3. At troll síd-förull

Every exit is an entry somewhere else.
- Tom Stoppard

And then they heard it — a low grunting,
and the shuffling footfalls of gigantic feet.
- Philosopher's Stone

On the return trip through the cave, the boys had no work to do. They merely followed Hermione as she confidently followed her trail of owl treats.

It's lucky we brought her, thought Harry.

Quite right, replied the hat, in Harry's mind only.

What... Are we talking mentally?

Yes, unless you need to move your lips to think.

No, this is fine. How did you like the trip?

Great fun. As always, the three of you work together very well.

I know. Ron and I would never have found our way through the cave without Hermione.

Weasley does his part as well. He has foresight, and can ask very penetrating questions. He is more valuable than you know.

With three sets of eyes, plus you, we probably saw everything that could be seen.

Yes. It was curious, though, about the animal pound in the courtyard.

What was curious?

Oh, come now! You didn't notice it? I was looking through your eyes when I saw it!

Saw what?

The boot, Potter! I'm surprised you or Miss Granger didn't remark about it.

I'm sorry, but what boot?

The boot wedged between the fence posts. Couldn't be more obvious. Oh, I imagine you lot were in a hurry to leave, and overlooked it.

That's odd. Why would the troll leave a boot?

I doubt it was his. It was much too small for him. No, one of your goblins may have left it there... though I can't imagine why.

So you think a goblin got into the troll's courtyard?

Perhaps. Wouldn't it be difficult to walk with just one remaining boot, though?

Yes, although that wouldn't matter, if he was desperate enough to tell someone that he had been there. I may have to go back to look at this again! If it was a signal, maybe there's a message in it.

Ah, another journey! I'll be ready. It's good to get out of the office for a field trip once in a while.

Not this time. It'll have to be during the week, at night.

Potter! Don't tell me you and Weasley are going against school rules again!

Okay, I won't tell you. In fact, I may have to go alone.

Without your close-knit companion?

To tell the truth, we've been quarreling a bit, off and on; it's a long story. I think we're okay again now, but I'll need to move quietly and quickly to sneak around that castle at night. That's best done on my own. I'll tell him I really need him to stay at Hogwarts, to raise an alarm in case of trouble, and that's quite true. I'll take Hedwig to carry messages. Now, I don't want you telling anyone, not even Hermione or Dumbledore. I'm swearing you to it. Will you keep it secret?

Very well, if you insist. You have my word that I won't tell anyone. Just be careful, Potter... and watch out for any traps. Mind Boda's warning! This fellow is hardly the mountain troll you dealt with.

-o-

By midweek, bad weather threatened to delay Harry's plans. A substantial storm front was expected to bring days of heavy rainfall and snow, arriving by mid-evening. If he wanted to take his trip before Christmas, he'd only have the next few hours, so he made his decision to escape at the end of classes. With the whole school distracted by their visitors' presence, he wasn't noticed as he went to the quidditch team room for his broom. He used it to quickly fetch Hedwig from the owlery, and headed off under cover of a brief snow squall at dusk.

The trip to the woods near Hordgrund was quick and uneventful. Harry warned Hedwig about the troll's hunting skills, instructing her to only come looking for him if he stayed away too long. Otherwise, he'd visit the courtyard, check the boot for a message, discretely look for clues, and return to Hedwig in about an hour.

He flew low, barely above the battlements, circling the castle until he spotted what looked like the courtyard they had been in. With the snow falling and little available light, he could barely make out the outline of the apple tree and deer pound. The two startled deer were still there, penned for some future time when infirmity or bad weather kept the troll from the hunting grounds more than a day or so. He landed in a dark corner and hid the broom under snow.

Harry couldn't hide here; even his invisibility cloak wouldn't have helped. If the troll showed up, his footprints in the snow would give him away. He had no time to waste.

He looked at the pound fence, and indeed, there was a boot wedged between the posts as before. In fact, there were now two boots! Had the hat missed seeing the second one? Or, had yet another goblin passed through the courtyard and left a boot since the weekend? If only he had taken time to speak to Boda, and ask about any new disappearances! Well, he'd just have to check both boots.

The first one had accumulated a coating of ice and snow, and was cold and inflexible. Harry guessed that this was the original boot, which had been there for days, perhaps since the freezing rain of the previous week. There was no message in it.

The second boot had only today's light snow on it, and was still fairly soft. This time, he had better luck; there were some words scratched in the leather. Under cover of his robe, he lit his wand tip and read the scribbled words on it: GO NO FURTHER.

So! Whoever had written that must have already encountered the troll, and knew he was in trouble. Harry put the message and boot back in the fence to warn any later visitors.

That still left a basic puzzle. In the middle of the winter, why would a goblin take one boot off? He couldn't get about very well with one boot on, and his foot might eventually freeze.

Or, was that part of the message — that the outlook was so dire that he wasn't going to be walking, and wasn't going to be outdoors long enough to freeze? Where did the troll move him, and what was the goblin doing now? Slaving like a house-elf? Mining in a cave they hadn't seen? Somehow hunting for the troll, unseen by the other goblins? It still didn't make sense to Harry.

There were several doorways around him, with Crowthers' mad signs. He remembered XYZZY was the cave entrance — but what mystery might be looming through YZXXY, XXZYY, and XYZYZ?

He had to leave soon, as Hedwig was waiting. He peered in one doorway, and saw nothing but an old door, which he did not dare to open. He tried another arch —

— and, unfortunately, stepped into one of the troll's traps, a pit with a heavily weighted net. If he had a lot more time, he might have struggled enough to reach his wand, but his fall had also sounded a crude gong, signaling the end of his explorations.

-o-

Hedwig grew impatient. Owls don't carry watches, but she had a fair idea that too much time had past. Then, too, there was that gong that rang. Was Harry in trouble? She was worried enough that she finally took to flight.

Her owlish talent for seeking Harry led her to a top-floor window in the castle. Inside, in dim light, Harry sat on a littered floor, his robe gone — and with it, no doubt, his wand, or he would have done something by now to get out of this room.

Hedwig pecked the glass. Harry, noticing her, got up and tried to open the window, but it was too high off the floor for short Harry.

She looked around for any other way in, and decided the chimney might be hard for flying out, but she could drop in anyway. She could see the whole fireplace opening below, so there was no obstruction — and ashes, but no fire. It was a large opening, and fairly short. Opting to take a brave chance, she hopped into the flue.

Harry was a bit surprised when his once-white owl tumbled into the fireplace in a cloud of powder snow and soot, but he knew he'd have to take advantage of the situation, and quickly. He looked about the room for writing materials, then picked up the only ones he could find and.scratched out his message.

"Bear with me, Hedwig, this may be a weird way to send a message — but it's all I have. It's very, very important. Take this to Ron right off, and make sure he reads it."

She took it, and tried flying out, but without success. As wide and short as the flue was, she couldn't spread her wings and flap. Harry finally stepped in; while she sat on his hand, he extended his arm as far up the chimney as he could reach, then heaved her. That was the ticket; Hedwig took off for Hogwarts.

It wasn't their night. She promptly ran straight into the oncoming storm.