"Harry!"
Harry snapped his head around to see Hermione beckoning towards him with her arm. Ron and McGonagall were already standing outside of the Great Hall, patiently waiting for Harry. Harry broke into a jog as he crossed the Great Hall, quickly joining Hermione as they approached Ron and McGonagall.
McGonagall was speaking to Madame Pomfrey as they both reached earshot.
"…I trust you can watch the castle for a little while? Hagrid's returning in an hour and we should only be gone for a couple hours. If we're not back before sunset, send a Patronus," McGonagall ordered. Madame Pomfrey nodded in understanding before leaving the group.
"Where's Ron?" asked Harry.
"Right there," Hermione pointed at a speck of red hair quickly approaching the group.
"Sorry about that, got caught up at home," Ron breathed, his hands on his knees.
"All right everyone. Off we go," McGonagall broke into a brisk power walk, slightly amusing the Trio.
The group strode from Hogwarts, and Harry took a moment to gaze around and examine the scenery. It was different from when he had been in the Other world. The vibrancy of life seemed to reach out to him, the intricacies of a bird flying from one tree to another fascinated Harry to no end. It was amazing how many things went on in such small time.
Amazing, indeed.
Harry shook his head momentarily, trying to clear the voice. Hermione noticed this action and laid her small hand on the inside of Harry's forearm.
"Are you alright?" she asked with a concerned visage.
"Perfectly fine," Harry responded as he strode pass her. She frowned at his cold nature but said nothing. The group was at the gates of Hogwarts.
Once on the other side of the gate, McGonagall spoke, "We all have the Apparition point in hand, yes?"
Hermione and Ron nodded. Harry would have to do a Side-Along Apparition as to not alert the Ministry of his presence.
"If we're all ready then," McGonagall nodded.
Harry grabbed onto Hermione's arm and nodded at her. She gave him a smile before looking straight ahead with a determined face. The familiar feeling of being squeezed into a tube overtook Harry, and he squeezed his eyes shut as the pressure built in his ears.
With a soft pop, he landed on bright, green grass. He felt Hermione at his side and looked up at her.
"Watch your feet there, Harry. Almost crushed me," she admonished with a smile on her face.
"Wouldn't want that," Harry grumbled as he helped himself to his feet, brushing the dirt off his shoulders.
"All clear," Ron said in an authoritative voice. He turned in a 360 degree circle as he scanned the area once more.
"Good," said McGonagall.
Harry turned around and found himself staring at a circular setting of large stones. It was strangely quiet, and Harry stepped forward and ran his hand along one of the large, granite stones, mesmerized by the majestic setting.
"I've set a Muggle Repelling bubble that should last us the duration of our time around here," Ron extracted a pair of binoculars from his pack and scanned the area.
"Excellent."
"So where is it?" Hermione asked almost enthusiastically.
"Calm down, Ms. Granger, this matter is not one to be most excited about," McGonagall said gravely.
McGonagall walked around the setting, examining each of the stones. Murmuring to herself, McGonagall paced the area until she found the correct rock. She frowned and spoke.
"This is the one. The Slaughter Stone."
"Charming," said Ron.
The Trio approached McGonagall as she chanted enchantments underneath her breath. With one last twirl of her wand, McGonagall placed the tip of her hand against the mammoth stone. As soon as the wood made contact with stone, the Slaughter Stone emitted a loud, grinding noise. Slowly, Harry could see the white outline of a door emerging from within the Stone.
"There's a door coming out of the ground. Just when you think you've seen it all," Ron muttered to himself.
Mesmerized, Hermione leaned down and reached her hand out for the wooden knob.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you, Ms. Granger," McGonagall snapped.
Hermione quickly retracted her hand and blushed. McGonagall picked up an idle rock and threw the projectile at the door. As the rock made contact with the door, there was a loud hissing noise. Amazed, Harry watched as the rock melted against the stone door.
"Blimey," Ron mumbled.
"How do we get in?" Hermione wondered.
"Repeat after me," McGonagall wrapped her robes tightly around her. She closed her eyes and spoke in a tone vivid with clarity.
"Peccavi."
McGonagall took a step forward and vanished through the stone.
Ron looked at Harry and Hermione and shrugged.
"Life's short. Can't think of a better way to go than vanishing underneath a stone door coming out of the ground," Ron smiled at the both of them, uttered the phrase, and disappeared beneath the stone. Hermione stepped forward, but Harry stuck his arm out.
"I'll go first," Harry met her eyes. Hermione looked agitated for a moment but acquiesced to his request with a nod.
"Peccavi."
Hermione scanned the area once more before uttering the phrase and disappearing underneath the stone.
She landed awkwardly on her feet on a hard surface. Instinctively, she reached her hand out to break her fall and was surprised to find a soft body bracing her fall. Hermione looked up to see Harry holding his hand, seemingly oblivious of their close proximity. He was looking far off into the distance.
