Harry Potter
And the
Doom Spell Tournament
After many months, the saga continues...
A/N: Sorry, I screwed up big on my English mid terms and lost my typing privileges. But don't worry. I'm back, and I'm going to bring you the most TORNADO PACED Fic on the net yet.
So get ready, hold onto your seat, and read on.
When we last left Harry, he had defeated the dark lord Voldemort after completely WASTING Garef, and at the same time, saving Ron and Hermione. We've got to admit, he's got skills, but he's got some rough times ahead of him in this book.
Anyway... after you read this, I want you to review me. Yes, that's right - you. This is going to be an interactive project in which you... THE READERS... (Raises eyebrow in Rock-like fashion)... decide what happens to Harry next through your reviews.
A/N: I don't own Mountain Dew, Harry Potter Copyrights, World Industries, or Sobe. I fully endorse Weasley's Wizard Wheezes.
Enough with the small talk, read on!
Chapter 1
Party
The light poured into the bedroom at The Burrow. But that was not what awoke Harry Potter. Nor was it the slight breeze that just blew through his open window.
It was more like the large snowy owl that had just fluttered in and hooted softly by his bedside. He opened his eyes and looked up.
"Mornin', Hedwig." He grunted. She gave a soft hoot in reply. Harry sat up and opened up her cage. Then he reached over and untied a small piece of parchment from her leg, and she glided up into the cage. He unfolded the parchment and read it:
Dear Harry,
I've been waiting a while to talk to you. I hope it did reach you. I heard you were staying at the Weasley's this summer. Hogwarts is starting in only a two days, and I still need to go shopping in Diagon Alley. How about you? Would you mind waiting up to go? I should be coming over today.
~Hermione
Harry decided not to send a reply. Hedwig looked beat. He'd just do what Hermione asked. In the meantime, he decided to get dressed and go downstairs for breakfast.
"Good morning, dear." Mrs. Weasley greeted him warmly, as usual.
"Good morning, Mrs. Weasley. How are you today?" He replied.
"Oh, just great. You're the first one up, I see. I think..." But she was cut off by an abrupt thump. Fred and George appeared, each carrying a huge crate down the stairs.
"Oh, I swear!" Mrs. Weasley sighed. "I'd stop you from doing that Weasley's Wizard Wheezes if it didn't bring in so much money! Harry, I heard from them that it was you, in fact, that gave them the money to open up that joke shop, now, where's your common sense, child?" She scolded jokingly. "Those two have a sense of humor about as safe as... well..." She thought for a moment.
"Plastering the dungeon walls with dungbombs right in front of Argus Filch." Harry suggested.
"Not that dangerous." George grunted, lugging his crate out the door.
"Yeah, maybe not. What are those, anyway?"
"You know, we actually got this from a muggle idea." Fred told him. "They're light bulbs, sort of. They send off a blinding flash when you break one."
"Yeah. Great for this and that. We let our customers make their own uses of a lot of products. But the Ministry of Magic ordered these for their hit wizards. Pretty cool, huh?"
"Yeah." Harry sat down at the table, and Mrs. Weasley brought him a plate stacked a foot high with pancakes.
"And there's more where that came from, dear." She added as she turned away.
"Thank you." He started on the monstrous stack. He saw today's Daily Prophet sitting on the table, and picked it up to read it.
"Rita Skeeter fired for Privacy Violation Misdemeanor." He read one article aloud.
"I always knew that would happen one of these days." Mrs. Weasley laughed.
"Morning." Ron yawned as he came down the stairway. "Mum, guess what! I got a letter from Hogwarts. I'm going to be a co-captain for the Quidditch team. Remember that summer league that just finished last month? They liked my performance! And Hogwarts made me the Gryffindor Team co-captain!"
"That's wonderful, dear! Have some pancakes, now." She beckoned him to sit down.
"We've got to go get our schoo, books today." Ron reminded her.
"Yeah. I got a letter from Hermione. She's coming over, she said."
"That's right. We made arrangements. She just came back from her summer in Bulgaria." Mrs. Weasley informed them.
"Bulgaria?" Harry and Ron said in surprise.
"That's right. She was spending the week with Viktor Krum. She wrote me. Would you know it? She learned how to ride a broomstick and even do a few tricks. She just loves it."
"That's great. Maybe that's how she'll get here." Ron mentioned.
"Now, Ron, you know she can't ride over the cities." Mrs. Weasley corrected him.
"I've gotta go!" Mr. Weasley barreled down the stairs, picked up the bag of floo powder, threw some on the fire, kissed Mrs. Weasley goodbye, and left.
"Heard him mumbling something about an emergency earlier." Percy mentioned to them as he came down the stairs. "I've got to leave now, too. Bye." He stepped in the fire, and disappeared.
"Those men, always rushing off. Oh, well. Would you boys like to go to Diagon Alley with Hermione alone? I'm rather busy today myself."
"Sure, Mrs. Weasley. It's fine."
"Great, then! Why don't you hurry and get your coats."
