Chapter 12
The First Offense
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"We will not waver; we will not tire; we will not falter; and we will not fail. Peace and freedom will prevail."
-George W. Busch
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When news of September 11th came to Hogwarts, people were unsure as to how to react. Some people were fearful while others were angered. People worried and some were scared. However, the most common reaction was indifference.
Hermione had cried when she heard news of the attacks. Ron was predictably enraged. Harry himself wasn't sure how to react or even what he was feeling. He was sorrowful, but he couldn't cry. He was angered, yet he didn't yell. More than anything else, he was confused. Why would people do this? Why would people let this happen? And why did some students seem to not care?
He had talked it over with several of his peers he felt seemed apathetic. He could not help but be angered by some of the things they said. Some said that it didn't matter because it was another country and it was none of their business. Others, especially the Slytherins, felt that it didn't matter because they were Muggles, and who cared if Muggles killed each other? Harry felt a rage boil inside him unlike any he'd felt in a long time. But that rage was quickly replaced by concern as he began to worry about Darien.
Harry began to search for Darien after he noticed that his friend was not at supper. After the students were fed, Harry looked throughout the Gryffindor house without any sign of Darien. No one seemed to know where he was. Harry searched through all the dorm rooms and peeked in every corner of the common room. Darien was nowhere to be found. So Harry began to search outside his House.
"You don't think they'll be sending him home, do you?" asked Hermione asked Harry as he stepped through the hole in the wall that led to the rest of the castle.
"I don't know," said Harry, not turning to face her. He threw his Invisibility Cloak over his shoulders, leaving Hermione alone with her tears. "But I'm going to find out."
Harry realized that it was quite against the rules for him to be outside right now, but this wasn't the first time he'd broken the rules. He smiled to himself as he remembered Professor Fletcher's toast on the second day of school. Here's to rules, Harry thought to himself.
Harry looked through the library first. The librarian had retired for the evening and the archive was unsettlingly quite. As he walked past the long rows of bookshelves, towering over him like trees in a forest, Harry began to quicken his pace, wanting to find Darien as soon as possible. He skipped the Dark Arts section. Next he tried out in the Gardens, making sure to watch for grasping tendrils that reached for him, despite his lack of visibility. He realized recognized them as a cousin of Devil's Snare, which was attracted to body heat. He almost chuckled when he realized how truly vulnerable he was, even with the invisibility cloak. But he didn't laugh. There was still no sign of Darien.
Harry searched and searched, to no avail. He had only overlooked one place: The quidditch field.
Harry made his way through the grounds, towards the playing field. The air was growing cold and the invisibility cloak provided little warmth. His teeth chattered and he rubbed his hands together for warmth. The summer heat had left the land soon and winter seemed to be coming early. He soon came to the gates of the northern side of the field. The gates, which should have been closed by now, were unhinged. Harry crept forward, pushing the gates open further. He saw a huddled figure crouching out ahead of him in the center of the field.
Harry made his way across the sand the marked the northern goal posts. As his feet began to crunch on the well-trimmed grass, the figure turned its head at the noise.
"Harry," said Darien, acknowledging Harry's presence. "You shouldn't be here."
"Likewise," Harry replied, closing the gap between them. Darien looked away, avoiding Harry's gaze.
"Why did you come here?" Darien asked.
"We were all worried about you," Harry said. "You know, when you didn't come back to the Gryffindor tower."
"If you were really that worried, there would be an entire search party," he said. "Why did only you come?"
"I wanted to make sure you were okay," Harry replied.
"You wanted to know how I reacted to the attacks back home, right?" He asked.
Harry didn't say anything. He knew Darien already knew it was the truth. Darien turned his face back to Harry.
"I'll spare you the inquiry," He said. "I cried. I'm in pain. It hurts a lot to know that someone could hate you so much just for being what you are and can't change."
"Do you want any help," Harry asked, putting his hand on Darien's shoulder.
