Safe With Me ~ Fred Weasley

Level 9: Department of Mysteries

A/N: "how much do you wanna bet she gets hurt or killed within the next 10 chapters" - @anqelicabbie 10/2/22 about 9 chapters previously.

Sorry (again) for the long wait for updates! (Try to) Enjoy!

I trailed along behind the trio, Ginny marching at my side, looking much warmer than I could remember feeling in the last... three hours? It was impossible to tell what time it was anymore, and I didn't want to be the one to ask. Neville and Luna's footsteps landed softly against the tile behind us as we followed Harry through the dark hallway. I wondered for a second if all of their missions went like this. Did Harry just always know where he was going? Was there never any fear as the three of them strode into danger?

At last, we came to a stop, the six of us huddled behind Harry, waiting for our next instructions. This room felt even colder than the hallways or lifts that had brought us down here, yet I knew that could have been in my head. What little we could see of the room was lit only from the doorway we now stood in and a couple of small blue lanterns hung along the walls between the dozen identical doors before us.

"Someone shut the door." Harry's voice was quiet, yet Neville hurried to obey his request. As soon as the latch clicked, the walls whirled before us, Hermione letting out half a squeal as she grabbed onto Harry's arm. Neville spun back to the door which he had just shut, only to watch the blurring black shapes pass by faster than we could even see.

"Where do we go now?" Ron asked, looking to Harry, his face pale.

"We should try a few doors. I'll know the right one when I see it." Harry answered, decidedly, starting towards the doorway directly before him.

The door swung open easily, a greenish hue painting the room before us. I didn't know which was worse: the alien feel of this new doorway, or staying in the dark spinning room.

"What are those things?" Ron asked, his voice trembling slightly, although I doubt anyone blamed him. Everything on this floor since we had stepped off the lift had felt eerie, not to mention the fact that we were all racing straight towards the darkest wizard of all time.

"I dunno..." Harry answered.

"Are they fish?" Ginny offered from beside me, taking a step towards the glass case filled with pale circular objects floating easily through the green liquid.

"Aquavirius maggots!" Luna shouted, apparently the only one not nervous about the situation we found ourselves in. "Dad said the Ministry was breeding-"

"No." Hermione said, shortly. "They're brains."

"Brains?" A few of us echoed. I took a step back, now sure that I wanted to pick the spinning room behind us.

"I wonder what they're doing with them?"

"It doesn't matter." Harry shook his head, sparing one last glance at the tank. "This isn't the right room. Let's get going."

"Wait!" Hermione held the door open as Luna had been trying to pull it shut behind us. "Flagrate!" She drew her wand around the door, a giant fiery X appearing in the wood.

"Good thinking." Harry said, everyone bracing themselves as the walls spun again, the X'd door now sitting to our left. "Let's try this one."

After what felt like hours, and four more crossed off doors, there was a sharp inhale as Harry opened the doorway to a brightly lit room, glittering walls and ceiling and dozens of clocks along every table and hanging on every surface.

"This is it." Harry breathed, a mixture of excitement and nerves evident in his voice. "This way!" He rushed into the room, the rest of us scanning around quickly while trying to keep up. The feeling of dread in my chest deepened with every tick of each clock that we flew past in our rush to follow Harry. At the end of the room was a single doorway behind a massive crystal jar which sat on an oversized cupboard.