It had been three days for Kenneth since he had those odd dreams and he gladly forgot all about them. Kenneth was looking forward to another day of absolutely nothing to do during his uneventful summer break. He eventually became tired of reading the Daily Prophet for his source of entertainment as it was very mum on the return of the Dark Lord and his supposed army.
He went about his daily ritual in the morning of getting up, bathing, getting dressed, and then eating. But, a fear that lurked in the back of his mind caused him to peer around the doorway to his bathroom and look every time he was about to enter because he did not want a repeat of a surprise again. He still had the bruise from where he hit his head against the wall and it was still throbbing sorely. Kenneth chalked it up to his imagination that created the figure but he had a tingling suspicion that it may have been real after all.
While he was getting dressed for the day and about to depart his room for breakfast, Kenneth noticed that he had nothing to read or do for the various times during the day that he wanted to break the monotony of life. He decided he would make a trip down over to Diagon Alley and buy a book or two.
After Kenneth got dressed, he went downstairs and kissed his mum goodbye on the cheek. He grabbed his trusty Nimbus Two-Thousand and settled out the door. Sure, the broomstick was old and outdated, but it worked well and was reliable. Kenneth had the distinct impression that his broom knew him and could anticipate every move Kenneth was going to make, thus making the broom very responsive. He sat on his broom and kicked it off with a low grunt and faster than he could say "Quidditch!" he was in the air soaring low above the trees of the nearby forest. He loved to fly on his broom but was frustrated that he had to keep constant lookout for Muggles on the ground so they wouldn't spot him and panic.
The sky was cloudy and the air had a nice, misty quality to it. The cool mist felt good against Kenneth's warm face and he never tired of the feeling. He soon began flying over the thicker part of the forest that kept the ground below it well hidden but there were occasional clearings with small fields of even greener grass. I bet the trees and plants are loving this moist day, though Kenneth. He was enjoying the sprawling view that he had seen countless times before in trips past until he saw it. It was a figure cloaked in black. It was standing in the middle of a clearing staring up at Kenneth, following his path in the sky. Kenneth lurched forward on his agile Nimbus and almost hit a high grown tree. He had to pull up drastically and barely avoided the top branches of the tree. He swerved around to look at the clearing again but the person was no longer there. Whoever it was, they were gone.
'Yep,' thought Kenneth, 'my mind is so bored that it is scaring me.' He continued, 'I just need to get a good book from Flourish and Blotts at Diagon Alley and entertain my fun starved brain and I will be fine then.' As soon as he focused his eyes on the surroundings around him, he noticed the bustling section of city that was Diagon Alley. He squeezed his eyes hard and was able to see the distant marble towers and turrets of the Gringotts Bank jutting out into the sky. He landed slowly with a soft thud in a clearing, eager to avoid Muggle eyes, and walked toward the great stone walls that covered the magical area. While he was walking, he had to contort his freckly face to thaw it from the cool air that whipped against him during the whole trip here. Eventually, two large, wooden doors greeted Kenneth and they opened automatically with groaning, creaking sounds. He entered through the doors and looked at the somewhat busy street and, holding his broom to his side, walked on in without a second thought.
There were many different faces shuffling to and fro holding bags full of things from books to even a little, old lady holding a large tusk of a boar. Kenneth felt an urge to browse around and even pay a short visit to Gambol and Japes Wizarding Joke Shop but his mum had only allowed him two hours to be out. The short time limit was due to Clarabelle's fears of the dark wizards that were supposed to be out and roaming around. His flight here already took a half-an-hour, so he could spare no time. He slowly sped up through the sparse crowd and, by following his memory, headed for the Flourish and Blotts bookshop.
Inside Kenneth's left pocket laid sixteen sickles and nineteen knuts to spend on a book. Nearly a full galleon he had. Nonetheless, it was enough to buy a decent leather-bound book. After a brisk walk, he had the shop within sight and went straight for it. After he entered the old, wooden building, he noticed a plethora of choices but immediately gravitated towards the Quidditch section for he loved the sport.
The Quidditch section consisted of books that ranged from the history of the sport, flying techniques and strategies, to memorable moments and plays used, and to even books about non-wizards who played the sport and made a name for themselves. Kenneth panned over to the history area of the many shelves and browsed slowly.
"Hey," said an unknown voice, "nice broom."
