THE HIGH PRICE

by peverell.magic

The ash began to bury his legs, enveloping him in its soft, warm embrace. Harry wrapped his arms around his knees and buried his face in them, allowing the world to drift into the distance.

34. CHAPTER 34: PURSUIT BENEATH THE ICY MIDN

CHAPTER 34: PURSUIT BENEATH THE ICY MIDNIGHT

Darkness enveloped the room, broken only by the faint moonlight seeping through the curtains. She raced over the aged, polished wooden floorboards and the plush, velvety rugs that adorned the corridor. Ancient portraits gazed upon her with enigmatic smiles. An intriguing weight nestled between her forearms and chest.

"Slow down, Bell!" Cissy toddled closely behind her. Her golden ringlets cascaded down her back, and her dark-grey dress bore the evidence of their recent water play. "We must find Andi together."

Bell came to a halt and tilted her head playfully. "Alright, my little adventurer, Cissy."

"I'm not a little adventurer," Cissy declared, waving her pudgy fists in the air. "You're the little one, Bell."

"Shh," Bell whispered conspiratorially. She plucked a watery orb from her grasp and placed it in Cissy's tiny hands. "Now, you've got your own magical water globe. Andi's hiding between those two ancient clocks upstairs."

Cissy observed the water globe with fascination, watching the tiny bubbles swirl within. "Andi always wins," she lamented.

"Not this time," Bell assured her. Leaning in close, she shared a secret. "I've scaled the clock and removed the old shelf. When she hides there, we can drench her with water. You go first. If you miss, I'll make sure she doesn't escape."

Cissy giggled softly and scampered over the rugs toward the door at the end of the dimly lit corridor. Her bare feet padded softly on the wooden floor, then on the rugs.

Bell followed in quick pursuit. "I'm a – I'm a – I'm a... mischievous sister. I'm a – I'm a – I'm a... mischievous sister. I'm a – I'm a – I'm a... mischievous sister," she chanted under her breath.

Cissy darted through the door leading to the clocks and hurled her water globe at the narrow gap between them. It burst on the clock's edge, showering both timepieces with droplets. Andi's quiet laughter emanated from the shadowy space between the two clocks.

Cissy let out a playful wail. "I missed!"

Bell crept past the top of the stairs, her footsteps muffled by the soft rugs. She inched along the balustrade, holding the last water globe in her hand. The majestic wings of a griffon sculpture blocked her path, casting elongated shadows in the moonlight.

Frustrated by the griffon sculpture blocking her path, Bell swiftly clambered atop the balustrade and inched her way past the wingtips. There, she finally spied Andi peeking out.

Andi playfully splashed her water globe right onto Cissy's golden curls. "Got you!" she triumphantly sang.

Cissy burst into tears. "You've ruined my hair!"

"Aww." Andi stepped out from her hiding spot between the clocks and embraced Cissy, gently pressing her face into the front of her blue dress. "It's alright, baby Cissy. Bell and I will fix your hair in a little while."

Cissy's tears began to subside. "Bell will make your hair wet, too," she teased, squirming out of Andi's embrace. "Where's Bell?"

Andi froze momentarily, then grabbed her remaining water globe from between the clocks. "Is Bell here?"

"Got you!" Bell cried out. She hurled her water globe with precision, splashing Andi's shoulder just as Andi attempted to retaliate. Andi's water globe sailed past the griffon's wing and found its mark on Bell's chest. As Bell teetered on the balustrade, it slipped from beneath her. Andi's face contorted in horror as Bell disappeared from her view, and Cissy's scream pierced the air. Desperately, Bell reached for the marble railing, but her fingers found nothing but empty space.

The floor rushed up to meet her, and an agonizing scream escaped her lips.

Suddenly, Bella was jolted awake, lying on the ice-cold stone floor of her cell. She stared through the frosted iron bars at the dark night sky and the distant stars. Tears streamed down her face. "I just want to play with Cissy and Andi again. I hate this place. It's so boring."

