Astray

Chapter 1

(Copy Right Warning: I do not own the universe of Harry Potter or any of the characters other than my own and my story line and plot!)

Somewhere in London, on a narrow sidewalk skipped a young girl, presumably around the age of 9 or 10 based on her small stature, lightly gripping the wrinkly hand of an older man. This man watched with amusement in his blue eyes as the girl's raven curls bounced around beside him, itching to release his hand from her grip and sprint to their nearby destination. She let out a soft sigh and turned to look up at him with her wide crystal orbs.

"Mr. Albus, sir, are we almost there?" She tugged his large hand as they walked side by side down the cement walkway.

"Almost, you must be patient child," the man, presumably named Albus, answered with a stern but gentle look to his eyes.  The girl immediately settled down, though only for a while as she spotted the shop they were headed to and started getting restless once again.

She wasn't particularly interested in what was in the shop, more so what was behind it. She had seen many others travel through the wall on the other side of the building, but this would be the first time she would be able to experience this herself. She was always stuck waiting inside, drinking her tea and whatnot while Albus did whatever he needed to do on the other side. Normally walking to this particular shop would be quite a bleak experience, but this time, this time was different, once she traveled through she would finally be able to consider herself a true witch.

She had never really ventured into the wizarding world, well other than being raised by the one and only, greatest wizard of all time (in her opinion) , Order of Merlin, first class, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards, Cheif Worlock of the Wizengamot, Albus Percival Wolfric Brian Dumbledore. Being Dumbledore's adopted daughter had its many perks like getting a peek into the lives of Hogwarts students, but the tittle also had its downsides. Like staying away from the wizarding world as much as possible until she was deemed old enough to handle all of the attention.

Those reasons are why she spent most of her time inside, unlike most children.  She spent most of her time reading and expanding her knowledge on the wizarding world, a topic she was most interested in, and expanding her vocabulary.  She was quite a sickly child as well. That mostly had to do with the fact that when she was found on the street as a small child she was very dehydrated and so skinny you could see her rib cage.  As a child anytime she would throw a tantrum she was scolded by Minnie, another one of her caretakers, of how grateful she should be that she was no longer in the position she once was as a starving child living on scraps and garbage from the alleys of London.

As they came closer to the building she could read the sign over the door "The Leaky Cauldron" these words filled her with bliss as she squealed in delight at the thought of finally being able to consider herself a real witch.

"Hurry up, Albus! It's right there!" She exclaimed. She turned around to face him as the corners of her mouth pulled up into a wide smile, showing the sizable gap between her two front teeth, as her freckles face lit up.

"Calm down, child, we will get there in good time," he replied chuckling slightly under his white mustache. They walked a short distance before making it to the entrance. He held the door open as she bounded through the entrance and straight through the back door.

Though not without greeting the inn keeper first with a quick, "Hi, Tom!," thrown over her shoulder and she was out the door. Albus, on the other hand, had other ideas.

He swiftly crossed the room and, upon arriving at a small table, greeted the woman and her son that were sitting there. He patiently sat down at the table as he waited for her to notice his absence, which did not take much time at all. As soon as she realized he wasn't there she poked her head back into the shop and scanned the room looking for him. When she finally spotted him she quickly bounced toward him.

He motioned to the woman and her son and said," There are some people I would like you to meet.  This is Euphemia Potter and her son Jameson.  I am going to be very busy for the rest of the break and Euphemia said she wouldn't mind watching you for a while." He smiled somewhat sadly and continued," So you are going to stay with her and her family for that time period and I will see you when you start your first year at Hogwarts."

"Of course, sir," she could barely croak out the sentence as she tried to contain the flood of tears coming up from behind her eyes.  Since she had become acquainted with Albus she had latched onto him and they were hardly ever seen separate.  Because of this she wanted to scream and cry for him not to leave her but she knew that whatever orders he gave her, whether she liked it or not, it was important that she followed them.

So she composed herself and turned to face Euphemia and her son. "H-Hello, um my name is uh C-Coralie Dumbledore, but, I mean, Mrs. Minnie likes to call me Cora so I mean, I guess you can too... A-Anyway it's nice to meet you both," she blushed as she stumbled over her words.  She curtsied a little after she finished before being pulled into a bone crushing hug by Euphemia, a tall, beautiful, middle aged woman.

"Aren't you just precious! I'm Euphemia but you can just refer to me as mom!" she let her go and looked at her son expectantly.

"Hi Cori! I'm James and it's nice to meet you as well!" he stepped forward leaving his spot from beside his mother and stuck his hand out for her to shake.  He seemed like a nice young boy, around the same age as her. He was much taller than her, but almost everyone was, he had black, unruly hair, much like her own, and bright, hazel eyes covered by his big round glasses.

She hesitantly reached out her hand but as soon as he grabbed it all of her worries went away and her flushed face was replaced by a wide smile. As they shook hands as she regained all confidence that had previously left her. She was almost positive he felt the same because when they let go he immediately said," We are going to be the best of friends, I can feel it!"

She nodded in return and turned back towards Albus, "I'll be okay, sir."

He gave her a knowing smile and said," I know you will be. It was nice to see you again Euphemia, I'll be going then, have a good summer children," and apparated away.

She turned back to face the two others still there when Euphemia said, "So should we start shopping?"