The Labyrinth of Amagor

The Labyrinth of Amagor

Chapter 5: Sundered Paths

Harry knew he couldn't outrun the deadly rock hurtling toward him. Desperate for escape, he kept scanning the corridor as he ran. There were no branching corridors, no handy alcoves, just - oh, shit - a blank wall dead ahead! It was glassy smooth, not climbable, but about ten metres up there was a cave opening. So that was the test- he was supposed to get to the cave by magic!

Harry had no broom, and he couldn't levitate himself; that left one option-Apparation. Apparation was something Harry was still struggling to learn. He hadn't yet been licensed, but right now, he wasn't going to quibble over fine legal points! He could hear the boulder rumbling behind him as he concentrated on the cave mouth above him-thinking himself up to it.

Thankfully, the transition was smoother than one of Nightcrawler's teleports, though it had the same sensation of being picked up and thrown. As he arrived on the ledge, the boulder struck the wall below him with an almighty crash. Harry almost lost his balance, nearly pitching from the ledge. As he looked down, the boulder vanished. The trap must magically reset itself, he thought.

Time to assess his situation. He was unhurt, safe for the moment, but quite alone. Harry had no idea how far he had been taken from his companions-no idea how large the Labyrinth might be. He had begun to suspect that it existed in a magical space of its own that only touched the real world here and there. The ledge he stood on was not a cave mouth, but rather the opening of a short tunnel with clear light shining at the far end. On a large, flat stone near the entrance, Harry read the words Onward and Upward. Well, that was clear enough! It was only when he reached the far end of the tunnel and peered into the next chamber that he realised that nothing in the Labyrinth was as simple as it seemed.

The area was vast and square, but extended upwards and downwards further than the eye could see. The room was filled with straight stairways, spiral staircases, slopes, ramps, ladders and walkways. Harry knew he had to head upwards, but how? As he looked more closely, he realised that it wasn't just a matter of choosing the right path. The stairs moved, like the ones at Hogwarts; but more than that, the geometry of some of them was...wrong. There were slopes that should lead upwards but which, when he looked more closely, clearly headed down. Others led off at impossible angles, and some had top surfaces that managed to face downwards. Harry was reminded of a picture that hung in Xavier's office. The Muggle artist clearly enjoyed playing with perspective; he had drawn a group of robed figures endlessly pushing a large sphere up a slope whose top was somehow also its bottom.

Harry drew a deep breath. He had to move on, but one wrong turning here could, at best, send him yards in the wrong direction, and at worst, see him plummeting to his death in the unfathomable depths below. After a while, Harry realised that only a wizard used to seeing a world outside the constraints of Muggle logic, acting on intuition more than rational thought, could thread this path successfully. He grinned to himself, wondering how the ultra-logical Hermione would have coped with this. Then he sobered, aware that Hermione, Ron and his other friends would likely be facing challenges of their own-without him there to help! Harry shook his head angrily; his friends were right, he had to learn to trust in them and their abilities.

It might have been an hour, or longer, before Harry became aware of a voice. "Calling anybody. Anybody out there? Come in, please?"

The sound was coming from his jeans pocket. He pulled out the communicator, realising that he must have somehow pushed the switch while clambering up one of the ladders. He slipped it over his ear and spoke into it. "Hello? Hawk speaking. Who's there?"

"Hawk? Hawk, this is Rogue. Do you copy?"

"Rogue, where are you?"

"That's a damn fool question to ask in a place like this!"

The young X-Men had not lingered to solve the problem of the descending ceiling. Colossus had immediately changed to his armoured form and attacked the door, but even his superhuman strength had failed to shift it. Cannonball had offered to try blasting through it, but Rogue had decided the chamber they were in was too small for him to do so safely. The same caution had applied to Sunfire's plasma bolts.

At that point, Ariel had rolled her eyes and, muttering, "For cryin' out loud!" in the true Wolverine manner, had simply walked through the door. Then she had come back in and asked, "Are you guys coming, or what?" Ariel had taken Colossus' hand, he had taken Wolfsbane's, and so forth, forming a human chain which Ariel had led out of the room. They had rested a while in the brightly lit corridor beyond-phasing such a large number of people was still tiring for Ariel, though as her physical strength and Mutant power developed, she was becoming better at it.

