“Tell me did you sail across the sun
Did you make it to the Milky Way to see the lights all faded
And that heaven is overrated
Tell me, did you fall from a shooting star
One without a permanent scar
And did you miss me while you were looking for yourself out there”
--Lyrics to “Drops of Jupiter” by Train
Disclaimer- I own none of this. It all belongs to J.K. R. Thank you for letting my mind wander…
Chapter 6- Unsafe
The seasons changed with the months. Fall turned into winter and winter faded to spring. Harry caught himself regretting his decisions everyday. His relationship with Sarah had grown. It seemed that Sarah was the only light thing among all of the darkness in Harry’s life. They had become great friends, and Harry looked forward to seeing her every weekend. She looked forward to seeing Harry as well. Work at the inn got busier during the spring because the weather turned warmer. There was always room for Harry to stay, though. He didn’t know why, but Harry felt better with Sarah. He did not feel so lonely when he was around her.
It was a Saturday in May and Harry was waiting for Sarah to pick him up. They were going to see a movie and Harry was excited as usual. They were going to some new horror flick because both of them liked scary movies. Sarah was great to Harry. After that night that he told her his story, she never asked any more questions. It was as if she had forgotten everything, but he knew she hadn’t. He knew that she just wanted him to feel better without bringing up bad memories. She did not know that he thought about the past every night because of the constant nightmares that he endured.
Harry saw Sarah’s car pull in the driveway and he met her at the door.
“Ready to go?” she asked.
“Of course I am. Well, c’mon, what are we standing around here for? We’ve got a movie to see. Or are you scared?” Harry said mockingly. They both laughed.
“Oh, yeah, I’m shaking in sneakers. But at least you’ll be there to protect me, James,” she chuckled. She could call him Harry, but decided that it would be dangerous; someone could overhear them. She walked off toward the car and Harry followed.
The drive was short because the movie theater was only fifteen minutes away. After they parked, they went inside and bought tickets. It was crowded, but they were able to find two good seats. As they waited for the movie to start, Harry and Sarah started chatting about whatever popped in their heads. They talked about news and the fire up north that happened last night. Sarah talked about college and how summer break was coming up soon. She was excited because she would be spending the summer at home. She would be able to spend more time with Harry. Then, finally, the movie started.
The movie startled Harry and Sarah a couple of times. Monsters would randomly show up out of nowhere. The hero of the movie got badly hurt at the end, but was still able to save the day. All in all, they enjoyed the movie and laughed about how they jumped at the silliest parts. When the movie ended, they waited until the crowd died down so they could leave easier.
Suddenly, they heard a scream from outside the doors. Harry jumped up and ran toward the source. Sarah followed. She heard Harry mumbling some things that scared her. Things were going so well. Why did they have to be ruined now?
“Not here, not now. Why don’t these things just leave me alone? I just want to live my life and forget…” Harry whispered.
People were running everywhere and Harry knew that it was not a good sign. At the front of the building, he saw a dark figure. He turned around to Sarah.
“Stop following me! Go, run, now! There’s a Death Eater up there and I don’t want to lose you, too!” Harry screamed at Sarah because it was so loud in the theater from the panicking voices of the people around them.
“Har”James, I don’t want to leave you. I don’t care if there’s a Death Eater up there, I want to help,” Sarah responded.
“No, there’s nothing you can do. I have to do this myself. Run to the car, and then drive as far away from here as possible. I’ll be okay. I’ll call you when it’s safe. Go!” Harry shouted to her. He truly hoped that she’d listen to him.
“Fine, I’ll leave, but you must promise me something. Be careful!” She ran up and hugged him as she said this in his ear.
“I always am. You should be careful, too.” And with that, he ran off toward the dark figure.
A woman ran into him and he caught her. She started crying at him, but he could barely make out what she was saying.
“My baby…he’s got my baby…just trying to leave…grabbed her…couldn’t get her back…don’t know what to do…please…please…you must help me…get Annie back…please…” After hearing this, Harry pushed her away.
“Go, run, I’ll get her back, I promise,” Harry said hastily. He grabbed his wand out of his pocket and headed toward the Death Eater.
He reached the Death Eater and saw that he was torturing the little girl called Annie. It was almost unbearable to watch. Who would be so evil to hurt a little Muggle girl who had no defense whatsoever? It’s just barbaric.
“Leave the girl alone! You have no business being here!” Harry bellowed as the Death Eater turned around startled.
“And who are you to be telling me this? You’re just a puny Muggle!” He lowered his wand for a moment as he looked at Harry. Harry saw that he was wearing a mask. Typical. The Death Eaters never showed their faces. In Harry’s opinion, this was cowardice, but Harry still recognized the voice.
“I have every right to be telling you this…Malfoy! Torturing little kids now? Well, I guess things haven’t changed. Still wearing the mask though? I would have thought your enlarged head would have outgrown it by now. But, then again, you were always a little slow, Malfoy.”
