In Darkness Unseen [Ian]

[Loren Hayes]

Loren let out a slow breath that she did not know she had been holding. The man's robes whipped over the edge of the ledge, and his echoing footsteps soon faded out, leaving Loren and Ian in a stunned silence. She gave him a look before reaching up and gently brushing the small fragments of stone from her fringe. 'That was... unexpected. Who was he exactly?' She asked as if he might know.

She jumped as another frightening cry issued forth, the door rattling for a moment on its hinges. Whatever was behind it was obviously anger - and Loren had no doubt it had something to do with the outsider. She shifted slightly to get more comfortable, kicking something small and made of metal. In the half-darkness her gaze set upon a thick heavy key, and without thinking she picked it up and pocketed it, supposing it was for the door before them.

For a moment she was hesitant to go in. What dangerous monster lurked? She reassured herself that it could not be all that bad - it had not broken down the door after all, and it sounded more like a bird than anything. Loren did not know much of magical birds and how dangerous they were, but she was prepared to find out. Reaching forward she tenderly took hold of the doorknob and turned it slowly. It squeaked gently for a moment before clicking open.

Light flooded the passage, heat from several fires blasting at them. Crawling out into the room Loren gasped, standing up and looking around in amazement. The room was very broad, a long rectangle without any windows or doors and only grand fireplaces set into the walls. She was about to speak to Ian when a deafening cry shrieked from the far end of the room, and by the firelight a strong four legged creature leaped from the shadows and came bounding toward them, flames reflecting in its enraged black eyes...

[Ian Gray]

"Definitely not a Professor..." Ian trailed off, vaguely noticing Loren bend down to pick something up, catching a glimpse of rich gold as he swivelled his head to glance in the direction of the ominous door. It continued to quiver, though only slightly, sending more crumbles of dust to lightly scatter in his hair.

Squinting through his wand light, he was just about to take a few steps forward when Loren beat him to it. Sending her a look of surprise, although she did not notice, he let himself relax a bit and followed her down the passage, turning around once to confirm the suspicious character was not lurking behind them.

The click of the door brought him back to his senses, and Ian walked slowly behind Loren, staring at the room with a pleased expression. It was very spacious and warm, with fireplaces lighting up the, otherwise barren, walls.

"Why on earth would the elves need a room like this--" Ian started, turning to Loren just as she did the same, but finding the last bit of his sentence drowned out by another furious cry. With his heart pounding in his ears, Ian spun around in the cry's direction, feeling the ground vibrate underneath his feet.

"Dear Merlin, that can't be... Not a--"

The angry snarl that cut him off concluded that it, indeed, was a,

"--Griffin." Ian said loudly, taking a few steps backwards numbly, sharp cries ringing in his ears.

Just as the Griffin approached them, Not twenty feet away, there was the loud sound of metal hitting stone and the creature abruptly stopped, snarling viciously as it clawed forward. It was then Ian noticed it was held back by study chains, keeping it hardly a safe distance away.

Turning to Loren, the loud screeching simmering down to a hissing snarl, Ian let out a sigh of relief. "Griffins." He said with a shake of his head, "Why would Hogwarts be hiding a Griffin..."

Before he even finished his sentence, his eyes brightened with excitement. "Treasure," he said shortly. "They're often used to guard treasure..." He trailed off, feeling a prickle of sweat above his brow as the fires continued to blaze hotly around them.

[Loren Hayes]

Loren bumped into Ian as she attempted to retreat in the opposite direction of the griffin, but only managed to trip over his feet and land flat on her back, an unpleasant cloud of dust rising about them.

'Ian!' Loren yelled out of shock as it came upon them...

The creature was suddenly pulled back, the sound of a chain rattling heavily. It rose up onto its hind legs as its neck was yanked backward by an iron collar, shrieking in distress. It began tossing its head about furiously, trying to throw off the collar.

'Griffin?' Loren repeated , climbing back to her feet cautiously in case the creature should try and threaten them again.

It began to pace back and forth, occasionally letting out a soft call that was much more bearable, although Loren found it to sound sad and forlorn. 'Oh, the poor thing...' She hushed with a sympathetic frown, her hands covering her mouth in upset. 'How could the teachers be so cruel as to put a lovely griffin in a room like this - and on a chain!' Without thinking Loren attempted to step toward the griffin, her arms outstretched to stroke it. She was quickly reprimanded as it snapped at her in rage and once again let out an ear-piercing screech. 'Oh, how vicious! Well... I'd be unhappy too I suppose...' She admitted reluctantly.

