The first thing Harry felt when he regained consciousness was pain. Every part of his body ached and he just wanted to crawl in to his bed at Hogwarts and sleep till everything was better. Instead Harry was lost and he couldn't remember why he lying on a stone floor in the darkness. The last thing Harry could recall was a mission to go and rescue Sirius at the Department of Mysteries but the Death Eaters had been waiting and it had all gone so wrong. Harry had a massive migraine as he tried to think about what had happened but he couldn't remember how it had ended and when he shook his head it only made him feel worse.
Looking around Harry saw that the area was pitch black but Harry could sense he was not alone. There was a feeling of malevolence that filled the air. "Who's there?"
A deep chuckle echoed out of the darkness, "I am the Horned Reaper, though my friends call me Horny, what about you little human?"
Harry put a hand in his robes and was grateful to feel the handle of his wand. He was not completely helpless and now he could discover what he was dealing with. Drawing out his wand he pointed it in the direction of the voice and yelled out, "Lumos!"
A bright light built up on the tip of his wand and revealed the devilish monster. Harry had been expecting something non-human after hearing the creature's response but he was not prepared for the towering and muscular figure he was presented with. Still Harry had spent a lot of time around Hagrid who considered a fire breathing dragon a good pet to have in the straw hut he called home. Harry stood his ground and the monster gave him a grin with a fang filled mouth that really wanted Harry to rethink his decision. "I think you might be the first creature that hasn't fled in terror at the sight of me in a long time, that says something very interesting about you. I ask you again, what is your name?"
"Harry Potter, where am I?" Harry stood his ground, whatever this creature was it was willing to talk and the longer Harry could keep it doing so, the longer he could think of some way to escape.
"Very quick and to the point but then that might just be a side effect of how you got here. Regardless, you are now trapped here with me in a dungeon in the land of Harmony. A cold, dark, and dank place and worst of all completely boring."
Harry was a little worried as he had never heard of such a place but maybe Horny could tell Harry about a way to get home. "Isn't there an exit somewhere I could use. You see I need to get back home, to Hogwarts."
Horny couldn't believe his good luck after all this time and now there was a magic user asking for his help. He was small but he was probably young, he lacked the facial hair that other wizards typically had. Horny just had to sell this last part and eventually he would gain his freedom and be killing in the service of a Keeper again. "There is only one way out, follow me and I will show it to you."
When Horny turned around and started walking in to the darkness, Harry looked around him to try and determine if any other direction looked better than he was being directed to by Horny but nothing looked promising and if the demon was right then any path Harry tried would lead to a dead end. Horny might not be so friendly to Harry the next time if Harry wandered off and so with a few misgivings Harry followed Horny at a distance, his lumos keeping him from losing sight of his guide.
Any hope that Horny was leading Harry to the surface was firmly squashed when Harry arrived in a large chamber with an mystic circle, with runes inscribed along the border, in the center of the room. Harry wished he knew what he was looking at but this was a type of magic he hadn't chosen to study while he was at Hogwarts. Harry just knew that if Hermione were here she would have the answer and tell him why what he was doing was going to end badly. Despite his ignorance, Harry could tell that this was some sort of ritual and considering the last ritual Harry was in, he was on his guard. Harry pointed his wand at Horny, "What's the meaning of this? I thought you were going to show me how to get out of here."
Flames gathered around Horny's hands and now he was holding a large scythe and pointed it at the wizard, "The only way you can escape this dungeon is to become it's Keeper. Will you accept this role and gain power or will you refuse and die?"
Harry swung his wand in a flourish, "Petrificus Totalus!" and the spell shot out and hit squarely in the chest to the Reaper's surprise, causing his arms and legs to snap together and his scythe to drop to the floor. Horny dropped to the ground and cursed Harry for what he had done followed by threats of bodily harm and killing Harry himself for treating him this way. Harry had to think. "Its not that I don't believe you but I'm going to explore this place myself. If I've found this is some kind of trick then I won't be back."
