War Against Magiterran

Chapter 8: The Lestranges

Ron knocked three times on the door to the mansion before it creaked open. The three Mage Knights stepped in apprehensively. The mansion was an elegant Tudor style building with 4 levels and looked as if it had at least two hundred rooms. A crystal chandelier was gleaming on the ceiling and there were portraits of sophisticated looking people on the walls. The main hall led to a main staircase that branched off two ways and had a scarlet, velvet carpet running down it.

Standing about half way up the staircase was a man who looked to be in his early forties. He was tall, with pulled back brown hair, and a small moustache. He was wearing an elegant black and violet robe, was carrying a black cane, and had a monocle over his left eye. He was also carrying a black silk, top hat in his other hand.

"Welcome, Sir knights," he said with high posh. "I am Baron Lestrange. Welcome to my humble home, Lestrange manor."

Harry, Ron, and Ginny politely bowed. "Greetings Baron," said Harry. "We are three knights traveling north and we chanced upon your home when dark came upon us. We request that you would provide us with lodging for the night."

Baron Lestrange smiled. "I would be happy to provide you with lodgings Sir knights. My wife shall show you to your rooms." A tall, sophisticated looking lady with waist length black hair emerged from the top of the staircase. The Mage Knights bowed and proceeded up the staircase and to the woman who led them to the guest rooms.

"I wish to express my gratitude, Baroness Lestrange," said Ron as he kneeled and kissed her hand. Harry and Ginny followed suit.

"Thank you, Sir Knights," said the lady. "And I prefer to be called Dame Lestrange." She bowed and walked away.

"Well, that was easy," said Ron with a grin.

Harry seemed to be deep in thought. "Yeah, a little too easy."

* * * * * * * * * *

That night, the knights had one of the best meals ever prepared. Ron worked the house elves to the brink of exhaustion with his monstrous appetite. Whenever Ron was starved, he developed an appetite the equivalent of three large men. He made a bit of a scene stuffing all the food he could lay his hands on into his mouth while Harry and Ginny ate politely. The Lestranges however, did not seem to be offended by Ron's eating habits.

After dinner, the knights retired to the guest room to have a good nights sleep. Within minutes of hitting their pillows, they were sound asleep.

That night, two shadowy figures crept into the room where the Mage Knights slept. They slowly made their way to the sleeping forms in the beds. Daggers were drawn, and the figures slashed at the sleeping figures! It was only then that they discovered that the figures were nothing more than bundled sheets.

"Lumos." Baron and Dame Lestrange backed away as the brilliant lights dazzled from the Mage Knights standing in the corner behind the door. Ron had a triumphant smirk on his face.

"Ha ha! Thought you had us fooled eh?" he said. "Well looks like you did the job very well."

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Ron, they had you completely fooled. Harry and I were the ones who weren't."

"Shut up."

Harry stepped forward, his green eyes blazing. "I suggest that you two explain yourselves."

The Lestranges grinned. Suddenly, Dame Lestrange called out, "Accio." A thin sword that had been placed on the mantle place flew into her hand. Baron Lestrange also drew a sword out of his cane as he slapped his top hat on.

"Harry Potter," he said. "By order of the master, I am to take you to him."

"We are also to kill the red heads," said Dame Lestrange.

The Mage Knights drew their swords. "You take care of the guy, Ginny and I will take care of the gal," whispered Ron. Harry nodded his acknowledgement.

With a yell, the Mage Knights charged at the Lestranges who dashed out of the room. Baron Lestrange ran to the hallway pursued by Harry while Dame Lestrange ran to the dining room pursued by the Weasleys.

Harry chased Baron Lestrange to the staircase. Baron Lestrange was running down the stairs when Harry leapt from the ledge, twirled in the air and landed in front of Lestrange.

"Not so fast, Baron," he said. "Why not be a gentlemen and fight the proper way." Lestrange grinned as he raised his sword. With swift movements, Lestrange made three thrusts at Harry, all of which he deflected. Harry slashed at Lestrange who blocked the blade. The sounds of metal hitting metal rang throughout the hallway.

