Horror

Neptune woke up out of another life and back into the rocking and swaying of her ship. It was a good feeling, but she quickly noticed how much the ship was moving.

Recognizing the tossing and swaying of an approaching storm, she threw some clothes on and ran out of her cabin.

Through the dark, she could see it. Storm clouds, shrouding the full moon and stars, but barely visible in the night sky otherwise.

She turned around and ran to the bell. She rang it, rousing her crew.

"Oi! Wake up you useless fools! We've got a storm on the horizon!"

Before the rest of the crew had arrived on deck, she set to work checking over the sails. She went from rope to rope, checking that each one was secure.

By the time her good for nothing crew had arrived on deck, it had already started to rain. It wasn't bad yet, but Neptune had been at sea long enough to know the signs of something worse on its way.

"Look alive, ladies!" she barked at them. "Storm on the horizon! Get the sails ready! Secure the cargo! Get below decks when I say!"

She drew a telescope from her belt and looked out to the approaching storm. It was moving, definitely heading their way. There was little they could do to avoid it, but it wasn't the first time she'd fought one.

"Latimer! Take over the helm!"

"Yes, Ma'am!"

Her stocky first mate ran to the helm and relieved the struggling man who'd been tending the helm for the night. The poor man looked as though he might be sick.

"Hutchison!" Neptune called to him. "To your quarters! Take a break before you get sick over the deck! Smith, up here with me!"

The only other woman on the crew ran to the front of the ship, her wand in hand.

"What's the plan, Captain?" Smith asked.

"We're prepping for ascent! You and me are covering the ship."

Neptune pressed her wand to her throat and shouted.

"All hands! Prepare for ascent! We're going through the storm!"

By then, rain was pelting the ship. Neptune had to hold on to something or be tossed overboard by the raging sea. It was no matter to her. With her free hand she began waving her wand as though conducting a choir.

Two of her competent crew members tended the sails while the rest ran below decks. That left Smith, Latimer, the two men, and Neptune to handle it. It was fine by her; that was all she needed.

She and Smith waved their wands around, stirring the air around the ship. Soon, a whirlwind had picked up, swirling around, lifting the ship into the air.

"Latimer!"

From behind her, Latimer began his part. He released the helm and began pumping air into the sails, driving the ship forward. As Smith maintained the whirlwind, Neptune started on a bubble around the ship. Not only did it stop the whirlwind from ripping them apart, it stopped the storm from ripping them apart. It had to be done last, because it didn't let anything in or out, including air.

Looking ahead, she saw the storm. It whirled and thrashed the sea. The sea, her closest ally in an otherwise chaotic life. She'd thought it'd turned against when she'd seen her first storm, but it was simply another facet to her mistress. One she'd had to overcome time and time again.

"Impact!" Neptune shouted.

They slammed into the worst of it, the ship thrown about by the force of the storm. They held fast, keeping up their respective spells. They were safe so long as they didn't stop.

Another blast of wind and waves hit them, but the bubble held, and they stayed above the worst of the waves. They continued to fly higher, higher, not above the storm, not yet. It wasn't big enough to justify getting above it, only enough to need to leave the ocean.

"We're almost through!" Latimer shouted as though Neptune didn't know. Typical man, thinking he knew better than she did. He was lucky he was the only one she trusted to do his job.

"Of course we are, idiot!" Smith shouted back.

"Hold fast!" Neptune shouted. "Don't waste your breath arguing, or I'll be seeing both of you in my quarters later!"

"Is that a promise, Captain?" Smith called.

Neptune kept her focus on the storm, ignoring the implication. One didn't get to be captain at 16 by giving into every urge and impulse, but rather by keeping one's wits and accidentally knocking the old captain overboard during a storm.

"Impact!" Neptune shouted again.

They broke through the storm again, having completely missed the eye. Rain pelted the bubble that kept them dry. They pushed ahead, and on her orders, they began to lower the ship back into the water.

First, Smith eased off the whirlwind. It lowered them down, as Latimer kept wind in the sails to drive them forward. Then he eased off as Neptune allowed the bubble to fade, settling the ship back into the water.

A wall of rain greeted them, but she and Smith put wind into the sails as Latimer took control of the helm.

"Passable," she barked to Smith. "The three of us will stay up here." She turned to one of the men who'd been keeping the sails together. "Bring up a skeleton crew of your favorite people. Let the others sleep now that we're through the storm. I expect to see you above deck in no more than sixty seconds."

