《 Skip a Beat 》

A perfect storm

It might not have been purposeful, but their footfalls were quieter on the cement. Lighter.

It wasn't entirely dark in the cellar. There was a dim, watery grey light illuminating the cellar, just enough to see the walls.

They must've been somewhere the size of a small throne room.

Behind Theseus, Tina was gazing up in awe, turning in a circle to drink it all in.

The interior was littered with- most curiously- upturned wooden furniture, scratched and brown, in stark contrast to the cement walls. Several disused wine racks stood against the wall on the right, empty and rotting.

"Whoever was here last made a mess of the place," muttered Theseus to himself, angling his wand in case of any nasty surprises.

"Hm."

A few silent moments passed, then Tina added, "Why would Grindelwald use a no-maj weapon?"

"Do you know how to switch off an explosive?" was Theseus' only response. He kneeled down to inspect the wooden tables.

"No."

"Well now we know why."

Tina snorted, dragging a chair out of the way to check behind it.

A cracking sound echoed around the cellar, and Theseus whipped around.

The figure from earlier was standing at the entrance to the cellar, wand raised at the ceiling.

Theseus' eyes drifted upward, towards the enormous brick pillar- barely able to fit into the room- levitating in front of the entrance... blocking the entrance. Controlled by the figure's spell.

They saw the trap just as its jaws snapped shut on them.

"No!" Theseus screamed. Tina whirled, but it was too late.

The figure lowered their wand, and the spell was broken. A wall of bricks came tumbling down.

Lunging forward, Theseus yanked Tina out of the way as a sound, louder than any sound they had ever heard, shattered through the cellar as bricks smashed to the floor.

"Protego!"

A glittering blue bubble materialised around the partners as a landslide of bricks piled up to the ceiling, bouncing off the shield, clattering to the floor.

The magic stirred in response, as if cracking an eye open from a deep slumber.

Several painful moments passed.

"Lumos," said Theseus softly.

They stayed frozen, tucked safely underneath the protective charm, both staring upwards, waiting for the dust to settle. Both frightened. Who had attacked them?

The former let his charm fizzle and fade away, leaving them to get to their feet, still glancing warily around.

"Theseus."

It was a whisper.

He turned to face her, his wand light illuminating her panicked expression. Tina numbly indicated the fallen bricks, blocking their pathway out of the cellar.

"Can you move them?" he asked carefully, head still spinning from the sound of a ginormous column of bricks all clattering to the floor at once.

One spell wasn't powerful enough to move hundreds and hundreds of bricks all at the same time. Both of them had to work together to make a way out.

"I... I've lost my wand," said Tina in a small voice that he'd never heard before. "When the bricks fell, I dropped it and it scattered across to the other side."