Arthur looked down at his watch. 6am. Okay... 4 hours left... I can find a way. He tried to convince himself.
The boy rammed into a wall, looking downwards at his watch, and fell. He had reached a harsh bend in the path.
Arthur picked himself up for the second time that day, cursing.
Pointing his wand at his new grazes, he muttered, "Episkey."
Dizzy and rather flustered, Arthur set off again. He tripped on a stalagmite and swore again. This day was turning into a nightmare...
He entered a room of significant size and sat, looking upwards, breathing heavily and wearily. Was this the way out? He did not know...
The room was larger than the first – which was a statement in itself – and was filled with large, precious gemstones in kaleidoscopic patterns against the harsh, grey stone. There was no natural source of light, and Arthur could barely make out the top squinting with his wand pointing upwards as far as he could reach.
"Lumos Maxima!"
Arthur almost screamed.
Perched above him like a bat was a nest of bright acid green dragons quite as big as buses. The cavern was way bigger than he thought. If it were a zeppelin, he thought that the gondola was its original entirety prior to the charm... Why, the whole Ministry could fit in there!
Arthur turned back the way he came and took off on a branching path –
"Flagrate! Flagrate! Flagrate! Phew... Flagrate!"
He ran. And ran. And ran.
"Flagrate!"
His surroundings blurred before his eyes.
Several times a wall almost took him out. But he couldn't care less; he needed to keep going.
And going.
Black spots bloomed in his vision. He needed to stop.
Halting fast, he doubled over and almost fell from dizziness.
Then he did, and hit his head hard on the stone floor. What's with my darn impulses?
When he awoke, startled, he knew he had to keep going. It was not at all safe here.
He dusted himself off, got up, and walked. He was drenched in cold sweat, and feeling quite uncomfortable.
But after a mere few minutes, he came to a stop.
Arthur – after being rather more successful than he had for the past few hours – came to another opening the network. But unlike the last, this one was smaller than his bedroom. Tiny openings in the rock showed a large, well-lit (in comparison to the caves) hollow just beyond the wall.
"Yes! Finally! Um... what was that explosion charm...?"
He decided to gain his breath and tried to think... seconds passed by like hours. His head was still so dizzy. If only he could think of the darned charm...
"Bombarda Maxima!"
The bedrock in front of him fulminated as if struck by lightning. Rubble flew agains sparks.
There was a terrible screeching in the distance which Arthur knew was the cry of awoken dragons.
A loud, high-pitched ringing sounded in the boy's ears. He eardrums felt like they were bleeding... Then all was silent.
Thank God for my fast recall.
A howling wind set a miserably dark scene below. It looked like even compared to the dragon nest, this sight was far superior in size. Far below, a great darkness swelled. Mist surrounded the streams which fell at the drop off and didn't stop, into the dark unknown. Little flecks, of what looked to be mould amidst gold, drifted phosphorescent in patches around the vast enclosure.
A luminous obsidian castle boasted its presence in the shadows a mere two hundred kilometres away.