Chapter 23: The Command of the Dark Lord
Rudolf and Ron were very pleased to see that Harry was well again.
"You missed der Quodpot game," said Rudolf. "Ve vun by twenty-sefen goals to fourteen."
"With this hand, I'll be excellent at sport, that's what the Healer said," Harry told him. "It's got in-built grip."
"Cheat," said Ron, but Harry could tell that he didn't really care.
"I'm going on the Tri-X," Harry informed his friends. "Want to watch?"
"I haf homeverk," replied Rudolf.
"I'll come," said Ron. "Let's go."
After Harry had been playing for half an hour Ron left to get some food. Harry found himself taking Melkius Karrelus down a long, winding tunnel. It was dark and there was no sound but the dripping of water. The roof was very low. It reminded Harry of somewhere.
After a few minutes of crouching down and fighting off bats, Karrelus came into a small cave. There was no light. Harry hesitated for a moment, and then pressed the forward key.
A terrible voice filled the cave, and Harry jumped. He put his new hand on the cast key, ready to attack.
"NOW YOU WILL DIE!" rang out the voice in piercing tones. "NOW YOU WILL DIE! NOW – YOU – WILL – DIE!"
There was a sudden rumbling noise, and the Tri-X started to shake. Harry looked around the darkened common room. It was as deserted as the cave.
A dim light had appeared in the centre of the cave, which appeared to be moving downwards. Harry made Kerrelus run to the walls of the cave, but all the little character could do was say, "There is no way out!"
Suddenly water started to seep in through the floor. The cave continued to move downwards and Kerrelus was engulfed in the icy liquid. Harry saw a few bubbles, then the screen went black and read, "GAME OVER."
The game restarted from just outside the cave. Harry looked around, but could see no alternative route. He controlled the character into the cave, which once more began to sink. When the water began to rise he tried the Bubble-Head Charm, but it was no use. The bubble popped, and Kerrelus died.
Time after time Harry tried to escape, using spell after spell. On what must have been the fiftieth attempt, he Transfigured a huge rock as a last resort – and the cave stopped moving. The rock was too heavy for whatever was pushing or pulling to move. Kerrelus scrambled onto the top of the rock, blasted a hole in the cave roof and scrambled up quickly as the cave collapsed below him.
Harry saved and quitted the game. It was getting late and he was hungry.
Harry's new hand did indeed turn out to be a useful asset, both for sports and otherwise. In Curses on Wednesday, where they had to swing between trees like Tarzan to escape their dummy enemies, Harry did far better than anyone else and when they played Quidditch in Physical Training on Friday, he caught the Quaffle and Snitch so easily that Madam Hooch ordered him to "Put on a glove or tie your hand up in rags."
It was cold, wet and rainy at the weekend, but all the same Harry was glad to be back in the air, playing his favourite sport. He was also glad to find that he was better than Pegasus Equiner at something. They were both Seekers on separate teams, and Harry's side won 270-40 after a thrilling ninety-minute game.
Harry was also doing very well on personal points. He had 135, eight more than his closest competitor, third-year Sam Mesalla. He seriously began to wonder what the promised prize would be.
Yet another gruelling week passed, and Harry really began to feel the strain. He could now transfigure different forms of energy into small solid objects, and vice versa, identify plants by smell, make potions to conserve energy, follow a wizard from hundreds of miles away and attempt to train trolls to perform some tasks for him, although he thought it would probably be easier to do them himself.
He wished he was allowed to use his Energy Conservation Concoctions, but their use was strictly controlled.
On the third Monday of November Professor Confessus revealed to the students that they were ready to start to use their Time Turners. Harry took his from his bag, and put it on the desk in front of him.
"We will be travelling back in time two hours," said Professor Confessus. "We will work for an hour, then return to this time. You will be allowed the rest of the period off, as we will of course return to where we started. I happened to glimpse ourselves in this room this morning, so I know that we will manage. OK, everyone. Take your Turners, put them around your necks and rotate them twice."
Harry picked up his Time Turner and placed it over his head. He picked it up – and dropped it. It swung round – once, twice, three times. Harry saw a mass of swirling colour, then found himself back where he started.
The room was dark – it was only six o'clock in the morning. Harry got up, and lit the torches with his wand. He didn't know how to get back. He supposed he'd just have to wait.
He sat down at the desk and began to read the 150 Points Quidditch magazine that Ron had left in the room the previous Friday. It was full of action-shots of players from various Quidditch games. Harry could see why no wizard had bothered to invent anything like a TV – you went to the games, listened to them on the WWN or looked at the photos.
At half-past the torches went out. Harry froze. The early morning sunlight that managed to get through the blinds was casting a shadow beside the blackboard – a tall figure. Harry looked around. There was no one behind him.
"Millstew," said a terrible, ancient voice, and Harry turned back to the shadow. "I am glad you have kept our meeting."
Harry looked around. Nobody was answering. The shadow obviously thought that he was Thomas Millstew – but why? And if he was Millstew, that must have made the shadow – Lord Amarenox. "Yes, my lord," said Harry, trying to sound intimidated – it came easily.
"Have you killed Potter yet?" thundered the shadow.
"Not yet my lord," said Harry, thinking fast. "Er – he is in the building."
"Fool!" bellowed the voice. "I have told you – we cannot murder him personally unless he is alone. There are others in his dormitory."
"Yes, of course, my lord," said Harry, hoping he sounded like he was grovelling. "But I have tried to kill him. The vampire has made friends with him and the Armripper only got as far as the elbow. Er – what shall I try now? My lord," he added.
"I thought you said you had a plan," growled Amarenox.
"Oh, yes," said Harry. "I forgot. Er – let me think."
There was silence for a few seconds. Harry considered attacking the shadow, but it seemed foolish to duel with someone he couldn't see. He tried to think of a way in which he could kill himself, but Amarenox beat him too it.
"Was it something to do with the owl?" he asked. "Poison it to madness so that it pecked him to death?"
"Yes, my lord, that was it," replied Harry. "I was going to feed her – it, I mean – feed it a – er – Craziness Concoction and a Babbling Beverage at the same time. That's meant to have terrible effects."
"You seem rather unsure this morning, Millstew" said the voice.
"It's early. My lord," said Harry, and gave a fake yawn. "I'm tired."
"Oh," said the voice haughtily and disapprovingly. "Of course. You do understand how important it is to get rid of Potter, don't you? We don't want to make the mistakes of," Amarenox paused, "certain other Dark Lords and let our victims find out too much."
"No, no, my lord," said Harry, trembling. "I will destroy him."
"Good. After that we must get to the Orb of Light. It will allow the world to survive once we have done the work we need to do. We must destroy it. I will see you back here on the next full moon. Goodbye."
"My lord," replied Harry.
The shadow disappeared quietly, and Harry sat and thought. Now he knew why they wanted to get rid of him, but what was Amarenox 'needing to do'? And what was the Orb of Light?
After Professor Confessus and the class had appeared from nowhere in the classroom, Harry barely paid attention to the lesson. He wondered about telling somebody, but remembered what Dumbledore had said: "You are an adult now. You have to make your own decisions, your own choices."