Hannah stared forlornly down at her rubber, bouncy ball down in the gutter. She'd been bouncing it as she walked home from her friend's house when it plopped right through the drain grate. It was her favorite ball too! – hot pink with violent orange stripes. Her lip jutted out, but she didn't cry, only gave a big sigh.
"Whatcha looking at?"
Surprised, Hannah looked up at a tall, red-haired boy covered in freckles. He was a lot older than her. She took in his black robes and the red and gold lion crest stitched to them.
"You go to Hogwarts?" she asked.
"Yep!"
He seemed a nice enough chap. Hannah pointed to her bouncy ball down in the gutter. The tall boy nodded, "Your ball? Too bad – that's a nice one too! Well, we'll just have to get it out!"
"How? I can't reach it!"
The boy leaned in conspiratorially; "I'll use magic," he whispered.
"You're not supposed to – you'll get in trouble."
"Ah, no one cares. You won't tell…" Hannah shook her head no "… and I won't tell; so there you go!" The boy pulled his wand out of his pocket and furrowed his brow in concentration. "I learned this spell this year. "Wingardium Leviosa." The ball rolled a bit. "Wingardium Leviosa." The ball rose a few inches then bounced down. "Wingardium Leviosa." On the third try the ball shot straight up, through the grate, and high over their heads.
"Catch it!" Hannah shrieked, and the two chased the ball down the street. The hot pink with violent orange stripes bouncy ball eluded them for two blocks, but they finally caught it. Panting, they grinned at each other. "Thanks. I'm Hannah," she said.
"I'm Bill," replied the tall boy. "You should come by my house some time, I have lots of brothers and a sister whose about your age too."
Hannah grinned widely, "You betcha!"