Not trying to be mean just trying to get review. I will not, I repeat WILL NOT update until I have at least 23 reviews.

Chapter Nine- Below the Ground

Hermione led them down what seemed to be an endless flight of stairs. All Harry could thing about was the how long and agonizing it would be to climb back up. The stairs seemed to be extremely dim, also, and Hermione was grabbing Harry's wand hand, so he didn't have access to it to give off some light. Suddenly, the ground leveled out, causing Harry to trip, thinking there was more stairs in front of him.

"Bloody hell," Ron swore. "That was the longest flight of stairs I've ever taken."

"Oh, shut up," Hermione told him. "It wasn't that bad."

It took a moment for Harry's eyes to adjust to the light, but after a few moments they did. The ceiling wasn't very high, probably only eight feet tall. It also didn't seem like there were many people there. "Bad business," Hermione told him. "Since you-know-who came back, barely anyone comes down here." Harry thought it also might have to do with the fact that it was dark and somewhat creepy. There were only a few shops, about ten in all, and none of them seemed at all interesting. A light shone in Harry's face, causing him squint. The only source of light was a few balls of light floating around, and one of them went right in front of the trio.

"It's… interesting," Harry muttered

"Oh come on," Hermione said. "It's not that bad." She walked into a shop called Madame Guinevere's Books, and Harry and Ron rolled their eyes at each other and followed her. Inside the shop was even darker. It smelled of mold and the books all looked damp. It didn't seem to bother Hermione, but Ron was extremely upset that he found a spider in the corner of the store.

A hand grabbed Harry's shoulder, spinning him around. Harry couldn't tell who's hand was now grasping his shoulder, for the body was completely covered in shadows. "It's you," a voice scowled. "The boy. Harry Potter."

"Er… yes," Harry said, hi voice was somewhat shaky. The body now moved slowly out of the shadows, revealing an elderly woman in hanging clothes and crooked teeth.

"Here," she shoved an old book at Harry. "Take this."

Harry cautiously took the book from her, and looked it over. It was extremely old, and was falling apart in some places, but the strangest thing was, there were no words on pages. "I'm sorry, but I don't want this."

"Yes you do," The women said. "Take it from me."

"Why do you want me to have it?"

"I don't want you have it," The women said. "Someone else does. I'm simply a messenger that was told to give it to you when I saw you."

"Don't take it, Harry," Hermione whispered to him. "It could from… him, You-know-who."

"Heavens, no." The women said. "I don't make dealings with him. It's from someone else, and he wants YOU to take it."

"I'm sorry," Harry said, handing the book back to her. "I can't take it." He tried to give her back the book.

The woman simply laughed. "He said you'd refuse to have it. He also said to force you take it, by all means necessary." The old woman took out her wand. "Now, we can wither do this the easy way, or the hard way."

Harry instinctively grasped his wand, whirling it out of his pocket. "Harry, no, don't do anything you'll regret." Hermione screeched, pulling Harry back. "Just take the book and leave; we'll get rid of it later."

"Fine," Harry scowled at her. He pocketed his wand, and abruptly left the shop.

"You won't regret your decision," The woman called after them.

When they were safely outside the shop, Ron began interrogating Harry. "So what's in it?"

"Nothing," Harry replied. "It's completely empty."

Ron grabbed at the book, opening to the first page. "No it's not," He said, look. Harry took the book back and to his surprise, Ron was right. It was right there, writing. Scratchy writing that Harry could have sworn had not been there before. "Well, what does it say?" Ron asked.

"I dunno," Harry told him, calmly. "It's too dim in here to read it."

"We'll just have to go up the stairs, then and read it where there's light." Ron suggested.

"Go all the way up the stairs?" Harry asked. "That'll take forever. I swear they have to come up with a different way to get down here and back. I'm going to find out what it says now." He took out his wand, ready to recite a spell.

"Harry, no." Hermione told his. "I thought we agreed to get rid of the book."

"We will," Harry assured her. "After we find out what it says." He readied his wand and muttered, "Lumos" Light came forth from his wand, lighting a small area before them.

As soon as they saw what was written, all three of them exchanged confused glances. Not even caring about how far they had to climb, they raced up the stairs, to where they could discuss this more privately. Where they could discuss why this was written there, why the lady had known to give the book to Harry, and why the writing in the book, with no doubt, belonged to Dumbledore.

Yup, I tried to make it suspenseful. I hope you liked it. Please R&R. Heck, ya know what, you don't even have to read it, just review. Just kidding.