The Fate of Two Worlds

Chapter Two: The Trip to Hogwarts

    The next morning, Harry awoke to the smell of toast, sausage and other delicious edibles all mingling together. He sat up and looked over at Ron, snoring loudly in the bed next to him. He realized that this might be the last time he would stay over at the Weasleys' for a long time. After his last year of school, he would probably launch headfirst into whatever career he finally decided on and would have no time to spare for overnight visits. He sighed deeply and stood up, being careful not to wake Ron. He tiptoed downstairs and heard Mrs. Weasley humming to herself as she prodded the sausage in the pan. She turned, almost startled, when she heard him come up behind her.

    "Oh, good morning Harry! I hope you are hungry. I've fixed your favorites. Now if only the rest of the brood would get downstairs, we could have a wonderful breakfast!" She seemed too chipper to Harry and he wondered if she was still upset over what he'd said yesterday.

    "Mrs Weasley... about... you know who, I'm sorry if I hit a sore spot. I was just curious."

    "I understand Harry. It's just that... even though it was over 2 years ago, I still get emotional about him... and what he's done to our family. I blame myself, you know. I wonder how I could ever have raised a child who'd turn on his family, his teachers, and all he knows is right. He's destroyed himself, and he has ripped a hole in our hearts that won't ever heal. I fear it is worst with Ron and Arthur. I'm strong, though. I've dealt with much worse!" Her voice wavered. Harry felt like she was unloading the world in front of him and, not that he minded, he was unsure what would be best to do for her. Finally, he decided to pat her hand gently, though it didn't seem to be compassionate enough. To his relief and almost chagrin, Ron and Ginny thundered down the stairs. Ginny stopped at the foot of the staricase and Ron nearly toppled over her. They both looked at Harry and then at their mother, wailing into his shirt. Ron gave a half-smile.

    "Did you mention...him, again?" Harry nodded and backed away as they both ran over to Mrs. Weasley. Ron immediately hugged her.

    "It's alright, Harry. This has been happening a lot for a while now."

    "We just hold her and tell her she's a good mom and that things will be fine." Ginny remarked, grabbing a handkerchief for her mother. Harry suddenly felt very sorry for the Weasley family.

- - - - -

    "I am uneasy, Mara." The man leaned over the table and sighed heavily. "I am about to take our children into a battle and I am not sure they are ready."

    "Will their prescence help in the end?"

    "Most undoubtably. They are well trained." He smiled to himself. However, they are not as well trained as they should be or could have been... The woman touched his shoulder and he came out of his thoughts.

    "I know your fears, my dear. I have them too. Don't you think I feel like there are hundreds of people better qualified to teach these gifted students than us? I have to look back and see where they were and where they are now. We have done them a world of good and they ARE learning!" He hugged her tightly, as if afraid to let go.

    "I also fear that I am leading them into greater danger than they all realize. I myself am not even sure what I am supposed to do, and I am expected to be their master?" He shook his head. "Where are the real masters when you need them?"

    She laughed, "Most of them are dead, dear!" She hoped it would lighten the mood, but unfortunately, not even her jokes could make him smile now.

He stood on the stairs of the Massassi temple and gazed around him. He could sense two or three of his students in meditation, and another three deep in concentration about what luxuries they would have to leave behind. He stared out into the endless jungle and wondered when he would be back, if at all. The woman came up next to him and grabbed his hand. Peace... Her calming sense soothed his wild worries and he breathed easier. Then he sensed strong feelings of excitement from behind him.

    "They're here, Father! They're ALL here!"

- - - - -

    The sights of Diagon Alley filled Harry's eyes and gave him good feelings all over. It was too sad to think that this would be his last annual trip to this place, because he wasn't sure the next time he'd make a scheduled visit. He would be doing a lot of lasts in the following days. He forced himself to think about his first visit here with Hagrid and getting his wand, and Hedwig...

    "Harry! Come here quick!" Ron's shouts were coming from the direction of Flourish and Blotts, and Harry could see a mane of thick bushy hair that could only belong to one person.

    "Hermione! It's great to see you again!" Hermione came up to him and almost hugged him, then decided against it and settled on a handshake.     "Hello Harry. How was your holiday?"

    Harry, confused at her weird greeting, was thrown off a bit. "Uhh.. n-not too horrid. I've put on a little weight actually."

    Hermione stared at him, then walked all around him, taking in every angle of his body, and concluded, "You look the same to me." She turned quickly and ran into Flourish and Blotts. Harry glanced over to Ron with a look of utter confusion. Ron returned it back to him and followed her in the door.

    Ginny said snidely, " You boys are so clueless sometimes, I swear!" Then she tossed her hair and trotted in after Ron. Harry started to ask Mrs. Weasley, but remembering their last conversation, he decided to just walk the same direction as everyone else.

