Unofficial Portkey Archive

Ch 36 From the Dungeons Deep

Harry sat up slowly and still nearly fell out of his bed from the dizziness. He heard a slight tinkling as he moved and his wrists tingled. "My bed? Where am I?" He looked around in the darkness frantically but saw nothing but the dim outline of several other beds. But this wasn't the hospital wing at Hogwarts, or anywhere else he recognized. There was a rustle to his side and behind him and then a flash of light as a candle was lit. Harry turned to look, but the light hurt his eyes and he shut them tight. But judging by the height of the candle, the person carrying the candle was not very tall.

There was a noise, like the sound of rock rubbing against rock and when Harry opened his eyes again, slowly this time, his jaw dropped. There was a blonde-bearded dwarf standing in front of him, trying to tell him or ask him something. Harry used the only phrase in Dwarvish he could remember and said, "It is my pleasure to meet you. I am Harry Potter." The dwarf tried saying something again, but Harry could only shrug his shoulders. The dwarf held up its hand, pointed at Harry and the bed, and said something Harry couldn't understand. He then lit a candle sitting on the bedstand and then turned away. Harry blinked a few times and then looked around the room. There were four bare stone walls and several other beds in the small room. He was dressed in a light robe, but the rest of his clothing and his wand, pouch, and sword were nowhere in sight. And around his wrists were a pair of what appeared to be copper manacles. He swung out his feet and placed them on the cold, stone floor. He tried to stand, but his legs shook so badly he decided to wait for a moment before trying again. Then he tried to figure out how he could have ended up in what appeared to be a dwarven hospital.

The last thing he remembered was…his hand suddenly flew to his left ear and found only a scab on the lobe where his earring had been. Then the rest came back in a flash. The moment he had realized Hermione was dead, he had lost control. He had simply wanted to smash everything around him, he didn't even care if he survived or not. His unbridled rage just wanted to destroy everything around him. He didn't know how he had survived, and right now he didn't care. His shoulders slumped and his head dropped as he tried to imagine what his life would be like without Hermione. He couldn't do it. He simply couldn't imagine what he would do or how he would live without someone who had become such an integral part of his existence.

He was pulled out of his bleak introspection when the blonde dwarf reappeared with a second grey bearded dwarf.

"Welcome Harry Potter. Welcome to Bilundergad, the Underforge. You may call me Fribig. The matron here who took care of you is known as Glindi. Now that you are awake, King Gromdi wishes to speak with you. Please follow me."

Harry nodded dumbly towards Glindi and staggered to his feet. He wobbled for a moment and nearly fell. Fribig and Glindi both reached out to steady him, but he held his palms out, refusing their help and wanting to stand on his own. Instead of leaving the room, they walked slowly at Harry's pace to a corner of the room where several screens stood. There was a huge tub and towels piled around it behind the screens. They urged him into the corner as Fribig explained.

"You may bathe here. I will bring you some clothing appropriate for speaking with the king. The clothing we found you in was damaged beyond repair."

"What about my other things?"

"They are being kept safe."

"How long have I been out?"

"Almost three days."

"Why am I chained? Am I a prisoner?"

"The king will explain. Now please hurry, the king is most anxious to speak with you." Fribig left Harry alone as he stripped and then stepped into the ice cold water. For minutes, he sat, not caring that he was shivering but embracing the numbness of his body that matched the numbness of his soul. Finally, he stepped out of the tub, dried himself off, and put on the clothing he had been provided with. The pants were too short, but the shirt fit about right, apparently they had found a young dwarf with a skinny chest whose shirt he could fit into. He thought he would feel much worse after the cold bath, but in fact he felt somewhat revived.

He stepped out where both Glindi and Fribig were waiting. His strength returning quickly, he followed Fribig out of the stone hospital and down a series of long corridors. As he followed behind, he caught a glimpse of movement out of the corner of his eye down one of the side passages. He stopped and looked, but saw nothing but flickering shadows from the torches.

Fribig turned and urged him to hurry.

"Sorry, I thought I saw something moving," explained Harry.

"What?" asked Fribig.

"I thought I saw a shadow of something, but it was nothing," replied Harry.

Fribig walked back and looked down the hallway, frowning deeply. Then he turned and continued leading Harry forward. They halted before two dwarven guards in metal armor holding polearms in front of two massive bronze doors. Fribig said something and one of them slowly opened the door, never taking his eyes off of Harry.

Harry followed his escort into a massive and beautifully decorated hall. For a moment, Harry could do nothing but marvel at the highly skilled stonework evident in the elegant but massive stone pillars and arches spread throughout the room. Then he detected the faint trace of magical runes inscribed on the walls and arched recessed throughout the room. Along both walls of the long, narrow room stood statues of stout dwarves in various aggressive poses-Harry suspected they were monuments to past kings. The far wall was rounded, not flat and had a half dome above it. In the rounded recess Harry could see a pair of thrones and a gathering of dwarves. Fribig led him down the center of the room towards the group of dwarves.

When they were about twenty feet away, Fribig stopped and kneeled on the floor and said something in Dwarvish. He then repeated it for Harry's benefit. "My lord, I present to you Harry Potter, a human from the island of the West."

