Chapter 12: A New Adventure

Harry returned to Number Four Privet Drive to live with Aunt Petunia, Uncle Vernon, and his cousin, Dudley. It was as if nothing had changed for Harry from the previous summer, except that his bedroom windows were no longer barred shut. Uncle Vernon mercifully decided that it was necessary to let Hedwig out at night this summer, otherwise, she would chirp and screech at night and keep them awake. Hedwig was now relieved of her claustrophobia. The days usually consisted of Harry doing chores for them, which was annoying at first but became tolerable since it meant he could stay out of his bedroom for longer periods of time. They never let him go outside, unfortunately, worrying that the neighbors would notice him, and he always had to go straight to his bedroom and pretend he didn't exist whenever he finished the chores. Meals were awkward too. They consistently gave Dudley more than twice the food that Harry got, and Harry was never allowed seconds. It was terribly boring and utterly miserable to stay cooped up in the house day after day, but for the Dursleys, torturing Harry was as normal as waking up and drinking coffee.

Harry also couldn't help but be a little jealous of his two best friends, Ron and Hermione. They were now dating each other and both of them were on extravagant vacations. Ron's dad had won a 700 galleon-draw prize from the ministry, and they had decided to go to Egypt with the extra money to visit Bill, the oldest of the Weasley children who was now working with goblins at a branch of Gringotts bank. Hermione's parents had planned a trip for the Grangers to go to France for a couple of weeks. Harry knew he wouldn't be able to write to either of them because of their trips, but he still received a couple of notes from each of them over the summer prior to their departures. He knew they would be having a grand time in their respective locations, while he'd be stuck at Privet Drive losing weight and performing labor that could easily be accomplished if he was allowed to do magic outside of school.

Harry had never felt so lonely at Privet Drive as he did this summer. His two best, most irreplaceable friends had started dating, and although they said that nothing would change, Harry couldn't help but feel lonely knowing that they were together while he was now the third wheel. They acted the same around him, as if nothing had changed, but it felt different, being the one who wasn't dating anyone. He was happy for them, but he was a little jealous too sometimes, thinking of how he wanted to date Ginny but how Ron wouldn't approve if he ever found out because of his overprotectiveness. He wished he could write to Ginny, but he knew that was still out of bounds for now, despite the fact that he had saved her life just a few months earlier. He was hoping to get Hermione to change Ron's mind about him and Ginny, but he would have to wait until school started first to figure anything out with her.

Harry couldn't wait to return to Hogwarts. His aunt and uncle had told him that his mortal nemesis, second only to Voldemort, Aunt Marge, would be coming over to stay for a week. Harry loathed the idea. She was quick to insult him, very demanding of him, and had a mean dog that she never trained properly (or maybe she did and she loved to see her dog bite people, particularly Harry.) He couldn't wait for summer to end, but now that he knew she was coming, he was dreading the time passing and was counting down the days until she arrived.

One night while staying up late working on a summer essay that he had due for McGonagall's Transfiguration class, a cracking noise occurred behind his desk, and to his astonishment, Dobby the house-elf had emerged once again in his bedroom.

"Dobby?!" exclaimed Harry. "What are you doing here?! It's good to see you of course…"

"Harry...Potter...must...grab...his...wand…"said Dobby through gritted teeth, a pained expression in his squinted face.

"What? Why?" said Harry.

Dobby grunted a high pitched grunt again. Harry hurriedly grabbed his wand, still confused.

"Okay Dobby I've got my wand. Now tell me what's….WOOOOOOOAAAAAHHHHH!"

Suddenly and without warning, Dobby had grabbed his hand and the two of them looked to be travelling at lightning speed, except that everything was pitch black. Harry felt as though he weighed 10,000 pounds and felt as though a giant's thumb was pressed against the top of his head. Next thing he knew he was at the entrance of a dark cave surrounded by dark forest and moon light and Dobby the house-elf looking frightened. The forest was unusually quiet...

Harry didn't know how to respond to what just happened, except that he immediately felt nauseous and had to throw up. He did, in the direction opposite that of Dobby's.

Dobby squeaked nervously, although Harry couldn't tell if it was because of the vomit or not.

"Euck!" said Harry, grossed out. His nose burned too, having gotten some stomach acid in it from bending his head over too much.

"Dobby!" cried Harry, holding his nose in pain which muffled his voice. "What are you doing?! Where are we?!"

"Dobby hopes that Harry Potter will forgive him, as Dobby is still under direct orders from his master."

"Dobby…" said Harry, beginning to become angry again. "Tell me what's going on!"

"Dobby's master told Dobby to kidnap Harry Potter and bring him to this particular spot, sir," said Dobby, tears beginning to form under his big, elfish eyes.

