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As it turned out, there had been no shortage of information in the tome the two had read together. There had been dozens upon dozens of spells, written and categorised with illustrations to boot, most of which came from different hand-writing with dates that spanned centuries. It was clear, abundantly so, that the Peverells of the past had kept, at one point, good written records — finding them was all that he needed to do, assuming the majority of those records weren't destroyed or lost to time. After all, if there were other little bits of ruinous property scattered across his land, the odds of other places being hidden or otherwise tucked away simply made sense.
Maybe, just maybe, he should go and visit Gringotts and take a gander at the Peverell wealth, investments and the like. For quite some time, he'd left it to the Goblins to manage, but maybe there was information they held that could very well make his life easier.
Harry looked over at the other tables with various books and other artefacts they'd collected gathered around, in addition to more that was brought down since the morning. Elaine was still asleep, which was a rarity in and of itself, and such was the reason he'd come down. He wanted a gander free of her thoughts or input, not that he didn't value whatsoever she said… but he still had yet to be completely truthful with her, isn't that right?
I should tell her the full truth soon enough, he thought as he gazed aimlessly at the large, Roman-based spellbook. Of why I came here, or rather, why I think I came here, of who she was in my time, of everything. All of it.
He glanced over at the map they'd been working on. With Elaine the night prior, they'd put together a new map of their lands as well as the properties thereof, and from there, after a late-night broom ride which they'd shared, the two had circled plots of land that looked suspicious. There, they hoped they might go and find caves, collapsed buildings or ones that were hidden altogether. That wasn't to mention the plans they'd made beyond those short-sighted ones. Plans for plots of lands to be made into little homes, complete with their own gardens, glasshouses and just about whatever else a growing family might need.
Elaine had insisted, after all, that they plan not just for themselves, but for their future family as well, and he hadn't been remotely against the idea.
Harry cast one last lingering glance at the map before his eyes returned to the table before him. He'd collected more than just the possessions of the past Peverells down in the basement, but also the notes from his office so as to go over them down in the basement as well — with everything that needed seeing to, his office simply wasn't large enough for the amount of information that needed to be displayed.
Here, in the basement, there was a table dedicated to the capture and final destruction of Grindelwald, another for the relics they'd collected — two whole tables, really — and another for the map as well as their future plans thereon. He liked it better this way.
Pop.
Laddey appeared and immediately, Harry's eyes sought out the hands of his friend. He'd sent him nearly ten minutes ago to Corene, for there was information she likely possessed that he desired.
And sure enough, he did. Laddey's wide, innocent eyes were full-up with joy as he looked at Harry with those large ears pointed up as a dog might do. It was a rude comparison, he supposed, but Laddey was adorable and Harry couldn't help but smile when he reached out and grabbed up the note.
"Thanks, Laddey," he said as he patted the house elf's head. "Did Corene say anything?"
"No, sir," Laddey said with a shake of his head, his ears flapping about as they always did. "Miss Corene only said to pass this to the master Harry, sir."
Harry nodded and gave a nod to Laddey. "Then thank you, Laddey, that'll be all — oh, before you go, could you please have breakfast and some tea put on? I'm sure Elaine wouldn't mind a good start to her morning."
Laddey nodded as emphatically as ever. "Laddey will do so!" and with that, he popped away.
Harry couldn't help but smile as he began to open Corene's missive. It wasn't especially large-feeling, but he supposed she'd always been a woman of few words. After a moment's time, the letter's seal was broken and the envelope ripped, and finally, the letter was in his hand.
'Harry,
As requested per week, I have attached the locations which are worth looking at. I regret to inform you, however, that as time progresses and those in the cells inevitably perish, the stream of information grows thinner. I will continue, however, to do the best that I can.
In addition, and as requested, I've made an addendum. Herein are the various types of vaults and hidden construction that are oft favoured by Purebloods of this region. I've taken the liberty myself to remove anything of the past century so as to avoid wasting your time. Should you require additional information, or should you have other questions, do not hesitate to send a missive or visit.
