Disclaimer: J. K. Rowling owns everything.

Harry Potter and the Unholy Grails

Into the Ground

They stood in complete silence, listening to the dragon shuffling around ahead of them. Harry caught a sudden waft of cool air and realised that the tunnel must open up into a cave if a dragon were able to fit down there. Hermione chanced a peek around the corner, and Harry dimly saw her clamp her hands to her face to stop from screaming as she ducked back beside them again.

"How do we get past a dragon?" he turned to her and hissed softly.

"I don't know...I don't know…" she mumbled, and Harry could see her wringing her hands in the dim light, but something else distracted him.

"Locked up…been decades…" Ron was murmuring almost angrily and rather loudly under his breath.

"Pardon Ron?" Harry whispered, and Ron turned to face him.

"What?"

"What were you just saying?"

"Nothing," he gave Harry an odd look. "I haven't said anything."

Then Harry heard it again and he realised that it could not have been Ron. The speaker had a thick accent, as if what they were speaking was only vaguely English, except Harry knew suddenly that it wasn't English at all. Faintly, on the edges of his hearing, a hissing sound told him that he was hearing Parseltongue.

"The dragon," he breathed, shocked. "Hermione, do dragons speak Parseltongue?"

Hermione looked up from her wringing in surprise. "Well, I'm not sure," she admitted, "but I suppose that they are a type of snake. So it's possible they could."

With that Harry knew what he had to do – just as Voldemort had said, the only way to get past the dragon to the horcrux was to use the skills of Salazar Slytherin. He had to talk to the dragon and convince it to let them pass. Not believing he was doing it, Harry turned to Ron and Hermione.

"Stay here," he ordered. Steeling his nerves, he rounded the corner and stepped into the cavern of the dragon. Hermione gave a little scream and tried to go after him, but Ron grabbed her around the waist and pulled her back into the safety of the tunnel.

As soon as he stepped into the cave, Harry felt himself freeze. It was as if somebody had filled his legs with lead and his mouth with cotton. He couldn't move, he couldn't talk. The creature was huge, taking up half of the cave easily even with its dark green-brown wings folded over it's back. Its huge claws scraped the floor as it turned to look at Harry and he recognised the creature as a Welsh Green.

The dragon's huge protuberant eyes stared down at Harry. For a second Harry felt sure that the dragon looked confused, but then it let out a deafening roar and several narrow jets of fire that Harry had to dodge to avoid.

"Wait, wait!" he yelled urgently to the irate dragon. The dragon hesitated for a moment before attacking him again. This time Harry was not so lucky, and a jet of fire lit his robes on the left side. He yelped as the heat seared around his legs before he could throw the robes off. Franticly, Harry shook the robes of his body, leaving them in a flaming heap on the stone floor where the flames soon began to consume them in earnest.

Turning back to the still-raging dragon he shouted, louder and more forcefully than before, "Stop!" This time the dragon obeyed, and now Harry was certain that it looked confused. He stared it down, trying to appear calm and in control while his legs shook so badly that he could hardly stand. His fingernails dug into his palms so hard that Harry knew they would leave a mark. "We mean you no harm," he assured the dragon.

The dragon looked at him tentatively, and then spoke again in the strange voice, "Master?"

Hearing the dragon speak now, Harry suddenly realised how young it sounded. He compared it to the size of the Welsh Green Fleur had battled in the Triwizard Tournament and realised that it must be only half the size. This dragon was still young.

Emboldened with this knowledge, Harry took a step forward. "No, I'm not your master. I just want to pass through this cave with my friends," he told the young dragon.

The dragon tensed immediately and it said automatically, "I must guard this cave and stop anybody who tries to pass through it."

"Why?" Harry said, his voice laced with the patience he used when talking to babies. Suddenly he remembered something Bill had told him. "Why are you serving a master when no wizard can tame a dragon?"

The dragon actually looked flustered, "Master tricked me when I was an infant into serving him. He imprisoned me here."

"How?" Harry asked.

"I don't know," the dragon said thoughtfully, and Harry realised the accent was Welsh Old English. An incredible thought struck him.

"How old are you?"

"I'm not sure how I am imprisoned. Each time I go to escape I suddenly lose all engery and desire to do so. As for my age, I believe I am about two thousand years old."

Harry choked, "Two thousand years?!" he said in English.

"Harry, what's happening out there?" Hermione's worried voice whispered.

The dragon immediately went tense again, "Who is there?"

"My friends that I mentioned before," Harry said calmingly, "May they come out?"

The dragon considered him for a moment, "Yes, Parselmouth, you may bring out your friends."

Harry called to Ron and Hermione, and they came out slowly. Harry saw that they were clutching each other's hands so tightly that their knuckles were white and he remembered that they had never faced a dragon before. He quickly relayed what he and the dragon had discussed, and despite her terror Hermione immediately had answers.

"That sounds like a F-Fesselentus jinx," she mumbled, her hand still in Ron's and her eyes not leaving the creature in font of her. "I can break it for you."

