The Neglected House and its Champions

by Cherry Blossom Angel 18

What if Cedric Diggory wasn't the only champion to come from Hufflepuff house? What if Harry had someone looking out for him since before his first day at Hogwarts? I bring you the story of two Hufflepuffs who stick to the shadows and try not to get themselves noticed. No spoilers for Cursed Child. Sunday Updates.

4. Pre Hogwarts Chapter 4

Author's note: I still don't own Harry Potter. Five more chapters till the girls arrive at Platform 9 3/4. Chapters will stay mostly short for a while but will get longer.

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Pre-Hogwarts

Chapter 4

Early July, 1987

Today would be a good day. Of course, to Jo, everyday spent at the beach is sure to be a good one. As she scanned the beach she saw a boy building a fort with small rocks and sand. Jo suddenly knew what to do with this good day. But first,

"Leili! C'mon! I've got an idea!"

Jo's new friend, Leilani, trotted over with a curious look on her face, Jo just motioned for her to follow.

"Hey! You want help?" Jo asked the boy, who was her senior by about 4 years, but still smaller than her.

He looked the two of them up and down and then said, "Sure, I need some bigger rocks though."

Jo grinned and looked over at Leilani, who just looked back. "I think we can handle that."

And so the girls wandered off in search of larger rocks. Which they found in the water.

Submerged.

"Gha!" Splash!

And stuck.

Jo came up, shaking her head like a dog and spitting out seawater. Leilani was trying hard not to laugh as Jo glared at the offending rock.

"Maybe we should try to dig under it?" Leilani offered.

Jo dropped her glare in favor of nodding to Leilani, saying, "You have smaller fingers, so, you dig, I'll pull."

With much scrabbling and digging, heaving and huffing, the girls managed to get the rock to shore. However, Jo quickly realized that without water, the rock was too heavy for her to lift alone. That annoyed her, until she really looked at it and realized it was as big as her torso and weighed about 80 pounds. Then it made sense.

So Jo and Leilani got on either side of the rock and heaved with all their strength. They managed to get it about six inches off the ground and crab-walked over to the boy's fortress. They dropped their loot with a solid thump.

"Woah!" The boy and his friends all gathered around; amazed.

The boy's mother came over and asked incredulously, "You girls moved that by yourselves?" Slowly, the girls understood that they had accomplished something so simple, and yet something that no one thought they could.

Teamwork, they realized, could get them farther than anyone had ever dreamed.

It was a good day.