Okay, here it is. Chapter 2. I've used all (almost) your suggestions and kind of put them together, as well as use some of my own, here goes!
Disclaimer: unfortunately everything here does not belong to me (oh how I wish it did!) but to the goddess of the written word, Joanne Kathleen Rowling. I sacrifice this story unto her so that her omnipresent lawyers do not strike me down where I stand.
Chapter 2- The Real World
As much as Graham did not like to, he had to go back. He had been given a week off. Mainly to see his father, who is stricken with Alzheimer's. He insisted to his father that he go to Saint Mungos, but his father insisted that he be treated as a muggle, for that was what he was. Graham's father was a soldier in the British S.A.S, he had become quite attached to the muggle world. So Graham could understand what kind of a shock it was when he found out his wife to be was a witch. Graham couldn't help a smile, he knew the story well, he's parents often fondly remembered the moment he had asked her to marry him. They were at a drive in movie, she was in the Ministry and worked as a 'muggle to wizard consultant' (Graham to this day didn't know what it meant). He pulled a ring from his pocket and it fell in his onion rings. Unfortunately for him, she had seen it and she questioned him about it. He had no choice but to ask her to marry him, without the ring (which his hand was still digging in the box of onion rings for). She began to cry and explained that she was a witch. He then looked her straight in the eyes and said one of the greatest things he ever heard his dad say. "Sylvia, I fell in love with you because of your personality and your looks and your quick wit. If the fact that you're a witch doesn't change any of those things, I will still love you." After that she laughed and cried at the same time. He damned himself for not finding the ring in time, and in a sort of desperation he pulled out an onion ring and put it on her finger. "Please Sylvia," he said "You'd make me the happiest man alive if you said yes." She looked at the onion ring on her finger, laughed and said yes.
Graham realised that it had been quite a while since he had smiled. The week off had been worse then every other week. His father didn't recognise him, The muggle graveyard was packed so he couldn't get some time alone with his mother (She had loved muggles and everything to do with them, she had always wanted to be buried with muggles) and the visit with Lucy Wood was anything but cheerful. Graham was driving down a long, seemingly endless, road. Apparition made him dizzy, and he never did pass the test. He loved to drive, it may be slower than Apparition but it gave him time to think, and the cool air that passed through these endless green plains was exhilarating. He must have gotten the love of driving from his father. He had also loved to drive, whenever he became stressed, he would go for a drive. Unfortunately Malcolm's father (Malcolm being Graham's best friend through Hogwarts) would drink away his problems, for he was also a muggle. Malcolm had told him that he had hitched a tent in his backyard and every second night it was best just to lie in his sleeping bag, put on a pair of mufflers and cover his head with a pillow. This wasn't to say Malcolm's dad was a bad person. Many a time had he gone to his house. When he was there Malcolm's dad would take them to a muggle restaurant called 'McDonalds'. He'd practically spoil them, and he had become resolute to not drink when Graham was there, which unfortunately did not always work. At this thought, Graham remembered something Dumbledore once told him. "Graham, virtue is a very mysterious thing, you must not deal too harshly onto those who have done wrong, remember. Evil is not a sin, it is absence of good that is a sin."
Graham's father had once said. "Your world sounds awfully black and white. Most of the time, in our world, whatever you call it. Things are barely ever between good and evil. For example, there was this bloke; His name was Adolf, Adolf Hitler. He was kinda like this guy who can't be named fella you keep talking about. He tried to take over the world. It was the biggest conflict the world has ever known. Every single Continent, if not every country, was involved. This guy did things so terrible, so ugly. He is the reason you don't see many people named Adolf walking around. He also had this little moustache thing, It was really the 'in' thing at the time, and he's the reason that went out of style. And if anyone ever tells you that this little picture thing is cool." Graham's dad took a pen and paper and drew a swastika on it. "You tell 'em to cram it up their ass 'cos they don't know what their talkin' about. Anyway, What I wanted to say was this, He did terrible things, he murdered people for not supporting him, and he even murdered people who did support him. But although the Germans, oh yeah, he was trying to lead the Germans to take over the world by the way. The Germans don't like to admit it; they wouldn't be as popular or rich if he hadn't done what he'd done. I myself don't want to admit this but he did some great things for his country even if not for any other. You see to us mugga-whats-its, we hate this Adolf guy probably about as much as you hate your guy who no one wants to name. The only difference is, ours is long dead, permanently." Graham's smile faded, he didn't know if the wizard world was so black and white as his dad thought, but Voldemort is alive, and unlike this Adolf person, his mission could succeed.
