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Harry blinked at her in disbelief as she withdrew the item she had only just mentioned. He couldn't believe that there was no clever spell or magic that she would use. The answer was so mundane, so normal and yet, so very obvious that he felt like he were one of the biggest fools in the world.
"Yarn," he said.
"Yarn."
"I'm guess you brought nails with it?" Harry asked, gesturing again to her satchel instead of the very thick, bright red yarn that was in her grasp. "It's either that or tape, I guess. Merlin, I didn't think it'd be such a simple thing from you — generally, there's some sort of elaborate, smart plan with a spell I've never heard of."
Elaine laughed, the sound melodic and husky as she swam through the air towards him. "Elaborate and smart, I enjoy your compliments, my love. This time, there's no need for overcomplexity. We'll leave a path behind us sans magic, lest there be charms to enforce us getting lost should we use magical means to stop that from happening. As for our light, we have our wands and if need be, torches."
"Muggle torches with fire, or the more industrial kind?"
"Two of each. Please, Harry, did you think I'd not prepare for both contingencies?" Elaine shook her head as she came to a stop before him. "I've brought just about anything we might require, and for the sake of our safety, I don't believe there's such a thing as overpreparing. We need to ensure that we don't end up wrapped in a web or felled by some horribly old spell the likes of which belongs in a history tome."
"It was a month, wasn't it?" Harry mused aloud, scrunching his face up in thought.
"Come again?" Elaine inquired, this time it was her turn to look at him with a confused sort of expression on her face. It was very odd to see on her, but just as when he used to surprise her, he greatly enjoyed witnessing it. He would strive to surprise or confuse her more often, but when they weren't in what he assumed would be mortal danger.
Harry looked at her with a grin as she shrugged off her pack and withdrew one of each type of torch. "You prepared for this for a month, not a week, as I said before we left. There's no way you would have thought this far ahead and for so many different happenings in one week," he held his hands up when she raised both brows in disbelief. "I don't mean to say that you wouldn't be that knowledgeable, but damn, you've thought about nearly everything. Acromantula Anti-Venom, the torches, the other potions that you have. I bet you've got just about anything we might remotely need."
"Perhaps I do," Elaine answered, now amused as she let a burst of fire flow from her wand to set the torch alight.
He leaned forward and kissed her cheek, but she turned her head, capturing his lips and grinning when he pulled back.
"I've always fallen for that," he said with a light laugh.
"It's what you get for trying to kiss my cheeks instead of my lips," Elaine said in a tone that was nearly petulant and whine-like. "I'd like your lips on mine. The sensation of wholeness is greater, though not as great as when we're combined. When that happens, I feel… whole."
He watched her rub at the ring on her hand that possessed a new stone from when she'd given him the resurrection stone. That was one habit of hers that she had yet to break, and he wasn't sure why that was. Anxiety was his main guess, but he didn't think it was very accurate. Elaine, anxious?
It was such an absurd thought that he could laugh; she was an anxiety causer, not a person that would ever grow anxious by the actions of others that she didn't care about in the slightest, least of all their opinions.
"I'll kiss you as much as you'd like once we're home. I bet it'll be you that has to put an end to it before I do," Harry said as he took the torch from her hand now that it was putting off the flickering flames. "Let's be careful, yeah? We've come so far it wouldn't make sense to fail now."
Elaine grasped the Muggle torch next. They weren't certain if it would work, not with how magic interacted with powered items, but it was a good shout. "We'll not fail to old druidic magic or the beasts they tamed."
Harry enjoyed her confidence, and they started forward, the light from their wands and the torch in his grasp more than enough to show them the way.
The 'cave' wasn't at all as Harry had expected it to be. For a start, it wasn't large and cavernous, nor was it stone that had been mined as the Muggles would have done. There were no sharp angels or jutted-out formations of rocks, instead, it was as if a person had expertly transfigured the stone so that it was as smooth as those that were left in the water for centuries. It was a series of very large slabs sans bricks or cracks, and it looked as if it glittered. He couldn't tell what type of stone it was, how strong it was or how old it was, if there was some special strength to it or if it was a mundane stone the likes of which he didn't know much about in the slightest.
All he could say for certain was that the makers of the long hall that only continued to delve deeper and deeper, had done an amazing job. It didn't even feel as if the air was growing thinner. They had to have some sort of air current figured out, but Elaine didn't seem interested in that, she only wished to delve deeper, and if they came across any sort of doorway or entrance, the two would examine it after she assured them that no traps were present.
