Harry Potter and Dilandra Bryden
Brother & Sister
Chapter 1: The Muggle-Witch
Dilandra woke up with a start. A loud, irritated rapping was issuing from outside her room, and had immediately roused her from her sleep. Groggedly pushing herself up from the straw wicker chair, she gazed around her bedroom in a dazed sort of way, trying to rub the sleep out of her eyes. Her pet cat, Ginger had clambered onto her lap and was still dozing contentedly, purring in his sleep. As she glanced outside her window, she noticed that it was evening, and the sunset had splashed a glorious ruby red colour across the horizon. Moths were fluttering low on the grassy backyard, and butterflies playfully scampered after the moths, weaving in and out of nothing in particular. She stared outside for a few minutes; absent-mindedly stroking Ginger with her fingers, and delighting the soft, silky feel of his fur. Just then, a second impatient knock sounded again from her bedroom door. This time, it had awoken Ginger as well. Giving no one in particular an irritated look, it leapt from Dilandra's lap at the same time she stood up. Dilandra slowly walked to her bedroom entrance, yawning as Ginger playfully darted in and out of her legs. She opened the door, but Dilandra had a feeling she knew who was there. Dilandra was right. There stood her elder sister, Celeste Bryden. Dressed in a white cotton blouse, a pale blue jacket with a matching skirt and smart lace-up shoes, Celeste looked more like a sales consultant than a 16- year-old. However, as Dilandra quietly surveyed her sister, Celeste seemed even more disgruntled than usual, and it was probably due to the fact that she had to come up all the way to Dilandra's room. Looking disapprovingly at Dilandra's casual clothing (overalls over a pink t-shirt and sandals) and even more dispiritedly at her hair, Celeste held back the force which told her to do something about her sister's dressing patterns. Instead, she pretended she didn't care at all. 'I only came up here because Mother told me to. Don't you think that I would come here because I wanted to. Anyway, Mother and Father wish for you to come downstairs now. I think they want to see you for something important.' Celeste narrowed her eyes and scowled at the last sentence, as she hated it when Dilandra received more attention than she did. Ginger, who had quietly been sitting at Dilandra's feet, immediately smelt trouble and quickly darted out of Dilandra's bedroom and disappeared downstairs, now most likely to be looking for a sleeping place where he was sure he would not be disturbed. 'Really?' Dilandra said, 'Err -Ok. Thanks.' She gave her sister a smile of appreciation (in which Celeste did not return) before Dilandra watched her march back down the stairs. Then, hastily shutting the door, Dilandra grabbed her hairbrush from her dresser and quickly ran it through her long auburn hair. 'I wonder what's so urgent that mum and dad want me so badly.' she pondered quietly to herself. But Dilandra pushed away these curious thoughts as she carefully pinned a flower-decorated clip into her hair. She then gave herself once last look at her reflection and quickly hurried downstairs.
The atmosphere in the lower half of the house was always warm and loving, though these days rather hot. The Spanish red tiles on the kitchen and dining room floor gave a rosy glow to those rooms, and also to the remainder of the 1st floor of the house, whilst various, exotic ornaments (collected from other countries as Dilandra's father traveled a lot) decorated shelves and tops of cupboards. As Dilandra hurried down the staircases, she heard laughter from the dining room, and whilst Dilandra recognized the first two as her mother and father's voice, she did not immediately identify the last one, and it was a few seconds of pondering before she actually realized whose it was. Dashing into the dining room, she excitedly jumped onto elderly man's neck, embracing him with a big bear hug. 'Uncle Nicky!' she cried blissfully, tears of happiness now brimming on her green eyes, 'How wonderful it is to see you! Where have you been? What have you been doing? You must tell me everything!' 'Everything?' he answered with a good-natured laugh, 'You are extremely curious, even for a Bryden. It's most unnatural!' but he returned her hug and squeezed her even tighter. 'Let me look at you. My, my. How big you are yet you seem so little! 15 years old in a few days, are you not?' Dilandra smiled and nodded, her eyes awfully bright. It had been 2 years since she had seen this man, and she had been rather fond of him and his presence. He was not really her 'Uncle', but only a mere friend of the family. They had met outside a large bookshop, which was located next to a record store in London. What attracted her to him the most was that he was wearing the most peculiar clothing. A purple cloak along with a top hat in the midst of a busy city! It was most unusual. But his clothing didn't bother Dilandra the way it bothered Celeste and other people. He was funny, intelligent and knew a lot about the world and its happenings. He also entertained Dilandra with stories about his lifetime, but not many of them could be true (What was this thing of 'The Ministry of Magic' where he keeps telling me he knows about?). He would often remark absent-mindedly about the price of beetle eyes, or the latest broomstick that had come to sale. Then, as if he only just realized to whom he had been talking to, he'd quickly stop, push his finger to his lips and utter, with a small, strained smile, 'Not a word about this. It's just our little secret.' And Dilandra, loving the attention she received from this elderly man, would never speak a word about it to anybody else. After all, it was also her little