The Wolf and the Raven

Ch 1 - Meet Cute

 "But Mummy, why can't I go a year early? No one will know. I can hide under dad's invisibility cloak!" The little girl tugged on her mother's hand.

Euphemia Potter sighed. "Branwen, we've been over this a hundred times. Your letter will come next year. Let James have his time for now."

The girl jerked her hand from her mother's grasp and pointed her large blue eyes and pouting lips at her father. Fleamont Potter, a pot-bellied man with a continuous twinkle in his eyes, dug his hand into the deep pockets of his purple robes. "Here, love,." he handed his daughter a clinking scoop of gold coins. "Find yourself something to tide you over while James and your mother do their shopping."

A smile bloomed on the girl's face and she skipped down the crowded street, her immaculate dark braids bouncing at every step. She was on her way to Quality Quidditch Supplies (the Holyhead Harpies had released a new poster of their Seeker, Ginger Larkins) when she stopped to stare at a boy in front of Sugarplum's Sweets Shop.

He stood out as the only person on Diagon Alley not in a hurry to get somewhere He looked both curious and complacent standing just outside the orange glow spilling from the shop windows. He was the same height as Branwen and dressed in clothes that, though clean, were worn and patched. His sandy hair fell into his eyes and his left hand was scratching absently at a red band-aid on his neck. Intrigued, Branwen stuffed the coins in her child's-sized purse and sauntered over.

"Hello."

The boy jumped nearly stumbling over his own feet as he backed away.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to startle you." She stuck out her small hand. "My name's Branwen. Branwen Potter. You can call me Bran if you want to though. Most people do. Blame my parents for giving me such a silly name."

Branwen watched the boy's soft, green eyes grow wide in his thin face. That was when she noticed the two long pink scars that slashed diagonally across his face. There was no disguising her blatant stare and the boy started to stammer. "I...I....my name....I'm...."

Branwen's hand was still hovering in midair, but neither acknowledged it as each of them gawked at the other.

At that moment, the bell above the shop's door rang and a chorus of laughing children ran out into the street.

The sudden burst of sound and movement seemed to snap Branwen out of her daze. She smiled as wide as she could. "Well, come on! No use standing out here....the candy's in there." Her open hand shot forward, grabbed his limp one, and yanked him through the door.

The shop was a pocket of chaos. Children darted amongst high wooden shelves overflowing with candies of every shape and colour. Above their heads, parents called out names with anxious franticness, searching the bobbing heads for the ones that belonged to them.

Branwen leaped up on the bottom rung of a ladder that ran on a track around the room and reached for a handful of brightly coloured lollipops. "So what's your favourite?"

The boy looked suprised to realise she was still speaking to him. "My favourite what?"

"Your favourite candy, silly."

"Um," he shoved his hands in his pockets, "I guess I like Mars Bars."

Branwen's nose crinkled. "Mars Bars? I've never heard of those. Oh!" Her mouth dropped open and she leapt down, nearly landing on the boy's toes. "Is that a Muggle candy? Are you a Muggle-born?"

"Well, half-blood, I guess." He scratched again at the band-aid. "My dad's a wizard, my mum's a Muggle."

"That's so cool! I don't really know much about the Muggle world. I bet you know everything about both worlds though."

The boy mumbled something that sounded like "I s'pose." Mostly he just blushed and stared anywhere but her face. The word "cool" was not something that had ever been associated with him. Ever.

"Hmm," Branwen's small fingers drummed along her lips. "We don't have any Space Candy, but we do have these. Have you ever had a Chocolate Frog?" She leaned above his head and plucked down a pentagon-shaped box.

"Yeah. They taste good and I like the cards, but it's kinda creepy when they jump like that."

"That's true," she giggled. "So what are you going to get?"

His face flushed again. "I, I don't know. My mum's got the money. She's out looking at some new robes I think. I was just kinda looking, you know?"

"I understand." Branwen said in the same solemn tone he used, even though she didn't understand at all. What kind of parent sent their child off without spending money? Was he in trouble or something?

When the silence stretched between them into an unbearable awkwardness, Branwen gushed, "Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow?" He was shocked once again.

"Yeah. You're going to Hogwarts, right? On the train? I'm going to go and see my brother off. It's his first year. It'd be my first year too, if I wasn't born so late," she pouted.

"Oh, oh yeah. It's my first year too. So I guess I'll see you there. And your brother." He gave a small way and began edging toward the door.

"Wait!" Branwen ran after him, the bell clanging loudly behind her. "You still didn't tell me your name!"

He smiled, the first genuine one since meeting her. "It's Remus. Remus Lupin."