Author Notes: Can you please let me know if you think Mia is too lacking or too perfect - one of my friend who is reading this is nit-picking her and I want to have other people views on her, he likes this to be really dark and angst so I'm being wary here. (You know who you are!)
Chapter 3: Blocked Barrier, Flying Car and a Tree that hits back.
"Harry, are you ready yet?" Mia shouted from the bottom of the stairs. She was dressed in her black knee length skirt and a blue top that said, 'No one said I had to be Sane' across it in bold black letters. She tapped her trainer-clad foot as she waited for her brother to get a move on.
"Just coming!" Harry shouted back and she huffed as she threw up her hands and made her way into the kitchen.
Harry was in his bedroom; his top half of his body was under the bed while the bottom half, dressed in khaki trousers and trainers, stuck out. Hedwig hooted softly as she watched him from her perch, tilting her head slightly to the side.
"Gotcha!" Harry muttered out as he wiggled himself out from under his bed, revealing that he was wearing a black shirt with the words 'I may be famous, but I'm not stupid,' written across it in bold white letters. He shook his head and held up the book before shoving it into his trunk, which he kicked the side of, causing the top to fall down and latched itself as Harry made his way over to Hedwig. "Another year at Hogwarts, girl," he told her before holding out his arm and the snowy owl jumped on to it.
Harry walked over to the cage that was sitting on his bedside table and opened the door before allowing Hedwig to make her way in, and locked the door before grabbing an owl treat from the owl treat bag and placed it through the bars. "Don't worry, you'll be out of there before you know it." She hooted at him before taking the treat and settled herself while Harry picked up the cage and lifted up his trunk before making his way out of the bedroom.
Dee-Di walked past him before snapping her fingers and levitating the trunk down the stairs, leaving Harry free to carry Hedwig's cage. He made his way down the stairs and bumped into Mia, who came out of the kitchen.
"Finally!" she cried when she saw Harry. "Maybe now we can get a move on to getting into the car!" she pushed Harry out of the house before grabbing Harry's trunk and pulled it out of the house with her and shut the front door.
They made their way over to the driveway and Mia gave Sirius the trunk before climbing into the car, shaking her head.
Harry rolled his eyes as he climbed in, after making sure that Hedwig was secured in the middle before closing his door. Sirius just smirked to himself as he placed the trunk into the boot before moving around to the front of the car. He had changed his image, and this time he had dark red hair that was almost brown and blue/green eyes.
"So, how are you feeling about having Lockhart as your teacher this year?" Sirius asked once the car started moving and Mia glared at him through the rear view mirror.
"Don't mention that name around me," she muttered before shaking her head. "I'm still getting letters from Hermione about how wonderful and amazing the man is. God, how can she be so easily sucked in?"
"A lot of women seems to like him," Harry pointed out and Mia lifted up a hand.
"That's my point. I mean, I can easily tell he is a fake so how come all the other girls can't?" Mia asked.
"Because you're more grown up," Sirius told them and they looked at him as he looked at them via the rear mirror. "You have been forced to grow up since a young age and you have been trained to spot liars from truth while Hermione hasn't. She's still in progress with that situation."
"I hope we're not going to have to deal with his damn fame all year," Harry told them and Mia looked at him with a smirk.
"With Harry Potter at Hogwarts, the same school as the most famous Teacher to walk on earth is attending to?" she asked before shaking her head. "Ain't gonna happen in a million years." Harry shot her a glare of annoyance and she shook her head. "Maybe he will trip up and fall down the stairs," she suggested and Harry cracked a grin at his sister.
"I'm sure this year will be fine," Harry told her and she nodded as she turned to face Hedwig and smiled as she reached out and stroked the white feathers through the bars. Hedwig hooted slightly as she turned her head and nibbled on Mia's fingers softly before turning back Mia turned to her owl and smiled when she saw Cassie was sleeping. Rex was still at home. They had looked through the rulebook for pets and found out that Dogs are not usually allowed so Rex was to stay at home with Sirius.
