Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter series in its print, e-book, audio book, or film versions. The Harry Potter series belongs to its respective author (J.K. Rowling), publishing company (Scholastic and its divisions), and film company (Warner Bros.). I am not making any monetary or other equivalent profit from this. Everything that is not recognizable as belonging to the aforementioned is mine, please respect that.
Source: the base of this story is drawn from this text-
Rowling, J K, and Mary GrandPré. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. 1998. Print.
and this film-
Heyman, David, Steven Kloves, Chris Columbus, Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, John Cleese, Robbie Coltrane, Richard Griffiths, Richard Harris, Maggie Smith, Alan Rickman, Fiona Shaw, Julie Walters, John Seale, Richard Francis-Bruce, John Williams, Mark Radcliffe, Michael Barnathan, Duncan Henderson, and J K. Rowling. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Burbank, Calif: Warner Home Video, 2002.
Summary: AU. Harry Potter is not the Boy-Who-Lived, but his life isn't dull. The Potter Family has big problems; Voldemort and his cronies keep attacking his friend Neville, the Boy-Who-Lived; his other friendships are often troubled, and his schoolwork and other studies are difficult. Not to mention that he has Gryffindor Quidditch at school and International Youth Quidditch Camp in the summer. Yeah, Harry's life is never dull. Oh, and he might have discovered a cult in Hogwarts.
A/N: Sorry this is later than usual! I intended to get this chapter up last Saturday, but I ran out of time to finish revising before I needed to prepare for the Yule Ball (that's correct, I went to a Harry Potter Yule Ball, and it was great!). Then I had terrible trouble uploading to the doc manager and wasn't able to put it up all week. But it's here now! I really liked writing this chapter despite its difficulty, so hopefully you'll all like reading it! A big thank-you to Ern Estine 13624, MSupernatural, and Kaidyen for reviewing! Enjoy! :)
The Curator Chronicles:
Year I – Cracking the Pot
By: HowlingRain
Chapter 8: Duel Discoveries
Dear Grimoire,
It seems I have been entered in a duel. Unwillingly. By Ron Weasley. You remember him. I already knew he and Draco Malfoy hated each other, they have a blood feud going on between their families along with the differing views on blood superiority, and they mock each other all the time. I swear those two live to argue. I never expected their arguments to go so far as for Ron to include me in his 'Malfoy Battle Plans' though. Maybe I should have. I don't exactly know what was up with Malfoy, but I think he was trying to get me to argue with him like he does to Ron, only about me getting a position on Gryffindor's Quidditch team when he claimed to be a better flier. OH! That's right, I forgot to tell you.
I'm the Youngest Seeker in a Century. It's a long story, but basically Malfoy was being a git and threw Neville's Remembral during our flying lessons. I caught it before it could smash against the wall. Professor McGonagall saw me catch it and well... I became Gryffindor's Seeker.
Back on topic, Ron broke into my and Malfoy's... conversation (?) and they argued like usual, but this time they somehow pulled me into it and now I have to meet Malfoy in the trophy room at midnight and duel him or risk harming my personal honor and that of my family. This also includes the risks of being caught for dueling and expelled, or just being caught out after curfew and given detention.
Why'd they have to include me in any of this! Seems I have no choice though. Hopefully my luck will be working and everything will be fine. Guess I have to go now. I'm supposed to meet Ron in the common room at 11:30, and I think the others are finally asleep.
Strange though, Neville's not come back from the hospital wing yet. Madam Hooch said he'd only broken a wrist. I hope it's not something worse. I can't believe he managed to lose control of his broom so badly.
Harry put down his fountain pen and blew on the ink a little to help it dry faster. This time he'd written in red. It seemed a fitting color to use when he was angry. Once the ink dried, he closed up his grimoire and put it in his messenger bag. Momentarily, he wondered if he should bring it along or leave it in the dorm, but very thought of parting from his grimoire made him feel uncomfortable. Quietly, he lifted the bag over his shoulder and crept out of the dorm in an attempt not to wake the two sleeping, and in Seamus's case snoring, boys.