Harry bowed his head slightly and said in his best Dwarvish. "It is a pleasure to meet you."

The king said something and Harry turned to Fribig. "He is surprised to learn that you speak our tongue, though it is a different dialect."

"Tell him that I do not speak it well. I have a friend who…I do not speak Dwarvish well and I am sorry."

Fribig began to translate for him.

"How did you escape from the deathless ones? The ones you call vimpirs."

"I did not escape from them. I came here looking for them." There was a burst of murmuring around Harry, who though he stood a good foot or more above all of them, weighed less than half of the lightest dwarf in the room.

"That is impossible. No human has set foot in this valley for centuries unless brought here by the deathless ones. It is impossible."

"It is not impossible, I assure you. I broke through the magical wards they have defending their valley." Once again, there was considerable discussion as Harry's comments were translated.

"What do you know of the explosion that took place three days ago? It opened a gorge that leads to one of our upper tunnel chambers. You were found in that chamber unconscious three days ago. On the surface, everything for three miles around this new chasm was wiped clean, the hills were flattened, the forests destroyed. Several of our own caverns collapsed from the resulting earthquake. Part of the castle wall of the deathless ones itself was destroyed. Do you know what happened? Do you know who could have done something so terrible? Was it one of the deathless ones? Did you see who did it?"

Harry paused, trying to anticipate the effect his answer might have. "The one responsible for the destruction was not a vampire, it was a mage. He is an elemental mage, a mage with tremendous power. He came to the valley looking for someone very close to him whom the vampires had stolen from him. He came to rescue her. But he was too late. And when he realized that he was too late, he lost control and in his anger and fury he unleashed the destruction that you witnessed."

The crowd was very quiet as they waited for the king to speak Instead, a white haired dwarf standing to his side whispered in the king's ear and then spoke instead and asked Harry, "And what will this mage do now? Will he go home in defeat or will he avenge his loss?"

Harry stood still for a moment as the words washed over him. His numbed pain and grief receded before the burning intensity of his anger and rage. His indifference, his indecisiveness, his uncertainty and his lethargy melted away as his desire for vengeance burned through him again. His eyes blazed brilliantly in the torchlit room as the air quickly cooled. "I will find her murderers and I will destroy them. They will never harm another living being again. I swear it."

When Fribig was done translating his words, the king leaned back and whispered something to the white bearded dwarf while the rest of the dwarves muttered, many of them glaring very suspiciously at Harry. The king looked up for a moment, waved his arm, and then returned to his intense discussion with the old dwarf.

"Come Harry Potter, we must leave."

"What are they doing?" asked Harry as he followed Fribig out of the throne room. "Why am I still chained? Why are you keeping me here?" he asked angrily, shaking the metal chain hanging between his wrists.

"They are discussing your fate. You are chained with wizard cuffs, they prevent human wizards from using their magic."

Harry followed quietly, fuming as he walked behind the dwarf back to the infirmary.

"I will bring you some food shortly. You may rest here."

"Aren't you afraid I might run off?" snapped Harry.

"We do not fear a wizard with no magic. Besides, it would take a very strong human to even budge a dwarfdoor, let alone open it. I will be back with your food." He left Harry alone in the infirmary.

True to his word, Fribig returned quickly with a heaping platter of steaming meat and a pitcher of stout Dwarvish ale and then left him again. Harry dug in hungrily, subtly changing the liquor to pumpkin juice. He wanted his wits clear and he wanted to be sure they weren't trying to drug him. Lastly, it was comforting to realize that just as with the guardian of Atlantis, he was still able to use his elemental magic.

Harry was halfway through his meal when the door opened again and in came the old, white bearded wizard he had seen in the throne room by the side of the king. Harry looked up and stopped, waiting for the dwarf to approach.

"Please, do not stop your meal on my account," indicated the old dwarf as he entered and sat in a chair near Harry. "I apologize for interrupting but we have little time. If you do not mind, I will speak while you eat and I will try to answer any questions you may have."

"Who are you?"

"I am Fribolg, a counselor of the king. Fribig is my son."

"Why am I wearing these?"

"The dwarves of the Bilundergad clan, as a rule, do not generally trust wizardkind," began the grizzled dwarf.

"I can understand that, but nearly twenty mountain dwarves of the Angisle clan allied with us to fight Voldermort last spring," explained Harry.

"As you say, they were of a different clan. They have had a different history than we have had with wizardkind. And I learned enough of this Voldemort to understand why they stood with you. But I am the only one who has ventured out of these halls in over forty years besides my son."

"But that doesn't explain why I have to wear these."

"You are the first wizard or witch who has entered our halls in more than two centuries. Most of the dwarves fear your presence. Most of them think you are a spy from the vampires. Those who doubt you came from the vampires fear the power you wield, especially if you are the one who used the destructive magic on the surface. Either way, they intend to eliminate you as a threat."

Harry snorted. "If they just wanted to kill me, why did you bother rescuing me?"

"We do not kill defenseless opponents. They will continue talking and drinking all night, and one of them will challenge you to a trial by axe tomorrow."

"Well, that doesn't sound too bad. What will we do? Throw at a target or something?"

"No, you will stand fifty yards apart and throw forty pound axes at each other until one of you falls dead."