The man saluted and ran below deck. She found it odd how some saluted her, while others, like Smith, gave her… other gestures.

"We're holding our original course," Latimer called. "It won't be long now before we're all rich."

"Less poor!" Smith shouted back. "Still plenty of mouths to feed!"

"I think we've earned some leave!" Latimer shouted.

"Do you now?" Neptune called back. "We'll see about that! Man the ship! I'm going back to sleep!"

Hermione opened her eyes and stared up at the sky. Stars were scattered about. It was peaceful out in the country. She hadn't appreciated the peace before. The chaos of the outside world couldn't reach them here. Just her, Luna, Tutela, and Crookshanks.

Crookshanks lay next to her, curled up and fast asleep. Hermione reached out and stroked his fur. Her little piece of home to carry with her.

It'd been two months since they'd found out they were wanted fugitives. Since then, they'd had to avoid every town and city on the way to Dartmoor. If anyone had seen them, Umbridge would know. From there, it'd hit the Daily Prophet, then back to Hogwarts and Slytherin. Hermione hadn't seen another human apart from Luna in that time.

Crookshanks opened one eye and watched her for a moment before closing it, shifting around, then going back to sleep.

Hermione heard a soft cry. She sat up and looked around, hoping it had come from Luna and not an onlooker. Sure enough, there was another one, right from her companion.

"Moon, are you alright?"

Luna didn't make a sound, so Hermione crawled out of her sleeping bag and over to her. Fresh tears on Luna's face betrayed her friend's sadness.

"You don't have to hide your tears from me." Hermione smiled, even though she knew Luna couldn't see it. "I'm… I'm still getting over Rose."

Luna lay still. Hermione considered returning to her sleeping bag, but Luna rolled over and took Hermione's hand.

"Will you stay here?"

Hermione smiled and settled into the grass next to Luna.

"Of course. We've only got each other."

Luna tried to smile, but it came out awkwardly, like she didn't remember how.

"I'm sorry I keep getting in the way."

Hermione stifled a laugh, knowing Luna meant it.

"Is that what you call attacking Ana like you've done it a hundred times? Or expertly fighting the nimblewrights and bronze serpent?"

"It's… I don't like to fight. I want to protect the forest, to protect you, but I don't want to fight. Tutela and I have a lot of practice fighting the people Umbridge sent to get rid of the centaurs, but I don't want to."

Hermione nodded, understanding well what it was like to not want to be involved. Wanting a normal life was a distant fairy tale to her now. She'd been chosen to stop Slytherin because Rose didn't trust anyone else to do it. No one else could do it.

"I wish I could say that you wouldn't have to fight, but we both know you'll need to."

"You could teleport everywhere if it weren't for me."

Hermione hated that she was right. It wasn't fair to point it out, but she would've been able to teleport everywhere instead of hiking across England.

"I'm glad for the company. We've got to stick together, like I said. Slytherin can't find us out here, and it's not like it moves fast. The sooner the better, but I wouldn't give up traveling with you for anything, Moon."

Luna broke into tears again and threw her arms around Hermione.

"It's alright," Hermione said, trying to shift herself around to hug Luna while they were still lying down. Hermione stroked Luna's hair as Tutela padded over and laid down next to them.

"I'm sorry about Rose," Luna said. "I know you liked her a lot."

Hermione smiled, then said out loud something she hadn't wanted to admit.

"I loved her. I know it's weird, her being so much older and a woman, but I don't care. I loved her, and… and I killed her."

This time, it was Luna that held Hermione when she broke into tears.

"At first, I was Neptune, but then it faded, and… I had a dream about Toad. We were happy. Holding hands, walking through the forest. Then I remembered he'd died, that it couldn't be real." She broke into sobs again. ���But he smiled at me and told me it would be okay."

Hermione and Luna held each other until their tears subsided. Hermione was glad to have someone that understood her and what she was going through.

"You're a good sister, Moon."

"You are too, Brain."

Through the dark, something fuzzy and cat-shaped walked over and wedged itself between them.

"We haven't forgotten you, Crookshanks," Hermione said, laughing.

After the mood she'd been in, laughter felt wonderful. Like her whole body had come alive again.

"I like our party," Luna said.

Hermione looked through the dark at the lot of them. They must've looked like an odd bunch, but that would be giving someone the right impression.

