Chapter 1
The Sun Will Come Out...
The pattering of rain stirred the sleeping child in his bed. He rolled over and hoped the rain would stop to let him sleep. To no avail the rain gusted harder onto the window as if to wake him with its knocking. He lifted his head, long black hair cluttered his vision as he pulled himself to sit on his pillow. He looked sadly out the window, and rested a hand on the cold glass.
"Not going to be a nice one I don't think." Said a picture nailed to the wall beside the window. The portrait was of his grandfather sitting in a lazy rocking chair, it smiled at him and went back to swinging idly back and forth.
Swinging his legs around to the side of the bed, his door swung open and his father came in with a grin on his face. "Hi dad."
"G'morning Will! I've got something to show you, and your mother says that breakfast is ready so be quick before the bangers disappear, you know that ferret of yours can get onto the table now." William Senior said clapping a hand on his forehead.
"All right dad, be right down." Will laughed and walked himself to his closet.
Opening the doors he spied his newly purchased Hogwarts uniform. He eyed it curiously and grinned, in a few weeks he would be wearing it officially to Platform 9 ¾ and handing his ticket to the collector on the train. Along with-
"Hey brat." Called Merril Swiftfoot, Will's sister, from the doorway before disappearing again. Merril was a Slitherin sixth year and although coming from that house, though Will had heard most Slitherins were cold and cunning, she was not. She also held the spot of Keeper for her House and sported two long green bangs that she dyes in honour of her house colours while the rest of her hair remained straight and jet black and down to the small of her back.
It brought Will back into the present as he dressed in his fresh clothes and headed downstairs. The kitchen was bustling with activity, pots stirred themselves and in the sink dishes were being washed by what seemed an invisible arm with a bristle brush. His mother Sharon was darting to and fro from placement to placement laying silver plates and glass goblets that filled themselves with any juice you asked. "Morning Will! Sleep well?" Sharon asked flicking her wand around the kitchen, streams of sparks and light danced out and quieted the pots and armless bristle brushes.
Will sat down in front of sparkling silver basked in delicious French toast, steamy bacon and hash browns. His mother had been a Slytherin student, and having many friends, loved showing off. All their utensils were of some precious metal that sparkled when you touched it.
"G'morning mum." He said, hugging her before sitting down.
Will senior strolled into the kitchen and sat down. He looked pointedly at the empty chair and sighed. "Always fiddling." He twirled his thin wand and pointed is at the seat. "Aparatos Merril!" His daughter plopped down into the seat from nowhere with a brush in one hand and her long hair in the other. "Is it so hard dear that we spend every breakfast together at nine o-clock? I don't see you year round and this is all I ask." He said, eyes pleading but Will held his sturdy expression.
"I was just trying to make myself presentable father." She said continuing to brush her hair. "You wouldn't want someone to come to the door and see un-kept children would you?" Her eyes fluttered gingerly.
"Your mother might, but I'm not as stern about looks, apparently your mother wasn't either when she found me." He said smiling over to Sharon who sipped her tea and rolled her eyes. "Now before I go on about my plans, what are the two of you planning for this beautiful day?"
Lightning flashed and thunder erupted from outside, the rain, though it seemed impossible, began to come down harder. Merril set her brush down and cut up one of her hash browns. "I thought I'd get a head start on my homework. I'd like to try and get a tan this summer, Jennifer Dewmerry is inviting Liz and myself to spend some time up at their cottage in a few weeks."
"And you Will?"
Will thought about taking his broom out for a fly, and realized the weather didn't seem to be too permitting, though he thought that shouldn't stop him. He knew his mother would never allow him to fly in a thunderstorm. His father might, but only if he took him too, he was sure he'd have some charm to ward off bolts of lightning.
"There are a few spells I'd like to read up on still. But other than that I haven't anything to do." He forked in a mouthful of French toast and was slapped on the shoulder by his father.
"Brilliant ideas! But I want to show the both of you my newest charm. It will benefit you Merril to some degree as it's being written into your sixth year spells book as we speak. It should also help on those rainy days when your parchments may be at risk of being ruined."
