Title: Harry Potter and the Darkness of Life
Chapter: (3) The Flight To China
Author: Laen
Summary: After Sirius' death, Harry's completely lost his will to live, so he decides to make an attempt to escape the Wizarding world. What happens when he becomes friends with a muggle, and travels to China? Will Hogwarts ever be the same after Harry comes back? Read to find out!
Disclaimer: Harry Potter isn't mine! Neither are Hermione Granger, Ron Weasley, and definitely the country China! But 'Christine Parkers' is my own character. Don't sue!
Rated: At this moment? Probably PG, but later on in the chapter, it might change to PG13 or maybe even 14A, depending on how grim the 'murders' and 'deaths' of the death eaters are... cough, cough.
= = = = = =
Fear flowed through her as she ran out of the arcade, smoke could be seen rising into the mall, and screams could be heard from children, teenagers, and even adults as everyone hurried along trying to escape.
"They're coming! They alien's are coming! They're going to kill us all!" a nearby woman shouted as she ran about wild.
'And I thought Matrix Revolution was weird...' Christine thought as she continued to run.
When she got out of the Mountain Mall, she quickly flagged a taxi down, and gave the driver the directions to the motel. Traffic was hell, as suspected, and after a few minutes, Christine heard the familiar sound of loud popping come from behind the cars.
She quickly handed the driver a few pounds, not taking the time to even check how much she had gave him, and quickly got out of the taxi.
Immediately, she saw that cloaked people holding wands were shooting beams of grey light at the children and adults in the nearby cars. Gasping in fear, she darted away in a nearby alley, and took another route back to the motel.
Left. Right. Jumped out of the way of a speeding car. Left. Another Left. Right again. She ran straight ahead now; the motel was clearly in sight.
'James better come back alive.' Christine thought to herself as she skid to a stop outside the motel.
Honking, screeching, and screams could be heard from a few blocks away, and Christine hurried into the building, not wanting to find out what would happen if she was hit with one of the grey beams of light.
Checking in, she ran up the two flights of stairs that led to her room, and ran in. Only to scream in shock.
"James? How'd you get here so quickly?" she finally managed to say as she closed the door behind her and locked it.
"I—I apparated." Harry said in a tone of disbelief.
"What?" Christine asked in confusion as she walked over to him.
He was standing there, frozen in shock.
"I... disappeared and reappeared in a different location... but... I'm not of age... I shouldn't even be able to." Harry whispered as he looked down at his wand, which was now in two pieces.
"What happened to your wand?"
"I broke it."
"What? Why?" Christine questioned once more in confusion.
"What is this, twenty questions?" Harry asked, replying with the same answer Christine had given him earlier that day.
A smirk appeared onto the eighteen year old girl's face as she shook her head in delight.
"Glad to know you've learned something from me. Other then how great pizza is." Christine muttered as Harry chuckled lightly.
"Say, why don't we go watch 'Men In Black'?" Harry asked as Christine nodded.
"It's about three-thirty right now. We've got another two hours or so until we have to go pick up your glasses. Should be enough time to finish the first part." Christine said as she walked over to her room and returned with a small box titled 'Men In Black'.
For the next few hours, Harry and Christine sat there watching television, eating popcorn—Christine took the liberty of making it—and drinking pop, a drink Harry now seemed to be addicted to.
= = = = = =
"So he just... disappeared?" Remus asked as the five kids all nodded.
"Should've known Potter would be one to know how to illegally disapparate." Severus Snape sneered as the group of witches and wizards alike all glared at him at the same time, causing his sneer to disappear into a look of regret.
"Why didn't you tell us about this map earlier?" Mr. Weasley asked as the twins both sighed deeply.
"We spent so long on it—nearly three bloody years..." George began.
"...the last thing we need is for it to become something the order uses for their own likings..."
"...and we don't want Voldemort to find out about it either..."
"...cause that way everything would be hell! Plus..."
"...We made it our self!" the twins finished at the same time.
"You didn't tell us about the map earlier because you were afraid we would confiscate it?" Charlie asked in disbelief.
"Yes, Harry told us the impostor Moody took his in his fourth year because he didn't want Harry and Dumbledore to find out what he was doing." Fred began to explain as some of the order members frowned.
"And if we let the Order use it, Voldemort will eventually find out about it from some unknown spy..." the two pairs of eyes both darted to Snape now, who looked like he could kill.
