Dark Room, Foreign Figures & Jonny T
Way down we go
To the dark room
Where your pain's the only one to greet you
Down we go
To the mind that
Will deceive you
Only out to get you
Down we go
To the bottom
Now there's only
Yourself to count on
Down we go
To the dark room
Can you get through all the pain inside you?
Down we
You're stuck replaying
And gaining traumatic times
Want to be stronger
The story of your whole life
This kind of reckless
Seems endless
It comes to fight
Till you're not breathing
Just bleeding
Oh what a sight
"Wow, it is such a pleasure to be teaching such an attractive class. Truly, I see so many pretty faces. Let's work together to change that, shall we?" Crouch looked at Harry as he spoke, his teeth repaired and showing.
He'd taken the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom and office, and Harry realised he was no longer sure where Cassiopeia was staying in the castle.
First thing, he had Dark Arts with Ravenclaw, and Barty seemed hell-bent on collecting some sort of teeth tax. His eyes locked on Harry's mouth with a frantic focus.
"Would you like to know your future, Professor Crouch?" Pollux asked from beside him, setting down the glowing artifact he'd been clicking throughout the lesson.
"What? No what did he say?" Barty pointed at Pollux, who was already uncorking potions on his desk.
"He said would you like to know your future?" Ruby said, leaning forward, eyes like a doe.
"…You're the Sallow kids, eh?" His eyes narrowed, and he nodded. "Alright, then, slight detour. Blood magic certainly counts as a dark art," he told himself.
Pollux took the potions individually and set about re-corking them with the same methodical determination.
"Of course it does, professor," she leaned closer, holding both her hands out, reefing a globule of blood from the back of his hand and flinging it into her brother's mouth to the shocked and disgusted gasps of the class.
Neville barrelled out of the room to hurl in the defence tower proper.
Pollux looked at Harry, blinking rapidly, before he turned back to Crouch, entirely unphased by the murmuring of the other students—who fell silent as he spoke.
"…You're doing great, son." It was a monotone, but he recognised the voice. Crouch senior. Someone Harry knew was dead and so couldn't be in Barty's future. "Warned repeatedly-" the second voice was interrupted by Pollux slamming his mouth shut, but Harry didn't need to hear much to know it belonged to Voldemort.
Barty frowned at Pollux until it became a sneer, "Out. All of you. Dismissed."
Ginny found him at lunch in the Great Hall, sat beside him, forced Draco and Ruby out of the way, and huffed.
"Did you ask?"
"Yes, I asked."
"And?"
"Uh, I think he said yes?" Harry focused on his tea.
"You think?"
"Just show up tonight, see what happens, I guess."
"You're coming tonight?" Draco asked.
"Yeah. I am." Ginny said.
"Reckon Dunbar and Smith will be brave enough to turn up?" The blonde asked.
"They probably don't even know what it's about, never mind who's teaching the class," Ginny said, looking over her shoulder at the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff tables.
"Brave enough to show up to what?" Pansy asked across the table.
"Nothing," Draco quickly said, and she narrowed her eyes.
"You know, I think if you asked Pansy out, she'd say yes," Ginny whispered to him as they headed for the dungeons at the specified time that night.
"Ginny, when the hell have I given any indication I'm into Pansy," he whispered back.
The rest of the group that had received invitations were locked in much louder discussions, some of them with no idea what they were even doing, their excitement palpable. Draco, though, was silent as he walked. His Death Eaters followed along a distance.
"I mean, the whole talking to her in French thing?" Ginny asked.
"I'm pretty sure he told her to piss off," Harry said.
"I did," Tom said.
"Oh."
They stopped outside the Slytherin Common Room, where they'd been told to wait after dinner. Harry's guard stood off to the side, behind a stone pillar, and muttered amongst themselves.
"Why is it here?" Ginny asked.
"I don't know," Harry said, though he'd thought about it a lot. Duelling in the Common Room didn't sound right.
Zacharias Smith and Fay Dunbar appeared down the dungeon stairs a few moments later, both looking sheepish, though Smith sneered at Harry as he approached. All at once he was reminded of the Hufflepuff's cynicism and smarmy attitude, a pain in his ass when he'd been in Dumbledore's Army.
"What is this about?" He asked as he approached, envelope in hand. "What's it got to do with you?"
Harry shrugged one shoulder and tilted his head; the rest of the group was silent.
It was broken by Avalon, "What does it have to do with you?"
