A Year Away

It was just after dusk when young man suddenly appeared outside of the Shrieking Shack with a small pop. Not many people were in Hogsmeade at that time of day, so no one noticed his arrival. After a quick look around, he headed up towards the path that would lead him to Hogwarts. Walking down the trail, he reached back into his memory and replayed the events that had gotten him to this point. A little over one year earlier...

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It was the end of dinner when Albus Dumbledore stood up from his seat at the staff table and cleared his throat. Every eye in the Great Hall turned to him; it wasn't often that the Headmaster spoke at the end of the meal. It usually meant that something of significant importance was going to happen, or already had happened for that matter.

"I am pleased to announce that some of you in this room are going to have a once in a lifetime opportunity." Dumbledore paused. "Hogwarts has recently been accepted into the newly formed Magical Culture Exchange program."

He paused as murmurs spread through the Great Hall.

"For those of you who don't know what the Exchange program is, it is an opportunity for students to experience the magical culture at another school, in another country." The Headmaster went on, "Each house will be able to nominate one person to take part in this program. Unfortunately, you will only be able to pick a student from either the fifth or sixth year, however. I urge you to vote for the person you believe is most deserving. You will have until the leaving feast to put your vote into the boxes placed directly to the right of the staff table, the people who have been selected shall be announced at the end of the feast. That is all, you may now proceed to your common rooms to finish your... homework." He said, with a small twinkle in his eye.

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"So what exactly is this exchange thing anyway, Hermione?" Ron asked when the trio had settled themselves in front of the fire in the Gryffindor common room.

"Hmm...?" Hermione was too engrossed in her Arithmacy book to hear him. "Oh, uh... well, whoever is chosen will go to another school in another country, and someone from that school will come here. They switch, or exchange places." She said, looking up, "My family hosted an exchange student from Brazil once, although she was a muggle of course, but I suppose that it is the same concept."

"Well," Harry got up from his seat, "I know I'll be voting for you, Mione. You're definitely the most deserving, in fact, I think I'll put my vote in tomorrow morning at breakfa..." A yawn overtook him quite suddenly, "...st. I'm off to bed then."

"But Harry, you haven't finished your Potions essay yet." Hermione said.

Groaning, Harry away from the staircase leading to the dorm room he shared with the other fifth years. I was almost there, he thought as he caught a glimpse of the look on Hermione's face, I was so close to the stairs... "Mione..." he whined, quit unlike a fifth-year Gryffindor, "I'll do it later, it's not due for a few more days anyway. Tell you what," He said quickly as he noticed her starting to look dangerously like an angry Molly Weasley, "I'll do it in the morning, alright?" Turning towards the stairs again, Harry practically running up them in attempt to get away from the angry witch.

Opening the door to the dorm, Harry was relieved to see that no one else was there yet, specifically that Dean wasn't there. It had been a few weeks since Harry had walked in on Dean and a fourth year from Hufflepuff shagging. After the Hufflepuff had realized that he had not only been caught, but by Harry Potter, he had quickly gathered his clothes and rushed out of the room, his face as red as Ron's hair.

Actually, I think it was redder, if that's even possible. Harry mused. But then, he was sure that his face had been quite red that night too, especially when Dean decided that it was necessary to talk to him about it, mainly to make sure that Harry didn't go telling anyone that he was gay.

Harry blushed again, remembering how uncomfortable he had been during that entire conversation. Getting undressed, he happened to see himself in the mirror out of the corner of his eye. Standing up, he walked over to it. Yeah, right. The Boy-Who-Lived, he thought, looking at his muscles, or lack there of. I don't even look like I could take on a house elf, much less Voldemort.

Angrily, he dressed and got into bed. After a few hours of berating himself for not exercising over the summer, Harry finally fell into a fitful sleep.

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Downstairs in the common room, Ron and Hermione watched their friend make his way up the stairs.

Ron chuckled, looking at Hermione's slightly bewildered look, as if she was trying to figure out how Harry had managed to get out of doing his homework again.

Throwing him a glare, which immediately shut him up, she went back to studying.

"Harry's right," Ron suddenly said, startling the bushy-haired girl across from him out of her book. "You should be the one to go on the Exchange. You deserve it, for all you work and all."

"You just want me gone so I won't be around to bug you both about getting your work done anymore," she said exasperatedly, scribbling something on her parchment. "Besides, I don't think I am the most deserving."

"Well, who are you going to vote for then?"

"Harry, of course."

"Harry?"

Hermione looked up at him, blinking. "What? You don't think he deserves it?"

"No, of course he deserves it, but, do you think he really wants to? I mean, he didn't really seem too excited about it all."

Looking at him as if he was a Blast-Ended Skrewt, Hermione closed her book and stood. "Really, Ron, think about it. He would get to go to a completely different country, somewhere where they might not even know about him and You-Know-Who, and yes, there are countries that don't know, Ron," she said in response to his doubtful look. "You don't think that Harry would want that? Honestly..." she huffed, picking up her books and parchment and heading towards her own dorm, turning back to Ron as she reached the stairs. "After all he's been through, I think he deserves it more that anyone else, and personally, I'm going to put my vote into the box at breakfast as well. And you'll do the same if you know what's good for you, Ronald Weasley!" she hissed at him as she rushed up the steps, leaving a startled Ron behind her.

