Harry Potter and the Headmaster's Pensieve

Chapter 10 - Challenge

The next day dawned frigid and overcast - quite typical for late November. Harry hadn't slept, as his thoughts had been on both the cup and the opera glasses Luna had shown him. His friends had nodded off in different areas of the living room, Neville and Luna having sent sleepy messages by floo to their families about their whereabouts. The room was deadly silent, as the only disturbance had been Hedwig's arrival when she returned from her hunt at 5 in the morning. Two hours had passed since, and Harry hadn't gotten a wink of sleep.

They had pored over mountains of books, absorbing every type of defensive curse and spellbreaking hexes they could find. One by one they had dropped off to sleep, Hermione hanging on the longest as she flipped through the pages of her advanced Charms book. Harry had pulled out the pensieve and spent most of the evening examining his journey into the cave with Dumbledore, hoping to learn anything from the former Headmaster's actions, hoping to be able to follow his example once he was again in the position to be hunting horcruxes. The memories had been painful and not entirely helpful, but Harry watched Dumbledore's hand motions and posture, knowing that at least he could copy his movements and hope for the same results.

Luna woke first, stretching languidly and smoothing her tousled blond hair. She cast Harry a sleepy smile, then made her way into the kitchen. Harry followed her.

"Are we g-g-going to look for a horcurx today?" she asked, stifling a yawn. Harry nodded. After her revelation about the opera glasses the group had briefed her on the cup and its whereabouts. She seemed eager to help, and had started naming off a whole list of rare (and most likely non-existent) creatures that could sniff out dark magic and aid them on their hunt. Hermione had predictably rolled her eyes, but refrained from saying anything derogatory. Neville had eagerly pressed a book into her hands after seeing his friends' reaction to her, and they had all settled in to read.

Harry made his way to the stove and began heating up a kettle of water, then brought two cups of breakfast tea to the table. They sat in silence for a moment, both savoring the warm flavor as they drank.

"We can do this, Harry," Luna said quietly, noticing the concern etched onto Harry's face. He sent her a weak smile.

"I hope so," he murmured into his cup.

"We can. You don't give yourself enough credit," Luna said earnestly, placing her cup on the table. "You've learned from the best...you learned from Dumbledore." He kept his eyes firmly on his cup, but a small smile pulled at the corner of his lips. Somehow, the knowledge that his friends truly believed in him gave him some confidence, even if he couldn't make himself believe what she said. He knew he would do his best, but the thought of what he had to do was quite overwhelming.

Neville, Hermione and Ron entered a few moments later, roused by the scent of tea and the bit of chatter coming from the kitchen. Hermione began to cook some breakfast, and Ron nearly tripped over himself to help her.

"We'll want to pack a lunch, too...I'm not sure how long this will take," Harry said nonchalantly, and everyone stared at him.

"So, we're going today, then?" Ron asked hesitantly. His face had paled, making his freckles even clearer than usual.

"Yes, well, I figured we shouldn't wait. We need to get this done before Voldemort realizes what we're doing. We know where it is, at least, so we'd better get cracking while he still doesn't know what we're up to," Harry replied. Ron swallowed, then nodded.

Breakfast was a tense affair. Hermione was reading as she ate, muttering spells under her breath as she attempted to commit them all to memory. Ron seemed to be in a daze, his eyes fixed on Hermione's rapidly moving lips. Neville's face was set into an intense, stony expression as he studied his fingernails. Luna seemed quite nonplussed as she scraped her spoon along the bottom of her bowl, creating zigzagging designs in the leftovers of her porridge. Harry had barely touched his porridge, and the once steaming bowl was now not much more than a tepid lump of white mush. He forced himself to eat, then stood. He went into the sitting area and dug around in his trunk, pulling out the basket of presents he had received from Fred and George on his birthday. The insto-revealo potion wouldn't be much use, as the Death Eaters didn't seem to hide from him. Most of the joke presents wouldn't be terribly useful either, but Harry grabbed the shield hat and the bottle of curse reflecting paste and tucked them into his pockets. His hand brushed against his invisibility cloak, the silvery fabric sliding between his fingers as he sorted through the trunk's contents. The cloak had served him well, but there was no way he could hide everyone beneath it. Still, it could be useful. He folded it and tucked that under his arm, too.

When he stood, he found that his friends had come into the living room and were staring at him expectantly. Swallowing, he looked at each of them in turn.

"Now, I don't know exactly what's going to happen here. Believe me, Voldemort will not have made this easy. What Dumbledore told me last time was that he wants to weaken whoever's trying to get the horcrux, not kill - at least, not right away. It's going to be dangerous, and Voldemort delights in making people suffer. We need to be careful. Don't do anything without telling the whole group your intent, and don't go anywhere off on your own. I'm glad you're all wearing Muggle clothes, because we'll need to pass for Muggles once we get there. I'm hoping someone will be able to tell us where the Riddles' house is, and finding it won't be a problem. Now, everyone knows where to go, right? Neville, can you help Luna?"

Everyone nodded. They seemed both heartened and frightened by Harry's speech. Harry sent them all a tight-lipped grin and disappeared with a loud crack.

The Gaunt house was, if possible, even more disgusting than it had seemed in the memories. The wood was black and rotten, and the windows were cracked and filthy from years of neglect. Inches of dust covered every surface, and clear animal tracks wandered through the house, apparently hoping to find a safe place to live. Metal pots still hung on a makeshift rack over a dingy, moldy sink, and a black potbellied stove had leaves and branches sticking out of it, as if it had become a prime nesting place for a bird years ago. Everything was deathly silent and still, making Harry quite uneasy.

