Chapter 7 – Statues and Darkness
AN:
Oni: Blah blah blah blah I do not own Harry Potter or Ib or the first ten chapters blah blah blah blah blah I only own the small tidbits of details and new information to fit the path in the story that I am going to take blah de blah blah blah aaaaaaaaand done! On with the story!
They left the room and Harry looked to the paintings he had seen before fainting. They were very eerie.
They were of the vampire man. The first one was "normal". The next one showed the man starting to bleed from his eyes. The third and fourth portraits had blood trickling down his face, while a demented smile grew wider. However, the last portrait was just like the first one: "normal". "How odd..." Harry murmured. Garry and him turned and left the area, heading down a staircase.
The change in the atmosphere was immediate. The walls changed from gray to violet. As they walked down the hall, they heard a knocking sound from their left. Someone or something was knocking on a door. Hesitantly, they crept their way over to the door to investigate. The door was locked.
Harry looked at the door and noticed a peephole. Cautiously, he peered inside.
Nothing. Pitch black. He couldn't see a thing.
"There's nothing in there from what I can see," Harry told his companion.
Garry sighed in relief. "Thank goodness. Let's keep going then."
They continued walking down the hall, noting a lone light bulb above them.
They came to a larger area and saw what appeared to be a rope maze. There were a few headless statues in the maze. Fortunately, the statues were not moving. They decided to check it out.
When they ventured inside, a pole shot straight out of the ground behind them. They were trapped inside.
"T-The exit's locked?!" Garry exclaimed.
One of the statues came to life and roared. It charged forward, heading straight to them. Quickly, Garry grabbed Harry's hand and ran. They frantically ran to the paintings at the top of the room.
The first one read, "Red Button." Harry pushed it. The headless statue in red came to life and rushed forward. Immediately, they ran off, dodging both of the statues. They came to a bookcase. Garry pulled out a book and opened it. The title was "Diary". "It said that spirits dwell in objects into which people put their feelings. I've always thought that, if that's true, then the same must be true of artwork. So today, I shall immerse myself in work, so as to impact my spirit into my creations." 'Perhaps this is what Guertena did to make his art come to life,' Harry thought, reading the diary from next to Garry. 'Kind of reminds me of that diary of Voldemort's young self...'
Garry's face displayed disgust. "Is that really all it says...? You could have said something about the exit!"
Garry turned to him. "Let's get out of here, Harry!"
They ran forward to the painting above them, neither of them realizing that their hands were connected.
The painting was called, "Green Button." Looking around, they didn't see any statues in green. Garry pressed the button.
The headless statue in blue right next to Harry lashed out and clawed him in the shoulder. Garry quickly hurried Harry away.
"Are you okay?" Garry asked, concerned.
Harry pulled his hand out of Garry's grasp and rubbed his bleeding shoulder. "I'm fine. We'll just have to find a vase and heal my rose."
Garry nodded, but his eyes still shone with concern. "Let's get out of here, quickly then."
Garry held his hand once more as they went to the remaining painting. "Blue Button," it was called. They screwed their eyes closed as they both pushed the button. There was a clicking sound.
"The exit!" Garry yelled. They ran as quickly as they could and escaped the rope maze. A pole shot out from behind them, shutting the maze.
Now that they were out, Harry took notice to their connected hands. His cheeks went red, but he didn't pull his hand away. Honestly, it felt really nice to be holding hands with someone. He never held anyone's hand before, so it was a weird but reassuring felling. He turned away and emulated Garry's calm and collected behavior. They continued on.
At the end of the hall was a painting, "Milk Puzzle". It showed a completely white puzzle.
Garry stared at the painting, then turned to him and asked, "Harry, have you heard of milk puzzles?"
Harry shook his head. "No, I haven't."
Garry smiled as he explained, "Well, as the name implies, it's a puzzle where all the pieces are white like milk. Since there's no picture on them, they're much harder than regular puzzles."
Harry looked at the puzzle and could tell that Garry was right; they seemed to be much, much harder than regular puzzles. All the puzzle pieces looked exactly the same to each other.
Garry continued, "Very smart people can finish them in no time at all, but..." Garry paused. "To be honest, they're not exciting. Since they don't even make a picture in the end..."
Garry smile widened as he told him, "It feels much more worth it to do a puzzle of a picture you like."
Harry nodded. "Yeah... It would be boring and most likely frustrating to try and put together a milk puzzle."
