Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery Year 5

Chapter 30

TRIGGER WARNING: THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS MENTIONS OF VIOLENCE AND TORTURE.
Dani got to the training grounds with barely five minutes to go before the time the portkey was set to, touching her pocket to make sure the thing she hoped she wouldn't need to use was still there. Everyone was waiting, except Ben. "Can I have a word with you before we go, professor?" Dani asked about a concern that resurfaced towards the end of OWLs.

"Make it quick."

Dani lowered her voice as she asked, "Are you sure we'll all make it out of the vault?"

"I know this will be dangerous, Miss Jackson, so I can't guarantee you anything, but I think we have a decent group. We'll probably be fine."

"You said at the beginning of the year that curses were made to be broken-"

"And I still stand by that."

"But what if-"

"You know what to do, Miss Jackson. In the meantime, think about what you'll say to your brother if you find him."

Rakepick checked her watch. "Alright, we're three minutes away."

"Dani, do you know where Ben is?" asked Penny.

"No, I didn't see him when I left the common room."

"Well what should we do now?!" said Bill.

"Leave without him, I guess," said Merula.

"Two minutes!"

"Let's just grab the painting and wait." Dani walked towards Rakepick, who still held the portkey.

"Is there enough hand room for six?" Bill grabbed on and the others followed.

Ben sprinted in just as Rakepick yelled "One minute!"

"I was at the owlery," panted Ben as he took a hold on the portrait as well. "Had to send an owl to a very important witch."

"What matters is you made it." Rakepick stared at her watch. "And we're off in three... Two... One..."

Dani had used a portkey before, but she was shocked as she was suddenly lifted off the ground, spinning, before landing in a room. The walls were made of irregular stone blocks, lined with a few knights-it reminded Dani of both the corridor outside the first vault, and the duelling room deep in the dungeons. The most interesting thing in the room was a large, bright, eye-catching tapestry at the front, with life-size wooden double doors sewed on the bottom centre. Dani noticed that there seemed to be no open door, which meant that portkeys were probably the only way in or out assuming the vault was behind the tapestry.

"Ugh, that was unpleasant..." groaned Ben.

"For those of you who have never used a portkey before this, some nausea is normal, especially for your first try, and we already had a decent landing." Rakepick said.

"See those huge burn marks over there? Could ACTUALLY be a dragon," Bill pointed out.

"Great, we should've REALLY brought Charlie," Merula complained.

"We should look around before anything," suggested Penny.

"Well, I most certainly don't see anything interesting here," replied Dani.

"I agree with Miss Jackson on this. The vault is probably behind the door, so we'll need to find a way to open it."

"But that's a tapestry!" exclaimed Bill.

Rakepick ignored him. "How do you think we can open it?"

"I know!" Excited to be the first one in the vault, Merula ran to the tapestry. "ALOHOMORA!"