The next day, however, Will received a letter. It was delivered straight into his hands at breakfast and had come from Lucius.
At first, Will found it odd. Lucius never contacted him of his own accord; almost all their messages passed through Draco.
After a glance, Will frowned—he had learned that Karkaroff had sent those documents to Rita Skeeter. Will gave a cold smile. If he had not already shut down that avenue with Skeeter, it really might have caused some trouble.
Lucius explained the situation in detail in his letter and asked whether Will wanted him to find a way to deal with Karkaroff. From the sound of it, Voldemort might well get involved.
Will had no intention of "troubling" Voldemort.
"What is it?" Sylvia handed Will his grape juice. She never read his letters.
"A few minor problems. Nothing to worry about." Will put the letter away. "I'll be busy these next couple of days. Spend some time with Luna and the others after class."
"All right." Sylvia finished her oatmeal and began sharing some gossip with Will. "Oh, you have no idea what Ginny's been up to these past couple of days..."
Lessons at Hogwarts were as "boring" as ever. That afternoon, after the fourth-years finished Flying Class, Will made his way aboard Durmstrang's ship with practiced ease and headed to Karkaroff's office.
Karkaroff was sitting behind his desk, frowning over something. When the door swung open without a breeze, he immediately knew Will had arrived.
He silently cursed Dumbledore and Rita Skeeter for being so unreliable. It's been days. Why hasn't there been any news?
Never mind someone like Rita Skeeter, but what's wrong with Dumbledore? Is he really too busy even to read a letter?
"Mr. Behrens." Karkaroff looked decidedly unwell. "I haven't been feeling