A low yet powerful song trembled the entire room. It was the sound of a warrior's call to battle, a heart that would never be defeated, a light that could not be put out. Severus and Hermione turned their heads in unison to the large heavenly bird above them. It wings nearly the size of the entire room, its body rivaling that of a dragon's. It was a wonder it even fit in the room at all. Its long red and gold feathers shined bright, emitting their own light, like the sun. The black mass of power that had taken in Severus' magic seemed to quiver before it. Pulling its smokey tendrils back into a round sphere of swirling black energy.
The large phoenix opened its beak letting out a sound that pierced Severus and Hermione's ears making their entire body jolt as if struck by lightning. Hermione turned away first, clamping her hand tight over her ears, she felt rather than heard the door they were pressed against pop and used her elbow to try the handle. The door gave way, but it was no easy task to open. It wasn't until Severus pressed with her did it open far enough to let them through.
Hermione could hardly keep her barrings with the noise sending her inner ear off balance. That combined with the water trapping her ankles made her step unsure. She stumbled forward into the water before dunking her head purposely under to try and dull the pain in her ears.
Severus was absolutely sure his ears were bleeding but he knew he had to close the door if either of them had any hope of preventing deafness. He too could barely think to stay on his feet. All his concentration was on pushing the heavy steel door closed made him lose sight of where Hermione had gone. It wasn't until the door finally went back into place and the pain that threatened to shatter his teeth dulled to a low roar did he think to make sure there hadn't been any additional dangers.
Hermione pulled her head up from the water with a deep gasp. Everything hurt, her entire body felt like it had been vibrated to pieces. She was focused on taking deep breaths when she noticed the sound was nearly gone. She pushed herself up onto her shaky feet reaching out to try and find Severus through the darkness.
Hermione's searching hand found his chest rather quickly and Severus took it in his hand holding it over his pounding heart. He was no magizoologist but he was quite sure they'd just seen what none had seen in nearly 800 years. He let out deep panting breaths pulling Hermione closer to his chest. He wasn't sure how much more of this he could take. His battle-worn nerves were about to snap. A small part of him was wondering if the witch in his arms was somehow getting him back for how cruel he'd treated her and her friends during their school days. Though his heart disagreed, his mind was the devil's advocate. Planting seeds of mistrust formed from those who had harmed him in the past.
"Was that...?"
"I think so..." Severus pushed the dark thoughts down into the deepest part of his mind. He had to get them out. The only light at the end of his dark tunnel of thought was that his theory that the phoenix was somehow a protector and not a monster to be fought. Unfortunately, what it was protecting was much worse than he ever could have imagined.
"We need to get out of here..." Severus released the wet and panting woman to light the path before them. As soon as his light formed his heart nearly jumped completely out of his chest. The light having revealed a massive beaked jaw with teeth nearly the size of his hand coming into view not three steps in front of them. He was about to cast a spell when his racing brain finally told him that the creature was long dead.
"I think we found what made those eggs..." Hermione too had nearly left her body when she'd laid eyes on the creature. Her brow furrowed when she noticed that its body had the bones of a snake despite its obviously avian head. She didn't know much more than the creatures Hagrid had taught them at Hogwarts but she was sure it would have been something he would have kept if he'd been capable. "Do you think we can get around it?"
"If we're careful..." Severus turned back when silence filled the room behind the steel door, a cold chill running down his spine. There was no way they could go back the way they'd come. "Come on..."
Hermione was happy for once to take second place. She raised her own wand as she followed behind Severus, taking hold of the back of his coat to keep her balance in the water. When Severus ducked inside the ribcage she cringed but followed suit. She kept hold of his coat tail as he bent down to make his way through while she marveled at how massive the creature must have been as she didn't have to crouch at all.
oOo
Shacklebolt jolted when a low keening siren disturbed the peace of his otherwise silent office. His head instantly turning towards one of the many shelves that lined his office. His brow furrowed deeply when he realized it was coming from what he had always thought to be a bookend. A phoenix in flight, gold with sapphire eyes. He'd liked the statue so much, as it had reminded him of Dumbledore, that he'd made it a centerpiece of his other smaller statues.
He'd inherited it with the office with no explanation as to its origins only that he must never rid himself of it. It had never struck him as something extrodinary—until now. Unsure what to do, the man raised his wand to try and silence the sound coming from the birds now open beak, though just before he was to cast its eyes flared with light before going silent. He backed himself away slowly, believing it unwise to turn his gaze.
oOo
Hermione and Severus' steps became dryer the closer they got to the end of the tail, passing a mass of bones that might have been wings, they both felt a small feeling of relief when they found themselves on dry land again. The tunnel had curved, winding upward before dipping back down again. It was odd like they'd risen and fallen more than a floor before descending even deeper. The walls had grown cold, a frost covering the moist stone creating small icicles from where the groundwater slowly seeped through. They'd passed a door at the height of the curve but neither one of them had been able to open it and thus had no choice but to continue forward.
