A/N: Lalala… New posty! Not that anyone cares! :(
Disclaimer: I'm starting to find less ways of saying this: J.K.Rowling make story. Me like. Me make story from hers. Me make no money from story. Good, yes?
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Chapter 6 "The dig"As everyone left for classes, Bill went to his room to get all his magical instruments ready for the dig. Today was the day that they would be scouting the first few entrances of the caves and going in to find the collar. Bill thought it was a bit foolish to go through so much trouble for an item so silly but he thought that it might have had sentimental value. He took out a large series of objects to help him on the journey as he readied his equipment. He had his 'Hollow-picks' which were magical rock picks that made solid granite crumble easily. He had his 'Exo-compass' which could lead them to any exit in the complex they were in by shining a red beam. He packed his 'Levi-grips' which were like strange invisible ropes, with picked, metallic ends to insert in the ground. They could allow the climber to descend or come up from any vertical shaft or ledge. 'Levi-grips' were very useful and efficient because there were no ropes to get tangled with and couldn't be cut or warn. And finally, of course, he had his good old wand to help with any other complications. With all these things packed, along with some food and medical equipment, Bill was ready for a good night's work.
It was seven at night when Bill arrived at his and Bella's meeting place. From a distance he saw her walk near him, but she looked different than usual. Bella's hair was braided and she was no longer wearing her elegant purple robes and long skirt. A t-shirt and pants were fittingly layering her skin as she carried a backpack and thick gloves. Bill instantly recognized that they were made of the same material as his boots; dragon-hide. He never realized how muscular Bella's arms were until now; she was thin yet well cut. She had hiking-boots and almost no jewelry with the exception of Bill's medallion that hung loosely around her neck.
"Hello," said Bill very attracted to her new look.
"Sorry I'm a bit late. I didn't think that my clothes were appropriate when going down a cave so… I changed,"
"It's alright. I really like it. I see you're wearing my –" he said looking at her from top to bottom yet again until Bella interrupted.
"Well, this isn't a fashion show so we better get going," said Bella.
As soon as they began to walk, she heard a high-pitched sound from a distance. It was Acacia; she was running along, completely out of breath, towards Belladona.
"Sorry – I – didn't get to… talk to you… at supper…" she said still huffing.
"Oh, well what is it? We have to get going soon," said Bella.
"I – I just want… a flower," she said now catching her breath.
"But I already gave you one,"
"Yeah, but I left it at home for mum to have. I also took out mine to give to her out of your baggage. You know how worried she gets about us!"
"So, that's were it was," said Bella enlightened.
"Yeah, so let's make another trade? PLEASE! You're doing down to the caves and I want to be sure you'll be alright,"
"Ok, ok. We'll make a trade,"
Bill was confused. What did flowers have to do with anything? He then saw the two sisters close their eyes and chant something that sounded like Latin to him. They then both lifted their hands and showed their palms. Suddenly, a purple light shone from Bella as a red light radiated from Acacia. Then from those lights, two flowers appeared each baring their respective colors. The girls opened their eyes as the blossoms fell into their hands. As they exchanged them they both said at the same time:
"This gift, a symbol of what I am, created by a Nightshade hand. From life's blood buds this blossom's stem till it withers slowly to sleep again,"
The girls both smiled happily as Acacia gave her sister a big hug and ran off back to the castle. He looked at how serene Bella was after producing the flower. She then looked at Bill with twinkles and sparkles in her eyes.
"If you're wondering, the Nightshades can make flowers that represent themselves. If a flower looses its petals than the giver is hurt or sick. If it dies…"
"I see. It's sort of morbid isn't it?" said Bill seeing that the girl was still in a dreamy state.
"Yes, but it is always good when we have relatives that live far away or have dangerous jobs. Also, it gives the giver a very warm feeling. The closer you are to the person you give it to, the better the feeling," she said trying to wake herself up.
"Oh…" said Bill.
"Well, we better go. We don't have all night," she said smiling as they entered the forest and walked to the caves.
As they made their way through the brush, their wands lit brightly to
guide them; Bill had wondered if she had thought about his question at all and
if she cared to tell him her answer. He was starting to go mad with
anticipation and figured he should push things along a bit.
