Well here it is, my first fic. And it's Harry Potter! Please be kind in your reviews...


Emptiness, was all he could feel and see. Looking around the dark tunnel, he couldn't see much in the way of life until he heard the sounds of conversation. To his left he heard a voice echo from a distance.
"Do you think he's dead, Ron?" it asked.
"I don't know." answered the second voice. "But you'd better hurry and find Ginny, Harry."
Ron... Harry? The young man stood up but realized he couldn't stay up, and he fell to the ground. The boy with red hair approached him with an annoyed look on his face.
"We'll stay here, all right Professor Lockhart?" he said, trying to sound patient.
Professor Lockhart? Is he talking to me? The man thought. His face must have given something away because the boy called Ron looked at him funny, and then sighed.
"The Memory Charm backfired. Well better you than us." he smiled smugly. "We'd better wait for Harry." and he took a seat next to Lockhart.
Of this period of waiting, the man didn't remember much except that the waiting seemed endless. It felt like the day he had been born except... he was not an infant. He was a grown man. It was strange, almost frightening and the boy next to him wasn't helping much, just sitting there fiddling with something. He took a closer look at Ron's object and saw it was... a wand?
"Hey! What's that?" Lockhart asked in a childish voice.
"Don't touch it! It's broken anyhow!" Ron shouted.
"Is that a... wand? Are you some kind of- magikan?"
Ron looked at him as if he had lost his mind, and in a way, he had (literally). Taking advantage of this distraction, he grabbed the wand out of Ron's hand, shouting,
"Abracadabra!!"
What happened next was utterly surprising. There had been a bunch of rocks piled up to their left and at Lockhart's words, they all blasted into tiny pebbles. At his achievement, Lockhart grinned. This was a familiar feeling, a feeling of being proud of himself. He recalled experiencing it many times. It was strange...
Ron was standing there gaping at the millions of pebbles, scattered across every inch of the dark tunnel. Then he grinned, slapping Lockhart on the back.
"I didn't know my wand still worked but I guess that's the power of magic." he exclaimed.
Magic? Surely there was no such thing! Lockhart contemplated the thought of a world filled with magic, but quickly dismissed the odd idea. Magic, wands, and exploding rocks? Fancy that!

About an hour later, Lockhart heard a voice.
"RON! RON!" it called as a dark figure approached the two with something perched on his arm.
"Harry!" Ron exclaimed. "What is that?" As the boy came closer, Lockhart could see that he wore glasses and sported a lightning red scar on his forehead, covered slightly by his dark, unkempt hair.
"It's a phoenix. Dumbledore sent it to help me defeat Tom Riddle and save Ginny." Just then, a little girl came out of the darkness with her wand lit up. Lockhart stared at them, all these children who knew where and who they were. He started staring into space from his spot against the muddied wall of the tunnel. He snapped to attention when the boy named Harry asked, "What's with him?"
Knowing that they must mean him, Lockhart raised his head and stared into the inquiring faces.
"Hey chaps! How're you doin'?" he asked in a friendly voice since, as he was listening to them, he had heard them talking as such.
"His Memory Charm went against him. No smarter than a baby now, he is." Ron replied. Lockhart felt rather indignant; he was not as simple-minded as a baby. Rather than argue against them, he tried to strike up a conversation.
"Not a very pleasant place, is this?" he said cheerily. However the boys turned their backs to him and whispered among themselves. After this moment of hushed talk, they turned back to him. Harry spoke.
"Let's get out of here. Ginny you go up first. Professor Lockhart-"
"He means you." Ron said sharply, surprising Lockhart out of his thoughts. Harry delivered his instructions and the four set off down the tunnel. Lockhart spied a tiny trail of light at the end that grew larger as they advanced toward it. Then Harry pushed at the door, which had been open a crack and light blinded him. Lockhart was amazed. He had not known such brightness to exist before now.
He soon saw the reason for the brightness; a crowd of people holding either torches or wands that lit up had filled the room. A short woman ran over to the little girl and started hugging and kissing her hysterically.
"Ginny! Oh Ginny, thank goodness you're all right!" she said, tears streaming down her face. Lockhart glanced around as the crowd pressed in closer to the four of them, congratulating Harry and Ron on their bravery. All he could think about, though, was: What had really happened?
Then the crowd parted and an old man with a long silvery beard and hair and a pair of half-moon glasses came through toward them. He was smiling so Lockhart didn't suspect anything from him.
"Harry, come with me." the old man whispered. "And take Professor Lockhart." At the mention of his supposed name, he snapped his head up and looked into the old man's eyes. He caught Lockhart's gaze and smiled sympathetically.
"Sure Professor Dumbledore." Harry positioned the phoenix on his shoulder and strode after the old man. Lockhart decided to follow as well since Dumbledore had suggested it. They walked down a long hall lit by torches along the stone walls. Up they went a long flight of stairs almost to the very sky where they ended with a door.
Dumbledore opened the door and motioned for Harry and Lockhart to enter. Harry approached Dumbledore at this desk. They began talking in low voices as Harry's phoenix jumped onto a nearby perch.
