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SIYE Time:21:28 on 28th March 2024
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After
By Senator of Sorcery

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Category: Alternate Universe, Asylum Challenge (2013-3), Asylum Challenge (2013-3)
Characters:Albus Dumbledore, All, Draco Malfoy, Harry/Ginny, Hermione Granger, Lily Potter, Luna Lovegood, Minerva McGonagall, Other, Ron Weasley
Genres: Action/Adventure, Angst, Drama, Romance
Warnings: Dark Fiction, Death, Disturbing Imagery, Violence
Story is Complete
Rating: PG-13
Reviews: 105
Summary: *** Winner of Best Overall, Best Drama and the People’s Choice Award in the Asylum Challenge ***
*Nominated for 2014 April/May and November/December DSTA for Best Romance and Best Drama* *Nominated for 2016 January/February DSTA for Best Drama and Best Completed*

Ginny's plans for the weekend were just perfect: a day out in Hogsmeade with her girlfriends. Spend the morning window shopping and wishing, then lunch at the Three Broomsticks, and then to the local theater for a production of the Scottish Play (Macbeth).


Unfortunately, the bad luck of the Scottish Play strikes before it even starts. The village is invaded by Death Eaters, Dementors, and a man she had hoped to never see again in her life.


And in the middle of the battle, Ginny sees something she'd never thought she'd see. Voldemort and one of her greatest friends dueling; Harry Potter and Voldemort fighting so fiercely, she lost focus on her own battle. Harry Potter, crying out, falling, and hitting the ground. Dead.

And then, someone she never expected to help her saves her from Voldemort’s wrath.
Hitcount: Story Total: 167854; Chapter Total: 3969







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Chapter Thirty-Three

Vault of Horrors


Harry stepped back from the locket, turned, and grabbed Ginny’s hand. She squeezed his gently; her eyes were unfocused and resting upon the gold locket, her face was blank. Harry released her hand and then put his arm around her waist. He kissed her temple and she smiled faintly.

“The next Horcrux is held in the vaults of Gringotts?” asked the Storyteller.

“Yes, I think so,” Harry said.

The Dreamkeeper clapped her hands together and shut her eyes tightly. “I see it. The vault of the Lestrange family.”

Harry nodded. “But how will we get to it?”

Eyes turned to Bill. He looked around, then raised his eyebrows and said “What?”

“You work there,” Ron reminded him.

“Well, yeah, but I didn’t have a desk job!” Bill protested. “I worked in Egypt; in tombs.”

“Not for this summer, you didn’t,” Ginny said. “You took a desk job to help…” she frowned suddenly, “… to help… you were trying to help someone learn something? I can’t remember…”

“To teach Fleur English,” Ron filled in.

“That’s right!” Ginny said. “That. Yes.”

“At any rate, you would have the most access of all of us to a Gringotts vault,” Hermione said.

Bill waved a hand. “I did the books for one department, I don’t have access to high-security vaults!”

“Oh,” Ron said.

“Yeah, oh,” Bill muttered. “We’ll need a different plan.”

“How does one break into Gringotts bank?” Hermione speculated.

“You ask the head of the bank for a key.”

Harry frowned, then shifted his attention, like everyone else in the Chamber, to the Romancer, who had just walked in.

“You what?”

Romancer bowed to Ginny, then to Hermione, then to the Dreamkeeper. “Ladies, gentlemen. I shall repeat my statement: You ask the head of the bank for a key.”

“No one in their right mind would hand a key to someone who said they wanted to rob a vault!” Ron said.

“Ah, so we don’t say we’re robbing it.”

“Are you nutters?” Ron asked.

“It has been commented upon,” the Romancer replied.

“What my colleague is trying to explain,” interrupted the Dreamkeeper, “is that the President of Gringotts Bank is familiar with those of the Farther Realms, and subservient to a Lord of a Farther Realm. He would oblige us as long as we phrase our request correctly.”

Ron paused, opened his mouth, closed it, then said “Oh” again.

Harry shook his head as he met Ginny’s eyes. She smiled faintly, her eyes unfocused again. Harry’s smirk at Ron faded; he gently squeezed her waist.

“Ginny?” he whispered.

She blinked, then her gaze flicked to his face. Her faint smile grew more confident, and she kissed his lips quickly.

“Ugh, no PDA!” Ron protested.

Harry kissed Ginny again; her smile widened against his lips and she raised one hand to press her palm against his cheek.

“No! No PDA!” Ron wailed from somewhere.

Ginny pulled back and glanced over at her brother. Harry tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, and kissed the tip of her nose softly. Her smile was warmer, her eyes more focused now.

Harry noticed the Romancer rubbing his eyes. He raised an eyebrow.

“Sorry,” Romancer said, blinking fervently, “you guys just cause a lot of light.”

“I am not sure what that means,” said Harry.

“Ah, well, I suppose you wouldn’t.”

“What does it mean?”

Romancer gave his eyes one last rub, then squinted down at Harry. “When you kiss, or have any kind of display of affection, you produce metaphysical energy and release it into the surroundings, making people feel awkward, make girls giggle, make your and your partner’s emotions brighter, stuff like that. I just call it light because when I see strong sources, it usually blinds me.”

Harry blinked. Then, he echoed Ron. “Oh.”

Romancer smiled and turned away. Harry looked down at Ginny and saw that she was trying not to laugh. He shook his head but kissed her again, then refocused his attention on the problem at hand.

“So, you think we should go to the President of Gringotts and ask him to let us into the Lestrange Vault?” Hermione asked, ending a slightly uncomfortable silence.

“Yes, precisely, couldn’t have said it better myself,” Romancer said, clapping Hermione on the shoulder and causing her to take two stumbling steps forward to regain her balance.

"How the hell would we do that?" Ron asked.

"Walk up and ask him," Romancer said with a shrug of his shoulders. "Though I suggest you mortals stay quiet."

Ron narrowed one eye, raised the brow over the other, and let his mouth fall open in abject bewilderment.

