Oh my gosh! I saw "Hairspray" today! It was great! I bought the CD and it's so cool! LOL! I want to marry Link! He was sooo cute! "I can hear the bells…"

YAY! So awesome! Anyways, I'm getting worried—this story's almost over, and I don't have another one! NO! I know how hard it will be, but you'll have to survive without my daily postings! Hehe!

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Chapter 32

The Floating Door

"You all ready?" James said, turning to look at them when they reached the top of the marble staircase.

"Wait-- ready?" Peter stuttered. "To do what, exactly?"

"Pete, we told you. We're going to help." Sirius said.

"H-help? Help with what? We can't stop… Y-You-Know-Who." He stammered.

"Look, Lily and I promised Mad-Eye that we'd do something. If you don't want to lend a hand, you don't have to." James said, looking around at their group.

"James, maybe we should just go to the common room with the others…" Lily said quietly. He stared at her as though she was crazy.

Then he took her by the shoulders, and said, "We're helping. And we'll be fine. Moody wouldn't have asked us if he didn't think we'd make a difference."

"James, this was from the guy who kept screaming, 'constant vigilance' and saying that everyone had potential of becoming an Auror someday!" Belle said fearfully.

"He didn't say I'd make a good Auror…" Peter muttered to himself.

"That's because you wouldn't, Pete." Sirius laughed.

"Now common, guys. We'll be fine." James repeated, as he gave Lily's shoulders a supportive squeeze, and then went striding down the hall with Peter bobbing at his heels.

"James, for once, Lily's right! This isn't our business, James…" He babbled uselessly.

"Shut up, Peter." Lily said, giving him a glare, and walking next to James. He gave her a small approving smile, and she grinned back.

When they had reached Moody's classroom, Lily opened the door tentatively. James followed her, and told the others to wait outside and watch for any teachers, just in case Moody had forgotten to mention that they had permission to be out and about. Lily touched her wand in her pocket, and looked around the classroom.

"Nothing looks different." She said. "What did he want us to retrieve?"

"I dunno. But let's check his desk." James suggested. They made their way past the rows of desks and up to the teacher's desk. There were piles of papers, and a drawer sloppily closed. And there, in the dead center of the table was a large key.

"This?" Lily asked, picking it up. Surprisingly, it was heavy. Made of bronze, it looked very old and rusty. But there was something very original and strange about the key. At the base, where you would slid it into the door, it had a large, sphere in the place of spikes.

"How weird…" James muttered, taking the key out of Lily's hands. She noticed that his fingers trembled slightly as he held the key up to his face. Suddenly, he jammed it into his pocket and said, "Let's move."

She followed a very determined James out of the classroom. Without saying a word, he passed their friends and started to make their way down the hall towards the owlery. As they walked, Belle pulled Lily aside.

"You okay?" She asked.

"Yes." Lily said, although she sounded very unpersuasive. But she cleared her throat and regained her strength. "But I'm really glad that you all are coming with us. Maybe now we'll outnumber him, or something, you know?"

"I sure hope you're right." Belle sighed. The mood was tense as they pulled open the heavy wooden door.

"Everyone look for a circular keyhole." James instructed. Lily started glancing around the room.

"Wait a second," She muttered. "I saw a keyhole in here earlier this year!" She exclaimed.

"Where?" Remus asked, as his eyes scanned the walls.

"I don't remember." Lily replied. "But I was standing here, at the window…" She explained, leaning up against the window frame.

"Once again, Lily is no help at all." Peter murmured under his breath, though everyone heard him. Lily bit her lip angrily, and looked at the owls that were hooting with interest. She stared at a moment at a large tawny owl, and suddenly she noticed--

"There! There it is!" She shouted, pointing to the circular keyhole she had observed previously. "James, give me the key." She said, holing out her hand. He gave it to her, and she slipped it into the hole. She paused, and tried to turn the key, but there was only the scraping of metal on metal. The circular sphere wouldn't turn the lock.

"Maybe there's a spell, or something?" James suggested, pulling his wand out of his robe pocket. But as he was rolling up his sleeves, the bronze key began to vibrate. Softly at first, there was a noticeable sound of a spark like a cigarette lighter. Suddenly, the key started to feel hot so Lily's hand recoiled. She exchanged a confused glance with Remus as the key began to bend itself into a doorknob.

"Try touching it, Lil." Sirius said faintly. Lily stretched out her hand once more, and quickly tapped the handle, hoping she wouldn't burn herself.

"It's cool again." She said, placing her hand on the new handle. She turned it, and pulled the door open. Everyone gasped as they saw a long, dark, staircase that descended downward. A whoosh of warm air flooded into the owlery, and the owls cried out in agitation.

"Wands out, do you reckon?" Belle muttered. Lily nodded, and murmured, "Lumos." Her wand tip lit up and she looked at James, almost expecting him to take the lead. But Remus was quick to jump forward.

"Come on then. No use standing around." He motioned. Lily followed Remus down the steps with Belle at her heels. Remus stopped suddenly, and said, "Take the key and close the door James; we don't want anyone to follow us."

"The key won't come out." James said. "But I'll close the door anyway." Lily heard the creaking of the door shutting. A loud click, and the fading light from the sunset vanished, and Lily was left with only the small glow of her wand light.

With the door closed, Lily suddenly became very aware of her surroundings. The air smelled stale and rotting… almost like it had been held still too long. The tunnel was also very humid. The more stairs that they headed down, the warmer it was. Lily found herself rolling up her sleeves, and wiping her forehead. Lily's heart was thudding in time with her steps. She found herself wishing that she were up in the common room with the other Gryffindors.

