DISCLAIMER: I am British but I am not blonde and do not own Harry Potter.
Chapter 1: The Beckon of Hope
Four boys. Gwendolyn Howell has been blessed with four little boys already but she couldn't help but want a little girl, who would let her plait her hair and play with dollies. During her fifth pregnancy the woman made sure that she followed every old wife's tale she could in order to ensure that she got a girl this time. John Howell, her husband, thought she was insane but knew better than to argue with his now heavily pregnant wife. Although it had nothing to do with all those rituals, Gwendolyn did in fact get her little girl, her beckon of hope and that's exactly what they called her. Hope.
Hope was an imaginative little girl, enjoying both the company of her older brothers and not minding sitting alone so that she could focus on her stories. Her imagination would run away with its self on occasion, like her nightmares of a scary man creeping into her room and attacking her. The pretty little girl was everything her mother could dream off, she loved to have her sandy hair played with while she played with her dolls and listen to her mother tell her what a beauty she was.
Dreaming of being a writer, Hope knew that she would never succeed in Barry Island so at the age of twenty-four she packed up her room and watched the whole family wave her goodbye as her father drove her to the train station where she would board a train to Cardiff. There she met her flatmates, Elena and Nichole, and she quickly got a job at an insurance office to pay the bills. She was happy with her life and although she still wasn't a writer, Hope kept dreaming.
A year after being in Cardiff, Hope was still working in insurance and a particular case lead her to be in a forest that she really shouldn't have been in. While there she started to hear strange noises, putting in down to some harmless animals, Hope continued until she turned rather suddenly and was faced with the man from her nightmares. A scream escaped her lips and as she waited for the man to attack her she heard the twigs behind her snap and the man disappeared before her eyes. Whipping around she was meant with bright blue eyes and a voice that said, "Don't worry just a boggart."
Lyall Lupin was the only child of two purbloods, Lucinda and Thomas Lupin. The curious boy grew up in a small town in Scotland and adored to go hunting with his father while his mother cooked their dinner. The family was the picture of perfection and Lyall was brought up with most of the traditional pureblood values.
A Ravenclaw at Hogwarts, Lyall was a smart, if somewhat quiet, boy who took a shine to Defence Against the Dark Arts and Care of Magical Creatures. Leading him to writing his books and becoming world renowned for knowledge non-human spirituous apparitions.
On the fourth of April 1959, Lyall found himself investigating a Boggart case in a Welsh forest. Hearing the scream of a frightened woman, Lyall ran to the sound and after shrinking the simple Boggart to a field mushroom was met with the most beautiful woman he'd ever seen.
"Don't worry just a boggart," was what he managed to get out before she collapsed in his arms.
She wept into his shirt and as he rubbed her back he couldn't help but smile.
"He was scary, so scary. How did you get rid of him?" Hope said in her hysterics as the man rubbed her back and nodded her head against her curls.
Lyall struggled with his answer before muttering, "Oh it was nothing really."
"Nothing? Nothing?! He was a big scary man and you saved me," Hope said as she lifted her head and looked into his eyes. Lyall decided that they shouldn't talk about it anymore and, linking arms with her, asked the name of her address so that he could take her home.
As they walked up to her flats, Hope turned to Lyall with her sweet smile she kissed his cheek and whispered, "Thank you. For saving me, for being a gentleman, for…well for making me feel better."
Lyall smiled and grabbed Hope back softly as she began to walk up her steps.
"Can I see you again? I mean, maybe Saturday? You know, if you're not busy or have other plans. In fact you probably do so it doesn't really matter. What was I thinking pretty girl like you must get lo-" But before her could finish his ramble, Hope pressed a finger to his lips before giving a slight nod.
"I would love to and although your rambling is rather cute I was scared you would try and talk me out of it before you even properly ask me," she said with a small wink before running up to the flat and the girls.
Lyall stood outside for a while, in awe that the pretty girl had choosen him to spend Saturday night with. He was about half way down her street before he heard Hope's voice call down from her window, "Seven! Pick me up at seven!"
