OOF, this one took me a minute. Sorry about that! I was hoping end-of-the-year breaks would allow me to write more but I was clearly mistaken lolz. And it ruined my plan of getting the next few holiday-themed chapters out during the actual holidays... looks like the Christmas cheer will continue into January! Haha
I hope you enjoy & also THANK YOU for all the comments! I love love love reading them. 3
- CHAPTER 13: NEST -
I wasn't one hundred percent sure when or how things went wrong at first.
As I gazed up at the sky I was only able to see the shine of a couple stars peeking through the branches of the trees above. My back felt broken as it lay flat on the hard ground, and I wouldn't be surprised if I cracked a rib. I coughed again as the mystical smoke dissipated around us. As I did, sharp pains assaulted my left side. Yep, definitely something fractured in there. My breathing, though labored from the sudden impact, didn't seem affected so that was probably a good sign. But as the taste of copper hit the back of my throat, I knew I had to get up lest I drown in my own blood from what was clearly a broken and bleeding nose. But my body couldn't move.
We had been walking for two hours in the direction of what we thought was the center of the forest. Despite the griping previously, the bluebell flames had come in handy a couple of times. There were several wolves and even a few unusually large spiders that had been deterred when they came in proximity of the light the lanterns emitted. Otherwise, we were mostly quiet, having spread out in order to see if we could find anything of note. Not a thing came up until about ten, maybe twenty minutes ago? I didn't really know how long I'd been in this state.
James had called out, tone surprisingly enthusiastic. As we reconvened with him, he had pointed out a break in the trees that emitted a mysterious white light. Approaching, we realized this was no normal clearing. While the light was clearly seen through two large trunks, the surrounding areas were the same pitch black as the rest of the forest. As we all inched closer to the clearing, the light only shone brighter, practically blinding us. James was the first to reach it, peaking through, gasping at what he saw before stepping through cautiously. The rest of us followed shortly after — the sight of what lay beyond widening all of our eyes in shock.
It was an immense clearing, barren except for a monstrous tree directly in the center. It's trunk was as wide as a tower on the castle with thick branches leading up the tree until they met a barrage of limbs covered in greenery that formed a complete umbrella over the land below. Despite the fact that it was the middle of a cycle, a full moon lingered extraordinarily brightly right above it. It illuminated the entire area, clearly the source of the light we had seen through the trunks. We all looked over to Remus, worried about if the moon would affect him, despite being just some sort of enchantment.
"I -" He hesitated, as if checking in once more with his body. "I don't feel anything."
We all unconsciously breathed a sigh of relief. Just some sort of charm in the sky, then.
"What do we do now?" Peter asked timidly from his position just behind the rest of us. His hands were resting up near his chest, looking the most rat-like I had ever seen him while in human form.
They all looked at me and I felt my heart rate increase.
"Well," I began, swallowing hard. "My first assumption is to check out that." I pointed at the wide tree for emphasis.
Regulus nodded. "Let's do it."
We began to walk in a straight line, like an army advancing on the front. Peter remained a foot or so behind us still, fear shaking his body. I couldn't blame him.
As we advanced slowly, I remained hyper-aware. However, unlike the bustling forest we had left behind, it was deadly silent here. Eerie. As if everything had stood still. And maybe it had. If this was really where the cup was hidden, who knew how long these enchantments had been here. We moved forward slowly still.
Then it happened.
One second we were moving forward, nearly reaching a distance of just ten feet from the tree, and the next we were shoved back roughly with a force so intense that it instantly knocked the breath out of me. While Peter hadn't been impacted directly from his spot behind us, he couldn't avoid the body of Sirius as he flew into him. As we landed, the disturbed dirt floated around us, only suffocating me more and making my chest erupt with those painful coughs.
Which places us back to now, still on the floor of this mirage of a clearing deep in the forest. I allowed my weighted eyelids to close as I let my body recover for just a few moments longer. If I had it my way, I would fall asleep right here.
"Beth!" "Beth..." "Ledoux!" I didn't realize how loud my ears were ringing until they nearly drowned out the voices calling my name.
My eyes opened hesitantly, the light from the moon casting the figures above me in silhouettes. Not acknowledging them, I leaned up slowly, the pain from my side stabbing me over and over again like a knife to the chest. My breath came out raggedy now but I pushed on, stumbling to my feet to meet the rest of them who had fared just as poorly. The forest spun for a moment — the ringing in my ears increasing tenfold — before I was able to take them in fully.
James was also holding his side, hunched over slightly. I suspected we had sustained some similar injuries based on our nearly identical poses. Sirius was bleeding from the temple at an alarming rate. One side of his hair was already coated in it and he winced as he ripped a part of his shirt to hold it up to the source. Remus was leaning on Peter, his foot at an awkward angle. Ouch. Clearly a nasty break there. Peter's left wrist looked much the same, held close to his chest, and he completed the look with a nasty busted lip and bruised cheek. Regulus seemed to be the only to make it out semi-okay, with just a scattering of scratches across his face and a busted couple of fingers. What a prick.
"Ledoux, you alright?" It was a shock to hear James speak up first. I gave him a wistful nod. I wasn't okay but I knew I had to push on. "What in the bloody hell was that?" We were all still catching our breaths as we looked towards the tree.
"Must have been…" Remus gasped harshly. It would appear his chest hadn't made it out as well as I thought. "Some sort of shield…" He finally continued on in labored breaths.
"Fuck," Regulus said, rubbing his left shoulder before trailing all the way down to his wrist. "Should have known good old Salazar would pull something like this."
"What do we do now?" Peter asked meekly, clearly trying to hide just how much in pain he was in but not succeeding. "We can't reach it…"
"Well," I finally spoke up, the vertigo having faded completely. I gave Remus and Peter a sad look. "You two are doing nothing." I looked towards the others. "Can you all at least walk?"
Each one of them stretched a bit, checking their ligaments carefully. There were winces, even some gasps of pain, but eventually they all nodded.
"Think so," Sirius said gruffly. It was an inappropriate time to think his husky tone sexy but I couldn't help it as the thought creeped into my mind.
"Good," I nodded. "I think I'm okay too." My words weren't very convincing as I clutched onto my side for dear life, begging my body to stay stitched together for just a little while longer. Looking back to the tree, I tried to focus through the haze of the pain. "There's got to be something…"
Desperately, I started to pace around. Careful not to get as close as we had lest I run into the barrier once more, I began to move further and further away from the group as I tried to concentrate. They exchanged wary looks as I looked over my shoulder, unsure of what to do. I just shrugged, not really sure what to tell them at this point anyhow. Think. Think. Think… The tree was clearly the answer. But how to get to it when it was protected so violently.
Moving so quickly, I almost missed it. Dragging my feet along the ground, they pulled on some loose leaves, revealing lines in the dirt. With an abruptness that ruptured the pain in my chest, I quickly dropped to my knees and started scrubbing away the rest of the foliage. The lines became clearer, deeper and I gasped once more. Not from pain but from blissful realization.
A rune. Earth variant.
Moving away some more leaves, I saw that it was surrounded by two more. I scoured the knowledge in my brain, pulling up my jeans to check if any of them matched the ones I'd written all over my leg. 'Nest' was definitely one of them… Pain in my side practically forgotten in my fervor, I checked each one. My leg contorted in odd directions, my muscles pounding with the movements as I moved the runes on my leg to be side by side with the ones on the ground. Looking at me from a distance, the boys must have thought I was cursed or something.
'Nest.' 'Egg.' 'Home.'
