Title: Harry Potter and the Darkness of Life
Chapter: (4) Word Gets Out
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.
= = = = = =
The Boy Who Live! Missing In Action!
On the 5th of July, Ministry Aurors were called to a scene of underage misuse of magic at an arcade in the Mountain Mall at 2:56PM exact in the afternoon. It was there, that the Ministry found that that the killing curse had been used earlier by an underage wizard.
What shocked them the most, was that fifteen-turning-sixteen year old Harry James Potter was the wizard that had performed the curse.
According to fifteen year old muggleborn Hermione Granger, Mr. Potter was in the process of playing some sort of muggle game when he performed the killing curse. What surprised the Ministry more was that Mr. Potter wasn't holding his wand at the moment he preformed the curse, and was using Wandless magic.
Miss Granger had also pointed out that the images Mr. Potter saw in the game before performing the curse resembled Death Eaters and one of them, even He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.
When an argument broke out between the Aurors, the secretary of Minister Fudge, Percy Weasley stepped into action. Causing everyone to shut up. It was then did the young secretary get himself into a fight with his two younger siblings, Fred and George Weasley, the two proud owners of Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes.
The twins then proceeded to explain to the Aurors what they thought about the Minister. Their exact words were: "Even when stupid gits like Fudge went around saying he (Harry Potter) was crazy, that he and Dumbledore were mad, that Voldemort wasn't back¡Xhe continued to fight. He continued by teaching us how to defend ourselves. He fought through the DA."
Then, though careful interviewing, this reporter was able to find out that the 'D.A.' is short for the 'Defence Association'. A club that Mr. Potter and his friends Hermione Granger and Ronald Weasley decided to create last year due to the fact that they had a poor uneducated teacher¡Xmore like spy, as some students would say¡Xteaching them.
Before this reporter had a chance to approach the five wizards and witches that were at the scene, retired Auror Moody¡Xno one knows why he was there to begin with¡Xtook them aside, gave them an unauthorized portkey, and sent them off to 'Head Quarters'.
The five wizards and witches¡XHermione Granger, Ronald Weasley, Ginny Weasley, Fred Weasley and George Weasley were all temporarily missing when this reporter went searching for them in need of an interview.
For more detail on Mr. Potter's disappearance, go to page 2.
For more detail on the damage Mr. Potter had done in the arcade in the muggle area, go to page 3.
For more detail on all underage magic Mr. Potter has done in the past few years, go to page 4.
For details about Mr. Potter's five wonderful and exciting years at Hogwarts, go to page 57.
For the story of the boy who lived, go to page 811.
Any extra detail not included should be found on page 12 and 13.
If you wish to find out the list of girls who Mr. Potter's had interest in for the last few years, turn to page 14.
= = = = = =
"Great Merlin¡Xshe's gone too far." Hermione whispered as she flipped through the pages of the article dedicated to Harry James Potter.
"Apparently she registered her animagus form." Mr. Weasley explained as Hermione read the final page of the article.
"I think I'm going to be sick... I've all of a sudden got this really bad headache... Did you read what she wrote on the last page? The list of girls Harry's been interested in for the last few years? Half the girls are Slytherins. I'm going to throw up now." Hermione said as she unclipped her seatbelt, and got up to go to the washroom.
After a few seconds of silence, Harry slowly opened his eyes, and looked around. Christine was now sleeping, and the rest of the Weasleys were all watching the movie that they were currently showing: "The Medallion".
He picked up the article of the Daily Prophet that Hermione had left on her seat and look through it quickly.
List of girls Mr. Potter's had interest in for the last few years:
Hermione Granger
'Impossible' Harry thought to himself.
Ginny Weasley
"Maybe a slight chance'
Lavender Brown
'Um... no.'
Parvati Patil
'Double no. After the Yule Ball, I'm sure I stayed away from her.'
Katie Bell
'She's nice, but not my type.'
Angelina Johnson
'The Weasley twins would kill me, which one of them dated her again?'
Alicia Spinnet
'I think Fred asked her out to the ball in our fourth year¡Xnot so sure, anyways, the Weasleys would kill me.'
Hannah Abbott
'Who is she? Oh yes... wait... who is she?'
Susan Bones
'Didn't her aunt get me out of Azkaban last summer?'
Mandy Brocklehurst
'Don't think I've seen her around before.'
