What if William the worm had 'made' the passage in the wall for Sarah?

- Chapter 10 -

Buried Inside

Harry and Toby with their new friends had just reached the top of the pile and were looking at the forest that was stretched before them. All four were very eager to getting off the massive heap they were trying to keep their footing on. Stepping haphazardly on top of the junk that was beneath their feet somehow felt wrong, disrespectful and heart breaking. They began their descent carefully, so far, managing not to trip or cause an avalanche beneath their feet. Harry was looking forward to getting away from the discarded pile of childhood friends and memories that didn't belong to him.

Ludo led the way while his other three friends, Sir Didymus on Abrosius's back, so they could grab a hold of their large friend in case they started slipping. In order to balance and keep a hold of Toby, who he feared might fall, and Ludo, who he used as a support, Harry had to stick his trusty wand in his back pocket ignoring Moody's advice about blasting off certain bodily areas.

Toby and Harry had the most trouble trying to stay focus as their attention kept wandering back to the mangled objects on the hill. Sir Didymus tried to strike conversation but sometimes the boys would completely block out his words.

As if on cue, a streak of light fell from the clouded sun and landed on a curious object that was twinkling near Harry's foot.

'It couldn't be…'

Before he knew it, he was frozen on the hill, staring at the glittery surface of the object as the rest of his friends continued down the hill.

The teen choked back some deep emotion that had been buried in the back of his throat, eyes moistening. All thoughts of the labyrinth and their purpose faded away as Harry stooped down to pick up the mirror.

Last time he had seen it was weeks, maybe a month ago…at the end of his fifth year. Harry remembered breaking it in his grief and frustration, a gift from his now deceased godfather. The mirror flickered with light momentarily before the ray of light went away.

'Harry…'

The boy's eyes widened as he saw his reflection begin to blur and form the face of a grinning man that had haunted his dreams. The man looked tired although he seemed as happy as can be, hair matted, and obviously unshaven.

"Sirius…" Harry whispered to the mirror. Sirius Black smiled bigger at the mention of his name and nodded.

Toby slipped slightly and quickly grabbed the thick fur of Ludo who did not mind. The boy turned to his side to see Harry give him an encouraging smile or nod but saw that he was still farther up the hill. The older boy had stopped walking and had something gripped in his hands.

"Harry?" called Toby. "Come on! We're almost off the hill!"

The other boy made no motion that he had even heard the ten year old.

"Sir Harold?"

"Hawee?"

"Harry!" Toby yelled again as he started to make his way towards the frozen teen. "No, Harry!" Toby cried frantically as he saw that the junk under the older boy's feet began to pile around him. Then Harry began to sink into the hill as he continued to stare into Sirius's mirror. Random toys began to slither up his jeans and a raggedy jump rope leapt to coil around his waist and arms.

"HARRY!"

Before Toby and the others could reach the young wizard, the last of his jet black hair had sunk into the mound, swallowing him whole. The young boy started to throw himself onto the toys so he could start digging but Ludo stopped him as Sir Didymus tried to calm Toby down.

"H-He's gone! We need to dig him out or he'll never...!" Toby felt tears prickle his eyes as Sir Didymus gently laid a paw on the young boy's shoulder.

Sir Didymus shook his head. "Sir Tobias, if you touch anything on this hill…we might loose you too…"

"But H-Harry…" gasped Toby who began to tremble. He turned over in the giant beast's arms as Ludo hugged him.

"Hawee…" Ludo cried.

"We'd best continue with out quest, Sir Tobias. Noble Sir Harold would have advised us to." Sir Didymus suggested softly. "With your permission…"

Toby looked up from the fur and straightened himself, wiping tears. "Yes, we should continue. If we get to the castle in time and save Sarah…the Goblin King might release Harry. We're still on a clock…"

They descended the hill once more, now a mere trio. As their feet left the edge of the hill and finally touched dirt, Sir Didymus turned Ambrosius around, dismounted and made a low bow before following after Ludo and Toby. The three disappeared into the forest and they could no longer see the pile of childhood dreams from behind.

Within the Junkyard...buried deep inside...

"Sirius, you know I'm sorry right?" Harry asked the mirror in his hands. His lips never moved but his voice came out anyway. "I was so stupid to rush to save you. I'm such an idiot for being fooled like that! I ran right into a trap and almost got my friends killed! They got hurt, Sirius! Because of me! You died because of me... Why do I even try? I rushed in to save Ginny, almost got both her and Ron killed, I led Cedric, an innocent bystander to his death...I rushed to save you, now you're dead too…now Toby, my new friend, believes I can help save his sister… I'm just going to mess things up again, aren't I?"

The mirror-Sirius gave him a reassuring smile.

"Say something, Sirius…" Harry pleaded with the mirror. "Please?"

'Harry…'

Why was it starting to feel so tight all of a sudden? Was he being buried? The mirror in his hand began to change and Harry cried out as Sirius disappeared too soon. The mirror rusted over as if it had been exposed to years of the natural elements and made a large crack in itself.

