Chapter 3

Neverland continued to wither away due to the fact that Lord Voldemort was draining it of all its magic. Harry had a few questions for Tinker Bell while they sat patiently waiting for the pirates at Swashbuckler's Bay to fall asleep.

"How do you think Voldemort is doing it? How do you think he is managing to steal the magic from Neverland?"

"There is only one way he could be doing it." Tinker Bell proclaimed. "He has somehow found the Dark Stone."

"Dark Stone?" Harry repeated. "What is that?"

"I'm afraid it would be too much for your mortal mind to fathom. If I told you, it would change everything you have ever known and everything you have ever imagined about the world… the entire universe even."

"Well, if you are hoping to get Peter Pan back from Voldemort, you are going to have to trust that I will be able to indeed… fathom it." Harry retorted.

"You see… before your time ever existed… Before any mortal's time ever existed, there was only magic, which could be used by the magical gods. They would create fantastical creatures of light and awesome visuals to keep themselves entertained, kind of like the way humans watch television, but that wasn't enough… They wanted something more tangible. One day, one of the gods discovered how to create something tangible, but the only way it could be achieved was for one of the gods to die. Then, his light would become a stone… a physical stone. The stone would then be able to continue creating life from there after. This was a sacrifice that none of the gods were willing to make. However, one of the more mischievous gods tricked another god into entering the eternal circle of life, where he was then crucified and drained of his magic. What was left afterwards was a stone that glowed brighter than anything the mischievous god had ever seen before. When possessing the stone, he could create any physical creature that he wanted to. The other gods looked at this as if it was too much power for one god to possess, and that the physical creatures that were created deserved to live a life of free will, bound to none. The mischievous god didn't want to give up the power of the Light Stone and he battled the other gods by creating a great army of monstrous creatures to guard his territory. The other gods eventually figured out a way to make it to the mischievous god and then they took away the Light Stone. The gods wanted something beautiful to come of the Light Stone to honor the god that had died in order to create it. So they chose to cast it into the Void of Nothingness, hoping it would some day create a beautiful world in which every creature born could live a life of dignity and free will. However, upon casting the stone into the Void of Nothingness, the mischievous god fired a bolt of magic at it, causing the Light Stone to split in half as it traveled outward. The split created one Light Stone and one Dark Stone. The Dark Stone was the first star to ever be born in the universe, and it stays closest to the Void of Nothingness. The Light Stone was the second star to ever be born. From there, the Light Stone has created several amazing creatures, you and I included. Light Fairies, such as myself, were born to protect the Light Stone. And Dark Fairies, such as Unseelie and Dryads, were born to protect the Dark Stone. The wizard from your world must have found the Dark Stone and is using it to suck the life from out of the Light Stone, which in turn, could destroy everything the Light Stone has ever created, including you and I."

Harry's jaw dropped. "Wow! That was deep!" He exclaimed, still trying to wrap his head around everything he had just learned about the universe. "How would Voldemort possess the Dark Stone?"

"The essence of the Dark Stone lies in Peter Pan's shadow. This is why Peter is always chasing his own shadow. After the wizard captured Peter, he must have somehow found a way to use Peter's shadow to sneak past the Dark Fairies and capture the Dark Stone as well."

"So, does that mean we could use the Light Stone to stop him?" Harry asked.

"NOBODY IS TO EVER POSSESS THE LIGHT STONE!" Tinker Bell declared. "IT WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR A MERE MORTAL TO POSSESS!"

"How then will we stop Voldemort?"

"After we get your friend back, we will figure out where Peter is being held captive, and then we will help Peter escape, and in doing so, the Dark Stone will no longer be able to be controlled by the dark wizard because only someone with the essence of the Dark Stone can truly possess it. The same goes for possessing the Light Stone."

"I sure hope you are right about all this. If not, we are going to be heading into some dark days... VERY DARK DAYS!" Harry proclaimed.

"I sure hope so too." Tinker Bell sighed.

Finally, all the pirates had fallen asleep, even the ones that were supposed to be standing guard.

The Lost Boys and Tinker Bell led Harry, Hermione, and Moira past the loud snoring pirates and onto the Jolly Roger pirate ship.

Captain James Hook was sleeping peacefully in the main cabin, his head resting on a velvet pillow, his detached hook resting on a smaller velvet pillow of its own. His first-mate Mr. Smee was fast asleep in the cabin next door. And Ron Weasley was being held captive in the dungeon below deck. Tootles knew exactly where Ron was being held because he too had been held captive in the dungeon once before, until Pan rescued him.

