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Chapter 1

Just a Simple Check-Up

"He wants you to do what?"

Ginny's voice was high as she stared at him with her shimmering brown eyes. Her expression was defiant. Harry laughed at the tone in her voice, which was the same tone she'd used when he'd told her he wanted their wedding to be in the Forbidden Forest (this idea was immediately banished from the household).

"Gin, Kingsley isn't about to let me die. It's just a simple check-up, nothing major. I'll be back in less than four days – you won't even notice I'm gone," he said, pushing a strand of red hair out of her eyes and moving closer to her.

There was a pause. Ginny wasn't about to give up without a fight. She stepped back, glaring at him.

"But why?" she demanded. "Why does he want you to go and do this 'check-up' of his? And what's it all about? I don't understand and I don't like it!"

*Earlier that day, at the Ministry of Magic*

"Why, Kingsley?" Harry asked. "Why me?"

The Minister for Magic stared impassively at him. "Harry," he said in his deep voice, "this is a special job. One that we need a particularly skilled Auror for. We can't send a team, it would look too suspicious and attract too much attention. We need one person, who is good at their job, to do this. And you, Harry, are one of the only people available at the moment. You are also our best Auror, which is why it's lucky that you're available. I assumed you would know why we chose you."

Harry's forehead wrinkled. "But it's just a check-up," he said. There was a pause. "It is just a check-up, right?" he added inquisitively, looking up into Kingsley's face. The bald man smiled.

"Do you want me to explain it again?" he asked. "I don't think you were concentrating last time I did – which is unlike you Harry, if you don't mind my saying."

In actual fact, Harry did mind him saying this. Kingsley didn't know what he was having to deal with at the moment – which was a lot. Most of it involved Ginny, his work and his friends. Mainly Ginny. But he would have to face that later. For now, he would –

"Harry!" Kingsley's voice shattered his thoughts. "You're not listening again. Concentrate."

"Er, sorry, sir," Harry mumbled, straightening up and looking straight into the Minister's eyes. "What were you saying?"

Kingsley sighed. "As I was saying, Harry, a few weeks ago, we discovered an island in the South Pacific," he said slowly. "It doesn't look as if Muggles have discovered it yet. The Ministry was surprised that we didn't find it earlier – but frankly it's quite hard to spot. It's only about nine square kilometres across, give or take. We sent out two men to get the lay of the land – but they never returned. We had no idea what happened, so a team of Aurors Apparated to it. But somehow they were repelled from the island and ended up in the middle of the ocean, miles away. Most of them were inexplicably unconscious. If it hadn't been for two of my colleagues, who were awake when they appeared in the ocean, everybody would have drowned. We think that sadly, that is what happened to the men we sent out." He paused and stared at Harry. "Are you following me so far?"

Nodding, Harry said, "Yes, sir. I understand. But what part do I have in this? And also, how did you discover the island if it's impossible to Apparate there in the first place?"

He glanced at the door. They were in Kingsley's office, a grand affair with large windows – through which the artificial sunlight of the Ministry poured through like water through a funnel – wooden flooring and photographs on the wall that stared and laughed and chatted while meetings were being held. Kingsley cleared his throat and stood from the chair he'd been sitting in behind his desk.

"Firstly, we found the island through our resident Seer – I think you know her. She's Sybil Trelawney's daughter. Her name is Enya," Kingsley said. "She had a vision of this island, so we used a Placement Charm to find out its coordinates. At first we tried to fly there, but the wind currents around the island are too dangerous, and we had to turn back. So, as I have told you, we sent two men out there and they disappeared. And that leads us to this."

He turned to Harry.

"It leads us to you, Harry. We want you to visit the island and inspect it, because we suspect that something is wrong there. As I have already said, a team of Aurors would attract too much attention. You're the best we have, Harry, and we know you will be able to handle the situation."

Harry stood up too, from his seat across from Kingsley's desk. "But what if I can't?" he demanded. "What if it gets too much?" He was starting to get angry – so much was expected of him! Just because he was 'The Boy Who Lived' didn't mean he was indestructible. He had fears and hopes and dreams and pains just as everybody else had. He stepped towards Kingsley.

"I'm a normal person! I'm not totally unaffected by violence and death and danger!" he cried. "So if you expect me just to say 'Oh yes I'll do this all by myself, it won't matter if anything bad happens', you can think again!"

Kingsley's expression stayed calm.

"Of course, Harry," he said slowly. "That is why we are giving you a mirror, much like the one that Sirius gave you, to contact the Ministry with when you need us." He leaned down and opened a drawer of his desk, bringing out a carefully wrapped flat package, and handed it to Harry, who held back a scowl and sat down again.

"Fine," he said. "But before I agree to do it, how to expect me to get there?"

"That," said Kingsley, "is where we had the most trouble. We have decided that the only way for you to travel is a Muggle way. We have arranged a speedboat for you from the closest mainland, which is Peru, in South America. Even so, the island is at least five hundred miles away, which is probably the reason it has not been found by Muggles before. You will use the speedboat to travel to the island, taking pit stops at inhabited islands along the way – a Muggle will take you. He'll be Confunded when he gets back." Kingsley looked as if he had suddenly remembered something. "Oh yes – if there are people on the island, your cover story is you are a Muggle whose boat is out of fuel. Then you shall use the mirror to report back to us and, when you can, you use the boat to travel back to the mainland."

