Chapter 50
It was the Sunday morning after Harry's first exploration trip into the forest and as he hauled himself out of bed he realized he should have made more of an effort to go hiking in the past months. Sore muscles protested as he sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed. His left knee was only slightly more achy than the rest of him so he felt he was at least slightly ahead on that score. He shuffled into the bathroom in the hopes that a hot shower would help ease the aches a bit. It did, but only a bit. By the time he was walking down the corridor towards the kitchen he was able to identify individual areas of concern as opposed to the general full body ache he felt when he first woke up.
"Good morning, sweetheart," Ginny said from the table where she, Abagail, and the two boys were having breakfast.
"Morning," he replied.
"You really must have pushed yourself too hard yesterday, Harry. You were making some interesting noises in your sleep last night," she said.
"Noises?"
"Yes, mostly little groans as you moved around," she said with a straight face.
He sat down and reached for the tea pot but Abagail was already lifting it up to pour out for him. He fixed it to his liking and took a sip and sighed deeply.
"I hadn't realized I had gotten so old so fast," he said ruefully.
"You're not old, Harry, just a little out of shape. It's been a few years since the Aurors put you through all that rigorous training. It's starting to wear off, I'd think," his wife said.
"I guess you're right. Well, at least its two weeks before the next trip. I should have time to recover a bit by then. How is everyone else this morning?"
Based on the responses everyone else seemed in fine fettle and all smiles. As Harry sipped his tea he got the feeling someone was having a very subtle go at him. It became evident that his appetite was unaffected as he demolished everything Nibs put in front of him. After breakfast he put on a jacket and went outside to let Snuffles run around and he walked some of the stiffness out of his muscles by taking a tour of the property. One specific thing he did was take a walk to the car park and look around. He was going to have to have a small garage erected so he could park the little Morris under cover.
After spying a likely spot he walked back out onto the lawn and began throwing a ball that Snuffles presented to him. He was soon joined by James and it became a match between the boy and his dog as to who got to return the ball to Harry. James came out on the short end of the tally by quite a bit because even when he did get to the ball first, Snuffles would simply bowl him over and take the ball from him. In retaliation, James would try tackling the Mastiff but the weight advantage was definitely in the dog's favor and it was a mostly futile effort. More often than not, James would wind up riding along on the back of the dog, shouting and laughing.
This all put Harry in a better frame of mind and reduced the stiffness for a while. After lunch he did retreat to the library where he began looking for references to the forest in various volumes of history or magical phenomenon. He was deep into one book when Kreacher announced the arrival of visitors.
"Master Harry, Mister Charlie Weasley and Miss Eleanor MacManus to see Master Harry and Mistress Ginny."
"Oh, alright. Thanks, Kreacher. Are they in the living room?"
"Yes, Master Harry."
"Fine, I'll be right along."
Harry pulled himself up out of his chair and made his way to the living room. As he walked in he was met by El who was standing up, waiting to give him a hug. She had spent the last month traveling through Europe making sales calls and doing demonstrations of the Firebolt and Nimbus lines. She wrapped Harry in a tight embrace and felt him stiffen.
"Harry, what's wrong?"
"Sorry, El. I was out trekking in the Dark Forest all day yesterday. I'm feeling a bit abused today," he said with a little laugh.
"Oh, I'm sorry," she said solicitously and gave him a kiss on the cheek and absently rubbed his back. "What were you doing up in the forest?"
Harry settled himself in his chair and shook hands with Charlie who was on the couch nearby. El took her seat next to Charlie.
"A few weeks back, I was out walking in the evening and as I went by the forest I started feeling some sort of presence. It wasn't like a living creature, it was just something that was there. Almost like a mist but not visible to the eye. It's sort of hard to explain. But it is everywhere in the forest and it's very faint. The dragon picks it up better than just me alone," Harry explained.
"Does it feel like something that's going to be a problem like some of the other things you've encountered?" Charlie asked.
"No, it doesn't have any kind of feel like that, nothing good or bad, just there."
