DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters. They are the property of J.K. Rowling, Warner Bros, etc. No money was made from the creation of this story.
Chapter Eighteen: The Forbidden Chambers
The four companions made their way down the long peculiar hallway. The walls were uneven, some portions protruding out more than others. The ground was covered with soft dirt, causing small clouds of dust to linger after their footsteps. A stream of fire that traveled along a narrow path that connected the floor and the right wall lighted the hallway. The ceiling also seemed to have its mind of its own, certain portions at a respectable height while other portions were so low that it forced the four to bend down as they walked.
After several minutes of walking, the hallway started to grow wider and taller, allowing the four to walk alongside each other rather than in a line. They soon entered a large circular room that had four large doorways and what looked like a small stone podium. The walls were looked like they deteriorating for centuries and the foul smell of brimstone saturated the air.
Harry and Keung carefully examined the stone podium, delicately brushing off a thick layer of dust that covered it. The podium had four empty slots and a large emblem of a black flame in the center of it. Harry blew off some more dust and noticed something inscribed around the outer edge of the emblem.
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To those who seek the Flame of Flamora…four chambers guard its entrance…a key each chamber holds must be returned to grant safe passage.
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"That explains the four passageways," Harry said as we walked over to Nancy and Ron. "Each of these passageways leads to some sort of chamber, where we need to find a key."
"Chambers?" Ron asked with a hint of worry in his voice. "You mean the four chambers that protect to the Flame?"
"Yes Ron," answered Keung as he made his way towards the three. "I don't know what these chambers will hold, but I am sure that it won't be pleasant. I really doubt they're just going to give us the keys."
"Why can't anything just be simple?" Ron asked, his voice now filled with dread.
"Should we split up?" Nancy asked as she softly rubbed Ron's arm. "It'll be faster that way."
"Split up…" Keung said as he turned and look at the four doorways. "It would save us time, but these chambers will be dangerous. Our survival can only come from watching over on each other. We should go through the chambers together, one at a time."
"All right," Harry spoke as he nodded at Keung. "So…which chamber should we try first?"
"Let's try this one," Nancy replied as she pointed to the one directly in front of her.
Keung took the lead and the four made their way into the large passageway. They noticed a foul stench coming from the other end of the corridor. Nancy nearly gagged as they entered a dark rectangular room. It was filled with large mountains of human bones and the smell of rotting flesh caused the four to take shallow breaths through their mouths. The walls were covered with what looked like blood and the room was only lit by a few torches that hung from the walls.
"Oh this looks promising," Ron said with a sarcastic voice as the four slowly made their way towards the center of the chamber, Keung occasionally shoveling bones out of the way with his foot to clear them a path.
"Now what?" Harry asked as the four looked around at the large piles of bones that almost reached the incredibly tall ceiling.
The ground started to shake and a large stone door suddenly sealed the passageway that led them into the chamber. Harry and Keung looked each other with looks of both confusion and uneasiness as a screaming ghost appeared above them. The four slowly took several steps away from the ghost as it gracefully lowered itself to the ground.
"You have just entered the Chamber of Screams," the ghost hissed. The ghost was headless and wore a rusty suit of armor that shined an eerie red light. "This chamber will drive you mad unless you find the secret that it holds…
Oh my, I am dead,
Please help for all I see is red,
My poor, poor head."
"What kind of a riddle is that?" Ron asked. But before anyone could answer him, a pitch scream filled the chamber that started to make his head ache terribly.
"What's going on?" Nancy screamed as she covered her ears with her hands and slowly sank to her knees, her head throbbing uncontrollably.
"We need to find something!" Keung shouted as he sank on his hands and knees, gritting his teeth as he tried to tolerate the excruciating pain.
"Dead…red…head," Harry growled as he collapsed onto the ground, his hands covering his ears. His head felt like it was being squeezed in a vice, his threshold for pain surely being tested. He turned his head and his eyes suddenly grew wide when his gaze fell upon a large pile of bones. "We need to find his head!"
"What?" Ron shouted as he turned to look at Harry, his body trembling hysterically. "Find his what?"
"His head!" Harry replied as he gritted his teeth and lowered his hands from his ears, feeling the full affects of the deafening screams. He kneeled in front of a large pile of bones and started to search through them. "I bet that his head is red…a red skull!"
Keung and Nancy acknowledged Harry's theory and slowly crawled over to the closest piles of bones. They started to dig through them, both taking quick short breaths to dull the horrific ringing in their heads. Ron forced himself to stand, but suddenly fell onto the base of a large pile of bones, causing a tower to titter.
