Matilda Wormwood had a unique childhood for a child going on 11. She was a born genius who had powers to be able to move objects with her mind. This power was caused by her parent's anger and being able to use more areas of her brain than others. Matilda was born into a family that didn't appreciate her for who she was and spent most of their time punishing her for doing nothing wrong. They just wanted a scapegoat to blame. When Matilda's parents were moving to Guam, she asked Miss Honey to adopt her and her, and her parents readily agreed. Matilda has a knew life where she belongs and has been happy for quite some time. Miss Honey recently married a British man named Chris Smith that worked for the Ministry of Magic in Muggle Artifacts. He told Jenny that he worked for the British Government as a historian. Chris never told her about the wizarding world, even when they got married. He did not want to make her worry that he was insane because he loved her too much to make her worry. In return, he never knew about Matilda's powers because Jenny told her it would not be wise for her to show him. Matilda understood and tried her best not to show him but knew that one day he would eventually know.
Matilda sat in the window seat of her living room in her new house on Privet Drive looking out the window. Her mom (Miss Jennifer Honey Smith) and new father, Chris, recently moved there at the beginning of summer from America. Matilda hadn't made any friends yet. Jenny worried a little bit about it but knew that Matilda would find someone to play with. While Matilda was staring out the window, the people that lived across the street came home. But instead of having the mother, father, and the son, there was an extra boy with them. The boy was holding a cage that had a snowy owl in it. Matilda furrowed her brow. The last time she remembered having a wild animal as pet was usually illegal, and she was pretty sure it was like that in England. Mr. Dursley reminded Matilda of Mr. Wormwood, her father. Mr. Dursley has a cross-_expression on his face and look of disgust as he looked at the boy. As she watched closer she noticed that the boy had an odd looking trunk that was brand-new that came out of the car's trunk. The boy was small for his age; Matilda could tell that he was around fourteen years of age. Jenny came and looked over her shoulder to see what she was looking at.
"Well there is someone in the neighborhood that you could play with." Jennifer said.
Matilda just rolled her eyes feeling exasperated. "You know the last time I met that family's son I had to turn them upside down and shake him a few times because him and his friends were terrorizing me. Then he called me a witch and said I was one of them. Whatever that is supposed to mean."
Chris came up behind Jennifer and kissed her on the neck and looked at what they were talking about. His eyes went wide recognizing the boy as Harry Potter. "You know who that boy is?" Chris asked Matilda.
"No," replied Matilda as her brow furrowed some more.
"That boy is Harry Potter. You will enjoy making friends with him. He is more than what he seems Matilda." Chris told her with a knowing look.
Matilda nodded her head in understanding as she watched the boy carry in his stuff to his house. Matilda furrowed her brow again, looked up at him and asked "How do you know who he is?"
"He is a relative of someone I work with. How about you go make friends with him? He may be about 4 years older than you but I can assure you that you and him would make very good friends." Chris told her with one of his smiles that Jenny found to be so wonderful that it always brightened her day.
"Matilda, just run upstairs and go get your shoes and see if he and his family want to come over to the home warming cookout we have planned." Jenny said and then she directed her attention to Chris. "Chris, are the Weasleys still coming over to eat with us?"
"Yes, they are. I talked to Mr. Weasly myself. We are definitely going to have a full house hold tonight," replied Chris as Matilda ran upstairs to get her shoes. "The only two of the Weasly children that are not coming is Charlie and Percy. Charlie is still unable to get away from work in Romania and Percy is just being a plain work-aholic." Chris gave Jenny a sweet kiss on her lips and hugged her. "Do you know how much I love you?"
"Yes, more than the stars flung in the sky." Jenny replied as she looked up at him and kissed him. Matilda watched the scene from the doorway and thought it was the sweetest thing she had ever seen. It reminded her of Jane Bennet and Charles Bingley in Pride and Prejudice.
Matilda walked in and coughed a little but to let her know she was in the room. "I am going to see if the ..." Matilda gave them a questioning look as to know what their names are.
"The Dursleys dear." Jenny replied.
"I am going to see if the Dursleys want to come over," Matilda said as she ran out the front door.
