“How far do you think this goes?” I asked.
I gently squeezed Harry’s hand as we continued along the ever-narrowing path. We’d been walking for hours. There wasn’t enough room for us to walk side by side anymore, so he went ahead, trailing one hand behind him for me to hold.
“The map said a few miles, so we should be close.” He glanced down at the vertical drop.
I lost my balance and flailed my arms. Harry tried to counterbalance me, but he stumbled and fell, too. He stopped only when I waved my wand and enveloped him in magic.
“Thanks.” He adjusted his glasses.
“No probs. I don’t think holding hands is on the table anymore, though.” I shook my head.
“Agreed, but…” He stopped when he spotted something.
Pastries littered the path ahead.
He knelt to collect one and held it up.
“Look familiar?” he asked.
“How’d it get over there?” I asked.
“Remember how we left a bunch behind before continuing?”
“Yeah.” I nodded.
He peered over the edge. Pastries littered the rocky sides of the path, too.
“A looping enchantment?” I looked around.
“Yeah. I don’t think we can walk our way out. Also, I just noticed the waterfall hasn’t moved.” He nodded towards it.
I did a double take.
How had I not noticed that?
“Looks like we need to fall.” He nodded towards the drop.
“Hey, perhaps we could skip the whole jumping-to-our-doom thing? Maybe we should just head back. At least try that before considering the scary options.”
“All right. Ladies first.” He waved me on.
I turned and walked back the way we’d come.
Nothing happened.
No, wait. Something did happen, and it wasn’t good.
The path became extremely narrow. I held out my hands to balance myself as I walked. Soon, the path was no wider than a rope.
I looked down and gulped.
Dare I jump?
No. Just one more step.
Yeah, come on, girl. Just take another step and…
My foot landed on solid earth.
Not an inch of it, either. I found myself standing on a rocky outcropping.
Behind me, the rope-sized rocky path stretched into the distance, seemingly going on forever. I spotted Harry far away along it.
“COME ON! IT’S SAFE!” I cupped my hands around my mouth.
He wobbled forward with his arms outstretched. He took a step, and his body rapidly expanded. A moment later, he appeared right in front of me, and we collided.
I hit the ground, and he landed on top of me.
Our faces hovered less than an inch apart.
My cheeks burned.
We locked eyes, and for a moment, my heart refused to stop pounding.
“Ahhh… sorry about that.” He scrambled to his feet.
“Y… yeah.” I got up and dusted myself off.
“I wonder where this leads.” He approached a door built into the rocky wall.
“Hopefully, the exit. We must have walked for miles.” I tapped my foot.
He reached for the door, and it opened, revealing a passage made of dark, glassy material.
“Lumos!” He raised his wand, and its tip shone brightly.
Every surface was made of a dark, glass-like substance, with swirling storm clouds seemingly contained inside it. Occasionally, flashes of lightning illuminated sections of the walls.
Harry marvelled at the sight, pushing his glasses back up his nose. He looked at everything as though he’d never seen magic before.
Seeing him like this made my heart swell.
I hurried over and took his hand.
I looked at our joined hands, then at him. He opened his mouth to ask something, but I laughed.
“In case I fall and need you to catch me.” I chuckled.
“Right.” He nodded.
We walked through the passage as dark storm clouds roiled around us.
A thunderclap boomed, and I let out a squeal.
Harry wrapped an arm around me.
“You all right?” he asked.
“Yes.” I nodded.
He started to move away, but I pulled him closer.
What’s wrong with me?
No! What’s wrong with him?
Harry, make the first move! Come on! I’m literally giving you SOOOO many hints. We’re holding hands. I’m hugging you! Just… make a move!
I pulled my hand away from his and folded my arms.
“Draconia?” he asked.
“Never mind. Let’s move.” I stuck up my nose, turned, and walked away.
The passage opened into a chamber made of the same glass-like material. On the opposite side stood a deep-green door decorated with woodland artwork.
Between us and the door sat a large granite cube in the middle of the room.
I made to enter, but Harry blocked my path.
“I don’t like it.” He waved his wand towards the cube.
“We can run around it and get out through that door. It looks like the one back in the ghost mead hall, so it’s probably the final exit,” I said.
“So?”
“So, I have more experience with these things than you.”
“You do?”
“Yes. In my first year, I had to navigate a dungeon full of traps. Then there was the Chamber of Secrets, and last year’s tournament…”
“All right, all right! Show-off, I get it. You know how to get through dungeons.” I gave him a little shove, then smirked.
“Thank you.” He puffed out his chest proudly.
“Oh, great and mighty Harry Potter, master of the dungeons, leader of the Pot-heads. Please lead the way.” I gestured dramatically towards the room.
His smile faded, but then he chuckled.
“I like that. Master of the dungeons. I’ll keep it.” He laughed.
“All right, Dungeon Master. Get in there and lead the way.”
I shoved him inside and followed.
He took a few steps forward with his wand raised, looking around cautiously.
We walked around the perimeter of the room. The light from our wands revealed engravings on the floor, forming a spiral that led towards the cube. They looked like Latin, or some other ancient language.
I glanced back at the glowing runes behind us.
No. Every word we’d stepped on was glowing.
“Stop!” I grabbed his sleeve.
He stopped and opened his mouth to speak, but light suddenly bathed us from below.
The letters glowed brighter, and the light seemed to spread outwards.
It took me a moment to realise that standing on the floor was making things worse.
“RUN!” I screamed.
We sprinted towards the door.
With every footfall, ripples of glowing words spread across the floor. Within seconds, light had filled half the room.
Then came the sound of cracking stone.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the cube rise. Glowing lines spread across its surface, and thin streams of dust cascaded from it.
