An Opus Alchymicum Vol 1: The Experimental Theologian's Apprentice

The Cupboard Under The Stairs

Lily Potter tugged firmly on her son's hand, as she hurried him along in her frantic urgency.

"Come on, Harry, come on ..."

"Mum? What's happening?" Harry whispered as he scurried along in Lily's slipstream. He wasn't sure why he had whispered, it just seemed the thing to do, as though to disturb the silence down here would be an insult to nature.

"Don't talk now, just try to keep up. And stay behind me, no matter what."

It wasn't a request ... it was an order. That was new. Lily never ordered Harry to do anything, not even to clean his room or to finish the learning assignments she had set him. Their relationship was one built on trust and respect, and Harry knew that if his mother asked him to do something then it was because it was worth doing. So he did it without question, whatever it might be.

But this was different. His mother was telling him to follow her instructions, to not even consider disobeying, but there was more to it than that. Lily sounded taut and tense, her voice laced with a sharp emotion that Harry hadn't heard there before, but recognised all the same.

For it was the sound of fear.

That was alien in and of itself. Lily Potter was never afraid, and as this inspired deep courage within Harry, neither was he. After all, down here in the Dark City, there was nothing to be afraid of. Apart from the perpetual gloom, and even Harry knew that as a fear, that was totally a irrational one. There was nothing inherently scary about the dark itself, but more perhaps of the things that it might be hiding. Even so, Harry still felt a tingle of terror every time the lights went fully out.

And they were dimming now, the globes of the Light Deck reducing to low power for the hours of the night. Harry could barely see where they were going, so he just conceded to the care of his mother as she led them on. They took a left at the end of the row of steelworker's cottages, down past the vast botanical gardens of West Bute, where the farmers grew carrots and black turnips under an array of hot lamps, and from there they hurried up and over the narrow suspension bridge spanning Pincott's Ravine, to Marquis Park, where all the citizens exercised for two hours a day. Harry had seen them at it many times, lined up in long rows, jogging on the spot and squatting up and down and things like that. All in identical black outfits. Harry had never known why, but he always found it quite a sinister sight.

A much more welcome sight greeted Harry and Lily as they completed their orbit of the park, for the lights of their palatial home came popping into view. Sitting in a lofty position above the city, the sweeping estate was private and restricted, and Harry had always felt an air of safety about the place. This was something that his mother clearly sensed, too, as she bundled Harry through the gate and quickly punched a code into the security panel, before resting her head against the iron bars and breathing in deep relief.

Then came the sound of heavy footsteps on the gravel path leading to the house. Harry turned to see his father racing towards them at some speed. He collided first with Lily, then with Harry, squeezing them as tight as if he thought he'd never see them again.

"Thank Merlin," James breathed as he released Harry and hugged his wife again. "When I heard about the Hounds, I feared the worst."

"Hounds?" Harry asked, anxiously.

"The Hounds of Annwn," James replied without ceremony. "Every year, Arawn sends them out into the world to find a special sacrifice, one that will perpetually renew his power."

James said all this as blithely as if he were discussing the weather, as if whatever he was babbling about wasn't complete and utter nonsense. Harry didn't know what to make of it, so just watched as his father moved to peer anxiously through the bars of the security fence.