The Labyrinth

Warnings: Angst,AU/AR,Crossover,H/C,Language,M/M (slash in later chapters), OOC-ness only to the extent that it fits the movie and plot

Author's note--The title of the movie scene that corresponds with this chapter is "Upping the Stakes". I added the rest because it describes this chapter better. (I seriously considered ending the chapter with "RUN!"...but that would've meant cutting the scene in half, so I did not. You are welcome.) :P Happy reading!

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The Labyrinth

Azkaban, House False Alarms, Upping the Stakes, and Blast-Ended Skrewts

Unbeknownst to him, Lord Voldemort was watching Harry’s progress while lounging on his throne. He had grown tired of stroking Draco’s face and had deposited the bound boy onto the ground at his feet. He was surrounded by Death Eaters who would step up to stroke Draco every once in a while, but who paid attention to the Dark Lord’s every movement.

“He’s in Azkaban!” Voldemort huffed angrily. All of the Death Eaters began to roar with laughter. “Shut up! He should NOT have gotten as far as Azkaban! He should have given up by now!” The room fell silent; none of the Death Eaters or Draco moved a muscle.

“He’ll never give up,” one of the Death Eaters ventured. Voldemort’s head snapped up sharply, and they all held their breaths. His eyes narrowed, and his hand dropped to Draco’s head. Draco tensed, expecting to be struck.

“Won’t he? The Mudblood is about to lead him back to the beginning,” Voldemort proclaimed. “He’ll soon give up when he realizes he has to start all over again!” The Dark Lord threw his head back and laughed for about half a second before he realized that the room was still silent.

“Well, laugh…” he gestured impatiently. The room broke out into hysterics, and Voldemort chuckled as his palm brushed roughly over Draco’s hair. The blonde let out a silent sigh of relief, though he wasn’t able to relax as long as the Dark Lord’s hand was still on him. He forced back the tears as he realized the inevitable; surely Harry would give up now!

* * * * *

Harry was still sitting in the dark, brooding, when he heard footsteps. He sat up nervously.

“Who’s there?” His voice was quivering.

“Me,” came a familiar sound that Harry couldn’t quite place. He heard a muttered incantation, and floating candles around the hole lit up. Harry blinked. It was Hermione!

“I knew you were going to get into trouble,” she chirped. “So I’ve come to give you a hand. Oh, you’re looking around now. I suppose you’ve noticed that there are no doors, only the hole. This is Azkaban. The labyrinth is full of them.”

“I didn’t know that,” he said, indeed, looking at his surroundings. Harry ignored her know-it-all tone.

“You don’t even know what Azkaban is,” she challenged. Harry looked at her. Hermione had her hands on her hips, and her head was cocked to one side.

“Do you?” Harry replied, facing her directly.

“Yes,” she smiled humorlessly. “It’s a place you put people to FORGET ABOUT THEM.” Harry blinked; she sounded like that should affect him, so he tried not to visibly react. “What you’ve got to do is get out of here. I happen to know a shortcut…” Harry looked at her hopefully. “Out of the whole labyrinth from here.” She smiled winningly.

“No way!” He cried, his shoulders sagging in defeat even though his voice tried to sound confident. “I’m not giving up now! I’ve come too far! No, I’m doing okay.” He tried to reassure himself. He felt a hand on his arm, and he looked into Hermione’s brown eyes peering intently at him. He saw concern reflected there for the first time.

“Of course you are,” she affirmed quietly. “But it gets a whole lot worse from here on in.” The abrupt personality shift from being condescending to supportive made Harry’s head spin.

“Why are you so concerned about me?”

“Well, I am, that’s all,” Hermione said defensively. She backed off, seeming flustered. “Nice young guy; terrible black piece of Azkaban.” Harry smiled, getting a surge of inspiration.

“You like books, don’t you?” He noticed that she had smudgy fingers, as if from the ink on the pages. She had a few bookmarks sticking out of one of her pants pockets, and Harry saw the small book carrier that strapped to her belt, with a few small books bound in it.

“Why?” She looked at him suspiciously, her hand closing over her book strap. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his copy of Hogwarts: A History and removed the charms. The book expanded with a POOF, and he didn’t miss the gleam that entered into Hermione’s eye as she stared at it.

“If you help me solve the labyrinth, I’ll give you this,” he wheedled, holding the book up. She was practically drooling as she reached out to run her finger over the cover gently. “You like it, don’t you?”

