Disclaimer: Howl's Moving Castle belongs to Diana Wynne Jones, the Queen of Fantasy, not little old me.

Hey everyone, this is my first Howl's Moving Castle fanfic, so I apologise if the characters are a little, or very much so, OOC. This is more of a...collection...of little "What ifs?" than an actual story.

For example, this chapter is "What if the Scarecrow had not prevented Sophie from leaving when she found out Howl knew about her curse?"

So, hey presto! Here it is... (the first two paragraphs are straight from the book)

TALES OF SEVEN LEAGUES
What if #1: What if the scarecrow had not prevented Sophie from leaving the castle when she found out Howl knew about her curse?

"And all the things I told the King are true!" She went on. She was going to march seven leagues on her own two feet and not come back. Show everyone! Who cared that poor Mrs Pentstemmon had relied on Sophie to stop Howl from going to the bad? Sophie was a failure anyway. It came of being the eldest. And Mrs Pentstemmon had thought Sophie was Howl's loving old mother anyway. Hadn't she? Or had she? Uneasily, Sophie realised that a lady whose trained eye could detect a charm sewn into a suit could surely even more easily detect the stronger magic of the Witch's spell.

"Oh, confound that grey and scarlet suit!" Sophie said. "I refuse to believe that I was the one that got caught with it!" The trouble was the blue and silver suit seemed to have worked just the same. She stumped a few steps further. "Anyway," she said with great relief. "Howl doesn't like me!"

This thought was reassuring enough for Sophie to leave right then and there, and she did.

"Sophie?" Percival called uncertainly after her.

"Leave me be!" Sophie croaked back at him, stumping down the winding drive.

Percival stood for a moment, staring. Should he go after her? Or should he get Howl? He had just decided on the later when none other than Howl himself threw open the door of the newly improved mansion, and jogged down the drive.

"Nice going," he muttered at Percival as he went past. Percival looked after Howl, confused, and then headed back to the mansion.

Michael was sitting in front of Calcifer, forehead buried in hands. Percival went to sit next to him. "How did Howl know she was going?"

Calcifer raised a fiery eyebrow, and flickered impatiently. "He felt it in his heart," he spat sarcastically. "The wizard and his apprentice here," Calcifer nodded his head in Michael's direction, "Decided to use a listening-in spell to hear what you were talking to Sophie about. They assumed you'd talk more openly and honestly to her."

"Oh," was all Percival could mutter.

"Oh indeed," Michael groaned. "Now she thinks Howl hasn't been trying to do anything to help her, and she decided to leave. I don't know what will happen to Howl if he can't convince her to come back!"

"He better convince her," Calcifer muttered darkly. "I told him to talk to her about it, but no-o-o, too much like common sense for the vain peacock. If she doesn't come back, I'll never–" Calcifer stopped himself just in time. He had been about to mention his contract with Howl. "I swear, I'll kill that boy one day!"

"Sophie!" Sophie heard Howl calling her name, but ignored him. She continued on her way, knowing he was going to catch up any second. She cackled slightly, wondered what excuses he would offer. How dare he not try to take the curse off her! What if she had gone on living at the castle, and had died in a few years? She would have lost a whole seventy years of her life!

"Sophie!" Howl panted, finally having caught up, bent-double with his hands on his knees. "Wait."

Sophie stopped, and glared down at Howl. "Yes?" she grumped.

"Don't tell me you're leaving," Howl was beginning to get his breath back.

"Does it matter?"

"Of course," Howl straightened up and looked her in the eye. "Sophie," his voice was a lot softer now. "Sophie, I -" Howl seemed to be fighting an internal struggle. A look of sheer, unprotected panic crossed his face. Finally, looking defeated and very saddened, he said, "What about Michael and Calcifer? Especially Calcifer."

Sophie glared at him, anger boiling up inside her. "They'll manage fine without me, it'll just be like before I came."

Sophie started hobbling down the drive again, without a backwards glance at Howl. Had she bothered to look, she would have seen his face go from shocked, to deeply hurt, to scared, before settling on angry.

"After all I did for you!" he shouted. "I could have thrown you out a thousand times, but I didn't! I tried, Sophie! I must have tried fifteen times to take the curse off! Even Mrs Pentstemmon tried! It's impossible, at the moment. I'm trying everything I can – in fact, it was because I was so caught up in trying to remove your curse, that I didn't even notice there was one on Percival! When I couldn't remove the curse fully, I at least did away with the aches and pains." Here, Howl looked pathetically at Sophie, and his voice went soft and gentle again. "Isn't that enough?"

Sophie meet his gaze determinedly for a full minute, neither of them ready to talk. Sophie found a large lump forming in her throat, and could barely whisper, "No. I'm sorry, Howl – it isn't."

Sophie turned on her heal, and continued down the drive. Howl's face turned dead white, and his body seemed to slump. He stood for a moment, furiously blinking back the tears that were racing to his eyes. Once he had collected himself, he tried to shout angrily after her, "Fine, leave then! Good riddance! But don't think leaving helps you in any way! It's in your best interests if you stay!"

When Sophie did not even acknowledge him, Howl slowly trudged back up to the mansion.

"Sophie coming back?" Calcifer asked hopefully from the hearth.

"Michael, Percival," Howl looked so wretched, Michael didn't even bother to ask what had happened. He quickly led Percival into the flower shop, and closed the door.

