Harry Potter - Series Fan Fiction ❯ Harry Potter and the Lost Souls ❯ The Girl with the Long Legs ( Chapter 1 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Author's Note: Hey everyone! This is my first ever Harry Potter fic! Keep in mind that I am an experienced author, however, I am new to writing HP fics. I wanted to start out by saying that I have read all the books, but if I make a noticeable mistake, please let me know!

But on to the story description! This story is going to be a AU (Alternate Universe) to Harry Potter. Basically the end of book 6 and all of book 7 do not exist in this universe. There may or may not be instances that I take from them, but I am going to act like Harry is going BACK to school for "my" book 7. There is going to be all sorts of yummy darkness in this fic, along with my own unique sense of humor. If you do not like swearing, blood, death, destruction (x10 what JK Rowling wrote), romance, action, adventure, and probably the biggest of them all, SEX, please do not read this story. The normal pairings in the HP series are not going to exist. This is going to be a Harry/Hermione fic, so if you don't like that couple, stop reading now!

I will be posting any spells that I have created and their meanings at the end of the chapter!

Now, on to the story!

HARRY POTTER AND THE LOST SOULS

Chapter One: The Girl with the Long Legs

When Harry Potter was born, he didn't know that he was going to lose everything. He didn't know that he would have to fight to save the whole world, and he certainly didn't know that he would have to kill to do it either.

He knew that there came a time in everyone's life where you had to make difficult decisions, but he also knew that those kinds of decisions shouldn't have to be made by a seventeen year old boy.

Over the last few days he'd had a lot of time to think about his life, his choices, his decisions, and whether or not he thought they were wrong or right, or perhaps if he could have done something way different to prevent a bad outcome.

He thought daily of the ones he had lost...and of the ones he still had and could still lose. His constant trains of thought had his head aching incessantly, but the thoughts just would not flee his mind. He had so many questions, so many ideas, so much he just wanted to say, he just wanted to have someone listen to him, but...it was like no one was there.

He received mail almost daily, whether it was from Ron, Hermione, Professor McGonagall, the Daily Prophet, or someone else, but no one had come to visit him except on the night before his birthday.

Remus Lupin came alone that night to bring him to Number 12, Grimmauld Place. Quickly he had placed a new Fidelius Charm upon the unplottable area and had Harry rename his new home to Number 12 1/2, Grimmauld Place. Lupin was his Secret Keeper, and Harry had no doubt that the man would rather die than reveal his new home and whereabouts.

From then on, he had been alone. He had been receiving news that attacks from Death Eaters had been increasing; both Muggles and magic folk alike were dying because of Voldemort. Stock markets all around the world were plummeting, wars of so-called terrorism were breaking out, gang violence was increasing, and all out bloodshed was enveloping the planet. Very few places were safe.

Harry knew that he could, in all likelihood, stay here for the rest of his life. But upon hearing Sirius's mother, Mrs. Black, screaming about blood traitors and mudbloods and filth living in her home, he decided he would rather take his chances elsewhere and hopefully quickly.

And that was another problem. Not only did he not want to be here for the rest of his baneful existence, but apparently neither did Ron. His friend had just written him the other day telling him about how he was planning on returning to Hogwarts, School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in September. He put up countless arguments as to why it was a good idea, citing that it was one of the safest places in the world, had numerous resources for searching for whatever these Horcrux thingies were that he was always babbling about, and plus Professor Dumbledore's portrait was there.

All perfectly sensible reasons to return to the place that felt more like his home than anywhere else ever had.

His fears for returning had him quickly writing to Hermione, who, in all her genius, wouldn't sugarcoat anything and would give him the cold hard facts.

He received a reply first thing the next day:

Harry,

I was wondering when you would get it through your thick skull and realize that returning to school would, in all probability, be the best choice for not only you, but all of us. Ron was right when he said that it is the safest place for us to be right now, and not only would Professor Dumbledore be available to us, but so would countless others! And with me being elected Head Girl, I will be able to get into the restricted section of the library to research, and possibly even Professor Dumbledore's library. Not only that, but I am sure that Professor McGonagall will help us in whatever way needed.

I know that this is a hard decision, but this is the fate of the world that we are talking about. It would be so much easier for you to just hide forever, but I know you better than that.

Let me know if you are planning on returning or not, because if you're not, I'm going to come over there and whack some sense into your head.

Love,

Hermione

It was nearing the end of August when Harry realized that if he was planning on returning to school, that he would have to go buy his school supplies.

He attempted to get a hold of Mrs. Weasley to see if she could get the Order to come with him, or even go with Ron, but no one answered his Floo. Contemplating going by himself, he realized that he could probably get away with it if he used his Invisibility cloak and went during the right time of the day.

Gathering up a large bag and his cloak, he Apparated (somewhat illegally since he had never taken his test) and made his way into Diagon Alley. There were actually more people than he had thought were going to be there, but he supposed it was good in some ways.

