Chapter 6 - The Cavern of the Dead
Back in the welsh mountains where Hagrid and Block were waiting the sky was now clear but the atmosphere was tense. Hagrid was pacing back and forth in the small patch of undergrowth beneath the trees. Block noticed that where Hagrid had been pacing with his heavy feet for several hours there was the beginning of a trench.
Harry had now been gone for over a half a day and Hagrid was fraught with worry.
'I shouldn't have let him go. It was too dangerous.'
Block stared blankly into space. He was also deeply worried and felt responsible.
'He should have been back ages ago.'
Block sat and gazed towards the western sky hoping to see Harry returning. That hope was now fading.
That fact was that they were now completely without a plan or a means of finding Harry or the rest of the trolls. They headed back to the camp and mooched around. Hagrid inspected the bread van to see if there was any chance of fixing it but the recently departed dragon in his wrath had set fire to the van along with several other flammable parts of the camp and the van was now just a smoldering wreck. Hagrid gave the remains a hefty kick out of frustration and the charred body of the van shook and collapsed further in to itself. Hagrid wandered over to a clump of mountain ash trees, sat on the ground and buried his head in his hands.
After a few moments Hagrid exclaimed, 'captured! Poor poor Harry. How are we going to find you?' and with that Hagrid buried his face in his hands again.
Suddenly there was a tock!....
A nut had fallen from one of the trees and hit Hagrid squarely on the head.
Hagrid looked up and found an owl standing on one of the lower branches. It was a large wild tawny owl with bright yellow eyes and mottled grey- brown plumage. It stood and stared at Hagrid.
Hagrid regarded the owl for a moment and then descended back into his gloom.
'What are we going to do? Harry is lost.' Hagrid muttered to himself. 'We've no idea where he is,' the owl hooted, 'we're stuck up a mountain with no way of finding where he is,' the owl hooted again, this time louder, 'will you be quiet!' said Hagrid, 'I'm trying to concentrate...he could be anywhere.'
Tock!..a second nut landed on Hagrid's head.
'What we need is some way of finding Harry and we need to start at once.'
Splat!..the owl had evidently ran out of nuts. Hagrid ran his hand through his hair to find that, this time, the owl had deposited a sticky white mess onto his head. Hagrid jumped up and said to the owl, 'what's your problem. I've got enough to worry about without you pestering me. If you don't watch it I'll give you a letter to deliver to Harbaxen just to teach....you....a....lesson....'
The owl hooted again, ruffled its feathers and spread its wings out wide for a moment.
Finally, Hagrid understood.
'Brilliant! Although I say so myself. All I need to do is address something to Harry; give it to the owl and follow him.'
The owl hooted again.
'Hagrid you clever fella!'
Splat! The owl gave Hagrid an indignant stare.
'Block! I think there may be a way of finding Harry,' said Hagrid wiping the mess from his head.
Block looked up and for a second didn't understand. Hagrid explained the plan and with a new look of hope in his eyes, Block said, 'lets go.'
Hagrid started to assemble his gear ready for a long march. He was determined to find and rescue Harry even if it meant taking on all of the Infernos and their leader single-handed.
Hagrid went to his store and rummaged until he found an old quill, some ink and some parchment. On the parchment he simply wrote; "To Harry Potter" and the owl fluttered down onto his arm to let him tie the tiny note to its leg.
'Now don't you go flying off without us,' said Hagrid to the owl. The owl rolled its eyes and pecked Hagrid on his nose.
'Yowww!'
It then took off and circled, flew a few hundred feet to the east and then returned to Hagrid.
'OK east it is!' said Hagrid.
Block watched fascinated. Hagrid explained that the journey was likely to be much too far to walk so they would have to borrow some transport. Block remembered his trip in the bread van and was eager to try some other form of man transport. Hagrid had to explain that in general, vehicles didn't actually fly and that he wouldn't have time to convert a muggle vehicle. So in the early evening Block and Hagrid set off this time heading inland eastwards as indicated by the owl. Most of the roads leading away would be on this side of the mountain. They moved swiftly down from the mountain and soon reached fields and valleys. The owl rode on Hagrid's shoulder as it appeared pleased with their chosen direction.
'I suppose I should give you a name,' said Hagrid to his owl. 'Now we're the ones going off hunting so I'll name you after a hunter - yes!...Nimrod.'
The owl fluffed up its feather and appeared to be agreeable to the name.
They reach a small road and set off east. It was now dark and they had plenty of warning of approaching cars because the headlights could be seen from miles away. Each time Block would turn himself into a pile of rocks by the roadside until the car was out of sight again. Hagrid simply walked on down the road drawing little attention from passers by.
They had walked for an hour or so and they were approaching the outskirts of a small town. They would have to be careful. They headed inland away from the road to skirt around the town. For Block this was easy as he had no trouble jumping or vaulting over the walls and occasional hedges. Hagrid found the going a little tougher and as often as not the wall he was trying to climb would collapse noisily 'Oops - there goes another one!' Hagrid would say as Block glanced around uneasily. Nimrod would take to the air and return to Hagrid once he had righted himself.
As they reached the far end of the town they came across a building site where houses were being built. Hagrid cheered up saying 'we should be able to find what we're looking for in here. Come on Block,' and Block followed Hagrid onto the building site.
There were diggers, bulldozers and big trucks parked around the site. Finally, Hagrid found what he was looking for. 'Here we go Block! Our chariot awaits,' and Hagrid pointed towards a battered and filthy old dump truck. The dump truck had a large front bucket and no cab. There was just a seat and a steering wheel for the driver.
'OK Block, you sit in the bucket and I'll drive.' Block jumped into the bucket and curled up. He immediately resembled a pile of rocks when he lay still.
'Perfect,' said Hagrid approvingly.
Indeed, to Block, this was a most comfortable spot. Hagrid climbed up onto the driving seat and after a few moments and some poking about with his umbrella the engine spluttered into life. There was a large cloud of smoke from the freshly awakened engine and they were off. Nimrod took off and flew ahead of the truck his white underfeathers visible against the night sky.