“Uh, so-so,” she sniffed, shaking her head and realizing that she was being way too obvious. She turned her back, crossing her arms.

“Oh, okay,” Harry shrugged nonchalantly, lifting his wand to re-Shrink and Lighten the book again when Hermione stilled his hand.

“Tell you what,” she smiled like a Slytherin. “You give me the book, and I’ll show you the way out of the labyrinth.” She grinned as if she had made a great discovery, holding her hand out. Harry’s mouth dropped open as she took it from him.

“You were going to do that anyway!” He accused. She shrugged.

“Well, that’s what would make it a particularly nice gesture on your part,” she purred, running her hand over the cover lovingly as she tried to fit it into her book strap and failed. Harry stopped her.

“Look,” he said. “If you can’t take me to the center, then take me as far as you can. Then I’ll do it on my own.” Hermione looked back down at the book.

“What book is this, anyway?” She asked, peering at the title.

“Hogwarts: A History,” Harry told her. She licked her lips.

“Ohh. I’m not promising anything,” she whispered, leaning in conspiratorially. “But I’ll take you as far as I can; then you’re on your own, right?”

“Right.” Harry smiled, shrinking the book for her so that it fit into her book strap. She looked up at him with a smile that could have lit a thousand Azkabans. Even as she walked over to the far wall, her hand kept drifting down to pat her new book.

“A History,” he heard her repeat in an awed voice, and it made him shake his head. She began rummaging around under a blanket that was on the ground beside the far wall. “Ah-ha! Here we go!” She unearthed a narrow wooden door and stuck it to the wall, fastening the knob on one side; she opened it with a flourish, smiling back at him, and then her face fell as several Cleansweeps and Comets fell out.

“Oh, damn! Broom closet,” she explained, picking the fallen brooms up, shoving them back into the closet, and shrugging in a self-deprecating manner. “Can’t be right ALL the time.” Harry rolled his eyes, watching her switch the knob to the other side. “This is it. Come on, then.” Harry’s mouth dropped open as the door revealed a narrow passage. Hermione stepped in, motioning for him to follow.

* * * * *

The passage led into a small pathway with large rock formations for walls. The rocks were in the shapes of faces, and Harry couldn’t help but look from side to side as they went along.

“This way,” Hermione said, pointing.

“Don’t go on!” Harry jumped a mile as the rock face he just passed spoke to him. He looked back at it, and Seamus Finnegan stared at him shamelessly. Hermione took him by the wrist and continued to lead him past the other faces.

“Go back while you still can,” Dean Thomas, another rock face, warned.

“This is not the way!” Cedric Diggory tried to look stern and commanding.

“Take heed, and go no further!” Not even Michael Corner’s ominous warning deterred Hermione as she dragged Harry past them.

“Beware! Beware!” was Gregory Goyle’s only line, said in a low and raspy voice, but his eyes followed Harry around the corner.

“Soon it will be too late,” Vincent Crabbe grunted as they passed. Harry finally jerked his hand away from Hermione, having a hard time swallowing with his dry mouth.

“Ignore them,” Hermione stopped and turned around to allay Harry’s fears. “They’re just House false alarms. You get them in the labyrinth, especially when you’re on the right track.”

“Oh no, you’re not!” Theo Nott tried to sound threatening. Hermione waved her hand at him dismissively.

“Oh shut up,” she said.

“Sorry, just doing my job,” Theo apologized. Neville Longbottom was the last rock face they had yet to walk by, and he—in his opinion—had the best line that made anyone and everyone turn and run. They were about to walk by, and he took a deep breath.

“Beware, for the—”

“Just forget it,” Hermione cut Neville off, glaring at him intensely. Neville immediately looked abashed and put out.

“Oh, please? I haven’t said it for such a long time!” He begged. Hermione sighed, rolling her eyes at Harry.

“Oh, fine. Just don’t expect a big reaction.”

“No, no, no, of course not!” Neville cleared his throat. “Beware, for the path you take will lead to certain destruction! Thank you very much.” Suddenly a crystal ball, much like the one Lord Voldemort offered Harry back in the bathroom at Hogwarts, rolled by.

“Uh-oh,” Harry said, hurrying to follow it. It rolled of its own accord out of the House false alarms’ path, across an empty room, and hopped up into the cup of a beggar crouched by the far wall. Harry ventured forward to examine the beggar’s still form, Hermione clutching his arm fearfully, her eyes wide.

“What have we here?” They both jumped at the beggar’s cackle.

