A/N: Hello people and thank you so much for your support!
A big thanks to my Betas and Discord Staff - Alec, Fox, Metzger, BaptismByFire and Zevoros!
Special thanks to Discord users: Noob Salad, Kyn, 5Firehawk, Guiding Moonlights, Kovacs, Dr Maou-Senpai, Post Mortem, Denduck, Wumjumba, Ac, R3, Shirokama, TrustTube, Zachary, JDH, Avatar, CJ07, Echoh, Elizabeth Wilbrooke, Jacks_, Kappe, Kryn_Womble, Mr. E, Pat, Plut0, Presno, Shawnjohn120 and Trop C'est Trop for supporting my writing and commissioning works!
Feel free to join my Discord for updates, giveaways (for those who actively chat), early access, information and now, commissions/free one-shot giveaways, link on my profile. Without any more rambling from me, I hope you enjoy the story!
(Sorry if you don't like the work!)
THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR THE KIND REVIEWS. We now get so many that it's impossible to respond to all of them, but each and every one of you taking the time to speak your support mean the world to me. Please, by all means, speak with me in Discord!
The figure moved quicker than any person had a right to, but the movement thereof was strange. Very strange. It didn't run, there was no motion made from the creatures legs and it certainly wasn't pumping its arms as it moved toward him, no, those were outstretched towards him, and as the figure reached the light Harry had cast some seconds ago, he noticed something more. It was Grindelwald… only not truly Grindelwald. Whatever magic it was, the 'figure' he'd seen was wispy, like a mixture of dust and smoke — decidedly different from the magic of the Horcrux he'd seen. That had been darker, stronger, more detailed and dangerous.
Dangerous especially when compared to the illusion before him that tapered out, the particles of what remained falling to the floor before they too became nearly impossible to pick out. It'd given him a right startling, it had, but the magic that'd made it do as much had clearly not meant for it to do anything beyond causing those who came, to flee. Had he been younger and less-experienced, maybe it'd have worked, but even then, he doubted it. Fear wasn't all that much of a trigger of his unless it was Elaine causing it; even then, that was more stress than anything else.
The fear of picking up after a mess she'd made that shouldn't have happened in the first place. Such was a grand fear of his.
Harry blinked a few times, looked back whence the shadow had come from, and after making certain nothing else was there, he shrugged. It'd been a tad spooky, sure, but there didn't seem to be anything else coming for him, and so his eyes returned to the door he'd been interested in. The ornate one, or perhaps, the one that was more ornate than the rest considering everything in the place seemed a bit gaudy and overly expensive for the sake of saying you paid a fortune for this or that. He didn't quite understand the train of thought that compelled the richest 'Lords' and 'Ladies' to buy up all that they did in the Magical world anymore than he had when he was younger in the Muggle world.
It was wasteful, and as had seemed proven, they didn't help you navigate the world after so many changes. There'd still be a presence in the place if it had.
With that thought lingering, he pushed open — very tentatively — the door he'd been looking at. He only did so a few centimetres, not wishing to see inside the entirety of the thing all at once. When he'd moved it just enough to glance around the top and bottom of the door, and the handle on the other side to boot, he examined it with all the focus one could muster whilst also retaining perceptive in regards to their surroundings. The last thing he needed was some Inferi or the like grabbing him up from behind while he looked for Muggle-made traps.
The combination of the two was downright diabolical. It was strange too, considering Grindelwald's rhetoric. Why use Muggle weaponry or crafts if the man was so publicly against the Muggles in the first place?
Harry imagined there was more to the story, much more than he'd ever know, but it didn't matter much to him. As he pushed through the door and took in the rest of the room after ascertaining the safety of the doorway, he had a more sinister thought than was usual; everything that Grindelwald did, the man's lineage, his name, his accomplishments, he'd have them scrubbed from history if he could manage it. Elaine would see that done as well.
By the time they had children, or their mates had children, he wanted there to be no 'Grindelwald' left to read about.
