It began with the walls whispering back.
Not voices. Not English. Not Parseltongue.
Just… sound. Like breathing — slow, rhythmic, coming from the stone itself.
Harry sat up in bed. It was long past midnight.
But the mark on his palm glowed faintly — and his wand was vibrating on the nightstand.
The castle was calling.
Again.
The Forgotten Corridor
He didn't wake Theodore or Draco.
This time, the pull was sharper. More urgent. The torches flickered as he passed, even unlit ones catching flame.
The air grew colder as he descended. Not damp — clean, untouched. Like the walls hadn't been breathed on in centuries.
He found a staircase behind a tapestry. It wasn't on the Marauder's Map. The steps curved like a spiral well, going straight down.
At the bottom: a corridor of bone-white stone.
The floor shimmered with residual magic.
And at the end, the door.
The same one from his dream.Black stone. Runes carved deep. No handle. No lock.
But his mark pulsed. And the door… responded.
The First Word
He didn't speak.
But something in him did.
A word, ancient and bitter, rose from his throat — not his own language. Not human.
"Sarthiel."
The runes lit up.
The door shuddered.
But did not open.
Instead, from within the stone, a voice answered — clear, female, echoing.
"One who is not yet lost cannot enter."
Harry stepped back.
"What does that mean?"
But there was no reply.
The Return to Surface
The staircase closed behind him after he left. The walls sealed without a sound. And yet… something had changed.
Not in Hogwarts.
In him.
A Visitor in the Great Hall
The next morning, the Great Hall buzzed with noise — until a hush fell.
A woman in ash-grey robes entered, escorted by Professor McGonagall.
Not the Ministry. Not a parent.
An Archivist.
Draco stiffened beside him.
"They only come when old magic stirs," he whispered. "And when someone tries to wake what should stay buried."
Harry's blood ran cold.
The woman looked straight at him.
She knew.
End Scene – The Voice Returns
That night, as Harry tried to sleep, a voice slid beneath the edges of his mind — not a memory, but a presence.
Selene's voice.
"You are close, Heir.But to open the door… something must be taken.
And something must be given."