"Hermione," said Ron in a trembling voice, "I'm not quite sure what this Wild Hunt of yours is, but I'm guessing it's nothing good…"
"No. No, it's not! Harry, I don't know what to do! The Wild Hunt are… well, wild."
Hermione looked around fearfully. The baying of the hounds was still some way overhead, but the sound was definitely getting closer.
"They're not after rabbits, then?" Ron asked weakly.
"I would say not," Harry replied tensely as the noise of the Hunt took shape all around them. They huddled together, wands out, but with no idea what kind of magic might be effective against such a fearsome opponent.
The noise of the hounds become overpowering. Hermione whimpered and clasped her hands to her ears. Above the tumult of the pack, the note of a horn soared and soared again.
"Harry…" Hermione squeaked.
But Harry's mind was blank.
The trees seemed to ease apart to allow the passage of the Hunt. The hounds bounded towards their quarries, uttering great yelping cries, then crouched before them, growling. Their red ears flicked alertly, and their huge jaws slavered. Harry, Hermione and Ron took a step backwards, turned to flee, and found more hounds poised menacingly all around them.
An immense figure rode through the trees. Massive antlers rose from his head. He was dressed all in red, yet somehow he still loomed through the forest like a tower of darkness. Behind him followed a number of other shadowy horsemen. His voice, when he spoke, reminded Harry of a mountain moving.
"WHO TRESPASSES ON OUR LANDS?" he demanded. He did not speak loudly, as such, but his speech nevertheless boomed through the gathering dark.
"Uh - er, we, we're sorry, sir, we didn't know we were trespassing…"
"WE WERE WOKEN."
"That – that wasn't us, we're sorry – " Harry gabbled, looking up in dread at the vast figure before them.
The horse stamped and whinnied piercingly. "PATIENCE, ERLANDIS. WE WILL RIDE AGAIN SOON.
"YOU STINK OF NEW MAGIC, MORTAL ONES. WHY DO YOU BRING THE RUIN OF OUR RACE INTO THESE REALMS?"
Harry looked helplessly at Hermione for guidance. "They're old magic, Harry," she breathed back. "Old magic, blood magic, from the beginnings of days - before human civilization, before wizards…The new world drove them out…into exile…."
Ron raised his hand to his mouth. "I do hope," he muttered sideways, "they aren't taking that personally…"
"I, I'm just looking for my friend," Harry blurted. "My Godfather…"
The shadowed face was silent. It seemed to be pondering something. "YOU BEAR THE TRACES OF OLD MAGIC, TOO, CHILD. HOW IS THIS?"
Harry gaped. Old magic? What..? Suddenly a memory floated through his mind. Dumbledore, speaking of his mother, who had died to save him…how this gave him the protection of an ancient magic, blood magic, flowing through his veins….
"My mother," he stuttered. "My mother's blood."
"AH." The antlered figure inclined his great head. "SINCE YOU BEAR EVEN THIS MUCH OF OUR HERITAGE, CHILD, WE WILL LET YOU PASS. IT IS GOOD TO KNOW THAT NOT ALL IN THE UPPER REALMS HAVE ENTIRELY FORGOTTEN THE WAYS OF OLD."
His steed reared suddenly, with a scream of anticipation. "WE HUNT. RIDE, RIDE, TO THE HUNT…."
The hounds, the horsemen, and the antlered leader whirled around and thrust themselves skyward. Horses stamped, and sweated, and the hot breath of the hounds beat at the teenagers' faces. The Hunt took off with cries of furious anticipation. The baying of the hounds howled through the night, fading swiftly into distant yelps.
Harry, Hermione and Ron collapsed onto the forest floor in relief.
"Oh my goodness. Oh my goodness," Hermione muttered.
"Harry," said Ron solemnly. "I think I just discovered something more scary than spiders."
Snape stood on the shoreline with folded arms, gazing into the distance. When the tall, cloaked figure glided towards him, he cast it barely a glance.
"Stranger," the liquid voice breathed. "What would you have?"
