The Traveler's Secret

CHAPTER 9: HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY

Jean Fulver had began to trust Dumbledore, and his magical world, until he saw the tumbledown ruins of a forgotten age. Then he was sure that he was being taken to a place to be tortured. The ride to the ruins had been awkward. Johnny and Dumbledore were still fuming over Sergei's lapse in judgment. Though no words were said, Fulver could feel the tension between the travelers. It was a cocoon of electricity, a field of unspoken words and thoughts. Krum had lost almost all of their trust, and Fulver felt his time was coming to gaining his revenge.

Fulver had not forgotten his revenge, even when he had been left alone with Krum. He could have easily have shot Sergei in the head, but then Jean would have had to deal with Dumbledore and Wolfbane. Dumbledore, he was pretty sure he could have handled, but he really didn't like his chances against the wolf man. And he most definitely would have lost the opportunity of getting a hold of the plans. That was his ultimate mission. It was the reason Marius had been killed. Those battle plans could not fall into the wrong hands.

After the encounter on the road, after he had shot the woman, Fulver began to consider his options more carefully. His companions were more fierce and noble than he had expected. If Dumbledore and Wolfbane were the enemy, why hadn't they just kill him already, why bother taking him with them at all? He still wasn't sure why he had shot the woman in the first place, if only to be sure that she didn't kill Sergei before he did. When Sergei mentioned that Marabella was his cousin, the world had flipped on its side for the Frenchman, and nothing seemed to make sense to Jean anymore. Fulver was beginning to feel that the situation was completely out of his grasp, and he hated feeling helpless, hated being dependent on other people, strangers even less. The Muggle started to accept that maybe Dumbledore had been telling the truth all along. It was the only truth that seemed to fit into the crevices of this odd journey.

But that was before he saw the ruins.

Sergei had been excited to see them, his body leaning out the carriage window, ignoring the cold rain to get a glimpse. Excitement reverberated throughout Krum's being, his head swiveled back and forth, like a young child. For a tiny moment, Sergei was a boy again.

"Hogwarts, at last," he said.

Johnny grabbed Sergei's shoulders, and dragged him back in, slamming the man roughly in his seat, and back into reality. Curious, Fulver leaned forward to look out the window, not knowing what to expect in seeing of this mysterious Hogwarts, but all he saw was an old, crumbling castle, whose walls were being eaten away by nature.

"Where are you taking me?" Fulver snapped, trying not to allow the alarm he was feeling seep into his voice.

Some of it must have slipped through because Sergei smiled a taunting grin, his eyes laughing at Fulver. Fulver felt his temper rise up, an unwieldy snake. He wanted to punch the man for his smugness. One stern look from the American made Fulver keep his seat. There was a time and a place to handle Krum, but this moment wasn't it.

"We've reached Hogwarts," Dumbledore stated.

"No, we haven't. We drove to a pile of ruins. If you planned on killing me, why not do it earlier?" Fulver blurted out.

"You jump to the strangest conclusions, Fulver," said Johnny. "We aren't going to kill you."

Fulver held his breath in the pit of his stomach, waiting to hear his fate. No fear or anxiety escaped from his face. He would not look the part of a coward.

"Hogwarts looks like a pile of ruins to a Muggle like yourself. It's a part of the enchantment that hides Hogwarts school from prying eyes," Dumbledore said.

"Muggle? Enchantment?" Fulver asked.

He wasn't sure if Dumbledore had called him a foul name by calling him a Muggle. The comment wasn't made in a jesting matter, which made him think it wasn't an insult, but an enchantment that hid an entire castle from people's eyes? That seemed too farfetched for Jean's imagination.

"A Muggle is the word we wizards use for people who have no magic in their blood. A Muggle can't see Hogwarts because its under a spell, and likewise can't see Dementors when they are attacking, which is what was attacking us in the alley."

"What Dementors? I didn't see anyone, but you three and those strange creatures of light you made," Fulver said stubbornly.

Dumbledore sighed, his patience wearing a thin veneer of civility.

"Mr. Fulver, I know that you must have a lot of questions, which is quite natural for someone who never suspected that a world of magic existed, but for the sake of my sanity, could you please stop arguing with me on every detail. When you were in the alley, do you remember feeling clammy, cold, drained of hope and happiness? Did you see your worst memory come back to you as if out of nowhere?"

Jean realized that that was exactly what had happened. When he had entered the alley, it felt as if he had hit a wall of ice, and he began to see Marius' death played over and over again in his mind, a fresh and strong memory that jabbed at his conscience. Fulver looked at Dumbledore, planned on saying something "smart", but then just settled with a nod of his head.

"It was a Dementor who made you see that memory. They feed off of hope and our happiest memories, leaving only our worst for us to live with. They are particularly nasty creatures, and the only spell that works against them are Patronuses, protective spells of good thoughts and happy memories, the happiest. As I said before, my Patronus was a phoenix and Mr. Wolfbane's was a bear."

"What do these Dementors look like?" Jean asked calmly more out of curiosity, then stubbornness.

"They look like grim reapers," replied Johnny. "They're tall, gliding creatures in black cloaks, with bony, decaying hands. They have black holes for mouths that can suck out your soul."

Jean waited for Wolfbane to say that he had been making a joke. When he didn't, Fulver shuddered at the idea that these creatures actually existed, and that he had been so close to them just a few hours before.

"If you like, Mr. Fulver, look out the window again. We should have past the enchantment's boundary by now. You will get a real look at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry," Dumbledore said.

