Chapter 32-Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them All in One Place

Scorpius laid against the ground, his head beating with his heart. He groaned and rolled onto his side to look at what they were all staring at, but his vision was blurred. The bite marks in his ankle beat through his eyes so every time he blinked, the world pulsated. He squinted and forced his eyes to adjust past it until he saw a rectangular hole in the stone wall that he knew hadn't been there before.

"I don't believe it," Patricia's voice said. It echoed from the walls of the next room over.

"What is it?" Scorpius asked, grabbing his head to try and steady it as he eased himself to a sitting position.

"You've just got to see this!"

Scorpius felt an arm at his side and realized that it was Rose, helping to pull him to his feet. One foot in front of the other, he told himself. As he began moving, the feeling of his entire body pounding like a drum subsided. The kappa hadn't taken much blood from him. It was more the pain of the bite at his ankle that made him dizzy. No doubt, Patricia was losing more blood than he had with the gashes in her chest.

He gripped Rose's arm and could feel her own heart beating from being so close to her. The out-of-sync heartbeat made him forget his own. One foot in front of the other.

He then saw the stone wall passing by him in his peripheral vision and he looked up to gaze at the room behind the wall.

"Merlin," he breathed.

Patricia was sitting on the ground in front of him, blood dripping from her chest into a puddle on the floor. She gazed out into the vastness of what was before them. The room was massive. It was as tall as a ring on the Quidditch pitch at Hogwarts and massively wide. And that wasn't the most magnificent thing about it.

"I'd be excited if I wasn't about to faint," Patricia told them. She fell back onto the ground. Her chest was drenched in blood. Just seeing it forced Scorpius to his knees. He had to keep breathing to prevent passing out. He clenched his eyes like fists. Don't faint, don't faint. Not in front of everyone. He heard Rose's breathing beside him and tried to match his with hers. He took air into his lungs and pressed it back into the cool cavern.

"I've never seen so many magical creatures in one place in my life," Rose said beside him. "Not even at the Ministry."

Scorpius opened his eyes once more. End to end were magical animals. Cages hung from hooks high in the walls where strange furry creatures squawked. Others roamed free, flying about or jabbering nonsense as they rolled along the floor or scurried from here to there, all with bands tightened around some body part: an arm, a neck, a tail. A bird with bright pink plumage sat on a swing near them, coking its head. One of these bands was tightened down around its beak. Scorpius squinted his eyes and thought he saw runes scrawled along it.

"Don't take it off," Carina warned him. She surprised him and he fell back against Rose. The girl was standing in the shadows with her arm out, holding some creature he couldn't see.

"I was going to!" he spat. "I'm not stupid. Besides, do I look like I'd touch another damn animal after the last one took a bite out of my leg?"

She ignored him and stepped into the torchlight, revealing a creature he definitely knew. It was a phoenix.

"Phoenixes have healing tears," Rose said, smiling. "It can help Patricia."

"And why would it help us?" Scorpius asked. "It doesn't know a thing about us. It couldn't care less if Patricia dies."

Carina's inky eyes sparkled before she looked over at the giant bird. Scorpius couldn't fathom how she managed to hold it. The creature towered far over her head. It was the very length of her torso with giant, bulging wings that glowed red like lava. It puffed out its chest and wrapped the four fingers of its elongated claws around her arm. It should have been cutting off all circulation in her arm. She should have dropped it. Her arm, at the very least, should have been shaking under the creature's weight with blood dripping down from the scratches of its talons. But Carina made the occupation look effortless. It hunched itself so it could get a better look at her dark complexion and cold eyes.

She licked her thumb, reached a hand over, and pinched the band around the bird's claw. It poked its head about as she rubbed the ink until it smeared. She smiled and pulled her hand away. Not an instant later, the bird had torn the band off of its claw.

"I think he'll help us," she said. "Because he knows we'll help him."

The phoenix opened its wings. The span of them was so wide; Carina had to duck her head down, grinning as she did. It took off, gliding down until it landed at Patricia's side.

Patricia's eyes widened as she watched the bird lean its head over her and drop steaming tears down onto her chest. She clenched her teeth and squealed each time a droplet of water seared into her skin. Her hands dug into the dirt floor of the massive cave and the dust filed out through the spaces into her fingers.

The phoenix pulled at her robes, picking them up and dropping them against her body.

"Stop it! That hurts!" Patricia scolded it.

The bird squawked, leaned down, and nipped her fingers.

"Ouch!" she yelped. "What was that for?"

