Hermione stopped in front of the heavy oak door. Beautiful carvings of ivy and roses littered its surface and a dull brass handle sat in the middle of a carved wreath of ivy. Curious as ever, she reached out to open the door. The moment her fingertips touched the handle, the door opened with a creak. Hermione stepped carefully inside. As she did, the single little candle on the rickety door side table flared to life. Hermione picked up the little candle stand and held it high.
A thick layer of dust lay on every surface. The air was stale and musty, as though a breath of freash air had not entered the room in decades. Hermione's shoes made prints on the duct laden floor like footprints on the sand. Large intricate spider webs hung from the high ceiling and wove their way about the unlit chandelier. Her brown eyes widened in awe as she caught sight of the tall book cases lining the walls. Reaching from the dusty floor to beyond the great chandelier they were crammed with books of all shapes and sizes.
"Amazing" she gasped in wonder and craned her neck to look up at the tall bookcases. Carefully she made her way around the clutter towards the books. Just as her fingertips touched the books, the massive door slammed shut with a tremendous bang. The candles weak little light went out and Hermione was left alone in the strange dark room. "Oh dear."
"Hello? Is there someone there?" asked a voice.
Hermione dropped the candle holder in shock. She looked uselessly around the dark room, searching for the source of the disembodied voice. "Where is it coming from?",she wondered to herself.
"You know, an answer would be appreciated sometime this century.", it intoned, sarcasm evident in every syllable.
Hermione moved in the direction of the voice. She stumbled forward awkwardly, trying toget her bearings in the pitch black.
BANG !! "Oh, for Merlin's sake!!", she swore, as she fell over a pile of crates she had rather gracelessly walked into and landed in a large pile if dusty old junk.
"Well this is just great,", muttered Hermione furiously to herself as she attempted to extract herself from the pile of junk. " Hermione Granger, top student in her class, co-defeator of Voldemort, having an argument with a pile of rubbish! If Malfoy could see me now! He'd have a bloody field day!!"
Hermione managed to crawl out of the rubbish and stood up to dust herself off. She rubbed vigorously at her robes, trying to get every speck off them.
"I don't bloody well believe it!", she encountered a wand shaped bump in her dusting, "Of all the stupid, idiotic, dunderheaded things to do! YOU FORGET ABOUT YOUR WAND!!" Hermione screeched to herself like a banshee, barely resisting the urge to throw a tantrum like some petulant toddler.
"Well now, if I was not sure that someone had come in before, I most certainly am now! The howling, I'm afraid gave your presence away completely."
Hermione paused. She had been a Student at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for nearly six years now and in that time she had learned that voices which seemingly come from nowhere are usually never good.
"Well come now girl, light that wand up, since you have at last recalled its existence", added the voice slyly.
Hermione hesitated, wondering what to do. "Well Hermione, would you like to die in the dark, never seeing your opponent or would you like to die in the dark in so called blissful ignorance?"
Hermione smirked to herself humourlessly. "Bit of a no brainer really.", she thought to herself, for if there was one thing Hermione hated it was not knowing. Calling on every iota of Gryffindor bravery she possessed to brace herself for what was to come next.
"Lumos!"