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Harry had gone for his wand the moment the situation arose, but he'd been too late. The sense of overwhelming heat was evidence enough of that, or so he'd thought until his eyes made out a very thin, wispy barrier between the flames and his body… his body; he squinted his eyes, good as his vision was, for he saw a series of scratches that had begun to leak blood from his torso and legs.
After the heat and the fire had washed away, something that took seconds, he found himself laying on the ground with his hands pressing against his chest. Those scratches were larger, and more severe than he'd initially thought, and the amount of blood that was leaking from them began to worry him. He went for his wand, but he found that his muscles wouldn't respond to the commands given to them. Instead, his arms did just as his legs had done, and they gave up. There was nothing, no burst of energy or adrenaline. He was simply limp and leaned against the stone wall. At the very least, he supposed he was thankful that the heat and the like had abated. He'd hate to be bleeding out so uncomfortably.
Seconds passed, and when next his weary eyes blinked, he could make out the face of Elaine as she stood over him. Her wand was waving to and from in a complex fashion, and as it did so, he saw another person come over to aid her. Harry couldn't tell who it was, only that the person was young and feminine-looking. One of the two female Aurors, he suspected. He'd made to speak when his eyes made their way back to Elaine, but as they did so, a horrible pain went through him. It felt like his innards were being pulled out of the various holes in his chest.
As before, seconds passed in which the pain only continued to grow. When Harry thought the sheer volume of it would overrun his senses and render him unconscious or dead, the pain, all of it, washed away without warning. In place of the pain, was the overwhelming sense of peacefulness and relaxation, and numbness. His eyes, still seeing, could make out through the pain various pieces of metal and stone being pulled from his body. He couldn't look away, not even if he wanted to, his body wouldn't respond.
And so he was forced to watch and watch as his flesh mended itself back together, as his blood that had previously spilt returned to his body, as the stone and metal were taken from his body. It was a minute, at most, he would later find out but in the happening, it felt like an eternity.
"We're finished," Elaine said to the other person with a nod before they were sent away, her eyes focusing on Harry alone now. "Can you hear me, lover? I can see you blinking, but I'd like to hear from you."
Harry looked at her and then willed himself to move as he'd tried before, but this time, unlike that time, his body, all of it, listened to him as if everything was normal again. He supposed by the lack of bleeding from the wounds that no longer looked to be present, he'd been restored to healthiness; those spells she'd used, he'd have to learn them.
Slowly, as Harry stood up from the ground and patted himself down to ascertain just how fully restored he'd been — which was completely healthy as he'd previously been — he responded. "I'm good, I think," Harry said as he looked at the entrance he'd previously been at. He could see scorch marks, bits of metal, the door or rather the remnants thereof, and it made sense. "You know, I think we've activated a Muggle trap that was set for us."
Elaine, who'd gradually become more and more concerned-looking the longer it took for him to reply, raised her brows and exhaled at his words. "I believe that goes without saying. We'd been so careful, and yet, we've still managed to activate a trap he'd left behind for us — it was my error that placed you at such risk too."
"You didn't know it could be by the door like that, and you saved me. Well, you and whoever else that was," Harry said. "We'll be more careful going forward now that we know, that sounds fine, doesn't it?"
Harry hoped she could tell that he wasn't annoyed, angry, peeved or any other negative emotion. Elaine hadn't known, and up until then, they'd been incredibly cautious. Going forward, she knew that they could be more cunningly hidden, and she'd not underestimate the Muggles again.
"I'll make it up to you all the same. I shouldn't have done as I had, I needn't risk you. I can see now that I should have been more cautious, more careful — I'll not make that mistake again," Elaine smiled at him with a brief look of serenity that quickly morphed into one of relief. "Allow me to take the lead, and while you're behind me, you'll keep a moving wall of stone with us. That should do away with any of the metal hidden in those Muggle explosives."