Yours with the utmost grace,
Corene'
Harry wasn't sure just where those locations were on account of nothing else having been in the envelope, checking thrice as he did. He flipped the letter too, and much like the envelope, it was… well, it wasn't completely empty after all. Harry spotted a few little words at the very bottom, and written in Corene's especially beautiful script.
They seemed to be little activation words, of a sort. It reminded him of a map of Hogwarts he'd once had; the Marauder's Map. He assumed he simply had to bring his wand up and tap the parchment and utter one of the words, and so that was what he did, and it came to life. Like the aforementioned map, ink shifted around across the entirety of the page with text sprawled across various parts. There didn't seem to be people's names, nor was anybody moving around so far as the map could tell. It didn't help the matter much that Harry couldn't really pronounce the names as they formed on that first picture — they all seemed to be German or something like that.
On and on he went, through the next locations. Until the last one, Harry noticed, the lot of them were German. His eyebrows had climbed in his head when the last one was spoken aloud by his own lips; it was a little town up in the Scottish Highlands. One he'd never so much as heard of before, and yet, it was a location which Grindelwald might have gone to hide a part of his soul.
Maybe Harry was an idiot, or perhaps he was too territorial for his own good — something that'd come about as a result of his relationship with the ever-possessive Elaine — but he wanted to go and have a gander at the place in Scotland first, before anything else. The thought of a piece of Grindelwald's soul being so close to where he lived was unsettling for certain, but beyond that, Harry couldn't stomach the thought of sitting idly by when he could be back to terrorise the population so quickly.
Who was to say that Grindelwald wasn't back already? There was a chance it's already happened, and if that were the case, who was to say when the next bout of chaos would occur?
Harry ran a hand through his hair as he hung his head whilst reading the letter. His mind was already made up, he'd go tonight, after he'd had a chance to get everything planned and packed for them to go. It was what he'd have to do lest the opportunity gets wasted.
He shuddered when a large amount of worry ran through him, and then, in a second, there was a loud pop and beside him stood Elaine. As could be expected in the morning, her hair was wild and strewn about, but it made her no less beautiful in his opinion. No, she was perfect regardless of the time of day, but the worried expression on her face was one that he didn't like to see.
"You woke before me," she said, the words coming out as more an accusation than any more of statement or the like as she stretched. "I was left worrying as to your whereabouts, lover."
"I was down here, working," he said with a gesture around the place. "I was hoping to get some work done before you rose so we could have a productive day — it seems like we'll have just that, too," he held out the letter to her when he'd finished speaking, and in an instant, Elaine grabbed it up as she pushed herself into his side.
It seemed she wasn't very happy that her basking rock had gotten up before she had, but she was content enough to press their bodies together and read whilst flush against him. He certainly wouldn't complain.
Elaine's eyes scanned through the writing quickly and in not more than a few seconds time, she flipped the letter over, her eyes falling on the map of the area they'd soon be headed to. There seemed an ounce of recognition in those dark pools of hers too, Harry had come to be able to read her well enough.
"Recognise something?"
Elaine's eyes flicked to his own. "I believe there's an old castle there, whereupon rituals were once done. It wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility to think there might be tunnels or the like under the castle itself," her free hand clenched into a fist. "He's truly dared to leave a piece of himself here."
Whilst he knew he should be worried when it came to an angry Elaine, he did feel a touch pleased that he wasn't the only one the thought seemed to anger. Grindelwald had no right to leave any part of himself here, on the land that he'd brought so much death and destruction to.
"Tonight?"
In an instant, she nodded. "Tonight," Elaine was just as ready to go as he was. "I'll summon Corene over and have her aid me in preparations for the evening's activities."
"We should have her over for a few nights," Harry suggested. "We could do the same with Aster, Daphne, Druella and Emilene if you'd like — after tonight, we might be able to do whatever we'd like."
