The flying carriage was fast. In less than an hour, Aisling and her party crossed the strait from the Scottish Highlands and arrived in Austria, in Central Europe.
When they landed in the castle courtyard, Dumbledore had already finished his second tour of the castle and was waiting for them. Aisling had barely stepped out of the carriage, let alone arranged guest rooms for Roy and the others, when he darted out of a corridor and stopped them in the great hall.
"Flying horses really are fast."
Dumbledore grinned at Roy and the other three as they trudged through the hall, then reached out to stop them.
"How did you get here? Where's Fawkes?"
Roy looked around. When he saw no sign of Fawkes, he asked Dumbledore where that silly red bird had gone.
"No, Fawkes went to deliver a letter. I came by Apparition."
At the mention of Fawkes delivering a letter, Cedric and Tonks exchanged a glance and broke into matching wicked grins.
"Apparition? Straight from Scotland to Austria? Damn..."
The farther one traveled by Apparition, the more magic it consumed. Roy's greatest advantage was that his magical strength and reserves far exceeded those of an ordinary person. Yet even he had tested his limit and found that Apparition across Britain was about as far as he could go. Crossing half a continent in one jump, as Dumbledore had done, should have required more magic than any human could muster.
"There's a trick to it. But don't think Apparating that far puts no strain on me. Let's not waste time. I have to head back soon, and you'll have plenty of time between now and the twenty-fifth to tour the castle. First, I think we should find somewhere to settle the final details of the operation."
Roy and