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Author's Note: This adventure is loosely based on a plotline that was run in a roleplaying game that I play; White Wolf Changeling. My character in that genre is a seven-year old boy named Cody DeDannan, who had an adventure in a realm that is based on what people dream. In this realm, he found Hogwarts Castle, and was able to go through the first two years of it, along with the students from the Harry Potter stories. (We haven't gotten to the other years, yet!) And so, that inspired me to write this.
This story contains the HP stories seen through Cody's eyes. Please realize that as this takes place in the same time frame as Harry's years at Hogwarts, this fanfic involves a great deal of direct quoting in order to show things through the main character's eyes. Any descriptions, I have put into my own words, but a great deal of the dialogue is quoted.
Furthermore, that which I have directly quoted, I lay no claim to whatsoever, and the same goes for any characters that are taken from the books. My original creations (that is, my character concepts, which I use in other capacities), however, I do claim. No one may use them without my permission.
And so I come to my plea: Ms. Rowling (and those associated with her), please don't sue me! I claim nothing that came from you, whether it be a scene, a character, a place, or a story. I have written this fanfiction because, frankly, it's what I always wished would happen. (Yes, I am a 28 year old adult.) I have written this fanfiction because I love your world and want to be a part of it, and so I made my character in order to enjoy it. : ) I certainly make no money with this, only the enjoyment of sharing my imagination with others.
Oh, and to all you who might live in the U.K.: In trying to keep the whole setting accurate, I have done a lot of research online, as well as asking my dad (who is from England) and my friend (who lived in England for a year) about things like slang, terms, weather, and the like. So if I screw something up, please don't lynch me! :grin: Though if anyone does spot that kind of mistake, feel free to let me know!
Note: The first two years are not my best...but come third year I started getting a little more comfortable with my main character; I get to know him a little better and things start to flow a bit more. The first two years are still good; I just think the later ones are better! And don't worry, I don't make any ridiculous changes in the storyline!
And so, with that, I invite you to enjoy this story!
YEAR FIVE
Chapter 1: Floo Travel Agency
Cody had to give Mom credit. Even though she worried about Cody, especially after fourth year, she did not forbid him to attend Hogwarts, and was actually very impressed with Cody's role in things. "It took a lot of courage to do what you did," she'd said to him when tucking him in that night. She stayed with him a while, for which he was very glad. "I'm proud of you. I miss you, you know. But I believe that you've found where your talents can best be used in the world." She hugged him, and he sighed, curling up next to her. Mom chuckled. "And I'm glad that old grouch that's Head of your House had lightened up a bit."
Cody giggled at this. "Well...he might not with the Gryffindors. But at least he doesn't think I'm a traitor anymore."
"That's good," said Mom, smoothing back Cody's hair. "That made me so mad, when you wrote me about him!" She cocked her head at Cody's giggle. "What's so funny?" she asked curiously.
Grinning up at her, Cody said, "Just, you said 'mad.' That means crazy, in England."
Mom laughed, and shook her head. "I see. It means crazy here, as well, you know, ya little twerp." She ruffled his hair. "It's just that it also means angry."
Still chuckling, Cody nodded. "I know. It's funny when I say 'mad' there. Someone like Fred or George Weasley always says that I am mad."
"It must be very strange, being in a different country like that."
"It is! An' everyone says it's weird having an American person there too. It's really fun though. Did you ever go to another country?"
"Well, I have been to Mexico once, a long time ago. But that's the only one."
"I bet Mexico's warmer than England! Bleh."
Mom chuckled. "It is definitely warmer than England. All right, kiddo. Bedtime for you."
Yawning, Cody did not argue. After four years of being able to go to bed whenever he wanted during the school year, staying up late was not such a novelty. And he was accustomed now to going to bed when he was tired. "Will you stay here a while?"
"Absolutely."
Content, Cody curled up on the bed and covered himself with his sheet.
---
The next day, Cody told Mom about Graham, and asked if Graham could come and stay with them in the days, maybe week before term. "His mom said it'd be okay as long as she could meet you first, an' everything."
"I don't see why not," said Mom. "I haven't met many of your friends from Hogwarts."
Cody grinned. "Awesome! We should write them then, an' tell them what day and stuff we can get them."
"Hmm. Maybe I'd better slip in a letter as well, to Graham's mother. He could come over, say five days before start of term, perhaps a week if you like, and you can go to Diagon Alley together."