"Oh. Well, that sounds about as fair as our legal system."

"I never said that it was fair, but it is our way."

"Why are you telling me all this?"

"Because I thought it would be best if you knew what to expect tomorrow. Because I was hoping to learn something from you that might help me change the king's mind. And because I believe you can help us recover what is rightfully ours."

"Before or after one of your friends tries to split me in half?" roared Harry in exasperation. "And why would I want to help you?" asked Harry, rattling his chains. "You've imprisoned me and basically sentenced me to die tomorrow morning. Why on earth would I…"

"Because we share the same enemy. The Iron Tower belongs to the dwarves. But since the deathless ones came over a thousand years ago, we have been confined to the lower reaches of our realm."

"Well how many of there are you? Surely you have more than enough dwarves to dislodge a few vampires?"

"There are many more vampires now, and they have other allies as well. They have a powerful Guardian, a terrible white dragon that dwells in a large cavern between us and the fortress of the Iron Tower. And there are other enemies that haunt the upper halls. The deathless ones usually stay in the tower, the dragon never leaves its cave, but the others, the shades, they are always there, waiting for us to come."

"The shades?" asked Harry.

"We fought many battles in the first decade of their arrival. The deathless ones brought in a terrible Dark Wizard, the Necromancer, he was called, and he took the spirits of our dead, no matter where we buried them or how we protected them, and put them into the service of the deathless ones. Drimli the Golden finally killed the Necromancer, but our ancient dead still haunt the upper halls, still cursed to serve the deathless ones."

"You said they wander the halls? What keeps them from attacking you?"

"Drimli devised a torch, a powerful torch, that keeps them at bay. They fear its fire and retreat before it. But they occasionally catch a dwarf foolish enough to wander off by himself through one of the upper tunnels."

"Why haven't you left? You and your son have left and returned. Why don't you all just find somewhere else to live?"

"We are dwarves and these are our halls. We will not abandon them or our dead."

"Look, any other day I'd like to help Fribolg, but I think you're the only one that wants my help. I have no quarrel with these shades or the dragon. I just want the vampires. And I think I've stayed long enough, so…"

"If you want to get to the vampires, you'll have to go through the other guardians."

Harry raised his hand. "I think I can manage. Now if you'll just tell me where I can find my wand, I'll be off."

"I'm afraid I can't tell you that."

"What? Then why did you come?"

"I told you, I came to…"

Fribolg's voice was suddenly drowned out by the deep sound of a horn that echoed throughout the stone halls. Harry looked up in confusion as Fribolg's eyes widened.

"You must come with me now. Quickly!"

"What? Where are we going?"

"Back to the throne room. We are under attack!"

"What? By who?"

Harry's questions were left unanswered as the dwarf grabbed one of his wrists and nearly pulled him from his feet. Harry ran as quickly as he could, unable to break the iron vise grip and amazed at how fast the dwarf could run. They passed dozens of dwarves running the other way as they made their way down the wide passages back to the throne room. They burst past the guards and made their way through the large hall again.

As they approached, Harry saw the armored dwarves huddled around a long table where the king was pointing out various places on what appeared to be a map. Nobody noticed their arrival amidst all the commotion.

Fribolg pulled Harry close and whispered roughly. "The shades are attacking in mass. They are trying to swarm through all of our defenses at once, it seems. I…I do not understand. They have never…"

"You said they were still cursed to obey the vampires, right?

"Yes, but the vampires have never tried to expand beyond…"

"This is all my fault. The vampires want me. And they know I'm down here now. I think I saw one of those shades earlier when your son brought me to the throne room the first time. This attack can't be a coincidence. I was here for three days and they did nothing-I've been awake for an hour and now they decide to attack, something you say they've never done before. I've put you all at risk by just coming here. Tell me where my wand is and I'll go. Maybe they'll leave you alone if I'm gone."

"I do not know where it is. All of your possessions were given to the king for safekeeping."

"Then tell him. TELL HIM NOW!"

As Harry shouted, a few of the dwarves noticed their presence. While they were talking, the king had picked up a huge torch that burned with a silvery white flame. He had been headed towards the doors with his generals, but stopped to look back at the commotion on one side of the room. He looked at Fribolg and said something.

"Tell him I am sorry that I have brought this evil to your home, but if he will give me my wand, I will leave and try to draw them away. TELL HIM!" Harry roared again, his green eyes burning with growing anger as the room slowly cooled.

"He says he will not sacrifice you to the shades, you are still under his protection," explained Fribolg.

"What?!"

"He will take the torch and lead the defense of the halls. We are to stay here."

Harry looked up as the king and his generals turned to leave.

"NOOOO!" roared Harry, and everyone turned to look at him. With a burst of wild, elemental magic, he burst open the wizard cuffs and they fell clinking at his feet. He then raised his right hand and shouted, "Accio wand!" One of the chests on the side of the throne room burst open, wood and chain links flying everywhere. His wand soared to his fist as the dwarves watched in astonishment.

Harry looked at the torch the king was holding and saw some runes etched into its surface as several of the dwarves lifted their axes threateningly.

"You say the shades fear the light of this torch? Does it destroy them or simply drive them away?"

"It…it drives them away," stuttered Fribolg, still stunned by what he had just witnessed.