"I still don't understand how you did that," Harry said with a sigh as he ran a hand down his chest one more time. The lack of wounds, blood and any sign of injury was startling, and were it nought for the holes in his clothes, he wouldn't believe he'd just been wounded so severely. Dying, in fact… maybe. "You'll have to teach me sometime."
"I will do just that if it means I can further assure your safety," Elaine agreed instantly. "Though I believe if I truly wished to do as much, I'd stop you from coming with me on all of these escapades of ours. They all too often prove problematic, tedious or altogether entirely too trap-filled."
"It wouldn't be fun if it were easy," Harry said in jest as he finally transfigured a stone wall, one that was inches thick and strong-looking. After he did so, he levitated it before Elaine, himself, and the Aurors that trailed after them, ever-watchful and on guard for the potential of more traps or violence.
Elaine's lips rose, clearly not totally disagreeing with him. He imagined if she could ascertain his survival and safety, she'd take him to the most dangerous parts of the world for the sake of the magic and trinkets that'd be stored in those places.
"Well," Elaine said, glancing at him over her shoulder for a few seconds. "I would wager there aren't any Inferi very near to us if they haven't come running by now. The noise of the Muggle weapon and the sounds thereafter as a result weren't exactly quiet."
"You think there's more than that group we'd faced?" Harry asked, not totally convinced that there were; Elaine had pointed out just earlier how the mist had almost completely disappeared, and now, there wasn't any. Maybe that group had been all that survived the takeover of the place.
"There could be, and that's what I mean to discover from this spot ahead of the group. That, and any further traps we might not otherwise notice, Muggle ones included, hence your cover," Elaine responded as she paused and held a palm out to face him. "Wait. I believe I've found a trace of his magic."
Harry had been nodding along as she spoke, and when her latter words had come, he paused and held up his arm for the Aurors to pause. In a second at the most, the group had paused, two looked ahead, beyond him and Elaine both and the other three watched the rear.
Elaine's wand was a blur as she waved it to and from, no doubt trying to detect whatever spell it was that lay in wait for them so that she could dispel it. As for whether or not she could do so, that never really occurred to Harry to think about; this was Elaine, and there was no magic beyond her. Thus, content with their safety on account of her magical knowledge and the cover he'd transfigured as a form of a shield, he waited, his eyes trailing down his clothes as they'd done previously. He still just couldn't believe how quickly everything had happened, including the healing magic that had been used on him.
Later, when they were back, Harry would find out just which of the two Aurors had aided him and he'd reward them. He couldn't forget to take care of those who aided him and Elaine, even if Elaine might not have needed the person's assistance.
He shook his head, repaired his clothing with a wave of his wand, and started towards Elaine with a few small, cautious steps. Harry didn't move the transfigured stone shield any further ahead, he didn't need to since it was already in a perfect spot to protect them. Slowly, and as he made it closer to her, he could hear words being muttered under her breath in languages other than Latin and English.
It convinced him further that her intelligence and knowledge were astounding. He had made leaps and bounds in the time since he'd come to this time, so much so that he believed he would decimate just about any person he'd ever met back in his original time. The fact that Elaine's knowledge was still so beyond his, and her abilities similarly ahead, was maddening. How could he ever hope to catch up to her if she spent just as much time studying as he typically did?
Maybe he'd messed up when he'd taken the position as her Deputy Minister of sorts. If he hadn't done that, he could have stayed at home and studied day in and day out, endlessly. That would have ensured that he caught up to her, albeit slowly and painfully. Then again, she'd needed him to ensure that their political backing remained unified; the two each had their own crowd they attracted, after all, and when combined, nobody could beat them politically.
As for by force, magically that is, there wasn't any hope for anybody to beat them. If Grindelwald had failed, Dumbledore had passed on and Voldemort would never come into being, then what hope was there for anybody else that they might best him and Elaine? It wasn't as if they'd be evil either. He'd keep her in check, he swore he would.
