Chapter 3. The Scandinavian journey

Let's go, we sail, we fly, to distant lands,

Although we look cool, we are not given a living.

We're having a terrible time, they're singing a song to us,

And the song sings about how everyone will die.

***

If Gilderoy Lockhart could be called overly narcissistic, extravagant or too irresponsible, then he showed his positive qualities towards us, and generosity and benevolence were among the most noticeable and obvious.

What is the cost of our shopping trip to Diagon Alley, where our guardian purchased for each of his wards a set of enchanted clothes for the mysterious upcoming trip, as well as some magical accessories designed specifically for hiking conditions.

After spending the first half of the daylight on this action, I finally visited this significant place for the whole of Potteriana.

Although, technically, I had already visited Diagon Alley before my first year, it was just that at that moment the fusion of the two consciousnesses with which I identify myself as a person had not yet occurred. So even though I still had memories of the Kyle boy, but after seeing this magical quarter firsthand and visiting the shops familiar from the canon, I quickly noticed a difference in my view of the world around me.

If, as a Muggle-born boy, I looked with all my eyes at the magic happening here and there, although I did not remember anything useful, keeping only my own emotional state in memory, now my brain tried to notice the seemingly mundane, but very useful everyday details of a magical society.

I still couldn't fully integrate into this magical reality. I still had to switch from the so-called "Muggle" thinking, which was facilitated by both the personality of Kyle himself, who lived with the simpletons all his adult life before school, and the personality of the popadanets, who did not encounter magic before his own rebirth in real life at all.

And it was time to rebuild my brain in the way I needed, so as not to end up among the wizards as a black sheep. Correction - a dead black sheep, because with such thinking I am unlikely to be able to survive.

"I have a couple of expanding camping tents," Lockhart cajoled our group after visiting all the necessary shops, "so we basically bought everything we needed. How do you like the new clothes? Do you like them?

—The Wizard on a Journey set is simply beautiful, Mr. Lockhart. Thank you very much," I answered for everyone else. He was really healthy, had a lot of useful charms on clothes and camping gear, and cost, as for me, an indecent lot of money - almost thirty galleons for one complete set.

"Come on, Kyle," he waved away my gratitude, blushing a little at the same time. After a week in our company, he began to address his charges by name, removing all these "Mr. and Miss" addresses — moreover, if my idea works, then all of you can keep your purchases. Consider this my gift to... In honor of our acquaintance, here! — he found an answer, smiling benevolently in response to our surprised faces.

As I said, Lockhart showed unprecedented and therefore suspicious generosity towards us. And no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't find a catch in his actions.

Yes, he was rich. I don't know how much, but from his behavior and attitude towards Lockhart's persona of other wizards that we met in Diagon Alley, it seemed that he was rich enough to stand out among other average residents of the magical part of Great Britain.

At the same time, the guardian's persistent silence about our planned travel destination was also alarming. Lockhart didn't even want to hint at where exactly we were all going or how long it would last. It's already been the first of July, and I really wouldn't want to get stuck in some hole for the whole summer because of his idea, missing the opportunity to stay with the Weasley family. I didn't want to do any more than that, except to die somewhere in the ass of the world..

My head was still haunted by the thought that all this was for a reason. And I had no way to find evidence of the validity of my suspicions, or, conversely, to be sure of my own wrongness, as well as to prevent a potential threat to myself and others. Once again, I had to go with the flow with a lonely hope for the best, since all the other options that arose in my mind contained much more risk and threatened with the most real dangers.

The prohibition of magic among underage wizards for the summer in this world was replaced by other, more serious restrictions and rules. As I learned in one of the books, none of the children were allowed to leave the country without special permission from the Ministry of Magic, and even for pure-blooded wizards who wanted to take their children on vacation to the continent, there were a whole bunch of bureaucratic difficulties and problems.

It is clear that the Ministry had to restrict wizards with similar new laws. Otherwise, with such arrangements at Hogwarts, all British families would have moved to other countries long ago - with a much friendlier education system.

And, as far as I understand, tomorrow we will have to go somewhere with Lockhart, who somehow miraculously managed to get permission from the Ministry to move his own temporary wards abroad.

At first, I thought that this most mysterious journey would take place within the British, Scottish or Irish lands, but our guardian has already managed to let slip twice about how lucky we were to get the opportunity to visit another country. But no one has found out exactly where the difficult part of being Gilderoy Lockhart's wards will take us.

Being once again unable to influence anything, I let go of my worries about this. I was extremely tired of worrying about my life and health for the lion's share of the time, so at some point I managed to exhale, and simply accept the likelihood of my own demise.

