The person who ran forward was a girl, and Harry got a good look at her as she got closer. She stopped in front of Naomi and panted, "You came! Jessica said you might not come, I was really hoping you would!"
This girl looked about the same age as Shadow and had thick blonde hair that reached the middle of her back. She had eyes that were a clear, almost see-through sea foam color, which were now sparkling with excitement. She had a heart-shaped face and rosy cheeks, and was very beautiful. She was wearing a dress that had a white skirt and light blue top, but it seemed she didn't care about her clothes too much, for it was obvious she had been running around a lot.
Naomi smiled. "Yeah, I thought I should come back...Oh guys this is Dawn. I mentioned her before."
Harry started. So this is the Princess? She's not really what I expected...Dawn smiled at them all, finally regaining her breath, and said, "Hi."
"This is Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, and Harry Potter," said Naomi, gesturing to each one as she said their name.
Dawn beamed and asked Harry, "Harry Potter? Are you really him?"
Harry nodded. Dawn seemed overcome with excitement, bouncing up and down. "Ooh, then you must come in and meet my father, he thinks very highly of you, we all do!"
Again, Harry felt himself go red, but Dawn had already turned and was leading them through the gate that she had come from. Naomi stood next to Harry and looked up at him. "You okay?"
He smiled weakly at her. "Yeah. I just hate being recognized like that."
Naomi giggled. "So humble a gentlemen I have never met, Mr. Potter!"
Harry rolled his eyes, moaned, and began to drag a still giggling Naomi after Dawn.
They walked up the dirt road, which curved in a large semicircle around the massive front lawn of the castle. Harry looked eagerly around him and saw that on his right was the steep rock of the mountain foothills, but to his left was the lawns. There were lots of wild flowers growing randomly in the grass, and it looked quite nice--better than Uncle Vernon's perfectly manicured lawn with nothing but plain green grass in it. The path they were on had been gently sloping uphill the entire time, so that when they reached the top they were looking down onto the lawns. A low stone wall was there to keep anyone from falling down the almost vertical fifteen-foot drop to the bottom.
Dawn turned to the castle, which had a moat around it. Just like the water in the ocean, the moat water was crystal clear. They followed her over the wooden drawbridge, and found themselves in a large courtyard. There was a cobblestone path leading through the gardens, and the white castle walls were on all four sides. Dawn turned to them all and said, "Welcome to our castle!"
Harry, Ron, and Hermione gaped around at the magnificent courtyard, but Naomi seemed like she was just happy to see it again. Dawn smiled at their expressions, then said, "Naomi, if you'd take Hermione to her room, I'll see if I can't find someone to take Ron and Harry to theirs."
"I'll do it, Dawn," said someone behind them. Harry started and turned around, to find Shadow standing there. Dawn beamed at him.
"Thanks. That means I can go with Naomi and Hermione. We'll meet back up..." she paused, thinking. "How about in the North courtyard?"
Shadow nodded.
"Right. Well, come on Harry--Ron." Harry and Ron followed Shadow down the path. Naomi, Hermione, and Dawn turned down another path that led to the right side of the courtyard, but the boys took one that led to the side opposite where they had entered.
They followed Shadow into the castle, where there was a large entrance hall. It seemed that the entire castle was made of the white stone, and it was very nice looking. On the walls were many tapestries and paintings, along with a few windows looking out into the courtyard they had just been in. A marble staircase sort of like the one at Hogwarts led upwards from the middle of the hall.
After climbing up the stairs and walking through several bright, window-lined corridors that had great views of the castle grounds, Shadow led them to a hallway that had a plush blue carpet running down the length of it. There were many doors off to the left and right, and Harry wondered what was behind them.
Shadow showed them where the doors to their rooms were, then told them to meet him back in the north courtyard, as Dawn had said.
"How do we get there? We'll get lost for sure in this huge place!" said Ron desperately as Shadow turned to leave.
Shadow laughed. "Oh, yeah, I forgot...all right, I'll wait for you."
"Thanks," said Harry. He and Ron entered the first room.
"Ooh, this room's mine!" said Ron excitedly.
There was a big, comfy-looking bed in the center of the room, which had a red bedspread and red canopy. There was a red and orange rug on the floor, and a white couch along with a table and a few overstuffed chairs. The curtains on the windows were open, and Harry glimpsed the blue sky outside. Everything in the room had the same color scheme of reds, oranges, and some yellows. It looked really good, Harry had to admit.