"Can't wait to climb back up these stairs with a huge crystal." Sirius muttered from behind. "Should be loads of fun, don't you think?"

"You don't know it'll be huge, Si." Belle told him softly.

But finally, the floor evened out, and Lily and her friends gathered at the base of the stairs. Lily licked her dry lips and whished that she had a glass of water. Down here, it felt like she was trapped in a sauna with the heat stuck on as high as it could go.

"Shall we continue?" James said, passing by everyone and taking the front.

"James, can't we take a break?" Peter groaned. "It's so hot down here…"

And just the once, Lily agreed with him. But James wouldn't hear of it.

"Look, the sooner we get back to the castle with that Stone the better. I don't know about the rest of you, but I sure don't want to meet up with Voldemort down here." He said. "So we'll move on."

They left the stone room, and soon reached a very skinny passage. Everyone had to shimmy through it one by one so they wouldn't get stuck. Sirius followed Lily into the passageway. But suddenly, Lily bumped into Belle.

"Sorry, Lily." Belle muttered. "Remus, why'd you stop?"

"There's a door here." James said from the front.

"Well hurry up and open it--ow! Si, you stood on my foot!" Lily groaned, as she tried to reach down and nurse it.

"I didn't mean to--Peter, stop pushing! James, open the God damn door! We don't have time for this!" Sirius shouted. Lily did her best to stand on her toes and see what was holding them up. James had the back of his hand on the door, and was talking to Remus in a hushed voice.

"Okay!" He said finally. He pushed the door open and everyone thankfully hurried into the larger room. Here, the floor was tiled in the shades of purple and green. It surprised Lily that the ground would be so well done in a secret chamber. The walls were still made of stone, yet there were pillars that scraped the ceiling. Floating candles dotted the air above them, so there was no need for her wand light. "Nox." Lily said softly.

"That's strange." Remus muttered.

"What?" Lily asked him.

"Well, James felt heat on the other side of the door. We expected flames." He said. "But by the looks of this place, there's never been a fire here." Lily had to agree with him. This room was very peaceful. The air was suppressed and heavy, yet it was comfortably warm.

"So, where's the door?" Belle asked no one in particular. It was true-- no wall of the room held a doorway.

Lily, admiring the magnificently constructed ceilings, noticed something strange and very peculiar. "What's that?" She said, pointing up toward the far wall where, just about touching the ceiling was a tall, wooden door.

Their party rushed toward it, craning their necks to investigate it. It looked like an ordinary door, excepting the fact that it was positioned at least two feet away from the side of the room.

"Gimme a boost." James told Sirius. Sirius bent over, and laced his fingers together without question. James stepped on his hands, and reached up at the door. The doorknob was just out of his reach. "A little higher." He instructed. Sirius tried to push him up, but James lost his balance and came toppling to the stone-flanked floor.

"It's no use. It's too high." Peter grouched, sitting down with his back against the stone wall. "We'll never get up there. This was stupid."

"It was not stupid." Lily snapped. "We have to move on, and we will, with or without your help."

"I didn't mean that I didn't want to help--" Peter said impulsively. "I only--"

"Shut up! Both of you!" James yelled. "We don't need that. Sirius, give me another boost. I just stepped off your hands that time."

So, Sirius offered James his hands again, and with Lily and Remus's steadying hands on his legs, James reached up for the handle once more. This time, though, his fingers made contact with the brass. He turned it, and the door swung outward just as he fell.

"Good work." James said, pushing his glasses up his nose, and pulling himself to his feet. "Remus, you go first, and Si and I'll help everyone else." He replied.

Soon, Remus was scooting himself through the doorway, and James was looking at Lily.

"Ready?" He asked her. She took a deep breath, and nodded. He took Lily's hand as she stepped on Sirius's intertwined fingers. As if balancing on one leg wasn't enough, she looked helplessly up to the door, where Remus was holding out his hand. Her free hand took his, and he, James, and Sirius pulled and pushed her upward. In moments, Lily was sitting on the floor of the secret passage grinning.

"That was easy enough." She said, smiling and backing out of the way. Remus grinned at her, and moved toward the entrance again, giving Lily a chance to look around.

The passage was small, yet not nearly as compact as the chamber two back. The only light came from the doorway and the floor was tender due to the coat of thick, gray, dust that smothered it. The walls too, seemed dusty, though she couldn't tell in the darkness. It looked as though no one had set foot in this passage in more than 100 years.

Momentarily, Peter was up in the room with them, and Lily exchanged a severe glance with him before stepping behind Remus. Next up was James, he didn't even look at Lily or Peter before peeking around the passage.

"Belle," Lily called down. "Aren't you coming?" She asked, confused that she wouldn't have come up before James.

"You know, I don't think so." She answered rather sheepishly. "Sirius and I are going to stay here, and keep watch for… You-Know-Who." Lily noticed that the last three words tumbled out of her mouth with difficulty.

"A-alright." Lily stammered. Suddenly, she found herself wondering if she should stay behind too. Unwillingly, she took another step towards the door, making to hop down.

"No way." James whispered, taking hold of her upper arm. "You're staying." He commanded her softly. And for once, she didn't feel angry with James for ordering her around. Surprisingly, she felt a rush of gratitude for him stopping her. She wanted to help, and so Lily mustered up her courage and joined the boys, who were grouping together to discuss a plan.

"I think it's smart that they're staying behind." Remus said. "At least then we'll have a chance of an escape if--"

"I know." James said, cutting him off. It was almost as though he didn't want to hear what might happen, even though it was only a possibility.

"So, shall we go?" Lily asked them, eyes wide with excitement and nervousness.

They all nodded silently, and muttered "Lumos" and walked forward into the dark corridor.