Harry snorted. Hermione stifled a snigger. Ron shook his head at the Romancer.

The Dreamkeeper waved a hand through the air as if brushing cobwebs off a doorway, and a shimmering vortex appeared in midair.

"Let's stop discussing it and get going," she said.

"Right you are," the Romancer agreed; he snapped his fingers and disappeared. The Dreamkeeper rolled her eyes, raised her arm, and looked down on her watch. Harry watched her mouth 'one, two, three' then form the word 'four' when the Romancer reappeared.

"Where exactly are we going?" he asked.

"Gringotts Headquarters in Rome," the Dreamkeeper explained. Romancer nodded, snapped his fingers again, and vanished once more. The Storyteller clapped his hands, and disappeared. The Dreamkeeper gestured to them, and Ginny tugged Harry towards the vortex. They stepped through, a feeling of stepping through thick, cold fog washed over Harry, and he staggered to get balance in a dim, cobbled backstreet. He smelled bread baking, clean air, and fruits, produce, and flowers. He heard cheery voices, chatter in more than one language, and nearby the sound of a television.

Harry turned, and saw Ron helping Hermione up and Bill leaning against a wall, eyes shut tight. The vortex they had come through blinked, and vanished.

"Where are we?" Hermione asked. Harry shrugged.

"This way!"

Harry looked over his shoulder, and saw a pale-skinned young girl waving at them from behind a red brick building. Harry raised an eyebrow.

"Should we follow her?" Ron asked in a whisper.

"Yes, you should, unless you don't want to get the Horcrux," the girl said.

"Dreamkeeper?" Ginny asked.

"Yes, now come on!"

Harry raised the other brow. "Okay then."

The little girl ducked out of sight, then came back and waved them on when they didn't immediately follow.
Harry stepped forward, and glanced at the others. Ginny slipped her hand into his. Bill pushed off the wall, and stepped around the corner. Harry followed him, leading his three best friends.

There were two young boys standing next to the miniature Dreamkeeper.

"Right, Gringotts is this way," said one of them.

"Are you the Storyteller and Romancer?" Harry asked the boys.

"Yes," said the shorter of the two.

"Don't you recognize my devilishly handsome features?" said the other.

"That one's the Romancer," Ginny said.

The taller, blonder boy bowed. "At least you recognize my voice."

"No, just your pompous attitude."

Storyteller laughed at Romancer's disgruntled expression. Dreamkeeper rolled her eyes and started down the narrow alleyway.

"The main entrance is held in Portus Astrum, the Wizarding shopping center for Rome. The back entrance, however, is about twenty meters that way."

Harry followed the Dreamkeeper's finger and saw that the alley dead-ended by two overflowing garbage bins. The smells coming from the city street they had left were already changing to the smell of rotten food.

Harry covered his nose with his free hand and tried not to breathe. The smell was almost overwhelming.

"This way," Dreamkeeper said, darting towards the bins.

"Uh, ma'am?" Harry started. "That's a dead end."

The Dreamkeeper ignored him, instead stepping between the two bins. She vanished.

Harry opened his mouth, shut it, then pulled his shirt over his nose and followed the Dreamkeeper through with Ginny in tow. He crossed between the bins; the smell disappeared, the ugly brick wall became a grand oak door, and the grimy cobbles turned to polished stone. The Storyteller and Romancer appeared behind him, then Ron, Hermione and Bill. Dreamkeeper leaned against the wall by the door, waiting with tight lips, back in her normal form. Storyteller and Romancer both snapped their fingers, and their child-like bodies were instantly replaced with the ten foot tall forms Harry was used to.

"The bank will be closed in thirty minutes," she said.

"Oh, lovely," Harry quipped.

"Can we still get in?" Hermione asked anxiously.

"Oh, of course," Dreamkeeper said. "It's just that the staff won't see beings from other realms during business hours, so that's half an hour wasted."

Harry frowned. "Why wouldn't they see you now?"

Dreamkeeper straightened off the wall. "They owe their obligations to the people of this realm first."

Harry nodded slowly. "I'm from this realm."

"Yes, very good that you realize that finally," Romancer said sarcastically.

"Hush, Roman," said Dreamkeeper, looking at Harry curiously. "What is your point, Harry?"

"Well, I'm from here so they're obligated to see me, aren't they?" he explained.

A slow smile grew on the Dreamkeeper's face. "Right you are, Harry. After you."

Harry stepped past her, still leading Ginny by the hand, and knocked on the door. A second later, it was opened by a goblin with a very long nose, and small eyes.

"I already told you —” he began, then he stopped as he realized that it was not a ten foot tall, unearthly woman but a relatively tall, bespectacled, scrawny, obviously earthly boy. "Oh, good sir Harry Potter — " and apparently he also recognized his scar — "what are you doing here?"

"We need to speak with the bank president," Harry said.

"Oh, er, the president is busy," the goblin told them.

"He should be able to spare a few minutes for one of Gringotts biggest customers," Harry insisted, putting emphasis on 'biggest.' He had become owner of one of the largest accounts at the end of last year, when he inherited the entire Black family fortune in addition to the Potter fortune.

The goblin looked uncomfortable, like he knew Harry was right. He glanced between the three other-worldly beings, sighed, and stepped back so they could pass him.

"I will take you to President Goldblood's office," the goblin said, almost dejectedly.

"Thank you," Harry said.

Five minutes later, they were seated before a stately mahogany desk. At least, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny and Bill were sitting. Romancer, Storyteller, and Dreamkeeper stood with their heads bowed to avoid scraping the ceiling.

"Mr. Potter," said President Goldblood. "How may I help you?"

"We need to get into a vault."

The president raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"You have heard of Lord Voldemort?"

"Of course."

"Well, he's currently about to attack Hogwarts, and we'd like it to be the last time he attacks anything. We're going to kill him."

"Well, that is both tragic and wonderful news, but I do not see how I may help."

Harry leaned forward in his chair. "There's something in the Lestrange family vault in London that will help us defeat him. My companions thought the easiest way to get to it was to ask your permission."

