MusicalHermione: I hope this comes up to your expectations. Thanks again
for reviewing!
Disclaimer: The Harry Potter series belong to J. K. Rowling. The characters you don't recognize and the plot belong to me.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Five years old Laurie Diggs stood at the foot of the tree and was looking up into the branches, an angry expression on her face.
'Aidan! Come down here, now and give it back!' She stomped her foot on the cold ground. Why did he always have to tease her?
Aidan Diggs, who was three years older than his sister looked down and laughed. 'Why, come up and take it!'
'You know that I'm too small to climb the tree! Give it back or I'll tell mum!'
Aidan grinned mischievously. 'I think I'm going to leave Teddy up here. He seems to like it better than sitting all the time on your bed.' He turned a little so Laurie could see him more clearly from where she stood and put the bear on one of the high branches. He had to stretch to reach it and suddenly he lost his balance and fell off his place. He tried to hold on to something but his hands slid away.
He heard his sister's scream and closed his eyes tightly, expecting to fall hard on the ground, but his fall was stopped by something soft an warm and after a moment he opened his eyes to find himself in the embrace of a man, his grey eyes looking down on him.
'Are you alright?' The voice sounded concerned. The man bent down and put Aidan back onto the ground.
Aidan, still shocked, stared at the man and nodded. He glanced at his sister who come up beside him. She too looked rather stunned. Suddenly he noticed a gigantic black dog behind the man looking at them curiously. But the man spoke again.
'What are your names?' After they answered he continued.
'Now Aidan, what were you doing so high on that tree?' He had a slightly accusing tone and had a stern expression on his face.
'He put Teddy high into the tree, so I can't reach him! He said that Teddy doesn't like being in my bed!' Laurie didn't know the man but she wanted to make sure he knew how mean her brother was. She had already forgotten that Aidan had nearly fallen onto the ground.
Aidan had forgotten it, too. He didn't want the stranger to get the wrong impression of him. 'Stop whining and don't be such a baby! You can't always sleep with a bear in you bed!'
The stranger looked amused for a moment but the stern expression returned immediately.
'It is not nice to tease your sister. And it was very foolish of you to climb so high. Next time you must be more careful. You were lucky this time because I was there to catch you when you fell. But next time maybe you won't.' His expression softened a little.
'Besides, there it nothing bad with sleeping with a bear. Look at Snuffles! He keeps me company all the time!' He pointed at the big shaggy dog, who let out a bark and trotted past them to the tree. After a moment he returned with Teddy in his mouth. He looked very pleased with himself. Laurie beamed at him and took the brown bear. She squeezed it tightly, then she stroked the dog behind his ears.
Aidan was looking down at his feet, ashamed and angry because his sister was right. He looked up when he felt a hand on his shoulder. The man was smiling at him.
'Don't be angry. Just be careful next time, will you?' Aidan nodded.
'Alright then, would you like to stroke Snuffles a little? No need to be frightened. He is very big but tame as a kitten and he loves children.' Aidan hesitated, then took a step forward and joined his sister, who was giggling happily, because Snuffles was licking her hand. The dog seemed happy, too, and was enjoining himself. After a while the man cleared his throat.
'I'm afraid we must leave you now. Come here, Snuffles.' The dog walked up beside him after letting the two children stroke him one last time. At the sight of their disappointed faces the man turned around and pulled something out of his coat. When he faced them again, he was holding a bunch of sweets in his hands.
'Promise me to brush your teeth after eating them, okay? And don't eat them all at once or you'll be sick.' Aidan and Laurie promised and beamed at him when he gave them the sweets.
'Bye, Laurie. Take care of Teddy. Bye Aidan and don't tease your sister so much!' The stranger winked at them and walked away, the big black dog beside him.
The two children stared after them and then looked down at their sweets.
'Have you ever seen anything like this?' Laurie asked.
'No, but I think you got more!' Aidan answered and after a moment a new fight started.
Their voices where audible for a long time as the man and the dog continued their way north.
~*~*~
'What IS with Malfoy that Ginny is suddenly with him all the time?!', Ron asked for the millionth time in the past few weeks. He still couldn't quite believe that his little sister - a Weasley - would befriend a Malfoy.
