Well, despite having about ten reviews on the first three days, I ended up with almost 40 for last chapter, and that was a great gift. But there was another great thing that happened, so give me a moment to shout it out.
500 REVIEWS!!!!!!!!!!
Yay for 500 reviews. Thank you all so much for continuing to be faithful to this story! ::hugs and hand-pounds::
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Chapter 18: Escape from Perdition
"Harry..."
The peaceful sound of waves falling against a smooth, white beach entered Harry's mind, and he struggled to open his eyes.
"Harry..."
"Who's there?" he called out, finally regaining his sight.
"It's me, darling," replied the voice...one he recognised as Hermione's.
"Where are you?" he asked, scanning the beach. Suddenly he saw her standing not fifty feet in front of him with her back turned. She was wearing a white bikini with a sheer sarong tied to her side, and a purple orchid in her hair...Harry had never seen her more beautiful.
"I'm glad you're here," she said. "I was scared."
"Of what?" asked Harry, trying to walk over to her."
"He's trying to take me away."
"Voldemort?" asked Harry.
Suddenly a loud cackle filled the air and Hermione glanced over her shoulder at him.
"I have to go now," she said softly.
"Hermione," whispered Harry as she started drifting out towards the sea. "Hermione!"
"You'll lose her too Potter, just like you've lost everyone else," called Voldemort as she began to fade from sight.
"No..." breathed Harry.
"She. Will. Die."
"HERMIONE!" screamed Harry, his eyes flying open.
A brilliant white light blinded him, forcing him to shut his eyes again very quickly. Realizing it was the pendant around his neck, he tucked it back in his shirt, reducing the light to a soft glow. Blinking the spots out of his eyes, he strained to remember how he ended up on his back.
Suddenly, from many, many, meters above him, he heard the distinct echo of what sounded like muffled sobs.
Rising to his feet, he took a deep breath.
"Hermione!" bellowed Harry. He listened intently for several seconds after the echo died for any response but none came. "Damnit it's too far," he muttered, before an idea suddenly came to him. "Sonorus," he said, pointing his wand at his throat. "HERMIONE!"
He waited for a few seconds before he heard her respond.
"Harry?!" she called, obviously using the same charm as he. "Are you alright?"
"FINE!" he yelled. "CAN YOU GET ME BACK UP?!"
"No," replied Hermione. "There's some sort of spell barrier blocking me from using magic."
'You can catch her,' a soft voice said.
"I'M SORRY?" asked Harry, scaring himself with the volume of his voice. "I'm sorry?" he whispered.
'You can catch her,' the voice repeated. Again, Harry looked down to the pendant and saw it glowing softly. It took him all of five seconds to make up his mind.
"JUMP!" he yelled up to Hermione.
"Jump?" she echoed. "Are you bloody barking mad?"
"I'LL CATCH YOU!" answered Harry. "TRUST ME!"
"Harry James Potter...I swear you better catch me," said Hermione.
"I WILL!" yelled Harry. "JUMP!"
He heard Hermione yell his name as she jumped. He put his arms out to catch her, and was pleasantly surprised when she descended slowly into view, as if being lowered by a string. Catching her in his arms, Harry gently put her down next to him with a smile.
"SEE?!" he bellowed, startling them both. "Quietus," he muttered.
"You can be a bit thick at times, can't you," smiled Hermione, having removed the charm on herself.
"Sorry about that," replied Harry sheepishly. Without another word, Hermione threw herself into his arms and squeezed him tightly.
"Don't ever scare me like that again," she whispered, her face still damp from fresh tears.
"I know," said Harry. "I'm sorry."
"It's alright," replied Hermione. "You're fine...that's what matters."
"So where do you suppose we ended up?" asked Harry.
"Wherever we are, we're a league and a half below where we were before," commented Hermione facetiously, lighting her wand. "I reckon we should try and figure out where we need to go from here."
"That all depends on where ye want to go."
Harry and Hermione spun around, wands drawn, only to come face to face with the ghost of the warden.
"Only the king could've survived that fall...the enchantments in place saved ye," said the warden.
"Enchantments?" asked Harry.
"Look at yer feet, lad."
Harry and Hermione looked down, to find themselves standing...nay, floating about an inch over quite a few foot-long steel spikes.
