The Arcs of Destiny

Chapter IV:

On the Brink of Adventure

'It seems I found the road to nowhere

And I’m trying to escape

I yelled back when I heard thunder

But I’m down to one last breath.'

-Creed, One Last Breath

Harry and Draco got home safe and sound. The Dursleys ignored them as they came in so Draco went up to the spare bedroom he was staying in and put the book away while Harry went into the kitchen to help Aunt Petunia prepare for dinner. He moved as fast as he could, eager to get out of that stifling kitchen. As he chopped up some vegetables, the heat of the kitchen reminded him about being so close to Draco underneath the table during the hold-up. Harry ignored this memory and kept chopping, nearly slicing off one of his fingers in the process.

Dinner came and passed without event. Harry found that he wasn't really hungry and excused himself from the quiet table early, noticing that Draco was looking at him curiously. He brought his plate into the kitchen and pushed it into the sink without even rinsing it clean. Then he went through the kitchen door and down the hall to the stairs. He went up them and crossed the hallway into his bedroom, partially closing the door behind him. He flopped on the bed and closed his eyes, listening to the clatter of forks and knives coming from downstairs. Suddenly, the phone started ringing and footsteps pounded on the stairs. They paused at the landing and then walked into the spare bedroom. The footsteps probably belonged to Draco and he probably paused to consider whether to talk to Harry or not, but the door to the spare bedroom snapped closed.

Harry sighed and sat up and looked out the window. It was beginning to darken and the sun was starting to slip below the horizon. Dogs barked in the distance and the street was quiet, the occasional car driving by. A silent world, partially open to the reality of the real world, the Muggle world. He longed to belong to that world and yet he did not wish to. All this business with Draco and constantly worrying if Voldemort was going to attack him was starting to slowly drive him crazy. He was actually starting to wonder what was going to happen next.

"Hey, Harry," a voice called from the doorway. Harry turned to see Draco looking at him curiously, the book in his hands again. "You've gotta see this spell."

"What is it?" Harry asked, feigning interest. Draco sat on the bed next to him and pointed at the bottom of the page he had turned to.

"It's a body-switching spell," Draco told him. "It's faster than a Polyjuice Potion and it lasts longer. They even have varieties of it, like power-switching."

"Let me see that," Harry said, suddenly actually interested. The page was written in blue ink and there were drawings of people morphing into someone else. The spell was short and simple and didn't require any potion with hairs from the person to be morphed into to be drunk. He turned the page and found a spell for soul-switching where the soul left the body. On the opposite page of that was the power-switching spell.

The phone rang again downstairs and Harry looked out into the hallway from the now open doorway to see what was going on. He saw Dudley run up the stairs and turn the stereo in his bedroom on full-blast. "Yellow" by Coldplay blared on the speakers and Harry shook his head. He suddenly remembered Draco was still there and turned his head to see what Draco's reaction to Muggle music was. Draco's mouth was open and his eyebrows were raised making him look like a fish. Harry snickered and flipped the page. On the next two pages were a truth spell and a forgetfulness spell. The truth spell might be useful on Draco. Harry would love to find out why Draco was really there.

There were thundering footsteps on the stairs again and Harry looked up to see Uncle Vernon pounding up the stairs, a small vein throbbing on his temple like he was angry but looking happy just the same. He thundered into Dudley's room and the floor shook with the added weight.

"What's that music?" Draco yelled.

"That's Coldplay," Harry answered. "It's pretty good music, especially for Muggles, don't you think?" he added with a smirk.

Draco shook his head and got up. Uncle Vernon thundered into the master bedroom as Aunt Petunia ran up the stairs. Dudley bounded into Harry's room nearly colliding with Draco, who was standing by the door, and making the pictures on the walls in the hallway fall down with a crash.

"Pack!" Dudley yelled.

"What?" Harry asked before he could stop himself.

"PACK!" Dudley yelled even louder.

Draco smirked at Harry and asked, "Why?"

