(1) Lux Brumalis (R. Weasley)

Chapter Fifty-Four

Fluffy can sense that there is a disturbance in the room, but because of the invisibility cloak, none of the dog's heads can see Harry, Ron, Hermione, or Pixie lurking in front of it. It is still jarring to see the dog. The sheer size of it is overwhelming. The warmth from its breath. Pixie stares at the three heads as they shift a little, sniffing, trying to find them.

"What's that at its feet?" Hermione asks as she peers around the dog's leg to look at something there, something out of place.

"Looks like a harp," Ron answers. "Snape must have left it there." Pixie shakes her head slightly, still not wanting to go there, but she glances around the room, at Fluffy.

"It must wake up the moment you stop playing," She offers. The harp is no longer playing, and the dog is awake. One plus one equals no music and the dog wakes.

"Well, here goes..." Harry sets Hagrid's flute to his lips and blows. Not in any particular tune or order, just noise, but it works. Fluffy's eyes begin to droop. Harry continues to play, eyes never leaving the dog as it slumps to the ground, fast asleep.

"Keep playing" Ron warns Harry as they all leave the cloak. Pixie blows a strand of hair from her eyes and glances nervously at Fluffy as they sneak towards the trap door. "I think we'll be able to pull the door open. Want to go first, Hermione?"

"No, I don't!" Hermione is quick to argue.

"Pixie?" Ron asks, Pixie takes a deep breath and then nods.

"Okay," She whispers and then steps carefully over the dog's legs. She bends down and pulls the ring of the trapdoor, which swings up and open. Ron leans over her shoulder to peer down into the hole.

"What can you see?" Hermione asks them.

"Nothing" Ron answers. "Just black, there's no way of climbing down, we'll just have to drop." Harry, who is still playing the flute, tries to get Ron's attention by waving his hand. He then points at himself. "You want to go first? Are you sure? I don't know how deep this thing goes. Give the flute to Hermione so she can keep him asleep." Harry hands the flute over to Hermione who takes up the flute. Harry joins Pixie and Ron and looks down through the trapdoor, but there is no sign of the bottom through the blackness. Harry takes a deep breath and nods, readying himself. He then lowers himself through the hole until he is hanging on to the edge by his fingers.

"If anything happens to me, don't follow. Go straight to the owlery and send Hedwig to Dumbledore, right?" Harry begs his friends.

"Right," Ron agrees, but there is something in his tone that says that's not what he's going to do, he's going to help Harry in any way that he can.

"See you in a minute, I hope..." Harry takes a deep breath and then lets go. Pixie and Ron lean forward trying to see through the dark for Harry, but there is nothing. It's far too dark. They both wait. The only sound coming from Hermione as she plays the flute to settle Fluffy, but her eyes keep flicking over to the others to wait and see herself. "It's okay!" Harry shouts up and Pixie lets out a relieved breath. "It's a soft landing, you can jump!" Ron and Pixie share a look and she nods for him to go first. Ron leans up and then takes a deep breath before he just jumps. No hesitation. No thinking. Just jumps. Pixie and Hermione share a look. "Come on, Pixie!" Harry shouts at her. Pixie shakes her head, more to herself than to anyone else. She needs to steel herself for the jump. She swings her arms at her side before she jumps.

"Oh, that's spongy" She comments as she lands with a little bounce.

"Hermione!" Harry shouts. The distant music from the flute stops, followed by a loud bark from Fluffy, but Hermione is already on the descent. She lands on Harry's other side. Her eyes adjust to the dark a little, they are still pretty blinded down here.

"We must be miles under the school," she muses.

"Lucky this plant thing's here, really," Ron admits patting at the plant beneath them.

"Lucky!" Hermione shrieks. "Look at you!" She leaps up and struggles towards the edge of the room, pressing herself against the damp wall. Pixie frowns a little, not really sure why the sudden alarm from her friend. Till she realises that the plant has started to twist snakelike appendages around her. As well as Harry and Ron. Legs tightly bound. "Stop moving!" Hermione snaps when they try to free themselves, but just pulls themselves deeper into the plant's hold. "I know what this is. It's Devil's Snare!"

"Oh, I'm so glad we know what it's called, that's a great help," Ron counters as he tries to stop the plant from wrapping around his neck.

"Shut up, I'm trying to remember how to kill it!" Hermione argues.

"Well, hurry up, I can't breathe!" Harry gasps against the plant as it curls around his chest. Constricting around the three of them.

"This really sucks" Pixie grumbles, trying to pry a tentacle from around her neck.

"Devil's Snare, Devil's Snare...what did Professor Sprout say?" Hermione thinks out loud. "It likes the dark and the damp...."

"So light a fire!" Pixie finishes.

"Yes, of course. but there's no wood!" Hermione cried, wringing her hands. Pixie holds out her hands and concentrates, suddenly little orange orbs appear in her pals before they pop and two pillars of flames erupt.

"Ahaha!" She cheers and then holds out her hands around the plant encircling them. Harry and Ron close their eyes and attempt to shield themselves. She lets burst the flames at the plant. In a matter of seconds, the three of them can feel it loosening its grip around them, cringing and shrinking away from the light and warmth. Wriggling and flailing, it unravels itself from their bodies, and they are able to pull themselves free of its clutches.

"Lucky you pay attention in Herbology, Hermione," Harry comments as he leans back against the wall.

"Yeah" Ron agrees. "And lucky Pixie doesn't lose her head in a crisis....'there's no wood,' honestly." He shakes his head as Pixie glances at her hands. She's done that is meditation. But never really considered the actual use of it. She's glad she remembered that.

"This way," Harry tells them as he points along a dark stone passageway. Their only way onward. They have to go deeper.

"Not like we can go back up" Pixie grumbles as she follows after her friends.