Chapter 17 - The Toy Box and For Once Mary Is Confused
AN:
Oni: Hello everyone! Welcome to another chapter!
Harry: That was...really fast...
Garry: Are you on drugs, Oni? This is the fastest you've updated.
Oni: Okay, okay I get it, I get it!
Harry: Anyways, at last we get to the end of our suffering in this Gallery...
Oni: Not so fast!
Garry: What? It's over! We're almost out!
Oni: Heheheh. Right. Well, anyways, the disclaimer.
Garry: Ahem. Oni does not own Ib nor Harry Potter nor most of the first ten chapters. The direction the story is going to take, my backstory, and OCs are hers.
Oni: ONWARDS!
EDIT: I FORGOT THE OMAKE IM SORRY HERE IT IS!
CONTINUE!
Harry and Garry trudged back to the blue ticking building. In the smaller boy's hands was a small scrap of paper with a roughly drawn map that vaguely took the shape of a two by two square, the intersections each having a symbol next to it.
"That was..." Harry started.
"Vexatious?" Garry offered, groaning.
"...what?"
"Vexatious, annoying, bothersome, vexing." Was the curt, tired reply.
"Yes, exactly."
"I think that when we get out of here, I am going to just crash into my bed and sleep for a couple thousand years."
Harry chuckled at that. At least Garry had his sense of humor back, considering their Symbol Scavenger Hunt. After realizing that the symbols were actual drawings scattered in the Sketchbook, they had managed to find a notepad in Garry's pocket and a crayon from the first house they went into. They drew the map of the Sketchbook and started hunting, noting down which one was which.
"Well, at least the pond was fun." Harry offered.
Garry, trying to make out one symbol in the water, accidentally fell into the crayon pond, so he was still slightly disgruntled as he brushed off a few more light blue crayon water droplets. Harry, on the other hand, had laughed until his sides hurt, rolling on the ground before Garry had managed to throw him in as well. However, the smaller teen just laughed harder as he grabbed his bucket and threw even more water on top of the shape shifting teen. This ended up with Harry being chased by an unamused Garry, cackling all the while.
Now they were faced with the buttons on the ground, and Harry gave the scrap of paper to Garry, who began to match the symbols to the order they needed to be pressed (curtesy of the annoying spiral map on the wall). Harry began in the center of the square, where there was an empty space, and Garry started to direct the younger child on what button to press next.
After several seconds, Harry pressed the eighth button and a small golden key appeared in the empty space in the middle of the square.
"Yeah, it's official. All this for a key? Voldemort would have given up looking for the Stone."
"Well, Guertena said that Voldemort was a poor excuse for a Dark Lord anyway, so I wouldn't be surprised..." Garry mused.
"Was Guertena a Dark Lord then?" Harry asked, his head tilted curiously to one side as he picked up the small key.
"Apparently, and I'm supposed to be his...Horror-crux? And now his consciousness lives inside my head. I called him my Inner Psychopath."
"Wow," Harry whistled, "and I thought I had problems."
"Well, unfortunately, you do. Guertena called you a Childe of Riddle, like I am a Childe of Guertena."
"Are you saying that I'm also this...Horror-crux?" Harry gasped incredulously.
"That's what he said, but I'll ask my father for some more details. If there's anyone who's an expert on dark magic, it'll be him."
"Hey, does that mean your father was a Death Eater?"
"A what?"
"A Death Eater. A follower of Voldemort. Most of the time Slytherins who knew about dark magic turn out to be Death Eaters."
"Perhaps, but I've never pried into what he was when he was younger, he's rather secretive about it..."
Without knowing, they had reached the other white house in the Sketchbook, the one with the yellow heart on the double doors. Without hesitation, Harry used the key and grinned as the lock clicked open with ease.
"Harry... I think the Gallery is starting to get to you..." Garry stated, sighing.
"How do you suppose that?" asked the younger boy, still grinning.
"Because you are starting to grin like my brother..." The cackle that came out of Harry's mouth seemed to only prove the metamorphmagus right.
They walked into the house, and noted that it was empty, sans the large box that stood in the way of some steps that lead somewhere upwards. Both boys went to the light blue box, which had a placard on it that read "Toy Box".