    After buying his last set of books, Harry jogged over to Gringott's to check his funds. He was suprised to find that he had less than he expected, but then he remembered he had spent a lot the year before buying new Quidditch equipment. He realized that he needed a job as soon as his last year was over. Stop thinking about everything as the LAST everything, he told himself. He strained to think of a good memory to fill up the wave of depression crashing over him. I need to find the others. They always make me feel better. He met up with everyone at the ice cream shop, where Hermione and Ron were arguing over which flavor was tastier.

    "I don't care what you say, nothing beats plain chocolate mint!"

    Ron exclaimed, "You know, you need to experiment a little more, be adventurous! Come on, take one taste of my Super sour staining supreme!" He was spooning some into her mouth when an elbow knocked his spoon out of his hand and onto Harry's face.

    "Thanks Harry!/Sorry Harry!" he heard at the same time, and he was pretty sure he know which one said which. He scooped up a fingerful of ice cream, now dripping down his cheek, and tasted it. "Not bad, but not one I would get anytime soon!"

    "Eh, you two don't know what you're missing," Ron quipped as he went off to get another spoon. Harry sat down in Ron's vacant seat to catch up with Hermione, but like opposite polar ends of a magnet, the closer he got, the farther away she went. He decided to confront her.

    "Hermione, what is going on? Why are you so afraid of me? You can tell me!"

    Hermione turned the color of her cherry as she said, " Um, well... I, uh..." Ron came back and laughed hysterically.

    "Hey Harry ! You and Hermione match now!"

    Harry grabbed his spoon and stared at his cheek, which was now almost purple. "Is that why you were stammering?" he said accusingly to Hermione.

    "No, I...uh...it's hard to..umm..."

    Harry put two and two together and said, amazed, "Hermione, did something happen last year? Are you worried about how well I did in my schoolwork? You're still the smartest student at Hogwarts, believe me!" Ginny laughed at what she'd seen and heard.

    "Once again, you boys are so blind to what's in front of you!"

    "Ginny, shush!" Hermione pulled her out of the ice cream shop and left the boys to their musings.

    "What do you think is happening with her, Ron?"

    "I haven't got the slightest clue!" Harry got a puzzled look on his face as he tried to figure it all out.

    "Ginny, I told you in secrecy and I expected you to keep it quiet! I especially thought you wouldn't share with them!" Hermione put her head in her hands and tried to cover her scarlet face.

    "You have to tell him. It's not that big of a deal. Everyone has dreams like that. I know I have. Do you remember me my first year? Wasn't I a case..." Ginny trailed off as she recalled her feelings.

    "It's not the same. You'd never met him before. I am one of his Best Friends! I'm not supposed to feel like this! I am actually afraid to be in the same room with him because I might do or say something stupid, and I'm NOT stupid!!"

    Ginny chuckled, " Well, you've done an amazing job of not saying stupid stuff so far, Miss Uhhhhhh... And you can't blame that on the color changing ice cream trick!"

    Hermione sighed deeply. "How am I supposed to go through this year without being in close proximity with him?"

    "You can't. So just go in there and tell him. You'll feel so much better and it's more effective than hiding, let me tell you! Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to go get some of that tongue dying delicacy." Ginny headed back toward the shop, and Hermione stared after her, praying she wouldn't say another word to Harry and Ron. How do you tell someone that over the summer, you fell in love with them....

- - - - -

    The man and woman rushed quickly out of the doorway and over to the landing platform, where a dozen familar faces greeted them. The man grabbed his sister in a huge embrace, then a handshake for her husband, and a pat on the head for her two young children.

    "Luke, I'm so glad to see you! I'm sorry it has been so long. I've been especially busy as Minister of State. Those senators don't give me a second's peace!"

    "I understand, Leia. I'm grateful for the time we do get to spend together, short as it is." Leia reached over to hug Mara and her daughter.

    "So, you've been busy too, I hear." She smiled, but not completely.

    "Luke has asked the students, and they've all agreed," Mara informed her.

    "What you are doing is wonderful, but I am worried for all of you."

    "Well," Luke mused, "that's why we have you guys as our escorts! Partway, at least. Wouldn't want to go anywhere without my buddy Han at the helm."

    Han grinned, "If it involves danger, you know I'm in." Leia's children got restless and chased each other into the vines of the jungle, followed by Mara's daughter.

    "Now Luke, tell me the truth. How dangerous is this mission of yours?"

    "Honestly, I have no idea. I received a call and I'm answering it, no matter what the costs." Mara grabbed her husband's hand and squeezed.

    "How do we even know that this is for real?" Leia questioned him.

    Luke shuffled his feet and slowly said, "She had the visions, Leia. I saw them. This is real, and it is going to get worse if we don't help. There is a chance that their entire world will be wiped out if we stay here. I must go and find the children and instruct them."

    "Well, you know that the Senate will help in any way possible."

    Luke chuckled, "Does that include loaning me Han for a bit? He's the best pilot in the trade, and it is pretty tricky to get where we must go."

    "Yes Luke," Leia said, putting a hand on his shoulder, "it includes him. And Wedge, too."

    "Well, not to break up this reunion," Mara interjected, "but we need to load everything up and get going as soon as possible. It is good to see you."

