Harry Potter and the Title I haven't Discovered
Disclaimer- 'Kay....these beautemous characters belong to J.K. Rowling....yeah, we can't all have what we want.....but at least I have Brynne and her family, and Officer Dunkirk, and any invisible people who might be riding in Brynne's car. They're there.....I promise.
Yeah.....this is chapter two...and it really stinks....it's soooo much worse than chapter 1....ugh...oh well...I can't really just skip this section, 'cause it IS important to the plot, and needs to be there....so...yeah....here's ucky chapter two...REVIEW IT SO I CAN MAKE IT BETTER!!!!! YOU CAN BE MEAN IF YOU FEEL THE NEED!!!!!! I NEED HINTS TO IMPOROVE!!!!!!! Oh, and those of you who say to e-mail you if I want ot discuss the title or plot or whatever, please leave your e-amil addresses so I can do so!!! Thanks everybody!!!
Chapter 2- Secrets
One hour later, Harry saw the head-lights of a car swerve around the corner and shine into the park. The car slowed as it approached him, the window rolled down.
"Hop in," Brynne said, unlocking the passenger-side door. Harry pushed his trunk into the back seat and slid in beside her.
"What took you so long?" he asked curiously.
"It took a while to convince my parents to let me come," she told him, a smile on her face. "I mean, I just met you today, and I think they were a little wary about letting me get into a car with someone I barely know." She paused. "But they like you Harry," she said smiling. " I think they like you."
"I'm glad," Harry said, unlocking Hedwig's cage and opening the small metal door. "Not many people around here do." Hedwig stretched her wings as Harry took her out of the cage and pushed the owl into the dark sky. He quickly shut the car door as Hedwig swooped in front of the window, hooting with excitement.
"I think she's ready," Harry told Brynne, smiling as his owl flew slowly down the street in front of them. "Take us to Ron's, Hedwig," he yelled out the window. Brynne pulled out and began to follow slowly. The street lights blinked on, masking the stars overhead.
"How far is it to Ron's house?" she asked, squinting to see the owl in the dark sky.
"I have no idea," Harry said, shaking his head. "I guess we just start driving and see what happens."
"Sounds good to me," she said, turnung onto a dimly lit street. They drove in silence for fifteen minutes, until Hedwig finally lead them to the highway.
"So," Harry said, finally breaking the akward silence. "What did you like to do back in Maine?"
"Oh, not too much, I suppose," she told him. "I used to do a lot of spelunking in different states during the summer, but then I got lost once, and they had to send a search party to find my friend and me."
"Sounds like quite an experience," Harry said chuckling.
"Oh, that's not the least of it," she told Harry, laughing to herself. "The reason we got lost was because we were using the map from a cave we had been in the day before. By the time we figured THAT out, it was too late, and we were pretty deep into the cave. So, my friend made one of those nice little blue fires too keep us warm. She almost got expelled for using her magic though. Well, luckily we left fairly early in the morning, so they found us before it got too dark. Needless to say, I haven't explored another cave without a guide since."
Harry laughed, and glanced up at his owl in the dark sky.
"Are you still watching Hedwig?"
"Of course," she told him. "Come on, Harry, my eyes aren't THAT bad." He chuckled.
"Yeah, well you never know. You could end up with eyes as bad as mine." He took off his glasses. "I mean, I actually wouldn't be too bad looking without these things," Harry said jokingly.
"Oh, Harry," she told him. "They're not THAT bad."
"Well, they're definetely better than being blind as a bat." The silence set in again. Harry hated the silence. It was very tense, and he had no idea what to say. He barely knew Brynne, and didn't feel like starting an in-depth conversation with someone he knew next to nothing about. He was just about to ask if she knew anything about quidditch when a pair of flashing lights pulled up behind them.
"Uh...Brynne...how fast are you going?" Harry asked cautiously.
"I'm going the speed limit," she told him. "Why?"
"Well, I think you'd better pull over. There's a police car right behind us."
'Great," Brynne said. "My first day here, and I already get in trouble with the law. I'm sure my parents will appreciate THIS!"
"Just be calm," Harry told her, taking a deep breath. "We can handle this." Brynne rolled down her window and smiled as the officer pulled ot his badge.
"I'm Officer Dunkirk," he said the light from the headlights flashing across his name plate. "You both live around here?"
"Yeah." Brynne held her breath.
"The registration on this vehicle isn't right. You've got American plates." He leaned in to look inside the car. "You planning on registering it here?"
"My family just moved here today," she told him. "We just haven't had a chance to yet."
"Alright," he said, pulling out a pad of paper and writing down the license plate number. "Just make sure you take care of that."
"Oh, we will," she told him, relaxing a bit. "Thanks, officer." He nodded and went back to his car as Brynne rolled up her window. She let out a deep breath, and pulled back onto the highway.
"I thought we were in for it that time," she told Harry.
"Yeah, no kidding," he said leaning back into his seat yawning. "I'm kind of tired. Would you mind if I slept for a little while?"