"Okay! We can send it today. Merlin can take it just as long as he's careful. He knows not to let anyone see him. Thanks, Mom!"
"I'll write up a note after breakfast, then," said Mom. "But for now...downstairs! I've made some bacon and eggs."
"Mmm!" Cody needed no further urging as he nearly flew down into the kitchen.
---
After breakfast, Cody brought his ink and quill and some parchment into the living room and wrote a letter while Samantha watched him. Cody was getting quite good with the ink and quill method of writing.
Graham - guess what? Mom said you could come! She's sending a note to your mom with my note. She said you could come over five days or a week before the next term starts and we can go to Diagon Alley together. We could pick you up in the place you guys are at when you use the Floo...I dunno where there's a place here that people can use to go over the ocean. I'm gonna ask Tony, he's a wizard here. He'll know!
-Cody
Mom's note said to Mrs. Pritchard that she would be glad to have Graham stay a few days, and that they would have to make arrangements to meet here in America once they found out where the nearest travel depot, or similar was. Cody stuffed both letters into an envelope, thought a moment, and then sat down to write another one. He never did write to Charlie after the third task of the Triwizard tournament; the events of the night naturally drove it from his mind. And so he wrote a nice, long letter to him and apologized for not writing to him before, because he always forgets.
This, too, was stuffed into an emvelope, and both were tied to Merlin's foot. Cody opened the door for the bat to fly out, then ducked back inside.
After that, Cody spent the day with his mother and sister, whom he had missed a great deal. "I wish you guys could be at Hogwarts with me, too," he said.
Mom chuckled. "I dunno, Cody. I can't see me being too adept with magic."
"Awww, you'd do okay. It's not as hard as it looks!"
"I will take your word for that," said Mom. "I'll leave the spells to you."
"Tomorrow can I go visit Tony?" he asked.
"I suppose so. Do you know where he lives?"
Cody blinked. "Er...well he lives close, I think. I can send him a letter, though an' ask! Besides I gotta ask him about how Graham and his mom'll get here, and I wanna ask him about Voldemort an' everything."
"Hmm. Do you know if he has followers in this country? Voldemort, I mean?"
Cody shook his head. "I don't know. But I bet Tony'd know."
That afternoon, when Merlin had returned, Cody sent a letter to Tony asking him if they could meet and talk. Tony said that if Cody's mom didn't mind, he could just come over to Cody's house and talk. Cody asked, and got permission to invite him over. He waited for the following morning to send Merlin out, however, and so it wasn't for a couple of days that Cody got to talk to him.
Mom was at work, and Cody was looking after Samantha when Tony arrived. The boy let him in and they both sat in the living room with glasses of lemonade and a cupcake each. Samantha came in the room, asked if she could have a cupcake too, and Cody said that yes, Mom had said they could have one. When the little girl returned and sat next to Cody on the couch, he smiled and hugged her briefly.
"What did you want to talk to me about?" Tony asked once they had gotten halfway through their cupcakes.
"Well, I just wanted to ask you some stuff. Well, first, my friend from Hogwarts is gonna visit me before the term starts in fall, he and his mom are gonna use the Floo network, I guess. I guess there's travel places for that that wizards can use."
Tony nodded. "You're right, there are, actually. Travel agencies that deal with wizard kind."
"Oh! Okay good. Well, I gotta know where there's one close so I know where to tell them to go, and so my mom knows where to go so we can meet them."
"Well that's no biggie, there's one not ten minutes' drive from here. I can give your mom the address."
"Oh! Cool! Also I was kinda wondering...do you know who is Voldemort?"
Tony sat up a bit straighter, and his expression became serious. "I do know."
"Did he ever come here?"
"Well..." Tony sighed, took a sip of lemonade, and sat back again in the plush chair. "We don't know for sure. I don't think that he himself ever came here. What do you know about him, first off?"
"I know he was the worst bad guy in England that was a wizard in a really long time, an' he had loads, er, lots of people that followed him. Death Eaters. I know that he did tons of stuff to himself that changed what he looked like, an' he and the Death Eaters killed and tortured a lot of people." He bit his lip and watched Tony's reaction. "But then he tried to kill Harry Potter, and the spell bounced off of Harry and hit Voldemort instead, so he almost died."
"Well, yes. We didn't hear a lot about that here in America, but we knew that the wizards in the British Isles were in deep trouble. Although I will say that the bast--well, that he had some supporters here as well. I don't know if the people here actually had connections with him or not, but they called themselves Death Eaters, and called Voldemort their master. There was a whole organization of them at one point. Still is, I suppose, though they've not shown themselves now for years. Not since Voldemort disappeared. Don't know if that's a good sign or if they're just planning...and waiting."