As for the room now that he could see the entirety of it, he was left disappointed. It was a form of museum or storage room, maybe. There were many suits of armour, pieces of weaponry, old items rusted through, bullets, just about anything one could think of even down to a stone with writing etched into it that looked centuries older than the rest. Harry had to admit, there was a hint of temptation to snatch one of the suits of armour, especially when Aster came to mind, but he refrained.
Instead, with wand in hand, he waved it about, ensuring to himself that there was nothing of a magical nature that he'd leave behind here. That couldn't be allowed, and he'd not wish to have Elaine or Corene check where he'd already gone before and find something, so he ensured that every few steps, he'd turn and scan his surroundings. Were anything magical present, the incantation which he muttered would lead a wispy strand of magic to it and encircle it, all but highlighting it for his eyes to make out.
It was one of the most useful spells he'd ever learned. Thanks to that spell too, he found the only magical item present in the room with him, and much to his surprise, the thing that showed at least a sign of something arcane, was that of the little stone with writing on it. Harry couldn't identify it without more time and magic used thereon, but it wasn't what he was looking for.
The lack of a sense of needing to vomit on account of the dark energy that would have been present was the first bit of proof. The second was the lack of any defence put out by the thing, were it what they were seeking. Harry took a few steps closer after he ensured there wasn't a tripwire or something else that stuck out, and when he did, he moved closer still, until he found himself but a step before the case which the object was in.
Harry peered at it again from up above the item, his curiosity getting to him as a hand reached out… but he stopped himself short. This wasn't what he was looking for even if it were interesting — he'd mention it to Elaine after. He twisted on the balls of his feet and walked out the room to whence he'd come. Elaine and Corene still weren't finished following after him, and so he moved to the next door.
It was a few steps away from the room he'd just been in, and after checking that for traps in much the same way, he pushed it open, and promptly closed it shortly thereafter. He'd checked it with a wave of his wand as he'd done with the other room, but there wasn't so much as a reason to step in. The place was a closet, small and full-up with linens and pillows, and after he'd spent a few seconds ensuring he didn't miss anything, he'd moved on again.
There were three doors left down this corridor, and then the path at the end, where the figure had come from. Call it a hunch, if you would, but Harry imagined the area whence the shade had come from was the area which he needed to seek out. With Grindelwald, nothing had seemed straight to the point and easy. The man loved his labyrinths nearly as much as he seemed to love trapmaking.
It was beyond frustrating, to be certain.
Thankfully, with the three remaining doors left to be searched, he'd not have to do so himself. Elaine and Corene finally appeared.
"Harry," Elaine greeted with a smile, wide and pleased. "I can't imagine I missed anything."
"You didn't," he all but huffed even if that wasn't exactly true. "There was an illusion of Grindelwald at the far end of the hall that came shortly after your departure, but it wasn't like the others, yeah? It was weaker, and it collapsed into dust and mist before it so much as reached the halfway point between it and me. There was something magical, an old artefact that's well-broken in the museum or showroom — the ornate door — but I didn't bother examining it. Not with these other doors and that final path."
"Fair." Corene seemed to agree with what he'd done.
Elaine, on the other hand, was immediately curious as to what the relic or artefact might be, and so with a skip in her step, she was off to the room he'd mentioned. He imagined that piece of magical history might soon be liberated from this place of captivity. Maybe that wasn't the right thing to do should it have belonged to others once… but he wasn't bothered enough to stop her.
If there was something to be learned from it or pieced together, anything at all, it was better in their possession than in that of any other person. At least with him and Elaine, it'd be kept somewhere that was truly safe, and should it be some unknown harbinger of doom, it'd never be found.
And maybe if it were something very cool, it'd be theirs and theirs alone.
"Corene?"
She cocked her head at him, her eyes staring at him unblinking and waiting.
"Fancy helping me with these other three doors while Elaine sees to that?"
Corene's response was to move, her steps, silent as they were small and swift, carried her over to the farthest door from the area the shade had come from. There wasn't so much as a nod from her, but she'd done as he'd asked. Harry grinned to himself, small as it was, and made for the door beside her. If Elaine came out soon, she'd have the final door, and if not, they'd go through it together.