"How did I make it, then?" asked Hermione.
"Well, ye do have part of the king in ya," smiled the warden.
"I'm sorry?" asked Hermione, both her and Harry reddening.
"His heart, lass, ye have his heart," snorted the warden. "Now c'mon. I'll show ye the way."
"How come you didn't show up before?" asked Harry.
"Wasn't my job," said the warden. "I mean, after all, anyone could've had that bracelet. Those traps were designed to test ye."
"I see," said Hermione skeptically.
"I should forewarn ye, though," said the warden. "I think they went a little overboard protectin' what yer seeking."
"Who's they?" asked Harry.
"Dun remember his name," replied the warden. "Some famous lord...did a whole bunch of great things though, started a big school down in Scotland from what I heard."
"Gryffindor?" asked Hermione.
"Tha's the one," nodded the warden. Harry and Hermione each exchanged a look. "Anyways like I said, it's my personal opinion that he went a bit overboard on protectin' this place."
"Why do you say that?" asked Harry. "And why did he protect it so much?"
"Well hope's one of the most powerful emotions, innit?" asked the warden. "I hear it can do some powerful things when used properly."
"Is it just me, or is it getting really hot in here?" asked Hermione as they continued walking.
"Tha's what I was talking about," said the warden, as they turned a corner. A soft red glow greeted them several meters ahead.
"Um...am I really sure I want to know what that is?" asked Harry.
"I doubt it," replied the warden. "But ye are the king after all, so ye should be able to kill it."
"Kill what?" asked Hermione as they turned the corner.
They stood before an enormous cavern, a hundred meters high, and another hundred deep, at the bottom of which swirled a quite menacing-looking whirlpool of lava. In front of them was a small bridge made of stone, not more than two feet wide, that led out onto a platform that was suspended over the lava by three great chains and the bridge.
"That," pointed the warden.
Sleeping peacefully on the platform was a massive beast with three heads.
"What the hell is that?" whispered Harry fervently. "It looks like Fluffy with wings."
"Fluffy?" asked the warden.
"Cerberus," replied Hermione.
"Oh that's no doggy, lad," smiled the warden. "That there's a chimera."
"I suppose it breathes fire, then?" asked Hermione
"Sure thing," replied the warden.
"You have got to be kidding," said Harry.
"I don't kid," shrugged the warden. "Anyways, when you beat that thing the pedestal will show itself to you."
"And how exactly am I supposed to beat it?" asked Harry
"How would I know?" asked the warden with a slight hint of mirth in his voice.
Harry sighed and shrugged off his robe, letting it fall to his feet.
"I'm coming with you," said Hermione, putting a hand on his shoulder.
"No," replied Harry, covering her hand with his. "I need you here."
"Why?" she asked.
"Two reasons," said Harry. "The first is that I'm going to want you to provide cover fire if I should need it. The second is I won't be able to fight if you're in danger."
"Alright," she sighed. "What do you want me to do?"
"Keep me alive," smiled Harry. He took a step out onto the bridge to make sure it was safe, before continuing out to the platform. He continued towards the beast carefully, attempting to get close enough to inflict damage before it woke. Unfortunately he kicked a loose pebble and it went bouncing around noisily before coming to a rest next to the lion head.
The lion cracked an eye open and blinked twice before yawning. The snake and goat heads followed suit and the chimera rose to its feet, towering over Harry menacingly.
"Well, you're a bit big," commented Harry, trying to think of a way out of the mess he was in. "Where's Hagrid when I need him?"
The lion let out a massive roar, spittle flying onto Harry's clothes and face.
"How pleasant," frowned Harry, quickly cleaning himself with a charm.
The goat sniffed once before opening its mouth in what Harry though was a yawn. The air turning wavy with heat changed his mind though, and he dived to his left just in time to avoid the massive fireball that was spewed at him.
"Stupefy!" yelled Harry, willing to try anything to slow the chimera down. The spell glanced off the beast just as he had expected, however, and he was left dodging another wave of fire.
"Watch out for the snake, Harry!" yelled Hermione. Harry spun around just in time to see the snake lunging for him, and he once again was forced to dive out of the way.
"Bloody hell," he muttered. "How am I supposed to beat this thing?"