"It's very different seeing you dressed this way Bella. You're usually so
draped in that one can barely see your figure. I like it this way," he said grinning
as he jumped a log.
"Well, this is all in my plot to seduce you Mr. Weasley," she said in a playful
voice.
Bill had stopped moving as she continued. Well, this was a new development! She
had never returned pass at him! Maybe she was thinking about his question and
this was her way of showing it or maybe she was feeling lighthearted after
making that flower? Either way, he knew he needed to take advantage of this!
Bill was extremely excited about viewing this new side of her. They finally met
the cave's entrance and began to take out the Levi-Grips. It was a good thing
that they were both slim because the opening to the cave was very small. Bill
took the harness, in which he'd attach himself in, and put it around his waist.
Bella looked at him very upset as she noticed he'd only brought one.
"Aren't
you going to give me one?" she asked.
"I'm sorry but I only a have one harness. I didn't expect to be accompanied on
this little trip. I could go down and float it back up to you but it will take
too long if the cave's bottom is too deep. I suggest an alternative,"
"Which is?"
"Well, I attach both of us in at the same time. The magic is strong enough to
bring us both down," he said his head tilted downward but his eyes looking evilly
at Bella.
"Is this of your tricks?" she said with a smile and an eyebrow rose.
"Miss Nightshade! I must inform you that I am a professional! Would I ever
-" he began in a very serious tone.
Bella put her finger on his lips and leaned closer to him and said: "Yes you
would," Bill could feel himself become slightly flustered but still smiled
maliciously as he took off the belt-like harness and allowed Bella to come
close to him. She leaned on his chest, back turned outward, and grabbed him in
a way that looked like she was hugging him. Bill secured the harness and then
proceeded to insert the metal spikes that waited patiently in his hands. With a
tap of his wand the spikes had rammed into the rock with great force! They
slowly made their way to the edge of the ground that was more like a small
cliff. He then allowed himself to slide off. Bella grabbed Bill's torso more firmly
at that moment. They floated down the rocky shaft like two puppets held by
invisible strings until they reached the floor. Bella had grabbed on to Bill
very tightly during the entire trip and didn't let go when they hit bottom.
Bill looked at her and smiled. He then took his wand again and tapped at the
extremity of the harness and the two spikes went flying down back into his
hand.
"We're done Bella. We've reached the bottom," he said seeing that she
wasn't letting go.
"Oh! Err – sorry about that!" she said, returning to her timid self as she
looked at the floor.
"It's no problem, do you have the map?" asked Bill sweetly.
"Yes…" she said as she looked up at him realizing that she was still strapped
on. "But I can't get it if we stay this way,"
"It's too bad isn't it?" he said in a very soft voice.
Bill unbuckled them and Bella let go. He was sort of regretting it but he did
have a job to do after all. Bella opened her backpack, took out a piece of
parchment and illuminated the area with her wand. The eldest Weasley saw that
she was having difficulty reading in the mild light and had gotten into his
things to take out a very peculiar looking object. It was green, metallic and
had a very strange looking opening that was sort of shaped like a funnel. He
put it on the floor and said: "Illuminate" and it floated up into the air and
shone a light directly over both of them allowing much more clarity. Bella
looked thankful for this little device and extinguished her wand.
"Luceforors; can't leave home without them!" said Bill smiling.
"It's a good thing! So… we go this way," she said as she pointed to the opening
to the right.
The Luceforor followed them like a green halo as they crept through the dank stone passages. The map they use had been taken from the Nightshades' personal archives and was leading them deeper and deeper into the unknown. Belladona kept consulting the map out of fear that they might get lost but Bill marched along happily like he was on holiday. He was used to this kind of environment and found nothing to worry about as they moved. He had even commented on how easy a job this was so far.
"It's true Bella! There aren't even any traps or curses yet. Now let me tell you about the time I went through some secrets passages in the Mayan temples! Now those were trouble but I see nothing to be concerned about so far,"
"That's because we're still in the outer crust Bill. Once we pass this passage here," she said as she pointed to a large opening with a flower engraved on it. "Then we can start to worry,"
"Bella, I can't wait till you see me in action," he smiled.
"I'm sure it's very impressive," she said in a sarcastic tone.
