Chapter 11: Almost There
Harry had thought that maybe Sirius subconsciously knew two teenage boys were following him, or at least that he was being watched, but if he did, he didn't show it openly. He kept his head down and his hands in his jean pockets the whole way.
When they finally reached the end of a particularly long street that had seemed likely to go on forever, Sirius suddenly turned to right and started walking up a gravel driveway that lead to a cozy cottage partially hidden by trees. Neville and Harry, busy scurrying behind bushes and trees and cars, perked their head up and stayed behind a large tree across the street for a few moments, watching him.
"Sirius!" cried a cheerful male voice from the window. James Potter then appeared at the door to greet his faithful friend. "I thought you weren't coming. I have your motorcycle in the back shed, you can leave on it if you want to leave later. It's almost noon, come in and have lunch." Harry's heart dropped at the sight of his father. I can't believe I'm here, he thought grimly. Neville, on the other hand, seemed rather excited about it all.
"That's your father!" he whispered urgently, pointing. "Look!"
"Stop it, Neville," Harry snapped irritably, smacking his finger down. "I know that's my father. Calm down." Neville sighed and slumped against the tree.
"What do we do now, wait for Voldemort to come?"
"I guess," said Harry. "It was your idea, after all." Harry sank down, preparing himself for hours of waiting. He was so physically and emotionally exhausted from everything that had happened, he was out in less than ten minutes, which didn't surprise Neville. For Neville, the whole journey had been a rather exciting one; despite the consequences that he was sure was coming soon.
But the excitement was starting to wear off a bit as Neville watched the small cottage, waiting for something to happen. He sighed and leaned his head against the tree. He shut his eyes to close out everything around him and imagined he was back at Gram's house, underneath the sycamore tree near the pond with a slight breeze…
~*~
A woman's high pitched, frightful scream.
A woman's scream!
Harry's eyes flew open. For a second he didn't know where he was, but then like a gushing waterfall it all came back to him.
"Neville!" he whispered urgently, shaking Neville. Neville stirred slightly. "NEVILLE GET UP!" He gasped and sat upward, wide-eyed and staring.
"Uhm," was all he said.
"I think something's happened. I heard somebody scream." Harry turned his head to look beyond the tree. There were no lights on in the cottage and he couldn't make out any sounds. "Maybe Voldemort came and left…" he mused aloud. He didn't want to even think about Voldemort not coming at all.
"Maybe he - " began Neville, but stopped abruptly as a piercingly green light that shone with a diamond-hardness erupted from the cottage's windows. Before either of the boys could do anything, everything started to swirl around them in a whirl of green and black. The ground disappeared beneath them and all Harry was able to do was shut his eyes tightly and hold his breath, waiting for it all it all to end.
Then, right when Harry thought he was going to pass out, everything stopped. The swirling came to halt and Harry could feel hard, solid ground underneath him. He was lying flat on his face and he could feel grass underneath his hands.
"HARRY! HARRY, GET UP! LOOK! LOOK WHERE WE ARE!" Neville screamed. Harry rolled over and opened his eyes tentively. Above him, he saw a night sky sprinkled with stars. He looked to his side, and gasped. They were at Hogwarts. And it was just as he remembered it. No Dementors, no destruction.
Without a word, Harry jumped up and sprinted to the front doors. All he could think about was seeing Hermione and Ron and hoping desperately that everything was back to normal. But, when he threw the doors open and stood in the threshold, looking at the scene before him, he knew something was still wrong.
Hermione was sitting on the last step of the grand staircase, head buried in her knees. Dumbledore and Fudge were conversing to the left, and ministry employees and wizards Harry didn't recognize were spread about.
"Harry?"
Dumbledore was looking at Harry incredulously, his attention drawn from Fudge by Harry's precipitous entrance. At the sound of his name, Hermione's head shot upward and everybody in the Hall turned sharply to look at him.
"HARRY!" she shrieked, and in a rushing dash, she had thrown herself onto him, arms flung about his neck and throttling him without mercy. "Oh Harry, you've been gone for ages! I didn't think I would be ever see you ever again, and then Ron's missing and I didn't know what to do! I'm just so glad you're back and I love you and I, oh Harry, you're back!" she babbled in a relieved rush without pausing. Harry squeezed her tightly, grateful and ecstatic to have her back in his arms. "I missed you so much." Her cheek grazed Harry's and a streak of her tears fell down along his face.
When they finally let go of the embrace, everyone was gazing.
"Mr. Potter," said Fudge, his tone implying relief. "I think we should discuss recent events: what happened with you, and what's been going on here." Harry nodded. "Your office, Albus?"
"I think so, Cornelius." Fudge started up the staircase while Dumbledore walked over to Harry. He squeezed his shoulder affectionately. "Glad to see you're back and safe." He smiled, his eyes flickering to Harry and Hermione's entwined hands. Then he winked. "Couldn't say I didn't see that coming."