I do not own Harry Potter. This story is just for fun. Suing me will get you nothing but wasted time and an over-priced lawyer bill.
One Night Chapter 3 No One Around
It took Harry a long while to search the entire house. It was nearly dusk when he finally stumbled, disbelievingly, out the front door...which had been locked from the outside...and sat on the front porch. The entire house was empty. Not just empty...vacant. Unlived in. If Harry had to guess, he'd say that it had been years since anyone had even set foot in the place. How this could be, the boy didn't know...he didn't know anything anymore.
All he did know was that he was alone, in his nightclothes, in an empty house...he didn't even have a change of clothes! He did have his wand. Thank goodness for small miracles. He'd taken to sleeping with it because he didn't want to be caught unprepared if somehow Voldemort and his Death Eaters made their way past the wards and tried to kill him. He didn't want to die like that. He wanted to go down fighting...like his father. So he'd sewn a pocket for it into the inside front of his nightshirt...his aunt never noticed...because of course Harry did the laundry.
The boy patted his chest and felt the comforting lump that was his wand and smiled. Of course, thinking about the way he'd freaked out upstairs when he'd thought he was trapped in his room made him blush brightly. Especially since he'd had the wand the whole time and though magic was illegal for underage wizards to do away from school, Harry was fairly certain that he'd be forgiven for letting himself out of his room using it. Despite the circumstances, a large part of him was extremely glad that no one had been around to witness his breakdown.
Harry wondered just what exactly he was going to do now. He was sure that the situation warranted the judicious use of magic...but what exactly should he do. He needed to find someway to get in touch with Professor Dumbledore. But how? There was a fireplace inside...and he could conjure a fire for it easily enough, though he'd never be as good at that as Hermione. The only problem was that he didn't have any floo powder...and he didn't know how to conjure that. Even if he had any desire to use one, he didn't know how to make a portkey...and besides, that would only get him to Hogsmead. And he had no desire to show up in the middle of a Wizarding village in his nightclothes.
He supposed he could call the Knight Bus. Except he didn't have any money at all on him. Harry rather thought that Professor Dumbledore would be willing to loan him the sickles when he arrived...he only hoped that Stan the driver would accept that and let him on. It was the only real option though...he needed to tell the Headmaster what had happened.
That decided, Harry stood up and began walking hurriedly toward where he'd been standing the time he'd accidentally called the Knight Bus. He felt rather silly walking down the street, in this perfectly normal neighborhood, wearing nothing but his nightclothes...and the thought of what would happen to him if his aunt and uncle found out made him shiver...but no one was out to see him.
In fact....no one was out at all. Harry slowed his pace as the realization dawned on him. There was no one there. He stopped and examined the house he was standing in front of. He knew for a fact that an elderly couple lived there with their grown up son....but now the house was empty. He could tell it was empty because the grass was long and dead in places and the paint was peeling off the door. The driveway was strewn with dead leaves and dirt and there were no curtains on the windows. All this was so very different from the last time, only a couple of days ago, that he'd seen this house...that it was shocking. Sure...he'd only seen the house in passing...but such changes were obvious.
It led him to realize that the entire neighborhood was like that. There wasn't a person in any of the houses he'd passed...or, it looked like, in any of the houses he hadn't come upon yet. Harry was beginning to feel really afraid. Where was everyone??
Crazy thoughts began flitting though his head. His aunt and uncle weren't especially religious...they just attended church regularly enough to keep up appearances...and they certainly didn't want him to go to church and embarrass them. But he was pretty sure he knew the basics of Christianity...including the part about the way the world was supposed to end according to the Bible. He stood for a minute trying to remember what it was called...the part where everyone was carried up to heaven leaving behind all the evil-doers and sinners and such on earth to be tortured by demons and such. He couldn't remember, but a part of his mind wondered hysterically if this was it. If his aunt had been right when she told him that he was 'a vile, evil boy' and that this was his punishment. He'd certainly caused enough harm in his life to qualify for punishment...but this?
Or what if the entire neighborhood had been overtaken by Death Eaters? What if some kind of attack on him had backfired and resulted in the disappearance of everybody in his neighborhood? What if they were all dead...or trapped somewhere that was even worse? What if they were being tortured like the people in his nightmares even now...
Then Harry shook his head, annoyed with himself. He was letting himself panic and letting his imagination run away again. He just needed to get to Professor Dumbledore and he would explain everything. There had to be an explanation for this. There just had to be. Nothing happened for no reason...even in the magical world.
So Harry made himself continue to where he was sure he could call the Bus as he wasn't sure how far the wards Dumbledore had told him about extended, or even if the Bus was affected by them. Feeling it was best to be sure he made his way to the curb he remembered. He pulled his wand out of its hidden pocket and held it out, waiting for the familiar BANG. It took a while...and Harry was beginning to think that it wasn't coming. But then the familiar sound rang out and he took a step back as the Knight Bus pulled up along side him.
The doors opened and a woman Harry had never seen before in his life peered down at him from the driver's seat. "Just what the hell are you doing in Surrey boy?" she demanded sharply. Her eyes traveled up and down him, taking in his bedraggled appearance and she snapped, "Well? Gonna stand there all day? Get in! Get in!"
