Chapter 28. Trip to Russia
After the first test, everyone was impressed for a while. My performance had the greatest effect on the audience. Now, almost everyone mentioned my name as Black, and my skill in enchantment. Some people already knew that I would soon have a potion mastery defense. Few people remember that two years I learned not to Sarbacane. Almost no one knew that I was also a student of Dumbledore. But even the well-known information was enough to create a halo around my name of the spirit of the rebirth of the Black family. Sirius was only mentioned casually when talking about me and the Blacks.
However, the general atmosphere at Hogwarts was not very friendly. Gradually, the rivalry between the champions will escalate, and it is not strange, but it will be even more noticeable in the behavior of the"fans". Maybe it's not much concern me in respect of representatives of Beauxbatons, rather on the contrary, representatives of Beauxbatons towards me, but everything else for everyone else — the voltage will rise. Even now, I could hear the younger Malfoy comparing my performance to what Krum had shown, with a note of superiority.
— What else can you expect from a Quidditch player? Malfoy asked, as if he were asking a rhetorical question. - Krum's performance was similar to his usual game. Yes-his flights are excellent, all these feints and tricks-everything is great, but he did not show anything particularly new, even Potter showed herself no worse. Another thing is what Black showed on the test. This representative of a noble and ancient family showed the audience an example of the skill of an unparalleled possession of charms! Draco tried to sound pretentious, but it was a bit clumsy. In his speech, such pearls as "an example of the unparalleled" or "a reflection of the irresistible"slipped through. But the people listened to him, which brought Malfoy into a state close to ecstasy, he was carried on the wave of such close attention of the mass of people. It seems that the speaker has begun to awaken in Malfoy.
Potter immediately reconciled with Ron Weasley after the first test, with whom she had some misunderstandings about her participation in the Tournament. If everything is the same as it was in the canon, then I don't even know what to say about such a friend. Well, yes, I also had a good "friend", Roger, it's not for me to judge Potter for her unwise choice of friends, and on the other hand, for Potter, Granger is a great friend, not Ron. However, as I tried to understand the logic of Ron's thoughts, I began to build a chain of assumptions:
"Potter threw her name into the Goblet of Fire," thought Ron, " but she didn't tell me how to do it, so Potter isn't my friend anymore!"
After the first message, my assumptions began to fall apart.
"Potter was able to throw her name into the Goblet of Fire —" Ron had to understand — " was able to cheat the defenses set up by Dumbledore, so she is already somewhat worthy of participating in the Tournament.
Another option:
"Potter somehow became the fourth champion —" Ron was supposed to be puzzled — " either her strength is the same as that of the champion of Arrakis Black, that the Goblet could not choose from two contenders, or something influenced the decision of the Goblet of Fire.
Oh, yes, that was a good option for Ron, sort of. But the question of the consequences and the problems involved called into question the whole point of such a move. If the choice of the Cup of Fire can be influenced and become the fourth and fifth champion, then there will probably be more champions. Fred and George Weasley would have been able to get an answer out of Ron. Then there would be a sale of the method for everyone. I hate to think of the headline in the Daily Prophet-The Thirty-Three Wizards ' Tournament! And Potter would have become an unspoken enemy of the British Ministry of Magic. Such a friendly setup from Ron and the other Weasleys would have flown in for Henrietta.
No matter what I thought, no matter how I considered my options, it turned out that Ron wasn't thinking at all. Another question: do you need such a touchy friend-a fool?
Moody Crouch was making a certain difference to the school's mood. The training approaches of this frame were original. I do not presume to judge the effectiveness of such training, someone admired this professor, someone scolded behind his back, but the general mood became more gloomy. We can not talk about the inadequate reaction to the "awada", most of the students, but there were also some in our course that turned pale from the demonstration of"crucio". Anyone who has not felt this spell on themselves, or, like Longbottom, there is no personal tragedy associated with this spell, will not have any vivid reaction.
During the training and insignificant conversations, I did not notice how a month had passed, and it was time to visit the goblins. The deadline that they announced to me as necessary for settling the formalities and reissuing the documents for the land and house came up.
Someone might have thought that my request to legalize my domain to the goblins was stupid, but I didn't think so. If I had taken up the matter myself, it would have taken me a long time to walk the corridors of the ministry. I don't even say anything about bribes here, I just feel sorry for the time. It's much easier to just pay. As they say, if the problem can be solved with money, then this is not a problem, but spending, especially if this money is available.