It's better to die in the process of learning about this world than to harass yourself with paranoid theories every day. I've had enough worries, I need to learn to take into account possible threats, but not devote all my time, energy and nerves to this activity, unless, of course, I want to end up being someone like Alastor Moody.

***

July 7th.

Lockhart's maids woke us up at a very indecent hour. At such a time, even the most basic evil should rest, and even more so the students of Hogwarts.

However, thanks to such a cheerful and impatient guardian, who very quickly drove away all drowsiness with his activity about the fees, all the guys, including me, began to tune in to a difficult day outside the cozy house.

The necessary things for our trip were collected the day before. Now, we spent most of our time dressing up in a special hiking uniform, putting our appearance, which Lockhart was quite worried about, in relative order, as well as moral preparation, with which, being in a good mood, I helped the rest of my friends with whom I communicated during the holidays.

— Don't forget that the most important thing is to listen to Lockhart. If he tells us to follow him, we go. If he says to stand and wait, we stand and wait. After all, he is responsible for us and, logically, is obliged to ensure our safety in case of anything. Let's try not to run into trouble with our own hands, and then, I hope, the trip will really be painless, and maybe we'll even like it," I told the guys when our "Muggle—born five" gathered in the boys' room, before kicking Finch-Fletchley out of there.

Probably, my words did not cope with the task of lifting everyone's mood, but rather created the appearance of some kind of plan and stability. It just didn't seem right to amuse the guys with something I didn't believe in myself. I'd rather be honest, and the guys will reject premature enthusiasm and will not relax, so as not to pay for it later.

However, the guys radiated attentiveness and concentration on my words. Harry nodded to the beat of almost every word I said, Sophie practically looked into my mouth, Sally Ann was grimacing as usual, but this rather meant her permanent mood than disagreement with what was said. Jack Spinks seemed to me defiantly brave at all, as if we were the Hufflepuff against the background of this "true Gryffindor."

While we were chatting and getting ready for the trip, the door to the room opened, and Lockhart's head looked in at us.

— Are you ready? Come on, come on," he clapped his hands several times, "let's get our bags and go downstairs, it's time for us to fly out," he left and did the same thing with the other bedroom, where Hermione and the unsociable Lily Moon were.

— Well, good luck to all of us, — I wanted to do something to show our unity in the upcoming journey, and I couldn't think of anything better than to hold out my hand palm down.

The quick-witted Sophie put her hand on it first, and then the others joined in. Since this was the first time I did the familiar sign of unity from my previous life, the guys hesitated, not knowing what to do next.

— We are. With everything. We'll manage," with these words, I began to move my hand up and down, "We will. With everything. We will cope," I repeated these actions, and already felt the involvement of the others in the ritual I had invented on the go, "We, — up, — With everything, — down, — We will cope! — the guys began to echo my words, — We. With everything. We'll manage! Each of us was already shouting, charged with energy, and at the last word our hands went up and parted to the sides.

— And why are you shouting like that? — a gloomy Hermione came into our room. When she saw our positive faces, she was visibly upset, as she was not a participant in the missed unity process.

I still couldn't bring myself to include the girl in our social circle. Intellectually, I understood that Hermione's actions at the trials were correct from her point of view, but her feelings... When paralyzing charms suddenly fly from the side of a familiar person, and at that moment you are living one of the most dangerous events of your life, forced subsequently to lie helplessly and force yourself, indifferently waiting for the outcome - this greatly affects the attitude towards a person. Given her initial betrayal, as well as the activities of McGonagall's informant, I was in no hurry to reconnect with her, although I considered it partly wrong.

At school, it will be seen whether we can find a common language with her and start from scratch, or finally break the once-nascent friendship ties.

— Nothing, Hermione, — I replied with a stony face, — we are already going down, and we advise you. Come on, guys.

After loading our luggage into a familiar minibus, we sat down in the cabin and prepared for the flight.

— Have you forgotten anything? Is everything in place? See for yourself, we won't be going back for your wand or socks anymore," Lockhart announced to us, sitting in the driver's seat.

— Everything is ready, Mr. Lockhart. Tell me, how long will our journey take, at least approximately? — I decided to try my luck and asked him a question that bothered me.

— Who knows, who knows... — he thought about it, — I hope we will manage in a week or two. So, since everyone is ready, then let's hit the road! — he enthusiastically started his magic car and took off, and from below we were escorted by eternally smiling maids.

We were flying somewhere to the east, as the sun had risen into the sky and was shining in our face, which made Lockhart even put on fancy shiny glasses.

When we got to the coast, I already thought that the flight would pass through the North Sea, but no - the transport went down right at the coastline.