"I need to examine the torch," explained Harry, ignoring the dwarves slowly closing in on him.

"It is only for the king to hold. It is forbidden for all others to touch…"

"What do these shades do to the dwarves they find?"

"They steal their souls and turn them into shades themselves."

"Then tell your king that unless he lets me examine the torch, Clan Bilundergad is about to become Clan Shade. I might be able to help prevent that, if he lets me look at the torch."

There was a heated discussion between the advisor and the king, and then the king stepped forward and held the torch towards Harry. Harry put his wand in his belt and traced the runes with his fingers, whispering quietly as he did so. It was what he had thought. The torch had been created by a mage and imbued with an ancient and early variation of the Patronus charm. It could repel these shades, but was not powerful enough to destroy them and allow them to rest peacefully in death. Harry thought hard for a moment, with many of the dwarves watching him angrily.

"Ask the king if he wants to finish this once and for all. Ask him if he wants to provide peace in death for his ancestors." When Fribolg hesitated, Harry snapped, "Ask him!"

Many of the dwarves still looked extremely angry, but there were a few faces that reflected hope.

"He wants to know what he must do."

"Tell him to raise his weapon in the air. Tell all of them to raise their weapons in the air and I will give them what they need to defeat the shades and let them rest in peace."

Harry looked around as several of the dwarves raised their weapons, including the king. The king growled and the rest of the weapons went in the air.

Harry whipped out his wand and with a large, slashing movement above his head he intoned, "Clavis Durmines Neco Pax!" White light leaped from the raised axes in the room and reflected in the startled eyes of the dwarves.

"Tell the king that when these axes strike the shades, they will go down and stay down to rise no more. The rest is up to you."

As Firbolg translated there was a deafening roar let out by the dwarves as they charged from the room, led by their king.

Fribolg turned to Harry, "He has asked us to stay here while he rotates the guards back so that their axes can be enchanted as well, if you are willing."

"Tell him we'll stay for fifteen minutes, and then we're coming to help." Fribolg smiled as Harry walked over to the chest to get out his other things. He pulled out his pouch and tied it to his belt. He removed his sword and quickly enchanted it as well. He pulled out his boots and put them on, but the rest of his clothes were gone. With a flick of his wand, he transformed his awkward fitting dwarven clothing and made them more comfortable. He stepped away from the chest but a sparkle of light caught his eye. His jaw clenched as his hand reached down and pulled out the small diamond stud. It still felt ice cold. Once again, he could feel the rage building as he dropped it in his pouch and turned. The room was nearly full of dwarves, looking at him anxiously. Harry nodded towards Fribolg and he enchanted their blades when they had all lifted them. The room filled and emptied three more times before Harry grew too impatient to wait any longer.

"Let's go," he said to Fribolg.

"But there may be a few more who…"

"It's been twenty minutes. I'm tired of waiting. I'm going. You can stay here if you want."

Fribolg raised his heavy, two-handed axe and quickly led Harry out. Within five minutes, they found themselves in a large cavern. At a narrow section of it stood a large wall being defended ably by the dwarves, with their king in the middle directing the counterattack.

Fribolg ran up to him and returned to Harry two minutes later. "He says we'll hold, for now. Based on reports he's getting, this seems to be where the majority of the shades have come for their attack, though he's afraid some may have already slipped through some of the defenses elsewhere, before the alarm was raised."

"Then we need to defeat them here. I'll see if I can create a diversion." Harry climbed one of the walls and looked over into the teeming mass of shadows. He couldn't even begin to count how many there were. He raised his wand and roared, "Expecto Patronus!" but nothing happened. He tried again, trying to focus on one of his many happy memories of time spent with Hermione. But all he could think of was the cold diamond in his pouch. Screaming loudly in bitter frustration, he raised his wand and transformed it into another blade to match the one in his left hand. Then, to the shock and concern of the dwarves surrounding him, he simply disappeared.

A moment later, one of the dwarves with very good eyesight saw at the far edge of the cavern what appeared to be a faint line of light. He informed his captain, who then passed it up the ranks until the king was notified and he too searched. He raised a spyglass and then swore in utter amazement.

"It is the human mage! He fights alone against our enemies while we wait behind this wall. Will we let him have all the fun?" he roared.

There was a deafening "NOOO!" to which he responded, "Open the gates! We finish it now! For Clan Bilundergad and our dead! Follow me, axe-dwarves of the Iron Tower!"

There was another deafening roar as hundreds of angry dwarfs poured through the opening gates to take out centuries of frustration on the shades of their slain ancestors. Their gleaming axes sliced through the shadowy forms of the wraithlike creatures, and many of them, long after the battle was over, insisted that they saw contented smiles on the ghostlike faces as they were struck down.

Forty-five minutes later, the king and his generals made it to one of the spaces Harry had been carving out for himself, working along the edges of the massed Shades. Fribolg had tried to keep an eye on him amidst the battle, but it was nearly impossible-every time Harry was nearly surrounded or about to be overwhelmed by massed shades, he simply teleported to another area and continued his sustained destruction of the enemy. His bewildering, chaotic, and unpredictable attacks threw the enemy into confusion and eased the advance of the dwarves from the wall. Even with the battle nearly finished, Harry continued to spin and slice as shadow after shadow fled before his wrath, or disintegrated under his shining blades. Harry was so deep into his battle trance that he nearly took the head from one of the first dwarves to approach him. The other dwarves quickly backed up to give him some space.