Soon they were on the open road travelling at full speed of about 20 miles per hour.
'All we have to do is let Nimrod lead the way,' shouted Hagrid over the noise of the engine.
Guided by the owl Hagrid drove through the night. Nimrod was in charge of route selection and paused at junctions to make sure that Hagrid didn't get lost.
They stopped once to fill up with diesel and pies at an all night service station but other than that the journey was uneventful. Occasionally when there was an open stretch of road and no cars visible by their headlights in the dark night sky Hagrid would tap the engine beneath his seat with his wand and the dump tuck would lurch forward accelerating to almost double the normal top speed. When he came to a corner he would slow again and let the engine work unassisted by magic. Block lay motionless in the front bucket asleep and apparently unconcerned by the frequent jolts as Hagrid wrestled with the strange steering arrangement whereby the steering wheel controlled the rear wheels rather than the front wheels as in a normal car.
As the sun rose in the east several hours later, Hagrid could see in the distance ahead the peaks of the mountains of the Lake District looming high in the morning twilight. Grey peaks, like jagged teeth, lined the north horizon and dark clouds were rolling in from the sea to the west flaring the sky with lightening. The occasional deep boom of thunder could be heard over the puttering of the dump-truck's engine.
They started to climb, first through gently rolling hills and soon through steep sided valleys. Block had awoken and appeared to be enjoying the ride immensely from his bucket and he was keenly studying the rock formations and the peaks and crags. Nimrod was looking tired and now spent much of the journey riding on Hagrid's shoulder. Hagrid was grimly clutching the small steering wheel in his huge hands and was tired and aching after having driven through the night sitting on a seat that was only half as large as Hagrid would have liked.
By late morning they were driving parallel to a railway line with a large iron-grey lake on the other side of the road. Ahead three peaks rose into the dark rolling clouds that continued to flare as lightening bolts fired down onto the hills and mountains. When Hagrid reach the foot of these mountains Nimrod took to the air and swooped into a forest by the road. Hagrid turned off from the main road onto a track leading through the pine trees that covered the lower slopes.
Finally, when the track turned and started to head back down through the woods Nimrod came to rest on a low branch. Hagrid veered of into a thick clump of trees and parked.
'Last stop - everybody out, please take you belongings with you and have a nice day..' and with that Hagrid pulled a lever by his seat and the bucket tilted forwards throwing Block out onto the ground.
'eeeooooah!' Block cried as he rolled forwards. His head came to rest against the base of a large pine tree with a dull 'tock' that sent a roosting pigeon flapping away through the woods.
Block sprang to his feet shaken and ready for action. He was startled and looked about wildly expecting some danger to present itself. Finally he saw Hagrid grinning from the seat of the dump truck and realized that Hagrid had played a joke on him. Block quickly scooped up a clod of earth and Hagrid's eyes opened wide.
'Nooo! Hmph' cried Hagrid as the clod flumped him squarely in the face. This time Block was grinning.
Suddenly they were both startled as a crow sprang noisily from a nearby nest cawing in alarm. They immediately sobered remembering the gravity of their situation. They were now close to one seriously dodgy wizard and his band of ferocious dragons. They had no plan and they didn't exactly amount to an army of any note.
Nimrod hooted at Hagrid who understood that the owl's job was done. Hagrid removed the brief letter from the owl's leg and stroked the bird's feathers gently with the back of one finger. 'Thank you Nimrod...I can't tell you how grateful we are. Take care now.' Nimrod blinked once and flew off back down through the woods.
To Block it was now a simple case of get there and sort things out. He hadn't considered any deeper strategy than that. Hagrid however had spent many hours pondering their next move once they had reached this point on their quest and he had rationalized things to a certain extent.
Firstly, Harbaxen would be on his guard and ready for unwelcome guests - how else could he have caught Harry?
Secondly, Hagrid and Block getting captured would not help the situation at all - no-one knew where they were or what they were up against hence there would be no rescue attempt for them.
Thirdly, they were here to rescue Harry and all of the trolls. This meant that a confrontation with Harbaxen and his dragons was just about inevitable because they weren't going to be able to magic the trolls away.
Fourthly, Block may be able to move with some degree of stealth but Hagrid would be extremely conspicuous if he were to climb the mountain to where he assumed Harbaxen's hideout was located.
Lastly, Harbaxen must have a purpose behind all of this and that purpose was not likely to be trivial or good.
All in all Hagrid was terribly worried. There seemed to be little hope of success in their mission.
Hagrid shook his head as if to remove any lingering doubts and said 'well, we'd best be off then,' as much to himself as to Block.
He surveyed the landscape; they were near the top edge of the tree covering. Soon they would be in the open. There was a steep sided stream course a short way off to their right and Hagrid's vague plan was to head across to the stream and follow it upwards out of the trees using the limited amount of cover as best they could. After that, it would be down to luck and the cover of darkness.
Hagrid explained the plan to Block who nodded enthusiastically and they set off.
They soon reached the stream that frothed and cascaded down over the slippery sharp rocks. They drank and filled their water flasks and then set off through the trees heading upward parallel to the stream. The going was tough as the ground was slippery after the recent heavy rains. At the edge of the tree line they stopped.
'It'll be dark in about eight hours,' said Hagrid who had been awake all through the previous night driving the dump truck.
'We'll rest until nightfall' said Hagrid and he laid his pack on the ground for a pillow and soon was fast asleep.
Hagrid awoke with a groan. It was a warm summer evening but everything was damp and he felt as though he had slept in a steam bath. He still had his big overcoat on and several layers beneath. The first thing that struck Hagrid was the silence. When he had fallen asleep there had been the noise of the stream. Now that was gone. Hagrid sat up and noted that the flow in the steam had subsided after the first rush of water following the storm had passed down the mountain. This was good he supposed as it would make it easier to climb upward using the streambed.