"Me too."

They stayed curled up together, falling asleep before long. For once, Hermione's dream was happy. Her, Luna, Neville, and Rose, sitting around laughing with one another. Neville with his arm around Luna. Hermione and Rose shyly holding hands when no one was looking. Four good friends. The way it should've been.

Hermione wasn't sure she'd ever felt so sore as she did when she woke up the next morning.

"Moon, I hope you're alright, because I'm not sure I can sleep on the grass again."

Her joints cracked as she stood up and stretched.

"It takes a while to get used to it," Luna replied, already up, running a hand through her hair.

"Any tips?"

Luna paused, frozen in place. After a few seconds, she shook her head and returned to combing her hair.

"Fine," Hermione said, pulling out the map from her pack. "If we move quickly, we should reach Dartmoor before sundown. Then we'll need to find the campgrounds. I'm quite sure we'll know it when we find it."

If nothing else, I'm sure I'll start having flashbacks when we find it.

They packed up camp, then started off for the day. Once again, they had to take a circuitous route, avoiding any potential contact with another human. They took turns scouting around. Crookshanks was the best at it. He crept ahead, staying almost invisible to everyone. Hermione was glad he'd insisted on coming along.

As it always seemed to be, it was getting dark when they finally arrived at the campsite she'd stayed at during the World Cup.

Everything rushed back to her at once. Running into the fray, her heart pounding as she hid from the Death Eaters, a curse knocking her to her feet, a man standing over her.

"Brain!"

Hermione shoved down memories of that night and walked into the site.

"I'm fine," she said.

"You don't smell fine."

Hermione shook her head, trying to clear away any old demons. She stopped walking and took a moment to catch her breath.

"I'll be alright. We should be on guard. If it's anything like it was last time, it'll be obvious, but she might try tricking us."

No one was around, making Hermione wonder when it had been abandoned, and if the World Cup had had anything to do with it.

They split up to search the grounds, Hermione and Crookshanks in one group, Luna and Tutela in the other.

Hermione took deep breaths of fresh air whenever she felt her grip on reality loosening.

"Found it!"

Hermione and Crookshanks ran back to where Luna and Tutela were standing. On the edge of the forest, connected to a large boulder, was what they were looking for.

Hermione stared at the giant red button.

"I've got a terrible feeling about this."

Luna, who couldn't have seen it without Tutela, motioned Hermione ahead.

Hermione looked at Luna, then back at the button.

"Here goes… something."

She pushed the button with both hands, and the world began to shake. Black blocks erupted from the ground, slamming into one another. They slid and shifted as they formed together. When they'd finished, a giant puzzle box stood in the middle of the field.

"Well," Hermione said, "now we know what happened to the third task."

"Do you think the clockwork horrors are all inside?"

"I'm quite sure they are."

Hermione and Luna walked up to a corner of the maze. The block at the corner slid open, revealing the glowing purple interior.

"Remember," Hermione said, "head for the center. If we get separated, we'll eventually make it there. Gravity—"

"Gravity is relative, I remember."

Another thought struck Hermione and she turned to Luna. Placing her hands on Luna's shoulders, she cast superior resistance.

"It's not much, but it should allow us to make saves. I'm not certain, so try not to let the adamantine clockwork horror disintegrate you."

Luna nodded.

Hermione looked up at the maze, then thought back to how well she'd handled the bronze serpent. Neville had had to move constantly inside the maze; she didn't do much apart from sit still and try not to die.

"Do you want to go first?" Hermione asked.

Luna turned her head in Hermione's direction, then back to the maze.

"Okay."

Losha ran inside the maze. A few seconds later, the door slid shut behind her.

When she entered the maze, she immediately realized her problem. Rose had added the colors in the maze to help the champions find their way. Losha didn't see in color, or at all. She could sense her surroundings with speak with anything, but that didn't include color.

<Brain, I can't tell what color anything is.>

<I can't help you, Moon.>

Losha stood still for a minute, pondering how she'd find her way through the maze. Rose knew all the tricks to find your way through a maze, so it wouldn't be easy. After that minute, she tried the only idea she had left.

Losha stooped down and touched the floor.

"Which way to the center?"

She got a vague idea to move forward. It wasn't much, but it would have to be enough.

<I can find my way.>

Losha felt a little better about the maze, until she heard from Brain again.

<I… Moon, it's not opening again. I don't think I can get in.>

Losha skidded to a halt and froze.