Millicent Bulstrode
'I never talk to her.'
Pansy Parkinson
'Ewww... nightmares for months."
Draco Malfoy
"Dear God, that is just wrong!" Harry shouted out loud in disgust.
"What?" Harry looked up, Ron was now staring at him, and so was everyone else on the plane.
"Nothing." Harry muttered as he dropped the Daily Prophet back onto Hermione's seat and placed his earphones back on, but before he could, he felt the tip of a wand at his forehead.
Hermione was back.
"You shouldn't touch things that don't belong to you." She hissed as she sat down on her seat, looking around to make sure no muggles were watching.
"You shouldn't walk around pointing sticks at people." Harry said as he pushed her wand away.
"Why'd you make an outburst like that?" Christine asked.
She had woken up.
"I was just reading that magazine she had, I was bored... and the last page¡Xhad a list of names of girls some guy had interest in. And one of the names grossed me out." Harry said as a look of disgust appeared onto his face.
'I'll never have a good night's sleep.'
"What name?" the Weasleys asked as Harry looked up at them.
"Draco Malfoy." Harry managed to spit out before turning a bit green.
"Dear lord, I understand why you're grossed out¡Xbut it's funny in a sick way¡XRita Skitter thinks Malfoy's a girl!" Ron noted as the Weasleys all laughed quietly.
"You can see this?" Hermione asked as she held the article up.
"Yea... some crack nut news article written by kids at a high school right?" Harry asked as Hermione frowned slightly.
"It looks almost real. How long did you guys spend on making it? No offence, but dedicating one whole newspaper to this 'boy who lived' is... rather strange." Harry said as he gave Hermione a look.
"Do you believe in magic?" Hermione asked suddenly as Harry tried his best not to look shocked.
"Yup! I can do this really cool magic trick with my cards¡Xhang on, I'll grab them, and then I can show you." Harry said as he grabbed his backpack and got ready to open it.
"No, it's okay. I was just wondering." Hermione muttered as she sighed.
Harry nodded, then turned to talk to Christine.
"Now that was close." He whispered as she nodded slowly.
Before Christine could reply, Harry saw a shadow appeared above them.
"Yes?" Harry asked as he looked up.
Remus was staring at them with a look of confusion.
"What did you say your name was again?" he asked.
"Ha¡XAaron Harrison. Why?" Harry caught himself before he replied with his real name.
"No... No reason." Remus mumbled as he sat back down.
A few minutes later, a flight attendant pushing a cart walked by, handing dinner out to everyone. When she arrived at Harry's row, she looked though her list quickly.
"Beef and chicken dinner for Mr. Harry¡X"
"Son. Aaron Harrison." Harry cut in as he winked quickly at the flight attendant.
Hermione caught the wink, but acted as though she didn't. The flight attendant merely nodded, and handed him the food.
'Something smells fishy.' Hermione thought as she opened her own dinner, and began eating it.
= = = = = =
"Hey James, you did pretty well covering up your tracks back there. I nearly believed your act." Christine grinned as she got into the taxi.
"Thanks. I'm a bit surprised it worked though." Harry mumbled as he got in after her.
"Ni yao tue na li?" the Asian driver asked as he looked back at Christine and Harry. (Translation: Where do you want to go?)
"Here!" Christine said as she handed the driver a sheet of paper.
"Hao, cha bu doa shee fien jon jo dao." The driver replied as he pulled out of the parking spot, and onto the road. (Ok, we should be there in about ten minutes.)
"Where are we going?" Harry asked as he looked around for a seatbelt.
There was none.
"To my friend's house. That's where we'll be staying for the rest of the summer. You can get him to teach you some Chinese. I won't tell you his name until we get there though."
"I see. How old is he though?" Harry questioned.
"Twenty. He was down at my school for a year teaching Chinese. A bit young huh?"
Harry nodded.
"He's a genius though. If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't have passed history class." Christine muttered as Harry laughed.
"I can't wait to meet him then."
= = = = = =
"That Aaron fellow was strange. I thought you said muggles who didn't know about us couldn't see the Daily Prophet Professor Lupin." Ron half asked, half stated as they walked out of the airport.
"Don't call me Professor Lupin. Just call me Remus. Anyways, even if they knew about us, they shouldn't be able to see it. He must've been a muggleborn or a half blood. Either that or a squib." The former professor explained.