Hagrid suddenly realized that Block was missing. Resisting the urge to call out he stood up and looked around. He was beginning to panic when he spotted Block over at the stream some distance up the hill out in the open. Hagrid cursed under his breath - what was Block doing wandering in the open before dark? Hagrid made his way up to the edge of the trees and observed Block for a few moments. Hagrid now noticed that far from his expectation the stream valley only extended a short distance up the hill. Above this point the ground was relatively flat and open. Hagrid groaned.
Hagrid looked at his only ally, Block, who was at the point where the stream appeared to emerge from underground. Block was acting very strangely. He was banging his head against a large rocky outcrop and then listening with his ear flat to the sheer rock face. Hagrid's gloom deepened. Block was only a boy and, Hagrid realized, was possibly more likely to be a hindrance than a help.
Then Block did something that amazed Hagrid.
There was a fissure in the rock face just wide enough for Block to put his arm into and Block, having studied the crack for a few moments, swung his club and hit the rock face next to the fissure with all his might. Nothing happened (except that a sharp crack echoed across the hills). Block did this again and again several times.
Hagrid hurried up the slope and said, 'have you gone mad? We need to be quiet Block - stop.' Block swung his club one last time and this time there was a snap followed at first by the sound of a few pebbles and loose fragments of rock falling then there was a sudden rush of avalanching rock. Hagrid jumped back but still got a soaking as the rock face plummeted into the pool of water and at the same time Block jumped nimbly to one side avoiding the soaking as part of the rock face fell forward.
Baffled, Hagrid shook himself to get rid of the water and scratched his chin. He regarded the dislodged rock for a few moments. When he looked up Block had disappeared.
'Block! Where are you?' asked Hagrid as he looked around about. Block's smiling face appeared from the now enlarged opening where there had previously only been a crack in the rock face.
'Tunnels! Big tunnels,' said Block.
Hagrid froze. He now realized what Block was doing. He had found an entrance to a system of tunnels. This area was famous for its large potholes and caverns and using his highly developed troll's sense of the geology of mountains, Block had managed to find in a few moments what people of the area had not for centuries.
While this was amazing, it was not good news for Hagrid. Being on the large size had always meant that spaces that most people would consider as roomy were to Hagrid cramped. There were few things that frightened Hagrid but cramped enclosed spaces was one of them and the prospect of following Block through an uncharted cave system was not ever going to be high on his 'favourite things to do' list. He was damp and sweating under his large coat and the sweat sent a chill through his body.
Block quickly read the expression on Hagrid's face and his smile turned to a determined and hardened stare. 'We must use the tunnels otherwise dragons will catch us - Hagrid, you must follow me if we're to save Harry Potter'.
Hagrid gulped. Of course, Block was right. In fact, it would be a tremendous advantage if they could approach Harbaxen and the dragons via this underground route and he simply must overcome his fear to help Harry.
'What's it like in there?' stammered Hagrid. 'Plenty of room?'
Block was busy collecting his gear and wrapping his sling around him. 'Time to go,' he said to Hagrid and he disappeared through the opening in the rock face.
Hagrid's hands were sweating. He felt sick at the prospect of following Block but he forced himself to collect his hunting crossbow, coil of rope and a few other odds and ends including his umbrella.
'Come on now. You're a big boy and there's nothing to be afraid of,' said Hagrid to himself.
Hagrid started to whistle the Hi Ho theme which was about seven dwarves working in a mine and although it's fair to say Giants and Dwarves as races had lead different lifestyles - Hagrid couldn't help envying the fact that dwarves were built for cave work.
Hagrid took one last look about the forest and squeezed into the opening in the rock-face. He was immediately gripped by panic. He was stuck already! If he pushed further into the cave he may get more terribly stuck and then.. two strong hands grabbed his leading arm and pulled. He popped through the narrow opening into a much larger space. There was very little light so he lifted his umbrella and from its tip a bright light shone illuminating the cave.
Hagrid and Block surveyed their surroundings. Ahead of them the cave widened and the floor sloped gently upwards into the darkness. To one side, the underground stream bubbled past them.
Hagrid's initial panic subsided slightly.
'Dwarves!' Hagrid said to himself as he realized that this tunnel had, probably long ago, been fashioned by dwarves into an access tunnel. While the tunnel was irregular as a natural cave would be there were sections where the rock had been cut back or levelled across openings in the floor to provide room enough for a small cart. The exit must have become blocked at some point and never reopened. This would have been the work of the dwarves that had once dwelt in these mountains.
Of course, like the giants, the dwarves had long since departed mainly because of the intrusions of people who indulged in a sport called pot holing. These people had never realized that they had intruded on an underground kingdom of enormous size and complexity and as fast as the dwarves could block the underground paths used by potholers they found people intruding via new routes from above ground. Eventually the dwarves had left by sea and overland in all manner of strange vehicles that they had fashioned from iron and steel and wood. Where they went to nobody knew and they had never been heard of again.
Hagrid and Block set out up the tunnel. Block was leading the way and was thoroughly enjoying himself gazing about at the rock formations. Pointed rock stalactites and stalagmites dangled from the ceiling and jutted up from the floor. The walls gleamed in glossy pastel colours and occasionally bands of rock shone and twinkled with iron and bands of crystals.
Hagrid eyed the ceiling and the walls suspiciously expecting at any moment that they would close in on him but there was plenty of space about him and he was reasonably calm. Nevertheless, he carried his hunting crossbow at the ready in front of him. There were many fissures, cracks and small side openings but most of these were too small to enter. The main tunnel turned, lifted, and dropped at frequent intervals. Even Hagrid could tell that in places the trail that they were now following had been built up or cut out of the rock. The going was easy enough and all seemed very quiet apart from the occasional dripping or the distant hiss of running water.
The incline of the section that they were now following was steep and soon Hagrid was out of breath.
They reached a level part of the cave with water trickling down the wall into a basin and they stopped to drink the cool pure water. 'How long do you think it'll take to get to the top of the mountain?' asked Hagrid. Block pondered this and said 'maybe a few hours, maybe a few days - difficult to tell.' This did not encourage Hagrid. From where they were now sat there were two paths leading onwards. The main one continued upwards and the second headed downwards. In the chamber, there was further evidence of previous occupants, as there were timbers and old tattered sheets of canvass piled around.