"And eventually, he would come to get it himself, and attack us even, just to find out the password."
"There's a password?" Dumbledore questioned.
"Yes. But we're not telling you what it is. As a matter of fact, we're changing it right now, since Ron, Hermione, and Ginny all know what it is already. Not to mention all the codes we use." George said as he and Fred both turned to leave the room.
"Take one more step towards your rooms and I'll hex you into oblivation, underage magic or not." Ginny threatened as she pulled her wand out and pointed it at her brothers.
The twins both gulped, then turned to face them again.
"What now?"
"Mr. Weasley, and Mr. Weasley," Dumbledore began, addressing the twins formally; "do you think there is a possibility you can lend this map to the order?"
"No way."
"Uh uh."
"George! Fred!"
"Mum!" the twins both said angrily as they glared at her.
"We're moving out of here..."
"...so you can't control us any longer..."
"...we can live above the joke shop..."
"...Lee Jordan's been living there anyways..."
"...So good bye!"
The twins both disappeared with a pop and Mrs. Weasley shouted in frustration.
"When have they rebelled like this in the past?" Ron asked Ginny in barely a whisper as they youngest red head shrugged unknowingly.
"Gryffindors... idiots... all of them." Snape muttered under his breath, but everyone in the room heard the comment nevertheless.
"Stupefy!" Bill and Charlie Weasley both shouted at the same time as the Potions Master fell to the ground in a slump.
"Bill! Charlie! Don't tell me you two are going crazy too!" Mrs. Weasley shrieked as the two older Weasleys grin sheepishly.
"Well, we've got to get back to work... lots to do you know." Bill smiled as he disappeared with a pop.
"Yeah... got to get back to Romania... the dragons have probably gone out of control. Bye mum, bye dad. And oh Ron, tell Snape here the next time he insults the Gryffindors like that, he'll have a lot more then a stunning spell coming at him." The moment Charlie finished that comment; he disappeared, before Mrs. Weasley had a chance to lecture him.
Sighing, Molly Weasley turned to face the other three Gryffindors children, but the sight she saw wasn't what she expected.
Ron was standing there, holding a lamp he had just suddenly wrenched off the nearby table, looking as if he was reading to chuck it at Snape.
Ginny and Hermione each held a large book and they also looked like they were ready to injure the professor.
The only expression on Albus Dumbledore, Remus Lupin, and Mr. Weasleys' faces were amusement.
"Are you three mad?"
"Nope."
"No way."
"Last time I checked I wasn't."
Mrs. Weasley finally surrounded as she fell back onto a seat groaning about 'rebellious kids' and 'driving me crazy'.
The three teens could only grin as they placed the material they held in their hands back onto the table, and headed towards the fireplace.
"Where're you going?" Mr. Weasley asked as Ron took some floo powder out of a bag and threw it into the fireplace.
"Diagon Alley." Ron shouted after he entered the fire, and disappeared a moment later.
"I'll come with you. I need to pick up a few things." Remus said as he walked over to the kids.
"Don't worry Molly; I'll keep an eye on them." The werewolf said before the woman could even open her mouth.
"Diagon Alley!" Ginny shouted, and Hermione soon followed.
Remus Lupin entered the fire and shouted 'Diagon Alley', just as the others had done, and soon found himself in the fireplace of the Leaky Cauldron.
"Come on—let's find Fred and George... maybe we can still see Harry." He said as he led the three teenagers into the Wizarding world.
= = = = = =
"Wow that was wicked." Harry said as the movie ended.
"Yup, now you know why it's my favourite movie." Christine grinned.
"I wonder if Aliens really do exist." Harry mumbled as he got up from his seat on the couch and looked up at the clock that hung on the wall.
"Bloody hell—it's almost six. We'd better hurry down to the eye care center to pick up my glasses." Harry said as he grabbed his backpack, and left the motel room with Christine at his side.
After around fifteen minutes, the two of them arrived at the mall, outside the eye care center. Harry noticed that the arcade looked perfectly normal now, and there was once again, teenagers and adults inside it.
Harry's new glasses were silver, and square. They made him look a lot more mature, not to mention smarter. He no longer looked like the old Harry, but a new one. The goody-two-shoes look was meant for Ravenclaws.
Harry had mentioned this to Christine, and she merely laughed, saying that she would help him change his look so he had more choices when it came to disguise. That night, Harry actually fell into a dreamless, peaceful, and quite sleep.
