Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters except for OCs. It's FANfiction for Christ sakes.
A/N: Ok, so I'm back from the dead and totally redoing this whole story. The main plot and storyline will mostly be the same, but I'm changing and fixing a whole bunch of stuff. Like, for example, the romance factor -- it's gone. Just friends now. The falling-in-love thing didn't realy have much to contribute to the story and, honestly, kinda cheesey. I'll leave Wounds of the Heart where it's at and if anyone wants to adopt that story, feel free. This version is going to start a little farther back than the other, give more background information, and hopefully make a lot more sense. Like I said, the key elements of the other story are still going to be here, but better.
And thank you to kobez for being a wonderful beta and setting my mind back to this story. If it wasn't for him, this would not exist and I'd still be feeling that nagging guilt that comes with leaving a story (even one I didn't really like anymore) alone for so long.
Updates will not be as frequent: that sort of comes with the territory of putting out longer, more thought out chapters. Hopefully I haven't scared/pissed off too many of the previous readers with my abandonment of the other story and radically different re-write. It had to be done.
Anyway, on with the story. Hope you enjoy it.
Chapter 1: Homecoming and Home-leaving
Kings Cross was a hive of activity, frantic parents tending to their children as business people talked into cell phones and juggled briefcases and coffee cups in the sort of organized chaos that could be found in any busy train station. No one noticed the lanky boy with the dark mop of hair stepping straight through the solid pillar between platforms nine and ten, straining to pull along a large trunk and the birdcage balanced precariously atop it. The snowy owl occupying the cage seemed completely oblivious to the commotion around it and the dangerous fall that was surely only one sudden jostle away, preferring to tuck its large head beneath a fluffy white wing and attempt sleep.
A large man with a bristling mustache and a ruddy complexion furiously, and with as little movement as possible, waved the sullen boy over, beady eyes darting about the train station as he tried to appear discreet.
"What took you so long, boy? I've been standing here for nearly twenty minutes!" he hissed, his face taking on an even more pronounced resemblance to a walrus as his cheeks bloomed a fiery crimson. He wobbled around on his heel and lumbered towards the exit as the boy finally got the trunk dragged over to him.
Harry, miserable as he was and knowing the futility of any attempt to change his uncle's unbelievably low opinion of him, chose not to answer. The fact that he would have to live with his hated aunt and uncle for a full two -- no three -- more years wriggled and squirmed in the back of his mind like a parasite. With any luck, voldemort would find and kill him soon -- preferably before he went mad. After all, Dumbledore had gone Merlin-knows-where after the whole fiasco with Umbridge and the DA, and the Ministry still blatantly refused to see the writing on the wall, even after the many disappearances of wizards and muggles alike and the mass breakout from Azkaban.
Harry finally stepped out of the train station and into the open air. Through the driving rain he could just make out the pristine form of Uncle Vernon's company car across the parking lot. He gave a final sigh and gathered his strength before pulling his trunk towards his destination, a task made all the more difficult because, not only did his shoes keep slipping on the rain-slicked pavement and his thin muggle jacket proved to be as good as nonexistent for all the protection it offered, but he simply didn't want to go with his uncle. Perhaps he would be able to find one of the Order members and talk with them about going back to Grimmauld Place with Sirius, assuming he could even find them now that his magic had been taken away.
The rain, coming down in sheets now, matted his normally unruly hair to his forehead as he pushed it wearily out of his eyes and hauled his trunk into the boot of Uncle Vernon's car. His uncle was already comfortably seated inside as Harry made his way around the back of the car and slumped into the passenger's seat.
"So," Uncle Vernon began as he peeled away from the curb, "the freaks have finally kicked you out, have they? Forced you on us for the rest of the year too, eh? Well I'll tell you now, we'd better be getting some sort of compensation for this, boy, because I will not stand..." The rest of his words were lost in a ferocious crack of thunder that, not surprisingly, did not deter the man's rant at all. Harry let his head fall against the cool car window with a dull thunk and watched dazedly as billboards and buildings passed by in a gray blur. He didn't want to think, he didn't want to feel. All he wanted was to go home where he could be in the company of friends and loved ones, and he certainly wouldn't find that at 4 Privet Drive.
