Shackles

Chapter 8

Draco wasn't even aware of ducking and rolling before he found himself behind a random square block that kept him under cover. He looked back to find that Harry had put up a hasty Protego spell and was running in a crouch to join him.

"We're not done yet," he complained at Harry once he was in hearing range.

"It appears not. How many are there? I think I counted four."

"Homenum revelio," Draco cast the spell, and four glowing markers appeared, and then all of them flickered and disappeared again.

"There are four, but it looks like they have a way to counter it. We won't be able to track them using it." Harry ground his teeth. "Now what?"

Draco conjured a mirror with a flick of his wrist, and Harry gave him a funny look and raised eyebrows.

"What?" Draco demanded defensively. "It's coming in handy now, isn't it?"

He held it up so that they could look overtop of the block without actually poking their heads around and bringing them in line of fire. By swivelling the mirror around, Draco found the presence of three out of four of their attackers.

"One's up high on lookout. Two are trying to flank us. I have no idea where the last one is." Draco thought for a moment before suggesting, "Disillusionment Charm?"

"Probably," Harry agreed.

"Why can't two play at the same game then?" Draco smiled grimly before tapping Harry on the forehead with his wand.

"I forgot you could do that," Harry admitted as he disappeared from sight.

Draco hummed in agreement and performed one on himself as well.

"If we use a spell that has a colour indicator, then we'll give away our position," Harry whispered. "What do we do? Stupefy is out."

"Petrificus then. Let's go."

Harry cast a Silencio on their shoes, and then they set out towards the door at the opposite end of the room. There were random blocks, steps and platforms scattered throughout the room, creating a multi-dimensional battlefield to traverse. In the middle was a shallow stream about six feet wide.

"Come on," Harry's whisper ahead of him indicated that they were heading away from the people trying to flank them. Draco didn't mind not engaging anyone in the least and followed his lead.

"How do we cross the river?" he said, barely breathing out the words.

He abruptly walked straight into Harry, and felt Harry search him out with hurried pats and eventually grasp his wrist to pull him closer. Feeling his way up his arm, shoulder and neck, Harry evidently found his head and leaned forward to say into his ear, "Run, slide and roll, okay? Then run right, to that block right there. Follow my lead."

Draco felt more than heard Harry break away and start a head-long dash toward the river. Draco followed without hesitation, hoping that Harry had come up in a plan that did not involve getting them wet. Ahead of him, Harry did a non-verbal Glacius spell, and the stream ahead of them turned to ice.

Run, slide and roll. Those had been Harry's instructions.

"Bloody hell!" Draco muttered to himself before launching himself forward onto the ice, wavering as he slid across to the other side.

Somehow he managed to stay on his feet, and once he hit the bank on the other side, he dove into a roll. It became immediately apparent why Harry had told him to roll, because as he hit with his shoulder and completed the dive, several Stunning spells shot over his head at the area of frozen stream. They were coming from the lookout point, and if they could hit him, that meant he was in range to hit them, too.