"We have to wait for Hermione." Ron pointed out.
"No, you don't. She's right outside the door. She just came by broom. I saw her fly by the window." Ron ran over and threw open the door. There was Hermione, smiling and holding a brand new Firebolt in her arms.
"Hey. You ready to go?"
"Sure." She replied.
"So how was your vacation, Hermione?" Harry asked.
"Oh, it was wonderful. I'll tell you more at Diagon alley. Let's go!" She was wearing a dragon hide jacket, which really brought out the brown in her eyes.
"Hello, Hermione." Mrs. Weasley appeared, smiling. "Arrived safely, I see?"
"Yes. I almost got hit by a muggle jet on the way over, though." They couldn't tell if this was a joke or not.
"Well, let's go. Diagon alley!" Ron shouted as he threw some floo powder on the fire, and all three of them stepped in after one another.
Harry landed last, out of the way of Ron and Hermione. There had been a new chimney installed on the street corner for the floo network.
"Well, what first?" Harry asked.
"How about Gringott's?" Ron reminded him. "I heard they have some really cool new addition. I don't know what it is, though." They walked along the street until they came up to a pair of giant silver double doors, the entrance to Gringott's. And just outside was...
"An ATM machine?" Hermione said, puzzled.
"They think of everything!" Harry smiled. This was not like a normal ATM machine, however. It had a huge coin slot, and a keyhole. Harry took out his key and put it in.
"What do I do now? There's no keypad." He said.
"Just tell it how much you want." The goblin standing at the door informed him.
"Okay... Umm... thirty galleons, forty sickles, forty knuts would be good." He told it. A dragon hide bag appeared below it, and in it poured exactly how much money he wanted.
"What will they have next, pumpkin juice vending machines?"
"Over there." The same goblin pointed. "Next to the candy machines."
"Okaaay..." Harry turned back to his friends. Hermione went next, and took out thirty-five galleons and so-forth. Ron took forty himself, and they headed back down the alley. Their first stop was Flourish and Blotts, the bookstore.
As they first entered, they saw a stack of colorful books on their right. Hermione picked one up, and read the cover.
"Harry! Harry, come check this out! They've got a biography of your early life out! "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone," by J.K. Rowling."
"J.K. Rowling? Who's that?" Ron asked.
"Beats me." Harry remarked.
"Oh, and check this out!" Hermione picked up another book. "Harry Potter and the Silver Bullet Faction," by some guy named Silverpen. It's about your defeat of Garef last year.
"Silverpen? What kind of name is that?" Ron asked.
"I don't know. Must be his pen name, you know, a nom de plume."
"He sounds like a real jerk anyway." Ron commented. "Come on. This year, I'll need The standard book of spells, grade six. He pulled three copies off the shelf, and handed one to Harry, and one to Hermione, who went of to get her books. Harry and Ron, however, had identical classes.
"Let's see... Divination, Transfiguration, ya-da-ya-da-ya... oh! A pocket guide to concealing your curses, I could use that one on Snape, hmm, now let's see..."
Harry read some of the books on the shelves. "Divination for Dummies, the Complete Idiot's Guide to Astronomy, Magic for Morons... don't they have any books for intelligent people nowadays?"
"Quiet!" Harry pulled Ron behind a shelf. They watched as both Crabbe and Goyle walked by, with several stacks of the "For Dummies" series in their arms.
"Must have been written especially for them. Anyway..." Ron continued. "Astronomy, and we get to learn beginners alchemy this year, in place of potions.
"Ron, that's a sub-course of potions. Snape's likely to teach it still."
"Just our luck. Oh well."
When they had gotten all of their books, they met Hermione out front, and then walked over to Madam Malkin's Robes for all occasions.
After they had been outfitted with a new wardrobe, they decided to sit down at the ice cream parlor and relax. Hermione ordered a sundae, Ron a Banana split, and Harry a Chocolate Rocket, another interesting product from Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, in which with every bite the chocolate literally exploded in your mouth and left various filling flavors. Ron stopped by a vending machine, and came back with three bottles.
"What's this?" Hermione asked.
"I dunno. It's a new drink called Sobe. I got a Wizard Blizzard, you a Pumpkin Chunker, and Harry's trying something called Tomatopotato blend."
Harry spat out a mouthful. "Why'd you get me that?" He said in disgust.
"It was either that or Mountain Dew."
"Oh. All right, then." He took another swig of Tomatopotato Juice.
After that, they passed by the Quidditch Emporium. Harry glanced in the window, and saw something he couldn't believe.
"A Broom Upgrade!" He stared into the window for a moment, and then walked into the shop. "It says if applied to any broom, it will automatically bring it to the next level."
"What else does it say?"
"Apply to a Comet Two-Sixty, it would become as fast as a Cleansweep seven. Apply to a Firebolt and it's automatically as good as a brand-new Concorde Ultimate!" He automatically picked one up off of the shelf, walked over to the counter, and paid for it.
"Hey, check this out." Ron said as they were leaving. On the shelf was a new broom model.