President Goldblood narrowed his eyes. "What is it exactly?"

"An item of dark power," Dreamkeeper answered. "It carries magic that prevents Voldemort's mortal soul from passing between realms."

The president was silent a moment, then his eyes widened. "Surely you do not mean —”

"A Horcrux," Dreamkeeper said.

Goldblood looked horrified. "But to harbor an item of such darkness earns damnation in the final realms…"

"The Lestrange family has earned that damnation ten times over," Storyteller said. "Not just for this but for their crimes against mortals."

"But since it is kept in a Gringotts vault, we are by extension protecting it," Goldblood said.

"Now you see why we thought you would be willing to be rid of it," Dreamkeeper replied.

"Yes, yes, I see," President Goldblood murmured. "Of course. I personally will take you to the Lestrange vault. Come," he added, getting up from his chair, "let us go."

"In London?" Ron said. "That's pretty far from here, isn't it?"

"Each of the old families have a transient account," Goldblood answered. "We can access the contents of their vault in London from their vault here. Come, we must move quickly. If what you say is true, and the Dark Lord is attacking Hogwarts now, we do not want to waste time."

The goblin hurried to the door; they got up and followed him from the office down the corridors and through halls until they reached a similar tunnel to the vault entrances in London. Goldblood hailed a cart, and they clambered into it. The carts here were larger than the ones in London, so they all managed to fit in one.

Down the twisting tunnels, over underground streams and canyons too deep for the light of the cart's torch to reach; the cart sped along at speeds even faster than the ones in London, fast enough to turn even Harry's stomach. He held Ginny's hand tightly and kept his eyes shut tight, wishing for peace in his belly.

Finally, the cart lurched to a stop. Harry opened his eyes and saw they had come to rest by a wall of red stone. There were torches held in brackets along the red wall, illuminating the passageway with flickering light until the wall curved out of sight. Ginny stood up, and helped him up, while the others stepped out of the cart. Harry's stomach was still a bit unsettled, and by the look on Hermione's face, so was hers.

"This way," Goldblood said, grabbing the torch from the cart and starting towards a gap in the wall. They followed, bending double to get through the goblin sized gap — Storyteller, Dreamkeeper, and Romancer had to get down on their knees to fit; thankfully it was generous in width — and came out in a large cavern.

There were no torches in here. Other than the flame held by Goldblood, the cavern was pitch black.

"Here is where we keep the largest vaults," Goldblood said in a low voice. "They are protected by a very old and very dangerous creature, one that was donated to the bank by a Roman consul circa 350 B.C."

"It's that old?" Ron asked. Goldblood suddenly made a shushing noise, looking around him as he did.

"It is imperative you remain silent as we cross the cavern," whispered Goldblood. "The beast detests the sound of voices. The only thing it hates more than that is the light; so the combination of both voices and this fire are enough to rouse its anger and cause it to kill us all."

Harry nodded. Ron opened his mouth, probably to whisper an apology, but then Hermione covered it with her hand. He looked indignant; she raised her eyebrows and Ron's mouth shut as he realized that he'd been about to speak again.

Goldblood started walking. He kept his long-fingered hand on the wall to their left, so Harry copied him as he walked along behind the goblin. The others fell into single-file line behind him, except Ginny, who walked at Harry side with her hand held tightly in his. The cavern was long, long enough that crossing it took close to ten minutes. The entire time, Goldblood kept the torch held above his head, his eyes fixed on the blackness to their right.

Once they reached the other side, Goldblood instructed them to go through the doorway while he kept watch on the creature in the darkness. Hermione went in first, then Ron, then Ginny and Harry, then Bill, and finally the three giants. Goldblood followed Romancer in, and he resumed the lead.

"The vault is just past here," he said. "Third on the right."

Harry saw the gleam of bronze doors, reflecting the torchlight. Goldblood led them past the first two, then stopped before a bronze door large enough to let the Romancer in without him having to bend his head.

"Here," he said.

"Would you open it for us?" Harry asked. The goblin nodded, and handed him the torch. Goldblood stepped up to the door and pressed his hand to its surface.

The bronze glowed; Goldblood stepped back as it began to melt. The hissing metal sank out of sight, and Harry peered into the vault.

It was empty.

"Uh, you said we could get to the London vault through here?" Harry asked.

"You can," Goldblood answered. "Step inside and command it to show you the London vault contents."

Harry, feeling a little bit foolish, stepped into the vault. "Show me the contents of the London vault," he said.

Nothing happened.

Harry turned around, about to ask Goldblood for help, when Hermione let out a gasp and clapped her hands to her mouth.

"What?" Harry turned around, and then he saw just what. The vault was filling rapidly with gold, jewels, weapons, suits of armor, and — horribly — skeletons.

Harry stepped back, a bit surprised.

"Quickly, find what you are looking for and get out, it will only last for a few minutes, and don't touch anything but what you are looking for," Goldblood instructed.

"The cup, Harry," Dreamkeeper reminded him. "Gold with a badger on the front."

"Right," he said. He took a step forward, around a growing mound of gold coins. His eyes scanned the room; there were at least three complete skeletons, one of which was wearing a jeweled crown and fine gold chains around its neck, two silver and emerald suits of armor, and piles of treasure throughout the vault. At the back, there were several shelves laden with expensive looking daggers, swords, shields, pieces of armor, mirrors, chests, more crowns and tiaras, and what looked like trophies. Harry moved towards it, looking over each cup-like thing he saw.

He stepped up to the middle shelf and looked it up and down. There were three goblets on it, one crystal, one silver, and the last one gold but it had no badger on the front. He stepped to the right, and spotted a small golden cup at the very top of the shelf.

"I think I see it," he said.

"It will look like Hufflepuff's crest, remember."

Harry stood on his tip-toes, but he couldn't see it properly. So he moved his wand and conjured a small stool to stand on. He stepped onto, then found the cup right before his eyes. There was a badger on the front.