Neither could Harry and that's what bothered him. Ginny hadn't really talked to him since their row. Of course she greeted him when they met or did some small talk, but that was all. And suddenly there was Malfoy. Harry knew that the Slytherin had changed. After the incident with Professor Barnes he had lost his popularity and become a loner.
For Harry it was clear, that most people knew that it had been a joke, but it seemed that everybody, even the Slytherins, had seen it as an excuse to turn their backs on him. Especially after his father had disowned Draco and he had lost the power the name "Malfoy" had given him.
Sometimes Harry felt pity for him, but that didn't mean that he liked him. And now that he was so often around Ginny his feelings for him hadn't become better. Malfoy was up to something and Ginny's part in it was surely not good.
But there were also other things that worried Harry. For example his godfather. Sirius hadn't written to him for weeks and Harry feared that something had happened to him. Every morning he dreaded the look into the Daily Prophet, expecting to read that Sirius Black, the convicted and escaped murderer, has received the Dementor's kiss.
And then, there were of course the strange things that happened here, at Hogwarts. Last week Madam Pince had made an inspection in the library and it seemed that the books had ceased to vanish. Some tomes that had gone missing had even reappeared. But there was still no explanation. The things that Harry had found out in the past months didn't help either.
The problem was, that he was not allowed to talk to anybody. He did understand that he was not allowed to tell Malfoy, but why would they forbid him to talk to Ron or Hermione. . . They would surely be able to figure out what all this meant.
Harry had also thought of what Ginny had told him when they had their fight. Maybe she was right and he just didn't want to open up. Well, she knew anyway didn't she? She knew about the books and about the Pensieve. She just didn't know about . . .
Harry shook his head firmly. Is was too dangerous to tell her. Especially now that she was being friends with Draco Malfoy. It was better having her angry at him than having her dead. He forced himself out of his reverie and finally started eating, Ron sitting beside him, eyes locked on the Slytherin table where Ginny was still talking to Malfoy.
Why did it bother him so much to see her with him? Was it because of him or because of her?
~*~*~
Ginny lay on her bed looking at curtains that separated her from the rest of the world, unable to sleep. It had been a long day. She had spend several hours in the library, for once not looking at old books about Hogwarts, but desperately trying to finish her Potions homework. By now she was sure that she would never in her life do anything that had to do with brewing potions or sorting ingredients.
But spending time with Draco Malfoy had proved to be very useful and funny (which was rather unexpected). He was not half as bad as she had thought him to be. In fact she really enjoyed his company, even if it was only to look at dusty books.
At first she had felt awkward around him, but slowly she discovered that he had (!) a sense of humour and that he had (!) changed, indeed. She hadn't noticed before that he had ceased making nasty jokes about her family, but now that she knew him things were being easier.
She wished they would be. The reason for her insomnia was not Draco Malfoy, but another boy his age. A boy with messy black hair and sparkling green eyes and a scar on his forehead, on whom she had a crush since she was ten and who happened to be the famous Harry Potter.
After their fight she had been very angry and Malfoy had only strengthened her will to show him that she was not a little girl anymore. But deep down inside her she felt that she missed him. Well, talking to him. She still saw him every day, but there was something between them now.
In the past days he had started looking at her strangely. Sometimes he had looked ready to say something to her, but every time he had suddenly closed up and retreated before either of them could actually say anything. She had also noticed that he sat by himself most of the time. He looked tired and worried, as if waiting for something to happen.
More than once Ginny had mentally slapped herself for thinking about him so much, but she couldn't help it. She wanted to corner him somewhere. To make him spill it all out. She wanted to help him so much.
She turned around and forced herself to empty her head. She had to sleep. Tomorrow she could ask Draco about it. Maybe he could help her.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Ok, what do you think? I know, there didn't happen very much in this chapter, but I promise that things are just starting to get interesting. I put some hints in this to where this story is headed, but there may be some twists (in the end it will still be H/G; D/G seems odd to me and H/D is too difficult for me because I'm a terrible slash-writer).
Anyway, I will start chapter 6 soon, but I will be in Berlin for a few days, so I don't know when I will be able to finish it!