"What is it?" Hermione asked.
"It says simply... the bird." He told her. It had a big "b" painted on the handle and depicted a burning eagle shooting through the sky painted on the handle.
Ron read a sign beside it. "The first in a series of high-quality racing brooms by World Industries."
"Who're they?" Harry asked.
"I dunno, but that broom looks pretty awesome." Ron turned, and walked out the door.
When they were all finished, they went back to the fireplace at the corner of the alley, threw in a handful of dust, Ron shouted, "The Burrow," and they were off.
* * *
They arrived back at the burrow, where Misses Weasley greeted them in time for dinner. She was fixing a huge ham and mashed potatoes, and Percy, Bill, Fred, George, and Mister Weasley were all at the table.
"You came to visit!" Ron said with delight.
"I'm here to take you three to the train station tomorrow. Mum and Dad have something to do."
"Oh. All right." Ron sat down in his spot, and Harry and Hermione pulled up some seats.
"It's going to be quite a day. Your father and I have some business at the Ministry, and it might have something to do with your schooling."
"Great." Ron said simply as he stuffed his mouth with potatoes.
"Don't talk with you're mouth full." Miss Weasley shot at him.
"So what are you doing tomorrow, anyway?" Hermione asked.
"Can't tell you. It's confidential."
"You love teasing us, don't you?" Ron remarked.
After the huge meal, Harry, Ron, and Hermione sat down that night to play several games of exploding snap. After that, they were off to bed. It had been a slow day for them all, but nothing would prepare them for tomorrow.
* * *
"Harry, dear, it's time to wake up." Harry felt Mrs. Weasley gently shaking him.
"Oh yeah." Harry smirked with his eyes half open. Today was the day they left for Hogwarts. He sat up. But there was no one around.
"Mrs. Weasley?" He called. But no one answered. Then he noticed something even more disturbing.
The roof was missing. Even more disturbing, the sky was gone. It wasn't just black, everything seemed to be gone, period.
He grabbed his wand off the dresser next to him and wandered down the stairs into the den to get a better look at what was going on. Then he realized; the whole side of the house was torn away.
"What's going on?" He demanded aloud to no one.
The wind shot dust past and into his face as he stared on in what seemed to be endless darkness.
"You want to know what's going on?" A high pitched voice replied.
"You..." Harry scowled. "What have you done?" He turned and faced Voldemort, standing on the floor above him.
"Why do you care? I promise in a moment, you will be with all your friends. There's nothing to worry about.
"Voldemort, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH THEM?" He demanded.
"I told you about saying my name." Voldemort shook his finger. Harry plunged into his robes for his wand...
...and came out empty handed.
"Looking for this?" Voldemort held up Harry's wand, wearing a hideous grin.
Harry froze. At this point, there was nothing he could do.
"Now it ends." Voldemort told him. "No more slip ups, no more duels, no more luck. I'm just going to plain and simple kill you, and that will be that."
"But what have you done?"
"Take a look." He pointed at the corner of the room. Harry turned, just as a bolt of lightning illuminated the room, to reveal the limp figures of Ron and Hermione hanging from the ceiling by their arms.
"What the hell have you done to them? And everybody else?" Harry shouted.
"I don't have to answer any of your questions, this is my world, now." Voldemort cackled. Just take a look around you." Harry watched as the room filled with death eaters, and they each lined up against the walls.
"Your friends paid for foiling my attempts last year. So I punished them, instead of killing them right away like everyone else. Oh, this will amuse you." He smiled as two people entered the room. One was Cornielius Fudge. The other was professor Dumbledore.
"Professor, we have to stop him! He killed everyone! Come on, do something!" But Dumbledore just stared ahead. There was something ghostly about his face hidden in the shadows. Then another bolt of lightning flashed, and Harry realized; he was rotting. He must have been a zombie.
"I don't... I don't get it." Harry stuttered.
"He works for me now. My worst two enemies, aside from you, suffered a fate worse than death. And now for you. Avada Kedavra."
Before he could even react, Harry Potter fell over, his eyes staring ahead lifelessly.
* * *
"Wake up, dear, you've got to get ready to go to Hogwarts today." Mrs. Weasley shook him.
He looked up at Mrs. Weasley.
"It's time to get up, dear." She smiled.
"Oh... okay, thanks." He mumbled. She left the room and he got dressed, went downstairs, and sat at the table. He wasn't about to tell anybody about his dream. That's always started some kind of trouble. Mrs. Weasley piled about ten pancakes onto his plate and put the syrup in front of him.
"Eat up, dear." She smiled. Ron was already at the table, polishing off a huge stack of pancakes. Hermione came down the stairs and sat at the table, also.
"Harry, you look like you slept awful. Was everything all right?" Mrs. Weasley asked him.
"Yeah, I'm just fine." He mumbled.
After they finished breakfast, they loaded up their trunks, and loaded all four into the trunk of the Weasley's new minivan. Only this wasn't any ordinary minivan. The trunk space was so magically expanded you could get lost if you walked in the back too far. And as narrow as it was, the back seats could hold five people apiece.
