Seven Days, Zero Nights, Take My Hand, We Die Tonite
Day Two
Harry and Hermione kept their relationship a secret from Ron and Draco. They weren't prepared to tell them yet. They had decided to seek help somewhere in London, a place that had a, what Hermione called, "audio-visual lab". They walked over three miles to Downtown London, where they entered into the "London Times" building to ask if they could use their audiovisual lab. They walked up to the front desk as the woman behind the counter flashed them a large, toothy grin. "Hi there, may I help you?" the woman asked sweetly.
"Yes," Harry began, "were doing a report for school and we were wondering if we could use your audio-visual lab?"
The woman gave the group another smile and nodded politely. "Follow me." she said and took off down the hall. They followed closely behind the woman before she halted in front of a wide oak door. "Through there." she said as she walked off, high heels clacking against the tile floors. Hermione prepared to push open the door before something caught her eye. Something familiar. A fly, sitting as still as their hearts, on the door. She thought back, the images of the tape flooding her mind. Her face lit up in recognition. She looked back at the others, who were looking at her suspiciously and wondering what she was waiting for. Hermione turned her face from their gazes and entered the room.
The room was filled with so many electronics you could hardly imagine. Draco and Ron stood in the doorway; they're mouths hanging akwardly out of place. Harry and Hermione motioned them inside and took a place at Tracking Machine. Harry inserted the tape into the machine and hit 'play'. "When we were watching the tape at Malfoy's house I noticed that the tracking in one of the scenes seemed to be warped, so this machine should help us stretch the picture, right Hermione?" Harry asked Hermione hopefully. She nodded her head in approval. Harry played the tape until he reached the scene of the dead animals on the beach. He then slowly turned the tracking knob until it was positioned on 'MAX'. The group looked at the picture the machine had produced.
It was a lighthouse, though one that neither of them recognized. "How the bloody hell are we supposed to find out where that lighthouse is!" Ron scowled. Harry ignored Ron's statement and quickly printed a picture of the lighthouse and removed the tape from the machine. The four walked from the building, thinking about what to do next.
"Maybe we should try the library?" Hermione suggested.
"A genuine suggestion from Hermione!" Draco said sarcastically. Hermione shot him a piercing glance before leading the other three to London Public Library. Hermione approached the man behind the desk before clearing her throat, breaking the silence.
"Yes?" the man asked politely.
"We were wondering if you had any books on Britain's and America's lighthouses," Hermione said quietly. The man smiled before removing his spectacles and gesturing them to one of the oak tables. The four sat down as the man disappeared behind a door in the back of the library. He returned moments later with a small stack of books in his hands. "This is it," he said before returning to his desk. The four friends stared openly into one of the books, looking for any lighthouses' that resembled the one from the tape.
"There!" Draco said quickly, his finger resting on a large picture of a lighthouse. Harry held up the picture he had printed in the audio-visual lab and nodded his head in accomplishment.
"Great, we found it!" Harry said happily. He looked around, making sure that no one was looking before ripping the page out of the tattered book. Harry's grin slowly faded as he realized the look of disappointment on Hermione's face. "What's wrong 'Mione?" Harry asked, a tinge of worry in his tone.
"It's just that, we're in London, and that lighthouse is in America, Oregon to be exact." Hermione said lightly.
"No problem!" Harry said before standing from the table and motioning everyone to follow him. He led the others out into an alley behind the library. "Hold my hand, 'Mione, and Draco, hold 'Mione's hand, Ron, hold Dray's."
"Dray?" Draco asked unsurely, but still doing what he was told. Harry concentrated on the location of the lighthouse. Suddenly, the group felt themselves being dragged forward, as if ropes were attached to their abdomens. In a rush of swirling wind and color, the four disappeared from the alley.
Their feet slammed into the soft, mossy ground of Moesko Island, Oregon. They all regained their composure for the trip had left them somewhat dazed. The group looked around at their surroundings, shadowing there eyes from the fading daylight. Harry removed the crumpled page from the library book from his pocket and read on for more details.
Moesko Island, home of the famous lighthouse (pictured above),
Is a place of harmonous tranquility. Also, located on the Island,
Is the Morgan Horse Ranch, owned by Anna and Richard Morgan.