The corridor had opened into a large, circular stone chamber with no apparent exits. As soon as they were all in, the corridor mouth had vanished. Assuming that this was a kind of puzzle, Rogue and her team had set about looking for a way out-that was when things got crazy! Rogue had felt a familiar swirl- Here we go again... - and had found herself in a dimly lit, narrow passageway. A glimmer of light showed her the exit, but as she made toward it, the floor and walls began to sprout spears, like something out of Indiana Jones!

Rogue had no idea how wizards might handle this situation. She fell back on Wolverine's training, listening for the telltale click that preceded each spear's extension, and jumping, dodging or rolling as the occasion demanded. Rogue managed to reach the exit without being skewered, and from there had attempted to call her team-mates without success. Of course, without the satellite uplink, the communicators were short range or line-of-sight only, and Rogue had no idea of how big this Labyrinth was.

Noting the plaque that said Here Begins Your Descent, she had ventured into a huge chamber that looked like an Escher drawing brought to brain-twisting life! Within moments, Rogue had realised that she must leave behind all pretence of logic, and proceed on instinct. She had threaded the maze for what must have been an hour, wishing she had read The Name of the Rose more carefully, and occasionally checking to see if anyone else was in here with her. It was still a surprise to get a response, and doubly so when it turned out to be Hawk!

The two young people finally spotted each other and, by dint of frantic hand signals and cryptic-sounding exchanges over the communicators, managed to find their way to a meeting place. Harry saw Rogue at the top of a ramp, gave her a cheery wave, and started up toward her. His feet shot out from under him and he began to slide down the slope toward her.

At the bottom of the slope, Rogue saw Hawk somehow lose his footing and begin to fall toward her. She started up the slope to help him, only to find herself tumbling down it on a direct collision course with Harry.

A gaping void suddenly opened in front of Harry; he plunged through it to land on some kind of soft, cloth-covered surface. Seconds later, Rogue shot through the same gap with a yell, her not inconsiderable weight landing full on Harry and, despite the padding beneath him, knocking the wind out of both of them.

When they could speak again, Harry looked up into Rogue's face and said dryly, "So nice of you to drop in on me."

"Wasn't exactly my idea, sugah."

At that singularly inappropriate moment, Marie suddenly became aware of the lean muscularity of the body under hers, just as Harry noticed the way her sinuous curves rested against him. Rogue was about to say something flippant, when the streak of white hair she habitually left loose suddenly brushed against Harry's cheek.

Whether that slight contact triggered Rogue's power or whether Harry had another telepathic 'flash', neither of them was ever quite certain. All they knew was that in that instant, a lifetime's understanding passed between them. Both of them had been thrust from the homes they had known into larger, stranger worlds by differences they had not realised existed in them. Those differences had put them both in mortal danger from implacable foes, and propelled them into positions of unwanted prominence. As Harry had been unable to save Cedric and Sirius, so Rogue had been unable to prevent her classmate, John Allerdyce--Pyro--from betraying the X-Men and turning to Magneto's Brotherhood, and had been able only to watch helplessly as Jean Grey sacrificed herself for them all.

Both of them felt the loneliness of leadership, the desire to protect their friends at any cost to themselves, and the desperate need to love and be loved. Marie bent her head to Harry and their lips brushed lightly together. It was not quite a kiss, but for a moment, things hung in the balance. Then Rogue saw Ginny's face in her mind, and Harry remembered Bobby. Harry drew in a deep breath, as Rogue sighed heavily and rolled off him.

They got to their feet, as best they could. The floor of the small, dark room was covered with a kind of mattress, which had cushioned their fall. In one corner, a small door stood slightly ajar. Harry pointed it out to Rogue and began to move toward it. He turned to face her when she caught his arm.

"It would've been awfully nice, Harry," Rogue said softly.

He nodded. "And it would have been terribly wrong," Harry reminded Rogue.

Then, because there would always be a special bond between them now, he took her gloved hand in his, and they moved together to the door.

***

The first thing Ron heard as he came to his senses was Hermione screaming in terror. He spun toward the sound and saw the girl he loved crouched in a corner and menaced by a muscular, coal-black figure. Hermione's wand was a few feet away, out of her reach.

Ron waded in at once. He knew magic wouldn't help, because if it could, Hermione already would have reduced her assailant to a grease-spot. Ron planted one large hand on the creature's shoulder, spun it around and slammed the heel of his other hand into its jaw. The thing's head snapped back and it staggered, then roared and lunged at him. Ron sideslipped a swipe from a clawed hand, and decided that the gloves were off! As the thing regained its balance, Ron launched a kite-strike to the liver. His adversary dropped like a stone. Ron instantly turned to Hermione.

