A/N: I'm back again! More Harry Potter mania, all for you folks! Please r&r!
Disclaimer: I own nothing of Harry Potter except for anything weird you might see!
Chapter 6: Lost
Harry woke up disoriented and confused. Where was he?
Then the night's event came rushing back to him. He got out of his sleeping bag and went outside. His eyes were dazzled by the bright sunlight. It took a few minutes for his eyes to adjust. He looked at his watch and was startled. It was already twelve noon!
The action of last night had left them exhausted. They must have made camp around four or five in the morning.
He quickly woke the others up. They too were still tired and unsettled.
They quickly packed up camp and were about to resume their flight when Hermione said, "Don't. Let's not. I'm sick of flying. Why don't we walk for a while?" The other two agreed, thinking this was a good idea.
When they came to the edge of the woods they saw nothing but open fields and farm land.
"Um… guys?" Ron said, "Where are we?"
They all looked at each other. Where were they?
"Last night I was sure that we must have passed Hogwarts." Harry said, his suspicions coming back to him. "What if we did?"
"We just have to back track south." Hermione concluded.
"Yes, but how far south are we? And how do we know that's the right way?" asked Harry, "I was just about to check the compass when the dementors arrived. I was sure we had gone off course a little."
His two friends' faces paled.
"And if we were off course then…" Ron said.
Hermione gulped. "Then how far off course are we now?"
Harry didn't know. Neither did the others. They were lost.
"Okay, okay," said a pale and frightened Hermione. She began pacing, "Don't panic, don't panic, there has to be some way out of this."
Ron leaned against a tree, thinking hard. Harry thought too but he didn't see a way out of this mess. How could everything have gone into such disarray?
If they asked a farmer where they were how would they explain that they had gotten there? Harry thought. He relayed the problem to the others.
This didn't make the group any happier. Hermione's head shot up. She whacked her forehead with the palm of her hand.
"How could I have been so stupid?" She asked incredulously.
"We're all kind of stupid for getting into this Hermione," Harry pointed out.
"No, no, no." Hermione said, "I figured out what to do."
"Oh?" Ron said.
Hermione gave him a superior look and said, "Oh yes, I know exactly what to do. We can create an illusion to make it look like there's a car when actually we're riding our brooms close to the ground."
"And does anyone here know how to create an illusion like that?" questioned Harry.
"Of course. I do, or I wouldn't have suggested it." Hermione snapped.
They worked it all out. Harry would be in front with Hermione and Ron would be in the "back seat". They positioned their brooms in a triangle with Ron's broom at the point in the back. Hermione did some complicated spells and created the illusion. It looked just like a car, inside, and out. Then the plan commenced and they slinked down through the trees to the road.
Making sure no one was watching, Hermione created an illusion and they "drove" onto the road. They stopped at the first house they found. Hermione went to the front door and rang the bell.
A big, hassled farmer answered. Hermione politely asked for directions to Duff Town. (This was one of the muggle towns on the way to Hogwarts)
The man kindly gave them directions. They discovered that they were definitely off course. They had to be at least five hours away from it.
Thanking the man for his help, Hermione got back on her broom. It looked to the muggle as if she were getting into the passenger seat of the car.
Then they "drove" off once again. As soon as they got to the trees again they looked around and ran through them to the glen they had camped out before.
Not having time to spare for their feelings of disappointment, they quickly disillusioned themselves and were once again flying.
By night fall they had gotten to yet another forest with no sign of Duff Town.
"I hate forests." Was Ron's first remark when they had landed.
"It's all we've got for cover." Harry said.
Hermione started a stew with vegetables from the Weasley's garden.
"When did you get those?" Asked Ron.
"A few days before we were suppose to leave the first time." Hermione said with a shrug.
The stew was quite good actually. But Harry had no idea where Hermione had learned to cook.
Hermione blushed when he had complimented her.
"Thanks," She said, "I learned to cook stew when I was around ten."
Ron looked at her incredulously.
"You learned to cook when you were ten?" He said surprised, "Wow, you are amazing."
Hermione's blush grew redder.
Sadly, they could not travel any more that night. Well, it's not that they couldn't they just didn't want to. They had lost their nerve for night traveling because of what had happened the other night.
Wanting to get an early start in the morning, they all went to bed early.