"We're flying to Toronto tonight," Dudley answered in a normal tone. He couldn't even hear himself so he ran back into his room and lowered the volume of the stereo. He then ran back into his room making the floor shake again. "We're flying to Canada tonight. Dad has an unexpected meeting with a guy. I don't remember his name, but he asked to meet Dad early in the morning so we're catching a flight to tonight. Dad didn't want to bring you two along but he has no choice. Mrs. Figg is on holiday in the North and Aunt Marge wouldn't have a place to put you." He left the room then and excitedly ran back into his room and turned the stereo louder again. Now, it was playing "One Last Breath" by Creed.

"Flight?" Draco asked above the music.

"Them Muggles fly in airplanes high in the air to get to far away destinations," Harry replied, shutting the book and giving it back to Draco. "Like the guy said, pack everything you brought. With any luck, Dumbledore could owl us and tell us to stay with Ron at that wizarding town, Mellowside." Draco looked as if he was about to protest but Harry pushed him into the hallway and began to gather his things. He packed his school trunk and sure enough, Uncle Vernon was yelling at the top of his lungs about an owl.

"WHAT IS THIS BLOODY OWL DOING IN HERE?" Uncle Vernon roared, running out of the master bedroom and into Harry's, everyone in the house and the owl in tow. The owl landed on Harry's bed and at once Harry recognized him as a school owl. The owl hooted once and Harry untied the letter on his leg. The envelope was addressed to the Dursleys, Harry, and Draco. Harry took out the letter and unfolded it, reading it for himself before handing it to Uncle Vernon.

The letter read:

'Dear Dursley family, Harry Potter, and Draco Malfoy,

It has come to my attention that the family shall be leaving for Canada tonight on a business trip. Due to the problems in my world, Mr. Potter is under strict protection for his own safety and due to the fact that he will be travelling abroad, this protection will be of no use to him.

However, one of Mr. Potter's friends is vacationing in Canada close to where you shall be arriving. I ask that Mr. Potter and Mr. Malfoy be excused from the family to live with the Weasleys in Mellowside. I have already contacted them and a ride for them to Mellowside shall be waiting for the two boys at the airport when your airplane arrives. This solution is for their own safety only since Mr. Malfoy also needs protection.

There is no need to reply to this letter since everything has been taken care of.

Sincerely,

Albus Dumbledore

Headmaster of Hogwarts.'

Uncle Vernon took the letter and read it. His face brightened at the fact that he woudn't be seeing Harry and Draco again, and then reddened at the mention of Hogwarts. He looked up at Harry and Draco and grunted, handing the letter back to Harry. He then stomped out of the room with Aunt Petunia and Dudley following suit. The school owl, noticing that his job was done, promptly stretched its wings with a loud hoot to Harry who opened the window. The owl hopped onto the windowsill and took off.

Harry turned back to Draco who had folded his arms across his chest. "What?" Harry asked.

"Do not tell me that we are going to live with your Weasel friend for the rest of the summer," Draco said.

"You have no choice, Malfoy," Harry told him, getting back to packing his clothes.

"I'd rather live with the bloody Dursleys than those Weasleys," Draco retorted, disgust dripping in his voice. "We'd probably be sleeping on moth-eaten couches instead of beds."

"If you want to have a roof over your head, then stop talking about my friends that way," Harry hissed.

"Why should I?" Draco asked. "He's just going to act the same way towards me that I act towards him."

"So? If Ron acted the way you do to him towards you, then maybe you would get a taste of your own medicine. Maybe you'll think twice about mocking someone's financial status in the future."

A silence fell upon the pair with Dudley's music still blaring in the background. Surprised, Harry looked at Draco who was looking at him with hatred and betrayal in his eyes. Draco crossed the room and stormed out the door, muttering, "Fuck off" in the process.

Harry slumped down onto his bed, baffled. "Now, what the hell just happened?"

*****

It was past two o'clock in the morning when Hermione finally got off the Internet. After she had discovered the Arcs of the Unknown, she had searched the Internet for information on what she was. She was able to narrow down her list to her first conclusion: a slayer. After testing out her abilities by doing a cartwheel, which she could never do before, and lifting a 30lb weight easily in one hand, she was a perfect candidate for a vampire slayer.

