Chapter 4: A Dark Night


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"Nothing good ever comes of violence." -Martin Luther

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Harry awoke the next morning feeling happy and refreshed. Yesterday had been wonderful; after passing their apparition tests,
he and Rachel had gone out for a nice lunch and had had a wonderful afternoon. He smiled as he thought about it. The day had
seemed almost magical. 

Harry glanced at his clock and decided to get up. After getting dressed, he headed downstairs to have some breakfast. Rachel
was already sitting at the table, prodding her omelette with a fork. 

"Good morning," she greeted Harry, smiling. Her dark blonde hair fell down her back in two thick braids. 

"'Morning," he answered, sitting down next to her. Aunt Isabel bustled over to the kitchen table.

"Hungry?" she asked, smiling graciously. 

"Yes, er, si," Harry answered, nodding enthusiastically. She hurried away to the stove.

"I don't really know what we're going to do today, maybe we could go out later tonight?" she asked, looking thoughtful. Harry
shrugged.

"Sounds fine to me," he said, looking hungrily at the plate that Aunt Isabel had just placed in front of him. He dug in.
"This is delicious!" he exclaimed. Rachel nodded, staring at her omelette.

"Yeah," she mumbled. Harry met her troubled eyes. 

"Is something wrong?" he asked quietly. She shook her head.

"No, I'm just not very hungry. I just... oh, well, it's hard to describe... I just have a bad feeling, that's all." Harry
looked at her curiously.

"A bad feeling? About what?" he asked. Rachel smiled sheepishly.

"I don't know really, it's a bit odd. I'm sure it's nothing. Did you have anything you wanted to do today?" she asked, 
changing the subject. Harry didn't push it any further.

*************

They spent the morning relaxing in the backyard, drinking sweet lemonade and chatting. After lunch, Rachel yawned tiredly.

"I think I'll take a little siesta. You should too, you know, if we're going to go out tonight!" she told Harry. He agreed
and headed upstairs. The thick summer heat made his eyelids feel heavy. Maybe a little nap, he told himself, laying
down on his bed. He fell asleep almost instantly.

**************

Harry found himself inside of a handsome house. Actually, it was more of a mansion - he began wandering through it, walking
through room after room, each complete with old-fashioned looking furniture and everything made of fine oak, polished to a 
shine. Harry continued walking; he had a destination, he knew exactly where he was going, but he didn't know what he would 
find when he got there.

He opened a dark wooden door, twisting the gold metal handle purposefully. As he entered the room, all noise inside ceased. 
About fifty people wearing black cloaks straightened their backs and looked straight ahead at Harry. He stood in the middle
of the room, a sinister grin slipping across his face. He spoke, but the cold voice was not his own.

"Tonight we strike," he said dramatically. "Tonight, it will happen. They think we know nothing, they think we are so naive
that we will not have noticed that the Potter boy is gone... They are wrong. It will happen... it will happen... it will
happen tonight..." 

The words repeated themselves over and over, and Harry awoke suddenly. He placed his hand over his sweaty brow; his scar was
throbbing painfully. He closed his eyes again, trying to remember his dream. It will happen tonight. The words popped
into his head. Harry struggled to remember more, but he couldn't. A house... lots of rooms... a dark wooden door... It was
all slipping away now. Tiredly, Harry laid his head back down on the pillow and fell asleep again.

*************

"Harry!" Someone was calling his name from the hallway. Groggily, he struggled to sit up in bed.

"Come in," he mumbled, fumbling for his glasses. As he put them on, he saw Rachel enter his room.

"Did you have a nice nap?" she asked sarcastically, laughing. "You've been asleep for hours!"

"Really?" Harry asked sheepishly. Rachel nodded.

"That's okay though, I have a feeling we'll be up late. I thought we could go to Selva tonight... it's a discoteque in Valle 
de Horizonte, the wizarding section of Madrid. It would be fun!"

"I've never really been to one before," Harry said lamely. "You know the Dursleys, they never really let me out of the house..."