"If we're fortunate," Elaine agreed as she reluctantly pulled away from his person and summoned Laddey, ever their companion.
And from that point on, the two turned to three and they began to work alongside one another, planning out their supplies, food and more.
It was a lot more in-depth than Harry had thought it'd be.
"What?"
Harry looked between Elaine and Corene, not believing he'd heard the former speak correctly.
"Corene's going to be joining us rather than those personal Aurors of ours," Elaine said again, adamant and with her arms folded. "Before you attempt to argue otherwise, she's far more useful and knowledgeable than any of them. She's been studying harder and better than most ever will, and the skillset she possesses will be exceedingly useful."
He did want to argue that she shouldn't come with them, but he knew the two would do so regardless of his desire. Corene, he would have to admit as well, was quite useful to have by one's side. With her and Elaine each, the only few people he'd want added to make a dream team would be Aster, Daphne and… Reinhard, were the other boy still around.
Harry allowed himself a small smile at the memory of his friend, and then, as Corene and Elaine moved towards the stairs, he followed them.
There was work to be done, and soon, at that.
The trio reached the backdoor of the Peverell Manor quickly, the piled up belongings they intended on bringing along in-place and waiting for them. Harry glanced at the girls, and before either could so much as pull out their wand, he was focused on his hand as he waved it; one by one, the pieces of luggage shrunk, and then they grew lighter.
All that remained were the satchels of regular size that each would carry with items that needed to be readily accessible. As for the great many things which got diminished in size for the sake of ease to carry, there was much and more — from clothes to potions, pre-made runic schemes ready for magic to activate them to bedrolls that could withstand just about any type of punishment. They'd spent nearly ten hours planning out the raid, for on their homeland as it was, they couldn't allow collateral of any kind.
They wouldn't.
Harry ensured nothing was forgotten as he packed and checked thrice over the backpack he'd be carrying. When he was certain he'd not missed anything, he fastened the straps tightly around his shoulders and ensured the one wound around his torso was just as firm and secure. He'd be carrying much of their belongings, and weightless as they were, he couldn't help but feel off. It completely messed up his awareness, and it certainly made it more difficult for him to position himself on account of the new balance he needed to maintain.
All the same, it was best that it was him, at least until the point where he could transfigure a little helper. That branch of magic had seldom stuck out to him as one that wasn't incredibly useful… but that was before he'd needed to use it so often, and before he'd learned how to properly animate various statues and the like to do his bidding to such a wondrous degree. There were few enough that could do as he did, but obviously the two he found himself working alongside were those that could work as he could.
The Aurors, the majority of them being new and young, couldn't. Maybe Elaine was right to bring just Corene along, after all, though he didn't like having to worry about the pair of them. He'd already lost one friend, and even now, he knew it was his fault. He should have saved Reinhard, he could have, but Grindelwald had been too strong and Harry, too inexperienced.
Harry wanted to hang his head as thoughts of shenanigans with Reinhard and Aster both reached his headspace, but instead of sorrowful, nostalgic thoughts, there was anger. Reinhard should still be present, but he wasn't. He'd been stolen away by Grindelwald, but now, it was his turn to be sent wherever people go when their time's come to an end.
If not for justice, then for revenge; Harry hoped Grindelwald would rot in the worst type of hell.
"Are we ready?" Elaine asked as she stood at the back exit of their manor, the girl twisting on the balls of her feet to look at Harry and Corene each. Her eyes were practically alight with a fiery energy, and Harry needed to tap into their connection for not more than a few seconds to feel the waves of eagerness rolling off of her.
Evidently, the thought of destroying Grindelwald once and for all seemed very appealing to her. Almost as appealing as the idea she'd had in which they'd keep one of his Horcruxes and use it for all the knowledge it was worth; even he'd been tempted, but he'd thought better of it shortly thereafter. However minute the chance of an escape would be from their home, especially with Elaine overseeing the wards and cell proper, he didn't fancy the idea of the man still drawing breath.