"Sounds odd, but interesting," Charlie replied, his curiosity obviously aroused. "Let me know if you need a hand looking into it."
"Thanks, Charlie. I have three students working on it as a project but I'll take all the help I can get. Even the Centaurs are pitching in."
When Charlie's eyebrows went up, Harry explained the arrangement. Charlie just smiled and shook his head. Eleanor had been listening quietly to the exchange but it was obvious she was deep in thought. She looked at Harry and asked,
"Harry, would you describe this thing again?"
And he did, and she asked a question about the feel of uniformity and vagueness, the 'vast but faint' description he had used the first time he talked about it to someone.
"Do you remember the time we talked about you becoming the dragon for the first time? And I talked about the idea of mass and energy from muggle physics?" she asked him.
"Sure, you said you thought that to keep from obliterating myself because of all the anger and magical energy I was building up I spontaneously converted the energy to mass and the mass became the dragon. At least that's what I think you meant."
"Yes, it was. Well, I think there may be another analogy we can use here. Harry, I know it's been a long time since you were in a muggle school but did you ever hear of the Big Bang theory?" El asked.
"Um, it sounds familiar. I think I heard something about it on the tellie when I would sneak out and watch from the hallway. It has something to do with how they think the universe was formed, right?" Harry said.
"That's right. The idea is everything was squeezed down into one little tiny ball of energy. Then it exploded and expanded and everything in the universe formed out of it. But what I want to tell you happened only about fifty or so years ago. Two men in the States had built a new kind of antenna to do experiments with different ways for wireless communication. But when they started to listen with it they found it had a low buzz or hum. They tried everything to get rid of it but they couldn't. At the same time some other scientists had calculated that if the Big Bang really happened then there should be some residual energy still out there in the universe, very faint, but everywhere. Sound familiar? Well, what the two men with the antenna were hearing matched what the others calculated and they decided it was that remnant of energy.
"Maybe what you're sensing is the remnant of some sort of magic that might have been done a long time ago and you're the first antenna that could pick up on it. I mean, does anyone really know how old the forest is?"
Harry sat and thought about what El was saying. He thought about how it matched up with what Merlin and Dumbledore had said about not knowing who or what were the earliest inhabitants of the forest or who might have gone into it for whatever purpose. Curiouser and curiouser as the old story goes.
"A lot older than we are. Witches and wizards, I mean," Harry said finally. "We found a fair number of stones that looked like they have been shaped by tools. Dumbledore had mentioned seeing them and Morgotta the Centaur said they were in their territory as well. If it turns out to just be the residue of some ancient, long forgotten magic, that's fine. But it makes me very curious to know who worked it in the first place."
When Harry returned to school the following day he found he wasn't the only one curious. His three 'team mates' cornered him after breakfast and asked when they would be going back to the forest.
"I'd think the Saturday after this one coming up. I'd like the time to do some research about a few questions that were raised over the weekend, and I'd like you to start working on as detailed and accurate a map as we can construct. It might help us in the long run. We'll meet formally tomorrow afternoon and go over everything in detail, alright?"
He got positive agreement and the three sixth years hurried off to class talking in low but excited tones. When Harry got to his third year Transfiguration class he took a moment to talk to the young Erikson to see how he was doing with his dreams.
"No, sir, nothing like that again. It's been just the run of the mill stuff and I've been sleeping fine. I don't usually have two of the really specific ones that close together."
"Alright. I'm glad to hear you're getting the rest you need," Harry said and then got on with the work of the day.
A thought had occurred to him so after lunch he went up to the owlry and sent a message to Hermione asking if she had ever come across a reason for why Hogwarts was located where it was in her reading of 'Hogwarts, a History', or anything else she had read. He couldn't ever recall seeing anything.
That Tuesday afternoon he sat with his three student helpers at the Gryffindor table going over their notes and sketches from their first trip. Apparently one of them had a pretty decent hand but he began to wonder about the ability of their little group to produce an accurate map based on their tramping about. He realized it had been done for many centuries that way but he also knew that those maps weren't the best. He began to think of alternatives. Something told him it could be important.
