Good Intentions but Strange Situations

Good Intentions but Strange Situations

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~Chapter 1 ~

Merlin's Beard!

It was obvious, to Harry, that something would go wrong. The summer had not been the best, but not the worst either. Confined at the Dursley's for the entirety of the holidays, he had come to terms with the loss of Sirius Black, notorious Death Eater, right hand man to Lord Voldemort, completely innocent and Godfather to Harry. His aunt and uncle practically ignored him and he was fed better than ever before in his fifteen years at Privet Drive. Of course, he was expected to do a few chores, the freaks... people watching out for Harry's welfare couldn't complain about him helping his relatives out a bit. He was also allowed to correspond as frequently as he pleased, and was even able to use the telephone to speak with one of his friends for a period whilst she was still at home, as opposed to gallivanting around France as per usual. Harry was also more informed on the happenings of the world in general as he received several different visitors, conveniently when the Dursleys weren't in the house. No summer homework was assigned, although his practical books were looked over for the dark times ahead and Harry had received good (not great) exam results along with a shiny gold captain's badge for his school team. 'Yes,' he thought, 'something will happen today.'

September the first, a day Harry always looked forward to, had arrived. The day school started once again. Normal teens would be dreading it, but luckily, Harry wasn't what one would assume as normal. Harry was a wizard, and a thumpin' good'un at that. Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was as close to home as Harry had ever felt and he was escaping once again from the Dursley captivity. So at half past six on the morning of getaway, he was sat fully dressed on his bed painfully waiting for the hour hand on his semi-working alarm clock to reach ten, when he would be picked up by Auror Tonks, the clumsy arm of the law with pink hair, and driven to London. A stop by at Grimmauld Place to snatch up a few more school kids, then on to Kings Cross Train Station to board the Hogwarts Express.

Harry was extremely worried. Every year since he had discovered he was a wizard, the summer had always had something go wrong in it, whether it be a mad house-elf popping in and destroying pudding or Dementors having a stroll around a very Muggle neighbourhood. The fact that everything had proceeded according to plan was very troublesome indeed.

Especially in times like these. Lord Voldemort, self-proclaimed Dark Lord, most feared in over a century, hunter of teenage boys, was back and in action, or was supposed to be. The mass killings, deadly suspicion and altogether dark activity that were common throughout the British Isles during the first war were missing. It was putting those actively looking out for it on edge and the media was having a field day criticizing the magical Government's opinions. There were rumours about a vote of no confidence towards the current Minister Cornelius Fudge who was making mistake after mistake. Harry was primarily happy about this, until becoming more anxious by the minute that a Death Eater would get the position causing havoc over the country. He attempted to put all political worry out of his mind and think about normal boyish things, such as Quidditch, yet the fact that Harry was at the heart of the war kept tugging at his mind. The dreaded prophecy remained at the forefront of his thoughts, particularly the part that stated that either Voldemort died or Harry did. Not remarkable odds in Harry's favour, really...

But that was what he had to live with. Kill or be killed. Become a murderer to save the world. Great. Voldemort, one of the most formidable wizards on the planet and Harry with barely satisfactory OWL results. Just fantastic.

Tonks stopped the car and the party got out. For once, the Weasley party had been quite organised in the trip to the station. Perhaps it was because only two of the brood of seven remained in school, or it was purposeful to set a discord with Harry that everything was going well. He was becoming nervous as the large party walked across the station towards the barrier between platforms nine and ten.

Soon Harry would be amongst friends, and some enemies. Familiarity, on whatever count. The feeling of being on his own turf. Hogwarts was the stronghold of the magical world. It was a stability the populace needed so the future generations could remain out of harms way. It also helped that Albus Dumbledore was headmaster of the institute, and world renowned as the most powerful wizard alive today.

Harry had decided that it was in the student's best interest that they were prepared for war once they left the safety of the castle. After trading owls with various school mates who had been part of an illegal defence group dubbed the Defence Association, or Dumbledore's Army on the side, he had come to the conclusion that the DA was a huge success while it lasted, and many of the members wanted to see a come back. Harry had spent hours sat in his room, trawling through his old school books looking for useful spells to review once back in business. He compiled a notebook of these, even forcing himself to read Gilderoy Lockhart's drivel, for the real stories he wrote about had happened to someone, just a person who had no recollection of the event and wasn't as good looking as Lockhart himself. In addition he had asked advice of Remus Lupin who was a sporadic visitor over the holidays, normally bringing news from the Wizarding World or helping Harry come to terms with the loss of Sirius. The former Professor of Defence Against the Dark Arts had been helpful at organising the randomly compiled spells into some semblance of order for teaching the masses and added his own suggestions. On top of this, Harry had written to Professor Dumbledore to get permission for the club to be reinstated. The reply had come quickly responding in the affirmative and his Head of House had also included a missive. All school clubs must have a sponsor and the strict Transfiguration professor had immediately volunteered. Harry was quite surprised but very thankful. He wanted his classmates to survive the coming years and the mess most of the previous Defence Professors made was not constructive towards that outcome.

