It was cold. It was wet. It was downright bloody miserable. Severus was regretting accepting the task of finding the library. There they were in the north-east of Scotland, just off the coast of a town called Oban on a small island named Staffa. It was an island made of a dark grey volcanic rock, the hexagonal pillars of stone reaching up into the sky, towering above him. The rain lashed down as they scaled the rocks around the side of the island, making the path dangerously slippery. He slowly led the way to a huge gaping hole in the side of the island and all three of them - himself, Hermione and Remus - struggled into the cave, fighting against the raging winds that were battering the island.
"Is this the place?" Remus shouted above the roar of the waves once they were inside. Severus nodded, heading further into the cave so they could dry off. They took a quick break before continuing on through the cave. As Severus was climbing along a particularly tricky patch of rocks, he heard a sharp cry of pain from behind him. He turned around and saw that Hermione had slipped on the rocks several paces behind him. He clambered over to her and reached out his hand.
"Need help?" he murmured to her. Hermione glared at him before reaching out and grasping his hand. He pulled her up from the ground.
"Thanks." she grimaced, not looking him in the eye. Severus shrugged before turning around and continuing his treacherous journey through the dark caves.
Eventually the party reached a solid rock face that towered far above them. A large hole at one part was several meters in diameter appeared to have been blasted from the rock face by some kind of magic. The light from their wands bounced off moisture that trickled down the sides of the moss covered walls around them, giving the impression that the rock was full of shining diamonds. All around was a constant drip of water that was beginning to get on Severus's nerves.
"A dead end." Remus sighed quietly.
"No," Severus shook his head, reaching up to caress the wall above his head. "Can't you see?"
"See what?" Remus looked rather bemused now.
"There's… writing…silver writing, on the walls," Hermione whispered.
"I can't see anything."
Hermione stepped forward and looked closer. "I believe they're runes actually," She reached up to touch the wall.
"Can you translate for the rest of us, Miss Granger?" Severus enquired.
"Some of it? Yes… give me a moment," Hermione stood and looked over the writing, a look of confusion developing on her face. After about a minute or so she spoke.
"I, I think it says: 'Beware, this library was sealed by order of the Old One; only the healer's blood may reopen it, for only suffering lies ahead.'. The rest's been destroyed, where the hole is-"
"Can't you make out any of it at all?" Severus asked.
"Only something to do with blood… right blood or wrong blood… and it mentions danger again."
"Well, in the past wizards have often made barriers that demand sacrifice before you can enter," Remus said slowly, thinking. "But it doesn't sound like it wants just any blood…"
"The blood of a healer," Severus nodded in agreement.
"Well that would be you Severus, wouldn't it?" Hermione suddenly turned to look at him.
"Why me?"
"You saved me from that demon creature,"
"That doesn't make me a healer, Hermione." Severus muttered, not meeting her eyes.
"Severus, I think she might be right." Remus added quietly.
Severus knew when he was defeated. "Alright fine, whatever," he growled at the pair, reaching inside his robes and pulling out a small, silver knife that he had taken to carrying about with him ever since he first joined the Death Eaters. Just in case.
"I didn't know you had that," Hermione raised her eyebrows in surprise.
"Just in case," Severus shrugged, turning to the stone wall. "Wait," he turned back around to look at the girl, "How would you know if I carried a knife around with me anyway?"
Hermione looked away quickly, changing the subject swiftly. "You should probably drip the blood onto where that big hole is." she said, pointedly not looking in his direction.
Severus sighed before turned back to the task in hand. Lifting his left hand up, he placed the edge of his shining blade onto the side of his wrist and drew it swiftly across the soft flesh. He ignored the sharp, burning sensation that he could feel as a dark, glistening ridge appeared across the surface of the skin. Lifting his bleeding wrist up to the gaping hole he let the wet, reddish substance seep out of the wound and fall onto the scorched rock.
