D.C: yadda yadda yadda belong to j.k rowling yadda yadda yadda does not promote witchcraft yadda yadda yadda now excuse me while I go read from the Necromancer.
Chapter 25: Into the Belly of the Beast
Harry's body froze as he stared into the crazed eyes of Darcy Dumont. She stood half in shadow, but there was enough light to see her now ripped and soiled robes, her scratched face, and the expression of malice making up her features.
He took in a shallow breath feeling a thin line of blood trickle down his neck and seep into his collar.
"Professor, please," Hermione tried in a valiant effort to try to distract the woman who held a sword to her friend's throat.
"Quiet," Dumont hissed, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose, never letting her gaze wander from Harry's face. "You're Harry Potter."
Harry didn't say anything: it was a statement not a question. He couldn't believe his luck—stumbling straight into Dumont of all people. But whether she had gotten the pendant—whether she had gotten to Jade—was unclear. There was something else—Dumont was right there in front of them—in this castle instead of in the lobby of the French Ministry with Price, Percy, and Jade. Harry could only reason two possibilities: Either Dumont had succeeded in killing Jade and retrieving the pendant and had apparated to the same spot Pettigrew had set a portkey to, or Price had used some clever ploy and escaped his crazed sister. Harry hoped against hope it was the latter.
"Now you all are going to do exactly what I tell you," Dumont said, and surprising all of them, she lowered the sword. Harry quickly stumbled back into Ron and Hermione.
"You shouldn't have followed," she said, her eyes flashing like light on the metal of Godric Gryffindor's sword she held in her hand. Then she nodded towards the front entrance.
"Let's go."
"No," Harry said not fancying the idea of exposing his back to her. "What happened to Jade?"
"And Percy?" Ron blurted heatedly though his eyes were wide with fear.
Quicker than any of them could blink, the professor swung her blade up so that it was poised just inches from Ron's chest.
"It's imperative that you move now," she said dangerously, but in spite of the curtness of her words, a bit of her more known character momentarily revealed itself—the witless woman was very much there in Dumont's face though her movements were sure and her voice was firm. She opened her mouth and added, "We haven't the time".
Hermione reached up and pulled both Ron and Harry away from the woman and began to make for the front doors from which they had entered merely a few minutes before. Hermione's breath was short, and Harry could see that it was taking much of her effort to keep herself calm. What had he gotten her and Ron into? Did he already loose one friend today? Was he going to have to watch two more be put into danger?
"Did you get the pendant?" Harry finally asked, looking cautiously over his shoulder at the woman as she herded them forward. She didn't say answer. Instead she raised her blade again making it quite clear that he shouldn't expect one.
The small trick of hope Harry had that maybe Jade, Percy, and Price where okay began to flicker with every step.
They were in the front entrance hall now where they could more clearly making out the state of Dumont who appeared to be limping and bleeding more than Harry had previously guessed.
He turned and glanced at Ron and Hermione to find his own fears mirrored in their faces. They were mere feet from the massive, rotting door from which they entered now. However, before they reached it the sounds of robes and firm footsteps impeded on their ears. Before Hermione, Harry, or Ron could fully register the sounds, the door was flung open revealing a dozen Death Eaters, cloaked, masked, and armed with wands.
Hermione gasped and pressed back, stepping on Ron's foot in the process, but he hardly noticed.
"Take them," one of the death eaters said. His masked face directed itself on Dumont as if examining her.
"The Dark Lord thanks you, Darcy," he finally said.
In response, Dumont stepped from behind Ron, Harry, and Hermione, swinging the bejeweled sword almost casually in one hand.
"Nice of him to send the welcome party," the professor said. Suddenly, Harry's blood was boiling—both he and Hogwarts, had been betrayed too many times. As the death eaters began to pour in, meeting Dumont she raised her sword, wielding it in front of her dangerously. It was then Harry realized their backs were now unguarded and one glance at Ron and Hermione told him they had realized the same thing. He nodded at them and took care to focus his attention on their surroundings.
"You were invited you know," one of the death eaters finally said to Dumont. "All in the family and that sort of mumbo jumbo."
"I'm not my parents," she replied, just as one of the cloaked members had raised their wand.
"Cruciatus!"
Dumont swung the blade up and blocked the curse from her body, sending it back to the figure that had sent it. He collapsed withering in pain.
"Get them!" a woman among the death eaters cried out.
"RUN!" Harry yelled and he, Ron, and Hermione turned and bolted towards the darkened hall.
Their hearts pumping faster than their legs, they darted through the halls, only daring to look back once or twice to see the small swarm of death eaters move towards them. Ill-aimed curses missed them, but only barely. Though they didn't stop running through the darken castle, Harry leading the way down through nearly pitch-black stairwells in hopes that there would be an escape below the structure rather than risk trapping them on the higher floors, they noticed that the Death Eaters didn't seem to be following them anymore.