Harry noticed Ginny had drawn her wand and that the Death Eaters were no longer muttering; instead, they approached silently. Zacharias took three steps back and considered them, apparently deciding it was an uneven fight.
Fay was still on the stone steps. Though she was a fellow Gryffindor, Harry could only recall ever talking to her once—a discussion about the function of a hair dryer.
"Where's Zabini?" Harry asked Draco. It was close to the hour, though Daphne, May Magnus—a new seventh-year Slytherin, and Blaise were nowhere to be seen.
The Malfoy shrugged.
Curiosity seemed to win out for Fay and Zacharias, standing off to the side and waiting. Ruby was talking rapidly at Reed, who was nodding. Pollux leaned against the wall and said:
"What's it got to do with you?" In a pitch-perfect imitation of Smith.
One minute past nine, Harry knew because he'd been relentlessly casting his Tempus, he frowned at the stairs. There was no sign of the absent students, Cassiopeia, Lydia, or the Dark Lord.
As though he'd summoned him, Harry felt Voldemort requesting access to their head.
'Bring them down,' he told them, and before Harry could think 'Down?' He was gone.
"Uh, I think we go in," he ordered the snake to move in Parseltongue, much to Smith's loud disapproval. He commanded the Death Eaters to stay at the entrance.
He led the way past the dropping waterfall to find Cassiopeia, Lydia, Zabini, Greengrass, Magnus, and Hannah Abbott standing by a set of leather couches. The Common Room was empty otherwise, apparently cleared on purpose. He hadn't turned to see who had followed him, but he hoped that Zacharias was already skeeved out enough not to descend the stairs.
"Ah, finally. Do your thing with the door, please?" Cassiopeia said, and suddenly, he understood where they were going.
"The Chamber of Secrets?" He looked at Ginny, staring at him with wide eyes.
He remembered the Dark Lord's amusement when he had asked if she could come with him. "You don't need to do this?" He told her.
She looked at Eris, and her face went smooth. She rolled her shoulders and said nothing.
Zabini scoffed as Harry stepped past him, puncturing his thumb on the snake head, and hissing the way open. He descended first, assuming he was supposed to lead. He didn't wait, moving rapidly through the dark, narrow tunnels.
They were familiar, though he'd spent next to no time there. Comfortable.
The darkness was broken by a Lumos somewhere behind him as he ducked through the maze, guided by Tom and eventually the thread that bound him to the Dark Lord. The path he'd chosen exited out through the mouth of the statue of Salazar Slytherin, right into the water where the Basilisk skeleton remained.
A shimmering magical barrier was in front of him, and he needed to pass through to drop into the chamber. He was still debating it when Tom crawled through and swung off the statue into the dark, knee-deep water.
Voldemort stood in the middle of the walkway lined with massive stone snake heads, concealed from head to foot.
He heard someone scream in the tunnels behind him as he climbed out of the pool. One by one, he heard the splashes, and someone crying, either Hannah or Fay. He didn't take his gaze from the Dark Lord, approaching him until he saw a sign that he shouldn't.
He held up a hand when Harry was around two metres away, and so he stopped. Voldemort's eyes were on him until they moved over his head to the group he assumed had successfully gathered.
His robes were soaked, something the Dark Lord seemed to notice and ignore.
"In December, six of you will participate in duels against students from around the globe. Cassiopeia has picked you out to be the most competent among your peers. I will make the final judgment on which of you compete." His voice reverberated through the chamber and was met with mostly stunned silence.
Harry finally turned to discover it was Fay quietly sobbing, her hiccups echoing off the stone. Voldemort ignored her.
"You will have noticed wards on entry to the chamber. The Irretio Charm will, among other things, alert everyone if you speak a word regarding anything you witness within the chamber. Present company is excluded but know if you are overheard the charm will react. Carelessness will not be tolerated. The punishment," his eyes flicked to Harry. "Will be severe."
Harry's mouth fell open when he removed the mask and hood, glad he was facing away from the rest of them as he forced his teeth back together. He turned to see their reactions, arranging his face.
"Est-ce que quelqu'un a dit qu'il était éblouissant? Pourquoi personne ne l'a mentionné? What the fuck?" Avalon spoke rapidly in French until Eris pushed her over.
Cassiopeia was grinning and whispering into Lydia's ear, the healer's mouth ajar.
Ginny and Draco were the only ones who didn't react.
