A/N: The name of this Part is taken from the First Witcher Novel which goes by this name.

I have also started posting on AO3. If you prefer that platform, you can go and read it there now. All 40 chapters are up as we speak. It's under the same name, and my username is: Curse_04.

In response to a review left by a guest, RMWB, and I have spoken to each other quite a lot, and it is true that I have taken/borrowed quite a few ideas from his fic (The Ships, and Newt's De-Aging Treatment, etc) with his permission, and I have another idea or two that he's allowed me to use.

But they're just ideas. The ways in which we have executed them are completely different.

As for Telepathy, and Duelling with two Wands… those ideas don't belong to either of us. Not entirely.

The idea of Telepathy has been around since… well, since before I was born so… yeah. RMWB uses Telepathy in a *completely* different way than I plan to.

If it bothers you to the point where you can't read a fic, then I can't help you… I'm not changing the course or plot of my story, and that's final.


A Song of Lightning and Fire

Arc I: Hogwarts

Part IV: The Last Wish


Harry told Ginny everything Sirius had told him a few days after they'd reached Hogwarts. They'd seen each other over Christmas of course, but he didn't think it would be fair to tell her all of that on such a festive day.

Harry and Ginny still hadn't gone back to the Acromantula's Nest to take the Bottle back, and for once, neither felt the urge to do so. It was a bit odd, though. Not being able to turn invisible at will, or talk to each other mentally. But Harry would be lying if he said that he didn't feel much more like himself than he had ever since he and Ginny discovered the Bottle's Powers.

Ginny had admitted that she felt the same as he did, and so the two of them decided not to get the Bottle until they had some more answers on all of this.

Which was how they found themselves in the Library, researching everything they could about the Cursed Vaults.

So far, they'd found that there were Seven Vaults in total, and that Four of which had been built at Hogwarts. The Other Three, however, were at a different spot, probably guarding a different treasure.

No one knew who built the Vaults, though. Some suggested it was The Founders, others maintained that it was Merlin, and there was another group that said it was a paranoid Headmaster of Hogwarts.

The exact location of the Vaults was unknown, but a group of Curse Breakers had tried to find the Vaults at Hogwarts in 1988, only to be recalled when one of their companions went missing, never to be found again.

The contents of the Vaults weren't known either. Some suspected they contained a huge treasure worth more than Gringotts could afford, while others suspected they held knowledge and Power. There was also a small minority that believed they were built to keep some threat contained.

But this seemed to be all there was on these Vaults. At least in the Hogwarts Library. Harry thought that there was more to it, and that it could be found in some other Library, but he didn't exactly have the time to find out more about it.

"I wish there was more here," Ginny said after they had left the Library. "I mean, I get that the Cursed Vaults are supposed to be all mysterious, but come on!"

"Cursed Vaults?" A raspy voice asked.

Harry and Ginny whirled around, Wands out. They looked to both ends of the hallway to find the source of the voice, but they didn't find them.

"Who's there?" Ginny called.

"I'm in the Portrait, dear," the voice responded before clearing its throat..

Harry and Ginny looked to their left, and saw that there was indeed a man in the Portrait. He looked to be around his mid-30s; he had blonde hair, brown eyes, and he was wearing a pair of dishevelled looking robes.

"Hello," the man waved at them. "I heard you discussing the Cursed Vaults. I must say, it has been a while since I've heard that term."

"Who are you?" Harry asked, tightening the grip on his Wand.

"Ah, forgive me," the man chuckled. "My manners escape me sometimes. It has been a while since I have spoken to anyone. My name is Robert Grayson. I am- or I was- a Curse Breaker, I was sent here to find the Cursed Vaults in 1988, but I got stuck in here."

Harry and Ginny gasped. "What?" They breathed in shock. They didn't know it was even possible to get inside a Portrait, let alone get stuck in one.

"Are you related to Romulus Grayson by any chance?" Harry asked, recalling the man's name.

