Between the Devil and Durmstrang

Durmstrang's castle grounds seemed to consist of acres of empty lawns. Green and gray were the colors the day wore - green lawns surrounding gray stones within gray walls under a cloudy sky.

Jones added her own touch of gray as the smoke from her third cigarette curled out of her nostrils. She leaned in the doorway to the Dark Arts building, enjoying the quiet morning. Her internal clock was off and her stomach rumbled for its dinner while her brain insisted that she should be asleep. The kitchens served only during a very narrow window during the summer and it was not yet time. Soon, but not yet. She had already attacked her box of snacks and, a bag of corn chips and a candy bar later, she was still hungry and had a slight headache from the lack of real food.

A lone bird sang. Its song was belligerent and seemed to consist of a few shrill notes. Jones peered hopefully back into the long hallway that ran the length of the building. All the doors were still closed. Not another soul was about. She scratched her head and considered knocking on Wronski's door. The light said it was about 6 AM, but it might be earlier or later. The Tempus spell she used to tell the time required knowing what time it was here so she could reset her mental clock before it would work properly. It was still set to Pacific Daylight Time so she knew what time it was on the West Coast of Canada, not Durmstrang.

She stubbed out the butt and shifted in the doorway, scuffing a shoe on the sand and gravel on the threshold. The grinding sound seemed loud, but even the bird seemed not to have heard it. With a small grunt, she squirmed against the corner so she had a better view of the hallway. With a bit of effort, she could sort of see into the staff room. It looked oppressively neat, a sign that Loup was probably around. Grimacing, she squirmed again until she was inside. The hallway remained stubbornly empty, even the usual accumulation of boots was gone.

A bubbling sound said that her stomach was still hungry. Her brain was fuzzing gray. And she was bored. Lonely. As loudly as she could, she scuffed her way into the staff room and began to hunt around for coffee. If Rabe were on campus, there would be some. She had no idea whether Todor Rabe had remained over the summer or not. As the third drawer was pulled out and slammed shut, it became clear he hadn't. No coffee. Her headache grew a bit with each failed search. No coffee. No food. Annoyed at everything, she leaned against the sink and growled to herself.

She fidgeted for a few moments before deciding that enough was enough. With a last glare at the coffee-free cupboards, she stormed out and headed down to Wronski's office. The shut door greeted her. The wards she had set for Wronski made a gray glow and added to the "go away" feeling. She paused for a second, feeling briefly sorry for him, and then used her fist to knock on the door. The blows crashed through the hallway, each one sounding its own wake up call. After five, she stopped and waited, listening as hard as she could for any sound of movement. Nothing. Five more.

A door rattled. Gregorov's grumpy face looked around until he spotted her. With a dismissive wave, he went back into his quarters and shut the door loudly behind him.

At least someone was still at the school over the summer. At one time, she would have felt badly about waking him, but now, it didn't bother her at all. With a tight smile, she hoped that Loup had been woken, too. Turning her attention back to the door, she hauled back for another barrage when the door cracked open. Pale blue eyes squinted at her. "What time is it?" Wronski croaked as he rubbed his face. "When did you get in? I thought you didn't get back until tomorrow." The door opened slightly wider and he vaguely registered the sunlight. "Oh. It is tomorrow. Let me get some clothes on. Just a sec."

The door shut loosely, showing a stripe of untidy office. Jones amused herself by shifting positions to see more of his office. The spiraling towers of books had grown slightly taller since the last time she had been there. The desk seemed to have fewer piles of papers, but it was hard to tell. The faint smell of chemicals said that he'd been busy with a project.

Idly, she pressed at the wards, watching their glow brighten and fade. They'd been a rush job last year after the local Aurors had shown up to "question" the faculty about a murder in the area. Question, she snorted. More like torture. Someone had given them the key to the professors' binding spell and they had used it over and over again. Without thinking, she began to rub her forearm where the mark was. The Durmstrang binding spell, like most binding spells, was both a summoning charm and a form of the Cruciatus Curse to be triggered when the bearer needed a reminder or punishment. She grimaced, remembering the last time she had been made an example. Until she'd seen the Aurors trigger it, she had thought that only the Headmaster could do it. Still pushing at the wards over the doorway, she sent a pulse of energy through her hand. Undirected magic was always tiring, but this was just a little push. She squinted at the result, not liking the shimmer the wards took on. Needed a little tweaking.