<Perhaps you've got to wait longer.>

<Or only one of us can go inside. I can wait, but I've got a bad feeling you're on your own.>

"Now what?" Mars asked, sounding far more pleased than Losha would've liked.

"We can't get out!" Mercury shouted. Losha couldn't smell her fear, but she could feel it. Trapped.

"I can do this," Losha said.

"This is all ridiculous," Jupiter said. "These games of yours are pointless. What for? Why risk your life like this?"

"For Toad," Losha said without hesitation. "It's what he would've done, and it's what I'm going to do."

Neptune whooped and cheered her on, providing the first bit of encouragement since she'd walked inside the maze.

"It's noble," Saturn added. "He'd be proud of you."

"You don't look the part yet," Neptune said.

Losha considered that for a moment, then reformed her mask over her face.

"I can do this," Losha said, knowing not one of them was convinced by it.

Tutela paced outside, trying not to whine. She didn't like Moon being in there on her own. What if something happened? Taking care of Moon was supposed to be her responsibility.

Brain was desperately slamming her fists against the button, screaming at the maze to open.

"Let me in!" she screamed, taking her anger out on the maze instead.

Tutela winced as Brain slammed into the door of the maze, then recoiled and fell to her knees.

"It's all my fault. I should've gone first."

Tutela nestled against Brain. She knew Moon was tougher than she looked, but that didn't stop her from being worried. She knew what Rose had put inside the maze. They didn't have the advantage of needing to be kept alive. Those things would kill Moon if she made even a single mistake, and Tutela wouldn't be able to stop them.

A few minutes into the maze, Losha encountered her first clockwork horror. She heard it before it saw her. Clicking echoed through the maze ahead of her, and she kept her guard up.

She couldn't smell it, which was the worst part. The maze gave her little to go on, which meant she was down to hearing alone.

The sound of the dart was all the warning she got. She dove out of the way, then rolled towards it.

It fired another dart, this one striking her before she could reach the construct. She recoiled, but swiped at it in retaliation. Her attack caught the construct and she hurled it into the wall.

It climbed to its feet, but Losha was upon it before it could prepare for another attack. The runes on her body shifted as she leapt at it, turning her fist into stone. She drove it through the horror, smashing it to pieces.

After it didn't move, she got up and informed Brain and Tutela what she'd done.

<Don't drop your guard,> Brain said. <There's hundreds more of them.>

<Be careful,> Tutela added.

Losha took a breath and started off in the direction from which the clockwork horror had originated, hoping that it was the right direction.

The maze shifted around her, making an already difficult task that much harder. The second time her section of the maze shifted, she decided she'd had enough.

"I can't do it!" she shouted. "I can't find my way!"

"Would that have stopped Toad?" Neptune asked.

"Probably," scoffed Mars.

Losha snarled at Mars. Instead of stopping her, Mars's words of discouragement urged her to push forward.

She heard the clicking of horrors again, and ran towards the sound. Fear began to creep in, but not entirely for herself. The memory of seeing Toad fighting for his life resurfaced, bringing that fear back. She'd liked him a little back then. He was different, like her. He made it through, so she would too.

She struggled through the next few horrors, then listened for more clicking. She heard the distant echoes of it ahead of her, then ran towards it. It wasn't much to go on, but it was enough to get her through this.

Hermione checked her watch, trying to recall how long Neville had taken in the maze. She had no need for it; she knew how long Luna had been inside.

"I wish I had been paying attention back then," she said.

She remembered how caught up in it she'd been. Worried about Neville and Cedric. Excited to see her friend, timid little Neville, fighting his way through hoards of monsters Rose had built. Terrified that he'd die inside the maze, that any of them could.

Moon won't die. She won't die. She'll be fine.

She paced around with Tutela. Neither knew what to do apart from pacing. Crookshanks was the only one that didn't look terrified.

<I've got more horrors around me,> Luna informed her. <I think I'm getting close to the end.>

What should've made Hermione feel better only served to make her worse. Up side: Luna was almost to the end. Down side: the adamantine clockwork horror lay at the end.

<Be careful,> was all Hermione could manage.

Losha ripped through more clockwork horrors and pressed ahead. By now, the wave was endless, the walls covered in them. She ran through the wave as it shifted towards her. With the sound of them all around her, it was hard to work out the direction she needed to go.

