Summertime
Dappled green light shone down through the leaves of the old trees in the centre of Grimmauld Place. Al lay on his stomach on the grass, his legs kicked up in the air. He twisted and untwisted a blade of grass around his finger, as he flicked through the leather-bound tome of potions. His mind was already several weeks into the future, fantasizing about the school he had only heard stories of, and he didn’t notice the animal snuffling sound at first.
He squinted a little at the page as a dark shadow fell across it. When a voice came from behind him, he snapped the book shut in shock and span round. The sound of the book slamming shut sent several pigeons into the air. “Hi!” The owner of the voice was a blonde girl of about his age, dressed for the sun with an inquisitive border collie on the end of a lead. “Sorry, didn’t mean to sneak up on you like that.”
“Oh, I… er…” Al blushed a little, brushing the curtain of hair out of his face, tucking it absently behind his ear. “Hi! Sorry, I was miles away.” Recognising the girl as a muggle who lived on Grimmauld place, he surreptitiously moved his backpack over the cover of the book as he stood. “I was just, y’know…” he made a vague gesture, and shrugged. “But, yeah, Hi!”
She looked down at the corner of the book protruding from the bag. “Is it interesting? Looks old…”
“Oh, no, it’s just… an old, er…” He shrugged again “I’m Al… Al, by the way. Al Potter.” He stuck out his hand, then paused, unsure if he should retract it.
She shook his hand gingerly, with a grin. “Well, nice to meet you, Al. I’m Faye, Faye Blundell. Oh, and this is Angus. I’ve seen you here before. Didn’t realise there were any other kids living round here.” She grinned again, revealing the thin lines of a set of braces on her teeth.
“Oh, yeah, I live…” Al began to gesture towards Number 12 until he realised the flaw in his plan. “Well, I don’t live here exactly. But, y’know, couple of streets over.” He nodded. “But we don’t have a little park like this. So I come here to… be in it.”
“Yeah, it’s nice. Angus likes it.” She scratched the dog behind the ears. “So, Al, d’you go to school near here?”
Al shook his head. “No, I’ve not started school yet.”
“Really? Aren’t you a bit… late?” Her quizzical look shifted to one of embarrassment. “Sorry, I didn’t mean…”
Al was confused for a moment, before it dawned on him. “That is, I’m starting a new school. Not that I haven’t been to one. I’m not that stupid.” He chuckled, Faye joining him. “Going up to Scotland to school. Boarding.”
Al ran a hand through his hair. Keeping everything secret from muggles was so difficult. He scuffed his foot in the grass. Would it hurt so much to tell just one person? Angus began sniffing his hand, and Al hunkered down next to him and ran his hand along his back. “Friendly, isn’t he?” he said, throwing a look up to Faye.
She smiled. “He likes you.” Angus ran his tongue across the back of Al’s hand as if in agreement. “Do you have a dog too?”
He shook his head. “Nah. Though I have just got an owl!” Al became more animated. “She’s awesome! Her name’s Athena, she’s a barn owl, and…”
“An owl?” She made little effort to disguise her doubt.
Al bit his lip. Of course she thought having an owl was weird… “Well. I don’t have an owl, like, in a cage or anything…” He hated lying like this “It’s… There’s this owl, that roosts in our garden. And… it’s not usual, in the city.” He nodded, as he started to get a feel for the story. “Yeah. So it’s like having a pet, I s’pose. So I called it Athena. ‘cos we can’t have pets. Allergies.”
Faye giggled “You’re funny, Al. I can’t tell when you’re being serious or not.”
“Heh, yeah, well…” Al shrugged. Funny. That was one word for it. He grinned and continued. “Try my best to entertain.” He nodded to the t-shirt she was wearing. “So, you’re into The Stilettos?”
She nodded. “Yeah. They’re cool.”
“Cool.” Al stopped stroking Angus and stood up.
* * * *
Al ran down the corridor to the kitchen, skidding to a halt at the table. “Sorry, mum, I was just…” He jerked a thumb over his shoulder by way of explanation.
“Off with his girlfriend. Again.” James finished his sentence with a triumphant smirk.
Al blushed, partially out of anger, and stamped his foot in a somewhat petulant display. “Faye is not my girlfriend, James!”
“Says you. I saw you. Holding hands.” James wolfed down a forkful of mashed potato with glee.
“We weren’t, and she isn’t. Mum, tell him!” Al span to face Ginny, though she appeared to be too engrossed with the notebook next to her plate to notice. Giving up he turned back on James. “She’s not my girlfriend. She’s just a friend who is a girl. You’re… sexist!”
“And you’re in love.” James muttered under his breath, just loud enough to be heard.
“Am not!” Al crossed his arms. “And you… you’re just going on at me ‘cos you couldn’t get a girlfriend if you wanted one.”
“Could too.” James snarled as he stabbed at his plate.
Ginny rolled her eyes at Lily, speaking under the boys’ argument. “And this, Lily, is what you can expect for the next ten years…”
Lily giggled, and looked between her brothers who appeared to be pointedly ignoring each other. “Have you kissed her, Al?”