With a loud crack, Hermione appeared, followed shortly by Ron, Neville and Luna. The rest seemed equally disgusted by the house, so once everyone had arrived they hurried for the front door. It was barely hanging on with a set of rusty hinges, and it creaked loudly as the group pushed it open. Pale sunlight filtered weakly through the dense trees, and the trodden path Merope had watched Tom pass on was easily visible. Harry took a few steps into the road, then looked to his left and right.

"When Merope saw Tom, he came from that way," he said, pointing right. "I'd guess that he was heading home, so we should probably go the other way." He started walking left, and his friends hurried to follow him. They walked for nearly twenty minutes in silence, no end to the woods in sight. Ron spoke up.

"Er, maybe a few of us should go back the other way..." he said questioningly. Harrry paused.

"Let's see what's just past that bend there, and if it's just more woods, we can go look back that way," Harry replied tentatively. They continued forward, following the path as it curved sharply to the left. Surprisingly, they found themselves before an expansive lawn, the grass yellowed and patchy. It led to a house that had once been quite impressive, but years of neglect had left it in disrepair. While the rest of the group seemed awed by simply the house, Harry was staring at the small, distant graveyard to the west of the property. It appeared to be nothing more than a simple family plot, with no more than a few generations of ancestors buried there. In the weak sunlight of the overcast day, it didn't appear too terribly threatening. But to Harry, the very sight of the all too familiar graves sent shivers down his spine.

Two and a half years had passed since he had last stood in the graveyard, but the memories were still as fresh as ever. While he had carried the body back to Hogwarts himself, Harry could still see Cedric lying spread-eagled among the gravestones. The large, black cauldron was gone, but Harry could still recall the hot, putrid stench that emanated from its boiling depths. Voldemort's pale white hands, snakelike eyes and nose, his high, cold voice...they were all there, waiting anxiously for Harry's return.

"Harry, what is it?" Hermione asked, noticing his stark white face. Harry swallowed and shook his head.

"This...this is it. I've been here before. It makes sense now...I should have figured...should have realized...we'd be here," Harry said distractedly. He stared for a moment more, then shook his head. Rubbing his eyes, he turned to his friends.

"This is where Cedric was killed. Where Voldemort came back. It makes sense that he'd hide a horcrux here...one of his first murders was to kill his grandparents and father. It seems as though he wasn't very creative in his hiding places - he's picking places with sentimental value to him, even if his version of sentimentality is a bit twisted. His mother's home, his favorite escape as a child, now his father's home...it makes sense," Harry told them. Hermione's mouth formed a small "oh," while the rest just stared at Harry, shocked. He charged on ahead, fueled by the desire to destroy Voldemort at any price. The group scurried to catch up with him.

The area was completely devoid of people. Had Harry known about Little Hangleton, he would have known that the people were still buzzing about the death of Frank Bryce, his body just as pristine and his face just as full of fear as the Riddles had been so many years ago. Now, of course, no one thought that he had killed the Riddles at all, and many felt sorry that they had even suspected the poor old man in the first place. Rumors were that the house was haunted by a terribly evil spirit, and even the children that used to make mischief in the house were now far too scared to go anywhere near it. A few ghost hunters had even explored the house, but found that their electronic devices seemed to go awry whenever they entered. This only encouraged the rumors of an evil spirit, and the inhabitant of the house (at the times when there even was someone or something living there) never saw fit to dispel them.

Harry didn't realize that he was actually at the front door of the house until his hand was firmly wrapped around the bronze door handle. He tugged, hard, but the door did not budge. Glancing hastily over his shoulder for any signs of Muggles, he lifted his wand and performed a silent Alohomora spell on the door. With another tug, the door creaked noisily on its stiff hinges and reluctantly opened.

The house was a large and deathly silent building, and clearly the owners had been wealthy. Expensive wood lined every floor, covered with luxurious Persian rugs in the sitting rooms. An intricate staircase stood right in front of the front doorway, leading up into the dark spaces of the second story. To the left was a dainty parlor that appeared to be connected to a spacious dining area, further back into the house. To the right was a small sitting room holding an ancient, cherry-colored grand piano and three overstuffed high backed chairs. As with nearly every abandoned house Harry had visited, a thick layer of dust covered every horizontal surface. Here, though, there were tracks that could have been created by a rat, as well as footprints just slightly smaller and wider than Harry's own foot. They scurried around the floor in no particular pattern, but they all seemed to lead either to the kitchen or the stairs. Harry took a step towards the stairs, but in a moment instinctively knew it was wrong. A faint buzzing, something he felt more than heard, was emanating from the hall just past the staircase. He turned to his friends, but no one else seemed to have noticed it - they simply watched him, ready to follow him wherever he chose. He walked past the stairs, and found a door very similar to the of his small cupboard nearly seven years ago.

It was clear to Harry, as soon as he approached the door, that he was standing at the entrance to whatever would be housing the horcrux. He felt a faint tingle in the air which sent a shiver down his spine, and he was painfully reminded of his excursion with Dumbledore into the cave housing the locket. He placed his hand on the knob, and received what he would have called an electric shock if he'd been in the Muggle world. Jumping back, he turned to his friends.

