Haha! This one was a tad longer! :) Not a lot, but every little bit counts, right?
As the man sat on the beach, grimly contemplating a fate without rum, a loud voice sounded from behind him. "Just how long ago is this, Hermione? There's nobody here!"
"I…I might have overdone it," said a girl's voice nervously. "There has to be somebody here, though…."
Another female voice piped up. "Look," it said excitedly, "Hermione's right! There's a man sitting over there by the water!"
The man heard the muffled thuds of feet hurrying across the san, and he braced himself, wrapping his fingers around his pistol. The footsteps halted behind him, and he turned his head to face four teenagers.
* * *
The man turned around to face them, his expression guarded. His oh-so-dark brown eyes played over them, searching for signs of hostility. He had his hand on his pistol, and he looked at them warily.
After a moment of tense silence, Hermione cleared her throat and said in a rather high-pitched voice, "Erm… hello. My name is Hermione Granger, and this is Harry Potter and Ron and Ginny Weasley." She gestured towards each of them as she said their name.
The man got to his feet and regarded them for a moment before saying, "I'm Captain Jack Sparrow… and may I ask how you lot ended up on this fine island? I thought it was deserted."
The group exchanged nervous looks. How were they supposed to explain how four teenagers had suddenly appeared on what had previously been a deserted island?
Ron said quickly, "We were shipwrecked on the other side of the island, and we came over here looking for… for…." He trailed off as Jack turned towards him with his eyebrows raised.
"Shipwrecked, were you?" the pirate said, not bothering to hide his skepticism. What happened to your crew? You can't honestly tell me that just four kiddies like you all survived. And why, may I ask, do you look so tidy and well-fed?"
The four teenagers said nothing, but Harry, Hermione, and Ginny all turned to glare at Ron. He shrugged uncomfortably and muttered, "It was worth a try, right?"
Amused, Jack said, "Uh huh… well, I won't ask anymore questions right now then, hm? That is, if you all have a way to get off this bloody island."
* * *
Lucius and Draco Malfoy watched this interaction with interest from the edge of the trees. Draco turned to hiss father and said, "Father, what do you think they're going to do about that man?"
Lucius shrugged indifferently, "Why should I care? He's just a Muggle," he sad flatly. Draco frowned slightly, but did nothing more.
* * *
Hermione said helplessly, "Do you mind giving us a moment, Jack? We need to discuss something quickly."
Jack shrugged and said, "Makes no difference to me, luv. 'S not like I have anything better to be doing than waiting for you all." He sat back down in the sand and watched the four young people huddle together. They whispered fervently, shooting the occasional glance at him. They were certainly strange. They were wearing robes, for one thing; also, Jack could come up with no sensible way for them to have come to the island.
Finally, they came back towards him and Hermione said wearily, "Okay, Jack, we're going to help you off this island. It's going to be strange for you, but just stick through it, all right? We'll explain everything to you later, and we couldn't come up with anything better. Where is it that you want to go from this island?"
Jack answered without thinking. "Tortuga," he said firmly. A ship could come later; right now he needed rum.
Hermione nodded. "Okay," she said. "Here- hold on tight to my arm."
Jack to her forearm gently. He noticed Ron fidgeting and allowed himself to grin mischievously. He saw Ron scowl, but then Hermione turned- and everything went black.
Finally, the HP characters have met Jack... well, not finally... it only took me two short chapters, but I feel like being dramatic. ^_^
~chickenwingleegolas