For a moment, Hermione studied his face. He walked with a hunch now, his back resembling the curve of a bow. His chin was constantly tucked against his chest and gone were the vivid emotions that constantly flickered across his face. It was replaced by a smooth mask of indifference. It was as if two people lived within Harry.
The calm, collected side that was completely devoid of emotion. The mechanic being that was constantly surveying the scene around him. Then there was the raging maniac of a being that also resided within Harry Potter. Driven solely by emotion, that being, Hermione noted, was full of anger and despair.
Hermione was so lost in thought that she did not see Harry already twenty paces ahead of her. Her hand was still held out as if she were grasping Harry's hand. Hermione hoped that the darkness hid her red cheeks as she broke into a jog.
Harry noted that the floor was colored a rusty red. The only illumination came from McGonagall's and Ron's wands and even that did not cast enough light to see into the oblivion. Judging from the echoes of their feet, Harry surmised that they were in an expansive cavern. He could not see any form of walls or ceilings within his vision.
They walked in single file behind McGonagall, completely silent. The only sounds were the clomping of their feet and the occasional scuffle of tiny pebbles across the rusty red floor. No questions were asked. It seemed as if McGonagall was guided by an invisible robe, and she offered no explanations for her direction.
It was only after what seemed like hours did McGonagall finally stop walking.
"This is it. I cannot cross this path," McGonagall said.
"What path?" Hermione inquired as she stepped forward with McGonagall.
"The path to the Traveler," McGonagall stuck her wand in what appeared to be a basin. She whispered an enchantment and the basin came alive with fire.
Fire.
The small basin shook violently for a moment before small jet streams of fire leaped into the air, arching gracefully over the group. Soon, the entire corridor was lit aflame and Harry gulped as he took in their surroundings.
They were standing on what appeared to be the edge of a dock. Harry had not even noticed the change of material that he had been walking on. He was too preoccupied with the doldrums of following the darkness.
He was indeed correct about the size of the cavern. Harry could see the faint flicker of reflection from the ceiling. The whole cavern seemed to be tinted with a red lens through Harry's eyes. The fire, the walls, the ground were all red. The stalactites seemed to stick out of all directions from the ceiling. They were gigantic and some stretched more than twenty feet below the ceiling.
"Wouldn't want those falling on us," Ron whispered as he craned his neck to inspect the ceiling.
"Unnatural," Hermione wondered aloud, "I've never seen them so…big."
"You must go," McGonagall pointed forwards.
Harry gasped as he stared at the centerpiece of the corridor. There was a towering statue in the middle of a large lake. He instantly recognized the statue. The bronze hair, the defiance in her eyes, it was indeed the same statue that Harry had encountered during his disappearance.
Hermione noticed Harry's stunned expression. Although she was amazed at the marvel herself, Harry was visibly shaking and refused to blink. She laid a hand on his shoulder and shook him gently.
"Harry, are you alright?"
He looked at her and gulped, his Adam's apple bobbing uncertainly.
"I've seen this statue before," Harry said.
"Then that is a sign, Mr. Potter, that you need to continue on," McGonagall pointed towards the statue.
"This boat should fit you all. I gather the Traveler will be waiting for you on the other side."
"Should we be prepared for a fight?" Ron asked.
"I doubt you need to be Mr. Weasley. Even if you were, I doubt there is anything you could do about it," McGonagall said ominously.
"Why aren't you coming with us Headmistress?" Hermione asked.
"It would be better if I stayed here for the time being. Be careful," McGonagall took a step back and waved her arm towards the small dingy.
The dingy had two oars and was just big enough for the Trio to fit inside with cramped legs.
"Hermione, you take point. I'll row. Harry…you can keep a look out," Ron gave out the orders as he folded back the sleeves of his shirt. Harry made a slight facial expression at his job but said nothing.
Hermione clambered into the boat first, her wand drawn and in front of her. Ron plopped in behind her, handling the oars with his calloused hands. Harry fell in last.
"Do not touch the waters. I shall be here waiting for you when you return," McGonagall took a step back and loosened the rope that held the dingy to the dock. As Ron started rowing, Harry watched as McGonagall stuck one palm face out and started whispering to herself.
"What do you reckon that's all about?" Harry cocked his head towards the slowly fading McGonagall.
"Apparently…on dangerous missions such as these…McGonagall…seems well inclined…to withhold as much information…as possible," Ron said between breathes as he rowed the boat.
"Don't be so prude, Ronald. I'm sure she has a good reason for being less…forward with us," Hermione admonished.
"Ignorance, if not bliss, often saves a good deal of time," Harry muttered. Ron gave him a strange look but said nothing. Harry watched McGonagall fade from view and redirected his attention towards the statue.
