The Mediator : Harry Potter

Ghostly Magick


(A/N: due to the inconvenient site glitch, i'm going to have to update right now before the whole thing's disabled.

thanks for the reviews, everyone! Enjoy the chapter.

Disclaimer: All recognizable Mediator… stuff belongs to Meg Cabot. All recognizable Harry Potter stuff belongs to J. K. Rowling. I own nothing but the plot.)


Chapter Two.


Harry's POV

I sighed as I laid splayed out on my bed, in the house of Number Four, Privet Drive, looking up at the cracked ceiling. Sixth year had just ended, and I had made the decision to help with the Order of the Phoenix. But the professors had reminded me that it was my duty to inform my aunt and uncle that I would not be living with them anymore. I had decided to permanently move out of Number Four, Privet Drive to Twelve Grimmauld Place.

My face contorted into one of pain as I reminisced about the past year at Hogwarts. Now that Dumbledore was gone, Hogwarts was in a state of chaos. The school's powerful Headmaster was gone – and Hogwarts was now as unsafe as any other place in Wizarding Britain. The Wizarding world was frantic, and now all the responsibility of killing Voldemort for good was piled onto my shoulders.

I sighed again in frustration, running my hand through my hair. Bloody hell… How was I supposed to kill Voldemort all by myself? I know I'm supposed to be The Boy Who Lived, but that doesn't make me more powerful than the next sixteen-going-on-seventeen wizard.

I sat up abruptly, angry at myself for thinking such thoughts. I had promised myself that I wouldn't spend too much thought on what had happened. Hermione and Ron had convinced me that Dumbledore would not have wanted me to think about the past, but the present, and the future.

I growled and got off my bed, running my hand through my unruly hair again. I grabbed a jacket from my chair and exited my not-so-organised room out into the hallway. Hedwig hooted softly, noticing my restlessness. I gave her a strained smile and entered my room once more, reaching into her cage to softly pet her, thanking her for trying to comfort me.

I unlatched the door to her cage and let her out to stretch her wings. She hopped onto the windowsill, turning her head back to hoot once more before spreading her wings to fly. I watched as the dying sun shone on her wings and I turned around, exiting my room and heading down the stairs. Fortunately, the Dursleys did not pay any attention to me as I walked past the lounge, and I opened the front door and the hydrangeas to step out onto the sidewalk and into the late afternoon sunlight.

I quickly slipped into my jacket, and shoved my hands into my pockets. I walked slowly down Privet Drive, and turned left onto Wisteria Walk. Glancing to my right, I fingered my wand as I recognized the alley which Dudley and I were attacked by the Dementors last year. Gripping my wand tighter, I ventured into the alley. The darkness closed in on both sides and I clenched my teeth, as if expecting another attack.

I made it through and realised I had been holding my breath. I glanced back at the alley before turning left and down Magnolia Crescent. Now more relaxed, I ambled down, turning right onto Magnolia Road. Finally seeing the park railings, I hurried my steps and entered through the gate, not forgetting to close it behind me.

I made my way over to the swings. Sitting down in one of them, I kicked my feet off the ground. Every few minutes, I would kick the ground again to keep up the momentum.

I held the sides of the swing and looked up into the sky. It was getting to mid-afternoon. The sky was still blue – it would have been the perfect sky if the things that had happened around me were the same happy, cheerful light blue. I rubbed my scar, frowning as I felt the skin under my fingers.

Although the gentle swinging motion calmed me down, I could not help but wonder what my life would have been like if I had had a normal, Muggle life. If I still had my parents. If I had grown up with some sort of love from some sort of parental figure.

Sighing, I continued to contemplate before looking down at my watch. To my great surprise, it had already been an hour since I had entered the park. Soon, it was time to head back for supper, although it was probably only going to be a few stalks of celery and fruit. Not that I was complaining – anything was better than the cold soup they used to give me – but it was quite annoying to watch Dudley complain every night about the diet he was still on, although it didn't seem to be helping.

I stood up and stretched, banishing the sad thoughts from my mind for now. I know I had made a promise to help in the upcoming war, but right now, I knew that I deserved to take a break, considering all that I had been through this year.

