Hogwarts: Era of Darkness

"No."

It was a simple, straightforward answer coming from my lips, and before my body had a chance to do anything, I regained my control over it. Looking forward, I was gazing into Lord Voldemort's eyes, who wore a small, pleased smile on his face.

"Good… and I say that rarely. At your level, you will be adequate to repel most Imperio spells that may fly your way! Now… our next exercise will be a bit different!"

With a wave of his wand, the landscape started to change. Massive stone pillars rose from the ocean, going high and being connected by floating steps. Peeking down, the dark waves crashed against them like some ancient creature, looking like an open maw with the white foams being its teeth. A fall from this high up would be deadly… so I was sure that it couldn't be as easy as just waltzing up the steps.

"It's easy!" HE exclaimed, walking towards me. "Reach the furthest pillar to finish it!"

"..."

I was not stupid. So I waited, looking at HIM after finding the last one around a mile out in the ocean. They were interconnected with similar, small stone platforms snaking around them in the air.

"Revelio!" I said, waving my wand after HE was refusing to elaborate further. The moment I did so, multiple platforms disappeared, indicating that they were nothing but illusions.

"For starters… it isn't so bad." HE nodded, looking at me, waiting for me to start HIS newest challenge… but I was already at my wit's end for being subjugated to HIS whims without any reason.

"Why should I?" I turned towards HIM, refusing to go. "A mage can apparate; if I could, I would be already there. Why should I risk my life by going through traps?"

"You don't have to. I can kill you here and now if you want to quit." HE answered so calmly and so benignly that it took me by surprise.

"I would prefer to live."

"Then off you go!"

"Not without a reason!"

"Oh?" HE widened HIS smile, "You need a reason to do something? Like a good little puppet…? I can appreciate the honesty."

"..."

"Alright! I give you a reason, Conrad Anguine! The Triwizard Tournament!"

"Huh?" I honestly don't know what THAT has to do with anything? What was even that? Never heard of it… Quincy probably did, but she was not here to tell me about it…

"History is not your strong point, hm?" HE chuckled, and I don't know if it was an insult or not… probably it was. "It is something ancient that is going to be revitalized next year. For what or why, you may ask… So let me tell you, and you can have your REASON to do what I tell you to do!"

"Thanks…" I whispered as I could feel the underlying anger in HIS voice. HE was controlling it, letting it slip just fine enough to be a warning. Probably the last before I am thrown off the cliff…

"The three top schools in magic are going to come together: Hogwarts, Durmstrang, Beauxbaton. All will nominate a student and compete in three tasks for the title of Champion!"

"Lord Voldemort… you… want me to win it?" I asked, gulping, but HE only continued to smile and look at me as if I had asked something foolish.

"You killed Lucius Malfoy. Don't tell me you are afraid of some competition between students?"

"..."

"Good, I take that as an answer! Yes, I want you to win it, but this is just secondary! You don't need to worry about Durmstrang; they are on our side! Karkaroff, their Headmaster, is an agent of mine. He has been set to infiltrate their school for the past 20 years and now serves as their leader. But that doesn't mean you can relax; their champion will do everything to win! Same here… if you end up killing him, you need not worry about any real retaliation."

"Real ones? Charming..." I whispered under my breath, "So I should only worry about the Beauxbatons Academy?"

"Yes. And if you have the opportunity to kill their champion, I expect you to do so. The agents I sent to infiltrate it all disappeared... I suspect that they are one of the biggest contributors to hiding members of the Order. I also believe that Dumbledore himself is hiding within the school! With this tournament, my real goal is to draw them out! Make them reveal their cards!"

"I am surprised they accepted the invitation."

"They had no choice. Refuse, and I would have declared war against them. With Durmstrang, we would have demolished them! We will still do that, of course, but I want to handle that when Dumbledore is no longer in the picture! The moment I leave Britain, he would be wreaking havoc in the country... The weasel…"

Haahh… great… now that Dumbledore's name has come up, I can feel HIM getting increasingly angrier. It seemed I had no other chance but to go and do the exercises he threw out for me.

"Do you have any more questions, Conrad Anguine?"

"No, Lord." I shook my head, trying to remain calm.

"Perfect! You focus on performing in the competition and being the good bait that I want you to be! Off you go!"

With a deep breath, I went ahead and jumped, landing on the first stone step. The moment I did, I could feel it heat up under my feet, and I leaped to the next one at the last moment before it detonated. I had no time to think as the new one responded the same. It was a rush to the first pillar, and when I had to jump over wide gaps, I had to cast the levitating charm on myself to make it over. It was a panicked rush, to be honest, and when I landed on the pillar, out of breath, I was ready to die. Luckily…. It was a safe spot, and it didn't explode. Looking back, I no longer could see the land. I was alone on a barren stone pillar in the middle of a raging ocean… and my only road was forward.