Down in the common room, Harry found Ron, who was being lectured at by Hermione and looked close to snapping. Harry would have said he was surprised... but he wasn't. It seemed like typical Hermione for her to stay up late just to make sure they didn't do anything stupid. He was going to have to disappoint her.
"Harry! Where are you going?" Hermione said as he slipped past her and out the portrait hole, Ron hot on his heels. She followed them out into the torch-lit corridor, whispering furiously, "Harry, you can't seriously be doing this! Do you have any idea how may rules you're breaking?" She was so intent on getting Harry to listen to her that she didn't notice the portrait closing behind her.
"Oh, thank Merlin!"
"Not you too, Neville!" Hermione whisper shouted.
Neville pulled himself up from his seat on the floor. "What are you talking about? No, never mind. I'm just glad someone's here! I got out of the hospital wing, but when I got to the portrait I couldn't remember the password and the Fat Lady wouldn't let me in!"
"Rotten luck, mate," Ron said, "but you're just in time for our duel!"
"Duel?"
"Yes," Harry said bitterly, "Ron got me in a duel with Draco Malfoy. We have to be in the trophy room to meet him at midnight. Oh, and I have your Remembral. You dropped it earlier." Harry pulled the orb out of his pocket and handed it over to a suddenly beaming Neville.
"Wow! Thanks! I thought I must have broken it in the fall. Gran would've killed me if that happened."
"You all right then?" Ron asked. "That broom went totally bonkers!"
Neville rubbed at his wrist and frowned. "I've just got a few bruises, and Madam Pomfrey fixed my wrist, but she wouldn't let me out of the hospital wing until she was sure I was well. Listen though," Neville's voice became very serious, if a bit shaky, "I think there was something controlling my broom. I kept trying to correct it or make it go down like we talked about in class, but it wouldn't let me! Then, when Madam Hooch and I were leaving the field, I saw Snape looking down at me from one of the windows, and he looked terrifying! I've never seen him so furious!"
Ron looked confused. "What, you mean you think your broom was tampered with?"
Recalling the cases his dad told him about and mystery stories he'd read, Harry caught on faster than the redhead. He looked at Neville with wide eyes. "You think Snape jinxed your broom?"
It made sense, in a twisted sort of way. Snape seemed to hate Neville, which was a bit shocking seeing as they'd only known the man for about two weeks. In class Snape was horrible to the Boy-Who-Lived, always frightening him and tripping him up so that his potion would go wrong and Snape could deduct more points from Gryffindor. When Neville happened across Snape outside of class the potions professor was certain to find something else to dock points for too.
Of course, Snape treated Harry the same way, but there was something somehow colder about the way Snape treated Neville. With Harry, Snape's actions and words were always heated, and his deep-seated dislike of Harry made obvious. With Neville though... Snape's actions and words were distant and cold, like mountaintop snow waiting to turn into an avalanche and crush its victim.
That seemed like hatred to Harry, but not for the first time he wished he could read the potions professor's magical aura. Unfortunately, his professor's aura was somehow... guarded was the only way he could explain it, and sadly he doubted he'd be able to tell if it was hatred Snape felt by reading it. He'd never seen an aura of hatred before, or he didn't think he had anyway. Perhaps if he could see Snape's aura he'd be able to sense ill intent towards Neville, but he wasn't able to see the man's aura. It was very frustrating to think about now that he had a real reason to see Snape's aura besides his own curiosity.
"That's mad," Hermione said severely, "Professor Snape is a teacher! He'd never do something to harm a student. Not to mention that the headmaster would never allow someone in the school who might do such a thing."
"I don't know, Hermione..." Harry said hesitantly.
"You've got to be joking," Ron interrupted. "Snape hates Neville! And Dumbledore's hardly here. He could do whatever he likes!"
Neville went pale, and Harry gasped at what Ron was insinuating.