Cody looked down at the reamining bite of his cupcake and downed it, frowning. "Well, he's back."
"He's...who's back?"
Cody looked up. "Voldemort." Tony blinked. "He is, I swear. Harry...you know, the one that Voldemort tried to kill. Well, it's a really long story, but Harry saw him come back. Voldemort...k-killed...he killed one of the kids, a teenager named Cedric. If we have like Magical Law Enforcement here...we...we should tell them. 'Cuz if the people here who're Death Eaters find out..."
Frowning, Tony nodded slowly, absentmindedly eating his own cupcake. "Well, yes, we have Law Enforcement among the local government. I'm not sure if they're gonna believe them if I tell them a nine year old kid told me that one of the most evil wizards in the world has returned from the dead though."
Cody scowled. "I'm ten!"
Tony sighed. "Still. I'm gonna have to be careful how I go about it. Perhaps phrase it as a rumor...just so they're on their guard. Calm down, kid. Did I say I didn't believe you?"
"Well, no."
"That's how a lot of adults are, you know that."
Cody snorted. "I sure do! Like Cornelius Fudge!"
The look on Tony's face was one of disgust. "I've never met him...he's Minister now, isn't he?" Cody nodded. "But I've heard of him, and he's a total and complete idiot, in my opinion."
Cody nodded. "When Harry got back, an' told everyone, Fudge wouldn't believe him. And they even had a Death Eater who said he'd been working for Voldemort! Fudge just thought that he was crazy."
"The Death Eater or Harry?"
"Both."
Tony made a sound of disgust. "Like I said, he's an idiot. He can't face facts, so he makes up excuses as to why the facts can't possibly be true. I guess it's easier in America to believe it because we weren't so badly affected by Voldemort and what he did. His name doesn't carry quite the weight here as he does in England. Still, he was quite powerful, had a lot of bigwigs here worried."
"Big wigs?"
"Yeah, the people in power, the government." Tony sighed. "I work in the Department that deals with magical creatures, but I know a lot of others in other departments I can pass the word along to. Some'll listen, some I'll have to be careful around."
Cody nodded. He felt better, knowing that the wizards here would soon know about Voldemort. "He...he's already killed people this time too," he said quietly. "So...be careful, okay?"
Tony nodded, standing up. "You be careful too, Cody. You're the one who's actually going back there."
"Yeah...an' one of the Death Eaters doesn't like me very much. Draco's dad. But it's okay. Dumbledore's in England, too! And Voldemort's scared of him."
Tony smiled at this. "I know of Dumbledore. Most wizards say he's probably the most powerful wizard in the world. He'll go down in the history books, I think. Anyway. I'm gonna head out, kiddo, talk to some people. See what they've heard. Thanks for the heads-up. I'd rather the good guys know as soon as possible."
"Yeah, I bet the bad guys already know!"
"It's possible, which could be inconvenient." Tony smiled and clasped Cody's shoulder. "If you hear anything else, pass it along to me, okay?"
Cody nodded. "Okay."
He saw Tony out the door then returned, feeling oddly tired. He saw his sister looked a little uncertain,and hugged her. "It's okay. I don't think he'd come here. He's too busy being a jerk in England."
The little girl giggled a little bit and asked Cody if he wanted to play Go Fish or War. He said yes, but they had to wash their glasses and dishes first.
And so they did.
---
Cody did not hear much over the summer, it turned out. He had gotten letters from Ron and Hermione, but neither of them said much. They said that they were fairly busy over the summer, but could not say anything in a letter in case it got intercepted. Cody had the idea that he should try and find his Harry Potter book and refresh his memory, but it was conveniently not possible to find. Again,Cody figured that was how the magic worked, but it was working against him this time. He wondered if his mom remembered the books or not.
Harry wrote him too, and said that Ron and Hermione had not told him much. Cody said they had not told him much, either, and told Harry about the conversation he'd had with Tony.
He had correspondences with Neville, as usual, and he thanked Neville again for his help in Herbology, as his exam grade had been a good deal better than it had the year previous. He wrote to Kyle and Kathy, and brought them up to date about what had happened at Hogwarts while they were gone. He told them that if they knew anyone that wasn't a dork like Fudge, to tell them about Voldemort. He had a letter from Flint, who told Cody he had finally made Reserve Chaser for a team called the Falmouth Falcons. Cody sent back a letter congratulating him, telling him that was great! He would have to look them up in the library once he got back to school, see what kind of team they were.
