As Snape and Albus urged the thestrals toward the door at the side of the room, Crouch shouted after them, “Where are you going?”
“The next section. We have been informed that this door is a way around the obstacle ahead.” Snape replied.
Crouch shook his head. “The Inferi, by their very nature, are deceptive. You would do better to go all the way through that last aisle in order to get to the other side.”
Albus, unsure of who to trust, tried the door, but found it locked. “Alohomora!” he shouted, but even then, the door remained adamant. Frustrated, he followed Snape down the next aisle, the first of those labeled THIEVES. The inhabitants of this set of shelves had been almost entirely stripped of their clothes. They had severe burn marks on their skin, and they displayed a wide variety of hexes and curses.
“Potter, the ones who abide in this aisle have betrayed trust by stealing. As penance, they have no possessions or extra clothes to cover themselves. They have no wands, so they are defenseless against the curses that the Inferi set against them. Because they used their hands to take what was not theirs, now everything they touch burns them.”
Albus’ eyes widened. The inhabitants of the thieves’ aisle bounced about, trying to keep their feet off of the ground, their limbs away from the shelves, and their bodies away from everyone else. It was an impossible situation due to the sheer number of people in the aisle.
As they watched, one man lost his balance, crashing into a great number of people, knocking several prophecies off of the shelf, and nearly overturning another shelf. The broken shards of the glass orbs simultaneously cut and seared his skin, while the silver mist collected on his skin before it could gather into the prophecies and turned boiling. The man screamed.
“Mundungus Fletcher,” Snape informed Albus with disgust, “former member of the Order of the Phoenix, who was caught stealing from their safe house, the house of Black, in order to sell the dark goods on the wizard black market.”
The thestrals had to swerve in order to dodge the angry, agonized thieves, but before long, Albus found himself safely on the other side, following Snape once more.
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