Harry Potter and the Next Step

Date of publishing the chapter: 15/12/2016

Disclaimer: Don't own Harry Potter, and no profit is being made by publishing this story. But the ideas for this story are mine.

Chapter 1: Here and Now

It was nearing Christmas. A few more days and the year will turn over a new page. Celebrations were beginning to start and the mood was festive. A few days when most people wanted to forget the bad things that had happened over the last year and go through a rest programme. Kind of a reset button and then get ready to face the same music over and over again.

Mostly unknown to his part of the world, Harry Potter was just in a morose mood. He had moved on from his earlier life. Soon after the death of Voldemort, things had started going crazy. For a few months, he was the hero, the saviour and what not. But soon, it became too much. He shied away from the attention, but Ginny basked in it. Soon, their paths diverged. It was silent. I guess everybody grew up.

By 2001, he had come into his inheritances from both the magical and non-magical sides of the financial reserves. He was not hurting for money, Black fortune added to it. Soon he decided to go away. Away from the pressure, with no more nagging from Hermione or laziness of Ron, he became an avid reader. He had been gifted with huge magical reserves and his near death experiences (all of them) had increased his potential to use magic. As he came into his own, he could feel it becoming easier. He had to relearn and re-optimise much of his occlumency. This too passed. His travels, easy nature and ability to spend money without much thought opened doors that he never knew existed. From ruins of Machu Picchu to Egypt, India and Nepal, hidden depth of Mongolia, China and Japan, he grew. He met with a few very interesting women. Each had a contribution to the person he had become.

No longer a shy, insecure young man with a hot temper. With a good life, came self assurance. From not needing anybody as a safety mechanism to the self assurance of a man who knew what he wanted. From crushes to likes, and i dare say, a few loves. He always fell for confident, strong and independent women. These were the qualities that always kept them apart as well.

Most of his alliances ended amicably. He looked back fondly at most of them.

But for the last few months, he had this feeling in the bones. Something was coming up. Something that he would not like. Something that would take him outside his cocoon.

Often his thoughts went to his childhood friends. He was in sporadic touch with them. But somehow the distance in time had gone farther than the road they had walked together in childhood.

As he saw a few people down from his apartment in Florida, he had an urge to run away. It was strange, but he had long ago learnt to trust his instincts. Making a decision, he started packing.

Because of his travels, he had learnt to travel well prepared. With the help of magic, it was not that difficult. He had a small locket around his neck. It was the key to the his storage locker, sort of. He had learnt the trick from an Aghori baba in the Himalayas. It was like a pocket dimension outside the time and space continuum. If he really had to, he could access it without the key as well, but the locket made it easier.

He touched the emerald stone on the simple locket and closed his eyed. He was well set. The things he needed from the apartment, appeared into his astral apartment. The things he needed, appeared in his jacket pocket.

Smiling to himself, he cast an eye around, appreciating the view and then started to walk down and out of his apartment building.

Suddenly, he felt lighter. Like a weight had been pulled off his shoulders. He started to smile and whistle as he exited the building.

God smiled back.

He never saw the car that ran off the road and slammed right into him, nor did he see a strange burst of light that engulfed him for a second before he knew no more. As he landed, there was still a smile on his face.

It seemed he was smiling back as well.

The next great adventure had just begun.