(A/N - Hey this is 'Luv Nikki'. Wow I really love how the stories going so far! And I just want to say a big thank-you to my editor 'mushugirl' her editing is the greatest! And this chapter would be really boring if she hadn't done it! R&R please! Well you don't HAVE to but it would be nice and all. Lol. And I'll get the next chapter up as soon as I can.)
A MILLION MILES AWAY
Chapter 1 – Going Away
Nobody could believe it; it was the last day of Hogwarts! The very same Hogwarts that much of the houses had come to know and love for 7 great, though dangerous, years. Truth be told, the day of the graduations for when the school had ended had gone well for the most part. Many girls were crying and hugging their friends, guys were clapping each other backs and Dumbledore's eyes wouldn't stop twinkling.
That very same day, most of the Wizarding World went into a mass panic as Voldemort finally became what he always wanted; Feared above Most, Loved by his cronies. The Order was sent out on many occasions from the Death Eater's raids and Harry, being who he was, was one of the most valuable people in the impending war.
One of the raids that the Death Eater's had set up had been a trap, set up especially for Harry. Harry had gone into the battle, followed by more than one hundred Order Members only to have nothing there. Feeling that there was nothing much there, the Order members had left, grumbling. Harry had stayed put on the platform before he heard a distinctive ticking. Swiftly, he turned around and yelled at the Order members who were going through the archway. He erected a shield quickly and placed it over half of the aurors heads right as the ticking came to a minimum and the archway fell. Holding onto his wand with both hands to keep the spell balanced, Harry looked around for any of the members that had survived that had not been under his protection. Almost none … almost fifty good aurors gone … Harry gulped as he fought the urge to scream at the dumb, good-for-nothing Death Eaters.
"Get out of the arch-" Harry began to yell before be had been hit by a spell from behind and flipped in the air, landing on his stomach. As he got up, he was roughly pushed back down from a pointy boot heel digging into his back. He yelled in frustration as all of the Order members began fighting the Death Eaters. Doing his best to face his captor, Harry turned his head.
"MALFOY!" Harry spat.
"Glad you remember me, Potter …" He drawled out.
Slowly moving, as Malfoy dodged a spell, Harry aimed his wand.
"Scorgify!" Harry yelled, saying the first thing that came to mind.
A string of bubbles shot out of his wand and hit Malfoy straight in the eyes. Yelling in pain, Malfoy fell over, clutching his eyes. Harry got up and stupified Draco Malfoy. Just as he was running over to help Fred Weasley, he heard a yell to his left. He quickly turned and was met by a man who had just taken down someone no more than 30 meters away. The man seemed to realize who Harry was, and directed his wand to where Harry was standing. Only noticing the fallen member, Harry rushed towards the group. With a well-aimed curse, he was hit on his right cheek. Harry fell to the side from the impact and his head suffered minor whiplash. Just as he looked up, blood all around him, he was met by the fist of the man who was laughing. Harry's head dropped and his mind fell into darkness.
It had started with the trio's lives going into havoc, but many people's lives were chaos. After the first attacks, one that had gotten Harry a rather large scar going down the side of his face, all of Voldemorts Death Eaters had escaped from Azkaban. Every single proud member was ordered to find the four most wanted that could probably not be beat. These witches and Wizards consisted of Harry Potter, at number one; Albus Dumbledore, at number 2; Ronald Weasley, at number 3; and Hermione Granger at number 4.
For the most part, the second war had been raging all through sixth and seventh year. In that time that it had started, approximately a third of all wizards and witches in Britain had been killed, tortured or many other things until they reached the point of insanity or death. Lord Voldemort and his supporters took great pleasure in assisting, capturing, killing and watching these 'events'.
Sadly, Harry who was only a nineteen-year-old boy, was in the middle of it all with his loyal and trustworthy friends Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger.
Floo Number, 2956; Golden Trio's Quarters. Password: Moldyvort. -
Two years later, at age 21, Harry was just beginning to sit in the rather small living room with a cup of coffee. In this 2 story flat, Harry lived with his two best friends Ron and Hermione, of course.
"I just don't get it!" Harry said with a frustrated huff as he placed his muggle pen behind his ear and re-read all of the known notes that the Order had gotten from … valuable … sources cough Snape cough .
"Oh; Harry calm down right this moment!" came Hermione's voice as she poked her head out the kitchen window.
"You try calming down when you have Voldemort and ALL his goons after you!" Ron said in a sarcastic tone as he grabbed his coffee and sat down on the couch opposite of Harry.
