Ignotus Peverell and the Curse of Death

Chapter 2: The Archway

Dedicated to WritersBlock1316

"He had the strangest feeling that there was someone standing right behind the veil on the other side of the archway. Gripping his wand very tightly, he edged around the dias, but there was nobody there; all that could be seen was the other side of the tattered black veil." ~J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Order of the Pheonix pg. 682

************************************

It had been three months since Chiron shared the ancient prophecy with the three brothers. Chiron and the three brothers had since then departed, leaving their centaur friend behind.

The leaves of the trees had since changed to beautiful hues of red, orange, yellow, and purple. Many carpeted the forest floor.

Cadmus was bringing both Antioch and Ignotus to a peculiar archway he had found in the forest. It was bewitching to behold. It comprised dark stones made from onyx and had a veil made of rippling material that had an ethereal quality, impossible to replicate. Worn stone steps covered with leaves led to the mystical archway. There were four sides with these stone steps around the archway, creating a rectangular shape.

Cadmus had first heard the whispering of his dead financee, then his mother and father talking quietly, speaking to him through the mysterious veil. Eagerly he sought to show his siblings, the dawn of hope lighting up his dark features that hadn't been there in years.

The three siblings all heard whispering the closer they got, as if people were talking to them. The voices seemed to lurk just beyond that mysterious archway.

"Do you hear that as well?" Cadmus asked his brothers. They both nodded. "I can hear her voice. She is here, just beyond the veil."

"All I hear is whispering, Cadmus," Ignotus stated. "It sounds like a group of people to me, and nothing audible enough to understand."

Antioch said, "I hear a group as well. One that will be mine to control. I will use death for my own means."

Ignotus asked his brother skeptically, "How can you be in control if you don't understand what they say?" He gave Antioch a stern look. Then continued, "Could you hear what they said, Cadmus.?"

Cadmus nodded slowly. "At least I can hear one voice. It drowns out the other three somehow."

"Who is it?!" Ignotus exclaimed.

"What is it saying?!" Antioch asked excitedly, eager to continue on with the quest.

"It is the voice of death," Cadmus stated, his eyes slightly bulging. "And he wants to request an audience with the three of us. We are to go through the archway now, or invent the Deathly Hallows within three months and come back and go through the archway. If we do not fulfill his request, he will claim us as his own."

"I have a feeling if we go through the veil now, we won't be coming out alive. Let's take our chances," Ignotus said quietly. "We all need to work together so we can overcome this curse."

The other two brothers nodded as they looked at the veil. Ignotus wore a solemn expression as he observed the dais. Antioch was curiously edging towards the archway. His footprints thudded on the ground beneath him.

Antioch took his walking stick and poked through the veil. He took the tree branch out, only to see that it mystically disappeared. "What black magic is this?!" he exclaimed.

If one thing was certain, none of the three brothers felt ready to walk through that archway. Death would probably claim them if they went. The only thing left to do was try to fulfill the prophecy Chiron had told them and pray that it actually worked.

************************************
Hello Dear Reader,
Thank you once again reading another chapter of my story. If you like it please press the star icon below. I also love feedback, compliments and constructive criticism as they help me grow as a writer. I try to come up with original ideas that have never been done before so please don't copy my work. I hope you are having a really great day. 😊

MeanderingFool