Block's head suddenly became still as if he had heard something. Hagrid hadn't heard a thing but he watched in silence as Block pressed his ear to the wall of the cave. He remained still for a few moments and then his eyes widened as if he had heard something that surprised him.
'There are vibrations,' said Block, '...very faint and deep inside the rock - far away but there is something happening ahead - perhaps much digging.'
Block pointed at the lower of the two tunnels.
'That way!' said the young troll.
Hagrid's stomach churned and he groaned - the hope that they were heading towards the surface had helped him master his fear of the caves but the idea of heading down into the heart of the mountain did not appeal.
'What about the bigger trail that leads upwards?' said Hagrid hopefully.
'No! Definitely that way' said Block nodding towards the smaller tunnel that dipped downwards into the blackness.
The noise of digging was the first definite indication that they were in the right place. Hagrid and Block steeled themselves and set off down through the tunnel. The fact that they had confirmation that what they were seeking was ahead came both as a relief and heavy burden. Block gripped his club a little tighter and Hagrid patted his crossbow. Hagrid also noticed that his umbrella was not producing as much light as it had been. He banged it on the wall and for a couple of heart stopping moments the light went out altogether. Hagrid let out a huge sigh of relief as the umbrella spluttered back into life giving an unsteady flame.
'What's happening?' asked Block with a look of concern on his face.
'Well, it's me wand! It don't seem to be working too well - it is sometimes a bit temperamental but it is definitely acting a bit strange' said Hagrid.
'We'd better make torches' said Block who set about gathering the wood and canvas that lay about.
In a short time Block had prepared a half a dozen torches, all except two of which he stuffed into his back pack. Hagrid guessed that in troll camps such forms of lighting were very common, which explained why Block was so adept at making the torches. Hagrid managed to produce enough sparks from his wand to light the two torches. The wand then stopped working altogether. Hagrid scratched his head. He was now even more in debt to Block and furthermore, more dependent on the young troll. The feeling of helplessness did nothing to improve Hagrid's deep sense of unease.
Now that both Block and Hagrid were carrying torches Hagrid was becoming slightly better accustomed to the enclosed surroundings. He was also trying to make a mental note of their trail as occasionally tunnels headed off to the left or right, sometimes sloping upwards and more often sloping downwards at seemingly random angles. Hagrid soon realized however that on his own he would very quickly be completely lost and he was therefore pleased to have his young guide and he was comforted by Block's confident manner. Each time they reach a junction Block would pause and listen. Sometimes he would press his hands or an ear against the rock face then he would set off confidently on the route that he deemed most appropriate.
They were now heading downwards so the going was easier and Hagrid slowly became aware of what Block had been sensing for a couple of hours now - there were faint but deep rumbling noises like distant thunder mixed with higher pitched tink-tink noises. Hagrid wasn't sure whether the noises were carried through the air or the very rock itself. But they were getting closer and Hagrid sensed that they would soon know what the source of these noises was. The cave was also getting warmer and warm air was rising past Hagrid and Block. The air carried a faint smell of smoke and sulphur.
The noise soon became much clearer, it sounded as if there was a real hubbub of mechanical digging and rockfalls, and. something that sounded like occasional sobs, wailing, and roars of fierce animals. Block and Hagrid also sensed that there was now light other than that from their torches. They extinguished the flames and sure enough, there was a faint light from the tunnel ahead. They slowed and headed forward more cautiously. They finally rounded a bend and ahead the tunnel opened into an enormous underground cavern. The floor wasn't visible from where they were looking along the tunnel but they could sense the enormous scale of the cavern.
Hagrid and Block crouched down and kept to the walls of their tunnel as they edged forward. Finally, they reached a cliff edge as their tunnel opened into the side wall of the cavern. They crawled the last stretch and when they were finally able to see over the edge of the precipice their eyes widened in amazement and horror.
Below them was a vision worse than either of them had ever imagined in their lives. The cavern was vast and illuminated by huge fires casting red and golden light on the otherwise black walls. Smoke hung in the air in layers and eventually drifted upwards through a large opening in the roof of the chamber. The cavern was much longer than it was wide as it stretched off into the distance on either side of where they lay. Nevertheless, the far wall opposite them was still at least a hundred meters away. There were columns of rock rising from the cavern floor to the roof providing support to the mass of rock overhead. The walls of the cavern were riddled with smaller cave openings and a rickety wooden staircase extended from the top of a rocky outcrop on the floor of the cavern straight through a large hole in the roof. In addition to columns that ran all the way to the roof there were many irregular outcrops and on some of these were perched dragons.
All of a sudden, an Inferno swooped down into the cavern through the opening in the roof. The cavern was easily large enough for the giant monster to circle the area. The dragon flew straight towards Hagrid and Block before turning at the last moment landing on a ledge the jutted out from the wall not far from where they were hiding.
Other Inferno dragons perched on the various rocky outcrops were snarling and blasting flame at the figures below them. Block choked back a scream as he realized that the figures far below were the trolls from his village. They were labouring to carry rocks, digging into the floor of the chamber and working the crude mechanical wooden lifts and pump. They were being used as slave labour and were being worked under pain of death. The trolls worked slowly with their heads bowed and occasionally a dragon would blast fire at someone not working fast enough. It was difficult to tell what was actually being achieved but it was clear that the scale of the excavation work was huge and was all being carried out by the manual efforts of the trolls.
Hagrid grabbed Block by the shoulder to keep him calm. They were very exposed from their vantagepoint as some of the Infernos only had to look in their direction and they would be spotted.
'Come on - we've got to go back' said Hagrid.
Block however was in a state of shock, he had tears in his eyes and his fists were clenched into tight balls. He was looking frantically around the trolls for signs of his mother, father and brother. There were several hundred trolls and the huge floor was very irregular - many of the trolls working in dark areas out of site or behind outcrops of rock that rose up to support the roof. At first he resisted Hagrid but after a few moments he collected himself and with a steely grimace on his face he retreated back down the passage. The heat of the cavern was stifling and the noise was terrible.
