Theseus' breathing was strained after bolting down just two flights of stairs, though he hardly noticed. Next to him, Tina was breathing just as heavily.
The cracked pavement echoed their slapping footsteps, charging across the ground level.
Blood was pounding in his ears. A growl of thunder sounded outside, the noise ricocheting through the walls of the building.
They skid around a corner, and the magic lurking around the side hit them like a gust of hot air. Theseus and Tina stumbled to a stop, breathing raggedly. The files were here. There wasn't a shadow of a doubt this time. With this charged magic suddenly fizzing all around them, they had to be.
Theseus focussed through his blurred vision, at what lay just ahead.
It was another staircase.
This one descended into darkness, the end of the stairs swathed in shadows. The only way in or out.
"It's a cellar," said Tina, fingering her wand. Theseus sniffed, craning his neck to see the stairs.
"Travers and Andrew already searched the cellar."
"There might still be something there." Tina edged closer to the doorway, moving in front of Theseus.
The latter rubbed his neck, weighing their options. Stronger magic in a certain area didn't necessarily mean that what they needed was there. The explosive was in a room with high levels of magic.
We most certainly do not need that, thought Theseus bitterly.
If the files weren't down the stairs, which was likely, they would've wasted time. If they were, would they be able to make it out in time? Would they be able to make it out at all?
Theseus found his gaze lingering on Tina, still facing the depths of the stairs. He shouldn't have assumed she was coming with him.
Waves of guilt washed over him. What if she died? Would that make it his fault? What if they both died?
"Oi! Daydreamer!"
Tina snapped her fingers in his face, and Theseus abruptly reeled back to reality.
"I said that it's worth a shot. Are you coming?" she whispered.
Her partner nodded, starting to relax again, then suddenly stopped dead. His blood chilled, until he was sure he started to shiver.
"Tina," Theseus breathed softly, growing predatory still.
Picking up on the hushed note of panic in his voice, Tina tentatively, slowly stepped back until she was standing adjacent to him again, still facing the staircase.
"What?" she whispered out of the corner of her mouth.
"Don't turn around," he murmured, almost inaudible. "Someone's watching us."
He felt, rather than heard, Tina's breathing hitch, but she swiftly schooled her actions into neutrality, to her credit.
They only had seconds, so, deciding finally to bite the bullet, Theseus moved smoothly down the staircase, prompting his partner to do the same, and praying all the while that whoever was behind them wasn't following.
The person didn't follow.
Theseus didn't see where they went. Didn't see if they moved at all.
It didn't matter, though. Once they found the files and got out, what could that person do? How could they stop what had already happened?
It didn't matter, so Theseus led the way, with Tina hot on his heels.
The magic was growing stronger.
It might not have been purposeful, but their footfalls were quieter on the cement. Lighter.
It wasn't entirely dark in the cellar. There was a dim, watery grey light illuminating the cellar, just enough to see the walls.
They must've been somewhere the size of a small throne room.
Behind Theseus, Tina was gazing up in awe, turning in a circle to drink it all in.
The interior was littered with- most curiously- upturned wooden furniture, scratched and brown, in stark contrast to the cement walls. Several disused wine racks stood against the wall on the right, empty and rotting.
"Whoever was here last made a mess of the place," muttered Theseus to himself, angling his wand in case of any nasty surprises.
"Hm."
A few silent moments passed, then Tina added, "Why would Grindelwald use a no-maj weapon?"
"Do you know how to switch off an explosive?" was Theseus' only response. He kneeled down to inspect the wooden tables.
"No."
"Well now we know why."
Tina snorted, dragging a chair out of the way to check behind it.
A cracking sound echoed around the cellar, and Theseus whipped around.
The figure from earlier was standing at the entrance to the cellar, wand raised at the ceiling.
Theseus' eyes drifted upward, towards the enormous brick pillar- barely able to fit into the room- levitating in front of the entrance... blocking the entrance. Controlled by the figure's spell.
They saw the trap just as its jaws snapped shut on them.
"No!" Theseus screamed. Tina whirled, but it was too late.
The figure lowered their wand, and the spell was broken. A wall of bricks came tumbling down.
Lunging forward, Theseus yanked Tina out of the way as a sound, louder than any sound they had ever heard, shattered through the cellar as bricks smashed to the floor.
"Protego!"
A glittering blue bubble materialised around the partners as a landslide of bricks piled up to the ceiling, bouncing off the shield, clattering to the floor.
The magic stirred in response, as if cracking an eye open from a deep slumber.
Several painful moments passed.
"Lumos," said Theseus softly.
They stayed frozen, tucked safely underneath the protective charm, both staring upwards, waiting for the dust to settle. Both frightened. Who had attacked them?
