Hogwarts Mystery [HP APPLY FIC]

year two, chapter eight

"I'm in!" Caleb called out, hoping the others could still hear his voice. He'd clambered through the open door above him and landed on solid ground, presuming he was now in the vault.

It took him a moment to reorientate, waving a hand in front of him, trying to clear the thick smoke from the air. "Damn, it's smoky up here. Uh, it's safe for someone else to go up!"

After a moment's thought he concluded that there must have been gaps in the trapdoor that let the smoke in from the fire below. Without a real chimney above the fireplace, this room must have held all the fumes released by the fire since the vault was last opened, creating the unpleasant smog that now surrounded him.

He moved forward, allowing room for one of his fellow cursebreakers to enter the vault.

The further he moved into the vault, the more he noticed the smoke carving a path for him, guiding him forwards.

"It must be magic."

Caleb flinched, spinning on his heel to face Ian Wilczek.

"I just made my way up," he offered as an apology for startling him. "The path must be forged by magic, no?"

"I guess."

Ian frowned, advancing further forwards. "Do you see that figure through the clouds? The one directly in front, just at the end of the walkway."

Caleb, in fact, had not noticed the sinister shadow lurking in the blind spot of the vault, but he knew better than to admit his inobservance. Instead, he nodded politely and hastily followed him.

The pair shifted into the smog once more and raised their wands at the looming silhouette.

"Oh. It's a statue. That's... disappointing."

"Lumos," Ian murmured, giving them a little more visibility, allowing them to fully take in the stone carving.

It was a lion, balancing on its hind legs. Its paws were raised as if they were about to slash into an enemy, and its mouth was stuck in a sinister snarl. The statue must have been stood there for a long time as the stone looked to be a little discoloured and both of the lion's top canines had snapped off, the remains of the teeth balancing precariously on its outstretched tongue.

"Hello?" Winnie's voice echoed, and Ian snapped his head towards the direction it had come from.

"Follow the light!" Caleb responded, and they heard her coughing into her hand as she got closer.

"What is that?" She gasped as soon as she drew near enough.

Caleb considered saying 'a lion', but he held his tongue.

"I believe it acts as a sign," Ian spoke instead, using his wand to tap the base.

Caleb's eyes caught on a detail he hadn't seen before: the roman numeral for one was etched into the pedestal.

He opened his mouth to comment on it, but an overpowering roar cut him off.

The smoke between them seemed to evaporate, allowing them to look at each other with wide eyes.

"Any chance that was Zoë playing a trick on us?" He said weakly.

"You tapped the pedestal." Winnie placed her hand on her throat, breathing heavily.

The unspoken words hung between them: you woke the beast.

"Tap it again!" Caleb suggested frantically. "Try and un-wake the beast!"

Ian touched his wand to the stone again, and another roar shook the room.

"Oh, well done, you summoned another one!" Winnie snapped.

"He told me to!" Ian's words were rough and scratchy.

"Guys?" Evan must have entered the vault, because Caleb heard him scrabbling to pull himself up and into the space. "What the hell was that noise?"

Caleb barely had time to exclaim "Look out!" before a feline creature formed, made of the fog swirling around them, and jumped at him.

Its entire body was moulded from the vapour surrounding them, except for the sharp, stone claws that it slashed towards Evan. (If Caleb was more observant, he would have seen the specks of blood that had dried on them.)

Evan ducked, the thing barely missing him.

Predictably, a second one lunged out of the dark corners of the vault, and Evan stumbled forwards into the others.

Caleb dimly connected the billowy beasts in front of them as a manifestation of the statue before they dived at them again, taking all of his attention.

"How are we supposed to—" Ian broke off, coughing, but the others understood what he was about to ask.

How are they supposed to destroy two monsters made from air?

After a few more rounds of dancing around their attacks, attempting to knock away their talons to no avail, and Zoë's untimely entrance, Winnie's gaze caught on something.

"Look!" Winnie forced the word past the lump in her throat. Caleb followed her finger, and his heart skipped a beat.

A tiny, almost unnoticeable ball of fire hid beneath the layers of smog, sitting at the core of each of the beings.

He nodded, signaling that he understood her intentions.

"Auguamenti!" He cried out, blasting a spurt of water from his wand and into the flaming heart of the first lion.

Breathing heavily, Caleb watched as it fizzled out and disintegrated into nothingness. The blood speckled claws went limp and hit the ground with an inaudible thud.

The second beast roared again, throwing back its head. Full of fresh rage, it hit Zoë, slicing her sleeve.

She inhaled sharply, aware that it broke the skin on her arm, but stayed focused on the task at hand. Following Caleb's actions, she repeated the spell that destroyed the first creature and watched as the second one met a similar fate.

The group stood panting silently for a few moments before Zoë had enough energy to speak.

"Is that it?"

Smoke still circled them, licking at their shoulders and hugging their heels.

Caleb's eyes flicked back to the statue.

"What are you thinking?" Winnie asked softly, watching as the cogs in his head turned.

"You're not going to like it."

"Come on, what is it?"

"It's just... there's still some smoke left, and I feel like there are more talons littering the floor than those two lions had..." He swallowed. "You've heard the phrase 'bad things come in threes', right?"

A/N

deep breath in, deep breath out

what did we think? are we ready for the final vault chapter??

(genuinely terrified when posting this if we ignore the Flicker massacre I think this is one of the most action packed scenes I've written ever) 

see you in a few days! 

love and positive vibes for the next chapter, Im