"Enough! You're all being utterly ridiculous. If you lot want to get expelled then go ahead, I'm going back to bed!" Hermione faced the portrait and stopped. The Fat Lady wasn't in her frame. With no one to give the password to, she couldn't get back in.
Harry shook his head and started walking down the hall. They were wasting time and this discussion could wait for later. He needed to get to the duel on time in order to protect his honor. Ron and Neville immediately followed him, Ron gripping Neville's shoulder at first to push the pale boy along before letting go as the boy followed on his own. Harry called over his shoulder, "Coming, Hermione?" He could hear the witch behind him huff, and she was probably lifting her eyes towards the ceiling, but a few seconds later he could hear her footsteps following along.
Now he just needed to get to the trophy room on time while avoiding any prefects or professors making their rounds as well as avoiding any ghosts, Peeves, Filch, or Mrs. Norris. It would probably be best if they didn't wake any of the portraits either. Harry mentally groaned. Tonight was going to be a long night.
••••••••
The trophy room looked very different at night. When he and Hermione had explored it, it had been all bright light, shining surfaces, and the scent of metal polish. The room still smelled of metal polish, but the low torchlight made the plaques and trophies gleam eerily and the cases seem somehow haunting as they reared up in the room.
Harry glanced at his watch. It was only a minute away from midnight. Malfoy wasn't anywhere in plain sight though. Was he hiding? Waiting until the bell tolled to step out and declare the start of the duel? Harry didn't believe Malfoy would back down, his pride wouldn't allow it. Would it?
The bell rang out. Its deep, resounding bong blanketed the whole castle with its clear sound as it extolled the midnight hour. Harry lifted the strap of his bag from his shoulder and gently set it at the foot of the trophy case holding the Quidditch Cup. He removed his wand from its holster and called out, "Malfoy, are you there? I've come to honor the agreement."
There was movement in the shadows, and then a dark figure stepped into the torchlight. The hood of the person's robe was up, casting their face in shadow, and they had their wand drawn. "What's this, Potter? You've brought quite the party with you."
It was unmistakably Malfoy's voice, but there was an edge to it. Harry scanned the room, looking for Malfoy's second. There was no one there. Malfoy came alone. Even though Harry was sure their duel wasn't going to be the traditional to-the-death duel, he was still surprised Malfoy didn't make a show of it by having a second, especially after Ron had announced his position so loudly earlier.
"They wanted to come," Harry said with a shrug. "All rules will be upheld, of course."
Malfoy seemed to relax at Harry's reassurance. He pulled his hood back saying, "Good. I would hate for anything untoward to happen."
Harry blinked at the blond. His hair was so strongly slicked back with gel that it shone almost like a helmet in the torchlight, and the hood of his robe hadn't brushed even a few hairs out of place when it was removed. Fighting back a chuckle, Harry asked, "So how do you want to do this?"
"We'll get in position by the windows. It's the only place that doesn't have trophy cases getting in the way. As for the rules, the standard tournament rules apply, of course, and for this specific duel we'll fight until one of us is either knocked down or yields, agreed?"
"Why? You couldn't get anyone to be your second for a real duel?" Ron snarled.
Harry wanted to whip around and tell Ron that if he wanted to duel Malfoy so badly then he should have challenged him himself instead of dragging Harry into it, but he held back. He needed to get Ron to be quiet.
"Ron! Stop it!" Hermione whispered harshly, "It's already bad enough that we're out after curfew, do you want us to get caught as well? Be quiet!"
Across the room, Malfoy had tensed and his eyes had narrowed. "How stupid are you, Weasley?"
"Smarter than you, you slimy-"
"Stop!" Harry whispered so stridently his throat hurt. Ron fell silent, surprised. Turning back to Malfoy, Harry said, "I agree to those terms."
Malfoy eased out of his tense stance once again, but this time it seemed more forced. "Very well then. Let's take our positions. Longbottom can be the officiator."
Looking to Neville, Harry asked, "Is that all right with you?" Neville nodded jerkily. "As you wish, then," he told Malfoy, and they began to move into their positions at either end of the trophy room's long bank of windows that overlooked the grounds. "Come on, Neville. Stand between us, but to the side so you're not in the way."