"Finished," Elaine said, wiping the back of her hand across her forehead, which had a slight sheen to it. "This was a bit more troublesome than I'd thought it would be — I'd imagine this was the first one he'd made, back when his soul was whole. If that's the case, I would believe there to be three in total, and we'd found the second previously."
"The one in Belarus," Harry hazarded a guess, remembering the trip with a snort. That one hadn't been half as violent despite the fact that the density of it when it came to traps was far greater.
"I do so wonder where the third will be. Somewhere in England is what I believe, but we've come up empty on leads," Elaine sighed, her eyes went past Harry, and then she looked back at the path ahead. "Only time will tell — time and Corene."
At that, Elaine grinned and ran a hand down his arm, whereupon gracing it she pulled him ahead for a few feet before she dropped his hand to return to a spot further ahead. He kept the wall before her person too, and as before, the Aurors trailed after the couple as they continued down the path ahead. One that was undoubtedly filled with more devious traps that lay in wait for them; with this new caution, Harry didn't imagine there would be anything that made it past them.
He supposed he'd still keep an eye out for wires and the like… just to be cautious.
Harry, Elaine, and the Aurors progressed ever deeper into the labyrinth that was the mountainous fortification they'd found. Each time they thought they were close to the end, near the exit or otherwise potentially near where they wanted and needed to be, they were proven wrong. Deeper and deeper they delved, and they did so as a group without so much as one ounce of hesitation between them.
The Aurors might not be aware of just what it was that they were chasing, and why it had taken them to the mountains of Austria, but they didn't need to. So long as the mission was complete and the Aurors watched the rear, ensuring no Inferi or other Magicals showed up, that would be all that he and Elaine needed from them; Harry had to admit, however, that their courageousness would not be lost. Ofttimes during the war, he had seen new Aurors only fresh out of their training break in the face of conflict and flee elsewhere, leaving behind their comrades and the people they were meant to protect.
Sure, actual fighting with wizards and witches was different than exploring an 'abandoned' castle built into a mountain, but the Inferi served a pretty similar sort of test. The fact that they'd only wrinkled their noses before moving along after their Minister and Deputy Minister proved to Harry that they were just the sort they'd wanted for the Minister's private force. Elaine, when he retired, wouldn't be without protection.
It gave him a nice peace of mind to know that.
"Another steep descension ahead," Elaine said to him, and seconds later, he repeated the very same message to the Aurors, ensuring that they'd all be well aware of the change the floor would soon go through. "I think we're nearing the end."
"Seriously, this time?" Harry asked, grinning at the ground as he proved unable to hold the comment in.
Elaine didn't pause, look over her shoulder at him or anything of the sort. That didn't mean she didn't get him back; she did. It was with an errant flick of her hand in his general direction and like that, he was hit with a stinging hex, albeit one that nearly tickled more than it stung. Elaine was gentler with him now than ever before, and he supposed the explosion she'd triggered was part of the reason why.
He knew he'd feel like shite if he got her blown up the way she'd gotten him mixed up with those Muggle explosives. At the same time, this was Elaine he was talking about — she'd gotten her wand out in less than a second and had a shield that kept the fire at bay, he recalled. The quickness, even now, was impressive and left him wanting to watch just what she did to achieve such perfection.
"Harry," Elaine said a few seconds later, her voice the same as before. "Come up here for a moment, I'd like to make use of your superior knowledge by way of Muggle items."
He snorted. He wasn't exactly a subject matter expert on Muggles and the weapons they used, he'd just studied a bit of it on his own, in Muggle school and through various programs on the television when the Dursleys had been watching it. Everybody knew at least a little bit about the Muggle weaponry so long as they lived in a country that sent out news about them every day.
All the same, he strolled over to Elaine and glanced ahead of them. What he saw had to be the laziest trap he'd seen thus far in all the time they'd gone exploring together. The wire that they were meant to trip to activate the explosive was so evident and hung so highly, you'd have to be blind to miss it. Harry looked between it and where he and Elaine were standing, and back and forth his attention went as words began to form.
