Breakthrough
It was the end of the afternoon, so Ginny knew the Durmstrang pupils would soon be going to eat, while the Beauxbatons could take deep breaths and have all their own classrooms back for half an hour. Ginny managed to intercept some of the Durmstrang prefects she knew – Chloe, and Ida and Ragge – and asked for their help. Unlike their teachers, they were happy to assist.
“But why are you asking us?” Ragge asked her in puzzlement. He was a studious boy, with precise English, but unfortunately not French, so Ginny had to translate for Undine. Chloe was annoyingly multi-lingual, but Ida was more comfortable in English, too.
“Your teachers are just too busy,” Ginny said, offhandedly. “But you know what you need in your school, don’t you?”
“Perhaps,” Ragge said, unsure.
“Have you seen New Hogwarts?” Ginny asked. The three Durmstrang prefects nodded. “Well, do you like it? Would it suit Durmstrang?”
They all looked uncomfortably at Undine, as Ginny translated her own question for her. “It is very fine,” said Chloe. “You are to be congratulated.”
“So, if Undine here built another one, exactly the same, on the other side of the valley, would that be perfect for Durmstrang?”
They looked at each other, and shook their heads.
“Finally,” said Ginny in exasperation. “New Hogwarts wouldn’t be perfect for Durmstrang,” she said to Undine in French.
Undine looked confused, not upset. “So, what would you do differently?” she asked.
More worried looks, more shrugs.
Undine leaned forward. “It should look like your House of Assembly, yes?” she suggested. Ginny translated that.
“That is too much trouble,” said Chloe, in French, then said something in German, presumably translating what had been said.
“It is unusual,” said Undine, directly to Chloe. “It is not a Germanic style. Nor anything else. Is it Roman?”
Chloe looked unsure, and said something in German. The others shrugged.
“It is Viking,” said Chloe.
“Viking?” echoed Undine, in surprise. “Why Viking?”
Chloe turned aside and muttered something to the others, who muttered in turn, and nodded.
“Durmstrang is a German word,” said Chloe, “But when the school was first established, it was based on the Viking magic, which is called Seidhr.”
“Say the what?”
“Seidhr. Say-the. Which means string, basically.”
“What’s magical about string?” Ginny asked, puzzled.
“Not… not string,” said Chloe, looking frustrated. “The… the… beam of light, of magic, from a wand!” she said, gesturing. “That kind of string. And Durmstrang means the… the main part of the string, in German. Well, almost. Even though Durmstrang is an island, it has been much influenced by the German tribes for hundreds of years. So we speak their language. But our buildings are our own.”
Undine was frowning, and doodling on a scroll. “If it’s Viking, I would expect to see male statues around the House of Assembly,” Undine said eventually. “They are protecting the building, yes?”
Chloe shook her head. “Seidhr is for witches,” she said. “Not wizards. So the leader is always a witch, of course.”
“Really?” interjected Ginny. “Sendulla looks like a man, to me.”
Chloe looked broodingly annoyed. “Yes, but…” she said eventually. “Professor Fischer was a proper Vísendakona.”
Ida nodded. “The wise woman who knows everything,” she said.
“You see,” Chloe continued, “Professor Sendulla can only be Seidhmann, which means he needs an assistant.”
“But what about Karkaroff?” demanded Ginny across Chloe’s translation of her own words to Ida and Ragge. “Wasn’t he your headmaster too?”
Ragge grunted with wry amusement. “Karkaroff needed an assistant turning on the lights,” he said in English. The others looked philosophical.
“So who is Vísendakona at the moment?” Ginny asked.
“We don’t have one,” said Chloe. “You see, Professor Rahmer would have been Vísendakona if Professor Fischer died, but she died as well, in the tunnels.”
“Tunnels?”
“We use them to travel between the buildings,” explained Chloe. “When it is winter. Which it is most of the time at Durmstrang. But a Giant stood in the wrong place, and the tunnel collapsed. It was a tragedy.”
“It should be Miss Silberg,” said Ida. “But she says she can’t.”
Undine was tactlessly waving her hands. “Can I talk about a school for you here? What is Durmstrang like?”
“What was it like, do you mean?” Ida put in, despondently.
“So, where do you have your lessons?” Undine asked, ignoring this.
“Well,” said Chloe. “Each subject had its own longhouse. They were not very big. A single classroom, mostly.”
“And where did you sleep?” asked Undine. “Did you have little houses, like ours here, or big houses, like ‘Ogwarts?”
“More like Hogwarts, I think. We have six towers. Each tower is like a house, but the towers are all connected together, by a long wall, and most pupils sleep in the walls next to their tower.”
“I remember seeing the wall,” commented Ginny. She could still remember the Giant pounding along the long outer curtain, smashing it with a burning tree.
“And we had a big building for eating and cooking,” said Ida. “And there was a library, and a hospital, of course. And then a building where the professors worked, next to the House of Assembly. And the little houses for their families.”