"This is it. The horcrux is hidden in there somewhere," Harry told them. Hermione nodded, her face set. Ron seemed pale and anxious, but ready. Neville's face was unreadable, and Luna appeared as she always did - dreamy and surprised all at once. Harry reached for the door handle again, and received another shock. He pulled out his wand.

"Alohomora," he said in barely a whisper. The silence of the house was oppressive, but the thought of breaking it and alerting anyone in the house (if there was anyone there) was terrifying. He heard the sound of a lock turning, and when he reached for the knob again, all he felt was smooth metal. He turned it, and the door swung in effortlessly.

All he saw was inky blackness. Instead of a cupboard, Harry found himself standing just beyond what appeared to be a rickety wooden staircase, narrow and rotten. Only the first step was visible, as the rest of the room seemed encased in unnatural darkness. He moved tentatively forward onto the first step, then heard a soft whooshing sound coming from his left. He jumped back just in time to narrowly miss a heavy, lethal looking blade that swung in a long arc just in front of the doorway. Everyone gasped as it reflected the dusty sunlight filtering into the hallway, its edge sharp and smooth and deadly. Harry watched it swing for a few moments before deciding what to do.

"Stupefy!" he yelled as the blade passed by once more, but it did not stop. The flash of red light bounced off the gleaming blade, causing everyone to duck for cover as the spell finally embedded itself into the wall behind them. "Impedimenta!" he called out, but the blade reflected that, too. Frustrated, he lowered his wand and watched the almost hypnotic motion of the swaying blade.

"There's a small window when a person could get through," Harry said after a moment. "It shouldn't be too hard."

The group did not seem convinced. Ron stepped up to go through first, his eyes following the sharp steel blade as it swished menacingly past the doorway. Harry had one hand on Ron's shoulder and the other pressed flat against his back.

"Ok, now, One, Two, Three!" Harry said, then bodily pushed Ron through the door. Ron let out a gasp of surprise, tripping down the first few stairs.

"Oi! Could've given me a bit more warning, y'know!" he called from the blackness. Harry smiled.

"You all right, then?" He called out to Ron.

"Think so. Can't see a bloody thing, though," came the reply.

"Why not try lighting your wand?" Hermione offered, walking tentatively up to Harry's side. They heard a small mutter of Lumos, and a pale ray of golden light appeared on the fourth step.

Harry grasped Hermione's arm and back in the same fashion as he had Ron, and with the same short warning he pushed her through the door. Ron caught her to prevent her from tumbling down the stairs. Neville came next, and then Luna. All got through quite safe, but very shaken up. Perhaps it was because he didn't like standing alone in the Riddle house, or he felt just a bit too confident from his previous successes, but Harry jumped through the doorway just a moment too soon and the blade nicked his right shoulder. Gasping in pain, he clutched at his torn shirt. The cut didn't seem very deep, but it was issuing copious amounts of blood. In a moment Hermione was at his side, waving her wand at the cut. The flow of blood lessened, but did not stop. Harry pressed a bit of his shirt against the cut, dabbing at the blood that continued to ooze slowly down his arm.

"I'm fine," he said after a moment, rotating his shoulder. All wands were out, their tips emitting a light golden glow, and they continued down the steps. Down, down, down they went, until the light from the hallway was nothing more than a faraway faint glimmer above them. Finally they reached a stretch of mottled gray floor of heavy slate tiles, the walls made of massive stone blocks that stretched high above them. One small torch, held in a rusted iron bracket, cast a pitiful orange glow over what appeared to be a small, empty basement. Neville grasped the torch and took a few steps to the right, holding the torch out in front of him warily. Harry was a few steps behind him, and waved him on. Neville took a few more steps, but was abruptly stopped by a jet of bright red flame that shot from the wall. The end of the torch was consumed in the flame, but Neville was safely out of range.

"Well, they've certainly gone to great length to protect whatever it is that's hidden there," Luna commented, appearing beside Neville. Neville nodded furtively.

"I wouldn't be surprised if there's a lot more we have to get through," Harry commented. He took the torch from Neville and waved it in front of the wall once again, producing the same result. He lowered the torch close to the floor, and was glad do see that waving the torch along the floor did not draw out the flame. Dropping to his hands and knees, he crab-crawled across the floor to the furthest wall, then beckoned the rest across. Ron did surprisingly well, but Hermione, Neville and Luna kept tripping over themselves. Frustrated, Hermione lifted herself up on her knees, sending the flames shooting out over all three of them. Neville had pulled her back down just in time, but the sleeve of her jacket was singed and smoking. They finally inched their way to the wall, where an arched doorway led out of the first room.

"Well, that was fun," Ron muttered, breathing a sigh of relief. Neville was shaking slightly, pale as a sheet. Luna was looking at Ron curiously as she picked out bits of dirt and ash from her hair.

Perhaps it was the lack of flames or swinging blades, but the group was too preoccupied to notice the soft crunching sound beneath their feet, or the sinister slithering sound that was coming from the other side of the wall. The party didn't notice that anything else dangerous at all had appeared until Neville tripped over what appeared to be a long, scaly tail. A large, dangerous snake's head coiled its way towards them from the other side of the wall, causing Hermione to shriek in alarm. She instinctively grabbed for Ron, who grabbed her and pulled her away from the approaching snake. Luna grabbed Neville's hand and tried to drag him backwards, but the snake had already wrapped its tail snugly around his torso. Neville let out a small, strangled whimper.

