Regulus and Allan came to a long corridor on the fifth floor. The corridor was completely dark, and there was no decoration. Just bricks and columns. There were no paintings, no armor as there usually is in corridors.
"Is this it?" asked Allan doubtfully. It was the most normal corridor he had seen at Hogwarts.
"Yes. Give me the scroll with the map on it," said Regulus, holding out his arm.
Allan passed him the map, and Regulus quickly opened it and began to read it. He looked up and started walking toward the east end of the corridor.
"Let's try here..." said Regulus, putting the map away and pulling out his wand.
"Revelio," added Regulus, waving his wand.
'Oh, he knows Revelio,' thought James.
The Revelio charm is used to reveal hidden objects, messages, invisible things, passages, or any other secretly written messages and hidden markings.
It is considered difficult for a second-year student, and Regulus, who was only a first-year was already capable of using it.
The large wall gradually disappeared like mist leaving secret staircases in sight.
"Bingo," Regulus said with a slight smile.
"You're a genius Regulus!" exclaimed Allan.
"I know," said Regulus smugly, "Come on. Before Filch comes," he added as he started up the stairs, and Allan followed more relieved. He would already have a breakthrough to show Professor Eustace.
'Who knew there was a secret staircase in an empty stretch of wall? Well in an empty wall, I found the room of requirement,' thought James as he followed the duo.
When he first started investigating Allan, he was doing it to find out what Professor Eustace was up to, but now he was very curious about this vault.
What could be inside it that would make a Hogwarts professor covet it so much?
The stairs are narrow and zigzag upward. Magical torches flickered, dimly lighting the way as they climbed.
After a walk neither short nor long they could see the end of the flight of stairs. There was a simple wooden door. The most common one James had ever seen.
Regulus fearlessly stepped ahead of Allan and reached out his hand to the doorknob. He turned it and opened the door. As he opened it the temperature dropped. James felt an icy breeze coming from behind the door.
"Hey, Regules, wait up!" said Allan, quickly following his partner, who had already entered the next room. James followed behind him.
Walking through the door, James was met with a frozen landscape. The floor is covered in a thin layer of ice, and ice spikes protrude from the walls and floor. The air is filled with a feeling of intense cold. The temperature dropped lower than before, and that was in winter.
The place was not very big. From its dimensions, it would be a corridor rather than a room. It was not very wide, and it was long.
What most caught the attention of James and the other two boys was that at the end of the corridor was a large door decorated with beautiful ice patterns. Near the door is a knight in full steel armor standing silently. The knight is about six feet tall and has a long sword. Like the door, the knight is completely frozen.
"That must be the entrance to the vault. The knight must have a rank. It will move and attack us if we get close. He's guarding the entrance," Regulus said shivering.
"Yeah... we better get back," said Allan, rubbing his hands together. He had already accomplished his objective. He had to pass on the information, and his mission would be over.
"Go back? Are you kidding me? Go through so much work, and now you want to go back?" said Regulus, not at all happy. All Allan did was provide him with the two old scrolls. Then all the credit went to him.
"We should prepare better..." said Allan, trying to convince Regulus.
"No. Take out your wand. We'll fight that knight. We'll defeat him and get into the damn vault," said Regulus with wand in hand and starting to walk towards the ice knight.
'He's got some Sirius-like attitudes,' thought James.
"Suit yourself..." muttered Allan, drawing his wand. However, he didn't follow Regulus. Instead, he pointed his wand at him.
"Immobulus!" exclaimed Allan, pointing it at Regulus.
A blue flash shot out of his wand and hit Regulus.
Regulus' movement was halted. He couldn't look at Allan since he was behind him, and he couldn't speak either.
"I'm sorry Regulus... You must understand that I have no choice," Allan muttered approaching Regulus, who was still static in his place.
"I'll cast an Obliviate, and you won't remember anything," Allan added stopping and pointing his wand at Regulus. He had to concentrate hard to cast this charm that erased a specific memory from his mind.
When Regulus heard that his memory would be changed, he tried to open his eyes in surprise, but he couldn't do it. He tried to break the charm, but he couldn't move either.
He never thought that his childhood friend would stab him in the back. It made him more furious that he had solved the complex enigma.
However, before he could cast the charm against Regulus a scream was heard a few feet away from him.
"Expelliarmus!" exclaimed James, who no longer had the invisibility cloak. A scarlet flash shot towards Allan at an incredible speed.
Before he could notice anything, Allan saw his wand fly out of his hand, and he shot backward. He crashed into the wall and slid down until he landed on the cold floor.
"What happened...?" he mumbled in pain as he lay on the icy floor and stared at the ceiling.
Allan struggled to his feet and saw not far from him a jet-haired, blue-eyed boy looking up at him. The boy's blue eyes melted into the icy landscape of the corridor.
'Gryffindor?' thought Allan as he noticed the student's uniform appearing out of nowhere as if he were a ghost.
"James Potter...?" said Allan, stuttering and wide-eyed.
'Potter?' thought Regulus, who wanted to turn around and find out what was going on.
"Oh, looks like I'm quite famous," said James with a slight smile. He hadn't expected a first-year student to recognize him so quickly.
Even though Allan was a first year, he knew who James Potter was. His reputation was very high and growing higher every day.
James Potter the Gryffindor who humiliated Rabastan Lestrange. That news reached the ears of all circles of pureblood families. Now all the younger students were afraid of him because they thought he might challenge you to a duel and humiliate you in front of the whole school.
Allan looked down at his wand that was lying on the floor. It was neither too close to James, nor too close to him. A medium distance.
'I must get my wand back...' thought Allan. He didn't know how James had gotten there, and this was no time to think about it either. He was unarmed and had to turn the situation around.
He noticed that James wasn't even pointing his wand at him, as if he wasn't a threat.
'Now!' thought Allan, starting to run in a zigzag. Getting closer and closer to his wand. He couldn't go in a straight line, he'd be stupid to do that.
'Got it'! thought Allan with a grin as he bent down and grabbed his wand quickly. As soon as he had it in his hands he pointed it at James, ready to attack or defend.
However, James didn't change his position. He continued to watch him with a stoic expression. His wand was still pointed at the ground.
Allan noticed how his cheeks grew hot. He didn't even need to make such a desperate dash for his wand. His opponent didn't even consider him a worthy rival.
James wasn't doing this on purpose. A first-year student his rival? Ha, what a joke. Not even a fourth-year student is a challenge for him.
He only threw a powerful Expelliarmus at him because he didn't like someone betraying his friend. Besides, the person they wanted to erase his memories was his best friend's little brother.
Silence reigned in the corridor. Allan had beads of sweat on his forehead.
'I can't win!' thought Allan. James' aura was scary, though he still had an unchanged expression.
Allan began to slowly take steps backward. In a moment he turned at a great speed and started running towards the exit with all his might.
His mission had already been accomplished. Eustace couldn't be mad at him because a student from another house intruded.
James sighed and shook his head. This Hufflepuff lacked the bravery of a Gryffindor, though his decision was the smart one.
'A Hufflepuff who is disloyal, what a joke. He should belong in Ravenclaw,' thought James.
"Atabraquium!" exclaimed James, making a complicated symbol in the air with his wand.
'Too fast!' thought Allan, turning his head and noticing a yellow flash that hit him. He didn't have a chance to turn around and try to evade it.
Allan's arms and legs were bound, and he fell to the cold ground. He could not move. He seemed to have invisible ropes all over his body binding him.