Where's Did It Go?

Harry POV

Harry woke to Fur Elise that day.

Usually it would be a nice thing to hear at two thirty four in the afternoon, but today it scratched at his ears. He sat up and swung his legs over the edge of the bed, wincing at another emphasised note that surely didn't have a place in the classic.

He drew on mismatched socks, one of which he was sure was Ron's, and jeans, as well as yesterday's shirt. He needed more clothes.

Yawning, he stumbled down the narrow and steep staircase, a headache forming between his temples as he entered the kitchen, where Hermione sat probably getting some light reading with the magical encyclopaedia she was pouring over. She had a cup of coffee in front of her, and he headed to the kettle to get the remaining hot water.

Once he had finished making himself some coffee and spillt most of it on the counter, he turned back.

"What you reading there, 'Mione?" He said, trying to casually take a sip and immediately regretting it when scalding coffee slid down his throat. He grimaced and almost dropped the mug. His experience with gillyweed weirdly floated into his head while he gasped and gripped at the wooden counter.

Hermione remained oblivious to his fit, turned the page and continued to read, all the while taking a sip from her own steaming mug.

"Hermione?" he choked.

As the pain in his throat subsided, Harry frowned. He walked over and tapped her on the shoulder and she looked up. She quickly reached up to her ears and pulled two things out.

"Sorry, Harry. Ron's music was getting a bit much." She said apologetically. She waved the two white foam pieces in her hand. "Charmed earplugs."

A loud bang erupted from the stairs, and they both turned to Mrs Black's portrait, but she remained silent.

"I'm surprised she's done nothing about Ron." She muttered.

"Are Fred and George here?" asked Harry, his face twisted in confusion, staring at the ceiling.

"Yeah, they came late last night." confirmed Hermoine, closing her book. "You and Ron had already gone to bed, but you missed Mrs Weasley tackle them. She didn't let go for half an hour."

Harry nodded and winced as another bang sounded and Ron's fingers jumped on the piano, making an ear splitting sound.

Usually Mrs Weasley would have stormed up the stairs by now and demanded for them to hand over the vast array of legal and illegal items. And then Mrs Black would have started screaming.

"Where's Mrs Weasley? And Mr Weasley? It's a Saturday."

"They didn't drink last night, so Mr and Mrs Weasley, Lupin, Sirius and Bill all left last night." She replied putting her mug in the sink. She flicked her wand at it and the washcloth began to scrub it before she continued. "Remember Trelawny's prophecy? At the first Order meeting."

I nodded, taking another cautious sip.

"Well, McGonagall came around yesterday morning - I really have to figure out who the new secret keeper is - and she gave us an address that she said to try.

"She didn't tell us what it was, but she said that she had a feeling that the people there were the 'seven from legends of now," said Hermione, using her fingers as quotation marks.

Her condescension was evident, and she had been immediately opposed to the idea of there being 'legends of now', that we didn't know about.

"I mean, surely we would know about any legends!" She exclaimed shrilly, frustration building on her face. "We'd know about them in the papers, or be taught about them in Hogwarts. If anyone is a legend, it should be everyone at Hogwarts! That address was for somewhere in New York!"

"So?" replied Harry, trying to cover up his indifference. To be honest, he'd prefer the mundane over the legendary. With the mundane still including magic.

"So the wizarding community is really small in America!" She hurried over to the table, where Harry discovered the book to be one imaginatively named Magic.

Ron walked in, sporting a jumper with a big patch on the arm and bags under his eyes.

He raised his eyebrows at Harry in greeting, before slumping onto the bench beside Hermione.

"Mornin' Harry."

Harry nodded slightly, lifting his mug to him and smiling slightly at his messed up internal clock. He didn't believe that Ron had gotten up much earlier than him.

Hermione flipped open the big book and Harry sat in the wooden bench opposite her.

"I've been reading about the American's"-

"Big surprise there." muttered Ron, propping his head up on his elbow.

"- and the only school on record is Ilvermorny, with their last known report when the last Triwizard Cup took place." She said, controlling her need for information. She seemed to be trying to not get worked up. "The one before yours." She added hastily, glancing at Harry.

"After that there's nothing." said Hermione, ploughing on through Ron's remark.

"And then there's their ministry." Hermione said heavily."

"Hmmm?" hummed Harry, taking another sip. He didn't choke this time, but grimaced.

She sighed. "The last known Minister of Magic in America was Merlock Steward... in nineteen thirty five."

Harry's eyes narrowed at that.

"And? Maybe they're really bad social people, or forgot to make regular announcements of their state of living." shrugged Ron.

Hermione didn't even crack a smile, "Where did their Ministry go?"

Harry didn't have an answer for her. But he did remember lots of muggle papers that he had read at the Dursley's, cooped up in the bedroom and cupboard under the stairs.