Harry looked up at the swaying tower and noticed something red amongst the white and gray bones. He slowly got to his feet and staggered over towards the tower, pointing up towards the top. Keung looked towards the area Harry was pointing and his eyes narrowed on the red skull.
"Harry…Nancy…Ron!" Keung shouted, causing them to look at him. "Get away from…the tower! I am going to knock it down!"
The three nodded and slowly got up to their feet. Harry covered his ears again, relieved at how much less his head hurt, and quickly ran towards the wall of the room behind Keung. Ron moved over to Nancy and the two ran towards a wall that next to another large tower of bones.
"Adfilgo! Adfilgo! Adfligo!" Keung shouted as he aimed his wand towards the base of the large tower, causing several bones to shatter.
The tower started to sway violently and with one more blast of his wand, the tower fell, making a thunderous noise as it crashed onto the floor. The crash was so tremendous that it caused several other towers around the room to fall as well. Harry and Keung took cover and were relieved to see that none of the other towers had fallen onto the spot where the red skull should have fallen.
Harry and Keung quickly made their way towards the head of the fallen tower, ignoring the never-ending pain ringing in their heads. The two started to dig through the bones; scattering the rotting bones behind them. Harry's heart started to sink when he nearly finished searching through the pile, dreading that image of the red skull could have been a hallucination.
Suddenly, the screaming stopped. Harry looked around and he found the silence almost too good to be true. He looked towards Keung, and a bright smile grew across his face when he saw that Keung was holding the red skull in his hand. Harry fell onto the floor and took in deep breaths, the pain in his head vanishing.
His eyes suddenly grew wide when his wristwatch started to vibrate. He quickly looked at the face and saw Nancy's initials appear. He then realized that he hadn't seen Ron or Nancy since the towers of bones had fallen.
"Nancy…Ron!" Harry shouted as he quickly got to his feet and started searching around the fallen bones, his heart racing again.
Keung noticed this as well and a sudden feeling of worry and guilt fell upon him when he realized that any of the fallen towers could of landed on them. He stuffed the red skull into the pocket in his robes and climbed to the top of the fallen tower, his eyes scanning around the room.
"Ron…Nancy!" Harry shouted again as he looked up to a startled Keung.
"Harry!" they heard Ron shout.
Keung squinted his eyes and he was able to make out two figures sitting next to a fallen tower. He pointed over to them and the two quickly made their way over.
"Ron, you okay?" Harry asked as he quickly moved to Ron's side.
Ron was holding a shaking Nancy in his arms. She had a deep cut on her left arm and she was trying her best from releasing her cries of pain, tears stream down her cheeks. Harry looked at Ron and he returned his gaze with a reassured nod.
"Is everything okay?" Keung asked as he settled by the three.
"Nancy got her arm cut," Ron answered as he gave he shuddering Nancy a tight squeeze. "It's bleeding really badly."
Keung kneeled down next to them and gently took a hold of Nancy's left arm. She was hesitant at first, but when she saw the sincere look in Keung's eyes and allowed him to examine it. He gently pulled on her sleeve and tore it open to get a better look at the wound.
"It's not too bad," Keung said with a relieved smile as he pulled out his wand. "Aquula."
A small stream of water left Keung's wand and washed away the blood from Nancy's injury, exposing the large cut. He tapped the tip of his wand against her wound and smiled when the gash quickly scabbed over. He then summoned a long piece of white cloth, which he used to wrap firmly around the scab.
He looked towards and awestruck Nancy and smiled, "This should do the trick."
"Where did you learn to do that?" Harry asked as Keung tied the cloth.
"I've picked up some elementary healing skills along my travels," Keung replied as he stood up.
"You okay?" Ron asked Nancy as he stood to his feet, helping her stand. She nodded as she released a soft sigh. Ron then looked at Keung with a grateful look on his face. "Thanks."
"Don't worry about it," Keung said back as he reached into his pocket and pulled out the red skull.
The wall behind them started to crumble, revealing a large doorway. Keung looked at the three and let out a sigh as he placed the skull back into his pocket.
"We'd best be on our way," Keung said and the four made their way out of the room and followed the corridor, completely amazed to see that they were back in the original chamber with the four large doorways.
They turned back towards the passageway they had exited and quickly backed away as a stone door fell, sealing it. The door shined with the same eerie red color as the ghost's armor and they recognized the strange markings on the door were the same to those of the main doors that Keung had opened with his Flamora blade.
"That's one down," Ron smiled as he looked at Nancy, who yet released him from her grasp. However he didn't mind it at all.
"Let's take this one," Harry said as he pointed towards the door directly to the right of the one they had just exited.