Sirius pulled into the parking lot and helped the kids out of the car. He assisted them with their trunks and gave them their tickets.
"I can't come with you because of Dumbledore. He's probably got people guarding the train so I'm gonna leave here," Sirius told them and they nodded.
"Sure thing, see you maybe at Christmas?" Mia asked as she looked at Harry and he shrugged.
"Depends on if anything is going wrong at Hogwarts," he told her. She laughed as she turned back to her dad and hugged him before pulling away to let Harry hug him too. They grabbed their owl cases and dragged their trunks over to the train station while Sirius got back into the car and drove off.
Harry and Mia made their way over to the platform 3 and 4 quarter where they met up with Hermione and the Weasleys.
"Harry!" Ron shouted when he saw them, causing everyone to spin around. Ginny blushed bright red while Hermione smiled as she walked over and hugged him. Mia shook her head - Hermione had sent her letters saying how Ginny had obviously had a crush on Harry and how it annoyed her yet she had gone on and on about how she liked Lockhart.
"Damned if you do, damned if you don't," Mia murmured under her breath and felt sorry for Harry - he was going to have to face a very insane woman.
"Glad you made it," Ron told them and Mia nodded.
"Almost didn't, Harry took ages getting ready," Mia told him and Ginny spoke up.
"I think he looks fine," Ginny stated, defensively toward Mia, who arched an eyebrow and smirked.
"No need to defend him from me - I am his sister," Mia shot at her before stepping closer. "And I suggest you be careful where you step, you never know where you might end up." With that, Mia stepped through the barrier with Hermione and the Weasley family, apart from Ron and Harry. Ginny watched Mia before she narrowed her eyes and stepped through the barrier.
Ron looked up at the clock and sighed.
"We better move," Ron told him and Harry looked up too before he nodded in agreement.
"Yeah." They both moved over to the barrier and made a run for it only to slam right into the wall. Startled, people turned to look at the two boys before shaking their heads and continuing what they were doing while a guard walked over to them.
"What on earth are you playing at? Do you think that's funny?" He demanded.
"Sorry," Harry told him as he stood up. "My wheels went funny," he explained and the guard glared before he walked off. Harry helped Ron up and the both of them moved over to the barrier. Ron pressed his hands against the wall only for it to stay solid and looked up at the clock and saw it that was 11 o'clock
"We're too late. The train leaves at 11," Ron moaned and Harry sighed as he looked around.
"How the hell are we supposed to get to Hogwarts then?" Harry asked. "If we can't get through then I doubt anyone can get back."
"Our car!" Ron exclaimed and Harry looked at him, puzzlement marred his expression. "Come on!" Ron grabbed his trolley and rushed out of the train station with Harry hot on his heels.
"Where the hell are Harry and Ron?" Hermione demanded as she looked around and Mia felt fear creep into her stomach.
"Did you see them come through the barrier?" Mia asked and Hermione shook her head.
"No, I was talking to my parents," she admitted and Mia nodded.
"I was too busy talking to the twins," she admitted too and they both looked at each other, wondering what had happened to the boys.
Harry was sitting in the passenger side of the blue ford, looking a little wary as he did before looking at Ron, who was sitting in the driver's side. The car was flying above London and Harry had a feeling that they were going to get a lot of problems when they arrived at Hogwarts.
"Are you sure you can drive this thing?" Harry asked as the car shot up in the air.
"Of course I can," Ron replied, indignantly.
"Then you better put it on invisibility mode because the muggles around here aren't use to flying cars," Harry informed him. Ron blushed as a sheepish grin crossed over his face before he reached over and pressed a button, causing the car to disappear around them and they continued on their quest to get to Hogwarts.
They made their way over the expansive lands when the car gave a shudder before it became visible. Harry and Ron looked around, confused, before Ron reached over and pressed the button a few times with nothing happening and sighed.
"Must be faulty, dad didn't spend a lot of time on this car," Ron explained as he sat back and Harry frowned with concern.