Harry glanced at Corene from out of the corner of his eye as he reached his door and noticed that she wasn't using the same method that he was. Rather than edge the door open and glance around, Corene thought far more magically inclined, he'd call it. With a wave of her wand and a query of a brow, the stone beside the door bent to her will, opening up a space that only grew and grew, until she levitated in object through it.
He wasn't sure if he was right with what he saw, but he swore the object she'd pushed through the hole was a mirror, a little hand mirror that witches used for their makeup charms. After sending it through, she shone a light, whilst the mirror floated autonomously. When she needed to, she moved it, the light dimming as she did so.
It was so interesting to watch that by the time her door was in the process of being opened, he'd yet to start his own. The boot in the rear he needed was when Corene stepped through, the show finished; he imitated her manner of doing things shortly thereafter, and found himself inside not more than ten or so seconds later.
Her way definitely took longer, but he did imagine it was far safer than his. Probably.
The room he'd gone into and the room she'd gone into had both turned out to be duds, with not so much as a hint of magic betwixt the pair. Elaine, meanwhile, had yet to return from the showroom he'd pointed out. Whatever he'd found had seemed to snag her fascination, and that left him and Corene to search the final room; if she wasn't out when the two were finished then, he'd have to go in and snag her away from her little impromptu research.
For now, he reckoned he'd allow her. It wasn't like the three were needed altogether to search the various rooms.
"Ready, yeah?" he asked with a glance over at Corene when she finished approaching him, the expressionless girl glancing at him with a cocked head when she finished her steps.
"Ready." Corene's simple response.
Harry smiled at her and gave a nod, and then he began to transfigure the hole they'd peer through. He was reaching for Elaine's makeup mirror that he'd snagged the first time about when he felt a hand brush him aside — and so when he finished the transfiguration, the second after, a mirror went through and he spied Corene's wand raised.
That left Harry with the final task, he supposed, and so he cast Lumos, keeping it dim so as to not blind her. Corene's lips went up when he did so without so much as saying a word, and together in silence the pair made sure there wasn't a trap or creature waiting just beyond the door for them. Satisfied a minute later, they pushed it open and entered.
It was far more interesting than the previous two rooms they'd been in, and larger than the two combined.
"Muggle items?" Corene queried upon spying many an object that didn't belong in so old a place. There was more than a hint of disapproval therein as well, Corene's typical curiosity far more reserved in the presence of items that were Muggle-made.
Harry stepped further into the room and made his Lumos brighter, so that he might be able to better comprehend what he was seeing. The room was messy to be certain, but that wasn't all that confused him; the items, so varied and distinctly Muggle, required his utmost attention. He'd read about them in history class decades in the future, but also in the past… strange as that was to say. There wasn't a doubt in his mind that he'd seen most of those things laid out on the ground, tables and furniture before them.
"Don't get any closer to them," he said in warning, just in-case Corene was going to do just that; he didn't think she would, but better safe than sorry. "I don't think there's anything that'll go off on us, but I'd rather make sure first, yeah?"
Corene simply waited, leaning against the wall as Harry went to work. It seemed there was a hint of inquisitiveness in her gaze, but she'd not do anything about it.
Harry, meanwhile, approached closer and closer to the first pile of belongings. There were helmets, the German kind — he wasn't sure how to describe it, but he was quite certain of their origin. In addition to that, there were uniforms, socks, bits of metal, cantines, a gun of some sort and more. Ration packs too, he reckoned.
All in all, while some things were items he'd rather not touch in-case they went off, he wasn't worried. Nothing present seemed like it was a bomb or the like. As he looked around the gaff, he reckoned it was more of the same as he increased the brightness present in the room.
"Reckon it's safe," he said aloud to Corene, gesturing that she was fine to move if she wished to. "It's just a bunch of trinkets left behind by them. As long as you don't touch anything, none of it will activate."
