Trials

"Hello, welcome to Gringotts Wizarding Bank," the Goblin said after he had risen from his sleep. 

The opulent room was filled to the brim with luxury, from the marble pillars supporting the ceiling filled with miniature stalactites to the intricate design laid across the floor and the expensive wooden desk the Goblin was sleeping at.

The goblin rose from his tall desk and walked into view. He bowed slightly before saying, "... Vault 12, I presume."

"Precisely," Fig interjected while William looked at the little creature curiously. William had never seen such a creature. Its long primal nails and predacious teeth made William wonder how they worked. That's not to mention the large pointy ears big enough to cover its face.

'I wonder what its sense of hearing is like. Does it chew on the bone to maintain those teeth? With a nose that big, it could probably smell in different directions. Do all Goblins look old, or is this one just on death's door?" William couldn't help but feel his sense of wonder leaking into his thoughts.

The Goblin reached his hand towards the duo and cleared his throat.

A moment of silence passed as everyone stopped moving, but William thought it unbearable: "Professor, your wife's key."

"Oh, yes," Professor Fig said as he reached into his pocket and grabbed the prized key that had brought so much trouble. 

He then handed the key to the Goblin. The little creature started to walk with its stubby little legs towards a platform, "this way," it said.

As it walked, William followed behind, only stopping when Fig blocked his path. "Stay close," he said, his eyes filled with caution.

William just gave a slight nod before they both followed the Goblin. 

A loud whistle pierced everyone's ears as the Goblin called for a cart. Within moments, a cart appeared on the seemingly floating tracks. Its futuristic design looked as if it defied gravity, although the seats were hanging off the ground with no safety precautions. 

"After you," the Goblin turned around and said. Its eerie smile seemed to shine in the darkness.

With the utmost confidence, Fig walked forward, turned around, and plopped his behind on the seat. His feet hung in the air as he looked at William as if challenging the boy. A slight smirk formed on his face as he looked into William's eyes, trying to see fear.

William couldn't let the old man have his way, so he made the same motions as the Professor.

"You flinched, "Fig said with a smile. "You sure won't be in Gryffindor with that fear of heights. I hear Ravenclaw is full of cowards; you could join up there."

"It's not irrational to be afraid of heights. People are either afraid of heights, stupid, or suicidal. I hear Hufflepuffs are neither afraid nor suicidal."

Professor Fig let out a small chuckle before a sigh followed. "Not once has a student ever called me stupid; I revoke my comment about you being a coward." 

"Is everyone ready," the Goblin said as he toyed around with the controls in the driver's seat.

"Yes, sir," William responded. 

"Good, and keep your hands close to yourself, especially if you want to keep them." The Goblin shouted as the cart's motor roared. 

Within moments, the group was traveling through caves. The caves were narrow enough to fit the cart and its passengers, nothing more.

Their ride was quite dull and slow until the cave opened up into a massive cavern with vaults lining the walls. Glowing plants covered the entirety of the cavern, lighting it up for the guards and clients alike. Dozens of vaults lined the walls.

"How many vaults are there at Gringotts?" William asked as he looked around in awe. 

"There have been hundreds of vaults made for our customers over the centuries, but many of those vaults haven't been touched in, say, a hundred years," the Goblin replied.

"Are private entrances common?" Professor Fig asked.

"Quite uncommon, I would say. Only someone with great power, or wealth, or both could commission one." The Goblin replied. 

"Might want to take a breath!" The Goblin yelled at its two passengers.

"A what?" Fig inquired. The goblin just laughed as they passed through a waterfall.

Professor Fig coughed violently after inhaling water. 

"The water's enchanted to remove any enchantments. It'll work really well in your lungs. Haha." 

As the Goblin laughed, William could only think, 'Wow… he's an ass… does it work better in your lungs? Ehh, probably not.'

As the Professor recovered, William asked, "So, how deep are we going?"

"Well, right now, we're in the lower vaults, but we must go even further down to reach vault 12. It was constructed when Gringotts first opened, after all." The Goblin said.

Professor Fig then looked at the Goblin and asked, "So, how long until we get there."

"Let's just say you should get comfortable."

—-------------------

William had closed his eyes but suddenly heard talking, waking him up. 

"Vault number?" a Goblin asked. It was dressed like a guard and was even uglier than the one driving our car. Not to mention his mood, you could tell just by the way he talked he wasn't a fun person to be around.

"12, it's amazing, isn't it? To see an old vault like that open up after centuries," our driver said to the guard. His only reply was a grunt. The guard motioned us to leave, got on a cart of his own, and left down a tunnel. 

William leaned over to Professor Fig and said quietly, "his armband glowed just like the dragon's collar."

The Professor looked at William with a severe gaze. "The dragon had a collar? And the armband is glowing like everything else?" 