Back in the welsh mountains where Hagrid and Block were waiting the sky was now clear but the atmosphere was tense. Hagrid was pacing back and forth in the small patch of undergrowth beneath the trees. Block noticed that where Hagrid had been pacing with his heavy feet for several hours there was the beginning of a trench.
Harry had now been gone for over a half a day and Hagrid was fraught with worry.
'I shouldn't have let him go. It was too dangerous.'
Block stared blankly into space. He was also deeply worried and felt responsible.
'He should have been back ages ago.'
Block sat and gazed towards the western sky hoping to see Harry returning. That hope was now fading.
That fact was that they were now completely without a plan or a means of finding Harry or the rest of the trolls. They headed back to the camp and mooched around. Hagrid inspected the bread van to see if there was any chance of fixing it but the recently departed dragon in his wrath had set fire to the van along with several other flammable parts of the camp and the van was now just a smoldering wreck. Hagrid gave the remains a hefty kick out of frustration and the charred body of the van shook and collapsed further in to itself. Hagrid wandered over to a clump of mountain ash trees, sat on the ground and buried his head in his hands.
After a few moments Hagrid exclaimed, 'captured! Poor poor Harry. How are we going to find you?' and with that Hagrid buried his face in his hands again.
Suddenly there was a tock!....
A nut had fallen from one of the trees and hit Hagrid squarely on the head.
Hagrid looked up and found an owl standing on one of the lower branches. It was a large wild tawny owl with bright yellow eyes and mottled grey- brown plumage. It stood and stared at Hagrid.
Hagrid regarded the owl for a moment and then descended back into his gloom.
'What are we going to do? Harry is lost.' Hagrid muttered to himself. 'We've no idea where he is,' the owl hooted, 'we're stuck up a mountain with no way of finding where he is,' the owl hooted again, this time louder, 'will you be quiet!' said Hagrid, 'I'm trying to concentrate...he could be anywhere.'
Tock!..a second nut landed on Hagrid's head.
'What we need is some way of finding Harry and we need to start at once.'
Splat!..the owl had evidently ran out of nuts. Hagrid ran his hand through his hair to find that, this time, the owl had deposited a sticky white mess onto his head. Hagrid jumped up and said to the owl, 'what's your problem. I've got enough to worry about without you pestering me. If you don't watch it I'll give you a letter to deliver to Harbaxen just to teach....you....a....lesson....'
The owl hooted again, ruffled its feathers and spread its wings out wide for a moment.
Finally, Hagrid understood.
'Brilliant! Although I say so myself. All I need to do is address something to Harry; give it to the owl and follow him.'
The owl hooted again.
'Hagrid you clever fella!'
Splat! The owl gave Hagrid an indignant stare.
'Block! I think there may be a way of finding Harry,' said Hagrid wiping the mess from his head.
Block looked up and for a second didn't understand. Hagrid explained the plan and with a new look of hope in his eyes, Block said, 'lets go.'
Hagrid started to assemble his gear ready for a long march. He was determined to find and rescue Harry even if it meant taking on all of the Infernos and their leader single-handed.
Hagrid went to his store and rummaged until he found an old quill, some ink and some parchment. On the parchment he simply wrote; "To Harry Potter" and the owl fluttered down onto his arm to let him tie the tiny note to its leg.
'Now don't you go flying off without us,' said Hagrid to the owl. The owl rolled its eyes and pecked Hagrid on his nose.
'Yowww!'
It then took off and circled, flew a few hundred feet to the east and then returned to Hagrid.
'OK east it is!' said Hagrid.
Block watched fascinated. Hagrid explained that the journey was likely to be much too far to walk so they would have to borrow some transport. Block remembered his trip in the bread van and was eager to try some other form of man transport. Hagrid had to explain that in general, vehicles didn't actually fly and that he wouldn't have time to convert a muggle vehicle. So in the early evening Block and Hagrid set off this time heading inland eastwards as indicated by the owl. Most of the roads leading away would be on this side of the mountain. They moved swiftly down from the mountain and soon reached fields and valleys. The owl rode on Hagrid's shoulder as it appeared pleased with their chosen direction.
'I suppose I should give you a name,' said Hagrid to his owl. 'Now we're the ones going off hunting so I'll name you after a hunter - yes!...Nimrod.'
The owl fluffed up its feather and appeared to be agreeable to the name.
They reach a small road and set off east. It was now dark and they had plenty of warning of approaching cars because the headlights could be seen from miles away. Each time Block would turn himself into a pile of rocks by the roadside until the car was out of sight again. Hagrid simply walked on down the road drawing little attention from passers by.
They had walked for an hour or so and they were approaching the outskirts of a small town. They would have to be careful. They headed inland away from the road to skirt around the town. For Block this was easy as he had no trouble jumping or vaulting over the walls and occasional hedges. Hagrid found the going a little tougher and as often as not the wall he was trying to climb would collapse noisily 'Oops - there goes another one!' Hagrid would say as Block glanced around uneasily. Nimrod would take to the air and return to Hagrid once he had righted himself.
As they reached the far end of the town they came across a building site where houses were being built. Hagrid cheered up saying 'we should be able to find what we're looking for in here. Come on Block,' and Block followed Hagrid onto the building site.
There were diggers, bulldozers and big trucks parked around the site. Finally, Hagrid found what he was looking for. 'Here we go Block! Our chariot awaits,' and Hagrid pointed towards a battered and filthy old dump truck. The dump truck had a large front bucket and no cab. There was just a seat and a steering wheel for the driver.
'OK Block, you sit in the bucket and I'll drive.' Block jumped into the bucket and curled up. He immediately resembled a pile of rocks when he lay still.
'Perfect,' said Hagrid approvingly.
Indeed, to Block, this was a most comfortable spot. Hagrid climbed up onto the driving seat and after a few moments and some poking about with his umbrella the engine spluttered into life. There was a large cloud of smoke from the freshly awakened engine and they were off. Nimrod took off and flew ahead of the truck his white underfeathers visible against the night sky.
