Chapter 1

First time publishing fanfic! YAY!

Summary: A perspective of Harry's first year through the lens of another student / original character... growing up in isolation, 11 yr old Ari has always wanted to explore the outside world. One day, she has a strange dream about a castle. Later, a mysterious lady shows up at her doorstep to invite her to the fairy tale of her dreams!

(Original characters)

The night sky stretched overhead, and the air was cool and damp. As Ari peeked from behind a thicket of trees, she saw a huge body of water stretched out before her, so huge it covered the earth as far as the eye could see. The glassy surface of the lake was so clear it reflected the millions of stars and the luminous moon overhead, so smooth and seamless you couldn't tell where the water stopped and where the sky began.

The landscape would have been completely infinite, though, if it weren't for the large, bulky outline of a structure at the very far end of the lake. It stood there like a sentry, overlooking the entire landscape. And from the shape it seemed like a huge castle, with its many twisting towers and triangular peaks and tiny rows of windows. She gazed at it, entranced. She had never seen something so big and beautiful in her entire life. But just looking at it and admiring the view wasn't enough… She needed to get closer, needed to go inside and explore it herself. The castle's many illuminated windows were like stars of their own, brilliant beacons of light that tugged on her heart and pulled her closer.

At that very moment, Ari spotted a wooden boat resting against the shore. At once she knew that this was the boat she had to take to get to the castle. sitting there so patiently and conspiciously it had been waiting its entire life for its passenger… for her. The realization filled her bones with a leaden certainty, and she felt a rush of gratitude for this patient little boat. She marched toward the boat like a solider marching onto the battlefield, then swung one leg over the side of the boat and climbed inside.

The moment Ari sat down, the boat immediately began moving — no engines, no paddle, no anything! She let out a shout of surprise as she began gliding down the lake, as smooth and silent as a fish. As the boat gradually picked up speed, everything around her turned into a dizzying blur of light and darkness. Before long her surprise melted away and she was consumed by sheer exhiliration. She could feel the wind whipping through her hair and across her face, her body turning as light as air and mixing with the wind, until she felt as free and weightless as flying.

And all the while, the castle continued to grow closer and closer, and Ari felt her heart beating faster and faster. The tall towers loomed over her like great, shadowy monsters, but it wasn't scary at all. She only felt awe and excitement as she craned her neck and gazed up at the imposing structure that felt so captivating and alive. She could feel the tug even more strongly now, like there was electricity crackling in the air and the current was pulling her closer.

She was close enough so the windows were no longer tiny blobs of stars but now large and distinguishable. Ari thought she could see tiny moving figures through the windows, and she gasped. People! She could see their legs moving and their arms swinging around, and they seemed to be saying something! She pricked her ears eagerly, but all she heard was the trickling of the water as it licked the sides of the boat.

She continued to gaze up at the tiny moving people, spellbound. Sparks of multicolored light lit up the glass as the people continued moving their hands around. What were they doing, she wondered? Did those poeple know she was here? Could they see her? Did they know she was drifting on this lake with her boat, coming closer to them? In her excitement, she got up from her seat and waved her arms and yelled as loud as she could, but she wasn't sure if any of them heard her, or even saw her. But it didn't matter… soon she would be able to get past the wall and meet them… and then she would be able to say hello to all of them and become all their friends.

That was when the boat passed through a dark, gaping entryway, throwing her in shadow, and Ari gasped. This must be the entrance to the castle! Her heart sped up again and she looked around the darkness frantically. She turned her head around and around, trying to make something, or perhaps waiting for a burst of blazing bright light as the doors to the castle were flung open and all the millions of people with their walking legs and swinging arms came to welcome Ari to her new home…

And then Ari opened her eyes, her heart just about to burst out of her chest with anticipation — only, with a rush of confusion, she noticed that she was staring up at a blank white ceiling. The castle and its millions of windows and inhabitants were gone, as were the lake and boat. In fact, Ari realized she was lying down on a big, flat bed, with the covers kicked down to her knees. Instead of a vast, open lake, she saw four boxed-in walls around her and a window with its curtains drawn up.