Thus far, they had found absolutely nothing. Well, that wasn't exactly true. They had found signs of others having been present at one time or another, but no bodies or relics that Elaine wished for them to find. There was no telling if any of those previous signs from other people were from Grindelwald or the man's goons either. He hadn't expected a 'Grindelwald was here' scribbled onto the walls, but he would have hoped there would be some definitive proof that the path they were on was the very same one that he had taken.
Why else should they bother to delve into some weird, ancient Belarusian 'druidic' fortress surrounded by Acromantula with a lot of the bodies of those who came before they had strung up above it? In his mind, he couldn't come up with so much as one reason.
"There's a larger doorway ahead. One large enough that three people could fit at a time," Elaine said, nodding towards the aforementioned entrance with her head as she whipped her wand around in an intricate fashion, silent thenceforth; needless to say, the two paused as she did so.
Traps were a constant threat, but none yet had been found. Maybe Grindelwald or the others that had ventured here had dealt with them or activated them. Either way, Harry was happy if it meant he and Elaine had less work to do. He wasn't too hopeful that it would remain that way. It was only a matter of time before they came across the stopping point of the most advanced group, or the end of the hall that would likely branch into many others.
When that time came, he would watch the rear — not that he expected any Acromantula to follow them — and keep out of the way of Elaine while she went to work clearing the area for them. It would be up to her unless there were some more Muggle items down here like the Mines or the unexploded bombs that they had come across far earlier in their journey, and he doubted that would be the case. If wizards and witches aplenty died venturing to the depths the two of them were now walking around in, what hope did any Muggle have in doing so?
"We can continue, there's nothing here," Elaine said in a tone that was far from happy. That earlier eagerness had melted away and slowly morphed into annoyance, but not outright anger the further in they went. It was as if she had been expecting something, anything, and the remnants of past expeditions and the ruins of furniture had been far from joy-inducing.
Harry didn't mind if they weren't able to secure anything historic. His goal was what hers was initially, though she seemed distracted by the history that surrounded them; Grindelwald Horcruxes or hints to find them. Who knows, maybe this place had information about the process of creating them.
He truly had no clue what they could find when they reached the vault… assuming there was a vault.
"There's not much that's immediately visible," Elaine remarked as she came to a halt before the door, the two had reached it and ensured that no traps were present as they worried there might be. "I'll do a quick cursory check for any traps that might be present, but based on the lack of furniture and other items that would typically be present, I would assume there aren't any. Those who came before us, have cleared the room of any treasures it might have once possessed."
"We aren't too worried about though, are we?" Harry asked.
"Who knows what relics might have once been scattered through the halls of this keep? Isolated communities such as this could have invented spells that never saw an extension to other settlements before they were wiped out, and the same could be said for any artefacts or rituals they might have created as they settled in their infested woods," Elaine seemed to have that eagerness return as she fantasized about what could be waiting for them. "We could very well find a new type of magic, be it a potion recipe, ritual instructors or any other type of aid that could change much in our lives. It's unlikely, but the possibility in places as old as these is ever-present — how else do you believe those tomes of ancient magic come into being save for those authors and their teams doing as we're doing now?"
"Why would they share the spells aside from some galleons?"
Elaine smiled as she took a step into the troop, her eyes darting to and fro before her shoulders fell, no longer tense and cautious as if a threat might manifest from thin air. Once she did so, she turned around to face him. "They would have kept anything truly great secret whilst they release spells that are precursors or useless when compared to those that our world now has."
Harry shrugged, for it made sense, and then he started in after her. There were a few bedrolls, long since abandoned based on the visuals alone — that of the material especially — and other ruinous pieces of furniture, destroyed tapestries and empty pots that had chunks missing or cracks so brutal-looking that they were rendered useless.
Most of what remained were serviceable to a handy witch or wizard, but what was the point in doing so? He knew for a fact that Peverell Mansion didn't need any more ancient artwork pieces; the museum was full enough as it was with Roman and other ancient cultures scattered about within it.
He paused when he saw something that looked distinctly out of place below the top portion of one of the bedrolls. It almost looked like…
It was!
"Elaine," Harry said, nodding towards the bedroll he came to a stop a few feet away from. "I think we've found a bit of proof that Grindelwald's been here. There's no other reason something like this should be down below a bedroll that old."