She was on her feet and flew into his arms. "Oh, Ron, thank God! I love you!"

She kissed him passionately, and it was then that Ron realised something was wrong. He knew Hermione's kisses, from affectionate little pecks to deep, sensual embraces. This girl was not Hermione! Ron tried to pull back, but found himself held in a grip even he couldn't break.

The figure that held him flowed and changed. Ron was in the embrace of a stunningly beautiful woman, at least seven feet tall, with gleaming, black hair, ivory-white skin and glowing, golden eyes. She smiled, showing teeth that were neat and pointed, like a cat's.

"I think what we will do first," she said in a husky voice, "is to render this ineffective!"

She placed a hand over the pendant Ron wore around his neck. It was the one he had bought in America, one of a pair Hermione had enchanted. Each one signalled to the other if the wearer lost consciousness, and each was a Portkey attuned to the other. Now Ron felt the pendant go cold for a second.

The woman smiled, again. "Do not worry. Once you leave the Labyrinth-if you leave it-the thing will work as before."

She gave Ron a considering look. "Young Gryffindor, no wizard has ever passed the Test of Combat so quickly. The warrior-mage Godric would be proud! Most of your kind quail from a physical fight, but you are strong and skilled. You also pass the first stage of the Test of Honour-you are not deceived by a mere image of your true love. Alas, the next part of the test is not so easily passed. We shall see."

"Who...what are you?" asked Ron hoarsely.

"I am Amagor. Sleep now, warrior."

She pressed her lips to his. Ron felt himself sink into a deep, black well of sleep.

***

Colossus had been through a Portkey, so he knew straight away what had happened. He had stayed in his armoured form as a precaution, so was pretty sure that anything he met couldn't damage him-at least not immediately!

When he did not come under instant attack, Peter took stock of his surroundings. He found himself in a large, circular room, there was a round pool in the middle of the floor, and the walls were decorated with mosaics.

Peter would be the first to admit that he was not the sharpest knife in the drawer, but he applied himself to studying the pictures on the walls, looking for a clue as to what this room had in store. The pictures showed an underwater world, replete with fish, dolphins, whales and so forth. Mixed in with them were mythological creatures such as mermaids and slinkily attractive young women he assumed were some kind of water nymph-Naiads, did they call them? Colossus shrugged; he'd spent a term in a school full of witches, wizards and ghosts-better not to think in terms of mythology any more.

Anyway, the pictures seemed to hint that any exit to the room lay through the pool in the centre. He remembered someone talking about kinds of magic used to travel underwater, so he assumed that this room was for testing young wizards' skills in that area. He went to the pool and looked down into it. Beyond his own wavering reflection, he saw an odd symbol inlaid into the bottom of the pool and--there! A tunnel-mouth in one side.

Then the symbol began to whirl, and the water with it. Colossus stepped back from the edge, just as the pool erupted into a waterspout that reached almost to the high ceiling! As he watched, shapes began to spin out of the spout, vaguely humanoid shapes as big as Colossus himself, that made for him with obvious hostility.

The first one hurled itself at him, apparently trying to absorb him or something. He slapped at it with a steel hand, and it flew apart in a shower of spray. But as the others pressed their attack, Colossus saw the creature re-form itself. Then he was covered in a deluge of watery forms.

It quickly became clear to Colossus that he was in an impasse. Individually, the water creatures were no match for him, even collectively they could not harm him. On the other hand, no matter how many of them he shattered, they always re-formed, and between them and the waterspout, he could not reach the pool that was his only exit. The pressure of water was too much even for his super-strength to overcome. At least, he thought with grim humour, I won't rust!

How long this went on, he had no way of knowing, then he caught a movement off to one side. He forced himself round to see a hidden panel opening in the wall, and a small, dark figure against a blue light. Some of the water-creatures left him to attack the figure. Colossus surged forward to help, but before he could get there, he heard a voice saying, "Aqua tranquilis!"

Instantly, the creatures dissolved into streams of water that ran down into the pool, while the waterspout slowed and sank until the pool was as calm as before. The small figure stepped forward as the panel in the wall slid silently shut, saying, "Peter? Is that really you?"

Peter transformed back into his human form and squinted at his rescuer. It was without doubt one of the Patil twins, but which one? This girl had her hair tied back in a ponytail, while Parvati always wore hers loose, so it had to be "Padma?"

"Oh, it is you! Peter, I'm so glad to see you."

"Not as glad as I am to see you!"