The two of them continued down the hall and came to another painting.
The painting was called, "Fleeting Thoughts on a Moonlit Night." It was really pretty. It looked like pink cherry blossoms falling from a tree at night. Seeing nothing of worth, they left the area.
In the next room, there was a mirror. They carefully walked up to it and stared at their reflections. Thankfully, nothing creepy appeared this time.
The door at the end of the hall was locked. Garry noticed something and said, "What's the story with this panel here...? Can we put something in?" Garry thought for a moment then continued, "... I'm not getting any ideas. Let's look around some more." There was another door near them, so Harry reached out and turned the knob. It was unlocked.
When they entered, they were met with a headless statue. It didn't move though.
"Well, after you then." Garry said with a small smirk.
"Huh?" Harry asked confused. What was Garry getting at?
"You said that you couldn't move the statues so let's see if you really can't." Garry responded, grinning.
Harry looked at the elder teen in shock. "You really remember that? I can NOT move THAT!"
Garry chuckled. "That's what we're testing."
Harry sighed. "... You've been looking forward to this, haven't you?"
Garry laughed, "Yep." He grinned. "Go on then."
Harry walked forward and stretched. "Fine. I'll attempt to move this million ton statue..." He went up to it and pushed. The statue didn't even budge. Garry put his hand over his mouth to hide his laughter as he watched Harry trying to move the statue.
Harry tried shoving the statue, pulling the statue, yanking the statue, he even tried to kick the statue, but nothing worked. The statue would just not move.
At this time, Garry gave up trying to hide his laughter. "Shut up, Garry. YOU try to move it." Harry growled.
Garry, still chuckling, went up to the statue. He stepped to the side of it and began to push, "Hrrr..." He heaved and it moved. Garry wiped some sweat from his forehead. "Whew. Now that's how you do it, Harry. You must be kinder to the statues, or else they won't move."
Harry rolled his eyes. "And how was I not being kind enough to the statues, Oh Wise One?" Harry said, sarcasm practically dripping off of him.
Garry chuckled, a grin on his face. "You must ask the statue for forgiveness..."
Harry laughed. "Yes, of course. Thank you, Oh Wise One." He went over to the statue and kneeled, grabbing one of its unmoving hands. "Oh please, forgive me... I have been a naughty child. I beg for your forgiveness..." He begged the statue dramatically. He then got up and turned to Garry. They stared at each other. Suddenly, in unison, they both doubled over, their laughter echoing around them.
"... That... was... perfect!" Garry exclaimed, gasping for breath.
"...I... know... that's... why I... did it..." Harry responded, gasping for breath as well.
Still snickering a little, they both looked around the room. The statue was out-of-the-way of the door.
The same door they had heard the knocking from. There was nothing in the room that could have done it, however. The only thing they could do was investigate a cord casually hanging from the ceiling.
They went up to the cord and Harry pulled it. Nothing happened from what they could tell, so they left through the exit. Back where they were before, underneath the lone light bulb was a message written in violet paint. It read, "What is the title of the large floor painting in Guertena's exhibition?"
Garry scratched his head and said, "Gah... Could it be a password? The big fish painting, right? Did you see it, Harry?" Harry nodded. Garry went into deep thought. "But what was it... I think it was... Something of the deep...? It was just one word..."
Garry turned to him. "Harry, can you remember it? Of the deep... what of the deep...?" Harry thought back and tried to remember the fish painting.
"... Of the deep... Something of the deep... Abyss of the deep... Abyss! The title was 'Abyss of the Deep'!" Harry exclaimed.
Garry grinned. "Yes, that was it, Harry! 'Abyss of the Deep'! … Did you read the title?"
"I did more than that, I remembered it." Harry replied, grinning happily.
Garry chuckled, rolling his eyes. "Okay, let's remember that." Garry reiterated one more time, "Abyss of the Deep'!" With that, they hurried back to the locked door.
Investigating the panel at the door, Garry said, "... Ah! This must be what the password was for! Let's try it... 'Abyss of the Deep'..." There was a click, and the door was unlocked. They glanced at each other and went through.
Inside the room were a few bookshelves and a single large painting. The bookshelf on the far left had a book with some words Harry didn't know. He pulled out the book and tried reading it, "?" "? by the ?, I ? my finger over her beautiful ?... With her ? She..." Garry took the book from him and inspected it.