"Very funny," said Kenneth because he was used to snide remarks and stupid jokes about how old his broom was.
"No, I'm serious, it is in great shape for how old that model is," said the voice.
Kenneth turned and looked around at a red-haired, freckly-faced boy he had recognized from Hogwarts. This boy was a fellow Gryffindor. "Whoa, hey, I'm sorry about my rudeness before. I know you from school, don't I?"
"That's right! Your name is Kenny, right?" said the boy.
"Actually, it's Kenneth, but you can call my Ken. Everyone else does," said Kenneth with renewed welcome.
"Well, my name's Ron. How's it going?" Ron extended out a hand for Kenneth to shake. "Anyone that is a Gryffindor is a friend of mine." With that said, Kenneth shook Ron's hand.
Kenneth was surprised at Ron's kindness and was glad to shake his hand. The two teenagers talked small things that went from one topic to another and Kenneth was especially fascinated at Ron's stories about him being on the Gryffindor Quidditch team during the previous year. Kenneth had tried out for the seeker position when Harry Potter was banned, but Ron's younger sister, Ginny, got the place on the team instead. Kenneth eventually noticed that the sky was a considerable shade darker than when he had last looked and his heart skipped more than a few beats. He was late!
"I'm sorry, Ron!" interrupted Kenneth, "I was only supposed to be out for a couple of hours and I am late. Really late."
"Bloody hell! I'm sorry, Ken!" replied Ron.
"I still need to buy a book before I leave. Any suggestions?" asked Kenneth in a hurry.
"Well, um… I would get Flying With The Cannons if I were you. They are my most favourite team and the book is a pretty good account of their yearly successes and, sadly, their failures. It's a great read all throughout, though," said Ron with interest.
Kenneth scoped the shelves full of new and old books and eventually spotted the orange with black lining book. He picked it out and, with Ron, headed to the shop owner and paid fourteen sickles and four knuts for the book. Just as he and Ron left, they ran into two taller, gangly boys that were obviously twins and they also shared the same fiery red hair as Ron's.
"Hey, Ron, check this out," said the boy on the left with a grin. He pulled out of his pocket a long, but thin, quill that was quite attractive with a soft, red feather that Kenneth thought looked a lot like a feather from a phoenix's tail. The quill itself seemed to be laced decoratively with gold trimmings that spun in a circular manner down the length of the instrument. The boy held the writing utensil up to Ron's face and he feigned a sneeze and the quill lit on fire to a small flame and smoldered to ashes within seconds.
"Whoa! Merlin! What happened?" said Ron ecstatically but, as he did so, he accidentally breathed in some of the ashes and sneezed quite loudly and the ashes caught fire again. When the tiny flames dispersed once more, a new quill, perfect in every way, laid in the boy's palm.
"What kind of quill is that?" asked Kenneth staring, perplexed, by the pen.
"Who are you?" said the boy on the right. "Aren't you a Gryffindor? I think I've seen you in the common room."
"Yes, he is, his name's Ken," said Ron, then he faced Kenneth, "These two fellows are my older brothers, Fred, on the right, and George, on the left. Obviously, they are twins."
"Well, nice to meet you!" said both of the twins in unity.
"Anyways, in answer to your question, this quill has the feather of a phoenix and whenever some poor, unsuspecting soul sneezes, it burns in a cold flame into ashes and the only way to get the quill back is to sneeze again," said George, but then Fred continued, "We got it at Gambol and Japes, along with a few other um… surprises," Fred motioned to a bag that George was holding and smirked. "We are checking out the new stuff the competition has so we can put out better things in our shop."
"Wow, that is incredible," said Kenneth, but, once again, noticed the impending darkness that loomed over the sky. He knew he was going to get the royalty treatment of punishments for being late. "I'm sorry, but I really must be going now. My mum is going to give me a boiling cauldron of yelling for being so late.
"It was great to meet you, Ron. It's crazy how we've had five years of school together and never once said a word to each other. Anyway, it was also nice to meet you two, Fred and George," said Kenneth as he nodded off and began to walk away when Ron stopped him.
"Ken, do you have an owl?" asked Ron.
"Yes, why? Oh! I'll send you a note or something. Yeah, we should definitely hang out sometime," said Kenneth, but then added, "Although, I might be grounded for this weekend or something since I am already so late."
