Here we go with Chapter 6. I really appreciate and value all the reviews that I have gotten so far. I'm happy that everyone is enjoying what I'm writing. Again, anyone interested in beta reading should just send me an email at sirena192005@yahoo.com. The only thing I ask is that you're either an author or an experienced beta reader. If you're an author, please provide a link to a story you have written, and if you're a beta reader, please provide a link to a story you have betaed. Thanks and I hope you enjoy this chapter. I know I really enjoy writing it.
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Harry looked up at the dragon from where he was crouching with Ron behind a boulder. "Okay, we have to get around this thing. It looks like it's the same setup as the troll. A door, keys and we have to pick the right one."
Ron peered around the rock to look at the door. "No keys, mate."
Draco waved from where he and Hermione were. They had dove in the opposite direction when the dragon had breathed fire at them, and were kneeling between two large stones. "Blood!" he yelled. "It takes blood!"
Hermione was moving slowly toward the door the get a better look. "There's an inscription."
"Well?" Draco demanded impatiently, dashing between the dragon's legs and barely missing being hit with the spiked tail. He joined Harry and Ron. "What does it say, Granger?"
"That only the blood of the righteous and pure of heart will open the door. All others are left to feed the dragon."
Draco gulped audibly. "Well then. Looks like this is the end of the road for me."
Ron turned to him. "Maybe not. You don't have any personal gain in this."
Draco's jaw dropped. "Imagine that. Weasley had an intelligent thought. Granger!"
Hermione whirled around, leapt over the tail as it swung. The dragon couldn't decide who it wanted to go after first. "What!?"
"You bleed on the damned thing while we keep it busy. When you've bled, switch places with Ron. Three of us will keep this wanker busy until we get that door open."
Hermione nodded. "Get out there then. Dragons don't like fire!"
Harry looked at her. "What do you mean they don't like fire?"
"It reminds them of another dragon. Dragons are loners. If this dragon isn't a male, it should retreat back into the cave." Hermione turned her wand into a knife, took a deep breath and sliced the palm of her hand. She let the blood drip into the slot on the door until she heard internal wheels turning and clanking. With a squeal and a moan, the door swung open, and Hermione was left staring at a green maze. "Come on guys! It's open!"
Hermione stepped through, but when Ron tried to follow her, a force tossed him back and the door slammed shut. Hermione pounded on it from the other side. "We have to go through one at a time! Each of us has to do it individually!"
Draco took control. "Ron, start bleeding! Harry, you're with me!"
Harry didn't take the time to think about the fact that he was taking orders from Draco. He simply did what was necessary to survive. "Get down, Malfoy! I'm going to use the infermo!" Draco dropped to the ground just as Harry shouted the spell, and a great blast of fire came from the tip of his wand. The dragon screamed, reared, and charged Harry, who turned and ran. He dove behind a stone, barely escaping the blast of flame from the dragon's snout.
Draco had an idea. One he wasn't sure would work in their favor. But it was an idea nonetheless, and from where he was standing, with Ron having just stepped through the door and Harry hiding from a rampaging Hungarian Horntail. He lifted his wand, and conjured another dragon. Another male. In his estimation, they would either fight, or they would both try to eat him. Either way, he wouldn't be there very long to see much.
It worked. The dragons faced each other, and the cave lit up with streams of fire. Not stopping to think, he sliced his hand open and slammed it against the door. Harry was running from the other side of the cave, and had his own hand open and bleeding by the time the door shut behind Draco.
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Draco looked around. The maze was green. That was about all he could tell. It was about ten foot high, and thick enough that he couldn't see a thing through it. A few spells and a try at Apparition told him that he wasn't blasting his way out or Apparating to the other side. They didn't tell him, however, why Hermione and Ron weren't there. To his surprise and dismay, he jumped when a hand grabbed his arm. His wand was pointing at her a second after he saw who it was.
"Don't curse me, moron." Ginny said, tucking her wand into her robes. "I'm not going to hurt you."
"How did you get here?"
"Hermione's spell. I thought since wards and blocks couldn't detect people who were under it, then whatever sensors were on this place couldn't either. Every time I felt it wearing off, I recast it. You guys have been so busy with everything that you had to do, you never noticed. I think that this far into the game, it wouldn't matter if there were five or four. I doubt there are any sensors in this part."