"No, I'll be alright," He said. "Just help me get back to the tower before anyone else notices I'm missing."
They started to head back across the school grounds. They were quite until the reached the main courtyard.
"So," Harry said. "Are you going to go back home? I mean, these are unusual circumstances for an exchange student."
Darien stopped where he was standing. This was a bad thing since Harry kept walking and the two of them became entangled in the invisibility cloak. After they had untangled themselves, Darien cleared his throat and answered.
"No," he said. "I'm staying here. There would be no point in me going back."
"What are you talking about?" asked Harry. "Don't you want to go and see your family? I'm sure you're all worried about each other and that you'd all like to be back together again." Darien didn't answer for several moments. When he did, Harry could here the pain in his voice as Darien choked back the tears.
"I have no family," he said. "I'm an orphan."
Harry could have kicked himself. He couldn't have possibly thought of a worse thing to say.
"I'm sorry," Harry said. "I know how you feel."
"More than you know," said Darien. "My father was killed by Voldemort as well."
Harry's mind did a back flip at this news. What a horrible coincidence. He wanted to talk to Darien about it to try and ease his pain, but he wasn't sure if he could restrain his own tears.
"Well, you must have friends back home," Harry said, trying to change the subject. "I'm sure you have bunches of them at your school."
"Not as many as you think," Darien answered. "Besides, my work here supercedes my friends back home."
"What work?" Harry asked, extremely puzzled now.
"You know," Darien said. "My job."
"What job?"
Now Darien was puzzled. He looked at perplexedly at Harry, but his confusion soon turned to astonishment.
"Dumbledore never told you why I'm here, did he?" he asked incredulously.
"No he didn't," Harry said. "He just said you were an exchange student."
"Oh my God," Darien said. "I can't believe it. I guess it made sense for him to keep it quite, but I never imagined..."
"What are you talking about?" Harry asked. "What are doing here?"
Darien looked at Harry intensely. Under his power gaze, Harry became uncomfortable.
"I am the ambassador from the Nation of the Magical United States of America to the Magical Nation of Great Britain," He said.
Harry stared blankly. "Could you say that again?"
"I am the ambassador from the Nation of the Magical United States of America to your country," he repeated.
"How can you be an ambassador?" asked Harry. "You're only a kid like me."
"It is custom that most ambassadors be of a young age," Darien answered. "Because children represent our future, we send children to symbolically represent our hope for a peaceful future together."
"And you never told us any of this?"
"I thought Dumbledore had already told you," answered Darien. "And like I said, it's out of the question for me to leave now. Right now is when my job will be needed the most. I need to further a strong alliance with Dumbledore. I think both of our countries are going to need each other before the end of all of this. It if ever ends that is."
Harry could think of nothing to say. What could he say? He had just discovered that one of his best friends was a key world political figure.
"I know what you're thinking," said Darien. "Please don't let this change anything. I've had so few friends in my life that I couldn't stand it to lose one over this."
"Alright," said Harry. "I don't want to lose your friendship either. Just make sure that you keep this quite, otherwise people might become distrustful of you."
"Why would they do that?"
"Well, when you keep something as prevalent a fact as this secret for so long without telling anyone, people are going to get a little suspicious."
"I didn't mean to keep it secret," said Darien. "I really thought that everyone already knew."
"I understand that, but that doesn't change how these people think. I promise you, I've had some bad experiences here with people not believing you when you say you're ignorant."
"I guess you're right," said Darien. "I'll just keep it quiet."
"Come on," said Harry. "It's freezing out here. Let's get back to the castle."
The two of them got under the invisibility cloak and hurried through the grounds to the Gryffindor house. The crept up to their room and got into their beds. Harry went to sleep with troubled thoughts. If Darien was an ambassador, why was he reporting to Dumbledore and not Fudge, the Prime Minister? Why was he here to begin with, if the trouble in America had only recently started? There were many more questions, but Harry didn't know the answers. However, he had the uncanny fear that they all had something to do with Voldemort's return.