The next day, Christine had dragged Harry back to the mall, and decided that Harry was going to take on a gangster look. Harry, who was quite confused, and didn't exactly know what the word 'gangster' meant, agreed without a complaint.
While Christine was at a shop looking at chains, rings, and necklaces, Harry was back in the barber shop again, re-dying his hair, making it so it was slightly streaked red. He also decided to cut it a bit shorter, so he could spike it.
Christine had suggested it, saying that it would make him look cooler. By the time it was dinner time that night, Harry no longer looked like himself, if anything, he looked like a Slytherin.
= = = = = =
The Weasley twins had managed to get the map to work for a few seconds the night before, but all they saw of Harry was him placing on a new pair of glasses. Ginny, who just happened to have a camera with her, took the liberty of taking a quick picture of him, in his complete new look.
"The Order will have an easier time finding him now that they have a picture." Remus that commented before leaving the joke shop.
Due to the fact that Harry had destroyed his wand, the map had a harder time trying to locate him and let the Weasley twins know where the founder of their joke shop was.
= = = = = =
"Come on James, hurry up and get your stuff all together! The flight leaves in five hours!" Christine shouted as Harry woke up groaning and complaining.
"What time is it?" he asked as he yawned.
"Ten in the morning hurry up and wake up already!"
Harry got up from the bed, and grabbed some clothes from his backpack, before walking over to the washroom and taking a quick shower to wake himself up.
Ten minutes later, he was out in his brand new clothes that he had brought only two days ago with Christine when they were out shopping.
"Here's your stuff." Christine said as she handed him a bag of jewellery. It was quite heavy.
Harry placed it into his backpack, and explained to Christine he didn't plan on changing until he was on the plane.
"Don't want to attract too much attention you know." He explained as he placed his silver glasses on.
He didn't bother to gel his hair either, and spike it up, since he was also planning to do that on the plane. The clothes he decided to wear were red and gold, Gryffindor colors.
Next, he planned to rid himself of the lightning scar he had on his forehead.
"I really don't know why you won't let me put a simple bandage onto it." Harry complained as Christine applied the cover-up.
"Stop moving!" Christine commanded, and Harry froze for the next few minutes.
When she was done, Harry realized that over an hour had passed already, and it was nearly eleven-thirty.
"Lunch time." He muttered as Christine shook her head.
"Brunch. Didn't have breakfast. Come on, we're checking out—so grab all your stuff."
After checking the room Harry stayed in three times to make sure he hadn't left anything behind, the boy who lived checked out of the motel with his 'cousin'.
= = = = = =
"Hang on—wait a minute—Dimemorex!" Remus shouted as he pointed his wand at the map.
Suddenly, the map of London appeared onto it, and dots were popping up everywhere.
"Gryffindors, going into sixth year, boys only." Fred said as he pointed his wand at the map.
Immediately, the dots all disappeared, only leaving five behind.
"There he is! Harry James Potter!" George said as he tapped his wand twice on the dot.
"Show us."
The screen blurred slightly, and an image of Harry and Christine sitting in a café drinking coffee and eating something appeared.
"Let us hear." This time, it was Ron who said it.
"Eager are we?" Fred asked as Ron nodded.
The six witches and wizards all inched closer, as they watched the conversation in front of them unravel.
"I really hope they don't find me..." Harry said as he took a sip of his drink.
"You said the wand was the reason they were able to find you before?" Christine asked as Harry nodded.
"That's why I snapped it. Personally, I don't want to go back to the Wizarding world. If I could, I'd continue travelling the world—like you are."
"He can't do that! He's got to finish school!" Hermione stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"No way, I won't allow it; you've got to finish school. It might seem like hell now, and the teachers may all seem like slimy idiots—"
"Isn't she right about that one...? Snape." Ron coughed at the last word, but everyone caught it and grinned.
"But it'll all be worth it in the end. I'm only going to travel this year, afterwards, I'm going back to school for University. I'll need to get a degree you know, to get a job. I'm hoping to become a teacher. For socials, that's why I'm travelling so much. I need to learn about the world." Christine explained as Harry took another sip of his drink.
"But you don't have the world on your shoulder. You're not in a prophecy that tells you 'kill or be killed'!" Harry said as in a grim expression.
"So this is what he was talking about back at the arcade." Ginny whispered in a quite voice.