"The statue, what do you think it is?" Harry asked.
"It's probably the lady from the story. The one which the Traveler sought after," Hermione concluded.
"A bloody bit dramatic, don't you think?" Ron asked.
"It's just…a lot like something I saw from the Other world," Harry said.
"Perhaps it's a clue."
Harry looked at Hermione questioningly.
"A clue that this Traveler person can tell us more about your disappearance," Hermione said.
Harry looked back at the statue. They were quickly approaching the statue and soon, Ron would have to start changing direction in order to avoid a collision.
As they approached a statue, Harry could barely make out an inscription at its base. He took off his glasses and rubbed them on his shirt before squinting his eyes to read the inscription.
"Beneficium accipere libertatem est vendere," Harry said awkwardly.
Harry and Ron looked expectantly at Hermione.
"Really?" Hermione narrowed her eyes at the pair of them and muttered something about, "Inconsiderate prats."
"So you do know what it is?" Harry implored.
Despite her anger, Hermione could not help but reply, "It means 'To accept a favor is to sell one's freedom'."
"Smart fellow…this Traveler," said Ron.
Harry did not speak again but instead gazed at the lake water. It was only now did he realize that the water was red as well. Harry watched as the oar rose from the water. Instead of coming cleanly off the oar in tiny droplets as water would do, the liquid held onto the oar and slowly dripped along its side. It was unmistakably blood.
Blood.
Harry shook his head and gave it a tap. He decided not to mention the little fact to his partners in crime.
As they passed the statue, Harry gave one more glance back at the bronze hair cascading down the statue's back. The hairs on the back of his neck rose as the statue grew smaller and smaller. There was no denying the feeling of apprehension that crawled through Harry's skin.
"There!" Hermione pointed her wand in front of her.
In the distance, Harry could see a large, ornate door that was also embedded into rock. As they drew nearer, Harry could see multiple carvings etched into the lines of the door.
With a soft bump, the dingy jostled against the makeshift dock and the Trio quickly ambled out of their tiny vehicle of transportation. Dusting his shoulders off, Harry quickly walked towards the door.
"WAIT!" Hermione yelled, her voice echoing hundreds of times.
Harry looked frustratingly back at her.
"Hermione, there's answers on the other side of this door," Harry emphasized his point with a jab of his index finger.
"Harry, I know, but please, look below you," Hermione commanded.
Harry turned around and looked at his feet. He scratched his head as he stared at yet another odd sight.
Three rows of archaic symbols stretched from wall to wall, nearly thirty feet across. Below the rows was a standard set of Arabic numbers from one through fifty. Puzzled, Harry reached down to touch the numbers.
"Harry!" Hermione admonished again.
"Hermione," he growled. His eyes flashed as he met her eyes. Hermione did not back down from the challenge and stood her ground, glaring at Harry. A flicker of anger passed over his face before he settled into his stage of indifference. He only nodded and stepped aside to let Hermione inspect the strange symbols.
Hermione's face softened as she approached Harry and she gently touched his elbow before crouching down to take a closer look at the symbols.
"It seems to be a former of Higher Order Hieroglyphics. Way before the Egyptians," Hermione stated aloud.
She crouched from one place to another, careful not to cross the rows at any point.
"They seem to be some sort of code," she muttered.
Harry and Ron watched her as she muttered to herself, bouncing around and about the thirty foot row of symbols.
"Hasn't changed one bit has she," Ron smirked at Harry. Harry gave Ron a weak smile before turning to Hermione, wishing she would hurry up.
"Just one second," she mumbled as she bounced around one more time.
"There!" Hermione rushed towards Harry and Ron excitedly.
"Remember these numbers: 6, 3, 23."
"What?" Harry stared at her as if she had grown another head.
"Those numbers. It's the combination needed to deactivate the protection that the Hieroglyphics command," Hermione said in one breath.
Harry watched, stunned, as Hermione rushed around to input the numbers. The same feeling of apprehension crawled upon him once more. In the past half hour, there had been two reminders of the Other world. Harry could not help but wonder the meaning of these collective signs.
"Is something wrong Harry?" Hermione asked as she hovered over the number 23.
"No, nothing," Harry shook his head and gestured with one hand. Hermione lowered her wand touched it against the stone.
Immediately, the three rows began to glow different colors. Each row alternated a different color until they finally stopped changing colors. The color closest to the Trio was red while the middle row was blue and the row closest to the door was a bright white.
"Is it safe?" Ron asked.
Hermione shrugged and picked up a pebble. She tossed it passed the Hieroglyphics and shrugged.
"I think so. I'm relatively sure I correctly derived the mathematical formula of the symbols, but just to make sure let's test that theo - Harry!" Hermione abruptly ended her sentence as she watched Harry cross the border without any preamble.
