Chapter 6

Underline is Orkish

Harry POV

Harry quickly scrambled to his feet in an effort to escape the creature lumbering surrounding him. He was quickly beaten down by the creature and Harry gave a yelp as he fell on his back leading to pain coursing through his body. The creature spoke "Well, little elfing, you're finally awake. Now where did you come from? Those pesky elves don't let their yelplings out of their settlements."

Harry had no idea what the creature said but it sounded vicious, mean, and harsh. Harry glanced around hoping to find an opening but instead found dozens more of those creatures. They towered over Harry now though they probably would have had Harry been his same height as before. He gasped, 'That's right! Why am I so small? What happened to me?' Suddenly, The creature grabbed his water skin and shoved it into Harry's mouth. It burned as Harry was forced to swallow it.

The creature took a step closer, and Harry could see the glint of sharp teeth beneath its snarling lip. It spoke again, and Harry felt the pain in his head grow with each second, and he squeezed his eyes shut, willing it to stop. When he opened them again, the creatures was still there.

The creature looked vaguely human, but its skin was thick and gray, and its nose was more of a snout. Harry realized with horror that he did not recognize it from any books of mythical creatures he had read in the Hogwarts library, but his thoughts were a jumbled mess.

The orc laughed, a gruff, barking sound that made Harry's skin crawl. It spoke with a thick grating voice that was unlike any Harry had ever heard before. "Don't matter, you're coming with me. Maybe Gorgath will find you interesting." Harry's heart raced as he was hoisted into the air by the orc's massive hand. He kicked and squirmed, trying to escape, but it was like fighting a mountain.

As they moved through the forest, Harry noticed that the trees and plants around him grew increasingly strange. They were not the familiar species of the English countryside but rather twisted and unnatural, as if they had been bred in darkness. He saw no signs of life other than the orcs that occasionally called out to their kin in that same harsh language. The world around him was eerily silent, and he wondered if this was truly a part of the magical world he knew or if he had somehow stumbled into a nightmare from which he could never wake.

The orc brought him to a clearing where a group of similar creatures had gathered around a roaring fire. They spoke in hushed tones, occasionally glancing over at Harry with hungry eyes. Harry felt a sinking feeling in his stomach, unsure of what was to come. One of them, larger and uglier than the rest, approached the orc that had captured him. "What's this?" it grunted.

"Found 'im in the woods. Seems to be an elfling." The orc holding Harry spoke with a mix of fear and excitement.

"Elfling, you say, hmm been awhile since on of those were found." Gorgath grinned an awful grin. "Since I'm sure you are so precious to the elves, I'm sure it won't be long before you are discovered missing. So, we will have to move fast. Bolg!" The ork who was carrying Harry jumped when Gorgath yelled. "You have brought us a great prize. We shall use him to lure out those pesky elves and finish them."

Harry's mind raced, trying to think of a spell, any spell that might help him, but his thoughts remained jumbled. He had no idea what these creatures were saying and that scared him.

Gorgath reached out a thick, clawed hand and stroked Harry's cheek, and he flinched.

"Don't worry, little elfling," Gorgath rumbled in another language, "you're not going to be food. I have better plans for you." The orcs around them cackled, and Harry felt a cold chill run down his spine. Gorgath turned to the others, returning to speaking in their harsh tongue, and they began to disperse. The one holding Harry tossed him onto the ground, and he landed with a thud, the pain in his back and ribs flaring up. He watched as they began to break camp, his mind racing.