"Even more reason to go! Do you want to? Please?" she asked pleadingly. Harry shrugged.

"Sure, why not," he replied. Rachel grinned.

"It'll be great! I promise," she assured him. "We'll go after dinner."

"Sounds cool," Harry said, smiling. Rachel left and Harry pulled out some of his summer homework. I've got a few hours
to kill, might as well get this done, he thought himself sighing. With N.E.W.T.s approaching, the incoming seventh years
had more homework over their summer holiday than ever before. Harry shuffled through his schoolwork, finally pulling out an
essay assignment from Transfiguration. "Explain, in detail, the wand motions and correct incantations to perform a 
Conjuring Spell." He picked up his quill and began to write.

***************

By the time they ate dinner, Harry was starving. He enjoyed the soup that was served, but the main course - chicken covered
in some kind of green sauce - wasn't quite as appealing. He claimed to be not hungry even as his stomach was rumbling.

Rachel, on the other hand, thoroughly enjoyed dinner. Harry felt a bit left out as the rest of the family chatted happily in
Spanish, only talking to him for a few minutes at a time. Instead of talking, he studied Rachel - she had come downstairs
for dinner dressed and ready for a night out. Her hair, which had been in braids earlier, was let loose and now fell over her
shoulders in long twisted strands. She wore a tight red tank top and a ruffled red skirt that fell just above her knee, along
with what Harry thought were ridiculously high shoes. However, he did have to admit that she looked gorgeous. Her giggle broke
his train of thought.

"Stop staring," she whispered, winking at him. He blushed furiously, looking down at his green chicken, which still did not
look very good. 

"I think I'll go get ready," Harry mumbled, excusing himself from the table. He walked up the stairs and stared at his trunk
full of clothes. What the hell am I supposed to wear? he wondered to himself. Pushing aside his school robes, he saw
the brilliant green cloak that he had bought yesterday at the market. He slipped it on and examined himself in the mirror.
This should work, he thought, grinning. Rachel knocked on his door.

"Are you ready, Harry?" she called from the other side. He opened the door.

"Yes, I think so," he replied. They walked down the stairs together. As they reached the bottom, Aunt Isabel cast a disapproving
glance at Rachel.

"Raquel, no me gusta esos zapatos... ¡Son rediculosos!" she said, staring at the high heeled shoes. Rachel simply rolled
her eyes.

"Adios, tía," she said, waving goodbye. Harry followed behind her as they walked outside to the front porch.

"How are we getting there?" he asked, a bit confused. Rachel smiled.

"We'll apparate, of course! Now that we can, why not use it?" she asked. Harry grinned. 

"Sounds great to me." They closed their eyes, and Harry grabbed Rachel's hand; he wasn't sure exactly where they were going,
so he thought it would be better for her to guide him. They appeared with a "pop!" in the middle of the brick street, which
was now filled with lighted signs and tons of people. Harry was amazed at the sight; it was nearly 11:00 pm.

"I can't believe there's really this many people out at this hour!" he exclaimed. Rachel simply laughed.

"Of course, silly! Most of these places have only been open for an hour or so. Here in Spain, we party late!" Harry laughed.
They strolled together down the street, passing a few pubs. They reached a brightly lit building with neon signs outside
depicting jungle animals and a blue sign overhead that read "La Selva". Loud music was blaring from inside.

"Let's go!" Rachel cried excitedly, dragging him inside. By the time they reached the dance floor, Rachel was practically
giddy with excitement. "Oooh, isn't this fun?" she asked.

"Mmmhmm... fun..." Harry mumbled, looking around. Everyone was dancing happily to the beat of the music. Rachel wanted to
dance as well; at first, Harry was a bit reluctant, but he soon realized that there were so many people inside that no one
could really see him dancing.

"I need a break, did you want to sit down?" Rachel asked after a while. Harry readily agreed. The couple made their way over
to some tables on the far side of the room. 

"Did you want something to drink?" he asked Rachel. 

