Three Worlds Clash

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Hermione Granger's POV

I was three feet off the ground when I realized I could just use a summoning spell to bring the stone to me.

I carefully slid down the length of the tree I had already climbed, sliding my wand out of my sleeve when my feet were safely on solid ground. I raised my wand, pointing it at the stone.

"Accio!"

The stone in the tree didn't move.

Not one bit.

Cursing myself, I realized that if this stone had magical properties, it wouldn't come to a summoning spell.

I sighed and started up the tree again.

The clock in the sky was nearing 45 minutes left. I climbed faster.

Once, I slipped and the only thing keeping me from plummeting to the ground was a single branch.

None of my magic was working. I'd tried wingarduim leviosa, a spell of flight, and momento,  a spell that was supposed to take you up high.

Apparently, Dark meant that magic wouldn't work in this forest when he said it wasn't as it seems.

I reached the branch the stone was on and pulled myself up so that I was straddling the branch. I reached for my wand before remembering that magic wouldn't work.

Cursing myself again, I reached for the stone. My fingers were just a few inches too short. I shimmied out on the branch more, freezing when it dipped under my weight.

I determined the branch would hold, so I inched further out. The branch continued to dip the more I crawled. Finally, I reached out and snatched up the stone, wincing when a rush of power traveled up my arm, leaving pins and needles.

I tightened my grip on the stone, which was hard with the amount of sting I got in reaction. Carefully shimmieing backwards towards the safety of the thick part of the branch, I clutched the stone so hard it made my whole arm feel numb.

The numbness almost killed me too.

I was almost back to the trunk when th stone shot out another blast of pins and needles, making me lose feeling in my other hand and slip.

With no feeling in either arm and no way to grip onto the tree, I slid off the branch and fell, plummeting twelve feet to the ground. 

I landed on my feet, which was not fun. Pain shot up my left foot and I crumpled to the ground, the stone still clutched in my hand.

It appeared I had broken my ankle.

I pushed myself to my feet, wobbling when spots danced in front of my eyes. Once I steadied myself, I opened my fist and looked at the stone for the first time up close.

It was pure black and perfectly oval, not a scratch or a nick on it. I rolled it between my fingers, feeling it's power.

How could something so small and insignificant hold so much power? Enough power to decide the fate of my friends.

I picked up a stick on the ground and used it as a crutch so I could hobble my way back to where my friends were still picking through rocks.

THe clock was at twenty-three minutes.

Ron looked up when he saw me.

"Hey Hermione, where have you--"

He stopped when he saw me with my crutch, limping out of the forest. He ran to my side and immediately started supporting me.

"What the bloody hell happened?"

"Long story. But I got the stone."

I showed him the rock in my hand. He touched it but jerked away when he felt the zap of it's power.

"So," Leo said, snuffing out a fire by his ear. "Are we going to get out of here or something?"

"Of course, would I tell lies?"

The voice that would haunt my nightmares for years boomed out, coming from everwhere and nowhere at once.

"Please, come on in, I would be delighted to meet you."

A door ringed with blue mist popped up in front of a hole Frank had dug in bear form.

Behind it, all our friends were tied to chairs, either gagged or knocked out.