Disclaimer- Still not mine.

Chapter 10

Harry and Ron moved through the gate, expecting to find the lush garden they'd glimpsed from the other side, only to be shocked by the earthy cavern they found themselves entering instead. To their left they found two doors embedded into the packed dirt wall, each with its own plaque attached to the space above it.

Tentatively the duo advanced on the doors. However, after only a step and a half they found advancement futile, as a lion manifested from the sandy floor. "Halt." The manifestation spoke uselessly, giving an instruction that had been followed long before it had been instituted. "You enter these chambers at your own peril."

"Peril. Yeah, great." Ron whispered, agitated and nervous. Harry attempted to send his a subtle glare, though in all truth he found himself just as unnerved. While he had been the one to advocate slitting up several evenings before, he wasn't so sure that consistency was what he was going for at the moment.

"Rules are cumbersome and therefore there are few, though there is one by which you must abide, both of you. Today you willingly enter the gateway to your fate, and alone you must go, not a moment more must you wait." In one large leap the apparition bounded over their heads, spraying them with sand in the process. Silence overwhelmed the space, and finding that their prior entrance was now blocked, their only option was to move forward and resign themselves to the ultimate separation that such a move would entail.

"Be careful." Harry cautioned quietly, turning to Ron once they were just inches from the doors.

Ron nodded. "You to. Watch your back, and don't try to be too heroic." He was only half kidding. Harry attempted to muster up a smile for Ron's benefit, though it came across as more of a grimace.

"Right." They spoke together, holding eye contact for a moment before they each stepped away and entered their separate doors. Leaving that which they knew and entering that which they had no knowledge of.

✤

Ginny, Neville and Luna were just as astonished as the previous pair to be accosted by such darkness on the opposite side of the gate. To the far left were two doors that had been boarded over, a lion composed completely of sand stood as their sentry. Occupying the walls middle were three doors, above which plaques had been places possessing each of their names.

"This is strange." Neville whispered, attempting to take a step back just as his two companions, each of whom were holding his arms chose to take steps forward, which of course resulted in the three of them sprawled haphazardly on the dusty ground.

At that moment, the sand at the doors' entrance began to shift, swirling up from the ground forming a petite cyclone. From this maelstrom emerged a gazelle. In one graceful movement, it bowed its head low to the ground before meeting each of their gazes in turn. "Relax, and stay still." It spoke powerfully.

The trio didn't dare breathe, let alone attempt to stand.

"You enter these rooms to which I guard at your own risk." The gazelle said, meeting each of their gazes in turn.

"Risk." Luna murmured reverently, a serene smile crossing her lips. Neville sent her a nervous stare through the corner of his eye, as Ginny made the manifestation her sole focus, forsaking all else that surrounded her.

"To one rule, must you hold true. From this moment, for this time, your fate must become your singular companion, separation your creed and moving forward your sole, momentary concern." The gazelle moved swiftly by them, coating them in a light layer of sand, blocking what had once been their entrance. "Stand and go forward you three, there is no backward available to ye."

Methodically the trio rose from the ground, helping each other along. Once on their feet they approached the doors, trepidation lacing their breath. "Forward it is then." Neville attempted to smile, trying to lighten the air which had become so leaden with apprehension he was finding it hard to breath.

"Forward." Ginny whispered, running one hand along the door with her name above it, giving Neville's hand a tight squeeze. "Be careful." She spoke urgently, pulling her gaze from the door and meeting those of Neville and Luna in turn. "Both of you."

Neville nodded. "Of course." Luna spoke airily.

"I'll see you each on the other side." Neville offered, not wanting to say good-bye, hoping that there was no need to. His companions nodded, and they each stepped before their own doors, silently slipping inside them.

✤

"Ah." Fred muttered. "Appearances are not as they seems." Slowly his eyes adjusted to the darkness, coming to focus on first the lion sculpted entirely of sand guarding two boarded doors to his left, and the similar gazelle who was holding post over the three doors, which were also boarded over directly before him. "This is where the fun begins I suppose." He spoke aloud, inflecting what he hoped to be slight amusement. His voice vibrated over the space, though the lion and gazelle made no move toward him.

This is of course, when he noticed the door placed to his right. "Ah, I see. Is this how the game goes. Is this where I am to be lured?" He spoke conspiratorially to the rooms only other occupants, eliciting little more than a couple of exceptionally blank stares. "Right." He muttered, lifting his gaze to the stagnant ceiling, and shrugging his shoulders heavily. "Why not. Lets give this a go." He spoke, bringing his gaze level with the door only to lock gazes with a very animated frog made entirely of sand.

"You have found yourself thrown into the bowels, of a conquest not merely your own. One which you have entered, and continued to enter at your own discretion." The frog leaped toward Fred, stopping inches before him. "Your choices are no longer mere granules of sand." It whispered tauntingly, catapulting above him, and landing squarely in the path of what had transformed from his entrance to his sole guarantee of exiting in a single piece.

Fred's brow creased as he observed the frog tiredly. The frog seemed to smirk, amused by his charges tired stance. "Move onto the path you have chosen, and reap the consequences inherent in your choices." Fred lifted his chin in weak defiance, before turning to the door and accepting the truth of his situation. Too many were counting on him for even the contemplation of turning back now.

Swiftly he moved toward the door possessing his name, jerking it open and stepping inside, embracing the consequences of his decisions.

✤

Hermione immediately withdrew her wand and lit it in order to get a clearer view of her surroundings upon entering the gate. Slowly she scanned the room, taking note of the two doors to the left which were boarded up, a lion standing fiercely before them. She next took stock of the three doors directly before her, which were also boarded up, though these were watched keenly by a serene gazelle. To the right of these doors however, stood the anomaly.

To the right there stood one door which had been boarded up, and directly to that doors left stood another door above which hung a plaque with her own name scrawled across it. There was no sentry outside this pair of doors.

"What have we here?" Hermione muttered softly to herself, attempting to identify the pattern prevalent in the chamber. However, before she could form any true conclusions, the sand before the two doors to her right began to shift and take shape, transforming into a frog.

"Clever as you claim, currently it is not your aim." The frog taunted. "It is my realm which you have entered, and through which you must proceed." In one fluid movement the frog hopped across the room in order to occupy the chambers only entrance and subsequently, its only guaranteed exit. "This is the path which you have pursued, and the fate which you must meet."

Hermione tipped her head softly to one side. Examining the frog momentarily before turning on her heel and moving toward the door emblazoned with her name. Just as she slipped through it she was able to catch the frog's final parting, whispered softly. "Go forward, and reap what you may."

✤

Another chapter distributed to the masses, and if all goes well, another should be out within days. Anyone have any motivation for me?

Thanks again to my wonderful reviews, your input is fantastic. I would be nowhere without you. Or at the very least, I would be very lonely. Ravendove2007, thank you for your constant encouragement and update reminders. Tutucute4u, I'm glad you like all of the OC characters, I was worried about including them!

Thanks a bunch!

Peace Out and all that Jazz!