The Plague

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter although, Warner Bros. does. I am merely having a bit of fun at the expense of J.K Rowling’s fabulous writings.

Title: The Plague

Author: Elementality

Summary: What happens when a single organism, feeds off intense fear, pain and suffering from witches and wizards alike? That’s exactly what the golden trio must figure out before the entire Wizarding Community becomes overruled by their own fears, bringing them to life.

~*~*~

Chapter One
The Hogwarts Express

Smoke boomed from the large train awaiting the students of
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Only, something was different. Maybe it was that the train had no driver, but then again, it never had. Or the smell of rotting corpses in the air, lingering on the noses of the students passing through the gateway.

Hogwarts had never had a dull year. Something terrible had always happened. Most students hadn’t any clue as to what went on in the depths of the school, or right under their noses. So, Dumbledore was gone and the students going back to school, once again, had no clue what fate would bring them this year.

Harry Potter was known for his heroics all around London. But to him, he merely found himself caught between realities. Was he living in the same one as his friends? Or was he on the borderline of hell? Up until now, he’d gotten his answer. Hell sure was looking good as a last resort for him. What was he supposed to do without Dumbledore?

As he passed numerous students he had seen in the previous years of Hogwarts, he saw nothing but pain and suffering. Losing a Headmaster was one thing, but losing the only person who could keep them safe was another. Like Rufus Scrimgeour had any idea what he was doing. He was completely oblivious to the war that had begun. He was exactly like that idiot Fudge.

Harry wished he could go back to Hogwarts. But he just couldn’t bring himself to do it. He had to finish Voldemort off for good otherwise the wizarding world would be, once again, doomed. But he was glad that Hermione and Ron were sticking by him. Besides, he had to do this for Dumbledore.

Flashback

“You said to us once before that there was time to turn back if we wanted to. We’ve had time, haven’t we?” Hermione said quietly.

“We’re with you whatever happens.” Ron added.

End of Flashback

Noticing the platinum blond hair, Harry picked up his pace. Trying not to lose the blond in the crowd, he started at a run. White hot anger boiled within his stomach as he closed in on the student. Harry reached out and grasped the tall blond on the shoulder, spinning him around.

“Malfoy!” Harry hissed.

“What? What do you want?” it wasn’t Malfoy at all. It was some poor innocent kid, that looked identical to Malfoy from behind. Harry let go of the kid and smiled weakly.

“Sorry…” he muttered, turning back towards his original destination.

~*~*~

Harry looked up at the house. It looked peaceful, undisturbed. He moved up the driveway and onto the pebbled path that led to the front door. He took a deep breath, counted to ten and knocked on the door.

Moments later, a girl with long brown hair, lightly freckled face and chocolate brown eyes appeared at the door. She looked Harry up and down for moment before pulling him into a warm embrace.

“Harry…” she whispered.

“Hi Hermione.” He replied, returning the hug.

“You look a fright. Come in.” she said, moving aside.

Harry slowly entered the unfamiliar house of the Grangers. This was the first time Harry had seen inside Hermione house. It was authentic. The couches were a light shade of brown and blended in with the bone colored walls. Photo frames hung on the walls of family vacations, first day of Hogwarts and other outings.

He turned to Hermione, “I thought I saw Malfoy.”

“What? Where?” she asked, her heart skipping a beat.

“At Kings Cross station. It wasn’t him though. Some kid that looked like him. I was ready to kill him. He was scared out of his wits.” Harry explained, running a hand through his messy hair.

“Oh dear. Would you like some tea, coffee, soda, juice?” Hermione offered.

“Uh, just water please.” He replied, returning to inspecting the house.

She sauntered into the kitchen to fetch him a drink. He walked over to the wall and looked more closely at the pictures. There was one of Hermione, sitting on a park bench crying because she had spilt her ice cream on her pants. She must have been about four years old and was the tiniest little thing.

Looking to the left, he spotted a picture of himself, Ron and Hermione. Hermione stood in the middle with each arm around her friends. Harry took it off the wall and looked at it. It had to have been their first year. They looked so young. They looked like they’d known each other for years before even going to Hogwarts.