He looked at his list of supplies: mostly books, paper, quills, etc., all items that were easy to get a hold of and wouldn't take him long to get. Unfortunately, as he began walking towards the shops, he also realized that he was in sore need of new clothes and robes. His sixth year clothes had either shrunk or he grew, and he was pretty sure than he had shot up a few more inches since he had gotten his last set of robes.

Nervously dodging around young witches and wizards being hurried along by their uneasy parents, he made his way into Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. Quickly heading into the back rooms for changing, he removed his cloak and went back to search for several Hogwarts robes and whatever he thought would fit him. Grabbing robes, shirts, pants, shoes, socks, and boxers, he hoped he got everything in the right sizes.

He walked up to the cashier to check out with his arms full of clothes. He set down everything with a bashful smile when the plump lady gave him an annoyed look and leisurely began ringing up his items.

Harry sighed and began looking around distractedly, wishing that the woman would feel some sense of urgency. He felt like he was totally out in the open and his stomach was starting to feel sick from the constant nervousness.

He walked over to a rack with plain t-shirts and began flicking through them as he waited, when something caught his eye. He felt his eyebrow rise at the sight of a pair of long, bare legs, joined with a pair of shapely hips covered in a short, dark gray skirt. Whoever it was, she was bent over a counter and he couldn't see passed her shoulders. He started leaning to the side to catch a better look—

"Sir."

—He could almost see her face, her hair was up, and she—

"Sir, your things are ready."

Harry turned towards the lady at the cash register with a small sense of frustration. He had really wanted to see the girl's face.

He paid for his things and stuffed them in his bag. He headed back to the changing rooms to put his cloak back on and to hopefully catch another glimpse of the girl in the short skirt, but she was gone.

He hurried to Flourish and Blotts to buy his books, all seventh year editions, and distractedly started wondering who would be their Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher this year. He hoped whoever it was wasn't a complete idiot and would actually teach them correctly.

Harry pulled off his cloak after walking into the back of the shop, hoping he wasn't noticed since there weren't that many people in there. He walked up and down the aisles and snatched everything he needed as quickly as possible.

He walked up to the counter with all the books he needed, praying that this man wouldn't take as long to ring him up.

Thankfully, the man seemed to have the same sense of urgency as him, especially once he sighted the scar on his forehead. Harry felt a comical impulse to smirk at the old fellow, because he started frantically tossing the books into the bag that Harry presented to him.

Done in record time, Harry pitched the coins required into the old man's hands, went back into the rear of the store, threw on his cloak, and departed henceforth.

Harry walked around Diagon Alley thinking of what else he could need, and began wondering if it would be a better idea just to steal the items he needed rather than revealing himself and putting himself at risk. He only needed quills, ink, and paper, so he imagined that he could get away with it.

He began walking towards the store in question when he saw her again. Quickly going to duck behind a corner of a building, Harry chuckled at himself when he remembered he was invisible. She was quite far away, but he could tell it was her because of the white shirt and dark gray skirt. She had her straight, light brown hair up in a pony tail, but she was turned around so he couldn't see her face.

Feeling the same sense of annoyance that he couldn't see her, he began walking towards her to see if he could get a better look. She gave the impression of being around his age, so he imagined it was a distinct possibility that she went to Hogwarts.

Suddenly explosions rang out from everywhere at once. Panicked screams echoed in his head as he jumped underneath a table outside of the closed ice cream store. He looked around frantically to see the source of the explosions, and his eyes widened in horror at the sight of black cloaked figures with masks on their faces. It seemed like they were everywhere at once, shooting spells at anyone in their path.

Harry watched as both witches and wizards alike grabbed their children and began Apparating away. He could see people running around in terror, trying to escape the bright flashes of light coming from all directions. People were lying dead in the streets, covered in blood. Body parts littered the sidewalks. Buildings were crumbling all around him, and a large chunk of concrete crashed into the table he was under. The wood crumpled instantly, and Harry barely had enough time to roll out from under it. His bag, large and laden with books and clothes, stopped his progress halfway, and he screamed when the table crashed upon his left leg. Swearing and cursing as he grabbed his limb, he shoved the rest of the table off him in anger, praying that his leg wasn't broken.

Letting out a ragged sigh when he saw his skin was ripped open obscenely and blood was pouring out everywhere through his pants, he struggled to stand up to get away.

Fixing his cloak around him, he hoped that the noticeable trail of blood dripping onto the ground wouldn't attract attention to him.

People were still screaming around him, but it was noticeably quieter because almost everyone had Apparated. Standing up as straight as possible, Harry winced as he knew that Apparating was going to be extremely painful. Quickly getting ready to twist, he saw her again.