"Are they trying to cut us off?" Hermione panted, lighting her wand but only to catch a quick view of the cavernous tunnel they had just slipped into before extinguishing it in case the death eaters were near.
"Dunno," Harry muttered straining his ears for sounds of angry voices and footsteps. He heard neither.
"Dumont," Ron said shakily. "Dumont—she's here. Did she apparate here? Does that mean she got…she got the guardian—and them?"
"Don't say that, Ron," Hermione whispered. "Please don't. We don't know."
"It didn't look like she was on their side up in the entrance hall," Harry said.
"Do you s'pose she's not with You-Know-Who then?" Hermione asked.
"Maybe she decided she wants the pendant for herself," Ron said bitterly. "I don't doubt she's bloody capable of taking it alone."
Harry didn't say anything—instead he pressed his hand against the cool, rocky walls: he was thinking the same thing.
They let the silence and glum engulf them so that their ears began to hum with the absence of sound. Harry found that even as his eyes adjust to the darkness he could hardly make out the outline of his two companions.
"What do you reckon we should do?" Harry finally asked.
"Well, we can't go up without risking getting caught," Hermione said slowly. "The walls are damp down here—maybe there's water we can follow out…but I don't know which way we should go."
Though he couldn't tell for sure, he was certain Hermione and Ron were looking in all directions just as he was.
"Lumos," Hermione muttered lighting her wand again, obviously deciding that the risk of exposing them was small now that they were somewhere below the ground.
"The ground slopes a little there," Harry finally said pointing in the dim light. "I think that'll lead us down—and the walls are damper here. I think we can find a way through the cliff and into the ravine."
"Are you sure?" Hermione asked nervously.
"No."
"Well, we haven't got many choices now, do we?" Ron insisted. "Let's go."
"Now just wait a second—" But Ron had already nudged Harry on and both boys began to move forward.
"Come on, Hermione," Harry called back, seeing that she wasn't keen on following so blindly.
"We could do a mapping spell," she said. "I think I know one—"
"I don't think it's a good idea to stay in one spot with those death eaters looking for us," Ron said pointedly over his shoulder as he and Harry stepped forward into the shadowy tunnel. "You can mull over the spell as we—ARGGGGGGGGGGH!"
All of a sudden, the ground seemed to have slid from beneath their feet. Harry and Ron tumbled and crashed downward a steep, rocky hill towards an unseen ground.
"Oof!"
"Harry, Ron!" Hermione hissed loudly from above, not daring to yell but the worry was still audible in her raspy voice. "Are you two okay? Hello?"
"We're okay," Harry managed to say as he struggled for breath. "Luckily, this solid rock ground broke our fall."
"That's not all it broke," Ron groaned rubbing his backside.
Above them, they could see Hermione's face peering through the large opening they had fallen through anxiously in the dim glow of her wand light. It looked as if that section had caved into the large cavern below years ago, creating the steep, sloping, edges Harry and Ron had had the pleasure of falling down.
"Are you two sure you're all right?" Hermione called down quietly.
"Fine," Harry returned, suddenly noticing that he could see Ron much more clearly down here. Feeling as if the cavern was vaguely familiar, he turned and noticed, a little way off, an opening in daylight. It looked as if a rockslide had blocked the entrance to the cave and someone had pulled away some of the rubble near the top to climb out. Bright light was filtering in, softly lighting the entire cavern.
"I think we've found our way out," Ron said. "Hermione, do you think you can slide down?"
"Sure I can," she replied hastily, "but whether I make it down dead or alive is questionable." The two boys raised their eyebrows at her and she extinguished her wand. Groaning with unease, she tried to slide slowly down the loose-rock slope only to find herself toppling out of control before making a very ungraceful landing right on top of Ron.
Struggling to maintain her dignity, Hermione quickly leapt to her feet, brushing her hair from her face.
"What are we waiting for?" she said tightly leading the way towards the exit.
They had to climb the rubble to reach the opening near the top, but the rocks were firmly held in place, and the mount was easy. Ron got to the opening first, having the longest reach, but as soon as he caught glimpse of the world outside, he retracted his body like a turtle retracts its head.
"Death eaters!" he hissed under his breath. Harry and Hermione scrambled up and peeped cautiously out. Sure enough, a group of a dozen or more of the Dark Lord's followers was gathered within hearing distance.
"The children went towards the back of the castle," said one of the masked servants. "The Lord wants that Harry Potter alive—you may kill his companions."
Harry's heart flipped as he pulled Ron and Hermione back from the light.
