Dobby crawled through the duct. He hadn't even been aware that Hogwarts had air ducts for heating, as he had assumed that yet another magic spell was used to warm the castle. Even though his assumption was wrong, he was happy that they existed. He knew if they weren't there, he might have been dead that very second.
Dobby continued on through the dark air ducts for what seemed like hours. The strange part about these ducts was, as Dobby realized, that they had no vents that he could find. He figured that, at some interval along the way, the ducts would at least have ventilation grates into rooms or hallways, but the ducts were consistently dark, and nowhere along his way did Dobby find a grate. While this meant he couldn't be caught, it also meant he would have to go all the way back to where he entered the ducts to get out. He stopped for several seconds to pray for an opening soon, as he wasn't very accustom to the dark, and, frankly, it scared him.
Dobby remembered back to the last time he had been surrounded by total darkness. It had been some time since then, what seemed like ages ago when he was working for the Malfoys. Master Malfoy had left the house for some time, and Dobby had forgotten to warm his bed before he returned, an act that Master Malfoy had requested from the first day of Dobby's working at the Malfoy home. Dobby had punished himself severely for that, slamming his head on each stair of the basement steps, and starving himself for several days while forcing himself to sleep in the dank basement where the Malfoy's hid all their secret bewitched furniture and appliances. Dobby had spent a lot of time exploring the rooms in the basement, and had been more terrified by what he saw than the darkness itself. Luckily for him, it was slighly light in the basement when he explored, as the lights from upstairs still crept down the steps into the basement until all the Malfoys went to bed. But, when the lights were turned off, Dobby found himself in a pitch black land he hardly knew and could not find his way around, and it had, for the most part, scarred him for life.
Dobby looked behind him and saw, far in the distance, a small square of light, obviously the spot where he had entered the ducts so long ago. It alarmed him that the ducts were so straight. It seemed to him that the school was hardly this long, and there was no way that he was still climbing within its walls. Scared about where he was crawling, Dobby tried to peel the air duct connection below him apart, slowly but surely bending the metal up until he could see out. What he saw alarmed him.
It took him a second to recognize what he was viewing, but it looked like the night sky, yet it was strangely unreal, as if the stars were painted into space, and not actually real. Dobby pulled the metal back farther, and look farther out the duct. What he saw almost made him scream.
The dining hall lay what seemed to be miles below the duct. What Dobby had seen as paint-like stars were actually the bewitched ceiling decorations the teachers at Hogwarts put up to entertain the students while they ate. Dobby was terribly scared, as, now that he knew how far he could fall, the ducts seemed terribly weak. Dobby began to crawl ahead as quickly as he could, covering meter after meter in seconds.
Dobby's little legs allowed him to speed a bit faster than a human would in the ducts, as he could stand up, in some sense of the term. By bending over painfully, he could literally run through the ducts, ducking his head out of habit, as he wanted least of all to get bashed on the head by some obtruding object and die days later, unconcious on the floor of the ducts, never to be found. Doby ran and ran until he hit a loose panel, and fell through the floor, screaming loudly, expecting to be flattened seconds later on the floor far below.
Dobby continued on through the dark air ducts for what seemed like hours. The strange part about these ducts was, as Dobby realized, that they had no vents that he could find. He figured that, at some interval along the way, the ducts would at least have ventilation grates into rooms or hallways, but the ducts were consistently dark, and nowhere along his way did Dobby find a grate. While this meant he couldn't be caught, it also meant he would have to go all the way back to where he entered the ducts to get out. He stopped for several seconds to pray for an opening soon, as he wasn't very accustom to the dark, and, frankly, it scared him.
Dobby remembered back to the last time he had been surrounded by total darkness. It had been some time since then, what seemed like ages ago when he was working for the Malfoys. Master Malfoy had left the house for some time, and Dobby had forgotten to warm his bed before he returned, an act that Master Malfoy had requested from the first day of Dobby's working at the Malfoy home. Dobby had punished himself severely for that, slamming his head on each stair of the basement steps, and starving himself for several days while forcing himself to sleep in the dank basement where the Malfoy's hid all their secret bewitched furniture and appliances. Dobby had spent a lot of time exploring the rooms in the basement, and had been more terrified by what he saw than the darkness itself. Luckily for him, it was slighly light in the basement when he explored, as the lights from upstairs still crept down the steps into the basement until all the Malfoys went to bed. But, when the lights were turned off, Dobby found himself in a pitch black land he hardly knew and could not find his way around, and it had, for the most part, scarred him for life.
Dobby looked behind him and saw, far in the distance, a small square of light, obviously the spot where he had entered the ducts so long ago. It alarmed him that the ducts were so straight. It seemed to him that the school was hardly this long, and there was no way that he was still climbing within its walls. Scared about where he was crawling, Dobby tried to peel the air duct connection below him apart, slowly but surely bending the metal up until he could see out. What he saw alarmed him.
It took him a second to recognize what he was viewing, but it looked like the night sky, yet it was strangely unreal, as if the stars were painted into space, and not actually real. Dobby pulled the metal back farther, and look farther out the duct. What he saw almost made him scream.
The dining hall lay what seemed to be miles below the duct. What Dobby had seen as paint-like stars were actually the bewitched ceiling decorations the teachers at Hogwarts put up to entertain the students while they ate. Dobby was terribly scared, as, now that he knew how far he could fall, the ducts seemed terribly weak. Dobby began to crawl ahead as quickly as he could, covering meter after meter in seconds.
Dobby's little legs allowed him to speed a bit faster than a human would in the ducts, as he could stand up, in some sense of the term. By bending over painfully, he could literally run through the ducts, ducking his head out of habit, as he wanted least of all to get bashed on the head by some obtruding object and die days later, unconcious on the floor of the ducts, never to be found. Doby ran and ran until he hit a loose panel, and fell through the floor, screaming loudly, expecting to be flattened seconds later on the floor far below.