"Little Friend! Wait, I want to go with you!" Harry shouted after the snake, his fingers scrambling at the hole, his body stretched out into the corridor. He couldn't even fit his hand in the hole, let alone his whole body. The air that was pouring through the hole was so cold that it nearly burned Harry's hands… he didn't know how Nio was able to move, let alone whip into the hole so effortlessly.
Perhaps because he wasn't magical?
"What's going on Harry?" Healer Jordan asked, her hand on his shoulder, while Auror Robards cursed as he tripped over Harry's legs and ran into Septima, who cried out in alarm.
"Little Friend has gone into the tunnel. There's a tiny hole here." Harry pulled Healer Jordan's hand from his shoulder and guided it to the hole where the wall met the floor at a corner, likely hidden from sight by the molding around a door frame.
"Oi. That's freezing. Ah! I wonder… Auror Robards… would an opening this small be all that's needed to create a null zone here?"
"What opening? It's too dark to see anything. Lumos! Bullocks!"
"Kneel down here and feel it," Healer Jordan said in her calm voice, though with less patience than she usually had for the residents.
Harry scooted out of the way so that the Auror could get a sense of the hole and thankful to get away from the blast of frigid air. He stood up near Septima and Figora who were both shuffling. Harry could hear Figora's distinctive wheezing breath closer to him.
"How are you feeling, Figora? Is the cloak still helping?" Harry asked.
"Yes, it is…"
"Cripes! I didn't know you were right there!" Septima squeaked.
"… brilliant. What a powerful magical object! Does anyone else need to duck under it with me?" Figora continued over Septima's outburst.
"I'm fine," Harry said, biting back his worry for Little Friend.
"Me, too. Though, I about had a heart attack. I had no idea you were right there," Septima breathed.
"Brr. That's cold. I suppose there is another similar breach on the other side of the corridor," Auror Robards said, shivering and brushing the sand off his hands as he sat back on his heels. "How are we supposed to find it now that the snake has disappeared, we have no magic, and it is pitch black down here?"
"I'll look for it!" Harry said, and started walking across the corridor to the other wall. He tried snapping his fingers to listen to the echo to determine how far away he was from the wall, but his hands were too cold and he couldn't get them to work properly. He rubbed them together and thought about traveling back to his pile of stuff and finding his jumper. As he thought, he stopped in the middle of the corridor and tapped his staff on the floor.
"Oi! The floor here… it is hollow underneath," Harry announced over his shoulder as he tapped the floor, listening to the difference between the hollow space and the solidness around it. Forgetting about how cold he was, he continued to tap the floor and advanced, figuring out that there was a pathway created by a tunnel under the corridor. Healer Jordan found him, her heeled boots made the sound difference more obvious, though her steps were more hesitant than usual. He tapped her hand and she took his elbow. The corners of his mouth turned up at the role reversal.
They followed the hollow sound to another spot down the corridor on the opposite wall. When they reached the wall, Harry got down on his hands and knees and started feeling around the crevices until he found a hole with an augury of cold air creating a halo of fine dust on the floor. He rubbed his hands on his trousers to rid them of the dust.
"Here. I think I found it."
Healer Jordan knelt beside him and he guided her hands to the opening.
"Ah, yes. It looks like you have. Good work, Harry!" She turned toward the others who were muttering in low voices on the other side of the corridor. "Auror Robards, Harry found another hole. It is also a source of the cold air in the corridor."
"How on earth did he do that? And where are you?"
"Just follow the sound of my voice. The corridors are free of obstructions."
While the three sets of shuffling footsteps made their way toward them Harry put his ear close to the hole. Cold air drilled into his brain, but he was sure he'd heard something beyond the whistling of the wind.
"Nio, is that you?"
"Sthei! It's you." The snake emerged from the hole and Harry felt relief cascade over his skin as the snake's tongue wisped against his fingers. He gathered up the little snake and tried to dust off the dirt that was coating his scales.
"Let me know before you disappear like that again. I was afraid for you."
"Ah. So sorry, Sthei. I didn't mean to scare you. I can feel your heart; it rumbles like the giant metal snakes under the earth," Little Friend said as he coiled around Harry's wrist.
"What did you find under there? Are the wix down there? Did they see you?" Harry held the little snake against his chest, trying to warm him.
"No, they were there, but their fetid smell fades. It has been nearly a sun since they were under this place. Their magic still pulses, though. It is contained in scattered pieces of bone and seeps through the holes they made."
"How many holes are there? We found two."
"What is your snake telling you?" Healer Jordan asked.
"That the wix left a day ago, but that the bones they left are sending null magic up here."
"What kinds of bones? He's sure that they are gone?" Auror Robards demanded, still shuffling across the corridor.
"Sthei. The magic… it is harming you. Your heart is struggling. You shouldn't stay here." Nio tightened his coils around Harry's wrist.
"What do you mean? I feel fine," Harry said, but noticed that his heart was fluttering, the muscles across his back ached, and that a headache was beginning to prickle at the base of his neck.
"What's he saying now?"
"He says that the null is affecting us more than we realize."