Fribolg had to shout three times before Harry looked at him and slowly lowered his swords. He didn't seem to be aware of his surroundings at first.

"Is it over then?" he gasped, breathing heavily.

"Yes, the king is sending out patrols to check the remaining halls, but the battle has been won. Thanks to you."

"You did it. I just gave you the weapons to use. Now which way to the dragon's lair?"

"Shouldn't you rest first?You look exhausted and…" but Fribolg backed up a step as he saw Harry's green eyes still burning with unquenched rage.

"I have sworn an oath to avenge Hermione. And I have wasted too much time as it is. Now if you don't know or won't tell me, I will find it on my own."

"Please, at least stop and rest for thirty minutes. You can at least have something to eat before you tackle the dragon. Besides, the king insists. And he promises to send a troop of dwarves with you. He is very grateful for your help this day and apologizes for his earlier treatment. He hopes he can make it up to you and…"

"Food and drink will be fine," sighed Harry, sitting heavily on the ground now that the adrenaline was finally wearing off. He quickly assumed one of the meditative poses he had learned from Dumbledore and Saldar, trying to gain control of his emotions again as well as getting a little rest before he continued.

After eating and drinking, Fribolg asked him again. "The king would like you to reconsider. Surely another day or two…"

"NO. They may not know their shades have been defeated. I may still be able to preserve some element of surprise. Better to push on now, then give them time to come up with more defenses. And I'd rather go on by myself, it would be easier and quieter and I might find a way to slip past the dragon if I go alone. All I need is a guide to show me the way to its lair and then…"

"No, the king insists on aiding you just as you have helped us."

"Very well, let's get going then." Harry stood and watched as twenty other dwarves, along with Fribolg and his son Fribig stood.

"Fribig will accompany you and translate for you. The king has requested that I stay behind. I am sorry, I cannot go further with…"

Harry extended his hand. "Thank you for everything you have done. I will never forget it."

"Nor will I. May your enemies fall beneath your axe, or in your case, your swords."

Harry nodded and turned towards Fribig, who signaled to the other dwarves. "Let's go."

Harry and Fribig led the others out of the large cavern along a passage that led up.

An hour later, Fribig stared down two branching tunnels.

"Do you know where you're going? Have you been this way before?"

"Yes and no. The tunnels my father and I have taken are far to the south. I have never ventured this high to the north. No living dwarf has. But we are dwarves, we recognize the work of our ancestors. For example, I can tell by the way this wall has been planed, it is nearly nine hundred years old. See these tiny grooves evenly spaced every six inches or so? We haven't used a water trowel to flatten walls in centuries. And the rounding of the corner between the tunnel split indicates the same period as well. We are close, I just need a moment to think…Ahh, to the right. Come, quietly now."

Harry sighed as the metal clinking of the dwarves seemed like drums in his head. Dwarven stealth left a lot to be desired. He only hoped the dragon was a very deep sleeper, since there was no way they were going to catch him by surprise if it were awake.

While the tunnels had grown slightly warmer as they approached the surface, Harry noticed that the tunnel ahead felt decidedly cooler. He put his hand on Fribig's shoulder and stopped him.

"I'm going ahead to scout it out. Keep the others here until I get back."

Fribig nodded but when one of the dwarves protested as Harry left, Fribig growled something at him. Harry disappeared and moved silently down the corridor, moving steadily upwards through the chilly air.

He emerged into a large chamber and quickly moved to the side, out of the main passage. He nearly tripped over something lying at his feet and realized it was a skeleton still dressed in armor. He quickly sidestepped it and set his feet down carefully around a discarded weapon and a broken chest. As he slowly looked around, he realized the entire floor was littered with treasure and skeletons. Harry gasped in amazement as he tried to calculate the vast fortune he saw before him. He had seen glimpses of dragon treasure hoards before, but nothing on this scale. Harry suddenly wondered if the reason the king had insisted on sending additional help was to help him defeat the dragon or to recover the treasure that had probably been taken from the dwarves centuries ago. Suddenly he found that he didn't care one way or another. He had seen no trace of the dragon that was to live here, which simply made it easier for him to begin the final ascent towards Iron Tower and his final confrontation with the vampires that had murdered his beloved. He leaped into the air and was flying to the other side of the immense cave when he heard it.

A slight rattling of metal links told him the dwarves were no longer waiting down the corridor. A joyous shout was followed by the sound of a mad stomping as several of the dwarves rushed to various treasures near the entrance. Harry turned away from the noise and the light of their torches and headed towards the far side of the cave again when he heard another sound-a slow groaning and a clicking sound. Harry turned in growing horror as the shouts of joy and their echoes slowly died within the room.

In the center of the cave rose a massive figure. At first Harry thought it was one of those dinosaurs that Hermione had shown him in one of the Natural History museums in London during the summer. A huge body of bones slowly rose from behind the mounds of treasure that had hidden it from sight. As Harry felt his skin crawl, he realized that the major difference between this skeleton and the ones he had seen in the museum, was that these moved on their own. Bright blue eyes gleamed with malevolence within the bony skull and seemed to bore straight into him. The head then swung past him and focused on the small troop of dwarves near the tunnel mouth.

