With a loud crash, Harry tumbled to the ground. He cursed, and stayed down in a prone position. The journey at incredible speed had taken a toll on him; he felt nauseated and disoriented. Still, the feeling of his wand clutched in his hand gave him a small sense of comfort.
He closed his eyes and let the feeling of sickness subside. After nearly five years of travelling by Floo once in a while, this was definitely the worse.
There was a bright, white flash and Hermione appeared a few steps to his perpetual right. She teetered too, and lay down with a very loud clash. The chamber seemed to magnify sounds a hundred times.
"Are you all right?" Harry asked. His voice seemed raw and rasping.
"Yeah. Just dizzy is all." grunted Hermione.
"It'll pass. Might as well have a bit of a lie in, it'll take a while for everyone else to arrive."
And Harry was right. It took nearly a full hour by his estimate before everyone arrived. Dumbledore was apparently the only being in the room that was not affected by the dizzying effects of the harrowing trip.
However, he showed no impatience and let everyone rest as much as they wanted. Predictably, Harry was impatient and wanted to depart as soon as possible, but Dumbledore would have none of it and politely explained that it might have been a better idea to wait until everyone was at the top of their potential.
So it was another fifteen minutes later until Hagrid's (the second to last to arrive)head had cleared sufficiently to continue on.
Anxious, Harry nearly ran out the exit portal, felt his body come apart painlessly and stitched back piece by piece. He emerged in a very dim corridor with little illumination, the only lighting emanating from several patches of green-glowing minerals embedded in the walls.
Too anxious to wait for the others, Harry hurried out and stumbled on a protruding bit of rock. He saw daylight and ran out ahead.
Harry was nearly blinded from the sunlight, and shielded his eyes until they adjusted. Only then it was clear of the glorious sight he was looking upon.
Four pyramids set a square around a smaller courtyard with abundant vegetation. A path led out from his place of arrival to a small, wooded pool. It was perfectly square and paved.
Harry's heart began to beat a tattoo against his chest.
WoW account expied. srug This generally means I'll be writing a lot more.
Ron stepped out too.
"Whoa."
Even though he had never seen it in his dreams, or any pictures until this moment, Harry sensed an instinctive knowledge that this place was ancient and was to be respected.
There was an unfamiliar prescence all about the place, like a whispering shadow. However, it was invisible. Yet Harry could sense their presence somehow. Were these the guardians? If so, they hadn't done anything to restrict their passage yet.
One by one, the rest came. Harry was inclined to rush ahead before, but Ron had wisely stepped in.
"We don't know what's down there yet."
"You don't know what's down there yet." Harry had corrected.
"True," said Ron amusedly. "But I don't feel like rushing off ahead. Too dangerous. Too many unknowns."
So Harry, with a resignated sigh, had sat down to await the rest.
It took another fifteen minutes, and Harry was most glad to be moving on. However, he was not at the forefront as he would've liked.
They now crowded the edge of the small pool. It looked and even sounded realistic. But Dumbledore strode in easily and at waist level gestured for them to follow.
Harry nearly bowled over Ron getting up.
Sure enough, the water was only an illusion. Still, the water casted glowing lights that danced around the space underneath the pool.
"So." Harry said out loud. The small chamber seemed to magnify his voice. "So, I guess we go that way."
He pointed to a passageway with stairs leading down.
Dumbledore nodded, and cautiously lit the way with his wand.
Harry was impatient with the slow pace that they were making, but locked it away. All things would come in time.
Finally, they emerged out into the magnificent hallway that dwarfed all others that Harry had been in. It seemed the size of a regulation-size Quidditch pitch.
As in his dreams, Harry saw the huge columns of emerald light and the dancing spirals that illuminated the huge anteroom easily. And Harry saw the glowing-green runes that covered the floor, so many.
He realised that he and Dumbledore were the only ones walking. Everyone else was transfixed in awe. Harry couldn't blame them. The sight was incredible, it was legendary.
However understanding he was of their reactions, he was very keen to move on.
"Come on, let's move." he said quietly.
Hermione gazed at him. "Oh, Harry, do you know what this - (she indicated the runed words) - is?"
"Course not." Harry said impatiently.
"This is the entire history of magic, Harry. Right from day one!"
Harry looked around. "No wonder there are so many words...but how can you tell?"
"Because there are events in history engraven here. Old history. Discoveries. Disasters."
"How could the Egyptians know before we did?" Harry said, puzzled. By 'we', he meant the four co-founders of Hogwarts.
"They could've gotten it from Godric." Ron suggested.
"Let's move on." Moody growled restlessly.
Moody's words were like a splash of water in the face. They had an objective, and Harry was still more anxious to retrieve it. It had nothing to do with selfishness for all that power. No, he wanted to end the war. Let everyone have a peaceful life. Stop the suffering.
The sooner, the better.
"There, 'Arry?" Hagrid grunted, pointing his enormous finger toward the arch at the end of the gigantic hall.
"Yes." said Harry, who started walking. Everyone followed, and Dumbledore gently reminded him that he should not be in the forefront.
So Harry fell behind and lost himself in his thoughts.
So he was here at last. Harry wasn't sure whether to feel apprehensive; it wouldn't have been a bad idea to do so. One could never be too cautious when descending into the unknown.
The prescence was making itself known again. Harry looked at his companions, but if they also felt it, they gave no indication. Harry nudged Ron next to him.
"Can you feel them?" Harry whispered.
"Feel who?"
"There's something else in here other than us."
Ron's helmet twisted, looking around.
"Well, I can't see anyone."
"No, I can't see either, but you can feel them."
Ron walked in silence, and Harry had no doubt that Ron was extending his awareness of their surroundeds. After several moments, he shook his head.
So he was the only one who knew of whatever was guarding the Pyramid. An unbidden memory floated up from his subconscious.
Hearing voices no one else can isn't a good sign, even in the wizarding world.
But these were no voices he heard.
They passed through the archway, and were instantly cast into darkness.
Someone panicked behind him, ran into Harry's back, and crashed to the floor with a squeal. Hermione.
Everyone froze, unsure of what to do next. There were several attempts to light wands, but nothing penetrated the darkness.
"We must rely on you now, Harry." Dumbledore's deep voice came. "If I am correct, I believe that you are the only one who has felt the Tidal Guardian at your back?"
Harry nodded, the total blackness hiding his suprise.
"Then extend your awareness...let go of your physical form, and let your mind wander where it will. That is where we go next."
Harry, at first, was of course skeptical. But he cleared his mind and extended his mind elsewhere, willing it to take him somewhere. It was like being back into Occlumency lessons.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, he began to move. Yet no one was possessing him. Harry just knew where to go.
"Follow me." his voice said. It sounded far away.
WOW! I found this site yesterday, and joined just so I could compent on your thread. I love it so much that I was wondering when the movie was coming out. Then I remembered that there wasn't going to be a movie. I have never liked writing before, but now because of you i feel like writing my own seventh book, though it will never be as good as yours. I hope you update soon, finish this book and start working on seven. Thanks for the great read!