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It was the final feast of the year, and the plate in front of him had just been wiped clean. Sighing, Harry leaned back in his seat to get a better view of the front table. Dumbledore would be announcing the four students who would be going on the Exchange soon, and everyone in the hall was looking expectantly at headmaster as he calmly took a sip from his goblet.

Harry leaned towards Hermione as Dumbledore stood and cleared his throat, as unnecessary as it was, since everyone was already looking at him.

"Good luck," He whispered smiling at her. "I know you got it."

Hermione just smiled back and turned to face Dumbledore as Hagrid helped place the voting boxes onto the staff table.

"I can see you're all excited, so I won't bore you with a long speech about how the four names I am about to read off are four people who are going to become part of a great experience." The mischievous twinkle was in his eyes again. Taking a sheet of paper out of the first box, a yellow one, Dumbledore explained, "Now, if your name is called, please come up to the table and stand in front of it until all four names have been announced." Looking at the paper again, Dumbledore tapped it with his wand.

"Hannah Abbot!" the paper rang out, immediately followed by loud clapping and a bit of hollering from the Hufflepuff table. Reaching into the next box, a blue one, the Headmaster again tapped his wand to the paper, which called out Ravenclaw's choice "Terry Boot!" Next came a paper from the green box, Slytherin of course, which ended up being "Draco Malfoy!"

"Surprise, surprise..." Ron muttered to Harry, who laughed quietly from across the table.

Dumbledore reached into the red box, the only one left. Giving Hermione a knowing wink, Harry turned towards her as the last paper was tapped, ready to congratulate her. Who wouldn't have voted for her, she's definitely earned it over the last few years.

"Harry Potter!"

Looking up at the front table, Harry wasn't sure if he'd heard right, but when he glanced back at his friends he knew he had from the smirk on Hermione's face.

"Thanks for the vote Harry," she said, smiling innocently at him, "but I didn't really need it since everyone else voted for you." She giggled at the disorientated look in his eyes.

"Go on mate, get up there." Ron pushed him off the seat.

"Alright, everyone else, off to your common rooms." Dumbledore said when Harry finally reached the table. "You four," the Headmaster looked back down at them, "will follow me to determine where exactly it is that you will be going."

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Harry, Draco, Hannah and Terry followed the Headmaster into the same room that Harry remembered going into after his name had been drawn from the Goblet of Fire.

"Well, now, let me be one of the first to congratulate you all. Down to business though," Dumbledore said, "we must figure out where you are going. This map," he explained, indicating to a large piece of parchment laid out on a table, "has been charmed to point out which school in the Exchange program is best for you. If you would all place your hands on the map... that's right, very good."

Then Dumbledore mumbled a spell and tapped each of their hands with his wand. Suddenly, beads of light appeared and seemed to travel along the map, stopping at various spots on the paper. "Right then, we'll just see where you've been placed..." Dumbledore looked intently at the map in front of him. "Miss Abbot, you will be attending the Chinese Academy of the Magical Arts. Mr. Boot, you will go to the Brazilian Wizarding School. For Mr. Potter, the California Institute of Magical Teaching, and Mr. Malfoy, next year you will be enrolled in the Italian School of Magic." He read off, handing them each a packet of information to give to their guardians. "Congratulations again, and good luck to you all." Smiling, he waved them out of the door.

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Harry braced himself for the greeting he knew would be waiting for him. As he stepped through the swinging portrait, he realized that his housemates hadn't disappointed him; in fact, they had gone a little overboard.

A cloud of red and gold confetti exploded in his face as the entire Gryffindor common room suddenly burst into loud yells and clapping. Ron, and he assumed Ginny, had not only grabbed food from the kitchens, but had obviously also made a trip into Hogsmeade and had brought back about 40 cases of butterbeer and what looked like the entire stock of Honeyduke's.

Making his way over to the trio's favorite fireplace, where his two best friends were talking with Neville and Seamus, Harry tried to duck all the people who seemed bent on congratulating him. After muttering a few thank yous to some of them, he collapsed into the overstuffed chair next to Neville.

"So, mate, where are you going, then?" Ron asked him, turning away from a now perturbed-looking Hermione, who had apparently been in the middle of a sentence.

"The California Institute of Magical Teaching," Harry groaned. California? Could I be going further away from everyone I know?

"Well, that's great, Harry!" Hermione looked at him excitedly.

"Oh, no, not that look..."

"What in the world are you talking about, Ron?" Hermione glared at him.

"That look, the one you get when you're about to talk about how something is a great educational experience and completely sap all the fun out of it."

"I do not!" she heatedly replied. "But really, Harry, there will be so many things to see and do, not to mention all the different things they'll be teaching there. I mean..."