"Dirty thieves! How dare you disturb my rest!"

Most of the dwarves stared silently, trying to recover their courage as they paused, but the one that had grumbled when Harry left shouted defiantly, "This is our treasure wyrm and we intend to reclaim it!"

"Insolent rockbreaker! You will sleep forever with the rest of your kin!" The bone dragon's mouth opened and a bolt of lightning leaped from its mouth into the chest of the dwarf. His charred body toppled over backwards as his companions roared in outrage and charged forward, waving their shining axes with terrible fury.

Three more fell before the others got close enough to start swinging at its legs. Two more were thrown fifty feet to the side as his massive tail crashed into their chests and sent them sailing. He wondered briefly whether he should not simply abandon these greedy, foolish dwarves to their deaths-after all, he only wanted to kill the vampires and he was already past the dragon. Then he saw Fribig barely dodge a tail swipe and made his decision.

Harry watched the battle for a moment, his anger growing, but fairly certain that the dragon would not be defeated by crude force. He looked closely at the dragon, trying to detect what form of magic had kept it alive and animated it. Finally, he detected a faint blue glow in its chest as well, one that matched the glow of its eyes. Glancing back at the dwarves' attacks he realized that none of them were tall enough to directly attack the creature's chest. Choosing what he thought was the best strategy, he disappeared.

A moment later, he reappeared within the bony chest of the dragon. The tail lashed out again violently and the torso twisted, throwing Harry against one of the bony ribs. The dragon's head then twisted down to peer into the chest cavity where Harry had appeared.

"The quiet thief is seeking a hiding spot? You have chosen very poorly," it roared. It raised one of its bony talons and plunged it through the spaces between its own ribs. Harry twisted violently and then screamed in pain as it plunged into his thigh. The dragon withdrew the claw and Harry lunged forward, reaching for the fist sized blue gem that hovered above him. As his hands clasped around it, he received a terrible jolt of power that knocked him back down. He screamed again as one of the talons then scraped and bounced along his own ribcage, opening a gaping, bloody furrow along his side.

"Orbis energis!" he yelled.

A pulsating white globe of energy appeared around the blue gem and Harry disappeared as the dragon claw came plunging in again.

He appeared thirty feet away from the dragon, just out of range of the lashing tail. He vaguely noticed that only five dwarves were still on their feet, besides Fribig.

"Back off!" he yelled futilely, knowing that they couldn't understand him.

Two more were crushed beneath the bone dragon's stomping claws and a third was incinerated by another lighting strike. Fribig had heard him and was now yelling at the other two dwarves. Harry dissolved his invisibility and shouted, "Over here you bag of bones. Over here!" He then teleported to the side as the head swiveled towards him and another jet of lightning struck where he had just been.

He taunted the dragon a few more times and kept teleporting as the dwarves backed out of range of the dragon's tail, trying to look for some way of helping Harry. The dragon ignored them, all of its attention focused on the irritating wizard.

"A thief and a wizard!" boomed the dragon. "I'll make your death painful indeed!"

"I did not come for your treasure, wyrm. I am only interested in the vampires. I will make them pay for what they have done."

"Do not try to influence my thoughts, mageling. I will not be tricked by one of your spells."

"Then by all means, let us continue the fight. The sooner we are done, the sooner I can avenge my loss on the vampires. But it will not last much longer, you are already weakening."

"I will destroy you for your impudence!" The dragon released several more lightning bolts in Harry's direction, but they too, missed their mark.

"Great Wyrm, I have already won. Even now, my magic orb is draining the energy from the gem that keeps you alive. So unless you can destroy it, you will soon be joining your dwarven victims here in your cave."

"You foolish, blabbering idiot! Now I will destroy you!" The dragon plunged one of its claws into its chest, shattering its own ribs. The claws closed around the brightly glowing orb and squeezed. Tighter and tighter and then there was a muffled boom and then the sound of shattered glass. There was a high pitched scream and the dragon bones fell to the floor with a rattling crash.

The dwarves had been knocked to the ground by the force of the explosion and slowly crawled to their hands and knees. Harry had been blown across the cavern and thrown against one of the stone walls. Shaking his head he teleported back to the side of the fallen dragon and uncloaked himself in his human form. A great shadow was taking shape and slowly coalescing into the form of a large dragon. Harry bowed his head and shifted into his dragonform. Ignoring the startled gasps of the dwarves behind him, Harry looked up at the cloudy shape which had bent its head towards him.

"A human princeling? Ahh, that explains much mageling. You have my eternal thanks for rescuing me from my living damnation. I now go to my rest. Thank you."

"It was my pleasure to release you. May you rest well in the peace you have earned."

"Princeling, if you truly seek the vampires above, search out the oak chest with brass fastenings. There will be a dark star on the front as well. Claim for yourself the sword and shirt of mail that lie within, they will serve you well against the vampires. The cursed metalpounders will claim the rest for themselves, no doubt. May thy claws pierce the hearts of thy enemies, Princeling. Farewell."

