my riddle to solve (tom riddle)

twenty-three

The strong smell of mildew was the first thing I became aware of. The rancid particles entered through my nostrils and made my head swirl. Cold hands were resting on my shoulders, their owner pleading with me to wake up.

"Please don't be dead, please don't be dead," mumbled the frantic voice. I compelled my tired eyes open, wanting to see what had happened to me. My eyes were met with a familiar pair of grey ones. A disheveled Abraxas Malfoy was kneeling next to my body. The left side of his face was streaked with blood, and some of it had started to mix with his pale locks, staining them a bright carmine color.

"Brax? Where are we?" The only source of light was from a single lamp resting on the ground a few feet away. The illumination was only so strong that I could recognize the boy next to me, and see the outline of a door.

"Merlin, you're not dead! I was so worried, for a second I thought-" I forced my upper body to rise enough so I could pull Abraxas into my embrace. I felt his chest heave a sigh of relief as I assured him that I was alive.

The previous event of the evening came rushing back through my head with the force of a monsoon. The bombs, the fire, the cloaked men. I hadn't a clue how long I had been out for, although whoever had knocked me out had done so using magic. There was a dull ache in the back of my skull, but it was nothing compared to what I would be feeling, had I been hit over the head with a brick.

A sickening feeling flooded my gut as I remembered what had happened moments before I lost consciousness.

"We need to find the others," I decided, not mentioning any specific names. Abraxas raised his brow slightly before speaking.

"Well, yes, but first we ought to figure a way out of here. Do you think that you could stand up?" I shakily raised myself up as he did the same. I was a bit sore, but still completely able. I reached for the lantern so that I could get a better view of our surroundings. We had been locked in a small room with walls fashioned from cobblestone. Droplets of water slid off the bricks and formed puddles on the ground. The door was locked of course, and both of our wands had been taken from us.

"Should we risk shouting for help?"

"No, not yet. We'd probably only be heard by the people we don't want to hear us. Can you do any magic without your wand?"

"Er, not really. I'd do more harm than good," he admitted. "Hey, do you remember that time the Muggle police-boy put me in handcuffs? You used a hair-thingy to get them off; happen to have any of those on you?" I quickly passed him the oil lamp and started to run my fingers through my hair, hoping that at least one of my hairpins remained. The braided crown fell loose as I slipped one out and bent it open.

Aspen had taught me this particular trick a few years ago, and I had only successfully used it a few times. The lock was incredibly old and frail, which made things a tad easier for me. I wriggled the pin through the lock and applied small pressure upwards. After a few minutes of struggle, I finally heard the satisfying click that allowed me to push the door open.

"Merlin, I don't know what I would do without you," Abraxas whispered as we slipped out of the room. A quick glance around told us that we were still underground. The eerie green torches lit up the tunnels, and rats scattered around the dirt floor. There was a whole row of doors that led to rooms identical to the one I had just been in.

"You search the ones on the left, I'll do the right," Abraxas instructed. To my dismay, most of the rooms were unlocked and empty. When I reached the last one in my set, I noticed that the door had been locked. I immediately slunk to the ground and peered through the small crack. A warm light flooded my vision, signaling that there was another lamp inside.