Johanna looked up, cursing as grey dust fell into her eyes. She tried to look around her, to see where she was, but it was too dark- she couldn't see anything. It was too dark.
Too dark.
"Harry? Ron?" The small, frail voice of her least-liked traveling companion rose from the black beside her- she waved her arms around cautiously. She made contact with something, and it clutched her arm.
"Harry? Ron?" She asked again, and Johanna shook her off, annoyed.
"If I didn't answer the first time, you probably don't need to ask a second," she said, scowling. "Does your magic stick work in here, girl?"
There was a small shuffling before a small, faint light came on-barely enough to light a foot in front of her. Johanna swore.
"Is that the best you can do?" Hermione nodded, looking puzzled.
"Usually it's much lighter than this, I'm doing the strongest spell there is, but-"
"Hermione! Hermione, is that you?" The girl in question whipped her head around wildly.
"Ron?"
"Yeah, it's me- Harry's here too."
"Oh thank goodness. I'm here with Johanna, and-"
She was cut off by a giant shake, tearing the two women off their feet and tossing them on the ground.
"Mother Hen. You ok?" Johanna said quickly, and she saw a faint light flicker.
"Yes," was the reply, after a few moments." How about you?" Johanna grunted.
"I've been better. You two pommies alright?" she yelled, and Hermione clutched her arm again, drawing a breath in; Johanna didn't shake her off this time.
"Yeah, we're alright. What the hell is this place?"
"That's a great question, bru. Is that really the lightest you can make that, Mother Hen?"
Johanna could see the girl's mouth open to reply, when the light grew bright. She grunted at Hermione's surprised face, grabbing the wand from her hand.
"Oi, you two, what do you see?" There was the sound of some shuffling and whispering before a reply- that was good.
It meant they were close.
"Not much. You?"
"Not much means kak-shit. What do you see?"
"Hell, Johanna, not much! What the fuck else am I going to say?"
"Ronald!"
"Sorry 'Mione, but really. Fine, I'll tell you. I see a wall. To my left there's... oh. Another wall. And two more on the other sides. And a floor. And Harry."
Johanna smiled. "Now, was that so hard?"
She heard mumbled swear words, and lifted the wand so she could look around her.
It was the same for her. Walls on all sides, higher than the light could reach; but pristine, no grey dust, nothing. As if it had been finished and cleaned and polished an hour before.
"How did we get separated?"
There was a soft creaking- like gears starting to move, and Johanna stayed the other girl with a hand.
"Oi, muggies, is your side clean?"
There was silence for a moment.
"Yeah, actually. That's kind of stra-"
Before Ron could finish his sentence, there was a small ping, and the wall opposite the boys began moving. Johanna and Hermione froze.
"What the hell's going on, Johanna?" Hermione whispered.
"The wall's moving down, isn't it?" Hermione said, again, after a moment.
"The wall isn't moving down, girls." Johanna grimaced. Kak.
"The floor's moving up."
"Moving up?" Hermione whispered, and Johanna shot her a scathing look; it softened when she saw the true terror on the girl's face.
"Alright, let's not panic yet. Is there any magic you lot know to slow this thing down?"
"Mione? Anything?" The dirty blonde next to her shook her head in reply and Johanna swore.
"Gatvol!"
The ceiling was less than five feet above them.
"Okay, well, lay down when it gets closer, so that we have more room. BOYS, LAY DOWN!" Johanna yelled, and she felt wetness on her arm. She groaned.
"Look, Mother Hen, now is not the time. Can you think of anything at all?"
"Nothing," she whispered, tearful, and Johanna rolled her eyes. She was scared too, but her fear was hot, dynamic, so she could push it away- Hermione's was not, and so it froze her and made her inept. The girl beside her began to shake, and Johanna gripped her arm.
"Mother Hen... Mo- Oh, for fuck's sake, HERMIONE!" Hermione looked up, her name jolting her, and Johanna grinned.
"We're gonna be alright, ok, we're gonna be just fuckin' blery fine, but I need your help. Now point your little stick at the ceiling and say something."
"Harry, Ron, any ideas?"
The ceiling was less than three feet away. Johanna let her hand move towards her gun in a moment of panic, but she quickly tore it away- the bullet would do no good, this was nothing of flesh, and the blery thing would just ricochet until it hit either of them anyway.
There was no answer from the boys as of yet, and Hermione asked again. "BOYS!"
"Nothing, we got nothing, Hermione."
"Er...Defodio!"
It kept coming. Hermione looked upward.
"Girl, just say anything that comes to your mind, I don't care if it makes sense or not, just say it for fucks sake!"
Hermione shrieked, startled by Johanna's intensity, but a stern expression molded itself onto her face and she nodded.
"Diffindo! Reducto! Evanesco! Oh, Merlin, Finite Incantatem!" She yelled at the ceiling fiercely, the grey tiles now less than two feet from her face, her wand pressed against the floor.
"I'm trying to think, Johanna, I'm trying, I swe-"
"What. Mother Hen, what in fuck's name are you making that face for?"
"Harry? Harry, do you remember the statue of the witch, the one over Honeydukes? What did you say to open it?"
"Dissendium?"
The floor stopped moving, jolting their faces enough so their foreheads made contact with the icy surface of the ceiling. Johanna breathed, relieved.
"Kak, that scared me. Now what do we-"
The gear sound began to start up again, louder this time; but the ceiling itself began to separate, tiles pulling away from each other before pulling up and away into the darkness. Suddenly, they were upside down, and fell off of what had been the floor onto what felt like waxed wood.
They didn't even have time to hug each other before the voice began.
"Hello," it said, voice rich and layered, like musical molasses. "I hope the door didn't give you too much trouble. We wouldn't want you to end before you've even begun."
"Who are you?" Ron asked, inching towards Hermione.
The four could feel a grin through the darkness.
"Welcome to the Labyrinth."