By the time Wronski let her through, she had identified two places that needed to be strengthened. He let out a yelp when she grabbed his wrist. "C'mere. I need a few drops to reinforce the wards." She began to palpate an area below his thumb.

"Hey! No blood this early!" Wronski pulled his hand back and stuffed both hands into the pockets of his jeans. "I haven't even had any tea yet."

She gave him an annoyed look, but let it be. The wards could wait a few hours.

The chair gave a squeak as he settled into it and gave a lower groan when he leaned back far enough to put his feet on the desk. "Did you have a nice time?" he asked through his yawn. Not waiting for an answer, he gave his scalp an energetic scratch and then threw his arms out in a long stretch. "I went to Monaco for a few days. Too many people. Great girl watching, though. Then, I went to Avignon. Way too many people crammed into the old city. The Papal Palace was nice. Stopped in Lyon for a few days. Found the wizard part. Pretty cool. Learned how to play Exploding Snap." Another huge yawn. "Met some guy who teaches Potions at one of the other schools. What a jerk."

"Where's he teach?" Jones smiled at the Wronski wake-up stretches, as long arms stretched this way and that, pausing between stretches for eye rubbing and more yawns.

"I think he said Hogwarts. Some place in England. Seemed kinda put out that I'd never heard of him before. He wasn't in the least bit impressed that I had a background in chemistry. Slimy git."

"Hogwarts? Is that a big school or a small one? I know the one in France, Beauxbatons, is supposed to be good-sized." She seemed lost in thought for a few moments, "The English school doesn't teach the Dark Arts, does it?"

"Don't know. I know we've got the biggest department, but there's a place in the Balkans that has a DA teacher and I think there's a school on Corsica that has a guy on staff. Not sure, though. Thinking about changing jobs?" He grinned at her and yawned again. "I need some tea." With a thunk, the feet dropped to the floor and he opened a drawer low in his desk. A battered white mug with the chemical formula for caffeine blazoned in red was set precariously upon a stack of papers, joined quickly by a box of tea bags.

Jones sniffed. "I couldn't find any coffee. Could I have a tea bag?" Her voice held little enthusiasm and sounded slightly whiny.

"Yeah. Rabe won't be back until next week at the earliest. The wolves keep theirs in their quarters. The Lowensteins are brewing their own." He looked up in time to see Jones' eyes go small and hard. "Oh, drop it, Rose. It's done. She won. Tell me about Canada."

Looking like a scolded child, Jones took the offered teabag and scowled at it. She turned it over and over, as if hoping it would transform into a cup of coffee. "It was nice. Jackie took two weeks off and came over on the ferry to meet me. We ate too much, drank too much, slept too much. Makes me crazy to be that close and not be able to go home."

"So go." Wronski grabbed his mug and stood, preparing to head into the staff room.

"Locator. I don't think so." She stood to follow, still looking at the tea bag. "What time does the Great Hall start serving food?"

"Tempus!" Wronski ordered as he fought back another yawn. The image his spell produced showed it was 6:30. "Soon. Not soon enough, but soon."

Jones groaned and did the mental shift that would correct her own Tempus spell. "I'm starving. The chips and chocolate are long gone."

"C'mon. Tea will help. We'll have some tea and then go over. Maybe you can get served a little bit early." He parted the wards and waited until she shuffled past.

They reached the staff room and started to enter. Jones skidded to a stop. Wronski, still involved in rubbing his eyes and yawning, slammed into her. With an "oof!", he forced his eyes open to see what had caused the sudden stop. The staff room was no longer empty. Gregorov slumped at the table, staring at a small teapot while he waited for it to finish steeping. Loup cradled what smelled to be a very strong cup of coffee. The women watched each other in a seemingly endless stalemate.

With a shake of his head, Wronski put both hands on Jones' back and pushed her into the room. "Morning," he said as he walked around Jones and headed for the sink. Gregorov grunted by way of a greeting. "Good morning, Paul," Loup's low voice growled.