"Got it!" he said.

"Don't touch it yet!" Goldblood said. "Point your wand at it and use Finite Incantatem on it."

Though unsure why, Harry touched his wand to the cup and repeated the incantation. It glowed blue, then orange, and then it sat there innocently.

"Now you may pick it up."

Harry pushed his wand back into his sleeve and grabbed the handle of the cup.

"Very good, now, step over the other items and come out."

Harry stepped off the stool and around the leg of the crowned skeleton as he made his way back. When he stood at the entrance to the vault, Goldblood held out his hand for the cup. Harry gave it to him, then Goldblood snapped his fingers. The gold and treasure around Harry all vanished.

"Let us move quickly out," Goldblood said, taking the torch as well.

"Hang on," Romancer said. "What exactly is the beast outside?"

Goldblood frowned. "I am not sure. Why?"

"Well, we've got to destroy that thing and Dreamy and Bard here don't really want to summon the Essence of All Light again, do you?"

"No, we don't," Dreamkeeper said.

"Don't call me Bard."

"So, I was thinking that some ancient beasts have very destructive powers. Destructive enough to kill dark objects such as that cup."

"That might work," Goldblood said. "It would be very dangerous though."

Romancer waved a hand. "Just you mortals get in a vault and we three will handle it."

"Uh, no we can't," Storyteller said. "That thing has to be destroyed by a mortal for it to properly work, or at least it has to be given to the destroying power by a mortal."

Romancer's shoulders slumped dejectedly. "Oh yeah."

Romancer took the cup from Goldblood while Storyteller conjured a new torch. "Please take the Weasleys and Hermione into one of the empty vaults and shut the door. We'll take Harry and help him destroy the cup."

Goldblood nodded. "Come along then."

"Wait," Ginny said. "I need to stay with Harry."


"Fine," Romancer said.

"Not fine," Harry said. "Ginny, please, go with Bill. I'll be back in a minute."

"No," she said. "I have to stay with you."

"Let her come," Romancer said. "No use trying to convince an insane Firefly to do something she doesn't want to."

Harry opened his mouth, but Ginny closed it with a finger. "I’m coming, Harry."

Harry sighed. "Fine. But the rest of you have to go with the president."

Goldblood had already opened a vault as he said this. Ron and Bill didn't look happy, but Hermione grabbed both of their arms and dragged them off to join Goldblood. Romancer nodded as the door to the vault reformed, then started back into the cavern. The three giants, Harry, and Ginny walked a few paces before Romancer stopped and turned to face the blackness.

"Hello!" Romancer shouted. Harry instantly winced. "We heard that a very dangerous beast lived here and that it really hated noise. Is that true?"

There was silence in the cavern the second Romancer closed his mouth. There was no trace of an echo.

"Hello?" Romancer repeated.

A faint rattling noise reached Harry's ear. The pebbles and clumps of dirt along the stone floor began shaking.

"Oh, is someone actually there?"

The rattling got louder. Harry gripped Ginny's hand tightly. Romancer waved a hand, and began walking into the darkness. They followed him, the torch's fire cutting a small circle out of the shadows. As they moved further and further from the wall, the rattling sound grew louder and louder, and added to it was a faint gasping rasping sound, like a creature struggling to draw breath. Amongst the rattling, Harry could hear Ginny's quick, uneven inhales. He gripped her hand tightly, and she returned the squeeze, holding on like he was her lifeline.

"HELLO?" Romancer suddenly shouted. He stopped moving, standing in the center of the circle of light, listening to the creature in the shadows. "Are you there?"

The rattling sound halted. Then, up came a metallic scraping, like chains being dragged over stone. The rattling resumed, getting faster and louder ever still. Storyteller raised the torch higher, then touched a finger to the tip of the flame and it doubled in brightness.

A jerk of movement caught Harry's eye. Something had pulled back from the edge of the light, hastily, perhaps fearfully.

"What's there?" he called.

The rattling ceased again. His voice didn't echo; his heartbeat made the only sound in the sudden silence.

Words…

Harry looked around. "Did you hear that?" Ginny nodded, her face white but her eyes blank again. Harry raised her hand to his mouth and kissed the back of it, trying to bring her focus back. She glanced at him, then her eyes flicked back to the blackness in front of her, still blank.

Noise!

"Ah, there you are," Romancer said cheerfully. "What is up, my friend?"

Up? Up is nothing. Up is bright. Up is you!

A fierce wind suddenly grew around them, catching their clothes and throwing their hair in their faces.

LEAVE!

"We need your help," Harry yelled.

The wind died.

Help? What is help? We has never heard of help.

"We have a dark object that needs destroying, and we thought you might be willing to do it for us."

Who is us? We do not speak to strangers; what is your names?

"I am the Romancer; with me are the Dreamkeeper, the Storyteller, the Firefly and the Storm Runner."

Harry raised an eyebrow at the giant. Romancer held up his hand, silently asking Harry to wait.

The this, the that. The is a title, noisy beast. WE ASKED FOR NAMES!

The wind grew again; grabbing and snatching at them. The strength of it caused Harry and Ginny to both stumble forward, their weight not enough to hold them in place.

"All right, yes, you're right," Romancer shouted. "We'll give you our real names."

Dreamkeeper grabbed the Romancer's arm, but he threw her off. "I should tell you, that we too are creatures of great power and our names carry equal weight."

NAMES! NAMES YOU BASTARDS!

Harry opened his mouth; Romancer stepped over and covered it with his hand. "I am called the Romancer, but my true name is Thomas."

The wind faded to almost nothing. Thomas?

"Yes. My companions are Harry Potter, whom I called the Storm Runner, Ginny Weasley, whom I called the Firefly. The Storyteller's true name is Octavius Bard, and that's why he hates it when I call him Bard. The Dreamkeeper's true name is Estoria."

Ginny looked up sharply. Harry met her eyes, raising one brow in a silent question.

"I heard her name," she whispered. "Ages ago, when I was going in for the third test. I thought I was just hearing something weird but... It was her name..."

