Bonds of Servitude Ch. 17 (Patreon)

The apparition lifted the tip of her straw hat. In the spot where her left eye should have been, there was only an empty socket, and Darcia could hear the whistling of a distant wind coming from that empty hole.

“You have accepted. The challenge begins now.”

“What exactly do I-AAAAH!”

The woman did not give her time to finish. She lunged at Darcia, closing the distance between them with blistering speed. Darcia barely managed to move out of the way, and part of her nightgown was caught in the woman's claw-like nails and torn off her body.

Darcia didn't think twice, she ran, ran for her life as she heard a shrill laughter rise up into the night sky.

In her fear, Darcia ran to where the steep hill sloped downward. She did not have time to stop, and so she stumbled downhill, trying her best not to fall over and begin rolling uncontrollably.

“Can't help but be a coward, can we, Darcia! It's in your blood, isn't it? Little Malfoy can't help but be a spineless little whelp!”

The woman's voice had morphed into a terrifying, shrieking mess that sent Darcia's heart thumping in fear. She turned her head to see the monstrous woman on all fours, sprinting downhill towards her, her claws throwing large clumps of dirt and grass behind her as her empty socket stared directly at her and her razor-sharp teeth glinted in the moonlight.

Darcia hit the back of her head on a tree branch, and the blonde spun out as hot tears burst from her eyes. She tried to refocus as the slope finally began to even out. She held her hands out in front of her as she tried to stop her momentum.

She slowed down, but not enough. She crashed against a boulder, smashing her knee against the unforgiving stone and spraining both wrists in her attempt to stop.

“GAH!” The adrenaline numbed most of it, but she could already feel a fire in her joints from the impact.

She spun in place, holding her wand up as she saw the woman bearing down on her.

She racked her brain. She didn't know any offensive spells. She was a first year, for Merlin's sake! Quirrell hadn't taught them anything, and she hadn't chosen to learn when Harry had been training.

Harry, Nymphadora, her aunt Bella, Tom, great-grandfather. They all knew how to fight. She wasn't a fighter. Not at all.

She darted away just as the woman leapt onto the boulder with cat-like grace. Another shrill giggle filled her ears as Darcia disappeared into a line of trees.

Her hands were trembling as she fumbled with her wand. A dull throb was the first sign of trouble with her knee, and her leg felt stiff as she tried to walk both silently and briskly, failing at both tasks.

She remembered a spell Hermione had read about. The girl loved studying so much, and Darcia liked being with her while she did so. It was a basic dueling spell, one of the most basic, and through her growing panic, she was able to recall the incantation.

There was rustling behind her, and Darcia spun around with her wand at the ready, ignoring the lance of pain as her injured knee protested from the torque.

The woman leapt out of the bushes, a wide grin showing off rows of blade-like teeth, ready to tear her to shreds.

“Stupefy!” Darcia yelled hoarsely.

There was a jolt of elation as a red beam shot off from the tip of her wand, flying directly towards the monstrous woman.

She'd done it! She'd managed to cast the spell!

Only for her stomach to drop as the woman backhanded the spell away, sending it zooming off until it exploded against a tree branch and shattered it.

The woman slammed into Darcia, and the two of them crashed onto the rough dirt. The back of Darcia's head slammed hard against the ground, and her vision began to swim as her ears rang loudly.

“You truly are useless, aren't you? You think there is any magic you know that will affect me?”

The woman pushed off her body and Darcia just barely heard her steps retreat as she lifted her head up.

She could barely see, but she knew that the woman had disappeared from view.

When next she spoke, her voice rang through the canopy of trees above her, coming from every direction.

“I'm feeling generous, little Malfoy. I will give you another chance. If you can successfully make it to the ocean's waters, you will have passed.”

The voice faded as Darcia slowly recovered enough of her vision to be able to see, or atleast see as well as the scant moonlight that filtered in from above would allow her.

