Surprised that Neville hadn't commented on his dependence on the Room or Hermione for research, Harry looked and saw that Neville was kneeling next to the seal, leaning forward to touch it. All Harry had as warning was a vague sense of unease, when Neville began to tickle the dragon, and the floor began to spin.

Part 22 - Spin Cycle

The floor began to tilt, and bounce as the speed of the rotation steadily increased. Harry threw himself to the floor, and wandlessly cast a sticking spell between his left hand and the floor. His backpack slammed into his left side, and after wincing, Harry grabbed it with his right hand, stuck it to the floor as well, and stuck his right arm through the strap. Flat on his belly, Harry looked towards the crest, and saw that Neville was contained in a golden cylinder. The animal bones that had been on the left side of the room were now flying in the air, and the tile planks were spiraling up from the edges of the floor. A few bits of bone, hit the golden cylinder around Neville and turned to ash. Harry was now sure the sticking charm was the best piece of magic ever.

As the debris hit the walls and the field around the crest, Harry noticed spiral staircases were unwinding from the edges of the floor, the bones falling on them and falling as the steps rose steadily up. The wind was howling in Harry's ears, despite the windbreak from his bag.

Just as Harry thought that the next bounce would break the charm, and Harry began wondering if frying on the field or flying into the wall would be the more painful death, there was a loud thud and the platform stopped moving.

Harry stayed on the floor, allowing himself to go limp.

"Harry… Are you okay?" A firm hand under Harry's shoulder turned him over.

Harry groaned at the painful tug at his stuck hand, and released the charm. "So you had to tickle the sleeping dragon."

Neville shrugged.

Harry sat up, "So what do you figure, basilisk protection?"

Neville offered Harry a hand up, "At least you can assume the office wasn't accessed second year."

Harry looked around at the clean floor. "Yeah, whatever didn't get vaporized fell to whatever is beneath this level."

Neville took a deep breath, "There must be some serious air purification charms down here."

Binns floated back down to them. "Well? Hurry up. The upper room has a snake guardian." The ghost shot down the descending staircase.

Harry muttered sarcastically, "No, I'm fine, just a bit sore. Did my life flash before my eyes..."

"Sorry, Harry."

"No, it's ok. Just didn't appreciate the orders. You're lucky that you didn't get fried or something."

"I don't think Binns really remembers that we're alive." Neville started towards the staircases.

Harry shrugged and soon was holding onto the railings with both hands as he loped up the stairs two at a time. Neville, while no longer as fearful of heights, took the stairs just one at a time. Soon enough he'd caught up to Harry who was taking a much needed breather despite their training. "This is nuts. There must be a lift hidden somewhere. Or Ravenclaw was as paranoid as Lavender about her weight."

Neville shook his head and very quickly peeked over the stair rail to the mosaic floor now about 50 feet below. "The founders were supposed to have been able to make exceptions in their apparition wards, or they might have made the stairs move."

Harry sat on the steps, and set his bag down next to him, retrieving his flask of water. He gestured with it to Neville but the other boy shook his head. After taking a couple gulps he said, "I think we now know why Binns kept insisting we should check out household charms."

Neville shrugged, "I did look up some."

Harry looked up from putting back the flask with a bit of shock in his expression.

Neville sighed, "One of the only good times I had with Uncle Algie, before he started trying to almost kill me, was going fishing with him. I remembered the butchering spells he used on the fish, and the rabbit he stunned when he got bored."

"So you were thinking about using them in battle."

Neville nodded, "I am still working on compiling a list of which ones are illegal to use, and which variations are still legal enough. With the changes to the regulation about what is or is not dark, even one spell that cleans silver was made illegal. Granted the cleaning solution sprayed and then rubbed in could damage skin very quickly…"

"That's good. The legalities thing; last thing I want to face is another trial for defending myself, just because the minister doesn't want me around."

Neville laughed, "Worse yet, you had the Minister's overly-devoted assistant deciding to try to kill you, then settling for trying to snap your wand."

