderful even if overshadowed by yesterday's events. I would dearly like to repeat the words I said after my victory over the champion of the thirteen-to-fourteen age group: I hereby issue a challenge to the winner of the seventeen-to-eighteen age group."
Silence fell across the arena.
"However, to my regret, I have pushed myself to the point of exhaustion, and for the next couple of days I am unable not only to duel but also to cast spells at all. So I will simply say this: every one of you can achieve results like these. The only thing required is not to give up, to work on yourself, day after day. Thank you to everyone who followed my journey and cheered for me. Next year I will do my best not to disappoint you, and I intend to go the full distance."
I gave the audience an elegant bow, and left to a round of applause.
A short closing ceremony followed, without much fanfare. Yesterday's events had been deeply serious, and casualties across the country were numerous. We were essentially sent home.
"So then, Fleur..."
"What?"
"When should I expect you at Hogwarts?"
"I think..."
She closed her eyes.
"From next year. I'll transfer, and so will Gabrielle."
At precisely that moment, as we were making our way back to the hotel to collect our things, an Auror jogged up to me.
"Draco Black?"
"Yes."
I looked at him with mild confusion.
"You need to come with me!"
"Er..."
The emotions he was pouring out to me were almost overwhelming. He wasn't compelling me; it was more like pleading, but the words and the feeling behind them were so urgent.
"What exactly has happened?"
"That girl came round in the night. A Legilimens worked with her until recently, and she now understands our language. And the very first thing she did was demand to see someone called Ozma."
"What does that have to do with me?"
"Honestly, we're not entirely sure, but when we asked her to describe who she meant, the description matched you. So we need your help."
"I see."
I gave a slightly bewildered shake of my head.
"This is rather unexpected, but if you need my help, I won't refuse. Lead the way."
I nodded to the Auror.
"You'll need to take me yourself, or rather, if you don't mind, my mother would be better."
"Of course! Whatever is most convenient for you!"
"Then my mother will bring me to the hospital. The girl is still in the same ward?"
"Yes."
"Good. Mother?"
I half-turned to Narcissa.
"Yes, yes."
She nodded and came to stand beside me. I turned back to Fleur.
"Forgive me, love, duty calls."
"Of course. Off you go, you stealer of hearts."
She gave a quiet snort as she said it, and then Narcissa apparated with me directly to the hospital's Apparition point. Another Auror, a different one, was already waiting, and hurried to direct us to the right place.
"Mr Black. Miss Black."
A nondescript man in a black business suit nodded to us.
"My name is Ben Schmidt. I represent the Department of Mysteries, and I will be observing your conversation. The girl has declined to answer our questions, so we have prepared a list of things we need you to ask her, though if anything occurs to you on your own, we have no objection."
I nodded, took the small scroll he offered, and ran my eyes down the list.
Everything was well-considered; nothing I would have thought of myself was missing.
Which was hardly surprising, the Department of Mysteries were not children, and they thought through everything thoroughly.
I pushed the door open and entered the ward.
The girl who had been lying in bed sat upright the moment I appeared.
"Director Oz!"
I sighed.
This conversation was going to be a long one.
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