Whatever Garry read caused his cheeks to go a bright red as he slammed the book shut and quickly put it back on the bookshelf.
"What was the book talking about?" Harry asked, confused. "Do you know what the book was about?"
Cheeks still bright red, Garry told him, "... You shouldn't read that kind of stuff until you get older." Harry sighed, but nodded. He guessed it was a thing for adults or something.
The bookshelf on the right side of the room had a book sticking out. Harry pulled it out and read, "The women here... Like playing 'Loves me, Loves me not.'" Harry thought back to the lady plucking the petals off Garry's rose, one by one, muttering...
Harry shook his head to clear his thoughts. He didn't want to think of that. It was a scary thought. He walked with Garry over to the painting, "Separation". The painting looked bloody and dark. Harry felt a feeling of fear in his gut. 'What if I got separated from Garry,' he thought. 'Then I'd be all alone...'
Garry stared at the painting and remarked, "What an off-putting painting..."
The lights suddenly went out. The room fell into a kind of darkness that swallowed them whole.
"Wh-What?! The lights?!" Garry yelled. "It's too dark to see...! H-Harry! Are you there?!"
Harry felt like he couldn't breathe. He felt as if the darkness was choking him, strangling the very last breath out of him. With all of the spirit and courage he had, he yelled out, "I-I'm here!"
Harry heard a sigh of relief. "That's good to hear... Stay right there, all right?" He wasn't moving anywhere. He felt way too scared to move at all.
"But, this is a problem..." thought Garry aloud. As if a light flashed in his mind, Garry said, "Ah, that's right. I forgot I had a lighter." A clicking noise was heard, but Harry saw no light. Harry only heard a moan, a soft scream. Then the lights were back on.
What Harry saw next made his eyes widen and his heart beat intermittently. There was writing all over the walls, graffitied in different colors. Looking around slowly, Harry saw that they read, "HELP NO DON'T KILL ME STOP DON'T" The title of the painting had also changed to "S T O P".
"... Huh?" said Garry as he pocketed his lighter. He looked over and saw Harry. Walking over, he looked around the room. "Wh... What is THIS...?!" Garry walked forward a few steps. "... I don't think this is... good for my mental health..." Harry walked over and patted the elder's shoulder. Garry looked to him and smiled softly.
"Thank you, Harry."
"No problem. I'm doing as I said I would; watching after you."
Garry chuckled and grabbed his hand. "Let's get out of this room or else I'll go insane."
When they left, there was a notice on the wall painted in neat red letters. It read, "A notice to all visitors. There is a strict ban on fire-starting implements in the gallery. We request that you report the use of any matches, lighters, or the like. Should the use of such implements be reported to the staff," It appeared that the rest of the notice went down to the other rooms, but it abruptly ended like that.
"... That's a little... creepy..." Garry said hesitantly.
"Yeah... We should get going..."
They quickly walked back to the milk puzzle area, still hand in hand, when they noticed a pair of footsteps. Red footsteps. They led to a hidden passageway that they hadn't seen before. Anxiously, they followed the footsteps in.
AN: A little omake for laughter to all you pretties reading this story
Inside the room were a few bookshelves and a single large painting. The bookshelf on the far left had a book with some words Harry didn't know. He pulled out the book and tried reading it, "?" "? by the ?, I ? my finger over her beautiful ?... With her ? She..." Garry took the book from him and inspected it.
Whatever Garry read caused his cheeks to go a bright red as he slammed the book shut and quickly put it back on the bookshelf.
"What was the book talking about?" Harry asked, confused. "Do you know what the book was about?"
Cheeks still bright red, Garry told him, "... You shouldn't read that kind of stuff until you get older." Harry sighed, but nodded. He guessed it was a thing for adults or something.
When Harry turned around, Garry spun on his heels and grabbed the book. Fishing his lighter from his pocket he proceeded to ignite the offending erotica novel. He then dropped the burning book behind the shelf, Harry none the wiser.
Turning to Harry, Garry's only thought was 'What kind of sick pervert was Guertena to put a porn novel in his own art gallery?'
Within the walls of the Gallery, Guertena paled. He just KNEW that damn 'best friend' of his would leave pornography somewhere in his gallery.
Weiss carded a hand through his purple hair, sapphire eyes glowing with embarrassment.
"Great, now he thinks I'm a PERVERT. "
He then floats further into the walls, muttering. If one listened close enough, they would be able to hear "Dammit Prince!"