The rest of breakfast was eaten in a pleasant mist of chatter and gossip. Once finished the dishes and pots resumed washing themselves in an orderly fashion as everyone retreated to their own places until later. Will took to his bedroom and brought out his Firebolt to give it a once over. Will got on his knees and rummaged under his bed for his broom kit. Where is it? He thought seeing nothing but an old sleeping chocolate frog and an empty box of Bernie Botts Every Flavour Beans.
A thought passed him and he got up and stepped quietly over to Merril's door. He pushed his head to the door and he could hear her humming to herself. She's writing a letter. He thought pushing the door open. "Yes..." She sighed not bothering to look over.
He looked around and saw his kit tidily unpacked around Merril's Nimbus Thunder racing broom. "Why do you keep taking my broom kit? You have your own." He said walking over and knelt down.
"I like yours better, mine's an old edition, yours has better polish and the scrubby isn't worm out like mine." She sighed heavily and refilled her quill.
"So buy a new one, you have the money."
"I know, I know. But we're all going to Diagone in a few weeks so I'll pick them up then. I don't use that much anyway so stop whining." She flicked her hair over her other shoulder so she could look at him.
Will stared into her freakishly bright blue eyes, they scared him if he stared to long at them so he turned his attention back to his kit. "So what do you think dad's going to show us?" She grinned and pushed the letter under her pillow.
"Why are you asking me? He tells me as much about his spells and charms as he does you. It's so we don't have an edge on other students and all that. I really wanted to go out flying today, stupid rain." He looked up and caught her eyes again.
Will was almost her polar opposite, Merril's eyes being bright sky blue, Will's were so dark brown you had to get right up close and squint to make out any colour. Merril felt the same way about her brothers' eyes as Will did hers. "Yeah..." she sighed and rolled over onto her back. "Would have been nice to get out to the valley and do a few laps, remind you again that Keepers are one of the fastest players on the team."
"Uh huh," Will grinned packing up the last of the polish bottles. "All you Keepers think you're quick pigeons. It's the Seekers and Chasers that have the best speed."
Merril jumped up into a sitting position and glared down. "You think so do you? I'd like to see any Chaser pull off the speed I have! Not too mention my manoeuvrability is unmatched! Thank you very much!" She huffed and stuck up her nose.
Will laughed at his sister and seeing her scrunched up face made his laugh even harder. "Think I'm funny do ya? Well Mr. Know-it-all, what would you be if you made a house team?"
"Chaser..." He tried to draw breath. "So I... could fly... circles around you!" His fit of laughter died down just enough so he could lift himself back into a sitting position.
The argument lasted for a good twenty minutes before William Senior apparated them to the front door. They looked around for a moment confused. Their father had just developed the techniques of apparating someone else and seemed to be thoroughly enjoying its usefulness. "Brilliant! I didn't think I could do you both at the same time, just need to fine tune it a little and I bet I could apparate a hole crowd!"
"There'll be no escaping family reunions now." Merril whispered as Will senior took out his wand.
"Now watch closely children!" He grinned from ear to ear and waved his wand twice in the air and said, "Rictus Cohibio!" A small spurt of energy fountained from the ti[ of his wand.
Both Will and Merril looked dumbfounded. The watched him lower his wand and step out the door.
Where William should have been drenched, it looked like an invisible dome was floating a mere foot above his head, repelling the water and colliding off to the sides. "Well?" He asked anxiously still standing out in the rain.
"There goes the umbrella industry." Merril giggled, Will laughed beside her.
"Nifty little charm! Works on more than just rain too. But you'll learn more about it from Flitwick when you get to Hogwarts Merril." He walked back inside and swished his wand above his head in the opposite direction.
"Brilliant dad." Will said, "Wish I had my wand, then I could try it. Maybe mum would even let me take my broom out if I didn't get wet."
"In time Will," William chuckled. "Even if you had it, you don't have your licence yet, and without your licence to do magic... well, you don't want to get into trouble."