Matilda ran outside, looked both ways and crossed the street and went up to knock on the front door of the Dursley's house. There seemed to a momentary moment of yelling and then the door finally got answered. Harry Potter stood at the door looking a little exhausted.
"Hi my name is Matilda Wormwood and I live across the street from you." Matilda as she held out her hand for him to shake it.
Harry shook the hand and replied, "I am Harry. Harry Potter. What can I do for you?" Then all of a sudden Dudley came downstairs and saw who was at the door. His eyes became wide with fright and left the room screaming witch. Harry looked at him and then back at Matilda and asked, "What is his problem?"
"He was terrorizing me and I told him I was a witch to scare him off and it worked. We all know that witches and wizards are a figment of the imagination, but anyway. I was wondering if you would like to come to a cookout we are having at my house?" Matilda asked.
"Come in and ask my aunt and uncle." Harry said. He directed her into the kitchen and there was Mrs. Dursley making sandwiches for lunch and Mr. Dursley reading the paper while Dudley was practically screaming that he wanted no crust on his. Mrs. Dursley saw Harry first along with Matilda.
"Well what do you want?" Mrs. Dursley asked. She was obviously in a bad mood.
Matilda was the first to reply. "Mrs. Dursley and Mr. Dursley, I was wondering if you would like to come to our house across the street for a cookout this evening for a house warming party."
Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, obviously charmed at how polite and normal this American girl was, eagerly replied yes and Matilda left to tell her parents.
******************************************************************************************************************************************************************************
As five o'clock rolled around Matilda was ready in her best dress and waiting for company to arrive. The first to arrive were the Dursleys. Mr. and Mrs. Dursley came just full of compliments at how the place looked and all of the items in the house. Dudley gave Matilda a threatening look and Matilda wiggled her fingers at Dudley and he ran into the kitchen to be with his mum and dad. Harry notices this and gave the girl a big smile.
"I think I am going to like having someone like you around here," Harry said to her.
"Likewise Harry." Matilda said. Matilda smiled at him and he smiled back.
In the kitchen where Jenny was preparing the meat to be cooked on the grill, Mrs. Dursley came in and brought a cake. Mr. Dursley went outside to talk to Chris about grilling the food. Mr. and Mrs. Dursley thourghly enjoyed their company because they were very normal indeed and nothing like the Weaslys. Just as Matilda and Harry walked in the kitchen, the doorbell rang.
"That must be the Weaslys. I hope you don't mind Mrs. Dursley, my husband invited them over for dinner." Jenny said to her rinsing her hands to go and answer the door.
Mrs. Dursley's eyes got a little wide but made sure to control herself. She knew this was not her house and would not want to make a fool of herself in front of someone from America. "No not at all." Mrs. Dursley replied, her voice full of saccharine. Harry was wondering if this was the same Weaslys he was thinking of. He would find out soon enough.
Jenny went to answer the door and at the door she saw a family of seven redheads at the door. She greeted them warmly. "You must be the Weaslys. Please come right in. I'm Jenny, Chris's wife. My daughter Matilda is in the kitchen along with the Dursley's across the street and their nephew Harry Potter."
"HARRY IS HERE!" Ron literally screeched with joy. He ran in past Jenny and straight into the kitchen. They gave each other a quick hug and Harry was the first to introduce Ron to Matilda.
"Ron, this is Matilda Wormwood. Matilda, this is Ron Weasly the youngest boy of the Weaslys." Harry said as Ron and Matilda shook hands.
The rest of the Weaslys came in and all the introductions were made. Matilda really like Ginny because she somewhat reminded her of her mom, Jenny. Mr. and Mrs. Weasly were a little odd, Matilda thought, but she like them all the same. The twins are what older brothers should be like. Always playing pranks and having fun teasing you but not to the extremes. Matilda thought Bill Weasly was very striking. Mr. Wormwood would have thought he was a cop with his long hair. Matilda tried her best to suppress a laugh. As the confusion died down, everyone settled down at the picnic tables outside to enjoy the evening. Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Mr. and Mrs. Weasly, Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, and Bill were sitting at one table while the Twins, Matilda, Ron, Harry, Dudley, and Ginny were sitting at another. This helped to make sure that no one would have to talk over each other too much and allow the younger of the group enjoy a little independence. Mr. and Mrs. Dursley were sharing a conversation with Jenny because the felt odd talking to Mr. and Mrs. Weasly even though they were as nice as can be. Bill, the Weasly parents and Chris enjoyed a conversation together. At the younger table the conversation was very energetic without Dudley even taking a part in it.