Disclaimer: The Harry Potter series belong to J. K. Rowling. The characters you don't recognize and the plot belong to me.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Five years old Laurie Diggs stood at the foot of the tree and was looking up into the branches, an angry expression on her face.
'Aidan! Come down here, now and give it back!' She stomped her foot on the cold ground. Why did he always have to tease her?
Aidan Diggs, who was three years older than his sister looked down and laughed. 'Why, come up and take it!'
'You know that I'm too small to climb the tree! Give it back or I'll tell mum!'
Aidan grinned mischievously. 'I think I'm going to leave Teddy up here. He seems to like it better than sitting all the time on your bed.' He turned a little so Laurie could see him more clearly from where she stood and put the bear on one of the high branches. He had to stretch to reach it and suddenly he lost his balance and fell off his place. He tried to hold on to something but his hands slid away.
He heard his sister's scream and closed his eyes tightly, expecting to fall hard on the ground, but his fall was stopped by something soft an warm and after a moment he opened his eyes to find himself in the embrace of a man, his grey eyes looking down on him.
'Are you alright?' The voice sounded concerned. The man bent down and put Aidan back onto the ground.
Aidan, still shocked, stared at the man and nodded. He glanced at his sister who come up beside him. She too looked rather stunned. Suddenly he noticed a gigantic black dog behind the man looking at them curiously. But the man spoke again.
'What are your names?' After they answered he continued.
'Now Aidan, what were you doing so high on that tree?' He had a slightly accusing tone and had a stern expression on his face.
'He put Teddy high into the tree, so I can't reach him! He said that Teddy doesn't like being in my bed!' Laurie didn't know the man but she wanted to make sure he knew how mean her brother was. She had already forgotten that Aidan had nearly fallen onto the ground.
Aidan had forgotten it, too. He didn't want the stranger to get the wrong impression of him. 'Stop whining and don't be such a baby! You can't always sleep with a bear in you bed!'
The stranger looked amused for a moment but the stern expression returned immediately.
'It is not nice to tease your sister. And it was very foolish of you to climb so high. Next time you must be more careful. You were lucky this time because I was there to catch you when you fell. But next time maybe you won't.' His expression softened a little.
'Besides, there it nothing bad with sleeping with a bear. Look at Snuffles! He keeps me company all the time!' He pointed at the big shaggy dog, who let out a bark and trotted past them to the tree. After a moment he returned with Teddy in his mouth. He looked very pleased with himself. Laurie beamed at him and took the brown bear. She squeezed it tightly, then she stroked the dog behind his ears.
Aidan was looking down at his feet, ashamed and angry because his sister was right. He looked up when he felt a hand on his shoulder. The man was smiling at him.
'Don't be angry. Just be careful next time, will you?' Aidan nodded.
'Alright then, would you like to stroke Snuffles a little? No need to be frightened. He is very big but tame as a kitten and he loves children.' Aidan hesitated, then took a step forward and joined his sister, who was giggling happily, because Snuffles was licking her hand. The dog seemed happy, too, and was enjoining himself. After a while the man cleared his throat.
'I'm afraid we must leave you now. Come here, Snuffles.' The dog walked up beside him after letting the two children stroke him one last time. At the sight of their disappointed faces the man turned around and pulled something out of his coat. When he faced them again, he was holding a bunch of sweets in his hands.
'Promise me to brush your teeth after eating them, okay? And don't eat them all at once or you'll be sick.' Aidan and Laurie promised and beamed at him when he gave them the sweets.
'Bye, Laurie. Take care of Teddy. Bye Aidan and don't tease your sister so much!' The stranger winked at them and walked away, the big black dog beside him.
The two children stared after them and then looked down at their sweets.
'Have you ever seen anything like this?' Laurie asked.
'No, but I think you got more!' Aidan answered and after a moment a new fight started.
Their voices where audible for a long time as the man and the dog continued their way north.
~*~*~
'What IS with Malfoy that Ginny is suddenly with him all the time?!', Ron asked for the millionth time in the past few weeks. He still couldn't quite believe that his little sister - a Weasley - would befriend a Malfoy.
