The Search for Better Council
Chapter 1
Harry, do you have to go? It's the Christmas holidays soon.
You shouldn't leave, mate, we need you here.
There are far too many Nargles where you're going, Harry. They'll leave you fluffy and mindless for days on end.
If you have to leave, then I won't stop you. But my brother probably will, look out for him.
Have you checked this with Dumbledore, Harry? You really should before you leave; it's always good to consult a higher authority when you go off for a while.
These were the things that Harry had imagined for weeks his friends saying to him as he left for his train to Wales. He'd thought up quite good responses, too, all of them obviously brilliant, if he did say so himself. He'd imagined watching Neville and Ron standing there with hurt looks on their faces, Hermione and Ginny crying, holding handkerchiefs (for some reason, the hankies were always there), and Luna waving goodbye, looking all distant and dreamy.
But these events would not come to pass. No.
The bloody idiots had decided to come with him.
.:. :.: .:.
Now, one might ask right about now what Harry is doing going off to Wales. Well: Dumbledore had announced to Harry at the beginning of his seventh year that his seemingly unlimited sources of knowledge had run dry. Dumbledore could no longer teach Harry how to protect the wizarding world from the darkness. The former then became mildly depressed, and said that there was no longer any hope at all for anyone, ever. Harry, being the optimist that he was, silently contradicted his Headmaster and bought a one-way ticket to Cardiff where he would obviously find better council. He had intended to go alone, kind of like the ninja finding a master to teach him how to find his 'inner being of balance'. He had not intended his friends to come along with him. They would no doubt bring chaos and confusion to the lives of everyone around them, setting off a chain reaction that would leave to a series of events that would end with the implosion of the universe, maybe even the multi-verse. Or they could just be annoying and distracting. Either way, they shouldn't have followed him.
.:. :.: .:.
And so, Harry found himself sitting in a rather cramped compartment, glowering at the wall across from him, not really aware of what conversations were happening, if indeed they were happening at all. He also didn't know what he would do when he actually got to Cardiff, but it involved a payphone and the yellow pages. Somehow, he didn't think that there would be a source of knowledge listed there, but he could always find a library. Or a good pub. All adventures start in good pubs, he quoted to himself from one of Dudley's comic books he'd read that summer. He allowed such a thought for a total of 20 seconds before he started to chuckle. And then laugh. And then laugh louder until he couldn't remember why he was laughing. Everyone in the compartment turned to look at him.
"Harry, you alright?" asked Ron, concerned.
"Ha-ha, yeah I'm, heehee, fine. Just a little stressed."
Hermione rolled her eyes and went back to her book, but Ginny still watched Harry out of the corner of her eye, as if waiting for him to explode. Neville was doing roughly the same thing. Luna was, as usual, not seeming to pay much attention. Ron just patted Harry on the shoulder. "You'll be okay, mate."
The giggle fit over, Harry went right back to glowering, but it took much more effort this time. He soon gave up and tried to think more about what he would do. Should he even be going to Cardiff at all? What if he could find another place to go? Could he afford another trip? The latter question was fairly obvious: yes, he could. There was, after all, a small fortune in Gringott's with his name on it, and surely the wizard banks in Wales had a connection to the wizard banks in England. From there, they could exchange the galleons and sickles into pounds, and go somewhere else.
Yes. That was what he would do.
"Okay, guys, listen up for a second..."
A/N: Thanks to Celebwen Telcontar for the challenge on her profile. An awesome idea.
I hope to update this fairly regularly. ::crosses fingers:: So we'll see how this turns out.
Reviews are replied to and appreciated.