A WIZARD IS NEVER LATE

Preface

The sky was clear of clouds and left the sun to really give them a taste of what the summer would hold. It shone warmly, but still there were some chilly winds sneaking through invisible holes in the outer garments of the children on the playground. They had lunch break, and the air was full of laughing and clattering of children. Sophie was angry. This morning she had been refused by her mother to wear the skirt she wanted, because her mother said it would be too cold. Now, Sophie felt a bit chilly, but nonetheless, she saw the other girls in her class standing on the other side of the playground and three of them were wearing skirts. She was too upset to play.

Lauren, one of the girls with a skirt on had tried to get her to join them, but she had refused. She regretted it a bit; they looked like they were having fun. But she had seen Lauren looking at her again more than once, and she was sure she would be invited again soon.

Her sight of the girls was momentarily blocked by a boy passing her. She recognised him as a boy from a year above her, although she couldn't remember his name.

"Where are you going?" She called promptly, because he was moving with strange determination towards the gates of the school area. No one was allowed to leave without their parents.

He turned around and gave her a once over. "I don't want to be in school." He said grumpily. "I don't have too, I'm not going here next year anyways. So I'm going home." He said confidently and shrugged.

"I don't want to be in school either." She said morosely. "I wish I could go home too."

He looked at her with his head cocked to the side. Really, she thought, he looked as if he had never combed his hair in his life. "You can." He suddenly said with a grin, after a moment of silence. "You could come with me."

She took a moment to pause and stared at him. "I can't!" She protested. "My mother would be very angry."

His grin changed, and he looked cockily at her. "Oh, you're afraid." He said, putting emphasis on the last word. "It's all right." He said then and blinked at her and moved to keep walking.

"I most certainly am not!" She said and pulled herself up from her sitting position and did her best to not look afraid. "I'll come." She said, if only to prove herself to him and to wipe his stupid, know-it-all grin off his face.

He only nodded happily and nodded to the gates. "Come on then." He said smiling.

Before they started to move though, she put her hand out to him. "I'm Sophie." She said and looked him straight in the eye.

"I'm James." James said solemnly. "James Potter." He shook her hand, and then they walked together towards the gates.

She remembered holding her breath as they passed them, and releasing it only when she was sure no one had seen them. He brought her into the woods. She never could remember much more than that.

Her mother had been very angry with her when she had collected her later that afternoon at the Potter's house. She had been even angrier when Sophie had tried to put what she had experienced into words, or what she could remember of it. She dreamt about it sometimes. When her mother again asked her what they had been doing, playing was the only thing she could think of that would suit as an explanation. Because watching a flower grow from nothing in the ground, couldn't be anything other than her vivid imagination, right?

James had also been right. He hadn't gone back to school next year.

A/N: A few things for those who are interested. But first, a small disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.

Now, I do not have a Beta as it is. If someone feels like it, I would be so glad and you can contact me!

This story will be somewhere around 15 chapters long I think. I've got a plan laid out for it, and hope you will enjoy it! xoxo