Chapter Eleven

The throne room was huge. Harry struggled not to look around like a small child as the Green Man sat himself on a throne of vines and creepers. Wispy, cotton-soft seeds, and spores like thistledown hung in the air, spinning slowly. Gnarled, wooden pillars, sticky with sap, dotted the hall. The air smelled of leaf mould and rotten wood. Fungi crawled over the floor. They covered the slick, black ink which leaked from their decaying predecessors. Creeping tendrils wrapped themselves over small, dead animals.

'What dae they call ye?' The Green Man asked as he stretched out his long, bony fingers.

'Traveller,' Harry said. He shifted, something squelched under his boot.

'Traveller?' The Green Man repeated, tasting the word. 'What dae ye seek here? Knowledge? Wealth?' Gold glistered between his fingers. 'Or power?'

'Knowledge. I want to know where I can find two people.'

'Ye are in a hurry. Aye, tis the way with yer folk. Still, some might mistake it for rudeness. Would ye hazard a guess as tae when the last body tae question me came here?'

Harry shrugged, 'A while. By the look of the place you haven't felt the need to tidy up for anyone.'

The Green Man's teeth glinted beneath the shadow of his lips and he twisted a hand to pull a mossy skull from the air. He whispered into it and spun it around. The skull trembled, and its jaws opened,

'Four-score years and ten have I waited here.

When first I came I meant to learn to fear.

Now by fire and flame and candlelight

I wait and pray for no more night.'

The Green Man stroked the skull and it vanished. 'We play skittles in the evening from time tae time. He dinnae like his role so much.'

Harry folded his arms and sighed. 'Can we move past the melodrama?'

The Green Man frowned. 'Aye. But tae gain the knowledge ye want I must perform the Rite of Ashkente.'

'Oh well, who would have guessed? The Rite of Ashkente, what fun! Love it.'

The Green man blinked owlishly at Harry. 'Ye know the Rite?'

Harry opened his mouth, paused and shook his head, 'Nope, but I thought you'd be impressed if I did.'

'Ye are trying my patience mortal. I will let yer impudence slide this time. Tell me, dae ye feel like playing a game?'

'What? Like chess?'

'Chess? Chess?' The Green Man cackled, pounding the arm of his throne. 'Nay. A real game. Three tasks, the stakes: if ye win I answer three questions; if ye lose yer life is mine,' he said, crooking his finger towards Harry.

'What are the tasks? I am not going to agree to things which can't be done.'

'I will tell ye each task before it begins. Ye may accept or walk away each time,' the Green Man promised. 'Dae we have a bargain?'

'Yes.'

A grin spread across the Green Man's craggy face. 'Then let us begin. The first task is simple. In the highest turret of this castle, in a room without windows or doors there is a key. The key cannae be lifted by any mortal's hand. Bring it here. Can ye do that, Traveller?'

'Oh yes.'

'Within an hour, Traveller?' The Green Man asked, pulling out an hourglass from his cloak.

'Easily,' Harry said.

'Begin.' The hourglass was flipped over, the Green Man vanished in a swirl of leaves.

Harry looked at the hourglass and drew his wand. He cast a quick tracking charm. 'I am not going to lose you,' he murmured and then turned, squelching over the slimy floor.

He reached a shuttered window and gripped the rotten wood. Harry wrenched at it and the shutter fell apart under his fingers. The damp, sticky shards clung to his hands as he widened the gap. To his surprise clear, early morning daylight filtered into the room. He looked back towards the hourglass, but there was only a small pile of sand in the bottom of the glass, slowly growing as the rest trickled through.

He flexed his arms, gasping as the movement pulled on his bruised ribs. Then he heaved himself up onto the windowsill and threw himself outwards. The air whistled by. He reached out pulling the magic around himself. Every inch of his skin prickled and then he swooped upwards, beating his tired wings as he climbed higher into the sky. He circled around the towers which stretched out like the branches of an ancient tree.

It was as he was passing the penultimate turret that the cawing began. It spread, rippling over the rooftops. Crows rose around him in a black cloud. He beat his wings as hard as he could, but a falcon is at its fastest when diving and he was struggling to rise above the ascending cloud. He dove underneath a crow's outstretched claws and lashed out, slicing through another's wing with his talons. The blow slowed him, and the crows closed in. He spun amongst the birds, deafened by the cawing. Two collided as he twisted between them and they hurtled downwards before disentangling themselves.