Shoving my hands into my pockets again, I shivered in my jumper before heading back down Magnolia Road. I noticed a taxi roll by and a flash of brown hair before it turned down Magnolia Crescent.

Walking leisurely down the road, the afternoon sun slid farther down the horizon, and I picked up the pace. If I was not back for supper in time, I wasn't sure whether or not my aunt would actually leave food out for me. Or perhaps leftovers. But I wouldn't count on it – Dudley would eat it all just to spite me.

I continued on, finally making it to the end of Privet Drive. I noticed that there was someone standing at the door to Number Four. Curious, I quickened my pace.

No one had told me someone was going to visit.


Suze's POV

I walked up to the front door, rolling my suitcases along the ground and up the walkway. I felt as if it would take forever to reach the end of it. And just as I thought I would never reach it, I was standing outside the front door.

Gulping, I looked down at the little slip of paper I had shown to the cab driver. It was now smudged by the driver's dirty hands, but there it was – Number Four, Privet Drive, Little Whinging, Surrey.

Wait, Little Whinging? What kind of pervert would call any place Little Whinging? That's just asking to get ridiculed. Oh, I live in Little Whinging. What? Little Whinging. AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA you live in a little –

I'll stop now.

I read over the simple address again and again before I realized that I probably looked really stupid right now, standing in front of someone's door and not moving.

I flushed and looked around, thinking someone would suddenly pop out at me and ask me why I was standing here and not locked up in someone's home. Although I scanned the little street and saw no one, I had a gut feeling that someone was watching me. I shivered and looked back at the door.

Gathering my withering courage, I rang the doorbell before shrinking back and standing nervously on their doorstep.

Silence.

I thought about leaving right then and there when I suddenly heard large footsteps resound behind the door.

I gulped.

The footsteps stopped and I looked at the door confusedly. It had still not opened, but I was sure I had heard those footsteps.

Just when I thought I might have been hallucinating and that I really needed to leave before someone sued me for standing there looking like an idiot, the door opened and the most hideous thing I had seen in all my seventeen years popped out of the door.

I suppressed the urge to scream and I smiled a weak smile before realizing that the thing that was looking out at me was a guy. About my age. Who was extremely fat.

And when I say extremely, I mean holy-shit-I-think-I-just-saw-an-elephant extremely.

I forced my jaw not to drop down to the ground and held my smile, although it was still very weak. The guy stepped around the door and that was when I realized that my eyes hadn't deceived me. He really was as fat as an elephant.

"Hello?" I said, more as a question, then wincing as I realized that I must sound really stupid right now. So I said with more confidence, "I'm Suze Simon."

The huge thing lumbered out closer to me. I tried not to shrink back as a disgusting smell floated towards me.

"Hullo." The beady blue eyes that would have looked better if he hadn't been so overweight squinted, looking me up and down. I widened my eyes when I realized that he was actually checking me out. Suddenly his face split into a smile that I had a feeling he thought was flirtatious and he said, "My name's Dursley. Dudley Dursley."

I had the distinct feeling he was trying to copy the "Bond, James Bond" type of introduction.

I attempted a smile and found that it came out looking more of a grimace. "Nice to meet you," I said politely, hoping he would just let me in and get it done with.

He grinned at me and I couldn't help but taste the sting of vomit at the back of my mouth.

"The pleasure's all mine," Dudley said before making a grab for my hand. Luckily my mediator instincts kicked in and I raised my hand hurriedly, making as if I was checking the time. He looked disappointed, and I thought that he would probably stop hitting on me.

Oh, how wrong I was.

He leaned against the doorframe and cocked his eyebrow. "So what brings you down here, babe?"

I suppressed the urge to gag uncontrollably and said as calmly as possible, "I was sent here because of some… family problems."

He looked really confused. And suddenly an image of a confused pig popped into mind. A giggle escaped me, but I bit it back, trying not to anger the guy. He seemed to think I had giggled because his flirting had worked, and his grin grew wider.

