Melee

The layout of the Death Chamber was very similar to that of the Ministry of Magic's courtroom. Ringed tiers rose around it like a Roman amphitheater, but it felt far more oppressive than the courtroom.

Perhaps it was a characteristic of the Department of Mysteries, but the Death Chamber was just as dim. They could barely make out one another's faces.

The entrance was at the very top of the tiers. Because they had jumped too fiercely, they nearly fell straight to the bottom.

Luckily, Hermione Granger's Cushioning Charm let them land safely at the critical moment.

The group struggled to their feet. The layout of this place gave them a terrible feeling, as though they were going to die here.

Every hall in the Ministry of Magic had been carefully decorated. Even if they were not dazzlingly magnificent, they were at least polished enough to reflect light.

Yet strangely, the very center of this hall looked like rugged mountain terrain, without the slightest trace of carving or refinement. There were even quite a few huge boulders.

Most bizarre of all was the broken yet towering stone archway standing in the center. Such a structure simply did not fit with the stern, orderly Ministry of Magic.

"We need to find another way out quickly. We can't let them trap us here!" Hermione Granger called out to the others, only to see Harry staring blankly at the strange archway.

"Harry?"

Harry furrowed his brow and kept studying the archway. In his field of vision, translucent curtains seemed to hang within the arch, which should have been empty. There was no air moving here at all, yet the curtains continued to flutter.

What puzzled him even more was that faint murmuring whispers seemed to come from within the archway, as if something