Muggle Meets Magic (Harry Potter Fanfiction)

CHAPTER THIRTY Escape

It had been a week since I'd been captured, and I'd been taken to Castelobruxo, where the final challenge was being held. Except the only person who knew I was here was Professor Meria— Lucas had stayed at Hogwarts so as not to appear suspicious, and Delphy had gone with him to pose as me.

Castelobruxo was hidden in the forests of South America. The school itself appeared to be a golden temple of ruins, but I'd been transported below the school to a set of tunnels that weren't used anymore.

From what I'd overheard, the final round was taking place the following day— it would consist of letting lose one of the controlled students in the forest, and having someone save her. Whoever saved her would win a grand prize— the scholarship.

Once the challenge was over, they were going to unleash their plan. Everyone who didn't win would become like the others, and the person who won would be given the opportunity to join them in their revolution. Professor Meria planned to have Delphy win the challenge, refuse to accept the prize, and be 'killed' for refusing, so that no one would come looking for me.

I was weak, in desperate need of energy, and I'd spent the past week lying in a moldy holding cell. I needed to escape, but I hadn't yet found a way out. My wand was confiscated, and my amulet was in their hands too. Most of the time, someone was guarding my cell. If there was ever a moment alone, it was brief.

I drifted in and out of sleep, unable to do much else with myself. It was only when the sound of a loud crowd began to grow from somewhere above that I realized people were arriving for the final challenge. Somewhere, up there, Will and the others were preparing, completely oblivious to the reality of the situation.

I couldn't just sit here!

Crawling towards the door of the holding cell, I rapped on it. Through the barred window, the guard peered in.

"What?" he asked gruffly.

"Can I have some water please?" I croaked. I just needed a little time alone. Just a little bit.

"No."

"Please," I begged. "You haven't yet killed me, so I imagine you need me alive for some reason. But if I don't get that water, I'm going to die."

The guard sighed.

"Don't try anything funny," he warned, before stomping away. Eyes wide, I knew I had to work fast. I began to fiddle with the locks, and tried to find a crevice that opened a secret tunnel, or some kind of way out. There was nothing.

"It's no use," came a whispery voice. I spun around, and almost screamed. Floating behind me was a girl... well, the ghost of a girl. I'd seen ghosts before at school, but it took me by surprise seeing one here. She wore the Hogwarts uniform, which made me feel like I could trust her. Like I knew her somehow. She did look very familiar.

"The only way out is to be let out. And the only way to stop them is to destroy the amulet."

I frowned, deciding for a moment to disregard how strange the situation was.

"But Lucas told me that breaking the amulet would mean the students would never break free of the curse."

"He lied, obviously," she replied. "Did you really think you could trust him after everything he's said? If you destroyed that amulet, they would lose everything. Of course he'd give you a reason not to."

"Who are you?" I asked. "And why are you helping me?"

The ghost smiled sadly. "I was the first victim. My sister is up there, about to be controlled by the same evil magic, and my brother is already under it's influence. I can't save them... but you can."