"It was so funny when Dudley just ran upstairs crying witch!" Matilda explaining her story about Dudley not leaving her alone and she threatening him. They all thought this was pretty funny for Dudley's sake. Everyone was sitting around enjoying the chicken and fish that was cooked on the grill.
"Hey Fred," George asked, "How many dingbombs do we need if they go at 100 per day for at least 3 months?"
Everyone at the table was starting to think when Matilda blurted out "Nine thousand."
"Excuse me?" Ginny asked.
"You would need nine thousand smoke balls to sell. Check me if you don't believe me." Matilda explained. Sure enough she was right.
"Bloody 'ell! How did you do that?" Ron exclaimed.
"I checked out this book from the library when I was about seven on doing mathematics in your head." Matilda told them.
"Can you teach me?" Ginny asked the young girl excitedly. Matilda gladly accepted to help Ginny. Everyone started asking her so many questions on how she became so smart. She explained to them about her story and about how her mom, Jenny, helped improve it by putting her in more advanced classes and giving her a chance to at least be a kid too.
"I remember the principal, Mrs. Trunchball
Matilda could never have asked for more. Harry understood her more than anyone and what it is like not to be appreciated for being who you are. To get the attention off of her, she asked Harry about his owl.
"Hedwig was given to me on my eleventh birthday from Hagrid." Harry said, engrossed in his chicken
"I thought it would be illegal." Matilda asked while her brow furrowed again.
Harry knew that she most likely did not know anything about the wizarding world. "It is not if you plan to take care of her and study her on her environment." Harry explained as though he was doing a science experiment. Ron made a face as though a light bulb went off in his head.
"Harry, you know what I thought of?" Ron asked.
"What Ron?" Harry looked at him quizzically.
"'Hermione and Matilda would have to have a battle of the wits to see who was smarter. I think she would give 'Mione a run for the money." Ron exclaimed. So the conversation ensued all night long until it was time for everyone to go. The Dursley's were glad to be leaving away from the Weaslys
"Harry if you want to come over during the summer, just mail Ron dear and we will gladly take you." Mrs.Weasly said as she gave the boy a great big hug.
Everyone left for the evening and the Smiths started to clean up the back yard and the chicken.
"So Jenny, what did you think of the Weaslys?" Mr. Smith asked hoping she would like them.
" I thought they were very pleasant people, but they dressed sort of funny. But I thought that they were some of the best people I met while being here so far. The Dursleys seemed a little uncomfortable, except for Harry. I will have to make sure that I can be better hostess at it. Ron was so excited to see Harry. Are they family?" Jenny thought in some of the confusion going on in her mind.
Chris took Jenny in his arms and kissed her good. "Not quite, but close to it. They are family friends. I thought you were a wonderful hostess. I think the children were pleased with your separate table arrangements. Matilda, I will give you 10 pounds to finish cleaning the kitchen. Are you willing to do it?" Chris asked her as she walked in through the back door with dirty dishes.
"No not at all," Matilda gave a mischievous smile. This would give her a chance to exercise her powers. Chris and Jenny went upstairs and went to bed. Matilda used her powers to clean the dishes while she cleaned the counters and swept the floor. Matilda, a little exhausted, made her way to bed. She was looking forward to seeing Harry again and to see his owl up close.
