Harry Potter and the Children of the Clan

Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Harry circled high above the heavily forested ridges and valleys of the Carpathian mountains near the border between Romania and Ukraine. He was sure somewhere below was where Anthony Goldstein was being held. Or at least the magicked galleon that he carried was there. His hunch that the dragon could find the galleons had proven correct. While Hermione's information on Susan's whereabouts was generally correct, the galleon she carried became a beacon the closer Harry got. She was, in fact, about five miles away from where Hermione had thought.

When Harry as wizard had appeared at the door of the house where she was being guarded, it created quite a stir. The members of the German magical security force were rather shocked that he had been able to find the place, but the two British Aurors, Alicia Spinnet and Terry Boot where able to vouch for him and assure their counterparts that a great deal of help had just arrived in a relatively unassuming package.

Susan was nearly beside her self when she first saw Harry, holding on to him and crying into his shoulder, alternating between trying to explain what she thought happened and asking what was going on. Harry was finally able to get her calmed down and had her explain what had occurred. They had just arrived in Prague for the last stop of their trip. They were walking along a street and she saw a shop she wanted to go into and he was examining some glassware on display in a different shop window. He said he would meet her inside. He never came in.

It had only been a matter of a quarter hour but he was nowhere to be seen and no one she asked could recall seeing him. She had becoming quite frantic when an unassuming older gentleman walked up, placed a piece of parchment in her hand and simply said,

"Compliments of Gerhardt Falkstein."

Harry of course recognized the name, and was a bit surprised that Susan had as well, but he assumed that Anthony would discuss things with her as he did with Ginny. The parchment held the name and address of a local wizard who put her in contact with the authorities and she was moved out of the country and placed in protective custody in Germany.

When she asked Harry how he expected to be able to find her husband when dozens of local witches and wizards couldn't, he pulled out his galleon and said,

"I'm going to follow my nose."

So now, having located the general vicinity of his friend and former comrade, he needed to pinpoint it without raising suspicions. Between the dark and the thick tree cover, even his keen dragon sight and sense of smell would require him to get far too close and likely draw attention. As he had flown about in ever tighter circles, he had noticed what appeared to be a house of some sort part way up the side of one of the ridges. He thought it might be worth a look so he altered course and retraced his 'steps' until he found it again.

He hunted around until he found the only likely spot for a tricky touchdown. A small bare patch on the ridge line above the house would provide just enough room to get his hind legs down and then he would have to make the change and find his way down through the trees. Suffice to say, he was pleased it was spring and he would be able to move about without the worry of snow. The perch was precarious to say the least and he needed to keep his wings extended for balance until the change was made so that Harry wound up standing on a narrow, but flat stretch of rock with his arms out. It made him feel a bit silly, but then again, there was no one to see him, he hoped. He had gotten a last fix on the house before he made the change and began his journey down hill, with a fair amount of slipping and sliding but he managed to stay upright until the incline lessened and movement was more sure.

It took him an hour until he had the house in sight. It was made of timber and stone, resembling a small hunting lodge. Smoke was coming from the chimney, for the night was chilly. Light was also coming from about half the windows. With wand drawn he began to make a slow approach. As he came around and saw the front he could see it had a covered porch the full length of the front with several chairs and a table. One of the chairs was occupied. The occupant appeared to be an elderly gentleman dressed in a heavy jacket, pants and boots. He was smoking a pipe.