secret. Dilandra gazed happily from her parents and Nicholas. Strangely enough, Dilandra didn't look like any member of her family. Her mother was a tall, blonde and glamourous woman with soulful brown eyes and a melodic laugh. Celeste, with her dark brown curly hair and deep blue eyes resembled her father in appearance as well as personality. Dilandra, on the other hand, had straight auburn hair, emerald green eyes and fair skin. She was rather small and skinny for her age, although the rest of her family were long and lanky members. Although, sometimes, when she dreamt at night, she came up with very strange images: a woman, with a physical appearance very much like hers, softly speaking to her through song, a sad one but if only she could remember the verses, or know who this mysterious stranger was. Dilandra pulled herself together and brought herself back to reality. Uncle Nicky was now chuckling heartily at a joke that her mother had recited to him, and as he reached over for his glass of orange juice, he gave Dilandra a small wink. For the next few minutes, Dilandra's mother and father were talking excitedly about the garden plans they were going to make, and how they were going to re-decorate the lawns with bright flowers and handsome trees. However, Uncle Nicky looked only vaguely interested, sipping out of his glass, but trying to take an active part of the conversation at the same time. Finally, Dilandra's father stood up, gesturing with his hands for the rest of his family to do the same. 'Come along, Nicholas, I don't think you really do understand how the fountain system is going to work. I'll show you outside. I believe you'll realize how simple it is once I show you the plans. Come along, I have them locked in my garage. Dilandra,' Mr. Bryden turned to his daughter, 'I want you to stay indoors, and keep an eye on your sister. Make sure she's not on the phone with uhh . oh drat it, what was his name again? for too long . Here, why don't you take Nicholas' err . coat and drape it over a chair. Take that off, Nicholas, it is really far too hot to wear that thing now!' Uncle Nicky slipped off his cloak, revealing a bright red t-shirt with purple sleeves, heeled and buckled boots along with a rather large pair of striped red and gold pants. A thick brown leather belt was wrapped around his waist. He handed the cloak to Dilandra, who grasped it firmly with one hand and stroked the material lovingly with the other. She then stepped back to allow her mother, father and finally Uncle Nicky pass through to the back gardens. She was a bit disappointed, as she had been hoping that Uncle Nicky would be spending more time with her than looking at gardens. Her glumness must have shown on her face, as just before Uncle Nicky passed her, he clapped a hand to her shoulder, bent down and whispered, 'I'll have heaps of fun with you later... I first have to be interested in this fountain thing before I can have your undivided attention, ok?' and Dilandra, becoming one hundred percent happier, nodded happily showing that she understood and smiled at him. Nicholas then quickly hurried out to be with her parents. The emerald-green cloak hung onto her arms, and she gazed and it wonderingly, pondering how and where he could've gotten it. All the clothing stores that she went to never seemed to sell this type of fashion, yet he never seemed to be embarrassed when people stared at him as they passed, or whispered behind they're hands. Dilandra walked to the coffee table set in the center of the room and spread the cloak out, still wondering. But as she was fingering the silver fastenings, she noticed something long and thin poking out of the green velvet. Her hand automatically went to discover whatever it was when Dilandra paused, not knowing if she was doing the right thing. But, thinking again, she reasoned, 'I'm only going to see what it is. I won't be taking it or anything, a little look won't hurt!' and she drew back the folds of the cloak pulled out - A stick. But it wasn't an ordinary stick, either. Although it was brown, and the wood-grains were visible, Dilandra noticed it was highly polished, and a handle was also fixed near the end. It felt smooth and almost glassy to touch, and just fingering it made shivers go down Dilandra's spine. A funny feeling came upon Dilandra. Grasping the 'stick' with her right hand, she pointed it at thin air, as though she was about to strike an invisible opponent in fencing. She then raised her hand, and brought it down quickly. A shower of dazzling gold and red sparks issued from the tip, and an unbelievingly shocked Dilandra had dropped the 'stick' with an 'Oh!' and it clattered on the tiles. A loud and obvious gasp sounded from behind her. Dilandra spun around, and found Celeste standing there, her eyes wide and terrified with one hand over her mouth. For a second, the two sisters gazed straight into each other's eyes. Then Celeste, with a second gasp, began to back slowly away from Dilandra. Dilandra only gaped back at her, trying to find words to defend whatever she had just done. 'It wasn't my fault, honest . I just saw it inside his pocket, and I was just wondering what it was a-and-' This time it was Dilandra to gasp as Uncle Nicky was standing right behind Celeste, with a bit of a grim expression on his face. Her parents were standing behind him as well, with puzzled expressions on their faces, craning their necks over their guest's height to see what the commotion was. But Celeste, only wordlessly shaking her head as she continued to slowly back away from Dilandra, hadn't realized he was standing there until she bumped into him. 'Oh!' Celeste leapt forward with fright, gave Uncle Nicky and her parents a look of pure terror and ran, almost flew out of the room, and out of sight.
