LFLS - Missing Scene 01
LFLS - Missing Scene (between chap.4 and 5)
His new life at Little Hangleton wasn’t as bad as Tom thought it would be. Yes, the first days were awful and made him think that he would soon be going back to the orphanage, but, as time passed, the boy discovered his relatives weren’t as rude and cold as they seemed to be. His father kept ignoring him and, using the excuse that he had work to do… A failed excuse, in Tom’s opinion, as even his grandfather, Thomas, who always worked along with his father managed to find some time to speak to him, asking what he was thinking about Little Hangleton, if everything was all right for him, if he needed anything… Always in a cold tone, seeing as if he was just asking all these questions out of obligation, but at least he wasn’t ignoring the boy.
But, of all the Riddles, his grandmother, Mary, was the most loveable. The woman was the first to start trying to know him better and was always trying to make he feel comfortable. Tom noticed his grandmother was always going around their house, cleaning and organizing everything, no matter how many times the maid had already cleaned the place before. Another thing the boy noticed was that Mary Riddle loved art. He would always find her on the garden or on the house’s veranda, painting something, and he decided that he liked to watch her during the time she was painting.
“When your father was your age, he would always be around when I was painting,” the woman said, looking over her shoulder and smiling softly at the boy who was standing behind her. “Just like you do.”
“It’s really pretty.” He pointed at the picture she was painting on the canvas.
“Thank you, darling.” Mary smiled, turning around to look at the boy. “Have you ever painted?”
“No.”
She smiled and motioned for him to get closer. As soon as Tom was close enough to her, Mary handed him the brush she was holding and watched as her grandson held it, looking at her with a curious expression on his face.
“I’ll end up destroying what you’ve already done,” he whispered.
“No, you won’t.” She laughed softly, holding his hand and leading it to the canvas. The woman kept leading his hand with the brush across the painting, seeing how a tiny, almost imperceptible smile, smile appeared on his lips. “You know, when your father was younger, he loved to do it.”
“Does he paint like you?”
“He used to.” As she let go of his hand, Tom raised his head to look at her, before putting down the brush.
Mary smiled and knelt in front of her grandson, raising her hand to brush his hair aside, before stroking his cheek softly. “You’re a lot like him,” she said, cupping his face with her hands. “Don’t be fooled by your father’s behavior, alright, Tom? He… He doesn’t trust people right away, he must get used to them… And he’s getting used to you.” The boy nodded and saw the smile on the other’s face widen. “I’ve never seen him painting after… Since a few years ago, but I know he still draws a lot and I bet he keeps all his old sketchbooks, so, one day, ask him to show them to you.”
Tom watched as the woman let go of his face and looked at his hands, before holding them and skimming her long finger’s over his. “What a good hand you have,” she whispered. “Thin fingers… Pianist’s fingers, you know? Do you play the piano?”
“No.”
“That’s what I thought.” Mary shook her head. “I shall teach you then… Such perfect fingers shouldn’t be kept away from a piano’s keys.” She smiled and, letting go of his hands, got up. “I heard you’ll be starting school soon…
“Yes…”
“Are you excited?”
“I guess so.”
“I’m sure you’ll love it… The school is in Great Hangleton, close enough for you to commute every day, although I wanted you to be homeschooled like your father, until you become old enough to go to Eton, but Thomas says it’s better for you to be around children of your age… Well, may I ask what’s your favorite subject?”
“I guess… I guess it’s History,” the boy answered, seeing as the woman went back to her painting. “But I also enjoy English.”
“And Calculus?”
“I’m not… really good at it, actually.” He laughed nervously. “I mean, I’m good at it, but it’s not my favorite thing to study.”
“Well, if you need help with those, talk to your grandfather,” Mary looked at him and smiled. “He’s really good with numbers.”
***
Now, about Little Hangleton:
Some websites about Leven and Hornsea:
Leven: http://www.leven-village.co.uk/
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e8/Leven,_East_Riding.jpg
Hornsea: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hornsea
Possible locations for Little Hangleton:
This file shows on a map of Great Britain the possible locations of the fictional place called Little Hangleton, from the Harry Potter series.
The possible locations have been decided on the following information given in the first chapter of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
- Little Hangleton is roughly 200 miles away from Little Whinging in Surrey (last sentence of the chapter).
- Little Hangleton is in an English-speaking country (therefore not France or Belgium)
We assume that this may not be exactly 200 miles and that JKR made an approximation.
from: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:HP_possible_locations_of_Little_Hangleton.JPG
The only map I could find with Leven in it D:
http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/place/place_page.jsp?p_id=13304