"All we need to do is find the train and follow it," Harry told him and Ron nodded. "Go lower, maybe we can catch sight of the tracks."
Ron moved the car down lower and they caught sight of the bridge that they used to get to Hogwarts and they both grinned at the sight.
"There is it," Ron exclaimed as he moved the car over the bridge and hovered over it. "Now, all we have to do is find the train."
A whistle started up and Harry frowned.
"Is it just me or does it sound really close?" Harry asked and Ron shook his head.
"Not just you," Ron told him as they both looked around only to look behind them and they saw the scarlet train hurtling toward them.
"ARGH!" they both screamed as Ron twisted the steering, jerking the car off the tracks and under the bridge before jerking the car up but it twisted under the pressure, slamming Harry against the passenger door. The door flew open, causing Harry to fall out, clinging to the handle.
"Harry!" Ron shouted.
"Keep the car straight!" Harry shouted back as he twisted himself and threw his feet up and through the door and hauled himself up. It took a few minutes but he managed to do it and slammed the door shut after he got in.
He rested his back against the chair and breathed heavily. "I think we can safely say we've found the train," Harry told him and Ron nodded in agreement as he, shakily, followed the Express.
It was nighttime by the time they reached Hogwarts. They both smiled when the castle came into view.
"Hogwarts for another year," Harry stated and Ron dropped the car down lower when all of a sudden, it went out of control, causing fear to shoot through the boys.
"ARGH!" Harry and Ron screamed as they crashed into the tree, causing it to bounce and buck each time it hit a branch, going further into the tree before it came to a stop.
Both boys sat back and sighed as they looked around before Ron took in the sight of his wand. He had tapped the steering wheel of the Car, trying to make it stop when he hit it too hard, causing the wand to snap into two pieces.
"My wand," Ron moaned and Harry shook his head.
"Be grateful that it wasn't your neck," Harry told him before looking around, his instincts high. There was something wrong here. Hedwig looked behind her and started hooting like mad, causing Harry and Ron to spin around in their seat to see a branch shoved its way through the rear window.
Harry's hand shot out and pushed Hedwig's cage onto its side so it missed the branch before turning back round in his seat. The branch shot through the car and out of the front window when a loud thump came from the top of the car.
Both boys leaned forward and saw that a thick branch was slamming itself into the roof of the car before it finally made a dent, causing the roof to bend in two and the windows to shatter from the increased pressure.
"What the hell is going on!" Ron shouted.
"The tree is hitting us!" Harry shouted back as they found themselves being forced back into their seat as a branch hit the front of the car, sending it sliding backward only to be forced forward as a branch hit the back of the car, sending it forward. The front branch reared up once more and slammed it into the front of the car, sending the car back and it began to tip, causing the car to fall backward.
"Hold on!" Harry shouted as the back of the car hit a branch, causing it to bounce and tip to the front as they fell down to the ground. It landed with a hard thump and Harry looked up through the window only to see the tree rearing its branch to slam it down onto the car. "DRIVE!" Harry shouted and Ron shoved the gears forward before slamming his feet onto the pedal and it shot forward.
The branch slammed right down in to the place where the car had been. The car came to a stop a few feet away from the entrance of Hogwarts when the doors slammed open and the chairs tipped themselves, ejecting Harry and Ron from their seat a few feet away onto the ground. Harry looked up only for his eyes to widen when he saw that the car was getting ready to eject Hedwig.
He got up and grabbed the cage out of the air before pulling it down and looked into the cage, only to see Hedwig ruffling her feathers, madly.
"Are you okay?" Harry asked as he reached in and stroked her feathers only to get a hard nip in reply. "Ouch!"
Ron was standing on the other side, holding a smaller cage that had his rat Scabbers inside of it. The rat seemed unfazed by everything. They both looked up and saw their trunks fly out of the boot of the car before the boot slammed itself down and the car droved off, causing Harry and Ron to place their cages down and chased after the vehicle.