A dream… it had just been a dream. And now she had woken up and was back in her bedroom. Realization and disappointment washed over Ari in equal measure. She squeezed her back eyes shut, her heart pounding with excitement. If she could just close her eyes and go back to sleep, she might be able to return to her dream. Experience the thrilling journey across the lake and the breathtaking sight of the castle… go inside and meet all those strange new people…

But excitement was making her head buzz too much, and she couldn't feel calm or drowsy enough to fall back asleep. And soon her excitement gave way to desperation, and that gave way to crushing disappointment again when she realized that she wouldn't be able to go fall aslep and go back to the lake and the castle after all. With a sigh, she opened her eyes again and frowned at the ceiling. Ugh, just why did she have to wake up now, when she had been so close to completeing her journey and entering the castle? She could still remember the adrenaline pumping through her veins as she soared across the lake and the growing tug on her heart, so strong it was like a vise grip. Even now, she could still feel her heart throbbing strongly, aching with some unmet desire.

Well, maybe she could fall asleep tonight and try again… maybe she could revisit her dream again and pick up where she left off. Maybe the lake and the boat would be waiting for her again, and hopefully the people in the castle would be waiting for her, too. Until then, they would just continue walking and waving their arms on the other side of the glass, oblivious to her existence for a day longer.

Ari continued lying in bed for a while longer, turning all this over in her head, when something suddenly drew her out of her reverie. A scent… a strong, sweet, buttery scent. She sniffed the air and she gasped, all her disappointment and musings of her dream slipping away at once. Pancakes! Dad must've been up making breakfast!

Quick as lightning, Ari kicked off the blankets and dressed quickly in her jeans and shirt. She opened her bedroom door which squeaked on the hinges and scurried down the narrow hallway. On the room opposite to Ari's, the door was still closed and loud snores were issuing from it. She dashed into the bathroom and quickly washed up before darting out again. She made her way down the creaky stairs and into the kitchen, where the scent of pancakes was strongest. Dad was standing at the stove, where he was flipping pancakes on the pan. He turned around when Ari came scampering inside, and his face lit up.

"Hey there, cub!" Dad said. "Good morning to you! How did you sleep?"

"Really good!" Ari answered, bouncing up and down. She grinned at the pale, sizzling circle of batter on the pan, then back at Dad, her excitement back in full-force. "I had a dream! There was this big lake and a boat, and it was nighttime and I was sailing across it. And then there was a big castle too, and it had a lot of big towers and spiky things, and I was driving toward it! And there were people inside! It was so funny, and the boat was so going fast, it was much so fun!"

"That does sound indeed fun," Dad chuckled, ruffling her hair. "A boat and a castle, huh? And people? You've got quite the imagination, even when you're sleeping!"

"Yeah, and then I almost went inside the castle, but then I woke up!" Ari said, stamping her foot. "I was so sad! But maybe I can go to sleep again and tonight and have the same dream, right, Dad?"

"That's right!" he nodded. "Or maybe you'll have a different dream, too?"

"Maybe," she said. "But I liked my dream today. It was the funnest dream I've had in a while. And this time I wanna have it again and go inside the castle — and then talk to the cute-looking people inside!"

Dad chuckled. "Oh, yeah? Well until then, why don't you help me flip this pancake? I think it's just about cooked on the other side — would you like to give it a try, Ari?"

"Ooh, yeah!" Ari exclaimed. She always liked helping Dad out with his cooking. And she was always good at it, and she knew Dad knew too, because he always asked her to help her.

Dad handed her the spatula and Ari positioned the edge of the blade against the pancake. "Just wedge the whole thing underneath," Dad instructed, "and once you've got it all on there, flip it over. Nice and easy does it."

She scooted the blade underneath the pancake, as nicely and easily as she could, and soon she had the entire pancake on the spatula. And then quick as a flash, she turned the entire pancake around so that the white side was facing up. Dad cheered and patted her on the shoulder.

"There you go!" he exclaimed. "That was great, Ari!"

"I'm a chef now!" she said proudly, twirling her spatula around. "I could be a professional cooker, right, Dad? And you could be the judge and test my food!"

"I'd be honored," he chuckled. "If I were the judge, I'd give my little chef a hundred out of ten!"

Ari beamed. See? Dad knew she was awesome at cooking!

She and Dad waited for the pancake to finish cooking so she could use the spatula to scoop it onto a plate. And then Dad let her carry the pancake she had flipped and scooped over to the dining table, where she got dibs on it. She drizzled a generous helping of maple syrup on the pancake and dug in. It was sweet, fluffy, and delicious, and melted in your mouth with the sweet syrup… mmm. And it tasted extra good today because she had helped make it.

Once Ari was done with her first pancake, Dad came over with the table with a second stack of pancakes. "Hmm," he said, frowning at the empty chair across from Ari. "Is your brother still sleeping, Ari?"