Harry turned to the snake and shouted at him, but all that came out was a low, threatening hiss. At Harry's words the snake uncoiled from Neville and began slithering towards Harry, the words "hungry," "food," and "fresh meat" reaching Harry's ears. A long, black forked tongue whipped out of the snake's mouth, sniffing the blood from Harry's shoulder. Harry backed into the corner, sending glances towards his friends to move around the wall. He fumbled with his wand, then called out to his friends as the snake closed in.

"W-we need to st-stun him or something," he said shakily. In a moment the whole group was standing opposite him, their wands out.

"Alright, on the count of three," Hermione said, pointing her wand at the snake. The others followed suit. "O..one....T-t-two-"

"THREE" Ron interrupted, seeing how close the snake's fangs were to Harry. In a moment the whole room was lit up in red, and the snake was lying rigid on the floor. Harry dashed out of the corner and around the wall, where he collapsed in front of a large, intricately carved doorway.

"That...that snake was huge..." Ron muttered, rubbing his hands against his cheeks.

"Nearly as big as the one in the Chamber of Secrets," Harry commented, his head cradled in his hands.

"Shouldn't we keep going? I don't fancy being here when that snake wakes up," Luna said dreamily, apparently not noticing Harry's badly shaking hands.

"Yes, you're right," Harry said, pulling himself up and stretching. He examined the door. It was decorated with intricate carvings of every type of snake imaginable, each one looking more dangerous than the last. There was no door handle.

"How do we get in?" Neville asked, studying the carvings.

"I'd bet you have to use Parsletongue," Hermione said, looking at Harry.

Harry stared at one particularly dangerous-looking snake and said "open," though to everyone else is sounded like a hiss. Suddenly a loud, threatening hiss replied.

"W...what was that?" Ron asked as the sound died down.

"It said 'The only way to move along is to call the serpents' beckoning song'" Harry replied, the words still echoing in his mind.

"Beckoning song? Like, a spell or something that would call a snake?" Neville asked after a moment.

"Oooh, Harry, what was that spell Malfoy used during dueling lessons?" Hermione asked excitedly. Harry racked his memory, then raised his wand.

"SERPENSORTIA!" Harry cried, his voice echoing off the immeasurably high ceilings. Instead of a snake appearing from the end of his wand, a wisp of black smoke began to weave around the carvings, outlining a doorway. The snakes glowed a brilliant black for a moment, then the stone vanished. A small archway stood before them now, and Harry stepped carefully into the next hallway. As soon as they were all through, Harry held a hand up.

"This is some sort of maze, and we need to be careful. I'd bet that the traps are going to become more dangerous as we move along, and we need to be on our guard. Watch where you're walking, and keep your wands out. Don't do anything without telling the group. And be careful," Harry said sternly, his eyes moving from face to face. Harry's left hand was still gripping the torch tightly, and he took a few steps forward. He was standing at the end of a hallway, the only light coming from their wands and the small torch. The hall went off to the left of the doorway, disappearing into inky blackness. He moved hesitantly towards the darkness, wary of whatever traps could lie ahead. He heard the group following him, just as cautious.

Harry's outstretched wand arm brushed against cold metal. In the weak firelight he saw that he was standing next to a large, lethal looking metal spike. He made his way carefully around it, only to find himself brushing against another spike. He lit his wand and held it up, and found himself in what appeared to be a tangle of large iron spikes blocking their path.

"Be careful," he called back. "These look a bit dangerous and I wouldn't be surprised if they've got some sort of enchantment on them to make them even more deadly." The slight buzzing had returned, and it made Harry uneasy.

Thankfully the group managed their way through the spikes safely, and they found themselves at a tee. To the right was a long hallway that went back in the direction they had just come, and to the left stretched an equally long hallway that had a glowing red mist hanging about 25 feet from them. Grimacing, Harry turned to the right.

"I've had bad experiences with innocent looking mist, and that looks anything but innocent," Harry told them. The hallway they were in now was thankfully devoid of traps, but there were suspicious-looking holes in the walls about ten feet off the ground. The hallway ended in a dead end, and a stone lever was set into an alcove in the wall. Ron reached for it, but Harry stopped him.

"I, er, well, I'd rather not pull that if we don't have to," Harry said, eyeing the holes warily. He led the group back to the red mist, then handed the torch to Ron.

"Harry, don't-" Hermione started, but he waved her off.

"That way back there is a dead end. We have to go this way...there's no other choice," he told her. She gulped, but said nothing.

Harry thrust his hand into the mist, and he noticed it felt pleasantly warm. It didn't seem very wide, maybe only a couple feet or so, and if he took a running start, hopefully any effects it had would be over with quickly. His had didn't seem withered or aching or anything to that effect, so Harry assumed that the effects must be psychological. He recalled how Dumbledore had said that Voldemort wouldn't have wanted to kill anyone that got in here - just torture them. It made him feel slightly better, but only a little. He pulled his hand back, took a deep breath, and ran at the mist.

Sharp, ear-splitting shrieks filled his head as he felt himself come to a screeching halt directly in the middle of the mist. Visions of particularly gruesome deaths, with himself as the victim, bombarded his thoughts and pushed out everything else. He could barely remember who he was or why he was there - the screams seemed to grow louder and more painful as he stood, his eyes tightly closed, his hands balled into fists. Dumbledore's face appeared to him unbidden, the visions of him in the awful cave begging to die, and Harry finally had the strength to open his eyes. The screams, it appeared, were coming from his own mouth, but he could not stop them. Now, along with the scenes of violent deaths, he saw that he was only inches from the end of the mist. He struggled, the screams and visions become worse with every move, and forced himself to a crawling position. His head fell from the clutches of the mist, and the sounds and visions immediately stopped. He curled into himself, panting and sweating.