"Yes, that's true. I can feel the drain," Healer Jordan said.
"I feel fine," Septima said, brightly. "Though it is a bit chilly."
"Here—this cloak is remarkable. Let's see how many can fit under it. It is rather large." Figora had moved close to where Healer Jordan and Harry were crouched by the wall and draped the cloak over them. "Auror Robards, do you want to try?"
"No, thank you. I'm fine."
Harry pulled the cloak around him and felt Healer Jordan doing the same. As the two sides came together, his headache eased and he felt relief in his back as well. He took in a deep breath and realized that the cloak blocked the chill wind as well.
"Hmmm. I was affected more than I realized," Healer Jordan commented.
"Yeah, me, too." Harry agreed as he rubbed his hands together, feeling stinging warmth seep into them again.
"I wonder…" Healer Jordan said and then reached for something and said, "Harry close your eyes. Lumos."
Harry was glad for the warning as the light flashed across his closed eyelids. Figora gasped.
"Magic works under the cloak!"
"Indeed, it does. I think this means that we can travel down to the passage under the Center and find those bones that are creating the void. This cloak. Oi! It is brilliant."
"How did you come by this cloak?" Auror Robards asked as he crouched down by the huddled group.
"It was my father's," Harry said.
"Did he tell you where he got it from?"
"No," Harry said as Healer Jordan spoke over him.
"We can talk about the cloak another time, right now, let's decide how we're going to travel below the Center to end the nulling magic. We need to secure the Center before anything else happens."
"Apparating down seems dangerous since we don't know much about the space… but blasting the hole so that we can fit through it seems like it could alert anyone in that area about our arrival," Figora reasoned.
"Nio, can you describe the area to me? Would we all fit down there?" Harry whispered.
"It is big enough for you, Sthei, but the others are much too large… maybe the one who smells like the earth would fit, too. But even for her, it would be very tight, I think. As it is you will have to slither like a snake."
"Little Friend says that it is a very small space and that even I would have to crawl on my belly in the tunnel."
"How are we going to end the magic? How did they place the bones?" Healer Jordan speculated.
"I think you're assuming that they are oracle bones," Auror Robards said.
"Yes, I guess I am. We don't really know, do we?"
"It sounds like the only person who can fit down there is Harry… but he can't see anything… so even if he were able to get down there, he wouldn't be able to tell us what the bones look like."
"If he touches them to feel the symbols (assuming that there are runes carved into the bones), it could affect the magic. It could put him in danger," Healer Jordan agreed.
"Could we just seal the holes we've found and then try to go through the tunnels another way?" Septima suggested.
"Oh, that's a good idea. It does seem like the magic is seeping in through the holes. We might be able to seal the area and then travel through the other tunnels. Yes. I think that's the way to handle this," Healer Jordan agreed. "We can use magic to seal the holes with Harry's cloak covering us, I think."
Harry told Little Friend about the idea.
"Little Friend says that he's pretty sure he knows how the tunnels here are connected to the larger tunnel where the snakes live."
"There are more snakes?" Septima asked.
"How do we block the holes? What would work to keep the void out?"
"We've got to plug it with something impervious to magic…" Figora said.
"What? Like Kryptonite?" Harry asked.
"What's that?"
"Nevermind. It's a muggle thing. Not real."
"Oh, do you mean rocks from Superman's planet?" Septima said, laughing.
"Yeah."
"Superman?" Auror Robards asked.
"It has to be something that we can get here… we can't summon anything through the null zone. Though I guess if we had to, we could take the cloak, get something to stuff in the hole, and carrying it here under the cloak… but time is of the essence. Let's think if we can come up with something that would be magically resistant that we have here."
"Something like muggle electronics?" Harry asked.
"Yeah along those lines… do you have anything like that in your pile of things?"
"No, I don't think so. Nothing that we could stuff in a hole. Just muggle clothes."
"Hmmm. Though that might work. Wixen clothes usually are made with magic and conduct magic… they can be modified easily, but it is a lot harder to modify muggle clothing… it is kind of resistant to magic."
"But then how did the twins charm my shirt?"
"It was a muggle shirt?"
"Yeah. They made it say rude things to people…"
"Those boys hide their genius behind their pranks, don't they?" Healer Jordan laughed. "Let's get one of your muggle shirts from your pile… I'll replace it later."
Healer Jordan started to stand up, but Harry just pulled off the shirt he was wearing.
"Let's try this one. If it works, we can go get another one for the other hole." He shivered as the invisibility cloak opened as he moved, letting in a sliver of the arctic blast from the corridor. He wondered how Septima and Auror Robards were not getting frostbite from the cold.
Healer Jordan had the little group under the invisibility cloak move so that they were able to cover the hole with the cloak and then shoved Harry's shirt into the hole and then cast a sealing charm over it as extra protection.
"Harry, you and Little Friend use the cloak to go get another shirt… you should put another one on, while you're there. Make sure you get muggle shirts, and not the one that Fred and George modified. We'll meet you at the other hole."
"What about Figora?"
"I'll come with you, Harry."