We landed at some modest shack on the shore, and next to it we were greeted by three adult men, whose cloaks gave them away as wizards.

— Have we arrived yet? Harry asked as the car stalled, "so fast?"

— Hehe, — laughed Lockhart, — yes, we will go the rest of the way without my Baby, alas. It is forbidden to use any flying vehicles when crossing borders - this requires a special permit, which in our case is not necessary at all.

Lockhart left the transport, and we followed his example.

— Get your things out and come here! He shouted to us, heading towards the waiting wizards.

After putting on our backpacks and grabbing our bags, we approached the shack and the wooden pier that was located next to it. There wasn't a soul nearby, and only an asphalt Muggle road ran in the distance.

— Let me introduce you, Mr. Shaw, an employee of the Department for the Control of Underage Wizards, - he pointed to the first person from the standing trio, — this respected wizard will accompany us in this difficult matter and I will ask you to obey him the same way you obey me, — a pale man presented to us, on whose face any The emotion took on a shade of sullenness, he looked at our crowd with a piercing gaze.

An employee of the Ministry? And why do we need him? Although... It seems logical enough that the Ministry in such cases allocates its own person who would make sure that the students of Hogwarts did not disappear anywhere while they were in another country.

"And these two similar wizards are the Stanley brothers. We will use their services of sea carriers," with these words, one of the brothers smiled, exposing his rotten teeth to everyone, and with a spell canceled the disillusionment spell, after which we had a view of a long sailing boat that, it turns out, had been moored all this time.

—Welcome aboard the Johan the Swift, guys," the second of the brothers told us, who looked a lot like his brother in appearance, but had a stockier build, "we'll take you to your destination with a breeze, hehe.

— We are... Shall we sail? But where to? I asked, staring at the vessel that appeared as if out of thin air.

— Where, where, to Scandinavia, where else? He replied to this, thereby eliciting a groan of displeasure from Lockhart.

— It was a surprise! Eh... — the guardian shook his head disapprovingly at the actions of the overly long language of the sea carrier, — okay, what's there. Get on board," he told us, returning to his original mood.

The vessel was small, consisted entirely of wood and looked like it belonged to the era when Muggles were still chopping each other with swords, and Europe was inhabited by feudal rulers.

— And how long will we sail on it? I whispered to Lockhart, who waved me off.

— We'll get there quickly, the sails are enchanted. Yes, it would be faster by air, but this Ministry, with its own laws," he nodded towards the escort, "causes certain inconveniences. Cheer up, Kyle. It's a real adventure! He tried to cheer me up.

The only thing was that I had enough adventures in my first year at Hogwarts.

We must admit that we crossed the North Sea on a sailboat quite quickly. What is the approximate distance there? Five hundred miles? Well, we overcame them in just twelve hours.

The two sails of the ship were inflated by some special enchantments so much that the bow of the ship tilted upwards, which made sailing on the ship feel like some kind of attraction. I was tired of repeating words of gratitude to myself for the absence of seasickness, because looking at Sally Ann, who was turning inside out all the way from the sensations of pitching, I would not wish such a state on an enemy.

We arrived in a small port town that was located near one of the many Norwegian fjords, and by this time the sun was already setting.

— So, we'll spend the night in the town, and in the morning we'll go to the mountains, — Lockhart informed us when we docked at the pier, — thank the Stanley brothers for their services, although a bag of galleons will do much better, — with these words, he threw this very bag to the stocky brother. — Everyone, guys, abandon ship! Yo-ho-ho! "our guardian didn't miss a single opportunity to fool around, and the faces of the other wizards confirmed my opinion that Lockhart was a little crazy. But, strangely enough, in a good sense of the word, which was a rarity here.

We actually settled down for the night in the most ordinary Muggle hotel, and Lockhart didn't even use any charms, just paying for the night for all of us with crowns that came from nowhere. Had I just witnessed his forethought? Miracles, that's all.

The day spent swimming has already given us all a lot of unforgettable emotions. This was especially true of Sally-Ann, who at the end of the voyage began to look like broccoli in color.

At least now I knew exactly where our path lay. Did Lockhart want to travel around the Scandinavian Mountains? Yes, please! I have nothing against hiking in nature.

The reality turned out to be much more mundane than I imagined in my dreams. I had nightmares for several days, fighting with a machete with aggressive vegetation somewhere in the jungle, and for all that, I was also haunted by the ominous laughter of Professor Sprout somewhere in the back of my mind.

So hiking in the mountains is still a very acceptable choice for our guardian.

***

July 10th.

— And again and again, we're going somewhere... I muttered to myself as I walked in the general column behind Lockhart.

