The International Wizarding School Competition
Story Title: Lord of the Locket
School: Durmstrang
Theme: Characterization and Pronouns
Optional Prompt: N/A
Word count: 845
Additional Information: Lord of the Rings!AU. Warning for the realiving of Albus Dumbledore who is playing the part of Gandalf the Grey. Also, there might be a slight bit out of character. I hope you all enjoy Lord of the Locket.
Louis had only been doing his job when old Master Dumbledore had caught him eavesdropping under the window of 4 Privet Drive. Not that the Potters who had bought the house from their relatives the Dursleys would mind him being out here. They had after all hired him to trim their yard and garden.
But when he'd heard Master Dumbledore's voice raised in the tension he couldn't help standing up for a better peek. To see what the matter was, of course. Not to interrupt or anything. It was none of his business what business the old grey wizard and his friend/cousin Albus Severus had together.
Thunk!
He should have looked before he stood up. He rubbed his head as he ducked back into the foliage under the window. Perhaps he shouldn't have stood at all. But the curiosity to see what was going on in the room had gotten the better of him. He had hoped that not seeing anyone at the window the conversation would continue but it hadn't.
Footsteps approached him in rapid succession and he soon found himself being hauled into the room by the grey wizard. The older man's face was shrouded in anger with a hint of amusement twinkling in his eyes as he set Louis down on his feet.
"Master Weasley, what are you doing on Privet Drive at this time of night?" Dumbledore asked, giving the trembling gardener a once over to make sure he hadn't been damaged.
"I was trimming the hedges for the Potters," Louis said, nodding to the window ledge and gardening tool which lay beyond that. "I had forgotten to do it earlier in the day…."
"So you decided that you would come back at around midnight and do the job?"
Louis nodded. Unease filtered into his senses as he saw Dumbledore look over at Albus Severus for a second. A silent conversation seemed to be taking place between the young wizard and the elder one.
"How much of our conversation did you overhear, young master Weasley?"
"Not much," Louis admitted, looking ashamed as his posture fell from the proper one his father implored him to use into a slouch. "I heard your raised voices talking about a dark lord and some trinket with power."
Dumbledore looked like he was going to say something but Albus stopped quickly by suggesting that perhaps Louis could be of help on a quest. Louis hadn't heard anything about a quest during his listening. He'd only heard about the dark lord and this locket of power that was cursed or something.
"Perhaps he could be of some use on your quest, young Albus," the elder Albus said, giving Louis a scrutinizing look. "But he can't tell anyone what he's doing or where he is going. Our enemy is a wily one and can easily tempt even the pure of heart. Do you hear me, Louis Weasley?"
Louis nodded. Trembling where he stood at the mere mention of being tempted by a dark lord. He didn't think that he would give in to temptation. But he'd heard how his Aunt Ginny had given in and this caused his heart to fear a little bit.
"Come, Louis, help us prepare for our journey," Albus Severus said, noticing the younger man's tremble for what it was. "We don't want to start off on the wrong foot, now do we?"
"Of course not," Louis said, walking over to the radio that sat upon the shelving in the Potter sitting room. He flipped it on to a news radio station.
"There is no time for songs, young master Weasley," Dumbledore told him as he helped Albus Severus pack a couple of maps. "We must pack as quickly as possible. Albus and yourself will be leaving early in the morning."
"It's not songs I'm curious about," Louis said, remembering earlier that evening the weatherperson had predicted rain for tomorrow. "It's the weather that I'm checking on. To better be prepared for the start of our journey."
"Good call, Louis," Albus said as the radio announced weather on the tens.
"Good early morning, listeners," the radio weatherperson said, sounding more ecstatic than someone of their job should. "Here is your weather on the tens." There was a pause and the sound of papers being shuffled. "Today's forecast calls for rain all day with a high of 75 degrees. Today's low will be 26 degrees so if you are planning on traveling at night you might want to bundle up nice and warm."
"I'm glad you thought to listen to the weather, Louis," Albus said, going to the door. "We'd have frozen if it weren't for you."
Louis smiled as the radio weatherperson told them to stay tuned for the stock market report or something like that. Flipping off the radio Louis went and helped the Albuses pack for the younger one's journey to wherever they were going.
Now how he'd explain this to his father he wasn't entirely sure. But he knew that he'd find the perfect way to do so before leaving.
Also written for the following items on the following forums:
Hogwarts Schoool of Witchcraft and Wizardry:
Defense Against the Dark Arts: Dark Creatures: Task 3 Boggarts - Write about someone feeling scared or facing what makes them scared.
Poke Pals: Battle Prompts (occupation) gardener, (character) Louis Weasley, (restriction) exactly 845 words, (occupation) weatherperson
Sleepy Dragon Supermarket: Meat (genre) adventure, Deli (emotions) regret, Beer & Wine (setting) midnight
I hope you all enjoyed Lord of the Locket as much as I enjoyed writing it.
