Chapter Fifteen
Destin got up from the table noisily. "Good breakfast Dad. I'm stuffed." She dropped her dishes by the sink before turning towards the front door.
Ron caught her before she reached it by asking, "Where you off to Dee?" He watched her as she came to a sullen halt, shoulders dropping in disappointment.
Without turning around she answered hopefully, "I was going to show Tayhe where the paddock is. You know . . ." she turned around and started making gestures. "Run around, stay active."
Hermione laughed at the way Destin always seemed to try and convince them that fresh air was good for her. Ron smiled and played along. "Burn off everything you just ate?"
Destin replied, "Exactly. Almost ready Tayhe?" He finished off his orange juice and nodded. Pursuing after her, he passed Hermione his plate and rushed to get his sneakers on.
"Don't fly without your father there you two!" Hermione called after them.
"Okay Mum, we promise," Destin yelled back as she slammed the door behind her. She led the way to the paddock.
"Destin?"
"Yes?"
"I know about the paddock already."
"I know," she responded.
Tayhe nodded, but didn't say anything back. September had come, scaring off the sun and beckoning the wind. They skidded towards their destination; Tayhe silently angry the sun had dispatched, being replaced with light gray clouds and Destin thinking it felt nice to have wind blow her, once again, vivid red hair. The grass was damp, leaving dark patches on their sneakers and on the hems of their jeans. Simultaneously they hugged their jumpers close to their bodies. Destin breathed deeply as they reached the wooded area, loving the smell.
"Destin?"
"Yes?"
"Where are we going?"
"A cave I found a couple of weeks ago."
"Really?"
"As long as you swear not to tell anyone." She stopped in front of the entrance and turned to face him.
"I swear," he replied faithfully.
Destin raised her eyebrows quizzically. "Pinky-swear?" she asked, sticking her hand out, shaped like she was about to drink tea like a lady.
"Why don't we spit on it instead?" he suggested. Tayhe spat in his hand and offered it to her.
She shook her head, thinking 'Boys,' but spat on her hand anyway and shook. She wiped her hand on her jeans before showing him the entrance. They both crawled in the small hole, but once inside, Tayhe was impressed with the size.
"Wow, this is huge!" he exclaimed.
"Yeah, it is. I can spend hours in here. It even stays cool in the summer. It's weird though; the stuff I found in here reminded me of Uncle Fred and Uncle George's joke shop.
Tayhe looked as if he was going to burst with excitement. "Like what?"
Destin felt around and found two of the flashlights she stole from the house. She handed one to him, then turned hers on. "Well, there were these fake wands in a big crate. Every time I tried to use one, it'd turn into a rubber chicken or something like that. But these are really useful, Extendable Ears. My mom wouldn't let me buy them at the joke shop, and I've found at least three crates of them!" Destin showed him the crates. "Well it didn't so much remind me of them rather than jump out and scream 'It's US, it's US!'"
"This is it!" Tayhe said vehemently.
"This is what?"
For my seventh birthday, they sent me an owl. They wrote saying that my real present was all their treasures and secrets from when they were at Hogwarts. But I'd only get it if I found it . . . Well I guess you found it so you get it!" Tayhe exclaimed with no sorrow or hesitation.
"Like any of this would be any fun to have at Hogwarts if I kept it all to myself," Destin replied automatically. She was shocked, and wouldn't have known about what half of it was if it was not for Tayhe.
"Seriously?" Tayhe asked nervously.
"Of course! Breaking rules isn't fun unless you do it with someone else. It's more tricky that way, and you're more likely to be caught." She smiled a devilish grin and held her flashlight to her chin.
Tayhe laughed. "You should definitely meet Kaylen. You guys are so alike." Destin laughed at the idea (mom would never let her go to Canada) but thought it'd be fun to go none the less.
"That would be fun. I'd love to see Canada." She paused for a second. "This is . . . crazy."
"What is?"
"You; my brother. Brent gone, Mom and Dad married, in love all of a sudden.
"I can't imagine what it would have been like not knowing. Having no idea you were being watched and –"
"Watched?" she interrupted.
Tayhe's face fell. "You didn't know?"
"Know what?" Destin insisted.
"Nothing," he replied quickly. "We should, uh, get back." Tayhe scrambled from his sitting position over to the hole, but came to a crashing halt as Destin had jumped on his back.
"It's not like I've even considered my life to be normal; not once. Let's face it; this is a totally screwed up situation. But if there is something I don't know that's about me, tell me," she demanded.
"Can't . . . breathe," Tayhe gasped. Destin rolled off of him and went over to where she dropped her flashlight. She turned it off, then continued on to a dark corner. Tayhe was slowly catching his breath.
"Tell me," she repeated.
"Promise not to tell Dad or Hermione you know?" he questioned seriously.
"I promise."
Tayhe sighed loudly and sat back against the wall, allowing darkness to cover his face. "Did anyone ever tell you that a prophecy was made on Uncle Harry?" he began.
"Yeah."
