Author's Note: Well, sorry about the lack of update.. I'm extremely busy… but here it is! It is told in 3rd person of Leslie's point of view. Please R&R. Again I apologize for the short chapters, but you know I've been very busy with my tests and school work and tennis and everything.
Chapter 6: Where a Muggle Shouldn't Be
The day Harry and Hermione left for whatever schoolwork they had to do, Leslie was also there with them in the morning having breakfast at the Granger house.
"Mmmm, this is really good Mrs. Granger, I love your pancakes," Leslie complemented Hermione's mother.
"Oh why thank you Leslie… so what are you guys planning to do today?" Mrs. Granger asked.
"Harry and I need to see something about school," Hermione answered.
Mrs. Granger nodded in understanding. Strange, thought Leslie, wonder why they don't talk about school that much, I've talked about my school a lot with them.
Mr. And Mrs. Granger soon left the house for work while Harry and Hermione were whispering something as they were all helping out in cleaning the dishes. Leslie heard something about "floo powder", and "owls"… he thought this was very strange but didn't inquire them about anything.
"Leslie, Harry and I have to do some business about school, we'll see you later then?" Hermione said as she and Harry walked upstairs.
Leslie, for some strange reason did not leave. His curiosity in what Harry and Hermione's school work was fascinated him, for they were certainly not normal students Leslie conjectured.
Leslie knew what he was doing was wrong, but a strange, a very strange feeling prevailed him that urged him to do what he was doing. Thus, he hid behind a sofa of the Granger's living room near the fireplace and waited.
Soon, Harry and Hermione walked down stairs laughing. Leslie saw them walk towards the fireplace, took out some strange powder from the flowerpot above the mahogany shelf above the fireplace. Harry then turned and looked at Leslie's direction. Leslie tensed up, and hoped that Harry didn't hear him, for Leslie just accidentally dropped his palm polite on the ground. Harry then laughed, shook his head as Hermione first threw the powder in the fire, the fire suddenly morphed into a strange portal like thing.
"Diagon Alley!" Hermione exclaimed as her and Harry walked into the flames that soon subsided.
Leslie was fascinated yet horrified by this "magic". He didn't think it was magic, for he was an avid believer of science and reason.
"I'll worry about that later," Leslie whispered to himself as he too walked up near the fireplace.
He trepidly took some powder into his hand. He was very afraid, but a strange will and command in his head, a voice in his head forced him to do whatever he was doing.
Leslie took some of the powder and threw it into the fire. The fire immediately expanded and flew out towards him. He was a bit startled and jumped back. Then, Leslie remember what Hermione did, he shouted, "Diagon Alley!" and jumped into the fire.
It was a very strange experience for Leslie indeed. He felt his whole body being stretched and pulled and then he saw a portal in this continuum of colors open up. Leslie assumed this was the exit as he jumped out and landed with a thud.
Leslie looked around, there was very charming looking Victorian style houses, people wearing what appears to be Halloween costumes and different strange stores. He looked back to where he landed from, this was another fire that he emerged from.
Leslie looked up from where he fell and saw a boy of about his age smiling and offering an arm to pull him up.
Leslie took it as the blond haired boy helped him. The boy offered his hand and said, "Draco Malafoly nice to meet you."
Leslie shook Draco's hand and thought, strange fellows these people are, and said, "Leslie Li, and thank you."
Draco laughed a little and said, "It appears this is the first time you've been at Diagon Alley, here maybe I can give you a little tour of this wonderful street."
Leslie brushed off the dust on his T-shirt as he walked into the sunny cobble stone street of Diagon Alley with Draco.
To Leslie, Draco was an amiable character, quite supercilious but to him, Draco's intentions were good. However, there was something about Draco's countenance that Leslie could not trust, but he didn't know what this feeling was.
Draco pointed out all the strange and wonderful shops in Diagon Alleys. It was quite a charming site with quaint black lampposts, beautifully carved wooden doors, ornate windows, strange yet wonderful objects that seemed to defy the laws of physics…
Draco led Leslie a queer dark house and said, "Here, this is where I live when I come here, want some lunch?"
Leslie was too grateful for Draco's kind gestures to refuse and followed Draco through a short dark hallway into a library where two men were sitting on huge ornate leather seats.
"The imperious worked I assume?" one man asked.
The other man trembled a bit and said, "Yes sir, it did."
What is imperious? Leslie wondered as the first man, who did not at all have a kind countenance (who in fact looked quite cruel) noticed the entrance of Draco and Leslie stood up and said, "Welcome Leslie Li to my summer home."
Draco's face suddenly appeared evil as he slammed the door shut behind.
"What is going on?" Leslie asked with an immense trepidation.
"We need your powers… if you are willing to cooperate, then we will let you live."
"What the fuck are you talking about?" Leslie asked, but in a weak voice, for he was truly frightened at what was happening.
Draco then looked at the first men and as if pleading, "Please father don't do this… surely the imperious curse will work on him?"
Draco's father then said, "No, the imperious curse will only have a slight affect on him… it was only useful to bring him here, but it cannot force him to use his powers… we must do this. Wormtail! Bring in the examples!"
The second man, Wormtail, who seemed to be servile to Draco's father immediately took off the ball in the globe, muttered something. Something, the bookshelf opened and Wormtail walked in and pulled out a long bed with some menacing equipment. Wormtail lifted the covers on the bed as Leslie gasped and held his hand over his eyes in shock.
There was mutilated men and women on those beds, brutalized cut, burnt beyond humane ways.
"So… Leslie, if you don't want to end up like these so called brave men and women I suggest you do what I tell you," Draco's father commanded.
Leslie, still had no idea what was going stuttered, "I don't have anything you want!"
Draco's father slapped Leslie hard on his cheek and screened, "Stupid Mudblood! You know exactly what I want!"
Leslie put his hand over his cheek where Draco's father hit him and looked down at those pathetic bodies who were tortured and felt sorry for them. He also imagined that maybe they would someday return for revenge…
Just then, the men and women on the long bed opened their eyes and immediately sat up. Draco, his father, and Wormtail and also Leslie was startled by this grotesque rising of the dead.
All five zombies walked of their beds grabbed the cruel torture devices and threatenly walked towards Draco, his father, and Wormtail. These three was too startled by this site as Wormtail pleaded cowardly, "Please don't hurt us."
A female zombie who's face looked vaguely familiar to Leslie opened the door to the exit and said to him in a even more familiar voice, "My son, go now! Run! Go!"
Leslie just ran and ran and ran. He ran out to the crowd of people. After twenty seconds of running, Leslie felt a peculiar drain of energy from his body as he blacked out…
Leslie couldn't open his eyes but he heard a voice of an old man, "Yes, he'll be okay."
"The memory charm worked I suppose," a female voice said.
"Indeed, we must go," the old man said as Leslie lost consciousness again.
Leslie woke up and found it was the late afternoon. And he asked to himself: Was that real or was that a dream?