Chapter 21

Pansy slowly opened her eyes, squinting against the dim sunlight that filtered through the canvas of tree leaves and swirling mists heavy enough to be called fog.

"Ugh, what happened?" muttered Pansy as she propped herself up on her elbows to look around her. "How did I get back out here? And where's Draco?"

Standing stiffly, Pansy stumbled towards the hole which led to the old, un-used waterway and the torii gates to the shrine. Falling through the hole, Pansy received another bump on the head which disoriented her farther. Climbing to her feet, she shook her head and continued to stumble forwards, through the tunnels. She fell several times but kept going none the less.

Finally she reached the pipe's outlet at the pool which surrounded the shrine. However, Pansy couldn't hold on to consciousness any longer. She tumbled forwards out of the pipe and landed sprawled half in and half out of the path which led to the pool.

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Draco sighed as he kicked aside a piece of still smoldering wood. There was nothing left of the small house which had once stood in the cave except a few pieces of structure and ashes. Digging through the ashes, Draco found that the black, liquored box which had contained the records of Hermione's life had burned in the fire.

With a sigh Draco left the ruined scene and headed back out to the cavern which contained the pool. Arriving at the pool, he headed towards a part of the wall where the roof had been cut away beneath a rock, allowing for exit but not entry.

Once outside again, he headed back to the clearing where he had left Pansy, only to discover her gone. In a panic he began to call for her. Receiving no response, Draco headed back into the cavern via the waterway, praying that she had stumbled back down the tunnel. Moving quickly, he continued to call her name, listening to it echo through the tunnels but still receiving no response.

Re-entering the cavern he felt fear grip him. She wasn't there either. In fact, she was no where to be found.