He stepped forward and, ignoring her outstretched hand, pulled her into a quick hug, which she returned hesitantly. Then, by common consent, they sat down against the wall to talk.

"Padma, do you have the slightest idea of what's going on here?" asked Peter. "I mean, Wolverine said that Professor Dumbledore told them that this place was designed like a kind of...Wizard Danger Room, I suppose. But he said things had gotten out of hand, and the place was closed down hundreds of years ago."

"Well, there you go, Peter," said Padma with a little laugh. "You know as much as I do. More, because I'm not entirely sure what a 'Danger Room' is.

"I can hazard a guess that the part of the Labyrinth we're in now has to do with elemental magic. The room I was transported to was full of Sylphs-wind spirits-and those things you were fighting were Water Sprites. We can't go back the way I came; that door will have sealed itself behind me."

Peter grinned. "Give me room to swing, and it won't be sealed for long!"

"I'll bet!" Padma grinned back. "But there's no point. I was teleported straight into there, and I don't think there's any other way in or out. In the Labyrinth, the only way out is through."

"Well, there's a tunnel in the bottom of that pool, so I reckon we're supposed to go that way."

"OK! If I'm right, the next two rooms should be Earth and Fire, but in what order I don't know. I'll need to cast a Bubble-Head charm for each of us."

Peter chuckled, rose and transformed to his Colossus form. "No need for me, small one. In this form, I don't need to breathe. Cast your charm, and let's go find the others."

***

Parvati had arrived in a square chamber of white marble, with no apparent entrances or exits. For a while, she had wandered around, tapping on walls and trying various opening or revealing charms to no avail. Just as she was about to give up in disgust, she turned around to find that a door had somehow appeared in the wall behind her!

Somebody thought Parvati is having a laugh. She cautiously tried the door; it swung open at her touch, revealing a softly lit corridor hung with tapestries. There was a faint, sweet perfume in the air and the sound of gentle music from some stringed instrument. Parvati ventured out along the corridor. As she expected, the door closed behind her and vanished. Forward it was, then.

She examined the tapestries as she walked. They were exquisite pieces, and all carried a common theme: handsome young men and lovely young women were depicted in a variety of romantic situations. Handkerchiefs were being dropped and flowers plucked. There were moonlit assignations and much serenading under windows. As Parvati proceeded, the encounters shown in the tapestries became more intimate, and the clothing slightly more clinging and revealing. There was nothing too obvious, but quite enough to give rise to some really rather pleasant reveries in the mind of a healthy teenager. And if some of those reveries strongly featured a certain tall, redheaded young man, where was the harm in that?

Parvati turned a corner to find the corridor ended in another door. On the panels of the door was more of the golden writing:

Within, the victorious warrior lies in sleep. He waits to be awakened by a fair maiden's kiss. Wait not too long, for as the petals fall, so ebbs his life. Yet if troth be broken, neither shall leave. Have you the strength?

"Bloody Hell," muttered Parvati. "What am I going to find in here?"

She opened the door, and stepped into...she wasn't sure what to call it, really. There were more tapestries, but these were more overtly erotic than the others, while stopping just short of outright pornography. There were dozens of candles, shedding a soft yellow light. But all this was just dressing around the central focus of the room-a massive four-poster bed, on which lay the quietly sleeping form of Ron Weasley! Set into the heavy headboard above him was a crystal globe, in which floated a blood-red rose. As Parvati watched, a single petal fell from the bloom.

"As the petals fall, so ebbs his life," she murmured to herself. She had to find Hermione, quick!

Parvati turned to find that the door was flanked by two life-size, warrior statues, each carrying a long spear. As she stepped toward the door, the statues moved, crossing their spears over the portal. One of them spoke in a clear, ringing voice. "Once entered, the test must be attempted."

Oh, no! If it had been anybody else, Parvati thought, it would have been easy. Well, maybe not Harry, but everybody fancied Harry (except Hermione, perhaps). Even that Slytherin dyke Bulstrode had been caught casting slyly appreciative glances at Harry's bum when he walked past!

The trouble was, Parvati liked Ron a little too much.

She went back to the bed, seeing that more petals had fallen from the rose. She couldn't afford to dither for long! Well, at least she still qualified as a maiden; given the frequency with which Ron and Hermione slipped up to the Boy's Dormitory when they thought no one would notice, Parvati doubted that Hermione could meet that requirement any more! Parvati had dated from time to time, but nothing had as yet gone that far.