"H-Harry? A-are you alright?" Ron's voice called to him, clearly concerned. Harry took a few moments to respond.

"Yeah, I'm alright. That...that mist could drive a person crazy," he finally replied. He pulled himself up and turned back to the mist, where he could see his friends watching him curiously just on the other side.

"I...think the quickest way to get through is to take a running start, and I'll pull you through," Harry suggested, wiping the sweat off his brow. "That way you won't have to see...well, it shouldn't affect you for too long."

None of the group seemed particularly eager to try this out, but Neville was the first to step up. Harry could see that his round face was pale even through the red mist, but his jaw was set. He squeezed his eyes shut, then took off at a run towards the mist. Just as Harry had before, he came to an abrupt stop right in the center of the mist, and the loud screams started coming from his mouth. Harry quickly reached in and grabbed Neville's arm, tugging him safely out of the mist. Neville was panting when he opened his bloodshot eyes, but seemed okay.

"Th-thanks, Harry," he said breathlessly.

"Ron, you next," Harry called to his best friend. Ron rubbed his eyes and took a few shallow gasps for air before following Neville's path. Both Harry and Neville pulled him through, and Ron rested his palms on his knees, leaning over as if he was going to be sick. The two girls were watching each other fearfully, neither wanting to face whatever it was that the boys had experienced. Ron straightened up and rubbed his eyes, still clearly shaken. He turned to the girls on the other side of the mist.

Luna was looking at the mist with a look of interest on her face, as if she was curious about how it worked. She seemed almost eager to enter it, to know what it did and how it did it. Once the three boys were ready for her, she walked almost serenely into the mist, stopping at the exact point where the others had. The screams that emanated from her mouth weren't quite as loud as the rest, and she seemed to resist being pulled through by Neville and Harry. Once she was back to herself again, she continued to examine the mist, muttering quietly under her breath.

Now only Hermione was left. She did not have the unnatural curiousness that Luna had, and was staring at the mist in a manner that clearly said she'd rather swallow bubotuber pus than go through it.

"C'mon, 'Mione, it's better to get it over with fast," Ron said grimly, noticing the trepidation on her face. She gulped audibly.

"Hermione, we need to get through here as fast as possible. We can't be dawdling. Now, are you a Gryffindor or not?" Harry asked her sternly. From behind him, Luna giggled. This incensed Hermione, and she clamped her mouth shut and strode determinedly towards the mist. Her screams were high pitched and fearful, and Ron seemed particularly affected by them. He reached into the mist, nearly immersing his head in once more, and pulled the flailing Hermione through by himself. She clutched his neck and buried her face in his chest as she shook, frightened tears soaking into his shirt. Ron watched each of the others in turn, daring them to say something. No one did.

Hermione calmed down after a few moments, and they continued down the hallway. After what seemed like a long stretch of nothing, Harry's wand light fell on a long, wiry vine. Lifting his wand, he saw it belonged to a massively overgrown plant in a pot that was about the size of Hagrid's hut. He heard a slight whisper of "woah," from Neville, whose passion was herbology. Neville took a few steps past Harry and picked up the end of a particularly long vine. It wrapped tightly around Neville's wrist, and Harry quickly muttered Diffindo to cut the vine away from the rest of the plant.

"It's Devil's Snare," Neville said, examining the bit still wrapped around his wrist. He unwound it and dropped it to the ground. "I'd heard that they could grow this big, but it's really really rare. It takes a lot of care to get them to grow this big and not strangle their own roots," he added.

"We'll need to get past it," Luna said blandly, taking a step forward.

"You can't climb it. It will crush you if you touch it," Neville said warningly, placing a hand on Luna's shoulder.

"Oh, for Heaven's sake," Hermione said, pushing past Harry and pulling out her wand. "INCENDIO!" she cried at a thick patch of vines, just to the left of the pot.

A large hole appeared in the thick vines as they recoiled from the fire, creating a small path for the group to follow. Harry ushered them through as quickly as possible, as the vines had begun to relax and return to their original positions almost immediately. He climbed through quickly after Luna and made it through just before the hole completely closed up.

The group was now standing at a dead end, with an archway on the right wall of the small space between the Devil's Snare and the end of the hallway. The archway led to a room only slightly bigger than the space they were standing in, which contained a black marble pedestal. Harry stepped into the room, his wand at the ready. He approached the pedestal and saw a large, perfect emerald encased in the flat surface of the pedestal. There were intricate carvings all along the base, trailing down to the floor and then up to the right wall, where another stone archway was carved into the wall. This archway was entirely filled with gray stone, as the one near the snake had been. The group had filed in behind him, and were now surrounding the black pedestal.

"How do we get out of here?" Ron asked, looking around.

"I'd bet we have to get that gem out before we can open up that archway," Hermione said. Neville stared at the gem, perplexed, as Harry tried to pry it out by the edges. While the gem didn't seem to be anchored into the pedestal in any way, it there was no way to lift it from the black marble. Harry, Ron and Neville all struggled with it, and Luna disappeared beneath the pedestal.

"I think it says here how to get it out," Luna said after a moment. Harry crouched down beside her.