"Sir?" Smithson said.
"I'm sorry, I was just thinking about something. I was wondering about some better ways we could come up with for making this map."
"I think I might be able to help with that, sir," the young wizard said.
"What did you have in mind?"
"Well, sir, I can get a hold of a small hand held satnav unit. It would make it much easier to map out the trails and accurately locate the different artifacts we find," the boy said.
"Satnav? What's that?"
The youngster explained about the satellites and time differentials and all the rest. Harry thought he understood but then he said,
"Sounds interesting but you are aware that muggle electronics have a tendency to malfunction when there's a lot of magic around."
"I had heard something about that, sir. But my dad is going to send me the one we have and I'll test it. Maybe we can figure something out. We might also try overflying the forest on brooms with it to get a good fix on the outer limits of its borders."
The discussion continued until dinner and by that time everyone had their assignments on what to do to get ready for the next journey. When Harry returned home the following day and discussed what had gone on Abagail said,
"You know, Harry. All you have to do is fly over the forest and fix everything in your memory and I could draft out the outer edges quite easily."
"Hmm, now that is a thought. I'll keep that in mind. Right now I want to see if the team can come up with something and that way it can go towards their project grade."
"Alright, that makes sense, but remember the offer still stands."
The days came and went, with a very restful weekend where Harry, Abagail and Angus spent all day Saturday at the Burrow shop working on the Morris. Angus wasn't particularly mechanically inclined but he was a willing pair of hands and apparently had the patience of a rock. If you asked him to hold something he would do so without complaint for as long as you needed him to. Harry had the notion that the boy sort of shunted his mind over to the 'Snitch Question' as his project was referred to and the rest was just done on autopilot, so to speak.
Abagail had started to raise questions about the color of the car's bodywork and interior and the conversations between her and her 'granddad' took hours. Sunday was given over to research on the forest and he was coaxing bits and pieces out of various volumes and he was slowly filling a notebook with facts, ideas and speculations. He thought he'd also pay a visit to the muggle libraries to see if there was anything regarding the ancient Britons and those that came before them for any hints. He wondered if there was any future in magical archeology.
At their next meeting, Harry was told that it was true that the satnav unit wouldn't work while in the confines of the castle or outdoors with more than half a dozen witches or wizards around but it would function within the boundaries of the forest if there was just the three of them about. Harry wondered if his own power would cause any issues and said so.
"One way to find out, sir," Smithson said. "We could go out to the stadium or out past Hagrid's hut and give it a try."
Harry agreed and in the faint light of early evening Harry went with the three youngsters and walked out to the far side of the stadium to try out the device. With Harry standing in the small group the device would fluctuate wildly. If two of the students walked away it would settle down but still not give a steady reading. After several different attempts it was decided that the best results were obtained with only two students adjacent to the device and the other and Harry at least fifty feet away.
On the return trip to the castle it was decided that Harry and one student would walk that far ahead of the other two and Morgotta, who would follow along, mapping and registering the location of various artifacts. Harry sent a message to Charlie asking him if he would like to attend the next trek to provide for some additional experienced adult supervision considering the distance between the two small groups. He also asked Hagrid to contact the Centaurs and let Morgotta know they would be at the clearing at the same time as last.
This set the pattern for the next several trips into the forest. Charlie did indeed decide to participate and his experience as a field researcher made him a welcome addition to the little troop. Morgotta regarded him coolly when he first arrived but after being introduced as Harry's brother and a member of the Weasley clan her attitude softened considerably. By the end of the first trip, during which he demonstrated his unflagging energy, good humor, sharp eye and attention to detail, he was firmly established as part of the team.
