Echoes of Stone and Gold… Pt2
Harry moved his hands quickly, trying to grab his brothers with his magic. However, before he could do so, the floor itself split open without warning. The mansion's alarm continued to blare, accompanied by the sounds of structural movement and objects being violently displaced.
The floor separated even further, and suddenly the side of the room where Harry and the twins stood began to rise, while the section that was turning into gold slowly descended. Behind them, another portion of the floor and the walls split apart and started to move as well.
Everything shifted with massive crashes, accompanied by metallic and mechanical sounds that echoed from all directions, as the entire mansion began to change shape.
"What's happening!?" Billy shouted, clearly frightened, though Tommy looked excited as both of them clung tightly to the bars of a nearby cell.
Harry looked around, watching as the walls slid away and were replaced by new ones, while corridors connected to entirely different passages, forming a constantly changing labyrinth.
"The mansion has entered safe mode. When something dangerous infiltrates it, it changes its structure to protect everything inside," Harry said, recognizing the pattern. He had never seen it in person, but his grandfather Fleamont had explained it to him once, a long time ago.
"Something dangerous got in?" Billy asked, his eyes wide open.
"That should be impossible," Harry replied, frowning.
In the sitting room, the adults watched as the walls moved, while others suddenly rose from the floor, splitting the room apart before shifting again.
Sirius reacted immediately. He moved quickly, grabbed Draco by the back of his clothes, and pulled him toward himself to keep him safe, all while scanning the area with a faint but unmistakable concern.
"What's going on?" Draco asked, adjusting his robes.
"I have no idea," Sirius replied, his attention clearly focused on where Harry might be. "But that alarm suggests something not very fun is happening," he added, as he listened to the sound now echoing throughout the mansion, which had completely changed its form.
From the outside, it no longer looked like the beautiful mansion it once was. It was now transforming into something closer to an ancient wizard's tower, while protective spells began to appear around it, sealing both the entrance and the exit completely.
The corridors continued to change without pause, separating everyone into different sections of the tower.
Even when everything seemed to have stopped, a faint tremor ran through the floor, as if the tower were still silently readjusting itself.
…
On Wendel's side, who had fortunately ended up together with Remus, the man was still somewhat shaken by what had just happened. Remus, on the other hand, studied the surroundings with a serious, analytical expression, examining every part of the walls.
"What the hell just happened?" Wendel asked, finally snapping out of his shock.
Remus approached one of the walls and ran his hand along its surface, as if he could feel something beneath it. Hidden runes could be seen among the newly formed bricks, mixed with what looked like internal magical circuits.
"It seems like some kind of magical refuge, or something like that," Remus said while looking around. The walls had clearly been reinforced against spells, the nearby fireplace had sealed itself completely, and the portraits that had once shown the Potter ancestors moving and talking were now completely frozen, like ordinary, lifeless paintings.
"A refuge? Why would it suddenly turn into a refuge?" Wendel asked, still confused.
"We should find the others to figure that out," Remus replied, pulling out his wand as a precaution before moving toward a nearby door.
…
Meanwhile, Edward, who had ended up next to Euphemia's golem, was also observing the walls with interest, as if he partially understood what was happening. After all, he came from a truly ancient family, and the mansion they lived in had its own secrets as well.
It did not have the same mechanisms or structure, but it was not entirely unfamiliar to him either.
Edward turned and looked at Euphemia's golem, which had become completely motionless. All the portraits, even those that were not hanging directly on the mansion's walls, had frozen into normal paintings. The one that animated Euphemia inside the golem had been sealed as well.
"Is it something dangerous that entered… or something that wants to get out?" Edward wondered quietly, passing a hand beneath his chin before starting to walk in search of the others.
…
Now that everything had come to a halt, Harry let go of the cell bars he had been clinging to during the movement. He first made sure that Tommy and Billy were all right, before walking toward a nearby wall that had caught his attention during the chaos.
On the floor, right where the wall had risen, that golden glow still lingered.
Harry crouched down and examined it carefully, without touching it directly. He picked up a small rock from the ground and carefully tossed it into the golden area. Unlike before, when the gold had advanced at great speed, the process was now slow, almost deliberate.
The moment the rock touched the golden surface, it began to change color until it became completely golden.
Using his magic, Harry lifted it without touching it and brought it closer to his face, examining it carefully.
"Gold?" he murmured, confused as he realized the stone had turned into pure metal.
Tommy and Billy moved closer to him.