After Mr. and Mrs. Weasley drove off in their old station wagon, Bill got in the front seat of the SUV and started it up, and then they were off.
"Hey, guys, wanna listen to the WWN?"
"Oh, yeah! Turn it to the news, I heard about an interesting issue involving opening hospitals that use magic to help wizards and muggles alike."
"Oh, yeah!" Bill turned the knob on what looked like a regular muggle radio, and they immediately heard the broadcaster's voice.
"And the Minister of Magic today declined to comment. On another note... wait a moment, something's happening." There was a pause. "This just in! The Dark Lord, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, has for some reason broken into this very studio! He's making his way here as I speak... we-(Thump)-he's here!" Ron and Hermione stared at each other for a moment, and Bill was silent with shock. "It's... it's..."
"Avada Kedavra!" A voice shouted in the background, and the reporter was immediately cut off.
Harry stared at the radio in shock.
"Harry Potter. Albus Dumbledore." A voice like nails on a chalkboard screeched. "I know you're out there, listening. I don't need eyes to see where you are, or know what you are doing." Harry didn't know how to react.
"I want my revenge, Harry. And this is how it will happen. Nearing the end of your school year, I am holding a dueling contest. Several of my faithful death eaters will come. To challenge them as well as myself, and to settle some old scores, I demand that the following of my enemies will appear at the contest, or else. And I mean, or else. You see, Dumbledore, I know about the Error Curse. And you know what I mean.
"If the following people do not arrive at the tournament to duel, I will cast the curse. And you know I am not the type to bluff."
"Rghh... what's he up to?" Harry demanded aloud.
"Albus Dumbledore. Severus Snape. Sirius Black. Ivan String. Remus Lupin. Alastor Moody. And Harry Potter will have the honor of facing me in the main event. I am appropriately dubbing this contest, "The Doomspell Tournament.""
Harry was in shock. But not half as much as Hermione.
"I repeat, If these people do not show up, I will execute the Error Curse. Do not make me. I have the power in my grasp now. I will set a date and inform you later. Farewell for now." Suddenly, the radio sounded nothing but static.
"Bummer, Harry." Bill could only say. "But what does he want those people for? I thought Black was a convict, still. Oh, wait, he's on our side. Alastor Moody? What for? In fact, most of those people are former Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers."
"He's pretty pissed that Snape left his service as a death eater." Harry offered. "String and Moody were Aurors, and they probably killed some of his best men."
"Yeah. I'll bet. Don't worry, I'll come with you. Remember how we kicked the sorry crap out of him last year?" Ron smirked.
"You will not." Bill told Ron. "I wish there was a way Harry could get out of it, but I have no idea what the Error Curse is or does."
Half an hour later, they arrived at King's Cross. Harry, Ron, and Bill loaded the trunks onto the trolley, and pushed them toward platform Nine and Three-Quarters. As they entered, the muggle world dissolved around them, and before them was a scarlet steam engine labeled Hogwarts Express.
"Well, you have a good year, all of you." Bill told them after they were done loading the trunks. "Get on the train, now."
The four filed onto the train, but Bill stopped Harry just before he got on.
"Uh, Harry." He pulled him aside. "I know this is going to be tough, though it's not like you haven't faced him before." Harry understood. "Listen, I just suggest that you learn all the curses and defenses that you can. I think Lupin will be at Hogwarts this year, since he's one of the duelers, so he'll be able to help you. All right?"
"Thanks. I'll keep that in mind."
"Good luck." Bill turned, and walked out of the platform.
Harry boarded the train, and found Ron, Hermione, and Ginny's compartment.
"Gosh, Harry, that was all so sudden." Ron remarked. "I'm sorry."
"Well, it's not like there hasn't been some sort of problem with Hogwarts every other year. Kind of odd, really, that this is all occurring while I'm here. Maybe I shouldn't go to school anymore."
"Now come on, Harry!" Ginny exclaimed. "Doubt he's going to give us any trouble at school! After all, he want's to fight you in a duel! And I'll bet by then, you'll have learned enough to cream him!"
"Good point." Ron said. "You've got plenty of time. He probably won't try anything until you fight. Maybe you don't even have to duel! What the heck is the error curse, anyway? I've never heard of it before. How bad can it be?"
Hermione whimpered.
"Hermione, what's wrong?" Harry turned to her.
She just sat there, silent.
"Is this about that error curse?" Ron asked.
She nodded.
"What is it? What does it do?"
She just began to shake.
"Hermione, what is it? What could possibly be that bad?"
A/N: What did you think? All right, this is where you, the readers, get to vote on what happens to Harry next. Though these may not seem like big decisions, it can affect the outcome of the story big time. Just put the number of the option in your review, and I'll tally the votes before I write my next chapter. Should Harry:
1) Go directly to Dumbledore and ask his advice?
2) Look for Sirius and ask him first?
3) Take it upon himself to learn these curses on his own, with Ron and Hermione's help?