He didn't deserve any type of existence, regardless of how bad it'd be. Better to send him to the next world, whatever it'd be. Harry reckoned the being from his dreams or another like her — maybe it — would handle him with glee if they'd gone so far as to send him here to save this time. They probably weren't fond of evil in the worst form, if he had to guess.
Harry checked over the lot of his items and finally gave a nod. "Ready," he said.
Corene echoed the sentiment once he spoke. "Ready," she said in that monotonous tone of voice he'd missed. "Twelve seconds."
He blinked at that and furrowed his brow. Twelve seconds for what?
Elaine seemed to catch his questioning gaze and smiled at him. "The number of seconds until the location we'll be arriving at should have its safety ascertained."
Harry very nearly asked how she and Corene had worked that to a number of twelve seconds, or if it was longer, how they'd been keeping track… but he didn't. He reckoned the answer was likely to drive him mad since it was Corene and Elaine maths, and that meant they'd have spent far too long working it out done to those seconds he was wondering about.
Thus, he waited with the occasional glance down at his pocket watch, and sure enough, as the twelfth second ticked by, a house elf appeared that he'd not seen before. When it appeared beside Corene, he figured it was one of hers, only not the usual one he was accustomed to seeing her with. It whispered something to her, the same look of innocence coming from those big eyes that just about every house elf gave.
Corene said something back to it, something that he couldn't make out, and then, the little house elf vanished. It went away with nary a word to him or Elaine, and few enough to Corene herself.
"Safe?" he asked after a second went by, curiosity getting the better of him. "Was there anything dangerous that had to be disabled?"
"No."
Harry waited for Corene to say more, but she didn't, and so he shrugged. If there was nothing more, he figured they were ready, and Elaine seemed to think much the same as she closed the distance betwixt the three of them. One second, her hands sought out his and Corene's, and the next, he was with the pair of them in the midst of some old, run down castle. It was full-up with glass display cases and plaques thereon, and there were many a rope and path — a museum, he thought with a snort. They'd had the schematics of the place, but not one of them had known it'd been turned into a museum… maybe a person that could sift through Muggle documents as well as Magical would be good to have. If not both, at least the former so they could give everything they learn over to Corene to help her paint a bigger picture.
It'd be helpful.
"Well," he said after blinking a few times to gather his wits. "Seems like a nice enough place, doesn't it?"
Elaine took but one glance before she frowned. "It's been 'modernised' by the Muggles. They've littered it with cables and bright, flashing lights, not to mention the display cases don't match in design," she scoffed at the nearest piece. "And that looks to be a replica rather than an original. How terrible a museum this must be."
Harry took a glance at the object in question and couldn't for the life of him determine how she'd called it a fake so quickly, and then he looked back over at her, and finally, to the nearest exit from the room which they'd apparated in; it seemed a strange thing that no magic was present throughout this area of the castle, and no traps or the like either — maybe traps wasn't the right word, security, maybe, but the Muggles must be lax.
"You know where we're going, don't you?" he asked Corene; it'd been her job to remember the layout of the place and ensure the most direct route to the dungeon, where any entrance to a hidden section would be.
"Yes," Corene said respectfully, and then, with all the grace one could expect from her, she turned on her heels and began to walk out the door he'd looked at moments earlier. She did so with authority, enough so that she looked like she belonged in the place, and any who might question her would be fools for doing so.
He imagined living in a castle for your whole life would allow you that level of confidence. Merlin, he could only imagine how pompous of a git he'd be had he lived in Peverell Manor throughout his whole childhood.
"Would that I could see this place restored to its natural beauty, and not that of the Muggle restoration and 'improvements'," Elaine said wistfully as she looked from artefacts to stonemasonry.
Harry pointed out a little plaque in passing. "It seems like it had some damage thanks to the conflict. I imagine the Muggles tried their best."
