Thanks to muffinlover, my first reviewer ever! It meant a great deal and
only this made me continue this story with the second chapter!
Disclaimer: Like I said before, naturally none of this belongs to me. It all belongs to J.K. Rowling. Well, maybe I invented a character myself, but anyhow, I don't take credit for any of this. It all belongs to J.K.R., basing on her marvelous ideas!***
His first thought at the sight of the girl in front of him wasn't far- fetched at all. Setting eyes on the mythical and dazzlingly beautiful, fairy-like beings at the Quidditch worldcup, he couldn't help but comparing the girl to these immediately. The girl had long, silvery blond hair that was falling down the middle of her back in soft, silky curls. Her skin was flawless and fair, gleaming in the sunlight. Her eyes were of a deep sapphire blue, unlike anything Harry had seen before. Her rosy lips were smiling at him, revealing white, stunning teeth.
Harry noticed that he must have been goggling at her for quite a while only when she cleared her throat audibly, obviously trying to get his attention focused on something besides her sudden appearance at his doorstep.
"Hello! I know that we haven't met or anything and I guess you're wondering about what it is I'm doing here in front of your door, but." It was apparently not so easy for her to get to the point of the matter, but she continued smiling somewhat self-confidently. "Well, my name is Grace. My family and I just moved in across the street and I thought, well, since I don't know anyone around here and I figured you'd be about my age, we'll probably be going to school together."
Harry continued staring at her. It took him quite a while to take in what she just said. Suddenly becoming very conscious of his messy hair and the stains on his jeans, resulting from sitting on the grass most of the day, he found it extremely difficult to find a clever reply to what he just heard.
"Um, yeah, I guess." he choked. Well that wasn't exactly like it. He searched his brain for something better to say than this and his thoughts stopped at what the girl just said. Going to school together? That was a tricky subject. He had to find a way to get out of this fast.
"I don't know what school you will be going to. But I'm quite certain that we won't attend the same one." Now that sounded kind of rude, even to himself. He saw Grace frown at his remark. What was he thinking? He tried again.
"My name is Harry Potter, by the way." He smiled his most winning smile. "It's nice to meet you Grace." He extended his hand, reaching for hers. Her frown vanished as quickly as it had appeared. Thanking him with a radiant smile she took his hand. He marveled at the softness of her slim fingers around his own, thinking lazily if the sun severely affected his brain today.
"It's really nice meeting you too. I know it's kind of odd for me to just come and ring on your door like that, but since I don't know anyone around here. I saw you going down the street the other day and, well you know, I assumed that you were around my age. I'm 17 for that matter." She smiled again, setting of several butterflies in his stomach.
"Why don't you, um," he coughed, "come in and have a glass of lemonade or something? It's terribly hot today, isn't it?"
Harry could almost see the thoughts racing through her mind for a brief moment, then she beamed at him. "You know what, I'd love to".
Harry backed up to let her inside. He closed the door and then led the way to the kitchen. Grace followed him closely. Harry saw her taking in the whole kitchen, probably wondering how anyone could keep a house as spotless as this. Taking a new glass out the cupboard, Harry poured some pumpkin juice from the jug into the glass and handed it to Grace.
"Do you want to sit on the porch and drink it?" he asked, feeling kind of insecure on what to suggest. He couldn't remember being in a more awkward situation. He silently thanked his fate for not having the Dursleys at home.
"That's a good idea", Grace smiled. The two of them made their way out on the porch, sitting on the bench that was usually reserved for Dudley Dursley's fat bottom.
Before a rather uncomfortable silence could rise between the two teenagers, Harry asked her to take a sip of her pumpkin juice. As soon as Grace did so, she cried, "What kind of juice is that? I never tasted anything like it. Oh Harry, it's delicious!" Harry couldn't restrain a broad grin. Of course it was delicious. And even more so it wasn't surprising that a muggle girl had never tasted it before. 'I wished I had some butterbeer for her', he thought grinning.
"It's pumpkin juice, believe it or not" he said smirking, not being very astound at her surprised face. It's hard to imagine that pumpkin juice was this tasty. Maybe it was the magical side to it, he thought.
"Now tell me, what school is it that you're going to?" Grace asked, pulling him back into reality.