The problems with the bill of sale were significant. Let's start with that question: What is a bill of sale? A bill of sale is a contract for the purchase and sale of land, a house or other property, which in turn is one of the documents confirming the right to own any property. This document is not something impersonal, like a certificate of indulgence from the cardinal: "The bearer of this document acts on my orders and for the benefit of France. Richelieu." No, no, this is a personal document, in which the seller and the buyer are registered. The fact of my physical possession of this bill of sale does not in itself give me any right to own the land and the house. I had to follow the example of the collectors to get Sheldon to sign the bill of sale on me, which in itself is impossible, then I would have some right.
However, this is only one detail from the entire list of difficulties. The fact is that under the laws of the Ministry of Magic of Great Britain, Sheldon, as a dark creature, had no right to such significant possessions, and they could be taken away at the request of any wizard who presented a claim to Sheldon for this land or house. But the bill of sale was not for Sheldon the vampire, but for some figurehead or other disguise that he used in the Muggle world. And a claim with rejection is not possession. Go get it when there's a bunch of vampires out there. In addition, the grounds of this house were not formally administered by the Ministry of magic, the magical source has been there was not, there was still a question of delimitation of jurisdiction in this territory authorities malovskogo and magical worlds. I only touched on the emerging problems at the top.
Yes, of course, you could just take possession of the land and the house in fact, impose Fidelius and do not care about the ministry, goblins and Muggle authorities. But there was some utility in owning land in the future, not to mention the fact that it would not be possible to impose fidelius on the entire territory. In the future, when I become Baron Black, the ownership of the land, however small, will give me an additional voice in the Wizengamot. What did you think? The title of baron means membership in the House of Lords of Great Britain, even if nominal, which in turn gives an additional vote. Why nominal? Yes, because such small titles with a tiny piece of land in the real House of Lords never existed. But since the abolition of the upper house in 1649 and its subsequent restoration in 1660, the Wizengamot has passed laws on lordship and landlord status. Here the distinction between the worlds of magicians and Muggles played a role, the peculiarity when magicians either did not own land in the world of Muggles, or their possessions were scanty, and the isolation of the world of magicians in general. It was then that the high-born and titled pureblood wizards, crushing the ministry under them as much as they could and could not, immediately organized their own House of Lords. Moreover, in a strange way, the lords could enter the Wizengamot at the same time, as selected members and as lords, thus receiving two votes at once. The land was given one additional vote. Thus, the ownership of land turns from a landless baron to a landlord, even if only nominally, but it already gives another voice in the Wizengamot. And owning land without a title doesn't give you anything.
It turns out that I have to either lose a part of the land and one additional vote, or arrange everything according to all the rules and laws of both worlds. Otherwise, there may be further friction with the Ministry of Magic.
After warning the headmaster of his absence from school, he went to the bank to visit the goblins. There were very few people in the bank, one wizard was arguing with a goblin sitting at his desk, and another elderly witch was waiting for her turn to go to the goblin who was engaged in an argument. Approaching the least disgusting-looking, in my opinion, goblin, he asked:
- I have an appointment for today. Master Kraik is waiting for me.
It was a code phrase. The goblin I spoke to immediately escorted me to the office of Master Kraik, who gave me a bunch of documents to sign. After reading everything, paying special attention to the small print, I signed all the documents. To the master's assurance that the goblins did not deceive their customers, I replied that I preferred to know exactly what I was signing up for, even if there was no deception.
My plans for the house were quite transparent, so the old goblin made me a timely offer to protect the house:
- Would you like to hire a guard to look after your property?
— They haven't stolen everything yet?" I asked, a little surprised.
"Your new estate is located in a very sparsely populated area," the goblin snarled. — Besides, this particular place has a bad reputation... The news of the vampire's repose hasn't really spread yet, " the goblin added, seeing that I didn't really trust his words. — As for us, Gringotts Bank, it is much more profitable for us to have a long and trusting relationship with such respected clients as Blackie. While the owner was not determined, we looked after the safety of this property. Now that the estate has a specific owner, all conservation costs must be borne by the owner.
— Do you guarantee that the estate is not looted?" I asked a specific question.