She noticed that Ian was looking about the room carefully, squinting into the dark corners that were not lit by the fires. 'You think there's treasure?' She asked, unable to keep the skepticism out of her voice. 'Just looks like a cage for a pet someone didn't want if you ask me.' She muttered, crossing her arms and glaring in accusation.

[Ian Gray]

Chewing his bottom lip thoughtfully, Ian glanced around the room. More than once, he found the glow of the fire create a shapely shadow, tricking his senses into believing something was there that actually wasn't. Raking a hand through his hair, slightly frustrated, he grimaced as clusters of stone and dust gathered in his palm before wiping his hand off on his robes.

Returning his attention to Loren, he nodded, "It's possible..." He trailed off, raising an eyebrow at the sullen gaze she was sending the creature. It looked as though she was sympathising, her expression one of understanding as she regarded it carefully. "Vicious is right," he said, his tone warning, as he took a few, slow, steps around the room, examining it.

A keening cry left the creature once more, as it stretched it's neck, raising it's head. Within the furious howl, there was a tone of sorrow, and it's wings send a humid wave of air their way, flapping restlessly. Ian looked back at Loren a bit reluctantly, not wanting to see her troubled expression at the animal's distress. "It's a spacious room," he said unconvincingly, nudging Loren.

Another wail echoed thorughout the room, and Ian cringed. "I don't see why that foul man would ever want to step in here, it looked as though the Griffin really tore him up." Frowning, the Gryffindor looked toward the chained beast again. "In fact, why did he even get close enough for the Griffin to claw him?"

Narrowing his eyes, Ian took a couple of steps forward, trying to peer over the Griffin's head, not noticing the glare the creature sent his way. "There must be something here," he said, walking even closer, his irrational mind not taking the fuming snarls into consideration. "And judging by the man's behaviour, he must've already found what it was the Griffin was guarding..." He paused just as a wing soared in front of him, causing him to stumble backwards with a widened gaze. Scrambling back hurriedly, the Griffin's beak snapping almost close enough to snag his robes, Ian noticed a leather strap around the creature's neck. A sac hung from it, obviously opened, and he squinted his eyes, trying to get a closer look while backing up at the same time.

Finally far away from the growling animal, Ian breathed a sigh of relief, wiping at his sweaty forehead. "And it's something small by the looks of it," he said, his voice breathless.

[Loren Hayes]

'But there's nothing in here,' Loren tutted, vexed by the ludicrousness of it all. Why had the passage led to this windowless room of all places, and why was a griffin chained up in here with nothing but dead rats for company? She glanced at them anxiously, most in several stages of decomposition. 'Its awful feeding him rotten meat... I suppose the house elves must come along that passage to feed it? You'd think they'd do their job a little better!'

Loren sighed loudly. As she stuffed her hands in her pockets, her fingers set upon something cold and smooth. She paused for a moment before slowly producing the old key she had picked up in the passage a moment ago.

The griffin reared up again, crying desperately as it spotted what was in Loren's hand. Hugging it to her chest possessively Loren backed away. 'Oh, what's wrong with it? I bet its gone mad from being locked up in the dark! How did they get it in here exactly?' She looked around the room quickly, realising the only way in and out was the passage - but that was much too small to fit an entire griffin through.

Still clutching the key to her chest defensively, Loren wandered over to the nearest fireplace. The mantle was at about the same height as Loren's head, morbid figures carved into the stonework. The appeared to be many warlocks in various distorted positions - some hunched over, crying, while others had their arms out stretched with their mouths gaping. The columns boarding it were marble snakes with great long fangs.

She then noticed something. The flames danced and roared, although nothing seemed to fuel them in the hearth. Not so much as a log or bit of ash sat in it. If it had been a magical fire there would have been ashwinders infesting the place, and it did not seem the house elves ventured down here enough to exterminate them frequently. So what kind of fire was it?

The passage had been cold, and Loren's palms were still chilly. Slipping the key back into her pocket she stretched her arms out before her and rubbed her hands together, trying to absorb some of the heat. But nothing happened. The flames were strong and near-white, but no matter how close Loren got the heat did not seem to increase. She withdrew, puzzled. Were these fires illusions?

Thoroughly spooked by the strange need for fake fires, Loren walked back to Ian, a grim look on her face. 'Now what?' She asked, absent mindedly fiddling with the key inside her pocket.