"This is the toy box...?" Garry muttered aloud, surprised, "It's rather big."
"Looks about the size of my school trunk.." Harry said wryly, causing Garry to smirk.
"Well, that's Magical Britain for you, never understanding the joys of backpacks and roller cases..." he chuckled, before turning serious again, "But at any rate..." he said as they peered into the black abyss of the toy box, "It said there was a key in there...I can't say I see the bottom. Is there really a key in there, I wonder...?"
Harry and Garry suddenly felt a presence appear behind them, and a familiar voice rang out.
"Wanna see?"
Then they felt a firm shove and both of the boys lost their balance as Mary pushed them into the toy box, giggling.
"Huh...?!" Was all Garry could say as they fell far into the depths of the toy box.
The first thing on Harry's mind as he gained consciousness was that the music box was playing again. The second was that he was alone in a room that seemed to have no end with crayon drawings on the floor. The third was that there were headless mannequins, mannequin heads, and strange blue dolls with different colored dresses scattered around. He checked his pocket for his white rose, only to find it missing. It must have fallen out during his tumble into the toy box.
"...!"
Walking around, Harry decided that if it was Mary who pushed them, then he had nothing to worry about. She always did have odd habits... Which is why he took his time looking at the drawings on the ground as he looked for his friends. He managed to find a broken down toy train, who apparently had an accident if the bloody crayon drawing in front of it had anything to say about it. However the most interesting drawing was the drawing of footsteps in pink crayon, which turned into paw prints. At the end of the prints was the drawing of a pink cat, who had a blue wrapped candy in its paws. Immediately Professor McGonagall and his first Transfiguration lesson came to mind, Harry filed that away to ask Garry later. After all, wouldn't it be cool to transform into an animal?
After a while of walking, the emerald eyed boy was able to locate his purple haired friend, who was lying face down on the floor. He suddenly felt a sense of deja vu at this, thinking back to the first time he met Garry. This time, however, Garry wasn't in immediate danger. Harry kneeled down next to his fallen comrade, and lightly shook his shoulders.
"Oof..." Garry groaned, "Oww... ugh. I hit my head..." The grimace he made almost made Harry chuckle.
Garry stretched out, reminding Harry a little of a sleepy dog, and got up to his feet. Turning to the smaller boy, Garry's face held worry.
"Harry... Are you okay?" He was greeted with a smile, which made Garry feel a little better.
"I'm fine." Harry replied with a smile, which made the older teen brighten with relief.
"Ah! That's good..." To this Garry sighed, "At any rate..." He looked at his surroundings, "This place is full of scribbles... Is this the toy box?"
"I think so.."
"We fell from the upper floor..." Garry mused, "...after she pushed us..." 'I'm going to have to teach that girl manners,' thought the Black heir to himself, "...Well, let's look for the key and get out!" he said resolutely.
Harry tried to nod, but he didn't feel so great. Garry noticed this and looked at his friend with worry.
"...You look kind of pale. Are you really okay...?"
"I've been worse... but I think it's because my rose is gone..."
"What? You lost your rose?!" Garry blanched, "That's not good at all!" His face then became determined, "You had it before, so it must be in the toy box somewhere!" He then gave a heroic pose, "Let's find it!"
Harry couldn't take it anymore, the older boy's dramatics were just too much. The child fell to the floor, rolling from side to side. At first, Garry was horrified, until he heard the spouts of laughter. The older teen's face grew flushed in embarrassment, and he put his face in his hands. Harry was still cackling on the ground, holding his sides in.
"Garry..." he wheezed, "your friends must have painful sides being around you..."
To this, Garry huffed mock imperiously, looking away from the giggling boy on the floor.
"I'll have you know that my friends are usually more dramatic than I am! You should see my brother one day. He's the real drama queen!"
This only made Harry laugh harder as he pictured another Garry wearing clothes from a Shakespeare play, holding a skull and reciting Hamlet.
"You're not...you're not making this any better..." gasped Harry from the floor, rolling around with tears of laughter in his eyes.
Garry just groaned.
"Right, Harry... We still have to find your rose… and the pink key..."