"Mum is gonna kill me!" Ron moaned.
"Come on, we better get everything up to the castle before someone catches us out here," Harry told him. Ron nodded as they picked up their trunks and cages before hurrying through the entrance of Hogwarts and made their way up the stairs.
They placed their trunks and cages at the bottom of the steps where the rest of the student's belongings sat before hurrying forward.
"Of all of the trees on Hogwarts Ground, we just had to hit the one that would hit us back," Ron, grumbled as they made their way over to the Great Hall and Harry nodded in agreement.
"Now we know why it's called the Whomping Willow," he told Ron. He and Mia had heard plenty stories of the Whomping Willow although Sirius had neglected to mention why it was called the Whomping Willow.
They made their way up the stairs of the castle and looked through the windows of the castle.
"We've missed the sorting," Ron told Harry as he peered and Harry nodded.
"Bound to, we were pretty much late heading to the castle and being detained by the tree hadn't helped much," Harry told him while Ron looked back and fourth.
"Hey, Harry, Snape isn't there," Ron told him and Harry pushed himself further against the window and looked at the head table and saw that the potion master wasn't there at the head table.
"Where do you think he is?" Harry asked and Ron shrugged.
"Maybe he left because he didn't get the Defense Against the Dark Arts job," Ron suggested and Harry made a face.
"I can't believe I'm going to say this but I would prefer him over that arrogant jerk anytime," Harry admitted and Ron looked at him before wincing in agreement.
"Same here, at least he not a vain git like him," Ron nudged his head toward the mirror in Lockhart's direction and Harry raised an eyebrow.
"Is he wearing a yellow robe?" Harry asked and Ron looked in and squinted his eyes.
"More like green if you ask me," Ron told him.
"Actually, it's a golden yellow colour," a sharp cold voice informed them and they both froze on the spot. It would have been comical to anyone looking in the Great Hall. Two boys - one the boy who lived - standing straight like a board and eyes wide open before they, slowly, turned around to see Snape standing there behind them. He was dressed in his normal outfit of black robes.
"Professor Snape," Harry greeted with a short nod and Snape's eyes narrowed at the two boys.
"Follow me, you two," he informed them before spinning around, his robes flaring out as he did so and stomped up the rest of the stairs of the castle with Harry and Ron following him, both sharing a look.
"You were seen by no less than TEN muggles!" Snape snapped as he threw down the paper. Ron and Harry could see a picture of a flying car going out of view before they looked up at Snape once more. They were in their Potion Classroom; Snape was sitting on his chair behind the desk as he glared at the two young men.
"Sir," Harry started but he was cut off.
"Not to mention the damage you inflicted on the Whomping Willow. That tree has been on these very ground before you were even born!"
"That tree did more damage to us than we did to it!" Ron exclaimed only to snap his mouth shut when Snape shot him a cold glare.
"Hold your mouth!" Snape snapped before he got off his seat and rounded the desk. "Be warned, if you were in my house, you would have your wand snapped and expelled before you could say Hogwarts…but as you're not…"
"And they're not," a male voice spoke up and they turned to see Dumbledore and McGonagall standing in the doorway. "Minerva will deal with the boys in her own way."
"Come along," McGonagall snipped as she waved her hand at the boys, who hurried over to her and followed her out of the classroom, leaving Dumbledore with Snape.
The boys followed McGonagall into her classroom and she closed the door before making her way over to her desk. She sat down behind it and eyed the two boys in front of her.
"What do you two have say for yourself?" McGonagall asked.
"Nothing," Harry told her and McGonagall arched an eyebrow.
"Excuse me?" McGonagall asked and Harry sighed.
"The barrier was blocked and we couldn't get in to get to the train so we took the nearest available transportation. Very sorry if your prefects can't count how many students should be on the train and couldn't get a hold of you," Harry informed her.
"You had an owl," McGonagall informed him and Harry snorted.