"Shut up Ron!" Hermione said glaring at him as she came out of the kitchen door, rag in hand, and scolded Ron before she muttered something and stalked back to her kitchen, letting the delicious aromas fill the air. As she left, Harry finally grabbed his pen and threw it across the room, letting in bounce of the corner of the room and hit Ron. With a groan, Ron sat up straight and got up to go and bug Hermione about coffee stains, seeing he had just spilled all over himself.
"Both of you just shush!" Harry said looking at the two with weary eyes, as he slumped over and pulled a pillow to his chest. With a sneeze and a murderous look, he closed his eyes and just replayed facts.
"We need a vacation mate!" Ron said clapping his friend on the shoulder, making him wake up before going back into the kitchen to talk to Hermione, who was engaged to marry him when the proper time came. That was basically when Voldemort was gone.
"Well … we can't … possibly just … leave!" Hermione said shrilly, taking deep breaths and giggling everytime Ron would tickle her as she and him came from the kitchen in each other's arms. As they neared the couch, they both flopped down on it, Hermione sitting on Ron's lap.
"Hey it works for me!" Harry sighed as he shook his head to keep the attacking sleep-monkeys away. He opened up his eyes and watched as Ron got Hermione off his lap only to go the kitchen with Hermione shaking her head.
"Maybe we can go to the Bahamas; I've always thought that looked like a lovely vacationing spot…" Ron said walking back into the room with a plate of brown, gooey, delicious brownies in hand. Floating alongside him were 3 hot cocoas. With a glare, Hermione reprimanded him for using magic in a muggle area.
"Well, it's always hard to carry a plate of brownies well eating one of 'em and trying to get 3 cups … How the muggles ever survive without magic –"
"Haha… very funny…" Hermione said rolling her eyes as she cut off his rambling, "… but still, Bahamas are so far from here! The Order needs us here!
"Ron has a point, though. We could go vacationing and I've always took a liking for Alaska!"
Hermione shook her head in shock, raised an eyebrow, and seeing the looks on the two boys, she fell forward and began laughing hysterically. The boys shared a look that went noticed by Hermione which resulted in even more high pitched laughter.
"How much … firewhisky… have you guys … had tonight?" She said between breaths and giggling.
"Not enough…" Harry muttered, sipping his hot cocoa while he thought.
The next morning was Saturday, so Harry and Ron were happy to wake up later than usual. It was only when they got a call that they really woke up from their deep slumbers. Ring …
Ring …
Ring …
The phone sounded three times before Hermione, the only one up, got the courage to go from the stool she was sitting on, all the way to the living room where the phone was. Since they were living in a muggle populated area, the Trio thought it would have been cool to get a phone. What they did not expect was to only get one phone, which was rather irritating.
"Hello! Number 6572, Hermione Granger speaking. How may I help you?" Hermione asked politely as she answered the phone.
"Miss. Granger! What a pleasant surprise! It had passed my old memory that you and Ron were living with Harry! Forgive me … Back to business, if I may ask so, please will you not interrupt me because what I am about to tell you will be life altering." Albus Dumbledore's calm voice came through the other end.
'Why is Dumbledore using a phone … gosh. He must sure like muggle gadgets. He could have just used the floo, but I guess that's only for emergencys …'
"Okay, I promise not to interrupt, unless it concerns -" Hermione said thoroughly confused before Dumbledore though it right to interrupt her.
"I have just received word that Voldemort, heaven forbid, has found out your location. I would greatly like you, Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley to pack your belongings and leave as soon as possible." Dumbldore began, waiting for it to since into Hermione's head.
"The Order has decided that you will be going to Canada. Yes, that is indeed the country that is half way across the world. There you will meet up with Ms. Jones, an old friend of Harry's parents. She will be taking you to live in a small town in Manitoba, I believe. You shall live there for approximately one year. The order and myself have thought up a plan that should help to bring Voldemort power reign down. It shall not stop him completely, but it should make him almost out.
"Until then, we need you to be in hiding. Do not tell anyone, besides Ms. Jones, who you are. Don't tell any person that contacts you, even through letter, where you are or that you are a witch. I expect Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasly and you to go to the airport. At the airport, Tonks and Remus will be there to assist you with the airline tickets. I am trusting you, Hermione!"
Hermione, her eyes unblinking, was so stunned that she could hardly talk. Luckily, she managed a small, "Yes sir…"
Without much more discussion, Dumbledore said 'Have fun, good luck and good bye'. With that, he had hung up and almost seemingly disappeared.
