Chapter 31

Opening my eyes, I grimaced in discomfort. My body didn't feel great, and I almost stumbled. "Best Portkeys, you say? Sure, sure," I thought sarcastically.

Looking around, I realized we were standing by a small wooded area, with no sign of any habitation on the horizon. My gaze then shifted to my companion, who, to my envy, looked much better than I did. No doubt about it — she has some magical ancestry.

Either that, or she's in her thirties and owes her appearance to certain rituals that aren't exactly approved of, and certainly forbidden in Britain. Or maybe Vinnie once messed up with Animagus magic and got stuck in a child's form.

That's why I don't meddle with that branch of magic, unlike Apparition. Animagus transformations are far riskier, in my opinion, than losing a limb while Apparating. Losing a limb can be healed with magic, unlike the irreversible changes to your body that can come from Animagus transformations. It's terrifying to think how many wizards ended up trapped between human and animal forms, slowly and painfully dying.

If Vinnie did mess up with Animagus magic, then she got incredibly lucky.

"Fräulein?" I cautiously called out to my long-haired companion, who was frozen, staring at one spot as if she'd turned into a statue at the sight of Sodom and Gomorrah.

"Huh? Oh… it's you." The witch's eyes regained focus.

"Ja, ja," I smirked. "So, where exactly have we landed?"

"Not far from the entrance to where we need to go. We'll have to walk a bit, but I didn't want to risk making the Portkey too close. I'm not as skilled as those who crafted the passages through our pub or the British bar, so it wouldn't have been as smooth. Plus, those places weren't… polluted with Dark Magic like this one is." She shuddered slightly.

"So, that's what you meant by 'cursed,' huh?" I said, half-affirming as I drew my wand just in case. Who knows what might be wandering around here with a place like this. Even if regular people haven't found it, there's no guarantee that some creature hasn't stumbled upon us. The magical world is barely a third explored by wizards.

Why? Well, it's just too dangerous. There aren't enough wizards to organize expeditions against hordes of Chimeras, Dragons, or even Basilisks. These creatures have strong resistance to magic, and by the time you cast enough Avadas — which, let's not forget, are illegal — the beast could eat you. As simple as it sounds, physical strength easily trumps magic in these cases.

There are very few wizards in the world who can handle multiple dragons at once. And all of them have more important things to do than go on adventures, especially when there are plenty of more domesticated and cooperative flying reptiles available.

"Yes, exactly that. Wizards often use this kind of magic — well, except the British and Americans," she scoffed with clear disdain. "But who am I telling this to? A Durmstrang student? Someone really messed up here a long time ago."

"I've had some experience being in places like this," I said, dropping a hint of mystery as I cast search spells ahead of us. Wizards could easily hide from such spells if they sensed them, but wild creatures wouldn't know what was coming.

"Is that so? You wouldn't guess by looking at you."

"Same could be said for you," I replied with an unruffled smile.

"Fair enough. Alright, let's move. Enough standing around like statues," Vinnie said, moving forward, her long cloak dragging through the grass without hindrance. Not surprising — her clothes were likely enchanted like mine with anti-dirt charms. Despite the simple name, those are quite difficult to cast without damaging the fabric, which makes them fairly expensive.

And if they're combined with durability charms, water-repellent spells, and others from that category, the price for such attire becomes astronomical, accessible only to well-off purebloods and high-ranking officials in the Ministries of Magic.

Should I bother to boast further that my attire is precisely of this high caliber?

"Since we aren't too preoccupied at the moment, would you allow me to satisfy a bit of my curiosity, Fräulein?" I asked after ensuring that there wasn't any dangerous creature lurking nearby. Of course, there are some species that can evade detection by my spell, but they are exceedingly rare, and the chance of encountering them is lower than meeting a dragon.

If I stayed on high alert now, I'd be close to slipping into paranoia. Alastor Moody would approve, but I still value my sanity. Besides, I'm confident in my abilities. If something does go wrong, I can always Apparate far away, and we're not venturing into the woods — we're skirting it.

"Cross-examination?" Vinnie responded with a half-question, her large eyes fixing on me.

"Reasonable," I replied. "How old are you?"

"Fifteen," she answered. "And you?"

"The same," I said with a slight smile and a shake of my head. "Do you have non-human ancestry?" The question was quite direct, but she'd already shown multiple times that she didn't care much for such social niceties.

"No clue," she answered rather bluntly, shrugging. Still, it didn't seem like she was angry about the question. "My mother never said who she was sleeping with. Then she disappeared in the jungles of South America, chasing after something 'interesting.'"

"Now I understand where you got your cautiousness about visiting dangerous places," I remarked, avoiding meaningless condolences. It was clear she didn't reflect on it much. Either that, or she was an excellent actress, far better than I could ever hope to be.

"I just don't want to die a pointless death like she did. But enough about me — what are you doing here? You're an aristocrat, even if you're unusually calm for one. You've got money to hire idiots who want to go poking around in the world's backside," Vinnie asked with obvious curiosity.

"I'm here for both a reward and to repay a debt," I replied.

"How does that work?"

"I need to retrieve something from the place we're heading to. And the request came from someone who it would be unwise to refuse," I shrugged, carefully skirting around the identity of the requester. Judging by the change in her expression, my newfound peer wasn't stupid and had pieced things together.

I'll probably have to mention the sword at some point. Not with too many details, of course, but still. Her help in finding it wouldn't hurt. I have no intention of staying in dangerous places longer than necessary. Besides, my mentor had only insisted on keeping her identity a secret, which was perfectly reasonable, given who she is.

If anyone were to investigate, they'd probably think some eccentric collector had paid a hefty sum for an old, useless relic, sending a well-off pureblood like myself to fetch it personally. A rather unusual situation, but nothing extraordinary. There are plenty of oddballs in the magical world, just as there are plenty of adventurous pureblood wizards.