Who speaks other than Thomas?

Ginny flushed. "She heard me."

TELL US WHO SPEAKS!

"Uh, Ginny," she answered. "The... Firefly."

Why did Thomas call you Firefly?

"Because that's what I am," Ginny replied. "I have fire demon blood."

Fire demon? FIRE DEMON!

The wind rose again, heading right at Ginny. She took one staggering step forward, trying to keep her balance. Harry tightened his grip on her hand, trying to pull her back.

"Please, it is a distant relative," the Romancer answered. Thomas, Harry tried to think. But that giant of a man looked very little like a Thomas.

Fire demon, come forward! Step out of the light! Gah, put out the light! Free us from its pain!

Storyteller — Octavius Bard who apparently hated his last name — lowered the torch and dimmed it with a touch of his finger.

More! No light, no light!

"We cannot see without it," Romancer said.

We will not help where there is light. No light!

"Put it out," Harry said.

Storyteller looked uneasy. "We do not know what is out there."

NO LIGHT!

Storyteller held the now small flame up to his lips, and then blew. The flame was extinguished, and with it all sources of light. They now stood in complete darkness, blind on all sides.

That is better. Step forward, fire demon.

"Wait, what?" Ginny said.

We said step forward! Come closer...

Harry pulled Ginny close to him. "Why? What do you want with her?"

Do not question us, Harry Potter! You foul, ugly little creature, you should still be dead.

Harry looked around in confusion. "What do you have against me?" he said, feeling just a tad hurt.

Fire demon! Bring us the fire demon!

"What is your name, first please?" asked the Dreamkeeper. "We gave you ours, and I admit that my true name has not been spoken in a thousand years."

The wind kept pulling at Ginny, ignoring the Dreamkeeper. Come closer, fire demon!

"Tell me your name first," Ginny said.

We do not remember! Free us, fire demon! Come to us, free us!

"Free you? From what?"

Free us! The wind grew stronger, pulling at Ginny's hair and clothing. He felt worry on her mind, then she let go of Harry's arm steadying her.

"Wait, Ginny," he said, but she ignored him. The wind pushed her, carrying her away from Harry. He reached out, trying to follow her, when another gust of wind pushed him back. "Wait!"

Free us... Free us... FREE US!

"How?" Ginny's voice came distantly. Harry tried to run towards it, but the wind pushed him back.

Free us, fire demon.

"How

Fire!

Ginny hadn't mastered the power of fire yet; she was barely able to ignite a pile of dry grass. How would she use that power to free some beast chained up in the dark?

"What is your name?" Romancer asked again.

Flame will free us...

"But what are you called?"

We do not remember! Free us!

"I'm working on it!" Ginny's voice said. It was rushed, loud and filled with agitation. Harry needed to get to her, to touch her, to protect her from her mind. He tried to move around the wind holding him back, but its force widened. He gritted his teeth. Somewhere, he had done this before. Fought against some invisible force to get to his love. This time, he knew why he had to get to her and knew what was keeping him from her.

"Let me go!" he yelled.

Quiet, Storm Runner. We has no patience for you!

Harry growled a curse. Then, a metaphoric light bulb went off. Storm Runner. He had elemental powers. Oh yeah.

Harry stopped trying to run and raised his hands, eyes screwed shut. He gritted his teeth, his body shaking in the force of the wind, and did his best to wrestle control from the creature in the darkness over the winds.

What is this? Our winds… Storm Runner! Release us! Let go!

Ginny's fear was growing, Harry could practically smell it. Her mind was taking the darkness and filling it with deadly and evil creatures ready and waiting to kill her. He had to get to her. He fought harder against the wind, and finally it relented. It shot away from him in an explosive blast; he heard shouts of surprise and the thud of at least one body hitting the floor and guessed the giants had lost their balance. Harry harnessed the winds power and used it to find Ginny in the darkness. He lifted himself up, and shot towards her once he found her. He landed roughly on his feet and stumbled forward before the wind caught and propped him up. He reached out, and his hand came in contact with cold skin.

"Ginny?" he said.

What is this? We feel something… This is odd…

"Ginny!" he repeated.

"I'm over here!"

Her voice came from somewhere off to his left. But the something he was touching was directly in front of him…

EEK! SOMETHING IS TOUCHING US!

Harry jerked his hand back, suddenly horrified. He hastily backed away, towards where Ginny was, and he grabbed her hand. "Sorry," he said stiffly.

The wind strained against him; the creature wanted control again. Harry tightened his grip on them, refusing to let go.

Storm Runner! You idiot boy! Foolish, foolish child! Release us NOW!

"What do you want with wind?" he asked, just a teensy bit ticked at this creature.

IT IS OURS! RELEASE US!

"I'm not hurting you," he said. "You're not made of air, if I did actually touch you just then." He shivered slightly.

The creature's attempts to take the wind from him increased. It is ours! It is part of us!

Harry would not let go. "You want my girl to free you, then don't try and take her from me. Deal, you little beast?"

Ahh! It is trying to persuade us! Fool! The fire demon will free us!

Harry glanced at Ginny, and though he could not see her, raised his eyebrow skeptically. "You seriously going to free that thing?"

He felt her nod; "She won't destroy the cup unless I do."

"She?"

Ginny murmured an ascent. "I'm guessing. Now be quiet, I need to concentrate."

Harry shut up. Ginny let go of his hand so she could use it, he put his arm around her instead, and she whispered to herself about fire. Harry listened, wondering what her mutterings were supposed to mean, when a tiny spark appeared in her palm. He caught a glimpse of her face, screwed up in concentration, before the flame was snuffed out.

"Can you keep back the wind?" she asked. "It's making it difficult."

"Oh, sure yeah." Harry raised his hand, and the winds retreated. Ginny's concentration mounted, and then a tiny flame appeared in her palm. Harry found her eyes by its light, then quickly kissed her lips. She smiled, then it faded and she looked back to the flame.