"Not at all," she told him. "I'll wake you up when we get there." But Harry was already fast asleep.
* * * * *
Green light glowed eerily around the room. Harry could hear a lullaby softly sung from behind a charred door. A broken wand lay in front of it amidst fragments of shattered glassm and he could hear shouts and sirens from outside. Slowly, Harry turned the handle, and stepped inside. Blankets and toys lay scattered in the dark and shadowy room. A woman stood huddled in a dimly-lit corner, the splashes of light revealing her scragly red hair and dark circles under her once bright eyes. Tears of sorrow cascaded down her cheeks, but a look of determination radiated from her figure. The words of her lullaby were sad, but somehow brought peace to Harry's soul. He looked around to see who she could be singing to, and then saw a small bundle clutched tightly to her chest. A child. And at that moment, it hit him. The baby was himself. And the woman, was none other than his mother. Tears filled Harry's eyes. He knew what would happen next.
"Mom!" he shouted, trying to warn her. But she didn't look up. "Please listen to me!" He raced across the toom and moved his hand up to grab her arm, but it went right through. And Harry realized there was nothing he could do. Slowly, he backed to the wall and slumped to the floor, tears streaming down is face.
The door opened, spilling bright green light into the room. Lily placed the child in a small cradle, and stood up tall, a look of fear and determination in her eyes. Voldemort moved slowly towards her slid back to the wall Harry was slumped against.
"Where's James?" she asked shakily.
"Oh, Lily," he whispered menacingly. "You should know. James is dead." Lily bit her lip and nodded.
"I thought so," she whispered. "Why-"
"He tried to stop me from gettinh to Harry," he said, moving closer. "But that ended soon enough. Now look at how close I've gotten."
"What do you want with Harry?" she demanded, moving in front of the cradle.
"He's too powerful," the Dark Lord said, coming even closer and pushing up the sleeves of his black robe. "He must be destroyed."
"No!" she shouted, determined to protect her child. "Don't you DARE touch him!" Voldemort kept coming never giving in or faltering in his approach . Harry could tell he'd done this before.
"Move," he told Lily, his eyes locked on Harry.
"No." She stood taller and gripped the edges of the cradle behind her. "I won't let you touch him."
"Then I guess this is goodbye."
Harry watched in horror as Voldemort gritted his teeth and raised his wand. Anger filled Harry's soul as a cold sweat trickled down his back. He stood, shaking his head in horror.
"No," he said quietly. "NO!!!!" He charged, throwing himself in front of Lily. A loud boom filled the house. Harry winced and closed his eyes, waiting for the impact of the curse. But it never came.
He opened his eyes slowly to see nothing but grey. Everything he could see was grey. He was jammed into what seemed like a small corner, with some sort of restraining device strapped acrossed his shoulders. It was dark. Something had happened. Sweat stung his face as he wiped the tears from his eyes. Finally, Harry realized he was still in Brynne's car, and that it had only been a dream.
He sat up and glanced at Brynne, who was concentrating on following Hedwig in the dark sky. He wiped the sweat and tears from his face, hoping she hadn't seen them. Harry glanced out the window to see a vast countryside.
"Where are we?" He asked Brynne, sitting up.
"About three hours from where we were before you went to sleep," she said. Harry shook his head.
"Have I been asleep for that long?" he asked. "What time is it?"
"Oh, about ten thirty," she told him.
"Whoa," he said. His stomach growled, and he remembered he hadn't had anything to eat since the greenish eggs he had eaten for breakfast. "Are you hungry?"
"A little," she told him, "but I have no idea where we could get food."
"Yeah, me neither," he said. He opened the trunk behind him and pulled out a large paper bag, searching through it for the candy he had left over from Hogsmeade.
"What are you looking for?" Brynne asked.
"Bernie Bott's Every Flavor Beans," Harry told her.
"What?"
"Bott's Every Flavor Beans," he repeated. "oh, come on, Brynne. Don't tell me you've never heard of jellybeans before!"
"No, I have," she said," but EVERY flavor?"
"Yeah," Harry told her. "Everything from blueberry to earwax."
"Gosh," she said. "I'm not too sure I'm brave enough to try those. My brother and I used to have contests to see who could find the most flavors in a bad of jellybeans, but I can guarantee, we never found earwax!"
"I didn't know you have a brother," Harry said, rummaging through the bag.
"I HAD a brother," she said quietly. "He passed away about a month ago." Harry stopped and stared at her, his hand frozen in the midst of searching.
"I'm really sorry." He didn't know what else to say.
"It doesn't matter," Brynne told him, her voice cracking slightly. "There's nothing you can do. He's gone now." They sat there in silence as the car pulled to a stop at a red light.
"How did he die?" Harry asked. Brynne took a deep breath, and he could tell she was fighting back tears. "If you don't want to talk about it, that's okay."
