Chapter Eighteen

The next morning they packed up the last of the items they would be leaving behind then Luna climbed into the branches of a nearby yew tree to leave the packs under the protection of the bow truckles.

As she was climbing down she glanced over her shoulder and said, "Draco? It would seem that we have company."

Draco turned with a start. By the entrance to the cave stood a massive creature with beady eyes, oversized hairy ears and a bulbous nose. It's leathery hide was a dull reddish gray and it measured a little over seven feet tall. It was quite muscular but at the same time had a rather pronounced pot belly.

Draco groaned to himself. It was a troll. Of course it was.

To his further dismay, Luna was now purposefully making her way towards the creature. Draco grabbed her arm and whispered, "Tread carefully. Remember, trolls are incredibly strong but immensely stupid."

"We also have superb hearing," the troll snorted. "By the way - the stupidity comment is really offensive. And you lot wonder why we keep on looting and pillaging?"

Draco stood in stunned silence as Luna stepped forward and curtseyed. "Our deepest apologies, sir. The only trolls we have experience with are significantly less well spoken."

"And the humans I usually deal with are significantly less pale and tend to show a bit more respect. Still no excuse to paint an entire species with the same brush. I'll have you know there are a wide variety of trolls and each culture is unique, thank you very much."

"We can see that. May I ask which tribe you belong to?" Luna asked as Draco marveled at how she was carrying on the conversation in the same casual tone she would use if chatting with a friend at the market.

"I don't have a tribe, per se. My family is utterly unique. Only fifteen of us. Mother was half troll and Father was half giant. Bit of a scandal really. Inherited this job from me Mother's side. First one in three generations to actually get summoned for duty."

The troll cracked it's oversized knuckles and flexed his thick neck. "Must say, I'm kind of excited about it. Don't get to do much of this sort of thing anymore. New blood and all. You can only ransack the same villages so many times without getting a bit bored, really."

"I would imagine so," said Luna. "Please forgive me if this is a silly question, but what exactly is the procedure here? For gaining entrance to the cave, I mean."

"Not silly at all, dearie. The first step would be for you to tell your boyfriend to put his wand away. It's a bit rude to brandish it around and besides, it won't do him any good. If he kills me or renders me unconscious you're spot out of luck. You see, only I can open the entrance."

Luna gestured to Draco to put away his wand and he reluctantly complied. "All right. So this isn't a test of strength or courage then?"

"Oh no, you'll need plenty of that later. At least that's what I've heard. Never been inside myself. Value my lovely hide too much for that."

"Then how do we convince you to grant us access?" asked Luna.

"Couldn't be simpler," the troll said. "You pay the price."

Something about the way the troll said that made Draco very uneasy. "And what, pray tell, is the price?"

"Something irreplaceable," said the troll.

"What does that mean?" asked Draco.

"And you thought I was stupid?" scoffed the troll. "Irreplaceable means something that is impossible to replace if lost or..."

"I know what the word means," snapped Draco. "I meant what does it mean to you in the context of getting into the cave."

"It means just what it means, boy," snarled the troll.

"Draco wasn't trying to be rude, Mr. Troll," interjected Luna, giving Draco a warning glance. "We just want to make sure that we don't offend you by offering you something less than what you deserve."

This seemed to pacify the troll to some extent. "Then he should have said that."

"Perhaps if you gave us an example, it would help us to better understand the requirement?" said Luna.

"It's not all that complicated," said the troll. "The original creators of the cave engaged my ancestors as guardians of the entrance. Part of the contract included an enchantment on every member of the line. What we now crave most in the world are the memories attached to certain items. We actually feed on them. The rarer the item - the more singular the recollections - the tastier they become. You hand over the most precious material object you have and I let you inside. Easy as that."

"Got it. Precious material object," said Draco, handing over his new wand. "Take this."

The troll barely glanced at him. "Worthless. Brand new. Barely a handful of memories attached. Besides, you have another. And don't waste your time going for that one either. Magic folk lose and replace wands all the time. Nothing special about that. Try again."

Draco eyed him warily then removed his Malfoy signet ring. "Fine. Here. Solid silver. Genuine diamonds and emeralds."

The troll bent down and inspected it briefly before shaking it's head. "No. It may have monetary value but it doesn't matter to you." It's nose twitched slightly. "And some of the memories that are attached are a bit...sour."

Luna stepped forward and before Draco could stop her she offered the troll her wedding ring. "What about this?"

"Better...," said the troll. He weighed it carefully in his scaly hand then handed it back to her. "But still not enough. I smell something more valuable on you."

The troll hunched over and tried to shove his slimy nose against Luna's neck. Draco snatched her away, placing himself between her and the creature as he growled, "Back off."

The troll looked almost amused by this. "You think you can hurt me, boy?"

Draco glared, refusing to back down. "Maybe. Maybe not. But if you can bleed, then I can damn sure try."

Luna moved from behind him and said, "Stop, Draco. I know what he wants now."

She removed the locket from around her neck and handed it over as Draco protested, "Luna, no. It's all you have left of your Mum."

"Exactly. That's why he wants it."

"Fine. Give him the locket but at least keep the picture. I'll go..."

Luna gave him a sharp look and said, "Don't even think about finishing that sentence, Draco Malfoy. We settled this the other night, remember? We finish the way we started - together."

She turned back to the troll. "So - what do you say?"

The troll took the locket and inhaled deeply. "Now, that's more like it. Definitely worth an entrance."

"Two," said Luna firmly.

This seemed to surprise the troll "Excuse me?"

"Open it up," Luna said.

The troll's thick fingers fumbled with the clasp until it finally opened. He licked his lips greedily and a tiny spittle of drool dripped off its chin.

"Mmmmm...very tasty."

Luna nodded. "The locket itself is the only thing I have left from my mother's family. The photo inside is the only one I have of my mother. Two irreplaceable objects. Two entrances."

Draco hated how helpless he felt at that moment. "Luna, are you sure?"

"I know what she looks like, Draco. He can take the locket and the picture but he can't take my memories of her."

Draco reached for her hand. "I will find some way to make this up to you. I swear it."

Luna looked into his eyes and said, "Stay alive. That will be more than enough compensation for me."

The troll cleared his throat and tapped his large, hairy foot. "This is all very touching but can we move things along? My family and I have an entire village to ransack before lunch and I'm already feeling peckish."

"Both of us?" challenged Luna.

"Fine. Both of you." The troll rolled its tiny, red rimmed eyes. "Not enough meat on either of you to make a proper meal anyway."

The beast turned and placed its enormous hands shoulder width apart on the rock face and gave a mighty shove. There was a tremendous creaking sound as an opening just large enough for a person to fit through slowly appeared before them.

The troll strained against the weight and grunted, "Well. Go on! We don't issue engraved invitations around here."

Draco and Luna hastily grabbed their packs and hurried through the mouth of the cave. They had no sooner made it inside when they heard a deafening crack and they were plunged into total darkness.