Seals, Shadows, and the Labyrinth of Veils
"All we have to do is figure out what that circle means," said Hermione, frowning as she studied each line in detail.
"It could be Celtic," suggested Draco.
"It could also be related to the bards or druids. They made a lot of use of circular symbols," Harry added, running his gaze over the carving. "Although, given its age, it could mean many things," he finished calmly.
"Then… Awen," said Hermione.
"Alban," proposed Draco.
"Taranis," said Harry.
Sirius, who had stayed on the sidelines until that moment, walked over to Daphne and Red, who were silently watching the three of them trying to decipher the code.
"They really are little geniuses," he commented with a half-smile. Daphne nodded in amusement.
"Ouroboros," Harry pronounced in a deep voice.
The ground trembled faintly under their feet. All eyes widened in surprise as the great circle carved into the door began to glow with an intense, ancient light.
"Tsk… easy," murmured Sirius proudly, right before receiving the flat stares of Hermione, Draco, and Harry.
"After you, godfather," said Harry, crossing his arms.
"Alright. Leave the protection to me. Don't worry and stay behind me," declared Sirius with a slightly arrogant smile. He drew his wand and stepped confidently through the newly opened threshold.
On the other side, a dark corridor stretched ahead. The walls were covered in inscriptions in all manner of ancient tongues, some so eroded they could barely be recognized, and others more recent… though even these had to be at least a thousand years old.
Harry adjusted his special glasses and began examining the floor for any sign of traps. Finding none, he let Sirius keep the lead while he focused on observing the walls. Among the engravings, there were also cave paintings, crude yet full of symbolism.
"Here's something we can understand," Hermione announced, beckoning the others over. They gathered around a section of the wall where a text was carved, which Sirius examined with obvious confusion.
"What language is that? Doesn't look like English," he said, raising an eyebrow.
"It's Latin," Harry replied casually.
"And you lot know Latin?" Sirius asked, genuinely surprised.
"Mr. Flamel told us learning it would be very useful and sent us several of his books," Harry explained. "Remember, some spells are at least partly in Latin. Besides, Uncle Edward said learning several languages would be good for our future and taught us German. Then Aunt Selene taught us French, Aunt Pandora taught us Greek… and my mother taught us Russian."
"It'll take me a few minutes to translate," said Hermione seriously, pulling out a notebook and carefully copying the letters.
"Only Harry and Hermione learned as many as they could. I only learned German," admitted Draco.
"Russian for me," added Daphne.
"You should enjoy your childhood more," Sirius remarked, pulling a face.
"We always have fun," Harry replied, "but we also make sure that, when we're adults, we have a bright future and aren't—" He stopped, fixing his gaze on Sirius but leaving the thought unfinished. "Well… I'll go check the drawings while Hermione finishes."
"Aren't what?" Sirius asked, following him.
But Harry quickened his pace, dodging the question without looking back.
…
As Harry examined the walls, he noticed something peculiar in the cave paintings. Some seemed to combine styles and techniques from different periods. They weren't as ancient as he'd first thought… and they certainly didn't match exaggerated accounts of a magical "prehistory."
From the strokes, it had to be the work of people after the birth of Christ—likely from a time when few understood the art of writing. After all, in those centuries, only nobles, scribes, and certain scholars mastered letters; the rest relied on oral stories and carved symbols.
He leaned in, tracing the figures with his eyes. Again and again appeared the same image: a long-haired woman wielding a wand, standing alone against an army. By the style of the weapons and armor, most appeared to be Muggles… but among them were also wizards. The scene repeated with variations: troops from different kingdoms and banners, all united against that same woman.
"Guys… I have the translation," Hermione called out to the rest.
They had scattered along the corridor, admiring inscriptions and drawings, but came immediately. Hermione flipped through her notes, brow furrowed, before reading aloud.
The first text, carved with rough and solemn strokes, clearly belonged to a distant era. Hermione recited it in a slow, almost reverent tone:
"Let perpetual rest and an unbreakable seal be granted unto the wicked one, the ravager of armies and scourge of the world; she who is the rain of curses and source of plagues, and cause of countless deaths.
Immortal she is, and neither iron nor flame can take her life.
The ancient voices speak of a horror that must be destroyed to end her existence; but that horror lies lost, and none have been able to find it.
The wizards, even while hunted, joined their power to forge the seal.
If you have come this far, it is a sign you hold the means to annihilate the horror. But let her not be freed, lest the ruin of the world begin anew."
(Year 983 A.D., R.R.)
There was a brief silence before Hermione looked up.
"But… there's something else carved beneath it. It's more recent, but no less troubling."
Her voice shifted subtly as she read the second text, more dramatic and urgent:
"We sought to destroy the horror, but found there was another. The accursed witch escaped, and great turmoil befell the world: all was our fault.
Our pride blinded us, and thus the great plague swept across all Europe. The non-magical blame us, and I fear the bonds of communion between our peoples will soon be broken.