**************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************
June passed along without any qualm as Harry and Matilda became good friends. Matilda learned that he went to a boarding school and never usually came home at Christmas because he wanted to avoid Dudley at all cost when he didn't have to deal with him. Matilda understood what it was like to have to put up with someone who wouldn't go away for a little while and stop teasing. It was well into July and Chris was going to London today to make a few stops. Matilda wanted to go along and invited Harry along as well. Matilda had yet to go to London since her arrival and Harry very rarely went because the Dursley's were embarrassed to be seen with them. After getting all of the errands done, Chris, Matilda, and Harry were standing outside a flower shop. Matilda wanted to get her mom some flowers. She thought some daisies would be appropriate. A pale man came up to them all in black on a hot day such as this.
"Hello Mr. Potter and what are you doing in London today? Shouldn't you be working on your potion assignment that I gave your for the summer? No doubt, Ms. Granger has already had her's finished by the first week of June," A silky voice said behind the group.
Harry turned around startled by the voice. "Professor Snape. I have already finished the assignment sir," Harry said voice somewhat defiant. Harry knew he shouldn't have to put up with Snape during the summer.
Matilda eyed the man suspiciously. Severus, noticing everything, eyed the young girl. "Who is your young friend Mr. Potter?" Snape asked knowing that the young girl of about 11 would be to afraid to answer as most kids responded to him of her age.
"Matilda Wormwood, sir. I live across the street from Harry." Matilda said forcefully extending her hand out to the man. Severus shook the proffered hand.
"Professor Severus Snape, a teacher at Hogwarts, the school Harry goes to. And Chris, how are you today?" Severus asked the blonde haired man.
"Just fine, thank you Severus. Have you talked to Dumbledore about what the school security would be like at Hogwarts?" Chris asked in a very business like manner, which Matilda never heard before.
"I have not been able to get in touch with him because he is taking care of a little business at Beauxbaton,"Snape replied in a serious tone that Harry heard many times before. This was something serious.
"Tell him as soon as you hear from him. You know how important this is," Chris replied back. Snape nodded his head and turned to leave.
"Dad, what is Hogwarts? It is a school I have not read about around here," Matilda asked obviously confused.
"Matilda I will tell you one day, but not right now. Please don't mention this conversation to your mother. This conversation does not need to be told about. Pretend it never happened. This is not a matter that concerns you." Chris did not want any of this getting back to anyone. They bought the daisies for Jenny and left. Matilda and Harry did not talk about any of this. Harry knew that this had to be about the rise of Lord Voldemort and that Matilda did not know anything about the wizarding world. Matilda wondered what government historian would have to worry about a school's security, especially one that didn't exist. Matilda did extensive research on schools in the area and knew that Hogwarts was not even on the list of any schools. Matilda would try to find out one way or another, but for right now she would have to content herself with not knowing.
Matilda sat in the window seat of her living room in her new house on Privet Drive looking out the window. Her mom (Miss Jennifer Honey Smith) and new father, Chris, recently moved there at the beginning of summer from America. Matilda hadn't made any friends yet. Jenny worried a little bit about it but knew that Matilda would find someone to play with. While Matilda was staring out the window, the people that lived across the street came home. But instead of having the mother, father, and the son, there was an extra boy with them. The boy was holding a cage that had a snowy owl in it. Matilda furrowed her brow. The last time she remembered having a wild animal as pet was usually illegal, and she was pretty sure it was like that in England. Mr. Dursley reminded Matilda of Mr. Wormwood, her father. Mr. Dursley has a cross-_expression on his face and look of disgust as he looked at the boy. As she watched closer she noticed that the boy had an odd looking trunk that was brand-new that came out of the car's trunk. The boy was small for his age; Matilda could tell that he was around fourteen years of age. Jenny came and looked over her shoulder to see what she was looking at.
"Well there is someone in the neighborhood that you could play with." Jennifer said.
Matilda just rolled her eyes feeling exasperated. "You know the last time I met that family's son I had to turn them upside down and shake him a few times because him and his friends were terrorizing me. Then he called me a witch and said I was one of them. Whatever that is supposed to mean."
Chris came up behind Jennifer and kissed her on the neck and looked at what they were talking about. His eyes went wide recognizing the boy as Harry Potter. "You know who that boy is?" Chris asked Matilda.
"No," replied Matilda as her brow furrowed some more.
