Good Enough | hp

28| Prove It

It was like rushing down an endless, slimy, dark slide.

Smooth piping surrounded her as Estella tried to gauge the remaining distance based on what she could see.

She could glimpse more pipes branching off in all directions, but none as large as the one she was currently sliding down, which twisted and turned, sloping steeply downwards and she knew she was falling deeper below the school than even the dungeons.

She hit a bump and slammed against the pipe wall.

"Ow," she cursed, frowning deeply and rubbing her shoulder which had received the brunt of the hit. Ahead of her, she could hear Ron thudding slightly at the curves.

Just as she had begun to worry whether they had made a grave mistake by entering an unknown tunnel(with no light no-less), the pipe levelled out and she shot out of the tunnel with a wet thud.

She knocked into Ron and they both came crashing down to the floor.

"Stella!" Ron grumbled, his voice muffled, "Get off."

Estella giggled at his disgruntled state and lept up eagerly to her feet. Her smile faded a little as she looked into the darkness around her.

The gloom wrapped around her like a weighted blanket; her heart thudding quicker in her chest the more she got consumed.

"Lumos," she exacted, her voice coming out quieter than she wanted it to. She cleared her throat as a flare of light lit up before her.

"We must be miles under the school," said Harry, his voice echoing in the black tunnel.

"Under the lake, probably," said Ron, squinting around at the dark, slimy walls.

"Harry," Estella requested, "light up your wand too. It's way too dark in here." Harry carried through the order and another pinprick of light appeared.

"C'mon," he said to Estella, Ron and a trembling Lockhart, and off they went, their footsteps slapping loudly on the wet floor.

The tunnel was so dark that despite the two wands they had lit, they could only see a little distance ahead.

Estella didn't like the feeling. It was like spiders were crawling up her arms and with painful clarity, she was reminded of Aragog and their near-death experience.

Don't make this any harder for yourself Estella. Focus on the mission.

"Remember," Harry said quietly, as they walked cautiously forward, "any sign of movement, close your eyes straight away..." 

Estella found herself nodding and though she knew they couldn't see her clearly, she made no move to voice her agreement.

But the tunnel was as quiet as a grave, and the first unexpected sound they heard was a loud crunch as Ron stepped on what turned out to be a rat's skull.

Estella's mouth felt dry as she lowered her wand to look at the floor. It was littered with small animal bones.

Her head ached she tried not to imagine what Ginny might look like if they found her.

Harry led the way forward, round a dark bend in the tunnel.

"There's something up there..." said Ron hoarsely, grabbing Harry and Estella's shoulders to halt them.

They froze, watching.

Estella could just see the outline of something huge and curved, lying right across the tunnel. It wasn't moving.

"Maybe it's asleep," Estella breathed. To anyone else, her voice may have sounded indifferent, even challenging, but she could hear the small tremble in the last syllables.