A wall of black feathers rose in front of him and he shrieked at them surging forwards before he plummeted downwards at the last moment swooping through the tiled roofs. Crows, too slow to change course in time crashed against the turrets and slipped into the void. Harry shot upwards striking out at any which came too close. A few landed glancing blows; he crested the roof and let the magic fall away. Human again he braced himself, pulling out his wand as he rolled down the roof. His hand skittered over the tiles. The skin on the palm was torn off before he cast a sticking charm which caught him as he neared the roof edge. He whipped his wand around, a thin shield springing up between him and the birds which screeched in anger, pecking at the dome of light.

He lay panting on the rooftop and pressed the wand tip against the tiles. They vanished, leaving an ugly tear in the roof. He levered himself up, balancing carefully on the sloping tiles before dropping down into the room below.

It was small, barely more than roof space. The only light came from the hole he had made in the roof. Stone dust and a few old nails were all that lay there, save for the key. It was small and made from aged bronze. Deciding it was worth a try he put out his hand to pick it up, but his fingers slid through it.

He sighed and pointed his wand towards it. Swish and flick, 'Wingardium leviosa.'

Nothing happened. Harry frowned at the key. He shuffled round in the confined space, studying the key from every angle. Outside the birds slammed themselves uselessly against the shield and the tiles.

He pointed his wand at the key again. 'Aguamenti.' A thin stream of water hit the key and bounced off. It glistening as the water ran off it and trickled down over the beam. Harry smiled. He turned his attention to the floor, vanishing a section of it before conjuring a rope which he tied to a beam. Then with small, careful motions he cut out the section of wood surrounding the key and cast the levitation charm again. A cone of wood, supporting the key, floated upwards. He snatched the cone from the air and with a few quick motions of his wand coaxed the wood over the key, holding it in place.

Gingerly he grasped the rope, biting his lip as it slid over the raw skin and the scratches the crows had left. He slid gently down into the room below and began to work his way down through the tower towards the signal he had left in the throne room.

He was limping down a long passage when something slid through the window. He raised his wand, ready to curse when the thing straightened up, revealing itself to be Malvine. He gaped at her, speechless for a moment, before finding his voice, 'How did you find me?'

'The scent. Are you well? You have been gone for three days.'

'Three days? It can't be. I've only been here overnight. We need to hurry though. I have to bring this to the Green Man before an hour is up. Not far now.'

'Certainly.' She fell into step beside him. 'He will give you what you desire?'

'I hope so.' He glanced at her and hesitated before reaching into his pocket and drawing out a length of silvery cloth. 'I don't think we should let him know you are here. Put this on. I don't trust him.'

'What is it?' She asked. She took the cloak; the material ran like water.

'An invisibility cloak. Now he should just be around this corner.'

She threw the cloak over herself as they turned the corner and stepped into the throne room. The hourglass stood on the arm of the throne, the last few minutes of sand gradually trickling through it. Harry limped forwards and put the block of wood with the key in it down on the throne.

As the last grains of sand fell into the lower bulb of the hourglass a wind rushed through the chamber. Leaves filled the air. Harry stood in a blizzard of green and brown as they whirled around him. The Green Man stepped from the settling leaves. He eyed the key.

'Ye are quite a lad, Traveller. But ye look tired, not too exhausted to keep playing our game?' The Green Man asked.

'Perish the thought. That was just a warm up. So, what's next?' Harry said.

The Green Man stroked his beard of holy leaves and roots. Then he waved his hand over the floor. The ground dropped away, sliding into nothingness as a narrow well, barely large enough for a man to climb down appeared in the floor of the chamber. 'Come and look lad. In this well lies a ring; a ring which would shine through the darkest of nights. That would be a worthy prize would it not? Can ye fetch me that ring?'

'Oh indeed.'

'In an hour?'

'Certainly,' Harry said, nodding.

The hour glass spun. Tthe Green Man vanished into the reflection as the sand began to pour. Harry waved his wand to clear the area and sank to the floor looking down into the well. Far below something glinted in the well.

'Accio ring.' Nothing happened. Harry frowned. 'Of course not, when is it ever that easy?' He conjured a rope and dropped it into the hole. As soon as he did so the rope vanished.

There was a rustle behind him and Malvine stepped up to stand beside him. 'Is all well wizard?'

'I can't get it. I can't conjure anything to reach it, I can't summon it. I can't fly up or down that shaft, it's too narrow.' He looked around the chamber, for anything to help, but there was nothing.

'I could help,' she offered.

'Mmm, what?'

