The Cupboard Series 2: Hermione's Book Nook

Chapter 33

3

Harry slumped against the cold stone pillar at his back. Before him, Lisa Turpin or at least Lisa's body, worked intently at preparing for what Harry could only assume was some sort of dark ritual. And there was nothing that he could do to stop it.

The trek that they had made down the dark passageway not so long ago had quickly turned into a mind-numbing walk. They'd walked for what felt like hours, first on hard stone floors, and then along the cold, dank, slimy pipes. Ever deeper into the castle and then into the bowels of the earth, Harry had been forced at wandpoint. Any time that he started to slow down due to tiredness, a sharp poke between the shoulder blades had set him moving once again.

With his arms bound tightly to his body, Harry'd found it impossible to brace himself on the uneven ground and more than once, he'd slipped. Every fall coated him in a dark green slime that smelled absolutely feral. Even now, trussed up far from the end of the last pipe, he could still smell that rank odour embedded into his clothes.

When at last the pipes had disgorged the two of them, Harry'd found that they were in a large earthen passageway. Wisps of roots hung from the ceiling, while underfoot, the ground crunched with every step. It was only from one of his many falls that he'd found out what it was that he'd been stepping on: bones. Tiny bones and skulls of rats and animals of all descriptions.

Rounding a bend, had appeared a sickly green skin of something just inside the reach of Lisa's wandlight. Whatever had left the skin, and Harry'd desperately hoped that it wasn't a snake like it looked like, was huge. The discarded skin was easily twenty feet long and wide enough that, if they'd so desired, they could have walked inside it.

Not long after passing the skin, Harry'd been pulled up in front of an enormous door. It was made from some gleaming silver metal and was covered with intricate designs of snakes. Tiny red and green gems were set in place for the eyes of the many serpents.

"§Open§," Lisa had hissed.

Immediately, the door swung outwards. There was not a sound as it moved – no grating as it passed over the ground, no squeak of hinges. Nothing except the silent intimidating movement of the immense door.

With a jab from her wand, Lisa had forced Harry forward.

Inside was a gigantic chamber that put the Great Hall to shame. Overhead, the ceiling towered away into darkness. Pillars dotted the area, stretching high above. Numerous patches of water stretched away to either side, giving off a damp, mildewy smell. As they'd walked forward, dozens of torches flared into life, but still Harry hadn't been able to see how wide the Chamber actually was.

After a couple of minutes of walking, they'd come to a larger cleared area dominated by a massive stone statue. The edifice was of a monkey-like man with a long, long beard that reached down to the hem of his stone robes.

A flick of Lisa's wand had directed him to one side until he was backed up against the closest pillar. A second set of ropes emerged from her wand, wrapping around him, binding him tightly to the stone. Then, without a backwards look, she'd walked away.

Now, Harry watched mesmerised as Lisa pulled a small black book out of the pockets of her robe and placed it on the ground before the statue. It looked familiar and he frowned, trying to tease the information from his mind.

Finally, he found it and image after image swam before him.

Lisa offering the book to Luna Lovegood in the Great Hall. Luna with that very book in her hand in the library as she debated with it, a quill poised above it. Luna wandering aimlessly down a corridor at night laughing away at something that she'd read. A tall, aristocratic man, Lucius Malfoy, he suddenly realised, giving Luna the book outside of Flourish and Blotts in Diagon Alley. Luna, mentioning that the diary belonged to Tom and that she'd tried to clean it for him.