The Sun Will Come Out...
The pattering of rain stirred the sleeping child in his bed. He rolled over and hoped the rain would stop to let him sleep. To no avail the rain gusted harder onto the window as if to wake him with its knocking. He lifted his head, long black hair cluttered his vision as he pulled himself to sit on his pillow. He looked sadly out the window, and rested a hand on the cold glass.
"Not going to be a nice one I don't think." Said a picture nailed to the wall beside the window. The portrait was of his grandfather sitting in a lazy rocking chair, it smiled at him and went back to swinging idly back and forth.
Swinging his legs around to the side of the bed, his door swung open and his father came in with a grin on his face. "Hi dad."
"G'morning Will! I've got something to show you, and your mother says that breakfast is ready so be quick before the bangers disappear, you know that ferret of yours can get onto the table now." William Senior said clapping a hand on his forehead.
"All right dad, be right down." Will laughed and walked himself to his closet.
Opening the doors he spied his newly purchased Hogwarts uniform. He eyed it curiously and grinned, in a few weeks he would be wearing it officially to Platform 9 ¾ and handing his ticket to the collector on the train. Along with-
"Hey brat." Called Merril Swiftfoot, Will's sister, from the doorway before disappearing again. Merril was a Slitherin sixth year and although coming from that house, though Will had heard most Slitherins were cold and cunning, she was not. She also held the spot of Keeper for her House and sported two long green bangs that she dyes in honour of her house colours while the rest of her hair remained straight and jet black and down to the small of her back.
It brought Will back into the present as he dressed in his fresh clothes and headed downstairs. The kitchen was bustling with activity, pots stirred themselves and in the sink dishes were being washed by what seemed an invisible arm with a bristle brush. His mother Sharon was darting to and fro from placement to placement laying silver plates and glass goblets that filled themselves with any juice you asked. "Morning Will! Sleep well?" Sharon asked flicking her wand around the kitchen, streams of sparks and light danced out and quieted the pots and armless bristle brushes.
Will sat down in front of sparkling silver basked in delicious French toast, steamy bacon and hash browns. His mother had been a Slytherin student, and having many friends, loved showing off. All their utensils were of some precious metal that sparkled when you touched it.
"G'morning mum." He said, hugging her before sitting down.
Will senior strolled into the kitchen and sat down. He looked pointedly at the empty chair and sighed. "Always fiddling." He twirled his thin wand and pointed is at the seat. "Aparatos Merril!" His daughter plopped down into the seat from nowhere with a brush in one hand and her long hair in the other. "Is it so hard dear that we spend every breakfast together at nine o-clock? I don't see you year round and this is all I ask." He said, eyes pleading but Will held his sturdy expression.
"I was just trying to make myself presentable father." She said continuing to brush her hair. "You wouldn't want someone to come to the door and see un-kept children would you?" Her eyes fluttered gingerly.
"Your mother might, but I'm not as stern about looks, apparently your mother wasn't either when she found me." He said smiling over to Sharon who sipped her tea and rolled her eyes. "Now before I go on about my plans, what are the two of you planning for this beautiful day?"
Lightning flashed and thunder erupted from outside, the rain, though it seemed impossible, began to come down harder. Merril set her brush down and cut up one of her hash browns. "I thought I'd get a head start on my homework. I'd like to try and get a tan this summer, Jennifer Dewmerry is inviting Liz and myself to spend some time up at their cottage in a few weeks."
"And you Will?"
Will thought about taking his broom out for a fly, and realized the weather didn't seem to be too permitting, though he thought that shouldn't stop him. He knew his mother would never allow him to fly in a thunderstorm. His father might, but only if he took him too, he was sure he'd have some charm to ward off bolts of lightning.
"There are a few spells I'd like to read up on still. But other than that I haven't anything to do." He forked in a mouthful of French toast and was slapped on the shoulder by his father.
"Brilliant ideas! But I want to show the both of you my newest charm. It will benefit you Merril to some degree as it's being written into your sixth year spells book as we speak. It should also help on those rainy days when your parchments may be at risk of being ruined."
