Blaze (Book 3 of the Light Series)

Chapter Four: One Down, Two To Go

"Bloody muggles." Ron seethed as we walked into our room.

"Calm down, Ron." I said, following behind him. He threw his bag down on the table and flopped down in an arm chair.

When we had first arrived, we had discovered our slightly horrid hotel and I had used a bit of magic to turn the tiny room into a two chamber suite with a sitting area for all of us to convene and plan. Sitting on the loveseat across from Ron, I let out a sigh.

I knew Ron wasn't angry at the muggles who'd rudely bumped into him on the way in. No, he was angry because it had been three days and we hadn't been able to track down one good lead. To make matter worse, we had received a message warning us that Ginny had gone nutty after we left. Draco had been the only one to be able to control her and we all decided not to question how. Whatever spell he was using was buying us time.

I set out the books and some parchment on the table. "Let's get back to it, shall we?" I proposed, flicking my wand to get some tea going.

"We've been everywhere that bloody map has been sending us and have found absolutely nothing." Ron replied, standing and going to look out of the window. Harry leaned against a wall, the hope he once had for our expedition dimmed in his eyes.

"I know, Ron, but this map is all we have to go on." I stared down and made some marks on the parchment. "It doesn't make any sense. We've been exactly where this map told us to go and there's nothing there." I paused, my eyes narrowing. By this point, I was basically talking to myself, mumbling these words again and again. Ron and Harry seemed in their own worlds.

"At least, there's nothing where we've looked. Maybe...," I stopped and both Harry and Ron, finally interested in what I was saying.

"Maybe what, love?" Harry asked, moving to sit by me and looking at the parchment I was staring down at.

"This is a long shot but every time we've been to the places on the map we've only been above ground."

"Yeah. So?" Ron's brows furrowed.

"What if it's not that easy? What if it's lower than that?"

"You mean underground?" Harry asked.

"As wizards, I'm sure nothing magical is done up on the main level. I think we need to get underground and search for maybe an entrance to a wizard world here in America." I suggested. "The same way we have our world back home, I'm sure they have one here. We just need to find the right doors. And I think this map leads the way to them."

"Let's try it." Ron said without pause. "First thing in the morning, we'll go back the first place and find a way underground."

"I'm predicting a dirty morning until we find what we need so all of us should dress accordingly." I suggested.

"Got it." Ron nodded. The tea tray came gliding in and settled on the table.

"I'll check for updates from home." I told them, digging into my bag. All updates came through letters sent to my office or left in our bedchamber.

Sure enough, when I put my hand in my bag, I felt a letter from our family. The babies were okay, which was reassuring, but they weren't our source of anxiety.

"Liam's getting stronger." I murmured, reading through the letter. "He's starting to try to influence Ginny again. He still doesn't have his own body. He's parasitizing on another wizard's body and he needs Ginny to be able to get his full strength back."

"Is Malfoy still handling her?" Ron asked.

"Yes. He's been skipping his own classes to keep her under control. It's becoming a full-time job. He's giving her potions to make her sleep but they leave her open for Liam to control her body and try to get her to come to him. Draco's trying to keep her down and away from Liam but he's starting to have power over her. It's taken us too long time find what we need." I sighed, rubbing my forehead.