-0-0-0-
"Mum? Mum, where's the bloodrose? I just can't find it anywhere and I need it for this potion." Arianna Niall, a slight girl with wavy brown hair, stood precariously on a wooden stool in a steam-filled kitchen, pushing the upper cupboards' bottles and vials aside in her feverish search for her last ingredient. "Mum!" she called again.
"Yes, dear, you'll have to fetch it yourself from the garden; I haven't got any of the powder left, you used the last of my stores last week." Mrs. Niall appeared in the doorway, testily brandishing a dripping wooden spoon. Arianna nodded, leapt off the stepping stool, and burst out into the garden without another moment's hesitation. "And you be careful with that, dear, it's extremely...Bah! And there she goes again! I honestly don't know why I bother, she never listens."
"Of course she does." A middle-aged man suddenly whispered in her ear, slipping his arms over her shoulders. "She just doesn't know it yet."
"Oh! You scared me, Seth. What are you doing home so early? Good day in the office?" There was only a hint of sarcasm in her words as she turned to embrace her husband.
"Nah, same as usual; left O'Connery with the paperwork on this one though." said Mr. Niall with a slight smirk.
"Ah, I thought I sensed a little trickery about you. Come help me with this solution I'm making, your aura will do wonders--"
"Melinda, no." he sighed, "You know I don't want to get involved in any of that." Only one who knew him well would be able to see the broiling emotions underneath, including Mrs. Niall though she chose to ignore it.
"But dear, you're in the perfect mood. I don't doubt the magick will sing for you." she insisted, a sly smile playing about her lips.
Mr. Niall sighed, gathering his patience. "Linda..."
BOOM!
The windows shattered and the house rattled as plumes of brilliant white fire burst in through the glass and tore down a large section of the wall, throwing the pair off their feet and onto the living room floor. The blast still ringing in their ears, Mr. and Mrs. Niall got slowly to their feet and gazed around at the wreckage. A quick glance confirmed each other's well being, and then --
"Arianna!" Mr. Niall screamed, "Arianna! Where is she?! Was she outside?" he demanded, turning towards his wife.
"The bloodrose!" Mrs. Niall whispered shakily. "She went out into the garden to get the bloodrose. I told her to be careful with it! I've warned her countless times!" But Mr. Niall wasn't listening, already racing through the destroyed kitchen towards the back door.
"I warned her..." Mrs. Niall trembled and fell to her knees, words trailing off as panic consumed her.
-0-0-0-
Harry slammed the car door shut and received a warning glare from his uncle. He was already frozen to the bone, shivering even with his hood pulled up and his conventional jacket pulled tight around his shoulders. He hefted the overlarge trunk out of the boot of the car and tucked Hedwig's cage under his arm, struggling up the driveway towards the relative warmth and comfort of his least favorite house. Uncle Vernon fumbled with the keys for a moment before throwing the door wide and stepping over the threshold.
"Give me that!" Uncle Vernon snarled as soon as the front door closed behind them. He then snatched the trunk viciously from Harry's numb fingers and shoved it into the cupboard under the stairs. Harry didn't protest; it wasn't like he needed anything inside it anymore.
"Up to your room, boy, "Vernon called after him, unnecessarily as Harry was already tromping up the stairs. "And you'll be starting your chores up again tomorrow. I will not have you lazing about this house all day now that you're back."
"Yes, Uncle Vernon," Harry sighed exasperatedly before closing his bedroom door behind him with a smart snick. He gently sat Hedwig's cage on the rickety desk and looked around the dim, bare room. His breath hitched in his throat as the finality of his situation really sunk in, the past twenty-four hours whipping by behind his eyes. Only a day ago, he would have been sitting in class with Ron and Hermione, planning another DA meeting, everything perfectly normal. Well, normal for him. That word held an entirely different amount of sway at Privet Drive.