Yawning, Hermione sipped the last drop of her sixth coffee and shut down the computer. She turned off the living room light and slowly made her way into her bedroom and onto her bed. She closed her eyes and wrapped her blankets tightly around her.

Trying to sleep was not as easy as it sounds. Hermione rolled over onto her other side and yawned. Uncomfortable, she shifted into a fetus position and then finally rolled over. Burning questions etched themselves onto the lids of her eyelids. Hermione rolled over again, trying to escape those questions. She wondered what was going to happen next and what she was going to do with these new found powers.

Hermione leaned on one elbow and punched her pillow, then settled back down, hoping that she would fall asleep. When she wasn't successful, she rolled over and sat up. She got out of bed and changed into a pair of jeans and a sweater. She slipped out into the hallway and grabbed a pair of keys, then quietly opened the door and walked into the hotel hallway, locking the door.

She had no logical reason for doing this except that she wanted to get a feel of staking vampires. She felt that her sudden urge to walk in a cemetery and battle the undead would help solve at least some her questions.

She made her way to the closest cemetery that she remembered passing on one of the city tours. As she neared it, she could see that there was a lock on the gates. Looking around to make sure no one was watching, Hermione grabbed hold of the lock and yanked hard on it. The lock came loose and Hermione slid it out of the hook. She pushed one of the gates open slowly, wary of creaking. After she slipped into the cemetery, she closed the gate and surveyed the land that she had just trespassed on.

The cemetery was very large. Acres and acres of tombstones in rows marched into the distance. Mausoleums and patches of trees dotted the landscape. Hermione trudged forward, her ears ready to pick up any sound.

Minutes passed by as Hermione wandered aimlessly through the graveyard. Several times she wondered why she was in there and was ready to go home when her ears would pick up a sound and later she would find out that it was nothing. Sometimes she even saw a shadow, but nothing really happened until five minutes later when she passed by a large mausoleum and found herself with three vampires around her.

*****

Ginny was sitting on her bedroom floor looking through all her drawings when she heard the front door bang open and footsteps rush excitedly in. Curious, she got off the floor and went into the hallway where she saw her father standing by the table in the kitchen, hunched over and gasping for air.

"Well, Arthur, what is it?" Molly Weasley asked, standing up from the couch and coming over to help her husband into a chair.

"Harry...Malfoy's son...coming over...today," Arthur told her and Ginny, who was now leaning on a chair.

"What?" Ginny asked incredulously. "Draco Malfoy and Harry are coming over here?"

Arthur nodded, his breathing becoming regular. "Harry's uncle, Vernon Dursley, was called for a meeting in Toronto in the morning. Dumbledore wanted me to take the two boys for the rest of the summer."

"I enjoy young Harry coming over," Molly said, "but really, do we have to have Draco Malfoy too?"

Arthur nodded again. "It seems that Draco ran away from his father for reasons unknown to me and sought Harry out for help. Naturally, Harry agreed."

"You know how Harry is," Ginny agreed. "He'd save Malfoy's life if it came down to it."

"Should I go out to the store and get more food?" Molly asked. "We're probably going to need more vegetables."

"Yes, you should probably go do that," Arthur agreed. "In the meantime, I'm going to to find the boys and pass on the information and the rules, so that when Harry and Draco arrive, Ron and the twins don't freak out and start beating up on Draco."

"Okay dear," Molly said. Both parents prepared to leave and said goodbye to Ginny. They closed the door behind them, leaving Ginny to straighten up the house.

She flew about, putting dirty dishes in a wizarding dishwasher and straightening the cushions on the couch. She wanted the house to look perfect, even if Malfoy was also going to see it with Harry. Ginny had to admit that she still had a crush on Harry Potter. He was part of the reason she was cleaning up, even if she did have some reservations about him ever since his evil twin tried to drown her. Although, that was his evil twin, not Harry himself. The other part of the reason was that she wanted Malfoy to see that the Weasleys were respectable people. She couldn't stand Malfoy's taunts about her family being poor and it would serve him right if he got a taste of being poor.

Ginny stood back to marvel her handiwork and sighed. She could feel it in her bones that this was going to be one adventure that they'd never forget.