Chapter 313 - The First Danger

"Yes, this is the place," said Dumbledore standing in front of an overgrown, old, half-broken wooden shack.

It was almost hidden by the big trees and Chris had a feeling that if Dumbledore hadn't mentioned it, they wouldn't have noticed it.

"How can you tell?" Harry spoke in a whisper. He was still looking uncomfortable like Chris because of the extra quiet atmosphere. Even the trees and tree leaves weren't making any noise.

"It has known magic," replied Dumbledore.

Chris watched as Dumbledore continued to revolve on the spot, evidently concentrating on things she could not see. Then, she looked around and peered through the vast trees, again. She was sure there was something, waiting for the right time to attack.

"Yes," Dumbledore nodded. "It has enchantments around it but I fear, it could be a destructive curse too."

"Curse that can kill?" Chris whispered and realized her wet clothes were making her shiver. She quickly pointed her wand at herself and dried herself up then pointed her wand at Harry.

"Thanks," Harry smiled as his clothes dried off.

"No, I suspect Voldemort doesn't want the visiter to die here," said Dumbledore, and Chris exchanged a surprised look with Harry, who looked equally puzzled. Dumbledore spoke after a second, "Christina, Harry, I hope you remember your word. So do not move from your spot until I say."

And before Chris and Harry could answer, Dumbledore pointed his wand at the shack and started to murmur a few very incarnations very quickly. After a long time, the tip of the Dumbledore's wand glowed and Chris saw almost transparent water like a veil around the old shack. The veil twisted and turned but didn't give away under Dumbledore's magic.

"Crude," muttered Dumbledore lowering his wand.

"What is it Professor?" asked Harry.

"I rather think," said Dumbledore, putting his other hand inside his robes and drawing out a short silver knife of the kind Chris used to chop potion ingredients, "that we are required to make payment to pass."

"Payment?" said Chris. "You've got to give this — this veil thing — something?"

"Yes," said Dumbledore. "Blood, I think."

"Blood?"

"I said it was crude," said Dumbledore, who sounded disdainful, even disappointed, as though Voldemort had fallen short of the standards Dumbledore expected. "The idea, as I am sure you will have gathered, is that your enemy must weaken him- or herself to enter. Once again, Lord Voldemort fails to grasp that there are much more terrible things than physical injury."

"Yeah, but still, if you can avoid it . . ." said Harry.

"Sometimes, however, it is unavoidable," said Dumbledore, shaking back the sleeve of his robes and exposing the forearm of his injured hand.

"Professor!" At once, Chris and Harry hurried forward as Dumbledore raised his knife. "I'll do it —"

"You both are very kind," Dumbledore smiled. There was a flash of silver and a spurt of scarlet. But as soon as the dark, glistening drops made contact with the ground — something happened.

Within a half-second, the trees around them sprang into life and Dumbledore threw himself in front of Harry and Chris but the trees were all around them. They spread their branches and roots like tentacles and grabbed Harry and Chris. Dumbledore was already blasting off the roots, which were trying to reach him. Three thick snakelike roots and branches had squeezed themselves around Chris' left leg, chest and waist. It was squeezing itself so hard that Chris was out of breath. Trying to breathe she cut the branches and roots on her body but unexpectedly a branch suddenly wrapped itself around her neck and squeezed. Chris felt her fingers go numb and eyes shutting close but then someone blast off the branch and Chris breathe deeply clutching her throat.

"You okay?" Harry asked looking concerned. He was still struggling with a few roots around himself but he helped her first.

"Yeah, thanks," said Chris blasting off more trees around. 

But no matter how much they cut off and blasted off, the trees around them kept growing. The worst condition was the trees near Dumbledore were trying everything to hurt Dumbledore as he kept fending. 

"This can go on like this for hours, Professor," said Chris slicing another root. "We need to find another way out."

As if Chris had reminded Dumbledore something, he smiled, "of course." He set fire on a big thick branch and hurtled it through the transparent veil. The veil cracked and split open.

Dumbledore, Chris and Harry hustled inside the veil.

"I think, we underestimated Riddle," Chris joked.

Harry looked amused at this but smiled faintly.

"People usually do that," smiled Dumbledore still holding the branch. "But this will teach us not to underestimate your enemy because of your arrogance."

Dumbledore then looked around see the problem. There was no tree inside the veil, so they couldn't open it from inside if they let go of the branch now. Dumbledore also realized they couldn't make the tree stay between the veil unless someone's magic holds it there.

"I will do it," said Chris quickly. "Harry, go. It's your quest, after all."

Harry gave a determined nod. Chris changed positions with Dumbledore and held the thrashing burning branch between the veil with her magic. Dumbledore and Harry went inside the shack. 

Almost ten minutes passed. Chris watched the trees outside the veil, who were still hoping to get hold of her. With every passing moment, holding the branch steady was getting more and more difficult. But Chris didn't let go. 

Red bloody marks had appeared on the places where the roots and branches had caught her before. The injuries from the waterfall were getting numb now. But still, there was no sign of either Harry or Dumbledore.

Then all of a sudden, a cold fast tornado came out of the broken cottage and tried to sweep Chris away and at that very moment the veil disappeared completely, the trees stopped moving and an ear-piercing shriek came from somewhere near. Then the shrieking sound multiplied.

Chris clapped her hand on her ears and tried to stay on the ground. The tornado passed her but not before she realized what was making the noises.

"Banshees!" she groaned.

Almost a hundred of skeleton-like women creatures were coming from all directions. They had long white hair and empty eye and mouth sockets, and even in the dark Chris saw them because of their white chalk-like appearance. It was her first time seeing Banshees so close. She thought it was her imagination but the Banshees looked tortured and hungry. But there was no time to dwell over that, their screaming was getting louder by each second and Chris felt a throbbing pain in her ears and head. She did the first thing came to her mind. 

Burn them down.

But this only made the screaming worst.

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To be continued. . .