A/N: Hello! This is my first fanfiction, but I solemnly swear to make it non-cringeworthy and as interesting as possible. I got the basis for the fic from a movie called In Your Eyes. If anyone is actually reading this, I appreciate your support.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or anything created by our precious queen. The plot alone is mine.
He was finally flying, and the rush of adrenaline and pure magic he felt running through his veins didn't disappoint. His mother, of course, still didn't approve of her baby flying at so young an age. But luckily, his father was eager to see his son on the Slytherin Quidditch team his first year of Hogwarts and thus supported him beginning his lessons so early, earlier than the other children and without his mother's knowledge, of course. His father wanted him to be the best at everything he did, or rather demanded it, and he wasn't inclined to disagree himself. Ever since he could talk, his father instilled in him the weight and prestige of his family name and the importance of being superior, so as to encourage praise and preclude ridicule. As he flew his training broom over the Manor's grounds, he caught a glimpse of the world beyond the walls, a world that he was forbidden to enter. His curiosity, however, got the better of him as he soared too high and lost control of his broom, falling as the ill-fated Icarus fell, a result of his hubris.
The young girl was jolted awake from her nap by a shooting pain in her right arm, accompanied by a massive headache. As she cried out in pain and surprise, her babysitter hastily dropped her book and ran into the room to search for the cause of her shout. The girl wasn't able to answer her inquiries, primarily because she was still into too much pain to form and express coherent thought but additionally because she had no idea herself what had happened. Amidst much confusion, she was brought to the nearest hospital, met by extremely concerned parents, but to no avail. The doctors found nothing to explain the pain she described. Her parents watched her very closely for the next few days, but when nothing similar happened again, the incident was soon forgotten.
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A few years later, the girl was in primary school, a place where she never quite fit in. She was smart, quiet, and always just a little bit odd and therefore made few friends. At her age, it was typical for the boys to tease the girls, and this phenomenon was worsened for her given the ammunition they received in her bushy hair, buckteeth, and bookworm personality. Thus, in a quite typical course of events, she was currently being harassed on the playground as she attempted to read in peace. After the boy pulled her braid, she decided she had had enough and found a rock to throw at the culprit. This unfortunately prompted the boy to retaliate out of rage and shock that she would dare fight back by pushing her backwards, causing her to hit her head on the bench she had been previously occupying and knocking her temporarily unconscious.
He was visiting Diagon Alley with his mother, trying not to complain as they made their weekly trip to Madame Malkin's robe shop. As time stretched on, he couldn't help but voice his discontent and express his wish to visit Quality Quidditch Supplies instead. His mother shouted from the dressing room that he wasn't allowed to go off by himself and that, if he were good for the remainder of their time in the store, perhaps they would pop in after. His protests were cut short as he suddenly collapsed. His mother mistook his silence for acquiescence and continued trying on numerous robes. However, after his prolonged silence, she became concerned that he had actually run off without her permission and rushed out of the dressing room. She did not expect to find her son lying unconscious on the floor of the waiting area. When he finally came to, he couldn't remember anything occurring to cause him to pass out, and his mother attributed it to fatigue and hunger, treating him with a trip to Florean Fortesque's Ice Cream Parlour and a new broom.
§§§
Always keeping the memory of his glimpse beyond the walls in the back of his mind, the boy, now a teenager, home from Hogwarts for the summer holiday, took advantage of his father's presence at a meeting at the Ministry and flew his broom over the wall into the Muggle world. He still believed in pure-blood supremacy and the inferiority of Muggles to wizards, but he couldn't deny that he was curious about how the other side lived. Expecting to be met with hovels and Muggles living in filth, he was surprised to be faced with pleasant houses, not quite as grand as his manor, and beautiful, green fields. He was not quite of age and therefore couldn't use magic to disillusion himself, but, though he would never admit it, he enjoyed a nice day strolling through Muggle Wiltshire. He could almost forget the mounting pressure he had been feeling to live up to his name and please his father. He almost envied these Muggles their freedom and carefree lives, not weighed down by the turmoil growing in the wizarding world. Almost. As soon as he thought it, he reminded himself that he would never choose a life without magic and with happiness only in ignorance. If this self-reminder wasn't enough, this thought was soon thoroughly beat out of him upon returning home and finding his father waiting for him at the gate. That day he was the victim of his first Cruciatus Curse for sullying himself with the Muggle scum and disobeying and bringing shame to his father. That was the last time for many years that he thought about Muggles as anything but dirt under his shoes for their ignorance and for making him, once again, a disappointment to his father.
The girl was also relishing her summer holiday, currently with her two best friends from Hogwarts. She sat outside in the uncharacteristically beautiful weather enjoying her book as the two boys lazily threw around a Quaffle and occasionally took turns catching a Snitch she had charmed to stay within a certain radius of the two boys and which they used on lazy days such as this. Today she was amusing herself with a Muggle novel about wizards and magic, the kind she loved to read before she found out she was a witch a few years ago. She was just about to point out a particularly comical passage to the boys when she suddenly began feeling a strange tingling sensation, which was quickly followed by excruciating pain radiating through her body. The boys, overprotective and watchful as of late, quickly noticed her pain and frantically, yet unsuccessfully tried to determine the cause. The raven-haired boy took out his wand and began to check the surrounding bushes for a hidden culprit while the redhead ran inside to fetch his mother. Nothing they did could stop her pain, and just as they were about to Apparate her to St. Mungo's, she stopped writhing abruptly and, still sore from the pain, looked around in confusion. The boys sighed in relief as the mother of the red-haired boy performed a few spells to ensure there weren't any unwelcome strangers on the premises. With no apparent intruders discovered and word sent to the Ministry detailing the event, their summer proceeded without answers and with the two boys keeping an oppressively watchful eye on their friend.
A/N: Thanks for reading! Reviews and constructive criticism are always appreciated. Next chapter coming soon, hopefully.