Everything in her wanted to break down. Why was she in this situation? She was just a kid, not even a teenager yet, and she was facing off against some monster? It was all so unfair.

The memories of that wraith, that amalgamation of the Dark Lord and her late father, returned. She was terrified now as she was back then, and only her fight or flight response was stopping her from shutting down completely.

“I-I'm so useless!” She croaked in impotent rage. What could she do? Not even the one spell she'd managed had done anything to the monster she was facing.

Images of Harry and Hermione filled her head. She thought of her mother, of how disappointed the others would be if she failed the task right at the beginning.

She could not fail them.

She took deep, calming breaths as she tried her best to push away the pain that was now coming from all directions. She could not think about the lady, about how terrifying she was or what she would do when she caught her.

She needed to make it to the ocean's waters. That was the only thing she should be thinking about.

Which way was the ocean? There were thick trees obscuring her vision every which way.

Before a new round of panic set in, she closed her eyes. Once she'd calmed down, she could clearly hear the crashing waves, coming from her left.

That was her direction. But what could she do?

She couldn't fight that woman, that much was abundantly clear.

She just needed to reach the ocean.

There was no way of outrunning whatever that woman was, and even if Darcia knew exactly what she was, it wasn't like the girl would be capable of doing anything to her.

No, Darcia needed to figure out a way to get herself to the water.

The first thing that sprung to her head was using a charm. That charm that pushed things away. If she stood near something, or even against the ground, maybe it would catapult her into the water?

But she didn't know the incantation, and she definitely didn't know the wand movement.

She would have kicked the dirt in frustration if not for her bum leg. Even when she came up with a good solution, she couldn't even execute it.

What spells did she even know?

The only one that came to her addled mind at the moment was the one she'd just used, the stunner which had already proved useless against that beast if a woman.

Useless against her, but not completely useless.

Darcia's face turned to steel as she hobbled in the direction of the beach. She did not allow doubt to creep into her thoughts. A calm determination settling into her mind.

She counted her steps to take away from the pain coming from her knee and the throbbing at the back of her head. She began to see sand amongst the trees. As she drew nearer, she began to hear laughter, high-pitched giggles that jumped from tree to tree.

She stepped onto the soft Caribbean sands, a pleasurable experience under any other circumstances.

There she was. Standing between her and the crashing waves, lips curled into a cruel smile.

“Ready for your second chance, Darcia Malfoy? Reach the waters, or your mother shall perish.”

Darcia took a deep, shuddering breath. She dug her good leg into the sand as she stared ahead. Not at the creature, but through her.

She kicked off that foot and sprinted towards the water, the bubbling agony from her knee a faint echo when compared to the bucketfuls of adrenaline coursing through her veins.

The woman actually guffawed at Darcia daring to try and outrun her. She let the girl pass her by, an amused smile on her face as she reared back, ready to tackle the girl to the ground.

Darcia didn't look at her, she focused on the rumbling sea ahead of her. The dark blue waters promised triumph, they promised vindication.

She heard the woman push off the ground and jump over to her. In that moment, Darcia dived forward, and while the woman still easily wrapped her up around her thighs, Darcia was able to cast uninterrupted.

“STUPEFY! STUPEFY! STU-”

She only managed to get two off before she crashed face first onto the sand. She got a mouthful of damp sand, letting her know she'd gotten close enough to the waters.

“What exactly was your plan, girl?”

“That's my plan!” Darcia exclaimed, pointing towards the water.

Her two stunners had succeeded. The spells dug two long, shallow trenches that lead down into the sea, and as a large wave rippled through and crashed against the sandy shore, water rushed up the channels Darcia had created.

The girl stretched her hand out. Her middle finger was mere centimeters from one of the trenches, all she needed to do was stretch.

But she couldn't, she was trapped under the monstrous lady, and she could not budge an inch.

“No! No! No! I had it!” Darcia yelled as she desperately clawed at the sand, trying to will the water closer to her. But no matter how hard she tried, she could not reach it.

She had failed by mere inches.

