The young ten year old child walked across his house. It was summer holydays and he was bored. He was slightly shorter than his age's normal size, his hair was a flaming red, and his eyes a deep brown colour. The child's skin was pale and his cheeks were stained pinkish due to summer heat, he was thin, and his jaw was noticeable under his skin, however he had a sweet smile drawn on his lips.
He reached a small room, which's blinds were pulled down, the sun rays that entered through the gaps reflected on the sparks of dust that floated around, and as his small, childish body moved across the room. The dust danced encircling him like magical powder. He reached his bed and took a small, red, rectangular machine from one of the cupboards. Turning it on with a click, and as soon as the images appeared in the small faintly coloured monitor, he moved his fingers gracefully on the buttons labelled A and B.
The boy threw the small gameboy aside and sighted deeply. Feeling hopelessly bored, he scanned his faintly lit room in search of something interesting to do in that moment. His eyes stopped in a small black figure, a young black kitten with large green eyes. The child bent down to pat the creatures silky kitten fur,
"oh, Nightpaws, I'm so bored, what can I do for fun?" the red haired child asked his black cat.
The small kitten turned his face towards the door, and quickly went back to face his owner, a small babyish meow floated out of his mouth in a melodic tone. Nightpaws then turned around and started hopping out of the room with his tiny, thin paws. The sun bounced on the pure charcoal black fur, and glittered with a silvery white shade. The small kid stood up with a hop and followed the kitten speedily, scratching the wooden floor with his tennis shoes.
He ran after the black moving fur ball across a long, dimly lit corridor. The only source of light was the daylight sneaking through the gaps on doors and windows. The kitten stepped silently in a way that seemed to be running over ice. The child's footsteps and his heavy, tired breathing was the only thing that broke the silence. A yellowish light escape through a door, drawing a perfect rectangular square on the wooden floor belonging to the long corridor. The kitten stepped on the lit area and jumped quickly inside with a feline grace and agility, the red haired child followed his cat, slipping on the lighter wooden area and placing his hand on the floor like a skater, to push his body forward.
Once inside the room the boy stared around. It was a very large room, very wide and with an extremely tall ceiling. The walls were decorated with shelves, and lined up in a perfect order, were thousands of books. There were book of all colours and types, from the oldest classics to the newest fictions, from the shortest stories to the longest novels, singles and series, from romances to comedies, from action to science fiction. And all sorts of different names and authors, all kinds of different forms of living, of creating and destroying, all different places, the most varied people and the most incredible adventures, were all located inside this large room.
The child walked towards the middle of the room, where a large, shinny, wooden table was located in front of three extremely large windows. On the table was a small dark figure, glittering with a silvery light shinning on his fur. The child walked closer to the animal, until he was only a few steps from him. The cat stared at his owner with drowse green eyes.
"So you are trying to tell me to read a book, now, which book? I ask you" the child said with an ironic voice. The cat yawned and turned his gaze towards his right side, where a row of books slept peacefully in a shaded area of the room.
Ron walked towards the tall shelves, and with a slight, disgusted look at it, he ran to get a ladder. There was a wooden ladder, hanged from the top of the furniture, to give it the ability of motion. It was a delicately carved baroque style ladder, with a delicate hand of paint place on it and beautifully polished. When the child had positioned it correctly, he climbed up, holding to the sides of it tightly, and carefully stepping on each step to avoid falling off. He stopped at the middle of the large furniture and looked down and the black cat.
"here?" the red haired asked with a note of fright in his vocal cords.
Nightpaws shook his head and moved his gaze higher, his eyes seemed to pierce through the old classics located in the highest shelves. Ron sighed desperately and climbed up, feeling his body tremble and his stomach shrink with the knowledge of the high altitude he was in. Once he had reached his goal, he stopped and held firmly with his arms surrounding the wooden handles. He scanned the books in front of him, they were all very fine books, beautifully decorated in night blue and with the letters printed in silver. He read through some titles.
"The Call of the Wild" the flaming headed child whispered staring at a large blue book, "Hamlet" he read in another, "they are all classics" he finally said raising his voice.
The kid looked down at his cat who stared at him with his eyes almost closed, like if he was laughing, which discomforted him deeply. He tilted his head and avoided the feline's penetrating gaze and sighed.
"You really aren't expecting me to read a classic, are you?" he said with a noticeable ironic tone.
The cat leapt from the table and walked towards the lowest shelve, and with a swift move from his thin paws, he placed his sharp claws on one of the book and pulled it out. The kid stared.
