A/N: Thanx for the pointers in your reviews. The London-next-door-to-Surrey and met-Ollivanders-at-the-Wand-weighing-ceremony errors have been fixed. You were right, the beach scene was rushed. I've redone it in this chapter, followed by the Hermione confrontation. A bit light-heartedness before the angst. Warning: Slightly violent/bloody scene on the beach. The queasy types are advised to put down whatever food you're eating.
Kail Blade: I began laughing out loud when I read your review. You were among those who asked what Harry's nickname was. I swear I had this nickname picked out for him months ago...honest! But since this is such a coincidence, I dedicate this to you. Read on, to find out Harry's nickname. ; D
Right, can't say I didn't expect the flames. Thanx all the same. The flames were what put me off writing and updating for so long. So here's a note for the reviewers who have a few complaints. Skip it if you didn't review or at least didn't criticize.
First off, I'm not writing facts and reality here. If Harry seems like the whitest character on ffnet then good because he is too good to be true. Becoming an orphan at age one, being brought up by condescending, snobby relatives who don't have an ounce of affection for you, growing up without friends thanks to your cousin and his gang of bullies, in reality will produce a cold-blooded criminal with a personality disorder or two, not the savior of the world with a simple characteristic like 'mistrust of authority figures'. That's reality.
Yes, he's also forgiving and a chivalrous gentleman (in your words: let's himself be pushed around). And though he is angry at everyone for sending him to Azkaban, he wouldn't do it to them out of revenge if the situation was reversed.
Harry is not gonna go to Hogwarts, get himself expelled, buy a mansion in cloudy, stormy Transylvania and sit sulking in his castle all the time, coming out occasionally to blast to pieces any owls that might be flying too close to his castle. Even if that may seem more realistic to some of you. For my more bloodthirsty reviewers, I recommend you take a look at 'New World's Order' by World for a more unforgiving and unbending Harry. I honestly think you'll like it.
And how about all the other people? They aren't evil. Putting him in Azkaban was a grave mistake on their part, but that was all it was, a mistake. Yes of course, I'm very mad at Hermione and Black and the Weasleys too since they should've known better. And trust me, Harry's gonna torture them a great deal for their betrayal. But the anger has to be released sometime. See, I was mad at the people who flamed me, I had to re-do this A/N to make it less err...explosive. Now that I've finished, I'm no longer mad at those who flamed me for chapter 7. What would be the point of staying mad? Only unhealthy for me, my uhh..flamers probably still think they are right and I'm wrong.
Chapter 8: His Beach Vacation
Harry's vacation started out beautifully. All day long, he was at the beach sunbathing, swimming, having fun. He received the stares and attention as expected but over the summer he had gotten used to it. There was the tourist lady who was hovering around, taking pictures of anything that moved when Harry was building a sandcastle with Alex and though he glared at her a few times, he had a sneaking suspicion that she had taken a shot of him and the sandcastle. Also, he couldn't keep the tigercats cooped up in the hotel room the whole time. Everytime he took them out with him, females of all ages took it as permission to come up to him and interrupt whatever he was doing.
"Ooh, look at those cats! Aren't they just adorable?" (a young girl in a candy-pink bathing suit)
or "Isn't that sweet...such well behaved kitties! Marching after him like that..." (an old lady in the lobby)
or even "Oh what sexy little felines. Don't they just make you go Grrr?"
"They are males. Guys don't appreciate such comments" Harry replied dryly to the dark-haired beauty who was a good deal older than him and made the breathy comment while eyeing him rather than the cubs.
