Chapter 14
A great cold swept over Hermione and she felt as if she had been submersed under freezing water. She felt her blood slow down, creeping along as if something terrible had just happened.
"Hello?" she called into the immense blackness that surrounded her. "Who's there?"
"Who disturbs my slumber?" a musical voice floated through the air like a seed borne by the winds of time, as if something magical was stirring from the depths of the inky dark. Hermione could almost see a faint light ahead, but she dared not step forward.
"Hermione Granger," she answered through chattering teeth. "I am looking for someone named-"
"Whom you seek is not here," the moon replied calmly, her pale face suddenly looming from the black. "He has gone on."
"Gone on where?" Hermione asked, an icy pit forming at the bottom of her stomach. This could not bode well.
"To the Other World," the moon replied, the whiteness of her almost blinding Hermione. "He has moved on."
"What's the Other World?" Hermione asked, suddenly desperate, reaching out to the moon, who was turning her wan face away to once again sulk in the dark. "What's the Other World?"
"Behind the black Gate," the moon said ominously. "Behind the door with no future."
Hermione stumbled back out into the hallway and the room felt almost warm compared to the moon's icy lair. She looked at the other Gates, each one shining at her as if they held Draco's soul, but what was the Gate with no future?
Finally, her dark eyes fell upon the blank Gate. The Gate was black, with no inscriptions, and a plain brass handle. It glowered ominously in the corner, as if someone had added it on as an extra precaution.
"Draco," she whispered, biting her lip, knowing that her precious time was evaporating quickly. "What do I do?"
No one answered, and she knew that her only hope of finding out was to do what the moon had told her. She reached for the brass handle, and stopped when her fingers barely brushed the metal.
She heard a whisper. A tiny whisper emanated from the door, an enticing little giggle that made her still.
"What is that you want?" she asked, her voice wavering slightly. But she knew there was no time for hesitation, and that if she wanted to save Draco, her only chance was now. He would slip farther and farther into death, leaving her with only the empty shell of his soul.
She took a deep breath, seized the handle, and pulled.
She once again stepped into darkness, but this darkness was not the refreshing renewing of the moon, it was the malignant stagnant dark that lingers after someone has died. A rank smell wafted through the air, reminding Hermione of something familiar… It was not evil, but it was not safe… Suddenly, a flash of light came from the darkness, and she ran toward it, her feet clumsy and ill prepared for the rocky terrain beneath her. The light was a flickering candle that floated near a sign. The sign was old, battered and cracked, and the words barely visible peaked from the white and black chipped paint,
Welcome to the Other World, more commonly known as the Land of the Dead. Hades and the Furies welcome you to their lair, and bid you stand before his throne to receive judgment.
Beneath the words was a black and red arrow pointing right, into more darkness. Hermione reeled back, upon rereading the announcement. Hades? The Greek God of the Underworld suddenly seemed very real.
Hermione determinedly stepped out into the darkness, going right, as the arrow had pointed, hoping desperately that there weren't any hidden traps or poisonous snakes in her general vicinity. She really didn't want to have to get anti-venom out of the back pocket of her worn jeans.
"Ooof!" Hermione grunted, tripping over an abnormally large rock. She knelt down to massage her toe when someone tapped her on the shoulder imperiously.
She looked up, and gasped.
She was in a throne room of sorts, and next to her was a winged Fury, one of the three sisters who were cursed to forever haunt the world looking for sinners who committed terrible crimes. She stood up quickly and looked around.
At the head of the room were two throne, upon which a pale dark haired man with sunken eyes and hollow cheekbones sat, a crown perched upon his head, and next to him, a beautiful woman with wan skin and dark eyes that watched Hermione with an intensity that was frightening as well as dangerous, her tiara sitting upon her head as well.
"Why have you come here mortal?" the Fury hissed, her ugly face contorted in confusion or disgust, which, Hermione was uncertain.
"I have come seeking a wrongfully dead soul," Hermione answered, willing the fear to leave her voice. Draco would not be scared if he were in her shoes.
"There are many of those," the man on the throne boomed imperiously, his crown tilted at an impossibly steep angle. "As Lord of the Underworld, I see many of these souls. Which do you seek?"
"I seek a wizard-"
"No, Merlin cannot leave," Hades said with a dismissive flick of his hand. "He is too important."
"No, not Merlin," Hermione replied hastily. "Although I am sure he is enjoying the Elysian Fields. I am looking for a certain Draco Malfoy."
"Malfoy?" the Fury asked, suddenly interested. She had been yawning and making faces previously.
"Draco."
The Fury once again made a face. "Oh, I thought you meant Varica Malfoy, now he was an interesting man…"
Hermione shuddered, instantly recognizing the name as one of the wizarding worlds most evil wizards, save Slytherin and Voldemort. He had completely annihilated hundreds of medieval muggles before being apprehended and put to death.
"Why do you want this wizard?" Hades asked, stroking his chin, and completely ignoring the Fury. He found Alecto, Megaera, and Tisiphone completely disgusting and utterly pointless.
Hermione looked up into the cold red eyes of the Lord of the Underworld, and found no mercy in them. She simply smiled, and when she answered, she knew that even if he did not let Draco go, she would always see him in the after life.
"True love," she replied, with a slight shrug. "Why else would I venture into a place where only the dead wander, but for someone who deserves to live."
Persephone sat up, her eyes blazing, pulling at her husband's silky sleeve. She said nothing, but simply stared, her eyes speaking what her heart wanted. Hermione saw none of this; she was wondering how she could convince them that Draco was redeemed.
Persephone cleared her throat, and spoke.
"Hermione, how did this boy die?"
Hermione willed the tears away, and explained.
Persephone once again turned to her husband and tugged at his sleeve. It is strange that Hades loved his wife so, especially since he commanded the dead, and was renowned for his cruel temperament, but he could deny the beautiful Persephone nothing.
"Fine," he muttered to his wife. "She can have him."
"What?" Hermione asked the Fury under her breath. "What just happened?"
The Fury growled in frustration, clearly shocked by her master's magnanimous gesture. "He says you can have him."
A/N: Just a note about Greek Mythology, Hades is the King of the Underworld, Persephone is his queen. The Elysian Fields is where all the heroes and good people go, Tartarus is where the bad people go to be tortured until the end of time. I decided not to use the Tartarus concept in this story because it seemed a little unnecessary, and plus, I liked the idea of the doors. anglachel