“Uh, nothing,” Hermione squeaked, pulling Harry behind her and spreading her arms out as if she could hide him. The beggar stood, and the old blanket fell off to reveal Lord Voldemort. Harry heard Hermione swallow audibly.

“Nothing? Nothing? Nothing, Mudblood, nothing?”

“My Lord, what a nice surprise!” Hermione’s fear was evident in her voice.

“Hello, Her-mee-own,” he said.

“Air-mee-own,” Harry corrected. Hermione growled again. Harry was starting to get the idea that no one remembered her name or pronounced it correctly.

“Her-MY-oh-nee!” She exclaimed. Lord Voldemort put his hand on Hermione’s shoulder, and she began to tremble.

“Hermione, are you helping this boy?” he asked acidly.

“H-H-Helping? In what sense?” she stumbled over her words.

“In the sense that you’re leading him toward the Manor,” Voldemort said. Hermione shook her head frantically.

“No, no! I was taking him back to the beginning, my Lord,” she stated. Harry’s mouth dropped open.

“What?” His enraged outburst was ignored.

“I told him that I would help him solve the labyrinth,” she explained eagerly. “A little trickery on my part. But actually—”

“Hermione, what is that new book in your carrier?” Voldemort just noticed that the Mudblood’s book carrier looked different. Hermione looked down and then back up, the fear evident in her eyes and on her face as she tried to cover the book with her hands.

“Oh…this? My goodness, where did this come from?” She tried to fake not having seen it before; she was a terrible liar, and Voldemort cuffed her, driving her to her knees. Harry was too shocked to move.

“If I thought for one second that you were betraying me,” Voldemort thundered. “I’d be forced to suspend you, head-first, into St. Mungo’s Bog of Eternal Stench!” Hermione cowered, tucking her head and latching onto Voldemort’s leg.

“No, my Lord,” she pleaded frantically. “Not St. Mungo’s!”

“Oh, yes, Hermione!” Voldemort gave her a vicious kick, sending her skidding across the room. Harry watched her body with wide eyes. “And you, Harry; how are you enjoying my labyrinth?” Harry snapped his head around when the Dark Lord addressed him directly, and his green eyes burned defiantly. From across the room, Hermione held her breath.

“It’s a piece of cake,” he said, brushing his ever-messy hair out of his eyes, staring Voldemort in the face.

“Ohhh,” Hermione let her face drop into her hand in defeat. Voldemort’s eyes lit with something feral, and the 13-hour clock appeared on the wall.

“Oh really? Then how about upping the stakes?” He said, pointing to the clock and removing several hours from Harry’s time.

“That’s not fair!” Harry’s mouth dropped open, and he stamped his foot.

“You say that so often,” Voldemort sauntered closer, looking down at the angry boy. “I wonder what your basis for comparison is. So the labyrinth is a piece of cake, is it? Well, let’s see you deal with this little slice.” He crossed his palms, bringing out another crystal ball, which he showed to Harry with an evil smirk. Voldemort then turned and threw the ball down the hallway and disappeared. Harry peered down the hall, trying to figure out what the short sparks that peppered the corridor were. Hermione gasped, getting to her feet clumsily as she shot past Harry, grabbing him and pulling him with her.

“Oh no! The Blast-Ended Skrewts,” she screamed.

“What?”

“RUN!”

Harry didn’t question her as the things—the Blast-Ended Skrewts, Hermione called them—came into view, and Harry’s eyes bulged in horror. They were like gigantic scorpions with stingers that arched over their backs, and there were too many coming after them to count. He turned on his heel and ran, along with Hermione, slipping his wand into his palm. He began firing any hexes he could think of behind him, blindly, but several glances over his shoulder as he ran told him that the Skrewts had magical armor that was immune to curses, hexes, and jinxes. Hermione tripped. Harry’s heart stopped as he grabbed her arm, hauling her up, casting horrified glances over his shoulder as they got closer.

“You okay?” He called as they began running again.

“Come on!” Hermione yelled back. They ran smack into the end of the corridor: a black metal gate with a padlock. Harry pointed his wand and tried several unlocking spells that he knew, but they weren’t strong enough. Hermione, meanwhile, was panicking, rattling the gate.

“The Blast-Ended Skrewts! The Bog of Stench! You sure got his attention!” she hollered, flinging herself at the brick wall and began shoving. The wall moved slightly, but the Blast-Ended Skrewts were nearly upon them. Harry grabbed her arm and shoved her out of the way, moving to the other wall, and pointed his wand at the soft part of the wall.