They all crept past the last remaining pirates and traveled down into the dungeon below. Harry then spotted Ron, who was sleeping in a giant birdcage, and quickly ran over to tell him that he was there to rescue him. He had to be extra quiet because there were a few guards sleeping on the floor, passed out next to their bottles of rum.

"Ron." Harry whispered. "Wake up. It's me, Harry. Hermione, Moira, and I are here to help you escape."

Ron's eyes opened. He almost let out a loud gasp when he saw that it was Harry standing there.

"Shhhhhh…" Harry cautioned, not wanting Ron's reaction to wake the sleeping guards. "I need to find the key that unlocks this door."

Ron pointed at one of the sleeping guards who was lying on the cold floor. "It's on his belt. The only way to remove the key is to remove the belt."

"Great! Just Great!" Harry whispered loudly, tip-toeing his way over towards the guard.

The Lost Boys kept an eye out for any waking pirates while Harry slowly tried removing the pirate's belt.

Harry was three-quarters into removing the belt, when suddenly, the guard rolled over on his side, trapping Harry's arm underneath his blubbery stomach.

"Hurry up!" Tootles loudly whispered to Harry. "A few of the pirates are starting to stir about.

"I'm trying, but I'm stuck. This fat pirate also decided to stir about."

Tinker Bell quickly made her way over to the snoring pirate and began fluttering her wings against his nose, hoping to get him to roll back over. The guard started sniffling, almost as if he was about to sneeze. Harry quickly pinched the guard's nose, hoping to keep him from making the loud 'ACHOO' noise. Instead, the noise came from out of somewhere else-

TOOT! The loud sound of a wet fart could be heard coming from out of the guard's bum.

"Ew!" Harry used his free hand to cover his nose. What did this guy eat today?"

Sniff, Sniff. Tinker Bell got a whiff. "I would say he had seaweed and squid stew." she replied, almost delighted at the smell.

"BELCH!" The pirate let out a massive burp, causing some of the other pirates to turn over.

Sniff. "And he had bourbon to wash it down." Tinker Bell added.

Finally, the guard rolled over, allowing Harry to get the belt the rest of the way off… all while trying to hold his breath. He then made his way over to Ron's cage and unlocked the door.

Just as they were about to start making their way up from out of the dungeon, Hook woke up to a pounding headache.

BONG! BONG! It sounded like someone was beating a drum right next to his head.

"What is that noise!"

BONG! BONG!

"Smee, what is that awful sound?"

Mr. Smee came running out of his room still dressed in his all red pajamas. "What is it, Cap'n? I don't hear anything!"

BONG! BONG!

"There it is again!" Hook exclaimed, covering his ears with his right hand and his left nub. "Make it STOP!"

Mr. Smee scurried around, looking for whatever it was that had set Hook off.

The children could hear Hook yelling and they could also hear Mr. Smee shuffling around. The yelling was causing the guards to finally wake up.

"Something has woken Hook up." Tootles warned.

"Is anyone in here wearing a watch?" Tinker Bell asked. "Hook is sensitive to the ticking of time."

The children started searching themselves, but nobody seemed to come up with any watches, until… Moira opened up a heart-shaped locket that she had gotten from Wendy. It was a watch to let Moira know that there was always time for love.

Tinker Bell's eyes widened when she saw it. "Crap! We've gotta go! Hook will sniff that thing out in no time!"

The children stepped on the heads of the guards just as they were starting to wake up, smashing their heads down as they made their way up the staircase to the main deck. The guard who just had his belt-key stolen tried chasing the children up the stairs, but he tripped due to his pants falling down around his ankles.

Suddenly, just as they were trying to make their escape, they found the exit blocked off by several armed guards alongside Captain Hook himself. All of them had their swords pointed directly at the children.

BOOOONG! BOOOONG! The sound was getting louder.

"YOU! YOU ARE THE CULPRIT!" Hook declared, pointing his hook hand at Moira. "Smee, fetch me that little girl!"

Mr. Smee did as he was told and snatched up Moira despite her kicking and clawing and then brought her back over to Hook.

BOOOOONG! BOOOOOOONG!

Hook ripped the heart-shaped locket from off of Moira's neck and then tossed it to the ground.

BOOOOOONG!

SMASH! Hook stepped on it with his heavy boot, shattering it into pieces, ending its loud ticking.