It was not that Harry was amazing at Defence, but he had more survivals from Voldemort than the rest of the school had spoken his name (not including Dumbledore, of course). Therefore, some of his classmates had decided that he would ultimately be the best choice of instructor if they were to learn anything. Several of his friends had come on leaps and bounds under his tuition last year, accident-prone Neville being the one to surpass the majority of the class and journey with the trio (plus Ginny and Luna) to the Ministry. Still, that outing had proven that they needed more practice. They did remarkably well when outnumbered two to one, but four had received incapacitating injuries, leaving only two to fight until backup came. There was also the problem of stunned Death Eaters being revived. Overall, they were very lucky their opponents hadn't been going for the kill or things might have turned out very differently. As it was, there was one death from the encounter and Sirius's fighting style was a prime example of what not to do in such a situation.

Harry wheeled his trunk around a group of nattering old women and glanced at his troupe. Ron and Hermione were just up ahead, arguing about something or other. Harry had been observing the pair since they got in the car and it was obvious to everyone but themselves that each one liked the other in a more-than-friendly context. He was a bit concerned that he would be alone more often if they got their acts together, but his happiness for his friends overrode the apprehension. That would be if they managed to stop being so moronic and cease annoying everyone around them with their palpable attempts at flirting. Each had written to Harry a lot over the holidays making up for the lack of contact the summer before, both alluding to the fact they liked the other. At first, Harry had been stumped to the references coming from the both of them, yet he knew he should have seen it coming. He confirmed his suspicions when writing to Ron's sister Ginny, and the pair of them had been making joking comments on the matter in each letter swapped.

Ron had been his usual self with his letter writing, atrocious handwriting and all. He steered clear of all depressing conversational topics, instead choosing to keep Harry up-to-date with the latest Quidditch standings especially the Chudley Cannon's closest score in decades. They lost, of course, but Ron was ecstatic! With the frequency of the posts, the two best friends had decided to have a game of chess. Harry was losing badly once again. However, he would constantly point out he was using a Muggle chess board with random pieces because Dudley had thrown the box out of the window once he realised there was nothing electronic about the game and it required thinking. As a result, Harry kept forgetting which piece was meant to be which, yet it wasn't too obvious as the level of play was consistently dire.

Hermione was a different case altogether. She kept trying to steer Harry into talking about how he was coping and to open up about Sirius. 'It's not good to keep your emotions bottled up. It says so in...' was a repetitive sentence that she sent with every note. He half expected her to quote from Hogwarts, a History. On the other hand, she was impressed by his DA preparations and was also contributing a few ideas. Harry was shocked at some of the things she suggested; he would have associated them more in line with the twins' expertise. Her parents had taken her out of the country for a jaunt around the French beaches at the beginning of August and Harry was glad she was spending a bit more time with them. After all, she forfeited her Christmas holiday with them so she could stay with her friends. On returning to England, she went directly to Grimmauld Place and wrote about how Ron was annoying her to no end.

"Seems like they've got a lot closer," Harry muttered while looking at the duo's backs.

"Not that you can tell between all their moaning," came an assessment from beside him. Harry shot the speaker a look. Ginny grinned back impishly. "Or it could be that they need to take their frustrations out on each other in a different way than they want to in public."

Harry groaned. "I didn't need that particular image, thanks," he replied. Ginny's smile widened.

Ginny was a surprise for Harry. They had been corresponding quite regularly for the two months away from Hogwarts. Even though she had barely spoken in his presence aside from the last year, they had a lot in common and they built an easy rapport through their letters. Their conversations ranged from lewd comments about Ron and Hermione, to trying to convert Harry from following Ron's worshiping of the Cannon's Quidditch team and to the Ballycastle Bats instead. He solicited her advice for the continuation of the DA and received the suggestion of asking the other members for their opinions. She kept him keyed into the twins' joke shop business, in which he had received a percentage of the earnings as payback for the starter money. Her easy-going attitude was a break from Hermione's prying questions and Ron's opinionated remarks.

Harry was jolted out of his thoughts by a train's brakes screeching. The feeling of trepidation was slowly rising. Something was going to happen.

"Something's going to happen," mumbled Ginny, casting furtive glances around Platform Seven, which they were currently hurrying across. Harry threw her a surprised look.

"I've had that feeling since I woke up," he confessed to her. "This summer's been too..." He broke off looking for the right word.

"Perfect?" she suggested. "I know what you mean. I'll be glad to get to Hogwarts. This quietness has me freaked out."

Harry silently agreed before coming to a halt in front of the desired barrier.

"Right, Tonks and Lupin, you two through first. Check for threats. If anything is up, come straight back. You've got two minutes before we send this lot in. And remember, CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" Moody growled the orders and motioned for them to get a move on. Harry noticed his eye swivelling around at high speed under his bowler hat.

