Chapter 246 - Blood

"Department of Mysteries," said a cool female voice and the grilles slid open again, they stepped out into the corridor where nothing was moving but the nearest torches, flickering in the rush of air from the lift.

"Be ready for anything," Chris muttered holding her wand tightly.

"This way," said Harry and led the way down the corridor, Luna right behind him, was gazing around with her mouth slightly open.

As they reached the door it swung open. They entered. They were standing in a large, circular room. Everything in here was black including the floor and ceiling — identical, unmarked, handle-less black doors were set at intervals all around the black walls, interspersed with branches of candles whose flames burned blue, their cool, shimmering light reflected in the shining marble floor so that it looked as though there was dark water underfoot.

"Someone shut the door," Harry muttered.

"No, don't —" Chris protested, thinking that the door can get locked on its own if they close it. But she a second late. Neville had already closed the door. And the moment he did it, a great rumbling noise came and the candles began to move sideways. The circular wall was rotating.

For a few seconds, the blue flames around them were blurred to resemble neon lines as the wall sped around and then, quite as suddenly as it had started, the rumbling stopped and everything became stationary once again.

"Potter," growled Jason. "You just lost our only exit door."

"We need to go inside not outside," snapped Harry.

"Yeah, and how are we going to do that, now?" said Jason.

"Quiet down," said Ginny in a bossy tone. "Harry, is Tonks and her parents okay?"

"I think so," said Harry. "He didn't arrive here yet, and Bellatrix will not kill them till he is here."

"Good, now which door?" Chris stepped forward.

"In the dreams, I went through the door at the end of the corridor from the lifts into a dark room — that's this one — and then I went through another door into a room that kind of . . . glitters. We should try a few doors," he said hastily. "I'll know the right way when I see it. C'mon."

They checked the first door and saw an enormous glass tank of deep-green water, big enough for all of them to swim in, which contained a number of pearly white objects that were drifting around lazily in the liquid.

"Brains," whispered Hermione.

"Let's get out of here," Chris said as she hurried back.

"Wait!" said Hermione sharply, as Luna made to close the door of the brain room behind them. "Flagrate!"

She drew with her wand in midair and a fiery X appeared on the door. No sooner had the door clicked shut behind them than there was a great rumbling, and once again the wall began to revolve very fast, but now there was a great red-gold blur in amongst the faint blue, and when all became still again, the fiery cross still burned, showing the door they had already tried.

"Good job," said Jason.

They checked the next door and then another and then another (which didn't open), then another one.

"This is it!" breathed Harry in relief.

Chris walked in and saw clocks gleaming from every surface, large and small, grandfather and carriage, hanging in spaces between the bookcases or standing on desks ranging the length of the room so that a busy, relentless ticking filled the place like thousands of minuscule, marching footsteps. The source of the dancing, diamond-bright light was a towering crystal bell jar that stood at the far end of the room.

As they drew nearer the bell jar, Ginny stopped. Drifting along in the sparkling current inside was a tiny, jewel-bright egg. As it rose in the jar it cracked open and a hummingbird emerged, which was carried to the very top of the jar, but as it fell on the draft, its feathers became bedraggled and damp again, and by the time it had been borne back to the bottom of the jar it had been enclosed once more in its egg.

Chris nudged Ginny and again they followed Harry to the end of the room.

"This is the last door," said Harry. His voice wavered.

"Alright," Chris said firmly.

Harry nodded and opened the door. They were there, they had found the place: high as a church and full of nothing but towering shelves covered in small, dusty, glass orbs. They glimmered dully in the light issuing from more candle brackets set at intervals along the shelves. Like those in the circular room behind them, their flames were burning blue. The room was very cold.

Chris stepped forward and thought she had stepped on something. She quickly lit her wand and lowered it.

There was a robe lying down on the floor, Chris realized she had stepped on it.

"Chris!" gasped Hermione suddenly lowering her lit wand.

"What?"

"Its blood!" Hermione whispered.

Shocked Chris looked down, and sure, it was blood all over the robe. Everyone looked down and there was a shocked silence.

"It's leading somewhere," said Jason.

Chris had noticed that too. There was blood on the floor too, looking like someone had dragged the blood source somewhere.

"I will follow it," said Chris after a moment. "You all stay here."

"Chris, we are coming," said Colin in a determined voice.

Chris didn't say anything and started to follow the trail of blood. The others followed. 

They crept forward, staring behind them as they went on down the long alleys of shelves, the farther ends of which were in near-total darkness. Tiny, yellowing labels had been stuck beneath each glass orb on the shelf. Some of them had a weird, liquid glow; others were as dull and dark within as blown lightbulbs.

Chris was listening hard for the slightest sound of movement, but there was nothing and then suddenly —

Chris came to an abrupt halt, Jason bumped into her. But the sight in front of her had dried her mouth. Slowly everyone noticed what was in front of them.

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To be continued. . .