“Fuck… Me…”

…
….
……

It was in the middle of the night. I was lying on one of the bigger pillars, looking at the starless, dark sky covered by clouds. The only light was the flash of blue lightning that sometimes streaked through them, followed by deafening thunder. I was exhausted… so much so that I had no mind to worry about it. In the past day, I brushed past Death itself multiple times and got numb to it. But I did learn something of myself… I am not one who likes to give up. I could have just let it end, but somehow, my blood refused to do so and propelled me forward. I was only a last push away from the final pillar… the problem was that the stone steps or, more precisely, the moving platforms were too much for me to tackle right now.

"Great…" I whispered, feeling the first drops of rain falling on my face before it began to pour from the sky in earnest.

It was cold, making me feel like I was being pricked by little needles. The clothes I was wearing were already torn and scorched. Besides exploding platforms, there were some that were cold, and if not for my magic, I would have been frozen onto them. Others were slippery as ice, while another set crumbled the moment my weight landed on them. By the end, I was casting magic by reflex, without thinking, just waving my wand, using spell after spell until I was safe on a pillar. I don't think I have any magic left in me. Will this really help me? I can see that it trains my reflexes and hones my instincts… But it teaches me nothing new.

"Intent…" I murmured, remembering the words in Slytherin's book.

Magic is all about the mage's intent. The movement of the wand and incantation are all physical recordings of the wizard's intent. It is how one manifests his spell and binds the theory into reality. Which in turn means that magic can do anything. Per Salazar Slytherin's explanation, any spell was limited to what the individual mage's mind could comprehend. If they believe it is impossible, it will remain impossible.

"It sounds easy but hard at the same time." I chuckled, raising my hand, which was trembling, gripping my wand like how an old man holds onto his walking stick, and pointed it at the sky.

I had no actual incantation in my mind nor any idea what I wanted to do… I let my tired, somewhat delirious mind do what it wants, moved my hand around, and lit up my wand. The next moment, the falling rain simply avoided the pillar, no longer landing on me, and I was starting to dry up without doing anything else. I didn't question it… nor was I surprised. I just wanted this before finally going numb and fainting.

When I woke up, I felt like I was beaten by a whole football team, kicked down, and ground into a meat paste before reassembling to represent a human being. In other words, I felt horrible. But there was still the last hurdle I had to go through. Watching the moving platforms, my still dizzy mind recognized a pattern that I failed to track yesterday. Once again, I wasn't thinking, letting my body move on its own, quickly hopping from one to the other, and when the third, twirling stone slab started to glow, I just waved my wand, freezing it and stopping its explosion. The one that began to crack the second my toes touched it? I used a spell, turning my weight to almost zero, preventing it from crumbling. Everything came naturally, and I was already on the pillar when I snapped out of it. With a forceful push, I stumbled forward, falling face-first onto the grass. I was back on land with the fresh, wet dirt taste in my mouth.

"Pathetic." I heard Lord Voldemort's voice from behind, but I had no will to argue.

"Results matter. Not how I achieved it." I answered after I spat a clump of grass out of my mouth, standing back up.

"True." HE replied, and I could feel a surprisingly satisfied undertone to HIS words. "It will do... In the competition, you will need more stamina, though. Here."

With that, HE threw a broom at my feet. It was an old, shoddy one, probably slower in the air than me walking on the ground.

"Your next task is simple. Find your way back to Hogwarts! You have to arrive before the end of the term. Simple, isn't it?"

"And if I don't?" I asked while picking up the broom, and half of my question was inaudible because of the rumbling of my stomach. I was hungry… famished even. No wonder that I barely recovered any energy from my knocked-out state!

"Then you are expelled. That's all!" HE smiled, patting my shoulder, and I felt HIM disapparate.

"Fine… Not like I need explanations…" A cursed, growling just like my stomach, uttering an incantation while waving my wand around, "Point me!" Now that I knew where north was, I knew where not to go. Wherever I was, I was sure Hogwarts were down south. Why? I couldn't explain… it was a hunch but a strong one. So I mounted by rickety broom and took off. "I need food…" I groaned only ten minutes after… The wind was strong, throwing the broom all around under me, and I had to use my waning strength to steer it and keep it afloat. I was losing what energy I had in me fast… I think I will eat everything off the table in the Great Hall when I return to school!