The First Offense
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----------
"We will not waver; we will not tire; we will not falter; and we will not fail. Peace and freedom will prevail."
-George W. Busch
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -----------
When news of September 11th came to Hogwarts, people were unsure as to how to react. Some people were fearful while others were angered. People worried and some were scared. However, the most common reaction was indifference.
Hermione had cried when she heard news of the attacks. Ron was predictably enraged. Harry himself wasn't sure how to react or even what he was feeling. He was sorrowful, but he couldn't cry. He was angered, yet he didn't yell. More than anything else, he was confused. Why would people do this? Why would people let this happen? And why did some students seem to not care?
He had talked it over with several of his peers he felt seemed apathetic. He could not help but be angered by some of the things they said. Some said that it didn't matter because it was another country and it was none of their business. Others, especially the Slytherins, felt that it didn't matter because they were Muggles, and who cared if Muggles killed each other? Harry felt a rage boil inside him unlike any he'd felt in a long time. But that rage was quickly replaced by concern as he began to worry about Darien.
Harry began to search for Darien after he noticed that his friend was not at supper. After the students were fed, Harry looked throughout the Gryffindor house without any sign of Darien. No one seemed to know where he was. Harry searched through all the dorm rooms and peeked in every corner of the common room. Darien was nowhere to be found. So Harry began to search outside his House.
"You don't think they'll be sending him home, do you?" asked Hermione asked Harry as he stepped through the hole in the wall that led to the rest of the castle.
"I don't know," said Harry, not turning to face her. He threw his Invisibility Cloak over his shoulders, leaving Hermione alone with her tears. "But I'm going to find out."
Harry realized that it was quite against the rules for him to be outside right now, but this wasn't the first time he'd broken the rules. He smiled to himself as he remembered Professor Fletcher's toast on the second day of school. Here's to rules, Harry thought to himself.
Harry looked through the library first. The librarian had retired for the evening and the archive was unsettlingly quite. As he walked past the long rows of bookshelves, towering over him like trees in a forest, Harry began to quicken his pace, wanting to find Darien as soon as possible. He skipped the Dark Arts section. Next he tried out in the Gardens, making sure to watch for grasping tendrils that reached for him, despite his lack of visibility. He realized recognized them as a cousin of Devil's Snare, which was attracted to body heat. He almost chuckled when he realized how truly vulnerable he was, even with the invisibility cloak. But he didn't laugh. There was still no sign of Darien.
Harry searched and searched, to no avail. He had only overlooked one place: The quidditch field.
Harry made his way through the grounds, towards the playing field. The air was growing cold and the invisibility cloak provided little warmth. His teeth chattered and he rubbed his hands together for warmth. The summer heat had left the land soon and winter seemed to be coming early. He soon came to the gates of the northern side of the field. The gates, which should have been closed by now, were unhinged. Harry crept forward, pushing the gates open further. He saw a huddled figure crouching out ahead of him in the center of the field.
Harry made his way across the sand the marked the northern goal posts. As his feet began to crunch on the well-trimmed grass, the figure turned its head at the noise.
"Harry," said Darien, acknowledging Harry's presence. "You shouldn't be here."
"Likewise," Harry replied, closing the gap between them. Darien looked away, avoiding Harry's gaze.
"Why did you come here?" Darien asked.
"We were all worried about you," Harry said. "You know, when you didn't come back to the Gryffindor tower."
"If you were really that worried, there would be an entire search party," he said. "Why did only you come?"
"I wanted to make sure you were okay," Harry replied.
"You wanted to know how I reacted to the attacks back home, right?" He asked.
Harry didn't say anything. He knew Darien already knew it was the truth. Darien turned his face back to Harry.
"I'll spare you the inquiry," He said. "I cried. I'm in pain. It hurts a lot to know that someone could hate you so much just for being what you are and can't change."
"Do you want any help," Harry asked, putting his hand on Darien's shoulder.
