Chapter 14 – The Plot Unveiled

The first thing Helga noticed was the steady falling of a trickle of water against unyielding stone. She thought she was dreaming, to begin with, for when she opened her eyes she saw nothing but darkness. But after a few minutes, her eyesight began to adjust to the blackness and she could make out indistinct shapes in the darkness. She could feel the loose and tattered rags she wore hanging from her skin providing very little warmth. She began to shuffle around the room searching for a doorway or opening of any kind.

"Godric? Rowena?" She whispered becoming more frightened by the second as her search yielded nothing more than a well-sealed wooden door. "Are you guys there?"

Helga began to panic. There seemed no escape from the prison she was now sure she was in, completely alone. Tears slowly worked their lonely trek down her cold face as she huddled up in the corner, her terror building with each passing minute. The only thing worse than the darkness and loneliness was the deafening silence.

As Helga hugged her legs and began to cry with the hopelessness of it all there came a small sound from the wall to her right. She sniffed back the tears for a minute listening intently for any noise. It came again. And again. A very distinct scratching coming from inside the wall.

"Godric?" She hoped as she moved toward the sound.

The scratching got louder as she approached the wall until a small head popped out of a tiny crack she hadn't noticed earlier. Helga screamed and jumped back from the creature. The small animal ignored her scream and wiggled its way out of its hole and into her cell. It looked at Helga with unveiled interest, cocking its head to the side as though unsure of what she was.

It approached her slowly, more curious than anything. And Helga shared its curiosity. She had never seen a creature like this one before. It was about the size of a small dog and had black fur that blended with the background, but there were soft plumes of white fur across its body. It approached her unafraid and Helga reached out her hand to the little animal.

"Hello there." She sniffed as the animal sniffed her fingers and allowed her to run her hands through its fur.

The creature was very warm and incredibly friendly. It kept approaching Helga until it was snuggled nicely against her leg. Helga could feel the hopelessness leaving her as the animal curled up on her lap relishing in the warmth of her body, as cold as she felt.

But the little creature couldn't slay her fear entirely and she snuggled up to it in the corner silently hoping that someone would come to help her soon as a horrific pain shot through her entire body.

ϟ

Rowena woke up shivering and cold. Her ragged clothes were wet and horrible as she picked herself up off the floor. Complete darkness surrounded her and the silence that met her ears was impenetrable. Fear clutched at her as easily as the damp rags hanging from her frozen figure. She could hear the beating of her own heart, racing so fast you could almost dance to the beat. She couldn't see a foot in front of her face and slowly extended her arms out from her sides hoping that there was a wall nearby. Her numb fingers rasped against the cold rough surface of a stone wall and she backed against it hoping to find a way out of this nightmare.

"Godric? Helga? Are you guys in here? Is anybody in here?" She half begged to the silence.

Suddenly there was a shockingly loud scraping from across the room and Rowena focused on the noise. As the noise vanished it was replaced by a squeaking and light flooded the room hurting Rowena more than any whip could have at that moment. Her eyes ached as she tried to see what was causing the light. She stood shivering against the wall vainly trying to see as two pairs of hands roughly grabbed her arms and dragged her from the room.

"NO!" She screamed as she kicked out still blinded. "Let me go. Please!" She begged.

Her feet became raw from being scraped over the stone floor, her arms felt like they were being torn from her body and her eyes still burned from the light as they adjusted. As she became accustomed to the light she stopped fighting and concentrated on the hallways she was being dragged through. The stones were a deep black colour and there were no drapings or decorations of any kind on the walls only the occasional alcove on both sides. There was an occasional porthole type window high up the wall where no one could reach them and there was no glass in the windows allowing the weather to come straight in, explaining the cold and the water.

The guards sharply turned a corner and threw Rowena into an open doorway slamming the door behind her. She slowly lifted herself up and looked around the office she was now in. She could see remnants of gold and red tapestries on the walls, long since covered up with silver and black and green ones. The walls were lined with pictures of people in extreme agony and many showed muggles being tortured by wizards.

As she turned she found herself confronted by a very tall man staring at her. Rowena recognised him instantly. It was Thomas. And up close like this he looked positively evil. He was eying her hungrily taking in her terror as though it was food to him. He walked towards her and she backed away tripping on a raised piece of stone. Thomas lifted her by the arms which caused Rowena to moan in pain and threw her sharply into the seat in front of his desk securing her magically.