Neville took in a shaky breath and did as he was told. Ron and Hermione moved to stand on the imagined sidelines between Harry and Neville, leaving Malfoy's end of the mock arena quite empty. Ron was fingering his wand and wore a dreadful scowl while glaring in Malfoy's direction. Hermione was chewing on her bottom lip, and her gaze was darting back and forth between the two opponents and Neville.
Harry stepped into a dueling stance he'd seen Mercier use when he was demonstrating how great, history altering duels of the past had unfolded. Across from him, Malfoy took a similar stance. Neville stuck his hand out between them, blocking part of Malfoy from Harry's view. Bringing the plan he'd formed during the trip here to the front of his mind, Harry licked his lips a touch nervously and grinned crookedly in anticipation.
Now that he was here, that this was happening, Harry was excited for the duel. This would be an adventure, so long as Ron didn't try to involve himself. He wondered if Malfoy could feel it too. The blond's eyes were glinting again, even in the low torchlight, but there was a fierce determination there as well that Harry recognized in himself whenever he tried to complete a daunting task or catch the Snitch. Harry's anticipation grew, and then Neville quickly raised his hand up and out of the way while giving a strangled whisper of,
"Begin!"
"Lumos!" Harry said intently, and was greeted with a blinding flash of light that wasn't his own. Surprised that his own plan had been used against him, Harry rushed into his next spell despite being unable to see clearly yet. "Colovaria!" he gasped as the floor beneath him went soft and squishy without warning, and he stumbled and fell with a yelp.
Sitting on the soft floor and blinking back his vision, Harry was startled when a loud burst of laughter came from Ron, along with some giggles from Hermione. As his sight returned, Harry looked up at his housemates to see Neville gaping like a fish, Hermione holding a her hands over her mouth to restrain her laughter, and Ron openly, and rather loudly, laughing and pointing in Malfoy's direction. Confused, Harry turned his head to look at the blond and discovered that he wasn't so blond anymore.
He was red. Bright red, like the engine of the Hogwarts Express. His clothes, his hair, even his skin was red, and surprisingly shiny, almost like he'd been given scales. Harry wagered the only part of him that wasn't shiny red was his eyes, which looked positively furious as he glared at his hands. Then, however, those eyes rose and landed on Harry.
Malfoy's eyes lit up, and a victorious smirk filled his face, baring his teeth and showing that they, like his eyes, had escaped the color changing charm. "I win," he declared, sounding deliriously smug.
Ron stopped laughing and looked to Harry. His expression soured as he took in the sight of Harry sitting on the floor with his legs sprawled in front of him and his arms thrown back behind him to hold his upper body up. Harry looked away from the unpleasant emotion displayed on Ron's face and moved his attention to Malfoy.
"I concede defeat," Harry sighed and dipped his head in Malfoy's direction.
Malfoy, still smirking, opened his mouth to say something.
"Mrreow! Meow! Meow!"
Everyone's eyes flashed to the doorway behind Malfoy, even Malfoy, who had to spin around to do so. Standing under a sconce was an old, tatty cat with stringy fur and large yellow eyes that was beginning to yowl.
"I-it's Mrs. Norris!" Neville voiced, looking panicked.
"Filch's cat!" Ron practically shouted, "We've got to go!"
Harry quickly scrambled to his feet and went for his bag, ignoring Hermione's shriek of 'I told you we'd be caught!' and how the Gryffindors were rushing for the door they'd come in through. After slinging his bag on, he bumped shoulders with Malfoy while heading for the doorway. "Malfoy! What're you-?"
"Shut it, Potter! That demon-cat's blocking my exit," Malfoy said while raising his very red hood, "and put your hood up if you don't want to be seen, idiot!"