"You want me to go down again?" he asked kicking himself mentally at the stupidity of his own question, since that same cat had made him go up there.
Nightpaws stared at his fire headed owner with a look that could kill, and instantly went in the gap the book used to be in. The child stared at the cat as he saw his fluffy tail come out wagging nervously, and later he saw the cat's whole body come out, pulling another book along with him. He stared as the engines in his head seemed to start working, and he quickly realized what his beloved pet and friend was telling him. He took a look at one of the classics, and quickly glanced back at the animal.
"You want me to pull this books out and take a look at the books that are supposedly behind them, right?" he asked.
The animal stared at his owner and quickly turned around and leapt on the table, pushing his breast out, straightening his head and arching his back and a proud pose. The kid understood and pulled a book out of the line, it was under much pressure and he had to use much of his feeble strength to pull it out. When he did so, he lost his balance and nearly fell off the stairs, he was holding tightly with one hand and he kicked the air nervously as he scanned the area in search of the ladder. He found it quickly and managed to pull himself up again. He placed the book on top of the furniture and took out a few more books from the queue of classics waiting to be read.
The child's eyes glowed with fascination at the revealed treasure hidden behind the old, boring classics. In front of him rested a row of finely hand made books, the covers were worked on very fine brown leather, which was placed around the wooden skeleton with golden borders. The letters were painted in gold and silver, and were of an antique gothic style. Some of the books were decorated with different ornaments, such as stars, and strange symbols never seen by the brown eyes belonging to the child. His eyes scanned the titles from the different books, and being a child with a large imagination, he truly believed that the treasures this books contained were as real as the existence of himself. His finger were firmly wrapped around the stylish wooden ladder, but he had completely forgotten about the height in which he was located. He stared at one of the books.
"Herbs and Magical Plants" could be read in the dusty but still glowing golden letters, the picture of a razor edged leaf was carved in the leather of the old book.
He moved his gaze towards the next book.
"Dark Curses", a symbol of a moon was drawn on the leather, right under the title.
The red haired child loosened his grip on the ladder as he kept reading.
"Treatment to Magical Animals" said one with the carving of a small unicorn, "Charms and Spells" he read in another, the picture here was a thin stick, that looked like a glittering magic wand.
The child's attention was attracted by one of the magical books.
"Protection Charms for Advance Witches and Wizards" his young voice whispered in a nervous shutter.
He stopped holding the side of the ladder and slowly reached out to hold the book, as soon as his fingers touched the soft and dusty leather, a soft, faint glow seemed to emerge from the book and connect human and lecture with an invisible power of purity. the child pulled the book out and stared at the cover, the letters were beautifully carved and a symbolic encircled pentagram was drawn under the title with silvery white platinum metal.
The screeching sound of an opening startled the youngster, his head snapped away from the magnificent book and his brown eyes stared in flowing but confusing fear at the library's door. he couldn't understand what was making him so frightened but somewhat he knew he shouldn't be holding this incredible box of knowledge in his childish hands. The kid heard the sound of heavy footsteps downstairs.
"Ron?" a deep manly voice called out.
The startled child panicked and placed the old book between his knees, while he quickly placed the boring classics back in the shelve with lightning speed. He lost his balance for a brief moment which caused the magical book to fall down and slam flat on the floor. The large room echoed with a thundering roar, that made the small cat cub jump with surprise. The steps grew heavier and louder.
"Ron, are you all right son?" the voice called out, louder and deeper than previously.
Ron stared at the book under him, which once, as large as his torso, now was as small as his night kitten. he stared at the door then at the book, and somehow he felt secure and safe. As if some strange force had impulsed him, he jumped down without hesitation, and closed his eyes on the way. He was surprised to feel himself land softly on the hard wooden floor, and he decided to open his eyes to figure out what had happened. All he saw was a yellowish spark glitter for a nanosecond, and the book in front of him. Nightpaws was waiting for him in front of the large and elegantly carved wooden door, he meowed nervously and stared at the door. Ron was able to hear the footsteps again, growing closer and closer, he was nervous, although his conscious mind couldn't explain why being with this book, which seemed to have been hidden behind those classics for many years, made him feel so uneasy.