He got a few letters from Lupin, about which he was very happy. He did tell Cody that he was helping Dumbledore deal with the "situation" but he could say no more, as it was all top secret. And he could not risk the owl being intercepted. Cody grumbled and went to look up the big words before writing back. He said that he missed Lupin and that he should come and visit him sometime. Lupin wrote back saying that he would like that very much if he was able to manage it. And Cody had no doubts that Lupin meant it. Cody wished again that he could have Lupin for a father and wondered if he would see him any time soon. He did tell Lupin that he had told his friend Tony here in America about what happened during the school year. He tried not to be too obvious about it.
He wrote Hagrid, but only got once response, right up near the end of summer. Apparently it had been very difficult to reach him. Hagrid was even more enigmatic than Ron and Hermione had been! Apparently he was in France, but he would say little more. Cody vowed to get the story out of him at Hogwarts.
He talked with Graham,and said that they had made arrangements to arrive at the place Cody had given them. Said that the Floo journey was all planned. Cody couldn't wait!
Cody had some work to do over summer vacation, which he put off until the end of July, but then figured he should get it done and over with. That way he had plenty of time to enjoy the rest of the break. Not to mention the rest of the warm weather!
He talked again with Tony shortly before Graham was to visit, and it was a fairly serious conversation. Tony waited until Mom was at work, and Samantha was spending the night at a friend's house before he visited. Cody let him in, but he did not stay long. "I wasn't sure whether to come and tell you this stuff, Cody, as young as you are. But frankly you're best suited to use the information, since you're a sort of link between America and England. And you know some of the most powerful wizards around. But I've been doing a lot of asking around...and there's been some strange things going on. A lot of secrecy among wizards on the street, rumors of secret meetings and the like. So I think you might be right in that the Death Eaters here are getting restless. I dunno if they know of Voldemort yet, but I'm hoping not. Once you get back to England...don't risk Owl Post for this...tell Dumbledore what I've told you. And tell him that while I don't think that the doings here will affect them in England, he should be aware of it, anyway. We can probably provide help, but we might also be providing more to contend with if we try to help."
Cody nodded. "Okay. I can tell him that."
Tony sighed, and leaned back on the couch.
"Tony? Do they have Quidditch here?"
Tony blinked at the question, so different from the conversation they had just finished. "Well, yes," he said. "Taxas has a league team, as well as Massachusetts, I believe. I think a couple of other states have professional teams as well. Quidditch isn;t nearly as popular ehre as it is in England, though. What we play ehre, mostly, is Quodpod."
Cody blinked. "Quodpod?"
"Well, it stems from Quidditch, It involved throwing around an enchanted Quaffle, called a Quod, towards the goal, passing from player to player, but the quirk it, you must get it in the goal before it explodes." He chuckled at the surprised look on Cody's face. "Yep, explodes. If someone still holds the Quod when it explodes, that player must leave the field, and a new Quod is used. Each goal gives you a point."
Cody laughed. "Weeeird! I wonder if Ron and Harry know about it..."
"I'm sure they do; it's played in England, though not nearly as extensively as is Quidditch." Tony sighed, and stood up, stretching. "Well, I've got to head off, kiddo. Have a good term, let me know if anyhting unusual happens...and be careful."
Also standing, Cody nodded emphatically. "That I'll definitely do!"
"Good. Well, have fun with your friend, kiddo. And keep in touch while you're at school, okay?"
Cody promised, and Tony left.
---
When came the time to drive down to the Travel Agency, Cody was finding it quite impossible not to fidget. Mom finally got exasperated. "Cody! Will you please sit still? You cannot power an automobile with hyperactive energy!"
Cody giggled and grinned at his mother, but did try and settle down a bit. They were on their way to the Floo travel station to meet Graham and his mother. Samantha was in the back seat for now, since Cody and Graham would sit in the back on the way home. "I can't help it," he said. "This is gonna be great! I can show him the playground, and the woods, and the park pool! An' maybe Tony'll visit and he can meet him too."
Mom shook her head but she chuckled. "I never knew a ten minute drive could take so long."
The travel station looked a whole lot like a normal travel agency, and when the DeDannans walked in, Cody wondered if they had the right place. A man in casual attire stood up as they entered, and smiled at Mom. "Good morning! How can I help you today, ma'am?"
