Over the next few days, Will carried on as usual. Nothing seemed to affect him.
Dumbledore's departure from the school one day drew little attention, either. Most students could go ages without seeing him, so they had little reason to keep track of the Headmaster's movements.
Romania, Eastern Europe.
Even in early spring, it was still cold here. The air retained the biting chill of the Carpathian Mountains.
Fudge and his party stood at the edge of a cliff with an expansive view, their robes whipping in the wind. They gazed at the distant mountains in wonder.
The vast old-growth forest stretched beneath the overcast sky like a dark-green sea, its rolling canopy possessed of an ancient, untamed mystery. But what caught the eye were the enormous red, green, black, and yellow shapes soaring above it.
Dragons. Fire Dragons. Some of the most powerful creatures in the Wizarding World.
"Oh, the Romanian Dragon Sanctuary truly is Europe's finest dragon-breeding ground." Fudge surveyed the Romanian Ministry of Magic's land with satisfaction.
Romania might be rather poor, in Fudge's opinion, but its dragon sanctuary was impressive. It was certainly bigger and better than the sanctuaries in the Hebrides and Wales.
That was only natural. The entire Romanian wizarding economy was closely tied to the protection of Fire Dragons.
"Of course," a Romanian Ministry official said in accented English, pleased by Fudge's praise. "A large share of our funding goes to the dragon sanctuary every year. Our zoning, resource allocation, and security are all first-rate. Look..."
As he spoke, they saw a line of figures on broomsticks approaching rapidly from the distance.
Only when they drew closer did Fudge see that they were wizards in sanctuary uniforms. Their bearing alone set them apart—every one of them looked as formidable as a seasoned