A/N: At the time I began this story, some five years ago, it was my first try at HP fanfiction. Then I abandoned it, and have since returned to continue it. So here is the rewritten first chapter, hopefully it will flesh it out a bit. (First posted: 3/8/2003)
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. That honor is J.K. Rowling's alone.
Almost A Dream Come True
Chapter One - Boo
Alone at last. Summer Granger settled down with a deliciously sweet and fizzy drink, a bag of chips, and her two very best friends: the couch and the movie Harry Potter And The Sorcerer's Stone. She popped the movie in and settled back into the over-stuffed couch she watched as the first scene appeared on the TV screen. A feeling of reassurance and content filled her and she idly hummed along with the musical score.
She opened her box of chips and bit enthusiastically into the first one, about to savor the taste of yummy salt-and-vinegar. Instead, Summer found herself choking on the horrible taste of barbeque. If there was one thing that Summer couldn't stand, besides snakes and spiders, it was anything that was flavored with the artificial taste of barbeque. Disgusted, she took the chips (Crisps, in British, she told herself, the accented dialogue still continuing behind her) and went back to the kitchen, letting the movie go on, since she had already memorized it ages ago. She went to the junk food cupboard and exchanged the barbeque for the Supreme Flavor Of All Time, Salt and Vinegar (it simply HAD to be capitalized).
Summer Granger's innate grace was lacking. Following in a long tradition of breaking plates, walking into walls, and tripping over perfectly even floors, Summer knocked over everything in her path. Half the things on the shelf fell over, and she broke a cookie jar before finally getting her chips. A small price to pay, in her opinion. Happily, Summer skipped back to the living room, chips in hand.
She froze in her tracks, stunned at the sudden appearance of another person in her otherwise empty house. It was a figure wearing black, or a black cape or cloak or something, but running shoes were visible beneath the hem of the dark material. The person was a few inches taller than her, and turned away from Summer. The only feature that Summer could make out was short, dark hair. Considering the height and hair, Summer assumed it was a guy. He remained totally unaware of Summer, preoccupied with something in front of him, until she suddenly started making incomprehensible sounds.
"Uh… nyargh?" She tried to say twenty things at once, and that was the brilliant result. The person's back tensed, but he didn't turn around yet. "WhatsgoingonwhoareyouWHYareyouherehowdidyougetinIbettercallsomeonewheresmyphoneorparentsorsisterwhoknowskungfuorsomethingbecauseyougotintomylockedhousesomaybeIshouldcallthepolice…" running out of breath, she stopped and breathed deeply, filling her lungs, mouth open and ready to continue.
"Don't scream!" The figure whirled around and was now holding his hands palm-out: the universal action for stop. Or, in this case, stop rambling you psychotic teenaged girl.
Her brain shut down, mainly because it couldn't process what her eyes were seeing. Somewhere though, a thought emerged, stuttering, even though a thought couldn't stutter. It's H-Ha-Harry P-P-Potter!! Summer fought very hard against her urge to faint right then and there, convinced that she must be hallucinating.
Harry was studying the features of wherever he was, trying to find out exactly what planet that idiot Ron had sent him to, and how exactly he was going to fix the TV he broke when he arrived on top of it. His investigation was interrupted by the noises coming from the girl who had appeared from nowhere. The girl, who probably lived in this unfortunately occupied house, looked to be about his age and just as surprised as he was.
Great... stuck somewhere I don't know where, already getting seen by somebody... added to that, me failing Snape's pop quiz on Burning Potions, this is really a BAD day for me, Harry thought sullenly. He and Ron had been trying to finish their homework, but instead ended up practicing their Transportation Charms. Apparently, Ron wasn't very good, since he had been trying to send Harry to the other side of the common room, never mind all the anti-Apparition wards at Hogwarts. Magic had a way of going awry and breaking its own rules.
"Gee, thanks Ron. That was bloody brilliant of you," Harry said as he whipped out his wand to try to fix the situation.
A/N: So there we have it. A bit brushed up, still not very long, but what can I do… it's hard to go back and rewrite the beginnings, at the risk of causing some disagreement with the more current chapters. Now on to Chapters 2 and 3…