"I don't really believe in prophecies. From what you've told me, this divinations teacher of yours is a bit mad. Saying you're going to die each week, what a wonder teacher. They should replace her with someone else."
"Nah, the teacher they need to replace is Snape. Binns is okay for History class, but that's only because you can catch up on sleep." Harry explained as Christine grinned.
"Isn't that true." George muttered as Hermione frowned.
"I can't believe he's saying this."
"Say, what time is it?" Harry asked suddenly as Christine checked her watch.
"Nearly twelve thirty, you should put your watch on. Then you don't have to keep asking me."
"Nah, I'll put it on when we're on the plane. Speaking of which, isn't the departure in about two hours?" Harry asked as Christine nodded.
"Yeah, why?"
"We should probably get there early; it'll take us a while to go through security and stuff." Harry stated as Christine nodded.
"We'll leave now. Too bad though, I've enjoyed London." Christine sighed as she reached for her purse to grab some money out.
"Here, I'll pay." Harry said as he took a five pound note out from his pocket and placed it on the table.
"Big tip." Christine muttered as she left the café carrying her suitcase.
"You bet." Harry grinned.
"They're leaving IN TWO HOURS!?!" Hermione screamed in disbelief as everyone covered their ears.
"Hermione, don't shout!" George stated as the map blurred again, and then stayed that way.
"What the bloody hell—oh shit!" Fred swore angrily as he tapped his wand at the map a few times, and said a few charms in hopes of clearing it up, but it didn't work.
"This is great." Ron complained as he plotted himself into a nearby seat.
"We've got to alert the Order about this." Remus said as he walked over to the fireplace.
"Fred, do you have a phone? I need to call my parents—let them know I'm going to China." Hermione said as the Weasley twins all looked at her in shock.
"What?"
"China?"
"You don't mean—"
"Following him?"
"That's brilliant!" the four Weasley said at the same time as Hermione smirked.
"I wonder if the plane will be all filled up... Well, do you have a phone or not?" Hermione asked again.
"Downstairs, some muggleborns send orders in all the time, kind of need it you see." George explained as he led Hermione down the stairs.
"Dumbledore's been notified about Harry's departure. Oh yes, Fred, your mother wants me to tell you and George to pack your bags. You're going to China. Ron and Ginny, your bags are begin packed as we speak. The members of the order are going to apparate over there, but Molly wants you lot to take the plane down there with her. Apparently your father insisted upon using muggle transportation." When Remus finished, the Weasleys all had grins on their faces.
"We'll have to close the shop for a few days, but that doesn't matter." Fred said happily as George and Hermione returned upstairs.
"Close the shop? Why?" George asked.
"We're going to China!" the three Weasley kids said happily as a grin appeared onto George's face too.
"So am I, my mum and dad say they'd love to come with me, but they've got work. So I need to stop by my house to pick up my passport, and a letter saying it's okay for me to leave the country in case they bother to ask down at the airport." Hermione explained as everyone nodded.
CRACK!
"Hey mum!" Ginny said happily as Mrs. Weasley apparated into the room.
"George, Fred, pack your bags, and hurry. Dumbledore's already got the plane tickets. Here's yours Hermione, I'm afraid we weren't able to get you a seat by Ginny and Ron. Fred and George, here are yours. And Ginny, Ron, might as well give you yours too, might get separated for all we know." Mrs. Weasley said as she handed everyone their tickets.
"What are you waiting for? Hurry up already! Get packing!" Mrs. Weasley said as the five kids all hurried off to help Fred and George pack.
"Oh yes, Remus, here's your ticket." Molly Weasley said cheerfully as she handed the former defence against the dark arts teacher his plane ticket.
"Why thank you Molly, I was planning on apparating there, but the paper work at the ministry would have been too much for me. Thank you!" Remus said happily as Mrs. Weasley smiled.
"It's Dumbledore—he got it, thank him, not me."
= = = = = =
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
"It's jewellery! I told you already, look at it okay? It's all in there!" Harry said as the guard pulled him over to the side.
"Why is it all in one bag?" he asked as Harry groaned.
"Because, if it's all separate, I'll have to take it out of my bag, and show it to you, and then all this other stuff. It's just easier if I do it." Harry explained.
"Why don't you just wear it then?"
"Because it'll be too much trouble to have to take it off! I'm putting it on when I'm on the plane!"
"I see. Now, are you with a guardian while you're on this trip to China?" the guard asked as Christine approached them.
