31 31. Changing Status Quo

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The plane shook violently as Harry, Ron, and Hermione clung to seats, their screams mingling with those of the flight crew. Then, suddenly, there was a loud explosion, followed by another, and chaos erupted in the cabin.

They were all tossed around as the plane began to spiral out of control.

The overhead compartments burst open, and luggage rained down. Harry, Ron, and Hermione were too scared to move or do anything but hold on tight. Their faces turned ashen and terrified, their hair and clothes disheveled from the turbulence.

But Happy remained calm. He knew he had to act fast if they wanted to survive this ordeal. He closed his eyes, focused his mind, and with a flick of his wand, he cast a spell.

"Accio luggage!" Happy shouted, and all the bags and suitcases in the cabin began to fly toward him. One by one, Happy caught the flying bags and suitcases, piling them up before him as he went.

Happy noticed Koko and Hedwig were huddling in their cages.

"Quick, guys!" He hurried as he let them both out too. He quickly gave Hedwig to Harry, noticing the owl was too scared even to flap her wings. At the same time, he caught Koko in his arms.

As the plane continued to fall, Happy ordered them. "Grab your bags!"

"Marcus, Minky, Lupy, Nobby! I need you!!!" Happy shouted the names of the elves.

Pop pop!

Pop pop!

The four elves appeared. They moved quickly and efficiently, their small bodies darting around the cabin as they dodged the things that were starting to fly all over the place. It looked like they were swimming in the air, with nothing to hold on to.

Happy then noticed the plane was starting to tilt forward completely, going into a spiraling nosedive.

"No time to explain! All of you! Grab Harry, Hermione, Ron, and me, and apparate to Lestrange Manor in Diagon Alley! QUICK!" Happy shouted at the top of his lungs as he had no idea how many more seconds of altitude they had.

Pop!

One by one, along with their luggage, they all vanished. Happy was the last to go, as he took one last look at the aircrew women holding on to their seats for dear life, watching him and his friends disappear in shock.

"I'll send them back for you!" He assured them and finally grabbed Koko tight in his arms.

Woosh!

....

Pop!

Thud!!!

All four wizards dropped to the floor. But Happy ignored his friends for a moment and ordered the elves again. "All of you, bring the rest of the people on the plane here! Quick!"

Marcus, the eldest of the elves, nodded and slightly crouched to prepare himself for the chaotic environment.

Only after ordering the elves did Happy look around himself. Harry, Ron, and Hermione kept screaming for a couple of seconds, unaware that they were safe already.

"Ahhhh!"

"Wake up! We're safe!" Happy brought them out of their fearful screams.

Harry and Hermione quickly realized that they were now on solid ground and embarrassingly stood up.

"Help, I'm going to die!" Ron still wailed as he rolled on the floor.

"Ron," Hermione called out.

"Aaaaa~!"

"Ronald Weasley!" She called out to him even louder.

"Ah?" Ron finally opened his eyes, noticing all three of his friends standing around him, looking down as he was flailing about on the floor.

"Is this heaven?"

"Master Lestrange!" Marcus voiced just then.

Happy frowned at the sight. Marcus had not left, and the other elves were similarly standing there with closed eyes and furrowed brows.

However, a second passed.

Then ten seconds passed.

Marcus remained in the hall and spoke. "M-Master Lestrange, I can't feel the presence of that location anymore."

"Minky can't!"

"Lupy too."

One by one, all the neatly dressed house elves told of the same. They couldn't go to a place that didn't exist anymore.

Happy stumbled a bit and sat down on the floor. He was, after all, a simple fifteen-year-old boy inside that body. One who spent most of his last life with a body in the confines of the hospital. He had seen death many times, but he was never the one even slightly responsible for them.

"Happy?"

Happy glanced at his friends, and felt anxiety rising in his heart as a profound realization seeped into his mind.

