A/N: Again, more people who deserve pedestals!
Dark Angel's Blue Fire - Thanks! That really made my day!
Ms Lippy - That's very nice of you.
TicTacTurtle - Thanks and, about Fawkes, I actually agree. But… Well, let's just say that Albus will not be the only character who changes in this story…
On we go!
Albus was on his swing, ascending up into the blue, cloudless sky. Beside him, his nameless friend was whooping and cheering as he too took to the air, linked to the ground only by a pair of ropes nailed to a tree branch. Thom was sat on the grass, some distance away, lip curled.
Albus's father had installed two swings on a tree, one either side of the trunk, in the vague hope that Albus might one day do the very thing he was doing now. He was not there to appreciate this, but someone else was - although the word 'appreciate' was certainly stretching the matter.
Fawkes was once again puzzling over the matter of the obviously delusional boy he had spent over three years watching. To his surprise, he realised that he felt quite dismayed at the idea that he'd wasted all that time vaguely hoping that Albus, the first child he'd seen, would have some sort of redeeming quality that made him somewhat less disgusting than other humans.
"Ridiculous," he muttered to himself.
Albus was just another irrational, annoying two-leg, who would grow up to be an equally irritating young man who would inevitably be swallowed up in the mendacity humans had woven for themselves and die a cantankerous old man, whose whole life would amount to nothing more than the extended buzzing of a mayfly. It had been silly to think anything else - and now the phoenix had discovered that the boy was deranged and so even less able than the rest of his hopeless kind.
Fawkes realised, with a fall of the heart, that he had been hoping that he wouldn't have to start the search anew. He had been hoping that it would just automatically sort itself out.
"As if it would be that easy!" he said aloud bitterly.
He found himself thinking that it was a real shame. If one ignored the screaming and the general clueless ness of human youngsters, Albus could really be seen as quite cute. Those big blue eyes… that fuzzy head of hair that was almost the same colour as Fawkes's plumage… Fawkes found himself gazing at the boy in a mentally subnormal way and shook his head to clear it - and noticed that the other swing's movement was a little too violent to be just down to the wind.
The phoenix stared at it confusedly and then shook his head again. What did it matter? He had to decide what to do now… Out of the corner of his eye, he saw something shimmer on the empty swing.
He turned his head to look at it directly but couldn't see a thing. Slowly, his plumage began to bush out. He had definitely seen something there.
He shifted so that he wasn't looking directly at the swing and for a moment, he got a clear, if a little awkward, view of a small boy with untidy black hair and glasses sitting and sniggering on the swing. Fawkes couldn't hear the boy's snigger but saw his mouth opening and closing. If he tried to see the boy with both eyes at once, he simply vanished. In moving his head, he got a brief glance of yet another boy sat down on the grass some way away. Like the first boy, this other boy was only visible if looked at indirectly in a way that strained the eyes.
Hope suddenly flared in Fawkes's chest. Albus was not as mad and delusional as he had at first seemed. And yet-
Fawkes could not see any reason why Albus would suddenly gain two unknown invisible friends who weren't actually all that invisible. His mind flew back to that strange incident in the nursery with Albus's brother. That was the reason he'd stayed - because it had proved that Albus wasn't quite the average dribbling little human - and now Albus was once again being abnormal in a way that Fawkes couldn't understand.
"What's going on with this boy?" he asked the empty air, as Albus tired of the swing and invited his friend to play Tag again.
As Albus and his friend ran around screaming, occasionally shouting in either triumph or defeat as Thom watched sulkily nearby, Maria Dumbledore gazed worriedly out of the window at her only son. She had been pleased to see Albus using the swing and having a good time; he had been a little too serious lately. Now she was alarmed and anxious at the sight of Albus playing with someone who wasn't there.
She peered out at the boy, hoping that she would see some explanation for his behaviour - but there seemed to be none. She couldn't help wishing that Albus was still sitting in the library reading.
Maria heard her husband step into the room behind her but didn't turn around.
"Maria?" said Ulfin questioningly, seeing her standing rigid at the window. Then he glanced out of the window and grinned at the sight of Albus frolicking amongst the buttercups. "I think I spoke too soon - he's finally…"
Maria knew why he'd stopped and didn't need to look at him to see his grin fade. She sensed him move beside her to get a better view. There was a pause.
"What… What's the matter with him, Maria?" Ulfin stared in consternation out of the window. "He's acting like… like he's touched in the head or something!"
"It's not all that unusual to have an invisible friend when you're that age, Ulfin," said Maria quietly, hesitantly. Indeed, she herself had had an invisible friend when she was a young girl, called Polly. However, all Polly had been was a tool to get attention with - not somebody she actually went off and played with on her own - whilst Albus seemed to genuinely believe that somebody was chasing him and trying to tag him.
"I told you all that reading would make him queer," said Ulfin angrily in a low voice.