"Yes, I'm his cousin, Christine Parkers. I'm eighteen years old this year." Christine explained as she handed her passport over to the guard who looked at it.
"You're from America. This kid here lives in England." The guard pointed out.
"It's called long distance cousins! I haven't seen Christine in years! That's why my aunt and uncle decided I should go on this trip!" Harry said as the guard frowned.
"Aunt and Uncle?"
"Yes, my—my parent's died when I was a year old in a car accident." Harry's voice suddenly became raspy, and he looked like he was about to cry.
"Oh... well, um... here's your passport. You can go on." The guard said awkwardly as he handed Christine both her and Harry's passports.
The two teenagers both walked away slowly, the expression on Harry's face stayed there until they were no longer in view of the guard.
"That was brilliant!" Christine commented as Harry grinned.
"Second class seats, B wing, that's to your left when you get onto the plane." A lady said as she checked their plane tickets.
Once Harry arrived onto the plane, he went to the washroom and changed into some different clothing.
Black, black, and more black. He quickly spiked his hair up, and placed all of his jewellery on. He even swapped his shoes. Placing on color eye contacts, and stuffing all of his other belongings it his backpack, Harry walked out of the bathroom, and sat down at the seat beside Christine.
At that time, many people were beginning to arrive, and Harry suddenly noticed a flash of red hair enter the plane.
"Um... Christine, think you can change into something less... you? Some people just got on the plane, and they might recognize you." Harry whispered as Christine nodded, grabbed her backpack full of clothes and god knows what, and headed towards the nearest washroom, just before the Weasleys looked over in their direction.
'Just my luck!' Harry thought as Hermione sat down at the seat right next to him.
Now he was stuck in between Christine and Hermione—two of the smartest girls he knew.
'It's going to be a long flight.' Harry thought as he watched Christine return.
She was now wearing yellow sweat pants, and a yellow trainer that had the words 'ROOTS' written upon it, a brand of her hair had been dyed blue, her hair was now in a ponytail, she wore a pair of glasses, and Harry saw that she had also placed some make up on.
"Hey Lisa." He said suddenly as Christine sat down at her seat to the right of him.
"Hey." Christine smiled innocently, and her eyes darted over to Hermione, and Harry swore he saw a look of fear flash through.
"Hello, I'm Hermione Granger." Hermione said as she held her hand out to Christine, who shook it promptly.
"I'm Lisa, and this is my..."
"Brother, Aaron Harrison." Harry replied with a warm smile that caused Hermione to blush.
'I can't believe I'm doing this' Harry thought as he shook Hermione's hand.
"So, is this your first time going to China?" Hermione asked as both 'Lisa' and 'Aaron' nodded.
"Same, but I'm actually going because we'll looking for a friend—"
"Shh... Hermione! Don't tell the muggles too much!" Ron's voice hissed from the seat in front of Harry's.
"What?" Harry said as he got up and looked over the seat. He nearly fainted at the sight.
'Remus? Ginny? Ron?'
"Excuse him, he's been watching too many movies." Hermione said sweetly as Harry nodded slowly.
"You two siblings?" he asked as he altered his voice slightly, so it didn't sound so... him.
"Yeah, my two other brothers are also here though." Ron explained as Harry noticed the Weasley twins, who were sitting right across from them.
"Hello there, I'm Fred!" one of them said.
"And I'm George. Don't worry if you get us mixed up, everyone does!"
"I see." Harry said with a small smile as he sat Mr. Weasley sit down at the seat across from Hermione along with Mrs. Weasley.
"Wow, amazing thing muggles can invent. Absolutely amazing!" Mr. Weasley said as he opened the small table that was inserted in the seat in front of his and looked at it in delight.
"He's never been on a plane before." Hermione explained as a look of awkwardness appeared onto her face, she was quite worried.
Mr. Weasley was now opening and re-opening the table.
'It's going to be a long flight.' Harry thought as he opened his backpack and pulled a CD player out.
'At least I've got something to do—I'll have to thank Christine for talking me into buying one of these.' Harry thought as he placed a 'Blink 182' CD into the CD player, and placed the microphones on.
'Yup, it was going to be a long flight...' Harry thought again as he noticed Mr. Weasley was now playing around with the seatbelt.
'A very long flight.'
A/N: Hope you liked that chapter. Sorry if things were jumping around too quickly there... I'm kinda writing this at two in the morning anyways, PLEASE REVIEW!