The Morgans' kept the ranch alive for more than 9 years before
Tragedy struck. The horses contracted an unknown disease,
Causing them to lose control, each of them drowning, having
Galloped straight into the ocean in the year of 1977, the
Same year they adopted their child, Samara Morgan. Soon
After, Samara herself disappeared, finally being declared dead 9
Years later. Samara, oddly enough was found in the year
2001, at the bottom of a well, near one of the Shelter Mountain
Inn cabins . . .
Harry returned his gaze to the group making sure that they comprehended. "Wait," Hermione began, "the well, at the end of the tape!" The three looked at Hermione and silently agreed.
"I guess we're visiting the Morgans'," Harry said slowly. The group slowly trudged out to the dirt road to flag someone down and maybe get a ride to the Morgan residence. They had waited for what seemed like an hour before a truck stopped in the foggy night. A man with a clean cut beard and an odor of cheap cologne spoke to them.
"Can I help you?" the man asked cheerily.
"Would you mind giving us a ride to the Morgan residence?" Hermione asked politely. As soon as the words had left Herimone's lips, the mans face darkened with terror. He looked suspiciously at the four teens before motioning them to get into the back of the pick-up. The four smiled in delight and climbed hastily into the back of the truck. Once sure the kids were safely in his truck, he quickly accelerated, continuing along the darkened road. The four sat in silence throughout the ride to the Morgans' house. The truck finally slowed down and the driver honked the horn to signal that they had arrived. The teens climbed out of the pickup and thanked the man for driving them to their destination. They walked up the drive to the large farmhouse, gaping at its eeriness in the light from the lighthouse. The group slowly walked up the steps to the house and stood before the weathered door. Hanging lopsidedly on the door was sign reading:
Condemned at the
Request of the
State
Harry looked back at his friends before pushing the door open and entering into the darkened depths of the abandoned house. They entered silently, the only sound being the creaking of the floorboards beneath them. They slowly advanced further into the house, looking for anything relevant to their situation. Hermione peered into the kitchen, staring at a lonely door at the other end. She removed her wand from her pocket and muttered: "Lumos!" The room was illuminated by a bright white light issuing from Hermione's wand. She reached her hand out and grasped the cold doorknob, turning it cautiously. She pushed the door open, revealing a flight of narrow steps descending into the bowels of the old house. "Guys, come here!" Hermione said loudly. Soon after, the three others were at her side, looking down the stairs that lead into the basement.
"I'll go first," Harry said quickly. "Hermione, stay in the middle of us." Harry lit his wand and began the journey into the basement of the old house. Harry's foot hit the bottom of the staircase. He slowly led the group through the basement, weaving their way around boxes full of photos, books, and papers. They finally reached a box with what seemed to be a family photo album sprawled open on top of it. Harry looked into the book and saw a picture of a woman, peculiarly resembling Virgin Mary, holding a baby with the label "Mother" written over the drawing. Harry quickly turned the page, glaring at the things placed upon that page. Newspaper clippings. Discussing the horses, but to them, that was already old news. Harry, along with the others, silently wondered what had happened to the Morgans'. Harry moved onto another box, which contained a variety of medical records. Harry looked at one of the files on the top most part of the box.
Sessions Terminated
2/23/78
At fathers request
See Video Record
#SM0015
"We'll definitely need this stuff!" Harry said, lifting the heavy box into his muscular arms. "And this!" he said, sliding the photo album into the box. He reached out his hand and grabbed Hermione's handed softly, Hermione doing the same with Draco and Ron. Once again, they felt the familiar tug at their bodies as they were lifted into the air in a rush of swirling color. They slammed unusually hard into the ground, the contents of the box spilling out into the alley. The four of them scattered to cram the contents back into the box. "Hey Harry," Draco began, "what's this?" Harry grabbed the paper from Draco's hands and studied it closely, Hermione looking at it over his shoulder.
"I thought Samara was adopted!" Hermione said worriedly.
Certificate of Live Birth
Morgan, Samara
They exchanged looks of confusion and horror as they finished piling the papers and documents into the box before hurrying down the alleyway. They were feet from the street as Harry unknowingly passed under a lone ladder. He stopped dead in his tracks, looking back at the other three, who were staring in horror. The images of the taped flashed through his head in a rush of static and stopped on a lone image . . . a ladder, leaning silently against a tall wall. The four ran at breakneck speed straight to Malfoy Manor, the memory of their discoveries at the Morgan house on Moesko Island to linger haphazardly in their minds.