Chapter 2:
The Journey to the Hogwarts Express
By Rain Darkwood
Disclaimer: All characters other than those supplied by my imagination (Zero and Torch are it so far) are solely the property of J.K. Rowling.
Zero Finnigan was an interesting figure to watch when his dusty shoes stepped onto the grimy concrete outside of King's Cross station. Rain splattered down sporadically all around him, and he slowly held his hand, palm up, to catch a few drops of the rainwater. He was a ruggedly handsome man in his mid thirties, whose face was defined by small wrinkles around his eyes, and a rough chin, where shaving could only barely hold back traces of black stubble. He wore a sleeveless black cassock over a bright white dress shirt, giving the impression of a monk or scholar. His black pants were of precise tailoring, showing him to have the build of a gawky teen grown up, legs seemingly too tall and thin for him. His dark brown hair looked as though it were slightly too long for for taste, as though he were in need of a haircut but had not gotten around to it quite yet. He did not fit the part of a wizard visiting the station, even to the sight of other wizards. His long, jet black wand was stowed in his belt, but more visible was the pure black shotgun, double-strapped to a broom on his one and only suitcase. He seemed to like keeping his possessions plain and black - even the broom was black and grey. If anything, he looked like a rogue outlaw - minister, something out of a wacky video game that nobody wanted to play. He looked around with stone grey eyes, scanning the station with an air of unfamiliarity. They finally rested on a sign near the top of a pillar which read "Platform 8". He walked further a few steps toward platform 9, and then 10. He turned, and chuckled to himself, as though his own confusion about where to go was amusing. Finally he looked down at the tarnished silver watch on his wrist, and backed up to lean against a railing, deciding to watch for other people headed for platform 9 and 3/4.
His dusty eyes went back and forth between the two platforms, carefully studying the behavior of every person who walked nearby. Nearly ten minutes passed without incident, and Zero finally began to worry over his predicament. Perhaps the Ministry of Magic had changed the entry to the Hogwarts Express so as to prevent infiltration by Death Eaters? It was a difficult question. After all, surely some of the children at Hogwarts had parents affiliated with Voldemort and the school could not possibly allow the children access without alerting Voldemort to any changes. Zero pondered his options briefly, and decided It was time to take action as only a man such as he could. Puffing out his chest with confidence and determination, he snatched up his briefcase and strode like a man with a purpose, heading straight for the pillar to his right. As he made his approach, he closed his eyes tight.
SMASH
Zero found himself on his ass in front of the pillar. His forhead was throbbing, and he held his hand up to it delicately. As he quietly mourned his forehead, he noticed the sign above the pillar: "Platform 9". Damn it, he thought. This would be like trying to go to Platform 9 and 1/4. He angrily took up his briefcase again, checked to make sure that his posessions were properly secured, and looked around quickly to ensure that he wasn't being watched by curious muggles. A nearby businessman had stopped and was staring.
"Just a li' tle bit tipsy..." Zero said, in an elaborate impression of a drunk, with a fake accent. The businessman moved on, watching Zero for a moment as he walked. After he'd gone, Zero stood up and walked toward the opposite pillar, a little worse for wear but just as determined as before. This time he passed through without incident, to his delight and wonder. He looked up for the first time into the Platform for the Hogwarts Express, and beautiful british architecture once again overwhelmed all that he'd seen during his life in the United States. His wonder at such an amazing sight overtook him so much that he did not notice the two men in black cloaks and hoods that were facing him, standing near the train. Only when one of them spoke did he realize something was happening.
"Another one, sir!"
Zero looked down from the ceiling of the platform in time to see the smaller of two black-cloaked wizards pointing at him as the second one reached for his wand. Instinctively, Zero ducked behind a nearby bench and began to unstrap his shotgun. Wood from the bench behind him splintered over his head as a jet of red light smashed into it. He stuggled with the gun, pulling apart the straps he had put together, silently cursing himself for wrapping them so tightly to it. He could hear the deatheaters running toward his position, their shoes click-clacking loudly on the decorative cobblestone floor. Finally, his gun came loose and he attached his black wand to it, using a clip on the pump. He ran out from behind the bench, standing in front of the death-eaters defiantly. The smaller one stared in disbelief, as the bigger one laughed rauciously.
"Is that... is that a muggle fireleg?"
Zero pumped the gun and fired. Both death eaters laughed and performed shield charms, with looks of triumph on their faces. They did not expect what happened next. Rather than letting loose a shower of sparks and a spray of buckshot, the gun shuddered and belched 5 jets of red light - stun jinxes. The death eaters only had a moment of thought before the array of blasts shashed into their shields. The protego charm was effective, but not good enough to repel such a large amount of shots at once. With a sickening CRACK, the charms shattered and the death eaters were hit full on by the stunning jinxes. They flew backward and collapsed in a heap. As they hit the ground, more Death eaters came into view from the side of the train. They aimed several blasts toward Zero, which flew in bright green and red streams around him. A few were using killing curses, and Zero thanked whatever gods there were that they had bad aim. He pumped once again and aimed a shot at the death eaters, who were much farhter away than the previous two he'd handled. His next blast, a set of vicious Sectumsempra curses, spread apart toward the death eaters. Three of them blocked the curse effectively, but one was hit. He began to bleed profusely from his struck chest, and he fell screaming to the floor of the platform. One of the Death Eaters was screming obcenities at Zero. He was now hiding around the front of the train, trying to decide what would be the most effective curse or jinx at such range. Perhaps I should switch back to using my wand and give them a false sense of security, he thought.