However, instead of the blood flowing down the side of the rock face, the wall seemed to drink up the liquid, accompanied by a low hissing noise. Severus moved his hand away from the hole and for a moment nothing happened. Then suddenly the whole rock face started to glow a vibrant shade of red and the whole cave was bathed in a crimson glow. Before them a shape of a gigantic doorway appeared, the rock inside the frame of the entrance disintegrating into nothing as the door started to take a solid appearance. It must have been at least twenty feet in width, even more in height.
"Wow," Remus exclaimed in shock.
"Oh God," Hermione whispered.
Severus simply stared. There it was all right: the fabled Libraria of Rūn. It was gigantic in proportions, a huge cavernous room stretching on for miles and miles, so far that they could not see the end. Beautiful carved stone pillars soared into the darkness above the room as far as he could see and Severus could only presume that there was actually any ceiling at all. Attached to these pillars in cast iron brackets were wooden torches that had somehow magically burst into peacock blue flames of their own accord; they cast an unnatural glow onto the contents of the library. As for the actual contents of the library? Rows and rows of shelves, thousands of them, packed full with millions of books, all different shapes and sizes. But it wasn't just books that filled the shelves. Objects, everything from glass bottles to skulls to God-knows-what-else were scattered haphazardly around the place. There were signs of decay on the library too; papers were scatted all over the floor, dust hung in the air and clung to the books. Some shelves were lying, broken and smashed on the rough stone floor. There was something sinister about the place. Severus didn't know why. Then he saw the trail of blood on the floor. It led into the heart of the library. It was still fresh.
"How are we going to find anything in here? Look at the size of it!" Hermione cried despairingly. Severus realised she was right. How could they find anything in this place? But he wondered who the blood belonged to…
"I think we should start by following the trail of blood." Severus suggested.
"What blood-" Hermione followed Severus's gaze. "Ah…"
Severus started forward and headed through the archway, Remus and Hermione following behind them. All three kept their wands out and at the ready.
They made their way through the dust-filled library and although Severus could tell Hermione was dying to stop and look and the books, Severus was determined to find who or what the blood belonged to. They continued past shelves that towered above them, creating narrow closes and passages that they had to go through to follow the bloody trail. Severus didn't like it. It was too quiet. Too dark. And the place was full of magic. He could feel it.
As they came out of one of these narrow closes and into the torchlight the group found themselves facing a huge, circular stone platform, at least forty feet in diameter. Arcane runes were inscribed all around the circular base and like the cave outside, they glowed with the same, unnatural red light. The trail of blood led up to a strange shape that was lying in the centre of the circle. There were torches around the circumference of the circle, but the ethereal light that they gave could not reach the middle.
"What…what is that?" Remus whispered. Severus ignored him and stepped forward, wand held above his head. Hermione and Remus stayed still. He walked cautiously towards the thing in the centre, until eventually the light from his wand fell onto where the trail of blood ended.
"Oh God," he whispered.
For it was a body that lay in the centre of the platform, face down in a pool of dark blood. Some creature had ripped a large gash in the side of its ribcage, and there was still some blood dripping out the side of it and onto the stone. A fresh kill. Perhaps a sacrifice? Severus braced himself against the harsh, metallic stench that hung in the air and reluctantly reached down to turn the body over, so that he could see the face of the victim.
He gasped.
He stepped back.
He heard footsteps behind him, accompanied by Hermione's voice.
"What is-"
"Hermione, don't… don't come any closer. Please." Severus called in a hoarse voice.
"Why, what's wrong?" she whispered. Severus couldn't bear to answer her. "Severus, you're starting to scare me now." she pleaded with him. She came closer. "Severus, I don't-" she paused in shock. "No, no, it can't…Oh God." Severus felt her push past him and watched as she kneeled in the pool of blood beside the dead body. Severus watched, frozen.
"Hermione, what is it?" he heard Remus call.
She choked out the words in between silent tears. "It's…It's Ron. He's… dead."