Without turning around, he addressed Hermione, "The numbers were right."
Hermione looked at Ron before crossing the border herself and stood at Harry's side. She did not bother saying anything to him.
"So, let's be careful here, McGonagall said we don't have to be prepared, but let's prepare for the worse case scenar - oh sod it all," Ron finished his sentence abruptly as well as Harry twisted the door knob and pushed the door open.
Harry entered the other side of the door. The first thing he noticed was the sheer number of clocks that were in the room. There were of all different sizes and shapes. There were hundreds, if not thousands of clocks hung from the ceiling while various Grandfather clocks littered the floor, and Harry saw several tables of pocket watches.
The soft and sometimes not so soft ticking of the various times melded into an almost pleasant melody. Harry reached out and touched a gold pocket watch but was startled when it exploded at contact.
"Careful now, they're a bit sensitive at these times."
Harry snapped his head up to the center of the room. As haphazardly as the mess of clocks seemed, there was a definite order to the room and Harry stood in the middle of an aisle that led to a small, clear circle.
There stood a person of medium build wearing a pure white suit. There was nothing strange about his appearance except for his face. His eyes were larger than the average person's eyes and his smile seemed almost too big for his face.
"Harry James Potter. I've been waiting for you," said the man in white.
----___________-----
"These must be your friends! Hermione Jane Granger and Ronald Billius Weasley!" the man in white hopped towards them with a quick gait. He seemed to approach them faster than Harry thought he could and soon found himself face to face with the man in white.
"How did you know my - our names?" Harry asked.
"How is not the important question Harry. The important question to ask is when," the man in white smiled. Harry was puzzled by the man. He looked at Hermione and tried to signal her with his eyes.
"You know our names but we don't know yours, sir. I hope we're not intruding, but we're here becau-" Hermione started.
"Because of our mutual friend, Minevra, I know," the man in white cooed.
"I, as you might know, am the Traveler," the man in white enunciated the word "Traveler" with a dramatic wave of his arms.
"For the sake of convenience, call me Bob."
"Right, Mr. Bob, we just had a couple of questions for you," Hermione fidgeted with the hem of her robe, obviously unsettled by the frivolous nature of the Traveler.
"You had questions? Or did Mr. Potter have questions," the Traveler swung around on his toes to face Harry once more, the same annoying, clown smile plastered on his face.
"Well I suppose we both did," Hermione concluded.
"Sir, if you could just please answer our questions and we'd be on our way," Ron stepped forward.
The Traveler looked at all three of them before his shoulders started shaking.
Soon, the man in white started snickering. Before long, he had burst into a torrent of laughter that rang shrill in Harry's ears.
"WAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Bob laughed.
"Oh, Mr. Weasley, how I do love your jokes. Why leave? We have all the time…we could possibly ever want," the Traveler smiled creepily at Ron. Equally unsettled as Hermione, Ron took a step back.
"I'll tell you what," Bob clapped his hands together.
"Why don't you two just linger around here and taking a tour of my facilities while I talk to Harry…alone," the Traveler's facial expression shifted at the last word. His annoying smile dipped into a straight line and his large eyes narrowed at the pair of them.
"We're not leaving him," Hermione said.
Harry shook his head however and held a hand out to Hermione.
"It's okay," Harry said. Hermione bit her lip as she looked from Harry and Bob. She nodded slowly, unsure of what to make of Harry's request.
"Excellent!" the Traveler clapped his hands together again and literally jumped in the air, startling the Trio once more.
"Now come this way, Harry, I've been absolutely dying to meet you," Bob wrapped his long, skinny fingers around Harry's wrist and tugged him towards the back of the room.
"Come along now."
With one last look back at Ron and Hermione, Harry followed the man in white towards the back of the room. The Traveler opened a door in the back and led Harry into a moderately sized office with just a simple desk and two chairs.
The Traveler closed the door behind Harry as he entered and slide one, skinny finger along its edge. The door sealed with a pop and the Traveler bounded across the room to sit in the chair beside the desk.
"I bet you're wondering why you're here," Bob said, his eerie smile returning to his phase. He seemed almost clown-like to Harry, with his overly exaggerated actions and eerie smile.
"You're him, aren't you?"
Bob smiled, the corners of his lips literally skimming the edge of his ears. His eyes were wide, and Harry could see the small pupil dilation in the man's large eyes.
"Of course it was me, Harry."
"I'm the one responsible for your untimely disappearance from this world over six years, three months, and twenty-three days ago."
----_______----
-Gasp!
-Peccavi is Latin for "I have sinned"
-Never thought that statue from "Rita's Theory" would mean anything did you?
-I told you numbers were important. They will continue to be important as well.
-Colors, colors, colors.
-As always, reviews are more than welcome!