Neither one of having them had spoken about what they'd witnessed but their minds were turning in every possible direction. It didn't seem unusual that a few creatures would have taken up residence in the vacant castle but why had these particular creatures come to be there? Why hadn't they encountered any such creature on the other side of the castle? Had they been there when the wards had been set? If so, why had they been there in the first place? Were they brought to guard the swirling mass of power they'd just encountered? Or were they a manifestation of its power? Neither one of them had enough clues to put together a proper theory but they weren't giving up just yet.
"Look." Hermione's softly whispered voice echoing in the hall actually made her jump. She let out a slow breath trying to unwind the tension that had been growing in the silence as she pointed her wand towards a door that looked similar to the one they'd opened to leave the catacombs. Her excited discovery turned to worry as she noticed the ash around the bottom of the door, that and it wasn't closed completely.
Severus too lowered his wand, making the same discovery as she had but something else was starting to press into his thoughts. Voices, pained and crying voices—children's voices. A rope curled tight around his heart as he pushed the sound away, raising his occlumency shields. He didn't know what lied beyond the door but something told him that they needed to know.
He stepped around her shoulder putting his hand upon the door, as soon as he touched it he could feel the magic inside it had gone. He gave it a firm push, the sound of wood scraping against stone filling their ears. The door had been broken at its hinge, leaving it partially unfitted. The dark ash that had covered the entranceway was pushed back to reveal polished tile.
Hermione couldn't go past the threshold, the sight before held her like a sticking charm. Her eyes focused on two orbs that sat in the darkness emitting their own sort of black light. Severus, however, was undaunted and cast out towards the nearest sconce setting a chain reaction that lit the entire room in a bluish glow.
Severus turned his eyes immediately to the center where three stone pillars stood. Two of which held large orbs held in place by metal straps to protect the glass therein. When his eyes turned down, he instantly knew from where the black mass of power had come. The metal cage meant to hold the orb in place laid on its side as though knocked free from its resting place. Coated in dark ash that led to the door they had just come through, there wasn't an ounce of glass to be found. As he carefully came around he noticed a large vine, that had made its way up under the floor, had wrapped itself along the misplaced pillar seemingly having knocked the orb out of place with its growth. The only problem was is that it looked recently grown. Logic dictated that if it had truly been the cause for releasing the mass from inside it too would have perished.
The screams inside his mind rekindled as he moved even closer, his wand held back behind him to keep Hermione from entering. His jaw clenched tight when he noticed a small brass placard beneath the one closest to the door. The stone in his stomach grew colder when he brushed the ash away revealing the name: Ariana Dumbledore.
Hermione swallowed thickly coming further into the room. Her eyes turned down to the name beneath Severus' hand before turning to the orb just above it. Her mind reeled backward recalling information she'd gathered what felt like a lifetime ago, "It's an obscurus... It's...what killed Dumbledore's sister..."
"No...it is what's left of Albus' sister..." Severus turned his head down to the empty pillar only to find the name placard completely gone, his mind turned before the anger welling inside him bubbled to the surface. A harsh breath through his nose kept his voice calm but his face depicted his true feelings, "Why is it here?"
Hermione pursed her lips with worry at the dark look that had taken over Severus' face. She could give him no answer and merely shook her head slowly. Cautious of his near to exploding temper she moved carefully around to the other side of the black washed room furrowing her brow at an archway that appeared to have been stoned up. She'd made to take a step forward when her foot sunk down on the step. Her heart skipped a beat as the wall that had been in front of her gave a loud groaning shudder before starting to slide sideways. Her hand came up to cover her dropped jaw as hundreds of small stones lining the narrow passageway seemed to come to life.
Her heart was torn between the exceptionally intricate stones of all shapes and all colors lined together. The room itself has an odd rainbow that shifted when different stones would activate. Her eyes watched the different patterns trying to discern their meaning before taking note that one third of them never lit.
Hermione followed the dark third of the room down to the floor noticing some sort of metal strip along the tile. She followed it under her own feet before turning back to look at Severus still beside the three plinths. It was then her awe turned to heartbreak.
Souls. Tortured souls, were the key to how the castle had protected itself. Their magic captured and transformed into a form of magical electricity, the power of which no doubt held the castle in its place. Protecting it for centuries. Hermione was just about to exclaim her finding when a deep bone-chilling noise echoed all the way down the hall from which they'd come.
"Severus!"
"Be quiet!" Severus pushed himself from the center of the room towards an alcove beside the hidden door. He motioned for her to join him and when she did, he held her tight to his chest taking a breath-stealing second to glance around the stone. His heart was surely bouncing Hermione's head when he saw the large glowing eyes of the golden phoenix they had escaped.