Now she had done it. 'Great work, Dilandra!' she mentally told herself, 'You're in for it this time. How are you going to explain to him what had happened?' But Uncle Nicky only wordlessly walked quickly into the room, picked up his 'stick' which Dilandra had dropped onto the floor and fingered it, his lips pursed. He seemed to be thinking very quickly in his mind. For a few minutes, nobody spoke, and Dilandra stared at the floor as she could feel her face redden with guilt. Her parents were the first to break the silence. Clearing his throat loudly, Mark Bryden first questioned his daughter. 'What happened, Dilandra?' Dilandra only shrugged as an answer, still staring at the floor as though fascinated by the shape of the square tiles, then lifted her chin and stared straight into her father's eyes. 'I don't even know what happened. I can't explain it.' She spoke in barely more than a whisper, but Dilandra knew that her father had heard her. Frowning slightly, Mark Bryden then let his eyes wander around the room, rocking backwards and forwards on his heels before he finally settled his eyes on Dilandra's bewildered expression. Meanwhile, Nicholas was still gazing at his 'stick', still pursing his lips though occasionally muttering words to himself - words only he could hear. Dilandra's mother hovered anxiously by the door, still confused and anxious. Dilandra almost jumped when she heard Uncle Nicky speak. She had returned to staring at the floor, and had gotten used to the silence, although at first it seemed quite irritating and frustrating at first. 'Dilandra,' Uncle Nicky said matter-of-factly, 'You're a witch.' There was a small silence, and then three people spoke at once. 'What!?' Dilandra, her father and mother said at the same time. 'A witch, of course!' Uncle Nicky replied calmly, 'Although you are Muggle- born, you definitely possess magical powers within you. I hadn't perceived this before . I'm still wondering how I never noticed.' The silence lasted for about half a minute before Dilandra broke it. 'A-Are you sure?' Dilandra asked in awe. 'Of course not!' her mother gave a weary laugh, 'Nicholas is merely joking, aren't you, Nicholas?' Uncle Nicky only stared at Dilandra's mother with his deep blue eyes, before he turned to Dilandra and nodded in response to her question. 'Oh, my - ' Mrs Bryden sank wearily into the couch, clutching her heart and breathing deeply. Uncle Nicky turned his now grave face to Dilandra, and to her very great surprise, it broke into a smile. 'Not to worry, Dilandra. Things will take place one way or another. It no time at all you'll understand. But I must go and talk to Dumbledore. I'll send you an owl, but I suspect that I'll be back in a few days. But first, there are some things in which I must tend to, ok?' Dilandra nodded, her mind whirring with questions (for one thing, what was sending an owl? And who was Dumbledore?). But instead of asking, she merely walked out of the room, with Uncle Nicky following her, and escorted him to the door. She felt sad. Dilandra didn't want him to leave so early - she wanted him to stay a while and slowly explain things to her. 'Goodbye, Dilandra! Don't look so glum! I'll be back in a few days.' And with a cheery wave, Uncle Nicky stepped onto the footpath. Dilandra, forcing a smile, watched him leave until she blinked and he disappeared.