Finally, I was able to translate them all. With a sigh, I stood once more and my arm went back to my side instinctively. At this rate, something would be punctured for sure. My heart rate increased as my mind reeled. What could this mean? 'Nest,' 'egg,' 'home.' Was it a riddle? Something we had to decipher… Or maybe we had to choose? And choosing the right one would allow us to enter? It was the only thing I could think of at the moment. I began to pace once more, my eyes not leaving them. From this distance, I could see a slight shimmer as the moon bounced off the shield around the tree. A beautiful warning, not noticeable until you were right on top of it.
Stopping right in front of the runes, I ran over each of them in my mind what seemed like a thousand times before I made a decision. We were on the hunt for a nest, so 'nest' it must be. Right? My hesitancy was palpable but I swallowed my nervousness and stepped behind the associated rune. One breath. Two breaths. Three breaths. And then I stepped closer.
The pain didn't hit me until I was once again staring up at the sky. My head felt like it had been ripped in half, the light of the moon now way too bright as it hit my eyes. Unfortunately, I was proven correct when I reached a hand up to grab my temple and found blood when I pulled back my fingers. More annoyed than anything that my plot had failed, I let out a groan as I heard the boys rush over.
"Beth!" Sirius exclaimed, coming to cup my head and lift it from the ground. I couldn't even gather the energy to blush at the action. "What in the hell are you doing?"
Another groan before I propped myself up into a sitting position. With every movement, I felt the ribs on my side crack. If they were holding on by a thread before, this blow had definitely splintered something. Each breath was haggard, making speaking difficult.
"I need to stand," I breathed, ignoring him. He and Regulus took an arm each, heaving me gently up. I waved them off when they tried to support me, not feeling the need now that I was upright. With a weak arm, I pointed to the ground. "Look at these," I scraped my foot across the ground to remove some of the leaves that resettled. "This is our way in."
"Yeah, that clearly worked for you…" James mumbled and I glared at him. He held a hand up in surrender. "Sorry, sorry. Go on."
"I think we have to choose and that's the key to entering. I picked 'nest' but that obviously wasn't the right one."
"What are the others?"
"'Egg' and 'home.'" I leaned on my right leg, my left hip beginning to ache. "Either of which could aptly fit, I guess, but I don't really feel like testing again."
The boys looked around at each other nervously. Even Regulus looked very hesitant at the idea of testing out my theory. I couldn't blame them but I also couldn't confront the barrier once more for fear of completely breaking some bones.
"There's got to be something else…" I mumbled, rubbing my temple. Fresh blood appeared on my fingers at the movement. "Did you guys see anything?" I asked.
"Nothing…" Remus said with a shrug, still cozied up on Peter. "Granted, we didn't really check out too much."
"Let's spread out. Search the perimeter." With nods, the boys began to hobble off. I turned on Remus and Peter. The former's face was already contorted with the thought of trying to hobble around on his clearly splintered ankle. At least I could still walk to some extent. "Not you two. You can just mark this spot for us."
Regulus and James had gone right and I had to walk a little quickly in order to catch up to Sirius on the left. He noticed my struggle and stopped abruptly, patiently waiting with a small smile. Without asking, he wrapped an arm around my waist to help support me. He winced and switched sides when I gasped in pain. Despite my mind telling me to push him off, my body gave in and I wrapped my free arm around him.
"This means nothing, okay?" I breathed, trying to keep my tone light. "I just really feel like I'm dying."
"Yep," he was actually able to chuckle. "Never even happened."
We walked on for a few more paces, both of us so focused on the floor of the forest that we nearly steered directly into the shield a couple of times. Each time, Sirius would yank me away and cause yet another wave of pain. He held me closer each time.
"Found something!" We heard a shout. Just barely, we could make out James as he stood still practically precisely across from us on the other side of the clearing.
"Same here!" Regulus this time, from a position directly across from the initial rune.
"Which means…" I murmured, pushing Sirius a few steps forward until we were in line with James. Surely enough, with a scrape of our feet, three more runes revealed themselves. "Got 'em." I couldn't help but share a wide smile with him. "Can you guys make out what they are?" I shouted to the other boys.
"Um…" I heard James cry out. "Not exactly my strong suit, darlin'." He rubbed the back of his head and kneeled to concentrate. I appreciated the sudden effort but rolled my eyes nonetheless. Useless, that prick could be.
"I think mine are fire!" Regulus gave a shout. He had kneeled as well, rustling around on the ground to get a better look at the markings on the forest floor. After a moment, he gave a nod. "Yep. Definitely fire over here."
I wiggled my way out of Sirius' grasp slowly, ignoring his protests as I did so. Waving him off, I practically crumbled onto the forest floor despite my best efforts to look graceful. He was quick to follow, helping me push aside the foliage to uncover the markings underneath completely. With quick movements, I traced their intricate swirls and twisting curves. Easy - air variants. Which would mean James had water by process of elimination. Hopefully. I was kind of going on gut at this point but wouldn't be sure until I took a look.
"These are ancient," I murmured to myself. Only when I caught Sirius' gaze did I realize I had spoken out loud. The blush was quick to follow.
"Aren't Runes inherently old?" He asked, genuinely curious.
"Yeah…" I traced another line. "But these are wildly so. Like, think Old English but for Runes. Salazar knew his stuff."
His confusion turned to worry. "Can you still translate them?"
"I think so." Another finger trailed over a delicate curve. It was odd. They were so precise that you would think someone had just carved them into the ground, yet I knew they must have been here for centuries. "'Nest,'" I began, pointing out the one on the far left before tracking right. Air variants came easier to me. "'Feather' and… 'Home.'"
"So that's two that overlap." He said with a sigh. "Must mean something, that."
"Your detective skills baffle even me, Sirius Black," I said with flat but playful sarcasm.
He actually laughed hollowly before grabbing his head. The pain clearly was fighting against the movements of his body. "Well," he shrugged. "What if there's a common one among them… And that's the one that'll grant us access?"
"Hmm," I peered at him with subtle surprise. "You might be onto something, actually." I peered around the clearing. While Regulus was literally scratching his head over his own set of runes, James had completely given up. He was now perched on the ground and throwing sticks against the barrier. They bounced off with a resolute zap each time. "I can't be sure until I check out the others… Can you remember which one is which?" He nodded and I gave a small smile. "Good. Who knows? Maybe this little escapade will actually be helpful when it comes to taking your Auror exams."
"Yeah, maybe they'll have a section on trespassing school grounds to find missing treasure." He stood and then heaved me up gently. "I'll pass that one with flying colors." His lips were smiling but his eyes were pained. "You sure you're going to be able to get over there alright?"
"I'll be fine," I rolled my eyes, though my ribs ached to disagree. I pushed down a groan.
He looked at his brother who had stood in anticipation for me to come over. There was a long silence thick with contemplation. "How is he?" Sirius asked suddenly and - well - seriously.
"Huh?" I looked at Regulus as well who was kicking at the ground with a frustrated look on his face. "He seems alright…? I don't think he got hit too bad by whatever is blocking this thing."
"No, I mean…" He rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. "How is he? In general?"
"Oh." My mouth formed a perfect circle
The question caught me off guard. It was odd, his sudden concern. In all our time together, albeit limited, he had never directly asked me about his brother in this regard. It was both heartwarming and breaking, and I wanted nothing more than to herd them back into each other's lives. But reality didn't work that way. Broken hearts mended with time, not force. I took one last look at the younger brother before turning back to the grey-eyed boy in front of me.
"He seems fine on the outside," I began with a sad sigh. "But he hurts." My voice was thick with the painful reality. "I mean… We all do, right?"
"Right." His voice did not sound convinced. He hung his head.
My hand wanted to reach up and cup his cheek like he had done to me so many times. But I held it back. "I won't lie. You leaving hurt him." His eyes dimmed even further. "But if you're worried about it… There's no doubt he cares about you. He misses you, Sirius."
His watery eyes met mine. "How do you know?"
