CHAPTER SEVEN
a Dark encounteR
"What's taking Harry so long?" Ginny grumbled as she paced back and forth in the hotel lobby. Honestly, she didn't like the looks of Makana Kane. If she was out there seducing Harry, she was going to kill her tomorrow. There was no way Ginny was about to complete with that piece of island trash. It was bad enough to have Cho back at Hogwarts, and Harry was not going to have a girl on every island.
"Ginny, settle down," Ron said, smearing aloe on his bare beet red arms. "Harry's a big boy. He knows how to handle himself."
"That's what I'm afraid of," she muttered.
"You know, this muggle salve feels pretty good on my sunburn. I ought to take this plant home to dad. He'd really go crazy."
"Shh!" Hermione hushed. "Ron, you've got to be more careful. People can hear you. You've got to be more inconspicuous. You know, blend in. When in Rome, do as the Romans do, and all that."
"What?" Ron cried. "Hermione, what the devil are you talking about?"
She sighed. "Nothing."
Ginny was glad that the two of them had bounced back from the afternoon's events, but they could be really annoying. She didn't think she could take another ten minutes of this.
"I'm going back out on the beach," Ginny announced.
"Now, Ginny," Sirius said, looking up from his muggle newspaper. "Harry's got five more minutes. If he's not back in fifteen, then we'll send out a search party."
Ginny sighed and plopped down on the sofa, when she suddenly realized that someone was beneath her. She quickly stood up, turned around, and screamed.
"Ginny! What is it?" Sirius cried, rushing to her side.
"It… it's… it's Dumbledore!"
Sure enough, Professor Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, was sitting on the sofa. His long hair was pulled back in a pony tail, and his beard was also tied together and hung from his chin. He was wearing an orange Hawaiian shirt with loud pink swimming trunks. His pale bony knees quivered as he stood up from the sofa.
"So much for blending in," Ron whispered to Hermione. She elbowed him in the ribs. He gasped in pain, nearly falling over.
"Headmaster," Sirius said, "what are you doing here?"
"I'm afraid I'm here to cut your vacation a little short," Dumbledore gravely replied. "We must get Harry out off this island and back to the burrow as soon as possible."
"But Professor Dumbledore…" Hermione started. He raised a hand to silence her.
"I know that all of you are having a wonderful time," he paused and met Ginny's eyes, "but it's an emergency. We must get Harry out of here, before it's too late."
Sirius's face was pale and his eyes lost the spark they'd had on the plane two days ago. "Albus, what's going on?"
"Voldemort has been sighted."
Harry stared deep into Kana's green eyes. She was speechless, and her bottom lip was slightly swollen from their kiss. Her face was red. All he knew is that he wanted to do it again, and again, and again. He didn't ever want to stop.
"That was…"
"Incredible." They both said it at the same time. Harry grinned like and idiot and pulled her closer to him. He leaned forward and watched Kana's eyes flutter shut again, and closing his own to let his lips find their way to hers.
"Harry!"
Harry's eyes flew open. Kana jumped. She pointed behind him. He quickly turned to look on the beach.
Professor Dumbledore was standing on the beach, dressed peculiarly as ever. "Harry!" he called again, waving his arms back and forth. Harry was embarrassed for a moment, then frantically realized that something was wrong. He quickly got off the surfboard and started pulling it and Kana into shore.
"Who's that?" she questioned.
"Uh… my grandfather," Harry replied. He hated lying to Kana, but there was nothing else he could say.
Kana jumped off the surfboard and helped Harry paddle into shore. "Is there something wrong?"
"I don't know." Another lie. Harry knew that if Professor Dumbledore had taken the time to attempt to wear proper muggle clothes and apparate on his vacation in Hawaii, there was definitely something wrong. "Listen, Kana. I have to go. I'm sorry."
"It's all right."
He stared at her. She was so damn beautiful. "It's not all right. I'm sorry." He kissed her on the cheek as he sprinted up to the beach. "I'll see you tomorrow, Kana!" he called.
Kana smiled and waved to him, hauling the surfboard up on shore.
"Professor?" Harry questioned, once he reached Dumbledore. "What's going on?"
"I'm afraid there won't be a tomorrow, Harry. At least not in Hawaii."