"We'll leave this place, Bella," she whispered to her reflection in the shining wall of the cell. "But we can't use our trump card for that. We'll escape soon, and then we can go see Cissy and Andi."

"It'll be just like before, Bella," her reflection echoed. She stared at her own long, tangled, matted curls, her pale, grime-smeared skin, and her yellow teeth. "We look terrible. Cissy and Andi will tease us."

She cocked her head, and an eerie silence enveloped the cell, shrouding her like a dense, heavy fog.

"I don't want to be in this ridiculous room anymore," Bella declared, her frustration evident. She slammed her fist onto the floor, and a surge of fire coursed through her veins, enveloping her heart. "I hate it."

A powerful burst of energy erupted from within her, tearing the cell door off its hinges. It crashed into a nearby cell door, then onto the ground, releasing a bewildered boy from his confinement.

Bella burst into laughter. "Oops, I broke the door again." She leaped up and skipped out into the corridor, singing to herself, "I'm a – I'm a – I'm a... mischievous sister. I'm a – I'm a – I'm a... mischievous sister. I'm a – I'm a – I'm a... mischievous sister."

The strange boy groaned, his voice laden with confusion. "Bella, what have you done?"

She continued to twirl in the corridor until the old, frosted, cracked stones seemed to blend into a whirl of motion. "I broke the door again, strange boy."

His face peered beyond the bars of his door as he asked, "Are you trying to escape?"

"We can't escape like this, Bella," a voice whispered in her mind, a reminder of their limitations against the guards. "The guards overwhelm us when they're in groups."

"No," Bella replied, her steps filled with energy as she twirled. "I just don't want to be in there. I want to do something fun."

The strange boy gazed at her with a peculiar gleam in his eyes. "I'm going back to sleep, then. Try to be quiet."

"Okay!" Bella cheerfully acknowledged as she skipped down the corridor, passing the iron doors and the intricate columns of runes etched into them. "I can't remember where this goes, Bell. Let's go this way."

She followed a chill breeze, chasing the sporadic gusts that swept through the tatters of her black dress. It led her past vacant cells, up a steep slope in a square spiral until it leveled out into a wide corridor before a massive pair of double iron doors.

"That's the way out, Bella," her inner voice informed her. Bella scrutinized the runes etched into the metal. "It's formidable, though. I need my wand, Bell. It's no fun without it."

She peeked into the cells on her left, pushing the doors wide open with screeching hinges. Bella bounced back off the fourth cell door and stumbled.

"Move!" Bella huffed and slammed her shoulder into the cell door. Pain shot through her arm, her blood boiling. "Ow! Nasty door!"

With a metallic screech, the door crumpled and thudded to the ground. A thin, white-haired man peered up at her from where he huddled in the far corner, arms wrapped around his legs.

"Who are you?" Bella inquired. "I'm Bella. Just Bella."

The man croaked, "Thaddeus. Are you here to break me out? It's been so long, I thought everyone had forgotten me. Did we win? For the greater good?"

"Grindelwald's motto, Bella," her inner voice reminded her. Bella tilted her head, recalling. "Oh yeah, I remember, Bell."

"Nope!" she replied with a giggle. "Grindelwald lost ages ago. I just wanted to see what was behind the door."

"We lost?" Thaddeus's voice cracked. "We lost!" He slid back down the wall and embraced his legs. "We lost. How could we lose? How?"

Bella shrugged and danced away. "Same way everyone loses. They die."

A dementor emerged from the cell opposite. Its hood flared, and it swooped toward her, its breath rattling and withered fingers reaching for her neck. The cold seeped into Bella. Fragments of Andi's terrified face welled up in her thoughts, and Cissy's scream echoed in Bella's ears.

Bella stamped her foot and ordered, "Shoo!" The dementor continued to drift closer.

She flapped her hand at it. "Go away!"

The dementor's hood shivered as it took a long, rattling breath. Frost thickened and spread across the floor.

Bella's thoughts raced. How do I get rid of it?

Growing increasingly frustrated, she pointed a finger into the cell. "Fetch."