"That boy is Harry Potter. You will enjoy making friends with him. He is more than what he seems Matilda." Chris told her with a knowing look.
Matilda nodded her head in understanding as she watched the boy carry in his stuff to his house. Matilda furrowed her brow again, looked up at him and asked "How do you know who he is?"
"He is a relative of someone I work with. How about you go make friends with him? He may be about 4 years older than you but I can assure you that you and him would make very good friends." Chris told her with one of his smiles that Jenny found to be so wonderful that it always brightened her day.
"Matilda, just run upstairs and go get your shoes and see if he and his family want to come over to the home warming cookout we have planned." Jenny said and then she directed her attention to Chris. "Chris, are the Weasleys still coming over to eat with us?"
"Yes, they are. I talked to Mr. Weasly myself. We are definitely going to have a full house hold tonight," replied Chris as Matilda ran upstairs to get her shoes. "The only two of the Weasly children that are not coming is Charlie and Percy. Charlie is still unable to get away from work in Romania and Percy is just being a plain work-aholic." Chris gave Jenny a sweet kiss on her lips and hugged her. "Do you know how much I love you?"
"Yes, more than the stars flung in the sky." Jenny replied as she looked up at him and kissed him. Matilda watched the scene from the doorway and thought it was the sweetest thing she had ever seen. It reminded her of Jane Bennet and Charles Bingley in Pride and Prejudice.
Matilda walked in and coughed a little but to let her know she was in the room. "I am going to see if the ..." Matilda gave them a questioning look as to know what their names are.
"The Dursleys dear." Jenny replied.
"I am going to see if the Dursleys want to come over," Matilda said as she ran out the front door.
Matilda ran outside, looked both ways and crossed the street and went up to knock on the front door of the Dursley's house. There seemed to a momentary moment of yelling and then the door finally got answered. Harry Potter stood at the door looking a little exhausted.
"Hi my name is Matilda Wormwood and I live across the street from you." Matilda as she held out her hand for him to shake it.
Harry shook the hand and replied, "I am Harry. Harry Potter. What can I do for you?" Then all of a sudden Dudley came downstairs and saw who was at the door. His eyes became wide with fright and left the room screaming witch. Harry looked at him and then back at Matilda and asked, "What is his problem?"
"He was terrorizing me and I told him I was a witch to scare him off and it worked. We all know that witches and wizards are a figment of the imagination, but anyway. I was wondering if you would like to come to a cookout we are having at my house?" Matilda asked.
"Come in and ask my aunt and uncle." Harry said. He directed her into the kitchen and there was Mrs. Dursley making sandwiches for lunch and Mr. Dursley reading the paper while Dudley was practically screaming that he wanted no crust on his. Mrs. Dursley saw Harry first along with Matilda.
"Well what do you want?" Mrs. Dursley asked. She was obviously in a bad mood.
Matilda was the first to reply. "Mrs. Dursley and Mr. Dursley, I was wondering if you would like to come to our house across the street for a cookout this evening for a house warming party."
Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, obviously charmed at how polite and normal this American girl was, eagerly replied yes and Matilda left to tell her parents.
******************************************************************************************************************************************************************************
As five o'clock rolled around Matilda was ready in her best dress and waiting for company to arrive. The first to arrive were the Dursleys. Mr. and Mrs. Dursley came just full of compliments at how the place looked and all of the items in the house. Dudley gave Matilda a threatening look and Matilda wiggled her fingers at Dudley and he ran into the kitchen to be with his mum and dad. Harry notices this and gave the girl a big smile.
"I think I am going to like having someone like you around here," Harry said to her.
"Likewise Harry." Matilda said. Matilda smiled at him and he smiled back.
In the kitchen where Jenny was preparing the meat to be cooked on the grill, Mrs. Dursley came in and brought a cake. Mr. Dursley went outside to talk to Chris about grilling the food. Mr. and Mrs. Dursley thourghly enjoyed their company because they were very normal indeed and nothing like the Weaslys. Just as Matilda and Harry walked in the kitchen, the doorbell rang.
"That must be the Weaslys. I hope you don't mind Mrs. Dursley, my husband invited them over for dinner." Jenny said to her rinsing her hands to go and answer the door.