"I swear I heard Harry when we were on the plane." He whispered suddenly.
Everyone froze and stared at Remus.
"Did check to see if it was Harry?" George asked.
"Yes. But it was Aaron Harrison. That reminds me... he whispered something to his sister Lisa after you lot stopped questioning him. Something about 'that was close'." Lupin stated as Ginny frowned slightly.
"But Harry wouldn't dress like that. Aaron didn't have the scar. And his hair was brown streaked red, unlike Harry's, which is brown. It's also longer too." Ginny exclaimed as Lupin nodded.
"I know. But... I guess I was just thinking too much."
"Maybe it was a disguise... anyways, where's Moody? He said he'd meet us here and take us to the Asian Ministry of Magic to let them know we're in the country. They'll perform a charm on us there too, so you kids can understand Chinese." Mr. Weasley explained as everyone nodded.
"Hermione, you okay?" Ron asked as he poked his best friend, who had a frown on her face.
"Yeah... just thinking." Hermione whispered with a sigh.
"Hey look, it's Moody! Nice car!" Fred said as he pointed at the long white limo that had the words A.M.M. stamped on the side of it.
"Let's go." Molly Weasley said as she picked up her suitcase, and walked towards the ex-Auror.
= = = = = =
The twenty year old Chinese man sighed slightly as he removed the sword from the wall, and sliced it through the air before placing his left hand onto the handle below his right.
'He's coming. I can feel it.' He thought as he got into a battle stance.
A knock was heard from the door, but the man didn't move at all.
"Hey? It's Christine! You in there?" a girl's voice asked from the other side.
He didn't reply.
"We're coming in!"
The door slowly opened, and the man watched as a girl and a young teenage boy¡Xaround the age of sixteen, walk through it.
"Hey, what's going¡X"
Before the girl could finish her question, the man sprung forward and sliced his sword at them.
"Look out Christine!" the teenage boy beside her shouted as he pushed her away.
The blade of the sword sliced through the air, but it suddenly froze as the man watched the boy raise his hands and stop the sword in midair, only inches away from his own head.
The man stared into the eyes of the young teenager, and saw confusion, shock, and anger. But no fear.
"What in the world is wrong with you? Why'd you attack James like that?" Christine asked as she approached them slowly.
"You're the one." The man whispered as he looked at the boy¡XJames.
"Back off. Now." Harry commanded as the man took a few steps back, and placed the sword onto a nearby table.
"Why'd you attack us?" Christine asked.
"I had to make sure¡Xyou, James¡Xwhat's your last name?" the man asked.
"That's none of your business. And call me Aaron Harrison if you ever see me dressed like this." James¡Xor was it Aaron said as the man nodded.
"May I have the honour of knowing your full name? Chosen one?" the man questioned as the boy frowned.
"Harry James Potter. But like I said earlier, if you ever see me dressed like this, call me Aaron. It's my alias." Harry explained as the man nodded.
"Who're you?" he asked as a grin appeared onto the man's face.
"Daemion Qin, swords master. Also the last heir of Emperor Qin from the Qin dynasty."
"Royalty? You come from a line of powerful rulers." Harry commented as Daemion nodded.
"I do have a few questions though. What should I call you when you're not dressed like this? If you looked completely different from what you are now?"
"James. James Potter. Don't call me by Harry, that's my past, and I'd much rather not remember my past." Harry decided as Daemion nodded.
"How long are you going to be here for?"
"Until the end of summer." Harry replied.
"Do you wish to learn the art of martial arts and sword fighting?"
"Why are you offering to teach him? When Allen asked you refused." Christine cut in as she stared at Daemion.
"Who's Allen?" Harry asked as he looked over at Christine.
"A friend of mine from high school. Well, care to answer my question, Daemion?" Christine asked again.
"Aaron here has the gift. He's the chosen one." Daemion stated as Christine frowned.
"Aaron, like I asked earlier¡Xdo you wish to learn the art of martial arts, and sword fighting among other things?" Daemion repeated.
"Absolutely, that'd be great."
"I see¡XI've just got one last question."
"And that would be?"
"What's a wizard like you doing out here in China?"
= = = = = =
Screams and shouts could be heard throughout the room as Voldemort placed the Death Eaters under the Cruciatus curse one by one.
"Idiots! All of you! How could you let him escape! Severus! Has that old fool told you where Potter has escaped to yet?" Voldemort cried out as Severus Snape approached the Dark Lord.
