There was no hint of the sun so far below the ground. It was cold and damp, and smelt of the fear of the Muggles who had managed to wander their way into the crypt.
Magic would provide both the air and the light they needed, while being their most useful tool, but they were forced to use enchantments to made sure they would be warned should the cave become unstable. It would give them enough time to apparate out — they had been trained to apparate quickly and under pressure before being allowed on site. Apparating out sometimes destroyed the caves, though, so if it wasn't an emergency, Inky, their assigned house elf, apparated them out in pairs. They had also been assigned a goblin, Silvereye, as a representative of Gringotts to assess whatever they managed to find in the caves.
The flickering flame ahead paused, allowing Fleur's group to join them. They were one of the smaller groups; but Fleur thought the four of them were a far more efficient group than most of the larger ones. They had been assigned together, along with three others (that had soon dropped out of the apprenticeship), or Fleur was certain she never would have chosen her current team.
Akira Kobayashi was a graduate of Mahoutokoro, and thankfully evened out the females in their group. James was a fresh graduate from Uagadou, and had a surname Fleur could barely remember and definitely could not pronounce. He enjoyed having them try, only to laugh at the result. Christopher Armstrong was the last of their group. He had graduated from Ilvernmorny, and was convinced none of the other schools could compare to his own.
"Is this it?" Christopher spoke for all of them. Their eyes were already taking in the wall that stood before them. There was no hint of magic that they had grown accustomed to when attempting to break an enchantment, but the goblins and house elves were rarely wrong.
Silvereye shook his head. "Not yet, Curse Breaker. It is strange, but this appears to be a dead end."
Akira stepped forward and placed her hands on the wall. Watching the magic the Japanese school taught their students always made Fleur jealous. Both Akira and James had been taught certain branches of magic without their wands. Christopher and Fleur were forced to use their wands for everything, since learning even the smallest spell wandlessly took large amounts of effort and time — something they didn't have when they were hunting for countercurses.
"There's definitely a cave or passageway behind the wall, possibly to some kind of larger cavern, based off the airflow, but it looks like this part of the cave isn't as stable as the rest. The way through is either secret, or has a password or some sort, if we can believe the rumours of this place." It had taken several long moments, but Akira's information was as detailed as it usually was.
In a group with a range of abilities this varied, Fleur had always felt somewhat lacking. Akira had her affinity for wind; James had his human transfiguration abilities; and Christopher had an Animagus form of a large badger. All Fleur had to show for it was the fact that she had survived the Triwizard Tournament. She'd bet there were any number of witches or wizards who would easily replace her without affecting the rest of the team, perhaps they would even make the team stronger than they currently were.
Christopher took his animagus form, and began burrowing beneath the wall. James was able to transfigure his hands into the necessary claws of Chrisopher's animagus form to speed up the process. All Fleur could do was banish the loose soil that was dug up as a result. Akira walked up and down the length of the wall, forehead furrowed in concentration as she continued looking for something.
Akira had explained, after being asked to annoyance, that based off the airflow, she could sometimes figure out what was beyond a wall. Akira's current expression, however, revealed her lack of success.
A dull sound froze Fleur in the middle of the banishing incantation. Silvereye had jumped to his feet immediately, rushing towards the burrowing males with Fleur following close behind. Akira stood unmoving with her eyes closed and palm pressed to the wall. Fleur couldn't tell if she was aware of her surroundings, so when Silvereye and May disappeared in the direction of Christopher and James, Fleur headed towards Akira.
Fleur was not going to risk anyone's life to break a would be other days for them to try again. This would be an opportunity to regroup, and plan their second attempt with more fact and less rumour. Fleur had the year of Healer's apprenticeship before she had changed her mind and apprenticed as a Curse Breaker. If any of them got grievously injured, Fleur wasn't entirely sure she would be able to help.
Akira gasped, flinging herself away from the wall and behind Fleur. "We shouldn't be here. Where are..."
It was obvious when Akira realised where everyone else had gone. The horror that grew on her face matched the dread that Fleur felt.
"What's wrong? What did you figure out?" Fleur asked urgently. She had the feeling that they would have to venture into the burrowed earth themselves. Fear would trail along with them, reminding her of everything that could go wrong.
"It was a grave of a Dark Wizard. One of the oldest, I think. The room over is his grave. It wasn't just air. There's some kind of poisoning enchantment in the room. I couldn't figure it out at first because I've never seen anything like it. We can't let it out. It will spread."
Akira grew more distressed with every word. Most poison remedies relied on Potions. The few known enchantments to remove poisons were complex and highly detailed, not something they would be able to set up on a whim. If the poison enchantment would spread like Akira claimed, Fleur knew the nearby city would not survive it.
"That would explain the supposed cave in, then." Fleur started. "We have to stop them from digging right through. Whatever they hit just now, would have paused them until Silvereye and the house elf, Inky, reached them at the very least."