"And there she goes." Neville muttered to the other boys. "Well," he said a bit louder standing up, "I for one haven't finished packing yet." Stretching his arms, he looked over to his dorm mates. "Anyone else?"

"Yup."

"Oh yeah, I'm not done either."

"Ugh, I haven't even started."

A few moments later, Hermione looked up to find herself alone in front of the fireplace.

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After they had all finished packing, the boys decided to call it a night.

Judging by the snores coming from Neville's bed and the rythmic breathing from the others, none of them had too hard of a time getting to sleep. Except for Harry.

After lying in bed staring at the ceiling, Harry figured he wasn't going to get any sleep, so why not walk around a bit? After all, this is the last time I'm going to see the castle for an entire year. Grabbing his cloak and map from his newly-packed trunk, he headed out of the common room towards the Astronomy Tower.

At the entrance, he quickly made sure that no one was currently in the tower, and that no one else was coming towards him. Seeing that both Filch and Mrs. Norris were well on the other side of the castle, he slipped into the tower.

Harry liked coming up here. Sure, there were usually couples snogging in the shadows, but it was still nice to just sit and look out at the night sky. He especially used the tower as a place to think because, even with other people there, the vastness of the stars made it seem as if he was all alone with his thoughts.

It was those thoughts that made him miss the fact that someone else was coming up the stairs.

"Harry?" said a voice behind him.

Turning, he could just make out the person's fiery hair. "Hello Gin. What are you doing up here?"

"I don't know. Guess I couldn't sleep."

"Yeah, me either."

"You didn't have another vision did you?" she asked him, the worry apparent in her voice.

"No, nothing like that." Harry assurred her quickly, "I guess I'm just... anxious."

"Why? Is it about the exchange?" Seeing the raven haired boy nod, she continued, "I would think you would've jumped at this chance Harry. Don't you want to get away from all of this, from You-Know-Who for a little while?"

"That's the problem Ginny!" Harry said angrily, "If I leave, what's to stop him from attacking more and more while I'm gone, and I won't be here to..." He trailed off, not quite sure if he should tell her just yet.

"To what Harry?"

The look she was giving him made Harry realize that he wasn't getting out of this one so easily. Damn Weasley stubborness. Harry then told her all about the prophecy that Dumbledore had shown him two weeks before. "...but you can't tell anyone Gin. I haven't even said anything to Ron or Hermione yet, I probably shouldn't have told you either." He finished lamely.

"It's okay Harry. Honestly, you know you can tell me anything. And I promise I won't say a word to anyone else."

"Thanks Ginny." He gave her a small hug. "We should be getting back to the dorms now."

He wrapped the two of them in the invisibility cloak and, after checking the map again, they headed back to the common room.

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The Hogwarts Express pulled away as Molly Weasley rushed over to hold all of them into a suffocating hug. The last time she had seen them had been just after their battle in the Department of Mysteries.

"How are you all holding up?" Mrs. Weasley seemed about to cry as she looked pointedly at Harry.

"Mum," Ginny spoke up, taking her mother's arm and walking her towards the ministry car that was waiting for them, "we're okay, honestly." She looked over her shoulder in time to see Harry smiling at her gratefully. The two had already said their goodbyes on the train and had of course he had promised to write to her.

"Well, mate. Good luck in the states." Ron said as Hermione pulled Harry into tight hug reminiscent of the one they'd all just received from Mrs. Weasley. "Don't forget to keep in touch."

Hermione finally pulled away as Harry assured him that he would owl whenever he could. Fixing his glasses, he looked up to see Uncle Vernon standing as far away from the Weasley family as he could.

"Right, see you both in a year then." He mumbled, picking up his trunk and Hedwig's cage. Smiling as he passed the Weasleys, who had just been joined by Ron and Hermione, Harry immediately felt a pang of guilt.

The Trio, and Ginny, had decided not to tell the Weasleys, especially not Mrs. Weasley. He knew that they would have to be told eventually, but hopefully not until he was invited to the Burrow for the last half of the summer. By that time he would already be in the states, as Dumbledore had wanted all of them to arrive a few months before the school year started, just so that they could get acclimated to their new surroundings.

As he passed Uncle Vernon and opened the car door, Harry couldn't help but look back at his friends. Ron and Ginny shot him a quick smile and Hermione gave a small wave. This is it. I'm about to leave the only friends I've ever had for an entire year. In a month I'll be headed for California; it seems like a world away. Harry lifted his hand to return the wave, only to be rewarded by a piercing glare from his uncle. Getting into the back seat, Harry Potter shut the door and Uncle Vernon drove the car away from King's Cross.

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As the castle came into view, the young man smiled. There it is, I'm finally home. With a mischievous look in his green eyes, he walked towards the lake and selected a smooth, flat rock from the shore. He laughed out loud as the stone skipped across the water, causing the giant squid to pull itself out of the water and waved menacingly at him. Running a hand through his messy black hair, he picked up his trunk and jacket from the ground and continued his way up to the castle doors.