"How big of a fire do you need?" Ginny asked, looking back up. Then she gasped, and the fire went out. In the split second before the fire died, Harry caught sight of the thing that startled Ginny.

It had the figure of a teenage, malnourished girl. But that was as human as it got. Her skin was milky white, tinged with blue and there were splotches like burns or bruises that were green spread all over her. Her eyes were completely red, with no irises or pupils. Her ankles and wrists and body trailed chains at least fifty feet long each. Her face was both hideous and horrifying. And Harry hadn't even got a good look at her.

You must make it bigger! You must free us!

Ginny's breath came in ragged gasps. "H-how?"

Burn them. Burn them away! Free us!

"Burn what?" Harry asked. He hoped that it was a 'what' and not a 'who'.

Chains… chains that hold us still and rattle and are loud and are driving us insane! Burn them melt them DESTROY THEM!

"I'm working on it!" Ginny said. "You're not exactly helping!"

Then there was quiet. The faint shaking of the creature's chains stopped, the creature's moaning and groaning halted. Harry's muscles tensed, as did the wind he commanded. Ginny hissed under her breath, and another puff of fire appeared in her palms. Harry looked up, ready and yet somehow still unprepared for the beast.

She cringed away from the light. There was pus crusted over much of her skin, coming from what Harry thought were burns but now looked more like lesions. She shook her chains as she jerked her hands up to cover her face, hiding her eyes from the light.

Quick, quick, free us before we die!

"Die?" Harry said. He looked over at Ginny. She shut her eyes tightly, mouthed words, and then blew into the flame. And it grew. The fire shot out of her palm, circling the creature and its rusted chains; the thing screamed, but her mouth didn't move. The fire got brighter and brighter until even the giants were forced to look away. The heat was intense; Ginny seemed rooted to the spot so Harry grabbed her hand and tugged her away from the fire. The scream got louder and louder, sounding almost like a thousand beasts in pain, and Harry thought his eardrums might burst. Then the flame imploded, and the scream halted abruptly.

The afterthought of the flames died away, the light fading with it. Ginny reignited her palm, then tossed the flame towards Storyteller and the torch. The Storyteller caught the flame then placed it on the tip of the torch. Light once again surrounded the giants. Ginny's palm was still crackling with fire, giving the two of them their own mini sun.

On the ground at their feet was a pile of smoking chains. They were all heaped together, yards and yards of the metal links with small patches of white skin peeping out from beneath the metal. There were so many; enough to hold back a dragon. How had that small girl held up beneath their weight?

"Hello?" Ginny asked cautiously.

The pile of chains shuddered. A thin hand pushed its way out, then moved away more of the chains. Harry furrowed his brow. The green lesions that had covered the girl's skin had faded, leaving it clear and milky white. As she fought her way out, he saw angry red burns on her wrists and arms. Had Ginny's fire done that?

The girl pushed herself to her feet, her limbs trembling visibly, then stumbled out of the pile of chains towards Harry and Ginny.

"Wha — where are we? Who are you?"

"Er..." Ginny said.

"Well, crap," Harry muttered.

The girl looked around; her eyes were still red but now they could see the whites of her eyes, though there were still no pupils. They were narrowed and her eyebrows were drawn together, her mouth slightly open as she looked around.

"We know this place," she whispered. "We've been here before."

"For the past thousand years," Harry answered. "Or, so we're told. Er, we have an ... artifact, of sorts, that we were told you could destroy..."

She directed her confusion to him now. "By who?"

"Er, by you?" he said.

"By us?"

"Well, by the you that was chained up."

The girl's eyes suddenly widened. "I know! They killed us! We were dead!"

Harry was just as confused as her now. "You were dead?"

"Yes! They killed us because they thought we were evil, but we are kind spirits. We took this host so she would live, not so we could kill."

"Host?" Ginny said. "That's not your natural body?"

"No, no," the girl answered, her gaze straying and wandering around the cavern again. "We are from another world, another realm. We came here because our friend was sick and dying. Or was she already dead? We do not remember... But we came here to find her, and something went wrong. Our friend's family did not like us staying and keeping her body, so they burned us, but that would not kill us. So then they chained us, locked us away in the dark where sickness was, then brought us to this place, and here we stayed for years..." The girl trailed off into silence, her eyes settled on the flame in Ginny's palm. "Sweet light, sweet warmth... Such we have not known for millennia..."

"I know what you are!"

Harry looked around; Romancer was advancing on the girl, his eyebrows raised and arm raised in triumph. "I know you!" he repeated.

The girl's gaze remained fixed on the flame. "Do you? What are we then?"

"You are one of the legions," Romancer said.

"Why? Because we are many? Yes, that would be sensible. We once knew a man who was wrongly possessed who, once freed, claimed that his possessor called itself legion because it was many. Someone freed him, a good man we think. A good man who we wished had found our friend before he was crucified, because he could have healed her before she faded and we wouldn't have had to take her body."

"No, no, that's not why," Romancer said. "You are a legion of spirits belonging to the Realm of Dreamers."

"Realm of Dreamers... a realm of visionaries and martyrs, great scholars and engineers. Yes, we can see that as our home."

"In the Realm of Dreamers, the realm's leaders choose people throughout the timeline of mortals who have the most creative ideas then assign a legion to watch and protect them," Romancer explained. "Each legion thinks as one but specifically knows that it is made of many. They traverse the realms between their home and the mortal world with their protected until that person perishes, then they remain in the Farther Realms until they are reassigned."

"Is that us? Could that be?"

"Yes, it must be," Romancer said. Then his understanding morphed to confusion. "But why would you be locked away? Legions of Dreamers aren't malevolent, and they know to not expose themselves to the mortals except their protected."

The girl held up her hands to the flame in Ginny's palm, the flame reflected in her eyes. Ginny blew gently into the fire, and it grew slightly. The girl's lips curved just a little at the corners.

"Something was wrong with her," said the girl. "Something else... some sickness we could not drive away with her inner protectors."

"You mean her immune system?" Harry said.