"The Gringotts Bank, through me, guarantees that the estate remains intact from the time of Sheldon's repose until now, apart from your actions," the goblin announced solemnly. — If the security contract is awarded through our bank, we will continue to try to keep the secret of Sheldon's resting place as long as possible, for the duration of the contract. But I warn you, most likely, in the summer of next year, for all the heads of the vampire clans, Sheldon's repose will no longer be a secret.
"All right," I said.
"I think," the goblin grinned again, " a couple of mages will be enough." How long do you want to hire a security guard?
- Six months, - he announced the period of time necessary for the preparation of measures for setting up protection, given that it will have to be set up by masking his actions from this very protection. Even if there is a non-disclosure clause in the contract, but the secrecy of the protective charms must be protected very carefully.
I had to pay twelve hundred galleons for six months of guarding an empty house. After that, with a calm soul, already being a landowner, I left the bank.
***
Although the daily prophet greatly distorted the facts, nevertheless, some information could be obtained from there. In the ministry, there were minor changes with the change of assistants to the heads of departments, unscheduled meetings of the Wizengamot without Dumbledore's presence, regular auroral raids to identify prohibited artifacts. Everything in itself does not seem to say anything, but if you know the general situation, it becomes clear that the minister is trying to reduce the importance of the director, while other forces divert the free resources of the aurora to empty checks. The reshuffling of the ministry was incomprehensible to me, and it was not a matter of ignorance of the situation. Thanks to the director's memory, I had the knowledge. It's just that the reshuffles were carried out not only by the minister, but also by other players, so they looked chaotic.
After reading the latest issue of the Daily Prophet in a couple of minutes, sometimes snatching only the headlines, he left the great hall after finishing his breakfast. All this political fuss is not for me. I still don't have enough weight of my own to somehow compete with prominent figures, and we can safely say that I will not have time to gain weight before the shucher. But I'm not going to change the team of Dumbledore and Potter to the aristocracy.
Over the past month, the passion and excitement of the Tournament has subsided a little. Everyone got a little used to Professor Moody's teaching style. The permanent presence of representatives of Sambacana and Durmstrang become commonplace. I didn't go to class right now. Snape was very displeased. He is already used to having a qualified assistant who can be trusted to teach the lesson. But I didn't care about the potions master's wishes, there were more important things to do. Almost every day, I had to go back to the vampire's recaptured estate and cast protection spells. In parallel with the defense, there was a case for preparing a written work on the skill in transfiguration. The idea was simple, if Snape would lead me to a potion mastery defense, then I had a chance to become the youngest master in the entire history of the ministry.
Three skills in the main disciplines gave the title of master. Let this title in itself, as well as the next one, did not give anything specifically, but respect sometimes also means something. The next title is a senior master, I can't get it quickly in principle. In addition to being a master, becoming a senior master required proficiency in four practical disciplines of magic, such as: chimerology, artefactorics, ritualism, healing, necromancy, or mental magic. Given that necromancy is illegal, and some sections of chimerology and ritualism are banned, it is not really possible to become a legal senior master at all.
The two mages I hired weren't particularly strong, but as it turned out, I didn't need much protection yet. All that was required of these magicians was to create the appearance of a presence, which deterred various random crooks. The clan vampires either didn't know Sheldon was gone yet, or they didn't care. When I arrived at the mansion every day to set up a defense, I began to entangle a room with a complex of protective charms. All these spells were just preliminary preparations. The main protection will still have to be put without the presence of outsiders. First, create a source from a living stone, and then, combining all the previously imposed spells into a single network, connect them to the source.
In a month, I had lost a lot of time, but almost all the spells were ready. Besides, my extreme busyness was useful in my dealings with Fleur. If Delacour had previously tried to be close to me, but at a respectful distance, as opposed to me trying to accidentally touch her, now I had frankly no time to hurt my head about her behavior, which immediately changed her preferred distance from me. Now she herself could accidentally touch me or take my hand.
However, suddenly there was another matter, although not urgent, but I wanted to solve it as soon as possible. I just had a dream once that reminded me of my past life. Earlier in the memory, some personal moments of the past rebirth had already slipped through. Sometimes the names of famous people coincided with this world, sometimes geographical names echoed in the soul with a vague echo. I had the feeling that a little more and I would remember everything, and then the wave of sensations passed and everything was as before again. And now a meaningless dream has raised a whole layer of memory from a past life.