Our journey was very strange. We were moving purposefully somewhere, following some kind of enchanted map of our guardian, who spent a whole lot of time looking at something in it.

I managed to look there at the beginning of the journey, but I saw only some incoherent scribbles.

"This is a special map, Kyle," Lockhart told me then in a patronizing tone, "only someone who knows exactly where it should lead him can look into it.

Of course, we have not figured out the final route of the map, for the third day we have been moving through mountains, hills, forests and plains, crossing new fjords and tirelessly following our purposeful guardian. Mr. Shaw was walking behind us, so our company moved in the center of such a formation. We were not allowed to go off the planned path, or stop properly and enjoy the views.

Tents with expanded space saved the situation. I'm afraid to even imagine how difficult magic is involved in their creation - after all, it must be terribly difficult to fit a full-fledged apartment into a thin layer between the fabric of the tarpaulin. To make the charms work long-term, properly and, most importantly, safely for their use.

It was in these wonders of magical art that we spent the night, and we could also keep warm and sit on a real sofa in the middle of the wild. It is a pity that their unpacking takes a decent amount of time, which is why the tents were put up only at night. Well, the daytime was spent entirely on walking through the changeable terrain of the Scandinavian area. We even had lunch on the way, eating rations cooked in the morning on the go!

During such long transitions, the legs turned into plaintively whining fellow travelers. We were so exhausted that during the night we simply passed out exhausted, only to be woken up early in the morning and we continued our journey in a direction known to Lockhart. By the way, he often resorted to some kind of tonic in his wineskin, which made him cheerful all the time and did not show a drop of his own fatigue.

I want one too!

But there was something obviously wrong with the direction in which the guardian was leading us. We could walk for several hours ahead, and then suddenly turn at an acute angle to the side. They could walk some distance, after which, suddenly, they turned back, passed it again and then turned around once again, following the same path! Once we started moving in a kind of spiral, although there was a fairly flat surface and we clearly had the opportunity to cover the distance covered four times faster.

In short, either our guardian has completely lost his mind, or all these hiking absurdities in our movement were part of some kind of ritual to get to a certain place with a magical component.

And today, finally, the purpose of our journey should have been clarified.

- yes! It's her! Hooray!" suddenly shouted Lockhart, startling our formation with his behavior, —guys! Look at it! He called us to him and pointed his finger at some huge stone in the distance.

- what is it? Some kind of rock? Harry asked.

However, as we approached the incomprehensible object closer and closer, we opened our mouths wider and wider, being in amazement.

It was... A stone horse's head! A huge stone horse head! And she was moving!

— Let it be known to you that this, my friends, — said a joyful Lockhart, pointing towards the head that turned in our direction with interest, crunching stones, of which it consisted, — the beginning of the passage to the Valley of Living Stones. A unique place to let you know.

— I read about her! Hermione exclaimed, "this is one of the Seven Magical Wonders of the World!"

— Exactly! And that's where we were heading, fortunately, I had this," he pointed to the map, "no one will find this Valley from the air, and even the portals in these places do not work. Moreover, as you know, this magical anomaly hides itself from the eyes of not only Muggles, but also wizards! It's so good that you have a guardian like me! A few lucky people manage to visit this wonderful place!

What makes this place so special was clear from the name. Lockhart, elated by his own success in his endeavors, joyfully approached the horse's head, which began to sniff at him. I even thought for a moment that she was going to devour him and I couldn't decide for myself whether I wanted it or not.

— This is a mandatory action for any wizard who wishes to visit the Valley. Come closer, be brave," he called the others, "by this action the guardian understands that you did not harm the Valley, did not steal living stones from here and have no bad intentions.

We were sniffed in turn after Lockhart, and the horse even snorted slightly at our escort from the Ministry, which almost blew him away with a gust of wind mixed with stone chips. But everything worked out, and even this eternally dissatisfied employee was given a conditional "go-ahead" to enter.

— Behave yourself and in no case offend these creatures! — the guardian gave us instructions, — then they will not cause you any harm.

We had an amazing view of the whole ecosystem, which consisted entirely of stones. There were bird stones, animal stones, plant stones, and even insect stones! Each of them was very similar to its counterpart from the flora or fauna of the Muggle world, and they all went about their daily business without paying any attention to us.

— It is not known exactly how the Valley of Living Stones was formed. Someone claims that it was created by Merlin himself, enchanted with unique charms by an equally unique meteorite that landed here. Others insist that the Valley existed long before his birth, finding references to it even among the Asatrian shamans of antiquity. Their legend says that this place is the battle point of the three deities, that their war split the once smooth Norwegian shores, forming the fjords you saw. According to legend, a deity met death here, whose name was lost in the abyss of years, and it split into myriad stone fragments that began to live their own lives, — our guardian got used to the role of narrator, looking with us at the view that shook our imagination, — I will definitely write a book about this place!