To Be Continued...
It took Harry a long while to search the entire house. It was nearly dusk when he finally stumbled, disbelievingly, out the front door...which had been locked from the outside...and sat on the front porch. The entire house was empty. Not just empty...vacant. Unlived in. If Harry had to guess, he'd say that it had been years since anyone had even set foot in the place. How this could be, the boy didn't know...he didn't know anything anymore.
All he did know was that he was alone, in his nightclothes, in an empty house...he didn't even have a change of clothes! He did have his wand. Thank goodness for small miracles. He'd taken to sleeping with it because he didn't want to be caught unprepared if somehow Voldemort and his Death Eaters made their way past the wards and tried to kill him. He didn't want to die like that. He wanted to go down fighting...like his father. So he'd sewn a pocket for it into the inside front of his nightshirt...his aunt never noticed...because of course Harry did the laundry.
The boy patted his chest and felt the comforting lump that was his wand and smiled. Of course, thinking about the way he'd freaked out upstairs when he'd thought he was trapped in his room made him blush brightly. Especially since he'd had the wand the whole time and though magic was illegal for underage wizards to do away from school, Harry was fairly certain that he'd be forgiven for letting himself out of his room using it. Despite the circumstances, a large part of him was extremely glad that no one had been around to witness his breakdown.
Harry wondered just what exactly he was going to do now. He was sure that the situation warranted the judicious use of magic...but what exactly should he do. He needed to find someway to get in touch with Professor Dumbledore. But how? There was a fireplace inside...and he could conjure a fire for it easily enough, though he'd never be as good at that as Hermione. The only problem was that he didn't have any floo powder...and he didn't know how to conjure that. Even if he had any desire to use one, he didn't know how to make a portkey...and besides, that would only get him to Hogsmead. And he had no desire to show up in the middle of a Wizarding village in his nightclothes.
He supposed he could call the Knight Bus. Except he didn't have any money at all on him. Harry rather thought that Professor Dumbledore would be willing to loan him the sickles when he arrived...he only hoped that Stan the driver would accept that and let him on. It was the only real option though...he needed to tell the Headmaster what had happened.
That decided, Harry stood up and began walking hurriedly toward where he'd been standing the time he'd accidentally called the Knight Bus. He felt rather silly walking down the street, in this perfectly normal neighborhood, wearing nothing but his nightclothes...and the thought of what would happen to him if his aunt and uncle found out made him shiver...but no one was out to see him.
In fact....no one was out at all. Harry slowed his pace as the realization dawned on him. There was no one there. He stopped and examined the house he was standing in front of. He knew for a fact that an elderly couple lived there with their grown up son....but now the house was empty. He could tell it was empty because the grass was long and dead in places and the paint was peeling off the door. The driveway was strewn with dead leaves and dirt and there were no curtains on the windows. All this was so very different from the last time, only a couple of days ago, that he'd seen this house...that it was shocking. Sure...he'd only seen the house in passing...but such changes were obvious.
It led him to realize that the entire neighborhood was like that. There wasn't a person in any of the houses he'd passed...or, it looked like, in any of the houses he hadn't come upon yet. Harry was beginning to feel really afraid. Where was everyone??
Crazy thoughts began flitting though his head. His aunt and uncle weren't especially religious...they just attended church regularly enough to keep up appearances...and they certainly didn't want him to go to church and embarrass them. But he was pretty sure he knew the basics of Christianity...including the part about the way the world was supposed to end according to the Bible. He stood for a minute trying to remember what it was called...the part where everyone was carried up to heaven leaving behind all the evil-doers and sinners and such on earth to be tortured by demons and such. He couldn't remember, but a part of his mind wondered hysterically if this was it. If his aunt had been right when she told him that he was 'a vile, evil boy' and that this was his punishment. He'd certainly caused enough harm in his life to qualify for punishment...but this?
Or what if the entire neighborhood had been overtaken by Death Eaters? What if some kind of attack on him had backfired and resulted in the disappearance of everybody in his neighborhood? What if they were all dead...or trapped somewhere that was even worse? What if they were being tortured like the people in his nightmares even now...
Then Harry shook his head, annoyed with himself. He was letting himself panic and letting his imagination run away again. He just needed to get to Professor Dumbledore and he would explain everything. There had to be an explanation for this. There just had to be. Nothing happened for no reason...even in the magical world.
So Harry made himself continue to where he was sure he could call the Bus as he wasn't sure how far the wards Dumbledore had told him about extended, or even if the Bus was affected by them. Feeling it was best to be sure he made his way to the curb he remembered. He pulled his wand out of its hidden pocket and held it out, waiting for the familiar BANG. It took a while...and Harry was beginning to think that it wasn't coming. But then the familiar sound rang out and he took a step back as the Knight Bus pulled up along side him.
The doors opened and a woman Harry had never seen before in his life peered down at him from the driver's seat. "Just what the hell are you doing in Surrey boy?" she demanded sharply. Her eyes traveled up and down him, taking in his bedraggled appearance and she snapped, "Well? Gonna stand there all day? Get in! Get in!"
To Be Continued...