Hermione stood there for a minute, replaying all of the conversation, before her eyes widened and she ran up the stairs to tell Harry and Ron that they were all in danger and had to be moved to a safer location.
"Ya … okay…" Harry said confused as Hermione had just retold the entire conversation.
"Have YOU been drinking lately?" Ron asked, his mouth hanging open. Hermione glared at him, her nose scrunching up a little before she, once again, told them that it was no joke. Harry and Ron just raised their eyebrows and gave a dumbfounded look.
"It was Dumbledore! He told us to go to the airport, yes the airport with all the flying birds, Ron! Tonks will be there with the tickets!" Hermione said exasperated.
" Only one thing doesn't make sense … what is their plan?" Harry asked, curiosity twinkling in his eyes.
"For the last time, I don't know! It's not safe to talk of plans over the phone! Plus, why would he tell us?" Hermione said
"Well I guess we have to go … he said as soon as possible…" Harry said with a grim look as he thought about what Dumbledore's plans were, as well as Voldemorts.
"I just don't understand why they can't tell us! We are of age, now-" Harry raged.
"Maybe it's for the better!" Ron interrupted, still looking blown away at the idea of a sort of 'vacation'. "We could get away from it all! Everything!"
"Yes, but we would be leaving the War behind us! It might be worse when we come back! I mean … Dumbledore is asking a lot of just the Order in making us go… Maybe we shouldn't go! We also know how Harry is the only one who can actually kill Voldemort…" Hermione said looking down, scuffing her toes on the peachy colored carpet.
"We should listen to Dumbledore, he obviously has a plan!" Ron said as he grabbed Hermione's hand, squeezed it and bit his lip slightly.
"Still, Dumbledore does make mistakes! It could all be a trap!" Harry said, "I just don't want more people dying because of-"
"Oh Harry! STOP blaming yourself!" Hermione yelled and, in an undertone, she muttered, "…Well, I'm going to pack my bags! If this is just some sick joke, we'll know when we get to the airport tomorrow!"
"Same" Ron said letting go of Hermione's hand and getting up with Hermione trailing him. Just as they left the room, Harry could see Ron slip his arm around Hermione's slim waist. Harry sighed; nothing ever went right for him … nothing at all.
"Well, I guess … I guess I have, well, now chosen then…" Harry said quietly, leaning back into the chair, with a huff.
Meanwhile…
Hermione was in her and Ron's room packing, when the mentioned walked in. Grabbing her around the waist, he pulled her down into his lap and sat on the floor. Hermione leaned into him, while staring blankly at the wall. Ron tightened his grip on her and she found herself thinking about the trip. Did they really need a vacation? Sure, Harry really needed a vacation, but did she and Ron? Of course, they knew they were at the top of the hitlist, but the Order needed them. They couldn't just abandon them, could they?
"Earth to Hermione? Hey … it's okay…" Ron said softly, turning Hermione around so he could look her in the eye.
"That's a lot for you to say… But, Hello to you too…" She responded politely putting her head on Ron's shoulder and sighing contentedly.
"How's your packing coming along? I haven't exactly gotten anything done…" Ron asked.
"Good … I'd expect nothing less of you, Mr. Weasley! You're the one to wait 'til last minute…" Hermione said very lightly.
"You're the one to get ahead, Mrs. Weasley-to-Be. " He said smiling and added, "I think this is going to be good for Harry…He'll finally be able to get away from his life … this lifestyle."
"Yes that's true … it is…" Hermione answered, letting go of Ron and slowly getting up, "…but you do know, when he gets back, it'll be much worse than ever be-"
"Yeah … I thought of that, too…" Ron said his smile fading, "… maybe this trip will sort of, I don't know … re-energize him, in a way."
"Lets hope so…" Hermione said a tear escaping her eye, as Ron wiped it away quickly, "…if it doesn't, well, I don't want to even think about it…"
Before he knew exactly what he was doing, Ron gave Hermione a big hug and then the two set to going around their room in order to pack.
The next morning, with worry on their minds, the trio had all their finished packing as they headed toward the emergency Floo-Place. Soon after, they had found themselves in muggle London, looking for the Airport. After a good couple of directions from varying people, they managed to find the airport as Ron panicked when a huge 'flying bird' came overhead. Once inside of the main building, they found a brightly colored Tonks waiting for them, along with dear, old Remus.
"Ok … Where are they? They said they would-" Remus said while pacing in front of Tonks.
