Harry Potter: The Golden Viper

0402 The Last Room

The legend of the Deathly Hallows was neither a widely circulated story nor a closely guarded secret in the wizarding world.

Bryan had read "The Tales of Beedle the Bard," a famous wizarding children's book, during his time at Hogwarts. He wasn't particularly interested in the stories themselves but read them purely to deepen his understanding of the Wizarding world. 

The tale of the three brothers, which contained the origins of the Deathly Hallows, had initially failed to leave a lasting impression on Bryan. In a world brimming with magical wonders and extraordinary feats, this particular story seemed to blend into the background, lost amidst a sea of similar other tales of cunningly outwitting powerful beings. He had dismissed it as just another fable, designed to impart moral lessons to impressionable young minds.

Years passed, and Bryan's magical journey took him far beyond the walls of Hogwarts. It was during one such commission in Germany that Bryan's perspective on the Deathly Hallows underwent a dramatic shift.

In this region, the tale had taken on a life of its own. It wasn't just a common bedtime story or a moral fable; it had evolved into an obsession that gripped the imaginations of witches and wizards alike. The search for the three legendary artifacts – the Elder Wand of unparalleled power, the Invisibility Cloak that could shield one from even Death's gaze, and the Resurrection Stone that could bring back the dead.

Bryan found himself both intrigued and confused by the eagerness with which the local magical community pursued these mythical objects. 

As he spent time his time among them, Bryan couldn't help but recall an old saying.

Where there's smoke, there's fire.

Despite this realization and the tantalizing possibility that these powerful Mythical objects might actually exist, Bryan made a conscious decision not to join the frenzied search.

This was because pursuing these powerful alchemical objects didn't align with his magical philosophy. To him, all the Deathly Hallows combined were less valuable than a single book that could provide deep insights into the evolution of spell structures.

However, fate had a way of intertwining even the most disparate threads of magical lore.

In a twist that Bryan could never have anticipated, he learned that these items had appeared in the era when Herpo was active and appeared in the memory that Ravenclaw and Gryffindor had deliberately showed him.

Bryan took a long deep look at the manuscript on the table before following the two founders into the final room.

"Whoa!"

As they walked into the last of this series of secret chambers, Sirius immediately exclaimed in awe.

Gone were the stone walls and flickering torches of the previous chambers. In their place stretched an endless expanse of star-studded darkness, a perfect replica of the night sky in all its celestial glory. The ground beneath their feet wasn't solid brick or stone, but an unfathomable void. The abrupt transition from enclosed spaces to this boundless cosmic vista was shocking.

Bryan raised his head, gazing at the dreamlike galaxy in the far distance. Squinting at the fleeting, brilliant stars, he pondered thoughtfully,

"This starry sky doesn't seem to be fake,"

Sirius, still struggling to grasp the magnitude of what he was witnessing, turned to Bryan with wide eyes. "What do you mean, Bryan?" he asked eagerly, a hint of childlike excitement creeping into his voice. "Are you saying we've been teleported into the universe?!"

Bryan shook his head, his brow furrowed in concentration. "No, I mean this room seems to be mirroring the real sky outside. There's no mistake; the positions and trajectories of the stars are real."

He paused, his mind racing through possible explanations for this extraordinary feat of magic. "But why would Herpo do this? What's the point of this?"

As Bryan pondered these questions, he became deeply aware of the surreal nature of their surroundings. The magic at work here was unlike anything he had encountered before. It didn't just create an illusion of the night sky; it seemed to have expanded the room to mirror the vast expanse of the cosmos.

The ground beneath their feet, or rather the absence of it, added another layer of disorientation to their experience. Instead of solid stone or earth, they appeared to be standing on an unfathomable void. The sensation was unnerving, to say the least, as if they were suspended in the depths of space with nothing but magic preventing them from plummeting into the abyss.

Ravenclaw was the first to test the boundaries of this extraordinary space. With a determined glint in her eye, she took a step forward, then another, moving away from the group and towards the upper right of Bryan's position. To everyone's amazement, she appeared to be walking on the the sky itself.

"What have you found, Rowena?" Gryffindor called out, his voice a mixture of curiosity and concern. Without hesitation, he moved to follow her, his bold nature overriding any worry he might have felt.

As they ventured further into this cosmic expanse, the true scale of the magic at work became apparent. The dazzling galaxies and nebulae that had initially captivated their attention now seemed impossibly distant, separated from them by light-years of cold, empty space. The immediate vicinity was dominated by an all-encompassing darkness, broken only by the faint, distant twinkle of stars.

This place was almost identical to the real universe. Bryan found that even after walking for a while, he had no sense of progress or movement. The darkness around them remained constant, unchanging, creating an illusion of stasis that wreaked havoc with his perception of time and space.

If this wasn't an illusion – and Bryan's instincts told him it wasn't – then the implications were staggering. The room they had entered must have been expanded to an unimaginable extent.

As they continued their seemingly endless journey through this magical cosmos, the oppressive nature of their surroundings began to take its toll. The boundless darkness, broken only by distant, unreachable points of light, created a sense of isolation and insignificance that weighed heavily on their minds. Even Gryffindor, known for his unwavering courage, seemed passive by the overwhelming vastness of their environment.

Sirius, in particular, was struggling with the oppressive atmosphere. He had been desperately trying to maintain his composure, but the never-ending darkness and the feeling of being lost in an infinite void were pushing him to the brink of panic. His eyes darted frantically from one point to another, searching for anything that might break the monotony of their surroundings.

It was in this state of near-desperation that Sirius's keen eyes caught a glimmer of something different in the distance. At first, he thought it might be a trick of the light or his imagination playing cruel games with his tense mind. But as they drew closer, the object became more distinct, reflecting the faint starlight in a way that set it apart from the endless void.