"Well well well. I got very lucky here didn't I?" Thomas says as he sits opposite her and pulls a small wand from his pocket and rests it on the table. "The king's daughter no less. What fun I can have with you."

Thomas began to chuckle to himself as Rowena struggled vainly to get loose of her bonds, scanning the room again for any way to escape.

"Now now. You better relax. You're going to need your strength." Thomas chortled.

"For what?" Rowena spat at him.

"For this." He replied plainly as he pointed his wand at Rowena and a piercing scream left her lips as he tortured her.

ϟ

Godric was jolted awake, his every muscle screaming with pain as he writhed on the floor. The pain stopped as suddenly as it had begun and Godric took deep breaths trying to steady his heart. His chest felt like someone was driving a red-hot poker through it and the rest of his body didn't feel much better. He propped himself up against the wall and looked around trying to find something useful.

Darkness was all that met Godric's eyes. His heart was beating madly as he picked himself up off the ground. He collapsed again immediately, his insides were churning uncontrollably and he felt as though he was going to throw up. It was like the feeling of taking a portkey but a million times worse, with white-hot needles piercing his body all over. And the effect didn't seem to be wearing off. Suddenly he stopped moving altogether as he remembered the last thing he recalled doing, and who'd been with him.

"Rowena?" He whispered softly; fear now working its way into his already churning insides, "Helga? Are you guys there?"

He willed his eyes to adjust so he could see where he was, hoping that his friends were both asleep on the floor in front of him. But as his eyes adjusted his hope was sucked out of him. He was utterly alone and there didn't seem to be any way out. He tried to stand again, using the stone blocks of the wall like a ladder pulling himself up. His body stilled ached but he ignored it as he wandered around the walls taking in his cell.

He saw the door opposite him and went to make for it just as another wave of pain leapt across his body. He collapsed again his hitting his head hard on the floor. Godric tried to fight the pain off but was too weak from the first attack to do anything. Again the pain stopped again of its own accord and he tried to lift himself up again.

He could feel something warm running down his cheek and he felt his head. There was blood trickling from a wound where his head had impacted the floor. Godric ignored it thinking it wasn't serious enough to worry about. He lifted himself to his feet and started walking slowly to the door. He beat on the door and started yelling.

"HEY! Anybody out there? Let me out of here now!" He demanded as he pounded on the door again and again as though he were trying to break it open with his bare hands.

After several minutes he gave up and slid down the door begging that nothing had happened to his friends, that he wasn't too late to help them.

"Godric?" Came a soft voice from off to his right.

"Hello?" He asked to the darkness searching again hoping maybe he had missed someone lying in a corner or something. "Who is there?"

"It's me Godric, Helga."

Godric's heart started racing as he felt his way around the wall until he found a small hole in the stonework. He couldn't see any light through it but could feel a slight breeze coming through the crack.

"Are you ok Helga? Where is Rowena?" He asked hoping that he would hear her sweet voice coming through the hole.

"I don't know where she is. I haven't seen anyone but Albert since I woke up in here."

"Who is Albert?" Godric asked his curiosity winning out over urgency.

"A furry little guy stuck in here with me."

Godric laughed in spite of himself. Trust Helga to find a new friend in the midst of danger. Suddenly the pain tore through Godric's body again, but he could hear Helga screaming in the next room as well. Godric focused as hard as he could, searching for the source of their agony which stopped as suddenly as before. The lingering pain swept through his body like hot knives.

"Helga are you ok?" He asked the hole.

"I, I think so." She replied. "But Albert just ran off."

"We can find him again later. Right now we have to get out of here."

"But how? The door is sealed shut. Light can't even get in past it."

"Give me a minute and I'll think of something."

Godric felt his heart pounding in his ears as he scanned his room, again and again, searching for anything he could use. Once more the pain shot through him sending him to the floor again writhing in agony.

"STOP!" He screamed as loud as his burning lungs would let him and suddenly the pain went away as another pain tore through him. A brilliant light was tearing at his eyes even through his eyelids. He rolled away from the light until he hit the wall and slowly tried to focus his eyes in the intense light. When his eyes adjusted he saw that his door had been broken off its hinges and knocked out the guard in front of it.

"Helga, you still there?" He asked.