Soon they were on the open road travelling at full speed of about 20 miles per hour.
'All we have to do is let Nimrod lead the way,' shouted Hagrid over the noise of the engine.
Guided by the owl Hagrid drove through the night. Nimrod was in charge of route selection and paused at junctions to make sure that Hagrid didn't get lost.
They stopped once to fill up with diesel and pies at an all night service station but other than that the journey was uneventful. Occasionally when there was an open stretch of road and no cars visible by their headlights in the dark night sky Hagrid would tap the engine beneath his seat with his wand and the dump tuck would lurch forward accelerating to almost double the normal top speed. When he came to a corner he would slow again and let the engine work unassisted by magic. Block lay motionless in the front bucket asleep and apparently unconcerned by the frequent jolts as Hagrid wrestled with the strange steering arrangement whereby the steering wheel controlled the rear wheels rather than the front wheels as in a normal car.
As the sun rose in the east several hours later, Hagrid could see in the distance ahead the peaks of the mountains of the Lake District looming high in the morning twilight. Grey peaks, like jagged teeth, lined the north horizon and dark clouds were rolling in from the sea to the west flaring the sky with lightening. The occasional deep boom of thunder could be heard over the puttering of the dump-truck's engine.
They started to climb, first through gently rolling hills and soon through steep sided valleys. Block had awoken and appeared to be enjoying the ride immensely from his bucket and he was keenly studying the rock formations and the peaks and crags. Nimrod was looking tired and now spent much of the journey riding on Hagrid's shoulder. Hagrid was grimly clutching the small steering wheel in his huge hands and was tired and aching after having driven through the night sitting on a seat that was only half as large as Hagrid would have liked.
By late morning they were driving parallel to a railway line with a large iron-grey lake on the other side of the road. Ahead three peaks rose into the dark rolling clouds that continued to flare as lightening bolts fired down onto the hills and mountains. When Hagrid reach the foot of these mountains Nimrod took to the air and swooped into a forest by the road. Hagrid turned off from the main road onto a track leading through the pine trees that covered the lower slopes.
Finally, when the track turned and started to head back down through the woods Nimrod came to rest on a low branch. Hagrid veered of into a thick clump of trees and parked.
'Last stop - everybody out, please take you belongings with you and have a nice day..' and with that Hagrid pulled a lever by his seat and the bucket tilted forwards throwing Block out onto the ground.
'eeeooooah!' Block cried as he rolled forwards. His head came to rest against the base of a large pine tree with a dull 'tock' that sent a roosting pigeon flapping away through the woods.
Block sprang to his feet shaken and ready for action. He was startled and looked about wildly expecting some danger to present itself. Finally he saw Hagrid grinning from the seat of the dump truck and realized that Hagrid had played a joke on him. Block quickly scooped up a clod of earth and Hagrid's eyes opened wide.
'Nooo! Hmph' cried Hagrid as the clod flumped him squarely in the face. This time Block was grinning.
Suddenly they were both startled as a crow sprang noisily from a nearby nest cawing in alarm. They immediately sobered remembering the gravity of their situation. They were now close to one seriously dodgy wizard and his band of ferocious dragons. They had no plan and they didn't exactly amount to an army of any note.
Nimrod hooted at Hagrid who understood that the owl's job was done. Hagrid removed the brief letter from the owl's leg and stroked the bird's feathers gently with the back of one finger. 'Thank you Nimrod...I can't tell you how grateful we are. Take care now.' Nimrod blinked once and flew off back down through the woods.
To Block it was now a simple case of get there and sort things out. He hadn't considered any deeper strategy than that. Hagrid however had spent many hours pondering their next move once they had reached this point on their quest and he had rationalized things to a certain extent.
Firstly, Harbaxen would be on his guard and ready for unwelcome guests - how else could he have caught Harry?
Secondly, Hagrid and Block getting captured would not help the situation at all - no-one knew where they were or what they were up against hence there would be no rescue attempt for them.
Thirdly, they were here to rescue Harry and all of the trolls. This meant that a confrontation with Harbaxen and his dragons was just about inevitable because they weren't going to be able to magic the trolls away.
Fourthly, Block may be able to move with some degree of stealth but Hagrid would be extremely conspicuous if he were to climb the mountain to where he assumed Harbaxen's hideout was located.
Lastly, Harbaxen must have a purpose behind all of this and that purpose was not likely to be trivial or good.
All in all Hagrid was terribly worried. There seemed to be little hope of success in their mission.
Hagrid shook his head as if to remove any lingering doubts and said 'well, we'd best be off then,' as much to himself as to Block.
He surveyed the landscape; they were near the top edge of the tree covering. Soon they would be in the open. There was a steep sided stream course a short way off to their right and Hagrid's vague plan was to head across to the stream and follow it upwards out of the trees using the limited amount of cover as best they could. After that, it would be down to luck and the cover of darkness.
Hagrid explained the plan to Block who nodded enthusiastically and they set off.
They soon reached the stream that frothed and cascaded down over the slippery sharp rocks. They drank and filled their water flasks and then set off through the trees heading upward parallel to the stream. The going was tough as the ground was slippery after the recent heavy rains. At the edge of the tree line they stopped.
'It'll be dark in about eight hours,' said Hagrid who had been awake all through the previous night driving the dump truck.
'We'll rest until nightfall' said Hagrid and he laid his pack on the ground for a pillow and soon was fast asleep.
Hagrid awoke with a groan. It was a warm summer evening but everything was damp and he felt as though he had slept in a steam bath. He still had his big overcoat on and several layers beneath. The first thing that struck Hagrid was the silence. When he had fallen asleep there had been the noise of the stream. Now that was gone. Hagrid sat up and noted that the flow in the steam had subsided after the first rush of water following the storm had passed down the mountain. This was good he supposed as it would make it easier to climb upward using the streambed.
Hagrid suddenly realized that Block was missing. Resisting the urge to call out he stood up and looked around. He was beginning to panic when he spotted Block over at the stream some distance up the hill out in the open. Hagrid cursed under his breath - what was Block doing wandering in the open before dark? Hagrid made his way up to the edge of the trees and observed Block for a few moments. Hagrid now noticed that far from his expectation the stream valley only extended a short distance up the hill. Above this point the ground was relatively flat and open. Hagrid groaned.
