An icy wind blew across the busy streets of London, whistling through
cracks and around parked taxis. The first few drops of icy rain started to
fall, creating patterns in the dust.
"Come on, we might aswell go inside." A girl with just-above-shoulder- length, dark blonde hair sighed and shrugged herself inside her jacket. She was thirteen years old, and prone to getting lost. Her companions; a girl of perhaps the same age, with long, dark brown hair followed suit, sighing and nodding in agreement. She wrapped her coat closer around herself and muttered something derogative about the English weather. The last girl was obviously the eldest, if only because of the way she conducted herself. She looked at the other two girls and smiled at them.
"We'll get back fine." She said reassuringly, seeing the slightly nervous look in the brown eyes of her friend.
"Of course we will." The blonde girl smiled.
"Not if we let you navigate again Heather!" the tallest girl chuckled. Heather pouted. In the wretched winter sunlight her hair was darker than it usually was, honey blonde rather than any other blonde. She brushed her fingers through her hair, not noticing the way the sun's weak rays caught her natural highlights and made them shine.
Heather Lloyd-Gale and her friends Anna Francombe and Gemma Bridges had been in London for the day. It was the last day of holidays before the Christmas term was due to begin. It had been a great day, but they had managed to get themselves lost. Well, Heather had managed to get them lost anyway! She looked guiltily at her friends as the three of them made their way inside into the relative warmth of Kings Cross Station.
"Sorry guys." she sighed, brushing her fingers through her hair again. She knew they shouldn't be there; her mother would kill her if she knew she was there in London without an adult! In fact, Heather's mother would kill her if she knew she was in London full stop!
"It's okay." Anna smiled and hugged her friend.
They were in the same year at King's School Senior, and had been friends since they first met, when Heather had walked into the classroom clutching a folder with a "Starlight Express" sticker on it. Anna had looked at it and said with a small laugh: "Squee!" and the two girls had become friends almost instantly.
Gemma was in the year above, but she had stopped a group of boys picking on the two girls at a break time once, and had found she had a lot in common with them. All three girls enjoyed writing stories, and consequently they would be found in a huddle during break times, writing various things in one of many (in Heather's case - tatty) notepads.
"Platform three, for the -pause- South Central service to East Croydon." the computerised voice was blasting over the tannoy system as the three walked in. Heather looked at her watch, then up at the departures board.
"Okay." She said, assuming a slight air of control. "We need to be on platform ten in-" she consulted her watch again. "Two minutes. Ack!" she looked to her friends in a slight panic, then all three took to their heels and ran wildly for the platform. Heather, being the smallest of the three, shot slightly ahead, but she didn't get to the platform before her friends. After she managed to negotiate a particularly large crowd of loud tourists she thought she was home free and put on an extra burst of speed.
Unfortunately what she hadn't envisioned was another group of people appearing from literally nowhere, directly into her path. She was going too fast to stop and collided with them, knocking three of the people down.
Anna and Gemma skidded to a halt before they also collided with the group, and Anna leaned down to help Heather up. The blonde teen was entangled with a red-haired youth with freckles, a black-haired youth with glasses and a blonde-haired youth with a disgusted expression on his face.
"I'm - sorry!" she panted. "Thanks Anna." She held out her hand to help the boys up. The redhead accepted her help as the dark-haired boy accepted Anna's hand. The blonde boy however, refused any help and got up by himself.
Gemma was stood at a distance, watching the group with a curious expression in her eyes. She too had noted that they had 'appeared' from nowhere, which she had always thought was impossible. She frowned in thought; suddenly the group seemed very familiar. She walked forward and gave the group another look, then noticed something very strange, and very familiar about the dark-haired boy. He was wearing round glasses, and Gemma swore that behind his untidy fringe she could see a lightening-shaped scar. She caught her friends' eyes and looked to the boy again.
Heather and Anna caught on quickly, and looked in amazement at the boy, then at their friend.
"Are you Harry Potter?" Anna blurted out, then blushed hotly. The boy looked at her in surprise, then nodded slowly.
"Yeah."
Heather, Anna and Gemma looked at each other in amazement; Harry Potter?! The same Harry Potter whose exploits they had read about time and time again? It didn't seem possible, yet it was too much of a coincidence to be taken lightly. The hair. The glasses. His eyes. His scar. All matched with the description of the boy wizard given in the books.