Just the use of Wronski's first name irritated Jones. Keeping her eyes straight ahead, she marched to the back of the room. With an amused glance at her, he rinsed out another mug and then filled both with water. It seemed unnaturally silent as Wronski worked a Cale spell to heat enough water for two mugs' worth of tea. Listlessly, she dunked her tea bag, watching the water blossom into a light brown color. It just looked wrong. The smell of Loup's coffee made the tea even less desirable. By the time it achieved a color that looked like it might contain enough caffeine to be useful, it tasted bitter. She made a face after the first sip, knowing that there would be little hope of something better until the Great Hall was serving.

They hovered by the sink. Gregorov's temper was legendary in the morning and he took especial delight in picking fights with Wronski. The bullying had lessened since Loup arrived; however, while there were fewer attacks, the ferocity tended to be worse. Hence, Wronski preferred to be as far away as possible from the Russian. Loup finished her cup and, with a smirk, slowly poured another cup from a large carafe. She made certain to slosh the container so it was clear that there was more and that it was all hers.

Jones swirled the tea around a few more times before pouring it out. "Let's go."

Wronski gave her a dirty look and gulped the rest of his tea. He took the time to rinse his mug out and turn it over to drain on the counter. Loup's chuckle followed them out the door.

The walk to the castle was done to the sound of Jones' grumbles. Most of it was inaudible, but the occasional phrase or two could just be heard. When they arrived at the department's table, she was informed that "Damn Loup" and "wish she would just leave" had been heard six and three times respectively. Wronski had to duck away from the half-hearted punch.

"Will you leave it be?" he asked as he waved at a servant who continued by with no indication of ever seeing the two.

"It's just that, well, she's so, so…" Jones trailed off, unable to find the proper invective for that hour of the morning.

"Yeah. Yeah. I know. She's your evil twin and she's with Gregorov." Wronski's voice took on a singsong quality, underlining the fact that this was very old ground.

"She can have him. It's just that, well, she doesn't belong here. She's not a teacher," Jones grumped, knowing she sounded petulant. "Sorry. I'll try to be better." She sighed and rubbed at her eyes. "It'll be better when I get back onto the right time." Opening her eyes, she looked around at the hall, taking note of who was there. "Seems like there are a lot more people here than usual for summer. Did that guy see you wave? I'd kill for some coffee."

"I think so." Wronski turned his attention away from her, shaking his head as he did so. He looked around the hall, still not quite awake. And, with another in the series of huge yawns, leaned his back against the wall. "When do you want to go?"

"Give me a few days to get back on this time. Today's Tuesday?" She sounded unsure and began to pull her wand out.

"Wednesday. How about Friday? Is that too early? Where are we going? Stockholm would be the closest? You said you knew of a place there."

A tray with both a coffeepot and a teapot were deposited on the table, the tray skidding slightly from delivery. As Jones reached for the coffeepot, another tray with bread, ham, and some fruit joined it. She poured a large cup of coffee and, with a satisfied sigh, settled in to drink it. When Wronski tried to restart the conversation, she held her hand up, warning him to wait. The coffee was doing the trick, making the headache recede and giving her something to focus on. After the second cup, life became bearable. She helped herself to a few slices of bread, slathering a thick layer of butter over them. He took an apple, but seemed more inclined to spin it around on the table than eat it.

The number of people in the hall grew over the next half-hour as staff members wandered in and others arrived in groups of twos and threes. It was the others that caught both of the Dark Arts teachers' interest.

"They look like Aurors." Jones leaned forward, watching carefully. "They all have that tight-ass, self-righteous air about them. Look at the way they keep their backs to the wall, and watch their eyes."

Wronski started awake and tried to see what she was talking about. Scattered amongst the few remaining professors and staff, were strangers. Almost exclusively male, their posture straight and with an air of wariness, they seemed far too alert for the early hour. "Why Aurors? Why not more Dark Arts guys?"

Jones laughed, "I'd recognize at least one of them and take a sniff - do you smell anything of the Dark Arts? I don't even pick up that ozone smell or feel the dispersal energies. No, if these guys are like us, then they haven't worked for a long time." She narrowed her eyes as she watched them. "What's going on?"

"Look!" Wronski nudged her, and jerked his head slightly at a table across the room. "Heiniger is still here and so's Jessup. I thought Jessup was retiring at the end of last year. And there are Hyde and Berger, too. The whole Defense department's still around. Something's up. I know that Hyde always goes home. Berger likes to go to any place where there's a beach. I thought that Heiniger usually went to Aachen for the summer. They're all still here."