How was he supposed to live like this? so far from the world of magic and adventure that he had come to love, without even his wand and his training to defend himself with if the Death Eaters or Voldemort came calling. In that moment, his situation felt so ridiculously hopeless that he was thinking longingly of Snape and the dungeons, if only he didn't have to stay here.
His legs folded beneath him and he buried his face in his hands, allowing his misery to consume him where he sat, tears slipping past his eyes for the first time in a very long while. There was no going back. His wand had been taken from him back in Dumbledore's office and nobody, not even his exiled headmaster, would be able to get it back for him.
Sirius! he thought desperately, Sirius said I could go and live with him if I was expelled. Clinging to that thought, he snatched a piece of paper and an ordinary ballpoint pen and he began to write:
Snuffles,
You've probably already heard that I've been expelled and that Dumbledore's been forced to leave the school because of the DA. I was wondering, if you still wanted me, if I could come and stay with you at headquarters like you said last summer. I don't know what to do now without my wand, and the Dursleys full time is something I am not looking forward to.
Hopefully I'll see you soon,
Harry
"Here you go, Hedwig," he whispered, tying the little note around her leg. "Come back soon, okay?" She nipped his finger affectionately, then took off into the rain, leaving Harry feeling truly alone for the first time since last summer.
-0-0-0-
"Arianna! ARIANNA!" Mr. Niall tore through the backyard, searching frantically for his daughter. There, on the ground a few meters away, was a feebly stirring dark mass. "Oh, thank Merlin!" he muttered distractedly as he came to kneel beside the girl.
He turned her over gently and couldn't help but gasp as he stared at the large black and red burn marks littering her face and hands. "Come on, come on!" he hissed.
"Seth, did you find her? Is she alright?" Mrs. Niall came stumbling through the debris and stopped a couple feet behind him. "Well? Is she?"
"She's still breathing if that's what you mean!" Mr. Niall snapped. He brushed a stray hair from Arianna's brow and prepared to scoop her up off the ground, knowing that they couldn't stay much longer. The sound of wailing sirens could be heard in the distance.
"This is why, Goddamnit! This is why I don't approve of your practices! If Arianna just went to a regular wizarding school like any other witch, we wouldn't be here right now!"
"Seth, calm down. The muggles are coming; we have to get out of here!" Mrs. Niall cried, glancing frantically towards the road.
"You think I don't know that?" There was a pause as husband and wife glowered angrily at each other, and then -- "Go, gather you and Arianna's things. I'll take her and hide in the woods, see if I can't wake her up. I'll meet you in London at the Leaky Cauldron in two days. Good luck, Melinda." With that, Seth Niall turned away and ran towards the trees just beyond the garden, seeking shelter from a world that he wished, not for the first time, that he coudl really be a part of.
Dew from the earlier rain dripped lazily from the leaves around him as he darted, panting heavily, through the tangle of underbrush. He grunted and cursed as Arianna started to slip from his grasp, adjusting his grip on her so that her head rested against his shoulder, her misted breath visible in the biting cold air.
Deep down, he knew that occasionally there were accidents at Hogwarts or any other magical school for that matter -- it was inevitable -- but certainly never so dangerous or as often as Arianna's experience. Fervently, he wished that this was the first time that Arianna had been injured by Melinda's dabbling experiments in the old magick, but nothing could change the fact that it wasn't, and that he wouldn't be able to protect her when it happened again.
Seth came to a stop a good distance away from the wards they had erected around the house and glanced nervously around the shadowy landscape. Seeing that they were indeed alone, he pulled out his wand and focused on the weightless feeling that existed somewhere near his magical core. With a sharp crack, he disapparated with his daughter's limp body in tow, trying to ignore the feeling of guilt that swelled inside him every time he ran away. This is the last straw, he thought passionately.
And when he winked into existence miles away, he swore that he would do everything in his power to ensure Arianna was never hurt like this again, by Melinda's own hand or otherwise.
A/N: Well, there it is. Some excitement, some angst, and an explosion. You didn't get any explosions in the other story. *looks around hopefully* Like it, love it or hate it, please leave a review. Ivylei out.