After that scary encounter Harry decided it was safer to take the cubs out only very early in the morning or late at night. His tan was coming along nicely too. He was glad he had asked the blonde lifeguard who was the hotel receptionist's boyfriend on sun-tanning tips the morning after he arrived, or else he'd most likely be sporting the pink sun-burnt look that Vicky and Alex had gotten for some reason. Harry spent most of his time on the beach in white boxer shorts. As he became more tanned, the color contrast was great. When he wanted to even out his tan over his whole body, he preferred to go to the more secluded area along the beach. It was a tiny hill, more like higher land above the sandy beach that was covered by a forest. He took the cubs with him everytime in case there were any wild animals and spent the day at the small plant-free piece of higher ground that overlooked the beach even as it was protected from view from below. It was perfect and he would have continued to go there if it wasn't for that highly-embarrassing event. Damn interfering, spying girls!
His vacation was made all the more enjoyable when he made friends with the Bay Ghosts. Contrary to the nickname given by the locals, the Ghosts were actually a group of youngsters who had grown up in the area. They were pretty popular with the locals as well as the vacationers. They consisted of some fine-looking young men but even those who weren't much of a looker had a great tan and muscles due to their part-time jobs as fishermen. The Ghosts were invited to all the barbecues, parties and such. Unfortunately the fame and admiration they received had made them a tad big-headed.
One morning when Harry was jogging on the beach, he noticed the Ghosts walking together, sometimes whispering to each other before looking around suspiciously. Intrigued by their behavior, Harry watched them. They walked over to where two boys were sitting on beach towels and invited the two boys to join them for a game. The two boys looked very flattered to be asked to join the good-looking group and instantly agreed. They began to play a game of beach volleyball with the boys and lots of people came to watch. But the group of boys were being unfair and rough with the two boys They were constantly pushed this way and that and ended up falling many times resulting in the crowd laughing at them. Harry felt sorry for the two boys from the place he was sitting away from the crowd. Once the brutal game ended and the crowd began to melt, Harry crept close enough to hear the group tell the two boys to stay away from their girlfriends. Turned out the two boys had been a bit friendly with some girls. All the guys generally received such behavior if they tried to be over-friendly with their girlfriends or sisters. Some boys got such treatment even if the girl involved was not one of their girlfriends but just a girl they had a crush on. This bullying and their arrogance was the only flaw in the otherwise good-natured group of boys.
It was a good thing he witnessed that incident remaining unseen himself. Harry was getting a lot of female attention himself. It was probably his cool and uncaring attitude to whatever comments thrown his way about his weird hair. He didn't try to make any new friends, content on sunbathing and sometimes playing games with the Denver kids. Harry's third day on the beach started with the same group of handsome bullies approaching him. They invited him to go surfing with them. He declined, telling them he couldn't surf with a cool smile. They offered to teach but he refused. They kept trying to get him to join them and he kept refusing. The other teenagers around them were amazed by this. Everyone wanted to join that popular group of boys except Harry. Apparently his hair wasn't the only thing that was weird about him.
"Hey, what's wrong with you? We're offering to teach you to surf and you refuse us? Do you even know who we are? Ask anyone, we're the best surfers on this beach" one dark-skinned youth declared.
"Thank you. That's very kind of you. I'm not interested" Harry's reply was curt.
"Like hell you aren't. When we say we're gonna teach you surfing, that means we're gonna teach you surfing" the second tallest guy spat.
"Look I said I don't wanna learn surfing so just leave me alone, okay?" Harry didn't retreat an inch though the boy was nose to nose with him, glaring fiercely.
"How dare you speak to Adam like that, punk? You're gonna pay for that" another boy who was a larger version of the first clenched his fist, rushing straight at Harry.
Harry who had foreseen a fight was ready for the attack. Eventhough he hadn't learnt any martial arts, his kickboxing came in handy as the older and bigger boy drove him into the sand. The other boys kept to the sides, shouting encouragement for their friend while they kept a lookout for any interfering adults. By then, there was a huge group had gathered to watch. Harry and the boy were rolling around in the sand, each trying to gain the upper hand. Harry already had a bloodied nose and mouth and had taken several punched that would bloom into bruises later. But he was proud to say that his opponent would also be sporting a black-eye and probably a bruise and a sore jaw in the face alone. Harry knew he wouldn't be able to beat the stronger boy, but he was going to give it all he had. And this way at least he got to work out his frustration at the nightmare he had the night before starring his damned godfather.