The bed was big, and Ron lay in the middle of it. Parvati couldn't lean over, she would have to climb onto the bed and lie beside Ron. At least he was fully clothed, which she took to mean that she could keep her own clothes on. But she'd bet her last Knut that a kiss on the forehead or a peck on the cheek wouldn't do the job!

Oh bloody, bloody Hell! Another petal fell. Parvati suddenly had a vision of trying to explain why she'd left Ron to die to a weeping, heartbroken Hermione. It was the thought of Hermione's heartbreak that decided Parvati. She clambered up onto the bed and leaned over Ron.

"Here we go," she breathed, then bent down and kissed him softly but rather thoroughly.

Ron came up out of the blackness with the sensation of yet another set of lips on his-this was getting beyond a joke! This kiss was also not Hermione's, though it was almost as sweet. He opened his eyes to find himself veiled by a long fall of dark hair. He smelled patchouli-only one person he knew wore patchouli. He was about to ease Parvati away, when she retreated of her own accord and looked down at him.

"Ron? Are you all right?"

"Er, yes, I think so."

She nodded, then suddenly scrambled farther away to sit on the edge of the bed with her back to Ron. As he stretched, he studied her. She was tense, almost rigid- God knows how she was expecting him to react. Awkwardly, he moved to sit beside her.

"I think you just saved my life, Parvati. I know it's inadequate, but thanks!"

"You're welcome," she muttered, not looking at him.

Ron sighed. "You're not going to make this easy for either of us, are you? Look, if it helps, I did notice how you've been around me lately. Why?"

Parvati stared at her hands as they lay in her lap. "It was the beginning of this last year. You helped me off the train when I got in a tangle with some of my stuff. You were teasing me about it, but you were so kind I suddenly saw you differently. But it was no good, of course."

Ron chose his words carefully. "Parvati, Hermione and I didn't start going out until Hallowe'en. You could have said something, you know!"

"We didn't start going out until Hallowe'en,"" she mimicked sourly. "Hippogriff shit, Ron! You might as well have arrived at our Sorting Ceremony six years ago with Property of Hermione Granger stamped on your forehead.

"Everyone knew, except you, Hermione and Harry. Not that Harry ever notices anything like that. How did that American girl get him? Rip her clothes off and jump on him?"

Ron laughed in spite of himself, and now Parvati did look at him, smiling ruefully though her eyes were full of hurt. She shook her head and went on. "I had to kiss you just now to save your life, but I swear, Ron, I did it for you and Hermione, not for me!

"But when I felt you start to wake up, I didn't want to stop! I wanted you to know it was me, and what I was doing. I wanted you to enjoy it, and maybe...maybe you'd kiss me back. And now I feel really awful!"

She began to cry. Ron hesitated for a moment, but he couldn't really bear to see anyone cry-especially a friend-without doing something; he was his mother's son, after all. He put his arm around Parvati's shoulders and drew her against him. She tried to pull away, but he was adamant, so she rested her head on his shoulder until she'd finished crying. When she had quietened, he spoke gently to her.

"Parvati, you did what you did for all the right reasons. Your feelings...oh, Merlin, I'm no good at this! Look, back there, I actually met the Amagor who runs this place, and she's a real cow! I'd bet you any amount that she knew how you felt and set this up for that exact reason. We've been manipulated. She was probably hoping we'd get carried away and end up having it off on this bed!

"We've won. We beat her! I tell a lie, you beat her because you did stop. So, no more tears, Parvati. Be proud of yourself. And, by the way, it was nice, just not the real thing for me."

Parvati slipped away a little-Ron let her now-and looked up at him. "Are you going to tell Hermione?"

He shook his head. "No, we are, and only as much as she needs to know, OK?

"If the X-Men really are here, it's going to be bad enough with Ginny and Kitty sharpening their claws on each other. I don't want to have to referee between you and Hermione."

Parvati swallowed hard, then nodded. "OK, Ron."

"Right! Now, let's get the flock out of here, and the sheep as well! These tapestries are bad for my blood pressure!"

They got up and went to the door. The statues had resumed their former positions, and the door was no longer blocked. As they approached, one of the statues announced in a ringing voice: "Troth was not broken! The Test of Honour has been passed! Go in peace."

They went, more or less at peace with each other.

***

Ginny was feeling a bit of an idiot. She'd arrived in a cave festooned with cobwebs, and promptly been attacked by a dozen or so three-foot spiders. Now, this was something she'd done before, and she dealt with the creatures in short order. Well, she thought, if this is the best the Labyrinth can manage, I'm in for an easy day.