Hermione could hardly hear anything over her own heart. The sound of talons scrapping tile didn't do her any favors either, though, despite her better judgment and the hand that attempted to keep her head in place, she did manage a small glimpse herself. What she saw made her question everything they'd previously learned.
The large bird slowly shrunk in size as it made its way towards the partially open door. In its beak was a large glowing sphere that appeared to slowly be solidifying. As it stepped through the threshold it let out a weak trill, a sad morose sound that struck Hermione right to the core. The now man-sized bird made its way towards the pillar where the missing orb had been and slowly set the glowing mass of light down. It let out another low noise calling forth the vines that had been wrapped around the base, calling them up and around in an attempt to keep it in place. It was then that Hermione understood its purpose.
The large creature let out another low noise solidifying its magic. The whirling ball of light turned clear, encasing the swirling mass once more. Its job done, the magnificent creature lowered its head and its body, a deep tremble shaking its fatigued frame before it slowly laid down upon the floor, closing its eyes and letting out deep panting breaths.
Hermione's heart told her what she needed to do, she just wasn't so sure Severus would allow her to do it. She turned her head up looking deeply into his own astonished eyes before slowly pushing her way from inside the alcove. Her movement opened the phoenix's eyes but just as she'd hoped, it didn't move, instead, it let out a low mournful noise before closing its eyes once again.
Hermione bit her bottom lip as she came closer, her hands out in front of her to ensure that the beautiful creature knew she meant no harm before she carefully came to kneel at its head. Nearly the size of her entire body, its breath ruffled her clothes but she stood fast. Slowly, hesitantly, she reached out placing her palm along the arch of its beak. When the phoenix seemed to relax to her touch she moved just a bit closer resting her other hand upon its head. Her brow worried to the deep red blood that was slowly seeping down between its golden plume onto the tile below. She wracked her mind for any spells that might have worked to aid the creature when a slow tear slipped down from its eye. She waited with baited breath for the tear to heal its wound but sadly it wasn't enough.
"It's dying..." Hermione could feel her own tears welling up in her eyes as she watched another and another fall from the tired golden eyes. It wouldn't heal fast enough, there was too much blood lost already.
Severus slowly lowered himself down beside her, tilting his head down to examine the extent of its injuries. Nearly all of its left side was completely raw, its beautiful golden feathers stained red with life essence. Even with his own healing skills, he knew it wouldn't be enough. "Why won't it burn? Become reborn?"
"Maybe it... can't or won't because... it can't protect the castle if it does..." Hermione sniffled softly tilting her head to try and see into its eyes, but the tired bird had closed them, letting only the softest of trills, "The castle has no master...so the phoenix has taken on the role..."
Severus respected her logic and given what he'd just witnessed he had to agree. He turned his eyes to the orb held in place by the vines he'd observed earlier. He knew they wouldn't hold long, a day at the most. It was then he understood what the metal had been for. It wasn't only harnessing the power but weakening it as well, keeping the orbs from shattering so that the power within would remain contained. He pushed himself up, leaving Hermione to soothe the beast while he tried to figure out why the orbs power was not being contained.
He noted the floor leading up to the pillars was covered in ash and cast out his hand clearing the floor. His brow furrowed deeper when three lines of metal created a path leading into the room only to find that one of the stones holding the metal in place had been damaged. By what he couldn't be sure but it was enough to cut off the connection from the orb to the room. Calling his wand to his hand he mended the stone and turned his head towards the stone pillar. The phoenix was too close to see properly but he knew there was one other thing that needed to be done. The metal cages around the other two orbs showed their purpose then and he knew that without the conduction the orb would never transfer its power.
He moved carefully beside the phoenix leaning down to retrieve the broken metal cage, turning it in his hand before stepping closer. The voices—the screams, the cries of torment threatened to break over his walls as he came near, it took everything he had to transfigure the metal wide enough that he could slip it over top. His teeth ground as he pushed out everything around him so he could force the cage back around the obscurus. The power within resisted, calling out through the glass making his progress slow.
Hermione lifted her head noticing his struggle and slowly came to her feet. She couldn't hear what he could but the pain on his face was enough for her to know. With one last glance to the dying phoenix, she stepped closer running her hands up his arms to try and lend him the support he needed. She could feel the orb's resistance to being caged pressing against her very soul but she knew it had to be done. She pressed her self as close as she could focusing all her magical strength into Severus' own. Just when she was sure they'd never succeed the metal cage have mighty snap attaching itself firmly into the stone beneath.
A deep breath left her chest and she offered the faintest of smiles before a mighty heat ran up her leg. Both she and Severus stumbled back as the phoenix burst into mighty red flame. The heat of its power nearly took the breath from their lungs but just as quick as it had appeared, the mighty flame burned out in a beautiful display of pyrotechnic power, leaving behind nothing but a large pile of gold flaked ash.