He sighed.

"It's not exactly the best plan the Ministry has come up with, but it is the only idea I could come up with at this time. It's vital we find out what is on that island."

Harry stood for the second time.

"Fine, Kingsley," he said, after a pause. "I'll do it."

*Back at the Potter Household*

"But you can't!" Ginny cried.

She gestured to her stomach. "You can't go! You can't leave me here, not when I'm – when I'm... not when you're going to be a father!" Harry saw tears in her eyes.

Ever since they had found out about the baby, Ginny had been becoming increasingly anxious about various situations. It was as if she was worried that what had happened to Harry's parents would happen to their baby. She had also become more emotional, less like the fifteen-year-old Ginny that Harry had first felt romantic feelings for in his sixth year. She wasn't as daring as she had been and cried more. Harry could understand her reasoning for this – she was worried for the baby and pregnancy increased her hormones – but it still irritated him from time to time.

Like now.

"Ginny, it'll be okay," he said, trying to sound soothing. "Nothing will happen. I'll be back before you know it."

She sniffed, tears beginning to dribble down her face. "I don't like it," she repeated. "I don't like it at all."

Harry leaned into her again, wrapping his arms around her neck and breathing in the scent of her hair. "Don't worry," he whispered. "I'm going. But I'll be okay." He took a breath and swallowed his annoyance at her tears. "You remember how it was when we had to be apart? When we were teenagers?" She nodded. "Well, it'll be like that. It'll add to the romance. And it'll be something to tell the baby when it's older."

She laughed, resting her head on his shoulder. "O-Okay," she muttered. "But you have to promise to be careful."

"It's a simple check-up, Gin," Harry chuckled. "It's about as dangerous as Hagrid's Flobberworms."

Oh, how very wrong he was.

"Good luck, Harry," Kingsley said.

They had Apparated to Peru and were now standing on an old wooden dock, next to which a flashy white speedboat was moored. The driver, a tanned, blonde Muggle man, was saying goodbye to his equally tanned, blonde girlfriend next to them, in a rather... passionate way.

Both Harry and Kingsley, attracted by the strange sucking noises, glanced at them, then quickly looked away, chuckling silently.

"Thank you, Minister," Harry replied. He patted his pocket to check for the thousandth time that he had his wand and the mirror. Yes, they were there.

"I think it's time for you to go now." Kingsley gestured to where the driver had peeled himself away from his girlfriend and was standing impatiently at the wheel of his boat, leaning down to check the tanks of fuel that stood at his feet. He nodded at Harry and jerked his head in the direction of the bench-style seat at the other end of the boat.

Harry reached out his hand to shake Kingsley's dark one. "See you in a few days," he said, before turning to climb into the boat. Kingsley raised one hand in a wave. Then the speedboat's engine stuttered into life and the now unmoored craft began to move away from the shore.

Soon Kingsley, the blonde woman and Peru were just vague shapes in the distance.

They travelled for about three hours before stopping at an island to refuel from one of the tanks. The driver had not yet talked to Harry, but had simply glanced back at him a few times. Harry thought he seemed nice enough.

It was only a day later, after they had stopped at three more islands, two to refuel, and one to stay the night on, when they were nearly at the island, that he spoke.

"So, what are you doing on this island anyway?" he shouted over the sound of the engine and the rush of wind.

"Oh," Harry shouted back, "just business!" He grinned at the man's turned back.

The next time they spoke was when the island had come into view. Kingsley was right, it was small. It was fringed by a pale, sandy beach, and most of it was covered in a forest of brilliant green trees with enormous leaves. The driver twisted his head round.

"Here we are," he yelled, then turned his head back. "My girlfriend would love it here, she's a real island kind of gir – "

He didn't get to finish his sentence, because the next thing Harry knew, the island seemed to rush towards them in a blur of pale yellow and green, and the boat had been engulfed in a ball of fire.

A/N: Hey you guys! I really hope you liked this chapter, but if you didn't I promise that they are going to get better as the story progresses. I don't know whether there are many other stories like this, but this idea came to me totally originally, and if you must know, it was inspired by Bear Grylls. I don't know if you've heard of him or not, but he's this British madman who has his own survival show. He goes to different countries and drinks his own pee and eats grubs and so on.

But I don't know, I was watching it and I just got the idea for this story. It was this one where Bear goes on a survival trip to Australia. The one where he ate a cave-spider that looked exactly like the ones that Moody shows the Three Unforgivable Curses on in Goblet of Fire.

Anyway, I would really appreciate it if you reviewed, because constructive criticism and praise are really useful to help me continue writing.

I'll update as soon as I can!

-Ellie

Oh yeah, I forgot. Disclaimer: I don't own anything to do with Harry Potter or its characters. Some of the characters here I have made up, but the rest are not mine and belong to a (annoyingly) very rich J K Rowling.

And one last thing: I recently had to edit the chapter name and the chapter itself because this website hates me and keeps on getting rid of the dividers and hyphons that I put in. Sorry for the inconvenience :/