"Well..." At a bit of a loss, Mom looked down to Cody.
Cody thought for a moment, before saying, "Er, well...we're meeting my friend who's gonna be here at ten."
The travel agent narrowed his eyes as if trying to figure out what Cody meant. "Meeting?"
"Well yeah, he's gonna...he's gonna arrive here." Frustrated, Cody looked all around and found the place empty besides them, before turning back to the man. "You know... Floo!" he figured that if this guy was a wizard, he would know, and if not, he'd just think Cody was crazy.
It turned out to be the former. A look of comprehension came over his expression. "Ahhh, I understand, young man. Please follow me."
Cody followed after the man, hearing Mom and Samantha's footsteps behind him.
The agent opened a door in the back that looked like it led to some offices, but there was yet another door in the far wall. After making sure they were alone, the agent took out a key ring and unlocked the door, ushering the DeDannans inside.
Cody blinked when he walked inside, and then grinned. This was definitely a place of magic! The room was a big, long one, whose far wall was lined with about a dozen fireplaces. There were at least as many people in the room, most dressed in light robes. Some were short-sleeved and short on the bottom, for the hot weather. Cody stared in fascination; he had never seen American wizards before, except for Tony! "Weird..." he whispered.
"What is the name of your party?" the agent asked Cody, as he was obviously the one who knew how things worked.
Cody looked at him blankly. "Party? Er, we're not having a party, he's just coming to visit me before we go back to school."
The agent chuckled. "No, you misunderstand me. Your party...a party of people simply means a group. In this case, your party is the people you're meeting."
"Oh! Weird! I wonder why they call it a party. Um, his name's Graham Pritchard. I dunno what his mom's name is, though."
"That's all right, all I needed was a last name." The man looked up on what looked like a transparent green blackboard on the wall above the fireplaces, on which slightly glowing words were written. "Pritchard...Pritchard..."
Meanwhile, Cody took the opportunity to look around the room. There was a desk in front of each fireplace, full of parchments and booklets and travelogues, and the like. Aside from the "chalkboard" on the wall above the fireplaces, a huge map resided there, full of little glowing dots. Everything looked to be in a complete disarray, which was okay with Cody. That made things more fun, after all. A witch in a hot pink robe sat on her desk, watching her fireplace...for an arrival, Cody assumed. Her attire was short-sleeved and ended just above her knees in the back, but above her navel in the front. A pair of white shorts and a pink, pointed hat completed the ensemble.
There was a whooshing sound in the room, and suddenly a disheveled looking wizard in what looked for all the world like denim robes came whirling into the pink witch's fireplace. The man looked faintly green in the cheeks. "Trey Sanchez, 9:50 AM," the witch said, using her wand to mark it off on the board that hung on the wall above the fireplaces.
A bored looking wizard of nineteen or so stood at the far desk, half asleep at his desk. There was one wizard in light, white robes cleaning out his fireplace, and a witch who was replacing the supply of Floo powder in the urn next to hers.
American wizards seemed to be a lot different, at least in how they dressed, than English wizards were. Cody tried to imagine seeing someone in England in a neon pink robe and giggled at the thought. Even funnier was the idea of seeing someone like Professor McGonagall in such attire!
As a group of three people arrived at one of the fireplaces, the travel agent Cody had spoken to exclaimed, "Aha! There they are. Party of two, arriving at fireplace six from London, England, in five minutes. If you'd just wait over there..."
Grinning, Cody nodded and led Mom and Samantha over to the fireplace with a silver-colored "6" over it, to wait for his friend. The three people that had just arrived (two girls and a woman) were being greeted by who Cody assumed was the father.
A moment later, there was a whoosh of green fire from fireplace six, and the form of a woman and a boy began whirling into view, along with a trunk and a suitcase. Cody's face split into a delighted grin as he saw Graham stumble out of the fireplace, dragging his trunk behind. "That's horrible, that is!" the boy exclaimed as soon as he was on solid ground again.
"What is?" asked Cody as Graham's mom came from the fireplace in a decidedly more dignified manner.
"Floo powder! I'm never using Floo powder this far again!"
Cody giggled. "I dunno, it looks fun to me! Maybe yer just too little to take it."
Graham gave Cody a look and slugged him in the arm, but Cody only laughed, then hugged him. "I'm glad you're here!"
"Me too! I've never been to America before!"