William looked back at their Goblin chauffeur, who was dutifully piloting their vehicle, then back to Fig. "Yes, the dragon had a collar, and it, along with the armband, glowed red, not the normal blue."

"Hmm, thank you for the information, William."

"Well, here we are," our driver said as he flicked a few switches and pressed several buttons.

As everyone exited the cart and walked to the vault, Professor Fig asked, "Who was that guard that stopped us."

"Oh, he's the guard for all the oldest vaults. Probably the most boring job you can ask for, to be honest. If it were me, I'd probably go crazy… Now, this is the first time someone has entered this vault since its creation. It's exhilarating, I know." The Goblin said as he walked to the door.

His hand reached into his pocket and grabbed the key. He then inserted it into the keyhole and turned. The mechanisms keeping the door in place suddenly unclasped themselves, opening the door. The goblin then turned around and announced like a seasoned showman, "Vault 12."

"After you," Professor Fig ushered William through the door, then turned to the Goblin and said, "Thank you for your help."

As the Professor walked through the door, it shut behind him.

A mischievous laugh radiated from behind the door. "Sorry, I was just following orders. The owners gave instructions to lock the door and throw the key away." 

"Move, Professor. I'm about done with this rat." William said as he stepped forward and flicked his wand while uttering, "Depulso." His mind was the picture of focus. His eyes burned with determination and annoyance. 

Smoke rose from the door, distorting their view, but once it was gone, a small hole was left in the door.

"It's quite astonishing you could get through that door with just Depulso, but you would have to do that a thousand more times to break us out." Professor Fig said this as he tore his eyes from the door and looked around the room.

"Revelio," Fig called out, but a troubled expression marred his face. 

With a sigh, he looked at William With a pleading gaze. 

William then brushed his wand through the air as if he was painting. "Revelio," he called aloud.

His eyes shone with light as they revealed an opulent door at the back of the enclosed dusty vault. The door glowed with a silvery gold hue, and streams of ethereal blue highlighted its appearance. At the center of the doorway was the very same symbol that was on the key's container was also there. 

"It's beautiful," William said as he walked up to the door and pushed it open. 

—------------------------

The two blinked, and all they saw was darkness. Endless darkness as far as the eye could see. 

Fig was on his back, gasping for breath, and William was on his hands and knees, his breathing erratic. It was as if the shadows themselves were choking them, stealing their air away. They would try to breathe, but the more they tried, the worse they suffocated.

"Lumos," Fig called out in desperate breaths. His command extended outward, banishing the twilight that held them captive. 

As Fig held his wand into the air, he could not help but say, through his labored breaths, "This must be a death trap of some kind…"

William, though, didn't think so; in his mind, he thought, 'it must be quite the powerful wizard to set up this 'trap,' so why would a wizard who's been dead for centuries go to all this work to kill, it just doesn't make sense.'

William turned over, lay on his back, and then looked at Professor Fig. "You were right earlier. It's a test. No one would go to this much effort to kill someone. Whoever this is, they want to give something to someone who can 'see' as I can, but they need to be strong enough to protect it."

Fig lay there for a moment for a moment as he silently thought. "...Good theory," he said aloud. He then slowly stood. "I hope you're right because we can't Apparate in Gringotts. We're stuck whether we like it or not."

William then sat up and looked around. Endless pillars stretched on as far as the light would let him, but what caught his attention was a dull light in the distance. "I see something," William said as he got up and started walking towards it, with Professor Fig following behind. 

When William finally arrived, he observed the light emanating from the ground.

It looked like bubbly water shooting up from the ground. There were even 'puddles' all around it, though if you looked closely, it could be recognized as the blackened glass. As he got within arms' reach of it, the stream started to move toward him. William grabbed his wand from his pocket and pointed it toward the fountain, "Descendo."

The liquid was instantly pushed to the ground, evened out all over the floor, and solidified into the Obsidian-like material. The glow that emanated from the glass was overshadowed by a knight seen inside the stone. The knight was kneeling with its sword pointed at the ground, but it was upside down like this was only its reflection. 

William took a moment and then cast Revelio. He saw an ethereal, translucent knight in opulent armor pointing to Mr. Fig, away from its reflection.

"Professor, would you please walk towards that pillar?" William asked as he pointed. 

While Professor Fig didn't know exactly what was happening, he knew when William was seeing things, so he did as asked. 

The Professor was now directly in front of the statue, and the ethereal knight followed him. It lined up perfectly with its reflection. A defining silence then ensued for the next few moments. It was as if all the sound got sucked away. 

*BOOM BOOM BOOM*

Six knights made of metal and stone began to rain from the ceiling, and a blue barrier established itself around the parameter. 

