Vault of Ice

3rd of June, 1986.

Harry perched on the railing of the Astronomy Tower in his human form, legs swinging as he watched Charlotte Whitewood examine another patch of strange ice that had appeared overnight.

"It's getting bigger," he complained, pointing at how the ice was slowly spreading across the floor. "Can't reach me when I'm flying, but it's super annoying when I want to paint up here!"

Charlotte nodded absently, scribbling something in her notebook. "Thanks for keeping an eye out this past month, Harry. You've been a big help."

Harry beamed at the praise, then brightened further as he spotted a familiar redhead coming up the stairs. "Hi Bill!"

Bill Weasley waved back with an easy smile. "Alright there, Harry?"

"Are you guys gonna make the ice go away?" Harry asked hopefully, swinging his feet faster.

Bill shook his head. "Not exactly. We've got something else to take care of, but it's meant to be a secret."

"Bill," Charlotte interrupted, closing her notebook. "Maybe we should bring Harry along? He could watch from above in his eagle form. The ice can't trap him when he's flying."

"I don't know..." Bill frowned, running a hand through his long hair. "We don't know what we'll find in that place. It could be dangerous."

"But Harry can just fly away if there's trouble, right?" Charlotte pressed. "And having someone keep watch would be smart."

Bill studied Harry for a long moment, then slowly nodded. "I suppose you have a point..."

"What are you talking about?" Harry bounced excitedly on the railing. "What place?"

Charlotte turned to him with a serious expression. "We found it, Harry - the Cursed Vault that's making all this ice appear. We're going to try to open it and stop the curse." Under her breath, she added, "And maybe finally find out what happened to Jacob..."

Harry's first thought was that he should probably tell Aunt Min about this. But... this sounded like a real adventure! And he was much stronger now with his fire and mist powers. Besides, if his instincts warned him someone was too dangerous, he could just fly away and get one of the professors, since Grandpa was away 'researching something very important'.

"I want to help!" Harry declared, hopping down from the railing. "When do we go?"

Charlotte grinned. "Right now, actually. We've got everything ready."

Harry transformed into his eagle form with a quiet pop and fluttered over to Charlotte's shoulder, making her stumble slightly.

"Oof! A bit of warning next time?" she laughed, adjusting to his weight. "You're heavier than you look!"

They made their way down towards the fifth floor, Bill leading the way with his wand lit. As they reached the sixth floor staircase, a girl in Slytherin robes stepped out from behind a suit of armor.

"Well, well. If it isn't the curse-breaker wannabe," the girl sneered, flicking her brown hair. "And what's this? Got yourself a pet bird now, Whitewood? Trying to replace your missing brother with feathered friends?"

Charlotte's face flushed red. "Shut it, Merula. Don't you have better things to do? Like pretending you know something about Jacob when you clearly don't?"

"At least I'm not dragging random animals around the castle," Merula shot back, eyeing the eagle with disdain. "What's next, going to start talking to it about your pathetic curse theories?"

Charlotte's lips curled into a small smile. "You might want to look closer at that 'random animal', Merula. Or did you drink a Forgetfulness Potion? Who else likes to fly around the castle?"

Bill coughed quietly, clearly trying not to laugh as Merula squinted at Harry. Her eyes widened suddenly and she took a step back.

"I... I have better things to do than waste time with you lot," Merula stammered, turning on her heel. As she hurried away, she called back, "Have fun with your bird club, Whitewood!"

"Ugh, she's such a twit," Charlotte grumbled once Merula was gone. "Can't even recognize Harry Potter when he's right in front of her. Come on, we're almost there."

"Wait up!" a cheerful voice called from behind them. Penny Haywood jogged over, waving her hand at them. "What are you all doing here?"

Harry flapped his wings excitedly on Charlotte's shoulder, making a happy eagle sound. He liked Penny - she'd helped him learn to control his mist better last month.

"Hi Penny!" Charlotte beamed. "We were just heading to... um..."

"The Cursed Vault," Bill finished with a shrug. "No point hiding it, she'll find out anyway."

Penny's eyes lit up. "You found it? The one making all the ice appear?" She glanced at Harry perched on Charlotte's shoulder. "But why is Harry with you?"

"He's going to be our lookout," Charlotte explained. "The ice can't trap him when he's flying, so he can warn us if anything goes wrong."

"Absolutely not!" Penny planted her hands on her hips. "He's five years old! You can't take him somewhere that dangerous!"

"But he'll be perfectly safe up in the air," Charlotte argued. "And we need someone to watch our backs."

"He's a child," Penny insisted. "What if something happens? What would Professor McGonagall say?"

Harry let out an indignant screech. He wasn't some baby who needed protecting! He could make scary mist and shoot fire now!

"Look," Bill said carefully, "I know it seems risky, but Harry's smarter than most kids his age. And he really will be safer than any of us - he can fly away the moment there's trouble."

Penny frowned, clearly torn. "Then I'm coming too. Someone needs to keep an eye on all of you."

"The more the merrier?" Charlotte offered with a hopeful smile.

"Fine," Penny sighed. "But if anything happens to Harry, I'm telling Professor McGonagall exactly whose idea this was."

