Harry Potter and the Order Of the Phoenix [110]
“Wow,” said Hermione, shielding her eyes. “That box’s glow is bright!”
“And it’s hot too,” said Ron, wiping his forehead.
“Let’s just get it over with,” said Harry, touching the box, and trying to pick it up. It was extremely heavy. Ron and Hermione came over to help him. They all gripped the box, and heaved with all their might.
“Oh man,” said Ron, wiping more sweat from his head. “This thing is much heavier than it looks. Whoever brought it here must have been strong!” Harry smiled, and started lifting again, but then a thought came to his mind. If the box was so hot, why weren’t they getting burned when they touched it? The heat must be coming from somewhere else….
“Ron! Hermione! We have to get out of here!” yelled Harry. “It must be trap!”
“Why?”
“The box being stolen, the fact that there were no tracks, the extreme heat, and the box being lifted even though it was so heavy. They all add up to one thing.”
“What?” asked Hermione. Harry was about to answer her, when someone came down from the sky and flew right over their heads. The heat was almost unbearable. Whatever swooshed down made a loud squawking noise.
“It was a black phoenix!” yelled Harry, starting to run away. “It must have carried the box here, that’s why there were no tracks, it flew, and since phoenixes can carry large packages, the box must have been no problem for it to pick up. The heat wasn’t coming from the box, it was coming from the bird, watching us… waiting for the right time to attack.”
“That’s exactly right,” came a squeaky voice. Harry looked up, and stopped dead in his tracks. Right before him was Peter Pettigrew, Wormtail. He stood before them with his arms crossed, the silver one on top. “So we meet again. You’re much smarter than even I thought, Harry. No wonder the Dark Lord wants you so badly.”
Harry gritted his teeth, and ran. He didn’t care how Wormtail got there, he just cared about getting away from him. He saw Hermione do the same… where was Ron? Suddenly, Harry felt his body go stiff, his arms fell to his sides, and his legs felt as though they had been glued together. He felt himself being moved backwards, to the spot where he just was.
“No, no, no, no, no,” said Wormtail, with a twisted smile. “You’re not getting away again! I’m taking you directly to the Dark Lord this time, he’ll do what he wishes with you… kill you… or make you join him.”
“I’ll never join him,” said Harry, surprised he still had control over his mouth. Wormtail shook his head and laughed.
“Harry,” he said, “you think being in league with Voldemort is such a bad thing… it’s not really. It’s just like any other job…. You have a task to do, and you get rewarded for how well you do… and there are always promotions available. It’s a very respectable career when you think about.”
“A career of killing, and making profit over people suffering!” spat Harry. “What is there to be gained by doing that?”
“Harry,” said Wormtail softly, “what is there to be gained by trying to stop it? Voldemort will prevail, whether you want him to or not, whether it is the next day, or the next year. You might as well get on his good side before it’s too late….”
“Never…” said Harry softly, even though things were looking hopeless. Wormtail sighed.
“Well… don’t you worry. I’m only good with words, Voldemort has other ways of getting people to join him!” He gave a short laugh. “Now then… weren’t there three of you?”
Harry moved his eyes over to the side, and saw Hermione was petrified as well, next to him… but Ron was nowhere in sight. Where was he?
“Where is that Weasley friend of yours?” asked Wormtail, shooting a beam of light out of his wand, and looking around.
“I’m right here,” came a tiny whisper from Harry’s side. He looked over, but no one was there. Wormtail kept on looking, he hadn’t heard it.
“Ron,” whispered Harry. “Where are you?”
“I’m right next to you,” came a voice from next to Harry, but no one was there.
“Are you wearing my invisibility cloak?”
“No… I’m camouflaged.” Harry gave a small smile. Ron had used his chameleon’s