Harry took Malfoy's advice and pulled his hood up as they took off running after Ron, Neville, and Hermione, side by side, with Mrs. Norris hot on their trail and the sound of Filch shouting for his cat and the people she'd found behind them. They slid around a corner and almost slammed into the Gryffindors, who were stopped and staring at a little floating man wearing brightly colored clothes and a hat adorned with bells.
Feeling his stomach sink, Harry recalled the first time he'd seen Peeves. Then the poltergeist had revealed a couple kissing in a side corridor while students were walking between classes and began singing a made-up love song about the couple loud enough that the whole castle could hear. Currently, Peeves had a Cheshire grin stretching his face. He looked down at them with malicious orange eyes and tisked,
"What's this? A bunch of firsties? You're in trouble now." He floated toward the ceiling and started yelling, "FIRSTIES OUT OF BED! FIRSTIES OUT OF BED!"
"Run!" Harry shouted, and the Gryffindors were jolted back into action. Panicking, they sprinted down the corridor.
At the next intersection, Mrs. Norris was waiting for them, still meowing and with Filch's voice hearable down the hall she appeared from.
"Scatter!" Malfoy screamed upon seeing the cat, and turned left, bumping into Harry.
Harry staggered and toppled toward a tapestry. Trying to stop his fall, Harry reached for the closest thing to him, which turned out to be Malfoy's robe. Pulling Malfoy down with him, Harry could only hope there was a secret passageway like the one Fred and George had taken him through behind this tapestry.
They hit the tapestry and fell though it. Harry landed hard on a slanted surface and all the breath was knocked out of him as Malfoy fell atop him. The extra force was all that was needed for Harry to start sliding down the passage, and Malfoy with him. Harry tried to grab the sides of the passage to stop their descent, but the walls were smooth, slopped, and polished slick. He couldn't get a grip.
"Potter, what-" Malfoy gasped and tried to sit up in the pitch black space, but his movement only caused them to slide more quickly, and then they were off, moving with increasing speed down a sharply slopping passage that was quickly becoming more tunnel-like.
••••••••
It was a surprisingly quiet ride. Air rushed past Harry's ears as they sped down the dark tunnel, and the only other sounds came from when either Harry or Malfoy gave short, muffled sound of pain when they hit the sides of the tunnel or each other during sharp turns. They were going so fast Harry felt like they could be flying. Then Harry thought he saw a faint glow ahead of him, and seconds later felt heavy cloth brush against him and they plummeted over the lip of the tunnel and onto a thick rug. They landed with an 'oomf' and a little cloud of dust.
"Achoo!" Harry's sneeze echoed down the dimly lit corridor they found themselves in.
Malfoy pulled himself up to his knees and looked around. "Where are we?"
Harry pushed himself up as well, shoving some of the long tapestry that was hanging over him away. The corridor stretched to the right and left of them. To the left, sconces revealed it gently curved away and bore another tapestry with a thick rug laid in front of it before it bent out of sight. To the right, it turned into a gallery as the opposite wall fell away to latticed railing and columns that looked out to a large open space and went for quite a distance before it too curved.
Next to him, Malfoy slowly rose and padded quietly over to the railing. The still very red boy turned a little silvery as light from the room beyond brushed him. Looking up, he gasped.
Wanting to see what made the Slytherin adopt such a startled and awed expression, Harry quickly moved to his side and followed his gaze. Harry's jaw dropped.
The room beyond the railing wasn't just a large room. It was a vast Hall, and the enormous ceiling was enchanted like the Great Hall's, only this ceiling didn't show what the sky outside the castle looked like, no, this blasted past the clouds and atmosphere, even the moon, and showed the stars in all their glory. The Milky Way's millions of stars shone with brilliant light, glowing white, yellow, blue, and red, and over it all was a sort of iridescent sheen of heavy magic that danced like the northern lights. It was amazing.