Huh, Harry thought as she came closer, her steps light and without sound. I wonder if he forgot it, or if there's a reason he left it behind.
"I'm unsure of what that is specifically that we're looking at. It's most definitely Muggle in nature, and while I was certain that he disliked their creations, he tended to have them used when it benefitted him — what is it specifically?" Elaine finished with a question that made Harry snicker.
The two of them as a team were more beneficial together than he had thought they would be. Without him on the trip, Elaine might have fallen into a series of Muggle traps that were very vicious, and without her, he would likely have been Acromantula food; the traps might get him too if there were any still left in the crypt-like underground labyrinth.
"It looks like a gun, one of the small pistols. I don't know who would have made it, I just know what they look like and what they do. There's a chance it's loaded and ready to shoot too, or it could be completely broken," Harry shrugged. "We should stay away from it… but still, I'd say that's proof we're on the very same path he and the people that were with him took.
Elaine looked very interested, but gauging his caution and feeling it pour from his mind to hers, she stepped away. Caution in this instance was the best thing they could use. They had the proof they needed to ensure themselves that they were on the right path and that they'd be on his tale, and so with one last cursory glance around the room, they went back whence they came. There were no more surprises left behind, for now. Harry was certain that would change, and he was equally as certain — finally — that all of their assumptions of Grindelwald and his men had come true.
Maybe, just maybe, they really would find something that brought them to one of the man's Horcruxes, and if they didn't, they could hope for information that would aid them in finding them. Any hint would be beneficial.
"There's a break ahead," Elaine said, the end of the long, straight tunnel finally coming into view.
Sure enough, there was, but it didn't branch off into two directions. That would have been far too easy. No, it broke into five different paths, with two descending, one ascending, and two maintaining the current level. It was impossible to tell which path Grindelwald and the others that had come before the Dark Lord had taken.
At least from where they currently were. Slowly, they approached and Elaine's wand continued to move, testing for any type of traps with incantations and movements he couldn't place. Again, he loved her knowledge of utility spells, for his own was very lacking and after this trip, whilst he worked away in the Ministry's office, he would fix that. It wasn't like he had much else to do as a Deputy Minister. In truth, his job was generally whatever work Elaine needed to delegate to him, and that was very little on account of her incessant need to be involved in everything regardless of how minute it might be. He knew that his position held a great deal of power and that it aided her in assuring that the Ministry was firmly under her control, especially with his popularity. It was his face and his name that were very widely known; Peverell and the title of a man who killed Grindelwald in a society that was a bit more male-dominant greatly aided Elaine's cause.
"We could probably eliminate those two paths that go up. I don't think those far left and right halls would be very well defended, not compared to the centre three," Harry said, nodding at the three paths he'd only just mentioned. "Maybe the centre could be it — actually, wait, I know a way we could illuminate the path ahead without having to walk it… assuming you don't think they have a ward or what have you that detects magic and reacts to it?"
Elaine shook her head. "I would doubt very much so that such a ward would have existed back in this time period. Try as you'd like, and whilst you do, I'll recall my memories to see if any spell in my repertoire could prove helpful."
Harry grinned, aimed his wand down the centre-left path, and cast a Patronus. Weirdly enough, when he did so, the animal that came forth was no longer a stag, but a snake. It wasn't a Basilisk, nor was it incredibly large or slight, it seemed as if it was a few meters long and stocky. Merlin, stocky as a descriptor for a snake felt weird. He shook his head and figured he would resolve why his Patronus had changed later. It wasn't very important, not right now.
He watched as the snake slithered across the stone floor, the material of the walls and ground the same as what he was currently surrounded by. Sure enough, there seemed to be a whole nearly twenty meters in, one that dropped straight down, but the Patronus went over it, shedding light further and further in such a way that made it possible for him to see what awaited them should they follow that hall. One door, three doors, six doors… and then the hallway very abruptly ended. Whether that was an illusion or a true end was indecipherable lest they marched up to it, but based on the fact that it was nought but a fraction as long as the one they were currently in, he figured that the centre-left path was not the one they needed to start with.
When he relayed that to Elaine, she told him to skip the centre-right and focus on the middle path that continued forward, and while he would do that, she would ascertain the other two paths and if they needed to be explored.