The shadow that suddenly loomed behind her, however, was twice as big as the others. Before she could turn, Ginny felt a sharp sting at the back of her neck. She muttered something very unladylike, and passed out cold.

Ginny woke up with a thumping headache to find herself hanging about twenty feet above the cavern floor, wrapped from neck to heel in spider silk. Oh, bloody marvellous! Now, I'm on the menu! There wasn't a lot she could do. She no longer had her wand and, anyway, she couldn't move. She'd just have to wait for an opportunity to present itself. Sadly, patience was not among Ginny Weasley's virtues.

How long she hung there, Ginny had no idea. It was the smallest of sounds that caught her attention-the scrape of a boot heel on the stone floor of the cavern. Ginny looked down to see a slim figure in black leather looking up. The girl was about the same size as Ginny and had a mane of thick auburn hair. Oh, Merlin! thought Ginny, of all the X-Men to find me, it had to be THIS one!

Ariel looked up at the mummy-like figure suspended in midair above her. The red hair had let her hope it was Wolfsbane for a moment, but Rahne wore her hair short, and this girl's was shoulder length. It had to be a witch-the wand Ariel had found and retrieved among the remains of several giant spiders was proof enough of that. It was Ginny Weasley, of course, and didn't it just have to be! Oh, well, they'd have to face each other sometime.

Ginny watched, open-mouthed, as Ariel began to walk up toward her. Kitty stepped on the air as if it were a staircase. When she encountered a strand of web, she simply walked through it. Finally, they were face to face.

"Careful! There's the devil of a big spider in here, somewhere!" Ginny remarked in a low voice.

Kitty glanced around at the web-festooned cave. "No shit, Sherlock!"

"So that's where Harry got that phrase from!"

"Guess so. This yours?" Ariel held up Ginny's wand.

"You found it? Thanks!"

"No problem. You're Ginny, right?"

"Yes, and you're Kitty-Ariel."

"That's me. If I get you out and give you your wand back, do you promise not to turn me into anything gross?"

"OK, at least until I've had a word with Peter. If you're not looking after him properly, the deal's off!"

"Yeah, well, if you're not treating Harry right, you'll be in trouble, too. So now that's out of the way, hold still."

Ariel put her hand on the side of Ginny's head and concentrated for a moment. "OK, step toward me."

Ginny did so, and found that she could not only walk through the web, but was standing on thin air as naturally as on a floor. It was rather unnerving.

Ariel was speaking again. "Reach out and take my other hand. OK, now we go together. Walk like you're going downstairs. If you let go of my hand, you're gonna fall."

The two girls made it safely to the cave floor, where Ariel let go of Ginny and passed her the wand. They made their way toward the exit, only to hear a sudden scrabbling sound. Ariel and Ginny spun round to see a six-foot spider charging on them. This time, Ginny didn't mess about; the spider sank into the floor as if it were quicksand.

"That's that, then!" she said triumphantly. "Now, all we have to do is get through the rest of this place without either getting killed or murdering each other."

Ariel grimaced. "Ginny, we don't need to fight. Fair exchange is no robbery, you know."

"I know. I've got Harry; you've got Peter. We shouldn't complain. But Harry's still fond of you, you know!"

"Harry will always be special to me, Ginny. You of all people should know why. Anyway, Peter still cares for you, as well."

Ginny gazed appraisingly at Kitty. "You're right. I just don't like sharing my man."

Kitty laughed. "You'll always have to share Harry, Ginny. Bear in mind, Hermione got a piece of him before either of us did, and she's always gonna have it."

Ginny shook her head. "Hermione doesn't count. They were never anything but friends."

Eying each other warily, the two went on their way. After a bit, they found their bickering turned amiable, at least for now.

***

Luna decided she really hated Golems! The huge chamber she had been teleported into was crawling with the things. Luna had never really cared for the idea of imparting magical pseudo-life to inanimate figures. They were creepy because they were so emotionless.

Up to now, however, she had had no real difficulty with them. The wooden ones burned quite merrily, and the articulated and reanimated skeletons could be transfigured in any one of a dozen ways to render them harmless. Even the traditional clay ones were no trouble; the right spell slowed them down long enough for her to pluck the little parchment from their mouths and de-animate them.

The only real problem so far was that the things always managed to be between her and the only door. She had just removed the scroll from the mouth of the last one when there was a sound like the ringing of a huge bell. A figure appeared in front of her. At least seven feet tall, it was a breathtakingly handsome man with raven-dark hair, white skin and golden eyes. He considered her for a moment, then spoke in a deep, rich voice.