"I am," Robert said. "I'm his cousin. Never met him before, but my brother Clovis never liked him. Called him too strict."

"You said you were a Curse Breaker?" Ginny asked.

"Aye," Robert replied, a nostalgic look gracing his eyes. "It was fun, while it lasted."

Something about the man's words and everything Harry knew about the Cursed Vaults seemed to click together, and he had a sudden moment of realization. "You're the missing Curse Breaker from the Cursed Vaults Expeditions, aren't you?" Harry asked.

"Dunno 'bout missing," Robert replied. "How many years has it been out there exactly?"

"It's January 1994 now," Harry said.

Robert sighed. "I was afraid it had been too long. Yes, I'm afraid that I will be counted as a missing person. They probably declared me dead by now as well."

"What happened to you?" Ginny asked softly in a concerned tone.

"I was on the job," Robert said sadly. "It was a Routine Search of the Prison Wing of Dungeon Level Two, but I found a symbol, and I broke the Concealing Enchantment on the wall it was on, but I don't think I did it right, because the ground opened and I fell in a hole. Then I found myself in a Dusty, Old Hallway. I'm fairly certain it was outside the entrance to a Cursed Vault."

"Why do you think that?" Harry asked.

"The Floor of the Hallway had a unique design," Robert said. "Not one I have ever seen in Hogwarts. It looked like it had come from before the School had ever been founded."

"How'd you get stuck in a Portrait?" Ginny asked.

"I was being chased by three statues," Robert answered. "I saw an opening and I went inside it. But it was a trap, it was actually a Portrait that I walked into. By the time I realized what was happening… well, it was too late."

"I'm sorry," Harry and Ginny said.

Robert just shrugged. "Can't do much about it, can I? Look, I don't mean to sound rude, but who are you two?"

"I'm Harry Potter," Harry introduced himself, knowing that his Scar wasn't too visible in the Dark to those who hadn't seen it beforehand.

The man immediately gasped. "My word, it's really you! Who's your friend there?"

"I'm Ginny Weasley," Ginny answered.

"Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley," Robert said with a bow of his head. "It was a pleasure making your acquaintance. Is there something else I can help you with?"

"Yes, actually," Ginny said. "Why didn't you tell anyone you were trapped here?"

Robert looked at her strangely before his face cleared. "You don't know how a Portrait works, do you?" He asked her.

She blinked. "It's the essence of someone captured in a painting via Magic, right?"

"Yes," Robert replied. "But it does not grant us complete sentience. For one thing, I'm no essence, so it took me a long time to get used to being like this. Secondly, we can only answer and do what we're told to, while offering suggestions to the students here and there, which was what I did for you just now. We can't just come and announce something unless there is a Danger to the School."

"Oh," Ginny said. "Sorry, I didn't know-"

"It's quite alright, Miss Weasley," Robert interrupted her.

They stood there in an awkward silence before Ginny said, "Thank you for your help, sir. Do you want us to talk to Professor Dumbledore about getting you out?"

"No," Robert said without hesitation. "Keep this meeting to yourselves. I have a life here now. And even if I didn't, I have been here too long. It's impossible to get me out."

"Alright," Harry said with a nod, even though he didn't fully understand the man's choices. "See you around."

"You as well, Mr. Potter, and Miss Weasley," Robert said with a bow of his head.

Harry and Ginny quickly got out of the corridor and Ginny dragged him into an empty classroom. "I want to find the Cursed Vaults," she said.

"I'm glad that we're on the same page," Harry said with . "I need to know what that Bottle was exactly."

"So… just the two of us?" She asked.

"Yep," he said. "When do you want to go?"

"I mean… we should prepare first, right?" Harry said. "Make Potions, learn a few more Spells …"

"So a week later, then?" Ginny asked.

"Give or take, yeah," Harry said.

"Alright," Ginny said. "But… I want to show it to Dumbledore and the rest of our friends if we do find something. It feels like there's this… huge wall between us and them. I don't want there to be a wall."