"Come on, we might aswell go inside." A girl with just-above-shoulder- length, dark blonde hair sighed and shrugged herself inside her jacket. She was thirteen years old, and prone to getting lost. Her companions; a girl of perhaps the same age, with long, dark brown hair followed suit, sighing and nodding in agreement. She wrapped her coat closer around herself and muttered something derogative about the English weather. The last girl was obviously the eldest, if only because of the way she conducted herself. She looked at the other two girls and smiled at them.
"We'll get back fine." She said reassuringly, seeing the slightly nervous look in the brown eyes of her friend.
"Of course we will." The blonde girl smiled.
"Not if we let you navigate again Heather!" the tallest girl chuckled. Heather pouted. In the wretched winter sunlight her hair was darker than it usually was, honey blonde rather than any other blonde. She brushed her fingers through her hair, not noticing the way the sun's weak rays caught her natural highlights and made them shine.
Heather Lloyd-Gale and her friends Anna Francombe and Gemma Bridges had been in London for the day. It was the last day of holidays before the Christmas term was due to begin. It had been a great day, but they had managed to get themselves lost. Well, Heather had managed to get them lost anyway! She looked guiltily at her friends as the three of them made their way inside into the relative warmth of Kings Cross Station.
"Sorry guys." she sighed, brushing her fingers through her hair again. She knew they shouldn't be there; her mother would kill her if she knew she was there in London without an adult! In fact, Heather's mother would kill her if she knew she was in London full stop!
"It's okay." Anna smiled and hugged her friend.
They were in the same year at King's School Senior, and had been friends since they first met, when Heather had walked into the classroom clutching a folder with a "Starlight Express" sticker on it. Anna had looked at it and said with a small laugh: "Squee!" and the two girls had become friends almost instantly.
Gemma was in the year above, but she had stopped a group of boys picking on the two girls at a break time once, and had found she had a lot in common with them. All three girls enjoyed writing stories, and consequently they would be found in a huddle during break times, writing various things in one of many (in Heather's case - tatty) notepads.
"Platform three, for the -pause- South Central service to East Croydon." the computerised voice was blasting over the tannoy system as the three walked in. Heather looked at her watch, then up at the departures board.
"Okay." She said, assuming a slight air of control. "We need to be on platform ten in-" she consulted her watch again. "Two minutes. Ack!" she looked to her friends in a slight panic, then all three took to their heels and ran wildly for the platform. Heather, being the smallest of the three, shot slightly ahead, but she didn't get to the platform before her friends. After she managed to negotiate a particularly large crowd of loud tourists she thought she was home free and put on an extra burst of speed.
Unfortunately what she hadn't envisioned was another group of people appearing from literally nowhere, directly into her path. She was going too fast to stop and collided with them, knocking three of the people down.
Anna and Gemma skidded to a halt before they also collided with the group, and Anna leaned down to help Heather up. The blonde teen was entangled with a red-haired youth with freckles, a black-haired youth with glasses and a blonde-haired youth with a disgusted expression on his face.
"I'm - sorry!" she panted. "Thanks Anna." She held out her hand to help the boys up. The redhead accepted her help as the dark-haired boy accepted Anna's hand. The blonde boy however, refused any help and got up by himself.
Gemma was stood at a distance, watching the group with a curious expression in her eyes. She too had noted that they had 'appeared' from nowhere, which she had always thought was impossible. She frowned in thought; suddenly the group seemed very familiar. She walked forward and gave the group another look, then noticed something very strange, and very familiar about the dark-haired boy. He was wearing round glasses, and Gemma swore that behind his untidy fringe she could see a lightening-shaped scar. She caught her friends' eyes and looked to the boy again.
Heather and Anna caught on quickly, and looked in amazement at the boy, then at their friend.
"Are you Harry Potter?" Anna blurted out, then blushed hotly. The boy looked at her in surprise, then nodded slowly.
"Yeah."
Heather, Anna and Gemma looked at each other in amazement; Harry Potter?! The same Harry Potter whose exploits they had read about time and time again? It didn't seem possible, yet it was too much of a coincidence to be taken lightly. The hair. The glasses. His eyes. His scar. All matched with the description of the boy wizard given in the books.