"Is that good or bad?" Tommy asked.
Billy watched the golden rock floating in front of Harry with a serious expression.
"I have no idea. Just in case, do not touch anything that is gold," Harry said firmly.
Then he slipped his hand inside his robes and searched through his magical bag. After a moment, he pulled out what looked like a jewelry box covered in runes. He opened it slightly and guided the golden rock to float inside.
The moment it entered, the surrounding runes lit up, and the rock remained suspended by its own magic, without Harry needing to keep it levitating. He closed the box and put it away again.
Billy looked at him with curiosity.
"There are many things that are dangerous to touch, but at the same time have a lot of hidden magic that is interesting to study," Harry explained.
"So you study dangerous things all the time?" Billy asked.
"Ahem… not all the time. Do not tell our mother," Harry replied quickly, clearing his throat. Then his expression grew more serious. "But this is a problem. If safe mode was activated, we need to find Grandpa to deactivate it. I really did not pay attention when he explained how to do it, and the traps will start activating quickly," he added, clearly annoyed with himself.
"Traps?" Tommy asked, now with more interest. This was starting to feel like a real adventure inside a wizard's dungeon.
And, to be honest, that was exactly what it was. An ancient wizard's tower, filled with mechanisms and traps designed to protect its most precious secrets.
"The Potter family has many potion recipes and alchemical artifacts that could truly cause a war," Harry explained, a slight note of pride in his voice. "Obviously, they created a way to protect them."
"Do they have recipes for weapons of mass destruction?" Tommy asked, his eyes shining.
"No. I said potions and artifacts," Harry replied quickly. "But none of them were created to do evil. The problem is that if bad people get their hands on them, they could cause a lot of trouble. And others would fight just to possess them," he explained patiently.
Tommy nodded, understanding the point. "Well, it is still pretty cool," he added, while Billy nodded in agreement.
"Follow me carefully," Harry said, pulling out his wand as he began to move in a specific direction.
The problem was that the tower had also turned into a labyrinth, so they had to pay attention to every step and every path they chose.
And also…
"What the hell is this?!" Sirius shouted as he stepped through a door, followed by Draco, who wore an equally surprised expression as they both stared ahead.
What stood before them was, basically, a jungle.
A real jungle, with tall trees, dense plants, and even a river visible at a distance. If it were not for the ceiling and walls faintly visible far away, it would have been easy to believe they had traveled to another country.
On top of that, the air was far too still, far too clean, like a perfect replica, clean in a way real jungles never are.
Draco looked around for a few seconds before frowning.
"It is strange," he said suddenly, pulling Sirius out of his shock.
"What is? The great Amazon jungle inside the mansion?" Sirius asked sarcastically.
"Not that. There is no sound of animals," Draco replied.
"And why would there be animals trapped here, even if it looks like a jungle?" Sirius retorted, continuing with his mocking tone.
"Then why would they put this biome inside the mansion if there are no animals?" Draco insisted, making a fairly logical point.
"You worry too much," Sirius said confidently as he took a step forward. After all, they only needed to reach one of the walls at the edge to find an exit. the moment he took that step, he felt something strange.
He reacted instantly.
He pulled out his wand with a fast, fluid motion and fired a spell straight at a branch above his head.
Whatever it struck fell immediately with a dull, heavy sound.
Sirius frowned and approached cautiously, with Draco following close behind.
When they got closer, they saw what looked like a metallic snake, ugly and deformed, as if it had been created by someone with very little artistic skill.
What was most worrying was that its large fangs were dripping a violet substance that continued to flow slowly.
Draco crouched down and, using his wand, gently moved the metal snake. Its skeleton was made of slotted metal, allowing the interior to be seen. There were mechanical parts inside, and what looked like a potion vial that had broken after falling from the tree.
"I think it is poison," Draco said with a serious expression.
"Yes, genius. I might not have noticed," Sirius replied, glancing at him sideways.
Draco, looking fed up, simply picked up the snake and tossed it into the magical bag at his waist.
"And why are you taking that with you?" Sirius asked, raising an eyebrow.
"A new type of golem to study," Draco replied with a genuinely happy smile. Normally, he kept a serious expression, so that smile made him look like a perfectly normal child, excited by a new discovery.
Sirius was not one to ruin a child's happiness, so he simply shrugged and kept moving forward, though this time with his wand ready.
From time to time, distant creaking sounds could be heard, like hidden gears shifting beneath the stone, reminding them that the tower had not yet finished changing.