A Death Eater was standing above her, laughing maniacally as she trembled with her hands over her head, trying to vainly protect herself. He could see blood covering her head and fingers, and knew that she had been hurt.

Anger surged through him at the sight. How could someone be so evil as to attack someone when they were down?! She was just an innocent bystander, all of these people were, none of them deserved this! None of them deserved to die!

“Sectumsempra!”

The Death Eater screamed in agony as gashes appeared all over his body. Harry could see blood spurt from underneath the mask, and running as fast as he could with his injured leg, he shoved the Death Eater down, grabbed his wand, snapped it in two, and threw it in his face.

“Bastard!” Harry yelled in fury at him, kicking him in the side and causing the masked man to curl in on himself, and then Harry pointed his wand at him and shouted, “Evanesco!” making the man disappear into the unknown.

Harry dove on the girl as more debris fell around them, for other Death Eaters had seen the attack on their fellow member and were firing spells in their direction.

“Do you know how to Apparate!?” he yelled above the noise, hoping that the young woman wasn't unconscious. He felt her vigorously nod against his chest as he tried to protect her, and he winced as he felt something gash his side and hit his back.

Grimacing as he forced them both to stand, he shoved the girl away from him, encouraging her to Apparate. He heard her draw in a deep breath from the pain, and the last he saw of her was her spinning around and disappearing with a loud pop.

Jerking around himself, he closed his eyes as he felt the tube envelope his body, landing him safely back at the doorstep of Number 12 1/2, Grimmauld Place.

Gasping in pain from his leg and the gash in his side, he opened the door and fell inside. He kicked the door closed with his good leg and laid there, breathing raggedly.

He had almost died.

Adrenaline was pumping through his body, but oddly enough he could still feel the pain.

“Who's there!”

Harry wrenched his head upward, and realized that he was still covered in his Invisibility cloak. Tugging enough of it off him enough to reveal his face, he sighed raggedly at the sight of Lupin in the doorway.

“Harry! What the hell were you doing? Are you injured?” Lupin asked hurriedly, running towards him and yanking off the rest of the cloak. He gasped at the sight of his body, for apparently he was worse than he had thought.

“Episkey.”

Harry felt a hot sensation all over his body, and then suddenly a cool feeling. He relaxed some as nearly all of the pain went away, but his leg still seemed to be injured.

“Your leg is pretty bad; it might take a few days for it to heal. But otherwise, you seem to be alright.”

Harry sat up and rubbed his face, sighing. “Thanks, Lupin.”

His old professor helped him stand and limp into the kitchen. Once he was in a chair Lupin went back to retrieve his items.

“So it looks like you went to Diagon Alley,” Lupin mused, dumping out everything in the bag onto the kitchen table. Harry frowned, but then shrugged to himself. Let the man snoop, it's not like he had done anything bad.

“Did you get everything for school?”

Harry sagged in his chair and rested his leg on the opposite side of the table, feeling it sting as he moved it. “No, but I should be able to bum some items off my friends. I got all my books, but I wasn't able to get all the supplies and whatnot. Oh, and the clothing store I went to was sorely lacking in the style department,” he said sarcastically, resting his head on the back of the chair, closing his eyes. His head was starting to pound.

“Well, you can always go to a Muggle clothing store. It might actually be safer. I have some Muggle currency if you feel up to it.”

Harry thought about it, but shook his head. “Not today. I'm in too much pain right now. Maybe tomorrow if I'm up to it. I only have three more days until school starts.”

Harry opened his eyes when he heard Lupin's chair scrape against the floor. The older man came next to him and pointed his wand and left hand at him. A light blue glow came from the tip of his wand, and Harry felt his pain lift. He sat up in his chair.

“What spell did you use?” Harry asked, flexing his leg and standing. His pain was completely gone.

“Lenio Adflictatio. It is supposed to take away pain, but it only goes so far. If your arm is ripped off, I doubt it would work effectively. It also wears off after a few hours, so you will have to recast the spell. All you have to do is point your wand at the person and it relieves all pain in the body.”

“Great, I think this spell will come in handy,” Harry observed, rolling his head around his neck and flexing all the muscles in his body. He felt like nothing had ever happened.

Lupin smiled at the boy and patted his shoulder. “Maybe I should stay here with you until you go to Hogwarts. How does that sound?”

Surprised, Harry felt warmth grow in his chest as happiness he had not experienced in a while came to life inside him. He had been so alone, had wanted someone—anyone—to talk to, to spend time with.... He smiled at his father's old best friend.

“Sounds great, Lupin.”

Author's Note: Well, this is my first chapter! Please let me know what you think! I should be posting fairly quickly, depending on my flow of thought and *crosses fingers* no writer's block! Please review, it's how us mere author's get paid! Mwahahaha!

Latin Words, meanings, and the spell:

Lenio Adflictatio - Lenio [to make mild, mitigate, relieve]. Adflictatio [pain, torture].