"Sorry Madam, but there was no way in hell I was using my owl to send you a message. It was too far to send a message for her and it takes hours, none of us were going to sit around in the train station waiting for you to turn up. I wasn't risking it," Harry informed. "As we're not expelled, can we please go to our room?"
McGonagall stood there; eyeing Harry for a moment before nodding and Harry left the room with Ron following after him, stunned at what had happened in front of him.
When the door shut, McGonagall sat back in her chair and pondered everything since she had met him. She found it hard to believe that Sirius had betrayed Lily and James but Dumbledore said the evidence were pretty damning and that Sirius was building Harry up to become the next dark lord but everything didn't point to that. The facts all pointed to Harry taking control of his own life and not allowing anyone to control him.
"I can't believe you did that," Ron told Harry as they made their way up to the Fat Lady picture.
"I got tired of having to defend myself. How are we supposed to know the whole flipping book on laws and rules?" Harry demanded. "No one knows the whole the rule book off by heart in the muggle world!"
"I said it before, I'll say it again. Bloody hell," Ron muttered and Harry grinned as they came to stop outside the painting before looking at each other as understanding dawned on them.
"No password," Harry told Ron, who rolled his eyes only for the two of them to jump when a female voice spoke up.
"Where on Earth have you been?" they turned around to see Hermione walking up the stairs with Mia with her.
"Long story, have you got the password?" Ron asked.
"There have been rumours going around Hogwarts saying you have been expelled for crashing a flying car into the Whomping Willow!" Hermione continued on as if she hadn't heard Ron, while Mia covered her mouth. She had noticed that Hermione hadn't taken her eyes off Harry the whole time. So much for giving him the silent treatment that she had promised Mia that she was going to give Harry for being horrible to Lockhart.
"We haven't been expelled, so password please?" Harry pleaded and Mia arched an eyebrow.
"You're saying that you actually drove a flying car?" Mia asked and both boys gave her sheepish grins before she shook her head.
"The password is Wattlebird," Hermione told them and Harry turned to face the Fat Lady.
"Wattlebird," Harry told her and the Fat Lady bowed her head.
"Correct," she told him before sliding the painting to the side, revealing the pathway toward the common room. They entered it only for the two boys to be pulled in by the twins.
"Classic!" Fred shouted.
"The best thing to have ever happened at Hogwarts!" George agreed, causing the two boys to roll their eyes.
"We didn't…" Harry tried.
"To Harry Potter and Ron Weasley, the two boys to pull off just a marvellous action!" the twins shouted as they raised their wands and bright red sparks shot out of their wands and everyone cheered while Harry and Ron looked at each other. Hermione covered her face with her hands and Mia had to laugh - her dad was going to love this!
Soon, the Common room was empty apart from Harry and Mia, who stayed up. He told Mia everything that had happened since they arrived back from Diagon Alley and how the barrier blocked itself, preventing Harry and Ron from accessing the train.
Mia leaned back in on the chair and looked at Harry.
"Someone is pretty determined to stop you coming back from Hogwarts this year," Mia told him and Harry agreed.
"I know, but the question is, why?" he told her and they both turned back to face the fire, wondering what other things were going to happen this year.
TBC
Here you go. Enjoy.
Here's a questions, you don't need to answer it. It's mostly food for thoughts.
How blind can a person be? Just think about it - I'm serious, you don't need to answer it because it's mostly a thinking question. I will be doing it every now and then.
By the way, to all the people who reviewed about Mia not being attracted to Lockhart - here's the reason. Mia is based on my best friend and me. My best friend is a complete and utter sarcastic person when she wants to be, it's funny. She is based on my best friend's personality. Mia is based on me when it comes to relationship and crush - believe it or not, I rarely have a crush and when I do, it only last a couple of hours (Not lying here!) and I'm not attracted to way older men like that so thus the reason to why Mia isn't interested in Lockhart.
Oh by the way, about the rule book - I don't know everything, I know what's bad and what's good but I don't know the rule book off by heart - mostly I tune people out when they talk about.