"Bit excessive," he whispered out of the side of his mouth. Ginny gave a small nod.

"Still... might be a good thing today." She glanced around again. "Ron and Hermione aren't taking much notice of anything. A herd of hippogriffs could amble by in front of them and they wouldn't flinch."

Harry snorted. "They should just kiss and make up." He paused in thought. "Or just kiss. The minute they stop arguing, the apocalypse will come."

"Okay, Granger, Weasley, shut up and get onto the platform." The two in question looked up and flushed with embarrassment before setting off towards the wall. Harry and Ginny shared a look of mirth as Mrs. Weasley tutted at their quarrelling.

"Those two..." she breathed.

"Acting like an old married couple already. Frightful, isn't it Harry?" Ginny piped up with a grin. Mrs. Weasley gave her a quelling glance.

"Potter, Weasley." Moody turned to look at them. "Your turn. Once through, go straight to the train. No loitering around on the platform. Keep your heads down." He was looking towards Harry in regard to the last comment. He gave a taut smile that looked more like a grimace. "As soon as you're spotted, Potter, you'll be a target, especially if there's anyone from the press waiting for you."

Harry stifled a groan as Ginny shot him a look of sympathy. The papers were once again playing the boy who lived up in a positive light. The fight in the Department of Mysteries had somehow leaked out and that Harry had been there. He hated the attention this would no doubt bring him but was thankful the papers only focused on him. He did not want his friends to become even more targeted than before.

"Go on." Harry gestured Ginny towards the barrier and they set off at a leisurely pace, wary of looking like idiots for running at a solid wall in the eyes of the surrounding Muggles. The feeling of disquiet was growing more intense with every step, and Harry noticed that Ginny was looking extremely apprehensive as well.

"Here we go," he said as both the trolleys touched the wall in sync. And the world swirled...

It was like travelling by portkey, but less jarring. He could sense Ginny next to him and he tried to reach out to her. He couldn't move, couldn't speak. All around them was a myriad of colours, all swirling and blending into each other. It would have looked beautiful, if not for the fear that had instilled itself in Harry's gut. 'What is happening?' he thought. Instead of the instantaneous landing of a portkey, this portal was taking quite a while to stop. And the surroundings seemed to be rushing towards them, or was it them moving?

The world stopped with no warning. Harry's sense of balance was skewed and he stumbled forward, tripping over his trunk and landing on the grass with a thump. Wait, grass? There was certainly no grass at the station. He looked up at Ginny, who had managed to stay standing and was chuckling at Harry's graceful landing, and then peered around at their surroundings. They were on an expanse of grass next to a wood. There was a faint sound of running water and the grass whispered as the wind caressed it. He quickly scrambled up next to Ginny.

"Where are we?" he wondered aloud. She shrugged in reply.

"Wands out?" she queried. Harry looked at her alarmed.

"Please tell me you didn't say that," he moaned, while fumbling in his pocket for his wand.

"Why?" she asked, her wand hanging lazily in her hand by her side.

"Cedric said that," he answered shortly, not wanting a repeat of the last time to occur. Ginny blanched, and wisely said nothing more on the subject.

"Shall we make for the trees?" she suggested, looking to Harry for guidance. He perused the land before nodding and tilting his head towards the thicket.

"We make for good targets out in the open like this." He checked behind him as they hurried with their things in the direction of the trees. "It doesn't feel right, this."

Ginny hummed her assent. "Nothing about this place seems malicious. No hoards of Death Eaters, no plotting Dark Lord... no evil toads or bouncing ferrets... The air is too clean."

Harry looked startled by the last comment. It was completely out of context with what she was rambling about beforehand. He asked her to elaborate.

"Sorry," she seemed reproachful. "It's been bothering me since we... landed, I suppose. There is something off about this place, and it's that the air is too clean." She quickly backtracked. "Not that it's bad or anything. It's just..." she trailed off, plonking herself down next to him under a large oak tree, wand still in hand.

Harry tilted his head in thought. He didn't understand why this would be, but could feel it himself. About to open his mouth to question it, he paused listening. A twig cracked nearby. Slowly standing up, the pair inched closer together until their arms were touching. Footfalls could be heard now. Harry's wand was steady. He wasn't going down without a fight. A bush rustled. Their breathing was speeding up, adrenalin running through their veins. What would happen next?

An old man rounded the plant. "Ah," he said, spotting the duo and taking no notice of the two wands trained on him. "Greetings. I have been waiting for you."

Harry looked at Ginny. An old age pensioner was not what they were expecting. She appeared to be awfully confused and he suspected the look was on his face too. He turned back to the elderly gent, keeping his wand steadily pointed at his chest. "Who are you?" He asked the first question that popped into his head.

"My name, my boy," he said with a smile, "is Merlin."