"Not yet, my lord. But apparently, the Weasley family decided to make a trip down to China with the werewolf and that mudblood Granger. I think that's where the boy has run off to." Snape stated as he looked downwards towards the floor.
"Wonderful work Severus, you will be greatly awarded. But first¡Xyou will bring me the boy. Lucius! Wormtail! Avery! Bellatrix! Macnair! You will go with him! Fail me not. Or suffer the consequences." Tom Riddle sneered as the following Death Eaters all bowed and muttered yes.
"Now, leave! Search all of Asia if you must! Bring him back!"
= = = = = =
"Headmaster¡XI have told you-know-who where Potter is. He has now sent a few Death Eaters to accompany me in Potter's search. Where should I start off? Somewhere far off? Away from their location?" Snape asked as he looked at the tired face of Albus Dumbledore.
"I see¡Xwell, you can start off here." Dumbledore explained as he handed Severus a map of a town in China.
"You are apparating there, am I not right?" Dumbledore asked as Snape nodded.
"I see. When are you leaving?"
"July 9th, Friday evening. I believe, after the time zone changes, it should be sometime near midnight there." The potions master replied.
"I see. Well, I can only bid you good luck. Do return before the beginning of this year. And Severus¡Xreturn alive please." Dumbledore added as Snape gave him a faint sad smile.
= = = = = =
Thursday, July 8th, 2004-7:00 AM
"Slash it downwards, come on¡Xno! You're holding the sword wrong!" Daemion snapped as he corrected Harry's mistake.
"Now try it again, yes, that's it, again. Keep doing that for the next ten minutes until you have perfected it." Daemion said as Harry continued to bring the sword above his head, then slice it downwards, over and over again.
"What is he doing?" Christine asked as Daemion sat down across from her at the table and took a sip of his tea.
"A simple exercise, it'll get him used to the weight of the sword, might tire his muscles a bit, but if he's tried after this, he might as well quit. The actual lesson is much rougher. I'm afraid you can't watch though." Daemion said with a look of apology as Christine waved it off.
"It's okay. I heard there was a new theme park nearby. I'll just go there for a while and hang out." Christine grinned as Daemion laughed.
"How did you know he was a wizard?" Christine asked as she looked over at Harry, who seemed to be getting the hang of handling a sword better.
"I felt his magic within him. It's different from other wizards. Completely different. It's purer¡Xand stronger." Daemion explained as he too, looked over at Harry.
The fifteen year old boy was now wearing a white pair of sweat pants and a loose white t-shirt. He was wearing his silver glasses now, and his hair was no longer spiked, plus, his scar was visible.
"What do you mean, stronger? Purer?" Christine frowned in confusion.
"He doesn't have a wand does he?" Daemion asked as he took another sip of his tea.
"No¡Xhe snapped it apparently. That's what he told me a few days ago." Christine replied as Daemion nodded.
"No wonder... he must've absorbed his magic. But even if he did, that wouldn't explain how he's so strong¡Xhe'd be powerful even if he hadn't absorbed his magic. It's the first time I've ever seen this in my life." Daemion stated as Christine's jaw fell.
"What do you mean? Absorbed his magic?"
"When he broke his wand, he must have absorbed the magic it contained. Hey Potter! The magical creature that the wand maker used in it¡Xwhat was it?" Daemion called over to Harry, who continued to slice the sword through the air.
"A phoenix¡Xnamed Fawkes." Harry answered as he gasped for air.
"How long has it been?" Harry asked as Daemion looked at his clock.
It was only 7:04.
"You've got another six minutes left, keep going at it. You can do something else other then slicing it down in one direction. Try new things." Daemion suggested as Harry immediately changed the angle he was holding the sword at.
He swung the sword around with his left hand twice, then threw the sword over to his left hand, and tried to perform a difficult swords move he had seen actors do in TV shows Dudley watched.
"Where'd you learn that?" Daemion asked as he leaped to his feet in shock.
"I saw it off TV¡XI just thought I'd try it." Harry said as he froze in his actions.
"What are you doing? Keep going! I want to see if you got the technique right. Have you ever used a sword before?" Daemion questioned as Harry nodded slightly.