Little did they know what the morrow would bring.
Hermione woke up first the next morning. Seeing that the other two weren't awake yet she crept out of their makeshift tent; being quite careful not to disturb them.
She was quite refreshed in spite of the fact that she had traveled who knows how many miles for the last two days and had spent the past two nights sleeping on the ground.
She stretched and took in her surroundings. This clearing was more pleasant than the one they had spent last night in. It had a little lake at the edge of the trees and late blooming flowers were all around.
Feeling dirty because she hadn't washed in two days, Hermione went over to the lake to wash her face. When she got back to the campsite she saw that both boys were finally awake. Feeling as though they couldn't possibly live with out her in the wild, she began starting breakfast while the others picked up camp.
She was just about to tell the boys that the food was ready when she heard a rumbling growl from behind her.
Hermione froze with fright. What could have made that noise? Not daring to turn around Hermione reached for her wand which lay beside her. Then she saw them. Surrounding the clearing were wolf-like creatures. They had dark gray stripes on their legs and backs like a tiger. They had wings and fangs as long as Hermione's index finger. But that wasn't the scariest thing about them. Their eyes were like any wolf's except they seemed more intelligent. Not only that, but they were different colors like human's eyes and they held emotions of wild ferocity. It was as she looked at the creatures' eyes that she realized what they were. Wragerwolves!
Her mind flew to what she had read about them. They were vicious beasts named partly for the man who had brought them into existence. The wizard Harold Wrager had magically combined the genes of an eagle, a wolf, and DNA from a fossil of a saber tooth tiger. The animal looked mostly like a wolf so he had used them in its name. The wolves had escaped the laboratory in which they had been bred and started reproducing in the world. The combination of genes seemed to have made them intelligent. They were vicious beasts that would hunt any creature. Even humans. They were supposed to be really rare.
Evidently they weren't as rare as most people thought. The Wragerwolves advanced a few steps and hid behind bushes and trees.
One was right near Harry who was buckling his trunk to his broom. Ron was not far away watching his attempts with amusement. She had to warn them.
Just as the wragerwolf closest to them was about to spring Hermione screamed, "Move!" At the top of her voice.
Trusting each other as the trio did the boys didn't hesitate. Harry dove to the right drawing his wand and Ron did the same to the left. The wragerwolf had pounced on the place where the two had been standing moments before.
Hermione became conscious of a rustling of leaves behind her. She dove to the side and rolled over yelling "Stupefy!" The spell found its mark, it hit the wragerwolf that had been behind her in the chest. The creature gave a howl of pain and sank to the ground.
Howls of rage erupted from all around the clearing. The wragerwolves abandoned stealth and charged the three friends.
"RUN!" Harry bellowed. Ron and Hermione did as he said and sprinted for their lives. They got to the edge of the woods and saw a steep hill. It was covered with boulders and stones. They scrambled up the hill as fast as they could but he creatures were gaining.
As they reached the top Harry turned around.
"Expelliarmus!" He roared. A red light emitted from his wand catching the nearest wolf-like creature between the eyes. It fell back and tumbled into one of its fellows. But there were at least five more.
The five remaining separated and took cover behind boulders so they wouldn't get hit by future spells.
Hermione and Ron had reached the top panting. The three of them stood back to back wands out.
"What are these things Hermione?" Harry panted.
"Wragerwolves," Hermione said, equally out of breath, "They're very intelligent, I'll explain later. LOOK OUT!"
A wragerwolf had jumped out from behind a boulder and was pounding up the hill towards them. While they were distracted by this one two more came from above in an aerial attack. The three left over were coming up from behind.
"Impedimenta!" Harry yelled.
"Petrificus Totalus!" Screamed Hermione.
"Stupefy!" Ron cried.
Spells rained down on the animals from above.
"Incarcerous!" Harry shouted, pointing his wand up at the two above them. Ropes wrapped themselves around the flailing wragerwolves and brought them down. By two of the others had recovered and a third was getting up. They approached the three humans at a slow cautious pace growling.
Harry backed up a step and felt the ground falling away. He heard a scream and a thud as he tumbled down the steep hillside. A wragerwolf had jumped on Hermione and pushed her to follow Harry down the hill. Ron was likewise dealt with and all three were screaming and rolling down the hill; hitting rocks along the way.