"WOT?!" said Harry. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I hate the Dursleys, but this isn't where I belong! I'm not safe here, Dobby! Who is your master?! Why is he doing this?!"

"Dobby was told not to tell Harry Potter who his master is, sir! Dobby regrets it greatly, sir! Dobby despises his master…"

Dobby proceeded to take a nearby rock and hit himself in the head with it. Harry rolled his eyes.

"What's going to happen now?" asked Harry. "Are you at least allowed to tell me that?"

"Dobby only knows that his master will arrive when the time is convenient for him. That is what his master told Dobby."

"So I'm just stuck here for an indeterminate amount of time?!" shouted Harry. "I'm gonna starve out here! I can't survive in the wilderness! The forest looks really creepy too...hang on...this isn't the Forbidden Forest outside Hogwarts is it?"

Dobby nodded. "Yes, Harry Potter, but it is the exact opposite side of the Forest from the side facing Hogwarts School. We are very far from the castle. This side of the Forest is guarded by this rarely seen cave, sir, Darkness Cave."

"Darkness Cave?"

"A most sinister Cave," said Dobby. "The Darkness that is within that cave is a darkness which can be felt. It is impossible to light the passage in the cave unless a very powerful wizard can break through the Darkness."

"What about you?" asked Harry. "Can house-elves break through it?"

"No sir," said Dobby. "Dobby wishes he could, so that Harry Potter might have shelter, but alas, I cannot."

"Is there anything dangerous that lives inside the Cave of Darkness?" asked Harry.

"I don't know, sir," said Dobby dejectedly.

Harry became discouraged. "So, are you just gonna let me die out here Dobby?"

Dobby cried. "No sir, no sir! My master wishes your death to occur, but I must do what I can to prevent it. Master told me not to help you, sir! Only to bring you to this spot! Dobby hates his master! Grrr!" he grunted, having extreme conflict within himself.

Harry became sad and angry. "Who is your master Dobby?! Surely he's not...not Voldemort, is he?"

Dobby shook his head. "Not He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, sir, but I cannot disclose, although I want to.."

Harry became sad and angry. "You're master is lucky my parents are dead, because if they weren't they would've followed us here, rescued me, and then proceeded to hex whoever made you do this," he said bitterly.

Dobby whimpered.

"What happens if you disobey your master, Dobby?" asked Harry, wishing he could have a house-elf's assistance to survive in the wilderness.

"Dobby must punish himself severely sir," said Dobby.

"What if you argue that you were only helping yourself, and coincidentally were helping me in the process?"

"Dobby can provide a little magic, but only for life-threatening situations," said Dobby, still leaking tears.

"Ugh!" groaned Harry.

The sun was setting, and Harry and Dobby were sitting by a fire of bluebell flames that Harry had conjured up using Hermione's old spell that he heard her use when saving them from Devil's Snare.

"I'm starving, Dobby," said Harry miserably. "First thing I'm gonna do in the morning is find something to eat, and you're going to help me cook it."

Dobby whimpered, still upset at forcing his favorite human being in the world to undergo such misery and danger, not knowing when his Master would arrive.

(Meanwhile…)

Hermione and her family were in Nice enjoying a beach vacation and the lovely French cuisine that she had heard so much about. She missed Ron terribly and wished everyday that he could be with her, but she heard that he and his family were visiting Bill in Egypt and was happy for them. She missed Harry too and knew he must be miserable, being stuck at Privet Drive with nothing to do except wait on the Dursleys hand and foot. She enjoyed herself with her parents, but couldn't stop thinking about her boyfriend and her best friend and what they might be up to.

One evening, in the middle of their vacation, Hermione and her parents were shocked to see a snowy white owl perched on the veranda outside their hotel room.

"Hedwig?!" exclaimed Hermione. The owl was not carrying any parchment however.

As soon as Hermione noticed Hedwig, the owl began screeching and flapping its wings madly in place, as if greatly disturbed.

"What's wrong, girl?" said Hermione, trying to calm it down. Hedwig was hooting now, still frantic, but not as loud.

"What's going on, darling?" asked her mother.

"It's my friend, Harry Potter's owl, but she's not carrying a message or anything like she usually does.

Hedwig proceeded to hoot and flap its wings and peck at the bar underneath itself, as if trying to send a coded message. Then, while the three Grangers were still unsure of what was going on, Hedwig flew away and started heading southeast.

"What was that all about?" asked her father.

"I don't know, but something tells me that it's not good, whatever it is," said Hermione wearily.

(Two days later)

Ron and his family were enjoying Egypt. That particular day, they had gone to an underground cave where Egyptian wizards lived in hiding from the Egyptian muggle government. They had a good time shopping in the wizarding bazaar and visiting with Bill at his new flat. Ginny was still missing Harry, but she tried not to show it as the rest of the family seemed to be having such a good time. Once the Weasley clan resurfaced above ground, Ron spotted a white owl flying towards them from a distance.

