Together (A Harry Potter love story) 2

56

MILLIES POV

It was like rushing down an endless, slimy, dark slide. I could see more pipes branching off in all directions, but none as large as mine, which twisted and turned, sloping steeply downwards, and I knew that I was falling deeper below the school than even the dungeons. Behind me, I could hear Harry and Ron, thudding slightly at the curves.

And then, just as I had begun to worry about what would happen when I hit the ground, the pipe levelled out, and I was shot out of the end with a wet thud, landing on the damp floor of a dark stone tunnel, large enough to stand in. Lockhart was getting to his feet a little way away, covered in slime and white as a ghost. I went to follow, but was soon knocked back down.

I looked up to see myself face to face with Harry. His arms were either side of my face on the floor, and his nose was very close to mine, almost touching. My eyes met his, my heartbeat increasing rapidly. I expected him to move, to do something - but he just stayed there, his eyes scanning my face. My stomach flipped as I lay there, completely clueless to what was happening.

Harry smiled - but it wasn't one of his usual smug ones, or a smirk - it was a soft one, his lips slightly parted. My lips curved upwards too.

"Mills...ouch!"

Ron had landed on top of us both, and I quickly placed my hands flat against Harry's chest, and with a shove, the boys had fallen backwards onto the floor.

"Sorry," Ron mumbled, stumbling up and looking around. "Bloody hell, we must be miles under the school."

"Under the lake, probably," Harry said, his voice echoing in the black tunnel.

I tried not to look at him - what the bloody hell just happened. Instead, I turned to stare into the darkness ahead.

"Lumos," I muttered to my wand and it lit again.

"C'mon," Harry said, and off we went, our footsteps slapping loudly on the wet floor.

The tunnel was so dark that we could only see a little distance ahead, even when Harry lit his wand too. Our shadows on the wet walls looked monstrous in the wandlight.

"Remember," Harry said quietly, as we walked cautiously forward, "any sign of movement, close your eyes straight away..."

But the tunnel was quiet as the grave, and the first unexpected sound I heard was a loud crunch which turned out to be a rat's skull. I lowered my wand to looked at the floor and saw that it was littered with small animal bones. Trying very hard not to imagine what Ginny might look like if we found her, I continued walking forward, round a dark bend in the tunnel.

"Harry, there's something up there," said Ron hoarsely, grabbing my shoulder.

I froze, watching. I could just see the outline of something huge and carved, lying right across the tunnel. It wasn't moving.

"Maybe it's asleep," I breathed, glancing back at the other three. Lockhart's hand were pressed over his eyes. "You are the complete opposite of who I thought you were, by the way," I added to him, shaking my head. He didn't react, so I turned back to look at the thing, my heart beating so fast it hurt.

Very slowly, my eyes as narrow as I could make them and still see, I edged forward, my wand held high.

The light slid over a gigantic snake skin, of a vivid, poisonous green, lying curled and empty across the tunnel floor.

"It must be at least twenty feet long," I whispered.

"Blimey," said Ron weakly.

There was a sudden movement behind us. Lockhart's knees had given way.