I would not say that this was directly personal information, but I now knew the specific places of residence of my former self. There was an idea to visit Russia, hoping to return the lost memory. I had the money for the trip. Russia has been open to tourists from almost all countries for several years without any restrictions. I didn't see the point in delaying the trip, especially since the desire was very bright, and Dumbledore made a hint to hide, which was connected with the movement in the ministry.
Unfortunately, it was impossible to move from London to Moscow by one portal. It was either necessary to first get to Germany or Finland by short portals, and only then to Moscow or St. Petersburg. Yes, Leningrad was renamed back in the ninety-first. This option of travel was quite exhausting. Moreover, there were British Airlines flights to Moscow every day. But to travel by Muggle means, I needed a travel permit from my Muggle guardian.
It took a whole week to get all the formalities sorted out. An appeal to the headmaster of Hogwarts with an attempt to explain why I need to go to Russia. He didn't want to let me leave the country, but he gave his approval for the trip with a creak. Then he went through the formalities with the Muggle guardian, and turned to his guardian, Mr. Atkinson, with a certificate from the school. At least there were no problems here. Bruce gave permission without further ado. Then I found out all the rules for wizards to use Muggle transport, and it turns out there are such rules. The magicians on duty at airports could simply remove me from the flight, if there is no certificate from the ministry.
At the airport, I was checked by the aurors, making sure that I had a certificate from the Department of magical transport. The landing was normal without incident. I also flew without any problems, and I also had a good night's sleep. In Moscow, I checked into a hotel and went to the local Ministry of Magic to register.
Actually, it seems that it is not necessary to register, but I thought it best to follow all the rules.
The local Ministry of Magic didn't impress me. Yes, there, as with us, they also tried to give the rooms the appearance of a palace, there was also praise for wizards. The images were different, but the overall message was the same.
After paying a small fee and listening to a short lecture about what you can and can't do, I was given a registration. It was possible to defend myself in adequate ways in case of a threat to my property, health or life. It was possible to contact the local law enforcement agencies in case of violation of both Muggle and magical laws in relation to me. Well, there is still a lot of such nonsense, consisting of general phrases and at the same time working poorly in real life.
On the first day, I didn't want to go anywhere far. Therefore, as an ordinary tourist, I went down to the metro and went to the center, to Red Square. The metro in Moscow itself can pass for a work of art, even foreigners were specially taken here for excursions — there was a time. However, I also took a ride, went to different stations, trying to push my memory.
Visiting the Kremlin is also a must for tourists. I went to the armory to look at the treasures of bygone eras. After the Kremlin, I visited one of the restaurants and returned to my hotel room.
I have already formed a certain impression. Ordinary people still felt a special reverence, respect, and embarrassment for foreigners. But many have already looked at foreign guests as game suckers who need to be promoted and slapped down. I myself was also approached a couple of times, offered a girl and even a boy, despite the fact that I myself am not quite an adult. There have been proposals of a different nature: Antiques, rarities, Souvenirs. As a rule, something simpler was offered first, and then something rarer and more expensive, but it was necessary to go to some place. I refused all such offers. I didn't need anything like that, even if I didn't have to take into account that I was clearly being lured somewhere. After it turned out that I spoke Russian well, completely without an accent, I was immediately left alone. What is remarkable, the gypsies avoided me immediately.
When I returned to my room, tired of the motley crowd, I began to plan for the next day. I bought several tourist maps of Moscow and even the Moscow region. After looking at all of them, I chose the direction of suburban trains, where the names of stations and localities seemed most familiar to me, and went to bed.
I woke up early in the morning, so that I could catch the first train. I drove to the train station without any worries, bought a ticket, and got on the train. People everywhere were still very few, so there was no problem to detect surveillance. The tails were from different departments and worlds, so they themselves were surprised at such a crowd that came to one car. After all, it is strange when in the morning there are only one or two people on one car, and then suddenly five people gathered at once. But gradually, as the train progressed at the stops, the cars were filled with real random fellow travelers, the strangeness was no longer so striking, one of those first fellow travelers got off at one of the stations. Maybe he wasn't a spy.
