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chapter ten; can't play this game
James' jaw slackened the moment he walked inside the Room of Requirements and saw what was inside, as the door closed behind them. The room seemed infinite, piles and piles of random stuff everywhere, in towers twenty times taller than James, all looking like they might have fallen any instant and yet kept up.
"How are we supposed to find a diadem here?" James asked and when Amaya didn't answer he looked down at her and finally noticed the way her hand was gripping his. Her face was slightly pale, and her eyes darker than they usually were. "Maya?"
"I think I can feel it, James," she said, her voice wavering. "It's—I think I might be sick."
"Are you sure?" James asked, ready to hold her hair back if she needed to throw up, or merely just take her away from the Room altogether.
"I just, I might if I get near it. The magic is vile."
"Okay. Point me in the direction and I'll go then."
She nodded with a grimace before pulling away from him and grabbing a random metal box from a pile. Closing her eyes, the box glowed a few times before she handed it to him, taking the invisibility cloak in her hands so he didn't have to take it.
"I expanded the inside of the box a couple of miles so it'll be far away enough for me not to feel it when you get it. Also, I warded it off so dark magic wouldn't spill over. Now, be careful and please don't touch the Horcrux with your hands, alright?"
James nodded, tucking the box beneath his arm, and he brushed a strand of her hair away from her face making her smile up at him. "Will you be alright?"
Amaya's eyes fell to his lips as she nodded. "Yeah." She looked at him again. "I'm sorry I can't go, but I swear I feel I might throw up if I get near that thing."
"It's alright, love. I've got it."
She nodded and pointed in the direction of the diadem, telling him she was pretty sure it was what she felt and that if he needed to confirm it was the Horcrux, James just had to reach out for the magic and if he felt sick that was it.
He trekked his way through the mess, making sure he used the new handy wandless magic Amaya had been teaching him to leave a glowy print of his footsteps as he walked so he wouldn't get lost on the way back. James kept an open eye for anything that looked remotely like a tiara as he walked in the direction Amaya pointed him.
Amaya's instructions echoed in his mind, emphasizing the importance of caution. The diadem, if they were right about it being a Horcrux (which they had to be after seeing Amaya's reaction to just being in the vicinity of it), held dark magic. James was adamant about finding it, so Amaya wouldn't have to go through the rubble and make herself sick to find the blasted thing.