This made Harry sober up, and he eventually was able to pick himself up from the ground, still trying to catch his breath after laughing so hard. After a while he found his breath and they walked down the toy box, following the train tracks until Harry spotted something that glimmered from the ground near Garry's feet. Garry followed Harry's game and picked up the small object. It was a little pink key and both of them silently celebrated their small victory.
"Ooh? What's this? A present for me?"
The familiar voice of Mary rang out in the toy box. Garry and Harry sharply snapped their heads in the direction of her voice, and finding the girl talking to a blue skinned doll in a pink dress. Mary's voice was filled with childish glee when the doll presented her with a small white object they couldn't make out from the distance they were at.
"Yaaay, it's so preeetty! Can I have it? Oh, thank you!"
Mary took the object in her hands, and the doll jumped for joy. Both curious at the object in Mary's hands and joy in being able the reunite with their obscenely yellow haired friend, Harry called out to her.
"Hey Mary! We found you!"
If it was even possible, Mary looked even happier, and waved them over, jumping as well.
"Hey Harry! Hey Garry! Come over here! Saphy just found something that I think you might have dropped!"
With that, both boys sprinted over to her and realized the white object in Mary's hand was Harry's white rose, in full bloom. When they got to her, she happily hugged both of them and handed over Harry's rose.
"Where did you...?" Harry started, but Mary just giggled and pointed to the smiling doll at her feet.
"Saphy found it! She said it only had one petal left so she took it and made it aaaall better!"
Harry breathed a sigh of relief as he twirled the rose in his hand and carefully pocketing it. Garry looked at the doll dubiously with narrowed eyes.
"...Aren't you the one who put me in the trance?"
If dolls could look sheepish and guilty, that would have been the expression worn on this doll. This just made the older teen give a shuddering sigh.
"Well...I did say some rather nasty things...and I did kick you... So let's call it even?"
With that, the doll squeaked happily and hopped into Garry's arms, who looked as if he were about to scream from fright.
"That...that doesn't mean I don't find you disturbing..."
Harry and Mary laughed at this reaction, which made Garry sigh in exasperation. He turned to Mary.
"So Mary, you said something about meeting us? Have you gotten whatever you needed ready?" He was met with a fevered nod.
"Yes yes! I've got it all in my room..."
Suddenly, the room shook, and the entire place seemed to have befallen a blue haze. Mary blanched, surprised that something like this would trigger the gallery's security system. She took Harry's hand in her left hand and Garry in her right and started running like mad.
"...Mary? What?" gasped Garry.
"What wrong Mary?" asked Harry.
"Ruuun!"
Just as she said this, the statues and dolls and mannequin heads came to life, and started chasing after them. It was then that the two boys understood, and started sprinting along with the girl. They dodged a couple of close calls, Garry veering sharply to avoid a particularly vicious mannequin head that seemed to have a personal vendetta against him. Passing two very large yet immobile blue dolls, the three of them reached up the white drawn stairs. Once they reached the top, they decided to pause, trying to catch their breath after that particular fear run.
"Mary... What was that?" Garry gasped out.
"That's what happens when you steal something... But we never took anything! I gave the Gallery my permission for you guys to get the pink key! None of this should have happened!" She sniffed, looking close to tears.
Garry and Harry walked over and engulfed her in a hug. Knowing that Mary wasn't behind the attacks relieved them, yet it was unsettling that there was an unknown enemy that was controlling the Gallery. They walked down the crayon hallway, which had deep blue walls and floors. When they stared up at the ceiling, all they could see was the black void above them.
"Hey Mary... the Sketchbook... did you make it?" Harry asked, because he was sure that Guertena probably didn't use crayons all that often.
"Yeah... the Sketchbook is the home I made for myself. These dolls are mine as well so I'm really confused why they started chasing us..."
They neared the end of the hallway, and there was another staircase leading upwards. When they got to the top, It was surrounded by crayon yellow roses, which even had there thorns. Once they reached the top of theses stairs, they were once again back to the black abyss walls only bordered by hot pink crayon.
There were more stairs, but they were blocked off by more yellow crayon roses, their vines sealing the entrance. Mary skipped over and stood in front of them. Nothing happened. She clapped her hands once, twice. Still nothing. She shouted for the stairs to open. They didn't budge. Mary then screeched in anger, Garry and Harry jumped as red crayon cracks appeared on the floor where she stood. They each took a hold of her shoulders on either side, calming her down.