"He's my best friend." I tried to alleviate the mood by smirking. "We talk. He's asked about you." He nodded his head slowly, eyes still on mine but not looking at me. Finally, I gave in and grabbed one of his hands lightly. My ribs protested at its absence on my side but I pushed it away. "You should speak to him. Let him know that you still care. I think that it would do wonders for you both."
He actually scoffed at the notion but squeezed my hand tighter. "If only."
"Look," I stepped closer, looking stern. "There might be a war going on out there but that doesn't mean you can't talk to him here. I've been able to sneak around with you all. What's to say you can't spend time with your little brother in the same way?"
"And what's to say you can't be with me, then? If that's the case?"
I ripped my hand away out of shock. His eyes were piercing, stabbing right into my heart. My soul. He was never going to let this go.
"You know that's not the same thing at all," I glared.
"How so?" His brows scrunched in frustration. "Both scenarios involve secretly spending time with people I care about… With the consequences of others finding out being so dangerous we can't even comprehend them. It's exactly the same, Beth."
"So that's it then?" I scoffed. "You're not going to spend time with your brother unless I pursue a doomed to fail relationship?"
"That's not what I'm saying," he groaned. "Just…" A breath and another hand through his hair. "Nevermind. Cutting ties. It's fine."
And with that, his face turned to stone. He abruptly stooped, brushing away the leaves that had begun to collect over the markings. I only had the heart to look at him for a couple of seconds before I turned and hobbled away.
Regulus raised his head when I came close, an uneasy smile on his face.
"Lovers quarrel?" He said sarcastically. While his tone was light, it was clear there was an undertone of worry to it.
"Shut up." I didn't even have the energy to hit him. "What do you have?"
We looked over the lines, my physical and emotional pain fully forgotten as determination took over to distract from the aching in my heavy heart. We looked at the marks on the ground closely. I drew my sleeves up several times, the cool air biting at me particularly harshly now. We threw my arms around, trying to match mark with mark. My shoulders were pleading with me to stop by the end of it.
"Okay, so looks like we've got 'nest,' 'home,' and 'family.'" I mused. "Sirius was right. There must be one that they all have and that'll be our answer as to how to get in." The boundary sparkled in my peripheral as if in silent confirmation.
"So, based on the first two spots, that narrows it down to 'nest' and 'home' then." He stood enthusiastically. I struggled to keep up with the momentum. "And since you've already tested 'nest' -"
"Wait!" I reached an arm out to stop him from stepping into the invisible boundary. It shimmered more intensely at his proximity. "I don't think it's as easy as that…" My eyebrows scrunched in concentration.
Salazar surely would have made this more difficult, right? I took a look around the clearing. Four sets of runes, four entry points… Four children in each of the stories. That was our ticket to getting in. That was the lucky number in order to gain access to what awaited us at the tree.
"Four of us have to enter at the same time." I turned back to Regulus. He looked confused and I had to admit that it didn't help my confidence in my discovery. "I think… I mean it makes sense with both of the stories." I pursed my lips in thought. This had to be it. My eyes darted back down to the runes. "Why would there be four entryways otherwise? We'll need to find out which overlapping rune James has and then we'll all use that one to get in."
He analyzed me for a moment, no doubt absorbing and processing the uncertainty that was emitting from my body. If this didn't work, I wouldn't just be hurting myself this time.
"I take it that's your only idea?" He sighed, almost looking defeated.
"About it, yeah." I mirrored his features.
"I got lucky the first time." He said gruffly. "So if this invisible shield or whatever ruins my face, I'm holding you personally responsible."
My eyes nearly rolled out of their sockets. "Thanks for the faith, Regulus. Can always count on you!"
He gave me a wink and a smirk but said nothing as I hobbled on toward where James was sitting lazily. The bespectacled boy didn't stand to greet me or even do so in words. He merely watched as I struggled to rest on the forest floor beside him. As much as I wanted to, I couldn't be mad at the brief excuse to lean back, lay on the soft mossy Earth, and take a few breaths while I contemplated the mess we - I - had gotten us into. There was no way we could just walk back into the castle in our current state… We'd have to go to the Hospital Wing at the very least.
"How are we supposed to explain this to Madame Pomfrey?" I murmured, placing a hand over my eyes to block them from the intensity of the moon.
"I think you'll hate to hear that we've been having the same thoughts in that regard." I hadn't realized I spoke until James responded to my wonderings.
Propping up on my elbows slightly, I took a look at him. He wasn't staring at me but was taking turns looking at his battered friends. Sirius had slumped onto the ground, picking at moss while his eyes remained downtrodden. Down the way, Peter was leaning against a tree, hand cradled to his chest. His eyes were scrunched closed as he shook with tears, the pain probably too unbearable for him now. Nearby him sat Remus who kept a strong face but whose tight lips gave away the pain he was also hiding away. The look on James' face was one of pain — clearly from both physical and emotional inflictions. He hated seeing his friends hurt so much that he probably didn't even notice what was wrong with his own person. With a quivering lip, I pushed myself back onto the ground.
"I'm sorry," I whispered, my voice laced with regret. The moon made tears prickle at my eyes as I stared at it now, not willing my arm to cover the sight of it. "I was hoping we'd have the cup in our hands by now… And much less bodily harm."
I expected him to lash out or, at the very least, say something incredibly rude and frustrating. But instead, he sighed morosely. With slow movements, he laid down and his head came to sit gingerly beside mine. And there we laid comfortably for just a few moments of silence as the moon bathed over us, both lost in our own thoughts.
"You can't help what you don't know and that's just the truth of what happened here." He finally spoke, eyes not leaving the orb in the sky. "And in the end…" A peek of annoyance shone through in the sigh he emitted. "What happens is the result of a choice we made willingly. We did agree to come with you." Then he glanced at me with narrowed eyes, messy hair tangling in the weeds. "Well, for the most part."
I snorted as my head rolled to meet his eyes. They were shockingly tender compared to the more recent times I had seen them. "What did he say to make you come along anyway?"
His head rolled back to the sky. "The exact words don't matter." He said softly. Kindly. "But he told me to think about if it was him helping me help Lily." I could see the small smile blossom across his face from just the mention of her name.
"You really, really like her, huh?" I asked, unable to help my own smile.
"Yeah, I go mental for her." Maybe it was the allure of the moon or the proximity to death, but James decided to open up a little at that moment. He seemed more inviting, less of the complete douche I knew him to be. It was a side of him that I appreciated. A side that almost made me want to hang around him more. Almost. "Can't think of anything I wouldn't do for her, really."
"Why aren't you two — you know — an item? It's clear she fancies you back."
He shrugged, the moss making squishing sounds underneath him. "Doesn't seem like the right time."
"How so?"
"We don't know what's going to happen. Might be dead or something within five years for all we know… Pending how long this mess goes on and all that."
The way he said it so sincerely was the final punch to my heart. This really was the end, wasn't it? No matter who won, there would be loss on both sides. That was an undeniable fact. Who would we lose in the days to come? We already knew we weren't that safe here. Kids were getting hexed into St. Mungos now. When would some of us perish completely at the wrong end of another kid's curse?
"Well." I swallowed hard. "Then maybe it's exactly the right time to be together, then."
His head turned in my peripheral but I didn't look at him. A tear had fallen but thankfully from the eye on the other side of my head where he couldn't see. I didn't know if I was more upset for him or me, and I didn't care if that made me selfish. It was just so easy to fall into 'something' with Sirius… Maybe it was the right time for us too despite my insane efforts to push him away.
Cut the strings. Cut the strings. Cut the strings. I repeated the words over and over again.
"What are you gonna do about him?" James said softly, as if reading my mind. At that I turned my head.
"It can't happen." I sighed sadly, almost with a tinge of bitterness. "You know that."