And the
Doom Spell Tournament
After many months, the saga continues...
A/N: Sorry, I screwed up big on my English mid terms and lost my typing privileges. But don't worry. I'm back, and I'm going to bring you the most TORNADO PACED Fic on the net yet.
So get ready, hold onto your seat, and read on.
When we last left Harry, he had defeated the dark lord Voldemort after completely WASTING Garef, and at the same time, saving Ron and Hermione. We've got to admit, he's got skills, but he's got some rough times ahead of him in this book.
Anyway... after you read this, I want you to review me. Yes, that's right - you. This is going to be an interactive project in which you... THE READERS... (Raises eyebrow in Rock-like fashion)... decide what happens to Harry next through your reviews.
A/N: I don't own Mountain Dew, Harry Potter Copyrights, World Industries, or Sobe. I fully endorse Weasley's Wizard Wheezes.
Enough with the small talk, read on!
Chapter 1
Party
The light poured into the bedroom at The Burrow. But that was not what awoke Harry Potter. Nor was it the slight breeze that just blew through his open window.
It was more like the large snowy owl that had just fluttered in and hooted softly by his bedside. He opened his eyes and looked up.
"Mornin', Hedwig." He grunted. She gave a soft hoot in reply. Harry sat up and opened up her cage. Then he reached over and untied a small piece of parchment from her leg, and she glided up into the cage. He unfolded the parchment and read it:
Dear Harry,
I've been waiting a while to talk to you. I hope it did reach you. I heard you were staying at the Weasley's this summer. Hogwarts is starting in only a two days, and I still need to go shopping in Diagon Alley. How about you? Would you mind waiting up to go? I should be coming over today.
~Hermione
Harry decided not to send a reply. Hedwig looked beat. He'd just do what Hermione asked. In the meantime, he decided to get dressed and go downstairs for breakfast.
"Good morning, dear." Mrs. Weasley greeted him warmly, as usual.
"Good morning, Mrs. Weasley. How are you today?" He replied.
"Oh, just great. You're the first one up, I see. I think..." But she was cut off by an abrupt thump. Fred and George appeared, each carrying a huge crate down the stairs.
"Oh, I swear!" Mrs. Weasley sighed. "I'd stop you from doing that Weasley's Wizard Wheezes if it didn't bring in so much money! Harry, I heard from them that it was you, in fact, that gave them the money to open up that joke shop, now, where's your common sense, child?" She scolded jokingly. "Those two have a sense of humor about as safe as... well..." She thought for a moment.
"Plastering the dungeon walls with dungbombs right in front of Argus Filch." Harry suggested.
"Not that dangerous." George grunted, lugging his crate out the door.
"Yeah, maybe not. What are those, anyway?"
"You know, we actually got this from a muggle idea." Fred told him. "They're light bulbs, sort of. They send off a blinding flash when you break one."
"Yeah. Great for this and that. We let our customers make their own uses of a lot of products. But the Ministry of Magic ordered these for their hit wizards. Pretty cool, huh?"
"Yeah." Harry sat down at the table, and Mrs. Weasley brought him a plate stacked a foot high with pancakes.
"And there's more where that came from, dear." She added as she turned away.
"Thank you." He started on the monstrous stack. He saw today's Daily Prophet sitting on the table, and picked it up to read it.
"Rita Skeeter fired for Privacy Violation Misdemeanor." He read one article aloud.
"I always knew that would happen one of these days." Mrs. Weasley laughed.
"Morning." Ron yawned as he came down the stairway. "Mum, guess what! I got a letter from Hogwarts. I'm going to be a co-captain for the Quidditch team. Remember that summer league that just finished last month? They liked my performance! And Hogwarts made me the Gryffindor Team co-captain!"
"That's wonderful, dear! Have some pancakes, now." She beckoned him to sit down.
"We've got to go get our schoo, books today." Ron reminded her.
"Yeah. I got a letter from Hermione. She's coming over, she said."
"That's right. We made arrangements. She just came back from her summer in Bulgaria." Mrs. Weasley informed them.
"Bulgaria?" Harry and Ron said in surprise.
"That's right. She was spending the week with Viktor Krum. She wrote me. Would you know it? She learned how to ride a broomstick and even do a few tricks. She just loves it."
"That's great. Maybe that's how she'll get here." Ron mentioned.
"Now, Ron, you know she can't ride over the cities." Mrs. Weasley corrected him.
"I've gotta go!" Mr. Weasley barreled down the stairs, picked up the bag of floo powder, threw some on the fire, kissed Mrs. Weasley goodbye, and left.
"Heard him mumbling something about an emergency earlier." Percy mentioned to them as he came down the stairs. "I've got to leave now, too. Bye." He stepped in the fire, and disappeared.
"Those men, always rushing off. Oh, well. Would you boys like to go to Diagon Alley with Hermione alone? I'm rather busy today myself."
"Sure, Mrs. Weasley. It's fine."
"Great, then! Why don't you hurry and get your coats."