The dementor slid through the air toward her. "Don't ignore me! That's rude!" Bella scolded.

A faint shimmer swept out from within her, tossing the dementor back against the wall. It shook itself like a dog, then rose up off the floor. The dark hood swung back and forth between Bella and the cell door.

"Fetch," Bella commanded. "Don't be bad."

The dementor obeyed, its hood slipping back from its face to reveal gray skin and a gaping maw. A thin, hollow scream emanated from Thaddeus's mouth, then silence fell.

Bella giggled. "Good, floating skeleton." She skipped along and prodded the iron doors with her fingers. Small white sparks crawled across the metal. "Awwww. Can't get through that."

Not without our wand, Bella.

"I guess we'll have to wait, then, Bell," Bella mused. She ran a finger down the serpent on her arm. It writhed beneath her skin and grew a little darker. Bella laughed and skipped back past the dementor and the glassy-eyed old man lying beneath it. "Won't be long now!"

A cascade of white sparks rained down around Harry, their luminous spray splintering across the unforgiving stone floor and fizzling out. Salazar's piercing emerald gaze carefully followed Harry amidst the glittering shower of magical particles.

"You told me you desired to delve into the realm of Legilimency, not those frivolous hexes and jinxes you've been diligently practicing all this time," Salazar remarked, his voice laced with a touch of disapproval.

"I do need to acquaint myself with them for my upcoming OWL exams, and it's essential to be able to instruct Neville, given our current instructor's proclivity for keeping us defenseless and obedient under the Ministry's influence," Harry replied nonchalantly. "Might as well get these out of the way now."

Salazar couldn't hide his frustration. "None of those spells have any real utility. Why waste time on something like the Impedimenta Jinx when you possess the knowledge to fracture bones?"

Arching an inquisitive brow at the painting, Harry explained, "Because if I employ the bone-splintering curse in my exams, I'm almost certain to fail."

Salazar vented his discontent. "This institution has drastically declined. I hold the Ministry accountable. Tom always said it was meant to preserve the Statute of Secrecy, ensuring the separation and safety of our worlds, not to restrict the range of magic that wizards and witches could explore."

Harry chuckled softly, thinking of Umbridge's acerbic rants. "Umbridge's tirades about subhuman creatures won't endure. Voldemort cursed the position she occupies; no one has ever endured a full year in it. She has made foes of the entire school, Dumbledore, and myself."

Salazar, ever the keen observer, couldn't resist teasing, "You're a part of the school, and you counted yourself twice."

Harry responded with a sly grin. "So is Dumbledore, and I happen to be significantly more potent than your typical fifth-year student."

"You're more formidable than any other student here, much like Tom," Salazar acknowledged.

Harry's grin widened. "All the more reason not to be concerned about Umbridge lingering here for more than a year."

'You have a plethora of other concerns to weigh on your mind,' Salazar muttered, his tone weighted with apprehension. 'That prophecy, Voldemort, Dumbledore, the Ministry...' Salazar's serpentine visage bobbed its head with each added problem, each issue that contributed to Harry's mounting burdens, until Salazar silenced it with a piercing, disapproving stare. 'And those are just the prominent ones that you're aware of.'

Harry remained resolute. 'I have a plan.'

Salazar scoffed, his patience wearing thin. 'No, you don't. Your plan is akin to a captivating sunset on the distant horizon, bolstered by sheer determination. Voldemort is biding his time, amassing his strength, but he'll inevitably renew his efforts to eliminate you, probably due to that wretched prophecy. And Dumbledore will spare no effort to ensure Voldemort's success, believing you'll make a splendid sacrifice and an even better martyr.'

Harry retorted with a hint of humor, 'All the more reason to master the Impedimenta Jinx.'

Salazar's eyes flashed with exasperation. 'Oh, I'm sure that will prove exceedingly useful in a duel against Voldemort.'

Raising his hands in mock surrender, Harry replied, 'I'm done with those spells. I can execute them competently. It was an hour well spent.'