"Yeah. What happened then? I can see some light coming through the crack."

"My door is open. I'm gonna go grab the guards keys and let you out. Cover your eyes, this is gonna hurt."

"Ok" Came the reply as Godric crept over to the door and glanced out. His eyes still burned painfully in the bright sunlight flooding the corridor. He looked both ways down the hall and stepped out over the guard searching for the keys to the cells. He found them and a small dagger which he pocketed and quickly set about opening Helga's door. Helga recoiled from the light as he swung her door inwards and rushed over to her.

"You ok?" He asked as he helped her off the floor.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She said shielding her eyes from the light as Godric guided her out to the hall. "Let's go get Rowena and get out of this place."

Godric noticed that the other cells were already open.

"I don't think she is here. Maybe they..." He couldn't bring himself to vocalise the thought that popped into his head, as though refusing to say it would stop it being true.

"Don't worry she'll be fine," Helga reassured him. "She's even more stubborn than you remember."

They both laughed as they helped one another down the hallway, Godric wielding the dagger in front of them in case someone tried to stop them. The corridor continued for ages slowly angling up as it wound to the left. They both heard footsteps approaching and ducked into a small alcove hoping that it would be deep enough to hide them. Suddenly a tall figure marched past them totally ignoring the alcoves. Helga grabbed Godric's arm as he tried to go after his uncle.

"No Godric, please." She whispered pulling him back. "I need your help to find Rowena. We can get Thomas later."

Godric opened his mouth to argue but Helga just pulled him out of the alcove and headed in the opposite direction to the dungeon. As they reached the end of the hallway they heard someone crying in the room just ahead and they quickly rushed inside closing the door. Godric jammed the dagger into the gap wedging it shut as he scanned the room.

"Who's there?" Rowena asked from her chair, unable to see the door.

"Oh my god, Rowena." Godric rushed to her side and tried to tear the bonds off her arms.

Helga moved around the desk and looked at Rowena while looking over the desk for something they could use to escape.

"I thought I'd lost you," Godric said as he struggled against the ropes. "Are you ok?"

"No. I can't move. Thomas tortured me Godric. He never even asked me a question, he just tortured me. For the fun of it." She said as she passed out.

The bonds on her chair suddenly released spilling her into Godric's arms. He pulled her close against his chest.

"Godric," Helga called getting his attention. "Look what I found."

She held up their wands and a small silver pouch.

"What is that?" He asked, lifting Rowena into his arms and walking over to Helga.

"Floo Powder."

"Quick. To Diagon Alley. They won't expect us to go there." Godric said as he took his wand from Helga. "You go first and I'll pass Rowena through to you. Be careful."

Helga nodded before throwing her powder into the fire. "Diagon Alley." She said and vanished in a bright green flash.

Godric waited a minute before throwing some more powder into the fire. "Diagon Alley." He said before he kissed Rowena on the forehead and pushed her gently into the flames.

He dropped the bag as a loud bang came from the door. He looked back to see shadows moving on the other side of the door. He picked the bag up again and threw the whole thing into the fire whispering "Diagon Alley," into the flames just as the door flew open, flicking the dagger across the room where it wedged into the stones above the fireplace.

Godric glared at his uncle for a moment that seemed to stretch on forever as a silent duel of wills passed between them before Godric stepped into the flames. The last thing he saw is the hatred in his uncle's eyes as he rushed across the room to chase him.

ϟ

Godric landed heavily on the ground and rolled away from the fireplace pointing his wand at the hearth waiting for Thomas to come through. Helga rushed over and pulled him to his feet and dragged him towards the doorway.

"Come on Godric, we have to get going." She pulled him outside where he realised they were in Ollivanders.

"You ok?" He asked as he picked Rowena up again and quickly trotted off after Helga.

"Yeah, I'm fine. But Rowena needs help and soon. Quick down here." She said as they ran through a bunch of alleyways getting further and further from Ollivanders.

She led him just down a small alleyway with several buildings jutting out into it unevenly. Godric collapsed behind a building and just held Rowena tightly against himself and began crying.

"I'm so sorry Rowena. This is entirely my fault. I couldn't protect you like I promised I would. I failed you."

Helga came up behind him and held both of them. "You did Godric. You saved all of us. And in the morning we will find a way to get home." Helga reassured him as he shook with violent sobs.