Elaine remained silent, but he thought he saw a flash of recognition on her face when she glanced at the plaque. He'd ask her about that later, when they weren't in a museum without permission, hunting for something of a most sinister nature.
"Down these stairs," Corene said upon reaching a large, wide-open portion of the castle. There were nearly a dozen doors, but the one she'd motioned to seemed the oldest, especially with the iron gate that was open before it, a heavy chain keeping it attached to the wall so as to avoid any accidents, by the look of how heavy it was.
As Harry pushed through the old wooden door, he took one last glance over his shoulder at the place. It was wicked, but he reckoned Corene's castle was cooler, and most definitely older on account of the Roman architecture that lay at the places centre.
He took a peek up and down the stairs after his errant thought had run its course. There wasn't a soul in sight, and when he paused to listen, that served only to confirm how alone the three of them were. That was good. He didn't like the idea of Muggles prancing about where a piece of Grindelwald might be — he didn't hate them, he didn't want them to get hurt. Muggles and Magicals, in his mind, needed to stay away from one another to ensure the safety of both; especially the Magicals. It wasn't the latter group that possessed weapons that could end the whole world, after all.
Once the trio learned they were alone, they made short work of the walk. They passed by no less than a dozen doors and multiple floors, but eventually, they found themselves standing before a large, steel gate with gains and giant locks securing it. To Muggles, the amount of security would prove impossible to defeat without drawing attention, but to them, to Magicals, it was nothing.
Elaine confirmed that when she smiled after waving her wand. He'd done so as well, and the two came to the same conclusion, so it'd seem; there was no magic present. Not so much as the locks fastened around the chains.
It was almost too mundane to warrant a further search, but Grindelwald was crafty and had no small amount of cunning. Were he to show signs of magic so early, it'd all but confirm that he'd been here to place a piece of his soul, and so Harry figured the lack of magic thus far was without any significant amount of importance.
He was just about to wave his wand a second time over when Corene did so with a sharp jab and wasteless motion of her wand. Quickly, the lock opened, the top popping up and off, but before it could fall it seemed to be grasped as if by the air itself, and slowly, it fell to the floor with not more than a dull, localised thud.
Corene worked quick, and efficiently. He liked it. "Do we wish to continue, or check aboveground first?"
Harry was in favour of the former option between the two. He would much rather continue down into the depths, where something would likely be hidden should something exist; Elaine seemed to think along the same line that he did on account of the expression she wore and the interest the large, now-unlocked gate made for.
"The depths first," Elaine declared with a gesture forward, confident and eager, the girl all but bouncing on the balls of her feet as she withdrew her wand. "We'll ensure there's nothing below, be it here before Grindelwald, or as a result of him — any ancient knowledge would be as wondrous a prize as a piece of his soul."
Corene seemed pleased by that. Knowledge had always been her goal. Harry, meanwhile, hoped for the Horcruxe rather than any amount of ancient arcane knowledge. None of that matters half as much to him as Grindelwald's complete and utter destruction. Thus, silently and as he moved beside the two through the now-opened gate with nary a sign of magic, he uttered a little prayer in his mind. Should any being be listening, be it the one he'd worked with or any he'd not so much as heard of before, he hoped they'd offer some sort of divine intervention.
Truly, there was nothing more in the world that Harry desired short of finding whatever remained of Grindelwald. Should the man be present and alive, Harry wouldn't mind fighting him — he'd not be a challenge against the three together as they were and weak as he'd be — anything to see an end to the conflict.
"How large a dungeon," Elaine hummed after, her eyes taking in the chains and manacles, and beyond them, the dozens of cells that were long-abandoned. "Impressive despite how mundane the place remains."
"It remains unspoiled," Corene said without so much a second's delay.
Harry glanced around and nodded a few times to himself. There wasn't any power down here, just a few torches on a shelf near the entrance, and dusty batteries in a cabinet below them. Whoever the custodian was hadn't cleaned this bit of the castle in a long, long time.