"One was made on you." He waited but she didn't say anything. "You're destined to have extraordinary powers beyond all others. Many wizards and witches felt threatened by you. To ensure your safety, Dad had to check up on you, and you were to be kept a secret. There was only one other way to secure your protection if your secret was ever let out, for Dad and Hermione to get married. That's why they married so quickly after you came back to the Wizarding World."
"What about your mom?" she asked suddenly.
The question took him off guard. He decided against telling her exactly what had happened; it'd be a burden. "Dad met her before the prophecy was made." There was a silence.
"It's almost lunch time, we should go visit grandma before we go back to eat." Destin quickly exited the cave.
"Destin," Tayhe called as he followed her out immediately. "Are you okay?"
I'll be fine. I'm just having trouble understanding why they told you and not me."
"Hermione didn't know until recently either, so how could anyone tell you?"
Destin lifted her head and starred at him. "You're right," she agreed. "I'll just have to forget about it. Let's go we'll be late.
"Right." He chased after her to the Burrow.
~*~
"Come on in!" Molly yelled in response to a knock at the door. The door cracked open and she couldn't help but smile when she saw the two together. "Destin; Tayhe! How great to see you, are you hungry? Sit down; have something to eat," she welcomed enthusiastically.
Tayhe laughed, "That's okay Grandma; we just stopped by on our way home for lunch."
"Thought we'd say hello," Destin added, but sat down like directed.
"Nonsense, eat," she insisted. "On your way home? From where?"
"We were just up looking at the paddock," Tayhe explained. "Hasn't changed much since I saw it last."
"No, it hasn't had many visits in the past couple years," she sighed. "Maybe when you all get older it'd be more interesting."
Destin gawked at her intently. She noticed a few gray strands in her still resplendent red hair. She still wore her unique homemade creations, which gave a pleasant ore to her. "I like it now, when I'm the only one who goes out there often," Destin replied.
"It is peaceful," Molly agreed.
"Silence is easy," she stated. Molly looked over at her curiously, but continued with her work.
"If you like quiet, come to the ranch. You can go sit in the woods past the fields; all you'll hear is the cows mooing in the distance," Tayhe added.
Destin gave Tayhe a wink as she reached across the table to grab a freshly baked cookie from the plate Molly had set down. 'Play along!' she mouthed to him. Out loud she said, "I'd love to visit Canada, it sounds so beautiful."
Tayhe caught on quickly and supplied, "Why don't you come over next weekend? Come see the farm; we could even camp out with Kaylen."
"What sounds wonderful," Molly exclaimed joyously. She poured two glasses of chilled milk and set them onto the old table.
"I doubt Dad or Mum would agree though," Destin continued in a 'sincere' saddened tone. "They'd just think I'm up to something, as usual."
"Oh, Destin dear," Molly comforted, "I'm sure it's not that bad."
"I guess," she sighed.
Molly looked at the young girl. 'She tries so hard to trick people. She's getting better, so I guess I could help her out a little,' Molly decided silently. "How about I talk to your parents? I'm sure they'll listen to me."
"Thanks Grams, but it'll be a waste of time," she guaranteed
Molly laughed. "You must be exaggerating dear. Now you to run on home. Tell them I'll be over later for tea," she added with a wink.
Destin and Tayhe smiled, thanked her for the cookies and mild and ran off home. "She knows it was a trick," Tayhe said.
"I know. She knows I've been trying to trick people lately so I had to pretend to be trying again. Otherwise she won't really try to help me go. If she thought I was serious and then mum said no, she'd think it was for the best. This way she'll be surprised when she actually says no."
"How do you know she'll say no?"
"I heard her talking on the phone with extendable ears," she grinned smartly.
~*~
"No," Hermione answered.
"No?" Molly repeated, staring at her.
"No?" Ron turned to Hermione, completely at a loss for a reason for her not to go.
"No," Hermione stated clearly.
"Yes," Ron argued.
"Why?" Hermione insisted.
"Why not?"
"She's never traveled by floo powder!"
She'll have to learn sometime," Molly pointed out.
"Not by going to Canada; what if she gets lost?"
"We'll go two at a time, I'll go with her," Ron replied.
Hermione clenched her teeth. "Ron, she's up to something!" she explained in an uneven voice.
"What?" Ron said; he was completely confused.
"Serious?" Molly was flabbergasted. Destin wasn't kidding. "Hermione, they're not up to anything; they're seven!"
Destin smiled from above the arguing adults. Tayhe gave her a silent high-five. She stood quietly and headed back towards his room. He did the same, closing the door.
"Pure genius," Tayhe smiled mischievously.
"I told you it'd work," Destin replied confidently with a flip of her luscious blue hair.
A/N: Sorry, but I didn't say which Sunday it'd be by. Here yah go! I shall start typing the next chapter now! Lol, I'll leave now and give a proper A/N in the next one.
P.S. ~ SexyDracoGirl. I understand, I've been bad, but after I finish the next chapter I'm adding to the prologue and other bits, make it more descriptive . . . way more descriptive :D . Sorry about that, I'll say the specific parts in the next A/N.