The cloud form slowly dissipated into the dark chamber. Harry sat back wearily on a pile of gold, blood dripping heavily from his side and thigh. As the other dwarves slowly neared him, he reached into his pouch and pulled out several bandages and potions. He gulped down a pair of Hermione's SAPs and then began wrapping his thigh.

Looking over at the shocked dwarves, he said, "He's dead for good now. He…"

"What? How?" asked Fribig.

"I created an orb of energy that linked itself to a jewel in his chest. The dragon has been dead a long time, but either the vampires or the Necromancer found a way to animate the skeleton and prevent his soul from departing the body. The orb itself was draining that energy, but I don't think it was powerful enough to destroy it on its own. And I wasn't sure of the exact counterspell to break the gem myself, since I'm not sure exactly how it was created. So I tricked him into destroying both the orb and the gem for us. Now he said there was an oak chest with brass fastenings and a dark star on it. He said there were some items that might help me defeat the vampires in it. Do you think you could find it for me? You can keep the rest of the treasure, I don't want any of it-most of it probably belonged to your ancestors."

Fribig stood up straight and announced. "All of this treasure belongs to you by right of conquest, Harry Potter. It is yours to do with as you wish, we will not contest it…"

"So is that why the other dwarf didn't want me going in by myself? He was afraid that I might claim all the treasure for myself?" asked Harry angrily. "Is that why the king sent the rest of you, to make sure that…"

"I assure you that King Gromdi was only concerned for your safety. Unfortunately I cannot say the same about all of the other dwarves like Bramji."

"Well, tell them to rest easy then. I only want the sword and shirt that are in that chest. The rest can go to King Gromdi to redistribute among the other dwarves, please make sure that the families of the others who fell because of Bramji's stupidity and greed are compensated. And you and your father should get something extra for all of your help."

"I cannot accept such…"

"Just ask the other two to go look for the chest. And you, write up a document or whatever you need to do and I will sign it. But I have to be going quickly…"

Fribig nodded and said something in Dwarvish while Harry finished taking his potions and tying off his bandages. He then ate lightly some food he pulled out of his bag while the dwarves searched the cavern.

Half an hour later, Fribig woke up the lightly napping Harry and set down the oak chest in front of him. Harry quickly checked it for traps and then opened the lid cautiously. A black scabbard held a short sword with a dark leather grip with a midnight colored pearl in the pommel. It lay on top of what appeared to be a light silver cloth that lay folded on the bottom of the chest.

Fribig whistled in awe as Harry picked up the sword and drew the blade. Its ebony blade seemed to absorb the light around it, it was nearly impossible to determine the exact edge of the blade itself. Harry held it carefully, looking to see if he could discern any runes or markings etched into its surface or on the hilt but he could detect none.

"Do you know anything about this sword?" he asked as he belted on the scabbard.

"No," replied Fribig in an awed whisper, "but it must be truly magnificent if it is paired with this shirt."

"What is so special about this shirt?" he asked, waving his hand over it as he had the sword, trying to detect what sorts of enchantments it might have. He had sensed incredible power in the sword, but was puzzled by the signs-it had indicated both very powerful healing abilities as well as destructive powers. He could sense nothing about the shirt whatsoever.

"This mail shirt is made of adastrimite. It is highly resistant to magic as well as most physical blows."

"Is it bullet proof? Would it stop an Avada Kedavra?" asked Harry eagerly.

"What are those? I do not know. This metal is very valuable-it is worth ten thousand times its weight in gold."

Harry lifted the light fabric. "But it hardly weighs anything at all…"

Fribig scowled. "A figure of speech. The metal to make this is not found on this earth…"

"What? That doesn't make any sense…"

"It falls from the skies. Very seldom is there enough left to make anything worthwhile, most of the metal burns up before it hits the ground."

"Are you saying this is made from a meteorite?" asked Harry.

"I do not know if that is your word for it. But that shirt is made from rocks that fall from the heavens. Probably many rocks."

"But who created it?"

"Why the dwarves, of course. Do you believe anything but a dwarf could fashion something so perfect?" snorted Fribig. "Some master craftsman made this mail shirt long ago, to protect the wearer against wizard attacks. And this shirt would have been forged by one of the greatest of master craftsman, adastrimite is very difficult to work with."

"Well, if this shirt is powerful, how did it end up hidden in the treasure hoard of a dragon?"

Fribig scowled again as he looked at Harry. "If you had been wearing it, it would probably have saved your side from that nasty scratch. But it wouldn't have protected your leg. Another inch to the left, and you would have bled out. It can't protect you against poison, or from freezing to death or sheer stupidity, but it can protect you from quite a bit-especially most forms of magic. There is no such thing as perfect armor, there's always a weakness. Nevertheless, that is an amazing shirt you have there, fit for a king. I hope it protects you well."

Harry nodded and winced as he pulled off what was left of his shredded and bloody shirt. Fribig helped him slide the new shirt over his head. It felt cool to the touch and though he thought it would be a bit large, when he swung his arms it fit perfectly. Fribig stood back, nodding in satisfaction. Harry thought for a moment, then picked up what was left of his shirt. With a flick of his wrist, he mended it as best he could and had Fribig help him put it back on.

"No sense showing off my new armor before I need it," he grinned. Then he paused, "Will I be able to cast magic with it on?"