Horny lay on the ground for several minutes, before testing the bonds of the spell placed on him. The spell had not caused any damage and was merely an inconvenience, he could break it easily and did so but he ignored his first desire to chase after Harry. It was only a matter time till Harry realized that there was no other way and would come back to become a keeper. Horny had been here for centuries, a day or two was nothing to him.
Harry wandered the halls of the dungeon and reached one dead end after the other, he tried very hard not to get lost but considering how dark it was and as the hours passed it was inevitable. Harry was tired, hungry, was beginning to miss his friends. Where were Hermione and Ron and the rest of Dumbledore's Army? How had he gotten here but the past was a foggy mess. There was no use trying to force the issue and Harry decided that Horny had been right, he was not going to find a way to the surface on his own. He would have to do what the demon desired in order to get his freedom. It took some time to make it back to the center of the dungeon and Horny was waiting, scythe held casually with one arm.
"Before I agree to do this, why haven't you become this dungeon's keeper if it is the only way to escape?"
"Only someone with a soul, can become a keeper and I don't qualify no is there any thing else before you decide to waste more time?"
Harry thought about it but he could see no other alternative, "I've made my decision, I'll become a keeper and return home to my friends at Hogwarts. How do I accomplish this ritual?"
"It's simple. You must spill your blood on the circle and channel your magic in to the dungeon heart." The boy was very brave but foolish. After he became a keeper, his friends wouldn't want to see him and they might even want to kill him. The boy would learn with time.
Stepping on to the seal that locked the dungeon heart away, Harry motioned for the Reaper to extend his scythe and cut his hand with the blade. The wound was minor but the blood began to flow, coating his wand and dripping on to the floor and Harry considered what spell he would cast to complete the ritual. It would take something powerful, Harry decided to use one of his strongest spell to make sure no mistake was made. "Expecto Patronum!"
Horny watched with barely suppressed glee as Harry's wand released a silvery vapor that shifted in to the form of a stag. The apparition charged forward, lowering its prongs and struck the hard floor. A crack appeared in the stone that steadily grew until it covered the entirety of the seal. A foul wind shot up from the cracks and Harry covered his mouth, to no avail, to avoid the stench of rot. Harry then felt a strong pull on himself that had him screaming as a red ball of light floated out of his chest and a green ball with swirls of black light was extracted from the scar on his head. Harry could hear the sound of stone cracking. Harry tried to reach solid ground but he was to slow and the floor crumbled out beneath him to reveal a pulsing storm, rhythmic as a heart beat and swallowed Harry up.
Green lightning flared out of the dungeon heart, striking the walls and floor changing the barren room so that it had columns appearing at regular intervals through out the room. The floor became tiled with squares that had a green gem centered with them and the cracked walls were reinforced and made smooth. Horny watched with some interest as images of snakes began slithering across the walls and floors up to curl around pillars and glide along the ceiling. When each snake reached a certain point it would freeze in place. Along the back wall of the chamber Horny noticed the statue of a monstrous basilisk, it's eyes cut out and fangs bared. The changes went no farther then the dungeon heart chamber, Horny knew that Imps would have to be summoned to extend the new Keeper's domain. Speaking of which...
Red motes of light floated out of the dungeon heart to coalesce in to the form of Harry. Harry took a step forward and found himself lacking in strength, dropping to one knee. Harry refused to lie down and with a grunt of effort stood up again, feeling better as his strength returned to him. Harry looked around at his surroundings and found himself in a Slytherin styled room but the thing that held his attention the most was the statue of the basilisk. It looked exactly like the one he had slain in his second year, after its eyes had been removed by Dumbledore's phoenix Fawkes.
"What happened here? Where did all this come from?"
"From you, this is a subconscious expression of your will that the dungeon heart sensed, though you are something special. Tell me Keeper, how long have you had two souls?"
Harry was dumbfounded, "What?"
Read the comments on this episode
(Posted Sun, 13 Jun 2010 12:19)
Questions? Problems? Suggestions?
Send a mail to addventure@bast-enterprises.de
or use the contact form.
らんま1/2 © Rumiko Takahashi
All other series and their characters are © by their respective creators or owners. No claims of ownership of these characters are implied by the authors of this Addventure, or should be inferred.
The Anime Addventure is a non-profit site.