He stared at the book once more and with the speed of a camera flash, he bent down and held the book firmly, and as quick as the wind, he turned around and rushed through the door, following the dark cat across the long corridor, back to the room where everything had started. Ron entered his dormitory quickly, feeling the warmth of the afternoon sun glowing in his face. He leapt on his bed avoiding the swirling current of glittering dust, and pushed the book behind it, into the little space between the pine wood of the bed, and the hard green painted cement of the wall.
A voice startled the panting child, and he quickly turned around, making strands of his red hair whip across his face and shine with a fiery light. Ron stared at a rather tall man with large shoulders, his head looked much like a box and was covered with neatly brushed black hair, with a wet appearance from using too much hair gel. His eyes slightly small, and black coloured, hidden under a pair of bushy eyebrows. His nose was rather big and fat, and his lips looked mean and thick. The man was wearing a grey business suit, and his gaze looked in disapproval at the child's move, as if making his clean and silky hair move was a crime. Ron stared with a worried expression, but did a good job at hiding it and directed him a smile.
"Hi dad" he said shyly, showing his pearly white teeth.
The man stared at Ron.
"What was that sound?" he asked in a dry, rough voice.
Ron shivered a bit, his father had, naturally, heard the book fall, but he hadn't thought of an excuse. Ron found himself fidgeting with his fingers, he looked at the black cat as if expecting to hear the answer erupting from his dark mouth. He looked at his dad back, whose arms were crossed in frustration.
"Well?" he demanded in a voice that clearly said he will be severely punished.
"Well, dad you see, I was...weeeeeell...doing my homework and...eeerr...my math book fell off the table, yeah!" Ron explained as his gaze turned towards the math book which miraculously was sprawled on the carpeted floor.
The large man moved his gaze towards the colourful math book, which laid untidily on the floor, with some of its pages wrinkled. He then looked at the child and nodded.
"Well, be careful next time son." he said before moving out of the room, hitting the floor with his heavy footsteps, as if an elephant was trotting across the house.
Ron sighed deeply, letting his unexplainable fear leave his trembling body with the carbon dioxide. He turned around and reached out behind the bed, searching to find the mysterious but fascinating book, but the door opened abruptly, and the man Ron had called 'father' entered the room again. He stared at the kid with a look that showed respect.
"Listen kid, I better don't find you doing anything weird, unless you want to see me angry, understood?" he said in a loud, harsh voice.
Ron gulped and nodded slowly, with a expression of fear drawn in his face, his already pale skin had turned white enough to make snow look grey. The man stormed out of the room and Ron blew with relief, making the motioning specks of dust dance faster. He turned to look at the cat.
"I wont be able to read this book until tonight, way too dangerous, I can get caught and I don't want to know what my parents would do." he said noticing his voice still tremble with fear.
The cat leapt on the bed and rubbed himself against Ron's arm, right after he stopped and stared at him with his large green eyes, making him feel the intelligence and knowledge that characterized this cat, making him even feel his thoughts for a small instant, which made Ron look at the animal in fear.
That night, the young child laid under his covers, silently playing with his Game Boy Colour. The only light was a purplish one coming from a tiny lamp connected to the euro communicator of the small machine. Ron emitted a loud, annoyed sigh, and he was starting to feel a lack of oxygen in the small area under the covers, but he held back against the urge to poke his head out and breathe the fresh air. He checked his watch and smiled with pleasure and excitement.
"Great, three thirty am, I guess my parents must be sleeping already, time to check the strange book" Ron told himself in a whisper and turning off the Game Boy at the same time.
He pushed the covers away and breathed deeply, feeling the cool, summer night's air enter his lungs. He stuck his hand through the gap between his comfortable pine bed and the wall, and tried searching for the book. Finally he touched something soft and dusty, with cold, metallic edges, Ron held it tightly but carefully at the same time, and pulled it out.
The boy stared at the rectangle in font of him, everything was dark and so was the book, except for the pentagram that was drawn on it, which glowed a bright icy blue colour. With fascination and excitement, he opened the book, feeling his fingers tremble with nervousness on the soft leather. As soon as he revealed the first page, a whitish light lit his pale face, turning it a silvery shade and making him look like a ghost. His eyes opened wide as he realized the pages shone with intensity, making the magical book readable in the darkness of the night.
His gaze scanned across the first sentences, the pages seemed written by hand, using a quill and dark blue ink. He read the first paragraph and was surprised about what he read in it, he turned around several times as if thinking someone was playing some joke on him:
To Be Continued…
AN: OK, this is an AU, some idea I thought I wanted to put on practice. Anyways, hope you enjoy it, read and review.