"Okay, fine, you get this one," he said.
Shadow smiled. "Then Harry gets the next one. Notice there's a door over there-" he pointed to a door on the right side of the room. "-that leads to the next room, where Harry's going to be."
Harry led the way through the door, and found that he liked his room much better than Ron's.
The bed was in the corner rather than the middle of the room, and it had no canopy, but Harry didn't care. It looked just as puffy and comfortable. The bedspread was dark blue, and the curtains were, too. There was a green and blue patterned rug on the floor, but the blue was much lighter than the bed. A few candles glowed on a handsome dark wooden dresser, and there was a light green couch with matching chairs in another corner. Next to the chairs was a bookshelf that was loaded with all sorts of books, and Harry wondered if Hermione's room had one. This room, unlike Ron's, followed a color scheme of blues, greens, and other cool colors.
Ron looked around. "Well now I wish I took this room," he said. Harry grinned.
"Too bad!" He ducked as Ron aimed a blow at his head, then followed Shadow through another door that led out into the hallway.
They walked down to the bottom floor and through a few more corridors until they came to two double doors with many windowpanes in them. They stepped out into the courtyard, and found that it was quite different from the one they had first been in.
A few low hedges ran through it, and there was a small tree here and there. At the center was a fountain that was sculpted to look like five different people. Harry couldn't see exactly who they were from where he stood. He did, however, see the three girls sitting on the edge of the fountain, talking lightly.
"Hey," said Shadow as they approached.
"Hi," said Hermione, Dawn, and Naomi together. They giggled, then Naomi spoke to Ron and Harry.
"How do you like your rooms?"
"They're so cool! Better than anything I've ever had on Privet Drive, that's for sure."
"Well, duh," said Naomi, shaking her head. "What'd you expect?"
Harry rolled his eyes and sat next to her. She rested her head on his shoulder, and Harry put an arm around her waist. Ron sat next to Hermione, but Shadow remained standing. "Naomi," he said, frowning. "Your godfather has been waiting for you. As soon as he heard you left the school, he came up here. He's been really worried."
"Oh..." said Naomi, lifting her head from Harry's shoulder. "He won't be too pleased with me, I guess."
"Well, I'm sure he'll be glad you're safe, and forget about telling you off," said Dawn mildly.
Harry opened his mouth to say that he didn't know Naomi had a godfather, but jumped when a new voice spoke behind him.
"I wouldn't count on not having any telling off at all."
Harry knew that voice. It was a slow, deep, calming voice that he had heard many times before.
He turned around and saw Kingsley Shacklebolt looking down at him. Harry felt his mouth drop and only one thing buzzed in his brain. Kingsley Shacklebolt is Naomi's godfather?
Naomi looked at Kingsley, but didn't meet his eyes. "Hello, Mr. Shacklebolt," she muttered. Then, before she could stop herself, she blurted, "Do you really think he'll be mad at me?" From this statement, Harry concluded that Kingsley was definitely not Naomi's godfather.
Kingsley chuckled. "I cannot say, Naomi."
"Right then," she said with a sigh. She stood up and began wandering around the courtyard. Harry stood up to go talk to her, but Kingsley started talking to him.
"Hello, Harry. I haven't seen you in a while."
"Hullo, Mr. Shacklebolt," said Harry quickly. "Er...how have you been?"
Kingsley sighed. "Well, my job at the Ministry has been very slow," he said carefully. Harry felt his stomach drop. Kingsley's job at the Ministry had been running the search for Sirius. He had, of course, been feeding the Ministry incorrect information about Sirius's whereabouts. Harry really didn't want to think about Sirius right now. He didn't say anything.
"Well, I suppose you'll only be staying here until tomorrow. You should look around while you're here."
Harry just nodded.
"Goodbye to you all," he said, looking around at everyone there. He bowed to Dawn, then turned and left.
Harry quickly walked over to Naomi and sat with her on a bench. They sat there for a long time, Naomi resting her head on his shoulder, and Harry's arm around her waist again. Neither of them spoke. After about three minutes, Dawn called over to them that they were headed back inside. Harry didn't really fell like going in, but he and Naomi got up anyway, and reentered the castle with the rest.
They stood in the corridor, Dawn looking as though she was thinking. She looked left, then right, then turned to the others.