In a matter of an hour and a half (or rather too quickly for Graham), he had arrived at a town known as Hogsmeade, It now looked very different from the place it was when Graham had first seen it. A stone wall surrounded the town, with Aurors constantly patrolling it. As he neared the gate an Auror sentry signalled him to stop. Graham knew what had to be done, he had done it several times, he gave his wand to the guard, who in turn put a small black cube on the end. They waited for a few moments, in which the guard looked conspicuously at the car. "Alright Graham Pritchard, your clear to pass." Graham drove his convertible into the town, it was strangely quiet, almost like a ghost town. The few people that he could see looked sad, looking down at the ground as they walked, as if they were carrying a great burden on their shoulders, which Graham reminded himself, they probably were. The houses themselves looked sad, not the quaint gingerbread cottages he remembered from his child hood, now they were bleak, run down houses that crowded this village. Graham tried not to think too much, he had enough experiences to teach him not to dwell on things.
At the centre of Hogsmeade was a building that Graham liked to call 'The Barracks', this he got from his father, who constantly told him about life in the Army. He couldn't remember what it was really called, nor did he care to. Graham liked to make parallel's between the Muggle world and the Wizard world, it made him feel in control of him self, keep a faint wisp of sanity in a world of turmoil. By now darkness was ascending, a dark blanket of night, attempting to smother the worlds pains through the divinity of sleep. It's rather ironic that so many people fear it, or maybe it is not the darkness they fear, but themselves, reflected in the mistiness of the unknown. Graham decided to give it a rest, he often let his head wander by itself, oblivious to the world, but this is neither the time nor the place, with a grimace Graham walked through the door entitled 'Aurors only'.
Authors Notes:
Well, here it is! The highly anticipated sequel to 'The Cemetery'. Before I go, I just want to say thankyou to Basilisk for MSTing 'The Cemetery' and to House Elf who pushed me to write a sequel, sorry it took so long but I had to process the few hundred ideas mailed to me. I got two questions to ask. Do you people think Graham turns out too much like a Mary Sue? I tried not to, but so far he looks like one. I also want to ask if people can send more suggestions? Seriously, I got one! I know that I'm the writer but I also need some help from the masses, tell me, do you want Graham to fall in love again? Or do you want him to die clutching the heart shaped locket around his neck? I want to know what you want to see! One more thing before I go, I would just like to state (I know Basilisk is going to kill me for this one) that I didn't enjoy the Lord of the Rings.
Seeya! Kaiden.
Disclaimer: unfortunately everything here does not belong to me (oh how I wish it did!) but to the goddess of the written word, Joanne Kathleen Rowling. I sacrifice this story unto her so that her omnipresent lawyers do not strike me down where I stand.
Chapter 2- The Real World
As much as Graham did not like to, he had to go back. He had been given a week off. Mainly to see his father, who is stricken with Alzheimer's. He insisted to his father that he go to Saint Mungos, but his father insisted that he be treated as a muggle, for that was what he was. Graham's father was a soldier in the British S.A.S, he had become quite attached to the muggle world. So Graham could understand what kind of a shock it was when he found out his wife to be was a witch. Graham couldn't help a smile, he knew the story well, he's parents often fondly remembered the moment he had asked her to marry him. They were at a drive in movie, she was in the Ministry and worked as a 'muggle to wizard consultant' (Graham to this day didn't know what it meant). He pulled a ring from his pocket and it fell in his onion rings. Unfortunately for him, she had seen it and she questioned him about it. He had no choice but to ask her to marry him, without the ring (which his hand was still digging in the box of onion rings for). She began to cry and explained that she was a witch. He then looked her straight in the eyes and said one of the greatest things he ever heard his dad say. "Sylvia, I fell in love with you because of your personality and your looks and your quick wit. If the fact that you're a witch doesn't change any of those things, I will still love you." After that she laughed and cried at the same time. He damned himself for not finding the ring in time, and in a sort of desperation he pulled out an onion ring and put it on her finger. "Please Sylvia," he said "You'd make me the happiest man alive if you said yes." She looked at the onion ring on her finger, laughed and said yes.