“Reducto!” He cried, and a hole blasted in the wall, just large enough for Hermione and Harry to squeeze through, but the Blast-Ended Skrewts were foiled. They laid on the ground, panting, and tried to calm their racing hearts as the narrowly-avoided death sunk in. The Skrewts slinked away in search of easier prey.
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Author's note--AUGH! I'm dancing and freaking out with happiness at this chapter!!! You have no idea! In the words of Peter Pan, "OH the cleverness of me!" *calm* Okay, sorry. A couple of quick explanations.

Azkaban--I felt it was appropriate, after the fall through the Dementors, but I know it might be confusing for people who haven't seen the movie. Okay, in the movie, Sarah falls into an oubliette (I think that's how it's spelled). I am basically using "Azkaban" to mean a series of the holes that are scattered throughout the labyrinth. You can say "Azkaban" as singular or plural; it can mean one or it can mean all of them in general. I thought about using "cells in Azkaban" to describe the singular, but I just liked the one word description better.

Hogwarts: A History--in the movie, Hoggle likes jewelry; Hermione likes books. I thought it was rather clever. And now you know why I included that seemingly random scene in the first chapter about it! EEEEEE! And when Hoggle was like, "Well, can't be right all the time" and I was typing it for Hermione, I think I actually cried because it was SO ironic!

House false alarms--Yeah, okay, so I added the "House" part to make it more Harry Potter-ish. There are 3 from Gryffindor and 3 from Slytherin and 1 each from Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff. Yes, I know that Cedric Diggory is dead, and in "real life" he is still dead (as we'll see in later chapters) but he was the most well-known Hufflepuff, so I just HAD to use him. I also seriously debated whether to use Blaise or Theo as the third Slytherin. Obviously Crabbe and Goyle would be in there as bullies who are trying to tell Harry what to do. I think that Harry would be more inclined to like Theo, and therefore, imagine him as part of the labyrinth, than Blaise for these reasons:

1. Theo was one of the ones who could see thestrals, along with Harry in the Care of Magical Creatures class (and I'd think that revelation would still with Harry)
2. Blaise has a prejudice, just like Draco, against Muggle-borns, AND Blaise is more associated with Draco than Nott, who is more of a loner (and therefore not as likely to taunt Harry like Malfoy and his gang)

And since this is Harry going through the labyrinth, the people he meets are people from his world, not Draco's. Hence, no Blaise.

St. Mungo's Bog of Eternal Stench--Ooohhh I was hopping up and down with this one! You'll see why in later chapters, but just trust me on this...

Blast-Ended Skrewts--I was really torn between these or dragons. I chose these because dragons can be tamed, whereas these are more "unstoppable"...kinda like the Cleaners from the real movie.

Yami--OMG Thank you for your reviews! haha I really, really think that you will get just as much of a kick out of Hermione in this chapter that I did. *hopes* I have not heard of that anime show (I don't watch anime) but I know what you mean about Harry and Draco-izing everything! I have a couple of stories that aren't posted from when I went to Stonehenge. (ie Harry and Draco go to Stonehenge...Harry and Draco fly to Oklahoma! hahaha God, I seriously need help)

Oh god! Voldemort dancing around with Draco...NOOO! GET OUTTA MY HEAD, VOLDIE! *shudders* But...damn it...I couldn't get Jareth...dancing around with Draco...out of my mind, so *sigh* Yeah, I'm writing a supposed oneshot with Harry, Draco, and Jareth. Yes, it will be Harry/Draco in the end, and yes, Jareth is still hot and evil. Oh so hot. And oh so evil. The plot bunnies are really attacking me lately. Hmm. Probably because I have things to do. *shrug* Like move (internationally)

And yes, Harry is now in the oubliette (or Azkaban, as I've decided to call it!) :D


thrnbrooke--Thanks for reviewing! I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Maizeysugah--*squeal* Yay, the links are helping someone! Whee! That makes me happy. Thanks for telling me!

sunset20--Oh, honey, you better believe Draco has people who care about him! Just not people that he KNOWS of *sob* If only... But speaking of staring at Draco...*sigh*...working on a hot oneshot, and Draco is OH-so-sexy in it! *drool* Thanks for reviewing! I love reading your reviews!

This chapter is from the fourth segment of the movie on youtube. Here's the link (again) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbOue1SLc7k