The former let his charm fizzle and fade away, leaving them to get to their feet, still glancing warily around.
"Theseus."
It was a whisper.
He turned to face her, his wand light illuminating her panicked expression. Tina numbly indicated the fallen bricks, blocking their pathway out of the cellar.
"Can you move them?" he asked carefully, head still spinning from the sound of a ginormous column of bricks all clattering to the floor at once.
One spell wasn't powerful enough to move hundreds and hundreds of bricks all at the same time. Both of them had to work together to make a way out.
"I... I've lost my wand," said Tina in a small voice that he'd never heard before. "When the bricks fell, I dropped it and it scattered across to the other side."
Her partner chewed on a lip. If Tina didn't have her wand, there was no other way out, and they only had minutes before the entire building exploded... that was it.
They were trapped.
The magic was heating itself, well and truly awake now. Ancient and horrible power roiled faster, adding to the pressure- adding to the fear.
"It's somewhere here," Tina whispered softly, fear suddenly left behind. "It's so close."
Her partner nodded, a bead of sweat trickling down the side of his face. It felt like a furnace.
"Theseus."
He turned around again.
"You find it. I'll try and move the bricks."
"What?"
"It's not a big room, now that half of it's been blocked. The box is on this side."
Theseus pursed his lips, obviously unconvinced.
"Please," Tina begged. "You can do it. I'll be right here if you find anything."
If they made it out alive, but without the files, they would've failed the mission. If they got the files and made it out, it was a success. If they died, with or without files, it was a failure. There was a one-in-four chance. Was it worth it? Should they try? Theseus felt at a loss.
Suddenly, the few minutes they were granted felt like an eternity. What to do, what to do...
"We have to try," said Tina softly, staring him dead in the eye.
For a fraction of a second, Theseus gazed straight at Tina and saw Leta looking back at him. She reminded him so much of his wife, of her fiery spirit, her stubbornness.
"You're smiling," said Tina.
"Let's do it." Theseus grinned even wider. "And in case we die-"
Tina's smile morphed into a look of deep disturbance.
Theseus hesitated, then leaned forward and wrapped his arms around his partner, and, after a moment, felt her hug him back.
Pulling away before it got too awkward, he found Tina grinning at him.
"We hug now?" she asked, enjoying watching his cheeks flush slightly through the dark.
"Shut up."
Tina chuckled softly, kneeling down. The pile of bricks dwarfed her, but she began clawing her way through regardless.
Her partner turned back towards the wooden articles, checking everywhere for the precious box of files.
Magic pulsed faster and faster. Theseus' breaths were coming out short and sharp. It was so close... he could almost reach out, and it would be there... he would feel it.
Light suddenly flooded the room, and Theseus' breath caught in his throat. He didn't know where the light came from or who did it, but he was grateful.
There was a perfect amount of blue-white light to illuminate a sharp-edged figure nestled in between the wall and a wood table. A chest.
The widest smile spread across his face. Maybe they did have a chance.
Tina was calling him, and, albeit reluctantly, Theseus spun round again, skidding to her side.
"Tina, I found the-"
"Shh." She lifted a finger, pointing at a glowing shape forming just in front of them. Theseus blinked.
Standing before them and clicking its beak decidedly, was a misty, silver buzzard, its wings folded neatly behind it.
A patronus. Travers' patronus.
Tina and Theseus swapped looks. Was something wrong?
The bird's beady eyes stared them down, and Travers' voice echoed around the cellar, harsh and sharp.
"Theseus. Tina. You don't have much time. Forget about the files. Get the hell out before the building explodes."
The voice fell silent, and the buzzard considered them for a beat before fizzling away into mist. Darkness swallowed the room once again.
The horribly familiar sense of fear began rising again- they almost forgot they were on a countdown.
Tina, starting to panic again, was now struggling against the wall of bricks, trying to scrabble out a hole through them with her raw, bleeding hands. She hissed at him to help her, but he didn't react beyond gazing back at the chest.
When she followed his gaze, her expression changed.
"Theseus! You did it! You found them!" she whispered excitedly, the bricks forgotten once again. A proud smile spread itself across his face, then faded before it ever took form.
"But there's no time-"
"Give me that." Tina cut him off, taking his wand from his hand. Theseus started, then hesitated, waiting to see what her master plan was.
For a moment, Tina considered the wand, unfamiliar with the feeling of its smooth tortoiseshell handle in her palm. Tentatively lifting it, she only glanced back at it once before swirling it in the air, crying "Expecto Patronum!" as loud as she dared.