Harry puffed up his feathers proudly as they made their way to the Icy Corridor. The three students pulled out their wands, casting "Incendio!" at the patches of ice blocking their path. The ice melted slowly, creating puddles on the stone floor.

"See that, Harry?" Charlotte pointed at how the ice seemed to resist the spell slightly before melting. "This cursed ice is really weird. It learns to fight back against spells we use too much. We used to be able to break it with Flipendo, but that stopped working."

Harry made a curious chirping sound from her shoulder.

"Oh, and don't touch it!" Charlotte added quickly. "The ice makes people become very confused. Makes their memories all funny too."

They kept moving forward, melting ice as they went. After what felt like forever to Harry, they stopped in front of a plain stone wall.

Charlotte raised her wand. "Revelio!"

The wall disappeared, showing misty stairs leading upward. The fog was so thick Harry could barely see through it.

"Harry should probably start flying now," Penny said, biting her lip. "Just to be safe."

When the others nodded, Harry took off from Charlotte's shoulder. Flying in such a tight space wasn't easy - he had to keep circling back and forth to stay airborne. His new stronger body helped a lot though. Before the firebending, his wings would have gotten tired much faster.

They climbed the stairs and exited the mist straight into another corridor. Everyone groaned at the sight of more ice. The students raised their wands again.

"Incendio!" Three voices called out together. Nothing happened.

"Merlin's saggy pants!" Charlotte burst out. "It can't be..."

"The ice is immune to the Fire-Making Spell now," Bill sighed deeply. "Either of you know any stronger fire spells?"

Both girls shook their heads.

Harry flew down in front of them, changing back to human form with a big grin. "I can do it!"

Charlotte and Bill exchanged skeptical looks while Penny gave him a gentle smile. "That's sweet Harry, but your mist spell won't help here. We need real fire to melt this ice."

"No, no! Watch!" Harry took a quick stance, remembering how it felt to paint something really pretty, and punched forward. A burst of orange flames shot from his fist, much bigger than the students' Incendio spells had been.

The ice actually sizzled where his flames hit it, starting to melt at the edges.

"Bloody hell!" Bill yelped, jumping back. "Since when can you do that?"

"Language!" Penny scolded automatically, but she was staring at Harry with wide eyes.

"Since last month!" Harry beamed proudly. "It's called firebending! I can make lots of fire without a wand!" He demonstrated with another flame punch, melting more ice.

"Not the Boy-Who-Lived for nothing, I guess," Charlotte muttered, watching the ice melt faster than any spell they'd tried.

Harry grinned and bounced on his toes. "Watch this!" He jumped up, spinning in mid-air to kick downward. A wave of orange flames swept across the floor, clearing a path through the cursed ice.

"That's incredible," Bill said, scratching his head. "But why is it working better than our spells? Fire is fire, isn't it? The cursed ice adapted to resist Incendio..."

"Maybe because it's wandless?" Penny suggested, but she didn't sound convinced.

They made their way down the cleared corridor, Harry occasionally sending out bursts of flame to melt any ice blocking their path. Soon they reached a massive door covered in frost, with an enormous snowflake pattern carved into its surface.

"Here goes!" Harry took a deep breath and leaped up, kicking out toward the door. A stream of fire shot from his foot, melting the ice completely. The door swung open with a loud creak.

Before anyone could look inside, two huge suits of armor burst through the doorway. Ice covered their metal bodies, and they drew sharp-looking swords out of worn leather sheaths.

"Everyone back!" Charlotte shouted, raising her wand. "Start casting! Flipendo!"

Harry stepped back carefully, eyeing the armored constructs. His instincts told they were more powerful than him, and those swords looked really sharp. If one of them managed to hit him, it would be really bad. Better to stay away and let the older kids handle it.

"Reducto!" Bill called out, blue light crashing into one suit's chest and creating a big dent.

"Immobulus!" Penny's spell hit the other construct's leg, slowing it briefly.

Charlotte kept shouting spells and directions, but the ice-covered knights were getting closer. One swung its sword at Bill, who barely managed to dodge. The other advanced on Penny and Charlotte, forcing them back step by step.

"They're too strong together!" Charlotte yelled, casting another Flipendo that just bounced off the icy armor. "We need to-"

A horrible sound of metal striking flesh cut through the air. Bill let out a cry of pain as one of the swords caught his shoulder, sending him crashing to the floor. The knight raised its weapon again, ready to strike.

"No!" Charlotte screamed. "Arresto Momentum!"

The sword froze mid-swing, but Harry could tell the spell wouldn't hold long. His heart was beating really fast as he watched from the back of the group. His special sense was screaming that these things could kill him if he got too close.

But seeing Bill on the ground, bleeding... it reminded Harry of Draco at the Ministry. How the other boy had gotten hurt because of him, and now had that awful cough that wouldn't go away…

No. He wouldn't let someone else get hurt when he could do something about it.

Harry transformed into his eagle form and shot upward, using his new stronger muscles to climb fast. Right above the knight threatening Bill, he changed back to human. For a split second he hung in the air, then brought his leg down in a powerful kick. Fire exploded from his foot, way bigger than before - maybe because he was so scared and angry at the same time.