Hagrid looked at his only ally, Block, who was at the point where the stream appeared to emerge from underground. Block was acting very strangely. He was banging his head against a large rocky outcrop and then listening with his ear flat to the sheer rock face. Hagrid's gloom deepened. Block was only a boy and, Hagrid realized, was possibly more likely to be a hindrance than a help.
Then Block did something that amazed Hagrid.
There was a fissure in the rock face just wide enough for Block to put his arm into and Block, having studied the crack for a few moments, swung his club and hit the rock face next to the fissure with all his might. Nothing happened (except that a sharp crack echoed across the hills). Block did this again and again several times.
Hagrid hurried up the slope and said, 'have you gone mad? We need to be quiet Block - stop.' Block swung his club one last time and this time there was a snap followed at first by the sound of a few pebbles and loose fragments of rock falling then there was a sudden rush of avalanching rock. Hagrid jumped back but still got a soaking as the rock face plummeted into the pool of water and at the same time Block jumped nimbly to one side avoiding the soaking as part of the rock face fell forward.
Baffled, Hagrid shook himself to get rid of the water and scratched his chin. He regarded the dislodged rock for a few moments. When he looked up Block had disappeared.
'Block! Where are you?' asked Hagrid as he looked around about. Block's smiling face appeared from the now enlarged opening where there had previously only been a crack in the rock face.
'Tunnels! Big tunnels,' said Block.
Hagrid froze. He now realized what Block was doing. He had found an entrance to a system of tunnels. This area was famous for its large potholes and caverns and using his highly developed troll's sense of the geology of mountains, Block had managed to find in a few moments what people of the area had not for centuries.
While this was amazing, it was not good news for Hagrid. Being on the large size had always meant that spaces that most people would consider as roomy were to Hagrid cramped. There were few things that frightened Hagrid but cramped enclosed spaces was one of them and the prospect of following Block through an uncharted cave system was not ever going to be high on his 'favourite things to do' list. He was damp and sweating under his large coat and the sweat sent a chill through his body.
Block quickly read the expression on Hagrid's face and his smile turned to a determined and hardened stare. 'We must use the tunnels otherwise dragons will catch us - Hagrid, you must follow me if we're to save Harry Potter'.
Hagrid gulped. Of course, Block was right. In fact, it would be a tremendous advantage if they could approach Harbaxen and the dragons via this underground route and he simply must overcome his fear to help Harry.
'What's it like in there?' stammered Hagrid. 'Plenty of room?'
Block was busy collecting his gear and wrapping his sling around him. 'Time to go,' he said to Hagrid and he disappeared through the opening in the rock face.
Hagrid's hands were sweating. He felt sick at the prospect of following Block but he forced himself to collect his hunting crossbow, coil of rope and a few other odds and ends including his umbrella.
'Come on now. You're a big boy and there's nothing to be afraid of,' said Hagrid to himself.
Hagrid started to whistle the Hi Ho theme which was about seven dwarves working in a mine and although it's fair to say Giants and Dwarves as races had lead different lifestyles - Hagrid couldn't help envying the fact that dwarves were built for cave work.
Hagrid took one last look about the forest and squeezed into the opening in the rock-face. He was immediately gripped by panic. He was stuck already! If he pushed further into the cave he may get more terribly stuck and then.. two strong hands grabbed his leading arm and pulled. He popped through the narrow opening into a much larger space. There was very little light so he lifted his umbrella and from its tip a bright light shone illuminating the cave.
Hagrid and Block surveyed their surroundings. Ahead of them the cave widened and the floor sloped gently upwards into the darkness. To one side, the underground stream bubbled past them.
Hagrid's initial panic subsided slightly.
'Dwarves!' Hagrid said to himself as he realized that this tunnel had, probably long ago, been fashioned by dwarves into an access tunnel. While the tunnel was irregular as a natural cave would be there were sections where the rock had been cut back or levelled across openings in the floor to provide room enough for a small cart. The exit must have become blocked at some point and never reopened. This would have been the work of the dwarves that had once dwelt in these mountains.
Of course, like the giants, the dwarves had long since departed mainly because of the intrusions of people who indulged in a sport called pot holing. These people had never realized that they had intruded on an underground kingdom of enormous size and complexity and as fast as the dwarves could block the underground paths used by potholers they found people intruding via new routes from above ground. Eventually the dwarves had left by sea and overland in all manner of strange vehicles that they had fashioned from iron and steel and wood. Where they went to nobody knew and they had never been heard of again.
Hagrid and Block set out up the tunnel. Block was leading the way and was thoroughly enjoying himself gazing about at the rock formations. Pointed rock stalactites and stalagmites dangled from the ceiling and jutted up from the floor. The walls gleamed in glossy pastel colours and occasionally bands of rock shone and twinkled with iron and bands of crystals.
Hagrid eyed the ceiling and the walls suspiciously expecting at any moment that they would close in on him but there was plenty of space about him and he was reasonably calm. Nevertheless, he carried his hunting crossbow at the ready in front of him. There were many fissures, cracks and small side openings but most of these were too small to enter. The main tunnel turned, lifted, and dropped at frequent intervals. Even Hagrid could tell that in places the trail that they were now following had been built up or cut out of the rock. The going was easy enough and all seemed very quiet apart from the occasional dripping or the distant hiss of running water.
The incline of the section that they were now following was steep and soon Hagrid was out of breath.
They reached a level part of the cave with water trickling down the wall into a basin and they stopped to drink the cool pure water. 'How long do you think it'll take to get to the top of the mountain?' asked Hagrid. Block pondered this and said 'maybe a few hours, maybe a few days - difficult to tell.' This did not encourage Hagrid. From where they were now sat there were two paths leading onwards. The main one continued upwards and the second headed downwards. In the chamber, there was further evidence of previous occupants, as there were timbers and old tattered sheets of canvass piled around.