"Look - it says right here - Black Family Crest," she said, tracing some intricately carved letters around the base of the pedestal. They were embellished with so much filigree that Harry hadn't even noticed the letters at first glance, and even when Luna pointed them out they were hard to read. "I'd bet if you knew what the crest was, you'd be able to get the gem out and get out of this room," she added.

The Black Family Crest...Harry had only seen it once before, on a worn tapestry hanging in Grimmauld Place. He lifted his wand and placed the tip against the gem.

"Toujours Pur!" he said, and a faint green glow surrounded the pedestal. The top of the pedestal faded away, exposing the entirety of the gem. It was nestled in a sterling silver chalice emblazoned with the Black Family Crest, and its base was still encased in the black marble. Harry reached for the gem and lifted it away, surprised at its weight. As he lifted it, the wall to his right disappeared beneath the ornate archway.

Harry tucked the gem under his arm as he walked into the newly revealed room. The stone floor had transformed into soft black sand, each grain reflecting the wand light like tiny scattered diamonds. A soft lapping sound was barely audible, and as Harry took a few steps forward onto the sand, he saw that they appeared to be standing on a small beach.

The water was blacker than black, and even though the waves were soft, the sound of the water hitting the sand was somewhat menacing. Lifting his wand, Harry saw the water stretching to another shore across from them, a wall jutting out from the left side of the pool and what appeared to be a pit to the right. A solitary raft was floating in the center of the pool.

"D'you suppose we have to swim over to the raft?" Ron asked, coming up beside Harry. Harry watched the waves, mesmerized, until he saw what appeared to be the scaly back of either some very large fish or an equally frightening reptile. His eyes snapped to Ron's.

"N-no, I think it'd be a very bad idea to swim in this water, or touch it at all," Harry replied, reminded horribly of the lake that he had visited with Dumbledore. Harry lifted his wand, hoping against hope that it would work, and shouted "Accio raft!"

To Harry's great relief, the raft glided effortlessly towards him and settled just beyond the breaking waves. Harry stepped onto it, and found that it supported his weight easily. The moment that Ron placed a foot on the raft, it dipped into the water, causing them both to jump back to the beach in surprise.

"I'd guess that it only lets one of-age wizard on at a time," Harry said, staring at the raft. Ron scuttled back behind him, and Harry approached the raft once more. He stood on it, but nothing happened. Harry looked around at his friends, confused.

"You'll need something to push you along," Luna said dreamily.

"I, well...do you see anything in here that we could use?" Harry said, confused. Everyone looked around, but all they saw were drab stone walls and the empty archway.

Harry didn't notice it at first. He thought it was a mirage, some sort of trick of the light. His eyes swept past the corners of the room twice before he even noticed it, just a small glimmer against the wall. He strode purposefully over to it and reached out. Where there should have been nothing but air, Harry's hand collided with a long, splintery wooden rod nearly 10 feet long. Once he grabbed it, he heard his friends gasp in amazement. It materialized in front of him, and Harry had yet another pang of emotion as he recalled that awful excursion with Dumbledore across the lake.

"Dumbledore told me once that there's a way to recognize known magic. I'm beginning to see what he meant," Harry explained. He stepped once more onto the raft and began to push himself forward. More scaly creatures appeared whenever he placed the rod into the water, but thankfully they did not attempt to get onto the raft. Harry felt a thrill of fear once he passed by the stretch of wall, but was relieved to see that there was nothing more dangerous lurking behind it. His path swayed dangerously to the right, and Harry found himself looking down into what appeared to be a bottomless pit. Swerving frantically to the left, he finally made it to the other shore and stepped gratefully onto the sand.

"I suppose we'll have to summon it back, then," Hermione said when Harry was safely across. Harry laid the rod across the raft so it wouldn't fly off when summoned.

Hermione made her way across next, then Ron. Harry suggested that Neville try taking Luna along with him, since she was underage, and the raft did not sink under both of their weights. Neville was concentrating so hard on simply pushing the raft that he didn't realize he was heading right for the edge of the pit, and Luna (in typical Luna fashion) had been staring off to the side and not noticed their course.

"Neville, stop!" Harry called, catching his attention. Unable to do anything else, Harry jumped into the small lake and grabbed hold of Neville's arm. Something large and scaly immediately went for Harry's submerged leg, but he didn't care. He dragged the float (via Neville's arm) to the sandy shore before pulling his leg out of the water. A long, frightening combination of a barracuda and a snake had wrapped itself around Harry's leg and appeared to be preparing to bite. On instinct, Harry shouted "Relashio," and the creature lessened its hold. Harry shook his leg forcefully and it fell with a plop back into the water.

The torch had burned out, and Harry dropped it to the floor. He shone his wand light to whatever obstacles he would have to face next, and found himself looking down into the bottomless pit that bordered the lake. Stacks of crumbling rock formed pillars that were close enough to jump to, but they seemed very unstable. Harry jumped to the first one, and numerous pebbles fell from the sides.

"Er, Harry? I don't think I'd be able to do that very easily," Neville said tentatively.

"We'll talk you through it. It won't be hard," Ron encouraged. Harry jumped to the next pillar, then the next, and the next. There were only 5 pillars from solid ground to solid ground, but the seemingly endless pit below made the journey quite frightening. Harry found himself longing for his Firebolt, knowing that he could traverse the distance in a matter of seconds on a broom. Once across, he turned back to his friends.