* * * * * * * * * *

Dame Lestrange had run into the dining room and was proceeding to make her way to the kitchen. Not willing to let her escape there, Ron leapt onto the long table and proceeded to slide down it, his foot on a saucer. With a flying leap, Ron landed in front of Dame Lestrange. Ginny soon came up behind her.

Without saying a word, Dame Lestrange swung her sword at Ron. Ron deflected the blow but was tripped by the Dame Lestrange. Ginny swung her sword down at Lestrange who caught the blade on her own. Ron scrambled to his feet and made a sideways thrust at Lestrange who blocked. Ginny slashed at her but was also blocked by Dame Lastrange. Metal sounds issued as Dame Lestrange continued to block the blows of the Weasleys. She had caught both blades on her own when she said, "Reducto!" Ron and Ginny were blasted into the dining table.

* * * * * * * * * *

"A most brilliant display of skill, Potter," said Baron Lestrange. The two duelers were barely moving, only their blades constantly hitting each other. "I would've assumed that life of royalty would have dulled your skill."

Harry raised an eyebrow. "Shows how much you know of Gryffindor," he said. Breaking the stand still, Harry ducked and kicked at Lestrange's shins. Baron Lestrange tumbled down the stairs and landed in a heap at the bottom of them.

Harry calmly walked down the stairs a slight smirk on his face. "It looks like a high life in the nobility is more damaging to your skill."

Baron Lestrange scrambled to his feet looking murderous. "You'll pay, Potter!" he hissed. With a roar, Lestrange charged at Harry only to have Harry spin around him and ram his hilt into the back of Lestrange's head. Clutching at the back of his head, Baron Lestrange continued swinging his word at Harry only to have all of the blows deflected.

* * * * * * * * * *

Ron charged at Dame Lestrange and swung his sword at her. Dame Lestrange blocked three successive blows made at her by Ron and managed to trip Ron again. Ginny leapt off the table and slashed her sword down at Dame Lestrange. Lestrange simply blocked Ginny's blow by raising her sword up horizontally. What Dame Lestrange hadn't counted on, however was that Ginny used the momentum of the two swords hitting each other to flip through the air and land behind Dame Lestrange! Ginny placed a swift kick on Lestrange's back and sent her flying forward into the dining table.

Lestrange wearily stood up looking livid. She barely managed to compose herself to block Ron's continuous attacks as he constantly slashed at her. Ginny also charged at Dame Lestrange whom was barely able to deflect Ron's blows. She was clearly getting exhausted fighting two Mage Knights as beads of sweat started rolling down her forehead.

Finally, Ginny caught Dame Lestrange off guard and rammed her hilt into Lestrange's right cheek! Not missing his chance, Ron yelled, "Expelliarmus!" causing Dame Lestranges sword to fly away from her hand. It also blasted Lestrange through a window, causing glass to shatter. Dame Lestrange plummeted from the second level to her death in the frozen lake below the window.

* * * * * * * * * *

"You are a brilliant swordsman," said Baron Lestrange as he deflected another one of Harry's slashes. "But I am the greatest swordsman of all the Death Eaters. There is no way that you can out duel me." The two blades met again.

Harry couldn't help but smile as he blocked one of Lestranges attacks. "Oh really," he said, their swords still slashing at each other. "Well, I'm sorry to say this, but..." suddenly, Harry deflected Lestrange's sword away, spun around and ran Lestrange through! "You're not as good as Voldemort," finished Harry.

Baron Lestrange fell to his knees, a look of astonishment and disbelief written on his face. He tried to reach up at Harry but soon fell down dead. Harry sighed as he sheathed his sword. "Whew, I'm glad that's over," he muttered.

At that moment, Ron and Ginny dashed into the hallway. They stopped short when they saw Baron Lestrange's body and Harry standing over it. Ron grinned and gave Harry a thumbs-up.

"Looks like you didn't need any help," he said.

"Yeah, looks like I didn't," muttered Harry.

