Lethal Darkness

Lethal Darkness

By Snitch Builder

Chapter Two

Revelations

"Dreams come true; without that possibility, nature would not incite us to have them."

John Updike - Horror Writer

Harry lay in the hospital bed, staring up at the ceiling. He dared not close his eyes, even for a moment, lest he saw the monster in the tunnel. Even blinking was becoming dangerous, just in case the black flash between the colours sent him back to that loathsome place. Parvati came back from a toilet break and took up her seat next to him again. He turned and smiled at her.

'Why do you stay?' he asked tenderly.

Parvati looked away; embarrassment flooded her face. 'I-I can't tell you. You would laugh,' she said.

'I have told you my thoughts, now, tell me why you stay.'

She looked back at him, and he felt he could have drowned in her big brown eyes. It looked like she was trying to find every ounce of courage to tell him something.

'I love you,' she whispered.

Harry sat up a little and smiled at her.

'You see,' she snapped. 'I told you you'd laugh.'

She looked very upset now, but the thought of this beautiful girl being in love with him made his heart flip, and he forgot for a nano-second about the nightmares.

'I'm not laughing,' he said quietly. 'You know, for a few months now, ever since the ball, I have been wanting to tell you the same thing, but I have never been brave enough.'

She looked back at him and her face brightened up. 'Well. Where do we go from here?' she whispered.

Harry thought for a moment. 'You could always kiss me,' he suggested.

She stood up and started to bend over him when the door burst open and Hagrid entered the room, followed by Dumbledore; Parvati dropped back down onto her chair.

'Harry,' Dumbledore said, 'we have decided that you should stay here for a couple of days. Madam Pomfrey will look after you, and Hagrid here has volunteered to stay outside the room and guard you.'

'All righ' 'Arry,' Hagrid bellowed.

'Why do I need a guard?' Harry asked feeling a bit confused.

'I have spoken to Lupin and he believes the dreams could be the result of some deep down fear of something,' Dumbledore explained. 'He also said that the presence of a guard close by could dispel the fears a little. Make you feel safer so to speak.'

Harry felt a little better for this idea and he was more than willing to give it a try. The rest of the day drifted along with more rain falling harder than ever against the windows of the castle. Harry had a small sandwich for lunch - which he managed to keep down - and in the evening, the door crashed open again and Ron burst in with Lavender and Hermione in tow.

'Watcha, mate,' Ron blurted out as he jumped on the end of Harry's bed and opened a chocolate frog.

'How are you?' Lavender asked and Harry did his best not to look below her face.

'You look terrible!' Hermione exclaimed.

'Thanks, Hermione,' Harry replied and he even managed a small smile. 'I'm glad someone is being honest at least.'

Lavender beckoned to Parvati to follow her out of the room and Hermione sat down in the vacated chair. Harry looked at his friends and smiled.

'Have I missed much?' he enquired.

'Not 'alf,' Ron spluttered with a mouthful of chocolate. 'Snape's been binned!'

'I'm sorry!' Hermione said incredulously, turning to give Ron a nasty look. 'He hasn't been "binned", he's probably been asked to go and do something else, that's all.'

'He's been binned I tell you,' Ron argued. 'What else do you call it then when someone disappears. He's hopped it. Got fed up of my crappy potions and you insisting that you're better than him.'

Hermione opened her mouth to say something back, but was interrupted by squeals of delight from outside the room. Lavender and Parvati came back in, and Lavender whispered something in Hermione's ear. Hermione's eyes widened, then she looked at Parvati.

'Well done, Parvati!' Hermione said. 'I told you you could do it.'

'Do what?' Ron asked.

'She's told Harry, that's what,' Lavender said excitedly.

'Told Harry what?' Ron asked angrily.

'We can now go out as a foursome,' Lavender explained.

The realisation of what had just been said drifted across Ron's expression. Harry turned to Hermione and saw that even though she was smiling, it was a forced smile as he realised she was the odd one out here. He put his hand on her arm and smiled reassuringly at her.