Corene edged a few steps closer to him, but only a few. She seemed content to scan the room for magic no more than a few steps in, and that was all. All of those items that he'd go and take a peek at weren't the least bit interesting to her, but maybe, just maybe, he'd find something that could be used by them. After all, there was still the explosive they'd found that seemed to be rigged to blow… was it far-fetched of him to think there'd be something present to handle that?
Harry didn't rightly know all that much about Muggle weapons in the first place, after all. He was simply the one that knew the most of those present.
He edged closer as Corene turned to look in the furthest corner of the room. It seemed a bit darker than most of the other rooms in the castle; the fewer windows and lack of torches made it especially eerie when added to the Muggle belongings left behind. It was like those that'd stayed here had left in a hurry, disregarding much of their shite as they hurried away. Maybe they'd done so when Grindelwald had declared they'd all go elsewhere, and attack the Brits, something he'd not done previously.
Even now, as Harry was examining the objects of Muggle design, he was perplexed by that change in history. Why had Grindelwald suddenly changed what he'd historically done, and gone after the British Empire? He should've known he'd not beat her and the might of her allies and vassals.
It simply wasn't possible.
"Nothing. Disappointing." Corene's two words were all the notice she'd give him that her search was completed, and over. She stayed present in the room near the door all the same, but she'd finished her task and now stood watching Harry, silent and with that inquisitive glint in her eyes.
He snorted. "You're not the only one that was expecting more. Believe me." and with that said, he moved on from the second pile of junk — or all but — and on to the third and fourth, which were very conveniently placed beside one another. There were clothes, boots, more brass casings that seemed to have a tip at the end, cantines, shovels… just about anything one could think a Muggle soldier would need save for the guns they typically used. For a moment, Harry was sorely tempted to grab up no small amount of the items around him, for Aster would most certainly be interested in the lot of them. The only reason he stopped short of doing so was the thought of where these items came from and what might have happened to their original owners.
On the off chance the tale was gruesome or there was more than led on at first glance, he'd leave the things here. Those other people outside that were guarding the place had done so for a reason, he reckoned. That or they'd not been able to get further in like the Magicals were capable of doing. Either way, Harry was content to stand, swivel on his feet and start back towards Corene.
That was, until he saw the item on a bookshelf behind the loveseat to his right. The aforementioned shelf had a portion that was clear of all books, all of them gone, either on the floor or elsewhere, and in the place of those books was a staff-like item. It was made of wood and carved, but evidently, not magical, else Corene would have found it. Still, it left him a touch curious, and so he moved past the seat and over to the bookcase, coming to a stop before it by a foot or so.
Harry reached out a hand, but he stopped, leaving it outstretched. His eyes searched the length of the staff, sweeping from the top of the carved wooden pole to the bottom. There didn't seem anything there that would act the part of a trap or the like, and so, tentatively, Harry grasped it with one hand whilst retaining his wand in the other. That latter action was just in-case there was something he'd missed; his reactions were better than most, so it was a wager that he could react fast enough to shield himself and Corene both.
Elaine, of course, was still over yonder examining the item with magic still present therein.
When he pulled it far enough away that he doubted anything could happen as a result of his doing so, he fully grasped the item and jerked it back. It was fully off the shelf, and shortly thereafter, stored safely in his pack that was enchanted to fit far more than just that. Those markings on it, the runes he couldn't identify, maybe hidden therein was information that could assist them down the road. He couldn't be certain, but he'd take it just in-case.
A few seconds later, he was back by Corene's side, the silent girl looking at him curiously. He followed her gaze to his bag, the one he'd just stuffed something inside, and from there, he grinned at her. It was an item he reckoned the pair of them could make sense of later on. Corene, for her part, cocked her head, but manoeuvred back through the door.
Right as he followed after her, Elaine appeared in the opposite door's archway. Her pack was floating behind her, and as she walked out to meet the pair that just emerged, it settled on her back and wrapped itself around her seemingly of its own volition. Her mastery of magic was impressive, to be certain.