"You are most skilled, maiden of Ravenclaw. The faint-hearted mages were wrong, as I knew they were. Did they think that I, the djinn Amagor, would content myself with being bested more easily with each passing year?

"No, a test must be a true test. The strong, the skilled, the brave and the pure of heart alone shall leave my domain. They were foolish to snatch away the weak from their fate. I have seen to it that this will happen no more!

"But, for you, maiden of Ravenclaw, I have a special honour. Since you deal so easily with my lesser toys, you shall face a more potent creation. Behold!"

Amagor vanished, to be replaced by a different figure. It appeared to be a metal statue of a man, roughly life sized. Another Golem? An iron one this time. Well, it had been a long time since witches and wizards needed to fear iron! Luna raised her wand-and the thing's eyes opened.

They were red, without iris or pupil, and they glowed. A wave of intense heat struck Luna as the thing stepped forward. Then its mouth opened and a ball of fire shot out at her. She only just managed to get up a shield in time.

Within moments, Luna realised she was in desperate danger. The heat within the iron Golem seemed to be mounting rapidly. Its body began to glow, first blue, then red, then orange. Soon, she sensed, it would be white-hot. She needed to back away further and further to prevent the mere proximity of the thing from scorching her. All the while, it continued to spit a rapid series of fireballs that grew in power and virulence as the heat within the creature built.

Luna had no time to cast a counter-spell; it was all she could do to maintain the shield. She tried darting away to get a little distance and to buy time, but the Golem moved as fast as she did, relentlessly manoeuvring her into a corner. Racking her brains to come up with a plan, Luna felt her clothes beginning to singe as the thing bore down on her. To drop her shield long enough to cast another spell would invite incineration, but if she could sink the thing into the floor.... Luna prepared for a last frantic effort, then felt a sudden change.

The air around her became blessedly cool for a moment, then bitterly cold. The Golem was suddenly encased in a thick shell of ice! The ice lasted only an instant, before breaking, melting, and then evaporating into steam. The Golem advanced on Luna again, but the damage was done. The near white-hot metal of its skin had been cooled within seconds to sub-zero temperatures; as a result, it had become brittle. The simple act of moving was enough to shatter it, and Amagor's prized creation simply fell apart while Luna watched. The molten core flowed out, only to hiss and billow with steam as it, too, cooled with unnatural rapidity.

There was only one person who could accomplish such a feat. Luna peered through the clouds of steam to see a wiry, sandy-haired young man coming toward her.

"Hello, Bob. Nice of you to stop by," she said as calmly as she could.

He grinned back at her. "Hi, Luna. Long time no see!"

"Far too long," she agreed as he took her proffered hand in both of his and squeezed it warmly. "Are Marie and Peter here?" Luna asked.

"We arrived together, but we got separated," Bobby confessed.

Luna nodded. "We did, too. I think Amagor-the djinn who controls this place-wants to test us individually, preferably to destruction."

"No kidding! You mean that wasn't the barbeque chef?"

Luna laughed. "Not even the toaster." Then she sobered. "I think he's picking on our individual fears, or something like that. I never liked the idea of Golems. I wonder if he was testing my ability to overcome a phobia?"

Iceman shrugged, pulling a silver flask out of a uniform pocket. It was the magical one his wizard friends had given him as a parting gift in the spring. He unscrewed the cap at the end that gave an unlimited supply of fresh, sweet water, and passed it to Luna, saying, "Here, you must be thirsty. Take a couple swigs of this. You look about medium rare to me."

"Such a flatterer," Luna retorted. "Anyway, what happened to you, Bob?"

"A whole lot of nothing. I just found myself in a gloomy corridor. I kept on walking, then a panel opened, and I was in this room watching you about to become fricassee. And you'd better call me Iceman while I'm in uniform-Rogue's quite the stickler for that!"

"Hmm," Luna considered. "It's just possible you lot have caught Amagor on the hop. He'll no more have heard of Mutants than most wizards have. He won't know what you can do, and the fact that you all have different powers will confuse him even more. That might work to our advantage."

"Or make him more dangerous...."

"There's that, of course," she conceded. "Anyway, the exit from this room is over there. We'd better go and see what's next. Oh, and Bob--Iceman, sorry-I'm really glad you're here."

"Feeling's mutual, Luna."