That was until he saw what was closer, far closer, and hidden so superiorly that he half thought it was his eyes playing tricks on him on account of the lingering darkness that wouldn't quite go away regardless of what they did. Another trick from Grindelwald, maybe, or a rare magic that Elaine knew not; the latter was rarer.
"Don't take another step forward," Harry whispered, lest the Aurors get worried. "I think this one was meant to change the pace a bit, right?" he pointed at the obvious wire, and then, slowly, guided Elaine's vision to that of the wire that was but a few feet from where they were. It was dark, nearly matching the colouration of the stone, and so tucked away that he'd nearly missed it whilst he'd been on the watch for wires and pressure plates specifically.
Whoever had laid the trap had done an excellent job, and looking back with a cautious look on his face, Harry couldn't help but wiggle as a chill ran down his spine. No, it wasn't from Elaine or some remark of hers… but what if they'd missed other traps on the way down? Traps that would be waiting for them as they made their escape?
That thought didn't sit all that well with him.
"How do we do away with the pair of them then?" Elaine asked as she folded her arms, her wand pointing loosely at the ceiling. "I don't believe any spell that I possess might help us, not unless we plan on making a new path to an area we're completely lacking knowledge about."
Harry looked closer at Elaine. She was annoyed, her arms were crossed and her eyes were narrowed as she looked poisonously at the two wires; if she knew how to destroy them safely, he reckoned she'd do it in the most satisfying sort of way. Instead, she looked bratty and altogether over the situation at hand.
It was endearing and incredibly cute. He'd seldom used those words for her, least of all now that they were older, but he imagined in instances like that, the words worked for her. Only those instances though. Elaine, typically… cunning, calculating and constantly searching for his affection, that was how he'd describe her.
"You remember what we did previously, don't you? We just transfigured the path and kept peaking out for glances — we could do that, but, like before, it'd take awhile. The other idea," Harry paused, and then he stopped altogether. The other idea that he'd initially thought about was far too reckless to seriously consider. It was one of those intrusive thoughts that got stuck in and refused to be shaken until it was completely heard.
Elaine rolled her neck to look at him, those eyes of hers catching his own despite the low level of light. "If you'd not mind finishing the sentence," Elaine said, gesturing at him as she looked over his shoulder.
She'd done that a lot throughout the trip. He knew she didn't like the Auror escort despite how helpful they were; it was the security they kept behind them and the extra hands if they got into something that could prove touch and go that really sold Harry on their presence. Merlin, the idea of having other companions that could assist with potions, join them in a fight, keep watch if they were stranded… it was almost as if they should have taken Corene, Aster and the others with them when they went out on these trips they'd grown so fond of in recent times.
No, Harry thought, shaking his head a moment later. No, it's better that nobody we're overly familiar with joins us. Reinhard had been strong, able, and had a good repertoire of spells that Elaine had helped him pick through, and now he's gone. Grindelwald. He was the reason, and he'll be the reason Aster and all of the others don't join us.
"I was going to suggest that we send some transfigured, animated construct ahead to activate any Muggle-made traps, and if all is well, we could follow after it checking for Magical traps all the while, but it wouldn't work. Well, it probably would, but it might work too well," Harry gestured around them, at the stone and concrete walls around them. "If there were seriously strong explosives ahead, or if this place isn't that stable, or if there are more traps near us — there could be a lot of room for bad if we followed through with my idea, is what I'm getting at."
Elaine looped an arm around his and pressed into his side as soon as the final few words flew freely from his mouth. Silence was her initial response, and then, after ascertaining her grip on him, she spoke softly, only loud enough for his ears.