"What did you do?" Calcifer said very slowly and accusingly.

"We're stuffed. She's not coming back."

"Really?" Calcifer began sarcastically. "I couldn't tell! And there's no need telling me you're miserable, I am in possession of your you-know-what. Just tell me – what did you do?"

"It's more what I didn't do," Howl murmured miserably. "I didn't remove the curse – not that it's our fault, old friend! She was the one who kept pulling it back on herself! But no, it's not enough that I tried, it's not enough that I relieved her of her pain – what more does she want?"

Calcifer just stared back at Howl for a moment, then, in a low voice, began, "To be free of the Witch's curse. To be her young, healthy self again. To get back the seventy years that she was robbed of. To..." Calcifer trailed off, staring piercingly at Howl. "You heard her. What did she say?"

Howl frowned, pensive. "She said," he began uncertainly. "She said...that she refused to believe she was the one who got caught by the suit..." Here, he looked up at Calcifer, eyes sparkling. "And she thought that I didn't like her! Oh, Calcifer, I've stuffed everything up! Do you think she really likes me?"

"I'd like to think she had too much sense for that," Howl glared at Calcifer. "But I'm not sure. Either there must be some good point about you – she's smart enough not to fall for looks – or, of course, the charm she sewed into your grey and scarlet suit worked on her, too. Personally, I'm betting on the second choice."

"So...you really think she couldn't...love me?"

"Think, Howl. What have you ever done that could make Sophie really love you?"

"Well, there was that time...no, okay...oh! How about when..." Howl sighed. "Never. She doesn't love me."

"Ah, but for some foolish reason, Howl, she does. Not only that, but she's our only chance of breaking the contract. You have to get her back here!"

How didn't seem to hear the second part of what Calcifer had to say. "She...she loves me? She loves me?"

"Howl! Get a grip."

"Are you sure? Are you sure she–"

"Either way, Howl, we need her back here!"

"Right, so..."

"So go get her!"

Filled with a new energy, Howl jumped to is feet and raced out the door.

Sophie was sitting down on the grass, trying to catch her breath. Curses to being old! And she wouldn't be old if it weren't for Howl! If he had been half as good as he always made himself out to be...Well, it was too late now. Where was she going to go? Was there even any point in continuing on? Drat her for leaving the castle! Even if Howl did prefer Miss Angorian, at least it had been a roof over her head.

Sighing, she got back to her feet.

"Meow," Sophie glanced behind her, and saw a little kitten bounding down the road.

"My, aren't you a pretty kitty?" She cooed, bending down to scratch the creature behind the ears. The kitten seemed to enjoy it, and purred contentedly. Then it jumped back, looking guilty, if that were possible for a kitten. It started to transform, and Sophie found herself jumping back in shock. "Howl!" she screeched.

Standing there, in the blue-and-silver-turned-black suit, was the tall, blonde, grinning Howl. "Would you hate me less if I were a kitten, then?" He smiled broadly at her.

Sophie studied his face, seeing a new expression on there. However, she was quite unable to tell what it was. "I don't hate you," she sighed, defeated. "It's just...never mind."

"Sophie, I've tried everything I could. But I've come to the conclusion that – A. You like being an old lady, and are forcing yourself to stay under the spell –"

"What, how dare –" Sophie was outraged.

"– or B. We have to kill the Witch for it to be removed. Sounds exciting!"

Sophie just glared at Howl, biting back an angry response before she was permanently kicked out of the moving castle.

"Of course," Howl continued. "I will need your help, if you're interested in coming back to the castle."

Sophie sighed, and straightened her shawl. "Very well," she said, in a voice she realised was terribly snobby. "I shall stay – until you destroy the Witch. As soon as I'm young again, I'm out. Understand?"

"Now you know you don't mean that, Sophie," Howl flashed her a dazzling smile, and held out his arm gallantly to lead her back. Sophie snorted, hitched up her long skirt, and started back up the road she had just travelled down.

That's all for the first "What if". The rest of this story would follow just as it did in the book.

I decided to put with each "What if..." a small story allusion. Enjoy!

When Sophie asked Michael if there was any chance Howl could really be in love this time, Michael answered: "The day Howl forgets to do that (spend two hours primping himself up in the bathroom) will be the day that I believe he's really in love, and not before."

Now, keeping that in mind, remember when Howl rescued Sophie from the Witch? He turned up unshaven, with his hair unkempt, and Sophie thought: 'Oh dear...He must love Miss Angorian very much.' See? She had remembered what Michael said, and thought he had not bothered to beautify himself on account of saving Miss Angorian, when it was, as we now all know, on account of saving Sophie, the woman he truly loved even before he got his heart back. Sigh, LoL!

On an entirely different note, how adorable was Calcifer in some parts of the book? I almost cried - scrap that, I did cry. The two instances I'm thinking of are when Calcifer asked Sophie to leave the logs where he could reach them, and then he "proudly" pointed out he could reach all the way to the edge of the hearth. And then when he wistfully said he wished he could see the flowers...okay. I'll stop myself now before the waterworks come back on...

Reviews would be muchly appreciated if you enjoyed the story and have the time, but please - no flames. They're real downers...Anyways, LoL. Have a nice day...or night...whenever you're reading this :D

:D Susie :D