"So what should we do now?" asked Ginny.

Harry looked out the window to see the dawn sun rising.

"Well, I suppose we should rest here for awhile, but not to long," he said. "We should really be making our way soon. There's bound to be more trouble coming ahead."

"Yeah," said Ron. "I don't think I've had enough excitement today."

Chapter 9: The Marketplace

A few days later, Harry, Ron, and Ginny had made it to a snow covered clearing not too far from the nearest village. There, they caught sight of a large collection of tents pitched on the snow. There was a multitude of people going back and forth between the tents and the village.

"Looks like a bazaar," said Ron. It was indeed a marketplace filled with many shops and trade stands. Merchants were calling to villagers engaging in trade and barter. Although the place looked a lot different, the Mage Knights were reminded of Diagon Alley in their own homeland.

"This is a nice place," observed Ginny as they wandered around the tents, checking out the merchandise. The Mage Knights wore brown cloaks over their armor, their hoods drawn up. Although they looked a little suspicious, nobody would dream that they were Mage Knights of Magiterran.

"This place is great," said Ron. "All these shops, stores, trade stands, ba... hello, what's this?" Something had caught Ron's eye.

It was a stage with a whole troop of dancing girls performing. The girls were dressed in exotic, revealing clothes, had long waist length blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes. They were dancing very seductively and they also seemed to be part veela since men were trying to jump on the stage and declare great things to them.

Ginny heard Harry muttering, "I'm a married man, I'm a married man, I'm a married man..." over and over while Ron started jumping up and down.

"I'm the king of Gryffindor!" yelled Ron.

"Hey I'm the king of Gryffindor," said Harry. Ginny couldn't tell whether he was trying to correct Ron or impress the part veelas.

"OK, OK, that's enough boys," said Ginny as she grabbed hold of the other two's cloaks and proceeded to drag them away. 'I feel like I'm filling in Hermione's shoes' she thought.

"Oh, don't go yet, monsieurs and mademoiselle. We really like 'aving you 'ere," called out a voice from behind them. Ginny turned around to see that one of the dancing girls, arguably the most beautiful of them, was standing behind them. Ron was all over her in seconds.

"And who may you be my elegant lady?" he asked, kneeling down in front of her and kissing her hand.

The dancing girl tossed back her hair and completely ignored Ron as she walked up to Harry. "I am Fleur Delacour. You are very 'andsome, per'aps we could 'ave a drink togezer?" Fleur batted her eyelashes towards Harry in a way that made Ginny want to throw up.

For a while, Ginny was worried that Harry might fall victim to the veela charms. Harry however, smiled and said, "I am pleased that so elegant a lady wishes for my presence but I am afraid that I am going to have to decline." Ginny breathed a sigh of relief.

Fleur simply tossed her hair back. "Zat eez your loss," she said haughtily.

"Ah, but I am single," said Ron. "Perhaps we could go together and I might tell you the tale of how I invented the game of Quidditch."

Fleur continued to ignore him as she said, "At least, come see us be'ind za tent. You could meet some people." Harry decided that this was acceptable so the Mage Knights followed Fleur to where the dancing girls stayed.

It was a comfortable tent that could easily fill a whole battalion. Ron pulled a chair out for Fleur but Fleur ignored it and sat in a different chair. Harry and Ginny sat on the sofa as Fleur sent for her servant.

A young girl, about the same age as Ginny came out carrying some tea on a tray. She had, wavy waist length auburn hair, hazel eyes, and a slightly pale complexion. She was wearing a brown one-piece robe that went to her knees, was bare foot, and had a black chocker around her neck. Ron immediately snapped out of the trance that Fleur had held him in.

Fleur tossed her hair back as the servant girl served them tea. "Margaret, will you see to eet zat these guests 'ave all zat zey wish?" The girl, Margaret nodded once before leaving the tent.

"Who is she?" asked Harry.

Fleur raised her nose haughtily and tossed her hair back. "She eez just a silly girl who was lost in za 'ills. I took 'er in as a slave girl and she 'as worked well for me."