Harry wasn't sure how long they stood and silently stared at the ceiling but gradually the trickling sound of water drifted to his ears, and he started noticing other things about the Hall. Around the edge of the enchanted part of the ceiling was a decorative ring of circles depicting different phases of the moon. One of the circles was glowing. Harry wondered it if was the phase of the moon it was tonight. Below the moons was a two-meter wide space filled with a mosaic made of glass tiles. Lions, badgers, snakes, and eagles were portrayed in a variety of positions as the images moved in slow motion. Under that were the arched openings of the railings and columns of the gallery like the one he and Malfoy were standing at. Beneath their feet, by the foot of every few columns, was the high-relief sculpture of the head of a winged boar that held a dangling sconce from its mouth, with its wings splayed to either side in bas-relief. Lower yet was another set of arches and columns, these open to the floor below them.
Finally allowing his gaze to travel to the center of the Hall, Harry was surprised to find two long columns of wooden benches were lined up to face the part of the Hall that was a solid curve of stone. The solid wall had tapestries hanging to the upper left and right that depicted winged boars. There were also bas-relief carvings on it, particularly one that started in the center of the wall and went down around a mosaic to a raised dais, though Harry couldn't tell what they or the mosaic were of from this angle.
He wasn't able to identify where the sound of trickling water came from, and now that he was listening more closely, he could hear the whistling of wind too, even though the air was still and tranquil. Now that he thought about it, it wasn't just the water and wind he couldn't figure out the location of. He had no idea where he was either. This room wasn't described in Hogwarts: A History as far as he knew, and thanks to the twisting ride down the tunnel-slide, he wasn't sure what part of the castle they were in, although he had a peculiar feeling they were deep within it.
Shifting to ask Malfoy if he knew anything about where they'd found themselves, Harry was suddenly shoved to the floor and had a hand placed over his mouth.
"Shh! Someone's here!" Malfoy whispered, crouched next to him.
Harry nodded his understanding and Malfoy removed his hand. He stared at Malfoy for a moment. His color changing charm must have begun to wear off, because Malfoy's robe was turning a dark burgundy while his skin and hair were turning pink. Harry had to stifle a giggle at the sight he made.
Malfoy caught him looking at him and whispered, "What? Stop looking at me, Potter! Look down there! Something's going on!"
Tearing his eyes from the oddity that was a pink and burgundy Malfoy, Harry peeked between the rails and looked down into the Hall.
A small group of people, bathed in the silver light from the stars above, was gathering between the two columns of benches. They wore old-fashioned robes, the sort that were like floor-length housecoats tied with thin rope and with tighter sleeves, and they had hoods up over full face masks. The robes were violet in color with a light greenish design on the back that worked up over the shoulders, and the masks were also greenish in color. Harry counted seven of them.
"Is this everyone, then?" A female voice said. It came from the girl closest to the dais.
"Of course it's everyone. It's only the second week of school. Do you expect us to have obtained new members already?" A sarcastic male voice shot back from the other end of the group.
"It would be nice if someone picked up a new initiate, or two," she returned.
"Well I'm sorry, but you try finding someone worthy of such secrets amongst my housemates. Most of them don't have slightest clue what secret even means." The answerer was another male, this one stood toward the center of the group. His voice sounded familiar to Harry.
"A cult," Malfoy said lowly from his position next to Harry. "Holy Mother of Merlin, Hogwarts has a cult."
At his words, Harry's imagination went into overdrive. If Hogwarts had a cult, what kind of cult was it? Did they practice Dark Arts? What sort of secrets did they have? Would they kill him if they found him? "We need to get out of here," Harry whispered shakily.
"What are you on about?" Malfoy turned away from the sight below and focused on Harry. "Think about it, Potter. Who knows what kind of stuff a cult at Hogwarts might be up to! They could know stuff about the Founders, or ancient magic, or... who knows what else!" His eyes were glinting again.
Harry felt his courage rise again looking at those eyes. He stopped thinking about the cults his dad and Sirius dealt with as Aurors and started thinking about the stories he'd read, the ones with secret groups that had important missions to protect against evil or guard a legendary artifact. If Malfoy was right... Harry started to rise. "Do you want to get closer?"