He turned his attention to the area at large and saw no sign of a second, grand entrance. There was nothing but cells, empty and filled with old, ruined mattresses or used for storage. Any obvious, second area, didn't exist, and so Harry sought out any obvious spaces for hidden entryways; he looked for too large a space between cells, for dead zones that seemed to leave much behind them, or for changes in the stone of the floor.
Harry huffed when there wasn't so much as an ounce of space that remained that seemed large enough for what he was imagining. There was, of course, the chance that a thin passage remained, but nothing grand as Harry hoped. In the floor, he reckoned it had to be, or what they sought after wasn't in the dungeons… he supposed they could check the grounds of the estate, but that'd be far more difficult, especially with them being in a space that didn't repel Muggles, but actively attracted them.
"I suppose we'll turn the place over?" he asked the pair as he turned and ensured the gate was shut once more.
"We will," Elaine agreed immediately as she waved her hand at the door they'd passed, a warm, purple glow shining forth for a few seconds before it subsided.
Locked again, so it seemed. Harry went one step further after Elaine ensured the place was locked, he went so far as to cast an illusion over the place. In doing that, he made sure any errant Muggles that went wandering about wouldn't be able to see them beyond the gate.
"Interesting."
Corene's exclamation drew his attention whilst Elaine worked on the opposite side of the grand cavern. He cast a glance at Elaine as he moved toward Corene, and seeing that she was still working silently and whilst focused as ever, he continued right on past her. Better not to distract her, he thought. And as such, he was silent with the occasional glance around the gaf until he reached her.
"Corene?" he asked in a hushed tone, his eyes looking at the ground she had a hand placed upon. So far as he could tell, there was nothing there, just a small crack in the ground; something that wasn't all that uncommon in this old, stoney ground.
"Put your hand beside mine," Corene said without so much as glancing up at him. Instead, her hand sought out her wand and slowly, she began to mumble.
As she did so, Harry did as she bid him to. In an instant, he felt what had caught her attention. There was a breeze, a gentle breeze that was barely present, but one that was there all the same. Something, whatever it might be, was open below where they were standing. Harry looked over at Corene and smiled wide; she'd found whatever they'd been looking for, and quickly, at that.
"Anything over with you?" Harry called back to Elaine in a whisper-yell, ensuring his voice didn't echo all that much.
One second, Elaine was searching the floor where she'd been, and the next, she was by his side with only a flash of greyish smoke, lighter than most, and sort of like that lightish smoke a fire could give off; Merlin did he want to learn that spell. She'd invented her own form of flight, and it was wicked.
Elaine's smug expression said she realised just how wicked it was.
"Not so much as a hint of secrets to be shared," Elaine answered him, and now much closer than she'd been earlier. "What've you found, Corene?"
Corene glanced at Harry for a few seconds longer, and then she turned her attention over to Elaine. "I believe a room or cavern lay beneath us," she gestured to the crack where her hand, and one of Harry's, were still pressed. "Do you prefer that we check the rest of the area first, or delve?"
I can already tell what Elaine will s—
"Delve," Elaine said before he could so much as finish the thought running through his mind. Her wand was already pointed at the ground and an incantation was already passing her lips by the time he realised she wasn't waiting for other opinions.
No, instead, she was entirely for going down into this new, arid space without so much as a second's delay. He wasn't remotely certain of why her confidence was so boundless after her earlier paranoia when it came to his safety — he'd have figured with Corene by their side now, she'd be all the more cautious, but he figured wrong from the look of things.
Harry watched her work, and it took but a few seconds more for that work to be completed. Where once the crack had been, now, a large hole was there with a ladder made that went down and down, into darkness. Only a very minor amount of light illuminated the space below, and that came from the stairs whence they'd been.
He cast a Lumos, but dimly, and immediately his eyes were granted vision of the place Elaine had just opened up for them. It was cavernous and crudely carved, and what wood remained down below seemed old and rotten, and the air seemed to be tinged with a hint of lingering dampness.