Graham realised that it had been quite a while since he had smiled. The week off had been worse then every other week. His father didn't recognise him, The muggle graveyard was packed so he couldn't get some time alone with his mother (She had loved muggles and everything to do with them, she had always wanted to be buried with muggles) and the visit with Lucy Wood was anything but cheerful. Graham was driving down a long, seemingly endless, road. Apparition made him dizzy, and he never did pass the test. He loved to drive, it may be slower than Apparition but it gave him time to think, and the cool air that passed through these endless green plains was exhilarating. He must have gotten the love of driving from his father. He had also loved to drive, whenever he became stressed, he would go for a drive. Unfortunately Malcolm's father (Malcolm being Graham's best friend through Hogwarts) would drink away his problems, for he was also a muggle. Malcolm had told him that he had hitched a tent in his backyard and every second night it was best just to lie in his sleeping bag, put on a pair of mufflers and cover his head with a pillow. This wasn't to say Malcolm's dad was a bad person. Many a time had he gone to his house. When he was there Malcolm's dad would take them to a muggle restaurant called 'McDonalds'. He'd practically spoil them, and he had become resolute to not drink when Graham was there, which unfortunately did not always work. At this thought, Graham remembered something Dumbledore once told him. "Graham, virtue is a very mysterious thing, you must not deal too harshly onto those who have done wrong, remember. Evil is not a sin, it is absence of good that is a sin."
Graham's father had once said. "Your world sounds awfully black and white. Most of the time, in our world, whatever you call it. Things are barely ever between good and evil. For example, there was this bloke; His name was Adolf, Adolf Hitler. He was kinda like this guy who can't be named fella you keep talking about. He tried to take over the world. It was the biggest conflict the world has ever known. Every single Continent, if not every country, was involved. This guy did things so terrible, so ugly. He is the reason you don't see many people named Adolf walking around. He also had this little moustache thing, It was really the 'in' thing at the time, and he's the reason that went out of style. And if anyone ever tells you that this little picture thing is cool." Graham's dad took a pen and paper and drew a swastika on it. "You tell 'em to cram it up their ass 'cos they don't know what their talkin' about. Anyway, What I wanted to say was this, He did terrible things, he murdered people for not supporting him, and he even murdered people who did support him. But although the Germans, oh yeah, he was trying to lead the Germans to take over the world by the way. The Germans don't like to admit it; they wouldn't be as popular or rich if he hadn't done what he'd done. I myself don't want to admit this but he did some great things for his country even if not for any other. You see to us mugga-whats-its, we hate this Adolf guy probably about as much as you hate your guy who no one wants to name. The only difference is, ours is long dead, permanently." Graham's smile faded, he didn't know if the wizard world was so black and white as his dad thought, but Voldemort is alive, and unlike this Adolf person, his mission could succeed.
In a matter of an hour and a half (or rather too quickly for Graham), he had arrived at a town known as Hogsmeade, It now looked very different from the place it was when Graham had first seen it. A stone wall surrounded the town, with Aurors constantly patrolling it. As he neared the gate an Auror sentry signalled him to stop. Graham knew what had to be done, he had done it several times, he gave his wand to the guard, who in turn put a small black cube on the end. They waited for a few moments, in which the guard looked conspicuously at the car. "Alright Graham Pritchard, your clear to pass." Graham drove his convertible into the town, it was strangely quiet, almost like a ghost town. The few people that he could see looked sad, looking down at the ground as they walked, as if they were carrying a great burden on their shoulders, which Graham reminded himself, they probably were. The houses themselves looked sad, not the quaint gingerbread cottages he remembered from his child hood, now they were bleak, run down houses that crowded this village. Graham tried not to think too much, he had enough experiences to teach him not to dwell on things.
At the centre of Hogsmeade was a building that Graham liked to call 'The Barracks', this he got from his father, who constantly told him about life in the Army. He couldn't remember what it was really called, nor did he care to. Graham liked to make parallel's between the Muggle world and the Wizard world, it made him feel in control of him self, keep a faint wisp of sanity in a world of turmoil. By now darkness was ascending, a dark blanket of night, attempting to smother the worlds pains through the divinity of sleep. It's rather ironic that so many people fear it, or maybe it is not the darkness they fear, but themselves, reflected in the mistiness of the unknown. Graham decided to give it a rest, he often let his head wander by itself, oblivious to the world, but this is neither the time nor the place, with a grimace Graham walked through the door entitled 'Aurors only'.
Authors Notes:
Well, here it is! The highly anticipated sequel to 'The Cemetery'. Before I go, I just want to say thankyou to Basilisk for MSTing 'The Cemetery' and to House Elf who pushed me to write a sequel, sorry it took so long but I had to process the few hundred ideas mailed to me. I got two questions to ask. Do you people think Graham turns out too much like a Mary Sue? I tried not to, but so far he looks like one. I also want to ask if people can send more suggestions? Seriously, I got one! I know that I'm the writer but I also need some help from the masses, tell me, do you want Graham to fall in love again? Or do you want him to die clutching the heart shaped locket around his neck? I want to know what you want to see! One more thing before I go, I would just like to state (I know Basilisk is going to kill me for this one) that I didn't enjoy the Lord of the Rings.
Seeya! Kaiden.