"We have to wait for Hermione." Ron pointed out.
"No, you don't. She's right outside the door. She just came by broom. I saw her fly by the window." Ron ran over and threw open the door. There was Hermione, smiling and holding a brand new Firebolt in her arms.
"Hey. You ready to go?"
"Sure." She replied.
"So how was your vacation, Hermione?" Harry asked.
"Oh, it was wonderful. I'll tell you more at Diagon alley. Let's go!" She was wearing a dragon hide jacket, which really brought out the brown in her eyes.
"Hello, Hermione." Mrs. Weasley appeared, smiling. "Arrived safely, I see?"
"Yes. I almost got hit by a muggle jet on the way over, though." They couldn't tell if this was a joke or not.
"Well, let's go. Diagon alley!" Ron shouted as he threw some floo powder on the fire, and all three of them stepped in after one another.
Harry landed last, out of the way of Ron and Hermione. There had been a new chimney installed on the street corner for the floo network.
"Well, what first?" Harry asked.
"How about Gringott's?" Ron reminded him. "I heard they have some really cool new addition. I don't know what it is, though." They walked along the street until they came up to a pair of giant silver double doors, the entrance to Gringott's. And just outside was...
"An ATM machine?" Hermione said, puzzled.
"They think of everything!" Harry smiled. This was not like a normal ATM machine, however. It had a huge coin slot, and a keyhole. Harry took out his key and put it in.
"What do I do now? There's no keypad." He said.
"Just tell it how much you want." The goblin standing at the door informed him.
"Okay... Umm... thirty galleons, forty sickles, forty knuts would be good." He told it. A dragon hide bag appeared below it, and in it poured exactly how much money he wanted.
"What will they have next, pumpkin juice vending machines?"
"Over there." The same goblin pointed. "Next to the candy machines."
"Okaaay..." Harry turned back to his friends. Hermione went next, and took out thirty-five galleons and so-forth. Ron took forty himself, and they headed back down the alley. Their first stop was Flourish and Blotts, the bookstore.
As they first entered, they saw a stack of colorful books on their right. Hermione picked one up, and read the cover.
"Harry! Harry, come check this out! They've got a biography of your early life out! "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone," by J.K. Rowling."
"J.K. Rowling? Who's that?" Ron asked.
"Beats me." Harry remarked.
"Oh, and check this out!" Hermione picked up another book. "Harry Potter and the Silver Bullet Faction," by some guy named Silverpen. It's about your defeat of Garef last year.
"Silverpen? What kind of name is that?" Ron asked.
"I don't know. Must be his pen name, you know, a nom de plume."
"He sounds like a real jerk anyway." Ron commented. "Come on. This year, I'll need The standard book of spells, grade six. He pulled three copies off the shelf, and handed one to Harry, and one to Hermione, who went of to get her books. Harry and Ron, however, had identical classes.
"Let's see... Divination, Transfiguration, ya-da-ya-da-ya... oh! A pocket guide to concealing your curses, I could use that one on Snape, hmm, now let's see..."
Harry read some of the books on the shelves. "Divination for Dummies, the Complete Idiot's Guide to Astronomy, Magic for Morons... don't they have any books for intelligent people nowadays?"
"Quiet!" Harry pulled Ron behind a shelf. They watched as both Crabbe and Goyle walked by, with several stacks of the "For Dummies" series in their arms.
"Must have been written especially for them. Anyway..." Ron continued. "Astronomy, and we get to learn beginners alchemy this year, in place of potions.
"Ron, that's a sub-course of potions. Snape's likely to teach it still."
"Just our luck. Oh well."
When they had gotten all of their books, they met Hermione out front, and then walked over to Madam Malkin's Robes for all occasions.
After they had been outfitted with a new wardrobe, they decided to sit down at the ice cream parlor and relax. Hermione ordered a sundae, Ron a Banana split, and Harry a Chocolate Rocket, another interesting product from Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, in which with every bite the chocolate literally exploded in your mouth and left various filling flavors. Ron stopped by a vending machine, and came back with three bottles.
"What's this?" Hermione asked.
"I dunno. It's a new drink called Sobe. I got a Wizard Blizzard, you a Pumpkin Chunker, and Harry's trying something called Tomatopotato blend."
Harry spat out a mouthful. "Why'd you get me that?" He said in disgust.
"It was either that or Mountain Dew."
"Oh. All right, then." He took another swig of Tomatopotato Juice.
After that, they passed by the Quidditch Emporium. Harry glanced in the window, and saw something he couldn't believe.
"A Broom Upgrade!" He stared into the window for a moment, and then walked into the shop. "It says if applied to any broom, it will automatically bring it to the next level."
"What else does it say?"
"Apply to a Comet Two-Sixty, it would become as fast as a Cleansweep seven. Apply to a Firebolt and it's automatically as good as a brand-new Concorde Ultimate!" He automatically picked one up off of the shelf, walked over to the counter, and paid for it.
"Hey, check this out." Ron said as they were leaving. On the shelf was a new broom model.