Harry did just that. He whipped his wand forward, sent the Patronus out once more, and allowed it to shed light upon the eerie, lifeless and previously dark hall. It was in poorer shape, and that was immediately evident. There was a myriad of jagged cracks that littered the walls, dozens of them. Some looked as if there were stains or discolouration that littered near them, and others he could swear had creatures — insects he thought — crawling through them. He spotted a similar hole in the path nearly thirty meters in, and after it, there was another only five meters ahead. Gradually and the farther in his Patronus got, the harder it was for him to determine anything useful, but just about where he ran out of vision, he could make out a large cavern with what appeared to be a bridge. It opened wide, and the light his Patronus gave off wasn't nearly strong enough to reveal the secrets of what lay ahead for him and Elaine.
"Interesting," he heard from behind him, Elaine suddenly over his shoulder and peering ahead with narrowed eyes. "It would seem that's the main path forward. Where I might use treachery for those who would steal my wealth, these people chose to fill the area with traps and urge would-be thieves forward. How boring."
"Boring?"
Elaine nodded and gestured to the far left and right paths. "They're extensively trapped, and none before us seem to have gone down them. I doubt any treasure awaits us should we be the first. These creators wish for those such as ourselves to play a game, but I don't believe we shall."
"You're go—"
"Yes," Elaine agreed, smiling when it was his turn to narrow his eyes, but instead of doing so at the place they found themselves in, it was at her. "I'm going to make a new tunnel, and as I said, there's nothing that I can sense that would stop us from doing so — games made by primitives are below us, lover. If others wished to have that sense of foolish adventure, let them. We'll create a parallel path that sees us forward."
"How can magic wane? Hogwarts is fine," Harry gestured around. "We haven't seen any wards either, none. Unless those before us destroyed them, I would have expected us to come across a series of them."
"Spells such as the ones they've applied here need to be maintained or recast, and wards need to be charged and taken care of in a way that's not too dissimilar from Muggle technology based on my limited understanding of it. If the maintenance is left to the ages, like all things, it will wane and turn into a memory, and whatsoever effects it had would be lost or turned minor. Seldom if ever will ancient vaults or crypts have horrifying danger, and in those cases, they'll be incredibly powerful. Enough so that an average witch or wizard would look at the magic before them as if they were Muggles, such would be their lack of understanding," Elaine paused, raised her brows as if she agreed with herself, and then asked a question. "Have you heard of the tombs in Egypt?"
He nodded his head yes, of course, he had. Everybody has.
"Suffice to say, my love, the curse of the Pharoah isn't entirely false in the sense that it doesn't exist. It's very real, though the Pharoah himself had not been the one to create it. Those loyal to him were behind it, and with that, they ensured it would lay untouched. Many a Muggle has fallen to a tomb, and the Governments of those countries ensure strict measures to ensure some of those found, remain closed off and private to the world. Now, with your curiosity fed, we move forward. Watch my rear whilst I create our path, we needn't worry about Acromantula or other creatures, but the thought of you doing so pleases me," Elaine winked at him in such a way that he could only shake his head. She did so love to tease him.
I'll watch it alright, tart.
Elaine aimed her wand at the two-meter gap between the centre-left and centre tunnel, and before his very eyes, the huge panels of stone gave way. It was slow going, and he could see her concentrating whilst she muttered, but the architecture succumbed to her abilities as everything always had. Her power was truly inspiring, and perhaps one day, if they continued with their training, he could be as unparalleled in all fields as she was; he knew she would only grow so long as she continued on a path that was similar to the one that Voldemort had taken, only this time, it would be sans the evil that he had committed.
Well, mostly sans the evil. She's more stable and less murder-happy, but she's still quick to anger and her possessive nature ensures no other witch gets near to me if they value their career or life.
"It's as I thought," Elaine suddenly said, the bath continuing, but it went slowly and it was clear that her focus and the grip of her wand it was challenging.
"The magic isn't fully dissipated, it's weak, isn't it?" Harry questioned, feeling that he was right based on the effort he was witnessing from her.
"You'd be correct. Whosoever came before us probably assumed much the same and determined their games were easier than creating an alternate path. I'm against doing so, but I do believe this might take a bit of time and we're still unsure of the true depth and journey we've still left to go before we reach the end," she huffed, stopping with the transfiguration of stone and earth as she turned to look back at him with her hands on her hips. "We might return later than I had hoped. It's fortunate that exhaustion won't be a problem — check your satchel and withdraw two vials with two horizontal stripes on them each, those strips should be green."