'They could have died today because of this. My luck…It's a double-edged sword. If we had not escaped, I would have survived even after the crash...but my luck doesn't extend to them. This means that every risk I take that is not written in Harry's story can be devastating for those around me. Ugh...I should have avoided bringing them along…What if Harry had died? What would have happened to the entire Voldemort thing?'

"Why were they after us?" Hermione asked in frustration. "My parents are going to ground me for eternity if they find out what happened."

Happy noticed Harry looking at him. It was only Harry who knew that there was something going on with him, as he was present in Headmaster's office during the Philosopher's Stone discussion.

"I don't know…They were probably after Harry since, you know, he defeated the dark lord. There are probably a lot of dark lord followers remaining out there." Happy changed the topic, as he didn't want them to know about his blood. The fewer people knew the better it was for the others.

Meanwhile, Harry's case was world-renowned, so it wasn't too shocking.

Harry nodded, accepting Happy's reasoning, albeit with some doubts. After all, the boy was just twelve years old, and critical thinking couldn't be expected of him.

"I'll send you all back to your homes now." Happy suggested.

Initially, he planned to keep Harry with him, but now he wasn't sure. What if his house was attacked? He didn't know what would be the cost of his own survival through luck. Meanwhile, Harry's home was the safest location for him.

"I do need a good rest after this, mate. My legs are still shaking." Ron stood up and held his luggage to prepare to leave.

Pop!

Soon, a house elf took him away. Following that, Hermione readied herself, also shaking in fright to some degree.

"Harry, be safe." She hugged Harry and stepped back, waving. "You too, Happy. See you at school."

Pop!

At last, only Harry was left. But, the boy-who-lived didn't go immediately and looked at Happy. "They could be after me…Or you. So, take care of yourself, Happy. You can always come and stay at my place. As Professor Dumbledore said, it's the safest place for me due to some bond of blood."

Happy appreciated it and waved his hand with a smile on his face. "Thank you, Harry. See you at school."

Pop!

With that, only he remained in the gigantic house in Diagon Alley. But, no matter how bright it was, Happy didn't feel safe there.

So, the moment all the house elves popped back, he ordered them in one go. "This place isn't safe for us. Marcus, prepare the necessary items, we're moving to the muggle house I asked you to buy. It's not registered under Lestrange's name, so we'll be safe until school starts."

"As you wish, Master Lestrange." Marcus, the old and trained house-elf, flicked his fingers and started extinguishing the candles, shutting the windows close, and covering all the furniture with a cloth.

In a matter of minutes, the bags were prepared, and the food items were packed. Within an hour, they all apparated away to somewhere in London, where the population was high, a perfect place where wizards would avoid going.

It was a lavish penthouse on one of the top floors of a building. Being large enough, Happy had everything there to satisfy his needs and spend the remaining few days.

But that night, despite it being late, he didn't feel like sleeping. So, he sat in front of the television to watch the news. And as he expected, the accident had made headlines, as all air crashes do.

[...A private airliner, en route to London from Tokyo, lost contact with the ground station over Norway three hours ago. Authorities have now confirmed that the plane crashed in a remote wilderness area that is difficult to access by road. The likelihood of survival for both the flight crew and the unknown passengers is deemed to be near to none...This is a truly tragic accident that once again raises concerns about air safety…]

Happy turned the television off and laid back on the sofa with wide-open eyes. The faces of those aircrew women were fresh in his mind as they looked at him with expectations and fright.

He felt furious at that time. Angry at those who caused it and ruined his vacation.

"Quack!" Koko, the Goose, seemed to sense his owner's anxious mind and came to comfort with a few snuggles. He made himself comfortable beside Happy and fell asleep with his head on Happy's lap.

Happy appreciated him and caressed Koko's fur, although his mind stayed a mess. "Who attacked me? Lucius? Or the Goblins? How did they intercept a plane at such a speed and height? Brooms can't go that fast."

There were too many questions that needed to be answered. But, he had made up his mind about one thing.

"Once I know who it was, with my luck, I should be able to bring them to ruin."

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