[Ian Gray]

Ian frowned as Loren dug into her pocket, producing a quick flash of silver, before the Griffin's cries grew louder and captured his attention. The strange outburst died out once again, and the Gryffindor looked toward his companion, bewildered.

"I suppose it could have gone mad, but Griffins are born to be enclosed in dark spaces, seeing as how they're destined to guard treasure." His eyebrows furrowed as he thought it over, the distant whimpering of the Griffin echoing in the windowless space. "In fact, they only start to grow so vicious when their treasure's been stolen and they've failed their... Hey, Loren?"

Noticing his rambling seemed to have been lost to the Ravenclaw, he walked over to her, raising an eyebrow. She was immersed with one of the grand fireplaces, her gaze trailing across the beautiful, though sinister, images carved onto the mantle. "It's unusual for a girl to be so captivated by this type of decor." He joked, hoping to pull her out of her reverie.

When the tips of her fingers almost brushed across the flames, he nearly grabbed for her hand, but dropped it immediately as he also felt the lack of heat. As she turned toward him, he bit his lip anxiously, thinking over her discovery.

"Now?" He moved closer to the fire, taking a deep breath, before hesitantly reaching out his hand. His fingers barely touched the blaze, before he stuck his entire hand through the illusion. "Now, I think we know how the Griffin got here in the first place."

Pulling his arm out uninjured, he leaned against the sturdy column, looking at Loren a bit disbelievingly. "Do you think all of them lead to the same place?"

[Loren Hayes]

Loren tucked her hair behind her ears and crouched just low enough to duck into the fireplace. It was bizarre to see the bright, crackling flames licking at her legs and arms, yet feeling no heat. It was definitely a solid substance though and Loren could feel it tickling her skin in the most subtle way.

Pulling out her wand, she aimed it down the square passage and muttered 'Lumos!'

The brilliant white glow stretched far ahead of her, filling every shadow and crack without difficulty, but it failed to go far enough to reach any solid barrier or hint of what lay beyond. 'It's so long...' She muttered to Ian, looking at him with a frown. 'They can't all lead to the same place - how would the ones on the other side of the room double back on themselves? They all most go somewhere differently, surly...' Her throat was feeling very sore and dry from everything so far, and the airless room only made things worse. 'We really should get out of here.'

Shuffling back out of the passage, Loren came to look upon the Griffin again. 'We can't leave him.' She said with a sad grimace, the kind that was normally given to a fluffy kitten rather than a screeching griffin. 'If this is another way out then I don't see why we can't take him with us, Ian.' She said it as though Ian had already disagreed, and she continued to stare at him sternly.

[Ian Gray]

Ian watched as half of Loren's body disappeared into the fire, letting out a soft sound of surprise and feeling completely unnerved. Nervously kneeling down just a little, he waited for her to retreat from the flames and let out a sigh.

"You're right, they probably lead to all sorts of menacing rooms like this one..."

Standing up, he brushed off his robes and looked around the room curiously. "We'll have to pick a fireplace to go through, hopefully one that will lead back to the kitchens, or somewhere familiar." Looking back at the Ravenclaw, he noticed the forlorn look she sent to the Griffin and winced.

"You're right." He said, his voice slightly worn as he resignedly looked back at the Griffin. "Leaving him here doesn't seem to be an option... But how do we --" Walking toward the closest end of the long, rusty chain holding the Griffin into place, Ian looked worriedly toward Loren.

"Right then, this isn't going to be any easy task. You pick a fireplace to walk through, and we'll have to drag this monster with us." He jingled the chain slightly, and the Griffin's wails stopped for a brief second before it growled low in its throat.

Ian unhooked the chain and let out a long breath. "Alright. Hurry and choose one," he said suddenly, "Before he notices it's unhooked and tries to tear us apart."

[Loren Hayes]

Loren nodded, quickly running across the room toward another fireplace, her wand still lit. There was the gently sound of a chain against stone, but to Loren's relief to Griffin had been distracted by her sudden movement, thus not taking notice of Ian's removal of it from the wall. It did however look at him with angry, suspicious eyes as it seemed to clock on, obviously wondering why Ian was standing so close and Loren was darting from fireplace to fireplace, thrusting her wand inside to inspect the tunnels. It's giant talons flexed threatening, keen to have a go at Ian if he moved too suddenly.