The whole thing collapsed and dispersed into the junk that was encasing Harry.

…how did he get in this mess? Literally.

'What have I done?' Harry thought in shock. 'I…I fell for another trap!'

"Toby!" the boy yelled as he craned his neck upwards. Was that even the direction to getting out? "Sir Didymus! Ludo! Where are you?!"

As he struggled against the toys that were pressing against him, they started to move in even more until he could feel them solidly against his ribs. They pinned his arms down and kept his legs rigid until he could not longer squirm. Harry's breathing started to come out more rapidly now… He hoped he wasn't having a panic attack.

Harry attempted to reach move his arm to grab his wand in his back pocket but couldn't budge.

'I'm going to die in here!'

His vision started to get dark as the bare light that could seep through the cracks of the hill began to grow fewer and fewer. Harry could see certain items as a force started to push him down...and down…and down… A teddy bear, a book end, a familiar looking stuffed toy, a princess figurine in glass… Harry recognized a couple of toys, broken, some still in their package… Didn't Dudley get that for his birthday one year?

Where would he end up once he reached the bottom? What was down there waiting for him? Was there even a bottom to this?

'Why am I even here? None of this stuff belongs to me!' Harry thought angrily.

Huh? Harry started to squirm as he saw that something, whatever had been forcing him down was no longer trying and he was now stuck, buried. He wasn't even sure how long he had been heading down, possibly entranced by the trick Sirius mirror for longer than he had been aware of.

It wasn't going to be easy digging out. But Harry was going to try anyway.

"'Ay! You! 'Ay!"

"What?" Harry stopped his feeble attempts at digging and turned his head slightly to see who was calling him.

Harry came face to face with a blue worm wearing a red scarf. It was perched on the balcony of a dilapidated dollhouse mere inches from the boy's nose. The little thing blinked at him with his large black eyes and smiled. "'Allo!" he greeted cheerfully. When Harry continued to stare at him, the worm began to nod his head slowly as he repeated his greeting. " 'Allo!" The differently streaked hair on his tiny head fanned back and forth as he nodded.

Harry blushed momentarily realizing his lack of courtesy. "…er…'allo."

The worm beamed at him. "Whatcha doin' in this junk? I'm passin' through to fetch some tea for the missus!"

Harry gave a lopsided grin at the tiny creature's accent. "Ah, well…I got a little stuck. Do you know which direction I should dig to get out?"

"Why dontcha follow me and I'll 'ave you out and meet the missus?" the worm looked positively thrilled with the idea. He nodded as best he could towards a direction due to his lack of arms. "Goin' there will 'ave you at my wall where she waits. You can 'ave tea!"

Something told Harry that he should be a little specific about where he wanted to go. "I'm sorry, I'd love to but I need to reach the castle in the Goblin City. Do you know how I can get there once I get out of this mess?"

The worm nodded. "Sure! Lemme climb into this 'ere pocket of yours first."

"Erm? But why?" asked Harry as the worm quickly inched his way into the front pocket of Harry's shirt. The worm peaked over the top of it once he was settled comfortably.

"Now, see that box right by your elbow? Your other elbow! Good. 'Kay, now turn that handle that's stickin' outta it." the worm instructed him.

Harry managed to grab the handle and started to move it—a tune began to play…it was a jack-in-the-box! He continued to rotate the lever and the tune got faster and stronger.

It's only forever
Not long at all
Lost and lonely
That's underground
Underground…

Something popped out of the box in the end of the little tune causing Harry to jump slightly…but Harry couldn't see if it was a clown or jester that had emerged because the items around him suddenly started to fall around his body and towards his feet. When the last item hit the ground, Harry was amazed to see himself no where near the junkyard. The dirty and worn toys were scattered around his feet on the stone paved floor.

Then a horrible stench filled the air.

"Oh, bullocks! What is that?!" Harry cried as he lifted his sleeve to his face.

He could feel the worm squirming inside his front pocket. "Thatsa Bog o' Stench, mate. You'll get used to it!"

"So…could you point me out to the castle, please? You've been very helpful so far."

The worm smiled warmly. "Sure, you're closer 'an before when you were buried." said the worm. "See 'at over there? Go past the Wiseman and go down the lane on your left! You'll be at the edge of the forest, just cutting through it and you'll see the doors to the city!"

Harry lifted the worm into his hand and smiled. "Thanks a lot for your help! Who knows how long I might've been stuck in there?"

"No problem! Now are you sure you don't wanna meet the missus before you go?" the worm asked with a smile.

"I'm sorry; I really can't…but give her my best regards. Will you be alright if I leave you here?"

"Sure! Just put me down and I'll find my way back! I've lived here for ages!"

Harry placed the worm down on the stone ground and waved goodbye before heading towards the direction the tiny creature had pointed to.

'Did that little worm apparate me out of the junkyard?' Harry wondered with a smile.

A/N: What has Smithers been up to in the Aboveground? Remember to leave me a review, pretty please!