"Sure!" she replied. "Oh, and just to let you know... we're a bit different than England with the whole alcoholic drinking
thing... there really aren't age restrictions for drinking. I've been drinking wine since I was about 12. Not that that matters
anymore, since we're of legal age now," she said laughing. Harry gulped.

"I've never drank before," he said nervously. Rachel waved her hand impatiently.

"Oh, it's not such a big deal, not like what they make it out to be. C'mon, let's go up to the bar, I'll come with you."

"Maybe I should just have Butterbeer-"

"Harry Potter! You're of age! There's nothing wrong with having something to drink." Rachel crossed her arms.

"Okay, okay," he said, giving up. They walked up to the bar and Rachel ordered.

"Dos sangrias, por favor," she said to the bartender as Harry passed him some money. The man gave them two glasses and 
Rachel handed one to Harry. "This is delicious," she told him, taking a sip. "Plus, it's chilled, so it's so nice in the
summer when it's hot outside." Harry tasted his. "How is it?" Rachel asked.

"Not bad," he admitted. She was right; the cold drink made the heat of the discoteque a lot more bearable. They returned to
their table and chatted while they finished their drinks. Harry began to notice that it took just a little more energy than
normal for his eyes to focus on things. When they returned to the dance floor, he found it much easier to dance. "This is
great!" he yelled over the music to Rachel.

"I told you you'd enjoy it!" she yelled back. The night continued with more dancing and drinking, until about 2 AM when Harry
no longer had the energy to return to the dance floor.

"Let's go get a snack or something, I'm hungry," Rachel complained. Harry readily agreed; his lack of dinner was really
bothering him by now. They strolled together down the street, trying to pick a restaurant to enter. Harry was surprised
they were still open, but Rachel just shrugged. "They always are," she answered, scrutinizing a dingy pub in front of them.
"This one looks a bit dodgy, huh? Maybe that one..." she trailed off, pointing to another building about a block away. As
they began to walk, they heard someone calling their names behind them.

"Rachel! Harry!" Together, they spun around to see a figure with long dark hair making its way toward them. 

"Ana?" Rachel asked incredulously. Rachel's cousin Adriana approached, panting from exhaustion. 

"I've been looking all over for you!" she cried. Rachel looked confused.

"But why?" she asked.

"Attack... down on Calle de Valiente... hurry... get out..." She stopped talking and took a deep breath.

"What's going on?" Harry asked, glancing around them as fear flashed in his eyes. Adriana seemed to have finally caught her
breath.

"No time to explain that, all three of us need to join hands. NOW!" she cried, glancing nervously behind her. Rachel and
Harry did as they were told. "On the count of three, apparate back to the house. One, two, three!" The world around them
disappeared and Harry landed unsteadily in Rachel's front yard. Adriana hustled them inside and shut the door, locking it
tight. "Dios mio," she breathed softly, holding a hand over her heart.

"What happened?" Rachel demanded.

"Quiet down, you don't want to wake anyone," Adriana hissed. She took a deep breath. "There was a Death Eater attack on the
discoteque just a block down from where you were. La Selva, do you know where that is?" Rachel and Harry looked at one another,
eyes wide. 

"We were there," Rachel whispered. "About ten minutes before you found us..." Adriana groaned.

"You got so lucky. So did I, for that matter, the Order would've skinned me alive for letting you out of my sight-"

"The Order?" Harry interrupted. "How do you know about the Order?" Adriana sighed.

"I'm an Auror for the Spanish ministry. They needed someone to watch you Harry, someone who wouldn't be too obvious...
Dumbledore contacted me, and I joined the Order."

"So you've been trailing me since I got here?" he asked angrily. Adriana simply nodded.

"That was a close one... too close, if you ask me. I'm sure Dumbledore will be taking you away tonight," Adriana said wearily.

"What?" Harry cried. "I don't want to leave. I'm of age now, I can make my own decisions, I'll stay if I want-"

"We'll see what Dumbledore says," Adriana said harshly, interrupting him. "The Dark Lord knows where you are. It is no 
longer safe for you here."

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