When he heard the name that seemed familiar, he went to the exit vestibule, but did not immediately go out. Waiting for the moment when the doors begin to close, he jumped out at the last moment, cutting off the tails. However, they already realized that they were exposed, so they did not pull the stopcock. Most likely, they already had a safety net, from which someone already got out at this stop, noticing that I went to the exit. Turning his head, he even noticed a couple of the most suitable for this role. Two men who seemed to be slightly drunk were discussing their future plans.
I didn't have much to hide, so I went straight to the bus stop. After getting on the bus, I noticed that two "drunks" also got on the same bus.
Here's the same attached…
Getting off at one of the stops, I walked through the village on foot, soaking up the surrounding views. The review was in the shower. Some of them seemed very familiar, some he didn't recognize at all, and some he only felt vaguely familiar. The place was the same, but nothing came back to me.
It was still dark outside when I heard the strange sounds. A human figure was moving along the deserted road, illuminated by the humming lanterns. Something was wrong with this man. The movements were jerky and erratic. From time to time he stopped, swaying, looking around, trying to find something or see something. All the time, this strange passerby made wheezing, wheezing and gurgling sounds, which were very difficult to suspect human speech.
"The infernal", I thought. His hand went to his wand. My skin crawled, and I stood motionless, afraid to attract the attention of the zombies.
Local magicians warned me that it is impossible for foreigners to use magic without a good reason. The Infernal was a good reason, of course, but I still had my doubts. As luck would have it, the two "drunks"who had been following me earlier had disappeared.
The deserted street, the light of the street lamps, everything is just like the Block, only instead of the pharmacy "chipok", which recently, after the reforms, began to appear everywhere, like mushrooms after the rain. The first waves of entrepreneurs opened such stalls in their towns, towns and villages, earning income from the sale of chewing gum, cigarettes and, of course, alcohol.
The Infernal saw me. There was a note of joy in his gurgling and hissing. His unsteady, staggering gait became more purposeful, and his speed increased. No longer expecting anything good, I drew my wand from my holster, ready to fight back, when the infernal suddenly changed direction in the direction of chipk.
"Blu-boo-fhrr-bru," the infernal muttered through the window as a faint light came on at the knock. From the window, in exchange for money, he was given two bottles, after which a satisfied "infernal", with a happy gurgle and grunt, headed in the opposite direction.
I had to admit that I was no longer Russian, and everything around me was not quite native. Even the Russian zombie apocalypse looks wrong to me. Infernals do not attack people, but live quietly next to them. There are no crowds of infected people on the streets, and the destruction is strictly local. And even if you meet a zombie at night, most likely it will be more interesting for him to be a chip with a round-the-clock sale of alcoholic beverages than your living flesh.
My memory never came back. To calm down, I decided to take a ride further in this direction of trains, visit other places that caused confusion in my soul. I walked around the towns and villages of the Moscow region. Already back in Moscow, I sat on a bench in one of the parks, looking at passers-by, trying to decide what to do next. Then one of the spies who had been watching me came up to me. He was dressed differently and gave a completely different impression. If I'd had a slightly worse memory, I wouldn't have been able to recognize this man as the drunkard of the day before.
— Do you speak English?" — asked me the bacon at the language of Shakespeare. Now he was wearing a black coat that was obviously not made locally, slacks with arrows and polished shoes, and a hat on his head. His whole appearance suggested that he was a foreigner. The locals dressed differently now. Everyone wore leather or Bolognese jackets, and if there was anyone in a coat, it was leather.
"Yes," I said to the stranger. - English is my native language.
"Are you from the States?" He asked the next question.
"No, I flew in from England. I wanted to see Russia — " I said. — Now there is a lot of talk in the media about the reforms in this country. It was interesting to find out how things really are.
I'm from the States, " the spy lied. - New York. It was also interesting to see the changes in this country. All these freedoms, democracy, the emergence of private property. We live in a very interesting time.
— You didn't mention the rampant crime, the impoverishment of the people, and the theft of state goods and values, " I smiled at the talkative type. — This country is going to have a few more shocks over the next five years. Just as the economy of the Soviets was largely dependent on the price of hydrocarbons, so Russia is dependent, only to an even greater extent. Your country hopes that it will be able to dictate its terms to Russia, and therefore to the rest of the world. In the next five years, it will be so.