“It seems that you have failed once again, young Malfoy.”

Darcia found herself spun around until she was face up. The woman was straddling her, her mouth a thin like as she lowered her hat over her empty socket.

“No. No! I can't fail!”

“One final chance. Will you accept it?” She grinned, a terrifying grin.

Darcia sputtered. “Y-Yes!” This couldn't be it!

She held out her index finger, the sharpened tip of her nail glinting under the moonlight.

“This one is simple, Darcia Malfoy. Allow me to remove your face.”

“What?” Darcia's eyes bugged out in sheer horror.

“Allow me to remove your face. I wish to keep it as a memento. Allow me that, and you shall pass this trial.”

Darcia began to hyperventilate as she stared at the sharp end of her nail. Why, why was this hap-

“Do it!” She yelled. “Cut off my stupid fucking face!”

“With pleasure.”

She didn't know what possessed her to blurt out those words. She was scared, but she was also tired of being scared, tired of the bullshit, and tired of being useless.

Perhaps through this, she would finally be able to help in some way.

She shrieked as the nail pierced through her forehead, sinking in easily until it reached her skull. The woman's finger began to glide, and she could feel the tip of her nail as it scraped grotesquely against the bone, she could feel the horrible vibration, the terrible sound.

The woman went slowly, seemingly savoring every moment of pure agony from her.

“I can stop this, child. All you need to do is ask. Beg.”

Darcia's mouth was already open in a scream, all she needed to do was wrench a plea from her raw throat, and the pain would be over.

She wanted it more than anything else in the world. She would have done it. But she found resolve she didn't know she had, or perhaps she found the Black madness, because she clamped her mouth shut and bit down on her tongue.

“Interesting.”

She continued, following the side of her face, cutting around her ear and tracing her delicate jawline before rising up again.

Darcia felt her skin peel off, and a new level of pain emerged as the cold night air touched her raw flesh and nerves.

She drew blood as she continued to desperately clench her tongue between her teeth.

The woman completed the circle, and Darcia's face fell off like a thin sheet of parchment blown away by a slight breeze.

She was done. She opened her mouth and yelled. She stared up at the moon, and somehow, she saw her own, gory face reflected back at her.

.

..

…

Darcia blinked.

She was staring up at the sky. The waves crashed against the shore and a thin film of foamy water tickled the soles of her feet.

She let out a choked gasp as she bent up, her hands flying to touch her face.

Her skin was still there.

Had it all been a dream?

Sensation came back to her slowly. Her wrists hurt, the dull throb in the back of her head was still there, and her knee was still burning with pain.

It had happened.

“You have passed the trial, Darcia Malfoy. In two day's time, at noon, return to these shores with your companions, and the next step in your journey shall be revealed.”

The voice whispered in the wind. It was almost kind.

Darcia snorted. A humorless, bitter sound.

She lay there for what felt like hours until she finally stumbled back onto her feet.

Time had no meaning as she hobbled her way back up to the villa. When she finally entered through the sliding glass doors, she managed to reach the sofa before collapsing.

…

When she next opened her eyes, she was lying on a plush, comfortable bed. She felt no pain, but her body was definitely tired. It felt heavy.

“Mistress?” A pair of voices called out.

Darcia lifted her head up to see Harry and Hermione both sitting at the foot of her bed, concern written all over their face. Hermione had tear marks running down her cheeks.

“H-Harry? Hermione?”

Hermione leapt at her, wrapping her arms around her neck as Darcia found her face buried in the girl's brown hair.

“M-Mistress! We were so worried! What happened? Are you ok?”

In her distress, Hermione had reverted back to her old way of addressing Darcia.

Darcia reached out and rubbed Hermione's back. “It's alright. ‘Mione. I'm fine.”

She felt her other hand being grasped by a warm hand, and she looked over to see Harry sporting a guilty look.

