"Severe Fire at Bran Castle."
On the evening of the 1st local time, a major fire broke out at Transylvania's famous tourist attraction, Bran Castle. The blaze lasted for nearly an hour, but fortunately, no casualties were reported.
Bran Castle's public relations department released a statement saying the fire originated in a tower on the castle's northern side at around 7:00 p.m. local time.
After the fire alarm sounded, staff immediately evacuated visitors to a safe area and sealed off the affected zone, prohibiting public access.
The fire was relatively small at first, but after half an hour, it spread to engulf the entire castle. Thanks to the prompt arrival of fire engines, the flames were eventually brought under control.
Preliminary investigations indicate the fire was caused by a visitor carelessly discarding a cigarette butt, though the individual responsible has not yet been identified.
The statement also noted that the castle's historical structures were severely damaged by the fire. As a result, all tourist sites within Bran Castle will be closed for three to five years until restoration work is completed.
At noon on the 2nd, Romanian Prime Minister Nikola Văcăroiu delivered a speech in the square before the castle ruins, stating: "Although this battle has not yet been fully won, the worst outcome has been avoided."
He also added, "We will rebuild Bran Castle and restore this historic site to its former glory!"
...
Jon Hart lifted his gaze from the front page of Balkan Contemporary News and turned to the second page. It was still about "fire," though this time, a different one—
"Forest Fire Triggered by Bran Castle Blaze Brought Under Control."
Due to the fire at Bran Castle, flames began spreading into the forest east of the castle at 8:00 p.m. on the 1st. A spokesperson for the rescue operation stated that the fire spread "very, very quickly." For safety reasons, 1,500 residents from nearby villages were evacuated.
By the afternoon of the following day, more than 1,300 people near the ignition point had been relocated to safe areas, including 100 children attending a local summer camp and 1,000 tourists.
The evacuation zone lay roughly 50 kilometers southwest of the provincial capital, Brașov. The Transylvanian government deployed 350 firefighters and two helicopters for firefighting and rescue operations.
However, fire officials warned that high temperatures and extremely low humidity would continue on the 3rd, making further containment difficult.
Transylvanian Fire Chief David Farrell stated, "At present, 20% of the fire remains uncontrolled, but 80% has been brought under control. We have achieved today's objective."
Additionally, ecologists warned that the fire would cause devastating damage to the forest ecosystem.
...
After finishing the articles, Jon tossed the newspaper aside and focused on his breakfast of borscht and sandwiches.
It seemed the Romanian Ministry of Magic had handled the aftermath rather well. At the very least, the truth of the incident had been completely buried beneath the cover of the fire.
To make the news more convincing, they had likely set another blaze in the forest, burning most of the half-burned area that Fiendfyre hadn't already destroyed. By that point, Jon had already withdrawn the Fiendfyre after reducing the vampires and werewolves to ashes.
Meanwhile, Jon had already obtained what he needed.
As he thought about this, he nudged the snakeskin sack at his feet. Its opening was tied tightly to prevent any nearby muggles from accidentally opening it and causing panic.
An incident of this magnitude was impossible to hide from the local magical authorities.
Honestly, dealing with the arrogant officials of the Romanian Ministry of Magic was never pleasant—especially when you knew exactly how massive a disaster you had helped them avert.
Fortunately, Jon had already handed the problem over to Professor Remus Lupin.
Clearly, the Romanian Ministry of Magic didn't believe that a wizard who had just turned fifteen could single-handedly burn down an entire castle, half a forest, and incinerate hundreds of werewolves and vampires.
Especially since they found no record of any illegal magic cast locally by this underage wizard—after all, Jon had interacted with them using the identity of Christopher Patrick.
As a result, Jon successfully shifted all responsibility onto Remus Lupin.
After speaking with Jon, Professor Lupin stared at him in shock for a long while, but ultimately accepted the burden without complaint. Although the identity of "werewolf" inspired little trust in the wizarding world, once his status as a member of the Order of the Phoenix was confirmed, it lent his words considerable weight—enough to make them believable.
At present, he was in Bucharest, discussing the matter in detail with the Romanian Minister for Magic.
It was said that Headmaster Albus Dumbledore would also arrive from Britain within the next few days to take part in the negotiations.
Still, it was unlikely to cause major trouble. After all, the Romanian Minister for Magic surely understood the catastrophic blow a large-scale muggle massacre by werewolves and vampires would deal to the International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy—and to his own authority.
...
Leaving Transylvania behind, Jon traveled at an unhurried pace toward Albania using muggle transportation.
He would have preferred to move faster, but Sandru was injured.
The power of Fiendfyre was truly terrifying. Even though Sandru had taken to the sky before the flames spread, he later discovered multiple burn wounds on his body—despite feeling nothing at the time.
To avoid arousing suspicion, Jon brought him to a local muggle hospital for simple bandaging.
Sandru repeatedly insisted that he was perfectly fine and could fly Jon back to Krujë.
Out of caution, however, Jon chose to return slowly on foot. The mission was already complete, after all—the only inconvenience was carrying such a large snakeskin sack.
Overall, the trip to Transylvania had been a success. Despite a few tense moments along the way, the objectives had been achieved.
The only regret was that not a single werewolf had been captured alive. Jon had initially planned to make use of Fenrir Greyback's soul, but by the time he reached him, the werewolf had already been killed by Gina Pistol's father.
For that grieving father, at least,at best, it could be called a form of closure.
...
After finishing breakfast, Jon picked up his suitcase, slung the snakeskin sack over his shoulder, and called out to Sandru, who was leaning on a cane.
He was ready to continue on his journey.
Once he crossed the final mountain ridge, he would be back on Albanian soil.