He tried to lift the boy's arm away as he was sitting straddled on Harry, pushing his face sideways into the sand. Since he was facing the hotel rather than the beach, he saw his two tigercat cubs a second before they had emerged from behind the legs of the spectators and launched themselves on his attacker. In a flash, they leapt onto the boy with fierce growls, using their sharp claws to dig sharply into his face and uncovered torso.
With a cry of pain, the boy fell off Harry and hit the sand, the cubs keeping their claws latched firmly into his flesh. Harry raised himself on his elbows as he shouted.
"No, stop! Siyaa! Tawreek! STOP!" Harry scrambled over to where the boy was lying, his hand covering his face to protect it from the cubs.
By the time Harry had managed to grab hold of each cub and pulled them away, the cubs had managed to sink their razor-sharp fangs into the 'enemy' too.
"Bad cats! Very, very bad cats" Harry scolded the cubs absently as he watched in horror the blood pouring out of the wounds. The formerly noisy crowd was deathly silent and even the boy's friends were standing and staring in shock. The cubs were still squirming to try and escape Harry's hold so that they could tear the boy into proper pieces. Anyone who attacked their human had to be taught a lesson.
Harry growled a few words to his tigercats and released them once he was sure they would behave. Harry once again crawled closer to the bleeding boy. The crowd was beginning to thin out but the boy's friends were still frozen in their places.
"Here, let me look at that" Harry pried his fingers away gently. The boy was still in shock and didn't protest.
"Doesn't look that bad. You just need some healing cream but no bandage. I have the cream in my hotel room. Why don't you let me help you up and we'll go to my room" Harry suggested keeping his tone firm.
He mustn't panic. He had read that Tigercats' fangs could produce a special kind of poison in a fight. By then the other boys had regained their senses.
"Hold it! Get away from him. Don't touch him. Haven't you done enough? Look at the wounds....the bleeding won't stop. We need to get him to a doctor" the boy who resembled the injured youth went from sounding angry to sounding panicked.
Harry did some fast thinking. If he didn't apply the magical healing cream that he had gotten at the apothecary, the poison might spread in his body. He wasn't sure how much damage that would cause. If they took him to a doctor or hospital, questions would arise not to mention that the muggles wouldn't be able to do anything to help him. It was after all a magical wound. He had no idea where to find any wizards on this island, even if there were any which he doubted since he hadn't been pestered by anyone who knew him so far. He would have to convince the boys to do as he said at whatever cost.
"Look, these aren't your everyday cats. Can't you tell from your wounds? House cats don't have such sharp fangs, do they? I have a healing cream specially made for such wounds. I don't think you can find the right medicine anywhere else so soon. So, why don't you do something smart for once in your lifetime and follow me" Harry suggested keeping his voice cool and uncaring.
"No way! He's bluffing Adam. We can't trust him. He's probably gonna give something poisonous or dangerous" one of the other guys spoke up.
"Whatever! I don't care. I was only trying to help. If you don't trust me, fine. Go take him to a doctor. Once this guy has lost enough blood and you're told the doctor can't help you and needs more time, you can come and find me in room 314 at the hotel. Come on, guys" Harry had gotten up as he said this and began walking away, motioning for the cubs to follow him. He just hoped this ploy worked.
"Wait a minute. I think we should go with him guys. It can't hurt. And if he tries anything, well then there are nine of us against him and his weird cats. Think it shouldn't be too hard to beat him into a pulp" another boy spoke up.