Cody looked up at Graham's mother and smiled. "Hi...um, well, this is my mom, and my sister Samantha." Cody looked up at his mother and sister as he introduced them. "And this is Graham's mom."
Mom smiled at Mrs. Pritchard, and extended a hand. "Nice to meet you."
Mrs. Pritchard shook Mom's hand. "It's my pleasure," she said. "I've heard a lot about your son from Graham here. He was quite excited to come here."
"Well, we're happy to have him," said Mom.
The travel agent came over then, having marked off the Pritchards' arrival on his board. "Now, if I read this right...one of you will be going back through the Floo network?"
Mrs. Pritchard nodded. "Yes, I came here to see my son off, that's all."
"All right, then, let's see...same fireplace. And nothing between now and then. That's cool then, I'll be back when it's time for you to leave."
Mrs. Pritchard smiled. "Thank you."
"It's really hot out," said Cody. "Didn't you guys bring stuff for summer?" He looked at them in their robes, and cocked his head. "Do you have Muggle clothes on under the robes?"
"Well no," said Mrs. Pritchard, looking surprised. "I was not aware we'd need them. Do you live in a Muggle area, then?"
Cody nodded. "Yeah, well my mom and sister are Muggles."
"Oh yeah," said Graham. "I forgot to tell her that."
"Muggles..." Mrs. Pritchard looked a bit baffled. "But how could they be? I thought Slytherin only let in pure-bloods. Oh, not that it matters,"she added quickly, looking up at Cody's mom. "I certainly don't hold with that nonsense about 'pure-bloods.' I'm just very surprised that Slytherin accepted a Muggle-born student."
"Cody is adopted," said Mom fondly, putting an arm around her boy. "Both my children are. We're not sure who his birth parents were, the orphanage didn't have records on it."
"Oh! Well that is wonderful. I actually work with Muggle orphans in England. Needless to say there are wizards and witches who think this is a rather unworthy profession." She made a noise of derision. "I often wondered why Graham got sorted into Slytherin."
"Cody wondered that as well," said Mom. "But he seems to be doing all right in it."
Graham rolled his eyes as the two women talked. "They always talk as if we're not there," he whispered to Cody.
Cody nodded. "Grown ups are like that. Anyways, this is Samantha...Samantha, this is my friend Graham, he goes to my school."
Samantha smiled shyly and waved at Graham. "Nice to meet you," said Graham. "So you really live with the Muggles?"
Cody nodded. "Well yeah, I didn't know I was a wizard until I was seven. And Mom and Samantha aren't. Well at least if they are, they don't know it yet, either."
Graham looked down at himself. He was in long gray robes. "I don't have Muggles clothes."
"That's okay, you can use some of mine. I think I have stuff that'd fit you."
Graham grinned. "Okay! Wow, it's gonna be weird,wearing Muggle stuff. I know we were supposed to at the World Cup, but we kinda didn't."
Cody grinned. "Me neither! Well not all the way. I had jeans an' a T-Shirt on, but I also had my winter cloak. It was cold!"
The two families talked for a few minutes more, until the travel agent came up and told Mrs. Pritchard that it was nearly time for her departure. "All right," she sighed, kissing Graham on the cheek. "You behave now, understand? Send me an owl when you and Cody head for Diagon Alley, so I know what's going on. You've got your school letter, and everything with you, right?"
"Yes, Mum," said Graham.
"All right." She hugged him briefly, before stepping up to the fire. The travel agent tossed a handful of Floo powder into the flames, which turned a lurid green. Mrs. Pritchard stepped into the flames and whirled out of sight.
Mom turned to the three kids. "Well, let's head home, then. Have you ever been to the beach, Graham?"
As they followed Mom out of the room, Graham shook his head. "No, ma'am. Well, I went once when I was a baby, so my mum says. They went to Italy on holiday, but I don't remember it."
"Ah, well I figured if you boys wanted we could go down to the beach tomorrow and spend the day there. I know Cody's got some swim trunks he can loan you."
The two boys exchanged a glance and a grin. "That'd be great, Mrs.DeDannan!" Graham said. "Thanks!"
"You're welcome. We live quite close, and so we get to go there often."
"That must be great."
Cody nodded. "Yeah! I like the beach and I like swimming, too. I've got a big raft that's shaped like an alligator and it's got handles on it and stuff, so we can go out on the water. And there's no squid at this beach!"
Graham laughed. "Okay! This is gonna be fun."