"What is it?" Hermione asked.
"It says simply... the bird." He told her. It had a big "b" painted on the handle and depicted a burning eagle shooting through the sky painted on the handle.
Ron read a sign beside it. "The first in a series of high-quality racing brooms by World Industries."
"Who're they?" Harry asked.
"I dunno, but that broom looks pretty awesome." Ron turned, and walked out the door.
When they were all finished, they went back to the fireplace at the corner of the alley, threw in a handful of dust, Ron shouted, "The Burrow," and they were off.
* * *
They arrived back at the burrow, where Misses Weasley greeted them in time for dinner. She was fixing a huge ham and mashed potatoes, and Percy, Bill, Fred, George, and Mister Weasley were all at the table.
"You came to visit!" Ron said with delight.
"I'm here to take you three to the train station tomorrow. Mum and Dad have something to do."
"Oh. All right." Ron sat down in his spot, and Harry and Hermione pulled up some seats.
"It's going to be quite a day. Your father and I have some business at the Ministry, and it might have something to do with your schooling."
"Great." Ron said simply as he stuffed his mouth with potatoes.
"Don't talk with you're mouth full." Miss Weasley shot at him.
"So what are you doing tomorrow, anyway?" Hermione asked.
"Can't tell you. It's confidential."
"You love teasing us, don't you?" Ron remarked.
After the huge meal, Harry, Ron, and Hermione sat down that night to play several games of exploding snap. After that, they were off to bed. It had been a slow day for them all, but nothing would prepare them for tomorrow.
* * *
"Harry, dear, it's time to wake up." Harry felt Mrs. Weasley gently shaking him.
"Oh yeah." Harry smirked with his eyes half open. Today was the day they left for Hogwarts. He sat up. But there was no one around.
"Mrs. Weasley?" He called. But no one answered. Then he noticed something even more disturbing.
The roof was missing. Even more disturbing, the sky was gone. It wasn't just black, everything seemed to be gone, period.
He grabbed his wand off the dresser next to him and wandered down the stairs into the den to get a better look at what was going on. Then he realized; the whole side of the house was torn away.
"What's going on?" He demanded aloud to no one.
The wind shot dust past and into his face as he stared on in what seemed to be endless darkness.
"You want to know what's going on?" A high pitched voice replied.
"You..." Harry scowled. "What have you done?" He turned and faced Voldemort, standing on the floor above him.
"Why do you care? I promise in a moment, you will be with all your friends. There's nothing to worry about.
"Voldemort, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE WITH THEM?" He demanded.
"I told you about saying my name." Voldemort shook his finger. Harry plunged into his robes for his wand...
...and came out empty handed.
"Looking for this?" Voldemort held up Harry's wand, wearing a hideous grin.
Harry froze. At this point, there was nothing he could do.
"Now it ends." Voldemort told him. "No more slip ups, no more duels, no more luck. I'm just going to plain and simple kill you, and that will be that."
"But what have you done?"
"Take a look." He pointed at the corner of the room. Harry turned, just as a bolt of lightning illuminated the room, to reveal the limp figures of Ron and Hermione hanging from the ceiling by their arms.
"What the hell have you done to them? And everybody else?" Harry shouted.
"I don't have to answer any of your questions, this is my world, now." Voldemort cackled. Just take a look around you." Harry watched as the room filled with death eaters, and they each lined up against the walls.
"Your friends paid for foiling my attempts last year. So I punished them, instead of killing them right away like everyone else. Oh, this will amuse you." He smiled as two people entered the room. One was Cornielius Fudge. The other was professor Dumbledore.
"Professor, we have to stop him! He killed everyone! Come on, do something!" But Dumbledore just stared ahead. There was something ghostly about his face hidden in the shadows. Then another bolt of lightning flashed, and Harry realized; he was rotting. He must have been a zombie.
"I don't... I don't get it." Harry stuttered.
"He works for me now. My worst two enemies, aside from you, suffered a fate worse than death. And now for you. Avada Kedavra."
Before he could even react, Harry Potter fell over, his eyes staring ahead lifelessly.
* * *
"Wake up, dear, you've got to get ready to go to Hogwarts today." Mrs. Weasley shook him.
He looked up at Mrs. Weasley.
"It's time to get up, dear." She smiled.
"Oh... okay, thanks." He mumbled. She left the room and he got dressed, went downstairs, and sat at the table. He wasn't about to tell anybody about his dream. That's always started some kind of trouble. Mrs. Weasley piled about ten pancakes onto his plate and put the syrup in front of him.
"Eat up, dear." She smiled. Ron was already at the table, polishing off a huge stack of pancakes. Hermione came down the stairs and sat at the table, also.
"Harry, you look like you slept awful. Was everything all right?" Mrs. Weasley asked him.
"Yeah, I'm just fine." He mumbled.
After they finished breakfast, they loaded up their trunks, and loaded all four into the trunk of the Weasley's new minivan. Only this wasn't any ordinary minivan. The trunk space was so magically expanded you could get lost if you walked in the back too far. And as narrow as it was, the back seats could hold five people apiece.