“Potter. The wizard world thinks you’ve died. Gone crazy and killed yourself, to be exact. You should talk about being slow. Wasn’t it you who took your sweet time finding Ginny? Ha, have I hit a nerve or are you just shuddering in fear?” Malfoy was taking this too far.
Harry forgot about his wand and lunged at him. Malfoy stopped him with a shield charm in mid air. He threw him across the room like it was nothing. Harry screamed out in pain, but stood up. If a battle was what Malfoy wanted, then Harry would give him one.
“You know, Potter? You really are pathetic. First, you run away from your problems and leave the wizarding world behind. Then, you decide to turn up here and tell me what to do? I don’t think I’m going to let you do that.” Malfoy laughed at him as Harry moved toward him.
“I’m afraid, Malfoy, that you have no choice. Leave the girl out of this; she didn’t do anything. You have no reason to hurt her. Let’s take this somewhere else. This is between you and me, no one else,” Harry tried to reason with him.
“Potter, always trying to be the hero. How can I get through to you? I wasn’t here to kill a little girl. I am here to find you and finish what you started. I just used the girl to get to you. Isn’t it funny how history can repeat itself? Even if it’s not intentional? Prepare to die, Potter.” Malfoy threw the girl against the far wall.
Harry stopped Annie from hitting the wall too hard and he ran over to her. She was injured, but not too badly. He put a shield charm around her, using advanced magic. As he was doing this, Malfoy was able to get an easy shot at him. Harry was knocked off his feet and he heard Annie scream. He turned around and stared into the eyes of Malfoy. His eyes darkened and Malfoy could see that Harry was extremely angry. Harry summoned his wand and walked toward Malfoy.
“What’s wrong Malfoy? Is that all you’ve got? Or are you scared because your mummy and daddy aren’t around to protect you? What about your pal Voldemort? Oh, yeah, I forgot, he’s dead! C’mon, Malfoy, coming to avenge his death, huh? Well, we’ll see. Expelliarmus!” Harry caught him off guard and Malfoy was pushed off his feet.
Harry threw a couple more spells at him and Malfoy did the same to Harry. There were a few Muggles watching them in awe as Harry and Malfoy continued to duel. Harry didn’t have time to care about them though, because Malfoy had gotten quicker in his spell casting. Harry was slowly wearing Malfoy down, but not without getting a few injuries himself. His left arm was hurt pretty badly. There was blood all over his clothes, but that didn’t stop him. Malfoy was suffering as well.
“Well, Potter, it seems that our little reunion is coming to an end. Don’t you worry; you haven’t seen the last of me yet. This time you got lucky, but I’ll be ready for you now. Wait till word gets out that Potter’s still alive,” Malfoy grinned at Harry and then quickly Disapparated.
Harry attempted to run, but was forced to limp a little, over to Annie and he removed the shield charm. Annie backed away from Harry, clearly scared of him. She started to scream. Harry could tell that Malfoy had done a lot of damage.
“It’s okay. Don’t be scared, I’m going to help you find your mother. Everything is going to be okay. You can trust me, I promise,” Harry emphasized.
Annie seemed to understand, because at that moment she ran to him and started crying uncontrollably. She couldn’t have been more than three years old. Harry picked her up with his uninjured arm and tried to calm her down. He walked slowly with her and was hoping that her mother wasn’t too far. He started to get tired as he limped around. Finally, he found her mother sitting, with her head down, at the end of a hallway in the theater.
“Ma’am?” Harry called. She looked up and immediately her face glowed. Harry handed Annie to her and he stepped back to the wall for support as he watched the reunion take place. He was in great pain and needed medical attention. Just then, Annie’s mother looked up at him and ran over. She gave him a great hug and then started talking.
“How can I ever repay you, sir? Without Annie, I don’t know what I would have done. And”oh my God, you’re hurt! What can I do? I’ll drive you to the hospital if you want,” Annie’s mother offered.
“No, it’s okay, I was happy to help. I just need one thing, though. Do you have a cell phone I could borrow?” Harry remembered Sarah.
“Yes, yes, of course. Here you go. You sure there isn’t anything else? You really should see a doctor.” Annie’s mother handed him the phone.
“I will, don’t worry. I just have to make this call,” Harry answered.
He dialed Sarah’s cell phone number hoping that she remembered to turn it on. Then he heard ringing and was glad. He heard a click and began to talk.
“Sarah? It’s Harry. Are you there? Are you okay?” Harry inquired. He hoped that she made it out safely and that she actually listened to his instructions.
He wasn’t sure if Malfoy was here alone or if he had brought reinforcements. Sarah was sure taking a long time to answer him, though, and Harry was getting worried. He was also losing a lot of blood from his injuries and was starting to shake, again. Just then, he heard something on the other line.
“Harry? Oh, thank God, you’re alright! Of course I’m okay, but I’ve run into a bit of a problem.” Sarah sounded a little worried as she spoke. Harry almost dropped the phone as she said this”he only thought of how he should have killed Malfoy when he had the chance last year.