Lockhart, being bored standing near the door, gazed at the titles of some books. He was surprised that he could read, although he couldn't remember names, faces, people he knew once, or even his own name for that matter. Taking a book off the shelf, he stared at the title. Shapeshifting for Dummies. Thinking the book would be easy to read, he opened it and read the first page.
It's bad enough I can't remember anything, but why does everyone have to play tricks on me? He thought. Lockhart put the book back on the shelf, sighing.
"Hey you!" came a voice from behind him, making him jump. Spinning around, he saw no one but Harry and Dumbledore, and they apparently hadn't heard the voice.
"In the picture, laddie!" the voice said impatiently. Lockhart looked into the picture and saw a photograph of an old man in long black robes.
"Hi, ya genius." the man said mockingly.
"You... um..." Lockhart wasn't sure what to say. The old man in the picture sighed.
"Must be Muggle-born." Lockhart stared. What WERE these people? All dressed in long, dark robes and tall pointed hats. They must be... wizards!
He looked around, suddenly afraid. These wizards and witches must have put a spell on him to make him lose his memory. What if they had worse plans in mind for him? He glanced back at the picture but the wizard inside it was gone. Lockhart felt the boy Harry brush past him and depart, leaving him alone with Dumbledore.
For a moment he was scared to be alone with a wizard, but as he looked into Dumbledore's kind, smiling eyes, he knew he could be trusted. Just then, the old man began to laugh. Lockhart stared blankly at him, finding the situation of having his memory lost to be quite unhumorous.
"Ah... Gilderoy, Gilderoy. I knew only you would go to such lengths." Dumbledore said as he shook his head, his silvery beard swaying side to side.
Was he implying that it was my fault my memory was lost? Lockhart thought haughtily. For some reason, this little comment seemed to conjure a great hurt inside him. Not a great mental anguish, but a blow to his self-esteem, or his eg-
"So Gilderoy, we should get you some help, right?" Dumbledore's voice pushed Lockhart out of his personal thoughts.
"I guess so. But before I go, could you tell me-" Lockhart couldn't seem to finish.
"Yes, I am a wizard. Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, at your service." he bowed deeply to show his sincerity.
"This is a school? It looks more like an old medieval castle." Lockhart said.
Dumbledore laughed merrily and Lockhart couldn't help but think that it was at his expense.
"Actually if you were a Muggle, that's just what it would look like." he said, his eyes twinkling.
"Please make sense for once!" yelled Lockhart in exasperation. Dumbledore clapped his hand on Lockhart's shoulder.
"It will, once you've gotten some help." He led him down the long flight of stairs. Dumbledore kept surprising him by lighting torches that had gone out with his wand. The wizarding world must be great, Lockhart figured.
As they walked down the hall Lockhart saw some kids staring at them. A school for children to learn magical heritage.
"You were once a professor here, Gilderoy. Defense Against the Dark Arts, it was." Dumbledore told him. Lockhart tried to think of himself, teaching these young children something he knew absolutely nothing about.
Soon he became aware that Dumbledore was leading him out the entrance doors. There was nothing out here. Then Dumbledore shouted.
"Accio Carriage!" Then the wind began blowing the thick clumps of leaves in the trees. Lockhart held down his wavy blonde hair because for some reason, he couldn't stand the thought of it getting messy.
Then came a magnificent sight. A carriage, drawn by six beautiful white horses, descended upon the road in front of them. The carriage, painted in gold and blue, was big enough to hold even the horses themselves. Lockhart felt like Cinderella, and Dumbledore was his fairy godmother (father, rather). He felt like getting out a hair comb and brushing back his mussed hair, as well as getting out of these wretched robes... ROBES! Lockhart realized that he must be a wizard too! Quickly he fumbled through his pockets and grasped a long, thin stick. Pulling it out, he saw it was a wand.
"I'll get you luggage for you." Dumbledore tapped his own wand against his hand and was suddenly holding a suitcase. The name 'Gilderoy Lockhart' was pasted over the entire case. Lockhart couldn't help but think it was a precaution in case he really did forget his name. However something told him this was not the case...
"Climb in Gilderoy. I wish you luck recovering your memories. I'm sorry that I can't accompany you- being Headmaster, I have my duties- but I will send someone else from Hogwarts to keep you company and speak for you in case you run into difficulties."
Lockhart smiled appreciatively. He wondered who would be coming with him on the journey and even more, where he would be going.
Just then, the entrance doors opened behind them with a mighty bang. A man with a large hook nose, greasy black hair, and menacingly dark eyes, wearing robes to match his hair, approached the two with swift strides, stopping next to Dumbledore.
"Gilderoy, this is Severus Snape. He was one of your colleagues, the Potions Master for our school." Dumbledore introduced him. Snape looked pleased; as if he wanted Lockhart to leave. Brushing a hand through his unwashed hair (Gilderoy couldn't help thinking, How could he live with it?), Snape motioned his hand toward the carriage.
"After you." he said coldly. Lockhart climbed into the carriage, Snape following soon after. Dumbledore waved the two off as the carriage leaped into the air galloping upwards.
As Lockhart glanced out the window at the retreating figure of Dumbledore, he wondered what lay ahead. He turned to look at Snape, who was looking out the window as well.
He certainly hoped this trip wouldn't take long.