Pretty soon, the evening drew in around the castle like a black cloth, bringing heavier rain and flashes of lighting that sent eerie shadows across the room. Harry's friends had gone back to their dormitories but Parvati stayed behind. Hagrid came back in just before midnight, and Dumbledore had to literally prise Parvati from Harry so she could return to her dormitory. The Hospital Wing became quiet, apart from the sound of Hagrid moving his crossbow from one hand to the other occasionally - while he sat outside the door to the room - and other patients coughed loudly.

Harry was scared to go to sleep more than ever now. The dream he saw in the bath had touched his mind deeply as there was now a tangible person in the nightmare, that at the moment he could see and touch. Before, there was only blackness, the monster, and he. Now, there was a friend and a new monster involved.

But where was Snape? Not that the disappearance of his potions master could have anything to do with the tunnel, but still, it was strange that he has vanished. Harry got up and put on a dressing gown. Checking to see that the coast was clear, he tiptoed out of the room, past the sleeping figure of Hagrid, and down towards the main door of the Hospital Wing. He crept towards the door, past the empty beds, but when he reached the doors to the corridor, he stopped. Sweat ran down his back and his bowels turned to a congealed lump, as through the panes of frosted glass in the door, a massive shadow could be seen. A rasping sound, together with the sound of something swishing across the floor made the blood in his veins freeze. As he watched, the handle to the door slowly turned. With a slow, deliberate action, the door swung open, creaking on its hinges. A mist entered the room and through the mist, a black shape could be discerned. Sharp teeth on a bony rod extended from the mist, and Harry tried to run, but he had lost the use of his legs.

Run! Run now, came a voice in his head, but he could not. He tried to call out for Hagrid, but fear had taken his voice. With power immeasurably greater than any human, talons swept from the mist on the end of a powerful arm and caught Harry across his throat, tearing out his windpipe...

Harry jumped up and reached for his neck. A flash of lightning lit the room and he screamed out loud when he saw a huge shape standing at the end of his bed.

'Ya all righ'?' Hagrid enquired.

Harry fought for his breath. The dream was different! More scary, as it was closer to home.

'Y-yes,' Harry choked. 'Dumbledore. Go get Dumbledore. Need him now.'

'Okay,' Hagrid said and rushed from the Hospital Wing.

When Harry was alone, he cried. He stuffed the corner of the sweat sodden sheet into his mouth and he cried. How much longer could he take this punishment? He was on the verge of collapse as it was, without the dream changing. Was he going out of his mind? Was this the start of a horrible disease that would take his life? If it were the latter, he wished it would get on with it instead of toying with him. He felt like a fox on a hunt; after being chased for hours, death would strike just as you think you have reached safety. Then Dumbledore burst into the room.

'Harry,' he said, 'what happened?'

'The dream was different,' Harry explained. 'The monster was in Hogwarts. In the corridor. It slashed my throat.'

Tears welled up again in Harry's eyes and Dumbledore patted his shoulder.

'Don't worry,' Dumbledore said soothingly. 'I think we will be having the answer pretty soon.'

'But this dream felt different. I mean the others seemed to be dreams that have been put there. This new one felt like it was being directed in some way, but not by me.' But then a fear spread over him like an inky sea rushing up a black sand beach and he had to ask the question that was burning within him: 'Where's Snape?'

Dumbledore looked gravely at Harry. 'Professor Snape volunteered to do a little job for me a little while ago. I am awaiting his return.'

Harry felt an icy hand move down his back and his stomach tied in a knot. 'Don't tell me you've found the tunnel, have you?' Harry asked cautiously, but he hoped he would get a different answer.

'We did, as a matter of fact. Snape volunteered to go into it with Madam Hooch, so he is not alone.'

Harry tried to get up, but his brain swelled up to what felt twice its normal size and the pain forced him back down again. 'When did he go into the tunnel?' Harry asked.

'This afternoon.'

'What time is it now?'

'About one o'clock, why?'

This meant that Snape and Hooch had been missing for about ten hours, now. Harry knew he met the monster after one or two hours of crawling in the tunnel, so there is the horrible possibility they have been killed by now.

'We need to rescue them,' Harry blurted out and started to get out of bed.