Zacharias had unfortunately followed him into the chamber, though he, Fay, and Hannah seemed to regret their decision, looking at each other and appearing sick. Zabini and Greengrass were whispering at each other, and their short, sharp interactions matched their eyes.
May Magnus, a girl with electric pink hair and a nose ring, was smiling almost as wide as the vampire.
"Why?" Harry wondered in Parseltongue, turning to face him, his eyes demanding.
"I loathe the mask." The Dark Lord shoved past him on the narrow walkway, almost knocking him into the water.
The only thing Harry registered was the proximity, a flush of heat rushing up his neck as he followed.
"Should I take the potions Lydia gave me now?" Harry asked in the serpent tongue.
"Later."
"…I can't do this; it's not me you're looking for. Please let me out." Fay seemed as though she was about to hit the floor, searching the air with her hands as though she might find a door. Her face was glazed over, sweating and swaying. Lydia caught her as she went down, eyes rolling closed.
"If you decide this is not within your capabilities, you are welcome to leave. The Irretio Charm remains in effect," Voldemort said, glancing at Fay with disdain. "You will duel in pairs, no holds barred." He looked over the rest of them, considering.
Lydia levitated Fay's limp body to the side and sat down cross-legged on the stones, followed by Cassiopeia, Ginny, and Hannah.
"Harlow. Greengrass." The Dark Lord pointed at the narrow walkway, and Reed went instantly. She fixed her gloves and ensured her hair was secure before drawing her wand.
Daphne was slower to move and seemed reluctant to leave Zabini's side. He pushed her forward, and she went, scowling as she readied herself.
"No holds barred?" Reed called, facing away from them.
"No," Voldemort said.
From Harry's angle, he could see she was chewing her lip and frowning at Daphne. There was no countdown, and Greengrass attempted the first hit—a barrage of stunners that Reed dodged and blocked.
What felt like ten minutes passed with Reed only employing defensive magic, avoiding Daphne with an impressive arsenal of shields and dodging methods, but Daphne was fast and better suited to offence. Until the Slytherin inexplicably stopped in her advances and dunked her face in the water. She did it so smoothly that no one did or said anything momentarily, Reed staring intensely as Daphne casually drowned herself.
"Enough," the Dark Lord said.
Reed stumbled back, and Greengrass flung herself out, gasping, choking, spewing water.
"'…Sorry," the Hufflepuff muttered, sitting down next to the healer, and fixing her eyes on the statue of Slytherin.
Daphne coughed over to Lydia and glared at Reed, holding her throat. Hannah helped Greengrass under the healer's guidance, removing the water from her lungs with her wand and giving her a potion. Harry finally connected the dots on why the Hufflepuff was there.
'Reed must be next. For an Unbreakable Vow. She is a threat.' Tom thought. Harry found he agreed. Anything in Draco's, Ginny's, Eris', Avalon's, or even Cassiopeia's head wasn't safe around the cerebromancer.
"Jager. Zabini."
"Are you certain about 'no holds barred'?" Pollux asked the Dark Lord as Eris and Blaise took the walkway.
"…Yes," Voldemort said, nostrils flaring.
Pollux's brows raised, but he didn't take his eyes off the device in his hands.
Zabini and Eris' fight began with spellwork and ended in a savage hand-to-hand match, beating the shit out of each other with their fists, assisted with bursts of magic from their knuckles, until Blaise—on his hand and knees, spitting blood—held a hand up in surrender before Eris landed another kick with his heavy boots.
They both struggled to Lydia, Eris' eyes nearly swollen shut; Zabini limping and wheezing, clutching his chest. The healer saw to the latter, managing the blood in his lungs. Hannah dealt with Eris' face, wincing as she did so.
"Delacroix. Magnus."
Avalon took the chamber's far end, near the original entrance, blocked by rubble. The pink-haired girl skipped forward, wand drawn. Avalon didn't draw hers, nor did she seem particularly attentive as May began firing trigger-happy curses in her direction. She'd summoned a shield but did little else, smiling and swaying with her eyes closed as her lips moved.
May got closer, trying to break the wards with a multitude.
Harry had to step out of the way as the Basilisk skeleton emerged from its resting pool. Tom smiled as they watched, his approval of Avalon tangibly ticking up. Several of the great snake's ribs snapped off in the process of dragging itself free, but it was unimpeded, jaw wide, a handful of fangs clattering onto the stone, a hole in its skull where he'd punctured it with the sword of Gryffindor.
"Do we have Phoenix tears?" Harry wondered.