He blinked at her. When had she… no, never mind, he wouldn't question when she'd slipped something into his satchel. This was Elaine he was talking about. Stealth, intrigue, sleight-of-hand, those were all fields she did so love just as much as political machinations and rulebreaking. Harry looked at her until he felt two vials, and when he looked down, one was as she asked for and the other had a blue and grey stripe, one of each, running across it. He couldn't help but roll his eyes before he sought out those that she asked for, finally retrieving a second one after a few seconds.
"Drink one," Elaine said as she deftly took one from his hands, downing the vial and cracking her neck. "You'll feel much better. It immediately staved off the onset of exhaustion from our time in the woods, on the road and on those horribly made paths. Should the time ever come for us to make a keep, we'll not use stone that's not enchanted to keep away weeds and the decay of time, though I suppose time in and of itself is immaterial to us."
"Yeah," Harry agreed, going with it by this point as he downed the vial without so much as a hint of nervousness. There wasn't a reason to feel fear any longer. If she wished to poison or potion him, she would have had dozens, maybe even hundreds of opportunities before this point.
After a few seconds, he felt his eyes open wide and his heart rate rise as if he'd downed a few cups of particularly strong Muggle coffee from one of those shops where the heart-attack goers visit. He looked back down at the vial, and then it hit him. She had made pepper-up potions, and he'd just drank one. Merlin, he'd had some before, but they hadn't compared in strength to her brew. Maybe he'd get the recipe another time, and now, it made sense how she could stay up for days on end or run without any lack of energy when she needed to; the potion lab in his basement had likely made dozens of such potions for her usage.
What a cheater. No wonder she's leagues ahead of everybody else when she uses these.
"We'll resume, and remember, eyes on my rear, Harry. I'd not wish to be snuck and your gaze urges me to try harder," Elaine moved to kiss him, but when he turned to press his lips to hers, he felt her tongue glide up his neck, around the left side of his mouth and only after that, did their lips meet. Their kiss was tender and tasted of the potion they'd drank, and it lasted for nearly ten seconds. One of her hands found one of his, they tightened around one another, and then she abruptly broke away.
As soon as she did, he looked at her with a mixture of amusement whilst he awaited an explanation for her lick.
"You had a drop fall and I needn't resist."
Harry snorted. Well, if it was that simple, he supposed it was alright.
And so they continued onwards, with Elaine forging the path ahead while he watched and ensured that nothing fell upon their rear, least of all her especially tantalising one.
That path that she made continued slowly, as she had said it would, and they had stopped near the halfway mark for a break before they continued. Elaine had brought food and water for them, as well as a potion that she claimed would ensure would grant them a higher degree of fortitude. There was nothing more said on the matter, and the two drank that in tandem with their break, for it didn't warrant a second one.
They hadn't needed a second one either, as it turned out, for they eventually broke into the cavern a few meters to the left of the cliff where those who had come before they had. As he had witnessed briefly and without much detail, the area was large and cavernous, with a bridge that was made of vines and wooden logs that went from the exit of that hall they'd seen across the ravine-like gap and led to a second hall. There were buildings built into the cave walls, with window holes, entrances and benches made from the same dark-sheening material.
"Makes for quite the view," he remarked quietly, lest there were other creatures at this point that they needed to be careful of.
Elaine wasn't half as cautious as a light burst from the tip of her wand and into the air in a way that was very reminiscent of a Muggle flair. In its entirety, the cavern was alight with a white-hued light and only then could the two make out the place in its entirety; it spanned very far to the left and right each, and neither side seemed to end before it twisted out of their line of sight. Unlike the above-ground portion of the settlement, nearly everything below was remarkably intact with weaved objects, baskets, blankets, Muggle-made weapons and tools all visible.
"The true path lies ahead," Elaine said, her eyes set on the path that the bridge connected them to. "We'll forge our own way. I'll not trust the bridge with your safety."
He wanted to point out that her safety was important too, but he saved himself the trouble. It wasn't like she'd be cautious. She was confident to the point that it worried him and arrogant beyond belief, but he supposed one had reason to be when they'd mastered magic as much as she had.
"It goes down," Harry said, spying the slight slope of the path ahead. As he did so, his eyes picked out something more, something that didn't belong back in this time. It reminded him of the gun he'd found that one of Grindelwald's goons had left behind. "There's a pan ahead, and it looks like remnants of a fire or something of that ilk."