After Mr. and Mrs. Weasley drove off in their old station wagon, Bill got in the front seat of the SUV and started it up, and then they were off.
"Hey, guys, wanna listen to the WWN?"
"Oh, yeah! Turn it to the news, I heard about an interesting issue involving opening hospitals that use magic to help wizards and muggles alike."
"Oh, yeah!" Bill turned the knob on what looked like a regular muggle radio, and they immediately heard the broadcaster's voice.
"And the Minister of Magic today declined to comment. On another note... wait a moment, something's happening." There was a pause. "This just in! The Dark Lord, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, has for some reason broken into this very studio! He's making his way here as I speak... we-(Thump)-he's here!" Ron and Hermione stared at each other for a moment, and Bill was silent with shock. "It's... it's..."
"Avada Kedavra!" A voice shouted in the background, and the reporter was immediately cut off.
Harry stared at the radio in shock.
"Harry Potter. Albus Dumbledore." A voice like nails on a chalkboard screeched. "I know you're out there, listening. I don't need eyes to see where you are, or know what you are doing." Harry didn't know how to react.
"I want my revenge, Harry. And this is how it will happen. Nearing the end of your school year, I am holding a dueling contest. Several of my faithful death eaters will come. To challenge them as well as myself, and to settle some old scores, I demand that the following of my enemies will appear at the contest, or else. And I mean, or else. You see, Dumbledore, I know about the Error Curse. And you know what I mean.
"If the following people do not arrive at the tournament to duel, I will cast the curse. And you know I am not the type to bluff."
"Rghh... what's he up to?" Harry demanded aloud.
"Albus Dumbledore. Severus Snape. Sirius Black. Ivan String. Remus Lupin. Alastor Moody. And Harry Potter will have the honor of facing me in the main event. I am appropriately dubbing this contest, "The Doomspell Tournament.""
Harry was in shock. But not half as much as Hermione.
"I repeat, If these people do not show up, I will execute the Error Curse. Do not make me. I have the power in my grasp now. I will set a date and inform you later. Farewell for now." Suddenly, the radio sounded nothing but static.
"Bummer, Harry." Bill could only say. "But what does he want those people for? I thought Black was a convict, still. Oh, wait, he's on our side. Alastor Moody? What for? In fact, most of those people are former Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers."
"He's pretty pissed that Snape left his service as a death eater." Harry offered. "String and Moody were Aurors, and they probably killed some of his best men."
"Yeah. I'll bet. Don't worry, I'll come with you. Remember how we kicked the sorry crap out of him last year?" Ron smirked.
"You will not." Bill told Ron. "I wish there was a way Harry could get out of it, but I have no idea what the Error Curse is or does."
Half an hour later, they arrived at King's Cross. Harry, Ron, and Bill loaded the trunks onto the trolley, and pushed them toward platform Nine and Three-Quarters. As they entered, the muggle world dissolved around them, and before them was a scarlet steam engine labeled Hogwarts Express.
"Well, you have a good year, all of you." Bill told them after they were done loading the trunks. "Get on the train, now."
The four filed onto the train, but Bill stopped Harry just before he got on.
"Uh, Harry." He pulled him aside. "I know this is going to be tough, though it's not like you haven't faced him before." Harry understood. "Listen, I just suggest that you learn all the curses and defenses that you can. I think Lupin will be at Hogwarts this year, since he's one of the duelers, so he'll be able to help you. All right?"
"Thanks. I'll keep that in mind."
"Good luck." Bill turned, and walked out of the platform.
Harry boarded the train, and found Ron, Hermione, and Ginny's compartment.
"Gosh, Harry, that was all so sudden." Ron remarked. "I'm sorry."
"Well, it's not like there hasn't been some sort of problem with Hogwarts every other year. Kind of odd, really, that this is all occurring while I'm here. Maybe I shouldn't go to school anymore."
"Now come on, Harry!" Ginny exclaimed. "Doubt he's going to give us any trouble at school! After all, he want's to fight you in a duel! And I'll bet by then, you'll have learned enough to cream him!"
"Good point." Ron said. "You've got plenty of time. He probably won't try anything until you fight. Maybe you don't even have to duel! What the heck is the error curse, anyway? I've never heard of it before. How bad can it be?"
Hermione whimpered.
"Hermione, what's wrong?" Harry turned to her.
She just sat there, silent.
"Is this about that error curse?" Ron asked.
She nodded.
"What is it? What does it do?"
She just began to shake.
"Hermione, what is it? What could possibly be that bad?"
A/N: What did you think? All right, this is where you, the readers, get to vote on what happens to Harry next. Though these may not seem like big decisions, it can affect the outcome of the story big time. Just put the number of the option in your review, and I'll tally the votes before I write my next chapter. Should Harry:
1) Go directly to Dumbledore and ask his advice?
2) Look for Sirius and ask him first?
3) Take it upon himself to learn these curses on his own, with Ron and Hermione's help?