Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. Or "Grease," of which this story draws inspiration. All rights go to respective owners.

A Chance Meeting in Summertime

Ten-year-old Ron Weasley stood on the beach and randomly flung seashells back into the waves. This summer was not going according to plan. He had thought the opportunity to travel with his older brother, Bill, during the summer would have been fun, but it was turning out to be rather boring. Sure, he got to see other countries — currently, they were in Australia — and escape the craziness of the Burrow, but he often didn't get to see Bill work. He had been told that a lot of the sites Bill worked at were too dangerous for an unqualified wizard, not to mention one that hadn't even started at Hogwarts yet.

Often times, he was left at the closest Gringotts branch or, like today, at whatever inn in which they were staying. This usually meant he was given the chance to get out and explore a bit — not that there was a lot to do, of course. He didn't have a lot of spending money to use in the shops and there were still three weeks left of summer.

Frustrated, he threw another shell back into the ocean and turned around, thinking about heading back to The White Rabbit (the magical pub in Australia equivalent to The Leaky Cauldron), when an odd sight stopped him.

There was a small girl running down the beach, her long black hair whipping in the wind behind her. As she came closer to Ron, he could tell that she looked about his age and was also crying.

He mentally groaned. He was always terrible at comforting his younger sister when she was upset and wasn't sure what he should do. Should he ignore the girl? Tell her to suck it up? Somehow, he thought the second response wouldn't go over well.

Sighing, he waited until she drew closer and then caught her attention.

"Hey!"

The girl abruptly stopped and looked at him. Tears were running down her face and yet, at the same time, she stood taller and glared at him. If Ron had been older, he might have thought she was beautiful. But he was far too young for those thoughts.

"What do you want?" she asked, somewhat haughtily.

Ron shuffled his feet. "Um, are you okay?" he asked.

Why didn't I just let her cry and run past me? he thought miserably. Clearly, she doesn't want to talk to me.

"No," she replied sharply. "Obviously, I'm not okay."

Treat woman with respect, Ronald! A voice in his head, that sounded suspiciously like his mother, shouted.

"Oh. I'm sorry," he replied. "Do … ya know … do you want me to walk back with you? To wherever your family is?"

"Not unless you know where The White Rabbit is," she snapped. From the look on her face, she clearly assumed he wouldn't know what, or where, that was.

"My brother and I are staying there," Ron replied smugly. "He's a curse-breaker for Gringotts."

The girl arched an eyebrow. "Really? He's a wizard?" she questioned.

Ron frowned at her response. "Yeah, of course. I mean we both are. Wizards that is. Are you?"

If it was possible, the girl looked even more superior as she smirked. "Of course, not. I'm a witch."

Ron looked down at the ground. He felt his ears burning and knew that his face was bright red. She knew what he meant, so why did this girl have to make him feel so inferior?

"I knew that!" he snapped. "Do you want me to walk back with you or not?"

The girl shook her head and sat down in the sand. She remained quiet, as she stared out at the horizon. Ron thought she wasn't going to say anything else and was about to leave, when she whispered something.

"I'm sorry."

"What?" Ron asked, completely befuddled. Normally, he was the one who had to apologize. He wasn't sure how to handle someone else saying sorry to him.

"I said," the girl repeated a little louder, "that I was sorry!"

"I heard you, I just don't know why you are saying sorry! I should be apologizing to you!" Ron said.

The girl looked up with a stunned expression. "Why are you apologizing to me? I made you feel bad. I could tell because your face turned all red."

Ron stared at the girl with a lost expression, before sitting down next to her.

"I don't know," he said, after a moment of silence. "I just feel like we got, I dunno, started off on the wrong foot, or something."

The girl seemed to process that for a second, before giving Ron a tentative smile.

"Well, my name is Daphne," she said, holding out her hand to shake. "What's your name?"

"Ron," he replied with a grin. He shook her hand. "If you don't want to walk back just yet, do you want to … collect shells. Or something else? I just know that my sister likes to collect shells, so…"

She rolled her eyes. "Sure, that sounds fine."

"Great!" Ron said. Finally, he felt like he did something right.

.oOo.

It was two hours later when Bill finally found them on the beach, working together on building a gigantic sand castle. Bill pulled Ron aside and informed him that they had to leave immediately. Apparently, there was a Dark enchanted labyrinth in a section of catacombs under Paris that needed Bill's immediate attention. Ron nodded and ran back to the girl — Bill thought he heard the name Daphne — and seemed to explain what was happening. Ron gestured back towards town and the girl shook her head. Smiling softly, she brushed the sand off her hands and informed the two wizards that she was heading back to her family.

And that was the last time Ron saw Daphne, just as Bill apparated them away to Paris: A lonely girl, walking along the beach.

...It was the last time Ron saw Daphne — that is, until he saw her at Hogwarts the following year.

Prompts

Ludi Plebeii — The Golden Snitch

Musical/Play Prompt: "Grease"

Year Long Scavenger Hunt — Harry Potter Fanfiction Challenge

Prompt: (action) crying