"We'll spend a month down here before I risk rushing ahead," were the words she spoke, her right hand slithering down his arm to take hold of his left hand whilst the other traced random shapes on the left side of his chest. "As I mentioned earlier, I was reckless, and that won't happen in the future now that I've learned how crafty the traps might be. I was wrong to risk you, and foolish to believe bringing you was the right idea."
Harry wouldn't get into that argument here, least of all whilst their Auror escort wasn't too far behind. Instead, he'd let the comment about taking him go so long as he could speak with her about the situation ahead. Muggle traps, whilst scarce save for the few they'd run into, were far more dangerous and when they were the only path ahead… what could one do?
The answer therein was to move ahead, and do whatsoever you could to get past the trap. If Harry knew just how he might be able to do that, he'd have done it seconds, no, minutes ago. Instead, he was left looking at a serious and concerned Elaine, one that was still very miffed at herself for setting off the explosion as she had.
"I've got an idea," Harry said, grinning and hoping his newfound positivity would infect her. "You'll have to help me, alright? I can't do it on my own and I don't trust any of the Aurors to do it, only you."
That'll make her right happy, and it'll prove I'm not scared; she shouldn't be either. We'll be fine, she's said we'll spend eternity together and Elaine's not one to go back on her word, terrifying as eternity sounds to spend with anybody.
Elaine's eyes peered into his own, her mouth opened, and her eyes… they grew gradually less narrow as she nodded, once. If she was apprehensive or had more to say, she'd thought better of it. "I'll ensure that you'll be fine this time, Harry," she swore, her gaze intense and grip on him tightening. "But if the plan is too exceedingly reckless, I'll not let you go through with it — I'll tie you down if need be."
He didn't doubt her for a second, and so he snorted and hoped that she'd recognise his plan for the genius that it was. Grindelwald, mad and clever as he was, probably hadn't thought about this either.
By the time he'd finished explaining his idea to Elaine, and silence greeted him once more, he wasn't sure what her answer was until her wand was suddenly in her hand and he was in the air.
Harry couldn't help himself as his hands found purchase on hastily transfigured grips atop the ceiling of the tunnel they found themselves in. His idea was absolutely mad but perfect.
Perfect.
Harry used his wand nearly the entire time he crawled along the top of the tunnel. Elaine kept him levitated and weightless, enabling him to use his wand to create areas where he might find purchase to propel himself forward, and in the off-time, he used Lumos, ensuring that nothing snuck up on him and no traps had been placed to handle somebody who might think along the same lines that Harry did.
Thus far, nearly clear of the two wires as he was, everything was exactly the way he wanted it to be. He couldn't believe the solution had been so easy, and the more he thought about it, the more he realised one of two things had happened, and more than likely of the two, it was the first idea he had; Grindelwald had been lazy, or in a rush. Why else would the trap population be sparse when compared to the Belarusian Horcruxe they'd found? That one had been so much more difficult and filled to the brim with various happenings that could turn sour at a moment's notice, but this place, save for the Inferi and an indication of Muggle mines outside, had been so exceedingly easy.
There hadn't even been anybody to fight with despite where they were, that being very near to the base of Grindelwald's support. Mayhaps those that had been here that had fled or been killed had been the only force he'd ever stationed here. It was very complacent, and in a way, it sort of reminded him of the way Dumbledore had once spoken about Voldemort and those that committed heinous acts in general. There came a time when their arrogance grew so large and complacency took over, and then, they'd have their mistakes begun to pile up until their downfall came around.
Harry, with his eyes scanning the ground below him, dropped when that line of thinking had finished. He had been looking ceaselessly and unblinkingly at his surroundings once he'd traversed past the first two wires. In his mind, what stopped there from being a third even more devious wire that might activate all three Muggle traps?
When his eyes failed to find anything of the sort, Harry partially turned to call back to Elaine. His immediate area was clear for now, and he'd make use of that to tell her that he was fine and that he'd not move forward, all that he'd do would be aid her as she'd aided him. Well, that would happen once he checked the area more thoroughly, to ensure he'd not missed anything.
