Chapter 1 for Moosie!

Anything of Nothing First Create

Harry descended down the stairs and into the kitchen, where Fleur was occupying herself with her head in the oven. After seven years, it still surprised him just how well she had adjusted to the Muggle way of life. Of course, she no longer performed magic unless absolutely necessary – the Death Eaters could feel the magic from miles off, and would come swarming around the house, even though they couldn't see it. That was how it had been for a long time – with magic dying out so rapidly, just the smallest amount was enough to attract unwanted attention.

It had started during the summer after Harry's 6th Year. Nobody had been expecting it, least of all Voldemort. The Muggles had leaped forward with technology, especially in the art of nuclear war – and another field, which instilled terror in every magic-wielding person.

The Muggles had found a way of harnessing the power of the magic in the world. How, Harry had no idea, but it was soon clear that they could find wizards and witches quite easily by the magic that they bore. Their advance overwhelmed the wizarding community, and in fear, Voldemort and his followers had fled and hidden – but not without a fight, which they lost. The Death Eaters were only half of what they had been.

As for Harry… well, so much for finding the Horcruxes. They, too had been forced into hiding, just until the Muggles had sorted themselves out and it was safe to go back to search for the remaining parts of Voldemort's soul.

He sat down at the table, and Ginny poured him a mug of steaming tea. Fred sat across from him, looking as lost as he had that fateful day seven years ago.

That fateful night, when they had been ambushed at the Burrow, and only one of the twins survived. Only three Weasleys overall. And Lupin, and Neville and Fleur. Out of seventeen people in the house, only seven survived to tell the tale.

Nobody in the kitchen said anything, and the tension slowly grew too much for Harry. He drained his mug in one go, ignoring the hot liquid as it burned its way down his throat.

"I'm going for a walk." He muttered, and left them sitting in silence.

Harry walked down the path out of Number 12, Grimmauld Place. They had replaced Dumbledore with Mrs Figg as Secret Keeper, deciding that as a squib, she was less likely to be found by the Death Eaters. The chilly November air bit at his face, and he pulled his coat tighter around himself, wishing that he'd picked up a scarf but refusing to go back for one. He reached the end of the road, and did a quick scan for magical activity before moving on.

Since moving to Grimmauld Place permanently, Harry had discovered that he was becoming much more sensitive to magic. He could feel it now, like Dumbledore had been able to. It was pretty vague, in all honesty, but it was still there – he could sense if someone was magical, or if magic had been used in the area recently. He had learned to distinguish between his friends, since they all felt slightly different, but that had taken time. About two years, in fact.

Adapting to life in London hadn't been as hard as Harry had though it would have been – it had been much more difficult for some of the others though. Nevertheless, they had surprised him with their resilience and willingness to conform to the Muggle ways. Sometimes, he reckoned that they might even pass off as Muggles.

Recently, there had been a startling increase of abductions in and about London. Scotland Yard were baffled; the Government was anxious. So they had created a whole new type of police force, clothed in red, who patrolled areas where abductions had been occurring. Harry wasn't sure what their authority was, but the wizarding folk kept well away from them when they saw them approaching.

As he passed Hyde Park, he noticed a cloaked man stopping over a homeless man next to the Princess Diana Memorial, felt the tinge of magic around them, and realised that he might be witnessing another abduction. He sidled over as inconspicuously as he could and settled himself on a park bench, just close enough to hear what was being said.

"If you come with me, you'll be rewarded beyond your wildest dreams." The cloaked man was saying. "Nothing in your life could prepare you for what you'll gain."

"What are you going to do to me?"

"Nothing painful, don't worry. And hopefully, nothing… permanent. But believe me, if it does go wrong, you'll have nothing to worry about. We'll fully compensate you."

Harry could feel the magic from the cloaked man, and didn't like it. He's sensed something similar only once before, when Snape had returned to Grimmauld Place after a Death Eater meeting. And then the man said something that erased all doubt in Harry's mind.

"My Master would be glad to have you."

The homeless man looked for a moment like he was thinking, and then nodded slowly.

Guessing what might happen next, Harry crouched behind a nearby bush and watched, mystified, as the attacked pulled out a wand and Apparated. And as expected, it was less than two minutes before a Landcruiser pulled up and three red-clad men clambered out, adjusted their sunglasses, and spread out over the area.

Harry had seen this kind of thing before. Those sunglasses, he knew, were no ordinary eyewear. They had been imbued with the Muggle's new technology, and anyone looking through them could see magic. He'd tried them out once before when they'd captured one of the red-clad men – and it was something he'd never expected. Looking between Lupin and Ginny, he could clearly see the difference. He had never realised that magic was so complex… it was almost like sparkling dust, floating around them both, but their dust wasn't the same. No, he saw the brown sheen under Lupin's skin and instantly knew that was the werewolf within him. How he knew, he couldn't explain – the same way that he knew that Ginny was the more magically powerful of the two, just by the brightness of the dust swirling around her in golden beams.

And he knew that these three men were looking for the tell-tale sparkling of dust in the area. He knew that they'd soon see the remnants of the Apparition spell, glistening orange in mid-air, as he'd seen it before. And if they looked his way, they'd see the blinding white and gold from behind the bush where he was hidden.

He stood up straight and walked away.

"It was really bizarre."

They were sat in the lounge, all seven of them, the fire crackling in the corner. Lupin looked at him with perpetually tired eyes.

"Are you sure it was a Death Eater?"

"I'm positive. I could feel him. But… why would he want a Muggle? And does that mean that it's been the Death Eaters all along?"

"One dizappearance izn't enough to be sure of anyzing. And for all you know, zat may not 'ave been a Muggle." Fleur suggested, shrugging.

"He was a Muggle." Harry said coldly. "I would have felt him if he wasn't."

They glared at each other over the coffee table, and started when there was a knock at the door. They all exchanged glances, confused.

"I though we were the only ones who knew where Grimmauld Place was." Ginny said warily, looking to Lupin for confirmation. He nodded.

"Yes – it's probably Snape. Charlie, take Harry with you just in case."

Sometimes, it annoyed Harry the way that they used his ability to sense the magic of another to their own advantage. And it wasn't half as precise as they seemed to think it was…

Harry paused at the door, a spike of fear shooting into his spine.

"It's not Snape."

Charlie glanced at him briefly, and looked like he was about to ask if he was sure, but Harry wasn't paying attention. His eyes were squeezed shut, his hands over his ears, as though he was trying to block out a horrific memory.

Years later, Harry still wouldn't be able to explain what had happened, for it would never happen again. One second, he had been quite sure that it wasn't Snape. But then… a sudden onslaught of magic burst into him, green and black and gold and white and red filling his mind, seeping in through his ears and eyes and mouth and nose and filling him with emotions and feelings and memories and…

"It's Malfoy."

Comments loved & welcome.

Smokey