Jean looked again, expecting to see ruins, but found his breath had been caught in his chest by surprise and awe. Though the rain shrouded everything in a thick, gray veil, Fulver could still see the beautiful castle with its elegant turrets rising up to the sky. The castle sat on a hill above a mild lake like a king. It was huge, spreading its stone arches and peaked roofs out along the hilltop. Lush forests and rolling green hills surrounded the school, adding to its rich beauty. A thousand golden lights spilled out of its multitude of windows, melting away the cold rain and dark night. As they neared the school, the outer defensive wall that wrapped around the castle grew taller and taller, its formidable stony exterior built for warfare. Centered in the middle of the wall was huge, oak door six feet wide and twelve feet tall. The door, which must have been six inches thick, was braced by enormous iron straps. With a loud, stubborn creak the door opened on its own when the carriage had come close to it, and let them through. After they had passed into the school grounds, Fulver could hear the gate groan and then thud to a close.

The horses stopped just inside the gate, their impatient hooves splashing about the mud. Johnny took a quick glance out the window, and then gave Dumbledore the tiniest of nods. Albus pulled out his wand, and tapped Johnny on the head with it. A bright shimmer of light rolled over Wolfbane's body from his head to his toes, and then was gone. Next Dumbledore turned to Sergei Krum, who didn't even blink when Albus touched him with his wand, but when Dumbledore turned his wand to Fulver, Fulver backed away, warily eyeing the Professor. Irritation passed over Dumbledore's face.

"Do you wish to be soaked through again?" Albus asked, as he looked out the window at the downpour of rain. Heaven had opened up, and had unleashed its total fury.

Fulver looked to Johnny and then to Sergei. That taunting smile was back on Krum's face, and Fulver couldn't bear the thought of not doing something that that coward Krum did. Jean glared at Sergei, then leaned toward Dumbledore's wand. Albus lightly tapped his forehead, and Fulver felt the strangest and nicest feeling he had felt in a long time. It felt like warm water rippling down his skin, as wavy strands of blue light passed over his body, but the sensation was gone sooner than he had wanted.

Dumbledore and Johnny opened the carriage door, and got out. Sergei followed promptly, and Fulver leapt out last. Though it poured, not one drop of water fell on Fulver. In fact, he felt warm, as if he had been sitting next to a crackling fire.

The four men trudged forward down a path that wound up to the castle. The closer they got to the huge fortress, the more in awe Fulver became. He tilted his head back trying to see how far into the heavens the castle extended. It was a dizzy sight, the tops of the towers disappearing into the night sky. He brought his head down, and noticed that they had walked into a courtyard that led to the front door. Here and there, the lightening flashes illuminated marble benches and large trees. A four tiered fountain, whose basin was quickly filling with water, was standing next to the front door quite forlorn.

Fulver had been so enchanted with the school that he hardly noticed that the others had stopped. The Muggle had accidently ran into Wolfbane's back, staggering backwards from the impact. Johnny glared at Fulver for a moment, but then turned forward again.

Ahead of them was a monolithic, ornately decorated door, some fifteen feet high. Next to the door stood a tall, lean man in midnight blue robes, whom approached them as they walked up to the main entrance. Fulver analyzed the man, evaluating in his mind if he was a threat. Jean wondered if he would ever be able to look at someone anymore without pondering whether or not they were dangerous. The man passed Fulver's test. He seemed harmless enough. Dumbledore strode up to the man in the midnight blue robes, a huge grin covering his face.

"Frederick, it's so good to see you!" Dumbledore said.

Frederick smiled, and shook Albus' hand. He gave Wolfbane a polite and friendly nod of the head, and then turned his eyes onto the newcomers, Fulver and Sergei. Frederick's piercing blue eyes took in the Muggle first, minutely analyzing every aspect of the French soldier. It was a cold, unrelenting look. For a moment, a flash of anger and oddly enough, hatred, passed through Frederick's eyes as he looked down on the Muggle. Fulver doubted very much that this Frederick approved of him. Jean found he didn't care if he did or not, but it was still an unsettling feeling. It almost seemed like Frederick had taken a great dislike to Fulver, even though not one word had been shared between the two men.

The French soldier was not about to be intimidated by anyone. Fulver unflinchingly stared back, his face a blank slate. The tension between the two men only lasted a few seconds, but seemed to last an hour. Frederick blinked and turned away from Jean.

Fulver watched as Frederick turned his attention onto Sergei Krum, his eyes lingering on the Russian in curiosity.

"Let's get inside Frederick. There is much to discuss, some of which is not the best of news to be said in the open," Dumbledore said.

Frederick looked back at Fulver and then turned to Dumbledore, unsure if it was wise to let a Muggle in.

"I trust him Frederick. Now let's get inside," Dumbledore replied, almost as if he could read Frederick's mind. Fulver was grateful to Dumbledore for backing him up, and discovered a small seed of respect had been planted for the man with the half-moon spectacles. That still didn't alleviate the awkward feeling Fulver had in the pit of his stomach, that horrible feeling of intruding onto a society that really didn't want him. He would deal with it as he dealt with any unpleasant situation, head on without regrets.

"Yes, you're right. Headmaster Dippet is waiting for you and your counterparts in his office," Frederick said, confidence growing with every word. With that, Frederick turned, and marched through the open front door.

All doubt seemed to have faded away amongst the travelers, all except Fulver. Dumbledore followed Frederick through the entrance. Wolfbane went in next, and was followed by Sergei. Jean hesitated on the threshold of the castle, knowing that he was about to enter a foreign world, a wonderous and dangerous world. His head swam with all the possibilities that lay in front of him. Ahead Dumbledore, Johnny and Sergei walked through a wide hall to a grand stone staircase. Fulver sighed and walked into the castle, barely turning around as the immense wooden door that guarded the entrance shut behind him, blocking out the raging storm, and any possible escape.