There he was, facing an enormous dilemma. He recalled Uncle Vernon telling everybody who dared to ask that he was going to St. Brutus's school for incurably criminal boys. Now that wasn't exactly what he'd liked to tell a beautiful girl he just met. But it had proved useful to stick with his uncle's stories in the muggle world. He never cared. Nevertheless he didn't quite feel that a criminal record would benefit the impression that he made. And somehow he felt like he wanted to make a good one.
"It's not that easy to explain," he stated truthfully. "It's not like it's a very well-known school. It's not in England, either." he added quickly.
"Well, try me," Grace smiled.
"Alright, it's in," he pondered for a brief moment, "it's in Scotland." That would do the deal. Scotland wasn't England, but still it didn't seem odd for somebody to go that far away.
"So is it a regular state school, or what do they teach there?" inquired Grace, taking another sip of her pumpkin juice, and then licking her lips delicately. This simple action got Harry paralyzed, staring at her, feeling petrified. But he quickly pulled his senses together again, trying to find a satisfactory answer.
"Well it pretty much is a normal school" he said, knowing that he probably never said anything so untrue in his life. "They teach us mostly the regular requirements, like history (he thought of their ghost teacher, who didn't even let his death stop him from going on monotonously teaching them about goblin wars and giant revolutions, before disappearing through the solid cupboard), chemistry (yeah, that came closest to his least favorite subject of potions, taught by his most loathed teacher, Professor Snape), math (at least Hermione took Arithmancy which mostly dealt with divination from numbers and, by the looks of those complex number charts, was completely brain-wrecking!), you know, all the usual ones." Harry added, hoping that he sounded convincing.
"I see. Well it really sounds like a pretty normal school you're going to. Pity you're not going to the local school here. I would have liked that. - Since I don't know anybody." Grace added quickly, still making Harry's cheeks blush suspiciously.
They went on talking about the local school, life at Privet Drive in particular and being on holidays in general.
"I really should be going now," Grace said after a while, glancing on a silver watch that was dangling on her wrist. "My parents probably wait for me with dinner. But I was wondering," she said, blushing furiously and suddenly occupying herself with her watch, twisting it on her wrist, "what you were doing tomorrow. Maybe we could, you know, do something. That is, if you want to."
Harry felt a sudden wave of happiness flood through him. He had already accepted the fact that his vacation would be consisting of intense boredom, not having any of his friends around, nor feeling able to meet up with them. But now it seemed like he could actually spend some time with this pretty, entertaining girl next to him.
He found it rather hard to get his voice back to working again. "I'd, um, I'd love to." He finally managed to declare.
"Wonderful. If you want to, I'll just pick you up at 2h tomorrow, ok?" Grace smiled. Harry nodded, not feeling like he could say anymore. "Alright, I'll see you then." Grace stood up elegantly, smiled at him again and turned to leave. Harry jumped up, and led her to the door. After closing it behind her, he leaned against the wall, resting his head against it and closing his eyes.
The heavy weight in the pit of his stomach seemed to have lifted a tiny bit. He was overwhelmed that in the last hour he didn't think of Sirius's death at all. But as soon as this thought shaped in his mind, it came flooding back at him. He slid down the wall until he sat on the cold stone floor and pulled his legs towards him, his head resting on his knees. It was just too much. Again he felt the agony torturing him deep within, crushing him with the enormously heavy weight of the pain. This time he couldn't help it nor did he care when tears were forming in his astonishingly green eyes again. And if this wasn't bad enough, he felt guilt for laughing and being fairly happy this afternoon, enjoying the company of the girl that resembled a Veela so much.
But the thing he came to realize suddenly was that the only time he had been carefree in the past month was in the company of this unfamiliar muggle girl. Every time he picked up one of his school books, looked at his Firebolt (his racing broom, being his pride and joy) or even when he laid eyes on his snowy white owl Hedwig, he was reminded of the magical world and even more of Sirius. Especially the sight of his Firebolt, being an extremely generous present of his godfather, made him cringe with a pain that was close to being physical.
His tears were flowing freely now. He wished for nothing more than for a person he could confide in. He wished for a person that didn't look at him with such a worried or pitiful expression. One that came to his mind when he pictured his best friends. He wished for someone that would just listen to him and understand the way he felt. He wished for a person where he wouldn't be ashamed to cry. He wished for parents, once more.