"Let's go," Nancy nodded as she gave Ron's arm a tight squeeze.
The four made their way through the corridor and were relieved that the smell of rotting bones didn't greet them. However, the stench of bones would have been preferred when a sudden gust of heat washed over them and the odor of sulfur and brimstone filled the air.
"Wow!" Ron gasped as he took a step forward.
The room was comprised of a large checkered board that resembled that of chessboard. The four examined it carefully and looked at each other, completely puzzled of what their next task could be. Harry looked towards the first row of squares and examined them carefully, his eyes slowly moving up the board until he noticed a blue chest sitting on top of a large stone platform at the other end of the room.
"I seems we just need to cross," Harry said to the others as his eyes went back towards the strange checkered board in front of them.
"That's simple enough," Ron smiled as he took a few steps closer to the board.
"That's the problem," Nancy sighed as she looked at the three. "It's too simple."
The four slowly took several steps forward and were startled when they saw the passageway they had just used; seal itself with another large door. The four looked at each other and released aggravated sighs as they watched a headless ghost rise from the floor.
This ghost looked almost identical to the one they had met previously, but this ghost's armor shined with a subtle blue light. He slowly approached the four and with a surprisingly deep voice, it spoke, "You have just entered the Chamber of Illusion. This chamber will lead you to your demise unless you find the secret that it holds…
The platform ahead you all must cross,
The task be to find a boss,
Watch thy step or suffer a loss."
The floor started to shake again as the ghost sank into the ground, causing several different squares of the checkered platform to disappear. Heat slowly filled the room and they noticed a large pool of molten larva laid underneath the platform.
"Well that does complicate things a bit," Ron remarked as he examined the area of the board, formulating his path. "Though, it's still pretty easy."
Ron was about to take a step onto the square in front of him, when Harry and Nancy's watches started to vibrate insanely. They looked over at Ron and their eyes went wide, causing them to lunge forward and pull him back. Their action completely startled both Ron and Keung.
"What are you doing?" Ron asked as Harry and Nancy released him.
"Are you bloody blind?" Harry asked as he looked towards the square where Ron was about to step. "You would of walked right into a hole."
"A hole?" Keung said with a confused voice as he examined the square. "I see the floor there, Harry."
"What?" Harry replied as he looked towards the square. He rubbed his eyes with his fingers and looked again, but all he saw was a hole that led towards the lava pit. "I see a hole."
"The heat must be getting to you," Ron smiled as he patted Harry on the shoulder.
"No wait!" Nancy cried as she looked back at the platform and back towards the three. "I figured it out! This is one big illusion!"
"What do you mean?" Harry asked as he looked at Nancy with a puzzled expression.
"Don't you see?" Nancy exclaimed as she picked up a small rock in her hand. "We all are seeing an illusion. While Ron and Keung see a square there, you and I see a hole."
"I still don't get it?" Ron said as he crossed his arms.
"Now I see…if it weren't for Hermione, you'd both be dead," Nancy sighed as she made her way over to the hole and dropped the rock, watching it fall directly into the lava.
Keung and Ron's eyes grew wide when they saw the rock fall directly through the floor.
"See," Nancy exclaimed as she walked back to them, her attention focused on Ron. "Keung and you believe that there is solid ground there, but Harry and I see otherwise. It is one really big illusion, but we each see a piece of it rather than the whole thing."
She picked up another rock and pointed towards the square directly to the left of the one that they had just examined. She turned to the three and said, "I see solid ground there. What do the rest of you see?"
"I see solid ground," Harry said as he looked at the square.
"I see ground, too," Ron said as he nodded to Harry.
"I see a hole," Keung said cautiously as he looked at the square.
Nancy walked over to the square and dropped the rock. Ron and Harry were amazed as they watched the rock fall through the ground.
"Whenever one of us sees a hole," Nancy started again as she walked over and picked up another rock, "no matter what the rest of us may see, there will be a hole in that spot."
She quickly moved to another square and dropped a rock onto it. However, this time the rock didn't fall through, it instead made a soft clacking noise as it made contact with the square. She turned and smiled at the three, "I see solid ground there. And you guys?"
"Solid ground," they all said in unison as they examined the square where the rock laid.
"All we need to do is map out a path where we all see solid ground," Nancy explained as she pulled out a roll of parchment and quill out of her pocket.
"Do you always carry those with you?" Ron asked with a sarcastic voice that caused her to look at him with a bright grin.
After several minutes of planning, Nancy was able to make draw out a safe path for them to take. She examined the map and smiled to the three.