"Yeah…" We turned back towards the sky in unison. I wasn't sure if it was real or just another trick of the magic surrounding this space, but at that moment a shooting star shot past. Closing my eyes, I made a wish on it anyway. "Was kinda hoping you would say something else, though. For his sake."
"I'm sorry," my voice was barely a whisper. I hadn't spent a single second thinking about how this predicament might affect Sirius' friends. Subconsciously, I must have just assumed that it wouldn't matter. I would just go down in history as a drop in the sea of women he would try to pursue. "I'm sure he'll move on quickly enough… Like he always seems to."
"Hmm," he breathed out pensively. With casual movements, he placed his hands under his head. It was as if he was on a picnic based on his demeanor, rather than lying on the ground suffering injuries from an ancient charm. "Dunno, darlin'. This one feels different."
"How so?"
"Well, for one," he smirked. "He hasn't snogged you yet. Or even mentioned the idea of it… Well not really." I resisted the urge to smack the smug smirk off his face. "But, really. The way he talks about you — which is quite a lot, I'll have you know… And a bit annoying after a while. It isn't like the others. He actually cares. It's a bit disturbing, really."
"Hmm," it was my turn to reply.
"Listen," he sighed, tone turning serious. "I've made it pretty clear that I'm no fan of yours. And I…" He shockingly hesitated, shifting uncomfortably in the dirt. "I want you to know that that's not because of you personally. This war… It's made things difficult, as you can imagine. I'm not able to distinguish individuals — I only see the cause… And if you're not with my cause, you're not with me. No matter who you are."
I hadn't realized I was holding my breath while he was speaking until my lungs screamed at me for air. With a heavy gasp, I allowed my body the oxygen it so desperately needed. With his words, I realized how unfair my thoughts toward him had been. He was playing for his team and doing what he needed to do. Playing on the offensive as was deemed necessary. I really couldn't blame him for it, could I?
"I get it," I said sadly. "We all need to process this how we can."
"And honestly," he continued as if I hadn't spoken at all. "It's not that I don't want to like you. I really do. For Sirius' sake at the very least." He swallowed hard, his nervous energy returning. "But I can't do it if I don't see you at least trying, you know? You seem to be stuck in between — as much as you like to deny it — and I'm not sure if we're going to be able to pull you over. " Another heavy pause. "But the time's coming where you're going to have to pick a side."
My face burned with something akin to anger. "I thought I've made it pretty clear what my side is."
A scoff from James. "There's that denial I'm talking about."
My mouth twisted shut, unable to think of anything to say. What did perfect James Potter know about my life? Where did he get the confidence to spout such assumptions like that?
But the nagging feeling at the back of my head reappeared once more. The notion of escaping like Sirius, living freely to follow my heart… But also abandoning my family. I sighed in frustration. How much longer would I be the victim of both the war going on around me as well as the one in my head. Part of me just wished someone would win already, no matter who. At least then I would have some sort of peace of mind in the fact that I would no longer have to turmoil over this.
"You know," I began, not sure where the thought had come from, "when my great aunt gave me the journal, I thought it was just the ramblings of a crazy woman who was on a treasure hunt… I had the same thoughts as you. Thought it was all ridiculous. But the more I think about it," I hesitated for just a moment before steeling over, "it's all too coincidental. Why would she send me this now? During all this when I never receive anything from her? I'm pretty sure it's connected." My hand rested on the rucksack nearby, as if looking for some sort of comfort. "She tried to accomplish something and failed. Now, she wants me to try. And I have a sickening feeling it has to do with him. Stopping him from doing something."
"Then why are you doing it?" He instantly asked, not missing a beat.
I found I couldn't answer because I wasn't sure if I could admit to the thought that floated around in my mind. So instead, I stood. He looked surprised when I extended a hand to help him up. But he reached for it shortly after.
"After looking at the others," I began. "We're thinking there's one rune that'll let us all enter at each of the entry points."
"Entry points?" He asked as he rubbed his arm, the pain clearly returning to his body after laying on the hard ground.
"Each place where the runes are located have to be entry points," I squatted and brushed away the moss from the markings. "Four children… four people have to enter using the right rune."
"Sure," he dragged out the word. "You better be correct."
"I will be," I tried to say confidently but my quivering voice gave me away. Pulling the moss aside, I looked at the markings closely and scrunched my eyebrows. Shit. Water variants were always tricky. Too many loops and swirls…
"Please tell me you are able to translate these," James groaned from his position over my shoulder.
"Oh, I'm sorry," my tone dripped with sarcasm. "If you have any insight to speed this up, I'm all ears!" My mind was melting as it tried to piece together the intricacies of the lines. I pulled up my sleeves a couple times to reference others but to no avail. These ones hadn't come up in my studies before. "Shit," I finally breathed before standing up. With a shaky hand, I pointed at the one on the most left. "It's this one I think. 'Nest.'"
"Didn't you already try that?" He asked, clearly very skeptical.
"Yes… But like I said. I think four of us have to go in at the same time."
"Right." The word dragged out again. He stepped closer, dragging a foot over the markings as if to clear them more. "And what are the other ones?"
"Well…" I hesitated. It was the one question I really, really hadn't wanted him to ask. "That one is definitely 'school.' You know, like a school of fish. And that one…" I stopped at the one in the middle. If I was wrong about this, we could get hurt. But I was coming up with absolutely nothing. "I have no idea, if I'm being honest."
"What?" He practically shouted. He wasn't angry, just supremely annoyed.
"But it's fine!" My hands raised in defense. "Every other spot has 'nest' so that's clearly the one we want."
"And you're positive that's what it means?"
With uncertainty, I bit my lip. I wasn't. Not at all. The rune only began with the swirls that could lead to the translation 'nest.' Those same swirls could also lead to a number of other translations but I couldn't be sure without knowing how to translate the other half of the rune. But at least it was more than I knew about the other one, which was absolutely nothing.
"Uh-huh," I confirmed casually, not saying any words for fear that they would give me away. He still didn't buy it anyhow.
"I'm going to die," he said with resolve. "I'm going to die because of Elsbeth Ledoux. And willingly, at that. Who would have thought?" He removed his glasses, cleaning them on his shirt before replacing them. "So what now?"
It took me a second to recover from how casual he was about it. "Um, just remember which one is 'nest.' I'm going to go back to the original one and then on my count we'll all try to get in."
"Hopefully we come back as ghosts to haunt the school," he mumbled as he placed himself in front of the designated rune. "Would love to give Peeves a run for his Galleons."
While his tone was confident, his stature was nervous. Almost trembling. He really thought he might die tonight, didn't he? The worst part was, I wasn't able to confidently say he wouldn't. So, without saying another word and not fully knowing if those would be the last words I heard from James, I walked away. Limp by limp, I rounded the barrier. It's shimmering form kept me from drawing too close as it reflected the moonlight in small rainbows. Almost like a beetle wing if you held it up to the light. Or, perhaps, a dragon's scale. It would have been beautiful if it wasn't so dangerous. The ache in my side picked up as if to emphasize that point.
"What've we got to -" A gasp in pain emitted from Remus' mouth as he tried to stand and greet me. "What've we got to do?"
"You've got to do nothing, remember?" I said as I stood back in front of the rune that read 'nest.' "I think only four of us can go through and I don't think we'd benefit from one of them being crippled. No offense…"
"No," he actually sighed in relief at the thought that he wouldn't have to do anything. "None taken."
I gave him a smile. "Hey boys!" I hollered out, grabbing Sirius and Regulus's attention. "You've got to stand on 'nest' and then on the count of 'three' we'll step through together. Okay?" Regulus immediately stepped into position but Sirius faltered for a moment. I let out a groan. "It's the middle one!" I yelled at him. He blushed and then stepped on the correct marking. "Okay, on three."