Hermione re-entered the room and stopped. She watched Harry, staring down at the picture. She smiled softly and made her way back over to him. She placed a small tray with two tea cups and a pot of tea on the table. Harry turned around and looked down at it. He looked at her skeptically.

“I said water Mione.” He said.

“And I say that you need something in you. You’re way too thin and you’re looking dreadful. Just look at that jacket. It’s a mess! Now, I’m going to go and make us some lunch. I hope you like ham because we have piles of it.’” She explained, moving back to the kitchen.

~*~*~

They ate in silence. Hermione occasionally looked up to see if he was eating. Thank merlin he was otherwise she’d have to shove it down his throat. She sipped her tea and continued to eat. Harry finished his sandwich and pushed the plate away.

“Thank you.” He said, smiling.

“That’s perfectly fine, Harry. I’m not going to lecture, all I’m going to say is that you needed it.” She nodded and finished her own.

“When’s Ron arriving?” he asked.

“He should be here any moment.” She looked up at the clock.

Seconds later, there was a sharp knock at the door. Hermione jumped and looked at the door. She stood up and walked over to it. She looked through the curtain and seen the red Hair – make that three red heads.

She opened the door to find Ron, Fred and George, “Hello. Uh, come in.” she said awkwardly.

“Thanks.” The three boys said, walking past.

Harry stood up slowly, “Fred? George? What are you two doing here?”

“Mate, we couldn’t let little Ron wander the streets alone.” George said.

“Yeah, we couldn't stand the guilt if he tripped or broke a nail.” Fred added.

“Shut it. They came because of what happened.” Ron said.

“What happened?” Hermione asked curiously.

“You didn’t hear? Oh man, some weird plague has made it’s was around London. People are acting really crazy. Like, scared or something. Dad said he had to bring in one guy and he was a mess. Screaming and crying. No one knows exactly what happened but…it’s getting worse.” Ron explained.

“Oh my.” Hermione said, sitting down on the couch.

“So?” Harry said.

“So, people can’t go out anymore.” Fred said.

“I seen loads of people at the station. They looked fine to me.” Harry replied, sitting back down.

The three boys took seats in front of their friends, “Those people, that you saw, haven’t seen the worst of this plague. Lupin said that the plague starts off soft, then it gets heavier as hours go by.” Ron said.

“Great. So what next? Huh? Save the rest of the bloody country from some freak plague? What the hell am I supposed to do? Hmm? I’m already stuck with Finishing off that git who doesn’t want to die! Now I’m supposed to find a cure for this?” Harry sand angrily, rising to his feet.

“Harry, no one said that. Ron was only telling you about it.” Hermione said.

“Yeah? Well any minute now Scrimgeour will be on your front door step begging me to save the world. Well you know what? How does this sound…I’ll forget about Voldemort. I’ll help the rest of the world from this thing and when I’m done with that, I’ll just let them all get killed by Voldemort. I mean, everyone’s got to die somehow. Why not in the line of fire? Because quite frankly, I’m over it.” Harry looked at his friends, waiting for them to say something.

Hermione’s eyes were filled with tears and Ron, Fred and George were on the borderline of fear. Harry sighed and collapsed onto the couch. He ran his hand through his hair and scrunched up tightly, making him wince.

“Guys look, I’m sorry. Just the whole Malfoy thing today has me kind of…jumpy.” Harry apologized.

“You seen him?” Ron asked, his nostrils flaring.

“No, I thought I did. It wasn’t him though.” Harry answered.

For a moment their was an awkward silence. Harry knew everyone was thinking about what had happened last year. He knew that everyone was thinking about Dumbledore. He looked at the clock.

“So when are we leaving?” Harry said, breaking the silence.

“We were waiting for Ron.” Hermione said, standing up.

Harry knew that this was going to be a long journey. What he didn’t know, was that something would stand in his way. That being The Mysterious Plague.

A/N what did you think for my first chapter? Since my beta took a little long, I decided to write a different story that was lingering around me for ages. R&R!