Harry skidded to a stop at the bottom feeling sick and dizzy. He had bashed his arm against one of the boulders and it hurt badly. But he didn't have time to think about it, the wragerwolves were advancing. Ron and Hermione landed with a thud on ground next to him. Harry saw that the two wolves he had conjured ropes on had gotten free and were behind the first three. The pack were almost upon them.
Desperate, Harry wracked his brains for a plan. Then it came to him.
"Impedimenta Maximus!" He yelled. The spell hit the wragerwolves with more force than the original would have done. They were slammed into boulders and fell to the ground unconscious.
Harry gave a whoop of triumph and knelt down to help Hermione and Ron up. Hermione had a big gash on her forehead and claw marks on her shoulder. Ron had a big slash on the leg.
Hermione healed their cuts with a simple wave of her wand and then pointed it towards the top of the hill.
"Accio Brooms!"
Their brooms came hurtling over the crest of the hill and down towards their owners. Their trunks were all strapped tight so nothing was left but to mount them and kick off.
They rose into the air and glided over the hill they had previously fought on. No one spoke until they were well away from that place.
Finally Harry couldn't resist any longer, "What were those things?" Hermione explained and gave a sigh of relief.
"We were lucky," she said
"Yeah, lucky," Harry agreed.
Ron was silent. They looked at him. He looked back grimly and then grinned.
"I don't care what either of you say but you won't change my mind," He said, "I hate forests!"
They all laughed. Then they flew south triumphantly.
They still hadn't had any breakfast so when they were safely away from 'Wragerwolf Domain', as they now called it they landed in a field far away from any houses for an early lunch.
It was about eleven o'clock when Hermione started to fix something up. After eating a delicious meal, they lay back on the ground with a contented sigh. They could afford a rest now and they took the chance with open arms. In no time they were asleep.
At one o'clock they were woken by the sound of a train's whistle. Harry got up and looked around. He couldn't believe his eyes.
"Wasgoin on?" Ron asked sleepily and rolling over.
"Ron! Hermione!" Harry said excitedly, "Look!"
Hermione and Ron were up in a nanosecond. There, down the hill, as scarlet as ever… was the Hogwarts Express!
"Whoo hoo!" Ron whooped, "We're on the right track."
"Literally," Hermione said, jumping up and down.
"Quick," said Harry, "We don't want to lose it." He disillusioned them all and they jumped on their brooms.
For the rest of the afternoon they followed the Express talking reminiscently about their years at Hogwarts.
"I wish we were going back this year," said Hermione with a sigh.
"We've got a job to do though," Harry said determinedly.
All their happy feelings were sapped away as they came back to reality and began to think forebodingly about their quest and the reason for it.
They followed the train till dusk keeping out of sight behind the clouds. They couldn't help think about the students in the train. All their friends from the DA, all their classmates and roommates. What would they think when they found out that the famous Harry Potter and his friends weren't coming back to Hogwarts? Neville and Luna had probably already searched the train for them. And what about Ginny? How did she feel about their leaving? Sad? Furious? Betrayed?
Then questions like 'will we ever see them again?' ran through their heads.
Harry rode through the night watching the lights of the Hogwarts Express shine through the darkness. If they hadn't been on such an important mission he would be down there, laughing with Ginny and probably Neville and Luna too. He knew Ron and Hermione were thinking along the same lines because they were looking longingly at the train with unfocused eyes.
Harry gave himself a mental shake. He shouldn't be thinking about the past and what could have been; he had to concentrate on the present and the quest.
He looked down and saw that the train was slowing down. They must be approaching Hosmeade Station. Harry, Ron, and Hermione would either have to get to Hogsmeade first or wait for all the students to clear out.
They tried to hurry so they could beat the train, but Ron and Hermione's brooms weren't as fast as Harry's and he was forced to wait for them. So they arrived above the station in second place. Hovering high above the crowd that was now on the platform, Harry spotted familiar faces. There was Crabbe and Goyle. Obviously Malfoy was still working for Voldemort and of course wouldn't be returning to Hogwarts either.
Harry noticed other people were missing as well. Both Patils weren't there from what he could see. He supposed that their parents didn't think Hogwarts safe anymore because of what had happened last year. How many other concerned parents or guardians thought the same? Not Neville or Luna's apparently. As Harry had expected, they were with a resigned looking Ginny. They were discussing something very intensely and quietly.