    Luke and Leia walked through the thick overhang of the jungle, looking for their children. "What is really going on, Luke?"

    "There is a dark one that has been plaguing them for years now, only his power was taken away. That's what I read in the history logs. I couldn't sense him before, but for the past two years, he has been growing stronger, not only physically, but in the Force. I don't know what happened to him, but I do know that it is the strongest concentration of the Dark Side I've felt since the Emperor! It all started when Kieran had her dreams. She kept telling me about a boy and a dark figure. The dark figure would swirl around the boy and reach out for him, but nothing else. Then, last week, she came to me with visions of the boy and the dark one. They were locked in battle and one of them died, but she couldn't tell which because they blended together. Last night, she had more visions, just little ones of different images. I don't know what to make of them."

    "Do you remember Yoda's prediction? ' There one day will come a cry for Jedi. A clash of good and evil. Through your line the link will be and the power to rid a world of darkness. A world of different skill.' " Luke twisted his hand around a vine. "It never made that much sense until now. I knew that there would always be a need for Jedi, but the ' world of different skill' part confused me. That's why I asked you to do all that reserch for me about the Force and the facet that broke away. I have to help. I feel like I am being pulled. It is unlike anything I have felt in a long time."

    "I am sorry that Jaina and Jacen are not able to help, since they are busy at school."

    Luke sighed, "I could have used their strength. You know, Leia, they are two of the most powerful young Jedi in the Force. I hope they are being taught well. Probably better than I could do. I'm not that great of a master. I've worried about that since the first day I started teaching, but then I remember that I have the masters of the past to aid me."

    Leia replied, "What you are teaching them will benefit them for the rest of their lives. They are learning the ways of the Force and how to use it. Without you to guide them, I'm sure they would be lost and scared. Here, at your acadamy, they have a sanctuary to grow and when they are called to help, they can help." She hugged him tightly.

    The last student went through the doorway and found a seat on the passenger ship. Luke stood on the ramp, checking that everyone had loaded on. "Come on, Luke. It's time." Mara grabbed his arm and walked him to a seat. Will we ever return to this place, Luke wondered, and a voice entered his head: We WILL come back. He turned his head and saw Mara smiling comfortingly at him. The jungle faded to a mass of green as they took off to their destiny.

- - - - -

    Harry sat nestled against the back of his seat aboard the Hogwarts Express. His last trip on this train... Stop thinking about every last you're doing and just enjoy it!! He forced the sadness out of his mind and looked out the window. Across from him sat Neville and Dean, while Ron lazily slunked in the seat next to him. Suprisingly, or maybe not, considering the way she's been acting, Hermione was in the cabin next to them with Ginny and some other Gryffindor girls. She had been keeping her distance ever since Diagon Alley. He decided to find out what was up. He stood up and walked over to her cabin and knocked on the door. "Uh, Hermione, can I talk to you alone for a minute?"

    Hermione shrugged, "Okay, sure." The other two girls left and Ginny stood up slowly.

    "Are you sure, Hermione?"

    "Yeah, I think I can do it alone."

    "Alright, just remember what we talked about before," Ginny said as she left the cabin.

    Harry walked over and sat across from her. "Why have you been acting so weird lately? Is there something going on? I think you wanted to tell me in the ice cream shop, but somehow, you didn't. I'm your friend, and whatever it is, we can work it out together, right?"

    Hermione said slowly, "Alright, but you can't say anything until I'm all done and I can't look at you, okay?"    

    "Okay, just please, tell me."

    Hermione took a big breath and started. "It's just that, over the summer, I kept having these dreams... about us. We were.. together... and we were involved, and it was weird and exciting, and confusing! And now I'm not sure how I feel." Her fingers were twisted in her robes. "So when I saw you in Diagon Alley, it was the first time since having the dreams, and I wasn't sure if these feelings were real or caused by the dreams. I wasn't sure if I just wanted to be your friend or if I wanted to... to be more. So I freaked out and tried to ignore it. You know how I am about guys and feelings! Remember Krum? Anyways, it was silly and stupid, and now that you know, I'm thoroughly embarrassed." She glanced up at him shyly. "So, do you have anything to say about this?"

    Harry had a look of complete suprise on his face. "Well, how do you feel about me now that you've told me?"

    "Honestly, I feel relieved. I think it was just the feelings from the dreams coming out and that we're just friends. Is that okay with you?"

    "Sure. If you change your mind and decide that these are real feelings, we'll talk again." He put his hand in hers and looked directly at her. "You are one of my best friends. I would never want to jeopordize that. But if you want to try being something more, we could try that too."

    She squeezed his hand and replied," You're great. Thanks. Now I don't have to feel all awkward around you!"

    Harry chuckled. "At least it was just this and you weren't mad at me being better than you at magic or something."

    Hermione slugged his shoulder."Harry, you could Never be better than me! I'm a perfectionist, remember?"

    The two of them walked back into the cabin with Ron and the other boys, where they spent the remainder of the trip to Hogwarts. Harry forgot all about this being his last trip and enjoyed the company of his friends.