It was the end of their 5th year. It was a usual day back at number 4 Privet drive. Dudley ran down the stairs. The stairs creaked slightly under Dudley's weight. Dudley wore a blue polo and kakis. The polo shirt was tightly wrapped around his round body. His hair was plastered to his head. Harry walked down the stairs behind the large roll of fat. Harry wore Dudley's old clothes. His clothing never fit him and they never will. Harry wore baggy jeans and a very loose white t-shirt. The clothing he wore looked like they were going to fall off his thin frame.
"Sweetums! Its time for breakfast!" Aunt Petunia said sweetly as Dudley entered the kitchen. Aunt Petunia wore a yellow sun dress. She was very fond of it because her son picked it out for her for her birthday.
"Eat your damn breakfast and get out my sight." Aunt Petunia said to Harry in a nasty tone.
"And a good morning to you too." Harry muttered as he sat down in his seat. Uncle Vernon sat down next to him.
"I hope I didn't hear what you just said!" Uncle Vernon said as his eyes peered over the newspaper.
"No." Harry said meekly.
Aunt Petunia placed three plates down. Today it was bacon and eggs. Dudley got a full plate of it and Harry got only two pieces of bacon and a quarter of an egg.
"We're going to the mall to go shopping." Uncle Vernon said as Dudley's lit up.
"Am I finally gonna get that voice activated robot?!" Dudley said, excitedly.
"Maybe. It'll be a surprise." Aunt Petunia said sweetly.
"Yes!!!" Dudley exclaimed. Harry finished eating and began to get up.
"Your going too," Uncle said in a mono tone. Harry's mouth began to turn into a smile. He never went to a mall before.
"You better not be near us. We will meet you at six pm in front of the mall. If you aren't there, we're leaving." Uncle said as Harry nodded, "We're leaving in fifteen minutes."
Harry ran up the stairs and grabbed all the things he needed. Hermione gave him some muggle money a few days ago before he left for his "home". He had twenty dollars. He put on his sneakers and ran down the stairs. He ran to the front door and leaned against the wall.
Uncle Vernon took his car keys and walked out the door. He went down to the car and went inside of it. When Harry's uncle went into the car, it reminded him of Mr. Weasley's car.
"Let's go!" Vernon yelled. Petunia and Dudley ran out of the house. Harry followed. Petunia locked the door and got into the car a few seconds later. They drove out of the drive way and they were off. The car ride was very silent. There were random sentences about the weather and about Dudley's schooling that's turning him into a young man. (yeah right...more like a jerk) They approached a large facility with the letters 'world mall' in giant black letters.
They parked the car closest to the entrance. They got out and looked around.
"Leave us. Go to the mall by yourself." Aunt Petunia said as Harry walked ahead. He didn't really care about walking with them anyway. He walked into the lobby. The air-conditioned air welcomed him. There were so many people around...so many girls. He heard that a lot of muggle girls come here to hangout and have some fun. Music was blasting out of stores as he walked past them. A group of girls were ahead of him. One of the girl caught his eye. She was Asian descent. (note: she's nothing like Cho. I promise.) She had shoulder length dark brown hair and dark brown eyes. She was one of the medium height girls of the group. One of the girls noticed Harry looking and tapped the girl he liked on the shoulder. Harry turned away quickly as the girl looked at him. He walked the opposite way as he heard the group of girls giggling.
"I bet they were laughing at me." he thought. Harry got onto the escalator and went to the second level. He wandered the mall for a long while. He went to the third level and saw an ice cream parlor. He walked over to the parlor and got a vanilla ice cream sundae. When he sat down, he watched people walk by and looked at his ice cream. The girl he liked came up from the escalator, followed by her friends. Harry put his head down to avoid the group of girls looking at him. He glanced up and saw the girl leaving the group and walking toward him.