"It's probably just a phase," protested his wife desperately. "Children go through all sorts of…"
It was too late; Ulfin had bowed his head. Maria felt a shaft of anger go through her.
"Don't you dare, Ulfin Dumbledore!" she cried, facing him with her chin upwards. "Don't you dare be disappointed in him! He's a clever, affectionate child-"
"If he wants to make his way in the world, he needs to be more than 'clever and affectionate,'" said Ulfin shortly.
"Ulfin," said Maria, holding up her hands in a placating way. "We're both overreacting; children do all sorts of funny things. And we've only seen him doing this once. We should only worry if it carries on and grows into something harmful. I agree that perhaps we should get Nurse to take him to the park and meet some other little boys but I think we're taking this too seriously."
Ulfin grunted and nodded, sighing. "You're right, my dear. I think I am just worried about how quiet he is."
Maria glanced at him concernedly before turning her eyes back to Albus.
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Albus hadn't wanted to go to the park until it became apparent that his friend was coming with him. Having extracted this promise out of the other little boy, he made no protest as Nurse made him put on his outdoor cloak and led him by the hand down the pathway to the front gate.
Thom also came but looked as though he was being forced to, walking about three feet behind the rest of them with his eyes, flashing from blue to black to red and back again, fixed on Albus's back. Fawkes also followed the group, flying from tree to tree, catching odd glimpses of the two unknown boys with Albus.
Nurse, of course, was oblivious to all this. Albus didn't understand why she frowned at him when he asked whether his friends could come with him. He also thought that it was quite rude of her to totally ignore both Thom and the other boy.
The massive, iron-wrought gate was opened by Nurse's wand and Albus looked around curiously as they emerged into the road outside that was little more than a decorated lane. He had almost forgotten that there was a world outside Dumbledore Manor. Trees were planted neatly every six feet or so along the pavement and there were a few quaint cottages dotted along the other side of the road. The sun was hot on the top of his head and
Thom hung back but Albus's 'speshal frend' scampered ahead. Albus wanted to join him and tugged at Nurse's arm but she held him more tightly and he ceased struggling. Albus's friend seemed to notice because he dropped back to walk beside Albus. He nodded at Nurse.
"She can't see us," he said, a mischievous glint in his shielded green eyes.
Albus stopped, bewildered, before Nurse dragged him onwards. She gave him a funny look when he spoke to his friend.
"What do you mean?"
"Me or Thom," his friend elaborated. "She can't see us. Only you can see us."
"Why?" asked Albus.
"I don't know," said the other boy with a vaguely puzzled expression. "I thought she could but I tried speaking to her once and she couldn't."
"Only I can see you?"
"I think so. Mind you, we haven't met many people yet."
"What's your name?" asked Albus, realising that this piece of information was still missing.
The boy tapped the side of his nose and shook his head, smirking. "It's a secret," he said.
"But I know Thom's name!" protested Albus indignantly. Nurse hushed him, appearing perturbed, but he ignored her.
"Yes," agreed his friend. "He doesn't like me," he added suddenly.
"Why not?"
"I don't know," said his friend again.
"I like you," Albus reassured him.
"Thank you, Albus," beamed the other boy. "I like you too."
Albus suddenly noticed that he was in the village proper. The cottages had turned into little oak-beamed houses and there were a good deal more of them. The street had become narrower and scruffier and there weren't so many trees. Albus saw other people walking along, some of whom looked at Nurse and him curiously. He felt suddenly nervous and pressed himself into Nurse's side.
The park was just ahead - a relatively small patch of greenery in the cobbled streets. It was surrounded by an iron-wrought fence that reminded Albus of the front gate. As they entered, Albus saw other people sat down on the grass in the distance and children playing on toy broomsticks nearby.
Nurse set down the basket she was carrying underneath a chestnut tree and took a blanket out of it, which she spread on the dewy grass. She also took out Albus's toy broomstick, which had been shrunk to fit, and restored it to full size before giving it to him. She sat down on the blanket, puffing, and looked up at Albus, who was still standing.
"Chavy, you can go and have a play with some other little boys now. Don't you go out of sight and I want you coming when I call, all right?"
Albus nodded obediently and left her cooling herself with a charm from her wand. He walked uncertainly towards a group of children in the distance and then stopped, apprehensive.
"Go on, Albus," urged his friend abruptly, smiling. "We can go and say hello. It'll be fun."
"They'll think you're weird," sniffed Thom, eyes narrowed, sneer in place. "They won't want to play with you."
Albus looked from one to the other, torn.
Before he could decide on anything, another little boy had suddenly walked up, a friendly look on his face. He was carrying a toy broomstick too and reminded Albus oddly of Mr Lupin.
"Hello. I'm Samuel. Who are you?"
A/N: Well, any more people want to come forward and claim awards for reviewing?