"Slave girl?!" yelled Ron, his fiery temper getting the better of him. "Since when did anyone ever deserve to become a slave?!"

Fleur finally acknowledged Ron for the first time. "She was lost in za wilderness and I saved 'er. Think ov what would 'ave 'appened if she were found by bandits or worse."

"But she's a living human being!" yelled Ron. "No human ever deserves to live under the yoke of slavery!" Harry was a little amazed that this was coming from the person who was scandalized by the idea of house elves receiving salaries.

"Zat eez za way things are 'ere," said Fleur as if it were common knowledge. Ron opened his mouth to retort but couldn't think of anything to say so he stormed out of the tent.

Fleur turned to Harry and Ginny. "Your friend 'as quite a temper."

"Oh, you don't know the half of it," said Ginny.

* * * * * * * * * *
Ron walked around outside in the snow, letting the cold air cool his temper down. Personally, he couldn't understand why he had blown up far more easily than usual. It was just that, when he had seen Margaret, he had felt something that he had never felt before and the idea that she was bound to some one legally made his blood boil. Of course he was also aggravated by the idea that slavery was legal in Durmstrang.

After about an hour, Ron returned to the tent only to find the slave girl, Margaret shearing corn. Ron noticed that she was wearing very little clothes and that she was shivering.

"Aren't you cold?" he asked. Margaret looked up quite startled. She looked as if this was the first time some one had ever talked to he like a human being in a long time.

"U-uh. I-I don't m-mind the c-cold that m-much. I-I-I o-only accept w-what is g-given t-to m-me." For a brief moment, Ron thought she was a little nervous but eventually decided that she was only shivering from the cold. But he couldn't help but notice Margaret's accent.

"You're from Magiterran, aren't you?"

Margaret looked up surprised. She hesitated for a few moments before she said, "Y-yes, f-from R-Ravenclaw."

Ron noticed that she was freezing out in the snow. He spoke a few well-chosen words and Margaret was bathed in a glow of warmth. Her eyes widened at what Ron had just done. "Y-you're a Mage Knight?"

"That's right, Sir Ronald Weasley of Gryffindor."

"What are you doing here in Durmstrang?"

"That would be classified information. But I think I might explain it to you if you tell me your story."

Margaret nodded. "My name is Margaret Chapel. I come from a family of theologians who work for the Ravenclaw Royal Family. Or at least we did until three years ago. My parents and I were traveling to Beauxbatons that day when we were attacked by Death Eaters. I barely escaped with my life while my parents were killed. I hid in a ship that was bound for Durmstrang and failed to get off. When I arrived here, I had to escape from the ship before they found an illegal stow away so I ran into the woods. That's where mistress Delacour found me, exhausted and starving."

"And you've lived as her slave for three years?"

"Yes, but it was a better choice than dieing. I heard that the war ended two years ago but I couldn't go home because I was Mistress Delacour's property by then."

"No human should ever be another's property," said Ron, his temper rising again.

"Durmstrang is different from the Alliance. That's all," said Margaret sadly. She let a tear fall down her cheek as she recalled the sad events. Ron stepped forward and wiped the tear away. That action seemed to have broken something down in Margaret and she threw her arms around Ron and started sobbing into his shoulder. Looking uncomfortable, Ron gently rubbed her back.

* * * * * * * * * *

Ginny and Harry were looking at Ron comforting Margaret from the entrance of the tent.

"Ron sure looks uncomfortable, doesn't he?" observed Harry. Ginny simply nodded and continued observing her brother. "I wonder what she told him," said Harry.

Ginny grinned. "You know I don't think I've ever seen Ron look at a girl that way before."

Harry turned to Ginny, an eyebrow raised. "Ginny, are you thinking what I think you're thinking?"

"What do you think I'm thinking?"

"You know full well what I think you're thinking."

"That Ron has it bad for this girl?"

"That's right."

Ginny simply grinned and nodded her head slowly. Harry rolled his eyes and continued staring at his friend.