"Nooooo!" Moira cried. "Please do something, Harry!" she squirmed in Mr. Smee's arms.

Hook paused and then turned his head towards Harry. "Harry? As in Harry Pimple Poppin' Potter?" he asked, growing a huge smile on his face.

"I just want to get my best friend and leave! I have no quarrel with you!... Not yet anyways!" Harry threatened.

"What would the dark wizard want with such a scrawny scoundrel such as yourself?" Hook asked, not seeing Harry's true potential. "And how did you know it was me that kidnapped the red-headed boy with a weak bladder?"

Harry then pulled out the bifocals he found under Ron's bed.

"Ah! That is where those went!" Mr. Smee exclaimed, snatching them out of Harry's hand and then shoving them back onto his own face. "That's so much better!"

"Smee, you buffoon! First you take the wrong scoundrel, then you leave evidence at the crime scene! I should throw you in the Boo Box for this!" Hook declared.

"I'm so sorry, Cap'n. But in a way our plan still worked. We still got the Potter boy." Mr. Smee sniveled.

"Indeed, Smee. However, I'm afraid it's too late. The dark wizard no longer wants to trade the runt for Pan. He doesn't need to trade now that he can manipulate Pan's shadow. This boy is useless to me, Smee!"

"What shall you have me do with him, Cap'n Hook?"

"I heard stories that little Harry here is the boy who lived. Today he shall be known as the boy who died! MAKE HIM WALK THE PLANK!"

"Ooh-Rah!" Cheered the other pirates, stepping aside to allow Mr. Smee and the guards a path to escort Harry to the plank that hangs over the side of the Jolly Roger.

Harry wasn't able to put up much of a fight seeing that he didn't have any magical abilities. The guards tied his hands behind his back and his feet together, and then took Harry out onto the end of the plank.

"Tie a concrete block around his feet! We don't need the scoundrel trying to come back up!"

"NOOOOO!" Tinker Bell cried.

"Shut that little mouth of her's up!" Hook demanded. "Squash her like a bug if she says another word!"

Harry looked back towards his friends. They all looked just as frightened as he did.

"Don't worry, Harry! They will all be joining you soon!" Hook spouted. "But- I'll tell you what. If you manage to come back up, I will spare you all!"

Harry took one last look around just before Mr. Smee pushed him over the side with a long staff.

SPLASH! Harry hit the cold water, immediately becoming submerged.

He tried kicking his feet about, but the concrete block was too heavy and he couldn't manage to make any headway. Soon, after Harry could struggle no longer, his eyes finally closed and he knew he was a goner.

Then, suddenly- from out of nowhere, Harry was approached by three mermaids. One by one they began kissing Harry, allowing air to fill his lungs, all while untying his restraints. Harry couldn't believe what he was witnessing.

Soon, the mermaids completely had Harry freed. "We have a little magic left in us." One of the mermaids said to Harry. "We are giving it to you. Please use it wisely."

After that, the mermaids swam away.

Harry could feel the surge of magic pulsing through his veins. It was stronger than he had ever felt before.

Mr. Smee was getting the next child ready to walk the plank, when suddenly-

WHOOSH! Harry came flying up from out of the water like a swordfish, landing directly in front of Hook.

Hook's jaw dropped. "I'll be damned! The. Boy. Who. Lived." He muttered with a slow draw.

A few of the guards tried attacking Harry.

"STUPEFY!" he yelled out, only needing to point his finger in their direction, instantly stopping them in their tracks.

Several other pirates began to converge on Harry.

"STOP!" Captain Hook declared. He then bowed down before Harry on one knee. "Very good form, Harry. I made you a deal; that if you came back up from out of the water, I would spare all of you. And…I'm a man of my word."

Harry took a step towards Hook and picked him up off the ground by placing two fingers into both of Hook's nostrils and yanking upward on his nose. Hook immediately stood up.

"Ow! Harry! Bad form!"

"What has Voldemort done with Peter Pan!?" Harry snarled, pushing up even harder into Hook's nose.

"I don't know! I swear! He hasn't tried contacting me ever since he discovered Pan's secret. Although, I heard him talking about sucking up all the magic from this place, and then he was going to head to the next magical place."

"What place!?"

"I can't remember." Hook proclaimed. "Smee, what was that place that the dark wizard spoke of visiting next?"

"Uh… Uh…" Mr. Smee tried remembering.

"Today, Smee! Today would be nice!"

"Oh! Now I remember! He said he was going to the Land of Oz… Whatever that means!"