Elaine, with much hesitance and a flash of something else that he couldn't quite make out, nodded once. It was curt, aggressive, and clearly partially regretful that she'd agreed to let him move ahead again; with her wand in her wand and aimed his way, however, he figured he'd be fine. She probably knew a spell that would encase him in some indestructible material or one that might surround him in a barrier.
Again, as he looked around, he thought about Mortem. He didn't suspect the being would let him fall yet. Not if they wanted everything to continue as it had. Then again, after that earlier wound he'd received, he wasn't quite so sure of that. His resolve was rightfully shaken on account of Muggle explosives, though that could just be his eardrums and brain being shaken instead.
Harry snorted at himself and, with near-absolute certainty, he nodded. With his Lumos lighting up the area so that no detail might be missed, he'd observed that, at least for the next few meters, there were no traps. There were no cracks, no wires, no pressure plates, nothing. Once they made it past the two wires, it seemed like everything was fine. In hindsight, they were lucky the previous explosives they'd set off had been so small… had they been larger, large enough to bring the caves, tunnels and halls down, that would have been it.
He'd make a note to study Muggles, their weaponry and even their way of life more than he had. Elaine would have to aid him, in that regard, if she wished to know just as much about them. If he were lucky, she'd grow enamoured with the information she could come to learn, and he'd finally be able to catch up to her; that wasn't so that he might defeat her, no, he'd gotten over that quite some time ago, but he was competitive. He wanted to be able to hold his own against her in various schools of magic, and maybe, one day, create spells of his own.
The Auror life, after this much conflict, wasn't for him. Minister was even less so, or rather, Deputy Minister.
"Alright, Elaine," Harry said as he aimed his wand at her, his previous transfigured grips on the ceiling still present. "Your turn, if you're ready."
Elaine raised a brow at him and started forward, confident and without nervousness as she neared the wire at speed. Harry rolled his eyes and surged her upwards, carefully, and only inches from the wire, and once her hands were certain of their grip on the grips he'd left behind for her, she smiled at him; it was only visible thanks to an Auror that had stepped forward to offer light.
If he'd ever doubted her trust in him, that right there had been a prime reason to doubt it no more. He wasn't quite certain why she'd do something quite so risky, but, whatever, he supposed. It wasn't quite so close, in the end, and nothing had happened, and now, she was starting towards him with serpentine grace.
In seconds, thanks to his having cleared the area, she was on the ground beside him and looking around the area. Her eyes peered into the darkness that lay ahead, and then she turned back to Harry, words exiting her lips immediately.
"We should have them transfigure the exit partially to ensure no swarm or horde of Inferi might jump them whilst we're ahead. One of us, preferably me, will move forward and look for any manner of trap, whereupon finding one, we'll reconvene to discuss how might we progress next. Should anything happen, one of us will need to be nearby to aid them, and ensure them that we've not left them behind — that job should be yours since you're the one that brought them along in the first place," Elaine smiled at him, leaned forward, and pressed a chaste kiss to his cheek. Her eyes, smouldering when she pulled back, promised him that she'd have more words and actions when they returned home. "Are you ready?"
Harry, rather than respond, turned her around and sent her a step ahead with a light smack of her arse. Enough so that it wouldn't draw the attention of the Aurors, and most definitely light enough that it wouldn't send Elaine into any manner of danger. It probably would have been wiser to ignore the urge to do so altogether… but maybe, just maybe, a bit of her earlier craziness had rubbed off on him as well.
He couldn't complain, not when she simply looked over her shoulder at him and winked before her wand returned to a state that was so usual of it; that being a blur as she whipped it all about. Obviously, some of the spells were complex, very complex, and others were likely more foreign or new to her, he could tell when she'd switch from silent-casting to muttering the syllables or going still for a few seconds.