Snape spoke carefully. "I seek nothing from this realm which is not mine to take. I am in search of that which is lost."
"The children…"
Snape did not respond.
"Would you like me to tell you where you can find the children?" The being's voice flowed over him like molten honey.
"No."
"You are ungracious, mortal visitor."
Snape shrugged, and continued to stare into the distance. Finally, he nodded to himself, and strode off, his robes flapping around his heels.
"You know," Ron commented nervously, "I really don't think I like this place."
"It's taken you all this time to reach that conclusion?" Hermione was stepping briskly forwards. "The sooner we get out of this forest the better…Keep thinking of the Palace of Bones, remember. I wouldn't like to get lost in this realm."
The landscape this time was changing only slowly: almost lazily. The light levels had, however, increased. Pale sunlight did filter down through the thinning trees. This heartened all three of them. Somehow everything seemed less terrible in the daylight.
By now, they were all thirsty and hungry. "I wish," said Hermione, "that we had thought to bring some food... or at least a bottle of water."
"Yeah," Harry agreed. "We'll be joining the Land of the Dead for real if we don't get a move on." He patted his pocket to make sure his potion bottle was still there. It would be a disaster if they lost those….and with them their way back…
"I can't help feeling," said Hermione, "that it is all too quiet. I mean, there's a reason why people don't just pop across here for Sunday jaunts…"
"Hermione!" protested Ron. "That is not something to complain about! And anyway, you mean too quiet besides the carnivorous horses, the creepy old hags and the hounds of hell? "
She smiled slightly. They were definitely moving out of the forested lands. The trees were growing further and further apart.
They walked on. They were weary now, and very thirsty indeed.
"Do you think those old hags were having us on?" Ron asked anxiously. "About this Palace of Bones business?"
"I don't think they can," Hermione answered him seriously. "The rules of this place aren't like ours…Beings here can mislead, and torment, but they can't actually lie to us."
Harry had been silent for a long while. That had been a close call with the Wild Hunt. Perhaps he should not have come; what if he lost Ron or Hermione as well? He had tried to get them to stay behind….He strengthened his resolution by thinking of Sirius. They would find him, and they would give him some of their potion, and they would take him back to Hogwarts with them. He would have his Godfather back.
The sun was setting when they came to the stone table. None of them know what this meant in terms of actual passage of time, or how long they had really been in the Land of Mag Mell.
The table was a huge slab of rough grey stone. They approached it with caution. Was there something they had to do here in order to reach the Palace of Bones? As the rays of the setting sun bathed the table in its pinkish light, Hermione let out a small scream.
A man had appeared on the table from out of nowhere. He was chained hand and foot. His grey beard was long and unkempt. He stared at the sky in hopeless resignation. Suddenly, the sky was full of a strange cawing noise.
"Kaaa – kaaa – kaaa."
Birds swooped down from the sky. They seemed to blot out the sky, but probably there were only twenty or thirty of them. Hermione, Harry and Ron dropped to the ground, instinctively covering their eyes. Peering between his fingers, Harry saw that these birds were large, larger than ravens. They had a feral look about them and – he stared sickly. Their beaks – their beaks were made of bone, and charred with blood….
"Kaaa – kaaa – kaaa."
"The man on the table," Harry whispered. "Oh –! that man on the table!" He made to get up and found himself fiercely pulled down by Ron and Hermione.
"Kaaa – kaaa – kaaa."
A storm of wings beat around them. They birds stank of death. They fed for a long time. When they had finished, they swooped about in fierce circles.
"Kaaa – kaaa – kaaa."
"Oh no – they're coming for us!" Harry yelled frantically. "Quick –"
But there was nowhere to hide, and the birds could fly faster than they could run.
Aaahhhhh. Voldemort breathed a long, contented sigh. "Good news, Nagini....Harry Potter has left the protection of that old fool Dumbledore and of his mother's family...."
His lipless mouth pulled back into a smile.
"At last...Harry Potter has plagued me for too long. I have an instrument to hand, Nagini...finally, it is the end for Harry Potter."
His thin, high laugher rang triumphantly out.