The Legacies Only They Knew

Chapter 3 - An Unexpected Detour

Professor Fig and Coraline reappeared with another pop and crashed onto the ground below them. Neither of them moved for a bit, trying to catch their breath and attempting to process what had just happened. Professor Fig was first between them to start moving, bringing himself to a kneeling position.

"Miss Evans, are you alright?"

She started moving slowly and eventually attempted to stand up from the awkward position she had landed in. A searing pain shot through both her legs, causing her to stumble and fall back to the ground with a small pained cry.

"You're hurt," it wasn't a question but rather an observation as he slowly brought himself from his knee up to a standing position.

"Perhaps a bit."

He quickly pulled out a small vial with bright green liquid from a pocket in his coat and held it out to Coraline, "Take this. It's Wiggenweld Potion. That stuff will right you in a second."

Coraline initially hesitated as the bright green liquid seemed unsafe to consume. He noticed her hesitation and gave her a slight nod of assurance. She slowly reached up and gently took the vial out of his hand. She grimaced briefly before quickly downing all the contents in the vial and instantly noted a comforting warmth spreading throughout her body.

"What happened?" She timidly looked around the cave-like structure where they had landed, not recognizing the location.

"Poor George, I can't believe he-" Professor Fig's voice was soft and pained as he started speaking but quickly changed to a louder, angrier voice.

"What the hell got into that damned thing? Attacking a carriage mid-air? A typical dragon would never!" He began to pace a bit as he attempted to understand why the dragon acted like it had.

"Professor?" She didn't receive a response at first, causing her to continue, "Sir? Where are we?"

This prompted him to stop pacing and take in their surroundings. Confusion spread across his face as he didn't recognize their surroundings either.

"I'm not sure, but that key you discovered was a portkey."

"Portkey, sir?" It was quickly becoming more apparent just how little Professor Fig had been able to tell her about the wizarding world before their attempted journey to Hogwarts.

"An item enchanted to bring whoever touches it to a specific place."

She attempted to stand up again and was much more successful this time, able to stand fully upright.

"I'm feeling better, sir, if you want to look around a bit."

He nodded, "I would, but first," he pulled out a few more Wiggenweld potion vials from his coat pocket, "I think it's vital that you keep a couple of Wiggenweld potions with you, just in case."

He held them out to Coraline and gestured for her to store them in the pocket of her overcoat. She hesitated to take the vials from him, genuinely concerned about putting glass vials in her pocket.

"Professor, what if I fall and land on the vials? I don't want to risk breaking them."

"You needn't worry about that; all potion vials are enchanted with an unbreakable charm to be perfectly safe in your pocket."

She visibly relaxed at his words but suddenly felt embarrassed to have asked since it was probably just standard knowledge for the wizarding community. She quickly tucked the vials into her coat pocket to avoid any further delays.

"Stay close; we've no idea who created this portkey or why." Professor Fig looked over at her briefly, Coraline nodding in confirmation.

They started walking down the path before them, noting as they walked that they seemed to have landed in a small rocky cave littered with various animal skeletons and minimal vegetation. Upon reaching the cave's opening, they abruptly stopped, their eyes widening as they took in the vast scenery before them. They were on the edge of a massive cliff overlooking the raging ocean directly below them, with a mild breeze blowing by. Their view to the left was completely blocked by a sharp rocky incline toward the top of the mountain they were inside.