It grabbed her clothes and pulled at them once more.

"Hey, what's he doing?" she asked.

Carina patiently walked over and kneeled beside Patricia, she took the robes by her neck in her hands and tore the front of Patricia's outfit so her bare chest was exposed and the gashes were visible beneath the layer of blood coating her skin and bra.

Carina stood back up as the phoenix continued its work unimpeded by clothing.

"How do you know so much about phoenixes?" Scorpius asked.

Carina shrugged. "I don't know a thing about them, but he certainly seems to know enough about me." She watched as the phoenix scooped the air around them into its wings and flew to the nearest cage to rest atop of it while peering down at the group of four below.

Patricia sat up and touched her chest unbelievingly. Everywhere, the dried blood stuck to her, save the four slices in her skin which were clean and white as if they'd been soaked in salt water. In a way, they had. Her fingers ran carefully along the tender gashes that had all but closed. The giant tares along her breasts were now just long, skinny cuts.

"Merlin," she breathed, "I was healed by a phoenix. I was healed by a phoenix! This is the best day of my life!"

"Touch wood," Scorpius warned her. "The day's not out yet."

As if beckoning danger with the comment, something crashed above.

The group looked to the ceiling apprehensively.

"That didn't sound good," Patricia said.

Footsteps echoed along the insides of the walls above them. First, a singular pair and then more and more and more. Far too many to just be their companions. Carina and Rose rushed to the door to close the stone entrance so no one would know they'd entered. The torchlight from the other room was gone and the children were bathed in darkness as the sounds of fantastic beasts screamed about them.

Soon, the sounds of footsteps turned to voices, lots of voices. They were naturally rough and cruel voices that creaked through the walls. The four wizards brought themselves further into the cave, albeit slowly. They, after all, had no idea what sort of creatures were about.

That's when the stone door opened. The torchlight from the next room over spilled into the cavern for a several meters, but stopped before reaching the children. Stout silhouettes stood in the doorway. Someone was pushed to the ground, but they could see nothing. A hand reached out in the darkness and touched the wall. Unintelligible words echoed through the cavern and symbols began to glow blue. Giant symbols. Symbols the size of car tires glowed like gems in the walls and all were illuminated in the color of cobalt.

Jagobin walked into the room. His followers were behind him. Many more than seven now emerged. At least twenty entered the room.

"Release them," he ordered.

The goblins parted. Albus was thrown to the ground and Leo stumbled into the room.

"Leo!" Carina smiled. She ran to him and pulled him into a hug. "Oh, you're not dead! I'm so happy! I'm so happy you're not dead!"

Leo tentatively put his arms around her back and squeezed her in return. "Rather happy about that myself," he admitted.

Suddenly, she pulled away and looked him over. "He didn't kill you," she said. She looked back to Jagobin, her hand still on Leo's shoulder. She was wet from head to toe, her usually controlled hair completely unruly. It had started to frizz and kink. "Why didn't you kill him?"

"They just got me in the next room over," Leo told her. "Don't let their confidence fool you. I had them running about this place like lemmings. Albus was unconscious on the ground when I got to him. This wasn't their doing at all. They're weaker than us."

Jagobin laughed. "Weaker than you? We're not the ones backed into a corner."

Leo looked around the room, confused. As he walked back, he bumped a cage and a ferret creature started swearing at him.

"Is this how you do it?" he asked them. "Is this it? You've been selling magical creatures on the black market? No, better. You've been breeding magical creatures and selling their dangerous and sterile offspring, breaking countless laws put in place to protect wizards." He shook his head. "And now what? What'll you do with us? Even if you do get the Pearl, I doubt the wizarding world will be too thrilled to hear that Harry Potter's son was kidnapped by you. Whoever's covering for you at the Ministry will be of no use once this all gets out." He stepped towards him. "And it will get out. It isn't just us who know. I've written an article that'll go into press tomorrow at my newspaper and all of Hogwarts will know every detail of your dealings."

"Leo," Carina said.

He turned back to her. "Nothing on you," he assured her. She walked forward and gripped his hand.

Jagobin stood there without a word on his tongue. He had gone from having complete control to none at all. He held their lives in his hands, yet he did nothing.

Patricia had crawled over to where Albus laid and turned him onto his back.

"Albus," she whispered, stroking his neck. "You can wake up now."

"You're Albus's girlfriend?!" Scorpius suddenly shouted. "You? Honestly, Patricia, I didn't think you were that desperate."

She turned back to face Scorpius.