Mrs. Dursley's eyes got a little wide but made sure to control herself. She knew this was not her house and would not want to make a fool of herself in front of someone from America. "No not at all." Mrs. Dursley replied, her voice full of saccharine. Harry was wondering if this was the same Weaslys he was thinking of. He would find out soon enough.
Jenny went to answer the door and at the door she saw a family of seven redheads at the door. She greeted them warmly. "You must be the Weaslys. Please come right in. I'm Jenny, Chris's wife. My daughter Matilda is in the kitchen along with the Dursley's across the street and their nephew Harry Potter."
"HARRY IS HERE!" Ron literally screeched with joy. He ran in past Jenny and straight into the kitchen. They gave each other a quick hug and Harry was the first to introduce Ron to Matilda.
"Ron, this is Matilda Wormwood. Matilda, this is Ron Weasly the youngest boy of the Weaslys." Harry said as Ron and Matilda shook hands.
The rest of the Weaslys came in and all the introductions were made. Matilda really like Ginny because she somewhat reminded her of her mom, Jenny. Mr. and Mrs. Weasly were a little odd, Matilda thought, but she like them all the same. The twins are what older brothers should be like. Always playing pranks and having fun teasing you but not to the extremes. Matilda thought Bill Weasly was very striking. Mr. Wormwood would have thought he was a cop with his long hair. Matilda tried her best to suppress a laugh. As the confusion died down, everyone settled down at the picnic tables outside to enjoy the evening. Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Mr. and Mrs. Weasly, Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, and Bill were sitting at one table while the Twins, Matilda, Ron, Harry, Dudley, and Ginny were sitting at another. This helped to make sure that no one would have to talk over each other too much and allow the younger of the group enjoy a little independence. Mr. and Mrs. Dursley were sharing a conversation with Jenny because the felt odd talking to Mr. and Mrs. Weasly even though they were as nice as can be. Bill, the Weasly parents and Chris enjoyed a conversation together. At the younger table the conversation was very energetic without Dudley even taking a part in it.
"It was so funny when Dudley just ran upstairs crying witch!" Matilda explaining her story about Dudley not leaving her alone and she threatening him. They all thought this was pretty funny for Dudley's sake. Everyone was sitting around enjoying the chicken and fish that was cooked on the grill.
"Hey Fred," George asked, "How many dingbombs do we need if they go at 100 per day for at least 3 months?"
Everyone at the table was starting to think when Matilda blurted out "Nine thousand."
"Excuse me?" Ginny asked.
"You would need nine thousand smoke balls to sell. Check me if you don't believe me." Matilda explained. Sure enough she was right.
"Bloody 'ell! How did you do that?" Ron exclaimed.
"I checked out this book from the library when I was about seven on doing mathematics in your head." Matilda told them.
"Can you teach me?" Ginny asked the young girl excitedly. Matilda gladly accepted to help Ginny. Everyone started asking her so many questions on how she became so smart. She explained to them about her story and about how her mom, Jenny, helped improve it by putting her in more advanced classes and giving her a chance to at least be a kid too.
"I remember the principal, Mrs. Trunchball
Matilda could never have asked for more. Harry understood her more than anyone and what it is like not to be appreciated for being who you are. To get the attention off of her, she asked Harry about his owl.
"Hedwig was given to me on my eleventh birthday from Hagrid." Harry said, engrossed in his chicken
"I thought it would be illegal." Matilda asked while her brow furrowed again.
Harry knew that she most likely did not know anything about the wizarding world. "It is not if you plan to take care of her and study her on her environment." Harry explained as though he was doing a science experiment. Ron made a face as though a light bulb went off in his head.
"Harry, you know what I thought of?" Ron asked.
"What Ron?" Harry looked at him quizzically.
"'Hermione and Matilda would have to have a battle of the wits to see who was smarter. I think she would give 'Mione a run for the money." Ron exclaimed. So the conversation ensued all night long until it was time for everyone to go. The Dursley's were glad to be leaving away from the Weaslys
"Harry if you want to come over during the summer, just mail Ron dear and we will gladly take you." Mrs.Weasly said as she gave the boy a great big hug.