"Yes, that... when we got to her, she was stricken with some terrible thing... what was it?"

The Storyteller now came over. He bent and lifted one of the chains. He examined it a moment, then he gasped and dropped it, nearly flinging it away from him.

"What is it?" Harry said, now getting anxious.

"Get away from this, quickly," Storyteller said, hastily crossing to them with worry on his face. "Away from the chains, now."

"Why?" Ginny asked, but she immediately started backing away. The girl followed Ginny's palms of fire, keeping close to the heat source. Harry kept his eyes on the chains as he backed up to match Ginny.

"Those chains are not natural," Storyteller said. "Whoever locked her away didn't use chains."

"No..." the girl said. "They bound us with rope. They claimed they were the very same ropes used to restrain the Hebrew Samson, but we know those ropes burned centuries ago with the Hebrew himself."

"So where did the chains come from?" warily asked Ginny.

Storyteller glanced back at them. "From whatever was in the legion’s protected."

The girl turned her head, her eyes shifting to look over her shoulder. "It was not pleasant," she whispered.

Harry looked at the chains. Was it just him, or had they grown?

Dreamkeeper took the torch from the Storyteller and approached the chains. They seemed to shrink away from the light. "These are not metal," she said. "Nor are they any mineral I can identify."

"I know what they are, back away," Storyteller said. "To have them here, it's a wonder they hadn't gotten out by now... Quickly, Dreamkeeper, can we summon the Essence of All Lights again?"

"No," Dreamkeeper said sharply. "To do that twice in one century would vaporize all mundane souls."

"Wait, you zapped my match with enough energy to kill every Muggle in the mortal realm?" Ginny asked indignantly.

"His soul is strong enough to withstand it," Dreamkeeper replied. "But not more than once."

"Shouldn't we have saved such a big gun for the big event?" Harry asked.

"Oh, the light of eras is not a big gun," Dreamkeeper said. "It's more like a handgun."

Harry met Ginny's eyes. She shrugged. "They do that. Overkill, I mean."

"It wasn't overkill," Dreamkeeper protested.

"Quiet!" Storyteller barked. Ginny jumped. "This thing needs to be destroyed. What powers do we have at our disposal that can kill this thing?"

"What is it?" Ginny asked.

The pile of chains suddenly shifted, then shot into the air and tangled themselves into a vaguely humanoid shape.

"Dreamkeeper, kill it!"

Dreamkeeper raised her hands. "BESTIA PER VIRUTEM TEMPUS EGO PRAECIPIO TIBI MORI!"

A bellowing cry of pain came from the chains, ringing like demented bells in Harry's ears. It shuddered, and dropped a little. A face appeared in the links, and it sneered down on the Dreamkeeper. Bright blue light formed in her hands, and she shot the ball of light at it. The chain-monster recoiled when the light hit it, then formed hands and swiped at the Dreamkeeper.

"BESTIA, PER VIRUTEM TEMPUS MORI!" Dreamkeeper shouted again. It grimaced, shaking the chains violently.

Ginny suddenly ducked out from Harry's arm. "Hey!" he shouted, but she ignored him and ran forward to where the Dreamkeeper stood. She threw her little ball of flame up into the air, and like it had done when she separated the girl from the chains, the flame exploded in size, quickly engulfing the entire monster. It screamed again; the fire turned bright red and wove in and out of the chains.

"That's the idea!" Dreamkeeper said. "PER VIRUTEM TEMPUS EGO PRAECIPIO TIBI MORI!"

"Name it!" Storyteller said. "Use its true name!"

"What is its true name?"

"Vulcan!"

"VULCAN, PER VIRUTEM TEMPUS EGO NECAT TIBI!"

The chains shuddered again, the metallic scream ended, and the chains fell in a heap on the ground, still on fire.

Storyteller ran forward and with a wave of his hand, extinguished the flame. The chains were black from the fire. Ginny stepped forward and prodded a link with her foot. It instantly turned to ash.

"Well, that was easy," she said.

Dreamkeeper's knees gave way. Storyteller darted over and caught her before she hit the ground.

"Oh," she said. "That always drains me."

"What did you do?" Harry asked.

"I summoned my husband's power," she said. "It never ends well when I do that."

Ginny aimed a kick at the chains; the rest of them disintegrated. "Why is it you come up with really awesome ways to destroy things, but it turns out that you can only use them once or when the moon is full and lined up with Jupiter or something like that?"

"Because, with great power comes a lot of hoops to jump through," Dreamkeeper sighed. "To prevent it from being misused."

The girl Ginny freed wandered away from Harry and tapped Ginny's arm. Ginny started. "Huh?" she said. The girl held out her hands again. "Oh, yeah, sure." Ginny held out her palms, focused, then a spark popped up in her palm. She tried again. This time, a small flame appeared. The girl rubbed her palms together, then held them close to the flames.

Harry moved over to Ginny and put his arm around her. She smiled gratefully at him, then looked down at the fire.

"Er, now that we've solved that crisis, can we destroy the Horcrux?" Harry asked.

"Oh, yes, of course," Romancer said, striding over to him and the girl. "Though, now that I know what she is, I'm unsure she could."

"What is it you want us to destroy?" the girl asked.

"A dark object containing a part of a mortal soul."

"Was it placed there naturally or forcibly?"

"Forcibly."

The girl flexed her fingers, bringing them close to Ginny's fire. "I do not possess the ability to banish a mortal soul. You need another mortal to destroy it.

Harry held out his hand for the cup. Romancer placed it in his hand. "We know that, but they figured that you could summon some power then help me destroy it."

The girl cocked her head. "We are a legion, not an army. But perhaps... how large a piece is it?"

Romancer shrugged. "I don't know. Harry, how many Horcruxes were made before this one?"

Harry blinked, a bit unprepared. "Oh. Uh, the first Horcrux was the diary, then the ring, then diadem, and then the cup and the locket but I don't remember which was first."

"The cup," Ginny said.

"Oh, okay then the cup."