***

Hermione found herself at the bottom of a slope. At the top of the hill, she could see an arched doorway. Two things were coming through it: a blazing red light and the sounds of conflict. Somebody's in the thick of things! she thought. Hermione dashed up the slope, wand ready.

She emerged into what seemed to be open air, except that the sky above her was purple, and in it burned a huge, red sun. The air was hot and dry, but not uncomfortably so. Hermione realised she was in a large arena, like the Coliseum in Rome where the gladiators used to fight. From the sounds she heard, she guessed there was a battle-royal going on in there, now.

The combatants seemed to be of two types, both roughly man-shaped, but with brutal, ape-like faces. One type was stocky and grey-skinned, the other slender and dark green, but they weren't fighting each other. Instead, they seemed to be concentrating on another opponent Hermione couldn't see for the press of bodies.

A moment later, there was a kind of eruption in the creatures' ranks. Several of them either fell or flew aside as if struck by a battering ram. Hermione started as she recognised the figure that surged through the gap. It had the shape of a young, slender man, but it was a featureless, black silhouette with strength far beyond that of any normal human. Hermione allowed herself a grim smile; these creatures had made a serious mistake in attacking Sunspot!

Still, she'd better get stuck in while she still had surprise on her side. She levelled her wand, invoking "Stupefy!" A green-skinned creature crumpled to the ground. Its grey companion turned on her with a snarl. Hermione repeated the Stun spell, but her opponent simply kept on coming. She tried again. This time, the creature stopped within a foot of her, then threw back its head and began to cackle with bestial laughter--laughter that died off in a choking gurgle as Hermione's rigid fingers slammed into its throat. She had not forgotten what Logan had been at such pains to teach her.

Then Sunspot was at her side. He wasted no time in greetings, saying tersely, "The greys stay down when I hit them; the greens just get back up again."

Hermione analysed the situation. The greys were immune to magic, but not physical force; the opposite must be the case for the greens. "You take the greys. I'll handle the greens. Can you watch my back?"

"Charm, I'd pay money to watch your back!"

Fighting and blushing at the same time was a unique experience for Hermione.

The next half-hour or so was hectic, to say the least. By judicious use of fireballs and other wide-effect spells, Hermione was able to substantially reduce the number of greens. Sunspot had made a dent in the greys by the simple expedient of picking up his immediate opponent and throwing it into a knot of others. Doing that enough times put quite a number out of action.

There were still times when Hermione had to confront a grey or Roberto was forced to deal with a green. Fortunately, though the greens could not be damaged by physical force, they could be sent several metres away by one of Sunspot's punches, giving Charm time to deal with them. As for Hermione dealing with greys, thank Medea that Ron had insisted they continue to hone their bodies and the fighting skills they'd learned at Xavier's! Her man had earned himself a super-sized snog when she saw him again, Hermione decided.

At long last, Hermione Petrified the last green, just as Sunspot downed the final grey. They stood there for a moment, concentrating on breathing, as the inert bodies of their erstwhile opponents vanished with a shimmer.

Sunspot relaxed, and the shadow that covered him disappeared, revealing the handsome Latin features of Roberto DaCosta. Hermione stuck her wand into the back pocket of her jeans, then held out both hands to him. "Roberto, I'm so pleased to see you!"

He took her hands in his and favoured her with a wide grin. "And, as always, I am enchanted by you, Hermione."

She blushed and giggled when he kissed her hands, then pulled him close and hugged him. "You don't change, do you? You're still the most awful flirt!"

He stepped back and considered her, his head tilted to one side. "You've changed, though, Hermione. You're not wearing makeup--"

"Oh, silly me," she interrupted, cocking an eyebrow. "I go dashing off to rescue some friends, and of course I go and forget my makeup!"

Roberto laughed. "OK, so you haven't changed that much, sweetie. But still, as I was gonna say, it's in your eyes. That prim little English miss I used to know has gone and turned into a woman. So just what have you and the big guy been up to?"

Hermione blushed again-Roberto loved making her blush. "Roberto!" she cried, scandalised.

"Look, I've got a lot of respect for Ron, you know that. I can tell just by looking at you he's treating you right, and that's what counts."

She shook her head. "You're terrible. I don't know how Dani puts up with you."

"By being just as bad herself, of course!"

Hermione changed the subject, as the two of them made for the archway that was the only way out. "Doesn't a red sun stop you using your power, Roberto?"

"That's Superman, Hermione. Don't start confusing comic books with real life."

Their laughter drifted behind them as they carried on.