'Some of them aren't tunnels! A lot of them are dead ends!' Loren called out, briefly looking over her shoulder to see Ian was already gingerly tugging on the chain. For a moment she was afraid it would lash out at him, but upon closer inspection saw that he had grabbed an armful of rat corpses and was guiding the beast slowly toward Loren. With a sigh oh relief she quickly moved on to the next one, finding something quite surprising.

'Ian... there's a light at the end of this one...' She said with a puzzled frown. For a moment she stared along it, the hint of a bend about fifty feet ahead of her, a gently cool draft moving the strands of hair that framed her face. A foul squawked from the griffin bought her back to reality, and giving Ian a look, dived into the tunnel...

[Ian Gray]

Ian's fingers trembled against the chain as he tugged against it slightly, the foul smell of the rotting rodents gathered in his free arm causing him to grimace. Looking back, he watched Loren skitter from fireplace to fireplace, gently coaxing the Griffin to approach the Ravenclaw slowly.

"Deadends?" He said, his voice growing curious and slightly panicked as he tried to refrain from making any sudden movements. The creature's eyes followed Loren distractedly, obviously becoming aware of Ian's armful.

Turning back around at Loren's exclaim, he nodded and watched her disappear into the fire, suddenly pulling the Griffin's long, spindly chain. "Alright, you great beast." He said clearly, holding out one of the smelly rats and moving over to the fireplace Loren had stumbled into. "Time to get out of here..."

Jerking the chain, he squeezed his eyes shut and gave a great tug, hearing the Griffin's surprised grunt, before it lunged forward and Ian ran ahead, putting a great distance between himself and the creature. Gaining a fairly good head-start, he opened his eyes and dropped down onto his knees, crawling through the fireplace, the chains quivering in his hands as the Griffin confusedly tried to break free.

Wincing at the gashes that were surely appearing over his palm, he stood back up and ran down the passage. "Loren?" He called out, deciding to keep his eyes on the Griffin and find the Ravenclaw by voice.

[Loren Hayes]

Loren held onto the wall for support, the stones slowly growing more moist and slightly slimy, her feet occasionally splashing into small puddles. Where was all this water coming from? A moment ago everything had been bone dry, the air like dust, now she could even feel droplets on her head! A frightening screech behind Loren forced her to stop and spin around. Ian's feet were slipping on the stones as he tugged and threw the occasional rat to ward the beat off. It was clearly not enjoying being stuffed into the tunnel - it's cavernous wings flapped about hopelessly, hitting the walls and ceiling. He was obviously infuriated by now being able to stretched them out or rear up.

The unknown light sourced was bouncing off the dampness now, and Loren quickly ran up beside Ian and grabbed hold of the chain, pulling and steering as best she could. It was only when the griffin ceased it's unhappy cries for a moment that Loren heard something faint and echoing in the tunnel - like voices carrying...

'Ian, there's something there...' She hissed, trying to whispered but drowned by the animal. 'Silencio!'

The griffin gave a surprised little squeaked, puzzled. Loren gave it an apologetic smile as it glared at her disapprovingly. There were indeed masculine voices drifting along the tunnel. 'I wonder where this comes out?' Loren asked with a tense look.

[Ian Gray]

The griffin, surprised by Loren's spell, paused in it's tracks, the tension in the chain loosening for just a moment. Ian let out a breath of relief, letting his hand drop the chain just momentarily and wiping his sore, torn up hands on his already filthy robes.

"Now why didn't we think of that before," he said, shaking his head and flashing Loren a wry grin. Then, picking up the chain, he heard the rattling mixed with voices and pulled the Griffin down the tunnel, nodding to Loren. "Yeah, you're right. Listen, it sounds like a man-- you don't suppose it's that foul man from before?"

They continued walking down the passage-way, the Griffin resisting even more than before, now that his cries were silent. Finally, they reached the source of the light, and Ian let out a groan.

"It's... It's just another fireplace." It was a lot smaller, something you'd find in a cottage, and Ian looked at Loren distraught, reaching out a hand tentatively. "It's real too."

Letting out a sigh, Ian looked back at the Griffin-- which seemed to be sulking, choosing the moment to crouch down almost resignedly-- before turning back to Loren at a loss for ideas.

Suddenly, the voices spoke up again, and Ian dropped the chains, deciding the Griffin was too worn to escape, and pressed himself to the wall. "The voices are on the other side of this wall," he said exasperatedly, trying to push himself further against it. Then, suddenly, he noticed an oddly angled staircase jutting out from the fireplace. Stepping onto it anxiously, he climbed onto fireplace and grinned excitedly.

