Chapter 79

"You can start by telling us why you've been such a broody prat to us this past month," Neville bravely interjected now that he was no longer panicking under the fear that he'd killed another student.

"I don't want to talk about it."

"At least tell us what it was that we did to upset you then," Neville stubbornly insisted as he carefully lowered Harry's head back to the ground. "You owe us that much just for making Hermione cry."

"I can't," Harry replied as he reluctantly opened his eyes once more and briefly glanced at both of them.

"James…"

"It was nothing the two of you did," Harry interrupted before Neville could say more than his name. "I made a mistake and allowed myself to forget what I was fighting for until the dementors forced me to remember. I don't belong here. I can't be your friend because I'm not staying any longer than I have to and the moment I find my way out, I will disappear and no one from this world will ever see me again."

"Let us help you," Hermione blurted out as she grabbed hold of Harry's robes and leaned over him so she could meet his eyes. "We can help you research everything; I know you've been looking for something in the library instead of studying for classes. I can help you with that and when I go home for the holidays this winter; I can visit the library there for more information. Neville can even see if his grandmother knows anything because she's part of the Wizengamot. We're not useless… and we… we helped you last year."

"Hermione!" Neville hissed worriedly.

"Why? I already told you that I have no intention of being your friend."

"Because it is the right thing to do," Hermione replied softly as she ripped off another section of her robes, folded the strip into a small square, cast a freezing spell on the scrap of fabric, and pressed the icy bundle to Harry's now swollen split lip. "If you were kidnapped from your home, then not helping you would mean that I was helping a criminal keep you from your family. And even though you've been giving us the cold shoulder and avoiding us this year, you never picked on me and Neville like a lot of the other students did and still do."

"You're annoyingly persistent, I'll give you that," Harry muttered around the cloth pressed to his mouth. He then sighed as he closed his eyes and again let himself relax just a touch.

"Don't go to sleep, James; it hasn't been an hour yet. Why don't you tell us what you know about the person that is keeping you here? Talking will help you stay awake."

"Mendoukusei."

"Who is that?" Neville asked in confusion.

"That wasn't a person… that was just me complaining," Harry replied around yet another sigh. "I don't know who is responsible for me being here. I don't even know why I am here. One minute, I was in pure agony as the only home I ever knew crashed to pieces all around me before I passed out and the next thing I knew, I woke up here. I suppose it could be Kayaba Akihiko again but I'm pretty certain that he and Kirito killed each other after Kayaba killed Asuna. Besides, if it was Kayaba, then the others would still be here with me because he would have had no reason to single me out… unless he figured out about my new classification after the glitch caught me but I don't see how since I never actually met Heathcliff."

"Are you saying this isn't the first time you've been kidnapped?" Hermione asked as she furrowed her brow in confusion as she attempted to make sense out of Harry's ramblings.

"Not exactly kidnapped; it was more like I was held hostage alongside nine-thousand, nine-hundred, and ninety-nine other people under what amounted to a death sentence for two years. Close to four thousand people died during those two years. Asuna sacrificed herself to save Kirito and Kirito sacrificed himself so everyone else could go home and because I don't think he wanted to live without her. That should have been the end but it wasn't and I've been stuck here for two years with no way of knowing whether or not Klein, Lisbeth, or… or Agil are even alive."

"Have you tried sending them a letter?"

"There is no point… I already know they are not here," Harry replied in a defeated tone as he pushed Hermione's hand away from his mouth and rolled away from her so he could sit up. He let out a soft groan as fire raced across his back from the bruises he'd picked up after he'd fallen backwards into the Chamber's entrance. Once he was upright, the entire right side of his head began pounding from where he'd smacked it against the pipe and he contemplated on whether or not the injury was serious enough for him to warrant using one of his last remaining potions on it.

"I thought you said you weren't hurt anywhere else."

"I'm not… it's just a couple of bruises from when I hit the tunnel on the way down and my less than stellar landing at the end of the ride. I've had worse and they'll fade in a couple of days. The crack to my head, on the other hand, is going to be annoying but tousan always said I was hard-headed so I should be fine."

Hermione muttered something uncomplimentary under her breath about boys and Harry couldn't help but let out a soft snort of amusement. He then sighed yet again as he glanced at the two stubborn NPCs from the corner of his eye as he wondered what he was going to do about them. Part of him knew that there was a chance that he'd need them in order to finish this year's quest but another part of him couldn't help but fear that he was growing far too dependent upon them.

"How are we going to get out of here? Is there another exit?" Neville asked out of the blue as the taller boy finally gazed around the depressing cavern.

"We get out the same way we got in; only with less falling and more running."

"Don't be a smart-alack, James," Hermione admonished as she refreshed the freezing spell on the blood soaked cloth she held in her hand and moved around so she could press it against his mouth once more.

"I wasn't!" Harry protested as he leaned away from the slightly older witch. "As far as I know the pipes are the only way to get in and out of here. You saw me pop out up top earlier."

"How do you run up the pipe though? There's nothing to hold onto and no where to stand once it angles up," Neville countered as he walked over to the pipe in question and peered up inside of it.

"I use Sprint and once I get moving, I'm going so fast that it doesn't matter which direction I'm going in."

"I don't know… that sounds awfully risky; what happens if you don't run up far enough? Wouldn't you just fall back down the pipe again? It would be a lot easier if there were stairs or a ladder or something. Even a broom would be safer than just running into the pipe and hoping we have enough speed to make it to the top."

"Broom? Huh, never thought about using my broom," Harry muttered as he pulled his Nimbus Two-Thousand out of his Inventory (Dobby had retrieved it for him after he'd been attacked by the dementor) and held it out it to Hermione. "The two of you can borrow it and I'll run up like I usually do."

"I can't fly…" Hermione protested as she leaned away from the proffered broom.

"Neither can I," Neville was quick to point out when Harry offered it to him next.

"Mendoukusei," Harry complained as he reached up with one hand to pinch the bridge of his nose. "If neither of you can fly and neither of you think you can run or climb up the pipe; how are you going to get out?"

"Can't you fly us out?"

"Three people aren't going to fit on my broom and I don't know if I'm up to making three trips up and down the pipe right now. I suppose I can take a healing potion but I was hoping to keep those for a real emergency but supper is almost over and if we don't leave soon the two of you will get in trouble for being out of bounds."

"Won't you get in trouble as well?" Neville asked with a frown.

"Yes, but I don't particularly care since they won't kick me out no matter how many rules I break because that would mean they can't hold me here any longer. Getting a detention will be annoying but at least I don't have to worry about Lockhart this year."

"I'm sorry…"

"It was an accident, Neville," Harry cut in before Neville could finish his sentence as he returned the broom to his Inventory.

.

.

.

.

.

👀The novel is available in PDF, visit my Patreon store👀

🚬Patreon.com/BlackGoku222🚬