"We'll tell them if you want," Harry said. "Everything. But only if they promise to not tell anyone else," he quickly added.

"Of course," she said. "I'm not stupid you know."

"I know," he said, giving her a one armed hug. "I was just making sure. I don't want anyone gossiping about the stuff that I do."

Ginny nodded in understanding, and they sat there in silence for a while, staring out the window and watching the grounds in the moonlight. Finally, Ginny broke the silence.

"I'm worried," she said.

"About what?" He asked.

"Us," she said, facing him.

"We're fine, aren't we?" He asked. "We don't fight. Like, ever-"

"I meant about the Bottle," Ginny interrupted him. "Using it… it wasn't good for me. And I don't think it was good for you either, was it?"

"It wasn't," Harry said with a sad shake of his head. They had talked about this before. Not in detail, mind. Just that they weren't themselves when using it. He suspected that Ginny hadn't wanted to go into details, and neither did he.

"Do you think we'll be able to find the Vaults?" Ginny asked him a while later.

"Well," Harry said. "We did find the Chamber of Secrets on our own, so the record is on our side, right?"

She nodded and turned back to the window. He did too, thinking about some answers to their situation, but it seemed that none would be forthcoming that night.


Harry and Ginny only needed five days to get their Potions brewed. They'd used The Second Floor Girl's Bathroom for brewing them, and it went quite well since Myrtle didn't occupy that place too much ever since finding out about the Basilisk.

They'd brewed Invigoration Draughts, Wiggenweld Potions, and Dittany. They thought that it would be good enough for the duration of this little adventure.

They'd also learned a few more combat related Spells, namely, The Stunning Spell, The Bludgeoning Curse, and The Reductor Curse.

Overall, they felt that they were very well prepared.

Currently, they were in the Prison Section of Dungeon Level Two, looking for where Robert said the Entrance to the Cursed Vaults might be.

They hadn't been here for long when he saw a Symbol on one of the bricks on the bottom row. It was carved onto the brick, and it was rather small. The Symbol was the Rune of Ekrizdis, only it had a Pentagram star between the Omega Symbol. It blended in so well, Harry didn't think he could have seen it if he hadn't been prone on the floor, and even then, it was very hard for him to find it.

"Gin!?" Harry called.

"What!?" He heard her yell back.

"Come here!" He said.

She didn't waste a second, rushing to his side and standing there beside him. "What is it?" She asked.

"This here," Harry said, pointing at the Rune. "Seems like we found that Wall."

Harry got up as Ginny laid down where he had been just a moment ago. "This is great!" She exclaimed in a whisper. "Do you know how to get rid of the Enchantment, though?"

"Why do you think it was placed back?" Harry asked. "It could still be broken."

"We still need to open this," Ginny pointed out.

She had a point, Harry had to admit. He had no idea how to open this, and, advanced as he was at Runes, he was no Curse Breaker. He tried to remember if there were any books he'd read that were accurate enough to describe the process. Suddenly, he was struck by a memory. A memory of the two of them in Egypt with Bill, trying to open the Vault with the Peverell Symbol on it… and Ekrizdis was a Peverell.

"Yes," Harry said. "And… well, hear me out."

"Okay," Ginny said.

"I think… my blood should be able to do it," Harry said quickly. "You know, like how Bill did it in Egypt."

He watched as she seemed to process his suggestion, probably remembering what Bill had done back in Egypt. "Do you think that might work?" She asked.

"I mean, if you have something better to suggest, now would be the time to say it," Harry said.

"Fine, fine," Ginny said. "Go ahead."

Harry drew out a small silver knife from his robe pocket. He pricked his finger, and made sure to properly apply the blood to the symbol.

Immediately, the bricks started rumbling, and they expanded into a doorway. Harry and Ginny walked forward and saw that the doorway led to a spiral Staircase heading downward.

They shared a glance and went down the staircase. As they went down, the stairs kept getting narrower and narrower. One of the stairs even collapsed when Harry put his foot on it.

