Severus glanced back to where he had been, but Morpheus had already vanished again. He took a step out onto the bridge, watching the blue goop beneath him gurgle and slop against the walls of the crevice. There had to be more to this than simply walking over the bridge. A man like Morpheus wouldn't make this so simple.
The moment his foot touched the first stone, the ground began to rumble. The river sloshed around beneath him and began to rise. Severus rolled his eyes. It was rising so slowly that there was no way he wouldn't make it to the door in time.
By the time Severus had made it to the other side, though, the rumble had grown louder. Severus could hear something roaring on the other side of the door and the noise sent a chill through him. That couldn't possibly be what he thought it was. Severus braced himself as he gripped the handle of the door and pulled.
The door didn't budge. Severus's eyes widened. He glanced over his shoulder at the river, which was more than half way to the top now. Soon, whatever that was would seep over the edges and begin making its way towards him. Severus pulled out his wand. "Alohomora," He says. He pulled the door again. It still didn't budge. Another roar and a loud crash came from the next room.
"Aberto!" Severus snaps. His wand suddenly vanished from his hand, and Morpheus's laughter echoed through the chamber. Severus cursed under his breath and turned away from the door, his eyes scanning the chamber. There had to be a nonmagical way to make it though the door, some sort of key. Severus was beginning to think that, perhaps, he had underestimated Morpheus's intelligence.
He moved back towards the bridge as the ground began to tremble. There were stone posts at each corner of it. Severus studied them closely for any place one might hide a key, but nothing looked out of the ordinary. The blue muck gurgled, and Severus had to cover his nose as the fumes reached him. The stench burned his throat from this close. Whatever that was, it was also more dangerous than Severus had first thought. He glanced down at it, and something glinted from within the crevice. The inside walls were jagged and uneven. On one of the tiny ledges within the crevice, there was a key with a green strip of silk tied to it. Green silk, like the nightgown Freya had been wearing that morning. At the rate it was rising, it wouldn't be long until the river covered the key. Severus quickly dropped to his knees and reached for it, but his arm wasn't quite long enough. He would have to lie on his stomach and lean over the edge in order to reach it. The closer he got to the muck the more his skin began to burn.
"Its acidic," Severus murmured in horror. The moment it touched the key, the key would disolve. He would be trapped here. Severus leaned further over the ledge, stretching his arm as far as it would go. If he leaned any further over, he could fall in, especially with the way the ground was shaking. Only the tips of his fingers could reach it. The acid was burning the edges of the silk now. Severus carefully used the tips of his fingers to pick it up. The floor began to shake and the acid rose faster. The key slipped from his fingers. Severus's other hand darted out and caught it just before it hit the acid. His fingers brushed the acid and Severus cried out, jerking his hand back to his chest and throwing himself away from the ledge. It had barely touched him, but his skin was sizzling.
Severus stumbled to his feet, ignoring the pain. The acid had reached the edge and was making its way towards him at an alarming rate. Severus's heart raced in his chest as he slipped he key into the lock. For a brief moment of terror, the door still didn't budge. Severus jerked hard on the door and it finally opened, the hinges squeeling loudly from disuse.
The moment the door opened it vanished, leaving only the empty doorway as the roaring that had been coming from the other side quieted. Severus's eyes widened as three hungarian horntails all turned their attention on him.
"You can't be serious," Severus said, his eyes widening as the dragon closest to the door reared its head back.
Severus dove to the side just as the dragon opened its mouth and let loose a long bolt of flames straight at the ground where he had stood only moments before. The flames left scorch marks on the stone. The river of acid that was flooding in this chamber wasn't far from him now. His options were clear. Burned alive by the acid or the dragons. Neither one sounded very pleasant to him, but only one could possibly lead him to Freya. Severus instinctively reached for his wand to cast a fire resistance charm over himself, and cursed when he remembered how it had vanished from his hand. Morpheus intended for him to do this without magic
Severus peeked around the corner into the enormous room. All of the dragons were chained to the floor and the one furthest from him was blocking another wooden door. That was where he needed to go. As the dragon closest to him shifted, Severus caught sight of a small, stone table. A long silver sword glinted from a nest of green silk. The key to the door had been tied to a similar, smaller strip of green silk. Morpheus was leaving him clues marked with ripped pieces of freya's nightgown. Severus's eyes darkened at the implications, and a sense of urgency fell over him. Dragons or not, he had to make it to Freya. Severus braced himself, and darted around the corner, headed straight for the sword.
The spiked red tail of the first dragon swooped at him. Severus ducked, barely dodging out of the way fast enough. The dragon roared in annoyance, rearing its head back again just as Severus reached the sword. His fingers closed around it and the dragon let loose another round of scorching flames right at him...and they went straight through him as though he were a ghost. Severus gasped, clutching his chest. He felt no heat, except from the burn he had sustained from the acid. His robes weren't even singed. Much to his disbelief, he was fine. The sword was enchanted as well. Severus let out a sigh of relief just as the dragon's tail swooped out again, colliding squarely with Severus's chest and sending him flying across the room. Severus landed with a thud, the breath knocked out of him. He struggled to take in oxygen and the sword clattered to the ground a few feet away.
Severus barely had time to recover as the second dragon roared at him. He scrambled for the sword as more flames flared towards him, his fingers barely touching it in time to save himself. The dragon lifted its foot and Severus rolled away, tucking the sword against his body as the dragon's foot landed where he'd just been.
He'd had enough. Severus stood up, just as the dragon swung its tail at him again, and swung the sword. The sword collided with the dragon's tail, jarring Severus and making him stumble back. At first Severus wasn't sure whether his attempt to defend himself had done any good, but as the dragon reared its head back to shoot flames at him again, the dragon turned to ash. The ash rained down over him, coating his hair and robes and Severus smirked, turning his gaze towards the dragon closest to the second door. The third dragon roared furiously as the one behind Severus shot another bolt of flames towards him. Once again, he felt nothing. Severus charged at the third dragon. The dragon roared again, pulling frantically at the chains that bound it to the floor. Severus hesitated in surprise. It wasn't lashing out at him, it was trying to escape from him. Severus took a step closer and the dragon reared its head back, not to attack him, but in fear. He was sure of it. There was nothing he knew better than fear. He had lived it for years while playing double agent for the Order of the Phoenix, and then for years after when the memories turned to night terrors.
His vision blurred at the edges and he lifted his hand to his throat as pain shot through him. The face of that same mediwitch flashed before his eyes and Severus felt a heavy pressure in his chest. He struggled for breath. "No!" He snapped. He couldn't lose his focus now. Not when so much was at stake.
When his vision cleared again, Severus stumbled back. The dragon had lowered its head until it was only inches from him and the sudden closeness startled him. Severus lifted the sword and prepared to swing, but hesitated as his gaze met the Dragon's icy blue eyes. He knew those eyes. "Freya?" He gasped.
The dragon roared, rearing its head back again, pulling at the chains. Severus lunged at them, swinging the sword at the heavy metal until they collided with a loud clang. The chains broke and Severus ducked as the dragon flung out its wings.
There was a blinding flash of light. Severus threw is arm up to protect his eyes. As the light faded, Severus slowly lowered his arm again. As his eyes adjusted, horror flooded through him. The chamber and the dragons had vanished. Now he was in the tunnels, just beneath the shrieking shack.