The flames crashed into the suit of armor. Harry was already transforming back to eagle form, wings spreading to carry him away from danger. He landed next to Penny and changed human again, watching as the ice melted off the first knight. Without the cursed ice covering it, the armor fell apart with a loud clatter.

"Harry, that was brilliant!" Charlotte shouted. "Quick, we need you to do it again! Penny, help me slow the other one down!"

"Immobulus!"

"Impedimenta!"

The second knight stumbled as both spells hit it at once, giving Harry the opening he needed.

Harry took a deep breath and jumped high, flames trailing from his hands as he spun through the air. This time he aimed both palms at the knight's chest, letting his fire pour out in a massive burst. The ice coating the armor melted instantly, steam hissing into the air. Like its partner, the second suit of armor crashed to the ground in pieces.

"Bill!" Penny rushed over to where the older boy lay clutching his shoulder. "How bad is it?"

"Not too deep," Bill winced, letting her examine the cut. "But it stings something fierce."

"I can fix this," Penny pulled out a small green bottle from her robes. "It's a Wiggenweld potion - should stop the bleeding at least."

Harry bounced from foot to foot nearby, still buzzing with leftover energy from the fight. "Are you gonna be okay? Those knights were really dangerous!"

"Thanks to you, mate," Bill managed a smile despite the pain. "That was some impressive flying and fire work."

"Drink this," Penny held the green bottle to Bill's lips. "All of it."

Bill gulped down the potion, making a face at the taste. After a few seconds, the cut on his shoulder started closing up. "Much better. Thanks Penny."

"Can we go in now?" Harry asked, peering through the doorway.

Charlotte nodded, but held up her hand. "Everyone stay close together. We don't know what else might be in there."

They walked into the vault carefully. Harry looked around, a bit disappointed. It was just a small round room with stone walls. He'd expected something more... impressive. There wasn't even any ice, which seemed weird for a place called the Vault of Ice.

Four suits of armor stood in little spaces in the walls. Everyone froze when they saw them, but these knights didn't move at all. They just stood there, looking dusty and old.

"Look!" Charlotte suddenly ran forward, pointing at something weird growing out of the middle of the floor. It was glowing golden, like the light of the sun. Floating above it was a broken wand and an old notebook with torn pages.

Charlotte's face went white. "That's... that's Jacob's wand! And his notebook!" She reached for them with shaking hands. "He was here. He really did find the vault..."

"Who's Jacob?" Harry whispered to Penny while Charlotte carefully picked up the broken wand.

"Her brother," Penny whispered back. "He mysteriously disappeared after he was expelled from Hogwarts because of the Cursed Vaults. Nobody knows what happened to him."

Harry opened his mouth to ask another question, but suddenly froze as his green eyes darkened. At first, his heart leapt with excitement - was he going to get another cool spell like his firebending or fear-mist? But as he actually read what was being offered, his stomach turned unpleasantly.

[Zombie Physiology - Marvel Zombies] – Free, 200CP left

You are a zombie. That comes with its benefits and its downsides. You retain your intellect and have a choice of what kind of zombie you are. There are a lot of variants, but we're cutting it down to just the originals for brevity's sake. The classic Marvel Zombies. The disciples of the Hunger Gospel, you could say. You're a bona fide zombie, save for your intelligence. While you're necrotic and always hungry now, you're now functionally immortal. You don't even feel pain anymore (save for some very rare, very unusual cases). Being undead makes it so that you can't age anymore. Most wounds, including dismemberment and decapitation aren't lethal anymore - it'd take the destruction of your brain to do you in for real. Breathing isn't much of an issue, either. The only problem is that you're really, really hungry all the time. Also your lips have disappeared and you've got a very toothy, skull-like face now. All the better to eat with.

"Son of a banshee," Harry muttered under his breath, having picked up the phrase from older students. His stomach felt all twisty as he read about becoming a zombie. Being able to survive getting hurt sounded kind of cool, but... no lips? And being hungry all the time?

He remembered how Stupid Snape had scared him with stories about Inferi in the dungeons. Even though Aunt Min had yelled at Snape and promised there weren't any dark creatures in the castle, Harry still had nightmares sometimes about rotting hands grabbing him in the dark.

Plus, zombies were gross! They were all falling apart and smelly, like those pictures in the Defense Against the Dark Arts books. And eating people? Yuck! Even when he was an eagle and caught prey on the rare occasion he was hungry, he tried to be quick about it. He didn't want to be some scary monster that made other kids have nightmares.

And what would Grandpa say if Harry turned into a zombie? Or Aunt Min and Uncle Filius? They'd be so disappointed. He was going to be a proper wizard, with cool fire powers and scary mist - not some brain-eating creature from those horror stories the older students whispered about!

No way was he accepting this one. The moment Harry firmly decided to reject the offer, he felt it fade away like smoke in the wind, and he let out a relieved breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding.

Harry turned his attention back to the others. They were huddled around Jacob's notebook, carefully examining the torn pages.

"Look at these notes," Bill was saying, pointing at something Harry couldn't see. "These must be clues about the other Vaults. We'll need to study them carefully..."