The lower third unfolded, forming blocky legs. Its sides popped out, thin joints holding them in place, while another cube extended from the top.
Within seconds, it had transformed into a blocky stone colossus.
Glowing text covered its body as it turned to regard us.
“Come on!” Harry shouted.
He opened the door and waved for me to leave.
I reached it and emerged into the forest.
Free, safe, and—
Magical vines appeared around me.
I was yanked backwards.
I slid across the floor, and my wand tumbled from my hand. The vines dragged me towards the colossus as one rose like a spike.
Wait, is it going to impale me?
The root moved, but it exploded before it could reach me.
Harry strode into the room, unleashing explosive spells. Chunks of vine blew apart around me, splattering me with plant matter.
I hit the floor.
My legs gave out, and I slammed into the ground. My body trembled. I felt so weak, as though I’d been completely drained.
The colossus raised a foot, preparing to stomp on me.
“Accio Malfoid!” Harry held out his wand.
A magical aura enveloped me, and I slid across the ground towards him.
The earth shook as the giant brought down its foot.
“Accio!” I thrust out a hand.
My wand flew into my palm.
I turned and aimed it at the giant.
“Periculum!” I roared.
The wand fired a red bolt that exploded in the giant’s face. It staggered backwards.
I struggled to my feet while Harry unleashed a barrage of fire.
The giant conjured a shield made of tree bark, but the wood caught fire. The monster flicked its stone fingers and hurled the burning shield at Harry.
“Protego!” I roared.
A barrier appeared around him.
The flaming wood exploded against the protective shell.
My head swam, and my legs gave out again.
The colossus let out a high-pitched scream. Wooden spikes sprouted around it.
My head rang.
Harry ran towards me and thrust out his wand. The spikes hurtled towards us, and he summoned a protective shell around us.
Wood splintered against it.
The giant summoned more spikes.
The ground shook as it approached.
I tried to stand, but my legs wouldn’t listen.
“Run! R… run!” I roared.
The giant raised a leg.
White light shone from my bag, and Harry noticed.
He reached inside. The Harry doll tumbled out along with the Phantom Sceptre.
He held up the rod, and ghostly light spilled from it.
The colossus froze with one leg raised. This chapter is updated first at g.com.
The air around us swirled. Slowly, the giant lowered its leg and pulled back.
I watched as it shrank, transforming back into a cube.
“Can you walk?” Harry asked.
“Yeah.” I nodded.
I got up, took one step, and fell.
He caught me.
“Together,” he said.
“Yes,” I replied.
We left together.
My head swam, and I vaguely remember him closing the door behind us. Then I collapsed onto the snow, and he held me.
“I just… need… to… close my eyes.” My eyelids fluttered shut.
I awoke wrapped in blankets beside a fireplace.
I stared at a stone ceiling, then cocked my head.
Where was I?
The door had been left open, and Harry sat at a table, hunched over a scroll.
“Ahhh… where are we?” I sat up.
“You’re awake!” His face lit up.
“Obviously.” I rolled my eyes.
“Oh, right. Well, you’ve been asleep for, like, a day and a half. Good news: we have plenty of food.”
He gestured towards the adjoining dining room, where pastries covered the table.
“Bad news: it’s jam pastries. And only jam pastries.”
“Oh… well, I’m glad we made it. Wait, why did I pass out?” I checked myself for wounds.
“The scroll says the guardians are called Onyx Colossi, and they draw power by siphoning life force. I think when it grabbed you, it…”
“Stole my life force, yeah. It certainly feels like I’ve been drained.” I got up and stretched my back.
“Additional good news. It’s almost New Year’s.” He tapped his watch.
“I don’t know. We’ll be in HUGE trouble if anyone finds out we snuck out and spent days in the woods together in an abandoned…” I looked around. “A shack?”
“It’s my tent. I got it at the start of the year, just in case. It’s bigger on the inside because…” He stopped.
“I know how tents work.” I scoffed and waved him off.
I headed for the pastries and ate one.
The first was delicious.
The second was ordinary.
By the third, I wanted something else. ANYTHING else.
Then came a series of pops and cracks.
We exchanged a look.
“Someone found us?” I asked.
“Who knows?” He drew his wand.
We rushed outside, expecting the worst.
We looked around and spotted flashes of light in the distance.
We approached them, and I realised they were fireworks.
We stood atop a cliff overlooking a Muggle town. Fireworks filled the sky.
I laughed.
After everything we’d been through, Muggle fireworks were the most magical thing I’d ever seen.
We stood in silence, watching the display.
Then I reached for Harry’s hand.
We looked at each other.
We held hands.
Come on, Harry. I’m right here. Make your move.
Nothing happened.
Of course it didn’t.
Hey, reader, is it just me, or is Harry a bit dense?
I suddenly realised how many hints I’d given him and how he hadn’t done anything. Literally NOTHING.
You know, if I kept waiting, something else would try to kill me before I got the chance to tell him.
“I like you, Harry,” I said.
He looked shocked, then smiled.
“I like you too.” He smiled.
My face lit up.
“You mean, like a friend?” I asked.
“Yeah.” He chuckled nervously and scratched his hair.
“I meant, I like you, like… I like you…” I bit my lip.
“Oh…” He looked at me as realisation dawned.
He moved closer.
We locked eyes.
Fireworks filled the sky.
He glanced at my lips, then back at me. He leaned closer, paused, and pulled away.
Just when I thought he was about to say something stupid, he leaned forward and kissed me.
His lips felt warm against mine.
The kiss lasted only a moment before he pulled away, his cheeks burning.
I tugged his arm and moved closer.
He wrapped his arms around me, and we kissed under the firelight.