Then it clicked. Ginny must have been in contact with them both over the summer. He thought, That's why she has been disappearing and locking herself in her room. She had been writing to them and telling them all her suspicions.
Then he remembered the summer right before his fourth year at Hogwarts. They had climbed Stoatshead Hill and were gathered around the portkey. Mr. Weasley had asked Mr. Diggory if anyone else in the area were coming and Mr. Diggory had said that the Fawcetts couldn't get tickets and that the Lovegoods had already been at the World Cup grounds for a week.
That means that the Lovegoods live near the Weasleys! He thought excitedly, That's where Ginny had disappeared to the day of Lupin and Tonks' visit.
It was all coming together. So this was why Neville had talked to Ginny in Diagon Alley and not even said hello to them. Everything fit.
He leaned over on his broom and told Ron and Hermione his suspicions. They heard him out with rapt attention.
"How could we have been so stupid?" Hermione asked for the second time in two days, "Of course! She was meeting Luna and was writing to Neville. That's why Neville talked to her in Diagon Alley too. You're absolutely right Harry."
"I don't believe it," Ron said, astounded, "Right under our noses! She was talking to them right under our noses and we didn't figure it out!"
"Very good aren't they?" Harry said thinking fondly of their three friends on the platform below, "They're just like us."
The three of them watched Ginny, Neville and Luna make their way towards the Thestral-drawn-carriages and then waited impatiently for the rest of the students to load. They saw Ernie McMillan, Hannah Abbot, and a few other fellow DA Hufflepuffs grab a carriage. They also saw the Creevy brothers and a few DA Ravenclaws take a carriage as well. They heard the familiar voice of Hagrid float up to them calling "Firs' Years! Firs' Years!"
Then Harry noticed a bunch of aurors standing on the sidelines watching the apparition looking up, down and around for signs of suspicious activity.
"Let's get higher before those aurors see us." Harry said indicating to the group of trained wizards below. Hermione and Ron obeyed and they were all above the clouds.
A full moon was shining above them, illuminating the cloud's surface. It was beautiful up here, away from the world of trouble that was below. They had only the stars, moon, and each other for company. The clouds were like a floor, keeping the rays of the moon's light from getting to the people below. Feeling a wild happiness Harry grinned at the others. No one would see them above the clouds on a night like this. This was their last chance to have some fun before they really got to work.
The other two looked back at him, thinking the same thing.
"Race you to the Shack!" Harry cried. And with that he sped off. Harry did a few loop de loops for fun, letting them catch up. They stopped above the Shrieking Shack and Harry and Ron decided to do a few maneuvers just to show off. Hermione plucked up her courage and joined in. She was actually quite a good flyer now. Not quite like Harry and Ron, but they had had more practice.
Hermione laughed, this was actually quite fun! She felt like doing a loop de loop. Watching Harry carefully as he did one, she copied him.
They were all laughing. The students at Hogwarts were probably in the Great Hall right now listening to the Sorting while they were up here having the time of their lives. Harry knew which situation he preferred.
Ron started telling jokes he had heard from Fred and George. They of course were hilarious. The friends laughed and laughed until they couldn't laugh any more.
Feeling tired and hungry, they landed behind the Shrieking Shack out of view of the village below. After that they apparated into the Shack. Since they were closer, it was much easier to apparate with their heavy trunks.
They were now in the room Harry had thought ideal for dueling. They would make the place livable in the morning. Right now they felt like eating and getting some sleep. They explored and found that the Shack had a fireplace. Hermione did yet another complicated spell that made the smoke vanish as soon as it came so that it wouldn't go up the chimney and give away their position. How would it look to villagers if the haunted, abandoned, Shrieking Shack had smoke coming out of its chimney? Not very good.
After another truly amazing dinner, (was Hermione good or what?) they went up the creaking stairs and tried to get comfortable in one of the rooms. They put sleeping bags on the beds and fell asleep.
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A/N: Well. It would seem as though we're on our way! How'd I do with this chapter? Did anybody like my unorthodox creatures?...Anybody? Please r&r! I couldn't bear it if I didn't get any input on my little creations! Keep watch for more chapters! More are on the way!
-EveningSongEnchantment