"Something is barring you from entering..." Garry murmured, "Whoever it is must be more powerful than you or I..."
"But..but I was just there a few minutes ago! Everything was fine! I even found the Painter's Seed!" Mary pouted.
"Still, it's thoroughly blocked... Telling us not to go up, then? Got to get through somehow..." stated the purple haired teen, his eyes turning to a contemplative brown.
"Well..." Harry offered, thinking back to his first year escapades with the room full of Devil's Snare, "...We could burn it. I'm pretty sure even these crayon plants wouldn't be able to stand fire..."
Both Garry and Mary stared at him, stunned.
"Burn them..." Mary mumbled.
"Yes... I suppose that'll work." Finished Garry, "It completely slipped my mind, even though I have a lighter..." He smiled at Harry widely, with Mary nodding along, "All right... Let's burn these!"
Garry flicked his lighter and set the crayon drawings aflame, watching as the fire that burned the flowers blocking the way had themselves turned into crayon renditions of fire. When the path was clear, Harry and Mary jumped in the air with joy and did a little victory dance. Garry just smiled and laughed with the younger two.
"Success!" he exclaimed happily, "It worked, Harry!"
"Now we can go to my room!" piped up Mary.
"So the stairs lead to your room, Mary?" asked Harry.
"Yup! It's also where I found the Painter's Seed, which I was supposed to give to the new Painter...which is Garry. Soooo... Let's go!"
When they entered Mary's room, they realized that this area had a different atmosphere than the toy box.
"Hm? This room... This isn't the toy box... is it?" The two boys looked to Mary, who shook her head.
"No it isn't. This is just my room. The toy box is just one of the ways to find it."
Without another word, the three of them made their way to the other end of Mary's room, where they found her portrait, the glass broken its octagonal mahogany frame with most of the shards littering the floor and one of the three roses at the bottom missing. Garry glanced at Mary with a raised eyebrow, and she smiled sheepishly and held out the painted yellow rose. Harry just chuckled and rolled his eyes at the two friends he had made while stuck in this Gallery. Glancing around the room, the raven haired child saw different things scattered around, walking up to the large smiling blue doll in the bright yellow dress that laid on the far right hand corner of the room, then picking up the much smaller version that wore a dark orange color and comparing the two.
"So you made these? They're pretty well sewn..." Mary beamed at the praise.
Saphy, the doll in the pink dress that Garry had been absentmindedly carrying, leaped out of the older teen's arms and started chattering. Immediately the other two dolls came to life, and they all started talking in their garbled language. Mary giggled while Harry raised both eyebrows.
"So... what is it that they do...?" the Boy Who Lived questioned.
"They keep watch over the Gallery, that's how I knew you guys were here! They can sneak anywhere, and they're really nice if they like you..." To this Garry sighed, and patted Saphy on the head.
"Well, I suppose I could get used to them... Can't say that they wouldn't be useful. They could be good guardians..." Saphy actually squealed and hugged Garry's pant leg, rubbing her black haired head much like a cat would.
"...See? They already like you!"
Harry had decided to explore a little more, and found loose papers that held pictures crudely drawn in crayon. It was then that the pink diary caught his eyes, and his picked it up, curious. The words inside were written in crayon, the handwriting rather sloppy.
I like the visitors coming in to live with me, but...
I want to leave this place myself and live outside!
But unless I take the place of someone from the outside, it seems I can't do that...
Won't somebody come soon?
Won't somebody come soon...
"Hey Mary..." Harry said slowly, "Do you think there might be another way for you to go outside other than taking the place of someone else?"
"That's why Garry needs to become the new Painter! Then he can write the rules!" was the excited reply, "But..." her brows furrowed, "he needs to use the Painter's Seed, but I can't find it anywhere..."
And so the search was on, the three of them searched for the missing Painter's Seed, all the while with the two wizards learning a little more about their painting friend. Garry had found a pile of books, some were stories, others about candy, and one was even titled "How to Make Friends"
Mary got a group hug for that one.