"Good idea. You both stay under the cloak. Oi. It's cold out here. Septima and Robards… how are you faring?" Healer Jordan asked.
"I really don't feel the cold," Septima said. "Feels normal in here to me."
"I can feel it, certainly. But I've trained for these situations. I'm fine," Auror Robards contended.
Harry hoped that was actually true as he and Figora walked back to his pile of clothes and books. He didn't fancy dragging the wix through the corridor… he sounded like a big man. Carrying Dobby had been hard enough.
Harry led the way as Figora's attempt to light their path only worked underneath the cloak and didn't penetrate the null's darkness. Little Friend couldn't see through the invisibility cloak, though he did alert Harry when they were nearing the pile of his things since he could smell them.
Once at his pile, he pulled on the shirt the twins had transformed and then found another one to stuff in the hole… it was a threadbare shirt of Dudley's that he had worn for several years (it nearly fit him). He was glad for a chance to shove it down a hole. He also put on his jumper while he was there.
When they got back to the group huddled around the first hole, Healer Jordan forced Auror Robards to join them under the cloak. It wasn't really big enough for the three of them and Harry and Little Friend slipped out, though not before the large Auror stumbled into them, crushing Harry's toes under his gigantic foot. Harry swallowed a yelp.
Harry listened as the Auror hit the floor and from the grunts, it sounded as if he'd taken Figora out with him.
"Are they okay?" Harry asked.
"No idea," was Healer Jordan's reply. "Figora, Robards? Are you okay?"
"Gethimoffme!" Figora's voice was muffled.
Harry knelt on the ground, Septima was next to him and they pulled on the Auror's massive arms until Healer Jordan could pull Figora out from under him.
"Thanks!" Figora sighed.
"He's out cold." Healer Jordan informed them.
"Great. Just what we need," muttered a disgruntled Figora.
"Let's use the cloak to seal the hole with Harry's shirt and then we'll get him out of the null zone," Healer Jordan advised.
"I knew he wasn't fine," Septima said, tapping her foot impatiently. "How are we going to move him?"
"Under the cloak. We'll be able to levitate him, I think. Let's do this quickly before Figora starts to feel the effects of the null zone again."
"It's not as bad. The other hole being stoppered must be working," Figora said.
"Good."
Harry stood up and found the wall with his staff, the door jamb, and then the hole. Harry stuffed Dudley's shirt into the opening and Healer Jordan pulled a section of the cloak over it so that she could perform the charm to seal it.
"Okay," she said, dusting off her hands. "I'm going to try to levitate Robards. Figora, how are you doing?"
"Okay. It's getting better already. I can feel it."
"Can you perform magic?"
"No, I don't think so."
"Yeah, better not risk it."
"Let's see if we can get him off the cloak, and then drape it over him," Healer Jordan directed, grunting as she tried to shift him.
"Look who turned out to be the liability," Figora said under her breath, but within Harry's range of hearing. He stifled a snort as he helped the others free the cloak. He had transferred Little Friend to his neck and the snake was wrapped tightly around him, no doubt trying to get warm, but making Harry gag a little. He tucked his shirt into his pants and encouraged Nio to nest against his belly. Harry was glad that he'd put on his jumper, running his hand over the fuzzy texture as he helped Little Friend get settled. Nio made contented hisses as he warmed up. Harry giggled.
"What's so funny?" Septima asked.
"Oh, Little Friend is tickling me," Harry explained.
"Ew."
Harry frowned, but was soon distracted by the task of freeing the cloak from under the Auror's massive torso. Finally, by working together, they were able to get it out from under him and then lay it on top of his body.
"Harry, I think you're going to have to get under the cloak with him and levitate his body. The rest of us don't fit," Healer Jordan determined.
"Okay," Harry said and slipped under the cloak. He pulled his wand from his pocket and said, "Mobilicorpus" while crouching down so that the cloak covered both him and the Auror. He walked them down the corridor. The others held on to the Auror's feet and Harry used his broken staff to guide the group back to the magical area of the Center… the lights had come back on before they reached Harry's pile.
"It's working!" Septima exclaimed.
"Thank Morgana!" Healer Jordan breathed.
"Are the others going to be able to get out of their classrooms?" Harry asked.
"Once we give them the all-clear. We need to find out if the Ministry can get through to us now."
Auror Robards groaned.
"Harry, I think I can take over now… we're out of the null zone. You can take your cloak."
Healer Jordan said the incantation and Harry felt the Auror move out of his zone of control as Healer Jordan took over levitating him. Harry stood up and found the edge of his cloak… it felt like water in his hand. He pulled it off the Auror in a fluid movement and then shoved it into his pocket. He was starting to feel hot in his jumper, but he knew Little Friend was enjoying the extra warmth, so left it on.
"You did well," she commended.
"Thank you."
They trudged back to Healer Jordan's office, where Healer Jordan filled Besel in on what they had accomplished in the corridor. She lowered the moaning Auror onto a camp bed next to Dobby and muttered diagnostic spells.
Harry found a chair and sank into it, trying not to squirm as Little Friend's snores rumbled against his belly button.