[HP] Looking for you #22 (Patreon)

Chapter #22: The fifth test, part III.

PDF DOWNLOAD (For wizard experts and above) [01-LookingYou22.pdf]: January PDF downloads

“Well, let’s climb the stairs then and we’ll see what happens,” Harry suddenly said to his friends.

They’ve been stuck in the center of the room while pondering about the meaning of the words that were written on the door, everyone knew it was a riddle but Harry was the only one who didn’t care too much about it, after all, in situations in which you don’t know what to do, he knew that it was better to keep going, or at least that’s the lesson that has stuck the most from his Auror training days and that’s the way he’s been acting since then.

Still, he’s not a selfish monster or a psychopath without empathy, he knows that his friends have good reasons to be a little wary of this place, he doesn't mind that they're scared, they're human after all, but the more time they spend thinking about this, the farther they get from finishing this.

It may seem like just a few hours have passed since they started from the first task to this point but Harry knows that it’s been longer than that, it could be that decades or even centuries have passed out there and he’s a little worried about that, what if they wake up in a post-apocalyptic world in which muggles and magicals have finally gone extinct? That’s a thought that worries him, that’s why he wants to keep on going.

He knows that contrary to his friends, he has no one outside waiting expectantly for him, and while it’s true that he has his godson, long gone are the days when Teddy used to want to spend a lot of time with him, he has grown up, however, he feels a bit guilty thinking that his parents and loved ones might still be waiting for him on the afterlife after centuries, so, if he was going to die here then it better be quick.

“I hate to admit this but…Harry’s idea is not bad,” Hermione said in a dark tone, she sounded as if she had said something forbidden.

“Hey, why do you say that as if it were the worst thing in the world?” Harry asked with a fake offended tone.

“I think we can solve it we just—” Victoire tried to intervene but her uncle Charlie stopped her before sighing.

“Why don’t we start walking and if something bad happens we get back?” Asked the older redhead.

The whole group stared at him with curious expressions, Harry couldn’t help but chuckle, he agreed with him, he knew he could count on Charlie, he was a man of action after all.

Lucero and Victoire were a bit disappointed that they wouldn't be able to spend more time trying to figure this out, they felt like they were close to the truth but in the end, they sighed defeatedly.

“Well, it seems like we have no better option, right?” Asked the blonde with a disappointed look.

“I guess we don’t…If we get in danger I swear I’m not going to forgive you guys!” Lucero clearly wasn’t happy about their decision but in the end, she was the one least likely to get harmed in this place due to her being a descendant of the original creators.

Still, the Mexican witch thinks that while the dungeon can’t kill her, a loose spell, a knife in her throat or something like that coming from her companions would still kill her, so, she was hoping this place wouldn’t drive anyone insane to attempt to do something like that.

“Well, the quicker, the better, right?” Asked Hermione as she got ready to keep going.

It was difficult for most of the group to leave their comfort but they knew they had to keep going, maybe keeping them in this place was the intention of the dungeon masters from the start.

They got close to the start of the stairs, and then they looked into each other’s eyes, it was clear that they were a little worried but in the end, they nodded at each other and they finally started ascending.

“Ah…This is going to hurt my knees, I’m sure of it!” Hermione said with a frown and Harry could only chuckle.

Even though Hermione always glared at him every time he laughed at her disgrace, she couldn’t stop herself from lowly chuckling too.

“Do you feel it, right Hermione? Do you also feel a resurge of memories from our days at Hogwarts since we started this quest?” Harry asked his best friend who was still a bit grumpy for being forced to use the stairs.

“Oh, don’t remind me…I still have bad dreams about those days and Ron’s still paranoid about the giant spiders from the forbidden forest!” Hermione complained.

She was clearly a bit annoyed because she didn’t have enough time to solve the riddle, that was the thing that annoyed her the most, still, she couldn’t help but slightly smile at the end.

“But yes…I can’t help but think about those days, I was so scared back then but still, I can't deny I had fun,” Hermione couldn’t help but widen her smile.

She decided to look at the positive side of things, at least this was going to distract her from constantly thinking about her family, she wanted to be with them, and hold them, those thoughts were constantly running through her head, and she was starting to feel like she was going insane at any moment.

She hated herself a little because she knew she had to focus, they had a mission, and they promised everyone they were going to bring Bill back but she wouldn’t be able to do much if she kept this attitude going, so, she decided to join the discussion between the two younger witches about the riddle.

While the witches discussed the ideas they had, Harry and Charlie were chatting about the best way to act in case they found themselves alone fighting against a dragon. The group didn’t know for how long they continued like that but at some point, they felt a little tired so they decided to stop for a while.

“Well, I guess we better—” Hermione was about to say but then, her eyes widened. “I can’t believe this!” She said as she looked around.

“Hermione what—” Harry was about to ask but then he knew the answer to his unsaid question as he stared in the same direction his best friend was staring at.

“There’s no way!” Harry said with a shocked expression.

The rest of the group were in the same state of shock as Hermione and Harry were, they couldn’t believe it, they knew they'd spent hours going upstairs and yet, they were still on the first step of the stairs and the worst thing is that they don't know for how long they've been here.

“No…No, this can’t be, it can’t be…I know we’ve been walking for hours, why are we still on the base!” Hermione said desperately.

“Hermione calm down…I think this is an illusion—” Harry couldn’t continue because Hermione suddenly stared at him with a hateful expression.

“No, it’s not…This is your fault, this was your plan! Now we’re trapped on these stairs forever!” Hermione was looking a bit insane right now.

Harry knew his bookworm friend was usually friendly but when something goes out of the way she expects to happen, she suddenly has those anger outbursts that scare the fuck out of him, still, he tried to keep himself calm, this was probably part of the task, this place was clearly designed to drive them mad.

“Hermione calm down, it’s okay, I know the first idea didn't work but we can eventually figure this out!” Harry tried to calm his friend by shaking her by her shoulders.

But then, she did something Harry didn’t expect, she got off his grip and then, as she hatefully stared at him, she pushed him violently and Harry couldn’t help but feel shocked about it, he had never seen his best friend staring at him with such a hateful expression.