"Wait!" James said, his voice back to being annoying above all. "On 'three' or 'three' and then go?"
"She clearly means on three -" "Everyone always does 'three' and then goes -"
All the boys erupted with their own answers, making the quiet forest unusually and aggressively loud.
"Guys!" I shouted in exasperation. "On 'three.' As in, your ass better be walking through whatever the hell this is when I am saying the word 'three.' Are we ready?" I eyed them all as best I could from our various positions. They nodded in various degrees of certainty. Remus gave me a thumbs up and a wary smile. Confidence was lacking all around but it was now or never. "Alright. One!" I stepped closer and watched as the others did as well. "Two!" Unlike just a few moments ago, the forest was hauntingly still and quiet. Almost like being stuck in a grave. "Three!"
Subconsciously, I closed my eyes in preparation for the force against my body. But it never came. Instead, there was a warmth — almost like the kind you feel when covered by a thick winter blanket — that washed over me. It lasted entirely too long for my liking, and my body felt like it was drenched in sweat by the time I had the courage to open my eyes.
Somehow, the moon in the sky shone brighter in the clearing beyond the force field. My eyes had to squint to adjust to the change in exposure but after they became more comfortable I was able to finally realize what happened. We had done it. The tree was now mere feet away, much larger at this view, with the four of us who dared to walk through the barrier surrounding it. My face lit up at the realization, mimicking the features of my companions.
"Holy Salazar," Regulus breathed.
"Got that right, Black," James smiled kindly. Actually smiled. "I cannot believe that worked."
"And guys," Sirius chimed in, patting at his chest and ligaments oddly. "I kind of -" Another pat on his hip to make sure he was correct. "I feel fine."
Taking a deep breath, my lungs rejoiced at the sudden lack of pain.
"Wicked," James smiled.
"Hhww iii gonnn?" We heard a garbled noise from behind me. Turning, Remus had approached the barrier as closely as he could without getting shot back. His eyes were narrowed as if he was having trouble seeing us. Odd, considering I could see him just fine. "Whhhht hppnneddd?" It was like his voice was being filtered through a tub of water.
"We're good!" I yelled out with a thumbs up. He seemed to get the message, holding up one of his own.
"So," Regulus said, approaching the tree. "What now?"
I walked up to stand beside him, Sirius and James not far behind. My newly healed fingers trailed along the bark, it's rough surface prickling the sensitive skin there. Without a word, I started looking around for any signs of our next move. Ducking under the lower branches, I made my way slowly around the base of the tree. My eyes were trained on the bark, looking for any indication of what we needed to do. When I had gone all the way around to the others, I sighed in defeat. Throwing my hands up on my hips, I looked to the sky as if it would tell me the answer.
And it did. Hovering on a branch near the top of the tree was a cluster of smaller branches bound together. A nest.
"There!" I pointed enthusiastically.
"Merlin," Sirius breathed. "How do you reckon we get up there?"
"Easy," James said with a smirk as he held up his wand. With a fancy flick of his wrist, he called out an incantation. Nothing happened. His confident face was replaced with confusion.
"Sorry," Regulus said smugly. "Was that supposed to do something?"
"Shut it, Black."
"Maybe you're just out of practice," Regulus said as he stepped up. "Let me try." He copied the movements — a spell to conjure rope or some other mechanism that would help us — but was also met with nothing.
"Guess we're all out of practice, then?" James sneered while Regulus glared at the nest, cheeks flush with embarrassment. "Must have to climb it." With large strides he stepped up to the nearest branch and hoisted himself up. It held just long enough for him to reach for the next branch before it bent like a feather, making him topple to the ground. "Shit!" He cried out as he stood, rubbing his probably bruised backside. "So how're we supposed to get up to the damn thing?"
"Hey, Beth," Sirius called out. He was bent at an odd angle looking at the underside of one of the lower branches. "What's this one?"
Squatting beside him, I was able to see that he was looking at a rune scraped on the underside of the branches. Scrunching my eyebrows, I tried to decipher it.
"'Down,' I think…" I murmured, caressing the lines. I could feel his eyes on the back of my head but I didn't turn to look. "An earth variant." With quick movements, I stood and walked around to the other branches. They all had runes scraped on the underside of them in different variants. Finally, I reached a water variant that translated as 'up.' Seems like we were up for another translation game. "I think we still have to climb," I spoke as I looked up at the daunting task ahead. "Just in a certain way."
"Do you think you know them well enough to lead?" Sirius asked genuinely, eyes darkened with worry.
"I can try," I breathed.
"Of course she can," Regulus stepped up with a sly smile. "And you can go right behind. You know, to catch her if she falls." He shot a wink my way and I resisted the urge to slap him. I'm sure he didn't miss the blush on both mine and Sirius' faces.
"Let's just get this over with," I said flatly. Walking up to the branch with the 'up' rune, I pushed down on it as if to test it. It seemed steady… But so had the one James climbed upon. Oh well, it was just a couple of feet up if I was wrong. What's another fall after everything we've been through? I turned back to the boys who were waiting for me. "Ready?"
"After you, darlin'," James smirked.
With a nod, I hoisted myself onto the first branch without much grace. It wobbled precariously under me but even after a few moments, it held steady. Letting out a sigh of relief, I looked up to figure out my next move. Sure enough, the undersides of the other branches were all littered with runes. My eyes squinted as I tried to take each one of them in. Turns out, translating from a distance was actually quite difficult.
"What's the hold up?" James piped up from his position right below me. He was watching me adamantly from my right, while the Black brothers stood underneath me to my left.
"Again," I bit out at him, turning my attention back to the markings. "If you have any insight, I am all ears!" I didn't have to see him to know he was scowling.
Finally, I found the next branch labeled with an 'up' rune and hooked my hand onto it. With as little grace as the first time, I hoisted myself up. Once again, the branch didn't move after an initial wobbling. I released another relieved breath before turning down to smile at the boys. Sirius was already on the first branch, now positioned right beneath me. Regulus had been joking but I had no doubt Sirius would be able to catch me if he kept this close all the way up. It was a comforting thought. He gave me an encouraging smile which I tried not to focus on as I went back to translating.
The ascent was a slow one, with each step in the journey taking several minutes for me to figure out which branch was next. Salazar was tricky now, using not only the core elemental runes but also variants of those as well. One line could change the translation from 'up' to something completely different, and with each thrust onto another branch, the more nervous I got. At one point, I made the mistake of looking down and, while happy we had made it so far, it also made my heart race at how far up we were. The air was colder here, chilling me to the bone, which only amplified the shakiness of my limbs as I reached for the next branch.
With only a few more branches between me and the nest, I finally messed up. As soon as I hoisted myself, I noticed the curl at the end of a line that turned this wind rune from 'up' to 'cloud.' My mind processed what happened before it actually did, so I was able to push myself back towards the branch I came from. As the faux branch bent under my weight, I felt myself topple and my breath left my lungs in paralyzing fear. I had to catch onto the last branch I knew was safe but found I could no longer move. Instead, my body hurdled towards the ground as I watched in frozen horror.
But I didn't make it far before strong arms wrapped around my waist. Sirius caught me from his position on the branch just underneath and quickly swerved backward, pinning our weight against the trunk and holding us balanced there. His hot breath, rapid from adrenaline, pushed against my neck as we both tried to calm down. I imagine that if I wasn't wearing such a thick coat, I could have felt his heartbeat against my back. A weird thought to have probably, but one that made me blush nonetheless.
"Well," he coughed uncomfortably. "That was fun. Should we not do it again?"
With an awkward chuckle, I inched away from him. He kept a hold on my waist to help keep me balanced, still leaning against the trunk to keep himself steady.
"Yeah, let's not plan on another one of those," I said, breath finally as under control as it could be in these circumstances. "Thank you, though."