Elaine gradually advanced further and further down the path ahead, and thanks to his wand and the strength of his magic, the Lumos he'd cast only grew stronger. It needn't matter if she grew to be ten, fifteen, or even thirty metres away from him. Not once did she go outside of his field of vision, and as for the Aurors?
Well, that was easy, they'd not moved since he and Elaine had gotten across. He felt like a bit of a git, not bringing them along, but it'd be a waste of time and energy on behalf of everybody if they were brought along just to have to return back whence they'd come if this trail was a dead end. Harry didn't think it would be, not since most of the other paths had already proven to be, but there was always that ch—
"Harry," Elaine called out to him, her voice echoing slightly as he made out her motioning him to move closer to her.
He furrowed his brows. If he moved further away, the Aurors wouldn't be able to communicate very quietly with him, nor would they be all that close any more. In other words, their initial plan was scrapped.
Harry then had a realisation that made him feel quite stupid. He cast a Patronus, gave it a message, and carried it to Elaine rather than yell back to her or move closer; her reaction by way of body language would dictate what he did next. He also hoped it would ensure that she wasn't yelling
She might not be all that concerned about Inferi, but he was. Not for himself, but for the Aurors. He didn't want anything to happen to the lot of them.
Elaine's message came seconds after his Patronus had dissipated, and it was another incessant wave of her arm to beckon him forth. There weren't any words accompanying her actions, and he couldn't make out her eyes, but he need only look into their link for a few seconds to feel the emotions running through her. Patiencelessness was chief amongst them.
She really did wish to return home already, caution, boredom… nervousness? Maybe it was nervousness or a sense of anxiety that he felt, but he wasn't certain which. It felt like his heart missed a beat, there was a thus that he could feel, he swore he could, and his heart race picked up in response to it. Seconds passed and the feeling was gone, and then, all of the other feelings fled as well, and he was back aware of himself.
It was then that he moved forward. Their link was strong as ever even if he'd left it on the back burner for quite some time, and Elaine's emotions, Merlin, they'd changed drastically.
"You took longer than expected," Elaine said by way of greeting, a small, jesting look on her face. "I was tempted to yell at you again if only to see what you might do. When I thought reality might not meet expectations, it was then that I decided it'd be better to wait for you to move forward; I knew you would."
"That easy to read, am I?"
"If you know where to look, I'd say so," Elaine said readily enough with a pat on his cheek as she moved in for a kiss, the urgency forgotten for a second or so as she took her prize. "We'll fix that in the future so that others such as Daphne and even Corene would prove unable to see what's going on within your mind."
"They ca—"
"Not in the same way as I, it was a manner of speaking."
Harry nearly let out a sigh of relief. That feeling he'd picked up from her was still present in him now, and more a few seconds, he had thought that she meant those two were able to do what the two of them typically did. That'd have been awful, especially with Corene and Elaine together.
"What is it?" Harry suddenly asked, blinking his eyes to get a feeling of normalcy back. "I don't see anything that's out of the ordinary here."
"Look further ahead, if you'd please," Elaine said as she returned to his side, one of her arms wrapping around his waist as she leaned into him.
Harry did as she asked and looked ahead, and then he blinked again. There wasn't a door. It was a dead end that they hadn't even finished putting the concrete down in. The end of the hall, it was just a bunch of stone.
"We're at the end," Harry said, furrowing his brows. "That can't be right — there might be a hidden door. See anything obvious?"
Elaine cocked her head at him and motioned, again, at the cave wall. Only the bit that wasn't concrete as the rest had proven to be, that much was clear when one of her dainty hands redirected his chin in the direction of said natural stone.
It clicked in his mind a few seconds later. "Oh," he said, nearly snorting at himself. "Reckon he really transfigured whatever passage had used to be here?"
"If Muggles or a group containing them had gotten this far, maybe he'd hope to throw those aforementioned groups off. There's no telling how much more lays ahead, it might be thrice as large," Elaine made a noise of contemplation and looked at him through eyes that were full of thoughts. "What would you think if we were to, say, do away with the entirety of this location? It's not as if it's easy-to-come-across knowledge. Corene had taken much time and a vast amount of resources."