Akira nodded stiffly, eying the dark entrance with distaste. She flicked her wand and it cast a dull light on the area, just enough to see where she was going, and turned to face Fleur. "I'm going to kill them for making me do this."
"Let's just get out alive first."
The light from Fleur's wand joined Akira's, and they were able to move faster as a result. Fleur hadn't noticed how far away James and Christopher had dug. James must have cast the spell that had the dirt pushed to the outside without her noticing.
"How far have they managed to go?" Akira whispered incredulously.
"I have no idea. I can't tell if they were being overly cautious by digging out this far or if they figured it out themselves," Fleur whispered back.
"Thank Merlin, Fleur. Christopher managed to knock himself out. He hit something, then collapsed. I might have hit him at some point, because I didn't immediately notice that he had stopped moving. Silvereye and Inky can't figure out what could be wrong with him either," James explained, looking worried.
"I'm just glad you didn't dig right into the next cavern," Akira muttered. James shot her a confused look, but motioned Fleur over to where Christopher lay. A forced animagus reverse transformation later, and Christopher looked human again.
"Akira, we're this far in already. Do you think you'd be able to tell if the enchantment extends to here?" Fleur hoped it was easier when she knew what she was looking for.
Fleur pushed a bezoar into Chrisopher's mouth and forced it down his throat. With their current knowledge, it was their best bet.
"What do you mean trying to get into the next cavern. I thought we were digging out?" James asked.
"If we wanted to leave, we could just leave the way we came in. Why would you think that we'd need all that effort to get out again?" Akira demanded. "But I'm glad you two didn't get us all killed. Wait, what?"
Fleur froze. "A confundus-type enchantment as well. Inky get us out of here. I'll explain everything when we're outside."
The confundus-type enchantments were the worst type for Curse Breakers. The strongest ones could render them nearly useless. They had all heard of the curses that resulted in a Curse Breaker losing the majority of their memories and wandering the curse-site they had been working on until someone had found them.
Inky's ears flopped around as she nodded. She took Silvereye and Chrisopher first, since Silvereye was better trained in healing than she was – the Goblins ensured that every one of their race was trained in at least basic healing, and Silvereye had taken his training further than most. She came back for Akira and James, who had both paused their arguments when they noticed her expression. Fleur couldn't tell if Silvereye and Inky had been affected, but the others clearly had, and she wondered why.
Fleur blinked at the dying sunlight. She had been correct in her assumption that Christopher had somehow managed to contact something poisonous, because his breathing had evened out and he looked like he would wake in a few hours.
"Akira, do you still not remember what you figured out in the cavern before the cave-in?"
Akira shook her head. "Honestly, I don't remember much after we got down there."
It would certainly explain the lack of information they had managed to gather on the crypt.
"Silvereye, Inky, were either of your memories affected at all?"
"I don't believe so, however, it seems we do not have the same information you do. I remember the entire day," Silvereye said. Inky made a sound of agreement.
"Some kind of poisoning enchantment affected Christopher. Akira had noticed it, and that's why we both came rushing to the four of you. Akira mentioned that it would be possible for the enchantment to escape the chamber, and without preparation that would be fatal."
"And you believe there's a memory tampering enchantment near the Chamber as well," Silvereye added. "That was good thinking, Curse Breaker. At least we have some information on what we're facing now. Could we assume that the memory curse does not affect those with creature blood, then?"
Fleur shook her head. "I don't think we can assume that. None of us actively tried to get into the room, so we can't say that we don't have to worry about the enchantment. We can't rule it out completely either."
"So, what now?"
"We regroup and try again when we're ready. We need to figure out how much Christopher was affected and make a plan from there."
"Let's just get back to the hotel now," James said, stretching. "I could use a shower."
"Thank Merlin you were there, Fleur. Who knows how long we would have been stuck down there otherwise? If I weren't so tired, I would suggest we go out tonight."
"Tomorrow night sounds better," James muttered. "You should be out team leader. Didn't Grant tell us he wanted to know who was ours by the end of the year?"
"I agree," Silvereye said, halting Fleur's argument. "You're the only one who can get those three quiet anyway. What you did today only confirmed what I already knew."
It was strange, Fleur mused as they walked in a tired silence. She had been the only one to believe that she was replaceable in the team. Perhaps that had been what had always fuelled her to be better, and to try harder. Fleur hadn't thought the others had noticed her trying to keep up with them.
This didn't mean she could start slacking, though. Fleur could feel the weight of their trust now, and that was far more motivating than the fear of being left behind.
The Golden Snitch: Madame Malkin's Dress Up Shop: Beauxbaton's Cloak – Write about Fleur Delacour
October Event: Around the World in Thirty One Days: Cameroon – Profession: Curse Breaker
If you dare Challenge [16 – Settling in for a long siege]