The satnav unit proved useful in being able to track and log the routes they had followed that would later be transferred to the large parchment map they were creating. Of particular help was the pinpointing of the worked stone formations that they were finding. As these were plotted on the map, Harry thought he was beginning to recognize a pattern but he couldn't quite spot it. The device seemed to behave itself as hoped, as long as only two of the youngsters were near it. So Harry and Smithson tended to pair up, as did Huddleford and Quonset who worked with the unit. Morgotta didn't seem to cause any issues so she stayed close to the young witch and wizard and Charlie would shift his position along the line but stay at least ten paces away. Had they been able to tell they would have found that the general background magic added a few feet to the measurement error but for what they were doing that wasn't noticeable.
Something that was notable was the rapport that was developing between Morgotta and Amanda Quonset. While no one would mistake the Centaur's attitude for one of friendliness, there was certainly a lessening of the studied formality that was the usual demeanor any human would observe. She consistently used the term 'friend' and more often than not, the two would be involved in some low toned conversation as they walked along or during rest breaks. This familiarity may account for the question that Amanda posed to Morgotta during a rest stop in the afternoon of their third trek.
Harry was sitting to one side of a small clearing discussing something with Charlie. The two younger wizards were double checking location data that was logged on the satnav and likewise recorded in a notebook Harry had provided. He wanted a paper copy in case something happened to the electronic unit. Amanda looked at Morgotta who was reclining nearby.
"Um, Morgotta, would you mind if I asked you a question?" she asked a bit hesitantly.
"You may ask. How I choose to answer, or not, will be up to me."
"I understand. It's just that I've always heard that Centaurs have very little liking for humans, sometimes even hostility. Yet, you seem to tolerate us, the boys and me, I mean, well enough. So did Ronin. But with the Professor it's so much different. There seems to be a great deal of respect, even deference. I know why we feel that way about him but I don't want to assume why you would."
The Centaur regarded the young witch seriously and could see that there was a genuine interest so she decided to answer the question. She glanced over to see that Harry and Charlie were deep in whatever conversation they were having. She looked back at the girl. She also noticed that the two young wizards had stopped their work with the location data and were trying to listen.
"You two young ones may as well hear this. Move closer," Morgotta directed. "It is wise, Friend Amanda Quonset, that you do not assume to assign human rationale to Centaur logic. They are rarely in alignment. Before I answer your question, answer one of mine. Why do you hold the Serpent King in high regard?"
"Um, well, I guess it has to do with all he's done. Right from his first days at Hogwarts he was involved in the fight with Voldemort, he showed lots of skill and courage. He was so determined to fight that battle right to the end. Then there's all he accomplished at the Ministry with the Aurors and Patrollers and the criminals he stopped. Plus he's about the best teacher any of us have ever had. He knows so much and has so much experience, but he treats us almost like friends, even family. It's all that kind of thing, I guess," she finished.
"And you?" Morgotta looked at the two boys.
Smithson merely nodded to indicate he agreed with Amanda's assessment. Huddleford added,
"Not to mention he is such a great Quidditch flier."
"We see something different," Morgotta began. "What you say is all true, in fact, but our perspective is greatly different. What you have described is a great individual with a long trail of accomplishments worthy of your respect and admiration. You touched only once on what we would see as more important, and that was when you said he treats you like friends or family. You should know, young humans, that we Centaurs draw our strongest sense of self from our being a part of the herd. A singular Centaur is an extreme rarity. That which we find most undesirable about humans is the tendency to think inwardly. The concept of 'I' and 'me' instead of 'us' and 'we'. Your Professor Potter is far more like a Centaur in that respect than he is a human. He sees himself as part of a great family of similar beings, witches and wizards, and thinks rarely of himself. More than once that vision has come close to costing him his life. He chooses to teach out of a desire to lessen the likelihood of a repeat of the dark times. He shares of himself and his good fortune for the betterment of that family, a herd in a sense. No other human have we encountered has possessed those qualities to such a degree. Dumbledore was similar but not nearly so strong. Yes, we respect him as a warrior and a skilled practioner of his arts, but those are merely his tools to safeguard his herd, which as it so happens, also includes my own."
Morgotta had been watching the faces of the youngsters as she talked and she thought she saw something in their expressions.
