Disclaimer: Harry Potter and related characters belong to JK Rowling.

Chapter 2 – Meeting Lanie

Harry gazed out the window at the lawn below, appalled. What was he supposed to do without his wand? If Voldemort or any of the Death Eaters tried anything …

On the other hand, how could he go outside now – now? – and risk everything, his own life and millions of other lives as well, just to get a skinny sliver of wood?

"I walk outside to get the wand, and get cursed," he muttered to himself, if only to hear the sound of his own voice, so rarely used nowadays. "Or I can stay inside and rely on the … blood protection. But this is so stupid – I'll have to fight Voldemort sooner or later, and then I'll need my wand … Right, I'm going."

And he turned and marched purposefully out the door and down the stairs.

He glared around the tidy living room, daring his aunt to see him trying to leave the house and forbidding it.

Just come on over, he thought as he crept towards the door. Just you try it!

And she did.

"Harry Potter, WHAT do you think you are doing?" his aunt shrieked, storming into the room. "You're not allowed out of the house, I will not get into trouble with those … those people over you, you can just march yourself right back upstairs, young man!"

Harry was gaping open mouthed at Aunt Petunia when the doorbell rang. Dudley came crashing down the stairs, running to answer the door, but Harry was closer and beat him to it.

A vaguely familiar girl stood on the opposite side of the door, wearing a white sweatshirt and tight jeans. Her brown hair was swept back into a long ponytail. Both boys slowed to a halt, panting slightly.

"Hello … Harry?" the girl asked.

"What do you want with Harry?" Dudley asked in a hurt tone.

"I have something that belongs to him," she answered smoothly. "You're Harry, then?"

"Yeah … yeah, I'm Harry," Harry said, nudging his cousin with his foot. Just get out of the way …

"You sure you don't want to talk to me?" Dudley was staring at the girl with a rapt expression. It was all Harry could do to keep from laughing. He was so … so stupid!

"Quite," the girl replied. "Harry, could you come outside for a second?"

"Uh," Harry muttered, throwing a worried glance over his shoulder to where Aunt Petunia stood, shaking her head disapprovingly in the doorway between the living room and the kitchen. "No, I can't come out right now … Go away, Dudley."

Dudley glared at him and stepped hard on Harry's toes, but turned around sulkily and trumped back up the stairs – back to his video game player.

"Sorry about –"

"Never mind him," the girl interrupted. "I'm Lanie Peters … I live next door …? Anyway, I saw you dropped this and I thought you might like it back."

And incredibly, she placed Harry's wand back into his hand.

"I – thanks," Harry said brightly, sticking it into his back pocket despite Mad-Eye Moody's warning about exploding buttocks.

The girl was smiling oddly at him. "And … you're Harry Potter, aren't you? No," she blushed, "I know you're Harry Potter, but I mean you're THE Harry Potter!"

"Uh … I guess so," Harry muttered. How did she know he was THE Harry Potter?

"Guess I should explain, huh?" Lanie said, smiling. She lowered her voice, so Aunt Petunia wouldn't be able to hear them. "I'm a witch as well."

Harry pursed his lips. "I'm not a witch."

"Wizard, then. I go to Beauxbatons, you know what …?"

"Yeah," Harry said. "I met some people there, Fleur Delacour, d'you know her?"

"That veela girl?" Lanie asked. "Sure, I know her. Everyone knows her."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah … anyway, I heard Sirius Black was killed a couple weeks ago. They haven't found his body yet … must be a relief, huh? He's been after you for about three years now, right?"

Harry tensed up. "Sirius was innocent," he snapped, his temper flaring.

Lanie stared at him in horror. "Oh – no, I'm so sorry, I knew he was your – well, so I cam to give you your wand back … tell Dudley to keep away from me, all right?" she said with a brave attempt at a grin. Harry resisted the urge to clam the door at her back; he forced himself to close it softly.

Later, up in his room, Harry didn't know why he had gotten so mad at Lanie. True, she disliked Sirius, but then, who in the wizarding world didn't besides himself, Ron, Hermione, and most of the Order members? And wasn't she his only chance for a decent conversation around here? And wasn't she gorgeous?

Harry sent off his usual "I'm Fine, Love Harry" letter to Number Twelve, Grimmould Place, but then set out to pen a longer letter to Ron.

"Dear Ron,

"How long does it take to get over a girl? Should I be over Cho already? Cuz I've met someone – she's gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous! She lives right next door, imagine that! I've only seen her once, but it was enough."

On a sudden impulse, Harry crossed the room to his trunk and after digging through it for a few minutes he found what he had been looking for. Grabbing the Omnioculars, Harry whirled back around to the window and focused on Lanie's room.

"I'm staring into her room right now," he wrote to Ron. "It's painted blue with a little purple, and she's got pictures of butterflies all over it."

He watched through the Omnioculars as a small boy opened the door to Lanie's bedroom tentatively, then, seeing it vacant, headed for a box on Lanie's desk.

"Her brother's in there now," he wrote, "snooping. He's pulled out her diary." The boy looked suddenly up at Harry. Harry dropped the Omnioculars hurriedly and returned his gaze to the parchment.

"She's really sweet too," he added. "So what's going on by you? Anything new happening? Write me back,

"Love, Harry."

It was amazing how a two-minute meeting with Lanie could have him writing more to Ron in one afternoon than he'd written to anyone the whole summer.

Harry laid down his quill and looked back out the window. Lanie's was open. He saw that she was now back in her bedroom, so he opened his own window in order to hear what she was saying.

"… you little brat!"

"But I wanted to see what you wrote about H-"

Lanie shoved him onto her bed and glanced at the window with a frightened look. Harry quickly ducked beneath his desk, but he knew she had seen him. In a lower voice that he nonetheless heard, Lanie said, "As soon as Mum gets back you'll be in big trouble, Mark!"

"I'll just tell her who you were talking to," he answered back smugly. "She said you weren't allowed to – "

"Shut up and get out!" Lanie cried. Harry heard a small scuffle, the slamming of a door, and then Lanie's voice calling, "You can come out now, Harry."

Harry straightened up and waved at her. "Just doing a little cleaning," he said. "It's really messy in here."

Lanie grinned. "Ooookaaaay … Hey listen, Harry, I was wondering if you wanted to meet me at the park tomorrow … around three?"

"I don't know," Harry replied immediately. "My aunt – I'm sort of grounded."

"So am I," Lanie said dismissively. "No biggie. It's not hard to sneak out. What d'you say? Meet me there?"

Harry thought of Dumbledore's warnings, of Sirius's constant reminders to stay in the house last summer, of the weight of the world on his shoulders.

He thought of Lanie, and her brown hair and her green eyes.

"I – I'll think about it," he called back. "Tell you tomorrow?"

"Okay," Lanie called. "No pressure." She sent another charming grin his way.

"Goodnight, Harry!"

And she slammed the window shut.

A/N: Don't go berserk over the "love, Harry" thing, I'm sure we've all write "love" when we're writing to our friends ...

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