There were a few more protests and arguments but in the end the boy called Adam supported the injured Jimmy and they followed Harry and the cubs back to the hotel. Harry took the lot of them back to his room and helped Jimmy wash away the blood before getting him to sit on the bed and applying the healing cream. He covered the scratched completely with the greenish cream and told the boy to stay put for a couple of hours. Harry ordered the cubs back into their cage to put the boys at ease. He also picked up the phone and ordered some refreshments. Truth be told, he was feeling a bit guilty about the whole incident. He knew it wasn't his fault, that the guys had come looking for trouble and attacked him but he felt bad all the same. Once the wound had been taken care of and Jimmy was stretched out on the bed, the other boys took a look around the huge room. They particularly loved the gigantic indoor theatre system. The boys ended up spending a couple hours in Harry's room. By the end, some of them had become more friendly with Harry while some still held back. They were impressed by the viscous but obedient cubs and how they seemed to understand Harry's orders. They questioned Harry on his strange fighting cats and he told them some believable answers about a species of cats found in the savanna. The boys told him about their nickname and general history.
Over the next few days, Harry met the Bay Ghosts a few more times and one day, he finally agreed to let them teach him surfing after they had sworn on their Ghostliness that it wasn't a prank. Harry showed an uncanny talent for surfing and mastered it in no time. Pretty soon, Harry was a decent surfer and even accidentally discovered a surfing trick which made the boys give him a nickname. After being dared by Adam to take on the enormous white wave, Harry swam out on his surfboard and caught it. He was surfing in the mouth of the wave as half of the foaming white water was rolling, forming a tunnel on his right as he surfed towards the left. As many people on the shore watched Harry was swallowed into the tunnel of the water. But instead of being washed down and heading for the beach, Harry disappeared for a few seconds. Harry then emerged on top of the wave, still standing on his surfboard and rode the wave for a few moments longer before the waved reached the shore, with Harry still standing gracefully and then jumping off into knee deep water.
Everyone was talking about that trick. It was as if he had sliced the wave when he was in the tunnel of water and came out behind the wave before riding it again. It earned him the nickname of 'Blade' as in the surfer who sliced the water. Harry managed to pull off the trick a few more times whenever there was a huge white wave but he did fail once or twice. The Bay Ghosts were pretty impressed and surprised Harry one day with a gift. It was a pure white surfboard with Blade written on it in dark silver.
He was invited to many barbecues and parties throughout his stay and it would have been the perfect vacation if it weren't for that one unwanted, unwelcome incident. It was just too bad that Harry had to run into none other than Hermione Granger on the island.
Harry had been invited by the Denvers to go on an island tour program hosted by one of the other major hotels. They had gone to that hotel for lunch together. Mr. Denver had to make a phone-call back to Surrey so they were all in the lobby. Harry was standing on the other side of the lobby near the huge windows when he caught sight of her. She had just entered the lobby, face downcast and a slumping posture. She raised her head and looked straight at Harry.
"Ha.....H-Harry?" her voice barely carried over the distance. She remained standing there in shock for a moment. Harry's eyes had turned to emerald ice at the sight of her. She might not be used to seeing him but he had seen her over and over again while he was in Azkaban. Even now she appeared frequently in his nightmares. She was an unwelcome sight to him. Harry turned his back on her, crossing his arms over his chest. He remembered the cruel things she had said to him a year ago and he wasn't likely to forget it anytime soon. The dementors had pounded it into his head.
"Harry?" her voice had become slightly stronger as he heard the sound of her approaching footsteps.
God, why now? He would have had to deal with her at Hogwarts anyway. Why couldn't he just enjoy the last days of his vacation in peace?
"Harry, please....please, I need to talk to you" her voice was right behind him now.
"And what is it that you'd like to say to me?" Harry's voice was icy as he turned to face his ex-bestfriend.
".....H-Harry......I-I.....I..." she faltered at his glare.
"Well? I haven't got all day!" Harry would have left but he found the new speechless Miss Know-it-all coldly satisfying.
"Harry, please don't be like this. I'm so sorry. I know it was a terrible mistake and I know I don't deserve to be forgiven but-"
"But What? But you want me to forgive you anyway, is that it?" Harry didn't realize that he was shouting.
"N-No, of course not. I understand that you are angry, it's just that-" Hermione tried to calm him.