"Do not think less of yourselves for not seeing your Professor in this light. We all have our place and our tasks. Be who you are as best as you can, and go about your tasks to the best of your ability and you will have no reason for such thoughts. You need not see the world as others do, you need only realize that they may see it differently and be accepting of that difference."
Harry hadn't heard what was being said, but he was aware that a conversation had taken place. He also noticed that there was very little discussion on the part of the three youngsters as the rest of the afternoon passed.
Another interesting question was posed later in the following week when Harry and the three students were reviewing the map and its newly added data. This time it was from Huddleford, who asked,
"Um, sir, if you don't mind, we've been discussing something and have a bit of a concern."
"And that would be?"
"Well, sir, one of your requirements for these projects is to develop and demonstrate an understanding of the magic involved in whatever is being worked on. So far we really haven't come across anything magical that we can identify, let alone began to investigate and understand. We're getting a little worried about it, quite frankly."
"I can understand that," Harry answered. "Don't worry about it too much. I have a feeling we'll be coming across something relatively soon. If not, I'm prepared to make some allowances. If nothing promising emerges by the winter break we'll look at making some adjustments. That's one of the advantages of working with the teacher," Harry finished with a grin.
They needn't have worried. By the end of their fourth journey the data that they had entered, along with some observations Morgotta added about those similar formations located within the territory of the Centaurs described a pattern that became very familiar to even the most casual observer. The points described a spiral. It began at the edge of the forest opposite from where Hogwarts stood and seemed to end somewhere beyond where the spiders used to call home. The actual terminus of the spiral was a little vague and would require on-the-ground searching.
The fifth and final trek before the end of term was going to be spent in this area. It should be noted that during the four trips to date, Harry had had only that one instance where the presence or whatever it was had that sharp spike. The rest of the time he felt only that same vague, ever present inaudible hum.
Since they would be nearing the shrinking realm of the giant spiders some extra precautions were being taken. They would not rely as heavily on the satnav unit and would remain closer together. Ronin and Bane would join them at the edge of that area and remain with them until danger from the spiders was left behind. While it was agreed that Harry was a match for any number of the creatures, he could not be everywhere or see everything at once and the addition of a pair of skilled archers was considered prudent.
Charlie came prepared with climbing gear that he had often used in his field work to gain access to remote cliff side caves and roosting areas for dragons. The rope was slung over his shoulder and across his torso and a canvas bag held the various pieces of hardware. The sun had barely broken from the horizon as the band of humans plunged into the forest and headed for its dark interior. Morgotta met them in the usual place and took up station at the end of the line. It took nearly half an hour of steady walking to reach the area that while no more densely forested took on a darker aspect.
Harry had called a halt because he knew his two friends were there before they were seen. The two large Centaurs drifted out of the gloom and stood facing Harry.
"Hail and well met, Serpent King," Bane intoned.
"Well met, Friend Harry Potter," offered Ronin.
"Greetings, my friends, and my thanks for your joining us. Your company and added skills will be much appreciated in this part of our journey."
"We are pleased to be of assistance, Friend Harry Potter. Many of us have found Morgotta's descriptions of your explorations of great interest and we are glad for the chance to take even a small part."
"If trouble finds us, I'm sure your part will be other than small," Harry said with a smile. "Shall we proceed?"
With nods the Centaurs fell in with the others and the party marched on. It didn't take long before the travelers began to feel something in the air. Eyes moved from side to side and heads swiveled in all directions, including upward. While nothing was seen the sense of being watched was strong and odd noises could be heard off to the left of the trail.
"The eight legged ones are watching, Serpent King. By the sound, more than a few," Ronin said in a low voice.
"Yes, I know," Harry replied. "Let me try something."
As Harry planned for this trip he thought back to his time with Ron when they came to talk with Aragog and almost wound up as dinner for his offspring. He remembered the reaction that ordinary spiders had to the mere hint of the presence of the basilisk and he thought to try something. He raised a hand to call a halt to the little column and then he walked several paces ahead. He turned to face the trees on the left side of the trail and looked inward.