"We're searching the underground," the masked man continued. "Remember—keep Potter alive. Kill the others."
"Come on," Harry hissed, urging Ron and Hermione to clamber quickly back down the rocks. Their feet hit ground and he pulled them towards the other end of the cavern.
"What are we going to do?" Hermione whispered her voice shaking with fear. Harry was glancing around, struggling to make out all he could in the dim light. That's when he saw it: the grotto—a slash in the back wall of the cavern much like a leering grin. Just like the one he had seen mother slip through over and over again in his dreams.
Shaking, Harry stepped towards the smooth walls of the cave that now sparked a déjà vu so utterly powerful, he felt weak with the memory. It was all just like the dreams—his father, who had broken his leg, must have sat just there, right where he was now standing.
"Harry," Ron said urgently. "Snap out of it!"
Harry shook his head to clear his vision, glancing back at the cave opening. There was no time for wistfulness: there would be no mercy if they were caught.
"This way," he said hastily, running to the back end of the cave, Hermione and Ron at his heels.
"Where are we going?" Hermione asked weakly.
"Up."
Hermione looked about ready to protest, but the sounds of rock being moved at the mouth of the cave shocked her senses into action.
Fighting for footholds, daring not to look down, they climbed the dozen feet and scrambled into the upper grotto. There was no light now and they ran blindly into the blackness, pressing their hands against the slimy walls for guidance, hoping there would be somewhere to hide if not another way out.
"Stop," Hermione finally said panting after she nearly tripped over a smooth boulder. "Harry, why'd you freeze back there?" He and Ron turned to face her, but they only found darkness.
"This is the place from my dreams," Harry answered shakily. "My parents were here—this is where they came for the Guardian—this is where those two death eaters died, under that rockslide we were climbing all over."
"Creepy," Ron muttered.
"Are you sure?" Hermione asked. "This was were it all happened? Your mum finding that pendant?"
"Yes, everything's the same—"
"D'you hear that?" Ron interrupted, his voice tight.
"What?"
"Shhhh!"
Both Harry and Hermione stopped talking and sure enough they could faintly hear muddled voices coming from somewhere ahead. Despite the resonance of the tunnel and water-filled cavern that Harry knew who was ahead, he thought one of the voices sounded an awful lot like—
"That's Percy!" Ron hissed. "I'd know that whimper anywhere!"
Just then, a piercing shriek filled their ears. As if they were one body, Harry, Ron, and Hermione darted forward, finding the dark lightening somewhat as they came closer to the origin of the scream. Suddenly, they found themselves on what appeared to be a beach of an underground lake, mutedly lit by green torches.
"Look!" Hermione said pointing across the water to the other side. They could just make out three people dashing into another dark tunnel situated directly across from them.
"You don't think that's—do you?" she asked skeptically though she probably knew the answer. Harry didn't respond because his attention was now drawn to a hunched figure wrapped in black now propelling a gondola towards them. Harry could see that it rowed with a handicap, and it simpered like some dark, wounded animal with ever stroke. As it came nearer, the wide lamp-like eyes blinked open, and the black, oily hands were pronounced even in the darkness.
"Eck, what the hell is that thing?" Ron blurted out, disgusted. Harry didn't answer and instead flung out an arm and pushed both Ron and Hermione back towards the tunnel they had just come from. Before they could make a run for it, however, the creature had grounded the boat.
"Tricked by human," it snarled painfully. "No tricks from you, or no chance to live you shall get." Now that it was only a few feet away, Harry could see that one of its arms was nearly detached from the spidery body. It reminded him of the thin strip of skin and sinew that held Nearly Headless Nick's head to his neck.
"Tricked, tricked, tricked no more," the gnarly creature hissed, licking at it's wound.
"A water ghoul," Harry and Hermione breathed at the same time. Ron looked at his friends, before returning his gaze to the thing still standing in the gondola.
"What do we do?" he muttered from the corner of his mouth.
"Run for it," Harry returned. "It's the same creature from my dream—Gollum."
"We can't," Hermione whispered urgently. "It's bound by riddles—if we run without answering it's question it'll kill us."
"Bad humans—bad, trick Gollum," the water ghoul said in a low, crackly tone. "Human must answer Gollum's riddle correctly and get a wrong answer from Gollum to cross and live."
Harry looked from Ron to Hermione, blinking the hesitation from his eyes. He didn't know water ghouls could attack if they refused to answer—he had assumed they were like Sphinxes: they'd only attack if you tried to guess their riddle and got it wrong.
"All…all right," Harry stuttered acutely aware that this little being had once tried to eat his mother but seeing no other way out. Behind them were probably death eaters, and before them was this sort of Russian roulette. "What's your riddle?" he asked.