“Mistress, I apologize. I've been neglectful. I've been a neglectful slave to you. I should have been more aware, I sh-”

“Harry, don't you dare feel guilty over this.” She croaked. “What happened to me, it was part of our journey, there was nothing anyone could have done about it.”

“What exactly happened, Darcia?”

Andromeda and Bellatrix were by the doorway, concern evident in both their faces as well.

Darcia told them.

She didn't tell them everything, nowhere near it. She told them they had all been put in an enchanted sleep, that she had been lured out by a strange woman who had led her to the first challenge on their path to the pit.

She left out every single detail, and they did not comment on it.

“So tomorrow, we have to be by the shore at noon?” Andromeda mused. “Well, we better have a hearty dinner and go to bed early. Whatever it is we have to face, it won't be easy.”

“May I be alone for a bit?” Darcia asked.

“Mistress?” Harry cocked his head, his question clear.

“Fully alone.” She nodded.

Hesitantly, they left, with Hermione and Harry sending her one last concerned glance before closing the door behind them.

The moment the door closed, she began to sob.

…

She refused lunch and slept all the way through dinner.

She'd thought long and hard about what she'd just been through. She relived it, vividly, especially when her eyes were closed.

With a cold detachment, she was able to understand it. She was never meant to reach the waters. She was going to fail from the start. The real challenge had been at the end, for her to face her fears and prove her bravery by suffering through untold horrors for the sake of her family.

She had done it, and yet, she felt no braver. If her trial was supposed to harden her, to make her come out a stronger, more resilient person on the other side, it had failed miserably.

The image of her naked face still terrified her to her bones.

No, Darcia was now even more of a mess than she had been before. The world was terrifying, and magic more so. She didn't want to continue to face a revolving door of horrors. She was a child, her peers were spending their summers reading Witch's Weekly and visiting Diagon Alley. She was suffering trauma after trauma, and she found herself much closer to breaking than anything else.

The door creaked open and a sliver of light entered her pitch-black room.

“‘Mione, I'm not ready to talk to anyone yet.” She mumbled as she hid her face under the sheets. She didn't want Hermioe to see her, see how pathetic she was.

The door clicked shut, and Darcia threw the bedsheet off. Usually, Hermione or Harry at least said a few words before giving up.

The lights in the room flickered on as her aunt stood by the doorway, a sober look on her face.

“Aunt Bellatrix? Please, I need-”

“Darcia.” Bellatrix walked up to the bed and sat at the edge. Her hands were clasped together, and she was fiddling with her thumbs. “I'm not the best at this. In fact, I might be the worst. But you're my niece, and this might be the one case where I'm the best person for you to talk to.”

Darcia felt a lump in her throat. She didn't want to talk, she didn't want to even think right now. “I don't want to-”

Bellatrix raised her hand up to silence her. “You don't need to talk about what happened. Want to keep it bottled up inside? Who am I to judge? But I want you to listen.”

Bella smoothed out her robe against her lap as Darcia stared at her own lap, wishing she would just leave her alone.

“I spent ten years in Azkaban, Darcia. An entire decade locked up in that hellhole, most of it with no hope of ever getting out. I had to live with the knowledge that the bastard who'd framed me was out free, that my cousin was dead because of me, that my best friend was dead because of me, and that my godson would think I was a monster, if he ever thought of me at all.”

Darcia couldn't help but glance up at her aunt. Bella was stone faced as she spoke, her voice slightly monotonous.

“You know what I realized in all that time? I realized that no matter how righteous I thought I was, no matter how just my cause and how justified my anger, I was going to rot in that cell, and that slimy little rat was going to live free, with no consequences.”

“But you managed to get out.”

“I did, thanks to a lot of luck, and some hard work from your mother and Rita.” She sighed. “But for every case like mine, there are thousands in this world that end in tragedy. The person who was screwed over doesn't get revenge, the thieving, swindling bastard doesn't get his comeuppance.”

There was a heavy pause in which neither of them looked at the other. But Darcia was listening, she was listening intently.

