A/N: This is a sequel to a story I wrote while I was waiting for Book 5 to be released. Because OOTP hadn't come out yet, my first story in no way followed what happened in that book. This story obviously follows a seperate path as well. If you're checking this out and haven't read my other story that's cool--I'll just tell you this takes place the summer between Harry's 6th and 7th years at Hogwarts. Insert usual disclaimer info at this point...
Chapter One: Wake Up Call
From where Harry was sitting, it looked like she had been punched in the stomach. They had been talking. Sort of. They had actually been making out when suddenly she inhaled so sharply she drew breath from out of his lungs. Harry had broken the kiss and begun to cough. She fell off the side of the bed to the floor. Her chest rose and fell quickly. It seemed like she was hyperventilating, her eyes wide, glistening, and frightened. Harry slid down to the floor next to her. He whispered directions to try and slow her breathing. In his head he said a silent prayer. Hearing the dull thud of his uncle's footsteps, he knew the prayer had went unanswered. If Uncle Vernon caught her in his room...well, he really didn't want to think about what could happen.
Desperate, Harry went to his trunk and pulled out the invisibility cloak he'd gotten years earlier. He kneeled back down next to her. She seemed to be calming down.
"I'm really sorry about this..." He covered her with the cloak. Harry turned towards his opening door preparing for the worst.
Under the cloak, she kept as still as possible. She'd only been back in the country less than two hours and already everything was going pear shaped.
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Michelle's eyes followed the seemingly endless stream of luggage passing in front of her. She'd marked her bag with a spray painted anarchy symbol (blood red at that) in hopes it would be easier to spot. She stretched her arms above her head trying to work out the lethargy that had set in during her flight.
"Finally..." she said to herself. Leaning forward and grabbing her bag, she drug it past the other passengers to get out of their way. She was checked out, her passport scrutinized, her bags scanned. The poor woman working security looked exhausted so Michelle gave her a smile and a polite thank you as she was moved forward. The airport was busy, even at this late hour. Michelle reached the exit and hailed a cab. She wished she could have just apperated to her London flat, but Dumbledore thought it best to travel the muggle way, atleast until she was safely home.
Home. Michelle sighed at the thought. If someone had asked her a year ago where she would be calling home, she would not have answered Britain. She wouldn't have had much of an answer at all really. Back then, she didn't know what she would be doing the next day let alone with the rest of her life. She had a plan now. Well, the beginnings of a plan anyway. Her path had become clearer ever since she'd become a Seer...and met Harry.
Mmmm...Harry. She hadn't seen him for a month. She missed him horribly. He had wanted to meet her at the airport. Michelle had talked him out of it because it would be almost midnight before her flight arrived. She doubted he would be allowed out alone at that time of night.
It took almost 30 minutes to reach her home. Michelle paid the driver and opened the door to the building. Checking that no one was in the hallway, she sent her bags floating up the stairs. They hovered in front of her door as she unlocked it. A flick of her wrist sent them towards her bed where they plopped down quietly. Michelle quickly cleaned up. She frowned looking in the mirror. She could see on her face the effects of getting no sleep on the plane. Nothing she could do about it now. Fairly satisfied, she went to her room.
She began to open up her luggage, haphazardly tossing her dirty clothes in the general vicinity of the laundry basket. One shirt skimmed her nightstand knocking overa picture of herself and Harry. Crawling over the bed, she lifted the frame back up. They had taken the picture just before she'd left to visit her friends in America. Looking at the photo, Michelle was immediately drawn to Harry's green eyes. She stared at them for a few moments before she resumed her sorting.
Her mind wandered as she moved about through the room. Michelle jumped when her phone began to ring. She checked the clock. It was almost 1 am.
"Hello?"
"So, you're back in one piece then?"
Michelle felt warm all over. It was Harry.
"Thanks to Virgin Airways. What are you doing up?"
"Couldn't sleep. I figured you wouldn't call because of the hour so I decided to call you." Harry was practically whispering into the phone.
"I'm glad you did. I missed you."
"Missed you too. I wish you were here right now."
Michelle suddenly had a thought.
"Seriously? You wish I was there right now..."
"Sure. Right now." Harry laughed a little. He could hear her smiling through the phone.
"Are you in your room?" she asked.
"Yeah. The Dursely's finally got a cordless phone so I snuck it up here."
"Okay. If I'm not there in about...ummm...5 min., call me back."
"What?" Harry heard a click on the other end. Confused, he hung up the phone and watched the clock.