The creature hissed at them and hunkered down in the boat like a rabid dog about to pounce. Instead, it stopped nursing it's injured arm and spoke:
"Oft must I with wave strive and with wind fight,
Together against them contend, when I depart seeking
Wave-covered earth; foreign is land to me,
I am strong for that strife if I become still;
If I fail of that, they are stronger than I.
Wish to carry away the thing I protect.
I withstand that if my tail holds out
And stout stones can hold me
Fast against them."
"It's an anchor," Harry said before the last words left Gollum. It hissed in surprised recoiling with agitation and resentment.
"How'd you know that?" Ron asked bewildered. "I couldn't even tell it was English!"
"If you only knew how many times I've heard that riddle," Harry muttered back feeling a cold chill race up his spine: he had heard Gollum ask his mother that very riddle and had heard her answer the very answer he had just blurted out, so many times before in the comfort of his own bed.
"It's human's turn," Gollum finally managed clawing at the sides of his boat. "Give Gollum a riddle-quick, quick, no tricks—"
"Well go on," Ron nudged Harry who looked back at him with eyebrows raised.
"I don't know any," he said now a bit panicked. The two boys turned and looked expectantly at Hermione.
"Oh, no pressure, right?" she said sarcastically even though her hands were shaking. "Hold on—I think I have one."
"Quick human," Gollum hissed in a hushed pulsating breath, "quick, quick, quick."
"Hermione…" Harry said uneasily as the creature licked it's chops. "He looks hungry—"
"One minute," she said her mouth working nervously. "Er…Alright, here goes—We, we all have this: It, er…it forever goes up but never comes down."
The gnarly, oily-black creature stopped hissing long enough to contemplate.
"Forever goes up," it muttered. "And never comes down—we all have age."
Hermione nodded solemnly and Gollum leaned forward so excited it seemed to have forgotten it's injury.
"Gollum knows a small word of letters only three. But if Gollum adds one letter to it, none there will be."
Harry, Hermione, and Ron just stared at Gollum fumbling motionlessly through the quiet for the answer.
"Jump in anytime, Harry," Ron finally said in a hushed tone.
"I don't know the answer!" he hissed back in surprise.
"You knew the last one!"
"Will you two shut up?" Hermione commanded looking down with a hand pressed to her chin. "Three letter words…think of three letter words…"
"Add one letter and there will be none," Harry added. "It's a three letter word…"
"Be quick, Human must," Gollum whispered hurriedly, a string of saliva thick as glue slipping from it's mouth.
"One of us has got to know!" Ron exclaimed shrilly on the verge of panic as he watched the creature salivate.
"Ron!" Hermione brightened suddenly looking like she could kiss him. "You're brilliant! ONE! There will be none—the answer's one! You add an "N" and you get "none"!"
"Human is right," Gollum breathed as if the words were painful. It retreated back a little in disappointment. "Human must ask riddle again," it muttered nearly incomprehensibly
Harry and Ron, still shaken from the last riddle, looked expectantly at Hermione. She seemed to already be formulating one however, without need of their asking.
"What falls," Hermione said swallowing the tremor in her voice and taking charge, "but never breaks and breaks but never falls?"
"Night," Gollum answered frighteningly fast. Hermione could only nod, shocked by the fierceness in the creature's voice.
"Gollum's turn!" it squealed excitedly. Hermione looked up at Ron and Harry apologetically. All they could do now was hear the creature's riddle.
"Two men fall from the sky into a desert," it said, glee evident even in it's raspy tone. "One is dead. What is in the dead man's pack?"
"A parachute," Harry answered just as quickly unable to hide a small triumphant and relieved smile. It was the very riddle that had bought his mother a trip across the lake.
"You're turn," he said.
Gollum's figure twitched and suddenly it screeched something loud and achingly horrible—the sound reverberated around them, driving into their ears.
"Human is right!" it yelled in anguish. "Ask Gollum! HURRY! ASK!" And with that it scrambled from the hold of the gondola, leaping onto the shore snatching at them, screaming in agony.
Harry, Ron, and Hermione pressed back, flinging their arms over their faces though the creature never touched them. It circled around them instead, and eventually they managed to maneuver a full 180 degrees around so that their backs faced the lake, and Gollum faced them, shrieking at them with wide, pale eyes.
"It can't hurt us!" Hermione yelled over its screams though she hardly sounded convinced. "It's bound by magic—it can only hurt us if we loose!"
"Ask it a damn riddle then!" Ron cried out hastily.
"I—I haven't any more!"
"Don't say that!" Harry said urgently as he pressed along side them nearer to the lake. The water lapped at their shoes, dampening their socks unpleasantly.