"Okay," she said as she made her way towards one of the squares. "The ghost said that we all need to cross. So we should get in a line and just play follow the leader. It shouldn't be too difficult."
The three nodded towards her and stood in line behind her, Harry behind Nancy, Keung behind Harry, and Ron behind Keung. Nancy took a deep breath and took the first step onto the first square. When nothing happened, she let out a sigh of relief and they carefully made their way across the board.
When they were about halfway across, they felt a small earthquake, which nearly caused Ron to lose his balance. As the earthquake subsided they all released a thankful sighs until the heard something rumbling. They turned and looked behind them and their hearts sank to their stomachs as they watched row after row of squares collapse into the molten pit.
"Get a move on!" Ron squealed when he realized that the following rows were approaching them.
Nancy turned and started to move across the path as quickly as she could, her eyes moving up and down between the map and the squares in front of her. She heard Ron yelp as the rumbling of falling squares grew louder and louder, forcing her to move faster and faster. However no matter how quickly she moved, she knew that the falling squares were catching up with them.
"Jump from here!" Harry shouted to Nancy when they were only about two squares away from the end of the platform. He looked back towards the falling squares and knew that they didn't have much time left.
She nodded and took a quick step before she jumped, successfully making it onto the other side. Harry in turn, quickly took a step forward and jumped. He successfully made the jump, but accidentally bumped into Nancy, causing the two to fall over. Keung also made the jump, but was able to avoid the two and land safely on his feet.
"Hurry Ron!" Keung shouted as Ron quickly made his way, the row directly behind his feet collapsing.
Ron took a deep breath as he prepared to jump, but the row that held the last square collapsed, causing him to lose all his momentum. Keung's eyes grew wide as he realized that Ron wasn't going to make it.
"Ron…Keung!" Harry shouted as he watched Keung jump off the ledge. He and Nancy quickly scrambled to their feet and ran over to the edge.
Keung's right hand was holding firmly onto a protruding rock about a foot below the ledge, while his left hand had a firm grip on Ron's right wrist. Ron started to take short breaths, his panic taking over, when he noticed that he was directly above a large pool of molten lava. Keung tried to move Ron towards the rock face, but felt the protruding rock he was holding onto start to give way under their weight.
"Just don't stand there!" Keung shouted as he looked up at Harry and Nancy. "Do something before Ron and I get turned into soup!"
"Right," Harry said as he pulled out his wand from his pocket and pointed towards Ron. "Leviosa!"
Ron suddenly felt completely weightless and slowly started to float up towards Harry and Nancy. Keung released his hold on Ron's wrist, allowing Ron to float above him. As Ron rose to the level of the ledge, Harry pulled his wand back slowly, allowing Ron to land safely on his two feet. Keung took in a deep breath when he heard Ron land on the ground, and quickly pulled himself up and over the ledge.
"You okay?" Nancy asked as she walked over to Ron, giving him a tight hug.
He nodded to her as he returned her warm embrace with a firm squeeze, ignoring the fact that it felt like his shoes were melting.
Keung grinned at Harry as they approached the blue chest. Harry examined it carefully and brushed a layer of dirt off the top surface. They heard a click and it slowly opened itself for them, exposing a blue skull. Harry took it in his hands and looked at Keung.
"We can safely guess that the two remaining keys will be skulls too," Keung said as he pulled out the red skull from his pocket.
The ground slowly started to shake again and the wall behind the stone platform crumbled, revealing their exit. Harry placed the blue skull in his pocket and Keung placed the red one in his. The four followed the new passageway and again found themselves back in the center room. Without saying a word, the four walked directly towards the next door, ignoring the fact that the passageway that just exited from had sealed itself.
Except for a few torches that did a poor job in lighting the room, and a small mirror that hung on the back wall, the new chamber was empty. The four vigilantly made their way towards the center of the chamber, preparing themselves for the endless numbers of ways this room could kill them.
A headless ghost soon appeared in front of them, this one wearing an old suit of armor that shined a brilliant green. The ghost slowly drifted between the four, causing them back away from each other to give it more space.
With a high-pitched voice the ghost began, "You have just entered the Chamber of Fear. This chamber will lead you to your deaths unless you find the secret that it holds…
Your fears will lead you to your demise,
Don't allow simple things to fool your eyes,
Look through the mirror to seek your prize."
"I'm really getting tired of these riddles," Ron groaned as the ghost slowly sank into the floor.
The torches in the chamber suddenly extinguished themselves and re-ignited. This confused Ron but his eyes grew wide and he took a step back. He saw Nancy standing across from him with two large spiders that looked like they were ready to attack.