"See? It's no big deal," he said, trying to hide the slight tremble in his voice. Ron followed, and his training on the Quidditch pitch proved useful as he jumped quickly from pillar to pillar. Hermione followed, not quite as quickly as Ron, but she seemed fairly sure-footed as she moved gracefully from pillar to pillar. Ron gaped at her once she arrived on the other side.

"What?" Hermione asked, shrugging. "My parents had me in ballet before I came to Hogwarts."

"What's ballet?" Ron asked, perplexed. Hermione shot him an incredulous look, but did not respond.

Neville and Luna took the longest, as Neville was a bit clumsy and Luna felt the need to analyze exactly how far each jump needed to be. Harry, Ron and Hermione kept shouting encouraging things towards them, and a quarter of an hour later, they both made it safely to the other side. They were facing yet another long, dark hallway, with something apparently metallic at the end, as it reflected their wand light rather ominously. As they approached, they found themselves face to face with a gleaming silver gate. The thick vertical bars reached high above them, presumably up to the invisible ceiling, and they were spaced about 4 inches apart. Harry could slide his arm through, but there were no handles, locks, or any other visible means of opening it.

"Alohomora!" Hermione tried, but the spell only bounced off of the thick bars. Ron grabbed two of the bars and pulled, but they would not budge at all. Luna had gotten to her knees and was inspecting the bottom of the gate, and Neville had joined her. Harry just stared at it, thinking.

"That lever, the one before the mist. That might be what opens this," Harry said tentatively. Everyone looked at him, aghast.

"We have to go all the way back there? Harry, that mist...it was terrible," Hermione said fearfully.

"No...no, I think only I should go. I could do it quickly and be back here as soon as possible," Harry said pensively.

"I'm coming with you," Ron said immediately, starting back towards the pillars. "I'm not letting you go alone." Harry looked at him as though he were going to tell him to stay, but decided against it. Instead, he turned towards Hermione, Luna and Neville.

"Stay here until we get back. No matter what happens, stay here...or as close to here as you can," He told them. They all nodded.

He and Ron made their ways quickly from pillar to pillar, across the lake, through the room that had held the gem, and past the devil's snare. They stopped just before the mist, neither eager to experience it again.

"Just push me through, and I'll pull you through," Harry said uneasily. He ran at the mist, and just as before, stopped midway through. Ron reached in and pushed his best friend with all the strength he had, and Harry toppled to the ground on the other side, coughing.

"You may have overdone it, mate," Harry said, grinning. Ron smiled grimly and ran at the mist. Harry pulled him through, and waited a moment as Ron regained his bearings. They went to the furthest hallway, the one where Ron had first seen the lever that had made Harry so uneasy, and approached it.

"Here goes nothing," Harry muttered, pulling the lever. It creaked loudly, and a sudden hiss of gas filled the hallway. Bright green shimmering gas was issuing from the holes in the walls, and Harry turned quickly on his heel and dashed back towards the mist.

"Try to hold your breath!" Harry called to Ron, who was right at his back. They both burst through the mist unaided, their adrenaline pushing them onwards. Harry saw that more gas was issuing from similar holes in all of the corridors, and he could only imagine what the rest of the group was doing. He lifted his wand and shouted Incendio as he approached the devil's snare, and the force of the spell engulfed half of the large plant in flames. Harry and Ron dashed through the room with the marble pedestal and frantically made their way back across the lake, Harry sending Ron on first. A large cloud of the gas crept up behind Harry as he waited for the raft, and he took a huge breath of clear air before hurriedly making his way across the lake. They sprang from pillar to pillar, then dashed to the end of the hallway. They found the rest of the group kneeling next to a now open doorway, their hands over their mouths. As Harry and Ron approached, Hermione looked up fearfully.

"Oh good it's you! We were so worried, once the gas started-" she said, but was cut off by Harry.

"Just go! We can't let this gas get to us!" yelled Harry instinctively, though of course he didn't know just what the gas would do. The group barreled through the open doorway and turned sharply left, where they found themselves in a thick tangle of tall, thorny weeds. Large, deep green leaves were covered in some sort of sticky sap that clung firmly to any bit of clothing, skin or hair that happened to brush against it. Long, venomous thorns poked out from thick, scaly stems, tearing clothes and flesh as they passed. Harry, Ron, Hermione and Luna were all pulling, tugging and ripping their way through the plants, but Neville had stopped, holding his breath, to examine it.

"Harry! This plant...it's the diable épineux, I'm sure of it! It's not poisonous, but really annoying, but the roots are used for really deadly poisons," he called out, panting slightly.

"That's great, Neville. Is there a way to get it to stop grabbing on to us?" Harry called back, slightly out of breath. His arm was firmly attached to one large, sticky leaf, and his jeans were torn in multiple places where the thorns had snagged him. The gas was filtering through the thick branches, making it nearly impossible to avoid inhaling. Harry covered his mouth in an attempt to avoid the smoke.

"I'm trying to remember...it's completely impervious to the reductor curse, and the cutting curse...it's been bred that way by dark wizards...the only cure for any poison made with the roots of diable épineux is the sap produced by it's leaves...wait! Water! It shrinks away from any pure substance, like rubbing alcohol and water!" Neville said, his voice trembling and squeaking.