"Oh, yeah, I'm sorry!" blurted Ron. "I would send you a note with my owl, but he's a bit… um… unreliable. Okay, I'll see you around."
The three red-haired boys turned around and left and Kenneth heard, who he believed to be Fred, mention something to Ron about finding their little sister, Ginny. How big is that family? thought Kenneth.
He began to walk a quick pace toward the large, wooden doors he had previously entered and exited when someone caught his eye.
She had to have been the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. She had long, shimmering brown hair that ran down past her shoulders. Her eyes were of a golden colour that stood out from any colour he had ever seen before. Her eyes had a sparkly like no other. Her nose even has a cute quality, thought Kenneth. She was a gorgeous girl and Kenneth knew he had to do something now or his chance would forever be lost.
He stood there entranced for a few minutes just staring, but then he through off his concentration and decided to throw away his worries of being late and also forgot everything he had learned in the last fifteen years of his life for the girl across from him had captured and took control of him. Physically, she was the epitome of gracefulness and flawless beauty and Kenneth had a feeling that she was just as amazing on the inside.
He began to slowly step towards her and was beginning to become very nervous. Where am I getting this courage from? I have never, ever tried to talk to a girl like this before! thought Kenneth. His legs were weak and trembling as if someone had cast a tarantellegra charm on him. He was getting ever so closer to her and could feel his face intensify with heat. As he walked nearer to her, he noticed he simple elegance her soft face held and she seemed to have an aura around her that had no words to explain it. Kenneth finally got behind her and choked on his first words.
"U-U-Um, w-w-what a-are y-you l-looking at?" stuttered Kenneth horribly. His biggest wish at this moment was for him to disappear off the face of the planet. He could kick himself for starting off so badly and could almost feel faint from nervousness.
The girl turned around sharply at his words and exasperated, "Oh! You gave me a fright!" She gasped as she made eye contact with Kenneth. She nearly stepped back into the glass spheres with music playing out of them that were stacked on shelves behind her.
"I-I'm so sorry! I-I didn't m-mean t-to do that! I was just curious o-of what y-you were looking at," said Kenneth with slightly less of a stutter this time around.
"Oh, I am just browsing through the shops and window shopping," said the girl with a tone of kindness Kenneth had never expected. She then used her right hand to brush her hair away from her amiably pleasing eyes.
Kenneth could feel his face becoming redder and paler at the same time as he continued, "U-Um, by the way, m-my name is Kenneth."
"Oh, well, hello, Kenneth!" said the girl with a simple, but sweet, smile. "My name is Karen. Karen Praicie Raine," she then took a step closer to Kenneth.
"M-My full name is Kenneth Maicdrives Wolfe," said Kenneth, and then quickly added, "In case if you wanted to know." Kenneth was beginning to relax finally, for a change, but was still slightly taken aback at how nice Karen was to him for he was a total stranger to her. He was not used t this from any girl as he knew he, himself, wasn't exactly a charming and handsome fellow. "You can call me Ken if you want."
"Hmmm… Wolfe… I like that last name of yours," said Karen, thinking. "Why are you so nervous?"
"I-I'm sorry, it's j-just that I-I saw you walking around over here and just… u-u-um…. found you very attractive," said Kenneth, surprised at his own bravery to say what he really meant but he was getting increasingly more and more annoyed at his stutter that he felt was surly turning Karen off. He had always had a stammer, but it was never this bad. But, of course, he had never just spontaneously walked up and talked to a girl he didn't know but was attracted you.
"So…" said Karen, leaving the conversation open for Kenneth to continue and stop him from being so nervous.
Kenneth didn't know how to continue the conversation so he just blurted out the first thing that came to his mind, "You have v-very p-pretty eyes, you know."
"Aw, thank you. But, I know you don't mean that," said Karen shyly.
"Yes, I do! What?" paused Kenneth, looking at Karen. "You don't think so?"
"You're just trying to sweet talk me into going on a date with you, aren't you?" asked Karen.
"I'm sorry. I'm really bad at this stuff," said Kenneth.
"Don't be sorry! You didn't need to sweet talk me in the first place. You already have me convinced you're a cool guy," said Karen with a sparkle in her eyes and she looked intently at Kenneth.
"But, y-you don't e-even know me!" said Kenneth surprised.
