Man of Archives

Chapter 11

Zurich welcomed us with rather cool weather, which wasn't surprising given that it was December. The presence of snow was to be expected, although there wasn't much of it. I arrived with Headmaster Dumbledore and Alastor Moody, who provided a small security detail.

The city itself was beautiful, nestled in a stunning location. Snow-capped mountains surrounded it on almost all sides, creating a breathtaking scene. Apparition was complicated; we couldn't use a Portkey because the channel between England and Europe was too risky. Apparating across it could easily result in a foolishly fatal mistake. The sea is the most perilous space on the planet, filled with various monsters, both sentient and non-sentient creatures, natural anomalies, and much more that makes traversing it not just difficult and dangerous, but incredibly complex. When we reached the shore, I tried to "sense" the space and nearly passed out from the chaotic mess I encountered. In short, it's something best avoided.

That's why we crossed the channel on broomsticks. It was an unpleasant experience, to say the least. Fortunately, I could use magic to protect myself from external influences, so the flight was relatively comfortable, though I still didn't like flying over such a large body of water, knowing there could be creatures below eager to make a meal of me.

We landed in a town called Calais, in France. Local Aurors met us immediately and were understandably curious about the new arrivals. They recognized Albus Dumbledore right away, and from there, the bureaucracy moved quickly and smoothly for us.

Moody doesn't particularly like the French and eyed the Aurors with great suspicion. His eye whirled madly in its socket, trying to memorize and observe everyone and everything. Afterward, in the same town, the headmaster produced a Portkey that took us to Zurich.

We arrived at a rather wide platform cut off from the rest of the city by four large walls. Several wizards in unusual clothing stood at the entrance. They were wearing uniforms with red, blue, and yellow stripes. Even their shoes matched those colors. Each wizard held a halberd, with a sword and a wand at their belt.

"Guards," Moody said respectfully. "They're beasts in magical battles."

"Are they really that good?" I asked.

"No one below the rank of Master in Combat Magic is allowed into the local guard," Moody replied. "But even that isn't enough due to the intense selection process here. They have three duties: guarding the Pope, who is a graduate of Beauxbatons, guarding Emperor Otto VI, and guarding Zurich."

"Otto VI?" I was surprised.

"A descendant of Otto the Great, King of Germany and Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire," Moody nodded. "Headmaster Dumbledore knows him personally."

The headmaster just smiled at this but didn't go into details.

"Guten Tag," one of the guards greeted us as we approached them.

"Guten Tag," the headmaster replied. "Ich bin...."

He quickly started saying something, but I didn't understand a word. I had to just stand there and wait until we could move on. At one point, the headmaster pulled out a document and showed it to the guard. He quickly glanced at it, then drew his wand to make a mark. Only after that were we allowed to enter the city itself.

"Zurich is one of the few cities where even Headmaster Dumbledore's documents will be checked," Moody commented.

"What other cities are on that list?" I asked.

"Damascus, Yanshi, Thebes, Zurich, Argos, and Panticapaeum," Dumbledore answered. "And that's because these cities are the personal domains of the strongest wizards in the world from ancient families and lineages."