Draco didn't want to, but was forced to agree. "So where is everyone else?"
"I have no idea. I came through with you." She looked back to where the door had disappeared. "I think we should look at this as another test. Not only do we have to find our way out, we have to find each other."
Again, he didn't want to, but had to agree with her. "Okay. Let's get started then. It's a maze filled with magical creatures. That means Hermione is the one most likely to make it through. Harry has blind luck that seems to be holding up okay, so we might find him too. Ron is the one we should search for first, because he's the one most likely to get himself killed in here."
Ginny nodded. "Magical creatures is not his strong point."
Draco scoffed. "Does he have a strong point?"
Ginny glared at his. "He's my brother, Malfoy. You'd better watch your mouth."
Draco shrugged. "Nothing wrong with telling the cold, hard truth. Come on, Weasel. Let's go."
"Lead the way, Ferret." Ginny took off after him when he strode off in no particular direction whatsoever. "Do you have any idea where you're going?"
"Does it look like I've ever been here before?" Draco asked impatiently. "That is not a question that requires and answer." He said when she opened her mouth. "The answer is an obvious one that we both know. The maze leads in one direction and one direction only. That means, until it splits, we don't have a choice on which way we go." He looked up at the sky. "Merlin help me. Why am I stuck with this girl?"
Ginny snorted. "I'm only four months younger than you are, Malfoy. I'm eighteen just like you."
"Don't remind me." Draco looked between a left path and one that went straight ahead. "Any suggestion?"
Ginny looked at both of them. "Straight."
Draco turned left and started down the path. They hadn't gone far before they were faced with a pack of blast ended skrewts. "Shit."
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Harry looked around. He was alone. In a maze, and his friends were no where in sight. Not a good situation to be in. Not a situation he wanted to be in. Taking it all in stride, he headed to his right. It was a maze. They'd all four get mixed up and eventually run into one another. And once they did, they'd probably know which way was out. Or, at the very least, which way wasn't out. And that was nearly as good.
He just hoped Ron had gotten the easy route. He wasn't too great with defending himself against magical creatures. Especially spiders. IF Ron was faced with a spider, well, it wouldn't be too hard to find him. He'd run screaming in the opposite direction, and probably climb the wall of the maze.
That was it. Climb the wall. Or better yet. Harry looked at his wand. It couldn't possibly be that easy. Nothing was that easy. Oh well. It didn't hurt to try, and it was his best shot at finding his companions quickly.
He quickly conjured a ladder, and leaned it against the hedges. Hesitantly, he stepped onto the first rung. When he wasn't thrown off by any magical forces, and nothing else bad happened, he continued on the way up. He wasn't entirely sure the hedge itself wasn't just biding its time and waiting to eat him, but that was just the risk he was going to have to take.
Once at the top, his worst fears were confirmed. He could see Ron and Hermione both. Hermione was getting past a sphinx, which he knew she wouldn't have a problem with. She was smart enough that she would know the answer to any riddle it gave her. But Ron had encountered probably the biggest spider Harry had even seen. It dwarfed Aragog.
Damning the consequences, Harry stepped onto the top of the hedge. When it held him, and teeth didn't latch onto his ankles, he held his breath and leapt onto the next hedge. He had to get to Ron, and had to get their fast. Ron wasn't going to be able to outrun it for long.
He made several leaps he wasn't sure he was going to be able to make, but before a minute was up, he was directly above Ron. With another deep breath, he jumped off the wall and directly in front of the spider. Ron turned when he heard the crash, and skidded to a stop. "Harry!"
"How's it goin', Ron?" Harry asked, swishing his wand at the spider. He muttered a spell, and the spider crashed onto the ground, all eight legs wound together with a sturdy rope. "Ready to go get Hermione?"
Ron nodded, speechless. "How did you get here?"
"I decided to go over instead of through. These hedges are strong enough to hold us. Come on, let's go." Harry conjured his ladder again, and sent Ron up first. "Step to the side now, leave room for me to come up. How are you at jumping?"
Ron gaped at him. "Jumping?" he asked incredulously. "Why don't you just conjure a plank from here to there?"