"Ask Gollum," the water ghoul hissed pitifully, so close to them now that it's rank breath warmed their skin. It's face was contorting in such distress and it's eyes twitched with so much tension Harry feared, bound by magic or not, the creature would make lunch out of them quicker than they could jump into the lake and get wet. But it didn't. Instead it moaned pitifully, "please…."
"I've got your riddle," Hermione said bravely. "What would happen if one were to stand twenty paces back?" She looked straight at Gollum, refusing to let her gaze wander from their target. The creature's spindly body relaxed. It was now calmed by the question, sighing as it slipped into contemplation.
"One would be…" Gollum muttered. "Twenty paces, human said? What would happen?"
"That's right," Hermione said calmly. "What would happen?" Gollum hunkered down on the stone shore, momentarily letting his eyes drift from them. It was then, Harry noticed, that Hermione had drawn her wand stealthily and was holding it at her side.
"Twenty paces back?" Gollum asked, and Harry knew that it was confused.
"Yes," Hermione said. The creature moaned in frustration, but continued to rub its good hand under it's chin in consideration while it's injured arm lay like a broken piece of puppetry at it's side.
"Perhaps," Hermione broke in. "If you tried standing twenty paces back—you could get a feel for the riddle."
Gollum momentarily quieted, looking up suspiciously at her. Hermione kept her face blank, shrugging as if to say it were merely an innocent suggestion.
"Yes," it muttered finally, allowing it's hungry gaze to settle on her. "Yes, twenty paces." As it turned and counted out twenty paces, Hermione looked at Ron and Harry at last, motioning them to be prepared to push off in the boat. They nodded to show they understood, watching her as her hand clenched tightly around her wand, pressing their own hands to the bow of the gondola.
"Twenty paces," Gollum announced and turned to face them.
"LUMOS SOLEM!" Hermione cried out, her wand aimed straight for the creature's lamp-like eyes. It shrieked in agony as a burst of light engulfed the cave and lake, burning into Harry's own eyes as he threw his weight against the gondola; but he knew it was nothing like what Gollum must have been feeling. He realized Hermione's cleverness: after so long in the dark, Gollum could not stand such light.
"Hermione, get in!" Ron cried out from beside him, helping Harry push the boat off the shore. Hermione clambered in as soon as it stopped scratching the rocky bottom of the water. Immediately, she had the oar in hand, struggling to help the boys get the boat out into the lake as Gollum withered with hands over his face on shore.
"TRICKED, TRICKED!" it cried over and over again. "DIE, DIE, DIE!!!"
Harry had to struggle to not look back as the creature wailed. Instead, he concentrated on pushing against the lake bottom and forcing the boat forward. When the water was waist deep, he pulled himself into the gondola beside Hermione.
"Ron, get in," he said hurriedly, turning to give him a hand. Ron reached forward, one hand grasping the side of the boat, the other reaching for Harry's. However, in their haste, they had failed to notice the anguished cries of the pitiful Gollum had ceased.
Just as Ron grabbed Harry's hand, the spindly, black creature burst from the water and was upon him.
"AHHHH!" Ron cried out, his eyes wide with fear as Gollum struggled to pull him away from the boat with such force, it nearly capsized it. Harry struggled to pull Ron in, but it was in vain as his friend's fingers slipped from his.
"RON!" Hermione screamed trying to use the oar to beat at the creature.
"HELP!"
Ron was fighting tooth and nail, coughing and choking as Gollum tried to force him under. The creature's frail little, oily-black body was a deceiving façade.
"GET OFF HIM!" Harry cried out. Ignoring Hermione's protest, he plunged over the side of the gondola into the inky water. He quickly surfaced, feeling his glasses falling askew and shaking the hair from his eyes.
Pushing against the floor of the lake, Harry launched himself towards Gollum and looped his arm around the creature's decrepit waist, fighting to pull it away from Ron.
"TRICK, TRICK, TRICK!!!" Gollum was screaming. "GOLLUM WILL EAT!!!"
Ron's flailing was growing weaker now, and Harry could hardly get the iron grip of those spider-like hands loose. Harry's fist rained down on the creature's head and back violently, but nothing would make it let go.
It fought back and surprised Harry by propelling itself backwards, with him still holding on to its waist from behind. Harry was slammed into the side of the boat. From inside it, Hermione gasped, trying in vain to both keep her balance and fend off Gollum.
Blinking stars from his eyes, Harry's grip loosened and Gollum forcefully slipped downward, pulling Ron with him.
"NO!" Harry yelled angrily and plunged into the dark water. It was no deeper than his chest, but the darkness made the depth seem infinite.
His fingers stretched out in all directions, searching for that familiar shock of red hair.
Please, he thought, begging with whomever decided the fate of the universe, please.