'There, there, my boy,' Dumbledore whispered. 'Don't alarm yourself. They are safe mark my words. I am expecting them to return any moment now.'

As if true to his word, a kafuffle from the main hospital ward wafted into the room, and Madam Hooch fell through the door, panting, and looked like she only just about having enough strength to breathe, let alone stand up.

'Professor Dumbledore,' she panted and limped painfully over to him. 'Snape. I've lost Snape.'

She collapsed onto Harry's bed, and Harry could see that she had been attacked by something as she was covered in bruises, and deep cuts that dripped blood on the sweat-stained sheets.

'Calm down, my dear,' Dumbledore said. 'Take your time. Now. What happened.'

Madam Hooch sat up a little and tried to compose herself.

'We went into the tunnel at the back of the school as requested,' she began, between gasps for breath. 'We walked for what seemed like hours and hours as we walked very slowly.' She paused before continuing. 'We finally got to some stuff that was plastered all over the walls. It was like a sauna in there, really hot and sticky. Well, we pressed on through the mist that was gathering. We could see nothing at all through the mist, but we could hear something.'

'A rasping breath. Like a hiss,' Harry commented quietly.

Hooch turned to him with a look of surprise on her face, before going on with her report.

'Yes. A rasping sound, like breathing. I was all for getting back to the tunnel entrance, but Snape wanted us to go on, so on we went. We only walked on for a few seconds when it happened. Snape was grabbed by something and I was hit by what felt like claws. Snape screamed and disappeared into the mist. I called for him and made my Lumos spell brighter, but I could see nothing of either Snape or whatever had grabbed him. At that point, I ran. I didn't stop to find out what happened to Snape after that. I just kept running and running. I waited at the tunnel entrance for a while, just in case Snape had managed to get away, but there is no sign of him at all.'

She collapsed back onto the bed across Harry's legs, which made them ache even more. Hagrid picked her up and carried her to another bed.

'Professor,' Harry said urgently, 'we need to go after him. Whatever has got him we need to fight it. I think that is what it has been trying to do all this time. It wants me to fight it, but when I ignored it, it lured Snape down there instead. We need to do it and we need to do it NOW!'

Dumbledore seemed to register the urgency in Harry's voice and spoke calmly to him: 'Harry, you are in no fit state to fight anyone. You can barely stand for one thing. And for another, I am not sure you should face the beast anyway.'

Harry slumped back into the pillow. The smell of his greasy hair wafted to his nostrils and it made him realise that unless he confronted the nightmare - as Lavender suggested - he would be in this condition until he puts the dog down, or it puts him down.

Harry waited until the other people had left him on his own once more before sitting up. He was trying to see if there was any strength left in his shattered body to get out of bed and get dressed. He had not eaten anything substantial for days, and his mouth was dry. But he had to confront the beast and help Snape. He had to.

It took all his effort to move off the bed and put on his clothes. They felt cold against his skin as he buttoned his shirt and then found the one thing he would definitely not go onto a darkened tunnel without, and that was his wand. Hagrid was not at his station as he crept out of the room and made his way out of the castle.

The cold night air bit at his face, burning his ears, but at least the rain had given up, for a while at least as flashes of lightning on the horizon heralded the next wave of the storm. The moon shone briefly through a rip in the clouds, the moonlight running ahead of him as though to race him across the wet grass. He suddenly realised he had no idea of where the tunnel was, but he remembered Madam Hooch saying it was at the rear of the school. Skirting the wall of the building, it took him no time at all to reach the tunnel entrance. Dumbledore was standing outside, talking to Hagrid and pointing into the tunnel. As he approached, Dumbledore looked up, then his face took on an angry appearance.

'Harry Potter,' Dumbledore snapped. 'I thought I told you to stay in bed?'

Harry was taken aback by the unusual outburst, and stopped in his tracks.

'There was no way I was going to lie around while Snape is captured by the thing in there,' he shouted and pointed into the tunnel.

Dumbledore relaxed his face, and then smiled. 'Of course not. I don't blame you. But for once, please let us deal with it.'

'But I can help,' Harry pleaded. 'I know the tunnel, and I know what it looks like. Please let me help.'