"Peep holes," he said with a slight laugh. "I never thought these things actually existed." Extending a hand to Loren, he helped her onto the fireplace, before looking through the subtle spyhole.

The two foreign voices, and even more unfamiliar faces, surprised him greatly, and he frowned, before listening intently.

[Gabriel Vandesar]

Not for the first time that night Gabriel's eyes flinched about nosily, the suggestive noises of the dank night arousing his suspicions. For a moment he could have sworn he heard the sound of a young male voice, echoing somewhere near by... he did so hate children. If they did not fall sleep straight away then they should be promptly knocked across the back of the head with a bludger in his eyes.

His steady footfalls echoed sharply as he walked, and for a moment he peered down at his shoes, admiring the daily polish he performed on them. The way a ministry official looked after his shoes said a lot about his position, and Gabriel often took every opportunity in reminding the lowly underdogs of the Ministry corridors of his superiority. He was Gabriel Vandesar - Unspeakable - and certainly not to be casually smiled at by just anyone.

For a long while, he and his counterpart had been silent. The night's walk had been tense and revealing and although Gabriel was usually hard as stone, he had more than once let his inner 'concerns' slip, as it were. 'Mind you,' he continued, breaking the silence at last. 'It shan't all go down too smoothly. We have to consider him in the matter. He's got a hidden agenda, I know it - and you're not much helping, being here. I hope you know what you're doing, Levinston,' he said scathingly. 'You've certainly got a job on your hands...'

There was a minute squeak suddenly, and Gabriel look down with absolute disgust to see a small brown dormouse scurrying past his feet. Without hesitation the Unspeakable roughly lifted his foot and bought it down on the wreched creature, a quiet crunch settling the matter.

[Uriel Levinston]

The sickening crunch caused Uriel to flinch just slightly, as he had never been one for such morbid means of authority. Pausing next to the tediously polished shoes, he raised his chin in the air arrogantly, exposing his plain deep green robes, worn as to not catch attention. His arrival, known to only Vandesar, was sure to cause a controversy and stir up trouble of all sorts with the faculty of Hogwarts—they all seemed to be, after all, whole-heartedly against the Ministry.

“I’m well aware, Vandesar,” Uriel said calmly, his eyes also traveling down the corridor skeptically. “I’ve never failed a job as of yet, and this shall not be the first.” His gaze held Gabriel’s determinedly, before his eyes narrowed. "He," Uriel stressed the word in an irate fashion, "Always has a hidden agenda of some sort. Frankly, I'm only interested in completing my job and heading back to Romania."

The damp air of the dungeons sent an unwelcome shiver down his spine, and Uriel looked down at the silver watch clasped tightly to his wrist. "It's getting late, and I was never one for the dungeons back when I was in school, Gabriel." The department head said importantly, lowering his arm crossly. "I have to wake up early tomorrow morning and send out a letter to the Minister of Magic of Ireland. I'm sure a reclusive unspeakable like yourself doesn't realise the importance of such contracts, but I cannot be tired for the occasion."

He sent Gabriel an almost reprimanding look.

[Gabriel Vandesar]

'Yes, old age does that too you...' Gabriel muttered dismissively, giving a small, humorless huff. The far off, monstrous clock that sat swinging over the entrance hall began to chime solemnly.

The two officials had reached the steps that trailed out of the dungeons, and Gabriel stopped with his feet together, straightening down the front of his smart black robes. He himself had never been a particularly heavy sleeper, always choosing to sit up late into the early hours of the morning, skimming over the interesting details of department proposals and looking for loop holes to tighten in his favourite laws and regulations. If Gabriel had one love it was most certainly efficiency - and getting his own way. What Levinston did for pleasure he had no idea, but it certainly could not have been all that eventful. Although the man was pleasingly monotonous and sensibly opinionated, Gabriel found him perhaps just a little weak in the chin.

'Well, in any case, make sure those aims are met by Thursday or there won't be a plan anymore. And check with Magical Law Enforcement about that check list, will you? We can't have any leaks, if you know what I mean.' Gabriel said with a frown.

The clock finished chiming. Gabriel gave the dungeon one last distasteful glance. 'Good night, Mr Levinston. Send my regards to the Minister of Ireland.' Gabriel drawled, the two of them exiting without another word...