Please tell me what you think! Reviews are very welcome!
Disclaimer: Like I said before, naturally none of this belongs to me. It all belongs to J.K. Rowling. Well, maybe I invented a character myself, but anyhow, I don't take credit for any of this. It all belongs to J.K.R., basing on her marvelous ideas!***
His first thought at the sight of the girl in front of him wasn't far- fetched at all. Setting eyes on the mythical and dazzlingly beautiful, fairy-like beings at the Quidditch worldcup, he couldn't help but comparing the girl to these immediately. The girl had long, silvery blond hair that was falling down the middle of her back in soft, silky curls. Her skin was flawless and fair, gleaming in the sunlight. Her eyes were of a deep sapphire blue, unlike anything Harry had seen before. Her rosy lips were smiling at him, revealing white, stunning teeth.
Harry noticed that he must have been goggling at her for quite a while only when she cleared her throat audibly, obviously trying to get his attention focused on something besides her sudden appearance at his doorstep.
"Hello! I know that we haven't met or anything and I guess you're wondering about what it is I'm doing here in front of your door, but." It was apparently not so easy for her to get to the point of the matter, but she continued smiling somewhat self-confidently. "Well, my name is Grace. My family and I just moved in across the street and I thought, well, since I don't know anyone around here and I figured you'd be about my age, we'll probably be going to school together."
Harry continued staring at her. It took him quite a while to take in what she just said. Suddenly becoming very conscious of his messy hair and the stains on his jeans, resulting from sitting on the grass most of the day, he found it extremely difficult to find a clever reply to what he just heard.
"Um, yeah, I guess." he choked. Well that wasn't exactly like it. He searched his brain for something better to say than this and his thoughts stopped at what the girl just said. Going to school together? That was a tricky subject. He had to find a way to get out of this fast.
"I don't know what school you will be going to. But I'm quite certain that we won't attend the same one." Now that sounded kind of rude, even to himself. He saw Grace frown at his remark. What was he thinking? He tried again.
"My name is Harry Potter, by the way." He smiled his most winning smile. "It's nice to meet you Grace." He extended his hand, reaching for hers. Her frown vanished as quickly as it had appeared. Thanking him with a radiant smile she took his hand. He marveled at the softness of her slim fingers around his own, thinking lazily if the sun severely affected his brain today.
"It's really nice meeting you too. I know it's kind of odd for me to just come and ring on your door like that, but since I don't know anyone around here. I saw you going down the street the other day and, well you know, I assumed that you were around my age. I'm 17 for that matter." She smiled again, setting of several butterflies in his stomach.
"Why don't you, um," he coughed, "come in and have a glass of lemonade or something? It's terribly hot today, isn't it?"
Harry could almost see the thoughts racing through her mind for a brief moment, then she beamed at him. "You know what, I'd love to".
Harry backed up to let her inside. He closed the door and then led the way to the kitchen. Grace followed him closely. Harry saw her taking in the whole kitchen, probably wondering how anyone could keep a house as spotless as this. Taking a new glass out the cupboard, Harry poured some pumpkin juice from the jug into the glass and handed it to Grace.
"Do you want to sit on the porch and drink it?" he asked, feeling kind of insecure on what to suggest. He couldn't remember being in a more awkward situation. He silently thanked his fate for not having the Dursleys at home.
"That's a good idea", Grace smiled. The two of them made their way out on the porch, sitting on the bench that was usually reserved for Dudley Dursley's fat bottom.
Before a rather uncomfortable silence could rise between the two teenagers, Harry asked her to take a sip of her pumpkin juice. As soon as Grace did so, she cried, "What kind of juice is that? I never tasted anything like it. Oh Harry, it's delicious!" Harry couldn't restrain a broad grin. Of course it was delicious. And even more so it wasn't surprising that a muggle girl had never tasted it before. 'I wished I had some butterbeer for her', he thought grinning.
"It's pumpkin juice, believe it or not" he said smirking, not being very astound at her surprised face. It's hard to imagine that pumpkin juice was this tasty. Maybe it was the magical side to it, he thought.
"Now tell me, what school is it that you're going to?" Grace asked, pulling him back into reality.