Harry couldn't believe his eyes; Hermione was standing across from him with a look of utter terror on her face. He looked over to his left and right and realized that the reason for her fright was that Lord Voldemort and Magnolia Reins were standing next to them. Harry's mouth fell open as he looked into the evil eyes of the Dark Lord. He slowly moved his hand into his robes and pulled out his wand.
Nancy let out a small yelp when her eyes focused on the three figures in front of her. One of the figures was Ron while the other two were huge snakes. They were at least twenty feet long with large quantities of venom drooling from their fangs. She took a small step back and retracted her wand as she watched the snakes rear up their heads and hissed violently as they slowly inspected their prey.
Keung immediately pulled out his wand when he saw the sight in front of him. He refused to believe what he saw, but his heart started to pound uncontrollably. Veronica Cross was standing in front of him and appeared to large man made entirely of flame make its way over to her. He took a step forward and soon realized that another large flamed being was slowly advancing towards him.
Harry took a deep breath as he aimed his wand at Lord Voldemort, curious of why the Dark Lord hadn't attacked him yet. But the moment he withdrew his wand, Harry knew he couldn't take any wait any longer. He looked over at a terrified Hermione and aimed his wand at Voldemort. "Compello contrundo!"
Ron was taken by surprise as one the spiders threw a spell at him, hitting him straight in the chest, causing him to be launched into the air and land hard on his back. He started coughing and realized that he had lost his wand during his fall. He slowly lifted his back off the floor and gasped in terror as he watched a spider slowly advance towards him.
Keung was shocked to see the flamed being attacked Veronica, his anger fueling him, his skepticism leaving his mind. He ran forward towards the fallen Veronica and was stunned to see that she was frightened, trying to move away from him. He turned and aimed his wand at the approaching flamed being.
"Hermione?" Harry asked as he watched her raise her wand at him. "Why are you protecting Voldemort?"
However before he could get an answer, he was hit hard in the stomach by a spell that caused him to fly onto his back. He slowly looked up at her, his mind racing for a possible explanation of why Hermione would attack him. However before he could find his answer, he saw Magnolia Reins quickly make her way to him, causing him to get on his feet and retreat a few steps.
"Ron…what's wrong?" Nancy asked as she watched him slowly back away. She slowly approached him, alarmed when he pointed his wand at her. She stopped advancing and carefully took a few steps away, her hands up in front of her. She looked over at the two large snakes and her anger rose to a whole new level. She aimed her wand towards snakes and screamed, "What did you do to him?"
Keung watched Veronica move away from him and he quickly turned to find a flamed being edge its way closer to him. He looked back at the frightened Veronica and quickly rose to his feet. He turned to face the being again, his wand trained on it.
Nancy gritted her teeth as she watched the snake glare at her with its dark eyes, its mouth gaping open, exposing its hideous fangs. She looked back at Ron, a worried look still on his face, and she took a deep breath as she took another shuddering step towards the large serpent.
Harry held his wand firmly in his hand and watched Reins and Hermione stare at each other, both of their wands readied. Harry's eyes then moved towards the fallen Voldemort, completely confused of why he simply sat on the floor motionless. He moved his eyes back to Hermione and noticed that she had a certain flare in her eyes that he had never seen before.
Harry's eyes grew wide when Reins fired a spell at Hermione. However, Hermione instantly reflected the spell back at Reins, causing the horrible witch to fall to the ground. A smile grew on Harry's face as he turned towards Hermione, but his smile fell when Voldemort gripped his wand and aimed it at the Hermione's back.
"No!" Harry cried as he aimed his wand at Voldemort, but was too late. Voldemort had released a fireball that caused Hermione to collapse to the floor. He gritted his teeth as his eyes narrowing on the Dark Lord. "Fulguritis!"
Keung quickly got back on his feet, stunned when he realized that Veronica attacked him. He turned around and found a flamed being blasting her with a spell. He took a step forward; ready to come to her aid when he noticed something in her hand that made him stop. She was holding her silver wand tightly in her right hand.
"What?" Keung said as he looked at his right hand, the same silver wand in his grasp. His eyes grew wide when he realized that something was seriously wrong with what he was seeing. However, before he could take another step, he was hit hard in the side by a spell, hurling him into the air.
"Something is really wrong," Keung muttered as he rose to his feet again. He turned around and gazed towards the center of the chamber and watched Veronica and the two flamed beings moving around each other.
He took a deep breath and noticed the mirror that hung on the wall to his right. He quickly examined it and his eyes grew wide. He didn't just see himself in the reflection, but Harry, Ron, and Nancy. He turned to face the center of the chamber again only saw Veronica and the two beings.