"No, I'll be alright," He said. "Just help me get back to the tower before anyone else notices I'm missing."
They started to head back across the school grounds. They were quite until the reached the main courtyard.
"So," Harry said. "Are you going to go back home? I mean, these are unusual circumstances for an exchange student."
Darien stopped where he was standing. This was a bad thing since Harry kept walking and the two of them became entangled in the invisibility cloak. After they had untangled themselves, Darien cleared his throat and answered.
"No," he said. "I'm staying here. There would be no point in me going back."
"What are you talking about?" asked Harry. "Don't you want to go and see your family? I'm sure you're all worried about each other and that you'd all like to be back together again." Darien didn't answer for several moments. When he did, Harry could here the pain in his voice as Darien choked back the tears.
"I have no family," he said. "I'm an orphan."
Harry could have kicked himself. He couldn't have possibly thought of a worse thing to say.
"I'm sorry," Harry said. "I know how you feel."
"More than you know," said Darien. "My father was killed by Voldemort as well."
Harry's mind did a back flip at this news. What a horrible coincidence. He wanted to talk to Darien about it to try and ease his pain, but he wasn't sure if he could restrain his own tears.
"Well, you must have friends back home," Harry said, trying to change the subject. "I'm sure you have bunches of them at your school."
"Not as many as you think," Darien answered. "Besides, my work here supercedes my friends back home."
"What work?" Harry asked, extremely puzzled now.
"You know," Darien said. "My job."
"What job?"
Now Darien was puzzled. He looked at perplexedly at Harry, but his confusion soon turned to astonishment.
"Dumbledore never told you why I'm here, did he?" he asked incredulously.
"No he didn't," Harry said. "He just said you were an exchange student."
"Oh my God," Darien said. "I can't believe it. I guess it made sense for him to keep it quite, but I never imagined..."
"What are you talking about?" Harry asked. "What are doing here?"
Darien looked at Harry intensely. Under his power gaze, Harry became uncomfortable.
"I am the ambassador from the Nation of the Magical United States of America to the Magical Nation of Great Britain," He said.
Harry stared blankly. "Could you say that again?"
"I am the ambassador from the Nation of the Magical United States of America to your country," he repeated.
"How can you be an ambassador?" asked Harry. "You're only a kid like me."
"It is custom that most ambassadors be of a young age," Darien answered. "Because children represent our future, we send children to symbolically represent our hope for a peaceful future together."
"And you never told us any of this?"
"I thought Dumbledore had already told you," answered Darien. "And like I said, it's out of the question for me to leave now. Right now is when my job will be needed the most. I need to further a strong alliance with Dumbledore. I think both of our countries are going to need each other before the end of all of this. It if ever ends that is."
Harry could think of nothing to say. What could he say? He had just discovered that one of his best friends was a key world political figure.
"I know what you're thinking," said Darien. "Please don't let this change anything. I've had so few friends in my life that I couldn't stand it to lose one over this."
"Alright," said Harry. "I don't want to lose your friendship either. Just make sure that you keep this quite, otherwise people might become distrustful of you."
"Why would they do that?"
"Well, when you keep something as prevalent a fact as this secret for so long without telling anyone, people are going to get a little suspicious."
"I didn't mean to keep it secret," said Darien. "I really thought that everyone already knew."
"I understand that, but that doesn't change how these people think. I promise you, I've had some bad experiences here with people not believing you when you say you're ignorant."
"I guess you're right," said Darien. "I'll just keep it quiet."
"Come on," said Harry. "It's freezing out here. Let's get back to the castle."
The two of them got under the invisibility cloak and hurried through the grounds to the Gryffindor house. The crept up to their room and got into their beds. Harry went to sleep with troubled thoughts. If Darien was an ambassador, why was he reporting to Dumbledore and not Fudge, the Prime Minister? Why was he here to begin with, if the trouble in America had only recently started? There were many more questions, but Harry didn't know the answers. However, he had the uncanny fear that they all had something to do with Voldemort's return.