Fribig rolled his eyes. "You just did, didn't you? The adastrimite resists magic cast at it, that's why only the dwarves work with it. You wizards could never do anything with it, you always had to come to us.

Harry nodded and then stood slowly. His side and leg still ached, despite the potions he had taken, but he was determined to go on. Now that the need to focus on the battle had receded, he could feel the anger and rage he had been ignoring slowly surfacing again. He checked through his pouch again, making sure he had the things he might need. He knew there wasn't too much more thinking to be done. Soon enough he could simply unleash all of his fury upon those who had stolen Hermione from him. Soon, he told himself, there would be no more need for research or trying to coordinate allies. He could simply act on instinct, using all the skills and power he had developed over the past year and a half to destroy those who had destroyed him and the one he loved.

Harry turned to Fribig and extended his hand. "Thank you for your help. Go back now and tell the king that you have defeated the dragon and reclaimed its treasure."

"We will accompany…"

"No," snarled Harry. "I go alone. This is my fight and my vengeance. The dwarves have suffered enough." Seeing that Fribig was going to protest. "Do not force me to stop you from following me."

Fribig nodded in defeat. "Fare thee well. May your enemies fall quickly."

Harry nodded and began walking towards the far end of the cavern, disappearing quickly.

*-*-*

Minutes later, cloaked, silent, and flying, Harry raced through the tunnels, flying ever steadily upwards. Rounding a series of stairs, he followed one more tunnel that suddenly dead-ended. Cursing, thinking he would now have to retrace his steps, he suddenly noticed a rune that began glowing. Several more started glowing and Harry swore again, trying to figure out what kind of trap or detection ward he might have set off. Throwing caution to the wind, he hoped that the wall wasn't more than a foot or two thick. It probably wasn't if this was a door that led up into the castle. He guessed and teleported.

He reappeared in between two vampires who were busy arguing.

"nothing can get past the dragon. It's impossible."

"then what triggered the ward?"

"Probably another rat, like last time."

"What if it's the mageling who blew up half the forest three nights ago?"

"Whatever did that didn't survive. It blew itself up as well."

"Wait, do you smell that? Blood!" The vampires eyes narrowed in hunger. "What is that, a bat?"

Harry realized he was going to get nothing else of use from the guards. In less than a heartbeat, he had transformed to his human form, his wand into a sword, and had pulled out his black short sword, which was humming almost imperceptibly. As the vampires both charged towards him, Harry crouched down as he turned sideways and then rose up, plunging his swords deep into the chests of the attacking vampires. As the swords slid easily through their ribcages, Harry hissed "Silencio," in case either of them tried to raise an alarm. Both opened their mouths and screamed voicelessly while they clawed at the swords futilely. Suddenly, Harry felt a surge of energy creep down the arm holding the black sword and spread throughout his body. He glanced over and realized as he shifted slightly that his side no longer hurt. He flexed his leg and amazingly there was no pain. While the limp body of the vampire impaled on his wand-sword slumped against him, the vampire skewered on his short black sword was shaking and shuddering as a dark mist left the body and wrapped itself around the sword. Harry's mouth opened in astonishment as he watched the sword finish draining the energy from the vampire and healing his body. The clothes of the vampire fell to the floor now that there was nothing left holding them up and Harry simply looked at the short sword in amazement before a wide grin broke out on his face. He left his wand-sword in the vampire for a moment, went over to a chair and broke it apart silently. Happy with the sharp chair leg he found, he kneeled by the vampire and quickly pulled out his wand. The moment it left its chest, it shuddered and then fell still again when he plunged his impromptu stake back into the chest wound. Healed and full of energy, Harry drew his swords again, cloaked himself, and resumed the hunt with a chilling smile below his blazing green eyes.

*-*-*

Several floors above, Vespus smiled as leaned back in his throne in the large room. "Most impressive Potter," he thought to himself. "You are far more clever and tenacious than I had suspected." With a quick glance towards Aardus on the side of the dais, he added, "though I suspect you had some help finding the Tower and breaking through its protections. I will deal with that later. But for now, come my young vampire-mage in the making. Come to your master."

Aloud he commanded, "Take your places. The mageling will not defeat you, my children. And remember, I want him alive for now." To his side he hissed, "Aardus, you will stay close to me."

Dozens of vampires faded into the shadows of the enormous hall, leaving it empty with the exception of Aardus and Vespus by the throne. The heavy dark curtains normally guarding the high windows of the room were thrown back to allow what little light was offered by the sliver of moon high in the heavens. Vespus smiled grimly in anticipation. Within minutes it would all be over.

He detected nothing of Harry's approach until he stepped silently within the room. Then the pounding of his heart, though it beat at its normally slow rhythm, the swishing of blood through the arteries and veins, and above all, the scent of fresh blood nearly screaming to be drank alerted the Eldor to the mage's presence. No amount of magic or stealth could fully conceal a living body from a vampire as powerful as an Eldor, though some of his children might not be aware of his presence in the room yet.

Vespus simply sat and waited, wondering idly whether the young wizard would simply attack him or would make his presence known first and launch some tiresome threats and angry demands for justice and vengeance. He almost chuckled as he anticipated the coming battle.

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