"Anything with you two?" Elaine asked, her hand going back to ensure the pack was closed.
"Just Muggle items and a staff with some strange carvings in it — we'll examine it when we're home, not here. We want to be in and out quickly, yeah?" Harry's eyes, naturally, fell to the last spot the trio could do. It was the same path that the shade that looked very much like Grindelwald had come down.
With how far away it was to the rest of the doorways, it seemed almost comical. Well, comical or like something from out of a horror book. The Lumos spells of the three definitely helped temper that second comparison.
"If you're certain," Elaine said with almost a pout in her voice, her eyes lingering on his pack after those words were said. She drew a step or two closer to Harry, grasped his hand with one of hers, and then pulled him right along. Elaine's steps were confident as ever and quick, as if she owned the place and was simply navigating it.
Corene, behind the pair, would oft look back over her shoulder with her wand before her. Each hand was clutching the other with her wand between them in-front of her person. Like Elaine, she seemed confident that they weren't in any sort of danger, for whatever reason.
Harry, meanwhile, seemed to be the only one taking a proper look about the place as they delved deeper into its depths. His eyes were nearly constantly moving, searching for any sign of a tripwire or some other form of trap. Each time those eyes of his came up empty, he doubted himself, wondering if any step now would see them into an explosion of some sort.
It didn't. There wasn't so much as anything eventful as the trio continued their movements deeper into the ancient castle. Not even as they made it within a foot of the archway the shade had come down — with that said, they did finally get a better view down whence that shade had come from now that they were before the little archway.
There was a set of stairs, three steps all-in-all, that led down into another hallway. It was longer, and it seemed older, perhaps belonging to the very original construction of the castle before it was expanded or repaired. The hall was sloped too, if very steadily, and at each of the far ends, they had a set of staircases that descended further still, into the giant structure. It almost reminded him of Corene's family's hold, if only far less kept-up with in regards to its care through the passing of time.
Harry looked over at Corene as his other hand reached into Elaine's pack once more, the latter girl pushing into his side to allow him to do so… though with ulterior motives of her own as she moulded herself against him; the shiver and way she peppered his neck with kisses until he'd taken out her little mirror nearly had him mad with frustration.
He took a step forward, distancing himself from Elaine lest he go truly crazy, and levitated the mirror out before his person. The Lumos that he'd kept up allowed him to see over the doorway, and on the sides of it, thus ensuring with a careful gaze that there was nothing beyond it that might prove troublesome. Really, since they'd seen that first trap sometime ago, there'd been nothing else since.
It was a tad bit strange, in truth. Perhaps that was the reason he felt so on-edge.
Harry looked at the two witches beside him, and then he descended the steps.
He exited the door nearest to the far right side from when they'd stepped down the stairs, leaned back against the wall and sighed. This had gotten them nowhere, thus far. Instead, the trio were simply clearing room after room, all of which proved devoid of magic, life, or anything that might otherwise help them. It was making Harry grow increasingly more agitated.
Elaine seemed to feel similar, or perhaps it was her agitation that he felt. There was even a chance that his own was going to her, causing her to feel much the same — if that were the case, the two echoing the sentiment of annoyance and agitation, it wasn't surprising that he'd become so annoyed within the past few minutes.
Harry looked to the left, and then to the right. There were those two great, big staircases that led further into the castle, one side or the other, they'd have to go and pick one, and if there was anything he'd come to learn about Grindelwald, the man did so favour his underground labyrinths.
That led Harry to believe that was where they'd find that last piece of himself… if it were here. After the first two, information was rarer still, and the locations they might need to go to, harder to find anything about. Sure, they had a list of the places that were likely, but that wasn't infallible.
He wished it were.
"What do we reckon we should do?" Harry asked the question to either Corene or Elaine. There were two paths, and far less time than they'd started with.
Elaine, who was far less amused than she'd been earlier, pointed down the right path. "You and Corene take that path, and I'll take the left. We'll meet back here in an hour, and should we fail to do so, whosoever arrives will follow the path of those who went missing — take one of these stones with you."