"Yep!" she responded. "He was snoring real loud. I heard it! You need me to wake him up, Dad? I can totally be his alarm clock."

"I'm sure you'll do the job very well," Dad said, smiling.

Smiling back, Ari jumped from her chair and thundered her way over to Sam's room. Loud snores were still coming from the closed door. Ari pounded on the door, shouting. "Sam! Sam, wake up, it's time for breakfast! Dad made pancakes!"

More snoring. Ari tried to open the door, but the doorknob wouldn't budge. "SAM!" she shrieked, banging on the door with all the force her fists would allow. "SAM, WAKE UP RIGHT NOW OR I'LL GET YOU OUT MYSELF!" And then kicked the door a few times so it rattled on its. hinges, just for good measure.

She heard thundering footsteps inside, and then the door swung open and Sam's wild face peered through the crack. His clothes and hair were all tousled, and he looked like he slept through a tornado. "Can you stop that already?!" he snarled. "You're about to knock my door down! And you've already kicked it down once! Now don't do it again!"

"It's your own fault for not waking up, you lazy slug!" Ari said, placing her hands on her hips. "You were snoring really loud, though. Like a lawnmower. Were you having a good dream?"

"Go away!" he snapped.

"But I can't!" she protested. "It's time for breakfast. And Dad made pancakes, you know, and I helped too! I helped flip 'em and get them on the plate, and it's really delicious. Now you better get up and taste my delicious creation or else." She waved her fist threateningly in his face.

Sam rolled his eyes. But he complied and lumbered out of his room like a great grizzly bear and into the bathroom, where he slammed the door shut. Ari heard the sound of running water and scampered into the kitchen. Dad was sitting at the table now and stirring his morning tea.

"I woke him up!" Ari declared, plopping down in the seat across from him. "Now he's in the bathroom."

"Wonderful!" Dad exclaimed, smiling. "Would you like some more pancakes, Ari? Here, try the second batch, they're warmer."

And he slid the second plate of pancakes toward her and Ari took another one. She drizzled some more syrup on it and was halfway through the delicious fluffball of heaven when the great bear came lumbering in the kitchen. Even after washing, his big pelt of hair was still rumpled and there was a big scowl on his face.

"Sam, good morning," Dad smiled. Sam continued glowering and plopped down wordlessly in the empty chair beside him. "How did you sleep?"

"I would have slept better if there wasn't a giant tornado pounding on my door," he snapped, glaring at Ari.

"Nuh-uh!" she protested through a mouthful of pancakes. "At least I didn't knock your door down this time, right?"

"You will again soon."

"Nuh-uh!"

"Have some pancakes, Sam," Dad said, cutting over their quibble. Sam rolled his eyes but helped himself to a pancake.

"I had a dream, you know," Ari said after they ate in silence for around a minute. She had already described her dream to Dad, but now that Sam was here, he might as well know about it too. And besides, it was fun recounting the exhilarating, breathtaking feeling of soaring through the vast, dreamy lake. "There was a lake, and I was on a boat, and it was nighttime. And I was riding through the lake on the boat, and it was going so fast, like I was flying—"

"Nobody cares," Sam cut in.

"But I care!" Ari said indignantly, glaring at him. "And it was really fun, and there was a castle, too! And it was so big and mysterious, and there were people inside and everything! I wanted to go in and say hi to them, but I woke up before I could!"

Sam yawned. "Boring."

"It's not boring!" Ari exclaimed. "It was really fun, you should've been there in my dream too, Sam! You could've gotten on my boat and I would've just pushed you off and riden off, hehe—"

"And I'd have swam out and then sue you for attempted murder," he shot back.

"No!" Ari cried. "That's not fair!"

"I think it's as fair as you trying to kill me!" he snapped.

"But it's just a dream!" she explained. "I wouldn't actually kill you, not in real life, at least. But I can kill you as many times as I want in my dream, because it's not real and you're still alive in real life!" She clapped her hands in delight. "Get it?"

"All right, I think that's enough," Dad said lightly before Sam could respond. Sam glared at Ari and she stuck out her tongue. "How about we focus on our breakfast? After breakfast, since it's a nice day out, what do you say we go outside and check out the squashes in our garden? They've been growing pretty well in this rainy weather, I think you kids should go and check it out!"

"Ooh, okay!" Ari began bouncing up and down in her chair again, and Sam sighed. She always loved going outside and running around and breathing in the crisp forest-y air. Especially after being trapped in the house with a great grumbling bear who snored and had bad breath, after a while, some space and fresh air was much-needed.