Harry considered that. "Good idea." He whipped his wand and a plank spurted out of the end of it. It landed with a thud on the other side, and the two men cautiously walked across. They levitated the plank from hedge to hedge until they arrived at Hermione's location. "Herms!"
Hermione looked up, and her face brightened when she saw Harry and Ron. "Hey. Have you found Draco yet?"
"Not yet." Harry said, looking around. "I don't see him." He looked back down at her. "Do you want to come up, or shall I levitate you?"
Hermione lifted an eyebrow. "I'll handle it." She pointed her wand at herself. "Wingardium leviosa."
She levitated up to the top of the hedge, and then dropped onto it. "This really isn't fair. I had to get past the sphinx. And you two get to stay together and just walk over these things. I came out right in front of the damn thing."
"We didn't come out together." Harry said, helping her across the plank. "I found Ron fighting a spider. I got out in the clear, and figured out that I could get up here. After that, I got to Ron first, and now here we are."
Ron nodded. "Giant spider. We tied up it's feet."
Harry chose not to correct him. "Let's find Malfoy and get out of the place. I don't like mazes."
Hermione was instantly sympathetic. She'd forgotten about Cedric Diggory and everything Harry had gone through during the TriWizard Tournament. "Oh, Harry." She reached out and took his hand. "I'd forgotten. This has to be hard on you."
"It's worth it."
Ron pointed. "There, I see Malfoy." He squinted as they switched directions. "Who's that with him?"
Hermione looked. "That's Ginny!"
"How'd she get here?"
But Ron was off. He was going to give his sister a piece of his mind, and then find a way to get her back to the burrow. His baby sister had no business anywhere near the task that he and his friends and Malfoy had undertaken. No business being there at all.
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Ginny looked up when she heard her name being called. "Draco!" he stopped and turned.
"What now, Weasley?"
"I see Harry and Hermione and Ron."
"Where?"
Ginny pointed. "Up there."
Draco looked to where she pointed. "Now why didn't I think of that?" he wondered out loud, conjuring a ladder. "Ladies first."
Ginny smiled beguilingly. "Then by all means, go right ahead."
Draco was grumbling when he pushed her up the ladder. "Just get your scrawny ass up there."
Ginny grinned over her shoulder. "I've been told I have a very nice ass thank you."
That comment was the only thing that made Draco look. He was afraid he agreed with whomever had made that particular statement. They made it onto the top of the hedge and waited until the other three arrived. Ron immediately jammed his finger into his sister's face.
"What the bloody buggering hell do you think you're doing here? How the fuck did you get here in the first place?" he demanded, his face turning as red as his hair. Ginny simply swatted his hand away.
"I used Hermione's spell. The sensors couldn't pick me up. I came through with Draco." She smiled at the other two. "Hi guys."
Hermione was trying desperately not to laugh. The situation didn't call for laughter, but she was tempted nonetheless. "Hey Gin."
Harry stepped in between the siblings. "We'll talk about this later, Ron. There's nothing to be done about it now in any case. Let's just find the way out of here."
Draco was already on the move. "Come on then. I see the door." He looked back at Harry. "Do the papers I got from my father say if we have to open more veins to get through this one?"
Harry was reading and walking, which Hermione didn't exactly think was smart, but he shook his head and stepped back onto the plank without falling off. "No. We should just be able to turn the knob and walk through."
Draco moved the plank to work as a ramp. "Let's go then." He headed over to the door, reached for the door knob. He noticed that Ginny had turned herself invisible again, presumably in case the door was able to tell how many people went through. The door swung open easily, and all five went through.
There was a lake. A huge, seemingly endless lake, with just a narrow stretch of beach on which they were standing. Harry let out a low whistle. "I take it this is where we face the merpeople."
There was a splash and one surfaced. "That, younglings, would be accurate."
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And there is Chapter 6. It's late again, but it's still posted today. And since my computer crashed yesterday night after I posted Chapter 5, and I had to reinstall everything, that's pretty damn good I think. Hope you enjoyed. Don't forget to review. I love getting feedback, and don't forget to vote starting Aug. 15. That's four days before my 18th birthday, so good votes would be a great bday present!
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