“She’s not my girlfriend!” He snapped at his sister, though clearly regretted it even as the words were leaving his lips. He dropped his voice. “Sorry Lily. But she isn’t. And we weren’t holding hands.” He glared at James. “She was reading my fortune.”
“Oh.” Lily paused briefly in thought. “But I thought she was a muggle? Can muggles do that?”
Al thought for a moment. It hadn’t crossed his mind to do anything but accept it when she told him. “I don’t know. She said her Gran taught her, but…” Al sipped his drink and mulled this new thought over. “I guess her Gran could be a witch. D’you reckon she is, mum?”
“I don’t know, Al, some muggles…”
Al carried on following his train of thought, hardly noticing his mother’s response. “’cos if she is, that means I can tell Faye right? About being a wizard? I know you can’t tell muggles, but if her gran is a witch, then I can, can’t I?”
Ginny shook her head with a little sigh. “You know you can’t, Al. Her Gran probably isn’t a witch, and you can’t risk it. I’m sorry, sweetie.”
Al nodded hesitantly, and turned his attention to his food.
* * * *
Al and Faye basked in the sun, sharing a pair of earphones. Al was breaking of stalks of grass and twisting them around his finger when Faye removed her earphone and rolled onto her side. “So, you’ll be off soon? Up to your secret spy school up in Scotland, or whatever it is.” She grinned.
“It’s not that big a mystery. Just, y’know, school.” Al shrugged. “I suppose we could write. If you want.”
“Yeah, I’d like that.” Faye reached into her bag and pulled out a diary. “So, what’s the address then?”
“It’s…” Al paused. Somehow he doubted that the muggle post visited Hogwarts often. “Err… actually, I’m not sure what the address is.”
“You’re useless, you are.” She grinned again. “But not a problem. I can send a letter to your mum and dad, and they can send it on, right? You said you lived on… what was it, again?”
Why had he even suggested this in the first place? “Um, that’s the thing. My dad’s a teacher at the school, and my mum’s going up too. So…”
“So there’s no way I can get a letter to you?” A trace of disappointment showed in her expression.
“Um, I can write to you when I’m there, and know the address, I suppose?”
Despite Al giving the most reassuring smile he could muster, Faye still seemed slightly dubious. “Sure, I’m at Number 3… well, the rest you can figure out, I guess.” She nodded to the street sign across the road.
“Sure, 3 Grimmauld place. Not difficult to remember.” Al nodded a couple of times.
“But you will write? Promise?”
Al glanced over to Angus, who was wrestling with a stick, and bit his lip. He turned back to Faye with a smile. “Promise.”
He squinted a little at the page as a dark shadow fell across it. When a voice came from behind him, he snapped the book shut in shock and span round. The sound of the book slamming shut sent several pigeons into the air. “Hi!” The owner of the voice was a blonde girl of about his age, dressed for the sun with an inquisitive border collie on the end of a lead. “Sorry, didn’t mean to sneak up on you like that.”
“Oh, I… er…” Al blushed a little, brushing the curtain of hair out of his face, tucking it absently behind his ear. “Hi! Sorry, I was miles away.” Recognising the girl as a muggle who lived on Grimmauld place, he surreptitiously moved his backpack over the cover of the book as he stood. “I was just, y’know…” he made a vague gesture, and shrugged. “But, yeah, Hi!”
She looked down at the corner of the book protruding from the bag. “Is it interesting? Looks old…”
“Oh, no, it’s just… an old, er…” He shrugged again “I’m Al… Al, by the way. Al Potter.” He stuck out his hand, then paused, unsure if he should retract it.
She shook his hand gingerly, with a grin. “Well, nice to meet you, Al. I’m Faye, Faye Blundell. Oh, and this is Angus. I’ve seen you here before. Didn’t realise there were any other kids living round here.” She grinned again, revealing the thin lines of a set of braces on her teeth.
“Oh, yeah, I live…” Al began to gesture towards Number 12 until he realised the flaw in his plan. “Well, I don’t live here exactly. But, y’know, couple of streets over.” He nodded. “But we don’t have a little park like this. So I come here to… be in it.”
“Yeah, it’s nice. Angus likes it.” She scratched the dog behind the ears. “So, Al, d’you go to school near here?”
Al shook his head. “No, I’ve not started school yet.”
“Really? Aren’t you a bit… late?” Her quizzical look shifted to one of embarrassment. “Sorry, I didn’t mean…”
Al was confused for a moment, before it dawned on him. “That is, I’m starting a new school. Not that I haven’t been to one. I’m not that stupid.” He chuckled, Faye joining him. “Going up to Scotland to school. Boarding.”
Al ran a hand through his hair. Keeping everything secret from muggles was so difficult. He scuffed his foot in the grass. Would it hurt so much to tell just one person? Angus began sniffing his hand, and Al hunkered down next to him and ran his hand along his back. “Friendly, isn’t he?” he said, throwing a look up to Faye.