"Not at all -"
"Hey lovebirds!" James called from his position at the bottom of the line. "I'm freezing my pygmy puffs off. Can we move along?"
"I actually agree with that sentiment!" Regulus said just below us. Despite his words, his face was contorted with an annoying sense of glee. "Otherwise, I might just chuck myself off from here."
With a roll of my eyes, I hoisted myself back onto the branch I was on before I had picked the wrong one. Pushing away any thoughts of hot breaths on my neck and concentrating, I finally found the actual branch I needed to use next. Mentally slapping myself for missing it the first go around, I wrapped my palms around it and yanked a little. Sturdy. Sirius had already followed, placing himself on the current branch before I even made it halfway to the next one. I raised my eyebrows in question before I pulled myself all the way up.
"Can't allow you to fall to your death when we're this close," he shrugged.
"Fair point," I smiled.
It only took a couple more branches until I was able to grab onto the edge of the nest. From the forest floor, it had looked tiny and made of twigs, with the prospect of the four of us being able to get inside of it seeming slim to none. But now, up close, the magnanimity of the structure was gobsmacking. It was made of branches nearly the same thickness we had been climbing and large enough to fit ten adults at least. But I could only admire it for a moment before my body collapsed onto it, finally allowing myself to breathe a sigh of relief as I found myself on steady ground. Looking up to the sky from way up here, it was as if I could reach a hand out and touch the moon. I allowed myself to bask in its light as I listened to the boys scramble into the nest behind me.
"Good on you, Ledoux," James breathed, lying down as well. "Thought we might not make it for a moment there but… you did it."
"If you actually hung around," I gave a cheeky smile without looking at him. "You'll find I always do." I heard him emit a mixture of a scoff and a laugh.
"Woah," I heard Regulus murmur. I looked to see him standing near the edge of the nest and facing outward towards the forest. "It's stunning."
"True that," Sirius said from beside him, just as in awe at what they were gazing at.
With a heave, I stood back up and planted myself beside them. The sight in front of me practically took my breath away in the best way possible. The height of the tree as you looked at it from the ground had also been very deceiving. Now at the top, we had a practically clear three-sixty view around, with barely any other trees in the forest reaching the height of the nest. Beyond, we could see the castle in all its glory. Its windows twinkled like stars on the hillside.
"Weird how we can't see this from the astronomy tower," Regulus mused.
I shrugged. "Must be the enchantments or something."
"Yeah, gorgeous," we all rolled our eyes at James' lackluster tone. "Is that it, then? We just stare out into the void?" He looked around, arms wide to emphasize his next point. "I don't see anything."
"Maybe you should enjoy the scenery more," I walked to the point on the nest directly in the center of the view of the castle. Traced into the bark was another rune. "Looks like here's our next clue."
"Ugh," Sirius rubbed his face. "Is it all going to be runes? Salazar must have been such a knob."
"I wouldn't get your hopes up," I sighed as my fingers traced the lines much like all the others. There was something about actually feeling the runes that made me be able to see them more clearly. "It means 'down.'"
"'Down?'" Regulus asked, skeptical. "Are you sure?"
"Yep," I stood back up and looked out to the castle. A light flashed on one of the towers. It felt as if it was calling me forward and I found myself subconsciously stepping toward the edge of the nest. "Same variant as the troll poem."
"I don't get it. We just have to go back down…? But we just got up here."
In my peripheral, I thought I saw another twinkle from the castle. It felt safe — like a lighthouse on the shore. But instead of warning me away from imminent danger, it was beckoning me closer. I stepped even closer to the edge. The wind whipped at my hair as I planted two firm hands on the brim right above the rune. It would be easy to fall from this vantage point. All it would take is just one misstep, one slight lapse in balance, and I would go toppling down with no Sirius to save me. It was clear to see how Hattie's children could have met their demise here.
And then I saw it. It was a giant mark in the middle of the clearing, easily missed when you weren't viewing it from this vantage point up in the sky. The same rune carved on the nest. 'Down,' in giant intertwining swirls and lines.
"Holy Merin," Sirius breathed as he stepped up beside me. "What's that supposed to mean?"
The light in my peripheral began to blink rapidly. Perhaps a particularly out of order lantern, one that was desperately trying to stay alight. But no, that couldn't be. The lights at the castle were enchanted. Each remained lit for as long as they were charmed to. This was something else. Something that continued to pull me closer and pull at the strings of my mind to give me the answer of what to do next.
I leaned over the nest once more. Down. Down. Down. The first thing that came to my mind rattled me because, if I was wrong, this time it would surely mean death. My heart rate increased as the weight of reality began to build. Every other option I considered didn't make as much sense as the first idea. And it did seem like something Salazar would throw in as part of this test.
"What're you thinking?" Sirius asked quietly.
"Do you trust me?" I asked just as quietly, not even registering the words before they left my mouth. An overwhelming feeling of assurance had washed over me all of a sudden as I made my decision. The light at the castle stopped blinking.
"Absolutely." He said without hesitation.
I swallowed, kind of hoping he would have at least asked why. "We have to jump."
"I'm sorry, what?" James asked, catching wind of us talking. "Listen, Ledoux. I've put up with all this shit but I'm absolutely not doing that. For real this time -"
"Hattie's children fell so we have to, too?" Regulus asked, catching on. He rubbed his eyes. "Are you sure it's not a trick?"
"Woah, I'm being serious this time!" James crossed his arms in annoyance. "This is actually death. There's no way any of us could survive if this is a mistake."
I sighed, looking back to the castle. Where was that mysterious light beckoning me when I needed it? As if it could hear me, it returned and brighter than ever. An odd coincidence probably but one I needed. Once again, it pushed me forward. Somehow, it convinced me that what I was thinking of doing was right. My confidence rose once more.
"It's not a trick. This is what we've got to do."
Regulus stepped up and held out a hand. There was nothing romantic about the action, just a friend supporting a friend. I took it with a smile. Then, turning to Sirius, I offered him my other one. He took it instantly, the roughness of his fingers colliding against my skin. He turned and expectantly looked towards James.
"She hasn't been wrong yet, Prongs." We waited a few long moments for an answer. The bespectacled boy rolled his eyes at Sirius' words but moved to stand in line with us nonetheless. He and Sirius clasped their hands together as well, completing our chain of bodies.
"Well," James muttered sarcastically, "at least we'll all be 'koombaya'ing as we jump to our deaths." Regulus and I raised an eyebrow at him. "It's a muggle thing apparently," he shrugged.
"Right," I took a deep breath. Peeking down, the ground seemed unbelievably far away. As if we would need to fall for hours until… Well, whatever it was that was awaiting us. "On three?"
"On three." James reiterated in jest. "Everyone have their affairs in order before we do this?"
"One." I began, ignoring him despite the hesitancy creeping into my mind once more. "Two." My heart rate increased as we all took a step closer. From this position, a mere slip up would send us all tumbling. Sirius squeezed my hand in reassurance. "Three." And we all stepped forward.
Falling isn't scary. It's so much worse than that. The terror hit me and I closed my eyes before I was even fully out of the nest, but that didn't prevent the gut-wrenching feeling that hit my stomach as we plummeted toward the ground. At times I felt lightweight as if I were merely being levitated. But then the feeling of my body contorting from the pressure of the fall brought me back to reality and I was no longer able to hold in the screams of terror.
The collision came much sooner than I thought and not in the way I was expecting. Despite our rapid descent, we landed softly, as if onto a giant bed of smooth feathers. Some sort of enchantment clearly as I found myself face down on cold, almost damp earth when I finally had the courage to open my eyes. Immediately, I was thrown off by the sudden dimness of our surroundings. The moon, once a bright orb above us was now constricted through a hole, not three feet wide in the dirt ceiling above us. All around was more dirt and rocks - almost like a cave.
