Forest Vault I

"Are you okay?" asked James, stopping and hiding behind a large tree. He checked to ensure there weren't any dangerous magical creatures or plants.

"Yes..." replied Gwen with bated breath. She felt like her heart was about to burst out of her chest. This was the first time she had ever been in such a dangerous situation.

"Calm down. We're not being followed," James said, resting his hand on Gwen's slightly trembling hand.

"That's good..." said Gwen, sighing in relief. After calming down, she looked at James strangely.

"What's wrong?" asked James, noticing the look on the girl's face.

"Nothing... I was just slightly surprised how you sent that centaur flying," commented Gwen. You don't see every day how a centaur weighing hundreds of kilograms is lifted off the ground and sent flying like a rocket. All this is done with magic without a wand.

Gwen knew of James' wandless magic ability, but she had only seen him use it on objects like swords. He was not using it to immobilize creatures and send them flying.

"I've improved since last time," James said with a slight smile. He wouldn't tell her that to increase his powers, he should have negative emotions. It would only make her worry.

James, like Gwen, was surprised to send the centaur flying and before that pinned it in place. A centaur is a much stronger creature than a deer or a common animal. You could see it by its large muscles. If he manages to replicate this he could immobilize an adult wizard with his wandless magic alone. As long as the wizard doesn't defend himself with a Protego or some such method.

'With this power, defeating Eustace will be easy,' James thought, looking at the hand he sent the centaur flying with.

"Thanks for saving me," Gwen said with a warm smile pulling James close to kiss him.

"I will always protect you," whispered James, accepting the kiss. As long as he could protect her, and it was within his power to do so, but it wasn't romantic to say this.

After that, they both resumed their walk towards Sirius and the others. When they arrived they told them in a nutshell what had happened. They didn't want to worry them too much, and the robbery had gone well.

"It's half past one in the morning," Regulus said, looking at his pocket watch.

"Let's do it!" said Sirius, gripping his wand tightly. Usually, their previous expeditions lasted until three almost four in the morning. They had time to explore the vault and get the treasures.

"It's not just taking the treasures after defeating who knows what creature or monster. We must also destroy the dark core so that a curse is not released," Lupin said. That would take them longer.

"True, but we are a large group, and we have a large amount of potions," Snape commented. It wouldn't take as long as it did when James and Regulus entered the ice vault alone.

"Will a curse be unleashed? The vault is a long way from the castle," Toby said doubtfully. The curse would have to have a long way to go to reach the castle.

"We know that in the first two vaults, there were two cursed cores. So it stands to reason that this one would also have one that would release a curse," Regulus replied.

"So, what do we do?" asked Snape, and everyone looked at James, who had a thoughtful expression. He had grown accustomed to being left with the decision-making.

"We're going in. Snape is right. We have many potions for combat, and we are more numerous than last time. We'd better finish this vault tonight. Having pursuers is very annoying," James replied, and everyone nodded.

Gwen pulled the arrow from her satchel and placed it in the hole. Everyone felt a slight tremor under their feet. The arrow fitted perfectly, and a soft click echoed in the silence of the forest.

Suddenly, a soft blue glow emanated from the center of the door, spreading through the grooves and carvings in the stone. The hidden gears began to turn with a deep, metallic sound.

The stone door began to move slowly, lifting off the floor and revealing a dark opening. A cold breeze surged from within as if the air had been trapped there for centuries.

Inside, barely visible in the light of their wands, a descending staircase carved from stone, covered in moss and dampness, could be seen.

They all looked at each other and after a few seconds began to descend the steep, slippery staircase. James led the way.

The stone walls were covered with moss and vines, and the air was damp and cold. Every step they took was accompanied by the rustle of vegetation beneath their feet. Sirius refrained from his off-hand remarks and descended silently with his senses alert.

The darkness was almost total, mitigated only by the dim light of their wands. After what seemed like endless minutes, the staircase finally opened into a vast room.

The room had vines climbing up the stone walls and moss covering the floor.

More than the state of abandonment what caught the attention of James and company was a large figure in the center of the room. A creature about ten feet tall that was wearing shining armor.

"What the hell is that?" asked Sirius, watching as the creature's eyes behind the helmet widened. Its eyes were a dull green and small.

"Look at its feet," commented Lupin, noticing that they were larger-sized feet compared to its body.

The creature's feet had no armor, they had thin pale green fur and sharp yellowish nails.

"Forest Troll..." said Regulus, recognizing the creature by its green feet.

The forest troll (Troglodytarum sylvaticum) is a race of trolls originating from forests as its name suggests. Classified as a XXXX beast.

"A troll in armor and a huge axe with ancient runes on it... Dai Ryusaki, you fucking bastard," Sirius commented with his eyebrows twitching. He didn't know why the damn Japanese wizard put so much security in his vaults. It seemed like he wanted to murder anyone who entered instead of just handing over his inheritance quietly.

"Everyone in position," James said, noticing the troll begin to walk towards them as he roared. His hoarse, loud voice echoed throughout the chamber, echoing off the overgrown stone walls.

James and the others were already expecting to encounter a creature protecting the treasure, and they knew that this creature might possess a weapon with ancient runes, short spells, and special armor. Therefore, they devised a specific strategy to defeat it.

Like the Golem, the troll's armor repelled control spells and protected it from spells like Expelliarmus and Flipendo. However, it was eight wizards against a single troll with limited intellect. Their defeat was imminent despite their armor and special weapons.

"Now!" commanded James, and they all raised their wands.

In a single coordinated motion, all eight conjured the spell Incendio. A torrent of flames erupted from each of their wands, engulfing the troll in a circle of fire. The flames roared and crackled, illuminating the chamber with a hellish glow.

The Fire powers of each were different, but all had decent power, and when combined the fire increased in power.

The troll's armor, while repelling other spells, did not repel the fire already conjured. The metal began to heat up rapidly under the intense flames.

The troll, trapped in the fire, roared in pain and fury. The heat penetrated through the armor, reaching its skin and flesh. The burning metal became a searing prison, intensifying the troll's suffering.

The troll, unable to bear the excruciating pain, staggered and fell to his knees. The armor, now red-hot, burned its flesh with every movement. The fire was spreading through his body, consuming him from within. His roars turned to moans of agony as the life drained from his eyes.

Finally, after five minutes or less, the troll fell face-first to the ground. His body, covered in burns and wounds, lay motionless. The fire continued to burn for a few more moments before slowly dying out, leaving only smoke and the smell of burning flesh.

"A painful death..." commented Sirius, holding his nose. The smell of burning troll flesh was disgusting. Trolls in and of themselves had horrible body odor.

"I kind of feel sorry for him," Toby said. The hand holding his wand trembled. Killing inanimate armor and a Golem made of pure ice was not the same as killing a living creature.

The least affected were James, Regulus, Snape, Gwen, and Sirius. James was already used to killing living creatures in his experiments, and the others didn't see the troll as a creature worthy of pity.

"That was easy. We were right to go in," Regulus said with a slight smirk. They taught that stupid troll the supremacy of wizards.

"Maybe since it was harder to find the vault, the Japanese wizard put in a weaker guardian," Lupin said, and Snape nodded. He'd been in both vaults. Neither was as easy.

"Better for us. Let's see our loot," James said, holding in his excitement and walking towards the large chest behind the troll a few feet away.

The others followed him with hidden excitement as well. Finally, they would see the reward of so much hard work. It took months to get into this vault.