"There's something over there!" Sirius called out, his voice cracking with a mixture of relief and excitement.

Bryan, who had been worn out by this seemingly endless journey, quickly locked his gaze on the object that had caught Sirius's attention. As the shape became clearer, he felt a wave of relief wash over him, grateful for any break in the monotonous expanse of darkness.

Standing alone in the void, as if it had been waiting for them was an altar.

As they approached, Bryan quickly assessed the structure. Its design was hauntingly familiar, similar to the altar he had encountered in the central temple of Avalon Island, where the mystical Caduceus had been enshrined. It exuded an ancient historical aura in its simplicity. Apart from this, there was nothing particularly noteworthy about the altar. What truly aroused curiosity was the object standing upon it.

A doorway. Or more accurately, an archway.

The archway appeared to have been cleaved from a single, massive stone. There were no seams on its rough surface, giving it an extremely simple and ancient appearance.

What truly set this archway apart, however, were the tattered curtains that hung from its curve. These dark, transparent veils seemed to possess a life of their own. Despite the complete absence of wind or any discernible air current in their cosmic surroundings, the curtains floated and swayed gently, as if moved by unseen hands. The sight was both mesmerizing and deeply unsettling.

As they gathered around the altar, a palpable chill settled over the group. Even Gryffindor, renowned for his boldness and often reckless courage, approached the archway with visible caution. His broad face, usually set in an expression of confident determination, now showed lines of concern as he climbed the stone steps leading to the altar.

Gryffindor stood before the doorway; his brows furrowed in concentration as he stared intently at the opening. The space within the arch was not, as one might expect, a continuation of the starry void that surrounded them. Instead, it was filled with a thick, impenetrable darkness that seemed to absorb all light and hope. This was not merely an absence of light, but a presence of something else entirely sending shivers down their spines.

After a moment's consideration, Gryffindor drew his sword, slowly pointing its tip towards the darkness within the doorway.

Just as the tip of the sword was about to breach the veil of darkness, Ravenclaw's voice cut through the silence. "Don't do that, Godric," she said, her tone carrying a note of warning. "Unless you want to lose your sword."

Gryffindor, known for his impulsive nature, surprised them by heeding Ravenclaw's advice. He slowly withdrew his sword, a look of intrigue replacing the determination on his face. "Hmm—" he pondered, his eyes never leaving the archway. "A very interesting feeling, Rowena. Nothing has ever made me feel this way before. It's as if I'm facing—"

"Death—" Ravenclaw finished his sentence, her voice barely above a whisper. She had moved to stand beside Gryffindor, her gaze fixing on the darkness within the doorway.

"Ah, death—" Gryffindor repeated, a smile appearing at the corners of his mouth. The wariness in his eyes had disappeared, replaced by a spark of intense interest. "Death is an adventure worth looking forward to."

While Gryffindor seemed to find the prospect of facing death exhilarating, not everyone shared his enthusiasm. Sirius, who had been hesitant to approach the altar from the beginning, now stood rooted to the spot on the stone steps, unwilling to take the final step that would bring him closer to the archway.

"This door gives me a bad feeling—" Sirius muttered, his face contorted in an expression of deep discomfort and fear. He looked at the stone door as if it might suddenly spring to life and swallow him whole.

Bryan nodded in understanding, empathizing with Sirius's uneasiness.

Since it was a door, it should lead somewhere. So, where exactly did this door lead to?

"This doorway is unusual. There should be records of it. Rowena, have you come across any mention of it in your books?"

Ravenclaw shook her head, her brow furrowed in concentration. She stepped forward, slowly approaching the doorway. She reached out, her slender wrist brushing aside the floating veil that partially obscured the archway. As the dark fabric parted, it exposed the top of the door to everyone's view, revealing a detail that had previously gone unnoticed.

There, on the lintel of the archway, were three shallow dents. These indentations were far from uniform, each differing in size, shape, and depth. The irregularity of these markings stood in stark contrast to the otherwise smooth surface of the stone, drawing the eye and piquing their curiosity.

Gryffindor, his interest thoroughly captured, leaned in closer. His eyes narrowed as he examined the indentations.

"This is—" he began, but found himself at a loss for words to describe what he was seeing.

Ravenclaw, however, seemed to have already pieced together the puzzle. Her voice was calm as she spoke.

"They should be coordinates—"

Gryffindor looked at her, waiting for her to elaborate. Ravenclaw's eyes never left the archway as she continued, "Obviously, only when we find the coordinates and embed them here will the door truly open, revealing the world behind it to us."

"What if we just barge in?"

This question came from Sirius, and the only one present who could answer him was Bryan.

"It's hard to say—"

Bryan's gaze had never left the archway since its discovery. Hearing Sirius's question, his eyes flickered.

"According to Ravenclaw's explanation, this is a... you can understand it as a portkey. Without the proper coordinates accidentally falling into the world behind the door would likely result in being banished to the void. It could be the cold, desolate outer space, or a world filled with spatial turbulence. Full of uncertainties. In short, accidentally falling in would probably lead to death."

A shudder ran through Sirius at these words. He retreated further down the stone steps, putting as much distance between himself and the ominous doorway as possible. In that moment, he made a silent vow to himself: if he ever encountered this type of thing again in the future, he would absolutely keep his distance.

"I want to take this door back with us—"

Rowena Ravenclaw suddenly made a shocking decision. She looked at Gryffindor.

"I have a feeling that this door is as crucial to us as destroying those evil creatures on the island. Since we can't destroy those creatures for now, we must at least ensure that this door remains safe until those creatures are annihilated."

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