"You want me to… help you? I could work it out with you, if you so wish," he said, winking. Now my smile had disappeared and I felt like I wanted to run off back to the airport and become a nun at the Mission, if only because I never wanted to see him ever again.

My patience was at its end, and I straightened up, looking at him in the eye.

"Look here – " I started to say, but at this exact moment, Dudley tried to grab me for a kiss.

I shrieked as I saw him leaning in, his puckered lips looming in my face. I noticed that there was a bit of saliva at the corner of his mouth and I recoiled in disgust. Unfortunately, his grip on me was quite strong and I could only move away a few inches before the lips tried to engulf my face.

I'm so going to sue for sexual abuse.

Just as I thought that I was going to have to kick my host in the nuts, a loud cough sounded from behind me.

Dudley's face snapped up, though he did not let go. But the fact that his face wasn't looming in front of mine made me impossibly relieved. Because of his hold on me, I could not turn around to see who was behind me. But what I did see was that Dudley's face had contorted into one of annoyance – and was that a bit of fear?

"What do you bloody want?" Dudley asked irritably, his voice sounding like he had phlegm stuck in his throat. At this thought, my own face contorted as well – but into an expression of disgust.

"Well, for one, you're blocking the door." The voice sounded pleasant, and young. Definitely male. I could tell that there was something about him that was really interesting. "And two, what do you think you're doing to her?"

Dudley clenched me even tighter, and I squeaked in outrage. He didn't look down at me, though.

"What do you think I'm doing, stupid?" His beady eyes squinted, and it took me a few seconds to realize he was trying to glare.

I choked on my own spit.

"I guess this would be a good time to tell you that she's with me."

During this exchange, I closed my eyes and tried to forget that a huge and lumbering pervert's face was looming in front of mine. But suddenly, Dudley let go of me and I stumbled backwards before whipping my head around to look at who my hero could be.

Behind me stood a guy, kind of tall and gangly, about my age. He was wearing jeans and a shirt that looked a bit too big for him, and a black leather jacket that looked foreign on him.

I studied his face. He had black hair that was really messy, with a bit that fell into his eyes, and glasses. He looked amused but guarded at the same time. The thing that caught my eye the most was a lightning shaped scar on his forehead. But just before I could contemplate how in the world he had gotten it, his eyes locked onto mine.

I saw my shock and surprise mirrored in his eyes as I realized that his eyes were green.

The same brilliant emerald green shade mine were.

Before I was able to make any sense of it, he had turned his attention to Dudley, although he stole a few glances at me.

"She's with you?" Dudley guffawed. "What kind of girl would hang out with you?"

I shook myself out of my surprise in time to answer, "I do."

I walked over to my saviour and clung onto his arm as if my life depended on it. He looked down at me with a mixture of amusement, surprise, and discomfort. He gave me a smile before turning back to Dudley.

Dudley was staring at us like the moon had just fallen out of the sky. His jaw was basically touching the ground. I stifled a giggle and I noticed that the guy I was clinging on to was struggling to hide a smile.

"Well?" he asked. "Could you move out of the way? I'm going to have to help her drag her things upstairs. She's staying over for awhile."

It looked like my hero was also a quick thinker. That would come in handy.

He smiled back down to me again, before using his free hand to grab hold of one of my suitcases.

"Oh, and by the way," he said to Dudley as we walked into the house past him, "My friend here is one of my sort of people, if you know what I mean."

I looked up at him questioningly, and he looked down, his eyes signaling that he would explain later. I nodded just as I heard a choke come from behind us. I looked back at Dudley. His eyes were bulging out of his head in fear that he looked like he was going to explode on the spot.

I imagined Dudley fat exploded on the walls, and instead of feeling disgusted, I felt a sick kind of satisfaction at the image.

I giggled under my breath and helped the dark-haired boy drag one of my suitcases upstairs. Just as we reached the top of the first flight of stairs, I hesitated and stopped.

I looked up to him and said quietly, "Suze."

The guy's eyes flickered up to catch my gaze.

Green eyes met green.

"Harry."


(A/N: … reviews would be nice.)