Before Harry could so much as get a word in, Elaine had tossed a small, glowing, hot-to-the-touch stone to him, and he'd caught it; Quidditch wouldn't allow anything but a catch.
"Is this one of tho—"
"Yes," Elaine confirmed before he could so much as finish the question. "It is. You need only touch it and say 'My Heart', and afterwards, whatever words you might speak into the stone will play out to me. Lest you worry that it might happen at a bad time, you can also touch it and say 'Silence', and it will cause the stone to turn cold, both yours and mine. That will act the part of a warning."
Harry blinked down at the stone that was still glowing and hot. "I don't remember you adding that to it."
"I thought of a scenario in which it went off when it'd be disastrous should it do so," Elaine kissed him on the lips as soon as she finished speaking, her fists balling up his shirt and her teeth pulling at his bottom lip when they broke apart. Her eyes were darker than usual, and as she twirled on her feet, she spoke her parting words. "An hour, Corene, Lover, and keep a watchful eye on the heat of the stone."
And with those words spoken aloud, Elaine turned into that black, misty smoke as she'd done before, and flew down the hall toward the opposite side with speed. Her quickness in that form was still mind-boggling, almost as much as the form itself was. Harry had felt it, the weightlessness and ability to go wherever one pleased — when he'd been with her.
She'd have to teach him exactly how to do that later.
Harry passed the stone along to Corene when Elaine's last wisps of smoke were well and gone. "Here," he said as he did so, ensuring she had a firm grasp of the stone instead of tossing it to her. "I'll take the lead, you watch behind us and keep the stone in-hand. How's that sound?"
"Agreeable," was all that Corene offered up in response, but he supposed that'd do.
Like Elaine had just done before them, he started off down the path they'd taken. As before, he searched the entryway with Corene's mirror this time around, and when he was satisfied it was safe, they descended deeper still.
When they finished descending the staircase nearly thirty steps later, the air was distinctly cooler, and the hall before them, older and made of larger pieces of stone. As for the floor, it was covered in carpets, but they seemed just as ancient; he swore they were rotting away too based on the smell.
He glanced at Corene when she took the last step down beside him. She seemed to catch what he was asking without using words, and shook her head, the stone in her non-dominant hand hanging limply at her side.
Elaine, he imagined, more than likely wouldn't even use the thing. It was probably just for him and Corene to ensure the pair were safe… the underlying current of anxiety he felt flowing from her mind to his all but confirmed that suspicion.
But it was a good choice that she'd made. It was better that she was alone, if one had to be, for Elaine's mastery of magic far exceeded his own, and likely Corene's as well; he did believe both girls knew more, but in terms of strength and prowess, he fancied himself over Corene.
"Seven doors," he said aloud. This time, of those seven, not one seemed to lead deeper or to another staircase. It seemed, finally, they'd reached the end of their path, and with few doors left to go.
Thank Merlin, he said internally, and as he brightened the Lumos he'd cast.
When light shone through the room, something familiar was standing at the farthest edge; a shade not at all unlike the first he'd seen. It was simply standing there, manifesting, the smoke and dust whirling up around it as the 'Grindelwald' made of smoke stared them down. Harry wondered, however brief that wonder was, if this one was that of a Horcruxe given that same sense of crude intelligence they seemed to have.
He doubted it when the creature shot out at them, its arms outstretched and grasping repeatedly. It was almost as if the shade of Grindelwald was seeking out the pair to strangle one of them, both if it could… but much like before, the creature fell into the floor before it reached them. The dust and smoke that it left behind were much like the previous shade as well, and as before, there was nothing left behind.
Corene, when he looked over at the girl, had her wand out and outstretched toward where the figure had once been. She hadn't so much as done a thing, twas true, but she'd been ready at a moment's notice with the tip lit up as if a spell were right on the verge of casting. Harry was impressed, though only vaguely; he knew Corene was dangerous enough.
Elaine had taught her and helped her along, after all.