The goat fired another ball of flame at Harry, which he dodged. The fireball hit one of the chains holding the platform up, exploding on impact, and causing the metal to snap, the platform giving a tremendous lurch to the left as a result.
"It's just like the effing first task," grumbled Harry. "If only I had my Firebolt...wait a second."
Quickly fishing around in his pockets while the beast regained its balance, he found his broom and enlarged it, just as one of the monstrous claws took a swipe at him, missing by centimeters.
Flying up to the ceiling of the cavern, he looked down at the chimera which was getting ready to come up and meet him.
"Come on...come on beastie," urged Harry, waiting patiently.
The chimera spread its vast wings and took off after him, Harry darting out of the way just in time to avoid the lion biting his head off. Having worked out his plan of attack, he flew straight at one of the remaining two chains holding up the platform.
Just as he hoped, the goat charged another fireball and spewed it at him, Harry flying out of the way and letting it destroy that chain as well, the platform now being precariously held up by the last chain and the stone bridge.
Screaming around the perimeter of the cavern, Harry sped towards Hermione and the warden, slowing down slightly when he got to them.
"When we get underneath, destroy the bridge!" he yelled quickly, speeding away once he saw Hermione acknowledge him. Taking a deep breath, he spun the broom upside-down and dove towards the lava, the chimera hot on his tail.
Flying underneath the platform, he saw Hermione draw her wand and point it at the bridge. Seeing his chance, he drew his wand and aimed it at the last chain, yelling, "Sectumsempra!" just as Hermione yelled the same.
Harry's spell hit just after Hermione's did, and both the chain and the bridge snapped cleanly. The platform began falling towards the lava below, and just as Harry hoped for, landed squarely on top of the beast which, giving a loud roar, was dragged down to the fiery depths.
Breathing a sigh of relief, Harry looked up to see a blue pedestal reveal itself above where one of the chains was anchored into the wall of the cavern. Flying over to it, he quickly took the sapphire from his robes and put his wrist inside the hole at the base, feeling the magic swirl around his hand.
Withdrawing it a moment later, he saw that the three runes to the right of the diamond ones were now sapphires, and the stone in his hand had turned to onyx.
'You have done well, Harry Potter,' the bracelet said.
"Thanks," said Harry. "Now where?"
'Your journey will end where it began, or near that spot in the least,' replied the bracelet. 'I bid thee well, Harry Potter. You will not hear from me again.'
"Wait!" exclaimed Harry, but it was too late. The bracelet's presence had already left him.
"Harry!" screamed Hermione. He quickly looked down at her where she was standing away from the edge, the lava rising steadily towards her.
"Bollocks," muttered Harry, flying towards her as fast as he could.
"You'll have to hurry," said the warden as Harry landed next to them and Hermione climbed on. "The moment you reach the room where you landed, that lava will really start chasing after you."
"Thank you for your help," nodded Harry, grabbing his robe from the ground.
"Thank you, milord," said the warden. "Good luck."
And with that he vanished.
"Let's get the hell out of here," said Harry, kicking off and speeding down the corridor, the lava beginning to creep up behind them.
"Hurry, Harry," said Hermione. "It's closing on us."
"Hold on real tight here," said Harry as spikes started to appear under their feet. "Now!"
With one strong pull, Harry turned the broom vertical and they sped upwards, through the pit where Harry had fallen, towards the labyrinth.
"I hope you remember how we got here!" called Harry. Hermione nodded wordlessly against his back, the wind rushing loudly past them. Seeing the flicker of torches ahead, Harry got ready to straighten the broom.
"Head left," yelled Hermione. Harry nodded and spun the broom around, straightening it out just as they reached the top, bumping against the ceiling as they sped off through the maze.
"Oh bollocks," said Harry, turning around and seeing now a rushing river of molten rock quickly closing on them.
"Right!" yelled Hermione, Harry turning just in time, the tail of his broom hitting the wall.
They continued on through the maze at top speed until finally Harry recognised the entrance hallway with the stairs at the end.
"Tuck your arms in!" he yelled, accelerating towards it. With no hesitation, Harry flew into the narrow corridor, up the stairs, through the warden's office, the dungeon, and the courtyard, flying out into the dawning sky, the lava consuming the island in a fiery mass as they flew away.