“All this to say, there is no such thing as Karma. The world is ultimately a cold, uncaring place, and there is no innate force that ensures justice is served. There is only the justice that we create ourselves. Things happen to people, and there is no big lesson to be learned from it, its just random shit that happens, and we are left to cope with it and pick up the pieces.”

Darcia couldn't help but be sarcastic. “That is very comforting, aunt Bella.”

Bellatrix glared at her. “It's not meant to be! At least, not in the way people are used to… you know what I mean, Darcia! You've gone through some bad shit, and I can't sit here and promise you that even worse shit isn't coming our way. The world is a jungle, and the only options you truly have are to lay down and become prey, or to move on and survive.”

“You're saying I should forget what happened?”

“Forgetting is impossible. No, I'm saying you need to live. Every day could be your last, so either live like it is, or work your ass off so it isn't. Your aunt Andromeda would call what I'm about to say ‘extremely unhealthy’, but I don't give a fuck. Don't linger on things. Tomorrow, we have to set off on another adventure, and deal with whatever bullshit life throws at us.”

Her aunt's words should not have been comforting, but for some reason, Darcia found that they were. It wasn't like a switch was flipped, but she did feel like a little of what was weighing her down had been lifted.

“Now come on, you haven't eaten shit all day and I bet you're hungry.”

Darcia's stomach grumbled, and she found that she would appreciate some food. Before she knew it, she found herself hopping off the bed and following behind her aunt out of the room.

…

The next day, a few minutes prior to noon, everyone was out by the beachside.

Astoria, Daphne and Anastasia were still in their light, loose beach attire, while the others were dressed for battle, with Bellatrix sporting boots, long cargo pants and a tight tank top.

“We'll be waiting for you,” Anastasia assured the group.

Daphne and Astoria were giving Harry their final goodbyes. “Please, stay safe, Harry.” Daphne whispered to his ear.

Harry gave the blonde a soft kiss on the lips. “I promise I'll do my best.”

Daphne wasn't completely ready to let Harry go, but after a tug from her mother, she and Astoria pulled back, waving goodbye to the group before making their way up to their villa.

Andi checked her wristwatch while Bella cast a Tempus charm.

“Two minutes 'til noon.”

“Your little watch is off by a minute, dear sister.” Bellatrix quipped as she gestured towards the numbers floating in front of her, counting down the last thirty seconds until noon.

“Do you think we'll be attacked immediately?” Hermione asked Darcia, who, while still quiet, was looking much calmer than she had in a while.

“We don't even know if this ‘trial’ will be a fight or not. We'll just have to see.” The blonde said. Her wand arm was still shaking lightly, but she didn't dwell on it. Whatever happened, she would just have to deal with it.

“Don't worry, mistress, I'll keep a good perimeter.” Tom said as he backed up into her with his wand at the ready.

The numbers in front of Bellatrix read ‘12:00’ and everyone tensed in preparation.

The breeze continued to blow and the waves crashed against the sandy shore, as always. The birds still chirped in the background.

“So nothing dramatic then.” Bellatrix mumbled as she lowered her wand.

“Look.” Harry said, pointing towards the water. “That wasn't there before.”

Bobbing up and down, at the mercy of the roiling tide, was a small paper boat. It was the most basic of designs, a sheet white muggle paper that had been folded into a concave hull along with a single, triangular sail.

“Hmm, interesting.” Tom whipped his wand at it, but nothing happened.

“Resistant to summoning charms.” Bellatrix mused as they began to approach the little boat.

No matter how violent the waves got, the little boat remained bobbing in the same exact spot where they had found it.

There were words written on the sand just in front of the boat.

Past this point, the trial begins.

“Well, no way to go but forwards.” Andi said as she stepped over the words.

The next wave came in and swept the words away as if they'd never been there. Meanwhile, the little origami boat began to twitch. It stretched and bloated as it grew in size, ballooning until it was the size of a small rowboat, just big enough to fit them all.