With one final sweep of his arm, Harry found another and grabbed hold. Suddenly, the lamp-like eyes of Gollum blinked open, revealing its position right in front of Harry. Shocked by the sudden appearance, he had to refrain from crying out and choking in the water. Harry wrapped an arm around Ron's waist and struggled to pull him from the creature's grasp even as his own brain began to dim from the lack of oxygen. He pushed off from the ground, lashed out violently, but still the creature held tight.
Barely able to think, only able to make out its glowing eyes, Harry reached forward and plunged a finger into one of them. The creature's shrieks were only amplified in the water and it sunk back, but still it held on. It wasn't until a brilliant, and well-aimed flash cracked between Harry and Ron and Gollum did it finally let go.
Free at last, Harry pushed upward with his feet, feeling his face break the surface. Hermione stood above him, features set and wand drawn, looking strangely dangerous.
"Ron," she said shocked by the sight. Her strained face melted into something filled with worry. Quickly collecting herself, she reached out to help Harry hoist Ron's limp body out of the water and into the boat. The disrupted surface of the lake revealed a spindly, black arm now completely detached, floating away from the ebb created by their movement.
With difficulty, Hermione and Harry managed to pull their friend's lanky form into the gondola. Harry, still heaving, clumsily took the oar in his wet hands and pushed them to the other side in record time.
"Oh god," Hermione said painfully as they grounded within seconds on the opposite shore. "He's not breathing."
"Do something, Hermione," Harry demanded, jumping out and looking anxiously back at her. "You've got to know some spell or something. Bring him back, I know you can!"
"There isn't a spell for this!" she cried out angrily. "Help me get him out!"
They pulled Ron out and laid him on the shore. There were tears already brimming in Hermione's eyes, but she brushed them away.
"I need you to help," she said firmly, grabbing Harry's hands and showing him how to pump them forcefully on Ron's chest. "We've got to try to resuscitate him." And without hesitation, she tilted back Ron's familiar face, now pale and starting to blue, and sealed her lips around his.
Harry didn't realize how cold the water was until now…it worsened as he continued to pump Ron's chest and watch Hermione blow air into his lungs—the wet chill leaked into him so that Harry felt as if he'd never be warm again.
"Hermione," he begged quietly. "Please."
She didn't answer. Instead she continued her duty so rhythmatically one could mistake it for a pulse. Seconds passed like days as they continued in silence, but all their work and hopes seemed futile.
"Damn it!" Hermione cried out angrily, making Harry jump. He had never heard her utter so much as a curse word nor had he felt such vehemence and fury radiate from her being. Without warning, she began to pound her fist heatedly on Ron's chest so that Harry had to grab her hands to prevent her from cracking Ron's ribs.
"Hermione, don't!" Harry said, his voice cracking with shock. She didn't struggle, but it was clear she wasn't listening to him.
"Ronald Weasley!" Hermione yelled in her most authoritative tone. "If you die, I swear on my Prefect's badge, that neither I nor Harry will EVER speak to you again!!!"
And with that, she broke free of Harry's grip and slammed her fist once more onto Ron's chest.
Suddenly, Ron coughed and a stream of water burst from his pale lips.
Harry thought his chest would burst from relief. He and Hermione helped Ron to sit up and watched as their friend retched and coughed up what seemed like gallons upon gallons of water from his body. He went on for some time, as Hermione and Harry sat on either side of him until at last, the convulsions stopped.
Shaking slightly, one hand now pressed against his chest, Ron looked up with watery eyes at them. He licked his lips and color began to gather in them again, looking as if he wanted to say something.
"Why," he managed hoarsely. "Why…"
"What is it?" Hermione asked gently.
"Why in the hell did you friggin' hit me so hard?" Ron blurted out, wincing as he rubbed his chest. Hermione pressed her lips together and with a little cry, flung her arms around Ron's neck who looked startled at such a show of affection.
A small smile was creeping onto Harry's lip. Slowly, laughter began to pour from him as if he had only just remembered how. It was contagious and soon they were all laughing—laughing at the strange morose joke fate had played on them.
"Thanks Harry," Ron said a bit difficultly as the laughter died down and Hermione pulled away. He then turned his attention to Hermione who was now avoiding his gaze, brushing yet more tears from her eyes. Ron reached out towards her, blushing visibly even in the dim light, and awkwardly squeezed her hand.
"Thanks Hermione."
* * *
They waited a few minutes for Ron's strength to return, taking care to keep watch for Gollum. Luckily, in the time they sat on the shore on the other side, they were not disrupted. The well-aimed severing charm from Hermione had fully taken off Gollum's already injured arm. After that last insult and previous tricks, it seemed the water ghoul was either too hurt to bother with them or found so much distaste in their presence, it preferred to hideaway and go hungry again.