"Where are we?" James asked as we all rose to our feet.
"Are we underground?" Regulus asked. "Look." He pointed through the hole and sure enough, once my eyes adjusted to the light from the moon, I could see the branches of the tree.
"So strange…" I mumbled to myself, turning my attention back to our new environment.
Upon further inspection, it didn't appear to just be a random crater. No, the rocks were formed in a way that made it seem organized, almost precariously. It smelled earthy but not unpleasant, like the evergreen-laden halls of the castle. And while there was the natural chill associated with such a cavernous space, there was also a slight sense of warmth. As if there was movement around the space usually. As if it was lived in.
The beams of the moon bounced off the surface of something in a far corner. I approached it with caution, leaving the boys to meander around themselves. With the darkness around me almost suffocating, I didn't notice the giant collection of branches that formed another nest before I tripped over the edge with a giant oomf.
"Ouch," I groaned as I stood back up.
"Alright, Ledoux?" James asked as he stepped into the nest behind me. "What in the bloody hell is this doing down here?"
"It's one hell of a way to make sure your kid doesn't fall from a tree," I said, rubbing my surely bruising elbow. As soon as I saw - well fell into - the nest, the rest of the story about the dragon in the woods that River told me all made sense. Hattie had taken her child and hid her below ground, truly somewhere she'd never 'need to fly.' "It must have been so lonely," I frowned at the thought.
"I'm sure it's just Salazar being dramatic…" Regulus tried to sound reassuring. "I don't think anyone would miss a dragon living in the Forbidden Forest. Even if it was underground."
"Right." Despite not being totally convinced, I shook it off. "What do we think is going on over here?" I moved closer to the sparkling object.
Or objects, I soon realized as we came right upon them. Sitting at the back of the nest, almost as if on display, were two eggs seemingly made out of pure gold. They were barely visible in the shadows of the room, save for the tiny bit of light from the moon. Waving my wand, it gave no response, still silenced by the charm that surrounded this entire clearing. So instead, I reached out a hand and gave a shiver as my fingertips touched the cool surface.
"Are you sure it's okay to be touching them like that?" Sirius squatted next to me, worried. "What if it's some sort of trick?"
My fingers caressed something on the smooth surface - divots that connected and swirled around one another. "Looks like it is." I smiled. "Feel this." I grabbed his hand and pulled it to the egg on the left. Using my other hand as a guide, I placed his on the markings. His warm fingers juxtaposed with the chill of the egg made me realize what I was doing and I blushed. Thank Merlin it was so dark in here.
"More runes." He said, not needing to ask.
"Seems so." I dropped his hand. My body temperature felt like it dipped significantly at the loss of his touch. "I can't be too sure of what they mean though… Not without seeing them. I'm not that good."
Sirius looked back towards the opening in the roof and the circle of bright light it made. "Well, there's only one thing to do, right?" Without having time to process what was happening, I wasn't able to stop Sirius as he reached for the golden eggs. "Woah," he stumbled under the weight of both of them before throwing one over to James, "they're much heavier than I thought."
There was a rumble around the space that reverberated down to my bones. My teeth chattered from the weight of the sound but what scared me the most was the sound. Coming from somewhere deep within the vaults of the cavern erupted a shrieking noise so terrible I had to cover my ears in fear that my drums would burst. It was impossible to tell where it came from, as it bounced off all the walls and surrounded us like water crashing over rocks on a shoreline.
"What in Salazar's name is this?" Regulus screamed through it. "It's almost like -"
But he wasn't able to finish before we saw her. From the opposite end of the space, she approached with cautious malice. She was small and slightly malnourished, maybe from living underground her entire life. But even that didn't take away from the magnanimity of the dragon that was stepping towards us. It had to be Hattie's daughter, truly stuck down here this entire time.
Frozen with terror, I didn't know what to do which is how I noticed her looking around oddly. It was like she was trying to get a sense of where she was going because she couldn't spot us. Like she couldn't see us.
"She's blind," I gasped but realized my mistake a second too soon. At the sound of my voice, the dragon hurtled towards us at a breakneck speed.
Reacting quicker than I, Sirius lunged to the side and dragged me along with him. We hit the side of the nest with a force that definitely knocked my shoulder out of whack. The dragon thrashed around just nearby, scratching at the walls in vain since Regulus and James had also been able to dodge her. We could probably reach out and touch her if we wanted to, she was that close.
"We've got to get to the opening," I tried to whisper as softly as I could. The eggs had landed nearby and I quickly reached out to snatch one up. Sirius quickly did the same with the other. "I have to see what these say."
"Yeah," he said, heavy breath once again too close to my neck for comfort. "And then get the bloody hell out of here."
He grabbed my wrist and hauled me up with him quietly. The dragon had calmed down, searching around once more with her unseeing eyes for any sign of us. We saw Regulus and James across the way, pressed flat against the wall of the cave. Sirius caught their attention and pointed to the opening. They nodded and we all started inching towards it. With every noise from the beast, we paused in fear but, eventually, made it underneath the hole.
The eggs were more brilliant once cast in the bright light of the moon. Their surfaces shined beautifully smooth with no other markings on their smooth surface besides the runes. With fast fingers, I traced them over and over again, more fervent than ever to discover their meaning. It took longer than usual, given that every moment the dragon moved it petrified me momentarily.
"I don't want to rush you," Regulus said in a hushed whisper, "but she won't be distracted forever."
"We can help with that," James said seriously, landing a hand on Sirius' shoulder. The latter looked at him with confusion. "C'mon Pads, time to shine." He ran to one of the nooks on the far end of the cave and, both equal parts brave and stupid, screamed.
The intention worked, as the dragon immediately rushed towards him. He dodged her once more, sneaking into another cranny of the cave.
"That's probably my cue," Sirius groaned. He looked at me with a smirk and I was baffled by his and James' lack of fear at the situation. These boys never failed to surprise me with their stupidity. "Please solve this before I die, yeah?" And with a wink, he ran to the opposite side of the cavern.
Screams from both humans and the giant beast filled the small space now. While the noise was distracting in its own way, knowing the dragon was preoccupied enough not to bother with me gave me the confidence I needed to focus. I went back to the eggs, me holding one while Regulus held the other. I darted between them, deciphering which lines overlapped and which differed in order to glean their origins and meanings.
"'Found,''" I pointed towards Regulus' egg, "and 'lost.'" I held up the egg in my own hand.
"Look at this." He shifted the egg so it was upside down. Along the bottom was the indentation of a ring, creating almost a panel of sorts. I looked and mine had the same. A hidden opening, guarding something inside. "What if," Regulus began as he pressed down on it in various ways to see if it would open, "the cup's inside?" The panel wiggled, clearly meant to unlock, but didn't budge.
"So we have to figure out which one…" I mused, rolling the egg around in my hand.
'Lost.' 'Found.' Which one could it be?
The dragon crashed into the nest, making me swirl to look at her from the noise. She had nearly cornered Sirius against the wall, her face probably just a foot away from his own terrified one, before James saved him with a shout from the other side of the collected branches. They were losing ground, with every distraction from them inching her closer and closer to them. Soon, they'd be actually trapped by her with nowhere to go.
"Gotta be 'found,' right?" Regulus brought my attention back to him. "We 'found' the right egg?"
"Hmm," I mused, knowing it couldn't be that easy. My mind raced through everything we had learned so far. Hattie and her daughter, the four children, the troll… then it clicked. "No it's this one." I held up the egg in my hand that was engraved with 'lost.' "The troll was looking for what was 'lost' in the story… It's got to be this one."
He nodded. "Alright, then." With a hurl of the other egg, he distracted Hattie's daughter long enough to grab the attention of the other boys. "We gotta go!" He yelled to them.