"Then our path is certainly forward," Elaine said with a shrug, and slowly, from below their feet, the ground extended on an angle at the behest of her wand until a connection was formed.
Harry just about started forward when Elaine shot him a look and shook her head. "Not yet," she said, resolute as she pointed her wand in seemingly every direction, muttering under her breath as a beam of light touched just about everything in his field of vision. That continued for nearly one whole minute before she stood up straighter and smiled at him. "And again, nothing. Grindelwald must have been too lazy to reset the traps if he came across any, how very sloth of him."
"You would have reset the traps?" Harry asked as they slowly and carefully crossed the makeshift bridge. He was tempted to look down, it was that innate curiosity and urge that almost everybody had when they were high in the air, but he didn't. There wasn't a broom between his legs like there typically was in Quidditch, and he didn't think he'd be able to cast anything in the quick drop that it would be if looking down made him lose his balance.
"I would have. If this has a wealth of knowledge, true wealth or even just the items we can see spread out below us, it is worth defending. We could amass a collection simply by visiting tomb after tomb, and we could surely find dozens, if not hundreds, and eventually create a museum — a second one, for yours is much too filled for any item we retrieve to fit inside of it," Elaine finished, twirled on her heels as she crossed the bridge, and held out a hand for Harry to take when he drew closer to her.
He took it, enjoying the physical contact and the softness of her skin; the coolness of it was especially nice too, for it felt surprisingly hot the further they delved.
"Your Patronus again, my love," Elaine said with a gesture at their destination, her wand not idle as she began to check for traps again.
Harry nodded and set about doing as she asked. Her ability to cast the Patronus was less than his own, but she'd assured him previously that it wasn't an issue. There were other ways to handle Dementors, though she hadn't elaborated as to what those 'other' ways might be. If he remembered correctly, and whilst his Patronus ventured ahead, he recalled that Voldemort had a sort of bond with the creatures. They had fought alongside him in the first war and seemed to do his bidding in the second.
That wasn't surprising when one considered they weren't inherently good. They were self-serving creatures of darkness that fed upon the souls of humanoid beings.
"Ah, finally," Elaine said, clapping her hands with a giddiness that was unusual of her.
Harry turned to look at her, his brows raised as she finished her impromptu celebration and returned to her typical smug smile with her nose raised in the air.
"You found a trap?" he guessed, his eyes searching the area ahead of them despite the fact that he knew whatever trap she had found had been detected by magical means rather than mundane ones.
"There are two ahead of us. They're both very strong, and they guard the path ahead, near to where the Muggle-made items of recent years lay. Grindelwald must have gotten wise, though it's strange that it took him so long to do so," Elaine shook her head as if she was disappointed, and that alone made Harry snort and laugh. Only she of all people could be eager to test her abilities against a Dark Lord of such power, and bothered by his lack of effort in concealing his activities. It was cutely absurd.
"Will it take long to remove?"
Elaine scoffed as if the very question offended her. "Not remotely, darling. It'll be as easy as falling asleep after a particularly passionate round of so—"
"You're a tart," Harry said, folding his arms and shaking his head as she laughed at him with that husky, promising lilt.
"I do hope that means you'd like to eat me," Elaine shot back, her nose raised and eyes piercing. He held her gaze despite the urge to laugh or look away, and after a few seconds of a shared and heated exchange, Elaine turned away with a victorious smile on her face as she raised her wand once more.
While she went about disabling the traps, Harry returned his attention to the Patronus Charm that he had cast, the snake still slithering all about. There were no more Muggle items littering the area, and there didn't seem to be any other holes in the ground ahead of them. None that he could see. The illusionary magic that had held up so well could be present, and when he thought of that, he transfigured himself a stick. It was long and well-made, and with it, he would touch the ground before them, the walls on their flanks and even the ceiling above their heads.
Elaine could spot illusions, but he wanted to be extra careful. If Grindelwald had put a couple of traps like that ahead of them, who knew what else could lay in store for them that they couldn't see or detect thus far? It didn't make sense to risk anything after being careful for so long.
Ron would have fled the moment he figured out we had to enter the centre of an Acromantula nest. At least creatures the size and with the vicious nature of those we came across… I'd like to capture one.