“Its still made of paper, how whimsical.” Bella said as her feet splashed on the water.

They stepped onto the boat, with Andi carrying Tom into the vessel. It was strange, as it really was still made of paper. Everything they touched felt brittle, as if the walls should break apart just from them leaning on them. And yet, the boat held.

“I wonder what type of enchantments are on this thing?” Hermione asked in a fascinated tone. “I wish I could study it.”

“Maybe we can keep it as a souvenir when we're done.” Harry offered the girl.

They'd barely settled in when the boat began to move. The paper sail tensed as it picked up a breeze that went against the prevailing winds.

With surprising speed, they were casting off.

Bellatrix rested her foot atop the bow of the boat as she gazed off into the vast ocean.

“This definitely beats sailing off to Azkaban.”

She glanced over at Darcia, who had her eyes closed and head held high as she took in the sea breeze. She hoped her words had had some positive impact on her niece.

Harry was gazing down at the water, watching the fish swim by as the clear blue sea grew deeper and deeper.

The boat picked up speed rather quickly, and in only a few minutes, the coastline disappeared completely behind them, leaving them in their tiny little boat, alone in open waters.

“This is uncharted territory for me.” Tom mused as he looked all around at the vast, empty waters that surrounded them.

“What, Voldemort never set to sea?” Bellatrix asked.

Tom shook his head. “I believe my other self may have had a fear of this. In all our travels, he never once crossed open waters.”

“What? Voldemort's afraid of water? We went through that giant creepy cave, remember? How could he set that up if he's scared of drowning?”

“I don't think it's drowning he's afraid of, Bella, at least not particularly.” Andi said.

“You are right, mistress Andi “ Tom responded. “I believe my other half feared being out in the unknown. In the deep ocean, where you cannot apparate to safety, where you need to navigate your way through like a muggle for even a sliver of a chance at survival.”

“He's afraid of feeling powerless.” Harry summed up succinctly.

“One of many things he fears, I'm sure.” Andi said.

The boat cut through the water, cruising at high speed as they sailed away from the sun. They were headed east, out into the vastness of the Atlantic.

They began to hear rumblings, and they saw storm clouds gathering off in the distance, with cracks of thunder sounding off as they drew closer.

“We're headed for that, aren't we?” Darcia said as the storm clouds seemed to multiply. What had at first glance seemed like two or three had now grown into a large, ominous mass. They saw a line of heavy rain and lightning, all concentrated in a small point.

“Well, wands at the ready.” Bella said.

Tom cast some quick charms on everyone's feet before casting another one on the boat. At their confused looks, he explained.

“I Anchored our shoes to the boat so we are not thrown off. I also cast an impervious bubble so the rain will not impair our vision.”

Bella shook her head. “You're a useful little bastard, Tom.”

“Thank you, mistress.”

The closer they got, the rougher the waters, and the more the boat began to bob as it rode up and down large waves.

“Shit!” Andi yelled as they got their first good look at where they were headed.

Below the thunder and rain was a massive, violent whirlpool in the middle of the ocean. The swirling vortex was wide, and it wasn't long before their boat was caught in one of its currents and sucked in.

“Maybe we're supposed to go into that thing?” Hermione posited, her voice picking up just a hint of panic as their boat sloshed this way and that.

“I seriously doubt it!” Bellatrix said as she tried to keep herself steady.

The older witch was proven right, for right before they entered the maelstrom, the caught their first glimpse of what was at the center of it all.

A giant, squid-like creature, with a huge, sharp and curved beak that looked as if it could easily snap merchant vessels in half. A mass of swirling tentacles, so numerous that they would be impossible to count, even without the swirling chaos around them, and a single, gargantuan eye, pitch black with a white ring surrounding it.

It was at least three times the size of the giant squid from Hogwarts, and it did not look friendly, not one bit.

“A colossal squid!” Hermione yelped.

“Its a Kraken.” Darcia said from her side. She felt no fear in her heart, despite the overwhelming nature of the scene in front of her. No, she felt only acceptance.