'Now it's time to delve into the realm of Legilimency. No heir of mine will settle for anything less than mastery. Time is fleeting, and you'll soon have to depart.'

Harry mumbled under his breath, 'You were much more agreeable before I brought that enchanted clock. Now I have a colossal, painted, taskmaster.'

'Have you devised a method to practice Legilimency?'

Harry admitted, 'Not really.'

Salazar probed further, 'What ideas have you considered?'

'I contemplated using it on someone who's asleep or stunned,' Harry suggested.

Salazar shook his head in disapproval. 'If they're stunned, their thoughts will be next to non-existent, and a novice won't glean much from a slumbering mind. While it might serve as a rudimentary exercise in controlling the spell's power output, it remains primarily futile. You wouldn't be confronting a fortified mind.'

Harry persisted, 'What if I find someone to engage with, someone whom no one would heed?'

Salazar's tone turned stern. 'A dire notion. What if they possess knowledge of occlumency? Legilimency, although rare, pales in comparison to the basic understanding of occlumency, which many possess due to its broader applications in magic.'

'I could propose teaching Neville occlumency. I could hone my legilimency skills, and in return, he could acquire something genuinely valuable.'

Salazar acknowledged, 'That might be beneficial, as long as he keeps your proficiency in legilimency a well-guarded secret... and you don't inadvertently overload his mind.'

Harry quirked an eyebrow. 'I'm pretty sure legilimency can't physically melt someone's brain.'

Salazar clarified, 'Not physically. A master legilimens or an impetuous novice can reshape or establish a multitude of mental connections, thereby altering the very way someone thinks.'

Harry inquired, 'So, what can you teach me? It's not akin to blood magic, where you could merely impart principles, is it?'

Salazar's eyes darkened as he replied, 'I haven't divulged even half of what you must learn about blood magic before this year concludes. After we tackle legilimency, that's next on the agenda.'

Harry pressed further, 'And what about legilimency?'

Salazar lowered his voice, 'I have some limitations in what I can teach you, but I'll strive to elucidate the mechanics in as much depth as possible.'

Harry recollected, 'I'm aware that you establish a connection and can somehow perceive emotions.'

Salazar, his brow furrowing, questioned, 'From when Voldemort used it on you? What did he manage to see?'

Harry reassured him, 'Nothing of particular significance, no more than what I glimpsed from him.'

Salazar reassured him, 'In that case, it's not of great consequence. You and Tom share enough similarities that you'll probably naturally come to understand each other well.' He stroked his goatee thoughtfully. 'The spell forms the connection, allowing you to access the current thoughts in the victim's mind. What Voldemort did required an exceptionally strong connection. He clung to a specific emotion, dissecting it and glimpsing some associated memories and thoughts.'

Harry asked, 'How can I do it?'

Salazar offered insights, 'If your will is stronger or if you ensure that your opponent can't clear their thoughts, giving you an uncontested path. Legilimency is one of those branches of magic rooted in straightforward principles but affords an endless array of intricate applications.'

Harry remarked wryly, 'Your favorite kind of magic, I presume.'

'Precisely,' Salazar concurred, adjusting his serpent back onto his shoulders. 'You must practice casting the spell to grasp the extent over which it can be executed. The more magic you infuse, the stronger the connection becomes. Occluding the mind doesn't impact the connection itself; it renders it futile. However, you can be expelled through sheer force of will, akin to breaking free from the Imperius Curse. If their resolve to rid you from their thoughts exceeds your determination to remain within, the connection will be severed.'

Harry clarified, 'So, using more magic makes the connection harder to break, but it doesn't affect how much I can perceive. It all hinges on a potent intent.'

Salazar nodded in approval and affectionately patted his serpent's blunt nose. 'Exactly. Once you've mastered the incantation, you can progress to performing the spell without a wand or verbal component, and with minimal eye contact. The intricacies of legilimency emerge after the connection is established.'

Harry inquired, 'What about once the connection is in place?'