'Very well,' Dumbledore said and let out a long sigh. 'We three shall go together then. But we must stick together. If anything should happen, we must all get out at once.'

Harry went into the tunnel first and lit the end of his wand. The tunnel was quite high, high enough to stand in, and he shone his light into the darkness as waited for the other two to join him. When all three of them were inside, Dumbledore lit his wand, and with Hagrid out in front with his crossbow held ready, they proceeded into the darkness.

As they made their way into the tunnel, Harry noted rocks and bumps in the ground that he had felt as he groped his way along in his dream. Occasionally, a dark stains on the wall could be seen; bloodstains. Strange symbols were painted on the walls that looked like ancient runic symbols, but in a dialect that Harry didn't recognise. For two hours they walked. Harry strained to listen in the distance for the sound of anything that could indicate that they were not alone in the tunnel. The darkness ahead beckoned them along as if inviting them into the unknown. Eventually Harry spotted something in the distance - the start of the secreted lining.

'You see,' Harry whispered. 'Just how I had dreamed it.'

They pressed on slowly and reached the start of the secreted wall covering. As they made over the threshold, the temperature rose, and mist was forming, blinding their vision. Harry took the lead, and pressed on into the mist. He made his Lumos spell brighter and it cut through the mist a little better. The air around them became thick, cloying, and it felt too heavy to inhale it. The foul stench of something long since dead reached them, making Harry wretch a little, but he fought against it and won, but only just.

Each step they took had to be taken carefully as the heat being generated by the tunnel lining was causing condensation to run down the walls, making the floor slippery. After a short while, the tunnel seemed to be opening up a little, and the colour of the lining changed from a dark grey, to a sickly green. Here and there, pockets of the covering had pools of water in them that overflowed to the floor. The texture of the covering had also changed. Instead of it being quite smooth with only occasional spikes, it was now more dramatic, with what looked like rib-like structures flowing down the wall, connecting to a central spine running along the ceiling.

The temperature had risen quite a bit now, and Harry wiped the sweat from his eyes and strained his ears more, but all he could hear was the hammering of his heart, and the constant drip, drip, drip of the water from the ceiling.

A little further on and Harry bumped into something on the floor. When he pointed his wand-light downwards, he could see that it was a leathery object, about the size of a dustbin, with four flaps that had opened at the top like some obscene flower. It was empty, and it was definitely organic as there were veins running across its surface. Harry shone his light around him and saw a second one, and a third, but these were sealed tight. He squatted down beside a closed one and shone his light at the egg-shaped object. Dumbledore stooped down beside him to also take a look.

'Can you see anything?' he asked Harry and they both peered at the side of it.

The skin of the egg seemed to be slightly translucent and Harry squinted at something inside it. The thing moved! Only very slightly, but it twitched a long tail, and eight bony fingers clenched tighter. Harry jumped up and found himself face to face with a ghostly white head: it was Snape!

'Over here,' he whispered thinking that the monster might hear them.

It looked as though he had been glued into the wall with the same material that covered the rest of the tunnel, with just his face showing. Harry pulled Snape's head upright with his hair, and saw that he was breathing, albeit very slowly. Dumbledore came over to take a look.

'Is he alive?' Dumbledore asked.

'I think so,' Harry replied.

'We need to get him out of there,' Dumbledore said urgently. 'Keep a watch out, and I shall cut him free.'

Dumbledore extinguished his wand-light and used some cutting charms to remove the resin from around the potions master. The sound of the cutting was quite loud, and Harry squinted up and down the tunnel, listening, waiting for something, anything, to make an appearance. Hagrid had his crossbow up to his chin and was pointing it back down the tunnel, then spinning round to face the opposite direction.

When Snape's body crumpled to the floor, Harry could see that whatever had entombed him in the recess had broken his arms and legs to make him fit into the hole in the wall; splintered bones that stuck through his torn skin gleamed whitely in the light from Harry's wand. Hagrid shouldered his crossbow and picked up Snape gently,

'I don't like the look of those,' Harry whispered to Dumbledore as he pointed to the open egg. 'I cant see any other things like the ones in the closed eggs. What could they be?'