Magnus turned in time to see it coming. Daphne and Hannah's shocked yelping gave Avalon away. Then May was screaming, tumbling off the walkway and scrambling backward in the water until there was nowhere else to go.
"Stop! Fine! I yield! I yield!"
The behemoth bones stilled, and Avalon smirked, sauntering back to the group.
"A little je ne sais quoi," she sprinkled imaginary glitter as she sat by Ginny.
"…Pollux. Smith."
Zacharias had spent the duels either glaring at the floor or Harry. Pollux wandered out onto the walkway after Smith, who had his wand drawn and a severe look on his face.
Ruby was smiling, bobbing on her heels like an excited puppy.
The hemomancer didn't look up from the puzzle in his hands until Zacharias sent the first stun. Pollux stepped aside, narrowly avoiding the spell, and locked eyes with the Hufflepuff.
And then it was over. Zacharias was howling on his knees, holding his head and shaking it violently until he lost his balance and spasmed on the ground.
Pollux walked away, once again spinning the device in his hands, no expression on his face.
"He put the Horrors in his blood," his sister said.
He didn't know what that meant. Tom watched the Sallow for a moment, and so did the Dark Lord, a minute frown between his eyebrows that stole Harry's attention.
Zacharias needed to be removed for Draco and Ruby to duel, still weeping into his palms. The Dark Lord silenced him immediately.
Draco and Ruby stepped forward without being told, and Harry wondered if he would be fighting the Dark Lord in front of his classmates.
'I really don't want to do that,' he thought.
He was the only one still standing beside Voldemort, a fact he was suddenly very aware of.
The Slytherin looked horrified to be fighting Ruby, the disgust on his face growing when she summoned two pointed streams of blood from her hands and laughed like a hyena. He threw up shields immediately, trying not to vomit as she advanced on him.
"He's squeamish, huh?" Harry said.
"Yes."
The Parseltongue made his heart race, and he looked at Cassiopeia, her eyes on him already.
"But she is less experienced," Voldemort said.
Harry watched Draco recover, then feign that he hadn't, retching and stumbling until she reached for his wards with blood. Then he sent her flying with a Flipendo she didn't see coming, blood splattering when she landed on her stomach.
"Aw, damn it," she stumbled to her feet, covered head to toe in blood, "Now I'm dizzy."
Ruby looked down at the excessive amount at her feet and Lydia was already guiding her to sit. She was walking like she was drunk, mumbling nearly incoherently. She was given blood-replenishing potions and cleaned up as Draco sat down by Avalon. She whispered something in his ear, and he smirked.
Harry noticed that Eris and Ginny were also whispering, both almost smiling.
'Never thought I'd see that,' he thought. Watching Ginny Weasley smile in the Chamber of Secrets with present company hadn't been on his bingo card.
"You will meet back here every week until mid-December," Voldemort told the group, pacing a small track beside Harry.
They were sitting and mostly healed, apart from Harry, who had neither fought nor sat; and Fay, who hadn't regained consciousness. Zacharias was still crying in a heap and silenced.
"Clear the main path, Lydia, take them to their dormitories. Nagini is waiting to open the way," the Dark Lord said, and they all stood up. "You, stay." He pointed at Ginny, then he looked at Harry, not needing to say that he also meant him.
'Why is he telling her to stay?'
Tom didn't have an answer, silent as he considered. The vampire didn't move either, crossing her arms and raising her eyebrows as the others went towards the tunnel that was a straight shot to the sinks in the girls' bathrooms on the second floor.
Voldemort and Cassiopeia seemed to be having an argument with their eyes as Lydia and the students vanished.
"Fine," the Dark Lord snapped, "Help me ward."
'Harry…' Tom thought. 'We need to talk.' He was watching Ginny, nearly frowning.
'What? What is it?'
Instead of helping Cassiopeia ward them into a bubble, Voldemort turned to him, "Potions. If you damage this Chamber or the school, I will reconsider your life."
He removed the tiny, thumbtack-sized vial of adrenaline booster from his robe pocket. There was no cork; instead, he snapped the fine glass tip off and shook the few drops onto his tongue.
Instantly, he didn't think the energy supplements were necessary. "Ohh, okay," he was hopping on the balls of his feet, heart thundering in his chest. Magic thrummed under his skin, nearly stinging as it buzzed through his veins. He looked at the Dark Lord and grinned.
"The Horcrux does not fight for you," he summoned the red and gold light from both arms as Harry's smile fell.
"What?"
"Ready yourself."