He let some of the dragon surface and he could feel his senses sharpen considerably. He could tell there were some two dozen or so of the big spiders less than fifty yards away. He knew his eyes had changed because he could now see up into the trees and his sharpened vision could pick out that at least half of the spiders were up in the branches. But almost as quickly he could sense a feeling of primitive panic, a reaction bred into the very genes of the eight legged monsters.
The others heard it as high pitched squeals and the crashing of large multi-limbed bodies moving as quickly as they could through the sparse undergrowth. Harry was able to see that at least two of the creatures that had been high in the trees had fallen in their panic to lie dead on the ground. It seemed the rest would have the opportunity to feed after all. He let his senses probe the surrounding area for any other sign of hostile life but as had happened before, the entire area around them had gone deathly silent.
"What has occurred, Serpent King?" Bane asked.
"I remembered from my second year at Hogwarts when the basilisk was loose that all the spiders in the castle and surrounding areas had fled into the forest. I just tried to project the idea of a giant snake at them and it seemed to do the trick. Sounded like there were a fair number of them," Harry replied blandly.
"Indeed. The size of our party must have attracted them. It would seem we can proceed with some confidence," Ronin offered, an odd expression on his usually stern face.
The only response was a bit of a snort from the rear of the column. They marched on, the three youngsters, while reasonably confident in the combined capabilities of the two adult wizards and three Centaurs, still looked about with a bit of nervousness. Based on the calculations from the map and Harry's own senses they moved off the trail about fifteen minutes walk from where they encountered the spiders and began to pick their way through the trees. This deep into the forest the trees were huge and spaced far enough apart to leave fairly wide lanes between them. The ground seemed to be rising slightly and there were a fair number of small boulders strewn about. Harry began to get an idea of where the rocks had come from for the 'markers' they had mapped out.
As the sun rose higher in the sky the gloom dissipated a bit and they walked on in what seemed like early twilight. All eyes were in constant motion as they surveyed the ground around them for any signs. Finally, a shape began to emerge from the gloom. It appeared to be a jumble of very large rocks and boulders. As they got closer an opening became evident. It appeared to be half again as high as Harry was tall and perhaps half that wide. It was slightly irregular but not nearly as much as the jumble of rocks should have produced. It might admit a Centaur without bumping his head but it would be a close thing.
As Harry approached the opening he drew his wand and muttered 'lumos'. The ball of white light illuminated the opening and part of the tunnel. He could see where rocks met and leaned against one another but it was hard for his untrained eye to decide whether they were random or purposely positioned. He could not sense any change in the feel of the place as compared to the rest of the forest. As he stepped forward he heard from Charlie,
"Um, Harry, are you sure you want to do that?"
Harry looked back and said with a little grin,
"Charlie, you should know better than to ask that. I never ask someone else to do what I won't, and this is my expedition, after all. I'll be fine. You can keep an eye on me from here."
Charlie wasn't happy but he knew better than to argue so he took a spot next to the opening were he could see clearly. The three Centaurs regarded one another with serious faces but said nothing. They turned to form a rough arc a short distance from the opening looking outward for any approaching danger. The three students came to stand by Charlie who directed them to the other side of the tunnel mouth, using the edge for some cover.
Harry altered the shape of the light and used it more like a high powered muggle torch, casting a long beam down the length of the tunnel. It looked like it angled downward somewhat because it was certainly longer than the jumble of rock so it must extend down into the ground. The floor was a hard packed earth, or so it seemed and his boots made no noise as he walked along. Harry had gone perhaps fifty feet along the passageway when a loud crack reverberated through the tunnel. Before he could react the ground gave way and he dropped out of sight.
Charlie let out a shout and rushed in but pulled himself up sharply. He wasn't sure how much of the floor was ready to drop. So he shouted,
"Harry, can you hear me? Harry?"
He thought he heard a faint,
"Wait a moment."