There was a source of water nearby; it made him wonder if the place was locked off everywhere, or just in the basement. He looked around the place to pick out just how many doors or the like there might be, and he counted internally, reaching the number thirteen. Far too many passages for them to wish to search if they didn't want to spend days down in the depths.
"Are we going down?" he asked the two Witches beside him.
Elaine's wand hadn't stopped moving as she spoke under her breath, and Corene was still crouching beside him, pristine and graceful even in a crouch. The latter, it seemed, was content to wait for whatever Elaine was doing to finish before she descended, and her eyes as they went over to him were patient, almost tired; maybe that was how calm she was.
Harry wasn't one to sit idly by, and so his wand joined Elaine's in moving as he went through the many spells he'd catalogued in the confines of his mind when it came to dungeons or the like. Elaine was so very fascinated by them, he reckoned that alone was reason enough to spend hours going through spell books that would aid them in their ventures. One after the other after the next, the spells they called upon to aid them went off, and detected nothing.
When he was finished and Elaine seemed almost ready herself, he huffed. It was strange no magic was present now that they'd discovered that little room so quickly.
"We're free to press forward," Elaine concluded, much like he had. Harry, from there, made to descend the stairs but one of her hands caught hold of him, swift as a hawk. "Remember our past ventures, won't you, lover? Watch out for Muggle traps — I'll be right beside you, and be careful."
Elaine didn't let him respond before she pulled him by the front of his shirt towards her person, and from there, she all but ate his lips with her own, such was the ferocity of her kiss. Her hands bundled up his shirt as she pressed further into him, all but forgetting Corene's presence as she let loose a moan, eager and wanton as her hands began to roam… but she stopped herself with a groan when he made to separate from her.
With flushed cheeks and hooded, dark eyes hidden behind a curtain of darker hair, he watched as she stared at him. He could see the desire in her eyes, and the way her chest rose and fell on account of her breathlessness was almost entirely too enticing.
He smiled at her, he did much the same at Corene, and then he manoeuvred himself so that he was standing right at the top of the stone-made ladder. With a wink at Elaine, he began to descend with his wand in his right hand. Slowly, he progressed, ensuring that he checked where he was going carefully, so as to avoid any traps of the Muggle variety should any be present.
They could be devastating, and he knew as much. Elaine wouldn't be able to help him all that much if she were blown up herself, but that was something he'd not allow. He'd let somebody down before, he'd not do so again.
Ever further Harry descended into the cavernous space, until, eventually, his feet struck the solid, cold ground of the stone. It was cold enough that he could feel it through his shoes, and damp enough that a very minor squeaking sound came about whenever he twisted his feet. Thankfully, he concluded there was nothing within his immediate vicinity.
He was, strange as it was to say, disappointed. He'd sincerely hoped there might be something present, a hint, a whisper of Grindelwald, anything; it was queer when earlier, the thought of a piece of Grindelwald being here had angered him, but now, now he wished for it to be present in the ground very near to where he was.
"Nothing," he called to the Witches, and only just managing to dodge a foot when Elaine plopped down beside him not a second later.
She'd already been on her way down before he'd called back to them, and when she looked at him after those words had come free of his mouth, she grinned as her hands fell to her hips. It appeared to amuse her, his concern for her person; inversed, the same couldn't be said.
"This place is far larger than I thought it'd be," Elaine said as she peered around the place, her eyes skipping from one tunnel to the next. Her nose wrinkled a second or so before she finished looking at their newest surroundings. "Were this transfigured, the person who did so understood little about Transfiguration, even by the standards of the time in which they lived. How disappointing."
Leave it to Elaine to be bothered by craftsmanship that's hundreds of years old, Harry thought as he took cautious step after step, his eyes searching the ground and empty space before him for any sign of a Muggle trap. I'll have to agree, though. I've never seen such jagged stone before, not even when the Muggles worked on it.
"How do we start?" he asked as the last of their trio descended.