"What in the name of…?" began Charlie, noticing the owl.

"Bloody 'ell," whispered Ron slowly. "It's Hedwig!"

"Who?" said Fred and George in unison.

"Harry's owl!" said Ron. "What are you doing here ya lunatic? Got something for me?" he said expectantly, but Hedwig was not holding any parchment and looked as though she was on the verge of collapse.

"She's exhausted!" said Charlie, suddenly urgent. "She needs rest!"

"The real question is why is she here though?" said Mr. Weasley with a frown. Ginny had been excited at first to see Hedwig, but was soon worried that it wasn't carrying anything. "An empty owl usually means a distress call."

"Harry's in trouble," said Charlie.

"Whaddo we do?" said Ron urgently. "We can't just go to Surrey and check on him?" (Ahh think! What would Hermione do?)

"Oh, I'm afraid we can't do anything at the moment, darling," said Mrs. Weasley, an equally worried look on her face. "Surely, Dumbledore will take care of whatever issue Harry has at the moment though."

Ron was annoyed. Dumbledore didn't seem trustworthy at the moment. Harry was in trouble and he knew it.

"Charlie," whispered Ron. "Can...can you apparate me back to Surrey, to...to check on Harry?"

"Mum will kill me if she finds out I did that," said Charlie, glancing a look at his mother from afar.

"So? What's the worst she could do?" said Ron.

"Hex me? Ground you? I don't know, Ron," said Charlie wearily. "I just know it's not what she wants."

"Well...I'm not particularly interested in satisfying her needs and wants at the moment. Harry's in trouble. He's my best mate. Hedwig flew all the way from Surrey. It must be serious."

"Right…"said Charlie darkly.

"Look," said Ron. "Mum and Dad are supposed to get me a new wand tomorrow from an Egyptian wand maker. Once I get my wand, I'll find you and you can apparate me every couple hundred miles or so. I haven't done it before with Mum and Dad, but I'll have to suffer through it. If I get extremely sick and/or pass out, just take me to the Burrow. It's worth the risk. I'll need to use Errol."

"Are you sure about this?" said Charlie. "Just you? You're only thirteen."

"Yeah, and nobody else seems to want to do anything about helping Harry at the moment. I don't trust Dumbledore as much as everybody else does," said Ron angrily. "He's too busy to worry about Harry anyways."

"Okay," said Charlie. "Mum's gonna kill me…"

"You'll live," said Ron lightly. "Just disapparate to Romania before she hexes you."

(The next day)

"Okay, Charlie, I've got my wand. You ready?" said Ron quietly as he got Charlie away from the other Weasleys for a minute.

"Okay," said Charlie, sighing and shutting his eyes as if regretting what he was doing. "I'm going to take us to Cyprus first. Then Greece. Then Slovenia. Then France. Then the Burrow. I'm assuming you (and probably me too) will be very sick once we've apparated that far."

Ron gulped. "Right...Okay. Hey wait a minute Charlie. Hermione's in France with her parents. I need her to come with me."

"Are you crazy, little bro?" said Charlie incredulously. "Even if we could somehow find her, which we couldn't, and could convince her parents to get her to come with us, which we couldn't, what would you two do to even look for Harry?"

"Fly to Privet Drive of course on one of Fred or George's old Beater brooms!" said Ron matter-of-factly as if he had thought this out.

"This is INSANE," said Charlie. "You'd better know what you're doing. Now remember don't go down any sketchy alleyways and don't talk to strangers and…"

"I know what to do and how to act, Charlie," said Ron annoyed. "I'm not five. I'm thirteen. Plus, I'm a wizard. Hermione's even more brilliant than me. Together, we've been through a lot already. I can handle it, and so can she."

Charlie sighed resignedly. "You're right. You two (and Harry) have been through a lot."

"So are you gonna take me or not? Hermione should be in Nice right about now… She told me in her…"

"How are you gonna find her?" asked Charlie skeptically.

Ron thought. Then he sighed. "You're right. I was thinking there would be some wizard register I could check, but they don't check for tourists. Okay. I'll have to go alone. But I'm using Errol as soon as I get back. Hopefully he's not still with Neville or Luna."

Charlie raised his eyebrows.

"Nevermind. Just take me. I'm ready," said Ron.

"Okay...here we go...grab my hand and stay close to me. It's gonna feel like you're being squeezed on all sides, but don't let go."

"Okay," said Ron, feeling nervous. Ron grabbed Charlie's hand, and they disapparated on the spot.

"Charlie? Ron?" said Ginny, noticing their absence.

(several moments later)

"AHH! SSS!" said Ron through gritted teeth. They had arrived in Cyprus on a remote beach.