"This is a less than ideal scenario!" Professor Fig yelled as the knights fell. He ran up to William and put himself back to back with him. "If you need me, just ask."

"Yes, sir."

One knight to his left started to charge at William. It came close and swung its sword vertically to crush William, but he rolled out of the way and called, "Petrificus Totalus." The mighty knight fell forward, landing on its sword; it was petrified. 

William then cast Incendio on the knight's ribcage. The flames slid off the giant knight's body, but where it hit, cracks started to form. Another knight charged; this time, it swung its sword from side to side, increasing its accuracy to 100%. William just barely casted Pretago in time. As he did so, a thin purple barrier formed all around him. The sword hit it, then shattered. He casted Levioso, then depulso. The knight was lifted into the air and propelled at high speed into the only knight left standing, which William had to deal with. While the two were knocked to the ground, the first knight stood. 

Its golden eyes started to glow as it began to swing its sword. William prepared with Pretago. The sword slapped onto the barrier and bent as the knight used it like a bat. William tried to cast descendo, but the giant's boot was headed straight for him. He rolled backward, leaving himself lying on the ground. The knight flung his boot into William's stomach, sending him flying into a pillar.

His back felt destroyed. It was a struggle to move just a little, but he did. He looked up at the colossus walking to him and smiled. He extended his arm and casted disendo, causing the Goliath to trip and fall. It crashed down to the ground, making a large…

BOOM

William's hand was wedged between the knight's helmet and body. With shaky breaths, he cast Incendio. Fire shot around its neck into the air. 

"AHHH," William screamed in pain as he increased the flames as much as he could. The knight's body then became engulfed in flames. The flames climbed higher into the air, producing more and more heat. It was so hot the air started to warm around the whole battlefield. William burnt his arm in the process; he pushed through the pain, he had to destroy this enemy; otherwise, it could kill him. First, his skin started to burn under the intense heat, then his muscles. Finally, the last strands of resistance that held his wand together snapped. His wand exploded with magical energy. The energy surged through the body and head of the knight, shooting explosive holes through them. The knight's eyes that previously radiated a golden light were immediately snuffed out. Its body first went limp; then it turned to dust…

—---------------------------------------

Heavy breathing of an old man could be heard throughout the area. Professor Fig looked at the four knights' dusty remains with anger and desperation. There was only one left. One knight left, and it wanted to try its chances at the exhausted and injured teen rather than the experienced, injured old man. "Diffindo," he uttered. With two flicks of his wrist, the knight was cut into fours, but before it could fall to the ground, it turned to dust.

Fig walked over to William as he downed a wiggenweld potion. His walking was slow and deliberate. Even as the potion started to take effect, he could only shuffle across the floor towards William. 

He arrived in front of the battered and broken William. Fig had a sorrowful and pitiful expression on his face. Tears started to fall down his cheeks as he looked at the boy. William wasn't moving; his whole body was still. 

Fig's hand started to twitch, the one holding his wand. He slowly brought his hand to his head. Tears now fell down his face, and he was overcome with grief. 

"Moi…" his lips were dry, and his mouth had trouble making any sound. "Moitu…" he was trying his hardest, but the words were stuck in his throat. "Moitus Ab…" first his wife, then his best friend and student on the same day. His teeth started to chatter together, and his voice shook. "Moitus Abei…" Not one minute did he take his eyes off his student. Not one moment did he want to believe he was dead.

"I did it, Professor. I didn't even need to call you." Fig heard a voice coming from William's dead body. William hadn't moved an inch. His body remained still. 

It must be his imagination; he must be going insane. That's what it is. He's gone fucking insane. He started to laugh psychotically, a laugh-filled with pain. That was until he saw William's finger twitch. He could make up a voice, but could he fabricate his own sight? 

The shivers rubbing up and down his spine only increased as he cast "Episkey" on William. William could feel the healing spell do its work, but it wasn't nearly potent enough to let him set up. The most he could do was turn over on his back. 

He saw the crying Professor Fig, and it made his heart soft for a moment. 'He's such a good man,' this was the only thought passing through William's mind.

"Here, drink up," Fig said as he flicked his hand and revealed three Wiggenweld Potions. He lifted William's head and poured the potions into his mouth. 

In the next movement, his arm muscles started to heal, and his back injuries became less painful, but that was it. He could stand, but it hurt. He could walk, but it hurt, and he could grip a wand, but it would hurt. Of course, he had no wand to grip, but still. 

As the minutes passed, the dust from the fallen knights started to move. It looked like a sandstorm; every speck of the stone golems accumulated into a portal frame.

As the two saw this, they walked slowly to the frame and saw a beautiful room filled with silver and gold walls with blue crystalline designs detailing the stunning walls. There was no hesitation in their steps as the two men slowly walked through the portal.