"Crap! What am I gonna do now?!" he thought frantically. The girl saw him and smiled. Her smile felt like all the emotions in Harry's body left him. The girl got a vanilla ice cream sundae and sat a few feet away from Harry. The girl waved at Harry. Harry turned around to see who she was saying hi to, but it was actually him. He didn't see anyone behind him. The girl let out a cute giggle. Harry looked back at her. She motioned him to sit in front of her. Harry pointed at himself and the girl nodded. Harry picked up his sundae and walked over to the girl.
"Hi. My name is Harry. What is yours?" Harry asked, putting his sundae on the table then sat down.
"Nice to meet you, Harry. My name is Gabrielle." Gabrielle said smiling.
"Beautiful name." Harry said as Gabrielle blushed.
"Your so sweet." Gabrielle said smiling.
"What school are you from?" Gabrielle asked. Harry didn't know how to reply. He didn't know what to say. He doesn't wanna scare her away if he tells her that he went to a magic school for wizardry.
"I'm home schooled." Harry said immediately.
"Oh." Gabrielle said, dipping her spoon into the sundae and put the ice cream filled spoon into her mouth.
"Where do you go?" he asked.
"I'm kinda in-between schools right now." she said as Harry nodded.
"You better eat your ice cream before it melts." Gabrielle said, laughing.
"Yeah. I should." Harry said, spooning at the half way melted sundae. He glanced over Gabrielle's shoulder to look at the clock behind her. It was already four o'clock.
"You know what, give me a call." Gabrielle said as she took out a pen and took a napkin from the table holster.
"A call? Like from a muggle phone?" Harry said, surprised. He couldn't believe the word 'muggle' slipped from his mouth.
"Yes. From a muggle phone." Gabrielle said laughing.
"You know what muggle means?" Harry asked.
"Yeah." she replied.
"Then your a," Harry said before leaning toward her to whisper into her ear, "a witch?"
Gabrielle let out a giggle, "I am actually."
"Really?" Harry said, smiling.
"Yes."
"Then what school do you actually go to?" he asked.
"I go to Beauxbatons but I'm transferring to another school. I'm gonna go to Hogwarts this year." Gabrielle said after taking a bite of her ice cream.
"I go to Hogwarts!" he said, surprised.
"I'm in the Gryffindor What house are you in?" Harry said, excitedly. He finally found a girl that he might want to date in the future.
"Ravenclaw." she replied.
"Oh..." he said in a disappointed tone. He remembered that Cho Chang was in that House. He never forgot the date they went on. It was a disaster. After that date, it made him look at Cho with a different perspective.
"What? What's wrong?" she asked.
"Oh nothing. I'm just bummed that your not in my House." he said, covering up his disappointed 'oh'.
"Oh okay." she said as she stood up. She walked over to the trash can and threw out her sundae. She went back to the table and sat down.
"Listen, here's my address. Send me an owl some time." she said, writing her address down on the napkin, "I have to go. My parents are gonna be here any minute." She gave him the napkin and began to walk away.
"Bye." Harry said, waving his hand slightly.
Gabrielle spun around and waved, "Ciao." She turned back away from Harry and took the escalator downstairs.
Harry looked down at the napkin. It had her full name on it.
"Gabrielle Sparrow." Harry read off the napkin before stuffing it into his pocket. He stood up and threw out his ice cream. He looked at the clock and it was already half a hour to six. He ran to the escalator and ran down three flights. He ran to the front entrance. He pushed the door out of the way and ran down into the parking lot. He ran to the Dursley's car and stood there. Vernon was already in the car with Dudley and Aunt Petunia.
"Damn it. He's here." Vernon said as Harry opened the car door and got in.
"Got anything?" Dudley said, grinning.
"No." Harry said looking out of the car window. He couldn't wait to talk to Gabrielle again.
The car ride back to Privet drive was quiet as usual. The car pulled up into the garage. Everyone got out of the car and went into the house.
"Your red head friend is gonna pick you up tomorrow so you better get all your stuff together. I'm gonna unlock the stuff in the cupboard." Uncle Vernon yelled as Harry ran up the steps.