Malfoy's hand lashed out and grabbed ahold of his arm, pulling him back down. "What are you doing? You don't just go down there, you bloody Gryffindor!" Malfoy scolded. "You have to watch from a distance first, make sure you know what's going on before risking being discovered, who knows what they'll do to us if they find us otherwise."
"Err, yeah," Harry agreed. He looked back down to the mysterious group and was surprised to see that they'd moved. They were now up on the dais, going through a doorway that had appeared where the mosaic flanked by bas-relief sculpture had been previously. Before the last person, a female, passed through the doorway, she swept her gaze across the Hall. Harry and Malfoy shrunk back to avoid being seen, and seemed to be successful, for she slipped through the doorway without a second glance and the mosaic came back into existence behind her.
"Now do you want to get closer?"
Malfoy sighed and gave him an annoyed look. "Yes, Potter, now we can get closer."
Harry sent him a crooked grin and got up. He hurried down the hallway to the end where he could see two doorways though the columns. Malfoy had to move quickly to catch up.
They passed dark alcoves filled with low tables and cushioned chairs as they went. More tapestries hung on the walls between them, and briefly Harry wondered at how strange it was that this place didn't seem to have any portraits. The main corridors in Hogwarts were filled with them, and even the less trafficked areas, excepting the dungeon, usually had one or two.
His guess about the doorway being the entrance to a staircase proved correct as they approached, and Harry and Malfoy descended to the lower level. The stairs opened up underneath the floor above, a good five meters of covered space between them and the columns and arches ringing the benched area they'd looked at from above. Looking left and right, Harry found the sources of the sounds of trickling water and whistling wind.
Behind the columns and under the overhang, past sets of couches, chairs, and low tables, in the corners, were crystals that glowed. To the right was an emerald green cluster of the gems serving as the centerpiece of a fountain that sent water running over them and into a pool below. To the left was a sapphire blue cluster that shone with a white light. A silvery mist whipped around it like a visible whirlwind, but it didn't stir the draperies hanging on either side of it.
Harry hesitated, not sure which direction he wanted to go, and Malfoy brushed past him, striding confidently toward the center of the room. Harry hastened after him. He didn't want to be left out on anything Malfoy might discover.
Malfoy walked between the columns of benches and didn't glance up at the ceiling once. Harry had to stop and look up. The starry ceiling was even more astounding when you were looking at it from directly below. Harry almost felt like he could float up into it and hover, surrounded by starlight.
"Potter!"
Harry tore his gaze away and dashed to Malfoy's side. The impatient blond was standing on the dais, finally looking like himself again. Behind him was the bas-relief sculpture and glass mosaic Harry hadn't been able to see clearly before. The sculpture was of dragons. The Celtic-styled beasts were entwined with each other and framed the square mosaic. The mosaic also featured dragons. Their variety and colors reminded Harry of the magic he'd done upon being chosen by his wand in Ollivander's. These dragons didn't move like the animals in the mosaic around the room did, but they were in a variety of motionless positions: flying, waving their tails, roaring, breathing fire, and more. However, the dragon in the center was different. Colored the same light green as had been on the robes of the mystery cult, this dragon did move, but as it was asleep, its only movement was its breathing and the occasional flutter of its wings or twitch of its tail.
Harry looked up and down and around the sculpture, curious to see if the mosaic and sculpture had some kind of nameplate somewhere, but all he could find was the sculpture of the Hogwarts crest above it all, with the Latin inscription of its motto: Never Tickle a Sleeping Dragon.
"I don't think we should touch the dragon," Harry said softly, and looked down to see Malfoy had stilled with his hand held out towards the dragon in preparation to touch. Harry raised his eyebrows.
Malfoy drew his hand away and straightened his back. "Right, of course, I knew that."
Harry shook his head. "How do you think they got through this? It looks right solid to me." And it did. The brick wall at Kings Cross Station that had been a doorway in disguise had a certain look to it. Magic had sort of made it look like a doorway even though it didn't look like a doorway. Or at least it had to Harry. The mosaic was different, almost as if the magic that made it a doorway was only present at certain times, and at other times the magic closed up like it was sealing a hole in a set of wards.