Either they would slay the beast, or they would be slain by it.

“Lacero!” Harry cast the strongest severing charm he knew at one of the endless tentacles. It splashed harmlessly against it, not even leaving a scratch.

“I'm afraid this is beyond your level,” Tom told Harry as he raised his own wand to begin casting.

“Harry, Hermione, Darcia, try to shield us as best you can!” Andi yelled as the three adults began to hurl curses at the beast.

Bellatrix sent a flesh rotting curse, Andi threw a powerful spout of fire, Tom cast an entrail expelling curse.

All of their spells hit home, and they managed to damage the beast. The tentacles were corroded, sliced and burnt off.

Only for them to grow back, more numerous than before.

“Of course it can regenerate.” Andromeda growled.

Meanwhile, some tentacles grabbed onto debris around the whirlpool, broken wreckages of other ships, large stones and cannonballs, and began to toss them at their little boat.

The kid's shields could only do so much, and Andi decided to focus on redirecting the debris while Bella and Tom attacked.

Harry and the girls felt useless, but they were not ready for a battle at this scale. They did the best they could, blasting off whatever projectiles Andi had missed.

“Let's see how you handle this!” Bellatrix hissed. Her wand arm moved in an elaborate motion as she cast her curse.

It was a beam of discolored light, the same spell she had used to kill Lucius.

It connected with a tentacle, opening up a wide gash with razor sharp blades on the inside. As the tentacle writhed, it collided with other tentacles, and not only did the blades cut through the others, but they multiplied, opening up new wounds which began to grow exponentially as they spread.

“That's a new one.” Tom mused.

“Came up with it myself.” Bellatrix said proudly.

The tentacles kept regenerating, but with the wounds growing at such a rapid pace, it just turned into a gory mess as more and more tentacles became infected by Bella's spell. Dozens upon dozens of the slimy appendages ended up splashing onto the swirling waters as the beast screeched in pain.

“Now we can attack the thing head on!”

But the beast's beak opened wide, and out shot a blast of pure black ink.

The ink splashed all over the tentacles, and to Bellatrix's shock, it looked as if the wounds all sealed up. Tentacles stopped falling, and instead, it seemed as if they were regenerating even faster than before.

“Fuck!”

Drips of ink fell from the now rejuvenated tentacles. When they dripped onto the swirling waters, they burst into flames that would not be snuffed out, creating multiple small fires all around the vortex.

They were halfway down the vortex now, in only a minute or so, they would be close enough for the now thousands of tentacles to reach them and tear their little boat apart.

“What do we do?”

To compound their troubles, the kraken's beak opened up once more. Another jet of ink shot out, and this one was headed directly for them.

Tom conjured a giant stone shield in front of the boat, but when the ink splashed against it, the shield suddenly morphed into a giant grass sword.

A sword that immediately plummeted into the waters next to them, causing a massive wave that went against the flow of the vortex.

It was too much, and the boat capsized. They just barely managed to take a desperate breath before being flipped upside down.

Andi wrapped her arms around the bottomless bag that held her sister. Tom's sticking charm kept them all in place as they found themselves fully underwater.

They were still being whipped around by the roaring currents, now with water rushing all about them.

Darcia couldn't open her eyes. The pressure from the water was far too much. Somehow, she found the strength to hold her hand out sideways, and with all the concentration she could muster, she silently cast a spell.

Stupefy!

The jet of angry red light shot off from her wand and the impulse was just enough to rock them back. The others must have somehow intuited what she had done, because soon they were all shooting of their own spells until the boat had flipped right side up.

The soaked group took gasping breaths and wet coughs as they tried to regain their bearings.

“Fuck! That thing is going to kill us.” Bellatrix hissed in frustration.

Andi quickly cast a drying charm on all of them as they continued on their ride. Just a little bit lower, and they would surely be crushed by the tentacles that awaited them.

