-Chapter Sixteen-

In The Deep End

"Lectorius Sparkus!" cried Harry

A bolt of electricity sprayed out of his wand and onto the Dalek that had been waiting in ambush outside of the elevator before it could fire. Instantly the Dalek began to glow blue and shake wildly. "Mobility hindered! Reinforcements needed!"

Harry kept his wand trained on the Dalek, allowing the electricity to play across it's casing. The wand shook violently in his hand and Harry knew he couldn't hold on forever. He backed down the corridor away rom the Dalek, looking over his shoulder for any other doors.

Suddenly the wand shot from his grasp and the spell died away. Harry quickly grabbed the wand from where it had fallen and was surprised to feel it tingling from the effects of the spell. How had Willow done it?

The Dalek looked badly burned and didn't seem to be functioning properly. Were they robots? Harry couldn't tell. "Halt… Stay where you are…" said the Dalek, its voice badly slurred. It started to move towards Harry but it was clearly damaged: It's movements were slow and sluggish. "Sorry, can't stay!" shouted Harry, breaking into a run.

Next thing he knew the wall was exploding next to him as the Dalek fired it's gun but missed. Harry was flung aside by the blast, crashed to the ground and struggled to his feet, his body a mass of pain. He turned round to face the Dalek, wand at the ready, only to see that it had become still and inert. It must have used what little power it had to fire that shot. If it had been on full power…

"Don't think about it."Thought Harry to himself. "Just focus on finding a way out of here." He knew it wouldn't be long until more Daleks arrived. As if on cue he heard behind him "Prisoner located! Exterminate!" Harry didn't look back, he just focused on running.

After what felt like hours, but was in fact only a minute or so (1), Harry finally saw a door further down the corridor. Although nearly exhausted, he put on a burst of speed and was able to leap inside as the Daleks closed in, the door slamming behind him. He had done it!

Harry bent forward o get his breath back. Outside he could hear the sound of the Daleks firing at he door in an attempt to get in, to no avail. "Burn through it." He heard one Dalek say. He didn't have much time! Frantically Harry looked around the room he was in. It was the same size as the elevator, only now there was a second door on the opposite wall. Perhaps that lead further into the ship?

Suddenly there was a sizzling sound. Harry turned back to the door and was horrified see a scorch mark appearing. He had to get out! Quickly Harry turned to the controls. They looked much more simple than the ones in the lift, just four buttons and another globe. Hoping for the best, Harry put his hand on the globe and pressed a button at random.

Instantly the door slid open, and with it came the water of the Great Lake. Before Harry could react he was swept outside by the inrush of water. Harry tried swimming but his lungs were suddenly full of water.

Then everything went black.

"Prisoner expelled." said the Black Dalek simply as it watched the image of Harry drifting away from the ship with the Master and Malfoy. Malfoy shivered. He'd always thought that Potter's death would be a glorious moment, the final obstacle in the Dark Lord's path to victory. Instead he just felt cold inside, and was secretly grateful when the image was shut off.

"Alas, poor Harry" said the Master in jest. "But you've have only defeated one of your foes. The Doctor is here."

"Incorrect." said the Black Dalek.

"Incorrect?" asked the Master, astonished. "What do you mean?"

"The Doctor is not here." said the Dalek by way of explanation. "You will show us your equipment now." As far as it was concerned, the matter was done with.

The Master looked like he wanted to pursue the matter further, but decided against it. "Yes, of course. My passages have already been changed to suit your needs. If you would care to accompany me?"

Malfoy and the Master left the ship, accompanied by three Daleks. Malfoy was impressed at how different the passageways were now. They had been widened enough for the Daleks to move down without completely blocking it, and each staircase had been changed into a ramp allowing access for the Daleks (2). Once the Dark Lord was in charge he would be very interested in these abilities of the Master… Malfoy was sure that Voldemort would enjoy working with the Master.

They arrived back in the Chamber of the Secrets. The Slytherins were gingerly operating machinery that they had no understanding of, while the Death Eaters were working on repairing the broken brethren. One of the Slytherins, Nott, looked up as Malfoy, the Master and the Daleks entered, and Malfoy smirked at the look of terror that appeared on his face. Gradually the other Slytherins became aware of the new arrivals and looked up in alarm.

"Do not be alarmed." said the Master, his voice dripping with persuasion and assurance. "These are merely some new associates of mine." He said, indicating the Daleks. The Daleks completely ignored him, focussing instead on surveying everything in the Chamber in silence. "With their help, victory will soon be in our grasp. For me. For you. For the Dark Lord."

His words had the desired effect. The Slytherins relaxed and started talking amongst themselves excitedly. Even Malfoy felt a wave of warmth and anticipation wash over him. He saw Pansy Parkinson smile at him and grinned back. The Daleks approached the Master. "Survey complete. We will return to our ship for the necessary supplies."

"As you wish." said the Master. The Daleks turned and left.

"Thought you'd have just taken what you wanted from them without asking. Seems more your style!" laughed Malfoy, behaving more like his usual self now that the Daleks had gone.

The Master swung round and Malfoy recoiled as if he had been physically struck, such was the anger burning in the Master's eyes. "That was very much my intention," snarled the Master. "Yet you chose to go blundering in there with those two ogres of yours and got yourself captured!" He pulled out the vial of the black liquid and advanced on Malfoy menacingly. "You forced my hand before this was properly prepared and tested, Draco. Why don't we test it on you?" He made to unstop it.

"No!" cried Malfoy. "Please!" He stumbled backwards and fell over as he lost his balance in his haste to get away.

The Master paused and then grinned unpleasantly, returning the vial to his pocket. "Do not fail me again."

Malfoy got to his feet and looked at the Slytherins. They had all stopped talking and were looking on in horror. "Now then, there is another matter to be dealt with," said the Master. "Mister Potter."

"He's dead!" replied Malfoy, struggling to keep his voice straight after what had just happened.

"The Daleks believe so, but if he's anything like the Doctor, I'm sure he will survive."

"That's true." said Malfoy a little too loudly. He was determined to regain his former standing. "Every year he's -"

"Zabini," cut in the Master, completely ignoring Malfoy. "Take some of the Slytherins down to the lake. Find Harry Potter and bring him here."

Zabini nodded and selected half of the group of Slytherins to accompany him. As they began to leave, Malfoy turned to the Master in outrage. "No one knows Potter like I do! I thought I-" he broke off as the Master turned to him with a look of pure venom on his face. Malfoy sullenly turned away and hurried after the Slytherins. He would deal with Potter personally.

Appendix

(1) This could be seen as a fine example of the Time Badger - a strange creature that is allegedly the result of transfiguring a Time Turner into a badger, only for it to escape before it could be turned back. As a result this Time Badger has the ability to release Time as a defines mechanism. Say, for example, someone tries to catch it in a net. The Time Badger would just realise some time into the air that would cause time to pass much more slowly for the hunter, allowing it to escape easily. Not that it is on board the Dalek spaceship, of course.

(2) Yes, I know what you are thinking, Daleks can fly and the Master knows that. Well…. shush! That becomes important later!