There he was, facing an enormous dilemma. He recalled Uncle Vernon telling everybody who dared to ask that he was going to St. Brutus's school for incurably criminal boys. Now that wasn't exactly what he'd liked to tell a beautiful girl he just met. But it had proved useful to stick with his uncle's stories in the muggle world. He never cared. Nevertheless he didn't quite feel that a criminal record would benefit the impression that he made. And somehow he felt like he wanted to make a good one.
"It's not that easy to explain," he stated truthfully. "It's not like it's a very well-known school. It's not in England, either." he added quickly.
"Well, try me," Grace smiled.
"Alright, it's in," he pondered for a brief moment, "it's in Scotland." That would do the deal. Scotland wasn't England, but still it didn't seem odd for somebody to go that far away.
"So is it a regular state school, or what do they teach there?" inquired Grace, taking another sip of her pumpkin juice, and then licking her lips delicately. This simple action got Harry paralyzed, staring at her, feeling petrified. But he quickly pulled his senses together again, trying to find a satisfactory answer.
"Well it pretty much is a normal school" he said, knowing that he probably never said anything so untrue in his life. "They teach us mostly the regular requirements, like history (he thought of their ghost teacher, who didn't even let his death stop him from going on monotonously teaching them about goblin wars and giant revolutions, before disappearing through the solid cupboard), chemistry (yeah, that came closest to his least favorite subject of potions, taught by his most loathed teacher, Professor Snape), math (at least Hermione took Arithmancy which mostly dealt with divination from numbers and, by the looks of those complex number charts, was completely brain-wrecking!), you know, all the usual ones." Harry added, hoping that he sounded convincing.
"I see. Well it really sounds like a pretty normal school you're going to. Pity you're not going to the local school here. I would have liked that. - Since I don't know anybody." Grace added quickly, still making Harry's cheeks blush suspiciously.
They went on talking about the local school, life at Privet Drive in particular and being on holidays in general.
"I really should be going now," Grace said after a while, glancing on a silver watch that was dangling on her wrist. "My parents probably wait for me with dinner. But I was wondering," she said, blushing furiously and suddenly occupying herself with her watch, twisting it on her wrist, "what you were doing tomorrow. Maybe we could, you know, do something. That is, if you want to."
Harry felt a sudden wave of happiness flood through him. He had already accepted the fact that his vacation would be consisting of intense boredom, not having any of his friends around, nor feeling able to meet up with them. But now it seemed like he could actually spend some time with this pretty, entertaining girl next to him.
He found it rather hard to get his voice back to working again. "I'd, um, I'd love to." He finally managed to declare.
"Wonderful. If you want to, I'll just pick you up at 2h tomorrow, ok?" Grace smiled. Harry nodded, not feeling like he could say anymore. "Alright, I'll see you then." Grace stood up elegantly, smiled at him again and turned to leave. Harry jumped up, and led her to the door. After closing it behind her, he leaned against the wall, resting his head against it and closing his eyes.
The heavy weight in the pit of his stomach seemed to have lifted a tiny bit. He was overwhelmed that in the last hour he didn't think of Sirius's death at all. But as soon as this thought shaped in his mind, it came flooding back at him. He slid down the wall until he sat on the cold stone floor and pulled his legs towards him, his head resting on his knees. It was just too much. Again he felt the agony torturing him deep within, crushing him with the enormously heavy weight of the pain. This time he couldn't help it nor did he care when tears were forming in his astonishingly green eyes again. And if this wasn't bad enough, he felt guilt for laughing and being fairly happy this afternoon, enjoying the company of the girl that resembled a Veela so much.
But the thing he came to realize suddenly was that the only time he had been carefree in the past month was in the company of this unfamiliar muggle girl. Every time he picked up one of his school books, looked at his Firebolt (his racing broom, being his pride and joy) or even when he laid eyes on his snowy white owl Hedwig, he was reminded of the magical world and even more of Sirius. Especially the sight of his Firebolt, being an extremely generous present of his godfather, made him cringe with a pain that was close to being physical.
His tears were flowing freely now. He wished for nothing more than for a person he could confide in. He wished for a person that didn't look at him with such a worried or pitiful expression. One that came to his mind when he pictured his best friends. He wished for someone that would just listen to him and understand the way he felt. He wished for a person where he wouldn't be ashamed to cry. He wished for parents, once more.
Please tell me what you think! Reviews are very welcome!