"Okay." Harry replied as he ran into this room and started to gather his things.
"Don't expect to get dinner! We already ate at the mall." Vernon yelled as Harry blocked his voice out of his head. Harry couldn't wait to tell Ron about Gabrielle. He opened the loose floorboard and took out his books, quill, parchment, and ink out of the compartment and put them into a bag. He closed the floorboard and put all his things together. He looked at Hedwig's cage. Hedwig is sleeping with her beak under her wing.
"Hedwig." he said, walking over the cage. Hedwig picked her head up. Her eyes were half open at her master.
"We're going to Ron's tomorrow. I want you to fly there tonight. Is that possible?" he asked. Hedwig gave a hoot.
"Okay." he said as he walked over to his bag and pulled out his parchment and his quill. He took the ink bottle out quickly and dipped the end of his quill into the bottle. He began to write to Ron:
Ron,
Hedwig is gonna get to your house faster than I am at night. So I will see you tomorrow morning. I have something to tell you!
Harry
He quickly scribbled his name and folded the parchment and put it on his night stand. He threw some of his muggle clothing into his bag and some socks. He opened Hedwig's cage and Hedwig got out slowly. She stretched her wings. She flew to Harry's shoulder and perched on it. She nibbled on Harry's ear and put her talon out. Harry always smile when Hedwig is affectionate. He tied the parchment to Hedwig's talon. He opened the window and let Hedwig out. Hedwig flew out of the window. He watched her fly away until the white cloud disappeared. He zipped his bag and took Hedwig's cage and ran down stairs. His broom and trunk was already at the front door. Uncle Vernon specifically told him to lock his wand in the trunk with the rest of his things. He placed his stuff on his trunk and went back upstairs. He went into his room and went to sleep.
The sun went down and night came. He couldn't sleep. He kept thinking about Gabrielle and the Ravenclaw house. He remembered that he'll have to face Cho some time and see her walk past him. Hermione was like a sister to him. He didn't want to separate from her just to be Cho Chang's boyfriend but he has a feeling Ron has feelings for Hermione only Ron barely mentioned it to him. He looked at his clock and saw it was only nine o'clock. He put his glasses on the night stand and closed his eyes.
"Sweetums! Its time for breakfast!" Aunt Petunia said sweetly as Dudley entered the kitchen. Aunt Petunia wore a yellow sun dress. She was very fond of it because her son picked it out for her for her birthday.
"Eat your damn breakfast and get out my sight." Aunt Petunia said to Harry in a nasty tone.
"And a good morning to you too." Harry muttered as he sat down in his seat. Uncle Vernon sat down next to him.
"I hope I didn't hear what you just said!" Uncle Vernon said as his eyes peered over the newspaper.
"No." Harry said meekly.
Aunt Petunia placed three plates down. Today it was bacon and eggs. Dudley got a full plate of it and Harry got only two pieces of bacon and a quarter of an egg.
"We're going to the mall to go shopping." Uncle Vernon said as Dudley's lit up.
"Am I finally gonna get that voice activated robot?!" Dudley said, excitedly.
"Maybe. It'll be a surprise." Aunt Petunia said sweetly.
"Yes!!!" Dudley exclaimed. Harry finished eating and began to get up.
"Your going too," Uncle said in a mono tone. Harry's mouth began to turn into a smile. He never went to a mall before.
"You better not be near us. We will meet you at six pm in front of the mall. If you aren't there, we're leaving." Uncle said as Harry nodded, "We're leaving in fifteen minutes."
Harry ran up the stairs and grabbed all the things he needed. Hermione gave him some muggle money a few days ago before he left for his "home". He had twenty dollars. He put on his sneakers and ran down the stairs. He ran to the front door and leaned against the wall.
Uncle Vernon took his car keys and walked out the door. He went down to the car and went inside of it. When Harry's uncle went into the car, it reminded him of Mr. Weasley's car.