'I have no idea, Harry,' Dumbledore replied quietly. 'But I think we should go and go now.'

Harry scanned the floor around them nervously, looking for the thing that had emerged from the egg, but could see or hear nothing. Dumbledore led the way, with Hagrid easily carrying the limp body of Snape, and Harry bringing up the rear. Harry walked backwards as best he could, shining his light onto every nook and cranny he could spot, just in case something was hiding in the gloom. As they retreated up the tunnel, Harry noticed another tunnel off to his left. He shone his light into it and saw that it too led off into the distance, but like the main tunnel, this one was also covered in the strange secretion.

He turned his attention back to the tunnel from where they had come from. Nothing as yet could be seen, and he wondered where the monster was. Another tunnel opened up to his right. This one was covered in a similar way to the one he had seen previously, but his nerve was giving way. He extinguished his wand-light and sent several Incendio charms down the tunnel. Balls of yellow flame hurtled down the tunnel, scorching the wall covering, but not damaging it.

Dumbledore turned in Harry's direction to see what he was doing, but then returned to watching where they were going. Harry, meanwhile, was feeling a little braver now, as he knew they were reaching the end of the nightmare covered part of the tunnel, and could start to walk quicker on the dirt. But then, he heard something moving in the darkness. A crackling sound, like someone popping bubble-wrap, was coming from just in front of him and he lit the end of his wand.

What he saw made his blood run cold. A little further back down the tunnel the creature was descending from the ceiling! It must have been sleeping or something as they passed beneath it. He was frozen with fear as the thing detached itself from its hiding place after holding on with the six huge ribs that stuck from its back.

'Professor,' Harry gasped.

Dumbledore spun round, and shone his light at the creature as it stood up to its full height, surveying Harry and the others with interest. Harry snapped out of his dazed state and extinguished his wand-light. Dumbledore moved to stand next to Harry and let his light illuminate the corridor.

'IMMOBILUS!' Harry cried and the spell hit it squarely on its body.

But the result was not the same as hitting any other creature as it didn't seem to have any effect whatsoever. The monster seemed to take offence to this and rushed at them; claws extended; mouth starting to open to reveal its inner striking teeth. Taking aim again, he let go half a dozen wand-arrows at the oncoming nightmare. To his horror, they simply spanged off its armoured skin, causing the monster to veer off course just a fraction; bright sparks lit the side of the tunnel briefly. It was getting closer and it opened its mouth wider, ready to use the inner teeth. Harry re-aimed, pointing directly at the things mouth and let six more arrows fly. His aim was not good as most of the arrows bounced off the side of its head, but two of the arrows entered its nightmarish mouth. They must have rattled around inside its head like an angry bee in a jar, tearing at the softer tissue, and then the things head exploded, throwing green fluid around the tunnel.

Dumbledore was standing slightly in front of Harry and took most of the debris from the killed monster. Its blood splattered Dumbledore's cloak and some also fell on Harry's cloak. Their clothes started to smoke and they both realised the stuff was starting to burn its way through. Harry threw off his cloak, and Dumbledore did likewise. The clothes stood on the floor smoking, and an acrid smell filled the tunnel.

'Acid for blood,' Harry noted. 'Makes them very difficult to kill then.'

'Or makes them taste bad,' Dumbledore added.

Harry shuddered at the thought of what something must look like that would prey on these creatures. He stood watching the acid eat through the floor of the tunnel, but where the monster's secretion was, the acid simply ran off it; puddling in the small hollows.

'I think we should leave now,' Hagrid advised and Dumbledore moved back to the front to resume lighting the way.

Harry picked up the cloaks and dragged them behind him. It didn't seem to take as long to reach the tunnel entrance, and the rain that met them in the morning gloom hit Harry so hard, he thought his skin was being stripped from his face. But it refreshed him; cleansed his soul and he opened his mouth to taste the sweet rainwater. He watched Hagrid carry Snape round the corner of the castle with Dumbledore close behind until they were out of sight, and then he dropped to the floor. He didn't care that his backside was in a small puddle as he felt the cool water seep into his clothes, and he fell backwards into the sodden grass. The rain pelted his tired body and he closed his eyes, carefully.