Salazar's grin broadened. 'That's where it gets considerably more intricate. Every wizard employs their unique approach because our thought processes vary subtly. The objective is to lead your subject into thinking about what you want to discern, so you can subsequently access that information. It's a straightforward goal with an array of complex methods. You can achieve it by projecting images, sharing your own memories and thoughts, or by tracking and dissecting their thoughts, akin to Voldemort's attempt on you. This is why practice is crucial – it's the means by which you develop your own style and tactics.'

Harry contemplated the scenario. 'So, teaching Neville to safeguard a secret while I learn to extract it from him is a worthwhile endeavor?'

Salazar offered a cautious caveat. 'As long as you trust him or are ready to repeatedly employ the Memory Charm.'

Harry considered the alternatives and admitted, 'The only other options are Katie and Fleur, but Katie isn't interested in learning occlumency, so she wouldn't benefit from it, and I can't risk harming Fleur.' A tinge of worry crept into his voice. 'Otherwise, I could attempt to perform legilimency on myself.'

Harry asked one final question, 'Can you employ legilimency on yourself?'

Salazar stroked his neat goatee thoughtfully and queried, 'Why would you want to?'

Harry replied with determination, 'To assess how proficient I am at occluding my mind, naturally.'

Salazar mused softly, 'What an intriguing possibility. You could use the Time-Turner to have a version of yourself to both attack and defend, or you could attempt to create a connection from your mind to itself. I can't predict the outcome.'

Harry considered, 'Perhaps it's better not to try, just in case I mess up something crucial.'

Salazar's expression fell, disappointment evident in his voice. 'But we must know. Try it with the Time-Turner – you'd be anticipating yourself and not substantially altering the timeline, so the consequences shouldn't be too dire. If anything goes amiss, you can travel back and warn yourself not to attempt it.'

Harry retorted firmly, 'I won't resort to that unless I'm incredibly desperate. It seems like a surefire way to die twice in the same moment or get ensnared in some absurd time loop.'

Salazar reluctantly conceded, 'Fine.'

Harry returned the steely gaze, determined in his stance. 'I will.'

Glancing at the clock, Salazar urged, 'You need to return to Gryffindor Tower.'

Harry acknowledged, 'Right, it's almost time for Quidditch practice.'

He couldn't help but add a mental note of frustration.

'Before you go,' Salazar interjected, 'ensure that you only use the portkey to travel to or from France from within my chamber.'

Harry quirked an eyebrow, inquisitive. 'I've always done that, but why does it matter?'

Salazar clarified, 'The school's protective wards instantly alert the headmaster when a student departs without authorization. The chamber serves as a loophole. You step outside the wards, which is recorded, but you don't technically leave the castle, so they don't trigger an alert to the headmaster.' A subtle smile crept across Salazar's face. 'You can depart from here, and Dumbledore won't be aware of your absence unless he physically checks to verify your presence at Hogwarts.'

Harry recollected, 'That's how he deduced I could Apparate. He noticed I had a new wand and inferred that I must have visited Diagon Alley, so he confirmed whether I had left. If he ever examines it, he'll be able to see each time I've journeyed to France this year.'

Salazar nodded knowingly. 'Yes. Don't give him a reason to investigate, Harry. The only time periods he can't scrutinize are those when he wasn't the headmaster.'

'Does Dumbledore know about the Chamber of Secrets loophole?' Harry inquired.

Salazar responded firmly, 'There are only three wizards who possess knowledge of any of the secrets within this place, and Dumbledore is not one of them.'

Harry contemplated, 'As long as he doesn't have a reason to investigate when I've left, I'll be fine.'

With those thoughts in mind, Harry made his way towards the exit.

Salazar's parting words echoed after him, 'Practice your legilimency, and be sure to hang me back on the wall.'

Harry halted at the base of the stairs, glancing back at the painting. 'Tell me how to remove the charms so I can levitate you!'

Salazar, with an air of stubbornness, crossed his arms and turned his back. 'No.'

Harry snorted, shaking his head. 'Suit yourself.'

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