"Let's go!" Vernon yelled. Petunia and Dudley ran out of the house. Harry followed. Petunia locked the door and got into the car a few seconds later. They drove out of the drive way and they were off. The car ride was very silent. There were random sentences about the weather and about Dudley's schooling that's turning him into a young man. (yeah right...more like a jerk) They approached a large facility with the letters 'world mall' in giant black letters.
They parked the car closest to the entrance. They got out and looked around.
"Leave us. Go to the mall by yourself." Aunt Petunia said as Harry walked ahead. He didn't really care about walking with them anyway. He walked into the lobby. The air-conditioned air welcomed him. There were so many people around...so many girls. He heard that a lot of muggle girls come here to hangout and have some fun. Music was blasting out of stores as he walked past them. A group of girls were ahead of him. One of the girl caught his eye. She was Asian descent. (note: she's nothing like Cho. I promise.) She had shoulder length dark brown hair and dark brown eyes. She was one of the medium height girls of the group. One of the girls noticed Harry looking and tapped the girl he liked on the shoulder. Harry turned away quickly as the girl looked at him. He walked the opposite way as he heard the group of girls giggling.
"I bet they were laughing at me." he thought. Harry got onto the escalator and went to the second level. He wandered the mall for a long while. He went to the third level and saw an ice cream parlor. He walked over to the parlor and got a vanilla ice cream sundae. When he sat down, he watched people walk by and looked at his ice cream. The girl he liked came up from the escalator, followed by her friends. Harry put his head down to avoid the group of girls looking at him. He glanced up and saw the girl leaving the group and walking toward him.
"Crap! What am I gonna do now?!" he thought frantically. The girl saw him and smiled. Her smile felt like all the emotions in Harry's body left him. The girl got a vanilla ice cream sundae and sat a few feet away from Harry. The girl waved at Harry. Harry turned around to see who she was saying hi to, but it was actually him. He didn't see anyone behind him. The girl let out a cute giggle. Harry looked back at her. She motioned him to sit in front of her. Harry pointed at himself and the girl nodded. Harry picked up his sundae and walked over to the girl.
"Hi. My name is Harry. What is yours?" Harry asked, putting his sundae on the table then sat down.
"Nice to meet you, Harry. My name is Gabrielle." Gabrielle said smiling.
"Beautiful name." Harry said as Gabrielle blushed.
"Your so sweet." Gabrielle said smiling.
"What school are you from?" Gabrielle asked. Harry didn't know how to reply. He didn't know what to say. He doesn't wanna scare her away if he tells her that he went to a magic school for wizardry.
"I'm home schooled." Harry said immediately.
"Oh." Gabrielle said, dipping her spoon into the sundae and put the ice cream filled spoon into her mouth.
"Where do you go?" he asked.
"I'm kinda in-between schools right now." she said as Harry nodded.
"You better eat your ice cream before it melts." Gabrielle said, laughing.
"Yeah. I should." Harry said, spooning at the half way melted sundae. He glanced over Gabrielle's shoulder to look at the clock behind her. It was already four o'clock.
"You know what, give me a call." Gabrielle said as she took out a pen and took a napkin from the table holster.
"A call? Like from a muggle phone?" Harry said, surprised. He couldn't believe the word 'muggle' slipped from his mouth.
"Yes. From a muggle phone." Gabrielle said laughing.
"You know what muggle means?" Harry asked.
"Yeah." she replied.
"Then your a," Harry said before leaning toward her to whisper into her ear, "a witch?"
Gabrielle let out a giggle, "I am actually."
"Really?" Harry said, smiling.
"Yes."
"Then what school do you actually go to?" he asked.
"I go to Beauxbatons but I'm transferring to another school. I'm gonna go to Hogwarts this year." Gabrielle said after taking a bite of her ice cream.
"I go to Hogwarts!" he said, surprised.
"I'm in the Gryffindor What house are you in?" Harry said, excitedly. He finally found a girl that he might want to date in the future.
