Episode One Hundred and Five

            A few days passed with only hard work to finish. Charms were set up all around the Chamber of Secrets to prevent any breakouts until a better system could be accomplished. None of the wizards or witches guarding were allowed wands down below, for fear that if even a single dark wizard or witch laid fingers on one all havoc would break loose.

            Even without wands the dark forces held in captivity were dangerous. A select few had been studying for years and had mastered an ancient magical art that didn't require a wand. It was something like the fey magic that Gwen could invoke, and even a bit like the alternative magical language she was still trying to scry, Ouranian Barbaric.

            This had been discovered after the whole staircase fiasco and these individuals had been weeded out and put into solitary confinement cells.

            This was not Gwen's only concern. Harry still felt that Voldemort was near and was waiting for the perfect moment to strike. This sounded highly reasonable to Gwen and she started patrolling the perimeter of the forest when she wasn't needed elsewhere. Graves, who was still anonymously hidden in his cloak traveled with her at all times, and they had taken to sleeping in her room, curled up side by side.

            One particular evening they were out with Harry, walking the line between castle and woods when they saw a dark figure walk quickly away from the edge of the forest and journey deeper in. It didn't take any prompting for all three of them to break into a run.

            The pursuit took them deeper into the forest than Gwen had ever been and led to an unfamiliar clearing. The sky was ebony and tiny pricks of starlight could be seen from here, sprinkling the sky with pale dots of color. The trees were thick all around the enclosure, so thick that it seemed unnatural. In the very center of the clearing was a discolored spot of snow that seemed gray in the pristine patch of clean white.

            The figure they had pursued so far had disappeared into thin air, or so it seemed. That is until Graves, who threw off his invisibility cloak followed the rushed footprints into the gray spot of snow. He felt an immediate tug downward as if he'd been sucked into the ground. Harry and Gwen scrambled to the spot and felt the same sensation as they stepped into the gray snow.

            It was dark, pitch black. Gwen could only feel Harry at her left elbow and Graves at her right because there was no way to see anything from this vantage point. She felt almost as if a cloak had been pulled over her head and it was stifling to breath. Any sound fell dead and she didn't dare to speak in any case. All three of them moved forward, more out of a need to escape the muffling quality of the space they occupied than out of any curious desire to explore.

            Thirty steps later the air began to thin out. Ten steps after that and sound began to trickle in, tiny cave sounds like dripping water up ahead and the shuffle of their feet as they lurched forward. Another couple of steps and they could see a wane, dancing light up ahead, splashing the left cave wall as if it were firelight coming from an opening into a room.

            They had not been mistaken in this assumption and were soon upon the opening. They entered cautiously, with wands out, no need to tell each other what they were thinking and what they intended to do next. However they need for words arose quickly. There was a body lying on the ground before the dying fire.

            Gwen rushed over and knelt beside the figure with the gleaming head of sleek, blond hair.

"Malfoy." Harry said in a deadly tone.

Gwen looked up at him nervously. His wand arm twitched and he was raising it evenly with Malfoy's head. She needed to stop this before it went even further. "Harry, think about it." She said, trying to think of a good argument. Then it occurred to her. "He wouldn't be laying here unless he'd done something to help us. Maybe he finally did stand up to his dad." She laid a finger on his neck and leaned her head into his chest listening, checking for vitals. "He's out cold, but still breathing." She said.

"Leave him, we haven't got time for this." Graves said. He had just as much reason as Harry to try and kill Malfoy, but now was not the time to act on it.

Harry looked mutinous. "If this is part of your feel-good Malfoy plan I'd say you picked a real shitty time to work on it."

Gwen kissed Malfoy's forehead before she stood and jogged over to where Graves was standing quietly. Next to him Harry was stamping impatiently.

"What was that all about?" He asked irritated.

"Fey protection spell. The least I could do was ensure he'd be safe. Once he's conscious he can defend himself."

Harry sighed. He couldn't argue with Gwen when she looked deadly and benevolent in the same space. Her charity to the slimy bastard had been one thing. That she was ready to drop whoever had dropped Malfoy was completely another and Harry found that surprising.

The three of them left Malfoy behind when they discovered another door in the room, leading to a torch lit path. This they followed tentatively, too anxious to talk. The walls were dank and grown over in some spots by dark, springy moss. The torches were hung in brackets every twenty feet and in the dark void between each their steps slowed a little. They came to the end of the long hall and found three portals. It seemed almost too much of a coincidence that there were three of them and three openings in the wall.

Gwen looked from Harry to Graves. She stepped before them, blocking the passage. "Everyone take a door."

Neither boy really thought to argue with her even given the dangers of taking such action. The idea just seemed right. Graves stepped to the right, Harry stayed where he was and Gwen took the left. There was no word at their separation, no advice or comforts to give each other before they journeyed in their separate ways.

There was only the final sigh as Graves set his teeth and braved forward. There was only the tense look from the side as Harry stepped into the abyss. There was only Gwen standing before the darkened arch, her fist clenched and her future waiting.