"You understand? You UNDERSTAND? What do you understand? Do you understand that I spent a year in pure hell? Is that what you understand? Or do you understand that you had a huge part in sending me there? Do you understand that?" Harry was no longer aware of his surroundings. His whole attention was focused on this girl for whom he would have gladly laid down and died just a year ago. This girl who had been his family, his friend, his companion. This girl who had turned her back on him just like everyone else.
"Harry, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry.." The tears she had been trying her best to hold back now flowed freely.
"Oh, so now you're sorry. And what am I supposed to do? Fall at your feet with gratitude because you're sorry? Beg you to be my friend again? Does your being sorry make everything alright? DOES IT?" Harry was unconsciously shaking the shorter girl by her shoulders as her tears turned into wracking sobs.
N...No, No Harry-"
"SHUT UP! Don't you dare say my name again! You certainly couldn't bring yourself to call me Harry last year. It was Potter this and Potter that when you were testifying against me in court. Why is it Harry now? Because I'm innocent? But I was innocent then too. Why didn't you realize that? WHY DIDN'T YOU? Miss Bookworm Know-it-all, why didn't you use that great intellect of yours to figure out that I was innocent?" Harry didn't realize when his icy accusations turned into personal agony.
He had sworn to leave behind all those dreadful feelings when he left Azkaban. But seeing his darling best friend had made him just blow up. He didn't even realize he was saying his thoughts out loud.
"You were my best friend. You had known me for four long years. You had been there through all our adventures. You and Ron. Ron had shown his true nature at the beginning of the Tournament. But I had expected at least you to see the truth. How could you think that I would kill those people? What had I ever done to make you think I was that cold-blooded? Why didn't you stand by me? Why? You were supposed to be my best friend. You were supposed to be so smart. Why wouldn't you hear me out? Why wouldn't you stand by me? Why did you condemn me to my worst fears? Why?" his voice went from loud to a whisper.
Harry was losing awareness of his surroundings. A dark mist was spreading across his vision even as he fought it. He knew what was coming. This was how his worst memories were played out in front of his open eyes when he was in Azkaban with the dementors.
He saw it all again. Coming down to the Entrance Hall, his parents' burnt photo clutched tightly to his chest, his still-bleeding leg leaving bloodied footsteps on the marble. Seeing many teachers and adults gathered there ranting and arguing or crying. Hermione standing huddled into herself in a corner, keeping her eyes to the floor until Ron came down the stairs and took her in a tight embrace. She began crying then.
Harry heard again every damning accusatory word that came out of the adults' mouths even as he had one eye on his two best friends, hoping against hope that they would look at him, see the truth in his eyes. He watched as his wand was taken away and snapped by the white-bearded man who had been his mentor, cruel fingers digging into his arms as he was held back from rescuing his wand. He watched as he was informed that he was expelled permanently and not allowed to come back to Hogwarts or join any other magical school. He watched as he was told brusquely to leave. He saw himself pleading and begging his best friends to give him a chance, to listen to him. He watched as Ron said some really harsh things to him but Hermione just kept her eyes on Ron's arm where she was leaning her face.
Harry saw again the trial, the first two days, when Hermione had avoided his gaze, when he had tried to speak to her but was pushed away and told off by the Weasleys who surrounded her at all times. And on the third day, he watched as she entered the courtroom and gave him a stare full of hatred and bitter loathing. By then Mad-Eye or rather Barty Crouch had presented some solid evidence showing that Harry cheated in the Tournament and deliberately tried to hurt the other Champions. The Ministry officials who were Death-eaters in reality had presented some 'evidence' that Harry had been turning evil for years.
Then it was Ron's testimony. Harry didn't care about the rules, he pretended to care about others but he was very selfish and evil in reality. He had weird dreams sometimes. His scar had some dangerous history and affected his behavior. All Harry wanted was fame and attention. He showed such menacing traits that his muggle family saw it fit to lock him in a room and put bars on his window. And on it went, Ron letting out all the anger and jealousy that had been buried within him all these years.
