Wishmaster

Chapter Twelve - The House Of Gaunt

The rain in Little Hangleton was pelting down heavily, and it battered Harry and Luna as soon as they apeared on the corner of the narrow, empty street. Pulling his hood further down over his face, Harry looked around. The houses on either side of them were whitewashed and looked old, as did the cobbled road next to where the two teens stood.

Looking up the street and up into the wild country beyond, Harry felt a shudder of excitment course through him. The hills crouched around the village like vast sleeping animals, and perched atop the one before him, outlined against the dark clouds of the sky, was Riddle Manor.

Grabbing Luna's arm, he pointed eagerly up at the brooding outline as she jumped and turned to look at him. Luna raised her hand to shelter her eyes and then looked questioningly at him.

"We're going to sleep in there?" She asked warrily.

Harry shook his head.

"No, there's a smaller house on the grounds." He said, looking up at the dark stucture "The man who lived there didn't have any friends or family, I think."

Luna raised her eyebrow, looking puzzled.

"How do you know all this?"

"I'll tell you when we get there. We're getting soaked, in case you haven't noticed."

Luna rolled her eyes and they set off up the street. Soon the row of whitewashed houses gave way to a gravel pathway surrounded on both sides by thick hedges. Above them the sky darkened and they said little as they trudged up the road with their heads bowed against the wind driven downpour. Harry tried to spend this time absorbed in the simple activity of putting one foot in front of the other, but as the sight of gravel passing under his boots became tedius and the rain soaked through his clothes, he found himself disconnecting from the present.

Why had they tried to take the stone from him? He bit his lip as a bitter pang of betrayel coursed though him for the first time since he and Luna had left the black sanded beach next to Shell Cottage. They had believed in the stone, just as much as he had, he realised. But then why did they try to get rid of it? Had they believed in all three of the Hallows? Had they been afraid of what Harry might do once he united them? Dedjectedly he trudged on, his body becoming more numb as his emotions became less. Gradually he became increasingly aware of the Stone around his neck, the Cloak in his pocket and the Wand inside his jacket. He was already wearing the Stone, what if he pulled out the Wand and put on the Cloak...

No. He didn't want power, that was what had turned Voldemort into what he was.
Shaking himself out of his reverie, he noticed that he was breathing more heavily and that the ground was steeper. Looking up, the wall ahead caught his eye.


It was the wall of a grey stone hut: squat and dirty. Years of grime covered the wall and either through vandalism or by a strong wind, the windows were now gaping holes which stared out blindly. The bit of the garden that Harry could see spoke of unknown years of neglect and what few remaining bits of roof he could see were on the verge of collapse.

Harry stood staring at the place where all the bad things in his life had ultimately started. Then, making up his mind, he abruptly strode up to the gate.

"Harry?" He looked round to see Luna waiting a little further up the road for him.

"This house is important." He told her, then, not waiting for an answer, he pushed the gate open.

Thorns grabbed and scratched at his jeans as he wadded through the tangle of undergrowth that had taken over since the garden had last been tended. Reaching the doorframe he saw that the door had at some point been handled with extreme force and was now lying comicly flat on the floor like something out of a cartoon. From a nearby tree, a crow squacked loudly. Harry looked round, suddenly aware of a lingering watchfulness around the house, as if some long time guardian had just recently departed.

Carefully, he stepped over the door and into the hovel.

The room inside seemed bigger than when he had last seen it, or maybe that was because most of the furniture was gone. The stove still remained, a small, buckled, rusty shape hunched in the corner where Merope Gaunt had once worked to prvide food for her father and brother. There was a scrabbling outside as Luna fought her way through the thorn bushes after him, stepping over the fallen door, she looked around doubiusly as he stepped into one of the other tiny, filthy rooms.

"Is THIS where were going to sleep?" Luna asked, a rare hint of increduality in her voice.

"No," said Harry from the doorway of the third room in the house."But this is where the Gaunts lived."

Harrys voice was slightly muffled now and Luna heard a loud thump as if he had suddenly jumped into the air. Turning and crossing to the doorway through which he had gone, she clutched what was left of the wood and gave a small gasp. Harry turned and looked up at her, grinning. He was standing on a ledge, at leist four feet below her. Below him, another four feet down, was another ledge. Carefully, she leaned forward and peered downwards.
What she saw made her pull herself back, hands almost slipping on the damp wood of the frame.

" Careful!" Harry ejaculated, gripping an outjutting stone and standing ready to catch her.

Closing her eyes for a moment, Luna knelt before looking over the edge again.

The room wasn't a room, it was a shaft.

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Authors note - Sorry about the lateness/shortness of this chapter, theres been another fic in my head for a while and its starting to get in the way of this one.

Thanks to all the people who have rated so far, means alot.