"It's another illusion," Keung said to himself as he turned back to the mirror and tried to pull it off the wall. The mirror was attached to the wall by a glowing green chain and no matter how hard he pulled, the mirror refused to budge. "I've got to stop them.
"Harry! Ron! Nancy!" Keung shouted but the three didn't notice.
They were completely consumed by the illusion and were ready to kill each other.
Keung gritted his teeth as he looked at the mirror again. "They can't hear me…I need to find that skull. What did that ghost say? Your demise…fool your eyes...through the mirror to seek your prize."
Keung's eyes focused on the mirror and he knew what he needed to do. He clenched his fist, drew it back, and with a swift punch, his fist broke through the mirror. His hand came in contact with a smooth object and he immediately gripped it. He retracted his hand from behind the mirror and a smile formed on his face when he saw the green skull in his hand.
"What?" Harry gasped as shook his head. His wand was originally trained on Lord Voldemort, but Ron was standing in his place. He turned to the figure that once was Reins, but it turned out to be Nancy. He lowered his wand and looked at the two. "I didn't…what?"
"What's going on?" Nancy asked as she lowered her wand and looked at the two.
"It was another illusion," Keung replied as he tossed the green skull towards the three. Ron caught it in his hands and the three looked at each other with confused expressions. "This chamber made us think that we were enemies by having us take on the shape of our worst fears. The chamber wanted us to kill each other."
"Blimey," Ron said as he looked back at the skull and then towards Harry and Nancy. "You mean the entire time, I was fighting against you two?"
"Oh, I'm sorry Ron," Harry cried apologetically as he looked at Ron. "I didn't mean to blast you with lightning. I thought you were Voldemort."
"What?" Ron replied with his eyes wide and his mouth open. "Him? I thought that you were a spider."
"You're scared of spiders?" Nancy asked as she raised an eyebrow at Ron, trying her best to hold her giggle. "Little spiders?"
"He wasn't a little one," Ron said, trying to defend himself. "He was the size of a cow. I don't care who you are, but that is really frightening."
Nancy released her giggle and he returned her amusement with an ungrateful smirk. The mirror started to shake and the wall that held it collapsed to the floor, exposing their passageway. Ron placed the skull into his pocket of his robes and the four quickly made their way out of the chamber.
Again, they found themselves in the center chamber and again a large door fell sealing the passageway they had exited. They four looked at the three large doors, each glowing the color of the skull it once held, and their eyes fell upon the last passageway.
"One more to go," Nancy said with a sigh of relief as she placed her wand into her pocket.
Harry did the same and his hand stiffened when he felt Hermione's wand. He gritted his teeth and his body started to burn with anger. He wanted to see Hermione again. He wanted to hold her and kiss her again. His mind focused on Magnolia Reins and he knew that they didn't have much time left. He looked at Keung with stern eyes and took the lead as they entered the last chamber.
The chamber, like the first, was littered with bones. However, unlike the first chamber, these bones didn't look like they belonged to humans. They walked towards the center of the room, observing several tall stone columns, standing in random locations throughout the chamber. The smell of sulfur and burnt flesh saturated the air, and they could hear something dripping along the walls.
They came to a halt just before they reached the center of the chamber and waited patiently. Within seconds, the fourth ghost appeared before them.
The ghost wore black armor and had large quantities of smoke escaped from the spot where its head should have been. The ghost bowed to them and pointed to an area behind it. The four looked and found a black skull sitting on top of a small pile of bones.
The ghost released an eerie laugh and spoke with a sinister voice, "You have just entered the Chamber of Death. This chamber will lead you to your doom unless you find the secret that it holds…
Simple as this task may seem,
Beware of the creature that breaths steam,
Watch for its fiery beam."
The ghost released another howl as it rose into the air and hovered over the black skull. It raised its arms and a heavy gust of wind suddenly rushed through the chamber causing the bones to start moving.
"Never get a break, do we?" Keung groaned as he took out his silver wand and gripped it tightly in his hand, lowering himself onto his knees. Harry, Ron, and Nancy also lowered themselves as they watched the bones leave to ground and start to take shape around the black skull.
Harry looked at the figure being formed and his mouth dropped. The bones were assembling themselves into the shape of a dragon. He looked over at Ron with a look of utter distress, his breath getting short. Ron pulled out his wand and slowly started to back away, tugging on Nancy's robes for her to do the same.