Hermione's testimony was not much better despite all of Harry's hopes. She agreed with all that Ron said when asked by the judges. She testified on Harry's dismal grades in all other subjects but his talent in hexes and curses. She told the court about Harry's rather secretive nature and unwillingness to tell others about anything. She even told them about the encounter in their Third Year with Sirius Black and Harry's uncontrollable anger and bloodthirsty stance. Why, he would have killed the escaped convict if Professor Lupin hadn't made it there on time.
Her testimony pretty much sealed his fate. If his closest friends thought he was capable of mass-murder and all evidence pointed to him, then it must be true. He should be shipped off to Azkaban as soon as possible. He should just be given the Kiss for public safety, underage or not. He should be.....
Harry heard a distant voice calling his name repeatedly through the haze of his memories. He focused on that voice, letting it lead him out of this dark place that existed in his mind. Slowly, the mist before his eyes cleared and Mr. Denver's worried face came into focus. He didn't know when or how he had ended up sitting on the sofa at the lobby with Mr. Denver crouching in front of him, shaking him gently.
Harry looked up to see Hermione being led away gently by a bushy-haired woman who was probably her mother. Her face was a red mess and she was still sobbing pitifully, looking over her shoulder at him as she was being taken out.
"Harry, are you alright?" Mr. Denver asked gently.
"Y-Yes....What happened?" he asked wondering if he had said anything out loud just now. He was grateful to feel his face clear of any tears. He would not cry. At the very least not in front of the girl who was partly-responsible for his terrible fate.
"You just kind of blanked out there for a minute" Mr. Denver tried to sound reassuring.
After assuring the Denvers that he was fine and he didn't want to talk about it, Harry requested they return to their hotel. The Denvers were more than ready to do whatever they could to calm him down. And his cats would be able to make him feel better, Alex pointed out. As Harry got into the car, he saw a man running out of the hotel and looking around. When he saw Harry, he began to wave frantically and ran towards the car. The car was already moving and since no one else seemed to have seen or heard the running man, Harry kept quiet and just watched him. He was almost certain it was Hermione's father and he certainly didn't want to hear what he had to say.
To his relief, the Grangers either didn't try or didn't manage to track him down for the few last days of his vacation. His tigercats certainly did make him feel better, sensing the turmoil of his thought and soothing him by staying close. The green-eyed Siyaa who was so playful and mischievous and the more serious golden-eyed Tawreek. He had given them the names of two warrior brothers from an ancient tale he had found in the university library in Surrey. It was the tale of two brothers kidnapped at birth by an evil witch and brought up by her, labeled as evil by the rest of the world even when they proved time and time again that they weren't. The two brothers were finally taken to a different world by a fairy-like creature because the mortals didn't deserve them. Harry liked that story a lot.
After taking things easy for a few days and going out to say goodbye to all his friends and the Bay Ghosts, Harry took a flight back to London so that he'd make it in good time for the Hogwarts Express. It was time to face Hogwarts again.
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Important A/N: For a more proper communication about any and all HP fanfiction, I'm starting a message-board. I don't know of any existing message-boards about fanfiction. I think it's the perfect place to discuss and criticize fanfiction and I think it is friendlier than Yahoo groups. The address is in my profile. Anyone and everyone is invited to join. We'll discuss whatever fanfics that we read, criticize some, recommend others. When you create your profile, choose whatever name you like, but maybe you could write your ffnet pen-name in your bio so that we can all relate who's who. When you wanna start a discussion on a fanfic, use the fic's title as the topic for your thread. Though I'm starting the message-board site, it is in no way limited to me or my fics. I just wanna be able to speak to other ffnet-goers. It's pretty plain right now, feel free to suggest wallpapers and tiles. If many, many HP fanfic-maniacs join, we'll get other moderators besides me to keep the site funky. Let's get chattin'!