Then. Hermione spoke up. “Someone, goad the monster into attacking us with that ink again. I have an idea”

They didn't hesitate, there was no room for questions or debate. Bellatrix conjured a pair of large, barbed spears and sent them directly at the monster's face.

The kraken opened its maw wide, readying for another shot of its powerful ink.

“Andi, banish a healing potion towards it!” Hermione urged.

Once more, her request was not questioned. Andi dug into her bag and tossed a healing potion into the air before she sent it blasting off towards the beast.

The squid fired its ink at the spears, which turned into a pair of round pillows that fell away harmlessly.

Meanwhile, the healing potion was splashed by the ink. Nothing happened to the magically resistant phial, and the potion sailed onward until it nestled inside the beast's beak as it snapped shut.

“I hope you knew what you were doing, girl!” Bella roared as she prepared to begin slicing through the mass of tentacles that was fast approaching them.

There was a low gurgle, the sound of an upset stomach.

“It worked!” Hermione crowed triumphantly.

The low gurgle morphed into loud rumbling that crescendoed into an ear-splitting, earth shattering explosion.

The beast popped, showering blood, guts and ink every which way as its tentacles went limp and fell away. The swirling vortex they were in began to slow down, calming very quickly from a raging maelstrom to a gentle tide. The waters began to even out, and among the chaos of raining squid, the six of them stood triumphant.

“Hermione, you're brilliant!” Harry hugged the girl as Darcia did the same from her other side. Tom had canceled their sticking charms, and everyone on the boat crowded around the girl.

“What the hell just happened?” Asked a bewildered Andromeda.

Hermione was blushing. “Well, the ink kept turning everything into its opposite, right? It turned the water into fire, the shield into a sword.”

The realization dawned on everyone else, who had been far too locked into the fight to have come to that conclusion.

“So the mild healing potion became a potent explosive.” Andi said in awe.

Hermione nodded shily. “I… I figured a potion bottle would resist the magic from the ink, but once it broke inside the thing's mouth …”

“Oh you brilliant little bookworm! I could kiss you if we weren't all so disgusting right now!” Bellatrix shouted.

The boat and its passengers had become drenched in red, along with chunks of greyish-brown flesh. None of them cared one bit, having just survived such a crazy encounter.

Harry looked around them, seeing the circle of blood and entrails expanding outward around them. It was crazy how quickly the waters had turned calm, how the thunder clouds above them had dissipated in an instant.

He spotted a patch of ink on the water. It seemed that all the ink had fallen there, for there was no sign of it anywhere else on the water.

It had taken a strange shape. It almost looked like a ship.

“Guys”. He called out, drawing their attention.

“Oh, bloody hell!”

“Can this thing let us rest for one minute at least?” Bellatrix whined as she readied her wand.

The ink-boat began to rise from the water's surface, pitch black with a hazy, ghostly aura around it. It was a strange sight in a day that had been full of them.

The boat's pointy bow came first, followed by the massive hull. The ink-black vessel was large, much larger than their little paper boat, and it reminded Harry very clearly of images he remembered from his short time with the Dursleys. Images of television programs and films that he caught glimpses of when he dared to peek out of his cupboard door.

It was a pirate ship.

The multiple masts, the crow’s nest, the helm, and of course the jolly roger, rustling proudly in the air as the boat's stern finally rose out of the water.

They were faced with a large, inky black pirate ship with a faint, ghostly aura surrounding it.

The ship was directly in front of them, and before anyone could speak, a plank began to lower from the port side. There was a loud, eerie creak as the plank slowly descended until it rested on the edge of their boat.

There was a doorway, and it was pitch black inside, as dark as the rest of the boat. Out of this doorway stepped a pirate, a ghostly pirate with an eye-path and sporting a hooked hand. He was gruff looking, with a messy beard and a gnarled face, along with a worn old captain's hat.

“Welcome aboard the Flying Dutchman. My name is Davy Jones, and I will be your captain this evening. Our next stop is… the Lazarus Pit.”