A Young Slytherin: A Barnaby Lee Story -Hogwarts Mystery

The Vault of Fear

He joined the others as they stood in front of a secret entrance Sarah had found behind one of the bookshelves. 

Sarah looked at him worriedly. 

"I got rid of them," he said rubbing his sore shoulder. "But if I know Merula, she'll run straight to Snape."

"Then we better hurry," said Sarah, and without a moment's hesitation, she plunged forward into the Vault of Fear.

The others followed. Inside the vault, it was completely dark apart from a few lit lanterns that cast eerie shadows on the walls. As he watched, he could have sworn the shadows took shapes—crawling creatures and tall, hooded figures. There was a draft, and as the wind blew past he thought he heard whispering. They all stood close together.

"Did all the vaults look like this?" whispered Tulip.

"Yes, but no," said Sarah. "Not nearly this terrifying..."

In the center of the room, there stood a golden casket that resembled a large lantern. Sarah took a step toward it, but they all jumped at the sound of a cold, harsh voice.

"Nox." The lights went out.

"Who said that?" asked Sarah, her voice an octave higher than usual.

Barnaby knew that voice. It was an evil voice he knew he'd never forget. "That was Voldemort."

They huddled closer together. The shadows on the wall changed. It looked as if poisoned water filled the room. Despite being completely dry, Barnaby felt a pressure on his chest as if he were deep underwater. 

 A figure emerged out of the watery curtain, dressed in  black robes, his milky white skin stretched around his gaunt face, his red eyes glaring at them with pure venom. It was Lord Voldemort.

Voldemort laughed at them, a high, cruel laugh. Then two more Voldemorts appeared on either side of him. All three Voldemorts raised their wands in unison. "Avarda Kedavra!" they shouted. Barnaby squeezed his eyes shut, knowing he was about to die.

The room became pitch dark. He felt himself being dragged away quickly; knocked down to his knees. When he opened his eyes, the lights brightened just enough for him to see. Voldemort was grasping his shirt collar with one hand. His wand was held at Barnaby's throat. He had to look away from the red eyes, now maliciously gleeful. Glancing about, he saw that Tulip and Rowan were also captured by a Voldemort. Sarah stood facing them all.

"They're boggarts!" she shouted. "They can't hurt us!" She sounded as if she was trying to convince herself.

His boggart laughed, then clutched Barnaby's throat and squeezed. 

"Sarah," he chocked.

She stood rooted to the spot a second longer, then sprang forward. "Riddikulus!" Crack! The boggart holding Rowan became a dancing clown. Barnaby shivered. He hated clowns. Crack! Tulip's boggart transformed too. Just as he thought he would pass out, crack! His boggart released him and became another dancing clown. Then, all the boggarts disappeared.

He got up, gasping.

"Are you guys alright?" Sarah asked them.

"Yeah," he said. "Is it over? Did you break the curse?"

"I don't think so," she said. "Something's wrong." She winced suddenly, her eyes closing. "Jacob?...what's too late?"

Barnaby looked at the others, but they were just as confused as he was. Then, Sarah was lifted off her feet, floating in midair. He rushed forward to grab her, but again a dark cloud overwhelmed him and he was dragged back.

He stood up, facing another boggart. This one wasn't Lord Voldemort. It was a death eater. It stood staring at him through the skeletal face mask. Slowly, the robed figure reached up to remove the mask. Barnaby braced himself, ready to face his father. But when the death eater took off the mask, he found himself looking not into his father's eyes, but his own.

"No!" he shouted. The Barnaby Death Eater laughed. With great effort, he waved his shaking wand. "Riddikulus!" The boggart shrieked as the robes and mask vanished, leaving a Barnaby standing in nothing but his underwear. Barnaby forced out a laugh as the boggart attempted to cover itself, its face red with embarrassment. There was a loud crack, and the boggart was gone.

He ran back to Sarah at the same time as the others. Judging by the looks on their faces, they'd just had to battle their worst fears as well. Sarah's feet touched the floor, and her eyes flashed open.

"What happened?" she asked, seeing their worried faces.

"I don't know," said Tulip. "You were floating in the air. Then more boggarts came. What was that about?"

Sarah wiped sweat from her forehead. "I heard Jacob's voice again. He told me it had already gotten inside me. Then, I had to fight another You-Know-Who. But I guess this time, it was in my head."

"We should get out of here," said Tulip. "Before any boggarts come back, in your head or otherwise."

"No," she said. "I'm not leaving until I get what I came for." She turned and placed her hand on the casket. Nothing happened.

"I don't understand. Last time, all I had to do was touch it."

Tulip stepped forward to examine the casket. "There's something written here," she said. "It says, 'To open, a wizard must make the ultimate sacrifice.'" She turned back to them, her face drained of color. "Do we have to die to open it?"

"No," said Sarah slowly. "I think it means we've got to give up magic. Jacob understood."

"What does that mean?" asked Rowan.

"Jacob's wand was broken. I assumed they snapped it when he was expelled, but what if he broke it himself to open the vault?"

"So, one of us has to break our wand?" asked Barnaby. They looked around at each other uneasily. No one was eager to volunteer.

Sarah reached into the pocket of her robes. "I've still got Jacob's broken wand," she said, pulling the two pieces out. "Let's hope this will work."

Again, she placed her hand against the column, this time pressing the pieces of wand into it. The casket opened, revealing sparkling golden light that made everything seem much less scary. Sarah stepped forward and grabbed something inside it.

"What is it?" asked Rowan.

"A map and...an arrow?"

"Let's look at them somewhere else," said Tulip. "If those boggarts don't come back soon, Pince or Snape will."

They were all extremely glad to leave the vault behind.