On the far left corner was a mannequin head that had orange hair drawn on with a befuddled expression on its face. Harry couldn't help but think of Ron at that. Garry found a photograph of some mountainous scenery and some crayons, but that was about it. It really was if the Painter's Seed had just...vanished.
"Argh! Where could it be?" groaned Harry.
"However, one has to ask, what exactly is the Painter's Seed?" asked Garry.
"That is a very good question." said a strangely familiar voice.
"You." Garry hissed with venom, glaring at the newcomer.
Harry was confused, and looked between this new stranger and Garry, who was still glaring, while Mary squealed. She ran up to hug the man's leg, only to pass through it, as if he was a ghost. After a brief moment of silence, it was Harry who said:
"Who the bloody hell are you?"
The new man just cackled while Mary pouted and Garry groaned.
"Harry..." Garry started, glaring at this man who looked frighteningly like the purple haired teen, "This is Weiss Guertena."
"Oh," Harry said after a while, turning his head between the two, "I can see the resemblance."
"Papa...?" Mary whispered, "Why can't I hug you?"
"Because I am dead, sweetheart, though part of me will always be you, and always be in this Gallery, and most importantly, I will always be found inside my little incarnation here." said Weiss, pointing to Garry, who frowned so hard that Harry wanted to laugh.
"Why are you here? Were you the one to take this Painter's Seed?"
"Alas, that is not the case. I am the Painter's Seed, it was merely an unfinished Horcrux that will dissipate after I tell you my instructions." replied Guertena, who smiled broadly, "Now, you three sit down. I have a job for you."
"As you know, my Gallery has many floors, each deeper than the last. As such, there are places that even Mary has not been able to reach. This place is called the Dungeon. It is the final area, the deepest part of my Gallery, to which my incarnate must go to claim his Title. At the end of the Dungeon is the Black Key, the Key to the True Gallery. In the True Gallery, you will find all that you need to claim the inheritance.
I originally intended for my incarnate to only face the dungeon, but with the presence of the second Wizard, he was thrust into the surface part of my Nightmare Gallery instead. However, this seems to have worked out for the better, because Fate seems to have something else in store for you three.
Incarnate- GARRY -fine then, Garry. You are to go to the Dungeon and reach the True Gallery, once you have done so, you are permitted to leave. When you get to the True Gallery, my ring will be at the reception desk. Just put it on and the Gallery will be yours.
Childe of Riddle- please, Sir, just Harry -very well then Harry. You are to go with Garry and aide him in this task through the Dungeon. Doing so will bond you rose to you soul once again, as my Roses are the Embodiments of your Spirit, half-horcruxes, that only manifest in wholesome bodies. When you get your wand, your rose will merge with it, and a carving of your rose will appear.
Listen carefully now, the petals will be different colors depending on the horcruxes that your poor excuse of a British Dark Lord has made. They will be a normal brown if they are active, green if one is near you, and white if it is destroyed. Since you have seven petals, that means that Riddle has made seven horcruxes. Each petal corresponds to a specific horcrux, once that horcrux is destroyed the petal will turn white.
Mary- Yaaay! -You are to accompany these two wizards, and you will find the Painting's Vase. I want you to put your rose, yes I know that it is fake, inside this vase, and then slowly a new, real rose will grow out for you, and you will be able to go outside permanently. However, once you plant it, you may be able to jump out of the painting frames for short amounts of time. Your real rose may take around nine months to grow, one for each petal, but once Garry is the Painter, he can open up your boundaries to invade other paintings. The other creations in the Gallery may do this as well, with his permission.
That seems to be all. I shall see you all when you get out, hopefully alive. Ta-ta!"
"What just happened..?" asked Harry after the three of them had merely sat and stared at the place Guertena had simply disappeared into thin air.
"He gave us instructions and left, I believe we should heed his warning. If what he says is true, all of us are close to finally being free. We better get started then..."
Soon enough the trio was walking down the steps and out the door... to find themselves back in the Sketchbook, outside the white building that held the toy box.
"Space Loops, oh my, how clever Mary." Garry said, causing the girl to beam.
"What's a Space Loop?" asked Harry.