Elaine cast a cursory glance around the place once more, and then she looked back at Harry. "Is the place without traps?"
Harry wanted to answer with a resounding affirmation, but he stopped short of doing so. "I think this room is safe, yeah, but I don't know about the rest of the tunnel system. There could be wire a few hundred metres from where we are, or there could be one a dozen metres away down one of these closest tunnels — it'd be best if we stayed together, I think."
He nearly finished differently; Corene and Elaine wouldn't know what to look out for when it came to Muggle work, Corene especially lacked knowledge regarding Muggles. Aster would have been a good pick if only for that reason, what with the boy's fascination with Muggle soldiers and weapons of any kind.
"Remain here," Elaine said abruptly, after he was finished speaking.
"Did—"
"I'll not be leaving this main area, you needn't worry, lover," Elaine said, cutting him off before he could voice his concern. As she moved past him, one hand lingered on his shoulder, drifting down his arm as her steps carried her further away. "I seek only to look down the tunnels and the way I'll do so will be without worry of accidents."
Harry reckoned he knew just what she was thinking. When she morphed a moment later into that grey-silver hued smoke as it formed where once she'd been, he shook his head and smiled to himself. Corene, beside him, seemed incredibly impressed based on the keen gaze she shot Elaine's way; this could very well be the first time she'd seen the new spell in action — for Harry, it was the second or third, and it's not become any less impressive.
"We'll wait here," he called to the mist that was Elaine before she tore off, down the first of the many passages.
That left Harr with Corene, in the basement of a basement under the old castle they'd broken into.
He blinked at her, she blinked back… and then she procured too hot, lidded mugs as she leaned back, against the stone-made ladder.
When Harry took the one that was offered to him, he took a small, cautious sip, and then his shoulders sagged and all the worries of the world melted away. It was that delicious tea her house elves seemed to make, and Merlin, he'd be lying if he didn't say it worked better than potions oft did for aches and pains. It also served to make him feel warmer, down in the cold earth as they were.
And so together, with that wondrous tea, the two waited for Elaine to search the many corridors; an hour later, she was finished, and the trail of smoke made its return.
Harry so very nearly fell asleep in her absence.
"Well?" he asked upon Elaine's return as the smoke subsided and she was, once again, personified before him.
Elaine smiled wide and gestured to the third tunnel on the right, one that seemed to go up on a slight incline. "That's where we need to go," she said. "It leads to a stone-carved door with runes of a type I'm unfamiliar with. I saw so sign of magic, nor did I see anything that looked out of place — Harry, you remain an expert. Might you, very carefully, take the lead?"
It almost seemed as if she were hesitant to ask him to do so. Probably, on account of the constant worry she felt in regards to his person; mortality, after all, remained her greatest enemy, and one that would remain as such in perpetuity, he imagined.
"I can," he answered. "I'll be honest, though. I don't think Grindelwald's been here, nor any of his followers."
"Agreed," Corene, the person who'd given the place as a location of interest in the first place, said. "No sign of his presence, or that of any who followed him."
Elaine shrugged. "All the same, if we're here, we may as well ensure there's nothing here that shouldn't be. Who else but us might be able to make safe an area and ensure anything found can't be used for nefarious purposes?"
Harry blinked at her. Nefarious purposes… her… never.
Then again, rather the devil he was in bed with than one he didn't know; and Merlin, did Elaine seem to have a touch of something devilish, a Succubus, maybe. As his thoughts ran errantly whilst the two witches spoke, he caught Elaine falter in her speech, and her eyes sought out his not a second later.
Based on the slight red hue her cheeks had, he reckoned those thoughts of his might have been a bit too strong. Enough so that their link managed to convey them.
"Harry?"
Corene looked at him too, the conversation interrupted that she'd been having.
"Sorry," he said with a chuckle he masked with a cough. "We can go and take a quick gander."
Internally, Harry was already absent, his mind on the other locations already.