Being Brave: A Slytherin's story
Chapter One: Magic, letters, and Magic letters.
In the little town of Wyrmendrove, Jeffery Biggins ran the grocery store. All the folks came to him for their bread and milk, and holiday turkeys. Afternoon tea had ended, and so he slowly but deliberately began re-stocking the shelves before he opened the doors for business. He had nearly finished the canned goods ( he had gotten a good deal with that vendor) when he heard the great cli-clapping of his wife's high heels coming towards him. He turned to see her running down the aisle. Her face was beet red and sweaty.
" You'll overheat m'dear, running 'bout like that in the summer sun." He said. He placed another can of chicken soup on the middle shelf and turned it a bit to match the others next to it.
" Jeffies!" She panted. " You won't belive this!" She leaned her chubby hand against the canned greens and wheezed.
" Believe what?" He said, continuing his solemn stocking duties. " Don't knock over those greens, m'dear, if ya please."
" That Smith fellow is in town again!" She exclaimed shrilly. She took out her inhaler and wrapped her lips around it as she wheezed again. " And he's brought his little brat of a girl with him!"
" Oh, good. He buys a lot at once. Perhaps I can convince him to buy the rest of that soy milk. No one seemed to like that stuff."
" That, that mad man is coming into OUR town, to do God-knows-what, and you're worried about the sales of milk?" She said with disdain. " My mother" She coughed and gasped again.
" Was right about me, hmm? " He smiled slightly. He handed the empty soup can box to her." Most likely. Now, don't bother Doctor Smith today please, m'dear. He's a tad eccentric, but he's a good man, and Annabell is a good kid. I'll be at the register." He put his hands in his pockets and walked away slowly.
" Oh, you impossible man! Do you know that this will do to my nerves and lungs? Wait, why do I have this box?"
" Be a dear and throw that out, please, m'dear." He called back. She grunted and stamped her heel in frustration, and walked briskly away. He chuckled quietly and switched the front door sign from "closed" to "open."
It was not long after the infamous Dr. Smith walked in. He was a stick of a man, tall as a pole, with a large nose and small, beady eyes that were somewhat enlarged by his thick glasses, giving a strangely comical effect. He ran his fingers through his coarse black hair and gestured a quick hello to Jeffery before getting to work. He bought his groceries every few weeks as if preparing for the Apocalypse.
Soon after him came his child Annabell. Her body was tanned and clothed in only a tank and short shorts. Unlike her father, she had silky black hair forced up into a ponytail, and large, expressive blue eyes. Annabell went to the register and went on her tip-toes to reach a catalogue, Gardening Monthly. She pulled it down and skimmed through it before greeting Jeffery.
" 'ello Mr. Biggins. "
" Hello Annabell. How has your summer been?"
" Hot. But my myrtles, rosemary, and flowers have made it through quite nicely, as well as my tomatoes, squash, and peppers." She handed him a pound bill for the magazine.
" Hmm. I see. The missus has been having trouble with rodents and adders in her garden." He said as he handed her the change. " Any tips for her?"
" I just tell Sylva to fetch her dinner when a rat or mouse gets in. Her scent is everywhere, too, scares 'em -"
" AH-HA! Finally!" Annabell jumped at her father's outburst. He nearly skipped over, with two bags full of soy milk, bread, and other groceries in his hands. " I've been waiting for you to get the soy milk. Good thing I got here before the rush!" He said, holding up a carton. " Ooo, vanilla flavor! How exciting!"
Jeffery chuckled softly. He had a feeling the odd doctor would like the stuff. They paid quickly and bid farewell.
Annabell took a bag in her hand, and with the other held her father's hand as they left the town, unaware of the odd stares from the townsfolk.
" I tell you, there is something odd about those two." Mrs Godspeen whispered to her knitting club while looking at them through the window.
"I've seen that girl just walk right up to an adder with no fear in her eyes! And not to mention that man spends all his time studying those vile creatures. It's satanic I say! Mary help us all!" said Ruby Giles, the local old maid and devout sunday school teacher.
" Oh, you think whole wheat bread is satanic. No, Ruby, don't argue." Janice Flemidge said. " But I did hear that Dr. Smith left a prosperous teaching position at University to live out in the woods here. I wonder if it was a scandal that drove him out? "
" The doctor doesn't bother me so much as that strange girl." Said Anne Teal. "She came to me for a haircut once. And when I saw her in town the next day, it was full grown, as if it had never been touched. "
" I saw her in town last month do something quite strange outside my fabrics store. I heard her aloud say " I am quite thirsty". I turn my head for a moment, and then, suddenly, a glass of ice water was in her hand! She couldn't have gone all the way to the Soda Shop that quickly!" Eden added. " And the man has snakes and lizards in his pockets.I've seen them. It's just too odd!"