Anxious once more, Harry led them into the tunnel they had watched three people flee through, situated just behind them on this side of the lake. They walked with deliberate steps, none of them wanting to betray their growing qualms about what lay ahead or the event they were leaving behind by speaking.
Harry, in particular, felt worse about going any further—at least with Ron and Hermione in toe. He felt that he had to go forth—that it was part of his duty to be in danger, but to knowingly put his two best friends in that position? His stomach plummeted with the thought.
Watching Ron nearly drown not minutes before revealed the reality of mortality and it struck a jarring cord in Harry's heart. He stole glances at his two friends and realized that he wasn't sure if he could face off again with something as threatening as Voldemort again without their support, but if it came to that—Harry couldn't even finish the thought. He would rather die than loose his companions—his worst fear after all wasn't death, it was to be the last man standing.
He looked at Ron and Hermione from time to time as they walked the short distance, wondering if there would be a way he could leave them—somewhere safe. He even considered asking them to stay put while he went on.
"Don't even think about it," Hermione said flatly reading Harry's thoughts with such accuracy, he shivered. "You can't get rid of us—we came this far with you, didn't we?" Harry couldn't help smiling.
"Yeah," he said. "I guess you did."
But before Harry had time to grow less agitated, the sounds of tremendous thumping and grappling could be heard, like that of stone being scrapped on stone. Warm, flickering light from blazing torches bled into the tunnel, lighting up their faces. Around the last bend, they're vision revealed to them another chamber with a stone bed in the middle. There was no other entry or exit way, and standing in front of the far wall was a headless creature, made of rock. It was massive, bulky, and was the exact monster Harry's own mother had beheaded.
Harry put a finger to his lips and pushed Ron and Hermione back around the bend. Cautiously, they peeked around it.
The creature's head was leaning against one side of the room, and it's body was busy trying to pry something out of the wall opposite Harry, Ron, and Hermione. It shifted, and Harry could make out a gleaming gold sword. At first he thought it was Dumbledore's sword, but he found that it was too simplistic in design and lacked too much ornamentation to be Gryffindor's blade.
With a final yank, the sword came loose from the rock, and the fumbling creature stumble back, spraying the chamber with pebbles. Harry shifted to get a better look, but as he did, his foot kicked a small stone. The tiny sound seemed infinitely magnified.
The headless creature dropped the sword with a clatter and whipped around, his shoulders shifting as if sniffing for them. Harry was holding his breath and beside him, Hermione was gripping his arm painfully while Ron watched with set jaw. The creature fumbled towards its head and picked it up. Lifting it in its shovel-like hands, it swept it over the chamber, edging towards the darken corners. The rock monster creep forward; it was clumsy but Harry didn't doubt that it was quite competent in destroying them with a single blow.
It was heading towards the tunnel entrance now, holding its head out in front of its chest. Harry pressed himself against the bend beside his two companions, holding his breath. The creature was only one step away—then nearly right next to them. It was just standing there as if waiting for them to reveal themselves. They waited for uncounted minutes for it to leave. At long last, it began to slowly turn away and Harry quietly let out his breath. Just then, Ron let out a soft cough—the remnants from his time in the water. The rock creature stopped in front of the bend again, and from behind it, Ron was staring at his friends with wide eyes, hands clapped over his mouth.
It didn't move. Harry, breathing quickly turned his face towards the tunnel just when the creature thrust it's own detached head at them. It let out a ferocious snarl so near them that Harry thought his ears would burst. The creature reared back and slammed it's fist into the wall sending debris everywhere.
Falling to the ground to avoid the spray of rocks, Harry saw the massive legs as it began to step around the bend towards them. He grabbed Ron and Hermione's sleeves and ran from their hiding place, plunging past the monster between its legs.
They fell against the stone bed, watching the rock creature fumble dangerously around for them, waving its head in attempts to find them.
"Get the sword, slide it into that slot!" Harry yelled at Hermione, pointing at the far wall where a black mark and a single jade stone decorated the surface.
"What?!" she cried out bewilderedly.
"Just do it!" and he pushed her out of the way as the creature turned and slammed its fist into the very spot she had just been sitting.
"Watch out!" Ron cried out and Harry leaped onto the stone bed just as the creature tried launching itself at him.
"Get him away from Hermione!" Harry yelled back as Ron ducked a spray of rocks and dust from the creature.
"Oy!" Ron hollered, his voice still raw from his past ordeal. He stumbled towards the tunnel as Harry jumped up and snatched a torch from the chamber wall.
"Over here!" Harry yelled swinging the torch from side to side like a sword. "Come on! Come get Lily's son!"
