The Ring of Gyges
The war was at its peak; tensions were high all around. The mission about to commence, if successful, could turn the tide for good.
Sirius was stood on a lonely hill, back against the bark of a lone elm tree. Standing in the shadows, his head whipped from left to right, anxious, waiting. When another figure was seen on the hillside, Sirius' eyes narrowed, as if to make out the details that would distinguish the other person. It was a man, that much was clear, and that was a good sign. In the depths of night, under the light of the moon, little else could be seen. Slowly, as the man drew nearer, his features were noticeable to Sirius' eye: scruffy, dark hair; a navy blue jumper; a confident gait. Sirius breathed a sigh of relief, but the tension soon rose in him again.
"What was the very first fight we ever had about?" Sirius asked the figure in the darkness.
"You told me about a spell you'd found to turn someone's hair green and I stole it and pranked Lily," came the man's response, and only then did Sirius allow himself to relax. It was James.
Sirius pulled something out of his pocket: an old tissue box, by the look of it.
"How long have we got?" James asked, coming to stand by his best friend.
Sirius checked his scratched and rusted pocket watch. "About six minutes."
There was silence for a few minutes as James nodded, his eyebrows drawn together in concern.
"Ever been to Greece?" Sirius mused, making small talk, knowing the answer already.
"Nope," James replied. "So what's the plan?" he asked.
"We've run through it so many times, James, you should know it by now," Sirius replied.
"I know, I do, but can we just run through it again?" James was nervous; Sirius could see that. He wanted logic as a form of comfort.
"We'll arrive about a mile away from the coven, and we need to make our way into the vaults without being seen or heard. Or smelled. They have good noses. We'll do this in Animagus form, and I've got the map right here." Sirius tapped at his breast pocket. "Then, we need to find the Vault of Lydia, where the Ring of Gyges is kept. We grab it and run."
James nodded. "Okay."
Sirius checked his watch again, and held the tissue box out for James.
The pair appeared very suddenly on the Greek mainland, in a small outcrop of trees on a hill side. Bent double at first, they staggered to right themselves, nauseous from the journey. The pair looked down, breathing heavily, to the valley beneath them. It was a small village, nothing more, at least from up here.
"How the hell are we going to get down there without being seen?" James immediately burst out, seeing the exposed rocky hillside, and brain immediately rushing to panic.
"Er, your cloak?" Sirius asked. James looked away and said nothing, ashamed and embarrassed.
The cloak was drawn and the two men huddled beneath it as best as they could, bending their knees so the fabric could brush the dry earth. They made slow process, but it wasn't too long before they were stood at the very edges of the village, hidden behind a wall.
Sirius drew the map, analysing their location in silence. He pointed to a spot at the north of the village, where they were. The vault entrance was not very far away, and they knew it was not heavily guarded. No one who entered this village yet had come out alive – there was no need for sentinels.
There was no sign of the vampires that lived here, not yet, and that worried Sirius. What if they knew they were there? What if it was a game?
James transfigured first, leaving his old body behind to stand as a proud stag. It would mask their scent, at least, but they would still need to travel unseen. Sirius cast a Disillusionment Charm on him before transfiguring himself into a shaggy black dog, making sure between them that the cloak kept them covered.
With a deep breath, they entered the village. They weaved their way through the shadows, noting the heat in the ground from the sun of the previous day. They saw figures in the distance, two people travelling through the streets perpendicular to their location, and hugged into the side of the house until they were gone.
Soon, the vault was in front of them, marble pillars surrounding a gilded door under a triangular roof. The decoration was ornate, imposing, and filled the pair with a sense of dread.
Sirius couldn't help but hope that the door was well-oiled.
Keeping their eyes open, cast all around them for signs of movement, they stepped into the open and made their way towards the building.
They had luck on their side, it seemed, as they began to climb the three steps up to the door. But maybe, just maybe, it was too easy.
Sirius' mouth grasped the door handle, twisting it, and they were more than surprised to discover it wasn't even locked. It seemed they wanted to be robbed of their most prized possession.
In fact, the whole journey down to the specific vault was simple and straight-forward, not another soul inside. The vaults were not a labyrinth, the stairs down and down were easy enough to find. They took their time – ever wary and ever alert as they were – but there was no hassle at all. They looked at each other with worry etched into every inch of their faces.
Something was wrong.
Before they knew it, they were staring at a pedestal, lit by a single torch. On it stood a plain, golden ring. It was not ostentatious; it was not large, or imposing. It was just a ring.
Switching back to human form, James reached out cautiously, and picked the ring up. Sirius switched back, too: no need for disguises when they were alone.
That was when it happened. The pedestal had been relying on the minute weight of the ring, and when the weight was taken away, it rose up ever so slightly. A low whistle rang out as air rushed to fill the new space below. A low whistle maybe, but it was loud enough.
They blanched as they looked at each other, and a raucous was heard some distance away, back on the surface, in the village.
"Shit," James said. "How long until the Portkey takes us back?" he asked.
"Ten minutes," Sirius replied, and the two drew their wands.
It was only then that they noticed the way they came was not the only entrance to the vault: no, it was just the only one open. Spinning around, back to back, they counted the doors: two, three, four, five… seven. Seven doors. Two men.
The first vampire flew at them at an unnatural speed, fangs on display, face contorted in anger.
A flash of light from James' wand and he fell to the floor, unconscious. They began to pour in, doors opening, and the duo duelled as best as they could, keeping the creatures at bay. They had no time to play nice: the vampires were killed, maimed, knocked out – they had no other choice.
The attack suddenly stopped as more vampires arrived: there were hundreds of them, just a few metres away. Their menacing, predatory grins were trained on the pair as they circled, approaching slowly, knowing their deaths were imminent.
Sirius reached around behind him, pressing something into James' back: a crumpled tissue box. James took hold, and they waited, praying it would be in time.
As the vampires drew nearer and nearer, the first one to jump pounced, licking his lips.
And fell to the floor through the thin air.
The End.