"Ravenclaw." she replied.
"Oh..." he said in a disappointed tone. He remembered that Cho Chang was in that House. He never forgot the date they went on. It was a disaster. After that date, it made him look at Cho with a different perspective.
"What? What's wrong?" she asked.
"Oh nothing. I'm just bummed that your not in my House." he said, covering up his disappointed 'oh'.
"Oh okay." she said as she stood up. She walked over to the trash can and threw out her sundae. She went back to the table and sat down.
"Listen, here's my address. Send me an owl some time." she said, writing her address down on the napkin, "I have to go. My parents are gonna be here any minute." She gave him the napkin and began to walk away.
"Bye." Harry said, waving his hand slightly.
Gabrielle spun around and waved, "Ciao." She turned back away from Harry and took the escalator downstairs.
Harry looked down at the napkin. It had her full name on it.
"Gabrielle Sparrow." Harry read off the napkin before stuffing it into his pocket. He stood up and threw out his ice cream. He looked at the clock and it was already half a hour to six. He ran to the escalator and ran down three flights. He ran to the front entrance. He pushed the door out of the way and ran down into the parking lot. He ran to the Dursley's car and stood there. Vernon was already in the car with Dudley and Aunt Petunia.
"Damn it. He's here." Vernon said as Harry opened the car door and got in.
"Got anything?" Dudley said, grinning.
"No." Harry said looking out of the car window. He couldn't wait to talk to Gabrielle again.
The car ride back to Privet drive was quiet as usual. The car pulled up into the garage. Everyone got out of the car and went into the house.
"Your red head friend is gonna pick you up tomorrow so you better get all your stuff together. I'm gonna unlock the stuff in the cupboard." Uncle Vernon yelled as Harry ran up the steps.
"Okay." Harry replied as he ran into this room and started to gather his things.
"Don't expect to get dinner! We already ate at the mall." Vernon yelled as Harry blocked his voice out of his head. Harry couldn't wait to tell Ron about Gabrielle. He opened the loose floorboard and took out his books, quill, parchment, and ink out of the compartment and put them into a bag. He closed the floorboard and put all his things together. He looked at Hedwig's cage. Hedwig is sleeping with her beak under her wing.
"Hedwig." he said, walking over the cage. Hedwig picked her head up. Her eyes were half open at her master.
"We're going to Ron's tomorrow. I want you to fly there tonight. Is that possible?" he asked. Hedwig gave a hoot.
"Okay." he said as he walked over to his bag and pulled out his parchment and his quill. He took the ink bottle out quickly and dipped the end of his quill into the bottle. He began to write to Ron:
Ron,
Hedwig is gonna get to your house faster than I am at night. So I will see you tomorrow morning. I have something to tell you!
Harry
He quickly scribbled his name and folded the parchment and put it on his night stand. He threw some of his muggle clothing into his bag and some socks. He opened Hedwig's cage and Hedwig got out slowly. She stretched her wings. She flew to Harry's shoulder and perched on it. She nibbled on Harry's ear and put her talon out. Harry always smile when Hedwig is affectionate. He tied the parchment to Hedwig's talon. He opened the window and let Hedwig out. Hedwig flew out of the window. He watched her fly away until the white cloud disappeared. He zipped his bag and took Hedwig's cage and ran down stairs. His broom and trunk was already at the front door. Uncle Vernon specifically told him to lock his wand in the trunk with the rest of his things. He placed his stuff on his trunk and went back upstairs. He went into his room and went to sleep.
The sun went down and night came. He couldn't sleep. He kept thinking about Gabrielle and the Ravenclaw house. He remembered that he'll have to face Cho some time and see her walk past him. Hermione was like a sister to him. He didn't want to separate from her just to be Cho Chang's boyfriend but he has a feeling Ron has feelings for Hermione only Ron barely mentioned it to him. He looked at his clock and saw it was only nine o'clock. He put his glasses on the night stand and closed his eyes.