Block's head suddenly became still as if he had heard something. Hagrid hadn't heard a thing but he watched in silence as Block pressed his ear to the wall of the cave. He remained still for a few moments and then his eyes widened as if he had heard something that surprised him.
'There are vibrations,' said Block, '...very faint and deep inside the rock - far away but there is something happening ahead - perhaps much digging.'
Block pointed at the lower of the two tunnels.
'That way!' said the young troll.
Hagrid's stomach churned and he groaned - the hope that they were heading towards the surface had helped him master his fear of the caves but the idea of heading down into the heart of the mountain did not appeal.
'What about the bigger trail that leads upwards?' said Hagrid hopefully.
'No! Definitely that way' said Block nodding towards the smaller tunnel that dipped downwards into the blackness.
The noise of digging was the first definite indication that they were in the right place. Hagrid and Block steeled themselves and set off down through the tunnel. The fact that they had confirmation that what they were seeking was ahead came both as a relief and heavy burden. Block gripped his club a little tighter and Hagrid patted his crossbow. Hagrid also noticed that his umbrella was not producing as much light as it had been. He banged it on the wall and for a couple of heart stopping moments the light went out altogether. Hagrid let out a huge sigh of relief as the umbrella spluttered back into life giving an unsteady flame.
'What's happening?' asked Block with a look of concern on his face.
'Well, it's me wand! It don't seem to be working too well - it is sometimes a bit temperamental but it is definitely acting a bit strange' said Hagrid.
'We'd better make torches' said Block who set about gathering the wood and canvas that lay about.
In a short time Block had prepared a half a dozen torches, all except two of which he stuffed into his back pack. Hagrid guessed that in troll camps such forms of lighting were very common, which explained why Block was so adept at making the torches. Hagrid managed to produce enough sparks from his wand to light the two torches. The wand then stopped working altogether. Hagrid scratched his head. He was now even more in debt to Block and furthermore, more dependent on the young troll. The feeling of helplessness did nothing to improve Hagrid's deep sense of unease.
Now that both Block and Hagrid were carrying torches Hagrid was becoming slightly better accustomed to the enclosed surroundings. He was also trying to make a mental note of their trail as occasionally tunnels headed off to the left or right, sometimes sloping upwards and more often sloping downwards at seemingly random angles. Hagrid soon realized however that on his own he would very quickly be completely lost and he was therefore pleased to have his young guide and he was comforted by Block's confident manner. Each time they reach a junction Block would pause and listen. Sometimes he would press his hands or an ear against the rock face then he would set off confidently on the route that he deemed most appropriate.
They were now heading downwards so the going was easier and Hagrid slowly became aware of what Block had been sensing for a couple of hours now - there were faint but deep rumbling noises like distant thunder mixed with higher pitched tink-tink noises. Hagrid wasn't sure whether the noises were carried through the air or the very rock itself. But they were getting closer and Hagrid sensed that they would soon know what the source of these noises was. The cave was also getting warmer and warm air was rising past Hagrid and Block. The air carried a faint smell of smoke and sulphur.
The noise soon became much clearer, it sounded as if there was a real hubbub of mechanical digging and rockfalls, and. something that sounded like occasional sobs, wailing, and roars of fierce animals. Block and Hagrid also sensed that there was now light other than that from their torches. They extinguished the flames and sure enough, there was a faint light from the tunnel ahead. They slowed and headed forward more cautiously. They finally rounded a bend and ahead the tunnel opened into an enormous underground cavern. The floor wasn't visible from where they were looking along the tunnel but they could sense the enormous scale of the cavern.
Hagrid and Block crouched down and kept to the walls of their tunnel as they edged forward. Finally, they reached a cliff edge as their tunnel opened into the side wall of the cavern. They crawled the last stretch and when they were finally able to see over the edge of the precipice their eyes widened in amazement and horror.
Below them was a vision worse than either of them had ever imagined in their lives. The cavern was vast and illuminated by huge fires casting red and golden light on the otherwise black walls. Smoke hung in the air in layers and eventually drifted upwards through a large opening in the roof of the chamber. The cavern was much longer than it was wide as it stretched off into the distance on either side of where they lay. Nevertheless, the far wall opposite them was still at least a hundred meters away. There were columns of rock rising from the cavern floor to the roof providing support to the mass of rock overhead. The walls of the cavern were riddled with smaller cave openings and a rickety wooden staircase extended from the top of a rocky outcrop on the floor of the cavern straight through a large hole in the roof. In addition to columns that ran all the way to the roof there were many irregular outcrops and on some of these were perched dragons.
All of a sudden, an Inferno swooped down into the cavern through the opening in the roof. The cavern was easily large enough for the giant monster to circle the area. The dragon flew straight towards Hagrid and Block before turning at the last moment landing on a ledge the jutted out from the wall not far from where they were hiding.
Other Inferno dragons perched on the various rocky outcrops were snarling and blasting flame at the figures below them. Block choked back a scream as he realized that the figures far below were the trolls from his village. They were labouring to carry rocks, digging into the floor of the chamber and working the crude mechanical wooden lifts and pump. They were being used as slave labour and were being worked under pain of death. The trolls worked slowly with their heads bowed and occasionally a dragon would blast fire at someone not working fast enough. It was difficult to tell what was actually being achieved but it was clear that the scale of the excavation work was huge and was all being carried out by the manual efforts of the trolls.
Hagrid grabbed Block by the shoulder to keep him calm. They were very exposed from their vantagepoint as some of the Infernos only had to look in their direction and they would be spotted.
'Come on - we've got to go back' said Hagrid.
Block however was in a state of shock, he had tears in his eyes and his fists were clenched into tight balls. He was looking frantically around the trolls for signs of his mother, father and brother. There were several hundred trolls and the huge floor was very irregular - many of the trolls working in dark areas out of site or behind outcrops of rock that rose up to support the roof. At first he resisted Hagrid but after a few moments he collected himself and with a steely grimace on his face he retreated back down the passage. The heat of the cavern was stifling and the noise was terrible.