"No," she said quietly. "It's good for me to talk about it." She paused, collecting her thoughts, then began. "We used to live in an old house in Maine, right by the ocean. My mom ran the lighthouse. It was a dream come true for her. My parents moved there right after they were married, and it's where I was brought home when I was born. My brother and I lived there all my life. He was a year and a half older than me. Cameron was my hero. He was incredibe. One night, someome light a bonfire on the beach, and didn't put it out all the way. The fire spread until it finally reached our house. I was asleep, and I didn't wake up. My family got out, and then Cameron realized I was still inside. He raced back in to get me. He saved my life. On the way out, he tripped, but told me to keep running. I got out, and thought he did too, but ten minutes later, I still didn't see him anywhere. When the fire department found him, our house was completely demolished, and Cameron was barely alive. They
rushed him to the hospital, where we stayed all night." She stopped, tears streaming down her face. "He died the next morning."
"After the funeral, we went back to the house to asses the damage. Everything was gone. We had nothing but eachother, and now there was only the three of us. Cameron was gone. We had no where to go, and my dad couldn't stand staying in Maine where there were memories of Cameron, and of our old life. So, we decided to start over again. To go somewhere different. That's why we moved here. To make a new life for ourselves." She chuckled. "It certainly is a new life. It was hard to leave."
"Brynne...I.." Harry stammered. "I'm really sorry. I don't have any brothers and sisters, but I know how I would feel if Hermione or Ron died. And I know how I felt when my parents died."
"What happened to your parents?" she asked. Harry chuckled solemly.
"Oh, it was all wizarding stuff and magic that killed them, and I was only a baby."
"Was it Voldemort?"
Harry's head snapped around to find Brynne staring at the open road ahead.
"How do you know about Voldemort?" Harry spat out.
"Ariane told me."
"Was that your friend?"
"Yes."
"And she acutally told you his name?"
Brynne laughed.
"No, she couldn't say it. She had to write it down and winced every time I mentioned it. Rather amusing, actually," she told him. "You know, now that I think about it, she said there were only two people in the world who COULD say it. Professor Dumbledore from Hogwarts, and Harry Pot-" She stared wide-eyed out the front window and almost missed the turn Hedwig had just taken as the identity of her companion sank in.
"You're Harry Potter."
Harry grimaced, a bit annoyed.
"Yes, I already told you that."
"No, no, no," Brynne said, shaking her head. "You're THE Harry Potter. Oh my gosh! I KNEW that name sounded familiar! Ariane talked about you CONSTANTLY, She kept saying how wonderful you are, and how you saved everyone from Voldemort. If I told her that you were my next-door neighbor, and that I drove you half-way across England, she would be SO jealous. She's wanted to meet you all her life." Harry chuckled.
"Well," he said, "I'm afraid that most of what she's said os porbably false. I'm not as wonderful as most people make me out to be." Brynne smiled, and sent a sly glance to the green-eyed boy sitting next to her.
"I think you could argue that."
"Yes, very funny Brynne," Harry said, laughing a bit, and continuing his search for the every flavor beans. "I can tell when you're lying to me." She chuckled as they followed Hedwig down the streets of a small cozy neighborhood, which Harry recogized as Ron's. He futily gave up looking through the brown paper bagand threw it into his trunk. Moments later they pulled into the Weasley's driveway and got out of the car. Harry pulled his trunk from the backseat as Hedwig flew to Ron's window, pecking on it softly. The kitchen lights glared against the dark skyand Hary could hear the sound of voices from inside, even in the wee hours of the night. He rapped on the heavy door and stood there, Brynne waiting patiently behind him.
The door opened slowly, and someone squealed in suprise, her red hair flying behind her as she threw her arms around Harry.
"Hello, Ginny," he said, laughing.
"Harry!" she yelled, shocked. "I can't believe you're here! What are you...how...who's that?" Harry laughed again, and walked in the door, Brynne behind him.
"This is Brynne, my neighbor," he told her, as the two girls shook hands.
"I'm Ginny Weasley," she said.
"Brynne Fisher, pleased to meet you."
At that Mrs. Weasley walked into the hallway, in a bathrobe and curlers.
"Harry?!? Oh my..." She put her hands to her face. "What brings you here? Why didn't you send us an owl?" Harry explained the situation and soon found that he was welcome to stay until school started.
A few minutes later, Harry heard feet pounding on the stairs. He flew around the corner, and stopped to see Ron frozen on the landing.
"Harry?!?! What are you doing here?"
Harry smiled.
"I'm going to be staying here for a while."
"Excellent!" Ron said bounding down the stairs and clapping Harry into a friendly embrace. They walked into the kitchen, where Mrs. Weasley, Ginny, and Brynne sat around the kitchen table.
"Brynne, I'd like you to meet my best friend," he said, standing in front of her. "This is Ron."
For a moment, she just sat there, wide-eyed, with her mouth hanging open. Ron extended his hand.
"It's nice to meet you," he said. She still sat there, in shock. Her head moved back and forth slowly, in disbelief. Something unintelligable came from her mouth as she stood, backing against the wall. She started for a moment, tears streaming down her face, the bolted out the front door.