"But how large a piece is it? Simple division."

Romancer scowled. "Seriously? You want me to do math?"

"Yes."

"Okay, so the diary had half, then the ring had a quarter," Romancer mumbled the arithmetic under his breath. "The cup has a sixteenth, turned into a decimal... then into a percent... 6.25 percent of the soul," he said.

"Really?" Ginny said. "That little?"

Romancer nodded. "And that's only the fourth. There are three more. The locket had a thirty-second, Harry one sixty-fourth, then Nagini has one 128th of Voldemort's soul, which means Voldemort has only 128th of his soul in his body. And do you know, that means that while Harry lived with one sixty-fourth of Voldemort in him, you spent a year with half of his soul pressing down on you. That's just horrifying to imagine, and is a testament to your strength of will that you survived it, that it took so long for 50 percent of his soul to corrupt you."

Ginny's expression turned sour. "I'm not corrupted," she said.

"Oh, no, of course you aren't, I'm just saying —"

"Stop talking," Dreamkeeper sighed. "Please, legion, can you destroy 6.25 percent of a soul?"

The girl rubbed her palms together again. "Maybe."

"Please, can you try?"

She thought about it for a moment. "Yes. But..."

"But what?"

"Our name... We want Thomas to remember our name..."

Romancer frowned. "What? How would I know your name?"

The girl lifted her eyes, and locked them onto the Romancer's. "You know our name. The name of our protected and the name of our legion. You know it."

"I do?"

"Remember, please, for we cannot."

Romancer opened his mouth, then closed it. "Why do you call me by my true name?"

The girl shrugged. "You told it to us; we will use it."

"My name, and any true name of any Lord, can be spoken only a few times before its power begins to erode the surroundings. Only a select few have the right souls to contain its power when speaking it."

"Seriously?" Ginny said. "How many times does the name 'Thomas' get said?"

"Many, I'm sure, but never in thought of me. It requires my image paired with my name to be dangerous."

Ginny shrugged. "I suppose that makes sense."

The girl's gaze strayed back to the flame. "Our protected's name is a Roman one, our legion's name is long."

Romancer frowned. "The legion's name is long? That's odd; usually legions are given short, one word names to simply describe their personality. Long ones are rare, and only given to... to..."

The girl looked up again. "Yes?"

"The protected's name is Lucia, isn't it?" Romancer's face was suddenly drawn

She nodded. "Yes, that is it. Lucia... Lucia Caecilia Iucunda. We sense that her spirit long ago entered the Realm of Dreamers, but it is nice to finally remember her name."

"And the legion, are you called the Legion of Graces?"

The girl's eyes glazed over. "Graces... Yes... We are a strange legion, as there are three of us."

"Originally you were three legions: Charm, Beauty and Creativity," Romancer said.

She nodded vaguely. "Yes, that's it... the Three Graces we're called generally. Yes, Thomas. Thank you." The Three Graces — how odd it was to think of one thin girl as three — turned to Harry, then held out her hand for the cup. "We can kill such a small portion of soul if a mortal would help us."

Harry placed it on her palm. "I will help."

For the first time, the girl's lips curved in a faint smile. She closed her eyes, then grabbed Harry's hand and held it over the cup's mouth. "Dear, dear, this is a dark soul. His legion never came to him."

"What? Voldemort had a legion?"

"Every soul has a legion of some kind, a legion of guardian angels you might say. This soul should have had a legion from the Realm of Kings and Queens. He had such potential. But, for some reason we cannot tell, his legion never came."

Harry frowned. "Does that mean I have a legion? And Ginny?"

"Yes. Your legion is very exasperated with you, Storm Runner. They find it irritating how many times you get yourself into dangerous situations."

Harry's cheeks flushed. "I didn't know."

"Your match's legion, however, they are sick. Something plagues them."

He nodded. "The seed of insanity." Harry glanced over at Ginny. She was still staring into the flame in her palm. It seemed that once the crisis had ended, she had retreated again into silence.

The Three Graces inhaled deeply. "In just a moment, we will begin an incantation. You will feel heat in your palm, but do not recoil."

"Okay."

Three Graces started mouthing words, though no sound came out. It must have been intentional, because she kept mouthing the words. Harry's palm felt warm suddenly. A second later, his palm was very hot. He winced as incredible heat started pouring out of his palm.

"Touch your hand to the cup."

Harry lowered his searing palm to the rim of the cup. For a second the metal cooled his skin before the cup itself started heating. The Three Graces began muttering in some foreign language under her breath. His hand got hotter and hotter. The cup started smoking. Then, she closed her mouth and the heat vanished instantly from his hand.

"There," she said. "It is purged."

Harry jerked his hand away from the cup and shook it limply. "Ow," he said.

The Three Graces smiled faintly. "We did warn you."

Romancer took the still smoking cup from the legion. "Thank you, Graces. We are in your debt."

She smiled at him, then her gaze wandered back to the fire in Ginny's palm and she raised her hands to warm them.

"We should go," Storyteller said. "I don't like the taint the chains had on this place."

"What was that about the chains?" Harry said. "How did you know its name?"

Storyteller shook his head. "It is a very long story, one not made for telling in such a place. Perchance one day I will tell you, but not any time soon."

Harry sighed. "Fine. Then let's go." He took a step forward, then paused when Ginny didn't follow. He looked back at her. Her eyes had glazed over once again, the firelight reflected in them. He readjusted his arm around her, then gently pushed her forward. She took one stumbling half-step, then fell into a steady stride beside him. The Three Graces followed the fire, and the three giants followed her.

Romancer ran back into the Vault chamber to get the rest of the group. They all looked very confused at the presence of another person, though once Romancer explained, only Ron still looked confused. Goldblood looked very upset.

"An evil spirit rested in my bank?" he said. "For a thousand years and no one ever said anything?"

"How were you to know?" Storyteller. "The chains were disguised by the legion."

Goldblood was still distressed. "Now we will have to get a dragon. The paperwork I'll have to do..."
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