It was Ginny grabbing Harry by the collar of his shirt that prevented him from stumbling down. She yanked him back up a few stairs, and they sat down to regain their balance. "Careful," she said. "Are you alright?"

"Mostly," Harry said. "Let's go again."

They made their way down the stairs again, this time moluch more cautiously than before, and soon they found themselves in a Large, Grand hallway.

The Hallway had black, marble flooring and a tall ceiling with light brown walls. The end of the Hallway had a door with a symbol of a Skull on it.

They walked there and opened the door. Immediately, a gust of chilly wind blew out of the room, causing Harry and Ginny to shiver and hug themselves.

Harry opened his palm and lit a fire on it, which seemed to ease some of the cold. He held it near Ginny, who gladly accepted the warmth.

"Should we go ahead?" She asked.

"Yeah," Harry said. "I reckon we check it out."

They walked forward in the Dark Hallway without a destination in sight. It was taking all of Harry's concentration not to let the fire burn out, and it was getting difficult now.

Soon, Harry heard a rumbling sound, and turned around to find three statues appearing out of seemingly nowhere, brandishing their swords at Harry and Ginny in a threatening way.

Harry and Ginny drew out their Wands, pointing it at the Statues, who immediately ran forward. They unleashed two Reductor Curses, both of which were parried by the statues with their swords.

The statue in the middle swung its sword at their necks, and they had to duck and roll forward. Unfortunately, they rolled right in front of one of the Statues, and Harry, in a state of panic, cast a Freezing Charm on the statue in front of him.

The Statue froze completely, and he saw Ginny roll away to avoid the sword of the one in front of her. Harry leapt to the side when he heard the thud of footsteps behind him.

It was a good thing that he did, because he saw a sword destroy the statue that he had frozen, and he turned to see that the statue previously behind him had swung it.

He immediately cast a Freezing Charm on the statue, following it up with a Reductor Curse, blowing up the statue into little pieces. He turned to Ginny in time to see her do the same with the Statue she was fighting.

"Alright?" Harry asked.

"Mostly," Ginny said, panting. "We should vanish these."

Harry nodded, and cast the Vanishing Charm on the remnants, sighing in relief when they Vanished without any fuss.

They made their way further down the hallway, and saw that it was getting colder and colder with each step. At least it was bright enough to see properly now, though.

They soon reached a doorway with an inscription of the Rune of Ekrizdis with a Pentagram in the middle. They opened the door using Wandless Magic and entered the room.

Immediately, torches sprang to life around them, and the hexagonal room was bathed in an orange light.

There was a large column in the centre that seemed to be the main source of the orange light. It had black outlines stretching across different directions.

There were also two pedestals on either side of the entrance along the walls. He assumed there must be another one here since there were three suits of armor.

The floors were a black marble, just like the outside, and the walls were White with a few golden spots and lines thrown in here and there.

Harry went around the column and saw that the rest of the room was pretty much the same, and that there was a pedestal directly across from the entrance, blocked from view by the column.

"This is so cool," Ginny said.

"I know," Harry replied with a smile. "Though I do think we should take the clues and get out as fast as we can."

"Yeah," Ginny said. "That's probably for the best."

They walked to the column in the middle that seemed to practically ooze Magic. There was nothing on it, but it seemed to call to him, urging him to naked contact with the column.

He listened to the urgings for once, and touched a finger to the column before Ginny pulled his arm back. "What are you doing!?" She cried.

But it was too late, the Room was instantly plunged into Darkness, and Harry felt a swooping sensation in his stomach, before he felt like he was falling down through the air, despite the fact that his body was quite stationary.

His eyes were closed, and he didn't know where he was falling, but he didn't have to wait long to find out. His back hit a mattress, and he sighed in relief because the fall had ended.

He opened his eyes and took sight of the Dark Room he was in. He stretched his arms wide in an attempt to feel a wall, and he felt it on both his sides.

