《 Skip a Beat 》

Step three

Just on the outskirts of New York City, chilly grey water lapped gently at the sides of a vast lake. Peaceful green mountains pierced the swirling sky of rolling thunder clouds, and jagged boulders were scattered across the landscape. The atmosphere was a gentle hum of activity.

With a sharp crack, twenty-six aurors materialised in a small clearing at the base of a hill, all clutching a musty brown bowler hat that was swiftly taken by one of the team leaders and stashed into a bag for later.

The first thing that Tina did was check that she still had the silver key. Shortly after the meeting was over, she'd found a length of string, and threaded the key onto it before tying it around her neck.

It hadn't moved from its spot on her collarbone, the chilled metal resting against her skin, and she relaxed a little, then took some time to gulp down her surroundings.

Assessing the area, Tina was mildly surprised. She might've expected a few rocky hills, yes, with buildings and shacks and bustling tourists everywhere. But this... this was beautiful.

She never would have guessed that she lived so close to it.

Next to her, Theseus breathed in the crisp autumn air, his tense mission face slightly slackening.

Bushy pine trees towered around them, their peaks like spiny green hands stretching towards the sky.

The cluster of aurors murmured in amazement to each other, until Travers silenced them with a sharp hand gesture.

They trekked quietly, skirting the lake, and avoiding making any noise while walking. Shining blue pebbles and coiled white shell fragments crunched under their feet anyway. That was inevitable in a place like this, Tina supposed.

A grumble of thunder overheard masked their near-silent footsteps as Graves and Travers lead the group past the lake and through a broad ravine.

Layers upon layers of metallic grey rock, tiny, tiny bands of red and orange running along the sides. Brushing her hand over the wall of the crevasse, Tina felt some of the grey rock crumble easily away. She withdrew her hand and slowly turned it over, inspecting it. Her fingers were dusted with black.

They trekked further and further through the ravine, moving swift and agile, wands poised and all senses alert.

Theseus had shrugged off his coat a while ago, claiming under a hushed voice that New York was considerably warmer than London.

Although they weren't too far from the city, it didn't feel quite like home to Tina. Then again, in the strangest way, it did.

It was if this place was alive... it was alive, Tina reminded herself. All kinds of wildlife were stirring around them. But it was a different kind of alive at the same time. There was a strange sensation of magic around them.

The deeper the group moved, the denser the air got. Tina's skin started to tingle. The atmosphere was charged with dark magic, shifting all around them. Pulsating. Thrumming gently, like a panther lying in wait, preparing to pounce.

"It's here," breathed Theseus. He didn't need to say it for her to tell, but Tina nodded anyway.

She could feel it too.

She felt it before she saw it, but when she did, any shred of doubt hovering inside her was whisked away without a second thought.

The box was definitely here.

A worn, weathered slab of a building, perched sadly at the top of a green hill. Grey-black with soot, worn from years and years of use, then more years of neglect. No door was visible from the outside, and the glass panes in the window were cracked and dirty, making it impossible to see inside.