"For your information, I'm dating Albus because he's fun and smart and I like him. You can sod off, Scorpius."

Patricia leaned over Albus, his head in her hands, and pressed her lips into his.

Jagobin calmly whispered to a goblin beside him who nodded.

"And the girl you caught? Shall we take her?"

He pondered. "Has anything ever escaped this room?" he asked.

"No creature nor prisoner," the goblin replied in his terrible scratchy voice.

"Then leave her until we have our next move planned."

Then, the goblins turned and left, walking back out through the door they had entered. Jagobin bowed his head as the door was shut.

"That's stupid; there's no lock," Scorpius said.

That's when the edges of the stone door melded and sealed to the wall so the door vanished and all that surrounded them was escapeless cavern wall.

Patricia looked back at him. "You just had to open your big mouth, didn't you?"

Rose took out her wand and pointed it at Albus to wake him up.

"Rennervate," she said. Nothing. "Am I not doing it right?" she asked, smacking the stick against her leg. "Rennervate," she tried again.

"It isn't you," Patricia sighed, her own wand out. "It must be the runes. They can bar magic just like the charms at Hogwarts bar apparition. It must be because of the magical animals they don't want escaping. There's no reason to put them anywhere else."

"So, we're stuck."

Without the goblins, the glowing runes suddenly flashed off so the group sat in darkness. No wands to light anything. They were silent for a moment.

Patricia clicked her tongue. "I don't suppose anyone has a match?"

Scorpius rolled his eyes. "You and Albus belong together."

"What? What is that supposed to mean?"

"Who would carry a match with them?"

"Into an abandoned prison? Hm. I wonder."

"We have wands! What good are matches?"

"They'd be some good now," she muttered.

"I suppose," Scorpius said, "now's as good a time as any, wouldn't you say?" The dark room gave no reply. "The Living Pearl," he clarified. "It's time to give it to its rightful owner."

"That's right," Carina's voice agreed. "How could I have forgotten?"

He removed his winter cloak and lifted a bottle from a pocket within. He then handed the cloak to the bare-chested Patricia who thankfully covered herself.

"What's in the bottle?" Leo asked as Scorpius handed it to him.

"If I'm not mistaken," Rose jumped in. "I believe it's the potion I was going to use to make my wand."

"I'm sorry, Rose," Carina apologized.

"For what? I don't much need it now."

"But I manipulated you into making it for me."

"Yeah. Just ask next time, alright?"

"Just to be clear. You want me to drink this?" Leo asked.

"Hopefully it works," Carina said.

The group looked her spot in the darkness all at once.

"I'm sorry, but you don't know if this is going to work?" Scorpius asked her. "We are steaking our lives on this."

"According to written record, not even Baxg himself knew how to remove it. There is no soul alive who does. The Pearl's advice is our only hope. Leo, drink it."

Leo looked down at the bottle, but all he saw was black. He could only feel its contours. He popped the plug and proceeded to chug the contents.

"Drink it all!" Carina commanded. "All of it! You need to completely envelop the Pearl in liquid and we've only one shot."

"But the Pearl's in his naval I thought," Rose said.

"It is," Carina said. "But the potion should leak through his internal organs and find the Living Pearl. From there…I don't know what happens."

"Comforting," Scorpius said sarcastically.

Leo took the bottle from his lips and breathed heavily, looking about.

"So?" Rose asked. "Do you feel any different?"

"No," Leo said. As he did, his body began to glow. The brightest of colors spread across his skin and radiated light. "What? Why are you staring at me like that?"

"Well," Scorpius sighed. "You've either killed him or turned him into a tropical fish."

"What are you talking about?" Leo looked at his arms. His face fluctuation from surprise to confusion to fear to pure happiness. He grinned and started laughing. "I don't believe it. Look, I'm a wand!"

"Leo, is anything happening with the Pearl?" Rose asked.

He touched his bellybutton and shook his head. Then, he knitted his eyebrows and closed his eyes, covering his mouth with his hand. The lights making his skin glow vanished and they were once again dipped in darkness.

"Leo?" Rose asked.

He took his hand away from his mouth and a shimmering white ball sat in his hands. It sent out waves of white light that lit the room for at least five meters' radius around them.

Leo looked over at Carina.

"I believe this belongs to you," he said. But before he could hand it to her, the ground rumbled. Carina fell into Leo as everything shifted and the Pearl dropped to the ground. A scream sliced through the atmosphere and echoed down through the air vents.

Rose looked up at Carina. "Is that?"

"The dragon."