Harry Who?

('It's a wonderful life' Harry potter style)

Chapter 1

As Harry stormed down the hallway, infuriated, once again, by his poisonous potions teacher, Professor Snape, he almost ran into one of his best friends, Hermione Granger.

"Oh sorry 'Mione, I didn't see you there." Harry said gruffly as her knocked into her shoulder.

"Harry! You're just the person I was looking for!" her voice dropped dramatically, "I have something to show you."

Hermione glanced down the deserted corridor, in search of teachers and, when certain that nobody was around, grabbed Harry's' arm and dragged him into a nearby classroom.

She pushed Harry in first and then glanced once more down the hallway and then closed the door.

She faced Harry with an excited face and exclaimed,

"I've done it!"

"Done what?" Harry asked confused.

She rummaged through her bag for a moment and then produced a vile with a silvery-blue substance in it.

"This."

My temper being already at its breaking point was now starting to flare up once more.

"Hermione, if you're not going to tell me right now, then I'm walking out the door."

And I actually started towards the door but was detained by Hermione's hand on my shoulder.

"Wait, I'll tell you. This" she held up the potion again, "is a potion that will grant you one wish, no matter what it is, and it will come true."

"Really?" I asked, curiosity getting the better of me.

"Of course. Here, try a bit and see for yourself." She uncorked the bottle and handed it to me.

A thought suddenly occurred to me.

"You have tested this haven't you?"

"Oh, of course. It works fine! How do you think that I got an 'A' on that exam that everyone failed?" she grinned mischievously.

I shrugged in agreement, not even noticing how strange it was that Hermione would even consider cheating on a test.

I then lifted the vile to my lips and took a little sip.

The substance was slippery and slimy and I could feel it make its way down my throat. I shuddered, disliking the taste of it. I tried taking many more swallows after to rid myself of the taste.

"Now make a wish!" Hermione cried impatiently.

I drew in a breath and then the door burst open.

Draco Malfoy stood framed in the doorway.

His eyes slid first to Harry then Hermione and finally the bottle of potion.

"Well, well, well. What have we here?" he asked, his mouth forming an evil grin.

"We can't let this perfect scene of mischief slip past McGonnagal, now can we?" he said, in response to our silence.

His grin widened at the guilty look on our faces.

"McGonagall will crush you two so hard that you'll wish that you had never been born."

I suddenly came to my senses and retorted,

"I do wish that I had never been born, because then I wouldn't have to deal with you!"

All of a sudden, the ground started to shake so violently that I thought it was being ripped from beneath me.

I glanced up at Malfoy and saw him throw his head back and laugh.

"I thought you'd say that." Malfoy replied.

And then I lost sight of it all and started falling down into a black hole of nothing. The darkness seemed to wrap itself around me. Tighter and tighter until I could barely breathe.

And then, as suddenly as it began, it stopped.

I had landed face first on the ground. The impact from it took the air from my lungs and it took me a minute to get up.

As I stood up, shaking violently, I tried to take in my surroundings but they were blurred. I reached up and felt my glasses perched on my nose. I took them off and instantly my vision cleared.

'How strange.' I thought. 'Why would I not need my glasses?'

I was instantly distracted as I looked up and to my astonishment, saw a huge castle, or what used to be one. Now it was covered in vines that had crept up the sides of the building like snakes. It was extremely old and had had rocks thrown through all of the windows.

I was in so much awe of the castle, that, at first, I didn't realize that there was someone else standing in front of the great double doors.

It was a woman and she seemed to be trying to get into the castle.

But as soon as I thought this, the woman backed away from the doors and started back down the walkway.

She was stooped with age and was wearing a black cloak that trailed out behind her. Her head was hooded and her face was in the shadows.

On impulse, I cried out to her.

"Excuse me! Madam!"

She stopped instantly and looked up at me. She was so near me that, from the sunlight that illuminated her face, I could distinguish her features. I almost fell over in astonishment. Her face was so familiar, yet so strange at the same time.

Her mouth was a thin white line, as I had often seen it, and those once sharp eyes now had bags beneath them and looked worn out and tired. And the thing that surprised me the most was that her square glasses had tape 'round the middle and a crack in the left lense.

She then bent her head down again and started to walk briskly away.

Utterly confused, I hurried after her.

"Wait!" I called.

But instead of listening to me, she quickened her pace to a long stride.

Although her speed was good, she was extremely old; at least she looked it, and was soon tired out. I caught up to her easily and grabbed her arm and spun her around to face me.

"Professor McGonagall I…"

I stopped short at the sight of pointing directly at my heart.

"Professor wha….?"

"What do you want boy?!?" she interrupted. Her voice was as tired and strained as her eyes were. I saw no distinguishable feature that reminded me of the McGonagall I knew.

"Professor, what's wrong?" I asked, totally lost by now.

"I don't know nothing boy! So you can go tell your master to get off my back!" she said firmly with her wand still pointed at me.

"My master? Professor….it's me, Harry."

I saw confusion flicker across her face.

"Harry? Harry who?" she asked.

"Harry Potter!" I cried exasperated. What in the blazes was she talking about? Who's 'my master'?

"I don't know any Harry Potter. And I don't know where Hermione is neither!" she added as an afterthought.

"What do you mean? Hermione is at school. At Hogwarts."

"Hogwarts! Hah! That's Hogwarts for 'ya!" she exclaimed, pointing at the building from which she had walked from.

"What!?! That's…"I started.

I saw fear cross her face, as if she thought she had said too much, and she twisted her arm from my grip and ran off.

I started after her again. I probably wouldn't have caught up with her, but she tripped over a tree root and fell. I caught up with her and grabbed hold of her arm.

All of a sudden, I was being sucked into a tight tube. It was pressing in on all sides and right when I was sure that I wouldn't be able to take another breath, we crashed down onto a cobbled street.

Professor McGonagall took advantage at my loss of composure at being apparated unaware, and twisted free of my grip again, got up and ran off.

This time, I didn't bother running after her. Instead I got up off the ground and looked down the street we had landed in.

The street was completely deserted excepting a few pieces of trash swirling in the wind here and there. Buildings were lining the sides of the street, but none seemed to be open.

They were all either boarded up or had 'CLOSED' signs in the windows. There was even one or two that were actually burnt to the ground.

A sign hanging from a nearby building was swinging gently in the breeze.

As I walked nearer to it, I had a sense of foreboding.

The letters were peeled and fading but still readable.

They read:

'Diagon Alley.'

I hope u like this first chapter. Please review and tell me what u think!