Harry nearly pinched himself, that was how out of character Elaine's suggestion was. In his mind, he knew there could be more than what they'd been led to believe. Who knew what information and resources Grindelwald had tucked away in the mountainous fortress? There could be gold, Muggle weapons or inventions, magical artefacts that he'd looted, or nought but spell books. Barring all of that, even the confirmation of a Horcruxe and the destruction thereof would be excellent.
He didn't know what his future held, and he doubted he ever would, but on the off chance that he'd get a wondrous one that was full of happiness, he didn't want a murderer to potentially strike back. If they didn't confirm every Horcruxe to be destroyed, and they left one tucked away here or Merlin knew where else, he'd always have to be looking over his shoulder. That wasn't a life he'd live.
"Nervous for me?"
Elaine rose a brow, perfectly trimmed and dark as it was, and that was all she did in reaction to his question. Silence, it seemed, was all she'd give him. That was enough of an answer for Harry.
He grabbed her hand and smiled at her, and unlike when they'd been in the previous cave back in Belarus, he wasn't covered in dirt and webs. "I'll be fine, and the faster we get out of here, the better. We'll destroy his Horcrux, grab whatever we might want and make our way away. Easy as that."
"We could stop here, for the time being. Now that we've cleared so far ahead, we could make use of our contacts with the Muggle government and have a team sent here alongside a band of Aurors led by Aster, and together, they'd clear what remains of this keep. We could send the entirety or majority of our personal force. If they're half as good as you claim, they'll see it through as if it were us and they'd get some experience along the way," Elaine gestured back to where they'd come from, in other words, where the Aurors still were. "It'd ensure they're safe as well."
It would, he silently agreed. Each point that Elaine made, had been a good one, and he'd readily admit that. From ensuring the safety of the Aurors he'd insisted he brings along, to the fact that if the entire group was here, with Muggles alongside them, it'd be for the better. They wouldn't have left path after path behind, that was for sure.
But he wouldn't do that. They were already here, and they'd come this far. There wasn't any reason to risk others finding out that they were here, or others finding this place in general. It'd been hidden, or rather, forgotten about this far. Who was to say it'd remain as such?
Technically, this was part of an occupied place too, and so they weren't only committing an act of unlawfulness against one country, but two. He and Elaine knew how to get into trouble. He blamed her, she'd been a bad influence on him.
"We're nearly at the end, we might as well finish it, I'd say," Harry responded, nodding at the path ahead. "Do you want to transfigure it, or should I?"
Elaine frowned, a face of displeasure flashed across her, and then she motioned for him to step forward. "By all means, if you'd like to find the entrance. I've ensured there aren't any traps, so we're without fear in that regard — I'll go and gather our Aurors, of whom we seem to have left a fair bit farther behind than I recall. How discourteous of me."
Harry rolled his eyes at her words and continued another dozen steps ahead or so. Eventually, we raised his wand and began to transfigure a hole every foot or so in the wall. He'd do the same type, over and over again, that being a one-foot-deep hole that went all around. Of course, he could make it deeper in case the door, should there even be one, was hidden well far off.
He didn't think much of it though. If this first round of searching didn't bear fruit, he'd try again, and then he'd transfigure those holes to be deeper than they'd previously been. It came to a matter of time and effort, and he'd rather not waste either.
And thus, as the Aurors began to pile up behind him thanks to the efforts of Elaine, he cleared the path ahead. The left side was without an exit, the right side was without an exit, and now, as he searched the final area in which a path ahead might lay… it came up empty. There was nothing. Not one door, alcove, archway or any other manner of proof was given to them that anything lay hidden before them.
Instead, it was nought but stone, and that was it.
Harry huffed, and let his head hang for a moment as he tried to think about what he might do next; that was when it hit him.