After finding a fireplace in the master suite of the hotel and some strict instructions from Dumbledore, Harry found himself back at the burrow – the Weasley's home – in England. To Harry, it felt as though it had only been ten minutes ago that he'd had Kana in his arms. Now he was sitting at the table in the Weasley's newly refurbished dining room. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, as well as Fred and George, joined them.
Sirius was pacing back and forth, something that Harry had learned he always did whenever he was worried about something. "How could I have been so stupid?"
"Don't blame yourself, Sirius," Mr. Weasley said. "No one could have predicted that Voldemort would choose to show his face again – especially in a muggle resort."
"I think I just forgot how careful we really need to be. I'd taken advantage of the peace in the wizarding world ever since the Triwizard Tournament."
"I think we all have," Mrs. Weasley agreed. "But it's no use upsetting yourselves now. You're back here, safe and sound."
"But what about Kana?" Harry asked. "Is she safe?"
"Who cares?" Ginny muttered. Harry's eyes shot daggers at her.
"I imagine so," Sirius said. "Dumbledore is there. He'll be able to handle things. After he's finished scouting the area and used a few the memory charms…"
"Memory charms?" Harry interrupted. "They wouldn't give Kana one, would they?"
"Of course they would," Sirius said sadly. "She's the one you've had the most contact with."
Harry felt his heart drop from his chest into the pit of his stomach. "But then… She won't remember anything."
"That's generally what happens when someone receives a memory charm," George supplied, earning a kick from his mother underneath the table. "Ow, mum!"
Harry could feel his throat choking up. No. It was his first kiss and the best moment of his life, and she wouldn't even remember it?!
"That's rotten luck," Ron said quietly.
"We could all see how fond of her you were, Harry," Hermione replied, giving Harry a good-natured pat on the shoulder. Harry pulled away. He didn't want Hermione's pity – or anybody else's for that matter.
"I hate him," he declared. "I hate Voldemort."
All Voldemort had done since Harry's birth was ruin his life. The monster killed his parents and sent him to live with the horrible Dursley's. He'd tried to kill Harry himself on numerous occasions, nearly killed Ginny once, and even got away with Cedric's murder. Now he was taking away the single most incredible moment of Harry's life.
Defeated, Harry stood up from the dining room table. "I'm going to bed." He disappeared up the stairs into the other wing of the Weasley home.
"Harry's right," Mrs. Weasley said. "It's about time all of you get into bed. We'll take a trip into Diagon Alley tomorrow to pick up some school supplies. It should be a nice diversion." She shoed Ron, Hermione, and Ginny out of the room.
"One day, all the horror Harry's been through will really take its toll," Sirius said sadly, shaking his head and finally taking a seat at the table. "But I think everything is under control now. Harry's security is in order. There have been a number of protective charms and hexes put around the perimeter of your property." He nodded at Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. "Tomorrow, there will be over a dozen wizards and witches on watch in Diagon Alley. As long as Harry steers clear of Knockturn, he should be well-protected until he reaches Hogwarts."
"Oh dear," Mrs. Weasley mumbled. "This is quite an ordeal."
"Don't worry, Mum," Fred said. "If George and I buy that joke shop in Hogsmeade, we'll be close enough to keep an eye out for Harry too."
"We'll talk about that later," Mr. Weasley said between clenched teeth.
"But that's not all – it gets worse." Sirius wiped his face with his hand. "Dumbledore has asked me to go on a scouting mission looking for You-Know-Who. I've got to meet up with him tonight and he'll give me instructions of who, where, and what to investigate."
Mrs. Weasley gasped. "But that means – you can't leave Harry tonight, Sirius. He's miserable. You know he'll want you to stay…"
"You know you're welcome to stay," Mr. Weasley interjected.
"I know," Sirius replied. "But I'm afraid I've imposed far too much as it is."
"But Sirius, that boy has been through hell. He needs you. He needs you now."
He sighed. "I understand that, Molly, but in my mind I just can't justify staying another night when I could be able to track Voldemort down." Sirius stood. "I'm sorry, but my mind is made up. I just want to do what's best for Harry. I'll still write him as often as I can. I'll see him whenever I'm around…"
"You don't need to give us excuses," Mr. Weasley said, wincing as a door slammed overhead.
By & © 2002 spazzoid3@yahoo.com