Without a second thought, they both sprinted towards us. The dragon was rummaging around some rocks in a different corner where the egg had landed but she was quick to recover when she heard the other boys move. We were running short on time to get out of here. They reached us quickly and we all gazed up at the opening. We found that it was just out of reach to jump up and grab after James tested the distance.
"Right," Sirius said with determination, moving up to me and grabbing my waist. "We'll hoist you up first."
"Are you kidding?" I asked, the blush on my cheeks from his touch still rising despite the situation. "I can't hoist you up once I get up there. We have to send someone else first."
"Black," James turned to Regulus, already getting into position to support his weight and push him up, "let's go."
Regulus didn't hesitate to step on James' propped hand and reached up for the opening. Even with his height, he was just barely able to grab on and, with a heave from James, lifted himself out of the underground cavern. I threw the egg up to him which he gracefully caught. The dragon roared behind us, catching on to our whereabouts and quickly regaining her footing to head towards us.
"Prongs, GO!" Sirius yelled, hoisting him up and into the hands of Regulus. It was a struggle, with Regulus not able to find his footing and drag him up gracefully. But eventually, James made it through, now peeking over the ledges to help. He whipped his head to me. "Your turn, sweetheart."
Sirius grabbed me without warning, dragging me over in preparation to jump up. The thrashing of the dragon grew louder and we turned in unison, terrified by what we saw. She was only a couple of bodies' lengths away, if that, and advancing fast. If we didn't both go at the same time, the one left might be in danger. I looked at Sirius with terror across my features.
"You have to come with me!" I exclaimed. But he ignored me, grabbing my waist and hoisting me up. "Sirius!" I complained but Regulus and James had already grabbed me.
Between the two of them, it was much easier to bring me up. In half a second, I was thrown onto the grass beside the boys. The moon was blinding after being down in the cave and it took me a second to get over the vertigo I got from the intensity of it. But I had to help. Stumbling, I joined the boys at the opening and leaned over. Sirius was nowhere to be seen.
"Where did he go?" I asked Regulus frantically. He just looked at me with worried eyes.
And then there was the roar. It was monumental as if the dragon had been struck. We couldn't see anything but we heard as rocks rustled and branches broke somewhere in the depths of the cavern. Then, with a flash of red, Sirius reappeared just underneath us. His forehead was sliced open with a ghastly looking wound but he seemed otherwise unharmed.
"Hurry up, then!" He shouted, jumping and reaching up with his arms. However, unlike the rest of us, he had no one to give him a boost. All his attempts to jump would be futile.
"Hold on to me," I yelled at Regulus and James, jumping into action. Despite all my fears, I leaned waist-deep into the hole. If either of the boys let go of me, I would be a goner. Sucked right back into the depths that I had just escaped. Reaching my arms out, Sirius was able to grasp them at this distance. "Pull us up!" I yelled back.
Our efforts were interrupted by another roar, so close to my right that my ears started to ring and I could see black spots in my vision. The boys yanked us up with as much force as they could, my shoulders protesting from the weight of Sirius. But we weren't quick enough to outrun the speed of a dragon. Just as Sirius reached the light, she leaped, claws latching onto his chest. But he somehow still held on, head poking just above the surface.
"SIRIUS!" We all screamed in unison. We all grabbed onto anything on his person. I yanked on one of his arms while Regulus and James dipped into the hole slightly to grab onto the bulk of his body. With heavy pulls, we finally released him from the grasp of the monster below. She bellowed one last heartbreakingly astonishing screech.
And then the hole closed instantly, casting an eerie silence across the clearing. One that was broken by the painful cries of the boy we had just pulled up. I rushed over, unceremoniously dropping beside him. I didn't even have to move his clothes to see the horrendous gashes that took up most of his torso now.
"Merlin," I breathed. "We have to get him some help now!"
Aggressively, I shoved the egg in my rucksack. We pulled Sirius up to his feet gently and the two other boys supported him as we hurried across to the barrier. Not even having the time to think about it, I walked through, remaining unscathed and unbothered. Seems like it was only enchanted for those who wanted to go in. Finally we had caught a break in all this mess.
"What in the name of Godric Gryffindor happened?" Remus shrieked as he limped over to us. "We saw you guys jump and then just-just disappear." He looked around at us, astonished. "And what happened to him?" He pointed to Sirius.
"No time, Moony," James said, already rushing past him, "we've got to get back to the castle now."
Without another word, we all bustled along. I helped Peter support Remus and we continued on like some sort of macabre and broken train. Maybe it was because they took pity on us, but we didn't come across as many creatures on our way back as we did coming here. And time seemed to pass much faster as if the trees and paths were contorting to make our journey as quick and painless as possible. In what seemed like no time at all, we reached the clearing where we started. The light of the sunrise peeked just through the branches that blocked us from the grounds of the castle.
"Wait," Sirius breathed. We all paused, looking at him curiously. "Open it."
"What?" Regulus asked, trying to beckon him further but failing. "Wait, the egg? That can wait."
"He's right," I said, "you need to go to the hospital wing now -"
"Can we just," he breathed heavily, clearly having trouble with the amount of effort it took, "open it? Who knows when it's just going to be the six of us again… Plus it might be too dangerous to open it at the castle." We all stared at him quietly but I was hoping only I knew the subliminal meanings of his words. The six of us wouldn't be together like this again because I wouldn't be associating with them - him - ever again. He stared at me resolutely as if to confirm my thoughts. "So can we just open it so I know it was worth it?"
Releasing Remus completely over to Peter, I reached into my rucksack and pulled out the egg. Flipping it over, I looked at the hatch. I tried pulling, prodding, but it didn't open until I gave a light push on the flat panel that made up the base. It swung outward with a satisfying click, revealing the hollow inside of the compartment. Cautiously and with breath held, I reached in and felt… nothing.
Perplexed, I took my hand out and looked inside closely. Still nothing. I turned it over, shaking it. Only one thing fell out and it was not the cup. It was a piece of parchment. Picking it up, I unfolded it and read the elegant script written across it.
"'To the Dark Lord,'" I began, spit welling in the back of my throat, "'I have taken the real cup and intend to hide it where you might never find it. Happily facing trial by Salazar Slytherin, I do this with the hope that it will ruin your plans and keep you as mortal. May those who have more courage than I find their victory over you.'" My eyes welled, not wanting to continue but knowing I had to as the boys waited with bated breath. "It's signed 'K.A.S.'"
"Who could that be?" Remus mused.
"My great aunt." I sighed, a tear finally falling. "The one who sent us on this quest. She already got the cup."
We all stood in silence for a few moments as I let my head sink, a sob rolling over my body. Stupid, stupid, stupid. I had been so stupid. All this time, I thought she had given me the journal to do something with it. But turns out it meant nothing.
"Hey," a soft hand rested on my shoulder and I was surprised to see James when I finally looked up. "Let it go for now, yeah?" He gave my shoulder a squeeze as I wiped my eyes. "My friend might be dying so let's just take care of that right now." I was perplexed by how he managed a smirk in this situation but couldn't help the small smile that sprung across my face in response to it.
Silently, we all gathered ourselves. We formed back into our broken trios, with Remus and Sirius being hoisted along through the treelines. The castle looked radiant in the light of the fresh sun and the frost that covered the grounds sparkled in its glow. But I could only gawk for so long before I stopped dead in my tracks at what awaited us.
River and Professor McGonagall, all bundled up in their winter finest, stared at us with stern faces as we emerged. Standing in front of them, a scarf wrapped tightly around his neck as he peered over it at us, was none other than Professor Dumbledore himself.
"Well," he said almost cheerfully, "what have we got here?"
Hmm... Do you guys do on three or three then go?