We shall give our lives to seal her once more.
If you can, destroy the last horror, for the seal will not hold for long."
(Year 1349)
Silence gripped the corridor, heavy as the stone around them.
"I think we should call my mother and the others, don't you?" Harry said seriously.
"Yes," Hermione replied without hesitation.
"I second that," added Daphne, raising her hand.
"Ugh… I really want to explore," Sirius grumbled, "but if I were to unleash a plague by accident… they'd probably hang me by my skin."
Determined not to take any more risks, they got ready to head back and alert the adults. But the moment they turned toward the entrance, the door they had come through slammed shut with a sharp, echoing thud.
"Haha… I knew it. This always happens," Harry said with a brief laugh and a cold look.
"I think it's already broken," Daphne murmured to the others.
"Dobby," Draco called, but nothing happened.
"Laki," tried Daphne.
"Liz… Gris…" Harry tried, before sighing and rubbing his forehead. He glanced at Sirius with a disturbingly calm expression. "Sorry, godfather. My mum's going to kill you for bringing us somewhere dangerous."
Sirius blinked, startled.
"Don't worry, brats. It's just some ancient witch or whatever… Modern magic has advanced for centuries since then. You're probably exaggerating."
"All our magic is based on the ancient kind," Hermione shot back. "And there are spells from those times that are still far too powerful… like the three Unforgivable Curses. In ancient days, there were wizards who fought giant sea serpents every time they set sail."
"They call it ancient magic for a reason," Draco said, folding his arms.
"Back then, wizards were stronger because they faced monsters and horrors all the time. We just deal with psychopaths with delusions of grandeur… and hide from Muggles, whom some wizards think are inferior—though in truth, they could probably wipe us out if they were our enemies," Harry commented.
"Wow… you're the most depressing 'discouragement squad' I've ever met," Sirius snorted.
At that moment, the unlit torches along the corridor flared to life one by one, illuminating the path. In the distance, a massive stone door opened with a muffled boom.
The side walls began to tremble. Slowly, they started closing in on them.
"Great…" Harry muttered with sarcasm.
There was no time to think. They all began running toward the open door, even knowing it could be a trap. Staying put meant being crushed between tons of stone.
The grinding roar of the moving walls echoed like thunder. The torchlight flickered, stretching the shadows across them. The five of them, followed by a small red dragon, sprinted at full speed. Dust thickened in the air, stinging their eyes, and chunks of stone crashed to the floor.
They crossed the threshold only seconds before the walls met with a crash that made the ground shudder.
Panting, they turned just in time to see the passage sealed behind them.
When they looked ahead, they discovered a vast chamber lit by rows of torches and dotted with columns and posts. The sheer size of the place vanished into the darkness.
"Great… now we have to find a way out," Daphne remarked.
Without thinking, Red trotted forward. Harry barely had time to open his mouth to stop him before the little dragon passed between two columns… and vanished, as if slipping through an invisible veil.
"Red," Harry called, frowning.
"There," Hermione pointed.
Far away, at least a hundred meters, Red was spinning around in confusion. The moment he spotted them, he tried to run toward them—only to vanish again when he crossed another pair of columns, reappearing even farther away.
"What the hell…?" Harry muttered, adjusting his glasses to examine the strange invisible portals.
But after a few seconds, he shook his head. After all, he had no real idea how that kind of spell—or whatever it was—worked.
"And you were saying ancient magic was obsolete," Daphne remarked, giving Sirius a pointed look.
"I never said that," Sirius replied quickly. "Only… that maybe they exaggerated."
The last part he mumbled under his breath, but not quietly enough for no one to hear.
The group began to study their surroundings more carefully. The columns were arranged in a near-perfect alignment, forming a grid. It was obvious that this pattern created "invisible walls" that, when crossed, shifted whoever stepped through into another section of the room.
Red, who kept appearing and disappearing in different spots, would look at them in confusion each time he reappeared, only to run toward them and end up teleported to yet another part of the chamber. It didn't take long for them to deduce that one of these "walls" was linked to another, so the only way to return to a starting point was to retrace one's exact steps.
To test it, Hermione tore a sheet from her notebook and tossed it forward. The paper drifted through the air without disturbance and fell a few meters ahead, the spell's effect not activating.
Sirius, on the other hand, decided to test with magic. He drew his wand and cast a light spell; the glow moved forward in a straight, undisturbed line.
"I suppose we'll have to split up and map out each route we take," Harry concluded in an analytical, confident tone. "We'll try to keep close to one another. And you, godfather… you'll be in charge of protecting us, just in case. Luckily, you can cast spells regardless of the portals."
"Happy to be the human shield," Sirius muttered, though a small smile tugged at his lips.
Hermione was already prepared. She pulled several notebooks from her bag and handed one to each of them.
"Record every change in position. If we repeat the correct pattern, we should be able to find the exit… or at least get to Red."
Everyone nodded, ready to venture into the invisible labyrinth.