Chapter 1: The Muggle-Witch
Dilandra woke up with a start. A loud, irritated rapping was issuing from outside her room, and had immediately roused her from her sleep. Groggedly pushing herself up from the straw wicker chair, she gazed around her bedroom in a dazed sort of way, trying to rub the sleep out of her eyes. Her pet cat, Ginger had clambered onto her lap and was still dozing contentedly, purring in his sleep. As she glanced outside her window, she noticed that it was evening, and the sunset had splashed a glorious ruby red colour across the horizon. Moths were fluttering low on the grassy backyard, and butterflies playfully scampered after the moths, weaving in and out of nothing in particular. She stared outside for a few minutes; absent-mindedly stroking Ginger with her fingers, and delighting the soft, silky feel of his fur. Just then, a second impatient knock sounded again from her bedroom door. This time, it had awoken Ginger as well. Giving no one in particular an irritated look, it leapt from Dilandra's lap at the same time she stood up. Dilandra slowly walked to her bedroom entrance, yawning as Ginger playfully darted in and out of her legs. She opened the door, but Dilandra had a feeling she knew who was there. Dilandra was right. There stood her elder sister, Celeste Bryden. Dressed in a white cotton blouse, a pale blue jacket with a matching skirt and smart lace-up shoes, Celeste looked more like a sales consultant than a 16- year-old. However, as Dilandra quietly surveyed her sister, Celeste seemed even more disgruntled than usual, and it was probably due to the fact that she had to come up all the way to Dilandra's room. Looking disapprovingly at Dilandra's casual clothing (overalls over a pink t-shirt and sandals) and even more dispiritedly at her hair, Celeste held back the force which told her to do something about her sister's dressing patterns. Instead, she pretended she didn't care at all. 'I only came up here because Mother told me to. Don't you think that I would come here because I wanted to. Anyway, Mother and Father wish for you to come downstairs now. I think they want to see you for something important.' Celeste narrowed her eyes and scowled at the last sentence, as she hated it when Dilandra received more attention than she did. Ginger, who had quietly been sitting at Dilandra's feet, immediately smelt trouble and quickly darted out of Dilandra's bedroom and disappeared downstairs, now most likely to be looking for a sleeping place where he was sure he would not be disturbed. 'Really?' Dilandra said, 'Err -Ok. Thanks.' She gave her sister a smile of appreciation (in which Celeste did not return) before Dilandra watched her march back down the stairs. Then, hastily shutting the door, Dilandra grabbed her hairbrush from her dresser and quickly ran it through her long auburn hair. 'I wonder what's so urgent that mum and dad want me so badly.' she pondered quietly to herself. But Dilandra pushed away these curious thoughts as she carefully pinned a flower-decorated clip into her hair. She then gave herself once last look at her reflection and quickly hurried downstairs.
The atmosphere in the lower half of the house was always warm and loving, though these days rather hot. The Spanish red tiles on the kitchen and dining room floor gave a rosy glow to those rooms, and also to the remainder of the 1st floor of the house, whilst various, exotic ornaments (collected from other countries as Dilandra's father traveled a lot) decorated shelves and tops of cupboards. As Dilandra hurried down the staircases, she heard laughter from the dining room, and whilst Dilandra recognized the first two as her mother and father's voice, she did not immediately identify the last one, and it was a few seconds of pondering before she actually realized whose it was. Dashing into the dining room, she excitedly jumped onto elderly man's neck, embracing him with a big bear hug. 'Uncle Nicky!' she cried blissfully, tears of happiness now brimming on her green eyes, 'How wonderful it is to see you! Where have you been? What have you been doing? You must tell me everything!' 'Everything?' he answered with a good-natured laugh, 'You are extremely curious, even for a Bryden. It's most unnatural!' but he returned her hug and squeezed her even tighter. 'Let me look at you. My, my. How big you are yet you seem so little! 15 years old in a few days, are you not?' Dilandra smiled and nodded, her eyes awfully bright. It had been 2 years since she had seen this man, and she had been rather fond of him and his presence. He was not really her 'Uncle', but only a mere friend of the family. They had met outside a large bookshop, which was located next to a record store in London. What attracted her to him the most was that he was wearing the most peculiar clothing. A purple cloak along with a top hat in the midst of a busy city! It was most unusual. But his clothing didn't bother Dilandra the way it bothered Celeste and other people. He was funny, intelligent and knew a lot about the world and its happenings. He also entertained Dilandra with stories about his lifetime, but not many of them could be true (What was this thing of 'The Ministry of Magic' where he keeps telling me he knows about?). He would often remark absent-mindedly about the price of beetle eyes, or the latest broomstick that had come to sale. Then, as if he only just realized to whom he had been talking to, he'd quickly stop, push his finger to his lips and utter, with a small, strained smile, 'Not a word about this. It's just our little secret.' And Dilandra, loving the attention she received from this elderly man, would never speak a word about it to anybody else. After all, it was also her little secret. Dilandra gazed happily