The Unknown of the Order (Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery

Sight-Seeing

"It's called Corvin Castle," said Elena. She and Barnaby stood staring at the imposing structure, a gothic castle with a tall, narrow bridge leading to it. "I think its the most beautiful building in Romania, though a lot of people prefer Bran Castle. You know, the Dracula castle?"

"Well, you'd still be right then," said Barnaby. "Dracula's castle isn't in Romania. It's in Transylvania."

She laughed, though he wasn't sure why. "I like to come here in the evenings, after it's closed and no longer swarming with muggle tourists." She ended the sentence with a hint of bitterness Barnaby had never heard in her voice before. It made her Romanian accent stronger. 

Barnaby stared up at the building. It reminded him of Hogwarts, though Hogwarts was much larger and somehow much less imposing. Hogwarts held a welcoming magic within in its walls, as well as so many happy memories. 

"Do you want to go inside?" Elena asked. "It is closed now, as I said, but whatever security measures the muggles have put in place will be no match for us."

Barnaby said nothing. He stared up at the castle, thinking of the time he'd given Sarah an aerial tour of Hogwarts on the back of a Hippogriff. 

"What's the matter?" Elena asked. "You look sad."

"It's nothing," he said. "This place just reminds me of Hogwarts. It's been a long time since I've seen it." Since the night Sarah left, he thought. 

"You really miss home, don't you?" asked Elena. 

"Yeah," he admitted. 

"What do you miss the most?" she asked. 

Barnaby thought for a moment. He knew the answer of course, but a little voice in his head that sounded remarkably like Charlie told him he shouldn't say that. There was so many things he missed about home. The food, the English accents, the food, all the signs being in his native language, the food...

"The Magical Creatures," he said. 

Her eyebrows raised in surprise. "Really?"

"Yeah. I've always loved magical creatures. It was the only subject I was any good at in school. That's what I do now, you know. I'm a magizoologist."

"You should have gone to Durmstrang. Their curriculum is more suited to a man of your talents."

"Do they have a Care of Magical Creatures class?"

"No," said Elena, slowly. She seemed confused. "So is that really why you're here? To play with dragons?"

 Barnaby nodded. "Don't get me wrong, I've loved getting to work with the dragons. It's been brilliant. But you can't really tame a dragon. I miss seeing new creatures everyday, becoming friendly with them, petting them..."

Elena was silent for a moment. Barnaby wondered if had said something stupid. Finally, she took his hand. "Come on, then. I'll show you something that'll cheer you up."

They disapparated. Barnaby's head swam with dizziness as they reappeared in a meadow facing rugged mountains. Elena held his arm and guided him so that they were crouched down in the grass. 

"What is it?" Barnaby asked. 

"Shhh," she whispered. "Look." She pointed to their left. Far off, near the foot of the mountain range, was a small heard of graphorns. 

Barnaby gasped. "I've never seen one in the wild before."

The large, humpbacked creatures stood in a close group, their purplish-gray skin blending in well with the mountains behind them. The alpha, a large male the size of a lion, held his golden horns aloft proudly as he strutted around the group, using the many tentacles that fell around his mouth to touch the others in greeting.