Harry Potter and the Phoenix Flames

Trip to Hogwarts

The rain was pouring down from the skies as if a dam was broken. The Hogwarts Express was steaming heavily on the track, cutting through the wall of water. The sky outside was dark grey, and far away thunder could be heard.

By one of the windows in the middle coach sat a raven-haired boy with emerald green eyes hidden behind thick glasses in a wire frame. He was looking out onto the world with a grim expression. His hair was a mess, just as was his life.

With a heavy sigh he tore his gaze away from the rain and looked around the compartment. His jaw set as his gaze settled on his two best friends. Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley were snuggled up against each other and fast asleep. Although they didn't come out with it in public, only a blind man wouldn't see that they were together and head over heels in love. Strange. They were so different.

But equally strange was that it bothered Harry Potter, their best friend. He didn't show it, although it was hard. He wanted them to be happy for as long as they could, yet something inside was crying out.

Through the summer he understood that what he felt for Hermione was deeper than a friend's feelings. He tried to tell her, but Ron beat him to it. Harry remembered when they told him. They were standing in front of him with happy grins plastered on their faces. He managed a weak smile and quickly excused himself. He went out of the Burrow, and as if in a bad dream he walked very far away. He went into the woods. When he stopped, he was about three kilometres away. He let his fury out while his world crashed around him. That's also when his 'extra powers' first came out. He felt pain in his fists as his claws extended. Trees were flying around him with patches of grass. He didn't even try to stop it. As his fury rose, his arms started moving with their own life. He cut through everything on his path. When he finally stopped, he stood in the middle of what seemed to be battlefield. Trees were lying everywhere. When all the adrenalin left him, his knees couldn't hold his weight anymore. He broke down and started to cry.

When he finally came back to the Burrow, he looked as if he had been in a fight. His body was covered in scratches and wounds, and his clothes were torn in many places. It was late but the whole Burrow was up. Everyone rushed to him asking what happened. Harry told them it was just an accident. He quickly went to his room and locked himself up.

When he woke up the next morning, all the wounds were gone although his muscles hurt. A lot. When he saw Ron and Hermione, Harry felt as though he could do it all again. They walked up to him with worried expressions on their faces. He mustered up his best smile and said it was nothing. For the rest of the summer Harry was putting distance between himself and his friends. Each morning he would go out for a run and exercise. He also started to look into his new powers.

That summer was the summer that the mutant community came out. Everyone took sides. Ron hated mutants from the beginning. Hermione, on the other hand, was absolutely on their side. It was then that Harry understood what was happening to him. He was a mutant, and he couldn't help it. Distancing himself even more from Ron and Hermione, he started building up his strength. When he boarded the Hogwarts Express with Ron and Hermione, he was quite surprised to find a lot of girls staring at him. He felt quite uncomfortable with that.

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the door opening.

"Well, well, what do we have here?" Harry instantly knew who it was.

"Bugger off, Malfoy," he said with a bored expression. By now Ron and Hermione were waking up.

"And why is that, Potter? Afraid I might actually do something to you?" Draco Malfoy asked, a very smug look on his face.

Harry just looked at him for awhile. Then suddenly he burst out laughing. He couldn't help it. He just laughed harder and harder. When he finally controlled himself he wiped his tears away, still occasionally laughing. By now Malfoy was red.

"I'm sorry," Harry uttered still highly amused. "I don't know what came over me."

Ron and Hermione were looking strangely at him, and Malfoy was looking as if he was ready to kill him.

"What's so funny, Scarhead?" he snarled at Harry, who just waved his hand dismissingly at him.

As if he remembered why he was there in the first place, Malfoy turned to Ron and Hermione.

"Well, I see that Weasley got himself a girlfriend, but such poor taste. I could understand anyone else, but a Mudblood? I thought you knew better," he said in a mocking voice.

"Hey, don't call her that." Ron started defending her, but Harry was already on his feet. He had been in a grim mood the whole day, and this just made it worse.

"Don't ever call her that." His voice sounded almost like a growl.

"And why is that, Potter? Oh, I see. Now, I understand that Weasley here's got bad taste, but you? I thought that at least YOU'd know better. A Mudblood …" snorted Malfoy.

That was too much for Harry. He felt his powers coming up. He fought the urge to extend his claws and just cut Malfoy into pieces then and there. But his extra powers were just too strong for him.

Malfoy turned white and then green. He looked as if he was choking. Suddenly he literally flew out of the compartment. Crabbe and Goyle stood stunned for a moment before throwing themselves on Harry. Goyle was first to go. When Harry's fist made contact with his stomach, he went flying out of the compartment. Harry felt intense pain in his jaw. Then Crabbe attacked him again, this time hitting him hard in the stomach. Harry bent over only to be slammed into the compartment wall. Crabbe was getting ready to punch him again when Hermione cried out.

"Stop it! Stop it!" She tried to get in the way of Crabbe's blows. He just slapped her on the face hard. She fell to the floor almost unconscious from the blow.

Crabbe turned back to his victim just to stare into a pair of harsh green eyes.

"That was the biggest mistake of your life," Harry growled before hitting him hard on the face. He hit him again and again. Crabbe was sent flying out of the compartment. He landed next to Goyle and Malfoy who were still lying on the corridor floor. Harry went out of the compartment. The air around him was moving, and he himself had changed. His eyes were blazing dangerously. He was ready to attack again. Suddenly he felt a warm hand on his arm.

"That's enough." The small voice of Hermione Granger came to his ears. He looked at her over his shoulder. She was still shocked, and the slap was visible on her face. He wanted nothing more than to make Malfoy and his band pay for this. But if she said it was enough, then it was enough. He had learned not to ignore her. Harry looked back at Malfoy and let out a low growl.

"This is your lucky day."

He turned and walked back into the compartment, shutting the door closed behind him, ignoring the strange looks people were giving him. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that Hermione had already broken down and was crying into Ron's shoulder. The redhead tried helplessly to make her feel better. Harry shook his head lightly and collapsed into his seat feeling quite drained. He put his head into his hands and tried to calm down. Ron's shouts didn't help.

"What the bloody hell was that!?"

Harry looked at him, clearly showing him that he didn't want to talk about it. But Ron didn't get it.

"What the bloody hell did you just do!?"

"Exactly what you should have done!" Harry snapped at him.

Ron was about to say something more when Hermione cut in.

"That's enough, Ron."

"But ..."

"That's enough," she said firmly.

Ron didn't say anything. The rest of the trip was quiet. Finally after about an hour and a half, the familiar sight of Hogwarts appeared.

I'm home, thought Harry.

(edited 20-Nov-2006 - td4)