It was a very small room, and Harry felt a bit claustrophobic in here. He reached forward and saw that he was only able to go a few more steps before his hands touched the wall.

"Gin?" He asked in a whisper.

No response.

"Gin?" he asked in a normal tone.

Silence.

"GINNY!?" He called, starting to get really worried now.

A few moments later, he heard the sound of a lock being clicked open, and a door to his left was pulled open. A hand reached out and grabbed Harry by the collar of his t-shirt.

He was unceremoniously dragged out of the room, and Harry came face to face with someone he thought and hoped he'd never meet again in his entire life.

Vernon Dursley.

Vernon drew a hand back to punch him in the face, and Harry, in a state of Shock, wasn't able to do more than just stand still.

The blow knocked him to the ground, and his jaw hurt. "What's wrong with you Boy!? Why were you screaming so much!?" Vernon yelled at him.

Harry could do no more than gape at the man in front of him, causing Vernon to ball his fist and rear it back again, intent to punch him again, but Harry was anticipating it this time, and thrust a hand at Vernon.

Unfortunately, he wasn't able to feel his Magic, like at all. Vernon's punch struck him in the face again, and he fell back to the ground.

Harry tasted something metallic in his mouth, and knew that it was blood. He couldn't understand what was happening, was this all a dream? Was the Magical World a dream? Was Ginny a dream? Some random person he'd made up in his head? No, surely not… that would be ridiculous.

"Get up, boy!" He snarled. "Petunia will have a list of chores for you."

"Do them yourself, you whale," Harry spat.

Vernon turned red, and moved to strike Harry again, but Harry kicked the man in the balls. Twice. Vernon doubled over in pain, and fell to the ground whimpering as Harry ran toward the backdoor.

He heard Petunia and Dudley's anguished screams ahead of him, and pushed past the two of them with some difficulty. He opened the door, and stepped out into the light of the day.

Immediately, he knew something was wrong. The grass seemed duller, the flowers weren't the same, and the shed in the back was… different from the one he was used to.

It was then that he realized that this wasn't real. It was all just in his head. He could get out of here, back to the Magical World. He just had to find his Magic and figure out how.

He remembered feeling the same loss of Magic when near too many Dementors, and with that memory came the realization that something akin to a Patronus could help.

He didn't have a Wand on him, but Harry already knew that Spells were just a simplified version of Wandless Magic, and so he closed his eyes and focused on everything good about his life. Ginny, Magic, his friends….

He let those feelings, and memories, and emotions fill him up, and he felt the chill receding, giving him access to his Magic. He held onto it, and spread his arms out, lashing out with it and his positive feelings.

But he only felt himself being sucked into the air. He kept soaring through the air for a while, and had to close his eyes against the impact of the wind. He opened his eyes when he felt himself on his back.

He saw that he was lying on the floor of the Cursed Vault, staring at its ceiling. He heard a huge gasp not a moment later, and turned his head to see Ginny sit up, and frantically look around the room.

She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw him, and laid back down on the floor. "It was a nightmare," she muttered to herself. "Just a nightmare."

He crawled over to her and laid beside her. "You saw something too?" He asked.

"Yeah," Ginny said, facing him. "Nothing."

Harry blinked. "What?" He asked incredulously.

"I saw nothing," Ginny clarified. "Like, literally nothing. It was the worst thing…" she trailed off, not wanting to talk about it.

"I was back at the Dursleys," Harry conmented, causing Ginny's eyes to snap to his. "I broke through… whatever Enchantment there was, though. What about you? How did you get out?"

"I was just… pulled back into my body," Ginny said. "I couldn't do much, so I reckon it was you breaking the Curse that got me out."

Harry nodded, and turned to look at the column, only to see that it had risen up in the air, its tip almost touching the ceiling now, revealing a bright beam of orange colored Magic. The beam seemed to be holding two objects within it.

There was what looked like a key, only it had no head attached to it. The other object was a piece of parchment with some lines on it, leading Harry to think that it might be a map of some sort.