"Never a dull moment with you, is there?" smiled Hermione as they slowed down.
"I like to think I bring something to the party," countered Harry as Hermione took her broom from her pocket and enlarged it. "Although that was a bit much, even for me."
"I would hope so," replied Hermione, mounting her broom and hovering next to Harry. "So where now? We need to get provisions for the camp."
"I'd say Diagon Alley," said Harry, as they began to fly back towards the mainland. "The Ministry would help us, but it's not like they have food stockpiled."
"I don't know about you, but I don't have enough money on me to supply a school's worth of people," said Hermione.
"So we'll go to Gringott's first," said Harry. "The goblins won't say anything, they don't meddle in human affairs."
"Alright," conceded Hermione. "We'll apparate as soon as we reach land...it's not smart to apparate while flying, we might splinch ourselves."
Harry nodded as they flew on, looking down at the bracelet as they did so.
"What did it tell you?" asked Hermione.
"That my journey would end where it began," replied Harry. "But it can't mean Privet Drive, that's in the south and evil is supposed to be in the west."
"We'll figure it out in due time," said Hermione. "Right now we need to concentrate on getting back."
"Agreed," replied Harry.
They flew in comfortable silence for a while before they reached land, at which point they descended to the beach and dismounted, shrinking their brooms and placing them in their pockets.
"The Leaky Cauldron has an apparition point on its roof," said Hermione. "Let's head there."
"See you in a few," nodded Harry. "Remember to move out of the way after you arrive."
"Of course," smiled Hermione, disappearing a moment later.
Harry waited for ten seconds before following after her, feeling the familiar squeezing sensation and appearing on the roof of the Leaky Cauldron next to Hermione a moment later.
"Hey," he said brushing himself off. "Everything alright?"
"No..." whispered Hermione. "Look."
Harry turned to look out on Diagon Alley and was stunned to see smoke rising from several of the buildings, and many of the storefront windows smashed in.
"Bollocks," muttered Harry, flinging the door open and running downstairs, Hermione following quickly behind him.
"Be careful," said Hermione, as they descended into the pub.
It looked like a massive brawl had taken place. Chairs were overturned, drinks were spilled, and two of the tables were broken, splinters of wood lying all over the place.
"My word," muttered Harry. "What the hell happened in here?"
"Harry?" came a nervous voice from right. "Harry Potter?"
"Tom?" called Harry, hurrying over towards him. "What the hell happened?"
"They came, the death eaters," he said, appearing from behind the bar. "Broke through into Diagon Alley and pillaged the place."
"Do you have any supplies?" asked Harry quickly. "Anything that the death eaters didn't take?"
"The death eaters didn't take anything," replied Tom. "Just went straight into town."
"Do you have food left?" asked Hermione.
"Sure," replied Tom. "I received a shipment right before the attack, so I've got a lot of excess food and drink that'll go bad unless it's used."
"Tom, I don't have any money on me right now," said Harry. "But I swear to you, let us have everything, and I promise I'll pay you back the moment this war is over."
"You don't need to pay me back," said Tom. "Just get me the hell out of here." Harry nodded.
"Hermione, you and Tom shrink all the supplies and get them ready to go," he said. "I'm going into town to get medical supplies."
"There's nothing left, Harry," said Tom. "You won't find anything."
"I have to try," he said. "If I'm not back within twenty minutes, take off. I'll catch up."
"You better not get captured," said Hermione. "Or I'll never forgive you."
"I'll be fine," smiled Harry, quickly giving her a chaste kiss on the lips. "See you soon." Without another word he ran off.
Running through the already open archway, he quickly made his way to Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes, which, as he expected, was one of the few stores that appeared to have sustained no damage.
"Fred?" he called out, entering the store. "George?"
"Harry?" asked Fred, poking his head out from the one of the side doors. Quickly he and George appeared, wands drawn. "Prove it's you."
Searching around in his robes, Harry produced the Gringotts Transaction receipt that Fred had given him on the day of Fleur and Bill's wedding.
"Good to see you mate," smiled Fred, lowering his wand. "Now then, what brings you around? Surely you're not just here to say hello, what with both Hogwarts and the Alley being sacked."