Within minutes the skeleton of a dragon was formed, a black flame burning inside its rib cage. It reared up on its hind legs and released a monstrous roar that shook the chamber. The beast slowly sank down, his front claws breaking the floor as it made contact with it. It started to growl and slowly made its way towards the four companions.
"Compello contrundo!" Harry shouted as he hurled white sparks at the gigantic dragon. The sparks hit an invisible barrier and to Harry's dismay, the spell was launched back towards him. Harry quickly moved out of the way and looked at the three uneasily.
The dragon roared and with a swift motion, it spun itself around, swinging its tail towards them. Harry's eyes grew wide and he quickly dropped to the floor, the tail missing him by a foot. Keung was ready to duck, but realized that Ron and Nancy were too stunned to move.
"Ron…Nancy!" Keung roared as he quickly grabbed them by their arms and threw them aside, flinging himself into the path the tail. He then tried to duck, but the bony tail was too close. It hit him in the stomach, causing him to be launched into a nearby column.
"Keung!" Harry cried as he watched Keung collapse to the floor.
The dragon let out another mighty roar as it turned itself towards their fallen companion. It quickly made its way over and raised his right paw, its claws ready. Keung opened his eyes and quickly rolled out of the way as the dragon's paw came crashing down onto the ground. He quickly hopped to his feet and realized that he had dropped his wand when he was hit. The dragon swung its paw again and Keung quickly jumped out of its path. Its paw drove into the base of a nearby column, causing it to collapse onto the ground with a heavy thud.
Harry quickly ran along the right side of the dragon and saw that the black skull was located on the very middle of the dragon's spine. He aimed his wand at the dragon's long neck and shouted, "Adfilgo!"
The sparks were deflected again by its invisible barrier and flew into a nearby wall. The dragon turned and looked towards Harry, and with a deep breath, it blew fire at him. Harry immediately dropped to the ground as the fire wave flew over his head. Ron and Nancy picked up rocks and started to throw them at the dragon. The rocks hit the dragon's rib cage several times, but its mind was content on Harry.
"Hey you! You poor excuse for a dragon!" Keung shouted as he got back up to his feet. He picked up a rock and threw it as hard as he could at the dragon's head. The rock flew into the left eye socket of the dragon's skull, causing the dragon to roar and shake its head vigorously.
The dragon moved its head back towards Keung and he couldn't help but give it an evil grin. The dragon turned its body towards him, flames escaping its gaping mouth.
"C'mon!" Keung barked as he reached inside is robes.
The dragon released another roar as it blew a gigantic wave of fire towards him.
Keung pulled out a black wand from his robes and shouted, "Amnis!"
The wave of brilliant fire collided with the massive water wave, causing extreme quantities of steam to be formed. The dragon released a menacing growl and refused to extinguish his attack. Keung sank down to one knee, his left hand holding his right wrist to steady his water wave.
"Incendio!" Ron and Nancy shouted as they unleashed a fury of fireballs towards the dragon's head. Its invisible barrier reflected their attack back towards them, causing the two to quickly move out of the way.
Harry took this as his opportunity and ran behind the dragon. He placed his wand in his pocket and quickly made his way up the dragon's tail, getting onto his hands and knees when he reached the base of its thick spine. The dragon noticed Harry's presence and started to shake its back violently.
"What are you doing?" Ron yelled as he looked up towards Harry.
"I'm trying to get the skull!" Harry shouted in reply as he carefully edged his way up the dragon's back, his hand only a few feet away from the black skull.
The dragon finally relinquished its fire wave and started to buck hysterically, trying to knock Harry off his back. Keung rose to his feet and quickly studied their surroundings. He noticed Nancy waving her arm at him and she quickly pointing towards the column he was standing next to. Keung examined the column and a grin formed when he realized what she wanted him to do.
"Okay!" he shouted. "Get the dragon over to the column!"
"How are we supposed to do that?" Ron bellowed as he turned and looked towards the flailing dragon, Harry hanging on for dear life.
"I don't know! Just get it over here!"
Nancy looked at Ron and the two quickly moved towards the bucking dragon. Harry's left arm tightened his grasp around the spine of the dragon and quickly flung his right hand forward, successfully gripping the black skull. He tried to pull it free, but the skull had fused itself with the spine of the dragon. He gritted teeth as he focused all his energy in prying the skull off, but failed in doing so.
Ron picked up another rock and chucked it at the dragon's head. The rock hit the dragon's snout causing the beast to shake its head and spit fire towards Ron and Nancy. The two quickly moved out of the way of the fireballs and ran as fast as they could towards Keung, the dragon close behind them with its neck outstretched and its mouth opened.