“And tunnels between them all?”
“Most of them yes,” agreed Chloe.
“And they don’t need statues around them?” asked Undine.
“No,” said Chloe. “That is not necessary.”
“And a wall, around the outside?” Undine suggested.
“Well, yes…” began Ida.
“No!” Ragge across her, with a shake of his head. “Not necessary.”
Chloe sighed. “Because we were on an island, we thought we were safe, until the Giants came across the ice. Now everyone in Durmstrang is worried, particularly the professors, because they fear the Giants can come here.”
Undine looked puzzled. “The Giants have never attacked here,” she said. “Why would they?”
“Well, we got Giants attacking Hogwarts,” Ginny pointed out.
Undine shook her head. “Only because the Hidden Duke paid them,” she said. “And we still don’t know how he did that.”
It was Ginny’s turn to look puzzled. “Yes, we do,” she said to Undine.
“He was going to give them Hogwarts, they say,” suggested Chloe. “Although I don’t see why Giants would want a little castle.”
Ginny tried to wave Chloe to silence. “No! He gave them a Demmy Slicer!”
“A what?” asked Chloe and Undine at the same time.
“A dagger,” said Ginny. “A special dagger, so the Giants could kill Dementors.”
Chloe’s scowled in disbelief. “And they believed him?” She spat some words at Ida and Ragge. They looked amazed.
“Well, Giants are stupid,” muttered Ida, in English.
“Stupid?” echoed Ginny in surprise, in the same language. “No! It worked!”
“You can’t kill Dementors,” said Ida, flatly.
“Yes, you can!” insisted Ginny. “Ask… Ask McGonagall if you don’t believe me. Or Mr Cotte!”
The three Durmstrang were then chattering excitedly to each other in German, while Ginny tried to catch up Undine on what the Frenchwoman had missed.
Ginny realised Ida was quite upset now, and Chloe was looking uncomfortable. “What’s wrong?” Ginny asked.
Chloe turned to her. She looked worried, as well. “She fears the Giants will kill all of us,” she said. “Without the Dementors to stop them.”
“The Giants?” said Ginny, feeling worried herself now. “I’m sure they won’t. And aren’t you more afraid of Dementors?”
The three Durmstrang were standing now, still talking to each other.
“Where are you going?” Ginny asked in frustration.
Chloe turned to Undine. “Do you have all you need from us?” she asked.
Undine looked puzzled. “For now, yes,” she said.
“Then, thank you,” said Chloe. “This has been a most pleasant and interesting meeting, but we must go now.”
The three Durmstrang prefects quickly left the Dining Chamber.
“That was sudden,” said Ginny, in confusion. “Did you really get what you needed?”
Undine sighed gustily. “I hope so,” she said. “I have plenty to think about, anyway.”
“But where are you going to put them all?” Ginny asked. “There’s no big open area for all those buildings.”
“I have an idea for that too,” said Undine. “But I need to make it work. Give me until tomorrow.”
Undine was true to her word. “I need to find those Durmstrangs again,” she said the following morning. There were dark lines under her eyes once more, but the eyes themselves sparkled nonetheless. Ginny was intrigued enough to accompany her to the Dining Chamber. She managed to find Ida, and she led them to a table where Chloe and Ragge were sitting.
Ginny only realised then that Chloe and Ragge were an item. They slowly eased away from each other as they greeted Ginny and Undine, but there had been an intimacy between the two of them which was unmistakable.
Undine quickly lifted the used crockery from the table and put it on the floor, then unfolded a large piece of parchment. There were lots of diagrams this time, a number of smaller ones surrounding a larger image.
“See,” said Undine. “It is built in rock, like New ‘Ogwarts, and I hope you don’t mind that. But it is many buildings, yes? They are carved into the rock, but the slope is shallower than on the ‘Ogwarts side. So some buildings have balconies, do you see?”
Ginny could understand what she was seeing now. If she thought of the rock slope as a sloping roof, the buildings were like dormer windows. Some of them were inside-out dormer windows, so had a shelf – a balcony, in Undine’s words - in front of them.
“And they are connected by tunnels, as you wanted,” said Undine. “And see, high up here, are the lines where the pupils live. Two lines, with three towers in each. Maybe it is hard for a Giant to reach, yes? And you go downstairs for your lessons and your meals.”
“I don’t understand,” said Ragge. “Where is this?”
“On the slope opposite New Hogwarts,” explained Undine. “Is that a problem?”
The three prefects shrugged, looked at each other and shook their heads.
“What about the House of Assembly?” Ida asked.
Undine shrugged. “It is on the Dining Chamber lawn. You could ask Madame Weasley to move it again, perhaps, but I think Professor Sendulla would prefer not.”
“I’d prefer not, too,” said Ginny with feeling.
“So I hope you don’t mind using your dining room for meetings as well,” went on Undine.