"Did you get it yet, Hermione?" Ron yelled clamping his hands over his ears as the rock creature let out a deep bellow.
"It's stuck under a boulder!" She cried out shrilly. A few feet away from them, she was struggling with both hands wrapped around the hilt of the sword, trying to tug it free from under a rock the size of a traveling trunk.
"Turn it!" Harry cried out, managing to get the creature to drop it's head.
"Are you mad?! It'll break the blade!"
"It won't!"
Hermione rearranged her hands on the hilt so that she could turn the blade counter-
Clockwise. Preparing to hear the snap of metal, she gasped in surprise when the blade cut through the boulder as if it were butter. Now that the blade was vertical, she slid it easily out, making a narrow slice in the rock.
"I've got it!" she cried out as Harry and Ron ducked beneath the stone bed as the creature fumbled dangerously over them.
She ran to the black slot on the back wall of the chamber, marked by the jade stone. She had just slid the blade into the wall up to the hilt with its single, decorative, green stone shinning at her when Ron and Harry threw themselves over the stone bed, narrowly missing another blow from the creature. They collided into her just as a golden light engulfed them, and suddenly they fell through the wall.
The sword clattered from Hermione's hand and half crawling, half scuttling away, she, Ron, and Harry watched as the rock creature reared up before them, ready to crush all three of them in one go, before the wall they had just fallen through slid shut.
"Are you two okay?" Harry asked breathlessly, pushing himself to his feet.
"That," Ron stated standing too, "was weird."
"The sword," Hermione gasped finding that she must have dropped it on the other side of the wall. "How did you know it'd cut through stone?"
"My mum used the same sword to decapitate Rocky back there," Harry answered. Hermione pushed herself to her feet pressing her hand to the solid wall again.
"Where are we?" she asked turning to exam the elegant hallway carved straight from the stone they now stood in. Harry looked up and found an enchanted ceiling revealing gray and menacing looking clouds. Adorning the walls were meticulously carved portraits of past dark wizards and power-hungry lords—it was all just as his mother had seen it. Despite it's beauty, there was a haunting air about the place—as if the carvings were whispering.
"I don't like this place," Ron said, shivering.
"Neither do I," Hermione said, but she was staring straight ahead where a gleam of bright and pleasant light pushed through the gloom. "D'you think that's a way out up there?"
"It's not," Harry answered surely. Ron and Hermione looked at him, but didn't say anything. Instead they followed him forward, trying to ignore the disturbing eyes of the carvings' subjects.
As they approached the square of light, they heard voices. Harry could now see that it was a room, not an exit out of the castle as Hermione had hoped. From it, they could make out voices—voices that they knew.
"Is that—" Ron started excitedly, suddenly quickening his pace. He stepped through the door first followed by Harry and Hermione.
They found themselves in an ornate room adorned by Indian cottons and Chinese silks. It was overly furnished and lavishly decorated—just as it had been in Harry's dreams. Except, instead of his mother and the jade guardian, there were three people, standing near a pedestal in the center of the space. It was Logan Price, Jade, and Percy.
"You're all alright," Harry said, letting out a breath. "We've got to get out of here, there's—"
It was then Percy turned and spotted them. His face was drawn, pale, just as it had been when he was fleeing from Dumont. It only took one look for Harry to see that something was very wrong.
"Ron, RUN!" Percy cried out in distress, making a move to hurry them away.
He hadn't made two steps before he was screaming in agony.
A/N: Guess what? I lied. There will be TWO more chapters after this…heh…a failed miscalculation on my part…Well, that means there's ONE extra chapter for your reading enjoyment/torture/boredom. Anywho, I was going to wait until after I got back to post this—but I decided I'm going to keep to my promising about posting quickly—so here it be: chapter 24. I hope you enjoyed—didn't grow suicidal from all the errors (I have yet to have this "revised" version beta'd, but shhhhh! Don't tell Erin). So what are you thinking? Uh huh…that's good…really? Well get down to that review box and lemme know, I'm not friggin' psychic! I don't have time to thank everyone individually today—But honestly, thank you to all those that read and reviewed—I really appreciate all the comments (be they constructive, or just ridiculously amusing) and like all fic writers—live for them . To Veronica Lupin: I'm so sorry I missed you on my last list o' thanx—once again, I am very grateful that you reviewed and as always with such wit—I'm even more grateful because you had ch.10 of Padded cell up…but you know…thinking about ch. 11? You better be.
And to Luke? Heh—sorry about missing your IM the other night—I was "studying" when a friend called and invited me out for some good java—so naturally, being the lame brain I am, I forgot to sign out. Don't worry though, I still found your message the next day and even then, thought it quite strange :)
You all take care, enjoy your summers!
~jess