An idea struck her, and she stopped listening for the clicking. Instead, she listened for a spot that didn't have any noise.

She discovered that there was a cavern up ahead from which little noise was coming, then bolted towards it.

When she rounded the corner, she heard the sound of a large clockwork horror shifting in place. Not knowing where it was aiming, she had to guess. She ran forward and tumbled when she heard it fire.

A wall near her had a chunk taken out of it, but she kept moving.

She tumbled around another hit, running towards the horror. She turned her fists to stone again and slammed them into the horror.

Her hands bounced off, then the horror jabbed its blade into her. It knocked her back, but the acromantula silk of her dress protected her from the blade itself.

She recovered and tried to think of a new plan. The sound of more horrors filled the cavern as they marched in after her.

She drew a deep breath and screamed at it, filling the cavern with a blast of sonic energy. She heard the sound of the smaller horrors being ripped apart by the blast, but nothing from the adamantine.

She tried again, directing the blast at the adamantine this time, but still, it did nothing. Just after asking herself why, the answer hit her: spell resistance. Rose had engineered this one to be resistant to her and Brain's magic.

Losha tumbled past the next disintegrate, then ran at the horror again. It swung its blade at her, knocking her back to the ground.

She tried again, but it knocked her aside with as much ease as the first time.

She had nothing to throw at it. No way to fight back. Her attacks weren't phasing it. Nothing was working.

More horrors spilled into the room, firing darts and lightning at her. She dodged them, the only thing she could do.

"Come on!"

"Do something useful!"

"Run for it!"

The voices of the other Lunas filled her head. She tried to figure out what to do, but there was nothing. Spell resistance stopped her magic from getting through. She couldn't fight back. She couldn't win.

She took a hit from one of the horrors and went careening into the ground mid-jump. The other horrors moved back, allowing their leader to go for the kill.

"I can't do it," she whimpered. "Mars and Magorian are right. I'm a weak human."

"Don't give up, Moon."

Another voice filled her head, drowning out everything else. She didn't understand how, but the scent of pine filled her nose.

"Toad?"

"You gave me hope when I had none. Let me return the favor. I believe in you. You're the most extraordinary person I've ever met, including your sister and Brain. You're brave enough to push forward even though you don't always know what's going on, and you were clever enough to use it to your advantage. Don't let this stop you."

"It didn't stop you," she whispered as the sound of the horror returned. It was close to her, preparing for the kill.

Her dream of Toad's smiling face, full of love, filled her mind. She longed for him to save her, but like it had been against Lestrange, it was up to her. For Brain, and Toad, and Rose, she had to fight back. She had one option left, and for their sakes, she had to use it.

"Help me."

Memories from eight other lives flooded her head. She felt dizzy, but she forced herself to stay focused on the sound of the horror. She felt everything they'd feel, knew everything they they'd know.

Moon didn't have a solution. But Neptune and Mars did.

On all fours, she sprinted to the other horrors. She barreled into them, ripping through them. The adamantine horror fired into the hoard, but Losha created a wall of spare parts to block the shot.

Don't stay in one place too long.

Losha bolted away, taking a group of horrors with her. She lifted her hands and flung the horrors at the adamantine. The pieces ripped through it, but it shrugged them off.

Losha bolted around the room, and an idea struck her. She didn't know which of them had the idea, but it was good.

She ran back at the group of horrors and shielded herself among them. Then she ripped more of them open and created a storm of shrapnel. The storm covered the room, cutting into the adamantine horror.

More importantly was where the pieces landed. Using speak with anything, she verified that everything had landed where she'd been expecting. They covered the room in specific spots, with a line leading straight back to her. She slapped her hand down and charged the rune she'd just created.

An explosion ripped apart the adamantine horror, sending pieces of it flying across the room. She threw up a shield to stop herself from getting hurt by her own attack, then listened for the sound of anything coming to get her.

Instead, she heard the sound of blocks shifting, making a path to the outside. Fresh air struck her, and she smelled Brain, Tutela, and Crookshanks coming to get her.

"Moon!"

Brain threw her arms around Luna, and several scents filled her nose at once. Fear, relief, love.

"I did it," she said. "The others helped, but I did it."

Brain pulled away and looked around the room.

"And I found our next clue. The number 738,410 written diagonally on the floor."

Losha smiled, glad that she'd succeeded. Best of all was the feeling that Toad was smiling at her. She wasn't a burden anymore.