"What do you suppose that was?" Harry asked, his eyes still darting to and from, seeking out anything else that might jump out at them; there wasn't anything, despite what his eyes manifested.
"Charm," Corene answered immediately, the smaller girl turning to cock her head at him. "Oft left behind by those who wish to ward off would-be grave robbers or thiefs. Your first?"
"Second now."
Corene's gaze went back whence the creature had come, her inquisitive nature manifesting in said gaze. "A clearer sign that we're on the path to something, we couldn't ask for," she turned back to look at him. "Offer," she said. "I shall take the doors on the right, and you, the left. If trouble is given, we summon the other, and if it's severe enough, we wait for Elaine. Agreeable?"
Harry shrugged, and then he nodded. "Deal," he said aloud, when she continued staring at him.
She always did like receiving a verbal response, just like Elaine.
Satisfied, Corene twirled on the balls of her feet with all the grace of a cat, and with that same grace, she went off, to the first of the doors. Harry would be sure to keep an eye out on where she was, just in-case. As for the doors he'd be handling, there were three of them; Corene had gone ahead and taken the side with more doors. He figured her thirst for knowledge had caused such a choice.
The only unfortunate thing for him now, was the lack of a mirror. He'd failed to knick Elaine's, and Corene was actively using hers. He reckoned he'd just have to make a wider hole and a bit of glass himself… that'd take a bit longer, but it was manageable, and so he began. With a few whips of his wand, the hole was made, silent and with nary a move of his hand. He'd grown so much stronger from the time he'd arrived, such was the thought as he took his first glance into the room beyond; it seemed like it was some sort of large storage space, the many boxes piled high, one atop the other atop the next.
There also seemed to be a mirror of some sort in the room, to the left of the door. He couldn't make it out in its entirety, but he could see a good bit of the thing. Harry could hardly place the feeling, but something sent shivers down his spine as he looked at it longer, the only light coming from his wand. He squinted his eyes, a shadowy arm — or rather what seemed to be as much — catching his attention from the corner of his sight, but there was nothing. No hint of a person nor the shade of sorts.
His mind was playing tricks on him, filling in the darkness with illusions thanks to the movement of his wand as he looked all about. Harry wasn't very fond of that, but he'd not be scared by shadows like some firstie. He'd left Hogwarts, he'd become the Deputy Minister, surely he could handle some dank, stone basement in another country.
With, perhaps, not the greatest judgement, he manoeuvred the mirror rather than make one of his own accord. There didn't seem to be anything behind it, nor was anything waiting on either side of the door, or above it. Instead, the place seemed rather dull, truth be told. His first glance had been correct, the many boxes, crates and other items covered by cloth and left to rot down in the depths.
Harry pushed open the door a few seconds after confirming it was safe to do just that. He took a glance over his shoulder too, of course, noting that Corene was moving towards the second door she had to work on. After seeing that, he took his first step into the room, his wand illuminating all the corners and other such spaces he couldn't previously shine light into.
The boxes were piled high as he'd thought, with more and more coming into view. It was absurd, the amount of crates and the like they'd fit into the space… and it caught his fancy too.
Thus, with a gesture, Harry cast away the nearest edge of cloth that was covering what seemed to be an opened crate. When he did so, his eyes went wide. He couldn't believe the fortune that was before him, laid out in those crates.
Gold. Jewellery. Gemstones. There were necklaces and rings with diamonds and other fancy stones he didn't know the name of, earrings of the same quality as well. If that wasn't enough, there were gems and the like aplenty; diamonds were especially prevalent, but maybe that was because he knew what they looked like better than anything else. If that wasn't enough on its own, there were ingots. Dozens, hundreds, maybe more. Enough to make any person amongst the wealthiest in their country, he reckoned.
Wherever it came from, the person that had it taken from them couldn't have been happy… and in that same regard, was this not a hold of Grindelwald or his Muggle followers? If that were the case, was it not his duty to thus liberate those who remained loyal to the man or, Merlin forbid, Grindelwald himself if he came looking for the treasure that was now before Harry?