'I could be the ladder, as I was in the cave. With a ladder you may make the trip swiftly and surely. You could be done before the hour is up with ease. You had better take the sword though,' she said, unbuckling it from where it hung at her waist.

'Why not just leave the sword up here? It'll slow me down,' Harry asked.

'The blade has tasted dragon's blood. I do not trust that creature not to take it,' she said holding it out to Harry.

'What does that mean though? It's just a sword,' Harry said as he took it. He propped it against his knee as he bound a strip of cloth around his skinned hand.

'Any wound from such a blade may never be healed by any creature, mortal or immortal, unless the blade's wielder commands the wound to close.'

Harry nodded. 'Fine. Let's start then, the sooner the better after all,' he said, glancing at the hour glass.

Malvine dropped over the edge, feet digging into the floor as they became the start of the ladder of bones. They slid into the floor, holding the ladder in place as it rattled down the shaft. The way was deeper this time and Harry realised, peering down at the ladder, that Malvine's hair bound the rungs together.

Harry buckled the sword to his side and wearily began to climb, descending into the well. The minutes ticked by as he went lower and lower, leaning back to rest against the other side of the well to catch his breath. The light became smaller and smaller above him and a lingering lethargy crept over him. His foot slipped. The toe of his boot shot through a rung of tiny bones before hitting the floor of the well. He froze, heart almost stopping. The ladder shivered under his fingers.

'Malvine, are you okay?' He asked, but there was no answer from the cold, white bones. He crouched and picked up the ring, resting for a moment before he began the climb back up. He focused, swarming up the rungs, fighting his aching body as much as the ascent.

At the top he heaved himself out and rolled onto the flagstones he had cleared. He gasped for breath for a moment, panting and then slowly straightened up. The ladder rattled and then Malvine was clinging to the edge of the wall. With an effort he pulled her out, looking her up and down.

'Are you okay? I could have broken your neck! I'm so sorry.'

'Don't be. 'twas just my little finger,' she held out her hand. The finger was crooked and a little red. 'It'll mend before long. You have the ring?'

He nodded, 'You should take back the cloak and sword; he probably knows you are here, but best to try to hide it.' He unbuckled the sword again. He handed it back to her as she threw the cloak over herself.

The last grains of sand ran through the glass and the Green Man was there in a swirl of leaves. He frowned as he plucked the ring from Harry's hand.

'Is anybody helping ye lad?' He asked. 'How are ye doing this? There are things in my castle I cannae see nae hear. What spell are ye weaving?'

'None of that sort. I'm just a traveller with some answers to win.'

'Or a life to lose,' the Green Man said, taking a seat on the throne. With a gesture the well was gone as if it had never been. 'But yer're quite a lad, and quite a sorcerer too. Ye've bested me twice physically, yet the third time counts for all. I will ask ye three riddles. If ye can give me the answers to them I will answer three questions. But if you lose ...'

'I'll do it,' Harry said grimly. 'At least I can do it without going and finding something else you've lost. Provided these riddles have answers.'

'Dinnae worry yerself. To a lad like ye I am sure they will nae be too taxing. First then, a box without hinges, key or a lid, yet golden treasure inside is hid. What is it?'

'Easy. You ought not to rip off Tolkein though,' Harry said, stretching, cracking his joints. 'It's an egg.'

The Green Man shrugged as if he did not particularly care whether Harry lost or won. 'Ye know some ancient lore, things I thought lost, impressive. So then here's the second: I have seas with no water, coasts with no sand, towns without people, mountains without land. What am I?'

Harry frowned, mumbling, 'Rivers without water ... could be the Moon I suppose, but the Moon doesn't have towns at all. A desert? There are areas referred to as great seas, but deserts often have sand, and if they had a mountain it would have to have land. Can I have a minute for this one?'

'Take all the time ye need,' said the Green Man graciously.

'Mountains without land, something imaginary? If it's imaginary someone must be imagining, it. Books then? Books aren't that common, and towns in books normally have people. It has to be something anyone could think of ... got it.' Harry turned triumphantly to the Green Man, stumbling slightly as he made the sudden movement. 'A map. The answer is a map.'

'Congratulations. One more riddle and all the answers you seek could be yours. I sat with my love, and I drank with my love, and my love she gave me light. I'll give the questions three to any man who can read my riddle right.' The Green Man grinned unpleasantly.

Harry stared at him for a long moment running through the riddle. 'Got to discount the last part, of course, so what does it mean? It's symbolic, or a twist on what you'd usually think it meant? But what sort of twist?'