Shouts of Aguamenti echoed off the walls, and the sap-covered leaves shrank away from their attackers. The green gas was now swirling dangerously around them all, and its effects were clear. Everyone felt light headed and dizzy, with a strong desire to curl up and fall asleep. Along with that was a heavy pressure on the lungs, making it difficult to breathe at all. Harry was the first to make contact with the far wall, gasping. Ron, Hermione, Luna and Neville followed, their faces full of panic. Harry's eyes were blurry, possibly from the lack of oxygen, so he ran his hand along the wall until he found another archway to the left. Dragging himself through, he found himself surrounded by clear, fresh air. Sucking in deep lungfuls of it, he was jolted out of his brief moment of bliss by the realization that no one else was with him. Dashing out, he found them mostly collapsed at the wall. Ron was crawling, trying to drag a whimpering Hermione the wrong way. Neville was keeled over, coughing, and Luna was curled up beside him, obviously unconscious.

"Over here!" Harry shouted, panicked. Ron and Hermione heard him, and immediately started inching their way towards him. Neville was coughing so loudly that he hadn't heard Harry's shout, so Harry ran back into the smoke and grabbed Neville's arm.

"Help me with Luna!" Harry yelled at him, though the room was deathly quiet amidst the green shimmer. Neville slipped one arm around Luna's waist and slung her arm around his shoulders, then swung her limp body up into his arms. Harry mimicked Neville's position and they rushed her into the clear area. Her chest was completely still.

"W-why is this room clear of the gas," Ron asked, trembling.

"I don't know..." Harry said, his voice trailing off as he watched Luna's still form. A strange emotion filled him as he stared at her pale, peaceful face, and he was reminded of the end of his fifth year when he talked to her after Sirius's death. She had been the only one who understood him, the only one who really knew how it felt to lose someone...she deserved so much more than to die on a cold stone floor. Neville was gripping her hand, ashen-faced. Rage built up within Harry as he continued to study her still form.

"Is...is she..." Ron asked, noticing Luna for the first time.

"I...I don't think so. She...she's still got a pulse," Neville said weakly, still holding her hand.

"Harry! You know what CPR is, right," Hermione said, kneeling down beside Luna and dragging Harry beside her.

"Um, well, yes, sort of. I've seen it on the telly, if that's what you mean," Harry said. Hermione snorted.

"Well, I've been trained in it, but I'll need your help. Tilt her head back, pinch her nose and open her mouth, and when I tell you to, seal your mouth around hers and blow into her lungs. If all goes well, we should expel the gas and she'll start breathing on her own," Hermione said bossily.

"I...uh...well," Harry started lamely, looking at Luna's face. It sounded a bit too much like kissing to him, and he wasn't terribly comfortable kissing someone that wasn't Ginny...especially when the bloke that seemed to fancy her was sitting right next to him.

"HARRY! You NEED to do this! You brought her here, and you have the responsibility to make sure she gets out of here alive!" Hermione cried, her voice filled with both panic and rage.

"Alright! Do what you have to do!" Harry snarled back, glaring at her. He wasn't mad at Hermione...no, he was angry at himself for putting his friends in danger. He should have done it alone...he shouldn't have brought anyone with him. It would be his fault if she died.

Hermione had positioned herself across from Harry and was pressing down hard on Luna's chest. After five pumps, she looked at Harry.

"Now!" she said testily, and Harry shot an apologetic look at Neville. His face was stony, his eyes locked on Luna's face. Harry leaned down and tipped Luna's chin up, pinched her nose and locked his mouth around hers. He had barely begun to blow air in when he felt her coughing beneath him, and he pulled back quickly.

She was now taking deep, shuddering gasps, her pale eyes wide with shock. They flew from Harry to Hermione to Neville, who had still not relinquished her hand. She tentatively sat up, aware that Harry had been practically kissing her just moments before.

"Now really, I was having quite a pleasant dream," Luna said hoarsely, smiling slightly at Neville. Everyone laughed.

"So, how come we're safe in here?" Neville asked after a moment.

"Probably because of that," Luna said, her voice nearly back to normal. She was pointing at a white marble pedestal positioned in the center of the room. Harry pulled himself up and walked over to it. There was a hollow in the center of the pristine, flat surface, just big enough for the gem he had obtained earlier in the maze. Harry placed the gem into the pedestal, and it fit in with a satisfying clunk, but nothing else happened.

"What was said before must be said again, lest your daring journey shall fail to end," Hermione said, reading the intricate carvings around the base.

"So...if you don't say the right password, you get sent to the beginning or something?" Ron asked.

"It certainly sounds like it," Harry muttered, staring at the gem. "What was said before...perhaps it means the crest again? Or Serpentsortia?" He wondered aloud.

"I'd bet it was the crest again. It's a similar sort of puzzle, so that would make sense," Luna said. She had joined Harry and Hermione at the edge of the pedestal, but her hand was still firmly in Neville's. She didn't seem to mind. Harry looked around at everyone, but no one had any other suggestions.

"Well, here goes nothing," Harry said, expelling a slow breath. He touched the tip of his wand to the gem and said "Toujours Pur." The gem began to glow, then it faded away with the top of the pedestal. All that remained was a small, solitary golden cup that Harry had only seen once before - in the memory of a house-elf named Hokey. Everyone stared at it, amazed.

"It...it's Hufflepuff's cup. We...we really did it," Harry said, his voice low in astonishment. He reached out to grab it, and as he did, the green shimmering gas that had been held at bay poured into the room, engulfing them almost instantly.

"Apparate to Godric's Hollow!" Harry shouted, still gripping the cup. He waited until he heard three loud pops (as Neville was taking Luna), and only then did he disapparate.