from her parents and Nicholas. Strangely enough, Dilandra didn't look like any member of her family. Her mother was a tall, blonde and glamourous woman with soulful brown eyes and a melodic laugh. Celeste, with her dark brown curly hair and deep blue eyes resembled her father in appearance as well as personality. Dilandra, on the other hand, had straight auburn hair, emerald green eyes and fair skin. She was rather small and skinny for her age, although the rest of her family were long and lanky members. Although, sometimes, when she dreamt at night, she came up with very strange images: a woman, with a physical appearance very much like hers, softly speaking to her through song, a sad one but if only she could remember the verses, or know who this mysterious stranger was. Dilandra pulled herself together and brought herself back to reality. Uncle Nicky was now chuckling heartily at a joke that her mother had recited to him, and as he reached over for his glass of orange juice, he gave Dilandra a small wink. For the next few minutes, Dilandra's mother and father were talking excitedly about the garden plans they were going to make, and how they were going to re-decorate the lawns with bright flowers and handsome trees. However, Uncle Nicky looked only vaguely interested, sipping out of his glass, but trying to take an active part of the conversation at the same time. Finally, Dilandra's father stood up, gesturing with his hands for the rest of his family to do the same. 'Come along, Nicholas, I don't think you really do understand how the fountain system is going to work. I'll show you outside. I believe you'll realize how simple it is once I show you the plans. Come along, I have them locked in my garage. Dilandra,' Mr. Bryden turned to his daughter, 'I want you to stay indoors, and keep an eye on your sister. Make sure she's not on the phone with uhh . oh drat it, what was his name again? for too long . Here, why don't you take Nicholas' err . coat and drape it over a chair. Take that off, Nicholas, it is really far too hot to wear that thing now!' Uncle Nicky slipped off his cloak, revealing a bright red t-shirt with purple sleeves, heeled and buckled boots along with a rather large pair of striped red and gold pants. A thick brown leather belt was wrapped around his waist. He handed the cloak to Dilandra, who grasped it firmly with one hand and stroked the material lovingly with the other. She then stepped back to allow her mother, father and finally Uncle Nicky pass through to the back gardens. She was a bit disappointed, as she had been hoping that Uncle Nicky would be spending more time with her than looking at gardens. Her glumness must have shown on her face, as just before Uncle Nicky passed her, he clapped a hand to her shoulder, bent down and whispered, 'I'll have heaps of fun with you later... I first have to be interested in this fountain thing before I can have your undivided attention, ok?' and Dilandra, becoming one hundred percent happier, nodded happily showing that she understood and smiled at him. Nicholas then quickly hurried out to be with her parents. The emerald-green cloak hung onto her arms, and she gazed and it wonderingly, pondering how and where he could've gotten it. All the clothing stores that she went to never seemed to sell this type of fashion, yet he never seemed to be embarrassed when people stared at him as they passed, or whispered behind they're hands. Dilandra walked to the coffee table set in the center of the room and spread the cloak out, still wondering. But as she was fingering the silver fastenings, she noticed something long and thin poking out of the green velvet. Her hand automatically went to discover whatever it was when Dilandra paused, not knowing if she was doing the right thing. But, thinking again, she reasoned, 'I'm only going to see what it is. I won't be taking it or anything, a little look won't hurt!' and she drew back the folds of the cloak pulled out - A stick. But it wasn't an ordinary stick, either. Although it was brown, and the wood-grains were visible, Dilandra noticed it was highly polished, and a handle was also fixed near the end. It felt smooth and almost glassy to touch, and just fingering it made shivers go down Dilandra's spine. A funny feeling came upon Dilandra. Grasping the 'stick' with her right hand, she pointed it at thin air, as though she was about to strike an invisible opponent in fencing. She then raised her hand, and brought it down quickly. A shower of dazzling gold and red sparks issued from the tip, and an unbelievingly shocked Dilandra had dropped the 'stick' with an 'Oh!' and it clattered on the tiles. A loud and obvious gasp sounded from behind her. Dilandra spun around, and found Celeste standing there, her eyes wide and terrified with one hand over her mouth. For a second, the two sisters gazed straight into each other's eyes. Then Celeste, with a second gasp, began to back slowly away from Dilandra. Dilandra only gaped back at her, trying to find words to defend whatever she had just done. 'It wasn't my fault, honest . I just saw it inside his pocket, and I was just wondering what it was a-and-' This time it was Dilandra to gasp as Uncle Nicky was standing right behind Celeste, with a bit of a grim expression on his face. Her parents were standing behind him as well, with puzzled expressions on their faces, craning their necks over their guest's height to see what the commotion was. But Celeste, only wordlessly shaking her head as she continued to slowly back away from Dilandra, hadn't realized he was standing there until she bumped into him. 'Oh!' Celeste leapt forward with fright, gave Uncle Nicky and her parents a look of pure terror and ran, almost flew out of the room, and out of sight.