Chloe shook her head. “That is what we do,” she said. “Did.”
“Not the House of Assembly?” asked Ginny, puzzled.
They all shook their heads. “No, we do not use it,” said Ida. “Not usually. It is for special use.”
“And the hospital is along the slope, to the right, away from everything else,” Undine continued. “And the library is right in the centre, because you said it was important. You will need to fill the library with books, of course, which won’t be easy.”
“It is very pretty, that,” said Ida, studying the picture of the library that Undine was showing them.
“Thank you,” said Undine, pleased. “Libraries are important, so…” The library had small columns running down the front wall, with elegant windows between them. Ginny was struck by the delicate proportions; New Hogwarts was as sturdy, as blocky as the original, but here was something much more about beauty than might.
Ida’s hands were tracing the drawing of the classroom buildings. “And I adore these balconies,” she said. “I wish we could have them for our bedrooms as well. I would sleep outside! All year round!”
“You would be a frozen corpse by morning,” Ragge mocked her. Chloe nudged him with a frown, but her lips were quirking. They were sitting very close together again, Ginny noticed.
Ginny could see Undine frowning too. “Balconies? It is possible,” said Undine. “Yes, I think I could do that.”
Ginny laid a gentle hand on Undine’s arm. “Don’t let them bully you,” she murmured to her.
Undine turned to look at her consideringly. “I would prefer to build what they would like,” she said, simply.
“But all this detail…!”
“Are you envious?” Undine asked her, amused. “Is ‘Ogwarts too crude for you?”
“No!” said Ginny, firmly. “I love it. Although I suppose I should think of Beauxbatons as mine, now. I don’t mean I own it, but…”
“Do you want me to rebuild Beauxbatons?” Undine said, nudging her with her elbow. “But you already have, of course. And you chose to put it back as it was.”
“Can we show this to the others?” asked Chloe. “And the teachers?”
“Not yet,” said Undine. “Let me make these changes first. Or someone will bully Ida out of her balconies. I will let you have new plans tomorrow!”
“What if the teachers turn this down?” Ginny worried out loud as Undine showed her the revised plans. They were having breakfast; It was clear Undine had managed little sleep in her urge to improve her creation.
Undine shrugged. “It is the curse of architects,” she said. “Most of our plans are never built. I have been trained to accept that. But…”
“But?”
“But I’m impatient,” said Undine, rising. “I admit that. I will find Chloe and Ida and Ragge and give them the plans now. I think they will still be having their breakfast.”
She was strangely distracted, and didn’t bother with a coat as she darted from the house. She was back in less than ten minutes, her hands empty.
“Well,” she said. “I found them. Now we have to wait a week, then they will come back and say they don’t understand. Or that I didn’t understand them. Or they have changed their minds. I think this is why I prefer designing wands. Beatrix is always so quick, and honest. Too honest, sometimes, but…”
“You’re amazing,” said Ginny, with feeling, and reached out to kiss her.
Undine pulled back. “It’s what I was trained for,” she said, but then she was kissing Ginny. She pulled back again. “No,” she said this time. “It is no good. I don’t know what I’m thinking, now. I will have a shower, I think. No, my own shower, thank you…”
She disappeared upstairs, which allowed Ginny to go over her teaching notes for the day, and then she was planning a meeting with Gouin, prior to a full meeting with the Senate.
There was a loud hammering on the outside door. Ginny lurched to her feet in surprise, and hurried out into the hall to open the door.
It was Sendulla, with two other Durmstrang teachers. One of them was the Dane - the liaison, in his own words. He didn’t look very pleased, and wouldn’t meet Ginny’s eye. The other was a young woman teacher Ginny didn’t know.
“I am sorry to disturb you,” said Sendulla, with hurried courtesy. He had Undine’s plans in his hand. “But we need to discuss these plans.”
Ginny’s heart began to sink; She didn’t want to be the one to tell Undine her beautiful designs had been rejected, but equally couldn’t bear calling her downstairs and watching her disappointment.
“This is Miss Silberg, who is… who is my deputy. And of course you know Mr …”
And Ginny still didn’t catch his name. “I’ll fetch Undine,” she said, leadenly.
“I’m sorry, Miss…” Sendulla began when Undine appeared. She hadn’t bothered to dress; She wore a dressing gown and a resentful expression.
“Undine will do,” said Undine, shortly.
“We would like to discuss these plans with you,” said Sendulla. “In detail. But this has come at a difficult time for us.”
“I understand,” said Undine, glumly.
“So I hope you will understand if we simply ask you to proceed,” said Sendulla. “Your design seems excellent. This does mean any problems that may arise will be entirely our responsibility. Would that be acceptable?”
He didn’t wait for a reply. “Please let us know your fees. You will be paid in Crowns, which I hope will not be inconvenient for you. Any questions please talk to Professor Bjorn-Espersen here. Now unfortunately we must leave you. And thank you both for your kind contribution here. Goodbye!”