"You don't think that the boys doubted what Hermione said, do you?" Tonks interrupted with a frown as she scanned all the people looking for Ron's red hair, Harry's powerful aura or Hermione's bushy head.
"I don't think they would but…"
Remus never finished his sentence because just then Hermione, Ron and Harry came walking up to them, carrying all their huge suitcases and bags. Ron, the unlucky one of them all, had even managed to carry Hermione's extra bags, even though Hermione's hands were completely full, too.
"Hey Tonks, Remus!" Ron said nodding at them, as he winced from the pressure of the luggage.
"So you decided to come! We thought you'd never make it … 15 minutes late, I see. Miss. Granger … I thought better of you…" Remus said with a grin as Ron dropped some of the luggage on the ground.
"Sorry we're late. I had a hard time explaining it to these guys and getting them to wake up, eat breakfast, pack their luggage bags and numerous other things…" Hermione said, sending an accusing glare at the boys.
"Hey, you try having her explain to you that you are going to live in a country half way around the world for a year, and see how you take it! As well as having to pack when you are a sleeping zombie!" Ron said.
Hermione scowled, "Yes, but if you had packed yesterday, like I had, you wouldn't have been in that situation. You could have slept in…"
Remus chuckled at the to-be-wed couple.
"Here are the tickets," Tonks said with a grin, "Got you into '1st class'…"
"Great… I'm ready to go to some foreign place, exchange my life…" Harry said taking them, "…when do we leave?"
"Umm … well, approximately 20 minutes…" Tonks said as she checked her watch that had been charmed to look like a muggle watch.
"Which reminds me! Harry, can I speak to you for a moment?" Remus asked as he turned to go over to a different direction.
"Sure… I can spare some time, even after getting a lecture for being fifteen minutes late…" Harry said with a grin as Remus led him to another area where they began to talk.
"Look Harry…" Remus said, pulling his hand through his hair before looking at Harry, "…this … this is really important."
"Okay…If it's about the birds and bees … I already know about that…" Harry chuckled.
"I'm serious, Harry." Remus said, as Harry got a guilty face, "…Dumbledore thinks that if you see anything about the war in the newspapers or something that you might be tempted to come back. I … I just wanted to make sure that you will … under NO circumstance … come back until that one year is over. Just relax … be a normal person."
"Confession time … I don't know how to be normal! But … If you insist, I promise that I won't come back here, to England, until the time is up…" Harry said before adding, "…could you just tell us your plan before we go, though?"
Remus seemed to be thinking about how he should say whatever it was he was going to say.
"Harry… you see it's difficult... and you might feel your better needed here, if we do tell you." Remus sighed; he hated keeping things from Harry.
"Fine" Harry said but still had a disgruntled look; as if he wanted … no needed ... to understand.
"Oh and Harry…" Remus said, "Can you say 'hello' to Ms. Jones for me when you see her? We used to be friends in school..."
Harry smirked before asking, "Did you go out? Ever?"
"And I'd say that's none of your business…" Remus answered grinning.
"Okay… if you insist…" Harry said before looking at a clock. With a sigh, he said, "…well I guess that Hermione, Ron and I be leaving soon…"
Remus patted Harry on the back, responding, "Have fun" to Harry's sad look before Harry joined his group, picked up his bags and left for the boarding of the airplane.
"Flight number 77! Flight number 77 boarding!" the women who announced the flight's boarding and departing times announced over the speakers.
"That's yours…" Tonks said almost sadly as Harry grabbed his last bag from Remus.
With tears almost coming in her eyes, Tonks gave Hermione, Harry and Ron hugs goodbye and 'Told those boys to be safe'. Lastly, Tonks gave some last-minute-advice to Harry and the group before they completely left.
"Just relax … have fun for once in your lives!" Tonks said as they got shoved into the airplane entrance, their bags being grabbed from them and being handed to the attendents.
(A/N: This is 'Mushu-girl' leaving an 'authors note', even though this is not my story! I love this story to pieces! I'm having such a great time helping the creative author, 'Luv Nikki' with this story! I'm very proud to have helped her in any way! Enjoy this chapter, the next one should be coming shortly! Also, visit our web site! Since we know each other so well We're very good friends, Best Friends in fact, we decided to make or own personal site. It will have all the stories first updates on it, because, well … it's our web site … () … Anyway … there may be some authors notes from 'Luv Nikki' else where on this chapter. Who would like a poll for this story … hmmm … I'll think of it and maybe post it on CHAPTER 2! MUAAHHH!)