Neither could Harry and that's what bothered him. Ginny hadn't really talked to him since their row. Of course she greeted him when they met or did some small talk, but that was all. And suddenly there was Malfoy. Harry knew that the Slytherin had changed. After the incident with Professor Barnes he had lost his popularity and become a loner.
For Harry it was clear, that most people knew that it had been a joke, but it seemed that everybody, even the Slytherins, had seen it as an excuse to turn their backs on him. Especially after his father had disowned Draco and he had lost the power the name "Malfoy" had given him.
Sometimes Harry felt pity for him, but that didn't mean that he liked him. And now that he was so often around Ginny his feelings for him hadn't become better. Malfoy was up to something and Ginny's part in it was surely not good.
But there were also other things that worried Harry. For example his godfather. Sirius hadn't written to him for weeks and Harry feared that something had happened to him. Every morning he dreaded the look into the Daily Prophet, expecting to read that Sirius Black, the convicted and escaped murderer, has received the Dementor's kiss.
And then, there were of course the strange things that happened here, at Hogwarts. Last week Madam Pince had made an inspection in the library and it seemed that the books had ceased to vanish. Some tomes that had gone missing had even reappeared. But there was still no explanation. The things that Harry had found out in the past months didn't help either.
The problem was, that he was not allowed to talk to anybody. He did understand that he was not allowed to tell Malfoy, but why would they forbid him to talk to Ron or Hermione. . . They would surely be able to figure out what all this meant.
Harry had also thought of what Ginny had told him when they had their fight. Maybe she was right and he just didn't want to open up. Well, she knew anyway didn't she? She knew about the books and about the Pensieve. She just didn't know about . . .
Harry shook his head firmly. Is was too dangerous to tell her. Especially now that she was being friends with Draco Malfoy. It was better having her angry at him than having her dead. He forced himself out of his reverie and finally started eating, Ron sitting beside him, eyes locked on the Slytherin table where Ginny was still talking to Malfoy.
Why did it bother him so much to see her with him? Was it because of him or because of her?
~*~*~
Ginny lay on her bed looking at curtains that separated her from the rest of the world, unable to sleep. It had been a long day. She had spend several hours in the library, for once not looking at old books about Hogwarts, but desperately trying to finish her Potions homework. By now she was sure that she would never in her life do anything that had to do with brewing potions or sorting ingredients.
But spending time with Draco Malfoy had proved to be very useful and funny (which was rather unexpected). He was not half as bad as she had thought him to be. In fact she really enjoyed his company, even if it was only to look at dusty books.
At first she had felt awkward around him, but slowly she discovered that he had (!) a sense of humour and that he had (!) changed, indeed. She hadn't noticed before that he had ceased making nasty jokes about her family, but now that she knew him things were being easier.
She wished they would be. The reason for her insomnia was not Draco Malfoy, but another boy his age. A boy with messy black hair and sparkling green eyes and a scar on his forehead, on whom she had a crush since she was ten and who happened to be the famous Harry Potter.
After their fight she had been very angry and Malfoy had only strengthened her will to show him that she was not a little girl anymore. But deep down inside her she felt that she missed him. Well, talking to him. She still saw him every day, but there was something between them now.
In the past days he had started looking at her strangely. Sometimes he had looked ready to say something to her, but every time he had suddenly closed up and retreated before either of them could actually say anything. She had also noticed that he sat by himself most of the time. He looked tired and worried, as if waiting for something to happen.
More than once Ginny had mentally slapped herself for thinking about him so much, but she couldn't help it. She wanted to corner him somewhere. To make him spill it all out. She wanted to help him so much.
She turned around and forced herself to empty her head. She had to sleep. Tomorrow she could ask Draco about it. Maybe he could help her.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Ok, what do you think? I know, there didn't happen very much in this chapter, but I promise that things are just starting to get interesting. I put some hints in this to where this story is headed, but there may be some twists (in the end it will still be H/G; D/G seems odd to me and H/D is too difficult for me because I'm a terrible slash-writer).
Anyway, I will start chapter 6 soon, but I will be in Berlin for a few days, so I don't know when I will be able to finish it!