"Once, when I was in my second year. But only for about ten minutes, and that was to kill a huge snake down in the¡X"
"Yes, I heard about that. Now keep going. I need to make sure..." Daemion never finished his sentence, as he was now watching Harry's every move.
Christine rolled her eyes, and left the room to go to the theme park, muttering the words 'Boys will be boys' under her breath.
= = = = = =
Hermione groaned as she walked past a group of Asians, trying to find Harry. Fred and George suggested the theme park, since they thought Harry would be here in China to have fun.
"'Mione! Wait up!" Ron shouted as he finally caught up to her, gasping for air.
Ginny was next to him, face red from running, and panting. Remus followed, but he didn't look tired at all.
"How come you're not gasping for air?" Ron asked as Lupin smiled faintly.
"That's the advantage with being a werewolf." He whispered as Ron nodded slightly.
"Hey look! I think that's Christine! She's wearing tons of pink! Remember Ron? Harry made a comment about her clothes a few days back when we were watching the map!" Ginny shouted as she pointed up ahead.
Hermione, Ron, and Remus all looked towards the direction Ginny was pointing towards, and realized that she was right. It was Christine!
"Christine! Oy! Christine!" Ron shouted as she ran forward.
"Ron no! She'll know we've seen her!" Hermione stated, but it was too late.
Christine had turned around, and saw them running towards her.
"Shit!" she swore angrily as she ran towards a short line for a new rollercoaster ride.
She got in line just before a crowd of Asians, and gasped for air as she turned around to see if they had followed her. They had.
"Christine! Where's Harry! Tell us! Please!" Remus shouted over the crowd, but Christine ignored him.
When it finally got to her turn, Christine sat at the very front by herself. What caused her to groan was that Ron and Hermione sat right behind her. Ginny and Remus followed.
"Where is Harry?" Ron asked angrily as Christine pulled the handle that held her in seat over her head, and the one that went over her legs.
"Tell us!" Hermione said as she and Ron did the same.
"Please, we're really worried about him!" Ginny said as Remus locked the handles in.
"I'm not saying a thing to you! Stop following me!" Christine cried out as the ride began to start.
"Excuse me! How long is this ride?" Remus quickly asked a nearby worker in Chinese.
"About two minutes long. Have fun with the corkscrews. There's loads."
Before Remus had a chance to ask what the man meant by that, the coaster went upwards.
"Dear god, what ride are we on?" Ron asked as he looked around in fear.
"I think it's the corkscrew... oh dear Merlin... ahhh!" Hermione screamed as the rollercoaster suddenly went straight downwards at a thirty degree angle.
"I think I'm going to be sick!" Ron shouted as they went back up, then straight down once more.
"Corkscrew's coming up! This ride is the best!" Christine stated excitedly as the ride suddenly went around in two 360 degree circles in a roll.
"Whoohoo!" Christine yelled over all the screaming when the coaster began to climb upwards again.
The coaster went downwards, and suddenly swerved towards the left, Ginny and Hermione screamed as they shook from left to right, but Ron kept his mouth shut afraid of what could come out of it if he opened it, and Remus had a look of excitement on his face.
The rollercoaster went through a few more corkscrews, and at last, it was over. Staggering from left to right, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny finally managed to get out of the carts.
Ginny needed Remus' help though, since she looked green with sickness.
"Where's Harry?" Ron managed to ask before he turned towards a garbage can and threw up inside it.
"I told you, I can't tell you. Stop asking! I'm going. And don't follow me. Unless you can handle the rides." Christine stated as she pointed at Ron, who continued to throw up, and Ginny who had just joined him at the garbage can next to it.
"I see you can handle it. You don't look like you're that sick." Christine smiled at Hermione who gave her a weak smile back.
"Remus¡Xcan you do me a favour?" she asked as her former professor nodded.
"What?"
"Place a non-sickness charm on me. I'll take the challenge she's made on the rides." Hermione grinned as she looked over at Ron and Ginny.
"Better place them onto Ron and Ginny too."
Remus did as he was told, but checked twice to make sure there weren't any muggles nearby before he did so (they had all ran off because of the stench of Ron and Ginny's hurl).
"Now all I can say is this Christine, think you can handle it?" Hermione was practically daring her to go on the scariest and longest rides ever.
"Of course, why shouldn't I be able to?" Christine smirked.
Ron and Ginny looked at each other for a moment, before groaning in complaint.
A/N: Please REVIEW!