Sang Sacré

Chapter 10

Two torches lit themselves and levitated to their hands, which now sealed themselves without a mark. They stared at the ominously dark room ahead of them for a minute before turning back once more to the eldest Nott, who embraced them tightly.

"Go. It is time. Fortitudo per familiam."

As they walked further into the second room, the slab closed behind them and encased them entirely in darkness aside from their torches. They wandered for a few minutes, eying the floor that had given way to a pool the last time they were here.

The floor felt cold and damp under her toes. She stood staring at the direction she knew they must travel to enter deeper into the mountain, trying to catch what was required of them for entry.

A few minutes later, the energy in the room noticeably shifted. Hermione hurried to the wall without a backward glance and pushed her arm forward, watching in surprise as her hand disappeared up to her elbow.

She pushed forward, knowing Theo would follow right behind and found herself in a long, narrow hallway. At the end of the hallway, she heard loud, crashing water and steadied herself before continuing forward.

Hermione was thankful for the torch. With every step into the mountain, the temperature dropped a few degrees. She padded down the passage until it expanded and they came face to face with the source of the noise.

She craned her neck upwards as far as she could and still could not see the top of the waterfall that lay before them. The sound of such heavy water crashing to the cave floor was cacophonous and bounced off of the walls nearby, disorienting the two as they stood squinting and tried to figure out their next move.

"I think we have to go through it," Hermione shouted even though Theo was right next to her. He still struggled to hear her and forced her to repeat herself. "Something is telling me we just need to walk through it!"

Theo heard this time and nodded vigorously. "Yes! My gut's telling me to just dive in!"

Together, they approached the wall of crystalline blue water rushing down and shivered as they drew closer to frigid water that sprayed their bodies. Suddenly, they pushed through the spray and held their breaths as the water pounded onto their backs, the noise deafening them until they came to the other side.

Gulping in air to replace what had been shoved from their lungs, they slowly looked forward and widened their eyes in awe. Their still-lit torches floated from their grasps and levitated over the heads, further illuminating the room they found themselves in.

They stood at the edge of a large circle and the waterfall at their backs continued all around the rim. Inside this circle, the water was no longer punishing in temperature or volume; instead, they stood in a shallow pool that warmed and nurtured their bodies. The piercing sound quieted and faded into the background.

In the center of the circle was a platform made of stone, elevated from the waters that swirled around their feet. There stood Garrick Olivander and his grown daughter Gillian, who she met earlier that day. They were entirely dry, which annoyed her, and Hermione used her forearm to free the hair that was plastered to her forehead.

All around the edge, also with their backs to the waterfalls, emerged the rest of the group all equally as soaked. Behind each person, their respective runes glittered in the falling water. The Olivanders appeared to be waiting for everyone to get their bearings, and Hermione took this time to scrutinize who had made it into the inner circle.

She and Theo stood head on to the Ollivander's. In succession to Theo's right were Hannah Abbott, Blaise who stood for House Shafiq, Susan Bones who stood for House Selwyn, Ron, Millicent Bulstrode, Neville, Daphne, Pansy, Draco, Jonathan Travers, Saoirse Rosier, and finally, Ernie Macmillan who stood off Hermione's left shoulder. Jonathan and Saoirse were returning from previous years after remaining unpaired, yet that didn't stop them from looking around the circle at each other like everyone else.