Theseus, suddenly feeling somewhat nosy, craned his neck to glimpse what burst forth from the wand tip, but whatever animal it was leaped under a table and scuttled away, disappearing through the wall of bricks and leaving a trail of blue light in its wake.
"Tell Travers we found the box!" Tina called after it.
The light started to fade, but Theseus could've sworn he could make out a faint smile on Tina's face.
He was about to ask what her patronus was, for he suspected that whatever her animal was had brought a smile to her face, but Tina snapped out of her reverie and handed his wand back. Theseus took it wordlessly, sensing that now was not the time.
Theseus bent down to help Tina try and move a few more bricks.
What seemed like just a moment later, Travers' buzzard came looping back into the room. This time, it didn't land, but wheeled high near the roof as Travers spoke again.
"You have one minute."
The buzzard soared through the wall and out of the room, and the partners shared a look. They had exactly sixty seconds to get the files and escape.
It was enough. It had to be. They had no other choice.
Theseus moved to the chest again, but Tina grabbed his coat sleeve.
"Wait."
She pointed a trembling finger along the black sides of the chest. Then he saw it too.
A thick, pale grey layer, like a coat of translucent silk, pulsating and shifting around the surface. Alive. Moving. Grindelwald had coated the files with a layer of protective enchantments.
Theseus and Tina exchanged glances. Fifty seconds.
Tina tried reaching out a hand to pick up the chest, then snatched it back the second it touched the grey layer.
"It burns," she whispered, her voice rising a notch.
Theseus tried to cast a charm to lift it off the rubble-struck ground, but the chest stayed firmly where it was. More enchantments. Forty seconds.
"I can try and penetrate the layer," whispered Theseus hurriedly. Tina numbly nodded. They didn't have a choice.
He exhaled shakily before raising his wand and plunging it right through the middle of the grey surface. Golden light immediately began ebbing from his wand, spiderwebbing around the layer. Theseus grit his teeth. Tina squinted. The light began fading- Theseus concentrated harder, his eyes screwed up as golden light cleaved through the grey, cracking through it like rock. Twenty seconds.
Tina snapped the string around her neck and yanked the key off. Theseus was almost there...
With one final crack, the entire translucent layer was fractured into pieces divided by a shimmering golden glow. Theseus jabbed his wand in for the last time, and the entire surface shattered to the ground, leaving nothing but the black, malicious-looking chest before them.
As if on autopilot, Tina shoved the key in the lock and twisted it, praying with all her might that it would work. The chest clicked and swung open, billowing dust everywhere. Five seconds.
Theseus lunged forward and swiped whatever was inside the chest- he couldn't even see what he was grabbing through the ash and smoke. Something sliced his cheek, sending hot blood sliding down the side of his face.
"THEO!"
He scarcely had time to whip his head around before Tina tackled him to the ground and the building exploded.
Heat blasted them backwards and slammed them into the wall. Theseus saw it before he heard it. A blazing inferno tearing through the cellar- all he could see was red. Everything caught on fire, smoke immediately filled the room.
The coppery tang of blood pierced his tongue. His throat was clogging up. Flashes of red and orange and yellow exploded in a deadly whorl of colour, chased away only by the thick black smog. He couldn't breathe, black spots swam in front of him.
His other senses felt muted, he couldn't hear anything past a shrill ringing in his ears. Something powerful slammed him to the ground, his spine barking out on impact. Blood stung the side of his face and his head was spinning. Theseus held his squinted eyes open long enough to barely glimpse Tina's still figure on the ground through the scalding smoke.
His eyes watered and stung as black smog clouded the room. He couldn't see the floor. He couldn't see anything. Everywhere hurt, he couldn't breathe...
Consciousness slowly slipped away from Theseus and he sagged to the ground.
So.
*sips tea*
Theseus and Tina are trapped in a building that's exploding.
*clears throat*
You're welcome.
I know it's a pretty fast-moving chapter. I'm sorry- thanks for coping ^^
There was nothing about Travers' patronus on Harry Potter Wiki, and I have this weird headcanon that Travers' patronus is a bird of some sort, but I didn't think that a bird of prey would fit, soo~ here you go. I, of course, made up his patronus. It's probably not actually a buzzard.
Tina, on the other hand, cast the patronus charm, and Theseus couldn't see it, but all shall be revealed in due time...
It's three days until Tina's birthday!!! (and 6 until mine) I'm so excited! She's turning 118, and I hope that she and Newt live many more happy years together in Dorset :)
I also feel like I'm sort of losing readers, but I guess that's how all stories work? Eh, I don't know.
(I was randomly thinking earlier, and I realised that the song Coming Home by Sheppard describes this fanfic pretty well (or I just have the song stuck in my head (it's probably the latter, because it's a really good song)))
Cateye992, out!