"Obviously there's some sort of key, or password, or hidden lever, or perhaps a spell." Malfoy was staring at the mosaic with intense eyes. His fingers were tapping against his thigh. "Did you see them do anything before they went though?"
"No." Harry frowned. "They didn't have their wands out, so I don't think it's a spell."
"So a key, password, or hidden lever," Malfoy muttered. "We probably won't be able to figure out a password. We don't know enough about the cult to guess it."
"Mm," Harry agreed. He was focused on the dragon sculptures. They were beautiful. He wanted to run his fingers along them. It was strange though, for some reason he was drawn to the sharp fangs.
"These sculptures... They're so..." Malfoy's voice grew soft, entranced.
The dragons flashed. Suddenly they were crimson, with scales like rubies and blood running down from their fangs and over their wings. They flared out their wings scattering drops of blood, and turned their heads in his and Malfoy's direction. Their eyes shone like polished galleons as they glared at them.
Harry gasped and staggered back a step, but he could not stop staring to run. Finally, he blinked.
The dragons were carvings again.
Harry rubbed at his eyes under his glasses and gawked at the carvings. They had just been real, live dragons. He was sure of it. Or had it been an illusion? Had Malfoy seen it too?
Malfoy, apparently, had not seen what Harry had, for he had stepped even closer to the carvings, and was reaching out to touch them. Panic rushed through Harry, and he was about to cry out for Malfoy to stop but found that he couldn't utter a word. Malfoy's hand fell onto the wing of a carving, and the blond went rigid.
A moment later, Harry found his voice. "M-malfoy?"
Malfoy didn't respond. It was as if he'd been frozen in place.
"Malfoy!" Harry hurried to his side, grabbed the wrist of the hand Malfoy was touching the carving with, and pulled him away.
Instantly, Malfoy started whimpering and wrapped his arms about himself. His eyes were wide and terrified.
"Malfoy..." Harry said, watching as the blond began shaking.
"Th-they said," Malfoy forced out, "they were going to devour us!" His breathing went ragged. "We have to have a Token or they'll devour us!"
"Malfoy!" Harry grabbed ahold of Malfoy's shoulders and looked him in the face. "Look at me!" Malfoy's grey gaze locked with Harry's green. "Calm down. They shouldn't be able to hurt us so long as we don't actually try to get through the entrance. Calm down."
"Yeah, yeah, that's... probably right, Potter." Malfoy took a deep breath and released it with a whoosh of air. "I... They can't hurt us... Not if we don't try to break in..."
Malfoy was still shaking a bit, but Harry thought he seemed to be starting to regain his composure. As for himself, Harry wasn't quite sure what had come over him. Seeing Malfoy panicking had caused his own fear to be pushed aside. That said... He was still afraid of the dragons, of the image he'd seen and the message Malfoy delivered from them. "Did... did you see them too? The dragons, I mean. All bloody and red with golden eyes?"
"I... When I touched it, I saw them, and heard their voices in my head, but..." Malfoy's eyes glinted faintly. "When did you see them?"
Harry hesitated, thrown off by the look sparking back in Malfoy's eyes. "I..."
"Stupefy. Stupefy."
At the unknown voice, Harry whipped his head to the side and caught sight of two jets of red light speeding towards them and a figure in one of the cultist's robes. Then the spell struck.
A/N: They've found the cult! Or did it find them? Guess you'll have to find out in future chapters, lol. If anyone is wondering about Ron's unpleasantness this chapter: I don't intend to make this a Ron-bashing story. He and Malfoy don't mix and it affects others, which will be addressed gradually. Anyway, I apologize once again for this chapter's lateness, the site's been very finicky about letting me upload/copy-n-paste all week. I hope you enjoyed this chapter! It was the longest one so far and a tricky one to write! Reviews are much appreciated. Constructive criticism, questions (answered via PM), and other comments are welcome!
Thanks for reading! :) ~ HowlingRain