Most of them were about politics going wrong and advertisements for the best fertilisers, but some detailed mysterious weather and freak natural disasters.

"Wasn't there a lot of weird things happening in America?" voiced Harry.

Hermione nodded vigorously, "Yeah, I've read as many muggle papers as I can, and there have been stuff like-" She heaved a stack of newspapers from the bench beside her onto the table. "'Mount St Helens: Sleepy Volcano Wakes.'" She read, moving her finger u def the title. "It says here that Mount St Helens has only had small eruptions over the last thirty six years, but in 2007 it had a huge eruption, before it was obliterated later on in the year."

Harry's eyes widened slightly. "Surely that could have just been a freak accident? That's not magic."

"Or one super powerful diffindo spell." said Ron, helpfully.

"But that's not even it!" went on Hermione. "There was a period of time when Manhattan literally went off the map. Three days, no contact at all. Whatsoever."

She stared at Harry.

"And at the end of it, Manhattan was in ruins." Hermione added.

"So what does it have to do with legends? This is all to do with weird things that happen in America." said Ron, his head still on his elbow.

Hermione's lips thinned. "I don't believe that it's not magical, but then all the muggles there don't suspect a thing."

"Couldn't they be obliviated?"

Hermione reluctantly tipped her head and grimaced in defeat, "They could have been, and it's happened before, but..."

And then the front door opened, and Mrs Weasley came potting into view.

"Hello dears!" She said cheerily.

"Hello Mrs Weasley." said Harry and Hermione in unison.

"Hullo, mum. Where's everyone else?"

"Oh," She replied, putting her coat on the stand and her umbrella. "Their apparating one by one. The doorstep is awfully small."

Just on cue, Remus stumbled into the kitchen looking as if he had been shoved, and Sirius following soon after with a cheeky grin on his face.

Lupin turned around to say something, but Bill came into view and gave him a look. He turned around reluctantly.

"How was your trip?" asked Hermione.

"Oh, it was very nice, Hermione. We had to make several stops along the way, but we did find McGonagall's friends. Nice lot they are." said Bill, slumping into the bench, before yawning.

"Coffee, dear?" said Mrs Weasley. Bill nodded.

"Me too, Molly!" said a voice floating down the hall. Mr Weasley came into view.

"When are the wizards coming?" asked Hermione stiffly.

Molly didn't reply and kept her back firmly turned around, but Remus spoke for her. The three of them swivelled their heads to him quickly.

"They are coming by the end if the week at most they said. One of them is a blacksmith of sorts and wanted to go to Italy to visit someone there."

They nodded.

"Anything else?" pressed Hermione.

"What else is there to say?" said Sirius, his feet resting on the table.

"Did they seem... legendary?"

Remus sighed. "They aren't your average bunch of wizards Hermione. They've been through a lot, and you know about some of it from the amount of stuff on the table." He gestured to the newspapers and big book.

"So I was right!" She exclaimed. "I knew they weren't natural disasters."

Crack!

"What's that about natural disasters?" said George, stumbling slightly as he landed, squeezed in the doorway with Me Weasley.

"Boys! What have I said about apparating in the house?!"

The twins shrugged, and Fred said "Natural disasters?"

Hermione silently handed him the first three newspapers, and he began to rifle through them.

George peered over his shoulder, and Fred handed him a paper. "Muggle newspapers are mighty boring, if you ask me." He said, looking at Harry and Hermione.

Harry shrugged.

"Blimey, Americans are as cracked as an egg."

Everyone looked at George, and he read out, "Kid Bravely Faces Gunman."

"Did he die?" asked Ron, grimacing.

"No, he actually went on to attack him and disarmed him. And then went missing for six months."

"Lovely." said Mr Weasley, taking a mug from Mrs Weasley.

The rest remained silent.

"What?"

Harry clearly saw that they were hiding something, and he didn't care for secrets.

"What, dear?" inquired Mrs Weasley.

"What aren't you telling us - and don't say that there isn't."

She paused, but Sirius replied.

"We think that it's best for them to tell you; it's their secret to keep, after all."

Harry looked at Sirius with an expression of indignation and reluctance. Sirius was usually the one backing him up, not knocking him down.

"That's fair."

Surprisingly, it came from Ron. Hermione remained silent beside him, but Harry could clearly see and almost hear the clogs moving in her head, running through all possibilities.

The week dragged on, with Fred and George using a new version of Extendable Ears whenever we weren't present, and Mrs Weasley charming every room in the house to resist them.

But finally, Friday came along, and we all sat eating homemade fish and chips, squished onto the benches, when the air above the middle of the table began to shimmer, and a scene that wasn't Ginny's face came to life in front of Harry.

Sorry this took a while to get up, I was trying to capture the Harry Potter writing style, but I don't really think it went too well. Anyways, please vote and leave a comment; they mean so much. Thank you!

BYE ;)