Bill smiled. He really enjoyed having to match wits with her but he'd had not taken out half of his arsenal in his bag of remarks. They went passed the entrance and through three smaller tunnels all marked with an engraving of a different flower. Bill took notes of all the different types; he knew that these sorts of things weren't there for nothing. They finally reached what seemed like half way, until they met with a very interesting blockade. The map had indicated that they should go straight but there was a solid wall of rock in the place of where they should be advancing.
"I don't get it. There should be a stone road here," said Bella.
"Well there doesn't seem to be any underground rivers here, so it doesn't look like there was any sort of erosion on the part of the stones. This looks like our first possible trap,"
"Trap? How can a wall of stone be a trap?"
"You'd be surprised," said Bill as he looked around for any clues.
He had then noticed that there was half of another flower engraving that seemed to protrude from the edge of the wall. It looked almost like the other part could be found on the other side. He took note of it and then showed Bella his discovery. The flower looked like Belladonna. She took off her glove and touched it. Then, the entire wall disappeared before them.
"So that's how it works,"
"What do you mean?" asked Bill.
"Well, I've heard stories of members of my family trying to retrieve the collar but they couldn't because they were always blocked somehow. That's why some parts of this map have been constantly renewed. I guess it takes someone in our family with the proper flower to go through every stage. My flower's belladonna and this seems to be the last part with a flower engraved on it on the map. So either, there isn't anymore need for an heir of Nightshade or this is as far as we can go," she said turning around to look at Bill.
"Well, I've written them down and I've noticed at least 5 flower engravings,"
"Really? That's great! This great uncle of mine was fond of that number! That's how many silver mines he owned. He refused to get more because he claimed that it would take away his good luck! Maybe we'll get to find it!" she said excited.
"Let's hope so," he said as they continued.
Bella's theory was more then just. They walked along for what seemed like an eternity without finding any other indications of engravings. However they did find a few tricky magical traps. They were chased by cave demons, often bombarded with Bludger-like rocks, showered with larger silver spikes that positioned themselves wherever their target stood and were perused by moving holes that tried desperately to put themselves under them. Although more troublesome than dangerous Bill took all of these obstacles seriously as he showed amazing tact and resourcefulness for every situation. His spells and counter-curses were always precise and Belladona didn't have to do much with him on the job. She was actually very impressed with the way he had taken care of the last trap that was a very large stone guard dog. Bella defiantly didn't want to take care of that one; it was obvious how much she disliked dogs. Bill had used an aging spell to make the stone canine crumble into pebbles along with the use of some well-placed footwork and acrobatic maneuvers.
"I see you move on you feet as well as with your words," she said grinning.
"Well, I'm not that good on my feet," he said grinning back. "But sadly, I think I might have messed up," he added while bending down to the pile of rubble on the floor.
Bella looked at the map and lifted an eyebrow. She had completely forgotten about the last indications. "The Beast's fang doth hold the key and with its edge it will aid thee," Bill bent down to find that the only thing close to intact was a stone dog fang in three pieces on the floor. It was obviously protected by more magic than the dog and Bill compare the remains to the hole on the door. The gate that stood before them was made mostly of silver and had, what looked like a place to insert something. That place that looked somewhat like a keyhole was actually the only area on it that was made of stone. Bill looked once again at the fang and compared it with the size of the opening.
"Great! I should have blown it up instead! The fang would have been alright! Now what?" he said turning to Bella.
Bella went up to the door next to Bill. She saw that the fang indeed should have been inserted and then pondered for a moment. She looked at Bill who stared back bewildered as something near his head glistened by the light of the Luceforor. Bella smiled broadly and approached him. She stretched out her hands to what looked like, grab Bill's face. He was startled and wondered if she had decided to pull a move on him. He thought: "Just go with it!" and allowed to be pulled forward. He was startled, however, as she quickly turned his head to the side and began to play with his ear! "Well… I didn't expect this!" thought Bill again but then noticed what she really was fiddling around with… his fang earring!
Bella detached the earring and went to the door. She inserted it into the hole and it fit perfectly! The door opened and revealed a beautifully decorated room with silver linings. At the very left of the room, made of silver, was a pretty box engraved with flowers around it. Bella nearly ran towards her goal as Bill slowly followed behind. She then opened the box to find the item they've come so far to retrieve: the silver collar.
