Harry Potter & The Door of Dimensions.

Chapter 2:
In Which Harry Discovers His Name is Very Annoying.

"What did you say!' He spat immediately, determined to discover what this guy was hiding. Harry had had enough of being kept in the dark. He'd had enough of being lied to, cheated, bullied and manipulated. His entire life he'd been kicked around and abused. He was damned if he was going to let this new Markl kid get the better of him.

"You know what that thing is!" Harry blurted again, grabbing Markl's arm.

Markl's smile instantly vanished, his face becoming a white mask as his large eyes turned towards Harry, a little shock in their aqua depths, "Hey..Calm down..." he spoke a little defensively, pulling at the arm that Harry had a death grip on, "...It's nothing to worry about." he stood up, and Harry straightened his back a little, letting go of Markl's arm.

He quickly looked back out the window at the castle. Of course it was gone, hiding in the mist, he suspected, or maybe it had disapparated away completely. Either way he was disgruntled by it's vanishing act. He never seemed to have the proof when he needed it!

"You should relax, Harry. This year you'll be fine with me looking out for you." He smiled again and decisively left the cabin, which felt to Harry to have become recently extrememly cramped.

Harry stared for a moment wondering what to make of that statement. It wasn't something someone you had only just met would usually say to you. However, Harry reminded himself that this was no ordinary place and very extraordinary things were bound to happen at least once a day.

It wasn't before long that Harry realized Markl never answered his question, "Why that slitherer-outer!" Harry shouted, jumping to his feet and dashing out of their cabin, racing after the boy wizard. As he entered the hall he was only quick enough to catch the boy's bronzed hair slip into another cabin a few meters away.

The door thunked behind Markl's back and Harry walked over to it, banging his fist on it's wobbly glass window, "Not much a hiding place, Markl!" Harry shouted angrily at the door. With one swift motion he whipped it open, at the same time as shouting, "Don't be such a--AH!" Before Harry could even believe what was happening clouds and tracks were roaring past his face as the door opened directly into thin air. The edge of the bridge dared him to jump and Harry struggled to keep his balance, wavering back and forth for what seemed like the last seconds of his life.

He noted that his entire life did not flash before his eyes, but instead a wave of regret.

Finally he felt a hand grab the back of shirt and pull him back into the car and out of insanity's twisted fist. Harry's butt hit the ground with a painful thump and he pressed his back against the far wall, panting heavily at the sudden rush of adrenalin.

Markl had just... dissappeared into thin air.

Harry began to wonder if he had imagined the entire scenario. He tried to recall if he had mistaken this door for another, but he hadn't, he was sure of it. Of course he knew it was magic, but a sixth year student? Using that level of sorcery? Harry didn't think it was possible.

Harry didn't think it was legal.

His concentration shattered as someone continuously shouted his name. Harry began to really hate his own name and find the person shouting it extrememly annoying. Maybe his name was just annoying, or a combination of all three.

"WHAT!" He finally exploded, glaring up with fiery green eyes.

To his mild surprise, although he was bit too tired to care at this point, Ron and Hermione stood over him, looking a bit like two nervous pigeons. The two of them shuffling foot to foot was almost comical in appearance. Harry laughed under his breath, wondering why the two of them were so awkward looking, "What?" he repeated.

"Harry.." Ron began, but trailed off, scarching the back of his freckled neck with one hand. His red hair had been cut short again, but only short enough that it brushed the tops of his ears. It seemed to be styled to stick out in every which direction possible like a flock of owls had just flown passed his head. It gave him a bewildered sort of air, which was natural to the Weasly family, but emphasized even more by his hair.

Of course his pale blue eyes failed to find Harry's, as usual.

"Harry." Hermione started, her voice stronger than Ron's and her resolve apparent in her chocolate brown eyes, "Ron and I are .. well, a bit worried about you." Harry could see her fingers intertwinging with each other, rubbing together anxiously. She hadn't been this nervous looking since last year's final exams.

Of course, she looked fine and her hair silky. Obviously her spells weren't fading in effectiveness.

Harry looked at them blankly, and a little disbelievingly, "Excuse me?"

"We're worried about you. We haven't seen you all summer and the first time we do see you snap at us again... We just wanted to say hi... Aren't you happy to see us?"

Harry narrowed his eyes at them. Had they not SEEN that he was dangling out the side of the car just moments ago? Weren't they the ones who pulled him back in just in the nick of time? What was wrong with them! No normal person would look in good spirits after something like that. Harry had more reasons than most to be frazzled, "What! Can't you guys just..-" He puts his hands up beside his head, as if clawing for the words to form above theirs heads in plain english. He sighed and stood up.

"Look, I'm just a TAD stressed out right now, in case you hadn't noticed. Can't you two understand that I'm not just going to be 'happy to see you' every time you call? I almost died and you two are just thinking about how I made your DAY bad. Well, I can't feel that bad since every day of my LIFE has been hell or bloody well close to it. Now it's worse than ever and ever since... Ever since..." He stopped and let the words die on his tongue.

He didn't want to continue. He didn't want to speak now, or ever again. This was just too much for his meager little mind to handle, "Just forget it. Go away. I was fine before you guys came along." He said bitterly, glaring at the carpeted train car. The edges were sewn tight to the siding and still held a rosey red colour of their threads. He wondered briefly what the car looked like when it was first built.

He looked up through his bangs at Ron and Hermione, who stood in front of him, blinking foolishly. Hermione's shoulders sank a little and she looked at the ground, then to Ron, who shared her look of dissappointment. Harry wondered what was taking them so long to leave, so instead of waiting for them he turned on his heel and stormed back to his cabin, closing the door tightly and locking it behind him.

'Bloody...I just want to be alone..' he sat back where he was before and pulled his knees up to his chin, biting his bottom lip till a metallic taste filled his mouth.

Alone was good. Alone as safe.

He watched the clouds a while, but found them too fleeting and distracting to stare at, so instead he rested his forehead on his knees and sighed, waiting for nothing and no one. It was then a knocking came to his door.

"GO AWAY!" He shouted at the emotionless wooden grain. The knocking continued and continued.. and continued... Harry was at his wits end, "Just leave Me ALONE!"

The slid open with a hiss, it's creak all but completely erased, "No, Harry... I won't leave you alone..." Came a low and slightly dark voice. Harry didn't recognize the tone and it gave him shivers to hear. He didn't want to look up, he didn't want to face another uncertainty. He was tired of being brave and stupid. It only led to his downfall. At this moment, he didn't care who it was that came into his Cabin. It could be Voldemort. He would simply hand himself over and say hell with it. Enough was enough.

However, he still flinched away as a hand fell onto his shoulder.

'Just leave me alone!' He pleaded to himself.