"Accio wand!" Keung shouted as he aimed his black wand towards his silver one. The silver wand left the ground and flew into his left hand. Keung quickly ignited his Flamora blade and with one swift motion, sliced the base of the column. He quickly moved into position and aimed his black wand towards the top of the column. He watched Ron and Nancy run passed him, and he then roared, "Compello contrudo!"
The white sparks struck the top of the column, causing it sway and fall. The column landed directly onto the neck of the dragon, causing its bones to shatter completely. The dragon's body flailed around for a few moments, but soon stopped. The bones that made up the skeleton of the dragon started crumble and Harry was able to finally pry the black skull of its spine.
Ron and Nancy took deep breaths as they sank to the floor, completely exhausted. Nancy leaned her body against his and Ron smiled as he relaxed against her. Keung placed his two wands into his pocket and too fell over, landing on his back and taking in quiet breaths, sweat sliding down his forehead. Harry held the skull firmly in his hand and allowed his body to relax on top of the large pile of bones that once made the dragon. His arms ached and his entire body felt weak.
After several minutes of silence, the door that sealed their exit slowly opened itself. The four slowly rose to their feet, gradually making their way out of the fourth chamber and back into the center room. The four gave each other soft smiles as they walked to the stone podium.
"We did it," Harry said as he took in another deep breath of air, not fully recovered from their last task.
Keung pulled out the red skull on placed it in one of the slots. Ron took out the green skull and placed it in a slot next the red one. Harry held the two remaining skulls in his hands and was glad to place them in the two remaining slots. The podium started to vibrate gently and the large emblem started to glow. The surface of the emblem shattered, releasing a small black flame.
"Now what?" Ron asked as they watched the black fire intently.
"Only a Flamora wielder can open the chamber," Keung replied as he rolled back his right sleeve and reached out for the fire.
Nancy placed her hand on his arm and gave him a horrified look. He gave her a soft smile and a reassured nod. She unwillingly released his arm and started to cringe as she watched Keung place is hand into the fire. Harry, too, gritted his teeth as he watched the flame consume Keung's hand.
"It's okay…it doesn't hurt at all," Keung said, causing the three to release their breaths. Keung cleared his throat and with a firm voice spoke, "Grant us safe passage to the Flame of Flamora."
The flame disappeared and a portion of the ceiling behind them started to crack. They turned and observed a large circular platform break the ceiling, slowly descending onto the floor. The four approached the platform and examined it carefully.
"I guess we're going up," Ron said as the four stepped onto the platform.
With a sudden shudder, the platform started to rise, taking them higher into the mountain. Harry wiped his face with the sleeve of his robes and allowed himself to sit on the platform to relax his legs. He reached into his pocket and pulled out Hermione's wand. He ran his fingers over the grip guard and a soft smile grew on his face. Though his smile didn't hold once he remembered the reason why he and his friends were in their current situation.
"We'll get Hermione back," Ron said with a firm voice, causing Harry to look at him.
"We will, Harry," Nancy nodded as she gently touched his arm. "We will get her back."
Harry smiled weakly as he placed Hermione's wand back in his pocket. The platform came to an abrupt halt, exposing a long corridor. Two narrow streams of fire lighted its path; one that connected the floor to the right wall and the other connected the floor to the left wall. Harry took a quick breath as he rose to his feet and led the group off the platform.
The four made their way along the corridor, their nerves gradually tensing the longer they traveled. Ron took Nancy's hand firmly in his and she gave him a weak smile as she rested her head against his shoulder. Harry and Keung observed the corridor, both trying their best to ignore the uneasy feeling growing inside them.
Harry's heart started beating at an unbelievable rate when the group stopped in front of two large doors. The four could hear commotion coming from behind them and they knew that they had reached their final destination. Harry took several deep breaths as he tried to keep his body from shaking. He looked over at Ron and Nancy, and gave them firm nod.
"This is it," Keung said with a soft voice as he looked at Harry and gave him a worried smile. "You ready?"
"I'm ready," Harry replied softly as looked over at his three companions. "Thank you all for helping me…you don't know how much this means to me…"
"Harry, you don't have to thank us," Nancy replied as she gave him a soft smile.
"We're your best friends," Ron added weakly as he placed his hand on Harry's shoulder. "We'd follow you to the ends of the earth."
Harry snickered softly as he, Ron, and Nancy pulled out their wands and prepared themselves. Keung felt his left arm tremble and he knew that the Flame of Flamora along with Magnolia Reins was waiting for them. Keung took in a deep breath as pulled out his black wand and shifted his weight to his left leg. He moved his right leg back and with on hard kick, the two large doors flew open.