Sleep did not come, however, because Ron appeared with Hermione and Parvati. They ran round to where Harry was lying and Parvati dropped down beside him and shook him.

'Harry,' she cried, and he opened his eyes. 'Oh, Harry. I thought you were dead.'

He sat up. 'Not likely,' he said and smiled.

'Madam Hooch told us where the tunnel entrance ... what happened to your jumper?' Hermione asked.

Harry looked down and saw a large hole had been burnt in the front.

'Oh,' he chuckled, 'I ran into an old friend. Needless to say, we didn't get on.'

'You mean,' Ron said slowly, 'that there was something in there? Something big, black, and all teeth and claws?'

'So,' Harry chuckled. 'Parvati told you what was in my dream then? That's the last time I tell you about my secrets.'

He gave Parvati a hug.

'You killed it then?' Parvati asked eagerly.

'Yep,' Harry replied brightly. 'It took some doing, though, I can tell you. None of the spells worked, and even wand-arrows failed to hurt it. They just bounced off its skin like they were paper aeroplanes threw at it. But I did manage to get some wand-arrows into its mouth. That stopped it dead. Blew its head right off!'

'Does this mean you can sleep again?' Ron asked nervously.

'I hope so,' Harry replied and closed his eyes again, but then opened them and frowned.

'There is a puzzle, though,' he said as he stood up. 'When we rescued Snape, there was a large rubbery object on the floor in front of him. It looked like some sort of egg thing and it was empty, but I couldn't see any more monsters.'

'It doesn't matter, mate,' Ron said. 'Come on, its breakfast time and I'm starving.'

Harry bent down and picked up the sodden, burnt cloaks and something fell from between the folds: it looked like some sort of large crab, with eight long bony fingers, and a long scaly tail. It was obviously dead.

'Urg, what's that,' Hermione exclaimed.

'I have no idea,' Harry said. 'It's something I have never seen before...Yes I have! There was one in another egg back there. It looks like this one hatched, then died. Perhaps it was ill or something.'

'How did it get in your cloak then?' Hermione asked.

Harry frowned. 'It must've got caught up in my cloak when we rescued Snape. Anyway, as it's dead, so I'll chuck it back in the tunnel. It's going nowhere so I'm sure it'll be okay.'

Harry kicked the thing back into the tunnel and they trudged back to the castle and went straight to the Great Hall, even though he was wet and needed to change. He was very hungry and ate a large bowl of porridge, followed by a mass of bacon. He was excused lessons for the day to rest, and once he had bathed and changed, he dropped into the armchair next to the fire in the common room. The wind howled round the windows and rushed down the chimney making the fire dance, but none of it mattered to Harry. He had killed the thing that was giving him the nightmares, and he smiled triumphantly.

Before long, he dozed off. He dreamed of Parvati. She was standing in the Great Hall, with Hermione and Ron, and she was wearing a little red bikini. He chased her across the castle as he wanted to kiss her, but she always stayed one step ahead of him. They raced, laughing, through the maze of corridors, round the grounds, then back into the castle. Ron was standing by the door, and his pale face smiled at them as they ran by.

Parvati ran into the dungeons and Harry followed eagerly. They ran past the goblin heads on plaques; past the cages with hideous clawed hands reaching for them; past the body of Snape who was hanging from a hook in the wall, with the front of his chest burst open; past the doors leading to-

Harry skidded to a halt and turned back to Snape's body. His lifeless form swayed gently to and fro as though he had only just been hung up. He stared at the wound. Ribs could be seen bent outwards; flesh was torn and organs ripped open; blood dripped to the floor...

Harry snapped his eyes open and stood up. Hermione jumped back as she had just entered the room to see if he wanted any lunch.

'Do you know where Snape is?' he asked frantically.

'Hospital Wing I imagine,' she replied.

He ran out of the common room and headed for the Hospital wing. He hoped his dream was wrong this time, but if it wasn't, another monster, more vicious than the Basilisk he went up against a few years ago was now sitting waiting to hatch in the Hospital Wing.