Harry shook his head, "I really don't get the Ministry of Magic. There are so many issues that muggles deem to be essential that just are ignored. And with no classes on government or civics or any of that, how can we be expected to know what is legal or not?"

Neville answered, "That's why we are given full wand rights a year before we turn 18. It's probation of sorts, but most of the info was supposed to be given to us after OWLs."

Harry sighed, "Figures. Though we wouldn't be 17 for another year; if we decide not to sneak in another year or so without the potion."

"In other words, as far as Dumbledore knows, but there is information on how underage magic is tracked…"

"Of course we already know how to get around that, but maybe he thinks Hermione would tell me how to disable it."

Neville snorted, "He must not know Hermione."

Harry shook his head, "No, Hermione would tell me, to make sure I was safe and had enough to eat. Especially since it is clear that it is tied only to my wand signature, I mean, otherwise the Order would have set off the monitor."

"Wonder if the Weaselys ever got a warning."

Harry shrugged, "Warnings wouldn't mean much to most of them; they'd only care about their mother catching them."

Neville sighed, looking up at the vast amounts of stairs they still had to go. "Know a charm to count the number of stairs."

Harry shook his head, standing back up, "Even if I did, I think it'd make me too depressed to climb any more."

Neville answered, "Anyways, before we turn 18, minor things that would cost you a fine if you were older, get you time working at the St. Mungo's or the Ministry doing clean-ups and such."

"St. Mungo's? That doesn't sound like a good idea, with all the vulnerable people there…"

Neville shrugged, "Most of the building is empty. Apparently, a squib wanted to build the tallest building in the world, but didn't bother with all the right muggle permissions. So when the crew was about to be shut down by the muggle government, he got the Magical government to hide the building, and pay off his building costs. But only the first nine floors are really in use."

"Why?"

"Elevators don't run well around magic, and while there are spells that don't effect the magic sensitive, they were mostly designed to help older witches & wizards who couldn't handle the steps to go to a second floor bedroom. And the added magic to make a lift that would run as well as a muggle one would be too great for delicate patients. Three floors was thought to be the worst drop most elderly patients could survive, and that the safety spells would cushion. So they have 4 separate sets of elevators that only let you travel 3 floors."

"And the rest of the building is empty? How many floors are there?"

Neville shrugged, "If it isn't the ward construction must be really complex, or somehow grounded into the thirteenth floor…. That'd be perfect."

"What? Oh. The thirteenth floor hidden from muggles thing that Binns told us about? Sounds like a pain in the butt."

"But if that was in the original plans, that would allow for a entirely different set of wards for thirteen and above."

"And they wouldn't lose all the space to the magic dampeners, to keep the electricity going."

"Yeah, and since magic structures repel lightening…"

"They do?"

"Yeah, that's why the Forbidden Forest gets so many hits."

"Weird. I never noticed."

Neville shrugged, "Maybe there'll be a book on it in the library."

Harry laughed, before turning to ask, "What about the lift in the Ministry?"

"Completely magical. Though it is the reason visitors are allowed to keep their wands while in the Ministry, too many parents with children got caught in the muggle invasion wards in the lift and got stuck for hours."

Neville leaned on the left rail, gripping the rail tightly still. Harry grabbed the left rail to help himself take two steps, and suddenly they were moving up. Neville nearly lost his balance, and grabbed the right rail, and the stairs stopped again.

"Shit."

Neville panted a bit, winded by the scare of nearly falling on these steps. Harry stood up fully, firmly holding both railings now, and turned his head to check on Neville.

Neville gave him a nod, and grabbed the left railing with both hands. Harry nodded back, and released the right rail. But their death grips on the rail weren't needed, because the stairs slowly started to go up, gradually speeding to a pace just less than a Gringott's cart, and slowing gradually again at the top. The boys looked at each other and laughed, before carefully stepping onto the landing.

Sept 06 - Added a bit that was on my other computer so that it all matches up.