Harry turned to Ginny with a frown. "Isn't there supposed to be more?"

"There is," Ginny said. "They were supposed to hold treasure and stuff, remember?"

"Yeah," Harry said, summoning the two objects to him. "These don't look like treasure to me," he added, turning the objects over in his hand.

"Maybe the key leads to a treasure chest somewhere?" Ginny asked.

"Maybe," Harry said, turning the object over in his hand. He put it in his pocket for now, and opened the parchment in a way that both Harry and Ginny could read the contents.

As Harry had suspected, it was a map. But it wasn't an ordinary one. It was a map of a place that they had grown very Familiar with.

It was a map of the Forbidden Forest.


"Marvellous," Dumbledore breathed.

Harry, Ginny, and the Headmaster were standing inside of the Cursed Vault the morning after Harry and Ginny had found it.

They'd told Dumbledore about it immediately, and Dumbledore had followed them without question, perhaps suspecting that if not a Cursed Vault, then they must have found something else equally as important.

Dumbledore looked like a kid in a candy shop, or like Harry when he first found out about Magic, gazing about the Vault with wide eyes, and an elated look on his face.

"Were there any Enchantments? Or Treasures?" Dumbledore asked in a curious tone.

"No treasure," Ginny replied. "But there was an Enchantment," she added, shivering.

"What sort?" Dumbledore asked.

"One that made us live a nightmare of sorts," Harry said, unconsciously shifting close to Ginny.

"A nightmare?" Dumbledore asked. "Not your greatest fears perhaps?"

Harry and Ginny both started, but upon further introspection, he found that his greatest fear would be finding out that his life had been a dream. But then why hadn't he seen this when facing a Boggart?

"My Boggart is different," Ginny said, arms crossed over her chest.

"Boggarts can only turn into the thing you fear most," Dumbledore explained. "Your greatest fear can be a concept of something, which a Boggart sometimes cannot replicate, which is why it goes for the next best thing. In both of your cases it was fear itself, or rather something that represented fear."

Harry and Ginny nodded at the explanation and Dumbledore continued. "I do believe that you have stumbled upon the Vault of Fear," he said. "Although this Vault seems to be nothing more than a safeguard. It appears that Professor Dippet was right. These Vaults are here to prevent anyone from getting their hands on something."

"How do you know that, Sir?" Harry asked.

"The Enchantments on this place," Dumbledore said. "They wouldn't have allowed you to pass through if it was meant to keep treasure, of that I am certain. It would be the same case if it was meant to keep something in. But if these Vaults are merely anchors to an Enchantment hiding an even larger Power, they would have a door so that one may come in here and check in on the Anchors."

"Should we find the rest?" Harry asked. He was going to do it anyway, he just wanted to see what Dumbledore thought of it. Harry could discern how good of an idea it was based on Dumbledore's reactions.

Dumbledore heaved a sigh. "Yes," he said. "But I will be with you both. And I do think Professor Grayson would like to join us. It was his cousin that went missing after all, and he does know quite a bit about the Cursed Vaults."

Harry and Ginny shared a glance, accepting the fact that they couldn't tell Dumbledore about Robert Grayson for now. Harry vowed to ask Robert about seeing if Professor Grayson could have a chat with him.

Harry and Ginny showed Dumbledore the map and the key. He seemed to find the latter quite curious, and the former quite useful, considering there wasn't a Map of the Forbidden Forest anyone had been able to find until now.

They talked a little more, trying to come up with a time to meet, which just ended up in them knowing exactly how busy their Headmaster was.

Eventually, Dumbledore just told them he'd send them a note on one day when they wouldn't have classes, and they parted ways.

Harry didn't know about Ginny, but he was dead tired, which was why he fell asleep pretty much the second his head hit the pillow on his bed.


A/N 2: I rushed the ending, yes. But I wasn't able to figure out anything better.

Leave a review please, thank you.

I'll see you next time,

Byee!!