"Fancy a game of Quidditch?"
Harry and Naomi looked at each other, then around at Ron and Hermione. They seemed to be all for the idea, so Harry sighed. "Okay. I think that'd be good to...take my mind off things."
He said the last words in an undertone so that Naomi was the only one to hear him. Then he realized that Naomi hadn't been present while Kingsley had alluded to Sirius's death. Naomi just nodded, however, and said, "I heard the conversation. I'm sorry..." Then she spoke to the rest of them. "Yeah, I'd love to play. But keep it down, I don't want godfather finding me too soon...he probably already knows I'm here."
Dawn, Shadow, Ron, and Hermione laughed, but Harry only wanted even more to know who her godfather was.
Shadow and Dawn led them through the castle until they came to a doorway leading into a room that held all the supplies for Quidditch matches. They all grabbed a broom, which were all either Nimbus 2000's, Nimbus 2001's, or Firebolts. Another doorway led outside, but as Harry walked through it he gasped.
They weren't just outside, they were in a Quidditch stadium. The mountains rose up on three sides of it, and the golden goal posts gleamed in the afternoon sun. Harry walked out onto the soft grass, and eagerly mounted his broom. He kicked off into the air, and was immediately followed by Naomi. "Race you around!" he called out to her, and she wasted no time in bolting off around the stadium.
Harry and Naomi were side by side, speeding around the stadium at breakneck speeds. Harry ended up winning by about a meter, but it was only because he was closer to the inside, while Naomi was on the outer edge.
They landed, panting, next to the others, and divided into teams. Harry was on a team with Ron and Shadow, and the girls were on another team. They decided to play without bludgers, as they only had enough players for a chaser, seeker, and keeper on each team.
The girl's team ended up winning, because Harry was watching the other players and didn't notice until too late that Naomi was hurtling towards the Snitch. Dawn and Hermione, of course, weren't about to let the boys forget this match too soon.
The six of them were walking through the castle to eat dinner, arguing about the match. Dawn and Hermione were making fun of Shadow, Ron, and Harry. Naomi hadn't said anything in a long time, and Harry looked around to find that she was gone. She must have slipped off while we were arguing, thought Harry.
He pointed out that she was gone to the others, and Dawn rolled her eyes and said,
"She's probably up in her room, don't freak out, Harry! Come on, let's go find her."
Dawn led the way up some stairs and through a few more corridors. Harry saw that they had just passed the hall where he and Ron were staying when they turned into another one. It was very similar to the boy's hall, but the rug on the floor was pale yellow and blue.
They walked to the last door on the right, and Harry knocked quietly. He opened the door and looked around the room.
T he hardwood floor had only one small white rug, that was right next to the bed. The bed was in a corner, next to a window. Another window was on the wall opposite Harry, and it was opened. The white curtains were billowing out from the breeze blowing into the room. The bedding was white, but the dresser was dark wood. A desk of the same dark wood was on the wall where the door was, and a table made of the same dark wood was in another corner.
Naomi was sitting on her bed, staring out of the window. Her hair was tied back in one long braid, and as Harry opened the door, she turned around to face him.
She didn't say anything, but watched as Harry looked around and came into the room. Naomi quietly moved over so Harry could sit down with her, and he sat cross-legged on the bed, facing her. She hugged her knees to her chest, resting her chin on her knees as well.
"Hey," Harry said.
"Hi."
"What're you doing up here?" Harry noticed that no one had followed him inside, and that they had closed the door behind him.
"Just...thinking."
Harry nodded to show that he understood, then asked carefully, "Did you find your godfather?"
She gave a humorless laugh. "Did my godfather find me, you mean. He's going to be so mad..."
"I'm sure he'll forgive you. Besides, if he tries to give you a hard time, I'll tell him it was all my fault. Because it was."
Naomi smiled, and Harry was relieved to see that she was getting more cheerful. "Why are you always looking out for me? I never really thought you would care so much..."
Harry looked sarcastically affronted. "Well sorry, if you'd rather be beaten up by Malfoy and be left there next time, just tell me."
She giggled. "All right, so I really do need you sometimes."
Harry started as the door burst open, and someone yelled, "NAOMI SMITH!"
Harry turned around so fast that he cricked his neck. Rubbing his hand painfully on the back of his neck, he looked at the door and saw-