Harry told the dragon what she had said and its entire aspect changed. Suddenly it looked not only excited but nearly eager.

"On one condition," Hermione said slowly, her voice stronger. Ron shot her a look that clearly expressed that she was a lunatic. She continued nonetheless, "You let us pass, and we will free you when we return."

When Harry relayed this the dragon looked suddenly very nervous. When it spoke again it sounded young again, as if it were a child describing a nightmare. "You must be very careful once you pass me. There is something much worse through here, and being a wizard will not help you. You may take one thing each from my treasure and go through the hidden hole. I do not want you to get eaten and never return."

Harry suddenly noticed a large pile of armour and wands sitting to the side of them. Beside it, Harry's stomach lurched, was a pile of old bones. He turned to the dragon incredulously, "Were those wizards?"

The dragon looked surprised, "Of course."

"You killed them?"

"I did."

"Why didn't you kill us?"

"You were kind to me and did not attack," the dragon said simply. It had settled back on its haunches and was picking its teeth with a claw. It gestured to the treasure pile again and waved them through it. Quickly Harry explained to Ron and Hermione what was to be done, and the three hurried to the pile.

All three of them lit their wands and selected some protection from the pile. Harry picked out a helmet with a snake winding around the crown, Hermione chose a bow and arrow that was made of silver and Ron picked a shield with a polished drawing of a horse on the front.

As soon as Ron had taken his object from the pile a hole suddenly opened below them, and they were falling. Harry barely had time to register what was happening when his wand went out, along with Ron and Hermione's, and he hit the ground hard.

"Ow!" Ron's voice said.

"Shut up, Ronald!" Hermione's voice hissed and Harry heard some muffling noises that sounded suspiciously like Hermione had clamped her hand over Ron's mouth. "Lumos!" she said.

Nothing happened. "Lumos!" Harry tried. Still nothing.

"Moomoes!" came Ron's muffled voice, and Harry expected Hermione to get clobbered by the slurred spell, but still nothing happened.

"What's wrong?" he asked them, "Why don't our wands work?"

"Oh Harry," Hermione said in frustration, "Remember what the dragon said? Being a wizard won't help you here." She was rummaging in her pockets.

"What?" Ron said to Harry's left. Apparently Hermione had let go of him in her search. "How are we supposed to see?"

"We aren't?" Harry guessed.

"Ah ha!" Hermione said triumphantly. Suddenly they were bathed in light, and Hermione was revealed. She was clutching the flashlight that she had been holding that morning. The light cut through the darkness with surprising strength and Harry could see that they were in another low tunnel that led off behind him.

"Brilliant Hermione!" Ron said.

"Yes Ron, it's surprising when Muggle technologly can come in handy. It's just lucky that we had been trying to go incognitio as campers last night."

"You came here to scout last night?" Harry asked, "Have you slept?"

Ron shook his head miserably and was about to reply, but he was cut off by a horrible noise. It sounded like a thousand spiders legs all running towards them. Moments later dark shapes appeared on the edge of Hermione's beam.

"Oh no…" Hermione moaned, and she tried to get as close to her beam of light as she could. "Harry, Ron, stay in the light. If I'm right these are cauchemar."

"Whats?" Harry asked, but he stepped into her light anyway. He saw Ron pale.

"Nightmares," Hermione said in a hushed voice. It they touch you they make you live your worst fears."

Harry's stomach dropped, "Like dementors."

Hermione looked at him gravely, "No Harry, much worse than Dementors. Cauchemars don't show you memories, they show you fears, so anything is possible. Think of the very worst thing you can and they will make you live through it."

Harry looked at her, stunned, "And we have to get past all of them to get to the Horcrux?"

Hermione shuddered, but nodded. Ron looked incredulous, "Surely there is another way?"

Hermione shook her head. "Normally we would just banish them with magic, but we can't here. We might just have to make a run for it."

"For what, Hermione?" Harry indicated the intense darkness ahead of them.

"Yeah, where's the Horcrux?" Ron asked.

"I don't know!" Hermione said crossly, "I don't know everything. But it hardly manners if we can't banish these cauchemars anyway."

Suddenly Harry had an idea. "Hermione, what about Patronuses?"

Hermione looked surprise, but agreed they might work.

"I can't do one," Ron looked embarrassed. "I could sing?"

Hermione actually laughed at this, "Sing?"

Ron blushed, "Well, that's what Mum did to keep away our nightmares when we where little."

Hermione smiled, "It's worth a try I guess."

Harry looked around at them, and their smiles faded. They all took a deep breath, and Harry stepped from the circle.

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Hey everyone – just wanted to tell you all that I'm off on a trip around Europe today (yes, today) and so I won't be updating for a while. Sorry this chapter was so short, my plane leave in five hours! Since my next update will be after Deathly Hallows, I wish you good reading and hopefully you'll still care what happens to Harry, Draco (who will be back very shortly), Ron and Hermione afterwards. Please review, and stay tuned for Chapter 12: Malfoy Manor!

Lots of love,

Cat