— Why do you say that?" Delano asked, surprised. — Aren't the reforms in this country good for the whole world? Now there will be no red threat of the world revolution, which the communists liked to talk about. There will be no threat of nuclear war. Peace will finally come.
— You tell them about the world, - I nodded at one of the passers-by in a baseball cap, that despite the very cool weather, I did not wear a hat with earflaps, as Americans usually represent Russians, but wore a warmed foreign cap. — They still believe in the American dream and watch the ads on TV with their mouths open. I am well aware that the main American exports are the American dollar, American democracy and the American Dream. But all these products are poisonous. On the dollar, you get third world countries hooked, siphoning off resources from there, while driving them into debt and poverty. Your democracy flies to quite successful countries with developing economies on the wings of attack planes and bombers, turning these states into third World countries. And the American dream of doing nothing and living happily ever after is only suitable for Americans or traitors who sell their people into slavery for dollars.
The Russian wizard was puzzled by my rebuke. But I didn't need to mislead him or play some spy game, so I just decided to show my cards.
— You're the Russian wizard who tried to follow me, aren't you?" I asked a rhetorical question. — You can rest easy. I'm not here on behalf of the center, — I emphasized the last word with sarcasm, " this is a private trip to satisfy a personal interest.
— How did you know I was a Russian wizard?" The spy was a little surprised.
— You have a holster on your arm, or as some people say, a scabbard for a wand, - he began to explain his observations. "It's usually hard to see a holster like that, but I've got an eye for it.
"Are you an auror?"
"No, no," I said, laughing. "Allow me to introduce myself, Arrakis Black, Master of enchantment and a student of Hogwarts. Almost all enchanters go through the dueling club and receive appropriate training. Besides, I have an excellent memory, which allowed me to recognize you as the drunkard who followed me in the company of his friend.
— What other mistakes did you notice? The wizard asked me grimly.
— Your style of clothing does not quite match the Americans, ' I replied. — The same style as your coat is now worn in England, and the trousers are similar. The shoes are either German or actually American, there is no mistake. You didn't introduce yourself, which may also be in some way consistent with the American style of communication, but I'm not sure. If there are any errors, they are not very serious.
— If it's not a secret — "the local ministry agent said," what were you looking for?" Why did you need to go to the Moscow region?
— I don't really know, " I said, wincing. My magic is required for this trip. It's not that I can't resist this demand, but why, if you can just do it. Visiting all these places gave me a sense of deja vu and calmed my soul.
— When do you plan to return to England? The agent, who did not introduce himself, continued the interrogation.
— My plane isn't due for another three days, "I said, looking thoughtfully into the distance," but I don't really have anything else to do here. I think I can exchange my ticket for an earlier flight.
"All right," said the young auror, or whatever they call the magic police, with an important face. — You'd better leave soon.
I didn't like Russia in many ways. All these freedoms were useful primarily not to the people, but to thieves, swindlers and scum of various levels. Here is the whole cloud of new Russians in all levels of government and economy got out. There was an active dismantling of the country. The common people still had little understanding of what was going on. Law enforcement agencies, both Muggle and magical, were looking for their own sources of income. Some people robbed individual citizens in small ways, competing with crime, while others controlled the crime itself. The government also began to mix with crime, while at the highest level they divided the national heritage of the earth's bowels. Some will get gas, some oil, others aluminum and nickel, then they will squeeze out coal and so on. The time is not far off when banks will appear only to pull off a scam to pull apart already seemingly privatized enterprises. When the wealth of the people has actually been transferred to the people by mistake, then the directors will transfer all the assets to the newly organized offices through special banks, turning the shares owned by the people into simple pieces of paper. And then there will be the third stage of privatization and Merlin knows what else.
It seemed to me good to follow the order-the request of the security officer. I didn't like the fact that he ordered me to leave, but in fact, I did everything I wanted to do. Although I couldn't get anything out of my memory, I satisfied my desire to visit Russia. My soul calmed down. And the hole that the vampire Sheldon had left with his invasion had been overgrown in just one day, somehow I could feel it.
Changing my ticket for the earliest possible flight, I returned to England, there was still a lot of time before the Christmas ball, so I decided to finish with the protection of the mansion quietly, without these trips to Hogwarts and back. He warned the director about his return, and if he needed me, he would call me.