The rest of breakfast was eaten in a pleasant mist of chatter and gossip. Once finished the dishes and pots resumed washing themselves in an orderly fashion as everyone retreated to their own places until later. Will took to his bedroom and brought out his Firebolt to give it a once over. Will got on his knees and rummaged under his bed for his broom kit. Where is it? He thought seeing nothing but an old sleeping chocolate frog and an empty box of Bernie Botts Every Flavour Beans.
A thought passed him and he got up and stepped quietly over to Merril's door. He pushed his head to the door and he could hear her humming to herself. She's writing a letter. He thought pushing the door open. "Yes..." She sighed not bothering to look over.
He looked around and saw his kit tidily unpacked around Merril's Nimbus Thunder racing broom. "Why do you keep taking my broom kit? You have your own." He said walking over and knelt down.
"I like yours better, mine's an old edition, yours has better polish and the scrubby isn't worm out like mine." She sighed heavily and refilled her quill.
"So buy a new one, you have the money."
"I know, I know. But we're all going to Diagone in a few weeks so I'll pick them up then. I don't use that much anyway so stop whining." She flicked her hair over her other shoulder so she could look at him.
Will stared into her freakishly bright blue eyes, they scared him if he stared to long at them so he turned his attention back to his kit. "So what do you think dad's going to show us?" She grinned and pushed the letter under her pillow.
"Why are you asking me? He tells me as much about his spells and charms as he does you. It's so we don't have an edge on other students and all that. I really wanted to go out flying today, stupid rain." He looked up and caught her eyes again.
Will was almost her polar opposite, Merril's eyes being bright sky blue, Will's were so dark brown you had to get right up close and squint to make out any colour. Merril felt the same way about her brothers' eyes as Will did hers. "Yeah..." she sighed and rolled over onto her back. "Would have been nice to get out to the valley and do a few laps, remind you again that Keepers are one of the fastest players on the team."
"Uh huh," Will grinned packing up the last of the polish bottles. "All you Keepers think you're quick pigeons. It's the Seekers and Chasers that have the best speed."
Merril jumped up into a sitting position and glared down. "You think so do you? I'd like to see any Chaser pull off the speed I have! Not too mention my manoeuvrability is unmatched! Thank you very much!" She huffed and stuck up her nose.
Will laughed at his sister and seeing her scrunched up face made his laugh even harder. "Think I'm funny do ya? Well Mr. Know-it-all, what would you be if you made a house team?"
"Chaser..." He tried to draw breath. "So I... could fly... circles around you!" His fit of laughter died down just enough so he could lift himself back into a sitting position.
The argument lasted for a good twenty minutes before William Senior apparated them to the front door. They looked around for a moment confused. Their father had just developed the techniques of apparating someone else and seemed to be thoroughly enjoying its usefulness. "Brilliant! I didn't think I could do you both at the same time, just need to fine tune it a little and I bet I could apparate a hole crowd!"
"There'll be no escaping family reunions now." Merril whispered as Will senior took out his wand.
"Now watch closely children!" He grinned from ear to ear and waved his wand twice in the air and said, "Rictus Cohibio!" A small spurt of energy fountained from the ti[ of his wand.
Both Will and Merril looked dumbfounded. The watched him lower his wand and step out the door.
Where William should have been drenched, it looked like an invisible dome was floating a mere foot above his head, repelling the water and colliding off to the sides. "Well?" He asked anxiously still standing out in the rain.
"There goes the umbrella industry." Merril giggled, Will laughed beside her.
"Nifty little charm! Works on more than just rain too. But you'll learn more about it from Flitwick when you get to Hogwarts Merril." He walked back inside and swished his wand above his head in the opposite direction.
"Brilliant dad." Will said, "Wish I had my wand, then I could try it. Maybe mum would even let me take my broom out if I didn't get wet."
"In time Will," William chuckled. "Even if you had it, you don't have your licence yet, and without your licence to do magic... well, you don't want to get into trouble."