The Green Man pulled another hourglass from his cloak and stared at the black sand as it trickled through towards an unknown moment. There was only a little sand left in the upper bulb. 'Struggling lad?'

'Not at all. Give me a bit and I'll let you know the answer,' Harry said with false bravado.

There was a soft rustle of cloth beside him and Malvine whispered in his ear, almost making him jump. 'It means that he sat in a chair made of his lover's bones; he drank her blood from a chalice made from her skull, and he was lit by a candle made from her fat.'

It was all Harry could do not to pull a face, but he gave a small, almost imperceptible nod. 'I can give you the answer if you want it,' he said.

'It's yer life at stake,' the Green Man pointed out.

'True, true,' Harry admitted and repeated the answer Malvine had given him.

Anger flashed over the Green Man's face and he rose from the throne. The vines and creepers lashed around him, writhing in an unholy halo. 'How did ye know? Ye didn't know! It were nae one ye could have guessed. Who told you?'

'Can you see anyone else here?' Harry asked weakly. 'I was toying with you. Now pay up.'

The Green Man's face calmed, becoming expressionless. 'Aye. I suppose I must. Ask yer questions. I shall go and find the answers and return.'

'I am looking for two men, one named Sirius Black, the other called Tom Riddle. Where are they? Where must I go to find them? Those are my first two questions,' Harry said firmly.

The Green Man bowed his head in acknowledgement. He placed the hourglass upon the arm of the throne and vanished in a flurry of leaves. Harry swayed, skin pale.

'We need to get out of here soon. I feel terrible. Too tired. Will you be okay?'

'Yes,' Malvine whispered. 'Beware though. He is taking this too well, I would wager that he has a trick or two up his sleeve.'

Harry nodded and sat down on the flagstones he had cleaned earlier. A rumble of thunder sounded from somewhere within the castle. The spores and seeds which hung in the air trembled and tumbled through the air for a moment before settling again. There was a howl of wind and the Green Man strode from the shadows. He bowed mockingly to Harry and sat himself again. He glanced at the hourglass.

'I have the answers, lad. They are in different places, one much farther away than the other. The first is but a word or two away and ye could meet him now if ye chose. The second is lost, but soon will be found. As ye didn't specify exactly what ye wanted that is all the answer ye'll get. As to the second the answer is simple; go to Trewalder. If ye get there within the week ye'll meet one for sure and if my sources are correct ye'll meet the other,' the Green Man said. 'Now do you have a last question to ask?'

Harry shook his head. 'Not now. Maybe I'll come back some day to ask the last.' He stood shakily, face drawn. The last grains of sand in the hourglass ran out.

'Mayhap you would ... if ye were going to be leaving here at all,' the Green Man said. His green eyes sparkled like emeralds in firelight. Harry moved to draw his wand, but he fumbled. The Green Man held out a hand. 'I think not.'

Harry froze in place unable to move. His limbs were immobile, beyond his control. The Green Man wriggled his fingers and Harry's arms and legs danced in time to their movements as if he were a marionette. He tried to open his mouth and to his surprise found he could speak. 'What have you done?'

'Ye see these little things?' The Green Man asked, plucking a downy seed from the air. 'As soon as ye entered this room they attached themselves to ye. Burrowed into ye skin. It takes a while for them to work, but after about three hours they can override yer own body. They control you now, and I control them.'

'You can't be serious. I've played your game, let me go!' Harry snapped, trying useless to pull himself free from the invisible chains.

'Nay, I cannae do that lad. Well I could, but it would nae be so fun. It would damage my reputation though. With a fresh body like yers, brim full of magic, I could do so much. He will be pleased too, said I could nae get you this way. I guess there are things even he cannae foresee,' the Green Man said. He stood and stepped down from the throne. He slowly swept across the floor. His cloak trailed behind him, sweeping through the black ink. He stalked around Harry, regarding him from every angle. 'The question is though, what has Him so worked up about ye lad?'

'I don't know who you're talking about,' Harry said through gritted teeth. He managed to twitch a finger.

'Ah, ah, none of that,' the Green Man said, and pain shot through Harry's leg as if a spear had been thrust into it. He sunk to one knee yelling out in pain.

'We had a deal, you lost. You don't get my life,' Harry growled through clenched teeth.

'Nae, we had a bet. That bet's over. I will nae deny it was fun, but now the rules have changed,' the Green Man said, cupping Harry's chin in his long, cold fingers.

'I have one question left.'

'Then I will leave ye here until ye ask it. Ye can end this, if ye please. After that, Traveller, yer life is MINE!'