Just then, he heard angered yells and the sounds of a struggle. Looking around the side of the train, he could see that members of the Order of the Phoenix were joining the fight, jumping out from the train doorways, where they had been defending against the attackers. The Death Eaters were beginning to scatter now, where there had formerly been tight packs of 4 to 5, there were now many Death Eaters defending themselves, backing away toward the various ends of the platform. Zero did not recognize any memebrs of the order who were currently fighting, until he saw Remus Lupin. Lupin was standing just inside the train in a doorway, firing off jinxes in rapid succession. His aim was surgical; 3 Death Eaters fell as Zero watched.
Coming out from his side of the train with his bewitched shotgun in position, he pumped and blasted two doses of stun spell at a few Death Eaters. The first was caught completely off-guard, trying to defend against a witch with a heart-shaped face's brutal assault of spells. He flew sideways into a wooden box, breaking it down to the ground in a dusty heap as he collapsed onto it. The second shot was entirely rebounded by a strong shield charm summoned by his second target. A blast fired by Remus from behind the Death Eater caught him by surprise however, and he fell forward onto his face, hard. Several Death Eaters were retreating now, running for cover and apparating - one of them was caught right before he could apparate by a witch Zero recognized as Professor Sprout, from Hogwarts, who had conjured giant plant-like vines which had bound the Death Eater and held him down, keeping him from escaping. There was only one Death Eater remaining now, dueling with the witch who had a heart-shaped face. As Zero watched, the Death Eater successfully disarmed her. Before he could finish her off, however, There were 5 wands and a bewitched shotgun pointing directly at him. He seemed to consider his options and, disgruntled at the idea of losing a kill, he slowly pulled his hood away to reveal his face.
Zero gasped despite himself. It was none other than the mercenary Torch O'Malley, another american... Apparently Voldemort's influence reached far and wide. Torch was younger than Zero, but his face did not show it much. He was scarred and battered to the point of having chiseled features, like a gargoyle - and yet beneath it all lay a roughly sketched handsomeness. He smiled daringly at Lupin, whose grip tightened on his wand considerably.
"Remember my face, Order."
Torch's hands were in the air to signify cooperation, and yet... Zero knew something was wrong, from the flash in Torch's eyes.
As Zero jumped forward, tackling Lupin's back with as much force as he could, a massive jet of red light rippled their hair, passing directly over them. As if in slow motion, they collapsed on the ground, hearing a louck CRACK, and Zero understood that Torch had apparated. The heart-faced witch helped them up, half laughing and half crying. Zero felt like he was going to collapse again, or be sick, but stood as strong as he could, nearly in agony as Lupin struggled against him, trying to pull himself up.
"Damn it..." Lupin muttered savagely, the hint of wolf just beneath the surface. He seemed angered at the loss of Torch's capture and yet, as his eyes moved to his right and scanned the face of the woman beside him, holding him up, he softened tenfold. "Nymphadora..." he sighed, holding his hand up momentarily to stroke her cheek.
Tears streamed from her face, and she smiled ecstatically. "I almost lost you," she said.
Zero ducked back out from under Lupin's arm, not wanting to intrude on their happiness. He sighed and walked to the end of the platform, looking down at the tracks with a sober expression. From behind him, a hand clapped his shoulder with such force that he nearly fell forward. He did not need to turn around to know who was there. "Sirius, you old dog," he said, turning a full 180 degrees before being shocked and nearly falling off the platform again. It was not Sirius; it was James. He stared into the eyes of a man he had once fought side-by-side with, Sirius' best friend and confidant. He stared into the eyes of a dead man.
And yet...
The yes were not James'. He stared back into those eyes, and nearly expected to see the face of Lily Evans swim into view, as if through a pool of dark blue water. His breath caught in his chest. "Harry... you must be harry."
The boy looked back resolutely, with a strength and hardness in his expression of a man far beyond his years. "Sirius is dead, sir. Yes, I'm Harry. Thank you for helping us; we had almost lost."
Zero merely stared back into those eyes of such familiarity and striking purity, searching for words to reply to what the boy had said, without really having heard it. "Your look, just like..."
"My dad, I know."
"But the eyes, the eyes..."
"My mother's. I know it."
This last part had been said with such forcefulness that Zero dared not pursue it, although he continued to stare into those deep eyes. Harry was not the only one standing in fron tof Zero now, and he realized that the other members of the Order were coming to thank him as well, and before he'd knwon it, Harry had ducked through the small crowd and disappeared. Just like James, Zero thought. A knack for disappearing when he wants to. And yet, a sadder soul I've never seen. He turned to watch the crowd around him. Some were smiling expectantly, waiting for him to cry out their name in recognition; some were waiting as though wanting to meet him and introduce themselves, and politely ask who the hell he was. He turned first to Remus, who now stood directly in front of him, hand-in hand with the heart-shaped face woman, whom he had called Nymphadora. Lupin held out his hand happily, as if greeting an old and cherished friend. Indeed Zero had fought side by side with Lupin at Dumbledore's request during Voldemort's first reign of terror, but he'd never quite made friends with any of the Order, exactly - it was all for Dumbldore. The thought of Dumbledore conjured a sharp pain in his throat, and he swallowed hard, with difficulty. A chill ran up his spine. As though understanding completely, Lupin leaned forward and embraced Zero, holding him like a brother.
End of Chapter 2
At this point, our protagonist has reached the destination of the Hogwarts Express. But why are there so many members of the Order aboard? Why does Harry seem like such a grown up now? What effects of the recent upheaval have effected the wizarding community of Britain? Why would Death Eaters openly attack the Hogwarts Express? You'll have tor ead the entire tale to know - but I promise at least a few will be answered witht eh next chapter, which I'll be beginning now! Read and Review, I'm big on constructive criticism and I'm likely to incorporate anyone's suggestions into the story. Hell, if you want to have your character in my story, I'll do that too, just ask and it will be done.