Harry Potter and the Shadow of Despair

Chapter II

Disclaimer: I know I don't own this…please don't remind me.

Harry stared at the calendar, counting the days left until he would be able to go back to school. It seemed like it would take forever, but in reality, it would only be about a week more and then he would be free. His eyes trained on the calendar, and he traced the mark over the day he had just crossed off. He realized that he must look like a complete idiot and moved to do other things.

He hadn't had many problems with the Dursley's this year. The most he did was avoid them when he could, and try not to think about what they were saying unless it was indescribably important.

They, in turn, tried to forget he was there, even going so far as to forget to feed him on occasions. This was quite aggravating for Harry, but he'd managed to scavenge some preserved foods from Ron after sending a post. He also happened to gain a couple of other foods, most of which were delicious, from Ron's mom. Ron had sent an accompanying letter with the note stating which foods he'd sent and which ones his mom had insisted on including.

Speaking of which, Hedwig was taking an awful long time to hunt. She'd been gone for about two days now, which generally meant that she'd decided to drop by Hermione or Ron's house and catch up with them. Sometimes she would come back followed by Pig, Ron's owl. Those were not the best of times for Harry, but they were certainly the memorable.

Harry opened his window, and let the hot August air in, preferring it to the stuffy hot air he already had in his room. He sat on his bed wishing for a nice cool breeze.

The teenage girl looked out from behind a bush on the street. She calmed her breathing by force of mind but couldn't stop her heart from beating a mile a minute. Staring at the pavement on the road was becoming increasingly tedious, but she was used to waiting. Her whole life was made up of sequences in which she was lingering somewhere, generally wishing that she could be somewhere else. All in all, she wasn't surprised, considering the position she was in.

With any luck (which she sincerely doubted she had any speck of), she would soon be out of this town on a plane to a different area, a safe place free from those who were after her. A haven would exist for her…until they followed her and rendered it useless. Judging from past experiences, her pursuers would catch up to her in a given time, but she was going to make the time she had last.

Her mind was jerked to an awakening by the sight of one of her hunters situated in the shadows of a bustling market. She cursed herself, wondering if she had left some telltale tracks behind her. She slowly and cautiously got into a crouch, and then disappeared into the bushes behind her, coming out into a deserted dirt lot. She glanced to her left, and then sprinted through the lot in the direction she remembered the airport was located.

If she had looked to her right, even for a fleeting moment, she would have seen eyes glinting with a deep malice. If she had looked, she might have saved herself. If she had looked, things might have turned out differently for her.

Harry looked up as an owl came sweeping down. He couldn't quite make out if it Hedwig or not, what with the sun glaring behind it. Soon enough, his hopes dropped of it being Hedwig as he saw it had feathers the color of caramel. Must be the school owl, he thought.

He skimmed through the new reading list, and sighed, thinking of how he was going to have to ask the Dursleys for a ride to get his supplies. Well, at least I have the chance to get away from them for a while, he thought. I might even see Hermione or Ron. That was something he could look forward to; it didn't matter, as long as it was something happy.

His thoughts drifted to the Order. Recently (from what little he could gather), they had been pretty much inactive, or so they said. (He personally knew they wouldn't be doing nothing. Not by a long shot.) He had basically given up trying to talk about the Order, as it was exceedingly hard to think up of ways to code his words so that only Ron and/or Hermione knew what he was talking about.

Hermione had spent part of her summer with Ron then returned home for a couple of weeks at home. Harry wondered how much she had informed her mother and father about the whole war subject, and if so, how they had taken it. They seemed like very nice people, but how would they react to their daughter's apparent relevance to a dangerous situation? Would they try and keep her home? Harry knew how Hermione wouldn't stand it if such a thing even occurred to her parents, but what if they really insisted…Harry would certainly miss her…

A sudden pang of loneliness drove through him as he thought about -. No, he couldn't stand it. He missed Sirius so badly that he wanted to do something, anything…but what Luna had said made him feel a little better. It wasn't as though he was permanently separated from Sirius for eternity. I wish…I hope that you can hear me, Sirius.