We were given complete freedom in the Valley of Living Stones. We walked and greeted the stone creatures, gave ourselves a sniff, dared to stroke the friendliest and soothed the most nervous. Personally, I caught sight of a stone panther that lay on a smooth stone and looked down at all of us from a small elevation.

I was sure she was looking straight at me, as if offering to come over and say hello. It was scary, because almost all the animals I saw differed in their small size, and this panther was the size of its real prototype.

I approached timidly, noticing her feline habits along the way. The creature, created entirely from stone, somehow managed to adopt even the instincts of real animals. Truly, A Magical Wonder Of The World.

Without breaking eye contact, I reached out and gently stroked the back of her neck. The palms felt the warm and pleasant roughness of the stone. Suddenly, the panther opened his mouth and licked my face with a stone dry tongue! At first I was scared, but realizing that they weren't going to eat me, I continued stroking such an unusual magical creature.

Lockhart kept a close eye on each of us, while not forgetting to interact with the wildlife of the Valley himself. He acted like he was waiting for something, either from us or from the stone animals, and it even seemed a little suspicious to me.

And so the whole hours of our fun passed in the Valley of Living Stones. It was getting late, and every hour Lockhart was getting sadder and sadder, until suddenly this happened.

— Guys, come here! Look at this! Sally Ann shouted, "he bowed to me!"

An enthusiastic Lockhart was the very first to run up to her, followed by everyone else. Next to Sally Ann stood a stone lamb slightly smaller than the real one and looked at us with a mischievous look.

"Sally, darling, are you sure?" Lockhart asked ingratiatingly, "could you ask him for something?" For example, to jump up. It's very important, just do it.

— Em... Good. Lamb - jump up! — the girl ordered the stone creature, after which he willingly fulfilled her assignment, pushing off with his hooves from the ground and jumping about five feet up, - it worked! Sally Ann exclaimed happily.

I have never seen her in such a happy state.

— It turned out, yes, — muttered the elated Lockhart and from his own feelings even stamped on the ground and ... danced? - yes! Yes! Yes! Everything is fine with me, everything is fine with me! — with every syllable he uttered, he danced some terrible mix of tap dancing and disco, being in a state of disarray.

We were clearly confused.

— Mr. Lockhart, what does this mean? I asked the guardian.

— Hoo-uh, — he caught his breath after the arranged performance, — it means, my dear Kyle, that Sally managed to find her new pet. It is quite a rare case when an animal made of stone becomes attached to a wizard and agrees to leave the Valley with him. There is no other way to take the stones out of here, and they will lose their magical properties. And they, by the way, are a very valuable and rare ingredient! What can I say - even the Philosopher's stone was created from such!

— But you won't touch the lamb, will you? Sally-Ann asked, startled, "please?"

I also thought that now Lockhart would take us out of the Valley and put the lamb under the knife... Under the pickaxe, more precisely, yes.

- what? — Frowned Lockhart, — no, no! — he waved his hands, — on the contrary, it is very important to me that your pet lives happily with his mistress! After all, each of these creatures develops new stones inside itself and gradually discards the old ones, which are quite suitable for use! So you don't have to worry about that! And you and I will discuss your full custody when we get home, dear Sally," he patted her on the head with a gentle smile.

That's a twist.

— But why do you need these stones? I asked him, "you're, well, a rich man.

— I didn't say that I needed them for money. Anyway, it's none of your business, Kyle, no offense, but I'm not going to reveal all the secrets to my wards, even good ones like you.

I noticed the frown on the ministerial clerk's face that I had completely heard Lockhart's entire dialogue. I wonder what's on his mind right now? And did the guardian tell us the whole truth?

Anyway, it looks like Sally-Ann has pulled out a lucky ticket by getting her own familiar. And the panther even licked me, but she didn't even think to bow to me...

— Well, it's time to go home! I told you the trip would be unforgettable! Sally-Ann, you go ahead with your boyfriend, I want to get to know you better...

Did Lockhart originally expect that a Living Stone would obey one of us? But how could he know for sure? Although the idea, I admit, is good. To use school wards, which, as it were, should be a burden for any wizard. And Lockhart managed to make a serious profit out of it, of course, if he gets around to taking custody of a Muggle-born girl in time.

And the most important thing is that his cunning plan does not seem to have harmed us in any way. Can he be invited to the school to teach us? I never thought I'd want to be Lockhart's teacher. Still, he will clearly be many times better than any of those monsters who are now teaching children at Hogwarts.