She smiled. “He likes you.” Angus ran his tongue across the back of Al’s hand as if in agreement. “Do you have a dog too?”
He shook his head. “Nah. Though I have just got an owl!” Al became more animated. “She’s awesome! Her name’s Athena, she’s a barn owl, and…”
“An owl?” She made little effort to disguise her doubt.
Al bit his lip. Of course she thought having an owl was weird… “Well. I don’t have an owl, like, in a cage or anything…” He hated lying like this “It’s… There’s this owl, that roosts in our garden. And… it’s not usual, in the city.” He nodded, as he started to get a feel for the story. “Yeah. So it’s like having a pet, I s’pose. So I called it Athena. ‘cos we can’t have pets. Allergies.”
Faye giggled “You’re funny, Al. I can’t tell when you’re being serious or not.”
“Heh, yeah, well…” Al shrugged. Funny. That was one word for it. He grinned and continued. “Try my best to entertain.” He nodded to the t-shirt she was wearing. “So, you’re into The Stilettos?”
She nodded. “Yeah. They’re cool.”
“Cool.” Al stopped stroking Angus and stood up.
* * * *
Al ran down the corridor to the kitchen, skidding to a halt at the table. “Sorry, mum, I was just…” He jerked a thumb over his shoulder by way of explanation.
“Off with his girlfriend. Again.” James finished his sentence with a triumphant smirk.
Al blushed, partially out of anger, and stamped his foot in a somewhat petulant display. “Faye is not my girlfriend, James!”
“Says you. I saw you. Holding hands.” James wolfed down a forkful of mashed potato with glee.
“We weren’t, and she isn’t. Mum, tell him!” Al span to face Ginny, though she appeared to be too engrossed with the notebook next to her plate to notice. Giving up he turned back on James. “She’s not my girlfriend. She’s just a friend who is a girl. You’re… sexist!”
“And you’re in love.” James muttered under his breath, just loud enough to be heard.
“Am not!” Al crossed his arms. “And you… you’re just going on at me ‘cos you couldn’t get a girlfriend if you wanted one.”
“Could too.” James snarled as he stabbed at his plate.
Ginny rolled her eyes at Lily, speaking under the boys’ argument. “And this, Lily, is what you can expect for the next ten years…”
Lily giggled, and looked between her brothers who appeared to be pointedly ignoring each other. “Have you kissed her, Al?”
“She’s not my girlfriend!” He snapped at his sister, though clearly regretted it even as the words were leaving his lips. He dropped his voice. “Sorry Lily. But she isn’t. And we weren’t holding hands.” He glared at James. “She was reading my fortune.”
“Oh.” Lily paused briefly in thought. “But I thought she was a muggle? Can muggles do that?”
Al thought for a moment. It hadn’t crossed his mind to do anything but accept it when she told him. “I don’t know. She said her Gran taught her, but…” Al sipped his drink and mulled this new thought over. “I guess her Gran could be a witch. D’you reckon she is, mum?”
“I don’t know, Al, some muggles…”
Al carried on following his train of thought, hardly noticing his mother’s response. “’cos if she is, that means I can tell Faye right? About being a wizard? I know you can’t tell muggles, but if her gran is a witch, then I can, can’t I?”
Ginny shook her head with a little sigh. “You know you can’t, Al. Her Gran probably isn’t a witch, and you can’t risk it. I’m sorry, sweetie.”
Al nodded hesitantly, and turned his attention to his food.
* * * *
Al and Faye basked in the sun, sharing a pair of earphones. Al was breaking of stalks of grass and twisting them around his finger when Faye removed her earphone and rolled onto her side. “So, you’ll be off soon? Up to your secret spy school up in Scotland, or whatever it is.” She grinned.
“It’s not that big a mystery. Just, y’know, school.” Al shrugged. “I suppose we could write. If you want.”
“Yeah, I’d like that.” Faye reached into her bag and pulled out a diary. “So, what’s the address then?”
“It’s…” Al paused. Somehow he doubted that the muggle post visited Hogwarts often. “Err… actually, I’m not sure what the address is.”
“You’re useless, you are.” She grinned again. “But not a problem. I can send a letter to your mum and dad, and they can send it on, right? You said you lived on… what was it, again?”
Why had he even suggested this in the first place? “Um, that’s the thing. My dad’s a teacher at the school, and my mum’s going up too. So…”
“So there’s no way I can get a letter to you?” A trace of disappointment showed in her expression.
“Um, I can write to you when I’m there, and know the address, I suppose?”
Despite Al giving the most reassuring smile he could muster, Faye still seemed slightly dubious. “Sure, I’m at Number 3… well, the rest you can figure out, I guess.” She nodded to the street sign across the road.
“Sure, 3 Grimmauld place. Not difficult to remember.” Al nodded a couple of times.
“But you will write? Promise?”
Al glanced over to Angus, who was wrestling with a stick, and bit his lip. He turned back to Faye with a smile. “Promise.”