"Is there a class this summer? I don't remember hearing anything about one, but then Rabe doesn't always pass along all the information from the Headmaster. Shit. I do not want to be here if this place is swarming with Aurors," Jones whispered. "Do you see anyone we can ask?" She scooted as close to the door as she could, trying to hide.

Wronski leaned forward, craning his neck to see who else was in the hall. "Other than the Defense guys, no. We can talk to one of them later. Wanna go now?"

"No!" she hissed. "If I'm right, I don't want any of them to see me any clearer than they can right now."

He grinned and picked up his mug. "Maybe we can leave earlier. These things don't usually last more than a week or so."

From the shadows at the end of the bench she whispered, "You've been around when these things happen before?"

He shrugged as he picked up a piece of bread. "Yeah. They stay in the castle. You only ever see them at meal times. I had to be told last time that there was a special session. I guess I'm not very observant. Why are you hiding?"

"You really never have worked in the field, have you?"

With a grin, he tore the bread into little pieces, eating a piece every now and then. The noise grew slowly as the tables filled. Whatever was happening at Durmstrang had a large audience.

"Are they all busy with their food?" the voice mumbled from its corner. "If they're busy, maybe we can sneak out."

"'Morning, Massys," Wronski said, in lieu of a warning.

Jan Massys, one of the local Aurors, stood in front of the table. Massys waved a greeting and seemed to be looking for someone. It took a few seconds before he turned to face Wronski. "Has Herr Mueller been here?"

"No. Haven't seen him. What's up? Looks like a big training session." From her shadowy hiding place, Jones watched Wronski's face shift into a wide-eyed innocent. It was an effort not to laugh.

"Ja. We are honored to host so many experts." Massys didn't sound honored, annoyed more like it. "A word, Professor Wronski. It might be wise for you to avoid the castle."

"My kind aren't welcome?" Wronski's eyes widened and his hand rose as if in astonishment. The image was too much and Jones' snorted laugh gave her away.

"Professor Jones, I thought you were still in Canada." Massys' demeanor changed. Over the last few months, he had played many games of darts and pool with her. Of the group of Aurors that Jones had dubbed "the boys", Massys was the most effusive. She and he had shared several pitchers of beer and she had found that, after the third pitcher, Massys could be coaxed into talking about many things. She also discovered that, after the second pitcher, Werner or Mueller would join the conversation.

"I'm only here for a few days and then I'm leaving. How long will this be going on?" She leaned into the light to look up at Massys.

"There will be several sessions. There may be groups here until the middle of August." Massys walked over to the end of the bench and sat down, helping himself to a slice of bread.

"Really? What's being taught? Do you get to go?" She scooted towards him a bit, the better to hear.

Massys snorted and buttered his bread. "Is there another cup? I would like some coffee before the day begins." Wronski shook his head, pushing his mug over. Massys wiped it out and filled it. They waited anxiously as Massys finished his first cup. Massys' hands trembled, at odds with the cynical grin. Jones nudged Wronski and, with a jerk of her chin, indicated the smudge of blue chalk on the Auror's fingers, a sign of what had probably been a late night at the tavern in the village playing pool. Massys' eyes seemed heavy with the need of sleep. Wronski poured him the last of the coffee. After his second sip, he began to smile and, in a tone of voice that matched the smile, said, "We all will have an opportunity to attend the training sessions. It is, as they say, a very great honor."

Jones chuckled, joined quickly by Massys. Wronski, sitting between them, tried to figure out what was so funny.

"Herr Massys." The soft voice of Johannes Werner cut through the background noise. Standing next to the door and dressed in shabby civilian clothing, Werner looked out of place and less threatening than usual. The District's chief Auror visited Durmstrang on a regular basis, but always in uniform. "We will be joined by Herr Mueller shortly. We should join the others." Werner's eyes flicked over the group, a cold smile forming as he spotted Jones. "Good morning, Professor Jones, Professor Wronski. So good of your to share your table with Herr Massys." With a glance behind him to take in the long row of tables, all staffed by the men and women with the restless eyes and too-straight postures, Werner remarked, "I am certain that many of my colleagues would be interested in speaking with you."

Jones and Wronski exchanged glances, understanding the warning. As Massys drew even with Werner, they tried to time it so they left the room as the two Aurors walked forward. Jones almost sprinted through the entry hall, Wronski lengthening his stride to catch up.