Now she had done it. 'Great work, Dilandra!' she mentally told herself, 'You're in for it this time. How are you going to explain to him what had happened?' But Uncle Nicky only wordlessly walked quickly into the room, picked up his 'stick' which Dilandra had dropped onto the floor and fingered it, his lips pursed. He seemed to be thinking very quickly in his mind. For a few minutes, nobody spoke, and Dilandra stared at the floor as she could feel her face redden with guilt. Her parents were the first to break the silence. Clearing his throat loudly, Mark Bryden first questioned his daughter. 'What happened, Dilandra?' Dilandra only shrugged as an answer, still staring at the floor as though fascinated by the shape of the square tiles, then lifted her chin and stared straight into her father's eyes. 'I don't even know what happened. I can't explain it.' She spoke in barely more than a whisper, but Dilandra knew that her father had heard her. Frowning slightly, Mark Bryden then let his eyes wander around the room, rocking backwards and forwards on his heels before he finally settled his eyes on Dilandra's bewildered expression. Meanwhile, Nicholas was still gazing at his 'stick', still pursing his lips though occasionally muttering words to himself - words only he could hear. Dilandra's mother hovered anxiously by the door, still confused and anxious. Dilandra almost jumped when she heard Uncle Nicky speak. She had returned to staring at the floor, and had gotten used to the silence, although at first it seemed quite irritating and frustrating at first. 'Dilandra,' Uncle Nicky said matter-of-factly, 'You're a witch.' There was a small silence, and then three people spoke at once. 'What!?' Dilandra, her father and mother said at the same time. 'A witch, of course!' Uncle Nicky replied calmly, 'Although you are Muggle- born, you definitely possess magical powers within you. I hadn't perceived this before . I'm still wondering how I never noticed.' The silence lasted for about half a minute before Dilandra broke it. 'A-Are you sure?' Dilandra asked in awe. 'Of course not!' her mother gave a weary laugh, 'Nicholas is merely joking, aren't you, Nicholas?' Uncle Nicky only stared at Dilandra's mother with his deep blue eyes, before he turned to Dilandra and nodded in response to her question. 'Oh, my - ' Mrs Bryden sank wearily into the couch, clutching her heart and breathing deeply. Uncle Nicky turned his now grave face to Dilandra, and to her very great surprise, it broke into a smile. 'Not to worry, Dilandra. Things will take place one way or another. It no time at all you'll understand. But I must go and talk to Dumbledore. I'll send you an owl, but I suspect that I'll be back in a few days. But first, there are some things in which I must tend to, ok?' Dilandra nodded, her mind whirring with questions (for one thing, what was sending an owl? And who was Dumbledore?). But instead of asking, she merely walked out of the room, with Uncle Nicky following her, and escorted him to the door. She felt sad. Dilandra didn't want him to leave so early - she wanted him to stay a while and slowly explain things to her. 'Goodbye, Dilandra! Don't look so glum! I'll be back in a few days.' And with a cheery wave, Uncle Nicky stepped onto the footpath. Dilandra, forcing a smile, watched him leave until she blinked and he disappeared.