He blinked at the last thought. Ron and Acromantula, and the thought of taking one. Harry truly did miss his friends, and in truth, after three years give or take, he couldn't even remember the faces of his friends and those he thought of as family. It was a horrible thing to say, and that sadness that ate away at him when he realised it had to be quickly banished lest he dwells on such a depressing thought. As for the thought of capturing an Acromantula of some kind, that was decidedly Elaine's influence on him.
Harry finally saw the snake reach the end of the hall, and when it did, he saw that there was a second split ahead. It wasn't nearly as horrible as the first had been, for there were only two paths that split, and betwixt Elaine's mind and his, the right answer had to be readily apparent once they reached it.
"I wish I could study his magic for weeks," Elaine said wistfully as she twirled her wand in her hand. "I'm sure I could learn much from the spells within his mind. Perhaps we should keep a Horcrux and jail him so that I might enter his mind and learn his secrets. I do believe you wouldn't be fond of that idea."
He shook his head adamantly. "You're right. I wouldn't. If he escaped, that would be horrible for us."
"Escape? I would do much to ensure that didn't happen — we could take his limbs, remove his tongue… I'll not say more lest you wish to hear, but we could ensure that it'd be impossible for him to leave. But, as I've said, I'll not do so if you don't wish it," Elaine briefly pouted, and then she started forward, confident that the traps were gone and the path — immediately — ahead of them was clear.
He followed after her.
"Alright," Harry said after the first dozen or so steps had been made in silence. "No, not alright to your idea, but alright as in we're almost there, I think, and so what should we do?"
"Find the path he took, venture further, retrieve whatsoever he left behind and take our leave of this pl— stop!" Elaine pressed a hand into his chest for emphasis, and he stopped as soon as she did, the force of her hand surprisingly strong.
"What is it?" Harry asked, looking ahead of them and itching for a fight; there was nothing.
"There's a shift in the air. It feels like there's something near to us and I don't wish to check with our bodies. Take a few steps back and transfigure a barrier, I'll join you in but a few seconds," Elaine then raised her wand and started with that familiar-sounding spell while Harry took those few steps back and began to transfigure the ground.
As he suspected from when he had watched her, it was tough, as if the ground itself didn't want to listen to him. He doubled down on his transfiguration, imposing his will on the ground and forcing it to rise so that he and Elaine would be protected. It took a bit of effort, and a lot of work, but eventually and slowly, it raised. After nearly thirty seconds, he had a barrier with a lip that would cover the pair of them and the snugness of their fit would only be minorly annoying.
"Ready," he said quietly, so as to alert her without disturbing her greatly.
Elaine remained where she was deep in concentration, and before his very eyes, the wall to the left of them and only three meters or so away from them vanished. It gave way and revealed some sort of constantly in-motion structure that flowed with a silent current of water, causing a light breeze. It was pretty astounding to think such a thing had been used by people as far back in time as the creators of this labyrinth must be. That wasn't the astounding part, however. What was truly astounding and a bit worrying were the items that distinctly stuck out.
They were of a muggle make and looked similar to the mines he had found, but they were pressed into the wall near the moving item and high away from the water. There looked to be a cable connecting them and going towards the ground ahead of them.
"More of his Muggle contraptions," Elaine said, unimpressed… and then she looked at Harry. "You're the expert. What is it?"
He rubbed at the back of his neck. "I think it'll explode if we step on the wire that's ahead of us?"
"We'll have to tread carefully. There's no way to detect Muggle items. Perhaps we missed more in the first hall and we've only been fortunate not to run into more," Elaine paused, thinking, and then she gestured backwards. "We know the path back is safe, and so we'll do as we did before — we'll form our own path until we come to a turn and when we do, we'll observe before we decide on left or right."
"We might run into something if we do that. We'll have to be careful. It's not like we'd see the illusions if we come from an angle where they're not supposed to be seen," he said as he started back whence they'd come, Elaine hot on his heels.
"We'll be the soul of caution," Elaine agreed. "How very tedious of him to use his Muggle minions. I had thought with those first two traps that we'd detect more of his magic. I suppose it's promising if he invested as much time as it seems like he has."
"I agree. There's something here, it was a good catch by you. Thanks, Elaine," Harry said, smiling over his shoulder at her.
She smiled back, and then, again, they began the very tedious, focus-heavy and slow task of transfiguring a third path.
He had half a mind to tell her to do so the entirety of the area that remained.
Muggle explosives and weapons… what a cheater; no wonder the man was a Dark Lord.