He reckoned it was, and so as he turned to take his leave of the space, it was with a grin. Elaine and he had expended much of their wealth to help the Ministry reform and refit, with many of the wages paid to the employees still drawing from their joint vaults. With this as war reparations, they'd be able to bankroll the Ministry for quite some time… and take a good deal back for themselves.
It was about bloody time for something good to happen in this cursed place.
Much like the first room he'd gone in, the second was filled to the brim with gold and other such measures of wealth; there were even more there, he thought. And again, much like the first room, there wasn't so much as a hint of Grindelwald's presence, nor that of magic. Thus far, the place had been relatively Muggle aside from the two shades that'd bothered them.
Bother in the relative sense of the word too, for they hadn't actually done anything aside from try to scare him off, or him and Corene, in regard to the second creature. Maybe the place was left as a storehouse, hence the lack of extra safeguards. If that were the case, the Muggle items and the wealth amassed made sense, sort of. Sure, a bank would be better, but the troops that'd been here had probably taken such bounties from those they'd fought.
Harry shook his head. He'd think about the wealth and other such thoughts of the conflict later. Much later. With Corene working on the third door beside him, her two previous rooms sans magic like his, he pushed open the third door. There weren't any traps that he'd seen, as had seemed normal for the place, but there weren't crates either. From what Harry could see, there'd only been suits of magic and other old weaponry.
Now that he was properly inside, he could see all sorts of mediaeval-style weapons and armaments. Nothing that interested him, though the fact that Aster might like the sight wasn't lost on him — maybe he'd bring him along next time, make it almost like the olden days.
The air was mustier and the coating of dust thicker, Harry noticed as he entered further into the room, his wand raised and sweeping for any sign of magic just like Corene and Elaine had done earlier. Thus far, as he went from the right of the room to the left, there'd been nothing. It was bland, mundane, Muggle, and what text was written upon the armour was in a language he couldn't comprehend. He could've sworn there was a spell to help with that, but the name alluded him. Elaine might remember it, the spell was one he imagined could prove very useful, such was the reason for her having shown it to him in the first place.
He turned, going back whence he came just as he noticed Corene moving to the fourth and final door. When he saw that, he moved towards her, deciding instantly he'd join her for that final door in their vicinity. It certainly beat standing and waiting around.
Corene gave him a glance that lasted for all of a second, the girl seeming only to confirm his presence. When she did so, she continued on with the routine they'd formed; the hole was transfigured, the little mirror was sent through, and a line was shined so as to confirm what lay beyond the door.
This time, unlike all of the others, rather than simply another room there seemed to be a myriad of Muggle items. There were sandbags, everybody knew what those were, and there were guns, machine guns by the look of them. Aside from that, Harry wasn't all that certain what the other items were.
"What do you fancy doing?" he asked, his eyes falling to Corene.
Corene simply blinked at him, her head cocked to the side as her lips pursed in thought. "Uncertain." she said. "I am ignorant of Muggle items aside from the very basics. You remain the expert in the items they craft, and you would know what activates them."
Harry supposed the answer was fair, even if he'd rather hear anything else. Corene typically had good input, but he supposed this wasn't one such instance of that. As she'd said, she was ignorant, willfully so, of Muggles and their creations.
With indecision in his mind, Harry returned his attention to the room at large, enlarging the hole so as to get a wider field of view. There still seemed to be no obvious traps that he could detect, and the place was…
Wait, he said to himself as the wispy trail from the tip of his wand began to form, and go forward. On and on the chain from the tip of his wand stretched, passing by the Muggle items and fortifications, across the stone, through the dust and bits of debris that were present on the ground, until it stopped. The destination it reached was naught but a wall to the back of the Muggle defenders, and one with scorch marks, but no chips in it.
Harry, very tentatively, pushed open the door to the room a hair's width.
Nothing happened.
Emboldened, he pushed it open farther; he stopped when smoke appeared in the corner of his vision.