"That's what a date is for," said Karen. "You initially seem like a cool guy. So, are you going to ask me out or not?"
"Wh-What? You want m-me to a-ask you out?" asked Kenneth. "You are so…"
"So what?" asked Karen. "What am I?"
"You are so cool. I have never ever met a girl like you…" said Kenneth anxiously. "So, do you want to go grab a bite to eat wit me sometime? Maybe just walk together somewhere and talk?" Kenneth was proud of his stutter-free sentence but still had a lingering feeling that that rejection was coming his way as he had faced it so many times before.
"Well, I would love to. Yes, I would like to go out with you," said Karen.
"Really? That's so great! I just want to do something simple so we could get to know each other better and see if we really do like each other." Kenneth froze for he knew he had said something wrong. "Wait! I'm not saying you like me. I mean, how would I know? I just meant—" said Kenneth in a nervous rush but Karen stopped him.
"I know what you meant. Don't worry about it. I still would love to go out with you sometime. It can be a date," said Karen.
"Wow! Are you serious? I mean, that's great! Well, I guess I'll send you a note with my owl when I get home and figure out my schedule for the next few weeks. As far as I know, I have nothing to do so we can make plans then. Is that all right with you?" finished Kenneth.
Karen gave him a smile, "Yes, that is fine with me. You know what?"
"Um… What?" asked Kenneth, halfway expecting her to change her mind and turn him down.
"You're kind of cute when you're nervous!" said Karen. "I better get a moving on because it's getting late," and with that she smiled. It was an astonishing smile that nearly put Kenneth into a trance. She turned away and waved back goodbye as she began to walk down the street. Her purple cloak was flowing in the soft wind and Kenneth was, once again, entranced by her refined gait.
Kenneth shook his head and realized that the sun had nearly set and was being swallowed up by the horizon lined with the now black trees. He was really going to be in unimaginable trouble from his mum. He knew he was going to experience her true wrath. Kenneth was taller than his mum but he still had a respectful fear of her when she was angry. He was ready for a world of pain when he arrived home.
Kenneth saddled up onto his broom and kicked off the ground gently and felt the air get cooler as he rose higher. He smoothly leaned forward the get the most speed he could out of his old Nimbus Two-Thousand and just contemplated a believable excuse or reasonable reason for being so late. He knew his mum would explode if she knew he was late because of talking about Quidditch and, especially, if he was talking to a girl.
In almost no time at all, Kenneth had reached his house, his home. He thudded rather hard when he landed. It was probably due to his fear of the consequences he was sure to receive. As he walked up to his door, he noticed the candles inside the house were burned out. 'Odd,' he thought. He walked inside and closed the door behind him and strode towards the kitchen area and found a small, white piece of parchment in the nearly black room. He found a match on the table and struck it on fire and lit a nearby candle set on the table. He hated how frustrating it was that he wasn't allowed to use magic outside of Hogwarts. He picked up the parchment and read the angry scribble.
Kenneth,
If you are reading this before I have found and yelled at you, then you are extremely lucky as you'll be able to prepare yourself for the worst punishment I could ever possibly imagine for you. You better stay put until I get home. That is, if I haven't found you yet! You have gotten me worried sick about you!
-Your Mother
Kenneth put down the parchment with an uneasy feeling rising in his stomach. 'Why did I have to do that?' thought Kenneth. Although, he had somehow felt it was all worth it for he had made a new friend, Ron, and was finally not rejected by a beautiful girl, Karen, that he already really liked without even knowing anything about her. 'Wow!' he thought, 'I have never had the courage to do what I did with Karen!' Kenneth suddenly forgot his impending doom at the thought of Karen's smile. He started to get excited and wanted to send her a note now, but he couldn't because his owl, Squall, was sleeping and was quite stubborn when disturbed from his slumber. Kenneth decided to delay his anticipation and try to go to sleep before his mother came back home.
He went upstairs and, when he got inside his spacious room with his dog, Max, sleeping in the corner, changed into his pajamas and sat down on his bed. He laid on it and slid under his covers and sht his already drooping eyes. He smiled as he began to dream about Karen.
I---------------------I
Acciodanrad9 – Thank you so much for your review! You were the first and only one so I feel honoured! Thanks for all the words and I hope you like my second chapter even more. I almost love writing as much as I love you! Thanks again.
