This Bag of Stones
Prologue
The faint roar of a car's engine fired in the distance as the last dredges of the afternoon traffic rush hour returned home for the evening. Work and school had ended for the day and children and adults alike were settling down for dinner. All but a select few, that is. Harry had delayed his return as long as possible, hiding out in the library until the librarian had kicked him out at closing time. He closed his eyes for a few seconds as he approached the park, hoping against all hope that Dudley had decided to just stay in that evening. It was to no avail.
Dudley and his gang of friends were loitering by the swing set. Harry's heart froze in his chest and he fought to calm himself. Alright Harry. There is a large hedge dividing you and Dudley. He can't see you. All you have to do is walk by and not make a single noise... His foot landed on the only branch on the pavement, creating a loud crunch. He winced and strained his ears for any sign of Dudley's gang. Maybe they didn't hear it, he thought hopefully. He took another step. And then another. Silence. He breathed in relief and continued his brisk pace.
He was only a few blocks away and had just rounded the corner past the park when he heard it. A series of footsteps thudding closer and closer at an alarming rate. Panic blossomed. Run run run!
"Where do you think you're going?" smirked Dudley as he stepped out in front of Harry. The younger boy tightened his hands around the little pouch resting in his pocket.
"Home," he answered daringly, his eyes darting around him as Dudley's friends sandwiched him between the hedge and themselves. Dudley grimaced.
"You freak! You don't deserve to call my house your home!" Harry hid the stab of hurt he felt at those words. No matter how many times the Dursleys openly displayed their hatred, somewhere deep within him still flickered a ray of hope that one day they would accept him with open arms.
"There's nowhere you can run now," Dudley hissed, taking a step closer. Harry felt a stab of fear.
"Don't- Don't come any closer! Or I swear Dudley I'll-" His voice choked off.
"You'll what?" The whale-sized boy threatened. Harry's eyes darted to the direction of the sun. A tiny sliver of light still pierced the darkening sky. No, come on, hurry up! Hurry up hurry up! hewished fervently. He heard Dudley's friends laugh and crack their knuckles. If he had been a safer distance away, he would have commented on how ridiculous they looked and that they had been watching too many gangster films. If he had been a safer distance away, Harry mused, he wouldn't be in this situation.
"Get him!" He heard Dudley yell. Pressing his back against the hedge, he tried to appear as small and vulnerable as possible.
"Dudley!" He screamed from behind his arms that were shielding his face. "Please, don't do this, I'll do anything! Your homework, anything!" No blows rained upon him. He looked slowly around his arms. Dudley's thugs had stopped mid-way and were comically standing around him with half-raised arms. They were all looking to Dudley uncertainly. He glared at Harry.
"You think I'm dumb enough to fall for that trick, freak? Even if I beat you up, you'll still do my work for me, get it?" Harry took the chance to peer over their shoulders at the sunset again. This time, the sun had sunk below the horizon. He grinned in victory. Distraction successful. Piers, one of Dudley's friends, looked a bit hesitant.
"Look, man, he's smiling at us!"
"Who cares, just get him!" Dudley growled.
"You won't be able to touch me, you fat lump," Harry taunted. " I'll move so fast, you won't even be able to see me." Dudley roared and charged at him. Harry quickly pulled his hand out of his pocket revealing a small stone he had retrieved from the little bag in his pocket. He clenched his eyes shut and wished with all his might for bright, white light.
-Dawnstone-
Description: A smooth white stone.
Function: Shines white light at required intensity when called upon by the user.
Conditions: Only works after sunset.
Instantly, blinding white rays poured off the small stone, throwing the entire street in high relief. It looked like a mini supernova had erupted in Harry's hand. He heard screams and pained groans as Dudley and his friends stumbled away from him with hands pressing into their eye sockets. Harry laughed softly and wished for the light to turn off. The pressure against his eyelids lifted and he finally opened his eyes again. Several of the boys had curled in on themselves and were rolling around on the ground.
Harry headed to where Dudley was and leaned down to say, "Dear Duddykins, next time you want to gang up on me-" his voice turned menacing, "think again."
A/N: Hullo everyone! :D Thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed it so far! And in case you're confused about what happened, all will be explained in the next chapter. All you have to do is press the next button ...
PS: Disclaimer on profile page.