Digging through her nightstand drawer, Michelle pulled out a map and Harry's address. She'd never been to his uncle's house. Normally, she would like to have a picture in her mind of the house before she apperated. The address would have to do. She found the location on the map and studied it for a few moments.
Taking a deep breath, Michelle concentrated. It took just a second or two before she was standing on the lawn in front of Harry's house.
"Damn...that was pretty good if I do say so myself." Michelle looked up and down the street. She checked the house number to make absolutely sure this was the place. Michelle moved around the house quietly, trying to find the window to Harry's room. He'd described the house to her so she thought she had a pretty good idea which one was his. After a few moments, she spotted what she was looking for. She could see the marks left behind when the Weasleys had once pulled the bars away from Harry's window. Harry had told her that story one day during supper.
Michelle drew her wand from her pocket and lifted herself up to the window. Peering inside, she could see Harry sitting on his bed staring at the clock. He held the phone tightly in his hands. She knocked gently on the window.
Harry jumped slightly. He looked at the window. This could not be possible, he thought.
Michelle smiled. Harry almost tripped over his clothes that had been flung to the floor when he got ready for bed. His mouth broke into a crooked grin as he opened the window.
"How the hell..." he held out a hand to help her inside.
"Well, Harry, there's this thing I can do called magic and..."
Michelle's sentence was cut off the second her feet touched the floor. Harry pulled her to him, kissing Michelle warmly. Her arms wrapped around him. She kissed him once more before hugging him fiercely.
"Anything exciting going on?" She spoke quietly, unsure of who was up in the house.
"You mean since the letter I wrote you last week? Not really..." Harry let Michelle go as she pulled away and sat down on his bed. "Uncle Vernon is convinced I'm spying on the family and sending out my reports using Hedwig."
"Seriously? You know, there are several medications available today that could help your uncle."
Harry chuckled. "If only it were that easy. How about you?" Harry hesitated, studying her face.
Michelle pursed her lips momentarily. "You're going to ask THAT question aren't you?"
Harry joined her on the bed.
"It is an obvious question, I know..."
"No, I haven't had any visions lately." Michelle's voice sounded tired to Harry. "Nothing of consequence anyway. Although, I did see something a few days ago. I had to convince a complete stranger to take a different seat on a bus."
"Did you see something happening to the bus? Was it going to crash?"
"Nope. The person sitting next to him was going to get sick and throw up all over him. Imagine being covered in puke for 3 hours. Like I said, nothing too exciting."
"But, that's good isn't it?"
Michelle shrugged and fought off a yawn. "Maybe. I would rather see something and have a heads up than get caught off guard."
"It's been quiet here too. Hermione calls to tell me what's in the Daily Prophet. The Dursley's don't want me getting it here. They think someone will see it being delivered and call animal control about the owls." Harry's voice dropped off hearing the ragged snoring of his cousin in the next room. "Guess I better keep my voice down..."
"You know, we could just skip the whole talking thing till tomorrow." Michelle gave Harry a sly glance.
"You're not leaving already are you."
Michelle rolled her eyes, apparently he'd missed her attempt at flirting.
"Not so much, no..." She gave up being subtle and leaned forward to kiss him. "I'm not leaving. I'm suggesting we could do something other than talk..."
She could feel his lips turning up in a smile under hers as she kissed him again. Her mind floated as she came closer to him. She'd missed how he felt, how he smelled, how his glasses would brush her cheek sometimes when they made out. His hands had just started to pull at her shirt gently when it happened.
Not now, Michelle thought to herself before the images came flooding into her head so quickly she felt as though she was on a spinning amusement park ride. Her body seemed to bend in two as the air was sucked from her lungs. Michelle fell to the floor with one thought throbbing through her head.
Draco Malfoy would be dead in a week.
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A/N Part Two: I'll warn you now, this is the first time I've put a story up without having it completely finished. I haven't even finished writing the next chapter, but I'm trying an experiment to see if I can do a whole story in a timely fashion. Input is appreciated. A quick final note, FlyingPurpleCat--I got your last "review" but wasn't able to properly contact you since I didn't have all the information needed. To answer your questions--go where the story takes you because you can always write another one and don't be afraid to edit and rewrite something. As far as getting people to read your stories, I think it's a matter of timing, but if you review someone's story, mention you've written something and would appreciate the feedback. Also, make sure you haven't blocked anonymous reviews--go to the settings page for that one. Good Luck. Let me know what you think.