"You can use magic to connect different exits to the same entrance. For example, while at first we entered this building and fell into the toy box and then up to Mary's room, the exit is linked to the same door for a quick getaway." explained Garry.
"Ah. That's really useful, can you guys teach me?" Both Garry and Mary nodded.
"It's not all that hard, you just need to get a feel for your innate magic first." supplied Garry.
By then they had managed to walk to the pink house, the only locked area in the Sketchbook. When they opened the door, Harry and Garry raised their eyebrows as they were met with real walls and a real floor and real stairs, even if they were all pink. Unsurprisingly, the stairs lead down once more. Without hesitating, all three of them descended the stairs.
"Whoa... It's dark. Watch your step Harry, Mary." said Garry.
And he was right. The pink stairs has suddenly turned very narrow, and had changed from pink to black. Carefully they went down the dark steps, minding where they put their feet lest they trip and fall down. This was proven to be a good idea, because the stairway was rather long. When the stairs ended the room broadened out and took a sharp left turn. The three of them simply went forward, to realize what was on the other side.
"...This place looks familiar..." whispered Garry.
"It's like a dark version of the real Gallery..." breathed Harry.
Mary looked around in awe. So this was what the Gallery was supposed to look like... She pattered to the windows, only to find that it was pitch black outside. Harry glanced around and found something rather odd.
"Hang on... I don't think these stirs were there before... there was only wall here before."
At this, Mary ran over to examine it. Shrugging, she took each of their hands and started leading them down these steps. When they were just about to go down, Garry suddenly spoke up.
"...I feel like... I've passed these stairs before."
"Well there's only one way to find out." muttered Harry as they walked further down.
They walked down, down, down. Garry couldn't shake the feeling of deja vu as he quickly made his way down the stairs. At the end of the descent was a room, split in two by the stairs. On the right side there was a doorway but the left side had an empty vase. Seeing nothing else, the trio went through the doorway.
OMAKE: Shakespeare Shenanigans
Sebastian stood in Garry's room, laughing at his brother's expense. They were twelve and Garry had been chosen to play Hamlet, which the boy found hilarious. So Garry was all nicely dressed up in his Shakespearian garb, with his mother Melissa cooing over him while Garry and Regulus shared the same constipated expression. Sebastian was still laughing. The purple haired child tried, he really did, but frankly he wasn't saying his lines right, and Sebastian cringed at the rendering of the most famous one. He knew Garry was doing this on purpose, because that guy could act, but he also hated being in plays.
So Sebastian decided to take pity on his poor brother and snatched the skull out of Garry's hands. He then transfigured his clothes into a replica of what Garry was wearing, except black. He then took a deep breath.
"To BE, or NOT to BE. THAT is the QUESTION!"
"Seb, no…"
"WHETHER 'tis nobler in the mind to SUFFER…"
"Seb, seriously, please stop…"
"The slings of ARROWS of OUTRAGEOUS FORTUNE…"
"He's actually doing this. I can't believe he's actually doing this…"
"OR to take arms AGAINST a SEA of TROUBLES…"
"Is he…" "Yes he is." "Get the camcorder Reg." "On it."
"And by OPPOSING to END them? To DIE, to SLEEP…"
"My sides, oh Sebbie…" "Mom, you're just encouraging him…"
"NO MORE, and by sleep to say we END…"
Yeah, it went on for a while. It also wasn't surprising when the next day, the drama teacher called the Blacks to tell them that Sebastian was now going to be playing Hamlet.
Off that subject, the day of the production was the same day the two brothers decided that trapping the audience in a wall of solid ice was a WONDERFUL idea.
On the bright side, Harry wasn't that wrong in his musings…
AN:
Harry: Wait, what?
Garry: There's MORE?!
Oni: Mwahahahaha yes!
Harry: But...HOW?!
Oni: You see, the important word here is UPDATE, which Kouri did. I'm working off the Ib 1.05, which includes the Dungeon and True Gallery as an extra. I'll be playing through that as well. So no, you guys are NOT out of the woods yet! Hahahahahahaha...
Harry: You really are a cruel mistress...
Garry: Oh well, it works for the plot.
Oni: True, true. And for you readers, review! I want to know what you guys think!
Oni: See you next time, my pretties!