"I need supplies," said Harry, walking over to the door that held the corridor to the hidden potions room. "We need medical supplies really badly at the camp."
"Good thing we have our potions then," said George, opening the door for Harry, the three of them hurrying down to the lab.
"What do you have?" asked Harry.
"This vat is the Draught of Restoration," said Fred, pointing at one to the left. "Most powerful revitalizing potion known to wizard-kind."
"We've got just about everything," continued George. "Pepper-up Potions, Skele-gro, Dreamless Sleep Draughts, whatever you need, we have it."
"I need it all," said Harry. "How quickly can you have it bottled up and ready to ship?"
"Now, if you want," replied Fred, drawing his wand. With a flourish, hundreds of empty bottles flew off the shelves and lined themselves up on conveyor belts on the machines. Hoses flew out of the machines and instantly filled the bottles with their respective potions, the bottles flying safely into crates once they were filled.
"You two are bloody brilliant," said Harry, once the last crate was sealed.
"We know," replied Harry. "We need to shrink these so I can carry them back."
"You?" asked Fred. "We're coming with you mate."
"What about the store?" asked Harry.
"What, like we're getting any business right now?" joked George. "If we kept death eaters out once, we can do it again."
"You have no idea how much this means to me you guys," said Harry as they shrunk the crates and pocketed them.
"Ah, don't worry about it," replied Fred as they made their way back up to the main level of the store. "We still owe you for this place to begin with."
"I hope you don't intend to use that as an excuse for my entire life," said Harry. "I mean, just because I funded the store doesn't mean I wouldn't like to get one of the old Weasley twin pranks once in a while."
"Really?" asked George, an excited grin on his face.
"Er...maybe I'll rethink that," smiled Harry as they reached main area.
"Hold on one second," said Fred, grabbing a sign that said, 'WWW Party Packs, 3 for a Galleon.'
"What are you doing?" asked Harry, as Fred erased it.
"Putting up a new sign," replied Fred, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. With a wave of his wand, a new message was written on the board.
Closed for business until You-Know-Who decides to stop being a pain in the arse.
Harry rolled his eyes as they hung it in the window and sprinted off towards the Leaky Cauldron.
"They're going to make your death a slow and painful one, you know that right?" he asked as they ran.
"Nah, they'd have to catch us first," smiled George. "And you of all people know what good escape artists we are."
"Touche," smiled Harry as they reached the pub.
"Thank god you're back," sighed Hermione, shrinking some crates.
"We're you honestly worried about our mate, here?" grinned Fred as they entered the tavern.
"Fred!" exclaimed Hermione. "George? What are you two doing here?"
"Our boy here came to take advantage of our amazingness," smiled Fred.
"Remember how Fred and George built that potions lab to automate potion making?" asked Harry.
"I don't recall you mentioning that to me," said Hermione, raising an eyebrow.
"Oh, well they did," nodded Harry, taking a crate from his pocket and enlarging it. "Have a look."
Hermione opened the crate and her mouth dropped open.
"These...the Draught of Restoration?" asked Hermione. Fred and George nodded. "But...this is supposed to be incredibly hard to make!"
"It's easier when you eliminate the chance of human error," smiled George. "Now then, shall be we off? I hear there's a camp that needs these supplies real bad."
"Let's get moving," said Harry as they started making their way to the roof. "We shouldn't linger here anyway."
"Where are we apparating to?" asked Fred.
"The Forbidden Forest," replied Harry. "The southern edge."
"Alright everyone, let's head out," nodded George. "See you in a few."
Harry nodded as Fred, George, and Tom all disappeared.
"We did well today," said Harry, smiling at Hermione.
"That we did," she smiled, hugging him. "Let's get going."
"Amen to that."
And they disappeared with a soft pop.
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A little short, I know, but I liked it.
Life is too short and has too many big swings to be sad. So take too many pictures, laugh too much, and love like you've never been hurt, because every sixty seconds you spend upset is a minute of happiness you'll never get back.
And now, I have some bad news. Starting on the 9th of August, and lasting until AT LEAST the 16th, I will
be on vacation in Indianapolis and upstate New York. I will do my best to have a chapter out in two weeks on the 18th,
but I'm not making any promises involving that. I DO promise that it won't be a month like it was the last time
I took a vacation. So, until next time!