Everyone left for the evening and the Smiths started to clean up the back yard and the chicken.
"So Jenny, what did you think of the Weaslys?" Mr. Smith asked hoping she would like them.
" I thought they were very pleasant people, but they dressed sort of funny. But I thought that they were some of the best people I met while being here so far. The Dursleys seemed a little uncomfortable, except for Harry. I will have to make sure that I can be better hostess at it. Ron was so excited to see Harry. Are they family?" Jenny thought in some of the confusion going on in her mind.
Chris took Jenny in his arms and kissed her good. "Not quite, but close to it. They are family friends. I thought you were a wonderful hostess. I think the children were pleased with your separate table arrangements. Matilda, I will give you 10 pounds to finish cleaning the kitchen. Are you willing to do it?" Chris asked her as she walked in through the back door with dirty dishes.
"No not at all," Matilda gave a mischievous smile. This would give her a chance to exercise her powers. Chris and Jenny went upstairs and went to bed. Matilda used her powers to clean the dishes while she cleaned the counters and swept the floor. Matilda, a little exhausted, made her way to bed. She was looking forward to seeing Harry again and to see his owl up close.
**************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************
June passed along without any qualm as Harry and Matilda became good friends. Matilda learned that he went to a boarding school and never usually came home at Christmas because he wanted to avoid Dudley at all cost when he didn't have to deal with him. Matilda understood what it was like to have to put up with someone who wouldn't go away for a little while and stop teasing. It was well into July and Chris was going to London today to make a few stops. Matilda wanted to go along and invited Harry along as well. Matilda had yet to go to London since her arrival and Harry very rarely went because the Dursley's were embarrassed to be seen with them. After getting all of the errands done, Chris, Matilda, and Harry were standing outside a flower shop. Matilda wanted to get her mom some flowers. She thought some daisies would be appropriate. A pale man came up to them all in black on a hot day such as this.
"Hello Mr. Potter and what are you doing in London today? Shouldn't you be working on your potion assignment that I gave your for the summer? No doubt, Ms. Granger has already had her's finished by the first week of June," A silky voice said behind the group.
Harry turned around startled by the voice. "Professor Snape. I have already finished the assignment sir," Harry said voice somewhat defiant. Harry knew he shouldn't have to put up with Snape during the summer.
Matilda eyed the man suspiciously. Severus, noticing everything, eyed the young girl. "Who is your young friend Mr. Potter?" Snape asked knowing that the young girl of about 11 would be to afraid to answer as most kids responded to him of her age.
"Matilda Wormwood, sir. I live across the street from Harry." Matilda said forcefully extending her hand out to the man. Severus shook the proffered hand.
"Professor Severus Snape, a teacher at Hogwarts, the school Harry goes to. And Chris, how are you today?" Severus asked the blonde haired man.
"Just fine, thank you Severus. Have you talked to Dumbledore about what the school security would be like at Hogwarts?" Chris asked in a very business like manner, which Matilda never heard before.
"I have not been able to get in touch with him because he is taking care of a little business at Beauxbaton,"Snape replied in a serious tone that Harry heard many times before. This was something serious.
"Tell him as soon as you hear from him. You know how important this is," Chris replied back. Snape nodded his head and turned to leave.
"Dad, what is Hogwarts? It is a school I have not read about around here," Matilda asked obviously confused.
"Matilda I will tell you one day, but not right now. Please don't mention this conversation to your mother. This conversation does not need to be told about. Pretend it never happened. This is not a matter that concerns you." Chris did not want any of this getting back to anyone. They bought the daisies for Jenny and left. Matilda and Harry did not talk about any of this. Harry knew that this had to be about the rise of Lord Voldemort and that Matilda did not know anything about the wizarding world. Matilda wondered what government historian would have to worry about a school's security, especially one that didn't exist. Matilda did extensive research on schools in the area and knew that Hogwarts was not even on the list of any schools. Matilda would try to find out one way or another, but for right now she would have to content herself with not knowing.