Bella lifted out the collar and held it in front of Bill. She smiled sweetly as the large ring-like object glistened with power. Bill could feel that the collar was enchanted. He saw the lovely scriptures and delicate handwork that was put into its design. To add to it, Bill found that it was very light and wouldn't be a problem at all to carry back. Bella looked at it and tried to open it until she realized something very distressing.
"No… Oh No! He didn't!"
"What's wrong?" asked Bill.
"Well, look at it. There's – there's a key hole in the front to open it!" she said as she quickly returned her gaze into the silver box.
At the very bottom of the box was a yellowing piece of parchment and Bella grabbed it eagerly. She held it up and read it but then, sighed sadly and handed it to Bill. The parchment read:
"Well, how wonderful that someone in the family had decided to go through the trouble of looking for my little invention! But, did you really think that I'd let my discovery be so easily taken? Nay, great-grandsons! You've gotten the first and most important part of my little treasure but how ever will you use it without the key?
South of south eventually becomes north so go to the north cavern on my property if you dare continue you pursuit. Tis all! I bid thee safe journey!
Sir Francis Nightshade"
"I always heard he was a bit nutty. It's true that there is a thin line between genius and insanity," said Bella discouraged.
"Well, maybe we could look at this as a good thing,"
"How?"
"This means you'll be getting to meet with me for at least another month!" he said smiling.
Bella laughed timidly and encouraged Bill to follow her out of the room. Bill told her that it wasn't a good idea to go back the way they came. They went through far too many obstacles and it would be daylight by the time they got all the way back. So the fiery-haired man unpacked his 'Exo-compass' and his 'Hollow-pick'. He lifted the compass and tapped it lightly with his wand as the little red beam that emanated from the device pointed towards a wall of the room. He put it on the floor as it continued to shine and took his axe-like rock pick and gave a medium hit to the wall. It crumbled instantly and revealed a small tunnel. Bella put the collar and parchment into her pack and proceeded to the tunnel. Bill told her to go first but she declined and said that she better watch his back instead. Bill smiled and crept into the small area. They had to bend down very low to pass. The tunnel was long but when they got out they found, happily, the vertical shaft that they had descended from.
"Oh Wow! We're here!" said Bella excitedly.
"That's right, and now, you have a short cut to the room. If anyone ever wants to go back," he said looking at the little tunnel.
"Well, Sir Francis was an interesting man, not very normal but interesting. He was an alchemist/ inventor/ blacksmith and businessman," she said looking at the shaft.
"So he bewitched that collar with all he knows right? So what's so important about it?"
"Oh! Bill! We've been down here for 6 hours! I've got a class to teach in the morning! We better get going!"
Bill nodded, packed the 'Luceforor' and then proceeded to take out the spikes of the 'Levi-Grips'. He had waited this long to know about the collar, he could wait another day. Bella took out her wand and said that she'd float them up but Bill explained that all his tools were in tuned with his magic only and used the 'Wingardium Leviosa' charm to float them to the top. Once up, he took the harness and tapped the buckle with his wand. There was a loud smashing noise and they both knew the spikes were secured once again into the rock. Moonbeams shone onto them though the only opening of the dark, subterranean, shell of rock. Bella came close to Bill and he re-fastened the straps. Bella looked up at him smiling sweetly. This trip had made a change in her somehow. She was more open to him than before and willing to show her emotions. Bill could see this in her smile and in her eyes as he stared longingly. He then took his hand and instinctively caressed her cheek. Bella gave a saddened frown and Bill removed his hand quickly.
"Oh! Why do I – I'm sorry," he said regretfully.
"Well… it's alright,"
"It is?" he asked surprised.
"Well… yes. I mean, I don't want you to think that you're doing anything bad,"
"But aren't I? You still haven't told me if…"
Belladona smiled at his bewildered face and took a deep breath. Bill could tell that she was evaluating something in her mind; outweighing something secret and personal. She then grabbed the hand that held his wand, and made him tap the buckle behind her back. They then began to lift off from the ground, moonlight caressing their unified silhouette. She held him tightly, nearly the same way she did when they descended but her hands did not grip him so fiercely. No, they held his body as if letting him go would be letting go of all she'd worked for during that night.