Ruby shook her head. " Such evils, in our own town, how very sad."
Beth Giles, her younger neice, smiled and said. " I don't know about evil, Auntie. I've talked to them before, and seemed normal folk to me, as folks go. But there was one odd incident."
" Oh? and what was that?" Ruby said as she refocused on her knitting.
"On our class trip, we had gone to the courthouse the next town over, where a great, large statue of the town's founder was revealed. But it was terribly ugly, the artist was too exact. I heard Annabell groan and remark how nasty it was, and she had finished, the face had seemed to change..."
The whole room had grown silent. She smirked and continued. " It had changed...into the face of Sean Connery! " She laughed loudly. " I- I mean, it was just like magic!"
...
Annabell had quickly gotten back to work in her garden once they reached home. Her father had retreated into their two-story home, to continue his research in the basement lab.
As she weeded her flowerbeds, a huge, white python-like snake slithered out the front door. It crept up behind her and slowly rose as if to strike...
" Boo!"
" AAA!" Annabell screamed, then laughed. " You are a very wicked little snake, did you know that Sylva?" She teased.
" Tss-thth" She chuckled. " You ssshould learn to pay better attention to your sssuroundingsss, hatchling."
" Hmmpf. Well, you go take a look around for any unpleasant visitors to our garden. Or, I sssupose I ssshould just say, go have ssome lunch."
Sylva began to slither away, when she suddenly perked up and wrapped her body in a perimeter around Annabell.
" A stranger is coming! He is here in the garden, now! I will defffend the territory!"
Annabell rolled her eyes and stepped over Sylva. " Relax. It's probably just a visitor. Go eat a mouse or something."
" Ssscream if you need me."
" I see you have made a friend there, Annabell." said and old man. He came up the path with ease despite his aged looks. He had a long, snow-white beard, a pointed hat, and was wearing robes of the shiniest material. And he knew her name.
" Do I know you sir? "
" We met once before, yes. But you were much smaller then. " He said. She couldn't miss the warm twinkle in his eye and his smile.
" Why are you wearing that hat? You look like Merlin or something with it. "
" Merlin! Why thank you. He was a fine man and a great wizard. " He said almost nostalgically. " Might I see your father, Annabell?"
" O-okay."
She backed up slowly into the house and ran down the stairs, and knocked furiously on the door to his office.
" DAD! "
" Yes, yes, what is it?" The muffled reply from inside came.
" There's a strange old man out here! He looks like a wizard or som-"
" A WHAT?!" The door suddenly flew open. She had never seen her father look so enraged before. " WHAT DID YOU SAY?"
She gulped and stepped back. " I-I mean, he just looks weird. Has a big pointy hat on, this big!" She held her arms out as wide as she could. " Like a cartoon character, he actually looks kind of funny..."
He bounded up the stairs with new energy, and she ran up after him, half afraid her father was going to kill the stranger.
" Get off my property this instant! She'll have nothing to do with that...stuff. Don't you dare pull her into it, Dumbledore!"
Dumbledore remained unfazed, he smiled sadly, but as he opened his mouth to speak, Annabell chimed in.
" Pull me into what?"
" Get into the house, please."
" But, is he a wizard dad? Can he do magic tricks?"
Dr. Smith sighed. " I'll explain later. Get into the house."
" Okay..." She said dejectedly, she winked at Dumbledore. " But it sure is hot out here, maybe we should all go in. You'll get heat stroke! "
" A wonderful idea, don't you think? I'm sure arguing in this heat isn't doing your health any good."
" Yes, you look sick, dad."
Dr. Smith frowned. " What, I-I'm not sick."
" Are you sure? you look a tad feverish to me, Daddy. I'll make some tea. Can you help him in Mister? He doesn't look too good. All the heat is getting to him."
" I am fine...I mean, it is a bit hot, and I do feel a tad dizzy, but.."
" I better go quickly then!" She ran inside to the kitchen. Dr. Smith stared after her for a moment and let out a chuckle.
" She's a sneaky little girl. She gets away with so much in this house...Lord help me when she's a teenager" he cleared his throat and looked at Dumbledore sternly. " I still don't like that you are here, but I think for her sake I can keep myself contained for tea."
" As shall I. But I will splurge for a few extra lumps of sugar." He said with a wink as he entered the home.
Dr. Smith unclenched his fists and exhaled. He could handle this, he knew this day would come. But he wasn't letting them take her away into that dangerous world, he would never lose anyone to that again.