"Told you!" said Charlie. "How do you feel?"

"I feel like the world is still spinning really fast. Let me settle for a few minutes before we go again."

"Okay," said Charlie, rolling his eyes.

Ron and Charlie continued this process until they reached Nice, France. Neither of them could find Hermione or her parents of course, not that they tried very hard by that point. As badly as Ron wanted Hermione to accompany him, he knew he couldn't take her from Nice at this point even if he could find her.

Ron and Charlie finally made it to the Burrow. Ron vomited a couple of times for good measure. Then he drank some leftover pumpkin juice that they had to clear out the taste in his mouth.

"Reckon Mum will hex you, huh?" said Ron.

"Yeah, probably," said Charlie, smiling now. "Just glad you made it here in one piece. Good luck mate. If you somehow find and rescue Harry, tell 'em hi for me."

Ron nodded. "Thanks for everything."

"No problem, little bro," said Charlie, before he began his apparating journey back to Egypt.

After Ron recovered, he grabbed one of Fred's beater brooms and headed off to Surrey and Privet Drive. He decided to wait until it was night to go to avoid detection by Muggles.

Flying high above the city lights, Ron finally made it to Privet Drive, taking the same route he took with the Ford Anglia almost exactly a year before. He inconspicuously landed in the yard of the Dursleys after checking that the coast was clear.

He knocked.

No response.

He knocked again.

No response again.

He knocked louder this time.

Finally, after about half a minute. He heard scrambling and a grumpy, portly man with a moustache opened the door in his pajamas.

"Who the devil are you?" snapped Uncle Vernon.

"Where's Harry?! What have you done! Where is he?"

"I don't know, and I don't care," sneered Uncle Vernon. "You must be one of his freaky little friends?"

"What do you mean you don't know?!" said Ron indignantly. "His owl flew all the way to Egypt to find me! He's in trouble!"

Uncle Vernon smiled maliciously. "Good. Good riddance. He's been nothing but trouble since we took him in twelve years ago. Frankly, I'd be glad to see him go."

Ron looked mutinous. "You don't know where he is?"

"Nope," said Uncle Vernon with a devious smirk. "Don't know. Don't care."

Ron glared at them with extreme hatred. "I can't believe you! You're the worst sorts of Muggles I've ever had the displeasure of meeting!"

Uncle Vernon grunted irritably. "Good riddance to you too," he muttered to himself before shutting the door.

And flying off into the night on Fred's beater broom, an exhausted Ron headed back to the Burrow, knowing it would take him until the next morning to get back.

Harry missing. Hermione unavailable. Dumbledore busy. Ron himself confused. It looked bleak. He was 100% sure now though that something was very wrong. Ron eventually made it back to the Burrow, but he persisted and stayed awake, finding the wizard registry at his house to remember where the Longbottoms lived, then, heading in their direction on Fred's broom, eventually arrived at their house. It only took him about an hour to reach their residence.

Ron knocked on the door. An elderly lady answered the door, presumably Neville's grandmother, the only relative they ever saw Neville with.

"Is Neville here?" said Ron. "I need to speak to him."

"You must be Ron Weasley!" said Neville's Gram. "Neville's told me about you."

"I hope they're good things. Is he here?"

"I'm afraid not," she said. "He's at St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries."

Ron looked flabbergasted. "He's not in trouble too, is he?!"

"No no," said his Gram dismissively. "He's visiting his parents."

Ron looked as confused as ever.

"Oh, that boy," she said, rolling her eyes. "If he hasn't told you, his parents were tortured into insanity by one of You-Know-Who's followers."

"Oh my word," said Ron. "That's-that's one of the worst things I've ever heard of. That's horrible!"

"Yes it is," she said, looking off into the middle distance. Ron noticed her eyes becoming misty. "But anyways...I'll tell him you stopped by. What was it you needed?"

"I let him borrow my owl, and I need it back," said Ron sheepishly, feeling sad now.

"Oh, I think I saw him send it back your way not too long ago actually," she said.

"Oh!" said Ron surprised. "Didn't see him on the way over here, but I'll take your word for it. Thanks all the same. Tell Neville I said hello!"

Ron swooped off quickly on his brother's broom, heading back to the Burrow. He would have fallen asleep if the whipping air didn't constantly keep him alert. His wind blown hair looked silly by the time he arrived at the Burrow, but he didn't care. He collapsed from sheer exhaustion. A few hours later, he rose up, thinking he heard a noise at the door.

Ron groggily opened his eyes, not sure where he was for a split second before remembering what his mission was. Then he heard it again. A knock at the door.

Knock Knock.

"What in the name of Merlin…" said Ron, still tired, walking to the door and opening it.

It was Hermione Granger and his owl, Errol, perched on her arm.