Then a voice came through much clearer.
"I'm alright, Charlie, but have a care. I don't know how stable the rest of that floor is. I'm using 'Sonorous'. I'm sitting on a stone floor maybe fifty feet down. I was able to slow myself before I hit. I dropped my wand and it went out. Give me a moment to get myself situated."
If fact, Harry was sitting on a smooth stone floor in near total darkness. The only light was that of the hole in what was now a roof where some of the morning gloom made it a shade less dark. Harry held out his hand and said,
"Accio wand," and in a second the handle of his ironwood wand smacked into his palm.
Once more he used 'lumos' to produce a large ball of bright white light. What he saw almost caused him to drop it again. He was standing in an enormous cavern, the far reaches of which were lost beyond the edge of the ball of light's illumination. What he was facing, however, was a large edifice that contained a number of door-like openings at ground level and a few farther up the face. The top of the structure, for lack of a better word, was just a hand span or so below the roof of the cavern. The front of the edifice had that same 'might have been shaped by tools' look as the other things they had seen.
He adjusted the beam and took a look at the hole in the roof and he saw that the edges didn't look all that firm. He called up.
"Charlie. Stay away from the edge of the hole. It looks ready to crumble. I'm alright and I can levitate out of here but there's something's to look at. Keep the kids out there with the Centaurs. Let me have a look and then you can think about coming down. You'll want to see this."
"Alright, Harry. We'll wait," Charlie said, obviously having used 'Sonorous' as well.
He walked up to the edifice and saw that the openings were just a bit higher than his head. He used his wand to shine light into each one starting from one side. It appeared they opened into empty chambers maybe twenty feet on a side. The ceilings were half that high. He continued to walk along until he came to the opening that was in the middle of the face of the edifice.
This room was not empty. In what appeared to be the center was a stone column, perhaps seven feet tall, a foot square at the base and tapering to a point, giving it the appearance of a very skinny pyramid. It was totally unadorned with sharp edges and smooth faces. Harry thought it looked like it had been finished just yesterday. He walked into the room and made a circuit anti-clockwise around the pillar. Then he walked in the other direction. There was nothing else to be seen. He looked up at the ceiling and saw it was just more of the smooth appearing stone that comprised the rest of the structure.
He came to a halt facing the column and he closed his eyes, his arms hanging at his sides, just trying to open himself to whatever might be around. He wasn't sure but the vague, ever present something he was feeling seemed just a bit more focused here, but no more intense. He laid a hand on the surface of the pillar and it felt warm. In fact, he realized the air in the cavern seemed a little warmer than it should have been for this time of year and this deep in the forest. He thought about what had happened when he was in that little passageway that wound up leading to Merlin and his tome. He took a deep breath and laid his other hand on the pillar as best he could holding the wand. Nothing happened.
He let the wand blink out and in the darkness he tucked it into his belt. He laid both hands flat on the stone face, closed his eyes and tried to open himself once again. The focused feel became stronger and he tried to draw that sense into himself. He also tried to let a little of the dragon surface and with that sharpened focus he felt a rush of sensation through his hands. In an instant a picture opened in his mind's eye with the pillar reaching far beneath the stone floor and joining with two lines of what felt like some form of heat or energy. The lines met at an uneven angle, as if another line was missing. Harry tried to cast about and see if he could find a third one. A little way off he 'saw' a third line, wavering at what might have been a small distance from the juncture of the other two. What the actual distance was he couldn't tell. In fact, he couldn't even tell if this was really what was there or it was just his minds way of rationalizing what he was feeling through the pillar.
He tried to reach out and coax the line closer but it didn't move. He eased a bit more of the dragon to the fore of his consciousness and coupling that strength to his own, he imagined giving a mighty pull and he 'saw' the line move as if it was wrenched into position. The results were immediate and immense. A huge surge rushed up through the pillar and with a brilliant flash hurled Harry out through the doorway to land on his back on the bare stone, slamming his head to the floor. He was swallowed in blackness deeper than the cavern itself.